KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



137 



SELECT POETRY. 



TO THE SKY-LARK 



Hail, happy bird ! — 



Or thing more fair ! 

 For such we deem thee, pois'd in middle air; 



When thou art heard 



Warbling on high, 

 Thou charm'st all Nature with thy melody. 



When Lucifer 



Proclaims the day, 

 Approaching on his dew-bespangled way, — 



Thou lov'st to bear, 



Th}' meed of praise, 

 And dye thy plumage in his golden blaze. 



On rapid wing 



Thou leav'st thy rest, 

 Hov'ring and fluttering round thy humble nest ; 



Meandering 



In flexile flight ; 

 Till, swift as thought,thou soar'st beyond our sight. 



Oh, could I soar 



On beams of light, 

 To visit worlds untenanted by night ; 



With thee adore, 



High o'er the earth, 

 In sunny space, the power that gave me birth ; 



Yet would not I 



To earth return, 

 Where cold hearts chill, and fiery passions burn ; 



But cheerily 



Would burst away, 

 And at " Heaven's gate," enjoy eternal day — 



And in a pure, 



Ethereal home, 

 With happy and congenial spirits roam"; 



And there, secure 



From earthly care, 

 Spurn all the toils that human powers impair. 



Spirit of air ! 



If such thou art — 

 Whose universal note from every part 



Salutes the ear, — 



Oh, think thou not 

 The mind is born or fettered to this spot. 



No ! it shall rise 



High as thy flight, 

 Up to a boundless sov'reignty in light — 



Above the skies ; 



Like thee shall stray, 

 And trace thro' ample space its airy way. 



Nor like thee, there, 



Shall pause on high — 

 Fearful the nobler, loftier heights to try ; 



Nor drop from air 



With swiftest flight, 

 Again enveloped in the circling night. 



Thyself less free, 



Wingest thy way, 

 Enraptured, thro' the straggling clouds to stray — 



Than Mind shall be, 



When, wing'd with love, 

 Earth sinks beneath, and Heaven unfolds 

 above ! 



THE BLESSINGS OF MODERATION. 



Oh, that men should put an enemy in 

 Their mouths, to steal away their Drains ! that we 

 Should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, 

 Transform ourselves to beasts ! 



Shakspeare. 



There never yet was any good thing 

 conferred upon us without its being 

 subject to abuse. This can hardly be a 

 matter for wonder ; yet is it a matter for 

 great regret. Can we hope ever to set this 

 crooked thing straight ? Never. We may, 

 however, help to bend it a little on the right 

 side, and this is "something." 



"We cannot permit Our Journal to be 

 made a vehicle for the discussion of any 

 great party question ; nor do we to-day intend 

 to dive deeply into the subject we have 

 chosen. We merely wish to speak a kind 

 word or two, on the subject of temperance ; 

 and to point out the folly of those who insist 

 upon total abstinence. Well-meaning indi- 

 viduals they may be ; but by going to ex- 

 tremes, they defeat their own purpose. They 

 "prove" too much. 



Some few days since, we received a letter 

 from one of our subscribers, of which the 

 following is an extract : — 



I enclose you a few remarks by Mr. Edward 

 Baines, of Leeds, on total abstinence ; and I may 

 remark to you, that much unpleasant feeling and 

 doubt passes through my mind when T find that 

 so-called Christian Ministers do not " sign the 

 pledge," or be abstainers of their own accord — 

 this, if only as an example to the " weak " of 

 their flock. That there is lacking much of that 

 spirit of self-sacrifice for the good of others, is 

 plainly visible. 



We readily admit that our correspondent 

 is an honest, true-hearted man. Yet does 

 his zeal betray him into some few weak- 

 nesses. He goes on to say : — 



I am moreover of opinion, that all editors and 

 public teachers of morality should be abstainers. 

 Do you hear this ? If so, give heed to it. I am 

 glad to see you do sometimes give the monster a 

 11 knock on the head ;" but example. Sir, before 

 precept. In some of your rural rambles, you 

 describe, with much gusto, the reminiscence of 

 certain glasses of ale. This shows me you are 

 not " an example ;" but one of the class from 

 whence our drunkards spring. 



Here we have, in little, the pith of the 

 sentiments held by the whole class of " total 

 abstinence men." Well ; let us see how much 

 good sense there is in their arguments. 



They set out by saying, that because one 

 man gets drunk, on wine, beer, or spirits, 

 and ill-treats his wife and family in conse- 

 quence — therefore, wine, beer, and spirits, 

 must be bad. This is the argument. On this 

 principle of reasoning, money is bad. It 

 purchases the most baneful pleasures ; and is 



