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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24605-h.zip b/24605-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a5ae247 --- /dev/null +++ b/24605-h.zip diff --git a/24605-h/24605-h.htm b/24605-h/24605-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..12f10a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/24605-h/24605-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12187 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Gleams of Sunshine, by Joseph Horatio Chant</title> +<style type="text/css"> + + body {margin-left: 12%; + margin-right: 12%;} + + p {text-indent: 0em; + text-align: justify; + margin-top: .85em; + margin-bottom: .85em; + line-height: 1.2em;} + + .sc {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .ctr {text-align: center;} + + .title {text-align: center; + font-weight: bold; + margin-top: 4em; + margin-bottom: 1.5em;} + + .foot {margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 6%; + margin-top: 0em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + text-align: justify; + text-indent: -1em; + font-size: 97%;} + + .header {margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + text-align: center; + font-size: 105%; + font-weight: bold;} + + .subtitle {text-align: center; + margin-top: 0em; + margin-bottom: 1.75em; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold;} + + .chapter {margin-top: 4em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + text-align: center; + font-size: 110%; + font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + text-align: center;} + + h1 {text-align: center; + margin-bottom: .85em; + line-height: 1.3em; + letter-spacing: 2px;} + + h1.pg {text-align: center; + margin-bottom: 0em; + line-height: 1em; + letter-spacing: 0px;} + + h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {text-align: center; + margin-top: .5em; + margin-bottom: .85em; + line-height: 1.3em;} + + h3.pg {text-align: center; + margin-bottom: 0em; + line-height: 1em; } + + hr {background-color: black; color: inherit; padding: 0;} + + hr.long {width: 90%; + height: 1px; + margin-top: 2.5em; + margin-bottom: 2em;} + + hr.med {width: 65%; + height: 1px; + margin-top: 2.5em; + margin-bottom: 2.5em;} + + hr.short {width: 35%; + height: 1px; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em;} + + table {margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto;} + + td.text {vertical-align: top; + text-align: left; + font-size: 97%;} + + td.pg {vertical-align: bottom; + text-align: right; + font-size: 97%;} + + .poem {margin-left: 16%; margin-right:6%; + margin-bottom: 1.2em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -2em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i10 {margin-left: 5em;} + .poem p.i12 {margin-left: 6em;} + .poem p.i14 {margin-left: 8em;} + .poem p.i16 {margin-left: 9em;} + .poem p.i18 {margin-left: 12em;} + .poem p.i20 {margin-left: 14em;} + .poem p.i22 {margin-left: 16em;} + + a:link {color: #33C; + background-color: inherit; + text-decoration: none;} + link {color: #33C; + background-color: inherit; + text-decoration: none;} + a:visited {color:#33C; + background-color: inherit; + text-decoration: none;} + a:hover {color:#F00; + background-color: inherit;} + + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + pre { font-size: 85%; } +</style> +</head> +<body> +<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Gleams of Sunshine, by Joseph Horatio Chant</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Gleams of Sunshine</p> +<p> Optimistic Poems</p> +<p>Author: Joseph Horatio Chant</p> +<p>Release Date: February 13, 2008 [eBook #24605]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GLEAMS OF SUNSHINE***</p> +<br><br><center><h3 class="pg">E-text prepared by Mark C. Orton, Charles Bidwell, Beth Trapaga,<br> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br> + (http://www.pgdpcanada.net)</h3></center><br><br> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p> </p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Front cover" width="334" height="500"> +</div> +<br> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="Rev. J. H. Chant" width="500" height="532"> +<br> +<span class="caption"> +Rev. J. H. Chant</span> +</div> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1> +Gleams of Sunshine +</h1> +<h2> +OPTIMISTIC POEMS +</h2> +<br> +<br> +<h3> +By +</h3> +<h2> +Joseph Horatio Chant +</h2> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/deco.jpg" alt="Decoration" width="81" height="99"> +</div> +<br> +<h4> +Printed for the Author by +<br> +WILLIAM BRIGGS +<br> +TORONTO +<br> +1915 +</h4> +<h4> +Copyright, Canada, 1915 +<br> +by J. H. CHANT. +</h4> +<hr class="short"> +<br> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/dedication.jpg" alt="TO The memory of my beloved wife, MARY MATILDA MCKIM Who, by her +gentle disposition, cheerful spirit, sound judgment, and earnest +Christian life, not only proved herself my true helpmate for over 46 +years, but, also, made our home a place of constant peac" width="299" height="323"> +</div> +<hr class="short"> +<p class="header"> +CONTENTS +</p> +<table summary="Contents" width="70%" cellpadding="1"> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> + +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<small> +PAGE</small> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +INVOCATION +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#7"> +7</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +FATHER OF UNIVERSAL MAN +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#9"> +9</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +GOD'S PLAN IS BEST +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#12"> +12</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +CANADA +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#14"> +14</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +LATE AUTUMN +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#18"> +18</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +FRIENDSHIP +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#19"> +19</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +LIFE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#22"> +22</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +TO MR. RUDYARD KIPLING +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#23"> +23</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MEN BELOW DECK +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#26"> +26</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"OTHERS SAVE WITH FEAR" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#28"> +28</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +TREAD SOFTLY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#31"> +31</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"IT WAS MY FAULT" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#34"> +34</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +KEPT THE FLAG FLOATING +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#35"> +35</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MARY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#37"> +37</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +A WORLD REDEEMED +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#38"> +38</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +ALASKAN BOUNDARY SETTLEMENT +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#40"> +40</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MY PRIMROSE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#42"> +42</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +NIAGARA'S RAINBOW +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#44"> +44</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MY SISTER NELL AND I +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#46"> +46</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +GATHER THE WAYSIDE FLOWERS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#48"> +48</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +HIDE THEIR SCARS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#50"> +50</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"ASHAMED BUT NOT AFRAID" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#52"> +52</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +DUNBAR +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#54"> +54</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MARSTON MOOR +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#59"> +59</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +OIL THE CRICKET +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#62"> +62</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE REAL +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#63"> +63</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +VICTORY GAINED AND LIFE LOST +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#65"> +65</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE BAPTISM OF CLOVIS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#66"> +66</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE WATER LILY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#70"> +70</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"HE SHALL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#72"> +72</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE TAJ OF AGRA +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#73"> +73</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +ENGLAND'S BRAVE SONS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#78"> +78</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +QUEEN VICTORIA +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#80"> +80</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +SILVER TONES +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#83"> +83</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +GOD'S ORDER +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#86"> +86</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +INFLUENCE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#88"> +88</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +UNDECAYING FRUIT +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#90"> +90</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE HEROES OF OUR DAY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#92"> +92</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE BIG BEAR CREEK +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#94"> +94</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE FROST ON THE WINDOW +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#96"> +96</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"WILT THOU HARASS A DRIVEN LEAF?" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#98"> +98</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +A GEM +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#100"> +100</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE CLOUDS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#101"> +101</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE MOSSES +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#103"> +103</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE GRANDEST THEME +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#105"> +105</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +SEPTEMBER +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#107"> +107</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE FLOWERS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#111"> +111</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE BUD +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#113"> +113</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +BEAUTIFUL SKY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#115"> +115</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +BUTTERCUPS AND DAISIES +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#116"> +116</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE MOSS ROSE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#118"> +118</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +GOD'S CARE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#120"> +120</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MY LOT +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#121"> +121</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +GOD'S FOOT ON THE CRADLE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#122"> +122</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +GOD'S GIFTS TO BE ENJOYED +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#124"> +124</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE HIGHEST GOAL +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#126"> +126</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +JOY IN THE MORNING +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#128"> +128</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"HE SHALL DWELL ON HIGH" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#129"> +129</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +BAG YOUR GAME +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#132"> +132</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +OTHERS' BURDENS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#135"> +135</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MEMORY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#136"> +136</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE ROYAL WAY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#138"> +138</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +'STABLISHED +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#140"> +140</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +A MEROGNOSTIC +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#141"> +141</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"SALUT AUX BLESSIS" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#144"> +144</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +SONNET +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#146"> +146</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +BROTHERHOOD +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#147"> +147</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +SHE DEARLY LOVED THE FLOWERS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#149"> +149</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MY PANSY PETS +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#151"> +151</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +LOVE BETTER THAN KNOWLEDGE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#153"> +153</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +A SUFFERING GOD +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#155"> +155</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE COPY +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#157"> +157</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +PERFECT WORK +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#159"> +159</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE JOHNSTOWN DISASTER +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#160"> +160</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +EYE HATH NOT SEEN +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#169"> +169</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +WHAT LASTS? +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#171"> +171</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +IS THERE A BRIGHTER WORLD? +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#173"> +173</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#176"> +176</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +THE END WE SOUGHT +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#178"> +178</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +ASPIRATION +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#179"> +179</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MY REST +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#180"> +180</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"PAINT ME AS I AM, WARTS AND ALL" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#182"> +182</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +"I WAS THERE" +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#183"> +183</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +TRUE LOVE +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#185"> +185</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +A TRUE MAN +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#186"> +186</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="txt"> +MY OLD SWEETHEART +</td> +<td class="pg"> +<a href="#187"> +187</a> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +<hr class="med"> +<br> +<h2> +Gleams of Sunshine +</h2> +<br> +<a name="7"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +INVOCATION +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +<i> +O Thou, who art the source of joy and light,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +The great Revealer of the will Divine;</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Thyself Divine, all nature owns Thy might,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +And bows in homage at a beck of Thine,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Afford me light to guide my unskilled hand,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And by Thy Spirit all my thoughts command.</i> +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +<i> +To Thy great name I dedicate my powers,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +Yielding to Thee what Thou with blood hast bought,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Resolved that Thou shalt have my days and hours,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +And for Thy sake shall every work be wrought;</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +O deign to use me, if it be Thy will,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And my poor heart with love and gladness fill.</i> +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +<i> +If this strange impulse which I feel within</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +To write this book proceeds, O Lord, from Thee,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Let it not die, nor be defiled by sin,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +But let the work from self and sin be free,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And prove a guide to home and bliss above,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And help to fill this warring world with love.</i> +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +<i> +The Master's touch I know it sadly lacks,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +And may not please the nice artistic taste</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Of some fine mind that naught but gold attracts;</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +Some may not count these iron-filings waste;</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Like magnets, to which gold will not adhere,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +May they find ore in this to bless and cheer.</i> +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +<i> +In this plain pitcher, Lord, Thy blessing pour,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +That from it men their raging thirst may slake,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And when exhausted is the scanty store,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +Then let the earthen vessel quickly break;</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Its end is gained if Thou art glorified,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And men have learned to love the Christ who died.</i> +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +<i> +As flowers drink in the solar rays and dew,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +And in return give bloom and odors sweet,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +So would I to Thy Spirit's touch prove true,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +And render that return which seemeth meet;</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Come, dews of grace! Great Sun, illume my heart!</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +That I to some sad soul may joy impart.</i> +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="9"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +FATHER OF UNIVERSAL MAN +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Father of Universal Man, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Where'er in this wide world he roam, +</p> +<p> +Not known to thee by kith or clan, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor height, nor breadth of mental dome, +</p> +<p> +Nor babbling tongue, nor sounding creed, +</p> +<p> +But by his woe and common need. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The pushing Anglo-Saxon race, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The Celts with wealth of heart and mind, +</p> +<p> +The Esquimaux of leaden face, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The Arabs whom no chain can bind, +</p> +<p> +With hardy Boers and all the rest, +</p> +<p> +Are with one common Father blest. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And all are brothers, though at times +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Our flashing swords obscure the sun. +</p> +<p> +We ring aloud our Christmas chimes, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But louder sounds the booming gun, +</p> +<p> +And brother is by brother slain, +</p> +<p> +And kindred ties are rent in twain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Yet Thou art true whate'er betide; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Thy heart o'er human woe doth melt; +</p> +<p> +For men of every race Christ died, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And, as a zone, Thy love would belt +</p> +<p> +All human kind from pole to pole +</p> +<p> +Into one grand, harmonious whole. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Men war with men in every clime, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Commotions rock this earthly ball; +</p> +<p> +Our souls are covered o'er with grime— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Sad fruits of our Adamic fall, +</p> +<p> +But grace shall triumph in the end, +</p> +<p> +And good the evil far transcend. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Thy throne remains forever firm, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And here, amidst the strife of men, +</p> +<p> +We find with joy a heavenly germ +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which shall re-stock this world again +</p> +<p> +With fruitful plants of righteousness, +</p> +<p> +If Thou, O God, but deign to bless. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Help us that we may not deny +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Our brotherhood in hour of strife; +</p> +<p> +When swords shall from their scabbards fly, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And great the sacrifice of life, +</p> +<p> +May we in pity o'er them bend, +</p> +<p> +And help to wounded foe extend. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +If we are working out Thy plan, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Give our brave soldiers arms of steel, +</p> +<p> +And may each prove himself a man— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To God and to his nation leal, +</p> +<p> +And never falter in the fight, +</p> +<p> +But die, if need be, for the right. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +May right prevail in this dread war, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though we be humbled in the dust; +</p> +<p> +To fail our end is better far +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Then gain it, if it be unjust, +</p> +<p> +But if our aims with Thine agree— +</p> +<p> +We trust—and leave results with Thee. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The world moves on; let none essay +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To block it in its onward course, +</p> +<p> +Lest they like chaff be swept away +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As by a supernatural force; +</p> +<p> +For laggards progress does not wait— +</p> +<p> +Keep pace with time or bide your fate. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +May our brave foes rise in defeat +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To higher form of liberty; +</p> +<p> +And Freedom's flag, as seemeth meet, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Wave over all from sea to sea; +</p> +<p> +Pushed on as by the hand of fate +</p> +<p> +To nationhood, both firm and great. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="12"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +GOD'S PLAN IS BEST +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Thy plan is best, though it may not agree +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With my conceptions of my needs and rights, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And faith may fail to scale its azure heights; +</p> +<p> +Yet still I trust, and leave my cause with Thee. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +With single eye I sought to do Thy will. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I felt Thy smile and left results with Thee; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If they have failed, then that is naught to me— +</p> +<p> +I did my part, and am Thy servant still. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The hearts of men are in Thy mighty hand; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Naught is concealed from Thy all-searching sight; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Canst Thou not turn them to the left or right? +</p> +<p> +The raging ocean calms at Thy command. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The aching clay may circumscribe my sphere; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet in confinement I may labor still +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In work which harmonizes with Thy will, +</p> +<p> +And e'er rejoice to have my Master near. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Thoughts of Thy love will yet remain with me, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And in my silent hours may shape assume, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And by their measures help to lift the gloom +</p> +<p> +Of this dark world, and bring men nearer Thee. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Whate'er may come, I will not, Lord, complain; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +My plan is Thine, I have no other choice. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In work or rest 'tis meet I should rejoice; +</p> +<p> +Contentment in my lot is blessed gain. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="14"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +CANADA +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Dear Canada, our native land, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Our love for thee grows day by day; +</p> +<p> +Our fathers left the olden strand, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +O'er sea and rapids made their way, +</p> +<p> +And by their energy and skill +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They laid thy firm foundation deep, +</p> +<p> +And sowed the seed o'er vale and hill +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which we, their sons, are called to reap. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The wilderness blooms as the rose; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The old-time hardships are unknown; +</p> +<p> +And wealth in streams of commerce flows +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From sea to sea—a nation grown— +</p> +<p> +Still youthful, but with thews of steel +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To throttle foes that may arise; +</p> +<p> +Yet loving touch sore hearts to heal, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And lift us nearer to the skies. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We cannot boast as blue a sky +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As smiles o'er many an Alpine plain, +</p> +<p> +Nor are our mountain peaks as high +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As theirs, yet we have other gain; +</p> +<p> +Our hills are rich in yellow gold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Our plains are broad and fertile too; +</p> +<p> +Our lakes and streams hold wealth untold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And grander forests never grew. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our sky is bright to healthy eyes; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Pure ozone lades the air we breathe; +</p> +<p> +Our climate we have learned to prize; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor do we o'er our winters grieve; +</p> +<p> +For nature throws her ermine robe +</p> +<p class="i2"> +O'er purple hills and vales as well; +</p> +<p> +No portion of this earthly globe +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As gay as this, with sleigh and bell. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But soon the winter wears away, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And plants long sheltered now are seen, +</p> +<p> +And April showers and smiling May +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Soon clothe the earth in living green. +</p> +<p> +Monotony is thus unknown— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Each season is a glad surprise, +</p> +<p> +In which God's truth and love are shown, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And hope within us never dies. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our sons, inured to noble toil, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Grow strong in arm and broad in mind; +</p> +<p> +Some stay at home to till the soil, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Others in various callings find +</p> +<p> +Their missions—but where'er their place +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In the great drama of our day, +</p> +<p> +They, as a class, win in the race, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And the behests of Heaven obey. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The gold of monarchy have we, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Without the useless silt and dross; +</p> +<p> +And like our cousins, all are free, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet we have no election boss. +</p> +<p> +No union here of Church and State, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet Church and State full well agree +</p> +<p> +That nations never can be great +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If they refuse to bow the knee. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We make the nation's weal or woe, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As one may shape his future life. +</p> +<p> +"God's mill," 'tis said, "grinds fine, tho' slow," +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A fact lost sight of in the strife +</p> +<p> +For place and power in Church and State, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And think God cares not what we do; +</p> +<p> +But to our doubt he whispers "wait," +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And time proves Him both just and true. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +From England and from sunny France +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Our fathers came, long years ago; +</p> +<p> +On Abraham's plain with sword and lance +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They fought as foes—gave blow for blow. +</p> +<p> +The victors and the conquered now +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Recall that day with mutual pride; +</p> +<p> +To their grand destiny all bow, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And as true peers, stand side by side. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So give me Canada before +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The fairest land beneath the sky. +</p> +<p> +We stretch our arms from shore to shore +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And all are free, both low and high; +</p> +<p> +An infant nation yet, 'tis true, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But strong in muscle and in nerve, +</p> +<p> +We hold our own, give all their due, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And God's great purpose humbly serve. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="18"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +LATE AUTUMN +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The fields lie bare before me now, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The fruit is gathered in, +</p> +<p> +Not even seen a grazing cow, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor heard the blackbird's din. +</p> +<p> +The heath is brown, and ivy pale, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The woodbine berries red, +</p> +<p> +And withered leaves borne on the gale +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Sink down on peaty bed. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +At morn the fence was covered o'er +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With a pale sheet of rime; +</p> +<p> +The earth was like a marble floor, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But now is turned to grime. +</p> +<p> +For Autumn rains are falling fast, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And swells the running brook; +</p> +<p> +The Indian Summer, too, is past; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For snowfall soon we look. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="19"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +FRIENDSHIP +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +When presses hard my load of care, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And other friends from me depart, +</p> +<p> +I want a friend my grief to share, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With faithful speech and loving heart. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I want a friend of noble mind, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Who loves me more than praise or pelf, +</p> +<p> +Reproves my faults with spirit kind, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And thinks of me as well as self— +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A friend whose ear is ever closed +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Against traducers' poison breath; +</p> +<p> +And, though in me be not disclosed +</p> +<p class="i2"> +An equal love, yet loves till death— +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A friend who knows my weakness well, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And ever seeks to calm my fears; +</p> +<p> +If words should fail the storm to quell, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Will soothe my fevered heart with tears— +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A friend not moved by jealousy +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Should I outrun him in life's race; +</p> +<p> +And though I doubt, still trusts in me +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With loyal heart and cloudless face. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +True friendship knows both joy and grief, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The sweetest pleasure, keenest pain; +</p> +<p> +Its sharpest pangs are ever brief, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Mere flitting clouds before the rain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But soon the joy returns again +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With bluer sky and brighter light; +</p> +<p> +The grief proves but a narrow glen +</p> +<p class="i2"> +All full of flowers, though hid from sight. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And e'en in darkness we inhale +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The fragrant odors love emits; +</p> +<p> +Friendship like this can never fail— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +On love's strong throne its monarch sits. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +True friendship is of greater worth +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Than words, though they were solid gold. +</p> +<p> +To all the glittering gems of earth +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I it prefer, a thousandfold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +One Friend I have who knows my heart, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And loves me with a changeless love; +</p> +<p> +I love Him, too—nor death can part +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Us two, for we will love above. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A woman's love to His is faint; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +No brother cleaves as close as He; +</p> +<p> +No seraph words could ever paint +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The love this Friend now bears to me. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="22"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +LIFE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our lives seem filled with things of little worth; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A thousand petty cares arise each day +</p> +<p> +Which bring our soaring thoughts from heaven to earth, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Reminding us that we have feet of clay; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet we will not from path of duty stray +</p> +<p> +If we amidst them all cleave to the right; +</p> +<p> +Nor great nor small are actions in His sight; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Through lowly vale He shows our feet the way. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our early dreams may not be realized; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The roseate sky now proves quite commonplace; +</p> +<p> +The constellations we so highly prized +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Have vanished all—nor left the slightest trace +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of former glory in its azure face, +</p> +<p> +But high o'er all beams out the polar star +</p> +<p> +To guide us safe through rock and sandy bar; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Life is complete and its cap-stone is grace. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="23"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +TO MR. RUDYARD KIPLING<a href="#note1" name="noteref1"><sup>1 +</sup> +</a> +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +True laureate of the Anglo-Saxon race, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Whose words have won the hearts of young and old; +</p> +<p> +So free from cant, and yet replete with grace, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or prose or verse it glows like burnished gold; +</p> +<p> +Thy muse is ever loyal to the truth, +</p> +<p> +And those who know thee best forget thy youth. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Unbend thy bow and rest with us awhile; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Thy active mind requires a healthy brain; +</p> +<p> +Death's shadow has gone back upon the dial, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And thou art left a higher goal to gain; +</p> +<p> +The future will eclipse the brilliant past; +</p> +<p> +Fear not; thy ideal will be reached at last. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +To do the grandest work one must needs be +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Endowed by Nature for the master task; +</p> +<p> +Yea more, he must possess the light to see +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Those mysteries which nature seems to mask, +</p> +<p> +And this can gain but in the royal way— +</p> +<p> +'Tis dread experience leads from gloom to-day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The Master saw a struggling youth, and smiled, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Pleased with his work in main; but, knowing too +</p> +<p> +His latent power, if it could be beguiled +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From hiding-place, much greater work would do, +</p> +<p> +He took His servant's hand and led the way +</p> +<p> +Through vale of sorrow up to brighter day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +By other path this height is ne'er attained, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor books nor schools its hidden wealth unveil. +</p> +<p> +Philosophy and art have treasures gained, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But in this quest they must forever fail— +</p> +<p> +Experience only can the gift impart, +</p> +<p> +Bring needed light and regulate the heart. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +To solace those who grieve one must have felt +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In his own heart the rending pangs of pain; +</p> +<p> +The heart that suffers not will never melt +</p> +<p class="i2"> +At others' woes, though free from selfish stain; +</p> +<p> +What we have felt and seen we truly know, +</p> +<p> +And thus endowed, our tears for others flow. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So leave thy much-loved lyre awhile unstrung +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Till health again invigorate thy frame; +</p> +<p> +With brain renewed, with vigorous heart and lung +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Take up thy work once more, and greater fame— +</p> +<p> +A richer man by far than e'er before, +</p> +<p> +For thou hast treasure on the other shore. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="note1"> + +</a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup> +1 +</sup> +These lines were written directly after Mr. Kipling's recovery from severe illness. +</p> +<a name="26"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MEN BELOW DECK +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The battleship its anchor weighs, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And belches forth its thunder; +</p> +<p> +Its commodore all classes praise, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And at his victories wonder; +</p> +<p> +And well they may—for braver man +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Ne'er wielded sword or sabre; +</p> +<p> +But tell me, brother, if you can, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Who did the lowly labor. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Below the deck in engine-room, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As oilers and coal-heavers? +</p> +<p> +Amidst the smut and ghastly gloom, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Who worked the iron levers? +</p> +<p> +And thus it is in other lines; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Brave men are often hidden +</p> +<p> +"Below the deck," in shops and mines, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To higher plane unbidden. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The men on deck the praise receive, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But meagre thanks the others; +</p> +<p> +As honest men they seldom grieve, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And envy not their brothers; +</p> +<p> +A common cause they gladly serve, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though in a lowly station, +</p> +<p> +From path of duty never swerve— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Loyal to God and nation. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +For when the smoke has cleared away, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And din of battle ended, +</p> +<p> +On upper deck, in bright array, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +By angel bands attended, +</p> +<p> +The whole ship's crew will then appear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From high and lowly station, +</p> +<p> +And each the words "well done" shall hear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Midst shouts of acclamation. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="28"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"OTHERS SAVE WITH FEAR" +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Some men there are who stand so straight, +</p> +<p> +So equipoised, that others' fate +</p> +<p> +Seems to depend on their behest; +</p> +<p> +And useless all our every quest +</p> +<p> +To gain perfection or renown, +</p> +<p> +Unless we touch the flowing gown +</p> +<p> +Of these high-priests, whose shadows fall +</p> +<p> +Within themselves, if fall at all. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Others are not as straight as these, +</p> +<p> +But more like rough and gnarled trees; +</p> +<p> +But little beauty they display; +</p> +<p> +Shadows they cast across the way; +</p> +<p> +And from them men with scorning turn, +</p> +<p> +Or, if they speak, their accents burn +</p> +<p> +Like capsicum on chafed skin, +</p> +<p> +And leave a smarting wound within. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Once noble men, when turned aside +</p> +<p> +By fleshly lust or sinful pride, +</p> +<p> +Each one becomes a broken bell +</p> +<p> +On which the angry fiends of hell +</p> +<p> +Ring out their discord, harsh and loud, +</p> +<p> +As if with demon powers endowed. +</p> +<p> +Colossal once through grace they were; +</p> +<p> +Colossal still, though cleft and bare. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +On northern rocks is often seen +</p> +<p> +The impress of some southern sheen, +</p> +<p> +The brightness of a warmer bloom, +</p> +<p> +Unknown to winter's frost and gloom. +</p> +<p> +The fossil flower of epoch fair +</p> +<p> +Has left its lasting impress there. +</p> +<p> +So in some men whose hearts are cold +</p> +<p> +You find a trace of days of old. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +While we deplore the Arctic chill, +</p> +<p> +The frigid heart, the ice-bound will, +</p> +<p> +We must admire the fossil trace, +</p> +<p> +Still seen, of early days of grace. +</p> +<p> +Hiding from sight as best we can +</p> +<p> +The traces of the fallen man, +</p> +<p> +We feast our eyes upon the fair, +</p> +<p> +Though fossil, lines that linger there. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +How to restore is our concern, +</p> +<p> +As we o'er their declensions mourn. +</p> +<p> +Can such dire ruin be repaired? +</p> +<p> +Only if God's strong arm be bared. +</p> +<p> +But we must do a brother's part, +</p> +<p> +And try to thaw the frozen heart; +</p> +<p> +Not by the fire of wrath above, +</p> +<p> +But by the melting coals of love. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As bullets smooth are farther shot, +</p> +<p> +Because rough angles they have not, +</p> +<p> +So gentle ways and loving speech +</p> +<p> +Are sure the erring heart to reach, +</p> +<p> +While jagged deeds and words unkind, +</p> +<p> +Like pebbles rough, much friction find; +</p> +<p> +They fall before they reach the goal, +</p> +<p> +And seldom help the needy soul. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +To truth be loyal, but take a care +</p> +<p> +That with true zeal +<i> +tact +</i> +have a share. +</p> +<p> +The lightning when it strikes the tree +</p> +<p> +Runs with the grain, as oft you see; +</p> +<p> +Those who at angling are adepts, +</p> +<p> +Choose well their bait and guard their steps; +</p> +<p> +So if you would the sinner gain, +</p> +<p> +Bait well your hook, or mark the grain. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="31"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +TREAD SOFTLY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In the courts of truth tread softly, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though your tread be firm and bold; +</p> +<p> +Your steps may awaken echoes, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Resounding through years untold. +</p> +<p> +The trend of the age is onward, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And you should not lag behind; +</p> +<p> +If men's minds are bound with fetters, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Perchance you may some unbind. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our creed, say you, needs revising, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In line with the growth of light; +</p> +<p> +Be sure you have made real progress +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Before you assume the right, +</p> +<p> +By stroke of pen, to unsettle +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The faith of the long ago; +</p> +<p> +For many who err in judgment +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Stand fast to the truth they know. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +You bring from the mine rare jewels, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That you think the world should see; +</p> +<p> +But, perhaps, their estimation +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With your own may not agree; +</p> +<p> +They may lack discrimination, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And their worth may not discern; +</p> +<p> +So polish them at your leisure, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And give the world time to learn. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Before you dig up the old tree +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That sheltered in ages past +</p> +<p> +The earth's noblest men and women +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From the fury of the blast, +</p> +<p> +See that your sapling is rooted, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And no borer at its base, +</p> +<p> +And its boughs both strong and spreading, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To cover an erring race. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Bear down on the lever gently, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or the rock may be o'erturned! +</p> +<p> +Or, perchance, your lever shattered, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And little experience learned! +</p> +<p> +Take time to adjust your fulcrum, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Then thrust home your iron bar; +</p> +<p> +Bear down and the rock is lifted, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is lifted without a jar. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Your views are, perhaps, exotic— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Young shoots from a tropic brain, +</p> +<p> +They need to be better rooted +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To endure the wind and rain; +</p> +<p> +You may well admire the markings +</p> +<p class="i2"> +On each graceful stem and leaf, +</p> +<p> +But if taken from the hot-house, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They will surely come to grief. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Before they have wholly perished +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They may please admiring eyes, +</p> +<p> +The old be thrown on the dunghill, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To receive your floral prize; +</p> +<p> +They adorn the porch and window, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And brighten the wayside bed, +</p> +<p> +But we waken some summer morning +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To find our new treasures dead. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +'Tis better to make haste slowly, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Than to antedate your day; +</p> +<p> +The farmer waits for the sunshine, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To transmute the grass to hay. +</p> +<p> +When the fields are ripe for harvest +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Fear neither the heat or rain, +</p> +<p> +But thrust in your sharpened sickle, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And gather the golden grain. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="34"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"IT WAS MY FAULT"<a href="#note2" name="noteref2"><sup>2 +</sup> +</a> +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Those men are deemed heroes who rush on the foe +</p> +<p> +Regardless of danger, and seek not to know +</p> +<p class="i8"> +What others may do; +</p> +<p> +Stern duty demands it—why should they falter +</p> +<p> +If all they hold dear is laid on the altar, +</p> +<p class="i8"> +And conscience be true? +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The greatest of all is the man who can say +</p> +<p> +When battle is over and foe gained the day, +</p> +<p class="i8"> +"The fault was in me: +</p> +<p> +My plan miscarried through miscalculation; +</p> +<p> +On me rests the blame, and not on the nation: +</p> +<p class="i8"> +My soldiers are free." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In George Stewart White, and men of like mind, +</p> +<p> +Our nation can rest, for in them you will find +</p> +<p class="i8"> +A true manliness; +</p> +<p> +Their failures acknowledged are failures no more; +</p> +<p> +Defeat to such men only opens the door +</p> +<p class="i8"> +To future success. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="note2"> + +</a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup> +2 +</sup> +General White's words. +</p> +<a name="35"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +KEPT THE FLAG FLOATING +</p> +<p class="subtitle"> +"Thank God, we have kept the flag floating."—<i>General White. +</i> +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Some men, like French, display much dash; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They boldly rush upon the foe, +</p> +<p> +Their sword-blades like the lightning flash, +</p> +<p> +As they on helm or hauberk clash; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor fear the foeman's blow. +</p> +<p> +We praise them for their gallant deeds; +</p> +<p> +They are the men the Empire needs. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But true as they are those who stand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Within the fort beleaguered round; +</p> +<p> +Resources few at their command, +</p> +<p> +Their army but a feeble band, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet bravely hold their ground; +</p> +<p> +And o'er their blood-bespattered coats +</p> +<p> +The Union Jack in triumph floats. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Reduced their strength through lack of food, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And fever germs on vitals preyed; +</p> +<p> +Yet they o'er trouble did not brood, +</p> +<p> +By night or day of cheerful mood; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +This burden on them weighed— +</p> +<p> +To keep the flag afloat—in brief, +</p> +<p> +Till Buller came to their relief. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Brave White, accept our meed of praise! +</p> +<p class="i2"> +We crown thee equal to the best +</p> +<p> +Of heroes of the olden days, +</p> +<p> +Whose deeds inspired the poets' lays! +</p> +<p class="i2"> +We need no further quest; +</p> +<p> +But this with gratitude we note, +</p> +<p> +Thy valour kept the flag afloat! +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Valor like thine does not surprise +</p> +<p class="i2"> +When we review thy noble past; +</p> +<p> +A hero is the one who tries, +</p> +<p> +Though he may not to ideal rise— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +His plan may fail at last— +</p> +<p> +Yet is too brave to lay the blame +</p> +<p> +On others, but takes all the shame. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"The fault was mine," thy language then, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Revealing the divinest grace +</p> +<p> +Possessed by truly noble men, +</p> +<p> +And, prophecy of triumph, when +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With foe brought face to face, +</p> +<p> +The choice remains, defeat or death, +</p> +<p> +The flag will float till latest breath. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="37"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MARY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +She brought her alabaster flask +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Well-filled with precious nard; +</p> +<p> +Nor did she deem the act a task, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor look for great reward; +</p> +<p> +She only thought of His great love, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And felt her gift was small +</p> +<p> +For Him who left His home above +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To suffer death for all. +</p> +<p> +But her blest Lord more highly prized +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The loving heart that gave; +</p> +<p> +For loveless gifts are e'er despised, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet men oft seek to pave +</p> +<p> +The way that leads to glory land +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With deeds devoid of grace; +</p> +<p> +But only those who love can stand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Approved before His face. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="38"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +A WORLD REDEEMED +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +This world is but the shadow +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of the world that is to be, +</p> +<p> +A ripple on the surface +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of a deep, unfathomed sea. +</p> +<p> +God's plans are always perfect, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But long ages intervene +</p> +<p> +From the planning of the temple +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To the glow upon its sheen; +</p> +<p> +But we can be co-workers +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In accomplishing his plan; +</p> +<p> +For in God's purpose is a place +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For every son of man. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The germ may be developed +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In a more salubrious clime, +</p> +<p> +All obstacles surmounted +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In the onward march of time, +</p> +<p> +And nature's forces harnessed +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Will their destiny fulfil, +</p> +<p> +And things now deemed supernal +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Respond to human will; +</p> +<p> +For God has so adjusted +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The laws of this earthly sphere, +</p> +<p> +That by man's help his plans unfold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And order doth appear. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The words of God's own prophets +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Concerning these latter days +</p> +<p> +Of mighty transformations, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To our great Redeemer's praise; +</p> +<p> +When wastes shall glow in beauty, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And the savage beast be kind, +</p> +<p> +Though they have prior fulfilment +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In the realm of soul and mind; +</p> +<p> +Will then be more than figure, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though that we all count sublime; +</p> +<p> +The earth will wear its regal robes +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In every land and clime. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +This life is but a sample +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of the life that is to be; +</p> +<p> +There we know the perfect lesson, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Here we learn the a—b—c; +</p> +<p> +And the life beyond is fashioned +</p> +<p class="i2"> +By the thoughts and deeds of this; +</p> +<p> +Fitting it for realms of darkness, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or for never-ending bliss; +</p> +<p> +For those alone will sorrow +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Who receive His grace in vain, +</p> +<p> +But those who wrought with God will prove +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That godliness is gain. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="40"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +ALASKAN BOUNDARY SETTLEMENT +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My neighbor's farm and mine lie side by side, +</p> +<p> +And nothing should our mutual trust divide; +</p> +<p> +But they who made th' original survey +</p> +<p> +Were guided by the stars, the records say, +</p> +<p> +So that the line that marks out our domain +</p> +<p> +Is indistinct, and puzzling doubts remain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our farms are large, and portions near the line +</p> +<p> +With rocky soil and stunted spruce and pine, +</p> +<p> +With scarce a wigwam or a ranger's hearth, +</p> +<p> +We left untilled, and deemed of little worth; +</p> +<p> +The petals of this desert rose unfold, +</p> +<p> +When man discovers mines of yellow gold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"Where is the boundary line?" is now the cry. +</p> +<p> +Each stakes his claim and gives his reason why; +</p> +<p> +One sought an exit to the main highway, +</p> +<p> +The other closed the gates and gained the day +</p> +<p> +In custom duties on the shining ore, +</p> +<p> +And stores for man and beast that inland pour. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Each claimed his own, whatever that may be, +</p> +<p> +Yet, neighbors true, we feared to disagree. +</p> +<p> +We studied maps and treaties old and new, +</p> +<p> +Yet each his own line-fence declared was true; +</p> +<p> +Then, to avoid unseemly strife, we chose +</p> +<p> +To settle our dispute as friends, not foes. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My neighbor chose three men in his employ, +</p> +<p> +I three, at least, accepted them with joy; +</p> +<p> +Not chosen these to arbitrate our case, +</p> +<p> +But from material at command to trace, +</p> +<p> +In harmony with law, the primal line +</p> +<p> +For boundary fence, between his farm and mine. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I +<i> +lost my case</i>—all but one narrow lane! +</p> +<p> +All other gates are closed, but why complain? +</p> +<p> +Diminished somewhat is my large estate, +</p> +<p> +But self-respect remains—nor place for hate; +</p> +<p> +O'er our line-fence we grasp each other's hand, +</p> +<p> +And for the right, united, ever stand. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="42"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MY PRIMROSE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My sweet primrose with thy open face, +</p> +<p> +And with fringe-like leaves, without a trace +</p> +<p> +Of coarseness, either in flower or stem, +</p> +<p> +Among all my plants thou art the gem. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My lovely lilies soon disappear; +</p> +<p> +Thy bloom is constant through all the year; +</p> +<p> +In summer's heat and winter's cold, +</p> +<p> +Undimmed the light of thy floral gold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Or if thy color be pink, or blue, +</p> +<p> +Or white as snow, thou art ever true; +</p> +<p> +My room is bright with thy smiling eyes, +</p> +<p> +And thy fragrance rare I also prize. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Thou hast done thy part, my little pet— +</p> +<p> +Let me keep thy roots forever wet, +</p> +<p> +But guard with care all thy tender leaves +</p> +<p> +And growing crown, which the earth-crust heaves. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Thou dost heaven-ward tend, aspiring high, +</p> +<p> +To kiss the stars in the vaulted sky, +</p> +<p> +And they look down from the azure blue, +</p> +<p> +My sweet primrose—they are smiling, too. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="44"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +NIAGARA'S RAINBOW +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Upon the "table-rock" I stand, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And gaze into the depths profound, +</p> +<p> +In ecstacy at sights so grand, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And deafened by the sound +</p> +<p> +Of rushing waters, as they leap +</p> +<p> +Like maddened steeds, down hillside steep. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The falling spray my head bedews, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As gently as a vernal shower; +</p> +<p> +Or, as the Holy Ghost imbues +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In consecrated hour, +</p> +<p> +The soul that inly yearns for love, +</p> +<p> +And seeks it from the throne above. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But I see more than chasm deep, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Than falling spray and rushing tide. +</p> +<p> +Sublime, indeed, the awful leap; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The awe will long abide— +</p> +<p> +God's +<i> +rainbow hangs in colors bright</i>, +</p> +<p> +A thing of beauty in my sight. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our cousins on the other side +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And we too often disagree; +</p> +<p> +Puffed up, I fear, at times, with pride, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Each strong, and brave, and free; +</p> +<p> +But we forget the stormy past, +</p> +<p> +Our lands and hearts are linked at last. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The "Union-Jack" hangs o'er my head, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The "Stars and Stripes" my cousin rears, +</p> +<p> +But old-time grievances are dead +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For all the coming years; +</p> +<p> +As separate flags they still may wave, +</p> +<p> +But we are +<i> +one +</i> +the world to save. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="46"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MY SISTER NELL AND I +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We strolled down by the river side, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +My sister Nell and I, +</p> +<p> +To watch the waters onward glide, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And vessels passing by. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +On Nature's floor of lovely green, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Bedecked with flowers of gold, +</p> +<p> +The purple sassafras as sheen, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which trumpet vines enfold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We played our youthful games for hours, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And told our childish tales; +</p> +<p> +Adorned each brow with fragrant flowers, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And slept 'neath cooling gales. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +For I was then but nine years old, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And she was only seven; +</p> +<p> +Yet joys like ours can ne'er be told— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They savored much of heaven. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Close by the bank, in shady nooks, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The waxen lilies grew; +</p> +<p> +We called them fish, and with our hooks +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To shore full many drew. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +With these I made a wreath for Nell. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +She was so good and pure, +</p> +<p> +They seemed to suit her brow so well, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet could not long endure +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The heated brow and dewless air— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The river suits them best; +</p> +<p> +But graced awhile her golden hair, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As dove would silken nest. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Frail like the lilies, too, was Nell. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The fever's scorching blast +</p> +<p> +Swept by, and my fair flowerette fell, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And to the dust was cast. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But now she blooms in glory land, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Close by the tree of Life; +</p> +<p> +Better to bloom at God's right hand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Than in this world of strife. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I hope some day to meet her there, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And as in days of yore +</p> +<p> +We plucked the lilies, pure and fair, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Up there we'll gather more. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="48"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +GATHER THE WAYSIDE FLOWERS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +'Tis well to have a goal in mind, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A life-aim, high and true; +</p> +<p> +Clear as the day, and well defined, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And ever kept in view. +</p> +<p> +But God has strewn along the way +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Bright flowers of every hue. +</p> +<p> +Gather the brightest while you may, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For they were meant for you. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Heaven's joy transcends the joys of earth, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But if earth's joys be pure +</p> +<p> +They must have had a heavenly birth, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And bless while they endure; +</p> +<p> +So pluck the flower before it fades— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Drink from the purling stream; +</p> +<p> +Nor look for sorrow's darkening shades, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But for the morning gleam. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Life's burdens lose full half their weight +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If gay our spirits be; +</p> +<p> +The rest beyond we antedate, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And serve, though ever free. +</p> +<p> +Our lamentations all will end, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Exchanged for smile and song, +</p> +<p> +And men will mark our upward trend +</p> +<p class="i2"> +By joy-points all along. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The poet wrote, "no room for mirth;" +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Much less for sigh and frown. +</p> +<p> +"A vale of tears" may be this earth— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Tis so to every clown. +</p> +<p> +The desert blossoms as the rose, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And joy flows everywhere; +</p> +<p> +The star of hope in brightness glows, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +No room for dark despair. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Before we reach God's heaven above, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Enjoy His heaven below; +</p> +<p> +And by the ministries of love +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A Christlike nature show; +</p> +<p> +For he who lives a selfish life +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Must lose the joy of this; +</p> +<p> +For highest good, vain is our strife, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If man share not our bliss. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="50"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +HIDE THEIR SCARS! +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A painter, high in worldy fame, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Was sought to reproduce by art +</p> +<p> +A likeness of the man whose name +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Sent darts of anguish through the heart +</p> +<p> +Of mighty monarchs in his day; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For he by arms subdued the world. +</p> +<p> +Kingdoms and empires owned his sway +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And bowed beneath his flag unfurled. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But Alexander bore a scar, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Deep marked upon his royal brow; +</p> +<p> +To paint him thus would greatly mar +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The monarch's beauty; as a slough +</p> +<p> +Would mar the beauty of a lawn, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Where queenly feet are wont to tread; +</p> +<p> +Or like the cloud at early dawn, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which hides some glory 'neath its spread. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +To leave it out would not be true, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For Alexander bore the scar; +</p> +<p> +The painter this resolved to do, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which would be true, yet would not mar: +</p> +<p> +To paint the monarch's head reclined, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With his fore-finger on his brow; +</p> +<p> +And thus much grace with art combined, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Like ornament on vessel's prow. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The finger rested on the scar, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As if mere chance had placed it there; +</p> +<p> +And hid from sight this fruit of war, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And left a likeness true and fair. +</p> +<p> +So let us try, as best we can, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To cover o'er each ugly scar +</p> +<p> +Upon the brow of mortal man, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +So none may see it, near nor far. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="52"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"ASHAMED, BUT NOT AFRAID" +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +O God, I am ashamed to die, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But not the least afraid; +</p> +<p> +Tho' death's dark shadow draweth nigh, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Atonement has been made +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +For every member of our race, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And I on it rely, +</p> +<p> +And hope immortal blooms thro' grace; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I'm not afraid to die. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But Thou hast done great things for me, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And I have nothing done. +</p> +<p> +To set my sin-bound spirit free, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Was sacrificed Thy Son; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And every day by Thy kind hand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Rich blessings are bestowed; +</p> +<p> +Oh, how can I before Thee stand, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or rest in Thine abode +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +With self-respect, or feel at home +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With no returns to show, +</p> +<p> +My whole life like the worthless foam +</p> +<p class="i2"> +On time's incessant flow. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Oh, that in life's great harvest field, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I may some reaping do; +</p> +<p> +Early and late the sickle wield, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And prove a reaper true. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And when the summons comes from Thee, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +While I on Christ rely, +</p> +<p> +Thou wilt not be ashamed of me, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor I ashamed to die. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="54"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +DUNBAR +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Up to Dunbar our Cromwell went, +</p> +<p> +Not to invade was his intent; +</p> +<p> +But they who first King Charles sold +</p> +<p> +Now turn their backs on friends of old, +</p> +<p> +And principles they then held dear +</p> +<p> +Were sacrificed for self, I fear. +</p> +<p> +Another Stuart they receive, +</p> +<p> +Who knew too well how to deceive; +</p> +<p> +The most perfidious of his race, +</p> +<p> +Corrupt in life, and void of grace, +</p> +<p> +The menial of the Papacy; +</p> +<p> +And yet content by oath to free +</p> +<p> +Himself from Holy See's control, +</p> +<p> +And covenant to save his soul +</p> +<p> +By the Scotch Presbyterian mode, +</p> +<p> +As to the crown this paved the road. +</p> +<p> +But Cromwell brooked not this control; +</p> +<p> +He wished man free to save his soul +</p> +<p> +As conscience may to him dictate, +</p> +<p> +Without subservience to the State. +</p> +<p> +He saw also thro' the disguise +</p> +<p> +Of one well versed in fraud and lies, +</p> +<p> +And saw how England's liberties +</p> +<p> +Were threatened by this scheme of his. +</p> +<p> +So up to Dunbar Cromwell went; +</p> +<p> +To break this compact his intent, +</p> +<p> +Conserve the rights of Britons true +</p> +<p> +To worship God in desk and pew +</p> +<p> +As conscience may to them dictate, +</p> +<p> +Without control of king, or state, +</p> +<p> +Or Papal "bull," or legate's rod— +</p> +<p> +Only accountable to God. +</p> +<p> +On Sunday night he reached Dunbar. +</p> +<p> +From darkened sky gleamed not a star; +</p> +<p> +The way he travelled o'er was drear, +</p> +<p> +Made doubly so by Scotchmen's fear. +</p> +<p> +At his approach like sheep they fled, +</p> +<p> +Made frantic by an awful dread +</p> +<p> +Of red-hot irons, spear, and sword, +</p> +<p> +Of breasts thrust thro', and bodies gored, +</p> +<p> +Which they were told would be their lot +</p> +<p> +When Cromwell came. So from each cot +</p> +<p> +They bore away what pleased them best, +</p> +<p> +And to the flames consigned the rest. +</p> +<p> +But now Dunbar is reached; yet he +</p> +<p> +Finds himself in extremity; +</p> +<p> +Midst swamps and bogs unfit to tent, +</p> +<p> +By Lammermoor from hillside rent, +</p> +<p> +Leslie in front defiant stands +</p> +<p> +A noble army he commands +</p> +<p> +Of thousands two score seven, or more, +</p> +<p> +Ready on Cromwell shot to pour. +</p> +<p> +Behind the sea cut off retreat; +</p> +<p> +With such great odds can he compete? +</p> +<p> +The mountain sheep may safely tread +</p> +<p> +The Lammermoor, but men may dread +</p> +<p> +To cross this heath at any time; +</p> +<p> +Much more now, midst the rain and slime, +</p> +<p> +Will Cromwell with the smaller score +</p> +<p> +Dare to cross o'er to Dunbar shore? +</p> +<p> +Tho' shipped were half his guns and men +</p> +<p> +The foe falls ere he turn again. +</p> +<p> +With foresight keen, like one inspired, +</p> +<p> +He saw the end ere Leslie fired. +</p> +<p> +"<span class="sc">The Lord</span>," said he, as rapt he stands, +</p> +<p> +"<span class="sc">Hath given them into our hands</span>!" +</p> +<p> +'Tis the ninth month and second day, +</p> +<p> +A wild, wet night, historians say. +</p> +<p> +Quit you like men, and bravely stand; +</p> +<p> +Death's wrestle now is close at hand; +</p> +<p> +Heed not the hoarse sea's doleful moan, +</p> +<p> +As on the cliffs its waves are thrown. +</p> +<p> +Think not of life nor kindred dear— +</p> +<p> +Who goes to war should nothing fear +</p> +<p> +But God, whose eye-lids never sleep— +</p> +<p> +His Israel He will safely keep. +</p> +<p> +Oh, pray! but keep your powder dry— +</p> +<p> +Your part do, then on God rely. +</p> +<p> +Stand to your arms the whole night thro' +</p> +<p> +Or lie awake with arms in view. +</p> +<p> +And you, ye Scots, your lights blow out, +</p> +<p> +But stay not in your strong redoubt. +</p> +<p> +'Midst shocks of corn your shelter seek, +</p> +<p> +And rest in sleep; your foe is weak, +</p> +<p> +Yet ere another night comes 'round +</p> +<p> +In deeper slumber shall be found +</p> +<p> +Full many of your stalwart host, +</p> +<p> +And stilled for aye their every boast. +</p> +<p> +In Cromwell's camp all night was heard +</p> +<p> +The voice of prayer in tones which stirred +</p> +<p> +The tender hearts of "Ironside" men, +</p> +<p> +As never can be told by pen. +</p> +<p> +Ere shone the first faint streak of morn, +</p> +<p> +The Scots beneath the shocks of corn, +</p> +<p> +Stretched out full length in quiet sleep, +</p> +<p> +Hear a loud blast, and upward leap +</p> +<p> +To seize their arms and face the foe. +</p> +<p> +Too late the warning! or, too slow +</p> +<p> +Their movements when the trump was heard, +</p> +<p> +Yet rang along the lines the word +</p> +<p> +Of battle-cry by Leslie sent, +</p> +<p> +"<i>The Covenant! The Covenant!</i>" +</p> +<p> +While high and strong was Cromwell's boast, +</p> +<p> +"<i>The Lord of Hosts! The Lord of Hosts!</i>" +</p> +<p> +With master skill he struck the blow, +</p> +<p> +And when shone out the crimson glow +</p> +<p> +Of morning sun upon the sea, +</p> +<p> +Brave Leslie's men began to flee. +</p> +<p> +"<i>They run! Oh, I protest they run!</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Let God arise! Let God arise!</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And scattered be His enemies!</i>" +</p> +<p> +Loud Cromwell cried. +<i> +The work was done.</i> +</p> +<p> +Then rose from England's host a cry +</p> +<p> +Which rent the very heavens on high. +</p> +<p> +Now halt they on the battle field +</p> +<p> +And to the Lord their homage yield— +</p> +<p> +And sing this song with hearts devout: +</p> +<p> +"<i>O praise the Lord, ye nations all!</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Laud Him all peoples on this ball!</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +His mercy toward us e'er is great;</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +His truth and grace for sinners wait,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +Let all the people shout!</i>" +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="59"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MARSTON MOOR +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The armies met on Marston Moor, +</p> +<p> +'Midst lightning's flash and thunder's roar; +</p> +<p> +As murky clouds sweep o'er the sky, +</p> +<p> +God's cannonade with man's will vie. +</p> +<p> +The Royalists in phalanx strong, +</p> +<p> +By fiery Rupert led along, +</p> +<p> +From Bolton's cruel massacre +</p> +<p> +Towards York, in hope to keep it free +</p> +<p> +From the Roundheads at any cost. +</p> +<p> +"If York be lost, my crown is lost"— +</p> +<p> +Wrote Charles to this trusted chief, +</p> +<p> +And he must bring it prompt relief. +</p> +<p> +The foe's true strength he did not know, +</p> +<p> +But dazzled much by victory's glow +</p> +<p> +He hoped with ease to overthrow +</p> +<p class="i6"> +The untrained volunteers; +</p> +<p> +Nor did he for brave Cromwell care, +</p> +<p> +Tho' he had asked "is Cromwell there?" +</p> +<p class="i6"> +Would not his grenadiers +</p> +<p> +Scatter those yeomen to their fields, +</p> +<p> +To hold their ploughs instead of shields? +</p> +<p> +Thus confident of great success +</p> +<p> +He asked his chaplain now to bless +</p> +<p> +From God's own word their going out, +</p> +<p> +And seemed to hear the victor's shout, +</p> +<p> +While from the ranks of Roundheads rose +</p> +<p> +Triumphant hymns, ere came the blows. +</p> +<p> +Now Rupert madly dashes out, +</p> +<p> +"<i>God and the King!</i>" his battle shout; +</p> +<p> +Charges the parliamentary ranks +</p> +<p> +In centre, heedless of the flanks, +</p> +<p> +Defeats Lord Fairfax and Leven, +</p> +<p> +Scatters like leaves their untrained men. +</p> +<p> +Remorselessly he hewed them down, +</p> +<p> +And chased their leaders far from town. +</p> +<p> +But Cromwell kept his men restrained +</p> +<p> +Till Rupert thought the victory gained. +</p> +<p> +His eye was all ablaze with fire, +</p> +<p> +And burned his soul with righteous ire; +</p> +<p> +Then sharp and passionate came the cry, +</p> +<p> +"<i>Charge, in the name of the Most High!</i>" +</p> +<p> +His features now most clearly show +</p> +<p> +A strange, enthusiastic glow. +</p> +<p> +With zeal he wraps himself about, +</p> +<p> +And fires men's hearts with glance and shout. +</p> +<p> +"For God and king," is Rupert's cry. +</p> +<p> +"<i>For truth and peace we dare to die!</i>" +</p> +<p> +Shouts Cromwell, all the lines along, +</p> +<p> +Which holds as with a mighty thong +</p> +<p> +Th' immortal hosts of Puritans, +</p> +<p> +While on them fall the Royal bans. +</p> +<p> +As Roundheads, Rupert them derides; +</p> +<p> +Not Roundheads now, but +<i> +Ironsides</i>. +</p> +<p> +The heavens were black, the storm still raged, +</p> +<p> +As tho' with earth a war it waged, +</p> +<p> +But raged a fiercer war just then, +</p> +<p> +Not forces blind, but men with men; +</p> +<p> +For two score thousand men were there; +</p> +<p> +And booming cannon rent the air. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i12"> +* * * +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The Cavaliers were scattered wide, +</p> +<p> +Brought to the dust their haughty pride; +</p> +<p> +Across the beanfield Rupert fled, +</p> +<p> +His standard gone, his garments red; +</p> +<p> +His men by many hundreds turned +</p> +<p> +To ask for mercy, nor were spurned; +</p> +<p> +While he left all and to York sped, +</p> +<p> +Heedless of stores, or Royal dead. +</p> +<p> +To Cromwell's swords as stubble they, +</p> +<p> +And +<i> +Truth and Peace +</i> +had gained the day. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="62"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +OIL THE CRICKET +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"Mamma, what noises do I hear? +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They keep me wide awake." +</p> +<p> +"The chirping crickets, little dear; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +What funny noise they make!" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"Yes, ma, but touch their tongues with oil, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To take the squeak away; +</p> +<p> +For soon it will their voices spoil, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To squeak thus night and day." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Well done, my little girl of three; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Twould tune our speaking gear +</p> +<p> +To utter sweeter melody +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For your attentive ear, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +If it were oiled a little, too, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For harsh too oft its tones; +</p> +<p> +Though formed to thrill with pleasure true, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It gives forth shrieks and groans, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Which fall discordant on the ear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And budding pleasures spoil, +</p> +<p> +And speaking gear, likewise I fear; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +So bring along the oil. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="63"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE REAL +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The leaf is faded, and decayed the flower, +</p> +<p> +The birds have ceased to sing in wayside bower, +</p> +<p> +The babbling brook is silenced by the cold, +</p> +<p> +And hill and vale the frost and snow enfold. +</p> +<p> +The life we see seems hasting to the tomb +</p> +<p> +Nor sun, nor star, relieves the dismal gloom; +</p> +<p> +The good man suffers with the base and vile, +</p> +<p> +And honesty and truth give place to guile. