XXXI.

LOSE NOT THE PRESENT.

I.

Lose not the present, pilgrim of the skies:
Be just as happy as thou mayst, and now :
Take eagerly of pleasures as they rise:

Let others wait for time, but wait not thou.

II.

Heap all thou canst within the passing hour:
Be prodigal, and take thy fill of joy :
Spare nought thou hast, and of the future's dower
Take all thou canst-to-morrow thou mayst die.

III.

Only-be careful that thy joys be true :

Choose sterling gold: the counterfeit, the dross, That glitters only to deceive, eschew,

As worse than worthless-gain were in its loss.

IV.

Nor waste on travel-lavish all at home:
Dream not a strange and foreign clime bestows
The sweet delights, the quiet joys that come

To those that seek them-in their Father's house.

V.

Wandering were loss of all, both wealth and time;
It were to go and leave thy gold behind;
To quit thine home, and in a distant clime
Seek calm content-and desolation find.

VI.

Enough that God his promise sure hath given
To dwell with them who love him and obey;
For God, if present, makes a present heaven,
While fitting for a future brighter day.

VII.

Then lose not thou in sighs the passing hour:
Only be faithful to thy Saviour's voice :
Believe, and love, and do with all thy power
What love would prompt-and in the Lord
rejoice.

VIII.

Rejoice, I say again-yea, "shout," and sing! Let others wait for time, but wait not thou; Ever to God, and godly pleasures cling,

And then be happy as thou canst-and now.

XXXII.

AN INFANT'S SMILE.

I.

How sweet the smile of infancy,

Waked by a mother's smile;

Love answering love, and fraught with glee So innocent the while!

II.

If there be beauty upon earth,
Or light beneath the sky,
It sparkles in an infant's mirth
Watched by a mother's eye.

III.

And shall that beauty fade away—
That light be quenched for ever?
Fond parent! love's own accents say,
In silent glances-" never!"

IV.

Then tend it, as thou would'st a flower

To thee from Eden given; And still sustain its living power

With light invoked from heaven.

V.

That smile, so full of joy and love,
Is scarce a thing of earth:
Fancy could deem it was above
It had its primal birth ;—

VI.

And then within an earthly frame,
Like dewdrop in the rose,
The glittering gem was set, and came
To lighten mortal woes.

VII.

But be it of the earth or sky,
It will not long abide,
Unless 'tis cherish'd from on high,
And with fresh life supplied.

M