IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4 /. {./ .c :/. u. 1.0 I.I 1.25 IIM IIM m 1^ 2.5 2.0 U III 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4503 rtV ^v ^9> v <,1>^ :\ \ ^ ^ <^ o^ ^t. Johns, P.Q : NEWS PRINTING AND PUBLISHING HOUSE. 1883. PS i4-g I 69765 tli. J POEMS. BLACK HAWK ; A LEGEND OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. A boy was coming back from the mill As the sun was dipping down to the west, And the old horse under him toiled up the hill With weary step to the pinnacle's crest ; A gaunt bkck horse, tamed down by years. With roughened coat and with drooping ears, A broken-down hack, though the fire in his eye Gleamed yet at the thought of the days gone by ; The days gone by when the loud acclaim Of the shouting crowds hailed the Black Hawk's name, And never a horse in the State could beat The time that was marked bv the racer's feet — The pet of the children 'low, but then The boast and the pride of bearded men. The two had reached tlie brow of the hill That went sheer down, like a wall, on the right A full two hundred feet into night, And the brawling o'er rocks of an UYiseen rill, And passing along, the boy caught sight Of a strange sweet flower all blooming alone A little way down on the face of the stone, Just within reach, he thought, and stayed BI.AOK HAWK. The horse, and leaping down lightly, said : ** Stand steady, old horse," then went to the ^'erge Of the steep descent, where far beneath The unseen stream was singing a dirge, And the pines on its banks seemed holding their breath While weaving their needles into a wreath For the brows of the hungry watcher, Death. He bent to clutch the flower, and then Earth reeled before him, and down he fell TiU the very jaws of Death and Hell Gaped for him, and again and again Tlie mountain echoes took up the cry Wrung from his mortal agony ; But half way down grew a little bush That checked him awhile in his deadly rush, And he clung, to it as a drowning man clings To whatever he clutches, while round him rings Ii\ his ears a voice from earth and fiom air, Speaking despair. No one was nigh ; but the old horse heard. And with all the sluggish life-blood stirred, Step by step to the perilous brink. With ears pricked forward, and feet that shrink, He pressed, till his nostrils grew all a-fire With his master's danger, his own desire. And he wheeled, as the clouds in the whirlwind wheel. And the stones at the dint of his thimdering heel Were all aflame As the racer came At the full free stretch of the horse's speed . To ask for aid for his master's need. Gone were the years of the old horse, gone The stiffened muscles, the shortened breath. And he lived in the days of liis youth, as on The black racer raced with the white horse. Death ; Tlie gaunt old muscles stood out like ropes Of a vessel when winds are blowing free, And the breath came short and quick, like the hopes Of those who are chased by the roaring sea. BLACK HAWK. And under the dint Of his armed heel Flint after flint Answered steel after steel ; Stride after stride was left behind, As the dust is swallowed up by the wind, In the speed of the weH-iemembered rush — While Death was toilin^^ away at the bush, And the bush was giv'ng slowly. Above its roocs the clay Cracked, ani dropped away A handful here, a morsel there — Slowly but surely came despair To him who was hanging in middle air. The great pines vanished in misty shades. The valleys swirled into shadowy glades, The mountain steeps were billowy deeps That he tore over, plunged beneath, rose on again. Till there lay before him the cloudy plain That led, long-stretched, to his home. Oh waiting home, oh fireside Hght, What message shall reach you at dead of night, When the black and the white horses come ? That night, as a man was shutting the gate, There daited past him a cloudy fate With a whirl and a rush of resistless might, And breathing from eyes and nostrils a light That seemed like a gleam Of fiery steam, And he heard the thunder of flying feet. Swift and fleet. Meet and beat. Advance and retreat On the echoing street As a meteor rushes through moonless skies ; Before it a fiery vapor flies. And the earth replies To the noise of its fall, while behind it lies Darkness and silence that tremble still Over black valley and blacker hill — But the bush was giving slowly. « BLACK HAWK. . I On, in the race for life or death ! Never, old racer, was such a prize Held out before thine eager eyes In the pride of thy youth, when the lungs were strong And the muscles firm as thou sped'st along With heaving flanks and with labored breath, At the will of a jockey : now thou art free, No weight on thy saddle, no curb on thy rein ; No bit in thy mouth, and befr^re thee the plain ; Yet age and work can wear out the best. And thou, black racer, should'st surely have rest. A rest, old racer, a rest for thee When the winning post is the bush, in thy mind. And thou knowest the White Horse close behind. While the roots are giving slowly ! The fence was high, and the farm-yard gate Was closed and fastened ; no entrance there. Old horse ! with all your speed you are late ; The White Horse will win the race, and then At the farm will be tears of women and men, At the bush one dying prayer. Did he speed like this to be balked at last ? With a rush and a bound the gate is passed. And up at the front door he whinnies and neighs. Strikes with his hoof, and all but says : " Help all things himian, help all things holy. For my master is clinging in middle air There, where he sought a flower ; — ^there ! And the bush is giving slowly," A moment's fluny, A moment's hurry ; Then, as he saw they would follow, he turned, And over the gate again ; Then waited until they got