132

THE CITY ABOVE.

THE CITY ABOVE.

H, Heaven is nearer than mortals think,
When they look with a trembling dread,
At the misty future that stretches on
From the quiet home of the dead.
"Tis no lone isle in a boundless main,

No brilliant but distant shore,

Where the lovely ones who are called away

Must go to return no more.

No! Heaven is near us, the mighty veil

Of mortality blinds the eye,

That we cannot see the angel bands

On the shores of eternity:

Yet oft, in the hours of holy thought,

To the thirsting soul is given

That power to pierce, through the mists of sense,

To the beauteous scenes of heaven.

Then very near seem its pearly gates,

And sweetly its harpings fall,
Till the soul is restless to soar away,

And longs for the angel call.

The eye that shuts in a dying hour

Shall open, the next, in bliss;

The welcome shall sound in the heavenly world

Ere the farewell is hushed in this.

ANONYMOUS.

134

MARIAN LEE.

Sees her father's fishing boat
O'er the ocean gaily float;
Lists her brother's evening song,
By the light gale borne along;
Half a league she hears the lay,
Ere they turn into the bay;

And with glee, o'er cliff and main,
Sings an answer back again,
Which by man and boy is heard,
Like the carol of a bird!

Look! she sitteth laughing there,
Wreathing sea-weeds in her hair!
Saw you e'er a thing so fair?
Marian, some are rich in gold,
Heaped-up treasures, hoards untold;
Some are rich in thoughts refined,

And the glorious wealth of mind:
Thou, sweet child, life's rose unblown,

Hast a treasure of thine own :-
Youth's most unalloyed delights,
Happy days and tranquil nights;
And a brain with thought unvexed,
And a light heart, unperplexed.
Go, thou sweet one, all day long,
Like a glad bird, pour thy song,
And let thy young, graceful head
Be with sea-flowers garlanded ;
For all outward signs of glee
Well become thee, Marian Lee!

MARY HOWITг.

TO A HIGHLAND GIRL.

135

TO A HIGHLAND GIRI..

WEET Highland girl, a very shower
Of beauty is thy earthly dower!
Twice seven consenting years have shed

Their utmost bounty on thy head:

And these grey rocks, this household lawn,

These trees-a veil just half withdrawn,

This fall of water that doth make

A murmur near the silent lake,

This little bay, a quiet road
That holds in shelter thy abode;
In truth together ye do seem

Like something fashioned in a dream;
Such forms as from their covert peep
When earthly cares are laid asleep!
But oh, fair creature! in the light
Of common day, so heavenly bright,
I bless thee, vision as thou art,

I bless thee with a human heart!
God shield thee to thy latest years!
I neither know thee nor thy peers,
And yet my eyes are filled with tears.
With earnest feeling I shall pray
For thee when I am far away;

For never saw I mien or face

In which more plainly I could trace

Benignity and home-bred sense

Ripening in perfect innocence.

136

TO A HIGHLAND GIRL.

Here scattered like a random seed,
Remote from men, thou dost not need
The embarrassed look of shy distress,
And maidenly shamefacedness;

Thou wear'st upon thy forehead clear
The freedom of a mountaineer:
A face with gladness overspread,
Soft smiles, by human kindness bred;
And seemliness complete, that sways
Thy courtesies, about thee plays;
With no restraint, but such as springs
From quick and eager visitings
Of thoughts that lie beyond the reach
Of thy few words of English speech;
A bondage sweetly brooked, a strife
That gives thy gestures grace and life!
So have I, not unmoved in mind,
Seen birds of tempest-loving kind,

Thus beating up against the wind.
Now thanks to heaven! that of its grace

Hath led me to this lonely place.

Joy have I had; and going hence

I bear away my recompense.

WORDSWORTH.