CIHM Microfiche Series (l\/lonographs) ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian Instituta for Hiatorical Microraproductiona / liatitut Canadian da microraproductiont hiatoriqua Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes technique et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming are checked below. Coloured covers / Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged / ' — I Couverture endommagie I I Covers restored and/or laminated / Couverture restauree el/ou pellicuiee I I Cover title missing / Lb litre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps / Cartes geographiques en couleur r^ Coloured ink {i.e. other than blue or black) / Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I CokHired plates and/or illustrations / Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur I I Bound with other material / Relie avec d'autres documents D D D Only edition available / Seule edition disponible Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin / La reliure senie peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsk>n le long de la marge interieure. Blank leaves added during restoratkms may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from flming / II se peul que certainss pages blanches ajouties kws d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, knsque cela etalt possible, ces pages n'cnt pas ete nmees. L'Institut a microfilm* le meilleur examplaire qu'il iui a 6te possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exem- plaire qui sont peut-Stre uniques du point de vue bibli- ographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduce, ou qui peuvent exiger une modifications dans la m6th- ode normale de f ilmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur I I Pages damaged/ Pages endommagees I I Pages restored and/or laminated / — ' Pages restaurees et/ou pellicuiees r^ Pages discoloured, stained or loxed / Pages decokirees, tachetees ou piquees I I Pages detached / Pages detachees rpt Showthrough / Transparence I I Quality of print varies / ' — ' QualUe inegale de I'impression I I Includes supplementary material / — Comprenddu materiel suppiementaire I I Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image / Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'enata, une pelure, etc., ont ete fllmees k nouveau de fa^on d obtenir la mellleure image possible. I I Opposing pages with varying colouration or discolourations are filmed twk:e to ensure the best possible image / Les pages s'opposant ayant des colorations variables ou des decol- orations sont fllnv'es deux fois afin d'obtenir la meilleur image possible. D AddWonal comments / Commentaires suppiementaires: Thii inin it f ihntd at th* rtduction ratio chaekad btlow/ Ct docufnant «t film* >u uux d« rMuetion indiwi* ei-dtnaiis. lOX 14X liX SX 12X 1(X no: 20X MX 2IX 32X Th* copy filmad hara hM baan raproducad thanki to tha ganaroaity of: National Library of Canada Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha bast quality peuibia contidaring tha condition and lagibiiity of tha original copy and in kaoping with tha filming conwaot apocificaliona. Original eopiai in printad papor eovara ara fllmad baginning with tha front covor and anding on tha iai t paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- sion. or tha back covar whan apprepriata. All othar original copioa ara filmad baginning on tha f irat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- aion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Tha laat racordad frama on aaeh microficha ■hail conuin tha symbol -^ (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V Imaaning "END"), whichavar appiiaa. Mapa. plataa. charti, ate, may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraly includad in ona axposura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand eornar. laft to right and top to bottom, as many framas as raquirad. Tha following diagrams illuatrata tha mathod: 1 2 3 1 2 4 5 L'M«mplair* film* fut raproduil grin i !■ giniroiiU da: Bibllothiqu* national* du Canad.i Lat imagat tuivantai ont ttt raproduita* avac la plua grand toin. compta tanu da la eondiiien at da la nanata da Taaamplaira filma. at an confermita avac laa eonditiona du eontrat da filmaga. Laa aaamplairaa originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat ImprinKaa aont filmas an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant toit par la darnMra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration. soit par la lacond plat, aalon la eaa. Toua laa autraa axamplairat originaux tont filmta an commandant par la pramitra paga qui compona una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration at an tarminant par la damitra paga qui comporta una taila amprainta. Un daa aymbolaa auivants apparaitra sur la darniAra imaga da chaqua microficha. aalon la caa: la aymbola ^ lignifia "A SUIVRE". la aymbola V aignifia "FIN". Laa cariaa. planchaa. ubiaaux. ate. pauvant itra filmaa a daa Uux da raduetion ditfaranti. Loraqua la documant aat trop grand pour itra raproduit an un aaul clicha. il aat film* t panir da I'angia aupariaur gaucha. da gaucha i droita. at da haul an baa, an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nacaaaaira. Laa diagrammaa auivant* illuatrant la mathoda. 2 3 5 6 MiaOCOfY tKMUTWN TIST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) miL^i^ ^ x^PPLIED IMHGE Inc ^^ 1653 eosl Main Street =",2 RochMtir, Nvw York 14609 USA ^^ (716) 482 - OJOO - Phone a^ (716) 288 - 5989 ~ Fax The xivirjj Ridtr and Otf^^r Poems by Bliss Carmam Th^ Rough Rider and Other Poems By thi Same Author In Versi Pipti •/ Pan Sappkt : 0„, Hundrtd Ljriti Sngifirtm Vagaitmtia CtllttUJ Pom, In Pnu Thi Making tf Ptrionality Tht Kintkip rf Nature The FrienJthip tf Art The Peetry of Ufe The Rough Rider and Other Poems h Bliss Carman /(:. NEW YORK MITCHELL KENNERLEY MCMIX ^- ^ •' K(3 Cpyright 1909 h MitMl Lnmrhy ^ To Theod$re Roosevelt CONTENTS PAGE 3 7 12 l6 20 »3 THE ANGELS OF MAN THE RODGH RIDER ..... THE SPIRIT IN ARMS .... THE PURITAN CAPTAIN A NEW ENGLAND THANKSGIVING k gold lacquer memorial day ♦ecoration day *' fr. MICHAEL'S STAR " Raster eve '' " °f 'he plowing rain When the flowers are bom anew. Then said the Lord: "Ye shall account *or the mmistry ye hold Since ye have been my sons to keep My purpose from of old How fare the realms within your sway 10 perfections still untold? " Answered each as he had the word. And a great silence fell On all the listening hosts of heaven I o hear their captains tell — With the breath of the wind, the call of a bird And the cry of a mighty bell. THE ANGELS OF MAN Then the Lord said : " The time is ripe For finishing my plan, And the accomplishment of that For which all time began. Therefore on you is laid the task Of the fashioning of man ; " In your own likeness shall he be, Tk triumph in the end. I only give him Michael's strength To guard him and defend, With Gabriel to be his guide, And Rafael his friend. " Ve shall go forth upon the earth, And make there Paradise, And be the angels of that place To make men glad and wise. With loving.kindness in their hearts. And knowledge in their eyes. " And ye shall be man's counselors That neither rest nor sleep. To cheer the lonely, lift the frail, And solace them that weep. And ever on his wandering trail Your watch-fires ye shall keep; 5 THE ANGELS OF MAN "Till in the far years he ihall find i he country of hit quest, The empire of the open truth, fne vision of the best, Forween by every mother saint With her new-born on her breast." THE ROUGH RIDER TpHERE lift the peaks of purple, * Where dip the dusty trails, Where Bieamlnn, teeming cities Lie linked b> shining rails, By shadow-haunted camp-fire, Beneath the great white dome. In saddle and in council Intrepid and at home, Who is the hardy figure Of virile fighting strain. With valor and conviction In heart, and hand, and brain ? Sprung from our old ideals To serve our later needs, He is the modern Roundhead, The man who rides and reads. No pomp of braid and feathers. No flash of burnished gear, He wears the plainsman's outfit Sufficient and severe. With no imperial chevron Upon his khaki sleeve. He thinks by no made doctrine. He speaks by no man's leave. 