Class__ 
 
 Book.. 
 
 Copyright N . 
 
 COEflHGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
SHADOW PEOPLE 
 
LILA FROST SPRAGUE 
 
SHADOW PEOPLE 
 
 BY 
 
 LILA FROST SPRAGUE 
 
 Hi 
 
 BY INVITATION ONLY 
 JONATHAN B. FROST 
 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 
 

 Copyright, 1913, by 
 LILA FROST SPRAGUE 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 Published, January, 1913 
 
 copyright arms 
 
 SEP vl 192Q 
 
 APR 22 1920 
 

CONTENTS 
 
 SHADOW PEOPLE: page 
 
 Montana -....•.. 11 
 
 Among the Rockies . . . .. . . .12 
 
 The Exile 14 
 
 Straylings 16 
 
 UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GEN- 
 ERATION 19 
 
 A BUNCH OF IMMORTELLES: 
 
 Because I Walk Alone 33 
 
 The Questioning Thought 34 
 
 The Brightness and the Mist .... 35 
 
 Morning and Evening . . . . . .36 
 
 The Infinite Mystery of God .... 37 
 
 A Mother's Song of Hope 38 
 
 The Mystery 39 
 
 Awakening Life 41 
 
 The Angel of Death 42 
 
 DIVINE WHISPERINGS: 
 
 God's Voice in the Trees 47 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 His Witness 49 
 
 Renewal . , 50 
 
 Inland . * 52 
 
 The Grail 53 
 
 HOMEWARD: 
 
 Inbound Sails 57 
 
 The Happy Isles . , 58 
 
 WHERE PITY DWELLS: 
 
 Peace . ■ * . 61 
 
 Liberty a . 63 
 
 PRAYERS: 
 
 Dependence 71 
 
 Peace ........ . t . . 72 
 
 Faith 73 
 
 My Children 74 
 
 Memory 75 
 
 A Christmas Prayer 77 
 
 Mother's Day 79 
 
 PARABLES: 
 
 Lethe 83 
 
 The Redemption . . . . . . . . 88 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Evil 94 
 
 Laus Deo 98 
 
 The Land or Ease 101 
 
SHADOW PEOPLE 
 
MONTANA 
 
 fTl HERE is no darkness in this land : 
 
 ■*■ Dawn stands, rose clad, upon the mountain top 
 And noontide floods the world with yellow light 
 That turns to crimson glory in the evening sky; 
 The mountains clothe themselves in purple, mourn- 
 ing for the sun; 
 The stars flash white from azure depths, 
 And the moon becomes a silver vessel 
 Sailing in a silver sea. 
 
 [11] 
 
AMONG THE ROCKIES 
 
 II THEN morning comes 
 
 The gates of cloud swing open, 
 Letting through the shadow people 
 For their play upon the mountain top. 
 They chase the sunbeams to the valley, 
 Where the golden hours pass softly 
 Like petals floating from an Ophir rose. 
 They shake the perfume from the flowers 
 And toss it on the breezes, waiting 
 To carry down the breath of morning. 
 They fill the cactus for the wild bird's drinking, 
 While the happy day grows older 
 And the crimson sun sinks lower 
 In the West. 
 
 When evening comes 
 
 The Western gates swing open, 
 
 The shadow people flee, 
 
 The sunbeams hurry after, 
 
 Leaving rosy footsteps on the mountains 
 
 Where the mosses tuck away their blossoms, 
 
 While the wild birds sing their lullaby. 
 
 [12] 
 
AMONG THE ROCKIES 
 
 The dark pines whisper to each other, 
 When they hear the shadow people fleeing, 
 And the sunbeams chasing after, 
 That the stars will soon be coming, 
 And the night winds blowing softly 
 Through the open gates of cloudland, 
 With the breath of poppies growing 
 In the fields of sleep. 
 
 [13] 
 
THE EXILE 
 
 HAVE left the land of cloud and canyon. 
 
 Far away the crags and pine-slopes, 
 
 Far away the gleaming river, 
 
 And the mountains touched with azure. 
 
 I am an exile from my country and my people — 
 
 O my tender shadow people! 
 
 Do you miss me when you braid the rainbow's colors? 
 
 Do you grieve because I live among the mortals? 
 
 A shadow 'mid their tumult and their discord, 
 
 While you stir the pine trees into music, 
 
 And sway the flower-bells till they tinkle 
 
 With a sound too fine for ears 
 
 That once have heard the noise of traffic? 
 
 Do you leave untouched one cup of cactus 
 
 E'er you flee the falling darkness, 
 
 Thinking, She may come and drink and follow 
 
 And be with us in the morning, 
 
 When we fill our hands with sunbeams 
 
 And paint the gray rocks with their colors, 
 
 When we bring the lupine we have gathered 
 
 From the fields beyond the gates of cloudland 
 
 And toss it down the sloping canyons, 
 
 Till their dark walls gleam with the purple glory 
 
 That she loved. 
 
 [14] 
 
THE EXILE 
 
 my tender shadow people ! 
 
 1 have lost the trail to cloudland, 
 My eyes are dim with smoke of cities, 
 
 My feet are heavy with the dust of highways. 
 
 I have lived among the mortals 
 
 And my heart is broken for their sorrows. 
 
 I must bear the heat and burden with them 
 
 Till some unseen God absolves me, 
 
 And I flee to find my own. 
 
 Oh, my tender shadow people! 
 Wait for me upon the mountains, 
 Light for me the trail with sunbeams, 
 Scatter lupine where you wander, 
 That my feet may find the pathway sooner. 
 Leave untouched one cup of cactus, 
 For I shall come and drink and follow 
 Till I join you at the gates of cloudland 
 In the West. 
 
 [15] 
 
STRAYLINGS 
 
 OMY people, O my tender shadow people! 
 Can you hear me call across the distance? 
 Can you hear me praying in the darkness, 
 For the sweet, strange, lonely beings 
 I have cradled on my breast? 
 O my children, little shadow children, 
 Straylings from the land of sunbeams, 
 Wanderers from the fields of lupine! 
 They must live and work and suffer, 
 'Mid the tumult and the clamor; 
 They must know the pain and anguish 
 In the world of men. 
 
 my people, O my tender shadow people! 
 
 1 have heard, the God of mortals 
 
 Sits enthroned beyond the evening's splendor. 
 
 He may not hear my voice nor heed me — 
 
 A lost and wandering shadow; 
 
 But for you the gates of cloudland open. 
 
 Seek and find and bear to Him my message ; 
 
 Pray Him watch and guide and keep them ; 
 
 Let no touch of human sin approach them, 
 
 Till I reach again the trail among the pine trees, 
 
 [16] 
 
STRAYLINGS 
 
 Till I lead them to the land of sunbeams, 
 Far beyond the golden mountains, 
 Where the purple lupine meadows blossom 
 In the West. 
 
 [17] 
 
UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH 
 GENERATION 
 
This poem was suggested by the traditions 
 that had grown up about a strange character 
 who dwelt among but not with his kind, an 
 old man, without known history or friends, 
 living alone in a mining town, disappearing 
 at intervals into the hills, and returning un- 
 questioned to a lonely shop which no one ever 
 visited. 
 
UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH 
 GENERATION 
 
 T ORD God, I lift my hands to Thee unstained, 
 
 ■*— ■ Within my soul there hides no secret sin, 
 
 Yet, I am outcast in this lonely place. 
 
