A/o -fiZS. J J CUARQfAN ANGELS ) THE GUARDIAN ANGELS, OR, FRIENDS IN HEAVEN BY MRS. SARAH GOULD. Are ye forever to your skies departed ? ! will ye visit this dim world no more ? Ye whose bright wings a solemn splendor darted Through Eden's fresh and flowery shades of yore? BOSTON: HIGGINS, BRADLEY AND DAYTON, 20 WASHINGTON STREET. 1857. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by HIGGINS AND BRADLEY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. "W. P. DRAPER, Stereotyper and Printer, ANDOVER, MASS. NOTE. THIS little offering, or memento of affection, under the appropriate title of Guardian Angels, or Friends in Heaven, is now presented to the public, with the hope that the sympathy and sentiments expressed will meet a hearty response from all who peruse its pages. How beautiful and sublime the thought of angels, and guardian angels their society and mission; of the redeemed spirits^of the "just made perfect," and archangels, with cherubims and seraphims, wafting their heavenly influen- ces over us, giving peace, comfort, faith, hope, and consolation to all who believe in the recog- nition of friends in heaven ! also with the full conviction that the reader will here find a per- fect gem of fragmentary compilation, in prose and poetry, rich in thought, truthful, as well as sweet and beautiful, in sentiment thus mak- ing this little token one of the very best of gift books for presentation at all seasons of the year. AUTHOR. 2051233 CONTENTS. Page. Guardian Angels, May De Ray. 11 The Angel of Patience, .... J. G. Whittier. 22 The Song of Angels, Anon. 23 Angel Music, C. Goidd.. 24 The Flight of Angels, Anon. 26 Angels, Extract. 27 Earth's Angels, C. Webster. 32 The Angel Land, M. K. 35 Our Household Angel, L. Magee. 36 Another Angel, B.D. Anloise. 37 Society of Angels, Extract. 38 The Angel's Mission, Anon. 43 The Veiled Angel, J. M. Mead. 43 An Angel Teaching Patience, Anon. 45 Loss of Near and Dear Friends, .... Extract. 46 "W ho hath not Lost a Friend ? Anon. 61 Departed Friends, . . . . Anon. 62 To One Departed, Anon, 63 I have a Home, Low Barnly. 64 5 6 CONTENTS. Pago. The Spirit Entering Bliss, Rev. B. 65 No Night There, K. M. 66 Live for Something, Jennie Lane. 6 7 What I Live for, J7*P, fli'l* WtfK4 & a/n/fiMnon. 68 Inquiry and Reply, . ,. * ? * r M %fflW 4non. 70 Passing Away, Mrs. Hemans. 71 The Mother's Legacy, .... Wm. T. Adams. 73 Earth and Heaven, S. Lillie. 74 Where is that Land ? Susan. 75 Our Little Brother, Anon. 76 To my Mother, . N. A. Carlton. 77 The Soul's Passing, Anon. 78 Speak Gently, Anon. 79 The Angel's Whisper, M. A. Clough. 80 Angel's Whisper, Anon. 83 Three Angel Spirits, C. D. Stuart. 84 The Angel Reaper, Anon. 85 Angel and the Stars, Anon. 86 The Angel and the Bride, Anon. 88 The Angel Bride, Anon. 92 The Lovely Bride, Anon. 94 Lean Not on Earth, Anon. 98 Flight to Heaven, Anon. 99 There is Rest in Heaven, Anon. 100 Land of Promise, Anon. 101 Friend in Heaven, Extract. 102 Heaven, Festus. 110 Aspiring to Heaven, M. Forester. Ill Mother and Heaven, Anon. 112 To my Wife in Heaven Wallace. 113 CONTENTS. 7 Page. Suffering Exchanged for Heaven, . . . Anon. 114 He Dwelleth in Heaven, M. A. F. 115 A Home in Heaven, Anon. 116 The Heavenly Friend, . . . Rev. L. D. Phelps. 117 In Heaven, .Anon. 118 Ministering Spirits, Anon. 120 Are they not all Ministering Spirits ? C. Acton. 122 Farewell to Earthly Joys, .... J. H. Hooper. 124 The Refuge, RolMs. 125 The Angel of the Leaves, .... H. F. Gould. 126 Child and the Angels, C. Swain. 131 Little Angel Nellie, Anon. 132 Dreaming of Angels, Anon. 133 Can we forget Departed Friends ? . . . Anon. 135 The Angel Forms, Anon. 137 Angelic Forms, Anon. 141 Softly, Peacefully, Anon. 142 The Departed, If. A. C. 143 Departed Spirits, G. D. 145 A Ransomed Spirit, T. A. Kenmore. 147 / Let us be Patient, Longfellow. 148 She Sleepeth, H. E. B. 149 To my Mother, Anon. 150 To a Brother in Heaven, M. D. M. 151 The Way to Heaven Rev. M. Sheeley. 152 Thoughts of Heaven, Mary Howitt. 153 The Indian's Dream of Heaven, .... Anon. 155 First Moments in Heaven, Anon. 156 A Vision of Heaven, Anon. 157 The Angel and the Flowers, . . Hans Anderson. 158 8 CONTENTS. Page. To The Flowers, Anon. 164 The Transplanted Flowers, . . Charlotte AUfn. 167 The Flowers, A. M. Bigelow. 166 A Flower in Heaven A. E. N. 168 Flowers, Harvy Elmore. 169 Are there Flowers in Heaven ? C. W. Dowling. 1 70 Spring Flowers, Anon. 172 I cannot Stoop to Flowers, . . . J. Milton Dexter. 173 Precept of Flowers, Household Words. 1 74 The Use of Flowers, Anon. 175 Bright Flowers, ....... R. R. McKay. 176 Summer Flowers, Anon. 1 78 How Lovely are the Flowers, . . . . . Anon. 179 The True End of Being, Anon. 180 The Beautiful Island and its Angel, T. Mackellean. 181 The Beautiful Land, Anon. 190 The Land of the Blest, . . . W. 0. B. Pealody. 191 Invitation to go on Pilgrimage, . . J. Montgomery. 192 A Better Home, E.G. Douglas. 193 Spirit Longings, . J. D. Babbitt. 195 Parting Words, 'Joseph Britten. 196 Re-union Above, Leggett. 197 Our Infant Angel, ........ Anon. 198 Last Words of a Wife to her Husband, . . Anon. 206 My Boy, Anon. 208 Shall we Recognize our Friends in Heaven ? Extract. 209 The Voice of Sympathy, ... M. D. Williams. 224 The Family Meeting, .... Charles Sprague. 225 Come to the Land of Peace, Anon. 227 Mother's Dream of Heaven, v. . . T. S. Arthur. 228 CONTENTS. 9 Page. A Voice from Heaven, Anon. 235 Anchor thy Hope in Heaven, . . . . C. Melville. 237 The Angel Meeting, /. P. G. 238 Sing to Me in Heaven, Anon. 245 Guide to Heaven, Anon. 246 The Child's First Thought of Heaven, C. F. Gerry. 2-17 I want to be an Angel, Anon. 248 The Cherub Child, ....'... M. A. B. 252 Our Darling, Gertrude G. 253 Children in Heaven, Anon. 254 Re-union in Heaven, C. Palfrey. 255 ti Ittgds; Oil, FRIENDS IN HEAVEN, GUARDIAN ANGELS. 'TWAS evening. The sun had sunk behind the distant hill-tops, and the sombre shades of night were fast gathering round the snowy couch of a little sufferer. A careful hand had folded aside the muslin shade, and the faint light of evening rested on the pale, sweet face of little Alice. Her eyes were closed in troubled sleep. Frightful dreams seemed pass- ing through her infant mind, and low, sad mur- murs escaped her unclosed lips ; while the deep sigh or gentle groan oft indicated sudden pain. One little arm was thrown across her pillow, half buried in the thickly clustering folds of shin- ing hair that had escaped from its gauzy case. 11 12. GUARDIAN ANGELS. All was still., No noise, no sound, save the low moan of little Alice, was heard within. Busy feet, on tip-toe, came and went, friends looked grief, yet spoke not, but the tears that coursed each other quickly down the mother's pale, wan cheek, as she stood almost breathless, bending over her suffering child, too plainly told her anxious sorrow. At length the lids slowly unclosed, and the soft, blue eyes rested upon her mother. She smiled, oh, that smile ! The first for many, many long weeks ! Then the mother wept tears of joy, as she thought that her child, her only one, might still live to be her solace in after years. Alas! fond parent, thy hope is vain ! Even now the guardian angel waits to take her to Him who gave her thee. She spoke. " Mother, I 'm going to live in Heaven ; I wish papa would come home poor pa ! " " He '11 be here soon, my child ; but you must be quiet and not talk now, for you have been very sick." Soon the door opened. " Wife, said a stern voice, " how is Alice, to-night ? " " I 'm afraid, William, she is worse. She has GUARDIAN ANGELS. 13 been stupid and quite sick all day. She has been wishing you would come ; but I think she is asleep now. Speak softly, or you may wake her." " Has Dr. H called to-day ? " "Yes, and he thought she was doing well; but he left more medicine, and said he would call this evening. I wish you would stay at home to-night, William if she should be worse." " I would, but I have an important engage- ment for this evening; and, really," said he, looking at his dying child, " she seems to me no worse than yesterday ! Don't be alarmed, wife, Dr. H will be here to see her, and I shall be home at eleven, and if anything " " How is papa's little Alice to-night sick, eh ? " Alice looked, but replied not. " AUie, dear," said her mother, " your papa has come now." Still she sp^oke not ; " Allie, Allie, y OUT papa has come; wont you speak to papa? " " Dear papa," said the sweet little child, rais ing her deep blue eyes, " I'm going to Heaven." " Nonsense, " said the infidel father, " you have been dreaming, I guess." 14 GUARDIAN ANGELS. " Yes, papa, I have dreamed a s\\ eet dream, and I saw little children with wings, so hap- py and they smiled, and said I was coming to live with them. And I arsked if mamma would come, and they said yes. And I asked if my papa would come, too, and they looked so sad, and wept ; and I wept, too, papa, for I wanted you should go there and be happy." " Well, well, Allie," said he, stooping to kiss her, arid a tear dropped upon her pale brow. As he turned to leave the room, Alice stretched out her little thin hand, and said " Don't go, papa, your little Alice is dying." " No, no, Allie," said he, turning to hide his tears, " you'll be better to-morrow good-bye papa will come back pretty soon." " Come to Heaven, papa, and see little Alice." The unhappy father left the room, and soon after he might have been seen hurrying away to the gaming-table. Faster and faster he hur- ried on, as if to leave his very thoughts behind. " Poor little Allie ! " thought he. " Going to Heaven children with wings I wonder what put such thoughts into the child's head ? Go- ing to Heaven I wonder if there is a Heaven or not I wish I knew I almost wish I had GUARDIAX ANGELS. 15 staid with poor little Alice I'll go back no, wife will think I am anxious I'll go to-night and try to win, and then I'll stay with wife and Alice, and talk with her about Heaven, ha! She is a good child, though ! anyhow what if she should die ? I almost wish I had staid at home." ******** " Ah, ha ! Merton," said a fellow-gambler, "we are rather late to-night. They will take the advantage of us." " Yes, I wish I had stayed at home." " Poh ! your wife has been crying, hey ? " No but " " Here, here's the No. what are you think- ing of, Merton?" Once seated at the gaming-table, home and its inmates were forgotten. Deeper and deeper grew the excitement of the game ; wager upon wager was laid down, until one thought, only, pervaded each mind. " Who should win ! " The wine-cup was passed round eyes flashed with intense excitement loud bursts of laugh- ter echoed round the dimly lighted room, till at length the game closed. All was still as mid- night for a moment, and then " William 16 GUARDIAN ANGELS. Merton up for three thousand dollars!" shouted a dozen voices in a breath. " There, now," said one, w dja't you wish you had stayed at home ? Guess the dBar woman won't cry when you show her that ; ha ! ha ! " " Can't tell," thought Morton ; for home and his dear Alice just then darted through his mind. Hastily he gathered up his wicked treasure, and, as he hastened out, he glanced at his w&tcli. "Passed twelve! 'Tis bad, I declare; I told wife I'd be at home at eleven. Well. I've v;on, and 'tis the last time I'll go there, ay 'iow! " "What! the last time, is it?" fcai.d a well known voice. " You think, then, you will es- cape with all this booty, hey ? We shall see," thought he. " Now, Merton," suid the wily friend, stepping forward, and putting his arm within Merton's, "don't give up so! you've made well to-night, and there is no hurt in it at all. Keep on in the money-making line, is my advice to you, take it as you may. But good night, my friend ; remember next Tuesday, and show yourself a man. Good-night; don't forget to show your wife the money ; ha ! ha ! ' " Not till I see how Alice is," thought he ; and hurried on, ever and anon thinking what GUARDIAN ANGELS. 