To live; because full well he is assured, Thy hand does lead him, thy right hand upholds.* And thy right hand does lead him. Lo! at last, One sacred eve, he hears, faint from the deep, Music remote, swelling at intervals, As if the embodied spirit of sweet sounds To Bethlehem's shepherds,† as they watch'd their flocks. Breathless, the man forlorn listens, and thinks "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."-Psal. cxxxix. 9, 10. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for, behold! I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."-Luke ii. 8-14. "In some seas, as particularly about the coast of Malabar, as a ship floats along, it seems during the night to be surrounded with fire, and to leave a long track of light behind it. Whenever the sea is gently agitated, it seems converted into little stars; every drop as it breaks emits light, like bodies electrified in the dark."-Darwin. Approaching to the land; straightway he sees Harsh, but most grateful: downward drop the Ingulfed the anchor sings; the boat is launched; O then the transport of the man, unused Of perils of the sea he has no dread, Full well assured the missioned bark is safe, For days, for nights, illumed by phosphor lamps; 4 To see, while o'er the side he leans, his face Let worldly men Who joy and glory in the cross of Christ! But messengers, commissioned to announce They too, though clothed with power of mighty works Miraculous, were oft received with scorn; Oft did their words fall powerless, though enforced By works of love,-the slave set free, the sick Received as brothers at the rich man's board. Torn from their country, borne across the deep, * Sunflower. "The seeds of many plants of this kind are furnished with a plume, by which admirable mechanism they are disseminated far from their parent stem."-Darwin. Trembling beneath the white man's fiend-like frown! Yet even to scenes like these, the SABBATH brings Alleviation of the enormous woe: The oft-reiterated stroke is still; The clotted scourge hangs hardening in the shrouds. Wherein 'tis written, Thou shalt do no murder: O England! England! wash thy purpled hands Of this foul sin, and never dip them more In guilt so damnable! then lift them up In supplication to that God, whose name Is Mercy; then thou may'st, without the risk Of drawing vengeance from the surcharged clouds, Implore protection to thy menaced shores ; Then God will blast the tyrant's arm that grasps The thunderbolt of ruin o'er thy head; Then will he turn the wolvish race to prey Upon each other; then will he arrest The lava torrent, causing it regorge Back to its source with fiery desolation. Of all the murderous trades by mortals plied, 'Tis War alone that never violates The hallowed day by simulate respect,— From morn to eve Destruction revels frenzied, That erst hung imaged in the crystal tide.+ And what the harvest of these bloody fields? And chains on arms that wielded Freedom's sword. *Church steeples are frequently used as signal-posts. After a heavy cannonade, the shivered branches of trees, and the corpses of the killed, are seen floating together down the rivers. |