Beauty and Innocence. [For an Engraving of Cottage Girl and Lamb.]
O, MAIDEN, standing in the open field,
On pasture sparkling with the morning dew!
What joy thou findest Nature now to yield
To hearts developed right,—hearts that are true!
Above is beauty, as along the sky
The dawn of light sends forth its herald ray
To arch the heavens, and myriad leagues on high
Proclaim the coming of the god of day.
Beneath is beauty; see the glistening gems
Around thy feet in rich profusion strewn;
Such as ne’er glows in kingly diadems,
Such as man’s handiwork hath never shown.
Around is beauty; on each vale and hill,
In open field and in the shady wood,
A voice is whispering, soft, and low, and still,
“All, all is beautiful, for God is good.”
Thou, too, art beautiful, O, maiden fair,
While Innocence within thine arms doth rest;
And thou wilt e’er be thus, no grief thou ‘lt share,
If such a blessing dwell within thy breast
As that whose emblem now lies gently there.