■UNIVtHV/^. ^lOVANlitlfJ^. VtoamitiF ^OfCAIIFO^ ^OF-CAllFOSJto *&ahvh8ii# ^Aavuan^ UBRARY0/T ^■UBRARYQr CAUF0fy> ^OKAllFO/fo .^fUNIVtRi'/A )JITV>J0^ %)JI1V3JO^ ^iHONV-SOV^ mm^ .•\tfEUNIVERS//, ^AHVHaitt^ ^5l»$01^ so ^lOSANGElfr, "%HAINfl-]\lV UNIVERSE 4? f AVlOS-ANCElftu "*%huainm«£ ^lOSANGEtfr* < v V'"'* ' s ^aaAWivmv £ ^UIBRARYQr ^tllBRARY^ ^fOJITVDJO^ ^OFCAllFOfyv ^OFCALIFO/?,^, y &Anvn8n# ^2 iverj-za 'fymiNnmv =1 ^ IARY0/ ' ^HIBRAItYfV « g 1 tf % VERSES GAY AND GRA VE BY BISHOP THORNTON 1904 ' :ie Standard Press, 41 Church Street, Blackburn PR L'EIWOI. /T\OST of the pieces in this Booklet belong, in every sense, to the class called "Fugitive.' Mere salvage out of much miscellaneous rhyme that came and went in the head of a traveller, as he flitted to and fro on many a weary journey, they would fain elude the scrutiny of the critic, only asking refuge, at some leisure moment, in the sympathetic indulgence of his many friends. 9372 VERSES, GRAVE AND GAY. PAKIPPIKA (Polynesian for the "Pacific"). I. NIGHT ON THE OCEAN. I climb the deck, and o'er the brine At noon of night look forth. We slide across the viewless Line That sunders South from North. High in the solemn zenitft gleams A Moon, that casts no shade. The Cross peers up : pale Ursa's beams To waterv rest are laid. J Around me, while with tireless haste From surge to surge we press, The huge Pacific's weltering waste Spreads, drear and fathomless. II. ITS HISTORIC PAST. ^VREAT Deep! There roll three ages by, *"* Since thy blue plain at last Burst on Balboa's raptured eye, Or rocked Magellan's mast. Remoter far that hour unknown When some wild island crew Launched forth to search thy tides, alone, In their first frail canoe : Or on some junk of Asia burst The storm that drove her free, And bade the scared explorer first Gaze on Earth's grandest Sea. III. ITS GEOLOGIC PAST. Y^>ut who shall sound th' abyss of time ^"^ Since yon unchanging Deep First thrilled responsive to the chime That woke thy primal sleep ? No Isle, no Reef thy sea-bird knew That flecks thy breast to-day ; Unbroken rolled the stainless blue From Chili to Cathay. Then, sudden as the trump of Doom, With blast of thunderous steam Burst from the deep volcano's womb The pent-up lava stream : Up through thy oozy floor it leaps ; Thy billows, whirled on high, Float frowning, piled in vaporous heaps Along the low-hung sky. Roaring from many a sulphurous vent The red flames glare amain ; Tossed sea and raging sky present Dread Chaos' rule again : Till o'er the vext expanse is cast, Denser than deepest night, A pall of age-long gloom. 'Tis past Hail, sweet returning Light ! Hail, offspring fair of Terror's hour, Isles of the Southern Sea! Hail, wooded peaks that skyward tower From many a smiling lea ! IV. THE CORAL AGE. Owhy was scene thus bright revealed, If yon steep shores can never To foot of man their welcome yield, Swept by rude seas for ever? Patience! The toiling worm shall soon Its girdlinj rampart pile; Moored safe within the still lagoon Who dreads the Coral Isle? Yes ! tho' yon Isle itself sink down Beneath th' encroaching main, The worm-built reef shall rear its crown And wave its palms again ! 8 THE SAVAGE ISLANDERS. /T\ an came. No record marks the day The Isles received their Guest. The Eastern housed the fierce Malay : The Negro claimed the West. Their exile pleased the Strangers well : The ocean swarmed with Man; And kingly houses rose and fell ; And on the Cycles ran. Alas ! o"er all this beauty shed A deadlier darkness broods Than when the fierce volcanoes spread Their gloom athwart the floods. O, where did Earth's fallen master learn His baleful task so well, To foul her loveliest scene, and turn Her paradise to' hell ? Red altars by yon palm-grove screened To some grim idol glow ; 'Mid yon sweet shades the warrior-fiend Tortures his writhing foe : To plunge in some deep fiery cone 4 Wins Pele's aid divine ; A thousand mangled victims groan At Tairi's gory shrine. Yon emerald peak, to ruby turned When morn and sunset glow, Full oft with beacon-sign has burned Of butchery and woe : These valleys swarmed with angry life, And yonder silvery flood Through scenes of rapine, lust and strife Rolled dark with human blood. VI. THE EUROPEAN NAVIGATORS. 3EE ! To Pacific breeze unfurled, Pledge of some happier day, The navies of an elder world Their meteor flags display. De Gama first ; and, scarce too late To share th' adventurous van, Magellan, sweeping from his Strait Aslant to far Japan : 10 And Anson, coursing round the Earth ; And thou, intrepid Cook ; Nobler, for all thy lowly birth, Than many a gartered Duke ! Would thou hadst dared, when dark Hawai Her worship flocked to render, Meekly to thrust those honors by Which none to man may tender ! So hadst thou lived, perchance, and worn Thy glory's stainless flower, Nor England still her hero mourn, Slain in his triumph hour. i Where rest thy ashes, La Perouse? Vancouver's search is vain; Yet shall the seed such wand'rer strews In blessings spring again : To many a pine-clad shore he brings Glad news of hope and light : — Good angel of Hawaiian kings, Few names than his more bright ! 