They hear my lips present their sacrifice-
They know if I be silent, morn or even :
For, though in whispers speaking, the full heart
Will find a vent; and Thought is praise to Him,
Audible praise, to Thee, Omniscient Mind,
From Whom all gifts descend, all blessings flow!"
This Vesper service closed, without delay,
From that exalted station, to the plain
Descending, we pursued our homeward course,
In mute composure, o'er the shadowy lake,
Beneath a faded sky. No trace remained
Of those celestial splendors; grey the vault,
Pure, cloudless ether; and the Star of Eve
Was wanting;-but inferior Lights appeared
Faintly, too faint almost for sight; and some
Above the darkened hills stood boldly forth
In twinkling lustre, ere the Boat attained
Her mooring-place ;-where, to the sheltering tree
Our youthful Voyagers bound fast her prow,
With prompt yet careful hands. This done, we paced
The dewy fields; but ere the Vicar's door
Was reached, the Solitary checked his steps;
Then, intermingling thanks, on each bestowed
A farewell salutation,—and, the like
Receiving, took the slender path that leads
To the one Cottage in the lonely dell,
His chosen residence. But, ere he turned
Aside, a welcome promise had been given,
That he would share the pleasures and pursuits
Of yet another summer's day, consumed
In wandering with us through the Vallies fair,
And o'er the Mountain-wastes. "Another sun,"
Said he," shall shine upon us, ere we part,-
Another sun, and peradventure more;
If time, with free consent, be yours to give,-
And season favours."
From this communion with uninjured Minds,
What renovation had been brought; and what
Degree of healing to a wounded spirit,
Dejected, and habitually disposed
To seek, in degradation of the Kind,
Excuse and solace for her own defects;
How far those erring notions were reformed ;
And whether aught, of tendency as good
pure,
from further intercourse ensued;
This-(if delightful hopes, as heretofore,
Inspire the serious song, and gentle Hearts
Cherish, and lofty Minds approve the past)
My future Labours may not leave untold.
Page xi.-" Come thou prophetic Spirit, that inspir’st
The human soul, &c."
Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic Soul
Of the wide world dreaming on things to come.
In Heron's Tour in Scotland is given an intelligent account of the qualities by which this class of men used to be, and still are, in some degree, distinguished, and of the benefits which Society derives from their labours. Among their characteristics, he does not omit to mention that, from being obliged to pass so much of their time in solitary wandering among rural objects, they frequently acquire meditative habits of mind, and are strongly disposed to enthusiasm poetical and religious. I regret that I have not the book at hand to quote the passage, as it is interesting on many ac
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