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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent 6tre film6s A des taux de reduction diffiients. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 A partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 > POEMS OF THE HE AET AND HOME. BY MRS. J. C. YULE (PAMELIA S. VINING.) '"-^■\(«r< '(Sh3 SPoronttf : Bengough, Moore & Co., Printers and Publishers^ Adblaidi Strbbt. MDCa.LXXXI. V ^y p Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousa')d eight hundred and eighty-o.ie, by Mrs. Pamelia S. Yii.e, iif the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. INTRODUCTION. IN presenting this little book to her readers, the author is giving back to them in a collected form much that has previously been given them — anony- mously, or under the nom-de-plmne^ first, of " EmiU lia," then of "Xenette," or, finally, under her true name either as Miss Vining or Mrs. Yule — and also, much that they have never before seen. Some of these poems have been widely circulated, not only in Canada, but in the United States and Great Britain ; and some appear for the first time in the pages of this book. They are offered solely upon their merits ; and upon those alone they must stand or fall. Whatever there is in them calculated to stir the heart of our common Humanity, — to voice forth its joys or its sorrows, — to truly interpret its emo- tions, — or to give utterance to its aspirations and its hopes, will live ; that which does not thus speak for Humanity, has no right to live ; and the sooner it finds a merited oblivion the better for its author and the world. These poems are essentially Canadian. They have nearly all been written on Canadian soil ; — their themes and incidents — those that are not purely imaginary or suggested by current events in other countries — are almost wholly Canadian ; and they are mainly the outgrowth of many and varied experiences in Cana- dian life. JV INTRODUCTION To the author, there is hardly one that has not its little, local history, and that does not awaken reminis- cences of some quiet Canadian home, — some rustic Canadian school-house, — some dreamy hour in the beautiful Canadian forests, — some morning or evening walk amidst Canadian scenery ,^-or some pleasant sail over Canadian waters. They have been written under widely different cir- cumstances ; and, in great part, in brief intervals snatched from the arduous duties of teaching, or the more arduous ones of domestic life. Of the personal experiences traceable through many of them, it is not necessary to speak. We read in God's word that '* He fa-noneth their hearts alike f therefore there is little to be found in any human ex- perience, that has not its counterpart, in some sort, in every other ; and he alone is the true Poet who can so interpret his own, that they will be recognized as, in some sense, the real, or possible experiences of all. Trusting that these unpretending lyrics may be able thus to touch a responsive chord in many hearts, and with a sincere desire to offer a worthy contribu- tion to the literature of our new and prosperous coun- try, they are respectfully submitted to the public by the Author. ingersoll, ont., Aug., 1881. ^J^^-*^ CONTENTS. TAC-.K. Yes, the weary Eaifth shall brighten i To a Day- Lily 2 Living and Dying 3 Up the Nepigon 4 Look Up 6 Frost-Flowers 7 The Beech-nut Gatherer 8 Memory- Bells 9 I will not Despair 1 1 God's Witnesses 11 The Assembly of the Dead 16 Be Still 18 Littlewit and Loftus 19 To a Motherless Babe 21 The Gaged Bird's Song 22 Crossing the Red Sea 23 The Wayside-Elm 26 Drowned 28 My Brother James and 1 29 Idle 31 The World's Day 3a Brethren, Go ! 34 Our Nation's Birthday 35 Our Field is the World 37 Sault Ste. Marie 39 Brother, Rest 40 vi CONTENTS. \<- i Ix)ved and Lost ; or the Sky-Lark and the Violet 42 The Gracious Provider 48 Rest in Heaven 48 Good-Night 49 The Old Church-Choir $0 No other Name 55. Heart-Pictures 56 Fellowship with Christ 57 An Allegory 58 The Cry of the Karens 6<> Alone 62 Mary 65 ,, I am doing no gootl ! " 64 Hail, Risen Lord 66 Lines on the Death of a Young Mother 67 Patience 69 A Parting Hymn 71 The Dance of the Winds 72 Strike the Chords Softly 75 At Home 75 Sabbath Memories 80 The Eye that Never Sleeps 82 By and By 84 The One Refuge 86 Judson's Grave 8& •• Shallbe Free" ...........'. 89 After Fifty Years 91 The Earth-voice and its Answer 94 Beyond the Shadows 98 Autumn and Winter 99 Till To-morrow loi Our Country ; or, A Century of Progress 102 Jesus, the Soul's Rest 104 The Beautiful Artist . . , 106 •• Let us Pray" 108 Rich and Poor 109 Palmer m Balmy Morning 112 CONTENTS. Vll Song 114 The Ploughman 115 '* He hath done all things well " 1 17 Somewhere 118 The Tide 120 Eloise...* 122 Abraham Lincoln 124 God's Blessings 125 The Silent Messenger 127 Under the Snow 1 28 Longings 131 Fount of Bliss 132 Away to thejiills 134 Flowers by a Grave 1 34 *'Threc for Three " I3S Now 137 Sunset 138 Sweet Evening-Bells 139 Unknown 140 Onward 141 Looking Back • 142 Minniebel 143 Weary 144 The Body to the Soul 145 Not Yet 146 Marguerite 148 *' Come unto Me " 149 " I will not let thee go" 150 Greeting Hymn 151 One by One 152 Love 153 Evening Hymn 154 Death i55 I shall be satisfied 156 At the Grave of a Young Mother 157 Go, Dream no 111 ore * 1 57 Come Home 158 Be in Earnest 161 Vlll CONTENTS. ' I Chlodine i6l The Bird and the Storin«cloud 163 No Solitude 165. The Stray Lamb 167 Stay, Mother, Stay I 17a Time for Bed 174 From the Old to the New 176- The Voice of Spring 178 Honour to Labor i79- The Miser 183. Broken 185 "To our Parents" i8a Cnder the Rod 189- The White Stone Canoe 191 Gone Before 196 Johanna 198 Stanzas 200 Canada 202- " I laid me down and slept " 206 Bright Thoughts for a Dark Day 207 The Drunkard's Child 208 The Names of Jesus 210 3^H- ?oejvi3 0ftheHeaf(taj^dHojvie. vf:s, thk weary earth sham, brighiem. F^S, the weary earth shall brighten — Brighten in the perfect day, And the fields that now but whiten, ( iolden glow beneath the ray ! Slowly swelling in her bosom, Long the precious seed lia> lain, — Soon shall come the perfect blossom, ■ Soon, the rich, abundant grain ! Long has been the night of weeping. But the morning dawns at length, And, the misty heights o'ersweeping, Lo, the sun comes forth in strength ! Down the slopes of ancient mountains, Over plain, and vale, and stream. Flood, and field, and sparkling fountains, Speeds the warm rejoicing beam ! Think not God can fail His promise ! Think not Christ can be denied ! He shall see His spirit's travail — He shall yet be satisfied ! POEWS OF THE HEART AND HOMK. Soon the " Ff arvest home " of angels Shall resound from shore to hhore, And amid Earth's glad evangels, Christ shall reign for evermore ! i Fl 1 ir TO A DAY-LII.Y. What ! only to stay For a single day ? Thou beautiful, bright-hued one ! Just to open thine eyes To the blue of the skies And the light of the glorious sin, Then, to fade away In the same rich ray. And die ere the day is done ? Bright thing of a day. Thou hast caught a ray I'rom Morn's jewelled curtain-fold On thy burning cheek, And the ruby streak Has dyed it with charms untold ;- And the gorgeous vest On thy queenly breast. Is dashed with her choicest gol.l ! A statelier queen Has never been seen, A lovelier never will be ! — Nay, Solomon, dressed ^ In his kingliest best. Was never a match for thee, O beautiful flower, O joy of ftn hour — And only an hout—ioi me ! POEMS OF THE HEART A\D HO.MI-- An hour, did I say ? Nay, loveliest, nay. Not thus shall I part with thee, But with subtle skill I shall keep thee still, Fadeless and fresh with me ; - - Through toil and duty, •* A thing of beauty Forever " my own to be ! As with drooping head Amid thorns I tread, 1 shall see thee unfold anew ; In the desert's dust, Where journey I must, Thy beautiful form shall view ; And visions of Home O'er my spirit will come, As thro' tear-drops I gaze on you t. l.IVING AND DYING. l^iviNG for Christ, I die ; — how strange, that 1, Thus dying, live, — and yet, tlitis living, die ! Living for Christ, I die ; — yet, wondrous thought. In that same death a deathless life is wrought ; — Living, I die to Earth, to self, to sin ; — Oh, blessed death, in which such life 1 win ! Dying for Christ, I