IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ / {•/ 1.0 I.I 1.25 !? ilia t 1^ 1.4 jIM 1.6 V] <^ /2 '<^. 7 '/ M EX TO TAIiOlt MKI.ODIE.S. Abba Fatliev ^^^^^• Abfiibiuu's l)i-livi'i luice . '^•' Acliiui 47 Abircplio] An Abmidiuit iOiitraurc , Ascension, The P>;iltii of Gileud Be Still 5(3 r,<) io;i J better to Dej)art Better to Depart ajid be ut'lle'st ,;!; Beishazzar's Feast .. Bethany Blessedare the Pure in Heart Byron 78 107 GO 87 Cain ( iun's llemorse. Calvary Cloud 24 42 42 m upon the Sea Captive Delivered, The ... ^'-^ (denser Bearer.s . C'"' Choral Music '. 72 Christ's Tears !-■* Christ at Jacob's Well ^-1 ('hrist at >,'ain 88 Christ's Lowliness.. ^^ Chri.st Asceudinf,' . -'7 Christ Deseendin-,'.. . 102 (!hristiii.n Fellowship H'' Cloud of Witnesses, The l*^'* Closini,' Sonnet U'l ,, . 125 Daniel D avid 7 David and Jonathan.,....!!'.,,^! ^^ David's (Jrief. Dawn, The Di'ath of :\[oses Death D 58 GO 55 eath is Yours... Death of Time K^i Deadly Breach. The . l'-^-^ Desire to Depart T^ Dives 35 Desert shali Jiejoice, The •*'* Descent of Joy G8 Destroying AiiL'el 7:5 l^eluge, The G4 Dyin;,' Thief, The.. '^^ First Sahljath, The 40 Foam Wreath Babble, The :jO Friend, To a 1(5 Friend of Sinners b(J Friendship 10 Fruitof Faith 114 Fulness of Christ 70 Genius Genius of the I'sahnist 00 Go and Sin Js'c) i>iore ',)') Trod Created tho Heavens and the Earth ;38 God's Ijamb 74 Gof4 and Maj^oj^ 12!} (4ood Ground. The jSl Good Siiepherd, The lished Death lUl Heavens, Tile ;j<) Heavenly Sabbath ]21 Heavtiiily Peace 121 Her Lips do Speak 17 Hidden Manna 110 Horeb 41 Hope ;J2 Humility 77 In Memoriani .. 21 1 am in a Strait I07 I Covet More ;{4 1 (to Away % 1 Hear Its Echoes 124 Ishmaei 40 Intercession HI I shall See the King in His Beauty 07 Jacob's Well 89 Jetteau, The y J eren liali 08 Jesus Wept 112 ■■/•^; INDEX TO TAHOIl .M HI.ODl KS, Jol), TAGK 41 Joiiiih 70 Judas JW Josliuii oil Mtnuit Both Hciroii r»() Joy 110 6 7 00 01 Hij 70 ■10 Koiits Kirk Wjiito. Henry fjast Soliloquy of Judas I^azavus LiMul M(! to tlu.' liiglit I.ily. Tho Tiot My i'eoi.luGo Livinj! Fnitli 82 Jjiviuf^ Tuniplu li:J JjOVo 112 aravtynloin of Stc!]ih(:u lOi .Vlau of Hovi'ows, Tlio 05 Madonna. The 12 Maud 11 .MeditatL(JU ]\ririaui Muteor, The IVIirrored 1''Unvors, The JNIoou, The Movninu 2(5 53 ;ji 10 ai ;5 7 117 81 55 HO :\Iystery Iiuine. The 74 My Wayward Muse 1 I\Iountaiu Pines. The :Mouiit of (Tod.Tlie .. Jloiint Tivbor Mo.ses at Horub I\Iusie Naauiaii .. Nathaniel 8;} Nativitv. The 7y Nif,'ht CJoiueth, Tlie 2(5 N iueveh 71 Oaten Iveed (/'/'('./((cv) vii Ocean Shuon H Old MelodiciS , 28 Oulv a liittk! Soaee lOH Out of the Fold HC, One with Christ 100 rast Eternity. The :i8 Peace 2;J I'eiiiel 48 Pente(!ost lOo Peters Denial 'J8 Pharaoli's Overthrow 5;i Pliiiip's Visit to Bauuiria 105 l*lea for the Dru ukard 15 Pla;4ue of Hail 50 Pla.que of the Nil 50 Piai^ue of Darkne,. 51 I'raiso liy Praise in Heaven 78 Prayer 07 Prayi'r of Lfuiuel, 'I'he 05 Prodigal Son, The (55 Promiised Land, The 118 Prophet on the Mount, Tho 07 VI INDEX TO TAllOIl MELODIKS. Publiam.Tho "0 Iiiiiiuh-op, Tlio Kod Sea, Thn llomorse of -ludaH, The , Host n ' " 52 100 ' .' ''',',[ [ JS KdHiirrcftioii, The 1"' Kispali <)l Kispah's Gri(3f' <>1 ilouiiioii J7 Kivoii Cloud. Tlio '•> lioom on Top, There's l'> Kuth r>7 Saul's (!onvcrsi()ii IOC) Hecret riaeo. The ■->! Searlieaf Tlie 2^ Shadow of Death, The K'O Sion's Defence 71 Slec;i) 27 Smyrna 115 Sn 1 i t ten H 111 )1 )le. T 1 1 e 5 Smitten StiUKlai-d-hearer, The 11 So Little Done lOS Soiif,' of the Hee :*:> Son^' of t he Hutter il y •^'•> Soni,' of the Ocean 'M Sower. The 87 Spirit of Peace 11 Sjiring 2 Spr in j^ ] jcaves 2 Star of th(! Nativity 7(> Still Sniiill Voice. The 02 Stony Ground, The 81 Tabor 86 Take Up Thy Cross 113 Take Tny Son 47 Tears of Olivet % Temperate in All Thin{,'s 11 Temptation 77 ^renth Plague, The 51 Thomas 122 Thornv Ground. The bO Thoughts that are Not 20 Thousand Islands, The lb Time ;i9 Time and the Hour-glass '.'A Time's Coursi- 122 Troubling of the Waters 91 Truth Unchangeable '1-1 Truth 45 Twilight 20 Vesper Hour, The 22 Waiting 125 Wanderer. The 120 Wanderuig Dawn, The i We Hold the Flower 24 Wuie Cup, The 15 Witch of Enaor, The 50 Withhithe Veil 54 Wrestling Jacob 48 Why Stand Ye Gazing 102 Zaccheus 82 Zephyr, The 5 E nil A T A . Page 10, 7th lire, should < 1 10, GUth 1/3 jj;.>. iiu J J VI FNF)EX TO TAIIOI! MKLODIES. Puljlican, TIk; IiaiiKlrop, Tlio . Kod Soa, Tin .. 1)0 n 52 11 10 Waiidenng ])awii, The . We Hold tlie Flower. . 4 Wine Cup, The ',■■.;.' ^ Witch of Eij.ior, The !■' Withhi the Veil ''''^''^''''. •''■* Wrestling Jacob ^^ Why Stand Ye Gazing "^ Zaccheus Zephyr, The 82 5 I. ( ^•* :'() 10 I. ( I'KKl-'ACK. THl': OATEN KEED. I /{'t^J ,'3|^HE^'^^^ simple melodies like echoes Hit ; Yet list their inissinj^ notes aloiii; the mead, — Life's soft warm l)reathings though an oaten reed. Far from the groves where new-made laurels greet The gifted muse, and rustle at lier feet, These woodland strains the shepherds only heed. No passions revel here, no hei-oes bleed, No muffled plots their horrors liere repeat. To cast their shadows on the multitude. I am content, the fragrant INIaythorn air That fills with sweets the margin of the wood, All hushed should listen to my carols here, — Their mingling fall, soft as a gentle rain. With dewlike drops would kiss the thirsty plain. TABOR MELODIES. MY WAYWARD MUSE. .r~^ ^^S when at dawn, the lark doth phimo its wings, ' ^"^^ Gkincing o'er stream and mount to meet tlie bhie, And from its breast doth shake the morning dew, Ere from earth's shadowed perch, it heavenward springs ; Then fiutt'ring soars, and soaring sweetly sings, But thinks now how or why it upward flew : So, rapt in the wide landscape's o[>'ning view, In all the hues and harmonies of things The tints of flowers, of woods, of ocean's sheen ; I too would give this universe a tongue. To me a radiance rests u])on the scene. As of an iris o'er the hilltops flung. Tempting the flight of this my wayward nnise, Whose restless wings are wet with nightly dews. 2 TABOR MELODIES. SPRING. jI^c AIL, thou sweet si)int of tlie coming s[)ring I ■^ I feel tli^' gentle influence everywlieie ; Tliou bast ;i thousand voices in the air ; For tliiM^ the forests and the streamlets sing, Which lat(; were still 'neath wintei-'s brooilin^' winir. And the dull earth horselt, methinks, doth heai-. And sn)iles with })romise of the jdenteous year. Thy quick'ning breath refreshes everything ; The valleys dream of thy bright robes of green ; The yellow crocus decks the streamlet's brink, The modest violet tints its leaves unseen, And, in the hues of evening, seems to sink. This moving dust is conscious of the strife. And every nerve of Nature thrills with life. SPRING LEAVES. ^C^ AW ye the living leafage of the spring, ^ What time the voices of the grove and d(^ll Their tender tale of love so sweetly tell \ Lo I the clear dewdro})S there stood quivering, As though on their own rays, they might take wing Like Nature's music over mead and rill ; And all the leaflets trembled on the hill As if some tender tone, soft echoing. Had lisped the name of each and sung its praise ; The beauty of its form, its mitred edge, The vivid green it timidly betrays, Its rustling ri[>ple o'er the waving sedge. And all the harmonies of light and shade In which its virgin beauty was arrayed. TABOR MELODIES. 3 DAWN— A SKETCH. \x^' DOWN the goldon pluiiiiigo of tlio morn, 'inions for the distant strand ; The lion, 'neath tlieir length'niug shadow, comes. The silent pines -reck not their scream or roai-, Nor that tlie whole earth tremble in their sisrht, When storms do btnid that way their furious car As the loud thunder tram})s adown tlie night. Tliere Joshua-like their outstretched arms shall hold At morn and eve the purple and the gold. HENRY KIRKE WHITE. ^^^^LL trembling faintly on my list'ning ear, ^■ii^ It conies, the full notes flowing to unite Like far Kolian strains when heard at nidit. As when the lark, 'mid sunlit s})leiidors fair, Warbles its notes amid the quiv'ring air. And shakes them out to thrill us with deliirht — Fanning heaven's crystal arches in our sight — And in a silvery strain distinct and clear Pours forth its song and still mounts up to heav'n ; So, gentle Henry, to whose gifted muse The strain Miltonian was so largely giv'n. Thou dost ascend ; and thus thy numbers roll, All cadenced earthward as of heavenly bin:h, To charm through life's short hours the list'ning earth. 8 TABOB MELODIES. THE OCEAN SHEEN. C^HEIvN of that sunliglit, in wlioso tuuber luizo '^ Th« gliissy sea arrays itself at eve, For whom dost thou such gh^winn; tissues weave 1 Wouhl'st thou enshrine Narcissus in the Ijhize Of liis own beauty, 'mid its goklen rays .' And, on his sa})phire coucli, thus inly ch3av(} The sadly i)ining heart, that thou wouldst grieve, To mar with woe the remnant of his days ? Or, art thou envious of the upland scene That skirts the margin of yon winding stream ? Of the springtields, all clothed in tender green, Flushed by the op'ning blossom's earliest gleam ? And wouldst thou dazzle, with this cloth of gold. The simple guardians of the flock and fold 1 THE JETTEAU. [f'HE jetteau clear flings up its silvery shaft. In silken tissue, flowing snowy whiU', Curved like a lily op'ning to the light, IMethinks the nymphs, 'neath its corolla, (|uaffed And glanced from out its waters as they laughed ; Then flung those crystals, sj)arkling thick and bright. To veil their sportive revels from our sight Ahm hide from us the secrets of their craft. Were I that sunbeam, in whose gladsome ray The little elves are whispering all unheard. Ah ! I might bear some golden thought away That, in their realm of gleams, alone is heard ; Or catch some strain of great Apollo's lute To hold the passing hours in rapture mute. TABOR MELODIES, !) THE IITVKN CLOUD. .t Q iTp SAW tho tempest -driven dark'nini; cloud , ^ Lo ! as it rushed iini)etuous on my siglit, Its loose torn kirtU^ kindled into light ; And, as it lifted tlius its riven shroud, There lurked the i)rescient thunder couchant howed, And ulanced from its red folds, and in it 4 might It shook the mountain sunnnits from their height. Zeus heard, and smiled patc^rnally and proud ; Till there the tender radiance of the morn Shone through its decjiest rift, like hope in death, For death, his s])ectral shadow, lifts alone O'er all our pathways as they close beneath ; But hope impierces it to touch her goal And gilds the crown that waits the parting soul. THE KAINDKOl*. .K.W SAW a raindrop si)ai-kle as it fell, ^ I heard its j)atter on the parched leaf. Morn crowned with golden l)eams its season In'ief \ Its tremulous gleaming crystal suited well In those green bowers where beauty loves to dwell ; A diamond were less welcome ihan the waif That In-ought this thirsty spray such sweet relief. And every fibre doth its virtues tell. Are there not scorching deserts on life's ])lain Where, 'neath noon's fervor, men lie down to die 1 Oh would that I were as this dro]) of rain. To touch the hearts that wither whore tliey lie ! Send me, O God, as thou the rain dost send To glad those dewless flowers that earthward bend. 10 TAUOR MELODIES, FRrKNDSTTrP. ■•^ ^ IVFi iiu; tlu! tnic, inalionablo IViojul ^ ' Witli soul too just, and of too nol^lo, mind To jL^lance the tliouglit or breathe tlie word unkind. Two streams, that would in [)oace as one descend, Must toucli an ecjual plain before they ))lend ; While shallow synipatliii's untried and blind. Like bidjblini^ brooks in froth their eddies binound And to tlio l»osom of the vast profound ; [f only tliou canst hi'oatlie its crystal air. Room thoie, to soar to distance infinite! — Not for the vaunting wing, or foot of pride : These cannot sc il(! alone tiie di/zy liciglit, Or sha[)e thiiir courses for its circles wide ; I>ut he wlio stoops to enter wisdom's gatc^, x\nd humbly owns that only (Jod is great. I^JSTASy. jl^JrER radiant brow, I see, pure as the snow, '^■^^ liike the Madonna at the vesper hour. Had slie possessed the heavens for her doucr, Her upturned eye, in its angelic glow, Could not have kindled as it kindles now — Glancin<; like sunset on the distant tower, Then on the dark clouds wlu-re the temi)ests lower, Piercing the rift, how far I may not know. Through the starred sapphires on some hidden shi-ine Within the eternal temple dimly aisled, Like him of ohl, so much, her brow doth shine. There, face to ff^ce, she sees the IJnde tiled. Not from the clei.u or parted by a veil, But jn his throne wreathed in the rainbow pale. 14 TABOR MELODIES. 