17 new investment he would make, and what pres- ents he would make his wife and Alice. Vain dreamer! Thou knowest not the grief that awaits thee. Again William Merton is standing by his own room door, lost in thought. Why does he hesitate? why listen so attentively with his hand on the latch ? Why do sad forebodings and feelings of remorse enter his mind ? With trembling hand he lifts the latch, and starts at the sound, so deep was the stillness around him. His wife met him in the hall. " O William ! why didn't you come ? " " Why ! haven't I ? How is she ? " He could not say Alice, for he read the worst of his fears in his wife's mournful face. " Is she worse ? " O William, Allie, little Allie, is " "Is what?" said he, springing to the bedside. O, stricken father ! Call her not she is gone ! Thy voice she cannot hear ! Thy kiss she cannot feel! Thy tears she cannot see! Yet weep, strong man,, and let those scalding tears wash guilty stains from out your sinful heart. " O God ! " he cried in bitterness of woe 2 18 GT7ABDIAN ANGELS. "why did'st them take my sweet little Alice from me ? O Alice ! why did I not stay at home with you ? why did I leave you when you wished me to stay ? All for money ! mon- ey ! What is money now to me ! Will it put life into that cold clay ? Will it bring back Alice? Oh! had I listened to the voice of my dying child ! I never will go again, Allie, nev- er ! What is all the money I won to-night in exchange for my darling Allie ? " thought he, feeling for his pocket-book. " What ! Gone ! " a crimson flush passed over his face, and, after searching more carefully, he exclaimed, in a tone of bitter vexation " the villain has rob- bed me ! I'm ruined forever ! The villain ! I'll meet him I'll have satisfaction, either my money or " " William, William," said Mrs. Merton, who had just come in. as he spoke the last words, " what are you saying ? " " Saying, why I'm ruined, that's what I say ; " and he bowed his head and wept. " Don't, William, grieve so ; all may yet be well. Little Alice, we hope, has gone to rest. Gone, I trust, to Heaven, where she will be far happier than she could be here. Let us, Wil- GUARDIAN ANGELS. 19 liam, so live that we may hope to join her there." " Talk not of Heaven to me, I'm wicked ! oh, how wicked! Guilty, yes, guilty! Did not the angels look sad when my angel Alice asked if papa would come ? Ah ! 1 have been a wicked, sinful man ! Do I not deserve all this, and more ? It is right God is just ! But I will, henceforth, try to live a better man!" Mrs. Merton affectionately took his hand, for her heart was too full for utterance, and togeth- er they knelt by the bedside where the little clay-cold form of Alice lay enshrouded, and for the first time, since by his mother's knee, in. early childhood, did William Merton's lips move in silent prayen And when he rose and pressed a kiss on the cold brow of the little Alice, he was an altered man. ******** Years passed away, and again the gentle wife watched by the bedside of the dying. 'Twas not the same room oh, no! 'twas much smaller, and more poorly furnished. The same kind and careful hand bathed the parched lips, and wiped the death-damp from his mar- 20 GUARDIAN ANGELS. ble brow. But who is the sufferer ? Ah ! i& it the same rich William Merton ? Even so. " Dear wife," said the dying man, " I must soon leave you. The sum I have saved for you and our dear children is small take it and rejoice that it has been honestly earned. I die happy farewell Allie I come." Guardian angels ! do we doubt them ? Night by night, and day by day ; Could we guide our steps without them, Where would wavering fancy stray ? Ev'ry noble thought that's spoken, Ev'ry smile, and ev'ry sigh, . Are they not a sign a token That some guardian angel's by ? Guardian angels, hovering o'er us, Keep the soul, in mercy, pure ; Had we not bright hope before us, Could we this frail world endure ? Then, be sure, that ever near us Voices come from forms unseen, Breathed by angels sent to cheer us, "Watching earth and heav'n between ! GUARDIAN ANGELS. 21 GUARDIAN ANGELS. CHILD of earth, and child of heaven ! Each alike in form and face, Save that wings to one are given, Something too of loftier grace. Yet the trustful and the true Dwell in meekness with the other These alone it was that drew From the skies its angel-brother. Half in blindness, half in trust, Guardian arms around him pressed, Sleeps the child of time and dust, Shielded by his cherub guest. Angel child ! and child of earth ! Semblance ye of hidden things ; One hath reached its spirit-birth, One but waiteth for its wings. 22 THE ANGEL OF PATIENCE. THE ANGEL OF PATIENCE. To weary hearts, to mourning homes, God's meekest angel gently comes : No power has he to banish pain, Or give us back our lost again ; And yet, in tenderest love, our dear And heavenly Father sends him here. There's quiet in that angel's glance There's rest in his still countenance : He mocks no grief with idle cheer, Nor wounds with words the mourner's ear ; But ills and woes he may not cure He kindly learns us to endure. Angel of patience ! sent to calm Our feverish brow with cooling palm To lay the storms of hope and fear, And reconcile life's smile and tear ; The throbs of wounded pride to still, And make our own our Father's will. O thou who mournest on thy way, With longings for the close of day ! He walks with thee that angel kind And gently whispers, " Be resigned ! . Bear up, bear on the end shall tell The dear Lord ordereth all things well." THE SONG OF ANGELS. 23 THE SONG OP ANGELS. IN the sweet solitude of night, While tired Nature seeks repose, I seem to hear light rustling wings And, as my weary eyes unclose, Arrayed in robes of righteousness, An angel-band appears above ; And on their golden harps they sing, In sweetest tones, of heavenly love. " "We come" they sing from that bright world, Beyond those shining orbs afar, That spangle o'er yon azure dome, Sweet messages of love to bear : We come to dissipate death's gloom, That now enshrouds this beauteous earth ; To sing of life immortal, ere These planetary spheres had birth. " Ere Time his circling course began, This Universe our Father planned ; In wisdom He the soul ordained, And worlds came forth at his command Unnumbered worlds unknown to earth, Chiming, as they forever shine In orbits all harmonious, < Our God is love his hand divine ! ' 24 ANGEL MUSIC. " And as those glorious notes roll on, Our Father's realms echo above, And all the innumerable throng, Adoring, shout ' Our God is love!' O wisdom infinite ! love Unspeakable ! let evermore Thy soul with joy see through death's gloom, In God confide his name adore. " Where Death appears, on wings of love, Unseen, unknown, to earth we come, To bear the disembodied soul ..Up to our Father's heavenly home. then, rejoice ! no terrors fear ! And as to other realms we soar Away, ' Hallelujah !' ever Shout ' Hallelujah ! ' evermore ! " ANGEL MUSIC. WHEN the twilight weeps 'neath the azure veil, And the sweet flowers sigh as the day grows pale, Then an angel comes on her silver wings, And a golden harp in her hand she brings ; Soft, sweet and low, Rich numbers flow, And I hush my breath while the angel sings 1 ANGEL MUSIC. ' 25 Oh ! the love-rays fall from her dew-filled eye, Like the soft star-beams from the twilight sky, And she fans my brow with her fragrant wings, While she gently strikes on the golden strings ! Soft, sweet, and low, Rich numbers flow, And I weep for joy while the angel sings ! Like the soft South wind, when he woos the flowers, Like the glad bird's note, in his love-wreath'd bowers, Like the thrilling sigh of the wind's harp-strings, Are the rapture-tones that the angel sings ! Soft, sweet and low, Glad breathings flow, And I dream of love while the angel sings ! Like the plaintive voice of the moaning pine, Like the wild, wild wail of the heaving brine, Like the groans that sweep on the night-wind's wings, Is the strange, sad song that the angel sings ! Dark, deep and low, Sad moanings flow, And I weep o'er the lost while the angel sings ! Then a lofty strain on the rich harp swells, And the soul of bliss in its music dwells ; 26 THE FLIGHT OF ANGELS. And the tide of song o'er the glowing strings Flows fresh and free from the Eden springs ! Soft, sweet and low Rich breathings flow, And I dream of Heaven while the angel sings ! THE FLIGHT OF ANGELS. [Written for a Monument to two English Children, in the Protestant Burial Ground at Rome.] Two Pilgrims for the Holy Land Have left our lonely door, Two sinless angels, hand in hand, Have reached the promised shore. We saw them take their heavenward flight, Through floods of drowning tears ; And felt in woe's bewildering night The agony of years. But now we watch the golden path Their blessed feet have trod, And know that voice was not in wrath Which called them both to God. ANGELS. 27 ANGELS. WHENEVER we read as we very often do in the Old Testament history, of an Angel, (i. e. Messenger) of the Lord, appearing to any one, such an Angel seems to have very seldom been (as in the New Testament history) a " Ministering Spirit, " a person created by the Lord, and employed in his service.. You can easily understand that either any person, or any thing', may be employed by the Lord, to intimate his will - to convey his mes- sages to men, or to perform any service to them. And whoever or whatever is so em- ployed, becomes God's Angel or Messenger. Whether it be a supernatural flame or any other appearance or a voice from Heaven or a man or any other personal Agent, of a different nature from, man, in all cases, that person or thing by which the Lord holds com- munications with mankind, is called his Angel, or Messenger. And since the word " Angel," originally sig- nifies simply a messenger, hence our Sacred 28 ANGELS. writers often found it necessary, in order to prevent mistakes, to use the expression, " An- gel of the Lord" to distinguish such a mes- senger as they are speaking of, from any or- dinary messenger. Now in the Old Testament history, when an Angel is mentioned as appearing, it is gen- erally some visible object, in which there was an immediate manifestation of the Lord him- self; so that you will frequently find the ex- pressions, " the Lord," and the " Angel of the Lord," used indiscriminately to denote the same thing. Thus, where we read of God's first mani- festation of himself to Moses in the wilderness, in a flame of fire in a bush, we are told that the Lord spake to Moses out of the flame, say- ing, "J am the God of Abraham" etc. And Moses " fell on his face and worshipped." Now, if you look to the speech of Stephen as recorded in the Book of Acts (chap. vii. 30), you will find him speaking of the Angel of the Lord appearing to Moses in a flame of fire. And he again mentions (v. 38,) the "Angel which spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai." Now we all know that what was spoken there, * ANGELS. 29 began with " J am "the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt." It was the Lord himself, who held communication with his servant, through the means of the appearance of a flame, accompanied with " thunderings and voices," etc. And the flame, is thence called his Messenger, or Angel. No created person was here employed. And hence it is, that we often find (as I observed just above), the two expressions, "the Lord, and the Angel of the Lord," used indiscriminately, and with the signification. For instance, in the Book of Exodus (chap, xxiii. v. 20,) " Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, (viz. the fiery and cloudy pillar, which accompanied the Israelites in their journeyings,) and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. " Beware of him, and obey his voice ; pro- voke him not ; for he will not pardon your transgressions ; for my name is in him : (that is, it is a manifestation of my especial presence and agency; which in Scripture, is often, call- ed Name '), but if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that / speak" (here you ob- serve that " he," and " I," are used indiscrimi- 30 ANGELS. ^_ y * I nately,) " then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies," etc. What has been said of the use of the word Angel in these passages, will for the most part apply, as to the essential points, to many others in the Old Testament history; even in those places in which the human form is assumed. For instance, in the 'appearance of Angels to Abraham, and to Lot, (Gen. xviii.) of an An- gel to Balaam, (Numb. xxiL), and to Manoah and his wife (Judges xiii.) ; and in several others, you will find, on an attentive perusal, that the Angels there mentioned (at least in the last two places), were not created persons, but manifestations of the Lord himself. And accordingly in most of these passages, you read of DIVINE worship being offered and ac- cepted. To the Angels, on the contrary, men- tioned in the New Testament the minister- ing spirits recorded as appearing divine wor- ship either is not offered, or is carefully reject- ed. " See thou do it not! " (says the Angel to John, in the Book of Revelation, chap, xxii.), " for I am thy fellow-servant." " The holiness of Angels is indicated in their ANGELS. 