THE dark winds are blowing around the rude hill,
And the ice of the evening has crusted the rill.
Thy waves, O Loch Lomond! can glitter no more,
But, in dim stony fragments, encumber the shore.
And now for the moon, looking mild on the brook,
Swift lights of the north thro' the zenith are struck;
Those flashes, pale-streaming, shall guide my lone way,
And the steps of a Lover in safety convey.
Then louder the wings of the winter may sound,
And the frost's cutting arrows dart keener around,
So the white shrouding flakes of the * snow are with-
From the mine of the heath, and the lake of the field!
*Snow covering mines, pits, and slightly frozen pools, in mountainous countries, where there are no turnpike roads, is imminently dangerous.
IN IMITATION OF SIR JOHN SUCKLING.
THROW the gaudy roses from thee,
Dash the cup to earth:
Little, heedless youth, become thee
Wreaths, and wine, and mirth!
Dash the cup to earth.
Care beneath those flowers will sting thee;
Roses hide but thorns;
Stings to pain and woe will bring thee;
Pain no life adorns.
Roses hide but thorns.
Pr'ythee, cease thy frantic revel;
Pr'ythee, hush thy noise;
Happy lives tread light and level,
Hate such clamorous joys.
Pr'ythee, hush thy noise.
Touch the lyre in gentle measure;
Peace is all our heaven;
Bliss is an immortal's treasure;
Nor to man is given.
Peace is all our heaven.
Bowls they break, and wreaths they wither; Virtue ne'er can fade;
Here her roses bloom, (O, hither!)
An immortal shade!
Virtue ne'er can fade,
SAY not, lady, that those smiles
Do not far thy thoughts outrun:
Too, too many, by such wiles
Captive taken, are undone.
Either thou art masked, and so
Sportest oft with other's pain;
Or, unconscious, dost not know
Thousands by thy bright eyes slain.
Ah, if all thy sweet looks say
Were the language of thy heart!—
But, be still presumptuous lay,
Nor tell the transport they impart.
THE heavens, and all their beauteous host,
space immeasurable lost;
The vast expanse, and glorious frame,
Their great Creator's power proclaim:
Day unto day his wisdom tells,
And night to night the same reveals:
By speech, or language, unconfin'd,
They strike conviction on the mind;
And thro' the regions of the earth,
Declare the wonders of their birth.
Upheld by this Almighty source,
The sun, rejoicing, runs his course,
Unwearied, each revolving year,
To execute his swift career.
To distant climes his race extends,
The world, his circuit comprehends,
And, where he shines, he still displays
An emblem of his Maker's praise.
The law of God, a perfect whole,
And undefil'd, converts the soul ;—
His precepts are divinely pure,
His testimony firm and sure;
The fear of God corrects the will,
And guards the soul from every ill;
His judgments ever righteous prove,
And claim our confidence and love:
Better than gold, howe'er refin'd,
Or honey of the choicest kind;
They heal the weak, confirm the wise,
And point to realms beyond the skies:—
But who his inmost heart can rein,
And all his wandering thoughts restrain?
Oh! purify my soul within,
Destroy each careless, secret sin;
And keep me from presumptuous pride,
To deep ingratitude allied;
That, guiltless from the great offence,
Thy law may be my best defence.
Let all the words my mouth conceives,
And all the thoughts my heart perceives,
(From vice and irreligion free)
Be acceptable, Lord, to thee;
My strength, Redeemer-holy, just—
The rock on which I build my trust.
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