live ! — death cannot be A terror, then, to one from death set free ! Living for Christ, rich blessings I attain ; Yet, dying for Him, mine is greater gain ! Life for my Lord, is death to sin and striie. Yet death for Him is everlasting life ! f I I ■ I i POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Dying for Christ, I live ! — and yet, not I, But He lives in me, who did for me die. I die to live ; — He lives to die no more, Who, in His death my own death-sentence bore ! " 'i'o live is Christ," if Christ within me reign ; To die more blessed, since " to die is gain ! " •m^-9 j f \4th eager eyes thus earthward bent — Christian, look up a while ! Christian, look up ! — what seest thou here- To court thy anxious eyes ? Earth is beneath thee, lone and drear, Above, thy native skies ! Beneath, the wreck of faded bloom. The shadow, and the clod, The broken reed, the open tomb, — Above thee, is thy god ! Look up ! thy head too long has been ' Bowed darkly toward the earth, Thou son of a most Royal Sire, Creature of kingly birth ! * What ! dragging like a very slave Earth's heavy galling chain, — And struggling onward to the grave In weariness and pain ? AVhat wouldst thou with this world ? — thy home». Thy country is not here, 'Mid faded flowers, and perished bloom, And shadows dense and drear ! — Thy home is where the tree of Life Waves high its fruitage blest, 'Mid bowers with fadeless beauties rife, — Look up, and claim thy rest ! I'OJ^MS 01 THK HF.AR'I' AND HO.MK. FROST FLOWERS. OvfcR my window in i^enciilinps white, Stealthily traced in the silence of night — Traced with a pencil as viewless as air, By an artist unseen, whem the star-beams were fair. Came wonderful pi tures, so life-like and true That I'm filled with amaze as the marvel I view. Like, and yet unlike the things I have seen, — Feathery ferns in the forest-depths green, Delicate mosses that hide from the light, Snow-drops, and lilies, and hyacinths white, Fringes, and feathers, and half-opened flowers, Closely-twined branches of dim, cedar bowers — Strange, that one hand should so deftly combine Such numberless charms in so quaint a design ! O wondrous creations of silence and night ! I watch as ye fade in the clear morning light, — As ye melt into tear-drops and trickle away From the keen, searching eyes of inquisitive Day. While I gaze ye are gone, and I see you depart With a wistful regret lying deep in my heart, — A longing for something that will not decay. Or melt like these frost-flowers in tear-drops away,-- A passionate yearning of heart for that shore ^Vhere beauty unfading shall last evermore ; Nor, e'en as we gaze, from our vision be lost 1 .ike the beautiful things that are pencilled in frost ! I ill rOEMS OF THE HEART ANr) HOME. THE BEECH-NUT GATHERER. All over the earth like a mantle, Oolden, and green, and grey, Crimson, and scarlet, and yellow, The Autumn foliage lay ; — The sun of :he Indian Summer Laughed at the bare old trees - As they shook their leafless branches In the soft October breeze. The king has risen to his feet ! — what sight has fixed his gaze ? What m^an the wonder in his face, the look of blank amaze ? And what the changed and faltering voice, as doubtfully he cries, ** Tell me, ye counsellors of mine, ye ancient men and wise, ■" Did we not cast, each firmly bound, into the fiercest flame. Three mortal men, for death designed, of Hebrew race and name ? Three ? — on/y three ? — or do I dream ? What sight is this I view »* " And all his counsellors replied, " O monarch, it is true ! " *' Yet now, amid the blinding flames, unbound, and calm, and free. Walking, with firm and steady step, the fiery waves, I see. Not three, but four ; and lo, the form of Him, the fourth, I ween, Is like the Son of God, so calm, so gracious is His mien ! " Then to the furnpce-mouth drciw near the monarch with his train — The baffled monarch, bowed and quelled, feeling how poor and vain m i-i. POEMS OF TIIK HEART AND IIOV.R. •5 Were all his boasted jwrnp and power, how impotent and weak The arm so void of strength that hour his mad revenge to wreak. •' Ho, Shadrach, Meshach, hasten ye ! and thou, Abednego, Servants of CJod Most High, come forth ! " the monarch cried ; and lo, Without a touch or tinge of fire, or smell of scorching flame, Forth, from the glowing heat intense, (Jod's faithful servants came ! O, servants of a heathen king ! all vainly would ye trace Or hue, or stain, or smell of fire, on any form or face ! Those comely locks of raven hair, smooth and un scorched, behold ; Nor may ye find one trace of flame on any garment's fold ! Then cried the heathen king again — and, oh, how altered now The tone and utterance ! — how changed the laughiy lip and brow ! — *• Now blessed be the (lod who hath His angtl sent to free His servants who have tru::ted Him, and changed the King's decree ; " Who gave their bodies to the flame, rather than once to swerve From their allegiance to the God whom they delight to serve ! Therefore, let no one speak against this (llorious One and Just, Who saves, as none but He can save, the souls that in Him trust ! " Then calmly to their wonted toil, their worldly cares again. Unconscious of their deathless fame, went forth those daunt'css men ; Ill 16 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Ihiice blessed men ! with whom, that day, their gracious Lord had walked. And lovingly, as friend with friend, of hallowed mysteries talked. He walked with them amid ihe flames ! Oh, to ihe paths- re^ tread, 'I'hc brighter, smoother, greener paths, with summer-flowers, o'erspread, If but our weak hearts welcome Him, the same dear Lord will come. And walk with us through countless snares, till we arrive at home ! v\ THE ASSEMBLY OF THE DEAD. \\ lii I 1" Dr. Reid, a traveller through the highlands of Peru, is said to have found in the desert of Alcoama the dried remains of an assemblage of human beings, five or six hundred in number, men, women, and children, seated in a semicircle as when alive^ staring into the burning waste before them. It would seem that, knowing the Spanish invaders were at hand, they had come hither with a fixed intention to die. They sat immoveable in that dreary desert, dried like mummies by the hot air, still sitting as if in solemn council, while over that Areopagus silence broods everlastingly."] With dull and lurid skies above, And burning wastes around, A lonely traveller journeyed on Through solitudes profound ; No wandering bird's adventurous wing Paused o'er that cheerless waste. No tree across those dreary sands • A welcome shadow cast. POBMS OF THE ITEART AND HOME. With scorching, pestilential breath The desert-blast swept by, And with a fierce, relentless glare The sun looked from on high ; Yet onward still, though worn with toil. The eager wand'rer pressed. While hope lit up liis dauntless eye. And nerved his fainting breast. Why paused he in his onward course ?— Why held his shuddering breath ?— Why gazed he with bewildered eye, As on the face of death ? Before him sat in stern array, All hushed as if in dread. Yet still, and passionless, and calm, A concourse of the dead ! 