'nii»iiiii}|ui ^lil jSemU, llllJF ii'.M \U,VV' I hii.i i.i'i I I '{;ii:,i> ^U,?y;l!li!.;. -liJlvl' V,i>s LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ^ 1744 ©]^ap.r.?.. iopTO^t ^n. Shelf ...G.11 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. V .1 y/ BY J. H. Gillespie. RALEIGH, N. C: Edwards & Broughton, Power Printers and Binders. tu^ ^ .G in Entered accordinsr to Act of Congress, in the year x8S8, By J. H. Gillespie, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. Table of Contents PAGE. K Elsinore Fireside Sketches ^^ The Gazell ^^ Merrybell College - ^^ Wealth "^^ Evolution '^^^ An Exception *'^ "Madam Rumor" '^^ 7K Salutatory - "^ Fredericksburg ^ " 77 Hesperus ' ' The Harp of Orpheus '^^ To Ry an '^^ ' ' No More " '^^ Chancellorsville "^^ Ambrose Hall °^ Sleep ^^ Stanzas ° ' The Captives ^^ The Palace of Hope 88 The Chase ^^ Myra ^^ Thanksgiving 1887 94 The Valley and Shadow 95 Stanzas 96 Faith and Hope 96 A Vision 97 A Query 97 Dives 98 IV CONTENTS. PAGE. The Old and the New 98 The Music of the Spheres 99 Impromptu 100 Vespers 101 A Simile 1 03 Phantasies 102 Nature and Man 106 On Memory 112 Retribution 113 Eventide 114 Eternity 115 To Azrael 115 To Laila 116 I .et There Be Light 116 The Penitent's Prayer 117 To M** 117 TheCometof 1882 118 Lines 119 Stanzas 119 The Seashore 120 Fate and Chance 121 An Exhortation 122 The Bard and the Wraith 122 Sumpter 123 Misfortunes 125 Heaven and Earth 126 "Pq **** ]^27 Elegiac 1 27 A Mohammedan Fable 128 Stanzas 129 A Retrospection 129 "ProMemoria'' 131 EbSIJ^(!)pE; A Tale of tlie Shenandoali. Prelude. From memory slowly fades away Remembrance of that fatal day, When from great Sumpter's citadel Columbia's starry ensign fell, And from the ocean's side afar Rolled back the crimson tide of war. 'Tis not the purpose of my song To say who in that strife were wrong, Who were by angry impulse driven, Or by what hand the ties were riven ! Let more ambitious minstrel tell Why Federal fought, — Confederate fell. The humbler, lowlier task be mine To sing of love almost divine. Of tears that fell like summer rain, Of martyrs for their country slain. And lastly how war's cruel hand Made desolate a happy land. 6 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. CHAPTER I. No fairer landscape meets the eye Beneath our sunny Southern sky Than the estate of Elsinore That lies beside the Shenandoah. It well might tax e'en Turner's power, To sketch the hills that grandly tower, And paint the azure canopy That overhangs the hill and lea. And even his great skill w^ere vain To paint the waving fields of grain. And make the glowing canvass gleam With all the beauties of the stream, The forest, meadow, field and lake. The sunny plain, the lonely brake, And all those nameless features rare That charm the eye in landscape fair, Where Nature guided by design The useful and the fair combine. In a broad park the mansion stood ; . And sportive art and nature rude Had wrought so deftly all around The old place seemed enchanted ground, Where timorous elfins of the wood Had built a shrine to solitude. Not so howe'er ; — prosaic age Here found a peaceful hermitage Remote from all the toil and strife And anxious cares of busy life Where it might watch, with eye serene, • And steadfast faith, the closing scene. ELSINORE. 7 Well suited to this solitude Was its lone masters serious mood, For sadder or more thoughtful mien Than Philip Leigh's were seldom seen. His furrowed brow and snowy hair Told the sad tale of age and care, And to observant eyes revealed The .wound that time had never healed. The dread event of one short day Had wrecked the life of Philip Leigh. His bride ere one short year had flown Was from a shying palfrey thrown. The chords of life were rudely riven And her pure spirit went to Heaven. Since then the heart of Philip Leigh Has never known a happy day. Yet oft, when hope no longer fires The stricken heart of man aspires To higher things ; and misery Finds solace in blest charity, So 'twas with gray haired Philip Leigh Eschewing e'er the glad and gay. He sought the gloomy haunts of care And banished sorrow and despair. A lissom maiden fair and tall Dwelt too, in that sequestered hall. And ne'er before, on earth, I ween Was a more striking contrast seen Than in this pair ; the Winter's gloom And Spring with sunshine, song and bloom ; 8 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Or dark and gloomy shades of night, And morning with its rosy light, Or hideous ghoul and spirit fair Might well as strong resemblance bear. And yet these two, the young and old Life's sunny Spring and Autumn cold, Its opening and its closing day Went hand in hand along the way. The one looked back o'er misty years His aged eyes bedim med with tears The other with a wondering gaze Saw the great future's devious maze Glow with the promises of time, Love, womanhood, and happy prime. CHAPTER II. The thunder that from Sumpter broke Midst crashing guns and blinding smoke Now sweeps like an autumnal gale From mountain crest to lowland dale. From peak to peak the tidings fly, Red beacons flash along the sky, And martial drums proclaim afar The dread approach of ruthless war. Disorder and confusion reign ; The farmer leaves his growing grain, ELSINORE. 9 The builder throws his saw aside, The fisher leaves the lonely waste, The hunter quits the forest wide, And all seem mad in their wild haste, To join the legions hurrying forth To meet the squadrons of the North. The lover bids the maid adieu And leaves her weeping in the hall ; He swears through all he will be true. She prays that he may pass through all ! Believing, if he doth return Love's fire will unabated burn. The plowman leaves his glistening share To canker in the half-turned sod ; — Commends his wife and children dear Unto the watchful care of God ; His manly form with grief is bowed, The last fond lingering kiss is given. And murmuring something half aloud Concerning, "home," and" hope" and "heaven," He passes hurriedly away To join his brethren in the fray. The evening shades are gathering o'er The fair estate of Elsinore, Beyond the gloomy mountain's crest Where fiery Phoebus sank to rest The lingering day and coming night Meet half way up the ambient skies ;--- The changing fields of rosy light Out shine Aurora's crimson dyes. 10 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. The timid stars that sang erst while When Nature to new worlds gave birth, Though voiceless now, yet seem to smile Upon their sister planet earth. And Cynthia pale, their fickle queen Sheds over all her silver sheen : And 'neath her faint reflected beams The lonely mansion, lonelier seems, As the tall trees, by day so fair, Cast gloomy shadows on the wall. Which dim and indistinct appear Like spectral giants gaunt and tall. From the lone mansion Edith Leigh, Who erst was blithesome, glad and gay, Comes forth, and her sad, thoughtful brow Tells of the grief that haunts her now. She well may weep, for, sad to tell, To-night, alas, she bids farewell, To one — ah thought of deepest pain — Whom she may never meet again ! She loves him well, and ere rude war Had cast its gloomy shades afar. Had named the day when she would be The happy bride of Eustace Lee. She knows the path that he must tread Is often strewn with ghastly dead. That war's impartial hand doth spare Nor young nor old, nor dark nor fair. He comes at last, and hand in hand They, 'neath the arching gateway stand ELSINORE. 11 Where the dense foliage of a rose Its shadow o'er the portal throws. But let no curious eye invade The precincts of that quiet shade, Which for one moonlit hour's the shrine Of love, less human than divine. Nor will I venture to declare What sacred vows were uttered there, For to that virtuous pair alone The secrets of that hour are known : Suffice it then ;— with tearful eye, He bade the w^eeping maid " good-bye," Remounted, then, his gallant grey, And slowly sadly rode away. O human hearts ! could ye survive The trials of such parting hour, Could ye such doubt and grief outlive But for the fear dispelling power Of hope, the seer, that ne'er foresees Aught that can sadden or displease ?— That hope that bids you look above The woe, the grief on every hand, To that irradiant sphere of love That brighter, better spirit land I Though prophet false such hope may be, Yet who would quell his prophecy ; For who but lends attentive ear When his seraphic voice they hear ? 12 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. CHAPTER III. A hundred different volumes tell The story of each sanguine fray, What heroes fought, what martyrs fell Who conquered and who lost each day : 'Twere therefore repetition vain To tell their story here again. Besides, as well might one essay Hell's unknown tortures to portray As to attempt on printed page To tell of war's tumultuous rage : E'en if in each imprinted word The peal of some huge gun was heard, And every character should tell Of some sad soldier's dying knell ! That time is past, and may the pall Of darkness on that era fall And shroud from view forever more Those fields enriched Avith human gore. Nor will I seek to lift the vail Save when demands my humble tale. The rising moon its radiance shed On the pale faces of the dead As night descended, calm and still Upon the field at Malvern Hill, The battle ended with the day : Each leader drew his host away, And those red hills so lately riven With sounds that shook both earth and heaven ELSINORE. 13 Grew dark and silent as if ne'er Grim war had held its revels here. That night full many a prayer was said By lips that ne'er before had prayed, And many Ji weary eye did close For aye in death's dreamless repose. The true in love, in war are brave ; And where in fight the ensigns wave Unscathed till now young Eustace Lee Had bourne the banner of the free. But now alas ! had fortune flown And he was left to die alone. His squadron's campfires far away Bathed the lone hills with weird light. Round these his tired comrades lay And slept through the short Summer's night. But when the rosy morning came And his proud legions name was read, No voice responded to his name, And he was numbered with the dead. O Thou ! obedient to whose will The raging seas grev/ calm and still Speed that blest day when war no more Shall stain the earth with human gore ! And may our mortal eyes behold That era prophesied of old, When Thou, the Prince of Peace, shalt reign Throughout Jehovah's vast domain ! 14 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. CHAPTER IV. It is a glorious thing to die In the just cause of Liberty And worthy of undying fame Is every fallen heroe's name Who died as did the hundreds three, Of old , at great Thermopylae. Of such let poets ever sing, — Worthy are such of every glory And praises of their deeds should ring In every humble minstrel's story : But woe unto the ruthless horde Who 'gainst the helpless lift the sword, And in their mad and furious haste To forge the bonds of tyranny Turn fruitful fields to deserts waste ; — Such war is mere barbarity. And yet along the Shenandoah Such ruthless war was seen of yore, When the remorseless Sheridan Through the fair valley led his clan, And fields laid waste and homes aflame Marked the dark path by which they came. They rode up to the very door Of the lone house at Elsinore Demanding of good Philip Leigh Where all his wealth was hid away. ELSINORE. 15 In vain the hapless man denied Being possessed of hidden gold ; — The brute asserted that he lied And in most fiendish language told The harmless man his life should be The price of his mendacity. In vain the frightened slaves implored The demons to release their lord ; — In vain the fair unhappy maid For her devoted uncle prayed : For when a hurried search revealed No treasure anywhere concealed, His sword, the ruthless trooper drew And there within the rustic porch The lord of Elsinore he slew ; — Unto the house applied a torch. And rode away with fiendish glee To other deeds of cruelty. It was too dreadful for the pure And tender maiden to endure, — With cry despairing as the knell Of some lost soul she fainting fell, And through the long and cheerless day Unconscious on the greensward lay. Meantime the flames had been subdued But fires afar on vale and hill. Told that the wicked horde pursued The work of desolation still. 16 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. . Though torn and tattered, and betrayed, And low in dust forever laid, — Thank God — our banner yet remains Free from such foul polluting stains ! CHAPTER V. The darkest night, the dreariest day That ever came soon passed away, And from the sky the great sun slione With as full radiance as if ne'er Across his bright effulgent sphere Were clouds and gloomy shadows thrown. So to the heart accurst by fate Deliverance cometh soon or late. And life again is bright and gay As if misfortune's darksome pall Had ne'er obscured the light and all The flowers that bloom along life's way. And, tis a joyous thing to see The shadows, like dark spectres flee At the approach of morning light ; — And yet, tis more delightsome far To see again Hope's radiant star Rise grandly through the gloom of night, And like the light of heaven dispel The shades and shapes and fancies fell That make the world so dark and dreary. And life, a way so lone and weary. ELSINORE. 17 Return O Fancy in thy flight Once more to that disastrous night When poor heart broken Edith Leigh Sank, overcome with grief, dismay. Days passed ere consciousness again Resumed its interrupted reign. And when that moment came at last. And her delirious fears were past. Her friends and kindred all were gone, And she had been indeed alone But for the faithful slaves who strove By kindly deeds to prove their love. True to the memory of the dead Though much beloved she would not wed For she disdained to give her hand When none her heart's love might command. So months passed on ; and Edith Leigh Still trod alone life's darkened way, Believing that the bonds here riven Would reunite, sometime, in heaven. Who, then, can fully realize What joy was hers, what glad surprise, When, walking in the park one day She met a stranger clad in grey ; Who drawing nearer proved to be Her long lost lover Eustace Lee. Bourne, half -dead, from the field away Where he had fallen that dark day Through many weary months of pain In a f oeman's prison he had lain ; — 18 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And when at length deliverance came His wounded mutilated frame Had kept him from his home away Until this blest midsummer day. Here, gentle reader, spare again A task that needs would prove in vain ; The emotions of the humblest heart Surpass the minstrels lowly art, To write were but to wrong the theme Of seraph's song and angel's dream, Suffice to know, love reigns once more. All undisturbed at Elsinore ! We stand beside the sunlit deep And watch the surges shoreward glide, Yet think not of the forms that sleep In silence 'neath the azure tide. We gaze upon life's restless sea ; — The tides of being ebb and flow, The upper currents flash and gleam, But darkness rules the depths below. We pass along time's broad highway With jest and merriment and song, Yet many a heart though seeming gay Is rankling with some hidden wrong. And oft the white unclouded brow The crimson cheek, the flashing eye Are but the whited sepulchers 'Neath which corrupting corpses lie. Could we the seals of silence break, — Roll from each grave its guarding stone, What secrets would these tombs reveal, What horrors, to the world unknown. We meet our neighbor face to face We call him "friend," his hand we press ; We know him well and yet we know How little of his wretchedness." 