That God alone should prop the sinking soul,
Fills them with rage against His empire now :
I traverse earth in vain from pole to pole,
To seek one simple heart, set free from all below.

They speak of love, yet little feel its sway,
While in their bosoms many an idol lurks;
Their base desires, well-satisfied, obey,

Leave the Creator's hand, and lean upon His works.

'Tis therefore I can dwell with man no more; Your fellowship, ye warblers! suits me best :

Pure love has lost its price, though prized of yore, Profaned by modern tongues, and slighted as a jest.

My God, who formed you for His praise alone, Beholds His purpose well fulfilled in you:

Come, let us join the choir before His throne, Partaking in His praise with spirits just and true!

Yes, I will always love; and, as I ought, Tune to the praise of Love my ceaseless voice; Preferring Love too vast for human thought, In spite of erring men, who cavil at my choice.

Why have I not a thousand thousand hearts, Lord of my soul! that they might all be thine ?

If Thou approve, the zeal Thy smile imparts, How should it ever fail! can such a fire decline?

Love, pure and holy, is a deathless fire; Its object heavenly, it must ever blaze:

Eternal Love a God must needs inspire, When once He wins the heart, and fits it for His praise.

Self-love dismissed, 'tis then we live indeed,-

In her embrace, death, only death is found;
Come, then, one noble effort, and succeed,

Cast off the chain of self with which thy soul is bound.

Oh! I could cry, that all the world might hear, Ye self-tormentors, love your God alone;

Let His unequalled excellence be dear,

Dear to your inmost souls, and make Him all your own!

They hear me not.-Alas! how fond to rove
In endless chase of folly's specious lure!
'Tis here alone, beneath this shady grove,
I taste the sweets of truth,-here only am secure.

THE SWALLOW.

I AM fond of the swallow ;-I learn from her flight,
Had I skill to improve it, a lesson of love :
How seldom on earth do we see her alight!
She dwells in the skies, she is ever above.

It is on the wing that she takes her repose,

Suspended and poised in the regions of air;
'Tis not in our fields that her sustenance grows,
It is winged like herself, 'tis ethereal fare.

She comes in the spring, all the summer she stays,
And, dreading the cold, still follows the sun :—
So, true to our Love, we should covet his rays,
And the place where he shines not, immediately shun.

Our light should be Love, and our nourishment prayer;
It is dangerous food that we find upon earth:
The fruit of this world is beset with a snare,
In itself it is hurtful, as vile in its birth.

'Tis rarely, if ever, she settles below,

And only when building a nest for her young;
Were it not for her brood, she would never bestow
A thought upon anything filthy as dung.

Let us leave it ourselves ('tis a mortal abode)
To bask every moment in infinite Love;
Let us fly the dark winter, and follow the road
That leads to the Dayspring appearing above.

A FIGURATIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURE OF
DIVINE LOVE,

IN BRINGING A SOUL TO THE POINT OF SELF-RENUNCIATION
AND ABSOLUTE ACQUIESCENCE.

'Twas my purpose, on a day,
To embark and sail away;
As I climbed the vessel's side,
Love was sporting in the tide;

"Come," he said, "ascend! make haste,
"Launch into the boundless waste."

Many mariners were there,
Having each his separate care;
They that rowed us held their eyes
Fixed upon the starry skies;
Others steered, or turned the sails
To receive the shifting gales.

Love, with power divine supplied,
Suddenly my courage tried;
In a moment it was night,
Ship and skies were out of sight;
On the briny wave I lay,
Floating rushes all my stay.

Did I with resentment burn
At this unexpected turn?
Did I wish myself on shore,
Never to forsake it more?
No:-"My soul," I cried,
"If I must be lost, I will."

"be still!

A CHILD OF GOD LONGING TO SEE HIM BELOVED.

In this sequestered corner,
None hears what I express;
Delivered from the scorner,

What peace do I possess !
Beneath the boughs reclining,
Or roving o'er the wild,

I live as undesigning

And harmless as a child.

No troubles here surprise me ;
I innocently play,
While Providence supplies me,

And guards me all the day :
My dear and kind Defender
Preserves me safely here,

From men of pomp and splendour,
Who fill a child with fear.

HAPPY SOLITUDE-UNHAPPY MEN.

My heart is easy, and my burthen light;
I smile, though sad, when Thou art in my sight :
The more my woes in secret I deplore,

I taste Thy goodness, and I love Thee more.

There, while a solemn stillness reigns around,
Faith, Love, and Hope within my soul abound;
And while the world suppose me lost in care,
The joys of angels, unperceived, I share.

Thy creatures wrong Thee, O Thou Sovereign Good!
Thou art not loved, because not understood;
This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile
Ungrateful men, regardless of Thy smile.

Frail beauty and false honour are adored;

While Thee they scorn, and trifle with Thy Word;
Pass, unconcerned, a Saviour's sorrows by;

And hunt their ruin with a zeal to die.

ASPIRATIONS OF THE SOUL AFTER GOD.

My Spouse! in whose presence I live,

Sole object of all my desires,
Who knowest what a flame I conceive
And canst easily double its fires;
How pleasant is all that I meet!

From fear of adversity free,
I find even sorrow made sweet;
Because 'tis assigned me by Thee.

Transported I see Thee display

Thy riches and glory divine;
I have only my life to repay,
Take what I would gladly resign.
Thy will is the treasure I seek,

For Thou art as faithful as strong;
There let me, obedient and meek,
Repose myself all the day long.

My spirit and faculties fail;

Oh finish what love has begun!
Destroy what is sinful and frail,

And dwell in the soul Thou hast won!
Dear theme of my wonder and praise,
I cry, who is worthy as Thou!
I can only be silent and gaze :
'Tis all that is left of me now.

O glory in which I am lost,

Too deep for the plummet of thought! On an ocean of deity tossed,

I am swallowed, I sink into nought. Yet lost and absorbed as I seem,

I chant to the praise of my King: And, though overwhelmed by the theme, Am happy whenever I sing.

DIVINE JUSTICE AMIABLE.

THE TRIUMPH OF HEAVENLY LOVE DESIRED.

AH! reign, wherever man is found,
My Spouse, beloved and divine!
Then I am rich, and I abound,

When every human heart is Thine.
A thousand sorrows pierce my soul,
To think that all are not Thine own :
Ah! be adored from pole to pole;
Where is Thy zeal ? arise; be known!
All hearts are cold, in every place,
Yet earthly good with warmth pursue;
Dissolve them with a flash of grace,

Thaw these of ice, and give us new!

TRUTH AND DIVINE LOVE REJECTED BY THE WORLD.

O LOVE, of pure and heavenly birth!
O simple Truth, scarce known on earth!
Whom men resist with stubborn will;
And, more perverse and daring still,
Smother and quench, with reasonings vain,
While error and deception reign.