Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE WATERS. Ever onward rushing Waters pour along; Rill from mountain gushing Cheers the earth with song ; Rivers softly streaming Kiss the meadows fair ; Cataracts madly gleaming Plunge they reck not where. Rivers, rills, and fountains, Wherefore do ye flow ? O'er the meads and mountains, Whither do ye go ? Gliding, leaping, springing, Endless waterfall, Murmuring, roaring, singing, Sea receives you all. Life is ever moving In a varied stream ; Youth is busy loving, Manhood in a dream ; Infants with their prattle Make the moments fly ; Soldiers in the battle Strive they know not why. Young and old, why toil ye ? Wherefore do ye play 1 Business and folly, Whither lead you they f All in restless motion Ever hurrying fast, In a boundless ocean Death receives at last. HUMANITY. Oh, why is nature soft and mild ? Why do the moonbeams play O'er rippling waters, like a child Upon a holiday 1 The zephyr woos the aspen-tree, And makes it gently move ; The birds attune their melody, And fill the air with love. The clouds rain mercy on the earth : Lo, where the storm has been, How balmy sweet, when day comes forth, To smile upon the scene ; And many a flower, that droop'd its head Beneath the hurricane, Springs with new life replenished, And all is fair again. Therefore is nature soft and mild, That human hearts may learn To tame the savage and the wild, To soothe the proud and stern. Relax thy frown, thou lord of earth, Unbend thy haughty brow ! To woman thou didst owe thy birth, And once a child wast thou ; And thou for happiness wast made, And thou wast born to woe ; Then let thy spirits, gay or sad, As nature bids them, flow. The fairest path is wearisome, ...