Part 12 — MIDNIGHT, AND DAYBREAK.

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BY MRS. JOSEPH C. NEAL.

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I.—MIDNIGHT.

I had been tossing through the restless night—

Sleep banished from my pillow—and my brain

Weary with sense of dull and stifling pain—

Yearning, and praying for the blessed light.

My lips moaned thy dear name, beloved one;

Yet I had seen thee lying still and cold,

Thy form bound only by the shroud’s pure fold,

For life with all its suffering was done.

Then agony of loneliness o’ercame

My widowed heart—night would fit emblem seem

For the evanishing of that bright dream:

The heavens were dark—my life henceforth the same.

No hope—its pulse within my breast was dead.

No light—the clouds hung heavily o’erhead.

II.—DAYBREAK.

Once more I sought the casement. Lo! a ray,

Faint and uncertain, struggled through the gloom,

And shed a misty twilight on the room;

Long watched-for herald of the coming day!

It brought a thrill of gladness to my breast.

With clasped hands, and streaming eyes, I prayed,

Thanking my God for light, though long delayed—

And gentle calm stole o’er my wild unrest.

“Oh, soul!” I said, “thy boding murmurs cease;

Though sorrow bind thee as a funeral pall,

Thy Father’s hand is guiding thee through all—

His love will bring a true and perfect peace.

Look upward once again, though drear the night;

Earth may be darkness—Heaven will give thee light.”