17 Across the burning waste they stared With glazed and stony eye. As if strange fear had fixed erewhile Their gaze on vacancy ; And woe and dread on every brow In changeless lines were wrought, — Sad traces of the anguish deep That filled their latest thought ! They seemed a race of other times, O'er whom the desert's blast, For many a long and weary age, In fiery wrath had passed ; Till, scathed and dry, each wasted form Its rigid aspect wore, Unchanged, though centuries had passed The lonely desert o'er. Was it the clash of foreign .nrms — Was it the invader's tread, — i i !ii II i i i8 '^wi POEMS OF THK HEART AND HOME. From which this simple-minded race In wildest terror fled, — Choosing, amid the desert-sands, Scorched by the desert's breath, Rather than by the invaders' steel, To meet the stroke of death ? And there they died — a free-born race — From their proud hills away, While round them in its lonely pride The far, free desert lay ! And there, unburied, still they sit, All statute-like and cold. Free, e'en in death, though o'er their^homes,, Oppression's tide has rolled ! -w>ifJHr * r t I a. ' I I J 1 , , BE STILL. O THROBBING heart, be still ! Canst thou not bear The heavy dash of M'^mory's troubled tide, Long sternly pent, but broken forth again. Sweeping all barriers ruthlessly aside, And leaving desolation in its train Where all was fair ? f i 1 1 Fair, did I say ? — Oh yes ! — I'd reared sweet flowers Of steadfast hope, and quiet, patient trust, Above the wreck and ruin of my years ; — Had won a plant of beauty from the dust. Fanned it with breath of prayer, and wet with tears- Of loneliest hours ! POEMS OF THE HEART AM> HOMK. O throbbing heart, be still ! That cherished flower — Faith in thy God — last grown, yet first in worth, Will spring anew ere long — it is not dead, Tis only beaten to the breast of earth! Let the storm rage — be calm — 'twill lift its head Some stiller hour ! % I ween, Of his solemn repose, Gaily the mighty Flood Flashes and glows ; And, buoyantly, brightly, Fleet-footed or slow, Doth dance with thee lightlv, Unwearying Sault ! If I were a fairy I'd dance with thee too. Daily and nightly, Unfalt'ring and true ; — POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME, In sunlight and starlight, In darkness and day. As free as the breezes, As glad in our play ! We'd sing in the darkness, We'd laugh in the light, We'd whirl in the eddies At noonday and night, — We'd toss up the waters In sunshine, to see How they'd fling us back di'monds And gold in their glee ; — Such amethysts, topazes, Rubies and pearls, As we'd strew o'er the tide In our innocent whirls. And never be lonely. Or weariness know — Ourselves, and us only — O light-hearted Sault ! Yet the dance is thine own, And the song and the glee ; Thou dwellest alone. Untrammelled and free ! Our ships may not glide O'er thy bosom, — our feet May not trace out one path. Or explore one retreat ! We may hollow our channels To left or to right. And glide on our way With thy gambols in sight, Yet this, and this only. Of thee we may know. Thou lone, but not lonely. Free, fetterless Sault ! 4 40 P0EM8 OF THE HEART AND HOME. !: ft '•} mn J ■lilr m\\ s ■ 'li Farewell, ye bright waters, — We part, and for aye ! — My pathway leads on O'er the billows away ; — These feet will grow weary In life's busy mart, These eyes be oft tear-dim. And heavy this heart ; But thou wilt sing on In thy joyous unrest. Unchanging, unwearying, - Buoyant and blest. While the slow-footed centuries Glide on their way, And nations grow hoary, And sink in decay, — Thou, tireless and tameless. Unchecked in thy flow, Shalt sing on as ever, O beautiful Sault ! BROTHER, REST. IN MEMORY OF THE REV. J. E. V. R^T, brother, rest ! Thy eyes no more shall weep O'er unhealed anguish and unconquered sin ; Thy peaceful slumber, tranquilized and deep, Is marred no more by Earth's discordant din. Calm are the skies above thy quiet bed. And culm is Earth in Summer-glories dressed, And cool and sweet the fresh mould richly spread Above thy folded hands and peaceful breast. POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Oh, could my voice thy placid slumber break, And win thee back to mortal scenes a^ain, — Bid thee, unblamed, thy heavenly paths forsake, Once more to walk with me 'mid care and pain, I could not, dare not breathe the word, for thou Hast long enough toiled where the dark curse lies On all Earth's fairest fruitage ; — brother, now Thou seest the " goodly land " with unveiled eyes ! Oh no ! I would not breathe that word, though life For me be sadder for the smile I miss ; For thou hast gained a home unreached by strife, Undimmed by tears — a home of changeless bliss ! There, in sweet fellowship with angels blessed. And all the crowned and glorified above. In thy loved Saviour's longed-for presence rest. And bask forever in the light of Love ! 4X ' 4« POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME '-.1 LOVED AND LOST, — OR— THE SKY-LARK AND THE VIOLET. «il VIOLET'S SONG. I. Come down from thy dazzling sphere, Bird of the gushing song ! Come down where the young leaves whisper low, While the breeze steals in h a murmurous flow, And the tender branches j to and fro In the soft air all day long ! I have watched thy daring wing Cleaving the sun-bright air, Where the snowy cloud is asleep in light, Or dreamily floating in robes of white, While thy soul gushed forth in its song's free might. Till my spirit is dim with care. For oh, I have loved thee well. Thou of the soaring wing ! — And I fear lest the angels that sit on high. In the calm, still depths of the upper sky. Will love with a tenderer love than I, As they stoop to hear thee sing ! Come down from the heights, my bird, And warble thy lays to me ! I shall pine and droop in my grassy nook :i m POEMS OF THK HFART AND HOMK. For the passionate song that my spirit shook, And the low, sad voice of the grieving brook Will murmur all night of thee ! I shall sit alone — alone^ While the noontide hour steals by ; And mournful the woodland's music will be,- Mournful the blue, calm heavens to me, — Mournful the glory on earth and sea, — And mournful the sunset sky ! O voice of exulting song ! — bright, unwavering eye !- - O free wing soaring in fetterless flight Up to the Fountain of quenchless Light ! - O, Earth that darken'st in sudden night, 1 siiudder, and faint, and die ! 4S ■ i . . , ; sky-lark's song. 11. From the dewy grass upspringing — From my wing the pearl-drops flinging — Upward, with exultant singing, Let me — let me fly ! Sun, with gemmed and flashing banners, List my rapturous hosannas — As I mount, on circling wing. Higher, o'er the fragrant meadow, — O'er the forest's broken shadow, — O'er the hill-tops green and golden, — Where the ivied ruins olden Echo out with sudden gladness As I break their brooding sadness With the lays I sing ! ■'i llJf ,>i '- ill! .; ml i ■ ■ r ■ t I 44 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Toy, joy ! — I have caught the song Of the angels that sit above ! — And warble in musical chorus alway Those notes thai oftentimes earthward stray So tenderly sweet at the fall of day, What time the rose-bud's trembling spray Thrills with their lays of love ! — Joy, joy ! — I have caught the song Of bright ones that sit above ! — And the far-off Earth's a forgotten thing, As I mount on free and fetterless wing, Up to the sun-fields where they sing, Drawn on by their soul of love ! Hush ! is it a voice of Earth — Of the far-away Earth, I hear ? Breathing of the fragrant meadow, — Of the drooping willow's shadow, — Of the breezes' gentle sighing, — Of the brooklet's low replying, — Of the blue, o'er-arching heaven, — Of the violet-curtained even, — Of the tender, dreamy starlight, — Of the hushed, majestic midnight ? — And through all that murmur so sad and low, Moanings of passionate anguish flow. Till I feel a weight on my glancing wing Bearing me earthward while yet I sing, With its burden of heavy woe. violet's song. IIL Bird, I am droopuig in tears alone, Pressing my cheek 'gainst the cold, grey stone. POEMS OF THE «EART AND HOME. And looking upward with aching eye, Through the tender depths of the morning sky ;- But thy form fades out in that glorious sea That lieth so calmly 'twixt thee and me ; A speck — it is lost in the azure deep ! And I droop in the deepening gloom, and weep My sorrowful life away ! O voice of passionate song ! — T O bright, unwavering eye ! — O free wing soaring in limitless flight Beyond the stretch of my aching sight ! How the cold earth darkens in sudden night ! How I shudder, and faint, and die ! 45 SKY-LARK S SONG. IV. FAINTER and fainter — 'tis heard no more — That plaintive strain from Earth's lessening shore- And I fling its weight from my fetterless wing, Higher and higher in heaven to sing. Afar from Earth's faded shore ! I shall take my seat in the clouds, I shall sit beside the Sun, — I shall gaze with calm, unfaltering eye On the face of the radiant one ! O glorious, kingly Sun ! — brightly beautiful one ! — O Monarch, sitting serenely bright. In thy quenchless glory on heaven's height, 1 am upward drawn to thee ! — And thy fiery spirit's ardent flame Is downward-drawn to -me ! 46 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Sun, with gemmed and flashing banners, List my rapturous hosannas, As I circle nearer, — nearer,— Where your rays bum brighter, clearer, — Up, on wings of strong desire, Higher still, and ever higher ! ;'i > i 1 '.f ' i ' 1 J 1 S .