il^fSll&EMS&'S- 4 itu^f ffen this volume was taken. HOME USE RULES. Books sot needed for instruction or re- search are returnable within 4 weeks. Volumes of periodi- cals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For special purposes they are given out for a limited time. Borrowers should not use their library privileges for the bene- fit of other perrons. ' Books flot needed during recess periods' should be returned to the library, or arrange- ments made for their return during borrow- er's absence, if wanted. Books needed by more than one p«rson are held on the reserve list. Books of special value and gift books, when the giver wishes it, are not allowed to circulate. Cornell University Library PR 6005.A98S64 Songs of summer, and other poems, by C. Wh 3 1924 013 594 860 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013594860 iI-> u^ ^ SONGS OF SUMMER BV THE SAME AUTHOR AD ASTRA SONGS AND LYRICS DAVID AND BATHSHUA SONGS OF SUMMER AND OTHER POEMS BY C. WHITWORTH WYNNE LONDON GRANT RICHARDS 48 Leicester Square 1903 %t ^3 06 ^ghted in the Un All rights reserved CopyHghted in the United States CHISWICK J'RESS : CHAKLES WHITTIPJGHART AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. TO MY WIFE CONTENTS PAGE ODE TO THE SWALLOW i Thou bringest Summer on thy steel-blue pinions lOLAIRE 3 This was the land that the Norsemen plough'd TO THE NIGHTJAR . . 5 When the moon hangs high in the heavens THE SOU' WESTER 8 Blustering, boisterous wind, that bloweth over the bracken ICONOCLASTS lo There are those who would silence the Thrush TO M. B II Welcome to us as the first breath of Spring EASTERTIDE I2 Come wrap the crocus in his winding-sheet LOVE IN CHAINS 14 I flung Love down upon the dungeon floor vii PAGE SOUL-MASTERY .... .... IS No man hath gain'd soul-mastery, without THE VISION i6 Softly she comes at the close of day A SPIRIT HATH FLED FROM MY HEARTH . . i8 A spirit hath fled from my hearth O WORLD, THY CREED . . 20 O world, thy creed is cold and stark AT PARTING 21 She caught my eyes, and held them with her own TIME TO YOUTH 22 Ah, fold her fast in thy victorious arms A DULL DAY IN SEPTEMBER 23 A melancholy wind moans all the day THE TRAGEDY OF BEAUTY 24 Is there to womanhood a woe so deep YOUNG DESIRE 25 When young Desire first shakes his lustrous wings CHARITY .... 26 True test and savour of a Christian soul LORD, TEACH US HOW TO PRAY! . . . 27 'Mid clashing creeds and civic strife viii I'AGE A MAXIM FOR EVERY DAY 29 Do all the good you can TELL HER, SWEET THRUSH ! 33 O thou sweet bird in the hazel tops HAVE WE NOT MET 35 Have we not met, and must we weep FLAVIA'S FAREWELL 37 If Love were all, then might not thou and I TO MAY 39 May, like a maiden soft and fair THE RING-DOVE 4i 'Mid beechy umbrage, bosky dell TWILIGHT 43 O mystic Hour ! when day and night lANTHE 45 lanthe ! could thy name express ATTAR OF ROSES 47 Like the petals of the Rose THE LITTLE ARCHER 49 Deftly the little Archer plies WE LOOK BEFORE AND AFTER 5« Pleasant it is, when woods are green ix PAGE THE COTTAR'S SONG 53 Here the birds still chirp and twitter EVENING AT SEA 5S A perfect night ! — a night of calm at sea THRO' THE PASS OF LLANBERIS 56 You . at the end of the valley MY SILVER MOON 57 As the moon puts on new lustre WITHERED HOPES 5^ Last night ray heart was as a fading Rose SHE WHOM THOU LOVEST 59 O heart, my heart ! REJECTED 6i You cast my soul to the four winds of heaven THE SPRING MINSTRELS ... ... 62 Hark ! how the welkin rings MORNING HYMN . . . . ... 66 Now the golden morning shines LOVE'S GOLDEN PILGRIMAGE 68 To one who loves, all things are beautiful LOVE'S ONENESS 69 If I had loved thee less, I had been free X PAGE LOVE'S BITTERNESS 70 Why should I love, where others would despise ? PEACE 71 Thou gentle Dove ! sent out to warn mankind SUNDOWN 72 The noises of day come out distinct and clear TRUTH 73 A will-o'-the-wisp that ever evades the sight HUIVIAN AND DIVINE LOVE 77 The leaves are falling fast, and Winter drear XI SONGS OF SUMMER ODE TO THE SWALLOW I Thou bringest Summer on thy steel-blue pinions, Whom laughter-loving April could not lure From thy sun-girdled, over-sea dominions. The maiden May,' with drooping lids demure. Has drawn : and all her opening heart is thine, Full of the fragrance of expanding buds, The pink-and-white complexion of the year. Winter so long delay'd, thro' storm and shine. Gives place at last — for see thy helpmate scuds Along the mead! Summer, Summer is here! II Tho' few thy seasons, still thy magic gleaning Hath taught thee April lingers into May; But who hath taught the mystery and meaning Of the vex'd wind and variable way? ^ In 1902 the swallows did not arrive till May, owing to the late and boisterous Spring. Over the passage of the lonesome deep Thou wing'st secure, to rear thy callow broods In shelter of our close-projecting eaves, To watch and ward their heavy-lidded sleep ; And so the mind, thro' thy maternal moods. Nature's undeviating course perceives. Ill O glad at heart! O joy and gladness bringing! Once more we welcome thee to our bluff shores. O happy swallow thro' the meadow winging Thine azure flight above the harvest floors I So long as thou art with us, we may feel The end of life is not a monied goal. But rest i' the eye of Nature — each tired head Laid where her soft caresses gently steal; But when thou go'st, 'tis whisper'd to the soul, "The swallows congregate: Summer, Summer is fled!" 2 lOLAIRE LINES WRITTEN IN THE NORTH SEA ON BOARD THE S.Y. " lOLAIRK ' This was the land that the Norseman plough'd- Here lay his furrows, there his shroud: A thousand years . . . Oh, what are they, But the romance of yesterday! lolaire! lolaire! Dance in the moonbeams free and fair. Thou art a Viking's chosen bride, Speed-away, speed-away over the tide. II And these same streamers that we chase Have tost their foam in the Viking's face: A thousand years . . . and the rolling billow Will rest our sons on the Norseman's pillow! 3 lolaire! lolaire! Shake out the moonbeams from thy hair, Scatter thy jewels on the tide, For thou art a Viking's joy and pride! Ill Breeze of the Norland! fresh and strong. Blow us a stave of the Viking's song — One short hour of the Norseman's quest: The English maid with her snow-white breast. lolaire! lolaire! The stars are bright, and the night is fair; Whilst over the moonlit waters wide The phantom hosts of the Norsemen glide. TO THE NIGHTJAR When the moon hangs high in the heavens And the evening star shines bright, The purr of the nightjar leavens The music of the night. It speaks of the soft caresses That Summer gave to June. His murmurous voice impresses The magic of the moon. Past hill and dale it leadeth — Now far, now very near, While note to note succeedeth More passionately clear. 