Literary Recreations, Number I [pp. 628-640]

The Voice of,Iusic.-Literary Recreations.
rect, philosophical principle, be satisfactorily answered. But, thanks to God! the Bible is precisely analogous with the other volumes, which were
written with the finger of Divinity; it has the same
impress and superscription, and contains therein
strong presumptive proof of its authenticity. It
matters not how numerous, and how various may
be the passages that are fraught with mystery, provided they are'not absurd or contradictory, and provided also sufficient truth is unfolded to our view.
And such is, indeed, the fact. For as in Creation,
sufficient light beams upon man to enable him to
supply the pressing wants of his current existence;
so in the volume of Revelation enough, and more
than enough, is intelligible, to instruct him how he
may fitly prepare himself for future and unending
being. The Bible, then, with its sublime mysteries, and its elevated character, possesses the
strongest evidence of its authenticity and inspiration. And unless it can be proved, that these mysteries are absurd or contradictory, it will remain,
through all time, an undisputed monument of Divine benevolence. Then
They are past, the days of the stately yore,
With all o.f pageant and pomp they wore;
And the harp is silent in hall and bower,
Yet earth still holds thee, her own blest dowerStill the heart leaps to thy magical sounds,
As a freed bird flies, or a loosed steed bounds;
Or sweetly is borne with thy strains along,
To sadness or mirth, on the notes of song.
New York, 1840.
The pieces which are to follow under this general title
were written for the author's recreation when he was fa tigued with professional labors, and mostly when bad wea ther did not permit him to seek refreshment in the open air.
Since they have served to " smooth his wrinkled brow of
care" during their composition, they are now presented to
the reader that they may do the same kind office for him.
Every man needs recreation of some sort; for "All work
and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Light literature, es pecially amusing stories, have an appropriate place in the
economy of human life; and are used with profit, when judiciously selected and not suffered to interfere with one's
regular employments, or with the acquisition of sound know ledge. Too many give their leisure hours wholly to this
sort of reading. But the abuse of a thing is no sound argu ment against its use.
The writer felt bound to guard his pen against every
thing of immoral tendency, and to make his lighter compositions, either directly or indirectly, conducive to the purification of human life; but he has not interlarded the pages,
designed for recreation, with dry prosiags on abstract morals and religion. He trusts rather to the general tenor of
his pieces, than to particular passages, for whatever good
impression they may make. Such as they are he gives
them freely to the public, little caring whether or not they
shall rank highly as compositions, provided only that the
reader shall not regret the time occupied in the reading of
them. A. F.
Thou wert there, at the stately banquetings
Of the bygone days, in the halls of kings;
Where, from fretted ceiling and pillar'd wall
Streamed gorgeous light on the festival;
And incense, and perfumes were floating round,
From censers, and wine cups with garlands crownedWith chords loud pealing, and flute-notes low,
Mingling with song in inspiring flow.
The belief in ghosts, witches and the black art, has almost faded away from the minds of our population. Few
above the condition of slaves are so ignorant as to cherish
these ancient superstitions. If any have retained a lingering fancy for them, they are the uneducated part of the
German Americans, who have been cut off, more than
others, from the benefit of schools and the general diffusion
of knowledge. But even among them, the grosser forms of
superstition are nearly worn out. Some of them may yet
harbor a strong suspicion, that the Devil and the'witches
do sometimes play malicious pranks on poor mortals; and
generally the agricultural class, like many others of the
same class in this country, do firmly believe in the moonascribing to that mottle-faced luminary, the changes of the
weather, the growth of potatoes, and the shrinking of boiled
beef, besides various other things which one would hardly
628
[SEPTF,MBF,R,
Thou art sounding at eve by the peasant's cot,
To the bounding dance-making glad the spot;
And the mariner out on the storiny sea,
Wiles the long night-watch with tby melody.
LITERARY RECREATIONS:
BY ANAGRAM FERRAN.
PREFACE.
11 Here let us breathe; and happily institute
A coursl- of learning and ingenious studies,"
W. G. HOWARD.
Chillicothe, Ohio, July 28, 1840.
THE VOICE OF MUSIC.
BY MRS. MARY E. HEWITT.
Thou wert heard by the calm sea-side, of yore,
In wildering strains from a shell to pour;
Flinging thy tones of magical sound
Joyously fortli to the elements roundThe waves to thy cadences rose and fell,
And the wild winds listened-then caught the swell,
And out over valley and hill-side fell,
Bore gladly the echoing melody.
MODERN MAGIC.-No. I.
Where banners abroad to the winds were flung,
'Mid the flash of spears, have thy trump-notes ruiig;
And the loud war-song, like a spell of power,
Hatti -nerved-arm and sword in the perilous hourThy wail hath gone forth o'er the foughten field,
For the conqueror cradled upon his shield;
And at funeral rite, through arched aisles dim,
Thou hast hymned for the parted, a requiem.
At the knightly board, thou wert heard to pour
From the thrilling harp of the troubadour;
And under a vine-wreathed lattice high,
SNvelled thy passionate lays,'neath a moonlit sky