7 THE ROUGH RIDER The breed Md creed ,nd .choolinj Of Harvard ,nd the pl«n.. iix hundred ye.„ of fighting *or freedom in his veins, Let no one think to wheedle, i° '"'y- coerce, nor cheat, tr •"■" "''"' 'oves the open, i he man who Knows the street. He ride, not for vain glory, «e fights not for low gain But that the range of fr«;dom Unravaged shall remain. As plain as Bible language And open as the day, He challenges injustice. And bids corruption stay. Take up, who will, the challenge; Stand pat on graft and greed . • 5^'°": »'«k on others' labor, Surfeit on others' need- {^t paid and bloodless tricksters "evise a legal way Our common right and justice ' o sell, deny, delay." 8 THE ROUGH RIDER Not yesterday nor lightly We came to know that breed ; Our quarrel with that cunning li old ai Runnymede. We saw enfranchised insult Deploy in kingly line, When broke our sullen fury On Rupert of the Rhine. At Newbury and Worcester, Edgehill and Marston Moor, We got the stubborn courage To dare and to rndure. From Ireton and Cromwell We learned the sword and rein ; ' Free speech by truth made fearless, From Hampden, Pym, and Vane. A thousand years in peril. By privilege oppressed. With loss beyond requit?l. Unflinching in our quest. We sought and bought our freedom And bore it oversea; To keep it still unblighted, We rode with Grant and Lee. THE ROUGH RIDER Now, masking raid and rapine In debonair disguise, The foe we thought defeated Deludes our careless eyes, Entrenched in law and largess And the vested wrong of things, Cloaking a fouler treason Than any faithless king's. He takes our life for wages, He holds our land for rent,' He sweats our little children To swell his cent per cent; With secret grip and levy ' On every crumb we eat. He drives our sons to thieving, Our daughters to the street. He lightly sells his honor. He boldly shames our pride. And makes our cause a scLndal For the nations to deride. Socrafty, yet so craven! One whisper through the mart Can send him to his coffers With panic in his heart. 10 THE ROUGH RIDER With no such feeble rancor As envy moves to hate, No ignorant detraction Of goodly things and great. But with the wrath unbridled Of patriots betrayed, — Of workers duped by brokers. Of brothers unafraid, — Against the grim defenses Where might and murrain hide. Unswerving to the issue Loose-reined and rough we ride Full tardily, to rescue Our heritage from wrong, And stablish it on manhood, A thousand times more strong. Comes now the fearless Message, The leader, and the time For every man to muster For honor or for crime. Who would not ride beside him Into the toughest fight — For freedom, the republic, And everlasting right! II THE SPIRIT IN ARMS (an incident of 1675) 'II/'HEN the just ire of England Arose in daring might Against the perfidious Stuart, To uphold a diviner right, "Let kings learn," said her Commons, i heir duty once for all," And sent the Lord's anointed To the headsman of Whitehall. But strange are the shifts for freedom. Heavy tradition's hand, And the days of the avenger Were not long in the land. No sooner another Stuart Was safe on the throne once more, Than his father's judges were outlawed, Hunted from door to door. Two oversea for safety To wild New England fled. To haunt her forest borders. With a price upon each head. Harried from hiding to hiding. Eating their bread in haste, By many a hearth and camp-fire Their unresting trail was traced. 12 THE SPIRIT IN ARMS To-day in sleepy Hadley, In its wide, green-shaded street, They will point you out a dwelling Was the regicides' retreat. Here between ranks of homesteads Their public common was made For pasture ai pleasure, protected From Indian pillage and raid. Deep in the seeding grasses The arching elm trees stand, Under the blue of August, With peace over all the land. On such a day in summer Seasons and seasons ago. On this lovely Puritan haven Descended the stealthy foe. The people were all at worship, When a sudden fiendish yell Broke on the fast-day stiUness; They knew what it meant full well. Forth rushed the men from the meeting (Armed were they always then), To find their quiet Main Street Swarming with painted men. 13 THE SPIRIT IN ARMS Trapped, for the instant panic Unmanning the stoutest there, Drove them back to the doorway; Disaster was in the air. They saw their wives and children Given to Icnife and brand. And the blood ran back for a moment From every hardy hand. Mazed by the din and horror. Stampeded by savage war, Where was the spirit that triumphed At Naseby and Dunbar? Suddenly there before them. Taking command, was seen A thrilling resolute presence, With heroic right in his mien. At the call of that confident leader Their sickened hearts grew bold. And they thought how the Lord had smitten The Midianites of old. Then did the Puritan spirit Come back to them where they stood, And they fell on the shrieking Nipmucks And drove them back to the wood. 14 THE SPIRIT IN ARMS But when the rout was over, Ere the sweat was wiped away From the tanned and toil-worn faces In thankfulness that day, They turned to behold the stranger Who had saved them from worse than death. And the spirit in arms had vanished, He had come and gone like a breath. Had they but looked on a vision ? Or, seeing them too sore tried, Had the Lord sent His angel among them? It was Gofle the regicide. He had seen frou his place of hiding The redskins creeping down. Malignant shapes in the shadows, On the unoffending town. And quick to the call of outrage, He who could have no part In the open life of his fellows Had come to strengthen their heart. The intrepid soldier of justice Once more had unsheathed his sword To defend the rights of a people. Ere he passed to the great award. 15 THE PURITAN CAPTAIN T SAW in Newtowne lately a vision of the Spring,— •*■ The glory of New England come back with blade and wing. First came the sturdy willows, in coats of greenish grey They marched beside the river in jubilant array; And then along the roadsides where whitening orchards lean. The pomp of golden hedges, with baimerings of green ; In deepest garden corners, bringing the wildwood near, I saw the mystic trillium and the violet appear. The far-off woodlands floated a mist of greyish blue, With here and there he sanguine of maples showing through, — The careless tinge of valor, the tatters of romance, Inwoven in the habit of sober circumstance. Through Craigie Street and Brattle the lilacs brushed the eaves, Old gables stood transfigured in the miracle of leaves. And where I passed at sundown under the twilight star, Musing of those dead people w .0 made us what we are, From a colonial doorway, bi sss-knockered, prim and white. Stepped forth a valiant figure, and in the uncertain light Came down the sanded footpath with free imperious stride. His classic cloak about him, his good sword at his side, 16 THE PURITAN CAPTAIN Uncompromising purpose in every move and line, And in the clean-bred features a temper proud and fine. His belted coat was homespun, his hat was steeple- crowned ; He walked and looked about him as one who makes a round. A touch of old-world breeding both gracious and austere In habit and deportment held me as he drew near. '' Good evening. Sir," he greeted the stranger passing by, " It is a pleasant evening." " It is, indeed," said I. At once his kindly manner had put me at my ease; And as he stood there under the arch of lilac trees Smiling at my amazement, I felt a kinship rise To meet the thoughtful forehead, droll mouth, and fear- less eyes. My heart warmed of a sudden with deep ancestral fires. Here were the very features and fervor of my sires. He calmly spoke, this Pilgrim, half soldier, half divine. Beneath whose grim demeanor I knew the soul benign. " So God's eternal springtime comes back to earth once more, His messenger of beauty to each New England