Of deeper green the elm; and deeper still,
Lord of the woods, the long-surviving oak.
Some-glossy leaved, and shining in the sun,
The maple, and the beech of oily nuts
Prolific, and the lime at dewy eve

Diffusing odors: nor unnoted pass
The sycamore, capricious in attire,

Now

green, now tawny, and, ere autumn yet Have changed the woods, in scarlet honors bright. O'er these, but far beyond (a spacious map Of hill and valley interposed between), The Ouse, dividing the well-watered land, Now glitters in the sun, and now retires, As bashful, yet impatient to be seen.

COWPER.

THE HILLSIDE FLOWER.

FLOWER upon the green hillside,

Thou, to shun the threatening blast,

In the grass thy head dost hide,

By the tempest overpast.

Then, to greet the azure skies,
And to feel the soothing sun,

34

THE HILLSIDE FLOWER.

Brighter-sweeter-dost thou rise!

Tell me, flower, how this is done!

"I will tell thee, as a friend,
Artless-timid-whispering low;

At the blast, 'tis good to bend !
He who made me, taught me so.

"While his teaching I obey,

I but fall to rise, and stand,

Brighter for the stormy day,
Leaning on his viewless hand.

"When to him I've lowly bowed,
He with freshness fills my cup
From the angry, scowling cloud;
Gently then He lifts me up.

"So I sink, and so I rise-
In the dark or sunny hour,
Minding Him who rules the skies:-
He's my God; and I'm his flower!"

GOULD.

THE SKYLARK.

BIRD of the wilderness,

Blithesome and cumberless,

Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! Emblem of happiness,

Blest is thy dwelling-place—

Oh to abide in the desert with thee!

Wild is thy lay, and loud,

Far in the downy cloud,

Love gives it energy, love gave it birth.

Where, on thy dewy wing,

Where art thou journeying?

Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth.

O'er fell and fountain sheen,

O'er moor and mountain green,

O'er the red streamer that heralds the day,

Over the cloudlet dim,

Over the rainbow's rim,

Musical cherub, soar, singing away!

Then, when the gloaming comes,

Low in the heather blooms,

Sweet will thy welcome and bed of love be!
Emblem of happiness,

Blest is thy dwelling-place,—

Oh to abide in the desert with thee!

HOGG.

SUNRISE.

I MARVEL not, O Sun! that unto thee

In adoration man should bow the knee,

And pour his prayers of mingled awe and love; For like a God thou art, and on thy way

Of glory sheddest with benignant ray,

Beauty, and life, and joyance from above.

No longer let these mists thy radiance shroud,— These cold raw mists that chill the comfortless day.

But shed thy splendor through the opening cloud, And cheer the earth once more. The languid flowers

Lie odorless, bent down with heavy rain,

Earth asks thy presence, saturate with showers! O lord of light! put forth thy beams again, For damp and cheerless are the gloomy hours.

SOUTHEY.

THE GREEN PASTURES.

I WALKED in a field of fresh clover this morn,
Where lambs played so merrily under the trees,
Or rubbed their soft coats on a naked old thorn,
Or nibbled the clover, or rested at ease.

And under the hedge ran a clear water-brook,
To drink from, when thirsty, or weary with play;
So gay did the daisies and buttercups look,

That I thought little lambs must be happy all day. And when I remember the beautiful psalm,

That tells about Christ and his pastures so green ; I know He is willing to make me his lamb,

And happier far than the lambs I have seen.

If I drink of the waters, so peaceful and still,
That flow in this field, I forever shall live;
If I love Him, and seek his commands to fulfil,
A place in his sheephold to me He will give.

The lambs are at peace in the fields when they play,
The long summer's day in contentment they spend;
But happier I, if in God's holy way,

I try to walk always, with Christ for my friend.

M. L. DUNCAN.