1 1 VII. THE TRADER. nOT always such the roving fleet Of commerce, or of war, Nor Pagans find like cause to greet The Christian from afar. The whaler snares unholy game ; With foulness, force, and fraud Too oft allied, the Trader's name Grows to a sound abhorred ! VIII. THE MISSIONARIES. P air Ship, speed safely o'eT the brine, In whose white flag of love Floats, of thy gentle task the sign, An olive-bearing Dove. Glad Herald, hail, delayed too long ! In thy bright track afar The Gospel's laggard armies throng To ply their bloodless war. 12 Tahiti's idols fall : the flame Devours thy shrines, Wahu : Green Tonga peals a Saviour's name To rocky Rurutu. Where nameless rites with human life Once drenched the island sod, Glad converts turn th' unbloodied knife On many a prostrate god. Like incense on the mountain air, From bowery forest ways, Floats up the dusky Christian's prayer, Thrills the blithe chant of praise! IX. HEROES AND MARTYRS. Y~) ot by all-favouring breezes fanned ** The Gospel ensign flew, From Erromanga's crimsoned sand To reef-girt Nukapu. Past Williams' grave, by fell Savaii, Alert, yet ne'er dismayed, A helmsman guides, with keen grey eye, His white-sailed " Border Maid " ; "3 Selwyn : nor plies his toil alone ; With life untimely spilt See saintly Patteson atone For some vile trader's guilt ! What recks it, so the triumph-day Of Truth advanced may be, And the fair faith of Jesus sway Each island of the sea ! X. CHRISTIAN CIVILISATION. Vj ll hail, blest Sign, whose beams before 3 Earth's shadows flee, apace! No more, thou Sea sublime, no more Be falsehood's hiding-place! E'en now, where purged Pitcairners kneel Fester no haunts of Sin;* Thy grim Fijian pleads to* feel The yoke of England's Queen : * Norfolk Island was once a Penal Settlement. And steam-winged fleets from ports newborn Speed o'er thy heaving plain, Browbeat the gale, and laugh to scorn Thy dreaded hurricane. Soon thy dark depth shall house the thread That links all lands in one, And each dread Reef and craggy Head Blaze with its nightly Sun ! XI. THE GOAL. •^ N ! ever on ! Wrest right from wrong,- ^"^ From Good let Better spring, Nor hoary blessing, owned too long, Keep back some loftier thing ! Let Progress live, whate'er may die, Though with resistless motion O'er wreck and loss her march must lie, — And sound thy knell, grand Ocean! Yes ! when one great fast-coming Day Dawns o'er new Earth and Sky, The Hand that wipes all tears away Thy soundless depths must dry. *5 S.S. " CITY OF NEW YORK," CAPTAIN COBB. *y ross the Pacific in the Ship ^ " The City of New York." You'll in no boat, where'er afloat, Ply such a knife and fork ! A fine " free-board " this steamer shews : The passengers at large Will get fresh " rolls,'" as on she bowls, Free of all extra charge ! Perhaps some fish is what you wish? Pace the ship's deck one minute, You've smelt enough, be't smooth or rough, For all the people in it ! Folks who- would cook themselves, will find No handier place on earth; Free, if they will, on deck to grill, Or stew inside their berth. " What Island's that ?" The Sandwich Isles. "What point is that?" Point Coco. Where'er you look, men talk of Cook, From here to Orinoco! 16 From food there's no escape ; I dine, And learn we're sighting shore ; Of soup and puff I've had enough, Yet there I see Samoa ! And lovers of full-bodied wines (They'll wonder how 'tis wrought) Will find our vast steamship at last All turning into Port ! Tis a brave ship : and in her charm The Captain bears his part : Weaves, — like some spider, — if you've tried her, A Cobweb round your heart ! NO MORE SEA. On First Sailing for A tistralia. *w* N that New World which God shall frame, " To fill the empty space Of Earth and Heaven dissolved in flame, The Sea shall find no^ place. Fair is the Sea, and rich its shore ; Yet in yon Heavenly Land No ocean breeze shall fan us more, No ripples kiss the strand ! 17 Is it that there, where all is clear, No dark mysterious Deep In fathomless abyss may dare One awful secret keep ? Or is it, lest the heaving wiave Disturb the rest sublime Of Heaven, with thought of storms that rave Along the shores of Time? An ampler cause the Exile finds : For him 'twere grief and wonder To trace, in yonder Home, — that binds, — The Sea, — that parts asunder ! No! when that glad fast-coming Day Dawns o'er new Earth and Sky, The Hand that wipes all tears away The sund'ring Seas shall dry ! O best New World ! For thee to sail With joy from, home we sever ; What bliss, that sea-less Shore to hail, Nor quit that Port for ever ! Yet hath yon Heaven its Crystal Sea, Where, loud as Ocean's roar, High anthems to the One in Three The sleepless Seraphs pour : 18 And on that Sea of Glass they meet Whom oceans here divide, To throng with rapture round His feet Who once for sinners died ! ANTIPODEAN ASTRONOMY. ou