\ %-..,^ ^ p^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET iMT-3) S'' // ^/ ^ A K ^ 11.25 UIM 1116 SO ■^" ■ 2.2 ■u _ u I u Miftto — 6" '■^r 7J ^>. o^ > :>> (? / /S^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 > A% (meaning "CON- TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniire image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols —► signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de reduction diffArents. 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THE UNNAMED LAKE AND OTHER POEMS PRICE 75 CENTS " A new trea.sure of Canadian son>; Beauti- ful phrases strike the eye everywhere."— J/o?t^r«;«i Witiicxi'. " All display the author's stronjf ima<,dnation, his sweetness (jf tone, and his tlelieacy of touch." — Caniidian Mnutation by this last collection of verse A markeil pro- gress in strenjrth and poetic finish." — Onward. "The seven sonnets which close the vuiunic are as pooecimeiis of that particular f35 137 138 >39 140 MI «4a 143 144 M5 146 147 148 149 ISO 151 152 153 '54 •I i, POEMS, OLD AND NEW. DA WN. The immortal spirit hath no bars To circumscribe its dwelling place ; My soul hath pastured with the stars U pon the meadow-lands of space, My mind and ear at times have caurrht, From realms beyond our mortal reach, The utterance of Eternal Thought, Of which all nature is the speech. * And high above the seas and lands, ' On peaks just tipped with morning light, My dauntless spirit mutely stands With eagle wings outspread for flight. II iiii Itiij ( lo ) THE UNNAMED LAKE. It sleeps among the thousand hills Where no man ever trod, And only nature's music fills The silences of God. Great mountains tower above its shore, Green rushes fringe itj brim, And o'er its breast for evermore The wanton breezes skim. Dark clouds that intercept the sun Go there in Spring to weep, And there, when Autumn days are done, White mists lie down to sleep. Sunrise and sunset crown with gold The peaks of ageless stone, Where winds have thundered from of old And storms have set their throne. f I' /! THE UNNAMED LAKE. \\ shore, n e done, )ld of old le. No echoes of the world afar Disturb it night or day, Hut sun and shadow, moon and star Pass and repass for aye. 'Tvvas in the grey of early dawn, When first the lake we spied, And fragments of a cloud were drawn Half down the mountain side. Along the shore a heron flew, And from a speck on high, That hovered in the deepening blue. We heard the fish-hawk's cry. Among the cloud-capt solitudes, No sound the silence broke, Save when, in whispers down the woods, The guardian mountains spoke. Through tangled brush and dewy brake, Returning whence we came. We passed in silence, and the lake We left without a name. m liE ii: I ( 12 ) I.. IN THE WOODS. This is God's house — the blue sky is the ceiling, This wood the soft green carpet for His feet, Those hills His stairs, down which the brooks come stealing, With baby laughter making earth more sweet. And here His friends come, clouds and soft winds sighing, And little birds whose throats pour forth their love, And spring and summer, and the white snow lying Pencilled with shadows of bare boughs above. And here come sunbeams through the green leaves straying, And shadows from the storm-clouds overdrawn. And warm, hushed nights, when mother earth is praying So late that her moon-candle burns till dawn. ;^N«* IN THE WOODS. '3 he ceiling, His feet, e brooks come lore sweet, ind soft winds "orth their love, e snow lying [hs above. le green leaves ; overdrawn, lother earth is Sweet house of God, sweet earth so full of pleasure, I enter at thy gates in storm or calm ; And every sunbeam is a joy and treasure, And every cloud a solace and a balm. till dawn. ( M ) 1 AfV LATTICE. My lattice looks upon the North, The winds are cool that enter ; At night I see the stars come forth, Arcturus in the centre. The curtain down my casement drawn Is dewy mist, which lingers Until my maid, the rosy dawn, Uplifts it with her fingers. The sparrows are my matin-bell, Each day my heart rejoices, When, from the trellis where they dwell, They call me with their voices. Then, as I dream with half-shut eye. Without a sound or motion. To me that little square of sky Becomes a boundless ocean. ''♦''^Rfc i MY LATTICE. 15 And straight my soul unfurls its sails That blue sky-sea to sever ; My fancies are the noiseless gales That waft it on forever. th. drawn dwell, I sail into the depths of space And leave the clouds behind me, I pass the old moon's hiding-place, The sun's rays cannot find me. I sail beyond the solar light, Beyond the constellations, Across the vOids whe. e loom in sight New systems and creations. 