20 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Thus spake a gray haired aged man. The pastor of the village fold And with this prelude he began The tale that here is briefly told :— " These stanzas of a well remembered strain, Sung by a simple bard whom once I knew, Came rushing back upon my mind to-day The while I stood beside the open grave Of one I'd known from earliest infancy ; And as I mused upon his blighted life, His wasting sickness and his early death, The truth of that old rhyme was clear to me. And I thought too, as I looked sadly on, That when the book is read on that great day Full many a soul like that of wicked Cain Will be polluted with a brother's blood, And many a heart shall be pronounced unclean Whose greatest stain has been its faithlessness. It was a balmy morn full twenty years ago Wheti first I met this poor unfortunate. He w^as a goodly youth, and nought augured The fate that has at length befallen him. The day was fair : no clouds, portending storm, Obscured the sky, from which the glorious sun, Shone with full radiance on the dewy earth. The bright and ripening fields of golden grain Gleamed in the sunlight like a rosy sea When o'er its depths the gentle zephyr plays; The sparkling brook rushed madly, wildly on FIRESIDE SKETCHES. 21 Down rocky slopes toward the winding stream ; And as it rushed along its tortuous way Its gentle fall, hecird in the distance seemed Sweet as the notes of some fair siren's song. The plowman too, upon the dusty plain, The while he drove his implement of toil Down deep into the fruitful earth, and while The glistening furrows slowly multiplied. And promises of harvest round him waved, Sang lustily at his accustomed toil. A group of children on the green sward played Beneath the branches of the stately trees, Foreshadowing in their childish merriment The serious labors of life's coming days. It was a scene that heaven might have approved, So like that one by man's transgression lost. In truth, if light from heaven doth ever shine Upon our lives, in this ungodly world, 'Tis in these hours of youthful innocence, When Nature flows untrammeled in her way, And rich and poor, as in the narrow grave, Unmindful of distinctions, meet in peace. Apart from all the rest young William stood. With one it were discourteous to name. Yet she was fair, yea so surpassing fair She seemed the being of some sinless world ; — So beauteous — a fair seraphic face O'er shadowed by soft locks of shining gold. He too, was fair and strong and brave and true, A noble youth of origin obscure. 2 22 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. They were not children, nor were they full grown, But of that age, — that visionary age When life is full of promise and the heart Xieaps fast, exultant as the bounding roe ; — That blessed age of youthful innocence, — The happiest hour of life's capricious day. They loved each other, — yea, devotedly ; — With all the depth and fierce intensity Of which young hearts alone are capable ! But now, alas, their paths in life diverge ; They meet again, no more, perchance, for years. ^' Will they forget each other" ? " Never" ! He By ail that was most sacred to him swore That only death could alienate his love ! And she with tears in her bright eyes affirmed That through all coming time she would be true. With many tears and oft repeated vows They parted, and both sorrowing went their way. She left a home of rural affluence Where all was simple happiness and peace. To mingle with a heartless world and learn Those mean distinctions that so often bar From all communion rich and poor. The other ; now his burden reassumed Filled with a purpose new, and high resolve To gain distinction, and an honored place In the esteem and confidence of men. Successful too he proved, and men beheld With admiration all his noble deeds, And with kind words they sought to urge him on. FIRESIDE SKETCHES. 23 Years passed in rosy circles fast away, Yet in his heart the sacred fires did burn With fierce intensity. They met again ; But she was changed, and looked with scorn upon His horny hands and weather beaten face ; And when he spoke to her again of love, And of his faithfulness in years gone by. She met him with cold cutting words of scorn. Called him " presumptions," and bade him seek. Among the poor, one worthy of his love. Exists, on earth, no greater mystery Than woman's heart, and nought more variable. Nought in its tenderness so warm and true And in its coldness, nought so strangely cold. His manly heart was crushed within his breast. He lost his confidence in human kind Ambition, hope, the incentives of all toil. Forever fled and left him desolate. Disease upon him laid its ruthless hand And death soon broke life's fragile cord in twain. His deeds emblazon no historic page ; He left no " foot-prints on the sands of time ; " He sank into oblivious deep, unknown ! A rude pine cotlin held his wasted frame : The village sexton filled his obscure grave ; The village priest read an unfeeling prayer, And closed his book and slowly turned away. 24 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Yea ! some may say it was his destiny. And some will marvel at his frailty. There is "no work, nor wisdom in the graA^e," And all God's " purpose is i^ast finding out ; " He died unknown ; he never reached the goal Of his ambition ; time ne'er fulfilled Its early promise ; — yet who will say [been. What might have chanced had she more faithful The old man ceased. Without the northern gale Around the casement whistled loud and shrill, All had in silence heard the dismal tale, And all, around the fire sat mute and still. Respectful silence 'twas that strangely told How each full heart responded to the lay, The tale that like a clasp of purest gold Bound the bright past with the dark yesterday. At length a voice the thoughtful stillness broke, 'Twas from, a youth with curling sunny hair. Whose glowing cheek and dewy eyes bespoke The tender heart, moved by a stranger's care. " Such faithlessness is soon or late repaid : God will avenge such deeds," the young man said: ' ' Confession of our faults should e'er be made Lest we regret for aye when hope is dead. Memory reverts unto my earlier days, — Eecalls a story at our hearthstone told, Of a maiden true unto her love always. And of a noble vouth both true and bold. FIRESIDE SKETCHES. 25 The incident befits this solemn hour For no true tale of this our recreant race Was e'er complete without its faded Hower, Plucked all too soon from its accustomed place. If ye desire, the tale I will relate, Believe me that the incident is true For he who at my father's fireside sat The hero and the gentle heroine knew."' ' Tell then thy tale" ! the listening ones exclaim, — " The earth even now is deeply wrapt in snow, We in this house to-morrow must remain Then may we rest as hence we cannot go." THE YOUNG MAN'S STORY. A river flowing slowly to the sea, A vine-clad cottage on a sloping hill A forest echoing back the boatman's glee, A summer evening calm and sweet and still. 'Tis twilight's hour the deepening shadows fall The sky assumes a denser crimson hue, The stars above in Nature's potent thrall Like watchfires gleam along the heavenly blue. Beside the stream, beneath the starlit sky. And gathering night, upon the sandy shore. As in a dream with many a long drawn sigh Walk Walter Dean and gentle Nellie Moore. 26 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And as they walk, he tells the tenderest tale That ever fell on blushing maidens ear, — ■ The only tale that every man can tell, And every maid with admiration hear. But now alas wars black and gloomy cloud Hangs dense and dark above his native land Portentous of the storm, while threatning loud Its thunders break from Niagara to Grande. He hears afar his struggling country's call Bourne on the breeze from mount to ocean's wave, Appealing to her sons in frenzy, all Her borders to defend — her rights to save. Eesponsive to that loud defiant cry He grasps his sword and dons the Southern gray, Resolved to go and if he must to die Where fields of carnage, and of glory lay. He pressed a kiss upon her fair young brow, Then sMnf tly sprang into his waiting bark And soon his manly form was lost to view As fast he sped across the waters dark. Awhile she stood beside the shadowy stream Ere she returned unto her vine-clad bower : Few, few have known such sadness as her heart Experienced in that lonely twilight hour. FIRESIDE SKETCHES. 27 II. A feeling of loneliness came over her, And but for him she would have wished to die For in imagination's eye she saw A bloody field and Walter lying 'neath A heap of ghastly slain, his deep gashed wounds. All stiffening in the cliilly evening air. She sought her couch, and in her fevered dream Again she saw the field with its cold slain And Walter lying prone upon the earth. And no loved friend was near To comfort him, or soothe his dying hour. And thus through each succeeding darksome day A phantom sprite before Iier fancy moved Presaging e'er a sadder liour to come. Yet in those days, of sad uncertainty, Full naany a loving missive found its way To that secluded Southern home Assuring her, the loving trusting one, That her devoted lover had escaped The deadly missiles of his Northern foe : And telling too of joys that would be theirs, When cruel war should cease to vex the land , And that sweet calm that ever follows storm The halcyon days of blessed peace should come. Then came a change — the days slipped by. To months extended, and the mighty earth In her vast orbit went successive rounds : Peace came, but came not Walter Dean. And as the days sped on, uncertainty [Heft its dark traces on her fair sweet face 28 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And made her life, perpetual wretchedness. And yet she murmured not at Providence, For she had faith, and "looked beyond the vail" To Him, who o'er the fate of man presides. And in Him found a friend and comforter. And had she known the fate of him she loved, Even of his death had been fully assured. She had been happy still, regarding all As chastening from the gentle hand of Him, Who scourges those whom he loves tenderly. So when the roses faded from her cheeks, And her sunk eyes and wasted form bespoke, The coming of the "fell destroyer " death. She shrank not from him, but she smiled and said " My days of sorrow soon will be no more." She died, like stars that fade at dewy morn. Scarce could the eyes that watched her feeble frame Tell v^dien the spirit took its final flight Across the shadowy bound that doth divide The righteous from their fair inheritance. But ere from earthly scenes she passed away, She begged lier friends her wasted form to lay Beneath the tree that grew beside the river. " 'Tivas there," she said, I loved in youth to play, 'Twas there upon a glorious Summer day My Walter last I saw^ before he went away And there I wish to sleep in peace forever." With her request the sorrowing ones complied She softly sleeps by the Savannah's tide And as the old oak's branches in the soft breezes wave They seem forever singing a requiem o'er her grave. THE GAZELL. 29 Chapter I.— The Conflict. Who has not viewed with pleasurable emotion The wide, extended prospect of the ocean ; The changeless, vast, mysterious and sublime Type of the dread and trackless waste of time Wherein the years like a majestic river Without o'erflowing flow forever and forever ! Who has not felt a strange, intense delight, While sitting by the lire some wintry night. To hear some toil-worn wanderer of the sea Tell fearful tales of crime and misery ? — Of gallant ships that left their native shore Passed out of sight, and were beheld no more? Of alien crews to carnage wholly given. Defying earth and not regarding heaven ? — Of fiends that spend life's last expiring breath Reviling God and cursing ruthless death? — Ye whose hearts thrill like mine to hear the tale Of life upon the deep mid storm and gale Attend while I in unpretending verse A seaman's well-remembered tale rehearse ; — Up, up ! my men and spread the sail The morning breaks ! — the freshening gale Will waft us from this hidden bay Where we have loitered many a day !" 30 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS, Thus cried Saucliez a corsair brave, Whose lawless deeds on ocean wave Each wandering mariner inspired With terror, or to vengeance tired. For merciless as a fiend of hell Was Sanchez of the ship Gazell To craft of every kind that bore A christian ensign at its fore. Across the bay his order rang As up the yards the seamen sprang, And soon the sails like snowy clouds Hung flapping o'er the creaking shrouds. Above, below, from boom and gaff, From main and mizzen fore and aft, From course to royals sails were set, Then from the deep made dripping wet, That they might catch the favoring breeze, And swiftly fly o'er hostile seas. For well they knew the ocean swarmed With hostile cruisers manned and armed, Knew well that ravenous beasts of prey Were hunted with less zeal than they. 'Tis said a blessed angel's given Unto each favorite of heaven To shield him midst the toils and cares Of life's eventful, changeful years. But these were strangers, — aliens, — they Had never yielded to the sway Of Him, who freely, gladly gave His life the sons of men to save. THE GAZELL. 31 And yet it seemed as if some sprite, Some demon from the land of night, Some angel cursed or spirit dark, Had guarded e'er that corsair bark : For often when by foes pursued She would their eager quest elude, And vanish like the miriage fair That sometimes haunts the desert air. But now it seemed the Geni dark Left to its fate the pirate bark ; For clambering up the rocky wall Of beach that towered grand and tall. Her crew on yester morn descried A ponderous frigate o'er the tide. That, with furled sails, at nightfall lay At anchor just outside the bay. What need of their intent to tell : Full well the wary pirates knew None sought them but with purpose fell For none to them in friendship drew ; Like Ishmael, Hagar's outcast son, They loved no man, were loved by none. ' Ho ! fore and aft ! stand ready there, The ship for instant fight prepare ! Run up our banner at the fore ! We'll stain their cursed decks with gore !" Thus Sanchez cried, in ringing tones And as he spake the "skull and bones," The banner of the lawless brave Rose darkly o'er the sunlit wave. 32 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Soon, where the rocky shores converged The ship from her retreat emerged. And lo ! with pennons bright and gay, And burnislied guns in dread array, Like a great fortress on the flood The mighty Enghsh frigate stood. Like hunted hare or flying deer On came the ship in fleet career, Each dark eye flashed with living fire, Each face was livid with its ire As they waited for their enraged foe To deal the long suspended blow. Not long they waited, for with flame And shriek of death the moment came, Midst clouds^of smoke, like fumes from hell, The flying pirate's mainmast fell ; And with broke spars, shrouds swept away Dismantled all the Gazell lay. • "Hurrah ! hurrah !" the Britons cried And loud the swarthy chief replied, — " We gain this conflict, or the wave To-day shall be each corsair's grave !" Then turning with suppressed ire, And now, ye cursed sea dogs, — fire ! " One moment glanced each gurmer's eye, One moment waved his brand on high, — And clouds of fire with iron rain Swept o'er the startled waves again. Then with a wild and savage yell Like tigers in their native dell. THE GAZELL. 