UC-NRLF uuy on rip (DF Pror. a. R. Noyes THE QUEEN'S DOMAIN; AND OTHER POEMS. BY WILLIAM WINTER BOSTON: E. O. LIBBY & CO. NEW YOEK: CHARLES SCRIBNER. M DCCC LIX. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by WILLIAM WINTER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. CAMBRIDGE : THURSTOX AKD TORRY, PRINTERS. "^^x * y ' -y^^^^ ^^ ^jT /Lf-^ 1U^-^-^ TO L . WiiEiiE the poet's love has flown, There the poet's songs may fly And, as that is all thine own, Take thou these to know it by ! ivl2(M>2t3 CONTENTS The Queen's Domain 9 The Emotion of Sympathy . 27 The Messenger . 49 Louise .... . 55 The Star of Love . . 59 Meditations . . 62 A Vision of the Street 67 The Coquette . 73 Beauty .... 77 Thoughts of Life . . 81 Manhood .... 84 First Loye . . . . 87 [5] 6 CONTENTS. The Murmur of the Kaln 90 The Prayer of a Heart 93 A Night in June . 9G Memories . . 100 Through the Darkness . 103 My Pet that Was . lOG Light and Shadow . . 109 Good-Bye . Ill To One who is Absent . 113 A Bridal Song 115 Sabbath in Autumn 117 A Voice of the Dead 119 The Lonely Flower . 121 To One in Heaven . . 123 Rest! . . 125 Snow-Drops . 127 One of Three 128 Alone . 129 The Last Scene . 130 My Faith 131 Fortitude 132 Hope in Sorrow 133 Song for a Silver Wedd ing 134 contents. « What the Stars Whisper 136 At Midnight 137^ At Dawn 139 To H. W. L 140 The True Way 142 THE QUEEN'S DOMAIN THE QUEEN'S DOMAIN. What time the sinking sun with gorgeous dye Stains the cloud curtains of the western sky ; When quiet broods o'er all the sylvan scene, And twilight cometh, gentle and serene ; When the cool wind of evening, light and free, Breathed from the far-off waste of purple sea, Murmurs in slumb'rous music ; when the rare. Sweet smell of buds is floating in the air ; And flowers are sleeping — so to dream by night How lovely they will be in morning light ; When in the broad, blue arch steal out above. The stars, which are God's jewel lamps of Love ; [11] 12 THE queen's domain. Who hath not known the holy cahii that brings Such kind oblivion of all meaner things ! A gentle rapture, ardent, pure and high ; A glorious thrill of heavenly ecstasy ; A blissful foretaste of that perfect peace "We hope, when storms are past and earthly trials cease ! On such a night as this, so mild and still, When silence slept o'er Zion's holy hill. While purest starlight bathed each earthly thing, The list'ning shepherds heard the angels sing. Sweet were the accents, trembling from afar. As the soft music of a falling star. And still we hear them as they heard them then — ' O'er the earth. Peace, and good-will unto THE queen's domain. 13 So ever Nature teaches. Still by day The grand old sun keeps his appointed way ; And still by night the gentle moon returns, And still with stars the empyrean burns : Th' eternal stars that, calm and voiceless, see All things which have been, are, and yet shall be! Still come the seasons on and still they pass ; The earth is glad in trees, and flowers, and grass ; Still Nature hath her growth and her decline — A life perpetual and a law divine. But man is weary. As the years sweep by, He lives a mourner, yet he dreads to die. By hopes exalted and by fears deprest. He knows no refuge and he finds no rest. As some frail bark, by angry billows tost, Her sails all shivered and her compass lost. Borne frantic o'er the wild and wildering wave. From danger flies, to safety — in the grave ; 14 THE queen's domain. So he, by waves of fierce ambition hurled, Longs for the spoils and triumphs of this world ; Strives, with blind rage that will not let him rest. To clasp those airy phantoms to his breast "Which still elude him : till at last, worn out With sin, and suffering, and toil, and doubt. He hears and thrills at some mysterious call — Death takes his trembling hand — and that is all! Throw back the pall ! there is no anguish now ! A frozen silence clothes the marble brow. No flush of hope, no anxious shade of fear. But only cold, calm beauty slumbers here. Closed are the eyes, the lips are cold as stone — But oh, how eloquent that face has grown ! Past all his troubles, past the long suspense. The strife of aspiration and of sense — THE queen's domain. 