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i12"> +* * * +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Things are not always as they seem to be; +</p> +<p> +The outer surface only man may see. +</p> +<p> +The summer sleeps beneath the quilt of snow, +</p> +<p> +Behind the clouds is hid the solar glow, +</p> +<p> +The babbling brook will burst its icy bands, +</p> +<p> +And birds will sing, and trees will clap their hands. +</p> +<p> +The fallen leaf has left a bud behind, +</p> +<p> +And flowers will bloom of brightest hue and kind; +</p> +<p> +For when we look beneath the outward crust +</p> +<p> +With vision clear, and free from worldly lust, +</p> +<p> +We will behold a brighter world than this, +</p> +<p> +With less of curse and much of noble bliss; +</p> +<p> +For God's kind hand in all our conflicts here +</p> +<p> +Is clearly seen and doubts must disappear; +</p> +<p> +The end He has in view is most benign; +</p> +<p> +The fire will dross consume and gold refine. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="65"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +VICTORY GAINED AND LIFE LOST +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As fought the Paladins of old, +</p> +<p> +With gleaming swords and spirit bold, +</p> +<p> +To thwart the schemes of base Lothar, +</p> +<p> +Give France to Karl in holy war, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +So would we battle for the right, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' we may perish in the fight. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our trusty blade, not made of steel, +</p> +<p> +While wounding deep, doth also heal; +</p> +<p> +With this, and clad in Christian mail, +</p> +<p> +The hosts of sin we would assail, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To gain the world for Christ, tho' we +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Should fall while shouting victory! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="66"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE BAPTISM OF CLOVIS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Five hundred years have nearly passed away +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Since that glad morn, when o'er fair Bethl'hem's plain +</p> +<p> +A light resplendent as the glow of day, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Shone down from heaven, and holy angels deign +</p> +<p> +To sing the sweetest song e'er heard by mortal ear, +</p> +<p> +Which fills sad hearts with joy and drives away their fear. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Clovis, of the brave Franks, the king, and sheen, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Heard from Aurelian of a maid to wed, +</p> +<p> +Matchless in feature, and of graceful mein— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"Zenobia, of the Alps," Aurelian said, +</p> +<p> +"The daughter of Chilperic, the Burgundian king, +</p> +<p> +Clotilda is her name; fair maids her praises sing. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"She dwells among the Alps, in forest glade, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And by the shore of its most famous lake; +</p> +<p> +But fairer than that land is this fair maid; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And brighter than its peaks at morn's awake; +</p> +<p> +A Christian girl is she, whose heart God has renewed, +</p> +<p> +And her fine, comely mind with grace and truth embued." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then Clovis, by Aurelian, sent a ring +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To this fair damsel, whom he hoped to wed; +</p> +<p> +She took the ring; and soon fair songsters sing +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The marriage hymn, as he to altar led +</p> +<p> +This lovely Christian maid. They plight their nuptial vows; +</p> +<p> +And the old priest invoked a blessing on their brows. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then on her head a coronet was placed, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And she sat down by Clovis on his throne; +</p> +<p> +And never was a throne so highly graced, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor ever monarch felt less sad and lone; +</p> +<p> +He found in her a bride, and counsellor, as well, +</p> +<p> +And happy are the men who in her palace dwell. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In tones of eloquence and words of power, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The wond'rous story of the cross she told; +</p> +<p> +Christ's lowly birth, pure life, and of the hour +</p> +<p class="i2"> +When He, to bring us to the heavenly fold, +</p> +<p> +Bore on the cross our sins, and opened mercy's door, +</p> +<p> +Then from the dead arose to reign for evermore. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Soon on Tolbiac's bloody field the king +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Led on his troops against a mighty foe; +</p> +<p> +A foe too strong; for soon, though no weakling, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Clovis retreats—his men returned no blow; +</p> +<p> +But fled as timid sheep before a beast of prey; +</p> +<p> +The conquering Alemanni will surely win the day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"O king! cry on Clotilda's Christ for aid!" +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Shouted Aurelian, as the monarch fled; +</p> +<p> +Then, on his helmet, Clovis his hand laid, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And lifting it, these words the monarch said: +</p> +<p> +"My gods have failed to help: O Christ, Clotilda's God, +</p> +<p> +Grant me Thy mighty aid, and I will kiss Thy rod." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +On the French pennons triumph perches now; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The foe is routed by Clotilda's God; +</p> +<p> +And Clovis wished to have upon his brow +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The symbol of her faith; for 'neath the rod +</p> +<p> +Of the eternal King he bows his regal will, +</p> +<p> +And waits, with heart devout, Christ's purpose to fulfil. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +On Rheims now dawns a cloudless Christmas morn; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And flags of silk and satin grace each tower; +</p> +<p> +This is the day Clotilda's Christ was born, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And to His cause a great triumphal hour, +</p> +<p> +For see, on carpet stretched from church to palace door, +</p> +<p> +A grand procession march, of two-score priests or more! +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Remigius had led the way, and then, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Assisted by his priests, on monarch's brow, +</p> +<p> +And on the brows of full six thousand men, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As they before the holy altar bow; +</p> +<p> +The water from the font he sprinkled down like rain, +</p> +<p> +Thankful that his blest Lord so many hearts should gain. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="70"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE WATER LILY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +This lovely lily, so pure and white, +</p> +<p> +Seems covered o'er with celestial light; +</p> +<p> +As if it grew on the "Tree of Life," +</p> +<p> +And not down here, in this world of strife; +</p> +<p> +Too pure for earth it now seems to be; +</p> +<p> +My queenly wife, it was meant for thee. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Its wax-like petals with graceful bend, +</p> +<p> +Drink in the sunbeams as they descend; +</p> +<p> +And lade with fragrance the heated air +</p> +<p> +As it floats around us everywhere; +</p> +<p> +And the world grows better by its advent, +</p> +<p> +This lovely lily, so kindly sent. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +It rested once on its crystal bed; +</p> +<p> +Neither wind, nor wave, occasioned dread; +</p> +<p> +Admired by all as they passed it by, +</p> +<p> +Though the contrast oft produced a sigh; +</p> +<p> +In purer soil than affords this earth +</p> +<p> +This lovely lily must have had its birth. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Dive down in search, where the root is found; +</p> +<p> +In vain you look for the purer ground; +</p> +<p> +The root is fixed in the foulest mud; +</p> +<p> +And from it grows this pure lily bud; +</p> +<p> +While speckled frogs, and the slimy eels, +</p> +<p> +Around its roots find their daily meals. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As lilies fair from the foul mud grow, +</p> +<p> +So oft it is with good men below; +</p> +<p> +In daily life they absorb the pure, +</p> +<p> +And the adverse elements endure; +</p> +<p> +And rise, through grace, to a higher sphere, +</p> +<p> +Their hearts in heaven, and their root down here. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Though foul the world where they have their growth, +</p> +<p> +Unfit the soil, and the climate both, +</p> +<p> +The blood of Christ does their stains remove; +</p> +<p> +His power to keep they all daily prove; +</p> +<p> +As lilies pure are these plants of grace, +</p> +<p> +Though growing now in so foul a place. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="72"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"HE SHALL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR" +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Every tear that dims the eye, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or bedews the careworn cheek, +</p> +<p> +Will our God, who reigns on high, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With a hand so kind and meek, +</p> +<p> +Wipe away, nor leave a trace +</p> +<p> +Of its stain on eye or face. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He alone life's ills can right. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Each His tender pity needs; +</p> +<p> +None are hidden from His sight; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"<i>Every tear</i>," the promise reads— +</p> +<p> +Every tear shall cease to flow, +</p> +<p> +Cease, likewise, the cause of woe. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +O may I in Him confide +</p> +<p class="i2"> +While I tread this vale of tears! +</p> +<p> +Walking closely by His side +</p> +<p class="i2"> +He will dissipate my fears, +</p> +<p> +And when ends the weary strife, +</p> +<p> +May I share the tearless life! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="73"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE TAJ OF AGRA +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The Shah Jehan sat with his much-loved wife, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The Empress Mahal, one hot summer day, +</p> +<p> +In a cool arbor far from courtly strife, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Close by the Jumna, winding on its way. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In silence played they long their game of chess, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But Jehan's eyes rose oft to Mahal's brow, +</p> +<p> +His ardent love he could not well repress, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor tried—she was his own rich jewel now. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He stayed the game to breathe some words of love +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And press her lips with lips that knew no guile, +</p> +<p> +And felt the thrill, and peace like white-winged dove +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Flew down, and she repaid with loving smile. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then said, "What would you do if I should die?" +</p> +<p class="i2"> +He paused a moment, some bright thought to woo, +</p> +<p> +And then, in solemn tone, made this reply: +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"This thing, by Allah's help, I'll surely do: +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"I'll build upon the spot where we now sit +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The grandest tomb a woman ever had; +</p> +<p> +All sombre tints I deem would be unfit; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For never have such tints thy bosom clad. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"Of pure white marble shall its walls be built, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Adorned with gold, and earth's most costly gems; +</p> +<p> +Each minaret shall glow like jewelled hilt, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Sarcophagus surpass kings' diadems. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"Then to the world it shall the truth proclaim +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That Moomtaza surpassed all woman kind, +</p> +<p> +And I esteemed her more than gold or fame: +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Thus cycles vast will find our names combined." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The summer breeze now sighed among the flowers +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As they play on with solemn thoughts; and sweet +</p> +<p> +As running brook passed by the pleasant hours, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And likewise passed the burning summer heat. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And like the fading day, the Empress, too, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For scarce a year had passed ere set her sun, +</p> +<p> +But Shah Jehan, to promise ever true, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Thought of the tomb his loving wife had won. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +No common architect would he engage; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From far and near he sought with eager heart. +</p> +<p> +At last there came one Issa, gifted sage, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Whose plan pleased the great shah in whole and part. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +On the same spot where they that day had played +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The game of chess, and he the promise gave, +</p> +<p> +The massive stone foundation strong was laid, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +On which would rest a palace o'er her grave. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then Issa disappeared, but where, none knew; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Cast in the Jumna stream, by foes, some thought. +</p> +<p> +They dragged the stream, nor came the slightest clue, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And on his fate the oracles were dumb. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The years rolled by, yet Jehan rested not, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' hope, so long delayed, engendered gloom, +</p> +<p> +Content to live himself in any cot; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But no inferior hand must touch her tomb. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Seven years had gone, when Issa came again, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And offered this excuse for his delay, +</p> +<p> +"The soil is spongy all along this glen— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To have it settle I have stayed away. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"I now can build on base that will not sink, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though pierced the clouds which bend so kindly down, +</p> +<p> +'Twere fit this long delay, dost thou not think? +</p> +<p class="i2"> +So chide me not nor on thy servant frown." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then on this base as firm as granite rock, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +He built its walls as fair as falling snow, +</p> +<p> +And built them well, nor storm, nor earthquake shock +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Has moved, tho' built two hundred years ago. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +For ten long years wrought twenty thousand men, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +While many thousand carts the marble drew; +</p> +<p> +And proud Jehan told o'er his love again; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To love so Jacob-like the years seemed few. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +From every part of his domain they brought +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Rare gems and precious stones of every hue; +</p> +<p> +Skilled hands, in form of birds and flowers inwrought +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In snow-white walls, these gems the building through, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The name of God, one hundred times save one, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +On the sarcophagus, by cunning hand, +</p> +<p> +Then lined with gold ere they pronounced it done; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But then the grandest tomb in any land. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +By Titans built, it seems, as mountain high +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of pure white marble, based on pink sandstone; +</p> +<p> +In length it is a thousand feet well nigh, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Its width three hundred feet by measure shown. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +It seems a temple of the living +<i> +One</i>, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though tomb to hide the dust of Jehan's queen. +</p> +<p> +It serves each purpose well—her course was run, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Returned to God, love must the dust ensheen. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +To many hearts it speaks of God and rest, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And lifts our thoughts above the things of earth; +</p> +<p> +It teaches us that love will give its best, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And then regard its gifts of little worth. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="78"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +ENGLAND'S BRAVE SONS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The yeoman lays aside his soil-stained smock, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And from his herd selects a trusty steed, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And sallies forth to help in hour of need; +</p> +<p class="i8"> +Nor dreads the battle's shock. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The artisan from mine, or shop, or store, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Responds at duty's call without delay, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor stops to ask, "What will my nation pay?" +</p> +<p class="i8"> +It calls—what needs he more? +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The man of law—the herald of the cross— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The painter, skilled—he of the healing art— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The man of trade—come each with loyal heart, +</p> +<p class="i8"> +Nor calculates his loss. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But brave as these are those of noble birth; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Genteel in manner, but with athlete frames, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They do full honor to their ancient names, +</p> +<p class="i8"> +And prove by deeds their worth. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Palatial homes have they and wealth untold; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor need to labor, and no cause for fret, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But deeds of noble sires they ne'er forget; +</p> +<p class="i8"> +Deem honor more than gold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Brave lads are these on whom we may rely. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They go uncalled, content the gaps to fill, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And in their places fall, if God so will, +</p> +<p class="i8"> +For they fear not to die. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The whole Empire is loyal to the core. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From far-off East, brave Indians seek the fray, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And on French soil have clearly shown that they +</p> +<p class="i8"> +Were true to flag they bore. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Their old-time leader greets his men once more, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Bestows his parting blessing ere his death, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And praised their valor with his final breath, +</p> +<p class="i8"> +Then crossed to +<i> +other +</i> +shore. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our own brave youth by thousands answer call, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And in our common cause enroll their names; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With cultured minds and well-developed frames +</p> +<p class="i8"> +They stand like granite wall. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +For +<i> +truth +</i> +and +<i> +brotherhood +</i> +all face the foe; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Themselves they cannot save, but others may. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But, live or die, they hope to win the day. +</p> +<p class="i8"> +To sacrifice they go! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="80"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +QUEEN VICTORIA +</p> +<p class="subtitle"> +A Prize Birthday Poem, 1885. +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We do not sing of vast domain— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Empires as vast as ours are seen, +</p> +<p> +And o'er their millions despots reign; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +We sing the virtues of our Queen. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We think of her when but a maid +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The message came, "<i>the King is dead!</i>" +</p> +<p> +And at her feet a crown was laid; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In deep distress of mind, she said: +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"<i>In my behalf I ask your prayers.</i>" +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Then falling on her knees to pray, +</p> +<p> +She told the Lord her fears and cares, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And sought from Him strength for her day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He seemed to say, "<i>Child, do not fear;</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +I will uphold thee with my hand,</i> +</p> +<p> +<i> +And I will make thy pathway clear,</i> +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +Thy throne establish in the land.</i>" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +'Twas thus began Victoria's reign, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And God has made her throne secure; +</p> +<p> +Her enemies will plot in vain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For it is destined to endure. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But while she sits on regal throne, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And acts full well a regal part, +</p> +<p> +She reigns not on the throne alone, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +She reigns to-day in England's heart. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Her queenly heart with pity throbs +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For every suffering subject's woes; +</p> +<p> +In lowly cot, 'midst groans and sobs, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +She like a ray of sunshine goes. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As sweet perfume by outward gale +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is carried far o'er sea and land, +</p> +<p> +So queenly virtues never fail +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To touch true hearts on every strand. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In every land, her name is blest; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +She is beloved by old and young; +</p> +<p> +From pole to pole, from east to west, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The song, "God save the Queen," is sung. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Through sorrows deep her path has led, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And tender ties have sundered been; +</p> +<p> +Bright hopes were buried with her dead, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And love has kept their memory green. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +By grief secluded from the world, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Her path through lonely years she trod, +</p> +<p> +And oft her life has been imperilled; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But she has leaned upon her God. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And as she wept a nation's tears +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In heartfelt sympathy were shed; +</p> +<p> +Forgetting their own griefs and biers, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They wept beside the royal dead. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +With grateful hearts her natal day +</p> +<p class="i2"> +We loyal Britons hail again, +</p> +<p> +And join with millions as they pray +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"<i>God bless our Queen! Long may she reign!</i>" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And when at last life's glories fade, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And robes of state are laid aside, +</p> +<p> +When nature's debt to dust is paid +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And charms no more earth's pomp and pride, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +May angel bands her spirit bear +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Up to the palace of her King, +</p> +<p> +Where she a fadeless crown shall wear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And the new song with rapture sing. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="83"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +SILVER TONES +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A stately church by pious hands erected long ago, +</p> +<p> +Was found to lack a vesper bell, by which the poor might know +</p> +<p> +The hour of prayer, the hour of mass, and who had lately died, +</p> +<p> +The hour when gent and bonny lass, so timid at his side, +</p> +<p> +Would stand before the surpliced priest, and twain would pledge their troth, +</p> +<p> +The hour in which the priest would vent on heretic his wrath. +</p> +<p> +The faithful then were called upon to bring from home and mine +</p> +<p> +The metal for the holy bell, which must be strong and fine. +</p> +<p> +In smelting pot of massive size they placed the needed ore; +</p> +<p> +A molten mass it soon became, but ere in mould they pour, +</p> +<p> +And thus provide a bell for God to grace His temple fair, +</p> +<p> +In crowds the people came, to see the metal glowing there. +</p> +<p> +Then as they passed, with hearts devout, each took a silver coin +</p> +<p> +And dropped it in the glowing mass—no priest did this enjoin. +</p> +<p> +They wished to show their grateful love to Him who bore their sin; +</p> +<p> +A simple form which love took on, not done God's grace to win. +</p> +<p> +Nor did they hope to win applause from priest and saintly friar; +</p> +<p> +If God were pleased they asked no more, nor more did they desire; +</p> +<p> +Nor did they deem their silver lost, though little dreamed they then +</p> +<p> +The grand result of their small gifts, which now is known to men. +</p> +<p> +Their coins were for a moment seen, like flakes of snow on sward, +</p> +<p> +And then they melted out of sight, yet, seen by their blest Lord, +</p> +<p> +They mingled with the glowing mass, and when in high church tower +</p> +<p> +The bell was hung and daily rung, all people felt its power. +</p> +<p> +Its booming tones were soft and sweet, and echoed o'er their hills +</p> +<p> +In a grand symphony of praise, subduing all their wills, +</p> +<p> +And calling forth from old and young a burst of rapturous praise. +</p> +<p> +Their gifts, though small, were not despised; God turned them into lays. +</p> +<p> +This world is one great smelting pot in which life's ore is cast, +</p> +<p> +And from it God will some day bring a bell, destined to last +</p> +<p> +And ring aloud in thunder tones wherever man is found. +</p> +<p> +Oh, may we, by kind words and deeds, give it a silver sound! +</p> +<p> +Each word though short, each deed though small, if for the Master's sake +</p> +<p> +Are said and done, like silver coin, our blessed Lord will take, +</p> +<p> +And skillfully will blend them with the coarser ore of earth, +</p> +<p> +And grander music none have heard e'er since time had its birth. +</p> +<p> +Then from this bell of silver tone will sound o'er hill and vale: +</p> +<p> +"The work men do in Jesus' name is never known to fail." +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="86"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +GOD'S ORDER +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Every flower that decks the way, +</p> +<p> +Whether it be dun or gay, +</p> +<p> +Fills a place in God's great plan, +</p> +<p> +Serving Him, while pleasing man. +</p> +<p> +Every star that gilds the night +</p> +<p> +With its beams of silver light +</p> +<p> +Has its mission to fulfil, +</p> +<p> +As assigned it by God's will. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Feathered songsters all declare +</p> +<p> +As they cleave the ambient air, +</p> +<p> +"He who made us made our lays, +</p> +<p> +Giving each a note of praise; +</p> +<p> +Each one's note, unique and sweet, +</p> +<p> +Helps to make the song complete; +</p> +<p> +Various tones, yet all agree, +</p> +<p> +Forming one grand symphony." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So, also, does God's own hand +</p> +<p> +Fix in place each grain of sand, +</p> +<p> +Tiny though that grain may be +</p> +<p> +Hangs on it the destiny +</p> +<p> +Of a world, yea, systems whole, +</p> +<p> +As they in their orbits roll; +</p> +<p> +Should it from its globe remove, +</p> +<p> +Worlds would clash and chaos prove. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +When we reach the world of mind +</p> +<p> +Law and order still we find; +</p> +<p> +In God's purpose is a plan +</p> +<p> +For the life of every man. +</p> +<p> +Free, he may his own course choose, +</p> +<p> +Help divine through pride refuse, +</p> +<p> +But disorder will ensue— +</p> +<p> +Life a wreck! Yet God is true. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="88"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +INFLUENCE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In gentle showers the rain descends, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And softly falls the dew. +</p> +<p> +The dewdrop with the raindrop blends; +</p> +<p> +The tiny stream they form then wends +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Its way the grasses through. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And kindred streams with it combine +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And form a rivulet; +</p> +<p> +Then on it runs like trailing vine, +</p> +<p> +Lays bare the roots of oak and pine, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And other brooks are met. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The swelling stream meanders on, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Gives power to busy mills, +</p> +<p> +And bears huge ships its breast upon, +</p> +<p> +Gives drink to kine and lovely fawn, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And drinks up other rills. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A lady's foot had changed its course, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And drank it dry a lamb, +</p> +<p> +Had they but sought it at its source; +</p> +<p> +But now it rushes on with force +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And leaps the mighty dam. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Thus is it with our influence here; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Each look, each word, each deed, +</p> +<p> +Is like the rain, or dewdrop clear— +</p> +<p> +Though tiny things they now appear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They to the ocean lead. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As grains of sand make up the hill +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which towers above the plain, +</p> +<p> +And drops combine to swell the rill +</p> +<p> +Which helps the mighty sea to fill, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +So does our influence gain. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="90"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +UNDECAYING FRUIT +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Doomed to decay are all things here; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Whate'er their form or worth, +</p> +<p> +Color and beauty disappear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or turn to mother earth. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The luscious fruits which please the taste +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And please the eye as well, +</p> +<p> +Sometimes reduced to rot and waste, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Ere from the tree they fell— +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Some gathered with a gentle hand, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And stored away with care, +</p> +<p> +To serve a place in banquet grand, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Some favorite peach or pear, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Is found diseased in skin and core, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And loathsome to the sight, +</p> +<p> +When 'tis too late to gather more, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And comes the festal night. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So is it with all earthly joy— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It pleases for a time, +</p> +<p> +As toy may please a growing boy, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though costing but a dime; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But soon he tires and asks for more, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Appropriate to his age; +</p> +<p> +So, though a man may higher soar +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And greater aims engage +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +His active mind, he, like the child, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Soon looks for something new. +</p> +<p> +Too oft are men by this beguiled +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And fail to find the true. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But he who goes to Christ for rest, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Finds fruit that ne'er decays. +</p> +<p> +He sups with Christ as welcome guest, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And glory crowns his days. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="92"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE HEROES OF OUR DAY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Heroic deeds in every age +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Command the world's esteem; +</p> +<p> +Each finds a place in history's page, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Midst gloom a glory beam. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And we full oft revert to this, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To show man's true descent +</p> +<p> +From Him who is the source of bliss, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' now by passions rent. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But we need not consult the past; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The present bears this fruit: +</p> +<p> +The hero race will ever last; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The tree is sound at root. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And never has the world excelled +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The present in this line; +</p> +<p> +Our loving Lord has not withheld +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From us this trait divine. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And we should not from them withhold +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The praise we feel is due +</p> +<p> +For deeds of love, and actions bold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For spirit kind and true. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Their worth we now should recognize, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Not chant it o'er their graves; +</p> +<p> +The hero of the past we prize, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +No less the man who braves +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The dangers of the present hour, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The sneers which now are rife, +</p> +<p> +Not for the sake of earthly power, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor yet to save his life. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But for the good of fellow man, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And for his Master's sake, +</p> +<p> +He shuns no cross, and fears no ban; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Tis these a hero make. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="94"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE BIG BEAR CREEK +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The waters of the Big Bear creek +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Glide slowly on their way; +</p> +<p> +The western lakes they surely seek, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which they will reach some day; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But sluggishly they seek their end— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They scarcely seem to move; +</p> +<p> +Yet through the fields and round each bend +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Their progress daily prove. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +By debris borne upon their breast, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And strewn along each shore, +</p> +<p> +They slowly move, but never rest, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet turbid evermore. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But when they reach the Johnson bend +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And the Sni Chartna meet, +</p> +<p> +The turbid and the sky-blue blend— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The union is complete. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And soon is lost all trace of mud; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of azure tint the whole; +</p> +<p> +With heaven's own hue the rolling flood +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Has gained the long-sought goal. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So is it with the soul renewed +</p> +<p class="i2"> +While on its heaven-bound way, +</p> +<p> +With grace divine it is embued, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet shows the trace of clay. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And though to rest it never halts, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Its progress is so slow; +</p> +<p> +Alas, it has too many faults, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor much of heavenly glow. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But when God's sanctifying grace +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Shall meet it from above, +</p> +<p> +You seek in vain for sinful trace— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It now is full of love. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A new impulse it then receives +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which speeds it on its way; +</p> +<p> +To it no stain of sin now cleaves— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It seeks its perfect day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And as the azure stream has found +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Its home in brimming lake, +</p> +<p> +So shall the soul thus heavenward bound +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of God's own joy partake. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="96"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE FROST ON THE WINDOW +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Feathery frost on the window-pane, +</p> +<p> +Who placed you there? "I cannot explain," +</p> +<p> +Each little feather at once replied; +</p> +<p> +"But this I know, I'm the children's pride, +</p> +<p> +As they think I fell from an angel's wing, +</p> +<p> +And coming to earth must rich blessings bring. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"I once formed part of a lovely bay; +</p> +<p> +The sun shone out, and I turned to spray, +</p> +<p> +And rose aloft on the ambient air, +</p> +<p> +To the regions high where all is rare; +</p> +<p> +Then I mingled with my old friends again, +</p> +<p> +Who were my neighbors in the haunts of men. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"On the blustering wind, I rode along, +</p> +<p> +Sometimes hard tossed by the tempest strong, +</p> +<p> +And then at rest, as when in the bay, +</p> +<p> +Though much enlarged, the wise savants say; +</p> +<p> +Though I cannot tell you how long my sleep, +</p> +<p> +With a chill I woke and began to weep. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"And my ample form much smaller grew, +</p> +<p> +By the cold compressed to a drop of dew; +</p> +<p> +Then down I fell, swift as bounding deer, +</p> +<p> +And knew no more till I fell right here; +</p> +<p> +But how I became so like a feather +</p> +<p> +Is problem I can unravel never. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"But, oh, how the sun begins to burn! +</p> +<p> +I think I must to the clouds return. +</p> +<p> +Farewell, my boy! but you must not fret; +</p> +<p> +We meet again, as we now have met, +</p> +<p> +If not as a feather, perhaps a tree, +</p> +<p> +Or whatever the Wise One may make of me." +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="98"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"WILT THOU HARASS A DRIVEN LEAF?" +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +O harass not a driven leaf, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor stubble dry in wrath pursue; +</p> +<p> +A life so brief load not with grief, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor with thine arrow pierce me through. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The fragile leaf, by tempest tost, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is scarcely worth a passing thought; +</p> +<p> +The brook is crossed, and then is lost; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +There let it lie, a thing of naught. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The stubble dry ne'er grows again; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To golden grain it gave its sap. +</p> +<p> +It died, and then 'twas left by men +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To rot betimes, or some mishap. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Am I not like the stubble dry +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And fragile leaf by tempest strewed? +</p> +<p> +Must I not die, then tell me why +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A thing so frail is thus pursued? +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A voice replies: "Thy life is frail, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Much like the leaf and stubble dry; +</p> +<p> +Thy strength must fail, and as the gale +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Bears them away, so must thou die; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"But live again, in bliss, or pain; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For death to man does not end all; +</p> +<p> +Life is not vain, if thou but gain +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A +<i> +home in heaven</i>, when I shall call! +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"To fit thy soul for endless rest, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I harass now the driven leaf, +</p> +<p> +But though sore pressed and grief distressed, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The life of sorrow will be brief. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"And when released from suffering clay, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Thy blood-bought spirit shall arise +</p> +<p> +To endless day. Then thou shalt say, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +The ways of God are good and wise.</i>" +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="100"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +A GEM +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The gem is not this ode itself; +</p> +<p> +Hardly can it aspire so high. +</p> +<p> +Earth has its gems; but all its wealth, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Increased by thousands, cannot buy +</p> +<p> +Man's +<i> +soul</i>, the gem of priceless worth, +</p> +<p> +Made in God's image at its birth; +</p> +<p> +Ordained to live for evermore; +</p> +<p> +Redeemed by blood from sin and hell; +</p> +<p> +Transformed by grace, God's love to tell; +</p> +<p> +And at His feet its homage pour. +</p> +<p> +Lordly are its endowments, too; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Superb its destiny, if true; +</p> +<p> +Only below, said one who knew, +</p> +<p> +Unfallen angels round God's throne. +</p> +<p> +Lord, may this gem be Thine alone. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="101"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE CLOUDS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A grand stairway do these clouds appear +</p> +<p> +As they heavenward rise, tier upon tier, +</p> +<p> +With clearly-marked space of blue between, +</p> +<p> +Compared with which human art looks mean. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Do the angels tread this grand staircase, +</p> +<p> +When they come to earth to bless our race, +</p> +<p> +And lend their aid to each struggling soul +</p> +<p> +As he ascends toward the heavenly goal? +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Was this the ladder by Jacob seen, +</p> +<p> +That reached from heaven to the mattress green +</p> +<p> +On which he lay all the lonely night +</p> +<p> +Till God afforded the blessed sight, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And made him feel, tho' an exile here, +</p> +<p> +His father's God would be ever near— +</p> +<p> +The servant's cry would to heaven arise, +</p> +<p> +And blessings fall from the bending skies? +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But no staircase do the angels need; +</p> +<p> +They come to earth at a greater speed, +</p> +<p> +Not step by step, nor on eagle's wing, +</p> +<p> +Nor beams of light do their message bring. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Though heaven be far beyond mortal ken, +</p> +<p> +Assisted by all the arts of men, +</p> +<p> +A moment's time and the space is passed, +</p> +<p> +And heaven's best gifts at our feet are cast. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Not a cloud stairway, nor ladder long, +</p> +<p> +Connects this earth with the land of song; +</p> +<p> +The Saviour bends from the opening skies— +</p> +<p> +He smiles in love, and our souls arise. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As flakes of steel to the magnet fly, +</p> +<p> +And mists ascend to the sun on high, +</p> +<p> +So we are drawn by the cords of love +</p> +<p> +From the earth below to thrones above. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +O lift me up from my bed of clay, +</p> +<p> +To dwell with Thee in the realms of day. +</p> +<p> +If 'tis Thy will I should tarry still, +</p> +<p> +Prepare me, Lord, for Thy Holy Hill. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="103"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE MOSSES +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Exquisite mosses, so lovely and green, +</p> +<p> +Covering the rocks with emerald sheen; +</p> +<p> +Hiding the scars which convulsions have made; +</p> +<p> +Blessing the mound where our angel was laid; +</p> +<p> +Forming a carpet on which we may tread; +</p> +<p> +Clothing with beauty the rotten and dead; +</p> +<p> +Sheathing from storm-blasts the young forest tree— +</p> +<p> +Beautiful mosses, examples for me. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Trod under foot by all kinds of men; +</p> +<p> +Gracing the mountain or hid in the fen; +</p> +<p> +Never adorning the brow of the fair; +</p> +<p> +Seldom deemed worthy some corner to share +</p> +<p> +In the bouquets that are cast in the way +</p> +<p> +Princely feet tread on reception's proud day; +</p> +<p> +The glory of roses do not attain; +</p> +<p> +Beautiful mosses, ye grow not in vain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Answer the end by your Maker designed. +</p> +<p> +Humble your bloom, but your mission is kind. +</p> +<p> +Those will most prize you who knew you the best. +</p> +<p> +Cover me o'er when I lie down to rest; +</p> +<p> +Cover, likewise, in the marble my name, +</p> +<p> +Hiding forever that index of shame; +</p> +<p> +But tell to the world, "as life he passed through, +</p> +<p> +He covered some scars and aimed to be true." +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="105"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE GRANDEST THEME +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The grandest theme for tongue, or pen, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is not the heavens supernal; +</p> +<p> +Nor mighty deeds of God-like men, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though they may be eternal; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Nor Alpine heights, nor lovely vale, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With brooks and grazing cattle; +</p> +<p> +Nor awful roar of rushing gale, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Beyond the noise of battle; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Nor clashing arms, nor trembling earth; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor heaving waves of ocean; +</p> +<p> +Nor record of a nation's birth; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor heaven's cloud-cars in motion. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The grandest theme, for tongue, or pen, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Above all else in glory; +</p> +<p> +Which suits alike, all sinful men, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is the sweet Gospel story, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Which tells me of my Saviour's love +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And infinite compassion, +</p> +<p> +Which brought Him from His throne above +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To Calvary's cross and passion. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And now the holy angels sing, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With blood-washed souls in glory, +</p> +<p> +A song which makes heaven's arches ring +</p> +<p class="i2"> +About this Gospel story. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="107"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +SEPTEMBER +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The hills are clad in purple and in gold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The ripened maize is gathered in the shock, +</p> +<p> +The frost has kissed the nuts, their shells unfold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And fallen leaves are floating on the lock. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The flowers their many-colored petals drop; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But seed-pods full and ripe they leave behind, +</p> +<p> +A prophecy of more abundant crop, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And proof that nature in decay is kind. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But still the dahlia blooms, and pansies, too; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The golden-rod still rears its yellow crest. +</p> +<p> +The sumach bobs are now of crimson hue, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The luscious grape has donned its purple vest. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The forest trees, so long arrayed in green, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Wear now a robe like Joseph's coat of old, +</p> +<p> +Brighter than that on eastern satrap seen, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' clad was he in purple and fine gold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The woodbine twined about the giant oak +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Blends with its purple-red a brighter shade. +</p> +<p> +Co-mingled thus our praises they evoke, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' we know well this glory soon must fade. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The fields are green with grass and new-sown wheat, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' here and there a brown stalk may appear, +</p> +<p> +A dying rag-weed, ripened by the heat, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To reproduce an hundred-fold next year. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The melon yellows in the kindly sun, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The peach puts on its blush like virtuous maid, +</p> +<p> +The gourd its snow-white band like brow of nun, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +While flower and gum the air with fragrance lade. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The swallows gather on the fence and wire, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Chatter a loud farewell to barn and nest, +</p> +<p> +And then on wings which never seem to tire +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They fly away in southern bowers to rest. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The thrush no longer sings its tender song +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In osage thicket, or in locust hedge, +</p> +<p> +But pipes its notes the negro boys among, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +On cotton plant, or Alabama sedge. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The blackbird lingers by the flowing brook, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or perches proudly on the shock of corn; +</p> +<p> +The lark still hovers round its meadow nook, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And soars and sings as on a vernal morn. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The robin, too, is loth to quit the lawn +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And visits yet his nest beneath the eaves; +</p> +<p> +I hear his cheering notes at early dawn— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To part with these old friends my spirit grieves. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But soon these feathered songsters must away, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Ere winter's frosts shall chill them thro' and thro'; +</p> +<p> +In other lands they find the summer day, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The opening flower, and the refreshing dew. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The air, tho' chill, is not surcharged with death, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But health-inspiring germs it bears along. +</p> +<p> +We drink in vigor with our every breath, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And life appears like spring, each day a song. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +God spreads a carpet for our weary feet, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Richer than those which grace the palace floor; +</p> +<p> +The rainbow hues are in it all complete, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And tints, I think, of full a thousand more. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +God with His hands of wind for woof collects +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The forest leaves, and weaves them with the grass, +</p> +<p> +With nap of richest hues the fabric decks, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And spreads it out for feet of every class. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A haze at times may veil the smiling sky, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The sun his golden locks exchange for gray; +</p> +<p> +But soon a western blast comes sweeping by— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The mists depart, and glory crowns the day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The lowing cattle roam from field to field; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +No more content in narrow bounds to stay; +</p> +<p> +The ozone in the autumn air has healed +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Their every ill, and lo, the dull beasts play. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +This season has its lesson each should learn— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The fading leaf reminds us of our doom; +</p> +<p> +But whether like the stately tree, or fern, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In hope we travel onward to the tomb. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We look not for the Winter, but the Spring, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +When we shall glow in beauty from the skies; +</p> +<p> +Each now his tribute sheaf of praise should bring, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Then hear his Lord's "Well done!" O glorious prize. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="111"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE FLOWERS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Some flowers are brighter far in hue +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Than others by their side, +</p> +<p> +But God baptizes all with dew, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And spreads His mantle wide +</p> +<p> +To cover all for half the day, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From rays of scorching sun, +</p> +<p> +Though some may shine in colors gay, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And some in sober dun. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And I account each one my friend, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The stately and the plain. +</p> +<p> +Diverse their hue, but not their end; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For me none bloom in vain; +</p> +<p> +For all proclaim their Maker's skill, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And point to bloom above; +</p> +<p> +In God's great plan their part fulfil, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And whisper "God is +<i> +love</i>." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The fragrance lades the summer air +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With health-inspiring germs, +</p> +<p> +Ascend on high as nature's prayer, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Suggesting well the terms +</p> +<p> +Of God-accepted prayer from man, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Odors of grateful praise; +</p> +<p> +For though in penitence began, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It ends in joyful lays. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="113"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE BUD +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The winter through I lay asleep, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Unconscious and unseen; +</p> +<p> +The howling winds disturbed me not, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor felt the frost tho' keen. +</p> +<p> +Thick blankets covered me about, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And kept me dry and warm, +</p> +<p> +And weeks and months passed quickly by +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And I received no harm. +</p> +<p> +At last I felt uneasy in +</p> +<p class="i2"> +My cosy little cot, +</p> +<p> +Tho' it was lined with softest down. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The cause I knew not what. +</p> +<p> +I struggled hard to free myself, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But struggled all in vain; +</p> +<p> +My blankets felt the strain, 'tis true, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And opened to the rain, +</p> +<p> +But just enough for me to see +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The frowning sky o'erhead; +</p> +<p> +I closed my eyes, in sad affright, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And wished that I was dead. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But soon a change came o'er my frame, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Much like electric shock; +</p> +<p> +Oh, how I longed for some rare key +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With which I might unlock +</p> +<p> +My prison door, for I now felt +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The breath of coming Spring, +</p> +<p> +And heard, likewise, her merry laugh, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Like silver bells its ring. +</p> +<p> +My lips were close to blanket rent, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I ceased my useless strife, +</p> +<p> +And she bent over me in love, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And kissed me into life. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="115"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +BEAUTIFUL SKY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +O beautiful sky of every hue; +</p> +<p> +Golden and purple, crimson and blue, +</p> +<p> +With some sombre lines thrown in between, +</p> +<p> +And some bright spots of emerald green. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The earth is wed to the sun it seems, +</p> +<p> +And to grace the robe of his royal bride +</p> +<p> +No pains are spared, nor a tint untried, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And thus complete it with glory gleams. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He wields his brush as an artist now; +</p> +<p> +Lo beauty glows on the earth's fair brow! +</p> +<p> +And the lovely flowers at once arise +</p> +<p> +To match the glow of the radiant skies, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The sparkling dewdrops at morn are seen, +</p> +<p> +Close nestling among the petals rare, +</p> +<p> +Like crystal studs in a maiden's hair, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Brighter then gems which adorn a queen. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="116"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +BUTTERCUPS AND DAISIES +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Buttercups and daisies growing everywhere, +</p> +<p> +In the field of clover, on the hillside fair, +</p> +<p> +And in lovely valley, tilled with greatest care. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Naught but weeds and rubbish, in the farmer's eyes, +</p> +<p> +Drawing off the nurture from the grain they prize, +</p> +<p> +And their great luxuriance sore their patience tries. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But the dews of heaven give them richest bloom, +</p> +<p> +And their smiling beauty drives away our gloom; +</p> +<p> +For such little beauties surely there is room. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In this world of sorrow flowers ne'er bloom in vain, +</p> +<p> +Though they in their blooming sap the golden grain, +</p> +<p> +And drink in the moisture of the latter rain; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +For our Heavenly Father deemed it wise and good +</p> +<p> +To diffuse this beauty with the grain for food. +</p> +<p> +And this wise arrangement He has never rued. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Teaching us this lesson we are slow to learn; +</p> +<p> +Man lives not for eating, nor for duties stern, +</p> +<p> +But to serve God's pleasure, then to Him return. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Room for joy is given and for purest bliss, +</p> +<p> +And we may all find them in a world like this, +</p> +<p> +If our aims are sordid all this gold we miss; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But if we are faithful and to God inclined, +</p> +<p> +Seeing Him in nature, and of heavenly mind, +</p> +<p> +Aiming to be like Him, and by grace refined, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We shall live forever where there is no gloom; +</p> +<p> +Though the path to glory leadeth through the tomb; +</p> +<p> +But a moment's darkness—flowers that ever bloom. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="118"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE MOSS ROSE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +'Tis said, long since an angel came to earth, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Sent by his Lord, to help with loving hand +</p> +<p> +A suffering one, afflicted from his birth. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The limb was healed as by divine command, +</p> +<p> +But He felt weak, for strength from Him had gone, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A sacrifice which love could not withhold; +</p> +<p> +So he sought shelter till the morning dawn, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But none received—they prized not love, but gold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then 'neath a rose bush did the angel lie, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And rested well until the break of day, +</p> +<p> +When much refreshed he sought his home on high, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But ere he started on his upward way, +</p> +<p> +He said to sheltering rose, in loving voice, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"What man refused thou hast afforded me. +</p> +<p> +What is thy wish? Make known to me thy choice; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The God of love and power will grant it thee!" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"I ask no brighter hue," the rose replied, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"Both old and young smile on me as they pass, +</p> +<p> +My buds adorn the bosom of the bride, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And hide among the locks of lovely lass; +</p> +<p> +With fragrance, too, I own myself content, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For naught on earth surpasses me in this; +</p> +<p> +But if, indeed, my Maker thee has sent +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I ask but this, to consummate my bliss: +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"I feel the cold, both in my bark and bud, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +When Autumn winds sweep o'er the western hill, +</p> +<p> +And frozen dewdrops oft my branches stud, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which mar my beauty and my juices chill. +</p> +<p> +Give me an extra garb, 'tis all I lack." +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"Thou hast thy wish, I shelter found in thee, +</p> +<p> +I take delight in kind to pay thee back. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Let softest moss thy extra garment be." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then touched the angel bark, and bud, and leaf, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And soft green moss suffused it o'er and o'er. +</p> +<p> +He lingered near it for a moment brief, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Plucked off a bud, which he to heaven bore; +</p> +<p> +And now the rose smiles at the raging storm, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Defies the wind and nipping frost as well; +</p> +<p> +Its fragrance still retains, and lovely form, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +While nestling budlets this old story tell. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="120"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +GOD'S CARE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I fear not, my Father, the tempest's loud roar, +</p> +<p> +Nor dread the huge breakers on the rock-girded shore; +</p> +<p> +Thy presence is with me, my refuge is near, +</p> +<p> +With help all-sufficient; oh, why should I fear? +</p> +<p> +Tho' billows of sorrow should roll o'er my head, +</p> +<p> +My sun sink in darkness, and joys be all dead, +</p> +<p> +Thy presence will cheer me, and spectres will flee, +</p> +<p> +For who can molest me while trusting in thee? +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="121"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MY LOT +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My lot on earth is not all mirth, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor is it constant gloom; +</p> +<p> +Some joys decay and fall away, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But leave much lasting bloom. +</p> +<p> +My wishes are not always met, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And cares press hard at times; +</p> +<p> +Yet joyous strains ne'er sink to fret, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' dollars shrink to dimes. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My earthly lot boasts not a cot, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +No foot of land I own, +</p> +<p> +No bank account nor phosphate mount, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor credit for a loan; +</p> +<p> +But I can read my title clear +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To mansion, robe, and crown; +</p> +<p> +I couple these with lot down here, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And sing, tho' foes may frown. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="122"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +GOD'S FOOT ON THE CRADLE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The air is chill with the frost of doubt, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And men's hearts are sadly failing; +</p> +<p> +They do not hear the great Victor's shout; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But indulge in bitter wailing. +</p> +<p> +"The old gives place to the new," they say, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"And fond hopes are daily buried; +</p> +<p> +Our cherished views are oft borne away, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As if by the tempest hurried. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"The world is stirred to its very heart, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And the Church shares the commotion; +</p> +<p> +With systems old, we are loathe to part, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To sail on an unknown ocean. +</p> +<p> +The world now heaves like the great sea's breast, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And rocks like an infant's cradle; +</p> +<p> +And looking up, by sore grief oppressed, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +We find the sky draped in sable." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I will not fear, though the earth should rock, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If God's foot be on the cradle; +</p> +<p> +But rest in peace midst the tempest's shock, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Rejoicing that God is able +</p> +<p> +To still the world with His mighty hand, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If His timid child should waken; +</p> +<p> +Or, if it rock, He will by me stand; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And my heart shall not be shaken. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="124"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +GOD'S GIFTS TO BE ENJOYED +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +From God's all bounteous hand descend +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Rare gifts in rich effusion, +</p> +<p> +And with those gifts no poisons blend, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor is their end delusion; +</p> +<p> +So do not spurn if He bestow +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Those forms arrayed in beauty; +</p> +<p> +If thus His gifts with radiance glow, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Enjoyment is a duty. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Come, deck your brows with leaves and flowers, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Ye fair ones, nothing fearing; +</p> +<p> +Adorn your homes and train your bowers +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor deem this sin's appearing; +</p> +<p> +We do not fit ourselves for bliss +</p> +<p class="i2"> +By scorning all adorning; +</p> +<p> +We may enjoy the good of this +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And share heaven's brighter morning. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A garment plain may have its stain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And saintly brows lack sweetness; +</p> +<p> +But he who would heaven's glory gain +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Must here acquire a meetness; +</p> +<p> +So eat and drink, rejoice and sing, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But don't forget the ending; +</p> +<p> +The bells of earth more sweetly ring +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If we are heavenward tending. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The world we use, but not abuse, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If we enjoy its beauty; +</p> +<p> +And they who all its joys refuse +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Miss privilege and duty. +</p> +<p> +Then prize earth's joys, but prize much more +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The bloom beyond the river; +</p> +<p> +God's gifts enjoy, but e'er adore +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The ever blessed Giver. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="126"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE HIGHEST GOAL +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The highest goal is not success, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If that be made the aim; +</p> +<p> +But faithfulness, tho' counted less, +</p> +<p> +Is what God promises to bless: +</p> +<p class="i2"> +These goals are not the same. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And if I am to do my best +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In every line of life, +</p> +<p> +My effort will be surely blest, +</p> +<p> +And I will find in toil sweet rest, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' in a world of strife. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And when before the throne I stand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To answer for the use +</p> +<p> +Of gifts received from God's own hand, +</p> +<p> +He will not then, in wrath, demand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From me some strong excuse, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +To show why I had not attained +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The goal of grand success, +</p> +<p> +Such as some noted men have gained, +</p> +<p> +For if my work is not sin-stained +</p> +<p class="i2"> +God will my failures bless. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And I will hear Him say, "My son, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A throne thou hast attained; +</p> +<p> +Without applause thy race was run, +</p> +<p> +'Midst failures oft thy work was done, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +Life's highest goal is gained.</i>" +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="128"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +JOY IN THE MORNING +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The night of affliction, with its long hours of sadness, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Will soon pass away to be remembered no more; +</p> +<p> +And the weeping will end in a morning of gladness; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For no sorrow is known on the evergreen shore. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In this world we shall have tribulation and sorrow; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Tis enough for the subject to be as his king; +</p> +<p> +But if we are faithful, joy will come with the morrow, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And with the blood-washed a new song shall we sing. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="129"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"HE SHALL DWELL ON HIGH" +</p> +<p class="subtitle"> +(Isaiah 33:16) +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Tossed about in strange commotion +</p> +<p> +Like the surface of the ocean +</p> +<p> +When the wind, its waters lashing, +</p> +<p> +Sends great billows, roaring, dashing +</p> +<p> +O'er the breakers, which for ages +</p> +<p> +Have withstood the storms it wages, +</p> +<p> +See those clouds, so like this ocean, +</p> +<p> +How they whirl in strange commotion. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Dust and vapor now are meeting, +</p> +<p> +Each the other wildly greeting; +</p> +<p> +As one hand another grasping, +</p> +<p> +So are these each other clasping; +</p> +<p> +Now they whirl in form fantastic +</p> +<p> +And great trees with boughs elastic +</p> +<p> +With loud moans are lowly bending, +</p> +<p> +Leaves and fruit to earth descending. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Eyes 'most blinded, nerves all shaken, +</p> +<p> +By this fearful storm o'ertaken, +</p> +<p> +As it swept on toward the sunrise; +</p> +<p> +Yet, I chanced to lift my dim eyes +</p> +<p> +Upward, when, O sight entrancing, +</p> +<p> +I beheld, to west advancing, +</p> +<p> +Other clouds, in higher current, +</p> +<p> +Unlike earth's, so wild and errant. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Far above the wild commotion, +</p> +<p> +Like great ships on peaceful ocean, +</p> +<p> +Floating westward, grand and steady, +</p> +<p> +Were those clouds, as if made ready, +</p> +<p> +As great cars, with grand pavilions, +</p> +<p> +To convey the ransomed millions +</p> +<p> +From this earth where storms are raging +</p> +<p> +To that land of charms engaging. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Life on earth is a probation; +</p> +<p> +Storms fit well in this relation; +</p> +<p> +Yet, above, are peaceful regions, +</p> +<p> +Where ne'er come hell's dreaded legions. +</p> +<p> +Looking toward the things eternal, +</p> +<p> +We may rise to realms supernal, +</p> +<p> +Where earth's dust will not defile us +</p> +<p> +Nor the cunning foe beguile us. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +To this higher plain, O lift me, +</p> +<p> +Gracious Lord! ere Satan sift me, +</p> +<p> +Far above this noisy Babel; +</p> +<p> +Far above earth's clouds, all sable; +</p> +<p> +Up so far no darts can reach me, +</p> +<p> +Where the Holy Ghost will teach me; +</p> +<p> +And, in perfect peace abiding, +</p> +<p> +I will sing while heavenward riding! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="132"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +BAG YOUR GAME +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Two men, well versed in use of arms, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Set out, 'tis said, in search of game. +</p> +<p> +Each felt that hunting had its charms, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet widely differed they in aim. +</p> +<p> +Both felt their need of wholesome food +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For present use and winter's store; +</p> +<p> +But one was of a careless mood— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Than the day's sport he asked no more. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +No game he bagged from morn till night, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Content to show his master skill +</p> +<p> +In hitting every bird at sight, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And shooting down the deer at will. +</p> +<p> +Grand sport he deemed it, day by day, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As in the tangled forest brake +</p> +<p> +He brought the bounding stag to bay, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or shot the wood-duck in the lake. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As he each night to home returned +</p> +<p class="i2"> +He sang the pleasure of the chase; +</p> +<p> +But had not yet the lesson learned +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That he was loser in the race. +</p> +<p> +Yet, when sat in the winter's cold +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And game had fled to warmer clime, +</p> +<p> +He had no stock to sell for gold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor food: and past his harvest time. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The chase the other prized as well; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But bagged his game as best he could, +</p> +<p> +And thus had lots of pelts to sell— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For self and wife the choicest food. +</p> +<p> +In the pursuit of game a thrill +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of keenest joy shot through his heart; +</p> +<p> +But joy complete he knew not till +</p> +<p class="i2"> +He went his way joy to impart. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +While he with wife and children shared +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The roasted duck and venison, +</p> +<p> +He felt he as a king had fared; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And though of earth a denizen, +</p> +<p> +Such food would give both strength and cheer +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To meet lifes daily toil aright, +</p> +<p> +And winter months he did not fear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +His larder filled, and prospect bright. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The search for Truth with pleasure thrills; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To find it, we our end attain— +</p> +<p> +Possessed, new joy the spirit fills, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And to retain is highest gain. +</p> +<p> +The pleasure of pursuit is lost +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If truth itself is not secured. +</p> +<p> +O buy the truth at any cost, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And from your aim be not allured! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="135"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +OTHERS' BURDENS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My greatest grief is not my own; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That often proves a blessing, +</p> +<p> +For in my grief God's care is shown, +</p> +<p> +And as I am not left alone, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It never proves distressing; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But when my brother's grief I bear +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The weight then seems excessive; +</p> +<p> +His heavy load I inly share, +</p> +<p> +And loaded down by double care, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +My burden feels oppressive. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Yet I remember Him who bore +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The world's great load of sorrow, +</p> +<p> +And know that He on me will pour +</p> +<p> +The needed grace to bear the more, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To-day and on the morrow. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="136"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MEMORY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Remembrance of the past will joy impart +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If in that past the conscience was supreme; +</p> +<p> +But if the soul be made an auction mart, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And thoughts and deeds be sold for what you deem +</p> +<p> +The price of virtue, then the called-up past +</p> +<p> +Will be like hooks of steel to hold thee fast. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Or like the stings those nettles left behind +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which I so fondly handled in my play; +</p> +<p> +I deemed the friend who warned me true and kind, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And in great haste I threw the weeds away, +</p> +<p> +But soon the burning flesh reminded me +</p> +<p> +'Twere safer far from all such weeds to flee. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The cloud that flitted o'er the saintly brow +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which now a crown of life so well adorns, +</p> +<p> +When you by ways and means you know not now, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Did what your soul with holy horror scorns, +</p> +<p> +Will stay with you long as you live on earth, +</p> +<p> +And be like gall to spoil your cup of mirth. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The smiles of those we bless are lasting, too; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +We feel their cheering glow each cloudy day. +</p> +<p> +As falls on wilted flower the healing dew, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +So they refresh, and chase our gloom away; +</p> +<p> +We feel though weak we have not lived in vain, +</p> +<p> +And know God smiles tho' we cannot explain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The footprints on the rock time wears away; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The rock itself soon crumbles into dust; +</p> +<p> +But memories of the past have come to stay, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor flood, nor fire, nor the consuming rust, +</p> +<p> +Can ever from the soul the past erase. +</p> +<p> +Guard thou thy life, O man, with heavenly grace. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="138"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE ROYAL WAY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Perfection ever is the price of toil. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of marchings long, and hardships by the way, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of burdens borne, oft in the heat of day, +</p> +<p> +'Tis then as right the victor claims the spoil. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The world admires the wreath upon his brow, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But he alone can tell how much it cost, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And how to gain it he had all things lost. +</p> +<p> +Results men see, but not the +<i> +when</i>, or +<i> +how</i>. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The stately elm which rears its head so high, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And spreads abroad so gracefully its boughs, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Beneath which may repose a herd of cows, +</p> +<p> +Grows under ground as well as toward the sky. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The bridge which spans the swiftly-flowing stream +</p> +<p class="i2"> +O'er which the iron horse, by night and day, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With heavy tread speeds on its busy way, +</p> +<p> +Rests not on sand, nor slender post and beam. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Below the shifting sand, on solid rock, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The mason safely laid the buttress stone, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And labored long before his work was shown; +</p> +<p> +But he built well—his work endures each shock. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +This work takes time; we chafe at the delay +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And try to gain the summit at a bound, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But find full soon our hopes dashed to the ground; +</p> +<p> +Yet there remains for all the +<i> +royal way</i>. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And he who would true eminence attain +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Must heed the word of Him who came to serve, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor from this path a single moment swerve, +</p> +<p> +If he the great reward would surely gain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +This is the royal way—<i>to serve in love</i>— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Servant to servants ever aim to be +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Like Him who gave His life to ransom thee; +</p> +<p> +Then shalt thou sit with Him on throne above. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="140"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +'STABLISHED +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The well-built house with walls of brick, or stone, +</p> +<p> +May tremble some if struck by the cyclone; +</p> +<p> +The most established saint may trials feel, +</p> +<p> +As flint may turn the edge of finest steel. +</p> +<p> +Satanic hosts may rush in like a flood, +</p> +<p> +Allied with foes of our own flesh and blood, +</p> +<p> +The elements of earth and hell combine, +</p> +<p> +Yet tho' he trembles, stands in strength divine; +</p> +<p> +He rests secure on the unyielding rock. +</p> +<p> +The top may sway, but base feels not the shock; +</p> +<p> +His heart is fixed, nor earth nor hell can move; +</p> +<p> +They wrench not loose, but his allegiance prove. +</p> +<p> +Christ wept with Mary at her brother's grave; +</p> +<p> +Laid down His life a rebel world to save; +</p> +<p> +Tried, like ourselves, and like us too, infirm, +</p> +<p> +Yet knew no sin in either root or germ; +</p> +<p> +Let us be like Him while we sojourn here, +</p> +<p> +Then storms and earthquakes we need never fear. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="141"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +A MEROGNOSTIC +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I know in part, but know not all, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The part I know is known; +</p> +<p> +What know I not I hope with Paul +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To know before the throne. +</p> +<p> +Till then where knowledge fails I trust +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The truth God has revealed, +</p> +<p> +As known by me, forever must +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Be like the truth concealed. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I know God +<i> +is</i>, tho' hid from sight, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And know He cares for me; +</p> +<p> +In blessing me He takes delight, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And I by faith can see +</p> +<p> +His skilful hand and loving heart, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In all my life's affairs, +</p> +<p> +And feel content to know but part +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If He knows all my cares. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I know God gave His Son to die +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A sacrifice for man, +</p> +<p> +And live all who on Him rely, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And meet His claims I can, +</p> +<p> +Yet I know not how in Him meet +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The human and divine; +</p> +<p> +But God He is, and at His feet +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I fall, and feel Him mine. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Nor do I understand the change +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The spirit wrought in me; +</p> +<p> +A work so great exceeds my range, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But I can feel and see +</p> +<p> +The inward peace, and outward trend, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And hear likewise His voice, +</p> +<p> +The outward with the inward blend, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And answer to my choice. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I know not how mind touches mind +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And thoughts spring into life; +</p> +<p> +Nor know the mystic bands which bind, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Like husband to the wife, +</p> +<p> +My loving Lord and my poor soul, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But this I know full well, +</p> +<p> +If I submit to His control +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I cannot sink to hell. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I know the world shakes to its base, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And man still wars with man, +</p> +<p> +The bane of sin rests on our race, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And Satan leads the van; +</p> +<p> +But hope exults within my breast +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho 'darkness shrouds the sky; +</p> +<p> +God is the friend of the oppressed, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The good will never die. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I know not why my plans should fail +</p> +<p class="i2"> +When I have plan'd for God, +</p> +<p> +And on this ground my foes assail, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But I still kiss the rod, +</p> +<p> +For tho' I cannot tell the why +</p> +<p class="i2"> +My heart is filled with peace; +</p> +<p> +I can on my dear Lord rely, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And wait for my release. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I know He is both true and kind, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And has my good at heart. +</p> +<p> +His discipline will only bind +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With cords which naught can part, +</p> +<p> +My heart's affections to His throne, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And fit me for my rest, +</p> +<p> +Nor do I tread life's path alone; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +He knows</i>, and I am blest. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="144"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"SALUT AUX BLESSIS" +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A group of mounted officers +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Ride up and fall in line; +</p> +<p> +Their gleaming swords hang at their sides, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Chevrons their arms entwine; +</p> +<p> +They bare their heads as pass along +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A train of wounded men, +</p> +<p> +Their shattered comrades from the field +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They ne'er may meet again. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"<i>Salut aux Blessis!</i>" loud they cry. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The wounded soldiers hear, +</p> +<p> +And for a time forget their pain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And swell the lusty cheer. +</p> +<p> +Thus should it be in other lines; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The men who lead the van +</p> +<p> +Should e'er accord a brother's cheer +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To every wounded man. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The "rank and file" the wounds receive; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Sometimes the leader, too; +</p> +<p> +But honest wounds none should despise; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The bearer may be true. +</p> +<p> +He stood his ground 'gainst mighty odds, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And dared the shot and shell; +</p> +<p> +So bare your heads, ye scarless ones, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And say, "<i>Thou hast done well!</i>" +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="146"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +SONNET +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Each human life with mysteries is replete; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They press upon us in its early dawn, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And multiply apace as years roll on, +</p> +<p> +And at each turn we must their problems meet. +</p> +<p> +Reason is blind, and fails their end to see, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Misjudges God and gathers only woe, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And from this spring much turbid waters flow. +</p> +<p> +Only the pure in heart from doubt are free; +</p> +<p> +They read aright the writing on the wall +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which solves the problems of our earthly lot; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To them God draws aside the veil, and shows +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The golden threads with which the garment glows, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And why one dwells in palace, one in cot, +</p> +<p> +And how His love is working good to all. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="147"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +BROTHERHOOD +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Is brotherhood to flesh confined? +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is there no kinship of the soul? +</p> +<p> +To have it thus, I am resigned, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If 'tis my God-appointed goal; +</p> +<p> +For there are those whom I hold dear, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Who claim with me a common sire, +</p> +<p> +That we, with one accord, revere, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And love holds out midst flood and fire. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But is the family so small +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of which I fondly claim a part? +</p> +<p> +Is there no other I may call +</p> +<p class="i2"> +A brother, and within my heart +</p> +<p> +Cherish for him, whate'er his name, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or rank, or color, or his creed, +</p> +<p> +A love of pure and changeless flame, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And feel I render but his meed? +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Thank God for brotherhood so broad +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That all the human race may share +</p> +<p> +A kinship, never yet outlawed, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Tho' types of it have been too rare. +</p> +<p> +But bigotry is doomed to die, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And hate, a relic of the past; +</p> +<p> +The golden age is drawing nigh, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And all one family at last! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="149"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +SHE DEARLY LOVED THE FLOWERS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I saw her first when she was old, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Her form devoid of grace; +</p> +<p> +Her locks that once were yellow gold +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Were white, and on her face +</p> +<p> +Were furrows deep, which told of pain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And toil, and worldly fret, +</p> +<p> +Which all, alas, had been in vain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But nature claimed the debt. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Her eyes were gray and lacked in glow, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Her voice some thought was gruff, +</p> +<p> +And when excited was not slow +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To use a sharp rebuff; +</p> +<p> +For she in speech was free from art; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Men feared her verbal stroke, +</p> +<p> +And yet they said, "She has a heart; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +She never wears a cloak." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Her creed, perhaps, was heterodox, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If creed she ever had. +</p> +<p> +She knew far more of pans and crocks, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But this was not her fad; +</p> +<p> +Her light, I fear, did not shine out +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In pious talk and airs, +</p> +<p> +In fact I entertain a doubt +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If she oft said her prayers. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Her light, if dim, was never hid, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Yet looked not for applause; +</p> +<p> +For kindly deeds she often did, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In line with highest laws. +</p> +<p> +She lacked it may be that rare grace +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which some I know endowers, +</p> +<p> +Yet good in her I gladly trace— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +She dearly loved the flowers.</i> +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="151"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MY PANSY PETS +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My pansy pets are sleeping well +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Beneath their quilt of snow; +</p> +<p> +How they can breathe I cannot tell, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor how their rootlets grow; +</p> +<p> +But soon the snow will melt away +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And April showers descend; +</p> +<p> +Then shall appear in colors gay +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Each little pansy friend. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Of pride it may not show a trace; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of lowly mind, alway; +</p> +<p> +But will not blush to show its face +</p> +<p class="i2"> +All through the lifelong day: +</p> +<p> +Its fragrance other flowers surpass, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In form more stately, too. +</p> +<p> +But when you see my pets in mass, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Thank God they ever grew. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +For though the human face may frown, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or show a heart of guile, +</p> +<p> +My pansy pets as you look down +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Will look at you and smile; +</p> +<p> +Nor will they murmur if you should +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Pluck off their brightest bloom; +</p> +<p> +Their mission is to do us good, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And smile away our gloom. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="153"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +LOVE BETTER THAN KNOWLEDGE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +O Thou Eternal One, look down +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Upon an erring child of earth; +</p> +<p> +Thy handiwork with knowledge crown, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or life will seem of little worth; +</p> +<p> +By Thine own light illume my way, +</p> +<p> +And turn this darkness into day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I hear a whisper in my heart— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"Than knowledge, better far is love; +</p> +<p> +Thy knowledge here is but in part, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The perfect waits for Thee above: +</p> +<p> +Walk now by faith, and leave to me +</p> +<p> +The things now wrap'd in mystery." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Weighed down with mysteries profound +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I lean upon Thy loving breast; +</p> +<p> +The great unknown still girts me round, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But Thou art mine, and here I rest; +</p> +<p> +Unsolved the mysteries remain; +</p> +<p> +But they no longer give me pain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My finite mind may never grasp +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The thought of Thy immensity; +</p> +<p> +But I Thy hand more firmly clasp— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To feel Thee near suffices me; +</p> +<p> +For Thou art knowledge, power, and love, +</p> +<p> +The same in earth and heaven above. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="155"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +A SUFFERING GOD +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Man is like God in miniature, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +When he is at his best; +</p> +<p> +His motives and impulses pure, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +His heart and will at rest; +</p> +<p> +No conflict in himself is felt, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +His light no earthly beam, +</p> +<p> +While love encircles like a belt, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And conscience is supreme. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As thus endowed a creature may +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The keenest sufferings feel; +</p> +<p> +Not such as rack the frame of clay, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which art of man may heal; +</p> +<p> +But pain untold at others' woes, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And deadly blight of sin, +</p> +<p> +Which right and virtue overthrows, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And blackens all within. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And may not God have suffered much +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Ere reached the gory cross? +</p> +<p> +Did not our woe the God-heart touch? +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Did He not feel our loss? +</p> +<p> +The "Man of Sorrows" we adore, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And own His sufferings real; +</p> +<p> +But suffered He as God before; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For God can sorrow feel. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="157"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE COPY +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Looking o'er this written page, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Many blurs and blots are seen; +</p> +<p> +Crooked strokes, at every stage— +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Oh, that it again were clean, +</p> +<p> +As at first I found it, when +</p> +<p> +I defiled it with my pen! +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Gladly would I all erase; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But along the lines of blue +</p> +<p> +You could still the failure trace +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In the paper's darkened hue; +</p> +<p> +Though the words could not be seen, +</p> +<p> +You could trace where they had been. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I will try to do my best, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Though my ideal be not gained; +</p> +<p> +On the Master's scrip shall rest +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Eager eyes, till is attained +</p> +<p> +Some resemblance to His hand; +</p> +<p> +If no more I can command. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Like my life, this written sheet, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +So unlike the pattern given; +</p> +<p> +Crooked strokes, I oft repeat; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Oh, that from it could be riven +</p> +<p> +All the blurs and blots of sin; +</p> +<p> +All the self that's found within. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +<i> +I +</i> +can not the past erase. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +<i> +Christ +</i> +shall blot the crooked out, +</p> +<p> +Leaving not the slightest trace +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of my sin, the lines about; +</p> +<p> +And will give me grace to write +</p> +<p> +Pages pleasing in His sight. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I will try to do my best, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As He gives me strength and light, +</p> +<p> +Leaving with Him all the rest; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +He will keep life's pages white; +</p> +<p> +And the copy shall be shown +</p> +<p> +Perfected, before His throne. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="159"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +PERFECT WORK +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +An artist skilled beyond the sons of men +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With pleasure scanned the pictures on the wall, +</p> +<p> +Rare works of art, each one pronounced a gem, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The product of his hand, both great and small; +</p> +<p> +Each filled its place in the designer's plan; +</p> +<p> +Conceived in full before the work began. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Pleased was the artist with results as shown; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But his ideal was not as yet attained; +</p> +<p> +It needed this, as palace needs a throne, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But +<i> +throne +</i> +a +<i> +king</i>—then is perfection gained, +</p> +<p> +When his great masterpiece hangs in its place, +</p> +<p> +And the great artist looks in his own face. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="160"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE JOHNSTOWN DISASTER, 1889 +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Look down, ye Alleghenies, into the Conemaugh vale, +</p> +<p> +And see the rising waters, and hear the bitter wail; +</p> +<p> +The swollen streams now empty their contents in the lake, +</p> +<p> +The waters rise to kiss the skies and walls of granite shake. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Oh, hear that awful booming; the dam has given way! +</p> +<p> +An avalanche of water God's hand alone can stay! +</p> +<p> +Oh, leap, ye hills, before it and keep this torrent back, +</p> +<p> +Or devastated towns and homes will mark its onward track! +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Look down, ye Alleghenies, upon this vale of woe; +</p> +<p> +Ten thousand corpses at your base their soulless faces show; +</p> +<p> +Some hid beneath the debris, some covered o'er with slime, +</p> +<p> +Their spirits fled to meet their God, beyond the shores of time. +</p> +<p> +The aged sire and lassie; the careworn mother, too, +</p> +<p> +With her strong son, whom she had hoped would guard life's journey thro', +</p> +<p> +Are lying there together, the old and young alike; +</p> +<p> +Their plans and purposes cut off, no power to love or strike. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Bow down, ye Alleghenies, and weep o'er thousands slain, +</p> +<p> +Who yesterday were all intent this present world to gain. +</p> +<p> +Their active brain is sleeping, their busy hands are still, +</p> +<p> +Bright hopes are blasted in an hour, ambitions cease to thrill; +</p> +<p> +Their mansions, with their bodies, the flood has borne away— +</p> +<p> +The rich and poor together rest till resurrection day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Now leap for joy, ye mountains, for all is not in vain! +</p> +<p> +For as it was in Noah's flood, it ever will remain! +</p> +<p> +God cares for those who love Him; He holds them in His hand, +</p> +<p> +And wind and wave obey His will, and rest at His command; +</p> +<p> +Some sank beneath the freshet, and now with others lie, +</p> +<p> +But God prepared another ark to bear their souls on high. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +See, floating with the wreckage, borne onward by the tide, +</p> +<p> +A loving mother with her babe close sheltered at her side; +</p> +<p> +One hand has grasped a rafter, the other guards her child; +</p> +<p> +Oh, how she pleads with God and man in accents loud and wild! +</p> +<p> +Men hear but give no answer, no human hand can save; +</p> +<p> +Her voice, alas, is hushed in death by the relentless wave; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But God has heard her pleading, and now His angel bears +</p> +<p> +Their deathless souls to dwell with Him, where free from toils and cares, +</p> +<p> +Her voice rings out in gladness the notes of that blest psalm +</p> +<p> +The prophet heard the elders sing, of "Moses and the Lamb." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And see this lovely maiden, a mother's hope and pride, +</p> +<p> +The sunbeam of a Christian home, and the affianced bride +</p> +<p> +Of one who loved her dearly, and loved her not in vain, +</p> +<p> +For he had won a loyal heart, and hand without a stain; +</p> +<p> +But he lies 'neath the billows, and she will join him soon. +</p> +<p> +Hark! hark! she sings in accents sweet, to old familiar tune! +</p> +<p class="i8"> +"<i>Jesus, lover of my soul,</i> +</p> +<p class="i8"> +<i> +Let me to Thy bosom fly</i>," etc. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Her prayer, also, is answered, for see, the roof is bare! +</p> +<p> +The current swept the slippery raft, the maiden is not there! +</p> +<p> +An angel band descended, her lover led the way, +</p> +<p> +And now she joins her loved and lost in realms of endless day! +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Look down, ye Alleghenies, from your colossal heights, +</p> +<p> +And witness an heroic deed, bright gleam 'midst horrid sights. +</p> +<p> +See, +<i> +Periton +</i> +has mounted his famous large bay steed, +</p> +<p> +And flies, not to the mountains, but at his greatest speed +</p> +<p> +He gallops down the valley, to warn of pending fate, +</p> +<p> +And cries aloud, "Flee for your lives! flee, ere it be too late! +</p> +<p> +The Conemaugh dam is broken, destruction comes apace! +</p> +<p> +Leave all and to the mountains flee; leave all and win the race!" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Each creek becomes a river, each pool a little sea, +</p> +<p> +The tidal wave comes rushing on, men know not where to flee, +</p> +<p> +But on he rides, still shouting, as angels did of old, +</p> +<p> +"Flee! Flee ye to the mountain! Flee! forsake your homes and gold!" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +His horse now shares his spirit, and leaps each swollen stream. +</p> +<p> +With panting flanks and nostrils wide, and breath like scalding steam, +</p> +<p> +He dashes down the roadway, and fairly seems to fly, +</p> +<p> +Obedient to his rider's rein, resolved to do or die. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Some heed our hero's warning. See, toward the hills they fly! +</p> +<p> +Will +<i> +Periton +</i> +now turn aside, or like a hero die? +</p> +<p> +Straight on he goes, brave fellow; to turn aside he scorned, +</p> +<p> +His life he deems of little worth if other men be warned. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +We honor those brave soldiers, who scaled the rampart height, +</p> +<p> +To plant the standard of their queen in the defence of right, +</p> +<p> +The fire was hot before them, and bursting shells o'erhead, +</p> +<p> +Yet on they pressed, till bullet-pierced they fell—our honored dead; +</p> +<p> +But he, I hold, was braver, who ran his race alone, +</p> +<p> +No comrade's cheer to urge him on, no bugle blast was blown, +</p> +<p> +Nor grand review to follow if he should win the day; +</p> +<p> +But thoughts of self were all too weak his onward course to stay. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Spur up your steed, brave fellow—the flood is at his heels! +</p> +<p> +Too late! the waves now gird him round; the gallant rider reels; +</p> +<p> +Entombed beneath the debris his warning voice is stilled, +</p> +<p> +But he, I trust, ran not in vain; his mission is fulfilled. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Like Jesus, he saved others, yet +<i> +would +</i> +not save himself; +</p> +<p> +The plaudits of the world sought not, but scorned its praise and pelf. +</p> +<p> +He still sat in the saddle, and held the guiding rein, +</p> +<p> +Yet wind and wave awoke him not, and thunders roared in vain. +</p> +<p> +His spirit had ascended, death set the hero free, +</p> +<p> +And God shall say in His great day, "<i>Thou didst it unto Me!</i>" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Look down, ye Alleghenies, with ever-darkening frown, +</p> +<p> +Upon the selfishness which caused the ruin of Johnstown. +</p> +<p> +A reservoir was fashioned, of full three miles in length, +</p> +<p> +An inland lake, kept back by dam of insufficient strength; +</p> +<p> +No mills were driven by it; no water-works supplied; +</p> +<p> +A few rich men, for selfish sport, claimed all these waters wide. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +They rode upon its surface in skiff, and bark canoe, +</p> +<p> +Shot grouse and duck, caught fish and eel, and held their title true; +</p> +<p> +For other people's safety took not a single thought— +</p> +<p> +Ten thousand lives were less to them than fish thus daily caught. +</p> +<p> +The dam revealed its weakness by frequent leaks, but they +</p> +<p> +Turned not aside to strengthen it till came the fateful day; +</p> +<p> +But God, who rules the nations, to whom all bow the knee, +</p> +<p> +Will say to them on judgment day, "<i>Ye did it not to Me.</i>" +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="169"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +EYE HATH NOT SEEN +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Somewhere in the realms supernal +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is a home prepared for me, +</p> +<p> +Where my joys shall be eternal, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And my spirit ever free; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Mortal vision helps not here, +</p> +<p> +God conceals it from my sight, +</p> +<p> +By effulgent beams of light; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Oh that He would bring it near! +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But I hear a voice say, softly, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +"Be content to leave it so, +</p> +<p> +For God's thoughts are far too lofty +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For a man like thee to know; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Human spirits must be free +</p> +<p> +From their tenements of clay, +</p> +<p> +Ere they bear that full-orbed day, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Bide thy time and thou shalt see." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I cannot draw back the curtain +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That conceals the glory land, +</p> +<p> +Yet my hope is sure and certain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For the tracings of God's hand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +On the outside do appear, +</p> +<p> +Like the cherubim of old, +</p> +<p> +Wrought in needle-work and gold, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Bringing all the glory near. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He who made the lovely flowers +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which adorn both shrub and tree, +</p> +<p> +Climbing vine, and shady bowers, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In this beauty speaks to me: +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Tis the curtain of His tent, +</p> +<p> +Hiding much, yet much reveals, +</p> +<p> +Type of the Elysian fields; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Glory streams thro' woof and rent. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="171"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +WHAT LASTS? +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The words we speak on the empty air, +</p> +<p> +Are never lost, but recorded there; +</p> +<p> +The process we may not comprehend, +</p> +<p> +Nor how the words with the air may blend, +</p> +<p> +But science shows what results may be; +</p> +<p> +Accept the fact, is enough for me. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The waves of sound may have died away +</p> +<p> +As ripples faint on a sheltered bay; +</p> +<p> +But though now faint will be heard again, +</p> +<p> +By God, ourselves, and the sons of men. +</p> +<p> +As sound e'en now may be multiplied; +</p> +<p> +The faintest moan like the roaring tide; +</p> +<p> +The housefly's tread with its tiny feet +</p> +<p> +Like tramp of horse on the stone-paved street. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So, though now faint, will those voices be, +</p> +<p> +When Christ shall come in His majesty; +</p> +<p> +Our quicken'd sense will the echo hear, +</p> +<p> +Like blast of horn to the timid deer. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In pleasant tones will the echoes be, +</p> +<p> +Of words of love and of happy glee, +</p> +<p> +Which we address to the friends we love, +</p> +<p> +Or offer up to our Lord above. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But, unlike those, all the echoes heard, +</p> +<p> +Of angry tones, and each sword-like word; +</p> +<p> +As we here mete to our fellow men, +</p> +<p> +The Judge shall mete in full measure then. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The thoughts we think may be lasting, too, +</p> +<p> +Though not inscribed on the azure blue; +</p> +<p> +On the tissued walls of the soul's great dome, +</p> +<p> +May be found those thoughts ne'er more to roam. +</p> +<p> +And like our thoughts, may we not become +</p> +<p> +The thought we think, be ourselves the sum? +</p> +<p> +May thoughts of God on my heart be graved, +</p> +<p> +And I be known as a +<i> +sinner saved</i>. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="173"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +IS THERE A BRIGHTER WORLD? +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Beneath the surface of a shallow lake, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Where grasses rank and mammoth rushes grow, +</p> +<p> +And playful fish their bright fins nimbly shake, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Or madly chase each other to and fro, +</p> +<p> +The larva of the dragon-fly submerged, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In family large, had taken their abode, +</p> +<p> +And tho' the waves around them daily surged, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Upon the bending grass they safely rode. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Content were they with life as there enjoyed; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To brighter world they never had aspired, +</p> +<p> +Had they not felt unfilled an aching void, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And heard a whisper of a life attired +</p> +<p> +In sapphire robes, 'midst gleams of golden light, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Above their present world, so dank and chill, +</p> +<p> +Where all day long they wing their happy flight +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From roses sweet to lovely daffodil. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +But some essayed to doubt if it were so. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Who ever had returned to make it known? +</p> +<p> +One volunteered that he would upward go, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To bring report; but he was not full grown, +</p> +<p> +And fainted when he reached the surface air, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And falling, round a reed his form he curled, +</p> +<p> +Then cried, "Delusion! I have been up there. +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And could not find a trace of brighter world." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Yet others could not still the voice within, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor disregard tradition's hopeful tale. +</p> +<p> +They called a council; but it caused some din, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And all their efforts seemed at first to fail, +</p> +<p> +Till one wise head suggested this compact, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Expressed, no doubt, in dragon larva lore; +</p> +<p> +That if that brighter life were actual fact, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And all who rose in golden sunshine soar, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Each must return to tell the joyful tale, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And o'er the waters shake his sapphire wings, +</p> +<p> +So all may see, and their bright comrade hail, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And talk about the tidings which he brings. +</p> +<p> +Now each returns, clad in his bright array; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Skims o'er the grassy lake with gauze-like wings, +</p> +<p> +Attracts their notice by his plumage gay, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And they collect to hear the news he brings. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Then, holding fast, he buzzes out his song, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And seeks to woo them to a brighter world. +</p> +<p> +And he succeeds; for see, the larva strong +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Climb up the grass, and soon in light enfurled, +</p> +<p> +They wait the growth of wings, then burst their shells, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Shake loose the gauzy folds, and soar away; +</p> +<p> +But soon come back again their joy to tell, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And help their brothers to a brighter day. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Perhaps our loved ones do not always stay +</p> +<p class="i2"> +In far-off heaven, and leave their comrades lone; +</p> +<p> +Tho' yet unseen, may hover round our way, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And see our toil, and hear our daily moan; +</p> +<p> +And tho' we cannot see their lovely forms, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor hear full well the whispers of their voice, +</p> +<p> +May shield us oft in life's tempestuous storms, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And when we victories gain, with us rejoice. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +They whisper +<i> +thoughts</i>, perhaps, if not word sounds, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And help to waken longings for our rest; +</p> +<p> +And thus allure our hearts beyond earth's bounds +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To joy and home, upon our Saviour's breast. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +O may I heed the whispers which they bring, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And seek the grace which will my heart prepare +</p> +<p> +To climb from earth and take on angel wing, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Then soar aloft, to find my home up +<i> +there</i>! +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="176"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As the caged eagle neared the mountain range, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +O'er which he oft had soared on pinions strong, +</p> +<p> +He clapped his wings, moved by some impulse strange, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And then fell dead his prison floor along. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So Moses stood on Pisgah's heights alone, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With sight undimmed, and unabated strength; +</p> +<p> +He gazed with rapture on the vision shown, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of the fair land in all its breadth and length; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He saw the vale of Eschol clad with vine, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Mount Libbanus adorned with lordly trees, +</p> +<p> +Gilead and Achor, with their lowing kine, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And verdant Sharon swept by the sea breeze; +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He saw the spot where Jacob's ladder stood, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The oaks at Mamre where their father prayed, +</p> +<p> +Saw Bashan with its pastures and its wood, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And the rude cave where Abram Sarah laid. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Saw the whole land—its hills and vales and streams, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Its lakes and pools, its vineyards and its groves, +</p> +<p> +A wealth and glory far beyond his dreams; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Better, it seemed, than all earth's treasure troves. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +God then revealed a glimpse of His own face, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which Moses once desired, but God withheld, +</p> +<p> +But finished now the God-ordained race, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The battle fought, and every passion quelled. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +As he beholds the glory of his Lord, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And looks within the pearly gates ajar, +</p> +<p> +Snaps, in an instant, life's frail brittle cord, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And he is where the holy angels are. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +So is it, likewise, with most dying saints; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +They see e'en here the beatific sight; +</p> +<p> +The spirit then breaks thro' this world's restraints, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And enters into heaven's effulgent light. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Not sorrow snaps the silver cord, but joy; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Not woe, but bliss, expands the golden bowl. +</p> +<p> +The pitcher breaks when free from earth's alloy, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And fails the wheel when heaven has filled the soul. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="178"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +THE END WE SOUGHT +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The end we sought is not attained, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +But wisdom has been won, +</p> +<p> +And thus a higher goal is gained. +</p> +<p> +<i> +That +</i> +like the moon has sadly waned, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +While +<i> +this +</i> +shines as the sun. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +A shorter route to India's strand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Columbus failed to find. +</p> +<p> +That was an object truly grand, +</p> +<p> +But in the wealth of this fair land +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Grandeur and good combine. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="179"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +ASPIRATION +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I stand to-day on higher ground +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Than ever reached before, +</p> +<p> +Yet from this summit I have found, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Outlined full many more, +</p> +<p> +Which seem to pierce the vaulted sky, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And prove my effort vain +</p> +<p> +But God will set my feet on high, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Thro' grace I shall attain. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Yet higher still my ideal stands, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Its peak but dimly seen, +</p> +<p> +But hope impels, and love commands, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And faith discerns its sheen; +</p> +<p> +And when I reach its shining height +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Heaven's gate will open wide; +</p> +<p> +I'll see the beatific sight, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And rest at Jesus' side. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="180"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MY REST +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I would not cherish a wish or thought +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Displeasing, Lord, to Thee; +</p> +<p> +Thy will is good, and with wisdom fraught, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And that suffices me. +</p> +<p> +I cannot alter a plan of Thine, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And would not if I could; +</p> +<p> +I acquiesce in the will divine, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And find my highest good. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +At times my vessel drifts near the shore, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And the beacon lights expire, +</p> +<p> +The surf-capped waves swell more and more, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And threaten with ruin dire; +</p> +<p> +But only the surface sea is rough; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The ocean's depths are calm, +</p> +<p> +And a star affords me light enough, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The Star of Bethlehem. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And by its light I discern the sand +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And rocks along the coast, +</p> +<p> +And turn away toward a fairer land, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And standing at my post, +</p> +<p> +I guide my bark thro' the tempest wild, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Borne on by wind and tide, +</p> +<p> +Till God receives His weak, erring child, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And shelters near His side. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +"Lo, I come, O Lord, to do Thy will!" +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Shines from my star divine, +</p> +<p> +And my heart cries out, "In me fulfill +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Also, Thy wise design." +</p> +<p> +I would not alter a plan of thine +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If I the power possessed; +</p> +<p> +My will is lost in the will divine, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Tis here I find my rest. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="182"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"PAINT ME AS I AM, WARTS AND ALL"—<i>Cromwell</i>. +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Brave soul, 'twere well if all the same would say, +</p> +<p> +And artists aim their patron's wish t'obey. +</p> +<p> +What signifies a wart, or e'en a scar? +</p> +<p> +Leave both, skilled hand, and paint us as we are. +</p> +<p> +The crowfeet paint, the wrinkles on the brow, +</p> +<p> +The hollow cheek, the form inclined to bow, +</p> +<p> +The tear-dim'd eye, the hair well streaked with gray, +</p> +<p> +The hardened hand, begrim'd with soot and clay, +</p> +<p> +And if you use the seer's revealing glass, +</p> +<p> +Remember this, "<i>All flesh is as the grass</i>." +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="183"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +"I WAS THERE" +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +When the French soldier from the field returned, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Begrimed with smoke and blood, he felt content, +</p> +<p> +As from Napoleon he this fact had learned, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +That thro' his marshall, medals would be sent, +</p> +<p> +The name of battlefield each one would bear, +</p> +<p> +And, also, in large letters, "<i>I was there</i>." +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In others' triumphs we may well rejoice, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If in their triumphs good to us redounds; +</p> +<p> +But in the glory we can have no choice, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And our rejoicings are but empty sounds. +</p> +<p> +If you would in the victor's glory share, +</p> +<p> +Be then prepared to add this, "<i>I was there!</i>" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The victor's joy belongs to him alone; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +He stood his ground 'midst storms of shot and shell; +</p> +<p> +Thro' his brave stand the foe has been o'erthrown, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And he alone the victor's tale can tell. +</p> +<p> +He now lies down to die 'neath glory's glare, +</p> +<p> +For he can say to others, "<i>I was there!</i>" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Not in some neutral nook must we remain; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The battle rages, we must share the strife; +</p> +<p> +The world, once lost, we must for Christ regain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And each lay hold upon eternal life. +</p> +<p> +Who share His conflicts will His glory share; +</p> +<p> +Then looking down to earth say, "<i>I was there!</i>" +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Those who before the throne are robed in white, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Passed thro' the conflict and the foe o'ercame; +</p> +<p> +Boldly they stood as champions for the right, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And thus have won thro' grace enduring fame, +</p> +<p> +And when the roll is called, each will declare, +</p> +<p> +"<i>Here am I, Lord, I fought for Thee down there!</i>" +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="185"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +TRUE LOVE +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +He loves not much who loves not honor more; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If men lack this then love must lack as well; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +If this possessed no tongue love's depths can tell; +</p> +<p> +The heart an ocean filled from shore to shore. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Seeing in him the possibility +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Of likeness to the great and Blessed One; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It may be even now in him begun. +</p> +<p> +I love him much for what I hope to be, +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And show my love by yielding him his due; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +For sentimental love is ever vain, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +It cannot peace, much less heaven's favor gain; +</p> +<p> +But those who love in deed are blessed and true. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="186"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +A TRUE MAN +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +With purpose strong to do or die, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +The race of life he ran, +</p> +<p> +With love supreme to God on high, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And equal love to man. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Some flaws the earthen vessel marred, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Which all could clearly see; +</p> +<p> +Within was found the precious nard; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From guile his heart was free. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +In motive e'er is found the sin; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Let that to God be true, +</p> +<p> +And he the Judge's smile will win, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And man's approval too. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<a name="187"> + +</a> +<p class="title"> +MY OLD SWEETHEART +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +My old sweetheart is away to-day; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I feel as I did of old, +</p> +<p> +In my courting days, when far away +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I yearned for her more than gold. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +I thought of her handsome, smiling face, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Her noble and cultured brow, +</p> +<p> +Of her gentle ways, and charming grace; +</p> +<p class="i2"> +I missed her less then than now. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Through the long years of our wedded life, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Now nearly a full two score, +</p> +<p> +She has proved herself a loving wife, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And a sweetheart evermore. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Our love has grown with the flight of time, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +As the mountain stream may grow; +</p> +<p> +Or as a tree in a genial clime +</p> +<p class="i2"> +When free from the frost and snow. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +The tempest may madly rage without, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +We have lasting peace within; +</p> +<p> +And confidence ne'er gives place to doubt, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Nor concord to noisy din. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +She will soon return again to me, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +From her visit in the West, +</p> +<p> +And the dear face that I long to see +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Will be nestling on my breast. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And I will feel as in olden time, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +With a love not dreamed of then; +</p> +<p> +No happier man in any clime +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Is known to the sons of men. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +And when we part at the silent tomb, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +'Twill be but a passing day +</p> +<p> +Before we meet where there is no gloom, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And sweethearts forever stay. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i12"> +* * * +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Full forty-six years of wedded life, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +Enjoyed with my sweetheart here; +</p> +<p> +They were happy years, devoid of strife, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And full of Christian cheer; +</p> +<p> +Then her Master called her spirit home, +</p> +<p> +And I am left to walk alone. +</p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p> +Ere long my journey, too, will end, +</p> +<p class="i2"> +And my spirit to God arise; +</p> +<p> +Perhaps he may my sweetheart send +</p> +<p class="i2"> +To escort me to the skies; +</p> +<p> +And there with our Saviour we shall be, +</p> +<p> +Yet sweethearts still through eternity. +</p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GLEAMS OF SUNSHINE***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 24605-h.txt or 24605-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/0/24605">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/0/24605</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Gleams of Sunshine + Optimistic Poems + + +Author: Joseph Horatio Chant + + + +Release Date: February 13, 2008 [eBook #24605] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GLEAMS OF SUNSHINE*** + + +E-text prepared by Mark C. Orton, Charles Bidwell, Beth Trapaga, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(http://www.pgdpcanada.net) + + + +GLEAMS OF SUNSHINE + +Optimistic Poems + +by + +JOSEPH HORATIO CHANT + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Rev. J. H. Chant] + + + +Printed for the Author by +William Briggs +Toronto +1915 + +Copyright, Canada, 1915 +by J. H. Chant. + + + + + + _TO + The memory of my beloved wife, + MARY MATILDA McKIM + Who, by her gentle disposition, + cheerful spirit, +sound judgment, and earnest Christian life, + not only proved herself my true + helpmate for over 46 years, + but, also, + made our home a place of constant + peace and abounding joy, + I dedicate this book._ + + J. H. C. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + +INVOCATION 7 + +FATHER OF UNIVERSAL MAN 9 + +GOD'S PLAN IS BEST 12 + +CANADA 14 + +LATE AUTUMN 18 + +FRIENDSHIP 19 + +LIFE 22 + +TO MR. RUDYARD KIPLING 23 + +MEN BELOW DECK 26 + +"OTHERS SAVE WITH FEAR" 28 + +TREAD SOFTLY 31 + +"IT WAS MY FAULT" 34 + +KEPT THE FLAG FLOATING 35 + +MARY 37 + +A WORLD REDEEMED 38 + +ALASKAN BOUNDARY SETTLEMENT 40 + +MY PRIMROSE 42 + +NIAGARA'S RAINBOW 44 + +MY SISTER NELL AND I 46 + +GATHER THE WAYSIDE FLOWERS 48 + +HIDE THEIR SCARS 50 + +"ASHAMED BUT NOT AFRAID" 52 + +DUNBAR 54 + +MARSTON MOOR 59 + +OIL THE CRICKET 62 + +THE REAL 63 + +VICTORY GAINED AND LIFE LOST 65 + +THE BAPTISM OF CLOVIS 66 + +THE WATER LILY 70 + +"HE SHALL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR" 72 + +THE TAJ OF AGRA 73 + +ENGLAND'S BRAVE SONS 78 + +QUEEN VICTORIA 80 + +SILVER TONES 83 + +GOD'S ORDER 86 + +INFLUENCE 88 + +UNDECAYING FRUIT 90 + +THE HEROES OF OUR DAY 92 + +THE BIG BEAR CREEK 94 + +THE FROST ON THE WINDOW 96 + +"WILT THOU HARASS A DRIVEN LEAF?" 98 + +A GEM 100 + +THE CLOUDS 101 + +THE MOSSES 103 + +THE GRANDEST THEME 105 + +SEPTEMBER 107 + +THE FLOWERS 111 + +THE BUD 113 + +BEAUTIFUL SKY 115 + +BUTTERCUPS AND DAISIES 116 + +THE MOSS ROSE 118 + +GOD'S CARE 120 + +MY LOT 121 + +GOD'S FOOT ON THE CRADLE 122 + +GOD'S GIFTS TO BE ENJOYED 124 + +THE HIGHEST GOAL 126 + +JOY IN THE MORNING 128 + +"HE SHALL DWELL ON HIGH" 129 + +BAG YOUR GAME 132 + +OTHERS' BURDENS 135 + +MEMORY 136 + +THE ROYAL WAY 138 + +'STABLISHED 140 + +A MEROGNOSTIC 141 + +"SALUT AUX BLESSIS" 144 + +SONNET 146 + +BROTHERHOOD 147 + +SHE DEARLY LOVED THE FLOWERS 149 + +MY PANSY PETS 151 + +LOVE BETTER THAN KNOWLEDGE 153 + +A SUFFERING GOD 155 + +THE COPY 157 + +PERFECT WORK 159 + +THE JOHNSTOWN DISASTER 160 + +EYE HATH NOT SEEN 169 + +WHAT LASTS? 171 + +IS THERE A BRIGHTER WORLD? 173 + +A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN 176 + +THE END WE SOUGHT 178 + +ASPIRATION 179 + +MY REST 180 + +"PAINT ME AS I AM, WARTS AND ALL" 182 + +"I WAS THERE" 183 + +TRUE LOVE 185 + +A TRUE MAN 186 + +MY OLD SWEETHEART 187 + + + + +Gleams of Sunshine + + + + +INVOCATION + + +_O Thou, who art the source of joy and light, + The great Revealer of the will Divine; +Thyself Divine, all nature owns Thy might, + And bows in homage at a beck of Thine, +Afford me light to guide my unskilled hand, +And by Thy Spirit all my thoughts command. + +To Thy great name I dedicate my powers, + Yielding to Thee what Thou with blood hast bought, +Resolved that Thou shalt have my days and hours, + And for Thy sake shall every work be wrought; +O deign to use me, if it be Thy will, +And my poor heart with love and gladness fill. + +If this strange impulse which I feel within + To write this book proceeds, O Lord, from Thee, +Let it not die, nor be defiled by sin, + But let the work from self and sin be free, +And prove a guide to home and bliss above, +And help to fill this warring world with love. + +The Master's touch I know it sadly lacks, + And may not please the nice artistic taste +Of some fine mind that naught but gold attracts; + Some may not count these iron-filings waste; +Like magnets, to which gold will not adhere, +May they find ore in this to bless and cheer. + +In this plain pitcher, Lord, Thy blessing pour, + That from it men their raging thirst may slake, +And when exhausted is the scanty store, + Then let the earthen vessel quickly break; +Its end is gained if Thou art glorified, +And men have learned to love the Christ who died. + +As flowers drink in the solar rays and dew, + And in return give bloom and odors sweet, +So would I to Thy Spirit's touch prove true, + And render that return which seemeth meet; +Come, dews of grace! Great Sun, illume my heart! +That I to some sad soul may joy impart._ + + + + + +FATHER OF UNIVERSAL MAN + + +Father of Universal Man, + Where'er in this wide world he roam, +Not known to thee by kith or clan, + Nor height, nor breadth of mental dome, +Nor babbling tongue, nor sounding creed, +But by his woe and common need. + +The pushing Anglo-Saxon race, + The Celts with wealth of heart and mind, +The Esquimaux of leaden face, + The Arabs whom no chain can bind, +With hardy Boers and all the rest, +Are with one common Father blest. + +And all are brothers, though at times + Our flashing swords obscure the sun. +We ring aloud our Christmas chimes, + But louder sounds the booming gun, +And brother is by brother slain, +And kindred ties are rent in twain. + +Yet Thou art true whate'er betide; + Thy heart o'er human woe doth melt; +For men of every race Christ died, + And, as a zone, Thy love would belt +All human kind from pole to pole +Into one grand, harmonious whole. + +Men war with men in every clime, + Commotions rock this earthly ball; +Our souls are covered o'er with grime-- + Sad fruits of our Adamic fall, +But grace shall triumph in the end, +And good the evil far transcend. + +Thy throne remains forever firm, + And here, amidst the strife of men, +We find with joy a heavenly germ + Which shall re-stock this world again +With fruitful plants of righteousness, +If Thou, O God, but deign to bless. + +Help us that we may not deny + Our brotherhood in hour of strife; +When swords shall from their scabbards fly, + And great the sacrifice of life, +May we in pity o'er them bend, +And help to wounded foe extend. + +If we are working out Thy plan, + Give our brave soldiers arms of steel, +And may each prove himself a man-- + To God and to his nation leal, +And never falter in the fight, +But die, if need be, for the right. + +May right prevail in this dread war, + Though we be humbled in the dust; +To fail our end is better far + Then gain it, if it be unjust, +But if our aims with Thine agree-- +We trust--and leave results with Thee. + +The world moves on; let none essay + To block it in its onward course, +Lest they like chaff be swept away + As by a supernatural force; +For laggards progress does not wait-- +Keep pace with time or bide your fate. + +May our brave foes rise in defeat + To higher form of liberty; +And Freedom's flag, as seemeth meet, + Wave over all from sea to sea; +Pushed on as by the hand of fate +To nationhood, both firm and great. + + + + +GOD'S PLAN IS BEST + + +Thy plan is best, though it may not agree + With my conceptions of my needs and rights, + And faith may fail to scale its azure heights; +Yet still I trust, and leave my cause with Thee. + +With single eye I sought to do Thy will. + I felt Thy smile and left results with Thee; + If they have failed, then that is naught to me-- +I did my part, and am Thy servant still. + +The hearts of men are in Thy mighty hand; + Naught is concealed from Thy all-searching sight; + Canst Thou not turn them to the left or right? +The raging ocean calms at Thy command. + +The aching clay may circumscribe my sphere; + Yet in confinement I may labor still + In work which harmonizes with Thy will, +And e'er rejoice to have my Master near. + +Thoughts of Thy love will yet remain with me, + And in my silent hours may shape assume, + And by their measures help to lift the gloom +Of this dark world, and bring men nearer Thee. + +Whate'er may come, I will not, Lord, complain; + My plan is Thine, I have no other choice. + In work or rest 'tis meet I should rejoice; +Contentment in my lot is blessed gain. + + + + +CANADA + + +Dear Canada, our native land, + Our love for thee grows day by day; +Our fathers left the olden strand, + O'er sea and rapids made their way, +And by their energy and skill + They laid thy firm foundation deep, +And sowed the seed o'er vale and hill + Which we, their sons, are called to reap. + +The wilderness blooms as the rose; + The old-time hardships are unknown; +And wealth in streams of commerce flows + From sea to sea--a nation grown-- +Still youthful, but with thews of steel + To throttle foes that may arise; +Yet loving touch sore hearts to heal, + And lift us nearer to the skies. + +We cannot boast as blue a sky + As smiles o'er many an Alpine plain, +Nor are our mountain peaks as high + As theirs, yet we have other gain; +Our hills are rich in yellow gold, + Our plains are broad and fertile too; +Our lakes and streams hold wealth untold, + And grander forests never grew. + +Our sky is bright to healthy eyes; + Pure ozone lades the air we breathe; +Our climate we have learned to prize; + Nor do we o'er our winters grieve; +For nature throws her ermine robe + O'er purple hills and vales as well; +No portion of this earthly globe + As gay as this, with sleigh and bell. + +But soon the winter wears away, + And plants long sheltered now are seen, +And April showers and smiling May + Soon clothe the earth in living green. +Monotony is thus unknown-- + Each season is a glad surprise, +In which God's truth and love are shown, + And hope within us never dies. + +Our sons, inured to noble toil, + Grow strong in arm and broad in mind; +Some stay at home to till the soil, + Others in various callings find +Their missions--but where'er their place + In the great drama of our day, +They, as a class, win in the race, + And the behests of Heaven obey. + +The gold of monarchy have we, + Without the useless silt and dross; +And like our cousins, all are free, + Yet we have no election boss. +No union here of Church and State, + Yet Church and State full well agree +That nations never can be great + If they refuse to bow the knee. + +We make the nation's weal or woe, + As one may shape his future life. +"God's mill," 'tis said, "grinds fine, tho' slow," + A fact lost sight of in the strife +For place and power in Church and State, + And think God cares not what we do; +But to our doubt he whispers "wait," + And time proves Him both just and true. + +From England and from sunny France + Our fathers came, long years ago; +On Abraham's plain with sword and lance + They fought as foes--gave blow for blow. +The victors and the conquered now + Recall that day with mutual pride; +To their grand destiny all bow, + And as true peers, stand side by side. + +So give me Canada before + The fairest land beneath the sky. +We stretch our arms from shore to shore + And all are free, both low and high; +An infant nation yet, 'tis true, + But strong in muscle and in nerve, +We hold our own, give all their due, + And God's great purpose humbly serve. + + + + +LATE AUTUMN + + +The fields lie bare before me now, + The fruit is gathered in, +Not even seen a grazing cow, + Nor heard the blackbird's din. +The heath is brown, and ivy pale, + The woodbine berries red, +And withered leaves borne on the gale + Sink down on peaty bed. + +At morn the fence was covered o'er + With a pale sheet of rime; +The earth was like a marble floor, + But now is turned to grime. +For Autumn rains are falling fast, + And swells the running brook; +The Indian Summer, too, is past; + For snowfall soon we look. + + + + +FRIENDSHIP + + +When presses hard my load of care, + And other friends from me depart, +I want a friend my grief to share, + With faithful speech and loving heart. + +I want a friend of noble mind, + Who loves me more than praise or pelf, +Reproves my faults with spirit kind, + And thinks of me as well as self-- + +A friend whose ear is ever closed + Against traducers' poison breath; +And, though in me be not disclosed + An equal love, yet loves till death-- + +A friend who knows my weakness well, + And ever seeks to calm my fears; +If words should fail the storm to quell, + Will soothe my fevered heart with tears-- + +A friend not moved by jealousy + Should I outrun him in life's race; +And though I doubt, still trusts in me + With loyal heart and cloudless face. + +True friendship knows both joy and grief, + The sweetest pleasure, keenest pain; +Its sharpest pangs are ever brief, + Mere flitting clouds before the rain. + +But soon the joy returns again + With bluer sky and brighter light; +The grief proves but a narrow glen + All full of flowers, though hid from sight. + +And e'en in darkness we inhale + The fragrant odors love emits; +Friendship like this can never fail-- + On love's strong throne its monarch sits. + +True friendship is of greater worth + Than words, though they were solid gold. +To all the glittering gems of earth + I it prefer, a thousandfold. + +One Friend I have who knows my heart, + And loves me with a changeless love; +I love Him, too--nor death can part + Us two, for we will love above. + +A woman's love to His is faint; + No brother cleaves as close as He; +No seraph words could ever paint + The love this Friend now bears to me. + + + + +LIFE + + +Our lives seem filled with things of little worth; + A thousand petty cares arise each day +Which bring our soaring thoughts from heaven to earth, + Reminding us that we have feet of clay; + Yet we will not from path of duty stray +If we amidst them all cleave to the right; +Nor great nor small are actions in His sight; + Through lowly vale He shows our feet the way. + +Our early dreams may not be realized; + The roseate sky now proves quite commonplace; +The constellations we so highly prized + Have vanished all--nor left the slightest trace + Of former glory in its azure face, +But high o'er all beams out the polar star +To guide us safe through rock and sandy bar; + Life is complete and its cap-stone is grace. + + + + +TO MR. RUDYARD KIPLING[1] + + +True laureate of the Anglo-Saxon race, + Whose words have won the hearts of young and old; +So free from cant, and yet replete with grace, + Or prose or verse it glows like burnished gold; +Thy muse is ever loyal to the truth, +And those who know thee best forget thy youth. + +Unbend thy bow and rest with us awhile; + Thy active mind requires a healthy brain; +Death's shadow has gone back upon the dial, + And thou art left a higher goal to gain; +The future will eclipse the brilliant past; +Fear not; thy ideal will be reached at last. + +To do the grandest work one must needs be + Endowed by Nature for the master task; +Yea more, he must possess the light to see + Those mysteries which nature seems to mask, +And this can gain but in the royal way-- +'Tis dread experience leads from gloom to-day. + +The Master saw a struggling youth, and smiled, + Pleased with his work in main; but, knowing too +His latent power, if it could be beguiled + From hiding-place, much greater work would do, +He took His servant's hand and led the way +Through vale of sorrow up to brighter day. + +By other path this height is ne'er attained, + Nor books nor schools its hidden wealth unveil. +Philosophy and art have treasures gained, + But in this quest they must forever fail-- +Experience only can the gift impart, +Bring needed light and regulate the heart. + +To solace those who grieve one must have felt + In his own heart the rending pangs of pain; +The heart that suffers not will never melt + At others' woes, though free from selfish stain; +What we have felt and seen we truly know, +And thus endowed, our tears for others flow. + +So leave thy much-loved lyre awhile unstrung + Till health again invigorate thy frame; +With brain renewed, with vigorous heart and lung + Take up thy work once more, and greater fame-- +A richer man by far than e'er before, +For thou hast treasure on the other shore. + +[Footnote 1: These lines were written directly after Mr. Kipling's +recovery from severe illness.] + + + + +MEN BELOW DECK + + +The battleship its anchor weighs, + And belches forth its thunder; +Its commodore all classes praise, + And at his victories wonder; +And well they may--for braver man + Ne'er wielded sword or sabre; +But tell me, brother, if you can, + Who did the lowly labor. + +Below the deck in engine-room, + As oilers and coal-heavers? +Amidst the smut and ghastly gloom, + Who worked the iron levers? +And thus it is in other lines; + Brave men are often hidden +"Below the deck," in shops and mines, + To higher plane unbidden. + +The men on deck the praise receive, + But meagre thanks the others; +As honest men they seldom grieve, + And envy not their brothers; +A common cause they gladly serve, + Though in a lowly station, +From path of duty never swerve-- + Loyal to God and nation. + +For when the smoke has cleared away, + And din of battle ended, +On upper deck, in bright array, + By angel bands attended, +The whole ship's crew will then appear, + From high and lowly station, +And each the words "well done" shall hear, + 'Midst shouts of acclamation. + + + + +"OTHERS SAVE WITH FEAR" + + +Some men there are who stand so straight, +So equipoised, that others' fate +Seems to depend on their behest; +And useless all our every quest +To gain perfection or renown, +Unless we touch the flowing gown +Of these high-priests, whose shadows fall +Within themselves, if fall at all. + +Others are not as straight as these, +But more like rough and gnarled trees; +But little beauty they display; +Shadows they cast across the way; +And from them men with scorning turn, +Or, if they speak, their accents burn +Like capsicum on chafed skin, +And leave a smarting wound within. + +Once noble men, when turned aside +By fleshly lust or sinful pride, +Each one becomes a broken bell +On which the angry fiends of hell +Ring out their discord, harsh and loud, +As if with demon powers endowed. +Colossal once through grace they were; +Colossal still, though cleft and bare. + +On northern rocks is often seen +The impress of some southern sheen, +The brightness of a warmer bloom, +Unknown to winter's frost and gloom. +The fossil flower of epoch fair +Has left its lasting impress there. +So in some men whose hearts are cold +You find a trace of days of old. + +While we deplore the Arctic chill, +The frigid heart, the ice-bound will, +We must admire the fossil trace, +Still seen, of early days of grace. +Hiding from sight as best we can +The traces of the fallen man, +We feast our eyes upon the fair, +Though fossil, lines that linger there. + +How to restore is our concern, +As we o'er their declensions mourn. +Can such dire ruin be repaired? +Only if God's strong arm be bared. +But we must do a brother's part, +And try to thaw the frozen heart; +Not by the fire of wrath above, +But by the melting coals of love. + +As bullets smooth are farther shot, +Because rough angles they have not, +So gentle ways and loving speech +Are sure the erring heart to reach, +While jagged deeds and words unkind, +Like pebbles rough, much friction find; +They fall before they reach the goal, +And seldom help the needy soul. + +To truth be loyal, but take a care +That with true zeal _tact_ have a share. +The lightning when it strikes the tree +Runs with the grain, as oft you see; +Those who at angling are adepts, +Choose well their bait and guard their steps; +So if you would the sinner gain, +Bait well your hook, or mark the grain. + + + + +TREAD SOFTLY + + +In the courts of truth tread softly, + Though your tread be firm and bold; +Your steps may awaken echoes, + Resounding through years untold. +The trend of the age is onward, + And you should not lag behind; +If men's minds are bound with fetters, + Perchance you may some unbind. + +Our creed, say you, needs revising, + In line with the growth of light; +Be sure you have made real progress + Before you assume the right, +By stroke of pen, to unsettle + The faith of the long ago; +For many who err in judgment + Stand fast to the truth they know. + +You bring from the mine rare jewels, + That you think the world should see; +But, perhaps, their estimation + With your own may not agree; +They may lack discrimination, + And their worth may not discern; +So polish them at your leisure, + And give the world time to learn. + +Before you dig up the old tree + That sheltered in ages past +The earth's noblest men and women + From the fury of the blast, +See that your sapling is rooted, + And no borer at its base, +And its boughs both strong and spreading, + To cover an erring race. + +Bear down on the lever gently, + Or the rock may be o'erturned! +Or, perchance, your lever shattered, + And little experience learned! +Take time to adjust your fulcrum, + Then thrust home your iron bar; +Bear down and the rock is lifted, + Is lifted without a jar. + +Your views are, perhaps, exotic-- + Young shoots from a tropic brain, +They need to be better rooted + To endure the wind and rain; +You may well admire the markings + On each graceful stem and leaf, +But if taken from the hot-house, + They will surely come to grief. + +Before they have wholly perished + They may please admiring eyes, +The old be thrown on the dunghill, + To receive your floral prize; +They adorn the porch and window, + And brighten the wayside bed, +But we waken some summer morning + To find our new treasures dead. + +'Tis better to make haste slowly, + Than to antedate your day; +The farmer waits for the sunshine, + To transmute the grass to hay. +When the fields are ripe for harvest + Fear neither the heat or rain, +But thrust in your sharpened sickle, + And gather the golden grain. + + + + +"IT WAS MY FAULT"[2] + + +Those men are deemed heroes who rush on the foe +Regardless of danger, and seek not to know + What others may do; +Stern duty demands it--why should they falter +If all they hold dear is laid on the altar, + And conscience be true? + +The greatest of all is the man who can say +When battle is over and foe gained the day, + "The fault was in me: +My plan miscarried through miscalculation; +On me rests the blame, and not on the nation: + My soldiers are free." + +In George Stewart White, and men of like mind, +Our nation can rest, for in them you will find + A true manliness; +Their failures acknowledged are failures no more; +Defeat to such men only opens the door + To future success. + +[Footnote 2: General White's words.] + + + + +KEPT THE FLAG FLOATING + + "Thank God, we have kept the flag floating."--_General White._ + + +Some men, like French, display much dash; + They boldly rush upon the foe, +Their sword-blades like the lightning flash, +As they on helm or hauberk clash; + Nor fear the foeman's blow. +We praise them for their gallant deeds; +They are the men the Empire needs. + +But true as they are those who stand + Within the fort beleaguered round; +Resources few at their command, +Their army but a feeble band, + Yet bravely hold their ground; +And o'er their blood-bespattered coats +The Union Jack in triumph floats. + +Reduced their strength through lack of food, + And fever germs on vitals preyed; +Yet they o'er trouble did not brood, +By night or day of cheerful mood; + This burden on them weighed-- +To keep the flag afloat--in brief, +Till Buller came to their relief. + +Brave White, accept our meed of praise! + We crown thee equal to the best +Of heroes of the olden days, +Whose deeds inspired the poets' lays! + We need no further quest; +But this with gratitude we note, +Thy valour kept the flag afloat! + +Valor like thine does not surprise + When we review thy noble past; +A hero is the one who tries, +Though he may not to ideal rise-- + His plan may fail at last-- +Yet is too brave to lay the blame +On others, but takes all the shame. + +"The fault was mine," thy language then, + Revealing the divinest grace +Possessed by truly noble men, +And, prophecy of triumph, when + With foe brought face to face, +The choice remains, defeat or death, +The flag will float till latest breath. + + + + +MARY + + +She brought her alabaster flask + Well-filled with precious nard; +Nor did she deem the act a task, + Nor look for great reward; +She only thought of His great love, + And felt her gift was small +For Him who left His home above + To suffer death for all. +But her blest Lord more highly prized + The loving heart that gave; +For loveless gifts are e'er despised, + Yet men oft seek to pave +The way that leads to glory land + With deeds devoid of grace; +But only those who love can stand + Approved before His face. + + + + +A WORLD REDEEMED + + +This world is but the shadow + Of the world that is to be, +A ripple on the surface + Of a deep, unfathomed sea. +God's plans are always perfect, + But long ages intervene +From the planning of the temple + To the glow upon its sheen; +But we can be co-workers + In accomplishing his plan; +For in God's purpose is a place + For every son of man. + +The germ may be developed + In a more salubrious clime, +All obstacles surmounted + In the onward march of time, +And nature's forces harnessed + Will their destiny fulfil, +And things now deemed supernal + Respond to human will; +For God has so adjusted + The laws of this earthly sphere, +That by man's help his plans unfold, + And order doth appear. + +The words of God's own prophets + Concerning these latter days +Of mighty transformations, + To our great Redeemer's praise; +When wastes shall glow in beauty, + And the savage beast be kind, +Though they have prior fulfilment + In the realm of soul and mind; +Will then be more than figure, + Though that we all count sublime; +The earth will wear its regal robes + In every land and clime. + +This life is but a sample + Of the life that is to be; +There we know the perfect lesson, + Here we learn the a--b--c; +And the life beyond is fashioned + By the thoughts and deeds of this; +Fitting it for realms of darkness, + Or for never-ending bliss; +For those alone will sorrow + Who receive His grace in vain, +But those who wrought with God will prove + That godliness is gain. + + + + +ALASKAN BOUNDARY SETTLEMENT + + +My neighbor's farm and mine lie side by side, +And nothing should our mutual trust divide; +But they who made th' original survey +Were guided by the stars, the records say, +So that the line that marks out our domain +Is indistinct, and puzzling doubts remain. + +Our farms are large, and portions near the line +With rocky soil and stunted spruce and pine, +With scarce a wigwam or a ranger's hearth, +We left untilled, and deemed of little worth; +The petals of this desert rose unfold, +When man discovers mines of yellow gold. + +"Where is the boundary line?" is now the cry. +Each stakes his claim and gives his reason why; +One sought an exit to the main highway, +The other closed the gates and gained the day +In custom duties on the shining ore, +And stores for man and beast that inland pour. + +Each claimed his own, whatever that may be, +Yet, neighbors true, we feared to disagree. +We studied maps and treaties old and new, +Yet each his own line-fence declared was true; +Then, to avoid unseemly strife, we chose +To settle our dispute as friends, not foes. + +My neighbor chose three men in his employ, +I three, at least, accepted them with joy; +Not chosen these to arbitrate our case, +But from material at command to trace, +In harmony with law, the primal line +For boundary fence, between his farm and mine. + +I _lost my case_--all but one narrow lane! +All other gates are closed, but why complain? +Diminished somewhat is my large estate, +But self-respect remains--nor place for hate; +O'er our line-fence we grasp each other's hand, +And for the right, united, ever stand. + + + + +MY PRIMROSE + + +My sweet primrose with thy open face, +And with fringe-like leaves, without a trace +Of coarseness, either in flower or stem, +Among all my plants thou art the gem. + +My lovely lilies soon disappear; +Thy bloom is constant through all the year; +In summer's heat and winter's cold, +Undimmed the light of thy floral gold. + +Or if thy color be pink, or blue, +Or white as snow, thou art ever true; +My room is bright with thy smiling eyes, +And thy fragrance rare I also prize. + +Thou hast done thy part, my little pet-- +Let me keep thy roots forever wet, +But guard with care all thy tender leaves +And growing crown, which the earth-crust heaves. + +Thou dost heaven-ward tend, aspiring high, +To kiss the stars in the vaulted sky, +And they look down from the azure blue, +My sweet primrose--they are smiling, too. + + + + +NIAGARA'S RAINBOW + + +Upon the "table-rock" I stand, + And gaze into the depths profound, +In ecstacy at sights so grand, + And deafened by the sound +Of rushing waters, as they leap +Like maddened steeds, down hillside steep. + +The falling spray my head bedews, + As gently as a vernal shower; +Or, as the Holy Ghost imbues + In consecrated hour, +The soul that inly yearns for love, +And seeks it from the throne above. + +But I see more than chasm deep, + Than falling spray and rushing tide. +Sublime, indeed, the awful leap; + The awe will long abide-- +God's _rainbow hangs in colors bright_, +A thing of beauty in my sight. + +Our cousins on the other side + And we too often disagree; +Puffed up, I fear, at times, with pride, + Each strong, and brave, and free; +But we forget the stormy past, +Our lands and hearts are linked at last. + +The "Union-Jack" hangs o'er my head, + The "Stars and Stripes" my cousin rears, +But old-time grievances are dead + For all the coming years; +As separate flags they still may wave, +But we are _one_ the world to save. + + + + +MY SISTER NELL AND I + + +We strolled down by the river side, + My sister Nell and I, +To watch the waters onward glide, + And vessels passing by. + +On Nature's floor of lovely green, + Bedecked with flowers of gold, +The purple sassafras as sheen, + Which trumpet vines enfold. + +We played our youthful games for hours, + And told our childish tales; +Adorned each brow with fragrant flowers, + And slept 'neath cooling gales. + +For I was then but nine years old, + And she was only seven; +Yet joys like ours can ne'er be told-- + They savored much of heaven. + +Close by the bank, in shady nooks, + The waxen lilies grew; +We called them fish, and with our hooks + To shore full many drew. + +With these I made a wreath for Nell. + She was so good and pure, +They seemed to suit her brow so well, + Yet could not long endure + +The heated brow and dewless air-- + The river suits them best; +But graced awhile her golden hair, + As dove would silken nest. + +Frail like the lilies, too, was Nell. + The fever's scorching blast +Swept by, and my fair flowerette fell, + And to the dust was cast. + +But now she blooms in glory land, + Close by the tree of Life; +Better to bloom at God's right hand + Than in this world of strife. + +I hope some day to meet her there, + And as in days of yore +We plucked the lilies, pure and fair, + Up there we'll gather more. + + + + +GATHER THE WAYSIDE FLOWERS + + +'Tis well to have a goal in mind, + A life-aim, high and true; +Clear as the day, and well defined, + And ever kept in view. +But God has strewn along the way + Bright flowers of every hue. +Gather the brightest while you may, + For they were meant for you. + +Heaven's joy transcends the joys of earth, + But if earth's joys be pure +They must have had a heavenly birth, + And bless while they endure; +So pluck the flower before it fades-- + Drink from the purling stream; +Nor look for sorrow's darkening shades, + But for the morning gleam. + +Life's burdens lose full half their weight + If gay our spirits be; +The rest beyond we antedate, + And serve, though ever free. +Our lamentations all will end, + Exchanged for smile and song, +And men will mark our upward trend + By joy-points all along. + +The poet wrote, "no room for mirth;" + Much less for sigh and frown. +"A vale of tears" may be this earth-- + 'Tis so to every clown. +The desert blossoms as the rose, + And joy flows everywhere; +The star of hope in brightness glows, + No room for dark despair. + +Before we reach God's heaven above, + Enjoy His heaven below; +And by the ministries of love + A Christlike nature show; +For he who lives a selfish life + Must lose the joy of this; +For highest good, vain is our strife, + If man share not our bliss. + + + + +HIDE THEIR SCARS! + + +A painter, high in worldy fame, + Was sought to reproduce by art +A likeness of the man whose name + Sent darts of anguish through the heart +Of mighty monarchs in his day; + For he by arms subdued the world. +Kingdoms and empires owned his sway + And bowed beneath his flag unfurled. + +But Alexander bore a scar, + Deep marked upon his royal brow; +To paint him thus would greatly mar + The monarch's beauty; as a slough +Would mar the beauty of a lawn, + Where queenly feet are wont to tread; +Or like the cloud at early dawn, + Which hides some glory 'neath its spread. + +To leave it out would not be true, + For Alexander bore the scar; +The painter this resolved to do, + Which would be true, yet would not mar: +To paint the monarch's head reclined, + With his fore-finger on his brow; +And thus much grace with art combined, + Like ornament on vessel's prow. + +The finger rested on the scar, + As if mere chance had placed it there; +And hid from sight this fruit of war, + And left a likeness true and fair. +So let us try, as best we can, + To cover o'er each ugly scar +Upon the brow of mortal man, + So none may see it, near nor far. + + + + +"ASHAMED, BUT NOT AFRAID" + + +O God, I am ashamed to die, + But not the least afraid; +Tho' death's dark shadow draweth nigh, + Atonement has been made + +For every member of our race, + And I on it rely, +And hope immortal blooms thro' grace; + I'm not afraid to die. + +But Thou hast done great things for me, + And I have nothing done. +To set my sin-bound spirit free, + Was sacrificed Thy Son; + +And every day by Thy kind hand + Rich blessings are bestowed; +Oh, how can I before Thee stand, + Or rest in Thine abode + +With self-respect, or feel at home + With no returns to show, +My whole life like the worthless foam + On time's incessant flow. + +Oh, that in life's great harvest field, + I may some reaping do; +Early and late the sickle wield, + And prove a reaper true. + +And when the summons comes from Thee, + While I on Christ rely, +Thou wilt not be ashamed of me, + Nor I ashamed to die. + + + + +DUNBAR + + +Up to Dunbar our Cromwell went, +Not to invade was his intent; +But they who first King Charles sold +Now turn their backs on friends of old, +And principles they then held dear +Were sacrificed for self, I fear. +Another Stuart they receive, +Who knew too well how to deceive; +The most perfidious of his race, +Corrupt in life, and void of grace, +The menial of the Papacy; +And yet content by oath to free +Himself from Holy See's control, +And covenant to save his soul +By the Scotch Presbyterian mode, +As to the crown this paved the road. +But Cromwell brooked not this control; +He wished man free to save his soul +As conscience may to him dictate, +Without subservience to the State. +He saw also thro' the disguise +Of one well versed in fraud and lies, +And saw how England's liberties +Were threatened by this scheme of his. +So up to Dunbar Cromwell went; +To break this compact his intent, +Conserve the rights of Britons true +To worship God in desk and pew +As conscience may to them dictate, +Without control of king, or state, +Or Papal "bull," or legate's rod-- +Only accountable to God. +On Sunday night he reached Dunbar. +From darkened sky gleamed not a star; +The way he travelled o'er was drear, +Made doubly so by Scotchmen's fear. +At his approach like sheep they fled, +Made frantic by an awful dread +Of red-hot irons, spear, and sword, +Of breasts thrust thro', and bodies gored, +Which they were told would be their lot +When Cromwell came. So from each cot +They bore away what pleased them best, +And to the flames consigned the rest. +But now Dunbar is reached; yet he +Finds himself in extremity; +Midst swamps and bogs unfit to tent, +By Lammermoor from hillside rent, +Leslie in front defiant stands +A noble army he commands +Of thousands two score seven, or more, +Ready on Cromwell shot to pour. +Behind the sea cut off retreat; +With such great odds can he compete? +The mountain sheep may safely tread +The Lammermoor, but men may dread +To cross this heath at any time; +Much more now, midst the rain and slime, +Will Cromwell with the smaller score +Dare to cross o'er to Dunbar shore? +Tho' shipped were half his guns and men +The foe falls ere he turn again. +With foresight keen, like one inspired, +He saw the end ere Leslie fired. +"THE LORD," said he, as rapt he stands, +"HATH GIVEN THEM INTO OUR HANDS!" +'Tis the ninth month and second day, +A wild, wet night, historians say. +Quit you like men, and bravely stand; +Death's wrestle now is close at hand; +Heed not the hoarse sea's doleful moan, +As on the cliffs its waves are thrown. +Think not of life nor kindred dear-- +Who goes to war should nothing fear +But God, whose eye-lids never sleep-- +His Israel He will safely keep. +Oh, pray! but keep your powder dry-- +Your part do, then on God rely. +Stand to your arms the whole night thro' +Or lie awake with arms in view. +And you, ye Scots, your lights blow out, +But stay not in your strong redoubt. +'Midst shocks of corn your shelter seek, +And rest in sleep; your foe is weak, +Yet ere another night comes 'round +In deeper slumber shall be found +Full many of your stalwart host, +And stilled for aye their every boast. +In Cromwell's camp all night was heard +The voice of prayer in tones which stirred +The tender hearts of "Ironside" men, +As never can be told by pen. +Ere shone the first faint streak of morn, +The Scots beneath the shocks of corn, +Stretched out full length in quiet sleep, +Hear a loud blast, and upward leap +To seize their arms and face the foe. +Too late the warning! or, too slow +Their movements when the trump was heard, +Yet rang along the lines the word +Of battle-cry by Leslie sent, +"_The Covenant! The Covenant!