THE YEAR'S COODNESS.

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume VII, Issue 2, 1 November 1902, Page 95

THE YEAR'S COODNESS.

On the shoulders of earth is the mantle of

night

With the moonbeams' silvery lining bright, As, softly as passes one who creeps In the hush of the dawn past one who

sleeps,

Glides in the new year slowly

And now, as the old year sinks to its grave, Let me dwell on the blessings its reigning

gave,

Blessings — but one commands my heart, And sweeps the others to worlds apart, As the year glides in so slowly. For the year in its goodness gave me you With your great calm brow and your eye&of blue, Your splendid soul with its crown of love That shone with the strength of the sun above,. As the year rolled on so slowly. And it twined our lives, did this grand old year, Gave us one to the other, naught to fear, And we lived according to God's command, When we triumphed together hand in hand, Through the stress of the year so grandly.. Thus we loved to the full, whate'er befell, In the glow of that old year's wondrous spell; We loved with the strength of our soul's true might, And now in the hush of the flawless night Thank the old year dying slowly. From the past to the present — as we stand On the brink of the new year hand in hand,. Will the new year smile on this love of ours, Will our passage be deck'd with wealth of flowers Through the new year gliding slowly ?

Yes, no doubt can exist in our trusting souls, That the year will increase as it onward rolls "The wealth of love that the past year gave ; And we know as the earth falls- into its grave, We will love in the new year grandly. 'Oh my heart, in the face of the dim unknown, Just think how our love in a year has grown ;

And with heart to heart and with soul to soul, Let us strike through the mists for the cloudy goal, Through the new year rolling slowly. For the goal is there, and with widening love We will place our feet on the peaks above, You and I— so with soft embrace, I bid you good-night in the quiet face Of the new year reigning calmly. Alan E. Mulgan.