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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
+
+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: Bees in Amber
+       A Little Book of Thoughtful Verse
+
+Author: John Oxenham
+
+Posting Date: November 12, 2011 [EBook #9989]
+Release Date: February, 2006
+First Posted: November 6, 2003
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEES IN AMBER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BEES IN AMBER
+
+A LITTLE BOOK OF THOUGHTFUL VERSE
+
+BY JOHN OXENHAM
+
+1913
+
+
+
+
+TO THOSE I HOLD DEAREST
+
+THIS OF MY BEST.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CREDO
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY AND EVERYDAY
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+THE POTTER
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+THE WAYS
+
+SEEDS
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+SHADOWS
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+TAMATE
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+SARK
+
+E.A.
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+PAUL
+
+WAKENING
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+WANDERED
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+DON'T WORRY!
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+THE VAIL
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+FREEMEN
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+THE GATE
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+INDIA
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+THEY COME!
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+FAITH
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+PROPS
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S APOLOGY
+
+
+In these rushful days an apology is advisable, if not absolutely
+essential, from any man, save the one or two elect, who has the temerity
+to publish a volume of verse.
+
+These stray lines, such as they are, have come to me from time to time,
+I hardly know how or whence; certainly not of deliberate intention or of
+malice aforethought. More often than not they have come to the
+interruption of other, as it seemed to me, more important--and
+undoubtedly more profitable--work.
+
+They are for the most part, simply attempts at concrete and
+rememberable expression of ideas--ages old most of them--which "asked
+for more."
+
+Most writers, I imagine, find themselves at times in that same
+predicament--worried by some thought which dances within them and
+stubbornly refuses to be satisfied with the sober dress of prose. For
+their own satisfaction and relief, in such a case, if they be not fools
+they endeavour to garb it more to its liking, and so find peace. Or, to
+vary the metaphor, they pluck the Bee out of their Bonnet and pop it
+into such amber as they happen to have about them or are able to
+evolve, and so put an end to its buzzing.
+
+In their previous states these little Bonnet-Bees of mine have
+apparently given pleasure to quite a number of intelligent and
+thoughtful folk; and now--chiefly, I am bound to say, for my own
+satisfaction in seeing them all together--I have gathered
+them into one bunch.
+
+If they please you--good! If not, there is no harm done, and one man is
+content.
+
+JOHN OXENHAM
+
+
+
+
+CREDO
+
+
+Not what, but WHOM, I do believe,
+    That, in my darkest hour of need,
+    Hath comfort that no mortal creed
+    To mortal man may give;--
+Not what, but WHOM!
+    For Christ is more than all the creeds,
+    And His full life of gentle deeds
+    Shall all the creeds outlive.
+Not what I do believe, but WHOM!
+    WHO walks beside me in the gloom?
+    WHO shares the burden wearisome?
+    WHO all the dim way doth illume,
+    And bids me look beyond the tomb
+    The larger life to live?--
+Not what I do believe,
+BUT WHOM!
+Not what,
+But WHOM!
+
+
+
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY--AND EVERY DAY
+
+  _Each man is Captain of his Soul,
+  And each man his own Crew,
+  But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+  And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+We break new seas to-day,--
+Our eager keels quest unaccustomed waters,
+And, from the vast uncharted waste in front,
+The mystic circles leap
+To greet our prows with mightiest possibilities;
+Bringing us--what?
+  --Dread shoals and shifting banks?
+  --And calms and storms?
+  --And clouds and biting gales?
+  --And wreck and loss?
+  --And valiant fighting-times?
+And, maybe, Death!--and so, the Larger Life!
+
+    _For should the Pilot deem it best
+    To cut the voyage short,
+    He sees beyond the sky-line, and
+    He'll bring us into Port_.
+
+And, maybe, Life,--Life on a bounding tide,
+    And chance of glorious deeds;--
+    Of help swift-born to drowning mariners;
+    Of cheer to ships dismasted in the gale;
+    Of succours given unasked and joyfully;
+    Of mighty service to all needy souls.
+
+    _So--Ho for the Pilot's orders,
+    Whatever course He makes!
+    For He sees beyond the sky-line,
+    And He never makes mistakes_.
+
+And, maybe, Golden Days,
+    Full freighted with delight!
+    --And wide free seas of unimagined bliss,
+    --And Treasure Isles, and Kingdoms to be won,
+    --And Undiscovered Countries, and New Kin.
+
+    _For each man captains his own Soul,
+    And chooses his own Crew,
+    But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+    And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+
+    "_See this my garden,
+      Large and fair_!"
+--Thus, to his friend,
+The Philosopher.
+
+  "'_Tis not too long_,"
+His friend replied,
+With truth exact,--
+  "_Nor yet too wide.
+  But well compact,
+   If somewhat cramped
+    On every side_."
+
+Quick the reply--
+  "_But see how high!--
+  It reaches up
+  To God's blue sky_!"
+
+Not by their size
+Measure we men
+Or things.
+Wisdom, with eyes
+Washed in the fire,
+Seeketh the things
+That are higher--
+Things that have wings,
+Thoughts that aspire.
+
+
+
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+
+The Mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small--
+So soft and slow the great wheels go they scarcely move at all;
+But the souls of men fall into them and are powdered into dust,
+And in that dust grow the Passion-Flowers--Love, Hope, Trust.
+
+Most wondrous their upspringing, in the dust of the Grinding-Mills,
+And rare beyond the telling the fragrance each distils.
+Some grow up tall and stately, and some grow sweet and small,
+But Life out of Death is in each one--with purpose grow they all.
+
+For that dust is God's own garden, and the Lord Christ tends it fair,
+With oh, such loving tenderness! and oh, such patient care!
+In sorrow the seeds are planted, they are watered with bitter tears,
+But their roots strike down to the Water-Springs and the Sources of the
+        Years.
+
+These flowers of Christ's own providence, they wither not nor die,
+But flourish fair, and fairer still, through all eternity.
+In the Dust of the Mills and in travail the amaranth seeds are sown,
+But the Flowers in their full beauty climb the Pillars of the Throne.
+
+NOTE.--The first line only is adapted from the Sinngedichte of
+Friedrich von Logau.
+
+
+
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+
+But once I pass this way,
+And then--no more.
+But once--and then, the Silent Door
+Swings on its hinges,--
+Opens ... closes,--
+And no more
+I pass this way.
+So while I may,
+With all my might,
+I will essay
+Sweet comfort and delight,
+To all I meet upon the Pilgrim Way.
+For no man travels twice
+The Great Highway,
+That climbs through Darkness up to Light,--
+Through Night
+To Day.
+
+
+
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+
+King's Daughter!
+Wouldst thou be all fair,
+Without--within--
+Peerless and beautiful,
+A very Queen?
+
+Know then:--
+Not as men build unto the Silent One,--
+With clang and clamour,
+Traffic of rude voices,
+Clink of steel on stone,
+And din of hammer;--
+Not so the temple of thy grace is reared.
+But,--in the inmost shrine
+Must thou begin,
+And build with care
+A Holy Place,
+A place unseen,
+Each stone a prayer.
+Then, having built,
+Thy shrine sweep bare
+Of self and sin,
+And all that might demean;
+And, with endeavour,
+Watching ever, praying ever,
+Keep it fragrant-sweet, and clean:
+So, by God's grace, it be fit place,--
+His Christ shall enter and shall dwell therein.
+Not as in earthly fane--where chase
+Of steel on stone may strive to win
+Some outward grace,--
+_Thy temple face is chiselled from within_.
+
+
+
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+
+Better in bitterest agony to lie,
+Before Thy throne,
+Than through much increase to be lifted up on high,
+And stand alone.
+
+Better by one sweet soul, constant and true,
+To be beloved,
+Than all the kingdoms of delight to trample through,
+Unloved, unloved.
+
+Yet best--the need that broke me at Thy feet,
+In voiceless prayer,
+And cast my chastened heart, a sacrifice complete,
+Upon Thy care.
+
+For all the world is nought, and less than nought,
+Compared with this,--
+That my dear Lord, with His own life, my ransom bought,
+And I am His.
+
+
+
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+
+Shapeless and grim,
+A Shadow dim
+O'erhung the ways,
+And darkened all my days.
+And all who saw,
+With bated breath,
+Said, "It is Death!"
+
+And I, in weakness
+Slipping towards the Night,
+In sore affright
+Looked up. And lo!--
+No Spectre grim,
+But just a dim
+Sweet face,
+A sweet high mother-face,
+A face like Christ's Own Mother's face,
+Alight with tenderness
+And grace.
+
+"Thou art not Death!" I cried;--
+For Life's supremest fantasy
+Had never thus envisaged Death to me;--
+"Thou art not Death, the End!"
+
+In accents winning,
+Came the answer,--"_Friend,
+    There is no Death!
+    I am the Beginning,
+    --Not the End_!"
+
+
+
+
+THE POTTER
+
+
+A Potter, playing with his lump of clay,
+Fashioned an image of supremest worth.
+  "_Never was nobler image made on earth,
+  Than this that I have fashioned of my clay.
+  And I, of mine own skill, did fashion it,--
+  I--from this lump of clay_."
+
+The Master, looking out on Pots and Men,
+Heard his vain boasting, smiled at that he said.
+  "_The clay is Mine, and I the Potter made,
+  As I made all things,--stars, and clay, and men.
+  In what doth this man overpass the rest?
+  --Be thou as other men_!"
+
+He touched the Image,--and it fell to dust,
+He touched the Potter,--he to dust did fall.
+  Gently the Master,--"_I did make them all,--
+  All things and men, heaven's glories, and the dust.
+  Who with Me works shall quicken death itself,
+  Without Me--dust is dust_."
+
+
+
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+
+Fold up the tent!
+The sun is in the West.
+To-morrow my untented soul will range
+Among the blest.
+      And I am well content,
+      For what is sent, is sent,
+      And God knows best.
+
+Fold up the tent,
+And speed the parting guest!
+The night draws on, though night and day are one
+On this long quest.
+      This house was only lent
+      For my apprenticement--
+      What is, is best.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its slack ropes all undone,
+Its pole all broken, and its cover rent,--
+Its work is done.
+      But mine--tho' spoiled and spent
+      Mine earthly tenement--
+      Is but begun.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its tenant would be gone,
+To fairer skies than mortal eyes
+May look upon.
+All that I loved has passed,
+    And left me at the last
+    Alone!--alone!
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Above the mountain's crest,
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling clear,--
+"To rest! To rest!"
+      And I am glad to go,
+      For the sweet oil is low,
+      And rest is best!
+
+
+
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+
+God is a zealous pruner,
+For He knows--
+Who, falsely tender, spares the knife
+But spoils the rose.
+
+
+
+
+THE WAYS
+
+
+To every man there openeth
+A Way, and Ways, and a Way.
+And the High Soul climbs the High way,
+And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
+And in between, on the misty flats,
+The rest drift to and fro.
+But to every man there openeth
+A High Way, and a Low.
+And every man decideth
+The Way his soul shall go.
+
+
+
+
+SEEDS
+
+
+What shall we be like when
+We cast this earthly body and attain
+To immortality?
+What shall we be like then?
+
+Ah, who shall say
+What vast expansions shall be ours that day?
+What transformations of this house of clay,
+To fit the heavenly mansions and the light of day?
+Ah, who shall say?
+
+But this we know,--
+We drop a seed into the ground,
+A tiny, shapeless thing, shrivelled and dry,
+And, in the fulness of its time, is seen
+A form of peerless beauty, robed and crowned
+Beyond the pride of any earthly queen,
+Instinct with loveliness, and sweet and rare,
+The perfect emblem of its Maker's care.
+
+This from a shrivelled seed?--
+--Then may man hope indeed!
+
+For man is but the seed of what he shall be.
+When, in the fulness of his perfecting,
+He drops the husk and cleaves his upward way,
+Through earth's retardings and the clinging clay,
+Into the sunshine of God's perfect day.
+No fetters then! No bonds of time or space!
+But powers as ample as the boundless grace
+That suffered man, and death, and yet, in tenderness,
+Set wide the door, and passed Himself before--
+As He had promised--to prepare a place.
+
+Yea, we may hope!
+For we are seeds,
+Dropped into earth for heavenly blossoming.
+Perchance, when comes the time of harvesting,
+His loving care
+May find some use for even a humble tare.
+
+We know not what we shall be--only this--
+That we shall be made like Him--as He is.
+
+
+
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+
+Lord, when on my bed I lie,
+Sleepless, unto Thee I'll cry;
+When my brain works overmuch,
+Stay the wheels with Thy soft touch.
+
+Just a quiet thought of Thee,
+And of Thy sweet charity,--
+Just a little prayer, and then
+I will turn to sleep again.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+
+When the Bells of Ys rang softly,--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,
+Not a sound was heard in the old gray town,
+As the silvery tones came floating down,
+But life stood still with uncovered head,
+And doers of ill did good instead,
+And abroad the Peace of God was shed,
+  _When the bells aloft sang softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Aloft, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+And still those Bells ring softly--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_.
+Though full twelve hundred years have gone,
+Since the waves rolled over the old gray town,
+Bold men of the sea, in the grip of the flow,
+Still hear the Bells, as they pass and go,
+Or win to life with their hearts aglow,
+  _When the Bells below sing softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and alow, and alow_.
+
+O the Mystical Bells, they still ring softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,--
+For the sound of their singing shall never die
+In the hearts that are tuned to their melody;
+And down in the world's wild rush and roar,
+That sweeps us along to the Opening Door.
+
+Hearts still beat high as they beat of yore,
+  _When the Bells sing softly--softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+
+      I;--
+      Thou;--
+      We;--
+      They;--
+Small words, but mighty.
+In their span
+Are bound the life and hopes of man.
+
+For, first, his thoughts of his own self are full;
+Until another comes his heart to rule.
+For them, life's best is centred round their love;
+Till younger lives come all their love to prove.
+
+
+
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+
+For every Guest who comes with him to sup,
+The Host compounds a strangely mingled cup;--
+Red Wine of Life and Dregs of Bitterness,
+And, will-he, nil-he, each must drink it up.
+
+
+
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+
+Warp and Woof and Tangle,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+Living and dying--and mightier dead,
+For the shuttle, once sped, is sped--is sped;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+White, and Black, and Hodden-gray,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+To every weaver one golden strand
+Is given in trust by the Master-Hand;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+And that we weave, we know not,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+The threads we see, but the pattern is known
+To the Master-Weaver alone, alone;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+
+When, with bowed head,
+And silent-streaming tears,
+With mingled hopes and fears,
+To earth we yield our dead;
+The Saints, with clearer sight,
+Do cry in glad accord,--
+"_A soul released from prison
+Is risen, is risen,--
+Is risen to the glory of the Lord_."
+
+
+
+
+SHADOWS
+
+
+Shadows are but for the moment--
+Quickly past;
+And then the sun the brighter shines
+That it was overcast.
+
+For Light is Life!
+Gracious and sweet,
+The fair life-giving sun doth scatter blessings
+With his light and heat,--
+And shadows.
+But the shadows that come of the life-giving sun
+Crouch at his feet.
+
+No mortal life but has its shadowed times--
+Not one!
+Life without shadow could not taste the full
+Sweet glory of the sun.
+
+No shadow falls, but there, behind it, stands
+The Light
+Behind the wrongs and sorrows of life's troublous ways
+Stands RIGHT.
+
+
+
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+
+_As It was in the Beginning,--
+Is Now,--
+And...?
+
+     Anno Domini I_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+The Inn is full,
+Yea--overfull.
+No room have we
+for such as ye--
+Poor folk of Galilee,
+     Pass on! Pass on!"
+
+"Nay then!--
+Your charity
+Will ne'er deny
+Some corner mean,
+Where she may lie unseen.
+For see!--
+Her time is nigh."
+
+"Alack! And she
+So young and fair!
+Place have we none;
+And yet--how bid ye gone?
+Stay then!--out there
+Among the beasts
+Ye may find room,
+And eke a truss
+To lie upon."
+
+
+  _Anno Domini 1913, etc., etc_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+No room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee!
+The house is full,
+Yea, overfull.
+There is no room for Thee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+Nay--see!
+The place is packed.
+"We scarce have room
+For our own selves,
+So how shall we
+Find room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+But--if Thou shouldst
+This way again,
+And we can find
+So much as one small corner
+Free from guest,
+Not then in vain
+Thy quest.
+But now--
+The house is full.
+     Pass on!"
+
+Christ passes
+On His ceaseless quest,
+Nor will He rest
+With any,
+Save as Chiefest Guest.
+
+
+
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+"'Tis all a Chequer-Board of Nights and Days,
+Where Detiny with men for pieces plays,
+Hither and thither moves, and mates and slays,
+And one by one back in the Closet lays."
+
+_Omar Khayyam_.
+
+
+A Chequer-Board of mingled Light and Shade?
+And We the Pieces on it deftly laid?
+Moved and removed, without a word to say,
+By the Same Hand that Board and Pieces made?
+
+No Pieces we in any Fateful Game,
+Nor free to shift on Destiny the blame;
+Each Soul doth tend its own immortal flame,
+Fans it to Heaven, or smothers it in shame.
+
+
+
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+
+Oft, as he jogs along the Winding-Way,
+Occasion comes for Every Man to say,--
+"This Road?--or That?" and as he chooses them,
+So shall his journey end in Night or Day.
+
+
+
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+
+Peter, outworn,
+And menaced by the sword,
+Shook off the dust of Rome;
+And, as he fled,
+Met one, with eager face,
+Hastening cityward,
+And, to his vast amaze,
+It was The Lord.
+  "_Lord, whither goest Thou_?"
+He cried, importunate,
+And Christ replied,--
+  "_Peter, I suffer loss.
+  I go to take thy place,
+  To bear thy cross_."
+
+Then Peter bowed his head,
+Discomforted;
+There, at the Master's feet,
+Found grace complete,
+And courage, and new faith,
+And turned--with Him,
+To Death.
+
+So we,--
+Whene'er we fail
+Of our full duty,
+Cast on Him our load,--
+    Who suffered sore for us,
+    Who frail flesh wore for us,
+    Who all things bore for us,--
+On Christ, The Lord.
+
+
+
+
+TAMATE
+
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Great-Heart the Teacher,
+    Great-Heart the Joyous,
+    Great-Heart the Fearless,
+    Great-Heart the Martyr,
+    Great-Heart of Sweet White Fire.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Fighting the fight,
+    Holding the Light,
+    Into the night.
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_.--
+    But the Light shall burn the brighter.
+    And the night shall be the lighter,
+    For his going;
+    And a rich, rich harvest for his sowing.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_!--
+What is death to such an one as Great-Heart?
+    One sigh, perchance, for work unfinished here;--
+    Then a swift passing to a mightier sphere,
+    New joys, perfected powers, the vision clear,
+    And all the amplitude of heaven to work
+    The work he held so dear.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, say they_?
+    Nor dead nor sleeping! He lives on! His name
+    Shall kindle many a heart to equal flame.
+    The fire he lighted shall burn on and on,
+    Till all the darkness of the lands be gone,
+    And all the kingdoms of the earth be won,
+    And one.
+
+_A soul so fiery sweet can never die,
+But lives and loves and works through all eternity_.
+
+
+
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+
+Burden-bearers are we all,
+Great and small.
+Burden-sharers be ye all,
+Great and small!
+Where another shares the load,
+Two draw nearer God.
+Yet there are burdens we can share with none,
+Save God;
+And paths remote where we must walk alone,
+With God;
+For lonely burden and for path apart--
+Thank God!
+If these but serve to bring the burdened heart
+To God.
+
+
+
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+
+Time beats out all things with his iron flail,
+Things great, things small.
+With steady strokes that never fail,
+With slow, sure strokes of his iron flail,
+Time beats out all.
+
+
+
+
+SARK
+
+
+Pearl Iridescent! Pearl of the sea!
+Shimmering, glimmering Pearl of the sea!
+    White in the sun-flecked Silver Sea,
+    White in the moon-decked Silver Sea,
+    White in the wrath of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Lapped in the smile of the Silver Sea,
+    Ringed in the foam of the Silver Sea,
+    Glamoured in mists of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Glancing and glimmering under the sun.
+    Jewel and casket all in one,
+    Joy supreme of the sun's day dream,
+    Soft in the gleam of the golden beam,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Splendour of Hope in the rising sun,
+    Glory of Love in the noonday sun,
+    Wonder of Faith in the setting sun,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+    Gaunt and grim to the outer world,
+    Jewel and casket all impearled
+    With the kiss of the Silver Sea!--
+    With the flying kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the long sweet kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the rainbow kiss of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    And oh the sight,--the wonderful sight,
+    When calm and white, in the mystic light
+    Of her quivering pathway, broad and bright,
+    The Queen of the Night, in silver dight,
+    Sails over the Silver Sea!
+
+Wherever I go, and wherever I be,
+The joy and the longing are there with me,--
+The gleam and the glamour come back to me,--
+In a mystical rapture there comes to me,
+The call of the Silver Sea!
+As needle to pole is my heart to thee,
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+
+
+
+E.A., Nov. 6, 1900
+
+
+Bright stars of Faith and Hope, her eyes
+    Shall shine for us through all the years.
+    For all her life was Love, and fears
+Touch not the love that never dies.
+
+And Death itself, to her, was but
+    The wider opening of the door
+    That had been opening, more and more,
+Through all her life, and ne'er was shut.
+
+--And never shall be shut. She left
+    The door ajar for you and me,
+    And, looking after her, we see
+The glory shining through the cleft.
+
+And when our own time comes,--again
+    We'll meet her face to face;--again
+    Well see the star-shine; and again
+She'll greet us with her soft, "Come ben!"
+
+
+
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+
+_Hark! The drums! Muffled drums!
+The long low ruffle of the drums_!--
+And every head is bowed,
+In the vast expectant crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,--
+  By the way she knew so well,
+  Where our cheers were wont to swell,
+  As we tried in vain to tell
+  Of our love unspeakable.
+Now she comes
+To the rolling of the drums,
+And the slow sad tolling of the bell.
+Let every head be bowed,
+In the silent waiting crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,
+To the slow sad ruffle of the drums!
+
+  _Who is this that comes,
+  To the rolling of the drums,
+  In the sorrowful great silence of the peoples_?
+Take heart of grace,
+She is not here!
+The Great Queen is not here!
+  What most in her we did revere,--
+  The lofty spirit, white and clear,
+  The tender love that knew no fear,
+  The soul sincere,--
+These come not here,
+To the rolling of the drums,
+In the silence and the sorrow of the peoples.
+
+  _Death has but little part
+  In her. Love cannot die.
+  Who reigns in every heart
+  Hath immortality_.
+So, though our heads are bent,
+Our hearts are jubilant,
+As she comes,--
+As a conqueror she comes--
+With the rolling of the drums,
+To the stateliest of her homes,
+In the hearts of her true and faithful peoples.
+  _For the Great Queen lives for ever
+  In the hearts of those who love her.
+January, 1901_.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+
+Through every minute of this day,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every day of all this week,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every week of all this year,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through all the years of all this life,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+So shall the days and weeks and years
+Be threaded on a golden cord,
+And all draw on with sweet accord
+Unto Thy fulness, Lord,
+That so, when time is past,
+By Grace, I may at last,
+        Be with Thee, Lord.
+
+
+
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+JUNE, 1902
+
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Up to the sombre sky
+Rolled one great thankful sigh,
+Rolled one great gladsome cry--
+The soul's deliverance of a mighty people.
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+
+The long-low-hanging war-cloud rolled away,
+And night glowed brighter than the brightest day.
+For Peace is Light,
+And War is grimmer than the Night.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Great ocean, was your mighty calm unstirred
+As through your depths, unseen, unheard,
+Sped on its way the glorious word
+That called a weary nation to ungird,
+And sheathed once more the keen, reluctant sword?
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+The word came to us as we knelt in prayer
+That wars might cease.
+Peace found us on our knees, and prayer for Peace
+Was changed to prayer of deepest thankfulness.
+We knelt in War, we rose in Peace to bless
+Thy grace, Thy care, Thy tenderness.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+No matter now the rights and wrongs of it;
+You fought us bravely, and we fought you fair.
+The fight is done. Grip hands! No malice bear!
+We greet you, brothers, to the nobler strife
+Of building up the newer, larger life!
+
+Join hands! Join hands! Ye nations of the stock!
+And make henceforth a mighty Trust for Peace.
+A great enduring peace that shall withstand
+The shocks of time and circumstance; and every land
+Shall rise and bless you--and shall never cease
+To bless you--for that glorious gift of Peace.
+
+
+
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+
+He writes in characters too grand
+For our short sight to understand;
+We catch but broken strokes, and try
+To fathom all the mystery
+Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
+The endless war, the useless strife,--
+But there, with larger, clearer sight,
+We shall see this--His way was right.
+
+
+
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+
+Stephen, who died while I stood by consenting,
+  Wrought in his death the making of a life,
+Bruised one hard heart to thought of swift repenting,
+  Fitted one fighter for a nobler strife.
+
+Stephen, the Saint, triumphant and forgiving,
+  Prayed while the hot blows beat him to the earth.
+Was that a dying? Rather was it living!--
+  Through his soul's travail my soul came to birth.
+
+Stephen, the Martyr, full of faith and fearless,
+  Smiled when his bruised lips could no longer pray,--
+Smiled with a courage undismayed and peerless,--
+  Smiled!--and that smile is with me, night and day.
+
+O, was it _I_ that stood there, all consenting?
+  _I_--at whose feet the young men's clothes were laid?
+Was it _my_ will that wrought that hot tormenting?
+  My heart that boasted over Stephen, dead?
+
+Yes, it was I. And sore to me the telling.
+  Yes, it was I. And thought of it has been
+God's potent spur my whole soul's might compelling
+  These outer darknesses for Him to win.
+
+
+
+
+PAUL
+
+
+Bond-slave to Christ, and in my bonds rejoicing,
+  Earmarked to Him I counted less than nought;
+His man henceforward, eager to be voicing
+  That wondrous Love which Saul the Roman sought.
+
+Sought him and found him, working bitter sorrow;
+  Found him and claimed him, chose him for his own;
+Bound him in darkness, till the glorious morrow
+  Unsealed his eyes to that he had not known.
+
+
+
+
+WAKENING
+
+
+This mortal dies,--
+But, in the moment when the light fails here,
+The darkness opens, and the vision clear
+Breaks on his eyes.
+The vail is rent,--
+On his enraptured gaze heaven's glory breaks,
+He was asleep, and in that moment wakes.
+
+
+
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+
+Devils' work!
+Devils' work, my masters!
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+You may close your heart, but you cannot shirk
+This terrible fact,--_We--kept--the--Turk_.
+His day was past and we knew his work,
+But he played our game, so we kept the Turk,
+For our own sake's sake we kept the Turk.
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+Red are the walls and the ways,
+      _And--Britain, your hands are red_!
+There is blood on the hearth, and blood in the well,
+And the whole fair land is a red, red hell,--
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+"_Come over! Come over and help us_!"
+We are deaf to the ancient cry.
+--"_For the sake of our women and children_!"
+And Britain stands quietly by.
+      _O Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+_Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+Yea, cleanse them in blood if it _must_ be!
+For blood that is shed in the cause of right
+Has power, as of old, to wash souls white.
+      _Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+
+O for the fiery grace of old,--
+The heart and the masterful hand!
+But grace grows dim and the fire grows cold,
+We are heavy with greed and lust and gold,
+And life creeps low in the land.
+
+_Break your bonds, Britain_!
+Stand up once again for the right!
+We have stained our hands in the times that are past,
+Before God, we would wash them white.
+
+_For the Nations are in the proving;
+Each day is Judgment Day;
+And the peoples He finds wanting
+Shall pass--by the winding way_.
+
+
+
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+
+O Exiled Hearts--for you, for you--
+Love still can find the way!
+  _Hear the voices of the women on the road_!
+O Shadowed Lives--for you, for you--
+Hope hath not lost her ray!
+  _Hear the laughter of the children on the road_!
+O Gloomy Night--for you, for you--
+Dawn tells of coming day!
+  _Hear the clink of breaking fetters on the road_!
+O Might sans Right--for you, for you--
+The feet of crumbling clay!
+  _Hear the slow, sure tread of Freedom on the road_!
+
+
+
+
+WANDERED
+
+
+The wind blows shrill along the hill,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+The sky hangs low with its weight of snow,
+And the drifts are deep on the wold.
+But what care I for wind or snow?
+And what care I for the cold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The beasts are safely gathered in,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+They are snug and warm, and safe from harm,
+In stall and byre and fold.
+And the dogs and I, by the blazing fire,
+Care nought for the snow and the cold.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The barns are bursting with their store
+Of grain like yellow gold;
+A full, fat year has brought good cheer,
+--_Black is the night and cold_.--
+But ...  What care I for teeming barns?
+And what care I for gold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+In the great kitchen, maids and men,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+Laugh loud and long, with jest and song,
+And merry revel hold.
+Let them laugh and sing, let them have their fling,
+But for me--I am growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The old house moans, and sighs and groans,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+We have seen brave times, you and I, old friend,
+But now--we are growing old.
+We have stood foursquare to many a storm,
+But now--we are growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Her mother sleeps on the hill out there,
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+She is free from care, she is happier there,
+Beneath the warm brown mould.
+And I've sometimes hoped they may have met,
+And the end of the tale be told.
+        _Ah ... where is our lamb--
+         Our one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Was that a branch that shed its load?
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+Or--was it a footstep in the snow--
+A timid footstep--halting, slow?
+Ah me! I am getting old!
+Is that a tapping--soft and low?
+Can it be ... I thought I heard ... but no,
+'Twas only a branch that shed its snow,--
+God's truth! I am getting old!
+        _For I thought ... maybe
+         It was my lamb
+         Come home again to the fold_.
+
+Dear Lord! a hand at the frozen pane!
+--_White on the night's black cold_--
+O my lamb! my lamb! are you come again?
+My dear lost lamb, are you come again?
+Are you come again to the fold?
+It is!... It is!... Now I thank Thee, Lord,
+For Thy Mercies manifold!
+        _She is come again!
+         She is home again!
+         My lamb that strayed from the fold_!
+
+
+
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+
+Though the times be dark and dreary,
+Though the way be long,
+Keep your spirits bright and cheery,--
+--"Bide a wee, and dinna weary!"
+  Is a heartsome song.
+
+
+
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+
+"A red rose for my helmet,
+And a word before we part!
+The rose shall be my oriflamme
+The word shall fill my heart."
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart--
+    Just a look, just a word and a look!
+    A look or a sign that my love shall divine
+    And a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She toyed with his love and her roses;
+Was it mischief or mischance?--
+She dropped him a rose--'twas a white one,
+And he lifted it on his lance.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Is it thus--is it thus we part?
+    With never a look, and never a sign,
+    Nor a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She sought him among the dying,
+She found him among the dead;
+And the rose was still in his helmet.
+But his life had stained it red.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Now my heart within me is dead.
+    And alack for the look!
+    And alas for the sign!
+    And the word that was left unsaid_!
+
+
+
+
+DON'T WORRY
+
+
+Just do your best,
+And leave the rest
+To Him who gave you
+Life,--
+And Zeal for Labour,--
+And the Joy of Strife,--
+And Zest of Love,--
+And all that lifts your soul above
+The lower things.
+
+Life's truest harvest is in what we _would_,
+And strive our best for,
+Not most in what we _could_.
+The things we count supreme
+Stand, haply, not so high
+In God's esteem
+As _How_ and _Why_.
+
+All-Seeing Sight
+Cleaves through the husk of things,
+Right to the Roots and Springs,--
+Sees all things whole,
+And measures less the body than the soul.
+All-Righteous Right
+Will weigh men's motives,
+Not their deeds alone.
+End and Beginning unto Him are one;
+And _would_ for _could_ shall oft, perchance, atone.
+
+Motives are seeds,
+From which at times spring deeds
+Not equal to the soul's outreaching hope.
+Strive for the stars!
+Count nought well done but best!
+Then, with brave patience, leave the rest
+To Him who knows.
+He'll judge you justly ere the record close.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+
+The Golden Rose is blowing still,
+  Is growing still, is glowing still,
+In lonely vale, on lordly hill,
+The Golden Rose is glowing still;--
+  If only you can find it!
+
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows,
+  Still breaks and blows, still gleams and glows,
+'Mid icy blasts, and wintry snows,
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows;--
+Search w ell and you may find it!
+
+The Golden Rose can never die,
+  'Tis grafted on Eternity;
+In hearts that Love doth glorify,
+The Golden Rose can never die,--
+  May it be yours to find it!
+
+
+
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+
+Rabbi, begone! Thy powers
+Bring loss to us and ours.
+Our ways are not as Thine.
+Thou lovest men, we--swine.
+Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,
+And take this fool of Thine!
+His soul? What care we for his soul?
+What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,
+Since we have lost our swine?
+
+And Christ went sadly.
+He had wrought for them a sign
+Of Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;
+They wanted--swine.
+Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;
+But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,
+He forces no man's hold--he will depart,
+And leave you to the treasures of your heart.
+
+No cumbered chamber will the Master share,
+But one swept bare
+By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair
+With meekness, and humility, and prayer.
+There will He come, yet, coming, even there
+He stands and waits, and will no entrance win
+Until the latch be lifted from within.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+(_Cradle Song from "The Long Road_.")
+
+
+Whisht, Baby! Whisht!
+Quick below the cover!
+Down into your nest, my bird!
+And--don't--you--dare--peep--over!
+For the grey wolves they are prowling,
+They are prowling, they are prowling.
+And the snow-wind it is howling,
+It is howling, it is howling.
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark--
+Ow--ooh! Ow--ooh!
+S-s-s-s-s-seee--oo--ooh!
+The wolves they are lean,
+So-o-o lean, so-o-o lean!
+And the wind it is keen,
+So-o-o keen, so-o-o keen!
+And they seek little babies who aren't sleeping!
+But lie you still, my Baby dear!
+Lie still, lie still, and maybe you'll hear--
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark,--
+The silver bells and the golden bells,
+The swinging bells and the singing bells,--
+The bells that are heard but never are seen,
+The wind and the wolves, and the bells in between,--
+The bells of Iline,
+Good Stepan Iline,--
+The bells of good Stepan Iline!
+
+
+
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+
+Each sin has its door of entrance.
+Keep--that--door--closed!
+Bolt it tight!
+Just outside, the wild beast crouches
+In the night.
+Pin the bolt with a prayer,
+God will fix it there.
+
+
+
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+
+Though every nerve be strained
+To fine accomplishment,
+Full oft the life fall spent
+Before the prize is gained.
+And, in our discontent
+At waste so evident,
+In doubt and vast discouragement
+We wonder what is meant.
+But, tracing back, we find
+A Power that held the ways--
+A Mighty Hand, a Master Mind,
+That all the troubled course defined
+And overruled the days.
+Some call it Fate; some--Chance;
+Some--Giant Circumstance;
+And some, upreaching to the sense
+Of God within the circumstance,
+Do call it--Providence!
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+
+Down to the sea, the hungry sea,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Seeking food for the bairns and me,
+Seeking food in the hungry sea;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+My man and my lad--their bones are white,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Into the maw of the grim black night,
+Their hearts were bold and their faces bright;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+The sun was red and the clouds were black,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+And the sky was heavy with flying wrack,
+When forth they fared,--and they came not back;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+Forth they fared and they came not back,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+O, I fear the sea, and I hate the sea,
+That took my man and my lad from me;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy tender grace,
+In our distress
+Thou hast not left us wholly comfortless.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy wondrous might,
+Into our night
+Thou hast sent down the glory of the Light.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That all Thy wondrous ways,
+Through all our days,
+Are Wisdom, Right, and Ceaseless Tenderness.
+
+
+
+
+THE VAIL
+
+
+He only sees both sides of that dark vail
+That hangs before men's eyes--
+He only. It is well!
+Hope ever stands unseen
+Behind the screen,
+For knowledge would bring Hope to sudden death,
+And cloud the present with the coming ill.
+I would lie still, Dear Lord,
+I would lie still,
+And stay my troubled heart on Thee,
+Obedient to Thy will.
+
+
+
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+
+In Christ there is no East or West,
+  In Him no South or North,
+But one great Fellowship of Love
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+In Him shall true hearts everywhere
+  Their high communion find.
+His service is the golden cord
+  Close-binding all mankind.
+
+Join hands then, Brothers of the Faith,
+Whatever your race may be!--
+Who serves my Father as a son
+  Is surely kin to me.
+
+In Christ now meet both East and West,
+  In Him meet South and North,
+All Christly souls are one in Him,
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+
+  Not for one single day
+Can I discern my way,
+          But this I surely know,--
+  Who gives the day,
+  Will show the way,
+          So I securely go.
+
+
+
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+
+O God, within whose sight
+All men have equal right
+    To worship Thee.
+Break every bar that holds
+Thy flock in diverse folds!
+Thy Will from none withholds
+    Full liberty.
+
+Lord, set Thy Churches free
+From foolish rivalry!
+    Lord, set us free!
+Let all past bitterness
+Now and for ever cease,
+And all our souls possess
+    Thy charity!
+
+Lord, set the people free!
+Let all men draw to Thee
+    In unity!
+Thy temple courts are wide,
+Therein let all abide
+In peace, and side by side,
+    Serve only Thee!
+
+God, grant us now Thy peace!
+Bid all dissensions cease!
+    God, send us peace!
+Peace in True Liberty,
+Peace in Equality,
+Peace and Fraternity,
+    God, send us peace!
+
+
+
+
+FREEMEN
+
+
+Let no man stand between my God and me!
+I claim a Free man's right
+Of intercourse direct with Him,
+Who gave me Freedom with the air and light.
+God made me free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Me and my liberty!
+
+We need no priest to tell us God is Love.--
+Have we not eyes to see,
+And minds to apprehend, and hearts
+That leap responsive to His Charity?
+God's gifts are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+We need no priest to point a way to heaven.--
+God's heaven is here,--is there,--
+Man's birthright, with the light and air,--
+"God is His own and best interpreter."
+His ways are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+Let no man strive to rob us of this right!
+For this, from age to age,
+Our fathers did a mighty warfare wage,
+And, by God's help, we'll keep our heritage!
+God says--"Be Free!"
+And we,--
+"NO MAN SHALL STAND BETWEEN
+OUR SONS AND LIBERTY!"
+
+
+
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+
+Long the road,
+    Till Love came down it!
+Dark the life,
+    Till Love did crown it!
+Dark the life,
+    And long the road,
+Till Love came
+    To share the load!
+For the touch
+    Of Love transfigures
+All the road
+    And all its rigours.
+Life and Death,
+Love's touch transfigures.
+Life and Death
+    And all that lies
+In between,
+Love sanctifies.
+Once the heavenly spark is lighted,
+Once in love two hearts united,
+Nevermore
+    Shall aught that was be
+As before.
+
+
+
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+
+The good intent of God became the Christ.
+And lived on earth--the Living Love of God,
+That men might draw to closer touch with heaven,
+Since Christ in all the ways of man hath trod.
+
+
+
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+
+With the thirty pieces of silver,
+They bought the Potter's Field;
+For none would have the blood-money
+And the interest it might yield.
+
+The Place of Blood for the Price of Blood,
+And that was meet, I ween,
+For there they would bury the dead who died
+In frowardness and sin.
+
+And the first man they would bury there
+Was Judas Iscariot;
+And that was as dreadful a burying
+As ever was, I wot.
+
+For the sick earth would not keep him;
+Each time it thrust him out,
+And they that would have buried him
+Stood shuddering round about.
+
+And others they would bury
+In that unhallowed spot,
+But honest earth would none of them,
+Because of Iscariot.
+
+And oh, it was a fell, fell place,
+With dead black trees all round,
+And a quag that boiled and writhed and coiled
+Where had been solid ground.
+
+For every tree that stood there,
+And the green grass every blade,
+Shrivelled and died on every side,
+Whenever the price was paid.
+
+And in despair they left him there,
+And there his body lay,
+Till his sad soul came, all black with shame,
+And carried it away.
+
+And those denied a sepulture
+In that most dismal spot,
+Gibbered and flew, a ghastly crew,
+Incensed with rage, that grew and grew,
+Against Iscariot.
+
+For their souls were all in torment,
+While their bodies uncovered lay,
+And never a moment's rest was theirs,
+Either by night or day.
+
+That was a place of wailings,
+And the grisly things of Death,--
+The bare black arms of the trees above,
+And the black quag underneath.
+
+No light of the moon fell on it,
+Nor ever a star did shine
+On the quivering face of that dread place,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+Then there came by the soul of Iscariot,
+The same who sold his Lord,
+And he dragged his body after him,
+But never spake a word.
+
+Since earth his body would not,
+He must drag it to and fro,
+He had tried in vain to be quit of it,
+But it would not let him go.
+
+So the soul of Judas Iscariot
+Came by the Potter's Field,
+And there the ill his deed had wrought
+Was unto him revealed.
+
+And when the others saw him,
+They leaped at him eagerly;--
+"This is he for whom we suffer!
+--'Tis he! 'Tis he! 'Tis he!"
+
+Then all afire with mad desire,
+They chased him through the dark,
+And each soul carried his dead bodie,
+Grim, and stiff, and stark.
+
+They struck at him with their bodies,
+They cursed him for his sin,
+They made to tear his dumb soul there,
+With their fingers long and lean.
+
+And Judas fled in his horror,
+With that fell crew behind,
+And as they sped the people said
+Death rode upon the wind.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+Because of his treachery,
+And ever he just escaped their lust,
+And ever they were nigh.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+And ever they were nigh,
+And never a star shone out on them
+Out of the cold black sky.
+
+And as they sped by Calvary,
+There were empty crosses three,--
+And on the ground, below the mound,
+Lay one in agony.
+
+"_Three times I swore I knew Him not,
+And then--He looked on me.
+Ah, such a look!--no harshest word
+Had ever proved so sharp a sword
+To my inconstancy_.
+
+"_Three times I did deny Thee, Lord!
+And yet, thou couldst forgive,
+Now am I thine--in life, in death;
+Thee will I serve with every breath,
+While I have breath to give_."
+
+They sped by an open window,
+Where one knelt all alone,
+In great amaze, in greater grief,
+In woe that wrestled with belief,
+The Mother mourned her Son.
+
+"_My son, I knew thee more than man,--
+Ah me!--and the heart of me!
+Yet, man in God, and God in man,
+Still wast thou part of me_.
+
+"_The nails through thy dear hands and feet,--
+Ah me! they pierced my own.
+The thorns that on thy brow they plied,--
+The spear they drove into thy side,--
+The pangs thy Godhead could not hide,--
+They pierced me too, my son_.
+
+"_My son! My son! My more than son,
+My heart is full for thee!
+Yet, tho' I know thee so much more
+Than ever mortal man before,--
+Yet, tho' I worship and adore,--
+Woe's me!--and the heart of me_!"
+
+And ever they came by the Potter's Field,
+And thrust their bodies in,
+And ever the sick earth spat them out,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+They sped along a palace-wall,
+The feast waxed high inside,--
+On Golgotha the Cross still stood,
+The Cross where man had nailed his God,
+Red was the Rood still with his blood,--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+The revel gashed the sombre night,
+And fast the wine-cups plied,--
+Time touched Eternity that day;--
+God had come down to man that day;--
+The world began anew that day;--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+And ever again to the Potter's Field,
+The Souls in torment came,
+But the black quag boiled and writhed and coiled,
+And would have none of them.
+
+And everywhere strange shapes of death
+Walked in the fearsome gloom,
+For that last cry from Calvary
+Had rent in twain the Temple vail,
+And burst the gates of Doom.
+
+Through all the startled city, walked
+The saints that had been dead,
+And to the sorrowful in heart
+Holy comfort ministrèd.
+
+And when they met Iscariot,
+Sore hounded in the chase,
+They cried to him, for the Love of God,
+To seek God's grace.
+
+And ever to the Field of Death,
+The souls in torment came,
+Seeking the rest of the Blessèd Dead,--
+But earth would none of them.
+
+And as they whirled through a garden,
+They came on an empty tomb,
+The stone was gone, a soft light shone
+Full softly on the gloom.
+
+Bright was that Light, and wondrous bright,
+'Twas brighter than the sun;
+As then it shone, so shines it now,
+And shall when Time is done.
+
+And all along the pathway
+Was a track of throbbing light;
+Where the Christ had gone His footsteps shone,
+Like stars in a velvet night.
+
+'Twas the spent soul of Iscariot
+Was like the wind-blown dust,
+As nearer still, and near, and near,
+He bent and crept, in doubt, and fear,
+He came because he must.
+
+'Twas the sick soul of Iscariot
+That drew from out the night
+And the full of his sin was known to him
+In the Shining of the Light.
+
+In the rim of the Light he laid him,
+Repented of his sin.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And as he lay there sorrowing,
+Up came the felon crew.
+They flailed him with their dead bodies
+They heeded not his rue.
+
+They flailed him with their dead bodies,
+They heeded not their spleen.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And then ... a Vision and a Voice,--
+And the Word made manifest,--
+"_Lay down thy load where I abode,
+And I will give thee rest_!
+
+"_And ye,--no more hunt Iscariot!
+He repents him of his sin.
+And never a soul that repenteth
+But he may enter in_.
+
+"_This Day the Door is opened
+That shall never close again,
+And never a soul that would come in
+Shall seek to come in vain_."
+
+And the dead soul of Iscariot
+Was born again that night;
+For the Lord Christ came dead souls to claim
+And lead them into Light.
+
+And the souls of the unburied,
+When they looked upon His face,
+Were cleansed of sin and entered in
+To His redeeming grace.
+
+So, by that wonderful great Love
+Which highest heaven extols,--
+To Mother Earth their dead bodies,
+And unto Christ their souls.
+
+
+
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+
+Profit?--Loss?
+Who shall declare this good--that ill?--
+When good and ill so intertwine
+But to fulfil the vast design
+Of an Omniscient Will?--
+When seeming gain but turns to loss,--
+When earthly treasure proves but dross,--
+And what seemed loss but turns again
+To high, eternal gain?
+
+Wisest the man who does his best,
+And leaves the rest
+To Him who counts not deeds alone,
+But sees the root, the flower, the fruit,
+And calls them one.
+
+
+
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+
+Free men of God, the New Day breaks
+In golden gleams across the sky;
+The darkness of the night is past,
+This is the Day of Victory.
+    For this our fathers strove,
+    In stern and fiery love--
+    That men to come should be
+    Born into liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men of God, gird up your loins,
+And brace you for the final fight!
+Strike home, strike home for Truth and Right!
+--Yet bear yourselves as in His sight!
+    For this our fathers fought,
+    This with their lives they bought--
+    That you and I should be
+    Heirs of their liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men we are and so will be;
+We claim free access unto Him,
+Who widened all the bounds of life,
+And us from bondage did redeem.
+    Let no man intervene,
+    Or draw a vail between
+    Us and our God, for He
+    Would have His people free,--
+And we would be--as Thou art--Free.
+
+Free men of God, your Birthright claim!
+Our fathers won it with a price.
+They paid in full to axe and flame,
+Nor counted up the sacrifice.