5 O joy for the happy lover To find, as he nears his bhss, The song of the nightjar cover His first, ecstatic kiss ! As spirit with spirit blendeth, The wheel-bird ' carols low ; Anon the vale he rendeth With the fulness of his woe. And in those deep embraces He seems to bear a part: In quiet, woodland places, Where heart clings close to heart. Lips that the day did sever. Spirits by song set free, ' So called from the resemblance of the Nightjar's purr to that of a spinning-wheel in motion. Now meet like an unchain'd river As it mingles with the sea. Whilst thro' and thro' their gladness There thrills the Nightjar's song, And to such old-world madness He croons the whole night long. Bird of the high mid-summer! Silent, and swift, and shy ; Linger awhile, sweet hummer. Beneath our northern sky. For the lands of the South shall hear thee When our nights are long and chill; But my heart will be cold and dreary Till thy song comes over the hill. THE SOU' WESTER Blustering, boisterous wind, that bloweth over the bracken, Rending the knotted oak, and tearing the stalwart pine, Never for one short pause do thy wild coursers slacken. Hurrying, scurrying by, with slashing sting of the brine. Roaring, and rolling along with the force of the full Atlantic, Bending the fern-leaf d beech, and breaking the poplar's pride. Driving the giant chiefs and lords of the forest frantic. Writhing their mighty limbs in tortuous circles wide. On over boulder and crag with a fury that brooks no negation. Bellowing back to the blast, booming aloud to the vale. Now like the sweep of a scythe as it moweth in close serration, Now like the rush of a torrent lash'd white with wintry hail. On over bracken and ling, over bilberry, gorse and heather. Raying their silvery sides in the light of the westering sun. On over bramble and broom, where the tall grasses blow together. On in the joy of battle, in the armour of victories won ! Quieted now are the million, murmurous voices of summer, Only the thud of the surf in the beat of a surging sea, Whilst over above the gale the voice of the fierce new- comer — " I am the breath of a spirit that wandereth ever free ! " ICONOCLASTS I There are those who would silence the Thrush, And stifle his woodnotes wild; But never for them the Evening's hush, Or the heart of a little child ! II There are those who would ravish a flower, Or tear the sweet rose from its stem ; But the spirit that lives from hour to hour Shall never abide with them ! Ill There are those who would strangle belief. Profaning the mystic tryst ; But over the swirling waters of grief Comes the luminous face of Christ ! lO TO M. B. ON A VISIT TO THE AUTHOR Welcome to us as the first breath of Spring That the pale, sweet snowdrops usher in ! My Mary, your visits no sooner begin, Than you, like the first of the flowers, take wing ! II EASTERTIDE I Come wrap the crocus in his winding-sheet, For lowly lies his head, His wind-blown petals torn with snow and sleet. And March, the slayer, fled. II Lo Easter comes, and with the risen Lord A million chimes awake : The grass springs greener from the dripping sod, The lily scents the brake. Ill And Nature hails her new-appointed priest With music all her own ; Her choirs await his chariot in the East, And his bright service crown. 12 IV Till every glade takes up the joyous song, And every rill unites — " Glory to Him to Whom all joys belong, Hosanna in the heights ! " 13 LOVE IN CHAINS I FLUNG Love down upon the dungeon floor, Close-shackled to his fellow-prisoner Hate; Grim warders twain I set before the door — My Pride and Will, to guard him for his fate. Daily I sign'd the warrant for his doom, Yet daily that fell mandate I withdrew; A thousand times I wish'd him in the tomb, A thousand times his life I would renew. At last perplex'd, yet wishing he should feel Some measure of the torment I endured. To harsher usage I my heart did steel. And for the rogue fresh chastisement procured. Ah, vain my hope; vain, too, the grinding chain, For Love rose up and bless'd me in his pain! 14 SOUL-MASTERY No man hath gain'd soul-mastery, without Fierce self-renunciation ; and the fight So hardly won, so perilous near to rout, Widens man's whole horizon to his sight. 15 THE VISION Softly she comes at the close of day And stands beside my chair, The thrush calls loudly from topmost spray, Lightens the evening star. So, in the dusk of that twilight land. When those we love draw nigh, I take once more that beloved hand, Her lips to mine comply. Once more for us 'neath the fading skies A veil of blue is drawn. Once more for us in each other's eyes Opens the pearly dawn. i6 Ah, woe is me for that vacant place, She doth not heed nor hear! Ah God, that the loss of one loved face Can leave the world so drear! 17 A SPIRIT HATH FLED FROM MY HEARTH A SPIRIT hath fled from my hearth, A spirit I shall see no more: All desolate now is my path By the wave-trodden shore. Ah, the days that are over and gone. And the nights that were number'd as one; How can I live on, love, alone In the light of the sun? For the things that did gladden me once Are now but a torment to me. And with them all joy I renounce, For it speaks but of thee! i8 And so, thro' the slow-ranging years, I abide with my pain, Until thro' the mist of my tears I enfold thee again. 19 O WORLD, THY CREED O WORLD, thy creed is cold and stark — How little dost thou heed our weeping ! Whilst ever thro' the glimmering dark The shadow of death is slowly creeping. 20 AT PARTING She caught my eyes, and held them with her own : There might I read what speech would not betray, What human lips could never yet convey, The language that the heart must speak alone ! In that brief moment was her spirit known. All the fierce doubts of many an anguish'd day In that bright radiance seem'd to pass away, For surely love was to full stature grown? Bravely she faced me in that last farewell, Proudly, yet mute, with virginal control. One look that made my heart's blood surge and swell, And then again sweet mastery of the whole. Unalterable love, ah, who can tell? Yet in her eyes had dawn'd the immortal goal ! 21 TIME TO YOUTH Ah, fold her fast in thy victorious arms, Thy thirst for beauty now or never slake. Too soon the baleful morn, when thou shalt wake To find some diminution of her charms! 22 A DULL DAY IN SEPTEMBER A MELANCHOLY wind moans all the day; The rain comes down at intervals, and then As quickly lifts into the vault again, Whilst little torrents tear their ribbed way. The sky is dun, with leaden rifts and gray. The hurrying clouds break 'neath the veering strain, And little isles of blue appear amain. To lose themselves in leagues of billowy spray. So on towards Evening, when the conquering Sun, Rolling the beaten foe before his face. And breaking up his forces one by one. Completes his victory over time and space. And on the field he has so hardly won Calls off his glittering legions from the chase. 23 THE TRAGEDY OF BEAUTY Is there to womanhood a woe so deep, A moment that so ruthlessly congeals, As that when, rising from soft-lidded sleep. She first perceives that Time upon her steals? 24 YOUNG DESIRE When young Desire first shakes his lustrous wings, Rejoicing in the strength which manhood brings, And, like the dragon-fly in summer's pride, Flaunts his bright armoury from side to side. What charm can keep his passionate heart secure? What amulet resist the Devil's lure? O Love! there is no talisman like this — The sanctity of one true woman's kiss. 25 CHARITY True test and savour of a Christian soul — Sweet Charity, how rarely art thou found ! Or, found at all, how seldom is thy dole Meted to Christian folk on Christian ground ! 26 LORD, TEACH US HOW TO PRAY! 'Mid clashing creeds and civic strife, 'Mid hosts with jealous envy rife, 'Mid all the turbulence of life. Lord, teach us how to pray! II 'Mid wrongs that speak from hour to hour Of raging lust, of rampant power. Of many a bruised and broken flower, Lord, teach us how to pray! Ill 'Mid lives whose luxury decrees To millions broken hearts and knees, 'Mid wanton waste and slothful ease. Lord, teach us how to pray! 27 IV 'Mid tongues that slander and defame, That batten on a neighbour's shame, Regardless of the lives they maim. Lord, teach us how to pray! V Give us Thy Faith — the Faith of old, Hope springing from her fount of gold, And Charity that grows not cold, And teach us how to pray! VI Be Thou our inspiration still, Make us subservient to Thy will. Our hearts with Thy compassion fill. And teach us how to pray! 28 A MAXIM FOR EVERY DAY Do all the good you can, Take up thy human load, Fulfil the higher man. And leave the rest with God! FROM SONGS AND LYRICS TELL HER, SWEET THRUSH! O THOU sweet bird in the hazel tops, Piping high, piping low, piping clear! O thou sweet bird in the hazel tops, Pipe to me of my dear ! Thou canst make love to her better than I, Thrush, oh. Thrush of my heart I Blending thy notes with the blue of the sky, Whilst the cloudlets drift apart. Call to her now from the fields of thy grace, Name her by wood and stream ! Tell her, I long to see her face Within the moonlight gleam. 