Look Upon That Face Lugubrious, Long,
As Thoughtfully He Stands With Folded Arms
Amid His Realm Of Charr'd And Spectral Stumps,
Which Once Were Trees, But Now, With Sprawling Roots,
Cling To The Rocks Which Peep Above The Soil.
Ay!
Look again,
And say if you discern the faintest trace
Of warrior bold; - the gait erect and proud,
The steady glance that speaks the fearless soul,
Watchful and prompt to do what man can do
When duty calls.
All wreck'd and reckless now; -
But let the trumpet's soul-inspiring sound
Wake up the brattling echoes of the woods,
Then watch his kindling eye - his eagle glance -
While thoughts of glorious fields, and battles won,
And visions bright of joyous, hopeful youth
Sweep o'er his soul. A soldier now once more -
Touch'd by the magic sound, he rears his head,
Responsive to the well-known martial note,
And stands again a hero 'mid his rags.
It is delightful to observe a feeling of contentment under adverse
circumstances. We may smile at the rude and clumsy attempts of the
remote and isolated backwoodsman to attain something like comfort,
but happy he who, with the buoyant spirits of the light-hearted
Irishman, contrives to make himself happy even when all others would
be miserable.
A certain degree of dissatisfaction with our present circumstances
is necessary to stimulate us to exertion, and thus to enable us to
secure future comfort; but where the delusive prospect of future
happiness is too remote for any reasonable hope of ultimate
attainment, then surely it is true wisdom to make the most of the
present, and to cultivate a spirit of happy contentment with the lot
assigned to us by Providence.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 409 of 670
Words from 110971 to 111253
of 181664
