SELECT POETRY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 276, 15 May 1873, Page 7

SELECT POETRY.

THE THREE PREiCHERS. There are three preachers, ever preaching, Each with eloquence and power ; One ia old, with locks of white, t-kinny as an anchorite ; And he preaches every hour With a shrill fanatic voioe, And a bigots fiery sgorn :— " .Backwards I ye presumptuous nations ; Man to misery is born ! Born to drudge, and sweat, and suffer — Born to labor, and. to pray ; Backwards ! ye presumptuous nations — Back !— - be humble, and obey 1" The second is a milder preacher ! Soft he talks as if he suug ; Sleek and slothful is his look, And his words, as from a book, Issue glibly from his tongue. With an air of self-content, High he lifts his white fair hands : " Stand ye still, ye restless nation ; And be happy, all ye lands ; ' Earth was made by tfod our Fattier, And to meddle is to mar : Change is rash, and ever was so : We areliappyas we are." Mightier is the younger preacher ; Genius flashes from his eyes : And the crowds who hear his voice, Give him, while their souls rejoice, Throbbing bosoms for replies. Awed they listen, yet elated, While his stirring accents fall ;—; — " Forward. ! ye deluded nations, Progress is the rule of all : — Man was made for healthful effort ; Tyranny has crushed him long ; He shall march from good to better, And do battle with the wrong. " Standing still is childish folly. Going backwards is a crime :—: — None should patiently endure Any ill that he can cure ; Onward ! keep the march of Time, Onward, while a wrong remains To be conquer'd by the right ; While Oppression lifts a finger Sm To affront us by his might : While an error clouds the reason — Or a sorrow gnaws the heai-fc — Or a slave awaits his freedom, Action is the wise man's part. " Lo ! the world is rich in blesisngs — Earth and Ocean, flame and wind, Have unnumbered secrets still, To be ransacked when you will, For the sendee of mankind ; Science is a child as yet, And her power and scope shall grow, And her triumphs in the future ! Shall diminish toil and.woe, Shall extend the bounds of pleasure With an ever-widening ken, And of woods and wilderness Make the homes of happy men. " Onward ! there are ills to conquer, Ills that on yourself you've brought, •Tyranny is swoll'n with pride. Bigotry is deified. Error intertwined with Thought. Vice aad Misery cramp and crawl, Root them out, their day has pass'd :—: — Goodness is alone immortal ; Evil was not made to last ! Onward, and all earth shall aid vs — Ere our peaceful flag be furl'd." — And the preaching of this preacher, Stirs the pulses of the world. Charles Mackay.