1 pass great worlds of silent stone, Whence light and life have vanished. Which wander on to tracts unknown. In lonely exile banished. I meet with spheres of fiery mist Which warm me as I enter. Where — ruby, gold and amethyst — The rainbow lights concentre. i6 AfV LATTICE. Ill; M ! And on I sail into the vast, New wonders aye discerning, Until my mind is lost at last, And, suddenly returning, I feel the wind, which, cool as dew, Upon my face is falling. And see again my patch of blue. And hear the sparrows calling. ( 17 ) ew, THE BURDEN OF TIME. Before the seas and mountains were brought forth, I reigned. I hung the universe in space, I capped earth's poles with ice to South and North, And set the moving tides their bounds and place. I smoothed the granite mountains with my hand, W My fingers gave the continents their form ; I rent the heavens and loosed upon the land || The fury of the whirlwind and the storm. I stretched the dark sea like a nether sky Fronting the stars between the ice-clad zones ; I gave the deep his thunder ; the Most High Knows well the voice that shakes His mountain thrones. I trod the ocean caverns black as night. And silent as the bounds of outer space. And where great peaks rose darkly towards the light I planted life to root and grow apace. f IS T//E BURDEN OF TIME. Hi \\\ Pi!' I Then through a stillness d ^ -r than the grave's, The coral spires rose slowly one by one, Until the white shafts pierced the upper waves And shone like silver in the tropic sun. I ploughed with glaciers down the mountain glen. And graved the iron shore with stream and tide ; I gave the bird her nest, the lion his den, The snake long jungle-grass wherein to hide. In lonely gorge and over hill and plain, I sowed the giant forests of the world ; The great earth like a human heart in pain Has quivered with the meteors I have hurled. I plunged whole continents beneath the deep, And left them sepulchred a million years ; I called, and lo, the drowned lands rose from sleep, Sundering the waters of the hemispheres. I am the lord and arbiter of man — I hold and crush between my finger-tips Wild hordes that drive the desert caravan, Great nations that go down to sea in ships. '«v I V i I i. THE BURDEN OF TIME, 19 grave s, vaves tain glen, I and tide ; o hide. am hurled. deep, lars ; "rom sleep, res. ps in, ships. ! I In sovereign scorn I tread the races down, As each its puny destiny fulfils, On plain and island, or where huge cliffs frown, Wrapt in the deep thought of the ancient hills. The wild sea searches vainly round the land For those proud fleets my arm has swept away ; Vainly the wind along the desert sand Calls the great names of kings who once held swa\' Yea, Nineveh and Babylon the great Are fallen — like ripe ears at harve t-tide ; I set my heel upon their pomp and state. The people's serfdom and the monarch's pride. One doom waits all — art, speech, law, gods, and men, i Forests and mountains, stars and shining sun, — The hand that made them shall unmake again, I curse them and they wither one by one. Waste altars, tombs, dead cities where men trod. Shall roll through space upon the darkened globe, Till I myself be overthrown, and God Cast off creation like an outworn robe. HT ( 20 ) THE FEUD. \ " I ih:ak a cry from the Sansard cave, O mother, will no one hearken ? A cry of the lost, — will no one save ? A cry of the dead, though the oceans rave, And the scream of a gull as he wheels o'er a grave, While the shadows darken and darken." " Oh, hush thee, child, for the night is wet. And the cloud-caves split asunder, With lightning in a jagged fret, Like the gleam of a salmon in the net, When the rocks are rich in the red sunset, And the stream rolls down in thunder." " Mother, O mother, a pain at my heart, A pain like the pang of dying." " Oh, hush thee, child, for the wild birds dart Up and down, and close and part, iiiii THE FEUD. •I VVhcclinfj rf)und where the black cliffs start, And the foam at their feet is flyinjj." " () iiKjther, a strife like the black clouds' strife, And a peace that cometh after." " Mush, child, for peace is the end of life, And the heart of a maiden finds peace as a wife. Hut the sky and the cliffs and the ocean are rife With the storm and thunder's laughter." *' Come in, my sons, come in and rest, For the shadows darken and darken, And your sister is pale as the white swan's breast. And her eyes are fixed and her lips are pressed In the death of a name ye might have guessed, Had ye twain been here to hearken." " Hush, mother, a corpse lies on the strand, And the spray is round it driven ; It lies on its face, and one white hand Points through the mist on the belt of sand To where the cliffs of Sansard stand. And the ocean's strength is riven." !Tp !Ji n iii^ III! 22 TffE FEUD. "Was it God, my sons, who laid him there? Or the sea that left him sleeping?" " Nay, mother, our dirks where his heart was bare, As swift as the rain through the teeth of the air ; The foam-fingers play in the Saxon's hair, And the tides are round him creeping." " Oh, curses on you hand and head, Like the rains in this wild weather. The guilt of blood is swift and dread. Your sister's face is cold and dead. Ye