A MOTHER'S LOVE.

HAST thou sounded the depths of yonder sea,
And counted the sands that under it be ?
Hast thou measured the height of heaven above ?
Then mayst thou mete out a mother's love.

Hast thou talk'd with the blessed of leading on
To the throne of God some wandering son ?
Hast thou witness'd the angels' bright employ ?
Then mayst thou speak of a mother's joy.

Evening and morn hast thou watch'd the bee
Go forth on her errands of industry ?
The bee for herself has gather'd and toil'd,
But the mother's cares are all for her child.

Hast thou gone, with the traveller Thought, afar,
From pole to pole, and from star to star ?
Thou hast--but on ocean, earth, or sea,
The heart of a mother has gone with thee.

There is not a grand inspiring thought,
There is not a truth by wisdom taught;
There is not a feeling pure and high,
That may not be read in a mother's eye.

And ever since earth began, that look
Has been, to the wise, an open book,
To win them back, from the lore they prize,
To the holier love that edifies.

There are teachings on earth, and sky, and air,
The heavens the glory of God declare !
But louder than the voice beneath, above,
He is heard to speak through a mother's love.

--EMILY TAYLOR.