15 Safe ill a sacred peace forevermore — The heavenly radiance of the farther shore ; Through those pale lips a voice yet seems to say, * Strive not to govern — learn thou to obey ! God's righteous laws close all creation in, And mortal sorrow comes by mortal sin. Not Pride it is, but Love, that gives mankind The priceless treasure of a peaceful mind : All else is dross, the creature of decay, But this, once gained, shall never pass away.' So the dead Past speaks to us : on its face A solemn starlight veils convulsion's trace. The glow of former triumph there appears. And traces linger yet of former tears. Long strifes of care those pallid cheeks avow ; No star of empire glimmers on the brow ; The glance of power is dimm'd in time's eclipse ; The rose of beauty faded on the lips ; 16 THE queen's domain. The voice is hushed ; but silence here can reach A shrine of feeling closed to human speech : And, as we gaze, we feel it did not know Kest from its strife in all that outward show ; And whatsoe'er the secret that it keeps, It found no peace in life, though now it sleeps High are the hopes which proud Ambition bears, But dark the vesture Disappointment wears : That pursues phantoms, luring to betray ! This follows on, and claims and takes its prey! For, though th' ascent be rough, and steep the fall, Ambition has but one reward for all : A little power, a little transient fame, A grave to rest in, and a fading name ! But never, never since the world began, Did that delusion bless the life of man. THE queen's domain. 17 With fainting heart, at Fra Hilario's gate, Once did a wan and way-worn Pilgrim wait I Praying, ere death should give his soul release, "What all this world had failed to grant him — Peace ! And still, though centuries have rolled be- tween, That voice is heard, that solemn face is seen — Pale, worn and haggard — and those awful eyes. Wild with the light of sleepless agonies I For matchless genius could not save from WTO ng The grand old father of the Tuscan song ! So, when the cares of empire weighed him down, The royal Spaniard put away his crown ; In Yuste's cloisters buried all his woes, And sought the peaceful grandeur of repose : 18 THE queen's domain. And, as when 'reft the pomp of regal state, Though great at all times, never seemed so great ! So all these idle struggles close with pain : So life decays while peace is sought in vain : So, in delusive toil, the moments fly, And hearts the best and gentlest droop and die : And the dark shadow writes upon her scroll A name — a word — which comprehends the whole ! Ye pallid phantoms — oh ye forms sublime That throng the shadowy galleries of Time — Ye mighty souls whose labors now are o'er — Ambition's votaries — will ye speak no more ? Oh, looking downward from a loftier sphere. How seem the ancient toils and triumphs here ? THE queen's domain. 19 Where are the old, deceitful glories gone — The brilliant meteor lights that led ye on ? Do ye not mourn that thus our souls obey A treacherous hope, a blind ambition's sway ? Alas, ye speak not : clouds are in the skies, And still oblivion's tides grow blacker as they rise. What star shall guide us through the wildering maze ? What sunshine gladden these inglorious days ? What power protract this little lease of breath ? What magic veil the awful eyes of death ? What sacred influence grant us, while we live, A peace as pure as Heaven itself could give ? Once, in this western clime, a child of song. Too poorly honored and forgot too long — Sang, in sweet accents, such as love alone 20 THE queen's domain. Wins from the realm where first its joy was known, Pure words of tenderness and sacred truth, "Which live forever in the glow of youth ! And still, whene'er our holiest memories rise. With glad and grateful tears in dewy eyes ; When purest feelings win our souls to know How much of heaven we compass here below ; Those simple words, those gentle tones reveal The deep, the earnest tenderness we feel ! And howsoe'er life's fortune may be cast. That fond affection lingers to the last; And wakes in beauty, wheresoe'er we roam. At the sweet, simple melody of " Home! " Oh, sacred hearth-stone, where the cheerful blaze Glows yet with incense of departed days ; Oh, sacred refuge of our childhood bless'd, Wc give you tears that cannot be repress'd I THE queen's domain. 21 While from the past the shadows rise and grow, In fancy's vision flitting to and fro ; And smiles, like moonbeams from a far-off sky Which the full moon lights up so gloriously, Strike through the mist and reach us where we stand ; And once again we clasp some cherished hand ; And kind words thrill our hearts, and Hope's glad wings Fan roynd our way with joyous murmurings ; In that pure haven where all strife is still, Which fears no danger and believes no ill. This is her temple — this the Queen's Domain! Here tender Love and sacred Virtue reign ; Here airs from heaven breathe music all the while. And sunshine brighter is for woman's smile : 22 THE queen's domain. Here the swift days are winged with new delights, And blissful dreams enchant the quiet nights ; While worldly care relaxes every thrall, And Peace, an angel, watches over all I Here the soul's pure affections have their sway : Here artless childhood learns to love and pray: Confiding youth, in generous hope secure. Gains here the simple faith that shall endure Through after years — not fading, wan and cold, Because Ihe world deceives as he grows old : Here gentle girlhood tries its pretty wiles. With thought is pensive or is gay with smiles; Hears in the heart a strange, melodious chime, And yearns for mysteries of the coming time : And Love — the heart's religion — folding round Its wings of silence, makes this holy ground. THE queen's domain. 