 To Thee I cry aloud for help, 
 
 And the gray rocks fling back my prayer for peace. 
 
 Far below I see the sunlit valley shine, 
 
 Where happy women sing above their toil, 
 
 And baser men pass on their way untroubled. 
 
 For them the sweets of labor and the thought of 
 
 home, 
 For me the lone hillside and empty heart. 
 For me no household smoke may ever rise. 
 I may not touch a woman's hand nor kiss a little 
 
 child. 
 And Thou, O Lord, they call Thee merciful and just. 
 Where is thy mercy, where thy justice now, 
 When the wild drop riots through my blood, 
 Though all the will and purpose of my soul are clean? 
 
 [28] 
 
THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION 
 
 II 
 
 Along my veins there creeps a shivering fear. 
 
 Grim fancies spring to being in my brain. 
 
 I hear a wild voice shrieking through the pines — 
 
 Lord God, I made no sound. 
 
 It was but the cry of some old sin that would not die 
 
 When the hand that did it turned to dust. 
 
 Strange fires burn before my eyes and blind me, 
 
 I cannot see the terror moving through the trees. 
 
 The air is full of nameless things that jeer and clutch — 
 
 Where art Thou, Lord? Their grasp is on me! 
 
 Now I know Thou art not. I am but the sport of 
 
 fiends, 
 And Thou, the hollow echo of an empty name. 
 
 [24] 
 
THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION 
 
 III 
 
 Once again it passes, the agony and pain, 
 
 The shuddering horror and the black despair. 
 
 I know not what my lips have uttered; 
 
 But my hands are still unstained, 
 
 And I do thank Thee, Father, 
 
 For the shelter of Thy rocks. 
 
 From out Thy hills shall come my strength, 
 
 To keep my days from evil. 
 
 I do not know Thy ways, yet Thou art near 
 
 To lead me through the paths my crippled life must 
 
 take. 
 Still let me rest a little in Thy quiet places* 
 Where the winds blow softly through the pine leaves; 
 Where the moss buds open to the sunlight 
 And the cactus sets her stars among the shadows; 
 Where the gray rocks catch th6 color of the morning, 
 And the brown shrubs light their tips with crimson, 
 Where Thy healing breezes touch me, 
 And I fold myself in silence, 
 While Thy brooding presence brings me peace. 
 
 [25] 
 
THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION 
 
 IV 
 
 Down where the sunlit valley shines 
 
 My broken work lies waiting. 
 
 I may toil a little while unfearing, 
 
 For a little time walk sanely. 
 
 Men will look with pitying eyes upon me, 
 
 And women hold their children closer when I pass. 
 
 I shall be an outcast still among my brothers, 
 
 Till I feel the last great darkness coming, 
 
 Till Thy solitudes receive and hold me, 
 
 Where the crimson bushes light their torches 
 
 And the brown grass grows about me, 
 
 Till the pine leaves fall above me, 
 
 Till the bitter sin has perished 
 
 And the victory is won. 
 
 [26] 
 
THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION 
 
 V 
 
 Father — if in some world of light I waken 
 
 To find the old bonds broken, 
 
 The old agony forever past, 
 
 I still may pray as I have prayed for this : 
 
 For just one touch of all the sweetness 
 
 My weary years have missed. 
 
 Grant to me the tender service 
 
 I might not offer on the earth. 
 
 And when the lonely baby angels 
 
 Are waiting for their mothers' coming, 
 
 Let me fold my arms about them, 
 
 Let them nestle to me unafraid, 
 
 Let me bear them where the clearest waters ripple, 
 
 Let me gather pearls and jasper for their playing, 
 
 Let me lift them where the brightest roses blossom, 
 
 Let me bring the fairest fruit of Heaven 
 
 To tempt their dimples and their laughter. 
 
 Thou, who in the old life so much denied me, 
 In the fields of Paradise this prayer will grant me, 
 For I have never touched a woman's hand nor kissed a 
 little child. 
 
 [27] 
 
A BUNCH OF IMMORTELLES 
 
TO DELLA 
 
BECAUSE I WALK ALONE 
 
 1 1 ^HE rains have ceased. 
 
 Softly the breezes blow, 
 Bringing the breath of violets. 
 The wild honey-suckle blooms, 
 And the pink buds swell 
 Along the forest path 
 Where we have walked together. 
 Pleasant is the song of birds, 
 And all the gentle sounds 
 Which nature makes 
 To waken up the earth. 
 
 I know it is the same to other eyes — ■ 
 
 The sweet renewal of the miracle of life. 
 
 On other ears the melody of spring 
 
 Falls with no note of sadness. 
 
 But for me the beauty of the world is veiled. 
 
 The murmurs of the spring come sadly to my ears, 
 
 Longing for the music of thy voice. 
 
 The honey-suckles droop their heads, 
 
 The violets yield their incense up less gladly, 
 
 And there's a shadow on the sun, to-day, 
 
 Because I walk alone. 
 
 [33] 
 
THE QUESTIONING THOUGHT 
 
 f\ LOVE, walking in green pastures, 
 ^-^ Where still waters flow through 
 
 banks of asphodel! 
 I would not have you less than blessed ; 
 But the questioning thought will cling, 
 If sometimes you listen for my coming feet ; 
 Will my voice make sweeter to your ear 
 The heavenly harmony and the angels' song? 
 You walk celestial paths with knowledge, 
 I with faltering faith the ways of earth ; 
 And I would feel your love yearn earthward, 
 To strengthen when the time seems long. 
 
 [34] 
 
THE BRIGHTNESS AND THE MIST 
 
 npHE wide, wide ocean and an hundred sails; 
 *■" The land, wild-rose thickets and a breath of 
 pine; 
 God's spirit resting on the waters, 
 The Infinite Thought thrilling through the earth; 
 In human hearts a sense of joy, 
 A prayer of thankfulness, 
 A song of the fullness of life. 
 
 The sea and a roar of crested waves; 
 
 A rising mist and hidden sails; 
 
 The shore, thorn thickets and the moaning of the pines ; 
 
 A home, and the shadow of death drawing near, 
 
 A prayer for help, a cry of desolation ; 
 
 A swift memory of the brightness past, 
 
 A wail for the loneliness to come. 
 
 The peace that passeth understanding touching a be- 
 loved face, 
 
 And then — God's healing love making alike the bright- 
 ness and the mist. 
 
 [35] 
 
MORNING AND EVENING 
 
 TjlVENING: 
 
 •*-* The distant beating of the sea upon the shore ; 
 
 Deep wooded hills; 
 
 Warm waves of air through spicy lanes ; 
 
 An odor of pine; 
 
 A breath of wild rose ; 
 
 A nightingale's song: 
 
 A whisper of love. 
 Morning : 
 
 The sound of the ebbing tide ; 
 The stirring of the breeze upon the hills; 
 A sighing through the pines; 
 A breath of fallen petals; 
 A gleam of new buds ; 
 The seabird's lonely cry; 
 A distant sail: 
 
 A memory forever. 
 
 [36] 
 
THE INFINITE MYSTERY OF GOD 
 
 QUNSET: 
 
 ^-^ A crimson glory on sea and sky; 
 
 A mellow tinge touching the distant hills; 
 
 The bay, a stretch of opal light ; 
 
 A boat upon the placid waters; 
 
 Love waiting on the other side. 
 
