Class LjU. 
 
 Book L ^-U&6 
 
 
 
 Oopyri£htN _i£ 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
GOLDEN 
 
 THOUGTS 
 
 By SANFORD D. POLLARD 
 
 ->K~ 
 
 NEW YORK 
 

 Copyright, 1915, 
 By SANFORD D. POLLARD 
 
 mqv |8 1915 
 
 "CI.A416445 
 
MY SENTIMENT 
 
 What care I for all your praises 
 Which upon me you endow, 
 After death his hand upraises 
 Places it upon my hrow? 
 
 Your sweet gifts of praise and flowers 
 I had rather you would give 
 To me in my lonely hours, 
 While on earth with you I live. 
 
 W^hy hedeck my grave with roses 
 And affections to me give, 
 Fill my casket with sweet poses, 
 Yet neglect me while I live? 
 
10 
 MY SENTIMENT 
 
 If I'm worthy of the flowers 
 That you condescend to give 
 When grim death my life devours, 
 Why not worthy while I live? 
 
 Soothe me when my heart is worried, 
 While my life is filled with care ; 
 For when 'neath the clods I'm buried, 
 Soothe cannot avail me there. 
 
 Give me what you deign to give me 
 Now, while it may give me cheer, 
 Bring not to my grave to pay me 
 The respect you owe me here. 
 
11 
 
 A HAPPY JOURNEY 
 
 F would like to take a journey 
 Through that land as sweet as honey* 
 Where the fruits and flowers never cease to 
 
 grow; 
 Walk into that fragrant garden, 
 Where no sullied foot has trodden, 
 Where delightful rivers never cease to flow. 
 
 It would give me without measure 
 
 Joy, ecstatic bliss and pleasure, 
 
 Just to watch the lovers spooning 'mongst the 
 
 pines ; 
 Where the nightingales are singing, 
 And the merry bells are ringing, 
 
12 
 A HAPPY JOURNEY 
 
 As they walk and talk beneath those shady 
 vines. 
 
 Where they multiply their blisses 
 
 With the balm of love and kisses, 
 
 In the places which they fashion there to spoon ; 
 
 Beneath the branches low and high, 
 
 O how I wish 'twere you and I ! 
 
 All the morning, evening, yea, and afternoon. 
 
13 
 IN THE TEMPEST 
 
 When night's shades are o'er me creeping, 
 
 And the bitter storm is sweeping, 
 
 And I in my, barge am launched upon the sea : 
 
 When the hungry deep is foaming, 
 
 And afar from thee I'm roaming, 
 
 I am thinking love, I'm dreaming still of thee. 
 
 Then while angry sea is roaring, 
 And the bitter floods are pouring, 
 Let thy heart incline to me more tenderly ; 
 When for thee my heart is yearning, 
 Tf my love thou be not spurning, 
 Thro' the watches of the night, oh, dream of 
 me. 
 
14 
 SPRING 
 
 Never mind the dreadful winter, 
 Though fierce tempest it may bring; 
 Sunshine, smiles and peace will enter 
 At the coming of the spring. 
 
 Then we'll see wild flowers a-blooming, 
 Rich and dainty, great and small, 
 And around them bees a-humming, 
 Bidding welcome to them all. 
 
 Every rose and every lily, 
 Pansy sweet and daffodil, 
 Will be scattering in profusion 
 All their loveliness at will ; 
 
15 
 SPRING 
 
 Shedding forth their sweetest fragrance, 
 Permeating all the air, 
 Stimulating all in nature, 
 Spreading rapture everywhere! 
 
 Flower gardens grand and spacious 
 Will be bathing in the sun, 
 Smiling to a source so gracious, 
 Telling that new life's begun. 
 
 Buttercups and morningglory 
 Gracing every plain and hill, 
 Testifying to the story 
 Of a life that's sweeter still. 
 
16 
 HIS NAME WAS WILL 
 
 They were seated in the park, 
 
 Where the shades had gathered dark, 
 
 And the whippoorwill was hippoorwilling on; 
 
 Then he gave a sudden coo, 
 
 And he spread his wings and flew, 
 
 When he saw he did not whip-poor-will alone. 
 