+    This is our heritage,
+    And here we do engage,
+    Each man unto his son
+    Intact to pass it on.
+So shall they be--as we are--Free!
+
+Our Sure Defence, in times of stress,
+Thy gates stand open, wide and free,
+When men provoke and wrongs oppress,
+We seek Thy wider liberty.
+    With loftier mind and heart,
+    Let each man bear his part!
+    So--to the final fight,
+    And God defend the right!
+We shall, we must, we will be--Free!
+
+
+
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+
+Lord Christ, let me but hold Thy hand
+And all the rest may go.
+For nothing is, but only seems,
+And life is full of idle dreams,
+        Until Thyself we know.
+
+The whole wide world is nought beside
+The wonder of Thy love.
+And though my state be mean and strait,
+Give me but heart to work and wait,
+        And I have Treasure-Trove.
+
+
+
+
+THE GATE
+
+"A little child shall lead them."
+
+
+I trod an arduous way, but came at last
+To where the city walls rose fair and white
+Above the darkening plain,--a goodly sight.
+And eagerly, while yet a great way off,
+My eyes did seek the Gates--the Great White Gates
+That close not ever, day or night, but stand
+Wide as the love of Christ that opened them.
+But nought could I discern of gate or breach,
+The wall stood flawless far as eye could reach.
+
+"But when I drew in closer to the wall,
+I saw a lowly portal, strait and small;
+So small, a man might hardly enter there,
+Low-browed and shadowed, and close-pressed to earth--
+A very needle's eye--scarce visible.
+I looked and wondered. Could this trivial way
+Be the sole entrance to the light of day?
+And as I stood perplext, a clear voice cried,--
+_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+
+And while I stood in doubt, there came along
+One of earth's mighty ones--a conqueror
+Of Kings. He looked for gates that should swing wide
+To meet his high estate and welcome him.
+He stood and gazed, then raised his voice and cried,
+"My work on earth is done. I would within,"
+And from the City wall the voice replied,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait,
+Till Might should help him to discern the Gate.
+
+Another came,--a man of mind so rare,
+He scarce had breathed the common earthly air.
+Knowledge was his, and wisdom so profound,
+All things he knew in heaven and earth. No bound
+To his accomplishment, until he sought
+The great wide-opened Gate,--and found it not.
+He stood perplext, and then cried wearily,
+"Pray give me entrance. I am done with earth."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait,
+Till Wisdom should direct him to the gate.
+
+I saw a woman come, noble and fair,
+And pure of heart, and in her goodly deeds
+More richly robed than Fashion's fairest queen.
+And to myself I said,--"Surely for her
+A way will open that she may go in!"
+She said no word, but stood and looked upon
+The shining walls, with eyes that answering shone.
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+She looked in vain, then set herself to wait,
+Till Love should help her to discern the Gate.
+
+And one there came, with clear keen face--a Judge
+Of men on earth, and famed for fearless truth.
+His robes were stainless and his heart was clean.
+"Entrance I crave," he cried, "to well-earned rest,--
+And mercy-tempered justice and no more."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait
+Till Judgment should direct him to the Gate.
+
+And one there came, sad-eyed, his brow still raw
+From pressure of an earthly crown. He too
+Sought glorious entrance through wide-opened gates,
+And stood perplext. He had borne well his part,
+And served his people and his God, and died
+The Martyr's death, and yet he found no gate.
+"I fain would rest," he cried. "My life has been
+One ceaseless striving. I would enter in."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+Perplext he stood, then set himself to wait,
+Till Patient Waiting should discern the Gate.
+
+And one who had had riches beyond most,
+And yet subserved them to his Master's good,
+Came searching for the heavenly gates, and stood
+Amazed to find no opening in the walls.
+"I gave of all I had," he cried, "and held
+Nought as my own,--yet entrance is denied."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait
+Till Charity should point him to the Gate.
+
+And many more there were who entrance craved,
+And sought the Great White Gates, and stood perplext.
+And ever, from within, the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+They sought in vain, and set themselves to wait
+Till Light was given them to discern the Gate.
+
+And then--a child in white came carolling
+Along the arduous road we all had trod.
+He stopped and looked, then laughed with childish glee,--
+"_Why wait ye here without? Come, follow me_!"--
+And passed, scarce bending, through the lowly door,--
+We heard his singing,--him we saw no more.
+
+The woman stooped and looked, with eyes that shone,
+Into the doorway where the child had gone;
+Then loosed her robes and dropped, and in a shift
+Of pure white samite, on her hands and knees
+She crept into the doorway and was gone,
+And we stood gazing at the way she went.
+
+And, one by one, they followed. First the Judge
+Laid by his robes, and bowed him to the ground,
+And followed--where the little child had led.
+And he whose brow had borne that weighty crown
+Bent low and followed,--where the little child had led.
+And he who knew so much of earthly things
+Discarded them, and, on his hands and knees,
+Crept through the doorway,--where the little child had led.
+And he of riches laid him in the dust
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, last of all, the War Lord cast aside
+His victor's wreaths, and all his pomp and pride,
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, groping through my fears, I bowed my head
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+
+
+
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling,
+Calling out of the night,
+O, you who live in the Light of Life,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We are bound in the chains of darkness,
+Our eyes received no sight,
+O, you who have never been bond or blind,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We live amid turmoil and horror,
+Where might is the only right,
+O, you to whom life is liberty,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We stand in the ashes of ruins,
+We are ready to fight the fight,
+O, you whose feet are firm on the Rock,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+You cannot--you shall not forget us,
+Out here in the darkest night,
+We are drowning men, we are dying men,
+        Bring, O, bring us the Light!
+
+
+
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+
+Is the pathway dark and dreary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are you broken, heart-sick, weary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Dreariest roads shall have an ending,
+Broken hearts are for God's mending.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Are life's threads all sorely tangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are the sweet chords strained and jangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Tangled threads are for Love's fingers,
+Trembling chords make heaven's sweet singers.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the burden past your bearing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Hopeless?--Friendless?--No one caring?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Burdens shared are light to carry,
+Love shall come though long He tarry.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the light for ever failing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Is the faint heart ever quailing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's strong arms are all around you,
+In the dark He sought and found you.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the future black with sorrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Do you dread each dark to-morrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Nought can come without His knowing.
+Come what may 'tis His bestowing.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Peace and heaven lie all about us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+Peace within makes heaven without us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's great love shall fail us never,
+We are His, and His for ever.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+
+
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+
+Our feet have wandered, wandered far and wide,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+From that strait path in which the Master died,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Low have we fallen from our high estate,
+Long have we lingered, lingered long and late;
+    _But the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+There is no sin His Love can not forgive;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No soul so stained His Love will not receive;
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No load of sorrow but His touch can move,
+No hedge of thorns that can withstand His Love;
+    _For the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+So we will sing, whatever may betide;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Nought but ourselves can keep us from His side;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+What though no place we win in life's rough race,
+Our loss may prove the measure of His grace.
+        _For the tenderness of God
+        Is from age to age the same,
+        And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+
+
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+
+I faced a future all unknown,
+No opening could I see,
+I heard without the night wind moan,
+The ways were dark to me,--
+"I cannot face it all alone
+O be Thou near to me!"
+
+I had done sums, and sums, and sums,
+Inside my aching head.
+I'd tried in vain to pierce the glooms
+That lay so thick ahead.
+But two and two will not make five,
+Nor will do when I'm dead.
+
+And then I thought of Him who fed
+Five thousand hungry men,
+With five small casual loaves of bread,--
+Would he were here again!--
+Dear God! hast Thou still miracles
+For the troubled sons of men?
+
+He has, He will, He worketh still,
+In ways most wonderful.
+He drew me from the miry clay,
+He filled my cup quite full.
+And while my heart can speak I'll tell
+His love unspeakable.
+
+"Rest in the Lord!"--I saw it there,
+On the tablets of the night.
+And, comforted, I dropped my care
+Where burdens have no weight.
+Then, trustfully, I turned and slept,
+And woke, and it was light.
+
+God works to-day as He did of old
+For the lightening of men's woes.
+His wonders never can be told,
+His goodness no man knows,--
+His Love, His Power, His Tenderness,--
+Nor shall do till life's close.
+
+His kindness is so very great,
+His greatness is so good.
+He looks upon my low estate,
+He gives me daily food.
+And nothing is too small for Him,--
+Yes, truly! God is good.
+
+
+
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+
+Some have much, and some have more,
+Some are rich, and some are poor,
+Some have little, some have less,
+Some have not a cent to bless
+Their empty pockets, yet possess
+True riches in true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+
+O, Prince of Life, Thy Life hath tuned
+All life to sweeter, loftier grace!
+Life's common rounds have wider bounds
+Since Thou hast trod life's common ways.
+
+O, Heart of Love! Thy Tenderness
+Still runs through life's remotest vein;
+And lust and greed and soulless creed
+Shall never rule the world again.
+
+O Life of Love!--The Good Intent
+Of God to man made evident,--
+All down the years, despite men's fears,
+Thy Power is still omnipotent.
+
+O Life! O Love! O Living Word!--
+Rent Vail, revealing God to man,--
+Help, Lord! Lest I should crucify,
+By thought or deed, Thy Love again.
+
+
+
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+
+Every day is Judgment Day,
+Count on no to-morrow.
+He who will not, when he may,
+Act to-day, to-day, to-day,
+Doth but borrow
+Sorrow.
+
+
+
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+
+There is darkness still, gross darkness, Lord,
+On this fair earth of Thine.
+There are prisoners still in the prison-house,
+Where never a light doth shine.
+There are doors still bolted against Thee,
+There are faces set like a wall;
+And over them all the Shadow of Death
+Hangs like a pall.
+    _Do you hear the voices calling,
+    Out there in the black of the night?
+    Do you hear the sobs of the women,
+    Who are barred from the blessed light?
+    And the children,--the little children,--
+    Do you hear their pitiful cry?
+    O brothers, we must seek them,
+    Or there in the dark they die_!
+
+Spread the Light! Spread the Light!
+Till earth's remotest bounds have heard
+The glory of the Living Word;
+Till those that see not have their sight;
+Till all the fringes of the night
+Are lifted, and the long-closed doors
+Are wide for ever to the Light.
+Spread--the--Light!
+    _O then shall dawn the golden days,
+    To which true hearts are pressing;
+    When earth's discordant strains shall blend--
+    The one true God confessing;
+    When Christly thought and Christly deed
+    Shall bind each heart and nation,
+    In one Grand Brotherhood of Men,
+    And one high consecration_.
+
+
+
+
+INDIA
+
+
+A land of lights and shadows intervolved,
+A land of blazing sun and blackest night,
+A fortress armed, and guarded jealously,
+With every portal barred against the Light.
+
+A land in thrall to ancient mystic faiths,
+A land of iron creeds and gruesome deeds,
+A land of superstitions vast and grim,
+And all the noisome growths that Darkness breeds.
+
+Like sunny waves upon an iron-bound coast,
+The Light beats up against the close-barred doors,
+And seeks vain entrance, yet beats on and on,
+In hopeful faith which all defeat ignores.
+
+But--time shall come, when, like a swelling tide,
+The Word shall leap the barriers, and The Light
+Shall sweep the land; and Faith and Love and Hope
+Shall win for Christ this stronghold of the night.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+
+To lift the sombre fringes of the Night,
+To open lands long darkened to the Light,
+To heal grim wounds, to give the blind new sight,
+  Right mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        He thought of all men but himself,
+        Himself he never spared.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+Like Him he served, he walked life's troublous ways,
+With heart undaunted, and with calm, high face,
+And gemmed each day with deeds of sweetest grace;
+  Pull lovingly wrought he.
+         Forth to the fight he fared,
+         High things and great he dared,
+         In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+         Right lovingly wrought he.
+         He greatly loved--
+         He greatly lived--
+         And died right mightily.
+
+Like him he served, he would not turn aside;
+Nor home nor friends could his true heart divide;
+He served his Master, and naught else beside,
+  Right faithfully wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right faithfully wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+He passed like light across the darkened land,
+And dying, left behind him this command,
+"The door is open! So let it ever stand!"
+  Full mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right mightily wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+
+        _With a will!
+        With a will!
+    With a will and surely!
+        Without fail,
+        Drive each nail,
+    Build we so, securely_!
+
+The Pioneer,--the Undaunted One,
+Worn with long journeyings through the Great Dark Land,
+Rests for a season from his mighty labours,
+And seeks fresh vigour in a change of toil.
+
+        _Labour is sweet,
+              When hands and hearts are willing,--
+        Who truly works
+              Is God's own law fulfilling_.
+
+With his own hands he helps to build a temple,
+Here, in the wilds, a temple to his God,
+Rough-hewn and roughly thatched, but still a house
+Of prayer, a holy place, and consecrate
+To Him whose noblest temples are not built
+With hands, but in the opened hearts of men.
+
+        _The Master worked,
+              With His own hands expressing
+        His sure belief
+              That therein lay God's blessing_.
+
+Thus, as he toils, with axe, and nail, and hammer,
+His heart rejoices,--so the Master worked,
+And by His lowly toil for ever stamped
+True labour with its highest dignity.
+
+              _With a will!
+              With a will!
+        With a will and surely!
+              Without fail,
+              Drive each nail,
+        Build we so, securely_!
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+
+    "My heart to-day
+Is strangely full of home!
+How is it
+With the dear ones over there?
+    Five years!
+    Five long-drawn years!
+    And one short moment is enough
+      To alter life's complexion for eternity!
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    How is it with you all
+    At Home?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And you, my dearest one,
+Are ever nearer to me than the rest!
+    Your body lies
+    Beneath the baobab
+    In far Shapanga;
+But your soul is ever nearest
+    When I need you most.
+Where a man's treasure is
+    His heart is.
+And half my heart is buried there with you,
+And half works on for Africa.
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Why should such thought of home
+    Drag at my heart to-day?
+    Why should I longer roam?
+    Why should I not go home?
+Five years of toilsome wanderings
+    May claim a rest!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Nay! God knows best!
+    When He sees well
+He'll take me home and give me well-earned rest.
+    The work is not yet done.
+    This land of Night
+Is not yet fully opened to the Son
+    And His fair Light.
+    But--when the work is done--
+Ah--then!--how gladly will I go--
+    Home!--Home--Home!--
+    To rest!"
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+
+Where the great green combers break in thunder on the barrier reefs,--
+Where, unceasing, sounds the mighty diapason of the deep,--
+Ringed in bursts of wild wave-laughter, ringed in leagues of flying
+        foam,--
+Long lagoons of softest azure, curving beaches white as snow,
+Lap in sweetness and in beauty all the isles of Owhyhee.
+
+Land more lovely sun ne'er shone on than these isles of Owhyhee,
+Spendthrift Nature's wild profusion fashioned them like fairy bowers;
+Yet behind--below the sweetness,--underneath the passion-flowers,
+Lurked grim deeds, and things of horror, grisly Deaths, and ceaseless
+        Fears,
+Fears and Deaths that walked in Darkness, grisly Deaths and ceaseless
+        Fears.
+
+
+NOTE.--Kapiolani--pronounced Kah-pee-o-lah-ny, with slight accent on
+second syllable.
+
+Mauna Loa--Mona Lo-ah.
+
+Kilauea--Kil-o-ee-ah.
+
+Halé-Mau-Mau--Ha-lee-Mah-oo-Mah-oo.
+
+On the slope of Mauna Loa, in the pit of Kilauea,
+In the lake of molten lava, in the sea of living fire,
+In the place of Ceaseless Burnings, in her home of Wrath and Terror,
+Dwelt the dreadful goddess Pélé--Pélé of the Lake of Fire;
+Pélé of the place of torment, Pélé of the Lake of Fire.
+
+In the dim far-off beginnings, Pélé flung the islands up
+From the bottom of the ocean, from the darksome underworld;
+Built them for a house to dwell in, built them for herself alone,
+So she claimed them and their people, claimed them as her very own,
+And they feared her, and they worshipped--
+Pélé, the Remorseless One.
+
+But, at times, when she lay sleeping, underneath the lake of fire,
+They forgot to do her reverence, they forgot the fiery one;
+Then in wrath the goddess thundered from the Lake of Ceaseless
+        Burnings,
+Flamed and thundered in her anger, till the very skies were red,
+Poured black ruin on the island, shook it to its rocky bed.
+
+Then in fear the people trembled and bethought them of their sins,
+And the great high priest of Pélé came like Death down Mauna Loa,
+Came to soothe the awful goddess, came to choose the sacrifice,
+Chose the fairest youth or maiden, pointed with a deadly finger,
+Led them weeping up the mountain, victims to the Lake of Fire.
+
+On the snowy beach of coral, youths and maidens full of laughter,
+Flower-bedecked and full of laughter, sported gaily in the sun;
+Up above, the slender palm-trees swung and shivered in the trade-wind,
+All around them flowers and spices,--red hibiscus, sweet pandanus,
+And behind, the labouring mountain groaned and growled unceasingly.
+
+        "_Sea and sunshine,
+        Care is moonshine,
+      All our hearts are light with laughter.
+        We are free
+        As sun and sea,
+  What care we for what comes after?"
+
+            Bride.
+
+  "Life was sweet before Love found her,
+     In his faery bowers.
+        Life is sweeter,
+        And completer,
+        Since he found her,
+        There, and crowned her
+        With his fadeless flowers."
+
+            Bridegroom.
+  "Love sought long before he found her,
+  Ne'er was love like ours!
+  Long he sought her,
+  E'er he caught her.
+  But he found her
+  There, and bound her
+  With his fadeless flowers."
+
+    "Gaily sporting,
+    Pleasure courting,
+  Nought know we of care or sorrow.
+    We are free
+    As sun and sea,
+  What care we what comes to-morrow_?"
+
+Louder still and louder, Pélé roars within her lake of fire,
+And the youths and maidens trembling look in fear up Mauna Loa,
+Dreading sight of that grim figure stalking down the mountain side;
+For when Pélé claims her victims none the summons may avoid.
+Pélé calls for whom she chooses--whom she chooses goes,--and dies.
+
+See! He comes! They start in terror. There, along the mountain side,
+Death comes stalking, slowly, surely,--_Pélé must be satisfied_.
+Which among them will he summon, with his dreadful pointing finger?
+All their hearts become as water, all their faces blanch with fear,
+Deaths they suffer in the waiting, while dread Death draws near.
+
+Now he stands in dreadful menace, seeking with a baleful eye
+For the sweetest and the fairest--for the meetest sacrifice.
+"Choose, O choose!"--they cry in terror; "choose your victim and be
+        gone,
+For we each die deaths while waiting, till dread Pélé's choice be
+        known!
+Choose your victim, Priest of Pélé, choose your victim and be gone!"
+
+Slowly points the dreadful finger, marks the newly-wedded bride;
+All the rest, save one, fall from her, as the living from the dead.
+From the first of time's beginnings Pélé ne'er has been gainsayed;
+Pélé chooses whom she chooses, each and all the choice abide,
+For the common good and safety,--_Pélé must be satisfied_!
+
+Still the mountain reels and shudders, still the awful thunders peal,
+Like a snake the ruthless finger holds them all in terror still;
+One is there whose life is broken, parted from his chosen bride,
+But the threatening finger, heedless of the lives it may divide,
+Lights upon a tiny maiden,--_Pélé must be satisfied_!
+
+Slow, the grim high-priest of Pélé turns to climb the mountain side;
+Slow, the victims turn and follow,--_Pélé must be satisfied_.
+And the rest shrink, dumb and helpless, daring not to lift an eye,
+And beyond, the labouring mountain cracks and belches living fires,
+Till the island reels and shudders at dread Pélé's agonies.
+
+But a greater one than Pélé walked the mountain side that day;--
+To them, climbing, dumb and dim-eyed--like a flash of heavenly flame,
+Swift and bright as saving angel, fair Kapiolani came,
+Swiftly as a saving angel, gleaming like a heavenly flame,
+Thirsting like a sword for battle, fair Kapiolani came.
+
+Radiant with the faith of martyrs, all aglow with new-born zeal,
+Burning to release the people from the bondage and the thrall,
+From the deadly thrall of Pélé, from the ever-threatening doom,
+From the everlasting menace, from the awful lake of fire,
+Like a bright avenging angel fair Kapiolani came!
+
+"Hear me now, you priest of Pélé, and ye men of Owhyhee!
+Hearken! ye who cringe and tremble, at the sound of Kilauea,
+Fearful of the wrath of Pélé, fearful of the lake of fire!--
+Priest, I say there is no Pélé! Pélé is not--never was!
+Pélé lives but in your legends--there is only one true God!"
+
+"Curséd, thrice accurséd, you who thus great Pélé do defy,
+Here, upon her sacred mountain, of a surety you shall die!
+Pélé, mighty Pélé, Vengeance! Strike her with thy dreadful doom!
+So let every scoffer perish!--Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+And Kapiolani answered--"Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+
+Loud the mountain roared and thundered; shuddered all who heard and
+        saw,
+Dauntless stood Kapiolani, dauntless with her faithful few.
+"Come!" she cried again. "Come, Pélé! Smite me with thy dreadful doom!
+I am waiting, mighty Pélé!--Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+And the mountain roared and thundered;--but the goddess did not come.
+
+"Hearken, Priest! You have deceived us. All your life has been a lie,
+Black your heart is, red your hands are, with the blood of those who
+        die.
+All these years you have misled us with your awful threats of doom.
+Now it ends! I do defy you, and your goddess I defy.
+Pélé, is not, never has been. All your worship is a lie.
+
+"I will climb your sacred mountain. I will dare your lake of fire.
+I will eat your sacred berries. I will dare your goddess there,
+There and then to wreak her vengeance, then and there to come in fire,
+And with awful burnings end me, now and for eternity;
+But if Pélé does not end me, then her worship ends this day."
+
+Then the great high priest of Pélé turned to fiery Kilauea.
+"Come!" he said, "the goddess calls you!"--and they climbed the
+        mountain side,
+Up the slopes of Mauna Loa, to the hell of Kilauea,
+With the bright blue sky above them, with the blazing sun above them,
+While the mountain shook beneath them, and its head was wrapped in
+        fire.
+
+Fearful, hopeful, all the people crept along the shaking path,
+Hardly breathing at their daring, thus to brave dread Pélé's wrath,
+Bending low lest she should see them, breathing soft lest she should
+        hear,
+Certain that Kapiolani would be sacrificed that day,
+To the vengeance of the goddess, to the anger of Pélé.
+
+        "_As little child
+        On mother's breast,
+        O rest, my heart,
+        Have rest!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Is surely blest.
+        So rest, my heart,
+        Have rest_!
+        _As warrior bold
+        His foes among,
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Shall ne'er go wrong.
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong_!"
+
+Thus, Kapiolani, dauntless, singing softly as she went,
+With a face as calm and fearless as a child on pleasure bent,
+Climbed the side of Mauna Loa, to the dreadful lake of fire,
+While the mountain shook and thundered, while the people blanched and
+        shuddered,
+Climbed to Halé-Mau-Mau,--to the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+All the people waited trembling, stood afar off pale and trembling,
+While Kapiolani, fearless, climbed up to the lake of fire,
+With the fiery glow all round her, with a heavenly light about her.
+Shining with a radiance brighter than since time began had shone
+From the Lake of Ceaseless Burnings, from the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+"Here," she cried, "I pluck your berries, Pélé,--and I give you none!
+See! I eat your sacred berries, Pélé,--and I give you none!
+Pélé, here I break your tabus! Come, with all your dreadful fires!
+Burn me, Pélé! I defy you!--Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+Come now, Pélé, or for ever own that you are overcome!
+
+"Pélé comes not. Is she sleeping? Is she wandering to-day?
+Is she busy with her burnings? Has the goddess nought to say?
+Hear me, friends!--There is no Pélé! One true God alone there is.
+His, this mountain! His, these burnings! You, and I, and all
+        things,--His!
+Goodness, Mercy, Loving-Kindness, Life Eternal--all are His!
+
+"From this day, let no man tremble, when he feels the mountain shake!
+From this day, no man or maiden shall be killed for Pélé's sake!
+From this day, we break the thraldom of the dreadful lake of fire.
+From this day, we pass for ever from the scourge of Pélé's rod.--
+From this day, Thou, Lord Jehovah, be our one and only God!"
+
+
+
+
+THEY COME!
+
+
+From North and South, and East and West,
+      They come!
+The sorely tried, the much oppressed,
+Their Faith and Love to manifest,
+      They come!
+They come to tell of work well done,
+They come to tell of kingdoms won,
+To worship at the Great White Throne,
+      They come!
+In a noble consecration,
+With a sound of jubilation.
+      They come! They come!
+
+Through tribulations and distress,
+      They come!
+Through perils great and bitterness,
+Through persecutions pitiless,
+      They come!
+They come by paths the martyrs trod,
+They come from underneath the rod,
+Climbing through darkness up to God,
+      They come!
+Out of mighty tribulation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+From every land beneath the sun,
+      They come!
+To tell of mighty victories won;
+Unto the Father through the Son,
+      They come!
+
+They come--the victors in the fight,
+They come--the blind restored to sight,
+From deepest Darkness into Light;
+      They come!
+In a holy exaltation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+
+
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+
+NORTH
+
+We come from the gloom of the shadowy trail
+  Out away on the fringe of the Night,
+Where no man could tell, when the darkness fell,
+  If his eyes would behold the light.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are wanderers still, without ever a guide,
+  Out there on the fringe of the Night,
+They are bond and blind,--to their darkness resigned,
+  With never a wish for the Light.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+SOUTH
+
+We come from the land of the blazing sun,
+  From the land that was blacker than night,--
+From the white-hot sand of the Great Dark Land,
+  Where Might was the only Right.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are sorrows still, there is darkness still,
+  There are still gross wrongs to set right;
+There are grim black stains, there are peoples in chains,
+  To be loosed from the grip of the Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+EAST
+
+We come from the East, from the glowing East,
+  Where the Past, with its hand of ice,
+Still reaches across through its ages of loss,
+  And still holds the land like a vice.
+      To--the--Night,--
+      To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+      Came--the--Light,
+      Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+O, the sorrowful ones of the caste-bound lands,
+  How they long for the wider way!
+How they sigh in the gloom of their close-barred tomb
+  For the Light of the Coming Day!
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light,
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+WEST
+
+We come from the Isles, from the Western Isles,
+  From the isles of the sunny seas,--
+Where the smiles and the wiles, with which Nature beguiles,
+  Are but shrouds for her tragedies.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There is Darkness more deadly than Death itself,
+  There is Blindness beyond that of sight.
+There are souls fast bound in the depths profound
+  Of unconscious and heedless Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+     To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+
+
+FAITH
+
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to live from day to day,
+With tranquil heart to do my simple part,
+And, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to trust, if not to know;
+With quiet mind in all things Thee to find,
+And, child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to leave it all to Thee,
+The future is Thy gift, I would not lift
+The vail Thy Love has hung 'twixt it and me.
+
+
+
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+
+Say once again Thy sweet "I will!"
+  In answer to my prayers.
+"Lord, if Thou wilt!"--
+                     --"I will!
+  Rise up above thy cares!"
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+A FRAGMENT
+
+
+    _With hearts responsive
+    And enfranchised eyes,
+    We thank Thee, Lord,--_
+For all things beautiful, and good, and true;
+For things that seemed not good yet turned to good;
+For all the sweet compulsions of Thy will
+That chased, and tried, and wrought us to Thy shape;
+For things unnumbered that we take of right,
+And value first when first they are withheld;
+For light and air; sweet sense of sound and smell;
+For ears to hear the heavenly harmonies;
+For eyes to see the unseen in the seen;
+For vision of The Worker in the work;
+For hearts to apprehend Thee everywhere;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all the wonders of this wondrous world;--
+The pure pearl splendours of the coming day,
+The breaking east,--the rosy flush,--the Dawn,--
+For that bright gem in morning's coronal,
+That one lone star that gleams above the glow;
+For that high glory of the impartial sun,--
+The golden noonings big with promised life;
+The matchless pageant of the evening skies.
+The wide-flung gates,--the gleams of Paradise,--
+Supremest visions of Thine artistry;
+The sweet, soft gloaming, and the friendly stars;
+The vesper stillness, and the creeping shades;
+The moon's pale majesty; the pulsing dome,
+Wherein we feel Thy great heart throbbing near;
+For sweet laborious days and restful nights;
+For work to do, and strength to do the work;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For those first tiny, prayerful-folded hands
+That pierce the winter's crust, and softly bring
+Life out of death, the endless mystery;--
+For all the first sweet flushings of the Spring;
+The greening earth, the tender heavenly blue;
+The rich brown furrows gaping for the seed;
+For all Thy grace in bursting bud and leaf,--
+The bridal sweetness of the orchard trees,
+Rose-tender in their coming fruitfulness;
+The fragrant snow-drifts flung upon the breeze;
+The grace and glory of the fruitless flowers,
+Ambrosial beauty their reward and ours;
+For hedgerows sweet with hawthorn and wildrose;
+For meadows spread with gold and gemmed with stars;
+For every tint of every tiniest flower;
+For every daisy smiling to the sun;
+For every bird that builds in joyous hope;
+For every lamb that frisks beside its dam;
+For every leaf that rustles in the wind;
+For spiring poplar, and for spreading oak;
+For queenly birch, and lofty swaying elm,
+For the great cedar's benedictory grace;
+For earth's ten thousand fragrant incenses,--
+Sweet altar-gifts from leaf and fruit and flower;
+For every wondrous thing that greens and grows;
+For wide-spread cornlands,--billowing golden seas;
+For rippling stream, and white-laced waterfall;
+For purpling mountains; lakes like silver shields;
+For white-piled clouds that float against the blue;
+For tender green of far-off upland slopes;
+For fringing forests and far-gleaming spires;
+For those white peaks, serene and grand and still;
+For that deep sea--a shallow to Thy love;
+For round green hills, earth's full benignant breasts;
+For sun-chased shadows flitting o'er the plain;
+For gleam and gloom; for all life's counter-change;
+For hope that quickens under darkening skies;
+For all we see; for all that underlies,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that sweet impulse of the coming Spring,
+For ripening Summer, and the harvesting;
+For all the rich Autumnal glories spread,--
+The flaming pageant of the ripening woods;
+The fiery gorse, the heather-purpled hills;
+The rustling leaves that fly before the wind.
+And lie below the hedgerows whispering;
+For meadows silver-white with hoary dew;
+For sheer delight of tasting once again
+That first crisp breath of winter in the air;
+The pictured pane; the new white world without;
+The sparkling hedgerow's witchery of lace;
+The soft white flakes that fold the sleeping earth;
+The cold without, the cheerier warmth within;
+For red-heart roses in the winter snows;
+For all the flower and fruit of Christmas-tide;
+For all the glowing heart of Christmas-tide;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all Thy ministries,--
+For morning mist, and gently-falling dew;
+For summer rains, for winter ice and snow;
+For whispering wind and purifying storm;
+For the reft clouds that show the tender blue;
+For the forked flash and long tumultuous roll;
+For mighty rains that wash the dim earth clean;
+For the sweet promise of the seven-fold bow;
+For the soft sunshine, and the still calm night;
+For dimpled laughter of soft summer seas;
+For latticed splendour of the sea-borne moon;
+For gleaming sands, and granite-frontled cliffs;
+For flying spume, and waves that whip the skies;
+For rushing gale, and for the great glad calm;
+For Might so mighty, and for Love so true,
+With equal mind,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For maiden sweetness, and for strength of men;
+For love's pure madness and its high estate;
+For parentage--man's nearest reach to Thee;
+For kinship, sonship, friendship, brotherhood
+Of men--one Father--one great family;
+For glimpses of the greater in the less;
+For touch of Thee in wife and child and friend;
+For noble self-denying motherhood;
+For saintly maiden lives of rare perfume;
+For little pattering feet and crooning songs;
+For children's laughter, and sweet wells of truth;
+For sweet child-faces and the sweet wise tongues;
+For childhood's faith that lifts us near to Thee
+And bows us with our own disparity;
+For childhood's sweet unconscious beauty sleep;
+For all that childhood teaches us of Thee;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For doubts that led us to the larger trust;
+For ills to conquer; for the love that fights;
+For that strong faith that vanquished axe and flame
+And gave us Freedom for our heritage;
+For clouds and darkness, and the still, small voice;
+For sorrows bearing fruit of nobler life;
+For those sore strokes that broke us at Thy feet;
+For peace in strife; for gain in seeming loss;
+For every loss that wrought the greater gain;
+For that sweet juice from bitterness out-pressed;
+For all this sweet, strange paradox of life;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For friends above; for friends still left below;
+For the rare links invisible between;
+For Thine unsearchable greatness; for the vails
+Between us and the things we may not know;
+For those high times when hearts take wing and rise
+And float secure above earth's mysteries;
+For that wide, open avenue of prayer,
+All radiant with Thy glorious promises;
+For sweet hearts tuned to noblest charity;
+For great hearts toiling in the outer dark;
+For friendly hands stretched out in time of need;
+For every gracious thought and word and deed;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For songbird answering song on topmost bough;
+For myriad twitterings of the simpler folk;
+For that sweet lark that carols up the sky;
+For that low fluting on the summer night;
+For distant bells that tremble on the wind;
+For great round organ tones that rise and fall,
+Entwined with earthly voices tuned to heaven,
+And bear our hearts above the high-arched roof;
+For Thy great voice that dominates the whole,
+And shakes the heavens, and silences the earth;
+For hearts alive to earth's sweet minstrelsies;
+For souls attuned to heavenly harmonies;
+For apprehension, and for ears to hear,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that supremest token of Thy Love,--
+Thyself made manifest in human flesh;
+For that pure life beneath the Syrian sky--
+The humble toil, the sweat, the bench, the saw,
+The nails well-driven, and the work well-done;
+For all its vast expansions; for the stress
+Of those three mighty years;
+For all He bore of our humanity;
+His hunger, thirst, His homelessness and want,
+His weariness that longed for well-earned rest;
+For labour's high ennoblement through Him,
+Who laboured with His hands for daily bread;
+For Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Magdalene,
+For Nazareth and Bethany;--not least
+For that dark hour in lone Gethsemane;
+For that high cross upraised on Calvary;
+The broken seals,--the rolled-back stone--The Way,
+For ever opened through His life in death;
+For that brief glimpse vouchsafed within the vail;
+For all His gracious life; and for His Death,
+With low-bowed heads and hearts impassionate,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all life's beauties, and their beauteous growth;
+For Nature's laws and Thy rich providence;
+For all Thy perfect processes of life;
+For the minute perfection of Thy work,
+Seen and unseen, in each remotest part;
+For faith, and works, and gentle charity;
+For all that makes for quiet in the world;
+For all that lifts man from his common rut;
+For all that knits the silken bond of peace;
+For all that lifts the fringes of the night,
+And lights the darkened corners of the earth;
+For every broken gate and sundered bar;
+For every wide-flung window of the soul;
+For that Thou bearest all that Thou hast made;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For perfect childlike confidence in Thee;
+For childlike glimpses of the life to be;
+For trust akin to my child's trust in me;
+For hearts at rest through confidence in Thee;
+For hearts triumphant in perpetual hope;
+For hope victorious through past hopes fulfilled;
+For mightier hopes born of the things we know;
+For faith born of the things we may not know;
+For hope of powers increased ten thousand fold;
+For that last hope of likeness to Thyself,
+When hope shall end in glorious certainty;
+    --_With quickened hearts
+    That find Thee everywhere,
+    We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+
+
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+IF HE WOULD BUT DARE
+
+
+I stood, unseen, within a sumptous room,
+Where one clothed all in white sat silently.
+So sweet his presence that a pure soft light
+Rayed from him, and I saw--most wondrous sight!--
+The Love of God shrined in the flesh once more,
+And glowing softly like a misted sun.
+His back was towards me. Had I seen his face
+Methought I must have fallen. I was wrong.
+The door flung wide. With hasty step
+Came one in royal robes and all the pride
+And pomp of majesty, and on his head
+A helmet with an eagle poised for flight.
+He stood amazed at sight of him in white,
+His lips apart in haughty questioning.
+But no words came. Breathless, he raised his hand
+And gave salute as to a mightier lord,
+And doffed his helm, and stood. And in his eyes I saw
+The reflex glory of his Master's face.
+
+The Master spoke. His voice so soft and sweet
+Thrilled my heart's core and shook me where I stood,--
+    "_Time runs apace. The New Time is at hand.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+In dumb amaze the other shook his head.
+    "_Thy brother of the North has cast his lot
+    For peace. Alone he cannot compass it.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+Again the other shook his head amazed,
+But never swerved a hair's breadth in his gaze.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Join hands with him,
+    Thy Northern brother, with the Western Isles,
+    And with their brethren of the Further West,
+    And Peace shall reign to Earth's remotest bound_."
+And still the other shook his head amazed.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Millions of lives
+    Are in thy hand, women and men and those
+    My little ones. Their souls are mine. Their lives
+    Are in thy hand. Of thee I shall require them.
+    Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "I am but one,"
+The other answered with reluctant tongue.
+  "_Thou art_ THE _one and so I come to thee.
+  For Peace or War the scales are in thy hand.
+  As thou decidest now, so shall it be.
+  But,--as thou sayest now, so be it
+  With thee--then.
+  Shall it be Peace or War? Nay--look_!--"
+And at the word--where stood the wall--a space;
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,--
+The kingdoms of the earth, and every kingdom
+Groaned with the burden of its armour-plate.
+And the weight grew till man was crushed beneath,
+And lost his manhood and became a cog
+To roll along the great machine of war.
+And, as he watched, the War-Lord's eyes flamed fire,
+His nostrils panted like a mettled steed's.
+This was the game of games he knew and loved,
+And every fibre of his soul was knit
+To see what passed.
+    Then,--in a sun-white land,
+Where a great sea poured out through narrow gates
+To meet a greater,--came the clang of arms,
+And drew the nations like a tocsin peal,
+Till all the sun-white sands ran red, and earth
+Sweat blood, and writhed in fiery ashes, and
+Grew sick with all the reek and stench of war,
+And heaven drew back behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman;--
+And the hoarse whisper of the War-Lord's voice,--
+  "Britain fights once again for Barbary
+  Lest others occupy to her undoing.
+  And Italy and Greece and Turkey join,
+  To beat back France and Spain."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions marched and wound 'mid snowy peaks,
+And came upon a smiling vine-clad land,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The hoarse voice spoke,--
+    "The provinces she stole
+    And lost, Austria takes back."
+Again I saw,--
+Where white-capped hosts crept swiftly to the straits
+Twixt old and new, and drenched the land with blood,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Despite his love of peace,
+        Our brother of the North has seized his chance,
+        And got his heart's desire."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions poured through the eternal snows,
+And legions swept o'er every sea to meet
+Their long-expected onslaught, and the dead
+Were piled in mountains, and the snows ran red.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Up, Britain, up! Strike home!
+        Or drop your rod of Empire in the dust--
+        One of you dies this day."
+Again I saw,--
+Beneath us, legions swarming to the West,
+Devouring kingdoms till they reached the sea,
+And filling all the lands with blood and fire.
+The War-Lord gazed, with eyes that blazed and flamed,
+And panted like a soul in torment,--"Mine!
+                       All these are mine!"
+  "_Thine, sayest thou?--Thine now,
+  When thou shalt stand before me--then,
+  I shall require them of thee_."
+                 --Thus the voice
+Of Him who sat and gazed with sorrowing face,
+While all the earth beneath us reeked of war,
+And heaven grew dim behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+A two-edged sword
+Could cut no sharper than the gentle voice
+Of Him who bowed with sorrow at the sight
+Of man destroying man for sake of gain.
+I waited, breathless, for the warrior's word.
+But no word came. His heart was with his men.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War? Look yet again_!"
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,
+Lay all the kingdoms of the earth--at peace.
+The glad earth smiled beneath a smiling heaven,
+And brought forth fruit for all her children's needs.
+The desert lands had blossomed, and the earth
+Was large enough for all. Her voice came up,
+A softly-rounded murmur of content,
+Like bees that labour gladly on the comb.
+The reign of Peace,--and yet an army lay
+Couchant and watchful, ready for the strife
+If strife need be,--the strife of quelling strife,--
+An army culled in part from all the lands.
+Owning no master but the public weal,
+And prompt to quench the first red spark of war.
+Even as we watched, a frontier turmoil rose,
+And therewith rose the army, and the fire
+Died out while scarce begun. The smoke of it
+Was scarcely seen, the noise scarce heard; for all
+The lands, sore-spent with war, had welcomed Peace,
+And bowed to mightier forces than their own;
+Men cast aside their armour and their arms,
+And lived men's lives and were no more machines.
+  "_Wars shall there be, indeed, till that last war
+  That shall wage war on War and sweep the earth
+  Of all war-wagers and of all mankind_."
+So spake the voice and ceased. And still we gazed,--
+A great white building, on its topmost tower
+A great white flag, proclaimed a World's Tribunal
+For the righting of the nations' wrongs.
+And that great army answered its behests
+And owned allegiance to no other head.
+Peace reigned triumphant. On the quiet air
+I heard the merry laughter of the child,
+And the great sigh of gratitude that rose
+From all the mother-hearts of all the world.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"--
+                Once more the voice,--
+  "_To one man is it given to decide_,
+  THOU ART THE MAN! _The scales are in_ THY _hand.
+  Think well, and say,--Shall it be Peace or War?
+  As thou, shalt say so shall it be with thee_."
+But, ere the answer came, all vanished like
+A scrap of paper in a fire of coals.
+Then, with a crackling peal, the thick black vail
+That hangs before the face of men was rent,
+And in the instant lightning flash I saw,--
+
+A chamber hung with black and heaped with flowers,
+Where candles tall flashed white on watchers' swords.
+High on a high-raised bier lay one at rest--
+Crosses and orders on his quiet breast,
+Head proudly cushioned on his country's flag,
+Hands calmly folded on his helmet's crest,
+His back to earth, his mute face turned to heaven,--
+Answering the summons of his Over-Lord.
+I strained my eyes upon his face to learn
+Thereon his answer. But the dark vail dropped,
+And left me wondering what his word had been.
+Had I but read his face I should have known
+Who lay there.--Man, like other men? Or one
+Who grasped the greater things, and by his will
+Brought Peace on Earth and drew Earth nearer Heaven.
+The bells beat softly on the midnight air
+Proclaiming the New Time? Shall it be Peace?
+A voice within me cried and would not cease,
+"_One man could do it if he would but dare_."
+
+NOTE.--This was written in 1898, at the time of the Tzar's Rescript to
+the Powers suggesting a Peace Conference with a view to the lightening
+of the ever-growing burden of arms.
+
+The possibilities have changed their faces, but at heart the great
+problem remains much the same. And above all, the great fact remains
+that if Great Britain, Germany, Russia and the United States joined
+hands for a World Peace, they could ensure it. Germany is still
+mistrustful. On her lies a great responsibility.
+
+
+
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+
+Is your place a small place?
+      Tend it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Is your place a large place?
+      Guard it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Whatever your place, it is
+      Not yours alone, but His
+            Who set you there.
+
+
+
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+
+Some lives are set in narrow ways,
+By Love's wise tenderness.
+They seem to suffer all their days
+Life's direst storm and stress.
+But God shall raise them up at length,
+His purposes are sure,
+He for their weakness shall give strength,
+For every ill a cure.
+
+
+
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+(_For the Braille Magazine_)
+
+
+When the outer eye grows dim,
+Turns the inner eye to Him,
+  Who makes darkness light.
+Fairer visions you may see,
+Live in nobler company,
+And in larger liberty,
+  Than the men of sight.
+
+He sometimes shuts the windows but to open hidden doors,
+Where all who will may wander bold and free,
+For His house has many mansions, and the mansions many floors,
+And every room is free to you and me.
+
+
+
+
+PROPS
+
+
+Earthly props are useless,
+      On Thy grace I fall;
+Earthly strength is weakness,
+      Father, on Thee I call,--
+      For comfort, strength, and guidance,
+      O, give me all!
+
+
+
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+
+I have been tried,
+Tried in the fire,
+And I say this,
+As the result of dire distress,
+And tribulation sore--
+That a man's happiness doth not consist
+Of that he hath, but of the faith
+And trust in God's great love
+These bring him to.
+Nought else is worth consideration.
+For the peace a man may find
+In perfect trust in God
+Outweighs all else, and is
+The only possible foundation
+For true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+
+Lord, when Thou seest that my work is done,
+Let me not linger on,
+With failing powers,
+Adown the weary hours,--
+A workless worker in a world of work.
+But, with a word,
+Just bid me home,
+And I will come
+Right gladly,--
+Yea, right gladly
+Will I come.
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+Mr. F.W. Christian, of the Polynesian Society of New Zealand, whose
+personal acquaintance with the South Sea Islands and their dialects is
+unique, is translating "Kapiolani" into Rarotongan. He writes--
+
+"I enclose a four-line stanza which, translating your first line--'Where
+the great green combers break,' etc.--strictly according to East
+Polynesian ballad-metres, ushers in your great theme.
+
+"'Kapiolani' will, I trust, God willing, become a household classic
+in many of the Eastern Islands, such as Rapa and Manahiki, where the
+Rarotongan language runs current as a sort of Lingua Franca or Sacred
+Esperanto, thanks to the magnificent translation of the Bible by the
+great missionary, John Williams. I have translated the poem most carefully,
+and as accurately as possible into the peculiar metre and cast of
+expression which an Eastern Polynesian 'Atu-Pe'e, or Versifier, would
+immediately grasp as idiomatic. The first lines run thus:--"
+
+
+Tei te ngai mangúngú--anga no te an ngaru roro'a
+Ki rúnga no te púnga matoato'a
+Ngàru kerekere, ngáru mamaáta e tini
+Ki rúnga no te 'Akau-Pipíni.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
+
+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: Bees in Amber
+       A Little Book of Thoughtful Verse
+
+Author: John Oxenham
+
+Posting Date: November 12, 2011 [EBook #9989]
+Release Date: February, 2006
+First Posted: November 6, 2003
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEES IN AMBER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BEES IN AMBER
+
+A LITTLE BOOK OF THOUGHTFUL VERSE
+
+BY JOHN OXENHAM
+
+1913
+
+
+
+
+TO THOSE I HOLD DEAREST
+
+THIS OF MY BEST.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CREDO
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY AND EVERYDAY
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+THE POTTER
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+THE WAYS
+
+SEEDS
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+SHADOWS
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+TAMATE
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+SARK
+
+E.A.
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+PAUL
+
+WAKENING
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+WANDERED
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+DON'T WORRY!
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+THE VAIL
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+FREEMEN
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+THE GATE
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+INDIA
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+THEY COME!
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+FAITH
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+PROPS
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S APOLOGY
+
+
+In these rushful days an apology is advisable, if not absolutely
+essential, from any man, save the one or two elect, who has the temerity
+to publish a volume of verse.
+
+These stray lines, such as they are, have come to me from time to time,
+I hardly know how or whence; certainly not of deliberate intention or of
+malice aforethought. More often than not they have come to the
+interruption of other, as it seemed to me, more important--and
+undoubtedly more profitable--work.
+
+They are for the most part, simply attempts at concrete and
+rememberable expression of ideas--ages old most of them--which "asked
+for more."