^ . I violet's song. V. % I DROOP by the cold, grey stone ! — I faint in the smitten day ! — I hear not the song of my own free bird Whose joyous music my glad heart stirred But yester-mom ! I can see no more The humming-bird's wing as it flutters o'er The fragrant clover-bloom ! The brook, with a far-off, sorrowful tone, Seemeth in measureless grief to moan As it hurrieth on its way : — The breath of my lost perfume Floats on the wandering breeze, Over the meadow's perishing bloom. Over the cold, blue seas ! I would not gather it back, I would not fill anew With love's pure incense my broken urn. For the lost can never more return From the sky's encompassing blue ! It is well ! — I would not hang A weight on his fetterless wing ; For was he not make for the sun-bright sky ?- To face the glories that bum on high ? — POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. And I, to sit 'mid Earth's fading bloom, And waste my life in the faint perfume I fling to the thankless breeze ? — Let him cleave the azure infinite ! — Let him pour his soul out in song's free might !- Till the white-robed seraphs that dwell in light Shall stoop to hear him sing ! — Be it mine to fade ere the day-beams die, And alone in the sighing grass to lie. With my dull face turned to the tearless sky, A faded, forgotten thing ! 47 48 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. THE GRACIOUS PROVIDER. ** T/uy need not go away I " the Master said, "Give ye to them." Ah, Lord, behold our store — These loaves, these fishes, — see, we have no more! How shall this fainting throng with these be fed ? " Make them sit down 1 " — and the disciples sped To do His will. He blessed, and brake, and gave And as they ate, each heart grew strong and brave, Filled, till they craved no more, with hallowed bread. Thus, when our hearts grow faint, and stores are small,. And thou demandest all that we possess, O, help us. Lord, to bring that little all. Knowing shouldst thou the gift accept and bless. Our worthless store, so changed and glorified. Ourselves shall feed, and fainting throngs beside. REST IN HEAVEN. When tossed on time's tempestuous tide, By angry storms resistless driven. One hope can bid our fears subside — It is the hope of rest in Heaven. With trusting heart we lift our eyes Above the dark clouds, tempest-driven. And view, beyond those troubled skies, The peaceful, stormless rest of Heaven. No more to shed the exile's tears, — No more the heart by anguish riven, — No longer bent 'neath toilful years, — How sweet will be the rest of Heaven POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. 49 GOOD NIGHT. XiooD NIGHT, good night ! — the day Slowly has borne away, Music and light ; Once more the starry train Sweeps over vale and plain, Soft falls the dews again- - Good night — good night ! Day's weary toils are done, ■Set is the glorious sun, Faded the light ; — Now, to the weary breast Ever a welcome guest, — Comes the sweet hour of rest — Good night — good night ! Evening's cool shadows lie Calmly o'er earth and sky ; And, from the height Ot the far, wooded hill, Sends the lone whip-poor-will. Softer and sweeter still. Plaintive good night. Gently let slumber lie On every weary eye Tired of the light ! E'en as the folded flowers Sleep in the forest bowers, Rest, through the silent hours — Good night — good night ! f«Jr POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. HEART-PICTURES. Two pictures, strangely beautiful, I hold In Mem'ry's chambers, stored with loving care Among the precious things I prized of old, And hid away with tender tear and prayer. The first, an aged woman's placid face Full of the saintly calm of well-spent years. Yet bearing in its pensive lines the trace Of weariness, and care, and many tears. We sat together in our Sabbath-place, Through the hushed hours of many a holy day ; And sweet it was to watch the gentle grace Of that bowed form with those who knelt to pray, And lifted face, when swelled the sacred psalm, And the rich promise of God's word was shed Upon her waiting heart like heavenly balm, And all our souls with angels' meat were fed. T^ere came a day when missing was that face, — 1 liC form so meekly bent in prayer was gone, — Those lifted eyes, so radiant with praise, Beyond the spheres in saintly beauty shone ! — Another crowned one swelling Heaven's high train- Another loved one missed from our low shrine, — Hers, the rich wealth of Heaven's eternal gain, A tearful trust, a tender memory, mine ! iflM'^' ih iiii 'r ,,, The other picture is a young, fair child — A gentle boy, with curls of clustered gold, And calm, dark eyes that seldom more than smiled As though his life had grown too grave and old — POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. 57 Too full of earnest thought, and anxious (juest, And silent searchings after things unseen ; — And yet, the quiet child seemed strangely ble st, As one who inly feels Heaven's peace serene. So close beside me, in his Sabbath-place, He sat or stood, my hand I might have laid Upon his rippling curls, or dropped a kiss Upon his fair, white forehead while he prayed. Frail, beauteous boy ! — upon his little feet — Though all unheard by love's quick ear attent — E'en then Death's chilling waters sternly beat, And with his sweet child-hymns their murmurs blent. One Sabbath day there was an empty seat — I could not see for blinding tears that hour — But by and by, where Living waters meet In God's fair Paradise, I saw my flower, And ceased to weep ! — Henceforth with loving care, These precious pictures in my heart I shrine — Food for sweet thought, incentive to sweet prayer — My own, until I reach tAet'r home and mt'ne ! •m fc » J u jfj ffj r* ^ *• FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST. To pray as Jesus prayed, When faithless brethren sleep, — To weep the ruin sin has made — The only ones that weep, — To bear the heavy cross, — To toil, yet murmur not, — To suffer pain, reproach, and loss, — Be such our earthly lot. 58 POEMS OF THE HFART AND HOME. Yet oh, how richly blest The Master's cup to share, — The aching grief that wrung His breast, — His broken-hearted prayer, — If thus we may but gain One sheaf of golden wheat Gleaned from Earth's sultry harvest-plain, To lay at His dear feet ! — If thus we may but win One precious earthly gera Snatched from the mire of vice and sin, For His rich diadem ! — Here, sorrow, patience, prayer ; In Heaven, the rich r.vvard ! Here, the sharp thorns, the cross, — and there " Forever with the Lord " ! iM il ^ .fc n y n tftr^T* ^ * AN ALLEGORY. AN OLD LESSON IN A NEW DRESS. " Here is a lantern, my little boy," Said a fatner to his child, " And yonder's a wood, a lonely wood, Tangled, and rough, and wild ; And now, this night, — this very hour, Though gloomy and dark it be, By the single light of this lamp alone. You must cross the wild to me 1 t|!; li: III*' POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOSlE. 59 *• I'll be on the farther side, my son, So follow the path you see, And at the end of this narrow way, Awaiting you, I will be ! " Thus bidden, the child set out, but soon. With the gloomy waste ahead, Oppressed with terror and doubt he stopped, Shaking with fear and dread. " Father ! — father ! — I cannot see . - The forest is thick and black, I'm sure there is danger ahead of me, Please, father, call me back ! " But the father's voice through the gloomy wild, In answering accents said, — ^''Just keep in the light of your lamp^ my child^ And don't look too far ahead I " Thus cheered, the child pressed trustingly on, Though trembling much with fear. For around, beyond, and overhead, The forest was dark and drear. And ever, to keep his courage up. To himself he softly said, — ' " He told me to keep in the light of my lamp, And not look too far ahead ! " At length the other side was gained, And lo, the father was there ! To welcome his child from the dreary wild, Where darkness and danger were ; And, " why did you fear, my son ? " he said, " You had plenty of light, you see. Though it lit but a step at a time, enough To guide you safely to me ! " And besides, I was just ahead in the dark — Though you did not see me at all — m Ii lli .111 , i 60 POmtg^ OF THE HEART AND HOME. To be sure that no evil or accident Should my darling child befall ; Then remember, my son, in life's darkest ways The simple words that I said, — ^ Just keep in the light of your latnp^ my child, And not look too far ahead . ' ? M» ■■ 1 i ' "' " i!i ii|f; '! f«Jf4m^^^'^mmmmm^mm POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Hail, risen Lord, — exalted King, Well may the highest heavens ring With rapture's sweetest lays ! Be ours to add our feeble sigh To the full chorus of the sky, In reverential praise ! 