Page:The Poets and Poetry of the West.djvu/231

 1830-40.] AMELIA B. WELBY. 215 We cannot shield a troubled breast With the church in the distance that stood Beneath the confines of the blessed, on the green ; Above, below, on earth, in air. The soft-sloping meadows lay brightly un- For Thou, the living God, art there. rolled, With their mantles of verdure and blos- Yet, far beyond the clouds outspread, soms of gold. Where soaring fancy oft hath been, And the earth in her beauty, forgetting to There is a land where Thou hast said grieve. The pure of heart shall enter in ; Lay asleep in her bloom on the bosom of In those far realms, so calmly bright. eve. How many a loved and gentle one Bathes its soft plumes in living light, A light-hearted child, I had wandered away That sparkles from thy radiant Throne! From the spot where my footsteps had There souls, once soft and sad as ours. gamboled all day. Look up and sing mid fadeless flowers ; And free as a bird's was the song of my They dream no more of grief and care. soul, For Thou, the God of peace, art there. As I heard the wild waters exultingly roll. While, lightening my heart as I sported along. With bursts of low laughter and snatches of song, I struck in the pathway half-worn o'er the PULPIT ELOQUENCE. sod By the feet that went up to the worship of The day was declining ; the breeze in its God. glee, Had left the fair blossoms to sing on the As I traced its green windings, a murmur sea, of prayer. As the sun in its gorgeousness, radiant and With the hymn of the worshipers, rose on still, the air, Dropped down like a gem from the brow And, drawn by the links of its sweetness of the hill ; along, One tremulous star, in the glory of June, I stood unobserved in the midst of the Came out with a smile and sat down by throng ; the moon, For awhile my young spirit still wandered As she graced her blue throne with the about pride of a queen. With the birds, and the winds, that were The smiles of her loveliness gladdening singing without ; the scene. But birds, waves, and zephyrs were quickly forgot The scene was enchanting ! in distance In one angel-like being that brightened the away spot. Rolled the foam-crested waves of the Chesapeake Bay, In stature majestic, apart from the thi-ong. While bathed in the moonlight the village He stood in his beauty, the theme of my was seen, song!