118.-The Burial of Moses.

Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander, the author of this sublime poem, was the wife of the pastor of Strabane, Ireland. The following verse from Deut. xxxiv. 6 states the occurrence on which the poem is founded:

"And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulcher to this day."

By Nebo's lonely mountain,

On this side Jordan's wave,
In a vale in the land of Moab,
There lies a lonely grave:
But no man dug that sepulcher,
And no man saw it e'er;

For the angels of God upturned the sod,
And laid the dead man there.

That was the grandest funeral

That ever passed on earth;
But no man heard the tramping,
Or saw the train go forth.
Noiselessly as the daylight

Comes when the night is done,

And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek
Grows into the great sun;

Noiselessly as the springtime

Her crown of verdure weaves,
And all the trees on all the hills

Open their thousand leaves,

So, without sound of music,

Or voice of them that wept,

Silently down from the mountain's crown
The great procession swept.

Perchance the bald old eagle,
On gray Beth-peor's height,
Out of his rocky eyrie,1

Looked on the wondrous sight;
Perchance the lion stalking

Still shuns that hallowed spot:

For beast and bird have seen and heard

That which man knoweth not.

But when the warrior dieth,

His comrades in the war,

With arms reversed, and muffled drum,

Follow the funeral car;2

They show the banners taken,

They tell his battles won,

And after him lead his masterless steed,

Amid the noblest of the land

Men lay the sage to rest,

And give the bard an honored place,
With costly marble drest,

1 eyrie (pron. āʼrỹ).

8 tell, recount, enumerate.

2 funeral car,

hearse.

4 peals, sounds.

1

In the great minster transept,
Where lights like glories fall,

And the choir sings, and the organ rings,
Along the emblazoned wall.

This was the truest warrior
That ever buckled sword;
This the most gifted poet
That ever breathed a word;
And never earth's philosopher
Traced with his golden pen

On the deathless page, truths half so sage

As he wrote down for men.

And had he not high honor?
The hillside for his pall;

To lie in state while angels wait
With stars for tapers tall;

And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes,

Over his bier to wave;

And God's own hand, in that lonely land,

To lay him in the grave,

In that strange grave, without a name,

Whence his uncoffined clay

Shall break again - O wondrous thought! -
Before the judgment day,

1 minster transept; in allusion 2 emblazoned; i.e., adorned with

to the fact, that, in Great Britain, illustrious men are buried in the aisles of Westminster Abbey.

the blazons or heraldic emblems and armorial signs of the illus trious dead.

And stand with glory wrapped around,
On the hills he never trod,

And speak of the strife, that won our life,
With the incarnate Son of God.

O lonely grave in Moab's land!
O dark Beth-peor's hill!
Speak to these curious' hearts of ours,

And teach them to be still.
God hath his mysteries of grace,-

Ways that we can not tell:

He hides them deep, like the hidden sleep

Of him he loved so well.

MRS. C. F. ALEXANDER.

119. False Deference to Wealth.

I once saw a poor fellow, keen and clever,
Witty and wise: he paid a man a visit,
And no one noticed him, and no one ever

Gave him a welcome. "Strange!" cried I; "whence is it?"
He walked on this side, then on that,

He tried to introduce a social chat;
Now here, now there, in vain, he tried:
Some formally and freezingly replied,
And some

Said, by their silence, "Better stay at home."

1 curious, inquiring longingly.

A rich man burst the door, —
As Croesus' rich, I'm sure!

He could not pride himself upon his wit:
And as for wisdom, he had none of it;

He had what some think better, - he had wealth.

What a confusion! All stand up erect;

These crowd around to ask him of his health;

These bow in eager duty 2 and respect;

And these arrange a sofa or a chair,

And these conduct him there.

"Allow me, sir, the honor!

then a bow

Down to the earth. Is't possible to show

Meet gratitude for such kind condescension?

The poor man hung his head,

And to himself he said,

"This is indeed beyond my comprehension!"

Then looking round,

One friendly face he found,

And said, "Pray tell me, why is wealth preferred

To wisdom?"-"That's a silly question, friend!"

Replied the other. "Have you never heard

A man may lend his store

Of gold or silver ore,

But wisdom none can borrow, none can lend !

1 Croesus, an ancient king of Lydia, possessed of enormous wealth.

KHEMNITZER,

Translated by Bowring.

2 duty, subservience.

8 But... lend: what is the order? (See Definition 14.)