may sound the praises forth Of the old historic North; Our hemisphere may dub " the under-world " ; But, though discovered later, To the South of the Equator Is where the sky's chief glories are unfurled ! If it's fine, you may, up there, See the Great and Lesser Bear For ever pirouetting round the Pole ; You may watch the prowling Lion, Or thei stars that make Orion (Like a Satan falling headlong), as they roll : Like a sprawling W Cassiopeia's Chair may view (Not looking safe to sit on, let me tell her) : Cepheus, Lynx, Giraffe and Dragon Offer nothing much to brag on ; While Auriga yields your one bright Star, — Capella. l 9 Now, pass with me to the South : Lay your hand upon your mouth Gazing upward at the splendours overhead! Leo lies overthrown, — supine : See a new Orion shine — Reversed,— a Christ, ascending from the dead ! Like a Moon, with tender ray Gleams our glorious Milky Way, Shewing here and there a dark, mysterious pool Where, through patches black, one peeps Through the interstellar deeps ; While Magellan's Clouds float near, liks discs of wool Here — with softer light or sterner — ■ Shine Canopus and Achernar; Here, alone, the star that's nearest Earth is seen: Its parallactic motion Traced o'er Space's barren Ocean, We've guaged the abysmal interval between ! Scanned through stainless Austral skies Our stars, to Fancy's eyes, Have grouped themselves in no ignoble forms : In the midst a glittering Argo>, With the souls of men for cargo, To a land of gold seems steering through the storms. 20 Christian instinct will be nimble To discern a sacred symbol In the Altar, the Triangle, and the Cup ; And O, the wealth of meaning In the Cross, benignly leaning O'er our faces, as in wonder we look up ! Yes, — once more, " the last is first " : South's the best sky — North's the worst ! To turn Earth upside down would it be wrong? Why, 'twere well the twist were given : — In the side it turns to Heaven Methinks the World's been downside up too long ! ANTIPODEAN ZOOLOGY. •TTF in Nature's varied Show, — *^ Her Grand Concert here below, — For the Clowns and Comic Vocalists you're asking, I can tell you where you'll meet 'em — Nothing in the world to beat 'em; — In Australia's broad and sunny pastures basking ! 21 There's a Lizard with a frill, — Walks on two legs, if it will ; There's the Cockatoo, with screech your ear-drum Leering eye, and perky crest,- — [splitting, He can mimic with the best: And a Fok with wings,, amid the timber flitting. You should see " Companions " dancing, — Now retreating, now advancing, Cutting capers, like a sailor on the spree! You should hear the " Jackass " laughing, — Chuckling slowly first, and chaffing, And then bursting into Ha ! Ha ! He ! He ! He ! What an element of humour In the antics of a Boomer, Or an Iguana, scrambling up a tree ! And particularly whimsical The Platypus' limbs I call, — Their use 1 it is impossible to see ! The Bandicoot and Wombat You may see in uncouth combat ; Hear the comic ululation of the crows; Watch the prickle-backed Echidna (Nothing ever yet has ridd'n her), With a piece of bony piping for her nose ! 22 A very saucy bird, With a manner most absurd, You may see in crowds, their tails for ever twisting Up and down, whene'er they jump, Like the handle of a pump, And " Who are you ?" and " Who are you ?" insisting. Donkeys die,* no doubt, at Home; And Bunyips live, and somewhere roam, Could we search the haunted solitudes that screen 'em. And the Bunyips would turn out Our chief humorists, no doubt, Only nobody, unhappily, has seen 'em ! Perhaps this comic strain Found in Nature will explain What ordinary reasoning does not, How outrageous (to a Briton) Sound the names the natives hit on, Topographically marking out a spot. " Which a proof is easy found " ; For to Whycheproof I'm bound, — A sort of place for " sundowners " to cadge in : And next day to Teddywaddy I betake my weary body, — And a stranger name than that I can't imagine ! * " No one ever seed a dead donkey." — S. Weller. 23 Then from Berriwillock here, Passing Wirrembirchip near, I return: — queer spots, by queerer titles known! Strange, that in this laughing land, And with fun on every hand, A deep melancholy claims me for her own ! Mesech Hotel, Tents of Kedar, Watchemakatcheka, near Kinimakatka, Victoria, Australia. MUSINGS ON THE MURRAY RIVER 1876. I tread thy brink, Australian Nile, And in the heated West afar Glows, where the fierce sun sank erewhile, Across vast plains, the Evening Star. From yonder marsh, the serpents' haunt, The wild swans rise in dusky crowd ; The bittern's melancholy chaunt Booms thro' the calm air, clear and loud. A sable form stands near — the child Of yonder trackless woods, that lie To South and West— forbidding— wild- His father's home in years gone by ; 24 Where erst, ere yet the Stranger came, He loved to chase, with club and spear, The land's unshapely forest-game, By tangled brake and lonely mere. Strange comrade! Unfamiliar scene! Strange summer