I ASK FOR A moment's indulgence to sit by thy side. The works that I have in hand I will finish afterwards. Away from the sight of thy face my heart knows no rest nor respite, and my work becomes an endless toil in a shoreless sea of toil. To-day the summer has come at my window with its sighs and murmurs; and the bees are plying their minstrelsy at the court of the flowering grove. Now it is time to sit quiet, face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure.
MY NIGHT HAS passed on the bed of sorrow, and my eyes are tired. My heavy heart is not yet ready to meet morning with its crowded joys. Draw a veil over this naked light, beckon aside from me this glaring flash and dance of life. Let thy mantle of tender darkness cover me in its folds, and cover my pain awhile from the pressure of the world.