Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1858-06-12
NJ | s c E l. L A n Y.
For the Vermont Phoenix.
A BIRDS NEST NOT BEAUTIFUL IN
HEAVEN.

a sweet angel once sailed from the celestial
court where all angels reside, bent on particu-
lar mission. She wished to bring to Heaven
some one beautiful earthly thing, not so much
in order to add to the pleasures of that blissfl
region, as to bestow sempiternity on a type of
terrestrial JOY.
As she spread her snowy wings, and grace
fully swoopcd and sailed, and shortly reached
our sphere, her passage seemed but as the flash
ing of Damascus blade, whose motion is be-
lieved only when the wielder's will is toreknown.
First where lceland's island lies she touched
our globe, and there, from off sea-washed rock,
she plucked an ice-sicklc. Clear as a lovers
eve, hard as a zealots faith, tapering as finger
of the spray, cold as sudden news of harm, firm
as the ants perseverance, curious as intrigue
and changeable as the sky, it threw away the
suns rays with new beauties linked to them
and sparkling with colors. This the sweet an
gel gazed upon with wonder at its active and
noiseless machinery which seized the sunbeams,
revolved them in its invisible intricacics, and
turned them out something as different as new
coin from gold ore. She shaded it by her wings
and found by repeating the experiment, that it
would only be beautiful while enjoying the sun
shine. Its strange power, convinced the angel
that it was something miraculous, and she was
happy, for she felt that she was near God while
she was by the ice-sickle.
The angel. charmed and satisfied, in having
gained the object of her search, was trimming
her homcward flight, to ask her sisters whether
they had ever seen thing so beautiful, when
her second thought determined her to visit 9TH
er parts of the earth. So, tripping along, over
land and sea, she entered our temperate zone
as night began to prevail The shadow of the
earth fell upon her ce-sickle and stilled its work
ings, so she merrly o'ertook the sun and won a
lease of his light. Thus the angel had, as it
were, made heaven and earth stand still for her
pleasure.
Being now over large space of America she
went southwark, admiring as she went. Equally
unaffected by fatigue as by cold or heat, she be-
slowed more and more attention on passing OBJ
iects, and finally became so absorbed in gor-
gcous flower before which she paused, that she
noticed not that her icc-s.ckle, which had been
growing less and less for distance back, en-
tirely dissolved and dropped to the ground
What was her surprise, on resuming her tour
not to find the icc-sickle in her hand, and what
/ her grief to find her beauty had disappeared as
soon as notice had been withdrawn from it,
! The angels joy melted away, and would have
/ been succeeded by despondency but that she
bethought herself of way to preserve the next
beautiful thing she should choose.
| A tiny birds evening return to the nest of its
Young was the next thing she deemed worthy
of transportation to her own radiant home.
The feathery inmates with dutiful affection
strained their eager eyes at first note Of their
parent, softly peeped welcome, and with tiut'
tering wings made fresh the bed for her weary
arrival.
As the parent bird with grateful song, was
Just dropping to rest, amid the vieings of hel
children to contribute to her comfort, the an
gel touched them with her wand, and each, tc
stone III lively sculpture translated, still retain
ed their forms and acts.
Thus she had permanent beautiful thing
and began her rc-ascending flight. As she bore
them on, she mused how the old provided food
and taught their young to fly in winter guidet
them to mider climes; rehearsed in warble the
herocs of the fcathery tribe and how the youns
were patient, anxious to learn, submissive, CRATE
full and affectionate. And, as these thoughts