31 cheerful and uniform obedience. They are often spoken of, as being sent by God upon various missions to the earth. My God hath sent his Angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths that they have not hurt me," Dan. vi. 22. " In the sixth month the Angel Gabriel, was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Naza- reth," Luke i. 26. " Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his Angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod," Acts xii. 11. Thus we find that the Angels are ever ready to obey their Sovereign, and execute his wilL Their plans and purposes are in unison with the Divine mind. They have no selfish ends in view, no unholy desires to gratify. They have no higher ambition than to execute, with fidelity and success, the commands of their King. They delight in serving. They glory in their loyalty. They covet no other state, for they have reached the highest attainment by created intelligences. They can go no higher without being infinite. They can occupy no loftier positions without being gods. The existence indeed of created persons called Angels, seems to have been believed, in 32 ANGELS. early times, by the greater part of the Jews ; though the sect of the Sadducees denied it. And we find mention of such beings, in several parts of the Old Testament. But in far great- er number of the places (in the historical books), in which the appearance of an Angel is recorded, it will be found to have been a mani- festation of the Lord himself. Such then being the different characters gen- erally, of the Angels, noticed in the Old, and in the New Testament histories respectively; you cannot but perceive the importance of constantly keeping in mind. the distinctions I have been pointing out; lest you should im- pute false ivorship to those persons who in the Old Testament are mentioned as offering ado- ration to what is called "the Angel of the Lord." EARTH'S ANGELS. 83 EARTH'S ANGELS. WHY come not spirits from the realms of glory To visit earth, as in the days of old, The times of sacred writ and ancient story ? Is, heaven more distant ? or has earth grown cold ? Oft have I gazed, when sunset clouds, receding, Waved like rich banners of a host gone by, To catch the gleam of some white pinion speeding Along the confines of the glowing sky; And oft, when midnight stars, in distant dullness, Were calmly burning, listened late and long ; But Nature's pulse beat on in solemn stillness, Bearing no echo of the seraph's song. To Bethlem's air was their last anthem given, When other stars before the One grew dim ? Was their last presence known in Peter's prison ? Or where exulting martyrs raised their hymn? And are they all within the veil departed ? There gleams no wing along the empyrean now ; And many a tear from human eyes has started, Since angel touch has calmed a mortal brow. 3 34 EARTH'S ANGELS. No ; earth has angels, though their forms are moulded But of such clay as fashions all helow ; Though harps are wanting, and bright pinions folded, We know them by the love-light on their brow. I have seen angels by the sick one's pillow ; Theirs was the soft tone and the soundless tread ; Where smitten hearts were drooping like the willow, They stood " between the living and the dead." There have been angels in the gloomy prison In crowded halfe by the lone widow's hearth ; And where they passed, the fallen hath uprisen The giddy paused the mourner's hope had birth. I have seen one whose eloquence commanding Roused the rich echoes of the human breast, The blandishments of wealth and ease withstanding, That Hope might reach the suffering and oppressed. And by his side there moved a form of beauty, Strewing sweet flowers along his path of life, And looking up with meek and love-lent duty : I call her angel, but he catted her wife. 0, many a spirit walks the world unheeded, That, when its veil of sadness is laid down, Shall soar aloft with pinions unimpeded, And wear its glory like a starry crown. THE ANGEL LAND. 35 THE ANGEL LAND. THIS world is beautiful, 'tis true, But there's a brighter world than this Beyond that dome of wavey blue, A home of everlasting bliss ; That Spirit Land, whose canopy Is never sullied with a cloud ; Where clad in spotless drapery, Saints are in adoration bow'd; A myriad band of vestals raise Their voices in Jehovah's praise. There, purling streams and shady bowers, With fields of amaranthine hue, And beds of bright ambrosial flowers Impearled with heavenly dew On every hand, to please the eye, Are spread in loveliness and there, Than those of sultry Araby, The breezes richer perfumes bear ; There, too, such melody 13 heard As never mortal's bosom stirred. 1 36 OUR HOUSEHOLD ANGEL. OUK HOUSEHOLD ANGEL. AMIDST the melody of June, When buds were bursting into bloom, And earth seemed filled with Eden's grace, Fit for an angel's dwelling-place, God sent with us to dwell A blue-eyed babe with golden hair, And dimpled arms and forehead fair ; ! life seems richest, rarest bliss, As her warm ruby lips we kiss, Our darling baby, Nell. Our " household angel," her bright smile With radiance lights our home the while ; God grant her little dimpled feet Through life may tread 'mong blossoms sweet- ! guard our treasure well. Dear, blessed gift ! at morn, at even, Our prayer for her goes up to Heaven ; For earth would be a dreary place, Without the darling cherished face Of our sweet baby, Nell ! "ANOTHER AXGEL." 37 "ANOTHER ANGEL." "I WILL bathe my lovM boy in the pure limpid wave, And robe him myself in the garb of the grave ; With my own tender hand have I closed his fond eyes, Ne'er to open again till he wakes in the skies. Let his shroud be the robe that hath decked him of yore, By my fond fingers traced with affection all o'er ; Spotless plaits of the lawn-shade his marble limbs fold, O ! he greets me no longer! his form waxes cold. Once again am I smoothing his soft silky hair Methinks I've given birth to a bright angel heir! While I pluck a pale flower hi his clasped hands to lay, Even death breathes a sigh o'er such beauteous clay. What ! could I permit e'en the kindest friend's hand To robe my sweet Willie for Heaven ! Where a band With his grandsire awaits him his glory untold With their love like a garment around him to fold ? O, my father! receive thou this jewel of mine! All fresh from my heart is it torn from its shrine ; To our God I resign him my Father, and thine ; Lo ! the mantle of Levi yet rests on thy line ! " 38 SOCIETY OP ANGELS. SOCIETY" OF ANGELS. THE present ministration of angels to Chris- tian pilgrims establishes a relation of the deepest interest. The particular ways and instances of their special efforts, as our allies, we know not. nor do we need to know. It is enough for us to be assured that an immense host of these efficient guardians are in attendance upon the heirs of salvation. Dwelling as we do in this tabernacle of flesh, burdened with infirmities, assailed by temptations, what consolation it is to know that there is sympathy for us, and co- operation with us in the world of spirits ! Let us never forget that, while we have to contend not only with indwelling sin, and the dangerous influences of surrounding scenes, but also to wrestle with principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wicked- ness in high places, still, they that be with us are more than they that be with them. If, as to the young man with the prophet, a view were granted us into the surrounding sphere of spiritual being, or, if the vision of faith were sufficiently clarified and enlarged, we too should SOCIETY OF ANGELS. 39 I see the " mountains full of horses and chariots of fire round about." Verily, the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. Nor are low and lowly Christians overlooked by these ministering spirits. It has not been merely to the noble and learned of earth that they have made their most signal manifesta- tions, but also to the outcast bondwoman, to the houseless prophet, to ignorant shepherds, and imprisoned fishermen. Gold, purple, er- mine, and rags, and outward wretchedness, are all one in their eyes. " Take heed," said Christ, u that ye despise "not one of these little ones, for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." The most obscure of God's people on earth share in the sympathy of angels in yonder world of light, who stand in the pre- sence of the King of kings. What ground of humble exultation is here; and what pitiable arrogance for any to despise them ! " I have seen angels by the sick one's pillow ; Theirs was the soft tone and the soundless tread ; When smitten hearts were drooping like the willow, They stood ' between the living and the dead.' 40 SOCIETY OF ANGELS. " There have been angels in the gloomy prison ; In crowded halls ; by the lone widow's hearth ; And when they passed, the fallen have uprisen, The giddy paused the mourner's hope had birth." " O, everlasting God ! who hast ordained and constituted the services of angels and men in a wonderful order ; grant that, as thy holy angels always do thy service in heaven, so, by thy appointment, they may succor and defend us on earth. At the hour of death their services are emi- nently enjoyed. Dying seems ordinarily so much like passing suddenly into the dark, like plunging into an unfathomed sea, that the soul shrinks, and longs for some hand to guide and uphold it. The thought of going alone into those untried scenes not unfrequently occasions trembling. But it does not go alone. Angels are, as Tertullian calls them, Evacatores ani ma- rum. " Hark, they whisper angels say, Sister spirit, come away." They who have ministered unseen, now be- come visible guards. The departing soul is SOCIETY OF ANGELS. 41 borne to its everlasting rest by the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. " It came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom." Yes, Lazarus, without fortune, without friends, without home, without clothing, without food, exposed in the open air, and covered with sores, Lazarus, whom a moment before the meanest servant of the rich man held in contempt, blessing his stars that he was not so forlorn and wretched ; he, whom a moment before, none but dogs cared for, is now carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. A vast convoy of mighty, holy shining ones bear that despised beggar's soul' high up in the Paradise of God. What, then, if, in the closing scene t you feel as solitary and friendless as he who was laid at the gate of Dives? Think of the waiting crowd, into whose friendly presence and kind ministrations death will introduce you. Gently will they bear you in their arms to your Father's house. Familiarize yourself with this animat- ing thought. In the midst of deep contempla- tion on his death-bed, Richard Hooker remark- ed : "I am meditating the number and nature of angels, and their blessed obedience and or- 42 SOCIETY OF ANGELS. der, without which peace could not be in heaven , and. Oh that it might be so on earth ! " " Now, angels," said an early pastor of New England, when dying, " now, angels, do your office ! " while Dr. Bateman exclaimed : " What glory ! the angels are waiting for me ! Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ! Farewell ! " When, reader, your face shall be toward Padan-Aram, and you light upon a certain place to tarry there all night, and, with the stones thereof for your pillow, you lie down in that place to sleep, may you behold the angels of God ascending and descending between heaven and earth! YOU will find it mine other but the house of God; it will be the gate of heaven. THE ANGEL'S MISSION. 43 THE ANGEL'S MISSION. ONCE on a time, from scenes of light An angel winged his airy flight : Down to this earth in haste he carne, And wrote in lines of living flame These words, on every thing he met : " Cheer up ; be not discouraged yet." Then back to heaven with speed he flew, Attuned his goldeu harp anew, Whilst the angelic throng came round To catch the soul-inspiring sound ; And heaven was filled with new delight, For Hope had been to earth that night. THE VEILED ANGEL. WHEN our first parents were from Eden driven, Through life-long years to bear a weary load ; Urging their slow, tired footsteps on to heaven, An angel journeyed with them on the road. The glory of his face was veiled and hidden ; Thus its sweet radiance they failed to scan. Sin, by his voice, was ever, ever chidden : He seemed the foe, and not the friend of man. 44 THE VEILED ANGEL. Whene'er they paused to gather deadly flowers, Or pluck forbidden fruit from baneful boughs, Or trifle with the solemn-footed hours, God's angel bent on them his awful brows. If from the narrow path, in pleasing wonder, They roamed for idols 'mid the works of God : He called upon them, in a voice of thunder, And scourged them back with an avenging rod. But if tow'rd heaven their eager footsteps hurried, And each obedient, walked as God's dear child, They felt not half the weary weight they carried ; The angel softly sp%ke, and sweetly smil'd, " On to the Night of Death ; on to Life's Morn- ing." This weeping pair were by the angel driven, With many a pensive smile, and solemn warning, Until he left them at the gates of heaven. Then when they never more his aid need borrow ; Then he unveiled at last his radiant face : He is the friend of Man his name is Sorrow He walks with us and all the human race. AN ANGEL TEACHING PATIENCE. 