Zinzendorff and Other Poems/Sabbath Evening in the Country
SABBATH EVENING IN THE COUNTRY.
Suggested by a Picture.
I've seen upon the City's bound
The Sabbath Evening close,
But thoughtless throngs with varied sound
Disturb'd its blest repose;
I've mark'd it o'er the rural scene
Unfold its stainless wing serene
While hush'd to concord sweet,
Breeze, grove, and dell and stream combin'd
To sooth that silence of the mind
Which woos the Paraclete.
I stood beside a lowly dome
Where peace and love abode,
And fragrant round that cottage home
The breath of Summer flow'd,
Fresh flowrets through the casement peer'd,
The sleeping dog no harshness fear'd
His master's feet beside,
While he, in true contentment blest,
With every anxious thought at rest,
The gathering twilight eyed.
She too, his friend from youth to age
The dearest and the best,
Gave to his ear that sacred page
On which their hope did rest,
The aiding glass was o'er her eye,
And from her cheek the roseate die
Of brighter years did part,
But her calm brow that beauty spake
Which Time more exquisite doth make,
The beauty of the heart.
Fast by her side, with blooming face
Her gentle daughter rose,
Nurtur'd in all the simple grace
Which pious care bestows;
Maiden! thou hear'st that word whose power
Can give thee for thy trial-hour
Strength when the heart doth bow,
Peace, tho' the stricken bosom bleeds,
Eternal life, when earth recedes,
Oh! catch its spirit now.
As a fond Mother's evening kiss
Doth lull her weary child,
Kind Nature pour'd a smile of bliss
Around the landscape mild,
But though in love to all she spoke,
Though her soft tones in music broke,
Like balm her breezes stole,
Yet nothing seem'd of joy to tell
So pure, as in that lowly cell
The Sabbath of the Soul.