67 LINES ON THE DEATH OF A YOUNG MOTHER A voiCE^is missed by the dear home-hearth — A voice of music and gentle mirth — A voice whose lingering sweetness long Will float through many a Sabbath song, And many a hallowed, evening hymn, Tenderly breathed in the twilight dim ! — But that missing voice, with a richer tone. Is heard in the anthems before the throne ; And another voice and another lyre, Are added now to the ungel-choir ! There's a missing face when the board is spread- There's a vacant seat at the table's head, — A watchful eye and a helpful hand That will come no more to that broken band. — But she sits to-day at the board above. In the tender light of a holier love ; And the kindling eye and the beaming face At the feast on high hold a nobler place ! A form is missed in the hour of prayer, At the altar, now, there's an empty chair. :f 08 POEMS OK THK HEART AND HOME. Where one lonely i>lcader hath scarcely won Strength, e'en yet, for " Thy will be done r — r>ut that missing form in its saintly dress Of Christ's unsullitd righteousness, Bows with worshipful accents sweet, >\'here angels bow . n the Saviour's feet ! A step is missed by the cradle-bed Where an infant nestles its sleeping head — Smiling, perchance, in his baby rest, ■^^J,^^u ^ Deeming his pillow her gentle breast. — Uut the feet that moved with a soundless tread. In the calm still night by that cra(lle-bed, . Beyond the waters of death now stand 'Mid the fadeless flowers of the Heavenly land O heart, sore-pierced by the fatal dart ! — ( wounded, suffering, bleeding heart ! — More than all others doomed to miss The glance, the accent, tlie smile, the kiss, — Nothing is lost that you miss to-day — Not even the beautiful, death-cold clay ; But Jesus guards it with watchful eye. Soon to restore it no more to die, Clothed in the bloom of immortal life, The sinless mot her, the sainted wife ! POEMS OF THE HEART ANu HOMF, 69 PATIENCE. I. I SAW how the patient Sun Hasted untiringly The self-same old race to run ; Never aspiringly Seeking some other road Through the blue heaven Than the one path which God I .ong since had given ; — And I said ; — " Patient Sun, Teach me my race to run, Even as thine is done, Steadfastly ever ; Weakly, impatiently li \Vandering never ! " II. I saw how the patient Earth Sat uncomplainingly, While, in his boisterous mirth, Winter disdainingly Mocked at her steadfast trust, That, from its icy chain. Spring her imprisoned dust Soon would release again ; — And I said ; — " Patient Earth, Biding thy hour of dearth. Waiting the voice of mirth Soon to re-waken. Teach me like thee to trust. Steadfast, unshaken ! " I 70 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. t I ' f III. 1 saw how the patient Stream Hasted unceasingly, Mindless of shade or gleam, Onward increasingly, — Widening, deepening Its rocky bed ever, That it might thus take in River by river ; — And I said ; — " Patient Stream, Hasting through shade and gleam, Careless of noontide beam, Loitering never. So teach thou me to press Onward forever ! " IV. I saw how the Holiest One Sat in the Heaven, Watching each earth-born son Sin-tossed and driven, — Watching war's mad'ning strife — Brother 'gainst brother, R eckless of love and life, Slaying each other ; — And I said ; — " Patient One, On thy exalted throne. Never impatient grown With our dark sinning. Though all its depth thou'st known From the beginning — I' i"8 " Though thy fair Earth has been Blood-dyed for ages. POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Though in her valleys green, Carnage still rages, Thou, o'er whoso brow serene, Calmest and Holiest ! Angel has never seen, E'en toward Earth's lowliest, Shadows impatient sweep Teach me, like thee, to keep In my soul, still and deep. Wavering never. Patience — a steady light, Burning forever ! " 7» A PARTING HVMN. F VTHER in Heaven, to thee. Guardian and friend, Lowly the suppliant knee Here would we bend ! — Blessing thee ere we part, Each with a grateful heart, For all thy love doth send Plenteous and free ! Thanks for thy hand outspread Ever in power O'er each defenceless head In danger's hour ! Thanks for the light and love. From thy full fount above — A rich and constant shower. O'er us still shed ! I 72 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Go thou with US, we pray, Whom duties call To our high tasks away, Each one, and all ; — Go, with thy Spirit's might. Go, with thy Gospel's light — Whatever may befall — With us alway ! Now let thy blessing r-ist On us anew — Brother, and friend, and guest. Tried ones and true ! — Till, all our partings o'er. Meeting, to part no more, In Heaven we renew Friendships so blest ! THE DANCE OF THE WINDS. The Wind-god, Eolus, sat one morn in his cavern of tempests, quite forlorn ; He'd been ill of a fever a month and a day, And the sun had been having things all his own way, Pouring o'er earth such a torrent of heat That the meadows were dry as the trampled street, And people were panting, and ready to die Of the fires that blazed from the pitiless sky. But the King felt better that hot June day, So he said to himself: " I will get up a play Among the children, by way of a change ; No doubt they are feeling, like me, very strange jmiiAMiiWHm POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. At this dreary confinement — a month and more, And never once stirring at all out of door ! It is terribly wearisome keeping so still — They all shall go out for a dance on the hill." Then aloud he spake, and the dreary hall Re-echoed hoarsely his hollow call : " Ho ! Boreas, Auster, Eurus, ho ! And you, too, dainty-winged Zephyrus, go And have a dance on the hills to-day. And I'll sit here and enjoy your play." Then Boreas started with such a roar That the King, his father, was troubled sore, And peevishly muttered within himself — " He'll burst his throat, the unmannerly elf ! " But Auster, angry at seeing his brother Astart of him, broke away with another As fearful a yell from the opposite side Of the wind-cave, gloomy, and long, and wide. One from the South, and one from the North, The rough-temperevi brothers went shrieking forth And faster, and faster, and faster still. They swept o'er valley, and forest, and hill. The clouds affrighted before them flew, From white swift changing to black or blue ; But, failing to 'scape the assailants' ire, Fell afoul of each other in conflict dire. 73 Now hot, now cold — what a strife was there ! Till the crashing hailstones smote the air. And men and women in country and town Were hastily closing their windows down. And shutting doors with a crash and a bang. While the raindrops beat, and the hailstones rang, And the lightnings glared from the fiery eyes Of the furious combatants up in the skies, n 1 1^; I 1 ^' 1 ' 1 j .k \ .i ,:4 l\ ,v t' POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME And burst in thunder-claps far and near,- Making the timorous shake with fear. Then Eolus with affright grew cold, I'or his blood, you'll remember, is thin and old, And his turbulent sons such an uproar made, 'I'hat, watching the conflict, he grew afraid 1 ,est in the rage of their desperate fight, The pair should finish each other outright. So he shouted to Eurus ; " Away ! away ! Come up from the East by the shortest way. And try and part them ; and you, too, go, Zephyrus ! — why are you loitering so ? " Then away sped Eurus shrieking so Ic id That he startled a lazy, half-slumbering cloud, That fled before him white in the face, And dashed away at a furious pace. But he drove it fiercely betwixt the two. Who parted, and, scarce knowing what to do, Descended, and each from an opposite place Began to fling dirt in the other one's face. Then round, and round, and round again. They raced and chased over valley and plain. Catching up, in their mischievous whirls. The hats of boys and the bonnets of girls, — Tossing up feathers, and leaves, and sticks, Knocking down chimneys, and scattering bricks. Levelling fences and pulling up trees, Till Eolus — oftentimes hard to please — Clapped his hands as his wine he quaffed, And laughed as he never before had laughed. Cried Eurus ;--" Ho,ho ! — so this furious fight Ends up in a romp and a frolic ! — all right — I am in for a share ! " Then away went he, And joined with a will in the boisterous glee. ? 