XIV. LEAD, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, The night is dark, and I am far from home, Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see The distant scene, - one step enough for me. I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou I loved to see and chose my path; but now I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still O'er moor and hill, o'er crag and torrent, till And with the morn those angel faces smile, That I have loved long since, and lost erewhile. XV. It was a brave attempt, adventurous he I see the surging brine: the tempest raves: Such is the soul, that leaves this mortal land, Fearless, when the Great Master gives command. Death is the storm: she smiles to see it roar, And bids the tempest waft her from the shore ; Then with a skilful helm she sweeps the seas, And manages the raging storm with ease; Her faith can govern death, she spreads her wings Wide to the wind, and as she sails she sings, And loses by degrees the sight of mortal things. As the shores lessen, so her joys arise, The waves roll gentler, and the tempest dies; Now vast eternity fills all her sight; She floats on the broad deep with infinite delight, The seas for ever calm, the skies for ever bright. XVI. WHAT is death But the bright angel of God's Providence, XVII. TELL me, ye winged winds, Some lone and pleasant dell, Some valley in the west, The weary soul may rest? The loud wind dwindled to a whisper low, And sighed for pity, as it answered - No! Tell me, thou mighty deep, Where weary man may find And friendship never dies? The wild waves rolling in perpetual flow, Stopped for a while, and sighed to answer—No! And thou, serenest moon, That with such holy face Dos't look upon the earth, Tell me in all thy round Hast thou not seen some spot Where miserable man, Might find a happier lot? Behind the cloud the moon withdrew in wo, And a voice sweet, but sad, responded - No! Tell me, my secret soul, O tell me, Hope and Faith, From sorrow, sin and death? Is there no happy spot Where mortals may be bless'd And weariness a rest? Faith, Hope and Love, (best boons to mortals given,) Waved their bright wings and whispered - Yes, in Heaven. To those subdued, and taught by wisdom's voice, Whose cup of joy is ebbing out in haste, Of what life was, and what it might have been, To him who reads with heaven-instructed eye, "T is the first dawning of eternity; The future heaven just breaking on the sight, |