Our Profession and Other Poems | Page 9

smiling ways
Of a charmed environment
That
lures him on to neglect and sin,
And to final banishment
Of the vital
spark of an earnest man,
And all that is noble and true,
To the effete
round of nothingness
Which honor and strength will subdue.
No Spartan Helen of beauty and fame,
No mermaid with winsome
face,
No Siren that sings an alluring song,
No Pandora in her grace,

Can soothe and charm to destruction's retreat,
Like the foe that
robs of power
To meet the needs of life's true aim,
The
requirements of each hour.
It has filled our courts, our prisons, our jails,
And filled our
almshouses, too,
Itself and distress walk hand in hand,

No crimes
but its victims will do;
Though it seems like a true and trusty friend


'Tis a tyrant in disguise,
It leads to distrust and uncertainty,
It wins
no enduring prize.
In homes it leads to disorder wild,
In school, to defiance of laws,
In
nations, to strife on bloody fields,
In man, to destruction's jaws;
In
business its office is but to destroy,
In friendship, brings lack of
respect,
In love, oft a maddened, frenzied heart
That can never
endure neglect.
Parents, true kindness holds steady hand,
Judges, know justice is kind,

Teachers, remember the work for you
Is to strengthen heart and
mind.
Kindness, dethroned by lack of control,
Ruins our girls and
our boys,
Firmness is noble, honest, and true,
Indulgence only
destroys.
THE TEACHER'S SOLILOQUY.
And so another week has gone,
And I once more am left alone

Within my silent room;
My mind is worn by fervent care,
And,
languishing, it needs repair
For duties yet to come.
From all the cares which come on me
I cannot be entirely free
Thro'
all this mortal life;
But cares imported from abroad
Make much
more ponderous the load,
And cause more bitter strife.
With patient labor, day by day,
I work along this toilsome way

Intent on doing good;
My pupils' hearts I would inspire
With noble
thoughts and strong desire
For intellectual food.
I note the various schemes and arts,
As prompted by the different
hearts,
They lead to different deeds.
As deeds and hearts will
correspond,
By observation it is found
There should be different
meeds.
The wish made known for some will do,
And some a gentle frown

would rue
And feel extremely sad;
While others need a sterner look,

A reprimand, or sharp rebuke,
And sometimes e'en the rod.
Most gladly would I hail the day
When children cheerfully obey,
(If
e'er that day shall come,)
But ere that happy day I see,
A
reformation there must be
In government at home.
And what is my reward for all
This watchful care and earnest toil

To train the youthful mind?
From Ignorance it draws a curse--

Though pocket hold a puny purse--
Yet one reward I find--
To see the young prepared for life
And launched upon the outward
strife
Of its tempestuous sea,
And know that I have trained that
mind,
With noble thought that heart refined,
Is rich reward for me.
When all life's lessons have been taught,
And my own soul with love
is fraught
For earnest, striving man,
Perhaps an understanding Lord

Will proffer as a great reward,
Redemption through His plan.

A beautiful vision I sometimes see,
That stands in the distance and
smiles upon me;
It points with a finger of radiance bright,
To the
fleeting shades of departing night.
I would gladly know if this scene
designed
To be a true type of the human mind,
When the mists and
clouds of dark ignorance,
Shall into the realms of the unknown
advance.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.
The survival of the fittest,
The advancement of the best,
The
enthronement of the truest
In the world's great crucial test,
Is
emblazoned on each banner
Wherever man is found,
And e'en
'mong plants and animals
This holds, the world around.
Then prepare for the survival,

Allow no base retreat,
(Dethronement

means delinquency,)
Endure the cold and heat;
The elements that
meet us
May all be overcome,
With God and right ever in sight,

The victory may be won.
THE DIFFERENCE.
I have scanned the roll of teachers,
Have noted the Aarons and Hurs

Who have stayed education's Moses,
And removed the cumbrous
bars
That environed its anxious spirit,
And bowed down its life with
cares.
I have counted them all over,
Have analyzed heart and brain,
Have
watched them in daily labor
That I might some key obtain
To
unlock the magical power,
By which some supremely reign.
I have listened with ear enraptured,
Have caught the gleam of the eye,

Have felt the glow of emotion
When bright corruscations fly

From mental touch and fervor,
That prompted others to try.
The soul knows no fire so warming,
No light so fervent and true,

As the glow of the living presence
Of one of the noble few
Who
counts her pain but pleasure,
If good she may only do.
A teacher who knows her subjects
And has much of didactic art,

Will present the truths of science
To the youthful mind and heart,
In
ways so apt and skillful
They will never more depart,
But will gather strength and beauty
With every day and hour,
Until
they become a fortress--
An irresistible power
To dispel the gloom
of doubting
That oft o'er the mind may lower.
No truth is learned by mere telling,
The mind must conceive and
apply;
There is inspiration, knowledge,
In one's own discovery

That lead to efforts and struggles
For a greater mastery.

Herein