P s 
 
 To 
 
 PHE TOILING 
 OF FELIX 
 
/^ 
 
 3.1 i«^ 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 Cliap..i5?. Copyright No. 
 
 Shelf.___.T^__ 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
This is one of an edition of one hundred 
 and twenty-five copies, printed from type at 
 the De Vinne Press, in the month of March, 
 J 898, of which this is 
 
 No. /^^ 
 
THE 
 TOILING OF FELIX 
 
 A LEGEND 
 
 ON A NEW SAYING OF 
 
 THE CHRIST 
 
 i BY 
 
 HENRY VAN DYKE 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 J898 
 
 r 
 
 ^nd COPY 
 1898. 
 
 2.00 
 
 •^0C0P1£3 RECEIVED. 
 

 ^\ '^ 
 
 Copyright, 1898, 
 By HENRY VAN DYKE 
 
 4427 
 
 /.--3f/f^ 
 
DEDICATED 
 
 IN FRIENDSHIP TO 
 
 WALTER A, WYCKOFF 
 
PRELUDE 
 A LOST WORD OF JESUS 
 
HEAR a word that Jesus spake 
 Eigfhteen centuries ago, 
 "Where the crimson lilies blow 
 Round the blue Tiberian lake : 
 There the bread of life He brake. 
 
 Through the fields of harvest walking 
 "With His lowly comrades, talking 
 Of the secret thoughts that feed 
 "Weary hearts in time of need. 
 Art thou hungry ? Come and take ; 
 Hear the word that Jesus spake : 
 'Tis the sacrament of labour; meat and drink 
 
 divinely blest ; 
 Friendship's food, and sweet refreshment; strength 
 and courage, joy and rest. 
 
 Hear this word the Master said. 
 Long ago and far away — 
 Lost in silence many a day. 
 Buried with the silent dead, 
 "Where the sands of Egypt spread. 
 
Sea-like, tawny billows heaping 
 Over ancient cities sleeping ; 
 'While the River Nile between 
 Rolls its summer flood of green, 
 
 Rolls its autumn flood of red — 
 There the word the Master said, 
 "Written on a frail papyrus, scorched by fire, 
 
 wrinkled, torn. 
 Hidden in God's hand, was waiting for its resur- 
 rection morn* 
 
 Hear the Master's risen word! 
 
 Delving spades have set it free — 
 Wake ! the world has need of thee — 
 Rise, and let thy voice be heard. 
 Like a fountain disinterred. 
 
 Upward springing, singing, sparkling 
 Through the doubtful shadows darkling; 
 Till the clouds of pain and rage 
 Brooding o'er the toiling age, 
 As with rifts of light are stirred 
 By the music of the Word ; 
 Gospel for the heavy-laden, answer to the 
 
 labourer's cry ; 
 " ^aise the sione^ and thou shati find cMe; cleave 
 the <Tvood, and there ami/' 
 
 JO 
 
LEGEND 
 THE TOILING OF FELIX 
 
1ISTEN, ye who look for Jesus, long to see 
 ^ Him close to you, 
 To a legend of this saying; how one tried, and 
 found it true* 
 
 Born in Egypt, 'neath the shadow of the crum- 
 bling gods of night, 
 
 He forsook the ancient darkness, turned his young 
 heart toward the Light* 
 
 Felix was the name they gave him, when his 
 
 faith was first confessed; 
 But the name was unavailing, for his life was 
 
 yet unblessed* 
 
 Seeking Christ, in vain he waited for the vision 
 
 of the Lord; 
 Vainly pondered all the volumes where the creeds 
 
 of men were stored ; 
 
 13 
 
Vainly shut himself in silence, keeping vigil nigfht 
 
 and day ; 
 Vainly haunted shrines and churches where the 
 
 Christians came to pray* 
 
 One by one he dropped the duties of the common 
 
 life of care ; 
 Broke the human ties that bound him ; laid his 
 
 spirit waste and bare ; 
 
 Hoping; that the Lord would enter to that empty 
 
 dwellingf-place, 
 And reward the loss of all things with the vision 
 
 of His f ace* 
 
 Still the blessed vision tarried ; still the light was 
 unrevealed ; 
 
 Still the Master, dim and distant, kept His coun- 
 tenance concealed. 
 