'i)(i ill! THR SMITTEN STANDARD-BEARER. .UO^ E bore his stjindard nobly to the mote, " "^ In dangers una])palh3d, wliere'er he rode Through the thick smoke of battle and of blood. As 'neath its shade, unfiincliingly, he fought, Its crimson folds encircled all his thought. An iron pillar in his might, he stood Above the wrecks of battle round him strowed. There, through his heart, did speed the fatal shot ; But, in death's grasj), he held the standard still. What dare we, 'neath that eye's uiiilinching ray Fixed as the purpose of his steadfast will, But wrap his red ilag round him where he lay — A gleam of glory o'er a hero's rest. With its loved folds close cleavinuc to his breast. i • 1 TEMPERATE IN ALL THINGS. spijr AIL, beauteous spirit, of the golden mean ! "^ As constellations, that in heaven's ex])ause. Soft meet the twilight hour, thou end o'er the crystal stream and fill thy cai}) ; The light of heaven, upon thy brow, 'twiJl shed, K ejected from its waters calm and pure. So youth's enchanting hours shall come with joy To fan thy tem])los with their brtlmy air, Itohed in that innocence thou wouldst destroy. Dash down the cup of tremhling from thy li[)S ; And fly the deep'ning shades of death's ecli])se ! —c'-P^c— '% A PLEA FOR THE DPUNKARD. ,#=i^> ^TTHIS rock-iihbed earth doth hide within its breast, "cJ In quartz or nuggets pure, more solid gold Than the closed coffers of the world could hold. Pise, brothers, rise, 'tis the divine behest ; Go, lift it up and bring it to the test. It gilds tiie sand and veins the barren wold, Pressed bv the foot of ijain as common mould. Go search the field, the drifting sand arrest, And bring the treasure up into tlie light. There is a furnace that can purge its dross ; The beaten gold shall glitter in your sight ; For such a gain, who would not suffer loss '? Rise, brotheis, rise, this glorious toil divide. Must the poor drunkard perish at your side 'I, £ Hi 16 TABOE MELODIKS. TO EVA. Ill I'll me. :& EAD softly, Kvii,, Mildred's tliiinks tlii-ougli ^ *" Sucli kindly acts as thine, the truest h)ve Exacts from willing hands and liearts above. Love hath a touch of })ure divinity The vulgar never felt and cannot see ; And thine for her, my grateful mind, doth move To imitate the actions I approve, And dip my aged pen paternally In Nature's fount to copy thus her child. With me love's lightest act weighs more than gold ; Gold liath its dross, but love is undefiled. And shows the impress of its heavenly mould ; It comes from thence just like the fruitful rain, And, on this earth, its precious fruits we gain. rO A FRIEND, WITH A ROSE, ON CHRISTMAS MORNING. JjC:d. if W /n^ O, as love's offermg, fair, soft-tinted flower, ^~^ With cpiiveriug sheen, fresli from this heaven of blue, S[)rent o'er with thought that sparkles like the dew ; As on this Christmas morn, Christ's natal hour. In Sliaron's Rose, love sent its richest dower. Tell sweetly tluis ; tell, for thy lips are true. Love's gentle message in each tender hue. Tell her, love's bloom dreads not the winter's power. But bears its beauty Ijravely on the stem ; E'en when the tem})est gathers round its form. Tell her it covets, from love's diadem, To shed its fragrance out upon the storm ; And through the darkness, would the night beguile Like some sweet star that evermore doth smile. i TABOB MELODIES. 17 HER LIPS DO SPEAK. ^OAR thou, my muse, on radiant wing elate, ^ Through all heaven's heiglit of blue with lark-like trill ! An angel o'er thy soaring watches still. Starlike, though hidden as when stars are set, A veiled angel there in heaven doth wait ; And peers and lists adown the holy hill To catch those earthly strains which rise and thrill The golden harps just past the crystal gate, Through some clear vista of the amethyst : And as they swell that angel ear doth bend To hear heaven's echoes through the golden mist. Hail ! shall I thither come, when I ascend i Her lips do speak, but matter is too dense To give their sweetness to the ear of sense. KEIJNTON. ^ES, over there, out on those boundless fields Whose Howeiy slopes, like Pharphar's banks, unite To kiss life's crystal river in the light ; Where the fair tree of life its fruitage yields ; Where every brow the living amaranth shields ; Where all heaven's conquering hosts enrobed in light, Recount their conquests through Jehovah's might ; And his right hand alone the sceptre wields — There, in the golden city of oui- God, Within his palaces, beside his throne ; Where only pure and tearless ones have trod, And the dark shades of change are never known — There, in reunion sweet, like David, we Our lost beloved Jonathan shall see. u \] r^ li ' 18 TABOB MELODIES. 4 i>l: i ! I..|l| REST. 'HOSE placid waters feel the hush of noon ; The vurifxl in;i^»les o'er them softly ^low ; How calm their shortened shadows look below I This airv thistle down above the lawn, All gently floating, glistens in the sun ; And the soft air, refreshing in its How, Just lightly moves the aspen to and fro. The feathered songsters, to their groves, have tiowu ; A witching starlike stillness holds the scene. The whetted scythe is laid upon the sheaf ; The shepherd's flocks rest on the upland green ; And, through the branches, drops a single leaf : It rustles in mine ear its soft release ; And the calm heavens, inviting, whisper pence. THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. ■tWS it the inspiration of a dream '\ ^ The presence felt of some enchanted scene ? Those foliaged isles, across the sunset sheen, Like stately swans, are sailing up the Stream, Robed in the brightness of the morn's first beam : While the St. Lawrence, with a (pieenly mien, In silken silence, softly glides between. As if of Hiddekel those isles might seem, In their primeval beauty of repose ; Worthy of Eve what time, at night's still noon, The angel's rustling wings were wont to close \ And visions blest, to be dissolved too soon, Crowned the still hours of Eden's fair retreat — In every type of loveliness complete. } TABOR MELODIES. 19 ELECTRIOITY. ^jTfT AHTH'8 silent forces are siihlime in niislit "^^^ This mute elastic fluid veiled in aii- ; Tliis pulse of s[)ace, tliis soul of every sphere. That in its subtler essence mocks our sitfht, Yet fills the circle of the intinite ; A presence felt and mo^•ing everywhei'c • A viewless universe of hidden Hre, That oceans cannot (juench nor darkness smite — This, with the swiftness of unfettered thought, Darts through the earth and touches every zone ; As if the universal ear it caueht, And every atom were a telephone To echo singly over land and sea One consentaneous ceaseless symphony. THE FLOW OF TIME. J ME, like the Indus, Hiuks in its own Hand, ^ And, like that ancient stream, with mighty sweep, IJears all its own memorials to the deep. Where is the hallosv(Hl home of youth utistained, With prattling lips so ])owert'ul to command .' Doth lone, sad Rachel, there her vigils keep, Still bending o'er the waters but to weep ( Our childhood s hopes 1 like hers, they seemed to stand, But now they all are scattered far annind And rioat likf freighted sighs upon the flooil. Shiking through eddies to tin* depths profound — No trace is left to show us where they stood. Swift stream, gleam white beneath the twilight stars, Blanched, like the cheek of age, with tlowins: tears. -'T.r- THE SEAR LEAF. ^AY, blushing maple, mirrored in this stream ^ On which the withered waifs of autumn lie. Whence have those leaves of thine their scarlet dye t What gives yon upland scene its ruddy gleam I And skirts the foi-est as with tongues of tiame 1 Ah ! it would seem like Nature's prophecy That e'en the beautiful on earth must die, — Die when their glowing tints the brightest seem ; Die like the meteor flashing on the night. Its splendors darkened to be seen no more. Rustle and gleam, frail leaf; tlius brief and bright The tints of loveliness on every shore ; Thou think'st not where to hide they fragile form. Though darkened as with shadows of the storm. i 96 TABOH MELODIES. • I 11 i THE NIGHT COMKTH. — \ jj^^ hlTTLK wliilo wo weuir our Him-stainud vo«t, •^hc Fhislied with tlie labor both of morn and ovt;. The furrowed ticdd on enrth, we may not leave Till the dark shadows lengthen toward the east, Aufl in the twilight touch the mouutain's cre.st. Tlirough storm and calm, our ])atient way we cleave ; Nor cease to labor till we cease to live — We shall have all eternity to rest. Oh let us work while it is called to-day : The nii^ht is cominu' when no man can work, — Heaven's gold(Mi chime rings iu the shadows gray And in a little while it will be dark. There's no device within the deep, (hirk grave, — All, all is silent where the willows wave. MEDITATION. ^tWLLUSIVE silence, parent of repose, ^ In thee all Nature's hushed into a view ; Our dreaming senses only catch the hue, Or transient outline, that some object throws, Touched by a sudden light ; and then they close As if the soul had bid this earth adieu. And all its scenes were darkened and withdrew. As when the angel that o'er Patmos rose 8tood in the sun that he might catch its light ; So the rap^ soul would lose its grosser sense To hold diviner visions in their flight. And kindle into rapture more intense, Till this rude frame of nature doth dissolve In the clear vision of the things above. fcsti TABOR MELODIES. S7 PKAYKR. Kl^^ broknii, lowly ci'y of cousciou.s uei^d Touches the key of heaven's oonductiiii^ wire, And upward dart its rays of living tire. Whihs hoi^j's first prayer from doubt and anguish frt;ed, The covenant angel bends his ear to read, A band of Hera[)hs strike tludr gohUni lyre ; Then from the court of heaven at once retire, Swift outward striko th(nr gleaming wings, and speed With blissful answers of successful prayer : As when Elijah lingered on the mount ; While from the sea the sprcuiding cloud drew near, And every vale and every parched fount That drinketh watei* of the rain of heaven Steeped its glad lips in the full ajiswei' given. ^I-''- Cf^/ S LE b:P. Alii, balmy slee}) ! sweet solace of the slave, *'-i^ Fn which he drops awhile his galling chain. Crowned with the bliss of [)ast delights again- Tliine is the peace and stillness of the grave, E'en when the maddened tem))ests round thee rave ; And when loud l^attle sliakes his horrid mane, Thou art as calm and [)lacid as the slain. Thou, only thou, canst make the coward biave Or robe misfortune's pallor in a smile. jjabor doth gref^t thee on elysian fields : And e'en tired Nature doth herself l)eguile To dream of heaven and of the rest it yields. Soft, tearless sleep, thou dost life's sorrow chase Or hush its sounds of tumult into peace. 25 TABOR MELODIES. ,J, '\ > I ■ r "i ,i GRIEF. !^'EEP in the shadow of a watery cove, ^-^ Far u]) the half-tide rock that seems her throne, I see mute sorrow sitting pale and lone. Hei- downcast eves are tixed in tenderest love On one sweet face, ri^Hected from above, Rocked on the smooth wave to the monotone Of sounding surf and the bleak wind's low moan. The twilight sad dotli chill the neighboring grove. And all things fade as the tall shadows climb Among the stars ; while Hesper only peers, As w^ith an angel's glance from heaven's fair clinie Whe>*e grief is not, and there are no more tears. Shine on, sweet star of hope, through the long night Of Nature's sorrow, till the morning light. THE OLD MELODIES. 'HE simple melody is over new On the bright hearthstone, or where'er we roam, Like grand "Old Hundred," or like " Home, Sweet Home." Its every strain, to nature's instinct true, Gives with an angel's touch its golden clue ; And our fond memories thronging round us come The home-roof's shade at mellow evening's gloam, The broken circle, and the last adieu : Till tlie rapt spirit revels in each tone. And every close seems sweeter than the last. The old songs claim such treasures as their own, And breathe their influence o'er the buried past ; Till the lost years seemed shrined in melody — A sunset sleeping on a far-off sea. M :i I: ^ffm TABOR MELODIES. 29 THOUGHTS THAT ARE NOT. LONG for what 1 would, but cannot see — This soul-light brightens as my days decline, But ah ! its tender dawn no more doth shine ; And the far hills seem purple o'er the sea. Hid in the twilight of life's dawn from me, I sow and reap, I plant and pluck the vine, And ere I })ress I see the flowing wine, All blushing for itself unconsciously ; But there are shadows on the evening's sheen : For scores of years, life's blosnoms shed their leaves, Like autumn leaves thit perish all unseen, Lost like the vanished tints that autumn weaves. Time hath no record of their perished bloom, Nor recks it when they shed their lost perfume. II 11. SEEM like Rachel weeping for the dead. Their dimpled cheeks, their curls of golden hair, E'en though they are not, seem as if they were. Though they were such as angel thoughts might wed, Translation's heirs, whose soft wliite foot might tread Within the veil, they were so pure and fair. Their shadowed path was clouded oft with care : And night crept in, and stole them as they strayed ; Ere they had thought how lu'ief their stay might be, My tirst-born thoughts are dead, their dreamless sleep Wakes not an echo of the past for me. Ah, think not strangely that I sit and weep ! They found no shelter on the wayside born. And they have perished like the dews of morn. SI f ; 4; ' ray, 'To build a crystal foam- wreath in their play \ Seest thou the bubblers dancing round iibout >. As if the nymphs had kicked them in their route, And sent them gleaming from the mimic fray, Tempting the tiretlies Haunting o'er the lea To spread their wings before the stars are out. There may'st thou see the waters as they Hojy^, liaugh in their sparkling jets at every leap, (latching their echoes wand'ring to and fio Where tlui light shadows o'er the meadows ci'ee]> : The while sweet Hermes folds his weary wings To breathe all night unutterable things. TABOR MELODIES. 