33 These demons clad in human form Unto their pendant barges swarm. What though their foes are four to one ? They've oft before such hazard run, And reck not whether death or life Be theirs, in the unequal strife. Impelled by many a plashing oar The barges gained the frigates fore, And on the morning air uprose The sound of curses, shots and blows Commingled in one horrid roar ! Shout answered shout, blade rang against blade, Thrust was with deadly thrust repaid ; — Yet still they fought : in even scale The victory hung, none could prevail : Beset about both front and rear With sword and pistol, pike and spear The Britons bore themselves full well And many a stalwart corsair fell. Yet were their glorious efforts vain No wished for 'vantage could they gain ;— The pirates to such war inured The bloody contest best endured. Soon face to face the chieftains stood. Their weapons red with human blood : Each raised his reeking blade on high ; Each swore to conquer ; — else, to die ! Then came the sharp clang of the steel The skillful parry, feint and ward, 34 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Each weapon was both sword and shield ; Each sought to break the others guard. Till Sanchez maddened by glissades, And feint and thrust of glittering blades, Raised high aloft his mighty brand And swept the Britons from his hand. The chieftain quailed not, felt no fear Although he deemed that death was near,- He did not hope ; — even innocence He knew full well had seldom stayed One moment Sanchez' deadly blade. How could he hope when his offense, His coming o'er the sea afar Had first provoked this sanguine war. He was no craven, he would die But ne'er appeal for clemency, — He bared his breast and loudly cried "Strike demon ! thou art still defied !" The pirate stayed his falling hand, And cried as lowered the gleaming brand, ' ' I will not strike a vanquished foe ! — I'll spare thy forfeit life, but know If thou another day wouldst see Thou yieldest now to my decree !" " I yield !" he cried, "yet if again We meet on shore or briny main Your dearest life blood shall repay The ruin you have wrought to-day ! " Scarce could Sanchez repress his ire. His dark cheek paled his eye flashed fire, THE GAZELL. 35 He paced the deck with angry stride And thus unto the taunt replied : — • ' Since thy vain threats I do not fear I may thy causeless insults bear. Thy life is thine once more I say And if we meet in future day I'll ask no favor at t]iy hand, Be it on barren sea or land ! But ere thy cursed deck I leave These cannon to the deep I'll heave ; And till my bark's repaired again Thou shalt upon this spot remain !" Then, turning to his swarthy band The pirate chieftain waved his hand, — "Ye heard my words, and while 'tis day Cast all these guns into the bay, And every corpse unto the wave The deep shall be their only grave ;" No shroud they'll need, the tra^ckless sea Shall their last shroud and coffin be !" Then turning to his haughty foe He cried ; "there's nought I wish to know Save this ; whose cursed treachery To this wild spot first guided thee?" But ere the chieftain could reply, The traitor, Sanchez did espy ; "Ah ! faithless wretch !" he sternly cried, — Ah cursed villain, doubly dyed ! — Foul outcast, — dog, — and fiend of hell ! — Imp, that in human form doth dwell ! — 36 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Embodied devil, wretch without name ! — The vilest of the sons of shame I A man whose instincts all are wild, — Abaddon's son, and Satan's child, A demon foul, — a wretch proscribed, — And yet, — by English sailors bribed. To break for them the mystic seal, The secret of the isle reveal ! But thou shalt die ! — this day's thy last, Thy light of life is waning fast, Another hour, its baleful sun Shall sink, its course forever run !" Nav ! take my life !" the Briton cried, — " But spare that of my luckless guide 'Twas I who tempted, and to-day I will his utmost ransom pay !" " In vain, my noble foe, you plead," — Sanchez replied, — " you intercede In vain ! Though life itself you'd give In his behalf, he should not live ! Upon the deck the pirates stand Expectant of their chief's command, And as on Pedro's form they gaze Their eyes with suppressed fury blaze. And passions, which they ill control Rush headlong through each fiery soul. The moment comes, the word is given And Pedro swings twixt earth and heaven. Then from their mountings one by one The pirates heaved each ponderous gun ; THE GAZELL. 37 This task accorapiished, then the wave Became a vast and common grave ; The bodies in that conflict slain Sank gurgling in the briny main, And as the plashing waters closed Each in its narrow bed reposed. Down many a rough and hardened face, Swiftly coursed the dewy tear, As each in some cold features traced The lineaments of comrades dear. Such, blessed friendship, — richest dowser, — Is thy etheral, holy power. Upon the darkened haunts of shame, As on the sunny heights of fame. E'er shines thy pure and gentle ray. Transforming darkest night to day. When virtue from the heart is fled, And every noble hope is dead, Within the heart thou dost remain. Ethereal, pure, without a stain. Outraged, how soon thou takest thy flight And leavest the soul as dark as night. With tearful eye, and heart subdued, The last sad rite the corsair viewed ; — His hand across his face he drew And thus addressed his swarthy crew : — Your work is nninished : now my men Return unto your craft again ; And noble captain you must be My guest, until the open sea 38 ELSINOEE AND OTHER POEMS. Shall on her heaving bosom bear The bark that lies dismantled there. Then from restraint sbalt thou be free As winds that curl the azure sea !" These words o'ercame the Briton's pride •" Thou art a generous foe !" he cried. Thy enemy from far I came . To punish all thy deeds of shame, Yet art thou lenient ! Thou hast shown More clemency than that I own 'Twas my intent to show to thee. For hadst thou been instead of me A captive, thou hadst ere now swung From yonder spar, where Pedro hung ! Once hast thou triumphed on the sea And now again o'ercomest me With kindness ! Ne'er was I before So overcome on sea or shore. Yet, generous captain, not to thee "Will I dare pledge my fealty ; Nor can the cleansing hand of time From thee efface the stains of crime : Think, how the fairest gifts that heaven On man bestows, to thee were given ! Think how thy noble gifts misspent Unto the suffering world has sent A myriad soul-subdueing cares, The orphan's cries, the widows tears ! Think of the hearts that thou hast riven Of past and future, hell and heaven !— THE GAZELL. 39 Reflect on these, — forsake thy crimes ; Seek distant shores in other climes ; Thy wealth in deeds of love employ. Then shalt thou feel new founts of joy, Upspringing in thy arid breast To bless thy life and give thee rest !" As the Briton spake the feelings played Like gleams, alternate light and shade Upon the pirate's swarthy face, Revengeful passion, and regret, (For conscience had not perished yet,) One might in his dark features trace. "I thank thee noble foe !" he said ; ' ' But all my deeds be on my head My lawless life I dare not leave Though my misdeeds a world should grieve ! By ruthless hands have I been driven From friends and country, hope and heaven ! Spies dog my steps where e'er I turn, Thus adding to the fires that burn Within my bosom evermore ; But when my days on earth are o'er The world shall know why my fair name Is blackened by such deeds of shame ! Judge not my life until its end ! Till then I hold thee as my friend, As o'er the azure deep I roam This ship my fortress and my home !" 40 EL8IN0RE AND OTHER POEMS. Chapter II. — The Tempest. With unseen things the mind delights to play ; And fancy rules us all with boundless sway : O'er trackless realms, we, now as despots, reign, And, ruled by her, rule realms beneath the main ; On her broad wing, we all the past explore. The present, and that dreary unknov/n shore Where in the light by spectral torches shed Flit to an fro the spirits of the dead : Framed by her power, the fabled gods of yore Euled heaven and earth, and governed sea and shore. ^olus o'er the winds and clouds did reign : And Neptune's kingdom was the restless main. And both were gods, (so says tradition old,) And by their power were winds and waves con- trolled. Such deities the ancient nations praised. In them believed, and to them altars raised : But creeds oft change, as with the flying years A nation vanishes, a system disappears. A thousand faiths spring from the human brain, — Baal, Ashtaroth and Jove successive reign. With minor gods a countless multitude, Whose praise is death, libations, — human blood. The enlightened mind these powers no longer sway. The daylight came, the darkness passed away ; THE GAZELL. 41 Reason bad its birth. One living Power^controls The universe, and everything upholds. All things are ordered by His wise decree ; The thunders breaking from the stygian cloud, The stars, the tiny plants, all things that be Are voices that proclaim His praise aloud. And He it is that often doth transform The aspect of the over-arching skies When e'er a night of darkness, gloom and storm Succeeds a day that doth unclouded rise. Again has earth in her svt^ift flight Passed the dark boundary line of night And the far East with kindling ray Proclaims the unseen lord of day : The morning breaks, the waters glow, Aurora's hues the skies o'er spread ; The winds are laid, the waves sing low The stars fade one by one o'er head. No breezes stir the balmy groves, No zephyr o'er the water roves, No waves besiege the rocky strand. Silence enfolds both sea and land. Such calms, to understandings sound A meaning have ; silence profound On sea and land doth oft presage The tempest and the whirlwind's rage. Storm wreck and death seamen behold In tranquil seas and skies of gold. 42 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. From shapely masts upright and tall The snowy sails in festoons fall, While anxious crews with eager eyes Survey the changing azure skies. The threatening rocks on every side, . And reefs laid bare by ebbing tide, All menacing the mariner That shall a timely flight defer. "My noble friend, we must away Or waves shall sing our dirge to-day : A light wind stirs the palms, perchance 'Tw^ill waft us o'er the broad expanse, And on the wide extended sea Our ships from peril shall be free !" So spake the rover of the tide And to him thus the peer replied : — *' You reason well. Yet ere we part Upon your kindness I'd obtrude A token of the gratitude That overflows a grateful heart. I pray kind sir, accept this ring ; And should misfortune ever spread Her raven pinions o'er your head. Remember the strong hand that gave. And unto me this token bring And I will save, or die to save .'" Don Sanchez took the proffered band Of gold from out the captain's hand : Strange its device ; an asp of gold Twisted in many a mazy fold ! THE GAZELL. 43 Each eye — a sparkling diamond bright, — Shone like those silvery orbs of night, Which angei hands at dewy eve In heaven's azure mantle weave. A smile lit up the corsair's face As to the peer he thus replied ; — " My lord, I thank thee for the grace, Thy generous nature hath supplied : I thank thee for thy gift ; but I Have lived a free man and will die Ere foeman shall in fight prevail ! Therefore, thy gift can ne'er avail The need for which thou say'st 'twas given : Yet will I keep it until heaven Shall call me from life's scenes away, In memory of this happy day ! But ere thou leavest the Gazell I pray my noble Captain tell, — If, indeed, thou canst tell, — where Thou didst obtain a gem so rare ?" " That ring, a dying lady gave My father, as she begged him save From life of shame a little child. While round them raged a conflict wild. She perished and he never knew From whence the murdered lady came, Nor would the captured pirate crew, Even in death, reveal her name. My father took the little one, And reared him gently as his son ; And he it is now standing there, — The manlv vouth with raven hair ! 44 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. But clouds are gathering in the sky. We must these threatening dangers fiy !'" Then like a friend devoted, true, The Captain bade his host adieu : — His barge sped swiftly o'er the tide And gained the lofty frigate's side. Like sea fowl, spreading tireless wing, That cleave the air with graceful motion, Or birds of passage in the Spring Eeturning o'er the stormy ocean, Their winding way the vessels take The Gazell through the passage leading : The frigate following in her wake And every tack and motion heeding. The seaman saw the line of foam Gleaming across the misty sea, That marked a dangerous reef vvhereon The wild waves break incessantly. The pirates knew they'd nevermore As freemen tread the rocky shore Now in the distance fast receding ; Though conquerors in uneven fray They looked v^ith sorrow and dismay Upon the spot that they were leaving. For well they knew that they could ne'er Again in flight seek safety here, For now, alas, their foeman knew. How their staunch ship had oft eluded The search of each pursuing crew Within that hidden bay secluded. THE GAZELL. 45 The ships soon passed the outmost line Of reef that girts the rocky shore, And from impending peril freed They sailed the open sea once more. Apart, across the ocean vast They moved with graceful undulations. Displaying from each tapering mast The flags of their respective nations. From the Gazell's fore Spain's broad ensign Was in the morning sunlight glaring. And not the wonted "skull and bones," The banner of the iav>degs, daring ! Far in the East a cloud of mist Was nearer, hour by hour approaching, So dense and dark, it seemed that night Was on the realm of day encroaching. The mighty frigate's spars were bared, Down froDi the masts each snowy sail Was dravv^n and all the ship prepared To battle with the coming gale. A speck upon the ocean's verge The Gazell's distant form now shone, — One moment on the vision played Another, and from sight, 'twas gone. The cloud of westward-driving mist Obscured her dark and shadowy form, As o'er the intervening space Swept on the proud relentless storm. On, on I it came, the lightning played Like demons on the stygian cloud ; And the hoarse muttering thunders shook The very deep with echoes loud. 46 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. That seemed like harbingers of doom So deep was tlie succeeding gloom Which with the storm's advancing sweep Grew dense, and denser, o'er the deep. Wave followed wave in quick succession, Peal followed peal, the ocean round, Resounded with as horrid sound As if the damned did give expression, To all the woes, the torments fell They suffer in the pit of hell. Unseen behind the murky clouds The mighty san at length descended ; No long and lingering twilight came, With skies of gold and seas of fiame, But when he sank the day was ended ; ^ And night came down, dark as that night That brooding over chaos hung Ere God's command, " Let there be light," Through universal darkness rung. No stars shone forth from that dark pall That o'er them its black folds extended, But winds and waves and clouds seemed all In one terriiic agent blended. O where on earth is solitude So great as on old ocean's flood, When crested waves with clouds contend, — Inverted torrents heavenward flow, And God no longer seems a friend And Nature seems a deadly foe ? Then man indeed is all alone. And in his peril there is none THE GAZELL. 