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98 LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY.

MEMORY.

THE past she ruleth. At her wand.
Its temple-valves unfold, 
And from their glorious shrines descend
The mighty forms of old; 
To her deep voice the dead reply, 
Dry bones are clothed and live, 
Long-perish'd garlands bloom anew, 
And buried joys revive.

When o'er the future many a shade 
Like saddening twilight steals, 
Or the dimm'd present to the heart 
Its vapidness reveals, 
She opes her casket, and a cloud 
Of treasured incense steams, 
Till with a lifted heart we tread 
The pleasant land of dreams.

Make friends of potent Memory, 
Oh young man, in thy prime, 
And store with jewels rich and rare
Her hoard for hoary time; 
For if thou mockest her with weeds,—
A trifler 'mid her bowers,—
She'll drop their poison on thy soul 
'Mid life's disastrous hours.

Make friends of potent Memory
Oh Maiden in thy bloom, 
And bind her closely to thy heart 
Before the days of gloom; 
For sorrow softeneth into joy 
Beneath her touch sublime, 
And she celestial robes can weave 
From the frail threads of time.


LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY. 99

DEW-DROPS.

"FATHER, there are no dew-drops on my rose: 
I thought to find them, but they all are gone. 
Was Night a niggard? Or did cunning Dawn 
Steal those bright diamonds from the slumbering Day?" 
—The father answer'd not, but waved his hand, 
For the soft falling of a summer shower 
Made quiet music 'mid the quivering leaves, 
And through the hollows of the freshen'd turf 
Drew lines like silver.
  Then a bow sprang forth,
Spanning the skies.
  "Seest thou yon glorious hues, 
Violet and gold?  The dew-drops tremble there, 
That from the bosom of thy rose had fled, 
My precious child. Read thou the lesson well, 
That what is pure and beautiful on earth, 
Shall glow in Heaven."
  He knew not that he spake 
Prophetic words. But ere the infant moon 
Swell'd to a perfect orb its crescent pale, 
That gentle soul which on the parent's breast 
Had sparkled as a dew-drop, was exhaled, 
To mingle 'mid the brightness of the skies.

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-28 10:52:21 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-28 12:40:45 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-28 10:40:55 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-28 13:03:06