night, that swift descends, — No twilight hour, — no melting e'en That day with darkness sweetly blends ; But sudden gloom, enshrouding all, Till, from the East the Moon up-springing, In lustrous floods her glories fall, Back to clear view the landscape bringing, And o'er yon hamlet gleaming wide, Where, far from aught of friendly aid, The Celt and Saxon, side by side, Their homes amid the wild have made — Such homes as Exiles have; — and reared The Thistle, Shamrock, Rose, about Their rough-built, low-browed dwellings, cheered Within by romping childhood's shout, — A tawny brood, that ripens fast To swarthy manhood, wifely care, Unconscious of the changeful past, Unmindful of the homes that were, — 25 Of weary voyaging, stormy seas, And that dear Land, still called their own, — Unmindful; — not forgetful! These Forget not, for they ne'er have known. But thou too well hast known, my heart, Too> long hast loved, thy bonds to burst. Toi this New Home can aught impart The spell that chains thee to the first ? Land of my Mother's Grave! To thee My soul, with quenchless longing, turns : A vestal flame of hope to see Thy cliffs once more within me burns : To see thy cliffs, — once more to breathe The incense of an English Spring, And hear, thy leafy elms beneath, Her morning psalm thy mavis sing ! Can years return tliat once depart? Comes childhood back at man's command ? No child can boast two sires : the heart Can own no second Fatherland ! •x- * * -* * Behold ! In yondeir darkling river, — A fourfold gleam of tender light, — Some meteor's rays reflected quiver, Some planet's, than the rest more bright ! 26 I lift my face to Heaven : The Cross, In awesome, peerless majesty, Poised at the summit of its course, Leans o'er me from the ebon sky : And hark ! No sound assails my sense, ■Upgazing in delight and fear, But to my Soul a Voice from thence Speaks, and I cannot choose but hear. " No home on earth a Child of Heaven May own. The pilgrim mind is best ! Earth's joy for wayside help is given : Thy halting-place is not thy Rest ! " A better Fatherland is thine, A fairer Home thy hopes may cheer, Than that sweet Land beyond the brine, Or hearth by wife and child made dear. " To that best Home, — that Fatherland, — The Cross, unerring, points the track. With faultless skill thy course is planned : Doubt not, nor loiter, nor look back ! " The Cross, — the sign of self denied, — The path that marks alone is right. That way lies Home ! Be this thy guide ; Thy pillar, not of cloud, but light ! 27 " Leave idle musings. Brace to tasks By Heaven assigned, thy wayward heart. The time for work is short ! Who' asks For Home, and rest? Be toil thy part! Soon on thy gloom-girt path shall shine Heaven's cheery Morn, — Earth's shadows flee ; And in the tearless Home Divine Thy loved and lost shall welcome thee!" # * * * " Speak on !" — But lo ! the Dawn on high Hath crept, the stars with light o'ershading : Fair jewel of the Southern sky, Fast on my view thy form is fading ! Stay till I bless thee ! From my soul Thy message ne'er shall fade away, Till through the vast no worlds shall roll, And suns are quenched in nightless day. I TRAVELLING COMPANIONS IN THE BUSH. slept well at Swan Hill„ For the house was quite still, And no air in the world could be purer : And I woke, at a knock, And a voice, " Four o'clock !" And I entered the coach for Mildura. 28 It was dark, but I spied Fellow-travellers inside ; And when daylight made everything surer, I saw two, — short and stout : And we wobbled about ; As the coach reeled along to Mildura. Never dame for " The Cup " Was more neatly " made up," No damsel was ever demurer, Than those two who sat by me On that journey (so slimy) ; Both bound, like myself, for Mildura. They were popular, plainly ; The driver tried (vainly) To make their seats snug and securer ; And, when we got in, Quite a concourse was seen To welcome those two to Mildura ! Yet to me, all that day, Not one word did they say : Never judge was more solemn, or juror ; And for bite, sup, or " nips," Neither opened their lips, Till we got to the wharf at Mildura. 29 " Nothing in them," you'll say ; " Empty duffers !" But nay ! No street-gossip, I can assure her, Is fuller of chat, News, and jokes, and all that, Than those comrades of mine to Mildura ! Yet in vain might I beckon, Lean my elbow their neck on, Might whistle, or sing " Toora Loora;" Not a sign did they yield : And their lips were fast sealed, As the coach rolled along to* Mildura. Was it idiots I'd found ? Or a couple, just bound To< each other " for richer for poorer " ? Neither women nor men ! I must out with it, then — Two Mail Bags, made up for Mildura ! BUSH TRAVEL ON A FULL-MOON NIGHT Without Consulting the Calendar. 2*J^hick lips, in a negro, are far from alluring : The clips of a Bruin will finish you, soon : But when through the Bush in the night-time you're touring, Least welcome of all is — th' Eclipse of the Moon ! 