nigh, and then Over the plain that his swift heels spumed. On to the master for whom he yearned. Past white farm-houses wrapt up in sleep, Past grain-fields waving like ocean's surge. Past great pines singing a low, soft dirge, Over rocky steep. Into valleys deep. BLACK HAWK. J And up again, up again, pressing on, The staunch old horse loomed out, and was gone Like a flash of black lightning, and after him came Those he had summoned, with eyes aflame With a horrible fear and dread ; And by them, and running side by side, Cume the great White Horse with a racing stride, But the black horse kept ahead. Swift lift Fleet feet Gain new strength with each quick-drawn breath, " Is it you behind me ? behind me, Death ? Ha ha ! ha ha ! I could scent the war And the battle between us from afar ! And now. White Horse, put yourself to your speed. Now match you against the worn-out hack. Till, foiled and beaten, you turn your back. For my boy shall have help at his utmost need, Though the bush be giving slowly." ■rt Out of the very jaws of the grave They drew him up with an anxious care ; Beneath him he heard the waters rave, Out of the blackness, and up above Eang shouts of encouragement and love. And once as he rose, with a moaning cry. The great white owl flitted swiftly by , Till all things mingled as in a dream ; And then on a sudden a torch's gleam, And the solid earth beneath him, and then The kisses of women and clasp of men ; Yet he heeded them not, but bowed his head In a passion of tears, for before him lay He that had given him back to the day, The old black racer — dead ! 8 IffiW T£AA. NEW YEAR. Ah Tnf ! my tliouglits are very sad, and sable winged woe Broods like a nightmare on my heart, and bids my sorrows flow, All day I seek their forms in vain, and in the silent night I mourn tlie friends that never changed, now hidden from my sight. Can the dead praise Thee in the grave ? The sleeperi^ in the tomb 7 What hymns come up from those who dwell within the nether gloom ? Now earth that holds in dark embrace that grim and solemn crowd, Lies glittering ghastly herself, wrapt in her snowy shroud ; A corpse laid out before the Heavens — all cold, all calm, all still ; Her million veins no longer throb through valley and down hill ; The waves that laughed to meet the sun, in icy death reposed. Gleam like the light in dead men's eyes before the lids be closed. The birds are mute ; the breath of Earth, the sweet and loving Air Is frozen to a deadly sleep : — the woods stand gaunt and bare ; The flowers have hid their tender heads, and whereso'er I tread, I seem beneath the crackling snow to trample on the dead. Oh hark I upon the startled air the new year's bells ring out With clang on clang, and peal on peal, a glad triumphal shout : Hear Earth within thy silent tomb and echo back the cry, " He will not leave us in the Grave — Where is Death's victory ?" And even as the bells clang out a tremor shakes the snow. Above, below, before, behind, are voices whispering low : The hills and dales and woods and streams are speaking to the sky^ **He will not leave us in the Grave — Where is Death '8 victory?" They cease — those sounds of hope and faith die off from rill and plain. But Heaven's angelic choirs take up the never ending strain, *' All glory, honour, praise and power to Him who dwells on high. He will not leave them in the Grave — Where is Death's victory ? Ring out, ring out, oh happy bells, the glorious theme again. Our own Redeemer lives and reigns and we shall live and reign ; He lives — though erst Earth shook with awe to hear His dying breath. And Death lies prostrate at His feet, for Love can conquer Death. TRR BTAKDARD-BkAREB. THE STANDARD-BEARER. A LROKND OF INDIA. War I The Carnatic HcWb were rife With nimor8 of war and the golden glory Of grai n-covered plains, the quiet homes Of simple peasants that hated strife, Must vanish before the eagle swoop Of the foeman ; vanish in clouds of flame Rising from ingle-nook and stoop, Fioiii lowly valleys, and crested combs Of thr hills, wherever the enemy came, Anu nothing be left to tell the story. vV^arl light/ 1 up with the blazing roof Flarir, its helpless appeal to the sky. Wir! with its nnisic of rushing hoof. Trampling down in the victory Dead and dying, Fallen and flyiiij^, And hurrying oft* in a whirlwind of spears. With curses beliind, antl before them jeers, Matrons clutching their babes to the breast. Old men tottering beneath their years. And young maids, doves scarce out of the nest, Sore of heart and sore of feet. But pressing on to the quick-timed beat Of the horseman's gallop that comes and goes In the dreaded sweep and rush of the foes. " As well sit still and die," Said the Councillors ; " what can worse befall The man that crouches beneath a force That evermore gains the victory Than the lot that cometh at length to all, The death that takes all men in its course ? Treat, oh King, with the foe. Let the wide Carnatic go ; Let them plunder and slay, if it seems to them best, In the far-off" province, and leave us the rest." " Not 80," said the Shah, « not so." 10 THE STANDARD-BEARER. \' ', " Am I a King, if a cry for aid Should come to me from my people unheurd? Am I a man, if matron or maid Should seek my help, and my pulses unstirred ? War! if it must be so, war! War, with its prospect of defeat, Of utter route and calamity. And the enemy's Juggernaut car. If my people must lie beneath the beat Of the enemy's squadrons, what more am I? I, too, can die. But ye, who have given the counsel of brute. Shall be led by a brute in the day of fight ; In the battle-field where he puts his foot Shall be the signal for stay or flight. Mark him well! Where my elephant stands When we come to blows is the