4099 
 
 V 
 
 F 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 J 
 
 yi<
 
 #&:•.£• $$£? 
 
 
 &.■&&&& 
 
 
 iV'Vt'- 
 
 
 ...♦••»-.•,.. .*';; .; 
 
 
 * **•* •»* \ 
 
 
 ', **•»" * '»*-• ' 
 
 
 i . .".*>" *>■:««•*/ 
 
 
 •?*??^ 
 
 
 .••% t S-*££V£\ : % 
 
 
 
 
 •■•*■ " *.. .*-**'lv£«*5'.*V ■ 
 «•••;.'•* v.- , 5 
 
 1 
 
 •. .«•*• •*• ' ••< *W .*. * 
 
 ^| 
 
 
 1 
 
 ■i^-;*&i# 
 
 1 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 H 
 
 »:•: #v** ; ; v •-♦ vgvi**" 
 
 Hmm 
 
 
 * *"'-vV---" •«&; ; 
 
 . >. -.-;• •> '•**.*.•**- •*^'' 
 
 V***|M' 
 
 ****** *** *« "•«**•»•* . •'' *•*"!' 
 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 1
 
 
 
 
 ?WW:^& 
 
 

 
 SEA S P R A Y ; 
 AND OTHER POEMS.
 
 r~ 
 
 y 
 
 ±.-* 
 
 SEA SPRAY.
 
 SEA S P RAY ; 
 
 Hnfc other poems. 
 
 JEANNIE BEDNALL. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 H. G. BAG U LEY. 
 
 LONDON : 
 ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 1894.
 
 /9f 
 
 "Ho the jftUmoru 
 
 / OF 
 
 MY DEAR FATHER 
 
 1 DEDICATE THIS, MY FIRST VOLUME, 
 
 BECAUSE ro HIM 1 OWE IIIAI INNATE LOVE O] POETRY 
 
 WHICH FIRST INDUCED ME TO TRY TO EXPRESS 
 
 MY THOUGH h IN Vl.l: l . 
 
 859826
 
 PREFACE 
 
 UT for the kind criticism and encourage- 
 ment of men whose advice even the 
 world would deem of value, I should 
 never have dared to put forward this 
 little work. Even now, when I read the words of our 
 great song-makers — ami, indeed, of some of those who 
 are comparatively unknown — I wonder at my own 
 temerity in doing so ; but again I take courage when 
 I think that, after listening to the sweetest of our song- 
 birds, there are some among us who can take pleasure 
 in the chirpings and twitterings of the sparrows who 
 come boldly to our doors to ask for crumbs. And so 
 I venture to hope that some little pleasure may be gained 
 by reading my verses, and a few crumbs of approbation 
 fall to my share.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 SEA SPRAV 
 
 29 
 
 3' 
 34 
 37 
 
 PAGE 
 " 15 
 
 THE SPRING - - - - - .21 
 
 TO ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON - - - - 23 
 
 .JTHE WINDS - - - - - 26 
 
 NIGHT - - - - 
 
 FAREWELL - 
 
 SEVERED ------ 
 
 LA SERENATA - 
 
 A PORTRAIT ..... 40 
 
 THE FATE OF THE "FAERIE QUEEN" - - -43 
 
 THE PHANTOM CASTLE - - - 53 
 
 DEAD ! - - - - - - - 58 
 
 NATURE'S VOICES - - - - - 68 
 
 TO MABEL - - - - - - 72 
 
 WHEN COMETH THE SPRING - - - "75 
 
 SONNETS. 
 
 SPACE - - - - - - - 78 
 
 ETERN1TV - - - - - 80 
 
 THE INFINITE - - - - - - 8l
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 SEA SPRAY Frontispiece 
 
 A TRAIL OF SILVER LIGHT - - Page 25 
 
 "thine eyes are seas of rENDERNESS" To face page 31 
 
 "when by the WOODLAND STRl \\l' ; - „ „ 34 
 
 THE PHANTOM CASTLE - ,, ., 53 
 
 THE ORIEL window - - Page 57 
 
 THE FLAG-FRINGED -MERE - To face page 70 
 
 MABEL - - - 72
 
 
 SEA STRAY. 
 
 WANDERED far along the beach when 
 skies were dull and louring, 
 And heavy were the eyelids of the dark- 
 browed new-born day, 
 When round the rocky mountain-cliff the curlews circled 
 
 screaming, 
 And on the far horizon the full-sailed ships were gleam- 
 ing 
 Like white-robed giant-ghosts, against the leaden gray. 
 What was it filled the air with dread, the wild sea- 
 
 birds affrighting ?
 
