3 Death rides on every passing breeze, He lurks in every flower;

Each season has its own disease,
Its peril every hour.

4 Our eyes have seen the rosy light
Of youth's soft cheek decay,
And fate descend in sudden night
On manhood's middle day.

5 Our eyes have seen the steps of age
Halt feebly towards the tomb;
And yet shall earth our hearts engage,
And dreams of days to come?

6 Turn, mortal, turn! thy danger know:
Where'er thy foot can tread,
The earth rings hollow from below,
And warns thee of her dead!

7 Turn, Christian, turn! thy soul apply To truths divinely given;

The countless dead beneath thee lie,
Above thee is the Heaven!

429. C. M.

1 Behold the western evening light!
It melts in deepening gloom;
So calm the righteous sink away,
Descending to the tomb.

2 The winds breathe low,

the yellow leaf
Scarce whispers from the tree!
So gently flows the parting breath,
When good men cease to be.

3 How beautiful, on all the hills,
The crimson light is shed!
'Tis like the peace the Christian gives
To mourners round his bed.

4 How mildly on the wandering cloud
The sunset beam is cast!

So sweet the memory left behind,
When loved ones breathe their last.
5 And lo! above the dews of night
The vesper star appears!

So faith lights up the mourner's heart,
Whose eyes are dim with tears.

6 Night falls, but soon the morning light
Its glories shall restore;

1

And thus the eyes that sleep in death
Shall wake, to close no more.

430. S. M.

How dark, how desolate,

Would many a moment be,

Could we not spring, on hope's bright wing,

O God, to Heaven and Thee!

2

And sometimes streaks of light,

3

4

And sunny beams we see;

They shine so bright through sorrow's night,

They needs must come from Thee.

So shall a morning dawn,

When earthly shades are o'er,
Whose smiling ray shall wake a day
That night shall cloud no more.

Blest hope! and sure as blest!
Life's shades of misery

Shall soon be past, and joy at last
Give us to Heaven and Thee!

431. C. M.

1 How glorious are those orbs of light,
In all their bright array,
That gem the ebon brow of night,
Or pour the blaze of day!

2 See lovely Nature raise her head,
In various graces dressed;
Her lucid robe by ocean spread,
Her verdant, flowery vest.

3 Unnumbered tribes obey her will;
Her bounty each displays:

She smiles, and every grove and hill
Is vocal in her praise.

4 One gem, of purest ray divine,
Alone disclaims her power;
Still brighter shall its glories shine,
When hers are seen no more.

5 Her pageants pass, nor leave a trace;
The soul no change shall fear;
The God of nature and of grace
Has stamped His image there.

6 Nor life nor death its trust shall move;
Nor powers nor worlds unknown;
Responsive to its Maker's love,
And prostrate at His throne.

432. P. M.

1 I praised the Earth, in beauty seen With garlands gay, of various green; I praised the Sea, whose ample field Shone glorious as a silver shield; · And Earth and Ocean seemed to say, "Our beauties are but for a day!"

2 I praised the Sun, whose chariot rolled On wheels of amber and of gold; I praised the Moon, whose softer eye Gleamed sweetly through the summer sky: And Moon and Sun in answer said, "Our days of light are numbered!"

3 O God! O Good beyond compare!
If thus Thy meaner works are fair;
If thus Thy bounties gild the span
Of sinful earth and mortal man ;
How glorious must the mansion be,
Where Thy redeemed shall dwell with Thee!

433. L. M.

1 Leader of faithful souls, and Guide
Of all that travel to the sky,

Come, and with us, even us, abide,
Who would on Thee alone rely;
On Thee alone our spirits stay,
While held in Life's uneven way.

2 Strangers and pilgrims here below,
This earth, we know, is not our place;
But hasten through the vale of woe,
And, restless to behold Thy face,
Swift to our heavenly country move,
Our everlasting home above.

3 We have no 'biding city here,
But seek a city out of sight;
Thither our steady course we steer,
Aspiring to the plains of light,
Jerusalem, the saints' abode,
Whose founder is the living God.