Mother, mourn not for me; No more I need of thee; Call back the yearning which would follow where No mortal grief can go; All thine affection throw Around thy living ones; they need thy care. Let not my name still be A word of grief to thee, But let it bring a thought of peace and rest; Shed for me no sad tear, Remember, mother dear! That I am with the perfect and the blest. Yes, let my memory still With joy thy bosom fill; For, though thou dost along life's desert roam, My spirit, like a star, Bright burning and afar, Shall guide thee, through the darkness, to thy home HOPE. BY REV. H.B. NYE. Expectation is not desire, nor desire hope. We may _expect_ misfortune, sickness, poverty, while from these evils we would fain escape. Bending over the couches of the sick and suffering, we may _desire_ their restoration to health, while the hectic flush and the rapid beating of the heart assure us that no effort of kindness or skill can prolong their days upon the earth. _Hope_ is directed to some future good, and it implies not only an ardent desire that our future may be fair and unclouded, but an expectation that our wishes will, at length, be granted, and our plans be crowned with large success. Hence hope animates us to exertion and diligence, and always imparts pleasure and gladness, while our fondest wishes cost us anxiety and tears. There are _false_ and _delusive_ hopes, which bring us, at last, to shame. There are those who expect to gain riches by fraud and deceit, in pursuits and traffics on which the laws of truth, love, and justice, must ever darkly frown. They forget that wealth, with all its splendor, can only be deemed a good and desirable gift when sought as an instrument to advance noble and beneficent aims,--when we are the almoners of God's bounty to the lonely children of sorrow and want. If we seek wealth, let us not forget that pure hearts gentle affections, lofty purposes, and generous deeds, can alone secure the peace and blessedness of the spiritual kingdom of God. There are some who have a strong desire for the praise and stations of men, yet are often careless of the means by which they accomplish their ends. Remember, my young friends, that no station, no crown, or honor, will occupy the attention of a good and noble heart, except it opens a better opportunity for philanthropic labor, and is conferred as the free offering of an intelligent and grateful people.