3^^^^ ,/?:z^/ lO Hollinger Corp. pH 8.5 PS '3 50 Jltnerica ^ounbeb on an S I9fr Z.2Z 2T0 I nil III mil mil I mil iiiiii ssaaoNOD do xauaan w America ^ounbeb on an One of t^e CeAc^ere ftnoton fo t^ee, 4) sentfe (geftber mftcccKOti <'»'' ^^v COPYRIGHT 1897, BY THE CORELL PRESS. THE CORELi. PRESS *N0 THE PRESS OF THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL ASSOCIATED, UNIVERSITY PLACE AND NINTH ST. 1 N.Y. o 1 -'^ ARGUMENT /jCCORDING to the legend, upon the announcement being made at creatioJi '^ Let us tnake ?nan,^^ the angels wer'e 7nuch agitated. The angel of Peace ve7tttired to say that the direful co7ise- quence would be war, which would 7nea7i widows a7id orpha7is, viole7ice a7id rui7t. The a7igel of Charity took up the strain and foretold that man would be selfish, vile-to7igued, cruel a7id U7itruth- ful. At this mome7it all the angelic choirs united in the chorus of the Seraphs {see Isa. vi. j.) '''Holy, holy, holy,^^ etc. As man, accordi7ig to the a7igels Peace and Charity, would lead a7i u7iholy life, his creation would therefore mea7i a discord. But the A7igel of Love spoke, a7id co77i pelted attentio7i by the beauty of her voice. She pleaded for 7na7i, a7id promised the e7id of the Seraph- song y ''His gloiy filleth the whole earth,'''' would be fulfilled, if only she 7night be allozved to touch ma7i''s heart. A deep silence ensued. It was broken by the voice of the Creator, who declared that ma7i 77iust be created, a7ldwho bade Love, ivith Peace a7id Charity, Purity and Righteousness be his gua7'dia7i angels. Universal Happiriess ivould 07ie day be siiprerne on Earthy and Love would accomplish the 77ii7'acle. Thus concludes the hitroduction. The7i, in a dream, the ancient mo7iarchies are seen to pass i7i review, a7id also the awful ancie7it cults, whereupo7i I saw The angel Peace zueep bitterly ! I sazv Siveet Purity unfold her wings and fly In horror from an impure world ! I sazv Fair Virtue hide in terror. Chastity Lie crouchino; ifi the mire . . . The ajigels Love ^ Peace and Charity at last pluck a plant from Judea' s hills ^ which nestles and grows beneath Cross and Crescejit. As a result^ Church and Mosque alike point heaven- ward for man^ s guidayice ^ preparing hi7n thus for true Progress. The later natio7is pass in review, among them England who writes ^* Liberty ^' 07i History's scroll. A brief allusion to Englajid^s world-work follows y when she is seen to touch a land beyond the ocean ajid write the word " Liberty " on the hearts of its people. The7i^ in the drea7n, the word takes root, and like the plant plucked from fudea, bears wonderful f-uit amid bra7iches 7ia7ned Love, Peace, Charity, Purity and Righteous7iesSy — after viands ministering a7igels. The tree is the American nation, which is thus born through Englayid' s deeds. To spread such teachings over the world for all manki7id to enjoy the fruits is declared to be A7ne7 ica ' s world-77iission . A short resume of Americayi History follows, and America and England one in faith, In language, ancestry, in comf}io7i much Of History and heritage from pens Which have immortalized the English tongue — are see7i to perform their missioji by j$intly addressing the nations of the world in the 7ia77ies of Love, Peace, Charity, Purity a7id Righteousness. The nations heed. War ceases. Arbitration rules. Uni- versal Happiness becomes real 07i Earth. Again the angelic choirs sing the Seraphs'' a7ithe7}i, and Earth responds, no longer in discord, but 7iow i7i har77W7iy, declaring " Earth is filled with His glo7y.^^ For His glory is the happiness of His creatures , even as an earthly king'' s glory is the happiness of his subjects. The creation of man is thus explained. It is the completion of God^s glory on earth. /^^ KING Supreme ! Thou rulest all the spheres \^ That swing through space. TheshuttleotThywill Is weaving all the wondrous web we call Thy robe of glory — this, Thy Universe ! Thy word hath been proclaimed * Let us make man ! ' O God, create him not ! Thy Heavens sing Thy glory ! Earth, this new born orb, designed To be one jewel more to fringe Thy robe. Will never echo back with man thereon That chorus of the Seraphim, which swells With harmonies of Ophanim, Hayoth, And all the angel-hosts that voice that song ! This