 Twilight: 
 
 The fading glow ; dark shadows on the hills ; 
 
 Black waters ; a sudden sweep of wind ; 
 
 A leaping of white spray; 
 
 A cry from the shore; 
 
 An answering cry from the sea ; 
 
 And then — only the sound of wind and waves 
 
 Filling the darkness. 
 
 Morning : 
 
 Glowing sky, and green hills rising above the mists; 
 
 Peaceful waters, and an empty boat drifting with the 
 
 tide; 
 Love still waiting on the shore, 
 And over all the infinite mystery of God. 
 
 [37] 
 
A MOTHER'S SONG OF HOPE 
 
 A N acacia with its yellow bloom; 
 -*■ *• A shimmer of olive leaves ; 
 The vineyard's purple gleam; 
 Sunshine in the valley; 
 A child's joyous laugh; 
 A mother's song. 
 
 Dropping leaves and fading bloom; 
 
 Dust upon the olive leaves; 
 
 The vineyard's falling fruit ; 
 
 A cloud over the valley; 
 
 A little grave; 
 
 A mother's sob. 
 
 Fresh green upon the olive leaves; 
 
 New fragrance in the acacia's bud ; 
 
 The blossoming grape gleaming in the valley; 
 
 Brown violets springing from the little grave ; 
 
 Revelation in the land; 
 
 A mother's song of hope. 
 
 [38] 
 
THE MYSTERY 
 
 T IFE wooed the earth. 
 
 ■*— ^ Darkness covered the land, but fear was passed 
 
 away. 
 The air was full of tender feeling; 
 There was a murmuring sound which was neither the 
 
 twittering of birds, 
 Nor the rippling of water, nor the rustling of leaves. 
 It was the voice of love answering the call of life. 
 
 The darkness deepened; 
 
 All sounds died away into an expectant hush ; 
 
 The stillness thrilled as with the breath of an awakening 
 
 sleeper. 
 A tinge of gray light touched the east, a shaft of red 
 
 pierced the gray. 
 Dawn melted into morning, winter into spring. 
 
 Earth lay smiling in her bridal robes. 
 
 The grass was green, the wind flowers were blooming 
 
 on the hills. 
 Pink buds were swelling everywhere; 
 And everywhere a sound of harmony, a strain of melody 
 
 floating through space. 
 
 [39] 
 
THE MYSTERY 
 
 It was still not the singing of birds, nor the flowing of 
 
 water, 
 It was not the fanning of butterflies' wings, 
 Nor the stirring of roots in their earthy beds, 
 Nor the rushing of sap through young branches. 
 It was all of these mingling together in one divine song 
 
 of love and life. 
 
 O infinite transforming Mystery, touch Thou our lives 
 And renew Thy spirit within us. 
 
 [40] 
 
AWAKENING LIFE 
 
 XTOONTIDE: 
 
 A dead land wrapped in a brown shroud lying 
 under a burning sun; 
 Drear gray mountains keeping watch; 
 A coyote's cry from the desert; 
 A cloud of dust in the air. 
 
 Midnight : 
 
 A mist floating in from the sea; 
 
 A sense of coming life; 
 
 A thrill in the darkness; 
 
 A sound of softly falling rain. 
 
 Morning dawning: 
 
 A veiled sun in the eastern sky; 
 
 A mantle of green folding a living valley; 
 
 A gleam of emerald on the mountain side; 
 
 The meadow lark's whistling song; 
 
 A breath of orange bloom upon the breeze ; 
 
 Light, sound, beauty, life. 
 
 [41] 
 
THE ANGEL OF DEATH 
 
 SAW a gleam of blue waters and a stretch of 
 yellow sand; 
 Wide daisy fields and drifts of orchard bloom. 
 I heard a child's laugh and a robin's song. 
 
 There came a ripple on the waters, 
 
 And a shadow fell across the sand; 
 
 The daisies bowed their heads ; 
 
 A shower of orchard bloom dropped down; 
 
 A sudden silence ; 
 
 The child no longer laughed, 
 
 The robin's song was hushed. 
 
 The angel of death was passing on his way ; 
 The sweet world knew, only I did not understand. 
 
 [42] 
 
DIVINE WHISPERINGS 
 
The answers to the great questions of life 
 and death must come, if they come at all, in 
 loneliness, speaking to us from inner heights 
 which another may not ascend with us. In the 
 thoroughfares of earth, the pessi?nist and the 
 optimist walk side by side, faith clasps hands 
 with doubt, and reverent men touch shoulders 
 with other men whose every thought is a curse. 
 The joyful and the sorrowful meet, look into 
 each other's eyes, neither understanding the 
 other, and the loneliness deepens as they pass. 
 
GOD'S VOICE IN THE TREES 
 
 TN days of old, the Hebrews say, 
 ■*- Men crossed the desert sands in silence. 
 Unhearing and unheard they kept their way. 
 No human cry pierced the dull air, 
 They neither wept nor sang nor prayed; 
 For in that soundless space none answered. 
 The voice of Yaveh spoke not, 
 And the winds were still. 
 
 But when, beyond the gray dune's stretch, 
 They catch a glimpse of green, and know 
 That cooling waters gush beneath the shade, 
 Their voices lift in praise and song and sound of weep- 
 ing, 
 As children who have borne their loneliness in quiet 
 Break into tears and laughter when the mother comes. 
 The desert winds whisper through the branches, 
 And Yaveh speaks within the trees. 
 
 'Tis not in silence, Lord, we fail to hear; 
 But, with ears dulled to all Thy holy sound 
 By worldly noise, we pass our days unheeding, 
 Till, soul-sick, we flee the busy street 
 
 [47] 
 
GOD'S VOICE IN THE TREES 
 
 To where the forest lifts its head above our littleness, 
 And the green branches shake their incense down; 
 And, listening to the winds among the trees, 
 We know the voice of God is speaking. 
 
 [48] 
 
HIS WITNESS 
 
 GOD leaves no land without some witness of Him- 
 self. 
 The sunshine writes His message on the brown hillside. 
 The snowclad mountains rise to meet the clouds 
 In such a radiance one might think 
 That He had reached from out the azure depths, 
 And touched them with the amethyst glow 
 That lights the world beyond the skies. 
 And when the dying day moves slowly towards the past, 
 Before the purple curtains of the night drop down, 
 He sets a crimson flame upon the highest peak, 
 In promise of the morning. 
 
 [49] 
 
RENEWAL 
 
 HEARD the sound of trade, and my ear lost the 
 
 A infinite harmonies; 
 
 I felt the grasp of greed, and forgot the touch of the 
 Father's hand. 
 
 I saw deformity and vice, and the vision of the beau- 
 tiful passed from me ; 
 
 I breathed suspicion and distrust, and the breath of 
 love left me unrefreshed. 
 
 I fled from among my fellowmen, and sought God in 
 the fields, but found him not; 
 
 I called to him in the forest, but only my own voice 
 answered me ; 
 
 I was alone in the universe — my soul knew him not; 
 
 I was afraid in the great loneliness. 
 
 I crept in with the cattle, and fell asleep upon the straw ; 
 In my dreams I heard the Bethlehem mother singing 
 
 to her babe; 
 When I wakened, there was still a sound among the 
 
 rafters — - 
 Was it only the cry of young swallows in their nests ? 
 
 [50] 
 
RENEWAL 
 
 The swift beat of the mother-bird's wing cut the dark- 
 ness, 
 
 The cry died away into a musical murmur. 
 
 It was like a prayer hushed into a whisper of thanks- 
 giving. 
 