47 Save God, on whom he can rely To succor give or hear his cry : And in the lieavy thunder peals He hears that God in anger speaking ! And fancy to his soul reveals A fiery hell, and demons shrieking. As slowly, sadly passed away The hours of that tempestuous night : The seamen prayed for friendly day, The advent of the blessed light. The dawn was near when through the gloom They heard the deep and heavy boom Of cannon, o'er the ocean sounding ; Loud rang the signals of despair Upon the dark and cheerless air That told of some lone vessel's foundering. "God pity the perishing mariners !" In ringing tones, the seamen cried, — " God pity us all in a night like this, For surely none can help beside !" How dear to the lone wanderer Eeturning o'er the boundless brine, Are shores of his own native land ' That in the morning sunlight shine ! — How beauteous to the soul forgiven. While passing through the " valley's gloom," Is that first radiant view of heaven Seen first from confines of the tomb?— And O how blessed is the day, The first faint crimson struggling ray, 48 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. To him who in the darkness sails An ocean swept by furious gales. And when the morn dawned o'er the deep The wild, terrific storm was ended, The rifted clouds swept slowly by, Their power gone, their wrath expended. Above them stretched a peaceful blue The waves were of cerulean hue And o'er the undulating sea The wild birds fxoated gracefully. But what had been the fate of those Whose cannon's heavy boom Had rung the signals of distress Through the Lethean gloom ? The seamen gazed across the sea ; The heaving broad expanse, Far as the strongest eye could view, Was all that met their glance. No broken spar, nor storm rent sail Nor other trophy of the gale, Told how the wild serial powers Had wrought, in the dark fearful hours. But when from his long night's repose The sun, through rifted clouds uprose. They saw, far in the distance lone A shore with broken timbers strewn. With here a spar a:nd there a mast About the beach at random cast ; With here and there a stiffening form The human victims of the storm. THF GAZELL. 49 Chapter III.— The Shipwreck. With rushing prow the frigate made her way Toward the shore whereon the corpses lay. Awed by the presence of the palhd dead The crew were mute. The snowy sails o'erhead Were flapping idly in the gentle breeze, This with the murmur of the sparkling seas, The rush of prow, and scream of seafowl near Were the only sounds that smote the listening ear. Their hearts were sad, and airy fancy soared Across the waves, the billows capped with foam, And memory saw full many a genial board Where Love presides in her fair empire, " home." Their hearts were full of hope and tenderness, Down many a cheek the teardrops found their way As they bethought them of the wretchedness Of other homes in the bright far away : They thought of wives that evermore would keep Sad vigils, looking for their lord's return ;— Of maids, who in seclusion e'er would weep While smothered fires would in their bosoms burn ; — Of children, who would daily leave their play To ask,—" Why stays my sire so long away?" Thus fancy weaves full many a golden thread Within the dark and sombre woof of time ; And oftentimes the cold and paUid dead Though voiceless, speak with eloquence subKme. 50 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And hard indeed must be the human heart Whose anxious thought death never did engage ; To whom the past no lesson doth impart, Who reads no moral in life's closing page, As thej approach the sunny shore The crew their pendant barges lower, And these impelled by sinewy hands Soon reach the white wave beaten sands. O what a scene for mortal eye ! — The blood each swarthy cheek forsakes, As they view the lifeless forms that lie Upon the shore where ever breaks The crested, shoreward rolling surge Shrieking aloud its horrid dirge. On features cold and fixed as stone The last emotions pictured shone ; — Sorrow, remorse, hope and despair Embodied lay before them there. And now full well these seamen knew . 'Twas Sanchez and his alien crew Whom, the avenging gales of heaven Upon this lonely spot had driven. Still dripping with the flying spray Beneath a spar the chieftain lay : The sands were crimson with the tide Of life-blood ebbing from his side ; Eeason had fled yet in him still Remained the firm undaunted will ; He would not yield submissivel}^, — He still would struggle to be free. THF GAZELL. 51 But the intense pain had deprived Don Sanchez of his wonted powers, For Mfe itself had scarce survived The issue of those fearful hours ; So when he aimed his futile blows At those vvdiom he imagined foes, His senses reeled, his vision fled His eyelids closed ;— he seemed as dead. And brawny seamen straitway bore The senseless body from the shore Unto the stately ship that lay At anchor in a sheltered bay. Then at their noble chiefs command Thev dressed his wounds with tender hand And staunched as best they could the tide Of crimson flowing from his side, Yet senseless still as lifeless clay Upon his couch Don Sanchez lay. Above the reach of crested wave The seaman dug a mighty grave. And 'neath the palm's protecting shade Each lifeless pirate's body laid ; Laid where the ocean's solemn roar Would sing their dirge forever more. The shades of evening came and past And o'er the ocean lone and vast Broke the first feeble crimson ray That heralded the coming day. When in the dim uncertain light. Like seafowl plumed for distant flight. 52 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. The ship her snowy canvass spread And o'er the billows swiftly sped. Don Sanchez through the night had slept, While faithful ones alternate kept Their vigils where the lamplight shed Its radiance on his lowly bed. Oblivious of all earthly pain, The chieftain w^as a youth again, For memory like a truant played Amid the scenes of long ago, Through the alternate light and shade Of life's recurrent joy and woe. And as delirious fancy caught Within her grasp the ready tongue, Then from his lips the fevered thought In wild disjointed phrases sprung. But unremitting care recalled The wandering life back to its throne, And reason for a time enthralled In his dark eye triumphant shone. " And am I all," — he feebly cried "Whom the avenging wind and tide Have spared to see the light of day?" O would ! I too, had passed away ! To die, were better than remain To wear oppression's galling chain. To bear the hate and scorn of foes And in a felon's grave repose ! Upon this planet to and fro, The countless myriads come and go. THE GAZELL. Yet 'mong them all, — these throngs of men. I, wretched man, can claim no friend. No one will soothe my dying hours. Upon my bier no tears will fall ; No gentle hand will deck my pall. Nor strew my obscure grave with flowers ; And when I die the world will say, " 'Tis well that such should pass away 1" Chapter IV.— Sanchez' Story. To what small chance we often may assign The great events that bless or curse mankind ; One moment often shapes the course of years, One hour decides a nation's destiny ; One ruthless deed may fill the world with cares, — One generous act may set a people free. Thus has it been since that disastrous day When Eve succumbed to Satan's subtle sway ; One taste from that forbidden tree of life Brought Death into the world, and all the strife, Contention, war, disease and misery fell, God's awful wrath ; and endless woes of hell. The Hebrew seer, once on the Nilus slept In a frail bark — was thus from danger kept. While Israel's daughters wept the stern decree That doomed their sons in helpless infancy. 54 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. *' As^countless as the stars that gem the sky Or sands that on the ocean's margins lie," The Promise said, — "God's freeborn sons shall be!' And these by Amram's son were all set free. The issue of an hour on Basting's bloody field Made the bold Saxon to the Norman yield ; The random shaft that pierced brave Harold's brain, Made William king of Albion's Domain, Though, with his serfs, the Conqueror passed away His deeds survived : even in the present day Their power is felt to earth's remotest plain. They glow in every page, — ring in each martial strain. And often, those wdiose genius shines afar, The sons of Literature, of Art and War Owe all their fame, and all their boasted power To the events of some forgotten hour. And sometimes too, the reprobate whose name Is tarnished with the damning stains of shame, But for some taunt, some word in anger given Would have pursued the narrow way to heaven. Again has night, her curtain spread, Again the stars gleam overhead, And o'er the undulating sea Have shadows fallen silently. The breeze is blowing fair astern, The^ship across the billows glides, THE GAZELL, 55 The lights that in her cabin burn Gleam phantom-like across the tides. And death, the spectre grim and dark Soars silently above that bark ; But still his form remains unseen, And deem they not that he is near, None see his sickle bright and keen. And none his rushing pinions hear : But ere again the morning breaks, Ere Nature from her sleep awakes. He shall with downward waft of wing, His summons to the corsair bring. The pirate feels it, yet no grief Is pictured on his pallid brow, For death alone can bring relief Unto his weary senses now. And with a sad yet tranquil mien, He gazes on that last bright scene. That shall upon his senses break Ere from eternal sleep they wake. But as he to the end draws near His soul is filled with the great fear. That he may perish ere they know The story of his crime and woe. So rousing from death's lethargy His long patiietic story told Even while the clammy dew of death Was gathering on him fast and cold ; — " My sufferings will soon be o'er, I tread alone the shadowy shore Of that mysterious, silent sea, That trackless waste, Eternity ! 56 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS^ could I but on Calvary stand And view God's shining glory land, How sweetly, gladly would I die To gain that happier world on high I And yet I grieve not, for 'tis well, For even the direst woes of hell. Can scarce exceed the intense pain Of broken heart and burning brain I Ye know full well what I am now. Yet Fortune once upon me smiled. Once decked with fairest flowers my brow, And claimed me as her favorite child. 1 was a father's pride and joy, A mother's solace and delight. And oft they prayed, — " God bless our boy, And guide his youthful feet aright !" Our dwelling was a stately hall, — An ancient castle grand and tall, Its battlements and lofty tower Recalling days of Moorish power. It stood beside that gentle river, The sweet and placid Gualdaquiver, Where day by day the boatman's song, And carols of the muleteer Bourne by the balmy breeze along Would lightly fall upon the ear : At eve the neighboring convent's bell Would vibrate on the scented air, And of a Savior's mercy tell, Or call the faithful ones to prayer. THE GAZELL. 57 How sweet it was each day to feel The Spirit's presence and to kneel To Him who freely, gladly, gave His life, the sons of men to save. Then, heaven above me brightly shone ! — The dazzling streets, the great white throne, — The mansions, the eternal halls, The gates of pearl, — the Jasper walls, — The city, and its king divine I saw, in faith, and deemed them mine! Nor could that happy guileless pair, Who breathed the empyrean air, More happy and more blest have been, Ere, Satan, the foul man of sin, Entered Eden's precincts fair And blighted every blessing there. My heart was just as free from care. Above me spread as cloudless skies ; I breathed as i^ure and healthful air ; And even the plants of Paradise Were never decked with fairer flowers Than graced our Andaiansian bowers : And even the fruit of the divine Forbidden tree did never shine, More temptingly and fair to view Than that which in old Seville grew. Our wealth was great ; — we ever had All that could make the glad more glad ! And oft my youthful feet would stray Through courts and princely circles gay, 58 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And stately lords and ladies fair Would softly stroke my raven hair, And in their courtly style would praise My prattle and my artless ways. Or speaking fair of manhood's prime Would to my eager mind unfold, A path in life bestrewn with gold, And leading up to heights sublime ! Thus passed the hours of youth away, And life grew happier day by day, For there was one, — a beauteous maid With whom in childhood I had played For whom I formed as pure a love As ever angel felt above, — 'Twas no misguided, base desire 'Twas Heaven's approved and hallowed fire ! You deem it strange such things should be ;- That I, the scourge of this fair sea, Was once a lovely guileless boy, A father's hope a mother's joy. Yet is it true ; and as I said Love once its holy influence shed Upon my life, — its light divine Illumined once this soul of mine ! — I at her shrine once daily knelt And all her holy influence felt. She loved me and at close of day We, hand in hand would often stray Beside the gentle murmuring river ; THE GAZELL. 59 And as we watched the shining stream Grow rosy with the day's last beam, I thought that life would go forever As sweetly, tranquilly along In sunshine, happiness and song ! — I dreamed not of the storm and blast ; The mighty ocean which at last, In rain and sunshine, calm or gale An outcast, I perforce would sail. What long and hopeless, better years Have fled midst ceaseless strife and tears, Since 'neath the mighty tower tall Of Seville's grand Cathedral hail, Those blessed holy vows were plighted Which Sanchez and his bride united ! A thousand stars gleamed overhead, A thousand lamps their radiance shed On lovely maids, brave cavilliers. On mighty princes, stately peers ; But midst that vast assemblage there Was none more virtuous and fair Than the dear maiden at my side,— My Inez, my own lovely bride. Five happy years soon passed away : Time seemed to fly on golden wing And every separate sunny day Broke only some new joy to bring. My Inez was all tenderness ; And soon a lovely boy did bless Our union, and my life did seem Not real but a happy dream. 60 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Then first did sorrow's shadow fall Athwart our fair and sunny way : And yet the spectre was so small I thought it soon would pass away ; In truth, it scarce a semblance bore To those black clouds, which darkling o'er Our lives, excludes the blessed light And leaves the soul as dark as night. And yet misfortune oft assumes At first the guise of happiness. And decked with Hope's resplendent plumes Leads on to darkness and distress. So 'tw^as with us : my sovereign told My father where rich stores of gold, And gems in many a glittering pile, Were treasured in some western isle ; — Told of impending danger there, Of pirate and of Buccaneer. — Of friends rapacious as the foe. And lastly, if he would but go And guard the mighty interests there He should in all the profits share. Euled by the subtle power of gold, That source of wrong and crime untold. That monarch that doth ever reign Triumphant in the human brain. We went ; and yet some bitter tears We shed upon the soil of Spain, When we bethought how many years Would pass ere we'd behold again THE GAZELL. 