Jared Barhite

“ As the glow of the living presence
Of one of the noble few
Who counts her pain but pleasure,
If good she may only do.
A teacher who knows her subjects
And has much of didactic art,
Will present the truths of science
To the youthful mind and heart,
In ways so apt and skillful
They will never more depart,
But will gather strength and beauty
With every day and hour,
Until they become a fortress—
An irresistible power
To dispel the gloom of doubting
That oft o'er the mind may lower.
No truth is learned by mere telling,
The mind must conceive and apply ”

“ ARBOR DAY TRIBUTE.
With lavish hand our God hath spread
Beauty and fragrance o'er the land;
His smile revives the seeming dead;
Nature awakes at His command.
He breathes upon the leafless tree;
He whispers to the tiny flower.
His touch awakes the slumbering bee,
And each obeys th' Almighty power.
The perfumed breeze of smiling May,
The dancing stream on mountain side,
The wild bird's trill of joyous lay
Proclaim Thy goodness far and wide.
Attune our hearts to sing Thy praise,
Expand our souls to comprehend
Thy attributes and all Thy ways,
And ever be our Guide and Friend. ”

“ The plants as they spring from the earth seem to smile,
The fresh growing leaves of the groves now surround us,
And soft sounds of Spring-time unite to beguile.
The earth is now teeming with bright vegetation,
The early spring flowers are now in their bloom,
And where'er we look there appears animation
Just bursting the cells of the last winter's tomb.
The soft breeze of May-day, we welcome it near us,
As filled with rich fragrance it comes thro' the trees,
And the bright feathered songsters apparently fear us
No more than the odors that float on the breeze. ”

“ To encourage and elevate man.
At sunset my spirit shall sing
Of the beauties the elements yield,
Let my heart then its off'ring bring
To the Artist of sky and of field.
When my soul from its dwelling of clay,
Shall escape to that unknown sphere,
May it be at the close of the day,
When the glories of sunset appear.
Soothingly, sweetly comes unto me
The thought that my soul may rest,
In a land whose glory shall be
Like cloud-scenes that glow in the west. ”

“ Are antepasts of joys in heaven
That bring felicity.
Attune your joyous song for me,
And lift my soul that it may see
The world in beauty bright;
Sing on, sing on, until the wood
Shall laugh aloud in merry mood,
And sadness take her flight!
Sweet warbling bird in brown attire,
Your notes of praise do me inspire
With love for Nature wild;
Your songs of joy so sweetly sung,
By heart and throat divinely strung,
Proclaim you Nature's child. ”

“ For solitude's wounds, e'en sweet tho' they be,
For sorrows augment by sacred concealing,
And steal from the heart ev'ry wish to be free.
Dear blessed bird! you have stopped at my pleading,
My soul aids my ears to catch your sweet tone:
"If life is not sweetened by presence and breeding,
'Tis better by far to travel alone.
"I have learned as my wings have borne me thro' groves
Where gods their ambrosial nectar sip,
That the heart's best experience ever proves,
Joy comes not from presence, but companionship." ”

“ Where Thought shall be the head master,
And Truth shall Error subdue;
A heart that is wholly given
To leading the youthful mind,
To discover the powers and virtues
They within themselves shall find,
And mould them into actions
Progressive, strong, refined;
A spirit that sees in the being
A gift from God unto man,
That must live on thro' all ages,
Though influenced by some plan
That here has been determined,
But God shall hereafter scan;
A tongue that is but the voicing
Of a heart aflame with its cause,
That speaks of science and morals
From a knowledge of their laws ”

“ Oh, give me some heart of a kindred spirit
That smiles when I smile, or that weeps when I weep,
Whose solace is greater by far to inherit
Than the wealth of the mines or the gems of the deep.
Some heart that will echo response to my feeling,
That thrills with delight when I speak of my joy;
That sorrows with sorrow too deep for concealing,
When cankering griefs make my own heart's alloy. ”

“ It wins no enduring prize.
In homes it leads to disorder wild,
In school, to defiance of laws,
In nations, to strife on bloody fields,
In man, to destruction's jaws;
In business its office is but to destroy,
In friendship, brings lack of respect,
In love, oft a maddened, frenzied heart
That can never endure neglect.
Parents, true kindness holds steady hand,
Judges, know justice is kind,
Teachers, remember the work for you
Is to strengthen heart and mind. ”

