Memorials of Theophilus Trinal, Student By Thomas T. Lynch. Third Edition, Enlarged |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
THE WIFE'S BIRTHDAY. |
| XV. |
 | CHAPTER XIV. Memorials of Theophilus Trinal, Student |  |
THE WIFE'S BIRTHDAY.
Heart! have you any thing of verse
To greet the birthday of a wife?
Tender the words must be, but terse
Suiting the common sense of life;
Rank'd in an honest, steady line,
With nothing false and nothing fine:
To greet the birthday of a wife?
Tender the words must be, but terse
Suiting the common sense of life;
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With nothing false and nothing fine:
But plain and sweet, to please a soul
Of true love's own simplicity;
The parts consistent with the whole,
The whole such as may company
Or with a prayer, or a kiss—
Heart! can you give me verse like this?
Of true love's own simplicity;
The parts consistent with the whole,
The whole such as may company
Or with a prayer, or a kiss—
Heart! can you give me verse like this?
Affection's strength you need not prove—
An overproof suggests pretence—
By warm elaborate words of love,
But with a modest confidence,
Enough, if you will for me say,
“We are more wedded every day.”
An overproof suggests pretence—
By warm elaborate words of love,
But with a modest confidence,
Enough, if you will for me say,
“We are more wedded every day.”
Count the full years we've been together,
And lest she cry, “Ah, full of care!”
Tell her that soon the winter weather
Will soften now, and spring's repair
Bring back to cheer the wayside places
Primroses with their golden faces.
And lest she cry, “Ah, full of care!”
Tell her that soon the winter weather
Will soften now, and spring's repair
Bring back to cheer the wayside places
Primroses with their golden faces.
Speak of the sure immortal light,
And say the mortal heart resembles
Unsteady water, which, though bright,
Is bright but with a beam that trembles;
That faith must tremulously shine,
And yet it is a light divine.
And say the mortal heart resembles
Unsteady water, which, though bright,
Is bright but with a beam that trembles;
That faith must tremulously shine,
And yet it is a light divine.
Hint piously that souls akin
Shall some day one another meet,
And that an early-parted twin
More blest may be, in heaven sweet,
For gentle, secret service kind,
Done to the brother left behind.
Shall some day one another meet,
And that an early-parted twin
More blest may be, in heaven sweet,
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Done to the brother left behind.
Say, too, that though Time drives the years,
God rules the paces and the path,
Oft checks the course for human fears,
And garments warm provided hath:
And as we through the stages come,
We near the gate of distant home.
God rules the paces and the path,
Oft checks the course for human fears,
And garments warm provided hath:
And as we through the stages come,
We near the gate of distant home.
O Heart! can you provide me verse
To say this, and the day to bless?
And better health, a fuller purse,
Some unexpected happiness,
These wish, too, for the day's return—
Then, Heart, my gratitude you earn.
To say this, and the day to bless?
And better health, a fuller purse,
Some unexpected happiness,
These wish, too, for the day's return—
Then, Heart, my gratitude you earn.
“These very words of your request,”
My heart replied, “these offer her;
To verse the choicest and the best
Such words of love she will prefer;
In husband's talk unto his heart
The true wife ever would have part.”
My heart replied, “these offer her;
To verse the choicest and the best
Such words of love she will prefer;
In husband's talk unto his heart
The true wife ever would have part.”
| CHAPTER XIV. Memorials of Theophilus Trinal, Student | |