+
+Most writers, I imagine, find themselves at times in that same
+predicament--worried by some thought which dances within them and
+stubbornly refuses to be satisfied with the sober dress of prose. For
+their own satisfaction and relief, in such a case, if they be not fools
+they endeavour to garb it more to its liking, and so find peace. Or, to
+vary the metaphor, they pluck the Bee out of their Bonnet and pop it
+into such amber as they happen to have about them or are able to
+evolve, and so put an end to its buzzing.
+
+In their previous states these little Bonnet-Bees of mine have
+apparently given pleasure to quite a number of intelligent and
+thoughtful folk; and now--chiefly, I am bound to say, for my own
+satisfaction in seeing them all together--I have gathered
+them into one bunch.
+
+If they please you--good! If not, there is no harm done, and one man is
+content.
+
+JOHN OXENHAM
+
+
+
+
+CREDO
+
+
+Not what, but WHOM, I do believe,
+    That, in my darkest hour of need,
+    Hath comfort that no mortal creed
+    To mortal man may give;--
+Not what, but WHOM!
+    For Christ is more than all the creeds,
+    And His full life of gentle deeds
+    Shall all the creeds outlive.
+Not what I do believe, but WHOM!
+    WHO walks beside me in the gloom?
+    WHO shares the burden wearisome?
+    WHO all the dim way doth illume,
+    And bids me look beyond the tomb
+    The larger life to live?--
+Not what I do believe,
+BUT WHOM!
+Not what,
+But WHOM!
+
+
+
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY--AND EVERY DAY
+
+  _Each man is Captain of his Soul,
+  And each man his own Crew,
+  But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+  And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+We break new seas to-day,--
+Our eager keels quest unaccustomed waters,
+And, from the vast uncharted waste in front,
+The mystic circles leap
+To greet our prows with mightiest possibilities;
+Bringing us--what?
+  --Dread shoals and shifting banks?
+  --And calms and storms?
+  --And clouds and biting gales?
+  --And wreck and loss?
+  --And valiant fighting-times?
+And, maybe, Death!--and so, the Larger Life!
+
+    _For should the Pilot deem it best
+    To cut the voyage short,
+    He sees beyond the sky-line, and
+    He'll bring us into Port_.
+
+And, maybe, Life,--Life on a bounding tide,
+    And chance of glorious deeds;--
+    Of help swift-born to drowning mariners;
+    Of cheer to ships dismasted in the gale;
+    Of succours given unasked and joyfully;
+    Of mighty service to all needy souls.
+
+    _So--Ho for the Pilot's orders,
+    Whatever course He makes!
+    For He sees beyond the sky-line,
+    And He never makes mistakes_.
+
+And, maybe, Golden Days,
+    Full freighted with delight!
+    --And wide free seas of unimagined bliss,
+    --And Treasure Isles, and Kingdoms to be won,
+    --And Undiscovered Countries, and New Kin.
+
+    _For each man captains his own Soul,
+    And chooses his own Crew,
+    But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+    And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+
+    "_See this my garden,
+      Large and fair_!"
+--Thus, to his friend,
+The Philosopher.
+
+  "'_Tis not too long_,"
+His friend replied,
+With truth exact,--
+  "_Nor yet too wide.
+  But well compact,
+   If somewhat cramped
+    On every side_."
+
+Quick the reply--
+  "_But see how high!--
+  It reaches up
+  To God's blue sky_!"
+
+Not by their size
+Measure we men
+Or things.
+Wisdom, with eyes
+Washed in the fire,
+Seeketh the things
+That are higher--
+Things that have wings,
+Thoughts that aspire.
+
+
+
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+
+The Mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small--
+So soft and slow the great wheels go they scarcely move at all;
+But the souls of men fall into them and are powdered into dust,
+And in that dust grow the Passion-Flowers--Love, Hope, Trust.
+
+Most wondrous their upspringing, in the dust of the Grinding-Mills,
+And rare beyond the telling the fragrance each distils.
+Some grow up tall and stately, and some grow sweet and small,
+But Life out of Death is in each one--with purpose grow they all.
+
+For that dust is God's own garden, and the Lord Christ tends it fair,
+With oh, such loving tenderness! and oh, such patient care!
+In sorrow the seeds are planted, they are watered with bitter tears,
+But their roots strike down to the Water-Springs and the Sources of the
+        Years.
+
+These flowers of Christ's own providence, they wither not nor die,
+But flourish fair, and fairer still, through all eternity.
+In the Dust of the Mills and in travail the amaranth seeds are sown,
+But the Flowers in their full beauty climb the Pillars of the Throne.
+
+NOTE.--The first line only is adapted from the Sinngedichte of
+Friedrich von Logau.
+
+
+
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+
+But once I pass this way,
+And then--no more.
+But once--and then, the Silent Door
+Swings on its hinges,--
+Opens ... closes,--
+And no more
+I pass this way.
+So while I may,
+With all my might,
+I will essay
+Sweet comfort and delight,
+To all I meet upon the Pilgrim Way.
+For no man travels twice
+The Great Highway,
+That climbs through Darkness up to Light,--
+Through Night
+To Day.
+
+
+
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+
+King's Daughter!
+Wouldst thou be all fair,
+Without--within--
+Peerless and beautiful,
+A very Queen?
+
+Know then:--
+Not as men build unto the Silent One,--
+With clang and clamour,
+Traffic of rude voices,
+Clink of steel on stone,
+And din of hammer;--
+Not so the temple of thy grace is reared.
+But,--in the inmost shrine
+Must thou begin,
+And build with care
+A Holy Place,
+A place unseen,
+Each stone a prayer.
+Then, having built,
+Thy shrine sweep bare
+Of self and sin,
+And all that might demean;
+And, with endeavour,
+Watching ever, praying ever,
+Keep it fragrant-sweet, and clean:
+So, by God's grace, it be fit place,--
+His Christ shall enter and shall dwell therein.
+Not as in earthly fane--where chase
+Of steel on stone may strive to win
+Some outward grace,--
+_Thy temple face is chiselled from within_.
+
+
+
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+
+Better in bitterest agony to lie,
+Before Thy throne,
+Than through much increase to be lifted up on high,
+And stand alone.
+
+Better by one sweet soul, constant and true,
+To be beloved,
+Than all the kingdoms of delight to trample through,
+Unloved, unloved.
+
+Yet best--the need that broke me at Thy feet,
+In voiceless prayer,
+And cast my chastened heart, a sacrifice complete,
+Upon Thy care.
+
+For all the world is nought, and less than nought,
+Compared with this,--
+That my dear Lord, with His own life, my ransom bought,
+And I am His.
+
+
+
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+
+Shapeless and grim,
+A Shadow dim
+O'erhung the ways,
+And darkened all my days.
+And all who saw,
+With bated breath,
+Said, "It is Death!"
+
+And I, in weakness
+Slipping towards the Night,
+In sore affright
+Looked up. And lo!--
+No Spectre grim,
+But just a dim
+Sweet face,
+A sweet high mother-face,
+A face like Christ's Own Mother's face,
+Alight with tenderness
+And grace.
+
+"Thou art not Death!" I cried;--
+For Life's supremest fantasy
+Had never thus envisaged Death to me;--
+"Thou art not Death, the End!"
+
+In accents winning,
+Came the answer,--"_Friend,
+    There is no Death!
+    I am the Beginning,
+    --Not the End_!"
+
+
+
+
+THE POTTER
+
+
+A Potter, playing with his lump of clay,
+Fashioned an image of supremest worth.
+  "_Never was nobler image made on earth,
+  Than this that I have fashioned of my clay.
+  And I, of mine own skill, did fashion it,--
+  I--from this lump of clay_."
+
+The Master, looking out on Pots and Men,
+Heard his vain boasting, smiled at that he said.
+  "_The clay is Mine, and I the Potter made,
+  As I made all things,--stars, and clay, and men.
+  In what doth this man overpass the rest?
+  --Be thou as other men_!"
+
+He touched the Image,--and it fell to dust,
+He touched the Potter,--he to dust did fall.
+  Gently the Master,--"_I did make them all,--
+  All things and men, heaven's glories, and the dust.
+  Who with Me works shall quicken death itself,
+  Without Me--dust is dust_."
+
+
+
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+
+Fold up the tent!
+The sun is in the West.
+To-morrow my untented soul will range
+Among the blest.
+      And I am well content,
+      For what is sent, is sent,
+      And God knows best.
+
+Fold up the tent,
+And speed the parting guest!
+The night draws on, though night and day are one
+On this long quest.
+      This house was only lent
+      For my apprenticement--
+      What is, is best.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its slack ropes all undone,
+Its pole all broken, and its cover rent,--
+Its work is done.
+      But mine--tho' spoiled and spent
+      Mine earthly tenement--
+      Is but begun.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its tenant would be gone,
+To fairer skies than mortal eyes
+May look upon.
+All that I loved has passed,
+    And left me at the last
+    Alone!--alone!
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Above the mountain's crest,
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling clear,--
+"To rest! To rest!"
+      And I am glad to go,
+      For the sweet oil is low,
+      And rest is best!
+
+
+
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+
+God is a zealous pruner,
+For He knows--
+Who, falsely tender, spares the knife
+But spoils the rose.
+
+
+
+
+THE WAYS
+
+
+To every man there openeth
+A Way, and Ways, and a Way.
+And the High Soul climbs the High way,
+And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
+And in between, on the misty flats,
+The rest drift to and fro.
+But to every man there openeth
+A High Way, and a Low.
+And every man decideth
+The Way his soul shall go.
+
+
+
+
+SEEDS
+
+
+What shall we be like when
+We cast this earthly body and attain
+To immortality?
+What shall we be like then?
+
+Ah, who shall say
+What vast expansions shall be ours that day?
+What transformations of this house of clay,
+To fit the heavenly mansions and the light of day?
+Ah, who shall say?
+
+But this we know,--
+We drop a seed into the ground,
+A tiny, shapeless thing, shrivelled and dry,
+And, in the fulness of its time, is seen
+A form of peerless beauty, robed and crowned
+Beyond the pride of any earthly queen,
+Instinct with loveliness, and sweet and rare,
+The perfect emblem of its Maker's care.
+
+This from a shrivelled seed?--
+--Then may man hope indeed!
+
+For man is but the seed of what he shall be.
+When, in the fulness of his perfecting,
+He drops the husk and cleaves his upward way,
+Through earth's retardings and the clinging clay,
+Into the sunshine of God's perfect day.
+No fetters then! No bonds of time or space!
+But powers as ample as the boundless grace
+That suffered man, and death, and yet, in tenderness,
+Set wide the door, and passed Himself before--
+As He had promised--to prepare a place.
+
+Yea, we may hope!
+For we are seeds,
+Dropped into earth for heavenly blossoming.
+Perchance, when comes the time of harvesting,
+His loving care
+May find some use for even a humble tare.
+
+We know not what we shall be--only this--
+That we shall be made like Him--as He is.
+
+
+
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+
+Lord, when on my bed I lie,
+Sleepless, unto Thee I'll cry;
+When my brain works overmuch,
+Stay the wheels with Thy soft touch.
+
+Just a quiet thought of Thee,
+And of Thy sweet charity,--
+Just a little prayer, and then
+I will turn to sleep again.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+
+When the Bells of Ys rang softly,--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,
+Not a sound was heard in the old gray town,
+As the silvery tones came floating down,
+But life stood still with uncovered head,
+And doers of ill did good instead,
+And abroad the Peace of God was shed,
+  _When the bells aloft sang softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Aloft, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+And still those Bells ring softly--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_.
+Though full twelve hundred years have gone,
+Since the waves rolled over the old gray town,
+Bold men of the sea, in the grip of the flow,
+Still hear the Bells, as they pass and go,
+Or win to life with their hearts aglow,
+  _When the Bells below sing softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and alow, and alow_.
+
+O the Mystical Bells, they still ring softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,--
+For the sound of their singing shall never die
+In the hearts that are tuned to their melody;
+And down in the world's wild rush and roar,
+That sweeps us along to the Opening Door.
+
+Hearts still beat high as they beat of yore,
+  _When the Bells sing softly--softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+
+      I;--
+      Thou;--
+      We;--
+      They;--
+Small words, but mighty.
+In their span
+Are bound the life and hopes of man.
+
+For, first, his thoughts of his own self are full;
+Until another comes his heart to rule.
+For them, life's best is centred round their love;
+Till younger lives come all their love to prove.
+
+
+
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+
+For every Guest who comes with him to sup,
+The Host compounds a strangely mingled cup;--
+Red Wine of Life and Dregs of Bitterness,
+And, will-he, nil-he, each must drink it up.
+
+
+
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+
+Warp and Woof and Tangle,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+Living and dying--and mightier dead,
+For the shuttle, once sped, is sped--is sped;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+White, and Black, and Hodden-gray,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+To every weaver one golden strand
+Is given in trust by the Master-Hand;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+And that we weave, we know not,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+The threads we see, but the pattern is known
+To the Master-Weaver alone, alone;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+
+When, with bowed head,
+And silent-streaming tears,
+With mingled hopes and fears,
+To earth we yield our dead;
+The Saints, with clearer sight,
+Do cry in glad accord,--
+"_A soul released from prison
+Is risen, is risen,--
+Is risen to the glory of the Lord_."
+
+
+
+
+SHADOWS
+
+
+Shadows are but for the moment--
+Quickly past;
+And then the sun the brighter shines
+That it was overcast.
+
+For Light is Life!
+Gracious and sweet,
+The fair life-giving sun doth scatter blessings
+With his light and heat,--
+And shadows.
+But the shadows that come of the life-giving sun
+Crouch at his feet.
+
+No mortal life but has its shadowed times--
+Not one!
+Life without shadow could not taste the full
+Sweet glory of the sun.
+
+No shadow falls, but there, behind it, stands
+The Light
+Behind the wrongs and sorrows of life's troublous ways
+Stands RIGHT.
+
+
+
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+
+_As It was in the Beginning,--
+Is Now,--
+And...?
+
+     Anno Domini I_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+The Inn is full,
+Yea--overfull.
+No room have we
+for such as ye--
+Poor folk of Galilee,
+     Pass on! Pass on!"
+
+"Nay then!--
+Your charity
+Will ne'er deny
+Some corner mean,
+Where she may lie unseen.
+For see!--
+Her time is nigh."
+
+"Alack! And she
+So young and fair!
+Place have we none;
+And yet--how bid ye gone?
+Stay then!--out there
+Among the beasts
+Ye may find room,
+And eke a truss
+To lie upon."
+
+
+  _Anno Domini 1913, etc., etc_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+No room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee!
+The house is full,
+Yea, overfull.
+There is no room for Thee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+Nay--see!
+The place is packed.
+"We scarce have room
+For our own selves,
+So how shall we
+Find room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+But--if Thou shouldst
+This way again,
+And we can find
+So much as one small corner
+Free from guest,
+Not then in vain
+Thy quest.
+But now--
+The house is full.
+     Pass on!"
+
+Christ passes
+On His ceaseless quest,
+Nor will He rest
+With any,
+Save as Chiefest Guest.
+
+
+
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+"'Tis all a Chequer-Board of Nights and Days,
+Where Detiny with men for pieces plays,
+Hither and thither moves, and mates and slays,
+And one by one back in the Closet lays."
+
+_Omar Khayyam_.
+
+
+A Chequer-Board of mingled Light and Shade?
+And We the Pieces on it deftly laid?
+Moved and removed, without a word to say,
+By the Same Hand that Board and Pieces made?
+
+No Pieces we in any Fateful Game,
+Nor free to shift on Destiny the blame;
+Each Soul doth tend its own immortal flame,
+Fans it to Heaven, or smothers it in shame.
+
+
+
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+
+Oft, as he jogs along the Winding-Way,
+Occasion comes for Every Man to say,--
+"This Road?--or That?" and as he chooses them,
+So shall his journey end in Night or Day.
+
+
+
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+
+Peter, outworn,
+And menaced by the sword,
+Shook off the dust of Rome;
+And, as he fled,
+Met one, with eager face,
+Hastening cityward,
+And, to his vast amaze,
+It was The Lord.
+  "_Lord, whither goest Thou_?"
+He cried, importunate,
+And Christ replied,--
+  "_Peter, I suffer loss.
+  I go to take thy place,
+  To bear thy cross_."
+
+Then Peter bowed his head,
+Discomforted;
+There, at the Master's feet,
+Found grace complete,
+And courage, and new faith,
+And turned--with Him,
+To Death.
+
+So we,--
+Whene'er we fail
+Of our full duty,
+Cast on Him our load,--
+    Who suffered sore for us,
+    Who frail flesh wore for us,
+    Who all things bore for us,--
+On Christ, The Lord.
+
+
+
+
+TAMATE
+
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Great-Heart the Teacher,
+    Great-Heart the Joyous,
+    Great-Heart the Fearless,
+    Great-Heart the Martyr,
+    Great-Heart of Sweet White Fire.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Fighting the fight,
+    Holding the Light,
+    Into the night.
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_.--
+    But the Light shall burn the brighter.
+    And the night shall be the lighter,
+    For his going;
+    And a rich, rich harvest for his sowing.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_!--
+What is death to such an one as Great-Heart?
+    One sigh, perchance, for work unfinished here;--
+    Then a swift passing to a mightier sphere,
+    New joys, perfected powers, the vision clear,
+    And all the amplitude of heaven to work
+    The work he held so dear.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, say they_?
+    Nor dead nor sleeping! He lives on! His name
+    Shall kindle many a heart to equal flame.
+    The fire he lighted shall burn on and on,
+    Till all the darkness of the lands be gone,
+    And all the kingdoms of the earth be won,
+    And one.
+
+_A soul so fiery sweet can never die,
+But lives and loves and works through all eternity_.
+
+
+
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+
+Burden-bearers are we all,
+Great and small.
+Burden-sharers be ye all,
+Great and small!
+Where another shares the load,
+Two draw nearer God.
+Yet there are burdens we can share with none,
+Save God;
+And paths remote where we must walk alone,
+With God;
+For lonely burden and for path apart--
+Thank God!
+If these but serve to bring the burdened heart
+To God.
+
+
+
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+
+Time beats out all things with his iron flail,
+Things great, things small.
+With steady strokes that never fail,
+With slow, sure strokes of his iron flail,
+Time beats out all.
+
+
+
+
+SARK
+
+
+Pearl Iridescent! Pearl of the sea!
+Shimmering, glimmering Pearl of the sea!
+    White in the sun-flecked Silver Sea,
+    White in the moon-decked Silver Sea,
+    White in the wrath of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Lapped in the smile of the Silver Sea,
+    Ringed in the foam of the Silver Sea,
+    Glamoured in mists of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Glancing and glimmering under the sun.
+    Jewel and casket all in one,
+    Joy supreme of the sun's day dream,
+    Soft in the gleam of the golden beam,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Splendour of Hope in the rising sun,
+    Glory of Love in the noonday sun,
+    Wonder of Faith in the setting sun,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+    Gaunt and grim to the outer world,
+    Jewel and casket all impearled
+    With the kiss of the Silver Sea!--
+    With the flying kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the long sweet kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the rainbow kiss of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    And oh the sight,--the wonderful sight,
+    When calm and white, in the mystic light
+    Of her quivering pathway, broad and bright,
+    The Queen of the Night, in silver dight,
+    Sails over the Silver Sea!
+
+Wherever I go, and wherever I be,
+The joy and the longing are there with me,--
+The gleam and the glamour come back to me,--
+In a mystical rapture there comes to me,
+The call of the Silver Sea!
+As needle to pole is my heart to thee,
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+
+
+
+E.A., Nov. 6, 1900
+
+
+Bright stars of Faith and Hope, her eyes
+    Shall shine for us through all the years.
+    For all her life was Love, and fears
+Touch not the love that never dies.
+
+And Death itself, to her, was but
+    The wider opening of the door
+    That had been opening, more and more,
+Through all her life, and ne'er was shut.
+
+--And never shall be shut. She left
+    The door ajar for you and me,
+    And, looking after her, we see
+The glory shining through the cleft.
+
+And when our own time comes,--again
+    We'll meet her face to face;--again
+    Well see the star-shine; and again
+She'll greet us with her soft, "Come ben!"
+
+
+
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+
+_Hark! The drums! Muffled drums!
+The long low ruffle of the drums_!--
+And every head is bowed,
+In the vast expectant crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,--
+  By the way she knew so well,
+  Where our cheers were wont to swell,
+  As we tried in vain to tell
+  Of our love unspeakable.
+Now she comes
+To the rolling of the drums,
+And the slow sad tolling of the bell.
+Let every head be bowed,
+In the silent waiting crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,
+To the slow sad ruffle of the drums!
+
+  _Who is this that comes,
+  To the rolling of the drums,
+  In the sorrowful great silence of the peoples_?
+Take heart of grace,
+She is not here!
+The Great Queen is not here!
+  What most in her we did revere,--
+  The lofty spirit, white and clear,
+  The tender love that knew no fear,
+  The soul sincere,--
+These come not here,
+To the rolling of the drums,
+In the silence and the sorrow of the peoples.
+
+  _Death has but little part
+  In her. Love cannot die.
+  Who reigns in every heart
+  Hath immortality_.
+So, though our heads are bent,
+Our hearts are jubilant,
+As she comes,--
+As a conqueror she comes--
+With the rolling of the drums,
+To the stateliest of her homes,
+In the hearts of her true and faithful peoples.
+  _For the Great Queen lives for ever
+  In the hearts of those who love her.
+January, 1901_.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+
+Through every minute of this day,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every day of all this week,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every week of all this year,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through all the years of all this life,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+So shall the days and weeks and years
+Be threaded on a golden cord,
+And all draw on with sweet accord
+Unto Thy fulness, Lord,
+That so, when time is past,
+By Grace, I may at last,
+        Be with Thee, Lord.
+
+
+
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+JUNE, 1902
+
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Up to the sombre sky
+Rolled one great thankful sigh,
+Rolled one great gladsome cry--
+The soul's deliverance of a mighty people.
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+
+The long-low-hanging war-cloud rolled away,
+And night glowed brighter than the brightest day.
+For Peace is Light,
+And War is grimmer than the Night.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Great ocean, was your mighty calm unstirred
+As through your depths, unseen, unheard,
+Sped on its way the glorious word
+That called a weary nation to ungird,
+And sheathed once more the keen, reluctant sword?
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+The word came to us as we knelt in prayer
+That wars might cease.
+Peace found us on our knees, and prayer for Peace
+Was changed to prayer of deepest thankfulness.
+We knelt in War, we rose in Peace to bless
+Thy grace, Thy care, Thy tenderness.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+No matter now the rights and wrongs of it;
+You fought us bravely, and we fought you fair.
+The fight is done. Grip hands! No malice bear!
+We greet you, brothers, to the nobler strife
+Of building up the newer, larger life!
+
+Join hands! Join hands! Ye nations of the stock!
+And make henceforth a mighty Trust for Peace.
+A great enduring peace that shall withstand
+The shocks of time and circumstance; and every land
+Shall rise and bless you--and shall never cease
+To bless you--for that glorious gift of Peace.
+
+
+
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+
+He writes in characters too grand
+For our short sight to understand;
+We catch but broken strokes, and try
+To fathom all the mystery
+Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
+The endless war, the useless strife,--
+But there, with larger, clearer sight,
+We shall see this--His way was right.
+
+
+
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+
+Stephen, who died while I stood by consenting,
+  Wrought in his death the making of a life,
+Bruised one hard heart to thought of swift repenting,
+  Fitted one fighter for a nobler strife.
+
+Stephen, the Saint, triumphant and forgiving,
+  Prayed while the hot blows beat him to the earth.
+Was that a dying? Rather was it living!--
+  Through his soul's travail my soul came to birth.
+
+Stephen, the Martyr, full of faith and fearless,
+  Smiled when his bruised lips could no longer pray,--
+Smiled with a courage undismayed and peerless,--
+  Smiled!--and that smile is with me, night and day.
+
+O, was it _I_ that stood there, all consenting?
+  _I_--at whose feet the young men's clothes were laid?
+Was it _my_ will that wrought that hot tormenting?
+  My heart that boasted over Stephen, dead?
+
+Yes, it was I. And sore to me the telling.
+  Yes, it was I. And thought of it has been
+God's potent spur my whole soul's might compelling
+  These outer darknesses for Him to win.
+
+
+
+
+PAUL
+
+
+Bond-slave to Christ, and in my bonds rejoicing,
+  Earmarked to Him I counted less than nought;
+His man henceforward, eager to be voicing
+  That wondrous Love which Saul the Roman sought.
+
+Sought him and found him, working bitter sorrow;
+  Found him and claimed him, chose him for his own;
+Bound him in darkness, till the glorious morrow
+  Unsealed his eyes to that he had not known.
+
+
+
+
+WAKENING
+
+
+This mortal dies,--
+But, in the moment when the light fails here,
+The darkness opens, and the vision clear
+Breaks on his eyes.
+The vail is rent,--
+On his enraptured gaze heaven's glory breaks,
+He was asleep, and in that moment wakes.
+
+
+
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+
+Devils' work!
+Devils' work, my masters!
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+You may close your heart, but you cannot shirk
+This terrible fact,--_We--kept--the--Turk_.
+His day was past and we knew his work,
+But he played our game, so we kept the Turk,
+For our own sake's sake we kept the Turk.
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+Red are the walls and the ways,
+      _And--Britain, your hands are red_!
+There is blood on the hearth, and blood in the well,
+And the whole fair land is a red, red hell,--
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+"_Come over! Come over and help us_!"
+We are deaf to the ancient cry.
+--"_For the sake of our women and children_!"
+And Britain stands quietly by.
+      _O Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+_Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+Yea, cleanse them in blood if it _must_ be!
+For blood that is shed in the cause of right
+Has power, as of old, to wash souls white.
+      _Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+
+O for the fiery grace of old,--
+The heart and the masterful hand!
+But grace grows dim and the fire grows cold,
+We are heavy with greed and lust and gold,
+And life creeps low in the land.
+
+_Break your bonds, Britain_!
+Stand up once again for the right!
+We have stained our hands in the times that are past,
+Before God, we would wash them white.
+
+_For the Nations are in the proving;
+Each day is Judgment Day;
+And the peoples He finds wanting
+Shall pass--by the winding way_.
+
+
+
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+
+O Exiled Hearts--for you, for you--
+Love still can find the way!
+  _Hear the voices of the women on the road_!
+O Shadowed Lives--for you, for you--
+Hope hath not lost her ray!
+  _Hear the laughter of the children on the road_!
+O Gloomy Night--for you, for you--
+Dawn tells of coming day!
+  _Hear the clink of breaking fetters on the road_!
+O Might sans Right--for you, for you--
+The feet of crumbling clay!
+  _Hear the slow, sure tread of Freedom on the road_!
+
+
+
+
+WANDERED
+
+
+The wind blows shrill along the hill,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+The sky hangs low with its weight of snow,
+And the drifts are deep on the wold.
+But what care I for wind or snow?
+And what care I for the cold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The beasts are safely gathered in,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+They are snug and warm, and safe from harm,
+In stall and byre and fold.
+And the dogs and I, by the blazing fire,
+Care nought for the snow and the cold.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The barns are bursting with their store
+Of grain like yellow gold;
+A full, fat year has brought good cheer,
+--_Black is the night and cold_.--
+But ...  What care I for teeming barns?
+And what care I for gold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+In the great kitchen, maids and men,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+Laugh loud and long, with jest and song,
+And merry revel hold.
+Let them laugh and sing, let them have their fling,
+But for me--I am growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The old house moans, and sighs and groans,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+We have seen brave times, you and I, old friend,
+But now--we are growing old.
+We have stood foursquare to many a storm,
+But now--we are growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Her mother sleeps on the hill out there,
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+She is free from care, she is happier there,
+Beneath the warm brown mould.
+And I've sometimes hoped they may have met,
+And the end of the tale be told.
+        _Ah ... where is our lamb--
+         Our one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Was that a branch that shed its load?
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+Or--was it a footstep in the snow--
+A timid footstep--halting, slow?
+Ah me! I am getting old!
+Is that a tapping--soft and low?
+Can it be ... I thought I heard ... but no,
+'Twas only a branch that shed its snow,--
+God's truth! I am getting old!
+        _For I thought ... maybe
+         It was my lamb
+         Come home again to the fold_.
+
+Dear Lord! a hand at the frozen pane!
+--_White on the night's black cold_--
+O my lamb! my lamb! are you come again?
+My dear lost lamb, are you come again?
+Are you come again to the fold?
+It is!... It is!... Now I thank Thee, Lord,
+For Thy Mercies manifold!
+        _She is come again!
+         She is home again!
+         My lamb that strayed from the fold_!
+
+
+
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+
+Though the times be dark and dreary,
+Though the way be long,
+Keep your spirits bright and cheery,--
+--"Bide a wee, and dinna weary!"
+  Is a heartsome song.
+
+
+
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+
+"A red rose for my helmet,
+And a word before we part!
+The rose shall be my oriflamme
+The word shall fill my heart."
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart--
+    Just a look, just a word and a look!
+    A look or a sign that my love shall divine
+    And a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She toyed with his love and her roses;
+Was it mischief or mischance?--
+She dropped him a rose--'twas a white one,
+And he lifted it on his lance.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Is it thus--is it thus we part?
+    With never a look, and never a sign,
+    Nor a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She sought him among the dying,
+She found him among the dead;
+And the rose was still in his helmet.
+But his life had stained it red.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Now my heart within me is dead.
+    And alack for the look!
+    And alas for the sign!
+    And the word that was left unsaid_!
+
+
+
+
+DON'T WORRY
+
+
+Just do your best,
+And leave the rest
+To Him who gave you
+Life,--
+And Zeal for Labour,--
+And the Joy of Strife,--
+And Zest of Love,--
+And all that lifts your soul above
+The lower things.
+
+Life's truest harvest is in what we _would_,
+And strive our best for,
+Not most in what we _could_.
+The things we count supreme
+Stand, haply, not so high
+In God's esteem
+As _How_ and _Why_.
+
+All-Seeing Sight
+Cleaves through the husk of things,
+Right to the Roots and Springs,--
+Sees all things whole,
+And measures less the body than the soul.
+All-Righteous Right
+Will weigh men's motives,
+Not their deeds alone.
+End and Beginning unto Him are one;
+And _would_ for _could_ shall oft, perchance, atone.
+
+Motives are seeds,
+From which at times spring deeds
+Not equal to the soul's outreaching hope.
+Strive for the stars!
+Count nought well done but best!
+Then, with brave patience, leave the rest
+To Him who knows.
+He'll judge you justly ere the record close.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+
+The Golden Rose is blowing still,
+  Is growing still, is glowing still,
+In lonely vale, on lordly hill,
+The Golden Rose is glowing still;--
+  If only you can find it!
+
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows,
+  Still breaks and blows, still gleams and glows,
+'Mid icy blasts, and wintry snows,
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows;--
+Search w ell and you may find it!
+
+The Golden Rose can never die,
+  'Tis grafted on Eternity;
+In hearts that Love doth glorify,
+The Golden Rose can never die,--
+  May it be yours to find it!
+
+
+
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+
+Rabbi, begone! Thy powers
+Bring loss to us and ours.
+Our ways are not as Thine.
+Thou lovest men, we--swine.
+Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,
+And take this fool of Thine!
+His soul? What care we for his soul?
+What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,
+Since we have lost our swine?
+
+And Christ went sadly.
+He had wrought for them a sign
+Of Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;
+They wanted--swine.
+Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;
+But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,
+He forces no man's hold--he will depart,
+And leave you to the treasures of your heart.
+
+No cumbered chamber will the Master share,
+But one swept bare
+By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair
+With meekness, and humility, and prayer.
+There will He come, yet, coming, even there
+He stands and waits, and will no entrance win
+Until the latch be lifted from within.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+(_Cradle Song from "The Long Road_.")
+
+
+Whisht, Baby! Whisht!
+Quick below the cover!
+Down into your nest, my bird!
+And--don't--you--dare--peep--over!
+For the grey wolves they are prowling,
+They are prowling, they are prowling.
+And the snow-wind it is howling,
+It is howling, it is howling.
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark--
+Ow--ooh! Ow--ooh!
+S-s-s-s-s-seee--oo--ooh!
+The wolves they are lean,
+So-o-o lean, so-o-o lean!
+And the wind it is keen,
+So-o-o keen, so-o-o keen!
+And they seek little babies who aren't sleeping!
+But lie you still, my Baby dear!
+Lie still, lie still, and maybe you'll hear--
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark,--
+The silver bells and the golden bells,
+The swinging bells and the singing bells,--
+The bells that are heard but never are seen,
+The wind and the wolves, and the bells in between,--
+The bells of Iline,
+Good Stepan Iline,--
+The bells of good Stepan Iline!
+
+
+
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+
+Each sin has its door of entrance.
+Keep--that--door--closed!
+Bolt it tight!
+Just outside, the wild beast crouches
+In the night.
+Pin the bolt with a prayer,
+God will fix it there.
+
+
+
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+
+Though every nerve be strained
+To fine accomplishment,
+Full oft the life fall spent
+Before the prize is gained.
+And, in our discontent
+At waste so evident,
+In doubt and vast discouragement
+We wonder what is meant.
+But, tracing back, we find
+A Power that held the ways--
+A Mighty Hand, a Master Mind,
+That all the troubled course defined
+And overruled the days.
+Some call it Fate; some--Chance;
+Some--Giant Circumstance;
+And some, upreaching to the sense
+Of God within the circumstance,
+Do call it--Providence!
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+
+Down to the sea, the hungry sea,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Seeking food for the bairns and me,
+Seeking food in the hungry sea;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+My man and my lad--their bones are white,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Into the maw of the grim black night,
+Their hearts were bold and their faces bright;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+The sun was red and the clouds were black,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+And the sky was heavy with flying wrack,
+When forth they fared,--and they came not back;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+Forth they fared and they came not back,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+O, I fear the sea, and I hate the sea,
+That took my man and my lad from me;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy tender grace,
+In our distress
+Thou hast not left us wholly comfortless.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy wondrous might,
+Into our night
+Thou hast sent down the glory of the Light.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That all Thy wondrous ways,
+Through all our days,
+Are Wisdom, Right, and Ceaseless Tenderness.
+
+
+
+
+THE VAIL
+
+
+He only sees both sides of that dark vail
+That hangs before men's eyes--
+He only. It is well!
+Hope ever stands unseen
+Behind the screen,
+For knowledge would bring Hope to sudden death,
+And cloud the present with the coming ill.
+I would lie still, Dear Lord,
+I would lie still,
+And stay my troubled heart on Thee,
+Obedient to Thy will.
+
+
+
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+
+In Christ there is no East or West,
+  In Him no South or North,
+But one great Fellowship of Love
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+In Him shall true hearts everywhere
+  Their high communion find.
+His service is the golden cord
+  Close-binding all mankind.
+
+Join hands then, Brothers of the Faith,
+Whatever your race may be!--
+Who serves my Father as a son
+  Is surely kin to me.
+
+In Christ now meet both East and West,
+  In Him meet South and North,
+All Christly souls are one in Him,
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+
+  Not for one single day
+Can I discern my way,
+          But this I surely know,--
+  Who gives the day,
+  Will show the way,
+          So I securely go.
+
+
+
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+
+O God, within whose sight
+All men have equal right
+    To worship Thee.
+Break every bar that holds
+Thy flock in diverse folds!
+Thy Will from none withholds
+    Full liberty.
+
+Lord, set Thy Churches free
+From foolish rivalry!
+    Lord, set us free!
+Let all past bitterness
+Now and for ever cease,
+And all our souls possess
+    Thy charity!
+
+Lord, set the people free!
+Let all men draw to Thee
+    In unity!
+Thy temple courts are wide,
+Therein let all abide
+In peace, and side by side,
+    Serve only Thee!
+
+God, grant us now Thy peace!
+Bid all dissensions cease!
+    God, send us peace!
+Peace in True Liberty,
+Peace in Equality,
+Peace and Fraternity,
+    God, send us peace!
+
+
+
+
+FREEMEN
+
+
+Let no man stand between my God and me!
+I claim a Free man's right
+Of intercourse direct with Him,
+Who gave me Freedom with the air and light.
+God made me free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Me and my liberty!
+
+We need no priest to tell us God is Love.--
+Have we not eyes to see,
+And minds to apprehend, and hearts
+That leap responsive to His Charity?
+God's gifts are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+We need no priest to point a way to heaven.--
+God's heaven is here,--is there,--
+Man's birthright, with the light and air,--
+"God is His own and best interpreter."
+His ways are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+Let no man strive to rob us of this right!
+For this, from age to age,
+Our fathers did a mighty warfare wage,
+And, by God's help, we'll keep our heritage!
+God says--"Be Free!"
+And we,--
+"NO MAN SHALL STAND BETWEEN
+OUR SONS AND LIBERTY!"
+
+
+
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+
+Long the road,
+    Till Love came down it!
+Dark the life,
+    Till Love did crown it!
+Dark the life,
+    And long the road,
+Till Love came
+    To share the load!
+For the touch
+    Of Love transfigures
+All the road
+    And all its rigours.
+Life and Death,
+Love's touch transfigures.
+Life and Death
+    And all that lies
+In between,
+Love sanctifies.
+Once the heavenly spark is lighted,
+Once in love two hearts united,
+Nevermore
+    Shall aught that was be
+As before.
+
+
+
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+
+The good intent of God became the Christ.
+And lived on earth--the Living Love of God,
+That men might draw to closer touch with heaven,
+Since Christ in all the ways of man hath trod.
+
+
+
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+
+With the thirty pieces of silver,
+They bought the Potter's Field;
+For none would have the blood-money
+And the interest it might yield.
+
+The Place of Blood for the Price of Blood,
+And that was meet, I ween,
+For there they would bury the dead who died
+In frowardness and sin.
+
+And the first man they would bury there
+Was Judas Iscariot;
+And that was as dreadful a burying
+As ever was, I wot.
+
+For the sick earth would not keep him;
+Each time it thrust him out,
+And they that would have buried him
+Stood shuddering round about.
+
+And others they would bury
+In that unhallowed spot,
+But honest earth would none of them,
+Because of Iscariot.
+
+And oh, it was a fell, fell place,
+With dead black trees all round,
+And a quag that boiled and writhed and coiled
+Where had been solid ground.
+
+For every tree that stood there,
+And the green grass every blade,
+Shrivelled and died on every side,
+Whenever the price was paid.
+
+And in despair they left him there,
+And there his body lay,
+Till his sad soul came, all black with shame,
+And carried it away.
+
+And those denied a sepulture
+In that most dismal spot,
+Gibbered and flew, a ghastly crew,
+Incensed with rage, that grew and grew,
+Against Iscariot.
+
+For their souls were all in torment,
+While their bodies uncovered lay,
+And never a moment's rest was theirs,
+Either by night or day.
+
+That was a place of wailings,
+And the grisly things of Death,--
+The bare black arms of the trees above,
+And the black quag underneath.
+
+No light of the moon fell on it,
+Nor ever a star did shine
+On the quivering face of that dread place,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+Then there came by the soul of Iscariot,
+The same who sold his Lord,
+And he dragged his body after him,
+But never spake a word.
+
+Since earth his body would not,
+He must drag it to and fro,
+He had tried in vain to be quit of it,
+But it would not let him go.
+
+So the soul of Judas Iscariot
+Came by the Potter's Field,
+And there the ill his deed had wrought
+Was unto him revealed.
+
+And when the others saw him,
+They leaped at him eagerly;--
+"This is he for whom we suffer!
+--'Tis he! 'Tis he! 'Tis he!"
+
+Then all afire with mad desire,
+They chased him through the dark,
+And each soul carried his dead bodie,
+Grim, and stiff, and stark.
+
+They struck at him with their bodies,
+They cursed him for his sin,
+They made to tear his dumb soul there,
+With their fingers long and lean.
+
+And Judas fled in his horror,
+With that fell crew behind,
+And as they sped the people said
+Death rode upon the wind.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+Because of his treachery,
+And ever he just escaped their lust,
+And ever they were nigh.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+And ever they were nigh,
+And never a star shone out on them
+Out of the cold black sky.
+
+And as they sped by Calvary,
+There were empty crosses three,--
+And on the ground, below the mound,
+Lay one in agony.
+
+"_Three times I swore I knew Him not,
+And then--He looked on me.
+Ah, such a look!--no harshest word
+Had ever proved so sharp a sword
+To my inconstancy_.
+
+"_Three times I did deny Thee, Lord!
+And yet, thou couldst forgive,
+Now am I thine--in life, in death;
+Thee will I serve with every breath,
+While I have breath to give_."
+
+They sped by an open window,
+Where one knelt all alone,
+In great amaze, in greater grief,
+In woe that wrestled with belief,
+The Mother mourned her Son.
+
+"_My son, I knew thee more than man,--
+Ah me!--and the heart of me!
+Yet, man in God, and God in man,
+Still wast thou part of me_.
+
+"_The nails through thy dear hands and feet,--
+Ah me! they pierced my own.
+The thorns that on thy brow they plied,--
+The spear they drove into thy side,--
+The pangs thy Godhead could not hide,--
+They pierced me too, my son_.
+
+"_My son! My son! My more than son,
+My heart is full for thee!
+Yet, tho' I know thee so much more
+Than ever mortal man before,--
+Yet, tho' I worship and adore,--
+Woe's me!--and the heart of me_!"
+
+And ever they came by the Potter's Field,
+And thrust their bodies in,
+And ever the sick earth spat them out,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+They sped along a palace-wall,
+The feast waxed high inside,--
+On Golgotha the Cross still stood,
+The Cross where man had nailed his God,
+Red was the Rood still with his blood,--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+The revel gashed the sombre night,
+And fast the wine-cups plied,--
+Time touched Eternity that day;--
+God had come down to man that day;--
+The world began anew that day;--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+And ever again to the Potter's Field,
+The Souls in torment came,
+But the black quag boiled and writhed and coiled,
+And would have none of them.
+
+And everywhere strange shapes of death
+Walked in the fearsome gloom,
+For that last cry from Calvary
+Had rent in twain the Temple vail,
+And burst the gates of Doom.
+
+Through all the startled city, walked
+The saints that had been dead,
+And to the sorrowful in heart
+Holy comfort ministred.
+
+And when they met Iscariot,
+Sore hounded in the chase,
+They cried to him, for the Love of God,
+To seek God's grace.
+
+And ever to the Field of Death,
+The souls in torment came,
+Seeking the rest of the Blessed Dead,--
+But earth would none of them.
+
+And as they whirled through a garden,
+They came on an empty tomb,
+The stone was gone, a soft light shone
+Full softly on the gloom.
+
+Bright was that Light, and wondrous bright,
+'Twas brighter than the sun;
+As then it shone, so shines it now,
+And shall when Time is done.
+
+And all along the pathway
+Was a track of throbbing light;
+Where the Christ had gone His footsteps shone,
+Like stars in a velvet night.
+
+'Twas the spent soul of Iscariot
+Was like the wind-blown dust,
+As nearer still, and near, and near,
+He bent and crept, in doubt, and fear,
+He came because he must.
+
+'Twas the sick soul of Iscariot
+That drew from out the night
+And the full of his sin was known to him
+In the Shining of the Light.
+
+In the rim of the Light he laid him,
+Repented of his sin.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And as he lay there sorrowing,
+Up came the felon crew.
+They flailed him with their dead bodies
+They heeded not his rue.
+
+They flailed him with their dead bodies,
+They heeded not their spleen.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And then ... a Vision and a Voice,--
+And the Word made manifest,--
+"_Lay down thy load where I abode,
+And I will give thee rest_!
+
+"_And ye,--no more hunt Iscariot!
+He repents him of his sin.
+And never a soul that repenteth
+But he may enter in_.
+
+"_This Day the Door is opened
+That shall never close again,
+And never a soul that would come in
+Shall seek to come in vain_."
+
+And the dead soul of Iscariot
+Was born again that night;
+For the Lord Christ came dead souls to claim
+And lead them into Light.
+
+And the souls of the unburied,
+When they looked upon His face,
+Were cleansed of sin and entered in
+To His redeeming grace.
+
+So, by that wonderful great Love
+Which highest heaven extols,--
+To Mother Earth their dead bodies,
+And unto Christ their souls.
+
+
+
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+
+Profit?--Loss?
+Who shall declare this good--that ill?--
+When good and ill so intertwine
+But to fulfil the vast design
+Of an Omniscient Will?--
+When seeming gain but turns to loss,--
+When earthly treasure proves but dross,--
+And what seemed loss but turns again
+To high, eternal gain?
+
+Wisest the man who does his best,
+And leaves the rest
+To Him who counts not deeds alone,
+But sees the root, the flower, the fruit,
+And calls them one.
+
+
+
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+
+Free men of God, the New Day breaks
+In golden gleams across the sky;
+The darkness of the night is past,
+This is the Day of Victory.
+    For this our fathers strove,
+    In stern and fiery love--
+    That men to come should be
+    Born into liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men of God, gird up your loins,
+And brace you for the final fight!
+Strike home, strike home for Truth and Right!
+--Yet bear yourselves as in His sight!
+    For this our fathers fought,
+    This with their lives they bought--
+    That you and I should be
+    Heirs of their liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men we are and so will be;
+We claim free access unto Him,
+Who widened all the bounds of life,
+And us from bondage did redeem.
+    Let no man intervene,
+    Or draw a vail between
+    Us and our God, for He
+    Would have His people free,--
+And we would be--as Thou art--Free.
+
+Free men of God, your Birthright claim!
+Our fathers won it with a price.
+They paid in full to axe and flame,
+Nor counted up the sacrifice.
+    This is our heritage,
+    And here we do engage,
+    Each man unto his son
+    Intact to pass it on.
+So shall they be--as we are--Free!
+
+Our Sure Defence, in times of stress,
+Thy gates stand open, wide and free,
+When men provoke and wrongs oppress,
+We seek Thy wider liberty.
+    With loftier mind and heart,
+    Let each man bear his part!
+    So--to the final fight,
+    And God defend the right!
+We shall, we must, we will be--Free!
+
+
+
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+
+Lord Christ, let me but hold Thy hand
+And all the rest may go.
+For nothing is, but only seems,
+And life is full of idle dreams,
+        Until Thyself we know.
+
+The whole wide world is nought beside
+The wonder of Thy love.
+And though my state be mean and strait,
+Give me but heart to work and wait,
+        And I have Treasure-Trove.
+
+
+
+
+THE GATE
+
+"A little child shall lead them."
+
+
+I trod an arduous way, but came at last
+To where the city walls rose fair and white
+Above the darkening plain,--a goodly sight.
+And eagerly, while yet a great way off,
+My eyes did seek the Gates--the Great White Gates
+That close not ever, day or night, but stand
+Wide as the love of Christ that opened them.
+But nought could I discern of gate or breach,
+The wall stood flawless far as eye could reach.
+
+"But when I drew in closer to the wall,
+I saw a lowly portal, strait and small;
+So small, a man might hardly enter there,
+Low-browed and shadowed, and close-pressed to earth--
+A very needle's eye--scarce visible.
+I looked and wondered. Could this trivial way
+Be the sole entrance to the light of day?
