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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Prison Poetry, by Hiram Peck McKnight
+
+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 www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Prison Poetry
+
+Author: Hiram Peck McKnight
+
+Release Date: May 17, 2014 [EBook #45674]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRISON POETRY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Giovanni Fini, Caroluyn Jablonski and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+                              _COPYRIGHT,
+                          BY H. P. M'KNIGHT,
+                             A. D. 1896._
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                           _PRISON POETRY_,
+
+                                 _BY_
+
+                           _H. P. McKNIGHT_.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+  _IN LEISURE MOMENTS CAST A LOOK
+  UPON THE PAGES OF THIS BOOK;
+  AND IF YOUR THOUGHTS THEY SHOULD ENGAGE,
+  JUST THINK OF ME WHO WROTE THIS PAGE.
+  AND IF BY CHANCE, IN YOUR TIME OF LEISURE,
+  YOU, IN THESE PAGES, SHOULD FIND PLEASURE,
+  THEN DART YOUR MIND UP TO THIS CELL,
+  FOR HERE I LIVE IN AN EARTHLY HELL._
+
+
+
+
+_DEDICATION._
+
+
+  Go forth, thou little volume,
+    I leave thee to thy fate!
+  To those who read thee faithfully
+    Thy leaves I dedicate.
+
+  But if your fate should be so sad
+    As mine who thee have writ,
+  I'd be so vexed to think that I
+    Had made such a poor "hit."
+
+  But if by chance you meet a friend
+    Along life's road so dreary,
+  Just cheer his mind till he is blind,
+    And never make him weary.
+
+  Teach him the way, the live-long day,
+    To lend a helping hand,
+  And never turn or even spurn
+    Those wrecked on life's hard strand.
+
+  If chance should be you return to me,
+    Along with harvest's golden,
+  I'll vouch for thee to all who see,
+    That thou wilt not embolden.
+
+  And now go forth, thou little book,
+    I leave thee to thy fate!
+  To those who read thee faithfully
+    Thy leaves I dedicate.
+
+
+
+
+_PREFACE._
+
+
+In the preparation of the verses that fill these pages I have been
+helped by some of the prisoners of this institution. The donors have
+been somewhat few, for which I return thanks; but each and every
+verse is a fair representation of the many phases that the mind of a
+prisoner passes through, and of his true sentiment. Those that have
+been donated by my fellow prisoners are accredited to them by either
+their name or serial number. Some of the verses have been published
+in our prison "NEWS," but inasmuch as they have reached only
+an inconsiderable few outside the prison walls, I prepare this little
+volume and hand it to the wide, wide world. My motto, in so doing, is:
+
+May you who enjoy the blessings of liberty and worldly freedom, partake
+with us of our solitary musings, and enjoy our noblest thoughts and
+resolutions, as well as for us to enjoy yours; and that you may know
+that we are not devoid of true, manly, noble principle simply because
+we are cast--some justly, others unjustly--into prison.
+
+May we exchange greetings with you all--shake--and if by chance I have
+been fortunate enough to interest you, I am well compensated; but if
+I have been more fortunate, and given you--even one of you--a line of
+noble, good thoughts and advice--I say, "May the seed fall on good
+ground and bring forth good fruit; may it not be wasted upon barren
+rock." In my work on "Crime and Criminals" many of these verses will
+appear in the "Appendix."
+
+                                Very truly yours,
+
+                                    H. P. McKNIGHT,
+
+      A. D. 1896.            O. P., Columbus, O., U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+_INTRODUCTION._
+
+
+  True models of poetic art.
+  Should please the ear and touch the heart:
+  Stamp on the plastic mind of youth
+  Due reverence for Eternal Truth.
+  Paint field and flower in nature's hues,
+  Give to the world the heart's best news,
+  Or, lightly tripping o'er the page,
+  Rejuvenate the blood of age.
+  The sacred Muse should ne'er descend.
+  Vice to guild, nor wound a friend.
+  Heaven gave no man poetic art,
+  Save to improve the human heart.
+
+  You may not find, in coming page,
+  The ripened wisdom of the age:
+  Yet you _will_ find, untrained by art,
+  The deathless music of the heart:
+  And truth shall caress each flaming line.
+  Inspired by The Tuneful Nine;
+  No fear of man nor greed of praise
+  Shall make or mar our tuneful lays;
+  We simply voice the ripest thought
+  Of prisoned souls with meaning fraught.
+  Yours it is to praise or blame
+  My effort to deserve a name!
+
+
+
+
+_CONTENTS._
+
+
+                                                              PAGE.
+
+  Acrostic to Warden and Mrs. Coffin,    By McKnight         93-95
+
+  Acrostic to Chaplain and Mrs. Winget,   "    "             183-185
+
+  Acrostic (Initial),                     "    "             167
+
+  Acrostic to Capt. J. C. Langenberger,   " Van Weighs       148
+
+  Acrostic to Dr. H. R. Parker,           " Harrison        168
+
+  Acrostic to Harry Smith,                " Van Weighs       150
+
+  A tribute to Capt. Geo. W. Hess,        "  "     "         143
+
+  A Letter From Home,                     " 24138            42
+
+  A Memorial Ode,                         " Van Weighs       110-111
+
+  A Prisoner's Thanksgiving,              " McKnight          20-21
+
+  A Prisoner's Lamentation,               "    "              63-64
+
+  A Prayer For Justice,                   "    "              87
+
+  A Prison Vision,                        " Harrison          95-107
+
+  A Query,                                " Morse             69-70
+
+  A Sad Warning,                          " Harrison         146-147
+
+  An Appreciated Friend,                  " McKnight         114-115
+
+  Be Lenient to the Errant One,           " Harrison          37
+
+  Birthday Musings,                       " Van Weighs        88
+
+  Coming In and Going Out,                " Carr              50-51
+
+  Conclusion,                             " McKnight         194
+
+  Dreams,                                 "    "              48
+
+  Ella Ree's Revenge,                     "    "             171-178
+
+  Erratic Musings of Unfettered Thought,  " Harrison          25-36
+
+  Forget? No, Never!                      " McKnight          18
+
+  Freedom,                                "    "              17
+
+  God Bless Them,                         "    "              18
+
+  Guilt's Queries and Truth's Replies,    " Harrison          41-42
+
+  Hope,                                   " Law               39
+
+  Hope--Eternity,                         " McKnight          21
+
+  How To Be Happy In Prison,              " 22700             23
+
+  In Prison,                              " Harrison          24
+
+  Influence,                              " Law               36
+
+  Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged,            "  "                72
+
+  Kindness,                               " Roth              46
+
+  Lines To My Cell,                       " McKnight         111-112
+
+  Lines To My Wife,                       " Harrison         169
+
+  Love's Victim,                          " McKnight           58-63
+
+  Last Night In the Dungeon,              "    "               38-39
+
+  Midnight Musings,                       "    "               68-69
+
+  Mother,                                 " Overstreet        19
+
+  My Lawyer,                              " Gilbert           144-145
+
+  My Mother,                              " Carr              109-110
+
+  My Prison Garden,                       " McKnight           11
+
+  Our Board of Managers,                  "    "               65-66
+
+  One and a Few,                          " 21069              67-68
+
+  Out of the Depths,                      " Harrison          170
+
+  Prison Pains,                           "    "               45
+
+  Prisoners,                              " McKnight           83
+
+  Perfect Peace,                          " McKnight           37
+
+  Reflections,                            "    "               43-44
+
+  Rhyme and Reason,                       "    "               11-16
+
+  Stray Thoughts,                         "    "               70-72
+
+  Salome's Revenge,                       "    "              115-142
+
+  She Loves Me Yet,                       " Harrison          149
+
+  Soul Sculpture,                         " Doane              51
+
+  The Storms of Life,                     " Law                57
+
+  The Prisoner Released,                  " Col. Parsons       44
+
+  The Convict's Prayer,                   " Harrison           73
+
+  The Great "O. P."                       " McKnight           49
+
+  The Fall of Sodom,                      "    "               75-80
+
+   "     "     "     Canto Second,        "    "               78-80
+
+  There Is No Death,                      "    "               47
+
+  The Murderer's Dream,                   "    "              179-182
+
+  The Prisoner's Mother,                  " Mrs. Wirick        22
+
+  The Reformer,                           " Law                43
+
+  The Under Dog,                          " Barker             45-46
+
+  The Phantom Boat,                       " Harrison          151-169
+
+  To A Departed Idol,                     " Van Weighs         91-92
+
+  Tribute to Dr. G. A. Tharp,             "  "    "           113
+
+  Tribute to the Wolfe Sisters,           " Harrison           89-91
+
+  Tribute to the Wolfe Sisters,           " McKnight           81-82
+
+  Tribute to Capt. Joseph Smith Acheson,  " Harrison          108
+
+  Tribute to Capt. L. H. Wells,           " Van Weighs         66-67
+
+  The Mind's the Standard of the Man,     " McKnight          185-190
+
+  The Author's Farewell,                  "    "              192-193
+
+  Two Letters,                            " Harrison           84-86
+
+  Weight and Immortality of Words,        " McKnight           52-53
+
+  Which Loved Her Best,                   "    "               54-57
+
+  Wine vs. Water,                         "    "               74-75
+
+  Would They Know,                        " Collier            40
+
+
+
+
+PRISON POETRY.
+
+
+
+
+_PRELUDE._
+
+
+  If you prefer the sounding line,
+  Go read some master of the Nine!
+  Good taste perhaps you will display;
+  Let others read my simple lay
+  That gushes from an honest heart
+  Unawed by fear, unstrained by art.
+  I ne'er will prostitute my Muse
+  The rich to praise, nor poor abuse;
+  But simply sing as best I can
+  Whate'er may bless my fellow man;
+  I dare not stain a single page
+  With outbursts of unreasoning rage,
+  But if one sorrow I can soothe
+  Or one his rugged pathway smooth;
+  One pain relieve, one joy impart,
+  'Twill ease the burden of a heart
+  That has known for weary years
+  No solace save unbidden tears.
+  Hard is the heart that will refuse
+  Due merit to the Prison Muse.
+  May heaven watch the prisoner's weal
+  And mankind for his sorrow feel!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_MY PRISON GARDEN._
+
+
+  In this mind's garden thoughts shall grow,
+  And in their freshness bud and blow;
+  Thoughts to which love has beauty lent
+  And memories sweet of sentiment.
+  Now, if I cultivate them right good,
+  They'll furnish me with my mind's food.
+  My enemies may my corpus hail,
+  While onward, upward, thoughts will sail
+  To realms above, where all is peace,
+  And where the soul may rest with ease.
+
+
+
+
+_RHYME AND REASON._
+
+
+  In contravention of the laws of right,
+  Man's cruel passion and his guilty might,
+  Has bound me tightly with a galling chain
+  Of heaped-up malice and unjust disdain!
+  From front rank lawyer to a felon's cell,
+  Through perjured villains, not by sin I fell!
+  By fiat law my body was consigned
+  To this grim cell for guilty ones designed.
+  Yet I'm no convict--I have never known
+  The deep remorse by guilty wretches shown!
+  I am a martyr--doomed by adverse fate
+  To brave the billows of malicious hate!
+  Yet I am free, for Nature's august plan
+  Makes MIND not _matter_ constitute the MAN.
+
+  Tho' men may curse me and cast out my name,
+  Like some vile bauble on the sea of shame;
+  Brand me as murderer or catiff thief,
+  Or atheistic infidel--steepid in unbelief;
+  Foe to all that's pure and good--wretch unfit to live;
+  Outlaw whom no honest man can even pity give!
+  Yet my soul will still defy your prison bolts and bars,
+  And soaring far on eager wings beyond the faintest stars,
+  Live in a world to you unknown, where only poet soul
+  Can bask in beauty undefiled by cankering control!
+  In vain is all your hate and scorn--vain your prison blight;
+  God loves me, and I feel assured that all will yet be right!
+  I know one law--a perfect law, by Nature's self designed--
+  'Tis Heaven's dearest gift to man--The Freedom of the Mind!
+
+  If minds and hearts were easy read as faces we can see,
+  Society would lose its dread and many a prisoner free!
+  But what, alas! do people care what's in another's brain?
+  They only seek to hide their share of misery and pain.
+  Were all compelled to truthful be and show their inner life--
+  Great heavens! what a jamboree of sin and shame and strife!
+      How few would measure half a span if Mind alone we closely scan!
+  Where is the man on this broad earth, so pure, so good, so true,
+  That never gave an action birth he dared not bring to view?
+  The Christ alone was sinless here, none other lives aright;
+  All human goodness springs from fear of death's approaching night!
+  There is no soul so white I know but what temptation's power
+  Its purity can overthrow and all its good deflower!
+      Disguise the truth as best we can, he _errs_ the most who most is
+                                                           _Man_!
+
+  Come, let us take a journey, with cathode rays supplied,
+  And view the greatest and good in all their pomp and pride!
+  Examine first the churches, where the godly crew
+  Teach poor erring mortals what is best to do.
+  They tell us human nature is _once_ and always wrong,
+  And prove man's deep depravity in sermon or by song.
+  All natural passion is denounced as deep and deadly sin,
+  And _truth_ and _virtue_ painted as graces hard to win.
+  Heaven, they tell us, is a place with blisses running o'er;
+  Hell, a lake of torture, where fiery billows roar!
+  A choice eternal all must make between their birth and death;
+  It may be made in early life or with expiring breath!
+  But how this choice must be made each gives a separate plan,
+  That clearly proves how narrow is the erring mind of Man.
+
+  One tells us naught but good pursue, all evil to eschew;
+  Another swears without God's grace no mortal thus can do;
+  One bids us work salvation out with trembling and with fear,
+  Another swears that God's elect should never shed a tear;
+  One says all must live the life Jesus lived on earth.
+  Another says it can't be done without a Second Birth!
+  Some say _work_, others _trust_, others still say _wait_;
+  Some deem us mere automatons, saved or lost by _Fate_!
+  Some, with philanthropic views, declare all must be saved,
+  Since Christ, the Perfect Offering for _all_, death's horrors braved!
+  Since Christians never will agree, 'tis best that every man
+  Should listen to his conscience, and do the best he can!
+  God ever _has_ and _will_ do right! In His Eternal Plan
+  The time will come to set _aright_ the numerous wrongs of _Man_!
+
+  See yonder's pompous deacon, with diamonds clear and bright;
+  He looks a model Christian--just turn on him your light.
+  Great heavens! what a medley of _cant_ and sin and shame!
+  If the half we see was ever told 'twould ruin his good name!
+  But turn on yonder pastor your strange, mysterious light;
+  I know he is a real good man, who loves Eternal Right.
+  Ye holy saints, protect us! _he_ too has gone amiss!
+  When Siren Voice allured him with a seductive kiss!
+  If half the prayers we utter be not a sounding lie,
+  It is but little marvel that we are doomed to die!
+  For each will plead forgiveness for thought or action done,
+  And _none_ by spotless merit eternal bliss hath won.
+  Then gently judge your fellow, his failings lightly scan;
+  Like you, he can not corner _all_ the brains of man!
+
+  See, yonder is our Congress, where wits and fools unite,
+  To declare by the nation's statute what _is_ fundamental right!
+  They yell of patriotism and the majesty of Law,
+  And are for once unanimous--their salaries to draw!
+  Alas! alas! 'tis ever thus within our halls of State;
+  Sweet Justice is blacklisted--the _dollar_ is too great.
+  Aye, even on judicial bench, where justice should be done,
+  How scattering are the cases where _Right_ the victory won!
+  Lawyers, judge and jury _exparte_ view the case--
+  An angel would be ruined in the defendant's place!
+  In vain is protestation, in vain a blameless life;
+  Some _must be_ doomed to prison when prejudice is rife!
+  Law must keep its servants in stations high and proud,
+  Tho' every hour should furnish a coffin and a shroud!
+
+  The modern Shylock of today, unlike his friend of old,
+  Demands the pound of quivering flesh and _all_ his victim's gold;
+  Nor feels content until he sees his victim's hated face
+  Behind a wall of rock and steel in garments of disgrace.
+  Then he will raise his dainty hands and loud applaud the law
+  That _can_ protect such beings, who live without a flaw.
+  _He_ has no pity for the weak, who thro' temptation fall,
+  But freely spends his _time_ and _means_ the guileless to enthrall.
+  He heaps _his_ mighty wrath and scorn on every evil done,
+  And speaks in tones of pure disgust of poverty's pale son.
+  But if you bid him look within and study his own heart,
+  He has a task herculean--'tis such a _tiny_ part!
+  And as for Mind--ye angels! in fair creation's plan
+  'Twas given to his victim, and left him _half a man_!
+
+  The modern Clytemnestra no dagger needs to use;
+  She slays her Agamemnon within your _legal_ pews,
+  Since judges now are willing to sunder marriage ties,
+  And juries are so truculent when blushing beauty lies.
+  Or if she be a _Helen_, and Paris suits her taste,
+  She hastes without compunction to lay her honor waste.
+  "Society" allows her to have "a special friend,"
+  And a husband is _so_ handy her good name to defend!
+  But alas! Aspasia _no mercy_ need expect;
+  Her Pericles _lionized_, but none _her_ worth detect!
+  And as for poor Thargelia _none_ will take _her_ part;
+  She lives a social outcast, with broken, bleeding heart;
+  But each base seducer, in our social plan.
+  Makes poor, trusting woman bear the sins of _Man_!
+
+  Many men are now misjudged, and meet an awful fate,
+  Whose innocence is published, but alas, it is too late!
+  Many, too, are breathing freedom's precious air
+  Whose vile conduct merits prison dress and fare.
+  Only _little_ rascals in your prisons _die_,
+  While _stupendous_ villians liberty can buy!
+  Each one strives with fervor his neighbor to outshine,
+  And he who has the most of gold is reckoned half divine.
+  You scatter dark temptations around the poor man's path,
+  And when he falls you pour on him _all_ your vicious wrath.
+  Poverty in public lives all her deeds are seen;
+  Wealth can build a castle her _wickedness_ to screen.
+  Yet many a noble woman and kingly man is found
+  As toilers in your factories or tillers of the ground!
+
+  If cathode rays were freely used to bring to human sight
+  The dirty methods villians use to _damn_ Eternal Right,
+  Many men would be set free and others take their place
+  Who now can roll in luxury and laugh at their disgrace.
+  A judge and jury now can sit and _hang_ a man at will,
+  But they say 'tis open _murder_ if but _one_ dares kill!
+  Take a ring of brass and plate it o'er with gold,
+  And 'tis only _business_ when the fraud is sold!
+  Adulterate both food and drink, deal in deadly pills;
+  Law will aid your _robbery_ and collect your bills!
+  Give to your profession but a sounding name,
+  Then cut up the devil without fear or shame.
+  Be sure to call it _business_ whatever you may do,
+  And if you have sufficient _gall_ that will pull you through.
+
+  Now throughout this prison rays cathodal dart,
+  And read the hidden secrets of each convict heart.
+  Some have wrought vile deeds, and wrought them o'er and o'er,
+  That surely proves them rotten to their inmost core.
+  And here are wretched fiends, who with consumate art,
+  Ravish every instinct of the human heart.
+  Some men of wit and letters, cultured and refined,
+  Others moral lepers, with heart and conscience blind.
+  From drawing room and brothel, farm and city slum,
+  Some by acts of justice, some through perjury come;
+  The innocent and guilty, callow youth and age,
+  All can be imprisoned in this Christian age!
+  But they who seek for liberty no innocence must plead--
+  Gold, and plenty of it, will be all they need.
+
+  Some young souls are making, for a stated time,
+  This, their maiden effort, on the sea of crime.
+  Oh, Christians, teach them early what to me is plain;
+  Crime ever _has_ and ever _will_ result in lasting pain.
+  Do not be _too_ lenient, nor _too_ soon forgive,
+  Lest all _vice_ should flourish and no _virtue_ live.
+  Society demands it, the _guilty_ should atone--
+  But take care you punish those, and those _alone_!
+  Keep them in your prisons till by _virtue_ shown
+  They will know what _is_ and what is _not_ their own.
+  But let all be careful lest by _word_ or _act_
+  Those who should _reform_ them from their _good_ subtract.
+  Rule them wisely, gently--by some _humane_ plan,
+  All their faults to conquer as best becomes a MAN.
+
+  When your work is finished and their habits changed,
+  Give them honest labor, by the State arranged;
+  Show them honest labor _can_ a living gain,
+  While the _social outcast_ harvests _want_ and _shame_!
+  Treat them fairly, kindly; teach them all the true
+  Will be friendly with them while _the right_ they do.
+  Both principle and policy declare this course is wise;
+  Then why longer act the fool and wisdom's voice despise?
+  Crime never _can_ nor _will_ decrease until in _Wisdom's School_
+  Men learn the noted lesson, "Right _through_ Law should Rule."
+  All tried plans are failures, this none dares deny;
+  Now give _Common Sense_ a show and failure dare defy.
+  Do _this_, and lash and pistol, now your sole defense,
+  Shall give place to Reason and plain Common Sense!
+
+  Courts are far too careless when they give men life
+  For offense unnoticed save in time of strife.
+  Naught but some poor chicken or a ham he stole--
+  Shall the devil purchase at such price a soul?
+  If such petty crimes as this deserve such prison fare,
+  Come now, honest reader, what is _your_ just share?
+  Was that old Greek right, who, tho' a man of sense,
+  Could mete out death to all for each small offense?
+  Apply his heartless rule, and can you truly say
+  Any man or woman would be left to slay?
+  Man is only mortal, and to sin is prone;
+  Never cure another's faults till you quit your own.
+  Many are convicted by the _press_ at large;
+  The Public Mind is rarely Heaven's peculiar charge.
+
+  Bring the judge and jury who declared my fate
+  For the shining dollars furnished them by hate,
+  And their guilty conscience by my own arrange,
+  And then tell me frankly if my fate should change!
+  Yet I had sooner die behind these bars of steel
+  Than to have a heart of stone that _could_ not feel!
+  I know such human tigers, who fatten on distress,
+  Never _can_ and _never_ will enjoy one hour of rest!
+  Until all hate and malice, all greed and other sin
+  Is burned by awful torture to leave them pure within!
+  God _will_ forgive each penitent whate'er his sin may be,
+  Whose heart is overflowing with _love_ for bond and free.
+  Oh listen! brothers, listen--'tis Jehovah's plan--
+  And a _time is fixed_ to right the wrongs of Man.
+
+
+
+
+_FREEDOM._
+
+
+  How sweet thou art, O freedom.
+    To every human heart--
+  Man's privilege most sacred.
+    His being's noblest part.
+  Thou priceless, great possession,
+    Without thee life were done!
+  Its sun gone down forever,
+    For thou and life are one.
+
+  How dear thou art, O freedom--
+    Our birthright here below!
+  Chief blessing of all blessings
+    Kind heaven doth bestow.
+  Deprived by dark misfortune
+    Of every other joy,
+  Naught while thou still remainest
+    Can happiness destroy.
+
+  But thou, O prison penance,
+    Dark shadow by life's board!
+  Of all that men hold mournful
+    Thou art the fullest stored.
+  There's naught on earth worth having
+    If't must be shared with thee--
+  O happy, holy freedom!
+      O heaven, set me free.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_GOD BLESS THEM_
+
+
+  God bless the mothers of this land!
+    They are so good and true;
+  And all the sisters of their band,
+    They are so noble, too.
+  If we don't treat them with respect,
+    And court their wholesome 'fluence,
+  Our morals will not be correct,
+    And we will suffer hence.
+
+
+If women are not treated with respect, and made to exercise an
+influence over the social world, the standard of private virtue and
+public opinion will be lowered, and the morals of men will suffer.
+
+
+
+
+_FORGET? NO, NEVER!_
+
+
+  There are things we'll not remember,
+    And much will be forgot,
+  As in the bleak December
+    When our coffee was not hot;
+  When the butter was much younger,
+    When the bread was sour and dry;
+  When are felt the pangs of hunger,
+    With regrets and many a sigh.
+  How the memory used to vex us
+    As 'twould o'er our senses steal;
+  How we wished they might "annex" us,
+    So we'd get one good square meal.
+  Other things may be forgot
+    In this busy, hustling age,
+  But one thing we ne'er can blot
+    From off our memory's page,
+  That we never can forget
+    In a hundred months of Junes;
+  It will long our memories fret--
+    _Those prunes--those rotten, wormy prunes_.
+
+
+
+
+_MOTHER._
+
+BY OVERSTREET.
+
+
+  Who is it, in this life so drear,
+    That pines for the wandering boy,
+  And ever ready with words of cheer
+    To turn sad thoughts to joy?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when all others do forsake
+    And leave us to our grief,
+  That will for long hours lie awake
+    And pray for our relief?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when the world laughs on
+    And gives our sighs no thought,
+  That thinks of the boy who looks upon
+    This life that's come to naught?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when from prison freed--
+    The boy goes forth so sadly--
+  That receives him in his hour of need
+    With tears of joy--yea, gladly?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when the end has come,
+    Looks fondly on her child,
+  And prays to God for a happy home
+    For the boy that's been so wild?
+                    Mother.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A PRISONER'S THANKSGIVING._
+
+
+  What if the gold of the corn lands
+    Is faded to somber grey?
+  And what if the down of the thistle
+    Is ripened and scattered away?
+  There's a crowning golden harvest,
+    There's turkey the heart to cheer,
+  There's a basket from home with plenty of "pone,"
+    Tho' 'tis bathed in a mother's tear.
+
+  What 'f our friends are far from us
+    And they know not where we are?
+  What if those who are dearest
+    Live ever away so far?
+  There's room for us by th' fireside,
+    Where in childhood days we'd play;
+  'Tis comfort to think, tho' we stand on the brink,
+    That we will be there some day.
+
+  What if our hearts are lonely
+    As we toil in our enemy's hand?
+  What if our sad looks betray us
+    As we take a true manly stand?
+  There's a coming golden harvest,
+    There's a time when we all'll meet,
+  When prison locks and iron bars
+    Will fail to ther pris'n'r keep.
+
+  What care we for the pang at heart?
+    'Twill all be gone some day;
+  And then tho' our enemies'ld crush us,
+  They'll be scattered far away.
+    Tho' this is a sad Thanksgiving,
+  A better one's coming our way,
+    When we'll all be home to share in the "pone"
+  And hear our angeled sister pray.
+
+  What if the gold of the corn lands
+    Is faded to somber grey?
+  And what if the down of the thistle
+    Is ripened and scattered away?
+
+  Away to the east in a far off land
+    There's turkey the heart to cheer.
+  Where the dear ones are partaking
+    And thinking of one that's here;
+  There's father and mother and sister and brother, all so far away.
+    There's a blessed time a-coming--
+  The prisoner's Thanksgiving day.
+
+
+
+
+_HOPE--ETERNITY._
+
+
+  The heart bowed down with silent grief.
+    Despair its portals soon assails.
+  Oh! let such moments be but brief
+    When spirit lost o'er man prevails;
+  Think not of friend who, false, betrayed.
+    Nor sweetheart's change, nor colder wife--
+  Recall those oaths when passion prayed
+    For vengeance and for foeman's life.
+
+  We pass dear friends but once this way:
+    Our judge, accusers and our foe.
+  If false to God and man they play.
+    Not thou, but they, shall suffer woe.
+  All stay is short; the longest span
+    Counts less than raindrops in the sea.
+  Arouse thee, then, despairing man.
+    And hail with hope--Eternity!
+
+  Glows in thy cell a fragrant bloom,
+    Plucked from thy guardian angel's wreath.
+  Do thou but nurture it with prayer
+    And water it with tears of faith.
+  To humble hearts its petals ope,
+    Revealing bliss to streaming eye--
+  Immortal blooms this rose of hope,
+    God's flower of life--Eternity.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_THE PRISONER'S MOTHER._
+
+BY MRS. S. E. WIRICK.
+
+
+    To be a prisoner's mother
+      Is to feel a piercing dart
+    That sets the mind a-whirling
+      And almost cleaves the heart.
+
+    To be a prisoner's mother
+      Is, upon a holiday,
+    To visit him in prison,
+      Then part and go away.
+
+    To be a prisoner's mother
+      'Tis, inside the lonely wall,
+    To say, "Farewell, my darling"--
+      Oh, I almost faint and fall.
+
+    No resting place but heaven,
+      No happy morn that dawns;
+    Our home so drear and lonely
+      Because our boy is gone.
+
+    An empty bed, a missing plate,
+      A grief that inward burns;
+    No balm on earth to heal our hearts
+      Until our boy returns.
+
+  "Honor and shame from no condition rise;
+  Act well your part, there all the honor lies."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_HOW TO BE HAPPY IN PRISON._
+
+BY NO. 22700
+
+
+  Do what is right, and day by day
+  Teach yourself that work is play
+  Of brain and muscle, rightly used--
+  And hurtful only when abused;
+  Deep interest take in all you do;
+  'Twill others please, as well as you.
+
+  Relieve a fellow prisoner's need;
+  Righteous counsel always heed;
+  Be not suspicious or unjust--
+  Few men betray a perfect trust;
+  He trusts the most whose heart is pure,
+  And generous thought will malice cure.
+
+  Brood not o'er the ills of life;
+  Give no cause for needless strife;
+  Tomb the past with all its sin;
+  Purify yourself within;
+  Rear your standard, be a MAN,
+  And do whatever good you can.
+
+  Some, perhaps, will misconstrue
+  All you say and all you do,
+  But when conscience is at rest
+  Happiness will fill the breast--
+  'Twill be a sweet red-letter day
+  When we all shall act that way.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_IN PRISON._
+
+BY HARRISON.
+
+
+  That which the world miscals a jail
+    A private closet is to me;
+  Whilst a good conscience is my bail,
+    And innocence my liberty:
+  Locks, bars and solitude together met
+  Make me no prisoner, but an anchoret.
+
+  I, whilst I wisht to be retired,
+    Into this private room was turned,
+  As if their wisdoms had conspired
+    The salamander should be burned;
+  Or, like those sophists that would drown a fish,
+  I am constrained to suffer what I wish.
+
+  These manacles upon my arm
+    I as my mistress' favors wear;
+  And for to keep my ankles warm
+    I have some iron shackles there;
+  These walls are but my garrison; this cell,
+  Which men call jail, doth prove my citadel.
+
+  I'm in the cabinet lockt up,
+    Like some high-prized margarite,
+  Or, like the Great Mogul or Pope,
+    Am cloistered up from public sight:
+  Retiredness is a piece of majesty,
+  And thus, proud Sultan, I'm as great as thee.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ERRATIC MUSINGS OF UNFETTERED THOUGHT._
+
+[BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.]
+
+
+  Is living thought, proud condor of the mind,
+  By walls of rock and iron bars confined,
+  Innate divinity by human courts enslaved,
+  And right eternal by a dust-worm braved?
+  Think you the spirit's rapid flight to mar
+  With dungeon torture and by iron bar?
+  Can rock-ribbed walls and bars of steel
+  Deprive man of the power to feel?
+  Can you the stream of Lethe roll
+  In maddening torrents o'er the soul,
+  Pluck from my brow love's garland fair
+  And brand me "Victim of despair?"
+  No! weakling son of vengeful fate,
+  God grants to none a power so great.
+  My body is your lawful prey,
+  Poor lump of spirit-crumbling clay;
+  Seize, chain and manacle each part,
+  Aye, even starve my bleeding heart,
+  But know that for Creative Thought
+  All fetters by one's self is wrought.
+  Mind, glorious Mind--Jehovah's sleepless breath,
+  Can know no bondage and can feel no death.
+  In yon fair regions of unreached repose
+  Eternal Beauty's flower-chalice glows,
+  Filled to the brim with satisfying wine,
+  Ambrosial nectar of the Tuneful Nine.
+  My muse can reach it on external wings
+  And drink till all the heart within me sings!
+  I scale the lofty heights, by virtue shown,
+  And from Eternal Wisdom seek my own.
+  There, far above the struggling world of fate,
+  I greet true freedom and am wisely great.
+  'Tis mine in bright elysian fields to roam,
+  Pluck jeweled treasure from the sleeping gnome;
+  Bid ocean deeps their mysteries reveal,
+  Or, soaring far above the world of space,
+  Gain raptured visions of the Holy Place;
+  Admire and measure every glittering throne,
+  Count heavenly treasure as my own,
+  Make august angels bow beneath my rod,
+  And even dare to mould the mind of God;
+  O radiant fields of pure, untrammeled Thought,
+  With what sweet incense are thy zephyrs fraught;
+  How clear the view, from thy exalted height,
+  Of human errors and unerring right;
+  'Tis thou alone my laboring Muse can teach
+  The perfect measure of her powers to reach;
+  She cons these fragments of a Truth sublime,
+  And art stands ready with appropriate rhyme
+  To trim each sentence and each word to place
+  In melting numbers of seductive grace;
+  Since first Jehovah, bending low to earth,
+  Breathed in man's nostrils an eternal birth,
+  The rain drop falling, from the heavy cloud,
+  In waiting dust, finds ready shroud,
+  And there commingling fills each separate cell,
+  Yet still remains as pure as when it fell:
+  To man appearing but a dampened clod,
+  'Tis chambered favor of a gracious God;
+  And serves his purpose till He calls above
+  This liquid semblance of Immortal Love,
+  There _not_ to perish, but return again
+  To deck the forest and adorn the plain;
+  All nature feels its fructifying power
+  In laughing streamlets and in nodding flower;
+  The rain drop typifies the Pure Indwelling God,
+  That permeates our being, to animate a clod;
+  Give birth to all emotion, consistent with His plan,
+  And with unmeasured tenderness weep the fall of man.
+  From every nodding flower, from every whispering breeze
+  From mountain's lofty height, from towering trees,
+  From softly twinkling star, from lightning's giddy flash,
+  From the softest twitter of a bird and thunder's awful crash,
+  From hills the ants may call their own,
+  From crested elders 'round their throne,
+  From babbling brook, from storm-lashed wave,
+  From nature smiling, nature grave,
+  From earth and air, from sky and sea,
+  There comes the self same voice to me,
+  Like softest note of cooing dove,
+  And sweetly whispers, "GOD IS LOVE."
+  All nature is obedient to heaven's august plan,
+  And none will dare rebellion, save ever-erring man.
+  He, of a dual nature--purity and lust--
+  Defies his Great Creator and thus betrays his trust.
+  Thrones within his being the hydra-headed sin,
+  All his joy to murder and create _hell within_;
+  Self-conscienceness completes the triple blow
+  While memories of happier years augments his hapless woe.
+  Whatever then of pleasure his wounded spirit knows
+  From the fountain of bitter repentance it onward, onward flows,
+  His own environment, be it either fair or fell,
+  Must _now_ embower his heaven, or will create his hell.
+  Contentment, peace, or pleasure he must create anew
+  By sowing seeds of virtue where vice so lately grew.
+  He learns he must not do whatever man can do,
+  But recognize the limits of the just and true.
+  Law is his _Alma mater_, the measure of his right,
+  The barrier Jehovah set to curb irreverent flight;
+  He has the truest liberty who recognizes law;
+  'Tis made to shield his virtues and on his vices war;
+  He who denies humanity lives for himself alone
+  All history to hush, all culture to disown;
+  And quickly he relapses into a barbarous state,
+  Where only force and prowess can make the unit great.
+  None so lost to _virtue_, none so devoid of art,
+  As he who fails to capture the _empire of a heart_;
+  He who knows not sympathy feels no fellow's woe,
+  Will never feel the rapture of happiness below;
+  God planted seeds of pity in every human breast,
+  And he who loses most of woe secures most of rest:
+  Love is man's _all_, his conqueror, his cordial and wine,
+  The measure of his inner life that stamps him as divine.
+  How circumscribed the circle God allots to man,
+  His home is but an acre, his life is but a span;
+  And yet within that circle his influence is so great
+  He wakes the cooing notes of _love_ or feeds the fires of hate;
+  His influence is potential within a circle small,
+  But beyond the limit of the same he does no good at all;
+  All thought, all power with which our being teems,
+  Is action predicated on events or on dreams.
+  All we have seen or heard, all we now can feel,
+  Leaves an imprint on the heart that the future must reveal:
+  The vain are truly lonely, they long to be admired,
+  One wishes to be understood, another well attired,
+  This hushed by useless longings or fashion's changing art,
+  That sweetest of all poems, _the music of the heart_.
+  But he who solves life's mystery is never quite alone,
+  All ages is his playground and solitude his throne;
+  He walks in subtle converse with all the mighty dead,
+  Gathering priceless jewels their wit or wisdom bred.
+  The watchtowers of his thought o'erlooks the struggling mass,
+  While events both past and present before his vision pass.
+  He sees the weary captive tugging at his chain;
+  The weather-beaten sailor plough the raging main;
+  The swarthy burden bearer in forest, mine and field;
+  The merchant's soiled ledgers, the soldier's brazen shield;
+  The child with glittering toy, the maiden at her glass;
+  The ruler of an empire, the leader of the mass;
+  The student in his study, the priest on bended knee;
+  The teacher with his ferrule, the aged human tree,
+  All fondly dream of freedom, yet all beneath the ban,
+  Each in a separate prison presided o'er by _man_;
+  Sees _nature_ and _morality_ are ever waging war,
+  The first as god of freedom, the latter lord of law.
+  Sees culture raise her barriers between polite and rude,
+  And hears _Religion_ thunder, "Cover up the nude!"
+  Knows man in every station to be a willing slave,
+  The football of his passion, the dupe of every knave.
+  Yet hears him boast his freedom, laud his reasoning power;
+  Rule all he can with iron hand, and _finite_ judgment shower;
+  Sees all the devious, hidden paths by sinful mortals trod
+  Where _human_ law and custom dare ostracise a god;
+  Yet knows a germ of goodness, deep in the human breast,
+  Is living in the worst of men however much depressed.
+  Knows life is but the unit of God's Eternal Plan,
+  And learns to _pity_, not to blame, poor ever-erring man!
+  In each created atom sees faultless beauty glow
+  And God's Eternal purpose in onward sequence flow.
+  Views all souls as living harps, whose seeming dissonance
+  Is but apparent and not real; and believes, perchance,
+  God will mend each shattered chord, tune the quivering lyre,
+  And from out each soul shall bring a music sweeter, higher
+  Than earthly ears have ever heard or earthly lips essayed;
+  Such music as the ransomed sing in innocence arrayed;
+  While all the universe entranced shall wondering inquire:
+  "Is this the fruitage of _His_ woe? Is this his soul's desire?
+  Is this the harp so late unstrung? Is this poor fallen man?
+  Ah! can it be that all was wrought obedient to God's plan"?
+
+  Nature will o'er matter bear imperial sway,
+  And all not immortal must in time decay;
+  Man's tenement is mortal, but himself divine;
+  Which should he most cherish, the jewel or its shrine?
+  Yet when vice allures him with seductive ray,
+  Gives he not to passion undisputed sway?
+  Dreams he not of beauty who, with open arms,
+  Calls for lust to enter and revel 'mid her charms?
+  Is his eye not captive? Do not his senses thrill?
+  What is left the tempted one save his feeble will?
+  If that will prove recreant to Jehovah's trust,
+  Pays he not the penalty in self-consuming lust?
+  Must his spirit suffer through unending years
+  For the shame he purchased with agonizing tears?
+  Life is but a shoe-broom, Nature is God's book
+  And he's the aptest scholar who all her laws can brook!
+  If love of right was constant man could well defy
+  All of sin's allurements and unspotted die!
+  _One_ such man has lived who, with a faith sublime,
+  Crucified the temple where he dwelt in time,
+  And entered heaven victorious without the aid of grace,
+  The marvel of all centuries, the Savior of the race;
+  But had His will but weakened, Jesus, too, had fell,
+  And man without Redemption sank tottering into hell;
+  All would be good did not true goodness claim
+  Such earnest noble effort from a will so tame;
+  _Crime_ is but a sequence of misguided will
+  Inherent moral defect and _surrounding_ ill.
+  Man's innate love of beauty and his dread of pain,
+  His ever raging thirst for power and his greed for gain
+  Alternately do sway him with resistless power,
+  The spotless blossoms of the soul, until he only yearns
+  For the ever hideous lust that blackens as it burns.
+  Guilt comes not, thundering on the wings of time,
+  With vice-distorted feature and the leer of crime,
+  But like enchanting vision from a pagan dream,
+  Or softly echoed cadence of a whispering stream,
+  She steals upon us gently, with ever-changing art,
+  And usurps an empire--the waiting human heart!
+  Her outward form is beauty, her voice with Passion tense,
+  She only craves the privilege to gratify each sense;
+  All apparent pleasures 'round her path are spread,
+  But, alas! you seize the flower to find its fragrance fled;
+  But still pursuing, row with bated breath,
+  You clasp her to your bosom and--embrace a death!
+  Then, conscience stricken, you the wreck survey,
+  And with shuddering sorrow--humbly kneel to pray;
+  While the pitying angels on their pinions bear
+  The ever sacred burden of repentant prayer,
+  And almighty love descending reasserts control,
+  And mercy in the guise of grace has won a human _soul_;
+  But contrast a moment, with this heavenly plan,
+  The awful brutal conduct of exacting MAN.
+  See yon martial champion riding on the flood
+  Of a frightful carnage and a sea of blood;
+  His path is strewn with many a ghastly sight,
+  Dead and dismembered bodies and defenseless fright!
+  Yet all the people with a loud acclaim
+  Pronounce _him_ "_Hero_," and accord him Fame!
+  True, he butchers thousands in a cruel war,
+  Yet you deem him _guiltless_, he obeyed _your_ law.
+  But if your angered brother slay a single man,
+  _Him_ you brand a "Murderer," worthy of your ban;
+  And with zeal unbounded you wage relentless war
+  Until he falls, a victim to rage-created law.
+  As if a useless _murderer_, sanctioned by the state,
+  Was less the fruitage of revenge than one new-born of hate;
+  Perchance in some fair aiden, some far distant sphere
+  Your poor hapless victim these just words may hear:
+  "Thou art now forgiven, poor misguided son!
+  "Tho' tranced with dire passion thou hast slain but one.
+  "Thou hast made atonement, breathed a fiery breath
+  "Of a deep repentance and an awful death!
+  "Place on him the raiment--whiter far than snow,
+  "And teach his untried lips to sing the song the angels know.
+  "But as to yonder soldier who for the bauble fame
+  "Led unbattled thousands without fear or shame;
+  "And with banners flying to the bugle's chime
+  "Hurled obedient legions into conscious crime--
+  "All the tears he showed, _all_ the blood he shed,
+  "Now in molten fire shall circle 'round his head,
+  "And all shall learn the lesson, that horror-breeding war
+  "Will _never_ meet the sanction of Jehovah's law!"
+  This is no fancy picture, nor idle dream of youth,
+  But, if I know the laws of God, it is the solemn truth".
+
+  Behold a homeless wanderer, poor and thinly clad,
+  To biting cold a victim, with hunger almost mad,
+  Entering yonder mansion, dares to boldly steal
+  What none should e'er deny a dog--the pittance of a meal!
+  See the greedy sleuth-hounds of the outraged law
+  Wage against this robber an unrelenting war;
+  While _Christian_ judge and jury, with ready wit, declare
+  His crime an awful outrage, that merits prison fare!
+  But he who rears his costly domes
+  O'er wreck and ruin of human homes,
+  Plants in the breast a raging thirst
+  And leaves his victims doubly cursed,
+  Can roll in luxury, loll in pride
+  And, with _the law_, his gain divide!
+  Tho' every dime he pays the state
+  A thousand cost in wakened hate!
+
+  A simple youth by passion lured,
+  And of but little wisdom steward,
+  Meets with a maid of witching grace
+  And dalliance ends in dire disgrace!
+  In prison stripes you teach the fool
+  That he must _love_ by _human_ rule!
+  Yet you rear great, costly piles
+  Where soiled doves may ply their wiles
+  And lead to an unhallowed bed
+  The lustful brute you lately wed.
+  If passion will assert her power
+  None shall dare a maid deflower
+  Unless so _licensed_ by the state
+  In wedlock's bonds his lust to sate!
+  And, if marriage prove a bane,
+  _Divorce_, for cash, will ease his pain!
+  Then to your haunts of sin he hies
+  And laws of God and man defies
+  By casting, in a barren sea,
+  The germ of _life_ that is to be!
+  'Tis true this evil you decry--
+  And raise your taxes mountain high!
+  As if the more the state shall gain
+  The less will virtue feel the strain!--
+  You legalize _divorce_ and _fraud_,
+  And each _successful_ scoundrel laud,
+  Unmindful tho' he gain his wealth
+  By open plunder or by stealth.
+  In vain his hapless victims cry,
+  His _gold_ can legal silence buy!
+  But if through stress of penury's strife
+  One makes a shipwreck of his life,
+  You prisons build and place within
+  This fruitage of a law-made sin,
+  To linger till the cowering slave
+  Shall fill--unwept--a pauper's grave.
+  And scarce a line of obscure print
+  At this dark tragedy will hint;
+  But if your millioned puppy dies
+  What wailings rend the astonished skies!
+  What sabled hue and lengthened train
+  Attest your deep regret and pain!
+  How yon cathedral's vaulted arch
+  Will echo with his funeral march;
+  What flowers will deck his costly tomb;
+  What tapers rob the grave of gloom;
+  While columns, nay, whole papers tell
+  How _great_ a man today has fell.
+  Deluded mortals! raise your eyes
+  To yon fair regions of the skies,
+  Where _justice_ sits, each cause to try
+  Beneath Omniscience's searching eye;
+  Your "_convict_," on low bended knee,
+  Pleads "guilty"--and they set him free;
+  And angels crown, with loud acclaim,
+  The man you deemed a living shame!
+  Your _Croesus_, with uplifted eye,
+  (Still conscious of his station high)
+  Deigns to repeat, with growing stress,
+  How from defeat he wrung success;
+  Tells, with a proudly swelling heart,
+  Of millions spent on sculptured art;
+  And millions more on lordly hall,
+  The eye and heart of man to thrall;
+  Tells how a church and college new
+  From _his_ donation quickly grew;
+  Tells how--in cushioned pew--he knelt
+  And begged God other hearts to melt,
+  Until each child of man should be,
+  Like his dear self, from error free;
+  All this they hear your idol tell--
+  And cast him headlong into hell!
+  While heaven bows her head with awe
+  In sanction of Jehovah's law.
+
+  What mighty solons fill your halls of state!
+  (Poor gibbering parrots with an empty pate),
+  Who deem all prisons of but little use
+  Not founded on starvation and abuse.
+  They lock poor pris'ners in a loathsome cell,
+  While lash and pistol drives them on to hell;
+  They crush his manhood and his soul debase,
+  Blot out ambition and his name disgrace,
+  Yet wonder greatly that such humane plan
+  Makes not an angel of each convict man.
+  These truthful samples of your legal page
+  Condemn your judgment and disgrace your age--
+  Too oft repeated, who will dare to say
+  To what dark horrors they may pave the way?
+  Pause! ere the records that now strew your path
+  Invite the vengeance of Jehovah's wrath;
+  Relearn the lesson early taught mankind,
+  "To God give reverence and to man be kind."
+  Be this your motto, and each setting sun
+  Will kiss the feature of a work begun;
+  Time cannot tarnish and no heart can blame
+  Your noble effort to deserve a name;
+  Heaven will applaud you, and the smile
+  Of happiness the hours beguile,
+  Why pay such homage to mere human laws?
+  Dread you man's censure or admire applause?
+  Are you forgetful that the crown of fame
+  Is purchased torture and expiring shame?
+  Think you man's plaudits or his causeless hate
+  Can either ope or close the pearly gate?
+  Who ever placed in man implicit trust,
+  Nor saw his idol, soon or late, in dust?
+  Why thus pursue an ever fading wraith?
+  'Tis God, and God alone, deserves your faith.
+  Survey all things with comprehensive view,
+  Admire all beauty and enthrone the true;
+  Know every mortal, tho' a separate soul,
+  Is but a fragment of the mighty whole
+  That fills a niche in God's eternal plan,
+  All for the welfare of ungrateful man;
+  Learn that in many a loathsome cell
+  A prisoned genius or a saint may dwell,
+  Whose power, developed by an act of love,
+  May lead a million to the Courts above.
+  Shall it be yours to touch that vibrant chord
+  And share the honor of the great reward?
+  What heaven endorses that alone can stand;
+  All else is stubble, built on shifting sand,
+  That shall vanish 'mid the fire and flood
+  Like tiny snowflakes in a sea of blood.
+  Oh, could my Muse, by some exalted flight,
+  Portray her knowledge of Eternal Right--
+  Breathe in soft accents to the listening ear
+  The melting music which my soul can hear,
+  Some would declare my reason half dethroned
+  Before my fancy to such heights had flown;
+  Yet could such see as I have seen the scroll
+  Where God has written "Destiny of Soul,"
+  They much would wonder how my Muse
+  Could dare suppress such glorious news.
+  What pen can picture or what brush can paint
+  The endless rapture of a raptured saint?
+  Words are too feeble; they but tell in part
+  The truthful language of a human heart;
+  But, Oh, when spirit from its cumbering clay
+  Shall rise triumphant to the realms of day,
+  What strains seraphic from our lips shall break
+  Till all creation shall to bliss awake!
+  O bliss supernal! when our lips shall meet--
+  The lips long buried--and our souls shall greet
+  The loved and cherished of those earlier years.
+  Ere pain had turned each quivering chord to tears,
+  And life was smiling in her morning hours
+  And love was conscious of her magic powers.
+  Oh, sweet reunion on the crystal strand!
+  When we shall fondly clasp the waiting hand
+  Of buried jewels distance hides from view,
+  And all the plighted vows of life renew,
+  Then shall we learn the truthfulness of love,
+  When hearts like ours, renewed in youth, above
+  All passion and the cloying cares of earth
+  Shall wake to rapture with a Second Birth!
+
+  O hearts estranged, forgive and be forgiven!
+  Your cruel coldness has already driven
+  The angel sweetness from your speaking eye,
+  And suffered everything, save pride, to die.
+  O cradle, in the lap of everlasting sleep
+  The dark, fierce passions that now rudely sweep
+  The sounding chambers of the suffering soul,
+  Where Hate's tumultuous torrents hourly roll,
+  And blacken what was once so white and fair,
+  When spotless Innocence was centered there!
+  Oh, keep no kisses for my cold, dead brow--
+  I am so lonely--let me feel them now.
+  When dreamless sleep is mine I never more can need
+  The tenderness for which tonight I plead;
+  My wayworn spirit and my thorn-pierced feet
+  The piteous pleadings of my lips repeat.
+  Oh, shall I plead and plead with you in vain
+  To bring love's sunlight to my soul again?
+  Shall acts repented, bred of undue haste,
+  Lay all my stock of future pleasures waste?
+  Bid me to draw a servile, galling chain,
+  Nor wish to murmur, nor murmur to complain?
+  Will you deprive my hungry soul of love,
+  Nor leave one spark of happiness above?
+  Oh, what base deed has these my fingers wrought
+  To wake a malice with each vengeance fraught?
+  If I have sinned and disobeyed your laws,
+  Discarded fashion and despised applause,
+  Have I not suffered all a man can know,
+  And drank the bitterest dregs of human woe?
+  Think you my proud and haughty soul to cower
+  With scorpion lashes of tempestuous power?
+  Go scourge the ocean with puny lash,
+  Or raze a mountain with a feather's crash!
+  Why thus torment my swift declining age
+  With useless torture of unreasoning rage?
+  'Twere best to sound the caverns of my soul
+  And learn the being whom you dare control!
+  'Twill teach you wisdom in a single hour
+  And rob your malice of its wasting power!
+  For heaven has writ upon each poet soul
+  "DEAL GENTLY WITH HIM AND HIS ALL CONTROL."
+
+
+
+
+_INFLUENCE._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+  When e'er a noble deed is wrought,
+  When e'er is spoke a noble thought,
+      Our hearts, in glad surprise,
+      To higher levels rise.
+
+  The sleeping purpose wakes in us,
+  Arousing power or genius,
+      And from their exercise
+      Is born good enterprise.
+
+  Honor to those whose words or deeds
+  Thus help us in our prison needs,
+      And by their overflow
+      Raise us from what is low.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_PERFECT PEACE._
+
+["Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace."--Isaiah xxvi, 3.]
+
+
+  Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin,
+  The blood of Jesus whispers peace within;
+  Peace, perfect peace, for loved ones far away;
+  In Jesus' keeping we are safe and they.
+  Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging 'round,
+  On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found;
+  Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown;
+  Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.
+  Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours;
+  Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.
+  It is enough, earth's struggles soon shall cease,
+  And Jesus calls to Heaven's own perfect peace.
+
+
+
+
+_BE LENIENT TO THE ERRANT ONE._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Like phantoms weird of troubled dream,
+  In they come--a ceaseless stream--
+  The callow youth, the aged sire,
+  To reap the fruit of Satan's hire.
+
+  With pallid brow and rueful face
+  They view their garments of disgrace,
+  And oft in eyes unused to weep
+  Unbidden tears will slowly creep.
+
+  Be lenient with the blighted crowd;
+  Some come, perhaps, to greet a shroud;
+  Some, perhaps, will go outside
+  And yet become a nation's pride.
+
+  If by kindness you reclaim
+  A single soul from crime and shame,
+  God will reward the noble deed
+  And aid you in the hour of need.
+
+
+
+
+_LAST NIGHT IN THE DUNGEON._
+
+
+  The darkness of Hades and a vile, deathly smell
+    Is all that I feel stealing over my senses,
+  As lingering alone in this cold dungeon cell,
+    Shut away from the world, where hearts' blood condenses.
+    I feel 'tis too much for slight, trivial offenses.
+
+  Shut away from the dear ones, the loved ones on earth,
+    I suffer the tortures that no man can tell
+  Till he's taken away from fireside and hearth
+    And sees the sad visions of a dungeon cell--
+    Then he feels that vile man can create a real hell.
+
+  As I sit here alone, my head throbbing and aching,
+    And listen to hear if the keeper is near,
+  My thoughts they roam back to little ones taking
+    Caresses so sweet from a mother so dear--
+    Then I'm prompted to ask, "Do they think of me here?"
+
+  But when in my heart I feel a slight flutter,
+    I know there is sympathy somewhere about;
+  I then to myself do silently mutter,
+    "They have love for me still, and there is no doubt:"
+    Aye, love for me still, and this I've found out.
+
+  Then, down on the damp and cold stony floor,
+    Without either pillow, or blanket, or gown,
+  I stretch my weak body right close to the door,
+    And there, in sweet sleep, my vision to drown--
+    Then, when I awake, I'm not so cast down.
+
+  There is nothing so sweet and perfectly soothing
+    To one who is placed in a cold dungeon cell,
+  As the thought that yet there are dear ones a-wooing
+    The one who's imprisoned in a dark, dreary dell--
+    I muttered, while sleeping, "'Tis well, ah, 'tis well."
+
+  Then, when I awoke and proceeded to think,
+    Cold, stiffened and hungry, with tongue parched from thirst,
+  I seek but in vain for food and for drink,
+    But bread and poor water, the same as at first--
+    Aye, dry bread and bad water, the same as at first.
+
+  Then my heart sank within me, so weak and so pale,
+    As I gazed on the keeper of dungeon and jail
+  And begged for a drink of pure Adams' ale,
+    As he held in his hand a full water pail--
+    But the answer came back, "Your plea it must fail."
+
+  Then, giving it up in pure desperation,
+    I try to surpass the curse of damnation
+  That springs to my lips ere I can but control
+    The blood that is boiled by such torturing droll--
+    Then I whisper, "Be still! Some one loves this poor soul."
+
+  Then, staid by the love of those dear ones at home,
+    I steady myself and go swimming along;
+  I brave the hard life of a dark dungeon cell
+    And I come out victorious, all perfect and well--
+    Then I meet them again and go home there to dwell.
+                    'T is well! Ah, 't is well!
+
+
+
+
+_HOPE._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+  The world may change from old to new,--
+    From new to old again,--
+  Yet Hope and Heaven, forever true,
+    Within man's heart remain.
+  The dreams that bless the weary soul,
+    The struggle of the strong,
+  Are steps toward some happy goal,
+  The story of Hope's song.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WOULD THEY KNOW?_
+
+BY 25700.
+
+
+  If, amid these prison shadows,
+    These pale lips should breathe their last,
+  Would my friends regret the summons,
+    And forgive my guilty past?
+
+  Would they know the dire temptations
+    I had met and nobly braved
+  Ere the tears in guilty passion
+    My pale cheeks in torrents laved?
+
+  Would they know how oft and earnest
+    I had plead before the throne
+  For the place my crime made vacant
+    In the bosom of my own?
+
+  Would these hours of retribution
+    Prove sufficient for my sin?
+  Would the gates of glory open
+    To let this weary wanderer in?
+
+  Hear, Oh, hear! From yonder heaven
+    Speaks the Lamb once crucified;
+  "Look up, sad one; never falter;
+    For such sinners once I died."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_GUILT'S QUERIES AND TRUTH'S REPLIES._
+
+BY HARRISON.
+
+
+GUILT.
+
+  Will the fountain of life, now bathed in tears,
+  Ebb and flow ten weary years?
+  Will the soul escape the horrible blight
+  That stalks in prison's gruesome night?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  Trust, weary one, alone in ME;
+  Living or dead, thou shalt be free
+  From prison blight and sin's alarms,
+  While closely nestling in my arms.
+
+GUILT.
+
+  Will the absent ones I love the best
+  'Neath heaven's smile serenely rest?
+  Will every branch of the family tree
+  Still bud and bloom till I am free?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  If they lean upon my breast
+  I will give thy loved ones rest;
+  If death a single jewel steal
+  Heaven its presence it shall reveal.
+
+GUILT.
+
+  While prayers ascend from sacred fane
+  Shall penitent tears be shed in vain?
+  Will Christ ascend to a prison cell
+  And deign in a convict heart to dwell?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  None will I spurn who pardon crave--
+  I came on earth the lost to save:
+  He loves the most whose debt is large--
+  That soul is heaven's peculiar charge.
+
+GUILT.
+
+  If ever again I shall be free
+  Will the wreck of my life still haunted be?
+  Will the much loved friends in the days of yore
+  Spurn me from their open door?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  Those who bathe in Calvary's stream
+  Sin regard as a hideous dream;
+  My children clothed in white by me
+  A welcome meet where'er they be.
+
+
+
+
+_A LETTER FROM HOME._
+
+BY NO. 24138.
+
+
+  I am far from the land where my loved ones are dwelling;
+    Between rolls the sea, with its billows and foam;
+  Yet my heart with fondest emotions is swelling
+    As I read the dear letter they've sent me from home.
+
+  For I fancy I see the brown cottage again,
+    And the garden where sweetly the red roses blow;
+  I kneel by a grave in the shade of the glen,
+    Where slumbers the dear one I lost long ago.
+
+  And oft to my heart, when in solitude straying,
+    Fond memory recalls the bright days of yore,
+  And I sigh for the fields, where the children are playing,
+    The hills and the valley I may never see more.
+
+  Long years have I wandered, alone and a stranger,
+    And dark is the pathway o'er which I must roam,
+  But I know there is ONE who can shield me from danger,
+    And his blessing I ask on the dear ones at home.
+
+
+
+
+_THE REFORMER._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+  All grim and soiled and brown with tan,
+    I saw a strong one in his wrath
+  Smiting the godless shrines of man
+    Along his path.
+
+  I looked: aside the dust cloud rolled--
+    The Master seemed the Builder too;
+  Upspringing from the ruined Old
+    I saw the New.
+
+  Through prison walls, like heaven-sent hope,
+    Fresh breezes blew and sunbeams strayed,
+  And with the idle gallows rope
+    The young child played.
+
+  Where the doomed victim in his cell
+    Had counted o'er the weary hours
+  Glad school girls, answering to the bell,
+    Came crowned with flowers.
+
+
+
+
+_REFLECTIONS._
+
+
+  How pleasant it is to be at home,
+    Surrounded by those we love;
+  How sweet to list to words of cheer
+  That softly fall on the listening ear
+    Like the notes of a cooing dove.
+
+  How the soft caress of a loving hand
+    Can dry the eyes that weep!
+  How the mind is eased and the pulses thrill
+  As we feel the strength of a loving will
+    That rocks our grief to sleep.
+
+  How soft that hand has ever been
+    When sickness laid us low,
+  How its soft caress could summon rest
+  And bring relief to the laboring breast,
+    And cool the fever's glow.
+
+  How soft the light in love-lit eye,
+    That welcomes our safe return;
+  How the tender kiss and warm embrace
+  Can soothe the pain of late disgrace
+    When fate has been too stern.
+
+  God bless the home where love abides--
+    'Tis the dearest spot on earth!
+  Be it hovel or palace, or great or small,
+  It holds man's hope, his joy, his all,
+    And heaven gave it birth!
+
+
+
+
+_THE PRISONER RELEASED._
+
+BY COL. H. C. PARSONS.
+
+
+      I could stand and look at the stars all night--
+  Where tides run in wreaths to the rivers and rills,
+  Where the sea breezes play with the wind from the hills--
+  Where by land and by sea man can go where he wills--
+      I'm a free man again, and a free man of right.
+
+      I could stand and look at the stars all night,
+  For months that were years they have prisoned my stars;
+  My silver-veiled Venus and red-hooded Mars
+  Were fettered and framed by the merciless bars,
+      That shaded their glory or shivered their light.
+
+      I will stand and look at the stars all night;
+  I will wait in the shadow and lee of the tower
+  Till morning shall come, with his magical power--
+  Perhaps in the flame of that wonderful hour
+      The prison shall tremble and pass from my sight.
+
+
+
+
+_PRISON PAINS._
+
+BY HARRISON.
+
+
+  Oh! to be heart hungry,
+    To feel that never again
+  Shall the heart pulsate with rapture
+    To the music of love's strain!
+
+  To feel o'er the senses stealing
+    A grief for words too deep,
+  And know the heart's best instincts
+    Are locked in fathomless sleep.
+
+  To hear the piteous wailings
+    That rise from an empty heart,
+  While every breath is torture
+    And every thought a dart.
+
+  Oh, list to the wondrous music
+    As it floats from the world above:
+  "There is balm for the broken-hearted:
+    The gift of my Son is--love."
+
+  Aye, prayer to heaven ascending,
+    Tho' winged from a convict cell,
+  Shall find in heaven a welcome
+    No tongue can ever tell.
+
+
+
+
+_THE UNDER DOG._
+
+BY BARKER.
+
+
+  I know that the world--the great, big world,
+    From the peasant up to the king,
+  Has a different tale from the tale I tell
+    And a different song to sing.
+
+  But for me--and I care not a single fig
+    If they say I was wrong or am right--
+  I shall always go in for the weaker dog,
+    For the under dog in the fight.
+
+  I know that the world--the great, big world--
+    Will never a moment stop
+  To see which dog may be in the fault,
+    But will shout for the dog on top.
+
+  But for me--I never shall pause to ask
+    Which dog may be in the right--
+  For my own heart will beat, while it beats at all,
+    For the under dog in the fight.
+
+
+
+
+_KINDNESS._
+
+BY ROTH.
+
+
+  A kind word for the prisoner,
+    A smile to cheer his heart,
+  For he bears a grievous burden,
+    Tho' he bravely plays his part.
+
+  From the world he hides his sorrows,
+    Stifles the groan of distress
+  That struggles oft for utterance
+    Beneath his convict dress.
+
+  The alert night watch could tell
+    Of the burning sighs they hear
+  While making midnight rounds
+    Through corridors so drear.
+
+  Then cheer his lot with kindness,
+    E'en though he be depraved:
+  If, wakened from his blindness,
+    The worst one may be saved.
+
+
+
+
+_THERE IS NO DEATH._
+
+
+  There is no death! The feeble body, slumbering,
+    Seems but to waste and fade away;
+  In future years that God is numbering
+    'Twill spring from slumber and decay.
+
+  And clothed with beauty everlasting,
+    With not a stain of earth to mar,
+  'Twill voice a music more entrancing
+    Than anthem of the morning star.
+
+  A thing of beauty is immortal;
+    Each line once lost to mortal sight,
+  Soars upward to heaven's august portal,
+    Glad to escape earth's cankering night.
+
+  Earth's best and brightest can not perish--
+    Death is decreed alone to strife.
+  The good we love and fondly cherish
+    God has endowed with endless life.
+
+  Grieve not for those now calmly sleeping,
+    Rocked by the slow, revolving earth:
+  Angelic hosts around them sweeping
+    Shall wake them to an endless birth.
+
+  In heaven above there is no seeming:
+    God feeds immortal souls on bliss;
+  On earth we linger, sadly dreaming,
+    Till death awakes us with a kiss.
+
+  Then fear thee not death's friendly slumbers:
+    Guardian angels watch thy rest;
+  Jehovah all thy days shall number
+    And do for thee whate'er is best.
+
+
+
+
+_DREAMS._
+
+
+  Dreams are but glimpses of the power
+    Deep hidden in the human soul
+  That, like some enchanted flower,
+    Withers 'neath reason's stern control.
+
+  They come not as invited guests
+    To while away the tedious hours--
+  Are they not lights from heaven sent
+    To teach the soul its wondrous powers?
+
+  And best they love to lead us back
+    O'er scenes to memory doubly dear,
+  For those we, waking, love the most
+    In dreams will seem most near.
+
+  While reason sleeps the soul, awake,
+    Lives o'er each precious hour,
+  And woos us with a gentle strain
+    Of pathos and of power.
+
+  Dreams index to our waking thought
+    Plans on which the heart is set,
+  And he who heeds their warning voice
+    Has in life least to regret.
+
+  In waking hours we sow the seed,
+    In dreams we reap the grain:
+  Sometimes the harvest all is joy,
+    Sometimes, alas! 'tis pain.
+
+  What marvel then that sleep is sweet,
+    If dreams bring bliss to view--
+  Perhaps the afterglow of death
+    Will prove most dreams are not untrue.
+
+
+
+
+_THE GREAT "O. P."_
+
+
+  "Forward, march!" the left foot first,
+    The heel down mighty hard,
+  Your head erect and turned to the left,
+    As you slyly watch the guard.
+  Tramp, tramp, three times each day,
+    Back and forth to our meals,
+  While the fellow behind, with his "State brogans,"
+    Scrapes the skin all off our heels.
+
+  The visitors in amaze at us gaze
+    As we march gayly by,
+  The ladies fair, with many a stare,
+    Will slyly say, "O my!"
+  Some "Hayseed" old, with a chronic cold,
+    Will suddenly say, "I swow!
+  There goes the man--do you see him Ann?--
+    What took our brindle cow!"
+
+  They say we are "cut-throats" and "robbers,"
+    And would be worse if we could;
+  But it's false--we're noble-hearted patriots,
+    Here for our country's good,
+  And the honor came to us, you know:
+    We didn't go to it--
+  In other words, we were forced here
+    To "do" our little "bit."
+
+  Uncle Sam's domain has been ransacked
+    For men with blue-blooded veins,
+  For we don't want any persons here
+    With any mortal stains.
+  We are all old sons of Irish lords--
+    Or at least we'd like to be--
+  But instead we are only "cons," you know,
+    Doing time in the great "O. P."
+
+
+
+
+_COMING IN AND GOING OUT._
+
+BY CARR.
+
+
+  Coming in to penal slavery,
+    Coming in from liberty;
+  Going out to joy and freedom,
+    Going out the world to see;
+  Coming in, oh, how unhappy!
+    Going out with many a doubt--
+  Endless stream of wretched mortals
+    Coming in and going out.
+
+  From the many charms of home life,
+    From beneath the humble cot,
+  To this penal institution
+    Where the felon mortal's brought
+  From some distant homes perhaps torn
+    Because grim justice took a fit--
+  Coming in with sighs and sadness,
+    A bondsman for his life or "bit."
+
+  Far his loving wife and children,
+    While their eyes with tears are wet;
+  Though his family needs him daily.
+    And there are bills that must be met,
+  To this convict world about us,
+    With its heartless woe and din,
+  Endless stream of restless mortals
+    Adding to its load of sin.
+
+  Time goes on so very slowly,
+    Though we try hard not to grieve
+  For the dear old family homestead
+    And for those we're forced to leave;
+  Weary are we very often,
+    Weary when we try to win
+  News of those who loved us dearly
+    Ere we took this step in sin.
+
+  Coming in, alas! to never
+    See the outside world again!
+  Some there are that have my pity:
+    Naught for them but toil and pain;
+  Doomed life's golden hours to fritter
+    Far from home and friends most dear--
+  God's pity on the poor full-termer
+    Coming in to die, we fear.
+
+  Coming in to serve our sentence,
+    Going out, we hope, to cheer;
+  Coming in to do hard labor,
+    Going out to family dear--
+  Careless stream of wretched mortals
+    From all stations 'long life's route--
+  Hovel, mansion and the hamlet--
+    Coming in and going out.
+
+
+
+
+_SOUL SCULPTURE._
+
+BY BISHOP DOANE.
+
+
+  Sculptures of life are we as we stand,
+    With our souls uncarved before us,
+  Waiting the hour when, at God's command,
+    Our life dream shall pass o'er us.
+  If we carve it, then, on the yielding stone
+    With many a sharp incision,
+  Its heavenly beauty shall be our own,
+    Our lives the angel vision.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WEIGHT AND IMMORTALITY OF WORDS._
+
+
+  Who knows how heavy his words may be,
+  Or watches, when he has set them free,
+  Their poising, their flight, their rise and fall
+  In the world of thought? We are careless all.
+
+  We fathom our own, not another's mind.
+  And are all near-sighted among our kind,
+  While words of ours and words of theirs
+  Are meeting and wrestling unawares.
+
+  Words are types of our moral trend,
+  The blooms of our daily lives, that lend
+  To others the fragrance of what we are--
+  The outward semblance that goes afar.
+
+  The part of ourselves that is not our own,
+  When set afloat in the vast unknown,
+  The something we give to the moving wheels
+  Of the mighty force that grows and feels.
+
+  No words are lost as they float away:
+  On some life ever they rest and weigh,
+  Unbound in public or depths obscure
+  Their immortality is secure.
+
+  Deep in our hearts we often find
+  Words lips long closed have left behind:
+  They live in the chambers of the brain,
+  The source of endless joy or pain.
+
+  Words may be soft as evening air
+  Or fierce as sultry noonday's glare,
+  But soft or fierce, be sure they rest
+  A curse or blessing in some one's breast.
+
+  How deep soever their meaning may lie,
+  Not every soul will pass them by!
+  No anger, nor passion, nor malice so great
+  But a match 'twill meet in a world of hate.
+
+  No love so deep, no word so kind
+  But lodges at last in a kindred mind,
+  No thought so vast, nor high nor low
+  But a parallel meets in a world of woe.
+
+  A heedless word a heart may break,
+  A thoughtful one a fortune make;
+  One, hurl a soul in endless night;
+  Another, lead to heaven's delight.
+
+  One word may nerve a murderer's arm,
+  Another still a raging storm--
+  One, sow the seeds of endless strife;
+  Another, sanctify a life.
+
+  Our words outline the feeble tongue
+  From which their outward being sprung,
+  Or, written on the stainless page,
+  They live to bless or curse an age.
+
+  How careful, then, ought we to be
+  Before we let such engines free!
+  Once free, no power can call them back,
+  Nor human genius trace their track.
+
+  We loose them 'mid the wide expanse
+  'Neath joyous spell or sorrow's trance,
+  But if their fruitage all could know
+  We would not deem them half so low.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WHICH LOVED HER BEST?_
+
+
+  Two votaries of love's maddening dream
+  At twilight sat beside a stream,
+  Each painting scenes of future bliss,
+  Dependent on their darling's kiss.
+
+  Both were young and both were fair,
+  With noble hearts and manly air,
+  And both were members of a band
+  Who bled to free his native land.
+
+  Each was bound both heart and soul
+  Beneath fair Nellie's sweet control,
+  Yet they were friends both true and tried,
+  If such ere lived, if such ere died.
+
+  Each loved her much, yet neither knew
+  How well each loved her, nor how true,
+  For each was dreaming of the hour
+  That _he_ would cull this priceless flower.
+
+  At last Ned turned and gayly said,
+  "Next Wednesday I and Nellie wed--
+  God knows I am the happiest man
+  In all this joyous Western land.
+
+  "I could not keep this back from you--
+  That would be unjust--untrue.
+  I feel whatever shall betide
+  That _you_ will e'er defend my bride."
+
+  Harvey turned aside his face,
+  Lest his friend should see some trace
+  Of the anguish and despair
+  The hopeless suffering mirrored there.
+
+  Each word had sunk within his heart
+  Like adder's tooth or poisoned dart;
+  Joyful love and hope had fled,
+  And left his withered heart--stone dead.
+
+  He raised his haggard face above
+  Until an angel mother's love
+  Sent comfort to her suffering child,
+  That made him calm and meek and mild.
+
+  By memories of the tented field
+  Where patriots died, but dared not yield,
+  He knew that Ned his arm had lent
+  To stop steel for his bosom meant,
+
+  And oft had watched beside his bed
+  When others in dismay had fled;
+  When he spoke, his voice was low
+  And soft as rippling streamlets flow:
+
+  "I wish you peace and joy, Ned;
+  You best deserve this queen to wed.
+  I only crave in future life
+  To serve you and your peerless wife."
+
+  The loyal look in Harvey's eyes
+  Was to Ned a new surprise;
+  And in a moment all was plain--
+  His friend's devotion and his pain.
+
+  They stood and wrung each others hand
+  To reinforce their friendship's band--
+  Their hearts were full, their eyes were wet,
+  Yet who can such a scene regret?
+
+  Their friendship stood the cruel test,
+  And sank triumphant into rest;
+  They parted, but to meet again
+  Where life was torture, memory pain.
+
+  One year passed, and war had swept
+  O'er the spot where these two wept,
+  While they, with Meig's galland band,
+  Were held by Santa Anna's hand.
+
+  Behind Satillo's gloomy walls,
+  Whose history stoutest heart appalls,
+  Here base deeds were hourly wrought
+  With hell's intensest malice fraught.
+
+  Two hundred patriots true and tried
+  To Santa Anna's shame here died
+  Simply because they leapt the wall
+  And strove to go beyond recall!
+
+  Ned and his comrades planned their flight
+  While careless sentries slept at night,
+  And in safety reached the distant plain
+  Where hope and life revived again.
+
+  Across the arid plain they sped,
+  Half clothed, half starved and almost dead;
+  Without a guide to lead them right
+  They toiled by day and prayed by night.
+
+  The blistering soil bold cactus bred
+  Till every toil-worn foot was bled,
+  And one by one the hapless band
+  Fell prostrate on the glittering sand.
+
+  Pursuing soldiers found them thus,
+  And drug and drove them to the "truss,"
+  There to await the "tortures grand"
+  That Santa Anna would command.
+
+  "Nine of ten shall now be shot;
+  Choose the guilty dogs by lot:
+  This law for ages now untold
+  Has defied both fraud and gold!"
+
+  _Nine black_ beans and _one_ snow _white_
+  Were placed within a box at night--
+  Every captive must draw one,
+  Blindfolded, ere the work begun.
+
+  If _white_, he lived, if black, he died--
+  Thus were the Texas patriots tried!
+  By sons of Gantimozin's race--
+  Man's caricature and heaven's disgrace!
+
+  Harvey drew one of faultless white,
+  Ned drew one as black as night.
+  "I'm lost--oh, God, my wife!" Ned gasped,
+  As Harvey sprang his hand to clasp.
+
+  "Not so," he cried, "your bean is white--
+  See, mine is _black_, thank God! 'tis right!"
+  E'er Ned could draw a conscious breath--
+  Harvey had met a hero's death!
+
+  Which loved her best, the man who _died_
+  Or he who _lived_ to cheer his bride?
+  Please answer me; O heart, awake--
+  Such liberty I dare not take.
+
+
+
+
+_THE STORMS OF LIFE._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+  The oak strikes deeper as his boughs
+    By furious blasts are driven;
+  So life's vicissitudes the more
+    Have fixed my heart in heaven.
+  All gracious Lord, whate'er my lot
+    In other times may be,
+  I'll welcome still the heaviest grief
+    That brings me near to Thee.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_LOVE'S VICTIM._
+
+
+  She was no dainty city belle,
+    Half art and half deceit,
+  And yet no fairer vision
+    The human eye could greet.
+
+  Naught knew she of city life
+    Or fashion's changing art--
+  Nature created her a belle
+    And blessed her with a heart.
+
+  Her eyes were large and soulful,
+    Her face divinely fair;
+  Her form was lithe and graceful
+    And a golden dream her hair.
+
+  Her voice was full of melody:
+    Each tone to listening ear
+  Seemed to awake such music
+    As angels delight to hear.
+
+  Beautiful, pure and guileless,
+    With the faith of a trusting child,
+  She worshiped the God of nature
+    With a spirit undefiled.
+
+  She lived with honest parents
+    In a home on the mountain side,
+  Where peace and plenty lingered
+    And love was true and tried.
+
+  Parental duress was unknown,
+    For love's restraints are mild:
+  A mother's love and father's hope
+    Were centered in this child.
+
+  The acknowledged belle of the mountain,
+    She spurned the coquette's art,
+  Determining never to promise
+    Her hand without her heart.
+
+  She could not love her suitors
+    With the love a wife should give,
+  And deemed it sin without such love
+    In wedlock's bonds to live.
+
+  The idol of many a noble heart,
+    None dared their suit to press:
+  Thus they wound the gentle spirit
+    That pitied, but could not bless.
+
+  Grateful for each friendly smile
+    That o'er her face would beam,
+  She reigned an empress absolute
+    In each fond lover's dream.
+
+  A petted child of fashion,
+    The heir to boundless wealth,
+  Came one day among them
+    To recruit his waning health.
+
+  These hospitable mountain people
+    Welcomed the haggard boy,
+  And strove to make his visit
+    One radiant scene of joy.
+
+  They bade their darling daughter
+    To be the stranger's guide,
+  And show him all the beauties
+    Of her loved mountain side.
+
+  Together they scaled the mountains,
+    With many a merry shout;
+  Together they garnered the flowers
+    Or angled the nimble trout.
+
+  He spake of his home in the city,
+    Of the wealth he soon would own;
+  Promised to make Lenora his wife
+    Ere the summer days had flown.
+
+  Lenora loved this stranger
+    With a soul-absorbing love,
+  And trembled 'neath his caresses
+    As helpless as a dove.
+
+  He was a master of the art
+    That robs the halls of Truth
+  To gain what passion courts,
+    Tho' it blasts the hopes of youth.
+
+  His honied words of flattery,
+    Uttered with seductive art,
+  Were music to the listening ear
+    And soon deceived the heart.
+
+  Lenora confided in his worth,
+    Receiving each promise as truth--
+  How could she doubt her only love
+    In the trustful hours of youth?
+
+  Assured of an early marriage,
+    She yielded to him one day
+  That priceless germ of innocence
+    And fell--to trust a prey.
+
+  She hoped this sacrifice would gain
+    Her lover's every thought;
+  This were a boon, if death could buy.
+    She deemed not dearly bought.
+
+  Little she dreamed that fatal hour
+    That love had sped the dart
+  That stamped her as an outcast,
+    With a withered, broken heart.
+
+  Eugene went to his city home,
+    Swearing to soon return
+  And claim as wife the girl he knew
+    His parents proud would spurn.
+
+  Summer and autumn days passed by
+    And the winter's cold set in,
+  Yet the recreant lover came not
+    To the child he taught to sin.
+
+  A mother's ever watchful eye
+    Discovered her daughter's shame,
+  Heard her story with breaking heart,
+    But uttered no word of blame.
+
+  She knew her daughter's downfall
+    Was the fruit of love beguiled,
+  But hated the heartless stranger
+    Who ruined her trusting child.
+
+  God alone can measure the pain
+    That child and mother felt,
+  As, locked in lingering embrace,
+    In agony they knelt
+
+  And poured in heaven's listening ear
+    Their heart-destroying grief;
+  And who so bold as to deny
+    That Heaven sent relief?
+
+  The father learned his daughter's sin
+    And drove her from his door.
+  "Go!" he said, "you guilty wretch,
+    You are my child no more."
+
+  Stung by these cruel, terrible words,
+    She fled in wild affright
+  In search of the heartless lover,
+    Her fearful wrongs to right.
+
+  She tracked the guilty miscreant down,
+    And he, to save his name,
+  Hid her till her child was born
+    In a house of doubtful fame.
+
+  The world looked on the helpless child
+    With cold, unpitying eye.
+  The villian bade his dupe go home,
+    "Repent of her sin and die."
+
+  She heard, and from her glittering eye
+    No tear of anguish sped--
+  With dagger drawn she reached his side,
+    And struck the villain _dead_!
+
+  With her babe she sought her father's door
+    And pled with a piteous cry
+  A shelter for her hapless babe
+    While the storm was raging high.
+
+  "Begone, you wretch!" the father cried,
+    "I curse the hour that gave
+  Birth to a wretch whose sin has laid
+    My wife within the grave."
+
+  "My mother dead! and I still live?
+    Ah! whither shall I fly?
+  O God! protect my hapless babe,
+    And suffer me to die."
+
+  The storm increased; she wandered on
+    Almost till break of day,
+  Till weary, wet and almost dead,
+    She knelt in the path to pray.
+
+  The sky was lit from end to end
+    By the lightning's awful glare,
+  And a falling tree pinned both to earth
+    As they knelt in the act of prayer!
+
+  They found them thus in the morning light,
+    And the father's grief was wild.
+  He tenderly looked on the touching scene
+    And at last forgave his child!
+
+  They buried Lenora and her nameless babe
+    Close beside her mother's clay,
+  And each one spake in kindly tones
+    Of the hapless ones that day.
+
+  The arm that sent the dagger home
+    Was nerved by a brain dethroned:
+  'Tis Lenora's was an awful deed,
+    But her terrible death atoned.
+
+  Aye, let us hope the much-wronged child
+    Has reached a home above
+  Where babes can live who have no name
+    And 'tis not sin to love.
+
+
+
+
+_A PRISONER'S LAMENTATION._
+
+
+  A poor convict in his cell lay dying:
+    He thought of home and loved ones dear,
+  He asked his cell-mate, in a whisper,
+    "Do you think the end is drawing near?"
+
+  "If I should die before I see them
+    Tell them how I longed tonight
+  To have my mother's blessed care
+    To leave this world of sin and strife."
+
+  Oh! how he longed to see his mother
+    And the cottage on the hill--
+  "_God bless them all_," I heard him whisper,
+    As with tears his eyes did fill.
+
+  "Will they think of me--a prisoner--
+    I, who was once their pride and joy?
+  While I sleep in the churchyard yonder
+    Will they think of their wayward boy?
+
+  "I know I've caused them lots of trouble
+    In wild and reckless boyish day,
+  But I hope that God will now forgive me
+    When from this earth I'm called away.
+
+  "I know it broke my mother's heart
+    When she heard of me, her wayward son,
+  Who five long years did serve in prison
+    For a highway robbery he had done.
+
+  "Has Sister "Minn," whom I used to play with
+    In days of youth, forgotten me?
+  If she has, I vow I can not blame her,
+    For I've caused her pain and shame, not glee.
+
+  "There's but one wish I now shall mention--
+    That Mother's days may be days of joy,
+  And when she asks for me in prison
+    Speak mildly of her convict boy.
+
+  "Here, take this to my dear old mother!
+    I know 'tis but a lock of hair,
+  But it's all I've got to give her now--
+    I know she'll treasure it with care."
+
+  And when he handed me the keepsake
+    His spark of life had nearly fled.
+  He clenched my hand and uttered "_Mother_!"
+    And a poor convict there lay dead.
+
+  May all young men now take fair warning
+    From one who's had experience long:
+  Guard strong against temptation's dawning--
+    Cast off evil and do no wrong.
+
+  In your younger days _court_ good, _shun_ evil;
+    Be careful who you companions choose;
+  When you make life's start then do not cavil--
+    March manfully on to win, not lose.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_OUR BOARD OF MANAGERS._
+
+
+  Long have we lived in misery and woe;
+  Long have we suffered from "kindness" cold as snow;
+  Long has pernicious influence been kept
+  Hovering 'round our misery, while in dungeons we have slept.
+
+  Long have we suffered from want of human care:
+  Long have we been bearded as the tiger in his lair:
+  Long have we went hungry for want of proper food,
+  And felt the sting of th' master's lash, as o'er our task we stood.
+
+  As the dark and gloomy cloud, that hovered o'er our past,
+  Has been wafted off by humane hands--'tis swept away at last.
+  We now emerge from darkness into a welcome light,
+  And live in brighter future hopes--a day made out of night.
+
+  We hail you, noble, honest men, whose hearts beat five as one,
+  Thus far in your prison work your duty you have done;
+  Eternal God will always right the brutal wrongs of man,
+  And therefore He did send you here to do the best you can.
+
+  A Cherrington, for the chairman, is a master stroke, you know.
+  And a Rose is always welcome, 'cause virtue he will sow;
+  A McConica, of democrat fame, is a power behind the throne,
+  While a Hoffman, sent from Cleveland, is a father to the home;
+  A Muscroft from old "Cincy" is a rattler for the place;
+  They all do join their hands and thoughts and duty bravely face,
+  While a McAdow records their acts with a gentlemanly grace.
+
+  They issue mandates right and left and order what is just;
+  They raise poor fallen, helpless man to a place of welcome trust;
+  They seek to lead him on the way to a nobler, better life,
+  And restore him to his children and his broken hearted wife.
+
+  Their Coffin always sits close by to lend a helping hand,
+  And faithfully their trust does keep--a leader of their band.
+  Well they know the awful fruitage of each harsh and brutal plan
+  Is to rouse the lurking tiger in the breast of erring man.
+
+  Now they rule, whose every impulse ripened by enlightened thought,
+  And it leads to many actions that with highest good is fraught.
+  And they use with great discretion measures that are just and kind,
+  Hoping to reform the erring through the agency of mind.
+
+  They have learned the useful lesson taught men from the power above,
+  That the greatest force in nature is the power of inspired love.
+  They have learned that rank dissension from all evil nature flows,
+  And they deem that man the greatest who can ease most mortal woes.
+
+  Let us ever sing enchanting of our now official corps
+  As they lift us from dark ruin as it has been heretofore.
+  See! the clouds so lately darkening o'er the prisoner's gloomy past,
+  Mercy's hand is fast dispelling--REASON _takes the reins at last_!
+
+
+
+
+_A TRIBUTE TO ASSISTANT DEPUTY WARDEN L. H. WELLS_.
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Comrade, may the God of heaven ease the maddening pain
+  That has swept across your bosom since your son was slain;
+  Think not of him as a mortal mouldering into dust;--
+  God, too, loved him and, my comrade, He betrays no trust.
+
+  You shall see him when the morning breaks above the night of death,
+  And your parting, O, my comrade, will but seem a passing breath.
+  Well I know the awful pressure grief exerts upon the soul,
+  But I know it will but whiten what it can't control.
+
+  You have met on field of battle many a gallant foe,
+  And, with patriotism burning, gave them blow for blow,
+  You have fought till every rebel bent the suppliant knee,
+  And the land you loved and cherished once again was free.
+
+  You despise no gallant fellow who once wore the blue
+  When it cost both blood and treasure if a man was true.
+  You forgive the trivial errors of that noble band,
+  And you meet a loyal comrade with extended hand.
+
+  You have friends in every station where your worth is known;
+  You have showered acts of kindness that but few have known.
+  Since your advent in this prison you have daily won
+  Hearts that ever will remember _acts of kindness nobly done_.
+
+  Comrade, time is passing swiftly, and Jehovah his reveille
+  Soon will sound upon the hilltops of a vast eternity.
+  May we gather with our comrades on that ever beautiful shore
+  And, like conquering heroes, listen to Heaven's plaudits ever more.
+
+
+
+
+_ONE AND A FEW._
+
+BY 21069.
+
+
+  Of all the pet pleasures so pleasing to man
+    In his present degenerate state,
+  I doubt if there's any can make him so glad
+    As the one I'm about to relate.
+
+  While here he's confined he's troubled in mind
+    With his "fifteen" or "twenty" to do,
+  And he longs for the day when he boldly can say:
+    "I've only got one and a few."
+
+  Then keep a strong heart. With courage don't part,
+    But manfully fight your way through;
+  Be it "five" or it "ten" or twice that again,
+    'Twill come down to "one and a few."
+
+  How often at night when I sit in my cell,
+    After working quite hard all the day,
+  My memory goes back to the time that I fell,
+    For the "bit" which I now have to stay.
+
+  And sometimes, I own, while sitting alone
+    I feel sad and disconsolate, too;
+  But it makes me feel gay when I think I can say,
+    "I've only got one and a few."
+
+  Oh, many's a home that's cheerless tonight,
+    And many's the mother feels drear;
+  When she thinks of the one far away from her sight
+    It causes her many a tear.
+
+  Though others may cleave to her, you are the same;
+    Misfortune but makes her more true;
+  She may now be quite sad, but won't she feel glad
+    When you've only got "one and a few?"
+
+  Then, don't be discouraged. No matter how long
+    In this prison you may have to stay,
+  You know that to worry and fret is quite wrong,
+    Far better drive dull care away.
+
+  Old Time is the boy your "bit" to destroy
+    As he jogs along, contented and true;
+  And so, in the end, you'll find he's the friend
+    That brought you to "one and a few."
+
+
+
+
+_MIDNIGHT MUSINGS._
+
+
+  'Tis midnight! The sentry's muffled tread
+    Is heard within these walls:
+  As silent as the living dead
+    He makes his regular calls.
+
+  I try to sleep, but all in vain;
+    I try to close--I weep,
+  I hear that muffled tread again--
+    The sentries on me peep.
+
+  I hear a voice so clear and plain--
+    It calls to me aloud--
+  It calls to me again, again;
+    That voice comes from a shroud.
+
+  Hist! Hist! vile heart, be still! No fear,
+    My angel sister's voice I hear!
+  It speaks to me in accents clear
+    And bids me shun a vile career.
+
+  She bids me meet her once again
+    And live in Heaven's fairest clime.
+  Nor shall her pleading be in vain--
+    _Resolved_, I'll do no crime.
+
+  Oh, could I feel her warm embrace
+    As when, in days of old,
+  I gazed into her angeled face--
+    It gave happiness untold.
+
+  Oh, let me live my boyhood days
+    As in the time gone by!
+  And let me consecrate her ways
+    When for this boy she'd cry.
+
+  But, hist! again the muffled tread
+    Comes gliding, silent as the dead,
+  Along the beat within these walls--
+    Hark! Hark! again dear sister calls.
+
+
+
+
+_A QUERY._
+
+BY MORSE.
+
+
+  When the long weary days are over
+    And the front gates open to you,
+  Are you again to be a wild rover?
+    What are you going to do?
+
+  Have you plans or dreams for the future?
+    Have the days any brightness for you?
+  Will you be a poor homeless creature?
+    What are you going to do?
+
+  Should your old-time friends forsake you--
+    Those who were strong and true--
+  And leave you helpless, homeless--
+    What are you going to do?
+
+  But you have one friend who is faithful,
+    Who is always kind and true.
+  Read His word and study His gospel--
+    He'll tell you what to do.
+
+
+
+
+_STRAY THOUGHTS._
+
+
+  In the fathomless depths of the mighty deep
+  What wonders live, what mysteries sleep!
+  What mind can name the sightless things
+  That live in the ocean's hidden springs,
+  Where treasures heaped on treasures lie,
+  Forever secure from the human eye;
+  Where creatures sport, that God alone
+  Can know their joy or hear their moan?
+
+  Who knows but the bride of the Dublin Bay
+  May walk in the ocean's depths today,
+  Arm in arm with her own dear Roy
+  In the conscious flush of honeymoon joy?
+  Who knows but the hearts that sadly yearned
+  For the gallant ship that never returned,
+  Have met, in the ocean's unknown bed,
+  The loved, tho' lost, we all thought dead?
+
+  Science has proved the human frame
+  Is water and salt by another name!
+  Hydrography yet may teach mankind
+  The open door of heaven to find.
+  "Davie Jones' locker" may prove to be
+  Instinct with life, by death set free!
+  Knew we the tongue of the deep sea shell
+  What wondrous news its notes might tell!
+
+  The myriad stars in yonder skies
+  May be the beams of death-freed eyes
+  That watch us from an unknown shore,
+  Still faithful to the vows of yore!
+  The vaulted blue of heaven may be
+  The looking glass of the mighty sea,
+  Where deathless souls their vigils keep
+  O'er fast decaying world, asleep.
+
+  Atlantis, the fabled city of old,
+  Whose gates inspired poets behold,
+  May now be resting beneath the wave,
+  Triumphant o'er a watery grave!
+  Its pearly gates and glittering spires
+  Arouse the poet's mad desires.
+  He sees--and sings in tongue unknown--
+  The mysteries by the Muses shown.
+
+  Conducted by a sybil fair,
+  He penetrates each demon lair
+  And pictures hell, in golden speech,
+  Beyond imagination's reach.
+  To highest heaven his thought has flown
+  And measured and admired the throne;
+  Made angels bow beneath his rod
+  And dared to mould the mind of God!
+
+  Who knows but legends the Muses tell
+  Are truths encased in a mighty dream?
+  Who knows but the angels of earth and air
+  Are the beautiful nymphs beside each stream?