31 ■\\ THE METEOR. I' EEN on the amethyst of night, it threw, In pencilled line, its vivid arch of light ; It was so brief, but ah, it was so bright, It feared no shadows darting through the blue. () were my path so pure, its ray as true I A wreath of glory in its onward flight, A radiant meteor on the world's dark night, A Shadrach flashing out, then hid from view. I would not tarry till the clouds should weave Their dimning curtains o'er the glorious scene ; I would in one grand act life's aim achieve, And leave its record on the hearts of men ; h]'eii though I knew when its quick gleam were gone That high in heaven the stars would still shine on. I ! THE MOON. *ELL me, thou silent-footed fairy (|ueen, ^^ That, with soft flowing robes of silvery light, Walk'st througli the starlit palace of the night, Like Jeptha's virgin on the hillto{)S seen ; Why art thou wand'ring heaven and earth between ? Art thou some Peri that to worlds more bright Dost ever hold thine unavailing flight I And yet thy full-orbed countenance, serene, Ts bright with hope ; as if at heaven's gate Thine hand were lifted to throw back the bolt. 'I\)o pure for earth, wliy dost thou longer wait ? Why creeps tiiis shadow like some secret fault All o'er thy brightness, boding sadly still ? As if thou couldst not scale that holy hill. 1 3S TABOR MELODIES. hi,' fi 1 1 ( r-^Tr HOPE. ^HEN the tierce tempest treads the yielding main, ^'^ And its long line of coast looks ghastly pale, As the white breakers glisten in the gale ; Hope's gallant ship pays out her clanking chain, And then conies to, all qniv'ring 'neath the strain As the sheet anchor holds : if this should fail, What were her ribs of oak ? her helm i her sail I Her active crew, her captain brave, were vain ; Naught can avail her but her anchorage. On this hangs all, in this her only trust. The storm, remorseless in its furious rage. Rolls up its billows on a rock-bound coast ; Thus, while the waves of vengeance round us roll, Hope holds in peace the dauntless, trusting soul. I m ! ill III! 111! II THE FLOATING BUBBLE. ^»^EE, on the brook, the bubble's floating wreath, As forth it floats so lightly and so fair. A thousand rays glance through its crystal sphere A myriad rainbows revel round its sheath, As if a living spirit dwelt beneath And shot her magic glances here and there — Like Cupid's arrows tinting all the air — o catch the vows that sighing zephyrs breathe. Whence those reflections kindling in each hue I Found ye those ruddy gleams on sunset skies i Those purple rays, on mountains 'mid the blue 1 And this pale yellow tint, where autumn lies ? Or from its harvest of the golden grain, Just when the dawn stood smiling o'er the plain ? TABOIl MELODIES. 33 THE SONG OF THE BEE. ^N russet brown I seek the flowery dells, To work and sing all tlirongh the sunuuer's day ; I meet with many loit'rers on the way, While I am thinking of the heather l)ells Or peering down into their luscious cells. I see the silly butterflies at play. As if disporting with each sunny ray ; But ah, I wonder where the trilier dwells When chilling snows o'erspread the flowery mead, And the dark tein})est lifts his dreadful wing ! Then, I shall sing without the winter's aid ; And, in my hive, await the flowers of spring. Unthought of evil, in their pathway, lies ; I cannot linger with the butterflies. ^«), ""-■c^" THE SONG OF THE BUTTERFLY. ..M SOAR in light what time the golden morn ^'' Pours through his gates his undiminished flood ; The stars retire, as if in worship bowed, NiHit's pendent dews are quiv'ring on the thorn ; The flutt'ring larks spring upward from the corji ; My wings are tinged as is yon April cloud. Where the pale iris flnds hei-self a sliroud — As thoudi her hues must fade when I am born. Lo I I will sii) the honey from all flowers. And sweej) with giac(>ful wing o'er many a vale. T only live to think of summer hours Thus through life's fragrant avenues to sail With dappled wing, and o'er the lilies bend To taste their sweets, nor ask what is the end. 1 ii:|. 34 TABOB MELODIES. •\ V < ' V TIME AND THE HOUR-GLASS. S the turned glass pours out its grains of sand, The moments glide. Oh me, they cannot stay. How ceaslessly they flow and pass away ! I know they're numbered by divine command. But silence holds them in her slack'ning hand, And the round sum is less'ning night and day ; How much is left, she doth not, may not say ; And in suspense I tread this border land. Oh, what is time, and what eternity, But life's whole birthright parted by death's stream 1 To ])e on earth is evermore to be ; Death seems the waking from this mortal dream. 1 know not when shall come, how soon, how late. The sleep that wakens to that changeless state. I T (JOVET MORE. ,JJTj%'OV'8T thou the painter's work ? the poet's dream 1 "^^^^ The sketch immortal ? the undying song ? Those types of thought that find an angel's tongue, That l)lend the starlight with tlie morning's gleam ; Where genius dwells, enshrined in her own flame. In art's divinest form, forever young : Secure of this, to be forever sung, ijike Dante's muse, monopolizing fame. J covet more than beauty's outward form ; I would behold its substance in the soul — God's image speaking, not the marble dumb, Its Eden splendors, glowing from the whole. Be this my work, to make the diamond shine. And wrap the human soul in robes divine. TABOR MELODIES. 35 DESIRE TO DEPART. JjS^^HEN the vapt spirit like an eagle towers, '-'^ She strikes the mountain-shadows from her wings As through the liglit her upward pinion springs ; The boundless vision, all her being, stirs As the wide seas contract their minished shores, Sinking afar with all created things. Her magic harp, she strikes, of thousand strings. And soars, exulting in her wondrous powers. Ascending swiftly through her faith in God ; As Enoch soared, when beckoned to a throne — fiis shining ])ath with glitt'ring star dust strowed As heaven's unutterable glory shone. Thus would I ipiit the gloom of Nature's night, Earth's desert wastes, to iind the realms of night. -<^- BETTER TO DEPART. ^A^EK the valley by the world unseen, Past where the smitten waters stood apart, With glory glancing from the clouds athwart My chariot way, I stand with brow serene To drop my mantle heaven and earth between, Hushing the raptui-es of this i)eating heart Till the winged coursers through the zenith start. And heaven's full glory bursts upon the scene. Thus like Elijah blessetl, or saintly Paul, 'T'is better to de})art and be witli (Jhiist. It iiuitters not sliould we like Abel fall, Heaven oped its portals to a martyr tirst. 'Twere better pierced Jiis pierced hand to greet, And, falling prostrate, me^ekly clasp his feet. 36 TABOR MELODIES. SONG OF THE OCEAN. "n^/ Vlxrc EAVEN'8 sapphire li.' NOUGH, my licnrt, tliis universe is tliiiie, Tlie finer senses' and tlie passions' food, Free as God's love its [)recious gifts are strowed. It groups them foi' thee like tlie grape-hunt,' vine Bright as eartli's fountains when the sun doth shine ; And just as welcome on life's weary road, For thee unsought its seasons are renewed ; For thee the planets touch each circling sign, And shed for tliee theii* influence day and night, Its crickets chirp for thee when thou would'st rest, The wild l>ii-ds sing for tiiee with op'ning light. And at its close earth folds thee to her breast. To ope for thee her grass green turf \inshorn. At the first dawn of heaven's eternal morn. :S BE STILL. EST, troubled soul, be still and only wait ; Why would'st thou wrestle with a raging sea, I Thou can'st not smooth a ri[)j)le on its way. Can'st thou contend with tempests dark as fate, Or chain the ocean's billows at their height 'i Thou hast no might, let this be all thy plea. Then meekly wait and humbly bend the knee. He only can contiol who did create. Be still, and thou shalt know that He is God, His eye intent beholds the sparrow fall. Heaven's star-eyed vault shall tremble at His nod, And thou shalt hear thy name when He doth call, And smile at storms ; be still, and sweetly rest Thy feverish spirit pillowed on His breast. 38 TABOh MK LOUIES. i,'' THK f»AS1' KTERNTTY. .t^NV18i[iLK. (head epochs of the pust, ^-^ Th(; Tnlinite alone your heii>lits ean scale. Peichanco a time mav come when the dark veil. Which hides the treasures that ye have amassed, Will he, through grace, less darkly overcast. Some blest reflections of their image [»ale The ravished senses of the son) may hail ; And, with profoundest awe, those |tleasure,s taste That fill the bosom of eternity. I daj'e not say that we such grace might ask : Or, that our spiiits in such light could see ; Or, that this finite mind coidd face the task : But, would (rod rend its veil and shew His face, This is His temple and His holy Place. -<^— GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS. TyTN BOUND KjD power can instantly create, "''"'"" In Nature's [»erfect form, all tilings below, Without the ))rocesses by which they grow. The withered arm, that Uhrist did once dilate, Its numbered j)arts, in substance, size, and weight, As true to Nature's use as to its glow, Through every vessel felt life's vital flow — In all its parts 'twas perfect and complete. If Christ, to vindicate His matchless might, Restored that arm, though withered by the curse ; Oh, did not He who said " Let there be light," Create at once this wondrous universe ? In its perfection veiled, e'en from its prime, 'Twaa the first fact ; yet seems the growth of time. TABOH MELODIES. 39 THE HEAVENS. , rf^OD'S voice is licaid tlirouj^li all tlio i-ealms of space ^%J The dej)tlis enroll the records of His iiuine ; The countless host of stai's, with pen oi' Hame, In light its simple charactfrs doth trace ; And, from the tiiniament in every placpi. They image forth the fntinite I AM : For God is light, and from His hand they ("iiuc To beam on us the brightness oi' His face. Arctnriis and the sister pleiades, The myriad systems, burning as tliey sing. Show us His glory in their mingled ravs : Exultant matter as on angel wing Forever more rejoices thus to shine, And meekly minister in things divine. TIME. '/ ^HAKP on the silence of eternity. A myriad mingling sounds symphonious ring ; The stars to their sidereal orbits spring ; And heaven's vast host, new l)orn, exult to try Creation's matin song of ecstasy : While through the depths, these words their echoes tling " Let there be light," light did their voice out wing ; And in that instant time began to be. Thy works, O God, are perfect ; Thou did'st tind, Ere from the darkness Thou did'st call the light, Their perfect image in Thy perfect mind ; And, in the instant of creative might, In outline vast, wrapt in their swaddling shroud, Thy works, in their completeness, finished stood. 40 TABOR MKLODTES. TFMK. 1; I fi If «!l^ ^^«,^ IMK, oiitwiird tliiowu with tiic tirst solar heam, Did, like tliat l)cam, (lescend by it^own force, From (lay «'t(M-nal, as its ])rinial source. Forth, from bt'iicntli Jehovah's throiu!, it came — A Htre-im aslant fiom the etf^-iial stieain, With stars, like pehides, rollii)- THK FIRST SABBATH. <2:r JiTj^O, what a scene salutes the morning's ray ! ^ A thousand sonjjfsters, with their thrilling lavs, Awake in Paradise their notes of }>r{iise. The' bling strains poured from each bending spray ' (, the dawn of the tirst Sabbath-da v. .ne golden light, with tender new-born rays, Floods with its splendor all the eye surveys. The fruit trees bloom ; the dew-sprent flowers are gay. And fill with fragrance all the balmy air ; The leopard ])astures with the soft-fleeced sheep ; The eagle lights beside the timid hare : All, all is peace on earth and in the deep ; While Adam, walking 'mid the cherubim, Uplifts to God his peaceful Sabbath hymn. ■«■ TABOR MELODIES. 41 IM *- X SPIRIT OP TEACE. S|fiAIL, peace ! sweet Spiiit of this Sabbath rest, ^"^ The light of heaven seems shining on thy face ; The iinvoiled glory of the Holy Place Sits on tliy brow and cannot bo displaced. Yet, ah ! with us thou art a transient guest Of silence sweet. Art thou the shepherdess Of some fair region of unruffled space, Where heaven's i)ure thoughts lie lamblike in thy breast. And care and discord never yet were seen 1 Shed forth such influence, calm, as when the dawn Lifts up, on purple wing, its glorious shocm ; And night's dark vapors, all, are upward drawn. Bring forth thy treasures now to mortfd view, As morning makes its diamonds of the dew. L'.y HOPvEB. : H ! that there were, within the hush of thou^^ht. Some Horeb near, some sanctuary found, Some shadowy circuit wide of holy ground Where God alone is seen; some sacred spot Where I might enter with unsandalled foot, And, in the stillness of the glory round, Might there attend the voice of God — the sound Breathed from the burning bush, all else shut out From my rapt ear, but the sweet words that fall As dews descending on the tender herb — To hear my name repeated in his call, And then the name divine, nor aught disturb, Till through this list'ning ear my waiting soul Might thus take in, and comprehend the whole. c ■w 42 TABOB MELODIES. m: It I I CAIN. ^W^HIS demon band ! with this I dealt the blow ; ^ Standing uj)on this spot whereon I tread, I struck him once, — lie staggered, and was dead. Dead ! what is death ] his breath grew faint and low ; I could not stop the crimson carrent's How; And then, he fnintly sighed, and his drooped head, With B.y *ts golden locks about it spread, Lay thus upon my breast. Youth lost its glow ; His cheek grew pale, then strangely damp and cold ; And o'er his eye there came a vacancy, A mist of darkness, as it upward rolled, And pierced my soul with that which maddens me— There was so much of tenderness, of j)ain, As if he should have said, " Can this be Cain 1 " t 1 i ) CAIN'S REMORSE. ^. ^^ H, he is dead, and I am left alone. An outcast cursed, more wretched than the slain. Abel is dead. Ah, would that it were Cain ! His image haunts me since the deed is done j It gleams from every star, from every stone — Each stream, each dewdrop, thence reflects a stain And flings it back upon this burning brain ; And every breeze is burdened with a groan. Night hath no veil ; the waste, no solitude — From horror that's within, 'tis vain to flee ; Guilt hath a thousand tongues that would intrude, A thousand vengeful sparks that cannot die. Burn in, blaze out, ye furies of the mind, Cain hath no rest ; and there is none to find. TABOli MELODIES. 