 1 6 SEA SPRA Y 
 
 A solemn hush,— a weird strange light. What made my 
 
 spirit quail ? 
 A deadly calm, while to my feet the sullen waves came 
 
 creeping, , 
 
 • A coming gale," the fishers said, and women shuddered, 
 
 wee pi i 
 While in my cars the waters moaned as wandering spirits 
 
 wail. 
 
 I stood upon the grassy dune, when all the world was 
 flushing 
 
 With warm joy-laden kisses, from the golden (lod of 
 
 Day; 
 And westward there was yellow broom and purple heather 
 
 growing ;
 
 »■ 
 
 SEA SPRAY , 7 
 
 And eastward was the glorious sea, for ever overflowing 
 
 With laughing, dancing, shimmering, glancing baby-waves 
 at play. 
 
 Oh'! where are words wherewith to sing the beauty soul- 
 entrancing 
 
 Of vaulted roof and sparkling floor of jewel-studded 
 sand, 
 
 Of wondrous tones from silv'ry green to deepest azure- 
 ranging, 
 
 Of ever-fleeting light and shade on that huge canvas 
 changing 
 
 Within great Nature's studio, fresh from the Master's 
 hand ?
 
 i8 SEA SPRAY 
 
 I lingered long upon the cliff, when Night, her wings 
 
 unfolding, 
 Had, calmly brooding, hushed to rest the sin-worn weary 
 
 world, 
 When goddess-like on tideless seas the silver moon was 
 
 sailing, 
 And all around the radiant stars before her beauty 
 
 paling, 
 And meteors madly to the sea their sparkling atoms 
 
 hurl'd. 
 Oh, beauteous Night ! with wond'ring awe my full- 
 charged heart was swelling, 
 And far away seemed hate and greed, and misery and 
 
 shame, 
 While 'gainst the rocks huge foaming waves with frenzied 
 
 rage were dashing,
 
 v 
 
 SEA SPRAY 19 
 
 And hither, thither on the sea the gleaming phosphorus 
 
 flashing, 
 Till every shoreward-rolling wave was crowned with 
 
 living flame. 
 
 The roaring of thy waves, O Sea ! is like a song enchant- 
 ing ■ 
 
 There is a siren's beauty in thy ever-changing face, 
 
 But as a mist o'er face and song, their charm in terrors 
 veiling, 
 
 I hear a weird mysterious sound, the sound of spirits 
 wailing, 
 
 Whom thou hast won with luring smiles, and held in 
 thine embrace :
 
 20 
 
 SEA SPRAY 
 
 And yet I love thee, cruel Sea ! with love the fear ex- 
 ceeding, 
 
 The thunder of thy mighty voice can all my being thrill ; 
 
 But most of all I love thee when o'er all thy furious 
 raging, 
 
 O'er all thy passion's wild unrest thy fearful wrath 
 assuaging, 
 
 There comes a Voice commanding Peace ! and hearing, 
 thou art still.
 
 
 THE SPRING. 
 
 H, hush ! in the air there's a whisper 
 
 Like the flutter of birds on the wing, 
 It swells, it comes nearer and nearer- 
 List! list ! 'tis the voice of the Spring. 
 
 She comes like a princess returning 
 To the kingdom she governed of old, 
 
 She calls to the flowers, her maidens, 
 And arrays them in silver and gold.
 
 THE SPRING 
 
 The tall trees stand breathlessly silent, 
 
 While with verdure she wraps them around, 
 
 And tenderly, softly caressing, 
 
 With beauty she covers the ground. 
 
 She touches ihe great harp of Nature 
 Till melody flows, and each string 
 
 And our hearts are attuned, for we love her, 
 We love her, the long hoped-for Spring. 
 
 S -'V
 
 *N 
 
 
 TO ALFRED, LORD TENNVSOX. 
 
 H ! master mariner, full well and bravely 
 Thou'st steered thy craft adown the 
 sea of life, 
 With steady hand the crested billows 
 
 facing, 
 
 The elements' fierce strife ; 
 
 Thy God-given dower, the gift of song, most wisely 
 Thou'st used to show us goodness, beauty, truth 
 
 Of noble deeds thou'st sung, of actions kindly, 
 Of sorrow, love and youth ; —
 
 24 TO ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 
 
 Till many a heart was stirred to love and pit}', 
 And many a soul was fired with lofty aim ; 
 
 Till round thy memory plays a ceaseless glory, 
 A never-dying fame. 
 