1 i 1 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HONfF.. 75 Till, out of breath, ere the sun went down, They all fell asleep in the forest brown. A full hour afterwards, ambling along, Came dainty Zephyrus humming a song, And pausing — the truant— to kiss earh flower That blushed in garden, or field, or bower. ])Ut no one was left to be merry with him, .So he danced with the leaves til! the light grew dim, And, as Twilight was going to sleep in the west. He, too, fell asleep on a rose's breast. STRIKE THE CHORDS SOFTLY. Strike the chords softly with tremulous fingers, While, on the threshold of happiest years, I'or a brief moment fond memory lingers. Ere we go forth to life's conflicts and fears ! Strike the chords softly ! — yet no, as we tarry. Swiftly the morning is gliding away ; Weary ones droop 'neath the burdens they carry, Toiling ones faint in the heat of the day. Let us not linger ! — Earth's millions are crying " Come to us, aid us, we grope in the night ! Come to us, aid us, we're perishing, dying — Give us, oh, give us, the heavenly light ! Let us not linger ! — our brethren are calling,— " Aid us, the harvest increases each day ;— Some have grown wtary, alas, of their toiling ! — Others have passed from their labors away. " m ■■■I I ' 76 POKMS OF IHK hi: ART AND HOME. Gracious Redeemer ! we go at thy bidding, Gladly encountering peril and loss ; Take us — ourselves to thy work we are giving, (jiveus — 'tis more than we merit— ///j' cross ! AT HOME. I 1 iiouGH'j- it pleasant when a manly sire Weary of foreign travel, at the door Ol his own cottage left his dusty staff, And entering in, sat clown with those he loved Beside the hearth of home ; — and pleasant, too, When a fond mother, absent for a day. At eve returning, from the sunset hill That overlooked her cot, descried her boys Flying with joyous feet along the path To greet her coming ; and, with clasping hands Of baby welcome, lead her through the gate Of her swee^ home. )- i ! Pleasant I deemed it, too, When a young man, a wanderer for years From those he loved, at length sat down again With sire and mother in the twilight hour At home ; — and when a gentle daughter, long I'Vom mother's kiss and father's blessing far. Heard once again their ne'er forgotten tones ^ t\ <^ ^. i\ 79 WBT MAIN STMIT WliS1M,N.Y. I4SM (716)a72-4S03 '4^ ^ 1 O^ i !■ i 84 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. BY AND BY. God will not let His bt ight gifts die : If 1 7nay not sin^ my song^ just now I shall sing them by and by. fi A TOiMNG man with a Poet's soul, , And a Poet's kindling eye — Dark, dreamy, full of unvoiced thought — And forehead calm and high, Toiled wearily at his heavy task Till his soul grew sick with pain, And the pent-up fires that burned within Seemed withering heart and brain. " >\'ork, work, work ! " he murmured low, Glancing up at the golden west — '' Work, with the sunset heavens aglow By the hands of angels dressed ; Work for this perishing, human clay, While the soul, like a prisoned bird, Flutters its helpless wings alway • By passionate longings stirred. " I hear in the wandering zephyr's song Tones that no others hear ; And alien melodies all day long Are murmuring in my ear ; — Phantoms of beauty in cloud and flower Haunt me where'er I stray, And flit thro' the green of the summer bower, At the«c]ose of each toil-spent day. " There are voices that sigh in the wind's low sigh,. Or wail in the tempest's roar, — POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. 'J'hat sing in the brooklets that wander by, Or sob along ocean's shore ; — 1 hear them ever, yet may not stay. To list to the rhythmic strain ; And the unvoiced melodies die away, Never to come again. " Something I see in the lightning's flash That my fellows may not see. And something hear in the thunder's crash, That cometh alone to me ; — But the glory fades ere I gather it in. And fix it in brain or heart ; And the strains I caught thro' the elements' din, Are lost in Toil's crowded mart. li *' O haunting strains of unuttered song ! O tenderest melodies lost ! O sweet, stray notes of the heavenly throng On the wing of the tempest tossed ! O spirit-harp that, untouched, untuned, To each subtle influence thrills. As thrills some wild, ^olian harp. To the breezes that sweep the hills ! — • *' I th'rst, I pant, to be free to list To the voices that call to me. From flood and fountain, from vale and height, l-rom forest, and shore, and sea, — To gaze on the Beauty whose subtle fire Breaks on me thro' Nature's eyes, And pour from the strings of my unused lyre All tenderest harmonies ! " Ah, thirsty spirit ! the day will come, NVhen, the sway of this mortal o'er, Thou shalt strike thy lyre with a fearless hand On a brighter, calmer shore ; I : ) ) I: m i/f ill $$ POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. For Cfod, who giveth tliC breath of Song, Will not let His briglit gifts die ; And though thy harp-strings be silint long. Thou shalt waken them by and by. Aye ! and the Musir that seemeth lost Shall linger in Memory's cells, As lingers along the Alpine heights The echo of vesper-bells ; — Not lost, but waiting the freer pulse Of the life thou yet shalt know, To blend with the tides of enraptured song That the Heavenly heights overflow. And the Beauty that, lost to thee, seemeth now,. Sealed in thy heart shall stay, As the sun-ray sealed in the dia; ond's heart, Burns on with unchanging ray ; Then take with gladness the joy that steals The sting of thy toil away, And wait in hope for the higher joy That shall crown thee another day I » t >JTJ»*»*r* THE ONE REFUGE. I. Storms gather o'er thy path. Christian 1 — the sullen, tempest-darkened sky Grows lurid with the elemental wrath, — Say, whither wilt thou fly ? God is my Refuge ! — let the tempests come. They will but spee 1 me sooner to my home I POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. 87 II. Night lowers in sullen gloom, Christian ! — a long, dark night awaiteth tl.ee, Dreary as Egypt's night of fear and doom, — Where will thy hiding be ? Ciod is my refuge ! — in the dreary night In Him I dwell, and have abundant light ! III. Thine is a lonely way, Christian ! — and dangers all thy path infest ; Pitfalls and snares crowd all thy doubtful way, — Where is thy place of rest ? God is my Refuge ! — safe in Him I move, And feel no fear, kept by sustaining Love. IV. The grave — that dreary place, Christian, the lonely dwelling in the dust Awaits thee ; 'tis the doom of all thy race, — Where, then, shall be thy trust ? Cod is my refuge ! Sweet will be my rest On the dear pillow that my Saviour pressed ! V. Alas ! — that dreamless sleep — Christian, its chains are strong, and hard to break ; All thy belov'd sleep on in silence deep, And dost thou hope to wake ? Cod is my refuge ! I shall wake and sing — " O grave ! where is thy vict'ry ?— death thy sting ? '* £8 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. y i JUDSON'S GRAVE. He sleeps where the billow Lifts high its white crest O'er his lone, sea-weed pillow On Ocean's dark breast ; No shroud is around him, No flowers bloom above, No mourner's surround him With grief-drops of love. But the limitless ocean His requiem sings, As, with tireless motion, The green billow springs Toward the infinite heaven, Blue, bending above. Where angels are watching His slumbers in love. Oh ! boundless his tomb is, Far-reaching, sublime. Stretching forth in immenseness To every clime ; Thus boundless his love was. On every side Spreading freely wherever Man sorrowed or died. Sleep, Judson ! no grave-dust Shall rest on thy head. In sunlight or starlight No marble shall shed Its shadow sepulchral Above thee, — no tomb Save Earth's grandest and vastest, May give to thee room ! POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Man marks not thy pillow With yew-tree or stone ; But God, o'er the biliow, Keeps watch of His own *, And glorious thy rising, O crowned one, will be, When Jehovah shall summon His dead from the sea ! 