+  Each singing bird and nodding flower
+  May be imbued with potent power;
+  And stars an influence, too, may wield
+  And bless or curse our natal hour!
+
+  Who knows but what we call a brute
+  Is with immortal reason blest?
+  Who knows man is alone divine
+  And destined to immortal rest?
+  Theorize and reason as we may,
+  How little we can really know;
+  We only learn to live, then die,
+  And who may say to what we go?
+
+
+
+
+_JUDGE NOT, LEST YE BE JUDGED._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+      Art thou so good, so free from sin
+      That thou should'st judge thy fellow men?
+      Look well to self before the stone,
+      Aimed at thy brother's faults, be thrown,
+                      Behold in thee
+                      A Pharisee.
+
+  If thou art not so low, perchance thou'rt only so from circumstance;
+  Perhaps, if tempted, thou would'st fall. Thy nature's sinful, after all.
+
+      Thou knowest not, most righteous scribe,
+      The struggles, trials, patience tried;
+      The battles fought, the vict'ries gained,
+      The bleeding heart, the soul tear-stained,
+                  More human be,
+                  Have charity.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_THE CONVICT'S PRAYER._
+
+BY 21269.
+
+
+  At midnight, in a prison cell,
+  On bended knee the convict fell,
+  And poured in heaven's listing ear
+  A prayer for those he held most dear.
+
+  Oh, God; defend my absent wife,
+  Whose breaking heart and blighted life
+  Spring not from conscious guilt within,
+  But from a reckless husband's sin.
+
+  Spare her, indulgent heaven, the blow,
+  That oft has laid an angel low;
+  Still may her ever angel face
+  Reflect the presence of Thy grace.
+
+  Be it well pleasing in Thy sight
+  That she may rear my babes aright,
+  And teach them, in the bloom of youth,
+  The laws of kindness and of truth.
+
+  Help me discharge, on every hand,
+  The duties right and law demand;
+  And may I live to dwell once more
+  Honored among the friends of yore.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WINE VS. WATER._
+
+
+  There stood two glasses, filled to the brim,
+  On a rich man's table, rim to rim,
+  One was ruddy and red as blood,
+  And one as clear as the crystal flood.
+
+  Said the glass of wine to the paler brother:
+  "Let us tell the tales of the past to each other.
+  I can tell of banquet, revel and mirth,
+  And the proudest and grandest souls on earth
+  Fell under my touch as though struck by blight,
+  Where I was a king, for I ruled in night.
+  From the heads of kings I have torn the crown;
+  From the heights of fame I have hurled men down.
+  I have blasted many an honored name;
+  I have taken virtue and given shame.
+  I have tempted youth with a sip, a taste
+  That has made his future a barren waste.
+  Far greater than a king am I,
+  Or than any army beneath the sky.
+  I have made the arm of the driver fail,
+  And sent the train from the iron rail.
+  I have made good ships go down at sea,
+  And the shrieks of the lost were sweet to me,
+  For they said, "Behold! how great you be!"
+  Fame, strength, wealth, genius before me fall,
+  For my might and power are over all.
+  Ho! ho! pale brother," laughed the wine,
+  "Can you boast of deeds so great as mine?"
+
+  The water said proudly, "I cannot boast
+  Of a king dethroned or a murdered host;
+  But I can tell of a heart once sad,
+  By my crystal drops made light and glad--
+  Of thirsts I've quenched, of brows I've laved;
+  Of hands I've cooled and souls I've saved;
+  I've leaped thro' the valley, dashed down the mountain,
+  Formed beautiful rivers and played in fountain,
+  Slept in the sunshine and dropped from the sky
+  And everywhere gladdened the landscape and eye.
+  I've eased the hot forehead of fever and pain,
+  I've made the parched meadows grow fertile with grain;
+  I can tell of the powerful wheel of the mill
+  That ground out flower and turned at my will;
+  I can tell of manhood, debased by you.
+  That I lifted up and crowned anew.
+  I cheer, I help, I strengthen and aid;
+  I gladden the heart of man and maid;
+  I set your close-chained captive free
+  And all are better for knowing me."
+
+  These are the tales they told each other--
+  The glass of wine and its paler brother--
+  As they sat together, filled to the brim.
+  On the rich man's table, rim to rim.
+
+
+
+
+_THE FALL OF SODOM._
+
+
+  Thou sin-cursed city of the stricken plain,
+  Whose heinous lust all after time shall shame,
+  'Twas thine to rouse Jehovah's awful ire,
+  And test the strength of Heaven's revengeful fire.
+  Thy senseless lust and crime had spread
+  Till virtue, hope and shame had fled;
+  Degraded youth and tottering age
+  Could not appease thy senseless rage;
+  Thy leacherous sons, that roamed at night,
+  Were human only to the sight;
+  Their motto was hell's direst fruit:
+  "Debase the _man_, exhalt the _brute_!"
+  One man alone of all thy teeming millions sate,
+  And pondered on thy sin with deathless hate;
+  His righteous soul was vexed from day to day,
+  And strove in vain to turn you from your way.
+  _He_ dwelt among you as a child of God,
+  And in the path of honored wedlock trod.
+  _You_, dead to nature and to nature's voice,
+  Spurned woman and made man your choice!
+  And desecrated, with your impious lust,
+  The masterpiece God had formed from dust!
+  Till woman, shorn of all her natural power,
+  Was cast aside, like some discarded flower,
+  And stormed insulted heaven with hourly cry,
+  Till God beheld you with His searching eye,
+  And sent His angels in avenging haste
+  Your sin to punish and your land to waste.
+  The son of Horan met these at the gate,
+  And begged them at his frugal board to wait;
+  At first refused, they after turn aside,
+  And 'neath a righteous roof content abide.
+  They share his food and list with eager ear
+  As Lot recounts each nightly scene of fear;
+  When lust runs riot in the open streets,
+  And man with man in strange communion meets.
+  The men of Sodom learn, with kindling eye,
+  The stranger's presence, and in haste draw nigh.
+  Men, young and old, with equal ardor burn,
+  And, with unholy lust, towards these strangers yearn.
+  They call the patriarch with an angry shout,
+  And bid him bring the hallowed strangers out,
+  That they may satisfy their lawless lust
+  And trample decency in sinful dust.
+  He, taught from infancy in Mosaic Law,
+  Regarded heaven's High Ruler still with awe;
+  And shuddered with indignant fear
+  As these vile shouts assailed his ear.
+  He left his house and closed the door behind,
+  And to the rabble thus he eased his mind:
+  "Ye men of Sodom! _once_ in life do right,
+  Nor do this wickedness in heaven's sight!
+  Two virgin daughters 'neath my roof reside,
+  Till now a father's care and mother's pride;
+  Take them and do whatever you deem right,
+  But lay no impious hand upon my guests tonight.
+  The laws of hospitality, by Moses taught,
+  Harms not a stranger whom our roof has sought.
+  They know the law, who now reside within,
+  And with horror view your awful sin!"
+  "Ye men of Sodom! who this stranger gave
+  The right to judge us and our will to brave?
+  We kindly took a homeless wanderer in,
+  And dare he brand our greatest pleasure sin?
+  Shall empty words defy our proud behest,
+  Or useless offering prevent our guest?
+  Ten thousand 'No's' will pierce his dastard breast,
+  And treat him tenfold worse than all the rest!"
+  Thus spake their leader, and with angry roar
+  The o'er wrought friends assail the door;
+  Lot, backward hurled, could hardly stand,
+  Till snatched within by angel hand,
+  The maddened crowd no longer wait,
+  But headlong rush to meet their fate!
+  The ready angels rise, with godlike mind,
+  And strike the guilty wretches blind:
+  In vain they strive to reach and force the door,
+  Their useless orbs are blasted evermore!
+  "Go seek thy children, Lot, in eager haste,
+  And bid them not a precious moment waste.
+  God will destroy this sin-accursed place,
+  And wipe from earth its faintest trace!"
+  Lot, thus commanded, found each one that night,
+  And faithfully portrayed their awful plight;
+  But he, to them, seemed as a man that mocked,
+  And left them sorely grieved and doubly shocked.
+  The morn arose! The angels cautioned Lot
+  To wife and daughters take and tarry not;
+  And as they lingered took them by the hand
+  And led them from the endangered land.
+  "Flee to the mountains and no hind'rance brook,
+  Nor backward turn a long, admiring look.
+  The wretch who dares this mandate to defy
+  Shall, 'neath Jehovah's hand, in torture die!"
+  This stern command was heard by trembling Lot
+  With deep repugnance, for it pleased him not.
+  "Nay, nay, my lord; but if before thy face
+  Thy trembling servant dares to plead for grace,
+  Command me that I now may turn aside
+  And in your little city safe reside.
+  Thus may I keep my soul alive this day
+  Nor after fall to mountain beasts a prey."
+  The heavenly strangers, with an august nod,
+  Agree to lift from Zoar Jehovah's rod.
+  The rescued quartette Zoarward bend,
+  While hope and fear alternate tend.
+  With mien majestic, yes, with hasty tread,
+  Their trembling flight their aged father led.
+  Next came the virgins, able scarce to stand,
+  And followed by their mother, last of all the band.
+  She yet to Sodom and its idols clave,
+  And dared Jehovah's awful wrath to brave;
+  One look she sought, her weary journey to beguile,
+  And in a moment stood transfixed--_a Salty Pile_!
+  The more obedient trio onward fly,
+  Until the opening gates of Zoar greet the eye.
+  Now, with full hearts, they reach the calm retreat,
+  And cordial welcome from King Bela meet.
+
+END OF FIRST CANTO.
+
+
+_THE FALL OF SODOM--CANTO SECOND._
+
+  From Bera's palace, and from Sodom's shrine,
+  A thousand scintillating rays of beauty shine;
+  The gorgeous parapets of beaten burnished gold
+  Enlightened fancy can with awe behold.
+  Those marble walls of rainbow-tinted hue,
+  Please and instruct and yet astound the view.
+  Each curve of beauty and each line of grace
+  Relates some annal of the ancient place.
+  Upon these sculptured walls each Sodomite may trace
+  The birthplace and the lineage of his entire race.
+  He here may read, in many a flowing line,
+  The maiden efforts of the Tuneful Nine,
+  Who first appeared and strung the quivering lyre,
+  When new created stars their Maker's praise aspire;
+  Theirs is the music of the quick revolving spheres,
+  And theirs the power to bathe a world in tears.
+  They paint in colors, dipped in liquid truth,
+  The brow of beauty and the lip of youth.
+  Thought, tame in prose in their enchanting line,
+  Is dressed in beauty and is half divine.
+  They wing love's arrows with consumate art,
+  And make the melting music of the heart.
+  Youth they instruct and tottering age sustain,
+  Virtue exalt and hideous voice restrain.
+  Inside this palace life is but a dream
+  Of beauty, flowing in a constant stream.
+  Here silken curtains hang on wires of gold,
+  And zephyr-satin, whose capacious fold
+  Ten thousand giddy turns and windings take
+  The secret chambers of the place to make.
+  Each article of comfort man can know
+  With priceless gems and flashing colors glow;
+  Each drinking vessel is a solid gem;
+  Each odorous flower grows on a parent stem;
+  Birds of bright plumage raise their tuneful note
+  And scatter scents ambrosial as they float.
+  The crystal fountains generous wine dispense,
+  And food delicious satisfies the sense;
+  The air is balmy as the breath of spring,
+  And every atom is a beauteous thing.
+  One thing alone this mighty place appalls:
+  No woman dwells within these sculptured walls.
+  Here man with man in lustful caprice plays,
+  And Heaven's righteous mandate disobeys;
+  Sinks, through his lust, below the groveling beast,
+  Who to the female makes his amorous suit.
+  Within those walls are stores of untold wealth,
+  Secured by carnage and by midnight stealth;
+  Beneath each divan and each downy couch
+  The smouldering fires of retribution crouch.
+  Each glittering tankard and each costly plate
+  Reflects the fierceness of each pending fate.
+  The quenchless tortures of Jehovah's wrath
+  Is earthward tending in a destined path!
+  The brilliant sun of light, the mighty sire,
+  Seems bathed in blood and heaven's all afire.
+  From pole to pole the livid lightnings flash
+  Till all creation trembles 'neath the crash;
+  And earthward, still, the melting heavens bend,
+  While blinding floods of hissing flames descend,
+  And seas of lava, with three mighty bounds,
+  The now doomed city and the plain surrounds.
+  Now, inward flowing, rolls the mighty tide,
+  On whose dread billows death alone can ride;
+  And upward rising, with tremendous sweep,
+  Its molten billows awful union keep
+  With floods descending from the flaming sky,
+  And Sodom knows her hour has come to die!
+  Her frightened millions in a circle band,
+  And view approaching death on every hand.
+  Around them rolls a sea of fire;
+  Above them flames the torch of Heaven's ire;
+  While hissing lava, in descending rain,
+  Creates new horror and gives birth to pain.
+  Each gorgeous palace and each mart of trade
+  Is buried for their wickedness and in ashes laid.
+  In vain they call their idols, name by name.
+  Their garments all are wrapt in living flame,
+  Their quivering bodies tortured to the bone,
+  Their parched lips in vain assay a moan,
+  Their eyes still pleading with each bated breath
+  _Not_ for forgiveness, but for instant death!
+
+  The circling oceans, with resounding roar,
+  Meet and commingle--and the scene is o'er!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+  _A TRIBUTE TO
+  THE WOLFE SISTERS._
+
+
+  Music, the sweetest all-inspiring gift of God.
+    Is ever welcome to the prisoner's ear;
+  There's nothing makes me feel half so well
+    As music of the heart when sung with cheer.
+
+  Here in this prison as I sit and pore
+    Over the past and present of my life,
+  My heart sings ever, o'er and o'er,
+    The darkest bitterness of a prisoner's strife.
+
+  But hark! in yonder chapel shrine
+    I hear sweet music as of yore;
+  I ask, "What music is that sounds so fine?"
+    The answer comes, "The Wolfes are at the door!"
+
+  I hasten, then, to brush my prison garb,
+  And toilet try to fix as best I can,
+  And then unto the chapel wend my way;
+  When there upon the rostrum stand
+                  _Five of the sweetest singers of our day_!
+
+  There's Amy Wolfe, who changed her name to Brooks;
+  She leads her choir without the aid of books.
+  She sings with voice so sweet and delicate
+  That to her, First Soprano I dedicate.
+
+  Next, Minnie S., at the age of twenty-three,
+  Sings like a lark and busy as a bee,
+  Carefully guarding that no mistakes are made,
+  And handles her bewitching voice with harmony well staid.
+
+  Then sang the sweet Zoraydo F., with baritone most clear,
+  Who, at the age of twenty, delights to bring us cheer.
+  It seems as if her heart and soul were bent on doing right,
+  And when she sang she sang so sweet--Oh! it was out of sight.
+
+  The next I saw was Lyda M., with scarlet cheeks aglow;
+  She sings with voice most charming, a clear and sweet alto,
+  She's next the younger of them all, because she's just eighteen,
+  She captivates the heart of man--what a fairy little Queen!
+
+  Then last, not least, the little one, that is, Miss Kittie C.,
+  She just so busy when she sings she's like a honey bee.
+  Her eyes are clear as crystal, her locks are flowing gold,
+  She sings soprano quite as fine as any I have told.
+
+  I sat down in an empty seat close by the outside door,
+  And listened to such warbling as I never heard before.
+  Their voices drowned all sorrow and gushed forth many a tear,
+  _Not_ for horror that I felt--it brought me real good cheer.
+
+  They drove away the pain of woe, that none but prisoners smart;
+  They sang the ever blessed song--true music of the heart.
+  We doff our striped caps to you, O girls of sweetest song,
+  And may we bid you be our friends and return again ere long.
+
+  Adieu, adieu, our lady friends, do not now say "farewell,"
+  Because we wish you all return with song too sweet to tell.
+  Come back! come back again and sing some lovely Sabbath day,
+  For your presence here to sing good cheer we all will ever pray.
+
+  And now unto the aged Wolfes please let me say one word:
+  Your home must be a palace filled with sirenic good;
+  Proud may you feel--and justly, too--of these five daughters fair,
+  And great the good they've done for us while in this prison lair.
+
+  There's but one wish that emanates from a prisoner's wicked heart.
+  That is to say, without delay, "May heaven take their part,
+  And to them bring eternal joy that'll pierce them like a dart!"
+  Each song they sing is welcome here--a masterpiece of art!
+
+  And now to part we sadly must (while I'm immersed in prison dust).
+  But hoping, too, 'twill not be long ere you return with sweetest song.
+                                                      Adieu! Adieu!
+
+
+
+
+_PRISONERS._
+
+
+  God pity the wretched prisoners
+    In their lonely cells today;
+  Whatever the sins that tripped them,
+    God pity them still, I say.
+
+  Only a strip of sunshine
+    Cleft by rusty bars:
+  Only a patch of azure,
+    Only a cluster of stars.
+
+  Once they were little children,
+    And perhaps their wayward feet
+  Were led by a gentle mother
+    Toward the golden street.
+
+  Therefore, if in life's forest
+    They since have lost their way.
+  Whatever the sins that tripped them,
+    God pity them still, I say.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_TWO LETTERS._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  I wrote a letter while jealous rage
+    In my bosom reigned supreme;
+  The words were fraught with anger,
+    And a loathsome disesteem.
+
+  They fell on the pure white paper
+    And marred its stainless page,
+  Yet eased my maddened spirit,
+    And appeased my senseless rage.
+
+  I gloatingly tho't of the dumb despair
+    That letter would surely give,
+  To one who had broken her faithful vows
+    In a way I could never forgive.
+
+  I doubted not the perfect truth
+    Of all I heard them say;
+  She, like other girls, was false
+    While her lover was away.
+
+  I knew she vowed she would be true
+    While life itself would last,
+  Yet thought that she, like others,
+    Too soon forgot the past.
+
+  I hastily sealed the cruel note,
+    And placed it next my heart,
+  Determined upon the morrow
+    To give it an early start.
+
+  I threw myself upon the couch
+    And sought for sweet repose,
+  And in my restless slumbers
+    A vision then arose:
+
+  I saw in that terrible vision
+    A woman whose eager face
+  Beamed with yearning, restless love
+    As her trembling fingers traced
+
+  A message of love and tenderness
+    To her loved one far away.
+  As her pure lips quietly murmured,
+    "God grant we must some day!"
+
+  She sealed her letter with dainty hands,
+    And laid it by with tender care:
+  Then humbly kneeled beside her bed,
+    And poured her soul in prayer.
+
+  She prayed for her impassioned lover
+    In a warm, impassioned strain,
+  That proved her heart both warm and true
+    And free from guilt or stain.
+
+  She arose from her kneeling posture
+    To answer a call at her door:
+  She smiled as she saw the letter
+    The hand of the servant bore.
+
+  One glance she gave--then burst the seal
+    With trembling, eager haste,
+  And rapidly heard the cruel words
+    My reckless hand had traced.
+
+  Her lovely face turned deathly pale
+    As she wildly clutched the air.
+  She tottered and fell--a senseless heap--
+    A prey to dumb despair.
+
+  So still she lay I deemed her dead,
+    And sprang to raise her in my arms.
+  I loved her with the old, wild love,
+    And bowed to her peerless charms.
+
+  "Speak! darling, speak!" I wildly cried.
+    "Pray, come back from the voiceless shore.
+  I cannot, dare not live an hour,
+    Unless I hear your voice once more!"
+
+  She opened wide her lovely eyes,
+    And cast on me one lingering glance
+  So full of injured innocence
+    It smote me like a lance.
+
+  I seized the heartless letter,
+    Curst cause of all my shame,
+  And, with one imprecation,
+    Consigned it to the flame.
+
+  She watched me with a languid smile,
+    And pointed to her heart:
+  "You have destroyed the proof," she said,
+    "But can you ease the smart?"
+
+  "I have been true to all my vows,
+    Heaven judge me if I lie!
+  But since you deem me to be false,
+    Go--leave me here--to die!"
+
+  At last I woke and quickly drew
+    The accursed sheet from my breast--
+  Burning it with a ready hand--
+    And gently sank to rest.
+
+  I wrote another, whose tender words
+    Were soft as the ripple of a stream;
+  And thought what a contrast it would be
+    To the letter she read in my dream!
+
+  And my darling greatly wonders
+    Why my letters with tenderness teem,
+  Since I have never told her
+    Of the letter she read in my dream.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A PRAYER FOR JUSTICE._
+
+
+  Oh, God in heaven up on high,
+  How long this cruel strife?
+  Most I but perish in this den
+  To end this wretched life?
+  Is there no justice here on earth?
+  Must truth remain crushed down
+  And vile and wicked, cruel man
+  Forever look and frown?
+  Is there no power to bring to light
+  The _truth_ of my offense?
+  Must perjury and bribery
+  Prevail forever hence?
+  Can enemies, vile, cruel things,
+  Twist truth all out of shape,
+  And cause one who's not guilty
+  To morally wear death's crepe?
+  Oh, God! is there no remedy
+  For earthly subjects thus
+  To be relieved from wretched pain
+  Without this earthly fuss?
+  Oh, God! to Thee we call for help.
+  Wil't thou but listen--hear?
+  Look down upon me as I be,
+  My innocence thou'lt surely see,
+  These shackles, bolts, and prison bars,
+  The heavy locks and massive key--
+  Hear, Oh, God! Oh, hear my prayer
+  And set this captive free.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_BIRTHDAY MUSINGS._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Just sixty years ago today
+    Mine eyes first saw the light;
+  Now age, with ever onward tread,
+    Presages coming night.
+
+  Ah! is it night? Or shall it be
+    That morning's light shall break,
+  And from my soul such music bring
+    As earth could never wake?
+
+  Where are the friends of earlier years--
+    Sleep they to wake no more?
+  Or do they walk with joyful tread
+    Heaven's ever radiant shore?
+
+  If death is but oblivion's gate,
+    Why younger grows the soul with years?
+  Whose are the faces that we see
+    When melts the hearts in tears?
+
+  Oh, whence the strains the soul can hear
+    When all is hushed in sleep,
+  And none, save God and angels, near
+    When souls their vigils keep?
+
+  Is all religion but a myth?
+    Are all our hopes in vain?
+  Is heaven affectation's child,
+    Born of disordered brain?
+
+  Tell me not such bolts and bars
+    Can keep me from the skies;
+  I'd sooner deem yon blushing rose
+    A satyr in disguise.
+
+
+
+
+  _A TRIBUTE TO
+  THE WOLFE SISTERS._
+
+BY GEO W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Come. O come, ye radiant sisters, heaven honored "Tuneful Nine."
+  Smooth my ever rugged numbers and inspire my drooping line.
+  Aid my muse to tell the story never breathed to mortal ear.
+  How this sweet angelic chorus happens to be lingering near.
+  In yon fair and blissful aiden, far beyond the faintest star.
+  Once the guardian angels slumbered, leaving heaven's gates ajar!
+  And five wandering seraphs wandered, in their rapid, noiseless flight,
+  Thro' the gates, whose vaulted arches echoed pæans of delight!
+  Quick as thought their tireless pinions clave the unresisting air.
+  Till they reached the _five Wolfe sisters_, maids of form and features
+                                                            fair,
+  And within these hearts they lingered, tuning every chord to song.
+  Till the pathos of their music stilled the ever restless throng!
+  Earth and heaven stood astonished and Jehovah's love decreed:
+  "Let them stay! such strains seraphic mortal beings can but heed!"
+
+  Have you heard their wondrous music? Have you felt their sweet control?
+  If not, friend, you've scarcely sounded half the mysteries of your soul!
+  Amy, soul-enrapturing artist, sweetly sounds the soft prelude.
+  And beneath her skilfull fingers every note, with life imbued.
+  Stills the throng, whose very silence is an encore loud and deep.
+  And each thought, save that of music, is forgotten or asleep.
+  Katherine's rich and  full suprano, like the Autumn's mellow morn.
+  Wakes the slumbering soul to action like the practiced huntsman's horn!
+  Mamie's soft, melodious voice nobly takes the second part.
+  And the pathos of her music captivates the raptured heart!
+  Lida's faultless second alto deepens all the noble strain
+  Till the mind forgets its madness and the heart rejects in pain.
+  Then Zoraydo's matchless voice sweeps the soul along
+  Till we know that _perfect music can be breathed in earthly song_!
+  Hear, O hear the melting music pouring from each heaving breast;
+  How it wakes the heart to rapture! How it soothes the soul to rest!
+
+  When they sing, such lovely visions seem to rise and grandly float
+  Like the poet's airy mansions, on the wave of each full note!
+  Silvery daybreaks brighten slow; sunsets blush on mountain snow!
+  Moonlight shivers on the open sea; Autumn burns in bush and tree;
+  Blowing willows bend and sigh; whispering rivers wander by;
+  Thro' the pines sweep sea-tones soft; sailing birds shout loud aloft;
+  Strange notes beat the lambent air; visions float divinely fair;
+  Vanished faces come and go; silenced voices murmur low;
+  Gentlest memories come and cling, _as we listen and they sing_.
+
+  Oh, repeat the music's tale, "_Love shall perish not nor fail_!"
+  We forget the fear of death--breathe, in tho't, immortal breath!
+  We believe in broadening truth; trust the generous creeds of youth;
+  Feel consoling hopes that climb up to some triumphant clime,
+  And sweet dreams of splendor bring _as we listen and they sing_!
+
+  Walls of rock and bars of steel we can neither see nor feel;
+  We forget our dire disgrace; disregard both time and place;
+  Bid all angry passion sleep and profoundest silence keep!
+  Hoard the trembling notes that fall like an angel mother's call;
+  Rise above our low estate and forget the wrongs of fate!
+  We forgive our mortal foes, source of all our many woes,
+  And penance itself loses half its sting, _as we listen and they sing_!
+
+  May the God of love and truth give them all the joys of youth;
+  May the raptures they impart ever thrill each noble heart;
+  May their ministry of love lead all erring ones above;
+  May wealth, happiness and joy all their waiting hours employ;
+  Be their cares both light and few and their pleasures ever new;
+  And their lives one dream of ease till their "ship comes o'er the seas!"
+  Let fate oft their presence bring, _and we'll listen while they sing_
+  Gentle sisters, take this tribute poured from imprisoned hearts;
+  You have eased their maddening torture, you have stayed the cruel darts
+  That remorse and shame have driven deep within each captive soul.
+  Suffer them your names to graven on fond memory's deathless scroll:
+  Be assured your seeds of kindness shall not fall on stony ground,
+  Many of  your willing converts have both peace and pardon found!
+  And, when all your work is ended, you in heaven shall fondly greet
+  Some whose hearts were first enlightened by your anthems clear and sweet.
+
+
+
+
+_TO A DEPARTED IDOL._
+
+BY G. W. VAX WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Thou art not dead, thou art not gone to dust,
+    No line of all thy loveliness shall fall
+  To formless ruin, smote by time and thrust
+    Into the solemn gulf that covers all.
+
+  Thou canst not perish.   Tho' the sod
+    Sink with its violets closer to thy breast,
+  Tho' by the feet of generations trod
+    The loadstone crumbles from thy place of rest.
+
+  The marvel of thy beauty cannot die;
+    The sweetness of thy presence shall not fade;
+  Earth gave not all the glory of thine eye;
+    Death cannot smite what earth ne'er made.
+
+  It was not _thine_, that marble forehead pale and cold.
+    Nor those dumb lips they laid beneath the snow;
+  Thy heart would throb beneath that passive fold;
+    _Thy_ hands, for me, that stony clasp forego.
+
+  But _thou_ hast gone. Gone from this dreary land;
+    Gone from the storms let loose on every hill;
+  Lured by the sweet persuasion of a band
+    That leads thee, somewhere, in the distance still.
+
+  Where e'er thou art, I know thou wearest yet
+    The same bewitching beauty, sanctified
+  By calmer joy, and touched with soft regret
+    For him who seeks but cannot reach thy side.
+
+  I keep for thee the living love of old,
+    And seek thy place in nature, as a child
+  Whose hand is parted from its playmate's hold
+    Wanders and cries along a lonesome wild.
+
+  When, in the watches of my heart, I hear
+    The messages of purer life and know
+  The footsteps of thy spirit lingering near,
+    Life's darkness hides the way I fain would go.
+
+  Canst thou not bid the empty realms restore
+    That form, the symbol of thy heavenly part?
+  Or in the barren fields of silence pour
+    That voice, the perfect music of thy heart?
+
+  Oh, once--once bending to my warm and eager lips,
+    Take back the tender warmth of life from me,
+  Or let thy kisses cloud with swift eclipse
+    The light of mine, and give me death with thee.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TO WARDEN AND MRS. E. G. COFFIN._
+
+
+  Elijah of old ancient times was a man of many, many minds!
+  Long did he live in noble deeds, in dealing comfort to men's needs,
+  In these, our modern, modest days, all men have greatly changed their
+                                                             ways--
+  Jehovah's laws do not control the wickedness of every soul.
+  All those who know as well as I while on this earth will not decry
+  He who will bad men reform--Hail, Coffin! who for us was born!
+
+  Godfrey is his second  name, and now he reaps most enviable fame:
+  Our watchword is both day and nights--while o'er him floats the Stars
+                                                       and Stripes--
+  "Do unto us as you would choose, that others do to you and yours!"
+  Faithful to her life-long trust, a wife, a mother, true and just,
+  Resolves to help both maid and man and lend an ever helping hand--
+  Each day and night they toil and pray for boys and girls to mend their
+                                                               way,
+  Yet they do not toil all  in vain for the great good done the human
+                                                             train.
+
+  "Coffin" is a word some shun, for it takes man when on earth he's done
+  Out to the churchyard laid in clay, for ages sanctioned such a way.
+  For us poor sinners here in "hell" a Coffin sent makes us feel well,
+  For often he does ease the pains we feel in both our hearts and brains.
+  In endless joy may they have peace for kindness they have done to us--
+  Not one of us, though cursed with sin, will e'er forget our friends
+                                                            Coffin.
+
+
+_CANTO SECOND--LAST, BUT NOT LEAST!_
+
+  Mistress she is of the Coffin shrine, and so it's been for years of time!
+  In holy wedlock girls and boys have been the idols of their joys!
+  She bids her Lord Elijah bide a faithful servant by her side,
+  To aid her with a helping hand to raise poor, wretched, fallen man.
+  Real sympathy for the prisoner's woe, she seeds of comfort tries to sow
+  Ere long before it is too late to save poor sinner from his fate;
+  She "cookies"  make, with pearls all set, and puts them in Elijah's hat,
+  She then does send him on his way, while for the prisoner she does pray.
+
+  Mary silently did keep the watch o'er Christ while he did sleep;
+  All her _protege_ she will save if her Lord will help her brave
+  Roaring storms of vice and ire, kindled by a vengeful fire!
+  You may guess for all the rest, let me say SHE'LL DO HER BEST!
+
+  Coffins, to you let us turn! and all crime forever spurn!
+  Only aid us in this strife to fight manfully for life.
+  Father Elijah! Mother Mary! for our welfare do not tarry!
+  Fear you not! for the good you've done has saved many a fallen one!
+  In our hearts we oft despair as we linger in this lair--
+  Not for long tho' when we've seen--Father Elijah and Mary, his _Queen_!
+
+
+
+
+_A PRISON VISION._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  'Tis midnight in these prison walls,
+    And even the sentry's muffled tread
+  Sepulchral sounds, as if he trod
+    The silent confines of the dead.
+
+  In vain I close my weary eyes,
+    I cannot sleep tonight;
+  I hear an angel's rustling wings
+    Fresh from the realms of light.
+
+  A sacred presence haunts the air,
+    A messenger from Heaven's own land;
+  And memory awakes again,
+    Touched by an angel's wand.
+
+  I seem to hear, deep in my soul,
+    The music of a heavenly choir,
+  While each pulsation of my heart
+    Awakes in me the old desire
+
+  To see once more that lovely form
+    Death vanished in my arms;
+  To hear again her melting voice
+    And revel in her charms.
+
+  To feel the tender, soft caress
+    Of a loved tho' vanished hand,
+  And hear from her departed lips
+    The mysteries of that land
+
+  That lies beyond Time's rugged shore,
+    To all unknown, save those
+  Whom angels capture for the skies
+    At life's uncertain close.
+
+  I muse again, with loving thought,
+    Of a sinless wife long dead,
+  And live again our buried past,
+    By an angel presence led.
+
+  I view again the pleasing scene
+    Of a school house on the hill,
+  Where happy scholars daily met,
+    Whose law was the teacher's will.
+
+  I see again the old armchair
+    Where the Master daily sat
+  With watchful eye and helpful hand,
+    Yet sleepless as a cat.
+
+  I hear again the sleepless hum
+    Of voices low and sweet,
+  Of students pouring o'er the books
+    With wisdom's germs replete.
+
+  Amid that happy, guileless throng,
+    There was one peerless face
+  That held in the Master's tender heart
+    An undisputed place.
+
+  It was a face, O God! how fair!
+    No words can ever paint;
+  More fit for heaven than for earth.
+    It bore the contour of a saint.
+
+  The brow was high and broad and white,
+    With a radiance all its own;
+  The cheeks, like lilies dipped in blood,
+    Were oft as a rose full blown.
+
+  Eyebrows dark and delicately arched,
+    Were penciled in Nature's play;
+  The ruby ripeness of her lips
+    Seemed never to melt away.
+
+  Her lustrous eyes, whose depths were brown,
+    Yet seemed a darker hue,
+  Were windows of a spotless soul
+    That scorned to be untrue.
+
+  Abundant tresses of dark brown hair
+    That almost swept the ground,
+  Enveloped as chaste and lovely form
+    As e'er on earth was found.
+
+  A voice so soft, so sweet, so low
+    That every accent woke
+  Sweet notes of blissful melody,
+    As if an angel spoke.
+
+  None could look upon that face
+    And deem that aught of earth
+  Could chill the rapture of a soul
+    Where sin could know no birth.
+
+  Her mind had wondrous power and scope;
+    It grasped the sea, the earth, the sky,
+  And rightly understood and loved
+    The God who ruled on high.
+
+  Contentment, truth and virtue
+    Was part of Nature's dower;
+  Self-sacrifice to her was joy,
+    And prayer was conscious power.
+
+  While yet a child her spirit soared
+    Above the things of earth,
+  And mused with soulful tenderness
+    On the heaven that gave it birth.
+
+  The teacher's stern, imperious heart
+    Yearningly worshipped this child,
+  And 'neath her hallowed influence
+    Grew tender, warm and mild.
+
+  The haughty heart, that never sought
+    The plaudits of the world,
+  Poured its richest tribute
+    At the feet of this faultless girl.
+
+  The face, that never even blanched
+    'mid war's terrific strife,
+  Grew pale as death the hour he asked
+    This child to be his wife.
+
+  No word she spake, but simply laid
+    Her head upon his breast.
+  He folded her in warm embrace
+    And knew that he was blest.
+
+  Each lived a life of conscious joy;
+    Earth seemed a garden fair;
+  The lover sought earth's fairest flowers
+    To braid in her shining hair.
+
+  Deeply they drank at the font of love;
+    Draughts few natures can hold;
+  The hours were seasons of perfect bliss;
+    Each moment more precious than gold.
+
+  Days and months flew swiftly by
+    On the wings of happiness sped,
+  And two sweet babes were garnered
+    As the fruit of their marriage bed!
+
+  They neither thought nor dreamed of aught
+    Save their babes and coming bliss;
+  They greeted the morn with soft caress
+    And welcomed night with a kiss.
+
+  Till, thundering on the wings of Time,
+    Fate dealt the cruel blow
+  That dashed a home in pieces
+    And laid a child-wife low.
+
+  The husband pressed her to his breast
+    And fondly kissed his bride;
+  But with the parting of that kiss
+    The sinless child-wife died.
+
+  The kindred angels joyful flew
+    From the realms of endless day,
+  And gently wafted her soul above,
+    But left to us her clay.
+
+  "She is dead! Kiss her and come away.
+    Your cries and prayers are all in vain,
+  Your May-Bell is cold, senseless clay;
+    In heaven above you'll meet again."
+
+  They smoothed her tresses of dark brown hair
+    Back from her marble forehead fair;
+  Over her eyes, that oped too much,
+    They closed the lids with a tender touch.
+
+  They closed with tender touch, that day,
+  The thin, pale lips where beauty lay;
+  About her brow and her sweet pale face
+  They tied her veil and bridal lace;
+
+  Placed on her feet the white silk shoes
+  That May-Bell for her marriage chose;
+  Over her bosom crossed her hands;
+  "Come away," they said, "God understands."
+
+  With bowed heads they left the room,
+  Still shuddering at its silent gloom;
+  And naught, save silence, lingered there
+  Around the corpse of May-Bell Clare.
+
+  But I loved her far too well to dread
+  The silent, stately, beautiful dead.
+  I cautiously opened the chamber door
+  And was alone with my dead once more.
+
+  I kissed her lips, I kissed her cheek,
+  But 'twas in vain, she could not speak.
+  I called her names, she loved, awhile,
+  But she was dead and could not smile.
+
+  And not one passionate whisper of love
+  Could call her back from her home above.
+  "Cold lips," I murmured, "breast without breath,
+  Is there no voice, no language in death?"
+
+  Dull to ear and still to the sense,
+  Yet to the soul of love intense!
+  See, I listen with soul, not ear;
+  What is the secret of dying, my dear?
+
+  Was it the infinite wonder of all
+  That you could let life's flower fall?
+  Or was it a greater marvel to feel
+  The perfect calm o'er agony steal?
+
+  Was the miracle greatest to find how deep
+  Beyond all dreams sank down that sleep?
+  Did life roll back its record, my dear,
+  Showing all past deeds dark and clear?
+
+  Oh, did love, sweet mistress of bliss,
+  Affrighted, vanish to shun death's kiss?
+  For radiant ones in the world above
+  Forget those whom on earth they love?
+
+  Oh, perfect death! Oh, dead most dear,
+  I hold the breath of my soul to hear!
+  I listen as deep as fathomless hell,
+  As high as heaven, nor will you tell!
+
+  There must be pleasure in dying, my sweet,
+  To make you so placid from head to feet!
+  I'd tell you, darling, if I were dead
+  And _your_ hot tears on _my_ cheeks shed,
+
+  I'd speak, though the angel of death had laid
+  His sword on my lips, their accents to shade.
+  Not in vain should you, with streaming eyes,
+  Beg to know Death's chief surprise.
+
+  Oh, foolish world! Oh, precious dead!
+  Tho' you tell me, who will believe 'twas said?
+  Who will believe I heard you say
+  In your own dear, kind familiar way:
+
+  "I can speak now--you listen with soul alone:
+  To the eyes of your soul _all_ shall be shown.
+  In this land of infinite bliss
+  The utmost wonder, dear one, is this:
+
+  "I see and love and kiss you again;
+  I smile at your triumph over pain;
+  I know your heart is honest and true;
+  I'm a guardian angel to you!
+
+  "What a strange, delicious amusement is death!
+  To live without being, to breathe without breath!
+  I should laugh did you not cry;
+  Listen, dear one, love never can die!
+
+  "I am now your heaven-decked bride;
+  My body and not my love has died!
+  Dear one, _it_ lies there, I know,
+  Pale and silent, cold as snow.
+
+  "And you say, 'May-Bell is dead.'
+  Weeping o'er my silent head!
+  _I_ can see your falling tears,
+  Hear your sighs and know your fears!
+
+  "Yet I smile and whisper this:
+  I am not the clay you kiss;
+  Cease your tears and let _it_ lie,
+  It was mine, but 'tis not _I_!
+
+  "Dear one, what the women love
+  For its silent home, the grave,
+  Is a garment I have quit,
+  As a tent no longer fit.
+
+  "'Tis a cage from which, at last,
+  My enraptured soul has passed.
+  Love the _inmate_, not the _room_,
+  Love the _wearer_, not the _plume_!
+
+  "_Love_ my _spirit_, not the _bars_,
+  That kept your May-Bell from the stars;
+  Be wise, dear one, and quickly dry
+  From every tear your laden eye.
+
+  "What you place upon the bier
+  Is not worth a lover's tear;
+  'Tis an empty shell at last,
+  Out of which the soul has passed.
+
+  "The shell is broken, _it_ lies _there_,
+  But the _pearl_, the _soul_, is _here_!
+  'Tis an earthen jar, whose lid
+  God sealed when it faintly hid
+
+  "The soul He made to live on high;
+  The mind that did not, cannot die.
+  Let the dross be earth's once more,
+  Since the gold is in His store.
+
+  "God is glorious! God is good!
+  Now His word is understood!
+  Life's ceaseless wonder is at an end,
+  Yet you weep, my erring friend!
+
+  "See, the lover _you_ call dead
+  To immortal bliss is wed!
+  Loves and homes you lost, 'tis true,
+  To such light as shines for you.
+
+  "Yet deep in your inmost soul
+  You shall feel my sweet control.
+  I'll be with you every hour,
+  Commissioned by Almighty Power,
+
+  "To guard each moment of your life
+  As best befits your angel wife!
+  At night I'll linger 'round your bed,
+  With an angel's noiseless tread;
+
+  "And while you, slumbering, dream of me,
+  I'll be present, love, with thee.
+  Where e'er you go, where e'er you stray,
+  I'll be near thee night and day,
+
+  "Guarding you with zealous care,
+  Pointing out life's every snare,
+  Chasing every tear away,
+  Aiding every joy to stay.
+
+  "Chide you when you go astray;
+  Bless you when you kneel to pray;
+  Lead you, with an unseen hand,
+  To view the wonders of a land
+
+  "Where Peace and Love and Perfect Joy
+  Tongue cannot name, nor peace destroy!
+  Shall ever bless the happy band,
+  As radiant 'round the throne they stand!
+
+  "Once there, we'll never part again,
+  But _time_, and _love_ while God shall reign.
+  I cannot, _dare not_, say farewell;
+  Where I am _now_ you, too, shall dwell.
+
+  "I am gone before your face,
+  A moment's time, a little space.
+  When you come where I have stepped
+  You'll greatly wonder why you wept!
+
+  "You'll know by Love Eternal taught
+  That Heaven is _all_, that earth is naught.
+  I beg you not to dread sweet death;
+  'Tis but the first and faintest breath
+
+  "Of the life that God hath given
+  To fit immortal souls for heaven!
+  Be _certain_, darling, _all_ seems love,
+  Viewed from the higher courts above!
+
+  "The cares and troubles that arise
+  Will prove sweet blessings in disguise;
+  They'll waft you to a home above,
+  Where I'll await your coming, Love!"
+
+  _I_ heard these words and fell on the breast
+  Of the peerless bride that heaven had dressed.
+  I yearned for those blissful regions above
+  With heart overflowed with passionate love.
+
+  My peerless flower, tho' nipped in youth,
+  Perennial shall bloom in the Garden of Truth!
+  I see in the distance a roseleaf hand
+  Beckoning me on to that glorious land.
+
+  Tho' parted on earth we'll meet in the sky,
+  Where bliss cannot perish, and love cannot die.
+  Oh, bliss supernal! Oh, rapture complete,
+  When earth-sundered ones in glory shall meet.
+
+  For years and years I've watched in vain
+  To see that buried face again;
+  In vain I've tried, with mortal eyes,
+  To pierce the mysteries of the skies!
+
+  Oh, sweetheart of the days of yore,
+  Shall we meet on earth no more?
+  Shall I languish all alone
+  Without one sympathetic tone--
+
+  One glance of love, one word of cheer
+  From eyes and lips I hold so dear?
+  Oh, hearken to my piteous cries,
+  Beloved one, and forsake the skies!
+
+  Oh, listen! Earth-born mortals, see!
+  My angel bride has come to me!
+  The self-same face--divinely fair--
+  And heaven-set jewels decked her hair.
+
+  Her laughing eye and glowing cheek
+  Eternal youth and bliss bespeak;
+  My head is pillowed on her breast,
+  My brow by her dear hands caressed!
+
+  The dulcet tones of her dear voice
+  Bids my aching heart rejoice;
+  She folds me 'neath her dazzling wings,
+  While all the heart within me sings!
+
+  Oh, list those melting tones of love,
+  More soft than note of cooing dove!
+  Oh, hear the words her dear lips speak:
+  "Death, dear one, is the boon to seek!
+
+  "False are the glittering gems of earth,
+  Eternity's gold is the gold of worth;
+  One moment in heaven is worth a life
+  Spent on earth 'mid care and strife!
+
+  "Death is but the dawn of day,
+  Destroying naught save worthless clay!
+  The soul lives on in rapturous bliss
+  More perfect than a virgin kiss!
+
+  "Oh, dear one, still your haunting fears;
+  The love, tho' lost, of earlier years
+  Awaits your coming to the skies,
+  And o'er you watch with jealous eyes,
+
+  "Lest earth detain you till too late
+  To enter heaven's wide open gate.
+  Oh, tarry not on earth too long,
+  But with me join immortal's song!"
+
+  She spake, and through the vaulted sky,
+  Beyond the reach of mortal eye,
+  She wings her rapid noiseless flight
+  And I am left alone tonight.
+
+  Nay, not alone; for in my soul
+  I feel a new-born sweet control
+  That lures me to a higher life,
+  Which will please an angel wife!
+
+  Farewell, prison blight and bars,
+  Mine is a home beyond the stars.
+  Welcome, Death, at any hour,
+  Since sin has lost her maddening power!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO
+
+CAPT. J. S. ACHESON._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Just consider, for one moment, all the good this man has done.
+  On full many a field of battle he the victory hath won;
+  Swept he with victorious Sherman from Atlanta to the sea,
+  Ever acting as a soldier, from all fear and malice free;
+  Proving true in every station, like a soldier tried and true,
+  He has earned and won the friendship of the boys who wore the blue!
+
+  Since his advent in this prison he has, with impartial mind,
+  Made it plain that every duty can be done and still be kind.
+  In his bosom rests no malice towards a single human soul;
+  'Tis his study, night and morning, all his passions to control.
+  He is willing every prisoner should become his honest _friend_,
+
+  And the prisoner's reformation he regards as _law's best trend_:
+  Crime, he deems is but the fruitage of conditions time can change.
+  He would lift his fallen brother and no rule of right derange!
+  Ever ready with the welcome of a smile and word of cheer,
+  Some may only be respected, but such men are ever dear.
+  O'er the path of life may Heaven scatter roses at his feet;
+  None will doubt that every christian shall _his_ face in heaven meet.
+
+
+
+
+_MY MOTHER._
+
+CARR.
+
+
+  One bright Sunday morn, as I sat in my cell,
+    My thoughts to the outside did roam;
+  The sweet songs of birds, as their notes rose and fell,
+    Turned my mind to my childhood's dear home.
+
+  Long years they have passed since I saw that dear spot,
+    But its sweet memories time can ne'er smother;
+  I can never forget that dear little cot
+    And the sweet loving smile of my mother.
+
+  In sickness or pain 'twas dear mother that brought
+    Her sweet self and her charms to allay it;
+  She learned me a prayer and she lovingly taught
+    Me to kneel at her knees and to say it.
+
+  God's word she would read, and impress on my mind
+    The love that's conveyed by that story
+  Of the Savior, who died that millions might find
+    Eternal rest in His realms of glory.
+
+  For years she's been dead, and her low, grassy mound
+    Reminds me that 'neath it lies sleeping
+  The dear friend of my youth, whose magic, I found,
+    Could bring smiles to my face e'en when weeping.
+
+  'Tis thus the dear birds, as they joyfully sing
+    And chirp happy calls to each other,
+  Remind me that perhaps they were sent for to bring
+    A message to me from my mother.
+
+  But, alas! as I think, upon my mind there quickly falls
+    The thoughts of my sad degredation;
+  The strong iron bars, and the grey, sombre walls,
+    Recall me to my sad situation.
+
+  But no more will I sin; I'll live upright for sure;
+    My passions and temptations I'll smother;
+  And when God calls me home to that bright shining shore
+    We'll be happy together, dear mother.
+
+
+
+
+_A MEMORIAL ODE._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Again the sacred day has come
+    When tears and flowers shall fall
+  On the graves of our sleeping heroes
+    Who died at Liberty's call.
+
+  And the tears we shed above them,
+    As our hearts with tenderness bled,
+  Is the crown of their matchless glory
+    And earth's divinest mead.
+
+  Their deeds on the field of battle
+    Were such as a god might do,
+  And the listening angels applauded
+    The work of the boys in blue.
+
+  The flag they died defending
+    Still floats above their grave,
+  And is loved by millions of freemen,
+    But never looked on by a slave.
+
+  The country they loved and bled for,
+    Still true to her sacred trust,
+  Will cover their names with glory
+    And revere their hallowed dust.
+
+  The comrades who still survive them,
+    Like gold in the furnace tried,
+  Speak, with tear-dimmed lashes,
+    Of the gallant boys that died.
+
+  These flowers will fade and perish,
+    Tho' hallowed by each grave;
+  But they will live forever
+    In the hearts of the true and the brave.
+
+  Then let this custom continue
+    Till tears and flowers shall cease,
+  And we shall greet the gallant boys
+    On the shores of endless peace.
+
+
+
+
+_LINES TO MY CELL._
+
+
+  Oh, silent and mysterious cell,
+  Could I command thy walls to tell
+  The secrets they have kept so long,
+  'T would be, indeed, a cheerless song.
+
+  A tale of crime, and tears, and pain,
+  The fruit, perhaps, of frenzied brain,
+  As none to crime yet ever sank
+  That had not first become a crank.
+
+  "The law of God and man defy,
+  A wretch you'll live, a felon die!"
+  These words seem to haunt my brain,
+  Perhaps it is the sad refrain
+
+  Of a song well known to thee;
+  Yet where its author now can be,
+  Save thee, perhaps no one can tell,
+  Thou grim, mysterious, silent cell.
+
+  Thy rocky floor has felt the tread
+  Of many a hapless one now dead;
+  Thy walls have echoed many a sigh,
+  Wrung from guilt's expiring eye.
+
+  While musing 'mid thy walls tonight
+  I seem to hear, with some affright,
+  The wail of many a blighted life,
+  The prayer of a despairing wife;
+
+  A mother, weeping for her child;
+  A father, grief has driven wild.
+  And then--I pray thee silence keep;
+  'Twere best to let thy secrets sleep.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A TRIBUTE TO DR. G. A. THARP._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Arise, my Muse, and tune your harp
+  To ring the praises of a Tharp;
+  His cultured mind and noble soul
+  Truth and virtue both control.
+
+  Tell the world his perfect skill
+  Can conquer every human ill
+  That lends to science or to art,
+  From shattered limb to dormant heart.
+
+  Each pill and potion that he makes
+  Relieves your pain and health awakes:
+  And should he use the surgeon's knife,
+  He never will sacrifice a life.
+
+  His skilfull fingers place a band
+  As gently as a woman's hand;
+  And not one patient needs to feel
+  That he the truth will not reveal.
+
+  The poor regard him as their friend,
+  And on his bounty oft depend;
+  Well knowing that his generous heart
+  Dares to act a christian part!
+
+  Long may this noble doctor live,
+  Ease to suffering men to give;
+  And meet the summons to depart
+  With the skill he wooes his art.
+
+
+
+
+_AN APPRECIATED FRIEND._
+
+
+  She is a pretty little lass,
+    Half human, half divine;
+  And for an angel she would pass
+    In Heaven's lovely clime.
+
+  Her hair is locks of flowing gold,
+    Her ways are cute and wise;
+  And her form is lithe and graceful,
+    With pretty bright blue eyes.
+
+  Her manners are just perfect.
+    Her nature kind and true;
+  She is a real philanthropist
+    When charity is due.
+
+  She strives to cheer those sad at heart,
+    And well she does succeed;
+  And stays the ever painful dart
+    That often fate does speed.
+
+  How different from so many folk
+    Who frown upon the one
+  Who, by some simple words he spoke,
+    Caused "crime" to have been done.
+
+  Although the cruel knife of fate
+    Has made an awful wound,
+  In her kind words, that come but late,
+    Sweet balm for sorrow's found.
+
+  Oh, that this wicked, wicked world
+    Could boast more such friendly souls!
+  Less lives would be so sadly hurled
+    Into a pit of earthly ghouls,
+  Where nothing's saved, but all is lost;
+
+  And where man's cast, at any cost,
+  Into a dismal, prison dell--
+  A gloomy, dreary, earthly hell!
+
+  Come, of such friends arise and sing,
+  With thanks returned to heaven's king!
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+
+
+
+_SALOME'S REVENGE._
+
+
+  Arise, my Muse, spread out thy wings,
+    Prepare to soar away!
+  Tune up thy harp for endless joy,
+    And turn night into day.
+
+  Go dream of Paradise sublime
+    In the old Empire State!
+  And when you're done return to me
+    Your story to relate.
+
+  In time gone by--in days of yore--
+    There lived, in forests wild,
+  Two families of ancient stock,
+    And each one had a child.
+
+  The children of both parentage
+    Were born in this country;
+  They amassed immensely fortunes
+    In this America.
+
+  The Waddington's were pure Scotch blood,
+    And raised one daughter fair;
+  They gave her name of Sadie,
+    She'd blue eyes and golden hair.
+
+  Her cheeks were rich with crimson glow,
+    Her lips were thin and cute,
+  And many an anxious lover
+    She sternly did refute.
+
+  Her dainty hands and flowing hair,
+    And graceful curves of form
+  Would make one's heart quite palpitate--
+    She carried all by storm.
+
+  Trueman Waddington was a man
+    Who loved his daughter--heir,
+  And as he rolled in endless wealth
+    He watched his child's welfare.
+
+  Their nearest neighbor was St. Lawrence,
+    Who lived a little way
+  Off on the rugged mountain side,
+    Where children like to play.
+
+  Two children he had buried
+    When they were yet quite young,
+  And now he was a happy man
+    'Cause he reared an only son.
+
+  This son he named him Trueman,
+    Because he liked the name,
+  And tho't 'twould be in honor
+    Of his neighbor of the same.
+
+  "As an act of kindness and of love,"
+    Old Waddington did say,
+  "Because you named him after me
+    I pledge my Sade, today."
+
+  The two old friends called in their wives
+    And asked them to consent
+  To seal the bargain for each child
+    On which they were both bent.
+
+  The mothers thought it rather soon
+    To tie so firm a knot,
+  And begged them not to seal their doom
+    By such a foolish plot.
+
+  But Trueman Waddington was not
+    A man to easy quit,
+  And he argued long and labored strong
+    In a half way frenzied fit.
+
+  He said: "I know we are both rich
+    In lands and kine and gold,
+  And why not join these vast fortunes
+    Before they are all sold?
+
+  "You've named your only son from me;
+    Trueman it is, _True-Man_ he'll be,
+  And now must I sit by in shame
+    And cannot seal my daughter's fame?"
+
+  Then spake the elder man St. Lawrence:
+    "Dear sir, my neighbor and my friend,
+  You have my heart and soul and mind,
+    And these vast fortunes I will bind
+
+  "Together with true chords of love.
+    God help our children find
+  A part their mothers will not take
+    In this, to seal their children's fate.
+
+  "Now let me, please, suggest a way
+    To reach this matter of today;
+  And we will friendly make the deal
+    So lawyers cannot break the seal."
+
+  Then Waddington sprang to his feet,
+    And warmly did his neighbors greet;
+  Then shook him warmly by the hand,
+    And said, "Come, let us seal the band."
+
+  And then with fixed and mellow eye
+    He gazed on high as he stood by
+  His rugged friend and neighbor, too,
+    Then St. Lawrence bade him what to do.
+
+  "My dear old friend, sit down, sit down;
+    'Tis easy for us now to drown
+  All obstacles that's in our way
+    To carry out our plan today."
+
+  Then he proceeded to relate
+    How easy men in Empire State
+  Could call in witness to their deed
+    And satisfy all fortune's creed.
+
+  "Now, look-a-here, my friend St. Lawrence,
+    You cannot be too quick
+  To tell me how we'll do all this
+    And make this bargain stick."
+
+  And then the sage St. Lawrence did say:
+    "Look here, my friend, here is our way!
+  I'll make my will of my estate
+    (And that, you know, is very great,)
+
+  "Unto your fair and lovely child,
+    If she refrains from being wild,
+  And when she weds she weds my son,
+    My noble, brave and kind Trueman.
+
+  "Then you, my friend, reciprocate;
+    You make your will of this same date,
+  And seal as I do mine;
+    Make True, my son, your legatee,
+
+  "And to him give, in simple fee,
+    Your lands, your goods, your kine, your cash,
+  All in one grand and mighty crash,
+    If he your daughter weds."
+
+  The witnesses were duly called;
+    The wills were then prepared;
+  The testators did sign their names,
+    The children they well fared.
+
+  The documents were laid away
+    In vaults of solid rock;
+  There safely for the children kept,
+    Their heritage of stock.
+
+  Years, years rolled on and Trueman grew
+    To be a handsome man.
+  He said: "I'm bound to be "M. D."
+    And do the best I can."
+
+  Sadie, on the other hand,
+    Grew to be a queen;
+  And when to college she did go
+    Trueman there was seen.
+
+  They played at home, when they were young,
+    Upon the mountain side,
+  And never once did they mistrust
+    They'd be both groom and bride.
+
+  When Trueman closed his college course
+    He off to Gotham went,
+  To become an adept in his class
+    While on his mission bent.
+
+  Sadie, on the other hand,
+    When she had closed her term,
+  Returned unto her mountain home,
+    For which she hourly yearned.
+
+  Two years had changed this happy home
+    To one most sadly grieved;
+  The mother of this lovely girl
+    Had sadly been deceived.
+
+  She, down upon her death bed lay,
+    When in came Sadie one bright day
+  And gazed upon the shrunken form
+    Which now had battled life's hard storm.
+
+  Poor Sadie, with a broken heart,
+    She did the best to take her part;
+  But long the sickness did not last,
+    Because her mother now soon passed
+
+  From time into eternity,
+    Where the human soul is ever free.
+  Trueman now, in city fashion,
+    Had let die out his old-time passion
+
+  For rocks and rills and mountain side,
+    Where dwelt the queen who'd be his bride.
+  So much for selfish, erring man;
+    He'll do the best where e'er he can.
+
+  Time, time rolled on, when Sadie's sire,
+    With renewed youth and boyhood ire,
+  Took to himself another wife,
+    And tried anew to live his life.
+
+  The new-made mistress of the home
+    (Who had no place she called her own)
+  Was mother of a daughter fair,
+    With dimpled cheeks and flowing hair.
+
+  The madame's name was Maria;
+    _Her_ daughter's was Sarah.
+  She soon was boss of all the house,
+    And Sadie driven like a mouse
+
+  Into the cold and cheerless world.
+    Sadie, with a broken heart,
+  Prayed her father take her part;
+    But he, with proud and dire disdain,
+    Forever did refrain.
+
+  Then Sadie, on her mother's grave,
+    Prayed loud and long for God to save
+  Her soul from earthly wreck.
+    Then, with a palpitating heart,
+
+  With one fond look she did depart
+    To battle hard with broken heart;
+  While daughter and a second wife
+    Should all but ruin her young life.
+
+  But father did as fathers do,
+    When their list of wives have numbered _two_;
+  He lent his daughter a deaf ear,
+    For his second wife he then did fear.
+
+  His life was short; he soon became
+    A victim to a raging pain,
+  Which soon relieved him from this life
+    And bore him off from life's hard strife.
+
+  They laid him low beside his wife,
+    The pride and joy of Sadie's life;
+  But Sadie knew not of the fate
+    Her father had so sadly met.
+
+  The new-made widow, without tear,
+    Prepared to move, within a year,
+  To far and distant foreign land,
+    Where neither had a single friend.
+
+  The goods were sold, the stock and kine;
+    The lands were leased for a long time;
+  The two, with pockets filled with gold,
+    Sailed for Paris with joys untold.
+
+  Young Sarah, who was quite a belle,
+    When in old Paris she did swell
+  Her wardrobe with both silk and lace,
+    And numerous paints to ply her face.
+
+  She was the very counterpart--
+    Although 'tis strange to say--
+  Of pretty _Sadie_ Waddington
+    In all her dainty ways.
+
+  She spread herself around, about,
+    In all society's halls,
+  And never failed, when chance availed,
+    To attend the stylish balls.
+
+  She was a favorite with them all,
+    In fact, the Queenly Belle,
+  And many a suitor's prayer she heard
+    While on bended knee he fell.
+
+  One evening while on promenade
+    Within society's halls,
+  She met a handsome, tall young man
+    She'd seen at some of the balls.
+
+  When introduced, both their eyes met,
+    She blushing timidly;
+  He heard the name, "Miss Waddington,"
+    Then asked most courteously:
+
+  "From what part of America's soil
+    Do you and your friends hail?
+  Or have you lived in Paris long?
+    On what liner did you sail"?
+
+  She said: "I'm Sadie Waddington,
+    From the city that bears my name;
+  It borders on the old St. Lawrence,
+    A river of world-wide fame."
+
+  Then spake the handsome gentleman:
+    "I, too, am from that place;
+  And if you are Sadie Waddington,
+    I ought to know your face."
+
+  Her cheeks grew flushed and flushed again,
+    As on her he searchingly gazed;
+  She looked up in his solemn face
+    And saw he was greatly amazed.
+
+  It was Trueman St. Lawrence she saw,
+    As she gazed on his beautiful form;
+  She was more than bewitching in her ways
+    To capture him all by storm.
+
+  The Doctor went to his hotel
+    To ponder the matter o'er:
+  "That's not the Sadie Waddington
+    I've seen in days of yore."
+
+  His brain was puzzled, his face was flushed.
+    He was in a frenzied mood;
+  He could not fathom the mystery
+    To do the best he could.
+
+  If that's the girl in days of youth
+    I played with on the mountain side,
+  Before I leave this old city
+    I'll make her my darling bride.
+
+  So saying, he sank upon his couch,
+    And slept in dreams so rich and gay
+  That loud his servant called and called,
+    Because 'twas late--far in the day.
+
+  That day he had a trip to make
+    Unto a neighboring town,
+  And visited a hospital
+    Kept by a Doctor Brown.
+
+  In passing from one of the wards,
+    While in the open door,
+  He chanced to turn, and looking back
+    Saw, kneeling on the floor,
+
+  With outstretched arms and pleading eyes,
+    The girl for years he had not seen;
+  She'd grown into full womanhood,
+    She was a perfect fairy Queen.
+
+  "What! what!" he cried, "am I deceived?
+    If I'm my father's son
+  That girl I see back yonder
+    Is _Sadie Waddington_!"
+
+  He hastened back to where she knelt,
+    And bade her to arise,
+  And clasped her to his manly breast,
+    While tears rose in his eyes.
+
+  Then 'tween her sobs and moans and groans
+    She slowly did relate
+  How she was driven from her home
+    Back in the Empire State.
+
+  She told of awful suffering,
+    Of wandering far and near;
+  Of the death of father and mother,
+    To her _all_ that was dear.
+
+  She told him how she had returned
+    Unto her mountain dome,
+  And as she was told that all had been sold,
+    She was left without a home.
+
+  The Doctor stood transfixed with awe;
+    Listened to her relate
+  The story of the sale of all,
+    Back in the Empire State.
+
+  The Doctor said: "My dear Sadie,
+    It matters not a bit to me
+  Whether you have lands, or goods, or gold,
+    I have vast fortunes yet untold.
+
+  "What's mine is yours; 'tis always so,
+    My father told me long ago,
+  Before I left the Empire State
+    And came over here to study late.
+
+  "I offer you my heart and hand,
+    And pledge to seal it with the band
+  Of holy wedlock, faithfully.
+    Now set your heart forever free
+
+  "From labor and the toils of life,--
+    Come, say you'll be my darling wife!
+  I feel a pang about my heart
+    That pierces like a flashing dart."
+
+  "Oh, True. St. Lawrence! Oh, can it be
+    That you do really care for me?
+  I, who have lived by a false name
+    To hide a step-mother's wicked shame?
+
+  "For five long years my name has been
+    (As you directly would have seen),
+  Not Sadie W., as you have known,
+    But the Sadie changed to plain Salome.
+
+  "The Waddington I changed, also,
+    For the common name of Van Harlow;
+  Then among strangers I did seek
+    For work to do, although 'twas meek.
+
+  "I came across the ocean wide,
+    As servant to a new-made bride;
+  She was taken sick and died out here
+    Before she'd been a bride a year.
+
+  "Since then I've cared for poor and sick,
+    And cannot leave them now, so quick.
+  I patients have who _must_ have care
+    Before _I_ leave for better fare.
+
+  "Now True, my dear, I'll be your own;
+    I'll make you an ever happy home;
+  I feel Pa's oft' spoke words are true,
+    Trueman's your name, _True Man_ are you."
+
+  He pressed her closely to his breast:
+    To dry her tears he did his best;
+  Then gently kissed her burning cheeks
+    And bade her wait but a few weeks.
+
+  The happiest man in all the land
+    Was True. St. Lawrence, with trembling hand,
+  Who then returned to his rooms rich,
+    A restless night to roll and pitch
+
+  Upon a bed of faultless down,
+    But pains of heart it could not drown.
+  He lay and mused throughout the night,
+    'Cause his future now looked bright.
+
+  _Sarah_ Waddington and her mother
+    Prepared a party for another.
+  A gent they wished to entertain,
+    'Cause Sarah wished to bear his name.
+
+  "It is to be a swell affair,
+    So she could safely set her snare
+  To catch the unsuspecting True,
+    Because he loves and loves but you."
+
+  So spake the mother to her child,
+    Who seemed delighted--almost wild--
+  To think that she could play her part
+    Without remorse or pain at heart.
+
+  The time rolled on, and days were spent
+    In fixing up for the event;
+  The rich were called from every side
+    To see Sarah--the would-be bride.
+
+  She sent a most bewitching note
+    For Dr. 'Lawrence to cast the vote,
+  Who'd be the Belle of honor, bright,
+    To bear the graces of the night.
+
+  The Doctor smiled, as he sat down
+    To answer it, without a frown;
+  And faithfully he did outline,
+    In characters most cute and fine:
+
+  "My choice is one, and only one;
+    And now I've written and 'tis done!
+  As sure as I'm my father's son,
+    'Tis one--fair _Sadie_ Waddington!
+
+  "And now, before it is too late,
+    There's one request I have to make:
+  That I be granted then, or sooner,
+    To be escort to the maid of honor."
+
+  "Your request is at once granted,
+    And hope we'll become enchanted;
+  And with your presence'll be elated,
+    Because, it seems, we are related".
+
+  Fair Sarah, then, did make it known
+    (Real quietly about her home)
+  That she and 'Lawrence, raised side by side,
+    Would soon become both groom and bride.
+
+  Silks and diamonds bought with gold,
+    Gotten from the kine she'd sold
+  'Way back in the Empire State,
+    Where poor Sadie met her fate.
+
+  Just one week before the eve'
+    When he Sarah would deceive,
+  Trueman went to see his love,
+    Who was pretty as a dove.
+
+  "Sadie," said he, "sweet is revenge!
+    Let us now your labor change.
+  The ones who drove you to your fate,
+    Away back in the Empire State,
+
+  "Are here in Paris this long time,
+    And live in luxury sublime.
+  The gold they got from off your kine,
+    It goes for suppers and for wine.
+
+  "In holy wedlock let us wed,
+    I'll lead you to a bridal bed;
+  And then in luxury and state
+    We'll 'tend the ball ere 'tis too late".
+
+  I'll humble them in dust and shame!
+    Ah, Sadie, you were not to blame!
+  _We'll_ make them wish they'd never sold
+    Your goods and kine for glittering gold!
+
+  "Come, darling, now we'll off today,
+    The bridal knot to firmly tie.
+  Then I your graceful swanlike neck
+    With pearls and rubys will bedeck.
+
+  "I'll trim your lovely graceful form
+    With richest satin to be worn:
+  I'll place upon your tapered hand
+    A solitaire, set in gold band.
+
+  "Your dainty feet encased in kid
+    Of dainty styles, they're only made
+  For those who're called the name of Queens,
+    And bought by those who have vast means.
+
+  "Then to the ball we'll proudly go,
+    (And who we'll meet I do not know,)
+  I'll there present to every one
+    My bride, _true_ Sadie Waddington.
+
+  "The shock, so sudden, will be great;
+    They'll quail beneath their hearts own hate
+  Of being there exposed to all;
+    Oh, won't it be an awful fall?
+
+  "Come, Sadie dear, revenge is sweet!
+    Now is our chance to get your mete
+  Which they have held from you so long,
+    And did you such a cruel wrong."
+
+  Then Sadie spoke: "Trueman, my dear,
+    There's naught I know for me to fear.
+  Revenge _is_ sweet, although 'tis queer,
+    Revenge I get in Paris here."
+
+  They carried out their little plot,
+    And never skipped a single jot.
+  The eve was fine, the folk were gay,
+    And not a thing stood in their way.
+
+  It was quite late when they arrived
+    At the mansion of the would-be bride.
+  As soon as Doctor stepped in sight,
+    Escorting Sadie--his delight--
+
+  Sarah saw the graceful form
+    And, with one scream, she left the room,
+  And fell fainting to the floor.
+    They gently laid her on the couch
+
+  Before the open door.
+    Her mother came in haste to see
+  What all the trouble there could be,
+    And did not see the Doctor's bride
+
+  Until she was close by her side.
+    And when she saw it was too late,
+  She gasped: "Oh, Sarah's met her fate,"
+    Then fell into a deathly state.
+
+  The mother swooned and swooned away
+    The entire night and most the day;
+  And then the Doctor came to say,
+    "Her life is run, she cannot stay!"
+
+  Sadie, with trained and skillful hand,
+    Nursed Sarah back to conscious-land;
+  Did faithfully the watchword keep
+    While often o'er them she did weep.
+
+  And, just before the mother died,
+    She Sadie called to her bedside
+  And begged her to full pardon give
+    For cruel wrong she did receive.
+
+  Sadie, always so good and true,
+    Said she always thought she knew
+  That the grand day would surely come
+    When that great wrong would be undone.
+
+  She granted full, complete pardon
+    For all the wrongs the dame had done,
+  And then she spoke kind words of cheer
+    Into the madam's dying ear.
+
+  With firm-set eyes and drooping chin
+    The madame grasped and tried to cling
+  Unto the hand she once did scorn,
+    And drove from home at break of morn.
+
+  She then was wrapt in eternal death,
+    And from her soul came not a breath.
+  In casket pure as driven snow
+    Unto the churchyard she did go,
+
+  And there was laid beneath the clay
+    To await Jehovah's Judgment Day.
+  All lands and goods and gold and kine
+    She left behind for endless time!
+
+  Poor Sarah! doomed to awful fate,
+    Her mind was left in ruined state;
+  In raving madness and in strife
+    She tried to take our Sadie's life.
+
+  The best physicians in the land
+    Were summoned forth on every hand
+  To try and bring her from the strife
+    Back to the land of happy life.
+
+  Off to an asylum she must go,
+    'Cause 'twas not safe to leave her so;
+  And with good care she might regain
+    And be relieved from mental pain.
+
+  Salome, our faithful lass and bride,
+    Resolved to stay by Sarah's side
+  And help her regain her lost mind,
+    And comfort for her she would find.
+
+  Nine weeks were spent in mad-house fare,
+    Salome bestowing tender care
+  Upon the one who once did face
+    Salome in all her dire disgrace.
+
+  When Doctor St. Lawrence saw his wife
+    Was bent on battling for the life
+  Of one who was once her mad foe,
+    He said: "All right, it shall be so."
+
+  Salome, she clung unto her charge,
+    As if she were her dearest friend;
+  She incurred expenses somewhat large
+    To treat her patient to the end.
+
+  The Doctor soon began to learn
+    His bride and wife would never spurn
+  The one who once her home did take,
+    And drove her off for mere pride's sake.
+
+  He asked Salome what she would do
+    In case that Sarah did pull through,
+  And once again her mind regain
+    Before they crossed the raging main.
+
+  Salome did quickly make reply,
+    While glistening tears stood in her eye:
+  "I'll take her to old Empire State,
+    Right to the door where I met fate!
+
+  "I'll make her happy, if I can,
+    And now I'll form my little plan:
+  We must, dear True, just do our best,
+    And fix her up in a cosy nest.
+
+  "We will give her a little home
+    On the beautiful mountain side;
+  We will find her a handsome lover
+    Who'll be proud to call her his bride.
+
+  "We will give them all attention
+    That the best of friends could do;
+  We will _return good for evil_,
+    'Cause my mother taught me so.
+
+  "Let us show that true religion
+    Is the life we ought to live,
+  And the ways that Christ rejoiced in
+    Are the ways to which we cleave.
+
+  "Oh, my husband, dearest Trueman,
+    I believe in Sarah reigns
+  The true principle of goodness--
+    Let us fan that spark to flames.
+
+  "Can I now secure her safely,
+    Teach her shun her evil ways
+  And discard that haughty spirit
+    That she learned in younger days,
+
+  "I will be the happiest mortal
+    Ever lived on mother earth,
+  And will reach that heavenly portal
+    Only reached by second birth."
+
+  After coaxing, begging, teasing,
+    Sarah consented for to go
+  Back across the ocean, raging,
+    Where her childhood seeds did sow.
+
+  When they reached the harbor safely,
+    Bag and baggage on the truck,
+  They cast lots to see what steamer
+    They would choose for their good luck.
+
+  Doctor got the choice of vessels,
+    And he quickly did decide
+  That the City of St. Paris
+    Should take their _protege_ and his bride.
+
+  Safely in the vessel's cabin,
+    Housed in cosy stateroom there,
+  All were ready for the voyage,
+    And did look for cheerful fare.
+
+  Out upon the briny billows,
+    Just three days and nights, 'twas said,
+  When the night was dark and dreary,
+    Trueman rose from sleepless bed.
+
+  There was something weighed upon him,
+    Something whispered to beware;
+  He dressed and went upon the deck
+    To breathe the crisp sea air.
+
+  He paced and paced the vessel's deck
+    With long and manly stride;
+  He went from starboard o'er to port
+    And back to starboard side.
+
+  He'd been upon the deck some time,
+    And peered into the gloom
+  As if them something overawed
+    And threatened them with doom.
+
+  At last, to port, he spied a fleck,
+    A dancing on the waves,
+  And there he plainly saw a deck
+    Bedecked with pirate knaves.
+
+  The vessel, with a dark-hued hull,
+    Bore straightway on its course,
+  When, "_Hard to port! To port! to port!_"
+    Rang out a voice real coarse.
+
+  The strange boat glided swiftly on,
+    Like a ghost on phantom wings,
+  While the crisp sea breeze went dancing past
+    And through her rigging sings.
+
+  The strange boat slipped along, across
+    The briny billows white,
+  And their steamer ploughed and labored hard
+    Along its renewed flight.
+
+  It was a close and dangerous call,
+    Because the night was dark;
+  Had they collided there, on the ocean bare,
+    They'd went down with their bark.
+
+  The voyage, then, to Gotham
+    Was stormy and quite rough,
+  And all agreed, when landed,
+    That they had quite enough.
+
+  They then all took the railroad train
+    North, through the Empire State,
+  And soon were on the mountain side
+    Where Sadie met her fate.
+
+  The first place Sadie wished to see
+    Was graves of father and mother,
+  And tripping lightly from the yard,
+    She passed out with another.
+
+  That bitter morn, with memories fresh,
+    When from her home she'd fled,
+  She was scorned by one _now_ too glad
+    To lead her on ahead.
+
+  When she approached her mother's grave
+    The tears rolled thick and fast,
+  And by her side poor Sarah stood,
+    With memories of the past
+
+  A fitting through her guilty mind:
+    And then she spoke at last:
+  "Oh, Sadie, Sadie, what a blot
+    Upon my mother's past;
+
+  It stings within my guilty heart,
+    And would to God I now could part
+  With half the pain I feel--
+    The balm of Christ could scarcely heal."
+
+  She stooped, and silently did press
+    Her fresh and rosy lips
+  Upon the little mound of grass
+    "Beneath--dear mother sleeps."
+
+  Then Sarah, with most tender words,
+    Pressed Sadie to her breast
+  And with a fervent, heartfelt plea,
+    Prayed both them to be blest.
+
+  When they returned unto their home,
+    Their friendship sealed with silent love,
+  They could not bear to be alone;
+    They felt a power from up above.
+
+  Old friends and neighbors, with delight,
+    Called on the Doctor and his bride,
+  And there convened, on the first night,
+    A host of friends who're on their side.
+
+  There's one among them old and gray,
+    Who'd lived right there for all his life;
+  'Tis the elder man and sage, St. Lawrence,
+    And he smiles upon the Doctor's wife.
+
+  Heir to the Waddington estate,
+    Sadie reigns the queen of all;
+  Her friendship for Sarah was great,
+    And sister her did often call.
+
+  The Doctor chose to spend his life
+    Upon the handsome mountain side
+  With Sadie, his true loving wife,
+    And Father St. Lawrence until he died.
+
+  Time rolled around and months flew by;
+    Sadie and Sarah, hand in hand,
+  Sealed by the firmest friendship tie,
+    Two of the truest in the land.
+
+  There chanced to stroll from distant clime
+    A bright young man of Sadie's kin;
+  Came to visit in Summer time,
+    And Sarah was introduced to him.
+
+  Sadie tried her best to make a match,
+    And championed well her cause;
+  Sarah viewed it as a catch
+    That one very seldom draws.
+
+  Though 'twas but a short acquaintance,
+    Still the wedding time was fixed;
+  The intended groom had patience,
+    'Cause he felt he was not rich.
+
+  Sadie, sweet as dewy honey,
+    Wishing that her friends should wed,
+  Proffered home and lands and money
+    If the word would just be said.
+
+  "I am heir to all this fortune,
+    Known as Waddington's estate;
+  Come, now, Sarah; come, now, Hawthorne,
+    Join your hearts ere 'tis too late.
+
+  "I will give to you a large farm
+    Yonder on the mountain side;
+  I will give you kine and money,
+    If you'll be my cousin's bride."
+
+  Sarah spake, with dewy eyelids,
+    To the one she loved so dear:
+  "Sadie, I am anything but worthy
+    Of this princely gift, to cheer
+
+  "My poor broken, wicked heart,
+    After I have been so bad;
+  You should never take _my_ part,
+    Since _I_ took that which _you_ had."
+
+  Yet Sadie, true to her own passion,
+    Promised deed in fee for all,
+  If Sarah would wed her own cousin,
+    Ere the Summer ran to Fall.
+
+  So the wedding day was fixed
+    When the two should be made one,
+  And their home, as she predicted,
+    Would be deeded as their own.
+
+  When at last the nuptial greeting
+    Was received on every hand,
+  The sage, St. Lawrence, came to their meeting,
+    The last one left of their quartet band.
+
+  The wedding knot was duly tied,
+    And the folk were feeling gay;
+  They were now made happy groom and bride,
+    Starting out in life's pathway.
+
+  When the ceremony was over,
+    And the gifts they were bestowing--
+  Bridal gifts as sweet as clover--
+    Sadie, with her rich hair flowing,
+
+  Called the old 'Squire of the city
+    That to witness of her signing
+  The transfer of title fair,
+    To the land that lay up there;
+
+  When, to her surprise and chagrin,
+    Father St. Lawrence, with gentle voice,
+  Told her that she could not bargain,
+    For she had not even choice.
+
+  "Now, my daughter, not one farthing
+    Of this vast and rich estate
+  Has been left unto True's darling,
+    Now, I tell you, 'tis not too late.
+
+  "All this land you tho't was yours
+    By inheritance of your blood,
+  Was bequeathed by your dear father
+    To one you never thought he would".
+
+  Now, I've brought the Judge of Probate
+    As an honored guest of _mine_,
+  That he might reveal the truth,
+    That it might be writ in rhyme.
+
+  Then, to soothe the disappointment,
+    The old judge with silvery hair
+  Drew from 'neath his outer garment,
+    Two old papers kept with care.
+
+  One was read by him to Sadie,
+    Where her father had endowed
+  All his lands, and kine and money
+    On the one who made her proud.
+
+  When this document was ended,
+    And was handed to Trueman,
+  The old sage, St. Lawrence, pretended
+    That he enjoyed youth again.
+
+  "Read, Judge! read your other paper!
+    Tell my daughter here the truth;
+  Tell her what their anxious fathers
+    Did for them while in their youth."
+
+  When the document was ended,
+    With tears showering down her face,
+  Sadie, kisses, sweetly blended,
+    While she held him in embrace.
+
+  Long their fortunes had been blended
+    By the signatures alone
+  Of their fathers in their child days,
+    As they played around their home.
+
+  "True, my dear; O will you come here?
+    Sign this deed! Come quick, O do;
+  Carry out my simple wishes;
+    Sarah is my friend, so true."
+
+  "Yes, my darling, this with pleasure
+    I will do, to please you all;
+  It is my most pleasant leisure
+    To do bidding at your call."
+
+  So, the deed of gift was given,
+    And in happiness they'd start;
+  From that home they'd ne'er be driven,
+    Life anew to never part.
+
+  There in happiness and comfort
+    Did they live upon the place
+  Where the evil of proud passion
+    Smothered one in dire disgrace.
+
+  Happy was Salome and Trueman
+    When they saw their _protege_ safe
+  In the hands of Cousin Hawthorne,
+    On the Waddington old place.
+
+  Safe within the coils of homelife,
+    Safe within the cottage walls,
+  Safely with a trusting husband,
+    Safe within their friendly calls.
+
+  Thus the vengeance of our Hero
+    Was full spent to meet her theme;
+  Yet so different from a Nero,
+    Because she knew she could redeem.
+
+  Salome's revenge was to her sweet,
+    'Cause she'd conquered, not cut down;
+  Now she feared no one to meet,
+    Nor would any wear a frown.
+
+  Though some years had been so bitter,
+    And had fraught such cruel pain;
+  Now the coldest of the winter
+    Seemed like flowery beds of green.
+
+  Now, away up on the mountains,
+    In the well known Empire State,
+  Sadie Waddington is living
+    In sweet REVENGE, where she met fate.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A TRIBUTE TO CAPT. GEORGE W. HESS._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Almost a decade thou hast battled with a patriot's band,
+  Whose first duty is devotion to their native land;
+  And no comrade but is willing, with a ready mind,
+  To declare thee brave and loyal to all mankind.
+
+  In thy country's hour of peril, on the battle field,
+  Thou wert ever more than willing all her rights to shield,
+  And, with true and loyal purpose, battled for the right,
+  Till secession's traitorous banner sunk in endless night!
+
+  Duty's path to thee is glory, glory easy won;
+  For a task so oft repeated is quite easy done;
+  Yet no one can ever chide, for thy generous heart
+  Ne'er will crush the poor and helpless with oppression's dart.
+
+  Every prisoner knows and likes thee, for thy friendly ways
+  Must attract their close attention and excite their praise;
+  And the few who know thee better, as a man of heart,
+  Would desire no nobler mission than to take thy part.
+
+  May you live in peace and plenty, happy with your own,
+  Till Jehovah's love shall gather 'round His august throne
+  All who, like you, honest comrade, follows heaven's plan
+  And respects the rules of virtue and the rights of man.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_MY LAWYER._
+
+
+  When grappled in the law's embrace,
+  Who first betrayed an anxious face
+  And fain would shield me from disgrace?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who told me I should not confess,
+  That he would all my wrongs redress
+  And set me free from all distress?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  When, sick in jail, I senseless lay,
+  Who took my watch and case away,
+  Lest prowling thieves on me should prey?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who to my wealth tenacious clung,
+  And for me wagged his oily tongue,
+  And at my foes hot embers flung?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who told me he was dreadful smart
+  And knew the law-books all by heart,
+  And always took his client's part?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who, in the court, with peerless pride,
+  My rights affirmed, my guilt denied,
+  And swore the State's attorney lied?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  And when twelve men, in one compound,
+  For me a guilty verdict found,
+  Who came to stanch the bleeding wound?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who said my time within the wall
+  Would be exceeding brief and small,
+  The minimum, or none at all?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  And when the judge my doom proclaimed,
+  And three long years of exile named,
+  Who looked indignant and ashamed?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  When, at the sheriff's stern command,
+  I for the train was told to stand,
+  Who longest shook and squeezed my hand?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who, when he had me safe confined,
+  No more concerned his crafty mind,
+  Nor was, for me, to grief inclined?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who closed the mortgage on my lot,
+  And drove my family from my cot,
+  And left them homeless on the spot?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who, when of prison clothes I'm stripped,
+  And from these walls am homeward shipped,
+  Will get himself immensely whipped?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+[Written by Mr. George Gilbert, who died on the 9th of June, A. D.
+1890.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A SAD WARNING._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  In prison cell, at early twilight,
+    Smoking Foesters "Best Cigar,"
+  Sat a convict, little dreaming
+    Aught his perfect bliss could mar.
+
+  Round the cell-block, slowly ambling,
+    Came a "Screw," on mischief bent,
+  And his wide, expanded nostrils
+    Quickly inhaled the welcome scent.
+
+  Wave on wave, thro' latticed iron,
+    Smoky clouds rose thick and high,
+  And the happy convict murmured:
+    "Go, ye cloudlets, greet the sky!"
+
+  But the cloudlets, incense laden,
+    Lingered near the oaken floor,
+  Till the "Screw," with cat-like motion,
+    Stood before the smoker's door.
+
+  In the spittoon, charred and sputtering,
+    Lay the smoker's joy and pride;
+  And the "Screw," exultant, murmured:
+    "Stackhouse will _this case_ decide."
+
+  Morning dawned. The "cellar agent"
+    Bore the trembling wretch away
+  To a cellar, cold and gloomy,
+    Where the tools of torture lay.
+
+  Blows and shrieks alternate sounded,
+    And a voice from near the floor
+  Murmured: "Stackhouse! MERCY! MERCY!!
+    P-l-e-a-s-e, sir; _I will smoke no more_!"
+
+  From the cellar, shorn and shaven,
+    Skulked the cowering "con." away;
+  And he smokes--but, Oh! how watchful
+    Is that victim, who can say?
+
+  All ye inmates, take the warning,
+    Gushing from a brother's heart:
+  He who smokes within these portals
+    For the dire offense _may_ smart!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TO J. C. LANGENBERGER, CAPTAIN OF THE O. P. NIGHT
+WATCH._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Just to all men, to all men kind and true;
+
+  Conspicuous as a giant yet comely to the view;
+
+  Loved by all who know him, trusted everywhere;
+  Always more than willing to ease his fellow's care;
+  Never harsh or cruel, never false or base;
+  Going in and coming out among those in disgrace,
+  Earning from each prisoner's heart the meed of honest praise;
+  None condemn his actions, none despise his ways;
+  By his children reverenced, by his wife adored;
+  Every friend is welcome at his ample board;
+  Rich in all that makes a _man_, poor alone in hate;
+  God of Mercy bless the man who nightly guards our fate;
+  Ever may he fill the post that wisdom has assigned,
+  Ruling all, as now he does, by strength of heart and mind.
+
+
+
+
+_SHE LOVES ME YET._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Amid the cares and griefs of life,
+    One precious thought I'll ne'er forget,
+  I have a fond and faithful wife,
+    For darling Lulu loves me yet.
+
+  The bitterest pang that earth can give
+    Can never make my soul regret
+  The fact that I on earth can live,
+    While Lulu says she loves me yet.
+
+  The sweetest joy my heart could know
+    Would prove a diamond yet unset,
+  Whose radiant light could never glow,
+    Like this sweet thought, "She loves me yet."
+
+  Should grief deluge my troubled soul
+    Till every hour some care beset,
+  I could defy its stern control
+    While murmuring, "Lulu loves me yet."
+
+  Should every friend I have on earth
+    Each vow of loyalty forget,
+  I could survive the cruel blow,
+    Since darling Lulu loves me yet.
+
+  Should earth with one accord combine,
+    Sweet Lulu's influence to beset,
+  It would not change my constant mind,
+    If I but felt "She loves me yet."
+
+  I care no sweeter boon in life,
+    Nor will my heart its choice regret;
+  I only long to meet that wife
+    Who truly says she loves me yet.
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO HARRY SMITH._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  He is like the god, Appollo, when in days of old
+  All the hearts of Greece could conquer, yet despised their gold.
+  Rich in manhood, health and youth, he is ever free
+  Ready to assist his brother whatsoever his need may be.
+  You can trust him freely, fully, with your love or gold,
+
+  Since his love of truth and honor never can grow cold.
+  May he ever do his duty and to all be kind,
+  It is but the noble hearted who can rule the mind,
+  Trusting, still, his love of country and his love for man,
+  He may rest assured Heaven will endorse his plan.
+
+
+
+
+_THE PHANTOM BOAT._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Two lovers once sat dreaming
+  Of scenes o'ergrown by years;
+  Sweet Daisy's eyes were eloquent
+  With girlhood's pleading tears;
+  Her little hand was lying
+  Confidingly in mine,
+  While her silvery voice pleaded:
+  "Dear one, awake the Nine!"
+
+  "Yes, darling, I will rhyme for you;
+  What legend shall I drew!
+  Shall I now fold you in my arms
+  And, drifting down life's stream,
+  'Mid singing birds and nodding flowers,
+  Pour forth my soul in love--
+  In accents soft and tender--
+  As the cooing of a dove"?
+
+  Or shall I tell you, dearest one,
+  Why yonder's rippling stream
+  First gained the name "Tululah"
+  In an age that's now a dream?
+  Well, now, pillow your head upon my breast,
+  The legend is weird and wild;
+  I fear me much its harrowing scenes
+  Will shock, thee, gentle child.
+
+  Will you listen, while we're watching
+  For the far-famed Phantom Boat?
+  Perhaps the tale will lead us
+  To catch the first faint note
+  Of Tululah's wondrous music
+  As she floats down this stream,
+  For, I assure you, darling,
+  This legend is no dream.
+
+  Where now we sit, in days gone by,
+  The stealthy panther crept,
+  And bears and wolves in horrid hordes
+  Their tireless vigils kept;
+  Turkey, deer and beaver
+  Were scattered far and wide,
+  And here the lordly savage stalked
+  _In all his pristine pride_;
+
+  The Creeks then ruled this forest,
+  From Suwanee to the sea;--
+  A haughty, bold and cruel race,
+  Cunning, treacherous, wild and free!
+  To hunt and fish, and boast and fight
+  Were the duties of a brave,
+  While woman--alas! sweet woman
+  Was but a cowering slave!
+
+  No grant had she to breathe her wrongs
+  Before the "Council Fire,"
+  Nor dared she utter a single word
+  To gain her heart's desire,
+  Until her savage master
+  First gave her leave to speak;
+  Nor dared she then to brave his will
+  Lest he his vengeance wreak!
+
+  Yet ever and anon there rose
+  A woman, whose proud soul
+  Ignored those self-created gods
+  And spurned their base control.
+  Such was the brave Tululah,
+  Whose spirit haunts this stream;
+  In a phantom barge it glides along,
+  Like a wraith in a troubled dream.
+
+  'Tis said she haunts this river,
+  Alone on a misty night,
+  And that each one who sees her
+  Is 'palled with strange affright!
+  And why she haunts this river
+  Is the burden of my tale,
+  And none who have a tender heart
+  But will her fate bewail.
+
+  Tululah was Ocala's child,
+  To whom the Creeks ascribe
+  The name of the boldest leader
+  That ever led their tribe!
+  A savage of herculean build,
+  With fierce and restless eye,
+  His haughty lip deigned not to smile,
+  And scorned to breathe a sigh!
+
+  Tululah was his pride and joy,
+  The only thing he loved on earth,
+  Since she became an orphan
+  At the fatal hour of birth!
+  The superstitious savage
+  Deemed her mother's spirit nigh,
+  And thought, who harmed an orphan,
+  By a spirit hand should die!
+
+  She was born, too, "In a Castle,"
+  Gifted with a "second sight;"
+  Friends of earth, and sea, and air,
+  At _her_ command would fight.
+  Her raven locks and soulful eyes,
+  Her faultless form and peerless face,
+  And voice of wondrous melody
+  Awed and charmed her race.
+
+  She reigned an undisputed Queen,
+  _All_ her mandate must obey;
+  And even the fierce Ocala
+  Was obedient to her sway.
+  Yet even she was powerless
+  To stay the raging flood
+  Of tireless, deathless savage hate
+  That sought the white man's blood.
+
+  Ocala's hatred of the whites
+  Was known both far and near;
+  Brave hunters spake his name with awe,
+  And women in trembling fear!
+  At last he grew so treacherous
+  No white man dared come nigh,
+  Till a trio of gallant hunters
+  Determined _he should die_!
+
+  They knew 'twas a dangerous mission
+  On which their steps was bent,
+  Yet the prayers of honest settlers
+  Their true hearts courage lent.
+  As they neared the sleeping village,
+  Where Ocala awaited his doom,
+  They flitted like weird spectres
+  In the silent midnight gloom!
+
+  There, spread before their vision,
+  Five hundred wigwams lay;
+  A savage guerdon of defense
+  For him they sought to slay.
+  To the silent village center
+  Our gallant hunters crept,
+  To the door of the largest wigwam,
+  Where proud Ocala slept.
+
+  Stepping across the prostrate form
+  Of the sentinel at the door,
+  They breathed a prayer for absent ones,
+  Whom they might see no more.
