"All the earth sitteth still, and is at rest."-Zechariah i. 11. OW dazzling white the snowy scene! deep, deep, Not even a footfall heard. Smooth are the fields, The flickering fall is o'er; the clouds disperse, * But let me now explore the deep-sunk dell: C THE NEW YEAR'S BELLS AT MIDNIGHT. KNELL of departed years! Thy voice is sweet to me; I hear a sound Diffusing through the air a holy calm around. Thou art the voice of love To chide each doubt away; I hail the sign That love divine Will o'er my future path in cloudless mercy shine. Thou art the voice of hope! The music of the spheres! A song of blessings yet to come, By sin deceived, By nature grieved, Still am I nearer rest than when I first believed. THOUGHTS FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY. I I Thou art the voice of life; A sound which seems to say O prisoner in this gloomy vale, Thy flesh shall faint, thy heart shall fail; But fairer scenes thy spirit hail That cannot pass away: Here grief and pain Thy steps detain; There in the image of the Lord shalt thou with Jesus reign. THOUGHTS FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY. "A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.”—Deut. xi. 12. ANOTHER Year with promised blessings rise! ST. AGNES' EVE. DEEP on the convent roof the snows Slant down the snowy sward, Still creeping with the creeping hours Make Thou my spirit pure and clear Or this first snowdrop of the year As these white robes are soiled and dark, As this pale taper's earthly spark, So shows my soul before the Lamb, So in mine earthly house I am, To that I hope to be. Break up the heavens, O Lord! and far, In raiment white and clean. He lifts me to the golden doors; The flashes come and go; |