 They were listening to the rill 
 
 As it rippled down the hill, 
 
 When he flirted with a dame who passed 
 
 along ; 
 Then she whipped her Will so loud, 
 That she drew the watching crowd, 
 And the whippoorwill forgot his merry song. 
 
17 
 WHEN I AM GONE 
 
 When death's cold hand my woeful life 
 
 Shall humble, 
 And you of me have shortly been 
 
 Bereft, 
 Let all your grief for me decay and 
 
 Crumble, 
 No vain regret be in your memory 
 
 Left. 
 
 Don't think of how we used to be 
 
 Together, 
 Remember not the words that I have 
 
 Said ; 
 Forget about how much we loved each 
 
 Other, 
 Remember not the fact that I am 
 
 Dead. 
 
18 
 WHEN I AM GONE 
 
 Your loving heart must never, never 
 
 Borrow 
 An atom from the memory of 
 
 To-day ; 
 Your eyes must shed no tears of 
 
 Grief or sorrow, 
 When this old body sleeps beneath 
 
 The clav. 
 
 No thought of me should banish all 
 
 Your pleasure, 
 No horrid crape for me should you 
 
 Put on, 
 To bring to you an atom of 
 
 Displeasure — 
 A thought of me, when T am dead 
 
 And gone. 
 
19 
 WHEN I AM GONE 
 
 When I first met you, your sweet face 
 
 Was cherried, 
 And bore a smile of sweet and witching 
 
 Grace ; 
 When in the grave my body you have 
 
 Buried, 
 Let that same smile illuminate 
 
 Your face. 
 
 Now let this message be to you a 
 Warning, 
 
 Give heed I pray, to every word 
 
 I've said; 
 No ineffective tears of lonely 
 
 Longing 
 
 .Must flood your cheeks when I am 
 I , vine dead. 
 
20 
 A BAD GUESS 
 
 The green leaves were falling, 
 
 A sweet voice was calling, 
 
 'Neath tree tops that dazzled with glee; 
 
 The soft breeze was sighing, 
 
 The sun's rays were dying, 
 
 As we sat by the big aspen tree. 
 
 So gentle and so sweet, 
 
 With a face all replete 
 
 With smiles, sat a beautiful dame; ; 
 
 Who's so grand and unique, 
 
 And seemed longing to speak, 
 
 But her countenance blushing ( with shame. 
 
21 
 A BAD GUESS 
 
 Her face looked so merry ! 
 
 Her cheeks looked so cherry! 
 
 wSuggesting the flush of a rose ; 
 
 Whose lips bore a kiss 
 
 From the sunlight of bliss, 
 
 And was beaming in lovely repose. 
 
 I was ridden of fear, 
 
 And to her I drew near, 
 
 My spirit o'erflowing with glee; 
 
 When she turned round and said: 
 
 "I would surely be glad 
 
 If you men folks would stop worrying me I 1 ' 
 
22 
 AN UNMEASURED SEA 
 
 The eyes that looked into my own 
 
 Were fathomless pools of love, 
 
 The tangled mesh of sunlight hair 
 
 Was but the golden grove 
 
 Beneath whose vjnes I sipped the love 
 
 Which did my heart enliven, 
 
 From lips that melted in mine own — 
 
 The ruby gates of heaven. 
 
 She said to me, 'The time has come 
 When I from thee must part, 
 Before I go from thee to roam, 
 Come press me to thy heart ;" 
 
23 
 AN UNMEASURED SEA 
 
 My moments lost in reverie, 
 Absorbed in her caress, 
 Bespeaks an avalanche of love 
 Too lofty to express. 
 
 That loving face I can't forget, 
 
 Those precious, haunting eyes, 
 
 Like phantoms did they gaze from one 
 
 Whom I did idolize! 
 
 This spot is fraught with memories 
 
 Of days now past and gone, 
 
 Of how I held in my embrace 
 
 The girl I thought my own. 
 
