We press the listening ear,
And fancy that the minstrelsy
Our raptured senses hear,
Is sweeter than the chorus
By angel choirs sung,
Or richer than vibrations
Of chords so deftly strung,
That all their intonations
Seem blended in one strain,
By touch of fairy fingers
Which enchant the sweet refrain.

The beauties of the sunset
Upon the evening sky,
When flecked with fleeting vapors,
Detached and awry,
Give colors that no artist
Save God alone can show
To eyes that seek such blendings,
And hearts that long to know
The hidden things in Nature
Which ne'er can be revealed
To those who find not heaven
In mountain, sky, and field;
For they who live the nearest
To Nature's self shall find
Joy boundless as the ocean,
As pure and unconfined.

Deep in the leafy forest
A thousand tones are heard,--
The laughing, dancing brooklet,
The song of bright-winged bird,
The buzz of bee on flower,
The leaf by breezes fanned,
The hum of tiny insect
Whose feeble notes command
The modulated heart-beat
To know the great decree,
That frees the mind from slavery
And sets the spirit free,
Through knowledge of those hidden things
Which God only reveals
To him who loves all nature,
And for a brother feels.

The dearest and the sweetest
Of all the charms on earth,
Are those that link our natures
To feelings that have birth
When leaf and flower and fruitage
Steal our being for an hour,
And we are half unconscious
Of some mysterious power,
That leads us close to heaven,
And points to joys supreme,
Where fields and flowers and happiness
Are not an idle dream,
But a true and soothing heritage
Whose limit has no end,
Where ev'ry rock and tree and shrub
Shall prove a trusted friend.

If heaven is not shadowed
Upon our spirit mind,
Through all its gorgeous tintings
And colorings combined;
If Nature has no language
To charm the ear and eye,
And brooks and birds and forests
Afford no minstrelsy;
If waving grain and orchards,
Freighted with fragrance rare,
Draw not the spirit heavenward
And lift the soul in prayer;
Then orisons are soulless
Though voiced on ben