THE SACRIFICE OF ABRAHAM. N. P. WILLIS. Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee unto the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.-GENESIS xxii. 2. MORN breaketh in the east. The purple clouds Are putting on their gold and violet, To look the meeter for the sun's bright coming. And nature, from the very forest leaf Of crimson roses in a holy rest. How hallowed is the hour of morning! meet Ay, beautifully meet for the pure prayer. The patriarch standeth at his tented door, With his white locks uncovered. 'Tis his wont To gaze upon that gorgeous orient; And at that hour the awful majesty Of man who talketh often with his God, Is wont to come again, and clothe his brow As at his fourscore strength. But now, he seemeth To be forgetful of his vigorous frame, And boweth to his staff, as at the hour Of noontide sultriness. And that bright sun- The hour to sacrifice his much-loved son! Light poureth on the world. And Sarah stands And praying that her sunny boy faint not. The bright sun throwing back the old man's shade |