The ship rode far upon the silent main; ’twas night, A beautiful, still night; no moon was there, But the bright stars were hanging overhead In golden clusters; and the breathless sea Gave them all back; while the tall vessel seemed A fairy home, suspended ’twixt two heavens. And there were happy hearts within her then; That eve they had descried the distant shore Of their own land; and all had gone to rest In the dear hope that ere another day Their feet would press again their native soil; Then the rich merchant dreamed how his gay stores Would well reward his exile; and the youth Thought of his loved one, and in fancy touch’d Already her rose-lips; while the fond sire Dreamed of his wife and children, and his hearth With their bright faces gathered round, like stars, To hearken to the marvels of his voyage. … There is a stillness over sea and heaven-- A placid calm, a holy peace; alas! Whence is that sudden cry--that rising flame That bursts from the fair vessel? ’Tis no fire Of heaven, no angry lightning, that hath struck And blasted it! A moment, and the scene That was so fair is changed; the heavens above And still as ever; but the death-fire glows Upon the burnished waters! Groans and prayers Rise up all vainly! There’s a sudden shriek, Like to an earthquake; and the hopes and fears Of many hearts, the vessel and its freight, Are vanished--scattered into nameless things, And all is swallowed up and lost! --_From the Knickerbocker._ * * * * * TRUE CHARITY.--The lowest order of charity is that which is satisfied with relieving the immediate pressure of distress in individual cases. A higher is, that which makes provision on a large scale for the relief of such distress; as when a nation passes on from common almsgiving to a general provision for the destitute. A higher still is, when such provision is made in the way of anticipation, or for distant objects; as when the civilization of savages, the freeing of slaves, the treatment of the insane, or the education of the blind and deaf and mutes, is undertaken. The highest charity of all is, that which aims at the prevention rather than the alleviation of evil. It is a nobler charity to prevent destitution, crime, and ignorance, than to relieve individuals who never ought to have been made destitute, criminal, and ignorant. * * * * *