61 The faces of our friends, the tall Quaint towers of our Cathedral hall. And all those scenes which men revere, — Forsaken, yet to memory dear. Day after day, day after day. With gentle, swaying, constant motion We kept our way across the ocean. We saw each morn the golden sun Rise from the undulating deep ; We saw each night his fiery disc Beneath the waters sink to sleep ! And O how sweet it at eve To tread the buoyant deck and leave In fancy, everything behind. And let the ever restless mind Soar where it would on tireless wing ! O then how soon would memory bring Her sacred volume and unfold Those blessed scenes that ne'er grow old ! Oft, as the waves would round us swell. We'd hear the distant convent bell. We'd hear, or least would seem to hear ; — ' Te Deum,"" and the voice of prayer Ascending from a lowly shrine Up to a listening ear divine ! And yet I could but restive feel For though my mind would often steal Forebodings of some horrid doom, Which like the deep unnatural gloom, Obscuring heaven doth oft presage The coming tempest's furious rage. 62 ELSINORE AhW OTHER POEMS. But all forebodings passed away When through the kindling twilight gray, The crew discried a golden strand, And their loud thrilling cry of land Broke o'er the great, majestic ocean. O with what glad intense emotion, From that lone ship, each eager glance Was turned across the broad expanse, Toward the lofty isle that lay, Still wrapped in shadows far away ! But as we nearer to it drew, And as the kindling morn advaiiced, A beauteous scene burst on our view Which every eye at once entranced. Before us was a long low shore Which to its very margins bore Dense forests of ta,ll tropic trees ; Which swaying in the morning breeze A thousand varying scenes displayed, — A myriad nooks of light and shade. There grew^ the tall and stately palm, The orange flowers exhaling balm. And all those spicy plants that grow Where never ending Summers glow. And birds of every size and hue Amid the tossing branches flew ; Their pure, and oft repeated lays, Commingling from a thousand throats Rang a melodious hymn of praise As sw^eet as e'er through Eden floats ! THE GAZELL. 63 On, on, we swept, our pathway lay O'er tranquil seas ; and day by day We sailed by lofty isles that shone With all the beauties of that zone, Where Summer reigns the livelong year, And scatters with an open hand Eich blessings on her favored land ! No harrowing thoughts engendering care, Engrossed our quiet minds the while We passed each wild untrodden isle : Forgotten was that distant shore Which we were never to see more. At length the steady favoring breeze Subsided, — and the azure seas Grew motionless, — the limpid sails Hung useless on each tapering mast. The ocean like a mirror vast Eeflected every glancing beam And made the azure billows seem As hot as the unclouded sky That glowed like molten brass on high. By a tall shore, the livelong day All motionless the vessel lay Until night drew her mantle o'er The blazing sky and gleaming shore. Then many an humble faithful prayer Ascended through the starlit air Up to the great white throne above. Beseeching the great God of love To send again the favoring breeze To waft us on across the seas. 64 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And we were heard, — a sweeping gale Filled every broad and snowy sail And on toward the distant West Before the blessed wind we pressed. But with the daylight's kindling flame A new and fearful danger came. A danger that at first we deemed A blessing, for no sail had gleamed For weeks across the heaving blue ; And lovelier craft ne'er met the view Of weary seamen than the bark That now rose o'er the billows dark. You know full well how wanderers hail The first appearance of a sail, With what wild joy, intense emotion They meet upon the boundless ocean ! That joy was ours ; — the lonely sea. The solitude, the vacancy. For long and dreary weeks had been The only dull unchanging scene From kindling East till darkening West On which the weary eye could rest. We thought them friends, we felt no fear. And fast the stranger ship drew near : — As fine a craft as ever yet One inch of snowy canvass set. From the tall masts were banners streamins And on her decks bright cannon gleaming- While 'neatli her long and shapely spars Were groups of merry blue clad tars : THE GAZELL. 65 A goodlier ship, a worthier crew, I thought, had never met my view. We shouted in our wild mad joy, And soon their welcome cry, — " ahoy." Loud as a herald's trumpet blast Came ringing o'er the ocean vast. No other word the villain spoke But from his gleaming cannon broke A sheet of flame, — a blast of hell And many a noble Spaniard fell. Bereft of reason ^ sore amazed, — Upon the corsair ship we gazed Till o'er our guards her grapnels rang And on our decks her seamen sprang, With one triumphant cry alone. And our good ship was all their own. They drove us straitway to the hold, — Its atmosphere all damp and cold ; And here within this living tomb, Amid the pestilential gloom, Tossed by a wild tempestuous sea We stood in helpless agony. Above our prison we could hear The fiendish threats, the cries of fear, — Entreaties of our outraged wives, — Our children pleading for their lives ; — The brutal curse, the dying groan, The heartless laughter, — and the moan Of the ill-fated ones who craved Death at the hands of fiends depraved. 66 ELSINOBE AND OTHER POEMS. They plundered their ill-gotten prize Of all its costly merchandise ; — Then pierced the heavy timbers through ; We heard a gurgling sound and knew That the " Alhambra" soon would be At rest beneath the azure sea. O God ! how terrible, to feel The chilling waters upward steal About our shrinking forms, the while The demons at us seemed to smile From the dense darkness and to clasp Us firmly in their chilling grasp ! 'Twas fearful — we united made One effort at the barricade, It crashed and yielded and the light Broke dazzlingly upon our sight ! O must — O can I tell thee more ! — There 'neath the evening twilight gray Her outraged form all stained with gore In death's last sleep my Inez lay ! In her defense and by her side Had my old father bravely died ; Though stiff in death his icy hand Still firmly grasped his glittering brand. O Virgin blest, I know not why Thou didst not sufi'er me to die, In darkness and in solitude Ere that heartrending scene I viewed ! THE. GAZELL. 67 Upon the deck I fainting fell, And when 1 rose the fires of hell Within my stricken bosom burned : And as I to my comrades turned, There, — o'er those bloody forms I swore To never rest on sea or shore 'Till the last Buccaneer should feel His cursed heart pierced by my steel ! But O ! far better had I died That night beneath the ocean wide Than lived, as I have lived since then. An outcast from the haunts of men. An alien from the host of heaven, A fiend to vengeance wholly given ! Hate has subverted every power And led me lower hour by hour ; And every captive foe has fared 111 at my hands, for I have spared No conquered corsair yet to tell Of Sanchez and his ship Gazell ! I know a thousand deeds of shame Have been committed in my name. Beneath Algeria's banner dark Base fiends have plundered many a bark, Have murdered many a worthy crew, And hid their hellish work from view Within some dark secluded cave, Or 'neath the ocean's trackless wave. And when the luckless ship no more Appeared at her accustomed shore. 68 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS, 'Twas said : ' ' Sanchez the crew has slain And sunk the ship beneath the main." Since that dark night, with frenzy wild I've sought my mother and my child ; Yet all my efforts proved in vain, I never saw them both again. And not until that fearful day When first we met in desperate fray, Did I behold again that one Survivor of my race, — my son. Then 'gainst his life I raised my hand And madly sought to drive my brand Into that being, whom, for years I'd sought with ceaseless pain and tears. And yet I knew not, and would ne'er Have felt his blessed presence near, Had you ne'er given unto me This signet and its history. The rescued, cherished little one Now known as Herman is my son. But tell him not until my form Beneath the mighty deep is laid. Then tell — that with affection warm And with my dying voice I prayed. That God would be his friend and guide Upon life's ocean stern and wide ; — Tell him that only virtue leads Through scenes of perfect happiness ; That evil thoughts and evil deeds Are fruitful only of distress !" — THE GAZELL. gg He ceased, and those aboiifc him knew The end was near and closer drew To hear the last faint, whispered word That ever from those lips was heard. He smiled and said as in a dream ' Inez I come ! — O Father — Son, Forgive an erring sinful one !" The tale was told ; the wanderer was dead : And eyes unused to weep their dewy tribute shed^ To him whose pulseless heart would ne'er again Beat fast with hope or heave with subdued pain. The Book was closed — his virtue and his crime Were entered on the changeless scroll of Time. His spirit passed to that eternal throne Of Him who views the tiny sparrow's fail, — There all his deeds, — and there his fate is known; And that eternal bar awaits us all. 70 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. A Leaf from the History of Merryloell College. Certain persons who live near Merrybell College Concluded long since that much of the knowledge Their children acquired in the Public Free Schools Was but tke loose doctrine of coxcombs and fools. And so they decided, at once, to withdraw Their children from schools provided by law And formed a High School at old Merrybell Where children could learn to read, write, and spell Without wasting their time gaining knowledge abstruse Relating to words, derivation and use. The tax that we pay is Sin tax enough," These savans exclaimed, and as for such stuff As Jography, Algebra, Histry a,nd such They are useless, we think, as the creed of the Dutch. So they hired a man, who, for limited pay Would serve them, at least, nine hours a day ; A '■^competent'" teacher who further agreed To support their new educational creed, And they opened the school and all things were well For a very few days at Old Merrybell. Then, sad to relate, a very small class. Consisting of only a lad and a lass, In conning their lessons a paragraph found That said the Earth, like an orange, is round. HUMOROUS. 71 Imagine how soon this fragment of knowledge Created a scene in Merrjbeli College ; The children at once their lessons forsook And crowded around the wonderful book. " Now what is the matter?" the pedagogue cried, And several small urchins in chorus replied : " Johnny Wilkins, dear sir, has just told us all That the world we live in is round as a ball." " He's a liar !" in anger the wiseacre cried, " I'll teach the young villain what it is to have lied ! Johnny Wilkins, come here, you ignorant brat And tell me who taught you a doctrine like that?" Johnny tremblingly answered, ''I'm sure I don't know Whether it be round or not, but the book it said so !" " The book ! — you young scoundrel, and what if the book Did say it you blockhead, you had but to look : For look where you will and the old earth is flat. As flat as a flounder, as flat as a stool, As flat as the floor, or this seasoned ferule Which I mean to lay on, and straightway at that Till you learn to distinguish between round and flat. " Johnny whimpered and begged, but did him no good. For down came at once the seasoned beech wood So fearfully fast that soon he forgot Whether the book said the world existed or not, Of one thing he was sure, or so he declared That always in future, his life being spared, He'd sit on a sheepskin, a cushion or mat And solemnly swear that all things are flat. 72 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. WEALTH. Some call Wealth a wanton, and many rebuke her, Yet who does not love the old strumpet " Lucre?" — The farmer, the squire, the saint and the sinner Are happy as " clams" if they only can win her. I care not, though thousands she may have betrayed. And wielded full often the murderer's blade, I love, and will win her if ever I can So I give you fair notice, — I'm your rival, my man. EVOLUTION. Certain sages who claim descent from the monkey More credence would gain if they'd only say donkey. The resemblance they bear and their reasoning com- bined Would convince, I am sure, the most skeptical mind. AN EXCEPTION. '' Vanity ! Vanity, saith the preacher. Surely all is vanity ! — Unless you slay a fellow creature Then best say, ' insanity.^ " HUMOROUS. 73 "MADAM RUMOR." Gentle neighbors, heard you never, When foul scandals circulate, All the shame and the dishonor Laid at Madam Rumor's gate. This accommodating liar Lately put me out of humor And I fain was to enquire Who is this base falsifier, Who, indeed, is Madam Rumor? I have had a hundred answers, But my soul is still aflame, — Everybody knows the lady But each gives a dilferont name. WILD FLOWERS. 75 A CoHection of FugitiYe Poems. SALUTATORY. Respected friends, you ne'er may know How long, how faithfully I wrought In pain, in sorrow, sun and snow Upon the tangled fields of thought : — You cannot know what weariness Eneryed me, and what dreary hours I roamed alone the wilderness To glean this garland of " Wild Flowers." And if, perchance, they now should yield No fragrance, or should fail to please. Remember, how on wintry field They grew despite a chilling breeze. You who are glad a,nd gay may ask, "Why not a fairer garland weave?" — I answer — fate had set this task I might no happier work achieve ; For friends were false and sought to chill Me with unkindness, and my hand. So faint, could scarce obey the will. And death was darkening all the land. January 1, 1887, 76 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. FREDERICKSBURG. 'Twas a clear Autumu day when first I beheld thee. Fair field that in memory we ever hold dear, And the gentle moonbeams rested softly upon thee And they burnished the stream flowlDg slowly anear. Then backward I gazed through the years swiftly fly- ing, And I saw in the light of a calm winter day The Blue and the Gray, death and danger defying Move forward to battle in dreadful array. Right on w^ard they rushed, like tlie waves of the ocean When they on the shore by the tempests are driven; The earth was amazed at the wondrous commotion, And the war cloud beleaguered the ramparts of hea,A^eii . Then the conflict was over, and the shades of night gathered, And the gentle stars beamed on the face of the dead, And the field was as quiet as an abbey at midnight When the last mitred priest his matins hath said. Now together like brothers are peacefully lying The victor and vanquished on height and by shore ; May the mantle of peace they purchased by dying Be torn and dishonored again nevermore. WILD FLOWERS. 'J'J HESPERUS. When the shades of night appear In the golden "West afar, Gleams thy radiant silver sphere Hesperus, the evening star. Often from the gloomy hall Have I seen thy mellow light Like an angel's glances fall, Hesperus, — the star of night. Often when at fate repining, And the loss of one above, Thou hast seemed of hope divining Hesperus, — the star of love. When the end of life draws near And I draw my latest breath May thy radiant disc appear Shining o'er me, star of death. When in the lone grave I'm sleeping, Ended, every care and strife, Other eyes their vigils keeping Shall behold tliee, star of life ! 78 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS, THE HARP OF ORPHEUS. Orpheus' harp the poets tell Played in Pluto's drear domain Could release a soul from hell And subdue Tantallus' pain. Moved by its mysterious tones Trees would to the plain advance, — Join with hills and ponderous stones In a wild and weird dance. When the poet's days were spent Angels placed his mystic lyre In the spacious firmament Mid the glowing orbs of fire ; Then the mighty worlds of light Charmed by the melodious sound Onward through the realm of night Rushed in mazy circles round. TO RYAN. I love thee, bard, though [ have never viewed Thy friendly face, nor clasped thy gentle hand, Yet oft I've seemed to walk the solitude With thee, and with thy spirit so imbued That all the earth was fair as fairy land. WILD FLOWERS. 