 God's earth to thee was fair — nay, more— with gladness 
 The tiniest flow'ret could thy spirit thrill ; 
 
 And yet thy great soul ever yearned to anguish, 
 For higher beauty still. 
 
 Ah well ! Those yearnings are for ever ended, 
 For thee the vague mysterious veil is rent; 
 
 For who can doubt in heaven with kindred spirits 
 Thy soul has found content ?
 
 TO ALFRED, LORD TENXYSON 
 
 With gentle breeze, across the moonlit ocean 
 
 Thy white-winged barque has faded from our sight, 
 Yet still athwart the rippling surface lingers 
 - A trail of silver light. 
 
 A TRAIL OF SILVER LIGHT.
 
 THE WINDS. 
 
 SAID unto the South Wind— softly 
 sighing 
 Sweet messages of love to tree and 
 flower, 
 What art thou? Oh! thou South Wind, thy caresses 
 Come to my tired soul with soothing power ; 
 Whence comest thou ? 
 
 Like the rustle of falling leaves 
 
 Fell a whisper from the sky, 
 
 " I come from the home of the God of Love, 
 
 And the breath of the Lord am I."
 
 THE WINDS 27 
 
 I said unto the North Wind — madly tossing 
 The great waves to and fro with glorious might, 
 What art thou ? Oh ! thou North Wind, thy great fury 
 Fills my whole being with a wild delight : 
 Why ragest thou ? 
 
 Like the charge of a thousand guns 
 
 From the far north swept the cry, 
 
 " I show forth the power of the God of Might, 
 
 For the breath of the Lord am I." 
 
 I said unto the East Wind — piercing, chilling 
 
 The very senses of my heart and brain— 
 
 I love thee not, thou East Wind ! thy embraces 
 
 Are turning all my gladness into pain ; 
 
 Why comest thou ?
 
 28 THE WINDS 
 
 " I come from the morning star, 
 The earth to purify ; 
 I come by the will of the God of Right, 
 For the breath of the Lord am I." 
 
 I said unto the West Wind — gently breathing 
 O'er moorland, mountain torrent, lake, and plain, 
 What art thou? Oh! thou West Wind, thy faint music 
 Speaks peace unto my sorrowing heart again ; 
 What bringest thou ? 
 
 Was it the murmur of doves ? 
 
 Or the West Wind's glad reply ? 
 
 " 'Tis a message of peace from the God of Peace, 
 
 And the breath of the Lord am L"
 
 *. 
 
 NIGHT. 
 
 [U, Night ! Oh, lovely Night ! 
 Thou art a maiden 
 AY hose lustrous eyes shed forth a soft, 
 pure light, 
 Though filmy .clouds their brilliancy is veiling, 
 Though sombre are thy garments softly trailing. 
 Yet art thou very fair, 
 
 Oh, lovely Night !
 
 XIGHT 
 
 Oh, Night ! Oh, queenly Night ! 
 
 Thou art an empress 
 In regal loveliness, in beauty's right. 
 With calm delicious strength, serene and tender, 
 In star-embroidered robes, in jewelled splendour, 
 Thou reignest over us, 
 
 Imperial Night. 
 
 Oh, Night ! Tempestuous Night ! 
 
 Thou art a goddess 
 Fierce in ihy anger, great in terror's might, 
 The burden of thy darkness is appalling, 
 The grandeur of thy passion is enthralling, 
 Oh ! thou art very awful, 
 
 Darksome Night.

 
 
 /T 
 
 e 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 THINE EYES ARE SI \- "1 TENUEKM SS.
 
 
 FAREWELL. 
 
 HINE eyes are seas of tenderness, deep 
 limpid lakes, great orbs of light ; 
 Thine ears are like the ocean's shells, 
 so faintly pink, so pearly white ; 
 Thy silken hair of rippled gold, like royal crown is set 
 
 above 
 Thy neck, a marble pillar white, in some great temple 
 
 built to Love. 
 Yet not because thou art so fair I love thee — nay, I know 
 
 not why, 
 Methinks that in some earlier world we were united, thou 
 and I,
 
 32 FAREWELL 
 
 And yet, thy loving, doubting heart can scarcely trust 
 
 me ; even yet 
 Thou sayst, Wilt thou indeed be true ? Will others' 
 
 charms make thee forget ? 
 When birds shall cease to cleave the air, and surging 
 
 waves forget to roll, 
 When planets wander from their course and chaos reach 
 
 from pole to pole, 
 When like a furnace waxing cold the sun shall faint and 
 
 lose his place, 
 His throne amid the starry worlds, then — shall I then 
 
 forget thy face?
 
 tr 
 
 FAREWELL 
 
 33 
 
 Ah ! no ; while there remains one star in that unfathomed 
 
 Milky Way, 
 Where myriad suns one mind, one law, one universa 
 
 will obey, 
 While there remains one spark of life in this undying 
 
 soul of mine, 
 So long my love for thee shall live, my spirit cleave to 
 
 thine.
 