+And as I stood perplext, a clear voice cried,--
+_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+
+And while I stood in doubt, there came along
+One of earth's mighty ones--a conqueror
+Of Kings. He looked for gates that should swing wide
+To meet his high estate and welcome him.
+He stood and gazed, then raised his voice and cried,
+"My work on earth is done. I would within,"
+And from the City wall the voice replied,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait,
+Till Might should help him to discern the Gate.
+
+Another came,--a man of mind so rare,
+He scarce had breathed the common earthly air.
+Knowledge was his, and wisdom so profound,
+All things he knew in heaven and earth. No bound
+To his accomplishment, until he sought
+The great wide-opened Gate,--and found it not.
+He stood perplext, and then cried wearily,
+"Pray give me entrance. I am done with earth."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait,
+Till Wisdom should direct him to the gate.
+
+I saw a woman come, noble and fair,
+And pure of heart, and in her goodly deeds
+More richly robed than Fashion's fairest queen.
+And to myself I said,--"Surely for her
+A way will open that she may go in!"
+She said no word, but stood and looked upon
+The shining walls, with eyes that answering shone.
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+She looked in vain, then set herself to wait,
+Till Love should help her to discern the Gate.
+
+And one there came, with clear keen face--a Judge
+Of men on earth, and famed for fearless truth.
+His robes were stainless and his heart was clean.
+"Entrance I crave," he cried, "to well-earned rest,--
+And mercy-tempered justice and no more."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait
+Till Judgment should direct him to the Gate.
+
+And one there came, sad-eyed, his brow still raw
+From pressure of an earthly crown. He too
+Sought glorious entrance through wide-opened gates,
+And stood perplext. He had borne well his part,
+And served his people and his God, and died
+The Martyr's death, and yet he found no gate.
+"I fain would rest," he cried. "My life has been
+One ceaseless striving. I would enter in."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+Perplext he stood, then set himself to wait,
+Till Patient Waiting should discern the Gate.
+
+And one who had had riches beyond most,
+And yet subserved them to his Master's good,
+Came searching for the heavenly gates, and stood
+Amazed to find no opening in the walls.
+"I gave of all I had," he cried, "and held
+Nought as my own,--yet entrance is denied."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait
+Till Charity should point him to the Gate.
+
+And many more there were who entrance craved,
+And sought the Great White Gates, and stood perplext.
+And ever, from within, the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+They sought in vain, and set themselves to wait
+Till Light was given them to discern the Gate.
+
+And then--a child in white came carolling
+Along the arduous road we all had trod.
+He stopped and looked, then laughed with childish glee,--
+"_Why wait ye here without? Come, follow me_!"--
+And passed, scarce bending, through the lowly door,--
+We heard his singing,--him we saw no more.
+
+The woman stooped and looked, with eyes that shone,
+Into the doorway where the child had gone;
+Then loosed her robes and dropped, and in a shift
+Of pure white samite, on her hands and knees
+She crept into the doorway and was gone,
+And we stood gazing at the way she went.
+
+And, one by one, they followed. First the Judge
+Laid by his robes, and bowed him to the ground,
+And followed--where the little child had led.
+And he whose brow had borne that weighty crown
+Bent low and followed,--where the little child had led.
+And he who knew so much of earthly things
+Discarded them, and, on his hands and knees,
+Crept through the doorway,--where the little child had led.
+And he of riches laid him in the dust
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, last of all, the War Lord cast aside
+His victor's wreaths, and all his pomp and pride,
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, groping through my fears, I bowed my head
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+
+
+
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling,
+Calling out of the night,
+O, you who live in the Light of Life,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We are bound in the chains of darkness,
+Our eyes received no sight,
+O, you who have never been bond or blind,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We live amid turmoil and horror,
+Where might is the only right,
+O, you to whom life is liberty,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We stand in the ashes of ruins,
+We are ready to fight the fight,
+O, you whose feet are firm on the Rock,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+You cannot--you shall not forget us,
+Out here in the darkest night,
+We are drowning men, we are dying men,
+        Bring, O, bring us the Light!
+
+
+
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+
+Is the pathway dark and dreary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are you broken, heart-sick, weary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Dreariest roads shall have an ending,
+Broken hearts are for God's mending.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Are life's threads all sorely tangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are the sweet chords strained and jangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Tangled threads are for Love's fingers,
+Trembling chords make heaven's sweet singers.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the burden past your bearing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Hopeless?--Friendless?--No one caring?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Burdens shared are light to carry,
+Love shall come though long He tarry.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the light for ever failing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Is the faint heart ever quailing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's strong arms are all around you,
+In the dark He sought and found you.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the future black with sorrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Do you dread each dark to-morrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Nought can come without His knowing.
+Come what may 'tis His bestowing.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Peace and heaven lie all about us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+Peace within makes heaven without us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's great love shall fail us never,
+We are His, and His for ever.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+
+
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+
+Our feet have wandered, wandered far and wide,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+From that strait path in which the Master died,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Low have we fallen from our high estate,
+Long have we lingered, lingered long and late;
+    _But the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+There is no sin His Love can not forgive;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No soul so stained His Love will not receive;
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No load of sorrow but His touch can move,
+No hedge of thorns that can withstand His Love;
+    _For the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+So we will sing, whatever may betide;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Nought but ourselves can keep us from His side;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+What though no place we win in life's rough race,
+Our loss may prove the measure of His grace.
+        _For the tenderness of God
+        Is from age to age the same,
+        And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+
+
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+
+I faced a future all unknown,
+No opening could I see,
+I heard without the night wind moan,
+The ways were dark to me,--
+"I cannot face it all alone
+O be Thou near to me!"
+
+I had done sums, and sums, and sums,
+Inside my aching head.
+I'd tried in vain to pierce the glooms
+That lay so thick ahead.
+But two and two will not make five,
+Nor will do when I'm dead.
+
+And then I thought of Him who fed
+Five thousand hungry men,
+With five small casual loaves of bread,--
+Would he were here again!--
+Dear God! hast Thou still miracles
+For the troubled sons of men?
+
+He has, He will, He worketh still,
+In ways most wonderful.
+He drew me from the miry clay,
+He filled my cup quite full.
+And while my heart can speak I'll tell
+His love unspeakable.
+
+"Rest in the Lord!"--I saw it there,
+On the tablets of the night.
+And, comforted, I dropped my care
+Where burdens have no weight.
+Then, trustfully, I turned and slept,
+And woke, and it was light.
+
+God works to-day as He did of old
+For the lightening of men's woes.
+His wonders never can be told,
+His goodness no man knows,--
+His Love, His Power, His Tenderness,--
+Nor shall do till life's close.
+
+His kindness is so very great,
+His greatness is so good.
+He looks upon my low estate,
+He gives me daily food.
+And nothing is too small for Him,--
+Yes, truly! God is good.
+
+
+
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+
+Some have much, and some have more,
+Some are rich, and some are poor,
+Some have little, some have less,
+Some have not a cent to bless
+Their empty pockets, yet possess
+True riches in true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+
+O, Prince of Life, Thy Life hath tuned
+All life to sweeter, loftier grace!
+Life's common rounds have wider bounds
+Since Thou hast trod life's common ways.
+
+O, Heart of Love! Thy Tenderness
+Still runs through life's remotest vein;
+And lust and greed and soulless creed
+Shall never rule the world again.
+
+O Life of Love!--The Good Intent
+Of God to man made evident,--
+All down the years, despite men's fears,
+Thy Power is still omnipotent.
+
+O Life! O Love! O Living Word!--
+Rent Vail, revealing God to man,--
+Help, Lord! Lest I should crucify,
+By thought or deed, Thy Love again.
+
+
+
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+
+Every day is Judgment Day,
+Count on no to-morrow.
+He who will not, when he may,
+Act to-day, to-day, to-day,
+Doth but borrow
+Sorrow.
+
+
+
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+
+There is darkness still, gross darkness, Lord,
+On this fair earth of Thine.
+There are prisoners still in the prison-house,
+Where never a light doth shine.
+There are doors still bolted against Thee,
+There are faces set like a wall;
+And over them all the Shadow of Death
+Hangs like a pall.
+    _Do you hear the voices calling,
+    Out there in the black of the night?
+    Do you hear the sobs of the women,
+    Who are barred from the blessed light?
+    And the children,--the little children,--
+    Do you hear their pitiful cry?
+    O brothers, we must seek them,
+    Or there in the dark they die_!
+
+Spread the Light! Spread the Light!
+Till earth's remotest bounds have heard
+The glory of the Living Word;
+Till those that see not have their sight;
+Till all the fringes of the night
+Are lifted, and the long-closed doors
+Are wide for ever to the Light.
+Spread--the--Light!
+    _O then shall dawn the golden days,
+    To which true hearts are pressing;
+    When earth's discordant strains shall blend--
+    The one true God confessing;
+    When Christly thought and Christly deed
+    Shall bind each heart and nation,
+    In one Grand Brotherhood of Men,
+    And one high consecration_.
+
+
+
+
+INDIA
+
+
+A land of lights and shadows intervolved,
+A land of blazing sun and blackest night,
+A fortress armed, and guarded jealously,
+With every portal barred against the Light.
+
+A land in thrall to ancient mystic faiths,
+A land of iron creeds and gruesome deeds,
+A land of superstitions vast and grim,
+And all the noisome growths that Darkness breeds.
+
+Like sunny waves upon an iron-bound coast,
+The Light beats up against the close-barred doors,
+And seeks vain entrance, yet beats on and on,
+In hopeful faith which all defeat ignores.
+
+But--time shall come, when, like a swelling tide,
+The Word shall leap the barriers, and The Light
+Shall sweep the land; and Faith and Love and Hope
+Shall win for Christ this stronghold of the night.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+
+To lift the sombre fringes of the Night,
+To open lands long darkened to the Light,
+To heal grim wounds, to give the blind new sight,
+  Right mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        He thought of all men but himself,
+        Himself he never spared.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+Like Him he served, he walked life's troublous ways,
+With heart undaunted, and with calm, high face,
+And gemmed each day with deeds of sweetest grace;
+  Pull lovingly wrought he.
+         Forth to the fight he fared,
+         High things and great he dared,
+         In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+         Right lovingly wrought he.
+         He greatly loved--
+         He greatly lived--
+         And died right mightily.
+
+Like him he served, he would not turn aside;
+Nor home nor friends could his true heart divide;
+He served his Master, and naught else beside,
+  Right faithfully wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right faithfully wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+He passed like light across the darkened land,
+And dying, left behind him this command,
+"The door is open! So let it ever stand!"
+  Full mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right mightily wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+
+        _With a will!
+        With a will!
+    With a will and surely!
+        Without fail,
+        Drive each nail,
+    Build we so, securely_!
+
+The Pioneer,--the Undaunted One,
+Worn with long journeyings through the Great Dark Land,
+Rests for a season from his mighty labours,
+And seeks fresh vigour in a change of toil.
+
+        _Labour is sweet,
+              When hands and hearts are willing,--
+        Who truly works
+              Is God's own law fulfilling_.
+
+With his own hands he helps to build a temple,
+Here, in the wilds, a temple to his God,
+Rough-hewn and roughly thatched, but still a house
+Of prayer, a holy place, and consecrate
+To Him whose noblest temples are not built
+With hands, but in the opened hearts of men.
+
+        _The Master worked,
+              With His own hands expressing
+        His sure belief
+              That therein lay God's blessing_.
+
+Thus, as he toils, with axe, and nail, and hammer,
+His heart rejoices,--so the Master worked,
+And by His lowly toil for ever stamped
+True labour with its highest dignity.
+
+              _With a will!
+              With a will!
+        With a will and surely!
+              Without fail,
+              Drive each nail,
+        Build we so, securely_!
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+
+    "My heart to-day
+Is strangely full of home!
+How is it
+With the dear ones over there?
+    Five years!
+    Five long-drawn years!
+    And one short moment is enough
+      To alter life's complexion for eternity!
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    How is it with you all
+    At Home?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And you, my dearest one,
+Are ever nearer to me than the rest!
+    Your body lies
+    Beneath the baobab
+    In far Shapanga;
+But your soul is ever nearest
+    When I need you most.
+Where a man's treasure is
+    His heart is.
+And half my heart is buried there with you,
+And half works on for Africa.
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Why should such thought of home
+    Drag at my heart to-day?
+    Why should I longer roam?
+    Why should I not go home?
+Five years of toilsome wanderings
+    May claim a rest!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Nay! God knows best!
+    When He sees well
+He'll take me home and give me well-earned rest.
+    The work is not yet done.
+    This land of Night
+Is not yet fully opened to the Son
+    And His fair Light.
+    But--when the work is done--
+Ah--then!--how gladly will I go--
+    Home!--Home--Home!--
+    To rest!"
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+
+Where the great green combers break in thunder on the barrier reefs,--
+Where, unceasing, sounds the mighty diapason of the deep,--
+Ringed in bursts of wild wave-laughter, ringed in leagues of flying
+        foam,--
+Long lagoons of softest azure, curving beaches white as snow,
+Lap in sweetness and in beauty all the isles of Owhyhee.
+
+Land more lovely sun ne'er shone on than these isles of Owhyhee,
+Spendthrift Nature's wild profusion fashioned them like fairy bowers;
+Yet behind--below the sweetness,--underneath the passion-flowers,
+Lurked grim deeds, and things of horror, grisly Deaths, and ceaseless
+        Fears,
+Fears and Deaths that walked in Darkness, grisly Deaths and ceaseless
+        Fears.
+
+
+NOTE.--Kapiolani--pronounced Kah-pee-o-lah-ny, with slight accent on
+second syllable.
+
+Mauna Loa--Mona Lo-ah.
+
+Kilauea--Kil-o-ee-ah.
+
+Hale-Mau-Mau--Ha-lee-Mah-oo-Mah-oo.
+
+On the slope of Mauna Loa, in the pit of Kilauea,
+In the lake of molten lava, in the sea of living fire,
+In the place of Ceaseless Burnings, in her home of Wrath and Terror,
+Dwelt the dreadful goddess Pele--Pele of the Lake of Fire;
+Pele of the place of torment, Pele of the Lake of Fire.
+
+In the dim far-off beginnings, Pele flung the islands up
+From the bottom of the ocean, from the darksome underworld;
+Built them for a house to dwell in, built them for herself alone,
+So she claimed them and their people, claimed them as her very own,
+And they feared her, and they worshipped--
+Pele, the Remorseless One.
+
+But, at times, when she lay sleeping, underneath the lake of fire,
+They forgot to do her reverence, they forgot the fiery one;
+Then in wrath the goddess thundered from the Lake of Ceaseless
+        Burnings,
+Flamed and thundered in her anger, till the very skies were red,
+Poured black ruin on the island, shook it to its rocky bed.
+
+Then in fear the people trembled and bethought them of their sins,
+And the great high priest of Pele came like Death down Mauna Loa,
+Came to soothe the awful goddess, came to choose the sacrifice,
+Chose the fairest youth or maiden, pointed with a deadly finger,
+Led them weeping up the mountain, victims to the Lake of Fire.
+
+On the snowy beach of coral, youths and maidens full of laughter,
+Flower-bedecked and full of laughter, sported gaily in the sun;
+Up above, the slender palm-trees swung and shivered in the trade-wind,
+All around them flowers and spices,--red hibiscus, sweet pandanus,
+And behind, the labouring mountain groaned and growled unceasingly.
+
+        "_Sea and sunshine,
+        Care is moonshine,
+      All our hearts are light with laughter.
+        We are free
+        As sun and sea,
+  What care we for what comes after?"
+
+            Bride.
+
+  "Life was sweet before Love found her,
+     In his faery bowers.
+        Life is sweeter,
+        And completer,
+        Since he found her,
+        There, and crowned her
+        With his fadeless flowers."
+
+            Bridegroom.
+  "Love sought long before he found her,
+  Ne'er was love like ours!
+  Long he sought her,
+  E'er he caught her.
+  But he found her
+  There, and bound her
+  With his fadeless flowers."
+
+    "Gaily sporting,
+    Pleasure courting,
+  Nought know we of care or sorrow.
+    We are free
+    As sun and sea,
+  What care we what comes to-morrow_?"
+
+Louder still and louder, Pele roars within her lake of fire,
+And the youths and maidens trembling look in fear up Mauna Loa,
+Dreading sight of that grim figure stalking down the mountain side;
+For when Pele claims her victims none the summons may avoid.
+Pele calls for whom she chooses--whom she chooses goes,--and dies.
+
+See! He comes! They start in terror. There, along the mountain side,
+Death comes stalking, slowly, surely,--_Pele must be satisfied_.
+Which among them will he summon, with his dreadful pointing finger?
+All their hearts become as water, all their faces blanch with fear,
+Deaths they suffer in the waiting, while dread Death draws near.
+
+Now he stands in dreadful menace, seeking with a baleful eye
+For the sweetest and the fairest--for the meetest sacrifice.
+"Choose, O choose!"--they cry in terror; "choose your victim and be
+        gone,
+For we each die deaths while waiting, till dread Pele's choice be
+        known!
+Choose your victim, Priest of Pele, choose your victim and be gone!"
+
+Slowly points the dreadful finger, marks the newly-wedded bride;
+All the rest, save one, fall from her, as the living from the dead.
+From the first of time's beginnings Pele ne'er has been gainsayed;
+Pele chooses whom she chooses, each and all the choice abide,
+For the common good and safety,--_Pele must be satisfied_!
+
+Still the mountain reels and shudders, still the awful thunders peal,
+Like a snake the ruthless finger holds them all in terror still;
+One is there whose life is broken, parted from his chosen bride,
+But the threatening finger, heedless of the lives it may divide,
+Lights upon a tiny maiden,--_Pele must be satisfied_!
+
+Slow, the grim high-priest of Pele turns to climb the mountain side;
+Slow, the victims turn and follow,--_Pele must be satisfied_.
+And the rest shrink, dumb and helpless, daring not to lift an eye,
+And beyond, the labouring mountain cracks and belches living fires,
+Till the island reels and shudders at dread Pele's agonies.
+
+But a greater one than Pele walked the mountain side that day;--
+To them, climbing, dumb and dim-eyed--like a flash of heavenly flame,
+Swift and bright as saving angel, fair Kapiolani came,
+Swiftly as a saving angel, gleaming like a heavenly flame,
+Thirsting like a sword for battle, fair Kapiolani came.
+
+Radiant with the faith of martyrs, all aglow with new-born zeal,
+Burning to release the people from the bondage and the thrall,
+From the deadly thrall of Pele, from the ever-threatening doom,
+From the everlasting menace, from the awful lake of fire,
+Like a bright avenging angel fair Kapiolani came!
+
+"Hear me now, you priest of Pele, and ye men of Owhyhee!
+Hearken! ye who cringe and tremble, at the sound of Kilauea,
+Fearful of the wrath of Pele, fearful of the lake of fire!--
+Priest, I say there is no Pele! Pele is not--never was!
+Pele lives but in your legends--there is only one true God!"
+
+"Cursed, thrice accursed, you who thus great Pele do defy,
+Here, upon her sacred mountain, of a surety you shall die!
+Pele, mighty Pele, Vengeance! Strike her with thy dreadful doom!
+So let every scoffer perish!--Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+And Kapiolani answered--"Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+
+Loud the mountain roared and thundered; shuddered all who heard and
+        saw,
+Dauntless stood Kapiolani, dauntless with her faithful few.
+"Come!" she cried again. "Come, Pele! Smite me with thy dreadful doom!
+I am waiting, mighty Pele!--Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+And the mountain roared and thundered;--but the goddess did not come.
+
+"Hearken, Priest! You have deceived us. All your life has been a lie,
+Black your heart is, red your hands are, with the blood of those who
+        die.
+All these years you have misled us with your awful threats of doom.
+Now it ends! I do defy you, and your goddess I defy.
+Pele, is not, never has been. All your worship is a lie.
+
+"I will climb your sacred mountain. I will dare your lake of fire.
+I will eat your sacred berries. I will dare your goddess there,
+There and then to wreak her vengeance, then and there to come in fire,
+And with awful burnings end me, now and for eternity;
+But if Pele does not end me, then her worship ends this day."
+
+Then the great high priest of Pele turned to fiery Kilauea.
+"Come!" he said, "the goddess calls you!"--and they climbed the
+        mountain side,
+Up the slopes of Mauna Loa, to the hell of Kilauea,
+With the bright blue sky above them, with the blazing sun above them,
+While the mountain shook beneath them, and its head was wrapped in
+        fire.
+
+Fearful, hopeful, all the people crept along the shaking path,
+Hardly breathing at their daring, thus to brave dread Pele's wrath,
+Bending low lest she should see them, breathing soft lest she should
+        hear,
+Certain that Kapiolani would be sacrificed that day,
+To the vengeance of the goddess, to the anger of Pele.
+
+        "_As little child
+        On mother's breast,
+        O rest, my heart,
+        Have rest!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Is surely blest.
+        So rest, my heart,
+        Have rest_!
+        _As warrior bold
+        His foes among,
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Shall ne'er go wrong.
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong_!"
+
+Thus, Kapiolani, dauntless, singing softly as she went,
+With a face as calm and fearless as a child on pleasure bent,
+Climbed the side of Mauna Loa, to the dreadful lake of fire,
+While the mountain shook and thundered, while the people blanched and
+        shuddered,
+Climbed to Hale-Mau-Mau,--to the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+All the people waited trembling, stood afar off pale and trembling,
+While Kapiolani, fearless, climbed up to the lake of fire,
+With the fiery glow all round her, with a heavenly light about her.
+Shining with a radiance brighter than since time began had shone
+From the Lake of Ceaseless Burnings, from the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+"Here," she cried, "I pluck your berries, Pele,--and I give you none!
+See! I eat your sacred berries, Pele,--and I give you none!
+Pele, here I break your tabus! Come, with all your dreadful fires!
+Burn me, Pele! I defy you!--Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+Come now, Pele, or for ever own that you are overcome!
+
+"Pele comes not. Is she sleeping? Is she wandering to-day?
+Is she busy with her burnings? Has the goddess nought to say?
+Hear me, friends!--There is no Pele! One true God alone there is.
+His, this mountain! His, these burnings! You, and I, and all
+        things,--His!
+Goodness, Mercy, Loving-Kindness, Life Eternal--all are His!
+
+"From this day, let no man tremble, when he feels the mountain shake!
+From this day, no man or maiden shall be killed for Pele's sake!
+From this day, we break the thraldom of the dreadful lake of fire.
+From this day, we pass for ever from the scourge of Pele's rod.--
+From this day, Thou, Lord Jehovah, be our one and only God!"
+
+
+
+
+THEY COME!
+
+
+From North and South, and East and West,
+      They come!
+The sorely tried, the much oppressed,
+Their Faith and Love to manifest,
+      They come!
+They come to tell of work well done,
+They come to tell of kingdoms won,
+To worship at the Great White Throne,
+      They come!
+In a noble consecration,
+With a sound of jubilation.
+      They come! They come!
+
+Through tribulations and distress,
+      They come!
+Through perils great and bitterness,
+Through persecutions pitiless,
+      They come!
+They come by paths the martyrs trod,
+They come from underneath the rod,
+Climbing through darkness up to God,
+      They come!
+Out of mighty tribulation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+From every land beneath the sun,
+      They come!
+To tell of mighty victories won;
+Unto the Father through the Son,
+      They come!
+
+They come--the victors in the fight,
+They come--the blind restored to sight,
+From deepest Darkness into Light;
+      They come!
+In a holy exaltation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+
+
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+
+NORTH
+
+We come from the gloom of the shadowy trail
+  Out away on the fringe of the Night,
+Where no man could tell, when the darkness fell,
+  If his eyes would behold the light.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are wanderers still, without ever a guide,
+  Out there on the fringe of the Night,
+They are bond and blind,--to their darkness resigned,
+  With never a wish for the Light.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+SOUTH
+
+We come from the land of the blazing sun,
+  From the land that was blacker than night,--
+From the white-hot sand of the Great Dark Land,
+  Where Might was the only Right.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are sorrows still, there is darkness still,
+  There are still gross wrongs to set right;
+There are grim black stains, there are peoples in chains,
+  To be loosed from the grip of the Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+EAST
+
+We come from the East, from the glowing East,
+  Where the Past, with its hand of ice,
+Still reaches across through its ages of loss,
+  And still holds the land like a vice.
+      To--the--Night,--
+      To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+      Came--the--Light,
+      Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+O, the sorrowful ones of the caste-bound lands,
+  How they long for the wider way!
+How they sigh in the gloom of their close-barred tomb
+  For the Light of the Coming Day!
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light,
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+WEST
+
+We come from the Isles, from the Western Isles,
+  From the isles of the sunny seas,--
+Where the smiles and the wiles, with which Nature beguiles,
+  Are but shrouds for her tragedies.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There is Darkness more deadly than Death itself,
+  There is Blindness beyond that of sight.
+There are souls fast bound in the depths profound
+  Of unconscious and heedless Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+     To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+
+
+FAITH
+
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to live from day to day,
+With tranquil heart to do my simple part,
+And, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to trust, if not to know;
+With quiet mind in all things Thee to find,
+And, child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to leave it all to Thee,
+The future is Thy gift, I would not lift
+The vail Thy Love has hung 'twixt it and me.
+
+
+
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+
+Say once again Thy sweet "I will!"
+  In answer to my prayers.
+"Lord, if Thou wilt!"--
+                     --"I will!
+  Rise up above thy cares!"
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+A FRAGMENT
+
+
+    _With hearts responsive
+    And enfranchised eyes,
+    We thank Thee, Lord,--_
+For all things beautiful, and good, and true;
+For things that seemed not good yet turned to good;
+For all the sweet compulsions of Thy will
+That chased, and tried, and wrought us to Thy shape;
+For things unnumbered that we take of right,
+And value first when first they are withheld;
+For light and air; sweet sense of sound and smell;
+For ears to hear the heavenly harmonies;
+For eyes to see the unseen in the seen;
+For vision of The Worker in the work;
+For hearts to apprehend Thee everywhere;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all the wonders of this wondrous world;--
+The pure pearl splendours of the coming day,
+The breaking east,--the rosy flush,--the Dawn,--
+For that bright gem in morning's coronal,
+That one lone star that gleams above the glow;
+For that high glory of the impartial sun,--
+The golden noonings big with promised life;
+The matchless pageant of the evening skies.
+The wide-flung gates,--the gleams of Paradise,--
+Supremest visions of Thine artistry;
+The sweet, soft gloaming, and the friendly stars;
+The vesper stillness, and the creeping shades;
+The moon's pale majesty; the pulsing dome,
+Wherein we feel Thy great heart throbbing near;
+For sweet laborious days and restful nights;
+For work to do, and strength to do the work;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For those first tiny, prayerful-folded hands
+That pierce the winter's crust, and softly bring
+Life out of death, the endless mystery;--
+For all the first sweet flushings of the Spring;
+The greening earth, the tender heavenly blue;
+The rich brown furrows gaping for the seed;
+For all Thy grace in bursting bud and leaf,--
+The bridal sweetness of the orchard trees,
+Rose-tender in their coming fruitfulness;
+The fragrant snow-drifts flung upon the breeze;
+The grace and glory of the fruitless flowers,
+Ambrosial beauty their reward and ours;
+For hedgerows sweet with hawthorn and wildrose;
+For meadows spread with gold and gemmed with stars;
+For every tint of every tiniest flower;
+For every daisy smiling to the sun;
+For every bird that builds in joyous hope;
+For every lamb that frisks beside its dam;
+For every leaf that rustles in the wind;
+For spiring poplar, and for spreading oak;
+For queenly birch, and lofty swaying elm,
+For the great cedar's benedictory grace;
+For earth's ten thousand fragrant incenses,--
+Sweet altar-gifts from leaf and fruit and flower;
+For every wondrous thing that greens and grows;
+For wide-spread cornlands,--billowing golden seas;
+For rippling stream, and white-laced waterfall;
+For purpling mountains; lakes like silver shields;
+For white-piled clouds that float against the blue;
+For tender green of far-off upland slopes;
+For fringing forests and far-gleaming spires;
+For those white peaks, serene and grand and still;
+For that deep sea--a shallow to Thy love;
+For round green hills, earth's full benignant breasts;
+For sun-chased shadows flitting o'er the plain;
+For gleam and gloom; for all life's counter-change;
+For hope that quickens under darkening skies;
+For all we see; for all that underlies,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that sweet impulse of the coming Spring,
+For ripening Summer, and the harvesting;
+For all the rich Autumnal glories spread,--
+The flaming pageant of the ripening woods;
+The fiery gorse, the heather-purpled hills;
+The rustling leaves that fly before the wind.
+And lie below the hedgerows whispering;
+For meadows silver-white with hoary dew;
+For sheer delight of tasting once again
+That first crisp breath of winter in the air;
+The pictured pane; the new white world without;
+The sparkling hedgerow's witchery of lace;
+The soft white flakes that fold the sleeping earth;
+The cold without, the cheerier warmth within;
+For red-heart roses in the winter snows;
+For all the flower and fruit of Christmas-tide;
+For all the glowing heart of Christmas-tide;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all Thy ministries,--
+For morning mist, and gently-falling dew;
+For summer rains, for winter ice and snow;
+For whispering wind and purifying storm;
+For the reft clouds that show the tender blue;
+For the forked flash and long tumultuous roll;
+For mighty rains that wash the dim earth clean;
+For the sweet promise of the seven-fold bow;
+For the soft sunshine, and the still calm night;
+For dimpled laughter of soft summer seas;
+For latticed splendour of the sea-borne moon;
+For gleaming sands, and granite-frontled cliffs;
+For flying spume, and waves that whip the skies;
+For rushing gale, and for the great glad calm;
+For Might so mighty, and for Love so true,
+With equal mind,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For maiden sweetness, and for strength of men;
+For love's pure madness and its high estate;
+For parentage--man's nearest reach to Thee;
+For kinship, sonship, friendship, brotherhood
+Of men--one Father--one great family;
+For glimpses of the greater in the less;
+For touch of Thee in wife and child and friend;
+For noble self-denying motherhood;
+For saintly maiden lives of rare perfume;
+For little pattering feet and crooning songs;
+For children's laughter, and sweet wells of truth;
+For sweet child-faces and the sweet wise tongues;
+For childhood's faith that lifts us near to Thee
+And bows us with our own disparity;
+For childhood's sweet unconscious beauty sleep;
+For all that childhood teaches us of Thee;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For doubts that led us to the larger trust;
+For ills to conquer; for the love that fights;
+For that strong faith that vanquished axe and flame
+And gave us Freedom for our heritage;
+For clouds and darkness, and the still, small voice;
+For sorrows bearing fruit of nobler life;
+For those sore strokes that broke us at Thy feet;
+For peace in strife; for gain in seeming loss;
+For every loss that wrought the greater gain;
+For that sweet juice from bitterness out-pressed;
+For all this sweet, strange paradox of life;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For friends above; for friends still left below;
+For the rare links invisible between;
+For Thine unsearchable greatness; for the vails
+Between us and the things we may not know;
+For those high times when hearts take wing and rise
+And float secure above earth's mysteries;
+For that wide, open avenue of prayer,
+All radiant with Thy glorious promises;
+For sweet hearts tuned to noblest charity;
+For great hearts toiling in the outer dark;
+For friendly hands stretched out in time of need;
+For every gracious thought and word and deed;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For songbird answering song on topmost bough;
+For myriad twitterings of the simpler folk;
+For that sweet lark that carols up the sky;
+For that low fluting on the summer night;
+For distant bells that tremble on the wind;
+For great round organ tones that rise and fall,
+Entwined with earthly voices tuned to heaven,
+And bear our hearts above the high-arched roof;
+For Thy great voice that dominates the whole,
+And shakes the heavens, and silences the earth;
+For hearts alive to earth's sweet minstrelsies;
+For souls attuned to heavenly harmonies;
+For apprehension, and for ears to hear,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that supremest token of Thy Love,--
+Thyself made manifest in human flesh;
+For that pure life beneath the Syrian sky--
+The humble toil, the sweat, the bench, the saw,
+The nails well-driven, and the work well-done;
+For all its vast expansions; for the stress
+Of those three mighty years;
+For all He bore of our humanity;
+His hunger, thirst, His homelessness and want,
+His weariness that longed for well-earned rest;
+For labour's high ennoblement through Him,
+Who laboured with His hands for daily bread;
+For Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Magdalene,
+For Nazareth and Bethany;--not least
+For that dark hour in lone Gethsemane;
+For that high cross upraised on Calvary;
+The broken seals,--the rolled-back stone--The Way,
+For ever opened through His life in death;
+For that brief glimpse vouchsafed within the vail;
+For all His gracious life; and for His Death,
+With low-bowed heads and hearts impassionate,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all life's beauties, and their beauteous growth;
+For Nature's laws and Thy rich providence;
+For all Thy perfect processes of life;
+For the minute perfection of Thy work,
+Seen and unseen, in each remotest part;
+For faith, and works, and gentle charity;
+For all that makes for quiet in the world;
+For all that lifts man from his common rut;
+For all that knits the silken bond of peace;
+For all that lifts the fringes of the night,
+And lights the darkened corners of the earth;
+For every broken gate and sundered bar;
+For every wide-flung window of the soul;
+For that Thou bearest all that Thou hast made;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For perfect childlike confidence in Thee;
+For childlike glimpses of the life to be;
+For trust akin to my child's trust in me;
+For hearts at rest through confidence in Thee;
+For hearts triumphant in perpetual hope;
+For hope victorious through past hopes fulfilled;
+For mightier hopes born of the things we know;
+For faith born of the things we may not know;
+For hope of powers increased ten thousand fold;
+For that last hope of likeness to Thyself,
+When hope shall end in glorious certainty;
+    --_With quickened hearts
+    That find Thee everywhere,
+    We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+
+
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+IF HE WOULD BUT DARE
+
+
+I stood, unseen, within a sumptous room,
+Where one clothed all in white sat silently.
+So sweet his presence that a pure soft light
+Rayed from him, and I saw--most wondrous sight!--
+The Love of God shrined in the flesh once more,
+And glowing softly like a misted sun.
+His back was towards me. Had I seen his face
+Methought I must have fallen. I was wrong.
+The door flung wide. With hasty step
+Came one in royal robes and all the pride
+And pomp of majesty, and on his head
+A helmet with an eagle poised for flight.
+He stood amazed at sight of him in white,
+His lips apart in haughty questioning.
+But no words came. Breathless, he raised his hand
+And gave salute as to a mightier lord,
+And doffed his helm, and stood. And in his eyes I saw
+The reflex glory of his Master's face.
+
+The Master spoke. His voice so soft and sweet
+Thrilled my heart's core and shook me where I stood,--
+    "_Time runs apace. The New Time is at hand.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+In dumb amaze the other shook his head.
+    "_Thy brother of the North has cast his lot
+    For peace. Alone he cannot compass it.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+Again the other shook his head amazed,
+But never swerved a hair's breadth in his gaze.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Join hands with him,
+    Thy Northern brother, with the Western Isles,
+    And with their brethren of the Further West,
+    And Peace shall reign to Earth's remotest bound_."
+And still the other shook his head amazed.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Millions of lives
+    Are in thy hand, women and men and those
+    My little ones. Their souls are mine. Their lives
+    Are in thy hand. Of thee I shall require them.
+    Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "I am but one,"
+The other answered with reluctant tongue.
+  "_Thou art_ THE _one and so I come to thee.
+  For Peace or War the scales are in thy hand.
+  As thou decidest now, so shall it be.
+  But,--as thou sayest now, so be it
+  With thee--then.
+  Shall it be Peace or War? Nay--look_!--"
+And at the word--where stood the wall--a space;
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,--
+The kingdoms of the earth, and every kingdom
+Groaned with the burden of its armour-plate.
+And the weight grew till man was crushed beneath,
+And lost his manhood and became a cog
+To roll along the great machine of war.
+And, as he watched, the War-Lord's eyes flamed fire,
+His nostrils panted like a mettled steed's.
+This was the game of games he knew and loved,
+And every fibre of his soul was knit
+To see what passed.
+    Then,--in a sun-white land,
+Where a great sea poured out through narrow gates
+To meet a greater,--came the clang of arms,
+And drew the nations like a tocsin peal,
+Till all the sun-white sands ran red, and earth
+Sweat blood, and writhed in fiery ashes, and
+Grew sick with all the reek and stench of war,
+And heaven drew back behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman;--
+And the hoarse whisper of the War-Lord's voice,--
+  "Britain fights once again for Barbary
+  Lest others occupy to her undoing.
+  And Italy and Greece and Turkey join,
+  To beat back France and Spain."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions marched and wound 'mid snowy peaks,
+And came upon a smiling vine-clad land,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The hoarse voice spoke,--
+    "The provinces she stole
+    And lost, Austria takes back."
+Again I saw,--
+Where white-capped hosts crept swiftly to the straits
+Twixt old and new, and drenched the land with blood,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Despite his love of peace,
+        Our brother of the North has seized his chance,
+        And got his heart's desire."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions poured through the eternal snows,
+And legions swept o'er every sea to meet
+Their long-expected onslaught, and the dead
+Were piled in mountains, and the snows ran red.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Up, Britain, up! Strike home!
+        Or drop your rod of Empire in the dust--
+        One of you dies this day."
+Again I saw,--
+Beneath us, legions swarming to the West,
+Devouring kingdoms till they reached the sea,
+And filling all the lands with blood and fire.
+The War-Lord gazed, with eyes that blazed and flamed,
+And panted like a soul in torment,--"Mine!
+                       All these are mine!"
+  "_Thine, sayest thou?--Thine now,
+  When thou shalt stand before me--then,
+  I shall require them of thee_."
+                 --Thus the voice
+Of Him who sat and gazed with sorrowing face,
+While all the earth beneath us reeked of war,
+And heaven grew dim behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+A two-edged sword
+Could cut no sharper than the gentle voice
+Of Him who bowed with sorrow at the sight
+Of man destroying man for sake of gain.
+I waited, breathless, for the warrior's word.
+But no word came. His heart was with his men.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War? Look yet again_!"
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,
+Lay all the kingdoms of the earth--at peace.
+The glad earth smiled beneath a smiling heaven,
+And brought forth fruit for all her children's needs.
+The desert lands had blossomed, and the earth
+Was large enough for all. Her voice came up,
+A softly-rounded murmur of content,
+Like bees that labour gladly on the comb.
+The reign of Peace,--and yet an army lay
+Couchant and watchful, ready for the strife
+If strife need be,--the strife of quelling strife,--
+An army culled in part from all the lands.
+Owning no master but the public weal,
+And prompt to quench the first red spark of war.
+Even as we watched, a frontier turmoil rose,
+And therewith rose the army, and the fire
+Died out while scarce begun. The smoke of it
+Was scarcely seen, the noise scarce heard; for all
+The lands, sore-spent with war, had welcomed Peace,
+And bowed to mightier forces than their own;
+Men cast aside their armour and their arms,
+And lived men's lives and were no more machines.
+  "_Wars shall there be, indeed, till that last war
+  That shall wage war on War and sweep the earth
+  Of all war-wagers and of all mankind_."
+So spake the voice and ceased. And still we gazed,--
+A great white building, on its topmost tower
+A great white flag, proclaimed a World's Tribunal
+For the righting of the nations' wrongs.
+And that great army answered its behests
+And owned allegiance to no other head.
+Peace reigned triumphant. On the quiet air
+I heard the merry laughter of the child,
+And the great sigh of gratitude that rose
+From all the mother-hearts of all the world.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"--
+                Once more the voice,--
+  "_To one man is it given to decide_,
+  THOU ART THE MAN! _The scales are in_ THY _hand.
+  Think well, and say,--Shall it be Peace or War?
+  As thou, shalt say so shall it be with thee_."
+But, ere the answer came, all vanished like
+A scrap of paper in a fire of coals.
+Then, with a crackling peal, the thick black vail
+That hangs before the face of men was rent,
+And in the instant lightning flash I saw,--
+
+A chamber hung with black and heaped with flowers,
+Where candles tall flashed white on watchers' swords.
+High on a high-raised bier lay one at rest--
+Crosses and orders on his quiet breast,
+Head proudly cushioned on his country's flag,
+Hands calmly folded on his helmet's crest,
+His back to earth, his mute face turned to heaven,--
+Answering the summons of his Over-Lord.
+I strained my eyes upon his face to learn
+Thereon his answer. But the dark vail dropped,
+And left me wondering what his word had been.
+Had I but read his face I should have known
+Who lay there.--Man, like other men? Or one
+Who grasped the greater things, and by his will
+Brought Peace on Earth and drew Earth nearer Heaven.
+The bells beat softly on the midnight air
+Proclaiming the New Time? Shall it be Peace?
+A voice within me cried and would not cease,
+"_One man could do it if he would but dare_."
+
+NOTE.--This was written in 1898, at the time of the Tzar's Rescript to
+the Powers suggesting a Peace Conference with a view to the lightening
+of the ever-growing burden of arms.
+
+The possibilities have changed their faces, but at heart the great
+problem remains much the same. And above all, the great fact remains
+that if Great Britain, Germany, Russia and the United States joined
+hands for a World Peace, they could ensure it. Germany is still
+mistrustful. On her lies a great responsibility.
+
+
+
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+
+Is your place a small place?
+      Tend it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Is your place a large place?
+      Guard it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Whatever your place, it is
+      Not yours alone, but His
+            Who set you there.
+
+
+
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+
+Some lives are set in narrow ways,
+By Love's wise tenderness.
+They seem to suffer all their days
+Life's direst storm and stress.
+But God shall raise them up at length,
+His purposes are sure,
+He for their weakness shall give strength,
+For every ill a cure.
+
+
+
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+(_For the Braille Magazine_)
+
+
+When the outer eye grows dim,
+Turns the inner eye to Him,
+  Who makes darkness light.
+Fairer visions you may see,
+Live in nobler company,
+And in larger liberty,
+  Than the men of sight.
+
+He sometimes shuts the windows but to open hidden doors,
+Where all who will may wander bold and free,
+For His house has many mansions, and the mansions many floors,
+And every room is free to you and me.
+
+
+
+
+PROPS
+
+
+Earthly props are useless,
+      On Thy grace I fall;
+Earthly strength is weakness,
+      Father, on Thee I call,--
+      For comfort, strength, and guidance,
+      O, give me all!
+
+
+
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+
+I have been tried,
+Tried in the fire,
+And I say this,
+As the result of dire distress,
+And tribulation sore--
+That a man's happiness doth not consist
+Of that he hath, but of the faith
+And trust in God's great love
+These bring him to.
+Nought else is worth consideration.
+For the peace a man may find
+In perfect trust in God
+Outweighs all else, and is
+The only possible foundation
+For true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+
+Lord, when Thou seest that my work is done,
+Let me not linger on,
+With failing powers,
+Adown the weary hours,--
+A workless worker in a world of work.
+But, with a word,
+Just bid me home,
+And I will come
+Right gladly,--
+Yea, right gladly
+Will I come.
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+Mr. F.W. Christian, of the Polynesian Society of New Zealand, whose
+personal acquaintance with the South Sea Islands and their dialects is
+unique, is translating "Kapiolani" into Rarotongan. He writes--
+
+"I enclose a four-line stanza which, translating your first line--'Where
+the great green combers break,' etc.--strictly according to East
+Polynesian ballad-metres, ushers in your great theme.
+
+"'Kapiolani' will, I trust, God willing, become a household classic
+in many of the Eastern Islands, such as Rapa and Manahiki, where the
+Rarotongan language runs current as a sort of Lingua Franca or Sacred
+Esperanto, thanks to the magnificent translation of the Bible by the
+great missionary, John Williams. I have translated the poem most carefully,
+and as accurately as possible into the peculiar metre and cast of
+expression which an Eastern Polynesian 'Atu-Pe'e, or Versifier, would
+immediately grasp as idiomatic. The first lines run thus:--"
+
+
+Tei te ngai mangungu--anga no te an ngaru roro'a
+Ki runga no te punga matoato'a
+Ngaru kerekere, ngaru mamaata e tini
+Ki runga no te 'Akau-Pipini.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
+copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
+this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: Bees in Amber
+       A Little Book Of Thoughtful Verse
+
+Author: John Oxenham
+
+Release Date: February, 2006 [EBook #9989]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on November 6, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEES IN AMBER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+BEES IN AMBER
+
+A LITTLE BOOK OF THOUGHTFUL VERSE
+
+BY JOHN OXENHAM
+
+1913
+
+
+
+
+TO THOSE I HOLD DEAREST
+
+THIS OF MY BEST.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CREDO
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY AND EVERYDAY
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+THE POTTER
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+THE WAYS
+
+SEEDS
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+SHADOWS
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+TAMATE
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+SARK
+
+E.A.
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+PAUL
+
+WAKENING
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+WANDERED
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+DON'T WORRY!
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+THE VAIL
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+FREEMEN
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+THE GATE
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+INDIA
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+THEY COME!
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+FAITH
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+PROPS
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S APOLOGY
+
+
+In these rushful days an apology is advisable, if not absolutely
+essential, from any man, save the one or two elect, who has the temerity
+to publish a volume of verse.
+
+These stray lines, such as they are, have come to me from time to time,
+I hardly know how or whence; certainly not of deliberate intention or of
+malice aforethought. More often than not they have come to the
+interruption of other, as it seemed to me, more important--and
+undoubtedly more profitable--work.
+
+They are for the most part, simply attempts at concrete and
+rememberable expression of ideas--ages old most of them--which "asked
+for more."
+
+Most writers, I imagine, find themselves at times in that same
+predicament--worried by some thought which dances within them and
+stubbornly refuses to be satisfied with the sober dress of prose. For
+their own satisfaction and relief, in such a case, if they be not fools
+they endeavour to garb it more to its liking, and so find peace. Or, to
+vary the metaphor, they pluck the Bee out of their Bonnet and pop it
+into such amber as they happen to have about them or are able to
+evolve, and so put an end to its buzzing.
+
+In their previous states these little Bonnet-Bees of mine have
+apparently given pleasure to quite a number of intelligent and
+thoughtful folk; and now--chiefly, I am bound to say, for my own
+satisfaction in seeing them all together--I have gathered
+them into one bunch.
+
+If they please you--good! If not, there is no harm done, and one man is
+content.
+
+JOHN OXENHAM
+
+
+
+
+CREDO
+
+
+Not what, but WHOM, I do believe,
+    That, in my darkest hour of need,
+    Hath comfort that no mortal creed
+    To mortal man may give;--
+Not what, but WHOM!
+    For Christ is more than all the creeds,
+    And His full life of gentle deeds
+    Shall all the creeds outlive.
+Not what I do believe, but WHOM!
+    WHO walks beside me in the gloom?
+    WHO shares the burden wearisome?
+    WHO all the dim way doth illume,
+    And bids me look beyond the tomb
+    The larger life to live?--
+Not what I do believe,
+BUT WHOM!
+Not what,
+But WHOM!
+
+
+
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY--AND EVERY DAY
+
+  _Each man is Captain of his Soul,
+  And each man his own Crew,
+  But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+  And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+We break new seas to-day,--
+Our eager keels quest unaccustomed waters,
+And, from the vast uncharted waste in front,
+The mystic circles leap
+To greet our prows with mightiest possibilities;
+Bringing us--what?