Earth, the youngest child of all Thy worlds, Is called into existence but to tell Thy handiwork. But Thou, dost Thou need that ? These Heavens witness that ! Much more Thy Heav'n Of Heavens where Shechinah's glories pass The pow'rs of creature's finite mind to grasp ! Then Earth, this puny Earth, at best can add One single note towards the chorus which Attests what is with sound stupendous voiced From end to end of all Thy Universe ! But Earth, if marred with man's misdeeds, will mean A discord in the music of the spheres ! O bear with me, for who am I to speak To Thee, O great Creator ? Only this I ask To add to what I have already dared To speak — that man, whom Thou design'st To make a Hving being, will detract From what we call Thy glory. Thou art King Of all the Universe. The happiness Of all Thy subjects, all Thy creatures — that Most truly constitutes Thy glory ; that Declares Thy majesty, Thy greatness ; that Proclaims Thy wisdom ! But this creature, man, Will tear, and rob, and crush, and fill the Earth With tears, with woe, with wrong, with war ! Alas, The very sound of that accursed word Affrights me ! Maimed bodies, shortened lives. The sobs of widows and of orphans, — blood To stain, and fire to blacken Earth*s fair face ! O, war means Hatred, Ruin, Violence ! From off the Earth must Purity and Love Forever fly, and Virtue fold her wings In agony of outraged soul. Alas, Unhappiness will be the psalm of life As Earth will hymn it. Father, let me ask Of Thee, create him not ! Create him not ! " So spake amid deep sobbings in the hosts Of angels, those who minister before The throne of Him whose being is too vast For angel's soul to faintly guess — so spake The angel Peace. * * * For fiat had gone forth " Let man exist ! " And at the sound thereof The angels wept. * * * And angel Peace withdrew. * * * Then in his place stood forth sweet Charity. And thus she spoke. " May I be heard, O King ? This creature who will lord the earth, behold His heart will be of adamant. The sounds Of brother's misery, of brother's wants, Of brother's rights, will never wake his soul To sympathy which must in human heart Be stirred ere happiness can fill the earth ! Foul selfishness will make him seek his own Advantage, aye, will blind his eye and still His tongue when he might move to act, or speak To help a fallen brother ! O so stained A heart ! So vile a tongue ! A heart which plans His gain at others' loss — a tongue which stabs With cruel, vile, untruthful word, or which, With equal treachery, keeps silence when A brother's honor is assailed ! Alas, That I must speak such unkind thoughts ! But Truth, The signet of Thy hand, my being sealed ! I must, with those whom Thou hast crowned with pow'r To know the motives which will move this man — ^Made little lower than the angels — speak As Truth compels. O great Creator, hear My pray'r, create him not, create him not ! " * * * Then flashed the Fires, then moved strange Elements And Powers, Agencies and Mysteries, *Mid sounds that thrilled, and dazzling lights that gleamed. While wondrous choirs invisible on high An anthem voiced, whose echoes filled all space. And Heaven's portals seemed to lift and shake. As high'r and high'r their music rang out words Which moved and swayed the inmost souls of all The angel host to sing the seraph song : '' O Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord Of Hosts. " * * * They sang, and hardly died the sound Away, before they heard a voice begin Alone, so soft, so sweet, so pure, so clear. So beautiful, that all stood rapt and lost In ecstacy. * * * " *Tis Love, — the angel Love ! ** They whispered when they gained the pow*r to speak A word. And thus the angel Love was heard To end the chorus of the choirs on high : " His glory fiUeth all the earth,* O hear O hear ye heavens, hear O Universe, His glory filleth all the earth, — it fills The earth ! it fills the earth ! and blessed be The glory of the Lord from out the place Wherein He is !f And He is there on earth As He in Heav'n is here ! O blessed be The glory of the Lord, it fills the earth ! Oh ! man will work to make it fill the earth If Thou, O Lord, wilt let me touch his heart ! * * * Then silence reigned. And all the marshalled hosts In reverence bent low to hear a sound