LOVELINESS.
"Beautiful thoughts make a beautiful soul, and a beautiful soul makes a beautiful face."
ONCE I knew a little girl,
Very plain;
You might try her hair to curl,
All in vain;
On her cheek no tint of rose
Paled and blushed, or sought repose:
She was plain.
But the thoughts that through her brain
Came and went,
As a recompense for pain,
Angels sent;
So full many a beauteous thing,
In her young soul blossoming,
Gave content.
Every thought was full of grace,
Pure and true;
And in time the homely face
Lovelier grew,
With a heavenly radiance bright,
From the soul's reflected light
Shining through.
So I tell you, little child,
Plain or poor,
If your thoughts are undefiled,
You are sure
Of the loveliness of worth;
And this beauty, not of earth,
Will endure.
Maria Lacey,
In St. Nicholas