Page 194 - Third Book of Reading Lessons

R EADING LESSONS. 193
9. But thou to my thoughts art a pure-blazing shrine,
A. unt of bright hopes and of visions divine;
And my soul, as an eagle exulting and ee,
Soars high o'er the Andes to mingle with thee.
fRs. HEMANS. THE SISTER OF MERCY.
1. BEFORE the Cross, be re the ltar, She gave her vows to God,
To bear that Cross, and ne'er to lter, To trace the steps He trod.
The wo d's lse lights,-its wild emotion, Shall move her mind no more,
.The star which wakes her soul's devotion, Illumes th' eternal shore.
2. Vain dreams of youth are past and perish'd, While youth is still in bloom ;
Friends, hopes, and scenes, once loved and cher­ ish'd,
Are sunk in memory's tomb.
Or if, when met, these long rsaken To calm delight give birth,
The wish-the thought-their presence wakens, Belongs not to this earth.
3. "It is not here we seek our treasure," She cries, "where all is vain;
Not here I seek the short-Iived pleasure, Which lly buys om pain.
Be mine the task in ev'ry season, To soothe the sn 'rer's wo,
On grief-wrung thoughts and wand'ring reason Sweet iercy to bestow.
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