 SEVERED. 
 
 HEX morning skies are flushed with 
 light, 
 
 When o'er the earth sweet radiance 
 
 pours, 
 When sleep and darkness take their flight, 
 
 And every song-bird heavenward soars ; 
 
 When by the woodland stream again 
 
 I hear the murmuring of the dove. 
 
 When morn has banished dreams of pain, 
 
 Then do I think of thee, my love :
 
 
 "WHEN BY THE WOODLAND STREAM.
 
 V 
 
 SEVERED 35 
 
 And then with eyes uplifted to the morning, 
 
 I say, Oh, eastern glory, wandering free, 
 
 Hast seen my love? Does he, all others scorning, 
 
 Still keep the empire of his heart for me ? 
 
 And all the morning smiles, and many voices 
 
 Make answer — far above the skylark's trill, 
 
 Make answer — while within my heart rejoices, 
 
 Thy throne is firmly set, he loves thee still. 
 
 When shades of night their robes unfold, 
 
 And soothe the tired earth to rest ; 
 
 When lovingly a haze of gold 
 
 Still lingers in the glowing west ; 
 
 When dewy silence falls around 
 
 And all things sleep, save in the grove
 
 36 SEVERED 
 
 Where nightingales their home have found, 
 
 And I beside the streamlet rove ; 
 
 Then, then I cry, Oh, winsome light returning 
 
 Unto the far-off cast, where dwells my king? 
 
 do waken him with smiles, tell him {hat spurning 
 
 All other loves, to his alone I cling ; 
 
 The ocean may divide, and fate may sever 
 
 The hands that once were clasped with right good 
 
 will ; 
 But all the loneness of my soul for ever 
 Has passed away, because he loves me still.
 
 
 
 tf* 
 
 
 LA SERENATA. 
 
 ARGERITA, art thou sleeping, 
 
 Sleeping, like thy sister flowers, 
 While I watch beneath thy window, 
 Sleepless, through the lonely hours ? 
 Nay, I would not wake thee, darling, 
 
 Close, again thine eyelids white 
 As the petals of a daisy, 
 
 Lest I faint in too much light.
 
 3 8 LA SERENATA 
 
 With my love I would surround thee, 
 
 And the place where thou dost dwell, 
 As the ever-throbbing ocean 
 
 Round the pearl within the shell. 
 While the great waves of my passion 
 
 Swiftly all about thee whirl, » 
 Lightly sleep, my Margerita, 
 
 Softly sleep, my orient pearl. 
 
 Not the brightest stars of heaven 
 
 With an equal lustre shine, 
 Nor to all of fairest maidens 
 
 Comes such loveliness divine. 
 Brightest star on my horizon, 
 
 Fair — all others far above, 
 Like a jewel I have set thee 
 
 In the gold of my great love.
 
 v 
 
 JL4 SERE NAT A 
 
 Now the sky is blushing softly, 
 
 Blushing like a winsome bride 
 When she sees her lord approaching, 
 
 Margerita, starry-eyed. 
 Now the fleecy clouds of morning 
 
 Their white bannerets unfurl, 
 I must leave thee, Margerita, 
 
 (lod be with thee, oh my pearl !
 
 A PORTRAIT. 
 
 SEE a snow -fringed head, of aspect 
 stately, 
 Tho' somewhat bowed with sorrow and 
 with years, 
 I see a manly form that moves sedately, 
 
 Tis slightly built — Ah me, these blinding tears ! 
 
 I see a noble face, stern with endeavour 
 To hold aloft the banner of the King, 
 
 Throughout the long-drawn battle drooping never, 
 Till round the standard shouts of victory ring.
 
 
 A PORTRAIT 41 
 
 I see a slow sweet smile, 'tis like the glimmer 
 
 Through filmy curtained windows, where men keep 
 
 A constant glowing fire, or like the shimmer 
 Of light on waters, clear and calm, and deep. 
 
