As one who by the beach roams far and wide, Remnant of wreck to save, Again I wandered when the salt sea-tide Withdrew its wave; And there, unchanged, no taint in all its sweet, No anger in its tone, Still as it thought some happy brook to meet, The spring flowed on. While waves of bitterness rolled o'er its head, Its heart had folded deep Within itself, and quiet fancies led, As in a sleep; Till, when the ocean loosed his heavy chain, And gave it back to day, Calmly it turned to its own life again And gentle way. Happy, I thought, that which can draw its life Deep from the nether springs, Safe 'neath the pressure, tranquil mid the strife, Of surface things. Safe--for the sources of the nether springs Up in the far hills lie; Calm--for the life its power and freshness brings Down from the sky. So, should temptations threaten, and should sin Roll in its whelming flood, Make strong the fountain of thy grace within My soul, O God! If bitter scorn, and looks, once kind, grown strange, With crushing chillness fall, From secret wells let sweetness rise, nor change My heart to gall! When sore thy hand doth press, and waves of thine Afflict me like a sea,-- Deep calling deep,--infuse from source divine Thy peace in me! And when death's tide, as with a brimful cup, Over my soul doth pour, Let hope survive,--a well that springeth up Forevermore! Above my head the waves may come and go, Long brood the deluge dire, But life lies hidden in the depths below Till waves retire,-- Till death, that reigns with overflowing flood, At length withdraw its sway, And life rise sparkling in the sight of God An endless day. ANONYMOUS. * * * * * ULTIMA VERITAS. In the bitter waves of woe, Beaten and tossed about By the sullen winds that blow From the desolate shores of doubt,-- When the anchors that faith had cast Are dragging in the gale, I am quietly holding fast To the things that cannot fail: I know that right is right; That it is not good to lie; That love is better than spite, And a neighbor than a spy; I know that passion needs The leash of a sober mind; I know that generous deeds Some sure reward will find; That the rulers must obey; That the givers shall increase; That Duty lights the way For the beautiful feet of Peace;-- In the darkest night of the year, When the stars have all gone out, That courage is better than fear, That faith is truer than doubt; And fierce though the fiends may fight, And long though the angels hide, I know that Truth and Eight Have the universe on their side;