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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the uppar left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., p^uvent etrs fiimte A dee taux de rMuction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre reproduit en un seul cHch^, il est filmd i partir de Tangle supirieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Las diagrammes suivants itiustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 I i(o'^"3 \2>u.vsvv^t \\, lii'-l iiiHJ < , : , SUMMER EVEPvING CONTEMPLATIONS. 3Y THE REV. ADAM HOOD BURWELL. Montreal : pBWTBE Br LOVELL AND GIBSON, SX. NICHOLAS 8XBKBX. 1849. ■1^ mmmmm 8 I m SUMMER EVEMING €0NTEMPUTI01tS. I The sun descending, rolls his flaming orb, Beyond tiie bounds of Huron's ample ware. That glitters in his parting beams. He goes To shed his light on western isles remote— His daily light upon the Isles that spot The outspread bosom of that mighty deep. The vast Pacific, in itself a world. Wo see it reaching forth from pole to pole With giant arnic ; eternal frost abides On either hand ; the burning Une between. Its sunny isles receive their daily meed, Of light rnd blessing from the solar beams, M'^hile Ocean pours his own profusion round. n. Sut onward rolls the sun. His lingerhig rays Brighten the evening clouds, whose ridges, rolled In rising volumes, fill the glowing east With floating hills of flto, that seem forest Upon some neighbouring land. But deeper sink. The sun behind the spheric earth, when, lo I The western sky and zenith all are spread With broken clouds, whose scattered fragments blush •/'he red of heaven, skirted with other dyes Of ever varying shade. Th' empyrean vault, Behind the scene, presents its dark back-ground ; The intermediate tints, bright or iscure, Jmmingling soft, into each other 1 an. And change, and sink, and vanish out of sigh*, Or longitudinal, in wavy stripes That mimic ocean's face, tlie canopy Of clouds from north to south, and givft Alternate crimson facings on a ground Of purple slate. But soon the vision fades. And leaves the splendid scene a dusky veil, That only hides the coining stars, until The breath of Heaven dissolves it into air. in. H Oft have I watched these visionary things The close of day presents— the various shades (Inimitable tints) surrounding Heaven Presents to the beholder ; marked their change, And gazed— but not with philosophic eye ; And mused — but not Avith philosophic mind; And thought— but only as the untaught think ; For science ne'er unlocked her stores, nor poured Her treasures forth to me. But whv repine ? Or why the seeming pleasures grudge, which might Have been (but have not) had fair fortune smiled, And science oped her treasures ? Why despond; As for an irremediable loss r It need not be ! Short thogh the present life, Poor and contracted in its largest bound. And mean and meagre its attainments all, And these the seeming favours of a few, It is not so; and I will not repine That life is short, and meagre is the stream- Inflowing, the ambitious heart to fill, And R;>te capacities that but enlarge By drinking e'en this stream. Eternity Stretches beyond the little bound of time,— Eternity, that never knows aa end ! And time is but the introduction brief To this Eternity. The child of Time If the beginning of the future man. And bis acquirements but the preface are, — The introduction to an endless theme. Eternity shall take this future man, This child of Time, — and carry forward what la now but just begun in him, and train Him for itself. No more an heir of death, Clt'gged with the countless 'cumbrances of Tim*, — But freed from these, him shall Eternity Keceive, and fashion to his now estate, ^ K \nd buUd hira uj) m ererlastinj; liff ;Vith every needful increment, and fill, With healt'.ful pabulum, capacities, That, growing, shall enlarge as they are fed. And feeding, shall grow up aa trees of God; To fulness in their measure grow, and be Forever beautiful in leaves and fruit, And in their fruitfulness and beauty good. The Man himself shall be a spreading tree, And every faculty a fruitful bough, Largely outbranching from the parent stem. As branches grace the vine : and Man shall fiU The destiny pronounced at hia creation, And fill it to the glory of his God. IV. Kright sets the sun. Thus when the good man quits This world of travail, life's poor journey o'er, His sun descends serene. The sting of death Is plucked for those who die the good man's death ; And they