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WHENCE AND WHITHER.

And, for the hope of all,

Reveal Himself in One;

Himself the way that leads us thither,

The All-in-all, the Whence and Whither.

FRANCIS T. Palgrave.

THE BLESSED LIFE.

BLESSED Life! The heart at rest,
When all without tumultuous seems,

That trusts a Higher Will, and deems That Higher Will, not hers, is best.

O Blessed Life! The mind that sees,
Whatever change the years may bring,
A mercy still in every thing,
And shining through all mysteries.

O Blessed Life! The soul that soars,
When sense of mortal sight is dim,
Beyond the sense, beyond to Him,
Whose love unlocks the heavenly doors.

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THE BLESSED LIFE.

O Blessed Life! Heart, mind, and soul,

From self-born aims and wishes free;
In all at one with Deity,

And loyal to the Lord's control.

O Life, how blessed, how divine!

High life, the earnest of a higher!
Saviour, fulfil my deep desire,

And let this blessed Life be mine!

WILLIAM TIDD MATSON.

THE OLD AND NEW CREATION.

OLE Maker of the Worlds! They lay
A barren blank, a void, a nought

Beyond the ken of solar ray

Or reach of archangelic thought.

Thou spak'st; and they were made! Forth sprang

From every region of the abyss,

Whose deeps, fire-cloven, with anthems rang,
The spheres new-born and numberless.

Thou spak'st:-upon the winds were found
The astonished eagles: awed and hushed
Subsiding seas revered their bound,

And the strong forests upward rushed.

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THE OLD AND NEW CREATION.

Before the Vision angels fell,

As though the face of God they saw;

And all the panting miracle

Found rest within the arms of Law.

Perfect, O God! Thy primal plan,

That scheme frost-bound by Adam's sin; Create, within the heart of Man,

Worlds meet for Thee, and dwell therein.

From Thy bright realm of Sense and Nature,
Which flowers enwreath and stars begem,

Shape Thou Thy Church, the crownèd creature,
The Bride, the New Jerusalem.

SIR AUBREY DE VERE.