Now the flame rises fast you exult in my pain But the son of Alknomook can never complain. I go gone; to the land where my father is Death comes, like a friend, to relieve me from pain, CXLIII.-THE SEASONS. BENNETT. [From a volume of poems by W. C. BENNETT, published in London, in 1850, marked by considerable poetic sensibility and a pure tone of feeling. The analogy between the four seasons and the various periods of life is obvious and familiar; but the idea here is happily wrought out.] A BLUE-EYED child that sits amid the noon, All beauty that is throned in womanhood A happy mother with her fair-faced girls, In whose sweet spring again her youth she sees, An aged woman in a wintry room; Frost on the pane, without, the whirling snow; Of pleasures past, and griefs of long ago. CXLIV.-TO LILIES. MRS. HEMANS. FLOWERS! when the Saviour's calm, benignant eye Then in the bosom of your purity A voice he set, as in a temple's shrine, And though too oft its low, celestial sound, CXLV.-EXHORTATION TO PRAYER. ANONYMOUS. Nor on a prayerless bed, not on a prayerless bed For they alone are blessed Whom angels keep; Nor, though by care oppressed, Or anxious sorrow, Or thought in many a coil perplexed For coming morrow, Lay not thy head On prayerless bed. For who can tell, when sleep thine eyes shall close, That earthly cares and woes To thee may e'er return? Arouse, my soul, Slumber control, And let thy lamp burn brightly; Taught by the Spirit, learn To lay thine unblessed head. Hast thou no pining want, or wish, or care, That calls for holy prayer? Has thy day been so bright There is no trace of sorrow? Will be like this, and more Thy soul may wing its flight. Hast thou no being than thyself more dear, And when storms sweep the wintry, lowering skies, O, when thy pangs are deepest, His ear is open to thy cry; O, then, on prayerless bed Lay not thy thoughtless head. Arouse thee, weary soul, nor yield to slumber, Till in communion blessed With the elect ye rest, Those souls of countless number; And with them raise The note of praise, CXLVI-THE DUTY AND INFLUENCE OF MOTHERS. WEBSTER. [From a brief address to the ladies of Richmond, Virginia, in October, 1840.] Ir is by the promulgation of sound morals in the commu nity, and more especially by the training and instruction of the young, that woman performs her part towards the preservation of a free government. It is generally admitted that public liberty and the perpetuity of a free constitution rest on the virtue and intelligence of the community which enjoys it. How is that virtue to be inspired, and how is that intelligence to be communicated? Bonaparte once asked Madame de Staël in what manner he could best promote the happiness of France. Her reply is full of political wisdom. She said, "Instruct the mothers of the French people." Mothers are indeed the affectionate and effective teachers of the human race. The mother begins her process of training with the infant in her arms. It is she who directs, so to speak, its first mental and spiritual pulsations. She conducts it along the impressible years of childhood and youth, and hopes to deliver it to the stern conflicts and tumultuous scenes of life, armed by those good principles which her child has received from maternal care and love. If we draw within the circle of our contemplation the mothers of a civilized nation, what do we see? We behold so many artificers working, not on frail, perishable matter, but on the immortal mind, moulding and fashioning beings who * Pronounced Stahl. are to exist forever. We applaud the artist whose skill and genius present the mimic man upon the canvas; we admire and celebrate the sculptor who works out that same image in enduring marble; but how insignificant are these achievements, though the highest and the fairest in all the departments of art, in comparison with the great vocation of human mothers! They work, not upon the canvas that shall perish, or the marble that shall crumble into dust, but upon mind, upon spirit, which is to last forever, and which is to bear, for good or evil, throughout its duration, the impress of a mother's plastic hand. I have already expressed the opinion, which all allow to be correct, that our security for the duration of the free institutions which bless our country depends upon habits of virtue, and the prevalence of knowledge and of education. The attainment of knowledge does not comprise all which is contained in the larger term of education. The feelings are to be disciplined; the passions are to be restrained; true and worthy motives are to be inspired; a profound religious feeling is to be instilled; and pure morality inculcated under all circumstances. Mothers who are faithful to this great duty will tell their children, that neither in political nor in any other concerns of life can man ever withdraw himself from the perpetual obligations of conscience and of duty; that in every act, whether public or private, he incurs a just responsibility; and that in no condition is he warranted in trifling with important rights and obligations. They will impress upon their children the truth, that the exercise of the elective franchise is a social duty, of as solemn a nature as man can be called to perform; that a man may not innocently trifle with his vote; that every free elector is a trustee, as well for others as for himself; and that every man and every measure he supports have an important bearing on the interests of others, as well as on his own. It is in the inculcation of high and pure morals such as these, that in a free republic woman performs her sacred duty, and fulfils her destiny. |