24 
 LET IT ALONE 
 
 Do not let your friends entice you 
 To imbibe the poisoned cup, 
 Which contains the baneful liquor 
 That will burn your vitals up. 
 
 It will undermine your system, 
 It will bring you tears and sighs ; 
 For 'tis known that health and liquor 
 Never, never harmonize. 
 
 You might row with perfect safety 
 Far above the cataract 
 Of the wonderful Niagara, 
 Many chances to retract. 
 
25 
 LET IT ALONE 
 
 If you drift beyond the danger- 
 Line, where fearful billows clash, 
 Then no ray of hope remaineth, 
 You must take the fatal dash. 
 
 So it is with every drinker 
 Groping 'long the drunkard's path, 
 Drifting down to degradation, 
 Clutched within the throes of death. 
 
 When he gets the awful habit, 
 Then he loses self control, 
 And he knows no stop nor checking 
 Till is lost his very soul. 
 
26 
 LET IT ALONE 
 
 If you wish to try a little, 
 Before sipping, stop and' think; 
 For there's nothing more pernicious 
 Than the moderate use of drink. 
 
 So refuse it, do not use it, 
 It will prove to you a foe, 
 Early death will be your portion. 
 It will strike the fatal blow. 
 
 Ah, 'tis awful in its torment, 
 It will never satisfy, 
 And your thirst for it continues 
 Though you drink until you die. 
 
27 
 LET IT ALONE 
 
 It will be too late to listen 
 After health and strength are gone; 
 If you want them to continue, 
 You must let strong drink alone. 
 
28 
 LOST CARE 
 
 When with the girl you truly love 
 
 You lose the world of care, 
 
 When you can breathe your breath among 
 
 The fibres of her hair ; 
 
 When lips with lips meet tenderly 
 
 In passion's quenchless flame, 
 
 And drink the wine of sweetest love 
 
 That quenches grief and shame. 
 
29 
 MAN IS HEAD 
 
 Where does man go for comfort, 
 In the hours of despair? 
 To woman, and to lay his head 
 Upon her bosom fair. 
 
 And when his careworn spirit sinks 
 In the ocean of distress, 
 Her spirit stoops upon the brink 
 To soothe, to cheer and bless. 
 
 "Heaven's last best gift to man," 
 Ts not enough to say 
 Of her who stimulates the race, 
 I 'reserves it from decay. 
 
30 
 MAN IS HEAD 
 
 Nerves man for his Gethsemanes, 
 His life she doth improve, 
 Diffuses halo, light and joy 
 \\ her ever she doth move. 
 
 From whence did man the thought absorb, 
 From what source is it fed, 
 That woman he should rule with force 
 Because he is the head? 
 
 He brought it from the rough stone Age; 
 
 Tis time to put it down — 
 
 Tis surely true that man is head, 
 
 But woman is the crown. 
 
31 
 MAN IS HEAD 
 
 Twas from his side this jewel came, 
 His equal fair to be, 
 And near his heart to be beloved, 
 Through joy and misery. 
 
 tenderness is unexcelled, 
 Love's object she must be, 
 Yet she has been the object of 
 Man's base brutality. 
 
 'Tis she who shares man's every grief, 
 Has led him everywhere, 
 From victory unto victory, 
 With tender hands of care; 
 
32 
 
 MAN IS HEAD 
 
 Who's sacrificed her noble life 
 To help him reach his mark ; — 
 No nobler type need we produce 
 Than wee loan of Arc. 
 
 When in Orleans where English troops 
 Had won the fight, it seems, 
 When she had crowned the king of France 
 In that great church of Rheims; 
 
 When she had saved her native land, 
 And home she sought to go, 
 He ruthlessly forsook her and 
 Consigned her to the foe. 
 
33 
 MAN IS HEAD 
 
 When Jesus left his throne and came 
 Into this world of strife, 
 Where worldly priests and evil men 
 Connived to take his life, 
 
 'Twas woman wept and pled in vain, 
 His life to save she tried; 
 'Twas man who mocked Him with disdain, 
 And man who crucified. 
 
 I prize her as a diadem. 
 Suggesting all that's fair; 
 I greet her as an angel sent 
 To sound the depths of care. 
 