+  Three knives flashed in midnight air,
+  Then fell with a sickening thud,
+  Ocala, Napoleon of his tribe,
+  Lay withering in his blood!
+
+  But hark! what means that fierce warhoop,
+  Resounding loud and clear?
+  'Tis the bugle blast that calls each brave
+  When the paleface foe is near!
+  Gathering fast in the midnight gloom,
+  They form "The Circle of Death"
+  Around the dauntless hunters,
+  Who stand with bated breath
+
+  Awaiting the savage onslaught,
+  Determined to sell their lives
+  To the service of their country
+  And the freedom of men's wives;
+  While pitying Heaven aids them
+  By the darkness of the night,
+  Since not a star will lend its aid
+  To guide their foes aright!
+
+  Now facing North, and East, and West,
+  They meet the savage foes,
+  Recruiting Charon's army
+  By every lusty blow;
+  But still they come in hideous swarms,
+  Like hounds let loose from hell,
+  Till, overborne by numbers,
+  Our bleeding heroes fell!
+
+  All honor to the gallant three,
+  Twelve braves in silence lay,
+  With gaping wounds and stony eyes,
+  To greet returning day!
+  While yet a score were nursing
+  Wounds which these heroes gave,
+  That signed their right to enter
+  Into an unwept grave!
+
+  Ocala ne'er again would scourge
+  Their country, far and near,
+  Nor wring from helpless innocence
+  An unavailing tear!
+  His death alone destroyed the boast
+  And stilled the raging flood
+  Of senseless pride and passion
+  That bathed his hands in blood!
+
+  But, alas, for human prowess,
+  These deeds but roused the ire
+  Of savage wretches, who now tried
+  To vent their spleen _with fire_!
+  Three stakes were now erected
+  And fagots heaped around,
+  While painted fiends in human shape
+  Exultant, sat aground.
+
+  They led the helpless captives forth,
+  With many a shout and hoot,
+  And drug them to their awful doom,
+  Less feeling than a brute!
+  And first they bound Hugh Cannon,
+  Whose descendants, love, you know,
+  I pointed out to you, last Fall,
+  When we were at the show.
+
+  They bound him to the cruel stake
+  Before his comrades' eyes,
+  Then scornfully they bade them mark
+  "How a paleface coward dies!"
+  Thank God his captors were deceived,
+  He smiled amid the flame!
+  And, with his fast expiring breath,
+  These words bequeathed to fame:
+
+  "To suffer in a noble cause
+  Is sweet beyond compare!
+  These greedy flames that lick my blood
+  But light a vision fair,
+  Where heroism and heroes sweep
+  The still resounding lyre,
+  Heaven's harmonies have quenched
+  The tortures of this fire!
+
+  "Tumultuous raptures 'round me roll
+  Heaven's pearly gates ajar!
+  My spirit soars on fleshless wing
+  Beyond the faintest star!
+  Oh, blissful death; oh, vision fair,
+  What sweet celestial glories shine,
+  The loved and lost of earlier years
+  Are _now_ forever mine!"
+
+  The savage horde in silence stood
+  And listened as he sang,
+  While even their untaught eyes could see
+  He suffered not a pang!
+  No yell triumphant smote his ear,
+  Awe silenced every tongue,
+  And many a heart beat faster
+  As he his requiem sung.
+
+  Then lionhearted Conway,
+  Beneath whose eagle eye
+  Even savage foes once trembled
+  Was offered up to die!
+  Defiant still 'mid writhing flames,
+  He heaped on them his scorn,
+  And, with true prophetic voice
+  He doomed their race unborn.
+
+  "Rejoice! rejoice! ye howling fiends,
+  Distort your hideous face,
+  Soon the white man's wrath shall sweep
+  From earth your blood-stained race,
+  While shining fields and cities fair
+  Attest the white man's power,
+  You accursed Creeks shall be
+  Tradition's useless dower!"
+
+  Now comes your own ancestor,
+  The gallant, brave McCray,
+  Who planned this glorious campaign
+  And led the awful fight.
+  He was a perfect Hercules,
+  Cast in Apollo's mould,
+  With a heart of witching tenderness,
+  Yet proud and dauntless soul.
+
+  Oft had he visited this tribe,
+  On peaceful mission bent,
+  And to many a savage
+  His kind assistance lent.
+  Yet little dreamed he, at this hour,
+  One heart amid that throng
+  Still beat responsive to his own,
+  Attuned to love's mad song!
+
+  Yet, as they bound him to the stake
+  And raised the flaming brand,
+  The Chief that held it fell a corpse,
+  Killed by a woman's hand!
+  And Indian maiden loosed his bands
+  And raised her voice on high:
+  "Who harms my paleface lover
+  By Tululah's hand shall die!"
+
+  Behold, the savage concourse stand,
+  Transfixed by silent awe,
+  And gaze upon Ocala's child,
+  Held sacred by their law!
+  They feared Ocala's spirit
+  Might _then_ be hovering nigh;
+  Nor dared to harm his darling child,
+  Lest he who harmed her die!
+
+  The Queen, with head and form erect,
+  Bore McCray undismayed,
+  And in her _father's_ wigwam
+  Her wounded lover laid!
+  Then bending gently o'er him,
+  Each wound she rightly dress,
+  And with sweet plaintive melodies
+  Lured the weary one to rest.
+
+  At dawning light McCray awoke,
+  His Queen still lingering there;
+  His eyes bespoke his gratitude,
+  His lips were moved in prayer
+  For the lithe and graceful maiden
+  Whose love he knew to be
+  Pure as early morning's blush,
+  Yet deathless as--Eternity!
+
+  Although once failed, his savage foes
+  Still thirsted for his blood;
+  The hate within their bosoms
+  Was as tireless as a flood.
+  Not daring open violence,
+  They sought Oneida's craft,
+  And 'neath the guise of friendship
+  Gave the lovers a sleeping draught.
+
+  When the mighty god of slumber
+  Had locked them fast in sleep,
+  The wily savage entered,
+  His fearful oath to keep.
+  They took McCray to the river
+  In sight of these roaring falls,
+  Whose sheer descent--two hundred feet--
+  The stoutest heart appalls!
+
+  They bound him fast in a frail canoe,
+  Set adrift 'mid the current's flow,
+  Believing his life would be dashed out
+  On the jagged rocks below.
+  Then, gladly turning homeward,
+  A ready lie they make
+  To appease her burning anger
+  When Tululah shall awake!
+
+  Slowly the doomed man drifted,
+  Yet faster, at each breath,
+  The quickening current bore him
+  To the open gates of death!
+  Yet still he slept; aye, slept and dreamed
+  Of the proud Creek's peerless flower
+  Who, for deathless love of him,
+  Had braved her nation's power.
+
+  Spurned her murdered siris corpse
+  And to his murderer clung!
+  Aye, on the spot that drank his blood,
+  Love's soothing ditties sung!
+  Dreamed of the eyes that flashed with fire
+  When his foeman dared draw nigh,
+  Yet softened into tenderness
+  At her lover's faintest sigh.
+
+  Dreams of the hand that sped the dart
+  That pierced the chieftain's breast,
+  Yet with such witching tenderness
+  Could tremble in caress!
+  Dreams of the heart that proudly braved
+  A nation's deadly hate,
+  Yet, at a lover's first command,
+  Would brook a martyr's fate!
+
+  Dreams of the hour when Tululah,
+  Who so bravely saved his life,
+  Shall desert her baffled kinsman
+  To become a white man's wife!
+  Dreams how he would love and prize her,
+  Shielding her with tenderest care,
+  Spending time, and life, and fortune
+  But to grant her lightest prayer.
+
+  But his dream is rudely broken,
+  And his blanched lip loudly calls,
+  For he hears the well known rumbling
+  Of this river's awful falls.
+  Life was sweet, death was so near,
+  And he so young to die!
+  No wonder that his trembling lips
+  Sought mercy from on high.
+
+  He bore ten thousand tortures
+  With every passing breath,
+  As he lay bound and helpless,
+  Gliding swiftly on to death.
+  He raised his clarion voice
+  Above the deafening roar;
+  Great heavens! can a human cry
+  Reach that resounding shore?
+
+  "Yes! Yes!" a once familiar voice
+  Calls loudly from that shore,
+  And a well known trapper woos time
+  To life and hope once more!
+  By an effort, born of hope renewed,
+  McCray sprang to his feet;
+  The trapper saw, his lariat flew,
+  His outstretched hands to greet.
+
+  "_Steady!_" the practical huntsman cried:
+  "Your peril is almost o'er;
+  Steady, for in a moment
+  Your foot shall press the shore!"
+  Then, as he drew the skiff ashore,
+  He recognized McCray,
+  But gazed in silent wonder
+  _For late raven locks were grey_!
+
+  And never, to his dying day,
+  Would McCray view the place
+  Where, in suspended agony,
+  He met death face to face!
+  He shuddered at an Indian's name,
+  And soon forgot the Queen,
+  Who once so bravely saved him
+  From a nation's senseless spleen.
+
+  He wooed and won a maiden
+  Whose blue eyes, like your own,
+  Held within their liquid depths,
+  Love's nectarine full blown,
+  And as I press your luscious lips
+  I praise thee, brave McCray,
+  Whose dauntless courage gave to me
+  The girl I hold today!
+
+  Oh, yes; forgive me, darling,
+  I did almost forget;
+  But how can mortal silence keep
+  By such sweet eyes beset?
+  Grant me the boon of one more kiss
+  And gaze into my face;
+  Light fancy by your radiant eyes,
+  Tululah's fate to trace!
+
+  Still let the pressure of your hand
+  Chain me in rapture to the earth,
+  For I must offer thoughts tonight
+  That ne'er before had birth!
+  No idle dreamer dares to pierce
+  The mystery of this stream,
+  Nor would I dare the bold emprise
+  Save that your wish I deem
+
+  The highest law my loving heart
+  Can now or ever know,
+  And 'neath the witchery of your smile
+  My raptured numbers glow!
+  My fancy soars on eager wing,
+  And will, perhaps, at last,
+  Gladly at your high behest
+  Unfold the misty past!
+
+  Tululah slept till evening shades
+  Had deepened into night,
+  And woke, alas! to find herself
+  Bereft of her brave knight.
+  Her Indian wit soon taught her
+  Oguchu was to blame,
+  And hastily she found him,
+  Her eyes and cheeks aflame!
+
+  "Oguchu knows your mission;
+  Your paleface lover fled
+  While Tululah's starlit eyes
+  Were wandering 'mid the dead.
+  He is not worthy of your love;
+  Let my sister choose a mate;
+  Oguchu's lodge is open,
+  Will my sister spurn her fate?"
+
+  "My paleface lover is a brave!"
+  Tululah proudly cried;
+  "_He_ never fled from friend or foe,
+  Oguchu, thou hast lied!
+  Thy double tongue is poison-tipped,
+  Thy words a coward's dart,
+  Before I clasp thy loathsome form
+  Let panthers rend my heart!
+
+  "Speak, coward, speak! where is my brave?
+  Tululah asks you where;
+  Speak, lest I summon by a word
+  The friends of earth and air
+  To tear your quivering limbs apart,
+  You lying, treacherous chief.
+  Speak the truth! you Indian dog,
+  The night is growing brief!"
+
+  The awestruck chief is conquered,
+  And tells, with bated breath,
+  Where last he saw him drifting,
+  Into the jaws of death!
+  Tululah heard, and wild despair
+  Hurled reason from her throne.
+  Low at her feet the wretches crouched,
+  Their treachery to atone!
+
+  "Up! Up, you cowards! Up, you knaves!
+  And lead me to the place.
+  Tululah's hand shall save him yet
+  Or curse your coward race!
+  'Tis mine to speak; yours, to obey;--
+  I am your Virgin Queen:--
+  I _swear_ to save my lover
+  Or _nevermore_ be seen!"
+
+  They led her to the river,
+  And, pointing to the place,
+  They stood like criminals abashed
+  Before the judge's face.
+  She spurned their pleading counsel,
+  And, springing in a boat,
+  She cast the oars from her
+  And set the skiff afloat!
+
+  Then, as she gazed adown the stream,
+  Her eyes were all aglow
+  With that deep yearning passion
+  Such hearts alone can know.
+  While sitting in the boat erect,
+  With an Indian's willowy grace,
+  She sang in tuneful numbers
+  A song time can't efface:
+
+  "I am coming, coming, coming,
+    Slowly drifting down the stream,
+  While my heart is yearning, yearning
+    For the idol of love's dream.
+
+  "I have left them--left them--left them!
+    Farewell, treacherous Indian race;
+  I can hear him calling, calling,
+    And I go to seek his face.
+
+  "Now I'm gliding, gliding, gliding!
+    And I hear the awful roar
+  Of the waters tumbling, tumbling,
+    Where no boat will need an oar!
+
+  "Now I'm rushing, rushing, rushing!
+    And the spray obscures my sight;
+  The angry waters leaping, leaping,
+    Chill me with a strange affright.
+
+  "Oh, I see him! see him--see him,
+    And I welcome death's alarms!
+  Oh! I'm swiftly falling, falling,
+    And I spring into his arms!"
+
+  Not a trace of boat or maiden
+  Could the savage searchers find,
+  And they fled the spot in terror,
+  Daring not to look behind!
+  Nor would they tarry near the river,
+  But moved their wigwam's far away;
+  No savage Creek would linger
+  Near the spot by night and day.
+
+  And tradition says her spirit
+  May be seen on nights like this,
+  When the heavy moon, mist-laden,
+  Greets the river with a kiss!
+  Not in vain will be our vigil
+  If Tululah knows tonight
+  In your precious veins is flowing
+  Genuine blood of her brave knight!
+
+  Look!  Look! 'mid the river's silvery sheen
+  Tululah's Phantom Boat is seen,
+  While the air vibrates like a quivering lyre,
+  Touched by the hands of an angel Choir!
+  Oh, wondrous music soft and low,
+  Like rippling streamlets' gentle flow!
+  Oh, pathos laden, heart refrain,
+  No mortal lips can breathe that strain!
+
+  Immortal love! not even death
+  Can damp thy flame or chill thy breath!
+  Nay, while eternal ages roll,
+  'Tis thine to feed the hungry soul
+  With manna dipped in passion's fire,
+  True birthright of the heart's desire;
+  Blest food no mortal lips can take
+  And fail enrapturing bliss to wake!
+
+  Heaven's corner-stone, earth's chief delight.
+  Tululah's captive soul tonight
+  Is but living o'er the dream
+  Thou didst create beside this stream.
+  Her hapless fate all must deplore,
+  Self-sacrificed in days of yore;
+  And, could Tululah live again,
+  At least one heart would soothe her pain!
+
+  The legend may be overdrawn,
+  Yet 'tis not all a dream!
+  Nor will you ever say again:
+  "This is no haunted stream!"
+  Other eyes beside our own
+  Have seen the Phantom Boat,
+  And other ears than ours have heard
+  That wild, weird? music float!
+
+  But, precious little darling,
+  As I strain thee to my breast,
+  I am conscious you are weary,
+  Thus deprived of needful rest.
+  Let us hasten to thy cottage,
+  Parting with a lingering kiss;
+  Little Daisy, then, can slumber
+  And awake in perfect bliss!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_AN INITIAL ACROSTIC._
+
+
+  Hear, O hear the melting music pouring from inspired hearts!
+  In the race of life they stumbled, victims of temptation's darts.
+  Ruin's billows them engulfing, all their hopes and joys to blight;
+  And the scorpion lash of conscience scourges them by day and night!
+  Man has doomed them to a prison where shame's torrents hourly roll
+
+  Pouring every known affliction on the crushed and bleeding soul!
+  Every legal right has perished, every social tie is snapped!
+  Crushing Force is ever present, body mind and soul entrapped!
+  Kindness is a total stranger, human treatment rarely shown,
+
+  Man _is_ faultless when his fellow for a fault must needs atone!
+  Can such beings know the rapture Heaven decrees to poet souls?
+
+  Know they where to place the cymbals of the sounding lyre
+  Never yet has human malice stilled the music of the spheres!
+  In _the loathesome prison dungeon Heaven the sweetest music hears!_
+  Guilt or shame, or human anger, ne'er can fold the poet's wings.
+  Howsoever deep his anguish, still his heart exultant sings--
+  Tunes his lyre, still triumphant, and to you these pages brings!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO
+
+DR. H. R. PARKER._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  He towers above his fellow men, like some grand knight of old.
+  Endeavoring to right all wrong with spirit bold and free!
+  No craven fear usurps his soul, no task his spirit quails.
+  Religion to his soul is _love_, and love no wrong entails!
+  Ye who love eternal right and wish your fellows well
+
+  Refuse him not the meed of praise--'tis his our aches to quell!
+  Each heart within these prison walls that tests his wondrous skill
+  Unites to sing his praises and bless his generous will.
+  By kindly words he cheers the soul of those whom dread disease
+  Envelops in her mystic folds and gives each patient ease.
+  Naught caring for their praise or blame, he steers his course aright,
+
+  Proving duty, well performed, is matchless in its might.
+  And, tho' but a youth in years, his well instructed mind
+  Reveals all pathologic truth and practice well combined.
+  Kindly may the fates decree that he may rise to fame,
+  Ever free, as he is now, from error and from shame.
+  Refuse him naught of happiness and bless his honored name!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_LINES TO MY WIFE._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Years and years have passed away
+    Since last we met, my darling wife;
+  Oft have I felt the tooth of pain
+    Gnaw at the vitals of my life.
+
+  The brow thy hand has oft caressed
+    With such sweet, hypnotic power,
+  The lines of care and grief has traced
+    And wrinkled, like a withered flower.
+
+  The dark brown locks you loved so well,
+    Now interspersed with silver thread,
+  Shows plainly that the march of time
+    Has left its footprints on my head.
+
+  The deep gray eyes that once could flash
+    With passion's fire, or melt in love,
+  Have lost the wanted fires of youth,
+    Like some poor offcast, limpsy glove.
+
+  Yet in my breast there beats a heart
+    That never will nor can grow old;
+  Thy image keeps its pulses warm
+    With love that never shall grow cold.
+
+  Thy grace and beauty won that heart
+    Long years ago, when thou wert young:
+  Thy gentle, generous, faithful care
+    Has bred a love I cannot tongue.
+
+  Heaven can grant no sweeter bliss,
+    To crown the evening of my life,
+  Than Iulu's sweet, enraptured kiss,
+    When time restores me to my wife.
+
+
+
+
+_OUT OF THE DEPTHS._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  In a cell of rock and iron,
+  Where remorse and shame environ,
+  Sat a convict sadly dreaming--
+  Dreaming of the days of yore.
+  Dreamed he of a land of flowers
+  Where, amid Love's smiling bowers,
+  He had spent such happy hours,
+  To memory ne'er so sweet before.
+  And he softly, fondly questioned:
+      "Shall I know such bliss once more?"
+      Hope made answer, "_Yes, once more!_"
+  In a home which love had founded,
+  Now by grief and care surrounded,
+  Sat a wife and mother, weeping,
+      Weeping for her prisoned swain.
+  Wept she o'er fate's mad endeavor,
+  That such loving hearts could sever,
+  With a blow, that seemed to never
+  Lose its agonizing pain;
+  And her cry arose to heaven:
+      "Father, shall we meet again?"
+      Mercy answered, "Once again."
+  Ope those doors of latticed iron,
+  Lift the clouds that now environ;
+  Faithfulness shall be rewarded--
+      Love the victory hath won.
+  Learn that I, your God, am heeding
+  Prayers that rise from hearts now bleeding,
+  And my hand is ever leading,
+      Tho' the clouds obscure the sun.
+  Bows my heart in adoration--
+      Shall my lips repeat Amen?
+      Hope and faith repeat! "Amen."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ELLA REE'S REVENGE._
+
+
+  Beside Saluda's silver stream,
+  Where flowers nod and poets dream,
+  A cabin stood, in days gone by,
+  Whose history should never die.
+
+  Here lived and led a blameless life,
+  Brave Hayward and his peerless wife,
+  With three sweet pledges of that love,
+  Cradled on earth, but born above.
+
+  Surrounding them, on every hand,
+  Was the Red man's native land.
+  No paleface, save themselves, ever dared
+  To live in wild these Indians shared.
+
+  Treacherous alike in peace and war,
+  The Seminole obeyed no law
+  Save one he spake with bated breath:
+  "Traitors shall die a coward's death!"
+
+  The haughty chief who led this tribe,
+  Fear could not daunt nor favor bribe;
+  And this lone settler, living here,
+  Knew white man never dared come near.
+
+  He Caucanoe's heart had won
+  By a kindness nobly done,
+  In rescuing from a watery grave
+  The favorite child of this fierce brave.
+
+  A frail canoe--swamped in mid stream:
+  A father's cry--a maiden's scream;
+  A hunter bearing a maid ashore,
+  A volume writ would tell no more.
+
+  "The land beside this murmuring stream
+  Thy future home, brave paleface, deem,
+  And on Caucanoe's word depend,
+  No Indian dares molest my friend!"
+
+  "Yours 'twas to save Caucanoe's pride,
+  Mine be it to protect your bride;
+  If here a future you would seek,
+  I listen: Let my brother speak."
+
+  "Great Chief! your words, so kind and true,
+  Fall on my ears like evening dew;
+  Ere the buds begin to swell
+  Your brother 'mid your tribe shall dwell."
+
+  So Hayward built, with eager haste,
+  As best befits a woman's taste,
+  A cabin palace, reared by art,
+  Each room as secret as your heart.
+
+  Here they lived and tilled the ground,
+  The happiest pair for miles around;
+  The Indians swarmed around their door
+  With useful gifts to swell their store.
+
+  Caucanoe often sought their door
+  And played with the children, o'er and o'er.
+  He brought them many a curious toy,
+  Their happy childhood to employ.
+
+  The winsome sprite, who sat on his knee,
+  Pleased him most of the guileless three;
+  Her limped eyes and golden hair
+  Caucanoe thought divinely fair.
+
+  As the happy years flew swiftly by,
+  Beneath Caucanoe's watchful eye,
+  Paralee grew, with rapid pace,
+  Into a maid of faultless grace.
+
+  Caucanoe loved this lovely child
+  With a passion fierce, and deep, and wild,
+  Yet hopeless, he feared, that love would be,
+  Since naught could bridge the raging sea
+
+  Of racial and tribal pride,
+  That lay between them, deep and wide;
+  And well he knew another's soul
+  Brooked naught on earth save his control.
+
+  King Ulca's daughter, the proud Ella Ree,
+  Graceful and lithe as a willow tree,
+  With eyes and hair like the raven's wing,
+  And voice as soft as the babbling spring,
+
+  Had sought him for her wigwam brave,
+  Weeping o'er his late wife's grave;
+  And well he knew the tears she shed,
+  By tribal law their bodies wed.
+
+  True love for her he could not feel,
+  Yet such a fact dared not reveal;
+  His squaw she was alone in name
+  And never to his wigwam came.
+
+  Another love, oh, fateful thought!
+  With direful misery doubly fraught,
+  Surged and tossed within his soul
+  Until it spurned his late control.
+
+  At last he sought her much loved side
+  And begged her to become his bride.
+  The maiden heard and laughed outright,
+  And thus let loose the fiends of night
+
+  That of late had lain at rest
+  Within Caucanoe's savage breast.
+  Now, naught could stay this rising ire
+  Save to light the Council Fire.
+
+  At last among his braves he stood,
+  Like some monarch of the wood;
+  While burning words flowed from his tongue,
+  That showed how deep his heart was wrung.
+
+  The Council heard and thus decreed:
+  "Our land from paleface dogs be freed.
+  Tomorrow night the proud paleface
+  Shall rue Caucanoe's late disgrace!"
+
+  "'Tis well," the haughty chief replied;
+  "Who scorns to be Caucanoe's bride
+  Shall feel a living flame of fire
+  Quench the last spark of life's desire!"
+
+  But, ere the morrow's sun had set,
+  Awakening love brought deep regret.
+  Love fought the savage till he fell,
+  And Pity's tears began to well.
+
+  He crept the cabin light within,
+  And there confessed his double sin.
+  "'Tis done," he cried, "you shall not die;
+  The boat is ready; up, and fly!
+
+  "Saluda's stream shall guide you right,
+  Caucanoe lays to die tonight!
+  Once you are free, I die content.
+  Nor deem the blow untimely sent."
+
+  The boat has left the silent shore,
+  And Hayward tugs at the muffled oar;
+  The craft sweeps on, like a thing of life,
+  Impelled by the prayers of a weeping wife.
+
+  Caucanoe stood on the bank hard by,
+  With heaving breast and tear-dimmed eye,
+  That proved a hero's soul could rest
+  In the natural dome of a savage breast.
+
+  The flashing oars in the moonlight pale
+  Give forth no sound and leave no trail;
+  Naught is heard save the breath
+  Of the fleeing ones in their race with death.
+
+  Hark! What means that frightful yell?
+  'Tis a cry of triumph, born of hell;
+  Their savage foe, long under way,
+  At last have seen their wanted prey.
+
+  They see the foe and wildly fly
+  The flashing oars, till they almost fly;
+  "We'll yet be saved," brave Hayward spoke,
+  But his oars shivered beneath his stroke.
+
+  He sprang to his feet, with ashen face,
+  And his trusty rifle flew to its place;
+  A maddening yell from the savage crew
+  Proved the ball to the mark had straightway flew.
+
+  Six times his trusty rifle spoke;
+  Each time an Indian skull it broke.
+  His gallant sons stood near their sire
+  And reinforced his deadly fire!
+
+  Their doom was sealed. The savage horde
+  Soon reached their bark and sprang aboard;
+  Yet scorned they even then to yield,
+  While strength was left a knife to wield.
+
+  Each one dared a hero's part;
+  Each knife it sought a savage heart,
+  Nor did they cease to bathe in gore
+  Till they sank beneath to rise no more.
+
+  Paralee and her mother lay
+  To savage hands an early prey;
+  For neither knew, nor felt they ought,
+  Of what they did or what they sought,
+
+  Since terror and alarm, too deep,
+  Had locked their senses all in sleep.
+  Alas! that they should ever wake:
+  Returning senses meant the stake.
+
+  Soon homeward with the living dead
+  The savage horde in triumph sped;
+  And bore to haunts of Ella Ree
+  The paleface foe she longed to see.
+
+  Better for Paralee had she died
+  Amid the battle's raging tide.
+  "Not wounded tigress in her lair
+  More dangerous than a jealous fair!"
+
+  Assembled around the Council Fire,
+  With haughty mien and rising ire,
+  Each chief was ready to relate
+  His own exploit or vent his hate.
+
+  Safely bound by cruel thong,
+  In the center of the throng,
+  The captives sat in silent dread,
+  Envying none except the dead.
+
+  "Brothers! the paleface Ella Ree,
+  Whose words from guile are always free,
+  Will tell you all you need to know.
+  Who scorns _her_ words must brave my blow!"
+
+  Thus Ulca spake, then glared around
+  With a mighty monarch's haughty frown,
+  "That held his hearers more in awe
+  Of his dread prowess than his law."
+
+  "Chief! Warriors! Braves in battle tried,
+  Your blood Saluda's stream has dyed;
+  Your brothers sleep no more to wake!
+  Will _you_ sit by nor vengeance take?"
+
+  "A traitor warned the doomed paleface;
+  Shall _he_ yet live to brave our race?
+  How the white lily wrought the spell,
+  Caucanoe, and not I, must tell!"
+
+  "Caucanoe does not fear to die!
+  'Twas he that bade the paleface fly;
+  Let these women now be set free;
+  Vent your hate alone on me."
+
+  "Paralee I loved, and her alone;
+  Mine was the fault--let me atone.
+  Ella Ree, herself, shall light the fire
+  And chant around my funeral pyre."
+
+  "Loose the captive! Raise the stake!
+  It shall be thus," brave Ulca spake.
+  "If love shall brave the cruel flame,
+  Yon captives go from whence they came."
+
+  In haste they reared the ready stake,
+  And bade the Chief his place to take.
+  He lightly stepped in proper place,
+  A conquering smile upon his face.
+
+  The signal given--a lighted brand--
+  Ella Ree raised with trembling hand,
+  Yet begged Caucanoe not to die,
+  But to her willing arms to fly.
+
+  Pardon was his, both full and free,
+  As the proud brave of Ella Ree;
+  The hated captives should atone
+  For all blood spilt, and they alone!
+
+  Caucanoe frowned and thus replied:
+  "If Ella Ree would be my bride,
+  Let her light the fire and stand
+  Here beside me, hand in hand."
+
+  Forward she sprang--the torch applied,
+  Even in death a happy bride!
+  Saluda's stream is never free
+  From the dying chant of Ella Ree!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_THE MURDERER'S DREAM._
+
+
+  Ye glittering stars! how fair ye shine tonight.
+  And, oh, thou modest moon! thy silvery light
+  Comes streaming through these iron bars before me.
+  How clear and silent is this lovely night!
+  How quiet and how bright!
+  I nothing hear, nor aught can hear
+  Me when I speak, but stone and iron that I fear;
+  I, shunned by all, as if alone I'd go to Hell;
+  I, alone in chains! Ah, me, the cruel spell
+  That brought me here. Heaven could not cheer me
+  Within these cursed walls--within this dark and dreary cell,
+  This gloomy, cold, and solitary Hell.
+
+  And thou, O Time! the only thing that's not my foe--
+  O Time! O Time! thou passeth on so slow,
+  Keeping my soul in terror, in bondage, and in woe;
+  Was I to blame? I was, they say; they say 'tis so.
+  Oh, God! will this deep crimson, aye, black stain
+  My nervous system always strain!
+  Will my foul crime forever haunt my brain?
+  Must I live here in earthly fear, and never, never hear
+  The sweetest voice to me of all, I've heard not for a year?
+  Must I this torture feel, year after year?
+  Live, die in Hell, and yet a Paradise so near?
+  Wilt Thou, Oh, God! wilt Thou not hear? 'Tis I, 'tis I they all do fear.
+
+  Am I to Thee, O Christ, as dead? Thou who sought
+  The lonely prisoner in his dismal cell, and to him taught
+  The true and only law to govern man--Thy love,
+  Which can be only reached by prayer to Thee above?
+  In this cold and darkened cell, dost Thou reprove
+  My soul? Dost Thou doom it to endless misery?
+  Am I so wicked, sinful, that I cannot move
+  Thy loving kindness, to a slight reprove?
+  Ah, me, ah, me, 'tis love Thou sayest--love.
+  Canst I at this late day by full repentance see
+  The divine, the holy, ever cleansing love In Thee?
+  Canst Thou be Christ and have no love for me?
+
+  What, can it be that I am lost and'll never know thy bliss?
+  And for my cruel, wicked crime no joy above all this?
+  What, world of sin! What, never? Is my destiny Hell?
+  Is that my cruel sentence because in sin I fell?
+  Aye, I did fall! Into that dark and fathomless pit,
+  And now in Hell my soul has fell, and for Hell it is not fit:
+  Into that misery eternal, where nothing lives but all's infernal--
+  Is there my future--is it there?
+  My thoughts they burn my head, my heart 'twas, ah, 'twas dead--
+  But now it lives, and in my breast does burn:
+  Those pains, and, severe as they were, they flew, yes, flew away,
+  And being absent for awhile, remorse came in by day.
+
+  Oh, God, Oh, God, I am not fit for this infernal Hell!
+  Oh, mercy, mercy! my destiny, 'tis here that I must dwell.
+  Away! away! ye fiery fiends, I am among you now,
+  O Christ, O Savior of the sinner! To Satan must I bow?
+  Pray, take me back to earth again, and test me one and all,
+  And let me live anew my life and see if I will fall.
+  Test me, test me once again, let me hear the old church bell,
+  'Cause now I'm so much steeped in sin that I'm not fit for Hell.
+  Oh, horrors! horrors! hear the groans of tortured victims there,
+  Some young, and many are quite old, I know it by their hair!
+  Poor, poor, poor wretches, see them there, all bleeding and in chains;
+  I know they realize their fate, because they all have brains.
+
+  Is this the horrid, horrid place my mother taught was Hell?
+  Oh, see those brutal fiery fiends, they call them "Imps" you know,
+  And many an one has feared them here, because of sin he'd sown.
+  Just see the demons of the deep! Just hear their hellish tones!
+  Then floating back on brimstone air comes mocking, mocking groans.
+  See, see the devils how they dance, with brimstone torches how they
+                                                            prance;
+  What! can it be they look like men and 'stead of hearts they have but sin
+  And grinning hang around me? Oh, fearful, fearful fire of hell, what can
+                                                      it be within?
+  They sneer and stare at me! Go 'way, ye devils cooked in sin and crime!
+  I'm now in Purgatory waiting for the time
+  When by the law of a just God I'll be removed from here,
+  And by the law of Christ divine, of thee I'll have no fear.
+
+  Hark! List! From yonder corner comes loud cries,
+  Oh, let me hold my aching, bursting head!
+  They come from some poor wretch that dies,
+  And many an one may mourn him now as dead.
+  I see him! I see him! There he is! My murdered victim now
+  Appears before me. That is him! and to him I must bow.
+  Oh, his cries, his groans, they haunt me
+  To the bottom of my wicked heart. Can it be
+  That I must dwell forever in this wretched misery?
+  Horrors! See him now reach out his bony hand
+  To grasp me firmly by the throat and hold me like a band.
+  Take me, demons, if you please, take me into Hell!
+  Anything you choose may do--remove me from this cell!
+
+  My soul, my soul, awake! awake! They come! they come!
+  The devil's come to take--Old Satan, I am thine!
+  Away my soul will ever roll through torturing, scorching Hell,
+  And down into the blackest depths my soul is cast pell-mell.
+  Oh, what a fate for man to meet--speak, Satan! speak, I say!
+  And with your torturing, devilish deeds--my ruin! no delay!
+  What dumb! Old Satan, canst thou speak? Look here
+  And speak thy want! I'm now right crisp and hard in sin and haven't any
+                                                              fear.
+  Take me, demons! Take me, quick! I hear the awful knell
+  Of the roaring, moaning billows, and the bitterness of Hell.
+  Take me, Satan, take me! as my fate is firmly sealed,
+  While ye in Hades do wake me, and o'er me the batoon wield.
+
+  What! What! Am I mistaken? Was it only but a dream?
+  I, still living here on earth--oh, how real it all did seem.
+  Could I now just one chance have and in mercy be forgiven,
+  I would have respect for all and send prayers right up to heaven.
+  When on earth Christ did come to save sinners from their fate,
+  Any time they'd turn to Him they'd find 'twas not too late.
+  Holy Savior, heavenly dove, Thou who reigns supreme above!
+  Though in sin I have been dead, I am saved just by Thy love.
+  Could I only have good sight, that I could see my sad plight,
+  I would always to Thee cling, and to Thee cling with my might.
+  Now, to Thee let me give thanks, 'cause 'twas only a bad dream.
+  But its horrors to me cling, 'cause so real it all did seem.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO GOD'S MESSENGERS, CHAPLAIN AND MRS. C. L. WINGET._
+
+
+  Cyprian, the father of the orators' plan, a preacher, a priest and godly
+                                                               man;
+  You have been, by the good Lord sent, on the mission your heart is ever
+                                                              bent.
+  Passed through trials of life severe, God was good when He sent you here,
+  Right in the midst of a sweltering gang of sinners, corrupt on every
+                                                              hand.
+  I, for one, have watched you keen, and from you haven't an evil deed
+                                                              seen;
+  All has been so easy to see that your whole soul's bent on setting us
+                                                             free--
+  Not from earthly, bodily pains, but from our evil, and sin, and shame!
+
+  Lee was the second choice of name, she christened her son for Heavenly
+                                                              fame.
+  Each and every day she taught him ever sin to brave, till dear mother she
+                                            went down into an early
+                                                             grave.
+  Every day and every hour he tries to keep that august dower, and meet
+   her where there's endless time, in Heaven's pure and holy clime.
+
+  Winget came unto this place to save poor sinners by God's own grace;
+  In eloquence and heartfelt plea he's prayed for us on bended knee;
+  Nor has his pleading been in vain, because from us he's driven pain.
+  "God help the prisoner!" is his prayer, while lingering in this prison
+                                                              lair;
+  "Eternal justice may they have while life's hard struggle they do brave!"
+  "To God be praise! we see His face. God save the prisoner by Thy grace!"
+
+  Susan, his wife and better half, and one of God's own kind,
+  Upon each bright and sabbath morn she helps the text to find.
+  She's ever there, in the arm chair, through service and through song,
+  And with kindly smile she does beguile the prisoners from all wrong.
+  Nay--let us bow unto you now, thou noble, holy one, and may God speed for
+                     all your need for the good that you have done.
+
+  Gregory is an ancient name, to you it has been given:
+  Right down deep in your friendly heart is found the truth of Heaven
+  Each of us prisoners here confined for truth will e'er contend;
+  Go, search each heart! and then report if truth we'll not defend.
+  Onward, onward, upward, upward may your labors ever roll;
+  Reach out for poor fallen sinner, and your work we'll all extol:
+  Yet 'tis not too late to labor--God will answer, "Aye, extol!"
+
+  "Fair-child" of Heaven's august plan, how comest thou to wed yourself to
+                                                               Man?
+  A name is nothing but to designate, but, Oh--how often it does consecrate
+  In language pure and clear as diamond scale, while thou, Fair-child, we,
+                                                every one, do hail!
+  Real sympathy is not so strong a band as binds fair woman unto haughty
+                                                               man!
+  Come, hasten! now thy work be done, 'cause life's short race is almost
+                                                               run!
+  He whom thou wed so many years ago has been God's servant faithfully to
+                                                                 do
+  In words so full of just and holy writ, that in our chapel we do love to
+                                                               sit.
+  Love for your duty, kind to all you meet, faithful to your Master's cause
+                                     and a smile for all you greet.
+  Do by us as you have done and never do complain, because the work that
+                           you have done has not been done in vain!
+
+  "Winget" is the name you chose to support the once Fair-child.
+  In Christian mission go forth God's castles for to build;
+  Never forget the prisoner close locked in dungeon cell,
+  Go forth and teach to him The Life of the soul you love so well.
+  Each hour you spend in Christian work is never thrown away.
+  The Truth is known! you'll harvests reap in Heaven's golden day!
+
+
+
+
+_THE MIND IS THE STANDARD OF THE MAN._
+
+
+  In chains and shackles closely bound;
+    They say I am a prisoner;
+  Although in this small cell I'm found,
+    A prisoner I am not.
+  The door is made of iron bars,
+    The lock is large and strong,
+  But my mind soars free, up to the stars,
+    As if I'd done no wrong.
+  The mind of man is ever free,
+    By nature's law itself,
+  While this wicked, wretched corpus
+    May be laid upon the shelf.
+  What of this wretched body?
+    What care we for this hand?
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  They may chain me fast unto the rock,
+    And bind both hands and feet;
+  They may keep me far off in the dark,
+    Where friends I cannot meet;
+  They may call me vile and wicked wretch,
+    And murderer and thief;
+  They may say I am an infidel
+    And steeped in unbelief;
+  They may say I'm false and awful bad,
+    And lend not a helping hand;
+  They may sow the seed North, East, South, West,
+    Far, far throughout the land;
+  They may go right on with falsity
+    And it publish like a ban,
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  If the mind was easy to be read,
+    And another for to see,
+  There would prisoner after prisoner
+    Immediately be set free.
+  If conscience was as easy known
+    As another's words to hear,
+  There would not be half so many men
+    That society would fear.
+  But what do people think or care
+    What's in another's brain,
+  So long as _they_ can all conceal
+    The evil in _their_ frame.
+  There are a few who secretly
+    Do not conceal their sham,
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  If every one was now compelled
+    To show life in _true_ attire,
+  They'd cause the picture to be marred
+    And cast into the fire.
+  They'd blush with shame to bring to light
+    Black spots upon their life;
+  They kick, and squirm, and twist about,
+    And fight it with a strife.
+  Where is the man on this vile earth
+    But what has done some wrong,
+  And in his mind's concealed it,
+    Tho' it stings him like a thong?
+  There ne'er was one except the Christ
+    Who'd be perfect in the land!
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  What if all conscience could be searched
+    Clear through with cathode rays,
+  How many would cheerfully submit,
+    Who'd reached their manhood days?
+  It might not be the blackest crime
+    Known to the criminal code,
+  But can it be sufficiently white
+    To call it very good?
+  It may not be so good nor bad,
+    Nor bad nor good indeed,
+  But is it plenty good enough
+    As a standard for a creed?
+  You may keep it hid in an air-tight box.
+    With psychological band,
+  Then, you see, 'tis safe to wager
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  So long as minds cannot be seen
+    And pictured to the folk,
+  So long there'll be deceitfulness
+    Played by the earthly crook.
+  The modern shylock now, who craves
+    The sentence of the court,
+  Is just the man who, many times,
+    Society he has hurt.
+  He stands aloof from other folk,
+    And cries with a loud voice:
+  "Down, down, with evil and all crime!
+    Arise, my friends, rejoice!"
+  But turn on him the cathode rays
+    And search him, if you can,
+  You'll be convinced, beyond a doubt,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  There's many a man who's been misjudged.
+    And met his doom and fate;
+  And the truth thereof could ne'er be learned
+    Until it was too late.
+  If cathode rays could have been used,
+    And falsehood put to flight,
+  There's many a false and trumped up charge
+    Would be knocked clear out of sight.
+  If the mind of man could only be,
+    With this mysterious light,
+  Just brought out plain on canvas,
+    In colors clear and bright,
+  It would spread the truth both far and near,
+    Just like a marriage ban,
+  That the rule ordained by nature is
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Now, when with cathode rays supplied,
+    You start out for a search,
+  Just drop around some Sabbath morn
+    And peep into a church.
+  If one bald deacon, on his breast,
+    Wears a diamond bright and clear,
+  Just shoot cathode across his pate
+    And see what's buried there.
+  Then up into the pulpit,
+    Where the priest all devils dare,
+  And dart the rays around, about,
+    And see what's buried there.
+  Then to the courtroom wend your way,
+    To where the judges ran,
+  Then bet your bottom dollar
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Then down into our Congress halls
+    Make a dash both bold and free,
+  And shoot cathode right through them all
+    And see what you can see.
+  Then back into the halls of State,
+    And catch them, one and all,
+  And learn yourself, beyond a doubt,
+    How many are there to fall.
+  Don't be surprised if now you find
+    Most foul and blackened crimes,
+  Because they're plotting for the gold,
+    No matter what the times.
+  Try and discover, then and there,
+    The gold bonds, if you can,
+  And remember, what is true as truth,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Then, when you're done with the outside world,
+    And all of Congress halls,
+  Return to me and take a walk
+    Within these dismal walls.
+  I'll show you men who represent
+    Each county in this State;
+  They're all accused of crime, you know,
+    And sentenced to their fate.
+  But don't be hasty now to judge
+    These men you see about;
+  Fire cathode rays right through their skulls
+    And you may find a doubt.
+  Courts, lawyers and prejudiced jurors
+    Will convict if they can,
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  In here you'll find there's many a mind
+    As free from sin and crime
+  As congressmen and senators
+     Who've been there a long time.
+  Some of these men in here, you see,
+    They got a little tight,
+  And broke into a chicken coop,
+    Because 'twas in the night.
+  Some men you see as you walk with me
+    Down through these halls so dreary,
+  Have, on bended knee, prayed to be free
+    Until life's become weary.
+  They have no money, neither friends,
+    Because they're far behind the van,
+  But still 'tis safe to wager
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  And now because my enemies
+    Have chained me tight and fast,
+  And cruel, heartless, brutal curs
+    Would hold me to the last--
+  Look here! I'll freely now submit,
+    Turn on your cathode rays
+  And learn, if now 'tis not too late,
+    The evil of my ways.
+  Then go up to that old bribed judge,
+    And prosecutor, too,
+  And bring their conscience here by mine
+    And search all through and through.
+  Look sharp! And now compare their minds
+    With this one, if you can,
+  And then apply the golden rule,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Oh, men of science! if you can
+    Employ the cathode rays
+  To take the place of jurymen
+    In those our latter days;
+  Let not a man upon the bench
+    To judge another's fate,
+  Until to cathode he's been sent
+    To search beneath his pate!
+  If then you see his mind is free
+    From prejudice and crime,
+  And he'll give us all fair justice,
+    Let him sit there all the time!
+  But if, upon the other hand,
+    He won't, although he can,
+  Then cut him out with the golden rule:
+    "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  How can you, then, a prisoner make,
+    When his Mind's as free as space?
+  You may chain his feet, and hands, and neck,
+    And tightly bind his face,
+  Do what you please, and as you please,
+    You cannot help but see--
+  That man is man, where e'er he be,
+    Because his mind is free!
+  His mind may roam back to his home,
+    You cannot tie it down,
+  And folk may look, and scoff, and scowl,
+    And always wear a frown.
+  But when of him they a prisoner make,
+    The mind they never can,
+  'Cause God ordained the Golden Rule,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+
+
+
+_CELL THOUGHTS._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  In the headlong rush for the Land of Fame
+  How many are wrecked on the Isle of Shame.
+  How few heads wear a glittering crown
+  In the far-away realm of great renown.
+  'Mid the crowded ranks of the legion of greed
+  How many are crushed 'neath the wheels of need!
+
+  How few ever feel the dainty caress
+  Of the lingering hand of great success!
+  In the mad pursuit of the god of gold
+  What brains are wrecked, what hearts grow cold!
+  How many will spend their latest day
+  'Mid the hurtling waters of Poverty Bay!
+
+  How many are lured by a siren chime
+  To a double death in the land of Crime!
+  How few escape, unscarred, within
+  The winding walks of the maze of sin!
+  How many that towered above the stars
+  Now pine and languish behind the bars!
+
+  What a trail of woe a single mistake
+  Across the page of a life can make!
+  O, shipwrecked sailor, fix your eye
+  On the Star of Hope in yonder sky;
+  Mercy's hand will bring release
+  And safely lead to the Land of Peace.
+
+
+
+
+_THE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL._
+
+
+  Gentle reader, this small volume clearly proves that modern man
+  Can control his erring brothers with a clear enlightened plan.
+  Ne'er till now have prison printers voiced, unchanged, a convict's tho't!
+  Is the change with retrogression or with onward progress fraught?
+  Will this volume change your custom or relieve our horrid pain?
+  Or shall truth be crushed and bleeding, ever bound in prison chain?
+  Will you cast your glances backward, gathering age along by age,
+  Proof that man is wholly brutal when controlled by maddening rage?
+  View the pen of downy feathers, where men choked and choked to death,
+  Without power to ask for pardon with their last expiring breath!
+  See your brother in that river, safely chained to yonder rock,
+  While his thirst is wildly raging and the waves his tortures mock!
+  See yon dungeon, dark and dreary, built by human art and skill,
+  Whose dread mission is to madden any one the _law_ says kill!
+  Visit to the hapless culprit, as in Pagan jail he lies;
+  See the jailer pass the hemlock, which he quaffs, and then he dies!
+  Think of club, of sword and pistol, of the bloody guillotine;
+  Of the whipcord, knout and gallows of the noted Wolverine;
+  Of starvation, rack and torture, of the lash and fiery stake,
+  And then tell me frankly, reader, did these wrongs one virtue wake?
+
+  Tell me frankly, honest reader, can two wrongs create a right?
+  And is man's inhuman conduct pleasing in Jehovah's sight?
+  Or do pitying angels shudder, as the cruel lash you ply,
+  Wondering man can be so brutal and the laws of God defy?
+  Does not conscience loudly thunder: "Sin is but the fruit of hate,
+  And who stones a helpless brother most deserves that victim's fate?
+  Can abuse and brutal treatment purge the sinner of his guilt?
+  If so, _come_, within my bosom sheath your dagger to the hilt!
+  Strike, till every erring mortal at your hands has met his fate,
+  Then sit down and calmly ponder on your awful lonely state!
+  _You_, perhaps, have been quite _faultless_; _you_, perhaps, no _wrong_
+                                                         have done,
+  If 'tis _true_, my peerless brother, _you're alone beneath the sun_"!
+
+  Do but think! we once were spotless as the babe on mother's knee!
+  Trace the causes of our downfall with a mind from malice free.
+  See, on every licensed corner, fiends incarnate hourly sell
+  Fiery waters of _damnation_, that create _a living hell_!
+  Women, once as pure as angels, leading heartless lives of shame;
+  For the trumpery of fashion dealing off both home and name!
+  Hear men laud the wealthy scoundrel and attempt to clear his ways,
+  While the poor and honest toiler _none_ with pride or pleasure pays!
+  See Religion don the garments of all worldly pride and lust,
+  While the Savior's honest followers are but trampled in the dust!
+  See the press, with startling headlines, every vice and sin portray
+  That can sink your moral standard or lead innocence astray!
+  View the legions of temptation strewn along the path of youth,
+  See how few do practice virtue, and how few _adore_ the truth!
+  There! the cause of crime is patent, and our downfall you behold,
+  To condemn it in a sentence: "_It was women, wine and gold!_"
+
+  If you read this book with caution, you have read _between the lines_,
+  Learning much the careless reader and the critic ne'er divines!
+  You have seen the author's purpose was to tell the simple truth,
+  As a tribute to the prisoner and a warning to our youth.
+  You have seen mistakes and errors that less haste would quickly mend,
+  Yet, with all its imperfections, it may prove a useful friend.
+  And in future I may publish one with less of hasty thought
+  That may be--God knows the future--with undying issues fraught.
+  All tried means have proved abortive yet, my friend, there is a plan
+  That _will_ lift each erring brother _to the standard of a man_!
+  If I can but live to publish what I _know_ and long to tell,
+  You _will_ read it and believe it; so, dear reader, _fare-thee-well_!
+
+
+
+
+_CONCLUSION._
+
+
+  Go, little book, thy destined course pursue!
+  Collect memorials of the just and true;
+  And beg of every one who comes thou near
+  Some token of their friendship and good cheer.
+  And if by chance some true friends thou should find,
+  Attach them to thee with both soul and mind;
+  And if they prove good, faithful friends and true,
+  To them thou sticketh, as if they loved you--
+                                    Adieu! Adieu!
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
+
+-Fixed plain print and interpunctuation errors.
+
+-Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Prison Poetry, by Hiram Peck McKnight
+
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+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Prison Poetry, by Hiram Peck McKnight
+
+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 www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Prison Poetry
+
+Author: Hiram Peck McKnight
+
+Release Date: May 17, 2014 [EBook #45674]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRISON POETRY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Giovanni Fini, Caroluyn Jablonski and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+ <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="300" height="403" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="sum">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-001a.jpg" width="250" height="55"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="pn center small"><i>COPYRIGHT,<br />
+BY H. P. M'KNIGHT,<br />
+A. D. 1896.</i></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-001b.jpg" width="250" height="55"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h1 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap large">Prison Poetry,</span><br />
+<span class="little">BY</span><br />
+<span class="small">H. P. McKNIGHT</span></i>.</h1>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-003.jpg" width="200" height="80"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<p class="pn p2">
+<span class="smcap"><i>In leisure moments cast a look<br />
+Upon the pages of this book;<br />
+And if your thoughts they should engage,<br />
+Just think of me who wrote this page.<br />
+And if by chance, in your time of leisure,<br />
+You, in these pages, should find pleasure,<br />
+Then dart your mind up to this cell,<br />
+For here I live in an earthly HELL.</i></span><br />
+</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>DEDICATION.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">Go forth, thou little volume,<br />
+I leave thee to thy fate!</p>
+
+<p class="p02">To those who read thee faithfully<br />
+Thy leaves I dedicate.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But if your fate should be so sad<br />
+As mine who thee have writ,</p>
+
+<p class="p02">I'd be so vexed to think that I<br />
+Had made such a poor "hit."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But if by chance you meet a friend<br />
+Along life's road so dreary,</p>
+
+<p class="p02">Just cheer his mind till he is blind,<br />
+And never make him weary.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Teach him the way, the live-long day,<br />
+To lend a helping hand,</p>
+
+<p class="p02">And never turn or even spurn<br />
+Those wrecked on life's hard strand.</p>
+
+
+<p class="p01">If chance should be you return to me,<br />
+Along with harvest's golden,</p>
+
+<p class="p02">I'll vouch for thee to all who see,<br />
+That thou wilt not embolden.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">And now go forth, thou little book,<br />
+I leave thee to thy fate!</p>
+
+<p class="p02">To those who read thee faithfully<br />
+Thy leaves I dedicate.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>PREFACE.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pn p2">In the preparation of the verses that fill these pages I have
+been helped by some of the prisoners of this institution. The
+donors have been somewhat few, for which I return thanks;
+but each and every verse is a fair representation of the
+many phases that the mind of a prisoner passes through, and of
+his true sentiment. Those that have been donated by my fellow
+prisoners are accredited to them by either their name or serial
+number. Some of the verses have been published in our prison
+"<span class="smcap">News</span>," but inasmuch as they have reached only an inconsiderable
+few outside the prison walls, I prepare this little
+volume and hand it to the wide, wide world. My motto, in so
+doing, is:</p>
+
+<p>May you who enjoy the blessings of liberty and worldly freedom,
+partake with us of our solitary musings, and enjoy our
+noblest thoughts and resolutions, as well as for us to enjoy
+yours; and that you may know that we are not devoid of true,
+manly, noble principle simply because we are cast&mdash;some justly,
+others unjustly&mdash;into prison.</p>
+
+<p>May we exchange greetings with you all&mdash;shake&mdash;and if by
+chance I have been fortunate enough to interest you, I am well
+compensated; but if I have been more fortunate, and given you&mdash;even
+one of you&mdash;a line of noble, good thoughts and advice&mdash;I
+say, "May the seed fall on good ground and bring forth good
+fruit; may it not be wasted upon barren rock." In my work on
+"Crime and Criminals" many of these verses will appear in the
+"Appendix."</p>
+
+<p class="pf1">Very truly yours,</p>
+
+<p class="pf2">H. P. McKNIGHT,</p>
+
+<table id="t01" summary="t01">
+
+ <tr>
+  <td>A. D. 1896.</td>
+  <td class="tdr">O. P., Columbus, O., U. S. A.</td>
+ </tr>
+
+</table>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>INTRODUCTION.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pn">True models of poetic art.<br />
+Should please the ear and touch the heart:<br />
+Stamp on the plastic mind of youth<br />
+Due reverence for Eternal Truth.<br />
+Paint field and flower in nature's hues,<br />
+Give to the world the heart's best news,<br />
+Or, lightly tripping o'er the page,<br />
+Rejuvenate the blood of age.<br />
+The sacred Muse should ne'er descend.<br />
+Vice to guild, nor wound a friend.<br />
+Heaven gave no man poetic art,<br />
+Save to improve the human heart.</p>
+
+<p class="pn p2">You may not find, in coming page,<br />
+The ripened wisdom of the age:<br />
+Yet you <i>will</i> find, untrained by art,<br />
+The deathless music of the heart:<br />
+And truth shall caress each flaming line.<br />
+Inspired by The Tuneful Nine;<br />
+No fear of man nor greed of praise<br />
+Shall make or mar our tuneful lays;<br />
+We simply voice the ripest thought<br />
+Of prisoned souls with meaning fraught.<br />
+Yours it is to praise or blame<br />
+My effort to deserve a name!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sum">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>CONTENTS.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<table id="toc1" summary="cont1">
+
+ <tr>
+  <td colspan="3">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td colspan="3" class="tdc"><span class="little">PAGE.</span></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Acrostic to Warden and Mrs. Coffin,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">By</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">95</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Acrostic to Chaplain and Mrs. Winget,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">185</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Acrostic (Initial),</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Acrostic to Capt. J. C. Langenberger,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Van Weighs</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Acrostic to Dr. H. R. Parker,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Acrostic to Harry Smith,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Van&nbsp;Weighs</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A tribute to Capt. Geo. W. Hess,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Letter From Home,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">24138</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Memorial Ode,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Van&nbsp;Weighs</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">111</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Prisoner's Thanksgiving,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">21</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Prisoner's Lamentation,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">64</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Prayer For Justice,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Prison Vision,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">107</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Query,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Morse</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">70</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Sad Warning,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">147</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">An Appreciated Friend,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">115</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Be Lenient to the Errant One,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Birthday Musings,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Van&nbsp;Weighs</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Coming In and Going Out,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Carr</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">51</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Conclusion,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Dreams,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Ella Ree's Revenge,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">178</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Erratic Musings of Unfettered Thought,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">36</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Forget? No, Never!</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Freedom,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">God Bless Them,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Guilt's Queries and Truth's Replies,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">42</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Hope,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Law</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Hope&mdash;Eternity,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">How To Be Happy In Prison,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">22700</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">In Prison,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Influence,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Law</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Kindness,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Roth</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Lines To My Cell,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">112</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Lines To My Wife,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Love's Victim,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">63</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Last Night In the Dungeon,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">39</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Midnight Musings,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">69</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Mother,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Overstreet</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">My Lawyer,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Gilbert</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">145</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">My Mother,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Carr</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">110</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">My Prison Garden,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Our Board of Managers,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">66</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">One and a Few,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">21069</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">68</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Out of the Depths,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Prison Pains,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Prisoners,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Perfect Peace,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Reflections,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">44</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Rhyme and Reason,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">16</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Stray Thoughts,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">72</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Salome's Revenge,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">142</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">She Loves Me Yet,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Soul Sculpture,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Doane</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Storms of Life,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Law</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Prisoner Released,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Col.&nbsp;Parsons</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Convict's Prayer,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Great "O. P."</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Fall of Sodom,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">80</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Canto Second,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">80</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">There Is No Death,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Murderer's Dream,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">182</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Prisoner's Mother,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Mrs.&nbsp;Wirick</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Reformer,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Law</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Under Dog,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Barker</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">46</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Phantom Boat,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">169</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">To A Departed Idol,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Van&nbsp;Weighs</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">92</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Tribute to Dr. G. A. Tharp,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Tribute to the Wolfe Sisters,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">91</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Tribute to the Wolfe Sisters,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">82</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Tribute to Capt. Joseph Smith Acheson,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Tribute to Capt. L. H. Wells,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Van&nbsp;Weighs</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">67</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Mind's the Standard of the Man,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">190</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Author's Farewell,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">193</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Two Letters,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Harrison</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">86</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Weight and Immortality of Words,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">McKnight</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">53</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Which Loved Her Best,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">57</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Wine vs. Water,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td>
+  <td class="tdcl">-</td>
+  <td class="tdll">75</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Would They Know,</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">"</td>
+  <td class="tdll">Collier</td>
+  <td class="tdrl"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td>
+ </tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a><br /><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a><br /><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<p class="pn center p4 large">PRISON POETRY.</p>
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>PRELUDE.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pn">If you prefer the sounding line,<br />
+Go read some master of the Nine!<br />
+Good taste perhaps you will display;<br />
+Let others read my simple lay<br />
+That gushes from an honest heart<br />
+Unawed by fear, unstrained by art.<br />
+I ne'er will prostitute my Muse<br />
+The rich to praise, nor poor abuse;<br />
+But simply sing as best I can<br />
+Whate'er may bless my fellow man;<br />
+I dare not stain a single page<br />
+With outbursts of unreasoning rage,<br />
+But if one sorrow I can soothe<br />
+Or one his rugged pathway smooth;<br />
+One pain relieve, one joy impart,<br />
+'Twill ease the burden of a heart<br />
+That has known for weary years<br />
+No solace save unbidden tears.<br />
+Hard is the heart that will refuse<br />
+Due merit to the Prison Muse.<br />
+May heaven watch the prisoner's weal<br />
+And mankind for his sorrow feel!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-014.jpg" width="300" height="154"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a><br /><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">My Prison Garden.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p03">
+In this mind's garden thoughts shall grow,<br />
+And in their freshness bud and blow;<br />
+Thoughts to which love has beauty lent<br />
+And memories sweet of sentiment.<br />
+Now, if I cultivate them right good,<br />
+They'll furnish me with my mind's food.<br />
+My enemies may my corpus hail,<br />
+While onward, upward, thoughts will sail<br />
+To realms above, where all is peace,<br />
+And where the soul may rest with ease.<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Rhyme and Reason.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl0">In contravention of the laws of right,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Man's cruel passion and his guilty might,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Has bound me tightly with a galling chain</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of heaped-up malice and unjust disdain!</p>
+<p class="pl0">From front rank lawyer to a felon's cell,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Through perjured villains, not by sin I fell!</p>
+<p class="pl0">By fiat law my body was consigned</p>
+<p class="pl0">To this grim cell for guilty ones designed.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Yet I'm no convict&mdash;I have never known</p>
+<p class="pl0">The deep remorse by guilty wretches shown!</p>
+<p class="pl0">I am a martyr&mdash;doomed by adverse fate</p>
+<p class="pl0">To brave the billows of malicious hate!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Yet I am free, for Nature's august plan</p>
+<p class="pl0">Makes MIND not <i>matter</i> constitute the MAN.</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">Tho' men may curse me and cast out my name,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Like some vile bauble on the sea of shame;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Brand me as murderer or catiff thief,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Or atheistic infidel&mdash;steepid in unbelief;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Foe to all that's pure and good&mdash;wretch unfit to live;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Outlaw whom no honest man can even pity give!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>Yet my soul will still defy your prison bolts and bars,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And soaring far on eager wings beyond the faintest stars,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Live in a world to you unknown, where only poet soul</p>
+<p class="pl0">Can bask in beauty undefiled by cankering control!</p>
+<p class="pl0">In vain is all your hate and scorn&mdash;vain your prison blight;</p>
+<p class="pl0">God loves me, and I feel assured that all will yet be right!</p>
+<p class="pl0">I know one law&mdash;a perfect law, by Nature's self designed&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">'Tis Heaven's dearest gift to man&mdash;The Freedom of the Mind!</p>
+
+<p class="pl4">If minds and hearts were easy read as faces we can see,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Society would lose its dread and many a prisoner free!</p>
+<p class="pl0">But what, alas! do people care what's in another's brain?</p>
+<p class="pl0">They only seek to hide their share of misery and pain.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Were all compelled to truthful be and show their inner life&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Great heavens! what a jamboree of sin and shame and strife!</p>
+<p class="pli">How few would measure half a span if Mind alone we closely scan!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Where is the man on this broad earth, so pure, so good, so true,</p>
+<p class="pl0">That never gave an action birth he dared not bring to view?</p>
+<p class="pl0">The Christ alone was sinless here, none other lives aright;</p>
+<p class="pl0">All human goodness springs from fear of death's approaching night!</p>
+<p class="pl0">There is no soul so white I know but what temptation's power</p>
+<p class="pl0">Its purity can overthrow and all its good deflower!</p>
+<p class="pli">Disguise the truth as best we can, he <i>errs</i> the most who most is <i>Man!</i></p>
+
+<p class="pl2">Come, let us take a journey, with cathode rays supplied,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And view the greatest and good in all their pomp and pride!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Examine first the churches, where the godly crew</p>
+<p class="pl0">Teach poor erring mortals what is best to do.</p>
+<p class="pl0">They tell us human nature is <i>once</i> and always wrong,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And prove man's deep depravity in sermon or by song.</p>
+<p class="pl0">All natural passion is denounced as deep and deadly sin,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And <i>truth</i> and <i>virtue</i> painted as graces hard to win.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Heaven, they tell us, is a place with blisses running o'er;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Hell, a lake of torture, where fiery billows roar!</p>
+<p class="pl0">A choice eternal all must make between their birth and death;</p>
+<p class="pl0">It may be made in early life or with expiring breath!</p>
+<p class="pl0">But how this choice must be made each gives a separate plan,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>That clearly proves how narrow is the erring mind of Man.</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">One tells us naught but good pursue, all evil to eschew;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Another swears without God's grace no mortal thus can do;</p>
+<p class="pl0">One bids us work salvation out with trembling and with fear,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Another swears that God's elect should never shed a tear;</p>
+<p class="pl0">One says all must live the life Jesus lived on earth.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Another says it can't be done without a Second Birth!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some say <i>work</i>, others <i>trust</i>, others still say <i>wait</i>;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some deem us mere automatons, saved or lost by <i>Fate!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Some, with philanthropic views, declare all must be saved,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Since Christ, the Perfect Offering for <i>all</i>, death's horrors braved!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Since Christians never will agree, 'tis best that every man</p>
+<p class="pl0">Should listen to his conscience, and do the best he can!</p>
+<p class="pl0">God ever <i>has</i> and <i>will</i> do right! In His Eternal Plan</p>
+<p class="pl0">The time will come to set <i>aright</i> the numerous wrongs of <i>Man!</i></p>
+
+<p class="pl2">See yonder's pompous deacon, with diamonds clear and bright;</p>
+<p class="pl0">He looks a model Christian&mdash;just turn on him your light.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Great heavens! what a medley of <i>cant</i> and sin and shame!</p>
+<p class="pl0">If the half we see was ever told 'twould ruin his good name!</p>
+<p class="pl0">But turn on yonder pastor your strange, mysterious light;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I know he is a real good man, who loves Eternal Right.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ye holy saints, protect us! <i>he</i> too has gone amiss!</p>
+<p class="pl0">When Siren Voice allured him with a seductive kiss!</p>
+<p class="pl0">If half the prayers we utter be not a sounding lie,</p>
+<p class="pl0">It is but little marvel that we are doomed to die!</p>
+<p class="pl0">For each will plead forgiveness for thought or action done,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And <i>none</i> by spotless merit eternal bliss hath won.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Then gently judge your fellow, his failings lightly scan;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Like you, he can not corner <i>all</i> the brains of man!</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">See, yonder is our Congress, where wits and fools unite,</p>
+<p class="pl0">To declare by the nation's statute what <i>is</i> fundamental right!</p>
+<p class="pl0">They yell of patriotism and the majesty of Law,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And are for once unanimous&mdash;their salaries to draw!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Alas! alas! 'tis ever thus within our halls of State;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Sweet Justice is blacklisted&mdash;the <i>dollar</i> is too great.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Aye, even on judicial bench, where justice should be done,</p>
+<p class="pl0">How scattering are the cases where <i>Right</i> the victory won!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Lawyers, judge and jury <i>exparte</i> view the case&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">An angel would be ruined in the defendant's place!</p>
+<p class="pl0">In vain is protestation, in vain a blameless life;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some <i>must be</i> doomed to prison when prejudice is rife!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Law must keep its servants in stations high and proud,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>Tho' every hour should furnish a coffin and a shroud!</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">The modern Shylock of today, unlike his friend of old,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Demands the pound of quivering flesh and <i>all</i> his victim's gold;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Nor feels content until he sees his victim's hated face</p>
+<p class="pl0">Behind a wall of rock and steel in garments of disgrace.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Then he will raise his dainty hands and loud applaud the law</p>
+<p class="pl0">That <i>can</i> protect such beings, who live without a flaw.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><i>He</i> has no pity for the weak, who thro' temptation fall,</p>
+<p class="pl0">But freely spends his <i>time</i> and <i>means</i> the guileless to enthrall.</p>
+<p class="pl0">He heaps <i>his</i> mighty wrath and scorn on every evil done,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And speaks in tones of pure disgust of poverty's pale son.</p>
+<p class="pl0">But if you bid him look within and study his own heart,</p>
+<p class="pl0">He has a task herculean&mdash;'tis such a <i>tiny</i> part!</p>
+<p class="pl0">And as for Mind&mdash;ye angels! in fair creation's plan</p>
+<p class="pl0">'Twas given to his victim, and left him <i>half a man!</i></p>
+
+<p class="pl2">The modern Clytemnestra no dagger needs to use;</p>
+<p class="pl0">She slays her Agamemnon within your <i>legal</i> pews,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Since judges now are willing to sunder marriage ties,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And juries are so truculent when blushing beauty lies.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Or if she be a <i>Helen</i>, and Paris suits her taste,</p>
+<p class="pl0">She hastes without compunction to lay her honor waste.</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Society" allows her to have "a special friend,"</p>
+<p class="pl0">And a husband is <i>so</i> handy her good name to defend!</p>
+<p class="pl0">But alas! Aspasia <i>no mercy</i> need expect;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Her Pericles <i>lionized</i>, but none <i>her</i> worth detect!</p>
+<p class="pl0">And as for poor Thargelia <i>none</i> will take <i>her</i> part;</p>
+<p class="pl0">She lives a social outcast, with broken, bleeding heart;</p>
+<p class="pl0">But each base seducer, in our social plan.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Makes poor, trusting woman bear the sins of <i>Man!</i></p>
+
+<p class="pl2">Many men are now misjudged, and meet an awful fate,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Whose innocence is published, but alas, it is too late!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Many, too, are breathing freedom's precious air</p>
+<p class="pl0">Whose vile conduct merits prison dress and fare.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Only <i>little</i> rascals in your prisons <i>die</i>,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While <i>stupendous</i> villians liberty can buy!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each one strives with fervor his neighbor to outshine,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And he who has the most of gold is reckoned half divine.</p>
+<p class="pl0">You scatter dark temptations around the poor man's path,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And when he falls you pour on him <i>all</i> your vicious wrath.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Poverty in public lives all her deeds are seen;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Wealth can build a castle her <i>wickedness</i> to screen.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Yet many a noble woman and kingly man is found</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>As toilers in your factories or tillers of the ground!</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">If cathode rays were freely used to bring to human sight</p>
+<p class="pl0">The dirty methods villians use to <i>damn</i> Eternal Right,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Many men would be set free and others take their place</p>
+<p class="pl0">Who now can roll in luxury and laugh at their disgrace.</p>
+<p class="pl0">A judge and jury now can sit and <i>hang</i> a man at will,</p>
+<p class="pl0">But they say 'tis open <i>murder</i> if but <i>one</i> dares kill!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Take a ring of brass and plate it o'er with gold,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And 'tis only <i>business</i> when the fraud is sold!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Adulterate both food and drink, deal in deadly pills;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Law will aid your <i>robbery</i> and collect your bills!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Give to your profession but a sounding name,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Then cut up the devil without fear or shame.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Be sure to call it <i>business</i> whatever you may do,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And if you have sufficient <i>gall</i> that will pull you through.</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">Now throughout this prison rays cathodal dart,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And read the hidden secrets of each convict heart.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some have wrought vile deeds, and wrought them o'er and o'er,</p>
+<p class="pl0">That surely proves them rotten to their inmost core.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And here are wretched fiends, who with consumate art,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ravish every instinct of the human heart.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some men of wit and letters, cultured and refined,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Others moral lepers, with heart and conscience blind.</p>
+<p class="pl0">From drawing room and brothel, farm and city slum,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some by acts of justice, some through perjury come;</p>
+<p class="pl0">The innocent and guilty, callow youth and age,</p>
+<p class="pl0">All can be imprisoned in this Christian age!</p>
+<p class="pl0">But they who seek for liberty no innocence must plead&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Gold, and plenty of it, will be all they need.</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">Some young souls are making, for a stated time,</p>
+<p class="pl0">This, their maiden effort, on the sea of crime.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, Christians, teach them early what to me is plain;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Crime ever <i>has</i> and ever <i>will</i> result in lasting pain.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Do not be <i>too</i> lenient, nor <i>too</i> soon forgive,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Lest all <i>vice</i> should flourish and no <i>virtue</i> live.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Society demands it, the <i>guilty</i> should atone&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">But take care you punish those, and those <i>alone!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Keep them in your prisons till by <i>virtue</i> shown</p>
+<p class="pl0">They will know what <i>is</i> and what is <i>not</i> their own.</p>
+<p class="pl0">But let all be careful lest by <i>word</i> or <i>act</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Those who should <i>reform</i> them from their <i>good</i> subtract.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Rule them wisely, gently&mdash;by some <i>humane</i> plan,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>All their faults to conquer as best becomes a MAN.</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">When your work is finished and their habits changed,</p>
+<p class="pl0"> them honest labor, by the State arranged;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Show them honest labor <i>can</i> a living gain,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While the <i>social outcast</i> harvests <i>want</i> and <i>shame!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Treat them fairly, kindly; teach them all the true</p>
+<p class="pl0">Will be friendly with them while <i>the right</i> they do.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Both principle and policy declare this course is wise;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Then why longer act the fool and wisdom's voice despise?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Crime never <i>can</i> nor <i>will</i> decrease until in <i>Wisdom's School</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Men learn the noted lesson, "Right <i>through</i> Law should Rule."</p>
+<p class="pl0">All tried plans are failures, this none dares deny;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Now give <i>Common Sense</i> a show and failure dare defy.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Do <i>this</i>, and lash and pistol, now your sole defense,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Shall give place to Reason and plain Common Sense!</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">Courts are far too careless when they give men life</p>
+<p class="pl0">For offense unnoticed save in time of strife.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Naught but some poor chicken or a ham he stole&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Shall the devil purchase at such price a soul?</p>
+<p class="pl0">If such petty crimes as this deserve such prison fare,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Come now, honest reader, what is <i>your</i> just share?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Was that old Greek right, who, tho' a man of sense,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Could mete out death to all for each small offense?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Apply his heartless rule, and can you truly say</p>
+<p class="pl0">Any man or woman would be left to slay?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Man is only mortal, and to sin is prone;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Never cure another's faults till you quit your own.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Many are convicted by the <i>press</i> at large;</p>
+<p class="pl0">The Public Mind is rarely Heaven's peculiar charge.</p>
+
+<p class="pl2">Bring the judge and jury who declared my fate</p>
+<p class="pl0">For the shining dollars furnished them by hate,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And their guilty conscience by my own arrange,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And then tell me frankly if my fate should change!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Yet I had sooner die behind these bars of steel</p>
+<p class="pl0">Than to have a heart of stone that <i>could</i> not feel!</p>
+<p class="pl0">I know such human tigers, who fatten on distress,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Never <i>can</i> and <i>never</i> will enjoy one hour of rest!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Until all hate and malice, all greed and other sin</p>
+<p class="pl0">Is burned by awful torture to leave them pure within!</p>
+<p class="pl0">God <i>will</i> forgive each penitent whate'er his sin may be,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Whose heart is overflowing with <i>love</i> for bond and free.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh listen! brothers, listen&mdash;'tis Jehovah's plan&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">And a <i>time is fixed</i> to right the wrongs of Man.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Freedom.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01 p1">How sweet thou art, O freedom.<br />
+To every human heart&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p01">Man's privilege most sacred.<br />
+His being's noblest part.</p>
+<p class="p01">Thou priceless, great possession,<br />
+Without thee life were done!</p>
+<p class="p02">Its sun gone down forever,<br />
+For thou and life are one.</p>
+
+<p class="p01 p1">How dear thou art, O freedom&mdash;<br />
+Our birthright here below!</p>
+<p class="p01">Chief blessing of all blessings<br />
+Kind heaven doth bestow.</p>
+<p class="p01">Deprived by dark misfortune<br />
+Of every other joy,</p>
+<p class="p02">Naught while thou still remainest<br />
+Can happiness destroy.</p>
+
+<p class="p01 p1">But thou, O prison penance,<br />
+Dark shadow by life's board!</p>
+<p class="p01">Of all that men hold mournful<br />
+Thou art the fullest stored.</p>
+<p class="p01">There's naught on earth worth having<br />
+If't must be shared with thee&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">O happy, holy freedom!<br />
+O heaven, set me free.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-021.jpg" width="300" height="192"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>God Bless Them</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01 p1">God bless the mothers of this land!<br />
+They are so good and true;</p>
+<p class="p01">And all the sisters of their band,<br />
+They are so noble, too.</p>
+<p class="p01">If we don't treat them with respect,<br />
+And court their wholesome 'fluence,</p>
+<p class="p02">Our morals will not be correct,<br />
+And we will suffer hence.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p>If women are not treated with respect, and made to exercise
+an influence over the social world, the standard of private virtue
+and public opinion will be lowered, and the morals of men will
+suffer.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Forget? No, Never!</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01 p1">There are things we'll not remember,<br />
+And much will be forgot,</p>
+<p class="p01">As in the bleak December<br />
+When our coffee was not hot;</p>
+<p class="p01">When the butter was much younger,<br />
+When the bread was sour and dry;</p>
+<p class="p01">When are felt the pangs of hunger,<br />
+With regrets and many a sigh.</p>
+<p class="p01">How the memory used to vex us<br />
+As 'twould o'er our senses steal;</p>
+<p class="p01">How we wished they might "annex" us,<br />
+So we'd get one good square meal.</p>
+<p class="p01">Other things may be forgot<br />
+In this busy, hustling age,</p>
+<p class="p01">But one thing we ne'er can blot<br />
+From off our memory's page,</p>
+<p class="p01">That we never can forget<br />
+In a hundred months of Junes;</p>
+<p class="p01">It will long our memories fret&mdash;<br />
+<i>Those prunes&mdash;those rotten, wormy prunes</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Mother.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY OVERSTREET.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">Who is it, in this life so drear,<br />
+That pines for the wandering boy,</p>
+<p class="p01">And ever ready with words of cheer<br />
+To turn sad thoughts to joy?</p>
+<p class="p04">Mother.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Who is it, when all others do forsake<br />
+And leave us to our grief,</p>
+<p class="p01">That will for long hours lie awake<br />
+And pray for our relief?</p>
+<p class="p04">Mother.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Who is it, when the world laughs on<br />
+And gives our sighs no thought,</p>
+<p class="p01">That thinks of the boy who looks upon<br />
+This life that's come to naught?</p>
+<p class="p04">Mother.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Who is it, when from prison freed&mdash;<br />
+The boy goes forth so sadly&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p01">That receives him in his hour of need<br />
+With tears of joy&mdash;yea, gladly?</p>
+<p class="p04">Mother.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Who is it, when the end has come,<br />
+Looks fondly on her child,</p>
+<p class="p01">And prays to God for a happy home<br />
+For the boy that's been so wild?</p>
+<p class="p04">Mother.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-023.jpg" width="300" height="124"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>A Prisoner's Thanksgiving.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">What if the gold of the corn lands<br />
+Is faded to somber grey?</p>
+<p class="p01">And what if the down of the thistle<br />
+Is ripened and scattered away?</p>
+<p class="p01">There's a crowning golden harvest,<br />
+There's turkey the heart to cheer,</p>
+<p class="p02">There's a basket from home with plenty of "pone,"<br />
+Tho' 'tis bathed in a mother's tear.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">What 'f our friends are far from us<br />
+And they know not where we are?</p>
+<p class="p01">What if those who are dearest<br />
+Live ever away so far?</p>
+<p class="p01">There's room for us by th' fireside,<br />
+Where in childhood days we'd play;</p>
+<p class="p02">'Tis comfort to think, tho' we stand on the brink,<br />
+That we will be there some day.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">What if our hearts are lonely<br />
+As we toil in our enemy's hand?</p>
+<p class="p01">What if our sad looks betray us<br />
+As we take a true manly stand?</p>
+<p class="p01">There's a coming golden harvest,<br />
+There's a time when we all'll meet,</p>
+<p class="p02">When prison locks and iron bars<br />
+Will fail to ther pris'n'r keep.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">What care we for the pang at heart?<br />
+'Twill all be gone some day;</p>
+<p class="p01">And then tho' our enemies'ld crush us,<br />
+They'll be scattered far away.</p>
+<p class="p01">Tho' this is a sad Thanksgiving,<br />
+A better one's coming our way,</p>
+<p class="p02">When we'll all be home to share in the "pone"<br />
+And hear our angeled sister pray.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">What if the gold of the corn lands<br />
+Is faded to somber grey?</p>
+<p class="p02">And what if the down of the thistle<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>Is ripened and scattered away?</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Away to the east in a far off land<br />
+There's turkey the heart to cheer.</p>
+<p class="p01">Where the dear ones are partaking<br />
+And thinking of one that's here;</p>
+<p class="p01">There's father and mother and
+sister and brother, all so far away.</p>
+<p class="p02">There's a blessed time a-coming&mdash;<br />
+The prisoner's Thanksgiving day.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Hope&mdash;Eternity.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p05">The heart bowed down with silent grief.<br />
+Despair its portals soon assails.</p>
+<p class="p05">Oh! let such moments be but brief<br />
+When spirit lost o'er man prevails;</p>
+<p class="p05">Think not of friend who, false, betrayed.<br />
+Nor sweetheart's change, nor colder wife&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Recall those oaths when passion prayed<br />
+For vengeance and for foeman's life.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">We pass dear friends but once this way:<br />
+Our judge, accusers and our foe.</p>
+<p class="p05">If false to God and man they play.<br />
+Not thou, but they, shall suffer woe.</p>
+<p class="p05">All stay is short; the longest span<br />
+Counts less than raindrops in the sea.</p>
+<p class="p06">Arouse thee, then, despairing man.<br />
+And hail with hope&mdash;Eternity!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Glows in thy cell a fragrant bloom,<br />
+Plucked from thy guardian angel's wreath.</p>
+<p class="p05">Do thou but nurture it with prayer<br />
+And water it with tears of faith.</p>
+<p class="p05">To humble hearts its petals ope,<br />
+Revealing bliss to streaming eye&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Immortal blooms this rose of hope,<br />
+God's flower of life&mdash;Eternity.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-003.jpg" width="200" height="80"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>The Prisoner's Mother.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY MRS. S. E. WIRICK.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">To be a prisoner's mother<br />
+Is to feel a piercing dart</p>
+<p class="p06">That sets the mind a-whirling<br />
+And almost cleaves the heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">To be a prisoner's mother<br />
+Is, upon a holiday,</p>
+<p class="p06">To visit him in prison,<br />
+Then part and go away.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">To be a prisoner's mother<br />
+'Tis, inside the lonely wall,</p>
+<p class="p06">To say, "Farewell, my darling"&mdash;<br />
+Oh, I almost faint and fall.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">No resting place but heaven,<br />
+No happy morn that dawns;</p>
+<p class="p06">Our home so drear and lonely<br />
+Because our boy is gone.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">An empty bed, a missing plate,<br />
+A grief that inward burns;</p>
+<p class="p06">No balm on earth to heal our hearts<br />
+Until our boy returns.</p>
+
+<p class="p07">"Honor and shame from no condition rise;<br />
+Act well your part, there all the honor lies."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-026.jpg" width="300" height="184"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><a name="How_To_Be_Happy_In_Prison" id="How_To_Be_Happy_In_Prison"><span class="smcap"><i>How To Be Happy In Prison.</i></span></a></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY NO. 22700</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p03">Do what is right, and day by day<br />
+Teach yourself that work is play<br />
+Of brain and muscle, rightly used&mdash;<br />
+And hurtful only when abused;<br />
+Deep interest take in all you do;<br />
+'Twill others please, as well as you.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Relieve a fellow prisoner's need;<br />
+Righteous counsel always heed;<br />
+Be not suspicious or unjust&mdash;<br />
+Few men betray a perfect trust;<br />
+He trusts the most whose heart is pure,<br />
+And generous thought will malice cure.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Brood not o'er the ills of life;<br />
+Give no cause for needless strife;<br />
+Tomb the past with all its sin;<br />
+Purify yourself within;<br />
+Rear your standard, be a <span class="smcap">MAN</span>,<br />
+And do whatever good you can.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Some, perhaps, will misconstrue<br />
+All you say and all you do,<br />
+But when conscience is at rest<br />
+Happiness will fill the breast&mdash;<br />
+'Twill be a sweet red-letter day<br />
+When we all shall act that way.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-027.jpg" width="300" height="156"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>In Prison.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">That which the world miscals a jail<br />
+A private closet is to me;</p>
+<p class="p01">Whilst a good conscience is my bail,<br />
+And innocence my liberty:</p>
+<p class="p01">Locks, bars and solitude together met</p>
+<p class="p02">Make me no prisoner, but an anchoret.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">I, whilst I wisht to be retired,<br />
+Into this private room was turned,</p>
+<p class="p01">As if their wisdoms had conspired<br />
+The salamander should be burned;</p>
+<p class="p01">Or, like those sophists that would drown a fish,</p>
+<p class="p02">I am constrained to suffer what I wish.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">These manacles upon my arm<br />
+I as my mistress' favors wear;</p>
+<p class="p01">And for to keep my ankles warm<br />
+I have some iron shackles there;</p>
+<p class="p01">These walls are but my garrison; this cell,</p>
+<p class="p02">Which men call jail, doth prove my citadel.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">I'm in the cabinet lockt up,<br />
+Like some high-prized margarite,</p>
+<p class="p01">Or, like the Great Mogul or Pope,<br />
+Am cloistered up from public sight:</p>
+<p class="p01">Retiredness is a piece of majesty,</p>
+<p class="p02">And thus, proud Sultan, I'm as great as thee.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-028.jpg" width="300" height="151"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Erratic Musings of Unfettered Thought.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">[BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.]</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pn">Is living thought, proud condor of the mind,<br />
+By walls of rock and iron bars confined,<br />
+Innate divinity by human courts enslaved,<br />
+And right eternal by a dust-worm braved?<br />
+Think you the spirit's rapid flight to mar<br />
+With dungeon torture and by iron bar?<br />
+Can rock-ribbed walls and bars of steel<br />
+Deprive man of the power to feel?<br />
+Can you the stream of Lethe roll<br />
+In maddening torrents o'er the soul,<br />
+Pluck from my brow love's garland fair<br />
+And brand me "Victim of despair?"<br />
+No! weakling son of vengeful fate,<br />
+God grants to none a power so great.<br />
+My body is your lawful prey,<br />
+Poor lump of spirit-crumbling clay;<br />
+Seize, chain and manacle each part,<br />
+Aye, even starve my bleeding heart,<br />
+But know that for Creative Thought<br />
+All fetters by one's self is wrought.<br />
+Mind, glorious Mind&mdash;Jehovah's sleepless breath,<br />
+Can know no bondage and can feel no death.<br />
+In yon fair regions of unreached repose<br />
+Eternal Beauty's flower-chalice glows,<br />
+Filled to the brim with satisfying wine,<br />
+Ambrosial nectar of the Tuneful Nine.<br />
+My muse can reach it on external wings<br />
+And drink till all the heart within me sings!<br />
+I scale the lofty heights, by virtue shown,<br />
+And from Eternal Wisdom seek my own.<br />
+There, far above the struggling world of fate,<br />
+I greet true freedom and am wisely great.<br />
+'Tis mine in bright elysian fields to roam,<br />
+Pluck jeweled treasure from the sleeping gnome;<br />
+Bid ocean deeps their mysteries reveal,<br />
+Or, soaring far above the world of space,<br />
+Gain raptured visions of the Holy Place;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>Admire and measure every glittering throne,<br />
+Count heavenly treasure as my own,<br />
+Make august angels bow beneath my rod,<br />
+And even dare to mould the mind of God;<br />
+O radiant fields of pure, untrammeled Thought,<br />
+With what sweet incense are thy zephyrs fraught;<br />
+How clear the view, from thy exalted height,<br />
+Of human errors and unerring right;<br />
+'Tis thou alone my laboring Muse can teach<br />
+The perfect measure of her powers to reach;<br />
+She cons these fragments of a Truth sublime,<br />
+And art stands ready with appropriate rhyme<br />
+To trim each sentence and each word to place<br />
+In melting numbers of seductive grace;<br />
+Since first Jehovah, bending low to earth,<br />
+Breathed in man's nostrils an eternal birth,<br />
+The rain drop falling, from the heavy cloud,<br />
+In waiting dust, finds ready shroud,<br />
+And there commingling fills each separate cell,<br />
+Yet still remains as pure as when it fell:<br />
+To man appearing but a dampened clod,<br />
+'Tis chambered favor of a gracious God;<br />
+And serves his purpose till He calls above<br />
+This liquid semblance of Immortal Love,<br />
+There <i>not</i> to perish, but return again<br />
+To deck the forest and adorn the plain;<br />
+All nature feels its fructifying power<br />
+In laughing streamlets and in nodding flower;<br />
+The rain drop typifies the Pure Indwelling God,<br />
+That permeates our being, to animate a clod;<br />
+Give birth to all emotion, consistent with His plan,<br />
+And with unmeasured tenderness weep the fall of man.<br />
+From every nodding flower, from every whispering breeze<br />
+From mountain's lofty height, from towering trees,<br />
+From softly twinkling star, from lightning's giddy flash,<br />
+From the softest twitter of a bird and thunder's awful crash,<br />
+From hills the ants may call their own,<br />
+From crested elders 'round their throne,<br />
+From babbling brook, from storm-lashed wave,<br />
+From nature smiling, nature grave,<br />
+From earth and air, from sky and sea,<br />
+There comes the self same voice to me,<br />
+Like softest note of cooing dove,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>And sweetly whispers, "<span class="smcap">God is Love</span>."<br />
+All nature is obedient to heaven's august plan,<br />
+And none will dare rebellion, save ever-erring man.<br />
+He, of a dual nature&mdash;purity and lust&mdash;<br />
+Defies his Great Creator and thus betrays his trust.<br />
+Thrones within his being the hydra-headed sin,<br />
+All his joy to murder and create <i>hell within</i>;<br />
+Self-conscienceness completes the triple blow<br />
+While memories of happier years augments his hapless woe.<br />
+Whatever then of pleasure his wounded spirit knows<br />
+From the fountain of bitter repentance it onward, onward flows,<br />
+His own environment, be it either fair or fell,<br />
+Must <i>now</i> embower his heaven, or will create his hell.<br />
+Contentment, peace, or pleasure he must create anew<br />
+By sowing seeds of virtue where vice so lately grew.<br />
+He learns he must not do whatever man can do,<br />
+But recognize the limits of the just and true.<br />
+Law is his <i>Alma mater</i>, the measure of his right,<br />
+The barrier Jehovah set to curb irreverent flight;<br />
+He has the truest liberty who recognizes law;<br />
+'Tis made to shield his virtues and on his vices war;<br />
+He who denies humanity lives for himself alone<br />
+All history to hush, all culture to disown;<br />
+And quickly he relapses into a barbarous state,<br />
+Where only force and prowess can make the unit great.<br />
+None so lost to <i>virtue</i>, none so devoid of art,<br />
+As he who fails to capture the <i>empire of a heart</i>;<br />
+He who knows not sympathy feels no fellow's woe,<br />
+Will never feel the rapture of happiness below;<br />
+God planted seeds of pity in every human breast,<br />
+And he who loses most of woe secures most of rest:<br />
+Love is man's <i>all</i>, his conqueror, his cordial and wine,<br />
+The measure of his inner life that stamps him as divine.<br />
+How circumscribed the circle God allots to man,<br />
+His home is but an acre, his life is but a span;<br />
+And yet within that circle his influence is so great<br />
+He wakes the cooing notes of <i>love</i> or feeds the fires of hate;<br />
+His influence is potential within a circle small,<br />
+But beyond the limit of the same he does no good at all;<br />
+All thought, all power with which our being teems,<br />
+Is action predicated on events or on dreams.<br />
+All we have seen or heard, all we now can feel,<br />
+Leaves an imprint on the heart that the future must reveal:<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>The vain are truly lonely, they long to be admired,<br />
+One wishes to be understood, another well attired,<br />
+This hushed by useless longings or fashion's changing art,<br />
+That sweetest of all poems, <i>the music of the heart</i>.<br />
+But he who solves life's mystery is never quite alone,<br />
+All ages is his playground and solitude his throne;<br />
+He walks in subtle converse with all the mighty dead,<br />
+Gathering priceless jewels their wit or wisdom bred.<br />
+The watchtowers of his thought o'erlooks the struggling mass,<br />
+While events both past and present before his vision pass.<br />
+He sees the weary captive tugging at his chain;<br />
+The weather-beaten sailor plough the raging main;<br />
+The swarthy burden bearer in forest, mine and field;<br />
+The merchant's soiled ledgers, the soldier's brazen shield;<br />
+The child with glittering toy, the maiden at her glass;<br />
+The ruler of an empire, the leader of the mass;<br />
+The student in his study, the priest on bended knee;<br />
+The teacher with his ferrule, the aged human tree,<br />
+All fondly dream of freedom, yet all beneath the ban,<br />
+Each in a separate prison presided o'er by <i>man</i>;<br />
+Sees <i>nature</i> and <i>morality</i> are ever waging war,<br />
+The first as god of freedom, the latter lord of law.<br />
+Sees culture raise her barriers between polite and rude,<br />
+And hears <i>Religion</i> thunder, "Cover up the nude!"<br />
+Knows man in every station to be a willing slave,<br />
+The football of his passion, the dupe of every knave.<br />
+Yet hears him boast his freedom, laud his reasoning power;<br />
+Rule all he can with iron hand, and <i>finite</i> judgment shower;<br />
+Sees all the devious, hidden paths by sinful mortals trod<br />
+Where <i>human</i> law and custom dare ostracise a god;<br />
+Yet knows a germ of goodness, deep in the human breast,<br />
+Is living in the worst of men however much depressed.<br />
+Knows life is but the unit of God's Eternal Plan,<br />
+And learns to <i>pity</i>, not to blame, poor ever-erring man!<br />
+In each created atom sees faultless beauty glow<br />
+And God's Eternal purpose in onward sequence flow.<br />
+Views all souls as living harps, whose seeming dissonance<br />
+Is but apparent and not real; and believes, perchance,<br />
+God will mend each shattered chord, tune the quivering lyre,<br />
+And from out each soul shall bring a music sweeter, higher<br />
+Than earthly ears have ever heard or earthly lips essayed;<br />
+Such music as the ransomed sing in innocence arrayed;<br />
+While all the universe entranced shall wondering inquire:<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>"Is this the fruitage of <i>His</i> woe? Is this his soul's desire?<br />
+Is this the harp so late unstrung? Is this poor fallen man?<br />
+Ah! can it be that all was wrought obedient to God's plan"?</p>
+
+<p class="pn p1">Nature will o'er matter bear imperial sway,<br />
+And all not immortal must in time decay;<br />
+Man's tenement is mortal, but himself divine;<br />
+Which should he most cherish, the jewel or its shrine?<br />
+Yet when vice allures him with seductive ray,<br />
+Gives he not to passion undisputed sway?<br />
+Dreams he not of beauty who, with open arms,<br />
+Calls for lust to enter and revel 'mid her charms?<br />
+Is his eye not captive? Do not his senses thrill?<br />
+What is left the tempted one save his feeble will?<br />
+If that will prove recreant to Jehovah's trust,<br />
+Pays he not the penalty in self-consuming lust?<br />
+Must his spirit suffer through unending years<br />
+For the shame he purchased with agonizing tears?<br />
+Life is but a shoe-broom, Nature is God's book<br />
+And he's the aptest scholar who all her laws can brook!<br />
+If love of right was constant man could well defy<br />
+All of sin's allurements and unspotted die!<br />
+<i>One</i> such man has lived who, with a faith sublime,<br />
+Crucified the temple where he dwelt in time,<br />
+And entered heaven victorious without the aid of grace,<br />
+The marvel of all centuries, the Savior of the race;<br />
+But had His will but weakened, Jesus, too, had fell,<br />
+And man without Redemption sank tottering into hell;<br />
+All would be good did not true goodness claim<br />
+Such earnest noble effort from a will so tame;<br />
+<i>Crime</i> is but a sequence of misguided will<br />
+Inherent moral defect and <i>surrounding</i> ill.<br />
+Man's innate love of beauty and his dread of pain,<br />
+His ever raging thirst for power and his greed for gain<br />
+Alternately do sway him with resistless power,<br />
+The spotless blossoms of the soul, until he only yearns<br />
+For the ever hideous lust that blackens as it burns.<br />
+Guilt comes not, thundering on the wings of time,<br />
+With vice-distorted feature and the leer of crime,<br />
+But like enchanting vision from a pagan dream,<br />
+Or softly echoed cadence of a whispering stream,<br />
+She steals upon us gently, with ever-changing art,<br />
+And usurps an empire&mdash;the waiting human heart!<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>Her outward form is beauty, her voice with Passion tense,<br />
+She only craves the privilege to gratify each sense;<br />
+All apparent pleasures 'round her path are spread,<br />
+But, alas! you seize the flower to find its fragrance fled;<br />
+But still pursuing, row with bated breath,<br />
+You clasp her to your bosom and&mdash;embrace a death!<br />
+Then, conscience stricken, you the wreck survey,<br />
+And with shuddering sorrow&mdash;humbly kneel to pray;<br />
+While the pitying angels on their pinions bear<br />
+The ever sacred burden of repentant prayer,<br />
+And almighty love descending reasserts control,<br />
+And mercy in the guise of grace has won a human <i>soul</i>;<br />
+But contrast a moment, with this heavenly plan,<br />
+The awful brutal conduct of exacting <span class="smcap">Man</span>.<br />
+See yon martial champion riding on the flood<br />
+Of a frightful carnage and a sea of blood;<br />
+His path is strewn with many a ghastly sight,<br />
+Dead and dismembered bodies and defenseless fright!<br />
+Yet all the people with a loud acclaim<br />
+Pronounce <i>him</i> "<i>Hero</i>," and accord him Fame!<br />
+True, he butchers thousands in a cruel war,<br />
+Yet you deem him <i>guiltless</i>, he obeyed <i>your</i> law.<br />
+But if your angered brother slay a single man,<br />
+<i>Him</i> you brand a "Murderer," worthy of your ban;<br />
+And with zeal unbounded you wage relentless war<br />
+Until he falls, a victim to rage-created law.<br />
+As if a useless <i>murderer</i>, sanctioned by the state,<br />
+Was less the fruitage of revenge than one new-born of hate;<br />
+Perchance in some fair aiden, some far distant sphere<br />
+Your poor hapless victim these just words may hear:<br />
+"Thou art now forgiven, poor misguided son!<br />
+"Tho' tranced with dire passion thou hast slain but one.<br />
+"Thou hast made atonement, breathed a fiery breath<br />
+"Of a deep repentance and an awful death!<br />
+"Place on him the raiment&mdash;whiter far than snow,<br />
+"And teach his untried lips to sing the song the angels know.<br />
+"But as to yonder soldier who for the bauble fame<br />
+"Led unbattled thousands without fear or shame;<br />
+"And with banners flying to the bugle's chime<br />
+"Hurled obedient legions into conscious crime&mdash;<br />
+"All the tears he showed, <i>all</i> the blood he shed,<br />
+"Now in molten fire shall circle 'round his head,<br />
+"And all shall learn the lesson, that horror-breeding war<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>"Will <i>never</i> meet the sanction of Jehovah's law!"<br />
+This is no fancy picture, nor idle dream of youth,<br />
+But, if I know the laws of God, it is the solemn truth".</p>
+
+<p class="pn p1">Behold a homeless wanderer, poor and thinly clad,<br />
+To biting cold a victim, with hunger almost mad,<br />
+Entering yonder mansion, dares to boldly steal<br />
+What none should e'er deny a dog&mdash;the pittance of a meal!<br />
+See the greedy sleuth-hounds of the outraged law<br />
+Wage against this robber an unrelenting war;<br />
+While <i>Christian</i> judge and jury, with ready wit, declare<br />
+His crime an awful outrage, that merits prison fare!<br />
+But he who rears his costly domes<br />
+O'er wreck and ruin of human homes,<br />
+Plants in the breast a raging thirst<br />
+And leaves his victims doubly cursed,<br />
+Can roll in luxury, loll in pride<br />
+And, with <i>the law</i>, his gain divide!<br />
+Tho' every dime he pays the state<br />
+A thousand cost in wakened hate!</p>
+
+<p class="pn p1">A simple youth by passion lured,<br />
+And of but little wisdom steward,<br />
+Meets with a maid of witching grace<br />
+And dalliance ends in dire disgrace!<br />
+In prison stripes you teach the fool<br />
+That he must <i>love</i> by <i>human</i> rule!<br />
+Yet you rear great, costly piles<br />
+Where soiled doves may ply their wiles<br />
+And lead to an unhallowed bed<br />
+The lustful brute you lately wed.<br />
+If passion will assert her power<br />
+None shall dare a maid deflower<br />
+Unless so <i>licensed</i> by the state<br />
+In wedlock's bonds his lust to sate!<br />
+And, if marriage prove a bane,<br />
+<i>Divorce</i>, for cash, will ease his pain!<br />
+Then to your haunts of sin he hies<br />
+And laws of God and man defies<br />
+By casting, in a barren sea,<br />
+The germ of <i>life</i> that is to be!<br />
+'Tis true this evil you decry&mdash;<br />
+And raise your taxes mountain high!<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>As if the more the state shall gain<br />
+The less will virtue feel the strain!&mdash;<br />
+You legalize <i>divorce</i> and <i>fraud</i>,<br />
+And each <i>successful</i> scoundrel laud,<br />
+Unmindful tho' he gain his wealth<br />
+By open plunder or by stealth.<br />
+In vain his hapless victims cry,<br />
+His <i>gold</i> can legal silence buy!<br />
+But if through stress of penury's strife<br />
+One makes a shipwreck of his life,<br />
+You prisons build and place within<br />
+This fruitage of a law-made sin,<br />
+To linger till the cowering slave<br />
+Shall fill&mdash;unwept&mdash;a pauper's grave.<br />
+And scarce a line of obscure print<br />
+At this dark tragedy will hint;<br />
+But if your millioned puppy dies<br />
+What wailings rend the astonished skies!<br />
+What sabled hue and lengthened train<br />
+Attest your deep regret and pain!<br />
+How yon cathedral's vaulted arch<br />
+Will echo with his funeral march;<br />
+What flowers will deck his costly tomb;<br />
+What tapers rob the grave of gloom;<br />
+While columns, nay, whole papers tell<br />
+How <i>great</i> a man today has fell.<br />
+Deluded mortals! raise your eyes<br />
+To yon fair regions of the skies,<br />
+Where <i>justice</i> sits, each cause to try<br />
+Beneath Omniscience's searching eye;<br />
+Your "<i>convict</i>," on low bended knee,<br />
+Pleads "guilty"&mdash;and they set him free;<br />
+And angels crown, with loud acclaim,<br />
+The man you deemed a living shame!<br />
+Your <i>Croesus</i>, with uplifted eye,<br />
+(Still conscious of his station high)<br />
+Deigns to repeat, with growing stress,<br />
+How from defeat he wrung success;<br />
+Tells, with a proudly swelling heart,<br />
+Of millions spent on sculptured art;<br />
+And millions more on lordly hall,<br />
+The eye and heart of man to thrall;<br />
+Tells how a church and college new<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>From <i>his</i> donation quickly grew;<br />
+Tells how&mdash;in cushioned pew&mdash;he knelt<br />
+And begged God other hearts to melt,<br />
+Until each child of man should be,<br />
+Like his dear self, from error free;<br />
+All this they hear your idol tell&mdash;<br />
+And cast him headlong into hell!<br />
+While heaven bows her head with awe<br />
+In sanction of Jehovah's law.</p>
+
+<p class="pn p1">What mighty solons fill your halls of state!<br />
+(Poor gibbering parrots with an empty pate),<br />
+Who deem all prisons of but little use<br />
+Not founded on starvation and abuse.<br />
+They lock poor pris'ners in a loathsome cell,<br />
+While lash and pistol drives them on to hell;<br />
+They crush his manhood and his soul debase,<br />
+Blot out ambition and his name disgrace,<br />
+Yet wonder greatly that such humane plan<br />
+Makes not an angel of each convict man.<br />
+These truthful samples of your legal page<br />
+Condemn your judgment and disgrace your age&mdash;<br />
+Too oft repeated, who will dare to say<br />
+To what dark horrors they may pave the way?<br />
+Pause! ere the records that now strew your path<br />
+Invite the vengeance of Jehovah's wrath;<br />
+Relearn the lesson early taught mankind,<br />
+"To God give reverence and to man be kind."<br />
+Be this your motto, and each setting sun<br />
+Will kiss the feature of a work begun;<br />
+Time cannot tarnish and no heart can blame<br />
+Your noble effort to deserve a name;<br />
+Heaven will applaud you, and the smile<br />
+Of happiness the hours beguile,<br />
+Why pay such homage to mere human laws?<br />
+Dread you man's censure or admire applause?<br />
+Are you forgetful that the crown of fame<br />
+Is purchased torture and expiring shame?<br />
+Think you man's plaudits or his causeless hate<br />
+Can either ope or close the pearly gate?<br />
+Who ever placed in man implicit trust,<br />
+Nor saw his idol, soon or late, in dust?<br />
+Why thus pursue an ever fading wraith?<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>'Tis God, and God alone, deserves your faith.<br />
+Survey all things with comprehensive view,<br />
+Admire all beauty and enthrone the true;<br />
+Know every mortal, tho' a separate soul,<br />
+Is but a fragment of the mighty whole<br />
+That fills a niche in God's eternal plan,<br />
+All for the welfare of ungrateful man;<br />
+Learn that in many a loathsome cell<br />
+A prisoned genius or a saint may dwell,<br />
+Whose power, developed by an act of love,<br />
+May lead a million to the Courts above.<br />
+Shall it be yours to touch that vibrant chord<br />
+And share the honor of the great reward?<br />
+What heaven endorses that alone can stand;<br />
+All else is stubble, built on shifting sand,<br />
+That shall vanish 'mid the fire and flood<br />
+Like tiny snowflakes in a sea of blood.<br />
+Oh, could my Muse, by some exalted flight,<br />
+Portray her knowledge of Eternal Right&mdash;<br />
+Breathe in soft accents to the listening ear<br />
+The melting music which my soul can hear,<br />
+Some would declare my reason half dethroned<br />
+Before my fancy to such heights had flown;<br />
+Yet could such see as I have seen the scroll<br />
+Where God has written "Destiny of Soul,"<br />
+They much would wonder how my Muse<br />
+Could dare suppress such glorious news.<br />
+What pen can picture or what brush can paint<br />
+The endless rapture of a raptured saint?<br />
+Words are too feeble; they but tell in part<br />
+The truthful language of a human heart;<br />
+But, Oh, when spirit from its cumbering clay<br />
+Shall rise triumphant to the realms of day,<br />
+What strains seraphic from our lips shall break<br />
+Till all creation shall to bliss awake!<br />
+O bliss supernal! when our lips shall meet&mdash;<br />
+The lips long buried&mdash;and our souls shall greet<br />
+The loved and cherished of those earlier years.<br />
+Ere pain had turned each quivering chord to tears,<br />
+And life was smiling in her morning hours<br />
+And love was conscious of her magic powers.<br />
+Oh, sweet reunion on the crystal strand!<br />
+When we shall fondly clasp the waiting hand<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>Of buried jewels distance hides from view,<br />
+And all the plighted vows of life renew,<br />
+Then shall we learn the truthfulness of love,<br />
+When hearts like ours, renewed in youth, above<br />
+All passion and the cloying cares of earth<br />
+Shall wake to rapture with a Second Birth!</p>
+
+<p class="pn p1">
+O hearts estranged, forgive and be forgiven!<br />
+Your cruel coldness has already driven<br />
