HP* 
 
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 London,, TJMcrfia7&, 287, PLccafflty. 
 
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 IwtaMal l|te0^g: 
 
 MARTIN FFTUPPER 
 
 • 'tm<~ 
 
 ft totrtfrtttatiit fatttifm. 
 
 -S-8J-H 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 T. HATCHARD, 187, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1855. 
 
P/?5"fc?f 
 
 \sssr 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 G, T. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
 Herbert Pel! 
 March 18, 1943 
 
 
fetotl 
 
 FIRST SERIES. 
 
 Page 
 
 PREFATORY . ... . . 1 
 
 THE WORDS OF WISDOM . . . . .4 
 
 OF TRUTH IN THINGS FALSE .... 8 
 
 OF ANTICIPATION . . _ . . .14 
 
 OF HIDDEN USES . . . . . 17 
 
 OF COMPENSATION . . . . .24 
 
 OF INDIRECT INFLUENCES . . . 31 
 
 OF MEMORY . . . . .38 
 
 THE DREAM OF AMBITION .... 44 
 
 OF SUBJECTION . . . . . .48 
 
 OF REST . .... .^ 62 
 
 OF HUMILITY . . . . . .67 
 
 OF PRIDE ...... 73 
 
 OF EXPERIENCE . . . . . .77 
 
Page 
 
 OF ESTIMATING CHARACTER .... 81 
 
 OF HATRED AND ANGER . . . . .94 
 
 OP GOOD IN THINGS EVIL .... 97 
 
 OP PRAYER ...... 105 
 
 THE LORD'S PRAYER . . . . .112 
 
 OP DISCRETION . . . . . .115 
 
 OP TRIFLES ...... 120 
 
 OP RECREATION . . . . . .125 
 
 THE TRAIN OF RELIGION . . . .131 
 
 OF A TRINITY ..... . 135 
 
 OF THINKING ..... 141 
 
 OF SPEAKING . . . . . .151 
 
 OF READING ...... 157 
 
 OF WRITING ...... 160 
 
 OF WEALTH ...... 165 
 
 OF INVENTION . . . . . 173 
 
 OF RIDICULE ...... 178 
 
 OF COMMENDATION . . . . .182 
 
 OF SELF-ACQUAINTANCE .... 189 
 
 OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS . . . . .198 
 
 OF FRIENDSHIP ..... 202 
 
 OF LOVE ....... 209 
 
 OF MARRIAGE ..... 213 
 
 OF EDUCATION . . . . . 221 
 
 OF TOLERANCE . . . . . 235 
 
 OF SORROW ..... 
 
 OF JOY ...... 
 
 244 
 
Contents. 
 
 SECOND SERIES, 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 OF CHEERFULNESS 
 OF YESTERDAY 
 OF TO-DAY 
 OF TO-MORROW 
 OF AUTHORSHIP . 
 OF MYSTERY . 
 OF GIFTS 
 OF BEAUTY . 
 OF FAME 
 OF FLATTERY 
 OF NEGLECT 
 OF CONTENTMENT 
 OF LIFE 
 OF DEATH . 
 OF IMMORTALITY 
 OF IDEAS 
 OF NAMES 
 OF THINGS . 
 OF FAITH 
 
 Page 
 248 
 252 
 259 
 266 
 270 
 275 
 286 
 298 
 307 
 328 
 340 
 353 
 366 
 374 
 384 
 395 
 425 
 430 
 438 
 443 
 
viii €ontmU> 
 
 Page 
 
 OF HONESTY . . 456 
 
 OP SOCIETY ...... 466 
 
 OP SOLITUDE ... . 480 
 
 THE END ..... 486 
 
Wj^ 
 
 (nrkriwal tjljilo&apljjr. 
 
 (first seeies.) 
 
 JttfatatB. 
 