33 » Tell her, sweet Thrush, of the grief that has lain For six long months at my breast. Tell her, sweet Thrush, of my endless pain — Of the agony of unrest! And if, of her grace, she would pity give — Pity from her heart's core — Tell her, by that one word I'll live. And love for evermore. One only mate in Life's wilderness! One only maid for me! Oh, when will my loved one's lips confess What I've confest to thee! 34 HAVE WE NOT MET Have we not met, and must we weep Because our paths divide? Have we not pass'd from steep to steep Upon the mountain side? — Our sun, if we had never met. In passionless content had set. Have we not met, and can we find No antidote to pain? Are thought and memory both resign'd? Doth nothing sweet remain? Thou wouldst not we had never met, And thou been spared this wild regret? 35 Have we not met — what wouldst thou more, The paradisal flowers? If Fate should not our love restore, Eternity is ours ! — And in those happy fields are set The long, lost hours of our regret. 36 FLAVIA'S FAREWELL SUGGESTED BY THE " PRISONER OF ZENDA " If Love were all, then might not thou and I Seek out some plot of Earth before we die, And live and breathe into each other's being The happiness which seems beyond our seeing? If Love were all, then might I take thy hand, And wander with thee into Fairyland — How poor soe'er thy lot, no cloud could be Too great that did encompass thee and me! If Love were all, then on that all I'd cast My life, my honour, all that Fame holds fast ; For but to be enfolden in thine arms Were rich reward for all a maiden's charms. 37 But Love is only Love when it doth bind Hearts to themselves, with Godhead intertwined- If I should yield, my love, and fly with thee. Could I believe that God had smiled on me? 38 TO MAY May, like a maiden soft and fair, With pink-white blossoms in her hair. Came tripping thro' the verdant mead, With lightsome heart and frolic tread. To her came lovers, old and young, Whom wintry griefs had held from song. To list once more her sweet command, And beg some token at her hand. The Cuckoo, too, his note doth raise In one incessant song of praise, And little birds from brake and bough Her, Queen of all the months, allow. The Chestnut and the Hawthorn vie Whose blossoms shall outmatch the sky, 39 Where soft and fleecy clouds unveil Their blueness to the Nightingale. Now mounts the Lark on quivering wing The treasures of his heart to sing, And flood the hollow vault of Heaven With music not to mortals given. Dame Nature in her softest gown Doth greet the damsel as her own, And, with a mother's loving heart. Doth press those tender lips apart. Maiden of Months ! to thee I bring This little tribute of the Spring — Content, if in thy smiles I see A glimpse of what thy love might be! 40 THE RING-DOVE 'Mid beechy umbrage, bosky dell, 'Tis there the Ring-dove loves to dwell ! And, when the fiery noon is high. Croon softly to the sapphire sky. Like plashing waters heard at even, In which the sunset lights are riven, His mellow voice is soft and cool As moonbeams on a silent pool. Not here the upward-soaring lark With quivering throat can pierce the dark, The Nightingale might sing in vain Within the Ring-dove's hush'd domain ! 41 Thy song is like a summer dream Beside some gently-rilling stream — A vale where quiet hearts may rest And in Love's sanctity be blest. Amid the lush and waving grass, I watch the shadows as they pass, And in thy leafy covert find A solace to my wounded mind — ■ That Life is short, and Art is vain: All unpremeditate thy strain! That Love is long, and Virtue sure. And wedded bliss is more and more. 42 TWILIGHT O MYSTIC Hour! when day and night Seem spell-bound with the fading light, When hill and valley, dale and grove, Bespeak none other voice but Love. Recumbent on her couch of pine, With languorous grace and dewy eyne, The Queen of Heaven' doth now unfold Her fatal beauty limn'd in gold. Whilst on the air the bat's bent wings Add witchery to earthly things. As, sailing with uneven flight. He mocks the shadows of the night. ^ The Planet Venus. 43 Now doth my spirit feel a part Of One, Great, Universal Heart — The bond of fellowship at least 'Twixt Man and Nature, bird and beast. 44 lANTHE Ianthe! could thy name express But half the love I feel for thee, Why, from my voice, thou then might'st guess How very dear thou art to me! No other homage would I pay. But simply breathe again thy name — A thousand things it seems to say That thee, and thee alone, proclaim. For in thy presence there doth flow A music that is passing sweet, All other notes are lost below Until within thy name they meet. 45 And, whether by the brooklet's side, Or by the shallow, murmuring weir. In the soft hush of eventide, Thy name alone floats on my ear. Or, in the silence of the night, If thy dear name my sleep invade, I wake to clasp a brief delight — I wake to find the vision fade. 46 ATTAR OF ROSES Like the petals of the Rose, When the dews their scent disclose, Soft as velvet tho' they be. Fragrant of the Dawn and thee, Yet thy lips are sweeter far Than all garden Roses are. Once I thought my life supreme. Bedded in a Rose's dream — Scent of Attar on my lips, Nectar that the brown bee sips. Yet I never knew before What sweet scents thy lips could store i 47 This, above that carmine wave, Was the soft response they gave. Fading fast before my touch. Never yielding overmuch. Now I have no peace of mind Till thy lips again I find! 48 THE LITTLE ARCHER Deftly the little Archer plies His shafts of light — Thou canst not hold him in disguise, He lurks beneath those summer skies, And revels in his victories Till set of night. And Love and Laughter hide and seek Where lilies vie — They chase the sunbeams o'er each cheek, And ripple low, like waves that break Upon the shingle of a lake, Until they die. 49 E And Love hangs trembling on thy voice, Entrancing soft — The Love that crowns a maiden's choice, The Love that makes a heart rejoice. The Love that hears none other voice Save that of Love. SO WE LOOK BEFORE AND AFTER Pleasant it is, when woods are green And winds sing soft and low, To sit beneatli the budding Thorn With youthful thoughts aglow. Thus, in the morning of our life, We sing of Hope and Love, With health and energy before. And cloudless skies above. But, when the woods are sere and brown, The land in furrows laid. How soon the Spring-tide is forgot, How soon the Hawthorn's shade! So, in the evening of our days, With Hope and Love foregone, SI We reck not of the sun and showers — The paths we loiter'd on. We wander in a world distraught, Proscribe the biting East, Forgetful that the sap will rise To bring a richer feast. Ah, but the feast is not the same ! Those half-averted eyes Will fill with tears of vain regret. As other Springs arise. The Autumn now has more of Hope, As mellow'd with our age. The eyes once more are forward bent, We turn another page. 52 THE COTTAR'S SONG Here the birds still chirp and twitter In November days, Meting out the sweet and bitter In the life they praise. London streets may brim with morsels Dainty bits and fine, But for them the cottage door-sills, Ruddy light and shine ! Better half a crumb with gladness In the light of day, Than a feast, with pale-faced sadness Brooding o'er the way! S3 Let me feel the warmth of Heaven, As it purely flows — Feel that it is freely given, Straight from God's own brows! Not for me the City's glamour. Its adulterate wine — Hectic flush, and noisy clamour Of a World supine. 