A SUMMER RETREAT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2272, 16 September 1897, Page 41

A SUMMER RETREAT.

I know a deep grove where the nightingales build,

Whose soogs on the midnight fall mellow and free, Where the mosß-covered alleys have never been till'd. Nor the smoke of a city stain'd blosson or tree. And there in the calm summer twilight I stroll, In quiet to muse on the pleasures gone by, Or to watch, while reclined on, a blossom-clad knell, The la-it rosy streaks fade away in the sky. Then the winds sink in slumber} the branches grow t-till, The cool dew like manna falls fresh on the green, And a s>tar o'er the gaunt tree that, crowns the

dark; hill

A sof c ray of silver throws over the scene. There, soothed by the stillness and cheered by tbe

star-, I drink the mild cup of a tranquil Relight, Till the boom of a lone bell sounds faintly and far, And I hid the green Eden a loving good-night '

Augubt 18&7.

— H. J. B.

"HE GIVETH HIS BKLOVED SLEEP." From weary hands the toilsome task downfalls —

The long, lontc day of work is o'er at last ; Through sunset glory comes a voice that calls " Tired worker, rest 1 thy labour here is past." Rest 1 wrapped in slumber undisturbed and deep, To you " He giveth His beloved sleep ! " Oft seemed it that the o'ercharged heart could hear ' No more in silence all its heavy load — The untold griff, perplexity, and care ; > Yet strength came daily on the upward road. A little while to climb tho mountain steep, And then " He giveth His beloved sleep J " Behind the mountain top the sun is sinking,

The rugged path is bathed in golden glow ; Hot parched lips a Hng'riog draught are drinking

From fountain head wh> nee mighty waters flow. Of finished toil not e'e^n remembrance keep, At last " He giveth His beloved sleep 1 "

I, Septem