BETTER THAN GOLD.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 20, 13 September 1873, Page 12

BETTER THAN GOLD.

Better than grandeur, better than gold, Than rank and titles a thousand f01d, ., Is a healthy body and mind at ease, And simple pleasures that always please ; A heart that can feel for another's* woe, And share its joys with a genial glow, . , With sympathies large enough to. enfold All men as brothers, is better than gold. Better than gold is a conscience clear, Though toiling for bread in an humble sphere, Doubly blessed with content and health, Untried by the lust of cares of wealth j " Lowly living and lofty thought Adorn and ennoble a poor man's cot, For mind and morals in natures plain' Are the genuine tests of a gentleman. Better than gold is the sweet repose Of the sons of toil when their labors close ; Better than gold is the poor man's sleep, ' And the balm that drops on his slumbers deep, Bring sleeping draughts to the aching bed Where luxury pillows its downy head, His simple opiate deems A shorter road to the land of dreams. Better than gold is a thinking mind, That in the realm of books can find A treasure surpassing Australian ore, And live with the great and good of yore, The sage's lord and the poet's lay, The glories of empire pass away ; The world's great dream will thus enfold And yield a pleasure better than gold. Better than gold is a peaceful home, When all the fireside character come, The shrine of love, the heaven of life, Hallowed by mother, or sister, or wife, However humble the home may be, Or tried with sorrow with heaven's decree, The blessings that never were bought nor sold, And centre there, are better than gold.