Then freely let thy blossom ope A scene which bids the humble hope THE ORCHIS PYRAMIDALIS. (FROM THE RUINS OF THURNHAM CASTLE, KENT.) DOUGLAS ALLPORT. A FLOWER is not a flower alone As if their spirit had possess'd it. The sprightly morning's "breezy call,” And cool gray light around it streaming The holy calm of even-fall, The majesty of night, and all The glories of its starry pall Above it eloquently beaming; "The precious things of heaven-the dew" That on the turf beneath it trembled ; The distant landscape's tender blue, And while that simple plant for me Brings all these varied charms together, I hear the murmurs of the bee, The splendour of the skies I see, And breathe those airs that wander free O'er banks of thyme and blooming heather. Thus, when within my sunless room, Heart-sick and mock'd by Mammon's leaven, The pyramids of purple bloom Blush through its loneliness and gloom, The spirit bursts its living tomb, And basks beneath the open heaven. There, as on some green knoll reclined, The summer landscape round me glowing, While gentle ardours fill the mind, I leave the unquiet world behind, And hear a voice in every wind Around my fervent temples blowing. The self-same voice, how calm and still! That rends the rock and wakes in thunder, Proclaiming from the tinkling rill, The vocal copse, and breezy hill, As meekly as the dews distil, Its ceaseless ministries of wonder. "The Eternal Power and Godhead" then, And feel this tabernacle bound us. Thus, through this wood-side plant, the mind By which its famine may be sated. Its very cravings wean it hence, It anchors where its rest remaineth; And who has power to drive it thence? Its helper is Omnipotence, The Rock of Ages its defence, And sinlessness the prize it gaineth. (Original.) THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL. REV. W. H. BATHURST. How long, O gracious Lord! how long Encourage violence and wrong, And vex Thy church, and tear Thy sheep? When wilt Thou grant us to behold The dawning of that glorious day, So long expected and foretold, When earth shall own Messiah's sway? Behold! the dawning has begun ; Bright streaks are in the eastern sky; And soon the full unclouded sun Shall lift his blazing orb on high. See! the light breaks o'er China's wall, And India brightens in the blaze. |