Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1836-06-09

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But the bells ring out from the old
church tower. The vicar is already issu-
ing from his pleasant parsonage; groups
Of peasantry are already seen streaming
over the uplands towards the village; in
the lanes gay ribbons and Sunday gowns
glance from between the trees; and every
house sends forth its inhabitants to wor-
ship. Blessings Oh those gay old fabrics
that stand on many hill, and in many "a
lowly hollow, over all this beloved coun-
try. delight to enter and sit down a
mong their rustic congregations. /
But Sunday morning is past; and after
noon is rolling away; but it shall not roll
away without lis dover Of happiness shed
on every town, and into every beautiful
vale Of this fair country. Closed are the
doors Of the church, but opened are those
Of thousands and tens Of thousands Of
dwellings to receive friends and kindred.
And around the pleasant tea-table happy
groups are gathering in each others
house, freed from clinging, pressing, en-
Shaving cares Of the six days; and sweet.
ly, aud full Of renewing strength to the
heart does the evening roll away. And
does it not roll as sweetly where, by ma
ny cottage door, the aged grandfather
and grandmother sit with two generations
about them, and bask in another glorious
Sabbath sunset? And is it not sweet
where friends stroll through the delicious
fields in high or cheerful talk, along the
green lane, or bloom-engoldened hill
side; or down into the woodland valley,
where the waters run clear and Ginning
ly, amid the dripping grass and the
brooklime, and the yellow beams Of the
descending sun glance serenely among
the trees? And is it not sweet where,
on some sequestercd stile, sit two happy
lovers, or where they stray along souIe
twilight path, and the woodbine and the
wild rose are dropping their aowery
boughs over them, while earth ana heav-
en-, supremely lovely in themselves, take
new and divine hues from their own pas
sionate spirits; and youth and truth are
theirs; the present is theirs in love; the
future is theirs in high confidence; all
that makes glorious the life of angels is
theirs for the time? Yes! all through
the breadth Of this great land-through
its cities, its vallies, its fair fields-its lib
Grated millions are walking in the eye Of
heaven, drinking in its sublime calm, re-
irashod by its gales, ,soothed by the peace.
lUl beauty of the earth. There is cause
Of profound, holy tranquility, in which
twilight drops down upon innumerable
roofs, and prayers ascend from countless
hearths, in city and in field, OH earth and
mountain, and then-'tis gone: the Sab.
bath is ended.
But blessings, and ten thousand bless
ings, be upon tha: day; and let myriads Of
thanks stream up to the throne OF God for
this divine aud regenerating gift to man.
As have safe in some ilowery dale,
with the sweetness Of May around me,
on week day, have thought of all the
millions cf immortal creatures toiling for
their daily life in factories and shops, a.
mid the whirl of machinery, and the
greedy cravings Of mercantile gain, and
suddenly this golden interval of time has
lain before me in all its brightness-a
time, and perpetnally recurring time,
in which the iron clasp Of earthly tyran-
ny is looscd, and Peace, Faith and Free
dom, the angels of God, come down and
walk once more among men! i
Ten thousand blessings on this day,
he friend of man and beast. The bigot
would rob it Of its healthful freedom, on
lie one hand and coop up man in his
work-a-day dungeons and cause him to
walk with demure steps and downcast
eyes, and the libertine would desecrate
all its sober decorum on the other. Let
US still avoid Puritan rigidity and French
dissipation. Let our children and our
servants, and those who toll for us in
vaults, and shops, and factories, between
the intervals of solemn worship have
freedom to walk in the face of heaven
and the beauty Of the earth; for in the
great temple of nature stand together
health and pety. For myself speak
from experience-it has always been my
delight 10 60 out on Sunday, and, like
Isaac, mediate in the fields, and especi-
ally in the sweet tranquility, and the
G Gathering shadows Of evening; and new
er, in temple or in closet, did more hal
lowed influences fall upon my heart
With the twilight and the hush Of earth
tenderness has stolen upon me; a de-
sire for everything pure and holy; love
for every creature on whom God has
stamped the wonder Of his handiwork;
but especially to every child of humani-
ty; and then have l been made to feel
that there is no oratory like that which
has heaven itself for its roof, and no
teaching like the teaching Of the Spirit
which created and still overshadows the