Night [pp. 467-468]

Thoughts by Night.
THOU'GHTS BY NIGHT.
have risen where towns had been; and
lakes have sunk from sight, where once
they laid'in silvery brightness. Below,
all th ings change; even i f we do not look a t
the fleeting works of man, who makes a
kaleidoscope of earth,-but above, as
ages have seen, ages shall see them, till
the voice'twixt heaven and earth shall
bid them, as a scroll, to roll away. Yes,
we may indeed learn from the wide-spread
book of heaven, illuminated by God him self, for " night unto night showeth know.
ledge."
Cicero has well said, "an astronomer
must of necessity be either a believer in
a God, or a madman." Did we all learn
of these shining examples, how calmly,
how orderly and how efficiently w6uld we
run our own course of duty, and earth
might again present a scene as fair as
that on which the morning stars looked
down, and "sang together." We see no
clashing there of wills, interests or du ties; no delay, no hurrying or unwise ex ertion; no interference or unbecoming ac tion, —each knows its own place, and
gives forth unstinting and steadily its
full measure of light, not jealously cavil ling, that "1one star differeth from anoth er in glory." Does one think he could
fill another, a wider sphere, better than
that in which he has been placed? Let
him look up to the smallest, feeblest orb
visible to the naked eye, and watch it,
keeping steadily its own, well ordered
place, and there, shining its brightestknowing it can only reflect what it receives —and would be worse than unwise,
to quit its proper orbit or cease revolving
there. ]Does another think no light has
been vouchsafed to him; therefore he is
accountable for none-to "shine before
the world?" Let him remember the telescopic view shows many a star unseen
by the natural, unassisted vision, but
each doing still faithfully its share, small
though it be, of the great Master's work,even so, let him discern the truth, with
"faith's illumined eye," that God has
made nothing'for nothing or unaccount_
able, —but will require some return for
even the feeblest ray divine, which has
N I GcH T! Grand, glorious, beautiful
night! What solemn hush, what impres sive stillness, as though Earth held her
breath, listening for her Maker's voice,
as of old she heard it, ere her echoes had
caught a curse of sin, or a wail of sor row:-As though the Universe itself were
one great temple, and this the hour for
all nature's worship. The stars hang
aloft, and light it well; the flowers wave
their incense in the air, while the many toned winds give forth their grand diapa sons, in anthems of praise, to him at
whose call they sweep o'er lands and
seas. At such an hour, there needs no
church going bell to entreat the heart to
pray; for who has not felt, as though an
angel's voice proclaimed, "The Lord is
in his holy temple, let all the earth keep
silence before him!" IHow eloquent is
the preaching of those quiet, silent stars,
and how many l'essons of deep wisdom
may we learn from their unvarying, un faltering course. We may not find in
them a horoscope for others, but we may
learn so to forecast and order our own actions, as to gain a clear assurance of their
end and final consummation." Obedient
ever, they pursue their own appointed
way-" unresting, unhasting" —oniward
ever,
What thoughtful mind can dwell upon
the starry firmament on high, and catch
even a faint understanding of its complex arrangement, without a wondering
recollection of the omniscience which
marked out each luminous orbit, gave the
mighty machinery its first impetus, and
through countless ages, has kept it ever
moving, and ever "good," as it was
pronounced at first. What a sublime
impression of stability, duration, they,
above all created things, inspire. Old
Ocean forsakes its bounds, leaving its hidden beauties, its coral reefs and caves,
and sounding shells, trophies to the land.
Mountains burst their heated bosoms and
leave a void crater, where their veined
hearts had been; earthquakes rend the
shuddering world and engulph, swallow
up, in their yawning abysses, the solid
ground and breathing, citied space. Seas
1857.]
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