 Fainter grew the hope of finding, wearier grew 
 the fruitless quest ; 
 
 Prayer, and penitence, and fasting gave no com- 
 fort, brought no rest* 
 
 14 
 
In the darkness of the temple, ere the lamp of 
 
 faith went out, 
 Felix knelt before the altar — lonely, sad, and full 
 
 of doubt* 
 
 ** Hear me, O Thou migfhty Master,'^ from the 
 
 altar-step he cried, 
 ''Let my one desire be granted, let my hope be 
 
 satisfied ! 
 
 ^ Only once I long to see Thee, in the fulness of 
 
 Thy grace : 
 Break the clouds that now enfold Thee, with the 
 
 sunrise of Thy face ! 
 
 ** All that men desire and treasure have I counted 
 
 loss for Thee ; 
 Every task have I forsaken, save this one — my 
 
 Lord to see* 
 
 ** Loosed the sacred bands of friendship, solitary 
 
 stands my heart ; 
 Thou shalt be my sole companion when I see 
 
 Thee as Thou art. 
 
 J5 
 
** From Thy distant throne in §fIof y, flash upon 
 
 my inward sigfht, 
 Fill the midnight of my spirit with the splendour 
 
 of Thy li§:ht» 
 
 ^ All Thine other gifts and blessings, common 
 
 mercies, I disown ; 
 Separated from my Brothers, I would see Thy face 
 
 alone* 
 
 ** Let them toil and pray together, let them win 
 
 earth's best reward. 
 This shall be my only glory — I alone have seen 
 
 the Lord* 
 
 '^ I have watched and I have waited as one watch- 
 
 eth for the morn : 
 Still Thou hidest in the heavens, still Thou leav- 
 
 est me forlorn* 
 
 ** Now I seek Thee in the desert, where the holy 
 
 hermits dwell ; 
 ThztCf beside the saint Serapion, I will find a 
 
 lonely cell* 
 
 t6 
 
** There at last Thou wilt be gff acious ; there Thy 
 
 presence^ longf-concealed^ 
 In the solitude and silence to my heart shall stand 
 
 revealed* 
 
 ''Thou shalt come, at morn or evening:, o'er the 
 
 rolling: waves of sand ; 
 I shall see Thee close beside me, I shall touch Thy 
 
 pierced hand» 
 
 ** Lo, Thy pilgrim kneels before Thee ; bless my 
 
 journey with a word ; 
 Tell me now that, if I follow, I shall find Thee, 
 
 O my Lord ! '^ 
 
 Felix listened : through the darkness, like the 
 
 whispering: of the wind. 
 Came a secret voice in answer : ** Seek arig:ht, and 
 
 thou shalt find.'' 
 
 Long and toilsome was his pathway through the 
 
 heavy land of heat ; 
 Egypt's blazing sun above him, blistering sands 
 
 beneath his feet. 
 
 J7 
 
Still he plodded slowly onward^ step by step and 
 
 mile by mile, 
 Till he reached the fu^gfed mountain, beetling 
 
 higfh above the Nile, 
 
 "Where the birds of ait assemble, once a year, their 
 
 noisy flocks. 
 Then, departing:, leave their sentinel perched 
 
 amongf the barren rocks. 
 
 Far away, on wings of gladness, over land and 
 
 sea they fly ; 
 But the watcher on the summit lonely stands 
 
 against the sky» 
 
 There the eremite Serapion in a cave had made 
 
 his bed; 
 There the bands of wandering pilgrims sought 
 
 his blessing, brought him bread* 
 
 Month by month, in deep seclusion, hidden in the 
 
 rocky cleft. 
 Dwelt the hermit, fasting, praying ; once a year 
 
 the cave he left. 
 