45 AN ANGEL TEACHING PATIENCE. BESIDE the toilsome way, Lowly and sad, by fruits and flowers unblest, Which my lone feet tread sadly, day by day, Longing in vain for rest, An angel softly walks, With pale, sweet face, and eyes cast meekly down, The while from withered leaves and flowerless stalks, She weaves my fitting crown. A sweet and patient grace, A look of firm endurance true and tried, Of suffering meekly borne, rests on her face So pure, so glorified. And when my fainting heart Desponds, and murmurs at its adverse fate, Then quietly the angel's bright lips part, Murmuring softly, " Wait ! " " Patience ! " she meekly saith : " Thy Father's mercies never come too late ; Gird thee with patient strength and trusting faith, And firm endurance wait ! " 46 LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. LOSS OF NEAK AND DEAK FRIENDS. WHILE travelling through the scenes of time, afflictions are the means which our Father in Heaven uses to recover us from the influence of sin, to promote our usefulness here and our hap- piness hereafter. It is not enough to know that our suffering is just, but that it is designed for our good ; it is not enough to say, " this is my grief, and I mnst bear it ; but it is the Lord, my friend and my Father. Let Him do what seemeth good in his sight." But it is evident, that a hearty ac- quiescence in the divine will, under affliction, cannot arise, but from a knowledge of the Di- vine character. The child must not only feel that the Father has a right to chastise him, but that his chastisement is the result of paternal affection and love. We may be dumb, and not open our mouth, but in order to render a cheerful and grateful submission, we must see the righteousness, the wisdom, and, above all, the kindness, of his dispensations towards us. Should we call that goodness in a parent, or the evidence of fatherly care, which would suf- fer him to let his child go unchastised, when LOSS OP NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. 47 rebellious and disobedient ? No it should rather be termed cruelty. Neither will the goodness of our Heavenly Father fail to chastise and correct his disobedient children. Eternal love decrees, that if his children " forsake his law, and walk not in his judgments ; if they break his statutes, and keep not his commandments, he will visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes." Yet the voice of the rod which we are commanded to hear, is, " How shall 1 give thee up, Ephraim ? How shall I make thee as Admah ? How shall I set thee as Zeboim ? My heart is turned within me ; my repentings are kindled together." Who can tell to what extremities we might have gone, if we had not been corrected ? Says David, " Before I was* afflicted, I went astray; but now have I learned to keep thy precepts." Who can tell the evils we have avoided by the timely infliction of the rod ? We were growing earthly-minded. God sent an east wind, and blasted the fruits of our field. He dried up the gourd of our pleasures at its root. He saw us placing our affections inordi- nately upon a lovely child, upon a husband or wife: He commissioned the messenger of 48 LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. death to remove that idol. His faithfulness prompted him to remove from us that which he foresaw would prove our ruin. He called us back to himself, that we might find our all in Him. Afflictions acted as a curb, and pre- vented us from plunging into the pit of wo. Afflictions serve as a test of the Christian graces. " When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." It is the windy tempest that tries the strength of the vessel. The pelting rain proves the soundness of the roof. " Trials make the promise sweet, Trials give new life to prayer ; Trials bring me to his feet, Lay me low and keep me there." Satan once said, " Doth Job fear God for nought ? Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about all that he hath, on every side ; but put forth thy hand, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." Look at the trial : bereft of all, he cries, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, and bless- ed be the name of the Lord." The piety of Job was equal to that trial. But see him dis- eased from the soles of his feet to the crown of LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. 49 his head. Ah ! do you hear the long and tedious complaints that break from his lips ? The voice of God, out of the whirlwind, re- stores him to his right mind, and grace takes a deeper root in h.is soul than ever. When we 'are surrounded with friends, wealth, and influence, we may not easily de- cide whether we are making the Eternal God our refuge and support; but let them be re- moved, and the trial is made. If they were to us instead of God, we shall at once droop and languish ; and we shall be ready to say, with one of old, " Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I left ? " Afflictions are designed to promote our hap- piness hereafter. " They yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those that are exer- cised thereby." They are like the physician's prescription bitter indeed to the taste, but healthful to the system. " They work for , us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." " They are not worthy indeed to be com- pared with it." Who are they that stand be- fore the throne ? They that have come up out of great tribulation, and have washed their 4 50 LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. We may not be able to see their in- fluence in promoting our eternal interests ; but, by and by, when the cloud shall break away, we shall see clearly their design and tendency. In these seasons of sorrow and bereavement, we need a clear, firm, elastic, available faith in immortality, in the eternity of our affections, and in the deathless union of those whom death has parted. " The heart that God breaks with affliction's stroke, Oft, like the flower when stricken by the storm, Rises from earth more steadfastly to turn Itself to Heaven, whither as a guide, Kindly though stern, Affliction still is leading, Even to the home of endless joy and peace. There on the borders of that better land, Shall pain's sharp ministry forever cease. Then shall we bless thee, safely landed there, And know above how good thy teachings were ; Then feel thy keenest strokes to us in love were given, That hearts most crushed on earth, shall most rejoice i in heaven." " Christian, you have no occasion to fear LOSS OF XEAR AND DEAR FRIEXDS. 51 entering upon any path which God opens to you. What though that path be dark, and we know not where it will end ? Is it not enough that he who opens it has said: ' Fear not, for I am with thee'? What though afflictions, re- peated and overwhelming, lie along that path? Is it not the path marked out for us by the wisdom that cannot err? Is it not in this very way that the God of all grace designs to make us partakers of his holiness ? Breaking our earthly arm, that we may lean upon himself; drying up our failing streams, that'' he may bring us to the living fountain ; and cutting off our expected delights, that he may make us serene and joyful in himself without them." " Oh, ye afflicted, tossed with tempest and not comforted, behold and consider that soon your stones shall be laid with fair colors, and your foundations with sapphires." " Your windows shall be of Agates, and your gates of Carbun- cles." It is but an handbreath, humble child of sorrow, and you shall be dismissed, refined and purified, by those afflictions, and made meet for glory. Even now the dawn of the upper world beams through the clouds that darken your horizon, 52 LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. and soon those clouds shall all be dispelled ; and under the full beams of the Sun of Right- eousness shining upon you eternally, you shall sing, " In thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." And what though your pathway into this fe- licity bring you to the river of death, and there is no turning to the right hand, or the left ; and there leaving kindred and friends behind, you must conflict alone with the cold waves ? Have you not seen others fearful as you, when they have come to the cold flood, borne peacefully through? Have you not seen their fears dis- pelled, the billows parted before them, and the way opened for them to go through dry-shod ? And is he who has done this for them, less sufficient for you ? " Fear not," is his word to every faithful follower. " I am the first and the lasL I am he that liveth and was dead ; and behold I am alive for evermore. Amen and have the keys of death and of hell." And will you not commit yourself to Him in whose heart is such love, in whose hands is such power? " Death is a theme of mighty import, and every variety of eloquence has been exhausted on the magnitude of its desolations. There is LOSS OP NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. 53 not a place where human beings congregate to- gether, that does not, in the fleeting history of its inmates, give the lesson of their mortality. Is it a house ? Death enters unceremoniously there, and with rude hand tears asunder the dearest of our sympathies. Is it a town ? Every year Death breaks up its families, and the society of our early days is fast melting away. Is it a church ? The aspect of the congregation is changing perpetually ; and in a little time, another people will enter these walls, and another minister will speak to them. Our fathers, who moved their little hour on this very theatre, were as active and noisy as we' the loud laugh of festivity was heard in their dwellings, and in the busy occupations of their callings, but* where are they now ? They are where we shall soon follow them ; they have gone to sleep but it is the sleep of dtath. " Death carries to our observation all the im- mutability of a general law. We cannot re- verse the process of nature, nor bid her mighty elements to retire. But is there no higher au- thority no power that can grapple with this mighty conqueror, and break his tyranny ? Yes. True, we never saw that Being; but the records 54 LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. of }ast ages inform us of the extraordinary visi- tor who lighted on these realms, where Death had reigned so long in all the triumphs of ex- tended empire. Wonderful enterprise ! He came to destroy Death! Vast undertaking! At the coming of that mighty Saviour, the heavens broke silence music was heard from their canopy, and it came from a congregation of living voices, which sung the praises of God, and made them fall in articulate language on human ears. The disciples gave up all for lost, when they saw the champion of their hopes made the victim of the very mortality which he promised to destroy. He entered ' That undiscovered country, from whose bourne No traveller e'er returns." " But he did. He broke asunder the mighty barriers of the grave ; he entered, and he reani- mated that body which expired on the cross, and, by the most striking of all testimonies, he has given us to know that he hath fought against the law of Death, and hath carried it. He has not abolished temporal death ; it still reigns with unmitigated violence, and swe'eps off each successive generation. Death still lays us in LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. 