Thou"rt lovely, oh, so lovely, And yet how brief thy stay, Why is it all things beautiful Must droop and fade away?
All, all thy gorgeous painted leaves, With colors bright and gay, Were touched by nature"s magic brush, Then rudely cast away.
And thus our dearest hopes are crushed, By fate"s relentless will, Like withered leaves they pa.s.s away-- But peace, sad heart, be still.
Thou too must breast the adverse wind, Be wildly tempest-tossed, Perhaps when thou art hushed in death, Thou"lt meet the loved and lost.
But for this sweetly, solemn thought That thrills us with delight, This life, so marred by grief and pain, Could never seem so bright.
Then welcome, sweet, sad Autumn days, Though brief the hallowed reign, For every smile must have its tear, And every joy its pain.
A TIME FOR ALL THINGS.
BY ELLEN COYN,
Of the Arkansas Inst.i.tution.
I sat down at the window, where I oft had calmed my ruffled feeling, For summer evening"s balmy air Has for the wounded spirit healing.
That morning I had been quite glad, For hope had prospects bright in keeping, But fortune changed, and I was sad, And there I sat in silence weeping.
"Tis vain I said to hope for good, Or cherish bliss for one short hour, If morn puts forth a fragrant bud, Ere night "tis but a withered flower.
My Bible lay upon the stand, In which I"d ofttimes found a blessing, I quickly took the book in hand, In hope to learn a useful lesson.
I read upon its open page, "There is a time and purpose given, It has been so from age to age, For everything that"s under Heaven."
"Tis vain and wrong to wish, I thought, That life with me be always sunny, My cup with bitter never fraught, But always overflown with honey
When fortune frowns I"ll not despair, I"ll only weep away my sorrow, "Twill ease my heart and brow of care, I"ll laugh when joy returns to-morrow.
DRIFTING.
BY ELLENOR J. JONES.
We are drifting on the sea of life, Like ships we"re tempest-tossed, And "mid this world of care and strife How many are wrecked and lost!
Our vessels are sometimes set afloat, "Neath a bright and cloudless sky, But far in the distance hid from view, The breakers are sure to lie.
Others are launched on an angry sea, When the waves are dashing high, And the wild winds give a ghostly tone, To the curlew"s troubled cry.
But the good ship Faith is gaily launched, For the pilot, Hope, is there, And Love, with his flaming lamp of light, Maketh all things wondrous fair.
Soon Faith is wrecked by a careless word, And beautiful Hope is dead, And Love, with the holy light of life, In an angry moment fled.
And thus on the wide wild sea of life, We are drifting day by day, Without one thought of the solemn truth, That we all shall pa.s.s away.