her kind heart had given. 
    But all was passed; she lay in death,
        The last word had been said,
    The soul had left its prison-house,
        And up to heaven had fled;
    But ’t was a joy for him to know
        She smiled on him in love,
    And hope did whisper in his heart,
        “She’ll guard thee from above.” 
    He sat beneath that old oak tree,
        And children gathered round,
    And wondered why he wept, and asked
        What sorrow he had found. 
    Then told he them this sad, sad tale,
        Which I have told to you;
    They asked no more why he did weep,
        For they his sorrow knew. 
    And soon their tears began to fall,
        And men came gathering round,
    Till quite a goodly company
        Beneath that tree was found. 
    The wanderer told his story o’er,
        Unvarnished, true and plain;
    And on that night three-score of men
        Did pledge them to abstain.

NATURE’S FAIR DAUGHTER, BEAUTIFUL WATER.

       Nature’sfair daughter,
       Beautiful water! 
    O, hail it with joy, with echoes of mirth,
    Wherever it sparkles or ripples on earth. 
       Down from the mountain,
       Up from the fountain,
    Ever it cometh, bright, sparkling and clear,
    From the Creator, our pathway to cheer. 
       Nobly appearing,
       O’er cliffs careering,
    Pouring impetuously on to the sea,
    Chanting, unceasing, the song of the free. 
       See how it flashes
       As onward it dashes
    Over the pebbly bed of the brook,
    Singing in every sequestered nook. 
       Now gently falling,
       As if ’t were calling
    Spirits of beauty from forest and dell
    To welcome it on to grotto and cell. 
       Beauteous and bright
       Gleams it in light,
    Then silently flows beneath the deep glade,
    Emblem of life in its sunshine and shade. 
       Beautiful water! 
       Nature’s fair daughter! 
    Where’er it sparkles or ripples on earth,
    Hail it with joy and with echoes of mirth.

THE TEST OF FRIENDSHIP.

    Brightest shine the stars above
        When the night is darkest round us;
    Those the friends we dearest love
        Who were near when sorrow bound us. 
    When no clouds o’ercast our sky,
        When no evil doth attend us,
    Then will many gather nigh,
        Ever ready to befriend us. 
    But when darkness shades our path,
        When misfortune hath its hour,
    When we lie beneath its wrath,
        Some will leave us to its power. 
    Often have we seen at night,
        When the clouds have gathered o’er us,
    One lone star send forth its light,
        Marking out the path before us.