.IbOTVt %Vt//9oz . f ?.T*" University Library H4W8 Within tlie veii. 3 1924 013 483 551 PR 10, Bedford Place, Bussell Square, W.C. In Loving Memory of ROBERT BURBANK HOLT, Who died suddenly. May 5th, 1900, Aged 74 Years. Interred at Highgate Cemetery. "How welcome is rest to the weary Who feel that their day's work is done. " Eventide, R. B. H. B Cornell University fj Library The original of tliis bool< 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/cu31924013483551 WITHIN THE VEIL. Robert -B. Wolt, AUTHOE OP "KYNWITH,** " ELPEIDA," ETC., ETC. LONDON : MoCOKQUODALE & CO., " THE ABMOURY," SOUTHWARK 18Q9. ^ ^-/t/, Oz. /\ .ll9on4-% PRINTED BT MCUOl'.QUODALE AKD CO., "THE ABMOURY," SOUTHWABK, LONDOX. CONTENTS. PAGS " What man knoweth, the things of a man ? " ... ... ,„ 1 " How great is that darkness ! " ... ... ... ... 3 '•We see darkly" ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 ■* The light shall be dark in His tahemacle " ... ... ... 7 '* Thou scarest me with dreams" ... ... ... .-- 9 " In laughter, the heart is sorrowful " ... ... ... 10 '* I honour myself " ... ... ... ..- •■■ ••• ^^ " Where is the wisdom of the wise?" ... ... .■- 13 'Man by reason knew not God" ... ... ... .-. l-i " The whole creation groaneth " ... ... ... ... 17 'Who art thou that replies against God?" ... ... ... 19 "The fathers, where arethey ?" ... ... ... ... 21 " If a man die, shall he live again ? " ... ... ... ... 23 "StaneiBme."—H. Schubert ... ... ... ... ... 2-") ■' A man of knowledge increaaeth strength " ... ... ... 27 ■'He built his house upon the san.d" ... ... ... ... 20 ''Have dominion over the fish of the sea" ... ... ... 31 IjOvo ... ... ... ■-- •■- ■ ■ ■-• 33 '*Perfect Love" ... ... ... ■-- ■■■ ■•■ '-• ^^ IV' CONTENTS. PAGS " A little child shall lead them" ... ... ... - 36 " If I be bereaved of my children, I am bareaved" ... ... 38 " The child is not j and I— whither shall I go ? " ... ... 40 "The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger inter- meddleth not" ... ... ... ... ... ... 42 " By sorrow of heart the spirit is broken " ... ... ... 44 " Perfect through suffering" ... ... ... ... ... 46 ** They that are reproved, are made manifest by the light" ... - 48 " Come unto Me ! " ... ... ... ... ... ... 60 " Lord ! what wouldst thou have me to do ? " ... ... 53 " A stranger to my brethren " ... ... ... ... ... 54 "Th^ say, and do not" ... ... ... ... ... 66 " All Thy works shall praise Thee " ... ... ... ... 53 " Shall return no more " ... ... ... ... ... 61 " Though he were dead, yet shall he live " ... ... ... 63 " The Lord giveth light" ... ... ... ... ... 65 "Come down ere my child die" ... ... ... ... ... 67 " Thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed" ... ... 6S " Know the thoughts of thine heart " ... ... ... ... 69 " Thy thoughts are very deep " ... ... ... ... 71 " Before the mountains were brought forth " ... ... ... 73 " If a man die, shall he live again ? " ... ... ... 75 " God seeth not as Man seeth " ... ... ... ... ... 77 " Order my words aright " ... ... ... ... ... 79 "Te are Gods" ... ... ... ... ... ... ... so " Body, soul, and spirit " (will) ... ... ... ... 82 " Thy clouds drop fatness " ... ... ... ... .._ 84 " There is a spiritual body " ... ... ... ... .., S5 " Let God be true, but every man a liar" ... ... ... 87 " Be not wise in thine own eyes " ... ... ... ... gg "Speak what thou knowest" ... ... ... ... ... 91 CONTENTS. T " The Lord heareth " ... ... ... ... ... 92 "Pray with thotrnderstaadiiig" ... ... ... ... 93 " I only am left " ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 "All in all" ... ... ... ... ... ... ... gs " Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free" 100 «' A bishop nnist he blameless " ... ... ... ... ... 102 " Lay hands suddenly on no man" ... ... ... ... 104 "Sorrowis turned into joy" ... ... ... ... ... 105 "The shadows of the evening axe stratched out" ... ... 106 "I would do well, but evil is present with me*' ... ... ... lOS " He casteth out devils by Beelzebub " ... ... ... 109 " Desire spiritual gifts " ... ... ... ... ... ... Ill " We know not what we shall be " ... ... ... ... 113 "Behold! it was very good" ... ... ... ... ... 115 " Are they not all ministering spirits ? " ... ... ... 116 " The pure in heart shall see God " ... ... ... ... lis " That which is bom of the flesh is flesh " ... ... ... 119 "Shall be as the angels" ... ... ... ... ... 121 'ShaJlnotthe Judge of all the earth do right?" ... ... 133 'Ye have not so learned Christ" ... ... ... ... 124 'Like as a father pitieth his children" ... ... ... 125 'The wages of sin" ... ... ... ... ... ... 127 Blessed are the dead" ... ... ... ... ... 128 In Heaven" ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 130 ' A brother ia bom for adversity " ... ... ... 132 * Just, and yet the Justifier " ... ... ... ... ... 133 ' A friend that stioketh closer than a brother " ... ... 134 ' The Lord from Heaven" ... ... ... ... ... 136 ' Thou Shalt not tempt the Lord thy God " ... ... ... 138 ' With any temptation He will make a way of escape " ... ... 139 ' I have seen with mine eyes " ... ... -. .-- IW VI CONTENTS. FAGB " That through Death, He might destroy him who had the power of Death" 142 " They shall be one flesh " ... ... ... ... ... 144 " The final rGstitution of all things" ... ... ... ... 145 " Which temple ye are " ... ... ... „. ... 147 " He that defileth the temple of God, him shall God destroy " ... 149 " I will wait till my change come " ... ... ... ,., 151 PREFACE. If any reader of the folio-wing pages should accuse me of wishing to rival " In Memoriam," he win do a great injustice, for I have no such presumption. Tennyson's Poem seemed the best model I could adopt for the work contemplated, and it would have been less difladent than cowardly to have rejected it, rather than expose myself to sweeping criticism. Having often received help and comfort from those who have ventured to reveal somewhat of Vm PEEFACE. the inner self which is in the world, but not of it, I have endeavoured, in my turn, to express the thoughts I have realized during years of trial, hope, and disappointment. If I am so happy as to aid one earnest doubter in his perplexities, it will amply repay any labour this effort may have cost me. R. B. H. WITHIN THE VEIL, " What man knoweth the things of a man ? " Unsought, and sorely puzzled why My soul a veil of flesh must wear^ I feel at times 't is hard to bear A burden that I fain would fly. It shrouds me from my fellow men, As they are sbrouded e'ach from me,- I only kindred spirits see, In gusts of sorrow now and tfaen^ In gusts which heave tke folds aside, That some my need may understand, God's children with a brother's hand, Unshackled by the straws of pride. WITHIN TUB VEIL. They win my grief by guileless stealth Almost before I wish them near, For trumpet brays not in the ear When modest Love unfolds her wealth. Then, for a moment, other heart Beats pulses that accord with mine, And each from sympathy divine Eeceives the life he would impart. ■\VITHiN THE VEIL. " How great is that darkness ! " — :0: — No native element of light Springs in the human tenement,' While Reason's torch, that Justice lent, Is but a glimmer in the night — A feeble, unpretending ray, So far below all real use, I only think it mean excuse For absence of the perfect day ; . And sometimes asli did wrath or love Place such a mocker in my breast ; For soul would surely talse her rest Far better, if. it would remove. It only showswhat) might have been. And serves- to kindle discontent, Or tempts my reason to comment On fault that leaves the truth unseen WITHIN THE VEIL. On weakness or deficient will, Which has not acted for the best ; Caprice, that might have made me blest, 'But only mitigated ill. Then power of Ufe seems nothing worth The offspring of another's thought ; My form a weariness unsought, A burden of degrading earth. WITHIN THE VEIL. " We see darkly." — :o: — How little can I see within, That little of deficient worth V Vain baubles incident to earth, Time-trifles I aspire to win. The straws of Hope ! to-morrow's flowers, Oft wither'd ere to-morrow came — A doubtful garb of pride or shame, A wilderness of wasted hours ; Dark shadows that I fear to see ; Some tinsel that may serve to-day. And make the passing moment gay ; But what to last eternity ? Spent good intentions, that have made Upon my hell-grim'd life a smear, As brushing penitential tear Had streak'd it with a lighter shade. ■WITHIN THE VEIL. And all my life is foul beside, Encumber'd with the rest of years, Until impurity appears A shame I do not care to hide ; An artful Ethiopian skin, Which hides the image of my sire, And suits the land of low desire, .1 am no more a stranger in.. Yet sometimes I would journey back And start anew my weary course, An infant, 'dowed with manly force ; But Time bars ever trodden track. WITHIN THE VEIL. " The light shall be dark in His tabernacle," — :o: — What boots the veil to God or me ? Men walk less sure when yght is dim.; And dark must ever be for him A purposeless obscurity. Does Goodness fpar to give me light.; Is Justice jealous of her power, Or Wisdom of her golden dower, That lifts the scale of other might ? The soul is gifted with desires Beyond dull attributes of clay, And longs to cast Earth bonds away, Which curb the actions Will inspires. What force exists beyond the veil. So close it mixes in our strife, To touch the inner springs of life. And echo human joy or wail V WITHIN THE VEIL. My troubled soul puts forth her hand, Impatient of the fragile thrall ; 'T is but to smite her prison wall, And learn she cannot understand. WITHIN THE VEIL. " Thou scarest me with dreams.'' The certainty of future woe, The dread that overshadows life, Adds horror to our daily strife, And doubt o'er' all we prize can throw. Uncertainty of time or place Lends might of vagueness to our foe ; For most we fear, when least we know, How closely ills our moments chase. Nay, sometimes wearied to despair, "When stealthy footsteps near us sound, We long to turn, to stand our ground. And grapple with the evil there. 