Newspaper Page Text
350
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
May Queen.
1 HER'At.D.I
t QUEEN elect!, and Loyalty again
Wakes like a blossom to tfui sum
• mer rain 1 ’ ‘ '
Defiled how long 1 in dustand dark
ness hid; * -
as Cheops in his pyramid!
Qp* Kings in their time and dema
gogues to-day,
Baser than swine, have castthat pearl away!
Yet Spring returns, and Loyalty again!
Feels the old rapture kindling in each vein;
Biding its time ,as Heaven ordains the hours,
It waits to crown the worthiest with flowers.
"crown.”
Queen of a proud and immemorial line!
Upon thy head what sacred dews should
shine I
Heir to long annals where no stain appears
The thousandth rose-bud of a thousand
years!
With this fair Crown what fragrant memo
ries shed
The bloom and balm of ages on thy head !
SCEPTRE.
A thornless Crown! a Sceptre without stain.
Peace in thy path and honor in thy train 1
So rule thy realm that when these wreaths
decay,
And the poor robes of office pass away,
Thy brow may bear more brightly than to
day,
A crown with Christ in Heaven’s eternal
May.
QUEEN.
Amen ! And Heaven support me too !
’Tis much we mighty people must go through !
In mine exchequer not a sovran cent!
As poor in purse as a church-mouse in Lent I
Not a bright bayonet to back my will—
Not one black bomb to whistle, "Love me
still 1”
I couldn’t tax you were I so inclined;
Nor even hang you if I had a mind.
I know no art in politics to shine.
To prove black "white,” and all your nice
things mine!
What shall I do to keep your minds in awe?
Where shall I seek a substitute for law ?
Queens there have been—and oh! what blood
and tears
Bear their pale memories down the tide of
years!
And Kings, how many ! duly born to rule,
And duly dead, epitomized, “A Fool!”
Kind Spirits guide me for mine empire’s ease;
Nor let me live or die like one of these !
Sweet Sisters, help me, as such sisters can,
To try hard loviDg for my regal plan;
And if we fail, then count me crowned to-day
The most unhappy of the Queens of May.
“ MAID S.”
SPRING.
Love tarries for Love! Lo ! the chrysalid’s
wing,
And the bloom in the bud, how they welcome
the Spring!
SUMMER.
Love kindles to Love! Lol the birds and
the flowers
That blossom and sing to my sun and my
showers!
AUTUMN.
Love ripens to Love ! Lo! my touches un
fold
From the heart of the flowret the harvest of
gold 1
WINTER.
Let the Summer decay, and the Autumn ex
pire !
liol Love at the hearth is a log on the fire!
BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
CHORUS. -
Rule by love! and round the year
Flowers shall follow thee as hero.
Spring with wreaths and incense rare—
Summer with her robes so lair—
Autumn with his golden store —
Winter, kindliest at core, —
More than these shall bless thy sway,
Happy Queen of more than May !
Torch Hill.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
BIOGRAPHIES OF ANCIENT PERSONS,
FOR YOUNG FOLKS.
BY PROF. T. B. RUSSELL, A. M.
SAMSON.—i.
V 1 -
HE name of Samson’s mother
'* s now^iere recorded ; but his
2* C father’s name was Manoah.
Samson was of the tribe of Dan, and
was born A. M. 2848 and B. C. 1156.
His birth was foretold in a wonderful
manner. An angel of the Lord- appear
ed first to Manoah’s wife, to whom he
predicted Samson’s birth. She inform
ed her husband of this interview; a part
of her language in describing it is: “A
man of God came unto me, and his
countenance was like the countenance
of an angel of God, very terrible.” Ma
noah entreated the Lord that this heav
enly messenger might be sent again, in
order to teach him and his wife “ what
they should do unto the child that
should be born.” His prayer was grant
ed. The angel came again ; first to his
wife, being in the field, who called Ma
noah, that he might also see the mys
terious visitor. Manoah immediately
obeyed the call, and was directed by
him how to treat the child whose birth
he predicted. According to this direc
tion, the child was required to be a
Nazarite. The vow of the Nazarite was
very strict; he was not allowed to drink
wine nor strong drink, nor to eat any
thing unclean, nor to have his head
shaven or shorn, during the period of
his consecration. The term in the He
brew, translated Nazarite, means sep
arated to the Lord in the particulars
mentioned. The time of this separa
tion might be for a year or more ; but
Samson was ordered to be a Nazarite
from his birth to the day of his death.