79 '• NO MORE." Adieu sweet girl, alas, adieu ! — My blissful dream is o'er, Though faithful I have been and true Thou canst love me no more ! No more ! the long and changeless years Shall slow^ly pass away Yet through the mists of falling tears Shall dawn no brighter day. The flowers will bloom in the gay Spring time. The birds their glad songs sing, But alas ! alas ! — nor sun, nor clime New joy to me can bring. The brooks shall murmur a song of praise From the hills the torrents pour, But in their songs, I'll hear always The cruel w^ords. "no more !" CHANCELLORSVILLE. The foe in confusion were flying From the scene of the terrible fray, While wounded, bleeding and dying The invincible Stonewall lay. 80 EL8IN0RE AND OTHER POEMS. Yet still, in fancy, he was leading His legion after the fight, At God's holy altar was pleading For aid in the cause of the right. But the arrows were gone from the quiver, The cup was drained to the lees, As he cried, " Let us cross o'er the river And rest under the shade of the trees !" None heard the rush of the waters, None heard the plash of the oar, But the leader, forever departed, And the army wept by the shore. AMBROSE HALL. Lightly the aspens quiver, The zephyr gently blows. And brightly gleams the river That in the distance flows. Sweetly murmurs the fountain, And the waters constant fall Wakes a thousand echoes In stately Ambrose Hall. But a suggestive quiet Pervades each princely room. And every face is shrouded With sorrow's pall of gloom. WILD FLO WEES. 81 The young, the pure and lovely That mansion's joy and light, After long months of anguish Has perished in the night. But while the shades were falling Ere the bright spirit fled, She roused her from Iier lethargy And in sad accents said : " My father, since I'm passing From time's familiar shore, You will forgive my speaking Of your lost son once more. Your words of anger drove him From country, friends and home, He nov/ a lonely wanderer In other climes doth roam. O blame him not, my father , That he loves Annie Lee, For she has been the dearest Of earthly friends to uie. In the sweet hours of childhood We e'er together played, The rich-man's petted daughter, And the lone orphan maid. 82 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And when her gentle mother, The Lady Alice died, You said you'd care for Annie Whatever might betide. She e'er was pure and lovely In everything was true ; Nor were your children dearer Than she was unto you. She loves my brother Edward Far more than her own life, And years ago she promised Sometime to be his wife. Because she had no treasure You drove her from your door. But surely you will pardon The crime of being poor. Father, again unite them For angels up above Could never be more worthy Of exiled Edward's love !" Upon his aged features She fixed her glazing eye : — "Father forgive" — 'twas over Her spirit passed on high. WILD FLOWERS. 83 All night the stricken father Has paced the lonely hall, And on the floor continuously The briny tear drops fall. His soul is stricken in him By this decree of fate ; And he murmurs sadly murmurs "Too late ! alas too late !" "And yet, O God, thou knowest That I would gladly give All save the hope of heaven To bid him once more live. He and my foster daughter Should then united be, They in my age would cherish, Would soothe and comfort me. And yet I could not tell her Before she passed away, She had an angel brother In everlasting day. Ther'll be a joyous meeting Neath heavens concave dome When the brother welcomes The angel sister home. 34 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. O Father ! — God have mercy And bear me soon away, The world is dark and dreary I would no longer stay !" He turned away in anguish And now-- a form discried : "My Edward, O my Edward !" "Father !" — the son replied. " My long lost son, my Edward ! — It surely can not be. For long ago he perished Beneath the deep blue sea !" " Nay, father dear, the ship went down On that disastrous night, But to a broken spar I clung Until the morning light. And I alone, my father. Was rescued from the deep, Beneath the crested surges The rest unconscious sleep. And I depart to-morrow For a home beyond the sea. And I shall carry with me The a'entle Annie Lee I WILD FLOWERS. g5 So fare thee well my father, And since we meet no more You surely will forgive me And love me as of yore !" The father clasped him wildly ; — "I will not say farewell ! But thou shalt marry Annie Lee And ever with me dwell." Ten years have past. The river Still in the sunlight flows, And still in the breezes quiver The aspens at Ambrose ; Still gently plays the fountain And its murmurs sweetly fall. Mingled with childish voices On stately Ambrose Hall. And oft the aged grand sire Joins in the children's play Or with fond eye pursues them Through all the livelong day. gQ ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. SLEEP. Sleep is the counterpart of that last sleep, — The sleep of Death that no awakening knows, — In this alone ; sleep sets the spirit free From its un wieldly, cumberous home of clay To soar a season wheresoe'er it will. Sometimes I've thought, Perchance, in sleep our spirits may commune With other spirits from a world unknown. " To reason thus were madness," some will say ; Yet 'tis a pleasing mania to believe We may, in dreams, behold our cherished dead, And hold such converse with them as we held In days gone by, ere the pale angel Death Transfixed them with his keen remorseless dart. Ofttimes in sleep, our spirits unrestrained Soar past the moon, beyond the Plead es, Through regions vast unlit by sun or star And onward still through realms still unconceived Through Heaven's gates, and o'er the shining walla, Elysian fields, pure chrystal streams, Imposing towers, and streets of gleaming gold- Else, fancy with one downward waft of wing Descends through drear untra versed depths of space Until the eye beholds, in outline dim, The dread and shadowy forms of deathless men Oondemned for aye to bask in seas of fire. WILD FLOWERS. 37 STANZAS. The clouds that fill the earth with gloom Make Spring time bright with bud and bloom, And crown with fruits and social cheer The golden season of the year. Then why at destiny complain When sorrow, like the clouds and rain, In God's appointed time may prove Man's richest blessing from above. THE CAPTIVES. The captives sat by the river Their souls sad and downcast, As they thought of the hapless present And the bright and glorious past. For the lofty walls of Zion W(Te now in dust low laid, And the temple desecrated Where priest and prince had prayed. And those that led them captive, To do them further wrong. Now that the day was ended Required of them a song. 88 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Said the Chaldee : " Sing of David, Your King in bygone days, Who led your hosts to battle And wrote your songs of praise. Yea ! sing the warrior's sonnet, The Hebrew's sacred psalm That lulls like evening breezes Among the groves of palm !" But on the willows' branches The captives hung each lute, And sat in gloomy silence And every tongue was mute. For they remembered Zion Even in captivity, And swore that they would sing no more Till she again was free. THE PALACE OF HOPE. Some where in the mazy distance, In the midst of fields elysian, Stands a grand imposing castle, Builded by the phantom Fancy. With the clouds its turrets mingle, And its lofty halls are fairer Than the golden courts of heaven. WILD FLO WERS. 89 Every man, however humble, Fallen, destitute or friendless, Sees a place within that castle Suited to his ardent wishes To his souls desire conforming. In that grand enchanted mansion All is joy and rapture ever. For desire is never fettered By the galling bands of conscience, And our wishes ne'er are thwarted By the changing hand of fortune. There the victor has no rivals, — Wears alone the crown of laurel ; There, in glad seraphic measure Poets sing to listening nations ; There the fields with fruits perennial Bless the weary sons of labor ; Beggars there are lords and princes Clad in gold and costly raiment. Eagerly, with hands uplifted Forward press the generations Towards the fair delusive prospect, And this joyous exclamation Ever comes from the deluded : " We shall reach the goal to-morrow !'" When the purple shades of twilight Mark another day's cessation, And the stars, like funeral torches, All along the sky are lighted, With a zeal still unabated, — 90 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Expectation undiminished. Still with joyous exultation Cry the weary sons of sorrow : — *' We shall reach the goal to-morrow !" Thus the future ever woos us Onward with its bright illusions, Till the silver chord is severed, And the pitcher at the fountain By Death's ruthless hand is broken. Even when the angel Azrael Soars above with la) ice uplifted, And the rush of his black pinions, Echoes through the ghostly darkness,- Through the shadows densely falling, O'er the grave and all its horrors Looms afar a land of Promise Brightly gleams a golden city. THE CHASE. The East is red vrith coming morn, And the loud peal of hunter's horn Awakes each youthful mountaineer The merry sylvan sport to share. The valley echoes with the sound Of tramping horse and baying hound As down the narrow, rocky glade, Swiftly rides the cavalcade WILD FLOWERS. 9X Toward the thick and tang led glen Where lurks the wild fox in his den. Each youth can of marauder tell That, stealing on by fen and fell All unobserved at high raid-day Bore unsuspecting fowl away. And so the tale goes swift around : Each huntsman tells of fox or hound That in the chase did far exceed All others both in craft and speed. Just at the mountain s base extends A tangled waste of woods and fens, Perplexed with brambles and with thorn; Here, as they pause, the hunter's horn Re-echoes o'er tlie landscape fair And wakes the wild fox in his lair. He hears afar the fearful sounds, The hunters' shouts, the bay of hounds, And filled with terror and surprise He swiftly through the forest flies : As well he may for now the hounds Free from restraint, with quickening bounds Press on witii merry cry amain And soon the tangled woodland gain. Sly Reynard thou hadst ne'er such need As now for all thy craft and speed. Thy enemies are on thy trail And speed alone will not avail. 92 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. On ! on ! by stream and dark morass The dogs now like whirlwind pass, And madly on by brook and mere The horses dash in wild career Till they no longer may essay To follow in such dangerous way ! Upon a brooklets mossy brink, The tired horses stop to drink The laughing horsemen, too, dismount And slake their thirst at sylvan fount ; Then urge along with lu&ty cheers The train that swiftly disappears. The cries grow faint and fainter still Till all is silent save the rill, And the low murmur of the breeze Among the sombre forest trees. Not long the huntsmen wait — the wail Comes floating back upon the gale Loud and more loud, till on the plain Appears the yelping horde again. Then trebly swells the mingled cry As the impatient horsemen fly O'er hill and plain, by stream and lake, ■ O'er rock and rift, through branch and brake, Each eager that his favorite may First seize the fox and win the day. But though the noble horses strain Behind the half -exhausted train. We cannot reach the narrow glade Till Reynard on the ground is laid. WILD FLOWERS. 93 And as we slowly homeward ride Each hunter still maintains with pride That in wild chase through wood and dell His hounds all others do excel. MYRA. I had loved a gentle maiden More than tongue or pen can tell, When a cruel, baseless slander Smote her like a blast from hell. And the friends I loved and cherished Spoke of her with bitter scorn, And I cursed the hour I met her, Cursed the day when I was born. Once — but once, again I saw her And she pleaded with me long, With her arms about me crying, "Darling, I have done no wrong !" Only listen to me darling — Time will blot out every stain ! — But I scorned her wild entreaties And we never met again. For her gentle heart was broken And erelong her spirit fled, Then, too late, the truth was spoken,— Justice done the virtuous dead. 94 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. O could I recall her spirit From the bright celestial shore, — Clasp her gently to my bosom, — Kiss her, as I did of yore, — Could I hear her pale lips utter That one heavenly word, " forgive,' I, perchance might cease to sorrow, Might again desire to live. THANKSGIVING, 1887. O God omnipresent !— O Father of all. We come with rejoicing before Thee to-day, — With hearts overflowing thy love we recall. And the bountiful blessings that brightened our way The joys all unnumbered that brighten the year By Thy provident hand to Thy children are given ; — Home, country, companions, yea all we hold dear, — All we cherish on earth, or hope for in heaven. O God omnipresent ! O Father of all, We pray that Thy Spirit may lighten the way, That Thou wilt sustain us whatever befall. And grant us a home in thy presence for aye. WILD FLOWERS. 95 THE "VALLEY AND SHADOW." Somewhere there's a shadowy valley, — Men call it the valley of Death And tell of the horrows that haunt it "With qaick and laboring breath. But J have dwelt in the valley Through long and painful years, And I know its ghosts are illusions Begot of sinful fears. For through the mists of the valley Rise lofty, snowy walls, And a friendly voice in the distance To the weary pilgrim calls. And I turn my eyes from the valley To the hill tops far away. And I see the towers of Zion In the light of endless day. And I know that when the valley And its shadows shall be past That a home beyond the valley Awaits my soul at last. 96 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. STANZAS. Thou wast too fair and gracious to endure The rugged conflicts on the field of life ; And thou hast fallen, the innocent and pure, Where duty called in the unequal strife. And thou hast gone unto a happier clime ; The form that here sleeps 'neath the dewy sod Is the frail tenement that held in time Thy higher self that now communes with God. Had I the power, I would not now recall Thy spirit from its bright and blissful sphere ; I loved thee, and I sorrowed at thy fall, But sorrow most that I survive thee here. FAITH AND HOPE. Two flowers there are of heavenly birth Within the wilderness of earth, — Growing beside our narrow way : Brighter by contrast they appear As by life's highway brown and sere Their colors rare display. But like the stars, they do not shine, Until the glorious sun's decline, They in the darksome night-time bloom ; When fortune's gay resplendent sun His course across life's sky hath run They cheer the deepest gloom. WILD FLOWERS. 