April. 37 
Yet is there gladness in thy hours, 
Frail courier of a brighter scene, 
Thou fragrant guide to buds and flowers, 
To meadows fresh and pastures green ! 
For, as thy days grow few and brief, 
The radiant looks of Spring appear, 
With swelling glow and opening leaf, 
To deck the morning of the year. 
Yes, though thy life is checkered oft 
With drilling showers of sorrowing rain, 
Yet balmy airs and breezes soft 
Are lingering richly in thy train ; 
And for thy eddying gusts will come 
The lay of the rejoicing bird,— 
That tries his new and brightening plume, — 
’Mid the void sky’s recesses heard. 
And soon the many clouds, that hang 
Their solemn drapery o’er the sky, 
Will pass in shadowy folds away. 
Lo ! mark them now !—they break—they fly ! 
And over earth, in one broad smile, 
Looks forth the glorious eye of day ; 
While hill, and vale, and ocean-isle 
Are laughing in the breath of May. 
Type of existence ! mayst thou be 
The emblem of the Christian’s race, 
Through all whose trials we may see 
The sunshine of undying grace : 
