But mark! what arch of varied hue
From heaven to earth is bow'd?
Haste, ere it vanish !-haste to view
The rainbow in the cloud!

How bright its glory! there behold
The emerald's verdant rays,
The topaz blends its hue of gold
With the deep ruby's blaze.

Yet not alone to charm thy sight
Was given the vision fair-
Gaze on that arch of colour'd light,
And read God's mercy there.

It tells us that the mighty deep,
Fast by the Eternal chain'd,

No more o'er earth's domains shall sweep,
Awful and unrestrain❜d.

It tells that seasons, heat and cold,
Fix'd by his sovereign will,
Shall, in their course, bid man behold
Seed-time and harvest still ;

That still the flower shall deck the field,
When vernal zephyrs blow,

That still the vine its fruit shall yield,
When autumn sunbeams glow.

Then, child of that fair earth! which yet Smiles with each charm endow'd,

Bless thou His name, whose mercy set

The rainbow in the cloud!

THE SUN.

THE sun comes forth each mountain-height Glows with a tinge of rosy light,

And flowers that slumber'd through the night
Their dewy leaves unfold;

A flood of splendour bursts on high,
And ocean's breast gives back a sky
All steep'd in molten gold.

Oh! thou art glorious, orb of day!
Exulting nations hail thy ray,
Creation swells a choral lay

To welcome thy return;

From thee all nature draws her hues,

Thy beams the insect's wing suffuse,

And in the diamond burn.

Yet must thou fade! When earth and heaven

By fire and tempest shall be riven,

Thou, from thy sphere of radiance driven,

O sun! must fall at last ;

Another heaven, another earth,

New power, new glory shall have birth,

When all we see is past.

But He who gave the word of might,

"Let there be light," and there was light,

Who bade thee chase the gloom of night,
And beam the world to bless ;
For ever bright, for ever pure,
Alone unchanging shall endure
The Sun of Righteousness!

THE RIVERS.

Go! trace th' unnumber'd streams, o'er earth
That wind their devious course,

That draw from Alpine heights their birth,
Deep vale, or cavern source.

Some by majestic cities glide,

Proud scenes of man's renown;

Some lead their solitary tide
Where pathless forests frown.

Some calmly roll o'er golden sands,
Where Afric's deserts lie;

Or spread, to clothe rejoicing lands
With rich fertility.

These bear the bark, whose stately sail
Exulting seems to swell;

While these, scarce rippled by a gale,
Sleep in the lonely dell.

Yet on, alike, though swift or slow

Their various waves may sweep,

Through cities or through shades, they flow To the same boundless deep.

Oh! thus, whate'er our path of life,
Through sunshine or through gloom,
Through scenes of quiet or of strife,
Its end is still the tomb.

The chief whose mighty deeds we hail,
The monarch throned on high,
The peasant in his native vale—
All journey on to die!

But if Thy guardian care, my God!
The pilgrim's course attend,

I will not fear the dark abode
To which my footsteps bend.

For thence thine all-redeeming Son,
Who died the world to save,
In light, in triumph, rose, and won
The victory from the grave!

THE STARS.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy-work."-PSALM XIX. 1.

No cloud obscures the summer sky,
The moon in brightness walks on high;

And, set in azure, every star
Shines, a pure gem of heaven, afar !

Child of the earth! oh, lift thy glance
To yon bright firmament's expanse ;
The glories of its realm explore,
And gaze, and wonder, and adore!

Doth it not speak to every sense
The marvels of Omnipotence?

Seest thou not there the Almighty name
Inscribed in characters of flame ?

Count o'er these lamps of quenchless light,
That sparkle through the shades of night:
Behold them! can a mortal boast
To number that celestial host?

Mark well each little star, whose rays
In distant splendour meet thy gaze:
Each is a world, by Him sustain'd
Who from eternity hath reign'd.

Each, kindled not for earth alone,
Hath circling planets of its own,
And beings, whose existence springs

From Him, the all-powerful King of kings.

Haply, those glorious beings know
No stain of guilt, or tear of woe;
But, raising still the adoring voice,
For ever in their God rejoice.