 Cn&flttjgStt, that have tarried in my mind, and peopled its 
 inner chambers, 
 
 The sober children of reason, or desultory train of fancy ; 
 
 Clear-running wine of conviction, with the scum and the 
 lees of speculation ; 
 
 Corn from the sheaves of science, with stubble from 
 mine own garner : 
 
 Searchings after Truth, that have tracked her secret 
 lodes, 
 
 And come up again to the surface-world, with a know- 
 ledge grounded deeper ; 
 
 Arguments of high scope, that have soared to the key- 
 stone of heaven, 
 
 And thence have swooped to their certain mark, as the 
 falcon to its quarry ; 
 
 B 
 
2 ^xthkx^ 
 
 The fruits I have gathered of prudence, the ripened har- 
 vest of my musings, 
 These commend I unto thee, docile scholar of Wisdom, 
 These I give to thy gentle heart, thou lover of the right. 
 
 TOhat, though a guilty man renew that hallowed theme, 
 
 And strike with feehler hand the harp of Sirach's son ? 
 
 What, though a youthful tongue take up that ancient 
 parable, 
 
 And utter faintly forth dark sayings as of old ? 
 
 Sweet is the virgin honey, though the wild bee have 
 stored it in a reed ; 
 
 And bright the jewelled band, that circleth an Ethiop's 
 arm; 
 
 Pure are the grains of gold in the turbid stream of 
 Ganges, 
 
 And fair the living flowers, that spring from the dull 
 cold sod. 
 
 Wherefore, thou gentle student, bend thine ear to my 
 speech, 
 
 For I also am as thou art ; our hearts can commune to- 
 gether : 
 
 To meanest matters will I stoop, for mean is the lot of 
 mortal ; 
 
 I will rise to noblest themes, for the soul hath an heri- 
 tage of glory : 
 
 The passions of puny man; the majestic characters of God ; 
 
 The feverish shadows of time, and the mighty substance 
 of eternity. 
 
 Commend thy mind unto candour, and grudge not as 
 though thou hadst a teacher, 
 
Nor scorn angelic Truth for the sake of her evil herald ; 
 Heed not him, hut hear his words, and care not whence 
 
 they come ; 
 The viewless winds might whisper them, the billows roar 
 
 them forth, 
 The mean unconscious sedge sigh them in the ear of 
 
 evening, 
 Or the mind of pride conceive, and the mouth of folly- 
 speak them. 
 Lo now, I stand not forth laying hold on spear and 
 
 buckler, 
 I come a man of peace, to comfort, not to combat ; 
 With soft persuasive speech to charm thy patient ear, 
 Giving the hand of fellowship, acknowledging the heart 
 
 of sympathy : 
 Let us walk together as friends in the shaded paths of 
 
 meditation, 
 Nor Judgment set his seal until he hath poised his 
 
 balance ; 
 That the chastenings of mild reproof may meet unwitting 
 
 error, 
 And Charity not be a stranger at the board that is spread 
 
 for brothers. 
 
 B 2 
 
%\t Maxte at mitim. 
 
 jfcfo and precious are the words which the lips of Wis- 
 dom utter: 
 To what shall their rarity he likened ? What price shall 
 
 count their worth ? 
 Perfect and much to he desired, and giving joy with 
 
 riches, 
 No lovely thing on earth can picture all their heauty. 
 They be chance pearls, flung among the rocks by the 
 
 sullen waters of Oblivion, 
 Which Diligence loveth to gather, and hang around the 
 
 neck of Memory ; 
 They be white-winged seeds of happiness, wafted from 
 
 the islands of the blessed, 
 Which Thought carefully tendeth, in the kindly garden 
 
 of the heart ; 
 They be sproutings of an harvest for eternity, bursting 
 
 through the tilth of time, 
 
%\t WioxU rf SBfctom. 5 
 
 Green promise of the golden wheat, that yieldeth angels' 
 
 food; 
 They be drops of the crystal dew, which the wings of 
 
 seraphs scatter, 
 When on some brighter sabbath, their plumes quiver 
 
 most with delight : 
 Such, and so precious, are the words which the lips of 
 
 Wisdom utter. 
 
