Careful Words

peaceful (adj.)

I burn to set the imprison'd wranglers free,

And give them voice and utterance once again.

Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,

Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,

And while the bubbling and loud-hissing urn

Throws up a steamy column, and the cups

That cheer but not inebriate wait on each,

So let us welcome peaceful evening in.

William Cowper (1731-1800): The Task. Book iv. The Winter Evening. Line 34.

What peaceful hours I once enjoy'd!

How sweet their memory still!

But they have left an aching void

The world can never fill.

William Cowper (1731-1800): Walking with God.