Read the book: «By the Sea, and Other Verses», page 3

TO R. T. B

ON HER MARRIAGE DAY

 
Sister, we know
That God is good, and He hath led us on
By pleasant ways or painful to this day.
Our lives went on together until now.
In childhood and in youth the same fond home
Hath been our earthly refuge; the same Rock
Our shelter when earth had no rest or shade.
At the same fancy we have often smiled,
For the same sorrow wept; and oft our souls,
In mingling aspirations, have sent up
The same thanksgiving, the same burning prayer.
Yes, we have lived together; we have known
The visible blending of the outward life
Made real by the holier unison
Of loving spirit and aspiring mind.
The spells of joy have bound us – and of hope,
And tears – which are the diamond links of love —
Have made the chain of our affection strong.
It may be thus no more; yet – God is good —
I hush the moaning of my riven heart,
And smile that thou art happy; and give thanks
That thy sweet life, rejoicing, hath put on
Its richest diadem, its crown of love.
May the kind Father grant that crown to be
All worthy of the wearer; may His smile
Lend brightness to it ever; and at last,
When it is laid with earthly robes away,
O may the infinite and eternal Love
Rest like a glory on thy radiant brow.
 

ON NEW YEAR, 1897

TO G. D. AND S. F. B

 
God bless you thro' this bright new year,
The first you spend together;
Give peace and trust thro' cloudy days,
Joy in its sunny weather.
 
 
And may the days as days go by,
Still richer seem and sweeter,
And passing seasons make your lives
In every good completer.
 
 
There are not words to tell the love
In which I could caress you;
Your dear united names I breathe,
And once more pray, God bless you.
 

TO ANNA

ON HER SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY

 
Sixteen! and life to thee looks bright and fair; —
A book unread, rose-tinted, golden edged,
Encased in binding curious, costly, rare; —
And all the years to be thou holdest pledged
To give thee from its pages, day by day,
Readings to cheer and bless the blithesome way.
 
 
And life is such a volume, only thou,
From garnered storage of the heart and mind,
Must fill unwritten pages, and allow
Fair pictures – of pure thought, of self resigned,
Of kindly deeds – each new-made page to grace; —
How blest if none thou, later, woulds't efface!
 
 
Sixteen! A May-day in the path of life,
A marvelous puzzle on the finger twirled;
Sixteen again; a stir of earnest strife
And toil and tumult in a restless world;
Repeated still, – a patient, steadfast hold
On good attained, – ripe fruit, and grain of gold.
 
 
Sixteen once more! Serene in shade or sun,
A brighter outlook now; existence grand!
Content in hopes fulfilled, in victories won,
Mingling with holier yearnings for that land,
Whose o'er-flown radiance and whose surplus bliss
Have been the glory and the joy of this.
 

A SONG OF TENS

TO MARY

 
At the tenth birthday all the world looks fair;
The twentieth scarcely shades it with a care;
At the third decade life soars grand and high;
But with the fourth its heyday passes by.
 
 
The fifth comes on, – a century's half is told;
The sixth, – our little girl is growing old.
Another half-score milestone passed, and then
We've reached the allotted three-score years and ten.
 
 
Years may be added; should they come to thee
May Faith and Wisdom their companion be;
Hope thy sure anchor; Peace with thee abide,
And Love still be thy light at eventide.
 

JESSICA

A gentleman once wrote of Elizabeth Fry: "Her name has long been a word of beauty in our household."

 
Make thy name a word of beauty,
Like the lily pure and fair,
From its perfumed cup exhaling
Sweetest fragrance on the air.
 
 
Make thy name a word of beauty
Lustrous as the ocean pearl;
Constant in life's loving service,
Guileless through youth's mazy whirl.
 
 
Make thy name a word of beauty,
Radiant, steadfast, like a star;
Shedding from a glowing center
Love's effulgence near and far.
 
 
Aye, we greet thee, rare-sweet maiden,
(Make it evermore thy right),
Jessica – our word of beauty,
Lily, pearl, and star of light.
 

TRANSITION

 
Out of the blindness and the night
Into clear and constant light.
 