55 the grave, but it cannot chain us there to ever- lasting forgetfulness : it puts its cold hand upon every one of us ; but a power higher than death will lift it off, and reanimate those forms. The burying-ground has been called the land of silence the Sabbath bell is no longer heard by its slumbering inhabitants ; yet shall the sound of the last trumpet enter the loneliness of their dwelling, and be heard through death's remotest caverns ; and this mortal, these mould- ering bones, these skeletons, and fragments of humanity, shall put on glorious immortality." ' Have you been called, in the inscrutable pro- vidence of God, to part with near and dear friends? And have they left behind an evi- dence that they loved the Lord Jesus Christ ? Consider, for a moment, the happy change which they have experienced, and you will realize their gain. Here, they may never have been clothed with the honors of office; but there they are kings and priests unto God . and the Lamb. Here, they may have possessed uncertain and unsatisfying riches ; but there they have an in- heritance incorruptible, undefiled and unfading. Here below they were strangers and pilgrims, having no continuing city ; but now they have 56 LOSS Or NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. gone home to that glorious city which God hath prepared for them ; they are fellow-citizens with the saints in the heavenly Zion. Here, they dwelt in a frail, miserable tenement of clay ; but now they have " a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Here, their vision of divine things was limited and obscure; but now they see God face to face ; they see Jesus as he is, and behold with wonder and adoration the triumphs of his cross the glories of his crown. How clear is their vision now. How extensive their prospect of eternal things. Here they were dis- quieted with doubts and fears respecting the final trial of their faith ; but these have passed away like the momentary, causeless anxieties and imaginary dangers of a dream. They have awakened in eternity and are safe. They had their trials, but these are ended ; they had their pains, and fears, and tears ; their days of lan- guishing, and hour of dying. But all this is over ; " the former things are passed away." They had many dangers, but escaped ; tempta- tions, but they vanquished them ; conflicts, but the warfare is ended, and the victory sure. -^- They were weak, but received strength suffi- LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. 57 cient to reach heaven. Their Father ehastened them, but their last chastising is over. Their Saviour led them through trying scenes, but the last is ended. The work of faith and labor of love are finished. The patience of hope has endured to the end, and is no longer needed. Satan tried all his arts to undo them, and was baffled. The world employed all its snares, yet all are escaped. Sin made all its assaults, yet all are overcome. Blessed was the day when they were brought to the Saviour's fe'et, more blessed that, when they landed in the skies, and began to sing, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name be the glory." And shall we meet and recognize these dear departed friends, amid the glories of the upper temple ? When the weeping parent asks, in agony, where is my child ? nature and philo- sophy only echo back the question with a more despairing emphasis. Revelation replies, " It is well with the child." Then why may not parents and children, brothers and sisters, re- deemed through a Saviour's blood, unite once more in the social circle, and send up their an- thems of praise, for being brought together to 58 LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. that state of glory ? " Love never faileth," not even when faith is lost in sight, and hope in fruition. In Heaven, the love of God, and the love of our neighbor, will be our highest duty, our highest privilege, our highest joy. And so it will be in reference to those endearments which now constitute the chief charm of life ; they will be purified, strengthened and perpetuated. From the who e theme, it appears abundantly evident that the Bible permits us to hope that we shall know our friends in Heaven; that all those " who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection f from the dead," will be reunited to, and associated with, those whom they knew and loved in this life, and thus contribute to each other's delight in that land of perpetual blessedness and unfading joy. If it be such a pleasure to take sweet coun- sel together here, and to " walk to the house of God in company," what must it be to join the same society of pious friends in the temple above ? In the language of another, * " I can hold no sympathy with that stern, gloomy mood of theological teaching which tells us * Peabody. LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. 59 that our affection for our kindred and friqnds . ought to be here, and will be in heaven com- pletely merged in our love , for God and for man in general. Such is not the lesson which we might learn from our own growth in piety. Our domestic affections increase in intensity and purity with the growth of our love to God. No families are so closely and tenderly united by mutual affection r as those where the spirit of heaven is shed abroad in every heart. A home where perfect love reigns, is a laboratory of those kind and devout affections which go up to God, and range round the universe. Nor can we forget that he who dwelt in the bosom of the Father, and shed his reconciling blood for the whole family of man, was a son, a brother, and a friend that he wept at the grave of Lazarus that he had a favorite dis- ciple that his dying eyes sought out his mother. The soul has, indeed, an indefinite capacity of loving; but it has not an infinite range of knowledge or power of acquaintance. In heaven, we shall, no doubt, love every child of God ; but we cannot know all alike, or be equally intimate vwith all." And if we are to associate at all^with redeemed spirits, as we 60 LOSS OF NEAR AND DEAR FRIENDS. know we shall, if there is to be in heaven the most perfect communion of saints, as we are equally assured, then is it not reasonable that this association, this communion, will be first with those whom we knew and loved on earth, to whom our hearts were closely linked ; who with the same opportunities and means of grace as ourselves, have been disciplined in the same school, and, if I may use the expression, had their spiritual affections and virtues cast in the same mould ? From the very finiteness of our natures, we must have our peculiar associ- ates and friends ; and who so likely to stand in that relation as those who were nurtured at the same family altar ? This community of joys and sorrows in their previous state of probation, would naturally attract them together in heav- en, and bind together as kindred spirits. And we can easily conceive how much such an union would tend ':o enhance their bliss. WHO HATH NOT LOST A FRIEND ? 61 WHO HATH NOT LOST A FRIEND? FRIEND after friend departs ; Who hath not lost a friend ? There is no union here of hearts That finds not here an end : Were this frail world our only rest, Living or dying, none were blest. Beyond the flight of time, Beyond this vale of death, There surely is some blessed clime, Where life is not a breath ; Nor life's affections transient fire, Whose sparks fly upward to expire. There is a world above, Where parting is unknown, A whole eternity of love, Formed for the good alone ; And faith beholds the dying here Translated to that happier sphere. Thus star by star declines, Till all are passed away, As morning high and higher shines To pure and perfect day : Nor sink those stars in empty night ; They hide themselves in heaven's own light. 62 DEPARTED FRIENDS. DEPARTED FRIENDS. THREE years have passed, since first I left My cottage home, to roain 'Mid strangers cold, and try, in vain, To find me friends and home. I had a father once, whose step Sent gladness to my heart ; But scarce ten years I loved him well, Ere we were called to part. My mother, then, an angel pure, "Was left to guide me on ; But, fading slowly, year by year, She soon, alas ! was gone. A little sister still remained, A fairy creature, too ; But soon my EVA passed away ; They're att in heaven now. TO ONE DEPARTED. 63 TO ONE DEPARTED. ART thou not near me, with thine earnest eyes, That weep forth sympathy ! thy holy brow, Whereon such sweet imaginings do rise : Art thou not near me, when I call thee now, Maid of my childhood's vow I Even like an angel, smiling 'mid the storm, "Wert thou amid the darkness of my woes Thy pure thoughts clustering around thy form, Like seraph-garments, whiter than the snows, Which the wild sea upthrows. . -' Now I behold thee, with thy sorrowing smile, And thy deep soul uplooking from thy face, While sweetly crossed upon thy breast the* while, Thy white hands do thy holy heart embrace, In its calm dwelling-place ! 64 I HAVE A HOME, I HAVE A HOME. I HAVE a home, a glorious home, Far, far above the skies ; Where tears of sorrow, grief, despair, Can never dim mine eyes. There Christ our blessed Saviour dwells, And God our Father reigns ; Before them saints and angels bow, And praise their holy names. I may be tossed by raging waves, On Fortune's stormy sea ; My heart may bleed from sorrow's dart, And friends forever be. Yet will I upward lift mine eyes, To that bright home on high ; Where flowers of joy forever bloom, Perennial in the sky. p t The earth will soon dissolve like snow, The sun will cetse to shine ; But O, that glorious home above, Will be forever mine. THE SPIRIT ENTERING BLISS. 65 THE SPIRIT ENTERING BUSS WHEN Nature's fire shall cease to burn Within this mortal, mouldering urn ; My soul will triumph o'er decay, O'er changing worlds that pass away, And seek a clime from sorrows free, On wings of immortality. What pleasaat sound is this I hear ? Behold ! behold ! the angels near, On snowy wings they hover nigh While earthly scenes are passing by, And from their harps sweet thrilling strains Ee-echo o'er the heavenly plains. On my glad wings I swept along, Amid this bright angelic throng, Whose rapturous songs of joy and praise, Of triumph o'er death, hell, and the grave, Fill'd my^ freed soul with bliss supreme, Exceeding mortal's brightest dream ; Yet sweeter raptures fill me now, While at the throne of God I bow. 66 NO NIGHT THERE. NO NIGHT THEKE. " No night is there ! " The sun of love is beaming Upon the happy denizens of heaven ; Its pure effulgence from God's presence streaming, Shines ever on the hosts of the forgiven. No night is there ! " for cloudy disputation Is left behind upon the sinful earth ; With notes of cheerful praise and adoration, All voices blend to hymn the Saviour's worth. " No night is there ! " for want and pain are ended ; Sin and temptation they shall know no more ; And unbelief, with all that God offended, Departed as they left the mortal shore. No night is there ! " for eye to eye each seeth, There no harsh judgments, no distrust intrude ; Before love's light all misconception fleeth, And each esteems the other as he should. " No night is there ! " for none shall know the anguish Of separation or estrangement keen ; Under the Lord's chastisement none shall languish, For there his glorious face unveiled is seen. O, then, while here in darkness and in sorrow, We wait with trembling hope the summons home ; A ray from heaven to light our path we'll borrow, Nor e'er beyond its hallowed influence roam. LIVE FOB SOMETHING. 67 LIVE FOR SOMETHINQ. LIVE for something ; be not idle Look about thee for employ ; Sit not down to useless dreaming, Labor, and the sweets enjoy. Folded hands are ever weary, Selfish hearts are never gay ; Life for thee hath many duties, Active be then while you may. Scatter blessings in thy pathway ; Gentle words and cheering smiles Better are than gold and silver, With their grief-dispelling wiles. As the pleasant sunshine falleth Ever on the grateful earth, So let sympathy and kindness Gladden well the darkened hearth. Hearts there are oppressed and weary ; Drop the tear of sympathy, Whisper words of hope and comfort, Give, and thy reward shall be Joy unto thy soul returning From this perfect fountain head. Freely as thou freely givest, Shall the grateful light be shed. 68 WHAT I LITE FOR. WHAT I LIVE FOR. I LIVE for those who love me, Whose hearts are kind and true ; For the Heaven that smiles above me, And awaits my spirit too ; For human ties that bind me, For the task by God assigned me, For the bright hopes left behind me, And the good that I can do. I live to learn their story Who suffered for my sake ; To emulate their glory, And to follow in their wake ; Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages, The noble of all ages, Whose deeds crowd History's pages, And Time's great volume make. I live to hold communion With all that is divine ; To feel there is a union 'Twixt Nature's heart and mine ; To profit by affliction, Eeap truths from fields of fiction, Grow wiser from conviction, And fulfil each grand design. WHAT I LIVE FOK. 69 I live to hail that season, By gifted minds foretold, "When men shall rule by reason, And not alone by gold ; When man to man united, And every wrong thing righted, The whole world shall be lighted As Eden was of old. I live for those who love me ; For those who know me true ; For the heaven that smiles above me, And awaits my spirit too : For the cause that lacks assistance ; For the wrong that needs resistance ; For the future in the distance, And the good that I can do. 70 INQUIRY AND REPLY. INQUIRY AND EEPLY. " Who are these in bright array 1 " WHO are these in robes of lightness Roaming through the immortal bowers, . With the pure and sparkling brightness Of the sunshine over flowers. See the fragrant snow-white roses, On their pearly brows entwined, While each joy a glance discloses Richer than on earth we find ! These were onfce with us dejected, Wandering far from God and love ; Foes to truth, they truth rejected, Careless of the light above ! See how joyously adoring, Now they sound their harps of song ! Bow in matchless grace before him, Lowliest of the admiring throng. 