'T were better lose at once our all Than live in constant fear of loss ; With arms expanded meet the Cross — Win boldly peace, or bravely fall. 10 WITHIN THE VEIL. " In laughter, the heart is sorrowful." Men weep the most wlien laughters drown The groanings of a breaking heart, As Will must hawk in Folly's mart The gems which studded Honour's crown. The careless reckon such as glad, Nay, envy oft their wealth of glee ; But fools would shudder, could they see What source the mocking raptures had ; How, born in gloomy dens of care, They fe,*ter'd, hidden out of sight, Till, stung by Pride, to face the light. They lit their torches from despair. Aye ! ht their torches from despair ! Danced wildest 'mid the wildest crew, And gibber'd loudest when they knew What piper furnish'd music there. IVTTHIN THE VEfL. 11 " I honour myself." We know our life is but a link, Yet hardly can believe 't is true, Life's chain was only added to When we first raised an infant clink. My Self is so mirch more to me That all strange entities of sense Are only shadows of pretence, Not substance of equality. My world would suffer little loss Did others cease therein to dwell ; In Nature's mighty crucible I am the gold, and they the dross — The scum that will not let me shine With brightness, which befits my day And when Death skims a part away, I half can deem him friend of mine. 12 WITHIN THE VEIL. But then keen winter's blasts have play, Storms score deep wrinkles on my face, And rigid chillness wins a place, As vital heat is borne away. This tells me of a coming day When I shall be refined no more, Bat cast aside and cover'd o'er, To wait the Master's grand assay. So let it be ! No tearful spray Shall gather dimness on my sight ; I long to grow more pure, more bright. But would not live on earth alway. WITHIN THE VEII„ 13 " Where is the wisdom of the wise ?" Should wisdom trust a foolish sign That human folly dares to ask, Or Spirit do a childish task, To witness of a truth Diyine ? A father takes the baby word By which his cldld can comprehend ; And would yon caU that sage a friend Who Love's first lesson sneering heard ? A common fleece, now wet, now dry, Once guided Faith to noble deed ; God took the test that man decreed, And who has right to ask Him why 1 Our fancies, wisdom, overgrown, We talk of laws that all restrain, And quite forget that higher reign Above the highest we can know. 14 WITHIN THE Yi;il.. Aye ! babe who takes a truth on trust Is often wiser than us all ; He, hearing silent voices call, Believes, because he feels he must. Aiid Eeason, that can but rely On facts, as seen by common folk, Would mortal sense for ever yoke With spiritual mystery. WlTUUf THE VEIL. 15 " Man, thy reason knew not God." Old Greek, who paid at Beauty's shrine The tribute of a cultured mind, What did thy constant seeking find Which man's hereafter could define ? Fair forms grew oft beneath the hand Thou motion'd with a master's skill ; Thy maxims teach our sages still They dwell in ev'ry heart and land. But hope beat air with wings of earth ; Thy heaven was present life renew'd, Thy bliss restraining power subdued, Thy wisdom child of carnal birth, A soul which can be born again. When energized by holy love. Was more than logic wish'd to prove. And truth thy wisest sought in vain. 16 WITHIN THE VEIL. Among the rude Judean hills Jehovah's verities were pent, And only fitful glances sent, To shame proud self-enlighten'd wills. Dark Reasou groped in Nature's night. To find but thorns on flow'ry way ; Faith came to God, and ask'd for day — He touched her eyes, and lo ! 't was light ! The past confesses, then as now, Soul-darkness was unopen'd eyes ; God gives not wisdom to the wise — In love no rival can allow. ■WITHIN THE VEIL. 17 " The whole creation groaneth." All creatures are beset with pain ; But -wherefore should they suffer so, In needlessly inflicted woe ; What can the Mighty hope to gain ? What glory springs from blighted flower ; What bliss is centred in a pang ; What music in the cry which rang, When outrage ruled a sinful hour ? Some tell me pain is hidden good — I find but evil in the sense ; And Reason shivers each pretence Of purposes not understood. The lamb which dies that man may live, Why must it writhe beneath the knife? A need of Nature claims its life, But not the pang he sighs to give. 18 WETHIN THE VEIL. We are not better — rather worse — , For usage of inflicted pain ; And he who harms for sport or gain Is branded with Creation's curse. 'T is vain to say the sin of man Brought ruin on himself and all ; Could ill arise from Adam's fall, Which ruled before his race began? No ! Justice loathes such sophistry ; The Truth is truth, not varnish'd lies ; God's foUy wiser than the wise, Apt Patience probes each mystery. WITHIN THE VEILi 19 " Who art thou that r&pliest against God ? " From fragments- of a world unmade, That round a rocky valley strew, Comes -whisper, "I create anew, The lowest bring to highest grade." " From step to step all forms advance, The lifeless into life attain ; Mean worms in time their manhood gain, Or soon, or late, at beck of Chance." "I dwell in all, and all-in me ; Eternal progress being brings ; New order from disorder springs ; ' It was ' prefaces ' It shall be.' " " Each atom is in-riolate — A palpable inherent force, A deathless energy, whose course Ten thousand Times may contemplate." 20 WITHIN THE VEIL. " My highest born, to whom my Will In-breathed a generative soul. With sympathies that might control Organic laws, for good or ill." " When thy thought- world was rudely rent, Didst thou by faith begin again ; Or hast thou idle, useless, lain — A disappointed malcontent ? " " If so, these stones thy worth have shew'd. Both crumble to perform my will ; My fellow worker lieth still, He wasteth power my life bestow'd." WITHIN THE VEIL. 21 " The fathers, where are they ? " Can wiE, by concentration, gain A power o'er matter reft of soul, Eeflecting that which serves to roll Great orbs along the heavenly plain ? Do atoms hold a vital force Which can respond to sympathy. So man, with miniature decree. Moulds, guides, retains them in their course ? Is form united — atoms bear An unimportant accident, Unless eternal causes blent To serve an end of Wisdom here ? Is life an essence or a shape, A self complete in unity ; Or birth constrain' d of company, With isolation to escape ? #ITHIK THE VEIL. A great existence ceased to-day, Its entity is now no more ; But life organic, counted o'er. In lesser being crawls away. This vital tide let Chance restrain, Embalm it for uncounted years ; Still soon or late it re-appears, And bubbles up to sight again. And when we ask'd what force could strike .An impress of its type on clay, Self -power each atom seem'd to sway, Impelling like to answer like. So, from discarded dress of soul, That Death has scatter'd round in shreds, Time spins for Nature newer threads, And weaves for Will another whole. WITHIN THE VEIL. 23 " If a man die, shall he live again ? " Life ever reproduces life, Its own in kind till death ensue, Then lower forms, whose selfne?s dvte Reiterates organic strife. Was sense contain'd in human frame, But unity of worms it breeds ; Or did new power's essential seeds, Dissolving Nature, lifehood claim ; Earth's ever varied death in birth, Which gives first honour to last age, May reach at last a higher stage Than death can shadow from this earth ; And instinct of a lowly race, Eenew'd as reason's faculty, Become at length what cannot die. Thought-bodied Will — immortal man. 2,4 WITHIN 1HS VEIL. The lesser toward the greater draws, Till fulhiess mark its proper sphere ; Shrinks not too. far, nor runs too near. Bound and propell'd by perfect laws. And organ of creative force Lives with, nay,, on, its living kin, While soul, inimical to sin, Emerges from its hell — remorse. WITHIN THE VEIL. ' Stone is life." — H. Schubert. Essential cause of things that be, Which centres ,atoms by thy law, Is diverse sprung from, innate flaw, To mar a perfect unity ? Or is it thy degree alone Which varies one eternal plan ? Is being densest in the man, Diffuser in the tree and stone ? Is life the same in all, as one, A cycle without point or end, To meet, to part, to strive, to blend. Without advancement, moving on ? So hundred thousand years may stand As fraction of that circled whole. Round which all times through chaos roll To new created sea and land ? 26 WITHIN THE VEIL. May Will coailt days of life and death, Till thought refuse a greater score, And life be only, as of yore, The shadow of dependent breath? What boots a fence too weak, too low For shelter in an hour of dread ; Or life, which ever feels the dead Alone are unassail'd by woe ? If such be all our thought can dig From mines that reason may explore, Hence, Nature God ! I bow no more ; Turn for soul-babes thy whirl-a-gig ! There must be something more than this, Else He who made were less than I ; I will man life that cannot die, And am not jealous of his bliss. Soul must survive the wreck' of Time, Where Truth and Love may rest content Else life were ills by Malice blent — Creation an eternal crime. WITHIN THE VEIL. ' A man of knowledge increaseth strength.' When over waters lately still, Dark wrangling gusts of tempest rave, A nd reap the foam from crested wave. To snow it on the distant hill. A landsman glories in the strife That Nature's mighty heroes wage ; A seaman knows their sport or rage Is present danger tracking life. But should the might of tempest rise To peril wave-heaved standing place, Whose look reflects pale Terror's face, Who then can danger most despise ? The knowledge which permitted fear, "W hen ignorance in smiles was clad, Aroused to act, is fiercely glad That worthy foes in rage appear. 28 WITHIN THE VEIL. The man becomes a man indeed — A fifth contending element, Who puny strife must needs resent, As what a child would dare at need. So come the giant-soul'd to strive, When real dangers effort breed ; The Will grows strong as actions feed, And purpose beats each pulse aliTC. Can science in such power detect How protoplasms' culminate, And prove 't is they originate Xew cause to propagate effect. WITHIN THE VEIL, 29 " He built his house upon the sand." Who builds his house upon the sand Can never hope to dwell secure ; A summer breeze it may endure ; A. tempest sweeps it from the land. So he who builds on reason's fault Will only rear unstable doubt; Let wind of knowledge shift about, And babes may sow his home with salt. Truth only comes by fit and start, Men grasp it ever bit by bit ; Strange-angl'd pieces, hard to fit, And little use while kept apart. But if our hands could join and join, Until they form'd the perfect plan, Could faulty eyes the faultless scan, Or reason fit expression coin? 30 WITHIN THE VEIL. No ! Wisdom's ripen'd fields may roll In sunny waves, that tempt and daze Onr hungry souls with longing gaze ; But who can gather in the whole ? A Master's handful of the corn, And barn of soul is put to proof ; Another grain would burst the roof, And leave the tenant's pride forlorn. WITHIN THE VEIL. Have dominion over the fish of the sea," &c. Is Nature's headship vain pretence, Man only other form and name, Or can he justify the claim, And reason out his difference ? Can he define where ends the brute, And where the God-son first begins ; Or how, with lesser power, he wins Admission of his attribute ? He needs must breathe, sleep, drink, and eat,. Is born, and dies as others do ; Is varied in his form and hue By food or rahsnent, eold or heat. Affection, reason, he but shares — A hundred races are as brave ; And no degree can justly save From challenge of the crown he wears.. 