Watching perchance some angel's flight And so did it prove with that maiden fair, So, at the same hour, the next even-tide, There knelt by her one that called her his bride, M A SOLILOQUY. My harp is on the willow hung; To me the morning brings to light⚫ No ray of sun or moon I see, I cannot view those gem-like stars, That sparkle in the ethereal skies; Nor gaze upon the blooming flowers, That make the face of nature gay; To me the variegated earth, For I through nine fair summers passed, But ere a tenth had fully come, My gladsome heart was wrapt in gloom Lo! I was banished from the light, Condemned to a living tomb, Where even Hope's fair star grows din, With clouds that o'er my spirit rise, And hide the gleams of holy light, Imparted from the skies. But oh! I will with patience bear A grief which none can feel or know And faith, not light shall be my guide ON MORNING. Oh, sweet is the dawning hour, Ard fair Aurora tints The azure sky with golden ligat, And angels bright, that nightly watch, Or rosy twilight fades Before the gorgeous king of day, Who from the east rejoicing comes In glorious array. And gentle zephyrs kiss Dew-drops from the blushing flowers, That waking shed their odors sweet, Through fields and summer bowers. And on the ocean's wave Sunbeams like golden shadows gleam, And laughing breezes catch the spray That leaps from mountain stream. And to the huntsman's horn, The echoing rocks and hills reply, And beasts of prey that nightly prowl, Like falcons swift go by. And insect voices greet, With songs of praise the waking day And feathered songsters warble sweet, To God their morning lay. And man from sweet repose, O sweet and hallowed time, To this that thou hast blessed ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE BLIND IN THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. SERIES I.-SECTION 1. PROGRESS IN THE SCIENCES. HAVING given in the preceding pages a somewhat detailed account of a sufficient number of authors, and extracts from their writings, to establish the literary character of the blind, we next proceed to notice in a more summary manner, the success of this class in the scientific pursuits. As the hydrographical chart points out to the mariner a safe course over the trackless ocean, and national history affords to the legislator the experience of past ages, so the biographies of those who have risen against every tide of opposition from a lowly station in life to one of honor and distinction, serve in a powerful manner to stimulate others to grapple with similar difficulties. Whatever may be the impediments in our course, if we have the assurance that others, under like circumstances, have surmounted them, and arrived in triumph at the mark to which we aspire, the bugbear of impossibility is removed, and the timid heart, gathering courage, moves forward, cheered by the way. |