Which strangely and most wondrously entranced The hearers as it broke the silence. Thus It said : " O Purity, O Uprightness, Who stand before My throne, and who, with Love With mercy wreathed, complete My glory, J know Peace, O Charity, O Angels all, 1 speak, and lo, it stands ! Let man exist ! Behold, He lives ! Attend him. Purity ! Attend Him, Uprightness and Peace and Charity ! Attend him Love, and teach ideals high ! When human vice stains Purity, when man ♦Seraph's Hymn, (Is. vi. j) fHymn of Ophanim, (Ezek. iii, 12) lAncicnt Creation Hymn ^ By evil deed puts Righteousness to flight, When from the path of Peace he strays, O Love, Be thine the task to teach him Right ! And when Foul selfishness defiles the soul I breathe Within him, then, O Love, be thine the task To root it out! I will that man shall be ! I will that he shall pass through trial, woe And even war, to Universal Peace On earth ! I will that he shall learn to know That Brotherhood complete must be for him The goal to aim at in the face of all That hind'reth ! Universal Happiness Shall then exist and be for ever known ! This miracle shalt thou, O Love, achieve, For in this happiness on earth I find My glory. '* * * * Thus He spake, and then again Flashed lights. Strange elements, strange mysteries Again were felt to thrill the Sebaoth ! Again the choirs invisible awoke The harmonies whose chords vibrating made Those hosts respond in reverential awe, " O Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord Of hosts. His glory filleth all the earth. " * * * I dreamed. And from my vision I was waked As man is wakened from his sleep. Beside Me stood a messenger divine. I asked, " What meancth this my vision? " Then again I slept and dreamed by wondrous spell entranced. * * * I saw how mankind fell, how mankind rose, I saw great monarchies bestride the earth, Huge Babylon, proud Egypt, grand Assur, Vast Persia, mighty Hellas, cruel Rome, In turn held sway until barbaric hordes With sword and torch made mankind's work a wreck ! I saw oppression, immorality. Injustice, slavery, defile^the earth ! I saw false cults make sin divine. I saw Men's minds misled by myths mishaped until The names of Ba'al and of Ashteroth, Both quickened in Religion's holy name The vile and foul in mankind's hearts ! I saw Grim Moloch drip with infant's blood ! I saw The gods of Greece and Rome held up for man To copy in his passions ! O, I saw The angel Peace weep bitterly ! I saw Sweet Purity unfold her wings and fly In horror from an impure world ! I saw Fair Virtue hide in terror. Chastity Lie crouching in the mire ! " How long, O Lord, How long? " — I cried — " Shall Might be always Right ? Shall Treason strangle Reason's pow'r for aye ? Shall Vice be always Voice most powerful ? " * * * I waked in agony. * * * Again I dreamed. I saw upon the ruins of the world Which pagan sword and pagan thought had built Another world arise. 'Twas planned, 'twas built With miracle. I saw the angels Love And Charity and Peace together work ! From out Judea's lonely hills they plucked A plant. It nestled in Europa's lands Beneath the cross. It grew where cresent shone. Then church and mosque with spire and minaret Together pointed upwards, Godwards — thus Preparing men for path of Progress true. The path that leads to human happiness ! I saw great nations born and grow. Proud Spain, Great AUemaigne and scarlet Rome, a France, The Czar-land — all engaged my dream. But not The least was one which wrote upon the scroll Of History a word which summed its work For mankind's weal. 'Twas * Liberty * it wrote ; And England was the writer. O thou land — The mother of so much which blesseth earth — Thy name shall live until the Heav'ns in smoke Shall vanish, and the earth wax old, for thou Hast taught the blessed word to modern world — That word whose letters spell sweet * Liberty ! * Then through my vision swiftly ran the scenes Of Runnymede, of Mars ten Moor, of halls Where old Westminster weaves its potent spell To-day of Reason, as of old it wove Religion in the hearts of worshippers. * * * Again from out my vision I was waked As one is wakened from his sleep. I looked, Behold again the messenger divine Addressed me saying : ** Man, what seest thou P " * * * Like Pethor's seer who, thrown