"All day thy wings have fanned
At that far height the cold, thin atmosphere;
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
Though the dark night is near.
"And soon that toil shall end;
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend
Soon o'er thy sheltered nest.
"Thou'rt gone; the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart.
"He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright."
W. C. BRYANT.
THE FIFTH DAY.
FLYING FOWL.
"Gavest Thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?"
"Doth the hawk fly by Thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?"
"Doth the eagle mount up at Thy command, and make her nest on high?"—JOB xxxix. 13, 26, 27.