 I no longer felt alone, the place was full of love. 
 
 I lay all night upon the straw, and was not afraid. 
 
 When the dawn came, I went into the fields, 
 
 I felt the Infinite Life thrilling all space. 
 
 I passed through the forest, and the presence of God 
 
 was with me. 
 I came once more among my fellowmen; 
 I saw the marks of the divine sonship upon their faces. 
 
 [51] 
 
INLAND 
 
 fTlHE day has passed into the west, 
 •*■ The yellow fields have yielded up their sheaves. 
 I hear the evening song of reapers, 
 And the low of cattle gathering to the fold; 
 The soft leaves rustle, and the night-birds call; 
 And peace lies all across the land. 
 
 Father, I thank Thee for it all— 
 For the yellow harvest and the twilight rest; 
 For these peaceful valleys where men dwell 
 As in the hollow of Thine hand ! 
 
 But, oh, to feel Thy breath within the ocean's breeze; 
 
 To feel the salt spray dash upon my face; 
 
 To hear the sea-gulls' cry and the deep surf roar; 
 
 To let my heart leap out with the rushing tide, 
 
 And my blood keep pace with the flowing wave; 
 
 To know again life's fullness and its joy; 
 
 To stand once more above the Golden Gate! 
 
 [52] 
 
THE GRAIL 
 
 T SAW the grail last night. 
 
 •*■ All day the hills were hid in purple clouds, 
 The sunshine fled the valley, 
 
 And the earth lay cold beneath a colder sky. 
 
 The cares of life lay heavy on me, 
 
 My heart was sore with woes I might not lighten 
 
 And with sins I could not stay. 
 
 When the starless night followed the sunless day, 
 
 I walked alone within the silence and the cold. 
 
 Suddenly the purple clouds were caught aside, 
 
 The hills were clothed in a white mist 
 
 Which parted, and above the highest peak 
 
 I saw a rosy glow which spread and grew 
 
 Till every hill was touched with flame, 
 
 And all the valley bathed in golden light. 
 
 The very earth about my feet was warm with 
 
 color, 
 And a sense of warmth stole through me. 
 The burden lifted from my heart ; 
 I knew that God's hand drew aside the purple 
 
 clouds, 
 And parted the white mists, that I might see; 
 And all my pain passed into perfect peace. 
 
 [53] 
 
HOMEWARD 
 
INBOUND SAILS 
 
 fTlHERE are purple sails in the distant west, 
 
 ■*■ And a gleam of gold on the smooth lake's face. 
 There's a whisper of winds in the voiceless trees ; 
 The white mists rise and the darkness falls; 
 The gold is gone and the winds are still, 
 And the sails have passed from sight. 
 
 There's a crimson glow in the eastern sky, 
 And an opal flash on the rippling waves. 
 There's a song of birds among the leaves; 
 The dawn has passed and the breezes blow; 
 The sun is out and the mists are gone, 
 And the sails have come to port. 
 
 The sun was low when thy sails went out, 
 And the darkness fell as they passed from sight. 
 The night was long and the winds were chill. 
 The morning brightens, the gray dawn breaks; 
 The sun glows warm, and the waters gleam; 
 For thy sails come back to me. 
 
 [5T] 
 
THE HAPPY ISLES 
 
 T AM adrift upon the bitter waters ; 
 
 Beyond my vision stretch the cold gray waves; 
 I do not know my harbor, and my boat is frail 
 To breast the storm that gathers over me. 
 
 Unafraid I sit with idle hands upon the oars 
 
 And watch the jagged lightnings cleave the sky. 
 
 The winds may bear me where they will, 
 
 For I have sailed the sunny seas 
 
 And dropped my anchor at the happy isles, 
 
 Where silver waves break softly, 
 
 Where the shadows fall across blue fields of lupine, 
 
 And the great pines whisper to the hills. 
 
 I have steeped my soul in color, 
 
 Where the mountains meet the sun. 
 
 I have seen the rainbow's promise 
 
 Written on the bare rock's face. 
 
 The salt sea spray may blind me, 
 
 But I will keep the vision still, 
 
 Till the gray mists part above me, 
 
 Till the bitter waters fail, 
 
 Till I see the crimson mountains rising 
 
 Beyond my sunlit isles again. 
 
 [58] 
 
WHERE PITY DWELLS 
 
PEACE 
 
 (1899) 
 
 THE time draws near when Mary crooned her 
 mother-song 
 Above the babe of Bethlehem, 
 And angels sang of peace on earth, 
 Good will to all mankind. 
 Men ceased their toil and left their flocks; 
 The silent stars looked down upon a world 
 New-wakened to the thought of brotherhood. 
 
 The time draws near to keep the festival of peace — 
 
 Listen, brothers! Is that Mary's cradle-song, 
 
 Or the wail of a brown mother weeping over home- 
 less babes? 
 
 Do I hear the angels singing, 
 
 Or the bugle's call to battle and the clash of arms? 
 
 I can not see the stars for flame and smoke. 
 
 Brothers, my heart is troubled; tell me what it 
 means ! 
 
 The time draws near to sing the Christ-child's song, 
 To bear our offerings to the Prince of Peace; 
 But every breeze brings sounds of war. 
 
 [61] 
 
PEACE 
 
 O, countrymen of mine, throw down your arms ! 
 Let the next sea-wind blow clear of battle smoke, 
 That we may lift our eyes to the guiding stars ; 
 Let them lead us to the Christ-child's feet. 
 
 [62] 
 
LIBERTY 
 
 (1899) 
 
 D OOR brown brother, looking toward the West, 
 -■" The questioning light of liberty dawning in 
 
 thine eyes! 
 How have we answered this, thy mute appeal 
 For help to walk in freedom, that rugged path 
 Which most enlightened men have climbed with 
 
 toil! 
 We have not called thee toward the heights, 
 Nor stretched our hand to save thy stumbling feet ; 
 Nay, our battle smoke darkens thy quivering light ; 
 The swords of free men beat thee rudely back ; 
 The tramp of legions crushes out thy hope, 
 To thine undoing and to our eternal shame. 
 
 [63] 
 
PRAYERS 
 
More things 
 Are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. 
 
 Tennyson. 
 
I am content to look upward, to where 
 the stars are shining, and say, "Lord, Lord/' or 
 when clouds are overhead, to whisper in the 
 darkness, "Our Father/ 3 What words you 
 will use you must choose for yourself; but you 
 can not but choose sometime, somewhere, to be- 
 lieve. Until you find that time, that place, 
 you are but a poor tool for the upbuilding of 
 aught that is better either for yourself or for 
 another. 
 
DEPENDENCE 
 
 ORD, help Thou mine unbelief! 
 *■— * Strengthen when the way towards Thee 
 
 grows strange; 
 Let me not falter when the sun drops low, 
 And darkness hides the hills from sight. 
 Deny me not the tenderness of tears, 
 When loved ones answer not my call, 
 When the ways part and I must still go on, 
 And all life's hopes are buried in the past ; 
 But keep undimmed my faith in Thee! 
 Let Thy hand guide me when I walk alone ; 
 Let Thy presence fill the darkness, 
 And in the silence let me hear Thy voice. 
 
