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النشر الإلكتروني

PLEASURE AND PAIN.

THE flower that smiles in morn of May,
The beam that cheers declining day,
The lambkin round its mother playing,
The village circle blithely haying,
Our hearts delight.

Thunders roaring, winds resounding,
Billows sea with sky confounding,

Earthquakes rumbling, Ætna flaming,
Storms from nature tribute claiming,
Our Souls affright.

Children, duteous, kind and loving,
Parents oft with smile approving,

Fond affection's glist'ning tear,

And Religion, treasure dear,

Far more delight.

Constant bickerings, quarrels, jars,

Frowning that enjoyment mars,

Bitter scolding, jars unfolding,

Thoughtlessly the moments rolling,

Far more affright.

MAN'S THOUGHTLESSNESS.

MOCK horrors scare us. Often does a dream

Call up the crazy shape of grisly terrors,

Which frighten and alarm,

And mad our reeling sense :

Thro' the dim distant gloom some eye seems peep.Mantled in thicker darkness direful anticks move,

And ghosts, with pale dull ghastliness

Flit horrible along

Such seemings scare us,

While the thoughts of Death, of Hell,

And Justice unappeas'd,

Roam wilder'd thro' our minds-like strangers

Wondering how they came there.

THE BOOK.

THERE is a book, whose leaves are penn'd by truth,

Worth more to mortals than the world beside :

Its pow'rs divine-'twill guide our thoughtless youth,
Where else sure failure would its way betide.

How vast the wealth which here enclosed dwells,

More than this Earth with all Creation shews;

Of prospects beauteous as the stars it tells,

And Hope, like floods of beaming light, from this one volume flows.

Open one page-a scene of Heaven you view,
Turn onward and it glows, increasing bright-
Till floods of glory-still attaining new,
Roll forth upon your wond'ring, ravish'd, sight.

Then visions from the deadly deep 'twill call;
'Twill shew you Death, the progeny of sin,
'Twill state the horrors of one guilty fall,
And at the first rebellion dire begin.

'Twill spread out Hell and tell you why prepar'd; "Twill scatter Chaos' causes o'er your sight: "Twill shew you evil, and by whom 'twas made, With the black horrors of dark brooding night.

The latent cause of suns and stars 'twill tell,
And why this orb is wheeling in its round,
How man, immortal, first came here to dwell,
By whom was plac'd, and on what chosen ground.

"Twill shew you young Rebellion on the earth, "Twill shew him dragging down the race of man, With monsters vile, of most perfidious birth, Who smile to aid with all the strength they can.

Twill roll forth thunders as the due of sin-
"Twill shew you Justice, flam'd with ready fires,
-Then-from the dark abyss our souls to win,
You'll see mild mercy beaming her desires.

But stop-already is there drawn enough,
Of glooming darkness, horror and despair,

Some other scenes I'd pencil, pleasing proof

That goodness more than vengeance habits there.

Behold-with wond'ring awe-a God from Heav'n-
Descending thro' the worlds admiring round!
Behold him milder than the lamb that's given,
With infant blood to strew the hallow'd ground!

Oh glorious now unfolds the brightest scene ;-
Life, light, and love are floating o'er the page ;-
Our thoughts are rais'd to the eternal green,
And mercy all divine our hearts engage.

He comes-all this that wond'rous volume shews

He comes-and mantled in a garb of clay

He stands amid the careless eyes of those,

Who viler are than dust of beaten way.

A prey to Sin-he gave himself to Death-
-Ha! monster! didst not thou affrighted start,
Did not dank horror se ze thy creeping breath,
When first thou raisedst up the Hellish dart!!

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