as the wheat, that is long before it is ripe; but when it is brought to maturity, maketh the whole face of the earth glad, and strengtheneth the limbs, and rejoiceth the heart of man? If thou, then, wouldest be useful in thy day, if thou wouldest have men reap fruit from thee, remember, that now must thy mind be ploughed and sown, now must the lesson of wisdom be dropped in, now must we labour and have patience, now is the seed-time, and by-and-by shall be the harvest. Dost thou love, O little one, to see the vine, with its ripening clusters, amidst green leaves and curling tendrils? Dost thou love to taste its luscious fruit? or to wet thy lips with the red wine? Remember, that before the grapes appear, the gardener must be busy in lopping and training the branches; before the vintage, must come the pruning-time; else would the sap waste itself in useless boughs, and in autumn thou wouldest find leaves instead of fruit. So, if thou wouldest be pleasant among men, if thou wouldest have them to delight in thee, thy temper must be trained, and thy evil passions be lopped away; else wilt thou run to waste, and produce no good fruit. Can the husbandman make the corn to grow, or can the gardener make the grapes to ripen ? Is it the plough that causeth the wheat to spring up, or the pruning-knife that produceth the clusters of the vine? No; it is God that maketh the corn to grow, and produceth the clusters of the vine. His showers cause the wheat to spring, and the grape to swell; and it is His sun that ripeneth them. Can the teaching of man make thee good and useful? Can the lesson of wisdom make thee wise unto salvation? No, little one! Pray to God, and He will teach thee; cry unto Him, and He will bless thee. If He teach thee, thou wilt be wise; if He bless thee, thou wilt be good and happy. POEMS. Those which are now for the first time printed, from Manuscript, are marked (MS.) The rest had been printed before. SCADBURY GROVE. ON LEAVING SCHOOL. Les moindres faits de ce temps-là me plaisent, par cela seul, qu'ils sont de ce temps-là. ROUSSEAU. Now steals th' eleventh year away, 'Twas novelty that charmed before, And habit makes thee dear. I know each alley and each glade, I know where Spring's first violet blows, That scents the silent way. A A Ah me! as thus alone I rove, From every dusky glen Forth seems an ancient friend to start, Awhile we play'd thine elms beneath, They part, where choice or fortune leads, As thoughtless and as gay. Thus on thy boughs of giant size, By Isis one the Muses lead, And some along the classic mead Some lightly weave the thoughtless dance, Me too shall envious cloister, soon, To scan the heavens, the depths explore, The fertile fields of Mind: |