 [71] 
 
PEACE 
 
 ORD, let me rest in Thy deep silences! 
 ^~~^ My soul sickens with the jar and strife ; 
 I am weary of the noise and fret of men. 
 Let me go where Thy timid creatures dwell, 
 Where the rabbit hides and the wild thrush nests; 
 Let me hear the grass grow and the pine leaves fall; 
 Let me breathe the wild rose and the violet's breath; 
 Let me see the shadows creep among the trees, 
 And the still, sweet darkness coming down; 
 Let me feel the fullness of Thy love, unbound by creed 
 
 or form; 
 Let my faith quicken and my soul grow strong with 
 
 knowledge of Thy nearness ; 
 Lord, let me rest! Renew Thy life within me. 
 
 [73] 
 
FAITH 
 
 ri^HE sun falls warm across my pathway now. 
 "■- The touch of earth is pleasant to my feet. 
 The tree of life is plenteous ; and its fruit 
 Hangs golden, where my hands may reach. 
 And fragrant blossoms give their promise sweet 
 To all my future years. 
 Lord, the shadow of a fear walks with me: 
 The fruit shall not turn bitter to my taste, 
 The blossoms fall to dust within my hands? 
 Thy gifts are mine forever ! 
 If the bright way leads to setting sun and night, 
 The night shall lead again to day; 
 And, if I lose my treasures in the dark, 
 Thou wilt take and hold them close 
 Until I come to claim them. 
 
 [73] 
 
MY CHILDREN 
 
 LORD, thou didst give them to my care 
 Their sunny heads are pillowed on my breast; 
 Their dimpled hands cling round my neck; 
 My arms are close about them now, 
 And fain would hold them thus forever. 
 And yet it may not be : 
 I must loose their clinging clasp 
 And put them down, 
 That they may go the way Thou leadest. 
 Still, I pray that Thou lead softly; 
 Lord, their little feet are tender! 
 Oh, sometimes lift them in Thine arms, 
 And bear them, when the way is rough. 
 When they falter, lead them gently on; 
 And bring them safely to the journey's end. 
 
 [74] 
 
MEMORY 
 
 GRANT this one prayer, O Death! 
 As I pass with thee to the unknown land, 
 That I may cross the Lethean stream,, 
 Nor taste its chilling waters. 
 My years have had their sorrows : 
 Sweet voices called to me 
 And passed into the silence, 
 Tender eyes smiled into mine, 
 Then closed to sleep beneath the flowers. 
 And I have known the scorching brand of sin, 
 I have walked lamely in the path of right. 
 But the fair earth has clothed herself in green, 
 Or folded on her snowy mantle before my happy 
 
 sight. 
 Love has led me where the birds were singing; 
 Together we have stood beside the pleasant sea 
 And watched the sinking sun pile up his golden 
 
 billows. 
 I have felt the touch of children's fingers in my 
 
 hair, 
 The pressure of their lips upon my breast, 
 The music of their voices filled my ears, 
 Till all the world's sound seemed joyous. 
 
 [75] 
 
MEMORY 
 
 Gladly I'll drink my tears, O Death! 
 
 I'll bear my scars through all eternity; 
 
 But let me keep the memory of my happy years. 
 
 [76] 
 
A CHRISTMAS PRAYER 
 
 /^V LORD, dear Lord, 
 ^-^ Our sins are many ! 
 We have drained our cup 
 
 when others thirsted, 
 And our loaf we have not broken 
 
 at their need. 
 We have filled the Inn 
 
 with joy and feasting, 
 While Thy least have wept unheeded 
 
 in the street. 
 We have not carried straw 
 
 to warm the manger, 
 That Thy little ones might sleep 
 
 among the wondering kine. 
 
 The vision and the song have left us, 
 Our sins have blotted out the stars 
 That led the shepherds to Thy feet, 
 And now we falter on the way 
 To bring our gifts to Bethlehem. 
 
 [77] 
 
A CHRISTMAS PRAYER 
 
 O Lord, dear Lord, 
 
 We are Thy children, groping 
 
 in the darkness ! 
 Reach down Thine hand and lead us! 
 Let the circling host swing low, 
 Until our dull ears hear the music 
 
 of their voices ! 
 Give us strength to bear their message 
 
 to the evil places 
 We have builded for Thy poor! 
 Let Thy peace flow in upon us 
 Till we see again the star-lit vision, 
 Till we carry light into the by-ways, 
 Till we know that men are brothers, 
 Till we set the joy-bells ringing 
 Through the alley and the lane. 
 
 Dear Lord, we have repented. 
 We will open wide the doors 
 And bid them all within — 
 The lonely and the blind and halt 
 
 and sinful. 
 Wilt Thou not enter with them, 
 Knowing peace, good will to men? 
 [78] 
 
MOTHER'S DAY 
 
 PVEAR God, pour down Thy pitying love upon us. 
 •*^ We are the mothers of Thy world. 
 We have received the announcing angel with a song 
 
 of joy. 
 For one transcendent hour we have believed 
 Our pain forever banished by the cry of life. 
 And for that hour we render thanks, 
 Nor count the toiling years too great a price to pay. 
 We do not ask the sweet without the bitter, 
 We would not lay the burden down, 
 Nor cease the vigil that we keep. 
 
 We do but pray that Thou watch with us. 
 Thou dost see the way 
 Which opens not before our troubled eyes. 
 Thou knowest the reason and the end; 
 We but know the doubt and question 
 And the hungering love. 
 
 O God, pour down Thy pitying love upon us. 
 
 Give us strength and wisdom. 
 
 Grant us faith, and Thy most precious gift of peace. 
 
 From out Thy holy silences let quietness 
 
 Steal into our souls. 
 
 [79] 
 
MOTHER'S DAY 
 
 Let the cooling waters of Thy grace 
 
 Keep low the fires of mother anguish in our hearts, 
 
 Lest we be consumed before our work is done. 
 
 [80] 
 
WHEN WRITING " PARABLES " 
 
PARABLES 
 
LETHE 
 
 T HAD watched beside her many days. I had meant 
 to speak. I had longed to whisper some word of 
 trust and hope — to say, "His ways will be made plain." 
 Now the end had come, and the silence was unbroken 
 between us. 
 
 After all, although my own faith in the infinite ten- 
 derness had never failed, what meaning could my as- 
 surances have for her? My children came at dusk, 
 and laid their sunny heads upon my breast. Those 
 whom she had clasped with the same thrill of mother- 
 love wandered somewhere in the world, in what outer 
 darkness she knew not; and long ago she had ceased 
 to pray that God would lead them home. 
 
 My life was blessed with the love of one who 
 walked strong and helpful among his fellowmen. 
 He to whom she had looked with the same proud hope 
 had faltered and fallen; and, when he died, men spoke 
 of his years as of a list of failures. 
 
 [83] 
 
LETHE 
 
 She had loved him to the last. She had been faith- 
 ful and tender as her loyal nature told her a wife should 
 be. But in her heart she had never forgiven his weak- 
 ness. "I want no hereafter," she had once said in a 
 rare moment of confidence. "There can be no place nor 
 'Condition of happiness without its possibility of pain. 
 Pain has always outweighed joy with me. I would 
 rather have no chances in a future where my experi- 
 ence might repeat itself." 
 
 Perhaps it was as well that I had not spoken, that no 
 word had roused the bitter memories, no unwise sugges- 
 tion jarred the sensitive feelings into pain. 
 
 The sleep of life passed quietly into the sleep of 
 death. The autumn sunshine flooded the room as the 
 change came, and touched the sad face with a tender 
 radiance. I knelt for a moment beside her, although 
 no prayer came to my lips and no tears to my eyes. 
 She had suffered so much, tears would be selfish. She 
 had hoped only for "dust to dust," and I dared not pray 
 that her hope might be unfulfilled. 
 
