Letitia Elizabeth Landon

“ Like mournful music is upon the air:
So sad, so sweet, that the eyes fill with tears,
Without a cause—ah! no, the heart is heaped
So full with perished pleasures, vain regrets,
That nature cannot sound one grieving note
Upon her forest lyre, but still it finds
Mute echo in the sorrowing human heart.
Now the wind wails among the yellow leaves,
About to fall, over the faded flowers,
Over all summer's lovely memories,
About to die; the year has yet in store
A few dim hours, but they are dark and cold:
Sunshine, green leaves, glad flowers, they all are gone ”

“ That star paused in the sky at last.
It paused where, roused from slumbers mild,
Lay 'mid the kine a newborn child.
Are there no clarions upon earth
To toll mankind their monarch's birth?
Are there no banners to unfold,
Heavy with purple and with gold?
Are there no flowers to strew the ground,
Nor arches with the palm-branch bound?
Nor fires to kindle on the hill?
No! man is mute—the world is still. ”

“ THE MADONNA AND CHILD.
"BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN."
"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
"And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. ”

“ Still the vain doubt has in delusion birth.
We hesitate, we cavil, we deny,
And ask, though all things answer in reply;
All nature echoes with one mighty Yes,
And only man will not his God confess. ”

“ NATHAN AND DAVID.
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against The Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shall not die."⁠2 Samuel xii. 13.
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."⁠Acts iii. 19.
The monarch knelt, and, in the dust,
Confessed his sin and shame;
And God forgave the guilty one,
Who called upon his name. ”

“ Still the seed sown in early time
Will not be wholly cast away.
The infant prayer, the infant hymn,
Within the darkened soul will rise,
When age's weary eye is dim,
And the grave's shadow round us lies. ”

“ Careless we hurry on,
And vainly precious hours are spent
Before we think them gone.
Their joy and sorrow, sin and strife,
Close round us like a bond,
Which so enslaves to present life,
We never look beyond. ”

“ THE INFANT CHRIST WITH FLOWERS.
"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
"But the word of the Lord endureth forever."⁠1 Peter I. 24, 25. ”

“ And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. ”

“ When the wind stirs the branches, and a ray
Lights the dim glades scarce conscious of the day.
Are not these beautiful, these hours which bring
Its leaves and flowers, its breath and bloom to spring?
And yet, proud man, what hast thou here to do? ”

“ For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."⁠Matthew iii. 1—3.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ”

“ ST. JOHN IN THE WILDERNESS.
"And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his meal was locusts and wild honey." ⁠Matthew iii. 4.
Afar, he took a gloomy cave,
For his accustomed dwelling-place,
As dark, as silent as the grave,
As unfamiliar with man's face ”

“ Luke xxii. 19,20.
"And as they were eating, Jesus look bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it:
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
"But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."⁠Matthew xxvi. 26-29.
Bow thee to earth, and from thee cast
All stubbornness of human will ”

“ SUBJECTS. PAINTERS. ENGRAVERS.
Page Vignette Title Sir T. Lawrence W. Humphreys
Christ blessing the Bread Carlo Dolci W. Ensom
10
The Flight into Egypt Claude W. R. Smith
12
The Madonna and Child Murillo R. Graves
14
Hagar and Ishmael F. Baroccio E. Smith
17
St. ”