Page:The Domestic Affections, and Other Poems.pdf/63



Than all the diamond's crystal rays, Than all the emerald's lucid blaze; And joys of heav'n would thrill thy heart, To bid one bosom-grief depart, One tear, one sorrow cease!

Then, oh! may heav'n, that loves to bless, Bestow the pow'r to cheer distress; Make thee its minister below, To light the cloudy path of woe; To visit the deserted cell, Where indigence is doom'd to dwell; To raise, when drooping to the earth, The blossoms of neglected worth; And round, with lib'ral hand dispense, The sunshine of beneficence!

But, ah! if fate should still deny Delights like these, too rich and high;