'Neath the throne's intensest splendor Why no fault do they disclose ? Warm in love, serene and tender, Pure in truth as falling snows. PASSING AWAY. 71 Once they sighed in deepest sorrow, Burdened by the weight of sin ; Not a comfort could they borrow From the midnight gloom within. THIS the secret of their favor ; When amid their hopeless woe, Whispers of a pitying Saviour Bade their tear-drops cease to flow ; Instant with a child's confiding In His hand their own they laid, Trusting to his faithful guiding, Through the sunlight or the shade. Whom He leads, He leads to glory ! Whom he calls with joy reply. Mourner, look ! the way's before thee, Fix on Him thy earnest eye ! PASSING AWAY. It is written on the rose, In its glory's full array Read what those buds disclose " Passing away." It is written on the skies Of the soft blue summer day ; It is traced in sunsef s dyes " Passing away." 72 PASSING AWAY. It is written on the trees, As their young leaves glistening play, And on brighter things than these "Passing away." It is written on the brow Where the spirit's ardent ray Lives, burns, and triumphs now " Passing away." ' It is written on the heart Alas ! that there decay Should claim from love a part " Passing away." Friends, friends ! O, shall we meet In a land of purer day, Where lovely things, and sweet, Pass not away ? Shall we know each other's eyes, And the thoughts that in them lay, When the mjngled sympathies " Passing away ? " O, if this may be so, Speed, speed, thou closing day ! How blest, from earth's vain show To pass away 1 THE MOTHEK b LEGACY. 73 THE MOTHER'S LEGACY. Who wiH take care of thee, my child ? The dying mother said ; Who'll care for thee, when I am laid Upon my earthy bed? Alas ! I leave thee to the world, Thou little guileless one; May some kind heart watch o'er thy life, As I would fain have done. Thine intellect, that slumbers yet In childhood's narrow bound, I give the world, to bless mankind, And scatter wisdom round. O, may the one, who guides thee through The sunny vale of youth, Impart a virtue, stern and pure, A love of man and truth. Thy soul, immortal as its God, I leave in trust with those Who, o'er the earth like angels spread, Will mitigate thy woes ; From them, of purity and grace Thy soul receive its leaven, Till, sped its way through earthly care, It wings its flight to heaven. 74 EARTH AND HEAVEN. EAKTH AND HEAVEN. OUR earth is very lovely, with her sunny skies of blue, Bright opening buds and blossoms blending each vary- ing hue Her twilight dews fast falling, and her ocean-murmurs low, * And her pale stars softly gleaming o'er eve's ethereal brow; Thou nearest the wild-bird's warble floating softly on the breeze, As they trill their gladsome carol through the dark entangled trees. Yes ; Earth is very lovely ; till her last bright sun shall set, The beauty of thy birth-land would I bid thee ne'er forget. But there's a land far lovelier, whose skies no dark- ling know, Whose fair, undying flowerets in fadeless beauty glow, Where the wavelets of life's river glide tranquilly along, Mingling their low-toned minstrelsy with the glad angel-song ; WHERE IS THAT LAND? f5 There shall fall no touch of sorrow, no shadowy hours will come, Flinging their mournful darkling o'er the sunny light of home. If thou wouldst pass its portals when from this earth- life riven, Then, while Earth still thou lovest, thou shouldst re- member heaven ! WHERE IS THAT LAND? WHERE is that land of mystery, Where the spirit lives forever ; Where sin and sorrow 'enter not To dim the crystal river? How does the spirit wing its way To sister spirits there When does it reach eternal day And breathe in heavenly air? And what composes those fair robes That ever bright and new Is there a crown upon the head That sparkles brightly too ? And is there nought but spirits there ! Where joy forever reigns ; Where spotless purity and love Adorn the heavenly plains ? 76 OUR LITTLE BROTHER. OUK LITTLE BROTHER. "WE loved the silky, golden hair, That played upon his forehead fair ; The angels loved him, for so rare Were such pretty locks of hair. We loved his brilliant, glistening eye, So keen, so loving, yet so sly ; The angels loved him too, for why Should they resist his sparkling eye ? We loved his laugh, so gayly ringing, Joy to our loving bosoms bringing ; The angels joined him in their singing, So seraph-like his laugh was ringing. We loved him. Picture of the mother Was our sweet bud, our darling brother. Bright seraphs bore him hence, another Gem in thy coronet, dear mother. We love him now. The sweetest flower That ever saw a sunlight hour, Has from our bright domestic bower Been plucked, to be in heaven a flower. The fragrance of that bud in heaven, Forth reaching to our hearth-stone even, Shall, if thy grace, O God, be given, Win us from earthly flowers to heaven. TO MY MOTHEB. 77 TO MY MOTHER. O, MOTHEK, dearest ; hast thou e'er From Heavenly mansions leave to stray A ministering spirit here "With me, with me, dear mother, stay. O'er me a holy influence shed, Like that which beams in thy bright home ; No thoughts of fear, or trembling dread, Are linked with thy loved spirit come ! Come to me in whatever form The radiant host angelic wear, Like lightnings flashing 'mid the storm Or robed in summer clouds so fair. Thine eye last looked in love on mine, Even through the gathering haze of death ; - And can a love so deep as thine, E'er die with this life's fleeting b^ath? I see thee not, yet feel thou'rt near, For all things round me speak of thee ; E'en as thy voice methinks I hear In the night-winds' low iinstrelsy 78 THE SOUL'S PASSING. THE SOUL'S PASSING. IT is ended ! all is over ! Lo, the weeping mourners come, Mother, father, friend and lover, To the death incumbered room ; Lips are pressed to the blessed, Lips that erermore are dumb. Take her faded hand in thine, Hand that^io more answereth kindly ; See the eyes were wont to shine, Uttering love, now staring blindly ; Tender-hearted speech departed, Speech that echoed so divinely. Runs no more the circling river, Warming, brightening every part; There it slumbereth cold forever, No more merry leap and start ; No more flushing cheeks to blushing, In its silent home the heart ! SPEAK GENTLY. 79 SPEAK GENTLY. SPEAK gently My name, when I rest with the dead ; Tread lightly The turf that lies over my head : Plant flowers, To bloom o'er the place where I sleep, And willows, Whose branches shall over me weep. O, come there, When spring's gentle breezes do play, And sing there Sing o'er me a low, mournful lay : At evening, When fragrance floats soft on the air, Then kneel there, And offer thy deep, fervent prayer. Let me die When the sun slowly sjnks to Mr rest ; When his beams f Brightly play round his home in the west : As softly As fades daylight's last trembling ray, So gently My spirit would then pass away. 80 THE ANGEL'S WHISPER. > THE ANGEL'S WHISPER. THERE was silence in Heaven. The song, that had echoed in strains of such entrancing sweetness around the throne of the Eternal, was for a moment hushed. There was no sound in Paradise, save when the golden lyre of some glorified spirit thrilled faintly, and sent forth a low, melodious note, as if unwilling to cease its musical breathings. The hosts of the better land myriads of angels and archangels knelt humble around the " Great I Am" with their pinions folded and their heads bowed in reverence to Him at whose command a holy stillness now reigned through- out the spirit-world. A vast, aye, and a glorious assemblage was that ; yet one white-robed form, that was wont to mingle injjie throng, was absent ; a divine commission twd been given him, and now he winged his way to the world below. Eagerly the angel bands watched him as he sped far, far on his earthward flight ; and when at length he paused above a scene of wretchedness, and a harp-note of celestial sweetness came faintly to their ears, they cast their fadeless diadems at the feet of the Infinite, and cried, " Hallelu- THE ANGEL'S WHISPEK. 81 jah to the Lamb who has saved us, and still continueth to save." To the sad and the sorrowing, to the guilty and erring of earth, had God sent the messen- ger of mercy ; and when the music of his song floated to the realms above, he paused above a low couch, on which reclined a dying boy. A bright-haired lad he was, who had beheld the storms and sunshine of only ten short years. He had been gay and joyous, as childhood ever is ; but now the light of his sunny eye had grown dim, and his merry laugh went forth no more on the summer air. There was a feverish flush on his rounded cheek, and his full lips were parched with the burning breath of dis- ease. Beside him stood a pale, sad woman his mother his widowed mother. There was an expression of intense suffering on her face, and the tears gushed to her ey^u when she smoothed back the golden ringMl from his brow ; nearer and nearer still drew the heaven- sent messenger, and more intently gazed he on the form, in which, like a pent-up -bird, the soul was panting to be free. At length the lad's eye brightened ; a rich crimson flushed his cheek, and the small hand, clasped in the moth- 6 82 THE ANGEL'S WHISPER. er's, trembled convulsively, as thus he spoke : " 1 see the seraph, mother ! let me O, let me go ! " and the voice died away like the low thrill of a lute-tone the eyelids dropped lov- ingly over those calm, pure orbs the crimson faded from the cheek the boy had heard the angeP s whisper, and the mother sat alone with the dead. Hours went by; midnight brooded o'er the earth, and the stars, like spirit's eyes, looked down upon the widow's home. Beside her boy the mother knelt, with her hands clinched across her motionless breast, and her cheek pressed to his, as if to warm it into life ; but no mother's power could wake the dead. Still clasped the mother to her boy ; but the wild and unnatural light in her eye too plainly told that grief was struggling, for the mastery of reason.^jThe spirit came near softly he struck one cnord of his celestial lyre, then min- gled a low whisper with the thrilling strain. Suddenly a smile came o'er the face of the wi- dow ; she clasped the corpse of her son more nervously a slight tremor convulsed her limbs she had heard the angel's whisper instantly her soul was with him over whom she had mourned. ANGEL'S WHISPER. 83 ANGEL'S WHISPER. WEEP not, mother, For another Tie that bound thyself to earth Now is sundered, And is numbered "With those of a heavenly birth. She hath left thee, God bereft thee Of thy dearest earthly friend ; Yet thou'lt meet her, Thou wilt greet her, Where reunions have no end. Her life's true sun Its course did run * From morn unto meridian day ; And now at eve It takes its leave, Calmly passing hence away. Watch the spirit 'Twill inherit Bliss which mortal cannot tell ; From another World, my mother, Angels whisper, " All is well." 84 THREE ANGEL-SPIRITS. 