vanguard line ; My curse on the cowards that stay their hands While my standard floats from the beast that is mine. First in the foremost rank he stood, A huge form towering above the rows Of armed men awaiting the shock Of the swift on-joming foes. As, in the '-.lidst of ocean a rock Awaits the impotent rage of the flood Of waters that foam around his base. Foam and attack, and retreating chase Their ebb, while the sky above them smites The snow of their crests, and their emerald lights Till they seem like waves of blood, So did he stand, while glint of steel Flashed around and above and below From sabre and arrow, and armed heel Of coursers trampling o'er friend and foe. And ever the standard flew from his back Glancing like meteor through the rack Of the war-cloud deepening by his side; Feeling the touch of his driver's hand, Hearing the quiet voice of command, And heeding naught beside, Till, in the midst of a glancing rain Of crowding arrows, teonx ofl'his seat, THE STANDARD-BEARER. II Pierced through the eye to the very brain. The driver fell at the elepliant's feet, And pressing over the wounded and slain. As a torrent rushes along its course. Elephants, standards, men, and horse. Rushed pell-njell backward in swift retreat. And close on the heels of the frenzied rout, Tlie foenian came with exulting shout, Till the thunder of battle muttered and died Away in the distant country side, Leaving the standard bearer alone With the battle-flag waving above his head. As he waited in vain for the well know tone Of the voice of the dead. And so. In the midst of terror and wild despair Casting behind a hurried glance At the vengeful flashing of sword and lance. The fugitives saw the elephant stand With the king's flag flying still in the air, And turned again on the foe ; Drove them shattered and nerveless back, Pressed in their turn on the eneniy's track And hurled him out of the land. The fight was over, the victory won, And he stood in the rays of the setting sun That turned the spearhead to burnish ■^d gold. And streauied, blood-red, on each silken fold Of the standard over his head. Long and doubtful had been the fight As the war-waves surged and ebbed by his side, Bnt there he had stood, as a rock in the tide Till they left him, a misty form, in the night, Keeping his watch o'er the dead. Friend and foe had passed him by, Grim Defeat, and Victory, And now in the gathering shades alone He stood like a statue carved in stone. All through the solenm night he heard, Mingled with human groans and cries, 12 THB STANDARD-BEARER. i^ The jackal*B laiighter, the tiger's roar, The snarl of the wolf as it rent and tore, While, above, the darkling rest of the skies With sound of unseen wings was stirred. And 80 day found him — ^the fiery rays Drank from his sides the oool night c -▼, Smote him, and parclied him, and pierced him througbj Fanned him with flame, and housed him with blaze Of torturing light, till the patient head Drooped lower and lower over the dead. And over the reeking noisome plain Night came ghastly and ghoul>like again^ Thus passed three days ; but whenever they tried To lead him away from his master's side, The red light leaped to the glazing eye, And the lifted trunk gave warning high. That where he had stood he would die. Then, as a last resort. From the driver's desolate home they brought His little son, and put in his hand The goad, his father's leading wand, Placed him on high where the standard flew. And bade him speak to the beast. The tones of a voice that he knew Came back in the childish word of command. And, as if from a heavy dream released. The elephant turned with a deep-drawn sigh. And one, low, tremulous, sobbing cry. Threw his trunk up and caressed the head Of the little driver, then turned away From his pitiful watch by the motionless clay. And saw in the living the dead. So in the battle of life. Often there falls at our very side Some loved and cherished one, friend and guide, And we stand in a helpless agony. Caring nothing for friend or foe, Noting little who come or go In the varied turns of the strife, And heedless even of victory, THK STAXDAIin RKARRR. Ill Till Goil in hia mercy sends at last Some echo out of the vanished past, Some tone of the voice that is evermore still. Some little touch that recalls a hand, Out of sight now in the spirit land, Antl wakes up the palsied will. -(§)- 6 u THE SLEIGH RIDE. THE SLEIGH RIDE. I' p ■f- I ■ K' A XEW year's idyl. Over the enow tlie cold winds blow, Over the enow the sleigh bells wrangle ; Blow, blow over the snow. Winds, while the silver Vjells wrangle and jangle. Over the snow the sharp winds blow. But the sky above us is tenderest blue ; The little bells tinkle as we go ; Ring and tinkle for me and for you — Crisp snow 1 sharp blow ! And the merry chiming of silver l>ellBl Quick foot! Firm hoof! And the gliding runner that ring^ and swells ! Rings and swells to the joyous bells, With silvery voices above and below, And heaven's blue for me and for you. Darling ! and under us purest snow ! Life is before us, sweet and bright, So may our life through the long years be. So cold that we cling to each other, so light As the Heaven that smiles upon you and me. Crisp snow, echo sharp blow. And the merry tinkle of the siver bells ! Quick foot! Firm hoof! And the gliding runner whose music swells ! Rings and swells to our pulsing hearts, Pulsing hearts that shall beat together ; Though Time may bring us its aches and smarts Together, the closest in coldest weatlier See J the night is coming down fast. And we shall meet it, my love, we two, With tenderest thoughts of the life tha^i8 past, And an outlook into the deep sky's blue. Crisp snow ! Sharp blow 1 And the echn of Heaven's sweetrtoned