  By SARAH DOUDNEY. Ah, silent wheel, the noisy brook is dry, And quiet hours glide by In this deep vale, where once the merry stream Sang on through gloom and gleam; Only the dove in some leaf-shaded nest Murmurs of rest. Ah, weary voyager, the closing day Shines on that tranquil bay, Where thy storm-beaten soul has longed to be; Wild blast and angry sea Touch not this favored shore, by summer blest, A home of rest. Ah, fevered heart, the grass is green and deep Where thou art laid asleep; Kissed by soft winds, and washed by gentle showers, Thou hast thy crown of flowers; Poor heart, too long in this mad world oppressed, Take now thy rest. I, too, perplex’d with strife of good and ill, Long to be safe and still; Evil is present with me while I pray That good may win the day; Great Giver, grant me thy last gift and best, The gift of rest! —Good Words. Business requires earnestness and strength of character, life must be allowed more freedom; business calls for the strictest sequence, whereas in the conduct of life inconsecutiveness is often necessary—nay, is charming and graceful. If thou art strict in the first, thou mayest allow thyself more freedom in the second; while if thou mix them up, thou wilt find the free interfering and breaking in upon the fixed.—Goethe. |
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