 1 see a strong brown hand : a wordless blessing 
 Dwelt in its lingering pressure, quiet bliss 
 
 Lies in the memory of its touch caressing — 
 Far holier, deeper, than in others' kiss. 
 
 I hear a voice,, that like a perfect cadence, 
 The final close to songs of tender grace, 
 
 Is ringing down the years, as silver radiance 
 From distant stars, through centuries of space.
 
 42 
 
 •/ PORTRAIT 
 
 Tis but a shadowy portrait, dim and faded, 
 A study lightly sketched in black and white, 
 
 I show you ; Azrael's sombre wings have shaded 
 My model, so I work in memory's light.
 
 X^ - - J — M.V V 
 
 THE FATE OF THE " FAERIE QUEEN." 
 
 HE Faerie Queen, from her moorings 
 loosed, 
 Swan-like glided down to the sea, 
 Proud she looked and brave, as she 
 rose to the wave, 
 For a gallant ship was she. 
 
 Proud they looked and brave who trod her decks, 
 
 A stalwart soldier-band, 
 Tho 5 the hearts they bore were sad and sore, 
 
 At leaving the mother-land.
 
 44 THE FATE OF THE -FAERIE QUEEN' 
 
 But they could not be sad when the day-god rose 
 From his pillow of downy gray, » 
 
 When with gentle breeze o'er the sun-kissed seas 
 They floated away, away. 
 
 For who could be sad when he throws o'er the sea 
 
 A mantle of silver and pearl? 
 When the fair young morn is newly born, 
 
 And her armies their banners unfurl ?
 
 THE FATE OF THE " FAERIE QUEEN" 45 
 
 Or who could be sad in the glorious noon, 
 When he smiles in imperial might, 
 
 When the wavelets play, till with diamond spray 
 They are crowned in the glowing light? 
 
 And who could be sad when the western sky 
 
 Is a vision of glory untold, 
 Where cloud-ships ride in the eventide 
 
 On an ocean of molten gold ?
 
 4 6 THE FATE OF THE "FAERIE QUEEN" 
 
 ( )r who could be sad in the silent night, 
 
 When the winds are all asleep, 
 When the moonbeams drown, and the stars look down 
 
 On a calm and passionless deep, 
 
 When the queenly Night outspreads o'er all 
 
 Her wings, like a brooding dove, 
 When our spirits seem, in a waking dream, 
 
 To commune with those that we love?
 
 
 THE FATE OF THE "FAERIE QUEEN" 47 
 
 Such were the days and nights that sped, 
 And with laughter, from mast to keel, 
 
 The good ship rang, as the soldiers sang 
 At the close of their evening meal. 
 
 Said the oldest mariner there: " My men, 
 
 D'ye see yon lurid light ? 
 Ye are wasting breath in the face of death, 
 
 For 'twill be a fearsome night."
 
 48 THE FATE OF THE "FAERIE QUEEN" 
 
 The song was silenced, but soon, full soon, 
 
 The calm did their fears assuage, 
 And they laughed to his face, for they saw no trace 
 
 Of the storm-fiend's awful rage. 
 
 15ut he came, he came with a deafning roar, 
 
 He split the sails in twain, 
 Ere with willing hand at the word of command 
 
 The sailors could reef amain.
 
 THE FATE OF THE "FAERIE QUEEN" 
 
 49 
 
 With a shiver that ran from stem to stern, 
 
 As of one who is hurt full sore, 
 She swerved from her course like a frighted horse, 
 
 Then righted herself once more. 
 
 The storm-fiend passed, but again to the charge 
 
 In different guise he came, 
 For thunders crashed and lightnings flashed, 
 
 Till the rigging was all aflame.
 
 5o THE FATE OF- THE "FAERIE QUEEN" 
 
 Aflame, for the lightning struck the ship, 
 And shivered the stout oak mast, 
 
 And burning spars, like falling stars, 
 Abroad o'er the deck were cast. 
 
 Then " Lower the boats,'' the captain said, 
 " For you all there is not space ; 
 
 But he whose life is bound to a wife, 
 Must somehow find a place ;
 
 
 THE FATE OF THE "FAERIE QUEEN" 51 
 
 " But the man who has no nearest tie, 
 
 And fears not agony keen, 
 Let him take my hand, for together we'll stand 
 
 And go down with the Faerie Queen.'" 
 
 The boats were lowered and crowded with men : 
 Through the storm o'er the raging main 
 
 They passed, from the light into blackest night, 
 And were never sighted again.
 