32 WITHIN THE VEIL. What gives him right to trample right, To take Creation for his slave, And fetter those whose instincts crave A self-enjoyment of their might ? A stern, inflexible decree Pits race with race in deadly strife ; Existence is absorbing life ; All slay to live, or cease to be. And larger powers, that only bring A more luxurious, easy state, May prove the animal more great,. But do not crown a God-like king. No ! He who would his title prove, Must show by thought, and word, and deed. He tend'reth most another's need ; For man is man through power to love. WITHIN THE VEIL. S3 Love. Is Love affection in excegs; Or are these twain diverse in kind^^ The deep and deeper of the mind That two emotions must express ? Is Love affection of the Will ; Affection, Love of carnal mind ? If so, then kind, when drawn to kind, Must leave the diverse, diverse stiH. All feelings linking man with man Have fellows in each human soul ; Life-cords that sympathies control In working out of Nature's plan. Each has a bright ideal self. And each aii half ideal friend; Thought kinships meeting, ever blend To breed a beatific elf ; D 34. AVITHIN THE VEIL. A being with a soothing hand, And wishes that respond to mine, Until I think it life divine, I see, and grasp, and understand. But Will, to sympathize with Will, Must leave ideal worth behind ; Soul-mate in sinless Eden find. Where Uving Hope's pulsations thrill. Have any yet been blest to prove Such joy extinguish doubt and fear ; By faith in Truth, absorbing here, Eirst learnt of God, then tasted Love ? WITHIN THE VEIL. " Perfect Love." When man, like God, is Will in Love, Their states but vary with their aims ; Ill-seeking is the foe who maims Humanities that heavenward move. A life-afSnity to good, Without the tarnish of desire, Shews Love's pure gold, and 'liner's fire But makes its glory understood. 'T is passions fused with gross alloy, Li earth-damps, poison ever breed ; For eherish'd false on true will feed. Doubt worth-corroding, peace destroy. So Will may need affiction's fire To purge from Love the carnal dross ; Till, Christ-like, bending 'neath the Cross, Faith's meek supremacy acquire. 36 WITHIN THE VEIL " A little child shall lead them." That precious life-gauge, fatherhood, Which touches God in probing man, Once reach'd in me where sense began, Which seem'd true being understood. A life not mine, yet part of me, Had link'd the future with the past ; Unwitting hands, forged bonds. Time cast Round my unborn Eternity. A little hand clasp'd in my hand — A gentle babe's — who taught me love, And, loving me; could half remove The cares she might not understand. Her eyes deep heaven of dreamy blue Shrined stars of hope, and joy, and peace In holy thoughts, too pure to cease. Till verity became untrue. WITHIN THE VEIL. And when she lisp'd a sacred name, Her breath inspired with greater worth, As though she took a spirit birth, To clothe it with a godlike frame. So I began to love that word Taught her. by me as thing of course; I felt old truths take youthful force From lips that evil never stirr'd. To me the mother in the child, Prom her my better self was born ; A self who fear'd not idle scorn, But will'd God's temple undefiled. 38 -VITHIN THE TEIL. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved ' Some months onr home was by the sea, And oft, with little spade in hand, She fashion'd castles of the sand, When Faith beheld security ; Or digg'd her vessel's tiny track, Or took the sea-pad from the shore ; Or Spider, trotting past once more, A journey craved upon his back; Or, in the shade of Salter's boat. For hours she prattled to the man ; Or froro the sudden rain-drops ran To shelter of his ready coat. One sacred lock of sunny hair Is all that sense now claims of her, A.11, yet enough again to stir Emotions we were wont to share. WITHIN THE VEIL. 39 And then I feel she is not far, Although I may not see nor hear ; Beyond the veil she lingers near, Not banish'd to a distant star. 40 \V:iTHlN THE VEIL. ' The child is not ; and I — whither shall I go ? " A poison'd draught that Mammon gave, And she was His who would not spare Some days, some nights of anxious care, And then we laid her in the grave. A modest, heart-worn baby flower, Which I had- loved so long and well ; Bedew' d with tears, my Daisy fell. For manhood broke the Stoic's power. Yet I for Death had dared to cry, For she had suffer'd so much pain. And all our efforts were so vain, 'T was sad relief when she could die. A ceasing of foreshadow' d woe, Which magnified the dreaded Cross, Immunity from fear of loss. An end, we felt it best to know. WITHIN THE VEIL. 41 But ere she peaceful rest might win, Her little hand upon me clasp'd, And, parting, rent the veil she grasp' d — Tore down the mask of selfish sia. And through the rent a beam of light Shone like a day-star of the soul, And guided Reason to control The Will of darkness — Nature's night ! 42 WITHIN THE VEIL. ' The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger internneddleth not." Oh ! prithee let me weep alone, Such grief is hard enough to bear ; I needs must laugh if others' caxe' Be heap'd and added to my own. I needs must laugh the bitter laugh Keen anguish, overstrain' d, inspires ; Or, like the mourner fashion hires, Be callous to the dregs I quaff — Forget the very sense that feels Response to any joy or woe, And all that bitter wisdom know Which sears the soul before it heals. Sometime perhaps I may endure A gentle hand to staunch my heart ; But present grief begins to smart. If even Love should hint a cure. WITHIN THE VEIL. 43 So prithee let me weep alone, And trim the burden I must bear, No man with man soul-load may share ; Each can but realize his own. 44 WITHIN THE VEIL. " By sorrow of heart the spirit is broken." The grief which passes bounds of woe Serves for dry husks the rebel Sin ; Doubt starves the soul, while Faith might win Corn, reap'd where healing waters flow. If those who loved us love us still, Can our repining make them glad ? Or do they mourn to see us sad, And blush when Memory fondles ill 1 Thus runs a little simple tale : Three days, three nights, a mother wept ; Her child on Jesus' bosom slept, But waked at love's despairing wail. On noiseless hinges turn'd the door ; A Soul-touch raised the mourner's head ; Clad in the sunhght of the dead, Her gentle daughter came once more. WITHIN THE VEIL. 45 " Oh, mother, weep not thus for me, — God's mournful Angel measures tears ; Earth-stained thy tide of woe appears, It mars the tear-cup's purity? " (The child a crystal bowl display'd) : " See how thy grief wells high and dim ; Another tear will pass the brim, My peace to break, my Heaven to shade.'' The vision pass'd ; a mother's love Seal'd up the troubled fount with hope ; Beat back dark doubts which rose to cope With purpose prompted from above. 46 ■WITHIN THE VEIL. " Perfect through suffering." " Through suff 'ring, perfect,'' was the word Ad Intuition spake to me ; I ask'd not what the voice might be, But proved a comfort as 1 heard. Had one been perfected by pain ! The Best made better as he bore ; Then wherefore should I murmur more ; Her sorrow might not be in vain. _ [ She now to fuller knowledge brought, Might bless the rod in mercy sent ; And why should I nurse discontent, Or question what the Father wrought. Had I all knowledge ; could I see Beyond my little, narrow sphere ? Then Wisdom bade me pause, and hear The teachings of Humility. WITHIN THE VEIL. 47 And so I tried to spell her book, (The primer of a perfect man), And like a very chOd began With finger to direct my look ; To point the letters one by one, That I might realize their worth, And Soul attain to second birth Through patient faith in good unknown. 48 WITHIN THE VEIL. " They that are reproved, are made manifest by the light." She rent the veil Time folded round, And let a beam of glory in ; Alas ! it shew'd where cairn of sin In ever -lengthening shadows frovra'd ; And told how mighty passions sped, O'erwhelming fe,ebleness of Truth, When, in the affluence of youth, I foUow'd on as Pleasure led. Bach stone recorded shame or guilt, And more were added hour by hour. As with her God-defying power My groping Will in darkness built. This cairn out-covered half the light Dear Mercy for my guidance gave ; A little — and no power could save From self-obtained eternal night. WITHIN THE VEIL.' 49' But light of dawning Truth reveal'd My heroes were of demon moold, And thousand nameless horrors told Soul darkness hitherto conceal'd. Such day was worse than night to me, Such truth but made my falsehood quail, And gather closer round the veil, To hide the curse I would not see. 60 WITHIN THE VEIL. " Come unto Me!" " Comt: ! I will give you rest," was said, Like cadence of a distant tone, When straining senses catch alone The last vibration voice has sped. This call the Father's shepherd gave Before he journey'd home alone, And left a wayward, truant one To evil beast or snowy grave. Before, he oft had call'd in vain ; But now, when earth had lost its charm. Or only seem'd impending harm, Love's challenge sympathy enthrall'd. Almighty Mercy needed me, Who needed Mercy, Love and Hope, And felt I could no longer cope With overwhelming misery. WITHIN THE VEIL. 61 'T was death or life — that hour I knew The choice was for eternity ; But Love drew near, and prompted me To cry " What wouldst thou have me do ? " 52, WITHIN THB VETL. Lord ! what wouldst Thou have me to do ? " — :o: — " What is it Thou would'st have me do? " (I strain'd my vision at the rent, Where forms unbidden came and went.) "Still-voiced Compassion speak anew!" " Love thou the Lord thy God," it said, " Thy neighbour as thyself appear ; " Then sweeter accents caught mine ear — " Grod raised Jesus from the dead." Then came confusing Babel tongues, Each piping controversial cry ; They seem'd a rivalry to try, , Of little sense and mighty lungs. I did not find their meanings plain; But each profess'd to offer me Salvation from life's misery, Should I its intonation gain. WITHIN THE VEIL. 53 Bat truths were 'wilder'd mystery, And each, illumin'd by its light, Appear'd so very, very right, 'T was strange to find diversity. 