into a trance, Beheld a vision with his opened eye Illumined with the mystic prophet-fire, So I beheld great England touch a land Beyond the ocean's vast expanse, and write Upon the hearts of all her children there The holy word of Liberty. And like The plant the angels plucked from Zion's hill It seemed as if that word took root, put forth Strong branches here and there, bore goodly fruit Of potent perfume, wonderful in taste. And mighty to intoxicate with spell The races of humanity which stretched The hand to take the fruit with eagerness ! And thus I read the name of every branch — The branches Purity and Righteousness, The branch of Peace, the branch of Charity, The branch of Loving-kindness. Then I knew That man's redeeming angels there had worked The miracle to call to life a race Created but to voice to all the world Its mission ' Purity and Righteousness, With Charity and Peace, — in one word Love ! * mission glorious ! O mission grand ! Know this thy world-work, great America ! * * * Then in my dream I marked her throbs of birth- 1 heard the bell toll Freedom through the land. I saw the sulphured smoke, the tongues of fire, The reeling lines of armed men, the truce — From Bunker Hill and Lexington to where St. George's cross saluted Stars and Stripes. I noted all — aye more, I noted how That contest waked a dormant world, How nations heard and quaked; how Liberty Fraternity, Equality became The battle-cry which maddened sons of France, And dyed Europa's fields with crimson stain. O Liberty, sweet Liberty, first heard When Egypt's yoke was shattered, and a race Went forth to Freedom, destined to bestow Upon the waiting world the wondrous Book, The ' Book of Books ' wherefrom the Puritan Drank deep the draught of Liberty and taught The world to fight for Freedom ! Still I dreamed. No vision of high Heaven's realm entranced My soul. On earth's more lowly sphere I gazed. To mark America embarked upon Her mission. Sped the years, quick sped the years, When once again I waked in wonderment And terror. . . . O the horror, when aroused By war's alarms ! I cried aloud to him Whose presence though unseen was felt so near — " My lord, what mean these things ? The sound of war Is in the land ! The earth resounds with tramxp Of marshalled hosts — it quakes beneath the rush Of mighty squadrons and artillery ! See brother fighting brother— blue and gray — The tongues of fiame, the thund'ring sounds, the call Of bugles, ring of bullets, crash of horse And shouts of man — all horrible — confused — As if from hell were raging demons loosed To vomit hate and strife ! O where is Peace — O where is Charity, O where is Love ! " * * * And then I saw them weeping, and I asked Must these things be ? * * * "O son of man," I heard A voice reply, " America to-day Removes the stain which mars her shield of fame, The poison which would paralyse her strength — Her very life ! Alas the need for sword To cut away the stain, for fire to burn The poison out ! But stronger, firmer, aye And nobler yet, America shall be. When stain and poison, known as slavery, Shall be for aye eliminate. " * * * I sighed. " Give thanks for our deliverance, O pray That God will lead us all along the paths Of Penitence, submission to His will, To unity, to peace fraternal ! " Thus Proclaimed the noble man who stood the head Of union, elect by Providence. * * * The pain was o'er. Then Purity embraced With Righteousness. Then Peace and Charity And Loving- kindness dried their tears and sped To heal the wounds the hateful strife had made. They touched all darkened homes, all saddened hearts. So widows wept with orphans, and strong men United in the cry ' Enough ! * And time Had hardly passed, and Peace was hardly heard. Ere Charity proclaimed * Forgive, * and Love Declared that hearts beneath the blue and gray Were pulsed with common blood. " The past is passed, Its dead are buried " echoed ev'ry man, From rocks of Maine to Texan coast, from East, Where Sumter woke the storm of war, to West Where wavelets gently kiss the Golden Gate. * * * " O son of man, what seest thou ^ I looked. . . It was the messenger divine who spoke. I saw the canvas of the future spread Before my wond'ring eyes — America Her noble mission was fulfilling, hand In hand with mother