door. Rejoice ye in that message! I long ago but heard Stem oracles of goodness, high callings of the word. 17 THE PURITAN CAPTAIN " I did not break Charles Stuart, to let the godless rule. I did not raise up Cromwell, to tolerate the fool. And I who fronted Andros the tyrant in Cornhill And sent him back to cover, am with my people still. Long, long I fought and suffered the blight of heinous things, — The insolence of priesthoods, the arrogance of kings. Against uncurbed oppression I drove with pike and sword ; And in the cry for justice I knew my spirit's Lord. " I did not stop to quibble upon the path I chose. When came the need for freedom, in freedom's name I rose, To champion ideals that save the world to-day. Though men account me nothing, m.' strength shall be their stay. But while among my people, made strong in peace, I find Those things for which I battled, clean life and open mir.d, I miss the one fine treasure for which the heathen strove. The light of happy faces made luminous with love. " For I who fought so fiercely in my relentless youth For righteousness of conduct, have come to know this truth: Ye cannot free man's spirit and leave his senses bound, Nor leave unused in heaven the joyance of the ground. i8 THE PURITAN CAPTAIN Ye shall forego not, therefore, the magic of the spring. Nor miss one pang of rapture the pagan year can bring; But build the fairer wisdom that shall emerge at length Into immortal manhood, whose joy shall be its strength. " Strive on ; still waits perfection ; the good fight is not done, Though we have stretched our borders into the setting sun. Mistake not great possessions nor might of hand and brain For hostages of gladness; seek first the surer gain, — The lightsome heart and sweetness that to the spring be- long, The shine on dappled waters that move both deep and strong." I glanced round as he pointed to where the river shone. And when I turned to question him further, he was gone. 19 J NEW ENGLAND THANKSGIVING TT is the mellow season *■ When gold enchantment lies On stream and road and woodland, To gladden soul's surmise. The little old grey homesteads Are quiet as can be, Among their stone-fenced orchards And meadows by the sea. Here lived the men who gave us The purpose that holds fast, The dream that nerves endeavor. The gloiy that shall last. Here strong as pines in winter And free as ripening corn, Our faith in fair ideals — Our fathers' faith — was born. Here shone through simple living. With pride in word and deed, And consciences of granite, The old New England breed. With souls assayed by hardship. Illumined, self-possessed, Strongly they lived, and left us Their passion for the best. ao A NEW ENGLAND THANKSGIVING On trails that cut the sunset, Above the last divide, The vision has not vanished, The whisper has not died. From Shasta to Katahdin, Blue Hill to Smoky Ridge, Still stand the just convictions That stood at Concord Bridge. Beneath our gilded revel, Behind our ardent boast. Above our young impatience To value least and most, Sure as the swinging compass To serve at touch of need, Square to the world's four corners, Abides their fearless creed. Still fired with wonder-working, Intolerant of peers. Impetuous and sanguine After the hundred years. In likeness to our fathers, Beyond the safe-marked scope Of reason and decorum, We jest and dare and hope. 31 ^ NEH^ ENGLAND THANKSGIVINO Th«,k we the Blood th« bred ui. Clear fibre and dean «nu„_ rhe Truth which, .traightly ,ighted i-ets no one swerve again. And may almighty Goodniss Give U9 the will to be As sweet as upland pastures, And strong as wind at sea. 33 IN GOLD LACQVER /^OLD are the great tree, overhead, ^ And gold the leaf-strewn grass, As though a cloth of gold were spread To let a seraph pass. And where the pageant should go by. Meadow and wood and stream, The world is all of lacquered gold, Expectant as a dream. Against the sunset's burning gold. Etched in dark monotone Behind its alley of grey trees And gateposts of grey stone. Stands the Old Man,e, about whose eaves An air of mystery clings. Abandoned to the lonely peace Of bygone ghostly things. In molten gold the river winds With languid sweep and turn, ''•^side the red-gold wooded hill Yellowed with ash and fern. The streets are tiled ,,ith gold-green shade And arched with fretted gold, Ecstatic aisles that richly thread This minster grim and old. 33 IN GOLD LACQUER The air is flecked with filtered gold,— The shimmer of romance Whose ageless glamour still must hold The world as in a trance, Pouring o'er every time and place Light of an amber sea, The spell of all the gladsome things That have been or shall be. MEMORIAL D ' > (new ENGLAND) /^NCE more over relics of winter the willows all gold ^-^ Wave odorous plumes of enchantment, the fern- heads unfold In forgotten places, as fresh as when Pan long ago Might pass through the bird-haunted woodlands, or linger to blow On his pure keen pipe by the river. The wild cherry bough Is robed for the white celebration of memory now. Old orchards a maze of pink-white with black stems showing through, Swamp alder and hill-loving birch all betasseled anew, And ruddy wing-flowering maples, — the year is abloom, Each dooryard a heaven of lilac, each breeze a perfume. And hark to the small yellow warbler uplifting his voice, So serene, so intense, so unstifled! Who could not re- joice With the splendid oncoming of glory? Tall beech trees are crowned; Blue violets spring under foot in the magical ground ; And at twilight the frogs will fife up one by one till they fill The whole dome of dusk with their choral triumphant, to thrill 25 MEMORIAL DAY And transmute to an impulse of gladness tlie sob in each throat; As we with proud-spirited music help, too, to denote And enhance the beneficent wonder, the power of earth At her sorcery still, bringing ever new triumphs to birth For the battle-bruised soul, the supreme one, desiring nought Save that always her truest and goodliest dreams should be wrought Into loveliness out of this life-stuff. So all things alive. Birds and wmds and the sensitive flowers, persist and survive With joy unabated, with banners unstruck to the frost. To remind us no beauty can perish, no effort be lost ' No ardor diminished forever, nor purpose lack room To accomplish its utmost ideal! As all things resume The>r unfulfilled tasks of perfection, each after its need, bhall the heart cease from longing, the mind from its loftiest creed. Or the senses refuse their due service? Behold we arise From failure, mistake, and regret, putting on the fresh guise Of a use no disaster can ruin, the ultimate test When endeavor shall gain all it dreamed of the infinite best, — 26 MEMORIAL DAY The little-regarded and common made great and sublime, The eternal arrested and fashioned in space and in time. Then sound a new note on the bugles, unmuffle the drums. Sing hymns of exulting, proud thanks for the uplift that comes From the thought of our heroes, resurging like sap in the bough Through hearts sorrow-hardened and faint, but rehu- manized now By the hand-clasp and rally of loved ones for whom we in trust Hold sacred ideals bequeathed us from out of the dust Of battle fields holy. And keep we unfettered and fine The faith which sustained our strong brothers that truth the divine Shall unfurl her peace colors, triumphant as blossom and spray. Bedecking the earth with fresh gladness, and generous as they. 27 DECORATION DAY (the CAPITOL, WEST FRONT) CTAND here in the shadow of the Capitol, ^ And let your eyes range down across the city, Where marble buildings rise out of a sea Of tree-tops, and the Monument floats up All rose and lilac in the morning light, A thing of magic by the Potomac shore. Across the river on the wooded bank Where that colonial portico gleams white, Is the nation's hallowed ground, — their resting-place Who gave their lives up gladly for the truth. Each, as he deemed, a soldier of the right, Impassioned by the justice of his cause. And hark, above the car-bells and the cries, A band is playing I