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99
THE BEST ESTATE.
The Heart it hath its own estate—
The Mind it hath its wealth untold;
It needs not fortune to be great,
While there's a coin surpassing gold.
The Mind it hath its wealth untold;
It needs not fortune to be great,
While there's a coin surpassing gold.
No matter which way Fortune leans,
Wealth makes not Happiness secure;
A little mind hath little means—
A narrow heart is always poor.
Wealth makes not Happiness secure;
A little mind hath little means—
A narrow heart is always poor.
Stern Fate the greatest still enthrals,
And Misery hath its high compeers;
For Sorrow enters palace halls,
And queens are not exempt from tears.
And Misery hath its high compeers;
For Sorrow enters palace halls,
And queens are not exempt from tears.
The princely robe and beggar's coat,
The scythe and sword, the plume and plough,
Are in the grave of equal note,—
Men live but in the eternal “Now!”
The scythe and sword, the plume and plough,
Are in the grave of equal note,—
Men live but in the eternal “Now!”
100
Still Disappointment tracks the proud—
The bravest 'neath defeat may fall;
The high, the rich, the courtly crowd
Find there's calamity for all.
The bravest 'neath defeat may fall;
The high, the rich, the courtly crowd
Find there's calamity for all.
'Tis not the house that honour makes,—
True honour is a thing divine;
It is the mind precedence takes,—
It is the spirit makes the shrine!
True honour is a thing divine;
It is the mind precedence takes,—
It is the spirit makes the shrine!
So keep thou yet a generous heart,
A steadfast and contented mind;
And not, till death, consent to part
With that which friend to friend doth bind.
A steadfast and contented mind;
And not, till death, consent to part
With that which friend to friend doth bind.
What's utter'd from the life within
Is heard not by the life without;
There's always something to begin
'Twixt life in faith, and life in doubt!
Is heard not by the life without;
There's always something to begin
'Twixt life in faith, and life in doubt!
But grasp thou Truth—though bleak appears
The rugged path her steps have trod—
She'll be thy friend in other spheres;
Companion in the world of God.
The rugged path her steps have trod—
She'll be thy friend in other spheres;
Companion in the world of God.
Thus dwelling with the wise and good—
The rich in thought, the great in soul—
Man's mission may be understood,
And part prove equal to the whole!
The rich in thought, the great in soul—
Man's mission may be understood,
And part prove equal to the whole!
101
We know not half we may possess,
Nor what awaits, nor what attends,—
We're richer far than we may guess,
Rich as Eternity extends!
Nor what awaits, nor what attends,—
We're richer far than we may guess,
Rich as Eternity extends!
The Heart it hath its own estate,
The Mind it hath its wealth untold;
It needs not fortune to be great,
While there's a coin surpassing gold!
The Mind it hath its wealth untold;
It needs not fortune to be great,
While there's a coin surpassing gold!
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