can part with friends as those who part In sura and certain hope to meet again, And meet in life. Life is not life unless •Tis passed forever o'er the bound of death. •Tis resurrection-power that gives this life, And then confirms it. Up through death this power Ascended, conquering Satan, death and hell; Conquering for man. 1 he dying Christian know. That death is but a transient sleep, the whde His weary members rest, fwd rest in hope. The glorious morn of immortality Is near : and He, the Sun of Righteousness, «' The Resurrection and the Life," shall call The dead, and they shall answer with their presence Where, in the light, the living meet their Head. And then they come with Him in open sight. To take dominion o'er thai world which erst Cast out their names as evil from its presence. And what is their revenge ? 'Tis that of God Who sends them forth the angels of His peace, To rule the world in righteousness forever. Now lingers twiUght on the verge of Heaven, Vested in sober grey. The feathered tribes Have sung their latest song, and hid themselve. a2 fn their ni;,'iit coverts deep. Tlie peeping stdi** Shine out and gem the azure firmament With lamp* minute, profusely scattered round The ambient Heavens, each with its ruddy ftame. Its tiny twinkling light. Clear is the sky, Nor cloud, nor vapour, rests upon its face, To intercept the ray that passes down, Unhindered, through the deep blue crystal vault— The seeming vault of space o'erarching all : Emblem of hcavcnly-mindedness, where naught Of error lingers to withstand the truth. Where naught of passion unsubdued remain* Antagonistic to the light divine, Descending from the Source profound of light, For the instruction of the sons of Truth. O ! for tl.r.t light, which sliines to lighten all, To rise, increasing to the perfect day, The day of glory, when the Sun Himself Of Righteousness, with healing on His wings. Comes forth to scatter all the gloom of night, And drive the prowling beasts to seek their dens; And there abide, troublers of earth no rcoret O ! for that light to lighten every man I O ! for that truth upon the inward parts To write its living law, and fill the world With righteousness, and happiness, and peace. n. But evening sighs its latest breeze, and wafts On silenced wing, the roaring or the surge — That, restless, beats on Erie's rugged roclis, Roused by the gale of noon ; or tumbles rough Round the projecting point where Huron's shore*. Winding away, stretch wich indentures deep, And long urotrusions, far into the land ; Or where Ontario spreads his blue expa-.^. , Begirt with rugged stones, or forests dar^ Tliat overhang the fiood. The listening ear Pays willing homage to the soothing sound That breaks at intervals the solemn pause Of sober evening; first abrupt, then low, Retreating, dying, till succeeding waves Waken afresh the melancholy dirge. Half slumbering on the bosom of the night. And the hoarse bull-frog, from his stagnant pool. Chim€s to its murmur, solemn, deep, and grave. KnA with his note acute the ^'^'P-P"'':-^"' . Beginn hi. night-song 'ncath the spreadmg bu.h And rouses echo from the uoighhounng «ood To whistle back his music. •'h^'-P^'^"^;^""' That ceases not till morn. The flre-fly staru out from the sedgy covert where he lay Secure and hidden while the «l--"f ;;^" , His bright effulgence poured upon the earth. And flies abroad, and lights his tmy lamp, Ambitious to be seen. Along the stream rorimeandering-t.ixtitsbanUshe.how. Hislittleray; or where the marshy 0,1. Luxuriant shoots its reedy burthen up. vti. BviUiant with clustering stars deep night come. on. !na calm and placid aU; and undisturbed. I fain would wend my solitary ^vay BeTde the rivers brink, or by the shore O erlooking far the broad expanse ot some Of our buge inland seas. The surface smooth And mrrror-faced, reflects the e-npyrean vault. Ind "ems a heaven beneath, the counterpart Of that above, with all its starry hosts : For now the waters are at rest and peace. Perhaps Niagara in the distance breaks. With voice suppressed, the deep repose of n.ght Voices of thunder rolling far away, Subdued and sad, in long continuous peal. L^broken as the stream that rushes down The rocky steep. That everlasting vo.ce '. The rocKj ^ .ceaseless roar, ,u bunder inlls undiminished .tre.sth, „ !, the Bow of Promise and of Peace, ItiSineowTi x'.