A thousand ages, in their flight,
With Thee are as a fleeting day;
Past, present, future, to Thy sight

At once their various scenes display.
But our brief life's a shadowy dream,
A passing thought that soon is o'er,
That fades with morning's earliest beam,
And fills the musing mind no more.
To us, O Lord, the wisdom give

So ev'ry precious hour to spend,
That we at length with Thee may live
Where life and bliss shall never end.

From "The Spirit of the Psalms" comes the following hymn entitled, “Epiphany," which has not attained to the popularity that its merit deserves. Not only is it good poetry, but there is an uplifting influence in its spiritual fervor :

Bright was the guiding star that led,
With mild, benignant ray,
The Gentiles to the lowly bed
Where our Redeemer lay.

But lo! a brighter, clearer light

Now points to His abode;

It shines through sin and sorrow's night,
To guide us to our Lord.

Oh, haste to follow where it leads;
The gracious call obey;

Be rugged wilds, or flowery meads,
The Christian's destined way.

Oh, gladly tread the narrow path,
While light and grace are given;
Who meekly follow Christ on earth,
Shall reign with Him in heaven.

Miss Auber wrote twenty-five or thirty hymns, and probably between ten and fifteen are in use in the United States. It is quality and not quantity that counts for most, and the treasury of sacred song has been enriched by the inspiration of her Christian muse.

MARIA GRACE SAFFERY

MRS.

RS. SAFFERY is the author of several good hymns, but they are found in only a few American collections. The incidents of interest in her personal history are few. Her advent into the world occurred in England in 1773. About 1800 she became the wife of the Rev. John Saffery, pastor of the Baptist Church at Salisbury for thirty-four years. Mrs. Saffery was graced by many accomplishments, and wrote much excellent sacred verse. In 1834 she published a volume of poems that contained many pieces designed for special occasions, all of which were quite successful. She died in 1858 at Salisbury, where her son succeeded his father as pastor of the Baptist Church.

Mrs. Saffery's hymn on "Holy Baptism," beginning with the line, "'Tis the Great Father we adore," has gained wide circulation in Great Britain, and is included

in several books in America. But unquestionably her tenderest and best hymn is "The Good Shepherd," the text of which I take from "The Plymouth Hymnal":

There is a little lonely fold,

Whose flock one Shepherd keeps,
Through summer's heat and winter's cold,
With eye that never sleeps.

By evil beast, or burning sky,
Or damp of midnight air,
Not one in all that flock shall die
Beneath that Shepherd's care.

For if, unheeding or beguiled,
In danger's path they roam,
His pity follows through the wild
And guards them safely home.

O gentle Shepherd, still behold
Thy helpless charge in me;
And take a wanderer to Thy fold
That trembling turns to Thee.

It is evident that Mrs. Saffery possessed considerable poetic gift, but it is said that many of her finer hymns never became known to the general public. She was a

sensitive woman, and had a mortal dread of unpoetic and ruthless hymn-menders, and therefore some of her most touching heart-hymns did not circulate beyond the circle of her intimate friends.