The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, June 1844: Volume 23, Number 6Various
General
The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, June 1844: Volume 23, Number 6
Various
Periodicals
'You are aware that the sun rises as per almanac. This is common; and so
common, so much an every-day affair, that he gets very little credit
therefor; and yet, that he will rise with great exactness, aside from all
human calculation, and go on traversing the sky with a wonderful
regularity that nothing can stop, is a very pleasant fact touching the
prospect of to-morrow; and so also, that every thing in nature will be
wrought with marvellous beauty and harmonies of sound; and oh! most
satisfactory of all, there will still be an air that properly inhaled
fills the _heart_ as well as the lungs. It is from a calm consideration of
this fact, that we have done with the _eagerness_ of pleasure. No daily
counting of hours to see that all have been properly brimmed; no grasping
at a dozen things at once; no draining of the very dregs, lest that may be
the last bottle, and we die to-morrow. But thankful as we are for
to-morrow, and especially grateful for to-day, we don't care for
noon-marks. We have kept no count lately, and for aught we know, Time may
have stopped, but probably not. He is doubtless somewhere about, but we
take no particular notice. Our watches have run down, and we care not to
wind them again. The hours, if there are any, are all golden, and we have
no occasion to note the passage one to the other; or if we start them,
just to see the motion, they run on diamonds of the purest water; but
mostly, whether it be morn, or mid-day, or the starry night, Sabbath or
week-day, it is all one--all beautiful. Does it rain? It is quite proper.
The earth needs it, no doubt, and it will look the more grateful therefor.
Does it shine? Why then the birds will sing, and if they will come a
little nearer, we will teach them that charming air from the last opera.
Does a new star come out in heaven, or an old one disappear? The one will
be an added glory, and the other not much missed; but they will little
concern our astronomy. Expect no more rhapsodies, my friend, unless it be
upon the wonderful ease with which every thing can be done without them.
That we find all things pleasant, is the extent of our poetry. It is
pleasant to wake; it is pleasant to sleep; it is pleasant to wake and
sleep again; pleasant to watch the opening lid, and pleasant the smile
that follows it; pleasant are kind words and tones, the touch of hands,
and the touch of lips; the breath of flowers and those that love them;
pleasant are the thousand infinitesimals, like the motes of the sun-beam,
not less bright because of their minuteness; and pleasant the thought that
sufficient as this heaven may be, there is another one above. And
doubtless it is pleasant to breathe as usual, and feel the heart send
round its currents with a touch of joy; but oh, pleasanter than all, to
have no sigh or throb, to remind you that that breath must one day stop,
and that warm blood turn cold. Oh! in the 'time' that is set apart 'for
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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