A voice is heard, that mortal ears hear not,
Till thou hast touch'd them; 'tis the voice of song,
A loud Hosanna sent from all thy works;
Which he that bears it with a shout repeats,
And adds his rapture to the gen'ral praise.
In that blest moment Nature, throwing wide
Her veil opaque, discloses with a smile
The author of her beauties, who, retir'd
Behind his own creation, works unseen
By the impure, and hears his pow'r denied.
Thou art the source and centre of all minds,
Their only point of rest, eternal Word!
From thee departing they are lost, and rove
At random without honour, hope, or peace.
From thee is all, that sooths the life of man,
His high endeavour, and his glad success,
His strength to suffer, and his will to serve.
But O thou bounteous giver of all good,
Thou art of all thy gifts thyself the crown!
Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor;
And with thee rich, take what thou wilt away.
ARGUMENT OF THE SIXTH BOOK,
Bells at a distance.-Their effect.-A fine noon in winter.-A sheltered walk.-Meditation better than books. Our familiarity with the course of nature makes it appear less wonderful than it is.-The transformation that spring effects in a shrubbery described.-A mistake concerning the course of nature corrected.-God maintains it by an unremitted act.-The amusements fashionable at this hour of the day reproved. Animals happy, a delightful sight.-Origin of cruelty to animals.That it is a great crime proved from Scripture.-That proof illustrated by a tale.-A line drawn between the lawful and unlawful destruction of them.-Their good and useful properties insisted on. Apology for the encomiums bestowed by the author on animals. Instances of man's extravagant praise of man.-The groans of the creation shall have an end.-A view taken of the restoration of all things. An invocation and an invitation of Him, who shall bring it to pass.-The retired man vindicated from the charge of uselessness.-Conclusion.
THERE is in souls a sympathy with sounds,
And as the mind is pitch'd the ear is pleas'd
With melting airs or martial, brisk or grave;
Some chord in unison with what we hear
Is touch'd within us, and the heart replies.
How soft the music of those village bells,
Falling at intervals upon the ear
In cadence sweet, now dying all away,
Now pealing loud again, and louder still,
Clear and sonorous, as the gale comes on!
With easy force it opens all the cells
Where Mem'ry slept. Wherever I have heard
A kindred melody, the scene recurs,
And with it all it's pleasures and it's pains.
Such comprehensive views the spirit takes,
That in a few short moments I retrace
(As in a map the voyager his course)_{# The windings of my way through many years. TIO2 Short as in retrospect the journey seems,
It seem'd not alway short; the rugged path,
And prospect oft so dreary and forlorn,
Mov'd many a sigh at it's disheart'ning lengths tu
Yet feeling present evils, while the past
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Faintly impress the mind, or not at all, le 92060 al
How readily we wish time spent revok'd, om anλ
That we might try the ground again, where oncedT
(Through inexperience, as we now perceive) baA
We miss'd that happiness we might have found how
Some friend is gone, perhaps his son's best friend,
A father, whose authority, in show 5%
When most severe, and must'ring all it's force, "I
Was but the graver countenance of love garey)
Whose favour, like the clouds of spring, might low'r
And utter now and then an awful voice,
But had a blessing în it's darkest frown,
Threat'ning at once and nourishing the plant.
We lov'd, but not enough, the gentle hand,
That rear'd us. At a thoughtless age, allur'd - Apk
By ev'ry gilded folly, we renounc'd
His shelt'ring side, and wilfully forewent load W That converse, which we now in vain regret,conf How gladly would the man recall to life see buÁ The boy's neglected sire! a mother too, wedT That softer friend, perhaps more gladly still, szodW
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