+  --Dread shoals and shifting banks?
+  --And calms and storms?
+  --And clouds and biting gales?
+  --And wreck and loss?
+  --And valiant fighting-times?
+And, maybe, Death!--and so, the Larger Life!
+
+    _For should the Pilot deem it best
+    To cut the voyage short,
+    He sees beyond the sky-line, and
+    He'll bring us into Port_.
+
+And, maybe, Life,--Life on a bounding tide,
+    And chance of glorious deeds;--
+    Of help swift-born to drowning mariners;
+    Of cheer to ships dismasted in the gale;
+    Of succours given unasked and joyfully;
+    Of mighty service to all needy souls.
+
+    _So--Ho for the Pilot's orders,
+    Whatever course He makes!
+    For He sees beyond the sky-line,
+    And He never makes mistakes_.
+
+And, maybe, Golden Days,
+    Full freighted with delight!
+    --And wide free seas of unimagined bliss,
+    --And Treasure Isles, and Kingdoms to be won,
+    --And Undiscovered Countries, and New Kin.
+
+    _For each man captains his own Soul,
+    And chooses his own Crew,
+    But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+    And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+
+    "_See this my garden,
+      Large and fair_!"
+--Thus, to his friend,
+The Philosopher.
+
+  "'_Tis not too long_,"
+His friend replied,
+With truth exact,--
+  "_Nor yet too wide.
+  But well compact,
+   If somewhat cramped
+    On every side_."
+
+Quick the reply--
+  "_But see how high!--
+  It reaches up
+  To God's blue sky_!"
+
+Not by their size
+Measure we men
+Or things.
+Wisdom, with eyes
+Washed in the fire,
+Seeketh the things
+That are higher--
+Things that have wings,
+Thoughts that aspire.
+
+
+
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+
+The Mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small--
+So soft and slow the great wheels go they scarcely move at all;
+But the souls of men fall into them and are powdered into dust,
+And in that dust grow the Passion-Flowers--Love, Hope, Trust.
+
+Most wondrous their upspringing, in the dust of the Grinding-Mills,
+And rare beyond the telling the fragrance each distils.
+Some grow up tall and stately, and some grow sweet and small,
+But Life out of Death is in each one--with purpose grow they all.
+
+For that dust is God's own garden, and the Lord Christ tends it fair,
+With oh, such loving tenderness! and oh, such patient care!
+In sorrow the seeds are planted, they are watered with bitter tears,
+But their roots strike down to the Water-Springs and the Sources of the
+        Years.
+
+These flowers of Christ's own providence, they wither not nor die,
+But flourish fair, and fairer still, through all eternity.
+In the Dust of the Mills and in travail the amaranth seeds are sown,
+But the Flowers in their full beauty climb the Pillars of the Throne.
+
+NOTE.--The first line only is adapted from the Sinngedichte of
+Friedrich von Logau.
+
+
+
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+
+But once I pass this way,
+And then--no more.
+But once--and then, the Silent Door
+Swings on its hinges,--
+Opens ... closes,--
+And no more
+I pass this way.
+So while I may,
+With all my might,
+I will essay
+Sweet comfort and delight,
+To all I meet upon the Pilgrim Way.
+For no man travels twice
+The Great Highway,
+That climbs through Darkness up to Light,--
+Through Night
+To Day.
+
+
+
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+
+King's Daughter!
+Wouldst thou be all fair,
+Without--within--
+Peerless and beautiful,
+A very Queen?
+
+Know then:--
+Not as men build unto the Silent One,--
+With clang and clamour,
+Traffic of rude voices,
+Clink of steel on stone,
+And din of hammer;--
+Not so the temple of thy grace is reared.
+But,--in the inmost shrine
+Must thou begin,
+And build with care
+A Holy Place,
+A place unseen,
+Each stone a prayer.
+Then, having built,
+Thy shrine sweep bare
+Of self and sin,
+And all that might demean;
+And, with endeavour,
+Watching ever, praying ever,
+Keep it fragrant-sweet, and clean:
+So, by God's grace, it be fit place,--
+His Christ shall enter and shall dwell therein.
+Not as in earthly fane--where chase
+Of steel on stone may strive to win
+Some outward grace,--
+_Thy temple face is chiselled from within_.
+
+
+
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+
+Better in bitterest agony to lie,
+Before Thy throne,
+Than through much increase to be lifted up on high,
+And stand alone.
+
+Better by one sweet soul, constant and true,
+To be beloved,
+Than all the kingdoms of delight to trample through,
+Unloved, unloved.
+
+Yet best--the need that broke me at Thy feet,
+In voiceless prayer,
+And cast my chastened heart, a sacrifice complete,
+Upon Thy care.
+
+For all the world is nought, and less than nought,
+Compared with this,--
+That my dear Lord, with His own life, my ransom bought,
+And I am His.
+
+
+
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+
+Shapeless and grim,
+A Shadow dim
+O'erhung the ways,
+And darkened all my days.
+And all who saw,
+With bated breath,
+Said, "It is Death!"
+
+And I, in weakness
+Slipping towards the Night,
+In sore affright
+Looked up. And lo!--
+No Spectre grim,
+But just a dim
+Sweet face,
+A sweet high mother-face,
+A face like Christ's Own Mother's face,
+Alight with tenderness
+And grace.
+
+"Thou art not Death!" I cried;--
+For Life's supremest fantasy
+Had never thus envisaged Death to me;--
+"Thou art not Death, the End!"
+
+In accents winning,
+Came the answer,--"_Friend,
+    There is no Death!
+    I am the Beginning,
+    --Not the End_!"
+
+
+
+
+THE POTTER
+
+
+A Potter, playing with his lump of clay,
+Fashioned an image of supremest worth.
+  "_Never was nobler image made on earth,
+  Than this that I have fashioned of my clay.
+  And I, of mine own skill, did fashion it,--
+  I--from this lump of clay_."
+
+The Master, looking out on Pots and Men,
+Heard his vain boasting, smiled at that he said.
+  "_The clay is Mine, and I the Potter made,
+  As I made all things,--stars, and clay, and men.
+  In what doth this man overpass the rest?
+  --Be thou as other men_!"
+
+He touched the Image,--and it fell to dust,
+He touched the Potter,--he to dust did fall.
+  Gently the Master,--"_I did make them all,--
+  All things and men, heaven's glories, and the dust.
+  Who with Me works shall quicken death itself,
+  Without Me--dust is dust_."
+
+
+
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+
+Fold up the tent!
+The sun is in the West.
+To-morrow my untented soul will range
+Among the blest.
+      And I am well content,
+      For what is sent, is sent,
+      And God knows best.
+
+Fold up the tent,
+And speed the parting guest!
+The night draws on, though night and day are one
+On this long quest.
+      This house was only lent
+      For my apprenticement--
+      What is, is best.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its slack ropes all undone,
+Its pole all broken, and its cover rent,--
+Its work is done.
+      But mine--tho' spoiled and spent
+      Mine earthly tenement--
+      Is but begun.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its tenant would be gone,
+To fairer skies than mortal eyes
+May look upon.
+All that I loved has passed,
+    And left me at the last
+    Alone!--alone!
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Above the mountain's crest,
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling clear,--
+"To rest! To rest!"
+      And I am glad to go,
+      For the sweet oil is low,
+      And rest is best!
+
+
+
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+
+God is a zealous pruner,
+For He knows--
+Who, falsely tender, spares the knife
+But spoils the rose.
+
+
+
+
+THE WAYS
+
+
+To every man there openeth
+A Way, and Ways, and a Way.
+And the High Soul climbs the High way,
+And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
+And in between, on the misty flats,
+The rest drift to and fro.
+But to every man there openeth
+A High Way, and a Low.
+And every man decideth
+The Way his soul shall go.
+
+
+
+
+SEEDS
+
+
+What shall we be like when
+We cast this earthly body and attain
+To immortality?
+What shall we be like then?
+
+Ah, who shall say
+What vast expansions shall be ours that day?
+What transformations of this house of clay,
+To fit the heavenly mansions and the light of day?
+Ah, who shall say?
+
+But this we know,--
+We drop a seed into the ground,
+A tiny, shapeless thing, shrivelled and dry,
+And, in the fulness of its time, is seen
+A form of peerless beauty, robed and crowned
+Beyond the pride of any earthly queen,
+Instinct with loveliness, and sweet and rare,
+The perfect emblem of its Maker's care.
+
+This from a shrivelled seed?--
+--Then may man hope indeed!
+
+For man is but the seed of what he shall be.
+When, in the fulness of his perfecting,
+He drops the husk and cleaves his upward way,
+Through earth's retardings and the clinging clay,
+Into the sunshine of God's perfect day.
+No fetters then! No bonds of time or space!
+But powers as ample as the boundless grace
+That suffered man, and death, and yet, in tenderness,
+Set wide the door, and passed Himself before--
+As He had promised--to prepare a place.
+
+Yea, we may hope!
+For we are seeds,
+Dropped into earth for heavenly blossoming.
+Perchance, when comes the time of harvesting,
+His loving care
+May find some use for even a humble tare.
+
+We know not what we shall be--only this--
+That we shall be made like Him--as He is.
+
+
+
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+
+Lord, when on my bed I lie,
+Sleepless, unto Thee I'll cry;
+When my brain works overmuch,
+Stay the wheels with Thy soft touch.
+
+Just a quiet thought of Thee,
+And of Thy sweet charity,--
+Just a little prayer, and then
+I will turn to sleep again.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+
+When the Bells of Ys rang softly,--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,
+Not a sound was heard in the old gray town,
+As the silvery tones came floating down,
+But life stood still with uncovered head,
+And doers of ill did good instead,
+And abroad the Peace of God was shed,
+  _When the bells aloft sang softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Aloft, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+And still those Bells ring softly--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_.
+Though full twelve hundred years have gone,
+Since the waves rolled over the old gray town,
+Bold men of the sea, in the grip of the flow,
+Still hear the Bells, as they pass and go,
+Or win to life with their hearts aglow,
+  _When the Bells below sing softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and alow, and alow_.
+
+O the Mystical Bells, they still ring softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,--
+For the sound of their singing shall never die
+In the hearts that are tuned to their melody;
+And down in the world's wild rush and roar,
+That sweeps us along to the Opening Door.
+
+Hearts still beat high as they beat of yore,
+  _When the Bells sing softly--softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+
+      I;--
+      Thou;--
+      We;--
+      They;--
+Small words, but mighty.
+In their span
+Are bound the life and hopes of man.
+
+For, first, his thoughts of his own self are full;
+Until another comes his heart to rule.
+For them, life's best is centred round their love;
+Till younger lives come all their love to prove.
+
+
+
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+
+For every Guest who comes with him to sup,
+The Host compounds a strangely mingled cup;--
+Red Wine of Life and Dregs of Bitterness,
+And, will-he, nil-he, each must drink it up.
+
+
+
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+
+Warp and Woof and Tangle,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+Living and dying--and mightier dead,
+For the shuttle, once sped, is sped--is sped;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+White, and Black, and Hodden-gray,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+To every weaver one golden strand
+Is given in trust by the Master-Hand;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+And that we weave, we know not,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+The threads we see, but the pattern is known
+To the Master-Weaver alone, alone;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+
+When, with bowed head,
+And silent-streaming tears,
+With mingled hopes and fears,
+To earth we yield our dead;
+The Saints, with clearer sight,
+Do cry in glad accord,--
+"_A soul released from prison
+Is risen, is risen,--
+Is risen to the glory of the Lord_."
+
+
+
+
+SHADOWS
+
+
+Shadows are but for the moment--
+Quickly past;
+And then the sun the brighter shines
+That it was overcast.
+
+For Light is Life!
+Gracious and sweet,
+The fair life-giving sun doth scatter blessings
+With his light and heat,--
+And shadows.
+But the shadows that come of the life-giving sun
+Crouch at his feet.
+
+No mortal life but has its shadowed times--
+Not one!
+Life without shadow could not taste the full
+Sweet glory of the sun.
+
+No shadow falls, but there, behind it, stands
+The Light
+Behind the wrongs and sorrows of life's troublous ways
+Stands RIGHT.
+
+
+
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+
+_As It was in the Beginning,--
+Is Now,--
+And...?
+
+     Anno Domini I_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+The Inn is full,
+Yea--overfull.
+No room have we
+for such as ye--
+Poor folk of Galilee,
+     Pass on! Pass on!"
+
+"Nay then!--
+Your charity
+Will ne'er deny
+Some corner mean,
+Where she may lie unseen.
+For see!--
+Her time is nigh."
+
+"Alack! And she
+So young and fair!
+Place have we none;
+And yet--how bid ye gone?
+Stay then!--out there
+Among the beasts
+Ye may find room,
+And eke a truss
+To lie upon."
+
+
+  _Anno Domini 1913, etc., etc_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+No room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee!
+The house is full,
+Yea, overfull.
+There is no room for Thee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+Nay--see!
+The place is packed.
+"We scarce have room
+For our own selves,
+So how shall we
+Find room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+But--if Thou shouldst
+This way again,
+And we can find
+So much as one small corner
+Free from guest,
+Not then in vain
+Thy quest.
+But now--
+The house is full.
+     Pass on!"
+
+Christ passes
+On His ceaseless quest,
+Nor will He rest
+With any,
+Save as Chiefest Guest.
+
+
+
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+"'Tis all a Chequer-Board of Nights and Days,
+Where Detiny with men for pieces plays,
+Hither and thither moves, and mates and slays,
+And one by one back in the Closet lays."
+
+_Omar Khayyam_.
+
+
+A Chequer-Board of mingled Light and Shade?
+And We the Pieces on it deftly laid?
+Moved and removed, without a word to say,
+By the Same Hand that Board and Pieces made?
+
+No Pieces we in any Fateful Game,
+Nor free to shift on Destiny the blame;
+Each Soul doth tend its own immortal flame,
+Fans it to Heaven, or smothers it in shame.
+
+
+
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+
+Oft, as he jogs along the Winding-Way,
+Occasion comes for Every Man to say,--
+"This Road?--or That?" and as he chooses them,
+So shall his journey end in Night or Day.
+
+
+
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+
+Peter, outworn,
+And menaced by the sword,
+Shook off the dust of Rome;
+And, as he fled,
+Met one, with eager face,
+Hastening cityward,
+And, to his vast amaze,
+It was The Lord.
+  "_Lord, whither goest Thou_?"
+He cried, importunate,
+And Christ replied,--
+  "_Peter, I suffer loss.
+  I go to take thy place,
+  To bear thy cross_."
+
+Then Peter bowed his head,
+Discomforted;
+There, at the Master's feet,
+Found grace complete,
+And courage, and new faith,
+And turned--with Him,
+To Death.
+
+So we,--
+Whene'er we fail
+Of our full duty,
+Cast on Him our load,--
+    Who suffered sore for us,
+    Who frail flesh wore for us,
+    Who all things bore for us,--
+On Christ, The Lord.
+
+
+
+
+TAMATE
+
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Great-Heart the Teacher,
+    Great-Heart the Joyous,
+    Great-Heart the Fearless,
+    Great-Heart the Martyr,
+    Great-Heart of Sweet White Fire.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Fighting the fight,
+    Holding the Light,
+    Into the night.
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_.--
+    But the Light shall burn the brighter.
+    And the night shall be the lighter,
+    For his going;
+    And a rich, rich harvest for his sowing.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_!--
+What is death to such an one as Great-Heart?
+    One sigh, perchance, for work unfinished here;--
+    Then a swift passing to a mightier sphere,
+    New joys, perfected powers, the vision clear,
+    And all the amplitude of heaven to work
+    The work he held so dear.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, say they_?
+    Nor dead nor sleeping! He lives on! His name
+    Shall kindle many a heart to equal flame.
+    The fire he lighted shall burn on and on,
+    Till all the darkness of the lands be gone,
+    And all the kingdoms of the earth be won,
+    And one.
+
+_A soul so fiery sweet can never die,
+But lives and loves and works through all eternity_.
+
+
+
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+
+Burden-bearers are we all,
+Great and small.
+Burden-sharers be ye all,
+Great and small!
+Where another shares the load,
+Two draw nearer God.
+Yet there are burdens we can share with none,
+Save God;
+And paths remote where we must walk alone,
+With God;
+For lonely burden and for path apart--
+Thank God!
+If these but serve to bring the burdened heart
+To God.
+
+
+
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+
+Time beats out all things with his iron flail,
+Things great, things small.
+With steady strokes that never fail,
+With slow, sure strokes of his iron flail,
+Time beats out all.
+
+
+
+
+SARK
+
+
+Pearl Iridescent! Pearl of the sea!
+Shimmering, glimmering Pearl of the sea!
+    White in the sun-flecked Silver Sea,
+    White in the moon-decked Silver Sea,
+    White in the wrath of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Lapped in the smile of the Silver Sea,
+    Ringed in the foam of the Silver Sea,
+    Glamoured in mists of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Glancing and glimmering under the sun.
+    Jewel and casket all in one,
+    Joy supreme of the sun's day dream,
+    Soft in the gleam of the golden beam,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Splendour of Hope in the rising sun,
+    Glory of Love in the noonday sun,
+    Wonder of Faith in the setting sun,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+    Gaunt and grim to the outer world,
+    Jewel and casket all impearled
+    With the kiss of the Silver Sea!--
+    With the flying kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the long sweet kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the rainbow kiss of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    And oh the sight,--the wonderful sight,
+    When calm and white, in the mystic light
+    Of her quivering pathway, broad and bright,
+    The Queen of the Night, in silver dight,
+    Sails over the Silver Sea!
+
+Wherever I go, and wherever I be,
+The joy and the longing are there with me,--
+The gleam and the glamour come back to me,--
+In a mystical rapture there comes to me,
+The call of the Silver Sea!
+As needle to pole is my heart to thee,
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+
+
+
+E.A., Nov. 6, 1900
+
+
+Bright stars of Faith and Hope, her eyes
+    Shall shine for us through all the years.
+    For all her life was Love, and fears
+Touch not the love that never dies.
+
+And Death itself, to her, was but
+    The wider opening of the door
+    That had been opening, more and more,
+Through all her life, and ne'er was shut.
+
+--And never shall be shut. She left
+    The door ajar for you and me,
+    And, looking after her, we see
+The glory shining through the cleft.
+
+And when our own time comes,--again
+    We'll meet her face to face;--again
+    Well see the star-shine; and again
+She'll greet us with her soft, "Come ben!"
+
+
+
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+
+_Hark! The drums! Muffled drums!
+The long low ruffle of the drums_!--
+And every head is bowed,
+In the vast expectant crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,--
+  By the way she knew so well,
+  Where our cheers were wont to swell,
+  As we tried in vain to tell
+  Of our love unspeakable.
+Now she comes
+To the rolling of the drums,
+And the slow sad tolling of the bell.
+Let every head be bowed,
+In the silent waiting crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,
+To the slow sad ruffle of the drums!
+
+  _Who is this that comes,
+  To the rolling of the drums,
+  In the sorrowful great silence of the peoples_?
+Take heart of grace,
+She is not here!
+The Great Queen is not here!
+  What most in her we did revere,--
+  The lofty spirit, white and clear,
+  The tender love that knew no fear,
+  The soul sincere,--
+These come not here,
+To the rolling of the drums,
+In the silence and the sorrow of the peoples.
+
+  _Death has but little part
+  In her. Love cannot die.
+  Who reigns in every heart
+  Hath immortality_.
+So, though our heads are bent,
+Our hearts are jubilant,
+As she comes,--
+As a conqueror she comes--
+With the rolling of the drums,
+To the stateliest of her homes,
+In the hearts of her true and faithful peoples.
+  _For the Great Queen lives for ever
+  In the hearts of those who love her.
+January, 1901_.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+
+Through every minute of this day,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every day of all this week,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every week of all this year,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through all the years of all this life,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+So shall the days and weeks and years
+Be threaded on a golden cord,
+And all draw on with sweet accord
+Unto Thy fulness, Lord,
+That so, when time is past,
+By Grace, I may at last,
+        Be with Thee, Lord.
+
+
+
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+JUNE, 1902
+
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Up to the sombre sky
+Rolled one great thankful sigh,
+Rolled one great gladsome cry--
+The soul's deliverance of a mighty people.
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+
+The long-low-hanging war-cloud rolled away,
+And night glowed brighter than the brightest day.
+For Peace is Light,
+And War is grimmer than the Night.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Great ocean, was your mighty calm unstirred
+As through your depths, unseen, unheard,
+Sped on its way the glorious word
+That called a weary nation to ungird,
+And sheathed once more the keen, reluctant sword?
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+The word came to us as we knelt in prayer
+That wars might cease.
+Peace found us on our knees, and prayer for Peace
+Was changed to prayer of deepest thankfulness.
+We knelt in War, we rose in Peace to bless
+Thy grace, Thy care, Thy tenderness.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+No matter now the rights and wrongs of it;
+You fought us bravely, and we fought you fair.
+The fight is done. Grip hands! No malice bear!
+We greet you, brothers, to the nobler strife
+Of building up the newer, larger life!
+
+Join hands! Join hands! Ye nations of the stock!
+And make henceforth a mighty Trust for Peace.
+A great enduring peace that shall withstand
+The shocks of time and circumstance; and every land
+Shall rise and bless you--and shall never cease
+To bless you--for that glorious gift of Peace.
+
+
+
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+
+He writes in characters too grand
+For our short sight to understand;
+We catch but broken strokes, and try
+To fathom all the mystery
+Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
+The endless war, the useless strife,--
+But there, with larger, clearer sight,
+We shall see this--His way was right.
+
+
+
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+
+Stephen, who died while I stood by consenting,
+  Wrought in his death the making of a life,
+Bruised one hard heart to thought of swift repenting,
+  Fitted one fighter for a nobler strife.
+
+Stephen, the Saint, triumphant and forgiving,
+  Prayed while the hot blows beat him to the earth.
+Was that a dying? Rather was it living!--
+  Through his soul's travail my soul came to birth.
+
+Stephen, the Martyr, full of faith and fearless,
+  Smiled when his bruised lips could no longer pray,--
+Smiled with a courage undismayed and peerless,--
+  Smiled!--and that smile is with me, night and day.
+
+O, was it _I_ that stood there, all consenting?
+  _I_--at whose feet the young men's clothes were laid?
+Was it _my_ will that wrought that hot tormenting?
+  My heart that boasted over Stephen, dead?
+
+Yes, it was I. And sore to me the telling.
+  Yes, it was I. And thought of it has been
+God's potent spur my whole soul's might compelling
+  These outer darknesses for Him to win.
+
+
+
+
+PAUL
+
+
+Bond-slave to Christ, and in my bonds rejoicing,
+  Earmarked to Him I counted less than nought;
+His man henceforward, eager to be voicing
+  That wondrous Love which Saul the Roman sought.
+
+Sought him and found him, working bitter sorrow;
+  Found him and claimed him, chose him for his own;
+Bound him in darkness, till the glorious morrow
+  Unsealed his eyes to that he had not known.
+
+
+
+
+WAKENING
+
+
+This mortal dies,--
+But, in the moment when the light fails here,
+The darkness opens, and the vision clear
+Breaks on his eyes.
+The vail is rent,--
+On his enraptured gaze heaven's glory breaks,
+He was asleep, and in that moment wakes.
+
+
+
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+
+Devils' work!
+Devils' work, my masters!
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+You may close your heart, but you cannot shirk
+This terrible fact,--_We--kept--the--Turk_.
+His day was past and we knew his work,
+But he played our game, so we kept the Turk,
+For our own sake's sake we kept the Turk.
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+Red are the walls and the ways,
+      _And--Britain, your hands are red_!
+There is blood on the hearth, and blood in the well,
+And the whole fair land is a red, red hell,--
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+"_Come over! Come over and help us_!"
+We are deaf to the ancient cry.
+--"_For the sake of our women and children_!"
+And Britain stands quietly by.
+      _O Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+_Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+Yea, cleanse them in blood if it _must_ be!
+For blood that is shed in the cause of right
+Has power, as of old, to wash souls white.
+      _Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+
+O for the fiery grace of old,--
+The heart and the masterful hand!
+But grace grows dim and the fire grows cold,
+We are heavy with greed and lust and gold,
+And life creeps low in the land.
+
+_Break your bonds, Britain_!
+Stand up once again for the right!
+We have stained our hands in the times that are past,
+Before God, we would wash them white.
+
+_For the Nations are in the proving;
+Each day is Judgment Day;
+And the peoples He finds wanting
+Shall pass--by the winding way_.
+
+
+
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+
+O Exiled Hearts--for you, for you--
+Love still can find the way!
+  _Hear the voices of the women on the road_!
+O Shadowed Lives--for you, for you--
+Hope hath not lost her ray!
+  _Hear the laughter of the children on the road_!
+O Gloomy Night--for you, for you--
+Dawn tells of coming day!
+  _Hear the clink of breaking fetters on the road_!
+O Might sans Right--for you, for you--
+The feet of crumbling clay!
+  _Hear the slow, sure tread of Freedom on the road_!
+
+
+
+
+WANDERED
+
+
+The wind blows shrill along the hill,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+The sky hangs low with its weight of snow,
+And the drifts are deep on the wold.
+But what care I for wind or snow?
+And what care I for the cold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The beasts are safely gathered in,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+They are snug and warm, and safe from harm,
+In stall and byre and fold.
+And the dogs and I, by the blazing fire,
+Care nought for the snow and the cold.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The barns are bursting with their store
+Of grain like yellow gold;
+A full, fat year has brought good cheer,
+--_Black is the night and cold_.--
+But ...  What care I for teeming barns?
+And what care I for gold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+In the great kitchen, maids and men,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+Laugh loud and long, with jest and song,
+And merry revel hold.
+Let them laugh and sing, let them have their fling,
+But for me--I am growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The old house moans, and sighs and groans,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+We have seen brave times, you and I, old friend,
+But now--we are growing old.
+We have stood foursquare to many a storm,
+But now--we are growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Her mother sleeps on the hill out there,
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+She is free from care, she is happier there,
+Beneath the warm brown mould.
+And I've sometimes hoped they may have met,
+And the end of the tale be told.
+        _Ah ... where is our lamb--
+         Our one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Was that a branch that shed its load?
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+Or--was it a footstep in the snow--
+A timid footstep--halting, slow?
+Ah me! I am getting old!
+Is that a tapping--soft and low?
+Can it be ... I thought I heard ... but no,
+'Twas only a branch that shed its snow,--
+God's truth! I am getting old!
+        _For I thought ... maybe
+         It was my lamb
+         Come home again to the fold_.
+
+Dear Lord! a hand at the frozen pane!
+--_White on the night's black cold_--
+O my lamb! my lamb! are you come again?
+My dear lost lamb, are you come again?
+Are you come again to the fold?
+It is!... It is!... Now I thank Thee, Lord,
+For Thy Mercies manifold!
+        _She is come again!
+         She is home again!
+         My lamb that strayed from the fold_!
+
+
+
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+
+Though the times be dark and dreary,
+Though the way be long,
+Keep your spirits bright and cheery,--
+--"Bide a wee, and dinna weary!"
+  Is a heartsome song.
+
+
+
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+
+"A red rose for my helmet,
+And a word before we part!
+The rose shall be my oriflamme
+The word shall fill my heart."
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart--
+    Just a look, just a word and a look!
+    A look or a sign that my love shall divine
+    And a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She toyed with his love and her roses;
+Was it mischief or mischance?--
+She dropped him a rose--'twas a white one,
+And he lifted it on his lance.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Is it thus--is it thus we part?
+    With never a look, and never a sign,
+    Nor a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She sought him among the dying,
+She found him among the dead;
+And the rose was still in his helmet.
+But his life had stained it red.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Now my heart within me is dead.
+    And alack for the look!
+    And alas for the sign!
+    And the word that was left unsaid_!
+
+
+
+
+DON'T WORRY
+
+
+Just do your best,
+And leave the rest
+To Him who gave you
+Life,--
+And Zeal for Labour,--
+And the Joy of Strife,--
+And Zest of Love,--
+And all that lifts your soul above
+The lower things.
+
+Life's truest harvest is in what we _would_,
+And strive our best for,
+Not most in what we _could_.
+The things we count supreme
+Stand, haply, not so high
+In God's esteem
+As _How_ and _Why_.
+
+All-Seeing Sight
+Cleaves through the husk of things,
+Right to the Roots and Springs,--
+Sees all things whole,
+And measures less the body than the soul.
+All-Righteous Right
+Will weigh men's motives,
+Not their deeds alone.
+End and Beginning unto Him are one;
+And _would_ for _could_ shall oft, perchance, atone.
+
+Motives are seeds,
+From which at times spring deeds
+Not equal to the soul's outreaching hope.
+Strive for the stars!
+Count nought well done but best!
+Then, with brave patience, leave the rest
+To Him who knows.
+He'll judge you justly ere the record close.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+
+The Golden Rose is blowing still,
+  Is growing still, is glowing still,
+In lonely vale, on lordly hill,
+The Golden Rose is glowing still;--
+  If only you can find it!
+
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows,
+  Still breaks and blows, still gleams and glows,
+'Mid icy blasts, and wintry snows,
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows;--
+Search w ell and you may find it!
+
+The Golden Rose can never die,
+  'Tis grafted on Eternity;
+In hearts that Love doth glorify,
+The Golden Rose can never die,--
+  May it be yours to find it!
+
+
+
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+
+Rabbi, begone! Thy powers
+Bring loss to us and ours.
+Our ways are not as Thine.
+Thou lovest men, we--swine.
+Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,
+And take this fool of Thine!
+His soul? What care we for his soul?
+What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,
+Since we have lost our swine?
+
+And Christ went sadly.
+He had wrought for them a sign
+Of Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;
+They wanted--swine.
+Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;
+But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,
+He forces no man's hold--he will depart,
+And leave you to the treasures of your heart.
+
+No cumbered chamber will the Master share,
+But one swept bare
+By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair
+With meekness, and humility, and prayer.
+There will He come, yet, coming, even there
+He stands and waits, and will no entrance win
+Until the latch be lifted from within.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+(_Cradle Song from "The Long Road_.")
+
+
+Whisht, Baby! Whisht!
+Quick below the cover!
+Down into your nest, my bird!
+And--don't--you--dare--peep--over!
+For the grey wolves they are prowling,
+They are prowling, they are prowling.
+And the snow-wind it is howling,
+It is howling, it is howling.
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark--
+Ow--ooh! Ow--ooh!
+S-s-s-s-s-seee--oo--ooh!
+The wolves they are lean,
+So-o-o lean, so-o-o lean!
+And the wind it is keen,
+So-o-o keen, so-o-o keen!
+And they seek little babies who aren't sleeping!
+But lie you still, my Baby dear!
+Lie still, lie still, and maybe you'll hear--
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark,--
+The silver bells and the golden bells,
+The swinging bells and the singing bells,--
+The bells that are heard but never are seen,
+The wind and the wolves, and the bells in between,--
+The bells of Iline,
+Good Stepan Iline,--
+The bells of good Stepan Iline!
+
+
+
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+
+Each sin has its door of entrance.
+Keep--that--door--closed!
+Bolt it tight!
+Just outside, the wild beast crouches
+In the night.
+Pin the bolt with a prayer,
+God will fix it there.
+
+
+
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+
+Though every nerve be strained
+To fine accomplishment,
+Full oft the life fall spent
+Before the prize is gained.
+And, in our discontent
+At waste so evident,
+In doubt and vast discouragement
+We wonder what is meant.
+But, tracing back, we find
+A Power that held the ways--
+A Mighty Hand, a Master Mind,
+That all the troubled course defined
+And overruled the days.
+Some call it Fate; some--Chance;
+Some--Giant Circumstance;
+And some, upreaching to the sense
+Of God within the circumstance,
+Do call it--Providence!
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+
+Down to the sea, the hungry sea,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Seeking food for the bairns and me,
+Seeking food in the hungry sea;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+My man and my lad--their bones are white,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Into the maw of the grim black night,
+Their hearts were bold and their faces bright;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+The sun was red and the clouds were black,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+And the sky was heavy with flying wrack,
+When forth they fared,--and they came not back;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+Forth they fared and they came not back,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+O, I fear the sea, and I hate the sea,
+That took my man and my lad from me;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy tender grace,
+In our distress
+Thou hast not left us wholly comfortless.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy wondrous might,
+Into our night
+Thou hast sent down the glory of the Light.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That all Thy wondrous ways,
+Through all our days,
+Are Wisdom, Right, and Ceaseless Tenderness.
+
+
+
+
+THE VAIL
+
+
+He only sees both sides of that dark vail
+That hangs before men's eyes--
+He only. It is well!
+Hope ever stands unseen
+Behind the screen,
+For knowledge would bring Hope to sudden death,
+And cloud the present with the coming ill.
+I would lie still, Dear Lord,
+I would lie still,
+And stay my troubled heart on Thee,
+Obedient to Thy will.
+
+
+
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+
+In Christ there is no East or West,
+  In Him no South or North,
+But one great Fellowship of Love
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+In Him shall true hearts everywhere
+  Their high communion find.
+His service is the golden cord
+  Close-binding all mankind.
+
+Join hands then, Brothers of the Faith,
+Whatever your race may be!--
+Who serves my Father as a son
+  Is surely kin to me.
+
+In Christ now meet both East and West,
+  In Him meet South and North,
+All Christly souls are one in Him,
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+
+  Not for one single day
+Can I discern my way,
+          But this I surely know,--
+  Who gives the day,
+  Will show the way,
+          So I securely go.
+
+
+
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+
+O God, within whose sight
+All men have equal right
+    To worship Thee.
+Break every bar that holds
+Thy flock in diverse folds!
+Thy Will from none withholds
+    Full liberty.
+
+Lord, set Thy Churches free
+From foolish rivalry!
+    Lord, set us free!
+Let all past bitterness
+Now and for ever cease,
+And all our souls possess
+    Thy charity!
+
+Lord, set the people free!
+Let all men draw to Thee
+    In unity!
+Thy temple courts are wide,
+Therein let all abide
+In peace, and side by side,
+    Serve only Thee!
+
+God, grant us now Thy peace!
+Bid all dissensions cease!
+    God, send us peace!
+Peace in True Liberty,
+Peace in Equality,
+Peace and Fraternity,
+    God, send us peace!
+
+
+
+
+FREEMEN
+
+
+Let no man stand between my God and me!
+I claim a Free man's right
+Of intercourse direct with Him,
+Who gave me Freedom with the air and light.
+God made me free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Me and my liberty!
+
+We need no priest to tell us God is Love.--
+Have we not eyes to see,
+And minds to apprehend, and hearts
+That leap responsive to His Charity?
+God's gifts are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+We need no priest to point a way to heaven.--
+God's heaven is here,--is there,--
+Man's birthright, with the light and air,--
+"God is His own and best interpreter."
+His ways are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+Let no man strive to rob us of this right!
+For this, from age to age,
+Our fathers did a mighty warfare wage,
+And, by God's help, we'll keep our heritage!
+God says--"Be Free!"
+And we,--
+"NO MAN SHALL STAND BETWEEN
+OUR SONS AND LIBERTY!"
+
+
+
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+
+Long the road,
+    Till Love came down it!
+Dark the life,
+    Till Love did crown it!
+Dark the life,
+    And long the road,
+Till Love came
+    To share the load!
+For the touch
+    Of Love transfigures
+All the road
+    And all its rigours.
+Life and Death,
+Love's touch transfigures.
+Life and Death
+    And all that lies
+In between,
+Love sanctifies.
+Once the heavenly spark is lighted,
+Once in love two hearts united,
+Nevermore
+    Shall aught that was be
+As before.
+
+
+
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+
+The good intent of God became the Christ.
+And lived on earth--the Living Love of God,
+That men might draw to closer touch with heaven,
+Since Christ in all the ways of man hath trod.
+
+
+
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+
+With the thirty pieces of silver,
+They bought the Potter's Field;
+For none would have the blood-money
+And the interest it might yield.
+
+The Place of Blood for the Price of Blood,
+And that was meet, I ween,
+For there they would bury the dead who died
+In frowardness and sin.
+
+And the first man they would bury there
+Was Judas Iscariot;
+And that was as dreadful a burying
+As ever was, I wot.
+
+For the sick earth would not keep him;
+Each time it thrust him out,
+And they that would have buried him
+Stood shuddering round about.
+
+And others they would bury
+In that unhallowed spot,
+But honest earth would none of them,
+Because of Iscariot.
+
+And oh, it was a fell, fell place,
+With dead black trees all round,
+And a quag that boiled and writhed and coiled
+Where had been solid ground.
+
+For every tree that stood there,
+And the green grass every blade,
+Shrivelled and died on every side,
+Whenever the price was paid.
+
+And in despair they left him there,
+And there his body lay,
+Till his sad soul came, all black with shame,
+And carried it away.
+
+And those denied a sepulture
+In that most dismal spot,
+Gibbered and flew, a ghastly crew,
+Incensed with rage, that grew and grew,
+Against Iscariot.
+
+For their souls were all in torment,
+While their bodies uncovered lay,
+And never a moment's rest was theirs,
+Either by night or day.
+
+That was a place of wailings,
+And the grisly things of Death,--
+The bare black arms of the trees above,
+And the black quag underneath.
+
+No light of the moon fell on it,
+Nor ever a star did shine
+On the quivering face of that dread place,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+Then there came by the soul of Iscariot,
+The same who sold his Lord,
+And he dragged his body after him,
+But never spake a word.
+
+Since earth his body would not,
+He must drag it to and fro,
+He had tried in vain to be quit of it,
+But it would not let him go.
+
+So the soul of Judas Iscariot
+Came by the Potter's Field,
+And there the ill his deed had wrought
+Was unto him revealed.
+
+And when the others saw him,
+They leaped at him eagerly;--
+"This is he for whom we suffer!
+--'Tis he! 'Tis he! 'Tis he!"
+
+Then all afire with mad desire,
+They chased him through the dark,
+And each soul carried his dead bodie,
+Grim, and stiff, and stark.
+
+They struck at him with their bodies,
+They cursed him for his sin,
+They made to tear his dumb soul there,
+With their fingers long and lean.
+
+And Judas fled in his horror,
+With that fell crew behind,
+And as they sped the people said
+Death rode upon the wind.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+Because of his treachery,
+And ever he just escaped their lust,
+And ever they were nigh.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+And ever they were nigh,
+And never a star shone out on them
+Out of the cold black sky.
+
+And as they sped by Calvary,
+There were empty crosses three,--
+And on the ground, below the mound,
+Lay one in agony.
+
+"_Three times I swore I knew Him not,
+And then--He looked on me.
+Ah, such a look!--no harshest word
+Had ever proved so sharp a sword
+To my inconstancy_.
+
+"_Three times I did deny Thee, Lord!
+And yet, thou couldst forgive,
+Now am I thine--in life, in death;
+Thee will I serve with every breath,
+While I have breath to give_."
+
+They sped by an open window,
+Where one knelt all alone,
+In great amaze, in greater grief,
+In woe that wrestled with belief,
+The Mother mourned her Son.
+
+"_My son, I knew thee more than man,--
+Ah me!--and the heart of me!
+Yet, man in God, and God in man,
+Still wast thou part of me_.
+
+"_The nails through thy dear hands and feet,--
+Ah me! they pierced my own.
+The thorns that on thy brow they plied,--
+The spear they drove into thy side,--
+The pangs thy Godhead could not hide,--
+They pierced me too, my son_.
+
+"_My son! My son! My more than son,
+My heart is full for thee!
+Yet, tho' I know thee so much more
+Than ever mortal man before,--
+Yet, tho' I worship and adore,--
+Woe's me!--and the heart of me_!"
+
+And ever they came by the Potter's Field,
+And thrust their bodies in,
+And ever the sick earth spat them out,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+They sped along a palace-wall,
+The feast waxed high inside,--
+On Golgotha the Cross still stood,
+The Cross where man had nailed his God,
+Red was the Rood still with his blood,--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+The revel gashed the sombre night,
+And fast the wine-cups plied,--
+Time touched Eternity that day;--
+God had come down to man that day;--
+The world began anew that day;--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+And ever again to the Potter's Field,
+The Souls in torment came,
+But the black quag boiled and writhed and coiled,
+And would have none of them.
+
+And everywhere strange shapes of death
+Walked in the fearsome gloom,
+For that last cry from Calvary
+Had rent in twain the Temple vail,
+And burst the gates of Doom.
+
+Through all the startled city, walked
+The saints that had been dead,
+And to the sorrowful in heart
+Holy comfort ministred.
+
+And when they met Iscariot,
+Sore hounded in the chase,
+They cried to him, for the Love of God,
+To seek God's grace.
+
+And ever to the Field of Death,
+The souls in torment came,
+Seeking the rest of the Blessed Dead,--
+But earth would none of them.
+
+And as they whirled through a garden,
+They came on an empty tomb,
+The stone was gone, a soft light shone
+Full softly on the gloom.
+
+Bright was that Light, and wondrous bright,
+'Twas brighter than the sun;
+As then it shone, so shines it now,
+And shall when Time is done.
+
+And all along the pathway
+Was a track of throbbing light;
+Where the Christ had gone His footsteps shone,
+Like stars in a velvet night.
+
+'Twas the spent soul of Iscariot
+Was like the wind-blown dust,
+As nearer still, and near, and near,
+He bent and crept, in doubt, and fear,
+He came because he must.
+
+'Twas the sick soul of Iscariot
+That drew from out the night
+And the full of his sin was known to him
+In the Shining of the Light.
+
+In the rim of the Light he laid him,
+Repented of his sin.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And as he lay there sorrowing,
+Up came the felon crew.
+They flailed him with their dead bodies
+They heeded not his rue.
+
+They flailed him with their dead bodies,
+They heeded not their spleen.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And then ... a Vision and a Voice,--
+And the Word made manifest,--
+"_Lay down thy load where I abode,
+And I will give thee rest_!
+
+"_And ye,--no more hunt Iscariot!
+He repents him of his sin.
+And never a soul that repenteth
+But he may enter in_.
+
+"_This Day the Door is opened
+That shall never close again,
+And never a soul that would come in
+Shall seek to come in vain_."
+
+And the dead soul of Iscariot
+Was born again that night;
+For the Lord Christ came dead souls to claim
+And lead them into Light.
+
+And the souls of the unburied,
+When they looked upon His face,
+Were cleansed of sin and entered in
+To His redeeming grace.
+
+So, by that wonderful great Love
+Which highest heaven extols,--
+To Mother Earth their dead bodies,
+And unto Christ their souls.
+
+
+
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+
+Profit?--Loss?
+Who shall declare this good--that ill?--
+When good and ill so intertwine
+But to fulfil the vast design
+Of an Omniscient Will?--
+When seeming gain but turns to loss,--
+When earthly treasure proves but dross,--
+And what seemed loss but turns again
+To high, eternal gain?
+
+Wisest the man who does his best,
+And leaves the rest
+To Him who counts not deeds alone,
+But sees the root, the flower, the fruit,
+And calls them one.
+
+
+
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+
+Free men of God, the New Day breaks
+In golden gleams across the sky;
+The darkness of the night is past,
+This is the Day of Victory.
+    For this our fathers strove,
+    In stern and fiery love--
+    That men to come should be
+    Born into liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men of God, gird up your loins,
+And brace you for the final fight!
+Strike home, strike home for Truth and Right!
+--Yet bear yourselves as in His sight!
+    For this our fathers fought,
+    This with their lives they bought--
+    That you and I should be
+    Heirs of their liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men we are and so will be;
+We claim free access unto Him,
+Who widened all the bounds of life,
+And us from bondage did redeem.
+    Let no man intervene,
+    Or draw a vail between
+    Us and our God, for He
+    Would have His people free,--
+And we would be--as Thou art--Free.
+
+Free men of God, your Birthright claim!
+Our fathers won it with a price.
+They paid in full to axe and flame,
+Nor counted up the sacrifice.
+    This is our heritage,
+    And here we do engage,
+    Each man unto his son
+    Intact to pass it on.
+So shall they be--as we are--Free!
+
+Our Sure Defence, in times of stress,
+Thy gates stand open, wide and free,
+When men provoke and wrongs oppress,
+We seek Thy wider liberty.
+    With loftier mind and heart,
+    Let each man bear his part!
+    So--to the final fight,
+    And God defend the right!
+We shall, we must, we will be--Free!
+
+
+
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+
+Lord Christ, let me but hold Thy hand
+And all the rest may go.
+For nothing is, but only seems,
+And life is full of idle dreams,
+        Until Thyself we know.
+
+The whole wide world is nought beside
+The wonder of Thy love.
+And though my state be mean and strait,
+Give me but heart to work and wait,
+        And I have Treasure-Trove.
+
+
+
+
+THE GATE
+
+"A little child shall lead them."
+
+
+I trod an arduous way, but came at last
+To where the city walls rose fair and white
+Above the darkening plain,--a goodly sight.
+And eagerly, while yet a great way off,
+My eyes did seek the Gates--the Great White Gates
+That close not ever, day or night, but stand
+Wide as the love of Christ that opened them.
+But nought could I discern of gate or breach,
+The wall stood flawless far as eye could reach.
+
+"But when I drew in closer to the wall,
+I saw a lowly portal, strait and small;
+So small, a man might hardly enter there,
+Low-browed and shadowed, and close-pressed to earth--
+A very needle's eye--scarce visible.
+I looked and wondered. Could this trivial way
+Be the sole entrance to the light of day?
+And as I stood perplext, a clear voice cried,--
+_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+
+And while I stood in doubt, there came along
+One of earth's mighty ones--a conqueror
+Of Kings. He looked for gates that should swing wide
+To meet his high estate and welcome him.
+He stood and gazed, then raised his voice and cried,
+"My work on earth is done. I would within,"
+And from the City wall the voice replied,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait,
+Till Might should help him to discern the Gate.
+
+Another came,--a man of mind so rare,
+He scarce had breathed the common earthly air.
+Knowledge was his, and wisdom so profound,
+All things he knew in heaven and earth. No bound
+To his accomplishment, until he sought
+The great wide-opened Gate,--and found it not.
+He stood perplext, and then cried wearily,
+"Pray give me entrance. I am done with earth."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait,
+Till Wisdom should direct him to the gate.
+
+I saw a woman come, noble and fair,
+And pure of heart, and in her goodly deeds
+More richly robed than Fashion's fairest queen.
+And to myself I said,--"Surely for her
+A way will open that she may go in!"
+She said no word, but stood and looked upon
+The shining walls, with eyes that answering shone.
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+She looked in vain, then set herself to wait,
+Till Love should help her to discern the Gate.
+
+And one there came, with clear keen face--a Judge
+Of men on earth, and famed for fearless truth.
+His robes were stainless and his heart was clean.
+"Entrance I crave," he cried, "to well-earned rest,--
+And mercy-tempered justice and no more."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait
+Till Judgment should direct him to the Gate.
+
+And one there came, sad-eyed, his brow still raw
+From pressure of an earthly crown. He too
+Sought glorious entrance through wide-opened gates,
+And stood perplext. He had borne well his part,
+And served his people and his God, and died
+The Martyr's death, and yet he found no gate.