 get more, for the half is not said, of their might, and 
 
 dignity, and value ; 
 For life-giving be they and glorious, redolent of sanctity 
 
 and heaven: 
 As the fumes of hallowed incense, that veil the throne 
 
 of the most High ; 
 As the beaded bubbles that sparkle on the rim of the cup 
 
 of immortality; 
 As wreaths of the rainbow spray, from the pure cataracts 
 
 of truth : 
 Such, and so precious, are the words wliich the lips of 
 
 Wisdom utter. 
 
 get once again, loving student, suffer the praises of thy 
 
 teacher, 
 For verily the sun of the mind, and the life of the heart 
 
 is Wisdom ; 
 She is pure and full of light, crowning grey hairs with 
 
 lustre, 
 And kindling the eye of youth with a fire not its own ; 
 And her words, whereunto canst thou liken them ? for 
 
 earth cannot show their peers : 
 They be grains of the diamond sand, the radiant floor of 
 
 heaven, 
 
6 % Matte d mxtiom. 
 
 Bising in sunny dust behind the chariot of God ; 
 
 They be flashes of the day-spring from on high, shed 
 
 from the windows of the skies ; 
 They be streams of living waters, fresh from the fountain 
 
 of Intelligence : 
 Such, aod so precious, are the words which the lips of 
 
 Wisdom utter. 
 
 jfor these shall guide thee well, and guard thee on thy 
 
 way; 
 And wanting all beside, with these shalt thou be rich : 
 Though all around be woe, these shall make thee happy ; 
 Though all within be pain, these shall bring thee health ; 
 Thy good shall grow into ripeness, thine evil wither and 
 
 decay, 
 And Wisdom's words shall sweetly charm thy doubtful 
 
 into virtues : 
 Meanness shall then be frugal care ; where shame was, 
 
 thou art modest ; 
 Cowardice riseth into caution, rashness is sobered into 
 
 courage ; 
 The wrathful spirit, rendering a reason, standeth justi- 
 fied in anger ; 
 The idle hand hath fair excuse, propping the thoughtful 
 
 forehead. 
 Life shall have no labyrinth but thy steps can track it, 
 For thou hast a silken clue, to lead thee through the 
 
 darkness : 
 The rampant Minotaur of ignorance shall perish at thy 
 
 coming, 
 And thine enfranchised fellows hail thy white victorious 
 
 sails 
 
fffrt Matte at mtiam. 7 
 
 Wherefore, Mend and scholar, hear the words of Wis- 
 dom; 
 
 Whether she speaketh to thy soul in the full chords of 
 revelation ; 
 
 In the teaching earth, or air, or sea; in the still melodies 
 of thought; 
 
 Or, haply, in the humhler strains that would detain thee 
 here. 
 
<&XVQX is a hardy plant ; it flourisheth in every soil ; 
 
 In the heart of the wise and good, alike with the wicked 
 
 and foolish. 
 For there is no error so crooked, but it hath in it some 
 
 lines of truth : 
 Nor is any poison so deadly, that it serveth not some 
 
 wholesome use : 
 And the just man, enamoured of the right, is blinded by 
 
 the speciousness of wrong ; 
 And the prudent, perceiving an advantage, is content to 
 
 overlook the harm. 
 On all things created remaineth the half-effaced signature 
 
 of God, 
 Somewhat of fair and good, though blotted by the finger 
 
 of corruption : 
 And if error cometh in like a flood, it mixeth with 
 
 streams of truth ; 
 
And the Adversary loveth to have it so, for thereby- 
 many are decoyed. 
 Providence is dark in its permissions ; yet one day, when 
 
 all is known, 
 The universe of reason shall acknowledge how just and 
 
 good were they ; 
 For the wise man leaneth on his wisdom, and the 
 
 righteous trusteth to his righteousness, 
 And those, who thirst for independence, are suffered to 
 
 drink of disappointment. 
 Wherefore ? — to prove and humble them : and to teach 
 
 the idolators of Truth, 
 That it is but the ladder unto Him, on whom only they 
 
 should trust. 
 