 When I arose and moved softly out, the sun was in 
 the west. The light made a silver path across the 
 waters of the bay. The white clouds were breaking into 
 purple and gold. A sense of my own loss and the mys- 
 
 [84] 
 
LETHE 
 
 tery of our lot came over me as I sank down upon the 
 sand and looked out at the shifting colors of sea and 
 sky. 
 
 Worn with watching, I must have slept and dreamed 
 for the sea disappeared, although the sound of softly 
 flowing waters was still in my ears. I saw a river, 
 white with lotus blooms, winding through banks of mist. 
 A boatman waited at his oars. 
 
 As I gazed, wondering, a woman passed through 
 the shadows near me, and paused at the water's edge. 
 The boatman stood up, and held out his hand to her. 
 
 "This is the river of forgetfulness," he said. "Will 
 you stoop and drink before you cross?" 
 
 I could not see the woman's face; but she bent for- 
 ward, and I could hear the touch of eagerness in her 
 voice. 
 
 "I shall forget," she said, "that my hopes failed?" 
 
 "You will forget that you ever hoped," the boat- 
 man answered. 
 
 She bent nearer to the water. 
 
 "I shall forget that I could not forgive him?" she 
 said. 
 
 "You will forget that you ever loved him," he 
 answered. 
 
 [85] 
 
LETHE 
 
 The words seemed to stir some far-away memory, 
 for she started and stood up. Then she bent lower. 
 
 "I shall forget," she said, "that my little ones left 
 my arms. I shall forget how I have cried for them in 
 the darkness, when they did not come. I shall forget 
 that they lost the right way, and my voice could not 
 call them back." 
 
 "You will forget it all," the boatman said. "You 
 will forget that your arms ever held them. You will 
 forget the pressure of their lips upon your breast. You 
 will forget the touch of their dimpled hands in your 
 hair. You will forget — " 
 
 But she was not stooping now. She had raised 
 herself as he spoke, and was walking toward the boat. 
 She stepped in. 
 
 "Row me across," she said. "I will not drink." 
 
 I watched the boat glide in and out among the lotus 
 blooms. As it neared the other bank, the mists parted. 
 I caught a glimpse of sunny slopes and fair meadow- 
 lands, and one coming with a wistful look in his eyes 
 to meet the boat. The woman rose and stretched out 
 her arms. The wistful look went out of his eyes in a 
 flash of joy as their hands met. He bowed his head as 
 one who is forgiven. She lifted hers as if a weight 
 was gone, and the light fell upon her face. 
 
 [86] 
 
LETHE 
 
 Then they turned towards the sunny slopes, and the 
 mists rolled down. I heard the dip of the boatman's 
 oar and saw- — the sea with the silver path across it, the 
 setting sun, and the purple clouds. 
 
 [87] 
 
THE REDEMPTION 
 
 /^VNE night you would not sleep. 
 
 ^-^ Your wide blue eyes made me think of the 
 
 forest violets I had gathered before you were born. 
 
 When I crooned to you, softly, that others might 
 not waken, you answered with a baby laugh. 
 
 When I rocked you gently to-and-fro you struggled 
 to be free. 
 
 At last I drew your head within the circle of my 
 arm, the bright hair just touching my breast, and with 
 your sweet inarticulate murmurs of protest in my ears, 
 turned to my book and read again that passage of the 
 Divine Comedy, where Dante tells how human love en- 
 dures the "stormy blasts of Hell." 
 
 Gradually your impatient cries lost themselves in 
 little comfortable sounds, and then in quiet. 
 
 The tiny struggling hands and feet dropped into 
 
 aimless, sleepy motion, and curled themselves into pink 
 
 balls of restfulness. 
 
 With the picture of the warring winds and the 
 
 [88] 
 
THE REDEMPTION 
 
 driven spirits amid the ruinous sweep, in my mind, with 
 your soft hair brushing my breast, your sweet breath 
 warm against my arm, I, too, fell asleep. 
 
 I did not know how I came there or why. 
 
 I was conscious that an angel stepped aside to let 
 me pass. 
 
 Looking back I saw a storm swept plain, with gray 
 rocks beyond, and a path like a shaft of darkness lying 
 across the sand. 
 
 All about me was the freshness of morning. The 
 grass was green beneath my feet; roses bloomed above 
 my head ; and in the air was the subtle suggestion of the 
 sea. 
 
 I lifted my hands to pull a swaying branch of blos- 
 soms toward me, and paused to listen for the tide. 
 
 I did not hear it, for, something like a footstep, too 
 faint and sweet to be called sound, fell upon my ear. 
 
 And then I knew — for she was there, beautiful as 
 she had been in our young womanhood, with the added 
 radiance of heavenly years upon her brow. 
 
 I did not move, but the pink branch slipped from 
 my hand as I waited. 
 
 She was very near, moving towards me with that 
 
 [89] 
 
THE REDEMPTION 
 
 soft grace which I had remembered through all the 
 years, when I saw you coming through the shadows. 
 
 Long ago, upon the earth, you had left me and I 
 could not follow, and I had never known if it were 
 well with you there. 
 
 Now there was something in your face that told me 
 — a look I had once seen in the eyes of another, when 
 time had written the sins of the fathers upon the open 
 brow and the fair young cheeks. 
 
 And the angel drooped his wing across the path 
 and would not let you in. 
 
 I longed to touch her hand, to speak to her, to say 
 the tender things I had left unsaid when I saw her last 
 in those other days. 
 
 All my life the memory of those unspoken words 
 had been a pain to me — and now I might not stay to 
 speak them. 
 
 Then I remembered that it had been given her to 
 carry her babe with her through that darkened way into 
 the fields of Paradise. 
 
 And you, my little one, wearied with the toilsome 
 walks of earth, were outside in the shadows and the 
 cold. 
 
 [90] 
 
THE REDEMPTION 
 
 And I knew that she would understand. 
 
 Then I went toward you ; and the angel let me pass. 
 
 And I took your hand, and we went together across 
 the shifting sands. 
 
 At first you did not seem to understand — or to care ; 
 but when you shivered in the wind and I wrapped my 
 hair about your neck, you raised your eyes and a flash 
 like a dim memory of your childhood's smile, crossed 
 your face. 
 
 It was very cold. The shadows frightened me ; and 
 I did not know where I was leading you; but we went 
 on and on till we reached the gray crags. 
 
 After a little I lost all fear, and all pain left me. 
 
 Others whom I loved were safe in the sheltered 
 fields, where the winds did not blow; and I had you 
 with me. 
 
 I would never let you go from me any more. You 
 clung to me now, and together we watched the shadows 
 come and go upon the sands. 
 
 Sometimes a great light touched the barren peaks 
 and filled the deep gorges with a crimson glow; and 
 your face took on the wondering look it used to wear, 
 when I held you in my arms at sunset, and we saw the 
 Western hills crowned with purple and gold. 
 
 [91] 
 
THE REDEMPTION 
 
 Sometimes you laid your head upon my breast and 
 slept, and when you wakened you turned to me with 
 the trusting eyes of a little child. 
 
 I cannot tell how long we stayed there, wandering 
 among the rocks ; but all at once the great spaces seemed 
 full of peace, the strange light touched the gray peaks 
 and the winds were still. 
 
 When I looked at you the light rested upon your 
 face; and it was like the face of one who has seen the 
 Infinite. 
 