'Mid wind-drift creeds I would not roam. To learn how little churches teach. Truth's Pisgah I aspire to reach ; Behold her peace, then bide at home. 54 WITHIN THE TEIL. "A stranger to my brethren." I' STOOD among my friends of yore, The same without, but inly changed, While they seem'd out and all estranged From likenesses they lately bore. I, had no power to look within, And see if any change were there ; But those who gauds could prize and wear Were flaunting what I. counted sin. I, found no pleasure in their toys, So turn'd to graver, sterner folk. And almost took the mimer's yoke. Whose heaven is lack of earthly joys ; A strong content with inward grace, A perseverance so assured, And free salvation so secured, No sin is danger or disgrace ; WITHIN THE YBIL. 55 A curious eye for others' lapse, A seamless robe for saintly pride, The curse of God on all beside, His judgment on their foes' mishaps. I could not reach this blest estate, I ever seem'd too prone to fall. And toneless voice to faith would call, " The humble-minded are the great ; " " The humble-minded sons of fear, Who cannot deem their standing sure, But ever heed, and strife endure. With doubts that haunt the earnest here." 56 ■ WITHIN THE VEIL. " They say, and do not." My neighbours said they wore Thy dress, To me they seem'd but thinly clad ; Tight, sorry gossamers they had, Which but suggested nakedness ; They straddled in so strait a way. Their figures shadow'd all the path, Until each loom'd a man of Gath To Davids, who had gone astray. Yet when the hedge of truth was found A thorny path — bound over straight, They faced no more the heavenly gate. But wander'd on forbidden ground ; And rigid souls who err'd the most Spoke loudest of forgiven sin, And, proudly contrite, sought to win God's favour by a whining boast. WITHIN THte VEIL. 57 To such I only could reply — False hearts love surface piety ; The Truth abhors hypocrisy, And lawless sin were lesser lie. 58 WITHIN THE VEIL. "All Thy works shall praise Thee." God's chosen is the human race, His goodness is alike to all ; But Sons who heed the Father's call, In every glass behold his face. Not only in the sacred fane, Where mighty pceans utter praise, But e'en where curse of Adam lays Like mould, on bread earth's toilers gain. A straw upon the common path, Scorn'd, trampled on, by brutal things, A vestige of creation brings To him who godly vision hath. Life pent in liquid worlds that fall. Of might in feebleness can teach ; Thought-voiced each rain-drop's thousands preach True greatness careth for the small. WITHIN THE VEIL. 59 The flutter of a wither'd leaf, The drooping of a ca^ke^'d flower, Soft whisper in the sunny hour, Life bides not here — earth's joy is brief. The stream which dances from the shade, To babble in a moment's light, But runs from darkness into night, And men forget what sound it made. When children grope in sunless ways. Heaven's high-priest round his forehead girds Bright stars, like hope-Ulumin'd words. That tell of countless other days. The zephyr breathed on fever'd frame, Enrich'd with perfume from the lea, Was power we felt, yet could not see ; But infants question whence it came. When stiUness, like sweet slumber's balm. Gives healing rest to all around. Grand silence rises from the ground, To picture God's eternal calm. 60 -VVITHIN THE VEIL. Aye ! man, by whom the Truth is known, New fashion took with second birth, And every circumstance of earth Reflects twin image, God's — his own. Can human diction all express That such an one would think or say Truth cast the stilted birth away ; It would be more — it must be less. WITHIN THE VEIL. 61 " Shall return no more." Dbak little one, I seek in vain, Is gulf 'twixt Heaven and Earth so wide Thou canst not bridge from yonder side, And cross, to be mine own again ? Thou heard'st a call I could not hear, Thou saw'st a face I could not see, And, trustful, went away from me. Thy hand in Hisj whose grasp we fear. I long to know what thou could'st tell Of life they count no more by years. And how the great white throne appears To spirits that around it dwell. Art thou a babe with flaxen hair Whom I could take upon my knee. And feel 't was thus it used to be. And thus 't will be when, I am there ; 62 WITHm THE VEIL. Or does Eternity possess Accelerate developement, Whose pulses fuller life have sent, To throb beneath thy spirit dress? Thou hast priority of birth In thy far land of endless day ; My elder in the bright array, Although I gave thee life on earth. So thou may'st train my infant might, As once I loved to tutor thine, When, new-born to the life Divine, I blink at too effulgent light. WITHIN THB VEII,. 63 " Though he were dead, yet shall he live.'' Pair blooms that strew the meadows o'er, Like feathers dropp'd from dove of peace, Te herald Spring and life's release ; Dark days are past, Death reigns no more. Sweet little flowers, her own in name, Like her ye slept beneath the sod ; Did you alone hear voice of God, Or did my Daisy hear the same 1 She loved to claim you as her own, When both about my dwelUng grew ; Oft, fresh baptized in morning dew. Tour petals round her forehead shone. And is there nothing for her now ; Has she no loving Father near, Who joys her Uttle voice to hear, And twines a garland for her brow! 64: WITHIN THE VBIL. Are there no fields where she can roam, When living sunbeams make them gay ; No house where she delights to stay, And feels it is indeed a home ? Poor flowers that live, yet cannot love, Tour resurrection is but here ; Ton bloom and die, and re-appear Faint types of what awaits above, WITHIN THE TEIL. 66 " The Lord giveth light." FoK mists that hannt our vkle of tears, And hide from sight the blessings round, A heavenly antidote is found, When kiss'd by light, they disappear. A sister to my Daisy came. Like herald beatn of waking day; My gloomy shadows crept away, My sorrow took another name. AfEection's centre found in her. When focus'd back upon my heart, Dispell'd its misty grief in part. And bade the sons of morning stir. Her little hand within my own, And lips which thaw'd life's ice-crnst cold, Gave almost that, which was of old. Almost, not quite, what I Imd known. 66 WITHIN THB VEIL. 'T was joy subdued to hope of joy, A light that was, yet might not be ; A warmth which, bora in Heaven for ine, Earth-clond ere ev'ning might destroy. Deep thankfuhiess diminish'd care ; But haunted still by vague alarms, I oft must catch her in my arms. And prove by kisses she was there. WITHIN THE VEIL,. 67 " Come down ere my child die." Thbt told me that my pet must die, At least, she scarce had strength to live ; "Great God!" I cried, "why didst Thou give, To claim again Thy gift ; oh, why ? " But patience of a mother's love Redeem'd the prey from hand of Death, And He who treasures prayerful breath Call'd not my little one above. He left her still where I could see, TVhere I her prattled joy could hear, And wiped away the scalding tear Through which Hope glimmer'd mistily. In triune life, where God is chief, What burdens one, on all must rest ; And thus, possessing and possess'd. Each finds through each content, reUef. 68 WITHIN THE VEIL. ' Thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed." Thoughts come not at our beck and call, But visit soul from day to day, And Will can turn such guests away, Or bid them enter, one or all. But rarely, climbing rampart o'er, Intrudes a rude, unwelcomed guest ; Law binds the fiercest ones to rest, And parley ere they pass the door. 'T is only when we make them friends, Co-tenants of our earthly home, That thoughts our praise or shame become. As wrong or right in converse blends. But if we leave an open door, And Will a passive host remain, What fancies strange, admission gain, And chambers of the soul explore ! WITHIN THE VEIL. 69 " Know the thoughts of thine heart." — :o: — I STUDY life, and deem it right To ask how what I have is mine ; I probe man's nature, Lord, but Thine Blinds hardy Will that braves its light. Thy person hid from ken of thonght, As Three in One, and One in Three ; Dare I dissect its mystery With curious knife, Presumption brought ? Dear Christ, I read that thou shalt reign But subject to the Father stiU, And own true sympathy of will To perfect, perfect must restrain. For me it is enough to know The Three, as One, desire my weal, And love me as I come to feel God-kindled love within me glow. 70 WITHIN XHS VBIL. All signs, all words, that schoolmen frame, To mark ineffable degrees, Are, like the toys which children please, Time-wasters when we manhood claim. Each man has tasks to seek and do. If he true hfe in God would prove. Or have old sinful stains remove Before he shall be clothed anew. So Faith shall labour as she may Beneath the Veil, as He decreed ; Time's chains rust off, till Soul is freed, Hope's might and stars will fade in day. WITHIN THE VEIL. 71 " Thy thoughts are very deep." In primal mattei;, do we see The palpability of thought Through which our haman WUls ate taught Diviner possibility f " The great " I Am's " supreme decree Gave form, befit vitality ; Call'd order, light, reality, From Chaos and obscurity. But what was He ere worlds .began ? Impalpable and. lonely .bliss. Whence dawning suns of reason kiss Gigantic shadows of a man? Which, in the pathway of our race, O'er flowers of promise misted fear. Like mighty woe, impending, near. That foUow'd ever pace by pace ? 