 $8 
 
On that day, one happy pilgtim, chosen out of 
 
 all the land, 
 Won a special sign of favour from the holy hermit's 
 
 hand. 
 
 Underneath the narrow window, at the doorway 
 
 closely sealed, 
 While the afterglow of sunset deepened round him, 
 
 Felix kneeled* 
 
 ** Man of God, of men most holy — thou whose 
 
 gfifts cannot be priced ! — 
 Grant me thy most precious guerdon ; tell me how 
 
 to find the Christ.^ 
 
 Breathless, Felix howed and listened, but no 
 
 answering voice he heard ; 
 Darkness folded, dumb and deathlike, round the 
 
 Mountain of the Bird. 
 
 Then he said, ** The saint is silent — he would 
 
 teach my soul to wait ; 
 I will tarry here in patience, like a beggar at his 
 
 gate.'' 
 
 i9 
 
So the companies of pilgfrims^ clambering up the 
 rocky stair, 
 
 Found the lonely, voiceless strangfer by the win- 
 dow, lost in prayer. 
 
 Never movingf from his station, watchingf there 
 
 without complaint. 
 Soon they came to call him holy, fed him as they 
 
 fed the saint. 
 
 Day by day he saw the sunrise flood the distant 
 
 plain with §:old. 
 While the River Nile beneath him, silvery coil- 
 
 in§f, seaward rolled. 
 
 Night by night he saw the planets range their 
 
 glittering court on high. 
 Saw the moon, with regal footsteps, climb her 
 
 throne and rule the sky. 
 
 Morn advanced and midnight fled, in visionary 
 
 pomp attired; 
 Never morn and never midnight brought the 
 
 vision long-desired. 
 
 20 
 
Now at last the day is dawning when Serapion 
 
 makes his gfift ; 
 Felix kneels before the threshold, hardly dares 
 
 his eyes to lift* 
 
 Now the cavern-door uncloses, now the saint 
 
 above him stands, 
 Blesses him without a word, and leaves a token 
 
 in his hands* 
 
 'Tis the guerdon of thy waiting: — look ! thou 
 happy pilgrim, look ! — 
 
 Nothing but a tattered fragment of an old papy- 
 rus book* 
 
 Read ! perchance the clue to guide thee tangled 
 
 in the words may lie : 
 ^* Raise the stone, and thou shatt find Me ; cleeibe 
 
 the %ood, and there am I/^ 
 
 Can it be the mighty Master spake such simple 
 
 words as these ? 
 Can it be that men must seek Him, at their toil, 
 
 'mid rocks and trees? 
 
 2\ 
 
Disappointed, heavy-hearted, from the Mountain 
 of the Bird 
 
 Felix mournfully descended, questioningf the Mas- 
 ter's word* 
 
 Not for him a sacred dwellingf, far ahove the 
 haunts of men : 
 
 He must turn his footsteps backward to the com- 
 mon life again* 
 
 From a quarry by the river, hollowed out below 
 the hills. 
 
 Rose the clattering voice of labour, clanking ham- 
 mers, clinking drills. 
 
 Dust, and noise, and hot confusion made a Babel 
 
 of the spot : 
 There, among the lowliest workers, Felix sought 
 
 and found his lot* 
 
 Now he swung the ponderous mallet, smote the 
 
 iron in the rock — 
 Muscles quivering, tingling, throbbing — blow on 
 
 blow and shock on shock ; 
 
 22 
 
Now he drove the willow wed§fes, wet them till 
 
 they swelled and split, 
 With their silent strength, the fragfment — sent it 
 
 thundering; down the pit* 
 
 Now the gfroaningf tackle raised it ; now the roll- 
 ers made it slide ; 
 