+The angel sweetness from your speaking eye,<br />
+And suffered everything, save pride, to die.<br />
+O cradle, in the lap of everlasting sleep<br />
+The dark, fierce passions that now rudely sweep<br />
+The sounding chambers of the suffering soul,<br />
+Where Hate's tumultuous torrents hourly roll,<br />
+And blacken what was once so white and fair,<br />
+When spotless Innocence was centered there!<br />
+Oh, keep no kisses for my cold, dead brow&mdash;<br />
+I am so lonely&mdash;let me feel them now.<br />
+When dreamless sleep is mine I never more can need<br />
+The tenderness for which tonight I plead;<br />
+My wayworn spirit and my thorn-pierced feet<br />
+The piteous pleadings of my lips repeat.<br />
+Oh, shall I plead and plead with you in vain<br />
+To bring love's sunlight to my soul again?<br />
+Shall acts repented, bred of undue haste,<br />
+Lay all my stock of future pleasures waste?<br />
+Bid me to draw a servile, galling chain,<br />
+Nor wish to murmur, nor murmur to complain?<br />
+Will you deprive my hungry soul of love,<br />
+Nor leave one spark of happiness above?<br />
+Oh, what base deed has these my fingers wrought<br />
+To wake a malice with each vengeance fraught?<br />
+If I have sinned and disobeyed your laws,<br />
+Discarded fashion and despised applause,<br />
+Have I not suffered all a man can know,<br />
+And drank the bitterest dregs of human woe?<br />
+Think you my proud and haughty soul to cower<br />
+With scorpion lashes of tempestuous power?<br />
+Go scourge the ocean with puny lash,<br />
+Or raze a mountain with a feather's crash!<br />
+Why thus torment my swift declining age<br />
+With useless torture of unreasoning rage?<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>'Twere best to sound the caverns of my soul<br />
+And learn the being whom you dare control!<br />
+'Twill teach you wisdom in a single hour<br />
+And rob your malice of its wasting power!<br />
+For heaven has writ upon each poet soul<br />
+"<span class="smcap">Deal gently with him and his all control</span>."<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>INFLUENCE.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY SAM LAW.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p08">When e'er a noble deed is wrought,<br />
+When e'er is spoke a noble thought,</p>
+<p class="p09">Our hearts, in glad surprise,<br />
+To higher levels rise.</p>
+
+<p class="p08">The sleeping purpose wakes in us,<br />
+Arousing power or genius,</p>
+<p class="p09">And from their exercise<br />
+Is born good enterprise.</p>
+
+<p class="p08">Honor to those whose words or deeds<br />
+Thus help us in our prison needs,</p>
+<p class="p09">And by their overflow<br />
+Raise us from what is low.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-040.jpg" width="300" height="181"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Perfect Peace.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pn">["Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace."&mdash;Isaiah xxvi, 3.]</p>
+
+
+<p class="p20 p1">
+Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin,<br />
+The blood of Jesus whispers peace within;<br />
+Peace, perfect peace, for loved ones far away;<br />
+In Jesus' keeping we are safe and they.<br />
+Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging 'round,<br />
+On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found;<br />
+Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown;<br />
+Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.<br />
+Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours;<br />
+Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.<br />
+It is enough, earth's struggles soon shall cease,<br />
+And Jesus calls to Heaven's own perfect peace.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Be Lenient to the Errant One.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p08">
+Like phantoms weird of troubled dream,<br />
+In they come&mdash;a ceaseless stream&mdash;<br />
+The callow youth, the aged sire,<br />
+To reap the fruit of Satan's hire.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">With pallid brow and rueful face<br />
+They view their garments of disgrace,<br />
+And oft in eyes unused to weep<br />
+Unbidden tears will slowly creep.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Be lenient with the blighted crowd;<br />
+Some come, perhaps, to greet a shroud;<br />
+Some, perhaps, will go outside<br />
+And yet become a nation's pride.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">If by kindness you reclaim<br />
+A single soul from crime and shame,<br />
+God will reward the noble deed<br />
+And aid you in the hour of need.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2><a name="Last_Night_in_the_Dungeon" id="Last_Night_in_the_Dungeon"><span class="smcap"><i>Last Night in the Dungeon.</i></span></a></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">The darkness of Hades and a vile, deathly smell<br />
+Is all that I feel stealing over my senses,</p>
+<p class="p02">As lingering alone in this cold dungeon cell,<br />
+Shut away from the world, where hearts' blood condenses.<br />
+I feel 'tis too much for slight, trivial offenses.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Shut away from the dear ones, the loved ones on earth,<br />
+I suffer the tortures that no man can tell</p>
+<p class="p02">Till he's taken away from fireside and hearth<br />
+And sees the sad visions of a dungeon cell&mdash;<br />
+Then he feels that vile man can create a real hell.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">As I sit here alone, my head throbbing and aching,<br />
+And listen to hear if the keeper is near,</p>
+<p class="p02">My thoughts they roam back to little ones taking<br />
+Caresses so sweet from a mother so dear&mdash;<br />
+Then I'm prompted to ask, "Do they think of me here?"</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But when in my heart I feel a slight flutter,<br />
+I know there is sympathy somewhere about;</p>
+<p class="p02">I then to myself do silently mutter,<br />
+"They have love for me still, and there is no doubt:"<br />
+Aye, love for me still, and this I've found out.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then, down on the damp and cold stony floor,<br />
+Without either pillow, or blanket, or gown,</p>
+<p class="p02">I stretch my weak body right close to the door,<br />
+And there, in sweet sleep, my vision to drown&mdash;<br />
+Then, when I awake, I'm not so cast down.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">There is nothing so sweet and perfectly soothing<br />
+To one who is placed in a cold dungeon cell,</p>
+<p class="p02">As the thought that yet there are dear ones a-wooing<br />
+The one who's imprisoned in a dark, dreary dell&mdash;<br />
+I muttered, while sleeping, "'Tis well, ah, 'tis well."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then, when I awoke and proceeded to think,<br />
+Cold, stiffened and hungry, with tongue parched from thirst,</p>
+<p class="p02">I seek but in vain for food and for drink,<br />
+But bread and poor water, the same as at first&mdash;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>Aye, dry bread and bad water, the same as at first.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then my heart sank within me, so weak and so pale,<br />
+As I gazed on the keeper of dungeon and jail</p>
+<p class="p02">And begged for a drink of pure Adams' ale,<br />
+As he held in his hand a full water pail&mdash;<br />
+But the answer came back, "Your plea it must fail."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then, giving it up in pure desperation,<br />
+I try to surpass the curse of damnation</p>
+<p class="p02">That springs to my lips ere I can but control<br />
+The blood that is boiled by such torturing droll&mdash;<br />
+Then I whisper, "Be still! Some one loves this poor soul."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then, staid by the love of those dear ones at home,<br />
+I steady myself and go swimming along;</p>
+<p class="p01">I brave the hard life of a dark dungeon cell<br />
+And I come out victorious, all perfect and well&mdash;<br />
+Then I meet them again and go home there to dwell.</p>
+<p class="p21">'T is well! Ah, 't is well!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><a name="HOPE" id="HOPE"><i>HOPE.</i></a></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY SAM LAW.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">The world may change from old to new,&mdash;<br />
+From new to old again,&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p05">Yet Hope and Heaven, forever true,<br />
+Within man's heart remain.</p>
+<p class="p05">The dreams that bless the weary soul,<br />
+The struggle of the strong,</p>
+<p class="p05">Are steps toward some happy goal,</p>
+<p class="p06">The story of Hope's song.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-043.jpg" width="300" height="122"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Would They Know?</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY 25700.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">If, amid these prison shadows,<br />
+These pale lips should breathe their last,</p>
+<p class="p06">Would my friends regret the summons,<br />
+And forgive my guilty past?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Would they know the dire temptations<br />
+I had met and nobly braved</p>
+<p class="p06">Ere the tears in guilty passion<br />
+My pale cheeks in torrents laved?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Would they know how oft and earnest<br />
+I had plead before the throne</p>
+<p class="p06">For the place my crime made vacant<br />
+In the bosom of my own?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Would these hours of retribution<br />
+Prove sufficient for my sin?</p>
+<p class="p06">Would the gates of glory open<br />
+To let this weary wanderer in?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Hear, Oh, hear! From yonder heaven<br />
+Speaks the Lamb once crucified;</p>
+<p class="p06">"Look up, sad one; never falter;<br />
+For such sinners once I died."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-044.jpg" width="300" height="162"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Guilt's Queries and Truth's Replies.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pn center">GUILT.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Will the fountain of life, now bathed in tears,<br />
+Ebb and flow ten weary years?<br />
+Will the soul escape the horrible blight<br />
+That stalks in prison's gruesome night?</p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1">TRUTH.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Trust, weary one, alone in <span class="smcap">Me</span>;<br />
+Living or dead, thou shalt be free<br />
+From prison blight and sin's alarms,<br />
+While closely nestling in my arms.</p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1">GUILT.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Will the absent ones I love the best<br />
+'Neath heaven's smile serenely rest?<br />
+Will every branch of the family tree<br />
+Still bud and bloom till I am free?</p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1">TRUTH.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">If they lean upon my breast<br />
+I will give thy loved ones rest;<br />
+If death a single jewel steal<br />
+Heaven its presence it shall reveal.</p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1">GUILT.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">While prayers ascend from sacred fane<br />
+Shall penitent tears be shed in vain?<br />
+Will Christ ascend to a prison cell<br />
+And deign in a convict heart to dwell?</p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1">TRUTH.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">None will I spurn who pardon crave&mdash;<br />
+I came on earth the lost to save:<br />
+He loves the most whose debt is large&mdash;<br />
+That soul is heaven's peculiar charge.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1">GUILT.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">If ever again I shall be free<br />
+Will the wreck of my life still haunted be?<br />
+Will the much loved friends in the days of yore<br />
+Spurn me from their open door?</p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1">TRUTH.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Those who bathe in Calvary's stream<br />
+Sin regard as a hideous dream;<br />
+My children clothed in white by me<br />
+A welcome meet where'er they be.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>A Letter From Home.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY NO. 24138.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">I am far from the land where my loved ones are dwelling;<br />
+Between rolls the sea, with its billows and foam;</p>
+<p class="p02">Yet my heart with fondest emotions is swelling<br />
+As I read the dear letter they've sent me from home.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">For I fancy I see the brown cottage again,<br />
+And the garden where sweetly the red roses blow;</p>
+<p class="p02">I kneel by a grave in the shade of the glen,<br />
+Where slumbers the dear one I lost long ago.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">And oft to my heart, when in solitude straying,<br />
+Fond memory recalls the bright days of yore,</p>
+<p class="p02">And I sigh for the fields, where the children are playing,<br />
+The hills and the valley I may never see more.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Long years have I wandered, alone and a stranger,<br />
+And dark is the pathway o'er which I must roam,</p>
+<p class="p02">But I know there is <span class="smcap">One</span> who can shield me from danger,<br />
+And his blessing I ask on the dear ones at home.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>The Reformer.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY SAM  LAW.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">All grim and soiled and brown with tan,<br />
+I saw a strong one in his wrath</p>
+<p class="p02">Smiting the godless shrines of man<br />
+Along his path.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">I looked: aside the dust cloud rolled&mdash;<br />
+The Master seemed the Builder too;</p>
+<p class="p02">Upspringing from the ruined Old<br />
+I saw the New.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Through prison walls, like heaven-sent hope,<br />
+Fresh breezes blew and sunbeams strayed,</p>
+<p class="p02">And with the idle gallows rope<br />
+The young child played.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Where the doomed victim in his cell<br />
+Had counted o'er the weary hours</p>
+<p class="p02">Glad school girls, answering to the bell,<br />
+Came crowned with flowers.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Reflections.</i></span></h2>
+
+<p class="p01">How pleasant it is to be at home,<br />
+Surrounded by those we love;</p>
+<p class="p01">How sweet to list to words of cheer</p>
+<p class="p02">That softly fall on the listening ear<br />
+Like the notes of a cooing dove.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">How the soft caress of a loving hand<br />
+Can dry the eyes that weep!</p>
+<p class="p01">How the mind is eased and the pulses thrill</p>
+<p class="p02">As we feel the strength of a loving will<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>That rocks our grief to sleep.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">How soft that hand has ever been<br />
+When sickness laid us low,</p>
+<p class="p01">How its soft caress could summon rest</p>
+<p class="p02">And bring relief to the laboring breast,<br />
+And cool the fever's glow.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">How soft the light in love-lit eye,<br />
+That welcomes our safe return;</p>
+<p class="p01">How the tender kiss and warm embrace</p>
+<p class="p02">Can soothe the pain of late disgrace<br />
+When fate has been too stern.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">God bless the home where love abides&mdash;<br />
+'Tis the dearest spot on earth!</p>
+<p class="p01">Be it hovel or palace, or great or small,</p>
+<p class="p02">It holds man's hope, his joy, his all,<br />
+And heaven gave it birth!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>The Prisoner Released.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY COL. H. C. PARSONS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p22">I could stand and look at the stars all night&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Where tides run in wreaths to the rivers and rills,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Where the sea breezes play with the wind from the hills&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Where by land and by sea man can go where he wills&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p22">I'm a free man again, and a free man of right.</p>
+
+<p class="p22 p1">I could stand and look at the stars all night,</p>
+<p class="pl0">For months that were years they have prisoned my stars;</p>
+<p class="pl0">My silver-veiled Venus and red-hooded Mars</p>
+<p class="pl0">Were fettered and framed by the merciless bars,</p>
+<p class="p22">That shaded their glory or shivered their light.</p>
+
+<p class="p22 p1">I will stand and look at the stars all night;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I will wait in the shadow and lee of the tower</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till morning shall come, with his magical power&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Perhaps in the flame of that wonderful hour</p>
+<p class="p22">The prison shall tremble and pass from my sight.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Prison Pains.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">Oh! to be heart hungry,<br />
+To feel that never again</p>
+<p class="p02">Shall the heart pulsate with rapture<br />
+To the music of love's strain!</p>
+
+<p class="p01">To feel o'er the senses stealing<br />
+A grief for words too deep,</p>
+<p class="p02">And know the heart's best instincts<br />
+Are locked in fathomless sleep.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">To hear the piteous wailings<br />
+That rise from an empty heart,</p>
+<p class="p02">While every breath is torture<br />
+And every thought a dart.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Oh, list to the wondrous music<br />
+As it floats from the world above:</p>
+<p class="p02">"There is balm for the broken-hearted:<br />
+The gift of my Son is&mdash;love."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Aye, prayer to heaven ascending,<br />
+Tho' winged from a convict cell,</p>
+<p class="p02">Shall find in heaven a welcome<br />
+No tongue can ever tell.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>The under Dog.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY BARKER.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">I know that the world&mdash;the great, big world,<br />
+From the peasant up to the king,</p>
+<p class="p02">Has a different tale from the tale I tell<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>And a different song to sing.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But for me&mdash;and I care not a single fig<br />
+If they say I was wrong or am right&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">I shall always go in for the weaker dog,<br />
+For the under dog in the fight.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">I know that the world&mdash;the great, big world&mdash;<br />
+Will never a moment stop</p>
+<p class="p02">To see which dog may be in the fault,<br />
+But will shout for the dog on top.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But for me&mdash;I never shall pause to ask<br />
+Which dog may be in the right&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">For my own heart will beat, while it beats at all,<br />
+For the under dog in the fight.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Kindness.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY ROTH.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">A kind word for the prisoner,<br />
+A smile to cheer his heart,</p>
+<p class="p06">For he bears a grievous burden,<br />
+Tho' he bravely plays his part.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">From the world he hides his sorrows,<br />
+Stifles the groan of distress</p>
+<p class="p06">That struggles oft for utterance<br />
+Beneath his convict dress.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The alert night watch could tell<br />
+Of the burning sighs they hear</p>
+<p class="p06">While making midnight rounds<br />
+Through corridors so drear.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then cheer his lot with kindness,<br />
+E'en though he be depraved:</p>
+<p class="p06">If, wakened from his blindness,<br />
+The worst one may be saved.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">There Is No Death.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">There is no death! The feeble body, slumbering,<br />
+Seems but to waste and fade away;</p>
+<p class="p02">In future years that God is numbering<br />
+'Twill spring from slumber and decay.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">And clothed with beauty everlasting,<br />
+With not a stain of earth to mar,</p>
+<p class="p02">'Twill voice a music more entrancing<br />
+Than anthem of the morning star.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">A thing of beauty is immortal;<br />
+Each line once lost to mortal sight,</p>
+<p class="p02">Soars upward to heaven's august portal,<br />
+Glad to escape earth's cankering night.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Earth's best and brightest can not perish&mdash;<br />
+Death is decreed alone to strife.</p>
+<p class="p02">The good we love and fondly cherish<br />
+God has endowed with endless life.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Grieve not for those now calmly sleeping,<br />
+Rocked by the slow, revolving earth:</p>
+<p class="p02">Angelic hosts around them sweeping<br />
+Shall wake them to an endless birth.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">In heaven above there is no seeming:<br />
+God feeds immortal souls on bliss;</p>
+<p class="p02">On earth we linger, sadly dreaming,<br />
+Till death awakes us with a kiss.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then fear thee not death's friendly slumbers:<br />
+Guardian angels watch thy rest;</p>
+<p class="p02">Jehovah all thy days shall number<br />
+And do for thee whate'er is best.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Dreams.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p05">Dreams are but glimpses of the power<br />
+Deep hidden in the human soul</p>
+<p class="p06">That, like some enchanted flower,<br />
+Withers 'neath reason's stern control.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They come not as invited guests<br />
+To while away the tedious hours&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Are they not lights from heaven sent<br />
+To teach the soul its wondrous powers?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And best they love to lead us back<br />
+O'er scenes to memory doubly dear,</p>
+<p class="p06">For those we, waking, love the most<br />
+In dreams will seem most near.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">While reason sleeps the soul, awake,<br />
+Lives o'er each precious hour,</p>
+<p class="p06">And woos us with a gentle strain<br />
+Of pathos and of power.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Dreams index to our waking thought<br />
+Plans on which the heart is set,</p>
+<p class="p06">And he who heeds their warning voice<br />
+Has in life least to regret.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">In waking hours we sow the seed,<br />
+In dreams we reap the grain:</p>
+<p class="p06">Sometimes the harvest all is joy,<br />
+Sometimes, alas! 'tis pain.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">What marvel then that sleep is sweet,<br />
+If dreams bring bliss to view&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Perhaps the afterglow of death<br />
+Will prove most dreams are not untrue.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">The Great "O. P."</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">"Forward, march!" the left foot first,<br />
+The heel down mighty hard,</p>
+<p class="p01">Your head erect and turned to the left,<br />
+As you slyly watch the guard.</p>
+<p class="p01">Tramp, tramp, three times each day,<br />
+Back and forth to our meals,</p>
+<p class="p02">While the fellow behind, with his "State brogans,"<br />
+Scrapes the skin all off our heels.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The visitors in amaze at us gaze<br />
+As we march gayly by,</p>
+<p class="p01">The ladies fair, with many a stare,<br />
+Will slyly say, "O my!"</p>
+<p class="p01">Some "Hayseed" old, with a chronic cold,<br />
+Will suddenly say, "I swow!</p>
+<p class="p02">There goes the man&mdash;do you see him Ann?&mdash;<br />
+What took our brindle cow!"</p>
+
+<p class="p01">They say we are "cut-throats" and "robbers,"<br />
+And would be worse if we could;</p>
+<p class="p01">But it's false&mdash;we're noble-hearted patriots,<br />
+Here for our country's good,</p>
+<p class="p01">And the honor came to us, you know:<br />
+We didn't go to it&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">In other words, we were forced here<br />
+To "do" our little "bit."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Uncle Sam's domain has been ransacked<br />
+For men with blue-blooded veins,</p>
+<p class="p01">For we don't want any persons here<br />
+With any mortal stains.</p>
+<p class="p01">We are all old sons of Irish lords&mdash;<br />
+Or at least we'd like to be&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">But instead we are only "cons," you know,<br />
+Doing time in the great "O. P."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Coming in and Going Out.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY CARR.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">Coming in to penal slavery,<br />
+Coming in from liberty;</p>
+<p class="p05">Going out to joy and freedom,<br />
+Going out the world to see;</p>
+<p class="p05">Coming in, oh, how unhappy!<br />
+Going out with many a doubt&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Endless stream of wretched mortals<br />
+Coming in and going out.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">From the many charms of home life,<br />
+From beneath the humble cot,</p>
+<p class="p05">To this penal institution<br />
+Where the felon mortal's brought</p>
+<p class="p05">From some distant homes perhaps torn<br />
+Because grim justice took a fit&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Coming in with sighs and sadness,<br />
+A bondsman for his life or "bit."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Far his loving wife and children,<br />
+While their eyes with tears are wet;</p>
+<p class="p05">Though his family needs him daily.<br />
+And there are bills that must be met,</p>
+<p class="p05">To this convict world about us,<br />
+With its heartless woe and din,</p>
+<p class="p06">Endless stream of restless mortals<br />
+Adding to its load of sin.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Time goes on so very slowly,<br />
+Though we try hard not to grieve</p>
+<p class="p05">For the dear old family homestead<br />
+And for those we're forced to leave;</p>
+<p class="p05">Weary are we very often,<br />
+Weary when we try to win</p>
+<p class="p06">News of those who loved us dearly<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>Ere we took this step in sin.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Coming in, alas! to never<br />
+See the outside world again!</p>
+<p class="p05">Some there are that have my pity:<br />
+Naught for them but toil and pain;</p>
+<p class="p05">Doomed life's golden hours to fritter<br />
+Far from home and friends most dear&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">God's pity on the poor full-termer<br />
+Coming in to die, we fear.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Coming in to serve our sentence,<br />
+Going out, we hope, to cheer;</p>
+<p class="p05">Coming in to do hard labor,<br />
+Going out to family dear&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p05">Careless stream of wretched mortals<br />
+From all stations 'long life's route&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Hovel, mansion and the hamlet&mdash;<br />
+Coming in and going out.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Soul Sculpture.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY BISHOP DOANE.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">Sculptures of life are we as we stand,<br />
+With our souls uncarved before us,</p>
+<p class="p01">Waiting the hour when, at God's command,<br />
+Our life dream shall pass o'er us.</p>
+<p class="p01">If we carve it, then, on the yielding stone<br />
+With many a sharp incision,</p>
+<p class="p02">Its heavenly beauty shall be our own,<br />
+Our lives the angel vision.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-055.jpg" width="400" height="111"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Weight and Immortality of Words.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p08">
+Who knows how heavy his words may be,<br />
+Or watches, when he has set them free,<br />
+Their poising, their flight, their rise and fall<br />
+In the world of thought? We are careless all.<br />
+<br />
+We fathom our own, not another's mind.<br />
+And are all near-sighted among our kind,<br />
+While words of ours and words of theirs<br />
+Are meeting and wrestling unawares.<br />
+<br />
+Words are types of our moral trend,<br />
+The blooms of our daily lives, that lend<br />
+To others the fragrance of what we are&mdash;<br />
+The outward semblance that goes afar.<br />
+<br />
+The part of ourselves that is not our own,<br />
+When set afloat in the vast unknown,<br />
+The something we give to the moving wheels<br />
+Of the mighty force that grows and feels.<br />
+<br />
+No words are lost as they float away:<br />
+On some life ever they rest and weigh,<br />
+Unbound in public or depths obscure<br />
+Their immortality is secure.<br />
+<br />
+Deep in our hearts we often find<br />
+Words lips long closed have left behind:<br />
+They live in the chambers of the brain,<br />
+The source of endless joy or pain.<br />
+<br />
+Words may be soft as evening air<br />
+Or fierce as sultry noonday's glare,<br />
+But soft or fierce, be sure they rest<br />
+A curse or blessing in some one's breast.<br />
+<br />
+How deep soever their meaning may lie,<br />
+Not every soul will pass them by!<br />
+No anger, nor passion, nor malice so great<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>But a match 'twill meet in a world of hate.<br />
+<br />
+No love so deep, no word so kind<br />
+But lodges at last in a kindred mind,<br />
+No thought so vast, nor high nor low<br />
+But a parallel meets in a world of woe.<br />
+<br />
+A heedless word a heart may break,<br />
+A thoughtful one a fortune make;<br />
+One, hurl a soul in endless night;<br />
+Another, lead to heaven's delight.<br />
+<br />
+One word may nerve a murderer's arm,<br />
+Another still a raging storm&mdash;<br />
+One, sow the seeds of endless strife;<br />
+Another, sanctify a life.<br />
+<br />
+Our words outline the feeble tongue<br />
+From which their outward being sprung,<br />
+Or, written on the stainless page,<br />
+They live to bless or curse an age.<br />
+<br />
+How careful, then, ought we to be<br />
+Before we let such engines free!<br />
+Once free, no power can call them back,<br />
+Nor human genius trace their track.<br />
+<br />
+We loose them 'mid the wide expanse<br />
+'Neath joyous spell or sorrow's trance,<br />
+But if their fruitage all could know<br />
+We would not deem them half so low.<br />
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-057.jpg" width="400" height="196"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Which Loved Her Best?</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p08">
+Two votaries of love's maddening dream<br />
+At twilight sat beside a stream,<br />
+Each painting scenes of future bliss,<br />
+Dependent on their darling's kiss.<br />
+<br />
+Both were young and both were fair,<br />
+With noble hearts and manly air,<br />
+And both were members of a band<br />
+Who bled to free his native land.<br />
+<br />
+Each was bound both heart and soul<br />
+Beneath fair Nellie's sweet control,<br />
+Yet they were friends both true and tried,<br />
+If such ere lived, if such ere died.<br />
+<br />
+Each loved her much, yet neither knew<br />
+How well each loved her, nor how true,<br />
+For each was dreaming of the hour<br />
+That <i>he</i> would cull this priceless flower.<br />
+<br />
+At last Ned turned and gayly said,<br />
+"Next Wednesday I and Nellie wed&mdash;<br />
+God knows I am the happiest man<br />
+In all this joyous Western land.<br />
+<br />
+"I could not keep this back from you&mdash;<br />
+That would be unjust&mdash;untrue.<br />
+I feel whatever shall betide<br />
+That <i>you</i> will e'er defend my bride."<br />
+<br />
+Harvey turned aside his face,<br />
+Lest his friend should see some trace<br />
+Of the anguish and despair<br />
+The hopeless suffering mirrored there.<br />
+<br />
+Each word had sunk within his heart<br />
+Like adder's tooth or poisoned dart;<br />
+Joyful love and hope had fled,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>And left his withered heart&mdash;stone dead.<br />
+<br />
+He raised his haggard face above<br />
+Until an angel mother's love<br />
+Sent comfort to her suffering child,<br />
+That made him calm and meek and mild.<br />
+<br />
+By memories of the tented field<br />
+Where patriots died, but dared not yield,<br />
+He knew that Ned his arm had lent<br />
+To stop steel for his bosom meant,<br />
+<br />
+And oft had watched beside his bed<br />
+When others in dismay had fled;<br />
+When he spoke, his voice was low<br />
+And soft as rippling streamlets flow:<br />
+<br />
+"I wish you peace and joy, Ned;<br />
+You best deserve this queen to wed.<br />
+I only crave in future life<br />
+To serve you and your peerless wife."<br />
+<br />
+The loyal look in Harvey's eyes<br />
+Was to Ned a new surprise;<br />
+And in a moment all was plain&mdash;<br />
+His friend's devotion and his pain.<br />
+<br />
+They stood and wrung each others hand<br />
+To reinforce their friendship's band&mdash;<br />
+Their hearts were full, their eyes were wet,<br />
+Yet who can such a scene regret?<br />
+<br />
+Their friendship stood the cruel test,<br />
+And sank triumphant into rest;<br />
+They parted, but to meet again<br />
+Where life was torture, memory pain.<br />
+<br />
+One year passed, and war had swept<br />
+O'er the spot where these two wept,<br />
+While they, with Meig's galland band,<br />
+Were held by Santa Anna's hand.<br />
+<br />
+Behind Satillo's gloomy walls,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>Whose history stoutest heart appalls,<br />
+Here base deeds were hourly wrought<br />
+With hell's intensest malice fraught.<br />
+<br />
+Two hundred patriots true and tried<br />
+To Santa Anna's shame here died<br />
+Simply because they leapt the wall<br />
+And strove to go beyond recall!<br />
+<br />
+Ned and his comrades planned their flight<br />
+While careless sentries slept at night,<br />
+And in safety reached the distant plain<br />
+Where hope and life revived again.<br />
+<br />
+Across the arid plain they sped,<br />
+Half clothed, half starved and almost dead;<br />
+Without a guide to lead them right<br />
+They toiled by day and prayed by night.<br />
+<br />
+The blistering soil bold cactus bred<br />
+Till every toil-worn foot was bled,<br />
+And one by one the hapless band<br />
+Fell prostrate on the glittering sand.<br />
+<br />
+Pursuing soldiers found them thus,<br />
+And drug and drove them to the "truss,"<br />
+There to await the "tortures grand"<br />
+That Santa Anna would command.<br />
+<br />
+"Nine of ten shall now be shot;<br />
+Choose the guilty dogs by lot:<br />
+This law for ages now untold<br />
+Has defied both fraud and gold!"<br />
+<br />
+<i>Nine black</i> beans and <i>one</i> snow <i>white</i><br />
+Were placed within a box at night&mdash;<br />
+Every captive must draw one,<br />
+Blindfolded, ere the work begun.<br />
+<br />
+If <i>white</i>, he lived, if black, he died&mdash;<br />
+Thus were the Texas patriots tried!<br />
+By sons of Gantimozin's race&mdash;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>Man's caricature and heaven's disgrace!<br />
+<br />
+Harvey drew one of faultless white,<br />
+Ned drew one as black as night.<br />
+"I'm lost&mdash;oh, God, my wife!" Ned gasped,<br />
+As Harvey sprang his hand to clasp.<br />
+<br />
+"Not so," he cried, "your bean is white&mdash;<br />
+See, mine is <i>black</i>, thank God! 'tis right!"<br />
+E'er Ned could draw a conscious breath&mdash;<br />
+Harvey had met a hero's death!<br />
+<br />
+Which loved her best, the man who <i>died</i><br />
+Or he who <i>lived</i> to cheer his bride?<br />
+Please answer me; O heart, awake&mdash;<br />
+Such liberty I dare not take.<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><a name="The_Storms_of_Life" id="The_Storms_of_Life"><span class="smcap"><i>The Storms of Life.</i></span></a></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY SAM LAW.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">The oak strikes deeper as his boughs<br />
+By furious blasts are driven;</p>
+<p class="p05">So life's vicissitudes the more<br />
+Have fixed my heart in heaven.</p>
+<p class="p05">All gracious Lord, whate'er my lot<br />
+In other times may be,</p>
+<p class="p06">I'll welcome still the heaviest grief<br />
+That brings me near to Thee.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-044.jpg" width="300" height="162"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Love's Victim.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">She was no dainty city belle,<br />
+Half art and half deceit,</p>
+<p class="p02">And yet no fairer vision<br />
+The human eye could greet.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Naught knew she of city life<br />
+Or fashion's changing art&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">Nature created her a belle<br />
+And blessed her with a heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Her eyes were large and soulful,<br />
+Her face divinely fair;</p>
+<p class="p02">Her form was lithe and graceful<br />
+And a golden dream her hair.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Her voice was full of melody:<br />
+Each tone to listening ear</p>
+<p class="p02">Seemed to awake such music<br />
+As angels delight to hear.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Beautiful, pure and guileless,<br />
+With the faith of a trusting child,</p>
+<p class="p02">She worshiped the God of nature<br />
+With a spirit undefiled.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">She lived with honest parents<br />
+In a home on the mountain side,</p>
+<p class="p02">Where peace and plenty lingered<br />
+And love was true and tried.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Parental duress was unknown,<br />
+For love's restraints are mild:</p>
+<p class="p02">A mother's love and father's hope<br />
+Were centered in this child.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The acknowledged belle of the mountain,<br />
+She spurned the coquette's art,</p>
+<p class="p02">Determining never to promise<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>Her hand without her heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">She could not love her suitors<br />
+With the love a wife should give,</p>
+<p class="p02">And deemed it sin without such love<br />
+In wedlock's bonds to live.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The idol of many a noble heart,<br />
+None dared their suit to press:</p>
+<p class="p02">Thus they wound the gentle spirit<br />
+That pitied, but could not bless.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Grateful for each friendly smile<br />
+That o'er her face would beam,</p>
+<p class="p02">She reigned an empress absolute<br />
+In each fond lover's dream.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">A petted child of fashion,<br />
+The heir to boundless wealth,</p>
+<p class="p02">Came one day among them<br />
+To recruit his waning health.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">These hospitable mountain people<br />
+Welcomed the haggard boy,</p>
+<p class="p02">And strove to make his visit<br />
+One radiant scene of joy.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">They bade their darling daughter<br />
+To be the stranger's guide,</p>
+<p class="p02">And show him all the beauties<br />
+Of her loved mountain side.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Together they scaled the mountains,<br />
+With many a merry shout;</p>
+<p class="p02">Together they garnered the flowers<br />
+Or angled the nimble trout.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">He spake of his home in the city,<br />
+Of the wealth he soon would own;</p>
+<p class="p02">Promised to make Lenora his wife<br />
+Ere the summer days had flown.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Lenora loved this stranger<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>With a soul-absorbing love,</p>
+<p class="p02">And trembled 'neath his caresses<br />
+As helpless as a dove.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">He was a master of the art<br />
+That robs the halls of Truth</p>
+<p class="p02">To gain what passion courts,<br />
+Tho' it blasts the hopes of youth.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">His honied words of flattery,<br />
+Uttered with seductive art,</p>
+<p class="p02">Were music to the listening ear<br />
+And soon deceived the heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Lenora confided in his worth,<br />
+Receiving each promise as truth&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">How could she doubt her only love<br />
+In the trustful hours of youth?</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Assured of an early marriage,<br />
+She yielded to him one day</p>
+<p class="p02">That priceless germ of innocence<br />
+And fell&mdash;to trust a prey.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">She hoped this sacrifice would gain<br />
+Her lover's every thought;</p>
+<p class="p02">This were a boon, if death could buy.<br />
+She deemed not dearly bought.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Little she dreamed that fatal hour<br />
+That love had sped the dart</p>
+<p class="p02">That stamped her as an outcast,<br />
+With a withered, broken heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Eugene went to his city home,<br />
+Swearing to soon return</p>
+<p class="p02">And claim as wife the girl he knew<br />
+His parents proud would spurn.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Summer and autumn days passed by<br />
+And the winter's cold set in,</p>
+<p class="p02">Yet the recreant lover came not<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>To the child he taught to sin.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">A mother's ever watchful eye<br />
+Discovered her daughter's shame,</p>
+<p class="p02">Heard her story with breaking heart,<br />
+But uttered no word of blame.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">She knew her daughter's downfall<br />
+Was the fruit of love beguiled,</p>
+<p class="p02">But hated the heartless stranger<br />
+Who ruined her trusting child.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">God alone can measure the pain<br />
+That child and mother felt,</p>
+<p class="p02">As, locked in lingering embrace,<br />
+In agony they knelt</p>
+
+<p class="p01">And poured in heaven's listening ear<br />
+Their heart-destroying grief;</p>
+<p class="p02">And who so bold as to deny<br />
+That Heaven sent relief?</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The father learned his daughter's sin<br />
+And drove her from his door.</p>
+<p class="p02">"Go!" he said, "you guilty wretch,<br />
+You are my child no more."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Stung by these cruel, terrible words,<br />
+She fled in wild affright</p>
+<p class="p02">In search of the heartless lover,<br />
+Her fearful wrongs to right.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">She tracked the guilty miscreant down,<br />
+And he, to save his name,</p>
+<p class="p02">Hid her till her child was born<br />
+In a house of doubtful fame.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The world looked on the helpless child<br />
+With cold, unpitying eye.</p>
+<p class="p02">The villian bade his dupe go home,<br />
+"Repent of her sin and die."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">She heard, and from her glittering eye<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>No tear of anguish sped&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">With dagger drawn she reached his side,<br />
+And struck the villain <i>dead!</i></p>
+
+<p class="p01">With her babe she sought her father's door<br />
+And pled with a piteous cry</p>
+<p class="p02">A shelter for her hapless babe<br />
+While the storm was raging high.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"Begone, you wretch!" the father cried,<br />
+"I curse the hour that gave</p>
+<p class="p02">Birth to a wretch whose sin has laid<br />
+My wife within the grave."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"My mother dead! and I still live?<br />
+Ah! whither shall I fly?</p>
+<p class="p02">O God! protect my hapless babe,<br />
+And suffer me to die."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The storm increased; she wandered on<br />
+Almost till break of day,</p>
+<p class="p02">Till weary, wet and almost dead,<br />
+She knelt in the path to pray.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The sky was lit from end to end<br />
+By the lightning's awful glare,</p>
+<p class="p02">And a falling tree pinned both to earth<br />
+As they knelt in the act of prayer!</p>
+
+<p class="p01">They found them thus in the morning light,<br />
+And the father's grief was wild.</p>
+<p class="p02">He tenderly looked on the touching scene<br />
+And at last forgave his child!</p>
+
+<p class="p01">They buried Lenora and her nameless babe<br />
+Close beside her mother's clay,</p>
+<p class="p02">And each one spake in kindly tones<br />
+Of the hapless ones that day.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The arm that sent the dagger home<br />
+Was nerved by a brain dethroned:</p>
+<p class="p02">'Tis Lenora's was an awful deed,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>But her terrible death atoned.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Aye, let us hope the much-wronged child<br />
+Has reached a home above</p>
+<p class="p02">Where babes can live who have no name<br />
+And 'tis not sin to love.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>A Prisoner's Lamentation.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">A poor convict in his cell lay dying:<br />
+He thought of home and loved ones dear,</p>
+<p class="p02">He asked his cell-mate, in a whisper,<br />
+"Do you think the end is drawing near?"</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"If I should die before I see them<br />
+Tell them how I longed tonight</p>
+<p class="p02">To have my mother's blessed care<br />
+To leave this world of sin and strife."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Oh! how he longed to see his mother<br />
+And the cottage on the hill&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p02">"<i>God bless them all</i>," I heard him whisper,<br />
+As with tears his eyes did fill.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"Will they think of me&mdash;a prisoner&mdash;<br />
+I, who was once their pride and joy?</p>
+<p class="p02">While I sleep in the churchyard yonder<br />
+Will they think of their wayward boy?</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"I know I've caused them lots of trouble<br />
+In wild and reckless boyish day,</p>
+<p class="p02">But I hope that God will now forgive me<br />
+When from this earth I'm called away.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"I know it broke my mother's heart<br />
+When she heard of me, her wayward son,</p>
+<p class="p02">Who five long years did serve in prison<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>For a highway robbery he had done.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"Has Sister "Minn," whom I used to play with<br />
+In days of youth, forgotten me?</p>
+<p class="p02">If she has, I vow I can not blame her,<br />
+For I've caused her pain and shame, not glee.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"There's but one wish I now shall mention&mdash;<br />
+That Mother's days may be days of joy,</p>
+<p class="p02">And when she asks for me in prison<br />
+Speak mildly of her convict boy.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">"Here, take this to my dear old mother!<br />
+I know 'tis but a lock of hair,</p>
+<p class="p02">But it's all I've got to give her now&mdash;<br />
+I know she'll treasure it with care."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">And when he handed me the keepsake<br />
+His spark of life had nearly fled.</p>
+<p class="p02">He clenched my hand and uttered "<i>Mother!</i>"<br />
+And a poor convict there lay dead.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">May all young men now take fair warning<br />
+From one who's had experience long:</p>
+<p class="p02">Guard strong against temptation's dawning&mdash;<br />
+Cast off evil and do no wrong.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">In your younger days <i>court</i> good, <i>shun</i> evil;<br />
+Be careful who you companions choose;</p>
+<p class="p02">When you make life's start then do not cavil&mdash;<br />
+March manfully on to win, not lose.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-068.jpg" width="300" height="149"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Our Board of Managers.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1">Long have we lived in misery and woe;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Long have we suffered from "kindness" cold as snow;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Long has pernicious influence been kept</p>
+<p class="pl0">Hovering 'round our misery, while in dungeons we have slept.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Long have we suffered from want of human care:</p>
+<p class="pl0">Long have we been bearded as the tiger in his lair:</p>
+<p class="pl0">Long have we went hungry for want of proper food,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And felt the sting of th' master's lash, as o'er our task we stood.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">As the dark and gloomy cloud, that hovered o'er our past,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Has been wafted off by humane hands&mdash;'tis swept away at last.</p>
+<p class="pl0">We now emerge from darkness into a welcome light,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And live in brighter future hopes&mdash;a day made out of night.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">We hail you, noble, honest men, whose hearts beat five as one,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thus far in your prison work your duty you have done;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Eternal God will always right the brutal wrongs of man,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And therefore He did send you here to do the best you can.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">A Cherrington, for the chairman, is a master stroke, you know.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And a Rose is always welcome, 'cause virtue he will sow;</p>
+<p class="pl0">A McConica, of democrat fame, is a power behind the throne,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While a Hoffman, sent from Cleveland, is a father to the home;</p>
+<p class="pl0">A Muscroft from old "Cincy" is a rattler for the place;</p>
+<p class="pl0">They all do join their hands and thoughts and duty bravely face,</p>
+<p class="pl1">While a McAdow records their acts with a gentlemanly grace.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">They issue mandates right and left and order what is just;</p>
+<p class="pl0">They raise poor fallen, helpless man to a place of welcome trust;</p>
+<p class="pl0">They seek to lead him on the way to a nobler, better life,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And restore him to his children and his broken hearted wife.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Their Coffin always sits close by to lend a helping hand,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And faithfully their trust does keep&mdash;a leader of their band.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Well they know the awful fruitage of each harsh and brutal plan</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>Is to rouse the lurking tiger in the breast of erring man.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Now they rule, whose every impulse ripened by enlightened thought,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And it leads to many actions that with highest good is fraught.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And they use with great discretion measures that are just and kind,</p>
+<p class="pl1">Hoping to reform the erring through the agency of mind.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">They have learned the useful lesson taught men from the power above,</p>
+<p class="pl0">That the greatest force in nature is the power of inspired love.</p>
+<p class="pl0">They have learned that rank dissension from all evil nature flows,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And they deem that man the greatest who can ease most mortal woes.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Let us ever sing enchanting of our now official corps</p>
+<p class="pl0">As they lift us from dark ruin as it has been heretofore.</p>
+<p class="pl0">See! the clouds so lately darkening o'er the prisoner's gloomy past,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Mercy's hand is fast dispelling&mdash;<span class="smcap">Reason</span> <i>takes the reins at last!</i></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>A TRIBUTE TO<br />
+<span class="smcap small">Assistant Deputy Warden L. H. Wells</span></i>.</h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pl1">Comrade, may the God of heaven ease the maddening pain</p>
+<p class="pl0">That has swept across your bosom since your son was slain;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Think not of him as a mortal mouldering into dust;&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">God, too, loved him and, my comrade, He betrays no trust.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">You shall see him when the morning breaks above the night of death,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And your parting, O, my comrade, will but seem a passing breath.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Well I know the awful pressure grief exerts upon the soul,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>But I know it will but whiten what it can't control.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">You have met on field of battle many a gallant foe,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And, with patriotism burning, gave them blow for blow,</p>
+<p class="pl0">You have fought till every rebel bent the suppliant knee,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And the land you loved and cherished once again was free.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">You despise no gallant fellow who once wore the blue</p>
+<p class="pl0">When it cost both blood and treasure if a man was true.</p>
+<p class="pl0">You forgive the trivial errors of that noble band,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And you meet a loyal comrade with extended hand.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">You have friends in every station where your worth is known;</p>
+<p class="pl0">You have showered acts of kindness that but few have known.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Since your advent in this prison you have daily won</p>
+<p class="pl0">Hearts that ever will remember <i>acts of kindness nobly done</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Comrade, time is passing swiftly, and Jehovah his reveille</p>
+<p class="pl0">Soon will sound upon the hilltops of a vast eternity.</p>
+<p class="pl0">May we gather with our comrades on that ever beautiful shore</p>
+<p class="pl0">And, like conquering heroes, listen to Heaven's plaudits ever more.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>One and a Few.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY 21069.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">Of all the pet pleasures so pleasing to man<br />
+In his present degenerate state,</p>
+<p class="p02">I doubt if there's any can make him so glad<br />
+As the one I'm about to relate.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">While here he's confined he's troubled in mind<br />
+With his "fifteen" or "twenty" to do,</p>
+<p class="p02">And he longs for the day when he boldly can say:<br />
+"I've only got one and a few."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then keep a strong heart. With courage don't part,<br />
+But manfully fight your way through;</p>
+<p class="p02">Be it "five" or it "ten" or twice that again,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>'Twill come down to "one and a few."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">How often at night when I sit in my cell,<br />
+After working quite hard all the day,</p>
+<p class="p02">My memory goes back to the time that I fell,<br />
+For the "bit" which I now have to stay.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">And sometimes, I own, while sitting alone<br />
+I feel sad and disconsolate, too;</p>
+<p class="p02">But it makes me feel gay when I think I can say,<br />
+"I've only got one and a few."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Oh, many's a home that's cheerless tonight,<br />
+And many's the mother feels drear;</p>
+<p class="p02">When she thinks of the one far away from her sight<br />
+It causes her many a tear.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Though others may cleave to her, you are the same;<br />
+Misfortune but makes her more true;</p>
+<p class="p02">She may now be quite sad, but won't she feel glad<br />
+When you've only got "one and a few?"</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then, don't be discouraged. No matter how long<br />
+In this prison you may have to stay,</p>
+<p class="p02">You know that to worry and fret is quite wrong,<br />
+Far better drive dull care away.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Old Time is the boy your "bit" to destroy<br />
+As he jogs along, contented and true;</p>
+<p class="p02">And so, in the end, you'll find he's the friend<br />
+That brought you to "one and a few."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Midnight Musings.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p05">'Tis midnight! The sentry's muffled tread<br />
+Is heard within these walls:</p>
+<p class="p06">As silent as the living dead<br />
+He makes his regular calls.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I try to sleep, but all in vain;<br />
+I try to close&mdash;I weep,</p>
+<p class="p06">I hear that muffled tread again&mdash;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>The sentries on me peep.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I hear a voice so clear and plain&mdash;<br />
+It calls to me aloud&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">It calls to me again, again;<br />
+That voice comes from a shroud.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Hist! Hist! vile heart, be still! No fear,<br />
+My angel sister's voice I hear!</p>
+<p class="p06">It speaks to me in accents clear<br />
+And bids me shun a vile career.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She bids me meet her once again<br />
+And live in Heaven's fairest clime.</p>
+<p class="p06">Nor shall her pleading be in vain&mdash;<br />
+<i>Resolved</i>, I'll do no crime.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, could I feel her warm embrace<br />
+As when, in days of old,</p>
+<p class="p06">I gazed into her angeled face&mdash;<br />
+It gave happiness untold.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, let me live my boyhood days<br />
+As in the time gone by!</p>
+<p class="p06">And let me consecrate her ways<br />
+When for this boy she'd cry.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">But, hist! again the muffled tread<br />
+Comes gliding, silent as the dead,</p>
+<p class="p06">Along the beat within these walls&mdash;<br />
+Hark! Hark! again dear sister calls.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>A Query.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY MORSE.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">When the long weary days are over<br />
+And the front gates open to you,</p>
+<p class="p06">Are you again to be a wild rover?<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>What are you going to do?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Have you plans or dreams for the future?<br />
+Have the days any brightness for you?</p>
+<p class="p06">Will you be a poor homeless creature?<br />
+What are you going to do?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Should your old-time friends forsake you&mdash;<br />
+Those who were strong and true&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">And leave you helpless, homeless&mdash;<br />
+What are you going to do?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">But you have one friend who is faithful,<br />
+Who is always kind and true.</p>
+<p class="p06">Read His word and study His gospel&mdash;<br />
+He'll tell you what to do.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Stray Thoughts.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p03">
+In the fathomless depths of the mighty deep<br />
+What wonders live, what mysteries sleep!<br />
+What mind can name the sightless things<br />
+That live in the ocean's hidden springs,<br />
+Where treasures heaped on treasures lie,<br />
+Forever secure from the human eye;<br />
+Where creatures sport, that God alone<br />
+Can know their joy or hear their moan?<br />
+<br />
+Who knows but the bride of the Dublin Bay<br />
+May walk in the ocean's depths today,<br />
+Arm in arm with her own dear Roy<br />
+In the conscious flush of honeymoon joy?<br />
+Who knows but the hearts that sadly yearned<br />
+For the gallant ship that never returned,<br />
+Have met, in the ocean's unknown bed,<br />
+The loved, tho' lost, we all thought dead?<br />
+<br />
+Science has proved the human frame<br />
+Is water and salt by another name!<br />
+Hydrography yet may teach mankind<br />
+The open door of heaven to find.<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>"Davie Jones' locker" may prove to be<br />
+Instinct with life, by death set free!<br />
+Knew we the tongue of the deep sea shell<br />
+What wondrous news its notes might tell!<br />
+<br />
+The myriad stars in yonder skies<br />
+May be the beams of death-freed eyes<br />
+That watch us from an unknown shore,<br />
+Still faithful to the vows of yore!<br />
+The vaulted blue of heaven may be<br />
+The looking glass of the mighty sea,<br />
+Where deathless souls their vigils keep<br />
+O'er fast decaying world, asleep.<br />
+<br />
+Atlantis, the fabled city of old,<br />
+Whose gates inspired poets behold,<br />
+May now be resting beneath the wave,<br />
+Triumphant o'er a watery grave!<br />
+Its pearly gates and glittering spires<br />
+Arouse the poet's mad desires.<br />
+He sees&mdash;and sings in tongue unknown&mdash;<br />
+The mysteries by the Muses shown.<br />
+<br />
+Conducted by a sybil fair,<br />
+He penetrates each demon lair<br />
+And pictures hell, in golden speech,<br />
+Beyond imagination's reach.<br />
+To highest heaven his thought has flown<br />
+And measured and admired the throne;<br />
+Made angels bow beneath his rod<br />
+And dared to mould the mind of God!<br />
+<br />
+Who knows but legends the Muses tell<br />
+Are truths encased in a mighty dream?<br />
+Who knows but the angels of earth and air<br />
+Are the beautiful nymphs beside each stream?<br />
+Each singing bird and nodding flower<br />
+May be imbued with potent power;<br />
+And stars an influence, too, may wield<br />
+And bless or curse our natal hour!<br />
+<br />
+Who knows but what we call a brute<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>Is with immortal reason blest?<br />
+Who knows man is alone divine<br />
+And destined to immortal rest?<br />
+Theorize and reason as we may,<br />
+How little we can really know;<br />
+We only learn to live, then die,<br />
+And who may say to what we go?<br />
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY SAM LAW.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p03">
+Art thou so good, so free from sin<br />
+That thou should'st judge thy fellow men?<br />
+Look well to self before the stone,<br />
+Aimed at thy brother's faults, be thrown,</p>
+<p class="p21">Behold in thee<br />
+A Pharisee.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">If thou art not so low, perchance thou'rt only so from circumstance;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Perhaps, if tempted, thou would'st fall. Thy nature's sinful, after all.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Thou knowest not, most righteous scribe,<br />
+The struggles, trials, patience tried;<br />
+The battles fought, the vict'ries gained,<br />
+The bleeding heart, the soul tear-stained,</p>
+<p class="p21">More human be,<br />
+Have charity.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-044.jpg" width="300" height="162"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>The Convict's Prayer.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY 21269.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p03">At midnight, in a prison cell,<br />
+On bended knee the convict fell,<br />
+And poured in heaven's listing ear<br />
+A prayer for those he held most dear.<br />
+<br />
+Oh, God; defend my absent wife,<br />
+Whose breaking heart and blighted life<br />
+Spring not from conscious guilt within,<br />
+But from a reckless husband's sin.<br />
+<br />
+Spare her, indulgent heaven, the blow,<br />
+That oft has laid an angel low;<br />
+Still may her ever angel face<br />
+Reflect the presence of Thy grace.<br />
+<br />
+Be it well pleasing in Thy sight<br />
+That she may rear my babes aright,<br />
+And teach them, in the bloom of youth,<br />
+The laws of kindness and of truth.<br />
+<br />
+Help me discharge, on every hand,<br />
+The duties right and law demand;<br />
+And may I live to dwell once more<br />
+Honored among the friends of yore.<br />
+</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-044.jpg" width="300" height="162"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Wine vs. Water.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1">There stood two glasses, filled to the brim,</p>
+<p class="pl0">On a rich man's table, rim to rim,</p>
+<p class="pl0">One was ruddy and red as blood,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And one as clear as the crystal flood.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Said the glass of wine to the paler brother:</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Let us tell the tales of the past to each other.</p>
+<p class="pl0">I can tell of banquet, revel and mirth,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And the proudest and grandest souls on earth</p>
+<p class="pl0">Fell under my touch as though struck by blight,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Where I was a king, for I ruled in night.</p>
+<p class="pl0">From the heads of kings I have torn the crown;</p>
+<p class="pl0">From the heights of fame I have hurled men down.</p>
+<p class="pl0">I have blasted many an honored name;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I have taken virtue and given shame.</p>
+<p class="pl0">I have tempted youth with a sip, a taste</p>
+<p class="pl0">That has made his future a barren waste.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Far greater than a king am I,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Or than any army beneath the sky.</p>
+<p class="pl0">I have made the arm of the driver fail,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And sent the train from the iron rail.</p>
+<p class="pl0">I have made good ships go down at sea,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And the shrieks of the lost were sweet to me,</p>
+<p class="pl0">For they said, "Behold! how great you be!"</p>
+<p class="pl0">Fame, strength, wealth, genius before me fall,</p>
+<p class="pl0">For my might and power are over all.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ho! ho! pale brother," laughed the wine,</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Can you boast of deeds so great as mine?"</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">The water said proudly, "I cannot boast</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of a king dethroned or a murdered host;</p>
+<p class="pl0">But I can tell of a heart once sad,</p>
+<p class="pl0">By my crystal drops made light and glad&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of thirsts I've quenched, of brows I've laved;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of hands I've cooled and souls I've saved;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I've leaped thro' the valley, dashed down the mountain,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Formed beautiful rivers and played in fountain,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Slept in the sunshine and dropped from the sky</p>
+<p class="pl0">And everywhere gladdened the landscape and eye.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>I've eased the hot forehead of fever and pain,</p>
+<p class="pl0">I've made the parched meadows grow fertile with grain;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I can tell of the powerful wheel of the mill</p>
+<p class="pl0">That ground out flower and turned at my will;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I can tell of manhood, debased by you.</p>
+<p class="pl0">That I lifted up and crowned anew.</p>
+<p class="pl0">I cheer, I help, I strengthen and aid;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I gladden the heart of man and maid;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I set your close-chained captive free</p>
+<p class="pl0">And all are better for knowing me."</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">These are the tales they told each other&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">The glass of wine and its paler brother&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">As they sat together, filled to the brim.</p>
+<p class="pl0">On the rich man's table, rim to rim.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>The Fall of Sodom.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1">Thou sin-cursed city of the stricken plain,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Whose heinous lust all after time shall shame,</p>
+<p class="pl0">'Twas thine to rouse Jehovah's awful ire,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And test the strength of Heaven's revengeful fire.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thy senseless lust and crime had spread</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till virtue, hope and shame had fled;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Degraded youth and tottering age</p>
+<p class="pl0">Could not appease thy senseless rage;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thy leacherous sons, that roamed at night,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Were human only to the sight;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their motto was hell's direst fruit:</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Debase the <i>man</i>, exhalt the <i>brute!</i>"</p>
+<p class="pl0">One man alone of all thy teeming millions sate,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And pondered on thy sin with deathless hate;</p>
+<p class="pl0">His righteous soul was vexed from day to day,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And strove in vain to turn you from your way.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><i>He</i> dwelt among you as a child of God,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And in the path of honored wedlock trod.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><i>You</i>, dead to nature and to nature's voice,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Spurned woman and made man your choice!</p>
+<p class="pl0">And desecrated, with your impious lust,</p>
+<p class="pl0">The masterpiece God had formed from dust!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till woman, shorn of all her natural power,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>Was cast aside, like some discarded flower,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And stormed insulted heaven with hourly cry,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till God beheld you with His searching eye,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And sent His angels in avenging haste</p>
+<p class="pl0">Your sin to punish and your land to waste.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The son of Horan met these at the gate,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And begged them at his frugal board to wait;</p>
+<p class="pl0">At first refused, they after turn aside,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And 'neath a righteous roof content abide.</p>
+<p class="pl0">They share his food and list with eager ear</p>
+<p class="pl0">As Lot recounts each nightly scene of fear;</p>
+<p class="pl0">When lust runs riot in the open streets,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And man with man in strange communion meets.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The men of Sodom learn, with kindling eye,</p>
+<p class="pl0">The stranger's presence, and in haste draw nigh.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Men, young and old, with equal ardor burn,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And, with unholy lust, towards these strangers yearn.</p>
+<p class="pl0">They call the patriarch with an angry shout,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And bid him bring the hallowed strangers out,</p>
+<p class="pl0">That they may satisfy their lawless lust</p>
+<p class="pl0">And trample decency in sinful dust.</p>
+<p class="pl0">He, taught from infancy in Mosaic Law,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Regarded heaven's High Ruler still with awe;</p>
+<p class="pl0">And shuddered with indignant fear</p>
+<p class="pl0">As these vile shouts assailed his ear.</p>
+<p class="pl0">He left his house and closed the door behind,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And to the rabble thus he eased his mind:</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Ye men of Sodom! <i>once</i> in life do right,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Nor do this wickedness in heaven's sight!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Two virgin daughters 'neath my roof reside,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till now a father's care and mother's pride;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Take them and do whatever you deem right,</p>
+<p class="pl0">But lay no impious hand upon my guests tonight.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The laws of hospitality, by Moses taught,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Harms not a stranger whom our roof has sought.</p>
+<p class="pl0">They know the law, who now reside within,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And with horror view your awful sin!"</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Ye men of Sodom! who this stranger gave</p>
+<p class="pl0">The right to judge us and our will to brave?</p>
+<p class="pl0">We kindly took a homeless wanderer in,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And dare he brand our greatest pleasure sin?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Shall empty words defy our proud behest,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Or useless offering prevent our guest?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ten thousand 'No's' will pierce his dastard breast,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>And treat him tenfold worse than all the rest!"</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thus spake their leader, and with angry roar</p>
+<p class="pl0">The o'er wrought friends assail the door;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Lot, backward hurled, could hardly stand,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till snatched within by angel hand,</p>
+<p class="pl0">The maddened crowd no longer wait,</p>
+<p class="pl0">But headlong rush to meet their fate!</p>
+<p class="pl0">The ready angels rise, with godlike mind,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And strike the guilty wretches blind:</p>
+<p class="pl0">In vain they strive to reach and force the door,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their useless orbs are blasted evermore!</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Go seek thy children, Lot, in eager haste,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And bid them not a precious moment waste.</p>
+<p class="pl0">God will destroy this sin-accursed place,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And wipe from earth its faintest trace!"</p>
+<p class="pl0">Lot, thus commanded, found each one that night,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And faithfully portrayed their awful plight;</p>
+<p class="pl0">But he, to them, seemed as a man that mocked,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And left them sorely grieved and doubly shocked.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The morn arose! The angels cautioned Lot</p>
+<p class="pl0">To wife and daughters take and tarry not;</p>
+<p class="pl0">And as they lingered took them by the hand</p>
+<p class="pl0">And led them from the endangered land.</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Flee to the mountains and no hind'rance brook,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Nor backward turn a long, admiring look.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The wretch who dares this mandate to defy</p>
+<p class="pl0">Shall, 'neath Jehovah's hand, in torture die!"</p>
+<p class="pl0">This stern command was heard by trembling Lot</p>
+<p class="pl0">With deep repugnance, for it pleased him not.</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Nay, nay, my lord; but if before thy face</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thy trembling servant dares to plead for grace,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Command me that I now may turn aside</p>
+<p class="pl0">And in your little city safe reside.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thus may I keep my soul alive this day</p>
+<p class="pl0">Nor after fall to mountain beasts a prey."</p>
+<p class="pl0">The heavenly strangers, with an august nod,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Agree to lift from Zoar Jehovah's rod.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The rescued quartette Zoarward bend,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While hope and fear alternate tend.</p>
+<p class="pl0">With mien majestic, yes, with hasty tread,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their trembling flight their aged father led.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Next came the virgins, able scarce to stand,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And followed by their mother, last of all the band.</p>
+<p class="pl0">She yet to Sodom and its idols clave,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>And dared Jehovah's awful wrath to brave;</p>
+<p class="pl0">One look she sought, her weary journey to beguile,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And in a moment stood transfixed&mdash;<i>a Salty Pile!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">The more obedient trio onward fly,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Until the opening gates of Zoar greet the eye.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Now, with full hearts, they reach the calm retreat,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And cordial welcome from King Bela meet.</p>
+
+<p class="pn center p1 small">END OF FIRST CANTO.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="p2"><span class="smcap"><i>The Fall of Sodom&mdash;Canto Second.</i></span></h3>
+
+<p class="pl1">From Bera's palace, and from Sodom's shrine,</p>
+<p class="pl0">A thousand scintillating rays of beauty shine;</p>
+<p class="pl0">The gorgeous parapets of beaten burnished gold</p>
+<p class="pl0">Enlightened fancy can with awe behold.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Those marble walls of rainbow-tinted hue,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Please and instruct and yet astound the view.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each curve of beauty and each line of grace</p>
+<p class="pl0">Relates some annal of the ancient place.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Upon these sculptured walls each Sodomite may trace</p>
+<p class="pl0">The birthplace and the lineage of his entire race.</p>
+<p class="pl0">He here may read, in many a flowing line,</p>
+<p class="pl0">The maiden efforts of the Tuneful Nine,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Who first appeared and strung the quivering lyre,</p>
+<p class="pl0">When new created stars their Maker's praise aspire;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Theirs is the music of the quick revolving spheres,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And theirs the power to bathe a world in tears.</p>
+<p class="pl0">They paint in colors, dipped in liquid truth,</p>
+<p class="pl0">The brow of beauty and the lip of youth.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thought, tame in prose in their enchanting line,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Is dressed in beauty and is half divine.</p>
+<p class="pl0">They wing love's arrows with consumate art,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And make the melting music of the heart.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Youth they instruct and tottering age sustain,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Virtue exalt and hideous voice restrain.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Inside this palace life is but a dream</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of beauty, flowing in a constant stream.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Here silken curtains hang on wires of gold,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And zephyr-satin, whose capacious fold</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ten thousand giddy turns and windings take</p>
+<p class="pl0">The secret chambers of the place to make.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each article of comfort man can know</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>With priceless gems and flashing colors glow;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each drinking vessel is a solid gem;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each odorous flower grows on a parent stem;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Birds of bright plumage raise their tuneful note</p>
+<p class="pl0">And scatter scents ambrosial as they float.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The crystal fountains generous wine dispense,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And food delicious satisfies the sense;</p>
+<p class="pl0">The air is balmy as the breath of spring,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And every atom is a beauteous thing.</p>
+<p class="pl0">One thing alone this mighty place appalls:</p>
+<p class="pl0">No woman dwells within these sculptured walls.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Here man with man in lustful caprice plays,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And Heaven's righteous mandate disobeys;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Sinks, through his lust, below the groveling beast,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Who to the female makes his amorous suit.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Within those walls are stores of untold wealth,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Secured by carnage and by midnight stealth;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Beneath each divan and each downy couch</p>
+<p class="pl0">The smouldering fires of retribution crouch.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each glittering tankard and each costly plate</p>
+<p class="pl0">Reflects the fierceness of each pending fate.</p>
+<p class="pl0">The quenchless tortures of Jehovah's wrath</p>
+<p class="pl0">Is earthward tending in a destined path!</p>
+<p class="pl0">The brilliant sun of light, the mighty sire,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Seems bathed in blood and heaven's all afire.</p>
+<p class="pl0">From pole to pole the livid lightnings flash</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till all creation trembles 'neath the crash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">And earthward, still, the melting heavens bend,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While blinding floods of hissing flames descend,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And seas of lava, with three mighty bounds,</p>
+<p class="pl0">The now doomed city and the plain surrounds.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Now, inward flowing, rolls the mighty tide,</p>
+<p class="pl0">On whose dread billows death alone can ride;</p>
+<p class="pl0">And upward rising, with tremendous sweep,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Its molten billows awful union keep</p>
+<p class="pl0">With floods descending from the flaming sky,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And Sodom knows her hour has come to die!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Her frightened millions in a circle band,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And view approaching death on every hand.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Around them rolls a sea of fire;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Above them flames the torch of Heaven's ire;</p>
+<p class="pl0">While hissing lava, in descending rain,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Creates new horror and gives birth to pain.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each gorgeous palace and each mart of trade</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>Is buried for their wickedness and in ashes laid.</p>
+<p class="pl0">In vain they call their idols, name by name.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their garments all are wrapt in living flame,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their quivering bodies tortured to the bone,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their parched lips in vain assay a moan,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their eyes still pleading with each bated breath</p>
+<p class="pl0"><i>Not</i> for forgiveness, but for instant death!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">The circling oceans, with resounding roar,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Meet and commingle&mdash;and the scene is o'er!</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-084.jpg" width="300" height="159"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>A TRIBUTE TO<br /><span class="small">THE WOLFE SISTERS.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p01">Music, the sweetest all-inspiring gift of God.<br />
+Is ever welcome to the prisoner's ear;</p>
+<p class="p02">There's nothing makes me feel half so well<br />
+As music of the heart when sung with cheer.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Here in this prison as I sit and pore<br />
+Over the past and present of my life,</p>
+<p class="p02">My heart sings ever, o'er and o'er,<br />
+The darkest bitterness of a prisoner's strife.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But hark! in yonder chapel shrine<br />
+I hear sweet music as of yore;</p>
+<p class="p02">I ask, "What music is that sounds so fine?"<br />
+The answer comes, "The Wolfes are at the door!"</p>
+
+<p class="pn">I hasten, then, to brush my prison garb,<br />
+And toilet try to fix as best I can,<br />
+And then unto the chapel wend my way;<br />
+When there upon the rostrum stand</p>
+<p class="p09"><i>Five of the sweetest singers of our day!</i></p>
+
+<p class="pl1">There's Amy Wolfe, who changed her name to Brooks;</p>
+<p class="pl0">She leads her choir without the aid of books.</p>
+<p class="pl0">She sings with voice so sweet and delicate</p>
+<p class="pl0">That to her, First Soprano I dedicate.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Next, Minnie S., at the age of twenty-three,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Sings like a lark and busy as a bee,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Carefully guarding that no mistakes are made,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And handles her bewitching voice with harmony well staid.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Then sang the sweet Zoraydo F., with baritone most clear,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Who, at the age of twenty, delights to bring us cheer.</p>
+<p class="pl0">It seems as if her heart and soul were bent on doing right,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>And when she sang she sang so sweet&mdash;Oh! it was out of sight.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">The next I saw was Lyda M., with scarlet cheeks aglow;</p>
+<p class="pl0">She sings with voice most charming, a clear and sweet alto,</p>
+<p class="pl0">She's next the younger of them all, because she's just eighteen,</p>
+<p class="pl0">She captivates the heart of man&mdash;what a fairy little Queen!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Then last, not least, the little one, that is, Miss Kittie C.,</p>
+<p class="pl0">She just so busy when she sings she's like a honey bee.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Her eyes are clear as crystal, her locks are flowing gold,</p>
+<p class="pl0">She sings soprano quite as fine as any I have told.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">I sat down in an empty seat close by the outside door,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And listened to such warbling as I never heard before.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Their voices drowned all sorrow and gushed forth many a tear,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><i>Not</i> for horror that I felt&mdash;it brought me real good cheer.</p>
+
+<p class="pl0">They drove away the pain of woe, that none but prisoners smart;</p>
+<p class="pl0">They sang the ever blessed song&mdash;true music of the heart.</p>
+<p class="pl0">We doff our striped caps to you, O girls of sweetest song,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And may we bid you be our friends and return again ere long.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Adieu, adieu, our lady friends, do not now say "farewell,"</p>
+<p class="pl0">Because we wish you all return with song too sweet to tell.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Come back! come back again and sing some lovely Sabbath day,</p>
+<p class="pl0">For your presence here to sing good cheer we all will ever pray.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">And now unto the aged Wolfes please let me say one word:</p>
+<p class="pl0">Your home must be a palace filled with sirenic good;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Proud may you feel&mdash;and justly, too&mdash;of these five daughters fair,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And great the good they've done for us while in this prison lair.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">There's but one wish that emanates from a prisoner's wicked heart.</p>
+<p class="pl0">That is to say, without delay, "May heaven take their part,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And to them bring eternal joy that'll pierce them like a dart!"</p>
+<p class="pl0">Each song they sing is welcome here&mdash;a masterpiece of art!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">And now to part we sadly must (while I'm immersed in prison dust).</p>
+<p class="pl0">But hoping, too, 'twill not be long ere you return with sweetest song. Adieu! Adieu!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Prisoners.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p05">God pity the wretched prisoners<br />
+In their lonely cells today;</p>
+<p class="p06">Whatever the sins that tripped them,<br />
+God pity them still, I say.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Only a strip of sunshine<br />
+Cleft by rusty bars:</p>
+<p class="p06">Only a patch of azure,<br />
+Only a cluster of stars.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Once they were little children,<br />
+And perhaps their wayward feet</p>
+<p class="p06">Were led by a gentle mother<br />
+Toward the golden street.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Therefore, if in life's forest<br />
+They since have lost their way.</p>
+<p class="p06">Whatever the sins that tripped them,<br />
+God pity them still, I say.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-068.jpg" width="300" height="149"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Two Letters.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">I wrote a letter while jealous rage<br />
+In my bosom reigned supreme;</p>
+<p class="p06">The words were fraught with anger,<br />
+And a loathsome disesteem.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They fell on the pure white paper<br />
+And marred its stainless page,</p>
+<p class="p06">Yet eased my maddened spirit,<br />
+And appeased my senseless rage.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I gloatingly tho't of the dumb despair<br />
+That letter would surely give,</p>
+<p class="p06">To one who had broken her faithful vows<br />
+In a way I could never forgive.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I doubted not the perfect truth<br />
+Of all I heard them say;</p>
+<p class="p06">She, like other girls, was false<br />
+While her lover was away.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I knew she vowed she would be true<br />
+While life itself would last,</p>
+<p class="p06">Yet thought that she, like others,<br />
+Too soon forgot the past.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I hastily sealed the cruel note,<br />
+And placed it next my heart,</p>
+<p class="p06">Determined upon the morrow<br />
+To give it an early start.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I threw myself upon the couch<br />
+And sought for sweet repose,</p>
+<p class="p06">And in my restless slumbers<br />
+A vision then arose:</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I saw in that terrible vision<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>A woman whose eager face</p>
+<p class="p06">Beamed with yearning, restless love<br />
+As her trembling fingers traced</p>
+
+<p class="p05">A message of love and tenderness<br />
+To her loved one far away.</p>
+<p class="p06">As her pure lips quietly murmured,<br />
+"God grant we must some day!"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She sealed her letter with dainty hands,<br />
+And laid it by with tender care:</p>
+<p class="p06">Then humbly kneeled beside her bed,<br />
+And poured her soul in prayer.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She prayed for her impassioned lover<br />
+In a warm, impassioned strain,</p>
+<p class="p06">That proved her heart both warm and true<br />
+And free from guilt or stain.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She arose from her kneeling posture<br />
+To answer a call at her door:</p>
+<p class="p06">She smiled as she saw the letter<br />
+The hand of the servant bore.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">One glance she gave&mdash;then burst the seal<br />
+With trembling, eager haste,</p>
+<p class="p06">And rapidly heard the cruel words<br />
+My reckless hand had traced.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her lovely face turned deathly pale<br />
+As she wildly clutched the air.</p>
+<p class="p06">She tottered and fell&mdash;a senseless heap&mdash;<br />
+A prey to dumb despair.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">So still she lay I deemed her dead,<br />
+And sprang to raise her in my arms.</p>
+<p class="p06">I loved her with the old, wild love,<br />
+And bowed to her peerless charms.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Speak! darling, speak!" I wildly cried.<br />
+"Pray, come back from the voiceless shore.</p>
+<p class="p06">I cannot, dare not live an hour,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>Unless I hear your voice once more!"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She opened wide her lovely eyes,<br />
+And cast on me one lingering glance</p>
+<p class="p06">So full of injured innocence<br />
+It smote me like a lance.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I seized the heartless letter,<br />
+Curst cause of all my shame,</p>
+<p class="p06">And, with one imprecation,<br />
+Consigned it to the flame.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She watched me with a languid smile,<br />
+And pointed to her heart:</p>
+<p class="p06">"You have destroyed the proof," she said,<br />
+"But can you ease the smart?"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I have been true to all my vows,<br />
+Heaven judge me if I lie!</p>
+<p class="p06">But since you deem me to be false,<br />
+Go&mdash;leave me here&mdash;to die!"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">At last I woke and quickly drew<br />
+The accursed sheet from my breast&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Burning it with a ready hand&mdash;<br />
+And gently sank to rest.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I wrote another, whose tender words<br />
+Were soft as the ripple of a stream;</p>
+<p class="p06">And thought what a contrast it would be<br />
+To the letter she read in my dream!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And my darling greatly wonders<br />
+Why my letters with tenderness teem,</p>
+<p class="p06">Since I have never told her<br />
+Of the letter she read in my dream.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-055.jpg" width="400" height="111"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>A Prayer For Justice.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p03">Oh, God in heaven up on high,<br />
+How long this cruel strife?<br />
+Most I but perish in this den<br />
+To end this wretched life?<br />
+Is there no justice here on earth?<br />
+Must truth remain crushed down<br />
+And vile and wicked, cruel man<br />
+Forever look and frown?<br />
+Is there no power to bring to light<br />
+The <i>truth</i> of my offense?<br />
+Must perjury and bribery<br />
+Prevail forever hence?<br />
+Can enemies, vile, cruel things,<br />
+Twist truth all out of shape,<br />
+And cause one who's not guilty<br />
+To morally wear death's crepe?<br />
+Oh, God! is there no remedy<br />
+For earthly subjects thus<br />
+To be relieved from wretched pain<br />
+Without this earthly fuss?<br />
+Oh, God! to Thee we call for help.<br />
+Wil't thou but listen&mdash;hear?<br />
+Look down upon me as I be,<br />
+My innocence thou'lt surely see,<br />
+These shackles, bolts, and prison bars,<br />
+The heavy locks and massive key&mdash;<br />
+Hear, Oh, God! Oh, hear my prayer<br />
+And set this captive free.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-044.jpg" width="300" height="162"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Birthday Musings.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">Just sixty years ago today<br />
+Mine eyes first saw the light;</p>
+<p class="p06">Now age, with ever onward tread,<br />
+Presages coming night.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Ah! is it night? Or shall it be<br />
+That morning's light shall break,</p>
+<p class="p06">And from my soul such music bring<br />
+As earth could never wake?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Where are the friends of earlier years&mdash;<br />
+Sleep they to wake no more?</p>
+<p class="p06">Or do they walk with joyful tread<br />
+Heaven's ever radiant shore?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">If death is but oblivion's gate,<br />
+Why younger grows the soul with years?</p>
+<p class="p06">Whose are the faces that we see<br />
+When melts the hearts in tears?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, whence the strains the soul can hear<br />
+When all is hushed in sleep,</p>
+<p class="p06">And none, save God and angels, near<br />
+When souls their vigils keep?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Is all religion but a myth?<br />
+Are all our hopes in vain?</p>
+<p class="p06">Is heaven affectation's child,<br />
+Born of disordered brain?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Tell me not such bolts and bars<br />
+Can keep me from the skies;</p>
+<p class="p06">I'd sooner deem yon blushing rose<br />
+A satyr in disguise.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>A TRIBUTE TO<br /><span class="small">THE WOLFE SISTERS.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pl1">Come. O come, ye radiant sisters, heaven honored "Tuneful Nine."</p>
+<p class="pl0">Smooth my ever rugged numbers and inspire my drooping line.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Aid my muse to tell the story never breathed to mortal ear.</p>
+<p class="pl0">How this sweet angelic chorus happens to be lingering near.</p>
+<p class="pl0">In yon fair and blissful aiden, far beyond the faintest star.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Once the guardian angels slumbered, leaving heaven's gates ajar!</p>
+<p class="pl0">And five wandering seraphs wandered, in their rapid, noiseless flight,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thro' the gates, whose vaulted arches echoed pæans of delight!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Quick as thought their tireless pinions clave the unresisting air.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till they reached the <i>five Wolfe sisters</i>, maids of form and features fair,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And within these hearts they lingered, tuning every chord to song.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till the pathos of their music stilled the ever restless throng!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Earth and heaven stood astonished and Jehovah's love decreed:</p>
+<p class="pl0">"Let them stay! such strains seraphic mortal beings can but heed!"</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Have you heard their wondrous music? Have you felt their sweet control?</p>
+<p class="pl0">If not, friend, you've scarcely sounded half the mysteries of your soul!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Amy, soul-enrapturing artist, sweetly sounds the soft prelude.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And beneath her skilfull fingers every note, with life imbued.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Stills the throng, whose very silence is an encore loud and deep.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And each thought, save that of music, is forgotten or asleep.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Katherine's rich and  full suprano, like the Autumn's mellow morn.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Wakes the slumbering soul to action like the practiced huntsman's horn!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Mamie's soft, melodious voice nobly takes the second part.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And the pathos of her music captivates the raptured heart!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Lida's faultless second alto deepens all the noble strain</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>Till the mind forgets its madness and the heart rejects in pain.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Then Zoraydo's matchless voice sweeps the soul along</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till we know that <i>perfect music can be breathed in earthly song!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Hear, O hear the melting music pouring from each heaving breast;</p>
+<p class="pl0">How it wakes the heart to rapture! How it soothes the soul to rest!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">When they sing, such lovely visions seem to rise and grandly float</p>
+<p class="pl0">Like the poet's airy mansions, on the wave of each full note!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Silvery daybreaks brighten slow; sunsets blush on mountain snow!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Moonlight shivers on the open sea; Autumn burns in bush and tree;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Blowing willows bend and sigh; whispering rivers wander by;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thro' the pines sweep sea-tones soft; sailing birds shout loud aloft;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Strange notes beat the lambent air; visions float divinely fair;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Vanished faces come and go; silenced voices murmur low;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Gentlest memories come and cling, <i>as we listen and they sing</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Oh, repeat the music's tale, "<i>Love shall perish not nor fail!</i>"</p>
+<p class="pl0">We forget the fear of death&mdash;breathe, in tho't, immortal breath!</p>
+<p class="pl0">We believe in broadening truth; trust the generous creeds of youth;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Feel consoling hopes that climb up to some triumphant clime,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And sweet dreams of splendor bring <i>as we listen and they sing!</i></p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Walls of rock and bars of steel we can neither see nor feel;</p>
+<p class="pl0">We forget our dire disgrace; disregard both time and place;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Bid all angry passion sleep and profoundest silence keep!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Hoard the trembling notes that fall like an angel mother's call;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Rise above our low estate and forget the wrongs of fate!</p>
+<p class="pl0">We forgive our mortal foes, source of all our many woes,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And penance itself loses half its sting, <i>as we listen and they sing!</i></p>
+
+<p class="pl1">May the God of love and truth give them all the joys of youth;</p>
+<p class="pl0">May the raptures they impart ever thrill each noble heart;</p>
+<p class="pl0">May their ministry of love lead all erring ones above;</p>
+<p class="pl0">May wealth, happiness and joy all their waiting hours employ;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Be their cares both light and few and their pleasures ever new;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>And their lives one dream of ease till their "ship comes o'er the seas!"</p>
+<p class="pl0">Let fate oft their presence bring, <i>and we'll listen while they sing</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Gentle sisters, take this tribute poured from imprisoned hearts;</p>
+<p class="pl0">You have eased their maddening torture, you have stayed the cruel darts</p>
+<p class="pl0">That remorse and shame have driven deep within each captive soul.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Suffer them your names to graven on fond memory's deathless scroll:</p>
+<p class="pl0">Be assured your seeds of kindness shall not fall on stony ground,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Many of  your willing converts have both peace and pardon found!</p>
+<p class="pl0">And, when all your work is ended, you in heaven shall fondly greet</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some whose hearts were first enlightened by your anthems clear and sweet.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>To A Departed Idol.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAX WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">Thou art not dead, thou art not gone to dust,<br />
+No line of all thy loveliness shall fall</p>
+<p class="p02">To formless ruin, smote by time and thrust<br />
+Into the solemn gulf that covers all.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Thou canst not perish. Tho' the sod<br />
+Sink with its violets closer to thy breast,</p>
+<p class="p02">Tho' by the feet of generations trod<br />
+The loadstone crumbles from thy place of rest.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The marvel of thy beauty cannot die;<br />
+The sweetness of thy presence shall not fade;</p>
+<p class="p02">Earth gave not all the glory of thine eye;<br />
+Death cannot smite what earth ne'er made.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">It was not <i>thine</i>, that marble forehead pale and cold.<br />
+Nor those dumb lips they laid beneath the snow;</p>
+<p class="p02">Thy heart would throb beneath that passive fold;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span><i>Thy</i> hands, for me, that stony clasp forego.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But <i>thou</i> hast gone. Gone from this dreary land;<br />
+Gone from the storms let loose on every hill;</p>
+<p class="p02">Lured by the sweet persuasion of a band<br />
+That leads thee, somewhere, in the distance still.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Where e'er thou art, I know thou wearest yet<br />
+The same bewitching beauty, sanctified</p>
+<p class="p02">By calmer joy, and touched with soft regret<br />
+For him who seeks but cannot reach thy side.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">I keep for thee the living love of old,<br />
+And seek thy place in nature, as a child</p>
+<p class="p02">Whose hand is parted from its playmate's hold<br />
+Wanders and cries along a lonesome wild.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">When, in the watches of my heart, I hear<br />
+The messages of purer life and know</p>
+<p class="p02">The footsteps of thy spirit lingering near,<br />
+Life's darkness hides the way I fain would go.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Canst thou not bid the empty realms restore<br />
+That form, the symbol of thy heavenly part?</p>
+<p class="p02">Or in the barren fields of silence pour<br />
+That voice, the perfect music of thy heart?</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Oh, once&mdash;once bending to my warm and eager lips,<br />
+Take back the tender warmth of life from me,</p>
+<p class="p02">Or let thy kisses cloud with swift eclipse<br />
+The light of mine, and give me death with thee.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-084.jpg" width="300" height="159"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Acrostic To Warden and Mrs. E. G. Coffin.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>E</b>lijah of old ancient times was a man of many, many minds!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>L</b>ong did he live in noble deeds, in dealing comfort to men's needs,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n these, our modern, modest days, all men have greatly changed their ways&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>J</b>ehovah's laws do not control the wickedness of every soul.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>ll those who know as well as I while on this earth will not decry</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>H</b>e who will bad men reform&mdash;Hail, Coffin! who for us was born!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>G</b>odfrey is his second  name, and now he reaps most enviable fame:</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>O</b>ur watchword is both day and nights&mdash;while o'er him floats the Stars and Stripes&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">"<b>D</b>o unto us as you would choose, that others do to you and yours!"</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>F</b>aithful to her life-long trust, a wife, a mother, true and just,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>esolves to help both maid and man and lend an ever helping hand&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ach day and night they toil and pray for boys and girls to mend their way,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>Y</b>et they do not toil all  in vain for the great good done the human train.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">"<b>C</b>offin" is a word some shun, for it takes man when on earth he's done</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>O</b>ut to the churchyard laid in clay, for ages sanctioned such a way.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span><b>F</b>or us poor sinners here in "hell" a Coffin sent makes us feel well,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>F</b>or often he does ease the pains we feel in both our hearts and brains.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n endless joy may they have peace for kindness they have done to us&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>ot one of us, though cursed with sin, will e'er forget our friends Coffin.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class="pn center p2"><span class="smcap"><i>CANTO SECOND&mdash;LAST, BUT NOT LEAST!</i></span></p>
+
+<hr class="dec4" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>M</b>istress she is of the Coffin shrine, and so it's been for years of time!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n holy wedlock girls and boys have been the idols of their joys!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>S</b>he bids her Lord Elijah bide a faithful servant by her side,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>T</b>o aid her with a helping hand to raise poor, wretched, fallen man.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>eal sympathy for the prisoner's woe, she seeds of comfort tries to sow</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>re long before it is too late to save poor sinner from his fate;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>S</b>he "cookies"  make, with pearls all set, and puts them in Elijah's hat,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>S</b>he then does send him on his way, while for the prisoner she does pray.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>M</b>ary silently did keep the watch o'er Christ while he did sleep;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>ll her <i>protege</i> she will save if her Lord will help her brave</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>oaring storms of vice and ire, kindled by a vengeful fire!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>Y</b>ou may guess for all the rest, let me say <span class="smcap">she'll do her best!</span></p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>C</b>offins, to you let us turn! and all crime forever spurn!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span><b>O</b>nly aid us in this strife to fight manfully for life.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>F</b>ather Elijah! Mother Mary! for our welfare do not tarry!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>F</b>ear you not! for the good you've done has saved many a fallen one!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n our hearts we oft despair as we linger in this lair&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>ot for long tho' when we've seen&mdash;Father Elijah and Mary, his <i>Queen!</i></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>A Prison Vision.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">'Tis midnight in these prison walls,<br />
+And even the sentry's muffled tread</p>
+<p class="p06">Sepulchral sounds, as if he trod<br />
+The silent confines of the dead.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">In vain I close my weary eyes,<br />
+I cannot sleep tonight;</p>
+<p class="p06">I hear an angel's rustling wings<br />
+Fresh from the realms of light.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">A sacred presence haunts the air,<br />
+A messenger from Heaven's own land;</p>
+<p class="p06">And memory awakes again,<br />
+Touched by an angel's wand.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I seem to hear, deep in my soul,<br />
+The music of a heavenly choir,</p>
+<p class="p06">While each pulsation of my heart<br />
+Awakes in me the old desire</p>
+
+<p class="p05">To see once more that lovely form<br />
+Death vanished in my arms;</p>
+<p class="p06">To hear again her melting voice<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>And revel in her charms.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">To feel the tender, soft caress<br />
+Of a loved tho' vanished hand,</p>
+<p class="p06">And hear from her departed lips<br />
+The mysteries of that land</p>
+
+<p class="p05">That lies beyond Time's rugged shore,<br />
+To all unknown, save those</p>
+<p class="p06">Whom angels capture for the skies<br />
+At life's uncertain close.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I muse again, with loving thought,<br />
+Of a sinless wife long dead,</p>
+<p class="p06">And live again our buried past,<br />
+By an angel presence led.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I view again the pleasing scene<br />
+Of a school house on the hill,</p>
+<p class="p06">Where happy scholars daily met,<br />
+Whose law was the teacher's will.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I see again the old armchair<br />
+Where the Master daily sat</p>
+<p class="p06">With watchful eye and helpful hand,<br />
+Yet sleepless as a cat.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I hear again the sleepless hum<br />
+Of voices low and sweet,</p>
+<p class="p06">Of students pouring o'er the books<br />
+With wisdom's germs replete.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Amid that happy, guileless throng,<br />
+There was one peerless face</p>
+<p class="p06">That held in the Master's tender heart<br />
+An undisputed place.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">It was a face, O God! how fair!<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>No words can ever paint;</p>
+<p class="p06">More fit for heaven than for earth.<br />
+It bore the contour of a saint.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The brow was high and broad and white,<br />
+With a radiance all its own;</p>
+<p class="p06">The cheeks, like lilies dipped in blood,<br />
+Were oft as a rose full blown.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Eyebrows dark and delicately arched,<br />
+Were penciled in Nature's play;</p>
+<p class="p06">The ruby ripeness of her lips<br />
+Seemed never to melt away.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her lustrous eyes, whose depths were brown,<br />
+Yet seemed a darker hue,</p>
+<p class="p06">Were windows of a spotless soul<br />
+That scorned to be untrue.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Abundant tresses of dark brown hair<br />
+That almost swept the ground,</p>
+<p class="p06">Enveloped as chaste and lovely form<br />
+As e'er on earth was found.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">A voice so soft, so sweet, so low<br />
+That every accent woke</p>
+<p class="p06">Sweet notes of blissful melody,<br />
+As if an angel spoke.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">None could look upon that face<br />
+And deem that aught of earth</p>
+<p class="p06">Could chill the rapture of a soul<br />
+Where sin could know no birth.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her mind had wondrous power and scope;<br />
+It grasped the sea, the earth, the sky,</p>
+<p class="p06">And rightly understood and loved<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>The God who ruled on high.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Contentment, truth and virtue<br />
+Was part of Nature's dower;</p>
+<p class="p06">Self-sacrifice to her was joy,<br />
+And prayer was conscious power.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">While yet a child her spirit soared<br />
+Above the things of earth,</p>
+<p class="p06">And mused with soulful tenderness<br />
+On the heaven that gave it birth.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The teacher's stern, imperious heart<br />
+Yearningly worshipped this child,</p>
+<p class="p06">And 'neath her hallowed influence<br />
+Grew tender, warm and mild.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The haughty heart, that never sought<br />
+The plaudits of the world,</p>
+<p class="p06">Poured its richest tribute<br />
+At the feet of this faultless girl.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The face, that never even blanched<br />
+'mid war's terrific strife,</p>
+<p class="p06">Grew pale as death the hour he asked<br />
+This child to be his wife.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">No word she spake, but simply laid<br />
+Her head upon his breast.</p>
+<p class="p06">He folded her in warm embrace<br />
+And knew that he was blest.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Each lived a life of conscious joy;<br />
+Earth seemed a garden fair;</p>
+<p class="p06">The lover sought earth's fairest flowers<br />
+To braid in her shining hair.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Deeply they drank at the font of love;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>Draughts few natures can hold;</p>
+<p class="p06">The hours were seasons of perfect bliss;<br />
+Each moment more precious than gold.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Days and months flew swiftly by<br />
+On the wings of happiness sped,</p>
+<p class="p06">And two sweet babes were garnered<br />
+As the fruit of their marriage bed!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They neither thought nor dreamed of aught<br />
+Save their babes and coming bliss;</p>
+<p class="p06">They greeted the morn with soft caress<br />
+And welcomed night with a kiss.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Till, thundering on the wings of Time,<br />
+Fate dealt the cruel blow</p>
+<p class="p06">That dashed a home in pieces<br />
+And laid a child-wife low.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The husband pressed her to his breast<br />
+And fondly kissed his bride;</p>
+<p class="p06">But with the parting of that kiss<br />
+The sinless child-wife died.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The kindred angels joyful flew<br />
+From the realms of endless day,</p>
+<p class="p06">And gently wafted her soul above,<br />
+But left to us her clay.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"She is dead! Kiss her and come away.<br />
+Your cries and prayers are all in vain,</p>
+<p class="p06">Your May-Bell is cold, senseless clay;<br />
+In heaven above you'll meet again."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They smoothed her tresses of dark brown hair<br />
+Back from her marble forehead fair;</p>
+<p class="p06">Over her eyes, that oped too much,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>They closed the lids with a tender touch.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They closed with tender touch, that day,<br />
+The thin, pale lips where beauty lay;</p>
+<p class="p06">About her brow and her sweet pale face<br />
+They tied her veil and bridal lace;</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Placed on her feet the white silk shoes<br />
+That May-Bell for her marriage chose;</p>
+<p class="p06">Over her bosom crossed her hands;<br />
+"Come away," they said, "God understands."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">With bowed heads they left the room,<br />
+Still shuddering at its silent gloom;</p>
+<p class="p06">And naught, save silence, lingered there<br />
+Around the corpse of May-Bell Clare.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">But I loved her far too well to dread<br />
+The silent, stately, beautiful dead.</p>
+<p class="p06">I cautiously opened the chamber door<br />
+And was alone with my dead once more.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I kissed her lips, I kissed her cheek,<br />
+But 'twas in vain, she could not speak.</p>
+<p class="p06">I called her names, she loved, awhile,<br />
+But she was dead and could not smile.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And not one passionate whisper of love<br />
+Could call her back from her home above.</p>
+<p class="p06">"Cold lips," I murmured, "breast without breath,<br />
+Is there no voice, no language in death?"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Dull to ear and still to the sense,<br />
+Yet to the soul of love intense!</p>
+<p class="p06">See, I listen with soul, not ear;<br />
+What is the secret of dying, my dear?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Was it the infinite wonder of all<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>That you could let life's flower fall?</p>
+<p class="p06">Or was it a greater marvel to feel<br />