72 WITHIN THE VBII,. Until the great Creator seem'd A phantom of the thought He made. And blinded creatures madly pray'd, As faith wrought out what terror dream' d ? Then from the wide material round Arose a common, bitter cry, " We only come to weep, to die ; On Nature's 'wheel our souls are bound !" " The cords of life are rack'd and strain' d. We feel them breaking one. by one ; Almighty Bliss blut looketh on, He joys, or heeds not we are pain'd." And mocking echoes to the sound " He heeds not we are pain'd," replied. While strong delusion, lust, or pride. Another victim seized and bound. WITHIN THE VKtt. 73 " Before the mountains were brought forth.'' Keen thought, whose pre-eozoic ken Wooes glimmers of the truth we seek, Of what dim time-dawn canst thou speak, Remotest from the lives of men 1 Bright clouds of heat intensified. In Tast soul-dazzling Chaos spread ; All substance gone, all order fled, A silent void of form denied. A thousand ages nearer man Spins a fierce globe of liquid fire ; "Whence sprung ! why form'd ! our wills enqolre. And how its energy began ! A cooler mass, where bubbles burst, And pit the glassy surface o'er ; Where boOing oceans heave and roar In vap'ry self-born gloom immerst ! 74 WITHIN THE VKIL. Attrition sterile oneness grinds To multiform fertility, And atom force, in units free, Its place in Nature's order finds ! As crystal, plant, or animal, Affinities in aggregate, Express in versatile estate One force inherent in them all ! Thus much we learn — what was not, is ; From less to greater Being rose, By vital power, whose fullness flows Through uniform diversities. WITHIN THE VEIL T5 " If a man die, shall he live again ?" Down Nature's ladder, stage by stage, At last we reach the lowest round ; Behold her end in Chaos found, And feel beyond the verge of age. Still feel, when sight and reason fail, The Omnipresent force is there, Though Nature stand alone, and bare Of her last atom's airy veil. Then turn we back with bended head, From step to step pursue our way, Grope up from night to dawny day, And read the life-scrolls of the dead. Crude vapour feeds primeval fire. Wild torrents grind earth's cooling mass; First forms to vegetation pass, Then weave Will's primitive attire. 76 WITHIN THE VEIL. Still np the growing Life-force ran Through harmonies of race and clime, Until it reach'd our span of Time, And living soul reveal'd in Man. What next ! Will force, that, hither brought, Suffice to lift our being higher, Or shew Omnipotence can tire, Love shrink to Wisdom overwrought. 'T were surely wisest far to trust. That life, in God's own image born. Will see a brighter, endless morn When Earth-night's dust returns to dust. WITHIN THB YEIL. " God seeth not as Man seeth." Earth breezes stir the vital tide, And waves flash being into sight ; But he who life would know aright, Must ask how under-cun-ents glide — In ocean's calm unfathomed home, Eternities majestic move ; While surface billows vaguely wove, In fitful anger spitting foam. So, 'neath the actions men behold, Man's real life in silence flows ; Few sound its depths, and each but knows What his own plummet vaguely told. Yet this deep life of secret thought For good or ill involves our whole ; God judges but the acts of souls, Not what its echo (body) wrought. 78 WITHIN THK VEIL. Poor flesh and blood, that but obeys Propulsions of an innate power, Thou hast in time thy grievous hour, Earth pain, earth sin, on earth repays. That living soul which man became Was more than what he shares with brnte,- A Godly self, in-breathed to suit ?ome higher attribute and claim. WITHIN THE VEIL. 79 " Order my words aright," The Tital self of hnman thought, When freed from soul that gave it birth, Becomes a freeman of the Earth By whom her children will be taught. It flits upon the wings of breath To visit countless homes of mind, And leave its photograph behind, As antidote of life or death. The meaning spoken words convey, May nullify a pure intent, Or make an evil heart relent, And walk in light while yet 't is day. So Truth should each conception try, Before Soul gives it breath of life ; Eternities in words are rife. If thought once spoken cannot die. 80 •WITHESr THE VEIL. " Ye are Gods." — :o: — Or all the ways that soul-ward be, God leaves but one for Man to guard, That needs his constant watch and ward ; 'T is thought — ^the Will's Thermopyte. In every other sinful road A guardian angel waits the word, -And voice of Will is hardly heard Ere he to bar the path hath strode. Thought gives us power to be at one With past, with present, and to be ; Shews Man in kind, nigh great as He Who only spake and it was done. We can create a httle world As He a thousand systems made ; Can give it life, and light, and shade, Without a snake in Eden curl'd. WITHIN THE VBIL. 81 Then e'er he doubted why, unknown, Sure little man who wisely leam'd Had from the great creation turn'd, And striven to amend his own. Creatiye thought had call'd within Pit world his goodness to declare ; With paradise all bright, all fair, TJntarnish'd by the breath of sin. 82 WITHIN THE VEIt. "Body, soul, and spirit" (will.) If soul be body to the will, As flesh is body to the soul, Then matter, ceasing to control. May leave the god-son selfness still. An entity by Spirits known That now are sympathetic here, And power, which drew soul-kindred near, Awake hereafter stronger grown. But time-entangled fleshly ties Dissolve like mist at morning's light ; Too gross to live beyond the night, No trumpet voice bids earth arise. The matter of a thousand frames Disowns the claim of any one ; It serves, dissolves, then hurries on To take another thousand names. WlTHrN THE VIML. 83 This very hand which guides my pen But serves the purpose of an hour ; Its atoms blossom' d in a flower, And may to-morrow bloom again. Then can I from such tenure claim A sure priority of right ; Or say " I am what meets the sight, And shall be at the final doom?" 84 /WITHIN THB VKU.. ■'Thy clouds drop fatness." Like clouds which fertilize the brain Float sciences within the mind, "While truth from purer Heaven behind Tints facts that gather Wisdom's rain. And as earth sight may hardly bear The glory of a cloudless sky, So reason's faculty would die. Burnt out by truth's unshaded glare. Yet breezy energy of thought Parts sometimes clouds which dim the light. And bolder nerving quailing sight, Soul almost braves the orb she sought. Most fretful storms are soonest past, And light through nature streams again ; Our heaven is not unfallen rain, Truth's snn dispels doubt-clouds at last WITHIN THE VEIL. " There is a spiritual body." The body draws its life from death, Its food pre-organised must be ; Petriflc, vital infancy Distils but vegetable breath ; And, rising higher in ihe scale, Soul only thrives on flesh of Boul ; Truths which composed a vital whole She must digest, or pine and fail. This is man'ti real living food, And they who yield it most possess ; Each giver finds it more, not less ; Thoughts most express' d, best understood. Then, may it be, creative will Requires a sustenance of thought, Whose purenesB in His essence wrought, Makes e'en the greatest greater still. 86 WITHIN THE VEIL. While man becomes a living stone In living temple of his God ; First measured by the builder's rod, Then placed where truth obtains alone. A part of God, yet wholly man, Au atom spirit, entity, Compiised in vast eternity As needful link of vital plan. A life whose loss would mar the life Which makes Almighty love complete. So must exist till vital heat In vital source no more is rife. WITHIN THE VEIL. 87 " Let God be true, but every man a liar." A God Omnipotent, but yet Existing by eternal laws, Whose axioms, ruling, end, and cause. His Will from evil impulse let, God cannot change, or sin, or die, Nor could He will an equal Will ; His creature must be lesser still. Imperfect good, however high. Imperfect good yields germ of sin ; Its possibility to err Might vital independence stir, And rivalry of grade begin. 'T is what we find where life exists, Bach being would exalt its own ; And weeds have often overgrown Good grain on which high life subsists. 88 WITHIN THE VBII.. Once-rooted in the soil of hope, Rank egotism ever grew, And ripen'd seeds, ill winds might strew For future sorrow's bitter crop. Shall we who reap it raise complaint^ That God's perfections reach too high, When nought but perfect Love would try To cleanse a foe from damning taint. wrrHm the veil. 89 " Be not wise in thine own eyes." Mat any simple child of God Presume to judge of holy things, Or liTing water only springs To answer Pentecostal rod ? Shall each assume his conscience right, A clear, defined, unerring law ; By favour'd prophet heard with awe, Amid the stillness of the night ? Though such to other men appears Less true, less pregnant, than their own. Or lying voice or speech unknown. Or strong delusion of the ears ? The greatest atom of the church Is but a fraction of the whole ; Its tone no echo can control Which answers to the Spirit's search. 90 WITHIN THE YEIL. Ten thonsand thousand notes combine- To swell Authority's reply, And none may say I, only I, The vocal bonds of truth entwine. WITHIN THE VEIL. 91 " Speak what thou knowest.*' Eaoh atom has a perfect sound, If rightly tuned aud finger'd well ; Bach should its owa pulsation tell, Not echo others beating round. Could monochord embrace the whole Of that eternal song of praise Which present, past, and future raise Within the temple of the soul. AU sounds are needed for this song, Each perfect in its own degree ; How 'minish'd would their discord be Did each correct its little wrong ! Tet if all atoms could agree, And each emit one sweetest note. Around the throne of God would float, Not music, but monotony. 92 WITHIN THE TKII,. "The Lord heareth." H ow solemn are nnspoken words Which tell to God a real need, And, like the desert manna, feed Each Will that holy armour girds ! How still the cavern of the soul, Where prayer-according voice is heard, When o'er the tempest, passion stirr'd. Faith wins the virtue of control ! We knew not being lay so deep, Until it trembled at the voice, And Hope scarce ventured to rejoice O'er sorrow's impotence of sleep. The words, if voiced, perchance had been Some common disconnected sounds ; But pregnant trnth in such abounds, God's grammar is not Man's, I ween. WIXHIN THE VEII,. 93 " Pray with the understanding." God's honse should be a house of prayer, The Spirit's sanctified retreat, Where children with their Father meet, And feel 't is good to linger there. Shall seU-sufflciency intrude, Unlearn'd or incoherent speech, Without a warranty to teach Beyond humility subdued ? Is sound, not meaning, what we need To blend a thousand souls in one ; Or is the prayerful union gone Unless thought-comprehension lead? Alone, we words as nothing prize, An earnest, truthful Will is all; But order is a needful thrall When common supplications rise ; 94 WITHIN THE VEIL. So form that each can understand, And feel his saints in Heaven have nsed ; Brings mellow'd grace — old lives infused, To him who would not grace withstand. Alas ! for those to whom each word Bears mem'ry of an evil time When truth and liberty were crime, And rulers schism's ashes stirr'd. 