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Show 142 THE JI!ONTIILY OFFERING. "The moss, that creeps from bough to bough, And hangs in many a dull festoon;There, peeping through thy curtain, thou Mayest catch some 'glimpses of the moon;' Or, better, twist of it a string, Noose in thy neck, repent, and-swing!"" Sons of the granite hills, your birds, Your winds, your waters, and your trees, Of faith and freedom speak, in words That should be felt in times like these; Their voice comes to you from the sky! In them God speaks of Liberty. Sons of the granite hills, a wake ! Y e're on a mighty stream afloat, With all your liberties at stalce ;A faithless pilot's on your boat! And, while ye'veJain asleep, ye're snagged! Nor can ye cry for help,-YE'RE GAGGED! '* These fir trees that grow upon the granite hill, thnogh they seem to have some heart, can certainly have no bo.wels, or on• ly granite ones, else they could never g1ve such suLcLdal counsel. From the Envoy. Spirit of Love. Faint, weary, and heart-stricken, the Spirit of .Lov~ clos• ed her drooping pinions, by the gates of Parad1se, JUSt as the slanting beams from the Central Sun marked one of the changes of Eternity. The golden ringlets that cluster· ed round her lovely forehead, were dank with cold and heavy moisture. Tear-drops stood in her beautiful eyes; and her musical voice which had been wont to call forth the (iladdest echoes among the vales of Paradise, w.as mute. The Et~rnal beheld her, and his spirit melted With com• passion. He bent and lifted her to his bos?m. " "What aileth thee, my daughter?" he said. Hath the siroc of the desert overtaken thee 1 or have the cold vapors SPIRIT OF LOVE. 143 of Earth oppressed thee with the heaviness of sorrow? Speak, my daughter." "No,. Father!" she said, .".it is not the siroc; nor yet the pest1lent vapor; but a spmt more deadly more cruel more unsparing than either I Behold the Shepherds whord thou hast set over the pastures, to keep thy flocl£s have ceased feeding the flock, and feed only themselve~; and when they saw the wolf and the panther entering among them and devouring the flocks, they rebuked them not: but they eat of the flesh and drink of the blcod, of their own flocks! and, Father, only for t!te color of i!teir face! and when they find a black sheep they go about to slay him I Th.en tl~ey point to Tnv BooK, and say thy hand hath wn.tten It there. Are not these, 0 Father, unfaithful to their trust1 Should such be placed to guard the sheep· folds o~ Zion, for did they not go forth from the caverns of the Ev1l One 1 Behold, when they heard my voice they scourged me, and entreated me evil, and cast me forth." .Then the ETERNAL wiped the tears from her eyes and sa1d, ,"Go forth again, my daughter. Behold I have :nade thee a cltief instrument in this great work. Fear not for I will put into thy mouth wisdom to answer the cunning~ eb~ke to arrest th~ sinner-hope to comfort the despair· tng,, and the blessmg of the Eternal shall envelope thee as WLth a tran~parent garment, lettered with mystic char· acters-Thy SISters, TRUTH and JusTICE, are already whis· pering, and thundering, through the nether world-Rest t~ee ~ere awhile, my daughter; then go forth. T!ty mis· stan ts to t!te !teart. Behold, I give t!tee power to reac!t it." Then the beautiful Spirit bowed herself before the Throne, and said, '' Father, thy ·words are life 1 I am strong .. I live, again. Suffer me to depart, even now; fo~ I w'!! not g1ve rest to my feet till the work be accom. phshed. Then, stooping down, she bathed her forehead in the Waters of Life, and went forth upon her mission: and when all .of her own sex have received her into their heart and are Imbued with her spirit, OPPRESSION, and 'y RONG: and V.IOLENCE, shall no more be known, in all the Eanh. Smltltfield, R. I. 1840. |