Troops are on the move. Far down the Avenue a column wheels To pass the pillared Treasury, on the way To honor its dead heroes sleeping there On the heights of Arlington ten thousand strong. There rests my old friend in his soldier's grave, — Old grim idealist with the tender heart, The grizzled head, grey eye, and scanty speech, 28 DECORATION DAY And hand that never faltered in the fight Through all the rough work of a long campaign. God keep you, General, with the heroes gone! In many a place through all the land to-day, Mourners will come, and with hands full of flowers Pay loving honor to the valiant dead Who gave their last breath for the cause they lo^■ed, For liberty and justice, and flinched not To pay the utmost for their noble dream. And you, O fond and unforgetful ones Who have no g-jve to tend for all your loss. No sacred spot whereat your love may kneel,' But must in silence let the proud tears spring. Keeping the lonely vigil of the heart, While the flags flutter and the dead-march plays; Behold for you the consolin^i rain shall fall In odorous assuaging woodland showers. And wild wood.flowers spring up to deck the ground Wherever early summer passes now; And in far valleys where no bugles peal Shy birds will sing their requiems for your dead. 29 DECORATIOS DAY Therefore, take courage, seeing all natural things Are not left desolate, but lovely earth Transmutes each scar and sorrow to her gain, And from the flux of time and growth renews Her seasons of indomitable joy. And breeds new beauty each reviving year. Let us too live with gladness, and become A part cf that which never can be lost. But must be inerged forever with new power, ' The urge, the aspiration, and the gleam, — All that is infinite and divine in man. The eternal rescued from mortality. Let us not doubt, but with an unvexed mind Bring truth to pass with beauty and with good. One and sufficient in the last event. The work made perfect by the loving hand, The fair ideal translated into fact; And heaven can not be far from this our world. And so we turn from memory to-day To the fresh tasks, splendid heroic toil. Triumphs of knowledge and beneficence, And victories unblemished by regret; With the untroubled confidence of strength We go to build the commonwealth of peace. 30 ST. MICHAEL'S STAR (a hymn for labo.< day) TN the pure solitude of dusk One star is set to shine Above the sundown's dying rose, A lamp before a shrine. It is the star of Michael lit In the minster of the sun, That every toiling hand may give Thanks for the day's work done. For when the almighty word went forth To bid creation be, — The glimmering star-tracks on the blue. The tide-belts on the sea, — Perfect as planned, from Michael's hand The lasting hills arose, Their bases on the poppied plain, Their peaks in bannered snows. Cedar and thorn and oak were bom; Green fiddleheads uncurled In the spring woods; gold addertongues Came forth to glad the world;— The magic of the punctual seeds. Each with its pregnant powers, As the lord Michael fashioned them To keep their days and hours. 31 ST. MICHAEL'S STJR Frail fins to ride the monstrous tide, Soft wings to poise and gleam, He formed the pageant tribe by tribe As vivid as a dream. And still must his beneficence Renew, create, sustain. The sorcery of the wind and sun, The alchemy of the rain. Teeming with God, the kindly sod Yearns through the summer days With the mute eloquence of flowers. Its only means of praise. At dusk and dawn the tranquil hills Throb to the song of birds, And all the dim blue silence thrills To transport not of words. For earth must breed to spirit's need, Clay to the finer clay, That soul through sense find recompense And rapture on her way. And man, from dust and dreaming wrought, To all things must impart The trend and likeness of his thought. The passion of his heart. 33 ST. MICHAEL'S STAR The love and lore he shall acquire To word and deed must dare; Resemblances of God his sire His voice and mien must bear. His children's children shall portray The skill which he bestows On living; and what life must mean His craftsman's instinct knows. Line upon line and tone by tone, The visioned form he gives To sound and color, wood and stone, Takes loveliness and lives. He sees his project's soaring hope Grow substance, and expand To measure a diviner scope Beneath his patient hand. To pencil, brush, and burnisher His wizardry he lends. And to the care of lathe and loom His secret he commends. In hues and forms and cadences New beauty he instills, A brother by the right of craft To Michael of the hills. 33 EASTER EVE JF I should tell you I «w Pan lately down by the shallows of Silvermine, Blowing an air on hi, pipe of wilhw. just as the moon began to shine; Or say that, coming from town on Wednesday, I met Christ walking in Ponus Street- ^ou might remark, "Our friend is flighty! Visions, for want of enough red meat ! " Then let me ask you. Last December, when there was skatmg on Wampanaw, Among the weeds and sticks . ri grasses under the hard black ice I saw An old mud-turtle poking about, as if he were putting his house to rights. Stiff with the cold perhaps, yet knowing enough to pre- pare for the winter nights. And here he is on . log this morning, sunning himself as calm as you please. But I want to know, when -he lock of winter was sprung of a sudden, who kept the keys? Who told old nibbler to go to sleep safe and sound v..>h the lily roots, And then in the first warm days of April-out to the sun with the greening shoots? 34 EASTER EVE By night a flock of geese neiit over, honking north on the trails of air, The spring express — but who despatched it, equipped with speed and cunning care? Hark to our bluebird down in the orchard trolling his chant of the happy heart. As full of light as a theme of Mozart's— but where did he learn that more than art? Where the river winds through grassy meadows, as sure as the south wind brings the rain. Sounding his reedy note in the alders, the starling comes back to his nest again. Art these not miracles? Prompt you answer: " Mrrely the prose of natural fact; Nothing but instinct plain and patent, born in the crea- tures, that bids them act." Well, I have an instinct as fine and valid, surely, as tliat of the beasts and birds. Concerning death and the life immortal, too deep for logic, too vague for words. No trace of beauty can pass or perish, but other beauty is somewhere born; No seed of truth or good be planted, but the yield must grow as the growing corn. 35 EASTER EVE Therefore thi, ardent m,nd and spirit I give to the glow- ing days of earth, To be vvrouKlu hy ,1„ ,,o,d „, ,;,, ,„ ^^ ing import and lovely worth If the toil I Kive be without self-seeLing, bestowed to the limit of will and power To fashion after son,e form ideal the instant task and the waiting hour, It matters not though defeat undo me, thoush faults he- tray me and sorrows scar Already I share the life eternal ;ith the April bud, and the evening star. Our minister here, entrenched in doctrine, may know no doubt upon Easter Eve And when it comes to the crucial question. Doctor, vou skeptic, you too believe! 36 RESURG^M T (), now comes the April pageant ■*-' And the Easter of the year. Now the tulip lifts her chalice, And the hyacinth his spear; All the daffodils and jonquils \Vith their hearts of gold are here. Child of the immortal vision, What hast thou to do with fear ? When the summons wakes the impulse, And the blood beats in the vein, Let no grief thy dream encumber. No regret thy thought detain. Through the scented bloom-hung valleys, Over tillage, wood and plain. Comes the soothing south wind laden With the sweet imnsirtial rain. All along th'- ruoia umi pavements Pass the volleying silver showers, To unfold the hearts of humans And the frail unanxious flowers. Breeding fast in sunlit places. Teeming life puts forth her powers. And the migrant wings come north«'ard On the trail of golden hours. 