89 SHALL BE FREE. *' All PERSONS held as slaves, within said designated States and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall HE free ! -' — Proclamation of Emancipation ^ Jan. isty i86j. " Shall be free ! shall be free ! " — lo, the strong winds have caught it. And borne it from hill top to hill top afar, And echo to answering echo has taught it, Through the din of the conflict, the thunder of war ! It has flashed like the lightning from ocean to ocean. Across the black face of the skies it has blazed. And strong men have thrilled with unwonted emotion. And shouted for joy as they listened and gazed ! *• Shall be free ! shall be free ! " — the poor, manacled "chattel" Has caught the sweet word amid fetters and blows ; It has burst on his ear through the tumult of battle. Through the shoutings of friends and the cursings of foes; And lifting his poor, fettered hands up to heaven. He has joined in the song that ascended to God ; Or, kneeling in trembling rapture, has given Thanksgiving to Him who has broken the rod ! I I 90 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. i ■> '^ i ! I " Shall be free! shall be free ! " — there are ears that have listened, There are lips that have prayed through long, agonized years. There are eyes that with hope's fitful radiance have glistened, Yet, as hope was deferred, have grown heavy with tears. Joy ! joy ! — thou hast heard it at last, lonely weeper, Look up, for the prayer of thy anguish is heard ! * Look up, ye bruised spirits, for God is your keeper, And the heart of His bounoless ccmpassion is stnred ! ■"' Shall be free ! shall be free ! "— O Humanity, listen ! The 1 )awn that long since on the pale " Watcher " shone. Now higher, and brighter, and clearer has risen. As the Day-star rides on to' ard the glories of noon. Those words that rang out from the isles of the ocean, Sarmatia has echoed from mountain to sea : And America, from her red field of commotion. Re-echoes the same stirring words — " Shall be free ! '' Hark ! — all the wild air is astir with the tempest ! The swift lightnings leap in red arrows on high ! Winds shriek to mad winds, and the hoarse thunder answers As it ploughs its dread path through the shuddering sky ! There are hisses of serpents, and bowlings of demons. And moanings of anguish by land and by sea : -^ But, clearer than angel-tones, high o'er the tumult. Rings out the glad utterance — " they shall be free ! " And lo ! dimly seen, on the crest of the billow Lashed white by the storm, undismayed and serene. Moves that form that once bent o'er the sufferer's pillow. And touched the dim eyes till strange glories were seen ;. And sweetly, to ears that will patiently listen, That voice which spake " peace " to turbulent sea, Now speaks through the roar of the tempest uprisen. In tones unmistakable, — "they shall be free ! " POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. 9« AFTER FIFTY YEARS, — OR-i- A MOTHERS ADDRESS TO HER FAMILY ON HER GOLDEN- WEDDING DAY. Just fifty years, my daughters, Just fifty years, my son. Since your sire and I together The march of life begun. It does not seem so long ago K^ half a hundred y eats ^ Since hand in hand we started out. To face life's toils and tears ! And toils, and tears, too, we have met ; Yet sunbeams oft have come — Many, and beautiful, and bright — To cheer our happy home ; Sweet infant faces, thro' the years. Are smiling; back to me ; And, God be praised, each precious one Still at my side I see ! Yet ye are changed, my children three, Your baby-bloom is gone ; And you are growing old, I see, _ Grey hairs are coming on ; Yet when I, musing, close my eyes, I see you as you were ^ In those old years when cloudless skies Dropped sunshine on your hair. The patter of your busy feet Still rings upon the floor, And song, and jest, and laughter sweet Float round me as of yore ; — I M POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. I ! lis :i Yet when I open eager eyes, To watch your pastimes gay, Your children's faces round me rise — Yourselves have done with play. And there was one — a little one — Who slumbered on my breast — 1 loved and cherished as my own, That dove that sought your nest ; And she is here, — I see her face Among my own to-day ; — Thank God for all the loves I aace, Along life's devious way ! And yet there's one we miss to-day, — The last to quit our side, — The one who wandered far away The day she was a bride. Were she but here, our chain of love No missing link would show. And every face we called our own Would still around us glow. Well, half a century is, I know, A long, long stretch of time ; And truly once we deemed it so, When we were in our prime. But as we've glided down the years They've shorter seemed to grow. And now, how brief the time appears Since fifty years ago ! And, hiisband, you and I have changed Since that old wedding day \ — I viewed you then with partial eyes — " Fond, girlish eyes " you'd say ; — But were my eyes as keen as then, And I allowed to scan POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. The handsomest of handsome men, Voi4 still would be the man. 9.^ The man of men ! — 'twas so Tthought . Just fifty years ago, When you and I joined hands for life ; And yet, I did not know Half — half as well as I do now, How dear you were that day ; And^€ver dearer still you've grown As years have rolled away ! And still this fiftieth wedding-day I have thee by my side — An old man, weary, bent, and grey. My tall tree tempest-tried ; And yet I do aver that thou Art fairer in my sight, As in thy face I gaze just now. Than on our wedding night ! And husband — oh, the best of all. We'll soon be young again. And free to tread with buoyant feet A brighter, holier plain ; — ^^'e'll soon have done wilh pain and age. And weariness and strife. Soon end our earthly pilgrimage In new, exultant life. For you and I, dear, have a home — A mansion of our own — ^Vhere change and blight can never come, And sorrow is unknown ; And soon we're going to enter in. And with our Lord sit down, — Heirs of His glory and His bliss, His kingdom and His crown ! rOEMS OF THK HEART AND HOME, I Many we love liave thither gone, And soon we'll be there too ; — And, children, you will follow on, We shall look out for you. Oh, may we, in that blessed throng Of saved ones robed in white. Not miss a single dear-loved face 'J'hat smiles on ours to night ! Just fifty years of wedded life In the dear past I see ; » Before us spreads — not fifty years — But all Eternity ; And while, 'mid ever-deepening bliss, The tranquil ages glide, SttU, hand in hand and heart in heart. With Christ we shall abide ! THE EAllTH-VOICE AND ITS ANSWER. I PLUCKED a fair flower that grew In the shadow of summer's green trees — A rose-petalled flower, Ot all in the bower. Best beloved of the bee and the breeze. I plucked it, and kissed it, and called it my own— This beautiful, beautiful flower That alone in the cool, tender shadow had grown, Fairest and first in the bower. Then a murmur I heard at my feet — A pensive and sorrowful sound ; And I stooped me to hear, While tear after tear POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME, 95 Rained down from my eyes to the ground, As I, listening, heard This sorrowful word. So breathing of anguish profound : — •' I have gathered the fairest and best, I have gathered the rarest and sweetest, — My life-blood I've given As an oflTring to Heaven In this flower, of all flowers the completest. Through the long, quiet night, With the pale stars in sight, — Through the sun-lighted day Of the balm-breathing May, I have toiled on, in silence, to bring • To perfection this beautiful flower, The pride of the blossoming bower — ^ The (jueenliest blossom of spring. " But I am forgotten ; — none heed Me — the brown soil where it grew, That drank in by day The sun's blessed ray, And gathered at twilight the dew ; — That fed it by night and by day With nectar drops slowly distilled In the secret alembic of earth, And diffused through each delicate vein Till tlie sunbeams were charmed to remain, Entranced in a dream of delight. Stealing in with their arrows of light Through the calyx of delicate green. The close-folded petals between, g Down into its warm hidden heart — Until, with an ecstatic start At the rapture, so wondrous and new, That throbbed at its innermost he irt. Wide opened the beautiful eyes. And lo ! with a sudden surprise 96 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. 