34 
 MAN IS HEAD 
 
 I hail her as the sunny side 
 Of Life's tempestuous shore; 
 And every time I breathe her name 
 I love her more and more. 
 
35 
 ASLEEP OR DEAD 
 
 I've often wondered to myself, 
 How long will Justice sleep? 
 And could he close his eyes again 
 Would he but take a peep 
 At those who suffer agony 
 Wrought by the sullied hand 
 That robs men of their liberty, 
 Ignoring God's command. 
 
 I've often wondered to myself, 
 And even vainly said: 
 "I wonder if old Justice sleeps, 
 Or is he really dead?" 
 Soliloquizing all the while — 
 Although I may be wrong — 
 "If it be true he is not dead, 
 Why does he sleep so long?" 
 
36 
 ASLEEP OR DEAD 
 
 An unseen presence seems to say: 
 
 "He shall not always sleep. 
 
 My word has gone from Me to thee, 
 
 My Covenant I'll keep. 
 
 Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, 
 
 A few more days endure ; 
 
 My righteous sword shall be unsheathed 
 
 To save the humble poor." 
 
37 
 A NECESSARY REVOLUTION 
 
 If only I had power o'er all 
 
 Creation, 
 Could I but rule the heart of 
 
 Every man, 
 I'd unite every kingdom, race 
 
 And nation, 
 Convert them into one great 
 
 Happy band. 
 
 I'd check men in the fury of 
 
 Their passion, 
 I'd dissipate all causes for 
 
 Alarm, 
 Till every heart would melt with 
 
 Deep compassion. 
 And fiery love that burns through 
 
 Every storm. 
 
38 
 A NECESSARY REVOLUTION 
 
 No envy nor malignant tongued 
 
 Hypocrisy, 
 Nor prejudice should mar my 
 
 Kingdom's mirth; 
 'Twould be a boon to all forms 
 
 Of democracy 
 Tf such had died when ignorance gave 
 
 Them birth. 
 
 No human mind can wisely rule 
 
 A nation, 
 Nor sail full speed the intellectual 
 
 Sea, 
 Promote the growth of love and 
 
 Vindication, 
 While prejudice inflames the 
 
 Memory. 
 
39 
 A NECESSARY REVOLUTION 
 
 If fortune had endowed me with 
 
 Great riches, 
 I'd utilize my wealth amongst 
 
 The poor, 
 In giving bread to satisfy their 
 
 Wishes ; 
 For nothing else would fill their 
 
 Longings more. 
 
 I'd put an end to all their needless 
 
 Sufferings, 
 Their aching hearts should promptly 
 
 Be consoled; 
 Fd concentrate my aims in one 
 
 Direction — 
 To solace them, yea, shield them 
 
 From the cold. 
 
40 
 A NECESSARY REVOLUTION 
 
 I'd build for them colossal 
 
 Institutions, 
 But not the kind where many books 
 
 Are read ; 
 'Twould be the kind where liberal 
 
 Contributions , 
 Were made, where hungry mortals 
 
 Might be fed. 
 
41 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 My heart was stirred with restless bells 
 
 A-ringing, 
 The soft sweet chimes came rippling o'er 
 
 The hill; 
 The merry, chirping birds were gaily 
 
 Singing, 
 The distant woods laughed back a merry 
 
 Thrill. 
 
 A glimmering light stood on the moon-lit 
 
 Mountain, 
 For darkness gathered 'neath her 
 
 Fleecy trees ; 
 A flood of shimmering waves traversed 
 
 The fountain, 
 Wafting from there a cool, refreshing 
 
 Breeze. 
 
42 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 And then the air was hushed with painful 
 
 Silence — 
 A sudden rustle, then a startled 
 
 Face, 
 A lover's hand had seized it, it seemed by 
 
 Violence, 
 A maiden full of beauty, charm and 
 
 Grace. 
 
 He took her in his arms and pressed 
 
 Her sweetly, 
 Devouring lips and cheeks and sunny 
 
 Hair 
 With kisses then, that drowned almost 
 
 Completely 
 The maiden who was gentle, sweet and 
 
 Fair. 
 