 Harnessed men, like beasts of burden, drew it to 
 the river-side* 
 
 Now the palm-trees must be riven, massive tim- 
 bers hewn and dressed — 
 
 Rafts to bear the stones in safety on the rushing 
 river's breast* 
 
 Axe and auger, saw and chisel, wrought the will 
 
 of man in wood s 
 'Mid the many-handed labour Felix toiled, and 
 
 found it good* 
 
 Every day the blood ran fleeter through his limbs 
 
 and round his heart ; 
 Every night his sleep was sweeter, knowing he 
 
 had done his part* 
 
 23 
 
Dreams of solitary saintship faded from him ; but^ 
 
 instead^ 
 Came a sense of daily comfort^ in the toil for 
 
 daily hread. 
 
 Far away, across the river, gfleamed the white 
 
 walls of the town 
 Whither all the stones and timbers, day by day, 
 
 were drifted down* 
 
 There the workman saw his labour takingf form 
 
 and bearingf fruit. 
 Like a tree with splendid branches rising^ from a 
 
 humble root» 
 
 Looking: at the distant city, temples, houses, domes, 
 
 and towers, 
 Felix cried in exultation : ** All the migfhty work 
 
 Every mason in the quarry, every builder on the 
 
 shore. 
 Every chopper in the palm-gfrove, every raftsman 
 
 at the oar — 
 
 24 
 
Hewina wood and drawingf water, splitting stones 
 
 and cleavin§f sod — 
 All the dusty ranks of labour, in the regfiment of 
 
 God, 
 
 March together toward His triumph, do the task 
 
 His hands prepare : 
 Honest toil is holy service ; faithful work is praise 
 
 and prayer. 
 
 So through all the heat and burden Felix felt the 
 
 sense of rest 
 Flowing softly, like a fountain, deep within his 
 
 panting breast. 
 
 Felt the brotherhood of labour, rising round him 
 
 like the tide. 
 Overflow his heart, and join him to the workers 
 
 at his side. 
 
 Oft he cheered them with his singing at the break- 
 ing of the light. 
 
 Told them tales of Christ at nooning, taught 
 them words of prayer at night. 
 
 25 
 
And he felt the Master's presence drawingf closer 
 
 all the while : 
 Though the Master's face was hidden, yet he 
 
 knew it wore a smile* 
 
 Once he bent above a comrade fainting in the 
 
 mid-day heat, 
 Sheltered him with woven palm-leaves, gave him 
 
 water, cool and sweet. 
 
 Then it seemed, for one swift moment* secret radi- 
 ance filled the place ; 
 
 Underneath the green palm-branches flashed one 
 look of Jesus' face* 
 
 Once again, a raftsman, slipping, plunged beneath 
 
 the stream and sank ; 
 Swiftly Felix leaped to rescue — caught him, 
 
 drew him toward the bank — 
 
 Battling with the cruel river, using all his strength 
 
 to save — 
 Did he dream, or was there One beside him 
 
 walking on the wave ? 
 
 26 
 
Now at last the work was ended; grove deserted^ 
 
 quarry stilled, 
 Felix journeyed to the city that his hands had 
 
 helped to build* 
 
 In the darkness of the temple, at the closingf hour 
 
 of day, 
 Once agfain he sougfht the altar, once a§:ain he 
 
 knelt to pray : 
 
 '' Hear me, O Thou hidden Master ; Thou hast 
 
 sent a word to me ; 
 It is written — Thy commandment. I have kept 
 
 it. Look and see. 
 
 "Thou hast hid me leave the visions of the soli- 
 tary life ; 
 
 Bear my part in human labour ; take my share in 
 human strife. 
 
 ** 1 have done Thy biddingf. Master ; raised the 
 
 rock and felled the tree ; 
 Swungf the axe and plied the hammer, working: 
 
 every day for Thee. 
 
 27 
 
^* Once h seemed I saw Thy presence throug:h the 
 
 bendingf palm-leaves gleam ; 
 Once upon the flowing water — Nay, I know not 
 
 — 'twas a dream ! 
 