^mthfi Source of hght, In light proceedmg f'°J 3°; I'l,, thrown. And backward from the cloudy pma To say that God His covenant remembers rcoVenat.t with man and with the earth. I Tin. ^1^ t love to listen to the dasliing oar Th.it breaks the glassy bosom of the wav?, Liidimpletl by u nophyr, while the barge Is passing by with music, half obscured Behind the whitish .nist that hovers low t'pon the placid surface of the stream. Harmonic numbers swell the trembling air, That wafts the breathing melody of Hute And dulcet voice— rich, soft, deep, full, and sweet. The balanceii oar kee^-s time, and mcrks the bars M'ith downward stroke vibiuiin,;;. and the blade Dips true. Now brisk the bolder lumbers rittc ; Now sink in cadence sweet ; pathetic now; And now they die away in murmuring strains, Mellowed by distance, till the atteritive ear Listens in vain. 'Tis audible no more To me ; but musing let i le sit :iwhlle, And in imagination hear, and back Recall the fleeting pleasure for a space, And feast in siilence on the dulcet strains. The voice of music spoke : that voice returns, Borne on imagination's mystic wftig, And echoes through the chambers of the soul, Which feasts, and rests and rises satisfied. For music for a feaet was given to man ; — For sober fe.isting, not for riot given; But first and chicftestfor the praise of God, That man might worship Rim in highest feast, And drink refftshment from the living font. And drink and live, and live and drink forever. \A IX. And now along the regions of the south, Where the horizon nieets the bending sky, The distant thuuder-clouds, in ridgy folds. Hang on the burthened air with profile dark, Uneven as the hills whose rocky sides, Cliff above clil^', ui rugged grandeur rise, And to the skies heave their enormous heads. There play the lightnings, and the liquid lire, Flash after tiash, enkindles all the south With sudden bursis of light, and all the cloud* Alternate seem a mountain wrapt in flame, 9 Or dark and blank. But now th., rising moon, 1„ light «ubduetl, liftB up her waning orb, Mounting her nightly car to ri.le aloft, The radiant queen of heaven, and measure half Th' ethereal circle ere her Jlver wheels, Df gccndinr low, dip in the western main. Twjllgh* is fully gone : all Nature rests, Enjoying sweet repose, the special boon Indulge '' javen bestows on all its wor :s. Sleen 1 ■ soothes the animated part, eZu..;- .tvength recruiting; while soft dew. Refresh the vegetable tnbes that drmk The evenin^ vapours, settled and condensed in 8h . ug drops, upon their thirsty leave.. xt. \A The world's at rost. But let my wakefu. .ye* Close not for slumber : let me stay abroad For contemplation, while with wing outspread. Imagination soars among the spheres. And I v'ould linger out the midnight hour Beneuth that wondrou.. canopy of stars. And visit them in thought, remote or near, That mock the ken of astronomic ey., < )r roll in orbs familiar to the reccl< Of optic science. Their unvarying rounds Fair science measures, and their ample orbs True to the eye of Heav.n, incessant wheel In sile-a grandeur through the mighty void. insiie.ii.bi r.nided by theuand Whose boundary i" =iv)t. Ouicea oy Of Him that made them, on they^journej round. Bending their c-ourso precise. The central sun ]>euuiiin i">-" ' . i. I •„!,♦ .Olds all within his grasp, or planet, bnght I„ borrowed splendour, sweeping on its way. or misty comet, whose elliptic aich Far stretches into space. Harmomous, thes. Obey the will of Heaven : yet stlli ascend, A 8 if to mingle in the stellar groups That outward lie ; and there the glonons sun, Diminished, sinks into a twinkling star, And twinkling stars continue twinkling s ir., 10 Mere telescopic dust, and still refuse To show e'en the minutest magnitude I But why such thoughts ? It is that we may think Of Him who made and gave to each his place, Yet condescends to number all our hairs. And suflfers naught to perish through neglect : — To think of Him " whose presence fills all space :" Who for His pleasure made whatever is; Who lighted up the sun, and hung the moon, Balanced the earth, and named and set the stars. To serve for signs, and seasons, days, and years. The rainbow is a sign; the clouds are signs; The thunder has a voice that man should know ; The rapid lightning he should understand : The rnin, the dew, the grass, the trees, the beasts. The birds, the fishes, all should teach him truth. Gold, silver, precious stones, the earth itself, With all its furniture of mountains, hills. Valleys, and streams, deserts, and fruitful plains; The northern cold; the moulding of the snow; The generation of the hail and storms ; The changing winds, the restless roaring sea, That casts up mire and dirt ;— these man should read, And " look through nature— wp to Natures God f" Not so 1— He hath ordained another way. The mystic ladder Isaac's son beheld Of intercourse between the seen and un^seen, Prefigured naught of Nature. God in manhood, Th' Eternal Word made flesh I He is the Way Up to the God of all. He lifts men up. And seats them with Himself, and gives them power Downward to look through all the works of God, And read them in His light. For man was made To have dominion over all creation : So Adam names to all the creatures gave, Because he saw them in the light of God, From whom to them he went. God left him not To grope his way; and win, by long induction, The precious knowledge that we have a God, But shewed himself at once. Lifted is man Within the sphere of Godhead by the Son; Nor looks, nor passes upward, but as He Reveals the Father by Himselt, and leads Heavenward the honored child of dust. The King For wisdom far renowned, by light divine Of beasts and fishes spake, of shrubs uod trees, And birds of every wiug ; and God to him, 11 That mystery divine imbedded ' :ep Close hidden in each one, revealed; and One Greater than Solomon shall open all. And where then shall we find the Christian Muse ? No pagan phantom 'tis, nor made of man, No creature, but the living One who spake By holy men of o\fl .n all the Psalms, The Law, the Prophet?,-in all Holy Ser.pturt. XII. 1 love the lonely hour of niglit, but not For darkness' sake, nor for its works; nor yet Without the precious light of day to tell Of persons, things and places. Light was made Before them all. Nor would I love the night When storms and blackness rule. Night, with its stars, O'ercanopied, is not the darkness dread Which wise and foolish fear alike. 'Twas night When eastern sages came to Bethlehem. Safe guided by the star, and found the Babe, Born in a stable, and their honours paid. Their adoration, and their offerings gave As to a King divine. 'Twas in the night, AS shepherds watched their flocks, the Angel came. From Heaven descending, glory shining round. And told them of the wonder God had wrought. And then the hosts of Heaven appeared, and sung That wondrous song, confirming all His words :- " Glory to God on High; and on the earth, Peace and good will to men." That wondrous song Well might the angels sing 1 well might the Heaven. Break forth in anthems of sublimest strams . But ah ! the world heard not that song ! The world Profound in darkness slumbered. All it- ear That open was that time, for other thmgs Was vigilant. The murderous jealousy Of hell was wakeful in Judea's court; And Herod sought to know the place where He -Was born, with the intent the Child to kill. Not worship. And by night the angel came, And warned the sleeping Joseph, who, by mght. Arose and fled. Chiefly by night the Lord Of Ufe pr evaUed to foil man's foe. By mght The garden witnessed that deep agony WWcl forced the bloody sweat to flow 1 All mght The lifeless body of the Crucified, I Hopeful in death, reposed. And 'twas yt night, When, with a mighty earthqualce, Gabriel came, Ijvterror clad, and rolled the stone away Of entranftd to the dead. And then He rose Whom Deatl^ could not detain ; and, rising. He Became the Resurrection and the Li;e, Destroying death, and him that had its power. Buch are tie uses God hath had for night ; And so He hath outdone the Prince of Darknesa. i /^ And it is good to meditate These mighty themes when night o'erhangs the earth, All nature shrouding in her sable pall. The night hath had its time ; Egypt hath ruled, And with its darkness covered all the barth. . The Prince of Darkness his dominion hath Long exercised in cruelty and craft, And boisterous ruflSan force. But now the end Comes swiftly on ; and, as the Angel came, A son of strength in glory clad, to ope The sepulchre, and strike the kaepers dumb, When thoy the glory saw, the earthquake heard; So He shall come to raise the slee~ing dead BTom out their graves, and by his presence fill The hearts of men with fear. And He shall shaJM All xwtions and all things as then He shook Earth by His power. And He shall sit the Judge. Judgment and jnstice shall before him go, And firom His face all darkness flee away. ^ i ^ •^ V Ks a >w '>^ ^ >• •^ v! "^ rs >, *« Vi ^ • <->. Ni C-, >>> ^« >iJ ^-K* ■^, ?S ^^ o (^ s» • ^ » '«+. ■"i^ •-N ^ ? *• ^ (>s ^. >- 4 *** -.:: •«^ Ci ■:> >. 55 <<« ^1 ■?>. ^ s ?5^ C5, v*Nj ^ ^ ">•. 4^ *^ '*>.