54 EVENING AT SEA A PERFECT night! — a night of calm at sea, In all its grace and all its purity, And not a sound, save where the glittering spray Falls off in emerald furrows round our way. Myriads of little stars, divinely fair. Come shimmering thro' the vestures of the night, And Venus in her loveliness is there, Enthroned Queen of all those realms of light! Now, from the furthest disc, comes peeping forth Diana, in her chastest robes of snow. Pale as the daylight in the frozen North, Yet full of sympathy, as lovers know. For, as she mellows with each darkening hour. Their linked hearts confess her gracious power. 55 THRO' THE PASS OF LLANBERIS You ... at the end of the valley, Storm-wrack and cloud before — Thro' the wild pass of Llanberis To the gleam of a tranquil shore. So, thro' the gulfs of sorrow, Thro' anguish of heart and mind, One only hope to my journey. One haven of peace I find. Yet, if that hope should fail me. That home in the valley fair. Alone, 'mid the wastes of the mountains, Must I wrestle with despair! 56 MY SILVER MOON As the moon puts on new lustre In the blackest of the night, So thine eyes with deepening splendour Flood my darken'd soul with light. 57 WITHERED HOPES Last night my heart was as a fading Rose, Which in an Urn of Tears I did dispose; When Dawn look'd down from out her pearly throne, The Rose was left, but ah! the Scent was flown. 58 SHE WHOM THOU LOVEST O HEART, my heart! Why tost in tempest throe? She, whom thou lovest, Cares not for thy joy. Cares not for thy woe, Then let her go! O beauteous Truth! Why is thy heart so wrung? She, whom thou lovedst. Is false to thee and thine, Is false to me and mine. Then why repine? 59 O kindly stars! Why shed thy tears for her? Or is it mine own blinding pain That sees tears in thy glistening rain? Oh, join with me to forget! Leave not a way for regret! And yet . . . and yet! . . . 60 REJECTED You cast my soul to the four winds of heaven, You hurl me, passionate, upon the sea of life- And all that I in love have madly given Comes back to me in strife! 6i THE SPRING MINSTRELS THRUSH Hark! how the welkin rings, Trembling with glee! Hark! how the Mavis sings, Changing his key! Bird of the dapple-gray! Thine is the sweetest lay. Whistling from fragrant bay, Happy and free. BLACKBIRD The Blackbird's piping call Rings on my ear, Its accents seem to fall Both far and near — 62 THE SPRING MINSTRELS Yet, with how true a note The quavering stanzas float! I would I had by rote The half I hear! LARK Queen of the azure sky! Whose dew-lapp'd home, Green blades, or wheat, or rye Serve for a dome — Soaring, with spiral flight. High o'er the realms of sight, Wrapt in thy song's delight, Where dost thou roam? 63 THE SPRING MINSTRELS LINNET List! how that gentle lay, Sweetly refined, Warbled from tender spray. Floats on the wind — Flitting from tree to tree, Filling my soul with glee, Linnet, thy melody Is wondrous kind! ROBIN What ails thee, winter bard. Melodious Robin? Was that the voice I heard When winds were sobbing? 64 THE SPRING MINSTRELS Hast thou some vain regret That holds thee in its net? Surely the Spring can set Thy heart a-throbbing! THE ROOKS Cradled in sunset glows, Rock'd by the storm, Far from their fellest foes, Happy and warm — Love in community. Strong in Love's unity, Dawn's importunity Is Evening's calm! 65 MORNING HYMN Now the golden morning shines, Let us each be up and doing, And, when daylight swift declines. May it find us still pursuing ! Each hath his appointed sphere. Hands and brain alike achieving, Crowning all the fleeting year With new beauties of his weaving. Tho' the labour of his hands Seems but to enrich another, God, above him, understands He is helping on some brother. Who, of frailer mould and form. Other purposes fulfilling, 66 Else had perish'd in the storm, Laying by His task, unwilling. Tho' in mines he delve all day. Gloom perennial surround him, Every blow emits a ray From the spot where Duty bound him. Art, and Science, Medicine, Law, Into unknown realms extending. From man's steady purpose draw Glorious triumphs, never-ending. Never let the heart repine, Tho' thy toil seem unavailing : Every labourer's work 's divine. Never canst thou speak of failing ! 67 LOVE'S GOLDEN PILGRIMAGE To one who loves, all things are beautiful ! — Love colours every thought, and on his wings Doth bear those tender, sweet imaginings That stir the soul to depths most dutiful. The merry clamour of the bells at Yule, The Cuckoo's trumpet-call, when first it rings On unaccustom'd ears . . . and other Springs Fade fast before the mind's bright vestibule . . . Are messengers of Love, but Love has more Than all the wealth of Nature can bestow. For he who loves, has of Love's boundless store A heart, a mind, whose riches overflow, And, in the light and wisdom of Love's lore. Perceives in Nature things unseen before. 68 LOVE'S ONENESS (TO A LADY WHO COMPLAINED THAT OTHEF.S WERE NEGLECTED FOR HERSELF) If I had loved thee less, I had been free To smile when others smiled — to hope, or fear, And lend to each such silent sympathy As well might prove a friend was listening near. But, loving thee, I have no eyes to see What others see, or feel as others feel — I have no thoughts that are not part of thee, And all my sweets from thoughts of thee I steal. By day, by night, a presence everywhere. Thy mirror'd loveliness in all I find. In others' griefs I am not fit to share, Who cannot turn from thee my steadfast mind. Thus loving thee far more than aught beside, I've lost my friends, and thou dost merely chide ! 69 LOVE'S BITTERNESS Why should I love, where others would despise? Why idly hope thou still may'st love me best? — When every act doth wear a bold disguise, And other friendships seem to stir thy breast! And yet, to look but once upon those eyes, So darkly beautiful, so purely true, I, for my doubts, can but myself chastise, Who could of thee such bitter thoughts review! Have I no cloak of hauteur, or of pride. That I must fall to thinking foul of thee? Shall jealous fears in my strong love abide? Or is there estimate of love in me? No, tho' mine eyes should tell me thou hadst lied I'd tear them out to prove thy constanc)'! PEACE Thou gentle Dove! sent out to warn mankind Of such a time when war shall cease to be, Yet ever to thy sheltering Ark dost flee, For nowhere can thy feet a foothold find. The air thou cleavest is with sulphur blind, While horrent shapes scud o'er the foamy sea, That bristles with a monster progeny, The clash of arms is borne upon the wind. O when wilt thou return to tell of fields Ripening with plenty! whilst the smiling lands Are bound by fellowship of hearts and hands — No more the sword its bloody sceptre wields! Come to us from the realms where Heaven expands, And bring the leaf the tender olive yields! 71 SUNDOWN The noises of day come out distinct and clear, While children's voices break the muffled roar That rises from the village. Evermore The babble of birds disturbs the dreaming ear. The ring-dove gurgles from a coppice near, The lark flits low above his wheaten floor, And tired of climbing seeks his nestlings four. Whilst swallows cleave the laden atmosphere. The bloom of fruit is on the distant firs, The valley fills with soft and filmy spray. The breeze just fans the face and dies away. And not a leaf within the forest stirs. The sun goes down upon the throbbing air, And leaves the hills more silent than they were. 72 TRUTH " Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." — Keats. A WILL-O'-THE-WISP that ever evades the sight, The nearer we get, the blacker grows the night, And he, who would grasp it, grasps but a reedy light Whilst over his sinking shadow it dances bright! 