l)e]l8 ! Quick feet! Swift beat, When Death breaks in on Life's golden spells I THE SLEIQH RIDE. Id Death ! My darling ! look into the night. The Heavens are flaming over our heaJs ; The cold blue sky above us is bright Witli daffodil, primrose and crocus beds, Bright with amethyst, jasper and gold, Pearl and sardonyx, and the stone Ruby-red with the Blood that was shed To cleanse, and purify, and atone. Crisp snow 1 Sharp blow ! Nearer and nearer Heaven's anthem swells ! If life be a sleigh-ride over the snow It echoes the deathless Sabbath bells. Diamonds glance from the branching pines, Diamonds cover the sleeping vines, Diamonds star the skies above. But brighter thy diamond eyes, my love I Sweet eyes sparkle when blue skies darkle, When night comes down with her gemrny crown, Ere the bridegroom sun has his race begun, And sleep still fosters country and town. Where are the flowers of last year's spring ! " Dead, love, dead in their shrouded bed.** Where are the birds that in summer sing, " Fled, love, fled ; all fled." Nay 1 not so ! Look up as we go ! Daffodil, cowslip and crocus bloom In the heavens above, that smile on us, love, And snowdrops under us brighten the glooin. Flowery skies and flowery earth 1 And the sweetest flower of all by my side I The New Year springs into happy birth. Pure and bright as thyself, my pride! Have the song-birds vanished? Not soh not so I They are here iu our hearts, and their notes are heard, *' The spring is blushing e'en now o'er the snow. And where shall we make, our nest, my bird?" »J:.ji'' la Diamonil eves «„ i <■ W- happy tilTlZT ","""'' ■•" »«-•-' Cnep a„ow) .ha^p bW, ' And the gliding runner f).«f • A"^ ^o-,)L To the better Hfe la '""""'"^^ ^"« FWeryslcien anL ^'''''*' "« «l«>ve. ^^ienthehi::^^^:^^^^^^^^^^ And we shall sint tho» "'^^^^-Vmn^, lo sever, my y^jf^ , WHISPKR8 OK THE NU;HT, IT WHISPERS OF THE NIGHT. SUNSET. Sweet love, come forth : tlie gentle air with many a fond caress GlidcH through the cedar's scented hair, and stirs the larch tree's trefls ; The birds are singing vesper songs, and sparkles down tiie hill The many-dimpled laughter of the ever-noisy rill. The Heavens are girt with rays of fire, the clouds are red with flame, O'er hill and dale and wood and stream the splendor burns the same ; But bright as are the glorious beams that blaze along the skies More dear to me the tender light that trembles in thine eyes. Draw n«arer, sweet one! Nearer still I The red light dies away, O'er all the chill struck earth there creeps a sad soft tinge of gray, Arid one by one the birds grow still, and on ■ by one tlie trees No longer whisper lovingly unto the loving breeze. Oh see ! the sun has left the Heavens and sought his nightly tomb. The sky's deep blue grows deeper still, the eartli grows dark with gloom. And such as is the sun to Heaven, to earth and storm-tossed sea, My sun! n>y love! my life! my all! such art thou, sweet, to m«. The. lowing of the kine is hushed — The babbUng waterfall Booms like the tolling of the bells above a velvet pall. Closer ! There comes a time when love is powerless to save — Naught but the perfect love of Got! can triumph o'er the grave. TWILIGHT. The Heaven's high vault is azure black, no cloud, no stars, no light, Nought save the cruel shadows of the ever deep'ning night ; The well-loved voice is hushed, and now there speaks instead with me. The chill wind wailing in its flight accpss the darkeiieil lea. Till all my blood grows icy cold, and round the bowed down head Hovers on grim and ghastly wings the never dying dread ; The jealous fear that stills the pulse and clogs the heavy breath — I see the coffin's bridal veil, and I fear my rival — Death : 18 WHISPERS or THE KIOHT. For ae the dark night closes round and all the earth is hid, Methinkfl I hear the pattering earth upon the sounding lid. Father and mothers-all are gone, and she alone is left : Oh Heaven I what soul can fight life's war of every hope bereft, E'en as I muse, before my eyes life's saddened mem'ries fall, As shadows lengthen out and creep along a fire-lit wall : He knows too well the face of Death, he hears too plain its tread Whose every tie save one frail hope is mouldering with the debd. See on the far horizon the Eastern wave grows bright; There surges up a sea of fire upon the loathly night ; And o'er the mighty vault above, and o'er the hills below. The broad full moon pours forth her beams like arrows from a bow. Till all the plains are bathed in light, and all the sullen wood Stands forth, a garment ermine tinged, beneath the silver flood ; And life comes back to earth again where at the first calm rays The cheeping of the lizards swell a harmony of praise. MOONLIGHT* Alone I — yet not alone ! within are doubts and faithless fears. And thoughts too sad for utterance, and griefs too deep for tears. Her presence draws me up to Heaven as with a golden chain. And when she leaves me all alone I sink to Earth again. They say God gives us things to love— Alas, He takes away — His is the hand that faehioneth and we are but the clay. Are all men else resigned, and I the sole rebellious one ? I too have bent the head before, and said " Thy will be done." And now, I bow the head indeed ; alas, I can but bow, But grief has seized the bleeding heart, and clouds the svllen brow, I stand beneath the falling dews alone, bereft, forlorn. And wait through all the hateful night the scarce less hateful morn. . . .Sweet calm is dreaming in the heavens, sweet sleep en wraps the ground. The moon in peaceful migesty pursues her endless round: I seem to hear from plain ana ntream, and from the clouds above. Faint whispers of a wondrous tale— words of Eternal Love. WHISPERS OF THE NIOHT. 