'T were better let the past be past, All thoughts of enmity forbid ; Forget what brother's father did, And use the freedom won at last. WITHIN THE VEIL. 96 " I only am left." The sweet bells from Saint Mary's tower Call o'er the wide Esk's borrow'd tide, And, mellow'd, reach the western side, To whisper " 't is devotion's hour." I mount the foot- worn stairs again, Which scale the tall cliff's rugged height. And gaze on boyhood's old delight, Calm ocean's scintillating plain. I mark the wealth of field and wood That winds betwixt heath-crested Mils, Whence spring God's verdure-tracing rills. Where ripples nature's vital flood. See near at hand a royal name Writ felon in a ruin'd pUe ; A human hoof-mark, ruthless, vile, On batter'd lamp of holy flame. 96 WITHIN THE VEIU I pass by manj a 'graven stone, Eecbrding local worth or fame, And single one, a kinsman's claim, Placed over dust whence sprang my own. Then, in the old pew's solitude 1 rather sit to feel than hear ; God's well-sown acre girding near. Beyond, life's lands in light subdued. I ponder eVry coming face, And ask it for a friendly sonl ; But Time so oft has taken toll, Poor beggar'd Love has fled the place. And where the gallant sailor bent, A giggling boy mocks holy things, Or thoughtless reads, or witless sings, 'Mid swaddles wove by self-content. One voice o'er others tremulates. Strange, but familiar. Spft I turn Half fearfully, and thankful learn Old Greenbury still prays^still wa^ts. WITHIN THE VEIL. 97 Could other than the words of old Befit the place, the man, the time? No ! change were surely almost crime. And fashion's eloquence too cold. as -\VITI1IN THE VEIL. "All' in all." The one in all ! The all in one ! The centred Good of living things; The source whence stream of Nature springs, And sea, to which her waves roll on ! Thought's grand impossibihty, Hope typified in things we scorn ; A death undied — a life unborn — Form changeless in variety. ISTot weak in justice, but severe ;. Love wed with Truth who Mercy bare, Bliss unalloyed, that woe can share, Most distant when most truly near. Great Father ! could one note declare All praises from so- many due ; Dare all but one be found untrue — Slaves, liars, in Thy house of, prayer ? WITHIN THE VEII.. 99 A curse upoa the fathers fell Who compass'd for one proselyte ; Who wrested truth, and trampled right, To make a tenfold child of hell. That lowly-minded Curser still Would lawful homage from us claim, And dare we, in His Spirit's name. Exact defiance of his will ? 100 WITHIN THE VEIL. 'Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free," Tkue music of a perfect voice Is harmony of perfect tone A thousand discords sound alone, Each adding less or greater noise. But sounds that fill one time and place In apish melody may blend, If ears imperfect, dullness lend, All nice distinctions to efface. Yet is a thunder'd discord less When shrill components are conceal'd, Or harmony Divine reveal'd, If sound sufficiently oppress ? And can the fallible combine To give iiifallible decrees, To bind a soul that knowledge frees, Or Truth t'ward sophistries incline ? ■WITHIN THE VEIL 101 The yearnings of a human mind, For purer truth and fuller light, Loathe subtle errors that unite To press the weak, mislead the blind. And if, as promised in the Church, Through time a holy presence dwell. Should not each member know it well, Or can it need collective search ? Ears cannot see, eyes cannot hear, Tet both perceive when God is nigh ; Though senses diverse, naught supply Which can the same to both appear. 102 WITHIN THE VEIL. " A bishop must be blameless,'' When chosen men are set apart To minister in holy things, The awful office rightly brings High thoughts to cleanse and search the hcart- Iligh thoughts of God, to make the man More earnest-minded, pure, and meek ; A Will that feels its strength is weak To do, to suffer, or to plan — A love alike for great or small, A simple aptitude to teach ; A faith that can but God-ward reach, A hopeful charity for all — A patience that endareth wrong, A thankful bearing of the Cross, A knowledge earthly gain were loss, A burden, if the race be long. ■WITHIN THE VEIL. 103 Such only bring the sacred flame, All others waken righteous ire, And prove their strange, self -vengeful fire, To viiidicate Jehovah's name. Spruce efBgies of ancient Seer Ignore what Christ's deed-teachings mean — Move dainty, lest life-lie he seen Througli accident in truth — veneer. And Children, deeni'd of mean degree. See yearning arms expand no more ; Nay, tremble at Love's frozen door, Shut out by prim Gentility. 104 WITHIN THE VEIL. " Lay hands suddenly on no man.'' 'T IS right to consecrate a priest, But God must e'er select the man ; He never chose, and never can, Gross feeders for the marriage feast. The Simons who have dared appear By virtue of a golden key, To whom the Master's word shall be — " Friends, who are ye, and wherefore here ? " Do buyers, sellers, of to-day Forget the scourge that Jesus made ; Or is our worship lawful trade, And Mammc j him to whom we pray ? All incidents in cycles turn ; The past is yet the future thing ; Will Time the day, the moment bring, When holy zeal again will burn ? WITHIN THE VEIL. 105 " Sorrow is turned Into joy.'' The tender breathings of a voice "Which give a simple tale to me, Yield trner strains of melody Than science-complicated noise ; Uniting harmony of tone To sorrow pity renders dear ; They make me/ee?, as well as hear, Till others' grief becomes my own. Soft, trembling words, like aspen leaves, In pulse impalpable of air ; Shew sympathetic soul is there "Whose will, earth-woe of sting bereaves. So He whose sorrow makes me sad. With still small voice my love assails, That wins where pealing thunder fails- I weep with him till both are glad. 106 WITHIN THE VEIL. ' The shadows of the evening are stretched out." One Sabbath eve, on Towey's side, A friend and I together lay, To watch the twilight fade away, And hear the murmur of the tide. Across the stream a ruin hoar Gave fitting crown to verdant knoH ; Bacli, shrouding woods appear'd te roll. And give old Being scope once more. Gay, modern homes below were seen, And skiffs lay strew'd along the strand. While far away, on either hand, Stretch'd hills that waters danced between. Upon a sand-bank, girt by sea, Slow ruin ground a stranded snow ; Her three tall spars, dim, sheetless, show Ghost-skeletons bared drearily. WITHIN THE VEIL. 107 And brighter grew each warning light, That told where lurking dangers lie — Hope stars which paled the orbed sky Where Mercy*s finger touch' d the night. Then, as the darkness gather'd there, TiU eyes no longer forms might know, Young children, pacing to and fro, G ave soft, sweet voices to the air. And we, who knew not what they sang, Felt tones supply the lack of words ; We listen' d as to viewless birds, Whose accents late in Eden rang. And when they went, and all was still, Except the curlew's flitting cry, We wander'd homeward silently With mem'ries mollifying Will. 108 wrrniN the veil. I would do well, but evil is present with me." ' T IS very hard to do the right, Oar passions eddy round so strong, And blow about the dust of wrong, Till earth- films gather on the sight. And duty, like a prism, seems A many-sided, changeful thing, Whence ever- varied colours spring, As circumstance admits the beams ; For contact with the purest earth Dissolves all unity of light ; The parent beam comes fair and bright, The offsprings are of tinted birth. And so 'twixt men a balanced right Is Phoenix, rarely to appear ; But claim from God is ever clear, In love to Him all rays unite. WITHIN THE VEIL. 109 " He casteth out devils by Beelzebub." The Pharisees proclaim'd of old Great works by power of Satan wrought ; Their sons to-day repeat the thought With heart as hard, with look as cold. Let breeze of truth begin to stir Where cant has froth'd a bigot's creed ; Forthwith no other proof they need, But Satan to the throne prefer. " Let Love be crucified anew, And Faith become an open shame ; Omnipotence is but a name ; Hurrah! give Beelzebub his due !" There is a sin of blasphemy — A bitter sin — a sin of death ; Thy prayer were only wasted breath If erring thus, and wilfully. 110 WITHIN THE VEIL. 'T were better hope, and trust, ami learn, Aye ! wait with patient, simple fear ; None hear but those who wish to hear, Who spurneth Truth, him Truth will spurn. The folly of to-day may prore To-moiTOw's real ttlphabet. And sons their childish lore forget, When past the infant-school of Love.. - WITHIN THE VEIL. Ill "Desire spiritual gifts." When did the race of prophets end — Why speak not voices now as then ; Has God withdrawn, or found that men No more with real faitli attend ? Oar sages simple babe would scout, Who came of midnight voice to tell ; Though One had called Samuel, Each Didymus would smile in doubt. Who says that iron axe could swim Now babbles but an idle tale ; Who knows not cruse of oil must fait If daily used by. me or him^ A prison gate-remains secure Until the jaoler'g hand unbar, And those who follow Eastern star- Are dreamers, vague deceit's allure^. 112 -WITHIN THE VEIL. And if our dearest came again To whisper comfort at our side, Who would not doubt such one had died, For cannot Death his right maintain ? Yet, if we trust that holy page Wherein our brightest hopes are writ ; Each thing has been! Time witness'd it! Then wherefore not another age ? To me it seems that God, unchanged. His dealings must be still the same ; Man's need some varied mode may claim, But like from like is ne'er estranged. WITHIN THE YEIL, 113 "We know not what we shall be." The saints in Heaven we loved on earth, And canonised within the soul, Can they the book of life unroll, Scan every deed, and try our worth ? Do they who gave such ready aid Forget the task they left undone, Forsaking e'en the cherish'd one Whose ransom is a while delay'd ? Is life beyond this span of ours, A new existence death-inspired — Or Will in spirit garb attired, But what / am with fuller powers ? The bursting of the chrysalis That hides our time-maturing wings, Perchance but greater freedom brings For knowledge, sympathy and bliss. 