30 THE FIRST-CLASS-MAN TO HIS GRANDMOTHER. Y~\o Sybarite am I, — no gross Boeotian: ** But all your anti-baccy lore I hate ! 'Twas study aided by the Weed Nicotian Won me my brilliant baccalaureate ! SURFACE MINING AND "REEFING/' OR HIE WEDDING AND 25 YEARS AFTER. 1 ear Earth's surface glitter fair Scattered grains of metal rare : Deep below, a fairer prize In the rich Reef treasured lies ! n Lo ! to-day Love's holy tether Knits two human lives together : Forth they pass, 'mid smiles and tears, On those untried wedded years. Twine the silver knots ; and tell Thy glad news, sweet Silver Bell ; Silver-written missives shower Blessings on their nuptial hour ! Ah ! but who to-morrow knows ? As the years their tale disclose Shall Time's seal be surely set On this gladness, lasting yet? 3» Soon, life's westering Sun must leave Moonlight silvering all their Eve : Silver in her tresses sown, — Silver in his voice's tone ! Lo ! through long years boring still, Time has driven his Diamond Drill. Scan the tell-tale " core " to-day : — Is it joy or sadness, say ! O, thank Heaven ! Each year that passed Brought more fondness than thei last ! " Then " with " Now compares no more Than silver dust with solid ore ! A REPLY POST CARD. During a visit to 1 Canon Saumarez Smith, the writer had played at kangaroodiunting with the children, who in their excitement ran a stick into- his cheek. Hurriedly departing, he left some properties behind. [S AIDANI COLL. PR^EFECTUS VERENDISSIMO BALL. EPISCOPO S.D. f^ caput ! O nasum ! Cur tanta oblivo rerum ^^ Tarn magni mentem Praesulis eripuit? Fusca umbella redit, baculoque armata recurvo ; Reddidit hanc aurigae inviolata fides : 3 2 Ecce, duo apparent nasi-sudaria ; signis Hoc domini proprium novimus — illud, herae. Fasciculus faciendus, et hsec, quae incuria liquit Nos apud, en ! vigilans cura remittit eis. Dabam in bibliotheca mea, a.d. vi. Id. Feb. EPISC. BALL. VIRO CANONICO SAUMAREZO SMITHO, S.P.D. Prsesentem baculo transfixit gnatus amicum, — Absentem versu rodit et ipse pater ! Qui potui nugas curasse, canonic©, maerens Tales perpetuo deseruisse domos? Non satis, umbellam, sudaria, binoculares Mittere: subreptum cor mihi redde, precor ! [Dabam, a.d. v. Id. Feb.] AFTERNOON SERMON IN A DAIRYING DISTRICT. f\x roams the Homilist, — head after head, — ^•^ Of one grand phrase reluctant to be bilked. His hearers' thoughts are roaming towards a shed Where rows of cows stand waiting to be milked ! 33 THE SHADOW OF GOD'S WINGS. " In the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice."— Ps. Ixiii, 7. ST\ y God, I thank Thee for my pains, - - For tortured nerve, and throbbing brow ; No scourge are these, — no captive chains, But priceless gifts, — the Giver, Thou ! Gifts ; though the reasoned page* proclaim Effect the changeless slave of Cause, And Nature, void of choice or aim, Bound fast by cold material laws ; Not less Thy gifts, Creative Thought, Whose all-embracing purpose blends The lesser with the great, and wrought The selfsame facts for countless ends : Whose Bow, ere sin began, had curved Through every shower that faced the sun, Nor less, as mystic sign, subserved Thy covenant with a world undone. On all the things of sense impressed Some heavenly aim I love to> trace, And Thee, the Sovereign Lord confessed At once of Nature and of Grace. 34 These fierce assaults of pain, a storm Before whose rage I helpless drift, To pathologic laws conform, Yet are they, none the less, Thy gift ; Bear to> my soul a choicer boon Than ease, or health, or peaceful days, Or all those minor gifts that tune My shallow heart to readier praise. 'Tis not in pleasure's hour I learn The boundless might of trustful prayer, God's all-sufficing love discern, And lean with full surrender there. But now, — while, obstinate and keen, The strong pangs shoot through brain or limb,- Or crushed with weakness, harder e'en Than pain to bear, — I fly to Him ! To Him ! by that stern schooling taught Truth oft allowed, but grasped at length, That Man, his skill, his power, are nought, That God is Everlasting Strength ! I learn what wealth of sweet relief In some brief Word of Promise dwells ; I feel new sympathy with grief, — New love for men within me swells ! 35 Trust, — Patience, — Love ! ah ! blissful loss, That yields such gain as these to me ! joy, to writhe upon a Cross, To win some likeness, Lord, to Thee ! And Trust, — Love, — Patience, — liker Christ We grow, as more of these we gain. Hail, charged for me with lore unpriced, Resistless ministry of Pain ! Too oft God's gifts through sloth are lost : joy, that some I may not lose ! That these, His best, and needed most, 1 could not, if I would, refuse ! In Peter's shade their healing place Some found : and I my better things Less in the shining of God's face Than " in the shadow of His wings." During illness, 1881. IN A PIANIST'S ALBUM. V"/"| hen Gregorian chanting torments us, we're told 'Tis the music the first Jewish monarch of old Was wont from the harp of great David to hear — And we wonder no longer