Poems of religion and society.: With notices of his life and character by John Davis and T. H. Benton.

TO THE SUN-DIAL.
TO THE SUN-DIAL,
UNDER THE WINDOW OF THE HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT ATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES.
THOU silent herald of Time's silent flight!
Say, could'st thou speak, what warning voice were thine?
Shade, who canst only show how others shine!
Dark, sullen witness of resplendent light
In day's broad glare, and when the moontide bright
Of laughing fortune sheds the ray divine,
Thy ready favors cheer us-but decline
The clouds of morning and the gloom of night.
Yet are thy counisels faithlful, just, and wise;
They bid us seize the moments as they passSnatch the retrieveless sunbeam as it flies,
Nor lose one sand of life's revolving glassAspiring still, with energy sublime,
By virtuous deeds to give eternity to Time.
38