43 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 I listened there to every word he 
 
 Told her, 
 While gazing at her graceful form 
 
 So fair ; 
 Then fell upon her sweet and matchless 
 
 Shoulder 
 A ^tittering veil of dainty golden 
 
 Hair. 
 
 "Why be so cruel, dear, why don't 
 
 You listen ? 
 How can you have the heart to bid 
 
 Me go?" 
 Pathetic tears his longing eyes 
 
 O'erflooded. 
 He spoke again: "Oh, do not say 
 
 Me, no." 
 
44 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 "Depart from me," she said, "love's 
 
 Dream is ended/' 
 Then disengaged herself from his 
 
 Embrace, 
 "You have betrayed the love I've 
 
 Long defended, 
 'Tween me and you I beg unbounded 
 
 Space." 
 
 "Farewell," he said, and .down the 
 
 Road he started; 
 "For love of wealth I spurned this 
 
 Faithful girl; 
 My friends' advice has made me 
 
 Broken-hearted, 
 Farewell, my love, my all, my 
 
 Priceless pearl." 
 
45 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 Then with a sigh she gazed across 
 
 The mountain, 
 The woods were gay, the hills were 
 
 All aglow, 
 Her throbbing heart submerged a 
 
 Noble fountain, 
 But not the one that kissed the 
 
 Banks below. 
 
 She passed into her grand, exquisite 
 
 Parlor, 
 I Vrplexed at my bewildered, beaming 
 
 Stare, 
 Lamenting as he journeyed from 
 
 Her, farther; 
 And laid her head upon the sofa 
 
 There. 
 
46 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 Then cupid shot me with his 
 
 Burning arrow, 
 My heart became his target, yea 
 
 His game, 
 His kindled coals burned deep down 
 
 In my marrow, 
 The amber sparks leaped into 
 
 Crimson flame. 
 
 'Twas hard then to conceal the 
 
 Fascination 
 Which drew me to the girl I 
 
 Did adore, 
 I could not drown the flow of 
 
 Admiration 
 Which sought to undermine my 
 
 Peaceful core. 
 
47 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 I wondered now if I were really 
 
 Dreaming — 
 Such diadems of lustrous golden 
 
 Hair! 
 Forthwith to captivate her was 
 
 My scheming, 
 But touch those golden locks I 
 
 Did not dare. 
 
 "I know that love's great passion 
 
 Is eternal, " 
 I said to her, "I cannot tell you 
 
 Why, 
 For this in me I know is not 
 
 Ephemeral, 
 My love for you will never, never 
 
 Die." 
 
48 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 ''My heart I've given to my own dear 
 
 Willie," 
 Said she ; "To your suggestion I'll 
 
 Say nay, 
 1 To heed your foolish wiles, sir, 
 
 I'd be silly;" 
 And then my spirit sank in deep 
 
 Dismay. 
 
 "But if to me you give your love, 
 
 Unbroken," 
 Said I, "I'd put an end to all your 
 
 Strife, 
 Kind words would be my everlasting 
 
 Token, 
 To me vou are the very joy 
 
 Of life." 
 
49 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 Then from her lips came vengeful 
 
 Exclamation, 
 That gentle voice and face so 
 
 Fair and sweet, 
 Resented me with fearful 
 
 Condemnation, 
 And lo, my grief, my dismay was 
 
 Complete. 
 
 Next evening came; she heard a voice- 
 
 Twas Willie's: 
 It called her from the realm of sigh 
 
 And dream, 
 Again they took a stroll amongst the 
 
 Lilies, 
 Where love became the all absorbing 
 
 Theme. 
 
50 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 "Forgive me, dear, I love you and 
 
 " None other ;" 
 He said to her, "My heart belongs 
 
 To you; 
 "Come now, sweet love, let's lock our 
 
 Hearts together, 
 One day of bliss be ours life's 
 
 Journey through." 
 
