The Angel.
"He giveth His beloved sleep."

God sendeth His angel, Sleep.
When the night falleth calm and deep
The beautiful angel comes.
A glorious unseen guest,
With the fame of a deeper rest,
And the beauty of far-off things,
In the hush of his angel wings.
For we keep not that peace unstirred
Where the voice of the Lord is heard,
In our troublous earthly homes;
But Sleep from a kingdom is
Of wonderful silences,
And the hurrying souls of men
At his bidding grow calm again.
page 214 And oft of some way-worn life,
Heart weary of noblest strife,
This angel has charge a while.
There is lightening of constant care;
There is peace for that sick despair;
And a message of might bears he,
"As thy day, so thy strength shall be."
And oft, in some vision clear
The secret of God draws near—
Strange meanings around us smile.
And often He charms away
The cares of a later day,
The burdening griefs and pain,
And the man is a child again.
God sendeth His angel, Sleep.
Tired hands, and the eyes that weep,
Have ended with joy and woe.
Calmed, folded, at rest they lie,
While over them far and high
The midnight to morn is won,
The heavenly signs pass on;
Till waked from that quietude,
Heart-comforted, strength-renewed,
The sleepers arise, and, lo!
While sheltered at rest they lay,
The darkness has slipped away;
Joy comes with the morn. The sun
Is on high, and the day begun.

—Mary Colborne-Veel

(" The Fairest of the Angels," 1894).