| T H E L A D I E S ' R E P O S I T O R Y . |
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CINCINNATI, NOVEMBER, 1845. |
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| William Baxter | Forest Musings (1845) |
| T H E L A D I E S ' R E P O S I T O R Y . |
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CINCINNATI, NOVEMBER, 1845. |
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| O r i g i n a l . |
| F O R E S T M U S I N G S . |
| BY WILLIAM BAXTER. |
| ALONE, at sunset, in the silent woods, Where forest trees lift up their stately forms, Like hoary monarchs, who for years have brav'd Chill autumn's blast, and winter's fiercer storms, Reclin'd upon some fallen, moss grown tree, I love to call up visions of the past, To gaze on faces, scarce remember'd now, And hear sweet voices on the murm'ring blast; For thought, amid the city's busy hum, Is stifled; but in this calm, peaceful air, Thought claims her empire o'er the willing soul, Sees new delights, new pleasures, everywhere. Look upward, and the beauteous face of heaven Is spangled bright with many a silv'ry star, Like glittering jewels in night's sable crown, Casting their chasten'd lustre from afar. The rustling boughs above me, and the leaves Wav'd by the winds, are sinking now to rest, All, all is hush'd, and this deep silence seems A fit companion for the peaceful breast. The distant streamlet, murmuring forth its song, Falls like soft music on my list'ning ear. All nature's voices, in these solitudes, Call on her devotees to worship here, While each pale flower, whose sweet perfume is shed Like grateful incense on the silent air, Seems teaching man to humbly bend his knee, And, like its incense, offer up his pray'r. Bright birds, whose wings the parting sunlight bath'd Before the day god's light wax'd faint and dim, Now fold their pinions for their nightly rest, Or break the stillness with their vesper hymn. Thus wild-wood warblers teach that man should tune His voice to praises in the hush of even, And, like the God-taught minstrels of the grove, Should let his orisons ascend to heaven. My heart will soften mid such scenes as these, And solemn feelings press upon my soul. O, may they ever with me still abide, Engraven deeply on my mem'ry's scroll! Then, blessed evening, at thy calm decline, I'll often seek this solitary place, And learn, amid its solemn quietude, Those lessons which all time shall ne'er efface. |
[The Ladies' Repository 5 (November 1845): 339.]
ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC EDITION
William Baxter's "Forest Musings" was first published in The Ladies' Repository, and Gatherings of the West: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to Literature and Religion, Vol. 5, No. 11, November 1845, p. 339. This volume, edited by E. Thomson, was published in Cincinnati by L. Swormstedt and J. T. Mitchell for the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.
Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA
Created 8 April 2000.
Updated 28 June 2003.
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