114 WITHIN THE VEIL. E'en here we recognise within A truer man than men can see, And some believe our forms to be But Will's expression marr'd by sin. We feel this hidden child of God Increase in stature day by day, Like plant which draws life-salts away, Time treasured in its native sod ; Until the vital essence drain'd Soul finds no aliment in clay ; Then broken bowl is east away Which cramp'd our life — our joy restrain'd. WITHIN THE VBIL. 115 " Behold ! it was very good." The finish'd World was very good When man became a living soul, And life, above instinct's control, An image of the Maker stood. Blest sympathy of Wills to prove The breath divine — man's life bestow'd ; The creature in. all else he show'd, The God in freedom of His love. The Will of man, like Will of God, Might self or other love the best ; God's love on man desired to restp The earth-worm burrow'd in his sod. Low self-assertion kin o'ercame, Withdrew from walk and converse high^ From perfect bade imperfect fly. To hide a sin-created shame.. 116 WITHIN THE VEII.. "Are they not all mirristering spirits?" Do all the great and holy men Who heard the wind of Pentecost, Who felt and saw the Holy Ghost, Forget the sound which startled then? Is Peter heedless of the sheep That now are straying from the fold, Or does he gather, as of old, The Master's lambs to feed, to keep ? When priests or councils worship blot, With figment rites that numb the brain, Doth not the Bishop speak again, " My sentence is — ye trouble not ? " When truths beyond a human ken Dull bigots dare to dogmatize. In mem'ry doth no judgment rise, " Not doctrine, but commands of men ? " WITHIN THE VEIL. Our infant knowledge cannot say What good the great departed do ; We sometimes think, they tasks renew, And is it wrong to hope they may ? ■ 117 118 WITHIN THE VEIL. " The pure in heart shall see God." Too pure to love a single sin, Too true for shadow of a lie, Too vital to decay or die, Too glad for woe to enter in. The father of the brother, all — (Love-centre of the family), And liberty, that maketh free, A godly, sympathetic thrall. E'en here we show our truest love. By loving what our dearest prize; This feeling, purified, may rise Till truth-accorded being move. A power from sonship we shall win. To love the duty we fulfil ; Let Adam claim his offspring still, God's sons will be our first of kin. WITHIN THE VEIL. 119 " That which is born of the flesh is flesh," Can parent e'er esteem a child As only Nature's accident, And so hereafter rest content In purity, with him defiled? Shall Being, whence I .took niy own. Have lost its claim of parentage, When both have shuffled off the stage Whereon another act is shewn ? Will earth's affection prove of sense, Her kin bnt garbs from common piece ; Will outward, like, as fashion cease, Which death forbids to carry hence ? Aye ! things of earth for earth remain, They would bnt burden life on high ; So carnal kin with flesh must die, And wherefore should it live again ? - 120 WITHIN THE VEIL. Of spirit incorruptible Our bodies glorified shall hereafter be ; The future we aspire to see Is very naan without a veil. 'T is thus I read by dawning light, And sometimes almost think it truth, Though scorner's cry "you dream, forsooth! The truth is hidden, life is night ! " But twilight grows, and, one by one, Dark lines their forms of meaning take ; Old truths stand out as first awake, Then fuller rays lead knowledge on. WITHIN THE VEIL. 121 "Shall be as the angels.'' This creed my simple childhood caught, And it has ever clung to me, "Our God has will'd each man shall be Hereafter what he is in thought." That garments from the loom of Time Leave not the mighty weaver's shop, But warp and whoof to ashes drop, When children o'er his threshold climb. Beyond, the ever-shaded stream Rolls troubled waters overhead, And they who pass we count the dead- Dear relics of a bygone dream. What are those fleshless sons of men So late our own — our very kin ; And when the death-born enter'd in, What state absorb'd existence then? J 22 'WITHIN THE VEIL. A conscience essence that perceives The presence of its God in light. Which rises high, and waxes bright, As sight confirms what faith receives ? A nebulous, pulsating whole, StiiT'd by the great All-Father's heart ; Till love-waves reach the furthest part. And make all life one blissful soul ? Or is it self intensified, Which brings hereafter highest joy ; Free powers, free used, in blest employ. Each Will, pure life love-recognised ? ■WITHIN THE VBIt, 123 Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?" — ^:o: — Death is but sequence to our life, The dark Antipodes of birth — The gate which lets us out of earth, And shuts in Past our pain and strife. For us, uncertainty may blend Dark shades with brightest hopes of bliss ; But He was surely free from this Whose former glories, death attend. When Love consumed Divine repose On human Hope's sin-gathered pyre, An angel scatter'd vengeful fire, Woo'd man's embrace, then Heavenward rose. Eternal Justice own'd the claim Of creatures, on creative Will ; Imperfect hardly might fulfil, All perfect law perforce must name. 124. WITHIN THE VEIL. "Ye have not so learned Christ." — :o: — Deductions that have fenced around Innate infallibility, Give holy precedence to me, And make my footsteps hallow'd ground. In dignity of self esteem I scorn the aid of modern light ; For good old lamps of Eeason's night Flare coarsely in her morning's beam. Were knowledge, truth, incense of saint Might prove the reek of blasphemy, And egotistic sophistry Seem moral leper's damning taint. And man, who learns himself to doubt. When caught by Heaven's soul-searching blast, Drifts from the anchor Faith has cast. By windy doctrines borne about. WITHra THE VEIL. 125 " Like as a father pitieth his children." Oh Father, of thy Son bereft, While yet he meets thine aching sight, And mocks the love which bows to right, And, weeping, bars the door he left ; Thou know'st as much as man may know, The sorrow of Eternal bliss ; Thou, too, may'st learn from grief like this, How perfect is the bliss of woe. Earth's gaerish sunbeams veil the eyes That heavenward glance for purer light ; But, born 'mid gloom of sorrow's night, The far-off sun of suns may rise. As trouble sweeps impetuous o'er Life's soul-beloved aeolian strings, Strange raptures catch harmonious wings, The notes of Eden thrill once more. 126 WITHIN THE VEIL. Man's Will seeks God for sympatlty, Faith sees the elder brother near, While Love's response is soft and clear, " ThroDgh patient hope, grief rests with me." One creed alone besets oar case, Will's perfect sympathy with Will ; The Father Love forgiving ill, When Son can freely ask the grace. Then earthly loss, or woe, or pain, Counts nothing in yon mighty scales ; Small dust of Time, that ever fails To balance one eternal gain. WITHm THE TEIL. 127 " The wages of sin." How little- of the ill we feel Spfings from external circumstance ; How many of the frets which chance Are in the power of Self to heal ! E'en poverty is bat a cnrse "When pride an envied toy would hold; Diminish'd needs aad 'minish'd gold Make true hearts better, 'stead of worse. Such winter scares the butterflies Who drain'd the sweetness of our life, And kills the gads who venom'd strife By truth-insinuated lies. And pains, which rack our senses most, Spring they from vengeful love's decree ; Or can such visitations be Old Sin's unlaid, time-haunting ghost ? 128 WITDIN THE VEIL. " Blessed are the dead." " The blessed from their labours rest, They joy for ever with the Lord ; And are not heavenly mansions stored "With all our wishes deem the best? " " No sin, no pain, no want, or care, But every tear is wiped away ; No clouds obscure eternal day, Or hide what Grod enshrineth there." Can sympathy with former things Draw sorrow to abodes of bliss ; If so, were state more blest than this, Which greater power of eeling brings ? Can she who wept her erring child Be glad that she can read his heart, "When e'en a mother's hopes depart, As truth proclaims the "Will defiled. WITHIN THE VEIL. 129 Can he who trusted to a friend The something dearer than his life, Rejoice to see his bosom's strife When foul Temptation gains the end ? Nay ! greater powers, if thus bestow'd, Would only magnify each ill ; Would drive our pangs more soul-ward still. And burden life with greater load. 130 WITHIN THE VEIL. " In Heaven." " Ko work of Earth is free from pain, And care is incident to ilesh ; But they who have been clothed afresh, Can never know the like again." If work were pre-ordain'd success, Unvaried by a doubt or hope, "Would earnest Being care to cope With phantom chances of distress ? Could rapture appetize a soul Uusavour'd by the salt of woe, Or life a joyons feeling know, Li one emotion bound the whole? Our nature claims a varied round, Man's harp is of a thousand strings, And each a pleasant music brings. When time and place require the sound. WITHIN THE VEIL. IBl Then may not even greatest pain Be foil that highest bhsses need, And endless joy require to feed On ills we rate as sent in vain ? Or may be 't is disorder'd joy The Master's touch will soon accord, And Eden's harp, in Heaven restored, Yield harmonies to Love's employ f 132 TFITHIN THE VEIL. "A brother is born for adversity.'' The painful echo of a pain Which stings a child's, a brother's heart, Is God-born love, that shares His smart, And yearns to be at one again. Self fades in philanthropic light, A rushlight 'mid the beams of day ; Greed's hours of pride e'er past away With dark, vague horrors of the night. And Will absorb'd in others' weal Wins more for Self than utmost greed ; Soul lusts starve out when graces feed, Despairs grow numb, as Hopes can feel. Most near to God, when nearest man, Will grows by love, and gathers strength, Till perfect Being stands at length A cause, effecting Wisdom's plan. WITHIN THE VEIL. 133 " Just, and yet the Justifier." FoLFiLLEE of the ancient law, What was thy finish'd work on earth ; How gaineth man a second birth "While Mercy proves, not Justice flaw 1 Onr grosser sins were naught to thee, No lures to tempt a perfect man. And how coald they escape from ban. Be deem'd our all-sufficiency ? Thine advent to the world of time Gave but another creature breath ; Thy life was shame ! thy woe ! thy death ! The acme of all human crime. We needs must look within thy veil To see where healing virtue lies, To learn what was thy sacrifice, And how at-one-ment cannot fail. 134 WITHIN THE VEIL. A friend that sticketh closer than a brother." — :o: — The friend whom I have never seen May still be truest, best of all, And Time-tax, with his hourly call, A stranger save in sight or name. Not perfect attributes can fill My highest measure of a friend, Till human heart emotions lend To mate emotions of my Will. The kindest and the best must be A stranger, if he rest unknown ; And sympathy is never shown Except through Nature's unity. But kinship gives responsive chord, That utters sounds to answer sounds, Till pulse harmonious throbs and bounds, And life attuned is Heaven restored. WITHIN THE VEIL. 135 Acquiring faculty of flesh, God realises woe of sin, Condemns what Justice fails to win ; Man's Will, Love-drawn, is born afresh. So gain we that from which we fell, WUl-love 'twist human and Divine ; For needs of Faith, Hope, Love combine, Truth centred ia Emmanuel. 