ays,
He hears it whisper through the busy roar
Of what shall be and what has been before.
Awake the Present! shall no scene display
The tragic passion of the passing day?
Is it with Man, as with some meaner things,
That out of death his single purpose springs?
Can his eventful life no moral teach
Until he be, for aye, beyond its reach?
Obscurely shall he suffer, act, and fade,
Dubb'd noble only by the sexton's spade?
Awake the Present! Though the steel-clad age
Find life alone within the storied page,
Iron is worn, at heart, by many still--
The tyrant Custom binds the serf-like will;
If the sharp rack, and screw, and chain be gone,
These later days have tortures of their own;
The guiltless writhe, while Guilt is stretched in sleep,
And Virtue lies, too often, dungeon deep.
Awake the Present! what the Past has sown
Be in its harvest garner'd, reap'd, and grown!
How pride breeds pride, and wrong engenders wrong,
Read in the volume Truth has held so long,
Assured that where life's flowers freshest blow,
The sharpest thorns and keenest briars grow,
How social usage has the pow'r to change
Good thoughts to evil; in its highest range
To cramp the noble soul, and turn to ruth
The kindling impulse of our glorious youth,
Crushing the spirit in its house of clay,
Learn from the lessons of the present day.
Not light its import and not poor its mien;
Yourselves the actors, and your homes the scene.

[Sidenote: Mr. W. C. Macready.]

_Saturday Morning._

MY DEAR MACREADY,

One suggestion, though it be a late one. Do have upon the table, in the
opening scene of the second act, something in a velvet case, or frame,
that may look like a large miniature of Mabel, such as one of Ross's,
and eschew that picture. It haunts me with a sense of danger. Even a
titter at that critical time, with the whole of that act before you,
would be a fatal thing. The picture is bad in itself, bad in its effect
upon the beautiful room, bad in all its associations with the house. In
case of your having nothing at hand, I send you by bearer what would be
a million times better. Always, my dear Macready,