that Saul threw that spear 36 But let Janie L*w*s the keyboard control, St. Cecilia's image looks in on my soul, Of minstrelsy Christian who* first wore the crown ;■ And I wonder no longer that Angel came down ! BENJAMIN. "After thee, Benjamin, among thy people." — Judges v, 14. ark ! Across the dreadful field, n Cry by Israel's warriors pealed, Shrills above the battle din "After thee, O Benjamin!" After thee, where blows hail thickly, Where the brave are falling quickly, While, to cornet's angry scream, Maces crash and falchions gleam ! Where the conflict's fiery heart Beats the fiercest, there thou art ! Where the battered ranks grow thin Soars the Sign of Benjamin ! All God's Host, with single breath, Leader hails thee, — wounds and death Laughed to scorn' 'neath thy command, Son of Israel's strong right hand ! 37 In triumphal songs the fray O'er the red field dies away ; Last to yield, and first to win, Crown the brows of Benjamin ! Benjamin ! Through all the past This thy motto, — " First, though last " ; Least of all, yet chief confessed ; Youngest born, but loved the best ! Dear to Jacob's widowed heart, From this son 'twere death to part : Dear to Egypt's ruler he, — Sevenfold must his portion be ! Benjamin ! The blessing said, On the Patriarch's dying bed, Far beyond thy sister tribes, Glorious things to thee ascribes. " Son ! The ravening wolf shall be Fierce, but fittest, type of thee ! Morn by morn go>, ravage wide ! Night by night the spoil divide !" " God's beloved !" Moses cries,— Ere he climbs the Mount and dies, — " Near His side in safety dwell, 'Neath His feathers sheltered well ! 38 " All day long Jehovah's arm Shields His Benjamin from harm : Benjamin secure shall rest Nightly on Jehovah's breast !" Fierce ! Beloved ! Both thou art ! Israel moves with breaking heart, Charged to scourge the ghastly sin Of their brother Benjamin. Heroes all, the Benjamites ! Foremost in a thousand lights ! Eglon's portly side must feel Benjamin's avenging steed : Routed Nahash stoops to kiss Thy proud sandal, son of Cis : Israel's kings with thee begin, Sceptred child of Benjamin ! In revolt from kingly sway Rechab, Sheha lead the way : Mordecai face to face Spurns the tyrant of his race. Last, yet best, the martyr line Owns its crowning hero thine: — Saul, of sinners once the worst — Paul, of saints, through grace, the first ! 39 O ! with lives like these unbound May our own at last be found ! Not with thee our souls be dwelling, Fickle Reuben, ne'er excelling ; — Asher, lingering o'er the feast; Issachar;, — like stubborn beast Crouching idly 'neath its load, False to duty and to* God ! Naphthali, thy goodly word Wins high honour from thy Lord ; Yearns my heart to follow thee Like some loose hind bounding free! Joseph's bow abides in strength, Sore abased, upraised at length ; Tree with deep, well-watered root, Reaching wide its comely fruit! Nay, but fairer gifts than all Israel's darling tribe befall : Heaven my lot with thine unite, Fierce, beloved Benjam-itei! Yes! Not only "After thee," By thy side our place should be ! Whether nobler ranks the deed, Soul, to follow, or to lead? 40 Wait no leader ! Set for men Patterns they may trace again Dare a Benjamin to be ! Let thy life cry, — " After me !" "WHO CALLS SO LOUD?" (Spoken at a Camp of Dublin FusilieTS, on the eve of a skirmish, Niel's Gap, 1900.) "TVist! Our Mother Country, whom the foaman has ^■^ defied, Calls on all who* love her Flag to hasten to be- friend her : Canadian, Indian, Saxon, Celt, Australian, side by side Rally to the Call, and vow to> perish or defend her ! Hark ! The bugle calls, the bugle calls, the bugle calls Yonder o'er the dreary veldt, where Britain's hosts are camping : Fling the Colours out ! At once in line the soldier falls ; Straight as ocean billows, see the ranks go tramping ! Forward, to the battle ! Not a look is cast behind ; Tense and eager every eye : each grips his weapon deadly : On! The red-spurred horsemen clatter past them like the wind : Charge ! With panic-striking cheer, they plunge amid the medley : 4 1 On, to where the battle's heart is beating fierce and fast : On, where from the foeman's trench the lead is hailino- thickly, — All forgot save Duty's Call, our gallant boys sweep past To where, around the unsinking Flag, the brave are falling quickly. Aid them, God of battles, — Lord of victory and defeat ! — Listen ! For some potent hand has stayed the cannon's roaring : — Now I see them! Up the steep they swarm with hands and feet, — Now, hurrah ! It is our lads, across the rampart pouring ! Captured ! Plant our flag aloft, beside yon shattered gun, — Let it float there, cheering on our comrade bands ad- vancing : See, to right and left the foeman flies ! The day is won ! Sunshine thro' the clouds on our triumphant steel is glancing ! Hush ! As o'er the crimsoned field the tumult dies away, Smites the ear another Call, from stricken sufferers pealing. Who shall scan with heart unwrung the relics of the fray? Room, there, for the Blood-Red Cross, — the ministers of healing ! 