23 This be it womaa's mission to maintain — Protect through peril and support in pain ; And, thus pursuing nature's vast design, To charm, ennoble, strengthen and refine ! In this calm refuge from the storms of fate, Still may she guide us to our high estate ; Redeem our souls from rude ambition's strife, And mould us to a broad and perfect life ! And may all stars of promise light the dome That rises beauteous o'er her sacred home ! All kindly influence hover round the spot Where pain is soothed away and care forgot ! All hues of heavenly hope and solace blent. Bathe its pure atmosphere of calm content! For else this world is weary, cold, and drear. And Peace a stranger, if it dwells not here. Kind Nature scatters with a liberal hand Her gifts of beauty over every land : 24 THE queen's domain. Spring comes in sweetness, Summer moves in pride, Sunlight and shadow, flowers and fruits abide ; And diamond morns, and noons of quiet rest, And ruby splendors in the golden west ! All sights are lovely, for all things are good By Nature ordered in her perfect mood ; But nicer laws, in lovelier traits defined, Have decked the temple of the human mind. And grander strains of statelier music roll Through the vast chambers of the human soul ! The soul, which loyal to her high behest, By Woman's love is formed, ennobled, blest; While to her magic loveliness it thrills. Mourns when she bids, rejoices when she wills ; Her special charge, to whom the power is given To bless us here on earth and lead us up to heaven. THE queen's domain. 25 Sweet is the starlight of our summer skies, But sweeter starlight sleeps in those pure eyes! The summer wind has music in its moan, But richer music thrills her gentle tone ! Within her heart Love's altar-lamps are lit. And sacred warders at the portal sit ; Before that shrine do white-robed angels kneel. And on that brow Faith sets her beauteous seal. So, child-like, queen-like, weak at once and strong, In regal innocence she moves along, The heart's ideal — simple, but sublime — A true, sweet woman, purest born of time ! Not hers the path to glory's icy height. Not hers the pomp of poor ambition's fight. Not hers the grovelling strife of worldly things. Nor all the woe such life-delusion brings ; 26 THE queen's domain. But hers the sunlight of a peaceful mind, A trusting nature, cheerful and resigned : By fickle fortune's buffets all unmoved, She only lives to love and be beloved ! THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY, lu memory of many happy days, this poem — first delivered before the High School Association, at Cambridge — is now, with kind regards, inscribed to the companions of my school life. THE EMOTION OP SYMPATHY. I. When, after many a weary year has flown, He turns from foreign climes to hail his own, What soft emotions thrill the exile's heart ! What kindly tears of tender gladness start! How from the past the shadowy shapes arise. While memory's pictures flit before his eyes, And every sound and every step betray Remembered tokens of some happier day. Here the old mansion where his early years — Youth's rosy dawning flecked with silver tears — [29] 30 THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. Went by so smoothly it would almost seem As the mild memory of a pleasing dream. Here a kind father reared his cherished boy ; A mother's love here watched a mother's joy; The artless prattle of an infant voice Here waked their smiles and bade their hearts rejoice : And day by day they watched and strove to trace The mind awak'ning in his youthful face ; Upon his brow saw deeper thoughts arise, And wilder meaning tremble in his eyes, As various feeling variously exprest The strife of nature in his little breast. But time went ceaselessly : joy's rosy hour Grew dim with clouds, and storms began to lower. New joys there were for him, but grief and pain Taught their sad lesson — never learned in vain I THE EMOTION OP SYMPATHY. 