 Chere is truth in the wildest scheme that imaginative 
 
 heat hath engendered, 
 And a man may gather somewhat from the crudest 
 
 theories of fancy : 
 The alchymist laboureth in folly, but catcheth chance 
 
 gleams of wisdom, 
 And findeth out many inventions, though his crucible 
 
 breed not gold ; 
 The sinner, toying with witchcraft, thinketh to delude 
 
 his fellows, 
 But there be very spirits of evil, and what if they come 
 
 at his bidding ? 
 He is a bold bad man who dareth to tamper with the 
 
 dead ; 
 For their whereabout lieth in a mystery — that vestibule 
 
 leading to Eternity, 
 
10 df gmfy in &jmtgs <falae. 
 
 The waiting-room for unclad ghosts, before the presence- 
 chamber of their King. 
 Mind may act upon mind, though bodies be far divided ; 
 For the life is in the blood, but souls communicate 
 
 unseen : 
 And the heat of an excited intellect, radiating to its 
 
 fellows, 
 Doth kindle dry leaves afar off, while the green wood 
 
 around it is unwarmed 
 The dog may have a spirit, as well as his brutal master ; 
 A spirit to live in happiness: for why should he be 
 
 robbed of his existence ? 
 Hath he not a conscience of evil, a glimmer of moral 
 
 sense, 
 Love and hatred, courage and fear, and visible shame 
 
 and pride ? 
 There may be a future rest for the patient victims of the 
 
 cruel; 
 And a season allotted for their bliss, to compensate for 
 
 unjust suffering. 
 Spurn not at seeming error, but dig below its surface for 
 
 the truth ; 
 And beware of seeming truths, that grow on the roots of 
 
 error : 
 For comely are the apples that spring from the Dead 
 
 Sea's cursed shore, 
 But within are they dust and ashes, and the hand that 
 
 plucked them shall rue it. 
 
 ^ frequent similar effect argueth a constant cause : 
 Yet who hath counted the links that bind an omen to its 
 issue ? 
 
<Sf %xui\ m ۤmp $ubz> 11 
 
 Who hath expounded the law that rendereth calamities 
 
 gregarious, 
 Pressing down with yet more woes the heavy-laden 
 
 mourner ? 
 Who knoweth wherefore a monsoon should swell the 
 
 sails of the prosperous, 
 Blithely speeding on their course the children of good 
 
 luck? 
 Who hath companied a vision from the horn or ivory 
 
 gate ? 
 Or met another's mind in his, and explained its pre- 
 sence ? 
 There is a secret sowewhat in antipathies ; and love is 
 
 more than fancy ; 
 Yea, and a palpable notice warneth of an instant 
 
 danger ; 
 For the soul hath its feelers, cobwebs floating on the 
 
 wind, 
 That catch events in their approach with sure and apt 
 
 presentiment, 
 So that some halo of attraction heraldeth a coming 
 
 friend, 
 Investing in his likeness the stranger that passed on be- 
 fore; 
 And while the word is in thy mouth, behold thy word 
 
 fulfilled, 
 And he of whom we spake can answer for himself. 
 man, little hast thou learnt of truth in things most 
 
 true, 
 How therefore shall thy blindness wot of truth in things 
 
 most false ? 
 Thou hast not yet perceived the causes of life or motion, 
 
12 #f ffnttjj in Swings Jaloe. 
 
 How then canst thou define the subtle sympathies of 
 
 mind? 
 For the spirit, sharpest and strongest when disease hath 
 
 rent the body, 
 Hath welcomed kindred spirits in nightly visitations, 
 Or learnt from restless ghosts dark secrets of the 
 
 living, 
 And helped slow justice to her prey by the dreadful 
 
 teaching of a dream. 
 