+"I fain would rest," he cried. "My life has been
+One ceaseless striving. I would enter in."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+Perplext he stood, then set himself to wait,
+Till Patient Waiting should discern the Gate.
+
+And one who had had riches beyond most,
+And yet subserved them to his Master's good,
+Came searching for the heavenly gates, and stood
+Amazed to find no opening in the walls.
+"I gave of all I had," he cried, "and held
+Nought as my own,--yet entrance is denied."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait
+Till Charity should point him to the Gate.
+
+And many more there were who entrance craved,
+And sought the Great White Gates, and stood perplext.
+And ever, from within, the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+They sought in vain, and set themselves to wait
+Till Light was given them to discern the Gate.
+
+And then--a child in white came carolling
+Along the arduous road we all had trod.
+He stopped and looked, then laughed with childish glee,--
+"_Why wait ye here without? Come, follow me_!"--
+And passed, scarce bending, through the lowly door,--
+We heard his singing,--him we saw no more.
+
+The woman stooped and looked, with eyes that shone,
+Into the doorway where the child had gone;
+Then loosed her robes and dropped, and in a shift
+Of pure white samite, on her hands and knees
+She crept into the doorway and was gone,
+And we stood gazing at the way she went.
+
+And, one by one, they followed. First the Judge
+Laid by his robes, and bowed him to the ground,
+And followed--where the little child had led.
+And he whose brow had borne that weighty crown
+Bent low and followed,--where the little child had led.
+And he who knew so much of earthly things
+Discarded them, and, on his hands and knees,
+Crept through the doorway,--where the little child had led.
+And he of riches laid him in the dust
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, last of all, the War Lord cast aside
+His victor's wreaths, and all his pomp and pride,
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, groping through my fears, I bowed my head
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+
+
+
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling,
+Calling out of the night,
+O, you who live in the Light of Life,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We are bound in the chains of darkness,
+Our eyes received no sight,
+O, you who have never been bond or blind,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We live amid turmoil and horror,
+Where might is the only right,
+O, you to whom life is liberty,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We stand in the ashes of ruins,
+We are ready to fight the fight,
+O, you whose feet are firm on the Rock,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+You cannot--you shall not forget us,
+Out here in the darkest night,
+We are drowning men, we are dying men,
+        Bring, O, bring us the Light!
+
+
+
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+
+Is the pathway dark and dreary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are you broken, heart-sick, weary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Dreariest roads shall have an ending,
+Broken hearts are for God's mending.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Are life's threads all sorely tangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are the sweet chords strained and jangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Tangled threads are for Love's fingers,
+Trembling chords make heaven's sweet singers.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the burden past your bearing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Hopeless?--Friendless?--No one caring?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Burdens shared are light to carry,
+Love shall come though long He tarry.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the light for ever failing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Is the faint heart ever quailing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's strong arms are all around you,
+In the dark He sought and found you.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the future black with sorrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Do you dread each dark to-morrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Nought can come without His knowing.
+Come what may 'tis His bestowing.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Peace and heaven lie all about us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+Peace within makes heaven without us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's great love shall fail us never,
+We are His, and His for ever.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+
+
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+
+Our feet have wandered, wandered far and wide,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+From that strait path in which the Master died,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Low have we fallen from our high estate,
+Long have we lingered, lingered long and late;
+    _But the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+There is no sin His Love can not forgive;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No soul so stained His Love will not receive;
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No load of sorrow but His touch can move,
+No hedge of thorns that can withstand His Love;
+    _For the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+So we will sing, whatever may betide;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Nought but ourselves can keep us from His side;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+What though no place we win in life's rough race,
+Our loss may prove the measure of His grace.
+        _For the tenderness of God
+        Is from age to age the same,
+        And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+
+
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+
+I faced a future all unknown,
+No opening could I see,
+I heard without the night wind moan,
+The ways were dark to me,--
+"I cannot face it all alone
+O be Thou near to me!"
+
+I had done sums, and sums, and sums,
+Inside my aching head.
+I'd tried in vain to pierce the glooms
+That lay so thick ahead.
+But two and two will not make five,
+Nor will do when I'm dead.
+
+And then I thought of Him who fed
+Five thousand hungry men,
+With five small casual loaves of bread,--
+Would he were here again!--
+Dear God! hast Thou still miracles
+For the troubled sons of men?
+
+He has, He will, He worketh still,
+In ways most wonderful.
+He drew me from the miry clay,
+He filled my cup quite full.
+And while my heart can speak I'll tell
+His love unspeakable.
+
+"Rest in the Lord!"--I saw it there,
+On the tablets of the night.
+And, comforted, I dropped my care
+Where burdens have no weight.
+Then, trustfully, I turned and slept,
+And woke, and it was light.
+
+God works to-day as He did of old
+For the lightening of men's woes.
+His wonders never can be told,
+His goodness no man knows,--
+His Love, His Power, His Tenderness,--
+Nor shall do till life's close.
+
+His kindness is so very great,
+His greatness is so good.
+He looks upon my low estate,
+He gives me daily food.
+And nothing is too small for Him,--
+Yes, truly! God is good.
+
+
+
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+
+Some have much, and some have more,
+Some are rich, and some are poor,
+Some have little, some have less,
+Some have not a cent to bless
+Their empty pockets, yet possess
+True riches in true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+
+O, Prince of Life, Thy Life hath tuned
+All life to sweeter, loftier grace!
+Life's common rounds have wider bounds
+Since Thou hast trod life's common ways.
+
+O, Heart of Love! Thy Tenderness
+Still runs through life's remotest vein;
+And lust and greed and soulless creed
+Shall never rule the world again.
+
+O Life of Love!--The Good Intent
+Of God to man made evident,--
+All down the years, despite men's fears,
+Thy Power is still omnipotent.
+
+O Life! O Love! O Living Word!--
+Rent Vail, revealing God to man,--
+Help, Lord! Lest I should crucify,
+By thought or deed, Thy Love again.
+
+
+
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+
+Every day is Judgment Day,
+Count on no to-morrow.
+He who will not, when he may,
+Act to-day, to-day, to-day,
+Doth but borrow
+Sorrow.
+
+
+
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+
+There is darkness still, gross darkness, Lord,
+On this fair earth of Thine.
+There are prisoners still in the prison-house,
+Where never a light doth shine.
+There are doors still bolted against Thee,
+There are faces set like a wall;
+And over them all the Shadow of Death
+Hangs like a pall.
+    _Do you hear the voices calling,
+    Out there in the black of the night?
+    Do you hear the sobs of the women,
+    Who are barred from the blessed light?
+    And the children,--the little children,--
+    Do you hear their pitiful cry?
+    O brothers, we must seek them,
+    Or there in the dark they die_!
+
+Spread the Light! Spread the Light!
+Till earth's remotest bounds have heard
+The glory of the Living Word;
+Till those that see not have their sight;
+Till all the fringes of the night
+Are lifted, and the long-closed doors
+Are wide for ever to the Light.
+Spread--the--Light!
+    _O then shall dawn the golden days,
+    To which true hearts are pressing;
+    When earth's discordant strains shall blend--
+    The one true God confessing;
+    When Christly thought and Christly deed
+    Shall bind each heart and nation,
+    In one Grand Brotherhood of Men,
+    And one high consecration_.
+
+
+
+
+INDIA
+
+
+A land of lights and shadows intervolved,
+A land of blazing sun and blackest night,
+A fortress armed, and guarded jealously,
+With every portal barred against the Light.
+
+A land in thrall to ancient mystic faiths,
+A land of iron creeds and gruesome deeds,
+A land of superstitions vast and grim,
+And all the noisome growths that Darkness breeds.
+
+Like sunny waves upon an iron-bound coast,
+The Light beats up against the close-barred doors,
+And seeks vain entrance, yet beats on and on,
+In hopeful faith which all defeat ignores.
+
+But--time shall come, when, like a swelling tide,
+The Word shall leap the barriers, and The Light
+Shall sweep the land; and Faith and Love and Hope
+Shall win for Christ this stronghold of the night.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+
+To lift the sombre fringes of the Night,
+To open lands long darkened to the Light,
+To heal grim wounds, to give the blind new sight,
+  Right mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        He thought of all men but himself,
+        Himself he never spared.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+Like Him he served, he walked life's troublous ways,
+With heart undaunted, and with calm, high face,
+And gemmed each day with deeds of sweetest grace;
+  Pull lovingly wrought he.
+         Forth to the fight he fared,
+         High things and great he dared,
+         In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+         Right lovingly wrought he.
+         He greatly loved--
+         He greatly lived--
+         And died right mightily.
+
+Like him he served, he would not turn aside;
+Nor home nor friends could his true heart divide;
+He served his Master, and naught else beside,
+  Right faithfully wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right faithfully wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+He passed like light across the darkened land,
+And dying, left behind him this command,
+"The door is open! So let it ever stand!"
+  Full mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right mightily wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+
+        _With a will!
+        With a will!
+    With a will and surely!
+        Without fail,
+        Drive each nail,
+    Build we so, securely_!
+
+The Pioneer,--the Undaunted One,
+Worn with long journeyings through the Great Dark Land,
+Rests for a season from his mighty labours,
+And seeks fresh vigour in a change of toil.
+
+        _Labour is sweet,
+              When hands and hearts are willing,--
+        Who truly works
+              Is God's own law fulfilling_.
+
+With his own hands he helps to build a temple,
+Here, in the wilds, a temple to his God,
+Rough-hewn and roughly thatched, but still a house
+Of prayer, a holy place, and consecrate
+To Him whose noblest temples are not built
+With hands, but in the opened hearts of men.
+
+        _The Master worked,
+              With His own hands expressing
+        His sure belief
+              That therein lay God's blessing_.
+
+Thus, as he toils, with axe, and nail, and hammer,
+His heart rejoices,--so the Master worked,
+And by His lowly toil for ever stamped
+True labour with its highest dignity.
+
+              _With a will!
+              With a will!
+        With a will and surely!
+              Without fail,
+              Drive each nail,
+        Build we so, securely_!
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+
+    "My heart to-day
+Is strangely full of home!
+How is it
+With the dear ones over there?
+    Five years!
+    Five long-drawn years!
+    And one short moment is enough
+      To alter life's complexion for eternity!
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    How is it with you all
+    At Home?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And you, my dearest one,
+Are ever nearer to me than the rest!
+    Your body lies
+    Beneath the baobab
+    In far Shapanga;
+But your soul is ever nearest
+    When I need you most.
+Where a man's treasure is
+    His heart is.
+And half my heart is buried there with you,
+And half works on for Africa.
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Why should such thought of home
+    Drag at my heart to-day?
+    Why should I longer roam?
+    Why should I not go home?
+Five years of toilsome wanderings
+    May claim a rest!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Nay! God knows best!
+    When He sees well
+He'll take me home and give me well-earned rest.
+    The work is not yet done.
+    This land of Night
+Is not yet fully opened to the Son
+    And His fair Light.
+    But--when the work is done--
+Ah--then!--how gladly will I go--
+    Home!--Home--Home!--
+    To rest!"
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+
+Where the great green combers break in thunder on the barrier reefs,--
+Where, unceasing, sounds the mighty diapason of the deep,--
+Ringed in bursts of wild wave-laughter, ringed in leagues of flying
+        foam,--
+Long lagoons of softest azure, curving beaches white as snow,
+Lap in sweetness and in beauty all the isles of Owhyhee.
+
+Land more lovely sun ne'er shone on than these isles of Owhyhee,
+Spendthrift Nature's wild profusion fashioned them like fairy bowers;
+Yet behind--below the sweetness,--underneath the passion-flowers,
+Lurked grim deeds, and things of horror, grisly Deaths, and ceaseless
+        Fears,
+Fears and Deaths that walked in Darkness, grisly Deaths and ceaseless
+        Fears.
+
+
+NOTE.--Kapiolani--pronounced Kah-pee-o-lah-ny, with slight accent on
+second syllable.
+
+Mauna Loa--Mona Lo-ah.
+
+Kilauea--Kil-o-ee-ah.
+
+Hale-Mau-Mau--Ha-lee-Mah-oo-Mah-oo.
+
+On the slope of Mauna Loa, in the pit of Kilauea,
+In the lake of molten lava, in the sea of living fire,
+In the place of Ceaseless Burnings, in her home of Wrath and Terror,
+Dwelt the dreadful goddess Pele--Pele of the Lake of Fire;
+Pele of the place of torment, Pele of the Lake of Fire.
+
+In the dim far-off beginnings, Pele flung the islands up
+From the bottom of the ocean, from the darksome underworld;
+Built them for a house to dwell in, built them for herself alone,
+So she claimed them and their people, claimed them as her very own,
+And they feared her, and they worshipped--
+Pele, the Remorseless One.
+
+But, at times, when she lay sleeping, underneath the lake of fire,
+They forgot to do her reverence, they forgot the fiery one;
+Then in wrath the goddess thundered from the Lake of Ceaseless
+        Burnings,
+Flamed and thundered in her anger, till the very skies were red,
+Poured black ruin on the island, shook it to its rocky bed.
+
+Then in fear the people trembled and bethought them of their sins,
+And the great high priest of Pele came like Death down Mauna Loa,
+Came to soothe the awful goddess, came to choose the sacrifice,
+Chose the fairest youth or maiden, pointed with a deadly finger,
+Led them weeping up the mountain, victims to the Lake of Fire.
+
+On the snowy beach of coral, youths and maidens full of laughter,
+Flower-bedecked and full of laughter, sported gaily in the sun;
+Up above, the slender palm-trees swung and shivered in the trade-wind,
+All around them flowers and spices,--red hibiscus, sweet pandanus,
+And behind, the labouring mountain groaned and growled unceasingly.
+
+        "_Sea and sunshine,
+        Care is moonshine,
+      All our hearts are light with laughter.
+        We are free
+        As sun and sea,
+  What care we for what comes after?"
+
+            Bride.
+
+  "Life was sweet before Love found her,
+     In his faery bowers.
+        Life is sweeter,
+        And completer,
+        Since he found her,
+        There, and crowned her
+        With his fadeless flowers."
+
+            Bridegroom.
+  "Love sought long before he found her,
+  Ne'er was love like ours!
+  Long he sought her,
+  E'er he caught her.
+  But he found her
+  There, and bound her
+  With his fadeless flowers."
+
+    "Gaily sporting,
+    Pleasure courting,
+  Nought know we of care or sorrow.
+    We are free
+    As sun and sea,
+  What care we what comes to-morrow_?"
+
+Louder still and louder, Pele roars within her lake of fire,
+And the youths and maidens trembling look in fear up Mauna Loa,
+Dreading sight of that grim figure stalking down the mountain side;
+For when Pele claims her victims none the summons may avoid.
+Pele calls for whom she chooses--whom she chooses goes,--and dies.
+
+See! He comes! They start in terror. There, along the mountain side,
+Death comes stalking, slowly, surely,--_Pele must be satisfied_.
+Which among them will he summon, with his dreadful pointing finger?
+All their hearts become as water, all their faces blanch with fear,
+Deaths they suffer in the waiting, while dread Death draws near.
+
+Now he stands in dreadful menace, seeking with a baleful eye
+For the sweetest and the fairest--for the meetest sacrifice.
+"Choose, O choose!"--they cry in terror; "choose your victim and be
+        gone,
+For we each die deaths while waiting, till dread Pele's choice be
+        known!
+Choose your victim, Priest of Pele, choose your victim and be gone!"
+
+Slowly points the dreadful finger, marks the newly-wedded bride;
+All the rest, save one, fall from her, as the living from the dead.
+From the first of time's beginnings Pele ne'er has been gainsayed;
+Pele chooses whom she chooses, each and all the choice abide,
+For the common good and safety,--_Pele must be satisfied_!
+
+Still the mountain reels and shudders, still the awful thunders peal,
+Like a snake the ruthless finger holds them all in terror still;
+One is there whose life is broken, parted from his chosen bride,
+But the threatening finger, heedless of the lives it may divide,
+Lights upon a tiny maiden,--_Pele must be satisfied_!
+
+Slow, the grim high-priest of Pele turns to climb the mountain side;
+Slow, the victims turn and follow,--_Pele must be satisfied_.
+And the rest shrink, dumb and helpless, daring not to lift an eye,
+And beyond, the labouring mountain cracks and belches living fires,
+Till the island reels and shudders at dread Pele's agonies.
+
+But a greater one than Pele walked the mountain side that day;--
+To them, climbing, dumb and dim-eyed--like a flash of heavenly flame,
+Swift and bright as saving angel, fair Kapiolani came,
+Swiftly as a saving angel, gleaming like a heavenly flame,
+Thirsting like a sword for battle, fair Kapiolani came.
+
+Radiant with the faith of martyrs, all aglow with new-born zeal,
+Burning to release the people from the bondage and the thrall,
+From the deadly thrall of Pele, from the ever-threatening doom,
+From the everlasting menace, from the awful lake of fire,
+Like a bright avenging angel fair Kapiolani came!
+
+"Hear me now, you priest of Pele, and ye men of Owhyhee!
+Hearken! ye who cringe and tremble, at the sound of Kilauea,
+Fearful of the wrath of Pele, fearful of the lake of fire!--
+Priest, I say there is no Pele! Pele is not--never was!
+Pele lives but in your legends--there is only one true God!"
+
+"Cursed, thrice accursed, you who thus great Pele do defy,
+Here, upon her sacred mountain, of a surety you shall die!
+Pele, mighty Pele, Vengeance! Strike her with thy dreadful doom!
+So let every scoffer perish!--Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+And Kapiolani answered--"Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+
+Loud the mountain roared and thundered; shuddered all who heard and
+        saw,
+Dauntless stood Kapiolani, dauntless with her faithful few.
+"Come!" she cried again. "Come, Pele! Smite me with thy dreadful doom!
+I am waiting, mighty Pele!--Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+And the mountain roared and thundered;--but the goddess did not come.
+
+"Hearken, Priest! You have deceived us. All your life has been a lie,
+Black your heart is, red your hands are, with the blood of those who
+        die.
+All these years you have misled us with your awful threats of doom.
+Now it ends! I do defy you, and your goddess I defy.
+Pele, is not, never has been. All your worship is a lie.
+
+"I will climb your sacred mountain. I will dare your lake of fire.
+I will eat your sacred berries. I will dare your goddess there,
+There and then to wreak her vengeance, then and there to come in fire,
+And with awful burnings end me, now and for eternity;
+But if Pele does not end me, then her worship ends this day."
+
+Then the great high priest of Pele turned to fiery Kilauea.
+"Come!" he said, "the goddess calls you!"--and they climbed the
+        mountain side,
+Up the slopes of Mauna Loa, to the hell of Kilauea,
+With the bright blue sky above them, with the blazing sun above them,
+While the mountain shook beneath them, and its head was wrapped in
+        fire.
+
+Fearful, hopeful, all the people crept along the shaking path,
+Hardly breathing at their daring, thus to brave dread Pele's wrath,
+Bending low lest she should see them, breathing soft lest she should
+        hear,
+Certain that Kapiolani would be sacrificed that day,
+To the vengeance of the goddess, to the anger of Pele.
+
+        "_As little child
+        On mother's breast,
+        O rest, my heart,
+        Have rest!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Is surely blest.
+        So rest, my heart,
+        Have rest_!
+        _As warrior bold
+        His foes among,
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Shall ne'er go wrong.
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong_!"
+
+Thus, Kapiolani, dauntless, singing softly as she went,
+With a face as calm and fearless as a child on pleasure bent,
+Climbed the side of Mauna Loa, to the dreadful lake of fire,
+While the mountain shook and thundered, while the people blanched and
+        shuddered,
+Climbed to Hale-Mau-Mau,--to the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+All the people waited trembling, stood afar off pale and trembling,
+While Kapiolani, fearless, climbed up to the lake of fire,
+With the fiery glow all round her, with a heavenly light about her.
+Shining with a radiance brighter than since time began had shone
+From the Lake of Ceaseless Burnings, from the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+"Here," she cried, "I pluck your berries, Pele,--and I give you none!
+See! I eat your sacred berries, Pele,--and I give you none!
+Pele, here I break your tabus! Come, with all your dreadful fires!
+Burn me, Pele! I defy you!--Pele! Pele! Pele! come!"
+Come now, Pele, or for ever own that you are overcome!
+
+"Pele comes not. Is she sleeping? Is she wandering to-day?
+Is she busy with her burnings? Has the goddess nought to say?
+Hear me, friends!--There is no Pele! One true God alone there is.
+His, this mountain! His, these burnings! You, and I, and all
+        things,--His!
+Goodness, Mercy, Loving-Kindness, Life Eternal--all are His!
+
+"From this day, let no man tremble, when he feels the mountain shake!
+From this day, no man or maiden shall be killed for Pele's sake!
+From this day, we break the thraldom of the dreadful lake of fire.
+From this day, we pass for ever from the scourge of Pele's rod.--
+From this day, Thou, Lord Jehovah, be our one and only God!"
+
+
+
+
+THEY COME!
+
+
+From North and South, and East and West,
+      They come!
+The sorely tried, the much oppressed,
+Their Faith and Love to manifest,
+      They come!
+They come to tell of work well done,
+They come to tell of kingdoms won,
+To worship at the Great White Throne,
+      They come!
+In a noble consecration,
+With a sound of jubilation.
+      They come! They come!
+
+Through tribulations and distress,
+      They come!
+Through perils great and bitterness,
+Through persecutions pitiless,
+      They come!
+They come by paths the martyrs trod,
+They come from underneath the rod,
+Climbing through darkness up to God,
+      They come!
+Out of mighty tribulation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+From every land beneath the sun,
+      They come!
+To tell of mighty victories won;
+Unto the Father through the Son,
+      They come!
+
+They come--the victors in the fight,
+They come--the blind restored to sight,
+From deepest Darkness into Light;
+      They come!
+In a holy exaltation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+
+
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+
+NORTH
+
+We come from the gloom of the shadowy trail
+  Out away on the fringe of the Night,
+Where no man could tell, when the darkness fell,
+  If his eyes would behold the light.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are wanderers still, without ever a guide,
+  Out there on the fringe of the Night,
+They are bond and blind,--to their darkness resigned,
+  With never a wish for the Light.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+SOUTH
+
+We come from the land of the blazing sun,
+  From the land that was blacker than night,--
+From the white-hot sand of the Great Dark Land,
+  Where Might was the only Right.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are sorrows still, there is darkness still,
+  There are still gross wrongs to set right;
+There are grim black stains, there are peoples in chains,
+  To be loosed from the grip of the Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+EAST
+
+We come from the East, from the glowing East,
+  Where the Past, with its hand of ice,
+Still reaches across through its ages of loss,
+  And still holds the land like a vice.
+      To--the--Night,--
+      To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+      Came--the--Light,
+      Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+O, the sorrowful ones of the caste-bound lands,
+  How they long for the wider way!
+How they sigh in the gloom of their close-barred tomb
+  For the Light of the Coming Day!
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light,
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+WEST
+
+We come from the Isles, from the Western Isles,
+  From the isles of the sunny seas,--
+Where the smiles and the wiles, with which Nature beguiles,
+  Are but shrouds for her tragedies.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There is Darkness more deadly than Death itself,
+  There is Blindness beyond that of sight.
+There are souls fast bound in the depths profound
+  Of unconscious and heedless Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+     To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+
+
+FAITH
+
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to live from day to day,
+With tranquil heart to do my simple part,
+And, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to trust, if not to know;
+With quiet mind in all things Thee to find,
+And, child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to leave it all to Thee,
+The future is Thy gift, I would not lift
+The vail Thy Love has hung 'twixt it and me.
+
+
+
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+
+Say once again Thy sweet "I will!"
+  In answer to my prayers.
+"Lord, if Thou wilt!"--
+                     --"I will!
+  Rise up above thy cares!"
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+A FRAGMENT
+
+
+    _With hearts responsive
+    And enfranchised eyes,
+    We thank Thee, Lord,--_
+For all things beautiful, and good, and true;
+For things that seemed not good yet turned to good;
+For all the sweet compulsions of Thy will
+That chased, and tried, and wrought us to Thy shape;
+For things unnumbered that we take of right,
+And value first when first they are withheld;
+For light and air; sweet sense of sound and smell;
+For ears to hear the heavenly harmonies;
+For eyes to see the unseen in the seen;
+For vision of The Worker in the work;
+For hearts to apprehend Thee everywhere;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all the wonders of this wondrous world;--
+The pure pearl splendours of the coming day,
+The breaking east,--the rosy flush,--the Dawn,--
+For that bright gem in morning's coronal,
+That one lone star that gleams above the glow;
+For that high glory of the impartial sun,--
+The golden noonings big with promised life;
+The matchless pageant of the evening skies.
+The wide-flung gates,--the gleams of Paradise,--
+Supremest visions of Thine artistry;
+The sweet, soft gloaming, and the friendly stars;
+The vesper stillness, and the creeping shades;
+The moon's pale majesty; the pulsing dome,
+Wherein we feel Thy great heart throbbing near;
+For sweet laborious days and restful nights;
+For work to do, and strength to do the work;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For those first tiny, prayerful-folded hands
+That pierce the winter's crust, and softly bring
+Life out of death, the endless mystery;--
+For all the first sweet flushings of the Spring;
+The greening earth, the tender heavenly blue;
+The rich brown furrows gaping for the seed;
+For all Thy grace in bursting bud and leaf,--
+The bridal sweetness of the orchard trees,
+Rose-tender in their coming fruitfulness;
+The fragrant snow-drifts flung upon the breeze;
+The grace and glory of the fruitless flowers,
+Ambrosial beauty their reward and ours;
+For hedgerows sweet with hawthorn and wildrose;
+For meadows spread with gold and gemmed with stars;
+For every tint of every tiniest flower;
+For every daisy smiling to the sun;
+For every bird that builds in joyous hope;
+For every lamb that frisks beside its dam;
+For every leaf that rustles in the wind;
+For spiring poplar, and for spreading oak;
+For queenly birch, and lofty swaying elm,
+For the great cedar's benedictory grace;
+For earth's ten thousand fragrant incenses,--
+Sweet altar-gifts from leaf and fruit and flower;
+For every wondrous thing that greens and grows;
+For wide-spread cornlands,--billowing golden seas;
+For rippling stream, and white-laced waterfall;
+For purpling mountains; lakes like silver shields;
+For white-piled clouds that float against the blue;
+For tender green of far-off upland slopes;
+For fringing forests and far-gleaming spires;
+For those white peaks, serene and grand and still;
+For that deep sea--a shallow to Thy love;
+For round green hills, earth's full benignant breasts;
+For sun-chased shadows flitting o'er the plain;
+For gleam and gloom; for all life's counter-change;
+For hope that quickens under darkening skies;
+For all we see; for all that underlies,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that sweet impulse of the coming Spring,
+For ripening Summer, and the harvesting;
+For all the rich Autumnal glories spread,--
+The flaming pageant of the ripening woods;
+The fiery gorse, the heather-purpled hills;
+The rustling leaves that fly before the wind.
+And lie below the hedgerows whispering;
+For meadows silver-white with hoary dew;
+For sheer delight of tasting once again
+That first crisp breath of winter in the air;
+The pictured pane; the new white world without;
+The sparkling hedgerow's witchery of lace;
+The soft white flakes that fold the sleeping earth;
+The cold without, the cheerier warmth within;
+For red-heart roses in the winter snows;
+For all the flower and fruit of Christmas-tide;
+For all the glowing heart of Christmas-tide;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all Thy ministries,--
+For morning mist, and gently-falling dew;
+For summer rains, for winter ice and snow;
+For whispering wind and purifying storm;
+For the reft clouds that show the tender blue;
+For the forked flash and long tumultuous roll;
+For mighty rains that wash the dim earth clean;
+For the sweet promise of the seven-fold bow;
+For the soft sunshine, and the still calm night;
+For dimpled laughter of soft summer seas;
+For latticed splendour of the sea-borne moon;
+For gleaming sands, and granite-frontled cliffs;
+For flying spume, and waves that whip the skies;
+For rushing gale, and for the great glad calm;
+For Might so mighty, and for Love so true,
+With equal mind,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For maiden sweetness, and for strength of men;
+For love's pure madness and its high estate;
+For parentage--man's nearest reach to Thee;
+For kinship, sonship, friendship, brotherhood
+Of men--one Father--one great family;
+For glimpses of the greater in the less;
+For touch of Thee in wife and child and friend;
+For noble self-denying motherhood;
+For saintly maiden lives of rare perfume;
+For little pattering feet and crooning songs;
+For children's laughter, and sweet wells of truth;
+For sweet child-faces and the sweet wise tongues;
+For childhood's faith that lifts us near to Thee
+And bows us with our own disparity;
+For childhood's sweet unconscious beauty sleep;
+For all that childhood teaches us of Thee;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For doubts that led us to the larger trust;
+For ills to conquer; for the love that fights;
+For that strong faith that vanquished axe and flame
+And gave us Freedom for our heritage;
+For clouds and darkness, and the still, small voice;
+For sorrows bearing fruit of nobler life;
+For those sore strokes that broke us at Thy feet;
+For peace in strife; for gain in seeming loss;
+For every loss that wrought the greater gain;
+For that sweet juice from bitterness out-pressed;
+For all this sweet, strange paradox of life;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For friends above; for friends still left below;
+For the rare links invisible between;
+For Thine unsearchable greatness; for the vails
+Between us and the things we may not know;
+For those high times when hearts take wing and rise
+And float secure above earth's mysteries;
+For that wide, open avenue of prayer,
+All radiant with Thy glorious promises;
+For sweet hearts tuned to noblest charity;
+For great hearts toiling in the outer dark;
+For friendly hands stretched out in time of need;
+For every gracious thought and word and deed;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For songbird answering song on topmost bough;
+For myriad twitterings of the simpler folk;
+For that sweet lark that carols up the sky;
+For that low fluting on the summer night;
+For distant bells that tremble on the wind;
+For great round organ tones that rise and fall,
+Entwined with earthly voices tuned to heaven,
+And bear our hearts above the high-arched roof;
+For Thy great voice that dominates the whole,
+And shakes the heavens, and silences the earth;
+For hearts alive to earth's sweet minstrelsies;
+For souls attuned to heavenly harmonies;
+For apprehension, and for ears to hear,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that supremest token of Thy Love,--
+Thyself made manifest in human flesh;
+For that pure life beneath the Syrian sky--
+The humble toil, the sweat, the bench, the saw,
+The nails well-driven, and the work well-done;
+For all its vast expansions; for the stress
+Of those three mighty years;
+For all He bore of our humanity;
+His hunger, thirst, His homelessness and want,
+His weariness that longed for well-earned rest;
+For labour's high ennoblement through Him,
+Who laboured with His hands for daily bread;
+For Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Magdalene,
+For Nazareth and Bethany;--not least
+For that dark hour in lone Gethsemane;
+For that high cross upraised on Calvary;
+The broken seals,--the rolled-back stone--The Way,
+For ever opened through His life in death;
+For that brief glimpse vouchsafed within the vail;
+For all His gracious life; and for His Death,
+With low-bowed heads and hearts impassionate,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all life's beauties, and their beauteous growth;
+For Nature's laws and Thy rich providence;
+For all Thy perfect processes of life;
+For the minute perfection of Thy work,
+Seen and unseen, in each remotest part;
+For faith, and works, and gentle charity;
+For all that makes for quiet in the world;
+For all that lifts man from his common rut;
+For all that knits the silken bond of peace;
+For all that lifts the fringes of the night,
+And lights the darkened corners of the earth;
+For every broken gate and sundered bar;
+For every wide-flung window of the soul;
+For that Thou bearest all that Thou hast made;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For perfect childlike confidence in Thee;
+For childlike glimpses of the life to be;
+For trust akin to my child's trust in me;
+For hearts at rest through confidence in Thee;
+For hearts triumphant in perpetual hope;
+For hope victorious through past hopes fulfilled;
+For mightier hopes born of the things we know;
+For faith born of the things we may not know;
+For hope of powers increased ten thousand fold;
+For that last hope of likeness to Thyself,
+When hope shall end in glorious certainty;
+    --_With quickened hearts
+    That find Thee everywhere,
+    We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+
+
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+IF HE WOULD BUT DARE
+
+
+I stood, unseen, within a sumptous room,
+Where one clothed all in white sat silently.
+So sweet his presence that a pure soft light
+Rayed from him, and I saw--most wondrous sight!--
+The Love of God shrined in the flesh once more,
+And glowing softly like a misted sun.
+His back was towards me. Had I seen his face
+Methought I must have fallen. I was wrong.
+The door flung wide. With hasty step
+Came one in royal robes and all the pride
+And pomp of majesty, and on his head
+A helmet with an eagle poised for flight.
+He stood amazed at sight of him in white,
+His lips apart in haughty questioning.
+But no words came. Breathless, he raised his hand
+And gave salute as to a mightier lord,
+And doffed his helm, and stood. And in his eyes I saw
+The reflex glory of his Master's face.
+
+The Master spoke. His voice so soft and sweet
+Thrilled my heart's core and shook me where I stood,--
+    "_Time runs apace. The New Time is at hand.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+In dumb amaze the other shook his head.
+    "_Thy brother of the North has cast his lot
+    For peace. Alone he cannot compass it.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+Again the other shook his head amazed,
+But never swerved a hair's breadth in his gaze.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Join hands with him,
+    Thy Northern brother, with the Western Isles,
+    And with their brethren of the Further West,
+    And Peace shall reign to Earth's remotest bound_."
+And still the other shook his head amazed.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Millions of lives
+    Are in thy hand, women and men and those
+    My little ones. Their souls are mine. Their lives
+    Are in thy hand. Of thee I shall require them.
+    Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "I am but one,"
+The other answered with reluctant tongue.
+  "_Thou art_ THE _one and so I come to thee.
+  For Peace or War the scales are in thy hand.
+  As thou decidest now, so shall it be.
+  But,--as thou sayest now, so be it
+  With thee--then.
+  Shall it be Peace or War? Nay--look_!--"
+And at the word--where stood the wall--a space;
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,--
+The kingdoms of the earth, and every kingdom
+Groaned with the burden of its armour-plate.
+And the weight grew till man was crushed beneath,
+And lost his manhood and became a cog
+To roll along the great machine of war.
+And, as he watched, the War-Lord's eyes flamed fire,
+His nostrils panted like a mettled steed's.
+This was the game of games he knew and loved,
+And every fibre of his soul was knit
+To see what passed.
+    Then,--in a sun-white land,
+Where a great sea poured out through narrow gates
+To meet a greater,--came the clang of arms,
+And drew the nations like a tocsin peal,
+Till all the sun-white sands ran red, and earth
+Sweat blood, and writhed in fiery ashes, and
+Grew sick with all the reek and stench of war,
+And heaven drew back behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman;--
+And the hoarse whisper of the War-Lord's voice,--
+  "Britain fights once again for Barbary
+  Lest others occupy to her undoing.
+  And Italy and Greece and Turkey join,
+  To beat back France and Spain."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions marched and wound 'mid snowy peaks,
+And came upon a smiling vine-clad land,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The hoarse voice spoke,--
+    "The provinces she stole
+    And lost, Austria takes back."
+Again I saw,--
+Where white-capped hosts crept swiftly to the straits
+Twixt old and new, and drenched the land with blood,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Despite his love of peace,
+        Our brother of the North has seized his chance,
+        And got his heart's desire."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions poured through the eternal snows,
+And legions swept o'er every sea to meet
+Their long-expected onslaught, and the dead
+Were piled in mountains, and the snows ran red.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Up, Britain, up! Strike home!
+        Or drop your rod of Empire in the dust--
+        One of you dies this day."
+Again I saw,--
+Beneath us, legions swarming to the West,
+Devouring kingdoms till they reached the sea,
+And filling all the lands with blood and fire.
+The War-Lord gazed, with eyes that blazed and flamed,
+And panted like a soul in torment,--"Mine!
+                       All these are mine!"
+  "_Thine, sayest thou?--Thine now,
+  When thou shalt stand before me--then,
+  I shall require them of thee_."
+                 --Thus the voice
+Of Him who sat and gazed with sorrowing face,
+While all the earth beneath us reeked of war,
+And heaven grew dim behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+A two-edged sword
+Could cut no sharper than the gentle voice
+Of Him who bowed with sorrow at the sight
+Of man destroying man for sake of gain.
+I waited, breathless, for the warrior's word.
+But no word came. His heart was with his men.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War? Look yet again_!"
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,
+Lay all the kingdoms of the earth--at peace.
+The glad earth smiled beneath a smiling heaven,
+And brought forth fruit for all her children's needs.
+The desert lands had blossomed, and the earth
+Was large enough for all. Her voice came up,
+A softly-rounded murmur of content,
+Like bees that labour gladly on the comb.
+The reign of Peace,--and yet an army lay
+Couchant and watchful, ready for the strife
+If strife need be,--the strife of quelling strife,--
+An army culled in part from all the lands.
+Owning no master but the public weal,
+And prompt to quench the first red spark of war.
+Even as we watched, a frontier turmoil rose,
+And therewith rose the army, and the fire
+Died out while scarce begun. The smoke of it
+Was scarcely seen, the noise scarce heard; for all
+The lands, sore-spent with war, had welcomed Peace,
+And bowed to mightier forces than their own;
+Men cast aside their armour and their arms,
+And lived men's lives and were no more machines.
+  "_Wars shall there be, indeed, till that last war
+  That shall wage war on War and sweep the earth
+  Of all war-wagers and of all mankind_."
+So spake the voice and ceased. And still we gazed,--
+A great white building, on its topmost tower
+A great white flag, proclaimed a World's Tribunal
+For the righting of the nations' wrongs.
+And that great army answered its behests
+And owned allegiance to no other head.
+Peace reigned triumphant. On the quiet air
+I heard the merry laughter of the child,
+And the great sigh of gratitude that rose
+From all the mother-hearts of all the world.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"--
+                Once more the voice,--
+  "_To one man is it given to decide_,
+  THOU ART THE MAN! _The scales are in_ THY _hand.
+  Think well, and say,--Shall it be Peace or War?
+  As thou, shalt say so shall it be with thee_."
+But, ere the answer came, all vanished like
+A scrap of paper in a fire of coals.
+Then, with a crackling peal, the thick black vail
+That hangs before the face of men was rent,
+And in the instant lightning flash I saw,--
+
+A chamber hung with black and heaped with flowers,
+Where candles tall flashed white on watchers' swords.
+High on a high-raised bier lay one at rest--
+Crosses and orders on his quiet breast,
+Head proudly cushioned on his country's flag,
+Hands calmly folded on his helmet's crest,
+His back to earth, his mute face turned to heaven,--
+Answering the summons of his Over-Lord.
+I strained my eyes upon his face to learn
+Thereon his answer. But the dark vail dropped,
+And left me wondering what his word had been.
+Had I but read his face I should have known
+Who lay there.--Man, like other men? Or one
+Who grasped the greater things, and by his will
+Brought Peace on Earth and drew Earth nearer Heaven.
+The bells beat softly on the midnight air
+Proclaiming the New Time? Shall it be Peace?
+A voice within me cried and would not cease,
+"_One man could do it if he would but dare_."
+
+NOTE.--This was written in 1898, at the time of the Tzar's Rescript to
+the Powers suggesting a Peace Conference with a view to the lightening
+of the ever-growing burden of arms.
+
+The possibilities have changed their faces, but at heart the great
+problem remains much the same. And above all, the great fact remains
+that if Great Britain, Germany, Russia and the United States joined
+hands for a World Peace, they could ensure it. Germany is still
+mistrustful. On her lies a great responsibility.
+
+
+
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+
+Is your place a small place?
+      Tend it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Is your place a large place?
+      Guard it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Whatever your place, it is
+      Not yours alone, but His
+            Who set you there.
+
+
+
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+
+Some lives are set in narrow ways,
+By Love's wise tenderness.
+They seem to suffer all their days
+Life's direst storm and stress.
+But God shall raise them up at length,
+His purposes are sure,
+He for their weakness shall give strength,
+For every ill a cure.
+
+
+
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+(_For the Braille Magazine_)
+
+
+When the outer eye grows dim,
+Turns the inner eye to Him,
+  Who makes darkness light.
+Fairer visions you may see,
+Live in nobler company,
+And in larger liberty,
+  Than the men of sight.
+
+He sometimes shuts the windows but to open hidden doors,
+Where all who will may wander bold and free,
+For His house has many mansions, and the mansions many floors,
+And every room is free to you and me.
+
+
+
+
+PROPS
+
+
+Earthly props are useless,
+      On Thy grace I fall;
+Earthly strength is weakness,
+      Father, on Thee I call,--
+      For comfort, strength, and guidance,
+      O, give me all!
+
+
+
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+
+I have been tried,
+Tried in the fire,
+And I say this,
+As the result of dire distress,
+And tribulation sore--
+That a man's happiness doth not consist
+Of that he hath, but of the faith
+And trust in God's great love
+These bring him to.
+Nought else is worth consideration.
+For the peace a man may find
+In perfect trust in God
+Outweighs all else, and is
+The only possible foundation
+For true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+
+Lord, when Thou seest that my work is done,
+Let me not linger on,
+With failing powers,
+Adown the weary hours,--
+A workless worker in a world of work.
+But, with a word,
+Just bid me home,
+And I will come
+Right gladly,--
+Yea, right gladly
+Will I come.
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+Mr. F.W. Christian, of the Polynesian Society of New Zealand, whose
+personal acquaintance with the South Sea Islands and their dialects is
+unique, is translating "Kapiolani" into Rarotongan. He writes--
+
+"I enclose a four-line stanza which, translating your first line--'Where
+the great green combers break,' etc.--strictly according to East
+Polynesian ballad-metres, ushers in your great theme.
+
+"'Kapiolani' will, I trust, God willing, become a household classic
+in many of the Eastern Islands, such as Rapa and Manahiki, where the
+Rarotongan language runs current as a sort of Lingua Franca or Sacred
+Esperanto, thanks to the magnificent translation of the Bible by the
+great missionary, John Williams. I have translated the poem most carefully,
+and as accurately as possible into the peculiar metre and cast of
+expression which an Eastern Polynesian 'Atu-Pe'e, or Versifier, would
+immediately grasp as idiomatic. The first lines run thus:--"
+
+
+Tei te ngai mangungu--anga no te an ngaru roro'a
+Ki runga no te punga matoato'a
+Ngaru kerekere, ngaru mamaata e tini
+Ki runga no te 'Akau-Pipini.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
+
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+**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
+
+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: Bees in Amber
+       A Little Book Of Thoughtful Verse
+
+Author: John Oxenham
+
+Release Date: February, 2006 [EBook #9989]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on November 6, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEES IN AMBER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+BEES IN AMBER
+
+A LITTLE BOOK OF THOUGHTFUL VERSE
+
+BY JOHN OXENHAM
+
+1913
+
+
+
+
+TO THOSE I HOLD DEAREST
+
+THIS OF MY BEST.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CREDO
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY AND EVERYDAY
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+THE POTTER
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+THE WAYS
+
+SEEDS
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+SHADOWS
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+TAMATE
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+SARK
+
+E.A.
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+PAUL
+
+WAKENING
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+WANDERED
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+DON'T WORRY!
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+THE VAIL
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+FREEMEN
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+THE GATE
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+INDIA
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+THEY COME!
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+FAITH
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+PROPS
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S APOLOGY
+
+
+In these rushful days an apology is advisable, if not absolutely
+essential, from any man, save the one or two elect, who has the temerity
+to publish a volume of verse.
+
+These stray lines, such as they are, have come to me from time to time,
+I hardly know how or whence; certainly not of deliberate intention or of
+malice aforethought. More often than not they have come to the
+interruption of other, as it seemed to me, more important--and
+undoubtedly more profitable--work.
+
+They are for the most part, simply attempts at concrete and
+rememberable expression of ideas--ages old most of them--which "asked
+for more."
+
+Most writers, I imagine, find themselves at times in that same
+predicament--worried by some thought which dances within them and
+stubbornly refuses to be satisfied with the sober dress of prose. For
+their own satisfaction and relief, in such a case, if they be not fools
+they endeavour to garb it more to its liking, and so find peace. Or, to
+vary the metaphor, they pluck the Bee out of their Bonnet and pop it
+into such amber as they happen to have about them or are able to
+evolve, and so put an end to its buzzing.
+
+In their previous states these little Bonnet-Bees of mine have
+apparently given pleasure to quite a number of intelligent and
+thoughtful folk; and now--chiefly, I am bound to say, for my own
+satisfaction in seeing them all together--I have gathered
+them into one bunch.
+
+If they please you--good! If not, there is no harm done, and one man is
+content.
+
+JOHN OXENHAM
+
+
+
+
+CREDO
+
+
+Not what, but WHOM, I do believe,
+    That, in my darkest hour of need,
+    Hath comfort that no mortal creed
+    To mortal man may give;--
+Not what, but WHOM!
+    For Christ is more than all the creeds,
+    And His full life of gentle deeds
+    Shall all the creeds outlive.
+Not what I do believe, but WHOM!
+    WHO walks beside me in the gloom?
+    WHO shares the burden wearisome?
+    WHO all the dim way doth illume,
+    And bids me look beyond the tomb
+    The larger life to live?--
+Not what I do believe,
+BUT WHOM!
+Not what,
+But WHOM!
+
+
+
+
+NEW YEAR'S DAY--AND EVERY DAY
+
+  _Each man is Captain of his Soul,
+  And each man his own Crew,
+  But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+  And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+We break new seas to-day,--
+Our eager keels quest unaccustomed waters,
+And, from the vast uncharted waste in front,
+The mystic circles leap
+To greet our prows with mightiest possibilities;
+Bringing us--what?
+  --Dread shoals and shifting banks?
+  --And calms and storms?
+  --And clouds and biting gales?
+  --And wreck and loss?
+  --And valiant fighting-times?
+And, maybe, Death!--and so, the Larger Life!
+
+    _For should the Pilot deem it best
+    To cut the voyage short,
+    He sees beyond the sky-line, and
+    He'll bring us into Port_.
+
+And, maybe, Life,--Life on a bounding tide,
+    And chance of glorious deeds;--
+    Of help swift-born to drowning mariners;
+    Of cheer to ships dismasted in the gale;
+    Of succours given unasked and joyfully;
+    Of mighty service to all needy souls.
+
+    _So--Ho for the Pilot's orders,
+    Whatever course He makes!
+    For He sees beyond the sky-line,
+    And He never makes mistakes_.
+
+And, maybe, Golden Days,
+    Full freighted with delight!
+    --And wide free seas of unimagined bliss,
+    --And Treasure Isles, and Kingdoms to be won,
+    --And Undiscovered Countries, and New Kin.
+
+    _For each man captains his own Soul,
+    And chooses his own Crew,
+    But the Pilot knows the Unknown Seas,
+    And He will bring us through_.
+
+
+
+
+PHILOSOPHER'S GARDEN
+
+
+    "_See this my garden,
+      Large and fair_!"
+--Thus, to his friend,
+The Philosopher.
+
+  "'_Tis not too long_,"
+His friend replied,
+With truth exact,--
+  "_Nor yet too wide.
