Oft in sadness and in illness, I have watched thy current glide, Till the beauty of its stillness Overflowed me, like a tide. And in better hours and brighter, Not for this alone I love thee, Nor because thy waves of blue From celestial seas above thee Take their own celestial hue. Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee, And thy waters disappear, Friends I love have dwelt beside thee, And have made thy margin dear. More than this;-thy name reminds me Of three friends, all true and tried; And that name, like magic, binds me Closer, closer to thy side. Friends my soul with joy remembers! How like quivering flames they start, When I fan the living embers On the hearth-stone of my heart! 'Tis for this, thou Silent River! BLIND BARTIMEUS. BLIND Bartimeus at the gates Of Jericho in darkness waits; He hears the crowd;-he hears a breath Say, "It is Christ of Nazareth!" And calls, in tones of agony, The thronging multitudes increase; Until they say, Θάρσει, ἔγειραι, φωνεῖ σε! Then saith the Christ, as silent stands The crowd, "What wilt thou at my hands?" Rabbi, restore the blind man's sight!" Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε! Ye that have eyes, yet cannot see, In darkness and in misery, Recall those mighty Voices Three, Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με Θάρσει, ἔγειραι, ὕπαγε! Η πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε! THE GOBLET OF LIFE. FILLED is Life's goblet to the brim; No purple flowers,-no garlands green, This goblet, wrought with curious art, And as it mantling passes round, Above the lowly plants it towers, Was gifted with the wondrous powers, It gave new strength and fearless mood; And gladiators, fierce and rude, THE GOBLET OF LIFE. Mingled it in their daily food; Then in Life's goblet freely press New light and strength they give! And he who has not learned to know The prayer of Ajax was for light; Let our unceasing, earnest prayer That crushes into dumb despair O suffering, sad humanity! I pledge you in this cup of grief, The alarm, the struggle,-the relief,- |