 | Manners : or, happy homes and good society all the year round |  |
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“Manner is everything with some people, and something with everybody.”
Bishop Middleton
“He that is only real had need have exceeding great parts of virtue; as the stone had need to be rich that is set without foil.”
Lord Bacon, On Ceremonies and Respects.
VI.—THE HAND, AND ITS WORK.
The hand—what wondrous wisdom planned
This instrument so near divine?
How impotent, without the hand,
Proud Reason's light would shine!
Invention might his powers apply,
And Genius see the forms of heaven,
And firm Resolve his strength might try;
But vain the will, the soul, the eye:
Unquarried would the marble lie,
The oak and cedar flout the sky,
Had not the hand been given.
The frost's ice-breath the seas may block,
And earthquake's arm the mountains shake,
The lightning's eye dissolve the rock,
The heaving breast of waters break
A pathway through the solid land:
No form that Nature's force could take
Such changes in the world would make
As doth the human hand.
This instrument so near divine?
How impotent, without the hand,
Proud Reason's light would shine!
Invention might his powers apply,
And Genius see the forms of heaven,
And firm Resolve his strength might try;
But vain the will, the soul, the eye:
Unquarried would the marble lie,
The oak and cedar flout the sky,
Had not the hand been given.
The frost's ice-breath the seas may block,
And earthquake's arm the mountains shake,
The lightning's eye dissolve the rock,
The heaving breast of waters break
A pathway through the solid land:
No form that Nature's force could take
Such changes in the world would make
As doth the human hand.
Its slender palm the forest clears,
And sows the nurturing grain;
The harvest springs, the vine appears,
And pastures dot the plain
Where flocks and herds secure may lie:
Nor prowling beasts will venture nigh;
They feel their Maker's stern command,
And yield to man the cultured land.
Then cities lift their stately spires,
And orchards bloom, and household fires
Are kindled up with song and glee;
And art and taste their riches pour;
And strong, swift ships have bridged the sea:
While nations meet on either shore,
Like neighbors stepp'd from door to door;
And savage hands, whose work was strife,
Now clasped in social compact, prove
Justice and peace may govern life,
If man his work perform in love.
And sows the nurturing grain;
The harvest springs, the vine appears,
And pastures dot the plain
Where flocks and herds secure may lie:
Nor prowling beasts will venture nigh;
They feel their Maker's stern command,
And yield to man the cultured land.
Then cities lift their stately spires,
And orchards bloom, and household fires
Are kindled up with song and glee;
And art and taste their riches pour;
And strong, swift ships have bridged the sea:
While nations meet on either shore,
Like neighbors stepp'd from door to door;
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Now clasped in social compact, prove
Justice and peace may govern life,
If man his work perform in love.
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[While thus to ceaseless task-work doomed to make the world his own]
While thus to ceaseless task-work doomed to make the world his own,
Lest, in the struggle, sense should drag the spirit from its throne,
Woman's warm heart and gentle hand, in God's eternal plan,
Were formed to soften, soothe, refine, exalt, and comfort man;
And win from pleasure's poison-cup to life's pure fount above,
And rule him, as the angels rule, by deeds of peace and love.
And so the tender mother lays on her soft nurturing breast,
With loving hand, her infant son, and lulls him to his rest;
And dries his tears, and cheers his smiles, and, by her wise control,
She checks his wayward moods, and wakes the seraph in his soul;
And when life's work commands him forth, no more to dwell with her,
She points him to the Hand that saved the sinking mariner,
And broke the bread for famished men, and bids him trust that stay;
And then her hands, unclasped from his, are lifted up to pray.
Lest, in the struggle, sense should drag the spirit from its throne,
Woman's warm heart and gentle hand, in God's eternal plan,
Were formed to soften, soothe, refine, exalt, and comfort man;
And win from pleasure's poison-cup to life's pure fount above,
And rule him, as the angels rule, by deeds of peace and love.
And so the tender mother lays on her soft nurturing breast,
With loving hand, her infant son, and lulls him to his rest;
And dries his tears, and cheers his smiles, and, by her wise control,
She checks his wayward moods, and wakes the seraph in his soul;
And when life's work commands him forth, no more to dwell with her,
She points him to the Hand that saved the sinking mariner,
And broke the bread for famished men, and bids him trust that stay;
And then her hands, unclasped from his, are lifted up to pray.
But man could never work alone; and, even in Eden's bowers,
He pined for woman's smile to cheer his task of tending flowers;
And soon a fair young bride is sought and found to bless the youth,
Who gives, for his protecting hand, her heart of love and truth.
And now his work has higher aims, since she its blessing shares;
And oft her hand will roses strew where his would scatter tares;
And, like a light within a vase, his home enshrines her form,
Which brightens o'er his world-tossed mind, like sunshine o'er the storm;
and, when she pleads in sorrow's cause, he cannot choose but hear;
And, when her soul with Heaven communes, she draws his spirit near.
