 | Poems |  |
216
[A genial moment oft has given]
A genial moment oft has given
What years of toil and pain,
Of long industrious toil, have striven
To win, and all in vain.
What years of toil and pain,
Of long industrious toil, have striven
To win, and all in vain.
Yet count not, when thine end is won,
That labour merely lost;
Nor say it had been wiser done
To spare the painful cost.
That labour merely lost;
Nor say it had been wiser done
To spare the painful cost.
When heaped upon the altar lie
All things to feed the fire—
One spark alighting from on high—
The flames at once aspire;
All things to feed the fire—
One spark alighting from on high—
The flames at once aspire;
But those sweet gums and fragrant woods,
Its rich materials rare,
By tedious quest o'er lands and floods
Had first been gathered there.
Its rich materials rare,
By tedious quest o'er lands and floods
Had first been gathered there.
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