73 HUMAN AND DIVINE LOVE HUMAN AND DIVINE LOVE (stanzas from "ad ASTRA") I The leaves are falling fast, and Winter drear Steals on apace with fingers numb and cold, With marble touch his hoary hand doth sear The very heart-strings of the poor and old: The little songsters in the leafy wold Are quiet now, no more to charm the sky With rapture of a love that cannot die. II All things must die, all things must have an end That tell of a beginning and a birth. All things must die, and soon or late must lend Their little pile of dust to swell the earth, But Love came with us in our baby mirth, Love grew beside us, taught us how to smile, And Love will guide us thro' Death's dark defile. 77 Ill And what is Love? — Hath ever man defined?- So small a word, and yet so wonderful! The sweetest of the mysteries enshrined Within the temple of the human soul — A power no force can fetter, Time control, Whose mystic arms encircle land and sea, Lighting the great deeps of Eternity. IV Love is an union sweet of eyes and heart. Each bound in willing service to the other, No sooner doth the eye its joy impart Than tears give answer for its silent brother — Bright jewell'd founts, in which we fain would smother The weakness and the rapture of our love. Forgetful that the gift is from above! 78 Yet Love is sweetest when the sweets are tears — The soft unfolding of the bud in Spring, The glittering pageantry that Summer rears, And Autumn's deep and sober colouring Are dearer to the heart round which they cling, Because their loveliness must pass away. Because their beauty is but for a day. VI And so we nourish in our breasts the sting Of joys that are too exquisite to last, We like to keep the heart a-sorrowing. And with sad tears bemoan the happy past, Regardless that the hours are fleeting fast — And that To-day, in which we rage and fret, To-morrow will be part of our regret! 79 VII So in the change of days, when Winter hoar Doth wrestle with his brother for the crown, When all the elements are waging war, And Autumn dirges are around us blown, What wonder if the heart should feel adown Amid the tempest and its bitter mirth. The mocking winds that desolate the earth! VIII Can Nature still the craving of the Soul? Can Nature soothe the anguish of the mind? Can Nature teach us firm and sweet control? Can Nature bring us nearer to our kind? In part she may: if in her face we find The smile, long sought for 'mid a million loves. That doth exalt the mind o'er which it moves — 80 IX That answering smile that seems to set at rest Long days of anguish and dread nights of pain, At last to lay one's head against her breast, And feel security from storm and strain. To be enfolden like a child again — The Peace that broods upon the giant deep When the unruly winds are hush'd to sleep. But one must suffer first to feel her fair ! Nature was ever yet a second love — Heart-broken, and in bondage of despair, Her beauty dawns upon us as we rove, Too weak those first fond memories to reprove! Gradually, yet by how slow degrees She lures us to her own most gentle knees. 8i G XI Ah, lightning interchange of soul and sense! Divine communion with a kindred frame — When spirit voices speak from out the immense, Unfathomable Silence whence we came. And Man's immortal destiny proclaim! What time we breathe a far serener air And reach at joys that are beyond our sphere. XII She weaves around us widening sympathies, A heart to measure all her variant moods- If we but love her for herself, we rise To higher levels in her solitudes — Amid the stillness of the fragrant woods We may forgive the pettiness, the wrong, The cowardly spite of many an evil tongue. 82 XIII But that which most of all she doth instil, And teaches with a mother's zealous care, Is thankfulness of heart, and joyous fill Of Worship, Adoration, Praise, and Prayer — The glorious liberty of light and air! Of Life, pulsating thro' a thousand forms. Of bird, and beast, and flower, and creeping worms. XIV But have we never found her friendship vain. Ere yet the struggling will has been resign'd ?- Her cold indifference to mortal pain. The sympathy which is so hard to find ! Perchance her mood is captiously inclined. She smiles, she seems to mock us in our sorrow. And just as lightly will she weep to-morrow! 83 XV When Life seems hopeless, and the Future void, The contrast is too great for us to bear — Nature in all her children is o'erjoy'd, Whilst we are sinking from a deep despair. What does the universal Mother care? Like some proud dame, whom social pleasures crown, Forgets her offspring in her latest gown ! XVI Nature is like a woman greatly loved With all the outward glamour of Romance, So long as all her charms are to be proved She holds the soul in an ecstatic trance. Her beauty gave the death-wound at a glance! Yet, when we look behind those lustrous eyes. We find scant echo to our deepening sighs. 84 XVII Our Love it was that gave the mystic grace, And robed her in the splendour of the sun! Our Love it was that carved upon her face The witching Hnes by which we were undone! The halo of the midnight for her throne! But soon or late our Love must wake, and then — Love unrequited makes us faithless men ! XVIII And she looks on with cold indifference Behind the granite of her rugged brows, Our little loves to her are but pretence, And pass as lightly as all lovers' vows — She cloaks herself in her eternal snows, A stately Presence, with an icy mien. And bold his heart who crowns her deathless Queen! 85 XIX Love, at the highest, asks for no reward, For perfect Love rejects all recompense, So that of his own fires he may keep guard, Of other longing makes he no pretence. His altars breathe of myrrh and frankincense And in the joy of such high sacrifice His only true and finite pleasure lies. XX So that our love for Nature is not vain. But doth return to enrich our hearts the more, Whate'er we give, she gives us back again With something added from her boundless store: With larger knowledge of ourselves we pore Upon the book her wondrous grace makes known. And find a kindness in her sternest frown. 86 XXI She teaches us to look for sympathy Within the lives of those whose toil we share, And she can heighten Love's affinity With bonds the sweetest that the stars declare — Whom she hath join'd no evil tongues can scare, Their friendship grows with each revolving moon. And silent Death o'ertakes them all too soon. 87 XXII O beauteous World of Wonder and Romance! Thou dost reveal some heaven-born mystery! Some moments of our lives thou dost enhance As sacred symbols of Eternity! We feel so conscious of our part in thee, The spirit leaps towards her native skies, Doubt and Despair fall from her as she flies. XXIII 'Tis the sublime in Nature we most love, But all the gentler aspects of her state A Woman's finer fancy for us wove — • She first in us soft pity did create. And tenderness for all things, small or great- 'Tis thro' her love that we have learnt to share A world of bright perceptions, sweet and rare. XXIV The age of Chivalry can never die So long as Woman holds to her domain ; She is the loveliest thing beneath the sky, And wields a power that Man can ne'er attain. Then never let her of her lot complain ! She so can sweeten in her time and place That with her rests the future of the race. XXV And nowhere is her presence so supreme As in the halls Nature has deck'd for her — 'Mid mountain scenery and forest gleam She stands confest the Queen of all things there, How delicately fashion'd, and how fair! With gentle lustre beaming from her eye She fills with radiance earth, and sea, and sky. 89 XXVI For Love and Nature are so close allied, That one, without the other, seems less fair: If thou wouldst learn to love, look on thy bride When moonlight steeps her lips and lustrous hair. And Ocean's old romance is in thine ear. Or from the shadow of some piny steep When the great sun dies out upon the deep. XXVII For what is Nature, with no comrade by To share the fullness of the heart's excess ? To show, with sympathy of hand or eye. That joy is doubled by a like impress? Beloved Fellowship! that grows not less By daily intercourse with things divine. The worship of twin souls at Nature's shrine. 