+The perfect calm o'er agony steal?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Was the miracle greatest to find how deep<br />
+Beyond all dreams sank down that sleep?</p>
+<p class="p06">Did life roll back its record, my dear,<br />
+Showing all past deeds dark and clear?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, did love, sweet mistress of bliss,<br />
+Affrighted, vanish to shun death's kiss?</p>
+<p class="p06">For radiant ones in the world above<br />
+Forget those whom on earth they love?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, perfect death! Oh, dead most dear,<br />
+I hold the breath of my soul to hear!</p>
+<p class="p06">I listen as deep as fathomless hell,<br />
+As high as heaven, nor will you tell!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">There must be pleasure in dying, my sweet,<br />
+To make you so placid from head to feet!</p>
+<p class="p06">I'd tell you, darling, if I were dead<br />
+And <i>your</i> hot tears on <i>my</i> cheeks shed,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I'd speak, though the angel of death had laid<br />
+His sword on my lips, their accents to shade.</p>
+<p class="p06">Not in vain should you, with streaming eyes,<br />
+Beg to know Death's chief surprise.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, foolish world! Oh, precious dead!<br />
+Tho' you tell me, who will believe 'twas said?</p>
+<p class="p06">Who will believe I heard you say<br />
+In your own dear, kind familiar way:</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I can speak now&mdash;you listen with soul alone:<br />
+To the eyes of your soul <i>all</i> shall be shown.</p>
+<p class="p06">In this land of infinite bliss<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>The utmost wonder, dear one, is this:</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I see and love and kiss you again;<br />
+I smile at your triumph over pain;</p>
+<p class="p06">I know your heart is honest and true;<br />
+I'm a guardian angel to you!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"What a strange, delicious amusement is death!<br />
+To live without being, to breathe without breath!</p>
+<p class="p06">I should laugh did you not cry;<br />
+Listen, dear one, love never can die!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I am now your heaven-decked bride;<br />
+My body and not my love has died!</p>
+<p class="p06">Dear one, <i>it</i> lies there, I know,<br />
+Pale and silent, cold as snow.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"And you say, 'May-Bell is dead.'<br />
+Weeping o'er my silent head!</p>
+<p class="p06"><i>I</i> can see your falling tears,<br />
+Hear your sighs and know your fears!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Yet I smile and whisper this:<br />
+I am not the clay you kiss;</p>
+<p class="p06">Cease your tears and let <i>it</i> lie,<br />
+It was mine, but 'tis not <i>I!</i></p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Dear one, what the women love<br />
+For its silent home, the grave,</p>
+<p class="p06">Is a garment I have quit,<br />
+As a tent no longer fit.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"'Tis a cage from which, at last,<br />
+My enraptured soul has passed.</p>
+<p class="p06">Love the <i>inmate</i>, not the <i>room</i>,<br />
+Love the <i>wearer</i>, not the <i>plume!</i></p>
+
+<p class="p05">"<i>Love</i> my <i>spirit</i>, not the <i>bars</i>,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>That kept your May-Bell from the stars;</p>
+<p class="p06">Be wise, dear one, and quickly dry<br />
+From every tear your laden eye.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"What you place upon the bier<br />
+Is not worth a lover's tear;</p>
+<p class="p06">'Tis an empty shell at last,<br />
+Out of which the soul has passed.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"The shell is broken, <i>it</i> lies <i>there</i>,<br />
+But the <i>pearl</i>, the <i>soul</i>, is <i>here!</i></p>
+<p class="p06">'Tis an earthen jar, whose lid<br />
+God sealed when it faintly hid</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"The soul He made to live on high;<br />
+The mind that did not, cannot die.</p>
+<p class="p06">Let the dross be earth's once more,<br />
+Since the gold is in His store.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"God is glorious! God is good!<br />
+Now His word is understood!</p>
+<p class="p06">Life's ceaseless wonder is at an end,<br />
+Yet you weep, my erring friend!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"See, the lover <i>you</i> call dead<br />
+To immortal bliss is wed!</p>
+<p class="p06">Loves and homes you lost, 'tis true,<br />
+To such light as shines for you.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Yet deep in your inmost soul<br />
+You shall feel my sweet control.</p>
+<p class="p06">I'll be with you every hour,<br />
+Commissioned by Almighty Power,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"To guard each moment of your life<br />
+As best befits your angel wife!</p>
+<p class="p06">At night I'll linger 'round your bed,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>With an angel's noiseless tread;</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"And while you, slumbering, dream of me,<br />
+I'll be present, love, with thee.</p>
+<p class="p06">Where e'er you go, where e'er you stray,<br />
+I'll be near thee night and day,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Guarding you with zealous care,<br />
+Pointing out life's every snare,</p>
+<p class="p06">Chasing every tear away,<br />
+Aiding every joy to stay.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Chide you when you go astray;<br />
+Bless you when you kneel to pray;</p>
+<p class="p06">Lead you, with an unseen hand,<br />
+To view the wonders of a land</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Where Peace and Love and Perfect Joy<br />
+Tongue cannot name, nor peace destroy!</p>
+<p class="p06">Shall ever bless the happy band,<br />
+As radiant 'round the throne they stand!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Once there, we'll never part again,<br />
+But <i>time</i>, and <i>love</i> while God shall reign.</p>
+<p class="p06">I cannot, <i>dare not</i>, say farewell;<br />
+Where I am <i>now</i> you, too, shall dwell.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I am gone before your face,<br />
+A moment's time, a little space.</p>
+<p class="p06">When you come where I have stepped<br />
+You'll greatly wonder why you wept!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"You'll know by Love Eternal taught<br />
+That Heaven is <i>all</i>, that earth is naught.</p>
+<p class="p06">I beg you not to dread sweet death;<br />
+'Tis but the first and faintest breath</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Of the life that God hath given<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>To fit immortal souls for heaven!</p>
+<p class="p06">Be <i>certain</i>, darling, <i>all</i> seems love,<br />
+Viewed from the higher courts above!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"The cares and troubles that arise<br />
+Will prove sweet blessings in disguise;</p>
+<p class="p06">They'll waft you to a home above,<br />
+Where I'll await your coming, Love!"</p>
+
+<p class="p05"><i>I</i> heard these words and fell on the breast<br />
+Of the peerless bride that heaven had dressed.</p>
+<p class="p06">I yearned for those blissful regions above<br />
+With heart overflowed with passionate love.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">My peerless flower, tho' nipped in youth,<br />
+Perennial shall bloom in the Garden of Truth!</p>
+<p class="p06">I see in the distance a roseleaf hand<br />
+Beckoning me on to that glorious land.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Tho' parted on earth we'll meet in the sky,<br />
+Where bliss cannot perish, and love cannot die.</p>
+<p class="p06">Oh, bliss supernal! Oh, rapture complete,<br />
+When earth-sundered ones in glory shall meet.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">For years and years I've watched in vain<br />
+To see that buried face again;</p>
+<p class="p06">In vain I've tried, with mortal eyes,<br />
+To pierce the mysteries of the skies!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, sweetheart of the days of yore,<br />
+Shall we meet on earth no more?</p>
+<p class="p06">Shall I languish all alone<br />
+Without one sympathetic tone&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="p05">One glance of love, one word of cheer<br />
+From eyes and lips I hold so dear?</p>
+<p class="p06">Oh, hearken to my piteous cries,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>Beloved one, and forsake the skies!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, listen! Earth-born mortals, see!<br />
+My angel bride has come to me!</p>
+<p class="p06">The self-same face&mdash;divinely fair&mdash;<br />
+And heaven-set jewels decked her hair.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her laughing eye and glowing cheek<br />
+Eternal youth and bliss bespeak;</p>
+<p class="p06">My head is pillowed on her breast,<br />
+My brow by her dear hands caressed!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The dulcet tones of her dear voice<br />
+Bids my aching heart rejoice;</p>
+<p class="p06">She folds me 'neath her dazzling wings,<br />
+While all the heart within me sings!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, list those melting tones of love,<br />
+More soft than note of cooing dove!</p>
+<p class="p06">Oh, hear the words her dear lips speak:<br />
+"Death, dear one, is the boon to seek!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"False are the glittering gems of earth,<br />
+Eternity's gold is the gold of worth;</p>
+<p class="p06">One moment in heaven is worth a life<br />
+Spent on earth 'mid care and strife!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Death is but the dawn of day,<br />
+Destroying naught save worthless clay!</p>
+<p class="p06">The soul lives on in rapturous bliss<br />
+More perfect than a virgin kiss!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Oh, dear one, still your haunting fears;<br />
+The love, tho' lost, of earlier years</p>
+<p class="p06">Awaits your coming to the skies,<br />
+And o'er you watch with jealous eyes,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Lest earth detain you till too late<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>To enter heaven's wide open gate.</p>
+<p class="p06">Oh, tarry not on earth too long,<br />
+But with me join immortal's song!"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She spake, and through the vaulted sky,<br />
+Beyond the reach of mortal eye,</p>
+<p class="p06">She wings her rapid noiseless flight<br />
+And I am left alone tonight.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Nay, not alone; for in my soul<br />
+I feel a new-born sweet control</p>
+<p class="p06">That lures me to a higher life,<br />
+Which will please an angel wife!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Farewell, prison blight and bars,<br />
+Mine is a home beyond the stars.</p>
+<p class="p06">Welcome, Death, at any hour,<br />
+Since sin has lost her maddening power!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-040.jpg" width="300" height="181"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO<br /><span class="small">CAPT. J. S. ACHESON.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>J</b>ust consider, for one moment, all the good this man has done.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>O</b>n full many a field of battle he the victory hath won;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>S</b>wept he with victorious Sherman from Atlanta to the sea,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ver acting as a soldier, from all fear and malice free;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>P</b>roving true in every station, like a soldier tried and true,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>H</b>e has earned and won the friendship of the boys who wore the blue!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>S</b>ince his advent in this prison he has, with impartial mind,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>M</b>ade it plain that every duty can be done and still be kind.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n his bosom rests no malice towards a single human soul;</p>
+<p class="pl0">'<b>T</b>is his study, night and morning, all his passions to control.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>H</b>e is willing every prisoner should become his honest <i>friend</i>,</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>A</b>nd the prisoner's reformation he regards as <i>law's best trend</i>:</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>C</b>rime, he deems is but the fruitage of conditions time can change.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>H</b>e would lift his fallen brother and no rule of right derange!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ver ready with the welcome of a smile and word of cheer,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>S</b>ome may only be respected, but such men are ever dear.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>O</b>'er the path of life may Heaven scatter roses at his feet;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>one will doubt that every christian shall <i>his</i> face in heaven meet.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">My Mother.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">CARR.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">One bright Sunday morn, as I sat in my cell,<br />
+My thoughts to the outside did roam;</p>
+<p class="p02">The sweet songs of birds, as their notes rose and fell,<br />
+Turned my mind to my childhood's dear home.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Long years they have passed since I saw that dear spot,<br />
+But its sweet memories time can ne'er smother;</p>
+<p class="p02">I can never forget that dear little cot<br />
+And the sweet loving smile of my mother.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">In sickness or pain 'twas dear mother that brought<br />
+Her sweet self and her charms to allay it;</p>
+<p class="p02">She learned me a prayer and she lovingly taught<br />
+Me to kneel at her knees and to say it.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">God's word she would read, and impress on my mind<br />
+The love that's conveyed by that story</p>
+<p class="p02">Of the Savior, who died that millions might find<br />
+Eternal rest in His realms of glory.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">For years she's been dead, and her low, grassy mound<br />
+Reminds me that 'neath it lies sleeping</p>
+<p class="p02">The dear friend of my youth, whose magic, I found,<br />
+Could bring smiles to my face e'en when weeping.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">'Tis thus the dear birds, as they joyfully sing<br />
+And chirp happy calls to each other,</p>
+<p class="p02">Remind me that perhaps they were sent for to bring<br />
+A message to me from my mother.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But, alas! as I think, upon my mind there quickly falls<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>The thoughts of my sad degredation;</p>
+<p class="p02">The strong iron bars, and the grey, sombre walls,<br />
+Recall me to my sad situation.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But no more will I sin; I'll live upright for sure;<br />
+My passions and temptations I'll smother;</p>
+<p class="p02">And when God calls me home to that bright shining shore<br />
+We'll be happy together, dear mother.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">A Memorial Ode.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p05">Again the sacred day has come<br />
+When tears and flowers shall fall</p>
+<p class="p06">On the graves of our sleeping heroes<br />
+Who died at Liberty's call.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And the tears we shed above them,<br />
+As our hearts with tenderness bled,</p>
+<p class="p06">Is the crown of their matchless glory<br />
+And earth's divinest mead.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Their deeds on the field of battle<br />
+Were such as a god might do,</p>
+<p class="p06">And the listening angels applauded<br />
+The work of the boys in blue.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The flag they died defending<br />
+Still floats above their grave,</p>
+<p class="p06">And is loved by millions of freemen,<br />
+But never looked on by a slave.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The country they loved and bled for,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>Still true to her sacred trust,</p>
+<p class="p06">Will cover their names with glory<br />
+And revere their hallowed dust.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The comrades who still survive them,<br />
+Like gold in the furnace tried,</p>
+<p class="p06">Speak, with tear-dimmed lashes,<br />
+Of the gallant boys that died.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">These flowers will fade and perish,<br />
+Tho' hallowed by each grave;</p>
+<p class="p06">But they will live forever<br />
+In the hearts of the true and the brave.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then let this custom continue<br />
+Till tears and flowers shall cease,</p>
+<p class="p06">And we shall greet the gallant boys<br />
+On the shores of endless peace.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Lines To My Cell.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, silent and mysterious cell,<br />
+Could I command thy walls to tell</p>
+<p class="p06">The secrets they have kept so long,<br />
+'T would be, indeed, a cheerless song.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">A tale of crime, and tears, and pain,<br />
+The fruit, perhaps, of frenzied brain,</p>
+<p class="p06">As none to crime yet ever sank<br />
+That had not first become a crank.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"The law of God and man defy,<br />
+A wretch you'll live, a felon die!"</p>
+<p class="p06">These words seem to haunt my brain,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>Perhaps it is the sad refrain</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Of a song well known to thee;<br />
+Yet where its author now can be,</p>
+<p class="p06">Save thee, perhaps no one can tell,<br />
+Thou grim, mysterious, silent cell.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Thy rocky floor has felt the tread<br />
+Of many a hapless one now dead;</p>
+<p class="p06">Thy walls have echoed many a sigh,<br />
+Wrung from guilt's expiring eye.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">While musing 'mid thy walls tonight<br />
+I seem to hear, with some affright,</p>
+<p class="p06">The wail of many a blighted life,<br />
+The prayer of a despairing wife;</p>
+
+<p class="p05">A mother, weeping for her child;<br />
+A father, grief has driven wild.</p>
+<p class="p06">And then&mdash;I pray thee silence keep;<br />
+'Twere best to let thy secrets sleep.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-116.jpg" width="300" height="266"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>A TRIBUTE TO<br /><span class="smcap reduct">Dr. G. A. Tharp.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p03">Arise, my Muse, and tune your harp<br />
+To ring the praises of a Tharp;<br />
+His cultured mind and noble soul<br />
+Truth and virtue both control.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Tell the world his perfect skill<br />
+Can conquer every human ill<br />
+That lends to science or to art,<br />
+From shattered limb to dormant heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Each pill and potion that he makes<br />
+Relieves your pain and health awakes:<br />
+And should he use the surgeon's knife,<br />
+He never will sacrifice a life.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">His skilfull fingers place a band<br />
+As gently as a woman's hand;<br />
+And not one patient needs to feel<br />
+That he the truth will not reveal.</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">The poor regard him as their friend,<br />
+And on his bounty oft depend;<br />
+Well knowing that his generous heart<br />
+Dares to act a christian part!</p>
+
+<p class="p03 p1">Long may this noble doctor live,<br />
+Ease to suffering men to give;<br />
+And meet the summons to depart<br />
+With the skill he wooes his art.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">An Appreciated Friend.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p05">She is a pretty little lass,<br />
+Half human, half divine;</p>
+<p class="p06">And for an angel she would pass<br />
+In Heaven's lovely clime.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her hair is locks of flowing gold,<br />
+Her ways are cute and wise;</p>
+<p class="p06">And her form is lithe and graceful,<br />
+With pretty bright blue eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her manners are just perfect.<br />
+Her nature kind and true;</p>
+<p class="p06">She is a real philanthropist<br />
+When charity is due.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She strives to cheer those sad at heart,<br />
+And well she does succeed;</p>
+<p class="p06">And stays the ever painful dart<br />
+That often fate does speed.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">How different from so many folk<br />
+Who frown upon the one</p>
+<p class="p06">Who, by some simple words he spoke,<br />
+Caused "crime" to have been done.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Although the cruel knife of fate<br />
+Has made an awful wound,</p>
+<p class="p06">In her kind words, that come but late,<br />
+Sweet balm for sorrow's found.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Oh, that this wicked, wicked world<br />
+Could boast more such friendly souls!</p>
+<p class="p05">Less lives would be so sadly hurled<br />
+Into a pit of earthly ghouls,</p>
+<p class="p06"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>Where nothing's saved, but all is lost;</p>
+
+<p class="p22">And where man's cast, at any cost,<br />
+Into a dismal, prison dell&mdash;<br />
+A gloomy, dreary, earthly hell!</p>
+
+<p class="p22 p1">Come, of such friends arise and sing,<br />
+With thanks returned to heaven's king!</p>
+
+<p class="pn center">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Salome's Revenge.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p05">Arise, my Muse, spread out thy wings,<br />
+Prepare to soar away!</p>
+<p class="p06">Tune up thy harp for endless joy,<br />
+And turn night into day.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Go dream of Paradise sublime<br />
+In the old Empire State!</p>
+<p class="p06">And when you're done return to me<br />
+Your story to relate.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">In time gone by&mdash;in days of yore&mdash;<br />
+There lived, in forests wild,</p>
+<p class="p06">Two families of ancient stock,<br />
+And each one had a child.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The children of both parentage<br />
+Were born in this country;</p>
+<p class="p06">They amassed immensely fortunes<br />
+In this America.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The Waddington's were pure Scotch blood,<br />
+And raised one daughter fair;</p>
+<p class="p06">They gave her name of Sadie,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>She'd blue eyes and golden hair.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her cheeks were rich with crimson glow,<br />
+Her lips were thin and cute,</p>
+<p class="p06">And many an anxious lover<br />
+She sternly did refute.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her dainty hands and flowing hair,<br />
+And graceful curves of form</p>
+<p class="p06">Would make one's heart quite palpitate&mdash;<br />
+She carried all by storm.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Trueman Waddington was a man<br />
+Who loved his daughter&mdash;heir,</p>
+<p class="p06">And as he rolled in endless wealth<br />
+He watched his child's welfare.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Their nearest neighbor was St. Lawrence,<br />
+Who lived a little way</p>
+<p class="p06">Off on the rugged mountain side,<br />
+Where children like to play.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Two children he had buried<br />
+When they were yet quite young,</p>
+<p class="p06">And now he was a happy man<br />
+'Cause he reared an only son.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">This son he named him Trueman,<br />
+Because he liked the name,</p>
+<p class="p06">And tho't 'twould be in honor<br />
+Of his neighbor of the same.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"As an act of kindness and of love,"<br />
+Old Waddington did say,</p>
+<p class="p06">"Because you named him after me<br />
+I pledge my Sade, today."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The two old friends called in their wives<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>And asked them to consent</p>
+<p class="p06">To seal the bargain for each child<br />
+On which they were both bent.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The mothers thought it rather soon<br />
+To tie so firm a knot,</p>
+<p class="p06">And begged them not to seal their doom<br />
+By such a foolish plot.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">But Trueman Waddington was not<br />
+A man to easy quit,</p>
+<p class="p06">And he argued long and labored strong<br />
+In a half way frenzied fit.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">He said: "I know we are both rich<br />
+In lands and kine and gold,</p>
+<p class="p06">And why not join these vast fortunes<br />
+Before they are all sold?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"You've named your only son from me;<br />
+Trueman it is, <i>True-Man</i> he'll be,</p>
+<p class="p06">And now must I sit by in shame<br />
+And cannot seal my daughter's fame?"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then spake the elder man St. Lawrence:<br />
+"Dear sir, my neighbor and my friend,</p>
+<p class="p06">You have my heart and soul and mind,<br />
+And these vast fortunes I will bind</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Together with true chords of love.<br />
+God help our children find</p>
+<p class="p06">A part their mothers will not take<br />
+In this, to seal their children's fate.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Now let me, please, suggest a way<br />
+To reach this matter of today;</p>
+<p class="p06">And we will friendly make the deal<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>So lawyers cannot break the seal."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then Waddington sprang to his feet,<br />
+And warmly did his neighbors greet;</p>
+<p class="p06">Then shook him warmly by the hand,<br />
+And said, "Come, let us seal the band."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And then with fixed and mellow eye<br />
+He gazed on high as he stood by</p>
+<p class="p06">His rugged friend and neighbor, too,<br />
+Then St. Lawrence bade him what to do.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"My dear old friend, sit down, sit down;<br />
+'Tis easy for us now to drown</p>
+<p class="p06">All obstacles that's in our way<br />
+To carry out our plan today."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then he proceeded to relate<br />
+How easy men in Empire State</p>
+<p class="p06">Could call in witness to their deed<br />
+And satisfy all fortune's creed.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Now, look-a-here, my friend St. Lawrence,<br />
+You cannot be too quick</p>
+<p class="p06">To tell me how we'll do all this<br />
+And make this bargain stick."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And then the sage St. Lawrence did say:<br />
+"Look here, my friend, here is our way!</p>
+<p class="p06">I'll make my will of my estate<br />
+(And that, you know, is very great,)</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Unto your fair and lovely child,<br />
+If she refrains from being wild,</p>
+<p class="p06">And when she weds she weds my son,<br />
+My noble, brave and kind Trueman.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Then you, my friend, reciprocate;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>You make your will of this same date,</p>
+<p class="p06">And seal as I do mine;<br />
+Make True, my son, your legatee,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"And to him give, in simple fee,<br />
+Your lands, your goods, your kine, your cash,</p>
+<p class="p06">All in one grand and mighty crash,<br />
+If he your daughter weds."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The witnesses were duly called;<br />
+The wills were then prepared;</p>
+<p class="p06">The testators did sign their names,<br />
+The children they well fared.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The documents were laid away<br />
+In vaults of solid rock;</p>
+<p class="p06">There safely for the children kept,<br />
+Their heritage of stock.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Years, years rolled on and Trueman grew<br />
+To be a handsome man.</p>
+<p class="p06">He said: "I'm bound to be "M. D."<br />
+And do the best I can."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sadie, on the other hand,<br />
+Grew to be a queen;</p>
+<p class="p06">And when to college she did go<br />
+Trueman there was seen.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They played at home, when they were young,<br />
+Upon the mountain side,</p>
+<p class="p06">And never once did they mistrust<br />
+They'd be both groom and bride.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When Trueman closed his college course<br />
+He off to Gotham went,</p>
+<p class="p06">To become an adept in his class<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>While on his mission bent.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sadie, on the other hand,<br />
+When she had closed her term,</p>
+<p class="p06">Returned unto her mountain home,<br />
+For which she hourly yearned.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Two years had changed this happy home<br />
+To one most sadly grieved;</p>
+<p class="p06">The mother of this lovely girl<br />
+Had sadly been deceived.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She, down upon her death bed lay,<br />
+When in came Sadie one bright day</p>
+<p class="p06">And gazed upon the shrunken form<br />
+Which now had battled life's hard storm.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Poor Sadie, with a broken heart,<br />
+She did the best to take her part;</p>
+<p class="p06">But long the sickness did not last,<br />
+Because her mother now soon passed</p>
+
+<p class="p05">From time into eternity,<br />
+Where the human soul is ever free.</p>
+<p class="p06">Trueman now, in city fashion,<br />
+Had let die out his old-time passion</p>
+
+<p class="p05">For rocks and rills and mountain side,<br />
+Where dwelt the queen who'd be his bride.</p>
+<p class="p06">So much for selfish, erring man;<br />
+He'll do the best where e'er he can.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Time, time rolled on, when Sadie's sire,<br />
+With renewed youth and boyhood ire,</p>
+<p class="p06">Took to himself another wife,<br />
+And tried anew to live his life.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The new-made mistress of the home<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>(Who had no place she called her own)</p>
+<p class="p06">Was mother of a daughter fair,<br />
+With dimpled cheeks and flowing hair.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The madame's name was Maria;<br />
+<i>Her</i> daughter's was Sarah.</p>
+<p class="p06">She soon was boss of all the house,<br />
+And Sadie driven like a mouse</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Into the cold and cheerless world.<br />
+Sadie, with a broken heart,</p>
+<p class="p06">Prayed her father take her part;<br />
+But he, with proud and dire disdain,<br />
+Forever did refrain.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then Sadie, on her mother's grave,<br />
+Prayed loud and long for God to save</p>
+<p class="p06">Her soul from earthly wreck.<br />
+Then, with a palpitating heart,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">With one fond look she did depart<br />
+To battle hard with broken heart;</p>
+<p class="p06">While daughter and a second wife<br />
+Should all but ruin her young life.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">But father did as fathers do,<br />
+When their list of wives have numbered <i>two</i>;</p>
+<p class="p06">He lent his daughter a deaf ear,<br />
+For his second wife he then did fear.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">His life was short; he soon became<br />
+A victim to a raging pain,</p>
+<p class="p06">Which soon relieved him from this life<br />
+And bore him off from life's hard strife.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They laid him low beside his wife,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>The pride and joy of Sadie's life;</p>
+<p class="p06">But Sadie knew not of the fate<br />
+Her father had so sadly met.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The new-made widow, without tear,<br />
+Prepared to move, within a year,</p>
+<p class="p06">To far and distant foreign land,<br />
+Where neither had a single friend.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The goods were sold, the stock and kine;<br />
+The lands were leased for a long time;</p>
+<p class="p06">The two, with pockets filled with gold,<br />
+Sailed for Paris with joys untold.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Young Sarah, who was quite a belle,<br />
+When in old Paris she did swell</p>
+<p class="p06">Her wardrobe with both silk and lace,<br />
+And numerous paints to ply her face.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She was the very counterpart&mdash;<br />
+Although 'tis strange to say&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Of pretty <i>Sadie</i> Waddington<br />
+In all her dainty ways.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She spread herself around, about,<br />
+In all society's halls,</p>
+<p class="p06">And never failed, when chance availed,<br />
+To attend the stylish balls.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She was a favorite with them all,<br />
+In fact, the Queenly Belle,</p>
+<p class="p06">And many a suitor's prayer she heard<br />
+While on bended knee he fell.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">One evening while on promenade<br />
+Within society's halls,</p>
+<p class="p06">She met a handsome, tall young man<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>She'd seen at some of the balls.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When introduced, both their eyes met,<br />
+She blushing timidly;</p>
+<p class="p06">He heard the name, "Miss Waddington,"<br />
+Then asked most courteously:</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"From what part of America's soil<br />
+Do you and your friends hail?</p>
+<p class="p06">Or have you lived in Paris long?<br />
+On what liner did you sail"?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She said: "I'm Sadie Waddington,<br />
+From the city that bears my name;</p>
+<p class="p06">It borders on the old St. Lawrence,<br />
+A river of world-wide fame."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then spake the handsome gentleman:<br />
+"I, too, am from that place;</p>
+<p class="p06">And if you are Sadie Waddington,<br />
+I ought to know your face."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Her cheeks grew flushed and flushed again,<br />
+As on her he searchingly gazed;</p>
+<p class="p06">She looked up in his solemn face<br />
+And saw he was greatly amazed.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">It was Trueman St. Lawrence she saw,<br />
+As she gazed on his beautiful form;</p>
+<p class="p06">She was more than bewitching in her ways<br />
+To capture him all by storm.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The Doctor went to his hotel<br />
+To ponder the matter o'er:</p>
+<p class="p06">"That's not the Sadie Waddington<br />
+I've seen in days of yore."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">His brain was puzzled, his face was flushed.<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>He was in a frenzied mood;</p>
+<p class="p06">He could not fathom the mystery<br />
+To do the best he could.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">If that's the girl in days of youth<br />
+I played with on the mountain side,</p>
+<p class="p06">Before I leave this old city<br />
+I'll make her my darling bride.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">So saying, he sank upon his couch,<br />
+And slept in dreams so rich and gay</p>
+<p class="p06">That loud his servant called and called,<br />
+Because 'twas late&mdash;far in the day.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">That day he had a trip to make<br />
+Unto a neighboring town,</p>
+<p class="p06">And visited a hospital<br />
+Kept by a Doctor Brown.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">In passing from one of the wards,<br />
+While in the open door,</p>
+<p class="p06">He chanced to turn, and looking back<br />
+Saw, kneeling on the floor,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">With outstretched arms and pleading eyes,<br />
+The girl for years he had not seen;</p>
+<p class="p06">She'd grown into full womanhood,<br />
+She was a perfect fairy Queen.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"What! what!" he cried, "am I deceived?<br />
+If I'm my father's son</p>
+<p class="p06">That girl I see back yonder<br />
+Is <i>Sadie Waddington!</i>"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">He hastened back to where she knelt,<br />
+And bade her to arise,</p>
+<p class="p06">And clasped her to his manly breast,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>While tears rose in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then 'tween her sobs and moans and groans<br />
+She slowly did relate</p>
+<p class="p06">How she was driven from her home<br />
+Back in the Empire State.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She told of awful suffering,<br />
+Of wandering far and near;</p>
+<p class="p06">Of the death of father and mother,<br />
+To her <i>all</i> that was dear.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She told him how she had returned<br />
+Unto her mountain dome,</p>
+<p class="p06">And as she was told that all had been sold,<br />
+She was left without a home.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The Doctor stood transfixed with awe;<br />
+Listened to her relate</p>
+<p class="p06">The story of the sale of all,<br />
+Back in the Empire State.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The Doctor said: "My dear Sadie,<br />
+It matters not a bit to me</p>
+<p class="p06">Whether you have lands, or goods, or gold,<br />
+I have vast fortunes yet untold.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"What's mine is yours; 'tis always so,<br />
+My father told me long ago,</p>
+<p class="p06">Before I left the Empire State<br />
+And came over here to study late.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I offer you my heart and hand,<br />
+And pledge to seal it with the band</p>
+<p class="p06">Of holy wedlock, faithfully.<br />
+Now set your heart forever free</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"From labor and the toils of life,&mdash;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>Come, say you'll be my darling wife!</p>
+<p class="p06">I feel a pang about my heart<br />
+That pierces like a flashing dart."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Oh, True. St. Lawrence! Oh, can it be<br />
+That you do really care for me?</p>
+<p class="p06">I, who have lived by a false name<br />
+To hide a step-mother's wicked shame?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"For five long years my name has been<br />
+(As you directly would have seen),</p>
+<p class="p06">Not Sadie W., as you have known,<br />
+But the Sadie changed to plain Salome.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"The Waddington I changed, also,<br />
+For the common name of Van Harlow;</p>
+<p class="p06">Then among strangers I did seek<br />
+For work to do, although 'twas meek.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I came across the ocean wide,<br />
+As servant to a new-made bride;</p>
+<p class="p06">She was taken sick and died out here<br />
+Before she'd been a bride a year.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Since then I've cared for poor and sick,<br />
+And cannot leave them now, so quick.</p>
+<p class="p06">I patients have who <i>must</i> have care<br />
+Before <i>I</i> leave for better fare.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Now True, my dear, I'll be your own;<br />
+I'll make you an ever happy home;</p>
+<p class="p06">I feel Pa's oft' spoke words are true,<br />
+Trueman's your name, <i>True Man</i> are you."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">He pressed her closely to his breast:<br />
+To dry her tears he did his best;</p>
+<p class="p06">Then gently kissed her burning cheeks<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>And bade her wait but a few weeks.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The happiest man in all the land<br />
+Was True. St. Lawrence, with trembling hand,</p>
+<p class="p06">Who then returned to his rooms rich,<br />
+A restless night to roll and pitch</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Upon a bed of faultless down,<br />
+But pains of heart it could not drown.</p>
+<p class="p06">He lay and mused throughout the night,<br />
+'Cause his future now looked bright.</p>
+
+<p class="p05"><i>Sarah</i> Waddington and her mother<br />
+Prepared a party for another.</p>
+<p class="p06">A gent they wished to entertain,<br />
+'Cause Sarah wished to bear his name.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"It is to be a swell affair,<br />
+So she could safely set her snare</p>
+<p class="p06">To catch the unsuspecting True,<br />
+Because he loves and loves but you."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">So spake the mother to her child,<br />
+Who seemed delighted&mdash;almost wild&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">To think that she could play her part<br />
+Without remorse or pain at heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The time rolled on, and days were spent<br />
+In fixing up for the event;</p>
+<p class="p06">The rich were called from every side<br />
+To see Sarah&mdash;the would-be bride.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She sent a most bewitching note<br />
+For Dr. 'Lawrence to cast the vote,</p>
+<p class="p06">Who'd be the Belle of honor, bright,<br />
+To bear the graces of the night.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The Doctor smiled, as he sat down<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>To answer it, without a frown;</p>
+<p class="p06">And faithfully he did outline,<br />
+In characters most cute and fine:</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"My choice is one, and only one;<br />
+And now I've written and 'tis done!</p>
+<p class="p06">As sure as I'm my father's son,<br />
+'Tis one&mdash;fair <i>Sadie</i> Waddington!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"And now, before it is too late,<br />
+There's one request I have to make:</p>
+<p class="p06">That I be granted then, or sooner,<br />
+To be escort to the maid of honor."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Your request is at once granted,<br />
+And hope we'll become enchanted;</p>
+<p class="p06">And with your presence'll be elated,<br />
+Because, it seems, we are related".</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Fair Sarah, then, did make it known<br />
+(Real quietly about her home)</p>
+<p class="p06">That she and 'Lawrence, raised side by side,<br />
+Would soon become both groom and bride.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Silks and diamonds bought with gold,<br />
+Gotten from the kine she'd sold</p>
+<p class="p06">'Way back in the Empire State,<br />
+Where poor Sadie met her fate.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Just one week before the eve'<br />
+When he Sarah would deceive,</p>
+<p class="p06">Trueman went to see his love,<br />
+Who was pretty as a dove.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Sadie," said he, "sweet is revenge!<br />
+Let us now your labor change.</p>
+<p class="p06">The ones who drove you to your fate,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>Away back in the Empire State,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Are here in Paris this long time,<br />
+And live in luxury sublime.</p>
+<p class="p06">The gold they got from off your kine,<br />
+It goes for suppers and for wine.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"In holy wedlock let us wed,<br />
+I'll lead you to a bridal bed;</p>
+<p class="p06">And then in luxury and state<br />
+We'll 'tend the ball ere 'tis too late".</p>
+
+<p class="p05">I'll humble them in dust and shame!<br />
+Ah, Sadie, you were not to blame!</p>
+<p class="p06"><i>We'll</i> make them wish they'd never sold<br />
+Your goods and kine for glittering gold!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Come, darling, now we'll off today,<br />
+The bridal knot to firmly tie.</p>
+<p class="p06">Then I your graceful swanlike neck<br />
+With pearls and rubys will bedeck.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I'll trim your lovely graceful form<br />
+With richest satin to be worn:</p>
+<p class="p06">I'll place upon your tapered hand<br />
+A solitaire, set in gold band.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Your dainty feet encased in kid<br />
+Of dainty styles, they're only made</p>
+<p class="p06">For those who're called the name of Queens,<br />
+And bought by those who have vast means.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Then to the ball we'll proudly go,<br />
+(And who we'll meet I do not know,)</p>
+<p class="p06">I'll there present to every one<br />
+My bride, <i>true</i> Sadie Waddington.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"The shock, so sudden, will be great;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>They'll quail beneath their hearts own hate</p>
+<p class="p06">Of being there exposed to all;<br />
+Oh, won't it be an awful fall?</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Come, Sadie dear, revenge is sweet!<br />
+Now is our chance to get your mete</p>
+<p class="p06">Which they have held from you so long,<br />
+And did you such a cruel wrong."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then Sadie spoke: "Trueman, my dear,<br />
+There's naught I know for me to fear.</p>
+<p class="p06">Revenge <i>is</i> sweet, although 'tis queer,<br />
+Revenge I get in Paris here."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They carried out their little plot,<br />
+And never skipped a single jot.</p>
+<p class="p06">The eve was fine, the folk were gay,<br />
+And not a thing stood in their way.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">It was quite late when they arrived<br />
+At the mansion of the would-be bride.</p>
+<p class="p06">As soon as Doctor stepped in sight,<br />
+Escorting Sadie&mdash;his delight&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sarah saw the graceful form<br />
+And, with one scream, she left the room,</p>
+<p class="p06">And fell fainting to the floor.<br />
+They gently laid her on the couch</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Before the open door.<br />
+Her mother came in haste to see</p>
+<p class="p06">What all the trouble there could be,<br />
+And did not see the Doctor's bride</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Until she was close by her side.<br />
+And when she saw it was too late,</p>
+<p class="p06">She gasped: "Oh, Sarah's met her fate,"<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>Then fell into a deathly state.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The mother swooned and swooned away<br />
+The entire night and most the day;</p>
+<p class="p06">And then the Doctor came to say,<br />
+"Her life is run, she cannot stay!"</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sadie, with trained and skillful hand,<br />
+Nursed Sarah back to conscious-land;</p>
+<p class="p06">Did faithfully the watchword keep<br />
+While often o'er them she did weep.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And, just before the mother died,<br />
+She Sadie called to her bedside</p>
+<p class="p06">And begged her to full pardon give<br />
+For cruel wrong she did receive.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sadie, always so good and true,<br />
+Said she always thought she knew</p>
+<p class="p06">That the grand day would surely come<br />
+When that great wrong would be undone.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She granted full, complete pardon<br />
+For all the wrongs the dame had done,</p>
+<p class="p06">And then she spoke kind words of cheer<br />
+Into the madam's dying ear.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">With firm-set eyes and drooping chin<br />
+The madame grasped and tried to cling</p>
+<p class="p06">Unto the hand she once did scorn,<br />
+And drove from home at break of morn.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She then was wrapt in eternal death,<br />
+And from her soul came not a breath.</p>
+<p class="p06">In casket pure as driven snow<br />
+Unto the churchyard she did go,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">And there was laid beneath the clay<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>To await Jehovah's Judgment Day.</p>
+<p class="p06">All lands and goods and gold and kine<br />
+She left behind for endless time!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Poor Sarah! doomed to awful fate,<br />
+Her mind was left in ruined state;</p>
+<p class="p06">In raving madness and in strife<br />
+She tried to take our Sadie's life.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The best physicians in the land<br />
+Were summoned forth on every hand</p>
+<p class="p06">To try and bring her from the strife<br />
+Back to the land of happy life.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Off to an asylum she must go,<br />
+'Cause 'twas not safe to leave her so;</p>
+<p class="p06">And with good care she might regain<br />
+And be relieved from mental pain.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Salome, our faithful lass and bride,<br />
+Resolved to stay by Sarah's side</p>
+<p class="p06">And help her regain her lost mind,<br />
+And comfort for her she would find.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Nine weeks were spent in mad-house fare,<br />
+Salome bestowing tender care</p>
+<p class="p06">Upon the one who once did face<br />
+Salome in all her dire disgrace.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When Doctor St. Lawrence saw his wife<br />
+Was bent on battling for the life</p>
+<p class="p06">Of one who was once her mad foe,<br />
+He said: "All right, it shall be so."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Salome, she clung unto her charge,<br />
+As if she were her dearest friend;</p>
+<p class="p06">She incurred expenses somewhat large<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>To treat her patient to the end.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The Doctor soon began to learn<br />
+His bride and wife would never spurn</p>
+<p class="p06">The one who once her home did take,<br />
+And drove her off for mere pride's sake.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">He asked Salome what she would do<br />
+In case that Sarah did pull through,</p>
+<p class="p06">And once again her mind regain<br />
+Before they crossed the raging main.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Salome did quickly make reply,<br />
+While glistening tears stood in her eye:</p>
+<p class="p06">"I'll take her to old Empire State,<br />
+Right to the door where I met fate!</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I'll make her happy, if I can,<br />
+And now I'll form my little plan:</p>
+<p class="p06">We must, dear True, just do our best,<br />
+And fix her up in a cosy nest.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"We will give her a little home<br />
+On the beautiful mountain side;</p>
+<p class="p06">We will find her a handsome lover<br />
+Who'll be proud to call her his bride.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"We will give them all attention<br />
+That the best of friends could do;</p>
+<p class="p06">We will <i>return good for evil</i>,<br />
+'Cause my mother taught me so.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Let us show that true religion<br />
+Is the life we ought to live,</p>
+<p class="p06">And the ways that Christ rejoiced in<br />
+Are the ways to which we cleave.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Oh, my husband, dearest Trueman,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>I believe in Sarah reigns</p>
+<p class="p06">The true principle of goodness&mdash;<br />
+Let us fan that spark to flames.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Can I now secure her safely,<br />
+Teach her shun her evil ways</p>
+<p class="p06">And discard that haughty spirit<br />
+That she learned in younger days,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I will be the happiest mortal<br />
+Ever lived on mother earth,</p>
+<p class="p06">And will reach that heavenly portal<br />
+Only reached by second birth."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">After coaxing, begging, teasing,<br />
+Sarah consented for to go</p>
+<p class="p06">Back across the ocean, raging,<br />
+Where her childhood seeds did sow.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When they reached the harbor safely,<br />
+Bag and baggage on the truck,</p>
+<p class="p06">They cast lots to see what steamer<br />
+They would choose for their good luck.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Doctor got the choice of vessels,<br />
+And he quickly did decide</p>
+<p class="p06">That the City of St. Paris<br />
+Should take their <i>protege</i> and his bride.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Safely in the vessel's cabin,<br />
+Housed in cosy stateroom there,</p>
+<p class="p06">All were ready for the voyage,<br />
+And did look for cheerful fare.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Out upon the briny billows,<br />
+Just three days and nights, 'twas said,</p>
+<p class="p06">When the night was dark and dreary,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>Trueman rose from sleepless bed.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">There was something weighed upon him,<br />
+Something whispered to beware;</p>
+<p class="p06">He dressed and went upon the deck<br />
+To breathe the crisp sea air.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">He paced and paced the vessel's deck<br />
+With long and manly stride;</p>
+<p class="p06">He went from starboard o'er to port<br />
+And back to starboard side.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">He'd been upon the deck some time,<br />
+And peered into the gloom</p>
+<p class="p06">As if them something overawed<br />
+And threatened them with doom.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">At last, to port, he spied a fleck,<br />
+A dancing on the waves,</p>
+<p class="p06">And there he plainly saw a deck<br />
+Bedecked with pirate knaves.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The vessel, with a dark-hued hull,<br />
+Bore straightway on its course,</p>
+<p class="p06">When, "<i>Hard to port! To port! to port!</i>"<br />
+Rang out a voice real coarse.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The strange boat glided swiftly on,<br />
+Like a ghost on phantom wings,</p>
+<p class="p06">While the crisp sea breeze went dancing past<br />
+And through her rigging sings.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The strange boat slipped along, across<br />
+The briny billows white,</p>
+<p class="p06">And their steamer ploughed and labored hard<br />
+Along its renewed flight.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">It was a close and dangerous call,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>Because the night was dark;</p>
+<p class="p06">Had they collided there, on the ocean bare,<br />
+They'd went down with their bark.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The voyage, then, to Gotham<br />
+Was stormy and quite rough,</p>
+<p class="p06">And all agreed, when landed,<br />
+That they had quite enough.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">They then all took the railroad train<br />
+North, through the Empire State,</p>
+<p class="p06">And soon were on the mountain side<br />
+Where Sadie met her fate.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The first place Sadie wished to see<br />
+Was graves of father and mother,</p>
+<p class="p06">And tripping lightly from the yard,<br />
+She passed out with another.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">That bitter morn, with memories fresh,<br />
+When from her home she'd fled,</p>
+<p class="p06">She was scorned by one <i>now</i> too glad<br />
+To lead her on ahead.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When she approached her mother's grave<br />
+The tears rolled thick and fast,</p>
+<p class="p06">And by her side poor Sarah stood,<br />
+With memories of the past</p>
+
+<p class="p05">A fitting through her guilty mind:<br />
+And then she spoke at last:</p>
+<p class="p06">"Oh, Sadie, Sadie, what a blot<br />
+Upon my mother's past;</p>
+
+<p class="p05">It stings within my guilty heart,<br />
+And would to God I now could part</p>
+<p class="p06">With half the pain I feel&mdash;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>The balm of Christ could scarcely heal."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">She stooped, and silently did press<br />
+Her fresh and rosy lips</p>
+<p class="p06">Upon the little mound of grass<br />
+"Beneath&mdash;dear mother sleeps."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then Sarah, with most tender words,<br />
+Pressed Sadie to her breast</p>
+<p class="p06">And with a fervent, heartfelt plea,<br />
+Prayed both them to be blest.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When they returned unto their home,<br />
+Their friendship sealed with silent love,</p>
+<p class="p06">They could not bear to be alone;<br />
+They felt a power from up above.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Old friends and neighbors, with delight,<br />
+Called on the Doctor and his bride,</p>
+<p class="p06">And there convened, on the first night,<br />
+A host of friends who're on their side.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">There's one among them old and gray,<br />
+Who'd lived right there for all his life;</p>
+<p class="p06">'Tis the elder man and sage, St. Lawrence,<br />
+And he smiles upon the Doctor's wife.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Heir to the Waddington estate,<br />
+Sadie reigns the queen of all;</p>
+<p class="p06">Her friendship for Sarah was great,<br />
+And sister her did often call.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The Doctor chose to spend his life<br />
+Upon the handsome mountain side</p>
+<p class="p06">With Sadie, his true loving wife,<br />
+And Father St. Lawrence until he died.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Time rolled around and months flew by;<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>Sadie and Sarah, hand in hand,</p>
+<p class="p06">Sealed by the firmest friendship tie,<br />
+Two of the truest in the land.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">There chanced to stroll from distant clime<br />
+A bright young man of Sadie's kin;</p>
+<p class="p06">Came to visit in Summer time,<br />
+And Sarah was introduced to him.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sadie tried her best to make a match,<br />
+And championed well her cause;</p>
+<p class="p06">Sarah viewed it as a catch<br />
+That one very seldom draws.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Though 'twas but a short acquaintance,<br />
+Still the wedding time was fixed;</p>
+<p class="p06">The intended groom had patience,<br />
+'Cause he felt he was not rich.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sadie, sweet as dewy honey,<br />
+Wishing that her friends should wed,</p>
+<p class="p06">Proffered home and lands and money<br />
+If the word would just be said.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I am heir to all this fortune,<br />
+Known as Waddington's estate;</p>
+<p class="p06">Come, now, Sarah; come, now, Hawthorne,<br />
+Join your hearts ere 'tis too late.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"I will give to you a large farm<br />
+Yonder on the mountain side;</p>
+<p class="p06">I will give you kine and money,<br />
+If you'll be my cousin's bride."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Sarah spake, with dewy eyelids,<br />
+To the one she loved so dear:</p>
+<p class="p06">"Sadie, I am anything but worthy<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>Of this princely gift, to cheer</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"My poor broken, wicked heart,<br />
+After I have been so bad;</p>
+<p class="p06">You should never take <i>my</i> part,<br />
+Since <i>I</i> took that which <i>you</i> had."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Yet Sadie, true to her own passion,<br />
+Promised deed in fee for all,</p>
+<p class="p06">If Sarah would wed her own cousin,<br />
+Ere the Summer ran to Fall.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">So the wedding day was fixed<br />
+When the two should be made one,</p>
+<p class="p06">And their home, as she predicted,<br />
+Would be deeded as their own.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When at last the nuptial greeting<br />
+Was received on every hand,</p>
+<p class="p06">The sage, St. Lawrence, came to their meeting,<br />
+The last one left of their quartet band.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">The wedding knot was duly tied,<br />
+And the folk were feeling gay;</p>
+<p class="p06">They were now made happy groom and bride,<br />
+Starting out in life's pathway.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When the ceremony was over,<br />
+And the gifts they were bestowing&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p06">Bridal gifts as sweet as clover&mdash;<br />
+Sadie, with her rich hair flowing,</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Called the old 'Squire of the city<br />
+That to witness of her signing</p>
+<p class="p06">The transfer of title fair,<br />
+To the land that lay up there;</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When, to her surprise and chagrin,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>Father St. Lawrence, with gentle voice,</p>
+<p class="p06">Told her that she could not bargain,<br />
+For she had not even choice.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Now, my daughter, not one farthing<br />
+Of this vast and rich estate</p>
+<p class="p06">Has been left unto True's darling,<br />
+Now, I tell you, 'tis not too late.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"All this land you tho't was yours<br />
+By inheritance of your blood,</p>
+<p class="p06">Was bequeathed by your dear father<br />
+To one you never thought he would".</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Now, I've brought the Judge of Probate<br />
+As an honored guest of <i>mine</i>,</p>
+<p class="p06">That he might reveal the truth,<br />
+That it might be writ in rhyme.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Then, to soothe the disappointment,<br />
+The old judge with silvery hair</p>
+<p class="p06">Drew from 'neath his outer garment,<br />
+Two old papers kept with care.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">One was read by him to Sadie,<br />
+Where her father had endowed</p>
+<p class="p06">All his lands, and kine and money<br />
+On the one who made her proud.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When this document was ended,<br />
+And was handed to Trueman,</p>
+<p class="p06">The old sage, St. Lawrence, pretended<br />
+That he enjoyed youth again.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Read, Judge! read your other paper!<br />
+Tell my daughter here the truth;</p>
+<p class="p06">Tell her what their anxious fathers<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>Did for them while in their youth."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">When the document was ended,<br />
+With tears showering down her face,</p>
+<p class="p06">Sadie, kisses, sweetly blended,<br />
+While she held him in embrace.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Long their fortunes had been blended<br />
+By the signatures alone</p>
+<p class="p06">Of their fathers in their child days,<br />
+As they played around their home.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"True, my dear; O will you come here?<br />
+Sign this deed! Come quick, O do;</p>
+<p class="p06">Carry out my simple wishes;<br />
+Sarah is my friend, so true."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">"Yes, my darling, this with pleasure<br />
+I will do, to please you all;</p>
+<p class="p06">It is my most pleasant leisure<br />
+To do bidding at your call."</p>
+
+<p class="p05">So, the deed of gift was given,<br />
+And in happiness they'd start;</p>
+<p class="p06">From that home they'd ne'er be driven,<br />
+Life anew to never part.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">There in happiness and comfort<br />
+Did they live upon the place</p>
+<p class="p06">Where the evil of proud passion<br />
+Smothered one in dire disgrace.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Happy was Salome and Trueman<br />
+When they saw their <i>protege</i> safe</p>
+<p class="p06">In the hands of Cousin Hawthorne,<br />
+On the Waddington old place.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Safe within the coils of homelife,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>Safe within the cottage walls,</p>
+<p class="p06">Safely with a trusting husband,<br />
+Safe within their friendly calls.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Thus the vengeance of our Hero<br />
+Was full spent to meet her theme;</p>
+<p class="p06">Yet so different from a Nero,<br />
+Because she knew she could redeem.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Salome's revenge was to her sweet,<br />
+'Cause she'd conquered, not cut down;</p>
+<p class="p06">Now she feared no one to meet,<br />
+Nor would any wear a frown.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Though some years had been so bitter,<br />
+And had fraught such cruel pain;</p>
+<p class="p06">Now the coldest of the winter<br />
+Seemed like flowery beds of green.</p>
+
+<p class="p05">Now, away up on the mountains,<br />
+In the well known Empire State,</p>
+<p class="p06">Sadie Waddington is living<br />
+In sweet REVENGE, where she met fate.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-040.jpg" width="300" height="181"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>A TRIBUTE TO<br /><span class="small">CAPT. GEORGE W. HESS.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pl1">Almost a decade thou hast battled with a patriot's band,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Whose first duty is devotion to their native land;</p>
+<p class="pl0">And no comrade but is willing, with a ready mind,</p>
+<p class="pl0">To declare thee brave and loyal to all mankind.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">In thy country's hour of peril, on the battle field,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thou wert ever more than willing all her rights to shield,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And, with true and loyal purpose, battled for the right,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till secession's traitorous banner sunk in endless night!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Duty's path to thee is glory, glory easy won;</p>
+<p class="pl0">For a task so oft repeated is quite easy done;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Yet no one can ever chide, for thy generous heart</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ne'er will crush the poor and helpless with oppression's dart.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Every prisoner knows and likes thee, for thy friendly ways</p>
+<p class="pl0">Must attract their close attention and excite their praise;</p>
+<p class="pl0">And the few who know thee better, as a man of heart,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Would desire no nobler mission than to take thy part.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">May you live in peace and plenty, happy with your own,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Till Jehovah's love shall gather 'round His august throne</p>
+<p class="pl0">All who, like you, honest comrade, follows heaven's plan</p>
+<p class="pl0">And respects the rules of virtue and the rights of man.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-044.jpg" width="300" height="162"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">My Lawyer.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p08">When grappled in the law's embrace,<br />
+Who first betrayed an anxious face<br />
+And fain would shield me from disgrace?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who told me I should not confess,<br />
+That he would all my wrongs redress<br />
+And set me free from all distress?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">When, sick in jail, I senseless lay,<br />
+Who took my watch and case away,<br />
+Lest prowling thieves on me should prey?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who to my wealth tenacious clung,<br />
+And for me wagged his oily tongue,<br />
+And at my foes hot embers flung?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who told me he was dreadful smart<br />
+And knew the law-books all by heart,<br />
+And always took his client's part?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who, in the court, with peerless pride,<br />
+My rights affirmed, my guilt denied,<br />
+And swore the State's attorney lied?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">And when twelve men, in one compound,<br />
+For me a guilty verdict found,<br />
+Who came to stanch the bleeding wound?</p>
+<p class="pf1"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who said my time within the wall<br />
+Would be exceeding brief and small,<br />
+The minimum, or none at all?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">And when the judge my doom proclaimed,<br />
+And three long years of exile named,<br />
+Who looked indignant and ashamed?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">When, at the sheriff's stern command,<br />
+I for the train was told to stand,<br />
+Who longest shook and squeezed my hand?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who, when he had me safe confined,<br />
+No more concerned his crafty mind,<br />
+Nor was, for me, to grief inclined?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who closed the mortgage on my lot,<br />
+And drove my family from my cot,<br />
+And left them homeless on the spot?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p08 p1">Who, when of prison clothes I'm stripped,<br />
+And from these walls am homeward shipped,<br />
+Will get himself immensely whipped?</p>
+<p class="pf1">My Lawyer.</p>
+
+<p class="p1">[Written by Mr. George Gilbert, who died on the 9th of June,
+A. D. 1890.]</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-043.jpg" width="300" height="122"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">A Sad Warning.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">In prison cell, at early twilight,<br />
+Smoking Foesters "Best Cigar,"</p>
+<p class="p02">Sat a convict, little dreaming<br />
+Aught his perfect bliss could mar.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Round the cell-block, slowly ambling,<br />
+Came a "Screw," on mischief bent,</p>
+<p class="p02">And his wide, expanded nostrils<br />
+Quickly inhaled the welcome scent.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Wave on wave, thro' latticed iron,<br />
+Smoky clouds rose thick and high,</p>
+<p class="p02">And the happy convict murmured:<br />
+"Go, ye cloudlets, greet the sky!"</p>
+
+<p class="p01">But the cloudlets, incense laden,<br />
+Lingered near the oaken floor,</p>
+<p class="p02">Till the "Screw," with cat-like motion,<br />
+Stood before the smoker's door.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">In the spittoon, charred and sputtering,<br />
+Lay the smoker's joy and pride;</p>
+<p class="p02">And the "Screw," exultant, murmured:<br />
+"Stackhouse will <i>this case</i> decide."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Morning dawned. The "cellar agent"<br />
+Bore the trembling wretch away</p>
+<p class="p02">To a cellar, cold and gloomy,<br />
+Where the tools of torture lay.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Blows and shrieks alternate sounded,<br />
+And a voice from near the floor</p>
+<p class="p02">Murmured: "Stackhouse! <span class="smcap">mercy! MERCY!!</span><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]></a></span>P-l-e-a-s-e, sir; <i>I will smoke no more!</i>"</p>
+
+<p class="p01">From the cellar, shorn and shaven,<br />
+Skulked the cowering "con." away;</p>
+<p class="p02">And he smokes&mdash;but, Oh! how watchful<br />
+Is that victim, who can say?</p>
+
+<p class="p01">All ye inmates, take the warning,<br />
+Gushing from a brother's heart:</p>
+<p class="p02">He who smokes within these portals<br />
+For the dire offense <i>may</i> smart!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-084.jpg" width="300" height="159"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>ACROSTIC TO<br />
+J. C. LANGENBERGER,<br />
+<span class="smcap reduct">Captain of the O. P. Night Watch</span>.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>J</b>ust to all men, to all men kind and true;</p>
+<p class="pl1"><b>C</b>onspicuous as a giant yet comely to the view;</p>
+<p class="pl1"><b>L</b>oved by all who know him, trusted everywhere;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>lways more than willing to ease his fellow's care;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>ever harsh or cruel, never false or base;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>G</b>oing in and coming out among those in disgrace,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>arning from each prisoner's heart the meed of honest praise;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>one condemn his actions, none despise his ways;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>B</b>y his children reverenced, by his wife adored;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>very friend is welcome at his ample board;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>ich in all that makes a <i>man</i>, poor alone in hate;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>G</b>od of Mercy bless the man who nightly guards our fate;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ver may he fill the post that wisdom has assigned,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>uling all, as now he does, by strength of heart and mind.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">She Loves Me Yet.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">Amid the cares and griefs of life,<br />
+One precious thought I'll ne'er forget,</p>
+<p class="p02">I have a fond and faithful wife,<br />
+For darling Lulu loves me yet.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The bitterest pang that earth can give<br />
+Can never make my soul regret</p>
+<p class="p02">The fact that I on earth can live,<br />
+While Lulu says she loves me yet.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The sweetest joy my heart could know<br />
+Would prove a diamond yet unset,</p>
+<p class="p02">Whose radiant light could never glow,<br />
+Like this sweet thought, "She loves me yet."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Should grief deluge my troubled soul<br />
+Till every hour some care beset,</p>
+<p class="p02">I could defy its stern control<br />
+While murmuring, "Lulu loves me yet."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Should every friend I have on earth<br />
+Each vow of loyalty forget,</p>
+<p class="p02">I could survive the cruel blow,<br />
+Since darling Lulu loves me yet.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Should earth with one accord combine,<br />
+Sweet Lulu's influence to beset,</p>
+<p class="p02">It would not change my constant mind,<br />
+If I but felt "She loves me yet."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">I care no sweeter boon in life,<br />
+Nor will my heart its choice regret;</p>
+<p class="p02">I only long to meet that wife<br />
+Who truly says she loves me yet</p>.
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO<br />
+<span class="reduct">HARRY SMITH.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>H</b>e is like the god, Appollo, when in days of old</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>ll the hearts of Greece could conquer, yet despised their gold.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>ich in manhood, health and youth, he is ever free</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>eady to assist his brother whatsoever his need may be.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>Y</b>ou can trust him freely, fully, with your love or gold,</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>S</b>ince his love of truth and honor never can grow cold.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>M</b>ay he ever do his duty and to all be kind,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>t is but the noble hearted who can rule the mind,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>T</b>rusting, still, his love of country and his love for man,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>H</b>e may rest assured Heaven will endorse his plan.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">The Phantom Boat.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p23">Two lovers once sat dreaming<br />
+Of scenes o'ergrown by years;<br />
+Sweet Daisy's eyes were eloquent<br />
+With girlhood's pleading tears;<br />
+Her little hand was lying<br />
+Confidingly in mine,<br />
+While her silvery voice pleaded:<br />
+"Dear one, awake the Nine!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Yes, darling, I will rhyme for you;<br />
+What legend shall I drew!<br />
+Shall I now fold you in my arms<br />
+And, drifting down life's stream,<br />
+'Mid singing birds and nodding flowers,<br />
+Pour forth my soul in love&mdash;<br />
+In accents soft and tender&mdash;<br />
+As the cooing of a dove"?</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Or shall I tell you, dearest one,<br />
+Why yonder's rippling stream<br />
+First gained the name "Tululah"<br />
+In an age that's now a dream?<br />
+Well, now, pillow your head upon my breast,<br />
+The legend is weird and wild;<br />
+I fear me much its harrowing scenes<br />
+Will shock, thee, gentle child.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Will you listen, while we're watching<br />
+For the far-famed Phantom Boat?<br />
+Perhaps the tale will lead us<br />
+To catch the first faint note<br />
+Of Tululah's wondrous music<br />
+As she floats down this stream,<br />
+For, I assure you, darling,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>This legend is no dream.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Where now we sit, in days gone by,<br />
+The stealthy panther crept,<br />
+And bears and wolves in horrid hordes<br />
+Their tireless vigils kept;<br />
+Turkey, deer and beaver<br />
+Were scattered far and wide,<br />
+And here the lordly savage stalked<br />
+<i>In all his pristine pride</i>;</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The Creeks then ruled this forest,<br />
+From Suwanee to the sea;&mdash;<br />
+A haughty, bold and cruel race,<br />
+Cunning, treacherous, wild and free!<br />
+To hunt and fish, and boast and fight<br />
+Were the duties of a brave,<br />
+While woman&mdash;alas! sweet woman<br />
+Was but a cowering slave!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">No grant had she to breathe her wrongs<br />
+Before the "Council Fire,"<br />
+Nor dared she utter a single word<br />
+To gain her heart's desire,<br />
+Until her savage master<br />
+First gave her leave to speak;<br />
+Nor dared she then to brave his will<br />
+Lest he his vengeance wreak!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Yet ever and anon there rose<br />
+A woman, whose proud soul<br />
+Ignored those self-created gods<br />
+And spurned their base control.<br />
+Such was the brave Tululah,<br />
+Whose spirit haunts this stream;<br />
+In a phantom barge it glides along,<br />
+Like a wraith in a troubled dream.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">'Tis said she haunts this river,<br />
+Alone on a misty night,<br />
+And that each one who sees her<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>Is 'palled with strange affright!<br />
+And why she haunts this river<br />
+Is the burden of my tale,<br />
+And none who have a tender heart<br />
+But will her fate bewail.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Tululah was Ocala's child,<br />
+To whom the Creeks ascribe<br />
+The name of the boldest leader<br />
+That ever led their tribe!<br />
+A savage of herculean build,<br />
+With fierce and restless eye,<br />
+His haughty lip deigned not to smile,<br />
+And scorned to breathe a sigh!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Tululah was his pride and joy,<br />
+The only thing he loved on earth,<br />
+Since she became an orphan<br />
+At the fatal hour of birth!<br />
+The superstitious savage<br />
+Deemed her mother's spirit nigh,<br />
+And thought, who harmed an orphan,<br />
+By a spirit hand should die!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">She was born, too, "In a Castle,"<br />
+Gifted with a "second sight;"<br />
+Friends of earth, and sea, and air,<br />
+At <i>her</i> command would fight.<br />
+Her raven locks and soulful eyes,<br />
+Her faultless form and peerless face,<br />
+And voice of wondrous melody<br />
+Awed and charmed her race.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">She reigned an undisputed Queen,<br />
+<i>All</i> her mandate must obey;<br />
+And even the fierce Ocala<br />
+Was obedient to her sway.<br />
+Yet even she was powerless<br />
+To stay the raging flood<br />
+Of tireless, deathless savage hate<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>That sought the white man's blood.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Ocala's hatred of the whites<br />
+Was known both far and near;<br />
+Brave hunters spake his name with awe,<br />
+And women in trembling fear!<br />
+At last he grew so treacherous<br />
+No white man dared come nigh,<br />
+Till a trio of gallant hunters<br />
+Determined <i>he should die!</i></p>
+
+<p class="p23">They knew 'twas a dangerous mission<br />
+On which their steps was bent,<br />
+Yet the prayers of honest settlers<br />
+Their true hearts courage lent.<br />
+As they neared the sleeping village,<br />
+Where Ocala awaited his doom,<br />
+They flitted like weird spectres<br />
+In the silent midnight gloom!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">There, spread before their vision,<br />
+Five hundred wigwams lay;<br />
+A savage guerdon of defense<br />
+For him they sought to slay.<br />
+To the silent village center<br />
+Our gallant hunters crept,<br />
+To the door of the largest wigwam,<br />
+Where proud Ocala slept.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Stepping across the prostrate form<br />
+Of the sentinel at the door,<br />
+They breathed a prayer for absent ones,<br />
+Whom they might see no more.<br />
+Three knives flashed in midnight air,<br />
+Then fell with a sickening thud,<br />
+Ocala, Napoleon of his tribe,<br />
+Lay withering in his blood!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">But hark! what means that fierce warhoop,<br />
+Resounding loud and clear?<br />
+'Tis the bugle blast that calls each brave<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>When the paleface foe is near!<br />
+Gathering fast in the midnight gloom,<br />
+They form "The Circle of Death"<br />
+Around the dauntless hunters,<br />
+Who stand with bated breath</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Awaiting the savage onslaught,<br />
+Determined to sell their lives<br />
+To the service of their country<br />
+And the freedom of men's wives;<br />
+While pitying Heaven aids them<br />
+By the darkness of the night,<br />
+Since not a star will lend its aid<br />
+To guide their foes aright!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Now facing North, and East, and West,<br />
+They meet the savage foes,<br />
+Recruiting Charon's army<br />
+By every lusty blow;<br />
+But still they come in hideous swarms,<br />
+Like hounds let loose from hell,<br />
+Till, overborne by numbers,<br />
+Our bleeding heroes fell!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">All honor to the gallant three,<br />
+Twelve braves in silence lay,<br />
+With gaping wounds and stony eyes,<br />
+To greet returning day!<br />
+While yet a score were nursing<br />
+Wounds which these heroes gave,<br />
+That signed their right to enter<br />
+Into an unwept grave!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Ocala ne'er again would scourge<br />
+Their country, far and near,<br />
+Nor wring from helpless innocence<br />
+An unavailing tear!<br />
+His death alone destroyed the boast<br />
+And stilled the raging flood<br />
+Of senseless pride and passion<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>That bathed his hands in blood!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">But, alas, for human prowess,<br />
+These deeds but roused the ire<br />
+Of savage wretches, who now tried<br />
+To vent their spleen <i>with fire!</i><br />
+Three stakes were now erected<br />
+And fagots heaped around,<br />
+While painted fiends in human shape<br />
+Exultant, sat aground.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">They led the helpless captives forth,<br />
+With many a shout and hoot,<br />
+And drug them to their awful doom,<br />
+Less feeling than a brute!<br />
+And first they bound Hugh Cannon,<br />
+Whose descendants, love, you know,<br />
+I pointed out to you, last Fall,<br />
+When we were at the show.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">They bound him to the cruel stake<br />
+Before his comrades' eyes,<br />
+Then scornfully they bade them mark<br />
+"How a paleface coward dies!"<br />
+Thank God his captors were deceived,<br />
+He smiled amid the flame!<br />
+And, with his fast expiring breath,<br />
+These words bequeathed to fame:</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"To suffer in a noble cause<br />
+Is sweet beyond compare!<br />
+These greedy flames that lick my blood<br />
+But light a vision fair,<br />
+Where heroism and heroes sweep<br />
+The still resounding lyre,<br />
+Heaven's harmonies have quenched<br />
+The tortures of this fire!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Tumultuous raptures 'round me roll<br />
+Heaven's pearly gates ajar!<br />
+My spirit soars on fleshless wing<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>Beyond the faintest star!<br />
+Oh, blissful death; oh, vision fair,<br />
+What sweet celestial glories shine,<br />
+The loved and lost of earlier years<br />
+Are <i>now</i> forever mine!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The savage horde in silence stood<br />
+And listened as he sang,<br />
+While even their untaught eyes could see<br />
+He suffered not a pang!<br />
+No yell triumphant smote his ear,<br />
+Awe silenced every tongue,<br />
+And many a heart beat faster<br />
+As he his requiem sung.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Then lionhearted Conway,<br />
+Beneath whose eagle eye<br />
+Even savage foes once trembled<br />
+Was offered up to die!<br />
+Defiant still 'mid writhing flames,<br />
+He heaped on them his scorn,<br />
+And, with true prophetic voice<br />
+He doomed their race unborn.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Rejoice! rejoice! ye howling fiends,<br />
+Distort your hideous face,<br />
+Soon the white man's wrath shall sweep<br />
+From earth your blood-stained race,<br />
+While shining fields and cities fair<br />
+Attest the white man's power,<br />
+You accursed Creeks shall be<br />
+Tradition's useless dower!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Now comes your own ancestor,<br />
+The gallant, brave McCray,<br />
+Who planned this glorious campaign<br />
+And led the awful fight.<br />
+He was a perfect Hercules,<br />
+Cast in Apollo's mould,<br />
+With a heart of witching tenderness,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>Yet proud and dauntless soul.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Oft had he visited this tribe,<br />
+On peaceful mission bent,<br />
+And to many a savage<br />
+His kind assistance lent.<br />
+Yet little dreamed he, at this hour,<br />
+One heart amid that throng<br />
+Still beat responsive to his own,<br />
+Attuned to love's mad song!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Yet, as they bound him to the stake<br />
+And raised the flaming brand,<br />
+The Chief that held it fell a corpse,<br />
+Killed by a woman's hand!<br />
+And Indian maiden loosed his bands<br />
+And raised her voice on high:<br />
+"Who harms my paleface lover<br />
+By Tululah's hand shall die!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Behold, the savage concourse stand,<br />
+Transfixed by silent awe,<br />
+And gaze upon Ocala's child,<br />
+Held sacred by their law!<br />
+They feared Ocala's spirit<br />
+Might <i>then</i> be hovering nigh;<br />
+Nor dared to harm his darling child,<br />
+Lest he who harmed her die!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The Queen, with head and form erect,<br />
+Bore McCray undismayed,<br />
+And in her <i>father's</i> wigwam<br />
+Her wounded lover laid!<br />
+Then bending gently o'er him,<br />
+Each wound she rightly dress,<br />
+And with sweet plaintive melodies<br />
+Lured the weary one to rest.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">At dawning light McCray awoke,<br />
+His Queen still lingering there;<br />
+His eyes bespoke his gratitude,<br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>His lips were moved in prayer<br />
+For the lithe and graceful maiden<br />
+Whose love he knew to be<br />
+Pure as early morning's blush,<br />
+Yet deathless as&mdash;Eternity!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Although once failed, his savage foes<br />
+Still thirsted for his blood;<br />
+The hate within their bosoms<br />
+Was as tireless as a flood.<br />
+Not daring open violence,<br />
+They sought Oneida's craft,<br />
+And 'neath the guise of friendship<br />
+Gave the lovers a sleeping draught.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">When the mighty god of slumber<br />
+Had locked them fast in sleep,<br />
+The wily savage entered,<br />
+His fearful oath to keep.<br />
+They took McCray to the river<br />
+In sight of these roaring falls,<br />
+Whose sheer descent&mdash;two hundred feet&mdash;<br />
+The stoutest heart appalls!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">They bound him fast in a frail canoe,<br />
+Set adrift 'mid the current's flow,<br />
+Believing his life would be dashed out<br />
+On the jagged rocks below.<br />
+Then, gladly turning homeward,<br />
+A ready lie they make<br />
+To appease her burning anger<br />
+When Tululah shall awake!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Slowly the doomed man drifted,<br />
+Yet faster, at each breath,<br />
+The quickening current bore him<br />
+To the open gates of death!<br />
+Yet still he slept; aye, slept and dreamed<br />
+Of the proud Creek's peerless flower<br />
+Who, for deathless love of him,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>Had braved her nation's power.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Spurned her murdered siris corpse<br />
+And to his murderer clung!<br />
+Aye, on the spot that drank his blood,<br />
+Love's soothing ditties sung!<br />
+Dreamed of the eyes that flashed with fire<br />
+When his foeman dared draw nigh,<br />
+Yet softened into tenderness<br />
+At her lover's faintest sigh.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Dreams of the hand that sped the dart<br />
+That pierced the chieftain's breast,<br />
+Yet with such witching tenderness<br />
+Could tremble in caress!<br />
+Dreams of the heart that proudly braved<br />
+A nation's deadly hate,<br />
+Yet, at a lover's first command,<br />
+Would brook a martyr's fate!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Dreams of the hour when Tululah,<br />
+Who so bravely saved his life,<br />
+Shall desert her baffled kinsman<br />
+To become a white man's wife!<br />
+Dreams how he would love and prize her,<br />
+Shielding her with tenderest care,<br />
+Spending time, and life, and fortune<br />
+But to grant her lightest prayer.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">But his dream is rudely broken,<br />
+And his blanched lip loudly calls,<br />
+For he hears the well known rumbling<br />
+Of this river's awful falls.<br />
+Life was sweet, death was so near,<br />
+And he so young to die!<br />
+No wonder that his trembling lips<br />
+Sought mercy from on high.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">He bore ten thousand tortures<br />
+With every passing breath,<br />
+As he lay bound and helpless,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>Gliding swiftly on to death.<br />
+He raised his clarion voice<br />
+Above the deafening roar;<br />
+Great heavens! can a human cry<br />
+Reach that resounding shore?</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Yes! Yes!" a once familiar voice<br />
+Calls loudly from that shore,<br />
+And a well known trapper woos time<br />
+To life and hope once more!<br />
+By an effort, born of hope renewed,<br />
+McCray sprang to his feet;<br />
+The trapper saw, his lariat flew,<br />
+His outstretched hands to greet.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"<i>Steady!</i>" the practical huntsman cried:<br />
+"Your peril is almost o'er;<br />
+Steady, for in a moment<br />
+Your foot shall press the shore!"<br />
+Then, as he drew the skiff ashore,<br />
+He recognized McCray,<br />
+But gazed in silent wonder<br />
+<i>For late raven locks were grey!</i></p>
+
+<p class="p23">And never, to his dying day,<br />
+Would McCray view the place<br />
+Where, in suspended agony,<br />
+He met death face to face!<br />
+He shuddered at an Indian's name,<br />
+And soon forgot the Queen,<br />
+Who once so bravely saved him<br />
+From a nation's senseless spleen.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">He wooed and won a maiden<br />
+Whose blue eyes, like your own,<br />
+Held within their liquid depths,<br />
+Love's nectarine full blown,<br />
+And as I press your luscious lips<br />
+I praise thee, brave McCray,<br />
+Whose dauntless courage gave to me<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>The girl I hold today!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Oh, yes; forgive me, darling,<br />
+I did almost forget;<br />
+But how can mortal silence keep<br />
+By such sweet eyes beset?<br />
+Grant me the boon of one more kiss<br />
+And gaze into my face;<br />
+Light fancy by your radiant eyes,<br />
+Tululah's fate to trace!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Still let the pressure of your hand<br />
+Chain me in rapture to the earth,<br />
+For I must offer thoughts tonight<br />
+That ne'er before had birth!<br />
+No idle dreamer dares to pierce<br />
+The mystery of this stream,<br />
+Nor would I dare the bold emprise<br />
+Save that your wish I deem</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The highest law my loving heart<br />
+Can now or ever know,<br />
+And 'neath the witchery of your smile<br />
+My raptured numbers glow!<br />
+My fancy soars on eager wing,<br />
+And will, perhaps, at last,<br />
+Gladly at your high behest<br />
+Unfold the misty past!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Tululah slept till evening shades<br />
+Had deepened into night,<br />
+And woke, alas! to find herself<br />
+Bereft of her brave knight.<br />
+Her Indian wit soon taught her<br />
+Oguchu was to blame,<br />
+And hastily she found him,<br />
+Her eyes and cheeks aflame!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Oguchu knows your mission;<br />
+Your paleface lover fled<br />
+While Tululah's starlit eyes<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>Were wandering 'mid the dead.<br />
+He is not worthy of your love;<br />
+Let my sister choose a mate;<br />
+Oguchu's lodge is open,<br />
+Will my sister spurn her fate?"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"My paleface lover is a brave!"<br />
+Tululah proudly cried;<br />
+"<i>He</i> never fled from friend or foe,<br />
+Oguchu, thou hast lied!<br />
+Thy double tongue is poison-tipped,<br />
+Thy words a coward's dart,<br />
+Before I clasp thy loathsome form<br />
+Let panthers rend my heart!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Speak, coward, speak! where is my brave?<br />
+Tululah asks you where;<br />
+Speak, lest I summon by a word<br />
+The friends of earth and air<br />
+To tear your quivering limbs apart,<br />
+You lying, treacherous chief.<br />
+Speak the truth! you Indian dog,<br />
+The night is growing brief!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The awestruck chief is conquered,<br />
+And tells, with bated breath,<br />
+Where last he saw him drifting,<br />
+Into the jaws of death!<br />
+Tululah heard, and wild despair<br />
+Hurled reason from her throne.<br />
+Low at her feet the wretches crouched,<br />
+Their treachery to atone!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Up! Up, you cowards! Up, you knaves!<br />
+And lead me to the place.<br />
+Tululah's hand shall save him yet<br />
+Or curse your coward race!<br />
+'Tis mine to speak; yours, to obey;&mdash;<br />
+I am your Virgin Queen:&mdash;<br />
+I <i>swear</i> to save my lover <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>Or <i>nevermore</i> be seen!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">They led her to the river,<br />
+And, pointing to the place,<br />
+They stood like criminals abashed<br />
+Before the judge's face.<br />
+She spurned their pleading counsel,<br />
+And, springing in a boat,<br />
+She cast the oars from her<br />
+And set the skiff afloat!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Then, as she gazed adown the stream,<br />
+Her eyes were all aglow<br />
+With that deep yearning passion<br />
+Such hearts alone can know.<br />
+While sitting in the boat erect,<br />
+With an Indian's willowy grace,<br />
+She sang in tuneful numbers<br />
+A song time can't efface:</p>
+
+<p class="p24">"I am coming, coming, coming,<br />
+Slowly drifting down the stream,</p>
+<p class="p25">While my heart is yearning, yearning<br />
+For the idol of love's dream.</p>
+
+<p class="p24">"I have left them&mdash;left them&mdash;left them!<br />
+Farewell, treacherous Indian race;</p>
+<p class="p25">I can hear him calling, calling,<br />
+And I go to seek his face.</p>
+
+<p class="p24">"Now I'm gliding, gliding, gliding!<br />
+And I hear the awful roar</p>
+<p class="p25">Of the waters tumbling, tumbling,<br />
+Where no boat will need an oar!</p>
+
+<p class="p24">"Now I'm rushing, rushing, rushing!<br />
+And the spray obscures my sight;</p>
+<p class="p25">The angry waters leaping, leaping,<br />
+Chill me with a strange affright.</p>
+
+<p class="p24">"Oh, I see him! see him&mdash;see him,<br />
+And I welcome death's alarms!</p>
+<p class="p25">Oh! I'm swiftly falling, falling,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>And I spring into his arms!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Not a trace of boat or maiden<br />
+Could the savage searchers find,<br />
+And they fled the spot in terror,<br />
+Daring not to look behind!<br />
+Nor would they tarry near the river,<br />
+But moved their wigwam's far away;<br />
+No savage Creek would linger<br />
+Near the spot by night and day.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">And tradition says her spirit<br />
+May be seen on nights like this,<br />
+When the heavy moon, mist-laden,<br />
+Greets the river with a kiss!<br />
+Not in vain will be our vigil<br />
+If Tululah knows tonight<br />
+In your precious veins is flowing<br />
+Genuine blood of her brave knight!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Look!  Look! 'mid the river's silvery sheen<br />
+Tululah's Phantom Boat is seen,<br />
+While the air vibrates like a quivering lyre,<br />
+Touched by the hands of an angel Choir!<br />
+Oh, wondrous music soft and low,<br />
+Like rippling streamlets' gentle flow!<br />
+Oh, pathos laden, heart refrain,<br />
+No mortal lips can breathe that strain!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Immortal love! not even death<br />
+Can damp thy flame or chill thy breath!<br />
+Nay, while eternal ages roll,<br />
+'Tis thine to feed the hungry soul<br />
+With manna dipped in passion's fire,<br />
+True birthright of the heart's desire;<br />
+Blest food no mortal lips can take<br />
+And fail enrapturing bliss to wake!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Heaven's corner-stone, earth's chief delight.<br />
+Tululah's captive soul tonight<br />
+Is but living o'er the dream<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>Thou didst create beside this stream.<br />
+Her hapless fate all must deplore,<br />
+Self-sacrificed in days of yore;<br />
+And, could Tululah live again,<br />
+At least one heart would soothe her pain!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The legend may be overdrawn,<br />
+Yet 'tis not all a dream!<br />
+Nor will you ever say again:<br />
+"This is no haunted stream!"<br />
+Other eyes beside our own<br />
+Have seen the Phantom Boat,<br />
+And other ears than ours have heard<br />
+That wild, weird? music float!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">But, precious little darling,<br />
+As I strain thee to my breast,<br />
+I am conscious you are weary,<br />
+Thus deprived of needful rest.<br />
+Let us hasten to thy cottage,<br />
+Parting with a lingering kiss;<br />
+Little Daisy, then, can slumber<br />
+And awake in perfect bliss!</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-040.jpg" width="300" height="181"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-003.jpg" width="200" height="80"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>AN INITIAL ACROSTIC.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>H</b>ear, O hear the melting music pouring from inspired hearts!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n the race of life they stumbled, victims of temptation's darts.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>uin's billows them engulfing, all their hopes and joys to blight;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>nd the scorpion lash of conscience scourges them by day and night!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>M</b>an has doomed them to a prison where shame's torrents hourly roll</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>P</b>ouring every known affliction on the crushed and bleeding soul!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>very legal right has perished, every social tie is snapped!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>C</b>rushing Force is ever present, body mind and soul entrapped!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>K</b>indness is a total stranger, human treatment rarely shown,</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>M</b>an <i>is</i> faultless when his fellow for a fault must needs atone!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>C</b>an such beings know the rapture Heaven decrees to poet souls?</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>K</b>now they where to place the cymbals of the sounding lyre</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>ever yet has human malice stilled the music of the spheres!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n <i>the loathesome prison dungeon Heaven the sweetest music hears!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>G</b>uilt or shame, or human anger, ne'er can fold the poet's wings.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>H</b>owsoever deep his anguish, still his heart exultant sings&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>T</b>unes his lyre, still triumphant, and to you these pages brings!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-171.jpg" width="300" height="108"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO<br />
+<span class="reduct">DR. H. R. PARKER.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>H</b>e towers above his fellow men, like some grand knight of old.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ndeavoring to right all wrong with spirit bold and free!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>o craven fear usurps his soul, no task his spirit quails.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>eligion to his soul is <i>love</i>, and love no wrong entails!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>Y</b>e who love eternal right and wish your fellows well</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>R</b>efuse him not the meed of praise&mdash;'tis his our aches to quell!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ach heart within these prison walls that tests his wondrous skill</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>U</b>nites to sing his praises and bless his generous will.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>B</b>y kindly words he cheers the soul of those whom dread disease</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>nvelops in her mystic folds and gives each patient ease.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>aught caring for their praise or blame, he steers his course aright,</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>P</b>roving duty, well performed, is matchless in its might.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>nd, tho' but a youth in years, his well instructed mind</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>eveals all pathologic truth and practice well combined.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>K</b>indly may the fates decree that he may rise to fame,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ver free, as he is now, from error and from shame.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>efuse him naught of happiness and bless his honored name!</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-043.jpg" width="300" height="122"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Lines To My Wife.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p01">Years and years have passed away<br />
+Since last we met, my darling wife;</p>
+<p class="p02">Oft have I felt the tooth of pain<br />
+Gnaw at the vitals of my life.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The brow thy hand has oft caressed<br />
+With such sweet, hypnotic power,</p>
+<p class="p02">The lines of care and grief has traced<br />
+And wrinkled, like a withered flower.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The dark brown locks you loved so well,<br />
+Now interspersed with silver thread,</p>
+<p class="p02">Shows plainly that the march of time<br />
+Has left its footprints on my head.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">The deep gray eyes that once could flash<br />
+With passion's fire, or melt in love,</p>
+<p class="p02">Have lost the wanted fires of youth,<br />
+Like some poor offcast, limpsy glove.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Yet in my breast there beats a heart<br />
+That never will nor can grow old;</p>
+<p class="p02">Thy image keeps its pulses warm<br />
+With love that never shall grow cold.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Thy grace and beauty won that heart<br />
+Long years ago, when thou wert young:</p>
+<p class="p02">Thy gentle, generous, faithful care<br />
+Has bred a love I cannot tongue.</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Heaven can grant no sweeter bliss,<br />
+To crown the evening of my life,</p>
+<p class="p02">Than Iulu's sweet, enraptured kiss,<br />
+When time restores me to my wife.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Out of the Depths.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p03 p1">In a cell of rock and iron,<br />
+Where remorse and shame environ,<br />
+Sat a convict sadly dreaming&mdash;<br />
+Dreaming of the days of yore.<br />
+Dreamed he of a land of flowers<br />
+Where, amid Love's smiling bowers,<br />
+He had spent such happy hours,<br />
+To memory ne'er so sweet before.<br />
+And he softly, fondly questioned:</p>
+<p class="p22">"Shall I know such bliss once more?"<br />
+Hope made answer, "<i>Yes, once more!</i>"</p>
+<p class="p03">In a home which love had founded,<br />
+Now by grief and care surrounded,<br />
+Sat a wife and mother, weeping,</p>
+<p class="p22">Weeping for her prisoned swain.</p>
+<p class="p03">Wept she o'er fate's mad endeavor,<br />
+That such loving hearts could sever,<br />
+With a blow, that seemed to never<br />
+Lose its agonizing pain;<br />
+And her cry arose to heaven:</p>
+<p class="p22">"Father, shall we meet again?"<br />
+Mercy answered, "Once again."</p>
+<p class="p03">Ope those doors of latticed iron,<br />
+Lift the clouds that now environ;<br />
+Faithfulness shall be rewarded&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p22">Love the victory hath won.</p>
+<p class="p03">Learn that I, your God, am heeding<br />
+Prayers that rise from hearts now bleeding,<br />
+And my hand is ever leading,</p>
+<p class="p22">Tho' the clouds obscure the sun.</p>
+<p class="p03">Bows my heart in adoration&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p22">Shall my lips repeat Amen?<br />
+Hope and faith repeat! "Amen."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-023.jpg" width="300" height="124"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">Ella Ree's Revenge.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="p23">Beside Saluda's silver stream,<br />
+Where flowers nod and poets dream,<br />
+A cabin stood, in days gone by,<br />
+Whose history should never die.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Here lived and led a blameless life,<br />
+Brave Hayward and his peerless wife,<br />
+With three sweet pledges of that love,<br />
+Cradled on earth, but born above.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Surrounding them, on every hand,<br />
+Was the Red man's native land.<br />
+No paleface, save themselves, ever dared<br />
+To live in wild these Indians shared.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Treacherous alike in peace and war,<br />
+The Seminole obeyed no law<br />
+Save one he spake with bated breath:<br />
+"Traitors shall die a coward's death!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The haughty chief who led this tribe,<br />
+Fear could not daunt nor favor bribe;<br />
+And this lone settler, living here,<br />
+Knew white man never dared come near.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">He Caucanoe's heart had won<br />
+By a kindness nobly done,<br />
+In rescuing from a watery grave<br />
+The favorite child of this fierce brave.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">A frail canoe&mdash;swamped in mid stream:<br />
+A father's cry&mdash;a maiden's scream;<br />
+A hunter bearing a maid ashore,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>A volume writ would tell no more.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"The land beside this murmuring stream<br />
+Thy future home, brave paleface, deem,<br />
+And on Caucanoe's word depend,<br />
+No Indian dares molest my friend!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Yours 'twas to save Caucanoe's pride,<br />
+Mine be it to protect your bride;<br />
+If here a future you would seek,<br />
+I listen: Let my brother speak."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Great Chief! your words, so kind and true,<br />
+Fall on my ears like evening dew;<br />
+Ere the buds begin to swell<br />
+Your brother 'mid your tribe shall dwell."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">So Hayward built, with eager haste,<br />
+As best befits a woman's taste,<br />
+A cabin palace, reared by art,<br />
+Each room as secret as your heart.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Here they lived and tilled the ground,<br />
+The happiest pair for miles around;<br />
+The Indians swarmed around their door<br />
+With useful gifts to swell their store.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Caucanoe often sought their door<br />
+And played with the children, o'er and o'er.<br />
+He brought them many a curious toy,<br />
+Their happy childhood to employ.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The winsome sprite, who sat on his knee,<br />
+Pleased him most of the guileless three;<br />
+Her limped eyes and golden hair<br />
+Caucanoe thought divinely fair.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">As the happy years flew swiftly by,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>Beneath Caucanoe's watchful eye,<br />
+Paralee grew, with rapid pace,<br />
+Into a maid of faultless grace.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Caucanoe loved this lovely child<br />
+With a passion fierce, and deep, and wild,<br />
+Yet hopeless, he feared, that love would be,<br />
+Since naught could bridge the raging sea</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Of racial and tribal pride,<br />
+That lay between them, deep and wide;<br />
+And well he knew another's soul<br />
+Brooked naught on earth save his control.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">King Ulca's daughter, the proud Ella Ree,<br />
+Graceful and lithe as a willow tree,<br />
+With eyes and hair like the raven's wing,<br />
+And voice as soft as the babbling spring,</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Had sought him for her wigwam brave,<br />
+Weeping o'er his late wife's grave;<br />
+And well he knew the tears she shed,<br />
+By tribal law their bodies wed.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">True love for her he could not feel,<br />
+Yet such a fact dared not reveal;<br />
+His squaw she was alone in name<br />
+And never to his wigwam came.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Another love, oh, fateful thought!<br />
+With direful misery doubly fraught,<br />
+Surged and tossed within his soul<br />
+Until it spurned his late control.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">At last he sought her much loved side<br />
+And begged her to become his bride.<br />
+The maiden heard and laughed outright,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>And thus let loose the fiends of night</p>
+
+<p class="p23">That of late had lain at rest<br />
+Within Caucanoe's savage breast.<br />
+Now, naught could stay this rising ire<br />
+Save to light the Council Fire.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">At last among his braves he stood,<br />
+Like some monarch of the wood;<br />
+While burning words flowed from his tongue,<br />
+That showed how deep his heart was wrung.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The Council heard and thus decreed:<br />
+"Our land from paleface dogs be freed.<br />
+Tomorrow night the proud paleface<br />
+Shall rue Caucanoe's late disgrace!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"'Tis well," the haughty chief replied;<br />
+"Who scorns to be Caucanoe's bride<br />
+Shall feel a living flame of fire<br />
+Quench the last spark of life's desire!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">But, ere the morrow's sun had set,<br />
+Awakening love brought deep regret.<br />
+Love fought the savage till he fell,<br />
+And Pity's tears began to well.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">He crept the cabin light within,<br />
+And there confessed his double sin.<br />
+"'Tis done," he cried, "you shall not die;<br />
+The boat is ready; up, and fly!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Saluda's stream shall guide you right,<br />
+Caucanoe lays to die tonight!<br />
+Once you are free, I die content.<br />
+Nor deem the blow untimely sent."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The boat has left the silent shore,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>And Hayward tugs at the muffled oar;<br />
+The craft sweeps on, like a thing of life,<br />
+Impelled by the prayers of a weeping wife.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Caucanoe stood on the bank hard by,<br />
+With heaving breast and tear-dimmed eye,<br />
+That proved a hero's soul could rest<br />
+In the natural dome of a savage breast.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The flashing oars in the moonlight pale<br />
+Give forth no sound and leave no trail;<br />
+Naught is heard save the breath<br />
+Of the fleeing ones in their race with death.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Hark! What means that frightful yell?<br />
+'Tis a cry of triumph, born of hell;<br />
+Their savage foe, long under way,<br />
+At last have seen their wanted prey.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">They see the foe and wildly fly<br />
+The flashing oars, till they almost fly;<br />
+"We'll yet be saved," brave Hayward spoke,<br />
+But his oars shivered beneath his stroke.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">He sprang to his feet, with ashen face,<br />
+And his trusty rifle flew to its place;<br />
+A maddening yell from the savage crew<br />
+Proved the ball to the mark had straightway flew.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Six times his trusty rifle spoke;<br />
+Each time an Indian skull it broke.<br />
+His gallant sons stood near their sire<br />
+And reinforced his deadly fire!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Their doom was sealed. The savage horde<br />
+Soon reached their bark and sprang aboard;<br />
+Yet scorned they even then to yield,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>While strength was left a knife to wield.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Each one dared a hero's part;<br />
+Each knife it sought a savage heart,<br />
+Nor did they cease to bathe in gore<br />
+Till they sank beneath to rise no more.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Paralee and her mother lay<br />
+To savage hands an early prey;<br />
+For neither knew, nor felt they ought,<br />
+Of what they did or what they sought,</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Since terror and alarm, too deep,<br />
+Had locked their senses all in sleep.<br />
+Alas! that they should ever wake:<br />
+Returning senses meant the stake.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Soon homeward with the living dead<br />
+The savage horde in triumph sped;<br />
+And bore to haunts of Ella Ree<br />
+The paleface foe she longed to see.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Better for Paralee had she died<br />
+Amid the battle's raging tide.<br />
+"Not wounded tigress in her lair<br />
+More dangerous than a jealous fair!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Assembled around the Council Fire,<br />
+With haughty mien and rising ire,<br />
+Each chief was ready to relate<br />
+His own exploit or vent his hate.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Safely bound by cruel thong,<br />
+In the center of the throng,<br />
+The captives sat in silent dread,<br />
+Envying none except the dead.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Brothers! the paleface Ella Ree,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>Whose words from guile are always free,<br />
+Will tell you all you need to know.<br />
+Who scorns <i>her</i> words must brave my blow!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Thus Ulca spake, then glared around<br />
+With a mighty monarch's haughty frown,<br />
+"That held his hearers more in awe<br />
+Of his dread prowess than his law."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Chief! Warriors! Braves in battle tried,<br />
+Your blood Saluda's stream has dyed;<br />
+Your brothers sleep no more to wake!<br />
+Will <i>you</i> sit by nor vengeance take?"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"A traitor warned the doomed paleface;<br />
+Shall <i>he</i> yet live to brave our race?<br />
+How the white lily wrought the spell,<br />
+Caucanoe, and not I, must tell!"</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Caucanoe does not fear to die!<br />
+'Twas he that bade the paleface fly;<br />
+Let these women now be set free;<br />
+Vent your hate alone on me."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Paralee I loved, and her alone;<br />
+Mine was the fault&mdash;let me atone.<br />
+Ella Ree, herself, shall light the fire<br />
+And chant around my funeral pyre."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">"Loose the captive! Raise the stake!<br />
+It shall be thus," brave Ulca spake.<br />
+"If love shall brave the cruel flame,<br />
+Yon captives go from whence they came."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">In haste they reared the ready stake,<br />
+And bade the Chief his place to take.<br />
+He lightly stepped in proper place,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>A conquering smile upon his face.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">The signal given&mdash;a lighted brand&mdash;<br />
+Ella Ree raised with trembling hand,<br />
+Yet begged Caucanoe not to die,<br />
+But to her willing arms to fly.</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Pardon was his, both full and free,<br />
+As the proud brave of Ella Ree;<br />
+The hated captives should atone<br />
+For all blood spilt, and they alone!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Caucanoe frowned and thus replied:<br />
+"If Ella Ree would be my bride,<br />
+Let her light the fire and stand<br />
+Here beside me, hand in hand."</p>
+
+<p class="p23">Forward she sprang&mdash;the torch applied,<br />
+Even in death a happy bride!<br />
+Saluda's stream is never free<br />
+From the dying chant of Ella Ree!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-026.jpg" width="300" height="184"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">The Murderer's Dream.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1">Ye glittering stars! how fair ye shine tonight.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And, oh, thou modest moon! thy silvery light</p>
+<p class="pl0">Comes streaming through these iron bars before me.</p>
+<p class="pl0">How clear and silent is this lovely night!</p>
+<p class="pl0">How quiet and how bright!</p>
+<p class="pl0">I nothing hear, nor aught can hear</p>
+<p class="pl0">Me when I speak, but stone and iron that I fear;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I, shunned by all, as if alone I'd go to Hell;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I, alone in chains! Ah, me, the cruel spell</p>
+<p class="pl0">That brought me here. Heaven could not cheer me</p>
+<p class="pl0">Within these cursed walls&mdash;within this dark and dreary cell,</p>
+<p class="pl0">This gloomy, cold, and solitary Hell.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">And thou, O Time! the only thing that's not my foe&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">O Time! O Time! thou passeth on so slow,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Keeping my soul in terror, in bondage, and in woe;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Was I to blame? I was, they say; they say 'tis so.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, God! will this deep crimson, aye, black stain</p>
+<p class="pl0">My nervous system always strain!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Will my foul crime forever haunt my brain?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Must I live here in earthly fear, and never, never hear</p>
+<p class="pl0">The sweetest voice to me of all, I've heard not for a year?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Must I this torture feel, year after year?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Live, die in Hell, and yet a Paradise so near?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Wilt Thou, Oh, God! wilt Thou not hear? 'Tis I, 'tis I they all do fear.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Am I to Thee, O Christ, as dead? Thou who sought</p>
+<p class="pl0">The lonely prisoner in his dismal cell, and to him taught</p>
+<p class="pl0">The true and only law to govern man&mdash;Thy love,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Which can be only reached by prayer to Thee above?</p>
+<p class="pl0">In this cold and darkened cell, dost Thou reprove</p>
+<p class="pl0">My soul? Dost Thou doom it to endless misery?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Am I so wicked, sinful, that I cannot move</p>
+<p class="pl0">Thy loving kindness, to a slight reprove?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ah, me, ah, me, 'tis love Thou sayest&mdash;love.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Canst I at this late day by full repentance see</p>
+<p class="pl0">The divine, the holy, ever cleansing love In Thee?