'Way with sadness ! There is gladness In a gathered spirit-throng ; She ascended, Trials ended, Joins their ranks and chants their song. THREE ANGEL-SPIRITS. THREE angel-spirits walk the earth, Our guides where'er we go ; And where their gentle footsteps lead, There is no human woe : They smile upon the cradled child They bless the heart of youth And age is mellowed by the touch Of Friendship, Love, and Truth. Three angel-spirits ; evermore They guard our thorny way, And those who follow where they lead Can never go astray ; For God has given them alike To childhood and to youth, And age is mellowed by the touch Of Friendship, Love, and Truth. THE ANGEL REAPER. THE ANGEL KEAPER. THERE is a Reaper whose name is Death, And, with his sickle keen, He reaps the bearded grain at a breath, And the flowers that grow between. " Shall I have nought that is fair ? " said he, " Have nought but the bearded grain ? Though the breath of those flowers is sweet to me, I will give them all back again." He gazed on the flowers with tearful eyes, He kissed their drooping leaves ; It was for the Lord of Paradise He bound them in his sheaves. My Lord has need of these flowrets gay," The reaper said and smiled ; " Dear tokens of the earth are they, Where once He was a child. " They shall all bloom in fields of light, Transplanted by my care ; And saints, upon their garments white, These sacred blossoms wear." 86 ANGEL AND THE STABS. And the mother gave, in tears and pain, The flowers she most did love ; She knew she should find them all again In the fields of light above. Oh not in cruelty, not in wrath, The reaper came that day Twas an angel visited the green earth, And took the flowers away. ANGEL AND THE STAKS. "A little girl, looking at the stars as they came twinkling through the boughs of the trees, exclaimed " ' See, there are the angels' fingers pointing to us.' " " ' They are the angels' fingers Pointing through the trees,' They sparkle in the dew-drop, They are mirror'd in the seas ; They speak of yon bright heaven, They tell a tale of love, While silently they glisten From the firmament above. " They are always shining brightly, Though often veiled from sight ; And when the night lowers darkly, They gild it with their light. ANGEL AND THE STARS. 87 * They are the angels' fingers Pointing through the trees ;' They sparkle in the dew-drop, They're mirror'd in the seas. " And they shall beam as brightly, One hundred years from now, And point with radiant fingers Through each dark green-wood bough. * They are the angels' fingers Pointing through the trees ;' They sparkle in the dew-drop, They're mirror'd in the seas. " And when those silent watches, Far in the peaceful sky, Shall beam on us no longer From off their throne on high ; Then shall they shine as brightly, When we have passed away, On those who'll think as lightly As we who live to-day." 88 THE ANGEL AND THE BRIDE. THE ANGEL AND THE BRIDE. THE Angel who watcheth over those who are about to unite their hearts and hands in the fear of God, hovered near one who was soon to become a bride. She sat alone in her chamber, and mused, and he was beside her, but she knew it not. He looked into her guileless eyes, and saw as through a clear glass, the movement of her thoughts, and heard their unspoken question. " Wherewith shall I adorn myself when I stand forth in the solemn rite, that I may please him in whom my soul'delighteth, and them also, who come thither to do us honor ? " Then the Angel smiled, and read in a Holy Book that lay open by her side, " Can a maid forget 'her ornaments, or a bride her attire?" And he whispered so softly, that it seemed as the zephyr among the flowers at her window. " O Bride ! be not studious to deck thyself in costly array. Trouble not thine heart about the silks of the merchant, or the gems of the lapidary, or the fashions of the tire-woman, or the pride of gorgeous apparel. THE ANGfcL AND THE BRIDE. 89 If these are fitting for thee, display them at other times, but not at this lime. For it is a sacred festival, and around the pure bride, there is ever a mantle of dignity, that needs not tin- sel or trappings, but is debased thereby. The highest guest at the marriage-rite, is the Being that ordained it. Look then first unto Him, and see that thou wear the garment of humility. The Angels also will be there. Therefore wrap thyself in purity, that they may give thee the smile that hath no self in it. For that is their badge, and thou art but a little lower than they. And in the sight of him who shall stand nearest thy side at the bridal, and of them who love thee, and are gathered around, modesty and simplicity are the true ornaments. " The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal them, neither shall they be exchanged for jewels of fine gold." Then the gentle one, who deemed that she had been listening to her own sweet thoughts, made answer as they prompted her. " I will wear a simple white robe, with the bridal veil, and my only jewels shall be the 90 THE ANGEL AND THE BRIDE. snowy flowers. So shall my heart be more free to rise upward, whence its strength cometh." Then the Angel revealed himself, and laid a casket beside her saying, " Blessed art thou of the Lord! Behold a gift from Heaven! Take it, and become more like unto us." So she opened the casket, and in it, was but one fair gem. It was the pearl of a loving and lowly spirit. And as she pressed it to her lips, and laid it on her bosom, there came forth a voice which said, " O bride ! seek more and more the beauty of holiness. So shalt thou be lovely unto the Angels, and accepted of Him whose messen- gers they are. And when the comeliness of earth departeth, thou shalt receive a crown of glory, that can never fade away." Trusting One, whither wilt thou follow thy beloved? From the nest where thou wert reared ? from the hearth-stone, where thy first affections grew? to take thy place at his board, and to beautify a new home, with the love that never dies ? Whither ? To a dwelling among stran- gers? wher3 eyes that never met thee, shall THE ANGEL AXD THE BRIDE. 91 gaze curiously upon thee ? or forms that thou hast never seen, pass thee unnoticed by ? For his sake wilt thou twine the tendrils of friend- ship around untried props, and wait in the pa- tience of hope for the buddings of sympathy ? But whither wilt thou follow thy beloved ? Over the rugged mountains? to the fresh green West ? to the far stretching prairie ? to the sultry southern skies ? to the margin of the great Lakes ? to the village creeping from the heart of the forest ? or the thronged city, whose roofs shut out the blue sky ? Whither? Over the Ocean? upon the crested billow ? where seas and skies mingle in misty line, and at the trump of the hoarse winds, the terrible waves come forth to their tempestuous play? Whither ? To-foreign lands ? to the isl- ands of the sea ? to people of a strange lan- guage? whose words are to thine ear a con- fusion . of unmeaning sounds ? and in whose heart are no memories of those whom thou hast loved from infancy ? Whither ? Among the heathen, who know not God? to bear to their downcast souls the melody of the Gospel? and to tell their un- 92 / THE ANGEL BKIDE. taught babes of Him, who said, " Suffer the lit- tle children to come unto Me ? " And the bride-heart, strong in its holy love, answered, " Whither he goeth, I will go, where he lodgeth will I lodge, his people shall *be my people, and his God my God. THE ANGEL BRIDE. I SHOULD have known thou wouldst have died When fate first led me to thy side ; Thy holy eyes had nought of earth Thy lip ne'er curved in heartless mirth ; I should have known thou wouldst have died, My seraph-love ! my angel-bride ! I loved thee then, I love thee yet ! Though I have striven to forget Though Time's dark wings have pressed my brow, I loved thee then and love thee now ; And had I died when thou wert dead, Thy spirit, mine to heaven had led. Thou gentle presence ! in that hour, I felt thy being knew thy power. Thy spirit, from the clay departed, Has watched o'er me when loneliest hearted. THE ANGEL BRIDE. 93 The evening star recalls thine eye The mournful zephyr sighs thy sigh ! The forms of earth and visioned air In being like to thee, are fair I do not yet deserve to die, Or I might join thee in yon sky. Pray that my sins may be forgiven ; I long to die to reach thy heaven. Ho-v human things the heart deprave Though I am kneeling by thy grave, I feel a yearning unto earth, Which speaks the spell of mortal birth. I love an angel, loving thee, Or scarce would wish to cease to be. I cherish still my marriage ring, Keeping it as an hallowed thing Of the firm chain of love which binds ; It is a link which still reminds ; Though long on earth may be my stay, No spell shall charm thy spell away. I feel I have not long to stay To heaven and thee I will away, Beseeching God in earnest prayer, Though I have sinned, to meet thee there ; For well I feel full well I see No earthly spell bound me to thee. 94 THE LOVELY BRIDE. The bliss the doom hath come at last, My mortal frame is chilling fast ; While with the soul's clear eyes I see My spirit-wife approaching me. Oh ! far from earth to holier things, I glide to her on spirit-wings ! ,'. v THE LOVELY BRIDE. I WAS spending an hour, not long .since, in turning the pages of a pleasant miscellany, in the course of which my eye fell upon the fol- lowing rare, but beautiful and touching inci- dent, in the history of one who that day was to become a bride. A party of lively and interested cousins and friends had early assembled at the bridal man- sion for the purpose of decorating the drawing room, where the marriage ceremony was to be performed. At length this pleasant duty being accomplished, they retired, happy in contribut- ing to the joy of an occasion which while it would take from them one whom they loved, would unite that one to the object of her high- est regard. The room was beautifully decorat- ed with rich and variegated bouquets, and on THE LOVELY BRIDE. 95 a centre table lay the gayly adorned bride's loaf, an object of great importance. I said all had retired from the lovely spot ; but there was one of the cousins, who, a short time after, stole gently back, to look once more at the varied beauty of the scene, and to in- dulge by herself the hopes and anticipations of an affectionate heart, for the future happiness of her friend. She gently opened the door, and was about entering, when she noticed the sofa was wheeled round to the precise spot where, that evening, the happy pair were to rise and exchange their solemn vows ; and there the lovely bride was kneeling, so absorbed in her own thougths, the intrusion of her friend was unnoticed. That friend stood for a moment gazing in holy admiration at the scene ; she longed gently to approach and kneel by her side, but the occasion was too sacred to admit of social union, and she retired. And what, so solemn and absorbing, was oc- cupying the thoughts of this happy being ? Was it the anticipations of worldly felicity that had brought her there ? Looking round upon the beauty and gayety of the room, where in a few hours she would give her hand to him 96 THE LOVELY BRIDE. whom she preferred to all others on earth, had she, in the wilderness and excess of her own emotions, fallen into a reverie ? Nothing of the kind. Delighted she might be, and justly was ; but she had one duty to perform ; a high and holy duty, ere she plighted her vows to the ob- ject of her early affections. There, in that spot where she would soon stand and surrender her earthly all to her husband, she would first con- secrate herself to the Lord. The prior conse- cration was due to him. On that altar she wished to offer an earlier and holier incense ; on that spot, to make a record of the prior deed which she had given of herself, to her superior Lord. I know not of an earthly scene more lovely, or of an immortal being in similar circumstances, in an attitude more becoming. And I am sure, that if her intended husband had himself the love of God reigning in his heart, and could he have seen her there, whatever he might have thought of her before, his love would have said not, perhaps, with perfect truth ; for others, it is to be hoped, have done' so before her ; but he might be forgiven if, in his ardor and admira- tion, he had exclaimed "Many daughters THE LOVELY BRIDE. 97 ha xr e done virtuously, but thou excellest them all." What a beautiful example for the imitation of those who are about to be led to the hyme- neal altar! ^Most beautiful, most becoming! I know not the subsequent history of that " lovely bride," but I am certain she never repented of that act of self-dedication to God. She may not, indeed, have escaped sorrow and affliction ; but if they were her lot, I know that God would remember the kindness of her youth. He would not. forsake her. She might bury her husband, children, friends ; she might suffer sickness and poverty; but in no hour would her heavenly Father forsake her ; he would guide her by his counsel, and afterwards receive her to glory. Youthful females ! would you lay the founda- tion of future peace ; would you provide against the reverses of fortune; would you have a friend and a protector through this world of vicissi- tude ; would you have consolation in the dark- est night of adversity which may set in upon you ; imitate the example of " the lovely bride." 