All spoke a language which he understood, All warned him of his way. But most he feels Upon the hallowed morn, the saddening change: No more he hears the gladsome village bell Ring the blest summons to the house of God: And,-for the voice of psalms, loud, solemn, grand, That cheered his darkling path, as, with slow step And feeble, he toiled up the spire-topt hill,A few faint notes ascend among the trees. What though the clustered vine there hardly tempts The traveller's hand; though birds of dazzling plume Perch on the loaded boughs; "Give me thy woods, (Exclaims the banished man) thy barren woods, Poor SCOTLAND! sweeter there the reddening haw, The sloe, or rowan's* bitter bunch, than here The purple grape; dearer the redbreast's note, That mourns the fading year in SCOTIA's vales, Than Philomel's, where spring is ever new; More dear to me the redbreast's sober suit, So like a withered leaflet, than the glare Of gaudy wings, that make the Iris dim." Nor is regret exclusive to the old: The boy, whose birth was midway o'er the main, * Mountain-ash. A ship his cradle, by the billows rocked,— Of some far distant country, still called home, But what the loss of country to the woes Oh! my heart bleeds to think there now may live As is the rock his seat, gazing whole days, A sail appearing on the horizon's verge; Than hope of death. Thus pass his weary hours, Another day, another dreary day, Changeless, for in these regions of the sun, And labour, is annulled; for there the trees, The wonders of the deep: * he sees the hand, Thy hand does lead him, thy right hand upholds. ‡ And thy right hand does lead him. Lo! at last, One sacred eve, he hears, faint from the deep, Music remote, swelling at intervals, " They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep."-PSAL. cvii. + In the tropical regions, the sky during storms is often without a cloud. "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."-PSAL. cxxxix. As if the embodied spirit of sweet sounds "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for, behold! I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."-LUKE, ii. 8.-14. "In some seas, as particularly about the coast of Malabar, as a ship floats along, it seems during the night to be surrounded with fire, and to leave a long tract of light behind it. |