THE ANTIQUE SEPULCHRE.

Ye have no voice, no sound,

169

Ye flutes and lyres, to tell me what I seek;
Silent ye are, light forms with vine-leaves crown'd,
Yet to my soul ye speak.

Alas! for those that lay

Down in the dust without their hope of old!
Backward they look'd on life's rich banquet-day,
But all beyond was cold.

Every sweet wood-note then,

And through the plane-trees every sunbeam's glow, And each glad murmur from the homes of men, Made it more hard to go.

But we, when life grows dim,

When its last melodies float o'er our way,
Its changeful hues before us faintly swim,
Its flitting lights decay ;-

E'en though we bid farewell

Unto the spring's blue skies and budding trees,
Yet may we lift our hearts, in hope to dwell
'Midst brighter things than these.

And think of deathless flowers,

And of bright streams to glorious valleys given,
And know the while, how little dream of ours
Can shadow forth of Heaven.

EVENING SONG OF THE TYROLESE PEASANTS.*

COME to the sunset tree!

The day is past and gone;
The woodman's axe lies free,

And the reaper's work is done.

The twilight star to heaven,

And the summer dew to flowers,
And rest to us, is given

By the cool soft evening hours.

Sweet is the hour of rest!

Pleasant the wind's low sigh,
And the gleaming of the west,
And the turf whereon we lie;

When the burden and the heat
Of labour's task are o'er,

And kindly voices greet

The tired one at his door.

Come to the sunset tree!

The day is past and gone;

The woodman's axe lies free,

And the reaper's work is done.

Yes; tuneful is the sound

That dwells in whispering boughs;

Let us come

* "The loved hour of repose is striking. to the sunset tree." See Captain Sherer's interesting Notes and Reflections during a Ramble in Germany.

THE MEMORY OF THE DEAD.

171

Welcome the freshness round!

And the gale that fans our brows.

But rest more sweet and still
Than ever nightfall gave,
Our yearning hearts shall fill
In the world beyond the grave.

There shall no tempest blow,
No scorching noontide heat;
There shall be no more snow,
No weary wandering feet.

So we lift our trusting eyes

From the hills our fathers trode,

To the quiet of the skies,

To the Sabbath of our God.

Come to the sunset tree!

The day is past and gone ;
The woodman's axe lies free,
And the reaper's work is done.

THE MEMORY OF THE DEAD.

FORGET them not :-though now their name

Be but a mournful sound,

* "Wohl ihm, er ist hingegangen
Wo kein schnce mehr ist."

SCHILLER'S Nadowessiche Todtenklage.

Though by the hearth its utterance claim
A stillness round.

Though for their sake this earth no more
As it hath been may be,

And shadows, never mark'd before,
Brood o'er each tree;

And though their image dim the sky,
Yet, yet forget them not !

Nor, where their love and life went by,
Forsake the spot!

They have a breathing influence there,
A charm, not elsewhere found;
Sad-yet it sanctifies the air,

The stream-the ground.

Then, though the wind an alter'd tone
Through the young foliage bear,
Though every flower, of something gone
A tinge may wear ;

Oh! fly it not!-no fruitless grief
Thus in their presence felt,

A record links to every leaf

There, where they dwelt.

Still trace the path which knew their tread, Still tend their garden-bower.

Still commune with the holy dead

In each lone hour!

HE WALKED WITH GOD.

The holy dead!-oh! bless'd we are,

That we may call them so,

And to their image look afar,

Through all our woe!

Bless'd, that the things they loved on earth,
As relics we may hold,

That wake sweet thoughts of parted worth,
By springs untold!

Bless'd, that a deep and chastening power
Thus o'er our souls is given,

If but to bird, or song, or flower,

Yet all for Heaven!

173

HE WALK'D WITH GOD.*

(Genesis v. 24.)

HE walk'd with God, in holy joy,
While yet his days were few;
The deep glad spirit of the boy
To love and reverence grew,
Whether, each nightly star to count,

The ancient hills he trode,

"These two little pieces," (He walked with God,' and The Rod of Aaron,') says the author in one of her letters, "are part of a collection I think of forming, to be called Sacred Lyrics. They are all to be on Scriptural subjects, and to go through the most striking events of the Old Testament, to those far more deeply affecting ones of the New." The two following are subjoined, as having been (probably) intended to form a part of the same series.