+  But well compact,
+   If somewhat cramped
+    On every side_."
+
+Quick the reply--
+  "_But see how high!--
+  It reaches up
+  To God's blue sky_!"
+
+Not by their size
+Measure we men
+Or things.
+Wisdom, with eyes
+Washed in the fire,
+Seeketh the things
+That are higher--
+Things that have wings,
+Thoughts that aspire.
+
+
+
+
+FLOWERS OF THE DUST
+
+
+The Mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small--
+So soft and slow the great wheels go they scarcely move at all;
+But the souls of men fall into them and are powdered into dust,
+And in that dust grow the Passion-Flowers--Love, Hope, Trust.
+
+Most wondrous their upspringing, in the dust of the Grinding-Mills,
+And rare beyond the telling the fragrance each distils.
+Some grow up tall and stately, and some grow sweet and small,
+But Life out of Death is in each one--with purpose grow they all.
+
+For that dust is God's own garden, and the Lord Christ tends it fair,
+With oh, such loving tenderness! and oh, such patient care!
+In sorrow the seeds are planted, they are watered with bitter tears,
+But their roots strike down to the Water-Springs and the Sources of the
+        Years.
+
+These flowers of Christ's own providence, they wither not nor die,
+But flourish fair, and fairer still, through all eternity.
+In the Dust of the Mills and in travail the amaranth seeds are sown,
+But the Flowers in their full beauty climb the Pillars of the Throne.
+
+NOTE.--The first line only is adapted from the Sinngedichte of
+Friedrich von Logau.
+
+
+
+
+THE PILGRIM WAY
+
+
+But once I pass this way,
+And then--no more.
+But once--and then, the Silent Door
+Swings on its hinges,--
+Opens ... closes,--
+And no more
+I pass this way.
+So while I may,
+With all my might,
+I will essay
+Sweet comfort and delight,
+To all I meet upon the Pilgrim Way.
+For no man travels twice
+The Great Highway,
+That climbs through Darkness up to Light,--
+Through Night
+To Day.
+
+
+
+
+EVERYMAID
+
+
+King's Daughter!
+Wouldst thou be all fair,
+Without--within--
+Peerless and beautiful,
+A very Queen?
+
+Know then:--
+Not as men build unto the Silent One,--
+With clang and clamour,
+Traffic of rude voices,
+Clink of steel on stone,
+And din of hammer;--
+Not so the temple of thy grace is reared.
+But,--in the inmost shrine
+Must thou begin,
+And build with care
+A Holy Place,
+A place unseen,
+Each stone a prayer.
+Then, having built,
+Thy shrine sweep bare
+Of self and sin,
+And all that might demean;
+And, with endeavour,
+Watching ever, praying ever,
+Keep it fragrant-sweet, and clean:
+So, by God's grace, it be fit place,--
+His Christ shall enter and shall dwell therein.
+Not as in earthly fane--where chase
+Of steel on stone may strive to win
+Some outward grace,--
+_Thy temple face is chiselled from within_.
+
+
+
+
+BETTER AND BEST
+
+
+Better in bitterest agony to lie,
+Before Thy throne,
+Than through much increase to be lifted up on high,
+And stand alone.
+
+Better by one sweet soul, constant and true,
+To be beloved,
+Than all the kingdoms of delight to trample through,
+Unloved, unloved.
+
+Yet best--the need that broke me at Thy feet,
+In voiceless prayer,
+And cast my chastened heart, a sacrifice complete,
+Upon Thy care.
+
+For all the world is nought, and less than nought,
+Compared with this,--
+That my dear Lord, with His own life, my ransom bought,
+And I am His.
+
+
+
+
+THE SHADOW
+
+
+Shapeless and grim,
+A Shadow dim
+O'erhung the ways,
+And darkened all my days.
+And all who saw,
+With bated breath,
+Said, "It is Death!"
+
+And I, in weakness
+Slipping towards the Night,
+In sore affright
+Looked up. And lo!--
+No Spectre grim,
+But just a dim
+Sweet face,
+A sweet high mother-face,
+A face like Christ's Own Mother's face,
+Alight with tenderness
+And grace.
+
+"Thou art not Death!" I cried;--
+For Life's supremest fantasy
+Had never thus envisaged Death to me;--
+"Thou art not Death, the End!"
+
+In accents winning,
+Came the answer,--"_Friend,
+    There is no Death!
+    I am the Beginning,
+    --Not the End_!"
+
+
+
+
+THE POTTER
+
+
+A Potter, playing with his lump of clay,
+Fashioned an image of supremest worth.
+  "_Never was nobler image made on earth,
+  Than this that I have fashioned of my clay.
+  And I, of mine own skill, did fashion it,--
+  I--from this lump of clay_."
+
+The Master, looking out on Pots and Men,
+Heard his vain boasting, smiled at that he said.
+  "_The clay is Mine, and I the Potter made,
+  As I made all things,--stars, and clay, and men.
+  In what doth this man overpass the rest?
+  --Be thou as other men_!"
+
+He touched the Image,--and it fell to dust,
+He touched the Potter,--he to dust did fall.
+  Gently the Master,--"_I did make them all,--
+  All things and men, heaven's glories, and the dust.
+  Who with Me works shall quicken death itself,
+  Without Me--dust is dust_."
+
+
+
+
+NIGHTFALL
+
+
+Fold up the tent!
+The sun is in the West.
+To-morrow my untented soul will range
+Among the blest.
+      And I am well content,
+      For what is sent, is sent,
+      And God knows best.
+
+Fold up the tent,
+And speed the parting guest!
+The night draws on, though night and day are one
+On this long quest.
+      This house was only lent
+      For my apprenticement--
+      What is, is best.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its slack ropes all undone,
+Its pole all broken, and its cover rent,--
+Its work is done.
+      But mine--tho' spoiled and spent
+      Mine earthly tenement--
+      Is but begun.
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Its tenant would be gone,
+To fairer skies than mortal eyes
+May look upon.
+All that I loved has passed,
+    And left me at the last
+    Alone!--alone!
+
+Fold up the tent!
+Above the mountain's crest,
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling clear,--
+"To rest! To rest!"
+      And I am glad to go,
+      For the sweet oil is low,
+      And rest is best!
+
+
+
+
+THE PRUNER
+
+
+God is a zealous pruner,
+For He knows--
+Who, falsely tender, spares the knife
+But spoils the rose.
+
+
+
+
+THE WAYS
+
+
+To every man there openeth
+A Way, and Ways, and a Way.
+And the High Soul climbs the High way,
+And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
+And in between, on the misty flats,
+The rest drift to and fro.
+But to every man there openeth
+A High Way, and a Low.
+And every man decideth
+The Way his soul shall go.
+
+
+
+
+SEEDS
+
+
+What shall we be like when
+We cast this earthly body and attain
+To immortality?
+What shall we be like then?
+
+Ah, who shall say
+What vast expansions shall be ours that day?
+What transformations of this house of clay,
+To fit the heavenly mansions and the light of day?
+Ah, who shall say?
+
+But this we know,--
+We drop a seed into the ground,
+A tiny, shapeless thing, shrivelled and dry,
+And, in the fulness of its time, is seen
+A form of peerless beauty, robed and crowned
+Beyond the pride of any earthly queen,
+Instinct with loveliness, and sweet and rare,
+The perfect emblem of its Maker's care.
+
+This from a shrivelled seed?--
+--Then may man hope indeed!
+
+For man is but the seed of what he shall be.
+When, in the fulness of his perfecting,
+He drops the husk and cleaves his upward way,
+Through earth's retardings and the clinging clay,
+Into the sunshine of God's perfect day.
+No fetters then! No bonds of time or space!
+But powers as ample as the boundless grace
+That suffered man, and death, and yet, in tenderness,
+Set wide the door, and passed Himself before--
+As He had promised--to prepare a place.
+
+Yea, we may hope!
+For we are seeds,
+Dropped into earth for heavenly blossoming.
+Perchance, when comes the time of harvesting,
+His loving care
+May find some use for even a humble tare.
+
+We know not what we shall be--only this--
+That we shall be made like Him--as He is.
+
+
+
+
+WHIRRING WHEELS
+
+
+Lord, when on my bed I lie,
+Sleepless, unto Thee I'll cry;
+When my brain works overmuch,
+Stay the wheels with Thy soft touch.
+
+Just a quiet thought of Thee,
+And of Thy sweet charity,--
+Just a little prayer, and then
+I will turn to sleep again.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF YS
+
+
+When the Bells of Ys rang softly,--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,
+Not a sound was heard in the old gray town,
+As the silvery tones came floating down,
+But life stood still with uncovered head,
+And doers of ill did good instead,
+And abroad the Peace of God was shed,
+  _When the bells aloft sang softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Aloft, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+And still those Bells ring softly--softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_.
+Though full twelve hundred years have gone,
+Since the waves rolled over the old gray town,
+Bold men of the sea, in the grip of the flow,
+Still hear the Bells, as they pass and go,
+Or win to life with their hearts aglow,
+  _When the Bells below sing softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,--
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and alow, and alow_.
+
+O the Mystical Bells, they still ring softly,
+    _Soft--and sweet--and low_,--
+For the sound of their singing shall never die
+In the hearts that are tuned to their melody;
+And down in the world's wild rush and roar,
+That sweeps us along to the Opening Door.
+
+Hearts still beat high as they beat of yore,
+  _When the Bells sing softly--softly--softly,
+    Soft--and sweet--and low,
+  The Silver Bells and the Golden Bells,--
+    Alow, and aloft, and alow_.
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE POEM OF LIFE
+
+
+      I;--
+      Thou;--
+      We;--
+      They;--
+Small words, but mighty.
+In their span
+Are bound the life and hopes of man.
+
+For, first, his thoughts of his own self are full;
+Until another comes his heart to rule.
+For them, life's best is centred round their love;
+Till younger lives come all their love to prove.
+
+
+
+
+CUP OF MIXTURE
+
+
+For every Guest who comes with him to sup,
+The Host compounds a strangely mingled cup;--
+Red Wine of Life and Dregs of Bitterness,
+And, will-he, nil-he, each must drink it up.
+
+
+
+
+WEAVERS ALL
+
+
+Warp and Woof and Tangle,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+Living and dying--and mightier dead,
+For the shuttle, once sped, is sped--is sped;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+White, and Black, and Hodden-gray,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+To every weaver one golden strand
+Is given in trust by the Master-Hand;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+And that we weave, we know not,--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+The threads we see, but the pattern is known
+To the Master-Weaver alone, alone;--
+    _Weavers of Webs are we_.
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEARER VISION
+
+
+When, with bowed head,
+And silent-streaming tears,
+With mingled hopes and fears,
+To earth we yield our dead;
+The Saints, with clearer sight,
+Do cry in glad accord,--
+"_A soul released from prison
+Is risen, is risen,--
+Is risen to the glory of the Lord_."
+
+
+
+
+SHADOWS
+
+
+Shadows are but for the moment--
+Quickly past;
+And then the sun the brighter shines
+That it was overcast.
+
+For Light is Life!
+Gracious and sweet,
+The fair life-giving sun doth scatter blessings
+With his light and heat,--
+And shadows.
+But the shadows that come of the life-giving sun
+Crouch at his feet.
+
+No mortal life but has its shadowed times--
+Not one!
+Life without shadow could not taste the full
+Sweet glory of the sun.
+
+No shadow falls, but there, behind it, stands
+The Light
+Behind the wrongs and sorrows of life's troublous ways
+Stands RIGHT.
+
+
+
+
+THE INN OF LIFE
+
+
+_As It was in the Beginning,--
+Is Now,--
+And...?
+
+     Anno Domini I_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+The Inn is full,
+Yea--overfull.
+No room have we
+for such as ye--
+Poor folk of Galilee,
+     Pass on! Pass on!"
+
+"Nay then!--
+Your charity
+Will ne'er deny
+Some corner mean,
+Where she may lie unseen.
+For see!--
+Her time is nigh."
+
+"Alack! And she
+So young and fair!
+Place have we none;
+And yet--how bid ye gone?
+Stay then!--out there
+Among the beasts
+Ye may find room,
+And eke a truss
+To lie upon."
+
+
+  _Anno Domini 1913, etc., etc_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "No room!
+     No room!
+No room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee!
+The house is full,
+Yea, overfull.
+There is no room for Thee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+Nay--see!
+The place is packed.
+"We scarce have room
+For our own selves,
+So how shall we
+Find room for Thee,
+Thou Man of Galilee,--
+     Pass on! Pass on!
+
+But--if Thou shouldst
+This way again,
+And we can find
+So much as one small corner
+Free from guest,
+Not then in vain
+Thy quest.
+But now--
+The house is full.
+     Pass on!"
+
+Christ passes
+On His ceaseless quest,
+Nor will He rest
+With any,
+Save as Chiefest Guest.
+
+
+
+
+LIFE'S CHEQUER-BOARD
+
+"'Tis all a Chequer-Board of Nights and Days,
+Where Detiny with men for pieces plays,
+Hither and thither moves, and mates and slays,
+And one by one back in the Closet lays."
+
+_Omar Khayyam_.
+
+
+A Chequer-Board of mingled Light and Shade?
+And We the Pieces on it deftly laid?
+Moved and removed, without a word to say,
+By the Same Hand that Board and Pieces made?
+
+No Pieces we in any Fateful Game,
+Nor free to shift on Destiny the blame;
+Each Soul doth tend its own immortal flame,
+Fans it to Heaven, or smothers it in shame.
+
+
+
+
+CROSS-ROADS
+
+
+Oft, as he jogs along the Winding-Way,
+Occasion comes for Every Man to say,--
+"This Road?--or That?" and as he chooses them,
+So shall his journey end in Night or Day.
+
+
+
+
+QUO VADIS?
+
+
+Peter, outworn,
+And menaced by the sword,
+Shook off the dust of Rome;
+And, as he fled,
+Met one, with eager face,
+Hastening cityward,
+And, to his vast amaze,
+It was The Lord.
+  "_Lord, whither goest Thou_?"
+He cried, importunate,
+And Christ replied,--
+  "_Peter, I suffer loss.
+  I go to take thy place,
+  To bear thy cross_."
+
+Then Peter bowed his head,
+Discomforted;
+There, at the Master's feet,
+Found grace complete,
+And courage, and new faith,
+And turned--with Him,
+To Death.
+
+So we,--
+Whene'er we fail
+Of our full duty,
+Cast on Him our load,--
+    Who suffered sore for us,
+    Who frail flesh wore for us,
+    Who all things bore for us,--
+On Christ, The Lord.
+
+
+
+
+TAMATE
+
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Great-Heart the Teacher,
+    Great-Heart the Joyous,
+    Great-Heart the Fearless,
+    Great-Heart the Martyr,
+    Great-Heart of Sweet White Fire.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_,--
+    Fighting the fight,
+    Holding the Light,
+    Into the night.
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_.--
+    But the Light shall burn the brighter.
+    And the night shall be the lighter,
+    For his going;
+    And a rich, rich harvest for his sowing.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, they say_!--
+What is death to such an one as Great-Heart?
+    One sigh, perchance, for work unfinished here;--
+    Then a swift passing to a mightier sphere,
+    New joys, perfected powers, the vision clear,
+    And all the amplitude of heaven to work
+    The work he held so dear.
+
+_Great-Heart is dead, say they_?
+    Nor dead nor sleeping! He lives on! His name
+    Shall kindle many a heart to equal flame.
+    The fire he lighted shall burn on and on,
+    Till all the darkness of the lands be gone,
+    And all the kingdoms of the earth be won,
+    And one.
+
+_A soul so fiery sweet can never die,
+But lives and loves and works through all eternity_.
+
+
+
+
+BURDEN-BEARERS
+
+
+Burden-bearers are we all,
+Great and small.
+Burden-sharers be ye all,
+Great and small!
+Where another shares the load,
+Two draw nearer God.
+Yet there are burdens we can share with none,
+Save God;
+And paths remote where we must walk alone,
+With God;
+For lonely burden and for path apart--
+Thank God!
+If these but serve to bring the burdened heart
+To God.
+
+
+
+
+THE IRON FLAIL
+
+
+Time beats out all things with his iron flail,
+Things great, things small.
+With steady strokes that never fail,
+With slow, sure strokes of his iron flail,
+Time beats out all.
+
+
+
+
+SARK
+
+
+Pearl Iridescent! Pearl of the sea!
+Shimmering, glimmering Pearl of the sea!
+    White in the sun-flecked Silver Sea,
+    White in the moon-decked Silver Sea,
+    White in the wrath of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Lapped in the smile of the Silver Sea,
+    Ringed in the foam of the Silver Sea,
+    Glamoured in mists of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Glancing and glimmering under the sun.
+    Jewel and casket all in one,
+    Joy supreme of the sun's day dream,
+    Soft in the gleam of the golden beam,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    Splendour of Hope in the rising sun,
+    Glory of Love in the noonday sun,
+    Wonder of Faith in the setting sun,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+    Gaunt and grim to the outer world,
+    Jewel and casket all impearled
+    With the kiss of the Silver Sea!--
+    With the flying kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the long sweet kiss of the Silver Sea,
+    With the rainbow kiss of the Silver Sea,--
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+    And oh the sight,--the wonderful sight,
+    When calm and white, in the mystic light
+    Of her quivering pathway, broad and bright,
+    The Queen of the Night, in silver dight,
+    Sails over the Silver Sea!
+
+Wherever I go, and wherever I be,
+The joy and the longing are there with me,--
+The gleam and the glamour come back to me,--
+In a mystical rapture there comes to me,
+The call of the Silver Sea!
+As needle to pole is my heart to thee,
+Pearl of the Silver Sea!
+
+
+
+
+E.A., Nov. 6, 1900
+
+
+Bright stars of Faith and Hope, her eyes
+    Shall shine for us through all the years.
+    For all her life was Love, and fears
+Touch not the love that never dies.
+
+And Death itself, to her, was but
+    The wider opening of the door
+    That had been opening, more and more,
+Through all her life, and ne'er was shut.
+
+--And never shall be shut. She left
+    The door ajar for you and me,
+    And, looking after her, we see
+The glory shining through the cleft.
+
+And when our own time comes,--again
+    We'll meet her face to face;--again
+    Well see the star-shine; and again
+She'll greet us with her soft, "Come ben!"
+
+
+
+
+THE PASSING OF THE QUEEN
+
+
+_Hark! The drums! Muffled drums!
+The long low ruffle of the drums_!--
+And every head is bowed,
+In the vast expectant crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,--
+  By the way she knew so well,
+  Where our cheers were wont to swell,
+  As we tried in vain to tell
+  Of our love unspeakable.
+Now she comes
+To the rolling of the drums,
+And the slow sad tolling of the bell.
+Let every head be bowed,
+In the silent waiting crowd,
+As the Great Queen comes,
+To the slow sad ruffle of the drums!
+
+  _Who is this that comes,
+  To the rolling of the drums,
+  In the sorrowful great silence of the peoples_?
+Take heart of grace,
+She is not here!
+The Great Queen is not here!
+  What most in her we did revere,--
+  The lofty spirit, white and clear,
+  The tender love that knew no fear,
+  The soul sincere,--
+These come not here,
+To the rolling of the drums,
+In the silence and the sorrow of the peoples.
+
+  _Death has but little part
+  In her. Love cannot die.
+  Who reigns in every heart
+  Hath immortality_.
+So, though our heads are bent,
+Our hearts are jubilant,
+As she comes,--
+As a conqueror she comes--
+With the rolling of the drums,
+To the stateliest of her homes,
+In the hearts of her true and faithful peoples.
+  _For the Great Queen lives for ever
+  In the hearts of those who love her.
+January, 1901_.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN CORD
+
+
+Through every minute of this day,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every day of all this week,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through every week of all this year,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+Through all the years of all this life,
+        Be with me, Lord!
+So shall the days and weeks and years
+Be threaded on a golden cord,
+And all draw on with sweet accord
+Unto Thy fulness, Lord,
+That so, when time is past,
+By Grace, I may at last,
+        Be with Thee, Lord.
+
+
+
+
+THANK GOD FOR PEACE!
+JUNE, 1902
+
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Up to the sombre sky
+Rolled one great thankful sigh,
+Rolled one great gladsome cry--
+The soul's deliverance of a mighty people.
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+
+The long-low-hanging war-cloud rolled away,
+And night glowed brighter than the brightest day.
+For Peace is Light,
+And War is grimmer than the Night.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+Great ocean, was your mighty calm unstirred
+As through your depths, unseen, unheard,
+Sped on its way the glorious word
+That called a weary nation to ungird,
+And sheathed once more the keen, reluctant sword?
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+The word came to us as we knelt in prayer
+That wars might cease.
+Peace found us on our knees, and prayer for Peace
+Was changed to prayer of deepest thankfulness.
+We knelt in War, we rose in Peace to bless
+Thy grace, Thy care, Thy tenderness.
+
+        _Thank God for Peace_!
+No matter now the rights and wrongs of it;
+You fought us bravely, and we fought you fair.
+The fight is done. Grip hands! No malice bear!
+We greet you, brothers, to the nobler strife
+Of building up the newer, larger life!
+
+Join hands! Join hands! Ye nations of the stock!
+And make henceforth a mighty Trust for Peace.
+A great enduring peace that shall withstand
+The shocks of time and circumstance; and every land
+Shall rise and bless you--and shall never cease
+To bless you--for that glorious gift of Peace.
+
+
+
+
+GOD'S HANDWRITING
+
+
+He writes in characters too grand
+For our short sight to understand;
+We catch but broken strokes, and try
+To fathom all the mystery
+Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
+The endless war, the useless strife,--
+But there, with larger, clearer sight,
+We shall see this--His way was right.
+
+
+
+
+STEPHEN--SAUL
+
+
+Stephen, who died while I stood by consenting,
+  Wrought in his death the making of a life,
+Bruised one hard heart to thought of swift repenting,
+  Fitted one fighter for a nobler strife.
+
+Stephen, the Saint, triumphant and forgiving,
+  Prayed while the hot blows beat him to the earth.
+Was that a dying? Rather was it living!--
+  Through his soul's travail my soul came to birth.
+
+Stephen, the Martyr, full of faith and fearless,
+  Smiled when his bruised lips could no longer pray,--
+Smiled with a courage undismayed and peerless,--
+  Smiled!--and that smile is with me, night and day.
+
+O, was it _I_ that stood there, all consenting?
+  _I_--at whose feet the young men's clothes were laid?
+Was it _my_ will that wrought that hot tormenting?
+  My heart that boasted over Stephen, dead?
+
+Yes, it was I. And sore to me the telling.
+  Yes, it was I. And thought of it has been
+God's potent spur my whole soul's might compelling
+  These outer darknesses for Him to win.
+
+
+
+
+PAUL
+
+
+Bond-slave to Christ, and in my bonds rejoicing,
+  Earmarked to Him I counted less than nought;
+His man henceforward, eager to be voicing
+  That wondrous Love which Saul the Roman sought.
+
+Sought him and found him, working bitter sorrow;
+  Found him and claimed him, chose him for his own;
+Bound him in darkness, till the glorious morrow
+  Unsealed his eyes to that he had not known.
+
+
+
+
+WAKENING
+
+
+This mortal dies,--
+But, in the moment when the light fails here,
+The darkness opens, and the vision clear
+Breaks on his eyes.
+The vail is rent,--
+On his enraptured gaze heaven's glory breaks,
+He was asleep, and in that moment wakes.
+
+
+
+
+MACEDONIA, 1903
+
+
+Devils' work!
+Devils' work, my masters!
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+You may close your heart, but you cannot shirk
+This terrible fact,--_We--kept--the--Turk_.
+His day was past and we knew his work,
+But he played our game, so we kept the Turk,
+For our own sake's sake we kept the Turk.
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+Red are the walls and the ways,
+      _And--Britain, your hands are red_!
+There is blood on the hearth, and blood in the well,
+And the whole fair land is a red, red hell,--
+      _Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+"_Come over! Come over and help us_!"
+We are deaf to the ancient cry.
+--"_For the sake of our women and children_!"
+And Britain stands quietly by.
+      _O Britain, your hands are red_!
+
+_Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+Yea, cleanse them in blood if it _must_ be!
+For blood that is shed in the cause of right
+Has power, as of old, to wash souls white.
+      _Cleanse your hands, Britain_!
+
+O for the fiery grace of old,--
+The heart and the masterful hand!
+But grace grows dim and the fire grows cold,
+We are heavy with greed and lust and gold,
+And life creeps low in the land.
+
+_Break your bonds, Britain_!
+Stand up once again for the right!
+We have stained our hands in the times that are past,
+Before God, we would wash them white.
+
+_For the Nations are in the proving;
+Each day is Judgment Day;
+And the peoples He finds wanting
+Shall pass--by the winding way_.
+
+
+
+
+HEARTS IN EXILE
+
+
+O Exiled Hearts--for you, for you--
+Love still can find the way!
+  _Hear the voices of the women on the road_!
+O Shadowed Lives--for you, for you--
+Hope hath not lost her ray!
+  _Hear the laughter of the children on the road_!
+O Gloomy Night--for you, for you--
+Dawn tells of coming day!
+  _Hear the clink of breaking fetters on the road_!
+O Might sans Right--for you, for you--
+The feet of crumbling clay!
+  _Hear the slow, sure tread of Freedom on the road_!
+
+
+
+
+WANDERED
+
+
+The wind blows shrill along the hill,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+The sky hangs low with its weight of snow,
+And the drifts are deep on the wold.
+But what care I for wind or snow?
+And what care I for the cold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The beasts are safely gathered in,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+They are snug and warm, and safe from harm,
+In stall and byre and fold.
+And the dogs and I, by the blazing fire,
+Care nought for the snow and the cold.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The barns are bursting with their store
+Of grain like yellow gold;
+A full, fat year has brought good cheer,
+--_Black is the night and cold_.--
+But ...  What care I for teeming barns?
+And what care I for gold?
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+        My one ewe lamb--
+        That strayed from the fold_?
+
+In the great kitchen, maids and men,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+Laugh loud and long, with jest and song,
+And merry revel hold.
+Let them laugh and sing, let them have their fling,
+But for me--I am growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+The old house moans, and sighs and groans,
+--_Black is the night and cold_--
+We have seen brave times, you and I, old friend,
+But now--we are growing old.
+We have stood foursquare to many a storm,
+But now--we are growing old.
+        _Oh ... where is my lamb--
+         My one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Her mother sleeps on the hill out there,
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+She is free from care, she is happier there,
+Beneath the warm brown mould.
+And I've sometimes hoped they may have met,
+And the end of the tale be told.
+        _Ah ... where is our lamb--
+         Our one ewe lamb--
+         That strayed from the fold_?
+
+Was that a branch that shed its load?
+--_Black is the night and cold_,--
+Or--was it a footstep in the snow--
+A timid footstep--halting, slow?
+Ah me! I am getting old!
+Is that a tapping--soft and low?
+Can it be ... I thought I heard ... but no,
+'Twas only a branch that shed its snow,--
+God's truth! I am getting old!
+        _For I thought ... maybe
+         It was my lamb
+         Come home again to the fold_.
+
+Dear Lord! a hand at the frozen pane!
+--_White on the night's black cold_--
+O my lamb! my lamb! are you come again?
+My dear lost lamb, are you come again?
+Are you come again to the fold?
+It is!... It is!... Now I thank Thee, Lord,
+For Thy Mercies manifold!
+        _She is come again!
+         She is home again!
+         My lamb that strayed from the fold_!
+
+
+
+
+BIDE A WEE!
+
+
+Though the times be dark and dreary,
+Though the way be long,
+Keep your spirits bright and cheery,--
+--"Bide a wee, and dinna weary!"
+  Is a heartsome song.
+
+
+
+
+THE WORD THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID
+
+
+"A red rose for my helmet,
+And a word before we part!
+The rose shall be my oriflamme
+The word shall fill my heart."
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart--
+    Just a look, just a word and a look!
+    A look or a sign that my love shall divine
+    And a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She toyed with his love and her roses;
+Was it mischief or mischance?--
+She dropped him a rose--'twas a white one,
+And he lifted it on his lance.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Is it thus--is it thus we part?
+    With never a look, and never a sign,
+    Nor a word for my hungering heart_!
+
+She sought him among the dying,
+She found him among the dead;
+And the rose was still in his helmet.
+But his life had stained it red.
+    _Heart, Heart, Heart of my heart!
+    Now my heart within me is dead.
+    And alack for the look!
+    And alas for the sign!
+    And the word that was left unsaid_!
+
+
+
+
+DON'T WORRY
+
+
+Just do your best,
+And leave the rest
+To Him who gave you
+Life,--
+And Zeal for Labour,--
+And the Joy of Strife,--
+And Zest of Love,--
+And all that lifts your soul above
+The lower things.
+
+Life's truest harvest is in what we _would_,
+And strive our best for,
+Not most in what we _could_.
+The things we count supreme
+Stand, haply, not so high
+In God's esteem
+As _How_ and _Why_.
+
+All-Seeing Sight
+Cleaves through the husk of things,
+Right to the Roots and Springs,--
+Sees all things whole,
+And measures less the body than the soul.
+All-Righteous Right
+Will weigh men's motives,
+Not their deeds alone.
+End and Beginning unto Him are one;
+And _would_ for _could_ shall oft, perchance, atone.
+
+Motives are seeds,
+From which at times spring deeds
+Not equal to the soul's outreaching hope.
+Strive for the stars!
+Count nought well done but best!
+Then, with brave patience, leave the rest
+To Him who knows.
+He'll judge you justly ere the record close.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN ROSE
+
+
+The Golden Rose is blowing still,
+  Is growing still, is glowing still,
+In lonely vale, on lordly hill,
+The Golden Rose is glowing still;--
+  If only you can find it!
+
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows,
+  Still breaks and blows, still gleams and glows,
+'Mid icy blasts, and wintry snows,
+The Golden Rose still breaks and blows;--
+Search w ell and you may find it!
+
+The Golden Rose can never die,
+  'Tis grafted on Eternity;
+In hearts that Love doth glorify,
+The Golden Rose can never die,--
+  May it be yours to find it!
+
+
+
+
+GADARA, A.D. 31
+
+
+Rabbi, begone! Thy powers
+Bring loss to us and ours.
+Our ways are not as Thine.
+Thou lovest men, we--swine.
+Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,
+And take this fool of Thine!
+His soul? What care we for his soul?
+What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,
+Since we have lost our swine?
+
+And Christ went sadly.
+He had wrought for them a sign
+Of Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;
+They wanted--swine.
+Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;
+But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,
+He forces no man's hold--he will depart,
+And leave you to the treasures of your heart.
+
+No cumbered chamber will the Master share,
+But one swept bare
+By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair
+With meekness, and humility, and prayer.
+There will He come, yet, coming, even there
+He stands and waits, and will no entrance win
+Until the latch be lifted from within.
+
+
+
+
+THE BELLS OF STEPAN ILINE
+
+(_Cradle Song from "The Long Road_.")
+
+
+Whisht, Baby! Whisht!
+Quick below the cover!
+Down into your nest, my bird!
+And--don't--you--dare--peep--over!
+For the grey wolves they are prowling,
+They are prowling, they are prowling.
+And the snow-wind it is howling,
+It is howling, it is howling.
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark--
+Ow--ooh! Ow--ooh!
+S-s-s-s-s-seee--oo--ooh!
+The wolves they are lean,
+So-o-o lean, so-o-o lean!
+And the wind it is keen,
+So-o-o keen, so-o-o keen!
+And they seek little babies who aren't sleeping!
+But lie you still, my Baby dear!
+Lie still, lie still, and maybe you'll hear--
+Hark!--Hark!--
+Out there in the dark,--
+The silver bells and the golden bells,
+The swinging bells and the singing bells,--
+The bells that are heard but never are seen,
+The wind and the wolves, and the bells in between,--
+The bells of Iline,
+Good Stepan Iline,--
+The bells of good Stepan Iline!
+
+
+
+
+BOLT THAT DOOR!
+
+
+Each sin has its door of entrance.
+Keep--that--door--closed!
+Bolt it tight!
+Just outside, the wild beast crouches
+In the night.
+Pin the bolt with a prayer,
+God will fix it there.
+
+
+
+
+GIANT CIRCUMSTANCE
+
+
+Though every nerve be strained
+To fine accomplishment,
+Full oft the life fall spent
+Before the prize is gained.
+And, in our discontent
+At waste so evident,
+In doubt and vast discouragement
+We wonder what is meant.
+But, tracing back, we find
+A Power that held the ways--
+A Mighty Hand, a Master Mind,
+That all the troubled course defined
+And overruled the days.
+Some call it Fate; some--Chance;
+Some--Giant Circumstance;
+And some, upreaching to the sense
+Of God within the circumstance,
+Do call it--Providence!
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNGRY SEA
+
+
+Down to the sea, the hungry sea,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Seeking food for the bairns and me,
+Seeking food in the hungry sea;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+My man and my lad--their bones are white,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+Into the maw of the grim black night,
+Their hearts were bold and their faces bright;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+The sun was red and the clouds were black,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+And the sky was heavy with flying wrack,
+When forth they fared,--and they came not back;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+Forth they fared and they came not back,
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+O, I fear the sea, and I hate the sea,
+That took my man and my lad from me;
+      _O the sea is hungry ever_!
+
+
+
+
+WE THANK THEE, LORD
+
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy tender grace,
+In our distress
+Thou hast not left us wholly comfortless.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That of Thy wondrous might,
+Into our night
+Thou hast sent down the glory of the Light.
+
+We thank Thee, Lord,
+That all Thy wondrous ways,
+Through all our days,
+Are Wisdom, Right, and Ceaseless Tenderness.
+
+
+
+
+THE VAIL
+
+
+He only sees both sides of that dark vail
+That hangs before men's eyes--
+He only. It is well!
+Hope ever stands unseen
+Behind the screen,
+For knowledge would bring Hope to sudden death,
+And cloud the present with the coming ill.
+I would lie still, Dear Lord,
+I would lie still,
+And stay my troubled heart on Thee,
+Obedient to Thy will.
+
+
+
+
+NO EAST OR WEST
+
+
+In Christ there is no East or West,
+  In Him no South or North,
+But one great Fellowship of Love
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+In Him shall true hearts everywhere
+  Their high communion find.
+His service is the golden cord
+  Close-binding all mankind.
+
+Join hands then, Brothers of the Faith,
+Whatever your race may be!--
+Who serves my Father as a son
+  Is surely kin to me.
+
+In Christ now meet both East and West,
+  In Him meet South and North,
+All Christly souls are one in Him,
+  Throughout the whole wide earth.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAY--THE WAY
+
+
+  Not for one single day
+Can I discern my way,
+          But this I surely know,--
+  Who gives the day,
+  Will show the way,
+          So I securely go.
+
+
+
+
+LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
+
+
+O God, within whose sight
+All men have equal right
+    To worship Thee.
+Break every bar that holds
+Thy flock in diverse folds!
+Thy Will from none withholds
+    Full liberty.
+
+Lord, set Thy Churches free
+From foolish rivalry!
+    Lord, set us free!
+Let all past bitterness
+Now and for ever cease,
+And all our souls possess
+    Thy charity!
+
+Lord, set the people free!
+Let all men draw to Thee
+    In unity!
+Thy temple courts are wide,
+Therein let all abide
+In peace, and side by side,
+    Serve only Thee!
+
+God, grant us now Thy peace!
+Bid all dissensions cease!
+    God, send us peace!
+Peace in True Liberty,
+Peace in Equality,
+Peace and Fraternity,
+    God, send us peace!
+
+
+
+
+FREEMEN
+
+
+Let no man stand between my God and me!
+I claim a Free man's right
+Of intercourse direct with Him,
+Who gave me Freedom with the air and light.
+God made me free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Me and my liberty!
+
+We need no priest to tell us God is Love.--
+Have we not eyes to see,
+And minds to apprehend, and hearts
+That leap responsive to His Charity?
+God's gifts are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+We need no priest to point a way to heaven.--
+God's heaven is here,--is there,--
+Man's birthright, with the light and air,--
+"God is His own and best interpreter."
+His ways are free.--
+Let no man stand between
+Us and His liberty!
+
+Let no man strive to rob us of this right!
+For this, from age to age,
+Our fathers did a mighty warfare wage,
+And, by God's help, we'll keep our heritage!
+God says--"Be Free!"
+And we,--
+"NO MAN SHALL STAND BETWEEN
+OUR SONS AND LIBERTY!"
+
+
+
+
+THE LONG ROAD
+
+
+Long the road,
+    Till Love came down it!
+Dark the life,
+    Till Love did crown it!
+Dark the life,
+    And long the road,
+Till Love came
+    To share the load!
+For the touch
+    Of Love transfigures
+All the road
+    And all its rigours.
+Life and Death,
+Love's touch transfigures.
+Life and Death
+    And all that lies
+In between,
+Love sanctifies.
+Once the heavenly spark is lighted,
+Once in love two hearts united,
+Nevermore
+    Shall aught that was be
+As before.
+
+
+
+
+THE CHRIST
+
+
+The good intent of God became the Christ.
+And lived on earth--the Living Love of God,
+That men might draw to closer touch with heaven,
+Since Christ in all the ways of man hath trod.
+
+
+
+
+THE BALLAD OF LOST SOULS
+
+
+With the thirty pieces of silver,
+They bought the Potter's Field;
+For none would have the blood-money
+And the interest it might yield.
+
+The Place of Blood for the Price of Blood,
+And that was meet, I ween,
+For there they would bury the dead who died
+In frowardness and sin.
+
+And the first man they would bury there
+Was Judas Iscariot;
+And that was as dreadful a burying
+As ever was, I wot.
+
+For the sick earth would not keep him;
+Each time it thrust him out,
+And they that would have buried him
+Stood shuddering round about.
+
+And others they would bury
+In that unhallowed spot,
+But honest earth would none of them,
+Because of Iscariot.
+
+And oh, it was a fell, fell place,
+With dead black trees all round,
+And a quag that boiled and writhed and coiled
+Where had been solid ground.
+
+For every tree that stood there,
+And the green grass every blade,
+Shrivelled and died on every side,
+Whenever the price was paid.
+
+And in despair they left him there,
+And there his body lay,
+Till his sad soul came, all black with shame,
+And carried it away.
+
+And those denied a sepulture
+In that most dismal spot,
+Gibbered and flew, a ghastly crew,
+Incensed with rage, that grew and grew,
+Against Iscariot.
+
+For their souls were all in torment,
+While their bodies uncovered lay,
+And never a moment's rest was theirs,
+Either by night or day.
+
+That was a place of wailings,
+And the grisly things of Death,--
+The bare black arms of the trees above,
+And the black quag underneath.
+
+No light of the moon fell on it,
+Nor ever a star did shine
+On the quivering face of that dread place,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+Then there came by the soul of Iscariot,
+The same who sold his Lord,
+And he dragged his body after him,
+But never spake a word.
+
+Since earth his body would not,
+He must drag it to and fro,
+He had tried in vain to be quit of it,
+But it would not let him go.
+
+So the soul of Judas Iscariot
+Came by the Potter's Field,
+And there the ill his deed had wrought
+Was unto him revealed.
+
+And when the others saw him,
+They leaped at him eagerly;--
+"This is he for whom we suffer!
+--'Tis he! 'Tis he! 'Tis he!"
+
+Then all afire with mad desire,
+They chased him through the dark,
+And each soul carried his dead bodie,
+Grim, and stiff, and stark.
+
+They struck at him with their bodies,
+They cursed him for his sin,
+They made to tear his dumb soul there,
+With their fingers long and lean.
+
+And Judas fled in his horror,
+With that fell crew behind,
+And as they sped the people said
+Death rode upon the wind.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+Because of his treachery,
+And ever he just escaped their lust,
+And ever they were nigh.
+
+They chased him near, they chased him far,
+And ever they were nigh,
+And never a star shone out on them
+Out of the cold black sky.
+
+And as they sped by Calvary,
+There were empty crosses three,--
+And on the ground, below the mound,
+Lay one in agony.
+
+"_Three times I swore I knew Him not,
+And then--He looked on me.
+Ah, such a look!--no harshest word
+Had ever proved so sharp a sword
+To my inconstancy_.
+
+"_Three times I did deny Thee, Lord!
+And yet, thou couldst forgive,
+Now am I thine--in life, in death;
+Thee will I serve with every breath,
+While I have breath to give_."
+
+They sped by an open window,
+Where one knelt all alone,
+In great amaze, in greater grief,
+In woe that wrestled with belief,
+The Mother mourned her Son.
+
+"_My son, I knew thee more than man,--
+Ah me!--and the heart of me!
+Yet, man in God, and God in man,
+Still wast thou part of me_.
+
+"_The nails through thy dear hands and feet,--
+Ah me! they pierced my own.
+The thorns that on thy brow they plied,--
+The spear they drove into thy side,--
+The pangs thy Godhead could not hide,--
+They pierced me too, my son_.
+
+"_My son! My son! My more than son,
+My heart is full for thee!
+Yet, tho' I know thee so much more
+Than ever mortal man before,--
+Yet, tho' I worship and adore,--
+Woe's me!--and the heart of me_!"
+
+And ever they came by the Potter's Field,
+And thrust their bodies in,
+And ever the sick earth spat them out,
+Because of Iscariot's sin.
+
+They sped along a palace-wall,
+The feast waxed high inside,--
+On Golgotha the Cross still stood,
+The Cross where man had nailed his God,
+Red was the Rood still with his blood,--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+The revel gashed the sombre night,
+And fast the wine-cups plied,--
+Time touched Eternity that day;--
+God had come down to man that day;--
+The world began anew that day;--
+They drank--"_The Crucified_!"
+
+And ever again to the Potter's Field,
+The Souls in torment came,
+But the black quag boiled and writhed and coiled,
+And would have none of them.
+
+And everywhere strange shapes of death
+Walked in the fearsome gloom,
+For that last cry from Calvary
+Had rent in twain the Temple vail,
+And burst the gates of Doom.
+
+Through all the startled city, walked
+The saints that had been dead,
+And to the sorrowful in heart
+Holy comfort ministrèd.
+
+And when they met Iscariot,
+Sore hounded in the chase,
+They cried to him, for the Love of God,
+To seek God's grace.
+
+And ever to the Field of Death,
+The souls in torment came,
+Seeking the rest of the Blessèd Dead,--
+But earth would none of them.
+
+And as they whirled through a garden,
+They came on an empty tomb,
+The stone was gone, a soft light shone
+Full softly on the gloom.
+
+Bright was that Light, and wondrous bright,
+'Twas brighter than the sun;
+As then it shone, so shines it now,
+And shall when Time is done.
+
+And all along the pathway
+Was a track of throbbing light;
+Where the Christ had gone His footsteps shone,
+Like stars in a velvet night.
+
+'Twas the spent soul of Iscariot
+Was like the wind-blown dust,
+As nearer still, and near, and near,
+He bent and crept, in doubt, and fear,
+He came because he must.
+
+'Twas the sick soul of Iscariot
+That drew from out the night
+And the full of his sin was known to him
+In the Shining of the Light.
+
+In the rim of the Light he laid him,
+Repented of his sin.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And as he lay there sorrowing,
+Up came the felon crew.
+They flailed him with their dead bodies
+They heeded not his rue.
+
+They flailed him with their dead bodies,
+They heeded not their spleen.
+"_I wotted not! I wotted not!
+Dear Master, take me in_!"
+
+And then ... a Vision and a Voice,--
+And the Word made manifest,--
+"_Lay down thy load where I abode,
+And I will give thee rest_!
+
+"_And ye,--no more hunt Iscariot!
+He repents him of his sin.
+And never a soul that repenteth
+But he may enter in_.
+
+"_This Day the Door is opened
+That shall never close again,
+And never a soul that would come in
+Shall seek to come in vain_."
+
+And the dead soul of Iscariot
+Was born again that night;
+For the Lord Christ came dead souls to claim
+And lead them into Light.
+
+And the souls of the unburied,
+When they looked upon His face,
+Were cleansed of sin and entered in
+To His redeeming grace.
+
+So, by that wonderful great Love
+Which highest heaven extols,--
+To Mother Earth their dead bodies,
+And unto Christ their souls.
+
+
+
+
+PROFIT AND LOSS
+
+
+Profit?--Loss?
+Who shall declare this good--that ill?--
+When good and ill so intertwine
+But to fulfil the vast design
+Of an Omniscient Will?--
+When seeming gain but turns to loss,--
+When earthly treasure proves but dross,--
+And what seemed loss but turns again
+To high, eternal gain?
+
+Wisest the man who does his best,
+And leaves the rest
+To Him who counts not deeds alone,
+But sees the root, the flower, the fruit,
+And calls them one.
+
+
+
+
+FREE MEN OF GOD
+
+
+Free men of God, the New Day breaks
+In golden gleams across the sky;
+The darkness of the night is past,
+This is the Day of Victory.
+    For this our fathers strove,
+    In stern and fiery love--
+    That men to come should be
+    Born into liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men of God, gird up your loins,
+And brace you for the final fight!
+Strike home, strike home for Truth and Right!
+--Yet bear yourselves as in His sight!
+    For this our fathers fought,
+    This with their lives they bought--
+    That you and I should be
+    Heirs of their liberty--
+That all should be--as we are--Free!
+
+Free men we are and so will be;
+We claim free access unto Him,
+Who widened all the bounds of life,
+And us from bondage did redeem.
+    Let no man intervene,
+    Or draw a vail between
+    Us and our God, for He
+    Would have His people free,--
+And we would be--as Thou art--Free.
+
+Free men of God, your Birthright claim!
+Our fathers won it with a price.
+They paid in full to axe and flame,
+Nor counted up the sacrifice.
+    This is our heritage,
+    And here we do engage,
+    Each man unto his son
+    Intact to pass it on.
+So shall they be--as we are--Free!
+
+Our Sure Defence, in times of stress,
+Thy gates stand open, wide and free,
+When men provoke and wrongs oppress,
+We seek Thy wider liberty.
+    With loftier mind and heart,
+    Let each man bear his part!
+    So--to the final fight,
+    And God defend the right!
+We shall, we must, we will be--Free!
+
+
+
+
+TREASURE-TROVE
+
+
+Lord Christ, let me but hold Thy hand
+And all the rest may go.
+For nothing is, but only seems,
+And life is full of idle dreams,
+        Until Thyself we know.
+
+The whole wide world is nought beside
+The wonder of Thy love.
+And though my state be mean and strait,
+Give me but heart to work and wait,
+        And I have Treasure-Trove.
+
+
+
+
+THE GATE
+
+"A little child shall lead them."
+
+
+I trod an arduous way, but came at last
+To where the city walls rose fair and white
+Above the darkening plain,--a goodly sight.
+And eagerly, while yet a great way off,
+My eyes did seek the Gates--the Great White Gates
+That close not ever, day or night, but stand
+Wide as the love of Christ that opened them.
+But nought could I discern of gate or breach,
+The wall stood flawless far as eye could reach.
+
+"But when I drew in closer to the wall,
+I saw a lowly portal, strait and small;
+So small, a man might hardly enter there,
+Low-browed and shadowed, and close-pressed to earth--
+A very needle's eye--scarce visible.