19 Methinks I heard them once before — the strain i« not unknown, But yet my heart forgets the wonh — the very notes have flown ; And still the great moon sliouts it out, and still the soft calm breeze Comes from the deep abyss of Heaven, and sings it to the trees. STARLIGHT. Tlie moon has sunk beneath the west, and glancing in her stead The bright Eternal guards of Heaven are watching over head. I love the happy, happy stars that tremble in the skies — All night I watch them in the Heavens, all day time in her eyes. And now the strain comes sharp and clear, unclogged by doubts and fears, I hear the glorious symphony that swells throughout tlie spheres, My whole soul swells to echo back the notes to realms above, And join all nature in the hymn that tells that God is love. Whatl can a mother hate her child, the child of smiles and tears. E'en though it rend her loving heart, unchanged through weary years ? Yea, let a mother cease to love, and nature leave her throne. Yet He will not forget His word — nor God forsake His own. His own I and she is one of His, so pure, so fair, so mild, If e'er God's children tread the Earth she is his loving child — Yea though He tear my heart away, yet will I love and trust. He will not leave me comfortless — Our God is good and just. DAWN. Night dreams along the darkened sky, and reigns in every cloud'; A shadow clasps the slumbering earth, as with a glossy shroud ; The streams are hushed and very still, the flowers are all asleep. The sea-bird seeks his treacherous couch and slumbers on the deep. The very sea is stilled at last and all his troubled waves Sleep, though in dreams they sob and wail above their victim's graves ; In Heaven and Earth is naught but calm, all things have rest save me. Me, in whose breast rage fiercer storms than lash the maddened sea. Yet as the darkness grows apace and shadows thicker fall. From vanished star to vanished star I hear the angles call $ Their-rainbow-tinted pinions flash athwart the dazzled sight, Their voices swell among the Heavens and wake the sullen night. ■s^ 20 WIII8PKHS OK THK NUiKC, DAWS'. ' Let there he lixht r Ligiit of as old, when the flrnt ghul ray Beamed on a fiery and storm toHHee light !' * Let there l>e light!' liight, as on that imniortal day When the great atonement was maiie for aye. When the Holy veil was rent in twain. And the one true Paschal Lan^b was slain : When the chain was broke and the captive free, And Oeath swallowed up in victory : When the sun grew pale at the awful sight. And there came the word through the solemn night * Let there be light !' Let there be light — there comes a day When the Kingdoms of Earth shall pass away, When some who shall hear the angel's call Shall cry to the rocks and hills to fall — But another day to the world is sent And those who have sinned may yet repent ! Hear, Sea, whefe thy deep tongued waters boom ! Hear, Earth, that sleepest in thy nightly tomb I God's voice is speaking through the gloonj : ♦Let there be light!' WHISI'KRS OF Tllk: NlOHr. 21 1. I » II T . The EasU'rn fky Itt'^i"?* to IjIuhIi — tlie doutlh'trt overh«'a«J Unfurl u bauiuT Houvt'ii-worked in lines of gold and red. And, as the day coineM nweeping on and toIIh away the ni^ilit, Methinkn I hear the angel sing, " Let there be light — be light." Above the far horizon the sun hath risen at last. And darkness vanishes away as when a dream hath passed ; The forest rustles U) his Iteanis, the streams confess his might, And yonder hills have heard the words, " Let there light — be light." But in the middle of the plain there Unvers up oii high,' One rugged mountuin, mist-enwrappe*!, that frowns unto the sky j And on it droops one sad pale tiower amid the nxik and stone, And when it dies the hill must sUind, as erst it stood alone. Sad hill! tliat while thou standest tliere hast neither love nor rest, No lauglung morn shall come to thee and deck thy sombre crest; No birds shall sing sweet siiiigs for thee, but still the chilly air Shall wail in everlasting notes of sorrow and despair. But seel — the mist is torn aside, — the clouds are rolled away, A peak shoots up in rays of Hre beneath the orlt of day ; The lark ntounts o'er the sunlit crag, and poised on feeble wing • Pours forth such notes of praise and joy as angels love to sing. 'Tis well — I knew the lesson when I lieard the angels call, Though clouds Ikj round al»out thy path yet God is over allj Though yonder rock rise lone and sjwi alx)ve the happy sod, Is it alone when round it moves an ever loving God ? All night I heard my rival's voice — I saw the funeral shroud, My soul was all too weak to pierce beyond the gloomy cloud ; But DOW God's angels speak to me and teach me Hope and Elaith, And to Hia love I truHt my love, nor fear my rival, Death. 22 WARKtVaS. «» WAENINGS." " I know a maid more lovely far Than all that elne created are, Fairer than ev'ry ftiirent thing, Dearer than early Howers in spring ;'* Take care, take care t Faireflt things are fakte as fair. Victims of its treachery Lie beneath the clear blue nea^ Oh flee, oh flee. Beware the look of Hweet Horprise That da8he» from those liquid eyes,. Those large soft orbs of hazel hue. Beware in time, lest late you rue ; Take care, take care ( Fairest things are false as fair, Turn the head, and pass her by. Lightning lurks in yonder eye. Oh fly, oh fly. The magic of her gentle voice Bids ali the love torn heart rejoice. Can you not hear a lover's sigh In each note of the melody ? Beware I beware f Fairest things are false as fair : Though the tones be sweet <»nd low. Well the Siren's song we know. Oh go t oh go I The silken lustre of her hair Gleams through the soft and scented airi, But go not near the dark brown tress» Life is the price of one caress ; , . | Beware, beware