136 WITHIN THE VEII,. " The Lord from Heaven.'' On Earth thy state, thy home was HeareD, Thy meat to do His will, who sent, For food men saw was only meant To stay the form by Mary given. THE Will, with human soul allied, Became one being, born of Time ; Truth own'd this entity sublime. And Love the union ratified. Then Jesu mercy will'd in prayer. The God-man claim'd God's love for kin, ^jid cried, before he enter'd in, " Where I am, I would have them there ! " Could Justice wear her crown of right While smiting Him in those He loved f No ! enmity, by Faith removed. All dues of law, in love unite. WITHIN THE VEIL. 137 So we who, in our poor degree, Forget ourselves in purpose high, Walk now by faith, and bye and bye Shall hope in Love's fruition see. 138 WITHIN THE VEIL. ' Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." — :o: — Deeds are grown needs conceived by soul, Sin, good from evil motive wrought ; Belief or times, advantage brought, By lusts that mock Divine control. But staff of life from Satan's bower Has ever proved a broken reed ; God's son must rather die than feed Through wrongful use of rightful power. When other means are no avail, He ought to trust The King of Kings ; But who dare cry for Angel's v^ings, If safety through presumption fail ? His hand may grasp imperial rod. And rule all lands beneath the sun ; But empires must be rightly won. All sceptres held iu trust for God. WITHIK THE VEIL. 139 With any temptation He will nnake a way of escape.' — :o: — Temptation can but yom ise good, We seldom eat the fruit of sin ; Remorse consumes what lust can win, And leaves but ashes for our food. So gifts Divine on man bestow'd Become not willing slaves of self ; Attritions, too, in wars of pelf, The Bword of spirit blunt, corrode. A soul in sympathy with Heaven Strives not for desert-haunting lures, But hunger, thirst, and cold endures, Till in God's way relief is given. And he who takes a holy trust Must self absorb in love to man. Resume the work that Christ began, And show life is not breath in dust. 140 WITHIK THE VEIL. " I have seen with mine eyes." Is Tision thinking with the eyes, Soul, pondering with brain of light, To feel, from Nature, learnt aright, The oneness of diversities ? We talk of solar rays and waves. We torture fact with theory ; But force, which gives us power to see. The hard, cold grasp of Reason braves. A thousand things are ours as one, A thousand Science finds in each, And thousands still beyond her reach. As units, units glimmer on. One energy of boundless skiU Unites, divides, pervades, contains ; And babe-man utmost wisdom gains. Who sees all nature " God in wiU." WITHIN THE TEIL. 141 Omnipotence in all, in us, Gives soul a sense of trnth she seeks ; Earth's sympathetic oneness speaks. And then we know " He made her thus." The things we see become ourselves, Drawn into life by vital force; Thought finds soul-food at Nature's source. And for man's great hereafter delves. 142 WITHIN THE VEIL. 'That through Death He might destroy him who had the power of Disath." The mighty Prince of powers of air, To whom God's trnth is leprosy, Merged time in his eternity, And bred man's eldest horror there. All paths of life one ending found, When yawn'd the monster's cavern jaws; And flaming brands of broken laws Form'd fangs that seized, held, pierced, and ground. And, stalking by each trembler's side. The mocker call'd his phantom Death ; Then whisper'd "there each son of breath Must lay his entity aside." WITHTO THE TEIL. 143 Poor human eyes which probed t'.ie tomb Saw nothing but Corruption's hand, As mortal 'cross the flash of brand Was dragg'd to nothingness and gloom. But when The Sinless came again And left the lamp of Faith within, Fear was the conquer'd sting of sin, Death but the jar of sever'd chain. 144 WITHIN THE YEIX. " They shall be one flesh." — :o: — The growth of soul from truth is wrought, It gathers inly day by day, And chime of reason draughts away. As will absorbs the chyle of thought. So two, who kindred substance win From common holy aliment, Wed to one loving complement, Flesh, whose antipathy is sin. And may it be The bread. The wine, Come thus to real flesh and blood ; Build men of truths, Faith understood, Betroth the Human and Divine ? Aye ! signs of broken, bleeding love Are nurture to the pure in heart ; And does no present God impart His peace, when selfless sorrows move 1 WITHIN THE VEIL. 146 " The final restitution of all things." Sense e'er must seek the Man in vain, His actions are in world of thought ; External movements reckon naught, Though matter God-like form hath ta'en. The outer self must needs decay, The earthly turn to earth again ; The inner, life and form retain. While thought renews it day by day. And when the awful day arrives That all shall be restored to men, Old by-gones, coming back again, Perchance will sum our real lives. . Each thought whose impulse moulded clay May take its substance and its shape, And all combine the Will to drape In garb that shall the man display ; 146 WITHIN THE TBIL. Thus will be seen who trtily pray'd Amid temptation, woe, or sin, And penitents God-selfness win Through guilt on guiltless Being laid. WITHIN THE VETL. 147 " Which temple ye are." A HUNDRED die that one may live ; 'T is Nature's rule, and governs all, Alike in blooms wHch fruitless fall, And truths which self -life cannot give. "Tis but the very vital things Can live beyond a measured day, New-born for ages far away, Hope centres where the future clings. Test sparks, projected from without, Fire thought to burn our cherish'd dross : Gold is the residue of loss. Life verities, of kindled doubt. Instinctive words, too fraught for sound. Yield fuel for great Reason's blast ; In mould of Will the flux is cast, Then image tangible is found. 14:8 WITHIN THE VEIL. The form abiding which has place In that great Temple Wisdom plann'rl, Whose pillars rise in every land, From rocks below the cmst of race. A Temple that has room for all, And lives in those who in it dwell ; Whose proudest echoes only swell True life's new born Hope-tator'd caE WITHIN THE TEEL 149 "He that defileth the temple of God, him shall God destroy." — :o: — " What rule of life can snit my case. Keep even conscience from offence, And scare ill thought or false pretence. In every hour, in every place ? " Preluding act, by Will decreed, Must, as of old, be faith-fall prayer ; 'T were bold blasphemer would not dare Ask Heaven to bless an evil deed. I waUi secure whUe I can ask ! Right guidance in what I propose, ' Gainst man Ill-seeking never rose, If God were partner in the task. 1 He cannot aid my lust or greed ; To win a fleeting joy of earth ; But if I covet real worth. His help is instant when I plead. j 150 WITHIN THE VDIL. He gives but treasures for the soul ; Men take what toys of sense they may ; Heap riches pleasant for to-day ; To-morrow sweeps away the whole. This comes to water, vainly craved, Belated, yearning to repent ; And awful agonized lament, " The harvest past, and we not saved." Break, Lord, the sloth that welds delay, Tune now my Will to chord with Thine ; Hope, Patience, Faith, as one, combine In Love that teaches how to pray. ■WITHIN THE VEIL. 161 " 1 will wait till my change come." In Testibule of Time we move, Until our Father call us in ; He gives the jostle and the din, To prove our truth, to try our love. What matter, then, how veils are rent, Or that they chafe or suit us iU ; His one great aim progresses still, And sorrows teach us God's content. Nay, give the man, within the veil, More freedom than the joys of sense ; Unswaddle soul, and straight commence Immortal youth, in mortal pale. ' T is we, not God, who recreate The fang of Pear which gnaws our souls ; Creeds string the bell, Doubt death-mark'd, tolls At birth of joy immaculate. 162 WITHIN THE TBIL. The sting of mortal pang is o'er With him who knows and understands ; In patient hope he clasps his hands To wait the opening of the door. Aud as for ills, that Being bhght, In natures lesser than our own, If cause and sequel rest unknown, " Shall not the Judge of all do right ? " MCCOBQUOD1.LB AMD CO., "THE AEMOVET," 30UTHWARK. KAIN. Li!ke shadows to ailence descendiu;, The rain alrops are piesing away ; And thair patter seems Toices blending, I listen, and hear them say : " We were born in the cloud aboTe thee' That sprang from the depth beneath, And we neither can hate nor lore thee. Nor care how thy passion seethe. " We work for the World's Creator, ^-^ We speak the Eternal's will ; ' \ Hereafter we may be ereaterj^ "^ Or lost in the tiny rill • '■lit,*' " Tfcat bsjbblea adown the mountain. To the rirer that seeks the sea ; And the sea, tie riTer, the fountain, T?auBa'reliflQity. " Bat in each dtop as it fallath, Thy Hearen and thy Earth ar*.feen ; And we echo thy.Toicf that calleth In aoun«ia that so little mean. "Then why dost thou boast of thy glory. Thou only art'aiich aa we ; Juat a word in creation'a story, A drop in Infinity. " And the law of the Life Recorder Will work ia its destined way ; Nor awerre from the ' Beautiful Older, WhoeTerraay curse or pray. I " Climb what thon deem'st life's highest Uddai^ 1 Thou'lt find there is one mora high ; 1 And learn there is nothing gladdey, iThan the uses for which we die. "But in death ia no iiegradatipn-, For soon as thy form shall flee^ • Will the highest befitting station ■ Fer eyer be feund for the»i Then away with thy bootless oraTing. For the good that may prove an HI ; And the fear for to-morrow braving, --» v Thy work of to-day fulfil." ^^ '/V/t