And the strong and fearless bear, in the trodden dust shall lie;

And the dolphin of the sea, and the mighty whale, shall die.

And realms shall be dissolved, and empires be no

more;

And they shall bow to death who ruled from shore to shore;

And the great globe itself, so the holy writings

tell,

With the rolling firmament, where the starry armies dwell,

Shall melt with fervent heat: they shall all pass

away,

Except the love of God, which shall live and last

for aye.

W. C. Bryant (from the Spanish).

CHILD

2. TRUSTING LOVE.

HILDREN of heaven, love ye the merciful
Father;

Wish what the Holy One wishes, as not from fear, but affection:

Fear is the virtue of slaves; but the heart that loveth is willing.

Perfect was before God, and perfect is love, and love only.

Lovest thou God as thou oughtest? then lovest thou likewise thy brethren.

Bears not each human figure the Godlike stamp

on his forehead?

Readest thou not in his face thine origin? Is he not sailing,

Lost like thyself, on an ocean unknown? and is he not guided

By the same stars that guide thee? Why shouldest thou hate, then, thy brother?

Hateth he thee, forgive! For 'tis sweet to stammer one letter

Of the Eternal's language: on earth it is called forgiveness.

Knowest thou Him who forgave with the crown of thorns round his temples;

Earnestly prayed for his foes, for his murderers? Say, dost thou know him?

Ah! thou confessest his name: so follow likewise his example.

Think of thy brother no ill, but throw a veil over his failings;

Guide the erring aright: for the good, the heavenly Shepherd

Took the lost lamb in his arms, and bore it back to its mother.

This is the fruit of love; and it is by its fruits that we know it.

Tegner (trans. by Longfellow).

3. THE GUIDES.

TAKE ye henceforth, as guides in the paths

of existence,

Prayer, with her eyes raised to heaven, and Innocence, gem of your childhood.

Innocence, child beloved, is a guest from the world of the blessed;

Beautiful, and in her hand a lily: on life's roaring billows

Swings she in safety: she heedeth them not; in the ship she is sleeping.

Calmly she gazes around in the turmoil of men

in the desert:

Angels descend and minister to her; she herself knoweth

Nought of her glorious attendance, but follows faithful and humble,

Follows as long as she may her friend. Oh! do not reject her;

For she cometh from God, and she holdeth the keys of the heavens.

Tegner (trans. by Longfellow).

THE

4. PATIENCE.

HE night is mother of the day;
The winter, of the spring;

And ever upon old decay

The greenest mosses cling.
Behind the cloud the starlight lurks,
Through showers the sunbeams fall;
For God, who loveth all his works,
Has left his hope with all.

J. G. Whittier.

THE

5. SONG OF FAITH.

HE day is quenched, and the sun is fled:
God has forgotten the world!

The moon is gone, and the stars are dead:
God has forgotten the world!

Day will return with a fresher boon:
God will remember the world!
Night will come with a newer moon:
God will remember the world!

Evil is only the slave of good;
Sorrow, the servant of joy;
And the soul is mad that refuses food

Of the meanest in God's employ.

The fountain of joy is fed by tears,

And love is lit by the breath of sighs: The deepest griefs and the wildest fears Have holiest ministries.

Strong grows the oak in the sweeping storm;
Safely the flower sleeps under the snow;
And the farmer's hearth is never warm
Till the cold wind starts to blow.

Day will return with a fresher boon :
God will remember the world!
Night will come with a newer moon:
God will remember the world!

J. G. Holland.

6. SONG OF CONFIDENCE.

OR summer's bloom and autumn's blight,

For bending wheat and blasted maize,

For health and sickness, Lord of light
And Lord of darkness, hear our praise!

We trace to thee our joys and woes,
To thee of causes still the Cause:

We thank thee that thy hand bestows,

We bless thee that thy love withdraws.