, at wayside fane,
By the Indus' bank, on the scorching plain,
I had taught,--and my teaching all seemed vain.

"No glimmer of light (I sighed) appears;
The Moslem's Fate and the Buddhist's fears
Have gloomed their worship this thousand years.

"'For Christ and his truth I stand alone
In the midst of millions: a sand-grain blown
Against your temple of ancient stone

"'As soon may level it!'" Faith forsook
My soul, as I turned on the pile to look;
Then, rising, my saddened way I took

To its lofty roof, for the cooler air:
I gazed, and marvelled;--how crumbled were
The walls I had deemed so firm and fair!

For, wedged in a rift of the massive stone,
Most plainly rent by its roots alone,
A beautiful peepul-tree had grown:

Whose gradual stress would still expand
The crevice, and topple upon the sand
The temple, while o'er its wreck should stand

The tree in its living verdure!--Who
Could compass the thought?--The bird that flew
Hitherward, dropping a seed that grew,

Did more to shiver this ancient wall
Than earthquake,--war,--simoon,--or all
The centuries, in their lapse and fall!

Then I knelt by the riven granite there,
And my soul shook off its weight of care,
As my voice rose clear on the tropic air:--

"The living seeds I have dropped remain
In the cleft: Lord, quicken with dew and rain,
_Then_ temple and mosque shall be rent in twain!"

MARGARET J. PRESTON.

* * * * *

OF BIRDS.

See, Christ makes the birds our masters and teachers! so that a feeble
sparrow, to our great and perpetual shame, stands in the gospel as a doctor
and preacher to the wisest of men.

MARTIN LUTHER.

* * * * *

BIRDS IN SPRING.

Listen! What a sudden rustle
Fills the air!
All the birds are in a bustle
Everywhere.
Such a ceaseless croon and twitter
Overhead!
Such a flash of wings that glitter
Wide outspread!
Far away I hear a drumming,--
Tap, tap, tap!
Can the woodpecker be coming
After sap?
Butterflies are hovering over
(Swarms on swarms)
Yonder meadow-patch of clover,
Like snow-storms.
Through the vibrant air a-tingle
Buzzingly,
Throbs and o'er me sails a single
Bumble-bee