55

 55. Melchizedek  "Without father, without mother, without descent; having  neither beginning of days, nor end of life."  THRICE bless'd are they, who feel their loneliness;  To whom nor voice of friends nor pleasant scene  Brings aught on which the sadden'd heart can    lean; Yea, the rich earth, garb'd in her daintiest dress Of light and joy, doth but the more oppress,  Claiming responsive smiles and rapture high;  Till, sick at heart, beyond the veil they fly, Seeking His Presence, who alone can bless. Such, in strange days, the weapons of Heaven's    grace; When, passing o'er the high-born Hebrew line, He moulds the vessel of His vast design; Fatherless, homeless, reft of age and place, Sever'd from earth, and careless of its wreck, Born through long woe His rare Melchizedek.  Corfu .  January 5, 1833.