_" +While high and strong was Cromwell's boast, +"_The Lord of Hosts! The Lord of Hosts!_" +With master skill he struck the blow, +And when shone out the crimson glow +Of morning sun upon the sea, +Brave Leslie's men began to flee. +"_They run! Oh, I protest they run! +Let God arise! Let God arise! +And scattered be His enemies!_" +Loud Cromwell cried. _The work was done._ +Then rose from England's host a cry +Which rent the very heavens on high. +Now halt they on the battle field +And to the Lord their homage yield-- +And sing this song with hearts devout: +"_O praise the Lord, ye nations all! +Laud Him all peoples on this ball! +His mercy toward us e'er is great; +His truth and grace for sinners wait, + Let all the people shout!_" + + + + +MARSTON MOOR + + +The armies met on Marston Moor, +'Midst lightning's flash and thunder's roar; +As murky clouds sweep o'er the sky, +God's cannonade with man's will vie. +The Royalists in phalanx strong, +By fiery Rupert led along, +From Bolton's cruel massacre +Towards York, in hope to keep it free +From the Roundheads at any cost. +"If York be lost, my crown is lost"-- +Wrote Charles to this trusted chief, +And he must bring it prompt relief. +The foe's true strength he did not know, +But dazzled much by victory's glow +He hoped with ease to overthrow + The untrained volunteers; +Nor did he for brave Cromwell care, +Tho' he had asked "is Cromwell there?" + Would not his grenadiers +Scatter those yeomen to their fields, +To hold their ploughs instead of shields? +Thus confident of great success +He asked his chaplain now to bless +From God's own word their going out, +And seemed to hear the victor's shout, +While from the ranks of Roundheads rose +Triumphant hymns, ere came the blows. +Now Rupert madly dashes out, +"_God and the King!_" his battle shout; +Charges the parliamentary ranks +In centre, heedless of the flanks, +Defeats Lord Fairfax and Leven, +Scatters like leaves their untrained men. +Remorselessly he hewed them down, +And chased their leaders far from town. +But Cromwell kept his men restrained +Till Rupert thought the victory gained. +His eye was all ablaze with fire, +And burned his soul with righteous ire; +Then sharp and passionate came the cry, +"_Charge, in the name of the Most High!_" +His features now most clearly show +A strange, enthusiastic glow. +With zeal he wraps himself about, +And fires men's hearts with glance and shout. +"For God and king," is Rupert's cry. +"_For truth and peace we dare to die!_" +Shouts Cromwell, all the lines along, +Which holds as with a mighty thong +Th' immortal hosts of Puritans, +While on them fall the Royal bans. +As Roundheads, Rupert them derides; +Not Roundheads now, but _Ironsides_. +The heavens were black, the storm still raged, +As tho' with earth a war it waged, +But raged a fiercer war just then, +Not forces blind, but men with men; +For two score thousand men were there; +And booming cannon rent the air. + + +The Cavaliers were scattered wide, +Brought to the dust their haughty pride; +Across the beanfield Rupert fled, +His standard gone, his garments red; +His men by many hundreds turned +To ask for mercy, nor were spurned; +While he left all and to York sped, +Heedless of stores, or Royal dead. +To Cromwell's swords as stubble they, +And _Truth and Peace_ had gained the day. + + + + +OIL THE CRICKET + + +"Mamma, what noises do I hear? + They keep me wide awake." +"The chirping crickets, little dear; + What funny noise they make!" + +"Yes, ma, but touch their tongues with oil, + To take the squeak away; +For soon it will their voices spoil, + To squeak thus night and day." + +Well done, my little girl of three; + 'Twould tune our speaking gear +To utter sweeter melody + For your attentive ear, + +If it were oiled a little, too, + For harsh too oft its tones; +Though formed to thrill with pleasure true, + It gives forth shrieks and groans, + +Which fall discordant on the ear, + And budding pleasures spoil, +And speaking gear, likewise I fear; + So bring along the oil. + + + + +THE REAL + + +The leaf is faded, and decayed the flower, +The birds have ceased to sing in wayside bower, +The babbling brook is silenced by the cold, +And hill and vale the frost and snow enfold. +The life we see seems hasting to the tomb +Nor sun, nor star, relieves the dismal gloom; +The good man suffers with the base and vile, +And honesty and truth give place to guile. + + +Things are not always as they seem to be; +The outer surface only man may see. +The summer sleeps beneath the quilt of snow, +Behind the clouds is hid the solar glow, +The babbling brook will burst its icy bands, +And birds will sing, and trees will clap their hands. +The fallen leaf has left a bud behind, +And flowers will bloom of brightest hue and kind; +For when we look beneath the outward crust +With vision clear, and free from worldly lust, +We will behold a brighter world than this, +With less of curse and much of noble bliss; +For God's kind hand in all our conflicts here +Is clearly seen and doubts must disappear; +The end He has in view is most benign; +The fire will dross consume and gold refine. + + + + +VICTORY GAINED AND LIFE LOST + + +As fought the Paladins of old, +With gleaming swords and spirit bold, +To thwart the schemes of base Lothar, +Give France to Karl in holy war, + So would we battle for the right, + Tho' we may perish in the fight. + +Our trusty blade, not made of steel, +While wounding deep, doth also heal; +With this, and clad in Christian mail, +The hosts of sin we would assail, + To gain the world for Christ, tho' we + Should fall while shouting victory! + + + + +THE BAPTISM OF CLOVIS + + +Five hundred years have nearly passed away + Since that glad morn, when o'er fair Bethl'hem's plain +A light resplendent as the glow of day, + Shone down from heaven, and holy angels deign +To sing the sweetest song e'er heard by mortal ear, +Which fills sad hearts with joy and drives away their fear. + +Clovis, of the brave Franks, the king, and sheen, + Heard from Aurelian of a maid to wed, +Matchless in feature, and of graceful mein-- + "Zenobia, of the Alps," Aurelian said, +"The daughter of Chilperic, the Burgundian king, +Clotilda is her name; fair maids her praises sing. + +"She dwells among the Alps, in forest glade, + And by the shore of its most famous lake; +But fairer than that land is this fair maid; + And brighter than its peaks at morn's awake; +A Christian girl is she, whose heart God has renewed, +And her fine, comely mind with grace and truth embued." + +Then Clovis, by Aurelian, sent a ring + To this fair damsel, whom he hoped to wed; +She took the ring; and soon fair songsters sing + The marriage hymn, as he to altar led +This lovely Christian maid. They plight their nuptial vows; +And the old priest invoked a blessing on their brows. + +Then on her head a coronet was placed, + And she sat down by Clovis on his throne; +And never was a throne so highly graced, + Nor ever monarch felt less sad and lone; +He found in her a bride, and counsellor, as well, +And happy are the men who in her palace dwell. + +In tones of eloquence and words of power, + The wond'rous story of the cross she told; +Christ's lowly birth, pure life, and of the hour + When He, to bring us to the heavenly fold, +Bore on the cross our sins, and opened mercy's door, +Then from the dead arose to reign for evermore. + +Soon on Tolbiac's bloody field the king + Led on his troops against a mighty foe; +A foe too strong; for soon, though no weakling, + Clovis retreats--his men returned no blow; +But fled as timid sheep before a beast of prey; +The conquering Alemanni will surely win the day. + +"O king! cry on Clotilda's Christ for aid!" + Shouted Aurelian, as the monarch fled; +Then, on his helmet, Clovis his hand laid, + And lifting it, these words the monarch said: +"My gods have failed to help: O Christ, Clotilda's God, +Grant me Thy mighty aid, and I will kiss Thy rod." + +On the French pennons triumph perches now; + The foe is routed by Clotilda's God; +And Clovis wished to have upon his brow + The symbol of her faith; for 'neath the rod +Of the eternal King he bows his regal will, +And waits, with heart devout, Christ's purpose to fulfil. + +On Rheims now dawns a cloudless Christmas morn; + And flags of silk and satin grace each tower; +This is the day Clotilda's Christ was born, + And to His cause a great triumphal hour, +For see, on carpet stretched from church to palace door, +A grand procession march, of two-score priests or more! + +Remigius had led the way, and then, + Assisted by his priests, on monarch's brow, +And on the brows of full six thousand men, + As they before the holy altar bow; +The water from the font he sprinkled down like rain, +Thankful that his blest Lord so many hearts should gain. + + + + +THE WATER LILY + + +This lovely lily, so pure and white, +Seems covered o'er with celestial light; +As if it grew on the "Tree of Life," +And not down here, in this world of strife; +Too pure for earth it now seems to be; +My queenly wife, it was meant for thee. + +Its wax-like petals with graceful bend, +Drink in the sunbeams as they descend; +And lade with fragrance the heated air +As it floats around us everywhere; +And the world grows better by its advent, +This lovely lily, so kindly sent. + +It rested once on its crystal bed; +Neither wind, nor wave, occasioned dread; +Admired by all as they passed it by, +Though the contrast oft produced a sigh; +In purer soil than affords this earth +This lovely lily must have had its birth. + +Dive down in search, where the root is found; +In vain you look for the purer ground; +The root is fixed in the foulest mud; +And from it grows this pure lily bud; +While speckled frogs, and the slimy eels, +Around its roots find their daily meals. + +As lilies fair from the foul mud grow, +So oft it is with good men below; +In daily life they absorb the pure, +And the adverse elements endure; +And rise, through grace, to a higher sphere, +Their hearts in heaven, and their root down here. + +Though foul the world where they have their growth, +Unfit the soil, and the climate both, +The blood of Christ does their stains remove; +His power to keep they all daily prove; +As lilies pure are these plants of grace, +Though growing now in so foul a place. + + + + +"HE SHALL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR" + + +Every tear that dims the eye, + Or bedews the careworn cheek, +Will our God, who reigns on high, + With a hand so kind and meek, +Wipe away, nor leave a trace +Of its stain on eye or face. + +He alone life's ills can right. + Each His tender pity needs; +None are hidden from His sight; + "_Every tear_," the promise reads-- +Every tear shall cease to flow, +Cease, likewise, the cause of woe. + +O may I in Him confide + While I tread this vale of tears! +Walking closely by His side + He will dissipate my fears, +And when ends the weary strife, +May I share the tearless life! + + + + +THE TAJ OF AGRA + + +The Shah Jehan sat with his much-loved wife, + The Empress Mahal, one hot summer day, +In a cool arbor far from courtly strife, + Close by the Jumna, winding on its way. + +In silence played they long their game of chess, + But Jehan's eyes rose oft to Mahal's brow, +His ardent love he could not well repress, + Nor tried--she was his own rich jewel now. + +He stayed the game to breathe some words of love + And press her lips with lips that knew no guile, +And felt the thrill, and peace like white-winged dove + Flew down, and she repaid with loving smile. + +Then said, "What would you do if I should die?" + He paused a moment, some bright thought to woo, +And then, in solemn tone, made this reply: + "This thing, by Allah's help, I'll surely do: + +"I'll build upon the spot where we now sit + The grandest tomb a woman ever had; +All sombre tints I deem would be unfit; + For never have such tints thy bosom clad. + +"Of pure white marble shall its walls be built, + Adorned with gold, and earth's most costly gems; +Each minaret shall glow like jewelled hilt, + Sarcophagus surpass kings' diadems. + +"Then to the world it shall the truth proclaim + That Moomtaza surpassed all woman kind, +And I esteemed her more than gold or fame: + Thus cycles vast will find our names combined." + +The summer breeze now sighed among the flowers + As they play on with solemn thoughts; and sweet +As running brook passed by the pleasant hours, + And likewise passed the burning summer heat. + +And like the fading day, the Empress, too, + For scarce a year had passed ere set her sun, +But Shah Jehan, to promise ever true, + Thought of the tomb his loving wife had won. + +No common architect would he engage; + From far and near he sought with eager heart. +At last there came one Issa, gifted sage, + Whose plan pleased the great shah in whole and part. + +On the same spot where they that day had played + The game of chess, and he the promise gave, +The massive stone foundation strong was laid, + On which would rest a palace o'er her grave. + +Then Issa disappeared, but where, none knew; + Cast in the Jumna stream, by foes, some thought. +They dragged the stream, nor came the slightest clue, + And on his fate the oracles were dumb. + +The years rolled by, yet Jehan rested not, + Tho' hope, so long delayed, engendered gloom, +Content to live himself in any cot; + But no inferior hand must touch her tomb. + +Seven years had gone, when Issa came again, + And offered this excuse for his delay, +"The soil is spongy all along this glen-- + To have it settle I have stayed away. + +"I now can build on base that will not sink, + Though pierced the clouds which bend so kindly down, +'Twere fit this long delay, dost thou not think? + So chide me not nor on thy servant frown." + +Then on this base as firm as granite rock, + He built its walls as fair as falling snow, +And built them well, nor storm, nor earthquake shock + Has moved, tho' built two hundred years ago. + +For ten long years wrought twenty thousand men, + While many thousand carts the marble drew; +And proud Jehan told o'er his love again; + To love so Jacob-like the years seemed few. + +From every part of his domain they brought + Rare gems and precious stones of every hue; +Skilled hands, in form of birds and flowers inwrought + In snow-white walls, these gems the building through, + +The name of God, one hundred times save one, + On the sarcophagus, by cunning hand, +Then lined with gold ere they pronounced it done; + But then the grandest tomb in any land. + +By Titans built, it seems, as mountain high + Of pure white marble, based on pink sandstone; +In length it is a thousand feet well nigh, + Its width three hundred feet by measure shown. + +It seems a temple of the living _One_, + Though tomb to hide the dust of Jehan's queen. +It serves each purpose well--her course was run, + Returned to God, love must the dust ensheen. + +To many hearts it speaks of God and rest, + And lifts our thoughts above the things of earth; +It teaches us that love will give its best, + And then regard its gifts of little worth. + + + + +ENGLAND'S BRAVE SONS + + +The yeoman lays aside his soil-stained smock, + And from his herd selects a trusty steed, + And sallies forth to help in hour of need; + Nor dreads the battle's shock. + +The artisan from mine, or shop, or store, + Responds at duty's call without delay, + Nor stops to ask, "What will my nation pay?" + It calls--what needs he more? + +The man of law--the herald of the cross-- + The painter, skilled--he of the healing art-- + The man of trade--come each with loyal heart, + Nor calculates his loss. + +But brave as these are those of noble birth; + Genteel in manner, but with athlete frames, + They do full honor to their ancient names, + And prove by deeds their worth. + +Palatial homes have they and wealth untold; + Nor need to labor, and no cause for fret, + But deeds of noble sires they ne'er forget; + Deem honor more than gold. + +Brave lads are these on whom we may rely. + They go uncalled, content the gaps to fill, + And in their places fall, if God so will, + For they fear not to die. + +The whole Empire is loyal to the core. + From far-off East, brave Indians seek the fray, + And on French soil have clearly shown that they + Were true to flag they bore. + +Their old-time leader greets his men once more, + Bestows his parting blessing ere his death, + And praised their valor with his final breath, + Then crossed to _other_ shore. + +Our own brave youth by thousands answer call, + And in our common cause enroll their names; + With cultured minds and well-developed frames + They stand like granite wall. + +For _truth_ and _brotherhood_ all face the foe; + Themselves they cannot save, but others may. + But, live or die, they hope to win the day. + To sacrifice they go! + + + + +QUEEN VICTORIA + +A Prize Birthday Poem, 1885. + + +We do not sing of vast domain-- + Empires as vast as ours are seen, +And o'er their millions despots reign; + We sing the virtues of our Queen. + +We think of her when but a maid + The message came, "_the King is dead!_" +And at her feet a crown was laid; + In deep distress of mind, she said: + +"_In my behalf I ask your prayers._" + Then falling on her knees to pray, +She told the Lord her fears and cares, + And sought from Him strength for her day. + +He seemed to say, "_Child, do not fear; + I will uphold thee with my hand, +And I will make thy pathway clear, + Thy throne establish in the land._" + +'Twas thus began Victoria's reign, + And God has made her throne secure; +Her enemies will plot in vain, + For it is destined to endure. + +But while she sits on regal throne, + And acts full well a regal part, +She reigns not on the throne alone, + She reigns to-day in England's heart. + +Her queenly heart with pity throbs + For every suffering subject's woes; +In lowly cot, 'midst groans and sobs, + She like a ray of sunshine goes. + +As sweet perfume by outward gale + Is carried far o'er sea and land, +So queenly virtues never fail + To touch true hearts on every strand. + +In every land, her name is blest; + She is beloved by old and young; +From pole to pole, from east to west, + The song, "God save the Queen," is sung. + +Through sorrows deep her path has led, + And tender ties have sundered been; +Bright hopes were buried with her dead, + And love has kept their memory green. + +By grief secluded from the world, + Her path through lonely years she trod, +And oft her life has been imperilled; + But she has leaned upon her God. + +And as she wept a nation's tears + In heartfelt sympathy were shed; +Forgetting their own griefs and biers, + They wept beside the royal dead. + +With grateful hearts her natal day + We loyal Britons hail again, +And join with millions as they pray + "_God bless our Queen! Long may she reign!_" + +And when at last life's glories fade, + And robes of state are laid aside, +When nature's debt to dust is paid + And charms no more earth's pomp and pride, + +May angel bands her spirit bear + Up to the palace of her King, +Where she a fadeless crown shall wear, + And the new song with rapture sing. + + + + +SILVER TONES + + +A stately church by pious hands erected long ago, +Was found to lack a vesper bell, by which the poor might know +The hour of prayer, the hour of mass, and who had lately died, +The hour when gent and bonny lass, so timid at his side, +Would stand before the surpliced priest, and twain would pledge + their troth, +The hour in which the priest would vent on heretic his wrath. +The faithful then were called upon to bring from home and mine +The metal for the holy bell, which must be strong and fine. +In smelting pot of massive size they placed the needed ore; +A molten mass it soon became, but ere in mould they pour, +And thus provide a bell for God to grace His temple fair, +In crowds the people came, to see the metal glowing there. +Then as they passed, with hearts devout, each took a silver coin +And dropped it in the glowing mass--no priest did this enjoin. +They wished to show their grateful love to Him who bore their sin; +A simple form which love took on, not done God's grace to win. +Nor did they hope to win applause from priest and saintly friar; +If God were pleased they asked no more, nor more did they desire; +Nor did they deem their silver lost, though little dreamed they then +The grand result of their small gifts, which now is known to men. +Their coins were for a moment seen, like flakes of snow on sward, +And then they melted out of sight, yet, seen by their blest Lord, +They mingled with the glowing mass, and when in high church tower +The bell was hung and daily rung, all people felt its power. +Its booming tones were soft and sweet, and echoed o'er their hills +In a grand symphony of praise, subduing all their wills, +And calling forth from old and young a burst of rapturous praise. +Their gifts, though small, were not despised; God turned them into lays. +This world is one great smelting pot in which life's ore is cast, +And from it God will some day bring a bell, destined to last +And ring aloud in thunder tones wherever man is found. +Oh, may we, by kind words and deeds, give it a silver sound! +Each word though short, each deed though small, if for the Master's sake +Are said and done, like silver coin, our blessed Lord will take, +And skillfully will blend them with the coarser ore of earth, +And grander music none have heard e'er since time had its birth. +Then from this bell of silver tone will sound o'er hill and vale: +"The work men do in Jesus' name is never known to fail." + + + + +GOD'S ORDER + + +Every flower that decks the way, +Whether it be dun or gay, +Fills a place in God's great plan, +Serving Him, while pleasing man. +Every star that gilds the night +With its beams of silver light +Has its mission to fulfil, +As assigned it by God's will. + +Feathered songsters all declare +As they cleave the ambient air, +"He who made us made our lays, +Giving each a note of praise; +Each one's note, unique and sweet, +Helps to make the song complete; +Various tones, yet all agree, +Forming one grand symphony." + +So, also, does God's own hand +Fix in place each grain of sand, +Tiny though that grain may be +Hangs on it the destiny +Of a world, yea, systems whole, +As they in their orbits roll; +Should it from its globe remove, +Worlds would clash and chaos prove. + +When we reach the world of mind +Law and order still we find; +In God's purpose is a plan +For the life of every man. +Free, he may his own course choose, +Help divine through pride refuse, +But disorder will ensue-- +Life a wreck! Yet God is true. + + + + +INFLUENCE + + +In gentle showers the rain descends, + And softly falls the dew. +The dewdrop with the raindrop blends; +The tiny stream they form then wends + Its way the grasses through. + +And kindred streams with it combine + And form a rivulet; +Then on it runs like trailing vine, +Lays bare the roots of oak and pine, + And other brooks are met. + +The swelling stream meanders on, + Gives power to busy mills, +And bears huge ships its breast upon, +Gives drink to kine and lovely fawn, + And drinks up other rills. + +A lady's foot had changed its course, + And drank it dry a lamb, +Had they but sought it at its source; +But now it rushes on with force + And leaps the mighty dam. + +Thus is it with our influence here; + Each look, each word, each deed, +Is like the rain, or dewdrop clear-- +Though tiny things they now appear, + They to the ocean lead. + +As grains of sand make up the hill + Which towers above the plain, +And drops combine to swell the rill +Which helps the mighty sea to fill, + So does our influence gain. + + + + +UNDECAYING FRUIT + + +Doomed to decay are all things here; + Whate'er their form or worth, +Color and beauty disappear, + Or turn to mother earth. + +The luscious fruits which please the taste + And please the eye as well, +Sometimes reduced to rot and waste, + Ere from the tree they fell-- + +Some gathered with a gentle hand, + And stored away with care, +To serve a place in banquet grand, + Some favorite peach or pear, + +Is found diseased in skin and core, + And loathsome to the sight, +When 'tis too late to gather more, + And comes the festal night. + +So is it with all earthly joy-- + It pleases for a time, +As toy may please a growing boy, + Though costing but a dime; + +But soon he tires and asks for more, + Appropriate to his age; +So, though a man may higher soar + And greater aims engage + +His active mind, he, like the child, + Soon looks for something new. +Too oft are men by this beguiled + And fail to find the true. + +But he who goes to Christ for rest, + Finds fruit that ne'er decays. +He sups with Christ as welcome guest, + And glory crowns his days. + + + + +THE HEROES OF OUR DAY + + +Heroic deeds in every age + Command the world's esteem; +Each finds a place in history's page, + 'Midst gloom a glory beam. + +And we full oft revert to this, + To show man's true descent +From Him who is the source of bliss, + Tho' now by passions rent. + +But we need not consult the past; + The present bears this fruit: +The hero race will ever last; + The tree is sound at root. + +And never has the world excelled + The present in this line; +Our loving Lord has not withheld + From us this trait divine. + +And we should not from them withhold + The praise we feel is due +For deeds of love, and actions bold, + For spirit kind and true. + +Their worth we now should recognize, + Not chant it o'er their graves; +The hero of the past we prize, + No less the man who braves + +The dangers of the present hour, + The sneers which now are rife, +Not for the sake of earthly power, + Nor yet to save his life. + +But for the good of fellow man, + And for his Master's sake, +He shuns no cross, and fears no ban; + 'Tis these a hero make. + + + + +THE BIG BEAR CREEK + + +The waters of the Big Bear creek + Glide slowly on their way; +The western lakes they surely seek, + Which they will reach some day; + +But sluggishly they seek their end-- + They scarcely seem to move; +Yet through the fields and round each bend + Their progress daily prove. + +By debris borne upon their breast, + And strewn along each shore, +They slowly move, but never rest, + Yet turbid evermore. + +But when they reach the Johnson bend + And the Sni Chartna meet, +The turbid and the sky-blue blend-- + The union is complete. + +And soon is lost all trace of mud; + Of azure tint the whole; +With heaven's own hue the rolling flood + Has gained the long-sought goal. + +So is it with the soul renewed + While on its heaven-bound way, +With grace divine it is embued, + Yet shows the trace of clay. + +And though to rest it never halts, + Its progress is so slow; +Alas, it has too many faults, + Nor much of heavenly glow. + +But when God's sanctifying grace + Shall meet it from above, +You seek in vain for sinful trace-- + It now is full of love. + +A new impulse it then receives + Which speeds it on its way; +To it no stain of sin now cleaves-- + It seeks its perfect day. + +And as the azure stream has found + Its home in brimming lake, +So shall the soul thus heavenward bound + Of God's own joy partake. + + + + +THE FROST ON THE WINDOW + + +Feathery frost on the window-pane, +Who placed you there? "I cannot explain," +Each little feather at once replied; +"But this I know, I'm the children's pride, +As they think I fell from an angel's wing, +And coming to earth must rich blessings bring. + +"I once formed part of a lovely bay; +The sun shone out, and I turned to spray, +And rose aloft on the ambient air, +To the regions high where all is rare; +Then I mingled with my old friends again, +Who were my neighbors in the haunts of men. + +"On the blustering wind, I rode along, +Sometimes hard tossed by the tempest strong, +And then at rest, as when in the bay, +Though much enlarged, the wise savants say; +Though I cannot tell you how long my sleep, +With a chill I woke and began to weep. + +"And my ample form much smaller grew, +By the cold compressed to a drop of dew; +Then down I fell, swift as bounding deer, +And knew no more till I fell right here; +But how I became so like a feather +Is problem I can unravel never. + +"But, oh, how the sun begins to burn! +I think I must to the clouds return. +Farewell, my boy! but you must not fret; +We meet again, as we now have met, +If not as a feather, perhaps a tree, +Or whatever the Wise One may make of me." + + + + +"WILT THOU HARASS A DRIVEN LEAF?" + + +O harass not a driven leaf, + Nor stubble dry in wrath pursue; +A life so brief load not with grief, + Nor with thine arrow pierce me through. + +The fragile leaf, by tempest tost, + Is scarcely worth a passing thought; +The brook is crossed, and then is lost; + There let it lie, a thing of naught. + +The stubble dry ne'er grows again; + To golden grain it gave its sap. +It died, and then 'twas left by men + To rot betimes, or some mishap. + +Am I not like the stubble dry + And fragile leaf by tempest strewed? +Must I not die, then tell me why + A thing so frail is thus pursued? + +A voice replies: "Thy life is frail, + Much like the leaf and stubble dry; +Thy strength must fail, and as the gale + Bears them away, so must thou die; + +"But live again, in bliss, or pain; + For death to man does not end all; +Life is not vain, if thou but gain + A _home in heaven_, when I shall call! + +"To fit thy soul for endless rest, + I harass now the driven leaf, +But though sore pressed and grief distressed, + The life of sorrow will be brief. + +"And when released from suffering clay, + Thy blood-bought spirit shall arise +To endless day. Then thou shalt say, + _The ways of God are good and wise._" + + + + +A GEM + + +The gem is not this ode itself; +Hardly can it aspire so high. +Earth has its gems; but all its wealth, + +Increased by thousands, cannot buy +Man's _soul_, the gem of priceless worth, +Made in God's image at its birth; +Ordained to live for evermore; +Redeemed by blood from sin and hell; +Transformed by grace, God's love to tell; +And at His feet its homage pour. +Lordly are its endowments, too; + +Superb its destiny, if true; +Only below, said one who knew, +Unfallen angels round God's throne. +Lord, may this gem be Thine alone. + + + + +THE CLOUDS + + +A grand stairway do these clouds appear +As they heavenward rise, tier upon tier, +With clearly-marked space of blue between, +Compared with which human art looks mean. + +Do the angels tread this grand staircase, +When they come to earth to bless our race, +And lend their aid to each struggling soul +As he ascends toward the heavenly goal? + +Was this the ladder by Jacob seen, +That reached from heaven to the mattress green +On which he lay all the lonely night +Till God afforded the blessed sight, + +And made him feel, tho' an exile here, +His father's God would be ever near-- +The servant's cry would to heaven arise, +And blessings fall from the bending skies? + +But no staircase do the angels need; +They come to earth at a greater speed, +Not step by step, nor on eagle's wing, +Nor beams of light do their message bring. + +Though heaven be far beyond mortal ken, +Assisted by all the arts of men, +A moment's time and the space is passed, +And heaven's best gifts at our feet are cast. + +Not a cloud stairway, nor ladder long, +Connects this earth with the land of song; +The Saviour bends from the opening skies-- +He smiles in love, and our souls arise. + +As flakes of steel to the magnet fly, +And mists ascend to the sun on high, +So we are drawn by the cords of love +From the earth below to thrones above. + +O lift me up from my bed of clay, +To dwell with Thee in the realms of day. +If 'tis Thy will I should tarry still, +Prepare me, Lord, for Thy Holy Hill. + + + + +THE MOSSES + + +Exquisite mosses, so lovely and green, +Covering the rocks with emerald sheen; +Hiding the scars which convulsions have made; +Blessing the mound where our angel was laid; +Forming a carpet on which we may tread; +Clothing with beauty the rotten and dead; +Sheathing from storm-blasts the young forest tree-- +Beautiful mosses, examples for me. + +Trod under foot by all kinds of men; +Gracing the mountain or hid in the fen; +Never adorning the brow of the fair; +Seldom deemed worthy some corner to share +In the bouquets that are cast in the way +Princely feet tread on reception's proud day; +The glory of roses do not attain; +Beautiful mosses, ye grow not in vain. + +Answer the end by your Maker designed. +Humble your bloom, but your mission is kind. +Those will most prize you who knew you the best. +Cover me o'er when I lie down to rest; +Cover, likewise, in the marble my name, +Hiding forever that index of shame; +But tell to the world, "as life he passed through, +He covered some scars and aimed to be true." + + + + +THE GRANDEST THEME + + +The grandest theme for tongue, or pen, + Is not the heavens supernal; +Nor mighty deeds of God-like men, + Though they may be eternal; + +Nor Alpine heights, nor lovely vale, + With brooks and grazing cattle; +Nor awful roar of rushing gale, + Beyond the noise of battle; + +Nor clashing arms, nor trembling earth; + Nor heaving waves of ocean; +Nor record of a nation's birth; + Nor heaven's cloud-cars in motion. + +The grandest theme, for tongue, or pen, + Above all else in glory; +Which suits alike, all sinful men, + Is the sweet Gospel story, + +Which tells me of my Saviour's love + And infinite compassion, +Which brought Him from His throne above + To Calvary's cross and passion. + +And now the holy angels sing, + With blood-washed souls in glory, +A song which makes heaven's arches ring + About this Gospel story. + + + + +SEPTEMBER + + +The hills are clad in purple and in gold, + The ripened maize is gathered in the shock, +The frost has kissed the nuts, their shells unfold, + And fallen leaves are floating on the lock. + +The flowers their many-colored petals drop; + But seed-pods full and ripe they leave behind, +A prophecy of more abundant crop, + And proof that nature in decay is kind. + +But still the dahlia blooms, and pansies, too; + The golden-rod still rears its yellow crest. +The sumach bobs are now of crimson hue, + The luscious grape has donned its purple vest. + +The forest trees, so long arrayed in green, + Wear now a robe like Joseph's coat of old, +Brighter than that on eastern satrap seen, + Tho' clad was he in purple and fine gold. + +The woodbine twined about the giant oak + Blends with its purple-red a brighter shade. +Co-mingled thus our praises they evoke, + Tho' we know well this glory soon must fade. + +The fields are green with grass and new-sown wheat, + Tho' here and there a brown stalk may appear, +A dying rag-weed, ripened by the heat, + To reproduce an hundred-fold next year. + +The melon yellows in the kindly sun, + The peach puts on its blush like virtuous maid, +The gourd its snow-white band like brow of nun, + While flower and gum the air with fragrance lade. + +The swallows gather on the fence and wire, + Chatter a loud farewell to barn and nest, +And then on wings which never seem to tire + They fly away in southern bowers to rest. + +The thrush no longer sings its tender song + In osage thicket, or in locust hedge, +But pipes its notes the negro boys among, + On cotton plant, or Alabama sedge. + +The blackbird lingers by the flowing brook, + Or perches proudly on the shock of corn; +The lark still hovers round its meadow nook, + And soars and sings as on a vernal morn. + +The robin, too, is loth to quit the lawn + And visits yet his nest beneath the eaves; +I hear his cheering notes at early dawn-- + To part with these old friends my spirit grieves. + +But soon these feathered songsters must away, + Ere winter's frosts shall chill them thro' and thro'; +In other lands they find the summer day, + The opening flower, and the refreshing dew. + +The air, tho' chill, is not surcharged with death, + But health-inspiring germs it bears along. +We drink in vigor with our every breath, + And life appears like spring, each day a song. + +God spreads a carpet for our weary feet, + Richer than those which grace the palace floor; +The rainbow hues are in it all complete, + And tints, I think, of full a thousand more. + +God with His hands of wind for woof collects + The forest leaves, and weaves them with the grass, +With nap of richest hues the fabric decks, + And spreads it out for feet of every class. + +A haze at times may veil the smiling sky, + The sun his golden locks exchange for gray; +But soon a western blast comes sweeping by-- + The mists depart, and glory crowns the day. + +The lowing cattle roam from field to field; + No more content in narrow bounds to stay; +The ozone in the autumn air has healed + Their every ill, and lo, the dull beasts play. + +This season has its lesson each should learn-- + The fading leaf reminds us of our doom; +But whether like the stately tree, or fern, + In hope we travel onward to the tomb. + +We look not for the Winter, but the Spring, + When we shall glow in beauty from the skies; +Each now his tribute sheaf of praise should bring, + Then hear his Lord's "Well done!" O glorious prize. + + + + +THE FLOWERS + + +Some flowers are brighter far in hue + Than others by their side, +But God baptizes all with dew, + And spreads His mantle wide +To cover all for half the day, + From rays of scorching sun, +Though some may shine in colors gay, + And some in sober dun. + +And I account each one my friend, + The stately and the plain. +Diverse their hue, but not their end; + For me none bloom in vain; +For all proclaim their Maker's skill, + And point to bloom above; +In God's great plan their part fulfil, + And whisper "God is _love_." + +The fragrance lades the summer air + With health-inspiring germs, +Ascend on high as nature's prayer, + Suggesting well the terms +Of God-accepted prayer from man, + Odors of grateful praise; +For though in penitence began, + It ends in joyful lays. + + + + +THE BUD + + +The winter through I lay asleep, + Unconscious and unseen; +The howling winds disturbed me not, + Nor felt the frost tho' keen. +Thick blankets covered me about, + And kept me dry and warm, +And weeks and months passed quickly by + And I received no harm. +At last I felt uneasy in + My cosy little cot, +Tho' it was lined with softest down. + The cause I knew not what. +I struggled hard to free myself, + But struggled all in vain; +My blankets felt the strain, 'tis true, + And opened to the rain, +But just enough for me to see + The frowning sky o'erhead; +I closed my eyes, in sad affright, + And wished that I was dead. + +But soon a change came o'er my frame, + Much like electric shock; +Oh, how I longed for some rare key + With which I might unlock +My prison door, for I now felt + The breath of coming Spring, +And heard, likewise, her merry laugh, + Like silver bells its ring. +My lips were close to blanket rent, + I ceased my useless strife, +And she bent over me in love, + And kissed me into life. + + + + +BEAUTIFUL SKY + + +O beautiful sky of every hue; +Golden and purple, crimson and blue, +With some sombre lines thrown in between, +And some bright spots of emerald green. + The earth is wed to the sun it seems, +And to grace the robe of his royal bride +No pains are spared, nor a tint untried, + And thus complete it with glory gleams. + +He wields his brush as an artist now; +Lo beauty glows on the earth's fair brow! +And the lovely flowers at once arise +To match the glow of the radiant skies, + The sparkling dewdrops at morn are seen, +Close nestling among the petals rare, +Like crystal studs in a maiden's hair, + Brighter then gems which adorn a queen. + + + + +BUTTERCUPS AND DAISIES + + +Buttercups and daisies growing everywhere, +In the field of clover, on the hillside fair, +And in