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>Canst Thou be Christ and have no love for me?</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">What, can it be that I am lost and'll never know thy bliss?</p>
+<p class="pl0">And for my cruel, wicked crime no joy above all this?</p>
+<p class="pl0">What, world of sin! What, never? Is my destiny Hell?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Is that my cruel sentence because in sin I fell?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Aye, I did fall! Into that dark and fathomless pit,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And now in Hell my soul has fell, and for Hell it is not fit:</p>
+<p class="pl0">Into that misery eternal, where nothing lives but all's infernal&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Is there my future&mdash;is it there?</p>
+<p class="pl0">My thoughts they burn my head, my heart 'twas, ah, 'twas dead&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0">But now it lives, and in my breast does burn:</p>
+<p class="pl0">Those pains, and, severe as they were, they flew, yes, flew away,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And being absent for awhile, remorse came in by day.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Oh, God, Oh, God, I am not fit for this infernal Hell!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, mercy, mercy! my destiny, 'tis here that I must dwell.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Away! away! ye fiery fiends, I am among you now,</p>
+<p class="pl0">O Christ, O Savior of the sinner! To Satan must I bow?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Pray, take me back to earth again, and test me one and all,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And let me live anew my life and see if I will fall.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Test me, test me once again, let me hear the old church bell,</p>
+<p class="pl0">'Cause now I'm so much steeped in sin that I'm not fit for Hell.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, horrors! horrors! hear the groans of tortured victims there,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Some young, and many are quite old, I know it by their hair!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Poor, poor, poor wretches, see them there, all bleeding and in chains;</p>
+<p class="pl0">I know they realize their fate, because they all have brains.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Is this the horrid, horrid place my mother taught was Hell?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, see those brutal fiery fiends, they call them "Imps" you know,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And many an one has feared them here, because of sin he'd sown.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Just see the demons of the deep! Just hear their hellish tones!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Then floating back on brimstone air comes mocking, mocking groans.</p>
+<p class="pl0">See, see the devils how they dance, with brimstone torches how they prance;</p>
+<p class="pl0">What! can it be they look like men and 'stead of hearts they have but sin</p>
+<p class="pl0">And grinning hang around me? Oh, fearful, fearful fire of hell, what can it be within?</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>They sneer and stare at me! Go 'way, ye devils cooked in sin and crime!</p>
+<p class="pl0">I'm now in Purgatory waiting for the time</p>
+<p class="pl0">When by the law of a just God I'll be removed from here,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And by the law of Christ divine, of thee I'll have no fear.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Hark! List! From yonder corner comes loud cries,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, let me hold my aching, bursting head!</p>
+<p class="pl0">They come from some poor wretch that dies,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And many an one may mourn him now as dead.</p>
+<p class="pl0">I see him! I see him! There he is! My murdered victim now</p>
+<p class="pl0">Appears before me. That is him! and to him I must bow.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, his cries, his groans, they haunt me</p>
+<p class="pl0">To the bottom of my wicked heart. Can it be</p>
+<p class="pl0">That I must dwell forever in this wretched misery?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Horrors! See him now reach out his bony hand</p>
+<p class="pl0">To grasp me firmly by the throat and hold me like a band.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Take me, demons, if you please, take me into Hell!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Anything you choose may do&mdash;remove me from this cell!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">My soul, my soul, awake! awake! They come! they come!</p>
+<p class="pl0">The devil's come to take&mdash;Old Satan, I am thine!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Away my soul will ever roll through torturing, scorching Hell,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And down into the blackest depths my soul is cast pell-mell.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Oh, what a fate for man to meet&mdash;speak, Satan! speak, I say!</p>
+<p class="pl0">And with your torturing, devilish deeds&mdash;my ruin! no delay!</p>
+<p class="pl0">What dumb! Old Satan, canst thou speak? Look here</p>
+<p class="pl0">And speak thy want! I'm now right crisp and hard in sin and haven't any fear.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Take me, demons! Take me, quick! I hear the awful knell</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of the roaring, moaning billows, and the bitterness of Hell.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Take me, Satan, take me! as my fate is firmly sealed,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While ye in Hades do wake me, and o'er me the batoon wield.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">What! What! Am I mistaken? Was it only but a dream?</p>
+<p class="pl0">I, still living here on earth&mdash;oh, how real it all did seem.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Could I now just one chance have and in mercy be forgiven,</p>
+<p class="pl0">I would have respect for all and send prayers right up to heaven.</p>
+<p class="pl0">When on earth Christ did come to save sinners from their fate,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Any time they'd turn to Him they'd find 'twas not too late.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Holy Savior, heavenly dove, Thou who reigns supreme above!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>Though in sin I have been dead, I am saved just by Thy love.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Could I only have good sight, that I could see my sad plight,</p>
+<p class="pl0">I would always to Thee cling, and to Thee cling with my might.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Now, to Thee let me give thanks, 'cause 'twas only a bad dream.</p>
+<p class="pl0">But its horrors to me cling, 'cause so real it all did seem.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+     <img src="images/ill-040.jpg" width="300" height="181"
+         alt=""
+         title="" />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO<br />
+<span class="small">GOD'S MESSENGERS,</span><br />
+<span class="reduct">CHAPLAIN AND MRS. C. L. WINGET.</span></i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>C</b>yprian, the father of the orators' plan, a preacher, a priest and godly man;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>Y</b>ou have been, by the good Lord sent, on the mission your heart is ever bent.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>P</b>assed through trials of life severe, God was good when He sent you here,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>ight in the midst of a sweltering gang of sinners, corrupt on every hand.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>, for one, have watched you keen, and from you haven't an evil deed seen;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>ll has been so easy to see that your whole soul's bent on setting us free&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>ot from earthly, bodily pains, but from our evil, and sin, and shame!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>L</b>ee was the second choice of name, she christened her son for Heavenly fame.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ach and every day she taught him ever sin to brave, till dear mother she went down into an early grave.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>very day and every hour he tries to keep that august dower, and meet her where there's endless time, in Heaven's pure and holy clime.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>W</b>inget came unto this place to save poor sinners by God's own grace;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n eloquence and heartfelt plea he's prayed for us on bended knee;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>or has his pleading been in vain, because from us he's driven pain.</p>
+<p class="pl0">"<b>G</b>od help the prisoner!" is his prayer, while lingering in this prison lair;</p>
+<p class="pl0">"<b>E</b>ternal justice may they have while life's hard struggle they do brave!"</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>"<b>T</b>o God be praise! we see His face. God save the prisoner by Thy grace!"</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>S</b>usan, his wife and better half, and one of God's own kind,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>U</b>pon each bright and sabbath morn she helps the text to find.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>S</b>he's ever there, in the arm chair, through service and through song,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b>nd with kindly smile she does beguile the prisoners from all wrong.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>ay&mdash;let us bow unto you now, thou noble, holy one, and may God speed for all your need for the good that you have done.</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><b>G</b>regory is an ancient name, to you it has been given:</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>ight down deep in your friendly heart is found the truth of Heaven</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ach of us prisoners here confined for truth will e'er contend;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>G</b>o, search each heart! and then report if truth we'll not defend.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>O</b>nward, onward, upward, upward may your labors ever roll;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>each out for poor fallen sinner, and your work we'll all extol:</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>Y</b>et 'tis not too late to labor&mdash;God will answer, "Aye, extol!"</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">"<b>F</b>air-child" of Heaven's august plan, how comest thou to wed yourself to Man?</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>A</b> name is nothing but to designate, but, Oh&mdash;how often it does consecrate</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n language pure and clear as diamond scale, while thou, Fair-child, we, every one, do hail!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>R</b>eal sympathy is not so strong a band as binds fair woman unto haughty man!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>C</b>ome, hasten! now thy work be done, 'cause life's short race is almost run!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>H</b>e whom thou wed so many years ago has been God's servant faithfully to do</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n words so full of just and holy writ, that in our chapel we do love to sit.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>L</b>ove for your duty, kind to all you meet, faithful to your Master's cause and a smile for all you greet.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>D</b>o by us as you have done and never do complain, because the work that you have done has not been done in vain!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>"<b>W</b>inget" is the name you chose to support the once Fair-child.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>I</b>n Christian mission go forth God's castles for to build;</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>N</b>ever forget the prisoner close locked in dungeon cell,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>G</b>o forth and teach to him The Life of the soul you love so well.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>E</b>ach hour you spend in Christian work is never thrown away.</p>
+<p class="pl0"><b>T</b>he Truth is known! you'll harvests reap in Heaven's golden day!</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i><span class="smcap">The Mind is the Standard of the Man.</span></i></h2>
+
+<p class="p01 p1">In chains and shackles closely bound;<br />
+They say I am a prisoner;</p>
+<p class="p01">Although in this small cell I'm found,<br />
+A prisoner I am not.</p>
+<p class="p01">The door is made of iron bars,<br />
+The lock is large and strong,</p>
+<p class="p01">But my mind soars free, up to the stars,<br />
+As if I'd done no wrong.</p>
+<p class="p01">The mind of man is ever free,<br />
+By nature's law itself,</p>
+<p class="p01">While this wicked, wretched corpus<br />
+May be laid upon the shelf.</p>
+<p class="p01">What of this wretched body?<br />
+What care we for this hand?</p>
+<p class="p01">But there's one thing safe to wager on,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">They may chain me fast unto the rock,<br />
+And bind both hands and feet;</p>
+<p class="p01">They may keep me far off in the dark,<br />
+Where friends I cannot meet;</p>
+<p class="p01">They may call me vile and wicked wretch,<br />
+And murderer and thief;</p>
+<p class="p01">They may say I am an infidel<br />
+And steeped in unbelief;</p>
+<p class="p01">They may say I'm false and awful bad,<br />
+And lend not a helping hand;</p>
+<p class="p01">They may sow the seed North, East, South, West,<br />
+Far, far throughout the land;</p>
+<p class="p01"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>They may go right on with falsity<br />
+And it publish like a ban,</p>
+<p class="p01">But there's one thing safe to wager on,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">If the mind was easy to be read,<br />
+And another for to see,</p>
+<p class="p01">There would prisoner after prisoner<br />
+Immediately be set free.</p>
+<p class="p01">If conscience was as easy known<br />
+As another's words to hear,</p>
+<p class="p01">There would not be half so many men<br />
+That society would fear.</p>
+<p class="p01">But what do people think or care<br />
+What's in another's brain,</p>
+<p class="p01">So long as <i>they</i> can all conceal<br />
+The evil in <i>their</i> frame.</p>
+<p class="p01">There are a few who secretly<br />
+Do not conceal their sham,</p>
+<p class="p01">But there's one thing safe to wager on,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">If every one was now compelled<br />
+To show life in <i>true</i> attire,</p>
+<p class="p01">They'd cause the picture to be marred<br />
+And cast into the fire.</p>
+<p class="p01">They'd blush with shame to bring to light<br />
+Black spots upon their life;</p>
+<p class="p01">They kick, and squirm, and twist about,<br />
+And fight it with a strife.</p>
+<p class="p01">Where is the man on this vile earth<br />
+But what has done some wrong,</p>
+<p class="p01">And in his mind's concealed it,<br />
+Tho' it stings him like a thong?</p>
+<p class="p01">There ne'er was one except the Christ<br />
+Who'd be perfect in the land!</p>
+<p class="p01">But there's one thing safe to wager on,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">What if all conscience could be searched<br />
+Clear through with cathode rays,</p>
+<p class="p01"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>How many would cheerfully submit,<br />
+Who'd reached their manhood days?</p>
+<p class="p01">It might not be the blackest crime<br />
+Known to the criminal code,</p>
+<p class="p01">But can it be sufficiently white<br />
+To call it very good?</p>
+<p class="p01">It may not be so good nor bad,<br />
+Nor bad nor good indeed,</p>
+<p class="p01">But is it plenty good enough<br />
+As a standard for a creed?</p>
+<p class="p01">You may keep it hid in an air-tight box.<br />
+With psychological band,</p>
+<p class="p01">Then, you see, 'tis safe to wager</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">So long as minds cannot be seen<br />
+And pictured to the folk,</p>
+<p class="p01">So long there'll be deceitfulness<br />
+Played by the earthly crook.</p>
+<p class="p01">The modern shylock now, who craves<br />
+The sentence of the court,</p>
+<p class="p01">Is just the man who, many times,<br />
+Society he has hurt.</p>
+<p class="p01">He stands aloof from other folk,<br />
+And cries with a loud voice:</p>
+<p class="p01">"Down, down, with evil and all crime!<br />
+Arise, my friends, rejoice!"</p>
+<p class="p01">But turn on him the cathode rays<br />
+And search him, if you can,</p>
+<p class="p01">You'll be convinced, beyond a doubt,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">There's many a man who's been misjudged.<br />
+And met his doom and fate;</p>
+<p class="p01">And the truth thereof could ne'er be learned<br />
+Until it was too late.</p>
+<p class="p01">If cathode rays could have been used,<br />
+And falsehood put to flight,</p>
+<p class="p01">There's many a false and trumped up charge<br />
+Would be knocked clear out of sight.</p>
+<p class="p01">If the mind of man could only be,<br />
+With this mysterious light,</p>
+<p class="p01"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>Just brought out plain on canvas,<br />
+In colors clear and bright,</p>
+<p class="p01">It would spread the truth both far and near,<br />
+Just like a marriage ban,</p>
+<p class="p01">That the rule ordained by nature is</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Now, when with cathode rays supplied,<br />
+You start out for a search,</p>
+<p class="p01">Just drop around some Sabbath morn<br />
+And peep into a church.</p>
+<p class="p01">If one bald deacon, on his breast,<br />
+Wears a diamond bright and clear,</p>
+<p class="p01">Just shoot cathode across his pate<br />
+And see what's buried there.</p>
+<p class="p01">Then up into the pulpit,<br />
+Where the priest all devils dare,</p>
+<p class="p01">And dart the rays around, about,<br />
+And see what's buried there.</p>
+<p class="p01">Then to the courtroom wend your way,<br />
+To where the judges ran,</p>
+<p class="p01">Then bet your bottom dollar</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then down into our Congress halls<br />
+Make a dash both bold and free,</p>
+<p class="p01">And shoot cathode right through them all<br />
+And see what you can see.</p>
+<p class="p01">Then back into the halls of State,<br />
+And catch them, one and all,</p>
+<p class="p01">And learn yourself, beyond a doubt,<br />
+How many are there to fall.</p>
+<p class="p01">Don't be surprised if now you find<br />
+Most foul and blackened crimes,</p>
+<p class="p01">Because they're plotting for the gold,<br />
+No matter what the times.</p>
+<p class="p01">Try and discover, then and there,<br />
+The gold bonds, if you can,</p>
+<p class="p01">And remember, what is true as truth,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Then, when you're done with the outside world,<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>And all of Congress halls,</p>
+<p class="p01">Return to me and take a walk<br />
+Within these dismal walls.</p>
+<p class="p01">I'll show you men who represent<br />
+Each county in this State;</p>
+<p class="p01">They're all accused of crime, you know,<br />
+And sentenced to their fate.</p>
+<p class="p01">But don't be hasty now to judge<br />
+These men you see about;</p>
+<p class="p01">Fire cathode rays right through their skulls<br />
+And you may find a doubt.</p>
+<p class="p01">Courts, lawyers and prejudiced jurors<br />
+Will convict if they can,</p>
+<p class="p01">But there's one thing safe to wager on,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">In here you'll find there's many a mind<br />
+As free from sin and crime</p>
+<p class="p01">As congressmen and senators<br />
+Who've been there a long time.</p>
+<p class="p01">Some of these men in here, you see,<br />
+They got a little tight,</p>
+<p class="p01">And broke into a chicken coop,<br />
+Because 'twas in the night.</p>
+<p class="p01">Some men you see as you walk with me<br />
+Down through these halls so dreary,</p>
+<p class="p01">Have, on bended knee, prayed to be free<br />
+Until life's become weary.</p>
+<p class="p01">They have no money, neither friends,<br />
+Because they're far behind the van,</p>
+<p class="p01">But still 'tis safe to wager</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">And now because my enemies<br />
+Have chained me tight and fast,</p>
+<p class="p01">And cruel, heartless, brutal curs<br />
+Would hold me to the last&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p01">Look here! I'll freely now submit,<br />
+Turn on your cathode rays</p>
+<p class="p01">And learn, if now 'tis not too late,<br />
+The evil of my ways.</p>
+<p class="p01"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>Then go up to that old bribed judge,<br />
+And prosecutor, too,</p>
+<p class="p01">And bring their conscience here by mine<br />
+And search all through and through.</p>
+<p class="p01">Look sharp! And now compare their minds<br />
+With this one, if you can,</p>
+<p class="p01">And then apply the golden rule,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">Oh, men of science! if you can<br />
+Employ the cathode rays</p>
+<p class="p01">To take the place of jurymen<br />
+In those our latter days;</p>
+<p class="p01">Let not a man upon the bench<br />
+To judge another's fate,</p>
+<p class="p01">Until to cathode he's been sent<br />
+To search beneath his pate!</p>
+<p class="p01">If then you see his mind is free<br />
+From prejudice and crime,</p>
+<p class="p01">And he'll give us all fair justice,<br />
+Let him sit there all the time!</p>
+<p class="p01">But if, upon the other hand,<br />
+He won't, although he can,</p>
+<p class="p01">Then cut him out with the golden rule:</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<p class="p01">How can you, then, a prisoner make,<br />
+When his Mind's as free as space?</p>
+<p class="p01">You may chain his feet, and hands, and neck,<br />
+And tightly bind his face,</p>
+<p class="p01">Do what you please, and as you please,<br />
+You cannot help but see&mdash;</p>
+<p class="p01">That man is man, where e'er he be,<br />
+Because his mind is free!</p>
+<p class="p01">His mind may roam back to his home,<br />
+You cannot tie it down,</p>
+<p class="p01">And folk may look, and scoff, and scowl,<br />
+And always wear a frown.</p>
+<p class="p01">But when of him they a prisoner make,<br />
+The mind they never can,</p>
+<p class="p01">'Cause God ordained the Golden Rule,</p>
+<p class="p02">"<span class="smcap">That mind's the standard of the Man</span>."</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="p4"><span class="smcap"><i>Cell Thoughts.</i></span></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec2" />
+
+<p class="pn center">BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.</p>
+
+<hr class="dec3" />
+
+<p class="p23 p1">In the headlong rush for the Land of Fame<br />
+How many are wrecked on the Isle of Shame.<br />
+How few heads wear a glittering crown<br />
+In the far-away realm of great renown.<br />
+'Mid the crowded ranks of the legion of greed<br />
+How many are crushed 'neath the wheels of need!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">How few ever feel the dainty caress<br />
+Of the lingering hand of great success!<br />
+In the mad pursuit of the god of gold<br />
+What brains are wrecked, what hearts grow cold!<br />
+How many will spend their latest day<br />
+'Mid the hurtling waters of Poverty Bay!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">How many are lured by a siren chime<br />
+To a double death in the land of Crime!<br />
+How few escape, unscarred, within<br />
+The winding walks of the maze of sin!<br />
+How many that towered above the stars<br />
+Now pine and languish behind the bars!</p>
+
+<p class="p23">What a trail of woe a single mistake<br />
+Across the page of a life can make!<br />
+O, shipwrecked sailor, fix your eye<br />
+On the Star of Hope in yonder sky;<br />
+Mercy's hand will bring release<br />
+And safely lead to the Land of Peace.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>THE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="dec1" />
+
+<p class="pl1">Gentle reader, this small volume clearly proves that modern man</p>
+<p class="pl0">Can control his erring brothers with a clear enlightened plan.</p>
+<p class="pl0">Ne'er till now have prison printers voiced, unchanged, a convict's tho't!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Is the change with retrogression or with onward progress fraught?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Will this volume change your custom or relieve our horrid pain?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Or shall truth be crushed and bleeding, ever bound in prison chain?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Will you cast your glances backward, gathering age along by age,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Proof that man is wholly brutal when controlled by maddening rage?</p>
+<p class="pl0">View the pen of downy feathers, where men choked and choked to death,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Without power to ask for pardon with their last expiring breath!</p>
+<p class="pl0">See your brother in that river, safely chained to yonder rock,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While his thirst is wildly raging and the waves his tortures mock!</p>
+<p class="pl0">See yon dungeon, dark and dreary, built by human art and skill,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Whose dread mission is to madden any one the <i>law</i> says kill!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Visit to the hapless culprit, as in Pagan jail he lies;</p>
+<p class="pl0">See the jailer pass the hemlock, which he quaffs, and then he dies!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Think of club, of sword and pistol, of the bloody guillotine;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of the whipcord, knout and gallows of the noted Wolverine;</p>
+<p class="pl0">Of starvation, rack and torture, of the lash and fiery stake,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And then tell me frankly, reader, did these wrongs one virtue wake?</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Tell me frankly, honest reader, can two wrongs create a right?</p>
+<p class="pl0">And is man's inhuman conduct pleasing in Jehovah's sight?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Or do pitying angels shudder, as the cruel lash you ply,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Wondering man can be so brutal and the laws of God defy?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Does not conscience loudly thunder: "Sin is but the fruit of hate,</p>
+<p class="pl0">And who stones a helpless brother most deserves that victim's fate?</p>
+<p class="pl0">Can abuse and brutal treatment purge the sinner of his guilt?</p>
+<p class="pl0">If so, <i>come</i>, within my bosom sheath your dagger to the hilt!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Strike, till every erring mortal at your hands has met his fate,</p>
+<p class="pl0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>Then sit down and calmly ponder on your awful lonely state!</p>
+<p class="pl0"><i>You</i>, perhaps, have been quite <i>faultless</i>; <i>you</i>, perhaps, no <i>wrong</i> have done,</p>
+<p class="pl0">If 'tis <i>true</i>, my peerless brother, <i>you're alone beneath the sun</i>"!</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">Do but think! we once were spotless as the babe on mother's knee!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Trace the causes of our downfall with a mind from malice free.</p>
+<p class="pl0">See, on every licensed corner, fiends incarnate hourly sell</p>
+<p class="pl0">Fiery waters of <i>damnation</i>, that create <i>a living hell!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">Women, once as pure as angels, leading heartless lives of shame;</p>
+<p class="pl0">For the trumpery of fashion dealing off both home and name!</p>
+<p class="pl0">Hear men laud the wealthy scoundrel and attempt to clear his ways,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While the poor and honest toiler <i>none</i> with pride or pleasure pays!</p>
+<p class="pl0">See Religion don the garments of all worldly pride and lust,</p>
+<p class="pl0">While the Savior's honest followers are but trampled in the dust!</p>
+<p class="pl0">See the press, with startling headlines, every vice and sin portray</p>
+<p class="pl0">That can sink your moral standard or lead innocence astray!</p>
+<p class="pl0">View the legions of temptation strewn along the path of youth,</p>
+<p class="pl0">See how few do practice virtue, and how few <i>adore</i> the truth!</p>
+<p class="pl0">There! the cause of crime is patent, and our downfall you behold,</p>
+<p class="pl0">To condemn it in a sentence: "<i>It was women, wine and gold!</i>"</p>
+
+<p class="pl1">If you read this book with caution, you have read <i>between the lines</i>,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Learning much the careless reader and the critic ne'er divines!</p>
+<p class="pl0">You have seen the author's purpose was to tell the simple truth,</p>
+<p class="pl0">As a tribute to the prisoner and a warning to our youth.</p>
+<p class="pl0">You have seen mistakes and errors that less haste would quickly mend,</p>
+<p class="pl0">Yet, with all its imperfections, it may prove a useful friend.</p>
+<p class="pl0">And in future I may publish one with less of hasty thought</p>
+<p class="pl0">That may be&mdash;God knows the future&mdash;with undying issues fraught.</p>
+<p class="pl0">All tried means have proved abortive yet, my friend, there is a plan</p>
+<p class="pl0">That <i>will</i> lift each erring brother <i>to the standard of a man!</i></p>
+<p class="pl0">If I can but live to publish what I <i>know</i> and long to tell,</p>
+<p class="pl0">You <i>will</i> read it and believe it; so, dear reader, <i>fare-thee-well!</i></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="break">
+
+<h2 class="p4"><i>CONCLUSION.</i></h2>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class="p03">
+Go, little book, thy destined course pursue!<br />
+Collect memorials of the just and true;<br />
+And beg of every one who comes thou near<br />
+Some token of their friendship and good cheer.<br />
+And if by chance some true friends thou should find,<br />
+Attach them to thee with both soul and mind;<br />
+And if they prove good, faithful friends and true,<br />
+To them thou sticketh, as if they loved you&mdash;</p>
+<p class="pf2">Adieu! Adieu!</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="sum">
+
+<div class="transnote p4">
+
+<p class="pn center mid"> TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES</p>
+
+<p class="pt p1">&mdash;Fixed plain print and interpunctuation errors.</p>
+
+<p class="pt">&mdash;Cover image produced by transcriber and placed in public domain.</p>
+
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Prison Poetry, by Hiram Peck McKnight
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,7829 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Prison Poetry, by Hiram Peck McKnight
+
+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 www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Prison Poetry
+
+Author: Hiram Peck McKnight
+
+Release Date: May 17, 2014 [EBook #45674]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRISON POETRY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Giovanni Fini, Caroluyn Jablonski and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+                              _COPYRIGHT,
+                          BY H. P. M'KNIGHT,
+                             A. D. 1896._
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                           _PRISON POETRY_,
+
+                                 _BY_
+
+                           _H. P. McKNIGHT_.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+  _IN LEISURE MOMENTS CAST A LOOK
+  UPON THE PAGES OF THIS BOOK;
+  AND IF YOUR THOUGHTS THEY SHOULD ENGAGE,
+  JUST THINK OF ME WHO WROTE THIS PAGE.
+  AND IF BY CHANCE, IN YOUR TIME OF LEISURE,
+  YOU, IN THESE PAGES, SHOULD FIND PLEASURE,
+  THEN DART YOUR MIND UP TO THIS CELL,
+  FOR HERE I LIVE IN AN EARTHLY HELL._
+
+
+
+
+_DEDICATION._
+
+
+  Go forth, thou little volume,
+    I leave thee to thy fate!
+  To those who read thee faithfully
+    Thy leaves I dedicate.
+
+  But if your fate should be so sad
+    As mine who thee have writ,
+  I'd be so vexed to think that I
+    Had made such a poor "hit."
+
+  But if by chance you meet a friend
+    Along life's road so dreary,
+  Just cheer his mind till he is blind,
+    And never make him weary.
+
+  Teach him the way, the live-long day,
+    To lend a helping hand,
+  And never turn or even spurn
+    Those wrecked on life's hard strand.
+
+  If chance should be you return to me,
+    Along with harvest's golden,
+  I'll vouch for thee to all who see,
+    That thou wilt not embolden.
+
+  And now go forth, thou little book,
+    I leave thee to thy fate!
+  To those who read thee faithfully
+    Thy leaves I dedicate.
+
+
+
+
+_PREFACE._
+
+
+In the preparation of the verses that fill these pages I have been
+helped by some of the prisoners of this institution. The donors have
+been somewhat few, for which I return thanks; but each and every
+verse is a fair representation of the many phases that the mind of a
+prisoner passes through, and of his true sentiment. Those that have
+been donated by my fellow prisoners are accredited to them by either
+their name or serial number. Some of the verses have been published
+in our prison "NEWS," but inasmuch as they have reached only
+an inconsiderable few outside the prison walls, I prepare this little
+volume and hand it to the wide, wide world. My motto, in so doing, is:
+
+May you who enjoy the blessings of liberty and worldly freedom, partake
+with us of our solitary musings, and enjoy our noblest thoughts and
+resolutions, as well as for us to enjoy yours; and that you may know
+that we are not devoid of true, manly, noble principle simply because
+we are cast--some justly, others unjustly--into prison.
+
+May we exchange greetings with you all--shake--and if by chance I have
+been fortunate enough to interest you, I am well compensated; but if
+I have been more fortunate, and given you--even one of you--a line of
+noble, good thoughts and advice--I say, "May the seed fall on good
+ground and bring forth good fruit; may it not be wasted upon barren
+rock." In my work on "Crime and Criminals" many of these verses will
+appear in the "Appendix."
+
+                                Very truly yours,
+
+                                    H. P. McKNIGHT,
+
+      A. D. 1896.            O. P., Columbus, O., U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+_INTRODUCTION._
+
+
+  True models of poetic art.
+  Should please the ear and touch the heart:
+  Stamp on the plastic mind of youth
+  Due reverence for Eternal Truth.
+  Paint field and flower in nature's hues,
+  Give to the world the heart's best news,
+  Or, lightly tripping o'er the page,
+  Rejuvenate the blood of age.
+  The sacred Muse should ne'er descend.
+  Vice to guild, nor wound a friend.
+  Heaven gave no man poetic art,
+  Save to improve the human heart.
+
+  You may not find, in coming page,
+  The ripened wisdom of the age:
+  Yet you _will_ find, untrained by art,
+  The deathless music of the heart:
+  And truth shall caress each flaming line.
+  Inspired by The Tuneful Nine;
+  No fear of man nor greed of praise
+  Shall make or mar our tuneful lays;
+  We simply voice the ripest thought
+  Of prisoned souls with meaning fraught.
+  Yours it is to praise or blame
+  My effort to deserve a name!
+
+
+
+
+_CONTENTS._
+
+
+                                                              PAGE.
+
+  Acrostic to Warden and Mrs. Coffin,    By McKnight         93-95
+
+  Acrostic to Chaplain and Mrs. Winget,   "    "             183-185
+
+  Acrostic (Initial),                     "    "             167
+
+  Acrostic to Capt. J. C. Langenberger,   " Van Weighs       148
+
+  Acrostic to Dr. H. R. Parker,           " Harrison        168
+
+  Acrostic to Harry Smith,                " Van Weighs       150
+
+  A tribute to Capt. Geo. W. Hess,        "  "     "         143
+
+  A Letter From Home,                     " 24138            42
+
+  A Memorial Ode,                         " Van Weighs       110-111
+
+  A Prisoner's Thanksgiving,              " McKnight          20-21
+
+  A Prisoner's Lamentation,               "    "              63-64
+
+  A Prayer For Justice,                   "    "              87
+
+  A Prison Vision,                        " Harrison          95-107
+
+  A Query,                                " Morse             69-70
+
+  A Sad Warning,                          " Harrison         146-147
+
+  An Appreciated Friend,                  " McKnight         114-115
+
+  Be Lenient to the Errant One,           " Harrison          37
+
+  Birthday Musings,                       " Van Weighs        88
+
+  Coming In and Going Out,                " Carr              50-51
+
+  Conclusion,                             " McKnight         194
+
+  Dreams,                                 "    "              48
+
+  Ella Ree's Revenge,                     "    "             171-178
+
+  Erratic Musings of Unfettered Thought,  " Harrison          25-36
+
+  Forget? No, Never!                      " McKnight          18
+
+  Freedom,                                "    "              17
+
+  God Bless Them,                         "    "              18
+
+  Guilt's Queries and Truth's Replies,    " Harrison          41-42
+
+  Hope,                                   " Law               39
+
+  Hope--Eternity,                         " McKnight          21
+
+  How To Be Happy In Prison,              " 22700             23
+
+  In Prison,                              " Harrison          24
+
+  Influence,                              " Law               36
+
+  Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged,            "  "                72
+
+  Kindness,                               " Roth              46
+
+  Lines To My Cell,                       " McKnight         111-112
+
+  Lines To My Wife,                       " Harrison         169
+
+  Love's Victim,                          " McKnight           58-63
+
+  Last Night In the Dungeon,              "    "               38-39
+
+  Midnight Musings,                       "    "               68-69
+
+  Mother,                                 " Overstreet        19
+
+  My Lawyer,                              " Gilbert           144-145
+
+  My Mother,                              " Carr              109-110
+
+  My Prison Garden,                       " McKnight           11
+
+  Our Board of Managers,                  "    "               65-66
+
+  One and a Few,                          " 21069              67-68
+
+  Out of the Depths,                      " Harrison          170
+
+  Prison Pains,                           "    "               45
+
+  Prisoners,                              " McKnight           83
+
+  Perfect Peace,                          " McKnight           37
+
+  Reflections,                            "    "               43-44
+
+  Rhyme and Reason,                       "    "               11-16
+
+  Stray Thoughts,                         "    "               70-72
+
+  Salome's Revenge,                       "    "              115-142
+
+  She Loves Me Yet,                       " Harrison          149
+
+  Soul Sculpture,                         " Doane              51
+
+  The Storms of Life,                     " Law                57
+
+  The Prisoner Released,                  " Col. Parsons       44
+
+  The Convict's Prayer,                   " Harrison           73
+
+  The Great "O. P."                       " McKnight           49
+
+  The Fall of Sodom,                      "    "               75-80
+
+   "     "     "     Canto Second,        "    "               78-80
+
+  There Is No Death,                      "    "               47
+
+  The Murderer's Dream,                   "    "              179-182
+
+  The Prisoner's Mother,                  " Mrs. Wirick        22
+
+  The Reformer,                           " Law                43
+
+  The Under Dog,                          " Barker             45-46
+
+  The Phantom Boat,                       " Harrison          151-169
+
+  To A Departed Idol,                     " Van Weighs         91-92
+
+  Tribute to Dr. G. A. Tharp,             "  "    "           113
+
+  Tribute to the Wolfe Sisters,           " Harrison           89-91
+
+  Tribute to the Wolfe Sisters,           " McKnight           81-82
+
+  Tribute to Capt. Joseph Smith Acheson,  " Harrison          108
+
+  Tribute to Capt. L. H. Wells,           " Van Weighs         66-67
+
+  The Mind's the Standard of the Man,     " McKnight          185-190
+
+  The Author's Farewell,                  "    "              192-193
+
+  Two Letters,                            " Harrison           84-86
+
+  Weight and Immortality of Words,        " McKnight           52-53
+
+  Which Loved Her Best,                   "    "               54-57
+
+  Wine vs. Water,                         "    "               74-75
+
+  Would They Know,                        " Collier            40
+
+
+
+
+PRISON POETRY.
+
+
+
+
+_PRELUDE._
+
+
+  If you prefer the sounding line,
+  Go read some master of the Nine!
+  Good taste perhaps you will display;
+  Let others read my simple lay
+  That gushes from an honest heart
+  Unawed by fear, unstrained by art.
+  I ne'er will prostitute my Muse
+  The rich to praise, nor poor abuse;
+  But simply sing as best I can
+  Whate'er may bless my fellow man;
+  I dare not stain a single page
+  With outbursts of unreasoning rage,
+  But if one sorrow I can soothe
+  Or one his rugged pathway smooth;
+  One pain relieve, one joy impart,
+  'Twill ease the burden of a heart
+  That has known for weary years
+  No solace save unbidden tears.
+  Hard is the heart that will refuse
+  Due merit to the Prison Muse.
+  May heaven watch the prisoner's weal
+  And mankind for his sorrow feel!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_MY PRISON GARDEN._
+
+
+  In this mind's garden thoughts shall grow,
+  And in their freshness bud and blow;
+  Thoughts to which love has beauty lent
+  And memories sweet of sentiment.
+  Now, if I cultivate them right good,
+  They'll furnish me with my mind's food.
+  My enemies may my corpus hail,
+  While onward, upward, thoughts will sail
+  To realms above, where all is peace,
+  And where the soul may rest with ease.
+
+
+
+
+_RHYME AND REASON._
+
+
+  In contravention of the laws of right,
+  Man's cruel passion and his guilty might,
+  Has bound me tightly with a galling chain
+  Of heaped-up malice and unjust disdain!
+  From front rank lawyer to a felon's cell,
+  Through perjured villains, not by sin I fell!
+  By fiat law my body was consigned
+  To this grim cell for guilty ones designed.
+  Yet I'm no convict--I have never known
+  The deep remorse by guilty wretches shown!
+  I am a martyr--doomed by adverse fate
+  To brave the billows of malicious hate!
+  Yet I am free, for Nature's august plan
+  Makes MIND not _matter_ constitute the MAN.
+
+  Tho' men may curse me and cast out my name,
+  Like some vile bauble on the sea of shame;
+  Brand me as murderer or catiff thief,
+  Or atheistic infidel--steepid in unbelief;
+  Foe to all that's pure and good--wretch unfit to live;
+  Outlaw whom no honest man can even pity give!
+  Yet my soul will still defy your prison bolts and bars,
+  And soaring far on eager wings beyond the faintest stars,
+  Live in a world to you unknown, where only poet soul
+  Can bask in beauty undefiled by cankering control!
+  In vain is all your hate and scorn--vain your prison blight;
+  God loves me, and I feel assured that all will yet be right!
+  I know one law--a perfect law, by Nature's self designed--
+  'Tis Heaven's dearest gift to man--The Freedom of the Mind!
+
+  If minds and hearts were easy read as faces we can see,
+  Society would lose its dread and many a prisoner free!
+  But what, alas! do people care what's in another's brain?
+  They only seek to hide their share of misery and pain.
+  Were all compelled to truthful be and show their inner life--
+  Great heavens! what a jamboree of sin and shame and strife!
+      How few would measure half a span if Mind alone we closely scan!
+  Where is the man on this broad earth, so pure, so good, so true,
+  That never gave an action birth he dared not bring to view?
+  The Christ alone was sinless here, none other lives aright;
+  All human goodness springs from fear of death's approaching night!
+  There is no soul so white I know but what temptation's power
+  Its purity can overthrow and all its good deflower!
+      Disguise the truth as best we can, he _errs_ the most who most is
+                                                           _Man_!
+
+  Come, let us take a journey, with cathode rays supplied,
+  And view the greatest and good in all their pomp and pride!
+  Examine first the churches, where the godly crew
+  Teach poor erring mortals what is best to do.
+  They tell us human nature is _once_ and always wrong,
+  And prove man's deep depravity in sermon or by song.
+  All natural passion is denounced as deep and deadly sin,
+  And _truth_ and _virtue_ painted as graces hard to win.
+  Heaven, they tell us, is a place with blisses running o'er;
+  Hell, a lake of torture, where fiery billows roar!
+  A choice eternal all must make between their birth and death;
+  It may be made in early life or with expiring breath!
+  But how this choice must be made each gives a separate plan,
+  That clearly proves how narrow is the erring mind of Man.
+
+  One tells us naught but good pursue, all evil to eschew;
+  Another swears without God's grace no mortal thus can do;
+  One bids us work salvation out with trembling and with fear,
+  Another swears that God's elect should never shed a tear;
+  One says all must live the life Jesus lived on earth.
+  Another says it can't be done without a Second Birth!
+  Some say _work_, others _trust_, others still say _wait_;
+  Some deem us mere automatons, saved or lost by _Fate_!
+  Some, with philanthropic views, declare all must be saved,
+  Since Christ, the Perfect Offering for _all_, death's horrors braved!
+  Since Christians never will agree, 'tis best that every man
+  Should listen to his conscience, and do the best he can!
+  God ever _has_ and _will_ do right! In His Eternal Plan
+  The time will come to set _aright_ the numerous wrongs of _Man_!
+
+  See yonder's pompous deacon, with diamonds clear and bright;
+  He looks a model Christian--just turn on him your light.
+  Great heavens! what a medley of _cant_ and sin and shame!
+  If the half we see was ever told 'twould ruin his good name!
+  But turn on yonder pastor your strange, mysterious light;
+  I know he is a real good man, who loves Eternal Right.
+  Ye holy saints, protect us! _he_ too has gone amiss!
+  When Siren Voice allured him with a seductive kiss!
+  If half the prayers we utter be not a sounding lie,
+  It is but little marvel that we are doomed to die!
+  For each will plead forgiveness for thought or action done,
+  And _none_ by spotless merit eternal bliss hath won.
+  Then gently judge your fellow, his failings lightly scan;
+  Like you, he can not corner _all_ the brains of man!
+
+  See, yonder is our Congress, where wits and fools unite,
+  To declare by the nation's statute what _is_ fundamental right!
+  They yell of patriotism and the majesty of Law,
+  And are for once unanimous--their salaries to draw!
+  Alas! alas! 'tis ever thus within our halls of State;
+  Sweet Justice is blacklisted--the _dollar_ is too great.
+  Aye, even on judicial bench, where justice should be done,
+  How scattering are the cases where _Right_ the victory won!
+  Lawyers, judge and jury _exparte_ view the case--
+  An angel would be ruined in the defendant's place!
+  In vain is protestation, in vain a blameless life;
+  Some _must be_ doomed to prison when prejudice is rife!
+  Law must keep its servants in stations high and proud,
+  Tho' every hour should furnish a coffin and a shroud!
+
+  The modern Shylock of today, unlike his friend of old,
+  Demands the pound of quivering flesh and _all_ his victim's gold;
+  Nor feels content until he sees his victim's hated face
+  Behind a wall of rock and steel in garments of disgrace.
+  Then he will raise his dainty hands and loud applaud the law
+  That _can_ protect such beings, who live without a flaw.
+  _He_ has no pity for the weak, who thro' temptation fall,
+  But freely spends his _time_ and _means_ the guileless to enthrall.
+  He heaps _his_ mighty wrath and scorn on every evil done,
+  And speaks in tones of pure disgust of poverty's pale son.
+  But if you bid him look within and study his own heart,
+  He has a task herculean--'tis such a _tiny_ part!
+  And as for Mind--ye angels! in fair creation's plan
+  'Twas given to his victim, and left him _half a man_!
+
+  The modern Clytemnestra no dagger needs to use;
+  She slays her Agamemnon within your _legal_ pews,
+  Since judges now are willing to sunder marriage ties,
+  And juries are so truculent when blushing beauty lies.
+  Or if she be a _Helen_, and Paris suits her taste,
+  She hastes without compunction to lay her honor waste.
+  "Society" allows her to have "a special friend,"
+  And a husband is _so_ handy her good name to defend!
+  But alas! Aspasia _no mercy_ need expect;
+  Her Pericles _lionized_, but none _her_ worth detect!
+  And as for poor Thargelia _none_ will take _her_ part;
+  She lives a social outcast, with broken, bleeding heart;
+  But each base seducer, in our social plan.
+  Makes poor, trusting woman bear the sins of _Man_!
+
+  Many men are now misjudged, and meet an awful fate,
+  Whose innocence is published, but alas, it is too late!
+  Many, too, are breathing freedom's precious air
+  Whose vile conduct merits prison dress and fare.
+  Only _little_ rascals in your prisons _die_,
+  While _stupendous_ villians liberty can buy!
+  Each one strives with fervor his neighbor to outshine,
+  And he who has the most of gold is reckoned half divine.
+  You scatter dark temptations around the poor man's path,
+  And when he falls you pour on him _all_ your vicious wrath.
+  Poverty in public lives all her deeds are seen;
+  Wealth can build a castle her _wickedness_ to screen.
+  Yet many a noble woman and kingly man is found
+  As toilers in your factories or tillers of the ground!
+
+  If cathode rays were freely used to bring to human sight
+  The dirty methods villians use to _damn_ Eternal Right,
+  Many men would be set free and others take their place
+  Who now can roll in luxury and laugh at their disgrace.
+  A judge and jury now can sit and _hang_ a man at will,
+  But they say 'tis open _murder_ if but _one_ dares kill!
+  Take a ring of brass and plate it o'er with gold,
+  And 'tis only _business_ when the fraud is sold!
+  Adulterate both food and drink, deal in deadly pills;
+  Law will aid your _robbery_ and collect your bills!
+  Give to your profession but a sounding name,
+  Then cut up the devil without fear or shame.
+  Be sure to call it _business_ whatever you may do,
+  And if you have sufficient _gall_ that will pull you through.
+
+  Now throughout this prison rays cathodal dart,
+  And read the hidden secrets of each convict heart.
+  Some have wrought vile deeds, and wrought them o'er and o'er,
+  That surely proves them rotten to their inmost core.
+  And here are wretched fiends, who with consumate art,
+  Ravish every instinct of the human heart.
+  Some men of wit and letters, cultured and refined,
+  Others moral lepers, with heart and conscience blind.
+  From drawing room and brothel, farm and city slum,
+  Some by acts of justice, some through perjury come;
+  The innocent and guilty, callow youth and age,
+  All can be imprisoned in this Christian age!
+  But they who seek for liberty no innocence must plead--
+  Gold, and plenty of it, will be all they need.
+
+  Some young souls are making, for a stated time,
+  This, their maiden effort, on the sea of crime.
+  Oh, Christians, teach them early what to me is plain;
+  Crime ever _has_ and ever _will_ result in lasting pain.
+  Do not be _too_ lenient, nor _too_ soon forgive,
+  Lest all _vice_ should flourish and no _virtue_ live.
+  Society demands it, the _guilty_ should atone--
+  But take care you punish those, and those _alone_!
+  Keep them in your prisons till by _virtue_ shown
+  They will know what _is_ and what is _not_ their own.
+  But let all be careful lest by _word_ or _act_
+  Those who should _reform_ them from their _good_ subtract.
+  Rule them wisely, gently--by some _humane_ plan,
+  All their faults to conquer as best becomes a MAN.
+
+  When your work is finished and their habits changed,
+  Give them honest labor, by the State arranged;
+  Show them honest labor _can_ a living gain,
+  While the _social outcast_ harvests _want_ and _shame_!
+  Treat them fairly, kindly; teach them all the true
+  Will be friendly with them while _the right_ they do.
+  Both principle and policy declare this course is wise;
+  Then why longer act the fool and wisdom's voice despise?
+  Crime never _can_ nor _will_ decrease until in _Wisdom's School_
+  Men learn the noted lesson, "Right _through_ Law should Rule."
+  All tried plans are failures, this none dares deny;
+  Now give _Common Sense_ a show and failure dare defy.
+  Do _this_, and lash and pistol, now your sole defense,
+  Shall give place to Reason and plain Common Sense!
+
+  Courts are far too careless when they give men life
+  For offense unnoticed save in time of strife.
+  Naught but some poor chicken or a ham he stole--
+  Shall the devil purchase at such price a soul?
+  If such petty crimes as this deserve such prison fare,
+  Come now, honest reader, what is _your_ just share?
+  Was that old Greek right, who, tho' a man of sense,
+  Could mete out death to all for each small offense?
+  Apply his heartless rule, and can you truly say
+  Any man or woman would be left to slay?
+  Man is only mortal, and to sin is prone;
+  Never cure another's faults till you quit your own.
+  Many are convicted by the _press_ at large;
+  The Public Mind is rarely Heaven's peculiar charge.
+
+  Bring the judge and jury who declared my fate
+  For the shining dollars furnished them by hate,
+  And their guilty conscience by my own arrange,
+  And then tell me frankly if my fate should change!
+  Yet I had sooner die behind these bars of steel
+  Than to have a heart of stone that _could_ not feel!
+  I know such human tigers, who fatten on distress,
+  Never _can_ and _never_ will enjoy one hour of rest!
+  Until all hate and malice, all greed and other sin
+  Is burned by awful torture to leave them pure within!
+  God _will_ forgive each penitent whate'er his sin may be,
+  Whose heart is overflowing with _love_ for bond and free.
+  Oh listen! brothers, listen--'tis Jehovah's plan--
+  And a _time is fixed_ to right the wrongs of Man.
+
+
+
+
+_FREEDOM._
+
+
+  How sweet thou art, O freedom.
+    To every human heart--
+  Man's privilege most sacred.
+    His being's noblest part.
+  Thou priceless, great possession,
+    Without thee life were done!
+  Its sun gone down forever,
+    For thou and life are one.
+
+  How dear thou art, O freedom--
+    Our birthright here below!
+  Chief blessing of all blessings
+    Kind heaven doth bestow.
+  Deprived by dark misfortune
+    Of every other joy,
+  Naught while thou still remainest
+    Can happiness destroy.
+
+  But thou, O prison penance,
+    Dark shadow by life's board!
+  Of all that men hold mournful
+    Thou art the fullest stored.
+  There's naught on earth worth having
+    If't must be shared with thee--
+  O happy, holy freedom!
+      O heaven, set me free.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_GOD BLESS THEM_
+
+
+  God bless the mothers of this land!
+    They are so good and true;
+  And all the sisters of their band,
+    They are so noble, too.
+  If we don't treat them with respect,
+    And court their wholesome 'fluence,
+  Our morals will not be correct,
+    And we will suffer hence.
+
+
+If women are not treated with respect, and made to exercise an
+influence over the social world, the standard of private virtue and
+public opinion will be lowered, and the morals of men will suffer.
+
+
+
+
+_FORGET? NO, NEVER!_
+
+
+  There are things we'll not remember,
+    And much will be forgot,
+  As in the bleak December
+    When our coffee was not hot;
+  When the butter was much younger,
+    When the bread was sour and dry;
+  When are felt the pangs of hunger,
+    With regrets and many a sigh.
+  How the memory used to vex us
+    As 'twould o'er our senses steal;
+  How we wished they might "annex" us,
+    So we'd get one good square meal.
+  Other things may be forgot
+    In this busy, hustling age,
+  But one thing we ne'er can blot
+    From off our memory's page,
+  That we never can forget
+    In a hundred months of Junes;
+  It will long our memories fret--
+    _Those prunes--those rotten, wormy prunes_.
+
+
+
+
+_MOTHER._
+
+BY OVERSTREET.
+
+
+  Who is it, in this life so drear,
+    That pines for the wandering boy,
+  And ever ready with words of cheer
+    To turn sad thoughts to joy?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when all others do forsake
+    And leave us to our grief,
+  That will for long hours lie awake
+    And pray for our relief?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when the world laughs on
+    And gives our sighs no thought,
+  That thinks of the boy who looks upon
+    This life that's come to naught?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when from prison freed--
+    The boy goes forth so sadly--
+  That receives him in his hour of need
+    With tears of joy--yea, gladly?
+                    Mother.
+
+  Who is it, when the end has come,
+    Looks fondly on her child,
+  And prays to God for a happy home
+    For the boy that's been so wild?
+                    Mother.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A PRISONER'S THANKSGIVING._
+
+
+  What if the gold of the corn lands
+    Is faded to somber grey?
+  And what if the down of the thistle
+    Is ripened and scattered away?
+  There's a crowning golden harvest,
+    There's turkey the heart to cheer,
+  There's a basket from home with plenty of "pone,"
+    Tho' 'tis bathed in a mother's tear.
+
+  What 'f our friends are far from us
+    And they know not where we are?
+  What if those who are dearest
+    Live ever away so far?
+  There's room for us by th' fireside,
+    Where in childhood days we'd play;
+  'Tis comfort to think, tho' we stand on the brink,
+    That we will be there some day.
+
+  What if our hearts are lonely
+    As we toil in our enemy's hand?
+  What if our sad looks betray us
+    As we take a true manly stand?
+  There's a coming golden harvest,
+    There's a time when we all'll meet,
+  When prison locks and iron bars
+    Will fail to ther pris'n'r keep.
+
+  What care we for the pang at heart?
+    'Twill all be gone some day;
+  And then tho' our enemies'ld crush us,
+  They'll be scattered far away.
+    Tho' this is a sad Thanksgiving,
+  A better one's coming our way,
+    When we'll all be home to share in the "pone"
+  And hear our angeled sister pray.
+
+  What if the gold of the corn lands
+    Is faded to somber grey?
+  And what if the down of the thistle
+    Is ripened and scattered away?
+
+  Away to the east in a far off land
+    There's turkey the heart to cheer.
+  Where the dear ones are partaking
+    And thinking of one that's here;
+  There's father and mother and sister and brother, all so far away.
+    There's a blessed time a-coming--
+  The prisoner's Thanksgiving day.
+
+
+
+
+_HOPE--ETERNITY._
+
+
+  The heart bowed down with silent grief.
+    Despair its portals soon assails.
+  Oh! let such moments be but brief
+    When spirit lost o'er man prevails;
+  Think not of friend who, false, betrayed.
+    Nor sweetheart's change, nor colder wife--
+  Recall those oaths when passion prayed
+    For vengeance and for foeman's life.
+
+  We pass dear friends but once this way:
+    Our judge, accusers and our foe.
+  If false to God and man they play.
+    Not thou, but they, shall suffer woe.
+  All stay is short; the longest span
+    Counts less than raindrops in the sea.
+  Arouse thee, then, despairing man.
+    And hail with hope--Eternity!
+
+  Glows in thy cell a fragrant bloom,
+    Plucked from thy guardian angel's wreath.
+  Do thou but nurture it with prayer
+    And water it with tears of faith.
+  To humble hearts its petals ope,
+    Revealing bliss to streaming eye--
+  Immortal blooms this rose of hope,
+    God's flower of life--Eternity.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_THE PRISONER'S MOTHER._
+
+BY MRS. S. E. WIRICK.
+
+
+    To be a prisoner's mother
+      Is to feel a piercing dart
+    That sets the mind a-whirling
+      And almost cleaves the heart.
+
+    To be a prisoner's mother
+      Is, upon a holiday,
+    To visit him in prison,
+      Then part and go away.
+
+    To be a prisoner's mother
+      'Tis, inside the lonely wall,
+    To say, "Farewell, my darling"--
+      Oh, I almost faint and fall.
+
+    No resting place but heaven,
+      No happy morn that dawns;
+    Our home so drear and lonely
+      Because our boy is gone.
+
+    An empty bed, a missing plate,
+      A grief that inward burns;
+    No balm on earth to heal our hearts
+      Until our boy returns.
+
+  "Honor and shame from no condition rise;
+  Act well your part, there all the honor lies."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_HOW TO BE HAPPY IN PRISON._
+
+BY NO. 22700
+
+
+  Do what is right, and day by day
+  Teach yourself that work is play
+  Of brain and muscle, rightly used--
+  And hurtful only when abused;
+  Deep interest take in all you do;
+  'Twill others please, as well as you.
+
+  Relieve a fellow prisoner's need;
+  Righteous counsel always heed;
+  Be not suspicious or unjust--
+  Few men betray a perfect trust;
+  He trusts the most whose heart is pure,
+  And generous thought will malice cure.
+
+  Brood not o'er the ills of life;
+  Give no cause for needless strife;
+  Tomb the past with all its sin;
+  Purify yourself within;
+  Rear your standard, be a MAN,
+  And do whatever good you can.
+
+  Some, perhaps, will misconstrue
+  All you say and all you do,
+  But when conscience is at rest
+  Happiness will fill the breast--
+  'Twill be a sweet red-letter day
+  When we all shall act that way.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_IN PRISON._
+
+BY HARRISON.
+
+
+  That which the world miscals a jail
+    A private closet is to me;
+  Whilst a good conscience is my bail,
+    And innocence my liberty:
+  Locks, bars and solitude together met
+  Make me no prisoner, but an anchoret.
+
+  I, whilst I wisht to be retired,
+    Into this private room was turned,
+  As if their wisdoms had conspired
+    The salamander should be burned;
+  Or, like those sophists that would drown a fish,
+  I am constrained to suffer what I wish.
+
+  These manacles upon my arm
+    I as my mistress' favors wear;
+  And for to keep my ankles warm
+    I have some iron shackles there;
+  These walls are but my garrison; this cell,
+  Which men call jail, doth prove my citadel.
+
+  I'm in the cabinet lockt up,
+    Like some high-prized margarite,
+  Or, like the Great Mogul or Pope,
+    Am cloistered up from public sight:
+  Retiredness is a piece of majesty,
+  And thus, proud Sultan, I'm as great as thee.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ERRATIC MUSINGS OF UNFETTERED THOUGHT._
+
+[BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.]
+
+
+  Is living thought, proud condor of the mind,
+  By walls of rock and iron bars confined,
+  Innate divinity by human courts enslaved,
+  And right eternal by a dust-worm braved?
+  Think you the spirit's rapid flight to mar
+  With dungeon torture and by iron bar?
+  Can rock-ribbed walls and bars of steel
+  Deprive man of the power to feel?
+  Can you the stream of Lethe roll
+  In maddening torrents o'er the soul,
+  Pluck from my brow love's garland fair
+  And brand me "Victim of despair?"
+  No! weakling son of vengeful fate,
+  God grants to none a power so great.
+  My body is your lawful prey,
+  Poor lump of spirit-crumbling clay;
+  Seize, chain and manacle each part,
+  Aye, even starve my bleeding heart,
+  But know that for Creative Thought
+  All fetters by one's self is wrought.
+  Mind, glorious Mind--Jehovah's sleepless breath,
+  Can know no bondage and can feel no death.
+  In yon fair regions of unreached repose
+  Eternal Beauty's flower-chalice glows,
+  Filled to the brim with satisfying wine,
+  Ambrosial nectar of the Tuneful Nine.
+  My muse can reach it on external wings
+  And drink till all the heart within me sings!
+  I scale the lofty heights, by virtue shown,
+  And from Eternal Wisdom seek my own.
+  There, far above the struggling world of fate,
+  I greet true freedom and am wisely great.
+  'Tis mine in bright elysian fields to roam,
+  Pluck jeweled treasure from the sleeping gnome;
+  Bid ocean deeps their mysteries reveal,
+  Or, soaring far above the world of space,
+  Gain raptured visions of the Holy Place;
+  Admire and measure every glittering throne,
+  Count heavenly treasure as my own,
+  Make august angels bow beneath my rod,
+  And even dare to mould the mind of God;
+  O radiant fields of pure, untrammeled Thought,
+  With what sweet incense are thy zephyrs fraught;
+  How clear the view, from thy exalted height,
+  Of human errors and unerring right;
+  'Tis thou alone my laboring Muse can teach
+  The perfect measure of her powers to reach;
+  She cons these fragments of a Truth sublime,
+  And art stands ready with appropriate rhyme
+  To trim each sentence and each word to place
+  In melting numbers of seductive grace;
+  Since first Jehovah, bending low to earth,
+  Breathed in man's nostrils an eternal birth,
+  The rain drop falling, from the heavy cloud,
+  In waiting dust, finds ready shroud,
+  And there commingling fills each separate cell,
+  Yet still remains as pure as when it fell:
+  To man appearing but a dampened clod,
+  'Tis chambered favor of a gracious God;
+  And serves his purpose till He calls above
+  This liquid semblance of Immortal Love,
+  There _not_ to perish, but return again
+  To deck the forest and adorn the plain;
+  All nature feels its fructifying power
+  In laughing streamlets and in nodding flower;
+  The rain drop typifies the Pure Indwelling God,
+  That permeates our being, to animate a clod;
+  Give birth to all emotion, consistent with His plan,
+  And with unmeasured tenderness weep the fall of man.
+  From every nodding flower, from every whispering breeze
+  From mountain's lofty height, from towering trees,
+  From softly twinkling star, from lightning's giddy flash,
+  From the softest twitter of a bird and thunder's awful crash,
+  From hills the ants may call their own,
+  From crested elders 'round their throne,
+  From babbling brook, from storm-lashed wave,
+  From nature smiling, nature grave,
+  From earth and air, from sky and sea,
+  There comes the self same voice to me,
+  Like softest note of cooing dove,
+  And sweetly whispers, "GOD IS LOVE."
+  All nature is obedient to heaven's august plan,
+  And none will dare rebellion, save ever-erring man.
+  He, of a dual nature--purity and lust--
+  Defies his Great Creator and thus betrays his trust.
+  Thrones within his being the hydra-headed sin,
+  All his joy to murder and create _hell within_;
+  Self-conscienceness completes the triple blow
+  While memories of happier years augments his hapless woe.
+  Whatever then of pleasure his wounded spirit knows
+  From the fountain of bitter repentance it onward, onward flows,
+  His own environment, be it either fair or fell,
+  Must _now_ embower his heaven, or will create his hell.
+  Contentment, peace, or pleasure he must create anew
+  By sowing seeds of virtue where vice so lately grew.
+  He learns he must not do whatever man can do,
+  But recognize the limits of the just and true.
+  Law is his _Alma mater_, the measure of his right,
+  The barrier Jehovah set to curb irreverent flight;
+  He has the truest liberty who recognizes law;
+  'Tis made to shield his virtues and on his vices war;
+  He who denies humanity lives for himself alone
+  All history to hush, all culture to disown;
+  And quickly he relapses into a barbarous state,
+  Where only force and prowess can make the unit great.
+  None so lost to _virtue_, none so devoid of art,
+  As he who fails to capture the _empire of a heart_;
+  He who knows not sympathy feels no fellow's woe,
+  Will never feel the rapture of happiness below;
+  God planted seeds of pity in every human breast,
+  And he who loses most of woe secures most of rest:
+  Love is man's _all_, his conqueror, his cordial and wine,
+  The measure of his inner life that stamps him as divine.
+  How circumscribed the circle God allots to man,
+  His home is but an acre, his life is but a span;
+  And yet within that circle his influence is so great
+  He wakes the cooing notes of _love_ or feeds the fires of hate;
+  His influence is potential within a circle small,
+  But beyond the limit of the same he does no good at all;
+  All thought, all power with which our being teems,
+  Is action predicated on events or on dreams.
+  All we have seen or heard, all we now can feel,
+  Leaves an imprint on the heart that the future must reveal:
+  The vain are truly lonely, they long to be admired,
+  One wishes to be understood, another well attired,
+  This hushed by useless longings or fashion's changing art,
+  That sweetest of all poems, _the music of the heart_.
+  But he who solves life's mystery is never quite alone,
+  All ages is his playground and solitude his throne;
+  He walks in subtle converse with all the mighty dead,
+  Gathering priceless jewels their wit or wisdom bred.
+  The watchtowers of his thought o'erlooks the struggling mass,
+  While events both past and present before his vision pass.
+  He sees the weary captive tugging at his chain;
+  The weather-beaten sailor plough the raging main;
+  The swarthy burden bearer in forest, mine and field;
+  The merchant's soiled ledgers, the soldier's brazen shield;
+  The child with glittering toy, the maiden at her glass;
+  The ruler of an empire, the leader of the mass;
+  The student in his study, the priest on bended knee;
+  The teacher with his ferrule, the aged human tree,
+  All fondly dream of freedom, yet all beneath the ban,
+  Each in a separate prison presided o'er by _man_;
+  Sees _nature_ and _morality_ are ever waging war,
+  The first as god of freedom, the latter lord of law.
+  Sees culture raise her barriers between polite and rude,
+  And hears _Religion_ thunder, "Cover up the nude!"
+  Knows man in every station to be a willing slave,
+  The football of his passion, the dupe of every knave.
+  Yet hears him boast his freedom, laud his reasoning power;
+  Rule all he can with iron hand, and _finite_ judgment shower;
+  Sees all the devious, hidden paths by sinful mortals trod
+  Where _human_ law and custom dare ostracise a god;
+  Yet knows a germ of goodness, deep in the human breast,
+  Is living in the worst of men however much depressed.
+  Knows life is but the unit of God's Eternal Plan,
+  And learns to _pity_, not to blame, poor ever-erring man!
+  In each created atom sees faultless beauty glow
+  And God's Eternal purpose in onward sequence flow.
+  Views all souls as living harps, whose seeming dissonance
+  Is but apparent and not real; and believes, perchance,
+  God will mend each shattered chord, tune the quivering lyre,
+  And from out each soul shall bring a music sweeter, higher
+  Than earthly ears have ever heard or earthly lips essayed;
+  Such music as the ransomed sing in innocence arrayed;
+  While all the universe entranced shall wondering inquire:
+  "Is this the fruitage of _His_ woe? Is this his soul's desire?
+  Is this the harp so late unstrung? Is this poor fallen man?
+  Ah! can it be that all was wrought obedient to God's plan"?
+
+  Nature will o'er matter bear imperial sway,
+  And all not immortal must in time decay;
+  Man's tenement is mortal, but himself divine;
+  Which should he most cherish, the jewel or its shrine?
+  Yet when vice allures him with seductive ray,
+  Gives he not to passion undisputed sway?
+  Dreams he not of beauty who, with open arms,
+  Calls for lust to enter and revel 'mid her charms?
+  Is his eye not captive? Do not his senses thrill?
+  What is left the tempted one save his feeble will?
+  If that will prove recreant to Jehovah's trust,
+  Pays he not the penalty in self-consuming lust?
+  Must his spirit suffer through unending years
+  For the shame he purchased with agonizing tears?
+  Life is but a shoe-broom, Nature is God's book
+  And he's the aptest scholar who all her laws can brook!
+  If love of right was constant man could well defy
+  All of sin's allurements and unspotted die!
+  _One_ such man has lived who, with a faith sublime,
+  Crucified the temple where he dwelt in time,
+  And entered heaven victorious without the aid of grace,
+  The marvel of all centuries, the Savior of the race;
+  But had His will but weakened, Jesus, too, had fell,
+  And man without Redemption sank tottering into hell;
+  All would be good did not true goodness claim
+  Such earnest noble effort from a will so tame;
+  _Crime_ is but a sequence of misguided will
+  Inherent moral defect and _surrounding_ ill.
+  Man's innate love of beauty and his dread of pain,
+  His ever raging thirst for power and his greed for gain
+  Alternately do sway him with resistless power,
+  The spotless blossoms of the soul, until he only yearns
+  For the ever hideous lust that blackens as it burns.
+  Guilt comes not, thundering on the wings of time,
+  With vice-distorted feature and the leer of crime,
+  But like enchanting vision from a pagan dream,
+  Or softly echoed cadence of a whispering stream,
+  She steals upon us gently, with ever-changing art,
+  And usurps an empire--the waiting human heart!
+  Her outward form is beauty, her voice with Passion tense,
+  She only craves the privilege to gratify each sense;
+  All apparent pleasures 'round her path are spread,
+  But, alas! you seize the flower to find its fragrance fled;
+  But still pursuing, row with bated breath,
+  You clasp her to your bosom and--embrace a death!
+  Then, conscience stricken, you the wreck survey,
+  And with shuddering sorrow--humbly kneel to pray;
+  While the pitying angels on their pinions bear
+  The ever sacred burden of repentant prayer,
+  And almighty love descending reasserts control,
+  And mercy in the guise of grace has won a human _soul_;
+  But contrast a moment, with this heavenly plan,
+  The awful brutal conduct of exacting MAN.
+  See yon martial champion riding on the flood
+  Of a frightful carnage and a sea of blood;
+  His path is strewn with many a ghastly sight,
+  Dead and dismembered bodies and defenseless fright!
+  Yet all the people with a loud acclaim
+  Pronounce _him_ "_Hero_," and accord him Fame!
+  True, he butchers thousands in a cruel war,
+  Yet you deem him _guiltless_, he obeyed _your_ law.
+  But if your angered brother slay a single man,
+  _Him_ you brand a "Murderer," worthy of your ban;
+  And with zeal unbounded you wage relentless war
+  Until he falls, a victim to rage-created law.
+  As if a useless _murderer_, sanctioned by the state,
+  Was less the fruitage of revenge than one new-born of hate;
+  Perchance in some fair aiden, some far distant sphere
+  Your poor hapless victim these just words may hear:
+  "Thou art now forgiven, poor misguided son!
+  "Tho' tranced with dire passion thou hast slain but one.
+  "Thou hast made atonement, breathed a fiery breath
+  "Of a deep repentance and an awful death!
+  "Place on him the raiment--whiter far than snow,
+  "And teach his untried lips to sing the song the angels know.
+  "But as to yonder soldier who for the bauble fame
+  "Led unbattled thousands without fear or shame;
+  "And with banners flying to the bugle's chime
+  "Hurled obedient legions into conscious crime--
+  "All the tears he showed, _all_ the blood he shed,
+  "Now in molten fire shall circle 'round his head,
+  "And all shall learn the lesson, that horror-breeding war
+  "Will _never_ meet the sanction of Jehovah's law!"
+  This is no fancy picture, nor idle dream of youth,
+  But, if I know the laws of God, it is the solemn truth".
+
+  Behold a homeless wanderer, poor and thinly clad,
+  To biting cold a victim, with hunger almost mad,
+  Entering yonder mansion, dares to boldly steal
+  What none should e'er deny a dog--the pittance of a meal!
+  See the greedy sleuth-hounds of the outraged law
+  Wage against this robber an unrelenting war;
+  While _Christian_ judge and jury, with ready wit, declare
+  His crime an awful outrage, that merits prison fare!
+  But he who rears his costly domes
+  O'er wreck and ruin of human homes,
+  Plants in the breast a raging thirst
+  And leaves his victims doubly cursed,
+  Can roll in luxury, loll in pride
+  And, with _the law_, his gain divide!
+  Tho' every dime he pays the state
+  A thousand cost in wakened hate!
+
+  A simple youth by passion lured,
+  And of but little wisdom steward,
+  Meets with a maid of witching grace
+  And dalliance ends in dire disgrace!
+  In prison stripes you teach the fool
+  That he must _love_ by _human_ rule!
+  Yet you rear great, costly piles
+  Where soiled doves may ply their wiles
+  And lead to an unhallowed bed
+  The lustful brute you lately wed.
+  If passion will assert her power
+  None shall dare a maid deflower
+  Unless so _licensed_ by the state
+  In wedlock's bonds his lust to sate!
+  And, if marriage prove a bane,
+  _Divorce_, for cash, will ease his pain!
+  Then to your haunts of sin he hies
+  And laws of God and man defies
+  By casting, in a barren sea,
+  The germ of _life_ that is to be!
+  'Tis true this evil you decry--
+  And raise your taxes mountain high!
+  As if the more the state shall gain
+  The less will virtue feel the strain!--
+  You legalize _divorce_ and _fraud_,
+  And each _successful_ scoundrel laud,
+  Unmindful tho' he gain his wealth
+  By open plunder or by stealth.
+  In vain his hapless victims cry,
+  His _gold_ can legal silence buy!
+  But if through stress of penury's strife
+  One makes a shipwreck of his life,
+  You prisons build and place within
+  This fruitage of a law-made sin,
+  To linger till the cowering slave
+  Shall fill--unwept--a pauper's grave.
+  And scarce a line of obscure print
+  At this dark tragedy will hint;
+  But if your millioned puppy dies
+  What wailings rend the astonished skies!
+  What sabled hue and lengthened train
+  Attest your deep regret and pain!
+  How yon cathedral's vaulted arch
+  Will echo with his funeral march;
+  What flowers will deck his costly tomb;
+  What tapers rob the grave of gloom;
+  While columns, nay, whole papers tell
+  How _great_ a man today has fell.
+  Deluded mortals! raise your eyes
+  To yon fair regions of the skies,
+  Where _justice_ sits, each cause to try
+  Beneath Omniscience's searching eye;
+  Your "_convict_," on low bended knee,
+  Pleads "guilty"--and they set him free;
+  And angels crown, with loud acclaim,
+  The man you deemed a living shame!
+  Your _Croesus_, with uplifted eye,
+  (Still conscious of his station high)
+  Deigns to repeat, with growing stress,
+  How from defeat he wrung success;
+  Tells, with a proudly swelling heart,
+  Of millions spent on sculptured art;
+  And millions more on lordly hall,
+  The eye and heart of man to thrall;
+  Tells how a church and college new
+  From _his_ donation quickly grew;
+  Tells how--in cushioned pew--he knelt
+  And begged God other hearts to melt,
+  Until each child of man should be,
+  Like his dear self, from error free;
+  All this they hear your idol tell--
+  And cast him headlong into hell!
+  While heaven bows her head with awe
+  In sanction of Jehovah's law.
+
+  What mighty solons fill your halls of state!
+  (Poor gibbering parrots with an empty pate),
+  Who deem all prisons of but little use
+  Not founded on starvation and abuse.
+  They lock poor pris'ners in a loathsome cell,
+  While lash and pistol drives them on to hell;
+  They crush his manhood and his soul debase,
+  Blot out ambition and his name disgrace,
+  Yet wonder greatly that such humane plan
+  Makes not an angel of each convict man.
+  These truthful samples of your legal page
+  Condemn your judgment and disgrace your age--
+  Too oft repeated, who will dare to say
+  To what dark horrors they may pave the way?
+  Pause! ere the records that now strew your path
+  Invite the vengeance of Jehovah's wrath;
+  Relearn the lesson early taught mankind,
+  "To God give reverence and to man be kind."
+  Be this your motto, and each setting sun
+  Will kiss the feature of a work begun;
+  Time cannot tarnish and no heart can blame
+  Your noble effort to deserve a name;
+  Heaven will applaud you, and the smile
+  Of happiness the hours beguile,
+  Why pay such homage to mere human laws?
+  Dread you man's censure or admire applause?
+  Are you forgetful that the crown of fame
+  Is purchased torture and expiring shame?
+  Think you man's plaudits or his causeless hate
+  Can either ope or close the pearly gate?
+  Who ever placed in man implicit trust,
+  Nor saw his idol, soon or late, in dust?
+  Why thus pursue an ever fading wraith?
+  'Tis God, and God alone, deserves your faith.
+  Survey all things with comprehensive view,
+  Admire all beauty and enthrone the true;
+  Know every mortal, tho' a separate soul,
+  Is but a fragment of the mighty whole
+  That fills a niche in God's eternal plan,
+  All for the welfare of ungrateful man;
+  Learn that in many a loathsome cell
+  A prisoned genius or a saint may dwell,
+  Whose power, developed by an act of love,
+  May lead a million to the Courts above.
+  Shall it be yours to touch that vibrant chord
+  And share the honor of the great reward?
+  What heaven endorses that alone can stand;
+  All else is stubble, built on shifting sand,
+  That shall vanish 'mid the fire and flood
+  Like tiny snowflakes in a sea of blood.
+  Oh, could my Muse, by some exalted flight,
+  Portray her knowledge of Eternal Right--
+  Breathe in soft accents to the listening ear
+  The melting music which my soul can hear,
+  Some would declare my reason half dethroned
+  Before my fancy to such heights had flown;
+  Yet could such see as I have seen the scroll
+  Where God has written "Destiny of Soul,"
+  They much would wonder how my Muse
+  Could dare suppress such glorious news.
+  What pen can picture or what brush can paint
+  The endless rapture of a raptured saint?
+  Words are too feeble; they but tell in part
+  The truthful language of a human heart;
+  But, Oh, when spirit from its cumbering clay
+  Shall rise triumphant to the realms of day,
+  What strains seraphic from our lips shall break
+  Till all creation shall to bliss awake!
+  O bliss supernal! when our lips shall meet--
+  The lips long buried--and our souls shall greet
+  The loved and cherished of those earlier years.
+  Ere pain had turned each quivering chord to tears,
+  And life was smiling in her morning hours
+  And love was conscious of her magic powers.
+  Oh, sweet reunion on the crystal strand!
+  When we shall fondly clasp the waiting hand
+  Of buried jewels distance hides from view,
+  And all the plighted vows of life renew,
+  Then shall we learn the truthfulness of love,
+  When hearts like ours, renewed in youth, above
+  All passion and the cloying cares of earth
+  Shall wake to rapture with a Second Birth!
+
+  O hearts estranged, forgive and be forgiven!
+  Your cruel coldness has already driven
+  The angel sweetness from your speaking eye,
+  And suffered everything, save pride, to die.
+  O cradle, in the lap of everlasting sleep
+  The dark, fierce passions that now rudely sweep
+  The sounding chambers of the suffering soul,
+  Where Hate's tumultuous torrents hourly roll,
+  And blacken what was once so white and fair,
+  When spotless Innocence was centered there!
+  Oh, keep no kisses for my cold, dead brow--
+  I am so lonely--let me feel them now.
+  When dreamless sleep is mine I never more can need
+  The tenderness for which tonight I plead;
+  My wayworn spirit and my thorn-pierced feet
+  The piteous pleadings of my lips repeat.
+  Oh, shall I plead and plead with you in vain
+  To bring love's sunlight to my soul again?