97 A VISION. In the darkness of midnight near a lone shore I was warring with waves in a struggle for life. My efforts seemed vain , — grew louder, the roar, And whiter the surges — uiore desperate my strife. I looked to the hea.vens, still hoping to fly From the perils about me to a refuge on high. But the clouds lowered dark, and the wild shriek- ing blast Right on to my doom were driving me fast. One refuge bethought me ; beneath the blue wave In oblivion I'll rest in a lonely sea grave, And the surges that break on the desolate shore 'Mid the howl of the tempest will wake me no more. Into the depths I was sinking, and lo ! even there I met the dark demons of woe and despair. And — the vision was past — and the spell it was broke, 'Twas only a dream — thank God ! — I awoke. A QUERY. Another week ? What will it bring ? Will the fair flowers of promise bloom? Or will vile weeds luxuriant spring Upon Affection's new made tomb? 98 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. THE OLD AND THE NEW. Through the desolate forest The cold wind is sighing, The autumn is past The Old Year is dying. O'er the snow covered plain I see a young face, That ready now stands The Old to replace. And hark ! — it is midnight, — Dear Old Year adieu ! — And we drink to the welcome Sweet New Year of you. DIVES. Down through the ages comes the story old Of a rich man clad in purple cloth and gold : And a beggar, cursed by an unkindly fate Who full of sores lay at the rich man's gate ; Where, scarce regarded by the passing throng He heard the merriment, the dance and song ; Rejected crumbs, the story doth relate His only portion at the rich man's gate. WILD FLOWERS. 99 Two thousand jevus, since then, have passed away And yet such scenes are oft beheld to-day ; Sore beggars still at ixiercy's portals wait And throng alike the prince and peasant's gate. Who are these suppliants, who, indeed, are they, Whose dog-licked forms bestrew life's narrow way? — The maimed , the halt, the poor,— unfortunate Of every class are starving at thy gate. Heed now their cries, unto their wounds attend : Drive hence ihe dogs, from every foe defend, Lest ye at length should vainly supplicate Admission at the Master's palace gate. THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES. 'Twas believed by ancient sages That the planet worlds sublime. Rang with an unearthly cadence The unceasing flight of time. That our race, degraded, fallen, Never hears the glorious strain, That forevermore is ringing Throughout Nature's vast domain. This were yet a pleasing fancy, And at times I seem to hear Through the night seraphic measures Stealing from some far of! sphere. 100 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS, Tones of superhuman sweetness, Such as angel tongues employ, Rousing every sense to action, — Thrilling every nerve with joy. Such is the enchanting music That I hear, or seem to hear. Stealing through the starry midnight, Coming from some far off sphere. IMPROMPTU. O woman, woful was the day When Eve transgressed the law divine And forth from Eden took their way. The stricken parents of mankind ! While they the lonely way pursued A glory filled the skies above, And forth from out the solitude Sprang the irradiant goddess, " Love." Then all around the desert bloomed Beneath the glowing ambient skies, While they their burden reassumed Forgetful even of Paradise. WILD FLOWERS. |01 VESPERS. From each tall sky pointing steeple Sweet sonorous music svv^ells, But not for retiring hour Is the ringing peal of bells. For each mellow intonation, Floating through the balmy air, Is a blessed invitation To the hallowed house of prayer. "Come," they say, "ye broken-hearted, From whose souls hope has departed. Now is the accepted time ! Now the power of sin enthralls thee. But the blessed Savior calls thee And will purge away thy crime !'' From each tall and shapely steeple The deep swelling accents fall, While the throngs of anxious people Hasten to obey their call. And around the sacred altar Many rapturous praises swell, But no song from harp or psalter Wakes such music as the bell. Hear again their sacred story Of the Saviour's death and glory, Of his grace and love sublime. Through the balmy twilight ringing Like a choir of angels singing Carols in the evening time. 7 102 . lELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. A SIMILE. Like volcanic fires sleeping 'Neath the summits clad in snow, Is the passionate heart keeping Hidden, griefs that none may know. PHANTASIES. Night has spread i^s ample curtain Over mount and hill and lea, And the moonbeams, dim, uncertain Are descending fitfully. And my soul to musing given Soars at will through earth and heaven Through the future yet to come, O'er the past forever gone, From the future culling flowers That perchance may never bloom, From the past recalling hours Of the deepest, direst gloom. Swept by memory's ruthless hand Tender chords vibrate once more Like sad echoes from the strand, Voices from a lonely shore, Telling of the years gone by And the loss I most deplore. WILD FLOWERS. 103 And my loss were not more real Had I wed the beauteous maiden And from altars hymeneal She had passed to distant Aiden. Nor ca,n I refrain from weeping Though she sleeps beneath the sod, Though for years she has been keeping Sabbath in the house of God : For in fancy I behold her As she treads the halls of light, Not as an unearthly vision But a being fair and bright ! And the semblance of her features Is the same on earth she bore, And the smile she beams upon me Is the happy smile of yore. I gaze upon the broad expanse Of heaven, and all its glittering train Seem moving in a mazy dance Before my half bewildered brain ; — I sleep — I dream — I see a gleam Break o'er the dewy earth Bright as the skies of Paradise When day first had its birth ; I hear the high arch of the sky With heavenly music ring. As cherubim and seraphim Proclaim Messiah king. I see afar the herald star Gleam o'er the desert's waste. And seer and sage, though bent with age, With youthful ardor haste 104 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. To Bethlehem with many a gem To greet the wondrous child, God's only Son, the lowly one, Born in the manger wild. And now one of the radiant throng. Stooping from the heights of air, Bears my dreaming soul along Through the skies serene and fair. Upward onward till afar Earth gleams, itself a silver star Set in the gloomy void of night. Yet onward, upward still we soar By moons and gleaming worlds of light Until before my startled eyes Appear the gates of Paradise. Open, tiie pearly portals swing ; And dear familiar voices sing A welcome to earth's wandering child. I gaze about with raptures wild For mortal eye, before I ween Has never looked on this fair scene. " Fear not," the seraph said, " I'll guide Thee through the city great and wide :" And leading to a spacious field, A field o'ergrown with heavenly flowers, He said, "To thee I will reveal The spot where Michael and the powers Of Heaven fought, when Satan, tired Of peaceful times, madly aspired WILD FLOWERS. 105 The highest power himself to gain And over heaven a despot reign. From yonder shining height he fell When God hurled hence his host to hell !'' I heard the everlasting song- Peal through the miglicy arch sublime ; I saw the vast and radiant throng. The blest of every age and clime ; I saw the matchless great white throne Where all at judgment must api3ear; I saw the mighty scroll whereon The angel keeps the Record there : And as he wrote, I saw him weep As if he felt some intense pain That he perforce must ever keep A record with so many a stain. I heard the Saviuor as he plead To wash those damning stains away, And from some vast height overhead I heard a voice of tiiunder say : — " O Son, Thou didst perform my will And highest power I give to Thee ; Poor fallen Man, I love him still. And for Thy sake I set him free !" There was a sound within my ears Like rolling seas or falling spheres, And I awoke in awe to find All, but a phantom of the mind. 106 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. In silence long I lay and mused, The import of that dream divining ; Until a glow the smi diffused That dimmed the stars afcoYe me shining; And as I left my lowly bed With swelling heart and tearful eyes, "Whatever hence befall," I said, I've had one glimpse of Paradise. NATURE AND MAN. All things in the vast universe, In God's majestic plan, Serve to promote the happiness Of Heaven's favorite — Man. To each there is a sphere assigned, To each a task is given, — Each does its part — a myriad powers Perform the work of Heaven. And evermore conjointly they Their labors vast perform, Just as the winds and clouds unite Ere they produce a storm. Without the sun no spectral mists Would from the ocean rise, Without the winds no clouds would drift Across the ambient skies. WILD FLOWERS. 107 Without the clouds no rain would fall Upon the thirsty ground. Without the rain no living thing Would on the earth be found. And these in turn would serve no end In the harmonious plan, But for creation's favorite And last created — Man. But to Man's power subservient Each must his own right yield, From the humblest to the mightiest That live in wood or field. The bee that hangs on buzzing wing Above the opening flowers, The cattle grazing on the plain Through the long Summer hours ; The timid hare with the hedge, The swiftly flying hind ; The goats that on the Alpine rocks A scanty living find. Are the dumb yet willing laborers That Providence employs To reap from earth the fruits which man, Ungrateful man, enjoys. 108 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Old Ocean too whose billows roll In majesty along, Confers a blessing evermore With an unceasing song. We see it in the gentle rain, And in the murmuring rill, We hear the echoes of his song In the thunder of the mill. And through man's might he doth defy His aid he can but lend. For he was made by Powers most high Man's constant, faithful friend. Ye doubt ? then look where Britain heaves Her white cliffs from the deep, Through countless storms she hath defied The waves that 'gainst her sweep. Her soil is fertile and her marts With varied products teem. And busy mills make music e'er To every flowing stream. But why doth she, fair northern isle With fruitful seasons glow, While lands that further southward lie Are cursed with ice and snow ? WILD FLOWERS. 109 Because within earth's burning zone Through the long changeless year, The sunlight falls upon the d^eij With ra,diance full and clear. • And as the waters northward flow Toward the icebound pole, A heated current in the sea Doth e'er by Britain roll. Each crested, undulating surge That thunders on her shore. Imparts its blessing as it breaks With hoarse sonorous roar. And ever thus, the latent beams Bourne hither by the sea, Wield their soft power on the plain, On mountain hill and lea. And yet proud Albion claims to be The " Mistress " of the deep, She is not mistress, but the child Of tides that northward sweep. The vast and rugged mountains too, Gray monuments of time. Whose snowy peaks aspire to pierce The azure skies sublime. 110 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. Are silent agents, faithful slaves, In the majestic plan, Whereby the universal Lord Bestows his gifts on man. For see those vast unbounded plains, Twixt the extremes of earth. And ask what mighty mother gave Those endless forests birth. Those forests fair, and murky streams That ever onward flow, Their beauty and their grandeur to The distant Andes owe. Methought I saw those barriers moved To the Atlantic's shore. And then no gloomy clouds did drift The mighty Llanos o'er. And those extended sylvan plains Where endless forests stand To deserts were at once transformed And wastes of burning sand. The Amazon no longer rolled In splendor to the sea. But o'er its bed a hot simoon Was howling fitfully. WILD FLOWERS. Ill And then I knew what powers vast The gloomy mountains are, And what vast influence they exert Upon the earth afar. And thus uncounted miracles Are wrought upon our sphere, With them each day, each hour is fraught They mark the changing year. And as we look above from earth Unto the starlit sky We find man's servants too, among The shining worlds on high. God made them too to bless our earth With their soft twinkling light, 'Twas He who placed those beacons on The darksome coasts of night. And yet no sound doth e'er escape Them as their gleaming spheres Rush in glory onward Through the flying years. At twihght's hour the fickle moon, Pale mistress of the night. Pours from her orb on Mother Earth A flood of silver light. 112 ELSmORE AND OTHER POEMS. And the mystic tides diurnal That ocean's margins lave, Leap up toward her shining disc In many a crested wave. Thus round the earth they ever go, — With it around the sun. Propelled by might eternal An endless journey run. So to all thiugs in Nature's realm We find a task is given, E'en from the humblest plants that grow To brightest stars of heaven. Yet all in harmony Vv^e see Conforming to one plan, Conducing all to one great end. The happiness of man. ON MEMORY. The past is but a lonely tomb Where buried lies the hope of years. And useless are our idle tears, — A bootless tribute to the gloom. And Memory oft brings bitter pain : When we the buried past unearth A thousand phantoms have their birth, A thousand sorrows live again. WILD FLOWERS. 113 RETRIBUTION. Right gayly did peal the village church bell When fair Lady Alice was wed, But ere its glad notes on the air again fell Her vision of happiness fled. For there came from afar o'er the blue ocean tide One, who had loved of yore, And in her grand home he sought the fair bride And told her the story he bore. His pale cheek flushed, and flashed his dark eye, When he found her amid a gay throng. And thus in the hearing of all who stood by Avenged his terrible wrong : " You shall suffer such pangs as you often have made Full many a true heart to know, They shall have their revenge through another repaid, And dealt the retributive blow ! You may turn with scorn and derision aside, — My words are true — by my life You are not, as you think,}Sir Andrew's loved bride You are his mistress, and not his true wife. He sought you with splendor, for his fortune is great, His estates are broader than mine, This made you untrue, alas 'tis too late. For shame and dishonor are thine ! 114 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. And yet you believed him ? — ah the folly of life !- You thought him noble and true • Behold, Lady Alice, the desolate wife Whom he has forsaken for you ! ind look false Lady to your ignoble Lord " He sees her, he blanches with fear, For your treachery now you have your reward, For your crime, retribution is here !" EVENTIDE. At eventide the lengthening shades foretell, The sun's decline, and day's swift coming close; So by my waning strength I know full well That night is near, — the end of all life's woes. Not like a child, who ere he goes to rest Doth lay aside his toys with many a tear, But like a reaper, believing all is best I lay aside the arms I may no longer bear. Not knowing what will be the recompense Of all my deeds before the Judge of all I lay me down, trusting that Providence, That pities even the humble sparrow's fall. WILD FLOWERS. 115 ETERNITY. Only in dreams may we explore That unknown realm that lies before, Eternity. Thoughtful and sad we tread the shore, And watch the barks departing o'er That dreary sea. Sometimes — yea oft— we fain would know Unto what land these exiles go When they depart ; Their destiny, the endless theme Of every idle dreamer's dream Thrills many a heart. Scarce knowing why, we speculate, Or, on the sands, we idly wait Our turn to sail. And this were best, if we confide The helm to Him who rules the tide In calm and gale. TO AZRAEL. And who art thou, midst shadows dimly seen. With gleaming eyes and dank and sulphurous breath ? Methinks I know thy pale and ghastly mien, Azrael thou art, man's adversary. Death. 