THE GOODNESS OF PROVIDENCE.
(Paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm.)

THE Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noon-day walks He shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.
When in the sultry glebe1 I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
To fertile vales and dewy meads,
My weary wand'ring steps He leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.

Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For Thou, O Lord, art with me still:
Thy friendly crook2 shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.
Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious 3 lonely wilds I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile ;4
The barren wilderness shall smile,

With sudden greens and herbage crown'd,
And streams shall murmur all around.

Joseph Addison: 1672-1719.

Best known by his contributions to the Spectator, Guardian, and Tatler, periodical papers on news, social subjects, and literature. His chief works in poetry are The Campaign and Cato, but his verse is inferior to his prose. Addison was made Secretary of State in 1717.

1 glebe-grassy plain.

2 crook-a shepherd's staff.

3 devious-strange and intricate.

beguile-ameliorate, or soften by kind encouragement.

GOD THE COMFORTER.

O THOU who dry'st the mourner's tear!
How dark this world would be,
If, when deceived and wounded here,
We could not fly to Thee!

The friends, who in our sunshine live,
When winter comes are flown:
And he, who has but tears to give,
Must weep those tears alone.
But Thou wilt heal that broken heart,
Which, like the plants that throw
Their fragrance from the wounded part,
Breathes sweetness out of woe.

When joy no longer soothes nor cheers,
And e'en the hope that threw

A moment's sparkle o'er our tears,
Is dimmed and vanish'd too!

Oh

who would bear life's stormy doom,
Did not Thy wing of love

Come, brightly wafting through the gloom.
Our peace-branch from above?

Then sorrow, touched by Thee, grows bright
With more than rapture's ray;

As darkness shows us worlds of light

We never saw by day!

Thomas Moore: 1779-1852.

Author of Irish Melodies, Lalla Rookh, and other poems. His verse is very musical, and its sweetness sometimes cloys. The Irish Melodies are the most graceful in thought, tender in feeling, and simple and refined in form of all his writings,-they are the best known, and will probably always remain the most popular.

1 peace-branch--the sending of an olive-branch was a token or an overture of peace in ancient times.

THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.

AND is there care in heaven? And is there love
In heavenly spirits to these creatures base,
That may compassion of their evils move?1
There is else much more wretched were the case
Of men than beasts: but O! th' exceeding grace
Of highest God, that loves His creatures so,
And all His works with mercy doth embrace,
That blessed angels He sends to and fro,

To serve to wicked man, to serve His wicked foe!
How oft do they their silver bowers leave
To come to succour us that succour want!
How oft do they with golden pinions cleave
The flitting skies, like flying pursuivant,2
Against foul fiends to aid us militant !3
They for us fight, they watch and duly ward,4
And their bright squadrons round about us plant;
And all for love, and nothing for reward:
O, why should heavenly God to men have such regard

Edmund Spenser: 1553–1599.

One of the finest among the fine poets of his time, and the best that had appeared since Chaucer, 'the father of English Poetry.' His chief work was the Faerie Queene. He was presented by Elizabeth with the estate and castle of Kilcolman, in Ireland, which he lost in the rebellion under Tyrone, 1598.

ODE ON CREATION.

(Paraphrase of part of 19th Psalm.) THE spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky,

5

And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.

1 compassion of... move— -pity for . . . awaken.
2 pursuivant messenger (attendant on an herald).
3 militant-in combat, 4 ward-avert dangers.

ethereal - airy.

Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land,
The work of an almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth,
Repeats the story of her birth;
Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets, in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though, in solemn silence, all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball?
What though nor real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?1
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
For ever singing, as they shine,
The hand that made us is Divine.

Joseph Addison: 1672-1719.
(See page 3.)

LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS.

GOD moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up His bright designs,

And works His sovereign will.

1 In these lines allusion is made to the ancient belief that the planets moved in crystal spheres, to sounds of music.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain :

God is His own interpreter,

And He will make it plain.

William Cowper: 1731-1800.

Cowper's work in poetry is simple and unaffected-'a pure mirror of affections, regrets, feelings, and desires which we have all felt or would wish to cherish.' His purity of thought and style was in strong contrast with and protest against the artificial conceits and extravagances that marked the literature of his time. Cowper's history was very sad. Constitutional melan. choly and occasional insanity disqualified him for mingling much with men, and he led the life of a religious and literary recluse.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB. THE Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts1 were gleaming in purple and gold ; And the sheen 2 of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen : Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

1 cohorts-bands of warriors. 2 sheen--brightness, glittering.