31 And, as with sober steps and much delay, He moves along the unfrequented way, On every side some little tokens tell The sweet, old story, still remembered well. Here, when a boy, he played ; here first he met Those cherished friends he never can forget ; Here a good mother taught him to be blest — There is the churchyard where she lies at rest ! And other graves are there — names no less dear Spring to his lips and claim the exile's tear. "Where are they now, the joyful and the free. The merry voices, only heard in glee. The hands so warmly clasped, her plighted heart With whom 'twas heaven to live and death to part,— Where are they all ? Alas, the echoes say. These things have been, but these are past away. 32 THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. Perchance 'tis evening : In the western sky, Deep drawn the tints of God's own splendor lie. Soft are the airs that stir the rustling grain. And sweet the odors rising from the plain. But not for him is beauty's veil withdrawn, Whose heart is lonely and w^hose hope is gone I The blended hues that tint the glowing west ; The purple clouds that wrap the mountain's crest ; The liberal fragrance of the scented air That cools the brow and lifts the waving hair; The leaves, low whispering, when the silver light Of the young moon streams through the startled night. And all the beauty of the earth is spread. With that of heaven, around and overhead — All these but turn his wearied heart to pray For what once was, but now has passed away. THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. 33 So here to-night we come, and memory's spell Wakes thoughts which human language cannot tell. Gathered in friendship here — not sad, like him — No heart beats coldly and no eyes are dim. The joyful greeting and the glad reply, Hope in each heart and life in every eye, These tell a different tale, for these declare No lingering sorrow that is like despair. And yet, full sadly must our hearts avow Some were with us who are not with us now. Thoughts of the dead are always sad, and yet, Those we have loved we never can forget. Kind eyes look sweetly through the shadowy gloom. And mournful voices whisper from the tomb. While, with low tone and mildly pensive eye. We speak their names whose doom has been to die. 34 THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. To-night the starlight of affection falls In memory's cloisters and her storied halls ; And scenes of pleasm'e past, and scenes of pain, In that mild lustre wake to life again : Old days come back, remembered joys assume The rosy freshness of their earlier bloom ; All hearts are glad, and e'en the brow of care Wears the rich glow it once was used to wear. In every heart a sense of pleasure lives, And friendship gladdens by the joy it gives : While reigns o'er all — now worldly trials cease — The gentle spell of pure and heavenly peace. II. Whence flows this tide of feeling? whence arise These kindly thoughts, these sympathetic sighs ? THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. 35 What mystic influence thus controls the mind, To vice repugnant and to virtue kind ? Scatters all blessings where the good have trod, And lives from man to man, and thus from man to God ? In the beginning, when th' Eternal's word Pealed through the deeps and startled chaos heard, Confusion changed and grew beneath his eye To perfect concord and sweet harmony. Fast fly the trembling shades, and now arise The morning glories born of Paradise ! Rich floods of light the formless void reveal, Through which fair shapes and gradual beauties steal ! The stately orbs in solemn silence pace Their circling courses through th' eternal space ! A perfect system circumscribes the whole. And God the union is, and God the soul ! 36 THE EMOTION OF SYMTATHY. So harmony pervades the general plan, But finds perfection in the soul of man. The stars may burn, the moons may wax and wane, The circling seasons pass and come again — Yet all these changes, beauteous though they be, Can faintly type the eternal unity : While, in the mighty human soul we find Some index of the universal mind. Of what avail the various force of man Life to explore and nature's God to scan ? Fair science fails and reason cannot stray Beyond the precincts of her trivial day ; Else all is dark, the ocean and the sky — Loud rings her challenge, but there's no reply! Still, in the promptings of the soul we know His power, who made and governs all below ; And Nature's voice, to those who comprehend, Gives blessed assurance of one steadfast friend. THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. 