E'en the remotest stars have come in troops And stooped low to catch the benediction Of thy countenance. Oft as the day came round, Impartial has the sun exhibited himself Before thy narrow skylight; nor has the moon For cycles failed to roll this way As oft as elsewhither, and tell thee of the night. No cloud so rare but hitherward it stalked, And in thy face looked doubly beautiful. O! tell me what the winds have writ for the last thousand years On the blue vault that spans thy flood, Or sun transferred and delicately reprinted For thy own private reading. Somewhat Within these latter days I've read, But surely there was much that would have thrilled the Soul, Which human eye saw not. I would give much to read that first bright page, Wet from a virgin press, when Eurus, Boreas, And the host of airy quill-drivers First dipped their pens in mist. _June 14._ Truth, Goodness, Beauty,—those celestial thrins,[32] Continually are born; e'en now the Universe, With thousand throats, and eke with greener smiles, Its joy confesses at their recent birth. Strange that so many fickle gods, as fickle as the weather, Throughout Dame Nature's provinces should always pull together. _June 16._ In the busy streets, domains of trade, Man is a surly porter, or a vain and hectoring bully, Who can claim no nearer kindredship with me Than brotherhood by law. CLIFFS _July 8._ The loudest sound that burdens here the breeze Is the wood's whisper; 'tis, when we choose to list, Audible sound, and when we list not, It is calm profound. Tongues were provided But to vex the ear with superficial thoughts. When deeper thoughts upswell, the jarring discord Of harsh speech is hushed, and senses seem As little as may be to share the ecstasy. HEROISM _July 13._ What a hero one can be without moving a finger! The world is not a field worthy of us, nor can we be satisfied with the plains of Troy. A glorious strife seems waging within us, yet so noiselessly that we but just catch the sound of the clarion ringing of victory, borne to us on the breeze. There are in each the seeds of a heroic ardor, which need only to be stirred in with the _soil where they lie_, by an inspired voice or pen, to bear fruit of a divine flavor.[33] SUSPICION _July 15._ What though friends misinterpret your conduct, if it is right in sight of God and Nature. The wrong, if there be any, pertains only to the wrongdoer, nor is the integrity of your relations to the universe affected, but you may gather encouragement from their mistrust. If the friend withhold his favor, yet does greater float gratuitous on the zephyr. TRUTH _Aug. 4._ Whatever of past or present wisdom has published itself to the world, is palpable falsehood till it come and utter itself by my side. SPHERE MUSIC