+  Shall acts repented, bred of undue haste,
+  Lay all my stock of future pleasures waste?
+  Bid me to draw a servile, galling chain,
+  Nor wish to murmur, nor murmur to complain?
+  Will you deprive my hungry soul of love,
+  Nor leave one spark of happiness above?
+  Oh, what base deed has these my fingers wrought
+  To wake a malice with each vengeance fraught?
+  If I have sinned and disobeyed your laws,
+  Discarded fashion and despised applause,
+  Have I not suffered all a man can know,
+  And drank the bitterest dregs of human woe?
+  Think you my proud and haughty soul to cower
+  With scorpion lashes of tempestuous power?
+  Go scourge the ocean with puny lash,
+  Or raze a mountain with a feather's crash!
+  Why thus torment my swift declining age
+  With useless torture of unreasoning rage?
+  'Twere best to sound the caverns of my soul
+  And learn the being whom you dare control!
+  'Twill teach you wisdom in a single hour
+  And rob your malice of its wasting power!
+  For heaven has writ upon each poet soul
+  "DEAL GENTLY WITH HIM AND HIS ALL CONTROL."
+
+
+
+
+_INFLUENCE._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+  When e'er a noble deed is wrought,
+  When e'er is spoke a noble thought,
+      Our hearts, in glad surprise,
+      To higher levels rise.
+
+  The sleeping purpose wakes in us,
+  Arousing power or genius,
+      And from their exercise
+      Is born good enterprise.
+
+  Honor to those whose words or deeds
+  Thus help us in our prison needs,
+      And by their overflow
+      Raise us from what is low.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_PERFECT PEACE._
+
+["Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace."--Isaiah xxvi, 3.]
+
+
+  Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin,
+  The blood of Jesus whispers peace within;
+  Peace, perfect peace, for loved ones far away;
+  In Jesus' keeping we are safe and they.
+  Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging 'round,
+  On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found;
+  Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown;
+  Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.
+  Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours;
+  Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.
+  It is enough, earth's struggles soon shall cease,
+  And Jesus calls to Heaven's own perfect peace.
+
+
+
+
+_BE LENIENT TO THE ERRANT ONE._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Like phantoms weird of troubled dream,
+  In they come--a ceaseless stream--
+  The callow youth, the aged sire,
+  To reap the fruit of Satan's hire.
+
+  With pallid brow and rueful face
+  They view their garments of disgrace,
+  And oft in eyes unused to weep
+  Unbidden tears will slowly creep.
+
+  Be lenient with the blighted crowd;
+  Some come, perhaps, to greet a shroud;
+  Some, perhaps, will go outside
+  And yet become a nation's pride.
+
+  If by kindness you reclaim
+  A single soul from crime and shame,
+  God will reward the noble deed
+  And aid you in the hour of need.
+
+
+
+
+_LAST NIGHT IN THE DUNGEON._
+
+
+  The darkness of Hades and a vile, deathly smell
+    Is all that I feel stealing over my senses,
+  As lingering alone in this cold dungeon cell,
+    Shut away from the world, where hearts' blood condenses.
+    I feel 'tis too much for slight, trivial offenses.
+
+  Shut away from the dear ones, the loved ones on earth,
+    I suffer the tortures that no man can tell
+  Till he's taken away from fireside and hearth
+    And sees the sad visions of a dungeon cell--
+    Then he feels that vile man can create a real hell.
+
+  As I sit here alone, my head throbbing and aching,
+    And listen to hear if the keeper is near,
+  My thoughts they roam back to little ones taking
+    Caresses so sweet from a mother so dear--
+    Then I'm prompted to ask, "Do they think of me here?"
+
+  But when in my heart I feel a slight flutter,
+    I know there is sympathy somewhere about;
+  I then to myself do silently mutter,
+    "They have love for me still, and there is no doubt:"
+    Aye, love for me still, and this I've found out.
+
+  Then, down on the damp and cold stony floor,
+    Without either pillow, or blanket, or gown,
+  I stretch my weak body right close to the door,
+    And there, in sweet sleep, my vision to drown--
+    Then, when I awake, I'm not so cast down.
+
+  There is nothing so sweet and perfectly soothing
+    To one who is placed in a cold dungeon cell,
+  As the thought that yet there are dear ones a-wooing
+    The one who's imprisoned in a dark, dreary dell--
+    I muttered, while sleeping, "'Tis well, ah, 'tis well."
+
+  Then, when I awoke and proceeded to think,
+    Cold, stiffened and hungry, with tongue parched from thirst,
+  I seek but in vain for food and for drink,
+    But bread and poor water, the same as at first--
+    Aye, dry bread and bad water, the same as at first.
+
+  Then my heart sank within me, so weak and so pale,
+    As I gazed on the keeper of dungeon and jail
+  And begged for a drink of pure Adams' ale,
+    As he held in his hand a full water pail--
+    But the answer came back, "Your plea it must fail."
+
+  Then, giving it up in pure desperation,
+    I try to surpass the curse of damnation
+  That springs to my lips ere I can but control
+    The blood that is boiled by such torturing droll--
+    Then I whisper, "Be still! Some one loves this poor soul."
+
+  Then, staid by the love of those dear ones at home,
+    I steady myself and go swimming along;
+  I brave the hard life of a dark dungeon cell
+    And I come out victorious, all perfect and well--
+    Then I meet them again and go home there to dwell.
+                    'T is well! Ah, 't is well!
+
+
+
+
+_HOPE._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+  The world may change from old to new,--
+    From new to old again,--
+  Yet Hope and Heaven, forever true,
+    Within man's heart remain.
+  The dreams that bless the weary soul,
+    The struggle of the strong,
+  Are steps toward some happy goal,
+  The story of Hope's song.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WOULD THEY KNOW?_
+
+BY 25700.
+
+
+  If, amid these prison shadows,
+    These pale lips should breathe their last,
+  Would my friends regret the summons,
+    And forgive my guilty past?
+
+  Would they know the dire temptations
+    I had met and nobly braved
+  Ere the tears in guilty passion
+    My pale cheeks in torrents laved?
+
+  Would they know how oft and earnest
+    I had plead before the throne
+  For the place my crime made vacant
+    In the bosom of my own?
+
+  Would these hours of retribution
+    Prove sufficient for my sin?
+  Would the gates of glory open
+    To let this weary wanderer in?
+
+  Hear, Oh, hear! From yonder heaven
+    Speaks the Lamb once crucified;
+  "Look up, sad one; never falter;
+    For such sinners once I died."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_GUILT'S QUERIES AND TRUTH'S REPLIES._
+
+BY HARRISON.
+
+
+GUILT.
+
+  Will the fountain of life, now bathed in tears,
+  Ebb and flow ten weary years?
+  Will the soul escape the horrible blight
+  That stalks in prison's gruesome night?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  Trust, weary one, alone in ME;
+  Living or dead, thou shalt be free
+  From prison blight and sin's alarms,
+  While closely nestling in my arms.
+
+GUILT.
+
+  Will the absent ones I love the best
+  'Neath heaven's smile serenely rest?
+  Will every branch of the family tree
+  Still bud and bloom till I am free?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  If they lean upon my breast
+  I will give thy loved ones rest;
+  If death a single jewel steal
+  Heaven its presence it shall reveal.
+
+GUILT.
+
+  While prayers ascend from sacred fane
+  Shall penitent tears be shed in vain?
+  Will Christ ascend to a prison cell
+  And deign in a convict heart to dwell?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  None will I spurn who pardon crave--
+  I came on earth the lost to save:
+  He loves the most whose debt is large--
+  That soul is heaven's peculiar charge.
+
+GUILT.
+
+  If ever again I shall be free
+  Will the wreck of my life still haunted be?
+  Will the much loved friends in the days of yore
+  Spurn me from their open door?
+
+TRUTH.
+
+  Those who bathe in Calvary's stream
+  Sin regard as a hideous dream;
+  My children clothed in white by me
+  A welcome meet where'er they be.
+
+
+
+
+_A LETTER FROM HOME._
+
+BY NO. 24138.
+
+
+  I am far from the land where my loved ones are dwelling;
+    Between rolls the sea, with its billows and foam;
+  Yet my heart with fondest emotions is swelling
+    As I read the dear letter they've sent me from home.
+
+  For I fancy I see the brown cottage again,
+    And the garden where sweetly the red roses blow;
+  I kneel by a grave in the shade of the glen,
+    Where slumbers the dear one I lost long ago.
+
+  And oft to my heart, when in solitude straying,
+    Fond memory recalls the bright days of yore,
+  And I sigh for the fields, where the children are playing,
+    The hills and the valley I may never see more.
+
+  Long years have I wandered, alone and a stranger,
+    And dark is the pathway o'er which I must roam,
+  But I know there is ONE who can shield me from danger,
+    And his blessing I ask on the dear ones at home.
+
+
+
+
+_THE REFORMER._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+  All grim and soiled and brown with tan,
+    I saw a strong one in his wrath
+  Smiting the godless shrines of man
+    Along his path.
+
+  I looked: aside the dust cloud rolled--
+    The Master seemed the Builder too;
+  Upspringing from the ruined Old
+    I saw the New.
+
+  Through prison walls, like heaven-sent hope,
+    Fresh breezes blew and sunbeams strayed,
+  And with the idle gallows rope
+    The young child played.
+
+  Where the doomed victim in his cell
+    Had counted o'er the weary hours
+  Glad school girls, answering to the bell,
+    Came crowned with flowers.
+
+
+
+
+_REFLECTIONS._
+
+
+  How pleasant it is to be at home,
+    Surrounded by those we love;
+  How sweet to list to words of cheer
+  That softly fall on the listening ear
+    Like the notes of a cooing dove.
+
+  How the soft caress of a loving hand
+    Can dry the eyes that weep!
+  How the mind is eased and the pulses thrill
+  As we feel the strength of a loving will
+    That rocks our grief to sleep.
+
+  How soft that hand has ever been
+    When sickness laid us low,
+  How its soft caress could summon rest
+  And bring relief to the laboring breast,
+    And cool the fever's glow.
+
+  How soft the light in love-lit eye,
+    That welcomes our safe return;
+  How the tender kiss and warm embrace
+  Can soothe the pain of late disgrace
+    When fate has been too stern.
+
+  God bless the home where love abides--
+    'Tis the dearest spot on earth!
+  Be it hovel or palace, or great or small,
+  It holds man's hope, his joy, his all,
+    And heaven gave it birth!
+
+
+
+
+_THE PRISONER RELEASED._
+
+BY COL. H. C. PARSONS.
+
+
+      I could stand and look at the stars all night--
+  Where tides run in wreaths to the rivers and rills,
+  Where the sea breezes play with the wind from the hills--
+  Where by land and by sea man can go where he wills--
+      I'm a free man again, and a free man of right.
+
+      I could stand and look at the stars all night,
+  For months that were years they have prisoned my stars;
+  My silver-veiled Venus and red-hooded Mars
+  Were fettered and framed by the merciless bars,
+      That shaded their glory or shivered their light.
+
+      I will stand and look at the stars all night;
+  I will wait in the shadow and lee of the tower
+  Till morning shall come, with his magical power--
+  Perhaps in the flame of that wonderful hour
+      The prison shall tremble and pass from my sight.
+
+
+
+
+_PRISON PAINS._
+
+BY HARRISON.
+
+
+  Oh! to be heart hungry,
+    To feel that never again
+  Shall the heart pulsate with rapture
+    To the music of love's strain!
+
+  To feel o'er the senses stealing
+    A grief for words too deep,
+  And know the heart's best instincts
+    Are locked in fathomless sleep.
+
+  To hear the piteous wailings
+    That rise from an empty heart,
+  While every breath is torture
+    And every thought a dart.
+
+  Oh, list to the wondrous music
+    As it floats from the world above:
+  "There is balm for the broken-hearted:
+    The gift of my Son is--love."
+
+  Aye, prayer to heaven ascending,
+    Tho' winged from a convict cell,
+  Shall find in heaven a welcome
+    No tongue can ever tell.
+
+
+
+
+_THE UNDER DOG._
+
+BY BARKER.
+
+
+  I know that the world--the great, big world,
+    From the peasant up to the king,
+  Has a different tale from the tale I tell
+    And a different song to sing.
+
+  But for me--and I care not a single fig
+    If they say I was wrong or am right--
+  I shall always go in for the weaker dog,
+    For the under dog in the fight.
+
+  I know that the world--the great, big world--
+    Will never a moment stop
+  To see which dog may be in the fault,
+    But will shout for the dog on top.
+
+  But for me--I never shall pause to ask
+    Which dog may be in the right--
+  For my own heart will beat, while it beats at all,
+    For the under dog in the fight.
+
+
+
+
+_KINDNESS._
+
+BY ROTH.
+
+
+  A kind word for the prisoner,
+    A smile to cheer his heart,
+  For he bears a grievous burden,
+    Tho' he bravely plays his part.
+
+  From the world he hides his sorrows,
+    Stifles the groan of distress
+  That struggles oft for utterance
+    Beneath his convict dress.
+
+  The alert night watch could tell
+    Of the burning sighs they hear
+  While making midnight rounds
+    Through corridors so drear.
+
+  Then cheer his lot with kindness,
+    E'en though he be depraved:
+  If, wakened from his blindness,
+    The worst one may be saved.
+
+
+
+
+_THERE IS NO DEATH._
+
+
+  There is no death! The feeble body, slumbering,
+    Seems but to waste and fade away;
+  In future years that God is numbering
+    'Twill spring from slumber and decay.
+
+  And clothed with beauty everlasting,
+    With not a stain of earth to mar,
+  'Twill voice a music more entrancing
+    Than anthem of the morning star.
+
+  A thing of beauty is immortal;
+    Each line once lost to mortal sight,
+  Soars upward to heaven's august portal,
+    Glad to escape earth's cankering night.
+
+  Earth's best and brightest can not perish--
+    Death is decreed alone to strife.
+  The good we love and fondly cherish
+    God has endowed with endless life.
+
+  Grieve not for those now calmly sleeping,
+    Rocked by the slow, revolving earth:
+  Angelic hosts around them sweeping
+    Shall wake them to an endless birth.
+
+  In heaven above there is no seeming:
+    God feeds immortal souls on bliss;
+  On earth we linger, sadly dreaming,
+    Till death awakes us with a kiss.
+
+  Then fear thee not death's friendly slumbers:
+    Guardian angels watch thy rest;
+  Jehovah all thy days shall number
+    And do for thee whate'er is best.
+
+
+
+
+_DREAMS._
+
+
+  Dreams are but glimpses of the power
+    Deep hidden in the human soul
+  That, like some enchanted flower,
+    Withers 'neath reason's stern control.
+
+  They come not as invited guests
+    To while away the tedious hours--
+  Are they not lights from heaven sent
+    To teach the soul its wondrous powers?
+
+  And best they love to lead us back
+    O'er scenes to memory doubly dear,
+  For those we, waking, love the most
+    In dreams will seem most near.
+
+  While reason sleeps the soul, awake,
+    Lives o'er each precious hour,
+  And woos us with a gentle strain
+    Of pathos and of power.
+
+  Dreams index to our waking thought
+    Plans on which the heart is set,
+  And he who heeds their warning voice
+    Has in life least to regret.
+
+  In waking hours we sow the seed,
+    In dreams we reap the grain:
+  Sometimes the harvest all is joy,
+    Sometimes, alas! 'tis pain.
+
+  What marvel then that sleep is sweet,
+    If dreams bring bliss to view--
+  Perhaps the afterglow of death
+    Will prove most dreams are not untrue.
+
+
+
+
+_THE GREAT "O. P."_
+
+
+  "Forward, march!" the left foot first,
+    The heel down mighty hard,
+  Your head erect and turned to the left,
+    As you slyly watch the guard.
+  Tramp, tramp, three times each day,
+    Back and forth to our meals,
+  While the fellow behind, with his "State brogans,"
+    Scrapes the skin all off our heels.
+
+  The visitors in amaze at us gaze
+    As we march gayly by,
+  The ladies fair, with many a stare,
+    Will slyly say, "O my!"
+  Some "Hayseed" old, with a chronic cold,
+    Will suddenly say, "I swow!
+  There goes the man--do you see him Ann?--
+    What took our brindle cow!"
+
+  They say we are "cut-throats" and "robbers,"
+    And would be worse if we could;
+  But it's false--we're noble-hearted patriots,
+    Here for our country's good,
+  And the honor came to us, you know:
+    We didn't go to it--
+  In other words, we were forced here
+    To "do" our little "bit."
+
+  Uncle Sam's domain has been ransacked
+    For men with blue-blooded veins,
+  For we don't want any persons here
+    With any mortal stains.
+  We are all old sons of Irish lords--
+    Or at least we'd like to be--
+  But instead we are only "cons," you know,
+    Doing time in the great "O. P."
+
+
+
+
+_COMING IN AND GOING OUT._
+
+BY CARR.
+
+
+  Coming in to penal slavery,
+    Coming in from liberty;
+  Going out to joy and freedom,
+    Going out the world to see;
+  Coming in, oh, how unhappy!
+    Going out with many a doubt--
+  Endless stream of wretched mortals
+    Coming in and going out.
+
+  From the many charms of home life,
+    From beneath the humble cot,
+  To this penal institution
+    Where the felon mortal's brought
+  From some distant homes perhaps torn
+    Because grim justice took a fit--
+  Coming in with sighs and sadness,
+    A bondsman for his life or "bit."
+
+  Far his loving wife and children,
+    While their eyes with tears are wet;
+  Though his family needs him daily.
+    And there are bills that must be met,
+  To this convict world about us,
+    With its heartless woe and din,
+  Endless stream of restless mortals
+    Adding to its load of sin.
+
+  Time goes on so very slowly,
+    Though we try hard not to grieve
+  For the dear old family homestead
+    And for those we're forced to leave;
+  Weary are we very often,
+    Weary when we try to win
+  News of those who loved us dearly
+    Ere we took this step in sin.
+
+  Coming in, alas! to never
+    See the outside world again!
+  Some there are that have my pity:
+    Naught for them but toil and pain;
+  Doomed life's golden hours to fritter
+    Far from home and friends most dear--
+  God's pity on the poor full-termer
+    Coming in to die, we fear.
+
+  Coming in to serve our sentence,
+    Going out, we hope, to cheer;
+  Coming in to do hard labor,
+    Going out to family dear--
+  Careless stream of wretched mortals
+    From all stations 'long life's route--
+  Hovel, mansion and the hamlet--
+    Coming in and going out.
+
+
+
+
+_SOUL SCULPTURE._
+
+BY BISHOP DOANE.
+
+
+  Sculptures of life are we as we stand,
+    With our souls uncarved before us,
+  Waiting the hour when, at God's command,
+    Our life dream shall pass o'er us.
+  If we carve it, then, on the yielding stone
+    With many a sharp incision,
+  Its heavenly beauty shall be our own,
+    Our lives the angel vision.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WEIGHT AND IMMORTALITY OF WORDS._
+
+
+  Who knows how heavy his words may be,
+  Or watches, when he has set them free,
+  Their poising, their flight, their rise and fall
+  In the world of thought? We are careless all.
+
+  We fathom our own, not another's mind.
+  And are all near-sighted among our kind,
+  While words of ours and words of theirs
+  Are meeting and wrestling unawares.
+
+  Words are types of our moral trend,
+  The blooms of our daily lives, that lend
+  To others the fragrance of what we are--
+  The outward semblance that goes afar.
+
+  The part of ourselves that is not our own,
+  When set afloat in the vast unknown,
+  The something we give to the moving wheels
+  Of the mighty force that grows and feels.
+
+  No words are lost as they float away:
+  On some life ever they rest and weigh,
+  Unbound in public or depths obscure
+  Their immortality is secure.
+
+  Deep in our hearts we often find
+  Words lips long closed have left behind:
+  They live in the chambers of the brain,
+  The source of endless joy or pain.
+
+  Words may be soft as evening air
+  Or fierce as sultry noonday's glare,
+  But soft or fierce, be sure they rest
+  A curse or blessing in some one's breast.
+
+  How deep soever their meaning may lie,
+  Not every soul will pass them by!
+  No anger, nor passion, nor malice so great
+  But a match 'twill meet in a world of hate.
+
+  No love so deep, no word so kind
+  But lodges at last in a kindred mind,
+  No thought so vast, nor high nor low
+  But a parallel meets in a world of woe.
+
+  A heedless word a heart may break,
+  A thoughtful one a fortune make;
+  One, hurl a soul in endless night;
+  Another, lead to heaven's delight.
+
+  One word may nerve a murderer's arm,
+  Another still a raging storm--
+  One, sow the seeds of endless strife;
+  Another, sanctify a life.
+
+  Our words outline the feeble tongue
+  From which their outward being sprung,
+  Or, written on the stainless page,
+  They live to bless or curse an age.
+
+  How careful, then, ought we to be
+  Before we let such engines free!
+  Once free, no power can call them back,
+  Nor human genius trace their track.
+
+  We loose them 'mid the wide expanse
+  'Neath joyous spell or sorrow's trance,
+  But if their fruitage all could know
+  We would not deem them half so low.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WHICH LOVED HER BEST?_
+
+
+  Two votaries of love's maddening dream
+  At twilight sat beside a stream,
+  Each painting scenes of future bliss,
+  Dependent on their darling's kiss.
+
+  Both were young and both were fair,
+  With noble hearts and manly air,
+  And both were members of a band
+  Who bled to free his native land.
+
+  Each was bound both heart and soul
+  Beneath fair Nellie's sweet control,
+  Yet they were friends both true and tried,
+  If such ere lived, if such ere died.
+
+  Each loved her much, yet neither knew
+  How well each loved her, nor how true,
+  For each was dreaming of the hour
+  That _he_ would cull this priceless flower.
+
+  At last Ned turned and gayly said,
+  "Next Wednesday I and Nellie wed--
+  God knows I am the happiest man
+  In all this joyous Western land.
+
+  "I could not keep this back from you--
+  That would be unjust--untrue.
+  I feel whatever shall betide
+  That _you_ will e'er defend my bride."
+
+  Harvey turned aside his face,
+  Lest his friend should see some trace
+  Of the anguish and despair
+  The hopeless suffering mirrored there.
+
+  Each word had sunk within his heart
+  Like adder's tooth or poisoned dart;
+  Joyful love and hope had fled,
+  And left his withered heart--stone dead.
+
+  He raised his haggard face above
+  Until an angel mother's love
+  Sent comfort to her suffering child,
+  That made him calm and meek and mild.
+
+  By memories of the tented field
+  Where patriots died, but dared not yield,
+  He knew that Ned his arm had lent
+  To stop steel for his bosom meant,
+
+  And oft had watched beside his bed
+  When others in dismay had fled;
+  When he spoke, his voice was low
+  And soft as rippling streamlets flow:
+
+  "I wish you peace and joy, Ned;
+  You best deserve this queen to wed.
+  I only crave in future life
+  To serve you and your peerless wife."
+
+  The loyal look in Harvey's eyes
+  Was to Ned a new surprise;
+  And in a moment all was plain--
+  His friend's devotion and his pain.
+
+  They stood and wrung each others hand
+  To reinforce their friendship's band--
+  Their hearts were full, their eyes were wet,
+  Yet who can such a scene regret?
+
+  Their friendship stood the cruel test,
+  And sank triumphant into rest;
+  They parted, but to meet again
+  Where life was torture, memory pain.
+
+  One year passed, and war had swept
+  O'er the spot where these two wept,
+  While they, with Meig's galland band,
+  Were held by Santa Anna's hand.
+
+  Behind Satillo's gloomy walls,
+  Whose history stoutest heart appalls,
+  Here base deeds were hourly wrought
+  With hell's intensest malice fraught.
+
+  Two hundred patriots true and tried
+  To Santa Anna's shame here died
+  Simply because they leapt the wall
+  And strove to go beyond recall!
+
+  Ned and his comrades planned their flight
+  While careless sentries slept at night,
+  And in safety reached the distant plain
+  Where hope and life revived again.
+
+  Across the arid plain they sped,
+  Half clothed, half starved and almost dead;
+  Without a guide to lead them right
+  They toiled by day and prayed by night.
+
+  The blistering soil bold cactus bred
+  Till every toil-worn foot was bled,
+  And one by one the hapless band
+  Fell prostrate on the glittering sand.
+
+  Pursuing soldiers found them thus,
+  And drug and drove them to the "truss,"
+  There to await the "tortures grand"
+  That Santa Anna would command.
+
+  "Nine of ten shall now be shot;
+  Choose the guilty dogs by lot:
+  This law for ages now untold
+  Has defied both fraud and gold!"
+
+  _Nine black_ beans and _one_ snow _white_
+  Were placed within a box at night--
+  Every captive must draw one,
+  Blindfolded, ere the work begun.
+
+  If _white_, he lived, if black, he died--
+  Thus were the Texas patriots tried!
+  By sons of Gantimozin's race--
+  Man's caricature and heaven's disgrace!
+
+  Harvey drew one of faultless white,
+  Ned drew one as black as night.
+  "I'm lost--oh, God, my wife!" Ned gasped,
+  As Harvey sprang his hand to clasp.
+
+  "Not so," he cried, "your bean is white--
+  See, mine is _black_, thank God! 'tis right!"
+  E'er Ned could draw a conscious breath--
+  Harvey had met a hero's death!
+
+  Which loved her best, the man who _died_
+  Or he who _lived_ to cheer his bride?
+  Please answer me; O heart, awake--
+  Such liberty I dare not take.
+
+
+
+
+_THE STORMS OF LIFE._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+  The oak strikes deeper as his boughs
+    By furious blasts are driven;
+  So life's vicissitudes the more
+    Have fixed my heart in heaven.
+  All gracious Lord, whate'er my lot
+    In other times may be,
+  I'll welcome still the heaviest grief
+    That brings me near to Thee.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_LOVE'S VICTIM._
+
+
+  She was no dainty city belle,
+    Half art and half deceit,
+  And yet no fairer vision
+    The human eye could greet.
+
+  Naught knew she of city life
+    Or fashion's changing art--
+  Nature created her a belle
+    And blessed her with a heart.
+
+  Her eyes were large and soulful,
+    Her face divinely fair;
+  Her form was lithe and graceful
+    And a golden dream her hair.
+
+  Her voice was full of melody:
+    Each tone to listening ear
+  Seemed to awake such music
+    As angels delight to hear.
+
+  Beautiful, pure and guileless,
+    With the faith of a trusting child,
+  She worshiped the God of nature
+    With a spirit undefiled.
+
+  She lived with honest parents
+    In a home on the mountain side,
+  Where peace and plenty lingered
+    And love was true and tried.
+
+  Parental duress was unknown,
+    For love's restraints are mild:
+  A mother's love and father's hope
+    Were centered in this child.
+
+  The acknowledged belle of the mountain,
+    She spurned the coquette's art,
+  Determining never to promise
+    Her hand without her heart.
+
+  She could not love her suitors
+    With the love a wife should give,
+  And deemed it sin without such love
+    In wedlock's bonds to live.
+
+  The idol of many a noble heart,
+    None dared their suit to press:
+  Thus they wound the gentle spirit
+    That pitied, but could not bless.
+
+  Grateful for each friendly smile
+    That o'er her face would beam,
+  She reigned an empress absolute
+    In each fond lover's dream.
+
+  A petted child of fashion,
+    The heir to boundless wealth,
+  Came one day among them
+    To recruit his waning health.
+
+  These hospitable mountain people
+    Welcomed the haggard boy,
+  And strove to make his visit
+    One radiant scene of joy.
+
+  They bade their darling daughter
+    To be the stranger's guide,
+  And show him all the beauties
+    Of her loved mountain side.
+
+  Together they scaled the mountains,
+    With many a merry shout;
+  Together they garnered the flowers
+    Or angled the nimble trout.
+
+  He spake of his home in the city,
+    Of the wealth he soon would own;
+  Promised to make Lenora his wife
+    Ere the summer days had flown.
+
+  Lenora loved this stranger
+    With a soul-absorbing love,
+  And trembled 'neath his caresses
+    As helpless as a dove.
+
+  He was a master of the art
+    That robs the halls of Truth
+  To gain what passion courts,
+    Tho' it blasts the hopes of youth.
+
+  His honied words of flattery,
+    Uttered with seductive art,
+  Were music to the listening ear
+    And soon deceived the heart.
+
+  Lenora confided in his worth,
+    Receiving each promise as truth--
+  How could she doubt her only love
+    In the trustful hours of youth?
+
+  Assured of an early marriage,
+    She yielded to him one day
+  That priceless germ of innocence
+    And fell--to trust a prey.
+
+  She hoped this sacrifice would gain
+    Her lover's every thought;
+  This were a boon, if death could buy.
+    She deemed not dearly bought.
+
+  Little she dreamed that fatal hour
+    That love had sped the dart
+  That stamped her as an outcast,
+    With a withered, broken heart.
+
+  Eugene went to his city home,
+    Swearing to soon return
+  And claim as wife the girl he knew
+    His parents proud would spurn.
+
+  Summer and autumn days passed by
+    And the winter's cold set in,
+  Yet the recreant lover came not
+    To the child he taught to sin.
+
+  A mother's ever watchful eye
+    Discovered her daughter's shame,
+  Heard her story with breaking heart,
+    But uttered no word of blame.
+
+  She knew her daughter's downfall
+    Was the fruit of love beguiled,
+  But hated the heartless stranger
+    Who ruined her trusting child.
+
+  God alone can measure the pain
+    That child and mother felt,
+  As, locked in lingering embrace,
+    In agony they knelt
+
+  And poured in heaven's listening ear
+    Their heart-destroying grief;
+  And who so bold as to deny
+    That Heaven sent relief?
+
+  The father learned his daughter's sin
+    And drove her from his door.
+  "Go!" he said, "you guilty wretch,
+    You are my child no more."
+
+  Stung by these cruel, terrible words,
+    She fled in wild affright
+  In search of the heartless lover,
+    Her fearful wrongs to right.
+
+  She tracked the guilty miscreant down,
+    And he, to save his name,
+  Hid her till her child was born
+    In a house of doubtful fame.
+
+  The world looked on the helpless child
+    With cold, unpitying eye.
+  The villian bade his dupe go home,
+    "Repent of her sin and die."
+
+  She heard, and from her glittering eye
+    No tear of anguish sped--
+  With dagger drawn she reached his side,
+    And struck the villain _dead_!
+
+  With her babe she sought her father's door
+    And pled with a piteous cry
+  A shelter for her hapless babe
+    While the storm was raging high.
+
+  "Begone, you wretch!" the father cried,
+    "I curse the hour that gave
+  Birth to a wretch whose sin has laid
+    My wife within the grave."
+
+  "My mother dead! and I still live?
+    Ah! whither shall I fly?
+  O God! protect my hapless babe,
+    And suffer me to die."
+
+  The storm increased; she wandered on
+    Almost till break of day,
+  Till weary, wet and almost dead,
+    She knelt in the path to pray.
+
+  The sky was lit from end to end
+    By the lightning's awful glare,
+  And a falling tree pinned both to earth
+    As they knelt in the act of prayer!
+
+  They found them thus in the morning light,
+    And the father's grief was wild.
+  He tenderly looked on the touching scene
+    And at last forgave his child!
+
+  They buried Lenora and her nameless babe
+    Close beside her mother's clay,
+  And each one spake in kindly tones
+    Of the hapless ones that day.
+
+  The arm that sent the dagger home
+    Was nerved by a brain dethroned:
+  'Tis Lenora's was an awful deed,
+    But her terrible death atoned.
+
+  Aye, let us hope the much-wronged child
+    Has reached a home above
+  Where babes can live who have no name
+    And 'tis not sin to love.
+
+
+
+
+_A PRISONER'S LAMENTATION._
+
+
+  A poor convict in his cell lay dying:
+    He thought of home and loved ones dear,
+  He asked his cell-mate, in a whisper,
+    "Do you think the end is drawing near?"
+
+  "If I should die before I see them
+    Tell them how I longed tonight
+  To have my mother's blessed care
+    To leave this world of sin and strife."
+
+  Oh! how he longed to see his mother
+    And the cottage on the hill--
+  "_God bless them all_," I heard him whisper,
+    As with tears his eyes did fill.
+
+  "Will they think of me--a prisoner--
+    I, who was once their pride and joy?
+  While I sleep in the churchyard yonder
+    Will they think of their wayward boy?
+
+  "I know I've caused them lots of trouble
+    In wild and reckless boyish day,
+  But I hope that God will now forgive me
+    When from this earth I'm called away.
+
+  "I know it broke my mother's heart
+    When she heard of me, her wayward son,
+  Who five long years did serve in prison
+    For a highway robbery he had done.
+
+  "Has Sister "Minn," whom I used to play with
+    In days of youth, forgotten me?
+  If she has, I vow I can not blame her,
+    For I've caused her pain and shame, not glee.
+
+  "There's but one wish I now shall mention--
+    That Mother's days may be days of joy,
+  And when she asks for me in prison
+    Speak mildly of her convict boy.
+
+  "Here, take this to my dear old mother!
+    I know 'tis but a lock of hair,
+  But it's all I've got to give her now--
+    I know she'll treasure it with care."
+
+  And when he handed me the keepsake
+    His spark of life had nearly fled.
+  He clenched my hand and uttered "_Mother_!"
+    And a poor convict there lay dead.
+
+  May all young men now take fair warning
+    From one who's had experience long:
+  Guard strong against temptation's dawning--
+    Cast off evil and do no wrong.
+
+  In your younger days _court_ good, _shun_ evil;
+    Be careful who you companions choose;
+  When you make life's start then do not cavil--
+    March manfully on to win, not lose.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_OUR BOARD OF MANAGERS._
+
+
+  Long have we lived in misery and woe;
+  Long have we suffered from "kindness" cold as snow;
+  Long has pernicious influence been kept
+  Hovering 'round our misery, while in dungeons we have slept.
+
+  Long have we suffered from want of human care:
+  Long have we been bearded as the tiger in his lair:
+  Long have we went hungry for want of proper food,
+  And felt the sting of th' master's lash, as o'er our task we stood.
+
+  As the dark and gloomy cloud, that hovered o'er our past,
+  Has been wafted off by humane hands--'tis swept away at last.
+  We now emerge from darkness into a welcome light,
+  And live in brighter future hopes--a day made out of night.
+
+  We hail you, noble, honest men, whose hearts beat five as one,
+  Thus far in your prison work your duty you have done;
+  Eternal God will always right the brutal wrongs of man,
+  And therefore He did send you here to do the best you can.
+
+  A Cherrington, for the chairman, is a master stroke, you know.
+  And a Rose is always welcome, 'cause virtue he will sow;
+  A McConica, of democrat fame, is a power behind the throne,
+  While a Hoffman, sent from Cleveland, is a father to the home;
+  A Muscroft from old "Cincy" is a rattler for the place;
+  They all do join their hands and thoughts and duty bravely face,
+  While a McAdow records their acts with a gentlemanly grace.
+
+  They issue mandates right and left and order what is just;
+  They raise poor fallen, helpless man to a place of welcome trust;
+  They seek to lead him on the way to a nobler, better life,
+  And restore him to his children and his broken hearted wife.
+
+  Their Coffin always sits close by to lend a helping hand,
+  And faithfully their trust does keep--a leader of their band.
+  Well they know the awful fruitage of each harsh and brutal plan
+  Is to rouse the lurking tiger in the breast of erring man.
+
+  Now they rule, whose every impulse ripened by enlightened thought,
+  And it leads to many actions that with highest good is fraught.
+  And they use with great discretion measures that are just and kind,
+  Hoping to reform the erring through the agency of mind.
+
+  They have learned the useful lesson taught men from the power above,
+  That the greatest force in nature is the power of inspired love.
+  They have learned that rank dissension from all evil nature flows,
+  And they deem that man the greatest who can ease most mortal woes.
+
+  Let us ever sing enchanting of our now official corps
+  As they lift us from dark ruin as it has been heretofore.
+  See! the clouds so lately darkening o'er the prisoner's gloomy past,
+  Mercy's hand is fast dispelling--REASON _takes the reins at last_!
+
+
+
+
+_A TRIBUTE TO ASSISTANT DEPUTY WARDEN L. H. WELLS_.
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Comrade, may the God of heaven ease the maddening pain
+  That has swept across your bosom since your son was slain;
+  Think not of him as a mortal mouldering into dust;--
+  God, too, loved him and, my comrade, He betrays no trust.
+
+  You shall see him when the morning breaks above the night of death,
+  And your parting, O, my comrade, will but seem a passing breath.
+  Well I know the awful pressure grief exerts upon the soul,
+  But I know it will but whiten what it can't control.
+
+  You have met on field of battle many a gallant foe,
+  And, with patriotism burning, gave them blow for blow,
+  You have fought till every rebel bent the suppliant knee,
+  And the land you loved and cherished once again was free.
+
+  You despise no gallant fellow who once wore the blue
+  When it cost both blood and treasure if a man was true.
+  You forgive the trivial errors of that noble band,
+  And you meet a loyal comrade with extended hand.
+
+  You have friends in every station where your worth is known;
+  You have showered acts of kindness that but few have known.
+  Since your advent in this prison you have daily won
+  Hearts that ever will remember _acts of kindness nobly done_.
+
+  Comrade, time is passing swiftly, and Jehovah his reveille
+  Soon will sound upon the hilltops of a vast eternity.
+  May we gather with our comrades on that ever beautiful shore
+  And, like conquering heroes, listen to Heaven's plaudits ever more.
+
+
+
+
+_ONE AND A FEW._
+
+BY 21069.
+
+
+  Of all the pet pleasures so pleasing to man
+    In his present degenerate state,
+  I doubt if there's any can make him so glad
+    As the one I'm about to relate.
+
+  While here he's confined he's troubled in mind
+    With his "fifteen" or "twenty" to do,
+  And he longs for the day when he boldly can say:
+    "I've only got one and a few."
+
+  Then keep a strong heart. With courage don't part,
+    But manfully fight your way through;
+  Be it "five" or it "ten" or twice that again,
+    'Twill come down to "one and a few."
+
+  How often at night when I sit in my cell,
+    After working quite hard all the day,
+  My memory goes back to the time that I fell,
+    For the "bit" which I now have to stay.
+
+  And sometimes, I own, while sitting alone
+    I feel sad and disconsolate, too;
+  But it makes me feel gay when I think I can say,
+    "I've only got one and a few."
+
+  Oh, many's a home that's cheerless tonight,
+    And many's the mother feels drear;
+  When she thinks of the one far away from her sight
+    It causes her many a tear.
+
+  Though others may cleave to her, you are the same;
+    Misfortune but makes her more true;
+  She may now be quite sad, but won't she feel glad
+    When you've only got "one and a few?"
+
+  Then, don't be discouraged. No matter how long
+    In this prison you may have to stay,
+  You know that to worry and fret is quite wrong,
+    Far better drive dull care away.
+
+  Old Time is the boy your "bit" to destroy
+    As he jogs along, contented and true;
+  And so, in the end, you'll find he's the friend
+    That brought you to "one and a few."
+
+
+
+
+_MIDNIGHT MUSINGS._
+
+
+  'Tis midnight! The sentry's muffled tread
+    Is heard within these walls:
+  As silent as the living dead
+    He makes his regular calls.
+
+  I try to sleep, but all in vain;
+    I try to close--I weep,
+  I hear that muffled tread again--
+    The sentries on me peep.
+
+  I hear a voice so clear and plain--
+    It calls to me aloud--
+  It calls to me again, again;
+    That voice comes from a shroud.
+
+  Hist! Hist! vile heart, be still! No fear,
+    My angel sister's voice I hear!
+  It speaks to me in accents clear
+    And bids me shun a vile career.
+
+  She bids me meet her once again
+    And live in Heaven's fairest clime.
+  Nor shall her pleading be in vain--
+    _Resolved_, I'll do no crime.
+
+  Oh, could I feel her warm embrace
+    As when, in days of old,
+  I gazed into her angeled face--
+    It gave happiness untold.
+
+  Oh, let me live my boyhood days
+    As in the time gone by!
+  And let me consecrate her ways
+    When for this boy she'd cry.
+
+  But, hist! again the muffled tread
+    Comes gliding, silent as the dead,
+  Along the beat within these walls--
+    Hark! Hark! again dear sister calls.
+
+
+
+
+_A QUERY._
+
+BY MORSE.
+
+
+  When the long weary days are over
+    And the front gates open to you,
+  Are you again to be a wild rover?
+    What are you going to do?
+
+  Have you plans or dreams for the future?
+    Have the days any brightness for you?
+  Will you be a poor homeless creature?
+    What are you going to do?
+
+  Should your old-time friends forsake you--
+    Those who were strong and true--
+  And leave you helpless, homeless--
+    What are you going to do?
+
+  But you have one friend who is faithful,
+    Who is always kind and true.
+  Read His word and study His gospel--
+    He'll tell you what to do.
+
+
+
+
+_STRAY THOUGHTS._
+
+
+  In the fathomless depths of the mighty deep
+  What wonders live, what mysteries sleep!
+  What mind can name the sightless things
+  That live in the ocean's hidden springs,
+  Where treasures heaped on treasures lie,
+  Forever secure from the human eye;
+  Where creatures sport, that God alone
+  Can know their joy or hear their moan?
+
+  Who knows but the bride of the Dublin Bay
+  May walk in the ocean's depths today,
+  Arm in arm with her own dear Roy
+  In the conscious flush of honeymoon joy?
+  Who knows but the hearts that sadly yearned
+  For the gallant ship that never returned,
+  Have met, in the ocean's unknown bed,
+  The loved, tho' lost, we all thought dead?
+
+  Science has proved the human frame
+  Is water and salt by another name!
+  Hydrography yet may teach mankind
+  The open door of heaven to find.
+  "Davie Jones' locker" may prove to be
+  Instinct with life, by death set free!
+  Knew we the tongue of the deep sea shell
+  What wondrous news its notes might tell!
+
+  The myriad stars in yonder skies
+  May be the beams of death-freed eyes
+  That watch us from an unknown shore,
+  Still faithful to the vows of yore!
+  The vaulted blue of heaven may be
+  The looking glass of the mighty sea,
+  Where deathless souls their vigils keep
+  O'er fast decaying world, asleep.
+
+  Atlantis, the fabled city of old,
+  Whose gates inspired poets behold,
+  May now be resting beneath the wave,
+  Triumphant o'er a watery grave!
+  Its pearly gates and glittering spires
+  Arouse the poet's mad desires.
+  He sees--and sings in tongue unknown--
+  The mysteries by the Muses shown.
+
+  Conducted by a sybil fair,
+  He penetrates each demon lair
+  And pictures hell, in golden speech,
+  Beyond imagination's reach.
+  To highest heaven his thought has flown
+  And measured and admired the throne;
+  Made angels bow beneath his rod
+  And dared to mould the mind of God!
+
+  Who knows but legends the Muses tell
+  Are truths encased in a mighty dream?
+  Who knows but the angels of earth and air
+  Are the beautiful nymphs beside each stream?
+  Each singing bird and nodding flower
+  May be imbued with potent power;
+  And stars an influence, too, may wield
+  And bless or curse our natal hour!
+
+  Who knows but what we call a brute
+  Is with immortal reason blest?
+  Who knows man is alone divine
+  And destined to immortal rest?
+  Theorize and reason as we may,
+  How little we can really know;
+  We only learn to live, then die,
+  And who may say to what we go?
+
+
+
+
+_JUDGE NOT, LEST YE BE JUDGED._
+
+BY SAM LAW.
+
+
+      Art thou so good, so free from sin
+      That thou should'st judge thy fellow men?
+      Look well to self before the stone,
+      Aimed at thy brother's faults, be thrown,
+                      Behold in thee
+                      A Pharisee.
+
+  If thou art not so low, perchance thou'rt only so from circumstance;
+  Perhaps, if tempted, thou would'st fall. Thy nature's sinful, after all.
+
+      Thou knowest not, most righteous scribe,
+      The struggles, trials, patience tried;
+      The battles fought, the vict'ries gained,
+      The bleeding heart, the soul tear-stained,
+                  More human be,
+                  Have charity.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_THE CONVICT'S PRAYER._
+
+BY 21269.
+
+
+  At midnight, in a prison cell,
+  On bended knee the convict fell,
+  And poured in heaven's listing ear
+  A prayer for those he held most dear.
+
+  Oh, God; defend my absent wife,
+  Whose breaking heart and blighted life
+  Spring not from conscious guilt within,
+  But from a reckless husband's sin.
+
+  Spare her, indulgent heaven, the blow,
+  That oft has laid an angel low;
+  Still may her ever angel face
+  Reflect the presence of Thy grace.
+
+  Be it well pleasing in Thy sight
+  That she may rear my babes aright,
+  And teach them, in the bloom of youth,
+  The laws of kindness and of truth.
+
+  Help me discharge, on every hand,
+  The duties right and law demand;
+  And may I live to dwell once more
+  Honored among the friends of yore.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_WINE VS. WATER._
+
+
+  There stood two glasses, filled to the brim,
+  On a rich man's table, rim to rim,
+  One was ruddy and red as blood,
+  And one as clear as the crystal flood.
+
+  Said the glass of wine to the paler brother:
+  "Let us tell the tales of the past to each other.
+  I can tell of banquet, revel and mirth,
+  And the proudest and grandest souls on earth
+  Fell under my touch as though struck by blight,
+  Where I was a king, for I ruled in night.
+  From the heads of kings I have torn the crown;
+  From the heights of fame I have hurled men down.
+  I have blasted many an honored name;
+  I have taken virtue and given shame.
+  I have tempted youth with a sip, a taste
+  That has made his future a barren waste.
+  Far greater than a king am I,
+  Or than any army beneath the sky.
+  I have made the arm of the driver fail,
+  And sent the train from the iron rail.
+  I have made good ships go down at sea,
+  And the shrieks of the lost were sweet to me,
+  For they said, "Behold! how great you be!"
+  Fame, strength, wealth, genius before me fall,
+  For my might and power are over all.
+  Ho! ho! pale brother," laughed the wine,
+  "Can you boast of deeds so great as mine?"
+
+  The water said proudly, "I cannot boast
+  Of a king dethroned or a murdered host;
+  But I can tell of a heart once sad,
+  By my crystal drops made light and glad--
+  Of thirsts I've quenched, of brows I've laved;
+  Of hands I've cooled and souls I've saved;
+  I've leaped thro' the valley, dashed down the mountain,
+  Formed beautiful rivers and played in fountain,
+  Slept in the sunshine and dropped from the sky
+  And everywhere gladdened the landscape and eye.
+  I've eased the hot forehead of fever and pain,
+  I've made the parched meadows grow fertile with grain;
+  I can tell of the powerful wheel of the mill
+  That ground out flower and turned at my will;
+  I can tell of manhood, debased by you.
+  That I lifted up and crowned anew.
+  I cheer, I help, I strengthen and aid;
+  I gladden the heart of man and maid;
+  I set your close-chained captive free
+  And all are better for knowing me."
+
+  These are the tales they told each other--
+  The glass of wine and its paler brother--
+  As they sat together, filled to the brim.
+  On the rich man's table, rim to rim.
+
+
+
+
+_THE FALL OF SODOM._
+
+
+  Thou sin-cursed city of the stricken plain,
+  Whose heinous lust all after time shall shame,
+  'Twas thine to rouse Jehovah's awful ire,
+  And test the strength of Heaven's revengeful fire.
+  Thy senseless lust and crime had spread
+  Till virtue, hope and shame had fled;
+  Degraded youth and tottering age
+  Could not appease thy senseless rage;
+  Thy leacherous sons, that roamed at night,
+  Were human only to the sight;
+  Their motto was hell's direst fruit:
+  "Debase the _man_, exhalt the _brute_!"
+  One man alone of all thy teeming millions sate,
+  And pondered on thy sin with deathless hate;
+  His righteous soul was vexed from day to day,
+  And strove in vain to turn you from your way.
+  _He_ dwelt among you as a child of God,
+  And in the path of honored wedlock trod.
+  _You_, dead to nature and to nature's voice,
+  Spurned woman and made man your choice!
+  And desecrated, with your impious lust,
+  The masterpiece God had formed from dust!
+  Till woman, shorn of all her natural power,
+  Was cast aside, like some discarded flower,
+  And stormed insulted heaven with hourly cry,
+  Till God beheld you with His searching eye,
+  And sent His angels in avenging haste
+  Your sin to punish and your land to waste.
+  The son of Horan met these at the gate,
+  And begged them at his frugal board to wait;
+  At first refused, they after turn aside,
+  And 'neath a righteous roof content abide.
+  They share his food and list with eager ear
+  As Lot recounts each nightly scene of fear;
+  When lust runs riot in the open streets,
+  And man with man in strange communion meets.
+  The men of Sodom learn, with kindling eye,
+  The stranger's presence, and in haste draw nigh.
+  Men, young and old, with equal ardor burn,
+  And, with unholy lust, towards these strangers yearn.
+  They call the patriarch with an angry shout,
+  And bid him bring the hallowed strangers out,
+  That they may satisfy their lawless lust
+  And trample decency in sinful dust.
+  He, taught from infancy in Mosaic Law,
+  Regarded heaven's High Ruler still with awe;
+  And shuddered with indignant fear
+  As these vile shouts assailed his ear.
+  He left his house and closed the door behind,
+  And to the rabble thus he eased his mind:
+  "Ye men of Sodom! _once_ in life do right,
+  Nor do this wickedness in heaven's sight!
+  Two virgin daughters 'neath my roof reside,
+  Till now a father's care and mother's pride;
+  Take them and do whatever you deem right,
+  But lay no impious hand upon my guests tonight.
+  The laws of hospitality, by Moses taught,
+  Harms not a stranger whom our roof has sought.
+  They know the law, who now reside within,
+  And with horror view your awful sin!"
+  "Ye men of Sodom! who this stranger gave
+  The right to judge us and our will to brave?
+  We kindly took a homeless wanderer in,
+  And dare he brand our greatest pleasure sin?
+  Shall empty words defy our proud behest,
+  Or useless offering prevent our guest?
+  Ten thousand 'No's' will pierce his dastard breast,
+  And treat him tenfold worse than all the rest!"
+  Thus spake their leader, and with angry roar
+  The o'er wrought friends assail the door;
+  Lot, backward hurled, could hardly stand,
+  Till snatched within by angel hand,
+  The maddened crowd no longer wait,
+  But headlong rush to meet their fate!
+  The ready angels rise, with godlike mind,
+  And strike the guilty wretches blind:
+  In vain they strive to reach and force the door,
+  Their useless orbs are blasted evermore!
+  "Go seek thy children, Lot, in eager haste,
+  And bid them not a precious moment waste.
+  God will destroy this sin-accursed place,
+  And wipe from earth its faintest trace!"
+  Lot, thus commanded, found each one that night,
+  And faithfully portrayed their awful plight;
+  But he, to them, seemed as a man that mocked,
+  And left them sorely grieved and doubly shocked.
+  The morn arose! The angels cautioned Lot
+  To wife and daughters take and tarry not;
+  And as they lingered took them by the hand
+  And led them from the endangered land.
+  "Flee to the mountains and no hind'rance brook,
+  Nor backward turn a long, admiring look.
+  The wretch who dares this mandate to defy
+  Shall, 'neath Jehovah's hand, in torture die!"
+  This stern command was heard by trembling Lot
+  With deep repugnance, for it pleased him not.
+  "Nay, nay, my lord; but if before thy face
+  Thy trembling servant dares to plead for grace,
+  Command me that I now may turn aside
+  And in your little city safe reside.
+  Thus may I keep my soul alive this day
+  Nor after fall to mountain beasts a prey."
+  The heavenly strangers, with an august nod,
+  Agree to lift from Zoar Jehovah's rod.
+  The rescued quartette Zoarward bend,
+  While hope and fear alternate tend.
+  With mien majestic, yes, with hasty tread,
+  Their trembling flight their aged father led.
+  Next came the virgins, able scarce to stand,
+  And followed by their mother, last of all the band.
+  She yet to Sodom and its idols clave,
+  And dared Jehovah's awful wrath to brave;
+  One look she sought, her weary journey to beguile,
+  And in a moment stood transfixed--_a Salty Pile_!
+  The more obedient trio onward fly,
+  Until the opening gates of Zoar greet the eye.
+  Now, with full hearts, they reach the calm retreat,
+  And cordial welcome from King Bela meet.
+
+END OF FIRST CANTO.
+
+
+_THE FALL OF SODOM--CANTO SECOND._
+
+  From Bera's palace, and from Sodom's shrine,
+  A thousand scintillating rays of beauty shine;
+  The gorgeous parapets of beaten burnished gold
+  Enlightened fancy can with awe behold.
+  Those marble walls of rainbow-tinted hue,
+  Please and instruct and yet astound the view.
+  Each curve of beauty and each line of grace
+  Relates some annal of the ancient place.
+  Upon these sculptured walls each Sodomite may trace
+  The birthplace and the lineage of his entire race.
+  He here may read, in many a flowing line,
+  The maiden efforts of the Tuneful Nine,
+  Who first appeared and strung the quivering lyre,
+  When new created stars their Maker's praise aspire;
+  Theirs is the music of the quick revolving spheres,
+  And theirs the power to bathe a world in tears.
+  They paint in colors, dipped in liquid truth,
+  The brow of beauty and the lip of youth.
+  Thought, tame in prose in their enchanting line,
+  Is dressed in beauty and is half divine.
+  They wing love's arrows with consumate art,
+  And make the melting music of the heart.
+  Youth they instruct and tottering age sustain,
+  Virtue exalt and hideous voice restrain.
+  Inside this palace life is but a dream
+  Of beauty, flowing in a constant stream.
+  Here silken curtains hang on wires of gold,
+  And zephyr-satin, whose capacious fold
+  Ten thousand giddy turns and windings take
+  The secret chambers of the place to make.
+  Each article of comfort man can know
+  With priceless gems and flashing colors glow;
+  Each drinking vessel is a solid gem;
+  Each odorous flower grows on a parent stem;
+  Birds of bright plumage raise their tuneful note
+  And scatter scents ambrosial as they float.
+  The crystal fountains generous wine dispense,
+  And food delicious satisfies the sense;
+  The air is balmy as the breath of spring,
+  And every atom is a beauteous thing.
+  One thing alone this mighty place appalls:
+  No woman dwells within these sculptured walls.
+  Here man with man in lustful caprice plays,
+  And Heaven's righteous mandate disobeys;
+  Sinks, through his lust, below the groveling beast,
+  Who to the female makes his amorous suit.
+  Within those walls are stores of untold wealth,
+  Secured by carnage and by midnight stealth;
+  Beneath each divan and each downy couch
+  The smouldering fires of retribution crouch.
+  Each glittering tankard and each costly plate
+  Reflects the fierceness of each pending fate.
+  The quenchless tortures of Jehovah's wrath
+  Is earthward tending in a destined path!
+  The brilliant sun of light, the mighty sire,
+  Seems bathed in blood and heaven's all afire.
+  From pole to pole the livid lightnings flash
+  Till all creation trembles 'neath the crash;
+  And earthward, still, the melting heavens bend,
+  While blinding floods of hissing flames descend,
+  And seas of lava, with three mighty bounds,
+  The now doomed city and the plain surrounds.
+  Now, inward flowing, rolls the mighty tide,
+  On whose dread billows death alone can ride;
+  And upward rising, with tremendous sweep,
+  Its molten billows awful union keep
+  With floods descending from the flaming sky,
+  And Sodom knows her hour has come to die!
+  Her frightened millions in a circle band,
+  And view approaching death on every hand.
+  Around them rolls a sea of fire;
+  Above them flames the torch of Heaven's ire;
+  While hissing lava, in descending rain,
+  Creates new horror and gives birth to pain.
+  Each gorgeous palace and each mart of trade
+  Is buried for their wickedness and in ashes laid.
+  In vain they call their idols, name by name.
+  Their garments all are wrapt in living flame,
+  Their quivering bodies tortured to the bone,
+  Their parched lips in vain assay a moan,
+  Their eyes still pleading with each bated breath
+  _Not_ for forgiveness, but for instant death!
+
+  The circling oceans, with resounding roar,
+  Meet and commingle--and the scene is o'er!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+  _A TRIBUTE TO
+  THE WOLFE SISTERS._
+
+
+  Music, the sweetest all-inspiring gift of God.
+    Is ever welcome to the prisoner's ear;
+  There's nothing makes me feel half so well
+    As music of the heart when sung with cheer.
+
+  Here in this prison as I sit and pore
+    Over the past and present of my life,
+  My heart sings ever, o'er and o'er,
+    The darkest bitterness of a prisoner's strife.
+
+  But hark! in yonder chapel shrine
+    I hear sweet music as of yore;
+  I ask, "What music is that sounds so fine?"
+    The answer comes, "The Wolfes are at the door!"
+
+  I hasten, then, to brush my prison garb,
+  And toilet try to fix as best I can,
+  And then unto the chapel wend my way;
+  When there upon the rostrum stand
+                  _Five of the sweetest singers of our day_!
+
+  There's Amy Wolfe, who changed her name to Brooks;
+  She leads her choir without the aid of books.
+  She sings with voice so sweet and delicate
+  That to her, First Soprano I dedicate.
+
+  Next, Minnie S., at the age of twenty-three,
+  Sings like a lark and busy as a bee,
+  Carefully guarding that no mistakes are made,
+  And handles her bewitching voice with harmony well staid.
+
+  Then sang the sweet Zoraydo F., with baritone most clear,
+  Who, at the age of twenty, delights to bring us cheer.
+  It seems as if her heart and soul were bent on doing right,
+  And when she sang she sang so sweet--Oh! it was out of sight.
+
+  The next I saw was Lyda M., with scarlet cheeks aglow;
+  She sings with voice most charming, a clear and sweet alto,
+  She's next the younger of them all, because she's just eighteen,
+  She captivates the heart of man--what a fairy little Queen!
+
+  Then last, not least, the little one, that is, Miss Kittie C.,
+  She just so busy when she sings she's like a honey bee.
+  Her eyes are clear as crystal, her locks are flowing gold,
+  She sings soprano quite as fine as any I have told.
+
+  I sat down in an empty seat close by the outside door,
+  And listened to such warbling as I never heard before.
+  Their voices drowned all sorrow and gushed forth many a tear,
+  _Not_ for horror that I felt--it brought me real good cheer.
+
+  They drove away the pain of woe, that none but prisoners smart;
+  They sang the ever blessed song--true music of the heart.
+  We doff our striped caps to you, O girls of sweetest song,
+  And may we bid you be our friends and return again ere long.
+
+  Adieu, adieu, our lady friends, do not now say "farewell,"
+  Because we wish you all return with song too sweet to tell.
+  Come back! come back again and sing some lovely Sabbath day,
+  For your presence here to sing good cheer we all will ever pray.
+
+  And now unto the aged Wolfes please let me say one word:
+  Your home must be a palace filled with sirenic good;
+  Proud may you feel--and justly, too--of these five daughters fair,
+  And great the good they've done for us while in this prison lair.
+
+  There's but one wish that emanates from a prisoner's wicked heart.
+  That is to say, without delay, "May heaven take their part,
+  And to them bring eternal joy that'll pierce them like a dart!"
+  Each song they sing is welcome here--a masterpiece of art!
+
+  And now to part we sadly must (while I'm immersed in prison dust).
+  But hoping, too, 'twill not be long ere you return with sweetest song.
+                                                      Adieu! Adieu!
+
+
+
+
+_PRISONERS._
+
+
+  God pity the wretched prisoners
+    In their lonely cells today;
+  Whatever the sins that tripped them,
+    God pity them still, I say.
+
+  Only a strip of sunshine
+    Cleft by rusty bars:
+  Only a patch of azure,
+    Only a cluster of stars.
+
+  Once they were little children,
+    And perhaps their wayward feet
+  Were led by a gentle mother
+    Toward the golden street.
+
+  Therefore, if in life's forest
+    They since have lost their way.
+  Whatever the sins that tripped them,
+    God pity them still, I say.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_TWO LETTERS._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  I wrote a letter while jealous rage
+    In my bosom reigned supreme;
+  The words were fraught with anger,
+    And a loathsome disesteem.
+
+  They fell on the pure white paper
+    And marred its stainless page,
+  Yet eased my maddened spirit,
+    And appeased my senseless rage.
+
+  I gloatingly tho't of the dumb despair
+    That letter would surely give,
+  To one who had broken her faithful vows
+    In a way I could never forgive.
+
+  I doubted not the perfect truth
+    Of all I heard them say;
+  She, like other girls, was false
+    While her lover was away.
+
+  I knew she vowed she would be true
+    While life itself would last,
+  Yet thought that she, like others,
+    Too soon forgot the past.
+
+  I hastily sealed the cruel note,
+    And placed it next my heart,
+  Determined upon the morrow
+    To give it an early start.
+
+  I threw myself upon the couch
+    And sought for sweet repose,
+  And in my restless slumbers
+    A vision then arose:
+
+  I saw in that terrible vision
+    A woman whose eager face
+  Beamed with yearning, restless love
+    As her trembling fingers traced
+
+  A message of love and tenderness
+    To her loved one far away.
+  As her pure lips quietly murmured,
+    "God grant we must some day!"
+
+  She sealed her letter with dainty hands,
+    And laid it by with tender care:
+  Then humbly kneeled beside her bed,
+    And poured her soul in prayer.
+
+  She prayed for her impassioned lover
+    In a warm, impassioned strain,
+  That proved her heart both warm and true
+    And free from guilt or stain.
+
+  She arose from her kneeling posture
+    To answer a call at her door:
+  She smiled as she saw the letter
+    The hand of the servant bore.
+
+  One glance she gave--then burst the seal
+    With trembling, eager haste,
+  And rapidly heard the cruel words
+    My reckless hand had traced.
+
+  Her lovely face turned deathly pale
+    As she wildly clutched the air.
+  She tottered and fell--a senseless heap--
+    A prey to dumb despair.
+
+  So still she lay I deemed her dead,
+    And sprang to raise her in my arms.
+  I loved her with the old, wild love,
+    And bowed to her peerless charms.
+
+  "Speak! darling, speak!" I wildly cried.
+    "Pray, come back from the voiceless shore.
+  I cannot, dare not live an hour,
+    Unless I hear your voice once more!"
+
+  She opened wide her lovely eyes,
+    And cast on me one lingering glance
+  So full of injured innocence
+    It smote me like a lance.
+
+  I seized the heartless letter,
+    Curst cause of all my shame,
+  And, with one imprecation,
+    Consigned it to the flame.
+
+  She watched me with a languid smile,
+    And pointed to her heart:
+  "You have destroyed the proof," she said,
+    "But can you ease the smart?"
+
+  "I have been true to all my vows,
+    Heaven judge me if I lie!
+  But since you deem me to be false,
+    Go--leave me here--to die!"
+
+  At last I woke and quickly drew
+    The accursed sheet from my breast--
+  Burning it with a ready hand--
+    And gently sank to rest.
+
+  I wrote another, whose tender words
+    Were soft as the ripple of a stream;
+  And thought what a contrast it would be
+    To the letter she read in my dream!
+
+  And my darling greatly wonders
+    Why my letters with tenderness teem,
+  Since I have never told her
+    Of the letter she read in my dream.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A PRAYER FOR JUSTICE._
+
+
+  Oh, God in heaven up on high,
+  How long this cruel strife?
+  Most I but perish in this den
+  To end this wretched life?
+  Is there no justice here on earth?
+  Must truth remain crushed down
+  And vile and wicked, cruel man
+  Forever look and frown?
+  Is there no power to bring to light
+  The _truth_ of my offense?
+  Must perjury and bribery
+  Prevail forever hence?
+  Can enemies, vile, cruel things,
+  Twist truth all out of shape,
+  And cause one who's not guilty
+  To morally wear death's crepe?
+  Oh, God! is there no remedy
+  For earthly subjects thus
+  To be relieved from wretched pain
+  Without this earthly fuss?
+  Oh, God! to Thee we call for help.
+  Wil't thou but listen--hear?
+  Look down upon me as I be,
+  My innocence thou'lt surely see,
+  These shackles, bolts, and prison bars,
+  The heavy locks and massive key--
+  Hear, Oh, God! Oh, hear my prayer
+  And set this captive free.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_BIRTHDAY MUSINGS._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Just sixty years ago today
+    Mine eyes first saw the light;
+  Now age, with ever onward tread,
+    Presages coming night.
+
+  Ah! is it night? Or shall it be
+    That morning's light shall break,
+  And from my soul such music bring
+    As earth could never wake?
+
+  Where are the friends of earlier years--
+    Sleep they to wake no more?
+  Or do they walk with joyful tread
+    Heaven's ever radiant shore?
+
+  If death is but oblivion's gate,
+    Why younger grows the soul with years?
+  Whose are the faces that we see
+    When melts the hearts in tears?
+
+  Oh, whence the strains the soul can hear
+    When all is hushed in sleep,
+  And none, save God and angels, near
+    When souls their vigils keep?
+
+  Is all religion but a myth?
+    Are all our hopes in vain?
+  Is heaven affectation's child,
+    Born of disordered brain?
+
+  Tell me not such bolts and bars
+    Can keep me from the skies;
+  I'd sooner deem yon blushing rose
+    A satyr in disguise.
+
+
+
+
+  _A TRIBUTE TO
+  THE WOLFE SISTERS._
+
+BY GEO W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Come. O come, ye radiant sisters, heaven honored "Tuneful Nine."
+  Smooth my ever rugged numbers and inspire my drooping line.
+  Aid my muse to tell the story never breathed to mortal ear.
+  How this sweet angelic chorus happens to be lingering near.
+  In yon fair and blissful aiden, far beyond the faintest star.
+  Once the guardian angels slumbered, leaving heaven's gates ajar!
+  And five wandering seraphs wandered, in their rapid, noiseless flight,
+  Thro' the gates, whose vaulted arches echoed paeans of delight!
+  Quick as thought their tireless pinions clave the unresisting air.
+  Till they reached the _five Wolfe sisters_, maids of form and features
+                                                            fair,
+  And within these hearts they lingered, tuning every chord to song.
+  Till the pathos of their music stilled the ever restless throng!
+  Earth and heaven stood astonished and Jehovah's love decreed:
+  "Let them stay! such strains seraphic mortal beings can but heed!"
+
+  Have you heard their wondrous music? Have you felt their sweet control?
+  If not, friend, you've scarcely sounded half the mysteries of your soul!
+  Amy, soul-enrapturing artist, sweetly sounds the soft prelude.
+  And beneath her skilfull fingers every note, with life imbued.
+  Stills the throng, whose very silence is an encore loud and deep.
+  And each thought, save that of music, is forgotten or asleep.
+  Katherine's rich and  full suprano, like the Autumn's mellow morn.
+  Wakes the slumbering soul to action like the practiced huntsman's horn!
+  Mamie's soft, melodious voice nobly takes the second part.
+  And the pathos of her music captivates the raptured heart!
+  Lida's faultless second alto deepens all the noble strain
+  Till the mind forgets its madness and the heart rejects in pain.
+  Then Zoraydo's matchless voice sweeps the soul along
+  Till we know that _perfect music can be breathed in earthly song_!
+  Hear, O hear the melting music pouring from each heaving breast;
+  How it wakes the heart to rapture! How it soothes the soul to rest!
+
+  When they sing, such lovely visions seem to rise and grandly float
+  Like the poet's airy mansions, on the wave of each full note!
+  Silvery daybreaks brighten slow; sunsets blush on mountain snow!
+  Moonlight shivers on the open sea; Autumn burns in bush and tree;
+  Blowing willows bend and sigh; whispering rivers wander by;
+  Thro' the pines sweep sea-tones soft; sailing birds shout loud aloft;
+  Strange notes beat the lambent air; visions float divinely fair;
+  Vanished faces come and go; silenced voices murmur low;
+  Gentlest memories come and cling, _as we listen and they sing_.
+
+  Oh, repeat the music's tale, "_Love shall perish not nor fail_!"
+  We forget the fear of death--breathe, in tho't, immortal breath!
+  We believe in broadening truth; trust the generous creeds of youth;
+  Feel consoling hopes that climb up to some triumphant clime,
+  And sweet dreams of splendor bring _as we listen and they sing_!
+
+  Walls of rock and bars of steel we can neither see nor feel;
+  We forget our dire disgrace; disregard both time and place;
+  Bid all angry passion sleep and profoundest silence keep!
+  Hoard the trembling notes that fall like an angel mother's call;
+  Rise above our low estate and forget the wrongs of fate!
+  We forgive our mortal foes, source of all our many woes,
+  And penance itself loses half its sting, _as we listen and they sing_!
+
+  May the God of love and truth give them all the joys of youth;
+  May the raptures they impart ever thrill each noble heart;
+  May their ministry of love lead all erring ones above;
+  May wealth, happiness and joy all their waiting hours employ;
+  Be their cares both light and few and their pleasures ever new;
+  And their lives one dream of ease till their "ship comes o'er the seas!"
+  Let fate oft their presence bring, _and we'll listen while they sing_
+  Gentle sisters, take this tribute poured from imprisoned hearts;
+  You have eased their maddening torture, you have stayed the cruel darts
+  That remorse and shame have driven deep within each captive soul.
+  Suffer them your names to graven on fond memory's deathless scroll:
+  Be assured your seeds of kindness shall not fall on stony ground,
+  Many of  your willing converts have both peace and pardon found!
+  And, when all your work is ended, you in heaven shall fondly greet
+  Some whose hearts were first enlightened by your anthems clear and sweet.
+
+
+
+
+_TO A DEPARTED IDOL._
+
+BY G. W. VAX WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Thou art not dead, thou art not gone to dust,
+    No line of all thy loveliness shall fall
+  To formless ruin, smote by time and thrust
+    Into the solemn gulf that covers all.
+
+  Thou canst not perish.   Tho' the sod
+    Sink with its violets closer to thy breast,
+  Tho' by the feet of generations trod
+    The loadstone crumbles from thy place of rest.
+
+  The marvel of thy beauty cannot die;
+    The sweetness of thy presence shall not fade;
+  Earth gave not all the glory of thine eye;
+    Death cannot smite what earth ne'er made.
+
+  It was not _thine_, that marble forehead pale and cold.
+    Nor those dumb lips they laid beneath the snow;
+  Thy heart would throb beneath that passive fold;
+    _Thy_ hands, for me, that stony clasp forego.
+
+  But _thou_ hast gone. Gone from this dreary land;
+    Gone from the storms let loose on every hill;
+  Lured by the sweet persuasion of a band
+    That leads thee, somewhere, in the distance still.
+
+  Where e'er thou art, I know thou wearest yet
+    The same bewitching beauty, sanctified
+  By calmer joy, and touched with soft regret
+    For him who seeks but cannot reach thy side.
+
+  I keep for thee the living love of old,
+    And seek thy place in nature, as a child
+  Whose hand is parted from its playmate's hold
+    Wanders and cries along a lonesome wild.
+
+  When, in the watches of my heart, I hear
+    The messages of purer life and know
+  The footsteps of thy spirit lingering near,
+    Life's darkness hides the way I fain would go.
+
+  Canst thou not bid the empty realms restore
+    That form, the symbol of thy heavenly part?
+  Or in the barren fields of silence pour
+    That voice, the perfect music of thy heart?
+
+  Oh, once--once bending to my warm and eager lips,
+    Take back the tender warmth of life from me,
+  Or let thy kisses cloud with swift eclipse
+    The light of mine, and give me death with thee.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TO WARDEN AND MRS. E. G. COFFIN._
+
+
+  Elijah of old ancient times was a man of many, many minds!
+  Long did he live in noble deeds, in dealing comfort to men's needs,
+  In these, our modern, modest days, all men have greatly changed their
+                                                             ways--
+  Jehovah's laws do not control the wickedness of every soul.
+  All those who know as well as I while on this earth will not decry
+  He who will bad men reform--Hail, Coffin! who for us was born!
+
+  Godfrey is his second  name, and now he reaps most enviable fame:
+  Our watchword is both day and nights--while o'er him floats the Stars
+                                                       and Stripes--
+  "Do unto us as you would choose, that others do to you and yours!"
+  Faithful to her life-long trust, a wife, a mother, true and just,
+  Resolves to help both maid and man and lend an ever helping hand--
+  Each day and night they toil and pray for boys and girls to mend their
+                                                               way,
+  Yet they do not toil all  in vain for the great good done the human
+                                                             train.
+
+  "Coffin" is a word some shun, for it takes man when on earth he's done
+  Out to the churchyard laid in clay, for ages sanctioned such a way.
+  For us poor sinners here in "hell" a Coffin sent makes us feel well,
+  For often he does ease the pains we feel in both our hearts and brains.
+  In endless joy may they have peace for kindness they have done to us--
+  Not one of us, though cursed with sin, will e'er forget our friends
+                                                            Coffin.
+
+
+_CANTO SECOND--LAST, BUT NOT LEAST!_
+
+  Mistress she is of the Coffin shrine, and so it's been for years of time!
+  In holy wedlock girls and boys have been the idols of their joys!
+  She bids her Lord Elijah bide a faithful servant by her side,
+  To aid her with a helping hand to raise poor, wretched, fallen man.
+  Real sympathy for the prisoner's woe, she seeds of comfort tries to sow
+  Ere long before it is too late to save poor sinner from his fate;
+  She "cookies"  make, with pearls all set, and puts them in Elijah's hat,
+  She then does send him on his way, while for the prisoner she does pray.
+
+  Mary silently did keep the watch o'er Christ while he did sleep;
+  All her _protege_ she will save if her Lord will help her brave
+  Roaring storms of vice and ire, kindled by a vengeful fire!
+  You may guess for all the rest, let me say SHE'LL DO HER BEST!
+
+  Coffins, to you let us turn! and all crime forever spurn!
+  Only aid us in this strife to fight manfully for life.
+  Father Elijah! Mother Mary! for our welfare do not tarry!
+  Fear you not! for the good you've done has saved many a fallen one!
+  In our hearts we oft despair as we linger in this lair--
+  Not for long tho' when we've seen--Father Elijah and Mary, his _Queen_!
+
+
+
+
+_A PRISON VISION._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  'Tis midnight in these prison walls,
+    And even the sentry's muffled tread
+  Sepulchral sounds, as if he trod
+    The silent confines of the dead.
+
+  In vain I close my weary eyes,
+    I cannot sleep tonight;
+  I hear an angel's rustling wings
+    Fresh from the realms of light.
+
+  A sacred presence haunts the air,
+    A messenger from Heaven's own land;
+  And memory awakes again,
+    Touched by an angel's wand.
+
+  I seem to hear, deep in my soul,
+    The music of a heavenly choir,
+  While each pulsation of my heart
+    Awakes in me the old desire
+
+  To see once more that lovely form
+    Death vanished in my arms;
+  To hear again her melting voice
+    And revel in her charms.
+
+  To feel the tender, soft caress
+    Of a loved tho' vanished hand,
+  And hear from her departed lips
+    The mysteries of that land
+
+  That lies beyond Time's rugged shore,
+    To all unknown, save those
+  Whom angels capture for the skies
+    At life's uncertain close.
+
+  I muse again, with loving thought,
+    Of a sinless wife long dead,
+  And live again our buried past,
+    By an angel presence led.
+
+  I view again the pleasing scene
+    Of a school house on the hill,
+  Where happy scholars daily met,
+    Whose law was the teacher's will.
+
+  I see again the old armchair
+    Where the Master daily sat
+  With watchful eye and helpful hand,
+    Yet sleepless as a cat.
+
+  I hear again the sleepless hum
+    Of voices low and sweet,
+  Of students pouring o'er the books
+    With wisdom's germs replete.
+
+  Amid that happy, guileless throng,
+    There was one peerless face
+  That held in the Master's tender heart
+    An undisputed place.
+
+  It was a face, O God! how fair!
+    No words can ever paint;
+  More fit for heaven than for earth.
+    It bore the contour of a saint.
+
+  The brow was high and broad and white,
+    With a radiance all its own;
+  The cheeks, like lilies dipped in blood,
+    Were oft as a rose full blown.
+
+  Eyebrows dark and delicately arched,
+    Were penciled in Nature's play;
+  The ruby ripeness of her lips
+    Seemed never to melt away.
+
+  Her lustrous eyes, whose depths were brown,
+    Yet seemed a darker hue,
+  Were windows of a spotless soul
+    That scorned to be untrue.
+
+  Abundant tresses of dark brown hair
+    That almost swept the ground,
+  Enveloped as chaste and lovely form
+    As e'er on earth was found.
+
+  A voice so soft, so sweet, so low
+    That every accent woke
+  Sweet notes of blissful melody,
+    As if an angel spoke.
+
+  None could look upon that face
+    And deem that aught of earth
+  Could chill the rapture of a soul
+    Where sin could know no birth.
+
+  Her mind had wondrous power and scope;
+    It grasped the sea, the earth, the sky,
+  And rightly understood and loved
+    The God who ruled on high.
+
+  Contentment, truth and virtue
+    Was part of Nature's dower;
+  Self-sacrifice to her was joy,
+    And prayer was conscious power.
+
+  While yet a child her spirit soared
+    Above the things of earth,
+  And mused with soulful tenderness
+    On the heaven that gave it birth.
+
+  The teacher's stern, imperious heart
+    Yearningly worshipped this child,
+  And 'neath her hallowed influence
+    Grew tender, warm and mild.
+
+  The haughty heart, that never sought
+    The plaudits of the world,
+  Poured its richest tribute
+    At the feet of this faultless girl.
+
+  The face, that never even blanched
+    'mid war's terrific strife,
+  Grew pale as death the hour he asked
+    This child to be his wife.
+
+  No word she spake, but simply laid
+    Her head upon his breast.
+  He folded her in warm embrace
+    And knew that he was blest.
+
+  Each lived a life of conscious joy;
+    Earth seemed a garden fair;
+  The lover sought earth's fairest flowers
+    To braid in her shining hair.
+
+  Deeply they drank at the font of love;
+    Draughts few natures can hold;
+  The hours were seasons of perfect bliss;
+    Each moment more precious than gold.
+
+  Days and months flew swiftly by
+    On the wings of happiness sped,
+  And two sweet babes were garnered
+    As the fruit of their marriage bed!
+
+  They neither thought nor dreamed of aught
+    Save their babes and coming bliss;
+  They greeted the morn with soft caress
+    And welcomed night with a kiss.
+
+  Till, thundering on the wings of Time,
+    Fate dealt the cruel blow
+  That dashed a home in pieces
+    And laid a child-wife low.
+
+  The husband pressed her to his breast
+    And fondly kissed his bride;
+  But with the parting of that kiss
+    The sinless child-wife died.
+
+  The kindred angels joyful flew
+    From the realms of endless day,
+  And gently wafted her soul above,
+    But left to us her clay.
+
+  "She is dead! Kiss her and come away.
+    Your cries and prayers are all in vain,
+  Your May-Bell is cold, senseless clay;
+    In heaven above you'll meet again."
+
+  They smoothed her tresses of dark brown hair
+    Back from her marble forehead fair;
+  Over her eyes, that oped too much,
+    They closed the lids with a tender touch.
+
+  They closed with tender touch, that day,
+  The thin, pale lips where beauty lay;
+  About her brow and her sweet pale face
+  They tied her veil and bridal lace;
+
+  Placed on her feet the white silk shoes
+  That May-Bell for her marriage chose;
+  Over her bosom crossed her hands;
+  "Come away," they said, "God understands."
+
+  With bowed heads they left the room,
+  Still shuddering at its silent gloom;
+  And naught, save silence, lingered there
+  Around the corpse of May-Bell Clare.
+
+  But I loved her far too well to dread
+  The silent, stately, beautiful dead.
+  I cautiously opened the chamber door
+  And was alone with my dead once more.
+
+  I kissed her lips, I kissed her cheek,
+  But 'twas in vain, she could not speak.
+  I called her names, she loved, awhile,
+  But she was dead and could not smile.
+
+  And not one passionate whisper of love
+  Could call her back from her home above.
+  "Cold lips," I murmured, "breast without breath,
+  Is there no voice, no language in death?"
+
+  Dull to ear and still to the sense,
+  Yet to the soul of love intense!
+  See, I listen with soul, not ear;
+  What is the secret of dying, my dear?
+
+  Was it the infinite wonder of all
+  That you could let life's flower fall?
+  Or was it a greater marvel to feel
+  The perfect calm o'er agony steal?
+
+  Was the miracle greatest to find how deep
+  Beyond all dreams sank down that sleep?
+  Did life roll back its record, my dear,
+  Showing all past deeds dark and clear?
+
+  Oh, did love, sweet mistress of bliss,
+  Affrighted, vanish to shun death's kiss?
+  For radiant ones in the world above
+  Forget those whom on earth they love?
+
+  Oh, perfect death! Oh, dead most dear,
+  I hold the breath of my soul to hear!
+  I listen as deep as fathomless hell,
+  As high as heaven, nor will you tell!
+
+  There must be pleasure in dying, my sweet,
+  To make you so placid from head to feet!
+  I'd tell you, darling, if I were dead
+  And _your_ hot tears on _my_ cheeks shed,
+
+  I'd speak, though the angel of death had laid
+  His sword on my lips, their accents to shade.
+  Not in vain should you, with streaming eyes,
+  Beg to know Death's chief surprise.
+
+  Oh, foolish world! Oh, precious dead!
+  Tho' you tell me, who will believe 'twas said?
+  Who will believe I heard you say
+  In your own dear, kind familiar way:
+
+  "I can speak now--you listen with soul alone:
+  To the eyes of your soul _all_ shall be shown.
+  In this land of infinite bliss
+  The utmost wonder, dear one, is this:
+
+  "I see and love and kiss you again;
+  I smile at your triumph over pain;
+  I know your heart is honest and true;
+  I'm a guardian angel to you!
+
+  "What a strange, delicious amusement is death!
+  To live without being, to breathe without breath!
+  I should laugh did you not cry;
+  Listen, dear one, love never can die!
+
+  "I am now your heaven-decked bride;
+  My body and not my love has died!
+  Dear one, _it_ lies there, I know,
+  Pale and silent, cold as snow.
+
+  "And you say, 'May-Bell is dead.'
+  Weeping o'er my silent head!
+  _I_ can see your falling tears,
+  Hear your sighs and know your fears!
+
+  "Yet I smile and whisper this:
+  I am not the clay you kiss;
+  Cease your tears and let _it_ lie,
+  It was mine, but 'tis not _I_!
+
+  "Dear one, what the women love
+  For its silent home, the grave,
+  Is a garment I have quit,
+  As a tent no longer fit.
+
+  "'Tis a cage from which, at last,
+  My enraptured soul has passed.
+  Love the _inmate_, not the _room_,
+  Love the _wearer_, not the _plume_!
+
+  "_Love_ my _spirit_, not the _bars_,
+  That kept your May-Bell from the stars;
+  Be wise, dear one, and quickly dry
+  From every tear your laden eye.
+
+  "What you place upon the bier
+  Is not worth a lover's tear;
+  'Tis an empty shell at last,
+  Out of which the soul has passed.
+
+  "The shell is broken, _it_ lies _there_,
+  But the _pearl_, the _soul_, is _here_!
+  'Tis an earthen jar, whose lid
+  God sealed when it faintly hid
+
+  "The soul He made to live on high;
+  The mind that did not, cannot die.
+  Let the dross be earth's once more,
+  Since the gold is in His store.
+
+  "God is glorious! God is good!
+  Now His word is understood!
+  Life's ceaseless wonder is at an end,
+  Yet you weep, my erring friend!
+
+  "See, the lover _you_ call dead
+  To immortal bliss is wed!
+  Loves and homes you lost, 'tis true,
+  To such light as shines for you.
+
+  "Yet deep in your inmost soul
+  You shall feel my sweet control.
+  I'll be with you every hour,
+  Commissioned by Almighty Power,
+
+  "To guard each moment of your life
+  As best befits your angel wife!
+  At night I'll linger 'round your bed,
+  With an angel's noiseless tread;
+
+  "And while you, slumbering, dream of me,
+  I'll be present, love, with thee.
+  Where e'er you go, where e'er you stray,
+  I'll be near thee night and day,
+
+  "Guarding you with zealous care,
+  Pointing out life's every snare,
+  Chasing every tear away,
+  Aiding every joy to stay.
+
+  "Chide you when you go astray;
+  Bless you when you kneel to pray;
+  Lead you, with an unseen hand,
+  To view the wonders of a land
+
+  "Where Peace and Love and Perfect Joy
+  Tongue cannot name, nor peace destroy!
+  Shall ever bless the happy band,
+  As radiant 'round the throne they stand!
+
+  "Once there, we'll never part again,
+  But _time_, and _love_ while God shall reign.
+  I cannot, _dare not_, say farewell;
+  Where I am _now_ you, too, shall dwell.
+
+  "I am gone before your face,
+  A moment's time, a little space.
+  When you come where I have stepped
+  You'll greatly wonder why you wept!
+
+  "You'll know by Love Eternal taught
+  That Heaven is _all_, that earth is naught.
+  I beg you not to dread sweet death;
+  'Tis but the first and faintest breath
+
+  "Of the life that God hath given
+  To fit immortal souls for heaven!
+  Be _certain_, darling, _all_ seems love,
+  Viewed from the higher courts above!
+
+  "The cares and troubles that arise
+  Will prove sweet blessings in disguise;
+  They'll waft you to a home above,
+  Where I'll await your coming, Love!"
+
+  _I_ heard these words and fell on the breast
+  Of the peerless bride that heaven had dressed.
+  I yearned for those blissful regions above
+  With heart overflowed with passionate love.
+
+  My peerless flower, tho' nipped in youth,
+  Perennial shall bloom in the Garden of Truth!
+  I see in the distance a roseleaf hand
+  Beckoning me on to that glorious land.
+
+  Tho' parted on earth we'll meet in the sky,
+  Where bliss cannot perish, and love cannot die.
+  Oh, bliss supernal! Oh, rapture complete,
+  When earth-sundered ones in glory shall meet.
+
+  For years and years I've watched in vain
+  To see that buried face again;
+  In vain I've tried, with mortal eyes,
+  To pierce the mysteries of the skies!
+
+  Oh, sweetheart of the days of yore,
+  Shall we meet on earth no more?
+  Shall I languish all alone
+  Without one sympathetic tone--
+
+  One glance of love, one word of cheer
+  From eyes and lips I hold so dear?
+  Oh, hearken to my piteous cries,
+  Beloved one, and forsake the skies!
+
+  Oh, listen! Earth-born mortals, see!
+  My angel bride has come to me!
+  The self-same face--divinely fair--
+  And heaven-set jewels decked her hair.
+
+  Her laughing eye and glowing cheek
+  Eternal youth and bliss bespeak;
+  My head is pillowed on her breast,
+  My brow by her dear hands caressed!
+
+  The dulcet tones of her dear voice
+  Bids my aching heart rejoice;
+  She folds me 'neath her dazzling wings,
+  While all the heart within me sings!
+
+  Oh, list those melting tones of love,
+  More soft than note of cooing dove!
+  Oh, hear the words her dear lips speak:
+  "Death, dear one, is the boon to seek!
+
+  "False are the glittering gems of earth,
+  Eternity's gold is the gold of worth;
+  One moment in heaven is worth a life
+  Spent on earth 'mid care and strife!
+
+  "Death is but the dawn of day,
+  Destroying naught save worthless clay!
+  The soul lives on in rapturous bliss
+  More perfect than a virgin kiss!
+
+  "Oh, dear one, still your haunting fears;
+  The love, tho' lost, of earlier years
+  Awaits your coming to the skies,
+  And o'er you watch with jealous eyes,
+
+  "Lest earth detain you till too late
+  To enter heaven's wide open gate.
+  Oh, tarry not on earth too long,
+  But with me join immortal's song!"
+
+  She spake, and through the vaulted sky,
+  Beyond the reach of mortal eye,
+  She wings her rapid noiseless flight
+  And I am left alone tonight.
+
+  Nay, not alone; for in my soul
+  I feel a new-born sweet control
+  That lures me to a higher life,
+  Which will please an angel wife!
+
+  Farewell, prison blight and bars,
+  Mine is a home beyond the stars.
+  Welcome, Death, at any hour,
+  Since sin has lost her maddening power!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO
+
+CAPT. J. S. ACHESON._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Just consider, for one moment, all the good this man has done.
+  On full many a field of battle he the victory hath won;
+  Swept he with victorious Sherman from Atlanta to the sea,
+  Ever acting as a soldier, from all fear and malice free;
+  Proving true in every station, like a soldier tried and true,
+  He has earned and won the friendship of the boys who wore the blue!
+
+  Since his advent in this prison he has, with impartial mind,
+  Made it plain that every duty can be done and still be kind.
+  In his bosom rests no malice towards a single human soul;
+  'Tis his study, night and morning, all his passions to control.
+  He is willing every prisoner should become his honest _friend_,
+
+  And the prisoner's reformation he regards as _law's best trend_:
+  Crime, he deems is but the fruitage of conditions time can change.
+  He would lift his fallen brother and no rule of right derange!
+  Ever ready with the welcome of a smile and word of cheer,
+  Some may only be respected, but such men are ever dear.
+  O'er the path of life may Heaven scatter roses at his feet;
+  None will doubt that every christian shall _his_ face in heaven meet.
+
+
+
+
+_MY MOTHER._
+
+CARR.
+
+
+  One bright Sunday morn, as I sat in my cell,
+    My thoughts to the outside did roam;
+  The sweet songs of birds, as their notes rose and fell,
+    Turned my mind to my childhood's dear home.
+
+  Long years they have passed since I saw that dear spot,
+    But its sweet memories time can ne'er smother;
+  I can never forget that dear little cot
+    And the sweet loving smile of my mother.
+
+  In sickness or pain 'twas dear mother that brought
+    Her sweet self and her charms to allay it;
+  She learned me a prayer and she lovingly taught
+    Me to kneel at her knees and to say it.
+
+  God's word she would read, and impress on my mind
+    The love that's conveyed by that story
+  Of the Savior, who died that millions might find
+    Eternal rest in His realms of glory.
+
+  For years she's been dead, and her low, grassy mound
+    Reminds me that 'neath it lies sleeping
+  The dear friend of my youth, whose magic, I found,
+    Could bring smiles to my face e'en when weeping.
+
+  'Tis thus the dear birds, as they joyfully sing
+    And chirp happy calls to each other,
+  Remind me that perhaps they were sent for to bring
+    A message to me from my mother.
+
+  But, alas! as I think, upon my mind there quickly falls
+    The thoughts of my sad degredation;
+  The strong iron bars, and the grey, sombre walls,
+    Recall me to my sad situation.
+
+  But no more will I sin; I'll live upright for sure;
+    My passions and temptations I'll smother;
+  And when God calls me home to that bright shining shore
+    We'll be happy together, dear mother.
+
+
+
+
+_A MEMORIAL ODE._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Again the sacred day has come
+    When tears and flowers shall fall
+  On the graves of our sleeping heroes
+    Who died at Liberty's call.
+
+  And the tears we shed above them,
+    As our hearts with tenderness bled,
+  Is the crown of their matchless glory
+    And earth's divinest mead.
+
+  Their deeds on the field of battle
+    Were such as a god might do,
+  And the listening angels applauded
+    The work of the boys in blue.
+
+  The flag they died defending
+    Still floats above their grave,
+  And is loved by millions of freemen,
+    But never looked on by a slave.
+
+  The country they loved and bled for,
+    Still true to her sacred trust,
+  Will cover their names with glory
+    And revere their hallowed dust.
+
+  The comrades who still survive them,
+    Like gold in the furnace tried,
+  Speak, with tear-dimmed lashes,
+    Of the gallant boys that died.
+
+  These flowers will fade and perish,
+    Tho' hallowed by each grave;
+  But they will live forever
+    In the hearts of the true and the brave.
+
+  Then let this custom continue
+    Till tears and flowers shall cease,
+  And we shall greet the gallant boys
+    On the shores of endless peace.
+
+
+
+
+_LINES TO MY CELL._
+
+
+  Oh, silent and mysterious cell,
+  Could I command thy walls to tell
+  The secrets they have kept so long,
+  'T would be, indeed, a cheerless song.
+
+  A tale of crime, and tears, and pain,
+  The fruit, perhaps, of frenzied brain,
+  As none to crime yet ever sank
+  That had not first become a crank.
+
+  "The law of God and man defy,
+  A wretch you'll live, a felon die!"
+  These words seem to haunt my brain,
+  Perhaps it is the sad refrain
+
+  Of a song well known to thee;
+  Yet where its author now can be,
+  Save thee, perhaps no one can tell,
+  Thou grim, mysterious, silent cell.
+
+  Thy rocky floor has felt the tread
+  Of many a hapless one now dead;
+  Thy walls have echoed many a sigh,
+  Wrung from guilt's expiring eye.
+
+  While musing 'mid thy walls tonight
+  I seem to hear, with some affright,
+  The wail of many a blighted life,
+  The prayer of a despairing wife;
+
+  A mother, weeping for her child;
+  A father, grief has driven wild.
+  And then--I pray thee silence keep;
+  'Twere best to let thy secrets sleep.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A TRIBUTE TO DR. G. A. THARP._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Arise, my Muse, and tune your harp
+  To ring the praises of a Tharp;
+  His cultured mind and noble soul
+  Truth and virtue both control.
+
+  Tell the world his perfect skill
+  Can conquer every human ill
+  That lends to science or to art,
+  From shattered limb to dormant heart.