 An atmosphere of sweet turquoise 
 
 Reflection 
 Gave tone to her bewildered, gentle 
 
 Voice ; 
 She scanned a flame of smiles m 
 
 His direction, 
 And made his aching heart once more 
 
 Reioice. 
 
51 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 The shadows of the trees were deepening 
 
 Ever, 
 The star-fringed branches softly 
 
 Beckoned me; 
 The stars, it seemed, achieved their one 
 
 Endeavor, 
 To twinkle on the crest of every 
 
 Tree. 
 
 Her loving heart to him again she'd 
 
 Given, 
 Against his own it throbbed most 
 
 Tenderly ; 
 She greeted him then with a smile 
 
 Of heaven 
 And gave a kiss as sweet as sweet 
 
 Could be. 
 
52 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 Oh, if, as some say, love is naught 
 
 But sinning, 
 In grewsome death my sins I'll 
 
 Not deny; 
 Love then shall he ray crime in life's 
 
 Last inning, 
 For I expect to love until T 
 
 Die. 
 
 Does not this love of ours descend 
 
 From Heaven ? 
 Is this not the reflection of God's 
 
 Love? 
 Eternal life no credence could be 
 
 Given 
 If Love had not its source in Him 
 
 Above. 
 
53 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 I'd rather live a life of pain and 
 
 Pleasure 
 Where I might freely share the 
 
 Sweetness of 
 The girl I love — my glory and 
 
 My treasure, 
 Than live forever where there is 
 
 No love. 
 
 "But what," you say, "is love where 
 
 There is dying, 
 Compared with life which all may share 
 
 Thereof ? 
 No pains to bear, no suffering and 
 
 No sighing?" 
 But what is life, if destitute 
 
 Of love? 
 
54 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 A life devoid of love suits not 
 
 My notion, 
 For if we'll only trust the God 
 
 Above, 
 I'm sure that this will be our 
 
 Blessed portion: 
 Eternal life and everlasting 
 
 Love. 
 
 The songs of nightingales may stir 
 
 The willows, 
 The ripples may traverse the great 
 
 Lagoon ; 
 The mountain-tops may toss like waves 
 
 And billows, 
 But Love will supersede the sun and 
 
 Moon. 
 
55 
 THE POWER OF LOVE 
 
 Ofttimes I gaze at death, the 
 
 Ruthless giant, 
 My loathing for him I cannot 
 
 Remove ; 
 I'd rather live and love where death 
 
 Is tyrant, 
 Than live forever where there is 
 
 No love. 
 
 I'd rather live a life unknown 
 
 To honor, 
 With love and death ordained to 
 
 Be my lot ; 
 f'd rather live and love where death 
 
 Must conquer, 
 Than have eternal life where love 
 
 Is not. 
 
56 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 The evening shades were drawing on, 
 
 The sun was almost gone, 
 
 And through the ether blue the stars 
 
 Came peeping one by one. 
 
 I walked along a lonely path, 
 
 Longing some peace to find ; 
 
 A thought of all the heartless past 
 
 Came drifting through my mind. 
 
 I thought of Him who made this world- 
 
 At first a barren place, 
 
 A planet insignificant 
 
 In God's vast realm of space. 
 
57 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 I thought of Him who made the seas, 
 Holds them in bounds so well; 
 But most distressing was the thought 
 Of who created Hell! 
 
 God made the brilliant moon and stars 
 
 To fill the heavens with light, 
 
 Our sun with incandescent power 
 
 To make the day from night. 
 
 He made the birds that sweetly sing 
 
 On hill and plain and dell 
 
 Their mellow songs of joy and love — 
 
 But never made He Hell. 
 
58 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Through space God spread great flaming suns. 
 
 Vast worlds that shine so bright, 
 
 Which though remote from this old earth 
 
 Shed phosphorescent light. 
 
 All these He made and called them good — 
 
 The Scriptures do this tell; 
 
 In them nowhere does God declare 
 
 Eternal torment Hell. 
 
 The love that flows from human breasts 
 And makes this life worth while, 
 Is all that fills these hearts of ours, 
 That brings the joyful smile. 
 
59 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 But the love of man compared with God's 
 Great love and sympathy, 
 Fades and grows dim ; God's love doth fill 
 Our souls with ecstasy. 
 