37 RESURGAM Over intervale and upland Sounds the robin's interlude From his tree-top spire at evening Where no unbeliefs intrude. Every follower of beauty Finds in the spring solitude Sanctuary and persuasion Where the mysteries still brood. Now the bluebird in the orchard, A warm sighing at the door, And the soft haze on the hillside, Lure the houseling to explore The perennial enchanted Lovely world and all its lore; While the early tender twilight Breathes of those who come no more. By full brimming river margins Where the scents of brush fires blow, Through the faint green mist of springtime Dreammg glad-eyed lovers go, Touched with such immortal madness Not a thing they care to know More than those who caught life's secret Countless centuries ago. 38 RESURGAM In old Egypt lor Osiris, Putting on the green attire, With soft hymns and choric dancing They went forth to greet the fire Of the vernal sun, whose ardor His earth children could inspire ; And the ivory flutes would lead them To the slake of their desire. In remembrance of Adonis Did the Dorian maidens sing Linus songs of joy and sorrow For the coming back of spring,— Sorrow for the wintry death Of each irrevocable thing, Joy for all the pangs of beauty The returning year could bring. Now the priests and holy women With sweet incense, chant and prayer. Keep His death and resurrection Whose new love bade all men share Immortality of kindness. Living to make life more fair. Wakened to such wealth of being. Who would not arise and dare? 39 RESURGAM Seeing liow each new fuliiUment Issues at the call of need From infinitudes of purpose In the core of soul and seed, Who shall set the bounds of puissance Or the formulas of creed ? Truth awaits the test of beauty, Good is proven in the deed. Therefore, give thy spring renascence, — Freshened ardor, dreams and mirth, — To make perfect and replenish All the sorry fault and dearth Of the life from whose enrichment Thine aspiring will had birth ; Take thy part in the redemption Of thy kind from bonds of earth. So shalt thou, absorbed in beauty, Even in this mortal clime Share the life that is eternal, Brother to the lords of time, — Virgil, Raphael, Gautama,— Builders of the world sublime. Yesterday was not earth's evening. Every morning is our prime. 40 RESURGAM All that can be worth the rescue From oblivion and decay, — Joy and loveliness and wisdom, — In thyself, without dismay Thou shah save and make enduring Through each word and act, to sway The hereafter to a likeness Of thyself in other clay. Still remains the peradventure. Soul pursues an orbit here Like those unreturning comets. Sweeping on a vast career. By an infinite directrix, Focussed to a finite sphere, — Nurtured in an earthly April, In what realm to reappear? 41 ^T THE MAKING OF MAN TTIRST all the host of Raphael -* In liveries of gold. Lifted the chorus on whose rhythm The spinning spheres are rolled, — The Seraphs of the morning calm IVhose hearts are never cold. He shall be lu-n a spirit, Part of the sc '. that yearns, The core of vital gladness That suffers and discerns, The stir that breaks the budding sheath When the green spring returns, — The gist of power and patience Hid in the plasmic clay, The calm behind the senses, The passionate essay To make his wise and lovely dream Immortal on a day. The soft Aprilian ardors That warm the waiting loam Shall whisper in his pulses To bid him overcome, And he shall learn the wonder-cry Beneath the azure dome. JT THE MAKING OF MAN And though all-dying nature Should teach him to deplore, The naddy fires of autumn Shall lure him but the more To pass from joy to stronger joy, As through an open door. He shall have hope and honor, Proud trust and courage stark. To hold him to his purpose Through the unlighted dark. And love that sees the moon's full orb In the first silver arc. And he shall live by kindness And the heart's certitude, AVhich moves without misgiving In vifays not understood. Sure only of the vast event, — The large and simple good. Then Gabriel's host in silver gear And vesture twilight blue. The spirits of immortal mind. The warders of the true, Took up the theme that gives the world Significance anew. 43 ^T THE MAKING OF MAN He shall be born to reason, And have the primal need To understand and follow Wherever truth may lead,— To grow in wisdom like a tree Unfolding from a seed. A watcher by the sheepfolds, With wonder in his eyes, He shall behold the seasons, And mark the planets rise, Till all the marching firmament Shall rouse his vast surmise. Beyond the sweep of vision. Or utmost reach of sound, This cunning fire-maker. This tiller of the ground. Shall learn the secrets of the suns And fathom the profound. For he must prove all being Sane, beauteous, benign. And at the heart of nature Discover the divine, — Himself the type and symbol Of the eternal trine. 44 AT THE MAKING OF MAN He shall perceive the kindling Of knowledge, far and dim, As of the fire that brightens Below the dark sea-rim, When ray by ray the splendid sun Floats to the world's wide brim. And out of primal instinct, The lore of lair and den, He shall emerge to question How, wherefore, whence, and when. Till the last frontier of the truth Shall lie within his ken. Then Michael's scarlet-suited host Took up the word and sang; As though a trumpet had been loosed In heaven, the arches rang; For these were they who feel the thrill Of beauty like a pang. He shall be framed and balanced For loveliness and power. Lithe as the supple creatures, And colored as a flower, Sustaine'' '^v the all-feeding earth. Nurtured by wind and shower, 45 AT THE MAKING OF MAN To stand within the vortex Where surging forces play, A poised and pliant figure Immutable as they, Till time and space and energy Surrender to his sway. He shall be free to journey Over the teeming earth, An insatiable seeker, A wanderer from his birth. Clothed in the fragile veil of sense, With fortitude for girth. His hands shall have dominion Of all created things. To fashion in the likeness Of his imaginings, To make his will and thought survive Unto a thousand springs. The world shall be his province, The princedom of his skill; The tides shall wear his harness. The winds obey his will; Till neither flood, nor fire, nor frost. Shall work to do him ill. 46 AT THE MAKING OF MAN A creature fit to carry The pure creative fire, Whatever truth inform him, Whatever good inspire. He shall make lovely in all things To the end of his desire. 47 ON PONUS RIDGE I "^ARD the voice of our mother planet murmur to- day as the south wind blew Over the old Connecticut granite, up from the Sound and the rainy blue. "What i, your comment, wandering brother," said ronus Ridge to the striding rain Not on the new word. Lore o« another, but the !/ ""'■'"er text, Ye shall rise again f " ""^'/hou found out truth at the core of being, in thy long wandering to and fro? Dost thou know what lurks beyond foreseeing in the ,1 , endless rhythm of ebb and flow?" Much have I heard," said Rain, %f the babel and heated haste of the lordling Man, Telling the wind his gorgeous fable; but who shall hurry or check the plan? " I take small heed of the tales he mutters," the glitter- ing copious rain ran on; " My music drowns the words he utters; I make my bed where his town-lights shone. j ^ hear the drone of his church and college, humming I like hives from roof to f ir j With direful chant and delirious knowledge, as I pass ; foot-free by their open door. 48 ON PONUS RIDGE " ' ''•^^.'""d the vaunts of Ins daring drcamm the thmg, foretold by hi, son, of might glow and fade in the arctic night. "'^Calr:hrpi:;— ---.-P- "X"a;aX^f^r"^-•-'^•^--- "The earth is my house, the spring my portal; I serve without envy, debate or fear hough I pass in mist, am I less immortal than the great- 7"8 ge™ or the glowing sphere? """timrha"; r "' ' ^° '° *•"= --■ '- ^^ousand times have I risen again '■ ^ the welter and lift of eternity, to solace thy wait- ing not in vain. ^ "" lake and orchard, by wood and field; My silver voice with a sob delivers the message fore- telling a goodly yield. ' '"'sll.t'dTh' '\ 'Z "■". '"^ ^^^'"'"^ "«-'- I have sluiced the ache of thy breeding fire; have penshed in transport and died with zest, to fill tne measure of thy desire. 