I . ' Fairest things are false as fair. Spider's webs have silken ray ; Be no fly~-make no delay, Awayl away I WARVIXOS. Awa/, or else thou art undone. If thou would'flt lire, begone, begone. Ah me I cannot flhun the Htrife, What without her were longest iifei Be still, be still— Let her slay me, if she will j Be she false, yet wh^t care I So that at her feet I die, I will not Ay. Fly I does the •torm-tossed seaman fly His longed-for port when wares run high f When Heaven on earth awhile is giren. Say shall I fly my earthly Hearenf Oh no I oh no t Though I would, I could not go. Though all else should fickle prore, She is true as sainfs abore, I lore, f lore. 23 24 THE CORAL ROCK. THE CORAL KOCK. A brave flhip danced o'er the Southern sea With a fair breeze blowing merrily • For a bridal party, bright and gay Wire sailing home on the wedding day : But the bride, as she gazed on the ocean wide, Clung closer awhile to her husband's side : For naught is certain in life, 'tis said. And the brightest flowers are first to fade, And the bride may tremble and hold her breath For the ship is running a race with Death. Ah me i One mile from tlieir death 1 — and they hurry along With tlie sea breeze chanting a merry song ; And the bride in her glorious beauty and grac€;, Smiles as she looks in her husband's face; But the day has come and the doom has apokeoi And the golden tie shall be rudely broken. For though winds are still and waters deep, Underneath the sharp rocks sleep; And the lobsters crawling along the stones Know well the crasli of wave washed bones. Ah me I One inch from their death 1— but the sun shines bright. And the blue sea leaps in the golden light. Till his wavelets, laughing aloud as they go, Lazily rise and break into snow, And the diamond spray from each watery curl Leaps up to kiss the lovely girl : But for beneath in tlie unstirred sea The great snake twists in his loathly glee, And the skeletons moved by the eddying wave Rise to greet those who have come to their grave. • Ah mel THE CORAL ROCK. 25 A crash, and a phriek, and a sobbing gasp As his victims writhe in the sea-king's clasp; For rocks are sharp and waters are deep, And the coral rises abrupt and steep, And the ocean has lost his tinge of blue, For.th? sharks were asked to the banquet too — But death conies quickly, and sea and air Have nothing to show what has happened there, Save where on the laughing and dancing spray A bridal bonnet goes floating away. Ah mel y"* 26 SEAWEBD. SEAWEED. NIOHT. fstood on the ocean beach at night, Waittng but dreading the morning light, last'ning to what the waters said, List'ning alone with bowed-down head. For the voice they used was the voice of the dead. Far o'er the sea^ Hearing upon the sounding strand The plash of the waves firoin a distant land. Hearing the words of the moaning main. With the chill breeze wailing a low refrain. Till my whole heart echoed the sorrowful strain. Far o'er the sea* Looking out in the dim expanse. Seeing the dark black waters glance. Glance, as the sheen of the velvet pall That covered the sleeping dust of all That would long for my voice, and would hear me call. E'en o'er the sea. Sitting in darkness, alone, and still. With my thoughts that worked at their own sad wiU* Hearing and seeing nothing but thi»— The shade of a never-forgotton bliss. The sound of one first, one only kiss. Far o'er the seat Watching alone, for I could not sleep, Prayin(^ that Ood would grant me to weep. Bowing down 'neath the solemn sky Seeking for but one little sigh. But hearing naught but the sea-bird's cry, Far o'tr tB» sea, SEAWEED. 2T Seeing clear through the darkening night (Was it my own gloom that made it bright?) FoniH that, like clouds when tempest tost, Cr jwded aiound, and passed and crossed, Phantoms of all I had loved and lost. Far o'ef the saa. Seeing my own home's firesit'e Without my mother, its greatest pride ; Looking ou t with a dull despair Par oflf to my own land, and missing there The sacred gray of my father's hair, Ah me 1 Ah me t Missing another, my own, own love That none but One alone could remove ; She, of h(;r will, had not left me so. All to myself in my bitterest woe To sit by the black sea's ebb and flow, Far o'er the sea. Seeming to tread the forest glade Where once (did I ever play ?) I played. But seeing a church with moss oei grown That casts its shade on a well-known stone. And throwing me down with a he art-wrung moan. Ah me t ah me t Gone I all gone! and I see no more: I would weep, if I could, that the dream is o'er. Sad and solefnn though it be. Yet it was company to me, But a voice breaks in on my misery, '* Break o'er the sea." DAWK Break o'er the seal Break on the night! Ever blessed and holy light; Shed but one ray, but one joyous beam Wherever the eastern watera gleam— 28 SEAWEED. But one small ray, for the night is dark, And the ocean waits for the first bright spark j Others are longing too for thee. Break o'er the sea I Break o'er the sea ! Oh dawn! oh rosy fingered dawn! Come up and herald another morn, Come, till the dark mists fly away ; Come till the night gives place to day ; Come where the deep black waters l)Oom ; Come through the veil of the sullen gloom ; All things are longing, oh light, for thee. Break o'er the sea 1 Break o'er the sea ! Oh day I oh happy day I Chase the gloomy shadows away. Though Nature's slumbers seem calm and deep There are those on earth who cannot sleep— Those who in toil alone are blest — Those who in labor alone find rest. Hearts that are breaking have need of thee ; Break o'er the sea ! Break o'er the sea ! Oh light 1 oh tender, tender light I There came a cry through the livelong night j Wherever a mortal foot has trod, A cry of woe to a loving God, From those who wo\ild drink of the fabled wave That gives forgetfulness long as the grave. Sorrowing souls have need of thee. Break, o'er the sea ! Break o'er the sea I Oh waves that were moaning all night long, Break out, and join in the angels' song^ Thunder it out with shock on shock Into tlie ears of the dull hard rock i Whisper it low to the far off strand Where the ripplets lazily laugh on the sand, Till eartli shall echo from flower to tree Break o'er the s^a ! Break o'er the sea 1 tjt*i SEAWKKD. 