42 Thrilling is the Call of Country : — when the trumpet blows, Gladdening is stern Duty's Call, each nerve for action stringing : Moving, a Comrade's Call for help : but dearest, at the close, The Call of Peace, nkei some sweet Bell, our soldiers homeward ringing ! COME OVER AND HELP! C% EE from half a world benighted **^ Yonder beckoning signal waved,- Lands by Gospel truth unlighted, Teeming millions, yet unsaved ! Hark ! The grave of many a nation Stirs, with resurrection rife, Faintly calling for salvation, Blindly feeling after life ! China, from long sleep awaking ; Afric, from the slaver free; Heathen Ind, its fetters breaking; Islands of the Southern Sea! O'er all seas our flag we're flying — Flag with ceaseless vict'ries scarred ; Over death-strewn fields are plying " Reeking tube and iron shard : " 43 When shall peal the sweet Hosanna From the rescued thralls of Sin? When shall float the Church's banner O'er lost tribes, to Christ brought in? Comrades, help ! Our slackness shaming, Shall a lost World plead in vain? Jesu, bless ! Thy love proclaiming, Speed we Thy all-conqu'ring reign ! THE PETRINE CLAIM. '< *rV ovest thou Me? Thrice was the question pressed : ^"■^ " Lovest thou Me? Lovest thou Me indeed?' Before to Simon came the high behest The Flock of Christ to feed. " Yea, Lord, Thou know'st," he cried, with anguish wrung : Then to his hand the Pastoral Staff was given ; Then at his girdle those dread keys were hung That close and open Heaven ! " Ask not thy brother's lot : follow thou Me, E'en where thou wouldest not," the Master saith ; And Peter, following, on th' inverted Tree Bows his grey head in death. 44 Ah, Priest ! Till love has made thee bold to quaff Christ's cup of pain, in scorn of sloth and ease, Think not at Peter's hand to take that Staff, Or wield those Heavenly Keys ! G CHRISTMAS DAY IN AUSTRALIA. I. John, v, 20. 'is Christmas; yet 'tis Midsummer, in this New Land of ours ! We know it ! Nought but Summer time could yield these fruits and flowers ! And we know 'twas God's Incarnate Son Who in that Manger lay — None else could bring this world the Boon, that came on Christmas Da^ ! AT A BAPTISM. now in His gracious arms, Who said " Let the young children come to Me, This little one in faith ba laid, And given to Christ eternally ! 45 Ah ! doubt not, that a Saviour's love This helpless babe shall freely share, And Sacramental blessing prove Heaven's answer to believing prayer. Then in Thy Name, O Threefold Lord, Pledged to be Thine by threefold vow, The waters on his head be poured, The Cross be traced upon his brow ! As once, through sprinkled blood secure, The Cloud led Israel through the Sea, So, Child, by Holy Seal made sure, May Covenant Grace thy safeguard be ! So, through Time's waste, o'eir vales and steeps Thy path of life be safely trod To where a Guardian Angel keeps Thy place before the Throne of God ! EUREKA. Lines suggested by II Corinthians, iv, 26. "G* HEW m e, I beseech thee, Zeus, thy glory,' Prayed a Greek, in mythologic story, Warned in vain ; and, when the answer came, Died in whirlwinds of devouring flame 1 46 " Shew me, I beseech, Thy glory, Lord," Prayed a Jew, the Sacred Books record; But — so awful glowed the Holy Light — Scarce — though veiled by God — survived the sight " Shew me, Lord, Thy Glory, I beseech," -Prays thei Christian, yearning still to reach Higher planes of worship, yet untrod, Deeper insight in the things of God ! Comes an answer; not the words of fear Quaking Moses veiled his face to hear ! Not — as Pagans dreamed — by thunder riven Souls that pant for closer touch with Heaven ! Comes an answer. Lo, to Faith is known God's true nature, and His glory shown. Ask we, where to seek that lore unpriced ? Find it " in the Face of Jesus Christ !" Not in Nature's face ; in that may shine Wisdom absolute, and Might divine, But God's Love — His Holiness — His Grace In the realm of Matter who shall trace ? Face of Christ ! All brotherly and human ; Strong as of a man, soft as in woman ; Melting tenderly, — with pure wrath burning, — Stern with purpose, — or in prayer upturning ! 47 Face of Jesus ! Sad and sorrow-worn, — Now in treason kissed, — now struck in scorn,- With the dews of deadly anguish bathed, — Drooping on a Cross, — for burial swathed ! Face of Christ ! Before that sunlike brow, Lifted high o'er Death and Suffering now, Nature flees, and sinners hide, and, rife With His beauty, throng His Saints to life ! In the face of Jesus Christ displayed, — God in flesh — for sin an offering made — Prince victorious, throned all worlds above, Shines God's glory, — for its name is, Love ! CALM AFTER STORM. (Psalm cvii B 30, P.B.V.) v— -hen are they glad, because they are at rest !" So> runs, for me, the music from afar Of yon soft bells, while to the darkening West The buried Sun bequeaths the Evening Star. The blast that bugled to the charge on high The trooping clouds, is still. Glint in the deep O'erhead the noiseless camp-fires of the sky. Below, the tired wave sobs itself to sleep. 