 O God, so full of love and power, 
 
 Thy mercy's rich and grand ! 
 
 And all Thy gifts Thy Son did show 
 
 Were from Thy bounteous hand. 
 
 'Twas man who painted Thee so vile — 
 
 'Tis far too sad to tell! — 
 
 And preached this manufactured stuff 
 
 About the flames of Hell. 
 
60 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 I love to sit and praise the name 
 
 Of Him who reigns above, 
 
 And picture Him as great and wise, 
 
 The Embodiment of Love; 
 
 I've found His mercy is supreme, 
 
 Since with Him I'm acquainted; 
 
 I've learned that He's not base and vile, 
 
 As He has long been painted — 
 
 Barren of all true sympathy, 
 And destitute of love, 
 Does this the character portray 
 Of The Holy One above? 
 
61 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Twas Satan foisted this vile scheme, 
 The ignorant to deceive ; 
 How glad am I to know 'tis false ! 
 No longer I believe. 
 
 Such blasphemy against God's name ! 
 
 'Tis no restraint to crime; 
 
 'Twas introduced by blinded men 
 
 In centuries dark with crime. 
 
 Go search the penitentiaries, 
 
 The slums and dens as well — 
 
 They're filled with those who have been taught 
 
 The endless woes of Hell. 
 
62 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Old superstition's cunning wiles 
 Have filled our hearts with fears, 
 Have drowned the earth as by a flood 
 With blood and bitter tears: 
 Have sown rank hate in every land, 
 Have caused our hearts to mourn ; — 
 O would to God that it had died 
 The day that it was born ! 
 
 Tis but the child of ignorance, 
 Its voice do I deplore; 
 It ever goes from place to place 
 And knocks at every door. 
 
63 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 But God is just ! His time has come ! 
 This giant shall be slain ! 
 And superstition old and hoar 
 Shall now no longer reign! 
 
 God's Word declares with trumpet voice 
 
 His greatest work shall be 
 
 To ope the mighty prison doors, 
 
 And set the captives free! 
 
 Death's prison-house shall open wide, 
 
 The nations all shall fall; 
 
 Truth's waves shall sweep away the lies 
 
 That did our hearts appall. 
 
64 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 And God will slay — thus saith His Word- 
 
 The wicked with His breath ; 
 
 For He declares in voice of power, 
 
 "The wage of sin is death !" 
 
 The worthy shall forever live! 
 
 The soul that sins shall die! 
 
 The theory that souls live in Hell, 
 
 Let heart and voice deny. 
 
 "I set before thee life and death; 
 Choose life!" — thus saith the Lord; 
 But all the creeds of Christendom 
 This word from God made void. 
 
65 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Old Satan's influence covered the earth ; 
 God's Truth the world forgot; 
 And men believed the falsehood Truth — 
 God's word a thing of naught. 
 
 To Adam and Eve the tempter said : 
 
 "Ye shall not surely die!" 
 
 And all the creeds, as well as they, 
 
 Accepted Satan's lie. 
 
 They claim with heart and might and soul 
 
 The dead in life abide, 
 
 And live in Heaven or in Hell, 
 
 As though they had not died. 
 
66 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die!" 
 
 This truthful text we find ; — 
 
 If this the creeds have not observed 
 
 I'm sure that they are blind! 
 
 "He spared not their souls from death/' 
 
 We find those words in Psalm, 
 
 Seventy-eighth chapter, fiftieth verse; 
 
 But Truth has lost its charm ! 
 
 I'll wonder not if hypocrites 
 Shall spread my name abroad, 
 And tell my neighbors I deny 
 The existence of a God ! 
 
67 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Such slanderers condemned the Lord- 
 Expect I more of men ? 
 If He were here in flesh today, 
 They'd kill the Lord again ! 
 
 They cannot bear to hear His Word, 
 
 It has no place in them; 
 
 And if you dare to tell the Truth, 
 
 Forthwith they you condemn. 
 