“ To cheer the heart of man;
They are only strong when the human soul
Yields perfect trust and full control
To heaven's benignant plan.
Nature expands when this God-sent pair
Finds a fertile heart that needs the care
Of a messenger divine,
And permits their strength to succor give
That truth may grow and honor live
To yield their fruit benign.
Who gives no sunshine from his soul
Must live in darkness ever,
For Nature scorns to such degree,
She blinds a sordid giver. ”

“ Before the sweet songster had yielded his life,
Put an end to this cunning and mischievous raider,
And quieted all of the songster's great strife.
We learned from the scenes of this morning's ramble
That moments of happiness soon may decay;
While plucking the flowers to beware of the bramble,
Which hid among blossoms may sadly betray.
We learned that the joys of this world are not lasting;
That what we call pleasure may be a vain show;
While joys seem the sweetest they only are blasting,
And happiness frequently ends in great woe. ”

“ To truth and to right heart-strings must be strung,
Every thought, every act must be true.
Let the pencil of truth inscribe on the face,
Let honor illumine the eye,
Let generous thoughts and acts ever grace
The face-page the world shall descry.
[Pg 177] SOME CHARACTERS I MUCH ADORE.
An honest man with noble mind,
With heart sincere, true, and refined,
Who lives for God and all mankind,
Who cares for rich and poor,
And opens wide his soul to see
The sweet designs of Deity,
Yet from all prejudice is free,
Is character I much adore. ”

“ No frown of the world could e'er cause me to tremble
While trusting my all in a heart such as this,
Too fond to deceive me; too true to dissemble—
'Twere a foretaste of Heaven, the acme of bliss.
Can it be, can it be, the world is so varied,
Human hearts never beat on chords that are even!
Is versatile man so odd, or so seared
That perfect accord is known but in Heaven!
My heart shall rejoice that some kindred vibrations
Soothe the devious marge of the pathway of fate,
And gathering strength through many privations
Shall learn in contentment to patiently wait. ”

“ To meet him by the silvery lake!
'Tis crime for me to longer stay
I will not, cannot now forsake."
[Pg 224]
She speeds along the forest trail
Where warriors late in painted form,
Had marched through Kitchewan's fair vale
To meet their foes in battle-storm.
Her eyes are watchful to survey,
Her ears detect the lightest sound,
Her heart and mind to her betray
Where barriers to her flight are found.
She shuns them all by tact and skill;
Most gladly she to him will prove
The power that's in a woman's will,
The faith that's in a woman's love. ”

“ The heart with its strongest desires,
The passions, impulses, and factions
Which animate clay oft inspires.
Ev'ry line of th' face has a father
Whose hand has engraven it there,
But shades of the spirit are rather
Betrayed in the hue of the hair;
The pencils of thought, true to nature,
Have written their records so plain,
That a skillful eye reads each feature
That dwells in the heart and the brain. ”

“ From every breeze went laughing by;
The brook and bird in wanton glee,
Attuned their notes in such refrain
That earth was full of minstrelsy,
And heaven re-echoed it again.
[Pg 141]
God's image, man, heard not the strain,
No beauty charmed his listless eye,
Earth spread her treasures but in vain,
In vain shone the bejeweled sky;
Earth gave no food for hungry heart,
No solace-cup from which to sip,
Defective seemed Nature and Art,
To soul robbed of companionship.
A "help meet" then to man was given,
To soothe and cheer his lonely way ”

“ That mental power which sees the world
As beauty, grace, and art,
Wherein God's loveliness unfurled,
Speaks to a living heart,
And leads it tenderly to see
The harmony of laws
Which unifies immensity,
And tells of the First Cause,
Yields greater solace, richer lore,
Than books alone can give;
For mind and soul form the great power
By which we act and live. ”

“ When all we teach in man is mind,
And heart has no domain,
Then fraud, deceit, and treachery
Will form a tyrant train,
For beacon light can never come
Through those who legislate
Unless good seed has been well sown
By those who educate;
But lift the soul by Sinai's laws
And by the Golden Rule,
Then legislation will have power
Through truths taught in the school.
The world is wanting honest men
Who know and dare to do aright,
Whose honor brightens in the ken
Of Justice's ever-searching light. ”