 52 THE FATE OF THE "FAERIE QUEEN 
 
 Then the flood-gates of heaven were opened wide, 
 And great seas washed over the deck, 
 
 Till with hissing sound the fires were drowned, 
 And she drifted a dreary wreck. 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 When the morning dawned and a veiled sun 
 Looked out on that fierce wild scene, 
 
 Ten fathoms deep in a dreamless sleep 
 I .ay the freight of the Faerie Queen.
 
 wwm 
 
 THE PHANTOM CASTLE.
 
 THE PHANTOM CASTLE. 
 
 E stood within the ruined oriel window, 
 Watching the crescent moon, whose 
 rosy glow, 
 
 Caught from the dying sun, shed mystic 
 radiance 
 O'er age-worn walls and waters deep below. 
 
 It was a dreamful night; the winds were sleeping ; 
 
 No sound save that of shivering aspen leaves 
 And our own voices, hushed to quietest murmurs 
 
 By the mysterious spell Diana weaves.
 
 54 THE PHANTOM CASTLE 
 
 And while we lingered there, the deep'ning shadows 
 Were caught and shaped by spirit hands unseen 
 
 Into the likeness of a stately castle — 
 
 The phantom form of that which once had been— 
 
 A castle of the dead. It stood in massive silence, 
 
 Till, from the far-off past, there came a mingled sound 
 
 Of clanging weapons, borne by mail-clad nobles, 
 And rustling silken robes that swept the ground.
 
 THE PHANTOM CASTLE 
 
 55 
 
 Then presently, adown the spiral stairway, 
 
 Appeared a warrior with his fair young bride; 
 t 
 
 And through the hall they passed, towards the gate-house, 
 Where stood the armed guard on either side ; 
 
 And following them a throng of high-born maidens, 
 
 Singing a bridal-song of joyous tone: 
 f< Oh, happy she ! he is her own true lover ; 
 
 And happy he, her heart is his alone."
 
 5 6 THE PHANTOM CASTLE 
 
 Still on they went, beneath the three great arches 
 Which to the courtyard led, just as the hour 
 
 Rang out upon the dreamy midnight stillness 
 
 From the huge clock within the old church tower. 
 
 And lo ! the dream was o'er, (lone was the castle ; 
 
 Gone were the warrior-knights and maidens gay ; 
 And Love alone survived the roll of ages, 
 
 While all around was ruin and decay,
 
 THE PHANTOM CASTLE 
 
 57 
 
 And we were standing in the oriel window 
 
 With flutt'ring hearts ; for Love had found us there 
 
 The love that comes but once in all completeness, 
 The love that's ever young and ever fair. 
 
 
 THE ORIEL WINDOW.
 
 DEAD ! 
 
 EAD ! quite dead when they found him," 
 that's what the doctor said. 
 Dead ! with a broken arm and a 
 frightful gash on his head, 
 And his bonny face all blackened with the violence of 
 
 the blow ; 
 Dashed by the rolling waves 'gainst the cruel rocks 
 below.
 
 DEAD ! 
 
 59 
 
 Gone at the dawn of his manhood ! Gone for ever, my 
 * son, my son ! 
 Dropped from the ranks of the brave ones when the 
 
 battle had scarce begun. 
 Dead? He cannot be dead! It seems but an hour 
 
 ago 
 I looked in his troubled face, and he told me all his 
 woe ;
 
 6o DEAD! 
 
 How the girl he loved had deceived him — 'twas only the 
 
 story old, , 
 
 Of a faithful lover's wounded heart, and a maiden won 
 
 with gold. 
 " But, mother," he said, " I shall live it down, it shall not 
 
 sink me quite ; 
 But I'd like to be quiet awhile in my boat — 'tis a lovely 
 
 night."
 
 DEAD : 
 
 So he went, and the squall came down and the boat was 
 / driven ashore ; 
 And Philip, my darling, my first-born, will never speak 
 
 to me more. 
 Dead ! With his foot on the threshold of a noble, useful 
 
 life. 
 Would God I could follow you, Philip ! I am weary with 
 
 sorrow and strife ;
 
 62 DEAD! 
 
 For I cannot forgive her yet, though you said that I must, 
 
 and I've tried ; * 
 
 But always this thought prevents me: But for her my son 
 
 had not died : 
 And cruel tongues are busy: "Self-slain," they cry, 
 
 " self-slain !" 
 They care not for truth perverted, or the widow-mother's 
 
 pain,
 
 »■ 
 
 DEA D ! 63 
 
 They would cover his name with dishonour, my Philip's, 
 
 the earnest and brave ; 
 They would bury him like a dog, in a suicide's unbless'd 
 
 urave ! 
 
