THE VOICE OF FRIENDSHIP. WRITTEN AFTER RECEIVING A VISIT FROM SOME DEAR RELA TIVES FROM GREEN PORT, L. I.; OF WHOSE EXISTENCE I HAD BUT RECENTLY LEARNED. WAKE! tuneful Harp, awake! My Friends demand Have come to bless these eyes, which long have sought, 66 Harp, lift thy voice on high," in hymnick praise To God, the widow's Judge-the orphan's friend! Ye came :-and renovated life once more Hath warmed this widowed heart!—but ah, too short Your stay too soon, by far, ye bade adieu, To hasten your return, and re-embrace The nearer friends at home. Well-go in peace; And may the choicest benison of Heaven, I envy not that heart of "sterner stuff,” Which greets a friend, and bids him then depart, Without emotion, and without a tear. -God grant we meet again on this side Heaven— Hold social converse, and recount the scenes Of by-gone days! Here, on these rugged realms If yet I dwell, may friendship guide your feet; And may I yet salute your peaceful dome On yonder sea-girt Isle; and there inhale The sea-borne breeze, the health-inspiring gale, That gently breathes your happy Island o'er. There, in the bosom of that fertile Isle, Tell where your Fathers, where your Mothers lie: The great, the good, the Reverend EMERSON The Minister of God-where lies his dust? "On Brooklyn's heights," say ye?—and yet no stone, No towering marble designates his grave! A MAUSOLEUM his, in every heart That knew his worth; and hearts no doubt there are But he is gone-and many a brother gone- Then, my Friends, Let us, their progeny, essay to walk Their heaven-ward steps,-their virtues emulate,- With theirs, in chorus, round the ETERNAL'S Throne! Mt. Parnassus, Con. HYMN FOR THE NATIVITY. I SING the exalted Saviour's birth :— Or wakes the song in heaven? Infinite Mercy formed the plan, His heavenly Father to obey, Oh, could we catch the thrilling strain, Announced IMMANUEL's birth; When the blest Star o'er Bethlehem stood, To bless the sons of earth. Let the loud anthem pierce the sky"All glory be to God on high, And peace pervade the earth;" Let our glad voices join the strain, Which echoed through that seraph train, Who sang the Saviour's birth. O, may this consecrated hour Breathe in our souls devotion's power; Eternal Spirit! fire each heart, Dec. 25. 6 |