43 ENOCK. 5f|^HREE hundred years in fellowship divine, •^ The sainted Enoch challenged human sight ; He walked with God, in God was his delight. Full on his soul, that seemed its living shrine, The Sun of Kighteousness did ever shine ; Thence virtue's rays streamed out on the dark night Of centuries, that could not quench the light. His sj^otless name is still the pledge, the sign. Of Chrisc's full triumph, to the end of time. Love clasped him mortal to its throbbing heart, And changed his robes to suit the heavenly clime ; Then, step})ing o'er death's empire of the sod. Just breathed the gold-leaved gates of life apart — And Enoch walks forever with his God. ENOCH'S TRANSLATION. sn/JcAIL, eldest born of heaven's translated heirs ! ■^ Surely on earth thou wert for glory meet ; Thy lifted brow, the face of God, did meet In fellowship divine, three hundred years ; Until its light seemed changeless as the stars. Didst thou not mark the impress of his feet 1 Were not the accents of his A^oice most sweet ? Beneath his smile, thou couldst have no more fears. He, in creation, had no need of time, It flashed from nothing like primeval light ; Thus, in an instant, thou didst soar sublime : Thy robes of dust grew radiant in their flight. Life's precious flower knew not the darkened tomb — On earth 'twas clothed in heaven's perpetual bloom. 111! 44 TABOR MELODIES. JOB. CRYSTAL dewdrop this, without a stain, — A stone most precious, not a flaw or speck ; The {)eerless gem a kingly brow might deck. 'Tis Nature's gift. Methinks had Nature seen, She might have said, " Is not this edge too keen ? How precious what is lost ! Why will ye take So great a risk 1, What if this stone should break ?" Yet the true artist heavier still doth lean, Its glory and its beauty to secure : Thus Job is held to the relentless wheel ; His shrinking ^lesh, its sharpness must endure. Behold ! in anguish, virtue lifts her veil — His soul irradiates afHictiou's night ; And in the darkness glows — a gem of light. TRUTH UNCHANGEABLE. /f^} .^JjTRUTH is eternal, though in part unseen, •^ Like colours hiding in the solar ray In which they blend, but cannot pass away. Their rays' prismatic image we regain From light reflected by the falling rain. Thus, all defined, in the pure word to-day, The truth's distinct reflections we survey — Those simpler forms of truth that must remain. Shew me Thy glory in Thy truth, Lord ; Give me the seeing eye, the hearing ear. To mark each utterance of the written word In which its living splendor doth appear. Through the thin veil its [)erfect light shall stream. Each word a ray, from truth's eternal beam. .,{1(1 TABOR MELODIES. THE DELUGE. 45 'W^HE heavens dissolve, beneath tlie tempests bowed ; -eJ The sharp- ton gued lightnings flash, the thunders roll, The rills to rivers swell, from ])ole to pole ; The founts of tlie great deep, 'neath ocean's shroud, Like tidal waves, burst from their dark abode. The snow-wreathed Alps unV)inds its ancient scroll, And there unveils the secrets of its soul, Ere it is buried in the miglity flood — Housed in a grave, without a monument, Where all earth's treasures and its peoples lie — One mausoleum vast, without a saint — A gulf of death beneath a starless sky — Vexed by the tempest, terrible and dark, — Where earth's sole refuge is the floating ark. TRUTH. .cWN liquid loveliness against yon cloud, ^ Witli roseate blush, O Truth, thy bow doth lean ; It spans tlie heavens, — say, uncreated queen, — For thou didst tread the courts that silence trod. Before the morning stars first sang to God — Didst thou i )t weave its tissues o'er the scene, In which to veil thyself and smile on men Who feared the coming of a second flood l And, on their brows uplift<^d unto heaven. Didst thou not shed thine influence calm and sweet? They read, e'en wliile they ran, the answer given ; And reassured on earth their trembling feet. Still, as the bow we trace from either end. Its paths of light into each other blend. f 40 TABOR MELODIES. I8HMAEL. smrOW fiercely flames o'er me this noontide hour ! ■^^ Tho desert's breath doth like the furnace glow, And like its ashes lies the dust below. I think of founts with palm trees shadowed o'er, And of the shadows of the mountains hoar — But ah, I thirst, far from such visions now — These burning sands no cooling shadows know, And the refreshing streamlet flows no more. Stay not, my mother ; here no longer stay ; Why shouldst thou perish in the wihlerness 1 Lo, 'ncatli this shrub my soul shall pass away ; And here thine Ishmael soon shall rest in i)eace. Just press my lips, dry as the desert sand ; I haste, like Abel, to that deathless land. -<^§|o- HAGAR. DEATH, there is no shadow deep as thine ; No s})()t of earth where thou dost not intrude ; ••Thou art the soul of boundless solitude. How dost thou mar tlie human form divine. And hide its loveliness in eartli's dark shrine ! So pale, so cohl, so blank, with horror viewed — The marble image of an attitude — That shocks with terror we cannot define. Hagar, thou canst not look upon the child ; But pitying heaven with grace hath looked on thee, In sorrow bowed, from all the world exiled; This is not death ; 'tis Ishmael ; rise and see ; Go, di]) the water from yon fountain clear, And wet his lips, for God hath heard thy prayer. TABOB MELODIES. '^ ' TAKE THY SON. 'ELL me, ye shrouding vap>rs of the veil, Dropped ye in dewy tenderness to weep ? And you, ye stars, that dwell in heaven's deep, Did ye not look upon these temples pale 1 That throbbing brow, where silence sets its seal ; His heart, in its own anguish, he doth steep ; As he alone his sorrows tlius might keep, And inly sigh from depths inaudible — The deepest sorrow dreads the world's cold ear. Ah ! could that grief give utterance to its cry. What deep, heart-rending tones ye then would hear ! But his bowed soul sits 'neatli a darkened sky ; He only sighs and looks to Him that doomed — The God that ^A.we. his Isaac hath resumed. ABRAHAM'S DELIVKRANCE. CHARGE thee tell me, O thou saintly moon — The silent witness of this wondrous scene. This tragedy divine — say, silvery queen, Who soothed his burning brow, as all alone He on the altar laid and bound his son When the knife glittered, earth and heaven between 1 Did not the angel stay his hand, unseen ; While the loved voice supreme, with tender tone, Fell on his startled ear and called his name 1 Did not his lips break forth in praise and prayer, When in the thicket hn beheld the lamb, And offered sicritice with Isiac there ; While faith assured, a brighter vision caught, And God's own Lamb with rapture filled his thought ? i ! 48 TABOR MELODIES. WEESTLTNG JACOJ]. .c^irN guilt and pain and LcilpJcssncss extreme, ^ I seek tlie deep'iiing shade of deepest niglit, To lose, a little while, this sense of sight — With all the horrors of this waking dream. Hush, Jabboek, hush ! thou darkly clam'ring stream ; Thine angry flood, like Esau, comes to smite. Thou, who from darkness tirst didst strike the light; Oh, wilt not Thou thy wondrous words redeem, And make mine offspring like the glitt'ring host Of twinkling stars ? My faith takes hold of Thee ; I'll wrestle till the bands of night are loosed ; I will o'ercomo, this promise is for me ; Doubts of the past, ye may no more prevail ; 111 contrite prayer and faith, I will prevail. PKNIEL. i' 1 J=?^ 5^ HE angel's form, in strength stood like a tower, •^ As Jacob wrestled with him on the plain ; Each nerve and muscle felt the mighty strain For he was conscious of inferior power, Yet all his force he bent from hour to hour ; The while he knew his utmost strength was vain. Nor would he yield to weariness or pain. E'en when the morning light began to soar. Then beamed that mercy in Elohim found, Eelenting justice lightened into love ; God, in his faithfulness, himself luvd bound. And halting Jacob must victorious prove. Thus face to face, a mediator there, A type of Christ, in all-prevailing prayer. TABOR MELODIES. 49 FINDING OF MOSKS. 'k-^^ tjiyTfID perfume sweet of spice, ;it eve's first blush, '"■'■*^^ Fair, as the tint upon the 0})'ning rose 'iMid the green leaves that round-about it close, Proud Pharaoh's daughter with the maids of Cush Walked l)y the river's bank at eve's sweet hush — • When from the Nile a sudden cry arose As of an infant waking from repose. More loudly did its fitful wailings rush In mellowed accents that the waters sha[)ed To move the Princess ; as, with pitying eye. She looked upon the babe, and lo, it wept. Its flowing tears awaked her sympathy — And Moses lives, the Prophet of our God, Like unto him that in the winepress trod. LET MY PEOPLE GO. |p)ROUD Pharaoh, hearken, let my peoi:)le go, "^ That they may serve me ; why shouldst thou contend ? Their years of bondage now are at an end. These are not slaves, but guests ; why bend thy bow ? Why didst thou crush them like a conqueretl foe 1 Their loud uplifted cries to heaven ascend ; I am come down, I will their rights defend — Will snap their fetters with a single blow — Will break the rod of the 0[)pressor's might. My covenant stands, my [jcople shall be free — Nor ancient Nile, nor Typhon's bloody rite, Shall aught avail to change my firm decree — Nor Pharaoh, nor his hosts, my people dread — Nor all the bestial gods this stream has bred. C* 50 TABOli MKTjODIES. . PLAGUE OF THE NILE. fiO ED rolls the ini"litv flood of ancient Nile, As if the sl;iu<'hterod innocents had shed Their life's blood at its fount ; and, as they bled, Its limpid waves had flowed all dark and vile — Flaminijf blood -red for many a molten mile — With judgment's banner o'er the waters spread. The fish, in shoals, float on its surface — dead. Egyi)t, is this your flood, adored the while, And woi'shipped in its horrid flow of death 1 Look on its slimy current's tinted foam ! Go breathe the odor of its putrid breath ! Is this the guardian angel of your home ? Haste, swelling tide, all darkened into blood, Thy waves flash b ick the fiery brow of God. "<^- W \ if I THE HATL. THOU, who, in the broad un})ierced cloud ^ Of dark infinity, dost ever dwell — God of tliG. lightnings and impetuous hail, Whose glittering share the field of Egypt ploughed ; Thy voice was in tlie thunder pealing loud. Methinks I hear, deej)-breatliiiig through the gale, The nations crv their ceaseless bitter wail. Thine outstretched arm hath ])ower to quell the proud. And thou canst use the hail or lightning's scourge ; All creatvires are alike to thee, O God — The furnace dust is mighty as the surge That moved the Red Sea 'neatb the prophet's rod. In all alike, through judgment's pallid hour, 'Tis not thy creatures, Lord, it is thy power. TABOR MFJJ)DTES. 51 THE PLAGUP: of DARKNESS. r> '-^ ' I^RUTH in the bold minority of one, One prophet of the Lord ; in pampered pride Eight hundred priests are on the other side, Flanked by the nation, marshalled by the throne. Elijah in the conflict holds his own, And, like the rock-built Carmel, doth abide. For him, from heaven in majesty replied, The flash of the black thunder cloud alone ; And Ahab tiembles, Baal hath felt the blight. The tide of heathendom is backward rolled, And all its idols seek the shelt'rinjr niirht • While Carmel, wrapt in wonders manifold, Gives promise e'en to Ahab's wicked rei^^n Of richer treasures than its plenteous rain. 64 TABOli MELODIES. NAAMAN. -nIDRINCE of Dcunascus ! wluit to thee thy might? '^^^ Lo, what to thee the boundless blue serene 1 The golden splendors of the noontide scene 1 The fruitful tields, or varied mountain height 1 The genius proud, tliat dwells in its own light ] A dust-crowned leper, outcast and unclean — Abana, Pharphar, all the streams between ; Damascus' rivers, should they all unite, Avail thee not : wash thou in Jordan's stream, There is no healer l)ut Elisha's God. Wash seven times, thy pallid lips' red gleam Shall come again ; pride then shall kiss the rod, And the meek captain of Assyria's host, Alone in Israel's strength, shall make his boast. TilE DESTROYING ANGEL. ,3^ IVINELY armed in power, he stood alone ^^^*^^ Upon the mount above Jerusalem ; His face was terrible, his eye a flame, His robe like gold, that in the furnace shone. His red right hand in wrath he reached down ; And there unsheatJied, save in its lurid gleam There seemed a sword, from which in fiery stream, Shot forth the pestilence with deadly aim — As quick as angel's thought the people fell. When David knew the messenger of wrath, Slain was the pride that numbered Israel. He bared his breast to meet the stroke of death. And from its purpose turned that vengeful hand, Upraised in judgment o'er his guilty, land. TABOB MELODIES. 