 They'll evil-speak you to their friends, 
 
 Your reputation mar; 
 
 They'll slander you — it goes to show 
 
 What so-called Christians are. 
 
68 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 The creeds for all their advocates 
 
 Have little or no attraction; 
 
 In fact, they have no real effect 
 
 Upon their course of action. 
 
 And day by day the selfish way 
 
 Of pleasure they pursue, 
 
 Though they preach Hell to wicked men 
 
 Until the air turns blue ! 
 
 superstitions fade away! 
 May every fettish fall, 
 That true ideas may prevail 
 
 To help us one and all ! 
 
69 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Dishonest men still lie of God, 
 But their power will soon be broken ; 
 God's bow of promise_ spans the sky, 
 His everlasting token ! 
 
 A God of mercy made our race, 
 
 But Satan did deceive, 
 
 Then held o'er man a burning Hell !— 
 
 His lie I'll ne'er believe! 
 
 His dupes my name will sure besmirch 
 
 When I this secret tell : 
 
 Twas God created heaven and earth 
 
 But man created Hell! 
 
70 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 In what condition shall those be 
 Who shall persist in sin? 
 Obadiah 16 tells us this — 
 "As though they had not been." 
 God said to Adam "Dust thou art, 
 To dust thou shalt return;" 
 But not one word respecting Hell, 
 Where quenchless fires burn! 
 
 'Twas God who gave His Son to die 
 Poor sinful men to save, 
 And made for them who disobey 
 A hell which is the grave. 
 
71 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Twas man who put the fires there, 
 And thus blasphemed His name, 
 Disgraced the character of God — 
 O 'tis a burning shame ! 
 
 Death is God's punishment for sin, 
 
 The price which all must pay; 
 
 But Jesus came to ransom men — 
 
 To roll this curse away! 
 
 The saints with Him shall reign in light, 
 
 But every one who hath 
 
 No love for Him shall die again — 
 
 An everlasting death. 
 
72 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 Our Lord a miracle performed, 
 
 In calling from the dead 
 
 His friend — the man whom Jesus loved- 
 
 To Heaven He raised His head : 
 
 "Lazarus, come forth !" He cried aloud ; 
 
 Back to him life He gave ! 
 
 He called him, not from life beyond, 
 
 But merely from the grave. 
 
 The creeds aver that Lazarus stood 
 Amid that mighty host 
 Of cherubim and seraphim, 
 God and the Holy Ghost. 
 
73 
 WHO CREATED HELL 
 
 But had he not been really dead, 
 I'm willing to take oath 
 The Scriptures never would have said 
 "He that was dead came forth!" 
 
 The gift of God is eternal life — 
 Pain's glorious aftermath; 
 But wicked men shall cease to be- 
 "The wage of sin is death." 
 If any think that death is not 
 The wage of wilful sin, 
 Just this advice let me suggest : 
 Your Bible read again! 
 
74 
 THE CRITICS 
 
 Shall I curb my lone ambition ? 
 
 Shall I therefore cease to think? 
 
 Just because their fangs the critics 
 
 In my reputation sink? 
 
 No, I'm going to tell my story, 
 
 I shall tell it my own way, 
 
 I shall speak my true conviction; 
 
 T don't care what critics say. 
 
 Shall T sacrifice the freedom 
 Which is mine to say what is ? 
 Just because some envious critic 
 Says my thoughts are not like his ? 
 
75 
 THE CRITICS 
 
 No, I mean to speak my judgment, 
 Please it whom it will or may; 
 I expect to do my thinking, 
 Matters not what critics say. 
 
 I shall hold my own opinion, 
 I shall think and I shall say 
 From my heart my own conviction, 
 Say they what they will or may. 
 Let them hollo all they wish to, 
 They don't have my bills to pay; 
 Why, then, should I fret and worry 
 About what poor critics say? 
 
76 
 THE CRITICS 
 
 I'll not try to please the critics; 
 Let them talk till they are through, 
 I shall try to please the masses, 
 Those whose hearts are free and true. 
 Jesus could not please the critics, 
 For the Bible tells us so; 
 Why, then, should I be so silly 
 As to try to please a foe?