I have chosen to pray.

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The early shrill notes of the loved nightingale

That dwelt in the bower, I observed as my bell:

It called me to duty, while birds in the air

Sang anthems of praises as I went to prayer,

As I went to prayer.*

How sweet were the zephyrs perfumed by the pine,

The ivy, the balsam, the wild eglantine,

But sweeter, O, sweeter superlative were