2i> Oh type of the Everlaating Day ! Come from the East land far away I The land whence once oatne a holy voic? Bidding all mourning hearts rejoice ; Conie and recall its echoes now, Flaf»h on the darkened and sullen hrow, Bid all doubts and all sorrows flee, Break o'er the sea! Break o'er the sea! Oh sun, rise up fi'om thy wat'ry bed! Rise till the shades of night have fled ! Sweep on, on thy mission, and linger not, With rays of love, on each sacred spot Where He, the Pure One, for sinners bled, Where earth once covered her Maker's head — Hp that made thee is calling to thee, Break o'er the sea! Break o'er the sea! DAYBREAK. Sister of sorrow! sullen night ! Make room for the path of the happy light — Clouds that brood along the sky. Break at the sight of me and fly : Scatter and break, that the earth may view The eniblem of love in the sky's deep blue ; But first, ere ye seek another hon>e. Give back my blush to the wo >ing foam — See me, wheresoever ye be, Waves of tlie sea! Waves of the sea! Rise up, oh laughing ocean spray. To chase and to catch the sun's glad ray ; Catch me and clasp me and send me along From wave to wave with a loving song; Speed me along till ye can no more, And we break in diamonds on the shore. Others may woo me, wherever I go, But I sprang to love on the water's flow, And I am yours who welcomed me, Waves of the sea ! Waves of the sea ! 30 SEAWEED. Miets that brooded upon the Bod, Flee at the voice of the light-giver, God — Types of the doubt) of the human heart, Light is Co.iiing apace, depart 1 Melt away in the sunlit air As the morning rise^, bright and fair ; The glad, glad morniig that ever brings Solace and hope on her flame-i-inged wings — Sing to the earth wherever ye be, Waves of the sea I Waves of the seal Oh trees ! oh silent and sullen trees I come on the wings of the cool sea breeze — The wind that, where the pine trees soar. Seems like the voice of the ocean's roar. When the night covered your leaf-crowned brow Ye longed for the light that is coming now j Wake up, that I may revel awh-le In the pride of the forest monarch's smile — The ripple that b\ Ings ye back to me. Waves of the sea I Waves of the eea I Oh rills I oh merry, merry rills I Snatch my first gleams from the wooded hills ; Carry me on as ye swiftly flow Down to the valleys that lie below ; Chatter and scold at the laughing brink. Sprinkle the bird as he comes to drink. Whirl down rock and pebb'e and sand. But carry me on to the meadow land, Ye sisters of those who aie dear to me. Waves of the sea ! Waves of the sea ! Oh flowers ! oh simple meadow flowers. Marking with sweets the passing hours 1 Open your buds to the mornmg's love. To the light that is given by Him above. Oh daisy 1 lift rp thy modiest eye To meet the rays that look down from the sky : Oh queen of the wild flowers t oh buttercup 1 I am gilding thy gold — look up, look up — Methinks that I see as I sweep o'er the lea Waves of the seal Waves of the sea I '\ SEAWEED. 81 Oh birds on ev'ry forest bough ! The morning beam is shining now ; Too long has your soft wing sheltered the head — The day has come, and the chill night fled ; Timid and fluttering things that none Could have kept from your foes save Him alone, (Him who knows when a sparrow dies), Lead earth's hymn to the list'ning skies ; And ye too join in the melody, Waves of the sea 1 Waves of the eea I Waves of the eea, that never rest. Ye know the love of the highest best ; Though ye be strong, and the ship be frail, What without Him can your force avail? Oh oceans thunder your fiercest shock : Ye cannot prevail against our Bock ! Though the tempest may howl and rave, Though ye threaten with wave w wave. He rules you, storm-tossed though ye be. Waves of the sea ! Waves of the eea! Far o'er the tossing waters sweeps the happy blush of day. The blue waves ripple in the light and break in snowy spray. And to the sunlit mountain peaks, and o'er the flow'ry sward. The firmament proclaims thy work, the Heavens thy glory, Lord. The birds break out in grateful song, the flow'rets stud the vale, Sweet music echoes through the woods, sweet perfumes load the gale: I hate the bright and busy day at whose approach have fled My only solace of the night — the spectres of the dead. Fled, leaving but a blank behind ! In all my dull despair Through yonder solemn night I saw their faces in the air : In night I heard them speak to me, in night they lived again. Now day that brings all else relief, to me brings fiercer pain. As one who wrapped in seeming death, all stifl*, all cold, all dumb, Sees with unutterable pangs' the well-loved mourners come. Feels the last kiss of wife and child, and sees the funeral pall. And hears the cold screw gnawing througli the coflin's wooden wall ; 32 8KAWKRD. Till all seems dark around him, and all the world is hid — No sound except the patt'ring of the earth upon tlie lid, And sense itself dies otf, till swift and sudden on his night Sweeps in upon the throbbing brain a flash of living light. Light that shall lieap up higher still the bitter cup of death — Life ! that the new-made grave may heave above his gasps for breath— Oh light I what part hast thou in me, whose inmost heartrstrings bleed. Me, who am floating on