65 THE PKAYER OF LEMUEL. ciCti .IVE me not riches, L )i\l, nor iiovcrty j Lest pallid incli_i;eiice may cringe and sfcal, Or tlianklcss pride may kick against tliy will. Feed me with food convenient, Lord, for mc ; But I would take my lot, my all from thoe ; Through watchful diligence and putieiicQ still, I would life's noblest jiurpose here fuliil. To wave in death a palm of victory — Choosing the work by Providence assii^ncd. Yet grant, if Lemuel's prayer should be denied, This lowlier one a calm contented mind — Serene and cheerful still whate'cr betide ; And if to hoary hairs my steps are stayed, Let me not fear to walk the deep'ning shade. -^i^- THE CAPTIVE DELIVERED. ^HOU spotless Christ, thou self-devoted Lamb, ^ My ever precious paschal sacrifice. Through whom, from guilt's dark night, unhurt I rise, Thou art thine Israel's everlasting theme. I live through thee, hid from the sword of flamo That hung above the gate of Paradise, A soul redeemed from Egypt without price. I would remember my deliverer's name, The iron furnace, the oppi-essor's yoke. The house of bondage and the miiy clay. The tyrant's shackles severed with a stroke,— A ransomed captive, in the golden rav Of freedom's sun, to track the moviahi(;k witli storms, ;iii(l tii(3 forkc^l light, Like s(M-|)('iit's fitiigs, ()olh rend it inoiv^ juid more ; Whilt) I5,il).''l ti-('inl)l(\s lik(^ tlio oc(!;iii siior(;. Dark as tho lion's lair ; (mcIi sound, each sight, The soul alHicts with woiKh^r and ad'right. Dai'iiis niourns ; and, luiv i\\(\ tuinult's o'(!r, ITastcs to th(j den whcro Daniel r(3sts in p(;ace ; Calmly ho S(!(;s tho adoring [)r()ph(;t kncid, Faith's inl)()in i-adianco Ixiaming on his face — The lions saw it as thoy croueluMl and foil, And, in thrii,ditn(!ss on thy hrovv did shint; — l>ut still th Ml look'st u|) >\{ t.ii(! nii'i'cy-s(Mt. As to (he (lo|)tiis of an inilaih iukmI s(!a ; And lookiiiLj, (hou do.st hciid, and Ix-ndiuL;', wait To ^a'luir all it- Lrtstsuns uj) for nx;. As 'n(;ath the cluiruhini this ,i,dad hcavi siiiLjs, O take and fold it in tliini! out-;|)rca,d wings I > >l i J I (;oi)S LA mi;. j^^^'^y^Il KN A})raliani-like, his Isaac bound Ixncalh, ' ^' Strict justice) hold the scimitar unsla^at ImmI With vvi'atli's })rii,di.- ghiaming I'ound al)r)ut (mi- wrcatlu'd, Tiicn was tho hour su[)rcmt' of pcMial dtiatli,- — Of sevenfold v(Miif(;anc(! and of sev«infold wrath. Sin's wholt; (hisert that iiery sword hath hathod, Of all wdio liv(! oi* e'er on cai th had hreathed ; J>ut when it piei-c(5d Clod's Ijamh, and tini^cd the lieath Of daik (ilolgotha '^dth his precious hlood, Tluni was the fount of m(;rcy all uuseajiid, And all its strciams with jdentoous ;^i!U'(! o' TlfK NATIVITY. ^\A/!^^''''^ i';i|>tiirous iio((!,s \v«! Ii.iil rciilc'inutiou's morn, ^^ Our (iod iiKMi-natj; as tli(5 Clirist is scfMi, And Ixmtidh^ss |-] (li\ iiic I ill lowly coudi ciiiUiMCod, '■-' To Iinlior tli(<^ ii new cic;!!*'!] .st;ir III licavcii's jii-i-li dill rein its fu^y ciir ; It s.tooil aiiiazcd tn liiid tlici' .so al)asrd, And will) (liy na.mc ii])oii ils mii-i'or cliasoil, Sjir.in'^ to its orbit, in the (M-v.^td air — The lu'i-ald of tliy ljIoi ions advont licrc. NcvtT was litaaliTs paili so bi iglitly traced. Sliino on a^ when witli thto tbo cliri'ul)s lodo, Siill sinL,dnL^, through flio inflnitt; abyts, Elornal .^loiy to die Lord oui' God, Good-will to gniity man, and on oirtli peace, 8iJar on, pioclaiin it in angtlic verso E'en to llio niarian of tla; univeryo. O '!)> ' Ml m THE FULNESS OK OlIKiST. .t,T;; LOOKED at noon u\Hy.i tlio boundless biuo, ^ Tlio cloudless sapphifo of tlio lirniamcnt ; TliL'ro all nuscon, as 'ncatli a I'oyal tent, Tlie stars do liido ; and all lli it, met my view \Vas on(; vast blaze of glory tiiiouL;li ;ind tliron^h, Tiicn; secuied no rival tlii'on'j;]i its wliolo extent, Lii^lit \v;is ils snI)slai!C(; an 1 ils e unplcaKMit. Suel: is Clirisi's ,!;loi-y in its daz/.ling hue, — Tlio si)lcndor of the Ldiiute. JJcliold ! Tli(! satellites of beini; pass away; Thy fidness doth the universe iid'old. And serajjhini and eheinbim obey. Only Begotten of tlie On(; in Tlir*'e, Thou art the brightness of the Diety. li TABUR MELODIES. TITP] TI'MPTATTON-. I ' ^\pif ''^ '^I'liiCs su-Divl. a V. ir|(^ two-clot.,! Mndo, ^*^ 'Jlic Hon (,f Co^ iii..sl,c;i(li('"(l f(.)- til.' linlit, 'I'd l(;-t its (li;mi()ii(| |.-)iii(, all keen and hi-iglii. Its llnniiiir („|^,. i,^ ,,|- ^,„.|, t..|,i|,.r made* Tliat, w]i<.r(! it; o-l,.ai„.s its stroke unxy not 1... stnycd. Witli tliis tli(- tciiipici's |.()lisli(.,| sl)i.I,l ],(, sniofo; 'I Ins AVMS tll(; W(.;l|,(,ii of liis conqiu'ij 1 IL^ J„il,dlt, And li(!ro its glorious virtu, s v.oio dispkiv.'d."' TJ.,". IViuco of Dui-kiK.ss (,uails l.cdoie (Ini.l's i-ovvor, Cliii.st .-;iw tlio sniircs lii-oparcMl fur iimoccnco ; His living w,,r,l alone in tlint, .Irciid lioiir Shono liko J, siinbcMin on < acli dark pictoncc; And tho Dccoivor vatiqiiisJicd, pm to sliamo, Struck Jiis vilo bujuiers, darken, d in its -Icani. ^^^ —^i^- HU.MILITY. M'^^^^^*^^'^"^ profers tlie l.uslied rotrcit, And l.r.iMs ker altar Uy tko woi-Jd unseen, Einl)ou,.red in leafy shade of l)ranc]ios gi-een ; Willi Ciod alone she enteis at its oate. Thr-'ugh the still h.airs, on hiui alonc^ to wait. Sli(( hears tin; voice .livine Milk soul seivne, And, tlirou-h ea. h ti i.d, on the naith doth 1 an ; Tlirs nnkes t!ie crooked pa'hs of soirow strai<--!it, llesi-ned t ) })(• what suits the will divin.^ In le s, or more, oi- failure, or su(!cess She ni(;asiires np heiuialli tlif> testing line, Yet is content t ) he co!;.sidered i(\ss, Just to her grciatncss, cahniy iriei'inls it doih leave '\\\ ^lad th(! aii^cls wIkmi (-Ik^v hither ll\. Iilest are th(! »»iir'.,r tl„> luk,. j„. spreads liis vviuidoring wing ; It .s(!('iiis till' iiiiisic of tlic iiioniini^' star, Jb fails so ;,^(!ntly on my rapLiii-cd cmi- ; Or snnic^ svvoct carol of tin, vocal spring 'I'liMi, fVoni (Ji,; distant liills sccMn.s oclloin^^ Jliisli ! 'lis tli(j voice of (i,„j I i,dv h(;ar • l(! sjMiaks liis own nnutt(!r;i,bl(j name— l.il seems shadowe.l froln withia- Ile cloLlicd (dial lily in the morning light, And there it stood all gleaming in his sight. It toils : no never, neiili(;r doth it spin. Nor woven were its silken tluvads for gain. Who gave that halo ting.' of sunnier white ? E'en kings are not arrayc^d in rolnis like these ; And yet it falls and withers at thy f(H;t,— Th(! Irailest, fdrcist, of e;i,rth's imag(!S. When wilt thou learn its lessons" to re])eat, And tiust the Power njunilicent, which gave' Huch priceless tr»,asur.;s Just to hloom and fade / i^ 80 'I Alii) I i MIll.OlJlKS. 'mi-: I'ALLow (;k()Ijxi>. •'P IlKSSKI) l.v I lie c'iismIcss Ircad of l>iisy ("('(-t, '^'^ Aly piiri-lir I, I'niil less .s(miI is liciilcii li inl ; N<»ii(! SDW (Ji(! .si('(l l)C(MU-;c I.Ik! !^i<)iiii(| i'. inaircil 'Twoiild striltc likd iriil lli;it, on I lie rock «!olli l»c,i,i, Ami only l('ni|il, tli'i |t;issin'4 liiids lo cmI. TIk' |)loui;lilii;urs I;il)M|- line ImiIi lio |-c\v;inl ; Tlic riinowcd {'iirlli foi- sc('(| was nol. |>i('[);ii-(;(l ; And :dl lies I'dlow 'ncilli I Ik; .sninniIJ) tli(! I'lorny L,'ionnd 1 tlic weeds i^row rank ^^ ■ In \\\v. dec]) soil (liiil liolds tin; |trccious seed ; lis thistle-down lloats over all I Ik; mead, — Oh it \vci'(! hclt.er that 'twere; all ii hlank, Than thai. Mich soil -ritdi as the river's hank— Should L^i\'' i's streni;t|i such (nil weeijs to (Vied, And choke the iViiiiliil |>1 inis we so much need. Kiinh's juices ri(di, the nightly dews they drank W'ouhl make a |tlenleous harxcst of this hiight — Wlieic not a, sheaf is leathered from the Held. Pluck U)» (lios(! thriftv weeds, let in the li,L,dit, Thus nIi.'lII this barren thorny gi'onnd Ix; healed ; llast(; tli(!(!, O haste, th(M'(;'s hut one se(;din^' time. Why shouhl thy sicklo lack its harvest liymii ( ii! mw, ii! ::n TABOli MELODIES. STONY (iJlOTIND. 81 mJBOVE Um rook no .Icpt]. of soil w;is found, Yet tlioro tlio scorls of graco did quickly sprint And up to i-ipoiK'ss sofMuod tlusir fniit to bring; For tlm Hwcot culm of lioavon did all surround, And joy ],..rsolf scoincMl Invatliitig in oacli sound. I»iit wlj(!n tho clotuls outsi)road tlioir sahlo wing And the (juick llanio amid tl.o tliundor's ring, " Ront tho tiill oak, and |)k)ugl.(!d the noigl,|,oriiig ground— The .smitt(3n plant, Iik(! an untimely flower, Drooped iliou,L,diuidnirt, and withered where it grew,— The stricken victim of tlu! trying hour, A f(ieble stalk that trembled 'neath th(5 dew ; No vigorous root went down with circling fold Deep in the f)-uitful earth to take its hold. -<^- GOOD GROUND. .0 ^1 SEE the ripened field of golden grain Bond 'neath the harvest moon its rolling waves, As if to yi(!ld tho treasures that it gives ; I hear the rustling oars aljove the plain Tell of the precious send and plenteous rain ; Silent they bow to meet the sickled sheaves, As sheaf on slieaf the reajjor's pi-aise receives. Methiuks the angels there might sing unseen And lay such triiasures in their gathered heaj) ;— No stain of lilight, no marring weeds are there, Only the precious fruits that angcjis reap, Such as the IVLtster when he fhall appear, Some thirty, .sixty, some an hundredfold, Shall bind for heaven, and treasure as they'i-e told. A IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V. // 'tip Mji A C/j 4(\ 1.0 I.I 1.25 M 2.2 1.4 I11III.6 t 1^ v] ^J' %, # <% v"> 7 /^ ^11 h2 TABOR MELODIES. ZACCHEUS. l| li . ( r\^. ^jXTtE calls thee now on whom thy soul doth call. -^.^ From the omniscient eye of him who taught, Thou art not hid ; — in stature of thy thought, Thou art conspicuous as kingly Saul * Among the prophets, and though great withal, — Wert thou not he that in the tempi ) smote That sinful breast in which repentance wrought ] — That Publican whose humbled eyes did fall So meekly on the earth, the while his cry Was piercing highest heaven with holy prayer 1 — ■ While mercy looked on him with kindling eye, Though the proud Pharisee despised him there. Haste Zaccheus, haste, for He who calms thy breast Doth call thee now and He will be thy guest. -^^- LIVJNG FAITH. SON of God, thou art the God of power ! The laws of Nature have their source in thee, They find their channels in thy Sovereignty, And wait alone on thee through every hour, — In the tornado or the gentle shower — In the fixed mountains or the rolling sea, — This, when the meek centurion once did see, His mighty faith on angel wing did tower. " Speak only, Lard, my servant shall be healed ; I am not worthy to behold thy face ; What I command my servants is fulfilled, — What thou dost will must instantly take place." O for that true disci |)le's living faith That simply asks, and what it asks it hath. TABOB MELODIES. 83 NATHANIEL. 5y HOU Lord dost see the contrite spirit's sighs, ^ Tlie darkness liideth not at all from thee, Nor the deep solitude of earth or sea, — No mantling cloud beneath the circling skies Could screen Nathaniel's secret from thine eyes ; And lo, where'er he bows the tremblin'^ knee, Where'er his sighs lift up tfie sinner's plea, Thou wilt not quench liis smoking sacrifice. This is my hope as sino-ly I draw nio-h ; And 'neath the fig tree's shade would wait alone On him who heard that seciet worshipper. And sent such blest assurance from his throne, — Here still to find in shades, Nathaniel trod. His secret place of intercourse witli God. THE FIG THEE. £p HRIST sees the fig tree covered o'er with leaves, ^ Its quivering leaflets with the dews are wet ; The gathering time for fruitage is not yet. This fertile field doth bear the golden sheaves, And yet that tree the expectant eye deceives, — 'Tis an appearance and a counterfeit, — Its empty branches shame the rivulet. With which its cumbrous root it interweaves. Nothing but leaves, a breathing foliage That withers where it grew, and in the storm Just tells which way the cruel tem[)est rage, And through the drift each leaflet's whirling form Drops to the dust, itself as dark and drear, Amid the eddying winds which riot there. 84 TABOH MELODIES. [I I J 1 i . 