He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty

Who hath made all things well!

CECIL F. ALEXANDER

192

THE CREATION

Come, child, look upward to the sky,
The sun and moon behold!
Th'expanse of stars that sparkle high
Like specks of living gold.

Come, child, and now behold the earth
In varied beauty stand;

The product view of six days' work,-
How wondrous and how grand.

The fields, the meadows, and the plain,
The little laughing hills;

The waters, too, the mighty main,
The rivers and the rills.

Come, then, behold them all and say,
How came these things to be,
That stand in view, whichever way

You turn yourself to see?

'Twas God who made the earth and sea,— To whom the angels bow;

That God who made both you and me—

That God who sees us now.

ANN TAYLOR

193

THE WAY TO BE HAPPY

How pleasant it is, at the end of the day,
No follies to have to repent,

But reflect on the past, and be able to say:
My time has been properly spent!

When I've finished my task with all patience and

care,

And been good, and obliging, and kind,
I lie on my pillow and sleep away there
With a happy and peaceable mind.

Instead of all this, if it must be confest
That I careless and idle have been,
I lie down as usual, and go to my rest,
But feel discontented within.

Then, as I dislike all the trouble I've had,
In future I'll try to prevent it,

For I never am naughty without being sad,
Or good without being contented.

JANE TAYLOR

194

FORBEARANCE

Why should we pluck the dewy rose

That scents the early morn,

Or strive to snare the happy bird

That warbles on the thorn?

We'll leave the flower to woo the sun,
The free bird in the air;

And walk through pleasures, grasping none,
Repaid if we forbear.

When scorners scorn, or foes revile,
Or friends look dark and shy,

We'll neither give them scorn for scorn,

Nor pass them coldly by;

We'll check the storm of rising pride,
And keep a temper fair,-
Warned by the Angel at our side,
That whispers to forbear.

And should the foe who did us wrong
Lie powerless in our hands,

We'll think no more of evil done,

To shame him where he stands; We'll strive to act a nobler part,We'll pity-hear, and spare ;And win an entrance to his heart By all that we forbear.

CHARLES MACKAY

195

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Who showed the little ant the way
Her narrow hole to bore,

And spend the pleasant summer day
In laying up her store?

The sparrow builds her clever nest,
Of wool, and hay, and moss;
Who told her how to weave it best
And lay the twigs across?

Who taught the busy bee to fly
Among the sweetest flowers,
And lay his feast of honey by
To eat in winter hours?

'Twas God who showed them all the way,

And gave their little skill,

And teaches children, if they pray,

To do His holy will.

ANN TAYLOR

196

THE WONDERFUL WORLD

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful world,
With the wonderful water round you curled,
And the wonderful grass upon your breast,
World, you are beautifully drest.

The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree-
It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,
And talks to itself on the top of the hills.

You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With the wheat-fields that nod, and the rivers that

flow,

With cities and gardens and cliffs and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,

I hardly can think of you, World, at all;
And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,
My mother kissed me, and said, quite gay,

"If the wonderful World is great to you,
And great to father and mother, too,

You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot!

You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!"

197

WILLIAM BRIGHTY RANDS

BE GOOD

What says the Lark,

As it mounts on high,
Singing sweet songs

In the bright morning sky?
What says the Linnet

That sings in the wood?
Let us listen, dear children!-
"Oh, try to be good!"

What says the River,

So noble and grand,

Rolling majestically

Throughout the broad land?
What says the Rose

As it springs from the bud?
Let us listen, dear children!—
"Oh, try to be good!"