life's wave, storm-tossed, like yonder weed. Less than the storm-rent weetl that lives through all the ocean's strife, I float bereft alike of care, and love, and hope and life ; She could have taught me higher things, but now I learn no more — All love has left me, and I drift upon the eternal shore. Weeds of the sea I weeds of tlie sea Floating where ocean leaps in glee, Here sitteth one all sullen and wan — Come and speak to the desolate man — Come from the far oft coral isles Where the long summer reigns and smiles I Come from the chalk of the eastern caves ! Come from the ice-cold northern waves 1 He who made ye, makes use of ye, Weeds of the sea I weeds of the sea 1 Lofty shrubs and trees are we. Forests of the mighty sea, Stretching to the sunlit air Leafless trunks and branches bare ] Underneath our pale green groves Oft the purple mullet roves : Midst our stems the huge whales roam, O'er our heads the fierce waves foam, Raving round each ocean tree. Kept by Him who rules the sea. Fragile waifs and strays are we, Playthings of the mighty sea, Living, blooming, fathoms deep Where the restless waters slsep : Stretching upwards fathoms high Where the sea raves ceaselessly : SKAWKKD. 83 r.!''' (inthering round tlie coral walls Where the endless breaker falls : Spreading out, secure and free, Watched by Him who rules the sea. When the deep blue waters dance Underneath the sunlteain's glance, And the foam that tipped their crest Melts, and sinks, and dies in rest — When the breezes fall away Sighing for the sleeping spray, III the sea-light, faint and dim. From His weeds there goes a hynm — E'en Thy seaweed blesses Thee, Loving ruler of the sea. When the tempest, fierce and dread. Thunders o'er our bowed-down head. And the ocean lifts on high Liquid mountains to the wky. Rending in his rage and pain Weeds that ne'er shall live again. Then we look to him above. Living in His living love; Weeds, oh. Master, though we be. Naught is small or great to thee. We, the weeds, «an trust — and thou, Sitting there with sullen brow. Hearing but the moaning main I He who loves thee, grants the pain. Country, parents, wife, are gone. He can fill thy void alone ; He is standing by thy side. Knocks, and will not be denieve and Ijelow, And the avalanche rang a frozen peal, And I said to myself, not these, not these Are the home of the spring-time Western wind. So I spread my pinions, and now, trees, I have come to woo ye out into leaf, Till the mountain crest is in blessed unrest With the waving of tree-tops and songs of bird, And underneath, in the valleys l>eneath. The violets out of their moss are stirred. Life! Life! Over the strife Of frozen icel>ergs and an<]fry wave Where death is the only life, I come To summon life from out of her grave. Are ye dead, old pines, that a thousand years Have seen clothe all the mountains with green ? Are ye dead, sweet violets, dead, ye ears Of the wild oat, dead , oh primrose I The sheen Of my wings shall waken ye up to life As a bridegroom wakens wiih kisses his wife. Are my kisses cold, sweet flowers ? The sea That raves bchinnH and ^rass, And steal among them until the day SmileH to catch your Hiniles as ye pass. Where have ye been since the autumn sheen? Caught ye giving a drink t*» the mice Hasting to make their nest, ere the green Grew old and hoary with snow and ice. Where have ye been, little streams? Wake up! The ferns are f)ee|)ing out under the snow, (ireen as they never had died, and tlje ojp Of tlie cuj)-moss shines with its ruddy glow. Where are ye now, little streanis? Your chains Are melted away at tlie blast of my breath. And over the mountains and down through the plains Ye course, relieved from your living death. Streanilets! listen, listen to me I liisten to me in the joy of your birth ; Though ye gladr I have a mission from the Master, That drives n>e on ever faster and faster, *' Blow, blow, breezes, blow ! Come from the North, East, West and South, See the dead lx)ues lying below, THK WKf*T WlXl*. a7 And put the fiHid iti tlu' gapinji moiitli." Skt'lt'ton Imjuj^Iim wero waviiij? in air, Tlie evergreen pineH were lunir uml white, The iiioimtuin nlopeH were dead and hare, And all wan «leath when I |)anHed hv light; But now tlie l»rancl»eH are full of leaven, The pineH liiive nhaken away their nnow, The Hpring Howern clarnher )ip mountain eavep, And all in life aliove iind helow. Wake, yegraiiiH from your sleep of earth, — Cold though yjiir wooing, after come The Hoft apring-hreezen and the hum Of bee8, and nongs of birdn, and rayn. Of gloriouH Munlight, till ye nhake Your «hunl)erH from off' you, and awaki-. Grow, bud, and fruit, and sing Hin praiwe. Whose winter and spring naven eartli from dearth. How sweet to rent for a little while. To wee the mountaiuH wake into life, ' • The little hrookw jangle in pretty strife, Th« snow melt down from the bright green tnosd. And the wooil anemone's tender cross Gleam pure and white in the darkened woods While the primrose glimmers by hill-ltorn floods. Sweet to know that from ice and snow And the death of Nature comes life again ; That the spring time wind can leave far behind, The winter sleep, and o'er liill and plain Woo out the flowers, make way for the hours Of summer sweets, and of summer chimes Bring promise of fruits, and call to their nest.s In the North the birds of the Southern climes. Listen, oh Earth, give ear unto me For I have a message over the sea. Cold though I blow o'er ice and snow, I bring the promise of life on my wings, And wljere I pass, the last year's grass. Is violet-clothed, and the robin sings. 38 WILD FuOWKRS. WILD FLOWERS. Flowers of the happy spring, Blooming where the wild birds sing, Ki\ising up yonr fragile bnda Underneath the stonn-scathe