lovely valley, tilled with greatest care. + +Naught but weeds and rubbish, in the farmer's eyes, +Drawing off the nurture from the grain they prize, +And their great luxuriance sore their patience tries. + +But the dews of heaven give them richest bloom, +And their smiling beauty drives away our gloom; +For such little beauties surely there is room. + +In this world of sorrow flowers ne'er bloom in vain, +Though they in their blooming sap the golden grain, +And drink in the moisture of the latter rain; + +For our Heavenly Father deemed it wise and good +To diffuse this beauty with the grain for food. +And this wise arrangement He has never rued. + +Teaching us this lesson we are slow to learn; +Man lives not for eating, nor for duties stern, +But to serve God's pleasure, then to Him return. + +Room for joy is given and for purest bliss, +And we may all find them in a world like this, +If our aims are sordid all this gold we miss; + +But if we are faithful and to God inclined, +Seeing Him in nature, and of heavenly mind, +Aiming to be like Him, and by grace refined, + +We shall live forever where there is no gloom; +Though the path to glory leadeth through the tomb; +But a moment's darkness--flowers that ever bloom. + + + + +THE MOSS ROSE + + +'Tis said, long since an angel came to earth, + Sent by his Lord, to help with loving hand +A suffering one, afflicted from his birth. + The limb was healed as by divine command, +But He felt weak, for strength from Him had gone, + A sacrifice which love could not withhold; +So he sought shelter till the morning dawn, + But none received--they prized not love, but gold. + +Then 'neath a rose bush did the angel lie, + And rested well until the break of day, +When much refreshed he sought his home on high, + But ere he started on his upward way, +He said to sheltering rose, in loving voice, + "What man refused thou hast afforded me. +What is thy wish? Make known to me thy choice; + The God of love and power will grant it thee!" + +"I ask no brighter hue," the rose replied, + "Both old and young smile on me as they pass, +My buds adorn the bosom of the bride, + And hide among the locks of lovely lass; +With fragrance, too, I own myself content, + For naught on earth surpasses me in this; +But if, indeed, my Maker thee has sent + I ask but this, to consummate my bliss: + +"I feel the cold, both in my bark and bud, + When Autumn winds sweep o'er the western hill, +And frozen dewdrops oft my branches stud, + Which mar my beauty and my juices chill. +Give me an extra garb, 'tis all I lack." + "Thou hast thy wish, I shelter found in thee, +I take delight in kind to pay thee back. + Let softest moss thy extra garment be." + +Then touched the angel bark, and bud, and leaf, + And soft green moss suffused it o'er and o'er. +He lingered near it for a moment brief, + Plucked off a bud, which he to heaven bore; +And now the rose smiles at the raging storm, + Defies the wind and nipping frost as well; +Its fragrance still retains, and lovely form, + While nestling budlets this old story tell. + + + + +GOD'S CARE + + +I fear not, my Father, the tempest's loud roar, +Nor dread the huge breakers on the rock-girded shore; +Thy presence is with me, my refuge is near, +With help all-sufficient; oh, why should I fear? +Tho' billows of sorrow should roll o'er my head, +My sun sink in darkness, and joys be all dead, +Thy presence will cheer me, and spectres will flee, +For who can molest me while trusting in thee? + + + + +MY LOT + + +My lot on earth is not all mirth, + Nor is it constant gloom; +Some joys decay and fall away, + But leave much lasting bloom. +My wishes are not always met, + And cares press hard at times; +Yet joyous strains ne'er sink to fret, + Tho' dollars shrink to dimes. + +My earthly lot boasts not a cot, + No foot of land I own, +No bank account nor phosphate mount, + Nor credit for a loan; +But I can read my title clear + To mansion, robe, and crown; +I couple these with lot down here, + And sing, tho' foes may frown. + + + + +GOD'S FOOT ON THE CRADLE + + +The air is chill with the frost of doubt, + And men's hearts are sadly failing; +They do not hear the great Victor's shout; + But indulge in bitter wailing. +"The old gives place to the new," they say, + "And fond hopes are daily buried; +Our cherished views are oft borne away, + As if by the tempest hurried. + +"The world is stirred to its very heart, + And the Church shares the commotion; +With systems old, we are loathe to part, + To sail on an unknown ocean. +The world now heaves like the great sea's breast, + And rocks like an infant's cradle; +And looking up, by sore grief oppressed, + We find the sky draped in sable." + +I will not fear, though the earth should rock, + If God's foot be on the cradle; +But rest in peace midst the tempest's shock, + Rejoicing that God is able +To still the world with His mighty hand, + If His timid child should waken; +Or, if it rock, He will by me stand; + And my heart shall not be shaken. + + + + +GOD'S GIFTS TO BE ENJOYED + + +From God's all bounteous hand descend + Rare gifts in rich effusion, +And with those gifts no poisons blend, + Nor is their end delusion; +So do not spurn if He bestow + Those forms arrayed in beauty; +If thus His gifts with radiance glow, + Enjoyment is a duty. + +Come, deck your brows with leaves and flowers, + Ye fair ones, nothing fearing; +Adorn your homes and train your bowers + Nor deem this sin's appearing; +We do not fit ourselves for bliss + By scorning all adorning; +We may enjoy the good of this + And share heaven's brighter morning. + +A garment plain may have its stain, + And saintly brows lack sweetness; +But he who would heaven's glory gain + Must here acquire a meetness; +So eat and drink, rejoice and sing, + But don't forget the ending; +The bells of earth more sweetly ring + If we are heavenward tending. + +The world we use, but not abuse, + If we enjoy its beauty; +And they who all its joys refuse + Miss privilege and duty. +Then prize earth's joys, but prize much more + The bloom beyond the river; +God's gifts enjoy, but e'er adore + The ever blessed Giver. + + + + +THE HIGHEST GOAL + + +The highest goal is not success, + If that be made the aim; +But faithfulness, tho' counted less, +Is what God promises to bless: + These goals are not the same. + +And if I am to do my best + In every line of life, +My effort will be surely blest, +And I will find in toil sweet rest, + Tho' in a world of strife. + +And when before the throne I stand + To answer for the use +Of gifts received from God's own hand, +He will not then, in wrath, demand + From me some strong excuse, + +To show why I had not attained + The goal of grand success, +Such as some noted men have gained, +For if my work is not sin-stained + God will my failures bless. + +And I will hear Him say, "My son, + A throne thou hast attained; +Without applause thy race was run, +'Midst failures oft thy work was done, + _Life's highest goal is gained_." + + + + +JOY IN THE MORNING + + +The night of affliction, with its long hours of sadness, + Will soon pass away to be remembered no more; +And the weeping will end in a morning of gladness; + For no sorrow is known on the evergreen shore. + +In this world we shall have tribulation and sorrow; + 'Tis enough for the subject to be as his king; +But if we are faithful, joy will come with the morrow, + And with the blood-washed a new song shall we sing. + + + + +"HE SHALL DWELL ON HIGH" + +(Isaiah 33:16) + + +Tossed about in strange commotion +Like the surface of the ocean +When the wind, its waters lashing, +Sends great billows, roaring, dashing +O'er the breakers, which for ages +Have withstood the storms it wages, +See those clouds, so like this ocean, +How they whirl in strange commotion. + +Dust and vapor now are meeting, +Each the other wildly greeting; +As one hand another grasping, +So are these each other clasping; +Now they whirl in form fantastic +And great trees with boughs elastic +With loud moans are lowly bending, +Leaves and fruit to earth descending. + +Eyes 'most blinded, nerves all shaken, +By this fearful storm o'ertaken, +As it swept on toward the sunrise; +Yet, I chanced to lift my dim eyes +Upward, when, O sight entrancing, +I beheld, to west advancing, +Other clouds, in higher current, +Unlike earth's, so wild and errant. + +Far above the wild commotion, +Like great ships on peaceful ocean, +Floating westward, grand and steady, +Were those clouds, as if made ready, +As great cars, with grand pavilions, +To convey the ransomed millions +From this earth where storms are raging +To that land of charms engaging. + +Life on earth is a probation; +Storms fit well in this relation; +Yet, above, are peaceful regions, +Where ne'er come hell's dreaded legions. +Looking toward the things eternal, +We may rise to realms supernal, +Where earth's dust will not defile us +Nor the cunning foe beguile us. + +To this higher plain, O lift me, +Gracious Lord! ere Satan sift me, +Far above this noisy Babel; +Far above earth's clouds, all sable; +Up so far no darts can reach me, +Where the Holy Ghost will teach me; +And, in perfect peace abiding, +I will sing while heavenward riding! + + + + +BAG YOUR GAME + + +Two men, well versed in use of arms, + Set out, 'tis said, in search of game. +Each felt that hunting had its charms, + Yet widely differed they in aim. +Both felt their need of wholesome food + For present use and winter's store; +But one was of a careless mood-- + Than the day's sport he asked no more. + +No game he bagged from morn till night, + Content to show his master skill +In hitting every bird at sight, + And shooting down the deer at will. +Grand sport he deemed it, day by day, + As in the tangled forest brake +He brought the bounding stag to bay, + Or shot the wood-duck in the lake. + +As he each night to home returned + He sang the pleasure of the chase; +But had not yet the lesson learned + That he was loser in the race. +Yet, when sat in the winter's cold + And game had fled to warmer clime, +He had no stock to sell for gold, + Nor food: and past his harvest time. + +The chase the other prized as well; + But bagged his game as best he could, +And thus had lots of pelts to sell-- + For self and wife the choicest food. +In the pursuit of game a thrill + Of keenest joy shot through his heart; +But joy complete he knew not till + He went his way joy to impart. + +While he with wife and children shared + The roasted duck and venison, +He felt he as a king had fared; + And though of earth a denizen, +Such food would give both strength and cheer + To meet lifes daily toil aright, +And winter months he did not fear, + His larder filled, and prospect bright. + +The search for Truth with pleasure thrills; + To find it, we our end attain-- +Possessed, new joy the spirit fills, + And to retain is highest gain. +The pleasure of pursuit is lost + If truth itself is not secured. +O buy the truth at any cost, + And from your aim be not allured! + + + + +OTHERS' BURDENS + + +My greatest grief is not my own; + That often proves a blessing, +For in my grief God's care is shown, +And as I am not left alone, + It never proves distressing; + +But when my brother's grief I bear + The weight then seems excessive; +His heavy load I inly share, +And loaded down by double care, + My burden feels oppressive. + +Yet I remember Him who bore + The world's great load of sorrow, +And know that He on me will pour +The needed grace to bear the more, + To-day and on the morrow. + + + + +MEMORY + + +Remembrance of the past will joy impart + If in that past the conscience was supreme; +But if the soul be made an auction mart, + And thoughts and deeds be sold for what you deem +The price of virtue, then the called-up past +Will be like hooks of steel to hold thee fast. + +Or like the stings those nettles left behind + Which I so fondly handled in my play; +I deemed the friend who warned me true and kind, + And in great haste I threw the weeds away, +But soon the burning flesh reminded me +'Twere safer far from all such weeds to flee. + +The cloud that flitted o'er the saintly brow + Which now a crown of life so well adorns, +When you by ways and means you know not now, + Did what your soul with holy horror scorns, +Will stay with you long as you live on earth, +And be like gall to spoil your cup of mirth. + +The smiles of those we bless are lasting, too; + We feel their cheering glow each cloudy day. +As falls on wilted flower the healing dew, + So they refresh, and chase our gloom away; +We feel though weak we have not lived in vain, +And know God smiles tho' we cannot explain. + +The footprints on the rock time wears away; + The rock itself soon crumbles into dust; +But memories of the past have come to stay, + Nor flood, nor fire, nor the consuming rust, +Can ever from the soul the past erase. +Guard thou thy life, O man, with heavenly grace. + + + + +THE ROYAL WAY + + +Perfection ever is the price of toil. + Of marchings long, and hardships by the way, + Of burdens borne, oft in the heat of day, +'Tis then as right the victor claims the spoil. + +The world admires the wreath upon his brow, + But he alone can tell how much it cost, + And how to gain it he had all things lost. +Results men see, but not the _when_, or _how_. + +The stately elm which rears its head so high, + And spreads abroad so gracefully its boughs, + Beneath which may repose a herd of cows, +Grows under ground as well as toward the sky. + +The bridge which spans the swiftly-flowing stream + O'er which the iron horse, by night and day, + With heavy tread speeds on its busy way, +Rests not on sand, nor slender post and beam. + +Below the shifting sand, on solid rock, + The mason safely laid the buttress stone, + And labored long before his work was shown; +But he built well--his work endures each shock. + +This work takes time; we chafe at the delay + And try to gain the summit at a bound, + But find full soon our hopes dashed to the ground; +Yet there remains for all the _royal way_. + +And he who would true eminence attain + Must heed the word of Him who came to serve, + Nor from this path a single moment swerve, +If he the great reward would surely gain. + +This is the royal way--_to serve in love_-- + Servant to servants ever aim to be + Like Him who gave His life to ransom thee; +Then shalt thou sit with Him on throne above. + + + + +'STABLISHED + + +The well-built house with walls of brick, or stone, +May tremble some if struck by the cyclone; +The most established saint may trials feel, +As flint may turn the edge of finest steel. +Satanic hosts may rush in like a flood, +Allied with foes of our own flesh and blood, +The elements of earth and hell combine, +Yet tho' he trembles, stands in strength divine; +He rests secure on the unyielding rock. +The top may sway, but base feels not the shock; +His heart is fixed, nor earth nor hell can move; +They wrench not loose, but his allegiance prove. +Christ wept with Mary at her brother's grave; +Laid down His life a rebel world to save; +Tried, like ourselves, and like us too, infirm, +Yet knew no sin in either root or germ; +Let us be like Him while we sojourn here, +Then storms and earthquakes we need never fear. + + + + +A MEROGNOSTIC + + +I know in part, but know not all, + The part I know is known; +What know I not I hope with Paul + To know before the throne. +Till then where knowledge fails I trust + The truth God has revealed, +As known by me, forever must + Be like the truth concealed. + +I know God _is_, tho' hid from sight, + And know He cares for me; +In blessing me He takes delight, + And I by faith can see +His skilful hand and loving heart, + In all my life's affairs, +And feel content to know but part + If He knows all my cares. + +I know God gave His Son to die + A sacrifice for man, +And live all who on Him rely, + And meet His claims I can, +Yet I know not how in Him meet + The human and divine; +But God He is, and at His feet + I fall, and feel Him mine. + +Nor do I understand the change + The spirit wrought in me; +A work so great exceeds my range, + But I can feel and see +The inward peace, and outward trend, + And hear likewise His voice, +The outward with the inward blend, + And answer to my choice. + +I know not how mind touches mind + And thoughts spring into life; +Nor know the mystic bands which bind, + Like husband to the wife, +My loving Lord and my poor soul, + But this I know full well, +If I submit to His control + I cannot sink to hell. + +I know the world shakes to its base, + And man still wars with man, +The bane of sin rests on our race, + And Satan leads the van; +But hope exults within my breast + Tho 'darkness shrouds the sky; +God is the friend of the oppressed, + The good will never die. + +I know not why my plans should fail + When I have plan'd for God, +And on this ground my foes assail, + But I still kiss the rod, +For tho' I cannot tell the why + My heart is filled with peace; +I can on my dear Lord rely, + And wait for my release. + +I know He is both true and kind, + And has my good at heart. +His discipline will only bind + With cords which naught can part, +My heart's affections to His throne, + And fit me for my rest, +Nor do I tread life's path alone; + _He knows_, and I am blest. + + + + +"SALUT AUX BLESSIS" + + +A group of mounted officers + Ride up and fall in line; +Their gleaming swords hang at their sides, + Chevrons their arms entwine; +They bare their heads as pass along + A train of wounded men, +Their shattered comrades from the field + They ne'er may meet again. + +"_Salut aux Blessis!_" loud they cry. + The wounded soldiers hear, +And for a time forget their pain, + And swell the lusty cheer. +Thus should it be in other lines; + The men who lead the van +Should e'er accord a brother's cheer + To every wounded man. + +The "rank and file" the wounds receive; + Sometimes the leader, too; +But honest wounds none should despise; + The bearer may be true. +He stood his ground 'gainst mighty odds, + And dared the shot and shell; +So bare your heads, ye scarless ones, + And say, "_Thou hast done well!_" + + + + +SONNET + + +Each human life with mysteries is replete; + They press upon us in its early dawn, + And multiply apace as years roll on, +And at each turn we must their problems meet. +Reason is blind, and fails their end to see, + Misjudges God and gathers only woe, + And from this spring much turbid waters flow. +Only the pure in heart from doubt are free; +They read aright the writing on the wall + Which solves the problems of our earthly lot; + To them God draws aside the veil, and shows + The golden threads with which the garment glows, + And why one dwells in palace, one in cot, +And how His love is working good to all. + + + + +BROTHERHOOD + + +Is brotherhood to flesh confined? + Is there no kinship of the soul? +To have it thus, I am resigned, + If 'tis my God-appointed goal; +For there are those whom I hold dear, + Who claim with me a common sire, +That we, with one accord, revere, + And love holds out midst flood and fire. + +But is the family so small + Of which I fondly claim a part? +Is there no other I may call + A brother, and within my heart +Cherish for him, whate'er his name, + Or rank, or color, or his creed, +A love of pure and changeless flame, + And feel I render but his meed? + +Thank God for brotherhood so broad + That all the human race may share +A kinship, never yet outlawed, + Tho' types of it have been too rare. +But bigotry is doomed to die, + And hate, a relic of the past; +The golden age is drawing nigh, + And all one family at last! + + + + +SHE DEARLY LOVED THE FLOWERS + + +I saw her first when she was old, + Her form devoid of grace; +Her locks that once were yellow gold + Were white, and on her face +Were furrows deep, which told of pain, + And toil, and worldly fret, +Which all, alas, had been in vain, + But nature claimed the debt. + +Her eyes were gray and lacked in glow, + Her voice some thought was gruff, +And when excited was not slow + To use a sharp rebuff; +For she in speech was free from art; + Men feared her verbal stroke, +And yet they said, "She has a heart; + She never wears a cloak." + +Her creed, perhaps, was heterodox, + If creed she ever had. +She knew far more of pans and crocks, + But this was not her fad; +Her light, I fear, did not shine out + In pious talk and airs, +In fact I entertain a doubt + If she oft said her prayers. + +Her light, if dim, was never hid, + Yet looked not for applause; +For kindly deeds she often did, + In line with highest laws. +She lacked it may be that rare grace + Which some I know endowers, +Yet good in her I gladly trace-- + _She dearly loved the flowers._ + + + + +MY PANSY PETS + + +My pansy pets are sleeping well + Beneath their quilt of snow; +How they can breathe I cannot tell, + Nor how their rootlets grow; +But soon the snow will melt away + And April showers descend; +Then shall appear in colors gay + Each little pansy friend. + +Of pride it may not show a trace; + Of lowly mind, alway; +But will not blush to show its face + All through the lifelong day: +Its fragrance other flowers surpass, + In form more stately, too. +But when you see my pets in mass, + Thank God they ever grew. + +For though the human face may frown, + Or show a heart of guile, +My pansy pets as you look down + Will look at you and smile; +Nor will they murmur if you should + Pluck off their brightest bloom; +Their mission is to do us good, + And smile away our gloom. + + + + +LOVE BETTER THAN KNOWLEDGE + + +O Thou Eternal One, look down + Upon an erring child of earth; +Thy handiwork with knowledge crown, + Or life will seem of little worth; +By Thine own light illume my way, +And turn this darkness into day. + +I hear a whisper in my heart-- + "Than knowledge, better far is love; +Thy knowledge here is but in part, + The perfect waits for Thee above: +Walk now by faith, and leave to me +The things now wrap'd in mystery." + +Weighed down with mysteries profound + I lean upon Thy loving breast; +The great unknown still girts me round, + But Thou art mine, and here I rest; +Unsolved the mysteries remain; +But they no longer give me pain. + +My finite mind may never grasp + The thought of Thy immensity; +But I Thy hand more firmly clasp-- + To feel Thee near suffices me; +For Thou art knowledge, power, and love, +The same in earth and heaven above. + + + + +A SUFFERING GOD + + +Man is like God in miniature, + When he is at his best; +His motives and impulses pure, + His heart and will at rest; +No conflict in himself is felt, + His light no earthly beam, +While love encircles like a belt, + And conscience is supreme. + +As thus endowed a creature may + The keenest sufferings feel; +Not such as rack the frame of clay, + Which art of man may heal; +But pain untold at others' woes, + And deadly blight of sin, +Which right and virtue overthrows, + And blackens all within. + +And may not God have suffered much + Ere reached the gory cross? +Did not our woe the God-heart touch? + Did He not feel our loss? +The "Man of Sorrows" we adore, + And own His sufferings real; +But suffered He as God before; + For God can sorrow feel. + + + + +THE COPY + + +Looking o'er this written page, + Many blurs and blots are seen; +Crooked strokes, at every stage-- + Oh, that it again were clean, +As at first I found it, when +I defiled it with my pen! + +Gladly would I all erase; + But along the lines of blue +You could still the failure trace + In the paper's darkened hue; +Though the words could not be seen, +You could trace where they had been. + +I will try to do my best, + Though my ideal be not gained; +On the Master's scrip shall rest + Eager eyes, till is attained +Some resemblance to His hand; +If no more I can command. + +Like my life, this written sheet, + So unlike the pattern given; +Crooked strokes, I oft repeat; + Oh, that from it could be riven +All the blurs and blots of sin; +All the self that's found within. + +_I_ can not the past erase. + _Christ_ shall blot the crooked out, +Leaving not the slightest trace + Of my sin, the lines about; +And will give me grace to write +Pages pleasing in His sight. + +I will try to do my best, + As He gives me strength and light, +Leaving with Him all the rest; + He will keep life's pages white; +And the copy shall be shown +Perfected, before His throne. + + + + +PERFECT WORK + + +An artist skilled beyond the sons of men + With pleasure scanned the pictures on the wall, +Rare works of art, each one pronounced a gem, + The product of his hand, both great and small; +Each filled its place in the designer's plan; +Conceived in full before the work began. + +Pleased was the artist with results as shown; + But his ideal was not as yet attained; +It needed this, as palace needs a throne, + But _throne_ a _king_--then is perfection gained, +When his great masterpiece hangs in its place, +And the great artist looks in his own face. + + + + +THE JOHNSTOWN DISASTER, 1889 + + +Look down, ye Alleghenies, into the Conemaugh vale, +And see the rising waters, and hear the bitter wail; +The swollen streams now empty their contents in the lake, +The waters rise to kiss the skies and walls of granite shake. + +Oh, hear that awful booming; the dam has given way! +An avalanche of water God's hand alone can stay! +Oh, leap, ye hills, before it and keep this torrent back, +Or devastated towns and homes will mark its onward track! + +Look down, ye Alleghenies, upon this vale of woe; +Ten thousand corpses at your base their soulless faces show; +Some hid beneath the debris, some covered o'er with slime, +Their spirits fled to meet their God, beyond the shores of time. +The aged sire and lassie; the careworn mother, too, +With her strong son, whom she had hoped would guard life's journey thro', +Are lying there together, the old and young alike; +Their plans and purposes cut off, no power to love or strike. + +Bow down, ye Alleghenies, and weep o'er thousands slain, +Who yesterday were all intent this present world to gain. +Their active brain is sleeping, their busy hands are still, +Bright hopes are blasted in an hour, ambitions cease to thrill; +Their mansions, with their bodies, the flood has borne away-- +The rich and poor together rest till resurrection day. + +Now leap for joy, ye mountains, for all is not in vain! +For as it was in Noah's flood, it ever will remain! +God cares for those who love Him; He holds them in His hand, +And wind and wave obey His will, and rest at His command; +Some sank beneath the freshet, and now with others lie, +But God prepared another ark to bear their souls on high. + +See, floating with the wreckage, borne onward by the tide, +A loving mother with her babe close sheltered at her side; +One hand has grasped a rafter, the other guards her child; +Oh, how she pleads with God and man in accents loud and wild! +Men hear but give no answer, no human hand can save; +Her voice, alas, is hushed in death by the relentless wave; + +But God has heard her pleading, and now His angel bears +Their deathless souls to dwell with Him, where free from toils and cares, +Her voice rings out in gladness the notes of that blest psalm +The prophet heard the elders sing, of "Moses and the Lamb." + +And see this lovely maiden, a mother's hope and pride, +The sunbeam of a Christian home, and the affianced bride +Of one who loved her dearly, and loved her not in vain, +For he had won a loyal heart, and hand without a stain; +But he lies 'neath the billows, and she will join him soon. +Hark! hark! she sings in accents sweet, to old familiar tune! + "_Jesus, lover of my soul, + Let me to Thy bosom fly_," etc. + +Her prayer, also, is answered, for see, the roof is bare! +The current swept the slippery raft, the maiden is not there! +An angel band descended, her lover led the way, +And now she joins her loved and lost in realms of endless day! + +Look down, ye Alleghenies, from your colossal heights, +And witness an heroic deed, bright gleam 'midst horrid sights. +See, _Periton_ has mounted his famous large bay steed, +And flies, not to the mountains, but at his greatest speed +He gallops down the valley, to warn of pending fate, +And cries aloud, "Flee for your lives! flee, ere it be too late! +The Conemaugh dam is broken, destruction comes apace! +Leave all and to the mountains flee; leave all and win the race!" + +Each creek becomes a river, each pool a little sea, +The tidal wave comes rushing on, men know not where to flee, +But on he rides, still shouting, as angels did of old, +"Flee! Flee ye to the mountain! Flee! forsake your homes and gold!" + +His horse now shares his spirit, and leaps each swollen stream. +With panting flanks and nostrils wide, and breath like scalding steam, +He dashes down the roadway, and fairly seems to fly, +Obedient to his rider's rein, resolved to do or die. + +Some heed our hero's warning. See, toward the hills they fly! +Will _Periton_ now turn aside, or like a hero die? +Straight on he goes, brave fellow; to turn aside he scorned, +His life he deems of little worth if other men be warned. + +We honor those brave soldiers, who scaled the rampart height, +To plant the standard of their queen in the defence of right, +The fire was hot before them, and bursting shells o'erhead, +Yet on they pressed, till bullet-pierced they fell--our honored dead; +But he, I hold, was braver, who ran his race alone, +No comrade's cheer to urge him on, no bugle blast was blown, +Nor grand review to follow if he should win the day; +But thoughts of self were all too weak his onward course to stay. + +Spur up your steed, brave fellow--the flood is at his heels! +Too late! the waves now gird him round; the gallant rider reels; +Entombed beneath the debris his warning voice is stilled, +But he, I trust, ran not in vain; his mission is fulfilled. + +Like Jesus, he saved others, yet _would_ not save himself; +The plaudits of the world sought not, but scorned its praise and pelf. +He still sat in the saddle, and held the guiding rein, +Yet wind and wave awoke him not, and thunders roared in vain. +His spirit had ascended, death set the hero free, +And God shall say in His great day, "_Thou didst it unto Me!_" + +Look down, ye Alleghenies, with ever-darkening frown, +Upon the selfishness which caused the ruin of Johnstown. +A reservoir was fashioned, of full three miles in length, +An inland lake, kept back by dam of insufficient strength; +No mills were driven by it; no water-works supplied; +A few rich men, for selfish sport, claimed all these waters wide. + +They rode upon its surface in skiff, and bark canoe, +Shot grouse and duck, caught fish and eel, and held their title true; +For other people's safety took not a single thought-- +Ten thousand lives were less to them than fish thus daily caught. +The dam revealed its weakness by frequent leaks, but they +Turned not aside to strengthen it till came the fateful day; +But God, who rules the nations, to whom all bow the knee, +Will say to them on judgment day, "_Ye did it not to Me._" + + + + +EYE HATH NOT SEEN + + +Somewhere in the realms supernal + Is a home prepared for me, +Where my joys shall be eternal, + And my spirit ever free; + Mortal vision helps not here, +God conceals it from my sight, +By effulgent beams of light; + Oh that He would bring it near! + +But I hear a voice say, softly, + "Be content to leave it so, +For God's thoughts are far too lofty + For a man like thee to know; + Human spirits must be free +From their tenements of clay, +Ere they bear that full-orbed day, + Bide thy time and thou shalt see." + +I cannot draw back the curtain + That conceals the glory land, +Yet my hope is sure and certain, + For the tracings of God's hand + On the outside do appear, +Like the cherubim of old, +Wrought in needle-work and gold, + Bringing all the glory near. + +He who made the lovely flowers + Which adorn both shrub and tree, +Climbing vine, and shady bowers, + In this beauty speaks to me: + 'Tis the curtain of His tent, +Hiding much, yet much reveals, +Type of the Elysian fields; + Glory streams thro' woof and rent. + + + + +WHAT LASTS? + + +The words we speak on the empty air, +Are never lost, but recorded there; +The process we may not comprehend, +Nor how the words with the air may blend, +But science shows what results may be; +Accept the fact, is enough for me. + +The waves of sound may have died away +As ripples faint on a sheltered bay; +But though now faint will be heard again, +By God, ourselves, and the sons of men. +As sound e'en now may be multiplied; +The faintest moan like the roaring tide; +The housefly's tread with its tiny feet +Like tramp of horse on the stone-paved street. + +So, though now faint, will those voices be, +When Christ shall come in His majesty; +Our quicken'd sense will the echo hear, +Like blast of horn to the timid deer. + +In pleasant tones will the echoes be, +Of words of love and of happy glee, +Which we address to the friends we love, +Or offer up to our Lord above. + +But, unlike those, all the echoes heard, +Of angry tones, and each sword-like word; +As we here mete to our fellow men, +The Judge shall mete in full measure then. + +The thoughts we think may be lasting, too, +Though not inscribed on the azure blue; +On the tissued walls of the soul's great dome, +May be found those thoughts ne'er more to roam. +And like our thoughts, may we not become +The thought we think, be ourselves the sum? +May thoughts of God on my heart be graved, +And I be known as a _sinner saved_. + + + + +IS THERE A BRIGHTER WORLD? + + +Beneath the surface of a shallow lake, + Where grasses rank and mammoth rushes grow, +And playful fish their bright fins nimbly shake, + Or madly chase each other to and fro, +The larva of the dragon-fly submerged, + In family large, had taken their abode, +And tho' the waves around them daily surged, + Upon the bending grass they safely rode. + +Content were they with life as there enjoyed; + To brighter world they never had aspired, +Had they not felt unfilled an aching void, + And heard a whisper of a life attired +In sapphire robes, 'midst gleams of golden light, + Above their present world, so dank and chill, +Where all day long they wing their happy flight + From roses sweet to lovely daffodil. + +But some essayed to doubt if it were so. + Who ever had returned to make it known? +One volunteered that he would upward go, + To bring report; but he was not full grown, +And fainted when he reached the surface air, + And falling, round a reed his form he curled, +Then cried, "Delusion! I have been up there. + And could not find a trace of brighter world." + +Yet others could not still the voice within, + Nor disregard tradition's hopeful tale. +They called a council; but it caused some din, + And all their efforts seemed at first to fail, +Till one wise head suggested this compact, + Expressed, no doubt, in dragon larva lore; +That if that brighter life were actual fact, + And all who rose in golden sunshine soar, + +Each must return to tell the joyful tale, + And o'er the waters shake his sapphire wings, +So all may see, and their bright comrade hail, + And talk about the tidings which he brings. +Now each returns, clad in his bright array; + Skims o'er the grassy lake with gauze-like wings, +Attracts their notice by his plumage gay, + And they collect to hear the news he brings. + +Then, holding fast, he buzzes out his song, + And seeks to woo them to a brighter world. +And he succeeds; for see, the larva strong + Climb up the grass, and soon in light enfurled, +They wait the growth of wings, then burst their shells, + Shake loose the gauzy folds, and soar away; +But soon come back again their joy to tell, + And help their brothers to a brighter day. + +Perhaps our loved ones do not always stay + In far-off heaven, and leave their comrades lone; +Tho' yet unseen, may hover round our way, + And see our toil, and hear our daily moan; +And tho' we cannot see their lovely forms, + Nor hear full well the whispers of their voice, +May shield us oft in life's tempestuous storms, + And when we victories gain, with us rejoice. + +They whisper _thoughts_, perhaps, if not word sounds, + And help to waken longings for our rest; +And thus allure our hearts beyond earth's bounds + To joy and home, upon our Saviour's breast. + +O may I heed the whispers which they bring, + And seek the grace which will my heart prepare +To climb from earth and take on angel wing, + Then soar aloft, to find my home up _there_! + + + + +A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN + + +As the caged eagle neared the mountain range, + O'er which he oft had soared on pinions strong, +He clapped his wings, moved by some impulse strange, + And then fell dead his prison floor along. + +So Moses stood on Pisgah's heights alone, + With sight undimmed, and unabated strength; +He gazed with rapture on the vision shown, + Of the fair land in all its breadth and length; + +He saw the vale of Eschol clad with vine, + Mount Libbanus adorned with lordly trees, +Gilead and Achor, with their lowing kine, + And verdant Sharon swept by the sea breeze; + +He saw the spot where Jacob's ladder stood, + The oaks at Mamre where their father prayed, +Saw Bashan with its pastures and its wood, + And the rude cave where Abram Sarah laid. + +Saw the whole land--its hills and vales and streams, + Its lakes and pools, its vineyards and its groves, +A wealth and glory far beyond his dreams; + Better, it seemed, than all earth's treasure troves. + +God then revealed a glimpse of His own face, + Which Moses once desired, but God withheld, +But finished now the God-ordained race, + The battle fought, and every passion quelled. + +As he beholds the glory of his Lord, + And looks within the pearly gates ajar, +Snaps, in an instant, life's frail brittle cord, + And he is where the holy angels are. + +So is it, likewise, with most dying saints; + They see e'en here the beatific sight; +The spirit then breaks thro' this world's restraints, + And enters into heaven's effulgent light. + +Not sorrow snaps the silver cord, but joy; + Not woe, but bliss, expands the golden bowl. +The pitcher breaks when free from earth's alloy, + And fails the wheel when heaven has filled the soul. + + + + +THE END WE SOUGHT + + +The end we sought is not attained, + But wisdom has been won, +And thus a higher goal is gained. +_That_ like the moon has sadly waned, + While _this_ shines as the sun. + +A shorter route to India's strand + Columbus failed to find. +That was an object truly grand, +But in the wealth of this fair land + Grandeur and good combine. + + + + +ASPIRATION + + +I stand to-day on higher ground + Than ever reached before, +Yet from this summit I have found, + Outlined full many more, +Which seem to pierce the vaulted sky, + And prove my effort vain +But God will set my feet on high, + Thro' grace I shall attain. + +Yet higher still my ideal stands, + Its peak but dimly seen, +But hope impels, and love commands, + And faith discerns its sheen; +And when I reach its shining height + Heaven's gate will open wide; +I'll see the beatific sight, + And rest at Jesus' side. + + + + +MY REST + + +I would not cherish a wish or thought + Displeasing, Lord, to Thee; +Thy will is good, and with wisdom fraught, + And that suffices me. +I cannot alter a plan of Thine, + And would not if I could; +I acquiesce in the will divine, + And find my highest good. + +At times my vessel drifts near the shore, + And the beacon lights expire, +The surf-capped waves swell more and more, + And threaten with ruin dire; +But only the surface sea is rough; + The ocean's depths are calm, +And a star affords me light enough, + The Star of Bethlehem. + +And by its light I discern the sand + And rocks along the coast, +And turn away toward a fairer land, + And standing at my post, +I guide my bark thro' the tempest wild, + Borne on by wind and tide, +Till God receives His weak, erring child, + And shelters near His side. + +"Lo, I come, O Lord, to do Thy will!" + Shines from my star divine, +And my heart cries out, "In me fulfill + Also, Thy wise design." +I would not alter a plan of thine + If I the power possessed; +My will is lost in the will divine, + 'Tis here I find my rest. + + + + +"PAINT ME AS I AM, WARTS AND ALL"--_Cromwell_. + + +Brave soul, 'twere well if all the same would say, +And artists aim their patron's wish t'obey. +What signifies a wart, or e'en a scar? +Leave both, skilled hand, and paint us as we are. +The crowfeet paint, the wrinkles on the brow, +The hollow cheek, the form inclined to bow, +The tear-dim'd eye, the hair well streaked with gray, +The hardened hand, begrim'd with soot and clay, +And if you use the seer's revealing glass, +Remember this, "_All flesh is as the grass._" + + + + +"I WAS THERE" + + +When the French soldier from the field returned, + Begrimed with smoke and blood, he felt content, +As from Napoleon he this fact had learned, + That thro' his marshall, medals would be sent, +The name of battlefield each one would bear, +And, also, in large letters, "_I was there._" + +In others' triumphs we may well rejoice, + If in their triumphs good to us redounds; +But in the glory we can have no choice, + And our rejoicings are but empty sounds. +If you would in the victor's glory share, +Be then prepared to add this, "_I was there!_" + +The victor's joy belongs to him alone; + He stood his ground 'midst storms of shot and shell; +Thro' his brave stand the foe has been o'erthrown, + And he alone the victor's tale can tell. +He now lies down to die 'neath glory's glare, +For he can say to others, "_I was there!_" + +Not in some neutral nook must we remain; + The battle rages, we must share the strife; +The world, once lost, we must for Christ regain, + And each lay hold upon eternal life. +Who share His conflicts will His glory share; +Then looking down to earth say, "_I was there!_" + +Those who before the throne are robed in white, + Passed thro' the conflict and the foe o'ercame; +Boldly they stood as champions for the right, + And thus have won thro' grace enduring fame, +And when the roll is called, each will declare, +"_Here am I, Lord, I fought for Thee down there!_" + + + + +TRUE LOVE + + +He loves not much who loves not honor more; + If men lack this then love must lack as well; + If this possessed no tongue love's depths can tell; +The heart an ocean filled from shore to shore. + +Seeing in him the possibility + Of likeness to the great and Blessed One; + It may be even now in him begun. +I love him much for what I hope to be, + +And show my love by yielding him his due; + For sentimental love is ever vain, + It cannot peace, much less heaven's favor gain; +But those who love in deed are blessed and true. + + + + +A TRUE MAN + + +With purpose strong to do or die, + The race of life he ran, +With love supreme to God on high, + And equal love to man. + +Some flaws the earthen vessel marred, + Which all could clearly see; +Within was found the precious nard; + From guile his heart was free. + +In motive e'er is found the sin; + Let that to God be true, +And he the Judge's smile will win, + And man's approval too. + + + + +MY OLD SWEETHEART + + +My old sweetheart is away to-day; + I feel as I did of old, +In my courting days, when far away + I yearned for her more than gold. + +I thought of her handsome, smiling face, + Her noble and cultured brow, +Of her gentle ways, and charming grace; + I missed her less then than now. + +Through the long years of our wedded life, + Now nearly a full two score, +She has proved herself a loving wife, + And a sweetheart evermore. + +Our love has grown with the flight of time, + As the mountain stream may grow; +Or as a tree in a genial clime + When free from the frost and snow. + +The tempest may madly rage without, + We have lasting peace within; +And confidence ne'er gives place to doubt, + Nor concord to noisy din. + +She will soon return again to me, + From her visit in the West, +And the dear face that I long to see + Will be nestling on my breast. + +And I will feel as in olden time, + With a love not dreamed of then; +No happier man in any clime + Is known to the sons of men. + +And when we part at the silent tomb, + 'Twill be but a passing day +Before we meet where there is no gloom, + And sweethearts forever stay. + + +Full forty-six years of wedded life, + Enjoyed with my sweetheart here; +They were happy years, devoid of strife, + And full of Christian cheer; +Then her Master called her spirit home, +And I am left to walk alone. + +Ere long my journey, too, will end, + And my spirit to God arise; +Perhaps he may my sweetheart send + To escort me to the skies; +And there with our Saviour we shall be, +Yet sweethearts still through eternity. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GLEAMS OF SUNSHINE*** + + +******* This file should be named 24605.txt or 24605.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/0/24605 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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