98 LEAN NOT ON EARTH. LEAN NOT ON EARTH." " LEAN not on Earth ! a broken reed, 'Twill pierce thee to the heart ; " Joy after joy will quickly speed, And oh, thy youthful heart will bleed To see those joys depart ; Lean not on Earth. Lean not on Friends ! they will not stand The test of time and change ; The smiling face the opening hand, And heart half willing to expand, A trifle will estrange ; Lean not on Friends. Lean not on Wealth ! for quick, alas ! The winged meteor flies And all your golden dreams will pass And wither like the summer's grass, Which soon in autumn dies ; Lean not on Wealth. Lean not on Fame ! a hollow blast It sounds and dies away. Glory's bright flash will never last, And honor's gleam is quickly pass'd, A bright uncertain ray ; Lean not on Fame. FLIGHT TO HEAVEN. 99 But lift thy trusting gaze to heaven, And fix it firmly there ; And then, if earthly hopes be riven, Thou hast a hope by Earth not given, A balm for every care ; O, lean on Heaven. FLIGHT TO HEAVEN. "WHAT is life ? 'tis but a vapor ; Soon it vanishes away j Life is but a dying taper ; my soul, why wish to stay ? Why not spread thy wings and fly Straight to yonder world of joy? See that glory, how resplendent ! Brighter far than fancy paints ; There, in majesty transcendent, Jesus reigns, the King of saints ; Spread thy wings, my soul, and fly Straight to yonder world of joy. Joyful crowds his throne surrounding, Sing, with rapture, of his love ; Through the heavens his praises sounding, Filling all the courts above * Spread thy wings, my soul, and fly Straight to yonder world of joy. 100 THERE IS BEST IN HEAVEN. Go and share his people's glory, 'Mid the ransom-crowd appear ; Thine's a joyful, wondrous story, One that angels love to hear : Spread thy wings, my soul, and fly Straight to yonder world of joy." THERE IS REST IN HEAVEN. " THERE'S rest for us in heaven :" O, blissful words are they ; That hope to us is given Of an immortal day. Mother, with the careworn brow, "Watching o'er thy children, 0, turn away from earth's hopes now, "There's rest for thee in heaven." Father, with hairs silvered white, Toiling until even, 0, turn away from earthly light, " There 's rest for thee in heaven." Mourner, bending o'er the sod, Though deep thy heartstring's riven, Murmur not against thy God, " There's rest for thee in heaven." LAND OF PROMISE. 101 Sweet and broken-hearted one, "Weeping o'er love not given, Thy race of life is nearly run, " There's rest for thee in heaven." LAND OF PROMISE. " WHERE is that land, oh where ? For I would hasten there ; Tell me I fain would go, For I am weary with a heavy wo ! The beautiful have left me all alone ; The true, the tender, from my path have gone ; Oh, guide me with thy hand, If thou dost know that land. For I am burdened with oppressive care, And I am weak and fearful with despair ; Where is it ? Tell me where. Friend, thou must trust in HIM who trod, before. The desolate paths of life ; Must bear, in meekness, as he meekly bore Sorrow, and pain, and strife : Think how the Son of God These thorny paths hath jxod ; Think how he longed to go, Yet tarried out, for thee, the appointed wo. 102 FRIENDS IN HEAVEN. Think of his weariness in places dim, Where no man comforted, or cared for him ! Think of the blood-like sweat, With which his brow w.as wet ; Yet how he prayed, unaided and alone, In that great agony, ' Thy will be done ! ' Friend, do not thou despair ; Christ, from the. heaven of heavens, will hear thy prayer ! " FRIENDS IN HEAVEN. THE Archbishop of Canterbury says : " When we come to heaven we shall meet with all those excellent persons, those brave minds., those in- nocent and charitable souls, whom we have seen, and heard, and read of in the world. There we shall meet many of our dear rela- tions and intimate friends, and perhaps with many of our enemies, to whom we shall then be perfectly reconciled, notwithstanding all the warm contests and peevish differences which we had with them in this world, even about matters of religion. For heaven is a state of perfect love and friendship." Rev. Richard Baxter says : " I must confess, FRIENDS IN HEAVEN. 103 as the experience of ray own soul, that the ex- pectation of loving my friends in heaven princi- pally kindles my love to them on earth. If I thought that I should never know them, and consequently never love them after this life is ended, I should in reason number them with temporal things, and love them as such. But I now delight to converse with my pious friends, in a firm persuasion that I shall converse with them forever; and I take comfort in those of them that are dead or absent, as believing I shall shortly meet them in heaven, and love them with a heavenly love that shall there be perfected." Bishop Hall says : " Thou hast lost thy friend; say, rather thou hast parted with him. That is properly lost which is past all recovery, which we are out of hope to see any more. It is not so with this friend thou mournest for ; he is but gone home a little before thee ; thou art follow- ing him-; you two shall meet in your Father's house, and enjoy each other more happily than you could have done here below." Dr. Doddridge says : " Let me be thankful for the pleasing hope that though God loves my child too well to permit it to return to me, 104 FRIENDS IX HEAVEN. he will ere long bring me to it. And then that endeared paternal affection, which would have been a cord to tie me to earth, and have added new pangs to my removal from it, will be a golden chain to draw me upwards, and add one farther charm and joy even to paradise it- self. Was this my desolation? this my sor- row ? to part with thee for a few days, that I might receive thee forever, (Philemon, v. 15,) and find thee what thou art ? It is for no lan- guage but that of heaven, to describe the sacred joy which such a meeting must occasion." My Christian reader, have you lost near and dear friends and did they die in Jesus ? O, remember they are' not separated from you for- ever you are going to them. They are wait- ing to receive you into everlasting habitations. On your arrival there, you will know them, and they will know you ; and you will there have the most endeared society as it will include those to whom you were so tenderly related by the ties of consanguinity, or pious friendship, and at parting with whom, you sorrowed most of all, that " you should see their face, and hear their voice no more ; " and also those you left behind you with reluctance and anxiety, in a FEIENDS IN HEAVEN. 105 world of sin and trouble. With these your fel- lowship, after a brief separation, will be renew- ed, improved, and perfected forever. " There on a green and flowery mount, Our weary souls shall sit, And with transporting joys recount The labors of pur feet." * " Fathers and mothers, who have been call- ed to yield to the demands of death a darling and pious child, while yet the dew and the beauty of youth were fresh upon him, go forth at the shout of the archangel, and you will find that child, glowing indeed with celestial beauty and glory, yet retaining something of that same expression which has stamped his image so deeply on your heart. And thou, disconsolate man, from whom death has taken the wife of your youth, go thou forth at the same signal, and you shall at once distinguish her too, amid ascending millions, and become her everlasting companion, in that world where they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God. The lonely widow, too, let her come, and she shall recognize that counte- * Hitchcock's Four Seasons. 106 FKIENDS IN HEAVEN. nance, which a noble soul and generous affec- tion have made indelible on her heart, as once her husband and protector, nor shall any power be able again to tear him from her side ; but the holy joys of eternity shall be doubly sweet, because snjoyed together. Children of beloved Christian parents, come ye, also, and rush again into the embrace of those who gave you being, and who trained you up for Heaven, and they shall take you by the hand and still be your guides and companions amid the wonders of the new Jerusalem. There likewise shall the brother or sister, and the sister, who has often wept over a departed brother or sister, find them again, radiant with heavenly glory, yet retaining the traces of their earthly character. And whatever Christian weeps over the memory of a Christian friend, let him wipe away his tears, and prepare to meet that friend, when the graves have given up their dead, with a body like unto Christ's, yet fashioned so as to make it only a transmuted and glorified natural body, recognized by one of those golden links that bind the natural to the spiritual, the mor- tal to the immortal. Oh, blessed season of re- cognition and joy begun ! " FRIENDS IN HEAVEN. 107 Mourning Christian, how sweet, how cheer- ing the anticipation; having finished the toils and labors of time, then with angels and ran- somed men, with patriarchs, prophets and apos- tles, with our sainted parents, or bosom friends, our children, taken from us in infancy, our brothers, our sisters, long separated from us, to stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God, and chant the praises of Him who hath abolished death, and brought life and immortal- ity to light. "Weep not, Christian, weep not, "Wipe all thy tears away ! | Those who leave thee sleep not Under the cold, dull clay ! "Weep not for the Babe ! you loved, So quickly from this scene removed, A bud, that by the stream of life shall bloom, Nor waste on earth its sweet perfume. Mother ! let songs of triumph dry thy tears ! For, while thou lingerest on some few dark years. Thy blessed offspring to his glorious place Hath gone before, And sees the brightness of his Father's face, Forevermore 108 FRIENDS IN HEAVEN. Weep not, Christian, weep not ; Wipe all thy tears away ! Those who leave thee sleep not Under the cold, dull clay ! Weep not for the strong and full-grown man, Who valiantly the fight of life began, Girt with the sword that pierces from afar ; With helm and shield and panoply of war, . Hath he been taken ere his work was done ? Wafted aloft with all his armor on ? Warriors, when summoned from their earthly posts To yonder shore, Stand in the armies of the Lord of Hosts Forevermore. Weep not, Christian, weep not, Wipe all thy tears away ! Those who leave thee sleep not Under the cold, dull clay ! Weep not, when the old and hoary head Sinks to repose among the peaceful dead : Who weeps for sorrow when the ripened corn, In golden sheaves, is to the garner borne ? When the slow-laden swains all homeward come ? And joyous reapers sing their harvest-home ? FRIENDS IN HEAVEN. 109 So, when the life-long troubles of the blest At length are o'er, The angels gather them into their rest, Forevermore. Weep not, Christian, weep not, Wipe all thy tears away 1 Those who leave thee sleep not Under the cold, dull clay ! Weep not for the dead, although they sleep, And we alone our weary way shall keep. They are asleep in Jesus ! Their repose Beckons us upward through this world of woes. The day of our deli verance is at hand ! With thoughts fixed high in Heaven, on Earth we stand, With patience wait till angels from above Shall ope the door, Nor death shall part our souls from those we love, Forevermore." 110 HEAVEN. HEAVEN. Is HEAVEN a place where pearly streams Glide over silver sand, . Like childhood's rosy, dazzling dreams Of some far fairy land ? Is heaven a clime where diamond dews Glitter on fadeless flowers, And mirth and music ring aloud From amaranthine bowers ? Ah, no ; not such, not such is heaven ! Surpassing far all these ; Snch cannot be the guerdon given Man's wearied soul to please. For j saints and sinners, here below, Such vain to be have proved ; And the pure spirit will despise Whate'er the sense has loved. There shall we dwell with Sire and Son, And with the mother-maid, And with the Holy Spirit, one, In glory like arrayed. And not to one created thins: O Shall one embrace be given ; But all our joy shall be in God, For only God is heaven. ASPIRING TO HKAVEN. Ill ASPIRING TO HEAVEN. YES, let me die ! am I of spirit-birth, And shall I linger where spirits fell, Loving the stain they cast on all of earth ? make me pure, with pure ones e'er to dwell. 'Tis sweet to die ! The flowers of earthly love, (Fair frail spring-blossoms) early droop to die. But all their fragrance is exhaled above, Upon our spirits evermore to lie. Life is a dream, a bright but fleeting dream, 1 can but love ; but then my soul awakes, And, from the mist of earthliness, a gleam Of heavenly light, of truth immortal, breaks. But heaven is dearer ! There I have my treasure ; There angels fold, in love, their snowy wings ; There sainted lips chant hi celestial measure, And spirit-fingers stray o'er heaven-wrought strings. There loving eyes are to the portals straying ; There arms extend, a wanderer to fold ; There waits a dearer, holier One arraying His own in spotless robes, and crowns of gol