49 ON PONUS RIDGE " Thr *Kd» of life are of my sowing, the virile impulse. the fertile gush, ITie gist and start of all things 'growing; but thint i- the warmth and the pregnant hush. The stir of joy is of my giving; a hint of perfection fnr and fine I speak as I pass to all things living ; hui the patient wis- dom and lore are thine." Then the mother giM.iite, grey, eternal, scarred, to the careless eye uncouth, Spoke in a ];• . ,iiage pure and vernal, solemn as beauty and sweet as truth. In the voice of the Ridge in her April season, through the babble of streams and the calls of birds, Under the rune I caught the reason, out of the murmur I made the words. "Nay, my comrade, I too must pass; though my fleet- ing hours be ages long, I abide in the end no more than the grass, than a putt of smoke or a strain of song. If I give myself to the moment's rapture of lilt and leafage, shall I repine That the joy I bestow escapes recapture, spent for the beauty of branch and vine? SO ON PONUS RIDGE " Strong, unhurrying, unbdated, part of the dow sidereal urge, Patient and sure at heart I xvaited for life to throb and its form* emerge. While cosmic sons dawned and darkened, and mon- strous d.-ift and blast went by. In my slow gestation I lay and barkened for soul to question and sense to cry. " I am the ardent and ageless mothei of all things human, all things divine. The ravaging snows may whirl and smother, the large cold moon of November shine, But safe in my soil the germs are sleeping that shall awake when the time is come. To prove the beneficence of my keeping, and don the glory of fragrant bloom. " See my youi.g willows in sunlight lifting their silver lances against the blue. And here where the matted leaves are rifting, the hoods of the Mood-root breaking through. Soon in the sheltered sun-warmed places, out of my an- cient enchanted mould. Frail spring-beauties will lift their faces, and adder- tongues put forth their gold. 51 ON PONUS RIDGE " Hark to my minstrel, beyond the boulders down in the swamp, — on time, no fear! — In his sable coat with scarlet shoulders, with his husky flute that is good to hear. And hark again, in the long Aprilian dusk on the marsh to my piper's cry. To-night but one, to-morrow a million will lift my heart on their chorus high. "Now Sirius low in the west is leaning, Arcturus lifts on the eastern rim, — The poise, the order, the mighty meaning, creating beauty from brim to brim. Under the dust of seed and planet, the river music, the starry light. Am I in the midst, immortal granite, merging my strength with the soul of night. " At •norn I fliall see from my stream-bed narrow the wild geese flapping with honk and plash. To steady and drive thsir Indian arrow north-by-east for the Allegash. And then the high clear note of gladness, the rallying call of the golden-wing. The solace of grief, the shame of sadness, the goodly far- sent summons of spring. 5a ON PONUS RIDGE " Here all day long I shall lie and ponder the teeming life whereon I brood, While the buds unfold, the low clouds wander, and all things flow to rhythm and mood. And seeing all form but the trace of motion, all beauty the vestige of joy mgde plain, Shall I stint my care and my devotion, to vex me with counting the once or afain? " I take no measure, I keep no tally, of the budding spray and the le-'^ng bough, \'et not a blossom in all the valley but is the pride of my patience now. In the hardwood groves where the sun lies mellow, the purple hepaticas take the air. 1 help the catkins to break and yellow; the greening spring-runs are in my care. " I loosen the sheaths of the bladed rushes, I lift the sap in the spiral cells. Till the first soft tinge through the woodland flushes, and the crimson bud of the maple swells. I nurse them to beauty hour by hour. And there by the road in its grove of pine. The little bare school with its dreams of power and joy of knowledge, — that, too, is mine!" S3 THE MJN OF PEACE (FEBRUARY I2TH, I9O9) TX/HAT winter holiday is this? ' » In Time's great calendar, Marked in the rubric of the saints, And with a soldier's star. Here stands the name of one who lived To serve the common weal, With humor tender as a prayer And honor firm as steel. No hundred hundred years can dim The radiance of his mirth. That set unselfish laughter free From all the sons of earth. Unswerved through stress and scant success. Out of his dreamful youth He kept an unperverted faith In the almighty truth. Bom in the fulness of the days. Up from the teeming soil. By the world-mother reared and schooled In reverence and toil. He stands the test of all life's best Through play, defeat, or strain; Never a moment was he found Unlovable nor vain. S4 THE MAN OF PEACE Fondly we set apart this day, And mark this plot of earth To be forever hallowed ground In honor of his birth, Where men may come as to a shrine And temple of the good. To be made sweet and strong of heart In Lincoln's brotherhood. Here walked God's earth in modesty The shadow that was man, A shade of the divine that moved Through His mysterious plan. So must we fill the larger mould Of wisdom, love, and power. Fearless, compassionate, contained, And masters of the hour, As men found faithful to a task Eternal, pressing, plain, Accounting manhood more than wealth, And gladness more than gain; Distilling happiness from life, As vigor from the air. Not wresting it with ruthless hands. Spoiling our brother's share. 55 J! THE MAN OF PEACE Here shall our children keep alive The passion for the right, — The cause of justice in the world, That was our fathers' fight. For this the fair-haired stripling rode, The dauntless veteran died, For this we keep the ancient code In stubbornness and pride. O South, bring all your chivalry; And West, give all your heart ; And East, your old untarnished dreams Of progress and of artl Bid waste and war to be no more, Bid wanton riot cease; At your command give Lincoln's land To Paradise, — to peace. %\ 56 CHAMPLAIN (read at BURLINGTON, VERMONT, JULY, I9O9) ^T 7HEN the sweet Summer days ' * Come to New England, and the south wind plays Over the forests, and the tall lulip trees Lift up their chalices Of delicate orange green Against the blue serene; When the chestnut crowns are full of flowers, And the long iiours Are not too long For the oriole's song; When the wild roses blow In blueberry pastures, and the Bobwhite's note Calls us away On the happy trail where every heart must go; When the white clouds float Through an ampler day, Above the battlements of the Mountains Green, Where the woods come down to the fields on every hand, And the meadow-land Breaks into ripples and swells With the gold of the black-eyed daisies and lily-bells; When the old sea lies mystical blue once more Along the Pilgrim shore. Crooning to stone-fenced pastures sweet with fern Tales of the long ago and the far away; 57 CHAMPLAIN And when to the hemlock solitudes return The gold-voiced thrushes, and the high beach woods Ring with enchantment as the twilight falls Among the darkening hills; And the new moonlight fills The world with beauty and the soul with peace And infinite release; Is there any land that history recalls, Bestowed by gods on mortals anywhere. More goodly than New England or more fair? On such a day three hundred years ago By toilsome trails and slow, j , But with the adventurer's spirit high aflame. The great discoverer came. Finding another Indies than he guessed To reward his daring quest. And fill the wonder-volume of Romance, The sailor of little Brouage, the founder of New France, Sturdy, sagacious, plain Samuel de Champlain. \s\ On many a river and stream The paddles of his Abenakis dip and gleam; Their slim canoe-poles set and flash in the sun. Where strong white waters run; 58 l\ CHAMPLAIN By many a portage, many a wooded shore, They press on to explore The unknown that leads them ever to the west- And when at dusk their camp is made Within the dense still shade. The white shafts of the moonlight creep About them while they sleep On the earth's fragrant and untroubled breast. Then on a day upon some marble rise They stand in mute surmise, And wonder, as they gaze On the green wilderness in summer haze. At a new paradise Unrolled before their eyes. What did he seek. This hardy voyager with the steady hand. And the sunburnt cheek ? Passage to India and the fabled land So longed for and foretold. Where rivers ran with gold, — Man's fond far hope of unlaborious ease, Miraculous wealth and benefits unearned. For which he vainly yearned. 