A MESSAGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2603, 3 February 1904, Page 59

A MESSAGE.

Sl&thouqht, in dreams, I ever followed One< — A 'hadowy Spirit — fai" acioss the fie.d And forest maigni to the mist-clad lake While dawn before us lay but half ic\e?led. Caressing was her -v oice that whispered thus* In cadence sv eet, that softly iosc and fell As wind amongst the grasses amoious: " Beloved, think'st thou Natuie ever weais A smiling face That never tears Bcclcw the 'ashes on her peerless cheek? That it is naught to her to see the yeais GJide SjWifi'y on, while fewer mortals seek Her shaded streams, her haunts whcie 'world'

is not, The peare of purple range, the fern-lov'd grot? Think' st thou that she can watch with happy

mien Those mortals (whom she loves), all soul-en-

grossed In worldly aims and eprthly goals, and lost To liar sweet influence, with each succeeding

day Drift surely and uncaringly away? With souls but icr that day, and what it

bungs , No time for loftier, mere ethereal things'" I led you forth, to show you how she yearns: Note the damp mist on the manuka edge Of the giey lake— a million tear-diops glisten-

ing. Now to the bmh. Mark how the rata burns With mwignation. This rirnu, weeping, Wouldst hide her grief. See yon pale clematis Staring mutely in uncurbed surprise That you should think her happy, while her

eyes. Are olllu for Nature's woes. And it is so m pII, wouldat tliou but see. I now implore that thou wilt tell the world, All thos-3 oppressed and tired with struggle

long, That Nature waits to consolation, givp, To touch their heated brows with cooling

spray From cascades in the hills, to pour her song Of Hope into their hearts, to bid them live With purer ideals, for a higher goal. She stands, sweet, grand, and glorious, with

her arms "Wide ope-i. Ah! how enviable they When h lends desert, i.nd, )f world-joys be-

reft, Those crowned with sorrows, yet who still can

■say, "Thank God! Thank God. we still have

Nature lbft." The ambassador her pinions then unfurled, And left me. This her mes-sage to the world — B. Lawlos.

Thames, January 6, 1904,