1 : i \ Ij Jl MOUNT TABOR. (^ HRIST called the chosen three to Tabor's height ^ The splendors of his power to behold ; There he his own insignia unrolled, — His face more radiant than the star of night Seemed, like the sun, insufferably bright, — His robe was changed until it shone like gold, Or like the brightness that it did infold, — Transfigured into light, for God is light, Veiled in the glory of that wondrous cloud — The symbol cloud of Majesty supreme. Hear him, O earth, hear thou the Son of God ! Veiled with both wings, hear him, ye seraphim, — Whose words the mirror of his truth and grace Show the glad tidings of the Prince of Peace. CHRIST'S TEARS. AW ye his flowing tears that dropped like pearls 1 On Olivet and Bethany they fell. Heard ye the rhythm of their simple tale % — JNTethinks their language in each streamlet purls, Breathed from each murmuring ripple as it curls, Heard when the sounding tide doth gently swell As if in air their harmony miijht dwell. E'en where the deep its thund'ring billow hurls, There is a tender touching undertone That breathes the music of a human tear ; As if it heard his footsteps, sad and lone, And the hushed waves of Galilee were near. Wherever sorrow's silent foot hath erred, Methinks their voice of sympathy is heard. ■I M TABOR MELODIES. 85 LEAD ME TO THE LIGHT. ^|g ORD, thou didst give the darkened eyeball sight. ■^^^ Guide thou my steps as thou didst lead the blind. Create the power of vision in my mind, And chase those shrouding shadows of the night. Hold thou my hand and lead me to the light, That in thy purest glory all enshrined The essence of thy truth I too may find, — The shadeless splendor of the infinite — That with thy saints I too may comprehend The depth, and height, and breadth of love divine, Whose rays beyond these solar rays extend. And ever did, and evermore shall shine. Show me that glory flooding from above, Filled with the fulness of eternal love. I li I 'OW^ THE PRODIGAL. HOMELESS prodigal, I perish here ;— Night's saddest outcast 'neath this firmament. How like this tattered garb my soul is rent, Worn out and stained in life's thronged thoroughfare. These husks the swine do eat, I may not share. Oh, might I look to heaven,— might I repent — Naught else my utter ruin can prevent. Can these vile lips present themselves in prayer 1 Or speak gf home ] I will arise and go. " My Father, I have sinned, like Esau, sold For sin's vile pottage all my hopes below, — Trampled thine honored name with crimes untold : Only receive, and as thy servant own, T am not worthy to be called thy son. lii' i I. I III ! 86 TABOR MELODIES. OUT OF THE FOLD. tjlWTrlD crooked patlis and tliorns, in nnite despair, ^t,ju^ Trembling and torn, I'm 1)1 coding and alone, A straying feeble lamb, a weary one. Far out npon tlie mountains, bleak and bare. No shadovving rock, no pastures green are lit^re, The mount is blazing 'neath the rays of noon : The sheltered flocks into their folds have gone, Far from the shepherd s voice, the shepherd's care, — A wand'ring sheep out of the fold and lost, Lo, the wild wilderness hath shut me in. Full oft the shepherd's voice my path hath crossed, But now I sink, I perish in my sin, — Hush ! I will hearken where the soft winds soar, Shall I not hear his gentle voice once more ? THE FKIEND OF SINNERS. ^HENCE is this roar of tumult's angry note, Like stormy waves upon an ocean reef ? Whence have they l)rought this anguished home- less waif? Since on her ear their accusations smote. Her dark dishevelled locks around her float Sprent with hot tears through which her frantic grief Sobs out in vain : the multitude are deaf Her trembling soul some hope of mercy caught From the rebuke that through Christ's glance had burned To wither her accusers in its light. Her grief to penitence so quickly turned, His soul was touched with pity at the sight ; And as that prayer its trembling accents bore » He heard and answered, *' Go, and sin no more." TABOR MELODIES. 87 THE SOWER. "^E who go fortli to tread the fallow tield And sow with many tears the precious seed, Fear not the biirniug drought, or springing weed, The germ that's in the living plant concealed, Its ears of increase plenteously shall yield ; And ye shall see with joy, the furrowed mead With ripening grain bow down its golden head,— The harvest moon spread o'er it like a shield, While all the twinkling stars above it roll. And ye shall see the gates of morning laugh, As angels lengthen out the glorious scroll Where bending sheaves are numbered sheaf on sheaf. Cast in your seed, ye weeping ones ; ere long The angels shall ring out your harvest song. rti' BETHANY. "^HOU tear-dropt mount of sacred Bethany, From thee the stone is rent that grief hath rolled ; And on thee first Christ's tears we may behold ; His love divine, his human sympathy, Lifting thee up that all the earth may see — And hear those wondrous words thou hast enscrolled. Those heights are lit with glories manifold Where Lazarus walks revived, O Christ, by thee To hush the sorrows that thou couldst not hear. O light of Bethany, thou dost abide Near every tomb above which falls a tear, — ' Down by the fallen sufferer side by side — To weep with those who weep, to gild the grave. The mighty God, to sympathize and save. 88 TABOR MELODIES. CHRIST AT JACOB'S WELL. r-O- liE yet tlio evening's hallowed liour was gone, As the pale twilight softly o'er hira fell, A weary traveller sat on Jacob's well, — Himself the fount of life through whom alone The treasures of the Godhead's glory shone. Ere yet they knew that name unspeakable, There was a fragrance round him that did tell Of Sharon's Rose,— the True Eternal One, — Light of Samaria, — God of truth and grace. The wond'ring angels pressed about his feet; — Samaria's daughter hath an angel's place. She gave him drink, and there in converse sweet She found the Christ who did her soul redeem And drank the water of a living stream. TABOR. YE who stand as if on Tabor's height, In whom the flesh doth seem a veil so thin We see Christ's glory beaming from within, Ye, like your glorious head enshrined in light, Almost transfigured in our dazzled sight. Are speaking of the cross with soul serene, And of the martyr's crown ye long to win. Whence 1 What are these, ye ask, arrayed in light ? They seem like jewels round the jasper throne. Did they not pass through tribulation's fires, And drink the bitter cup of death alone 1 Methinks in death ye see them grasp their lyres. To catch the notes triumphant angels bring, And scale heaven's battlements with them to sing. TAROn MllLODIES. r^HRJST AT NATN. Its 2lot(^s aro ]ieard above tl.c meHSiired tread Of woe too weiglity to be eoniforted,— Like Kve's ^irroat angi.is]) o'er the siji of Cain.— Or Kacliel weeping fo)- her Joved ones slain. Nain's st.-ieken wid.nv, },y a stranger led, ^ \VVe]>s for lier only so,,, j.er Isaac',— (lead. Christ heai-d he.- piercing cries, and not in vain He stayed tlie mourners, as lie tonched the bier'- And, with the God-light kindling in his eye E'en through the nin.bus of a human tear, ' He spoke iii tones like those at Eethanv ; And, by a word, he to the widow gave Her only son, her Lazarus, from the graxe. 8.9 JACOB'S WELL. ^T Jacob's well, lo, Jacob's Cod doth wait ; ^^ His burning feet, the cleaving dust doth stain ;- Is this the common dust of 8ychar's plain t Loosed from their sandals, in this f»",ve,-isli heat. Those blessed feet, do they aweary beat / Are they so resth^ss, that to rest seems vain. With naught to end, or mitigate their pain ?— And these blest lips whose accents are so sweet.— Those founts of peace, are they dried up with thirst As thus he sits alone on Jacob's Well Samaria's traveller, oh, thou living Chi-ist ! Art thou not found upon the wayside still, To wait for those who seem to need thee most, And stay the ei-ring footsteps of the lost^ E w 90 TABOB MELODIES. DEATH. !i' I ^c. 'gJaF death, O Lazarus, what dost thou know? ^^ Say, didst tliou sound the darkness of the tonih ( Didst thon not tremble 'neath its horrid dome I Conldst tliou not heai the thunder, muttered low. That shocks the soul of silence down below i And breathe, 'mid odors of the heavy loam, The icy dampness of death's changeless home I — Nay : these are phantoms of illusive woe, 'Tis here that lioi)e casts in her precious seed And trusts Christ's golden harvest for the grain ; And, if its germ of shadowing death hatli need, We know this loss will bring a glorious gain, Heaped by that angel who shall rock the deep And rend the tomb to break its dreamless slee]). — OsSo- 'd THE PUBLICAN. GOD be merciful, a sinner pleads ; My constant sighs lift up my humble prayer ; I do not lift mine eyes to heaven, nor dare — Doomed by the scroll my quickened conscience reads. I know the record of my sinful deeds, And in thy courts, O God, I thus appear, Crushed by the conscious tyranny of fear ; This breast I smite, but 'tis the soul that bleeds — Its stains are darker than the sackcloth is. I am undone, O God ; I do repent ; Behold my anguish in my trembling knees ! Thine house doth shield the truly penitent,— - Its bleeding paschal lamb, by faith I see. That spotless Lamb provided, Lord, by thee. TABOIi MELODIES. THK TROUBLING OF THK WATERS. :|) MICHAEL ! thou who once, hy iU.V, couHmmd O'er tho l.right wuters of Hcthrsdu l»ienth(-.l When troul,Ie.l Siloj.m was ulJ eawieathed In healino- power, for Hion thus to stand, As Katurc':, type of Christ, so near at J,and ;— Not, as when o'er Assyria, all unsheatlied,' The sword of Jnstice to the hilt was bathed And prou.l Sennacherib felt the blightin- brand Dost thou now eoine,~.nor as when fron^ the cloud The Lord looked out and troubled ]>ha.-aoh s host Dost thou fling back the Red Soa on the proud ;— ' Like mercy's angel, now to save tJie lost AH in the Shiloh's healing virtues dad, Thou dost come down to make thine Israel ^^lad 91 "i3^~ " THE GOOD SHEPHERD. T^'^^ ^^^^ countenance, serene and lair, ^^ Radiant with truth, arrays itself in liglit ; As if liis soul shone out on human sight. His thoughts are jmre as honey dropping clear ; His words, like dewdrops, sparkle everywhere- Like his unspotted robes, all snowy white, Their star-born radiance glistens in the night Of deepest sorrow and of direst fear. Friend of the friendless-like a shadowing rock When lightnings flash and tempests are!ibroad,- Himself unsheltered in tho deadly shock Of warring elements that round him trod. This shepherd found his lamb, his love he told, And on his bosom bore it to the fold. M: ! I " ! II :" I !■: \ !H i I' 02 TAB Oh' MF.I.ODJKS. \: I i [DlKli(lIN(j! lliis .st.MiIcss iiio-lii aii.l saiilt of d.Mtli, its lion'oi's of grcjit diirkiu'ss as tln-y risf, And yorj lixcd l'uH', 1 lit'l my wcai'v (".cs, And, tVoni its grnnito cd^c wil.li Itlastcil licatli, (rlance n)> to (Jod's right liand iVoni lu il iK'ncatii, Fi'om Al)ral>ani's lips, J hear those drcMd replies ; — Tliore, w hite-i-()l)ed J.azarns, in his l»oKOin lies, — In Hades I, lieneatli this storm ol' wrath. Tlius doomed, this frnitless tree drop])ed o,,i of tinu- : And as it tell, it lies a ]iel[)loss mass, That rots npon itself : — for me no eliimo Of Sabbatii bells, no penitence, no [tejice. Woe's flood foains on in rnin's ]);ile attire, Life's light to (piench, — but not its hidden iire. IJ. .cW HEAK faint echoes from the distant peak ^ Of desolation's mount ; thev seem the cry Of coming cycles heralded on high, Through boundless circles lound its summit bleak ; And, as from distance intinite, they sj)eak In deep'ning accents, ever as they fly, — They say, " We come," and yet they come not nigh Their evolutions widening, as tliey take The sphere of an eternity nnknown, To touch the limits of the infinite. I gras]) as I would measure them alone. Then, shrinking back, o'erwhelmed at the sight, I hear the hollow depths where roll the s])hei(^s, Laugh at my purpose and the vanished years. TABOn MEJ.ODIKS. 03 r|^H EV sf'iirdi me now,--tlie sharp, (iniok'-plun^nug prongs '<-' Of liativd's harrow, striking do •> to tind. And rend niy hcttcn- memories from mv mind : Ml spirit, cease : tliou hast a tliousaud tongnes To marslial lii'e's inimedicahli; \vi-on(»-s, Or prol.e M'itli venomed tliouglit, or words nnkind, The lacerated wonnds wliicli 1 wonld hind. Wliy wonldst thou smite as wiili a thousand tliongs, That eat ilic ilcsJi and sink into tli(> soul >. Hut tin's proud nerve is motionless in |»ain. And frowns ih-fiance while the thundei\s roll,— ►Showing its !)rand as did the la-ow of Cain. Wliat though these lips should all their lightnings cpiaff, Ahlaze with anguish, blasted, they would laugh ! CI CALVARY. C^-EILED in the darkness, hail, thou cross-crowned mount, >J'> Thou nigged, bleeding, blessed Calvary ! What living thoughts start up at sight of thee 1 Where are the ages as their wrecks I count, 8ince the first sin unsealed the deepest fount Of the gi-eat doe^p of guilt's unbounded sea. That, like the deluge, drowns humanity. How like the deluge as its waters mount Vexed by a. thousand storms, its surges rise No human might can battle with their ra«>-e, Earth's ])roudest height beneath their swell in-:^ lif.s : There is no port n.) sheltered anchora«n» ; P)ut, lik(! the ark, al)ove that voiceless orave This cross-crowned mount stands high above the wave. ■lii^ i H i- 94 TABOR MELODIES. u f LAZAKIjS. '0»h MAMMON ! call not ])Overty a crime, -^^ It oft dotli How from an afflicted state ; — A princely sonl lay at the rich man's gate. His days were cast upon an evil time. And Christ ))reathed out this narrative sublime That for all ages he might thus creat(^ A parable to shame tlie inhuman state That hath no lazar-house, whate'er its clime,— No gentle hand, no (^ye, Aurora-like, To ])ierce the glooms of human misery, — Those fuL-rows dark where friendless outcasts weak. Like hom(^less beasts must lay them down to die. ►Since (.'hrist the beggar's wrongs with heaven redressed. How rich the ])00i-, how blessed is their rest ! THE (lOOD SxiMAH ^VN. n r£ tUT on tlie hiijfhway where the wor .ed are, Know only thou their [)eiil and eir ))aia ; \n l)ity's nauK?, their burning temples fan, Uplift the fallen with the hand of power. Go thou ; behold, thy brother man is there Where Israel's priests and Levites pass the slain ; In deeds, be thou the good Samaritan, And on their wounds the healing unction pour. Haste thou the dee|>est founts of grace to ([ualf. That all may seek them where thy li])s have sought. Haste thou to sift from the unwinnowed chatf, The priceless grain his i)recious blood has bought ; Till every sheaf is gathered on th(> Held, And all the servants of our God are sealed. TAROB MELODIES. 