 I did not understand. 
 
 But you took my hand and led me back over the 
 way we had come. 
 
 And the angel stood aside to let us pass. 
 
 Again I felt the green grass beneath my feet — and 
 you were with me. Again I felt that subtle suggestion 
 of the sea. Again I heard that faint sweet sound, and 
 knew that she was coming — that I might speak, though 
 all need of words had passed into perfect understand- 
 ing. 
 
 I lifted my hands toward the pink blossoms above 
 our heads, and a shower of petals fell upon my face. 
 
 [92] 
 
THE REDEMPTION 
 
 I awoke. 
 
 The earth was very still. 
 
 I heard a leaf flutter down and touch the ground. 
 The freshness of early morning was in the air. The 
 odor of roses floated in at the window. And your tiny, 
 dimpled hands were softly beating my face. 
 
 [93] 
 
EVIL 
 
 "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the 
 Lord in the Land of the Living." 
 
 ^\NE stood on the earth seeking with far seeing 
 ^^ eyes to look beyond the boundaries of space, to 
 compass with his vision the revelations of the infinite 
 mysteries, that he might read therefrom some sentence 
 of the Divine reason. Above, the skies were blue and 
 birds were singing in the air. Below, the grass was 
 green and the sunlight upon it was beautiful. But in 
 the homes of men there was sorrowing and suffering. 
 Here, one lay dead and the tears of the living fell upon 
 his face. There, crime had blighted a life, and here, 
 weakness stretched out longing hands towards unattain- 
 able hopes. Everywhere the beating of human hearts 
 made a sorrowful sound in the world. And always he 
 who stood looking upward was asking— Why? 
 
 And as he gazed, along the horizon edge he saw two 
 figures walking together. The face of one was radiant ; 
 but the face of the other was hidden in a mist, only the 
 eyes shone through, and in them was the look of one 
 
 [94] 
 
EVIL 
 
 who would be helpful and is not understood. The 
 name of the one with the radiant face was Death. On 
 earth the other bore many evil names, because men 
 could not see his face; but in the Kingdom of God he 
 was called the Teacher. 
 
 And as they walked, another with a calm bright face 
 came to meet them. The name of this one was Faith. 
 And drawing near, she asked, "Have my brothers 
 any mission for me?" 
 
 And Death answered, "Go: comfort those who 
 mourn for the dead." 
 
 And Faith smiled and asked, "What message shall 
 I bear to them?" 
 
 And Death answered, "Tell them it is well with 
 those that are gone." 
 
 Then he whose face was covered said, "Go: comfort 
 those who mourn for the living." 
 
 And Faith looked troubled and was silent. 
 
 Then the other spoke again, "Tell them that evil is 
 a necessity." 
 
 And Faith said, "They will ask me why?" 
 
 And the other said, "Tell them that good may come 
 of it." 
 
 Faith answered, "They will ask, To whom?" 
 
 [95 J 
 
EVIL 
 
 The other said, "Tell them to the world." 
 
 Faith replied, "They will ask, what of him that does 
 the evil?" 
 
 The other said, "Tell them that some must suffer 
 for the good of all." 
 
 But Faith answered, "They will ask again, What of 
 him that suffers?" 
 
 And the other said, "Tell them that through sin 
 humanity grows." 
 
 Faith replied, "They will not hear me; they will still 
 ask, What of the sinner?" 
 
 The other said, "Tell them he will awake." 
 
 Faith said, "They will ask, When?" 
 
 The other replied, "Tell them, In God's own time." 
 
 Faith said, "They will ask, will it be long in com- 
 ing?" 
 
 The other answered, "Tell them, It may be; but God 
 is good — it will come." 
 
 Then Faith said, "I will go; but first let me walk 
 in the garden of Peace and drink from the water of 
 Life, that I may have strength to do your bidding." 
 
 Then the three went together towards the West, 
 where the sky was crimson and gold, for it was even- 
 ing; and the clouds seemed to part to let them through 
 
 [96] 
 
EVIL 
 
 into the mellow light beyond. And as they passed from 
 sight, the one whose face was hidden turned and looked 
 toward the earth; and the mist melted from his face, 
 and it was strong and beautiful, and the expression 
 of his eyes was no longer sad, only serious and tender. 
 
 Then the clouds met again and the sky grew gray, 
 for twilight was falling. Only where the three had 
 walked there was still a luminous path. And he who 
 was watching was comforted and ceased to question. 
 But he told the vision to me. And I thought, "I will 
 tell it to others : perchance they, too, will read its mean- 
 ing and be comforted." 
 
 [97] 
 
LAUS DEO 
 
 1 1 ^HE November clouds hung low and gray. The 
 ■*■ winds swept the brown leaves down. The bare 
 branches beat against the window-pane. I lay very 
 still. I was not suffering now, but pain had left me 
 helpless in body and weak in soul. Suddenly a peal 
 of church bells rilled the air; the sound of many steps 
 passed by; the deep tones of an organ reached me, and 
 I heard voices singing praise. They wakened no echo 
 within me. I turned on my pillow, and wept for my 
 lost joys. I lived again through the days of my bitter- 
 ness. I remembered how the first blow had come, jar- 
 ring our souls into a consciousness of sorrow. I was 
 with her in that sunny room ; and the songs of birds, the 
 spring breezes, and the breath of wild honey-suckle 
 seemed a part of our pain. We did not speak, but the 
 radiance in her eyes deepened as the hours passed. 
 When we knew that I must go, she touched my hand, 
 and whispered, "It is for you and me to be strong." 
 And I went, knowing it was her strength that sent me. 
 
 I was with her again when the summer quiet rested 
 on wood and field. The eternal silence filled the room, 
 
 [98] 
 
LAUS DEO 
 
 and the everlasting peace was on her brow. I did not 
 cry out against the divine order then; for the look on 
 that still, sweet face forbade me. But when the living 
 sorrows came — when one I loved walked in a loneliness 
 which I might not share; when another cried for help 
 in what was half a prayer to God and half a call to me, 
 and I could not answer; when I knew a life that loved 
 the sunshine was going out amid the shadows — then I 
 turned my face toward the darkness, and would not see 
 the light. 
 
 I do not know if I slept or if I entered that border- 
 land between life and death where the spiritual vision 
 is undimmed, and the soul catches some sound of the 
 divine harmonies; for all at once I knew neither pain 
 nor time nor space. A sense of all enfolding love came 
 over me. The meaning of my sorrows seemed a part 
 of the luminous air. I saw one growing strong and 
 trustful in that loneliness over which I had mourned. I 
 heard my friend's voice still praying, "Thy will be 
 done." I saw that darkened life passing out of the 
 shadows into an infinite sea of light. All bitterness 
 melted from my heart. I tried to cry out, to utter my 
 thankfulness for my lost joys, to praise Him for the 
 things given and the things withheld; but my lips 
 
 [99] 
 
LAUS DEO 
 
 would not obey my will. Then I knew that I was in 
 my room; that the bonds of weakness still bound my 
 body, although the chains had fallen from my soul. 
 
 The winds were silent; the bare branches rested 
 against the window-pane; the gray clouds parted, the 
 sun shone through, and dropped behind the hills, leav- 
 ing a golden path across the sky. Through the falling 
 twilight the deep tones of the organ reached me, and 
 again I heard voices singing praise. I folded my 
 hands, and whispered a responsive, Amen. Then I lay 
 very still in the darkness, and listened to the sound of 
 many footsteps passing home. 
 