37 Go, ask the ocean bursting on the shore — It answers proudly with its hollow roar ! Ask the broad heaven, and all your murmurs cease — Its calm brow awes you into perfect peace. The stars come forth, in golden splendor shine, And sweetly whisper of the life divine. In all that thrills the ear or meets the eye There lives a beauty which is mystery ; And thus with silent influence they show What reason cannot teach and does not know. Take here your stand when night is coming down. And dusky shadows wrap the silent town : Ere while the dying sun flushed all the west With his rich crimson blood, and sunk to rest. But now the moon a gentler light distils. And silence broods o'er all the misty hills ; 38 THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. Soft through the trees the wind of evening sighs, And soft the murmurs of the sea arise ; Far up the beach, spread forth on either hand, The moonlit water beats the silver sand ; Light wreaths of foam curl up with snowy sheen, And music thrills the air, and charms the heavenly scene. Or come when midnight clothes the dusky hill, And the dark forest slumbers, deep and still ; Save — as the restless sleeper heaves a sigh — The brown leaves murmur when the winds sweep by ; And the pure stars, with holy lustre bright. Shed their rich glory o'er the peaceful night. There the calm river slowly murmurs by : Along this plain the sleeping hamlets lie : THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. 39 The small, white houses couched upon the plain : The meadows, rough with sheaves of golden grain : Some little spires here rise and intervene — There tlie low, misty hills close round and shut the scene. III. What gentle thoughts, what tender memories rise, When scenes like these engage our raptured eyes ! How throng the silent years, how rise amain The phantom shapes of pleasure and of pain ! How fondly do our memories haste to dwell With those dear ones whom we have loved so well ! 40 THE EMOTION OF SYMPATEIY. How ardently our longing souls recall Whom death has taken from this being's thrall! And then how gradual and how sure the pause To ponder of God's government and laws ; To ask of brighter, happier worlds than this And awful secrets of the dark abyss ! Thus all that's beautiful, or soon or late, Leads us to question of a future state. What do we live for ? whence those hopes and fears Which nerve us to the conflict of our years ? What after all remains, when life is sped, And man is gathered to the silent dead ? Home to the narrow house, the long, long sleep, Where pain is stilled, and sorrow doth not weep. Tossed on the ever-ebbing tide of time — A stream resistless, rapid and sublime — THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. 41 One moment seen, man flits from wave to wave, Then sinks forever in the treacherous grave : Sinks, and is seen no more ; no more is known ; Sleeps the dark, dreamless sleep, unmourned, but not alone. What then remains to tell that he hath been ? What record shows his virtue or his sin ? W^hat power reviews the life which ebbs away, Bursts the thick darkness and leads on the day? Adjusts the balance, weighing every deed — Was evil spurned, or virtue doomed to bleed ? Did he great objects in his life attain. Or was existence given him in vain ? And this to answer, summons to its place Each thought, each action of his earthly race ; Applies them all, and, to the general plan Makes one subservience of the life of man ? 42 THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. Perplexing questions! How shall we decide ? Invoke what counsel and entreat what guide ? Life, unexplored, is hope's perpetual blaze — When past, one long, involved and darksome maze : But, that some mighty power controls the whole, A secret intuition tells the soul. No longer then in wandering doubt to grieve, We cannot demonstrate, and yet believe ! If he one generous act performed on earth ; If to one noble thought he e'er gave birth ; If one kind word, to suffering weakness given. Fell from his lips as manna fell from heaven ; If e'er his eye one pitying tear distilled ; One throb of sympathy his heart has thrilled ; If he hath bowed beneath the chastening rod. Forgive the weakness of a child of God I Spare, spare the follies of an erring brain. Judge not his faults — he has not lived in vain I THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. 43 IV. See now- — but calmly see, if you are wise — The tender beauty of those sweet, blue eyes ! See all the soul, informed with modest grace, Those eyes suffuse and mantle in that face : The rosy cheek behold, the damask glow. The soft, warm lips, the pearly teeth below : Lips, that with words bewitchingly will part — "Words — music, gushing from her gentle heart : See the full bust, the fairly rounded arm. The tapering figure and the peering- charm ! What lends that mystic grace? What thrills the soul ? The nameless mystery that enshrouds the whole : That mystery which wakes whene'er it will The natural throb, the sympathetic thrill. Shall woman's love, of mother, sister, wife — The richest blessing of this mortal life — 44 THE EMOTJON OF SYMPATHY. Rccuive no tribute, humble though it be, For so much truth and so much purity ? No I while the heart can feel, or lips can speak. Our words shall fail not, though our words are weak : Weak to express what bends each noble soul In glad submission to its sweet control ; Which smooths each wrinkle from the brow of care, And sets eternal youth in beauty there ; Makes life a rosy landscape opening wide, And lights the waters of death's dismal tide ! For, as sometimes, the murky clouds between. The moonlight falls, a quiet holy sheen. So love illumes that wild and awful way With golden splendors of the rising day ; Pierces the gloom of death and points the road To our celestial home and God's divine abode. THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. 