S

THE WISH.

HOULD some great angel say to me to-morrow, "Thou must re-tread thy pathway from the

start,

But God will grant, in pity, for thy sorrow,

Some one dear wish, the nearest to thy heart."

This were my wish! from my life's dim beginning

Let be what has been! wisdom planned the whole; My want, my woe, my errors, and my sinning,

All, all were needed lessons for my soul.

THREE FRIENDS.

F all the blessings which my life has known,

OF

I value most, and most praise God for three: Want, Loneliness, and Pain, those comrades true,

Who masqueraded in the garb of foes

For many a year, and filled my heart with dread. Yet fickle joys, like false, pretentious friends, Have proved less worthy than this trio. First,

Want taught me labor, led me up the steep
And toilsome paths to hills of pure delight,
Trod only by the feet that know fatigue,
And yet press on until the heights appear.

Then loneliness and hunger of the heart
Sent me upreaching to the realms of space,
Till all the silences grew eloquent,

And all their loving forces hailed me friend.

Last, pain taught prayer! placed in my hand the

staff

Of close communion with the over-soul,

That I might lean upon it to the end,

And find myself made strong for any strife.

And then these three who had pursued my steps Like stern, relentless foes, year after year, Unmasked, and turned their faces full on me. And lo! they were divinely beautiful,

For through them shone the lustrous eyes of Love

YOU NEVER CAN TELL.

OU never can tell when you send a word,

You

Like an arrow shot from a bow

By an archer blind, be it cruel or kind,

Just where it may chance to go.

It may pierce the breast of your dearest friend.
Tipped with its poison or balm,

To a stranger's heart in life's great mart,
It may carry its pain or its calm.

You never can tell when you do an act
Just what the result will be;

But with every deed you are sowing a seed,
Though the harvest you may not see.
Each kindly act is an acorn dropped

In God's productive soil.

You may not know, but the tree shall grow,
With shelter for those who toil.

You never can tell what your thoughts will do,
In bringing you hate or love;

For thoughts are things, and their airy wings
Are swifter than carrier doves.

They follow the law of the universe

Each thing must create its kind,

And they speed o'er the track to bring you back Whatever went out from your mind.

H

HERE AND NOW.

ERE, in the heart of the world, Here, in the noise and the din, Here, where our spirits were hurled To battle with sorrow and sin, This is the place and the spot

For knowledge of infinite things; This is the kingdom where Thought Can conquer the prowess of kings.

Wait for no heavenly life,

Seek for no temple alone;

Here, in the midst of the strife,

Know what the sages have known.

See what the Perfect Ones saw—

God in the depth of each soul,

God as the light and the law,
God as beginning and goal.

Earth is one chamber of Heaven,
Death is no grander than birth.

Joy in the life that was given,

Strive for perfection on earth.

Here, in the turmoil and roar,

Show what it is to be calm;