And there was calm!  O Saviour, I have proved
  That thou to help and save art really near: 
  How else this quiet rest from grief and fear
    And all distress?  The cross is not removed,
  I must go forth to bear it as before,
  But, leaning on thine arm, I dread its weight no more.

    Is it indeed thy peace?  I have not tried
  To analyze my faith, dissect my trust,
  Or measure if belief be full and just,
    And therefore claim thy peace.  But thou hast died,
  I know that this is true for me,
  And, knowing it, I come, and cast my all on thee.

    It is not that I feel less weak, but thou
  Wilt be my strength; it is not that I see
  Less sin, but more of pardoning love with thee,
    And all-sufficient grace.  Enough! and now
  All fluttering thought is stilled, I only rest,
  And feel that thou art near, and know that I am blest.

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.

* * * * *

LIVING WATERS.

  There are some hearts like wells, green-mossed and deep
        As ever Summer saw;
  And cool their water is,—­yea, cool and sweet;—­
        But you must come to draw. 
  They hoard not, yet they rest in calm content,
        And not unsought will give;
  They can be quiet with their wealth unspent,
        So self-contained they live.

  And there are some like springs, that bubbling burst
        To follow dusty ways,
  And run with offered cup to quench his thirst
        Where the tired traveller strays;
  That never ask the meadows if they want
        What is their joy to give;—­
  Unasked, their lives to other life they grant,
        So self-bestowed they live!

  And One is like the ocean, deep and wide,
        Wherein all waters fall;
  That girdles the broad earth, and draws the tide,
        Feeding and bearing all;
  That broods the mists, that sends the clouds abroad,
        That takes, again to give;—­
  Even the great and loving heart of God. 
        Whereby all love doth live.

CAROLINE S. SPENCER.

* * * * *

DEVOTION.

          The immortal gods
  Accept the meanest altars, that are raised
  By pure devotion; and sometimes prefer
  An ounce of frankincense, honey, or milk,
  Before whole hecatombs, or Sabaean gems,
  Offered in ostentation.

PHILIP MASSINGER.

* * * * *

THE SEASIDE WELL.

    “Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut
    off.”—­LAMENTATIONS iii. 54.

  One day I wandered where the salt sea-tide
       Backward had drawn its wave,
  And found a spring as sweet as e’er hillside
       To wild-flowers gave. 
  Freshly it sparkled in the sun’s bright look,
       And mid its pebbles strayed,
  As if it thought to join a happy brook
       In some green glade.