 My Philip ! to fly from trouble, as the veriest cowards fly ! 
 To die with his back to the foe, as faint-hearted fugitives 
 die !
 
 64 DEAD! 
 
 He to shirk the duties of life — though 'tis true they arc 
 
 many and grave — , 
 
 And leave others to brave alone the dangers he dare not 
 
 1 trave ! 
 Ah, no ! No coward was he, and always he held it a 
 
 eiime 
 To rush through the gates of the higher court before the 
 
 appointed time ;
 
 DEAD ! 65 
 
 For life is the gift of the Great One, the Father of every 
 /' race, 
 
 And woe to the man who shall fling back the gift in the 
 
 diver's face ! 
 What was it you said ? — that our troubles and trials are 
 
 all for the best ? 
 Perhaps ; but I'm weary of talking and fain would I rest.
 
 66 DEAD! 
 
 But what was that of comfort that flitted once through 
 
 my brain ? ^ 
 
 It was like an angel's whisper, I wish it would come 
 
 again. 
 
 Ah ! I have it ; 'twas this, -that perchance He whose 
 
 name is Love 
 Had greater work for my darling, in the Temple Courts 
 
 above ;
 
 
 DEAD! 
 
 67 
 
 That perchance the noble ambition of a life that promised 
 * so fair, 
 
 When weighed in the balance of ages, has greater fulfil- 
 ment there.
 
 NATURE'S VOICES. 
 
 OULDST hear a love-song? Come and 
 sit with me 
 On yonder bank of fragrant new-mown 
 hay, 
 Beneath the shelter of the chestnut-tree, 
 
 Whereon the thrush pours forth his morning lay. 
 Hark to the liquid notes ! now soft and low 
 
 As if 'twere far away, or in a dream ; 
 Now swelling wildly, loud and louder grow 
 
 Till all the neighbouring songsters silent seem. 
 Hark to the insect-wings that hum around 
 
 An obbligato to that song of bliss, 
 And say, Can art produce such wealth of sound, 
 Such melody as this ?
 
 NATURES VOICES 69 
 
 Wouldst hear a fugue — mysteriously evolved, 
 
 Weird modulations, with an endless quest 
 Throughout the yearning discords unresolved, 
 
 Of some full major chord in which to rest? 
 Then seek the beach when angry lightnings gleam, 
 
 When mighty storm-winds o'er the waters sweep : 
 Hark ! how they first declaim the haunting theme ; 
 
 Hark to the echoing voices of the deep. 
 Again and yet again the wail is sent 
 
 In varied keys, from distant shore to shore, 
 Wave breaks on wave, till every sound is blent 
 
 In grand tumultuous roar.
 
 7 o NATURE'S VOICES 
 
 Would'st hear an idyll — like a vesper psalm 
 
 Chanted by soft-voiced choirs, in the dim light 
 Of some great minster, wrapped in holy calm, 
 
 As Day dies slowly in the arms of Is ight ? 
 Go, stand beneath the pines that o'er the mere — 
 
 The flag-fringed mere — their waving shadows Aim 
 Go, listen to the silence, you shall hear 
 
 A faint low sound, a gentle murmuring ; 
 For birds are twittering notes of deep content, 
 
 Of quiet peace the wandering night-winds sing, 
 While to the mere, with graceful heads down-bent, 
 
 The flags are listening.
 
 THE FLAG-FRINGED MEKE.
 
 NA TURE'S VOICES 
 
 7i 
 
 There is no silence ! space itself resounds 
 
 With minstrel winds that sweep from star to star. 
 There is no silence ! for there are no bounds 
 
 To Nature's harmonies, or near or far. 
 Sing to us, then, sing on ; of thy great whole 
 
 We are a part, oh Nature ! Mother mine ! 
 We are thy children, for in every soul 
 
 Some chord vibrates in unison with thine ; 
 Sing to us, then, sing on for evermore 
 
 Thy many songs, until upon thy breast, 
 When we are weary and the day is o'er, 
 
 We lay us down to rest.
 
 TO MABEL. 
 
 HERE are questions, little Mabel, 
 In your big brown eyes ; 
 Would that I could answer, darling, 
 Words to make you wise ; 
 But my mind is in a jangle, 
 In a great perplexed tangle, 
 
 Though it longs to rise :
 
 >s 
 
 
 
 
 
 , * 
 
 MABEL.
 
 TO MABEL 73 
 
 For our great men know so little. 
 
