For yonder lapsing rill;

Meek children of the forest gloom,
Drink on, and fear no ill!

And buried in the yellow broom
That crowns the neighboring height,
Couches a loutish shepherd groom,
With all his flocks in sight;
Which dot the green braes gloriously,
With spots of living light.

It is a sight that filleth me
With meditative joy,

To mark these dumb things curiously,
Crowd round their guardian boy;
As if they felt this Sabbath hour
Of bliss lacked all alloy.

I bend me towards the tiny flower,
That underneath this tree

Opens its little breast of sweets
In meekest modesty,

And breathes the eloquence of love
In muteness, Lord! to thee.

There is no breath of wind to move
The flag-like leaves, that spread

Their grateful shadow far above

This turf-supported head;

All sounds are gone,-all murmurings

With living nature wed.

The babbling of the clear well-springs,
The whisperings of the trees,
And all the cheerful jargonings

Of feathered hearts at ease;
That whilome filled the vocal wood,
Have hushed their minstrelsies.

The silentness of night doth brood
O'er this bright summer noon;
And nature, in her holiest mood,
Doth all things well attune
To joy, in the religious dreams
Of green and leafy June.

Far down the glen in distance gleams The hamlet's tapering spire,

And, glittering in meridial beams,

Its vane is tongued with fire;

And hark how sweet its silvery bell,

And hark the rustic choir!

The holy sounds float up the dell
To fill my ravished ear,

And now the glorious anthems swell

Of worshippers sincere,

Of hearts bowed in the dust, that shed

Faith's penitential tear.

Dear Lord! thy shadow is forth spread On all mine eye can see;

And filled at the pure fountain-head

Of deepest piety,

My heart loves all created things,

And travels home to thee.

Around me while the sunshine flings

A flood of mocky gold,

My chastened spirit once more sings,

As it was wont of old,

That lay of gratitude which burst

From young heart uncontrolled.

When in the midst of nature nursed,

Sweet influences fell

On chidly hearts that were athirst,

Like soft dews in the bell

Of tender flowers, that bowed their heads, And breathed a fresher smell.

So, even now this hour hath sped
In rapturous thought o'er me.
Feeling myself with nature wed,-
A holy mystery,-

A part of earth, a part of heaven,
A part, great God! of Thee.

Fast fade the cares of life's dull sweven
They perish as the weed,
While unto me the power is given,

A moral deep to read

In every silent throe of mind

External beauties breed.

A MONODY.

I.

HOUR after hour

Day after day,

Some gentle flower

Or leaf gives way

Within the bower

Of human hearts;

Tear after tear

In anguish starts,

For, green or sere,

Some loved leaf parts

From the arbère

Of human hearts;

The keen winds blow;

Rain, hail, and snow

Fall everywhere!

And one by one,

As life's sands run,

These loved things fare,

Till plundered hearts at last are won

To woo despair.