cr own readers

216 A FOREST H YMN.
Amid th e cool and silenc e, he kn elt down ,
And offered to the :'Ii ghtiest solem n th anks
And supp lication. F or his simple heart
Might not resist th e sacred influ ences
Wh ich from the st illy t wilight of the place ,
And from the gre y old trunks that high in heaven
:'IIingled their mossy boughs, and from the sound
Of th e invisible breath th at swayed at once
All th eir gr een to ps, stole over him, and bowed
H is spirit with th e th ough t of boun dless power
A nd inaccessible maj esty.
2. Ah, why
Should we, in th e world's riper years, neglect
God's a ncient san ctuaries, and adore
Only am ong th e crowd , and und er roofs
That our frail hands have rai sed 1 Let me, at least,
H ere, in the shadow of this aged wood,
Offer one hymn-thrice happy if it find
Acceptance in His ear.
3. Fath er, Th y hand
H a th reared th ese venerable colum ns, Th ou
Didst weav e this verdant roof ; Thou did st look down
Upon t he na ked earth, and forthwith rose
A ll th ese fair ranks of trees. They in Th y sun
Budded, nnd shook th eir gre en lea ves in Thy breeze,
And shot to wa rd heav en. Th e cent ury-living cro w,
Whose birth was in th eir tops, gre w old and died
Among th eir branches, till at last th ey stood,
As now they stand, massy and tall an d dark-
Fit shri ne for hum ble worshipper to hold
Communion with his ) laker.
4. These dim vaultsa,
These winding aisles, of human pomp or pride