Thy kingdom come! but where shall it be?
In the sweet, wild groves of Araby,
Where the citron groves and the date-tree grow,
Where the fair and thornless roses blow,
Where the sunlight falls in radiant streams,
And the moon on forests of palm-trees beams?
Fair are its roses and clustering vine,
And its kingdom is bright!--but it is not Thine.
Thy kingdom come! shall it be in the land
Where the wrecks of the mighty and valiant stand;
Where the temples, once by the heathen trod,
Resound to the holy name of God;
Where the fallen pillars and sculptured stone
Are ’midst sweet wreaths of wild flowers thrown?
It hath a sad grace, that land so fair,
But thy kingdom--thy kingdom is not there!
Thy kingdom come! oh, wilt thou reign
Within some grand and mighty fane?
By the work of our hands we will raise the pile,
We will strew with flowers the vaulted aisle,
We will toss the silver censers around,
And a thousand voices of sweetest sound
Shall breathe at once; but it may not be--
Such a kingdom accepted is not by Thee!
Thy kingdom come! in our cottage homes
We will give thee our hearts, by our kindred’s tombs,
By the rippling streams, in the ancient woods,
Alike in clouds and in solitudes:
When the sun in his glory is beaming on high,
When the moon and stars are lighting the sky,
Our souls shall be breathed in praise and prayer,
So Thou wilt make thy kingdom there!
--_From the Knickerbocker._
* * * * *
LOVE OF CHILDREN.--Tell me not of the trim, precisely arranged homes
where there are no children--“where,” as the good German has it,
“the fly-traps always hang straight on the wall:” tell me not of the
never-disturbed nights and days--of the tranquil, un-anxious hearts,
where children are not! I care not for these things. God sends children
for another purpose than merely to keep up the race--to enlarge our
hearts, to make us unselfish, and full of kindly sympathies and
affections; to give our souls higher aims, and to call out all our
faculties to extended enterprise and exertion; to bring round our
firesides bright faces and happy smiles, and loving, tender hearts. My
soul blesses the Great Father every day, that he has gladdened the earth
with little children.
* * * * *
Printed and Published every Saturday by GUNN and CAMERON, at
the Office of the General Advertiser, No. 6, Church Lane,
College Green, Dublin; and sold by all Booksellers.