90 XXVIII O Nature, lovely charmer, gentle bride ! I fear thy reign will soon be at an end ! Man's ravage hems thee in on every side, Before his step thy beauteous form must bend ! No more for us shall rural vales extend In widening prospect 'neath the unsullied sky, Until in dreamy tracts of blue they die. XXIX Oh, I could weep for those who follow after, To think what our dear England may become! Where Nature reigns shall flow discordant laughter. And village shouts where nightingales are dumb! No more for us the beetle's drowsy hum Shall break the stillness of the Summer night, And to the scents of eve add new delight. 91 XXX No more, — yet have we not divine amends Within the mighty progress of the mind? Woman, no more the slave for meaner ends, But as companion to the soul design'd! Her influence breathing, like a gentle wind. Health, and a quiet calm to stormy seas — Peace after tempest, and from turmoil ease. XXXI And Man, to what achievements doth he move! Who shall foretell his boundless destiny! Out of the earth what untold treasure-trove! What realms await him in the trackless sky! The stored lightnings at his bidding fly, The circuits of the World their bounds decrease Before the smile of universal Peace. 92 XXXII Tho' factory smoke and noise of whirring looms Obscure his perfect vision for awhile, The time will come when these will be but tombs Or reminiscences of early toil — His latter days shall yield him richer spoil, Bought with a lesser strain of eye and nerve. And Nature's giant forces him subserve. XXXIII Then Cities shall arise, both sweet and fair, In purer regions of the untrammell'd sky, No murky fumes pollute the healing air. And sunny streets in widening prospect lie, Of sickness and disease shall no man die! A happy race, in happier climes, shall prove The blessedness that comes of Peace and Love! 93 XXXIV Then let the Future bring us what it may, It cannot so the Mind deteriorate That it would let her sceptre pass away, And Nature's beauty be determinate — She, who hath taught us more of our poor state Than all the sages since the World began. And hath reveal'd to us God's love to man! 94 XXXV O Nature, tho' thy beauty never wanes, And every hour sets forth some new device To captivate Man's heart, and hold in chains His fond imagination — still thou art ice To his affection, like a maid's caprice ! But never, like a maid, to give thy love. And all the stings of doubt at last remove. XXXVI In Love's great heights and depths thou canst not share: Love's widening coil of reciprocity! In that brief moment when two lives declare That Life is richer than all dreams can be, What time the mellow'd fruit falls from the tree — To reap the harvest of the heart's desire In one all-perfect joy, too soon to expire! 95 XXXVII " O little hands and feet! O heart of mine! Why dost thou tarry in thy father's hall? Why dost thou linger in that home of thine, And dost not know I love thee all in all? Hast never heard thy lover's plaintive call? What, tho' mine eyes have never own'd thee fair. Thy heart is mine, and Beauty dwelleth there I— XXXVIII " Beauty and Truth! — yes, all the good in me Is but the mirror of thy perfect heart! The knowledge that thy soul is purity, The hope that some day I shall prove a part Of that sweet paradise, and hold the chart To all the shores and indents of thy soul — The master pilot, taught by self-control ! 96 XXXIX " O Lady mine, I seek thee thro' the World, In every forest depth I feel thee stir. In flush of sunsets, or in clouds upcurl'd, In every pulse of breath upon the air — For thee Dame Nature doth her magic wear. The tender flowers their yearly grace renew. The little birds are singing in the blue. XL " O thou, who somewhere braidest billowy gold. And look'st upon thyself with lowly eyes. When in thy glass thy dawning charms unfold At morn and eve their maiden mysteries, As half unconscious where their sweetness lies! Like some white, fragrant lily of the wood, That never knew how graciously she stood ! 97 H XLI " Judge from thy heart, how much I long for thee! Here all seems trouble, turmoil, and despair — Man is more cruel than cold Death can be, Which robs the eye of all it deem'd so fair ! Beneath the shadow of thy sheltering hair My weary spirit fain would find its rest, Pillow'd upon the surge of thy soft breast. XLII What hope have I, till Love shall come my way? O whither should my weary footsteps bend? How few there are to whom a man may say All that he feels, as fellow unto friend! How little doth the outward mask portend! ' Give unto all men of the best thou hast ' — I gave — and scorn remembrance of the past ! 98 XLIII "Yet who is there that doth not boast of friends? That hath not in his heart some memory stored ? E'en tho' experience points to where it ends, And but a breath can make the name abhorr'd? E'en tho' the past cuts deeper than the sword, We fain would love again, and be undone — Is it not sweet to sit at Sorrow's throne? XLIV " And shall I cry for ever, and in vain? The night-winds mock me with their hollow sighs. And daylight greets me in my bitter pain — • Still, still, thou art unknown ! — My tearful eyes Are weary waiting for thy soft replies : On every hand I see that Love is fair. And every sight increaseth my despair ! ***** 99 XLV " How I could love, if loved in like degree! Life seems to hold no richer harvest here — To sail beyond the sunsets, and to see Those Western Isles that all have deem'd so fair, To breathe awhile in that diviner air, And feel, like those old Gods of ancient time. Existence mellow'd to a joy sublime. XLVI " O Love ! that sitt'st upon thy deathless throne, Controlling all by thine Omnipotence — O Heart! that deem'st thou canst not love, since none Can give thee back thy heart's full recompense — O Love for Love! divinest Affluence! To read thy longing in another's eyes. And the new Dawn in sumptuous splendour rise! " lOO XLVII Soul, that ever whispereth of thy wants, In God alone canst thou be satisfied ! 1 know how much the earth-born nature pants For Love, that never woman yet supplied. For Love, that is to mortal years denied ! — Are there not moments that reveal to thee The measure of thine own infinity? XLVIII How vain, how short, the best of mortal's love! Yet fixity in Love the spirit craves! Unless your trust in God knows no remove, Your life is but a sleep on summer waves — Rough winds will toss you to their ocean caves. Thro' which the bellowing sea with thundrous roar Doth break the chilly silence evermore. lOI XLIX " I have no Faith " — how pitiful the cry ! Or, " Daily doth my Faith grow less and less " — On every breeze is borne the pained sigh Of one who dare not all his heart confess — O shield us from the storm, the strain, the stress! Come to us in this Age of greed and gain. And 'stablish in our hearts Thy perfect reign. 