+I looked and wondered. Could this trivial way
+Be the sole entrance to the light of day?
+And as I stood perplext, a clear voice cried,--
+_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+
+And while I stood in doubt, there came along
+One of earth's mighty ones--a conqueror
+Of Kings. He looked for gates that should swing wide
+To meet his high estate and welcome him.
+He stood and gazed, then raised his voice and cried,
+"My work on earth is done. I would within,"
+And from the City wall the voice replied,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait,
+Till Might should help him to discern the Gate.
+
+Another came,--a man of mind so rare,
+He scarce had breathed the common earthly air.
+Knowledge was his, and wisdom so profound,
+All things he knew in heaven and earth. No bound
+To his accomplishment, until he sought
+The great wide-opened Gate,--and found it not.
+He stood perplext, and then cried wearily,
+"Pray give me entrance. I am done with earth."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait,
+Till Wisdom should direct him to the gate.
+
+I saw a woman come, noble and fair,
+And pure of heart, and in her goodly deeds
+More richly robed than Fashion's fairest queen.
+And to myself I said,--"Surely for her
+A way will open that she may go in!"
+She said no word, but stood and looked upon
+The shining walls, with eyes that answering shone.
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+She looked in vain, then set herself to wait,
+Till Love should help her to discern the Gate.
+
+And one there came, with clear keen face--a Judge
+Of men on earth, and famed for fearless truth.
+His robes were stainless and his heart was clean.
+"Entrance I crave," he cried, "to well-earned rest,--
+And mercy-tempered justice and no more."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He looked in vain, then set himself to wait
+Till Judgment should direct him to the Gate.
+
+And one there came, sad-eyed, his brow still raw
+From pressure of an earthly crown. He too
+Sought glorious entrance through wide-opened gates,
+And stood perplext. He had borne well his part,
+And served his people and his God, and died
+The Martyr's death, and yet he found no gate.
+"I fain would rest," he cried. "My life has been
+One ceaseless striving. I would enter in."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+Perplext he stood, then set himself to wait,
+Till Patient Waiting should discern the Gate.
+
+And one who had had riches beyond most,
+And yet subserved them to his Master's good,
+Came searching for the heavenly gates, and stood
+Amazed to find no opening in the walls.
+"I gave of all I had," he cried, "and held
+Nought as my own,--yet entrance is denied."
+And from the City wall the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+He stood perplext, then set himself to wait
+Till Charity should point him to the Gate.
+
+And many more there were who entrance craved,
+And sought the Great White Gates, and stood perplext.
+And ever, from within, the clear voice cried,--
+"_Come! Enter in! The Gate is open wide_."
+They sought in vain, and set themselves to wait
+Till Light was given them to discern the Gate.
+
+And then--a child in white came carolling
+Along the arduous road we all had trod.
+He stopped and looked, then laughed with childish glee,--
+"_Why wait ye here without? Come, follow me_!"--
+And passed, scarce bending, through the lowly door,--
+We heard his singing,--him we saw no more.
+
+The woman stooped and looked, with eyes that shone,
+Into the doorway where the child had gone;
+Then loosed her robes and dropped, and in a shift
+Of pure white samite, on her hands and knees
+She crept into the doorway and was gone,
+And we stood gazing at the way she went.
+
+And, one by one, they followed. First the Judge
+Laid by his robes, and bowed him to the ground,
+And followed--where the little child had led.
+And he whose brow had borne that weighty crown
+Bent low and followed,--where the little child had led.
+And he who knew so much of earthly things
+Discarded them, and, on his hands and knees,
+Crept through the doorway,--where the little child had led.
+And he of riches laid him in the dust
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, last of all, the War Lord cast aside
+His victor's wreaths, and all his pomp and pride,
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+And, groping through my fears, I bowed my head
+And followed,--where the little child had led.
+
+
+
+
+BRING US THE LIGHT
+
+
+I hear a clear voice calling, calling,
+Calling out of the night,
+O, you who live in the Light of Life,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We are bound in the chains of darkness,
+Our eyes received no sight,
+O, you who have never been bond or blind,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We live amid turmoil and horror,
+Where might is the only right,
+O, you to whom life is liberty,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+We stand in the ashes of ruins,
+We are ready to fight the fight,
+O, you whose feet are firm on the Rock,
+        Bring us the Light!
+
+You cannot--you shall not forget us,
+Out here in the darkest night,
+We are drowning men, we are dying men,
+        Bring, O, bring us the Light!
+
+
+
+
+ALL'S WELL!
+
+
+Is the pathway dark and dreary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are you broken, heart-sick, weary?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Dreariest roads shall have an ending,
+Broken hearts are for God's mending.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Are life's threads all sorely tangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Are the sweet chords strained and jangled?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Tangled threads are for Love's fingers,
+Trembling chords make heaven's sweet singers.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the burden past your bearing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Hopeless?--Friendless?--No one caring?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Burdens shared are light to carry,
+Love shall come though long He tarry.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the light for ever failing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Is the faint heart ever quailing?
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's strong arms are all around you,
+In the dark He sought and found you.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Is the future black with sorrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Do you dread each dark to-morrow?
+    God's in His heaven!
+Nought can come without His knowing.
+Come what may 'tis His bestowing.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+Peace and heaven lie all about us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+Peace within makes heaven without us.
+    God's in His heaven!
+God's great love shall fail us never,
+We are His, and His for ever.
+        All's well! All's well!
+          All's ... well!
+
+
+
+
+HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER
+
+
+Our feet have wandered, wandered far and wide,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+From that strait path in which the Master died,--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Low have we fallen from our high estate,
+Long have we lingered, lingered long and late;
+    _But the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+There is no sin His Love can not forgive;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No soul so stained His Love will not receive;
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+No load of sorrow but His touch can move,
+No hedge of thorns that can withstand His Love;
+    _For the tenderness of God
+    Is from age to age the same,
+    And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+So we will sing, whatever may betide;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+Nought but ourselves can keep us from His side;--
+  _His mercy endureth for ever_!
+What though no place we win in life's rough race,
+Our loss may prove the measure of His grace.
+        _For the tenderness of God
+        Is from age to age the same,
+        And His Mercy endureth for ever_!
+
+
+
+
+GOD IS GOOD
+
+
+I faced a future all unknown,
+No opening could I see,
+I heard without the night wind moan,
+The ways were dark to me,--
+"I cannot face it all alone
+O be Thou near to me!"
+
+I had done sums, and sums, and sums,
+Inside my aching head.
+I'd tried in vain to pierce the glooms
+That lay so thick ahead.
+But two and two will not make five,
+Nor will do when I'm dead.
+
+And then I thought of Him who fed
+Five thousand hungry men,
+With five small casual loaves of bread,--
+Would he were here again!--
+Dear God! hast Thou still miracles
+For the troubled sons of men?
+
+He has, He will, He worketh still,
+In ways most wonderful.
+He drew me from the miry clay,
+He filled my cup quite full.
+And while my heart can speak I'll tell
+His love unspeakable.
+
+"Rest in the Lord!"--I saw it there,
+On the tablets of the night.
+And, comforted, I dropped my care
+Where burdens have no weight.
+Then, trustfully, I turned and slept,
+And woke, and it was light.
+
+God works to-day as He did of old
+For the lightening of men's woes.
+His wonders never can be told,
+His goodness no man knows,--
+His Love, His Power, His Tenderness,--
+Nor shall do till life's close.
+
+His kindness is so very great,
+His greatness is so good.
+He looks upon my low estate,
+He gives me daily food.
+And nothing is too small for Him,--
+Yes, truly! God is good.
+
+
+
+
+SOME--AND SOME
+
+
+Some have much, and some have more,
+Some are rich, and some are poor,
+Some have little, some have less,
+Some have not a cent to bless
+Their empty pockets, yet possess
+True riches in true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE OF LIFE
+
+
+O, Prince of Life, Thy Life hath tuned
+All life to sweeter, loftier grace!
+Life's common rounds have wider bounds
+Since Thou hast trod life's common ways.
+
+O, Heart of Love! Thy Tenderness
+Still runs through life's remotest vein;
+And lust and greed and soulless creed
+Shall never rule the world again.
+
+O Life of Love!--The Good Intent
+Of God to man made evident,--
+All down the years, despite men's fears,
+Thy Power is still omnipotent.
+
+O Life! O Love! O Living Word!--
+Rent Vail, revealing God to man,--
+Help, Lord! Lest I should crucify,
+By thought or deed, Thy Love again.
+
+
+
+
+JUDGMENT DAY
+
+
+Every day is Judgment Day,
+Count on no to-morrow.
+He who will not, when he may,
+Act to-day, to-day, to-day,
+Doth but borrow
+Sorrow.
+
+
+
+
+DARKNESS AND LIGHT
+
+
+There is darkness still, gross darkness, Lord,
+On this fair earth of Thine.
+There are prisoners still in the prison-house,
+Where never a light doth shine.
+There are doors still bolted against Thee,
+There are faces set like a wall;
+And over them all the Shadow of Death
+Hangs like a pall.
+    _Do you hear the voices calling,
+    Out there in the black of the night?
+    Do you hear the sobs of the women,
+    Who are barred from the blessed light?
+    And the children,--the little children,--
+    Do you hear their pitiful cry?
+    O brothers, we must seek them,
+    Or there in the dark they die_!
+
+Spread the Light! Spread the Light!
+Till earth's remotest bounds have heard
+The glory of the Living Word;
+Till those that see not have their sight;
+Till all the fringes of the night
+Are lifted, and the long-closed doors
+Are wide for ever to the Light.
+Spread--the--Light!
+    _O then shall dawn the golden days,
+    To which true hearts are pressing;
+    When earth's discordant strains shall blend--
+    The one true God confessing;
+    When Christly thought and Christly deed
+    Shall bind each heart and nation,
+    In one Grand Brotherhood of Men,
+    And one high consecration_.
+
+
+
+
+INDIA
+
+
+A land of lights and shadows intervolved,
+A land of blazing sun and blackest night,
+A fortress armed, and guarded jealously,
+With every portal barred against the Light.
+
+A land in thrall to ancient mystic faiths,
+A land of iron creeds and gruesome deeds,
+A land of superstitions vast and grim,
+And all the noisome growths that Darkness breeds.
+
+Like sunny waves upon an iron-bound coast,
+The Light beats up against the close-barred doors,
+And seeks vain entrance, yet beats on and on,
+In hopeful faith which all defeat ignores.
+
+But--time shall come, when, like a swelling tide,
+The Word shall leap the barriers, and The Light
+Shall sweep the land; and Faith and Love and Hope
+Shall win for Christ this stronghold of the night.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE
+
+
+To lift the sombre fringes of the Night,
+To open lands long darkened to the Light,
+To heal grim wounds, to give the blind new sight,
+  Right mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        He thought of all men but himself,
+        Himself he never spared.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+Like Him he served, he walked life's troublous ways,
+With heart undaunted, and with calm, high face,
+And gemmed each day with deeds of sweetest grace;
+  Pull lovingly wrought he.
+         Forth to the fight he fared,
+         High things and great he dared,
+         In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+         Right lovingly wrought he.
+         He greatly loved--
+         He greatly lived--
+         And died right mightily.
+
+Like him he served, he would not turn aside;
+Nor home nor friends could his true heart divide;
+He served his Master, and naught else beside,
+  Right faithfully wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right faithfully wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+He passed like light across the darkened land,
+And dying, left behind him this command,
+"The door is open! So let it ever stand!"
+  Full mightily wrought he.
+        Forth to the fight he fared,
+        High things and great he dared,
+        In His Master's might, to spread the Light,
+        Right mightily wrought he.
+        He greatly loved--
+        He greatly lived--
+        And died right mightily.
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE THE BUILDER
+
+
+        _With a will!
+        With a will!
+    With a will and surely!
+        Without fail,
+        Drive each nail,
+    Build we so, securely_!
+
+The Pioneer,--the Undaunted One,
+Worn with long journeyings through the Great Dark Land,
+Rests for a season from his mighty labours,
+And seeks fresh vigour in a change of toil.
+
+        _Labour is sweet,
+              When hands and hearts are willing,--
+        Who truly works
+              Is God's own law fulfilling_.
+
+With his own hands he helps to build a temple,
+Here, in the wilds, a temple to his God,
+Rough-hewn and roughly thatched, but still a house
+Of prayer, a holy place, and consecrate
+To Him whose noblest temples are not built
+With hands, but in the opened hearts of men.
+
+        _The Master worked,
+              With His own hands expressing
+        His sure belief
+              That therein lay God's blessing_.
+
+Thus, as he toils, with axe, and nail, and hammer,
+His heart rejoices,--so the Master worked,
+And by His lowly toil for ever stamped
+True labour with its highest dignity.
+
+              _With a will!
+              With a will!
+        With a will and surely!
+              Without fail,
+              Drive each nail,
+        Build we so, securely_!
+
+
+
+
+LIVINGSTONE'S SOLILOQUY
+
+
+    "My heart to-day
+Is strangely full of home!
+How is it
+With the dear ones over there?
+    Five years!
+    Five long-drawn years!
+    And one short moment is enough
+      To alter life's complexion for eternity!
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    How is it with you all
+    At Home?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And you, my dearest one,
+Are ever nearer to me than the rest!
+    Your body lies
+    Beneath the baobab
+    In far Shapanga;
+But your soul is ever nearest
+    When I need you most.
+Where a man's treasure is
+    His heart is.
+And half my heart is buried there with you,
+And half works on for Africa.
+    Home! Home! Home!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Why should such thought of home
+    Drag at my heart to-day?
+    Why should I longer roam?
+    Why should I not go home?
+Five years of toilsome wanderings
+    May claim a rest!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Nay! God knows best!
+    When He sees well
+He'll take me home and give me well-earned rest.
+    The work is not yet done.
+    This land of Night
+Is not yet fully opened to the Son
+    And His fair Light.
+    But--when the work is done--
+Ah--then!--how gladly will I go--
+    Home!--Home--Home!--
+    To rest!"
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI
+
+
+Where the great green combers break in thunder on the barrier reefs,--
+Where, unceasing, sounds the mighty diapason of the deep,--
+Ringed in bursts of wild wave-laughter, ringed in leagues of flying
+        foam,--
+Long lagoons of softest azure, curving beaches white as snow,
+Lap in sweetness and in beauty all the isles of Owhyhee.
+
+Land more lovely sun ne'er shone on than these isles of Owhyhee,
+Spendthrift Nature's wild profusion fashioned them like fairy bowers;
+Yet behind--below the sweetness,--underneath the passion-flowers,
+Lurked grim deeds, and things of horror, grisly Deaths, and ceaseless
+        Fears,
+Fears and Deaths that walked in Darkness, grisly Deaths and ceaseless
+        Fears.
+
+
+NOTE.--Kapiolani--pronounced Kah-pee-o-lah-ny, with slight accent on
+second syllable.
+
+Mauna Loa--Mona Lo-ah.
+
+Kilauea--Kil-o-ee-ah.
+
+Halé-Mau-Mau--Ha-lee-Mah-oo-Mah-oo.
+
+On the slope of Mauna Loa, in the pit of Kilauea,
+In the lake of molten lava, in the sea of living fire,
+In the place of Ceaseless Burnings, in her home of Wrath and Terror,
+Dwelt the dreadful goddess Pélé--Pélé of the Lake of Fire;
+Pélé of the place of torment, Pélé of the Lake of Fire.
+
+In the dim far-off beginnings, Pélé flung the islands up
+From the bottom of the ocean, from the darksome underworld;
+Built them for a house to dwell in, built them for herself alone,
+So she claimed them and their people, claimed them as her very own,
+And they feared her, and they worshipped--
+Pélé, the Remorseless One.
+
+But, at times, when she lay sleeping, underneath the lake of fire,
+They forgot to do her reverence, they forgot the fiery one;
+Then in wrath the goddess thundered from the Lake of Ceaseless
+        Burnings,
+Flamed and thundered in her anger, till the very skies were red,
+Poured black ruin on the island, shook it to its rocky bed.
+
+Then in fear the people trembled and bethought them of their sins,
+And the great high priest of Pélé came like Death down Mauna Loa,
+Came to soothe the awful goddess, came to choose the sacrifice,
+Chose the fairest youth or maiden, pointed with a deadly finger,
+Led them weeping up the mountain, victims to the Lake of Fire.
+
+On the snowy beach of coral, youths and maidens full of laughter,
+Flower-bedecked and full of laughter, sported gaily in the sun;
+Up above, the slender palm-trees swung and shivered in the trade-wind,
+All around them flowers and spices,--red hibiscus, sweet pandanus,
+And behind, the labouring mountain groaned and growled unceasingly.
+
+        "_Sea and sunshine,
+        Care is moonshine,
+      All our hearts are light with laughter.
+        We are free
+        As sun and sea,
+  What care we for what comes after?"
+
+            Bride.
+
+  "Life was sweet before Love found her,
+     In his faery bowers.
+        Life is sweeter,
+        And completer,
+        Since he found her,
+        There, and crowned her
+        With his fadeless flowers."
+
+            Bridegroom.
+  "Love sought long before he found her,
+  Ne'er was love like ours!
+  Long he sought her,
+  E'er he caught her.
+  But he found her
+  There, and bound her
+  With his fadeless flowers."
+
+    "Gaily sporting,
+    Pleasure courting,
+  Nought know we of care or sorrow.
+    We are free
+    As sun and sea,
+  What care we what comes to-morrow_?"
+
+Louder still and louder, Pélé roars within her lake of fire,
+And the youths and maidens trembling look in fear up Mauna Loa,
+Dreading sight of that grim figure stalking down the mountain side;
+For when Pélé claims her victims none the summons may avoid.
+Pélé calls for whom she chooses--whom she chooses goes,--and dies.
+
+See! He comes! They start in terror. There, along the mountain side,
+Death comes stalking, slowly, surely,--_Pélé must be satisfied_.
+Which among them will he summon, with his dreadful pointing finger?
+All their hearts become as water, all their faces blanch with fear,
+Deaths they suffer in the waiting, while dread Death draws near.
+
+Now he stands in dreadful menace, seeking with a baleful eye
+For the sweetest and the fairest--for the meetest sacrifice.
+"Choose, O choose!"--they cry in terror; "choose your victim and be
+        gone,
+For we each die deaths while waiting, till dread Pélé's choice be
+        known!
+Choose your victim, Priest of Pélé, choose your victim and be gone!"
+
+Slowly points the dreadful finger, marks the newly-wedded bride;
+All the rest, save one, fall from her, as the living from the dead.
+From the first of time's beginnings Pélé ne'er has been gainsayed;
+Pélé chooses whom she chooses, each and all the choice abide,
+For the common good and safety,--_Pélé must be satisfied_!
+
+Still the mountain reels and shudders, still the awful thunders peal,
+Like a snake the ruthless finger holds them all in terror still;
+One is there whose life is broken, parted from his chosen bride,
+But the threatening finger, heedless of the lives it may divide,
+Lights upon a tiny maiden,--_Pélé must be satisfied_!
+
+Slow, the grim high-priest of Pélé turns to climb the mountain side;
+Slow, the victims turn and follow,--_Pélé must be satisfied_.
+And the rest shrink, dumb and helpless, daring not to lift an eye,
+And beyond, the labouring mountain cracks and belches living fires,
+Till the island reels and shudders at dread Pélé's agonies.
+
+But a greater one than Pélé walked the mountain side that day;--
+To them, climbing, dumb and dim-eyed--like a flash of heavenly flame,
+Swift and bright as saving angel, fair Kapiolani came,
+Swiftly as a saving angel, gleaming like a heavenly flame,
+Thirsting like a sword for battle, fair Kapiolani came.
+
+Radiant with the faith of martyrs, all aglow with new-born zeal,
+Burning to release the people from the bondage and the thrall,
+From the deadly thrall of Pélé, from the ever-threatening doom,
+From the everlasting menace, from the awful lake of fire,
+Like a bright avenging angel fair Kapiolani came!
+
+"Hear me now, you priest of Pélé, and ye men of Owhyhee!
+Hearken! ye who cringe and tremble, at the sound of Kilauea,
+Fearful of the wrath of Pélé, fearful of the lake of fire!--
+Priest, I say there is no Pélé! Pélé is not--never was!
+Pélé lives but in your legends--there is only one true God!"
+
+"Curséd, thrice accurséd, you who thus great Pélé do defy,
+Here, upon her sacred mountain, of a surety you shall die!
+Pélé, mighty Pélé, Vengeance! Strike her with thy dreadful doom!
+So let every scoffer perish!--Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+And Kapiolani answered--"Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+
+Loud the mountain roared and thundered; shuddered all who heard and
+        saw,
+Dauntless stood Kapiolani, dauntless with her faithful few.
+"Come!" she cried again. "Come, Pélé! Smite me with thy dreadful doom!
+I am waiting, mighty Pélé!--Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+And the mountain roared and thundered;--but the goddess did not come.
+
+"Hearken, Priest! You have deceived us. All your life has been a lie,
+Black your heart is, red your hands are, with the blood of those who
+        die.
+All these years you have misled us with your awful threats of doom.
+Now it ends! I do defy you, and your goddess I defy.
+Pélé, is not, never has been. All your worship is a lie.
+
+"I will climb your sacred mountain. I will dare your lake of fire.
+I will eat your sacred berries. I will dare your goddess there,
+There and then to wreak her vengeance, then and there to come in fire,
+And with awful burnings end me, now and for eternity;
+But if Pélé does not end me, then her worship ends this day."
+
+Then the great high priest of Pélé turned to fiery Kilauea.
+"Come!" he said, "the goddess calls you!"--and they climbed the
+        mountain side,
+Up the slopes of Mauna Loa, to the hell of Kilauea,
+With the bright blue sky above them, with the blazing sun above them,
+While the mountain shook beneath them, and its head was wrapped in
+        fire.
+
+Fearful, hopeful, all the people crept along the shaking path,
+Hardly breathing at their daring, thus to brave dread Pélé's wrath,
+Bending low lest she should see them, breathing soft lest she should
+        hear,
+Certain that Kapiolani would be sacrificed that day,
+To the vengeance of the goddess, to the anger of Pélé.
+
+        "_As little child
+        On mother's breast,
+        O rest, my heart,
+        Have rest!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Is surely blest.
+        So rest, my heart,
+        Have rest_!
+        _As warrior bold
+        His foes among,
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong!
+        Who rests on Him
+        Shall ne'er go wrong.
+        Be strong, my heart,
+        Be strong_!"
+
+Thus, Kapiolani, dauntless, singing softly as she went,
+With a face as calm and fearless as a child on pleasure bent,
+Climbed the side of Mauna Loa, to the dreadful lake of fire,
+While the mountain shook and thundered, while the people blanched and
+        shuddered,
+Climbed to Halé-Mau-Mau,--to the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+All the people waited trembling, stood afar off pale and trembling,
+While Kapiolani, fearless, climbed up to the lake of fire,
+With the fiery glow all round her, with a heavenly light about her.
+Shining with a radiance brighter than since time began had shone
+From the Lake of Ceaseless Burnings, from the dreadful lake of fire.
+
+"Here," she cried, "I pluck your berries, Pélé,--and I give you none!
+See! I eat your sacred berries, Pélé,--and I give you none!
+Pélé, here I break your tabus! Come, with all your dreadful fires!
+Burn me, Pélé! I defy you!--Pélé! Pélé! Pélé! come!"
+Come now, Pélé, or for ever own that you are overcome!
+
+"Pélé comes not. Is she sleeping? Is she wandering to-day?
+Is she busy with her burnings? Has the goddess nought to say?
+Hear me, friends!--There is no Pélé! One true God alone there is.
+His, this mountain! His, these burnings! You, and I, and all
+        things,--His!
+Goodness, Mercy, Loving-Kindness, Life Eternal--all are His!
+
+"From this day, let no man tremble, when he feels the mountain shake!
+From this day, no man or maiden shall be killed for Pélé's sake!
+From this day, we break the thraldom of the dreadful lake of fire.
+From this day, we pass for ever from the scourge of Pélé's rod.--
+From this day, Thou, Lord Jehovah, be our one and only God!"
+
+
+
+
+THEY COME!
+
+
+From North and South, and East and West,
+      They come!
+The sorely tried, the much oppressed,
+Their Faith and Love to manifest,
+      They come!
+They come to tell of work well done,
+They come to tell of kingdoms won,
+To worship at the Great White Throne,
+      They come!
+In a noble consecration,
+With a sound of jubilation.
+      They come! They come!
+
+Through tribulations and distress,
+      They come!
+Through perils great and bitterness,
+Through persecutions pitiless,
+      They come!
+They come by paths the martyrs trod,
+They come from underneath the rod,
+Climbing through darkness up to God,
+      They come!
+Out of mighty tribulation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+From every land beneath the sun,
+      They come!
+To tell of mighty victories won;
+Unto the Father through the Son,
+      They come!
+
+They come--the victors in the fight,
+They come--the blind restored to sight,
+From deepest Darkness into Light;
+      They come!
+In a holy exaltation,
+With a sound of jubilation,
+      They come! They come!
+
+
+
+
+PROCESSIONALS
+
+
+NORTH
+
+We come from the gloom of the shadowy trail
+  Out away on the fringe of the Night,
+Where no man could tell, when the darkness fell,
+  If his eyes would behold the light.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are wanderers still, without ever a guide,
+  Out there on the fringe of the Night,
+They are bond and blind,--to their darkness resigned,
+  With never a wish for the Light.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+SOUTH
+
+We come from the land of the blazing sun,
+  From the land that was blacker than night,--
+From the white-hot sand of the Great Dark Land,
+  Where Might was the only Right.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There are sorrows still, there is darkness still,
+  There are still gross wrongs to set right;
+There are grim black stains, there are peoples in chains,
+  To be loosed from the grip of the Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+EAST
+
+We come from the East, from the glowing East,
+  Where the Past, with its hand of ice,
+Still reaches across through its ages of loss,
+  And still holds the land like a vice.
+      To--the--Night,--
+      To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+      Came--the--Light,
+      Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+O, the sorrowful ones of the caste-bound lands,
+  How they long for the wider way!
+How they sigh in the gloom of their close-barred tomb
+  For the Light of the Coming Day!
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light,
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+WEST
+
+We come from the Isles, from the Western Isles,
+  From the isles of the sunny seas,--
+Where the smiles and the wiles, with which Nature beguiles,
+  Are but shrouds for her tragedies.
+        To--the--Night,--
+        To--the--Night,--
+    To the darkness and the sorrow of the Night,--
+        Came--the--Light,
+        Came--the--Light,
+    Came the Wonder and the Glory of the Light.
+
+There is Darkness more deadly than Death itself,
+  There is Blindness beyond that of sight.
+There are souls fast bound in the depths profound
+  Of unconscious and heedless Night.
+        To--their--Night,--
+        To--their--Night,--
+     To the darkness and the sorrow of their Night,
+        Take--the--Light!
+        Take--the--Light!
+    Take the Wonder and the Glory of the Light!
+
+
+
+
+FAITH
+
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to live from day to day,
+With tranquil heart to do my simple part,
+And, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to trust, if not to know;
+With quiet mind in all things Thee to find,
+And, child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go.
+
+Lord, give me faith!--to leave it all to Thee,
+The future is Thy gift, I would not lift
+The vail Thy Love has hung 'twixt it and me.
+
+
+
+
+"I WILL!"
+
+
+Say once again Thy sweet "I will!"
+  In answer to my prayers.
+"Lord, if Thou wilt!"--
+                     --"I will!
+  Rise up above thy cares!"
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE TE DEUM OF THE COMMONPLACE
+
+A FRAGMENT
+
+
+    _With hearts responsive
+    And enfranchised eyes,
+    We thank Thee, Lord,--_
+For all things beautiful, and good, and true;
+For things that seemed not good yet turned to good;
+For all the sweet compulsions of Thy will
+That chased, and tried, and wrought us to Thy shape;
+For things unnumbered that we take of right,
+And value first when first they are withheld;
+For light and air; sweet sense of sound and smell;
+For ears to hear the heavenly harmonies;
+For eyes to see the unseen in the seen;
+For vision of The Worker in the work;
+For hearts to apprehend Thee everywhere;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all the wonders of this wondrous world;--
+The pure pearl splendours of the coming day,
+The breaking east,--the rosy flush,--the Dawn,--
+For that bright gem in morning's coronal,
+That one lone star that gleams above the glow;
+For that high glory of the impartial sun,--
+The golden noonings big with promised life;
+The matchless pageant of the evening skies.
+The wide-flung gates,--the gleams of Paradise,--
+Supremest visions of Thine artistry;
+The sweet, soft gloaming, and the friendly stars;
+The vesper stillness, and the creeping shades;
+The moon's pale majesty; the pulsing dome,
+Wherein we feel Thy great heart throbbing near;
+For sweet laborious days and restful nights;
+For work to do, and strength to do the work;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For those first tiny, prayerful-folded hands
+That pierce the winter's crust, and softly bring
+Life out of death, the endless mystery;--
+For all the first sweet flushings of the Spring;
+The greening earth, the tender heavenly blue;
+The rich brown furrows gaping for the seed;
+For all Thy grace in bursting bud and leaf,--
+The bridal sweetness of the orchard trees,
+Rose-tender in their coming fruitfulness;
+The fragrant snow-drifts flung upon the breeze;
+The grace and glory of the fruitless flowers,
+Ambrosial beauty their reward and ours;
+For hedgerows sweet with hawthorn and wildrose;
+For meadows spread with gold and gemmed with stars;
+For every tint of every tiniest flower;
+For every daisy smiling to the sun;
+For every bird that builds in joyous hope;
+For every lamb that frisks beside its dam;
+For every leaf that rustles in the wind;
+For spiring poplar, and for spreading oak;
+For queenly birch, and lofty swaying elm,
+For the great cedar's benedictory grace;
+For earth's ten thousand fragrant incenses,--
+Sweet altar-gifts from leaf and fruit and flower;
+For every wondrous thing that greens and grows;
+For wide-spread cornlands,--billowing golden seas;
+For rippling stream, and white-laced waterfall;
+For purpling mountains; lakes like silver shields;
+For white-piled clouds that float against the blue;
+For tender green of far-off upland slopes;
+For fringing forests and far-gleaming spires;
+For those white peaks, serene and grand and still;
+For that deep sea--a shallow to Thy love;
+For round green hills, earth's full benignant breasts;
+For sun-chased shadows flitting o'er the plain;
+For gleam and gloom; for all life's counter-change;
+For hope that quickens under darkening skies;
+For all we see; for all that underlies,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that sweet impulse of the coming Spring,
+For ripening Summer, and the harvesting;
+For all the rich Autumnal glories spread,--
+The flaming pageant of the ripening woods;
+The fiery gorse, the heather-purpled hills;
+The rustling leaves that fly before the wind.
+And lie below the hedgerows whispering;
+For meadows silver-white with hoary dew;
+For sheer delight of tasting once again
+That first crisp breath of winter in the air;
+The pictured pane; the new white world without;
+The sparkling hedgerow's witchery of lace;
+The soft white flakes that fold the sleeping earth;
+The cold without, the cheerier warmth within;
+For red-heart roses in the winter snows;
+For all the flower and fruit of Christmas-tide;
+For all the glowing heart of Christmas-tide;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all Thy ministries,--
+For morning mist, and gently-falling dew;
+For summer rains, for winter ice and snow;
+For whispering wind and purifying storm;
+For the reft clouds that show the tender blue;
+For the forked flash and long tumultuous roll;
+For mighty rains that wash the dim earth clean;
+For the sweet promise of the seven-fold bow;
+For the soft sunshine, and the still calm night;
+For dimpled laughter of soft summer seas;
+For latticed splendour of the sea-borne moon;
+For gleaming sands, and granite-frontled cliffs;
+For flying spume, and waves that whip the skies;
+For rushing gale, and for the great glad calm;
+For Might so mighty, and for Love so true,
+With equal mind,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For maiden sweetness, and for strength of men;
+For love's pure madness and its high estate;
+For parentage--man's nearest reach to Thee;
+For kinship, sonship, friendship, brotherhood
+Of men--one Father--one great family;
+For glimpses of the greater in the less;
+For touch of Thee in wife and child and friend;
+For noble self-denying motherhood;
+For saintly maiden lives of rare perfume;
+For little pattering feet and crooning songs;
+For children's laughter, and sweet wells of truth;
+For sweet child-faces and the sweet wise tongues;
+For childhood's faith that lifts us near to Thee
+And bows us with our own disparity;
+For childhood's sweet unconscious beauty sleep;
+For all that childhood teaches us of Thee;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For doubts that led us to the larger trust;
+For ills to conquer; for the love that fights;
+For that strong faith that vanquished axe and flame
+And gave us Freedom for our heritage;
+For clouds and darkness, and the still, small voice;
+For sorrows bearing fruit of nobler life;
+For those sore strokes that broke us at Thy feet;
+For peace in strife; for gain in seeming loss;
+For every loss that wrought the greater gain;
+For that sweet juice from bitterness out-pressed;
+For all this sweet, strange paradox of life;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For friends above; for friends still left below;
+For the rare links invisible between;
+For Thine unsearchable greatness; for the vails
+Between us and the things we may not know;
+For those high times when hearts take wing and rise
+And float secure above earth's mysteries;
+For that wide, open avenue of prayer,
+All radiant with Thy glorious promises;
+For sweet hearts tuned to noblest charity;
+For great hearts toiling in the outer dark;
+For friendly hands stretched out in time of need;
+For every gracious thought and word and deed;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For songbird answering song on topmost bough;
+For myriad twitterings of the simpler folk;
+For that sweet lark that carols up the sky;
+For that low fluting on the summer night;
+For distant bells that tremble on the wind;
+For great round organ tones that rise and fall,
+Entwined with earthly voices tuned to heaven,
+And bear our hearts above the high-arched roof;
+For Thy great voice that dominates the whole,
+And shakes the heavens, and silences the earth;
+For hearts alive to earth's sweet minstrelsies;
+For souls attuned to heavenly harmonies;
+For apprehension, and for ears to hear,--
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For that supremest token of Thy Love,--
+Thyself made manifest in human flesh;
+For that pure life beneath the Syrian sky--
+The humble toil, the sweat, the bench, the saw,
+The nails well-driven, and the work well-done;
+For all its vast expansions; for the stress
+Of those three mighty years;
+For all He bore of our humanity;
+His hunger, thirst, His homelessness and want,
+His weariness that longed for well-earned rest;
+For labour's high ennoblement through Him,
+Who laboured with His hands for daily bread;
+For Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Magdalene,
+For Nazareth and Bethany;--not least
+For that dark hour in lone Gethsemane;
+For that high cross upraised on Calvary;
+The broken seals,--the rolled-back stone--The Way,
+For ever opened through His life in death;
+For that brief glimpse vouchsafed within the vail;
+For all His gracious life; and for His Death,
+With low-bowed heads and hearts impassionate,
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For all life's beauties, and their beauteous growth;
+For Nature's laws and Thy rich providence;
+For all Thy perfect processes of life;
+For the minute perfection of Thy work,
+Seen and unseen, in each remotest part;
+For faith, and works, and gentle charity;
+For all that makes for quiet in the world;
+For all that lifts man from his common rut;
+For all that knits the silken bond of peace;
+For all that lifts the fringes of the night,
+And lights the darkened corners of the earth;
+For every broken gate and sundered bar;
+For every wide-flung window of the soul;
+For that Thou bearest all that Thou hast made;
+        _We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+For perfect childlike confidence in Thee;
+For childlike glimpses of the life to be;
+For trust akin to my child's trust in me;
+For hearts at rest through confidence in Thee;
+For hearts triumphant in perpetual hope;
+For hope victorious through past hopes fulfilled;
+For mightier hopes born of the things we know;
+For faith born of the things we may not know;
+For hope of powers increased ten thousand fold;
+For that last hope of likeness to Thyself,
+When hope shall end in glorious certainty;
+    --_With quickened hearts
+    That find Thee everywhere,
+    We thank Thee, Lord_!
+
+
+
+
+POLICEMAN X
+
+IF HE WOULD BUT DARE
+
+
+I stood, unseen, within a sumptous room,
+Where one clothed all in white sat silently.
+So sweet his presence that a pure soft light
+Rayed from him, and I saw--most wondrous sight!--
+The Love of God shrined in the flesh once more,
+And glowing softly like a misted sun.
+His back was towards me. Had I seen his face
+Methought I must have fallen. I was wrong.
+The door flung wide. With hasty step
+Came one in royal robes and all the pride
+And pomp of majesty, and on his head
+A helmet with an eagle poised for flight.
+He stood amazed at sight of him in white,
+His lips apart in haughty questioning.
+But no words came. Breathless, he raised his hand
+And gave salute as to a mightier lord,
+And doffed his helm, and stood. And in his eyes I saw
+The reflex glory of his Master's face.
+
+The Master spoke. His voice so soft and sweet
+Thrilled my heart's core and shook me where I stood,--
+    "_Time runs apace. The New Time is at hand.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+In dumb amaze the other shook his head.
+    "_Thy brother of the North has cast his lot
+    For peace. Alone he cannot compass it.
+    Shall it be Peace or War? It rests with_ THEE."
+Again the other shook his head amazed,
+But never swerved a hair's breadth in his gaze.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Join hands with him,
+    Thy Northern brother, with the Western Isles,
+    And with their brethren of the Further West,
+    And Peace shall reign to Earth's remotest bound_."
+And still the other shook his head amazed.
+    "_Shall it be Peace or War? Millions of lives
+    Are in thy hand, women and men and those
+    My little ones. Their souls are mine. Their lives
+    Are in thy hand. Of thee I shall require them.
+    Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "I am but one,"
+The other answered with reluctant tongue.
+  "_Thou art_ THE _one and so I come to thee.
+  For Peace or War the scales are in thy hand.
+  As thou decidest now, so shall it be.
+  But,--as thou sayest now, so be it
+  With thee--then.
+  Shall it be Peace or War? Nay--look_!--"
+And at the word--where stood the wall--a space;
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,--
+The kingdoms of the earth, and every kingdom
+Groaned with the burden of its armour-plate.
+And the weight grew till man was crushed beneath,
+And lost his manhood and became a cog
+To roll along the great machine of war.
+And, as he watched, the War-Lord's eyes flamed fire,
+His nostrils panted like a mettled steed's.
+This was the game of games he knew and loved,
+And every fibre of his soul was knit
+To see what passed.
+    Then,--in a sun-white land,
+Where a great sea poured out through narrow gates
+To meet a greater,--came the clang of arms,
+And drew the nations like a tocsin peal,
+Till all the sun-white sands ran red, and earth
+Sweat blood, and writhed in fiery ashes, and
+Grew sick with all the reek and stench of war,
+And heaven drew back behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman;--
+And the hoarse whisper of the War-Lord's voice,--
+  "Britain fights once again for Barbary
+  Lest others occupy to her undoing.
+  And Italy and Greece and Turkey join,
+  To beat back France and Spain."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions marched and wound 'mid snowy peaks,
+And came upon a smiling vine-clad land,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The hoarse voice spoke,--
+    "The provinces she stole
+    And lost, Austria takes back."
+Again I saw,--
+Where white-capped hosts crept swiftly to the straits
+Twixt old and new, and drenched the land with blood,
+And filled it with the reek and stench of war.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Despite his love of peace,
+        Our brother of the North has seized his chance,
+        And got his heart's desire."
+Again I saw,--
+Where legions poured through the eternal snows,
+And legions swept o'er every sea to meet
+Their long-expected onslaught, and the dead
+Were piled in mountains, and the snows ran red.
+The War-Lord spoke,--
+        "Up, Britain, up! Strike home!
+        Or drop your rod of Empire in the dust--
+        One of you dies this day."
+Again I saw,--
+Beneath us, legions swarming to the West,
+Devouring kingdoms till they reached the sea,
+And filling all the lands with blood and fire.
+The War-Lord gazed, with eyes that blazed and flamed,
+And panted like a soul in torment,--"Mine!
+                       All these are mine!"
+  "_Thine, sayest thou?--Thine now,
+  When thou shalt stand before me--then,
+  I shall require them of thee_."
+                 --Thus the voice
+Of Him who sat and gazed with sorrowing face,
+While all the earth beneath us reeked of war,
+And heaven grew dim behind the battle-clouds.
+And ever, through the clamour of the strife,
+I heard the ceaseless wailing of a child,
+And the sobbing, sobbing, sobbing, endless
+Sobbing of a reft and broken woman.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"
+A two-edged sword
+Could cut no sharper than the gentle voice
+Of Him who bowed with sorrow at the sight
+Of man destroying man for sake of gain.
+I waited, breathless, for the warrior's word.
+But no word came. His heart was with his men.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War? Look yet again_!"
+And at their feet, like mighty map unrolled,
+Lay all the kingdoms of the earth--at peace.
+The glad earth smiled beneath a smiling heaven,
+And brought forth fruit for all her children's needs.
+The desert lands had blossomed, and the earth
+Was large enough for all. Her voice came up,
+A softly-rounded murmur of content,
+Like bees that labour gladly on the comb.
+The reign of Peace,--and yet an army lay
+Couchant and watchful, ready for the strife
+If strife need be,--the strife of quelling strife,--
+An army culled in part from all the lands.
+Owning no master but the public weal,
+And prompt to quench the first red spark of war.
+Even as we watched, a frontier turmoil rose,
+And therewith rose the army, and the fire
+Died out while scarce begun. The smoke of it
+Was scarcely seen, the noise scarce heard; for all
+The lands, sore-spent with war, had welcomed Peace,
+And bowed to mightier forces than their own;
+Men cast aside their armour and their arms,
+And lived men's lives and were no more machines.
+  "_Wars shall there be, indeed, till that last war
+  That shall wage war on War and sweep the earth
+  Of all war-wagers and of all mankind_."
+So spake the voice and ceased. And still we gazed,--
+A great white building, on its topmost tower
+A great white flag, proclaimed a World's Tribunal
+For the righting of the nations' wrongs.
+And that great army answered its behests
+And owned allegiance to no other head.
+Peace reigned triumphant. On the quiet air
+I heard the merry laughter of the child,
+And the great sigh of gratitude that rose
+From all the mother-hearts of all the world.
+  "_Shall it be Peace or War_?"--
+                Once more the voice,--
+  "_To one man is it given to decide_,
+  THOU ART THE MAN! _The scales are in_ THY _hand.
+  Think well, and say,--Shall it be Peace or War?
+  As thou, shalt say so shall it be with thee_."
+But, ere the answer came, all vanished like
+A scrap of paper in a fire of coals.
+Then, with a crackling peal, the thick black vail
+That hangs before the face of men was rent,
+And in the instant lightning flash I saw,--
+
+A chamber hung with black and heaped with flowers,
+Where candles tall flashed white on watchers' swords.
+High on a high-raised bier lay one at rest--
+Crosses and orders on his quiet breast,
+Head proudly cushioned on his country's flag,
+Hands calmly folded on his helmet's crest,
+His back to earth, his mute face turned to heaven,--
+Answering the summons of his Over-Lord.
+I strained my eyes upon his face to learn
+Thereon his answer. But the dark vail dropped,
+And left me wondering what his word had been.
+Had I but read his face I should have known
+Who lay there.--Man, like other men? Or one
+Who grasped the greater things, and by his will
+Brought Peace on Earth and drew Earth nearer Heaven.
+The bells beat softly on the midnight air
+Proclaiming the New Time? Shall it be Peace?
+A voice within me cried and would not cease,
+"_One man could do it if he would but dare_."
+
+NOTE.--This was written in 1898, at the time of the Tzar's Rescript to
+the Powers suggesting a Peace Conference with a view to the lightening
+of the ever-growing burden of arms.
+
+The possibilities have changed their faces, but at heart the great
+problem remains much the same. And above all, the great fact remains
+that if Great Britain, Germany, Russia and the United States joined
+hands for a World Peace, they could ensure it. Germany is still
+mistrustful. On her lies a great responsibility.
+
+
+
+
+YOUR PLACE
+
+
+Is your place a small place?
+      Tend it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Is your place a large place?
+      Guard it with care!--
+            He set you there.
+
+Whatever your place, it is
+      Not yours alone, but His
+            Who set you there.
+
+
+
+
+IN NARROW WAYS
+
+
+Some lives are set in narrow ways,
+By Love's wise tenderness.
+They seem to suffer all their days
+Life's direst storm and stress.
+But God shall raise them up at length,
+His purposes are sure,
+He for their weakness shall give strength,
+For every ill a cure.
+
+
+
+
+SHUT WINDOWS
+
+(_For the Braille Magazine_)
+
+
+When the outer eye grows dim,
+Turns the inner eye to Him,
+  Who makes darkness light.
+Fairer visions you may see,
+Live in nobler company,
+And in larger liberty,
+  Than the men of sight.
+
+He sometimes shuts the windows but to open hidden doors,
+Where all who will may wander bold and free,
+For His house has many mansions, and the mansions many floors,
+And every room is free to you and me.
+
+
+
+
+PROPS
+
+
+Earthly props are useless,
+      On Thy grace I fall;
+Earthly strength is weakness,
+      Father, on Thee I call,--
+      For comfort, strength, and guidance,
+      O, give me all!
+
+
+
+
+BED-ROCK
+
+
+I have been tried,
+Tried in the fire,
+And I say this,
+As the result of dire distress,
+And tribulation sore--
+That a man's happiness doth not consist
+Of that he hath, but of the faith
+And trust in God's great love
+These bring him to.
+Nought else is worth consideration.
+For the peace a man may find
+In perfect trust in God
+Outweighs all else, and is
+The only possible foundation
+For true happiness.
+
+
+
+
+AFTER WORK
+
+
+Lord, when Thou seest that my work is done,
+Let me not linger on,
+With failing powers,
+Adown the weary hours,--
+A workless worker in a world of work.
+But, with a word,
+Just bid me home,
+And I will come
+Right gladly,--
+Yea, right gladly
+Will I come.
+
+
+
+
+KAPIOLANI IN RAROTONGAN
+
+
+Mr. F.W. Christian, of the Polynesian Society of New Zealand, whose
+personal acquaintance with the South Sea Islands and their dialects is
+unique, is translating "Kapiolani" into Rarotongan. He writes--
+
+"I enclose a four-line stanza which, translating your first line--'Where
+the great green combers break,' etc.--strictly according to East
+Polynesian ballad-metres, ushers in your great theme.
+
+"'Kapiolani' will, I trust, God willing, become a household classic
+in many of the Eastern Islands, such as Rapa and Manahiki, where the
+Rarotongan language runs current as a sort of Lingua Franca or Sacred
+Esperanto, thanks to the magnificent translation of the Bible by the
+great missionary, John Williams. I have translated the poem most carefully,
+and as accurately as possible into the peculiar metre and cast of
+expression which an Eastern Polynesian 'Atu-Pe'e, or Versifier, would
+immediately grasp as idiomatic. The first lines run thus:--"
+
+
+Tei te ngai mangúngú--anga no te an ngaru roro'a
+Ki rúnga no te púnga matoato'a
+Ngàru kerekere, ngáru mamaáta e tini
+Ki rúnga no te 'Akau-Pipíni.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bees in Amber, by John Oxenham
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