BRING FLOWERS. Young bride, a prayer for thee, That all thy hopes possessing, Thy soul may praise her God, and He 85 BRING FLOWERS. MRS. HEMANS. BRING flowers, young flowers, for the festal board, To wreathe the cup ere the wine is poured; Bring flowers! they are springing in wood and vale, Their breath floats out on the southern gale; And the touch of the sunbeam hath waked the rose, To deck the hall where the bright wine flows. Bring flowers to strew in the conqueror's path; Bring flowers to the captive's lonely cell; Bring flowers, fresh flowers, for the bride to wear; Bring flowers for the locks of the fair young bride! Bring flowers, pale flowers, o'er the bier to shed, For this through its leaves hath the white rose burst, Though they smile in vain for what once was ours, They are love's last gift; bring ye flowers, pale flowers! Bring flowers to the shrine where we kneel in prayer · They break forth in glory; bring flowers, bright flowers! SOLITUDE. BYRON. THERE is a pleasure in the pathless woods, FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT. From these our interviews in which I steal To mingle with the universe, and feel What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal. FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT. 87 BURNS. Is there, for honest poverty, That hangs his head, and a' that; Our toil's obscure, an' a' that, What though on hamcly fare we dine. Gi'e fools their silks, and knaves their wine. A man's a man for a' that; For a' that, an' a' that, Their tinsel show, and a' that; The honest man, though e'er sae poor. Is king o' men for a' that. Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord, Wha struts, and stares, and a' that; 88 KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM. For a' that, an' a' that, His ribbon, star, and a' that, A prince can mak a belted knight, Their dignities, an' a' that, The pith o' sense and pride o' worth Then let us pray that come it may, That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, For a' that, an' a' that, It's coming yet, for a' that, KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM. COWPER. KNOWLEDGE and wisdom, far from being one, Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells In heads replete with thoughts of other men; Wisdom in minds attentive to their own. NOVEMBER. Knowledge - a rude, unprofitable mass, 89 The mere materials with which Wisdom builds, NOVEMBER. BRYANT. LET one smile more, departing, distant sun, Or snows are sifted o'er the meadows bare; Shall murmur by the hedge that skirts the way, The cricket chirp upon the russet lea, And man delight to linger in the ray. Yet one rich smile, and we will try to bear The piercing winter frost, and winds, and darkened air. |