The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-10-10

81 VI feout cur1ouS llves asunderS tai II .,,
Ind then bless Heaven for the tangled ends e
And sit and grieve and wonder. 81! II ="
~ s-e--t+----iL H. ,g.,-t -.
81 -.ioHb nla AtfeI--An iAliegory. a.
..Life, II Il says Seneca, sis, d voyage, in
]her rpgogrsss OF which we, are constantly
3hanging otours scenes We first leave
3hild dhuot behind us; then. YOUTH then
Pie years or ffhsned manhood then Tile
better and more pleasing part Of old age.'r
n .Trniy, life In hnt voyage, and swift
3ne, too, from Che cradle to che grave;
rom time to eternity; from nothihguess
10 imnortalitY n Our, bark sets sail from
henh nharbor OF infancy. guided by parental
Election, and we float along the placid
}ea oysf. A6 almost tinrnfaed path way, q : =
Inn0c cences now takes the helm, and
fhildhood. with its sunbeamsu and sha-
lows, Its little waves Of disappointment
md Islands Of flowers, its long days OF
play and nights Of sweet dreams. passes
$way, and, ere we know it, wa have
founded the bay, and are floating rapidly
3ver the wide expanse of youth 8 smiling
Faters. O. how cloudless and serene
{re the concave heavens, and, at night,
Aow the .stsrs twinkle and laugh at us
rom their .'blne Ysplted height" above!
The musical waves curl round the prov
f onr airy bark, and Eolus gently lifts
he s;lken sails as We go forward.
ale invites .useto its shores. Uncon-
ciously, we draw nearer and nearer. Joy
And admiration Reize us as we gaze on it's
2lories. IT'S covered, far as the eye can
each, with a, carpet of emerald velvet,
|pangled with flowers of glorious beauty,
Fhose 0dprs float upon the air. Silver
}parkling fountains fall into basins of
Parian marble, flow over their edges,
$nd lneander on between banks of snow
lrops and lilies Of the valley, that stoop
% battle their petals in the singing
Eaters. = Whispering breezes rustic
hrough. groves and bowers, where birds
}fsurpassing loyelin iness Harba baeandt dtWitter
rom spray tos spray; while fthe soul-en-
|rancing strain of the wonderful. .bulbul,
And t. music anE psisasns piss s dies les aSss WY 'Ss'
ills onf heart With On ecstacy Of delight.
High abeyes i'm the canopy Of heaven,
Slitters glorious, golden star, in whose
ranscendant brilliancy all else is lost.
With what grandeur and sublimity iit
Bazes down upon US, and seems to shine
ior us only, beckoning us away from our
4owery paradise of earthly love. and
rawing us onward and upward to that
figher, purer. s1rer port, where we can
4 Which shall we choose-to pause and
iarbor in this wilderness of delights, or
Iollow the ,beckoning of yon golden
yuidea Heaven and earth are contending
for the helm. The waters are smooth
$3nd bright,
i'Like any fair lake that the breeze is upon,
TheHlit breaks into dimples, and laughs in
The shore is near, but the star that
}llures US is away, far of. and the bill
]ows, dark and high, that sweep between.
Ghose of us, who choose the former,
glide gaily intol the laughing, shining.
tream. All seems Joyous for while,
Pill we suddenly strike upon an unseen
3ock, called Disappointment. Trem-
bling to the centre from the shock, we
Jail more slowly forward, and, if we hap
PLY escape the gulf of ,Intemperance and
fhe eddy of Dissipation, touoh'the shore
Pf our Eden, There we are met by a
lovely band, who scatter gems and
Powers around us. Flattery, with her
hand Ssha, With Wanity, aaos, amonr oU%ess Wbose
3aven Surls are twined flowers Of every
Eye. There, too. Foftare, sparkling
A ~e~- SAAeA~AOAAooSSI>S1AASs s1nRL J0WOISJ lC0ub
hpon her ivory wheel while, beyond, the
Bhining leaves Of 'Fame's laurel crown cast
J light around her majestic brow.
A little skiff shoots from the shore,
guided by being peerless in beauty,
whose snowy garments float around her
$ylph-like form, confined only at the
waist by. q girdle, blue as her own ceru-
can eyes. Light Saxon curls flow over
her graceful shoulders, and are drawn
back from her spotless forehead by a
wreath of white moss rose buds and ge-
fanium leaves. She nears our bark. She
bnters.1 Love takes the helm.
On, on we go, fearless of every dan
kerl Round the enchanted isle We sail,
,areless whittier, so long as Love guides
3hs. But
Fransient is Pleasure-the goddess fits by,
Like wave on the sea, like rainbow on high.
The cloud Of misfortune rises from
fhe dimpled waters, and slowly but sure
I y approaches us, gathering strength and
volume as it comes. Where, now, is the
bright, guiding star which, in our sunny,
happy hours, we had forgotten? Let MS
look up. Yes, there 1t is! shining with
b pale, faded light in the midst Of tho
Ill n 4f e.