+
+  Each pill and potion that he makes
+  Relieves your pain and health awakes:
+  And should he use the surgeon's knife,
+  He never will sacrifice a life.
+
+  His skilfull fingers place a band
+  As gently as a woman's hand;
+  And not one patient needs to feel
+  That he the truth will not reveal.
+
+  The poor regard him as their friend,
+  And on his bounty oft depend;
+  Well knowing that his generous heart
+  Dares to act a christian part!
+
+  Long may this noble doctor live,
+  Ease to suffering men to give;
+  And meet the summons to depart
+  With the skill he wooes his art.
+
+
+
+
+_AN APPRECIATED FRIEND._
+
+
+  She is a pretty little lass,
+    Half human, half divine;
+  And for an angel she would pass
+    In Heaven's lovely clime.
+
+  Her hair is locks of flowing gold,
+    Her ways are cute and wise;
+  And her form is lithe and graceful,
+    With pretty bright blue eyes.
+
+  Her manners are just perfect.
+    Her nature kind and true;
+  She is a real philanthropist
+    When charity is due.
+
+  She strives to cheer those sad at heart,
+    And well she does succeed;
+  And stays the ever painful dart
+    That often fate does speed.
+
+  How different from so many folk
+    Who frown upon the one
+  Who, by some simple words he spoke,
+    Caused "crime" to have been done.
+
+  Although the cruel knife of fate
+    Has made an awful wound,
+  In her kind words, that come but late,
+    Sweet balm for sorrow's found.
+
+  Oh, that this wicked, wicked world
+    Could boast more such friendly souls!
+  Less lives would be so sadly hurled
+    Into a pit of earthly ghouls,
+  Where nothing's saved, but all is lost;
+
+  And where man's cast, at any cost,
+  Into a dismal, prison dell--
+  A gloomy, dreary, earthly hell!
+
+  Come, of such friends arise and sing,
+  With thanks returned to heaven's king!
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+
+
+
+_SALOME'S REVENGE._
+
+
+  Arise, my Muse, spread out thy wings,
+    Prepare to soar away!
+  Tune up thy harp for endless joy,
+    And turn night into day.
+
+  Go dream of Paradise sublime
+    In the old Empire State!
+  And when you're done return to me
+    Your story to relate.
+
+  In time gone by--in days of yore--
+    There lived, in forests wild,
+  Two families of ancient stock,
+    And each one had a child.
+
+  The children of both parentage
+    Were born in this country;
+  They amassed immensely fortunes
+    In this America.
+
+  The Waddington's were pure Scotch blood,
+    And raised one daughter fair;
+  They gave her name of Sadie,
+    She'd blue eyes and golden hair.
+
+  Her cheeks were rich with crimson glow,
+    Her lips were thin and cute,
+  And many an anxious lover
+    She sternly did refute.
+
+  Her dainty hands and flowing hair,
+    And graceful curves of form
+  Would make one's heart quite palpitate--
+    She carried all by storm.
+
+  Trueman Waddington was a man
+    Who loved his daughter--heir,
+  And as he rolled in endless wealth
+    He watched his child's welfare.
+
+  Their nearest neighbor was St. Lawrence,
+    Who lived a little way
+  Off on the rugged mountain side,
+    Where children like to play.
+
+  Two children he had buried
+    When they were yet quite young,
+  And now he was a happy man
+    'Cause he reared an only son.
+
+  This son he named him Trueman,
+    Because he liked the name,
+  And tho't 'twould be in honor
+    Of his neighbor of the same.
+
+  "As an act of kindness and of love,"
+    Old Waddington did say,
+  "Because you named him after me
+    I pledge my Sade, today."
+
+  The two old friends called in their wives
+    And asked them to consent
+  To seal the bargain for each child
+    On which they were both bent.
+
+  The mothers thought it rather soon
+    To tie so firm a knot,
+  And begged them not to seal their doom
+    By such a foolish plot.
+
+  But Trueman Waddington was not
+    A man to easy quit,
+  And he argued long and labored strong
+    In a half way frenzied fit.
+
+  He said: "I know we are both rich
+    In lands and kine and gold,
+  And why not join these vast fortunes
+    Before they are all sold?
+
+  "You've named your only son from me;
+    Trueman it is, _True-Man_ he'll be,
+  And now must I sit by in shame
+    And cannot seal my daughter's fame?"
+
+  Then spake the elder man St. Lawrence:
+    "Dear sir, my neighbor and my friend,
+  You have my heart and soul and mind,
+    And these vast fortunes I will bind
+
+  "Together with true chords of love.
+    God help our children find
+  A part their mothers will not take
+    In this, to seal their children's fate.
+
+  "Now let me, please, suggest a way
+    To reach this matter of today;
+  And we will friendly make the deal
+    So lawyers cannot break the seal."
+
+  Then Waddington sprang to his feet,
+    And warmly did his neighbors greet;
+  Then shook him warmly by the hand,
+    And said, "Come, let us seal the band."
+
+  And then with fixed and mellow eye
+    He gazed on high as he stood by
+  His rugged friend and neighbor, too,
+    Then St. Lawrence bade him what to do.
+
+  "My dear old friend, sit down, sit down;
+    'Tis easy for us now to drown
+  All obstacles that's in our way
+    To carry out our plan today."
+
+  Then he proceeded to relate
+    How easy men in Empire State
+  Could call in witness to their deed
+    And satisfy all fortune's creed.
+
+  "Now, look-a-here, my friend St. Lawrence,
+    You cannot be too quick
+  To tell me how we'll do all this
+    And make this bargain stick."
+
+  And then the sage St. Lawrence did say:
+    "Look here, my friend, here is our way!
+  I'll make my will of my estate
+    (And that, you know, is very great,)
+
+  "Unto your fair and lovely child,
+    If she refrains from being wild,
+  And when she weds she weds my son,
+    My noble, brave and kind Trueman.
+
+  "Then you, my friend, reciprocate;
+    You make your will of this same date,
+  And seal as I do mine;
+    Make True, my son, your legatee,
+
+  "And to him give, in simple fee,
+    Your lands, your goods, your kine, your cash,
+  All in one grand and mighty crash,
+    If he your daughter weds."
+
+  The witnesses were duly called;
+    The wills were then prepared;
+  The testators did sign their names,
+    The children they well fared.
+
+  The documents were laid away
+    In vaults of solid rock;
+  There safely for the children kept,
+    Their heritage of stock.
+
+  Years, years rolled on and Trueman grew
+    To be a handsome man.
+  He said: "I'm bound to be "M. D."
+    And do the best I can."
+
+  Sadie, on the other hand,
+    Grew to be a queen;
+  And when to college she did go
+    Trueman there was seen.
+
+  They played at home, when they were young,
+    Upon the mountain side,
+  And never once did they mistrust
+    They'd be both groom and bride.
+
+  When Trueman closed his college course
+    He off to Gotham went,
+  To become an adept in his class
+    While on his mission bent.
+
+  Sadie, on the other hand,
+    When she had closed her term,
+  Returned unto her mountain home,
+    For which she hourly yearned.
+
+  Two years had changed this happy home
+    To one most sadly grieved;
+  The mother of this lovely girl
+    Had sadly been deceived.
+
+  She, down upon her death bed lay,
+    When in came Sadie one bright day
+  And gazed upon the shrunken form
+    Which now had battled life's hard storm.
+
+  Poor Sadie, with a broken heart,
+    She did the best to take her part;
+  But long the sickness did not last,
+    Because her mother now soon passed
+
+  From time into eternity,
+    Where the human soul is ever free.
+  Trueman now, in city fashion,
+    Had let die out his old-time passion
+
+  For rocks and rills and mountain side,
+    Where dwelt the queen who'd be his bride.
+  So much for selfish, erring man;
+    He'll do the best where e'er he can.
+
+  Time, time rolled on, when Sadie's sire,
+    With renewed youth and boyhood ire,
+  Took to himself another wife,
+    And tried anew to live his life.
+
+  The new-made mistress of the home
+    (Who had no place she called her own)
+  Was mother of a daughter fair,
+    With dimpled cheeks and flowing hair.
+
+  The madame's name was Maria;
+    _Her_ daughter's was Sarah.
+  She soon was boss of all the house,
+    And Sadie driven like a mouse
+
+  Into the cold and cheerless world.
+    Sadie, with a broken heart,
+  Prayed her father take her part;
+    But he, with proud and dire disdain,
+    Forever did refrain.
+
+  Then Sadie, on her mother's grave,
+    Prayed loud and long for God to save
+  Her soul from earthly wreck.
+    Then, with a palpitating heart,
+
+  With one fond look she did depart
+    To battle hard with broken heart;
+  While daughter and a second wife
+    Should all but ruin her young life.
+
+  But father did as fathers do,
+    When their list of wives have numbered _two_;
+  He lent his daughter a deaf ear,
+    For his second wife he then did fear.
+
+  His life was short; he soon became
+    A victim to a raging pain,
+  Which soon relieved him from this life
+    And bore him off from life's hard strife.
+
+  They laid him low beside his wife,
+    The pride and joy of Sadie's life;
+  But Sadie knew not of the fate
+    Her father had so sadly met.
+
+  The new-made widow, without tear,
+    Prepared to move, within a year,
+  To far and distant foreign land,
+    Where neither had a single friend.
+
+  The goods were sold, the stock and kine;
+    The lands were leased for a long time;
+  The two, with pockets filled with gold,
+    Sailed for Paris with joys untold.
+
+  Young Sarah, who was quite a belle,
+    When in old Paris she did swell
+  Her wardrobe with both silk and lace,
+    And numerous paints to ply her face.
+
+  She was the very counterpart--
+    Although 'tis strange to say--
+  Of pretty _Sadie_ Waddington
+    In all her dainty ways.
+
+  She spread herself around, about,
+    In all society's halls,
+  And never failed, when chance availed,
+    To attend the stylish balls.
+
+  She was a favorite with them all,
+    In fact, the Queenly Belle,
+  And many a suitor's prayer she heard
+    While on bended knee he fell.
+
+  One evening while on promenade
+    Within society's halls,
+  She met a handsome, tall young man
+    She'd seen at some of the balls.
+
+  When introduced, both their eyes met,
+    She blushing timidly;
+  He heard the name, "Miss Waddington,"
+    Then asked most courteously:
+
+  "From what part of America's soil
+    Do you and your friends hail?
+  Or have you lived in Paris long?
+    On what liner did you sail"?
+
+  She said: "I'm Sadie Waddington,
+    From the city that bears my name;
+  It borders on the old St. Lawrence,
+    A river of world-wide fame."
+
+  Then spake the handsome gentleman:
+    "I, too, am from that place;
+  And if you are Sadie Waddington,
+    I ought to know your face."
+
+  Her cheeks grew flushed and flushed again,
+    As on her he searchingly gazed;
+  She looked up in his solemn face
+    And saw he was greatly amazed.
+
+  It was Trueman St. Lawrence she saw,
+    As she gazed on his beautiful form;
+  She was more than bewitching in her ways
+    To capture him all by storm.
+
+  The Doctor went to his hotel
+    To ponder the matter o'er:
+  "That's not the Sadie Waddington
+    I've seen in days of yore."
+
+  His brain was puzzled, his face was flushed.
+    He was in a frenzied mood;
+  He could not fathom the mystery
+    To do the best he could.
+
+  If that's the girl in days of youth
+    I played with on the mountain side,
+  Before I leave this old city
+    I'll make her my darling bride.
+
+  So saying, he sank upon his couch,
+    And slept in dreams so rich and gay
+  That loud his servant called and called,
+    Because 'twas late--far in the day.
+
+  That day he had a trip to make
+    Unto a neighboring town,
+  And visited a hospital
+    Kept by a Doctor Brown.
+
+  In passing from one of the wards,
+    While in the open door,
+  He chanced to turn, and looking back
+    Saw, kneeling on the floor,
+
+  With outstretched arms and pleading eyes,
+    The girl for years he had not seen;
+  She'd grown into full womanhood,
+    She was a perfect fairy Queen.
+
+  "What! what!" he cried, "am I deceived?
+    If I'm my father's son
+  That girl I see back yonder
+    Is _Sadie Waddington_!"
+
+  He hastened back to where she knelt,
+    And bade her to arise,
+  And clasped her to his manly breast,
+    While tears rose in his eyes.
+
+  Then 'tween her sobs and moans and groans
+    She slowly did relate
+  How she was driven from her home
+    Back in the Empire State.
+
+  She told of awful suffering,
+    Of wandering far and near;
+  Of the death of father and mother,
+    To her _all_ that was dear.
+
+  She told him how she had returned
+    Unto her mountain dome,
+  And as she was told that all had been sold,
+    She was left without a home.
+
+  The Doctor stood transfixed with awe;
+    Listened to her relate
+  The story of the sale of all,
+    Back in the Empire State.
+
+  The Doctor said: "My dear Sadie,
+    It matters not a bit to me
+  Whether you have lands, or goods, or gold,
+    I have vast fortunes yet untold.
+
+  "What's mine is yours; 'tis always so,
+    My father told me long ago,
+  Before I left the Empire State
+    And came over here to study late.
+
+  "I offer you my heart and hand,
+    And pledge to seal it with the band
+  Of holy wedlock, faithfully.
+    Now set your heart forever free
+
+  "From labor and the toils of life,--
+    Come, say you'll be my darling wife!
+  I feel a pang about my heart
+    That pierces like a flashing dart."
+
+  "Oh, True. St. Lawrence! Oh, can it be
+    That you do really care for me?
+  I, who have lived by a false name
+    To hide a step-mother's wicked shame?
+
+  "For five long years my name has been
+    (As you directly would have seen),
+  Not Sadie W., as you have known,
+    But the Sadie changed to plain Salome.
+
+  "The Waddington I changed, also,
+    For the common name of Van Harlow;
+  Then among strangers I did seek
+    For work to do, although 'twas meek.
+
+  "I came across the ocean wide,
+    As servant to a new-made bride;
+  She was taken sick and died out here
+    Before she'd been a bride a year.
+
+  "Since then I've cared for poor and sick,
+    And cannot leave them now, so quick.
+  I patients have who _must_ have care
+    Before _I_ leave for better fare.
+
+  "Now True, my dear, I'll be your own;
+    I'll make you an ever happy home;
+  I feel Pa's oft' spoke words are true,
+    Trueman's your name, _True Man_ are you."
+
+  He pressed her closely to his breast:
+    To dry her tears he did his best;
+  Then gently kissed her burning cheeks
+    And bade her wait but a few weeks.
+
+  The happiest man in all the land
+    Was True. St. Lawrence, with trembling hand,
+  Who then returned to his rooms rich,
+    A restless night to roll and pitch
+
+  Upon a bed of faultless down,
+    But pains of heart it could not drown.
+  He lay and mused throughout the night,
+    'Cause his future now looked bright.
+
+  _Sarah_ Waddington and her mother
+    Prepared a party for another.
+  A gent they wished to entertain,
+    'Cause Sarah wished to bear his name.
+
+  "It is to be a swell affair,
+    So she could safely set her snare
+  To catch the unsuspecting True,
+    Because he loves and loves but you."
+
+  So spake the mother to her child,
+    Who seemed delighted--almost wild--
+  To think that she could play her part
+    Without remorse or pain at heart.
+
+  The time rolled on, and days were spent
+    In fixing up for the event;
+  The rich were called from every side
+    To see Sarah--the would-be bride.
+
+  She sent a most bewitching note
+    For Dr. 'Lawrence to cast the vote,
+  Who'd be the Belle of honor, bright,
+    To bear the graces of the night.
+
+  The Doctor smiled, as he sat down
+    To answer it, without a frown;
+  And faithfully he did outline,
+    In characters most cute and fine:
+
+  "My choice is one, and only one;
+    And now I've written and 'tis done!
+  As sure as I'm my father's son,
+    'Tis one--fair _Sadie_ Waddington!
+
+  "And now, before it is too late,
+    There's one request I have to make:
+  That I be granted then, or sooner,
+    To be escort to the maid of honor."
+
+  "Your request is at once granted,
+    And hope we'll become enchanted;
+  And with your presence'll be elated,
+    Because, it seems, we are related".
+
+  Fair Sarah, then, did make it known
+    (Real quietly about her home)
+  That she and 'Lawrence, raised side by side,
+    Would soon become both groom and bride.
+
+  Silks and diamonds bought with gold,
+    Gotten from the kine she'd sold
+  'Way back in the Empire State,
+    Where poor Sadie met her fate.
+
+  Just one week before the eve'
+    When he Sarah would deceive,
+  Trueman went to see his love,
+    Who was pretty as a dove.
+
+  "Sadie," said he, "sweet is revenge!
+    Let us now your labor change.
+  The ones who drove you to your fate,
+    Away back in the Empire State,
+
+  "Are here in Paris this long time,
+    And live in luxury sublime.
+  The gold they got from off your kine,
+    It goes for suppers and for wine.
+
+  "In holy wedlock let us wed,
+    I'll lead you to a bridal bed;
+  And then in luxury and state
+    We'll 'tend the ball ere 'tis too late".
+
+  I'll humble them in dust and shame!
+    Ah, Sadie, you were not to blame!
+  _We'll_ make them wish they'd never sold
+    Your goods and kine for glittering gold!
+
+  "Come, darling, now we'll off today,
+    The bridal knot to firmly tie.
+  Then I your graceful swanlike neck
+    With pearls and rubys will bedeck.
+
+  "I'll trim your lovely graceful form
+    With richest satin to be worn:
+  I'll place upon your tapered hand
+    A solitaire, set in gold band.
+
+  "Your dainty feet encased in kid
+    Of dainty styles, they're only made
+  For those who're called the name of Queens,
+    And bought by those who have vast means.
+
+  "Then to the ball we'll proudly go,
+    (And who we'll meet I do not know,)
+  I'll there present to every one
+    My bride, _true_ Sadie Waddington.
+
+  "The shock, so sudden, will be great;
+    They'll quail beneath their hearts own hate
+  Of being there exposed to all;
+    Oh, won't it be an awful fall?
+
+  "Come, Sadie dear, revenge is sweet!
+    Now is our chance to get your mete
+  Which they have held from you so long,
+    And did you such a cruel wrong."
+
+  Then Sadie spoke: "Trueman, my dear,
+    There's naught I know for me to fear.
+  Revenge _is_ sweet, although 'tis queer,
+    Revenge I get in Paris here."
+
+  They carried out their little plot,
+    And never skipped a single jot.
+  The eve was fine, the folk were gay,
+    And not a thing stood in their way.
+
+  It was quite late when they arrived
+    At the mansion of the would-be bride.
+  As soon as Doctor stepped in sight,
+    Escorting Sadie--his delight--
+
+  Sarah saw the graceful form
+    And, with one scream, she left the room,
+  And fell fainting to the floor.
+    They gently laid her on the couch
+
+  Before the open door.
+    Her mother came in haste to see
+  What all the trouble there could be,
+    And did not see the Doctor's bride
+
+  Until she was close by her side.
+    And when she saw it was too late,
+  She gasped: "Oh, Sarah's met her fate,"
+    Then fell into a deathly state.
+
+  The mother swooned and swooned away
+    The entire night and most the day;
+  And then the Doctor came to say,
+    "Her life is run, she cannot stay!"
+
+  Sadie, with trained and skillful hand,
+    Nursed Sarah back to conscious-land;
+  Did faithfully the watchword keep
+    While often o'er them she did weep.
+
+  And, just before the mother died,
+    She Sadie called to her bedside
+  And begged her to full pardon give
+    For cruel wrong she did receive.
+
+  Sadie, always so good and true,
+    Said she always thought she knew
+  That the grand day would surely come
+    When that great wrong would be undone.
+
+  She granted full, complete pardon
+    For all the wrongs the dame had done,
+  And then she spoke kind words of cheer
+    Into the madam's dying ear.
+
+  With firm-set eyes and drooping chin
+    The madame grasped and tried to cling
+  Unto the hand she once did scorn,
+    And drove from home at break of morn.
+
+  She then was wrapt in eternal death,
+    And from her soul came not a breath.
+  In casket pure as driven snow
+    Unto the churchyard she did go,
+
+  And there was laid beneath the clay
+    To await Jehovah's Judgment Day.
+  All lands and goods and gold and kine
+    She left behind for endless time!
+
+  Poor Sarah! doomed to awful fate,
+    Her mind was left in ruined state;
+  In raving madness and in strife
+    She tried to take our Sadie's life.
+
+  The best physicians in the land
+    Were summoned forth on every hand
+  To try and bring her from the strife
+    Back to the land of happy life.
+
+  Off to an asylum she must go,
+    'Cause 'twas not safe to leave her so;
+  And with good care she might regain
+    And be relieved from mental pain.
+
+  Salome, our faithful lass and bride,
+    Resolved to stay by Sarah's side
+  And help her regain her lost mind,
+    And comfort for her she would find.
+
+  Nine weeks were spent in mad-house fare,
+    Salome bestowing tender care
+  Upon the one who once did face
+    Salome in all her dire disgrace.
+
+  When Doctor St. Lawrence saw his wife
+    Was bent on battling for the life
+  Of one who was once her mad foe,
+    He said: "All right, it shall be so."
+
+  Salome, she clung unto her charge,
+    As if she were her dearest friend;
+  She incurred expenses somewhat large
+    To treat her patient to the end.
+
+  The Doctor soon began to learn
+    His bride and wife would never spurn
+  The one who once her home did take,
+    And drove her off for mere pride's sake.
+
+  He asked Salome what she would do
+    In case that Sarah did pull through,
+  And once again her mind regain
+    Before they crossed the raging main.
+
+  Salome did quickly make reply,
+    While glistening tears stood in her eye:
+  "I'll take her to old Empire State,
+    Right to the door where I met fate!
+
+  "I'll make her happy, if I can,
+    And now I'll form my little plan:
+  We must, dear True, just do our best,
+    And fix her up in a cosy nest.
+
+  "We will give her a little home
+    On the beautiful mountain side;
+  We will find her a handsome lover
+    Who'll be proud to call her his bride.
+
+  "We will give them all attention
+    That the best of friends could do;
+  We will _return good for evil_,
+    'Cause my mother taught me so.
+
+  "Let us show that true religion
+    Is the life we ought to live,
+  And the ways that Christ rejoiced in
+    Are the ways to which we cleave.
+
+  "Oh, my husband, dearest Trueman,
+    I believe in Sarah reigns
+  The true principle of goodness--
+    Let us fan that spark to flames.
+
+  "Can I now secure her safely,
+    Teach her shun her evil ways
+  And discard that haughty spirit
+    That she learned in younger days,
+
+  "I will be the happiest mortal
+    Ever lived on mother earth,
+  And will reach that heavenly portal
+    Only reached by second birth."
+
+  After coaxing, begging, teasing,
+    Sarah consented for to go
+  Back across the ocean, raging,
+    Where her childhood seeds did sow.
+
+  When they reached the harbor safely,
+    Bag and baggage on the truck,
+  They cast lots to see what steamer
+    They would choose for their good luck.
+
+  Doctor got the choice of vessels,
+    And he quickly did decide
+  That the City of St. Paris
+    Should take their _protege_ and his bride.
+
+  Safely in the vessel's cabin,
+    Housed in cosy stateroom there,
+  All were ready for the voyage,
+    And did look for cheerful fare.
+
+  Out upon the briny billows,
+    Just three days and nights, 'twas said,
+  When the night was dark and dreary,
+    Trueman rose from sleepless bed.
+
+  There was something weighed upon him,
+    Something whispered to beware;
+  He dressed and went upon the deck
+    To breathe the crisp sea air.
+
+  He paced and paced the vessel's deck
+    With long and manly stride;
+  He went from starboard o'er to port
+    And back to starboard side.
+
+  He'd been upon the deck some time,
+    And peered into the gloom
+  As if them something overawed
+    And threatened them with doom.
+
+  At last, to port, he spied a fleck,
+    A dancing on the waves,
+  And there he plainly saw a deck
+    Bedecked with pirate knaves.
+
+  The vessel, with a dark-hued hull,
+    Bore straightway on its course,
+  When, "_Hard to port! To port! to port!_"
+    Rang out a voice real coarse.
+
+  The strange boat glided swiftly on,
+    Like a ghost on phantom wings,
+  While the crisp sea breeze went dancing past
+    And through her rigging sings.
+
+  The strange boat slipped along, across
+    The briny billows white,
+  And their steamer ploughed and labored hard
+    Along its renewed flight.
+
+  It was a close and dangerous call,
+    Because the night was dark;
+  Had they collided there, on the ocean bare,
+    They'd went down with their bark.
+
+  The voyage, then, to Gotham
+    Was stormy and quite rough,
+  And all agreed, when landed,
+    That they had quite enough.
+
+  They then all took the railroad train
+    North, through the Empire State,
+  And soon were on the mountain side
+    Where Sadie met her fate.
+
+  The first place Sadie wished to see
+    Was graves of father and mother,
+  And tripping lightly from the yard,
+    She passed out with another.
+
+  That bitter morn, with memories fresh,
+    When from her home she'd fled,
+  She was scorned by one _now_ too glad
+    To lead her on ahead.
+
+  When she approached her mother's grave
+    The tears rolled thick and fast,
+  And by her side poor Sarah stood,
+    With memories of the past
+
+  A fitting through her guilty mind:
+    And then she spoke at last:
+  "Oh, Sadie, Sadie, what a blot
+    Upon my mother's past;
+
+  It stings within my guilty heart,
+    And would to God I now could part
+  With half the pain I feel--
+    The balm of Christ could scarcely heal."
+
+  She stooped, and silently did press
+    Her fresh and rosy lips
+  Upon the little mound of grass
+    "Beneath--dear mother sleeps."
+
+  Then Sarah, with most tender words,
+    Pressed Sadie to her breast
+  And with a fervent, heartfelt plea,
+    Prayed both them to be blest.
+
+  When they returned unto their home,
+    Their friendship sealed with silent love,
+  They could not bear to be alone;
+    They felt a power from up above.
+
+  Old friends and neighbors, with delight,
+    Called on the Doctor and his bride,
+  And there convened, on the first night,
+    A host of friends who're on their side.
+
+  There's one among them old and gray,
+    Who'd lived right there for all his life;
+  'Tis the elder man and sage, St. Lawrence,
+    And he smiles upon the Doctor's wife.
+
+  Heir to the Waddington estate,
+    Sadie reigns the queen of all;
+  Her friendship for Sarah was great,
+    And sister her did often call.
+
+  The Doctor chose to spend his life
+    Upon the handsome mountain side
+  With Sadie, his true loving wife,
+    And Father St. Lawrence until he died.
+
+  Time rolled around and months flew by;
+    Sadie and Sarah, hand in hand,
+  Sealed by the firmest friendship tie,
+    Two of the truest in the land.
+
+  There chanced to stroll from distant clime
+    A bright young man of Sadie's kin;
+  Came to visit in Summer time,
+    And Sarah was introduced to him.
+
+  Sadie tried her best to make a match,
+    And championed well her cause;
+  Sarah viewed it as a catch
+    That one very seldom draws.
+
+  Though 'twas but a short acquaintance,
+    Still the wedding time was fixed;
+  The intended groom had patience,
+    'Cause he felt he was not rich.
+
+  Sadie, sweet as dewy honey,
+    Wishing that her friends should wed,
+  Proffered home and lands and money
+    If the word would just be said.
+
+  "I am heir to all this fortune,
+    Known as Waddington's estate;
+  Come, now, Sarah; come, now, Hawthorne,
+    Join your hearts ere 'tis too late.
+
+  "I will give to you a large farm
+    Yonder on the mountain side;
+  I will give you kine and money,
+    If you'll be my cousin's bride."
+
+  Sarah spake, with dewy eyelids,
+    To the one she loved so dear:
+  "Sadie, I am anything but worthy
+    Of this princely gift, to cheer
+
+  "My poor broken, wicked heart,
+    After I have been so bad;
+  You should never take _my_ part,
+    Since _I_ took that which _you_ had."
+
+  Yet Sadie, true to her own passion,
+    Promised deed in fee for all,
+  If Sarah would wed her own cousin,
+    Ere the Summer ran to Fall.
+
+  So the wedding day was fixed
+    When the two should be made one,
+  And their home, as she predicted,
+    Would be deeded as their own.
+
+  When at last the nuptial greeting
+    Was received on every hand,
+  The sage, St. Lawrence, came to their meeting,
+    The last one left of their quartet band.
+
+  The wedding knot was duly tied,
+    And the folk were feeling gay;
+  They were now made happy groom and bride,
+    Starting out in life's pathway.
+
+  When the ceremony was over,
+    And the gifts they were bestowing--
+  Bridal gifts as sweet as clover--
+    Sadie, with her rich hair flowing,
+
+  Called the old 'Squire of the city
+    That to witness of her signing
+  The transfer of title fair,
+    To the land that lay up there;
+
+  When, to her surprise and chagrin,
+    Father St. Lawrence, with gentle voice,
+  Told her that she could not bargain,
+    For she had not even choice.
+
+  "Now, my daughter, not one farthing
+    Of this vast and rich estate
+  Has been left unto True's darling,
+    Now, I tell you, 'tis not too late.
+
+  "All this land you tho't was yours
+    By inheritance of your blood,
+  Was bequeathed by your dear father
+    To one you never thought he would".
+
+  Now, I've brought the Judge of Probate
+    As an honored guest of _mine_,
+  That he might reveal the truth,
+    That it might be writ in rhyme.
+
+  Then, to soothe the disappointment,
+    The old judge with silvery hair
+  Drew from 'neath his outer garment,
+    Two old papers kept with care.
+
+  One was read by him to Sadie,
+    Where her father had endowed
+  All his lands, and kine and money
+    On the one who made her proud.
+
+  When this document was ended,
+    And was handed to Trueman,
+  The old sage, St. Lawrence, pretended
+    That he enjoyed youth again.
+
+  "Read, Judge! read your other paper!
+    Tell my daughter here the truth;
+  Tell her what their anxious fathers
+    Did for them while in their youth."
+
+  When the document was ended,
+    With tears showering down her face,
+  Sadie, kisses, sweetly blended,
+    While she held him in embrace.
+
+  Long their fortunes had been blended
+    By the signatures alone
+  Of their fathers in their child days,
+    As they played around their home.
+
+  "True, my dear; O will you come here?
+    Sign this deed! Come quick, O do;
+  Carry out my simple wishes;
+    Sarah is my friend, so true."
+
+  "Yes, my darling, this with pleasure
+    I will do, to please you all;
+  It is my most pleasant leisure
+    To do bidding at your call."
+
+  So, the deed of gift was given,
+    And in happiness they'd start;
+  From that home they'd ne'er be driven,
+    Life anew to never part.
+
+  There in happiness and comfort
+    Did they live upon the place
+  Where the evil of proud passion
+    Smothered one in dire disgrace.
+
+  Happy was Salome and Trueman
+    When they saw their _protege_ safe
+  In the hands of Cousin Hawthorne,
+    On the Waddington old place.
+
+  Safe within the coils of homelife,
+    Safe within the cottage walls,
+  Safely with a trusting husband,
+    Safe within their friendly calls.
+
+  Thus the vengeance of our Hero
+    Was full spent to meet her theme;
+  Yet so different from a Nero,
+    Because she knew she could redeem.
+
+  Salome's revenge was to her sweet,
+    'Cause she'd conquered, not cut down;
+  Now she feared no one to meet,
+    Nor would any wear a frown.
+
+  Though some years had been so bitter,
+    And had fraught such cruel pain;
+  Now the coldest of the winter
+    Seemed like flowery beds of green.
+
+  Now, away up on the mountains,
+    In the well known Empire State,
+  Sadie Waddington is living
+    In sweet REVENGE, where she met fate.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A TRIBUTE TO CAPT. GEORGE W. HESS._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Almost a decade thou hast battled with a patriot's band,
+  Whose first duty is devotion to their native land;
+  And no comrade but is willing, with a ready mind,
+  To declare thee brave and loyal to all mankind.
+
+  In thy country's hour of peril, on the battle field,
+  Thou wert ever more than willing all her rights to shield,
+  And, with true and loyal purpose, battled for the right,
+  Till secession's traitorous banner sunk in endless night!
+
+  Duty's path to thee is glory, glory easy won;
+  For a task so oft repeated is quite easy done;
+  Yet no one can ever chide, for thy generous heart
+  Ne'er will crush the poor and helpless with oppression's dart.
+
+  Every prisoner knows and likes thee, for thy friendly ways
+  Must attract their close attention and excite their praise;
+  And the few who know thee better, as a man of heart,
+  Would desire no nobler mission than to take thy part.
+
+  May you live in peace and plenty, happy with your own,
+  Till Jehovah's love shall gather 'round His august throne
+  All who, like you, honest comrade, follows heaven's plan
+  And respects the rules of virtue and the rights of man.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_MY LAWYER._
+
+
+  When grappled in the law's embrace,
+  Who first betrayed an anxious face
+  And fain would shield me from disgrace?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who told me I should not confess,
+  That he would all my wrongs redress
+  And set me free from all distress?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  When, sick in jail, I senseless lay,
+  Who took my watch and case away,
+  Lest prowling thieves on me should prey?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who to my wealth tenacious clung,
+  And for me wagged his oily tongue,
+  And at my foes hot embers flung?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who told me he was dreadful smart
+  And knew the law-books all by heart,
+  And always took his client's part?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who, in the court, with peerless pride,
+  My rights affirmed, my guilt denied,
+  And swore the State's attorney lied?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  And when twelve men, in one compound,
+  For me a guilty verdict found,
+  Who came to stanch the bleeding wound?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who said my time within the wall
+  Would be exceeding brief and small,
+  The minimum, or none at all?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  And when the judge my doom proclaimed,
+  And three long years of exile named,
+  Who looked indignant and ashamed?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  When, at the sheriff's stern command,
+  I for the train was told to stand,
+  Who longest shook and squeezed my hand?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who, when he had me safe confined,
+  No more concerned his crafty mind,
+  Nor was, for me, to grief inclined?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who closed the mortgage on my lot,
+  And drove my family from my cot,
+  And left them homeless on the spot?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+  Who, when of prison clothes I'm stripped,
+  And from these walls am homeward shipped,
+  Will get himself immensely whipped?
+                  My Lawyer.
+
+[Written by Mr. George Gilbert, who died on the 9th of June, A. D.
+1890.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_A SAD WARNING._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  In prison cell, at early twilight,
+    Smoking Foesters "Best Cigar,"
+  Sat a convict, little dreaming
+    Aught his perfect bliss could mar.
+
+  Round the cell-block, slowly ambling,
+    Came a "Screw," on mischief bent,
+  And his wide, expanded nostrils
+    Quickly inhaled the welcome scent.
+
+  Wave on wave, thro' latticed iron,
+    Smoky clouds rose thick and high,
+  And the happy convict murmured:
+    "Go, ye cloudlets, greet the sky!"
+
+  But the cloudlets, incense laden,
+    Lingered near the oaken floor,
+  Till the "Screw," with cat-like motion,
+    Stood before the smoker's door.
+
+  In the spittoon, charred and sputtering,
+    Lay the smoker's joy and pride;
+  And the "Screw," exultant, murmured:
+    "Stackhouse will _this case_ decide."
+
+  Morning dawned. The "cellar agent"
+    Bore the trembling wretch away
+  To a cellar, cold and gloomy,
+    Where the tools of torture lay.
+
+  Blows and shrieks alternate sounded,
+    And a voice from near the floor
+  Murmured: "Stackhouse! MERCY! MERCY!!
+    P-l-e-a-s-e, sir; _I will smoke no more_!"
+
+  From the cellar, shorn and shaven,
+    Skulked the cowering "con." away;
+  And he smokes--but, Oh! how watchful
+    Is that victim, who can say?
+
+  All ye inmates, take the warning,
+    Gushing from a brother's heart:
+  He who smokes within these portals
+    For the dire offense _may_ smart!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TO J. C. LANGENBERGER, CAPTAIN OF THE O. P. NIGHT
+WATCH._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  Just to all men, to all men kind and true;
+
+  Conspicuous as a giant yet comely to the view;
+
+  Loved by all who know him, trusted everywhere;
+  Always more than willing to ease his fellow's care;
+  Never harsh or cruel, never false or base;
+  Going in and coming out among those in disgrace,
+  Earning from each prisoner's heart the meed of honest praise;
+  None condemn his actions, none despise his ways;
+  By his children reverenced, by his wife adored;
+  Every friend is welcome at his ample board;
+  Rich in all that makes a _man_, poor alone in hate;
+  God of Mercy bless the man who nightly guards our fate;
+  Ever may he fill the post that wisdom has assigned,
+  Ruling all, as now he does, by strength of heart and mind.
+
+
+
+
+_SHE LOVES ME YET._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Amid the cares and griefs of life,
+    One precious thought I'll ne'er forget,
+  I have a fond and faithful wife,
+    For darling Lulu loves me yet.
+
+  The bitterest pang that earth can give
+    Can never make my soul regret
+  The fact that I on earth can live,
+    While Lulu says she loves me yet.
+
+  The sweetest joy my heart could know
+    Would prove a diamond yet unset,
+  Whose radiant light could never glow,
+    Like this sweet thought, "She loves me yet."
+
+  Should grief deluge my troubled soul
+    Till every hour some care beset,
+  I could defy its stern control
+    While murmuring, "Lulu loves me yet."
+
+  Should every friend I have on earth
+    Each vow of loyalty forget,
+  I could survive the cruel blow,
+    Since darling Lulu loves me yet.
+
+  Should earth with one accord combine,
+    Sweet Lulu's influence to beset,
+  It would not change my constant mind,
+    If I but felt "She loves me yet."
+
+  I care no sweeter boon in life,
+    Nor will my heart its choice regret;
+  I only long to meet that wife
+    Who truly says she loves me yet.
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO HARRY SMITH._
+
+BY G. W. VAN WEIGHS.
+
+
+  He is like the god, Appollo, when in days of old
+  All the hearts of Greece could conquer, yet despised their gold.
+  Rich in manhood, health and youth, he is ever free
+  Ready to assist his brother whatsoever his need may be.
+  You can trust him freely, fully, with your love or gold,
+
+  Since his love of truth and honor never can grow cold.
+  May he ever do his duty and to all be kind,
+  It is but the noble hearted who can rule the mind,
+  Trusting, still, his love of country and his love for man,
+  He may rest assured Heaven will endorse his plan.
+
+
+
+
+_THE PHANTOM BOAT._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Two lovers once sat dreaming
+  Of scenes o'ergrown by years;
+  Sweet Daisy's eyes were eloquent
+  With girlhood's pleading tears;
+  Her little hand was lying
+  Confidingly in mine,
+  While her silvery voice pleaded:
+  "Dear one, awake the Nine!"
+
+  "Yes, darling, I will rhyme for you;
+  What legend shall I drew!
+  Shall I now fold you in my arms
+  And, drifting down life's stream,
+  'Mid singing birds and nodding flowers,
+  Pour forth my soul in love--
+  In accents soft and tender--
+  As the cooing of a dove"?
+
+  Or shall I tell you, dearest one,
+  Why yonder's rippling stream
+  First gained the name "Tululah"
+  In an age that's now a dream?
+  Well, now, pillow your head upon my breast,
+  The legend is weird and wild;
+  I fear me much its harrowing scenes
+  Will shock, thee, gentle child.
+
+  Will you listen, while we're watching
+  For the far-famed Phantom Boat?
+  Perhaps the tale will lead us
+  To catch the first faint note
+  Of Tululah's wondrous music
+  As she floats down this stream,
+  For, I assure you, darling,
+  This legend is no dream.
+
+  Where now we sit, in days gone by,
+  The stealthy panther crept,
+  And bears and wolves in horrid hordes
+  Their tireless vigils kept;
+  Turkey, deer and beaver
+  Were scattered far and wide,
+  And here the lordly savage stalked
+  _In all his pristine pride_;
+
+  The Creeks then ruled this forest,
+  From Suwanee to the sea;--
+  A haughty, bold and cruel race,
+  Cunning, treacherous, wild and free!
+  To hunt and fish, and boast and fight
+  Were the duties of a brave,
+  While woman--alas! sweet woman
+  Was but a cowering slave!
+
+  No grant had she to breathe her wrongs
+  Before the "Council Fire,"
+  Nor dared she utter a single word
+  To gain her heart's desire,
+  Until her savage master
+  First gave her leave to speak;
+  Nor dared she then to brave his will
+  Lest he his vengeance wreak!
+
+  Yet ever and anon there rose
+  A woman, whose proud soul
+  Ignored those self-created gods
+  And spurned their base control.
+  Such was the brave Tululah,
+  Whose spirit haunts this stream;
+  In a phantom barge it glides along,
+  Like a wraith in a troubled dream.
+
+  'Tis said she haunts this river,
+  Alone on a misty night,
+  And that each one who sees her
+  Is 'palled with strange affright!
+  And why she haunts this river
+  Is the burden of my tale,
+  And none who have a tender heart
+  But will her fate bewail.
+
+  Tululah was Ocala's child,
+  To whom the Creeks ascribe
+  The name of the boldest leader
+  That ever led their tribe!
+  A savage of herculean build,
+  With fierce and restless eye,
+  His haughty lip deigned not to smile,
+  And scorned to breathe a sigh!
+
+  Tululah was his pride and joy,
+  The only thing he loved on earth,
+  Since she became an orphan
+  At the fatal hour of birth!
+  The superstitious savage
+  Deemed her mother's spirit nigh,
+  And thought, who harmed an orphan,
+  By a spirit hand should die!
+
+  She was born, too, "In a Castle,"
+  Gifted with a "second sight;"
+  Friends of earth, and sea, and air,
+  At _her_ command would fight.
+  Her raven locks and soulful eyes,
+  Her faultless form and peerless face,
+  And voice of wondrous melody
+  Awed and charmed her race.
+
+  She reigned an undisputed Queen,
+  _All_ her mandate must obey;
+  And even the fierce Ocala
+  Was obedient to her sway.
+  Yet even she was powerless
+  To stay the raging flood
+  Of tireless, deathless savage hate
+  That sought the white man's blood.
+
+  Ocala's hatred of the whites
+  Was known both far and near;
+  Brave hunters spake his name with awe,
+  And women in trembling fear!
+  At last he grew so treacherous
+  No white man dared come nigh,
+  Till a trio of gallant hunters
+  Determined _he should die_!
+
+  They knew 'twas a dangerous mission
+  On which their steps was bent,
+  Yet the prayers of honest settlers
+  Their true hearts courage lent.
+  As they neared the sleeping village,
+  Where Ocala awaited his doom,
+  They flitted like weird spectres
+  In the silent midnight gloom!
+
+  There, spread before their vision,
+  Five hundred wigwams lay;
+  A savage guerdon of defense
+  For him they sought to slay.
+  To the silent village center
+  Our gallant hunters crept,
+  To the door of the largest wigwam,
+  Where proud Ocala slept.
+
+  Stepping across the prostrate form
+  Of the sentinel at the door,
+  They breathed a prayer for absent ones,
+  Whom they might see no more.
+  Three knives flashed in midnight air,
+  Then fell with a sickening thud,
+  Ocala, Napoleon of his tribe,
+  Lay withering in his blood!
+
+  But hark! what means that fierce warhoop,
+  Resounding loud and clear?
+  'Tis the bugle blast that calls each brave
+  When the paleface foe is near!
+  Gathering fast in the midnight gloom,
+  They form "The Circle of Death"
+  Around the dauntless hunters,
+  Who stand with bated breath
+
+  Awaiting the savage onslaught,
+  Determined to sell their lives
+  To the service of their country
+  And the freedom of men's wives;
+  While pitying Heaven aids them
+  By the darkness of the night,
+  Since not a star will lend its aid
+  To guide their foes aright!
+
+  Now facing North, and East, and West,
+  They meet the savage foes,
+  Recruiting Charon's army
+  By every lusty blow;
+  But still they come in hideous swarms,
+  Like hounds let loose from hell,
+  Till, overborne by numbers,
+  Our bleeding heroes fell!
+
+  All honor to the gallant three,
+  Twelve braves in silence lay,
+  With gaping wounds and stony eyes,
+  To greet returning day!
+  While yet a score were nursing
+  Wounds which these heroes gave,
+  That signed their right to enter
+  Into an unwept grave!
+
+  Ocala ne'er again would scourge
+  Their country, far and near,
+  Nor wring from helpless innocence
+  An unavailing tear!
+  His death alone destroyed the boast
+  And stilled the raging flood
+  Of senseless pride and passion
+  That bathed his hands in blood!
+
+  But, alas, for human prowess,
+  These deeds but roused the ire
+  Of savage wretches, who now tried
+  To vent their spleen _with fire_!
+  Three stakes were now erected
+  And fagots heaped around,
+  While painted fiends in human shape
+  Exultant, sat aground.
+
+  They led the helpless captives forth,
+  With many a shout and hoot,
+  And drug them to their awful doom,
+  Less feeling than a brute!
+  And first they bound Hugh Cannon,
+  Whose descendants, love, you know,
+  I pointed out to you, last Fall,
+  When we were at the show.
+
+  They bound him to the cruel stake
+  Before his comrades' eyes,
+  Then scornfully they bade them mark
+  "How a paleface coward dies!"
+  Thank God his captors were deceived,
+  He smiled amid the flame!
+  And, with his fast expiring breath,
+  These words bequeathed to fame:
+
+  "To suffer in a noble cause
+  Is sweet beyond compare!
+  These greedy flames that lick my blood
+  But light a vision fair,
+  Where heroism and heroes sweep
+  The still resounding lyre,
+  Heaven's harmonies have quenched
+  The tortures of this fire!
+
+  "Tumultuous raptures 'round me roll
+  Heaven's pearly gates ajar!
+  My spirit soars on fleshless wing
+  Beyond the faintest star!
+  Oh, blissful death; oh, vision fair,
+  What sweet celestial glories shine,
+  The loved and lost of earlier years
+  Are _now_ forever mine!"
+
+  The savage horde in silence stood
+  And listened as he sang,
+  While even their untaught eyes could see
+  He suffered not a pang!
+  No yell triumphant smote his ear,
+  Awe silenced every tongue,
+  And many a heart beat faster
+  As he his requiem sung.
+
+  Then lionhearted Conway,
+  Beneath whose eagle eye
+  Even savage foes once trembled
+  Was offered up to die!
+  Defiant still 'mid writhing flames,
+  He heaped on them his scorn,
+  And, with true prophetic voice
+  He doomed their race unborn.
+
+  "Rejoice! rejoice! ye howling fiends,
+  Distort your hideous face,
+  Soon the white man's wrath shall sweep
+  From earth your blood-stained race,
+  While shining fields and cities fair
+  Attest the white man's power,
+  You accursed Creeks shall be
+  Tradition's useless dower!"
+
+  Now comes your own ancestor,
+  The gallant, brave McCray,
+  Who planned this glorious campaign
+  And led the awful fight.
+  He was a perfect Hercules,
+  Cast in Apollo's mould,
+  With a heart of witching tenderness,
+  Yet proud and dauntless soul.
+
+  Oft had he visited this tribe,
+  On peaceful mission bent,
+  And to many a savage
+  His kind assistance lent.
+  Yet little dreamed he, at this hour,
+  One heart amid that throng
+  Still beat responsive to his own,
+  Attuned to love's mad song!
+
+  Yet, as they bound him to the stake
+  And raised the flaming brand,
+  The Chief that held it fell a corpse,
+  Killed by a woman's hand!
+  And Indian maiden loosed his bands
+  And raised her voice on high:
+  "Who harms my paleface lover
+  By Tululah's hand shall die!"
+
+  Behold, the savage concourse stand,
+  Transfixed by silent awe,
+  And gaze upon Ocala's child,
+  Held sacred by their law!
+  They feared Ocala's spirit
+  Might _then_ be hovering nigh;
+  Nor dared to harm his darling child,
+  Lest he who harmed her die!
+
+  The Queen, with head and form erect,
+  Bore McCray undismayed,
+  And in her _father's_ wigwam
+  Her wounded lover laid!
+  Then bending gently o'er him,
+  Each wound she rightly dress,
+  And with sweet plaintive melodies
+  Lured the weary one to rest.
+
+  At dawning light McCray awoke,
+  His Queen still lingering there;
+  His eyes bespoke his gratitude,
+  His lips were moved in prayer
+  For the lithe and graceful maiden
+  Whose love he knew to be
+  Pure as early morning's blush,
+  Yet deathless as--Eternity!
+
+  Although once failed, his savage foes
+  Still thirsted for his blood;
+  The hate within their bosoms
+  Was as tireless as a flood.
+  Not daring open violence,
+  They sought Oneida's craft,
+  And 'neath the guise of friendship
+  Gave the lovers a sleeping draught.
+
+  When the mighty god of slumber
+  Had locked them fast in sleep,
+  The wily savage entered,
+  His fearful oath to keep.
+  They took McCray to the river
+  In sight of these roaring falls,
+  Whose sheer descent--two hundred feet--
+  The stoutest heart appalls!
+
+  They bound him fast in a frail canoe,
+  Set adrift 'mid the current's flow,
+  Believing his life would be dashed out
+  On the jagged rocks below.
+  Then, gladly turning homeward,
+  A ready lie they make
+  To appease her burning anger
+  When Tululah shall awake!
+
+  Slowly the doomed man drifted,
+  Yet faster, at each breath,
+  The quickening current bore him
+  To the open gates of death!
+  Yet still he slept; aye, slept and dreamed
+  Of the proud Creek's peerless flower
+  Who, for deathless love of him,
+  Had braved her nation's power.
+
+  Spurned her murdered siris corpse
+  And to his murderer clung!
+  Aye, on the spot that drank his blood,
+  Love's soothing ditties sung!
+  Dreamed of the eyes that flashed with fire
+  When his foeman dared draw nigh,
+  Yet softened into tenderness
+  At her lover's faintest sigh.
+
+  Dreams of the hand that sped the dart
+  That pierced the chieftain's breast,
+  Yet with such witching tenderness
+  Could tremble in caress!
+  Dreams of the heart that proudly braved
+  A nation's deadly hate,
+  Yet, at a lover's first command,
+  Would brook a martyr's fate!
+
+  Dreams of the hour when Tululah,
+  Who so bravely saved his life,
+  Shall desert her baffled kinsman
+  To become a white man's wife!
+  Dreams how he would love and prize her,
+  Shielding her with tenderest care,
+  Spending time, and life, and fortune
+  But to grant her lightest prayer.
+
+  But his dream is rudely broken,
+  And his blanched lip loudly calls,
+  For he hears the well known rumbling
+  Of this river's awful falls.
+  Life was sweet, death was so near,
+  And he so young to die!
+  No wonder that his trembling lips
+  Sought mercy from on high.
+
+  He bore ten thousand tortures
+  With every passing breath,
+  As he lay bound and helpless,
+  Gliding swiftly on to death.
+  He raised his clarion voice
+  Above the deafening roar;
+  Great heavens! can a human cry
+  Reach that resounding shore?
+
+  "Yes! Yes!" a once familiar voice
+  Calls loudly from that shore,
+  And a well known trapper woos time
+  To life and hope once more!
+  By an effort, born of hope renewed,
+  McCray sprang to his feet;
+  The trapper saw, his lariat flew,
+  His outstretched hands to greet.
+
+  "_Steady!_" the practical huntsman cried:
+  "Your peril is almost o'er;
+  Steady, for in a moment
+  Your foot shall press the shore!"
+  Then, as he drew the skiff ashore,
+  He recognized McCray,
+  But gazed in silent wonder
+  _For late raven locks were grey_!
+
+  And never, to his dying day,
+  Would McCray view the place
+  Where, in suspended agony,
+  He met death face to face!
+  He shuddered at an Indian's name,
+  And soon forgot the Queen,
+  Who once so bravely saved him
+  From a nation's senseless spleen.
+
+  He wooed and won a maiden
+  Whose blue eyes, like your own,
+  Held within their liquid depths,
+  Love's nectarine full blown,
+  And as I press your luscious lips
+  I praise thee, brave McCray,
+  Whose dauntless courage gave to me
+  The girl I hold today!
+
+  Oh, yes; forgive me, darling,
+  I did almost forget;
+  But how can mortal silence keep
+  By such sweet eyes beset?
+  Grant me the boon of one more kiss
+  And gaze into my face;
+  Light fancy by your radiant eyes,
+  Tululah's fate to trace!
+
+  Still let the pressure of your hand
+  Chain me in rapture to the earth,
+  For I must offer thoughts tonight
+  That ne'er before had birth!
+  No idle dreamer dares to pierce
+  The mystery of this stream,
+  Nor would I dare the bold emprise
+  Save that your wish I deem
+
+  The highest law my loving heart
+  Can now or ever know,
+  And 'neath the witchery of your smile
+  My raptured numbers glow!
+  My fancy soars on eager wing,
+  And will, perhaps, at last,
+  Gladly at your high behest
+  Unfold the misty past!
+
+  Tululah slept till evening shades
+  Had deepened into night,
+  And woke, alas! to find herself
+  Bereft of her brave knight.
+  Her Indian wit soon taught her
+  Oguchu was to blame,
+  And hastily she found him,
+  Her eyes and cheeks aflame!
+
+  "Oguchu knows your mission;
+  Your paleface lover fled
+  While Tululah's starlit eyes
+  Were wandering 'mid the dead.
+  He is not worthy of your love;
+  Let my sister choose a mate;
+  Oguchu's lodge is open,
+  Will my sister spurn her fate?"
+
+  "My paleface lover is a brave!"
+  Tululah proudly cried;
+  "_He_ never fled from friend or foe,
+  Oguchu, thou hast lied!
+  Thy double tongue is poison-tipped,
+  Thy words a coward's dart,
+  Before I clasp thy loathsome form
+  Let panthers rend my heart!
+
+  "Speak, coward, speak! where is my brave?
+  Tululah asks you where;
+  Speak, lest I summon by a word
+  The friends of earth and air
+  To tear your quivering limbs apart,
+  You lying, treacherous chief.
+  Speak the truth! you Indian dog,
+  The night is growing brief!"
+
+  The awestruck chief is conquered,
+  And tells, with bated breath,
+  Where last he saw him drifting,
+  Into the jaws of death!
+  Tululah heard, and wild despair
+  Hurled reason from her throne.
+  Low at her feet the wretches crouched,
+  Their treachery to atone!
+
+  "Up! Up, you cowards! Up, you knaves!
+  And lead me to the place.
+  Tululah's hand shall save him yet
+  Or curse your coward race!
+  'Tis mine to speak; yours, to obey;--
+  I am your Virgin Queen:--
+  I _swear_ to save my lover
+  Or _nevermore_ be seen!"
+
+  They led her to the river,
+  And, pointing to the place,
+  They stood like criminals abashed
+  Before the judge's face.
+  She spurned their pleading counsel,
+  And, springing in a boat,
+  She cast the oars from her
+  And set the skiff afloat!
+
+  Then, as she gazed adown the stream,
+  Her eyes were all aglow
+  With that deep yearning passion
+  Such hearts alone can know.
+  While sitting in the boat erect,
+  With an Indian's willowy grace,
+  She sang in tuneful numbers
+  A song time can't efface:
+
+  "I am coming, coming, coming,
+    Slowly drifting down the stream,
+  While my heart is yearning, yearning
+    For the idol of love's dream.
+
+  "I have left them--left them--left them!
+    Farewell, treacherous Indian race;
+  I can hear him calling, calling,
+    And I go to seek his face.
+
+  "Now I'm gliding, gliding, gliding!
+    And I hear the awful roar
+  Of the waters tumbling, tumbling,
+    Where no boat will need an oar!
+
+  "Now I'm rushing, rushing, rushing!
+    And the spray obscures my sight;
+  The angry waters leaping, leaping,
+    Chill me with a strange affright.
+
+  "Oh, I see him! see him--see him,
+    And I welcome death's alarms!
+  Oh! I'm swiftly falling, falling,
+    And I spring into his arms!"
+
+  Not a trace of boat or maiden
+  Could the savage searchers find,
+  And they fled the spot in terror,
+  Daring not to look behind!
+  Nor would they tarry near the river,
+  But moved their wigwam's far away;
+  No savage Creek would linger
+  Near the spot by night and day.
+
+  And tradition says her spirit
+  May be seen on nights like this,
+  When the heavy moon, mist-laden,
+  Greets the river with a kiss!
+  Not in vain will be our vigil
+  If Tululah knows tonight
+  In your precious veins is flowing
+  Genuine blood of her brave knight!
+
+  Look!  Look! 'mid the river's silvery sheen
+  Tululah's Phantom Boat is seen,
+  While the air vibrates like a quivering lyre,
+  Touched by the hands of an angel Choir!
+  Oh, wondrous music soft and low,
+  Like rippling streamlets' gentle flow!
+  Oh, pathos laden, heart refrain,
+  No mortal lips can breathe that strain!
+
+  Immortal love! not even death
+  Can damp thy flame or chill thy breath!
+  Nay, while eternal ages roll,
+  'Tis thine to feed the hungry soul
+  With manna dipped in passion's fire,
+  True birthright of the heart's desire;
+  Blest food no mortal lips can take
+  And fail enrapturing bliss to wake!
+
+  Heaven's corner-stone, earth's chief delight.
+  Tululah's captive soul tonight
+  Is but living o'er the dream
+  Thou didst create beside this stream.
+  Her hapless fate all must deplore,
+  Self-sacrificed in days of yore;
+  And, could Tululah live again,
+  At least one heart would soothe her pain!
+
+  The legend may be overdrawn,
+  Yet 'tis not all a dream!
+  Nor will you ever say again:
+  "This is no haunted stream!"
+  Other eyes beside our own
+  Have seen the Phantom Boat,
+  And other ears than ours have heard
+  That wild, weird? music float!
+
+  But, precious little darling,
+  As I strain thee to my breast,
+  I am conscious you are weary,
+  Thus deprived of needful rest.
+  Let us hasten to thy cottage,
+  Parting with a lingering kiss;
+  Little Daisy, then, can slumber
+  And awake in perfect bliss!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_AN INITIAL ACROSTIC._
+
+
+  Hear, O hear the melting music pouring from inspired hearts!
+  In the race of life they stumbled, victims of temptation's darts.
+  Ruin's billows them engulfing, all their hopes and joys to blight;
+  And the scorpion lash of conscience scourges them by day and night!
+  Man has doomed them to a prison where shame's torrents hourly roll
+
+  Pouring every known affliction on the crushed and bleeding soul!
+  Every legal right has perished, every social tie is snapped!
+  Crushing Force is ever present, body mind and soul entrapped!
+  Kindness is a total stranger, human treatment rarely shown,
+
+  Man _is_ faultless when his fellow for a fault must needs atone!
+  Can such beings know the rapture Heaven decrees to poet souls?
+
+  Know they where to place the cymbals of the sounding lyre
+  Never yet has human malice stilled the music of the spheres!
+  In _the loathesome prison dungeon Heaven the sweetest music hears!_
+  Guilt or shame, or human anger, ne'er can fold the poet's wings.
+  Howsoever deep his anguish, still his heart exultant sings--
+  Tunes his lyre, still triumphant, and to you these pages brings!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO
+
+DR. H. R. PARKER._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  He towers above his fellow men, like some grand knight of old.
+  Endeavoring to right all wrong with spirit bold and free!
+  No craven fear usurps his soul, no task his spirit quails.
+  Religion to his soul is _love_, and love no wrong entails!
+  Ye who love eternal right and wish your fellows well
+
+  Refuse him not the meed of praise--'tis his our aches to quell!
+  Each heart within these prison walls that tests his wondrous skill
+  Unites to sing his praises and bless his generous will.
+  By kindly words he cheers the soul of those whom dread disease
+  Envelops in her mystic folds and gives each patient ease.
+  Naught caring for their praise or blame, he steers his course aright,
+
+  Proving duty, well performed, is matchless in its might.
+  And, tho' but a youth in years, his well instructed mind
+  Reveals all pathologic truth and practice well combined.
+  Kindly may the fates decree that he may rise to fame,
+  Ever free, as he is now, from error and from shame.
+  Refuse him naught of happiness and bless his honored name!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_LINES TO MY WIFE._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  Years and years have passed away
+    Since last we met, my darling wife;
+  Oft have I felt the tooth of pain
+    Gnaw at the vitals of my life.
+
+  The brow thy hand has oft caressed
+    With such sweet, hypnotic power,
+  The lines of care and grief has traced
+    And wrinkled, like a withered flower.
+
+  The dark brown locks you loved so well,
+    Now interspersed with silver thread,
+  Shows plainly that the march of time
+    Has left its footprints on my head.
+
+  The deep gray eyes that once could flash
+    With passion's fire, or melt in love,
+  Have lost the wanted fires of youth,
+    Like some poor offcast, limpsy glove.
+
+  Yet in my breast there beats a heart
+    That never will nor can grow old;
+  Thy image keeps its pulses warm
+    With love that never shall grow cold.
+
+  Thy grace and beauty won that heart
+    Long years ago, when thou wert young:
+  Thy gentle, generous, faithful care
+    Has bred a love I cannot tongue.
+
+  Heaven can grant no sweeter bliss,
+    To crown the evening of my life,
+  Than Iulu's sweet, enraptured kiss,
+    When time restores me to my wife.
+
+
+
+
+_OUT OF THE DEPTHS._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  In a cell of rock and iron,
+  Where remorse and shame environ,
+  Sat a convict sadly dreaming--
+  Dreaming of the days of yore.
+  Dreamed he of a land of flowers
+  Where, amid Love's smiling bowers,
+  He had spent such happy hours,
+  To memory ne'er so sweet before.
+  And he softly, fondly questioned:
+      "Shall I know such bliss once more?"
+      Hope made answer, "_Yes, once more!_"
+  In a home which love had founded,
+  Now by grief and care surrounded,
+  Sat a wife and mother, weeping,
+      Weeping for her prisoned swain.
+  Wept she o'er fate's mad endeavor,
+  That such loving hearts could sever,
+  With a blow, that seemed to never
+  Lose its agonizing pain;
+  And her cry arose to heaven:
+      "Father, shall we meet again?"
+      Mercy answered, "Once again."
+  Ope those doors of latticed iron,
+  Lift the clouds that now environ;
+  Faithfulness shall be rewarded--
+      Love the victory hath won.
+  Learn that I, your God, am heeding
+  Prayers that rise from hearts now bleeding,
+  And my hand is ever leading,
+      Tho' the clouds obscure the sun.
+  Bows my heart in adoration--
+      Shall my lips repeat Amen?
+      Hope and faith repeat! "Amen."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ELLA REE'S REVENGE._
+
+
+  Beside Saluda's silver stream,
+  Where flowers nod and poets dream,
+  A cabin stood, in days gone by,
+  Whose history should never die.
+
+  Here lived and led a blameless life,
+  Brave Hayward and his peerless wife,
+  With three sweet pledges of that love,
+  Cradled on earth, but born above.
+
+  Surrounding them, on every hand,
+  Was the Red man's native land.
+  No paleface, save themselves, ever dared
+  To live in wild these Indians shared.
+
+  Treacherous alike in peace and war,
+  The Seminole obeyed no law
+  Save one he spake with bated breath:
+  "Traitors shall die a coward's death!"
+
+  The haughty chief who led this tribe,
+  Fear could not daunt nor favor bribe;
+  And this lone settler, living here,
+  Knew white man never dared come near.
+
+  He Caucanoe's heart had won
+  By a kindness nobly done,
+  In rescuing from a watery grave
+  The favorite child of this fierce brave.
+
+  A frail canoe--swamped in mid stream:
+  A father's cry--a maiden's scream;
+  A hunter bearing a maid ashore,
+  A volume writ would tell no more.
+
+  "The land beside this murmuring stream
+  Thy future home, brave paleface, deem,
+  And on Caucanoe's word depend,
+  No Indian dares molest my friend!"
+
+  "Yours 'twas to save Caucanoe's pride,
+  Mine be it to protect your bride;
+  If here a future you would seek,
+  I listen: Let my brother speak."
+
+  "Great Chief! your words, so kind and true,
+  Fall on my ears like evening dew;
+  Ere the buds begin to swell
+  Your brother 'mid your tribe shall dwell."
+
+  So Hayward built, with eager haste,
+  As best befits a woman's taste,
+  A cabin palace, reared by art,
+  Each room as secret as your heart.
+
+  Here they lived and tilled the ground,
+  The happiest pair for miles around;
+  The Indians swarmed around their door
+  With useful gifts to swell their store.
+
+  Caucanoe often sought their door
+  And played with the children, o'er and o'er.
+  He brought them many a curious toy,
+  Their happy childhood to employ.
+
+  The winsome sprite, who sat on his knee,
+  Pleased him most of the guileless three;
+  Her limped eyes and golden hair
+  Caucanoe thought divinely fair.
+
+  As the happy years flew swiftly by,
+  Beneath Caucanoe's watchful eye,
+  Paralee grew, with rapid pace,
+  Into a maid of faultless grace.
+
+  Caucanoe loved this lovely child
+  With a passion fierce, and deep, and wild,
+  Yet hopeless, he feared, that love would be,
+  Since naught could bridge the raging sea
+
+  Of racial and tribal pride,
+  That lay between them, deep and wide;
+  And well he knew another's soul
+  Brooked naught on earth save his control.
+
+  King Ulca's daughter, the proud Ella Ree,
+  Graceful and lithe as a willow tree,
+  With eyes and hair like the raven's wing,
+  And voice as soft as the babbling spring,
+
+  Had sought him for her wigwam brave,
+  Weeping o'er his late wife's grave;
+  And well he knew the tears she shed,
+  By tribal law their bodies wed.
+
+  True love for her he could not feel,
+  Yet such a fact dared not reveal;
+  His squaw she was alone in name
+  And never to his wigwam came.
+
+  Another love, oh, fateful thought!
+  With direful misery doubly fraught,
+  Surged and tossed within his soul
+  Until it spurned his late control.
+
+  At last he sought her much loved side
+  And begged her to become his bride.
+  The maiden heard and laughed outright,
+  And thus let loose the fiends of night
+
+  That of late had lain at rest
+  Within Caucanoe's savage breast.
+  Now, naught could stay this rising ire
+  Save to light the Council Fire.
+
+  At last among his braves he stood,
+  Like some monarch of the wood;
+  While burning words flowed from his tongue,
+  That showed how deep his heart was wrung.
+
+  The Council heard and thus decreed:
+  "Our land from paleface dogs be freed.
+  Tomorrow night the proud paleface
+  Shall rue Caucanoe's late disgrace!"
+
+  "'Tis well," the haughty chief replied;
+  "Who scorns to be Caucanoe's bride
+  Shall feel a living flame of fire
+  Quench the last spark of life's desire!"
+
+  But, ere the morrow's sun had set,
+  Awakening love brought deep regret.
+  Love fought the savage till he fell,
+  And Pity's tears began to well.
+
+  He crept the cabin light within,
+  And there confessed his double sin.
+  "'Tis done," he cried, "you shall not die;
+  The boat is ready; up, and fly!
+
+  "Saluda's stream shall guide you right,
+  Caucanoe lays to die tonight!
+  Once you are free, I die content.
+  Nor deem the blow untimely sent."
+
+  The boat has left the silent shore,
+  And Hayward tugs at the muffled oar;
+  The craft sweeps on, like a thing of life,
+  Impelled by the prayers of a weeping wife.
+
+  Caucanoe stood on the bank hard by,
+  With heaving breast and tear-dimmed eye,
+  That proved a hero's soul could rest
+  In the natural dome of a savage breast.
+
+  The flashing oars in the moonlight pale
+  Give forth no sound and leave no trail;
+  Naught is heard save the breath
+  Of the fleeing ones in their race with death.
+
+  Hark! What means that frightful yell?
+  'Tis a cry of triumph, born of hell;
+  Their savage foe, long under way,
+  At last have seen their wanted prey.
+
+  They see the foe and wildly fly
+  The flashing oars, till they almost fly;
+  "We'll yet be saved," brave Hayward spoke,
+  But his oars shivered beneath his stroke.
+
+  He sprang to his feet, with ashen face,
+  And his trusty rifle flew to its place;
+  A maddening yell from the savage crew
+  Proved the ball to the mark had straightway flew.
+
+  Six times his trusty rifle spoke;
+  Each time an Indian skull it broke.
+  His gallant sons stood near their sire
+  And reinforced his deadly fire!
+
+  Their doom was sealed. The savage horde
+  Soon reached their bark and sprang aboard;
+  Yet scorned they even then to yield,
+  While strength was left a knife to wield.
+
+  Each one dared a hero's part;
+  Each knife it sought a savage heart,
+  Nor did they cease to bathe in gore
+  Till they sank beneath to rise no more.
+
+  Paralee and her mother lay
+  To savage hands an early prey;
+  For neither knew, nor felt they ought,
+  Of what they did or what they sought,
+
+  Since terror and alarm, too deep,
+  Had locked their senses all in sleep.
+  Alas! that they should ever wake:
+  Returning senses meant the stake.
+
+  Soon homeward with the living dead
+  The savage horde in triumph sped;
+  And bore to haunts of Ella Ree
+  The paleface foe she longed to see.
+
+  Better for Paralee had she died
+  Amid the battle's raging tide.
+  "Not wounded tigress in her lair
+  More dangerous than a jealous fair!"
+
+  Assembled around the Council Fire,
+  With haughty mien and rising ire,
+  Each chief was ready to relate
+  His own exploit or vent his hate.
+
+  Safely bound by cruel thong,
+  In the center of the throng,
+  The captives sat in silent dread,
+  Envying none except the dead.
+
+  "Brothers! the paleface Ella Ree,
+  Whose words from guile are always free,
+  Will tell you all you need to know.
+  Who scorns _her_ words must brave my blow!"
+
+  Thus Ulca spake, then glared around
+  With a mighty monarch's haughty frown,
+  "That held his hearers more in awe
+  Of his dread prowess than his law."
+
+  "Chief! Warriors! Braves in battle tried,
+  Your blood Saluda's stream has dyed;
+  Your brothers sleep no more to wake!
+  Will _you_ sit by nor vengeance take?"
+
+  "A traitor warned the doomed paleface;
+  Shall _he_ yet live to brave our race?
+  How the white lily wrought the spell,
+  Caucanoe, and not I, must tell!"
+
+  "Caucanoe does not fear to die!
+  'Twas he that bade the paleface fly;
+  Let these women now be set free;
+  Vent your hate alone on me."
+
+  "Paralee I loved, and her alone;
+  Mine was the fault--let me atone.
+  Ella Ree, herself, shall light the fire
+  And chant around my funeral pyre."
+
+  "Loose the captive! Raise the stake!
+  It shall be thus," brave Ulca spake.
+  "If love shall brave the cruel flame,
+  Yon captives go from whence they came."
+
+  In haste they reared the ready stake,
+  And bade the Chief his place to take.
+  He lightly stepped in proper place,
+  A conquering smile upon his face.
+
+  The signal given--a lighted brand--
+  Ella Ree raised with trembling hand,
+  Yet begged Caucanoe not to die,
+  But to her willing arms to fly.
+
+  Pardon was his, both full and free,
+  As the proud brave of Ella Ree;
+  The hated captives should atone
+  For all blood spilt, and they alone!
+
+  Caucanoe frowned and thus replied:
+  "If Ella Ree would be my bride,
+  Let her light the fire and stand
+  Here beside me, hand in hand."
+
+  Forward she sprang--the torch applied,
+  Even in death a happy bride!
+  Saluda's stream is never free
+  From the dying chant of Ella Ree!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_THE MURDERER'S DREAM._
+
+
+  Ye glittering stars! how fair ye shine tonight.
+  And, oh, thou modest moon! thy silvery light
+  Comes streaming through these iron bars before me.
+  How clear and silent is this lovely night!
+  How quiet and how bright!
+  I nothing hear, nor aught can hear
+  Me when I speak, but stone and iron that I fear;
+  I, shunned by all, as if alone I'd go to Hell;
+  I, alone in chains! Ah, me, the cruel spell
+  That brought me here. Heaven could not cheer me
+  Within these cursed walls--within this dark and dreary cell,
+  This gloomy, cold, and solitary Hell.
+
+  And thou, O Time! the only thing that's not my foe--
+  O Time! O Time! thou passeth on so slow,
+  Keeping my soul in terror, in bondage, and in woe;
+  Was I to blame? I was, they say; they say 'tis so.
+  Oh, God! will this deep crimson, aye, black stain
+  My nervous system always strain!
+  Will my foul crime forever haunt my brain?
+  Must I live here in earthly fear, and never, never hear
+  The sweetest voice to me of all, I've heard not for a year?
+  Must I this torture feel, year after year?
+  Live, die in Hell, and yet a Paradise so near?
+  Wilt Thou, Oh, God! wilt Thou not hear? 'Tis I, 'tis I they all do fear.
+
+  Am I to Thee, O Christ, as dead? Thou who sought
+  The lonely prisoner in his dismal cell, and to him taught
+  The true and only law to govern man--Thy love,
+  Which can be only reached by prayer to Thee above?
+  In this cold and darkened cell, dost Thou reprove
+  My soul? Dost Thou doom it to endless misery?
+  Am I so wicked, sinful, that I cannot move
+  Thy loving kindness, to a slight reprove?
+  Ah, me, ah, me, 'tis love Thou sayest--love.
+  Canst I at this late day by full repentance see
+  The divine, the holy, ever cleansing love In Thee?
+  Canst Thou be Christ and have no love for me?
+
+  What, can it be that I am lost and'll never know thy bliss?
+  And for my cruel, wicked crime no joy above all this?
+  What, world of sin! What, never? Is my destiny Hell?
+  Is that my cruel sentence because in sin I fell?
+  Aye, I did fall! Into that dark and fathomless pit,
+  And now in Hell my soul has fell, and for Hell it is not fit:
+  Into that misery eternal, where nothing lives but all's infernal--
+  Is there my future--is it there?
+  My thoughts they burn my head, my heart 'twas, ah, 'twas dead--
+  But now it lives, and in my breast does burn:
+  Those pains, and, severe as they were, they flew, yes, flew away,
+  And being absent for awhile, remorse came in by day.
+
+  Oh, God, Oh, God, I am not fit for this infernal Hell!
+  Oh, mercy, mercy! my destiny, 'tis here that I must dwell.
+  Away! away! ye fiery fiends, I am among you now,
+  O Christ, O Savior of the sinner! To Satan must I bow?
+  Pray, take me back to earth again, and test me one and all,
+  And let me live anew my life and see if I will fall.
+  Test me, test me once again, let me hear the old church bell,
+  'Cause now I'm so much steeped in sin that I'm not fit for Hell.
+  Oh, horrors! horrors! hear the groans of tortured victims there,
+  Some young, and many are quite old, I know it by their hair!
+  Poor, poor, poor wretches, see them there, all bleeding and in chains;
+  I know they realize their fate, because they all have brains.
+
+  Is this the horrid, horrid place my mother taught was Hell?
+  Oh, see those brutal fiery fiends, they call them "Imps" you know,
+  And many an one has feared them here, because of sin he'd sown.
+  Just see the demons of the deep! Just hear their hellish tones!
+  Then floating back on brimstone air comes mocking, mocking groans.
+  See, see the devils how they dance, with brimstone torches how they
+                                                            prance;
+  What! can it be they look like men and 'stead of hearts they have but sin
+  And grinning hang around me? Oh, fearful, fearful fire of hell, what can
+                                                      it be within?
+  They sneer and stare at me! Go 'way, ye devils cooked in sin and crime!
+  I'm now in Purgatory waiting for the time
+  When by the law of a just God I'll be removed from here,
+  And by the law of Christ divine, of thee I'll have no fear.
+
+  Hark! List! From yonder corner comes loud cries,
+  Oh, let me hold my aching, bursting head!
+  They come from some poor wretch that dies,
+  And many an one may mourn him now as dead.
+  I see him! I see him! There he is! My murdered victim now
+  Appears before me. That is him! and to him I must bow.
+  Oh, his cries, his groans, they haunt me
+  To the bottom of my wicked heart. Can it be
+  That I must dwell forever in this wretched misery?
+  Horrors! See him now reach out his bony hand
+  To grasp me firmly by the throat and hold me like a band.
+  Take me, demons, if you please, take me into Hell!
+  Anything you choose may do--remove me from this cell!
+
+  My soul, my soul, awake! awake! They come! they come!
+  The devil's come to take--Old Satan, I am thine!
+  Away my soul will ever roll through torturing, scorching Hell,
+  And down into the blackest depths my soul is cast pell-mell.
+  Oh, what a fate for man to meet--speak, Satan! speak, I say!
+  And with your torturing, devilish deeds--my ruin! no delay!
+  What dumb! Old Satan, canst thou speak? Look here
+  And speak thy want! I'm now right crisp and hard in sin and haven't any
+                                                              fear.
+  Take me, demons! Take me, quick! I hear the awful knell
+  Of the roaring, moaning billows, and the bitterness of Hell.
+  Take me, Satan, take me! as my fate is firmly sealed,
+  While ye in Hades do wake me, and o'er me the batoon wield.
+
+  What! What! Am I mistaken? Was it only but a dream?
+  I, still living here on earth--oh, how real it all did seem.
+  Could I now just one chance have and in mercy be forgiven,
+  I would have respect for all and send prayers right up to heaven.
+  When on earth Christ did come to save sinners from their fate,
+  Any time they'd turn to Him they'd find 'twas not too late.
+  Holy Savior, heavenly dove, Thou who reigns supreme above!
+  Though in sin I have been dead, I am saved just by Thy love.
+  Could I only have good sight, that I could see my sad plight,
+  I would always to Thee cling, and to Thee cling with my might.
+  Now, to Thee let me give thanks, 'cause 'twas only a bad dream.
+  But its horrors to me cling, 'cause so real it all did seem.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+_ACROSTIC TRIBUTE TO GOD'S MESSENGERS, CHAPLAIN AND MRS. C. L. WINGET._
+
+
+  Cyprian, the father of the orators' plan, a preacher, a priest and godly
+                                                               man;
+  You have been, by the good Lord sent, on the mission your heart is ever
+                                                              bent.
+  Passed through trials of life severe, God was good when He sent you here,
+  Right in the midst of a sweltering gang of sinners, corrupt on every
+                                                              hand.
+  I, for one, have watched you keen, and from you haven't an evil deed
+                                                              seen;
+  All has been so easy to see that your whole soul's bent on setting us
+                                                             free--
+  Not from earthly, bodily pains, but from our evil, and sin, and shame!
+
+  Lee was the second choice of name, she christened her son for Heavenly
+                                                              fame.
+  Each and every day she taught him ever sin to brave, till dear mother she
+                                            went down into an early
+                                                             grave.
+  Every day and every hour he tries to keep that august dower, and meet
+   her where there's endless time, in Heaven's pure and holy clime.
+
+  Winget came unto this place to save poor sinners by God's own grace;
+  In eloquence and heartfelt plea he's prayed for us on bended knee;
+  Nor has his pleading been in vain, because from us he's driven pain.
+  "God help the prisoner!" is his prayer, while lingering in this prison
+                                                              lair;
+  "Eternal justice may they have while life's hard struggle they do brave!"
+  "To God be praise! we see His face. God save the prisoner by Thy grace!"
+
+  Susan, his wife and better half, and one of God's own kind,
+  Upon each bright and sabbath morn she helps the text to find.
+  She's ever there, in the arm chair, through service and through song,
+  And with kindly smile she does beguile the prisoners from all wrong.
+  Nay--let us bow unto you now, thou noble, holy one, and may God speed for
+                     all your need for the good that you have done.
+
+  Gregory is an ancient name, to you it has been given:
+  Right down deep in your friendly heart is found the truth of Heaven
+  Each of us prisoners here confined for truth will e'er contend;
+  Go, search each heart! and then report if truth we'll not defend.
+  Onward, onward, upward, upward may your labors ever roll;
+  Reach out for poor fallen sinner, and your work we'll all extol:
+  Yet 'tis not too late to labor--God will answer, "Aye, extol!"
+
+  "Fair-child" of Heaven's august plan, how comest thou to wed yourself to
+                                                               Man?
+  A name is nothing but to designate, but, Oh--how often it does consecrate
+  In language pure and clear as diamond scale, while thou, Fair-child, we,
+                                                every one, do hail!
+  Real sympathy is not so strong a band as binds fair woman unto haughty
+                                                               man!
+  Come, hasten! now thy work be done, 'cause life's short race is almost
+                                                               run!
+  He whom thou wed so many years ago has been God's servant faithfully to
+                                                                 do
+  In words so full of just and holy writ, that in our chapel we do love to
+                                                               sit.
+  Love for your duty, kind to all you meet, faithful to your Master's cause
+                                     and a smile for all you greet.
+  Do by us as you have done and never do complain, because the work that
+                           you have done has not been done in vain!
+
+  "Winget" is the name you chose to support the once Fair-child.
+  In Christian mission go forth God's castles for to build;
+  Never forget the prisoner close locked in dungeon cell,
+  Go forth and teach to him The Life of the soul you love so well.
+  Each hour you spend in Christian work is never thrown away.
+  The Truth is known! you'll harvests reap in Heaven's golden day!
+
+
+
+
+_THE MIND IS THE STANDARD OF THE MAN._
+
+
+  In chains and shackles closely bound;
+    They say I am a prisoner;
+  Although in this small cell I'm found,
+    A prisoner I am not.
+  The door is made of iron bars,
+    The lock is large and strong,
+  But my mind soars free, up to the stars,
+    As if I'd done no wrong.
+  The mind of man is ever free,
+    By nature's law itself,
+  While this wicked, wretched corpus
+    May be laid upon the shelf.
+  What of this wretched body?
+    What care we for this hand?
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  They may chain me fast unto the rock,
+    And bind both hands and feet;
+  They may keep me far off in the dark,
+    Where friends I cannot meet;
+  They may call me vile and wicked wretch,
+    And murderer and thief;
+  They may say I am an infidel
+    And steeped in unbelief;
+  They may say I'm false and awful bad,
+    And lend not a helping hand;
+  They may sow the seed North, East, South, West,
+    Far, far throughout the land;
+  They may go right on with falsity
+    And it publish like a ban,
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  If the mind was easy to be read,
+    And another for to see,
+  There would prisoner after prisoner
+    Immediately be set free.
+  If conscience was as easy known
+    As another's words to hear,
+  There would not be half so many men
+    That society would fear.
+  But what do people think or care
+    What's in another's brain,
+  So long as _they_ can all conceal
+    The evil in _their_ frame.
+  There are a few who secretly
+    Do not conceal their sham,
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  If every one was now compelled
+    To show life in _true_ attire,
+  They'd cause the picture to be marred
+    And cast into the fire.
+  They'd blush with shame to bring to light
+    Black spots upon their life;
+  They kick, and squirm, and twist about,
+    And fight it with a strife.
+  Where is the man on this vile earth
+    But what has done some wrong,
+  And in his mind's concealed it,
+    Tho' it stings him like a thong?
+  There ne'er was one except the Christ
+    Who'd be perfect in the land!
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  What if all conscience could be searched
+    Clear through with cathode rays,
+  How many would cheerfully submit,
+    Who'd reached their manhood days?
+  It might not be the blackest crime
+    Known to the criminal code,
+  But can it be sufficiently white
+    To call it very good?
+  It may not be so good nor bad,
+    Nor bad nor good indeed,
+  But is it plenty good enough
+    As a standard for a creed?
+  You may keep it hid in an air-tight box.
+    With psychological band,
+  Then, you see, 'tis safe to wager
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  So long as minds cannot be seen
+    And pictured to the folk,
+  So long there'll be deceitfulness
+    Played by the earthly crook.
+  The modern shylock now, who craves
+    The sentence of the court,
+  Is just the man who, many times,
+    Society he has hurt.
+  He stands aloof from other folk,
+    And cries with a loud voice:
+  "Down, down, with evil and all crime!
+    Arise, my friends, rejoice!"
+  But turn on him the cathode rays
+    And search him, if you can,
+  You'll be convinced, beyond a doubt,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  There's many a man who's been misjudged.
+    And met his doom and fate;
+  And the truth thereof could ne'er be learned
+    Until it was too late.
+  If cathode rays could have been used,
+    And falsehood put to flight,
+  There's many a false and trumped up charge
+    Would be knocked clear out of sight.
+  If the mind of man could only be,
+    With this mysterious light,
+  Just brought out plain on canvas,
+    In colors clear and bright,
+  It would spread the truth both far and near,
+    Just like a marriage ban,
+  That the rule ordained by nature is
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Now, when with cathode rays supplied,
+    You start out for a search,
+  Just drop around some Sabbath morn
+    And peep into a church.
+  If one bald deacon, on his breast,
+    Wears a diamond bright and clear,
+  Just shoot cathode across his pate
+    And see what's buried there.
+  Then up into the pulpit,
+    Where the priest all devils dare,
+  And dart the rays around, about,
+    And see what's buried there.
+  Then to the courtroom wend your way,
+    To where the judges ran,
+  Then bet your bottom dollar
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Then down into our Congress halls
+    Make a dash both bold and free,
+  And shoot cathode right through them all
+    And see what you can see.
+  Then back into the halls of State,
+    And catch them, one and all,
+  And learn yourself, beyond a doubt,
+    How many are there to fall.
+  Don't be surprised if now you find
+    Most foul and blackened crimes,
+  Because they're plotting for the gold,
+    No matter what the times.
+  Try and discover, then and there,
+    The gold bonds, if you can,
+  And remember, what is true as truth,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Then, when you're done with the outside world,
+    And all of Congress halls,
+  Return to me and take a walk
+    Within these dismal walls.
+  I'll show you men who represent
+    Each county in this State;
+  They're all accused of crime, you know,
+    And sentenced to their fate.
+  But don't be hasty now to judge
+    These men you see about;
+  Fire cathode rays right through their skulls
+    And you may find a doubt.
+  Courts, lawyers and prejudiced jurors
+    Will convict if they can,
+  But there's one thing safe to wager on,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  In here you'll find there's many a mind
+    As free from sin and crime
+  As congressmen and senators
+     Who've been there a long time.
+  Some of these men in here, you see,
+    They got a little tight,
+  And broke into a chicken coop,
+    Because 'twas in the night.
+  Some men you see as you walk with me
+    Down through these halls so dreary,
+  Have, on bended knee, prayed to be free
+    Until life's become weary.
+  They have no money, neither friends,
+    Because they're far behind the van,
+  But still 'tis safe to wager
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  And now because my enemies
+    Have chained me tight and fast,
+  And cruel, heartless, brutal curs
+    Would hold me to the last--
+  Look here! I'll freely now submit,
+    Turn on your cathode rays
+  And learn, if now 'tis not too late,
+    The evil of my ways.
+  Then go up to that old bribed judge,
+    And prosecutor, too,
+  And bring their conscience here by mine
+    And search all through and through.
+  Look sharp! And now compare their minds
+    With this one, if you can,
+  And then apply the golden rule,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  Oh, men of science! if you can
+    Employ the cathode rays
+  To take the place of jurymen
+    In those our latter days;
+  Let not a man upon the bench
+    To judge another's fate,
+  Until to cathode he's been sent
+    To search beneath his pate!
+  If then you see his mind is free
+    From prejudice and crime,
+  And he'll give us all fair justice,
+    Let him sit there all the time!
+  But if, upon the other hand,
+    He won't, although he can,
+  Then cut him out with the golden rule:
+    "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+  How can you, then, a prisoner make,
+    When his Mind's as free as space?
+  You may chain his feet, and hands, and neck,
+    And tightly bind his face,
+  Do what you please, and as you please,
+    You cannot help but see--
+  That man is man, where e'er he be,
+    Because his mind is free!
+  His mind may roam back to his home,
+    You cannot tie it down,
+  And folk may look, and scoff, and scowl,
+    And always wear a frown.
+  But when of him they a prisoner make,
+    The mind they never can,
+  'Cause God ordained the Golden Rule,
+  "THAT MIND'S THE STANDARD OF THE MAN."
+
+
+
+
+_CELL THOUGHTS._
+
+BY GEO. W. H. HARRISON.
+
+
+  In the headlong rush for the Land of Fame
+  How many are wrecked on the Isle of Shame.
+  How few heads wear a glittering crown
+  In the far-away realm of great renown.
+  'Mid the crowded ranks of the legion of greed
+  How many are crushed 'neath the wheels of need!
+
+  How few ever feel the dainty caress
+  Of the lingering hand of great success!
+  In the mad pursuit of the god of gold
+  What brains are wrecked, what hearts grow cold!
+  How many will spend their latest day
+  'Mid the hurtling waters of Poverty Bay!
+
+  How many are lured by a siren chime
+  To a double death in the land of Crime!
+  How few escape, unscarred, within
+  The winding walks of the maze of sin!
+  How many that towered above the stars
+  Now pine and languish behind the bars!
+
+  What a trail of woe a single mistake
+  Across the page of a life can make!
+  O, shipwrecked sailor, fix your eye
+  On the Star of Hope in yonder sky;
+  Mercy's hand will bring release
+  And safely lead to the Land of Peace.
+
+
+
+
+_THE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL._
+
+
+  Gentle reader, this small volume clearly proves that modern man
+  Can control his erring brothers with a clear enlightened plan.
+  Ne'er till now have prison printers voiced, unchanged, a convict's tho't!
+  Is the change with retrogression or with onward progress fraught?
+  Will this volume change your custom or relieve our horrid pain?
+  Or shall truth be crushed and bleeding, ever bound in prison chain?
+  Will you cast your glances backward, gathering age along by age,
+  Proof that man is wholly brutal when controlled by maddening rage?
+  View the pen of downy feathers, where men choked and choked to death,
+  Without power to ask for pardon with their last expiring breath!
+  See your brother in that river, safely chained to yonder rock,
+  While his thirst is wildly raging and the waves his tortures mock!
+  See yon dungeon, dark and dreary, built by human art and skill,
+  Whose dread mission is to madden any one the _law_ says kill!
+  Visit to the hapless culprit, as in Pagan jail he lies;
+  See the jailer pass the hemlock, which he quaffs, and then he dies!
+  Think of club, of sword and pistol, of the bloody guillotine;
+  Of the whipcord, knout and gallows of the noted Wolverine;
+  Of starvation, rack and torture, of the lash and fiery stake,
+  And then tell me frankly, reader, did these wrongs one virtue wake?
+
+  Tell me frankly, honest reader, can two wrongs create a right?
+  And is man's inhuman conduct pleasing in Jehovah's sight?
+  Or do pitying angels shudder, as the cruel lash you ply,
+  Wondering man can be so brutal and the laws of God defy?
+  Does not conscience loudly thunder: "Sin is but the fruit of hate,
+  And who stones a helpless brother most deserves that victim's fate?
+  Can abuse and brutal treatment purge the sinner of his guilt?
+  If so, _come_, within my bosom sheath your dagger to the hilt!
+  Strike, till every erring mortal at your hands has met his fate,
+  Then sit down and calmly ponder on your awful lonely state!
+  _You_, perhaps, have been quite _faultless_; _you_, perhaps, no _wrong_
+                                                         have done,
+  If 'tis _true_, my peerless brother, _you're alone beneath the sun_"!
+
+  Do but think! we once were spotless as the babe on mother's knee!
+  Trace the causes of our downfall with a mind from malice free.
+  See, on every licensed corner, fiends incarnate hourly sell
+  Fiery waters of _damnation_, that create _a living hell_!
+  Women, once as pure as angels, leading heartless lives of shame;
+  For the trumpery of fashion dealing off both home and name!
+  Hear men laud the wealthy scoundrel and attempt to clear his ways,
+  While the poor and honest toiler _none_ with pride or pleasure pays!
+  See Religion don the garments of all worldly pride and lust,
+  While the Savior's honest followers are but trampled in the dust!
+  See the press, with startling headlines, every vice and sin portray
+  That can sink your moral standard or lead innocence astray!
+  View the legions of temptation strewn along the path of youth,
+  See how few do practice virtue, and how few _adore_ the truth!
+  There! the cause of crime is patent, and our downfall you behold,
+  To condemn it in a sentence: "_It was women, wine and gold!_"
+
+  If you read this book with caution, you have read _between the lines_,
+  Learning much the careless reader and the critic ne'er divines!
+  You have seen the author's purpose was to tell the simple truth,
+  As a tribute to the prisoner and a warning to our youth.
+  You have seen mistakes and errors that less haste would quickly mend,
+  Yet, with all its imperfections, it may prove a useful friend.
+  And in future I may publish one with less of hasty thought
+  That may be--God knows the future--with undying issues fraught.
+  All tried means have proved abortive yet, my friend, there is a plan
+  That _will_ lift each erring brother _to the standard of a man_!
+  If I can but live to publish what I _know_ and long to tell,
+  You _will_ read it and believe it; so, dear reader, _fare-thee-well_!
+
+
+
+
+_CONCLUSION._
+
+
+  Go, little book, thy destined course pursue!
+  Collect memorials of the just and true;
+  And beg of every one who comes thou near
+  Some token of their friendship and good cheer.
+  And if by chance some true friends thou should find,
+  Attach them to thee with both soul and mind;
+  And if they prove good, faithful friends and true,
+  To them thou sticketh, as if they loved you--
+                                    Adieu! Adieu!
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
+
+-Fixed plain print and interpunctuation errors.
+
+-Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Prison Poetry, by Hiram Peck McKnight
+
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