But, sudden as the lightning’s flash, thought wings us across intervening space, to the sultry, arid plains of India, where seated upon the huge elephant, the inhabitants screen themselves from the burning rays of the vertical sun, and all nature seems fainting beneath the oppressive heat; there the deluded mother tosses her struggling infant into the serpentine Granges, and bowing before her idol, thinks she has appeased her God; we at a glance visit Afric’s billowy strand, her vast sandy deserts, spotted here and there with an oasis, where the toil-worn traveller stops to refresh himself; and then turning to America—­our own happy America, the land of freedom, we there see thousands of Afric’s sable sons groaning beneath the galling bondage of slavery.

But after thought thus visits every portion of the globe, and sits down to contemplate what is the conclusion of the whole matter, is not “passing away” legibly written upon the whole earth, and upon each succeeding generation of man, for “one generation passeth away and another generation cometh,” and death conquers all.  Happy are they, whose thoughts, enriched by the promises of the gospel, “can soar beyond the narrow bounds of time, and fix their hopes of happiness on heaven.”

Lines, Written on the Departure of a Brother.

  Dear brother, is it even so? 
    And are we doomed to part?—­
  We who have been through weal and woe
    United, hand and heart.

  Ah, would that I could share thy fate,
    Upon Life’s stormy sea;
  I’d deem no sacrifice too great,
    That I might make for thee.

  But no, it may not—­cannot be,—­
    The world before thee lies;
  And fairer lands are spread for thee,
    Beneath more genial skies.

  There’s many a spot, of which we’re told,
    In legend and romance,
  Where plumed knights were wont of old
    To meet with sword and lance.

  And there’s a charm that lingers round
    Each ruined tower and shrine;—­
  Full well I know its magic power,
    On such a heart as thine.

  Then go; I would not seek to chain
    Thy spirit bold and free;
  Although I feel when thou art gone,
  How lonely I shall be.

  I know thee noble; have I not
    From childhood’s earliest hour
  Witnessed thy spirit’s mastery
    O’er dark temptation’s power.

  Go, and ambition’s heights explore,—­
    Seek Honor, Wealth and Fame;
  But prize than gold or jewels more
    A pure, untarnished name.

  But when far o’er the deep blue sea,
    In other lands you roam,
  Forget not those who prayed with thee,
    In thy sunny childhood’s home,

  Forget not, when you mingle with
    The beautiful and gay,
  And yield your heart to pleasure’s charms,
    A sister far away.

  Though rosy lips may on you smile,
    And bright eyes turn to thine,
  Dear brother, thou wilt never find
    One truer heart than mine.