V. To Nature and to Holy writ Alone did God the boy commit: Where flash'd and roar'd the torrent, oft VI. The straining oar and chamois chase VII. He knew not that his chosen hand, -the which he broke! A CHRISTMAS CAROL. I. The Shepherds went their hasty way, And now they check'd their eager tread, II. They told her how a glorious light, Streaming from a heavenly throng, Around them shone, suspending night! While sweeter than a Mother's song, Blest Angels heralded the Saviour's birth, Glory to God on high! and Peace on Earth. III. She listen'd to the tale divine, And closer still the Babe she press'd; And while she cried, the Babe is mine! The milk rush'd faster to her breast: Joy rose within her, like a summer's morn; Peace, Peace on Earth! the Prince of Peace is born. IV. Thou Mother of the Prince of Peace, O why should this thy soul elate? V. And is not War a youthful King, Beneath his footsteps laurels spring; Him Earth's majestic monarch's hail Their Friend, their Playmate! and his bold bright eye Compels the maiden's love-confessing sigh. VI. "Tell this in some more courtly scene, "And therefore is my Soul elate. "War is a ruffian, all with guilt defil'd, VII. "A murderous fiend, by fiends ador'd, "He kills the Sire and starves the Son; "The Husband kills, and from her board "Steals all his Widow's toil had won; "Plunders God's world of beauty; rends away "All safety from the Night, all comfort from the Day." VIII. "Then wisely is my soul elate, "That Strife should vanish, Battle cease: "I'm poor and of a low estate, "The Mother of the Prince of Peace. "Joy rises in me, like a summer's morn: "Peace, Peace on Earth, the Prince of Peace is born." HUMAN LIFE, ON THE DENIAL OF IMMORTALITY. A FRAGMENT. If dead, we cease to be; if total gloom She form'd with restless hands unconsciously. If rootless thus, thus substanceless thy state, Go, weigh thy dreams, and be thy Hopes thy Fears, The counter-weights!-Thy Laughter and thy Tears Mean but themselves, each fittest to create And to repay the other! Why rejoices Thy heart with hollow joy for hollow good, That such a thing, as thou, feel'st warm or cold! |