59 CHAMPLAIV hff 1^ j"" He found here no such place, But in this new world again was face to face With life's familiar laws and orders old, Still to be followed, if we would fill the mould Of our ideal, — a manhood that is free With the soul's large and happy liberty. As if God said to Man, " Try once again my plan. Here is a continent all new, Take it and see once more what thou canst do. The happiness which thy stormy heart desires My will foresees, requires. On the long road that lies Across the centuries To my perfection dimly understood, Seek thou the almighty good, The everlasting beautiful and true." Men of New England, sons of pioneers, And in your birthright peers Of the world's masters, this is holy soil, The divine ancestral dust from which we come. Bringing our dream of justice, the high thot ■ t Of a pure freedom for which our mothers wrought In dreamful pride. And our fathers lived and died With unselfish toil. 60 CHJMPUIN Even u they willed, We too must toil to build The ideal state, Which shall be strong without brutality, And by its fine humanity be great. This is no fairyland. No Eldorado planned For mtm's salvation. The law runs forth and back, Immutable as the sun on his sidereal track, Beneficent as the trees. And as the noon profound: Only with labor comes ease. Only with wisdom comes joy, And greatness comes not without love. This is God's garden ground. And we are the tillers thereof. And the crop shall be women and men, As ever of old, — Not a pale city breed. Bred between hunger and greed, But a new cosmic race, With the poise of the world in its mien, The ineffable soul in its face. Remembering the best that has been, And its password, " The best that can be ! " 6i If CHAMPLAIN No Mnopotamian valley, nor Eden age, No long ago, nor by-and-by, Is the place, is the time. For the birth of the sublime From the lovely and the sane. But the time is now, and the place is here, For life divine. In July of the year Nineteen hundred and nine. In the Country of Champlain. I' 62 THE GOLDEN ffEST TV thf golden dawn of the world, When man emerged From the mysterious E«»t, With the breath of life in his mouth, And the tell-tale trace Of the red clay still on his face. He turned with inquisitive gaze, A child of the light, To follow the track of the sun Through the void far blue. Seeing it sink to rest In a glorious golden West. Then an unassuageable urge Awoke in his blood, The brooding spirit of Earth Whispered a word in his heart, And man went forth on the trail. Knowing he should not fail. II And the slow centuries Measured his toilsome march, While ever his face was set 63 THE GOLDEN h^EST To lands that lie beyond The going down of the sun, Where endeavor's requital is won. From Egypt and P-eece and Tyre, From Assyria anc* i^ome, With color and po^np and joy, Laughter and chants and war. Moved the great caravan Of wandering man. Uy Conquering mountain and i>;a, Spreading through forest and plain, Crossing the outer flood, — The rim of the ancient world, — He passed over new domain Like the hosts of sweeping rain. I : Traversing prairie and wood. Waterway, desert, and range. At last by the ultimate shore Of the ageless sea, His pack-trains come to rest In our golden West. THE GOLDEN ffEST III Here have the most high Onet, The Overlords of the world, The Archangels of man, Brought their earth children at last, To the happy land prepared For those who have labored and dared. O men and women born Of the teeming and holy earth, And led through the myriad years By the impulse and vision divine, Behold now what shall be done With the heritage we have won ? Here with an empire to use, Wealth beyond Solomon's dream, And the balm and respite of peace, In a garden of the world, What is the news or the plan Of Twentieth Century man? IV I heard the Sierras reply. Rank after rank as they rose Through the golden and violet light, 65 , 1 : i 1 = THE GOLDEN WEST " The destined days are at hand. When my children shall arise And assume the heroic guise " From the beginning designed For the seraphs, and sons of earth. They shall put off envy and fear, And skulking merciless greed. And be girded against all ills With the vigor and poise of the hills. \iu " Here on this border of time Where mighty morrows are born. Emerging from ages of dream And the dust of unreason and strife, They shall grow wise and humane With a gladness virile and sane. " Primal in beauty and pride. Christian in kindness and calm. Modem in knowledge and skill. Sons of the morning, arise Earth's awaited and best— From the golden West!" (K) I 1T( THE GATE OF PEACE A H, who will build the city of our dream, 1 X. Where beauty shall abound and truth avail, With patient love that is too wise for strife, Blci^ding in power as gentle as the rain With the reviving earth on full spring days? Who now will speed us to its gate of peace. And reassure us on our doubtful road? Three centuries ago a fearless man. Yearning to set his people in the way, Threw all his royal might into a plan To found an ideal city that should give Freedom to every instinct for the best. From humblest impulse in his own domain To rumored wisdom from the world's far ends. Strengthened with ardor from a high resolve, Beneath the patient smile of Indian skies This fair dream flourished for a score of years. Until the blight of evil touched its bloom With fading, and transformed its vivid life Into a ghost-flower of its fair design. Now ruined nursery tower and gay boudoir, A sad custodian of sacred tombs. And scattered feathers from the purple wings Of doves who reign in undisputed calm Over this Eden of hope and fair essay, Recall the valor of this ancient quest. 67 THE GATE OF PEACE \,Ss Great Akbar, — grandfather of Shah Jehan, The artist Emperor of India Who built the Taj for love of one held dear Beyond all other women in the world, And left that loveliest memorial, The most supreme of wonders wrought by man, To move for very joy all hearts to tears Beholding how great beauty springs from love, — Akbar the wisest ruler over Ind, Grandson of Babar in whose veins were mixed The blood of Tamerlane and Chinghiz Khan, Who beat the Afghans and the Rajputs down At Paniput and Buxar in Bengal, Making himself the lord of Hindustan, And with his restless Tartars founded there The Mogul empire with its Moslem faith. Its joyousness, enlightenment, and art, — Akbar of all the sovereigns of the East Is still most deeply loved and gladly praised. For he who conquered with so strong a hand Cahul, Kashmir, and Kandahar, and Sind, Oudh and Orissa, Chitor and Ajmir, With all their wealth to weld them into one, T upholding justice with his sovereignty Throughout his borders and imposing peace. Was first and last a seeker after truth. 