45 Content with this our lives might glide along Smoothly and sweetly as a fairy song. In vain we seek to know our future fate, And scarcely comprehend our present state : But this we feel — that while our hearts are pure, Our lives are happy and our peace is sure : Though sorrow's tears may sometimes dim the eye, Love dries the tear and checks the lin merino: sigh. And while this world such varied beauties bless — Rare youthful grace, and maiden loveliness, Stern manhood's power, and noble woman's charm — All pain to soothe and every care disarm : While friendship glistens in the happy eye ; While hope remains — and hope should never die ; 46 THE EMOTION OF SYMPATHY. Wliile there's one cheek from which to wipe the tear; One lonely heart to cherish and to cheer ; While there's on earth one noble deed to do, We sin to murmur at the good and true I For all things are of God to mortal man, His the high law and His the heavenly plan ! IDYLS AND LYRICS. THE MESSENGER. " Astra regunt homines, sed regit astra Deus.^* As one, who, at a suQimer twilight sky, Looketh long and solemnly ; Noting, in their slow decay, How the sunbeams glance and play, As the daylight wanes away ; How the stars come out and shine Over the departing day; How all shapes, of various dye. Glimmer, glimmer, wandering by ; Till he loses every hue In one deep and stainless blue. Where the stars are gleaming through ; 4 [49] 50 THE MESSENGER. And, while the cool wind of the west Breathes upon his brow and breast, Whispering, as it passes on, Of the spirits that are gone ; Hearkens if his soul may gain Knowledge of the far domain, Where the souls that God has blest, Dwelling in celestial rest, Never know this mortal pain And this longing wild and vain ; — So, into those eyes of thine. Beauteous with a love divine, Lighting up with saintly grace All that calm and patient face. Shining as the pale stars shine — ' Do I gaze and strive to see What thy hidden thought may be ; What the music in thy heart Thou didst bring with thee from heaven ; What thy perfect nature's art, THE MESSENGER. 51 By white angels given ; What revelations God has sent with thee, And all thy pure soul's wondrous mystery. Deep, glorious eyes, which thrill the night And glad the brightest day, My poor heart trembles in your sight, I cannot read your spells aright, I know not what ye say ! My spirit shrinks beneath your light And half forgets to pray. For, like the holy stars ye are. Which shine through heaven in the lone midnight hour ; I bend and worship them afar, And ask the secret of their steadfast power : They hold me in their mystic thrall, They shine — but they are silent all ! 52 THE MESSENGER. Upon that brow so white and fair There is not any line of care ; Upon that clear pearl cheek of thine Tears have not left a single stain. Thy face is sweet with heavenly calm, And lightest word of thine is balm And comfort for the heart of pain : But ah, this iron self-control. Is sorrow's lesson to the soul — Once learned and never taught again ! And can it be that one so pure. So good, so noble as thou art, Has felt this fire sweep through the heart And so become secure ? I will not think it ! Sin alone Brings sorrow's blight and sorrow's moan. And power to endure : But I will think thy spirit sent Awhile to pine in mortal frame, THE MESSENGER. 53 Seeking us in our darkness pent, And agony of doubt and shame : Awhile in this cold world to roam, A messenger from God on high, To win us to that blissful home His love can grant us when we die ! And, with that thought, I will not weep When death has sealed those eyes in sleep. It would be sad to think thee gone Did I not know. The way that thou shalt journey on, I too must go. And ever as the swift days glide, My hope will be To cast this weary life aside And rest with thee. For sometimes, when the strife is loud, And angry voices harsh and wild, 54 THE MESSENGER. I shrink from the bewildering crowd And wish I were a little child ; Or — sweeter, surer hope — were laid In the still grave, by friendship made! For there the birds would come and go, And there the whispering grasses grow, And there the idle winds would blow — Nor should I be afraid : For gentle peace is ever there. And calm repose from worldly care. LOUISE. Pale she was as a lily leaf, My poor I.