48 'Tvvas Eve : 'tis Night. Stealthily draws the Dark Its silky curtain round me, fold on fold, Save where, from yon dim steep, the Lighthouse spark Keeps ward o'er slumb'ring sea and silent wold. O sweetest calm, that comes when strife is gone! Truce after battle ; — word that sets him free To prisoner trembling for his life; — or morn Of ease that ends some night of agony ! Dear service of the Storm ! The day's turmoil Deepened this peace, that o'er its close doth brood. Dear service of Life's Evil ! 'Tis the foil And measuring contrast of succeeding good ! " The best wine afterwards," the Master taught ; And " Blessed ye that mourn and hunger now." First must the race be run, — the battle fought ; Then twine the wreath, to light the victor's brow ! Than calmest nightfall after wildest day Sweeter the dreamless slumbers of the Blest. All echo of Life's Storm has died away, And " they are glad, because they are at rest !" 49 HYMN TO THE TRINITY. v-— 'riune God ! Thy praise u> sing Every voice conspire for ever; Nature all her music bring, Human Art her best endeavour; Every Height its antham wake. Every Deep its answer make ! All the Earth doth worship Thee, Lord of Land, and Air, and Ocean; With bowed head and bending knee, Symbol of the heart's devotion, All Thy Church glad homage pays, Lifting high the note of praise ! Unto Thee in loud refrain Lo ! the full-toned Choir rejoices ; And the Organ lifts amain All her multitude of voices : Ah ! What rapture 'tis to> sing In Thy praise, Eternal King ! O that, as the inbreathed wind Thrills dumb pipes to sounds of sweetness, 5o Every heart a voice might find, — All our souls be tuned to meetness For tne heaven-taught song they pour In Thy presence evermore! Mid Thy glory, far above Yonder sky that arches o'er us, SeTaphs, fired with sinless love, Chant in never-ceasing chorus, Than the harp more tuneful far, Louder than Thy thunders are ! Louder yet one strain shall rise; — Dearer to the ear of Heaven Through the Concert of the Skies Pierce the songs of souls forgiven; And the Saved shout louder praise E'en than Angels skill to raise! Holy, Holy, Holy Lord! Thou, Who all from nothing spakest : Thou, Whose blood for men was poured Who dead souls to life awakest : In Thy Name be all our boast, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! 5 ** TRANSLATIONS, &c. [Quoted in Romanes' Essays. PEU DE CHOSE. "r*r a Vie est vaine. ^"^ Un peu d'amour, Un peu de haine, Et puis — Bon jour! La Vie est breve. Un peu d' espoir, Un peai de reve; Et puis — Bon soir !] Translation, in English and Latin:— and an Answer. A POOR AFFAIR. ■ How vain is Life ! A little play, A little strife, And then— Good day ! How briefly gleams Its fitful light Of hope, and dreams ; And then — Good night! 5 2 VITA FUROR BREVIS. Vanius numquid leviusque, Vita? Ecce, velocis spatium diei Jactat humanum genus, atque ludit,- Diligit, — odit, Credulum frustra ! Breviter placenti Somnio gaudens fruitur : sed atrox Non opinatum tulit hora finem, — Vita, valeto ! NON OMNIS MORIAR. Vita venturae est hodierna vitas Umbra : jucundus zephyri susurrus Sicut hibernas sequitur procellas Vere redacto, Nan secus, fausti grave pignus aavi, Haeret huic vitae labor atque luctus : Sol latebrosas cito dissipabit Crastinus umbras ! REPONSE DU CHRETIEN. Pas vaine, la Vie. Elle vite s' avarice Vers 1' heure benie De recompense. 53 On pleure ; on dort Tranquille : anfin Eclate 1' aurora Du lendemain ! THE CHRISTIAN S REJOINDER. Life's real. The field We till in tears Rich fruit may yiald — And harvest nears ! Brief space, below, We toil, we sorrow : Then rest : and O, The grand To-morrow ! [Quoted in Romanes' Essays. The Night has a thousand eyes, And the Day but one: Yet the light of a whole world dies With the setting Sun! 54 The Mind has a thousand eyes, And the Heart but one : Yet the light of the whole life dies When Love is done !] AMOR VERA LUX HOMINUM. Mille oculos Nocti — unum dat Natura Diei, At lux totum orbem, Sole eadente, fugit ! Mentis mille oculi, est unus tantummodo' Cordis At vitam e vita, tollit ademptus Amor ! A GRACE. BEFORE. IQather ! By Thee Earth, Air and Sea Are with abundance stored ; For Life, and Food, and every Good, We bless Thy Name, O Lord ! AFTER. -.— riiou spread'st our board with plenty, Lord ; Grant that our Souls may be For ever fed with Heavenly Bread, And feast on high with Thee ! 55 INDEX. Afternoon Sermon Antipodean Astronomy Antipodean Zoology Baptism, At a Benjamin Bush Travel on a Full Moon Night Calm After Storm Christmas Day in Australia Come over and Help Eureka First-Class Man to his Grandmother Grace, A Hymn to the Trinity Musings on the Murray River No More Sea Pakippika Petrine Claim, The Pianist's Album ... Reply Post Card S.S. "City of New York" Shadow of God's Wings Surface Mining and "Reefing" ... Translations, &c. 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