68 THE GATE OF PEACE No craven unlaborious truce he sought, But that great peace which only comes with light, Emerging after chaos has been quelled In some long struggle of enduring will, To be a proof of order and of law, Which cannot rest on falsehood nor on wrong, But spreads like generous sunshine on the earth When goodness has been gained and truth made At whatsoe'er incalculable cost. Returning once with his victorious arms And war-worn companies on the homeward march To Agra and his court's magnificence. From a campaign against some turbulent folk, He came at evening to a quiet place Near Sikri by the roadside through the woods. Where there were many doves among the trees. There Salim Chisti a holy man had made His lonely dwelling in the wilderness, Seeking perfection. And the solitude Was sweet to Akbar, and he halted there And went to Salim in his lodge and said, " O man and brother, thy long days are spent In meditation, seeking for the path 69 THE GATE OF PEACE Through this great world's impediments to peace, Here in the twilight with the holy stars Or when the rose of morning breaks in gold ; Tell me, I pray, whence comes the gift of peace With all its blessings for a people's need. And how may true tranquillity be found On which man's restless spirit longs to rest?" ) And Salim answered, " Lord, most readily I In Allah's out-of-doors, for there men live More truly, being free from false constraint, Mt', ^O"" learning wisdom with a calmer mind. For they who would find peace must conquer fear And ignorance and greed, — the ravagers Of spirit, mind, and sense,— and learn to live Content beneath the shade of Allah's hand. Who worships not his own will shall find peace." |( Then Akbar answered, " I have set my heart On making beauty, truth, and justice shine As the ordered stars above the darkened earth. I Are not these also things to be desired, And striven for with no uncertain toil ? And save through them whence comes the gift of peace? 70 In i ! THE GATE OF PEACE Then Salim smiled, and with his finger drew In the soft dust before his door, and said O king, thy words are true, thy heart most wise 1 hou also Shalt find peace, as Allah wills Through following bravely what to thee seems best When any question, ' What is peace? ' reply, " The shelter of the Gate of Paradise The shadow of the archway, not the arch W.thm whose shade at need the poor may rest, rhe weary be refreshed, the weak secure, And all men pause to gladden as they go.' " And Akbar pondered Salim Chisti's words. Then tummg to his ministers, he said "Here will I build my capital, and here ITie world shall come unto a council hall, And in a place of peace pursue the quest Of wisdom and the finding out of truth, That there be no more discord upon earth. But only knowledge, beauty, and good will." And It was done according to Akbar's word Ihere m the wilderness as by magic rose Futtehpur Sikri, the victorious city, Of marble and red sandstone among the trees, 71 THE GATE OF PEACE A rose unfolding in the kindling dawn. Palace and mosque and garden and serai, Bazaars and baths and spacious pleasure grounds, By favor of Allah to perfection sprang. ll Thus Akbar \/rought to make his dream come true. From the four corners of the world he brought His master workmen, from Iran and Ind, From wild Mongolia and the Arabian wastes; Masons from Baghdad, Delhi, and Multan; Dome builders from the North, from Samarkand ; Cunning mosaic workers from Kanauj ; And carvers of inscriptions from Shiraz; And they all labored with endearing skill, Each at his handicraft, to make beauty be. When the first ax-blade on the timber rang, The timid doves, as if foreboding ill. Had fled from Sikri and its quiet groves. But as he promised, Akbar sent and bade The wise men of all nations to his court, Brahman and Christian, Buddhist and Parsee, Jain and stif? Mohammedan and Jew, All followers of the One with many names, Bringing the ghostly wisdom of the earth. 72 THE GATE OF PEACE And so they came of every hue and c™d From the twelve winds of heaven their caravans Drew mto S.kri as Akbar summoned them, lo spend long afternoons in counci! grave Siftmg tradition for the seed of truth ' In the great mosque in Futtehpur at peace. And Saiim Chisti lived his holy life Beloved and honored there as Akbar's friend. But light and changeable are the hearts of men boon m that city dedicate to peace Dissensions spread and rivalries grew rife Envy and bitterness and strife returned Once more, and truth before them fled away. Then Salim Chisti, coming to Akbar spoke, Lord, g,ve thy servant leave now to depart And follow where the fluttered wings have gone. For here there is no longer any peace And truth cannot prevail ^vhere discord dwells." ■'Nay then," said Akbar, " 'tis not thou but 1 Who am the servant here and must go hence. 1 found thee master of this solitude, Lord of the princedom of a quiet m'ind, A sovereign vested in tranquillity And I have done thee wrong and stayed thy feet from foIloHmg perfection, with my horde 73 U THE GATE OF PEACE Of turbulent malcontents; and my loved dream To build a city of abiding peace Was but a vain illusion. Therefore now This foolish people shall be driven forth From this fair place, to live ■ they may choose In disputance and wrangli il longer still, Until they learn, if Allah w.lls it so, To lay aside their folly for the truth." And as the king commanded, so it was. More quickly than he came, with all his court And hosts of followers he went away. Leaving the place to solitude once more, — A rose to wither where it once had blown. To-day the all-kind unpoUutel sun Shines through the marble fret-work with no sound; The winds play hide and seek through corridors Where stately women with dark glowing eyes Have laughed and frolicked in their fluttering robes; The rose leaves drop with none to gather them. In gardens where no footfall comes with eve, Nor any lovers watch the rising moon ; And ancient silence, truer than all speech. Still holds the secrets of the Council Hall, Upon whose walls frescoes of many faiths Attest the courtesy of open minds. 74 THE GATE OF PEACE Before the last camp-follower was gone, The doves returned and took up their abode In the main gate of those deserted walls. And in their custody this " Gate of Peace " Bears still the grandeur of its origin, Firing anew the wistful hearts of men To brave endeavor with replenisiied hope, Though since that time three hundred years ago, The magic hush of those forsaken streets And empty courtyards has been undisturbed Save by the gentle whirring of grey wings, With cooing murmurs uttered all day long, And reverent tread of those from near and far, Who still pursue the immemorial quest. n E' f.; THE TIVELFTH NIGHT STAR TT is the bitter time of year *■ When iron is the ground, With hasp and sheathing of black ice The forest laices are bound, The world lies snugly under snow, Asleep without a sound. All the night long in trooping squares The sentry stars go by, The silent and unwearying hosts That bear man company. And with their pure enkindling fires Keep vigils lone and high. Through the dead hours before the dawn. When the frost snaps the sill. From chestnut-wooded ridge to sea The earth lies dark and still. Till one great silver planet shines Above the eastern hill. It is the star of Gabriel, The herald of the Wore In days when messengers of Gud With sons of men conferred. Who brought the tidings of great joy The watching shepherds heard ; 76 THE TIVELFTH MGHT STAR The mystic light that moved to lead The wise of long ago, Out of the great East where they dreamed Of truths they could not know, To seek some good that should assuage The world's most ancient woe. O well, believe, they loved their dream, Those children of the star. Who saw the light and followed it. Prophetical, afar, — Brave Caspar, clear-eyed Melchior, And eager Balthasar. Another year slips to the void. And still with omen bright Above the sleeping doubting world The day-star is alight, — The waking signal flashed of old In the blue Syrian night. But who are now as wise as they Whose faith could read the sign Of the three gifts that shall suffice To honor the divine, And show the trend of common life Ineffably benign? 77 THE TWELFTH NIGHT STAR Whoever wakent on a day Happy to know and be, To enjoy the air, to love hit kind, To labor, to be free, — Already his enraptured muI Lives in eternity. For him with every rising sun The year begins anew; The fertile earth receives her lord. And prophecy comes true, Wondrously as a fall of snow. Dear as a drench of dew. Who gives his life for beauty's need. King Caspar could no more; Who serves the truth with single ' -'nd Shall stand with Melchior; And love is all that Balthasar In crested censer bore. 78