"Their graves are green, they may be seen," The little maid replied,

"Twelve steps or more from my mother's door And they are side by side.

"My stockings there I often knit,

My kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit,
And sing a song to them.

"And often after sunset, sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,
And eat my supper there.

"The first that died was sister Jane;
In bed she moaning lay,

Till God released her of her pain;

And then she went away.

"So in the churchyard she was laid;
And when the grass was dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I.

"And when the ground was white with snow, And I could run and slide,

My brother John was forced to go,

And he lies by her side."

"How many are you, then," said I, "If they two are in heaven? Quick was the little maid's reply, "O, master! we are seven."

"But they are dead; those two are dead! Their spirits are in heaven!”

'T was throwing words away: for still The little maid would have her will, And said, "Nay, we are seven!”

WORDSWORTH.

ON THE DEATH OF AN INFANT.

So fades the lovely, blooming flower,
Frail, smiling solace of an hour;
So soon our transient comforts fly,
And pleasure only blooms to die.

Is there no kind, no healing art,
To soothe the anguish of the heart?
Spirit of grace, be ever nigh:
Thy comforts are not made to die.

See gentle patience smile on pain,
Till dying hope revives again;

Hope wipes the tear from sorrow's eye,
And faith points upward to the sky.

STEELE

THE CRUSHED BUD.

ONE little bud adorned my bower,
And shed sweet fragrance round;
It grew in beauty, hour by hour,
Till, ah! the spoiler came in power,
And crushed it to the ground.

Yet not forever in the dust

That beauteous bud shall lie;
No!-in the garden of the just,
Beneath God's glorious eye, we trust,
"T will bloom again on high.

THE GATHERED BUD.

HAVE we not knelt beside his bed,

And watched our first-born blossom die?

Hoped, till the shade of hope had fled,
Then wept till feeling's fount was dry?
Was it not sweet in that dark hour,
To think, 'mid mutual tears and sighs,
Our bud had left its carthly bower,

And burst to bloom in Paradise?

ALARIC A. WATTS.

SENTENCES FROM THE SCRIPTURES.

Ir is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good.

I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it.

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.

But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of Thy law. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.