 
Out of the weariness and pain
Into everlasting gain.
 
 
Out of the toil and durance hard
Into rest and rich reward.
 
 
Out of the doubting and distress
Into certain blessedness.
 
 
Out of the dusty lanes of care
Into pastures green and fair.
 
 
Out of the glaring desert sun
To shades where cooling waters run.
 
 
Out of the din of woe and wrong
Into choral waves of song
 
 
Out of the dwelling, worn and old,
Into the city of pearl and gold.
 
 
Where now, O Death, where is thy sting?
Thou art the summons to the King.
 
 
O Grave, where is thy victory?
Thou art the gateway to the free!
 

TO A. H. B

A "COMMENCEMENT" GREETING

With Portraits of Eminent Authors

 
Dear Hallam, with this trifling gift
Best wishes now I send thee;
Through all thy future life may joy
And grace and peace attend thee.
 
 
May this the bright beginning be
Of days love-crowned and royal;
May griefs and faults and foes be few,
Friends manifold and loyal.
 
 
May gems from authors such as these
Store well thy mental coffer,
But for thy heart's enrichment please
Accept the love I offer.
 

1882

TO WINNIE

ON HER WEDDING DAY

 
Stars will shine on, tho thou art gone,
But we shall miss the gleaming
Of one bright eye's responsive smile,
And love-light softly beaming.
 
 
And flowers will bloom, – but we shall miss
A fragrance and a beauty
That brightened for us here and there
The sombre path of duty.
 
 
And friends will greet us on our way,
But we shall miss the sweetness
Of a fair presence that hath made
So much of life's completeness.
 
 
And yet 'tis well; we give thee joy,
And pray with this caressing;
That love and peace without alloy
May be thy bridal blessing.
 

A LIFE WORK

IN MEMORY OF DANIEL HILL

 
He heard the cry of man enslaved
In bonds and servile toil;
And gave his voice for freedom till
The "Freedman" tilled "free-soil."
 
 
He saw his weaker brother reel,
Pierced by Drink's poisoned dart,
And wrought and wrote with fervent zeal
To stay the Tempter's art.
 
 
He heard the clash of sword and gun
In deadly battle-strife;
And pleaded till his day was done
For Love's sweet rule in life.
 
 
He rests in peace. Who now shall wear
The mantle he let fall?
Who teach as he the Father-love,
The brotherhood of all?
 

VISIONS

 
I saw when Israel toiled and groaned beneath the Pharoah's rod,
And in his hopeless bondage moaned his helpless prayer to God.
 
 
I saw when from the river's brink the infant leader rose,
Who, reared in Egypt's royal court, still felt his brothers' woes.
 
 
I heard him at the burning bush his swift excuses bring:
"Who, who am I, that I should stand before the Egyptian king?
 
 
"And who am I that I should lead the people of thy choice?
My warning word they will not heed, nor hearken to my voice.
 
 
"And who am I that I should move a monarch to relent?
I, but a man, and slow of speech, nor wise, nor eloquent."
 
 
I marked the answer: "Plead no more thy vain excuse to me;
I am the Lord; my servant thou; my glory thou shalt see.
 
 
"I am the Lord; the power is mine; 'tis thine to hear and do;
The Lord almighty is to save, by many or by few."
 
 
The man of doubt exchanged his fears for faith in God and right,
While meek obedience on his brow sat like a crown of light.
 
 
The slow of speech grew eloquent, till Israel gladly heard;
And bolder waxed the Leader, till the king's hard heart was stirred,
 
 
And he in fierce displeasure drove the captives from his land;
Not knowing their deliverance was all divinely planned.
 
 
Down the long line of two-score years I looked and saw at last,
The blissful view from Pisgah's height; the Jordan safely passed;
 
 
And heard – as Memnon's harp had caught the sweet enchanting strain,
And sent adown the waves of time brave Miriam's glad refrain —
 
 
"Sing, for the Lord hath triumphed; sing, great wonders can he do;
The Lord is mighty and can save by many or by few."
 
 
I saw again, when sin-enslaved, by Jabin's hand oppressed,
A people's cry went up to God for rescue and for rest.
 