“ A LESSON FROM NATURE.
O who has not felt his gay heart beat with gladness,
As forth he has wandered some morning in May?
It drives away care and relieves us from sadness,
It cheers the lone heart and makes us feel gay. ”

“ Nerved for the tempest that sounds not afar,
Night her dark mantle o'er earth has suspended,
Thro' which may not shine e'en the light of one star.
Stop, lonely wanderer, and tell me why mateless,
Tell me the story of your solitude;
God, e'en a bird has not left so fateless
But somewhere there lives a companion for you.
Tell me if death has robbed you of treasures
That sweetened the tone of your vesper song;
Tell me if fears have destroyed all the pleasures
Which justice and right say to you should belong. ”

“ Cold are the truths of science,
Lifeless their every plan,
Until in living presence,
They're crystalized in man.
As hidden truths are useless
And aid not human skill,
So slumber mighty forces
Through lack of human will.
To know the right is not enough,
It must be given power
Through culture of the heart and soul,
If it shall blessings shower. ”

“ The presence of that artful one,
Who violates truth's sacred laws,
Regardless of the end or cause,
But deems it strategy to live
For the sole purpose to deceive.
If hell has any corner where
Vile culprits may be doomed to share
The merits they richly deserve,
It should be held in strict reserve
For them whose flattery and art
Are used to kill a trusting heart. ”

“ Its way into his faithful heart.
He shrieked and sank beneath the wave,
Almeta followed after him;
Their bridal couch was watery grave,
The war-whoop was their requiem.
[Pg 228]
The savage yell of victory
Re-echoed then from shore to shore,
While every rock and every tree
Seemed deeply tinged with human gore,
For when the moon from heavenly throne
Looked down and saw the ghastly deed,
It veiled itself and feebly shone,
As if in agony to plead
That human souls might ever know
That God himself cannot approve
The hand that strikes avenging blow,
The soul devoid fraternal love. ”

“ We dearly love the sunshine
Of locks with golden hue,
That bear this blessed combine—
Kind, tender, warm, and true.
We read volumes of character
In every lock of hair;
The life, the mind, the heart's prefer
Are plainly written there ”

“ Flecked are the green fields with sunshine and shadows,
Telling so gently of earth's perfect day.
From moss-covered rocks whereon we are seated,
Nature spreads scenes such as art cannot yield;
With flowers of rare beauty our vision is greeted,
Our ears, with the bird-notes of forest and field. ”

“ Where violets breathe thro' sweet scented lips,
Where brook o'er the bright pebbly bottom is flowing,
And bee of the nectar of columbine sips.
[Pg 83]
A monarch it stands of regnative power,
In a graceful symmetrical pose;
Whose arms weave a fairy, majestical bower
Where wood-nymphs their beauty disclose.
Its beautiful leaf of silvery sheen,
And the grandeur it gives to the grove,
Proclaim to th' world it of forest is queen,
And most worthy our heart's purest love.
Honor we maple as type of all neatness,
Yielding protection, beauty, and grace ”

“ For the strength to possess is ours.
[Pg 122]
Let my tongue sing songs of rapture
And my heart-strings sweetly respond,
Till the notes shall pass earth's border
And reach the bright portals beyond;
And when in the great hereafter
The tension shall be much increased,
My joys will be there augmented
To know that earth's songs have not ceased.
I often long for some quiet nook
Away from the noise and strife
Which come from the steady daily round
That absorbs my busy life ”

“ There's sunshine in our daily life,
If one true heart is near.
No battle vanquishes the true,
E'en thought of death is sweet
To him whose soul would e'er subdue
The scorpion-sting—deceit.
One trusting, true, and tender heart
Can cure a thousand ills,
Extract the poison from the dart
Of malice e'er it kills. ”

“ LAKE GEORGE, N. Y.
Beautiful, beautiful Horicon!
Over thy waters so blue,
Sunshine and shadow in silence flit on,
Painting fresh scenes on the ecstatic view.
Blue are the skies that kiss the green tops
Of sentinel mountains grand,
Pure are the waters descending in drops,
Or rushing in torrents from mountain to strand.
Like emerald crowns thy islands rise,
And mirrored back are doubly seen
Gray rocks of the mountains, the cloud-flecked skies,
Gorgeous adornments, and fringes of green. ”