Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ST. BERNARD. The holy man sits chanting in his cell, Bernard, than whom the golden gloriole None fitlier circleth with its saintly spell. " Venite Exultemus ! " All his soul Makes music.of the words, and harmonies Well up unbidden as he sings, and roll Echoes of harping from half-opened skies Flooding the cloistral glooms with angel song, Till the full strain of those sweet symphonies Swells in his heart with eloquence too strong For human speech, and o'er his organ keys Flinging his quivering fingers, to prolong That hymn celestial?by his side he sees Him who is aye beside him, with a smile? His own smile?on his lips, and words like these, Hissing between them: " Aye, this hour awhile " They have been listening?Roch and Flamian, " Sigar and Blaize, and all the saintly file. " Look at the grating there ! When you began, " Did you not mark the bald-pates ? aye, and feel '. How the whole cloister hearkened as you ran " So sweetly through the gamut 1 I appeal " To your own conscience." But the saint was mute, And a strange horror crept from head to heel. Then with himself as who had held dispute, " I am a sinful man, O Lord !" he said, " And viler in thine eyes than the dumb brute; " Yea, guilt is with me even as I tread " These holy heights of song: Be merciful, " That I may worship thee without all dread ! " Get thee behind me, Sathanas ! Thou dull " Snake ! not for thee did I begin my song, " For thee will I not stint it." And the full Aisles heard the saint till morn chant loud and long. A CHARM. When at Easter on thy lea First thicklegged lamb thou see, ? If upon the greenwood side Brock or crafty fox be spied, Goodman, turn thy money ! If the magpie or the jay Or the lapwing cross thy way, Or th...