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SACRED EXTRACTS IN VERSE.

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The Creation.

ERE Time began his circling race,
Or light adorn'd the waste of space,
Dwelt the first, great, eternal One,
In unimparted bliss alone.

Wrapt in himself, he view'd serene
Each aspect of the future scene;
Then bade at length that scene unfold,-
And Nature's volume stood unroll'd.

He said, "Be Light!"-and light upsprung:
Be Worlds!"-and worlds on nothing hung:
More swift than thought the mandate runs,
And forms ten thousand kindling suns.
When all the wondrous scene was plann'd,
Inimitably fair and grand;

In emanations unconfined,
Forth flow'd the life-diffusing mind.
From the rapt seraph, down to man,-
To beasts-to worms-the spirit ran;
And all in heaven, and all on earth,
Det 'Midst shouts of joy, received their birth.

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She staid her steed upon a hill-she saw them marching by-
She heard their shouts she read success in every flashing eye;-
The tumult of the strife begins-it roars-it dies away;
And Mary's troops and banners now, and courtiers where are they?
Scatter'd and strewn, and flying far, defenceless and undone,-
O God! to see what she has lost, and think what guilt has won!
Away! away! thy gallant steed must act no laggard's part;
Yet vain his speed, for thou dost bear the arrow in thy heart.

The scene was changed. Beside the block a sullen headsman stood, And gleam'd the broad axe in his hand, that soon must drip with blood.

With slow and steady step there came a lady through the hall,
And breathless silence chain'd the lips, and touch'd the hearts of all;
Rich were the sable robes she wore her white veil round her fell-
And from her neck there hung the cross-the cross she loved so well!
I knew that queenly form again, though blighted was its bloom,—
I saw that grief had deck'd it out-an offering for the tomb!

I knew the eye, though faint its light, that once so brightly shone,—
I knew the voice, though feeble now, that thrill'd with every tone,→
I knew the ringlets, almost grey, once threads of living gold,-
I knew that bounding grace of step-that symmetry of mould!
Even now I see her far away, in that calm convent aisle,
I hear her chant her vesper-hymn, I mark her holy smile,-
Even now I see her bursting forth, upon her bridal morn,
A new star in the firmament, to light and glory born!
Alas! the change! she placed her foot upon a triple throne,
And on the scaffold now she stands beside the block, alone!
The little dog that licks her hand, the last of all the crowd
Who sunn'd themselves beneath her glance, and round her footsteps
bow'd!

Her neck is bared-the blow is struck the soul is pass'd away;
The bright-the beautiful-is now a bleeding piece of clay!
The dog is moaning piteously; and, as it gurgles o'er,

Laps the warm blood that trickling runs unheeded to the floor!
The blood of beauty, wealth, and power-the heart-blood of a

queen,

The noblest of the Stuart race-the fairest earth has seen,-
Lapp'd by a dog! Go, think of it, in silence and alone;
Then weigh against a grain of sand, the glories of a throne!

H. G. Bell

"

SACRED EXTRACTS IN VERSE.

The Creation.

ERE Time began his circling race,
Or light adorn'd the waste of space,
Dwelt the first, great, eternal One,
In unimparted bliss alone.

Wrapt in himself, he view'd serene
Each aspect of the future scene;
Then bade at length that scene unfold,→
And Nature's volume stood unroll'd.

He said, "Be Light!"—and light upsprung:
Be Worlds!"—and worlds on nothing hung:
More swift than thought the mandate runs,
And forms ten thousand kindling suns.
When all the wondrous scene was plann'd,
Inimitably fair and grand;

In emanations unconfined,

Forth flow'd the life-diffusing mind.
From the rapt seraph, down to man,—
To beasts-to worms-the spirit ran;
And all in heaven, and all on earth,
'Midst shouts of joy, received their birth.
The tribes that walk, or swim, or fly,
In various movements, spake their joy;
While man, in hymns, his raptures told,
And cherubs struck their harps of gold.
The morning stars together sung,
The heavens with acclamations rung;
And earth, and air, and sea, and skies,
Heard the loud choral anthem rise.

All glory to the Eternal give,

From whom we spring, in whom we live;
Be his almighty power adored,
The sovereign, universal Lord!"

Drummond.

God is Every Where.

OH! show me where is He,

The high and holy One,
To whom thou bend'st the knee,
And pray'st," Thy will be done!"
I hear thy voice of praise,

And lo! no form is near;

Thine eyes I see thee raise,

But where doth God appear?

Oh! teach me who is God, and where his glories shine, That I may kneel and pray, and call thy Father mine.

Gaze on that arch above

The glittering vault admire!
Who taught those orbs to move?
Who lit their ceaseless fire?
Who guides the moon, to run
In silence through the skies?
Who bids that dawning sun

In strength and beauty rise?

There view immensity!-behold, my God is there—
The sun, the moon, the stars, his majesty declare!

See, where the mountains rise;
Where thundering torrents foam;
Where, veil'd in lowering skies,
The eagle makes his home!
Where savage nature dwells,
My God is present too—
Through all her wildest dells.

His footsteps I pursue:

He rear'd those giant cliffs-supplies that dashing stream-
Provides the daily food, which stills the wild bird's scream.

Look on that world of waves,
Where finny nations glide;
Within whose deep, dark caves,
The ocean-monsters hide!

His power is sovereign there,
To raise to quell the storm;
The depths his bounty share,

Where sport the scaly swarm:

Tempests and calms obey the same almighty voice, Which rules the earth and skies, and bids the world rejoice.

Nor eye nor thought can soar
Where moves not he in might;-
He swells the thunder's roar,
He spreads the wings of night.
Oh! praise the works divine!
Bow down thy soul in prayer;
Nor ask for other sign,

That God is every where—

The viewless Spirit he-immortal, holy, bless'd-
Oh! worship him in faith, and find eternal rest!

The Destruction of Sennacherib.

Hugh Hutton.

THE Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen;
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host, on the morrow, lay wither'd and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed on the face of the foe, as he pass'd;
And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still.

And there lay the steed, with his nostril all wide,
But through it there roll'd not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider, distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail;
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted, like snow, in the glance of the Lord.

Byron.

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