 [ 100 ] 
 
THE LAND OF EASE 
 
 TT was the harvest time in the land of service. All 
 ■*■ day long the men followed after the sickles gather- 
 ing the fallen grain into sheaves. All day long a boy 
 ran to and from the river, bearing a water-can and 
 offering drink to those who labored. 
 
 When the noontide came they paused for a little 
 and rested under the trees and told stories while they 
 ate their bread and meat. 
 
 When the sun was setting and the sheaves were 
 bound, they went singing to their homes, and the chil- 
 dren heard their voices and ran to meet them, and the 
 mothers came smiling to the doorways. 
 
 But the boy who bore the water-can lingered be- 
 hind. 
 
 Pie was weary and he said to himself, "I have heard 
 of a land where one need not labor all the day. 
 It lies over the mountains towards the setting sun. 
 When I have found it I shall not need to carry the 
 water-can or glean after the reapers any more." 
 
 So he stole away and went up the mountain path 
 
 [101] 
 
THE LAND OF EASE 
 
 in the twilight. Darkness fell and he was afraid, but 
 still he went on. The path grew steep and difficult, 
 and once he thought he heard the harvesters singing 
 below. 
 
 A longing to go back came over him, but he did not 
 turn, he went on, his heart heavy with thinking that no 
 one would carry water to them to-morrow and they 
 would be very thirsty, laboring in the hot sun. He 
 said to himself, "When I have found the land of ease I 
 will come back and tell them and they will be glad, and 
 they will forgive me that I left them before the harvest 
 was done." 
 
 At last when he had gone a long way, he came to a 
 place where he could see green foothills lying below, 
 and he hastened on, thinking to rest on the fragrant 
 grass; but when he came to the hills he saw a brown 
 valley with villages here and there and vineyards and 
 orange groves making green spots in the broad stretch 
 of sandy soil, and he did not pause, but followed a 
 dusty roadway leading down into the nearest town. 
 
 There was no sound of busy life about the streets. 
 The cottage doors were open, but he heard no house- 
 hold song. 
 
 Before one a group of men were sitting half asleep, 
 
 [102] 
 
THE LAND OF EASE 
 
 the sun shining full upon them, but they did not seem 
 to mind. 
 
 The boy spoke to them and asked, "What place is 
 this?" 
 
 After a little one answered, "This is the land of 
 ease." 
 
 And the boy said, "I have come a long way in search 
 of it, may I sit here with you?" 
 
 And they said, "Yes." But no one rose to make room 
 for him or to offer him water or to ask when he had 
 eaten food ; so he sat down on the ground near them and 
 waited. 
 
 When the sun was lower they went into the house 
 and he followed them. The men ate and allowed him 
 to help himself, but they did not offer him anything 
 or ask him whence he came, nor did they speak much 
 among themselves, and he began to feel very lonely. 
 When they had eaten they fell asleep in their chairs 
 and the boy lay down on the floor and slept through the 
 night, and in his sleep he saw the sunlight falling on 
 fields of ripened grain and heard the voices of the 
 reapers calling him to bring his water-can and share 
 their bread and meat. When he awoke there were 
 tears upon his cheeks. His companions still slept, and 
 
 [103] 
 
THE LAND OF EASE 
 
 he went out to walk in the vineyards. The valley was 
 very beautiful in the early morning and he forgot that 
 he had been sad, but when he came back he said to the 
 men, "The grapes are getting over-ripe, shall we not 
 gather and store them?" And the men said, "Why 
 should we? The oranges will soon be ripening and 
 when they are gone other grapes will be on the vines." 
 And they sat down before the door again and the boy 
 sat down with them. But by and by he grew weary 
 of the silence and of watching the shadows on the dis- 
 tant mountains, and he said, forgetting what land he 
 was in, "Is it a holiday? Then why do we not sing?" 
 They answered, "It is not a holiday, is it not enough 
 to sit in the sun?" Then he asked if he might bring 
 water for the noontide meal, and they said to each 
 other, "It is always so with those who come over the 
 mountains. When he has been here longer he will be 
 content. He will become like us." 
 
 Then the boy sat silent thinking, would he become 
 like them, content only to eat and drink and sleep? 
 Was there only indifference in the land where he 
 thought happiness dwelt? 
 
 That night he slept as before and he thought he 
 heard the reapers calling to him for water, and in the 
 
 [104] 
 
THE LAND OF EASE 
 
 early morning he arose and left the men sleeping, and 
 ran up the dusty roadway toward the foothills, and on 
 and on till the sun was high and he could look back and 
 see the brown valley shimmering in the heat. Then he 
 climbed more slowly up the path over which he had 
 come, and at last he could see his own valley and the 
 river winding through it and the sickles gleaming in 
 and out as the grain fell before them, and the men fol- 
 lowing, leaving a long line of yellow sheaves as they 
 went. Then he ran again and found his water-can and 
 filled it at the river's brink, and his heart grew light 
 as he carried it, and the laborers gathered about him to 
 drink, asking, "Where hast thou been so long?" But he 
 only shook his head and answered, "It is better here." 
 And all day long he ran to and from the river bearing 
 his water-can, and when night came he was weary, but 
 his face was bright and he went singing home with the 
 reapers. When the children came to meet him he 
 thought, how beautiful they are, and when the mothers 
 smiled from the doorways he thought, they must be 
 like the angels he had once heard the good priest read 
 about. 
 
 And ever after he was happy in the land of service. 
 
 [105] 
 
APPRECIATIONS 
 
APPRECIATIONS 
 
 "I thank you for allowing me to read these poems. 
 They are worthy of any publication in the land. If 
 you have many such you should combine them in a 
 book and issue them that way." 
 
 Rev. Amory H. Bradford, D. D. 
 
 "I do not know anything sincerer, clearer or more 
 spontaneous in seeming — and they give the vivid pic- 
 ture, and stir deep feelings in me. I love them." 
 
 Rev. Caroline Bartlett Crane. 
 
 "I think that your little poems make one see and 
 feel, I have much enjoyed them." 
 
 Rev. Charles Fletcher Dole, D. D. 
 
 "Your bits of verse have passed to a third reading, 
 and with a deepening sense of their quality." 
 
 Rev. Charles G. Ames, D. D. 
 
SHADOW PEOPLE 
 
 L1LA FROST SPRAGUE 
 
 JONATHAN B. FROST 
 READY- 
 
 -THE ART OF READING 
 II— AKI— ZON 
 
 SHADOW PEOPLE 
 
 IN PROCESS— 
 
 III— TKADING HOUSES: 
 
 A Foolish Farce Comedy in Three Talkative Acts — Poems, Some Humorous 
 
 IV— TALKS ON SHAKESPEARE 
 
 JOHN E. KELLERD : JONATHAN B. FROST 
 
 V— THE BIOGKAPHY OF MY BABY 
 VI— E L I M 
 
 SONGS 
 
 WKITTEN BY 
 JONATHAN B. FROST 
 
 MUSIC BY 
 EDMUND BRAHAM 
 
 BEAUTIFUL BOY— Sacred; referring to the Christ Child 
 SHOULD I ERE A SPIRIT BE! 
 MID LEAFY BOWS— Waltz Song 
 THE VOCALIST 
 
 FIANO and OKCHESTKATION for Music madental to ARI-ZON 
 
 H Y INVITATION ONLY 
 JONATHAN B . FROST 
 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 
 
018 392 254 3