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Ned Farmer's Scrap Book.
81
Cheerfulness,
not inconsistent with goodness—t'other way on! Quite.
Think ye God had e*er created
Flowers that bloom, and birds that sing,
If cheerfulness was what he hated?:
Don't believe in such a thing.
Think the sun would shine so brightly,
Azure vault and stars be seen—
Would soft zephyrs dance so lightly,
Through the meads and forest green?
Think ye there is sin in gladness,
That this world was made for grief,
And all mankind condemned to sadness?
What has taught you such belief?
Not the blessings that surround you,
Not the mercies you have known,
If dread and gloomy fear hath bound you,
Be sure the fault is all your own.
Doubts are the rocks on which our mental vessels split in the great voyage of inquiry after truth!
