ix.

Song of Light,

and the Catastrophe,

Discontentment,

...

Song-May! Merry May!

A Memorable Mistake,

Our Common Wealth,

The Dreamland Child,

The Shepherd's Delight,

Song of Dying Summer,

The Great Exhibition,

Round the World, in Four Parts,

The Bird-Nest in the Ling,

The Burden in the Breast,

"Another Guy,"

...

...

A Cornfield Carol,

The Bilberry Moor,

Song-A Light Bright Lay,

Words of Christmas Coming,

...

SLEEP.

"O EARTH, SO full of dreary noises; O men, with wailing in your voices;

O delvéd gold, the wailer's heap; O strife, O curse, that o'er it fall; God strikes a silence through you all, And giveth his beloved sleep."

MRS. BROWNING.

The Tide of Even.

PART I.

THE ARGUMENT.-Night-where from. Invisible Ministry at Even. The limits of earthly illuminations. The angel of reflection. The land of light.

PHENCE comes the Tide of Even? From the

XX low,

The hollow leafy dingle, and the valley,

The bosom of the dark Scotch-fir plantation,
And basin of the river in the woodland,
Cometh the Tide of Even. From below,
Not from above, downwafted like a feather,
But from beneath, as from the caves of ocean,
Riseth the Tide of Even, grey and silent.

No! from the far above comes not the dark;
Not from the sungilt moon, nor from the stars,
But from the earth alone. Our darkest night
Is nothing but the shadow of the world,
Gliding out skyward.

Now the sun is setting;

See, while his farewell fires fade slowly out,
How the gloom rises in the quiet valleys,

As the dark water in the shaded well,
Or as the springtide in the river's channel,
Until its banks o'erflow. So cometh Even.

Is it but fancy, when the darkness holds
Dominion o'er the sun-forsaken scene,
That mind is able, in poetic mood,
To feel a presence near, of royal grace,
As if a minister of highest heaven,
With look of love, and upward leading hand,
Arrayed in robe of sun, and crown'd with stars,
Before whose face of smile, tho' awe might be,
Yet nothing, meaning evil, could remain,
Had silently, and visibly, drawn nigh?

Is it but fancy that perceiveth then,

A voice, (not of the earth,) of heaven speaking? A voice that to the musing mind revealeth Tidings of mercy and of lovingkindness;

Of faith and goodness, grace, and truth, and patience;
Of pardon for transgression, and of peace,-

Peace, for the willing and obedient heart,
That, in the day of trouble, shall be, still,—

As quiet as the rainbow in the storm;

Shall have hope here, and have, hereafter, heaven!Is that a vision of imagination?

A fancied fabric, and without foundation?

Something for nothing, may with grace be granted,
But how, from nothing, something may be gained,
To human understanding is unknown;

And left alone, what has the world to give?

Let but the sun go down, the moon not rise,

The stars withdraw their shining, and—what then?
Illuminate?

Try, then, illumination ;

And let whatever art can do, be done : Twist perforated tubes, with skilful hand, Into bold lines of beauty, stars and crowns! Let every private house have its device; Be no expense on public buildings spared. Train coloured lamps around the lofty columnRound base, shaft, capital, and architrave : Dot frieze and cornice with the golden fire, And belt the swelling dome with burning bands! Let light electric, from the dizzy summit, Toss its white arms about, above the city, And flash its lightnings, sweepingly, Let bonfires, like volcanoes, in full blaze, Leap wildly from the mountain to the sky! Let rockets rise, like arrows, to the clouds, Startle the gloom, and send down showers of

stars!

Come now, and see!

afar!