De Duve
October 13th, 2011
Illustration from The Ladies Companion, 1853
The Dove,
As an Example of Attachment to Home.The dove let loose in Eastern skies,
Returning fondly home,
Ne’er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies
Where idler warblers roam.But high she shoots, through air and light,
Above all low decay,
Where nothing earthly bounds her flight,
Nor shadow dims her way.So grant me, Lord, from every snare
Of sinful passion free,
Aloft through virtue’s purer air,
To steer my course to thee.
No sin to cloud, no lure to stay
My soul, as home she springs;
Thy sunshine on her joyful way,
Thy freedom on her wings.– General Protestant Episcopal S. S. Union, 1849