l with Thee at last!
Till then afford us so much wit
That, as the world serves _us_, we may serve _Thee_,
And both thy servants be.

GEORGE HERBERT.

[Notes: _George Herbert_ (1593-1632). A clergyman of the Church of
England, the author of many religious works in prose and poetry. His
poetry is overfull of conceits, but in spite of these is eminently
graceful and rich with fancy.

_The stars have its to led, i.e.,_ conduct, or show us to bed.

_All things unto our flesh are kind, &c., i.e.,_ as they minister to the
needs of our body here below, so they minister to the mind by leading
us to think of the Higher Cause that brings them into being. The words
_descent_ and _accent_ are not to be pressed; they are rather balanced
one against the other, according to the fashion of the day.]

* * * * *

VIRTUE.

Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky,
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night;
For thou must die.

Sweet rose, whose hue, angry and brave,
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye,
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.

Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie,
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.

Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
Like seasoned timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal,
Then chiefly lives.

GEORGE HERBERT.

[Note:----_The bridal of the earth and sky, i.e.,_ in which all the
beauties of sky and earth are united.]

* * * * *

DEATH THE CONQUEROR.

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate:
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill;
But their strong nerves at last must yield,
They tame but one another still.
Early or late