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THE NIGHT WATCHES.

"I sleep, but my heart waketh."

The sun is sinking in the west,
The labourer's hast'ning home to rest,
The beast to lair, the bird to nest;
To watch and pray, O man, is best.

The angels, ne'er weighed down with sleep,
In Heaven eternal vigil keep;

Oh! in the hour of darkness deep
Rejoice, ye saints, ye mourners, weep.

Now cleanse the soul from earthly soil,
Now fill the lamp with holy oil,
Now the great Tempter's projects foil,
Lest of the heart he make a spoil.

PEACE.

"There was no more sea."

Restless the waves of human passion swell
Over the vast expanse of earth's domains,
Never to cease, while earth itself remains
With Heaven and Hell:

But when earth, Heaven, and Hell shall pass away Then has the Lord ordained with them shall cease This angry tumult, and instead, the peace

Of endless day.

ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS.

"He shall give his angels charge concerning thee."

In the dark night, when all is still,

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With silent motion through the air
Unnoticed they descend,

They seek not empty homage here,
God's glory is their end.

The sick, the wounded in the strife,
The faint, the sore distrest—
To these they whisper words of life
And dreams of holy rest.

At early dawn with gentle hand
They break the calm repose,
And onward cheer the pilgrim band
Through all earth's toils and woes.

Grant, Lord, that, when life's day shall end,
And death's dark night is come,
Thy Angel-guards may still attend
To bear our spirits home.

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