England, one in faith, In language, ancestry, in common much Of history and heritage from pens Which have immortalised the English tongue. O noble mother, noble daughter, God Hath holy work for you on Earth ! I saw Europa's sturdy children, and the hosts Of hoary Asia, Afric's sons — all lend Th* attentive ear to words that fell from both. These nations born of Purity and Right, The race whose very roots are Charity And Peace, whose sap of life is Love — the race Which spreads its branches bearing all these names To shelter all humanity. They spake. Great England and America, and bade TW assembled world give ear! •!» "t" ^ O brothers heed ! Let Peace and Charity and Love be heard ; They are the angels of humanity To guide us all to Peace and Brotherhood, And on to Uuiversal Happiness. And then America thus spoke her word: " Let warfare end. Let arbitration rule ! " Ye brother-nations hear me testify. see how Heaven's blessing prospers me ! 1 know no curse of standing armies raised By force of vile conscription. All my sons May give their years and all their strength to fight For bread, for wives, for children. Yet were need To call, a million men would march to fight For honor and for Liberty. O ye, My brothers, break for aye the curse of war ! Make free your sons to give their years, their strength To wife and child, by industry to build Their nation's might ! And then if quarrel rise. Let arbitration hold its Holy Court, Unbiassed, pure, and by us all upheld ! Whereon the sound of England's voice was heard 'Tis time enough to march our hosts allied, "When any nation shall defy the Court — And then enforce compliance. In the names Of Peace and Charity and Love, and by The God of Purity and Righteousness, We solemnly adjure you, one and all, Abolish war, for we are brothers. Yea, Abolish war ! Might makes not right. Leave tooth And claw to brutes. Be men. Be sons of God ! " They spake. And mankind answered back "Amen**! * * * Once more I saw the marshalled hosts on high. Once more the dazzling colors glowed, and pow'rs And agencies moved angel-bands to glide And swiftly fly to do Divine behest ! Once more the mighty chorus was upraised, And then a sudden silence reigned supreme. ^ H: ^ A moment . . . and a Voice was heard to say: " My glory is My children*s happiness ! *Tis now revealed on earth! Ye angels whom I charged to guide and teach my creature, man, O Purity and Righteousness, O Peace And Charity, O Love, your task is done, My glory filleth all the earth!" * * * 'Twas said. And once again the songs celestial Were hymned with wondrous harmonies by choirs Enthroned on high ; and then the voice of Love Took up the melody and thrilled the spheres, While Seraphim and Cherubim were bound By mighty spell, and Ophanim, the Hosts Of Holy Beings, Tsebaoth, were tranced. For thus the voice of Love began to sing : " O Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Of Hosts" — the angels' anthem — whereupon, The Heavens rang with diapason grand. The very stars seemed all to sing for joy: " O Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Of Hosts!" And then from earth there came response " His glory filleth all the earth" .... I waked. I mused. I understood that Love had worked Her miracle ! I cried * * * America ! Thy mission is for universal Peace! Make thou the overtures, let peace be heard! Let all the past by Charity be palled! O England, mother of so much which stands For standard of nobility and Right, Let Love heal wrongs! Then earth shall be a scene Of Human Happiness at last complete, Revealing thus the glory of the Lord! O great America, if Israel Is called the first-born* of the God of all, * Exod. iv. 22. Yet thou art His beloved child, endowed With Purity and Righteousness to make For Peace, for Charity, for Love on earth. O great and noble England, blessed of God! Do this thy task and help to bring the day When "Love and Truth shall meet; and Righteousness And Peace shall kiss, when Truth from earth shall spring, And Charity look down from Heaven"* — thus To blot out all of Earth's unhappy past. Thou England, thou America, know ye. Your mission is to work with Israel, The priestly racef commissioned in His Book Of Books, to lead Humanity to God. * Psalm nxxv. lo, 1 1 f Exod. xix. 6 I Ad(