95 -«. GO, AND SIN NO MORE. ^^ HKOUGH the dim hours, 'mid phantoms of unrest, ^^ When the weird night crei)t tlirough the willows gray. Hid from the moonlight, in the shadows, hxy A withered leaf, that was the shadows' guest ;--- With dapi)led gleams of sorrow on its breasf ,— Its greenness gone,, that (juivered in the ray Of golden sunshine through the summer's day, - A trampled leaf, in loneliness unhlest. Too green to fall, 'twas broken from the stem. Its morning dews were darkened into tears, And on its cheek there seemed the blush of shame. Frail outcast, crushed as by a thousand fears, Christ heard thy trembling knock at mercy's door ; And softly answei-ed, '• Go, and sin no more." I •!: THE MAN OF HOIIEOW8. HE 8on of God on earth did once a}>pear, Th' Eternal loosed his changeless zone of light, Impluuged in depths of distance infinite. His temple's glow grew pale as evening's star, For us bedimmed, our abject state to share. His modest form concealed his matchless might,— It had no comeliness in mortal sight, Marred by the sorrows suffered for us here. Earth's desert heath pressed round his lowly brows, And touched with dewless lips his parched mouth ; Whence wisdom's vintage, that divinely glows, Poured from his lij)s the wine of living truth ; His poet's lips, their mighty numbers roll A down the ages still, to glad the whole. I H 96 TABOR MELODIES. J GO AWAY. i^r ^jk^TrHY aro ye sad 1 I needs must go away. "^^^ O blessed Master, why fi'oin us ? how long I Wo are so fee])U^, and onr foes oo strong They come its wlien a tempest strikes a spray To take the ti-embling h-'atage as a prey. While with iis here, hasL thou not suttered wrong 1 K'en as when David stood his flocks among, And a tierce lion met him in the way. — Therefore we cry to thee, our shepherd king, Thy little Hock that follows thee, thine own. I'hy ])resence is the rock to wliich we cling. Where coidd we hide, on earth, if left alone ? Sorrow hath filled our hearts, thy words we plead. O Lord, thou wilt not break the bruised reed ! (; THK TKAJ(S OK Old VET. KHOLD. the glance of that all-seeing eye '*^^" Sadly, it kindles on the ether blue, Ifolding the heights of Sion full in view ; While Justice fhinn^s within the dark'niiin' skv. Is not th(^ season of the vintai^e wvAx 'I — The grapes ungathered ripen through and throu!j;h. How long, O Lord, the Holy One and True, Till thou aveno-e thv slau.ghtered saints on hiijh ? Thus angel legions sang the martyrs' hynni. While .Jesus wept on dusky Olivet ; He saw his Sion through the shadows dim,— His people doomed, — his temple desolate. He sorrowed not that he himself should bleed, He wept for whom he could not intercede. TABOIi MELODIES. 9: THE TEARS OF OLIVET. WONDKOUS teiirs, wJiose revelations sealed Tlie wid'ning circle of night's ebon dome, Tinged with the hue his raiment did assume, Blood-red ye rolled, before his grief was healed. Stripped of the brooding wings that were its shield, A desolation shrouded for the tomb, He sees Jerusalem, his temple home, In ruin wrapt, gleam like a i^orv tield • Blood stains its mountain verdure to its crest And floods the plains where crimso^'d Kedron lies ;— And weeping Rachel smites her anguished breast On dark Golgotha o'er the sacrifice. He sees the vengeance that she could not stem, And suffers still for those he must condemn. 'I CHRIST'S LOWLINESS. ^;)^^fcHY wash their feet, O thou Incarnate J.ove, ^ Whose blessed Iiands for higher works are meet ? I see thee bowed at thy disciple's feet ; The work itself thy lowliness doth prove. Methinks the angels, wond'ring, stood above ; As thou for each, ere thou wouldst take thy seat, Didst first this sovran act of love repeat. Blest pattern this, that heaven and earth doth move At first to imitate, then com[)rehend, How full of grace, thou lowly Son of God,— And Judas' feet, as if he were a friend, Those faithless feet that on dark eirands trod. Oh can it he I did Judas ill recpiite Thy grace and love and gnoHness infinite l mi w ifii 98 TAROR MELODIES. PETER'S DENIAL. FAITHLESS Peter, why inflict this pang ? The thankless myriads healed, the raised dead, Have they not all forsaken him and fled 1 Meek, faultless Lamb ! he felt the sharp, rude fang Of deadly liate ; his hour of darkness rang With accusations false, and jis it sped, His pierced s[)irit, like his temples, bled. This was the hour exulting demons sang, And ho])ed to celebrate foreverniore, — All. wliv deny him here? liis anmiished brow Hath scarcely smoothed the furrows that it bore In sad Gethsemane. He hears thee now, And silent Hesper, o'er the foam-wreathed sea, Ne'er looked so sad as when (Uirist looked on thee. THE DYING THIEF. ^^?^ V n^EACE, dying thief, thine eye is on Christ's cross, -^^^ Christ's blood that sprinkles all for thee doth flow. Though red like crimson, thou art white as snow. — - A welge of gold leneath dark heaps of dross, This peerless gain doth cancel years of dross. Did mercy's sovran wing ere light so low \ Her pinions touch the vestibule of woe. Had Judas seen, he had not swept across The broad black gulf ; but ah ! his sun has set. Peace, dying thief, Christ doth remember thee : I hear his gracious voice, — Oh might there be Such blest assurance of my cancelled debt As through the shadows of the grave I rise To claim Christ's fellowship in Paradise. 4 TABOB MELODIES. 99 JUDAS. 1NGE.D l)y a yellow gleam from heaps of gold, His furrowed brow, seared by his burning In-ain, Is deeper stamjied than was the brow of Cain. It was not envy ; Judas basely sold For love of gain the Prince of life. BohohJ I Christ's crown of thorns, his garment's crimson stain, His lamb-like patience in his mort;i,l piin ! His sad Gethsemane enough had told Without the cross or mocking mulritude. Stay, though thy lips— those lips that touched his own- Are all aflame with base inivratitude, Eend not the portals of the dread unknown ! Why headlong plunge into the dark abyss To hear the serpents of perdition hiss ] ill I'l'! (^0 THE LAST SOLTLOQUY OF JUDAS. -??,—' ^^j^ON crimson sun, that sinks into the west ^^ As if in setting it were bathed in blood, Seems like an emblem of the Lamb of God. Do the thick shades of death in fold.-, unblest. Lie like those clouds upon his mantled breast? Oft at his word the highest heavens were bowed ; Oft 'mid his foer. invisible he stood, While they seetned fixed as the dull earth they pressed,- T thought he would have mocked their cruel hate. Godlike lie stood, in majesty divine, But now he strangely stooj)S to meet liis fate. His purpose fixed, lie will iiis life resign. Cursed li|)s that moveil to slay him with a kiss, What is the fate of pei-fidy like this ^ I III; I I l(»() TABOR MELODIES. UEMOIISK OF JUDAS. t^JjrHR(>U(jlH guilt's hot funiiice, on its depths I gaze ; "^^ Its glistoriui^ flMinrs soein white, as if they caught The slicen of that for whicli my soul was bought :- Love's trembliu'j; lip doth seem to fan the bla.ije. Glow not so keenly ln'iglit, ye arrowy rays Of soul-consuniinu' dcisoLiting thought ! Perdition's llames, methinks, are not so hot. That kiss, — Oli how it burns I so basely it betrays. J hear the upbi-uidings of his gentle voice. Let vongeanec ))luiige his weapon to the hilt. Annihilation, (n)nie, iiast tlioii no dark device To quench the bhishings of the blood I spilt ? Thrice cursed woe, forevermore to be, How shall I bear this deathless infamy ] UB THE SHADOW OF DEATH. ^Tr ^S^TrVjAK. nature shudders at the lettered stone, •-^-^ Shocked by the thought ; as when, with quickened breath. We feel in life the chilling touch of de, ch. When the last foothold on life's plank is gone, She dreads the void, invisible unknown, — The haunted valley of the shadowed path, — To walk the waters of the floods of death. Who would not fear to traverse them alone 1 Nay, there's the Shepherd of the heavenly fold, We fear no evil by our Shepherd's side ; His rod and staff attend us as of old ; His hands and feet j)roclaitu the crucified ; Death seems a shadow only 'neath his smile, And angel voices through the valley thrill. TABOR MELODIES. W] HE HATH ABOLISHED DEATH. ^HKIST'S ilyiiio- words thfj solid granite rent, ^^ They shook the marl.]-.^ citadd of death, And a.x iiis realm throughout its length and breadth ; The heavens grew black in mute astonislinient : And, in the sable depths of that dark tent, Christ slew the monster in the depths beneath, ^Thrilling the mountains and the rocking heath. WlKMover death our scattered dust had pent, His power was smitten in liis own domain,— His bands were suappe^l cVn in the se})ulchre ; And as from death Christ, conquering, rose again, A weight of boundless rai.ture bowed heaven's choir In ecstasies too golden to b(^ yivx n, Too great to speak, and silence was in heaven. -V ^- ed DEATH IS YOUKS. ■^ ^ E ATH mars our clay, he cannot change life's cast, ^^«^ He only makes life's type unchangeable, On the closed volume sets his final seal,' And gives our grosser ashes to the blast : For when the martyr's agony is j)ast. His virtues live 'neath death's transparent veil. And oft they seem the brighter for the foil In which they're set upon his sable breast. Te niartyred saints, where is the sting of death ? Hath he not set your white-robed spirits free ? Death lost his sting upon the crimson heath. And now is yours ; for death is victory. Exult in Cod, and there with veiled wings Stand 'neath the throne-light, near the King of kings. !i'! ll IH 1 ■III '^ 11 1 II ] 102 TABOR MELODIES. CHPtlST ASCENDING. aNl), as they wait, l)el)iiul the veil deHceiids That diamond pure of em|)yrean glow, — 'J'he gretit white throne of our Jehovah Jah ; Tlie seven-lined rainI)ow fair above it bends And Minus its glory downward, as it blends With glist'ning pearls strowed o'er liis robes of snow, And on that countenance, so marred below. Thus thron(;d in light the Son of God ascends, Crowned on his chariot throne as King of kinre tlic; imfoldiiio; of tlie pearly gato, Where inartyre e at rest. >r >r \v, w 108 TADOR MELODIES. ONJ.Y A JJTTLE SPACK. /^\ H I not to ine is lieaven a place far ott" ! ' '^ I feel the presence of its lioly calm ; I breathe the fragrance of its hills of l)ahn, And, thougli th(! desert way is parched and rough, The glory in the cloud is more than proof That just beyond it waves the victor's palm, And that within it breathes the seraph's psalm, Whose highest notes might strike some echoing blutf, Touched by the jasper sea so near in sight. Only a little way my Lord withdi'ew. Oh, could I hear it trembling through the light, — • As I have heard the lark from out the blue, — In dripping strains, as through the riven cloud That mantles now the risen Son of God. SO LITTLE DONE. ill''- i i =1 J' ;i!« ^Lp little done and so im])erfectly : ^"^ And is it true the gracious Lord doth note The passing act, that like a passing mote Gleams in the sunbeam as 'tis tloatingV)y, Then droi)s o'ei'shadowe where a thousand lie ? I have no words to reach the'times remote, No costly spikenard on the breeze to float, To breathe for aye tlie language of a sigh. And did h(^ see, who dwelieth in tlie light, When the lone widow In his temple bowed \ The mites she gave were precious in his sight. Meekly they dro[»ped ; yet they n Ijoly, lioly Living One, "<^ [ trust the eternal word, the voice divine, The living promise in tiie written line. Thy word is stal)le as thy changeless throne, My glorious Iiope, my sure foundation-stone,— A stone most precious is a word of thhie ; Not one least jot or little I resi-m I rest on this triumphantly, alone. Blessed One, here blossoms all my hope Of life that is. and life that is to be. Here it must bloom, or with'ring here must droji Through shadows dark as thine, Gethsemane ! 1 trust thy word where mortals have not trod, Thy living word, thou everlasting God. ■f! m m 110 TABOR MELODIES. f*i- 1 GREATER WORKS THAN THESE. ^HgO, Peter's faith hath mightier works to show "'^^^ Than seraphs have, nor would tlie angels dure To shape their actions to sucJi issues lioie ; Silent they minister to us below, He, as his Master, in this world of woe, Wrapt in the felt Omnipotence of prayer, Outsheds Christ's radiance round him every wliei-e : And greater works than Christ's run to and fro,- - His Haming cloven tongue with tiery ray Hath wrought the work of ages in an hour, — Three thousand souls converted in a day Reveals at once liis mission and his power. Like furnace gold, all purified from dross. Their molten hearts reliect His lifted cross. 