Shade clothed thy spring that now doth naked lie;
On thy white glistening sand the sweet woodbine
Darkened and dipt its flowers. I mark, and sigh,
And muse o'er troubles since we met the last,
Like two fond friends whose happiness is past.




PROSE FRAGMENTS




A CONFESSION OF FAITH

My creed may be different from other creeds, but the difference is
nothing when the end is the same. If I did not expect and hope for
eternal happiness I should be ever miserable; and as every religion
is a rule leading to good by its professor, the religions of all
nations and creeds, where that end is the aim, ought rather to be
respected than scoffed at. A final judgment of men by their deeds and
actions in life is inevitable, and the only difference between an
earthly assize and the eternal one is, that the final one needs no
counsellors to paint the bad or good better or worse than they are.
The Judge knows the hearts of all men, and the sentence may be
expected to be just as well as final, whether it be for the worst or
the best. This ought to teach us to pause and think, and try to lead
our lives as well as we can.