 Nay, in very sooth, 
 Often make the darkness darker 
 
 To inquiring youth : 
 For they build up walls of fictions, 
 Tiles on piles of contradictions, 
 
 In the face of truth. 
 
 Some get tired of asking questions, 
 
 So they never know 
 Things that best are worth the knowing, 
 
 Never wiser grow ; 
 Like the soulless beasts that perish, 
 They a dull contentment cherish ; 
 
 All their aims are low.
 
 74 
 
 TO MABEL 
 
 But ice 11 go on asking, Mabel, 
 
 Keep a look-out bright, 
 Always going eastward, always 
 
 Turning to the right ; 
 Then sometime — -when comes the dawning 
 Of a fairer, clearer morning — 
 
 We shall see the light.
 
 WHEN COMETH THE SPRING 
 
 HAT though the summer is dying, 
 And its glorious golden light ; 
 What if our youth is fading. 
 
 With its flowers frail and bright ? 
 What though the love was fleeting. 
 
 That should have endured for aye ; 
 What if the night is coming, 
 
 And its shadows cold and gray ? 
 
 Sunlight is waning, 
 
 Birds flee away ; 
 
 Flowers are fading, 
 
 Short is the day.
 
 7 6 / / 'HEN ( '( WE TH THE SPRlNt / 
 
 But again shall they bloom, 
 
 Again the woods rii 
 With the voices of birds, 
 
 When cometh the Spring. 
 
 What though the leaves are fallii 
 
 In showers yellow and sere ; 
 What though our strength is failing, 
 
 And the winter is dark and drear ? 
 There is light before us, beloved, 
 
 There is love that the future shall firing 
 There is a youth that is lasting. 
 
 There is an eternal Spring.
 
 when cometh the spring. 
 
 77 
 
 Sunlight is waning. 
 
 Birds flee away ; 
 Flowers are fading, 
 
 Short is the day. 
 But again shall they bloom, 
 
 Again the woods ring 
 With the voices of birds, 
 
 When cometh the Spring.
 
 SPACE. 
 
 HAT is the limit of Space? A thousand 
 millions of miles, 
 Or a million millions of miles ? 
 Does it end at the outermost star ? 
 Could we get to the end of space by a journey of cen- 
 turies long? 
 Could we set a foot on its bounds, and say — Here its 
 
 limits are ? 
 If we made of the lightning wings, and sped past the 
 
 circling worlds, 
 And sped past the tangled light of the distant nebulae,
 
 SPACE 
 
 79 
 
 And sped past the dread abode where the serpents of 
 
 darkness hiss, 
 Should we enter its outer court, or fathom its deepest 
 abyss ? 
 
 Nay, nay, nay ! 
 As a shower of sparks from a furnace, 
 As the moments, that have their place 
 In the roll of the countless ages, 
 Are the worlds in the oceans of space.
 
 ETERNITY. 
 
 F we climb to the mountain-tops of mind 
 And peer through the flickering light, 
 Through the clouds and the glooms of 
 the shadowy past 
 In its darkness and silence sublime, 
 Shall we find a resting place for thought? 
 Shall we pierce to the birth-place of Time? 
 Nay, nay, nay ! 
 For away, and away, and away 
 Roll the waves of a limitless sea ; 
 And the days and the years, and the ages float, 
 In the space of eternity.
 
 THE INFINITE. 
 
 HERE in the glorious worlds afar is the 
 dwelling-place of God ? 
 In the midst of the golden Pleiades 
 shall we search for His citadel gate ? 
 Can we pass by the glare of the flaming suns — ■ 
 The guards of imperial state ? 
 Nay, nay, nay ! 
 Bow down thyself to the dust, O man ! 
 Even here is the holy place, 
 For all things dwell in the Life of life — 
 Elohim inhabiteth space :
 
 82 THE INFINITE 
 
 Thou canst not measure Immensity, nor see through the 
 
 vistas of Time, 
 How then canst thou circle Eternity with thy thinkings 
 
 faint and crude? 
 Or fathom the deeps— with thy finite mind— of God's 
 
 infinitude ? 
 Vet lift up thine eyes from the dust, man ! 
 Strive to see, and thou shalt sec the Light, 
 And rest thee, body and soul and mind, 
 In the Peace of the Infinite. 
 
 
 Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Kozu, London.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 " — 
 
 AUG 2 1993 
 
 Form L9-50m-7, '54(5990)444
 
 _P R Bednall - 
 h099 Sea spray 
 B3787s 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILI1 
 
 AA 000 380 287 3 
 
 V