 
Then up rose Deborah, judge and seer, with all her valiant band,
And drove the oppressor from her gates, his chariots from her land.
 
 
And Jael, wife of Heber, slew his captain with the sword;
So woman's hand achieved that day the victory for the Lord.
 
 
And woman's voice extolled in song the great Deliverer's name: —
"Praise God! He hath avenged His own, for willingly they came.
 
 
"The mountains melt before His face, the tribes their strength renew;
The Lord is mighty and doth save by many or by few."
 
 
I saw when Gideon led his band down to the water's bank
To prove and set them in array, as man by man they drank,
 
 
And with the handful chosen thus went forth against the foe,
And vanquished all the Midian host, and laid their princes low.
 
 
Not with the thousands called from far, who pitched by Harod's well;
Nor yet the undismayed who stood when the faint-hearted fell;
 
 
But "Now, with these three hundred men, go forward," said the Lord;
"Do thou thy part, let them do theirs, trust, and obey my word."
 
 
Their torches flashed like dancing flames, their trumpets loudly blew;
Strange warfare! but the Lord can save by many or by few.
 
 
Once more I saw when Israel quailed before Philistia's pride;
While great Goliath, day by day, Jehovah's power defied.
 
 
The weak and timid fled away, the valiant shrank with fear; —
'Twas threatened death or dire defeat, and life and fame are dear.
 
 
Even Saul, their chosen king, forgot (admiring Israel's boast!)
That he stood head and shoulders high above his martial host.
 
 
"And are there none," he cried, "who dare to meet this vaunting foe?
And must the banner of our God trail in dishonor low?"
 
 
Then forth there came a ruddy youth: "That banner I'll defend;
Be it not said our God hath none on whom He may depend.
 
 
"Let no heart fail to-day because of this Philistine's boast;
The battle is the Lord's and He will vanquish this proud host."
 
 
Then spake he to the giant foe: "A loyal servant I
Of Israel's God, whose holy name thou darest to defy.
 
 
"In that dread name I charge thee stand, and shield thee as thou may;
The fowls of air, the beasts of earth shall feast on thee to-day."
 
 
'Twas but a pebble from the brook, sent by a loyal will;
But sword and spear not mightier were God's purpose to fulfil.
 
 
For one may chase a thousand, and ten thousand flee from two;
The God of right is strong to save by many or by few.
 

* * * * *

 
Years, ages pass and now I see a land beloved and fair;
And lo! a cruel enemy hath gained possession there.
 
 
The riches of this goodly land into his coffers pour;
Insatiate and unscrupulous, his constant cry is "More!"
 
 
"More money clinking in my till, more men – my licensed prey;
More boys to feed my traffic when these men have passed away."
 
 
Thus man is robbed of purse and soul, home of its peace and joy;
The wife of husband is bereft, the mother of her boy.
 
 
The land doth mourn. On every side the spoiler hath his way;
No past oppression hath surpassed this vision of to-day.
 
 
And who, like Moses, will exchange his self-distrust and fear
For faith to meet the encroaching foe and check his bold career?
 
 
And who, like Deborah, will arise and lead a valiant band
To drive the Tyrant from her gates, the Traffic from her land?
 
 
Who will, like Gideon and his men, the light of truth dare throw
On darkest evil, and the trump of coming victory blow?
 
 
Or who, like David, will come forth in God's great name, alone,
And lay the boastful giant low, as once with sling and stone?
 
 
When Avarice and unholy Pride against the good contend,
The battle is the Lord's and He His people will defend.
 
 
The great Red Sea of wrong, while He doth pass, shall stand aside;
Mountains shall bow before Him, and proud Jordan's waves divide.
 
 
Each epoch hath its burning bush, and each its palm-tree shade;
And each its oak of Ophrah, where the pledge of peace is made.
 
 
And each its fold, where kingly soul in shepherd guise is found;
And when the Master calleth there the place is "holy ground."
 
 
Holy the place; but whose the hour? perchance He calleth thee,
Or thee; who, who will answer now, "Lord, here am I; send me?"
 
 
O, for the love of land and home, make answer brave and true;
Our God is mighty still to save, by many or by few.