﻿BEAUTIFUL VERY BEAUTIFUL. 273 



off country, which seems, by its remote position, to be beyond human 

 sympathy, and found a well-formed people living without the knowl- 

 edge of God, amidst the greatest abundance and plenty, produced 

 spontaneously from a luxuriant soil. After years of self-devotion 

 and self-sacrifice, they have destroyed the superstitious reverence of 

 the Islanders for their idols, and awakened in many of them a thirst 

 for knowledge, which this book is one of a series to gratify. They 

 found there no written language ; and it was with great labor that 

 English books could be translated. 



Those faithful missionaries have done wonders. By their efforts, 

 with the blessing of Heaven, civilization has been substituted for 

 savage life; and, where once multitudes danced around heathen 

 gods, the " Great Spirit," now, has many faithful worshippers. 



Beautiful Very Beautiful. 



NIGHT kissed the young rose, and it bent softly to sleep. And 

 stars shined and pure dew-drops fell upon its blushing bosom, and 

 watched its sweet slumbers. Morning came with her dancing 

 breezes, and they whispered to the young rose, and it awoke joyous 

 and smiling. Lightly it danced to and fro, in all the loveliness of 

 health and youthful innocence. 



Then came the ardent sun-god sweeping from the east, and he 

 smote the young rose with his golden shaft, and it fainted. Deserted 

 and almost heart-broken, it dropped to the dust in its loneliness and 

 despair. 



Now the gentle breeze who had been gamboling over the sea, 

 pushing on the light bark, sweeping over hill and dale by the neat 

 cottage and the still brook turning the old mill, fanning the fevered 

 brow of disease, and tossing the curl of innocent childhood came 

 tripping along on her errands of mercy and love ; arid when she saw 

 the young rose she hastened to kiss it, and fondly bathed its forehead 

 in cool, refreshing showers, and the young rose revived looked up, 

 and fiung out its ruddy arms as if in gratitude to embrace the kind 

 breeze ; but she hurried quickly away her generous task was per- 

 formed ; yet not without reward, for she soon perceived that a 

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