102 And what of all the millions that have been, Long laid to rest with their devout desire? The myriad myriads on this verge of green, Still looking upwards to the central fire ? The multitudes the Future shall inspire ? — Our utter insignificance of being Makes us despair of all beyond our seeing! LI Our minds are finite — can we measure His? Judge of Infinity by finite laws? — The little that we know obscures our bliss. We cannot face the Great Primaeval Cause! Our narrow orb of sight its light withdraws, Yet in the boundless spaces of the sky What worlds undreamt of may go wheeling by ! 103 LII The thousand questions that come surging in, And thunder like the waves upon the beach, The haven that we ever strive to win, And yet, despite our striving, never reach, The doubts that in due season fall to each. And never leave us but with sullen dread That all Life's beauty is for ever dead. UII And where at last do all our questions end? And are they not as foolish as we deem A child's first questions of his earliest friend? More foolish ! for what folly must it seem To question where is no responsive gleam. No sympathetic parent to expound The mysteries which in our lives abound? ***** 104 LIV What man is there that hath a sickly child, That doth not love it more than all the rest? Thus is our grief for sorrow reconciled, And larger love exalts the parent's breast: The little sufferer is of all most blest. For love and sympathy are dearer far Than all the joys that other children share. i.v So every sorrow hides a central joy, And with all suffering and pain'd under-song There is a leavening mixture of alloy. That more than compensates the seeming wrong. For to all such far other joys belong — A keener sensibility to bliss, A finer insight into all that is. lOS LVI So Pain and Sorrow also have their part In the great scheme of universal good, Without them how refine the human heart, Too soon elated unless these withstood ! So lightly do we flit from mood to mood. We seldom see the sorrow of the thing, Until the Angel Pity droops her wing. LVI I And Sorrow is not only to refine. For Love leaps up with tenfold sympathy To mitigate the suffering and the sin That are a part of the divine decree. In that foreshadowing of the life to be — Where Pity hath become an Angel grace, And Sorrow shows once more a smiling face. 1 06 LVIII And these are warnings also of their kind That every time we sin we cast abroad Seeds, that the ever-fructifying wind Will bring to ripeness by some other road, Increasing sorrow, and the human load. O who would sin, if first he did review The pity of the thing he fain would do? 107 LIX Interminable streets of London Town! Teeming witii myriads, myriads still to come! How dost thou set our poor vain natures down! How stultify our very thoughts of Home! For here, as in the desert, one might roam, Unnoticed, tho' a thousand pass us by! Unloved, tho' many a loving heart be nigh! LX Bewilder'd 'mid the rush, the whirl, the jar Of millions striving for the foremost place, Man loses sight of his true guiding star — To live for the advancement of his race. The struggle for existence doth efface The self-denying ordinance of life. Since he who would survive must live by strife! 1 08 LXI This is the greatest danger of the Hour! Lest, thrown upon a too-tempestuous sea, The individual may forget his power, And in the mass merge his identity, Oblivious of a higher destiny That calls him to the fields of bright renown. And shapes for him at last the Victor's crown. LXII Each hath his separate calling, each his sphere! — To each man comes the knowledge of his worth- Then let him follow with a conscience clear The path that Destiny mark'd out from birth. Walking with fearless steps the bounteous Earth, Pleased with whatever substance God hath given, And living as beneath the eye of Heaven. 109 LXIII Virtue sits throned in every human heart, Tho' to our sight the outer man seem vile, In each there is a temple set apart, Which neither thought nor passion can defile. Lose faith in Man? — It is the Devil's wile, For he, vi^ho once hath lost his faith in Man, Will ere long find his trust in Godhead vain! 1 lO LXIV Man's conquests over matter — do they move From God, or from his own determinate will? For what do his so-vast achievements prove But that all matter yields to mortal skill, Indomitable courage, scorn of ill? — How thro' repeated failures man may rise To heights beyond the heights he did emprise! LXV How else had the Egyptian Priesthood curb'd The mighty waters of the muddy Nile? How else had the Phoenician prows disturb'd The long, still dream of many a slumbering Isle, Lull'd by the gentle plash of waves erstwhile? Idolaters! what did their Gods reveal That their own perseverance did not steal? Ill LXVI And, if the Mind be then the seat of Power, What doth its height of sovereignty control? What claims it for its spiritual dower? What mastery hath it o'er the human soul? Before this new-fledged Power we would extol, Let it resolve the bounds of Time and Space, And give to every World its own appointed place ! LXVII And so with greater knowledge reverence grows — He, who hath seen God's mystic fingers traced Upon the Hills and their eternal snows. Will last deny the Presence that hath placed This little Planet in the boundless waste — And what is all our striving and achieving. If here the soul its last bright web is weaving? I 12 LXVIII This Living Voice witiiin tlie human will That would our utmost thoughts and actions frame, This Spiritual Essence that doth fill Our minds with mystery and our souls with flame, Still whispering of the Presence whence it came — Is it the child of God, or moral Law? Which inference would the larger reason draw? LXIX We, who are in the world, are of the world. And worldliness is ever our first care, Children of Fate! whom some strong Hand hath hurl'd Into the stellar silence from afar, And left us wondering of what world we are — Strive as we will to reach the Master Mind, Impenetrable mists before, behind! 113 I LXX And so, before we judge of things divine, We first must mortify our sinful flesh — Not to the body must our wills incline. But to the spirit bathed in love afresh! Children of Nature, taught by her to thresh The grain of life from out the husk of death, And in her solitudes find calmer faith! 114 LXXI Without a God, what hath man to desire? Money? — The vulgar tyrant of the crowd !- Or, if to higher things he would aspire, With larger faculties and sense endow'd, His life to some ennobling purpose vow'd, What is there in the far-off realms of Truth That can repay him for his once-lost youth? LXXI I Shall we take Pleasure then as our sole guide. To snatch the sunbeams as they dance and riseP- A sweet philosophy that few will chide! Who please themselves, alone are truly wise — The soul looks out at intervals, and sighs To think of what we are, and might have been Who look'd to Pleasure as a deathless Queen! 115 LXXIII Another cries, " O seize the fleeting hour, For like the leaves our moments fall away, Make happy whilst the God is in his bower, And Youth and Love their rival charms display! Life's golden harvest hath so brief a day! O lose not for remote, imagined gain The precious hours that still to thee remain ! " LXXIV If thou wouldst ask that God should sanction sin, And aid thy body in its full desire. This trespass on thyself must war within. And leave thy breast a ruin charr'd by fire. And Love in ashes all too soon expire — Oh, think not God and Nature are at strife. To rob thy soul of one sweet breath of life! — ii6 LXXV Nor that thine own imagined good is best! For, if there be no other Life but this, Before thou dost thy better self divest. And stake thy happiness upon a kiss, Or some such other indiscriminate bliss, Be sure that when each coarser sense is fed. Remorse shall ask no questions of thy dead ! LXXVI For, if there be no Heaven nor Hell — but Here — How much the greater need that Truth remain! That we may make this Earth a heavenly sphere. By lessening its load of grief and pain. And not with others leave the sting or stain ! 