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180 THE SECOND BIRTH-DAY.
What discipline thy heart may need, What clouds may veil thy sun,
The eye of God alone can read And let his will he done.
Yet might a mother's prayer of love
Thy destiny control, Those boasted gifts that often prove
The nun of the soul, Beauty and fortune, wit and fame,
For thee it would not crave, But tearful urge a fervent claim
To joys beyond the grave.
! be thy wealth an upright heart,
Thy strength the sufferer's stay, Thine early choice, that better part,
Which cannot fade away ; Thy zeal for Christ a quenchless fire,
Thy friends the men of peace, Thy heritage an angel's lyre,
When earthly changes cease.
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