'tSo ' HIDDEN MANNA. fHERE is a sun-lit uphxnd of the soul, On which to find the manna at the dawn, And hear the name inscribed in the white stone, Soft clouds of incense round about it rode, There perfect love spreads out her stainless scroll ; There are her mercies, numbered one by one, — Those blood-bought mercies, treasured as her own. And from her store she lifts a glowing coal, Christ-like, to lay it on some fallen head Whose wrongs impartial Justice might requite ; But Love on swifter wings to him doth speed. Her face all shining in its milder light, — As when night's dews with moonlight are impearled. To shed its radiance on an errina- world. TABOR MELODIES. m HAVE FAITH IN GOD. i^ADE in thine image, in thy likeness Lord, ^^•^ A stream ontflowing from tlie fount of Cod, Upwelling pure like that from which it came. Since to thine image, here by thee restored. Love hath its fulness through my being poured, What though encumbered with this mortal load l What though the germ seems dark as its abode I Mine is the living bread, the living word, Father, this helpless cliild must take of thee. His spirit nature must receive of thine, --- In essence one, though diff'ring in degree. All that thou hast I ask, I claim for mine, I can, I do believe,— as mind with dust- Christ's spirit blends with mine in this sweet trust. -^^^- INTERCESSION. ^S when the High Priest in the Holy Place, In vestnients pure, with burning incense stood, And on the mercy-seat the sprinkled blood All smoking lay, for Israel's guiltv race ; Its silent intercession pled for grace Because the promised sacrifice it showed : So in the courts of heaven, the Son of Cod Speaks by his wounds before Jehovah's face ; His torn hands, his feet, his bleeding side, They ever plead with more than angel tongue. His keen distress they shew, the death he died, ' The terror of great darkness round him hung : They shew the atonement that he otiered there. And mutely plead in all-prevailing prayer. KtTP "• 112 TABOR MELODIES. I ! ;; I ''• JESU8 WJiir'l'. c/^HRIST'S tears wcro like tlic dew-drops on the rose, •^^ All from on Iiigli, with such an heavenly flow, As only love's pure tears on earth can show . — Hot, burning tears that fall for friends and foes, In which the richest grace of Godhead glows. Angels niiij^ht wonder that on earth below Such precious ])erils of love were seen to How ; l^ov could thev tell the worth of sifts like those. I'he flowing fount of mercy was too full, As if with gifts of goodness in I'rrears ; Methinks a portion of his loving soul Conveyed itself unseen, in holy tears, — His heart, lest we his sympathy should doubt, Like a libation did itself ])our out. LOVE. W 1 ■ ' I ' HI. ^U/J:AIL, light divine ! what is thine essence bright'^ "*^ Say. whence art thou ( and of what heavenly mouM i -^^ Thou art the star of Eden outward rolled, And almost lost in distance infinite, Whom ages waited for through Time's dark nig) it : Till thou once more, as pi'ophets had foretold. In the soft radiance that thou didst unfold Didst gild the horizon's edge on Tabor's height,— A morning star, the star of Bethlehem. And now the ages wait. Hail ! higher j'ise To thine effulgence, thy meridian beam, And make this earth once more a paradise. Star of that day, where ages stop their march, Fixed in the dome of heaven's eternal arch. TABOR MF/LODTRS. TAKE UP TITY CROSS. K c'f^AKK up thy cross, if thou wou]i i nil ! THE RESUKRECTION. ^T ^H AT ails this heaving ground ? 'neath omens dark, ^^ The rocking earthquake rends its length and breadth As if 'twere shattered by the touch of death. Its craves are thick as those beneath the ark ; Wherever man has trod, death hath his mark, Enshrined in rocks, or wrapt in glowing heath, Hid in the ocean's isles or depths beneath. Hark to that voice ! Like an electric spark. It thrills the earth, and rends it everywhere, To wake the dead, in masses or alone ; While hosts of spirits hover in the air. Dust to its dust unites, and bone to bone, And to the angel's trump in march sublime, The uead come forth in spite of death and time. TABOB MELODIES. 117 TIIP] FLYING SCROLL. ilfflAIL, mighty aiigol ! wlio in heaven's full view ^^ Hold'st thy niid course, as it' from pole to pole. Ii. its own hale shrined, thou bear'st the scroll That shines for all, that mjikcth all things now. O'er sea and mount thou dost thy way pursue, To ray its splendors on each human soul, And flood the heavens as the aij:es roll, To thrill the heart of nations throu'di and throuirit. This is the truth that makes the simjde wise, The truth divine that choral angels sung. That Simeon blest with his rejoicing eyes, That martyred Stephen lisped with faltering tongue : Tliat glorious truth, pure as the heaven of blue, Through which thou dost thy glorious way pursue. -o^-o- dth THE MOUNT OF GOD. f:^=iZ^} ^HERE is a mount crowned with eternal liirht ; Its sun stands still upon its peaks of gold, Like Gibeon's sun which Joshua did behold. No clouded day, no interval of night Doth mar its heights, all shadowless and bright. Its strong munitions stand like Sion's old, To shield the courts in which its thrones are told ; From thence its glory radiates on our sight, — A dome of splendor o'er a jasper sea, Wreathing its peaks, immaculately pure, As with a veil of changeless majesty. Lo, there it stands, indissolublv sure ! — The mount of God, within whose fadeless bowers The saints abide and all the heavenly powers. ! ! 118 TABOR MELODIES. I TlfK niOMISKD LAND. ^TUNNED with the roar of rancorous (Usjnite, From Korali's company 1 fain would haste ; Jj'ke (\'ilol), weary of this parched waste, I too wouhl rest this sandaled w^earv foot. Ah ! I wonkl liear that liome-hmd's silvery lute, A wanderer lonij by desert wilds embraced, The grapes of Eslicol ten)i)t my K)nging taste,— The full rii)e clusters of fair Canaan's fruit. Oh, might I pass the Jordan's narrow stream, To see the promised land of corn and wine, The goodly heights of Lebanon to claim. My glorious riglit, by heritage divine ! When shall I rise and stand in Israel's place ? When shall I come and see tliee, face to face { 111'.: ' fi- ll u: n PKA18E. y jffi WAKE, sweet song : thy rhythmic numbers bring, ^-^ Sweep every chord, ring out thy rapturous lays ! Awake, and thrill the marshalled clouds with praise. As doth the matin bird in early si)ring. And like an unseen choral ancel sinfj ; For these are brighter and more blessed days. Oh for Lsaiah's hand, his iiarp to seize. To strike his inspirations from each string, And give to earth the harmonies of heaven. To sing the lovingkindness of the Lord, The promises fulfilled that he hath given. The song of mortals wakes the golden chord Struck by the angels, who such themes rehearse In the glad ear of the whole universe. J TABOR MELODTKS 119 JOY. • •«-cJl HEARD tii(! iiiyviad voices of the s})ring 111 tiny hliulo, tuul bud, and op'ning flower ; They Siing in concert, with a voice of power, Till the glad hills their notes were echoing, And the sweep zopliyr s))read Iier fragrant wing To waft their joy in that reviving hour, And hymn their tlianks for dews or gentle shower. TJius the whole Church of God foi- jov doth sins, Until her anthems wake the angelic lyre ; And then tlie white-robed saints take up the strain Prom the great shout of the angelic choir, That Christ's sole praise mav fill the sweet refrain. Tlius God's great heart its riches doth employ. And in ten thousand strains pours out its joy. ^11 -au- ^>>j CHRIST DESCENDING. - THE HEAVENLY SABBATH. .«f3 rJTORTH from the seraph's joyous Sabbath-day, •"^ With vesper light adown the heavens serene, As if from ling'ring on some heavenly scene Where we might list the heaven's angelic lay, I catch that halo, whose diviner ray Sheds its faint light on the dim eyes of men, — Bring now a vision of the things unseen, — If but one glimpse to cheer us on our way. Doth it not here diffuse some softer lidit Of that great Sabbath kept within the veil ? These shadows soon shall drop from mortal sight, And we ourselves within its rays shall dwell. Sweet foretaste of this Sabbath rest, con. ^ down, And heaven itself this Sabbath calm shall crown. 12i TABOR MELODIES. m THOMAS. 5 ' ^^TAY, doubting soul, wliat put tliy faith to Higlit i Lost in those depths of self -projected dread, Tiiy gathei-ed ])ro\v grows pale, as if dismayed. Hatli the (iai'k angel, who in death doth smite, Struck out the in, and plunged thee into night I And m those dei)tlis where thou alone dost wade, Are there no stars to gem the ebon shade I Where are the heralds of the dawn of li 1^'^® ^^^e Indus, sinks in its own sand, And like that ancient stream, with mighty sweep, Bears all its own memorials to the deep. Where is the hallo wed home of youth unstained, With prattling lips, so poweriiil to command I Doth lone sad Rachel there her viwils keen Still bending o'er the waters but to weep { Our childhood's hopes, — like hei-s they seemed to stand ; But now they all are scattered far around, And tloat like freighted siglis upon the flood, Sinking through eddies to the dei)ths profound : j^o trace is left to show us where they stood. Swift stream, gleam white beneath the twili^xJit stars. Blanched like the cheek of age with flowing tears. 1 TABOR MELODIES. 123 GOG AND MAGOG. .cW SEE the forces of ju'oplietic time, Of ( TOg and Mago<; o'er the nations spread ; Tlie shores of oceans tremble 'neath their tread. The crimson front of war in marcli sublime Doth sound from every shore, from every clime. Woe to the living ! blessed are the dead ! Now is earth's vintage drooping, ripe and red ; The bells of heaven ring out earth's vesper chime. And Time's dim shadows deepen as they fall. The hosts of Magog and the hosts of God In deadly conflict battle, one and all ; Till our Messiah there shall lift his rod And point the lightnings of God's vengeful ire, 'Neath which the enemies of truth expire. DEATH OF TIME. HE leaden air sank into sullen rest, — As if 'twere severed from the thinofs that be^ And lost its force elasticity, — A waveless void — and then with change unblest, It seemed with gusts of clamorous sounds oppressed ,- The din of distant discord passing by That rang like thunder through a cloudless sky ; It came from north and south and east and west, And then 'twas hushed, and the bewildered sisrht Saw not familiar objects, but beheld In heaps confused, all horrors that affright, — ■ The shades of those in utter darkness sealed, — The glare of populous cities all ablaze — Earth's desolations to the end of davs. 124 TABOR MELODIES. I HEAR ITS ECHOES. (.|gIKE Moses, I ascend loiie Nebo's lieiglit, ^^" Soon from its toj) to see tlie goodly land. My soul's horizon here doth so expand, Naught intervenes between ine and its lijrht ; I seem endued with stronijer, clearer si^^lit. And I am waiting for the viewless hand, The whispered greeting of yon angel band Whose voices till the list'ning ear of night. xVnd there are visions of the golde;n plain, Its fruitful vales, its vineyards, and its vine. Which, 'neath the dews of Hermon's mount, doth stain TJie grapes of Eshcol with its luscious wine. [ hear faint echoes o'er the Jordan's Hood, Tlie voice of harpers round the throne of God. 1 I? '' hi hwi CHORAL MUSIC. J,S if on earth an angel choir did woo ^^ Their fuU-tmied harps, such is this minstrelsy, Its tones descending on us lavishly, In clusters of sweet sounds at every touch ; — Now softly as the fall of gentle dew, — Now rolling forth in grandest harmony. The music answering to each changing key Glides on aerial wing of every hue ; Till the rapt soul, held captive to the ear, No more would marvel though the heavens should bend Such rich orchestral symj)honies to heat ; Or that such strains might to the heavens ascend, Tuned to the cymbals and the golden lyres. In tlie full chorus of celestial clioirs. TABOE MELODIES. 125 1 WAITING. ^.S when, outside tlie bar, tlie prosperous hark ^^■^ Slips her slieot anchor, waiting for the tide, And with short cabhi dotli securely ride ; While evening rustles, and the so- ring lark Flings her wild music on the waters dark ; Still, peering fitful from tlie mountain-sid^s The shadowy pines home's gleaming turrets hide. Till the dim, distant roof-tree we can mark : Thus in the othng patiently I wait. With Hope's ])right streamers flying on before ; Till heaven's spring-tide o'erflow death's rocky strait, And float my vessel safely to the shore. I count a little while life's fleeting hours ; Come, quickly, come, I wait, ye heavenly powers ! CLOSING SONNET. .0, precious night-thoughts of the silent past ! I wordd ye all were beautiful and true ; Ye came to me like star-rays through the blue,- Each following ray seemed purer than the last : If here reflected, ye are overcast. Yet there ye glisten still to mortal view, Fair as the light, and })urer than the dew, In words divine, all crystallized and gla.ssed. I am content to lie 'neath these brown leaves, Unheard, unseen, lulled by their rustling sound, And voice each varying tint, I hat beautv weaves Through their frail tissues, as they circle round. Thus shadowed o'er, the muse may softly sing ; Perchance some wood-nymph doth here fold her wing. ,