"Time for bed!"—thou man of toil,
Why consume the midnight oil?—
Night was made for slumbers blest,
Thou art weary, therefore rest!
"Time for bed!"—poor "Martha," thou
Long enough hast labored now;
All the day's bright hours are numbered,
Yet art thou "with toiling cumbered."
Lay that tedious work away
Till the blest return of day,—
Thou art care-worn and oppressed,
Thou art weary "Martha," rest!
"Time for bed!"—shut up the stove,
To its place the table move,
Lay the books into their case,
Wheel the sofa to its place,
Wind the clock, brush up the floor,
Close the shutters, lock the door,
That will do—put out the light,
Toil and trouble, all good night!
FROM THE OLD TO THE NEW
LINES FOR THE NEW YEAR
I hear the beat of the unresting tide
On either shore as swiftly on I glide
With eager haste the narrow channel o'er,
Which links the floods behind with those before.
I hear behind me as I onward glide,
Faint, farewell voices blending with the tide,
While from beyond, now near, now far away,
Come stronger voices chiding each delay;
And drowning, oft, with wild, discordant burst,
The melancholy minor of the first
"Farewell! farewell!—ye leave us far behind you!"—
Tis thus the bright-winged Hours sigh from the Past—
"Ye leave us, and the coming ones will find you
Still vainly dreaming they will ever last,—
Still trifling with the gifts all fresh and glowing,
Each in its turn will scatter in your way,—
Still chasing airy phantoms, though well-knowing
That, ere you grasp them, they will melt away—
Farewell! farewell!"
"Haste! haste! haste!"—
Thus from the Future the voices ring—
"The air is balmy with breath of spring,
The waters sleep in the morning light,
The storms are hushed, and the skies are bright,
Haste! haste! haste!
"Isles of beauty and bloom are here,
Groves, whose leafage is never sere,
Teeming harvests of boundless wealth,
Peace, and plenty, and buoyant health—
Haste! haste! haste!
"Joy-bells ring in the sunny air,
Mirth and music are everywhere,—
Bend to the oars, and away, away
While the ripples dance and the breezes play—
Haste! haste! haste!"