116 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. For years hast thou pursued relentlessly ; I've heard thy rushing pinions day and night, And now I can — I will no longer flee, Here needs must end my unavailing flight ! And since from thee, I may no longer fly, Behold ! I turn and lay my bosom bare ; Pale monster still I all thy powers defy, Thou hast no terrors that I may not dare ! TO LAILA. Laila, in the years gone by We in friendship often met Sweet remembrance will not die Laila I esteem thee yet. And sometime we'll meet again Where our joys will be snnernal On the fair elysian plain In the land of life eternal. LET THERE BE LIGHT. " Let there be light," Jehovah said And forth from darkness overhead. Swift as the meteors that fly Athwart the silent midnight sky Heaven's glowing majectic swung Obedient to the word divine : No clamor through the ether rung ;- Each star to its vast orbit swung Where it in silence e'er doth shine ! WILD FLOWERS. H^J THE PENITENT'S PRAYER. As a suppliant I bow At thy feet O Saviour now, For my iieart is filled with woe That no other one can knovv^ And, indeed, I must despair If thou do not hear my prayer. Yea, I know my feet did stray From the straight and narrow way ; And my misdeeds did defame My Redeemer's sacred name. Yet, I now like one of old Would return unto thy fold, And in penitence confess All my sin,— unworthiness ! From thy matchless throne above Look in pity and in love, All my sinful deeds forgive. Bid my erring soul to live ! — Be my friend and constant guide While I on the earth abide, For I ne'er can go astray n While Thou leadest in the way ! TO M - * * - I write, at thy request, upon this page a name Unknown alike to fortune and to fame. Yet it will be in every coming year Memento of a friend, at least sincere. 118 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. THE COMET OF 1882. "We welcome thee, pale wanderer of the skies ! We welcome thee, and with deep pleasure view Thy starry disc and its attendant train ! For we regard thee not as harbinger Of fruitless seasons, nor precursor sure Of pestilence, of famine and of war ! Where hast thou been since fearful men Long years agone behold thee vanishing? Hast thy lucid train ne'er swept among Those constellations that so faintly beam From their far orbits in the depths profound? Canst thou not tell if they be worlds like ours Vast habitations, fit for beings animate ; Or are they realms dreary and desolate Where devils hold unceasing carnival? And if they be the dwelling place of man Is he the heir of vaster worlds unknown? Or has he yet transgressed some holy law Entailing thus on nations yet unborn Insatiate wrath and all the woes of hell ? Thou canst not tell, celestial visitant. No answering voice comes from thy silver sphere ; Thou hast thy secrets and we ne'er may know The mysteries of God's boundless universe. WILD FLOWERS. 119 LINES. Farewell, O my soul, to thy dream of ambition ! The fire that once warmed thee is smouldering low, Then why shouldst thou strive since the highest posi- tion That fame gives to man may not quicken its glow. Far better the slave's accursed condition, Who save his rough labor no burden doth bear, Than mine, whose life is one scene of contrition Whose heart fate has blasted with hopeless despair. STANZAS. Thousands perish, and their names Perish with them ; and 'tis well For the living scroll of fame Should of heroes only tell : Heroes who have nobly striven, On tbr world's great battle field, To advance the truth of heaven And the arms of reason wield. Such as these have never died. For their influence like a river Flows with ever deepening tide On towards the great forever. 120 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. THE SEA SHORE. Night comes apace ; the timid stars Look down upon the deep, And on the ocean's restless tides The silver moonbeams sleep. The gentle, undulating waves Break on the rock-bound shore, And echoes of the night repeat Their deep majestic roar. The lighthouse on the sea girt isle Sheds far its friendly ray, To guide the lonely mariners Upon their dangerous way. Far out at sea, the stately ships Pass the broad belt of night, Beneath the moon, and then are lost In the abyss of night. Awed by the grandeur of the scene, And all my pride subdued, I realize as ne'er before Creation's amplitude. And here, upon the lone sea beach I dedicate once more. My soul to Him whose mighty hand First fashioned sea and shore. WILD FLOWERS. 121 Assured that when at length I j)ass Beyond the sea of years, His hand shall moor my tired bark To Heaven's eternal piers. FATE AND CHANCE. These are the watchwords of the indolent : Who, to defend their own unfruitful lives Complain of adverse fate, Medean laws And all the harsh decrees of Destiny. These subtle reasoners may be daily seen Their faces pinched by joyless penury. While moments fraught with golden blessings pass Swiftly away, unheeded, unimproved. Heed not such rea,soners : ' ' in thy bosom are The stars of thine unwritten destiny." Life is thine own, and thou the a,uthor art Of thy own fortunes. Impartially the gentle dews descend, Imj)artially the rain from heaven falls To bless the parched fields of rich and poor. And the same breeze that fans the prince's cheek Doth lovingly caress the peasant's brow. Then why complain at heaven's dispensing power When every day, — yea, every passing hour Would bless thee, if thou wouldst but bless thyself. 122 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. AN EXHORTATION. Ye who now walk in the resplendent rays That from the hoary top of Sinai shine, Continue in the God-illumined ways That upward lead unto the heights divine ! Turn not aside though oft the way is steep, Though oft it leads through shadows deep and vast, O'er deserts lone, by waters chill and deep, — Press on, and ye shall reach the goal at last ! THE BARD AND THE WRAITH, Once a minstrel lone and weary Wandered forth into the night. All the world was dark and dreary That ere now had seemed so bright. He had suiig in faultless measure Of the neighboring mount and plain, But applause, — the poet's treasure. He had nobly sought in vain. As he strayed despairing, weeping. Soon he met an aged man. Who, without one word of greeting, Thus to counsel him began : WILD FLOWERS. 123 ' ' Son thy sadness sorely grieves me Needlessly doth thou repine : — Let no cold neglect deceive thee, Many a glorious gift is thine. Know then that no prophet ever Honored was in his own land, And that ballad pleaseth never Written by familiar hand. Sing in unaccustomed places Of far lands and distant climes, Ancient valor, courtly graces, And the old historic times. Unto strangers tell thy story. Strike for them each tuneful string : They will cover thee with glory, They the laurel crown will bring. And when death has hushed thy lyre They will write thy honored name. In bright characters of lire. On the living scroll of fame. The wraith, for such it was,— ceased speaking, Vanished in the starry night, And the bard, his counsel keeping, Passed his days in pure delight. 124 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. SUMPTER.— A REMINISCENCE. A solitary sea-encircled mound Rising abruptly from the azure bay. Its broken walls and ruined battlements Strewn with huge guns half buried in the sand, Is all that now rewards the tourist's eye Where once the great historic fortress stood Proud and defiant by the sunny sea. Here once I chanced to pass an hour alone Amid the fallen piles of masonry, And ruined monuments of sanguine war. And as I mused upon the lonely scene My mind became so full of fancies strange That for a time, indeed I scarce was sure If life were real or mere phantasy. Transformed by fancy's wonder-working power The lonely mound became an eminence, From which I saw our well-beloved land Struggling once more in the embrace of war. I saw rich fxelds turned back to wilderness, And fertile gardens overrun with thorn, And idle mills consumed with slow decay. And childless mothers v/eeping in despair. And gray-haired men half crazed with penury, And orj)hans wailing all their woes alone. And vice, disease, and every nameless curse Hate could inflict or suffering land receive. WILD FLOWERS. 125 The solitude seemed broken and the fort Assumed once more its bold and shapely form ; And the huge guns there rusting in disuse Gleamed threateningly upon the massive walls, And over all an azure ensign waved, And all around were groups of gray-clad men, And far away tov/ard the restless sea Dim, indistinct and vv rapped in clouds of smoke, Stood iron ships in formidable array, Deep laden with the armaments of war. A heavy sound, like that of distant guns, Aroused me from mj lengthened revery. The inist was gone, and 'gainst the ruined wall The rising waves v^ere thundering heavily. The sunny bay was white with peaceful sails. And far as eye could reach the sunny land Was blessed with peace — smiled with prosperity. MISFORTUNES. I've sometimes thought, that few indeed have been Cursed by a fate so seemingly unkind, Yet in God's blessed providence I've seen That oft misfortunes are for good designed. And I have learned, at length, to view them all And chastenings by a loving Parent given For when I faint I hear a tender call, "Be of good cheer!" — come from the vault of heaven. 126 ELSINOBE AND OTHER POEMS. We see but darkly 'mid the shadows here, God's purposes are all to us unknown. Yet in the future shall all things appear Surpassing plain before God's matchless throne. HEAVEN AND EARTH. They tell us of fair chrystal walls, Of spacious streets gold paved and wide, Of dazzling thrones, eternal halls That lie beyond death's icy tide. They tell of flowers whose sweet perfume Is wafted up the livelong year, — Immortal flowers whose snowy bloom Outrivals all that blossom here. And we believe all that is told ; With eye of faith we upward gaze Upon the shining streets of gold The walls with glittering stones ablaze. And yet I deem we better love This realm of sorrow and despair, Than that mysterious land above Where all is so surpassing fair. For often when the closing day Hath come, — we hear the pilgrim cry, ' ' I dread the dark and shadowy way O God. O God I would not die !" WILD FLOWERS. 127 'Tf) * -^ * * * When you with retrospective eye The scenes of youth survey, V/ill you recall the humble friend Whose love you scorn to-day ? ■'You do not know — you cannot tell" Then may the future prove To you false one, it was not well To scorn a true man's love. ELEGIAC. Again is heard the rush of unseen wings Descending through the starlit void of night ; Remorseless Death another summons brings, Another soul hath passed the gates of light. 'Tis Heaven's decree ; and yet we can but weep That envious Heaven should from our midst remove. One, in her youth, who sought its law to keep, One, whom to know was to respect and love. And ye afflicted ones, so sad and hopeless now. Could sympathy assuage your bitter grief, 'Twere ours to chase the clouds from every brow And to each stricken soul bring swift relief. 128 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. This may not be, — God gives — God takes away And He alone can soothe the troubled heart : Remember this ye stricken ones, and pray That he may bid your griefs for aye depart. Then vs^ill your way, that seemeth now so drear, Grow bright with promise, and your lives shall be So full of hope, that ye with joy shall hear The spectre when he comes your souls to free. A MOHAMMEDAN FABLE. Mohammed once, in desert wide An Arab of the waste espied Who bore a pitcher in one hand And in one a burning brand. Said Mohammed : ' ' Tell me friend Whither now thy footsteps tend ?" And the strange man did reply : — "Allah's prophet sir, am I, And to do his bidding g-o To the dreary world below. Where with water I will quell The consuming flame of hell ; Thence 111 pass into the skies, Even unto Paradise, And with fire w411 1 destroy Heaven and every future joy, That base man no longer driven By fear of Hell or hope of Heaven May ascribe unselfish praise To great Allah's glorious ways." WILD FLOWERS. 129 STANZAS. Gone ! yea forever ! — I cannot recall thee ? — O the woe and the anguish that burdens my heart !— No smile didst thou give at our parting to cheer me, With a frown on thy features I saw the depart ! I love thee still,— I shall love thee forever, Nor shall my affections another e'er claim Thou saidst I'd forget— O could I !— but never In oblivion shall rest my Mary's loved name. A RETROSPECTION. The dark clouds ascending, The roar and the rattle Tell of armies contending In furious battle. The squadrons of Blue And legions of Gray, Both dauntless and true Rush on to the fray : They meet and their shock Is like the commotion Of waves on a rock In tempestuous ocean. The angel of Death High carnival holds, And Moloch ingathers A harvest of souls. 130 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. On a myriad fields Their corses are strewn, From a myriad households The light is e'er flown : And sad is the moan, And loud is the wail Of widows and orphans Bourne far on the gale. But sadder than theirs Is the fate of the maid "Whose hope, in the dust Forever is laid ; The love of whose youth Is stricken and dead, A widow is she Though never she wed. Across her pathway A shadow is thrown. She dwells in the hall Of her father's alone, And who can foretell If from shadows that lower Her soul shall be lifted Again evermore ! The war-cloud is past, And wild flowers bloom. On the fields of the dead Dispelling the gloom. WILD FLOWERS. 131 The Goddess of Peace Wreathes garlands of bay For the faithful ; alike For the Blae and the Gray. And the shadows of Discord, Once spectral and vast, Now scarcely are seen In the desolate past. "PRO MEMORIA." Since Death has destined that we meet, Upon Life's changeful sea, no more, I hope on Heaven's chrystal shore I may your ransomed spirit greet. And when we stand before the throne, Whereat we all must soon appear. The records then will witness bear That I have loved but thee alone. And O how sweet with angels there To wander in those blissful spheres, And through the long unchanging years To rest in mansions bright and fair. There would I take thee by the hand, And all the balmy sunless days We'd wander down the golden ways Of the eternal spirit land. 132 ELSINORE AND OTHER POEMS. I love thee still, for love like mine No power of reason can restrain ; Though hopeless it is not in vain, For love, though mad is yet divine. In dreams I often see thy grave Upon the sere and wintry hill, I see afar the frozen rill, The tree tops in the moonlight wave. Then backward o'er the ice and snow, The frozen waste of joyless years, I pass — the lone scene disappears And Summer round me seems to glow. And sweetly flows the gentle stream, Freed from the Winter's icy thrall, The flowers brightly bloom, and all The earth is radiant with the gleam. Upon the green sward children play, As once they did so long ago ; I see them romping to and fro, I hear their laughter glad and gay. We sit beneath the pines again. The gentle zephyrs sing above, I whisper softly words of love, And know my vows are not in vain. WILD FLOWERS. I33 1 clasp once more thy tender hand My fevered lips to thine I press, But even with that first caress I'm hurried back from Morpheus' land. And swiftly fades the Summer's glow. The brook is bound in icy thrall. The flowers disappear, and all The earth is wrapped again in snow. «ii^* m^ Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proces Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Sept. 2009 Pres A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATIO 111 Tbomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 (724)779-2111