1 <■■ I I •I ^ i ( i I 1 Caught the glance of the glorious sun — The ardent and worshipful one — Looking down from his heavenly place ; And the blush of delighted surprise Remained in its warm glowing dyes, Evermore on that radiant face. ({ Then mortals, in worshipful mood, Bent over my wonderful flower ; And called it ' the fairest, The richest, the rarest, The priue of the blossoming bower.' But I am forgotten. Ah me ! I, the brown soil where it firew. That cherished and nourished The stem where it flourished, And fed it with sunshine and dew ! " O Man ! will it always be thus ? — Will you take the rich gifts that are given By the tireless workers of earth. By the bountiful Father in heaven ; And, intent on the worth of the gift. Never think of the maker, the giver ?- Of the long patient efibrt, — the thought That secretly grew in the brain Of the Poet to measure and strain, Till it burst on your ear, richly fraught With the vapturous sweetness of song ? — What availeth it, then, that ye toil, You, thought's patient producers, to be Unloved and unprized. Trodden down and despised By those whom you toil for, like me — Forgotten and trampled like me ? " — Then my heart made indignant reply. In spite of my fast-falling tears — POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. 9| In spite of the v/earisome years Of toil unrequited that lay In the track of the past, and the way Thorn-girded I'd trod in those years : — " So be it, if so it must be ! — May I know that ihe thing I so patiently bring From the depths of the heart and the brain, A creature of beauty goes forth. Midst the hideous phantoms that press And crowd the lone [»aths of this work-weary life. Midst the labor and care, the temptation and strife^ To gladden and comfort and bless ! *' So be ic, if so it must be ! — May I know that the thing I so patiently bring From the depths of the heart and the brain. Goes forth with a conquerors might. Through the gloom of this turbulent world, Potent for truth and for right. Where truth has so often been hurled 'Neath the feet of the throng — The hurrying, passionate throng ! — " What matter though I be forgot. Since toil is itself a delight ? — Since the/^ Tjf JNr*r*^ AUTUMN AND WINTER. Beautiful Autumn is dead and gone — Weep for her ! Calm, and gracious, and very fair. With sunny robe and with shining hair, And a tender light in her dreamy eye, She came to earth but to smile and die — Weep for her ! Nay, nay, I will not weep ! She came with a smile, And tarried awhile, Quieting Nature to sleep ; — Then went on her way O'er the hill-tops grey, And yet — and yet, she is dead^ you say ! Nay ! — she brought us blessings, and left us cheer, And alive and well she'll return next year !— • Why should I weep ? ■ T ii 1 5? ,' I ' :K -^i i,'A . !" 100 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. II. Desolate Winter has come again — Frown on him ! He comes with a withering breath, With a gloomy scowl, With a shriek and a howl, Freezing Nature to death ! He stamps on the hills, He fetters the rills. And every hollow with snow he fills ! Frown on the monster grim and old. With snowy robes and v';i.h fingers cold> And a gusty breath ! Nay, nay ! I shall give him a smile ! — For I know by the sleet, And the snow in the street, He has come to tarry awhile. Ho, for the sleigh-bells merrily ringing ! Ho, for the skaters joyously singing — Over the ice-fields gliding, swinging ! — So let the Winter-king whiten the plain ! Fetter the fountains and frost the pane, His greeting shall be — Not a frown from me, But a smile — a smile ! w m KiiAi^j f j urir I " T * 'I POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOMF, lOI TILL TO-MORROW. <}00D NIGHT ! good night ! — the golden day Has veiled its sunset beam, And twilight's star its beauteous ray Has mirrored in the stream ; — Low voices come from vale and height, And murmur soft, good night ! good night ! Oood night ! — the bee with folded wings Sleeps sweet in honeyed flowers, And far away the night-bird sings In dreamy forest bowers, And slowly fades the western light In deepening shade, — good night ! good night ! Oood night ! good night ! — in whispers low The ling'ring zephyr sighs. And softly, in its dreamy flow. The murm'ring brook replies ; And, where yon casement still is bright, A softer voice has breathed good-night ! •Good night ! — as steals the cooling dew Where the young violet lies. E'en so may slumber steal anew To weary human eyes. And softly steep the aching sight In dewy rest — good night ! good night ! 102 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. OUR COUNTRY ; •— OR,— A CENTURY OF PROGRESS. im Over the waves of the Western sea, Led by the hand of Hope she came — The beautiful Angel of Liberty — When the sky was red with the sunset's flame ;— Came to a rocky and surf-beat shore. Lone, and wintry, and stern, and wild. The waves behind her, and wastes before, And the Angel of Liberty, pausing, smiled. " Here, O Sister, shall be our rest !" Softly she sang, and the waters shone> While a mellower radiance flushed the west. Lingering mountiAin and vale upon ; — Sweetly the murmurous melody blent With flow of rivers and woodland song, And wandering breezes that singing went, Joyously wafted the notes along. Acadia lifted her mist-wreath(id brow. Westerly gazing with eager eye. And lakes that sat in the sunset glow Flashed back upon her in glad reply ; — On, with every murmuring stream. On, with every wandering breeze. Floated the strain through the New World's dream^ Till it died on the far Pacific seas. Many a season came and went, — Many a changeful year sped by,- POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. Many a forest its proud head bent, — Many a valley looked up to the sky ; Patient Labor and bold Emprise, Art, Invention, Science, Skill, Each for each 'neath those northern skies Toiled together with earnest will. Up the mountain, and down the glen, ' And far away to the level West, Hosts of dauntless, unwearied men Onward ever with firm foot pressed ; The blue axe gleamed in the wintry light. And forests melted like mist away. Through vurgin soils went the ploughshare bright^ And harvests brightened the summer day. Learning gathered around her feet Listening crowds of aspiring youth ; Meek Religion with accents sweet Guided her vot'ries in ways o^ truth ; Countless church-spires pierced the skies. Countless temples of Science wooed To thought's arena of high emprise An eager, emulous multitude. White sails dotted the waters blue, Hamlets smiled amid valleys green, Populous cities sprang and grew Where swamp and wilderness erst were seen ; Fleet as the temj^est the Iron-steed Shook the hills with his thunderous tread ; From shore to shore, with the lightning's speed. Couriers electric man's errands sped. Then kindred States that had stood apart Stretched to each other fraternal hands, And, each to all, with a loyal heart. Bound themselves with enduring bands ; — Then the Angel of Liberty smiled once more. Softly singing — " O Lands, well done ! " 10} ^11 ! 104 POEMS OF THE HEART AND HOME. And the strains were wafted from shore to shore To the far-oflf clime? of the setting sun. " Here, O Sister, shall be oar rest !" — Again the beautiful Angel sung — Long, oh long, shall these climes be blessed. Free and fetterless, brave and young, If only loyal to Him who reigns Over all nations the Lord Most-High, Monarch of Heaven's serene domains. Ruler of all things below the sky. ' ' *' Bow to His service, O young, bright lands ! Give Him the bloom of your joyous youth ! Lift to Him alway adoring hands ! Worship Him ever in love and truth ! So shall ye still, as the glad ye" rs rise, Ever more stable and glorious be. Heir of all loftiest destinies, Hope of Humanity ! Homr of the free !" \H !