Miscellaneous. Onwards the Sunset.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1428, 11 February 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellaneous. Onwards the Sunset.

Blaze ! blaze ! ye torches of su vernal splendor 1 Athwart the crystal of the slowing West ; Lighting the pathway of earth's parting monaich, And crowning him with ardent, fic-r? crest, Ye clou Is of flame, of amber and of purple ! Unfurl your bauneia with consummate

art; Mocking the fairest dreams that eve? floated "Within, the chambeis of the pool's heart ! 0, sunset fires ! Where are your secret sources 1 V/hat dread magician bade ye proudly glow? Tremulous, quiv'ring, and instinct with passion, Ye throb, ye spaikle, and ye dazzle so ! 0 wondrous clouds, o£ bright, fantastic beauty, Where were ye fashioned— in what dainty loom ? Just when the day is passing into shadow, Ye burst upon and radiate ihe gloom ! See ! how the crimson melts into the purple, Or dons the blushing hue of Eastern rose ; While through the folds of each translucent curtain A gleaming fringe cf liquid glows I Jtfotv, all tbe color fades in clear, soft radiance, Spreading oat a phantom, burnished sea— A waveless gea, whereon no barks are tossing,

Nor wandering breezes ".v.ntoning in glee ? And i— earth's child— have revelled in the gloiy Inscribed upon the sweet face of the sky— Have watched each phase of bleuded sheen and shadow Till my impatient soul doth long to fly To that, fair realm beyond the erim3on nioun. tains Wherein the founts of Opalescense bum, Whose pure candescent waters yieldeth vapors. Like frozen sea- foam, o'er the day-god'a urn !

He the world has fled, and /his fond adorer Must follow, follow in his brilliant wakeAye ! follow, follow in my deathless longing, Whatever path his mystic step 3 may take ! He must not leave my soul in darkness shrouded,

He must return to shed his light divine — To fill poor earth with sunbeams and to gladden s Her desert places with hia warmth and shine 1 I gaze until— on golden hinges turning — Ie seemeth all the Western portals ope, And, from the aerial vista, beckon The rosy flngere of celestial Hope ! I come ! I come ! 0 beaming, gracious goddess I Thine outstretched hand I clasp, and upward spring Beyond the mountains — up the vaulted ether, Where thrilling sunset chorals ever ring ! Towards the sunset I am sailing — sailing — Fair as evening star it gleams adown the West, That radiant clime within whose casket's garnered The gems that sparkle in my monarch's crest ! Towards the sunset J Onward, ever onward t Up 1 up ! still higher ! through the blue expanse I mount on fancy free, ecstatic pinions To rouse the •' Bright One "from his fateful trance 1 Lo ! Where he sleeps on couch of soft refulgence, His head reclined on pillows of red gold, While fleecy curtains of the azure heavens Fall over him in many a tender fold ! I fear to touch him with my mortal fingers, He slumbers there in so much regal grace, Lest he consume me with the awful lightnings That dart from out his grand, imperial face. Awake thee ! 0 embodiment of passion ! 0, source prolific of all warmth and glow 1 In all thy stately pomp and regal splendors Return ! return 1 to dull, cold earth once more 1 Unfuil 3'our banners in tbe clear cerulean 1 Breathe out again thy fervid, tropic breath, For know, 0 orb ! of concentrated glory, Without the: all is chaos — midni«ht — death 1

Nothing will so effectually solve doubts, relieve suspense, and remove uncertainty as a habit o£ promptly performing the nearest duty. Much of the hesitation and perplexity which hinder advancement and confuse men's lives comes from simply thinking, v, hen they ought to be doing, Thought and action should never be separated. If action is often hasty and ill-judged for want of thought, thought is often vague and abortive for want of action. Men pause and speculate about what may or may not happen ; they wonder what they ought to do or can do in certain contingencies, and no light reveals the one or the other ; on the contrary, they become more and more doubtful and perplexed. Meanwhile the first steps are still untrodden that would have led to others. They have been standing at th,e foot of the ladder, looking perhaps eagerly to the top, and marvelling Low to reach so high a point : while the lowest rounds, so close to their feet and so onsy to ascend, have been quite neglected. The nearest duty, when performed, sheds a light revealing the next and chasing away the shadows of doubt and uncertainty which have hindered onward progress.

Mexico, notwithstanding its republican form of government, is very much of a military despotism, and ihe general officers of the army naturally arrogate to themselves a great deal of the authority that is supposed to be vested in the civil arm. A curious example of this occurred in June of this year, when General Ruiz proceeded by train to Chihuahua with a couple of companies of soldiers, with all their women, children, and other field necessaries ; at about Jimenez the engine turned a somersault, greatly to the indignation of the doughty general, who, calling a corporal's guard, put the unfortunate engineer under constant arrest for having caused the accident. The question in tbe general's mind was, "What can we do with him ? ' And it required all the calmer judgment of his combined staff to persuade him that " immediate execution " was not the right answer.

Guanajuato, the capital of the State of the same name in Mexico, has a gentlemaiily murderer in her midst whose inventive genius may save a sensational novelist from a great deal of trouble. He had a rival in the affections of some brown-skinned beauty — a married man of considerable business importance in the city. One day he disappeared most mysteriously, and no clue was ever obtained of his fats until, on his deathbed, the gentlemanly murderer aforesaid made a clean breasb of it. He was a soapboiler by trade, and finding his rival out late one night when nobody was around, he treated him as Sullivan's sailor did the cook of the Nancy hrig, except that he boiled him in lye instead of broth ; and the good people of Guanajuato washed themselves for a long time with the mortal remains of their dead townsman, in blissful ignorance of the grim joke that was being played upon them.

If wealth comes, beware of him, the smooth, false friend ! There is treachery in his proffered hand ; his tongue is eloquent to tempt ; lust of many harms is lurking in his o.yc ; he hath a hollow heart ; use him cautiously,