Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/81

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STANZAS.

63

And list to voices which prevail
When noisy man's is still,
As floating on the dewy gale,
They breathe from stream or hill:

In such an hour the soul expands,
And fearless dares explore
The vision of those viewless lands
Beyond Time's bounded shore.

The mind forgets its cares awhile,
The heart its pangs foregoes,
And, warmed by Nature's peaceful smile,
Is lulled to sweet repose.

Our thoughts the lapse of time retrace,
When Eden's bloom was young,
And Man, inspiring heavenly grace,
Heaven's songs of virtue sung.

Then all was like this prime of day,
All peaceful, all serene;
And Innocence with artless sway
Gladdened each happy scene.

All voices joined in sweet accord,
In hymns of grateful praise,
To hail Creation's mighty Lord,
In pure and hallowed lays.

The sun ascends—morn's freshness fades,
The spell of peace recedes;
Labour resumes his busy trade,
And Man his bustling deeds.

So when the Sun of knowledge rose,
Eden's rich treasure's past—
The soul no more with pureness glows,
Chilled by Sin's withering blast.

The garden is a wilderness,
The wilderness a grave,
Man's mind a chaos of distress
That Heaven was rich to save.

For, lo! with healing wings the sun
Breaks forth with richest dyes,
The moral night's dark reign is done—
Hear, earth! list, O ye skies!