'Tis not by jovial, self-indulgent sins Man learns where his true happiness begins. 117 LXXVII O let no momentary joy enslave The spirit which thou hast received pure! The paths of pleasure flower but to the grave, And few there are resist the fragrant lure ! O, not to selfish sins thyself inure ! " Follow thy pleasures with determined feet " — Can Love and Lust in such commingling meet? LXXVIII O God, — if in the spiritual mood The soul rejoices in its purity — When the soft tongue of passion fires the blood. How far off seems the Voice that speaks of Thee! How mighty is the impulse that we flee! Why hast Thou made the face of Sin so sweet That all our nature yearneth for defeat? Ii8 LXXIX This is an Age of lethargy and vice! With stimulants are all our senses fed, The patient soul is made a sacrifice, To pay for pleasures of the heart and head, While soft narcotics numb with nervous dread — No wonder that its spirit-sight is dimm'd, And God the further off, Love's lamp half-trimm'd! LXXX To lust is not to love — Love scorneth Lust! — How canst thou say " I love! " and Love defile? For Love is reverent, tender of its trust. And could not stoop to any thought of guile, Love knows no wantonness, no Devil's wile! True Love is a perpetual sacrifice, Whose smoke in heaven-ascending thoughts doth rise. 119 LXXXI Two Roads present themselves to every man — The one the Way of Christ, thro' blinding tears, The other roof d with many a flowery span. And redolent of all that life endears — In each the smoke of sacrifice appears: Two victims are upon the altar laid. And Soul or Body now must meet the blade! 1 20 LXXXII And others, more defiant in their tone, Have solved the riddle of the sorrowing earth — " Sport for the Heavenly Huntsman," sayeth one, And yet another, " But for Life and Death," And that the soul fades with the fleeting breath- What answer is there unto such as these ? What answer that can wholly set at ease ? LXXXIII Have we not felt that nothing matters much? That we are creatures of that creature Chance ? Yet, thinking so, how very near we touch The borderland of this great World's Romance ! Where all that breathes His Glory doth enhance. Each life a link in the Eternal Chain, Unclasp'd by God, to close in Him again. 121 LXXXIV 'Tis easier to believe than disbelieve ! Altho' man's mind may never apprehend Infinite God, nor fixedly conceive A Time without beginning, without end. Nor where the stars in their bright courses wend : Enough the evidence to which he clings, The might and mystery of created things ! LXXXV Who, that hath scaled the heights, knows not the hour When, from the altitude of some lone peak, He feels the deep immensity of Power, The stilly silence in which God doth speak ? Himself — a very child in wisdom weak ! O'er-borne at last, his self-reliance gone. He kneels before the One Eternal Throne. * * * » » 122 LXXXVI Unless like little children ye believe, Ye shall not see the Kingdom of your God, So shall these heavenly mysteries deceive The unwearying intellects that daily plod To find God's purpose in His chastening rod! 'Tis strange that He, Who gave the mind its power. Should humble it within the selfsame hour ! LXXXVII In spiritual truths to be a child, And sit at the All-Father's feet, and learn That Satan, splendid Angel, was beguiled By pride of intellect his God to spurn. That all who diligently seek, and turn Their eyes from evil, shall not seek in vain — Than these, man hath no higher truths to gain ! 123 LXXXVIII The lower nature asketh for a sign, But Faith is of the heart, not of the eyes ! Do we our confidence in man confine To what at best we vaguely may surmise ? For who can pierce his bodily disguise ? Instinctively in man we place our trust. And yet refuse to see that God is just ! — LXXXIX That God, Who of His own immortal Soul Gave us that Gift of Gifts — Eternal Love ! Our kinship is beyond our own control. Our spirits to undying music move, Our noblest thoughts and aspirations prove That we are sons of God, children of Light, And born to live for ever in His sight! ***** 124 xc " Who art thou that repliest against God," That questionest His great mercy to man? Shall He, Who fashion'd man from out a sod, Answer to thee whose life is but a span? And wouldst thou ask the Universal Plan? Thou, whose poor mind is finite, whose weak brain Not half of thy scant knowledge can retain 1 XCI But live the Christ-like life, and thou shalt know " Whether the doctrine be of God or not! " — What simpler answer could our Lord bestow? How doth it lighten our poor human lot! How soon are all our doubts and fears forgot! For God reveals Himself in many ways. Till Disbelief a Doubt of Doubt betrays! 125 XCII His laws are built upon Eternal Truth — Truth that is evermore inviolate! 'Tis but the fashion of misguided youth Infinite Wisdom to interrogate, Youth irreligious, unregenerate ! But with each Spring a deeper feeling flows. Lights with the lily, reddens with the rose. 126 XCIII His Life and Teaching cannot be in vain, Since no Philosophy the World hath seen Can heal and succour, lighten and sustain — Can help us to relinquish what hath been — Like that of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene! And in the lonely passage of the tomb What hand like His to guide us thro' the gloom? XCIV What man is there would be afraid to die, If Christ should meet him in the way to-morrow, And tell him of the Shadow drawing nigh? Dost think that he would look on Death with sorrow? Nay, rather, would he not new comfort borrow To know that Christ doth live, hath power to save, That there is Victory even in the grave? 127 xcv And canst thou doubt that Christ doth surely live, That Sun and Moon and Stars hold Him in awe? Disorder never yet had power to give The cosmic cycle, the Metonic law! What other inference can our reason draw? We feel the beat of His o'er-shadowing wings. The harmony in all created things. XCVI Why should we fear to die, since Death must come. And all things to their elements return? Earth, air, fire, water constitute our home. In these alone ourselves we may discern! Is this a thing that any man should mourn, The body mingles once again with flame. The soul returns to God, from Whom it came? 128 XCVII Gather the Nations to Thee once again, For not in Rome alone dost Thou abide! Thy Church is Universal, and Thy Reign O'er all the earth doth pour its golden tide. An affluence of love from Thy dear side. Foreshadowing the halcyon years of Peace When the wild rivalries of man shall cease. XCVIII Arise, O Lord! and let not man prevaii. Let not his arrogance go unreproved. Put him in fear that so he cannot fail To know Thy promises are not removed, Thou wilt not suffer harm to Thy Beloved ! O teach the Nations that they are but men, Ere they presume upon Thy Truth again! 129 K XCIX The Lord shall be the God of the whole Earth! Lo now His Light illumines every shore! All sects and creeds acclaim the Saviour's birth! And hail Him King of Kings for evermore! The multitude of the Isles shall Him adore! Till in the fullness of the perfect day The night of doubt and discord pass away. Then diverse tongues shall in one language meet, That men may worship Him with one accord, And Star to Star the endless song repeat, "Glory and Honour to the Incarnate Lord!" For Day and Night one tribute shall afford — When Darkness stills the voices of the North, The South its glorious song shall utter forth! 130 CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.