And thus they live till age creeps on, or sickness lays him low;
Then will she gird her woman's heart to bear life's deadly woe,
And soothe his pain, and stay his head, and close his dying eyes;
Oh then, his work well done, his hand may rest in Paradise!
He pined for woman's smile to cheer his task of tending flowers;
And soon a fair young bride is sought and found to bless the youth,
Who gives, for his protecting hand, her heart of love and truth.
And now his work has higher aims, since she its blessing shares;
And oft her hand will roses strew where his would scatter tares;
And, like a light within a vase, his home enshrines her form,
Which brightens o'er his world-tossed mind, like sunshine o'er the storm;
and, when she pleads in sorrow's cause, he cannot choose but hear;
And, when her soul with Heaven communes, she draws his spirit near.
And thus they live till age creeps on, or sickness lays him low;
Then will she gird her woman's heart to bear life's deadly woe,
And soothe his pain, and stay his head, and close his dying eyes;
Oh then, his work well done, his hand may rest in Paradise!
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VII.—SUNDAY AND ITS REST.
Hast thou stood,
And watched Niagara's earthquake flood
Gather his might for the leap below,
And marked the rapids' whirlwind flow,
And heard the moan like muffled thunder,
And felt the thrill of Nature's life,
When the solid earth was quivering under
The tramp of the flood in his terrible strife?—
Roaring and rushing,
Gurgling and gushing,
Now like a troop of wild horses away,
Over the prairies in headlong war,
Tossing their thunderous manes of spray,
Rearing and plunging near and far.
Ha! the sea-serpents seize their prey!
Writhing in horror,
Trembling in terror,
Quaking and quivering,
Striving and shivering!
And ever, thus ever, day after day,
Rushing and dashing, away, away,
Whirling aloft a storm of spray,
The furious waters struggle and moan,
Then leap, and are lost in the dread unknown!
And watched Niagara's earthquake flood
Gather his might for the leap below,
And marked the rapids' whirlwind flow,
And heard the moan like muffled thunder,
And felt the thrill of Nature's life,
When the solid earth was quivering under
The tramp of the flood in his terrible strife?—
Roaring and rushing,
Gurgling and gushing,
Now like a troop of wild horses away,
Over the prairies in headlong war,
Tossing their thunderous manes of spray,
Rearing and plunging near and far.
Ha! the sea-serpents seize their prey!
Writhing in horror,
Trembling in terror,
Quaking and quivering,
Striving and shivering!
And ever, thus ever, day after day,
Rushing and dashing, away, away,
Whirling aloft a storm of spray,
The furious waters struggle and moan,
Then leap, and are lost in the dread unknown!
And thus in troublous toil and struggling strife,
Forever on had been the law of life,—
The doom of man, unceasing toil and care;
No freedom for the soul, no pause for prayer;
But urged by earth's tumultuous flood away,
Till death's dark gulf received its shrinking prey,—
Had not the restless flow of common time
Been stayed and calmed by Mercy's sacred chime,
Sounding one day in seven the tidings blest,
That God ordained the Sabbath's peaceful rest!
Forever on had been the law of life,—
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No freedom for the soul, no pause for prayer;
But urged by earth's tumultuous flood away,
Till death's dark gulf received its shrinking prey,—
Had not the restless flow of common time
Been stayed and calmed by Mercy's sacred chime,
Sounding one day in seven the tidings blest,
That God ordained the Sabbath's peaceful rest!
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CHRISTMAS SONG.
Hail, hail, the happy morn
When Christ our Lord was born!
Sound, sound His praise!
The Prince of Righteousness,
He came our world to bless,
The glorious hymn of “Peace”
On earth to raise.
When Christ our Lord was born!
Sound, sound His praise!
The Prince of Righteousness,
He came our world to bless,
The glorious hymn of “Peace”
On earth to raise.
Angels the song began,
And then to ransomed man
The strain was given.
Hark! joining sweet and wild,
The voice of little child,
Blessed by his Saviour mild,
May sing of Heaven.
And then to ransomed man
The strain was given.
Hark! joining sweet and wild,
The voice of little child,
Blessed by his Saviour mild,
May sing of Heaven.
Peace, peace! What blissful sound!
Let joy and hope abound
This happy day!
We praise Thee, God above;
Our lives Thy blessing prove;
Thanks for Thy light and love,
Our souls would pay.
Let joy and hope abound
This happy day!
We praise Thee, God above;
Our lives Thy blessing prove;
Thanks for Thy light and love,
Our souls would pay.
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Sound, sound the loudest strain!
Let earth and sky and main
The anthem raise!
Father, Thy Love we bless,
Saviour, we ask Thy “Peace,”
Spirit, we beg Thy grace,
When God we praise.
Let earth and sky and main
The anthem raise!
Father, Thy Love we bless,
Saviour, we ask Thy “Peace,”
Spirit, we beg Thy grace,
When God we praise.
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