may not part whom God would wed And love hath knit together." ( 23 ) SAAISON. Plunged in night, I sit alone Eyeless on this dungeon stone, Naked, shaggy, and unkempt, Dreaming dreams no soul hath dreamt. Rats and vermin round my feet Play unharmed, companions sweet ; Spiders weave me overhead Silken curtains for my bed. Day by day the mould I smell Of this fungus-blistered cell ; Nightly in my haunted sleep O'er my face the lizards creep. Gyves of iron scrape and burn Wrists and ankles when I turn, And my collared neck is raw With the teeth of brass that gnaw. if (IIP' 1 ( j 24 SAMSON. God of Israel, canst Thou see All my fierce captivity ? Do Thy sinews feel my pains ? Hearest Thou the clanking chains ? Thou who madest me so fair, Strong and buoyant as the air, Tall and noble as a tree, With the passions of the sea, Swift as horse upon my feet. Fierce as lion in my heat, Rending, like a wisp of hay, All that dared withstand my way, Canst Thou see me through the gloom Of this subterranean tomb, — Blinded tiger in his den, Once the lord and prince of men ? Clay was I ; the potter, Thou With Thy thumb-nail smooth'dst my brow, RoU'dst the spittle-moistened sands Into limbs between Thy hands. v,,"^ '1 ^;| SAMSON. 25 ns.'' ay, 2 gloom ^n ? ist my brow, ands Thou didst pour into my blood Fury of the fire and flood, And upon the boundless skies Thou didst first unclose my eyes. And my breath of life was flame, God-like from the source it came, Whirling round like furious wind. Thoughts upgathered in the mind. Strong Thou mad'st me, till at length All my weakness was my strength ; Tortured am I, blind and wrecked, For a faulty architect. From the woman at my side Was I woman-like to hide What she asked me, as if fear Could my iron heart come near ? Nay, I scorned and scorn again Cowards who their tongues restrain ; Cared I no more for Thy laws Than a wind of scattered straws. !■ ::; i \u\m ■ .i ii ii a' ' Illl I F < ! H! M ' , ; i it) .: . 76 SAMSON. When the earth quaked at my name. And my blood was all aflame. Who was I to lie, and cheat Her who clung about my feet ? From Thy open nostrils blow Wind and tempest, rain and snow ; Dost Thou curse them on their course, For the fury of their force ? Tortured am I, wracked and bowed. Hut the soul within is proud ; Dungeon fetters cannot still Forces of the tameless will. Israel's God, come down and see All my fierce captivity ; Let Thy sinews feel my pains, With Thy fingers lift my chains. Then, with thunder loud and wild. Comfort Thou Thy rebel child. And with lightning split in twain Loveless heart and sightless brain. ■m SAMSON. 27 Give me splendour in my death — Not this sickening dungeon breath, Creeping down my blood like slime Till it wastes me in my prime. Give me back for one blind hour Half my former rage and power. And some giant crisis send. Meet to prove a hero's end. Then, O God, Thy mercy show — Crush him in the overthrow At whose life they scorn and point, By its greatness out of joint. ■ '* I H I I ^1; ii!i|5!:' ill III ! I I. t 1 !;i ,.■ I ; 'ii i'. ! , ( 28 ) ON AN OLD VENETIAN PORTRAIT. The features loom out of the darkness As brown as an ancient scroll, But the eyes gleam on with the fire that shone In the dead man's living soul. He is clad in a cardinal's mantle, And he wears the cap of state. But his lip is curled in a sneer at the world, And his glance is full of hate. Old age has just touched with its winter The hair on his lip and chin ; He stooped, no doubt, as he walked about, And the blood in his veins was thin. His date and his title I know not, But I know that the man is there, As cruel and cold as in days of old When he schemed for the Pontiff's chair. 'm '% ■1 OA AN OLD VENETIAN PORTRAIT. 29 TRAIT. less i that shone he world, vinter d about, thin. ^ //j ! ;■■ ■ M l! '.! li I ! SONG'S ETERNITY. Little bird on dewy wing In the dawn of day, All the pretty songs you sing Pass away. For although man's heart is stirred By your happy voice, You can only sing one word, — " Rejoice," " Rejoice." But the music poets make Is a deathless stram, For they do from sorrow take. And from pain, Such a sweetness as imparts Joy that never dies, — And their songs live in men's hearts Beyond the skies. 'M 'ft :i ( 31 ) A DREAM OF THE PREHISTORIC Naked and shaggy, they herded at eve by the sound of the seas, When the sky and the ocean were red as with blood from the battles of God, And the wind like a monster sped forth with its feet on the rocks and the trees, And the sands of the desert blew over the wastes of the drought-smitten sod. Here, mad with the torments of hunger, despairing they sank to their rest, Some crouching alone in their anguish, some gathered in groups on the beach ; And with tears almost human the mother looked down at the babe on her breast, And her pain was the germ of our love, and her cry was the root of our speech. '>V if 'mm 32 A DREAM OF THE PREHISTORIC. I 1 1 N;'' ii) 111 I ■! ii(