A PICTURE AND A GIFT.
of so much in giving pictures, as in living pictures;
the admiration of the many and binds the friend-
L few."
A picture on a canvass doth but show
The outward man, the figure and the face;
The pose which he assumes the little while;
The plainness, or the elegance of dress.
'Tis true perchance from these we may observe
The culture of the man, and e'en may read
A fancy Cr a thought as 'tis expressed
to style of dress and pose. But that is all.
The face may be the window of the soul;
And yet how oft it is of stained glass; •
Which doth so change and modify the real,
Our praises and our blames are sadly wrong.
The picture that we know the best, is one
Which doth reveal the man in all his moods;
Which lives and speaks and acts, and living thus
Vrom day to day, cloth show the inner man.
In such an one, we see when time has passed,
If noble are his thoughts, if pure his mind, •
How true his heart, and kindly arc his deeds,
If truthful . and sincere his every word, .
How lively and how beautiful his life.
From such as these we come to know theman;
But even then we only know in part,---:
The wisest err—the purest outward life
May yet, perchance, belie the •vilest heart.
So e'en from these, we must with greatest care
Select the ones we can the most admire.