The scripture informs us that Manoah
was ignorant of the messenger’s being
an angel, and requested permission to
detain him, that he might entertain him
with a kid and other refreshments. The
heavenly person, however, said to Ma
noah, “Though thou detain me, I will
not eat of thy bread, and if thou offer a
burnt-offering thou must offer it unto
the Lord.” Asa spiritual being, he
did not subsist on earthly food, and as
an angel he would not receive the hom
age which belonged to God. “So Ma
noah offered upon a rock a kid with a
meat-offering to the Lord ; and the an
gel did. wonderously, and Manoah and
his wife looked on.” “ For it came to
pass,” as the Scripture further says,
“when the flame went up toward heaven
from off the altar, that the angel of the
Lord ascended in the flame of the altar.
And Manoah and his wife looked on it,
and fell on their faces to the ground.”
After this, it is said, “Manoah knew
that he was an angel of the Lord.”
Thus, all these miraculously glorious
things preceded and were connected
with the birth of Samson.
The mother of Samson must have
been a woman of good sense and pious
mind, for when Manoah expressed his
apprehensions to her that they should
die, because they had seen such wonder
ful manifestations from God, she an
swers him in these words : “ If the Lord
were pleased to kill us, he would not
have received a burnt-offering and a
meat-offering at our hands; neither
would he have shown us all these things,
nor would he at this time have told us
such things as these.” Such excellent
reasoning could only have originated
in a truly religious and sound mind.
This sensible and good woman named
her son Samson, a name which com
mentators tell us may mean either a
little sun or a little servant. The Bible
says: “The child grew and the Lord
blessed him.”
Here it must be stated that, as fore
told by the angel, the particular design
of the Lord in raising up Samson was,
that he might enter upon the great mis
sion of beginning to deliver the Israel
ites out of the hands of the Philistines.
This grand enterprise which was begun
in Samson’s time, was not completed
until the reign of king David.
We learn from Scripture that Sam
son was brought up at a place called
“the camp of Dan, between Zorah and
Eshtaol.” Here “the Spirit of the
Lord began to move him at times.”
This signifies that the Divine Spirit in
spired him with feelings of mortification
and grief on account of the degrading
bondage of his countrymen, and with
a strong desire to accomplish something
for their deliverance from the Philistine
despotism.
*.♦*•*
THE TWO RABBITS.
GOODWIN was a
little boy five years old. He
could read by himself, could
write, and was able to do a little cipher
ing.
Charlie had a young friend nearly
two years oilier than himself, whose
name was George Smith. Charles was
delighted when he could obtain leave to
go and see George, for George had a
number of playthings, and a cricket
hat and ball; and the two boys played
at cricket sometimes, in the large yard
which was close to Mr. Smith’s house.
One day, Mrs. Goodwin, the mother
of Charles, told him that she had just
heard that George Smith had some
young rabbits, and she asked Charles
if he would like to go and see them.
Charles jumped for joy, and said,
“ Oh, yes ! indeed I should. It would
be a great treat to me to see some rab
bits.”
“ Very well, my dear,” said his mo
ther ; “ then after dinner you shall go
with me to see them.”
When it was time to go, Charles put
on his hat, and went with his mother
to Mr. Smith’s house. His friend
George was very glad to see him, and
took him at once to look at the rabbits
in their hutch. There was the mother
with four young ones ; all such pretty
clean animals. One of them had
a skin entirely white ; two had black
spots on their backs ; and one of them
had a pair of beautiful brown ears, with
with spots on its body as white as snow.
This rabbit took Charles’s fancy more
than any of the others. He could not
leave off stroking it ; and George said
he would give him that one, with one
of the others, if his mother would let
him have them.
“ Oh, no !” said she ; “I cannot let
you have them, because they will always
be in the garden. George has a large
yard to keep his rabbits in, but we have
not. We have only a small yard, and
unless the gate were always shut the
rabbits would get into the garden and
spoil and destroy everything in it.”
“ Indeed, mamma, ” replied Charles,
“ I will take great care that the garden
gate shall always be shut. The rabbits
shall not get into the garden. Will you
be so kind as to trust me, and to let
me have them ?”
“ I always wish to give you as much
pleasure as I can,” answered his moth
er ; “ and I should like very much to
give you the treat for which you seem
so anxious. But do you think you can
keep your promise of shutting the garden
gate ?”
“ I will try to do so, mamma,” said
Charles, very earnestly; “ I will always
try to keep it shut.”
“ Well, then,” said his mother, “ I
will trust you, and let your friend
George give you two of his rabbits.
But remember, isl find them in the gar
den, I shall .be obliged to send them
back to George directly.”
“ I will be very careful,” said Charles,
and off he ran to tell his friend George
the good news.
“ Mamma says .she will trust me,
and let me have the rabbits,” cried
he; “I am so happy.”
“ And so am I,” said George. “In
about fourteen days, they will be old
enough to leave their mother, and then
you must come and fetch them.”
Charles thanked his kind friend, and
it was settled that he was to come again
in fourteen days, and take away the
two rabbits.
He then bade George good-bye, and
went home with his mother. As soon
as Charles reached home, he took
some nails and a hammer, and began