I DREAMED of thee last night, love,
And I thought that one came down
From scenes of azure light, love,
The most beautiful to crown.
He wandered forth where diamonds
And jewels rich and rare
Shone brightly 'mid the glittering throng,
Yet crown‚d no one there.
He pass‚d by all others,
Till he came to where thou stood;
And chose thee as the beautiful,
Because thou wast so good.
And said, as there he crowned thee,
That Goodness did excel
The jewels all around thee
In which beauty seemed to dwell.
For Goodness is that beauty
Which will forever last;
Then, crowning thee most beautiful,
From earth to heaven he passed.
THEY TELL OF HAPPY BOWERS.
THEY tell of happy bowers,
Where rainbow-tinted flowers
Bloom bright with sweetest fragrance, and never, never die;
Where friends are joined forever,
Where parting hours come never,
And that that happier land is far beyond the sky;—
That when this life is ended
The spirit there ascended
Shall meet in happy unison the spirits gone before;
And all that here hath vexed us,
With seeming ill perplexed us,
We shall see was for the best, and God of all adore.