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CULMINATES IN BLISS.

WHEN it doth reach A white, unflickering, fear-consuming glow, And, knowing it is known as it doth know, Needs no assuring word or soothing speech: It craves but silent nearness, so to rest,

No sound, no movement, love not heard but felt,

Longer and longer still, till time should melt,

A snow-flake on the eternal ocean's breast. Have moments of this silence starr'd thy past,

Made memory a glory-haunted place, Taught all the joy that mortal ken can trace?

By greater light 'tis but a shadow cast.

Frances Ridley Havergal.

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THE PRAYER OF EARTHLY LOVE.

UNSEEN she pray'd

With all the still, small whispers of the night,
And with the searching glances of the stars,
And with her God alone. She lifted up
Her sad, sweet voice, while trembling o'er
her head

The dark leaves thrill'd with prayer--the tearful prayer

Of woman's quenchless yet repentant love:"Father of spirits, hear!

Look on the inmost soul to Thee reveal'd, Look on the fountain of the burning tear, Before thy sight in solitude unseal'd!

"Hear, Father! hear and aid!

If I have loved too well, if I have shed, In my vain fondness, o'er a mortal head Gifts, in thy shrine, my God, more fitly laid; "If I have sought to live

But in one light, and made a mortal eye The lonely star of my idolatry; Thou, that art Love, oh! pity and forgive! "Chasten'd and school'd at last,

No more my struggling spirit burns ;

But fix'd on Thee, from that vain worship turns!

What have I said? the deep dream is not past.

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GUARDS AND CARES FOR ITS OBJECT.

"How can the rose grow," cried a wise man of old, "without sunshine?" How can the violet bloon on the salty soil? Lo! women are flowers, that are always becoming more beautiful and fragrant the more they are guarded and cared for. But men should be keepers in the garden of beauty; they may rejoice themselves in the fragrance of the flowers, but they may not rumple them with rude hands. Just as the weed is rooted from the flower-bed, so should all that is base and common be removed far away from the neighbourhood of woman! Tread upon the rose with thy feet, and its thorns amaze thee; watch over it with love and care, and it will bloom and be fragrant, an ornament to itself and thee. Make thyself of thine own accord a slave to a woman, and she will not bear it, but will herself bow before thee, and in thankful love look up to thee as her lord; make a woman by force thy slave, and she will bear it still less, but will seek by craft and cunning to obtain dominion over thee. For the empire of love is the empire of contradictions; the wise man marks this, and acts accordingly.

Anon.

FOR me be witness, all ye host of heaven,
That thou art dear to me;

Dearer than day to one whom sight must leave,

Dearer than life to one who fears to die.

Lee.

THE INFLUENCE OF WOMAN WHEN

EDUCATED.

WOMEN govern us; let us render them perfect; the more they are enlightened, so much the more shall we be. On the cultivation of the mind of women depends the wisdom of men. It is by women that nature writes on the hearts of men.

Sheridan.

LOVE'S FIRST DREAM.

IT comes when the heart is blithe and free,
As waves that dance on the rippling sea;
It comes when the s ep is firm and light,
The cheek is fresh and the eye is bright—
And it weaves its spell till all these seem
To wear the fair hue of love's first dream.

The gentle maid feels its magic power,
As she dreams of love in twilight hour;
And fancy paints with more vivid ray
The cloudless joy of her future way;
And her eyes flash forth a brighter beam
At the visions sweet in love's young dream.

The youth just launch'd on the sea of life Feels a firmer strength to bear its strife, When he thinks of one whose lovely face First won his heart by its witching grace; And he thinks no burden too great will

seem

He sees by the light of love's young dream.

And when the glad days of youth are spent,
The eye grows dim and the form is bent,
Then memory oft with a soothing power
Will picture again some moonlit bower;
And no hour of life so sweet will seem,
As the one that pass'd in love's young dream.
Anon.

WOMAN'S DESTINY.

AFFECTION is woman's only element; to love, to look up, is her only destiny; and, if unfulfilled, nothing can supply its place. Life has no real business for her beyond the sweet beating of her own heart dwelling in the shadow of another's. She may crowd her days with gaiety, variety, and what are called amusements; she will do so only to find their insufficiency; she needs the strength of duty and the interest of affection. Anon.

CATCHING love.

FALLING in love and running in love are both, as everybody knows, common enough; and yet less so than what I shall call catching love. Where the love itself is imprudent, that is to say, where there is some just prudential cause or impediment why the two parties should not be joined in holy matrimony, there is generally some degree of culpable imprudence in catching it, because the danger is always to be apprehended, and may in most cases be avoided. sometimes the circumstances may be such as leave no room for censure, even when there may be most cause for compassion.

But

Southey.

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