 ** This I know : Thou hast heen near me: more 
 
 than this I dare not ask* 
 Though I see Thee not, I love Thee* Let me do 
 
 Thy humblest task r' 
 
 Through the dimness of the temple slowly dawned 
 a mystic light ; 
 
 There the Master stood in glory, manifest to mor- 
 tal sight : 
 
 Hands that bore the mark of labour, brow that 
 
 bore the print of care ; 
 Hands of power, divinely tender ; brow of light, 
 
 divinely fair* 
 
 *' Hearken, good and faithful servant, true dis- 
 ciple, loyal friend ! 
 
 Thou hast followed Me and found Me ; I will 
 keep thee to the end* 
 
 28 
 
** Well I know thy toil and trouble. Often weary, 
 
 faintingft worn, 
 I have lived the life of labour, heavy burdens I 
 
 have borne. 
 
 ** Never in a prince's palace have I slept on golden 
 
 bed, 
 Never in a hermit's cavern have I eaten unearned 
 
 bread. 
 
 '' Born within a lowly stable, where the cattle 
 
 round Me stood, 
 Trained a carpenter in Nazareth, I have toiled, 
 
 and found it good. 
 
 ** They who tread the path of labour follow where 
 
 My feet have trod ; 
 They who work without complaining do the holy 
 
 will of God. 
 
 ** "Where the many toil together, there am I among 
 
 My own ; 
 "Where the tired workman sleepeth, there am I 
 
 with him alone. 
 
 29 
 
** If the peace that passeth knowledge, dwell amid 
 the daily strife ; 
 
 I, the bread of heaven, am broken in the sacra- 
 ment of life. 
 
 ** Every task, however simple, sets the soul that 
 
 does it free ; 
 Every dctd of love and mercy, done to man, is 
 
 done to Me. 
 
 ^^ Thou hast learned the peaceful secret ; thott hast 
 
 come to Me for rest ; 
 "With thy burden, in thy labour, thou art Felix, 
 
 doubly blest. 
 
 '^ Nevermore thou needest seek Me ; I am with 
 
 thee everywhere ; 
 Raise the stone, and thou shalt find Me ; cleave 
 
 the wood, and I am there.'' 
 
 30 
 
ENVOY 
 THE GOSPEL OF LABOUR 
 
THE legend of Felix is ended, the toiling of 
 Felix is done; 
 The Master has paid him his wages, the goal of 
 
 his journey is won ; 
 He rests, but he never is idle ; a thousand years 
 
 pass like a day, 
 In the glad surprise of that Paradise where work 
 is sweeter than play* 
 
 But I think the King of that country comes out 
 from his tireless host. 
 
 And walks in this world of the weary, as if He 
 loved it the most ; 
 
 For here in the dusty confusion, with eyes that 
 are heavy and dim. 
 
 He meets again the labouring men who are look- 
 ing and longing for Him. 
 
 He cancels the curse of Eden, and brings them a 
 
 blessing instead : 
 Blessed are they that labour, for Jesus partakes of 
 
 their bread* 
 
 33 
 
He puts His hand to their burdens^ He enters their 
 homes at night* 
 
 Who does his best, shall have as a guest, the Mas- 
 ter of Hfe and of lights 
 
 And courage will come with His presence, and 
 
 patience return at His touch, 
 And manifold sins be forgiven to those who love 
 
 Him much ; 
 And the cries of envy and anger will change to 
 
 the songs of cheer. 
 For the toiling age will forget its rage when the 
 
 Prince of Peace draws near* 
 
 This is the gospel of labour — ring it, ye bells of 
 the kirk — 
 
 The Lord of Love came down from above, to live 
 with the men who work* 
 
 This is the rose that He planted, here in the thorn- 
 cursed soil, — 
 
 Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing 
 of Earth is toil* 
 
 34 
 
1 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS I j 
 
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