Rev. Horatius Bonar, D.D. Born 1808 A DISTINGUISHED clergyman of the Free Church of Scotland, Edinburgh. He was born at Edinburgh, 19th December 1808. His spiritual songs and his prose works are full of the richest fruits of Christian experience. IS THIS ALL? (From "Hymns of Faith and Peace.") Sometimes I catch sweet glimpses of His face, Sometimes He looks on me, and seems to smile, Sometimes He speaks a passing word of peace, Sometimes I think I hear His loving voice And is this all He meant when thus He spoke, Is there no deeper, more enduring rest, Is there no steadier light for thee in Him? O come and see! O look, and look again; O taste His love, and see that it is good, O trust thou, trust thou in His grace and power, Nay, do not wrong Him by thy heavy thoughts, Do thou full justice to His tenderness, His mercy prove, Take Him for what He is; Oh take Him all, Then shall thy tossing soul find anchorage, Thy love shall rest on His; thy weary doubts Thy heart shall find in Him, and in His grace, Christ and His love shall be thy blessed all Christ and His light shall shine on all thy ways Christ and His peace shall keep thy troubled soul Mrs Browning. Born 1809. Died 1861. ELIZABETH BARRETT, one of the greatest of the female poets of Britain, was born in London, of a family in affluent circumstances. At a very early age she wrote verses, and became a frequent contributor to the periodicals. In 1838 she published a collection of her fugitive pieces, which won for her an extraordinary reputation. Miss Barrett was in feeble health, and retired to Torquay to recruit; but she obtained no benefit from her stay, and returned to London a confirmed invalid. Confined to her chamber, she there devoted herself to that poetry "of which she seemed born to be the priestess." In 1844 she published a new edition of her poems, greatly enlarged; and about 1849, in partly restored health, she married Robert Browning the poet. They repaired to Italy, and the change was greatly beneficial to Mrs Browning. They resided there till her death, on 29th June 1861. VICTORIA'S TEARS. ("When the Princess Victoria was first informed that she was Queen of Great Britain, she was so affected by the responsibilities of her new position, that she burst into tears.") "O MAIDEN, heir of kings, The Majesty of death has swept All other from his face. And thou, upon thy mother's breast, No longer lean adown But take the glory for the rest, And rule the land that loves thee best." The maiden wept ; She wept to wear a crown! They decked her courtly halls - They shouted at her palace gate, Her name has stirred the mountains' sleep, Her praise has filled the town: And mourners God had stricken deep Looked hearkening up, and did not weep! Alone she wept, Who wept to wear a crown. She saw no purple shine, For tears had dimmed her eyes : And while the heralds played their part "God save the Queen," from hill to mart She heard, through all, her beating heart, And turned and wept ! She wept, to wear a crown. God save thee, weeping Queen! The nature in thine eye we see, Which tyrants cannot own- God bless thee, weeping Queen, And fill with better love than earth's, That when the thrones of earth shall be To wear that heavenly crown Alfred Tennyson. Born 1809. THE greatest poet of his times, was born in 1809. He is son of the Rev. George Clayton Tennyson of Sowerby, Lincolnshire. He entered at Trinity College, Cambridge; some of his poems, dated 1830, were written there. In 1833 appeared a volume of poems which awakened great interest for the author, though they were somewhat severely handled by the critics. It is supposed that this circumstance will account for the japse of nine years which occurred before his next volume was published, in 1842. The great advance made by the poet was apparent, and the marvellous brilliancy of colouring and profoundness of thought displayed in the new pieces caused public opinion to acknowledge him as the first of living poets. In 1847 appeared "The Princess;" in 1850 "In Memoriam;" "Maud" in 1855; and in 1858 "Idylls of the King," which more than sustained his previous reputation. He succeeded to the laureateship on the death of Wordsworth in 1850. CHRISTMAS BELLS. (From "In Memoriam.") RING out, wild bells, to the wild sky, Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring out the grief that saps the mind, Ring out a slowly dying cause, Ring out the want, the care, the sin, Ring out false pride in place and blood, Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; It is the day when he was born, The time admits not flowers or leaves And bristles all the brakes and thorns, Together, in the drifts that pass, To darken on the rolling brine, That breaks the coast. But fetch the wine Arrange the board and brim the glass. Bring in great logs, and let them lie, We keep the day. With festal cheer, |