1. Not wailing cries, nor bells that toll
Their knell o'er yawning grave;
'Tis notes of joy to troubled soul,
And sounds of life that save.

2. Not penance wound, nor dreadful scourge,
Nor hatred's venomed steel;
But gentle hand and loving word,
And mercy's sweets that heal.

3. The sorrow, sadness, weeping eyes,
To fallen earth are given;
By joy and gladness 'tis we rise,
From earthly things to heaven.

4. Far better seek where nature blooms,
In groves by sighing sea,
Than convent cells or cloister's gloom,
The soul from sin to free.

5. Not flames that sweep, nor winds that blow,
Nor earthquake shock abroad;
The sweetest scenes on earth below,
In them have most of God.