 ©erily, there is nothing so true, that the damps of error 
 
 have not warped it ; 
 Verily, there is nothing so false, that a sparkle of truth 
 
 is not in it. 
 For the enemy, the father of lies, the giant Upas of 
 
 creation, 
 Whose deadly shade hath blasted this once green garden 
 
 of the Lord, 
 Can but pervert the good, but may not create the evil ; 
 He destroyeth, but cannot build ; for he is not antago- 
 nist deity : 
 Mighty is his stolen power, yet is he a creature and a 
 
 subject; 
 Not a maker of abstract wrong, but a spoiler of concrete 
 
 right: 
 The fiend hath not a royal crown ; he is but a prowling 
 
 robber, 
 Suffered, for some mysterious end, to haunt the King's 
 
 highway; 
 And the keen sword he beareth, once was a simple 
 
 ploughshare ; 
 Yea, and his panoply of error is but a distortion of the 
 
 truth: 
 
©f %xxxi\ m K^brgs <f ate. ] 3 
 
 The sickle that once reaped righteousness, beaten from 
 
 its useful curve, 
 With axe, and spike, and bar, headeth the marauder's 
 
 halbert, 
 Seek not further, man, to solve the dark riddle of 
 
 sin; 
 Suffice it, that thine own bad heart is to thee thine origin 
 
 of evil. 
 
14 
 
 if ^ntitiptoi 
 
 (53)tfU hast seen many sorrows, travel-stained pilgrim of 
 
 the world, 
 But that which hath vexed thee most hath been the 
 
 looking for evil ; 
 And though calamities have crossed thee, and misery 
 
 been heaped on thy head, 
 Yet ills, that never happened, have chiefly made* thee 
 
 wretched. 
 The sting of pain and the edge of pleasure are blunted 
 
 by long expectation, 
 For the gall and the balm alike are diluted in the waters 
 
 of patience : 
 And often thou sippest sweetness, ere the cup is dashed 
 
 from thy lip ; 
 Or drainest the gall of fear, while evil is passing by thy 
 
 dwelling. 
 A man too careful of danger liveth in continual torment, 
 
But a cheerM expecter of the best hath a fountain of 
 
 joy within him : 
 Yea, though the breath of disappointment should chill 
 
 the sanguine heart, 
 Speedily gloweth it again, warmed by the live embers 
 
 of hope ; 
 Though the black and heavy surge close above the head 
 
 for a moment, 
 Yet the happy buoyancy of Confidence riseth superior to 
 
 Despair. 
 Verily, evils may be courted, may be wooed and won by 
 
 distrust : 
 For the wise Physician of our weal loveth not an unbe- 
 lieving spirit ; 
 And to those giveth He good, who rely on His hand for 
 
 good ; 
 And those leaveth He to evil, who fear, but trust him not. 
 Ask for good, and hope it7 for the ocean of good is 
 
 fathomless ; 
 Ask for good, and have it ; for thy Friend would see thee 
 
 happy; 
 But to the timid heart, to the child of unbelief and dread, 
 That leaneth on his own weak staff, and trusteth the 
 
 sight of his eyes, 
 The evil he feared shall come, for the soil is ready for 
 
 the seed, 
 And suspicion hath coldly put aside the hand that was 
 
 ready to help him. 
 Therefore look up, sad spirit ; be strong, thou coward 
 
 heart, 
 Or fear will make thee wretched, though evil follow not 
 
 behind : 
 
16 ©f ^utkipatfott. 
 
 Cease to anticipate misfortune; there are still many- 
 chances of escape ; 
 
 But if it come, be courageous : face it, and conquer thy 
 calamity. 
 
 There is not an enemy so stout, as to storm and take the 
 fortress of the mind, 
 
 Unless its infirmity turn traitor, and Fear unbar the 
 
 The valiant standeth as a rock, and the billows break 
 
 upon him ; 
 The timorous is a skiff unmoored, tost and mocked at by 
 
 a ripple : 
 The valiant holdeth fast to good, till evil wrench it from 
 
 him; 
 The timorous casteth it aside, to meet the worst half 
 
 way: 
 Yet oftentimes is evil but a braggart, that provoketh and 
 
 will not fight ; 
 Or the feint of a subtle fencer, who measureth his thrust 
 
 elsewhere : 
 Or perchance a blessing in a masque, sent to try thy 
 
 trust, 
 The precious smiting of a friend, whose frowns are all in 
 
 love: 
 Often the storm threateneth, but is driven to other 
 
 climes, 
 And the weak hath quailed in fear, while the firm hath 
 
 been glad in his confidence. 
 
17 
 
 §f f ftrta 
 
 Wf)t sea-wort floating on the waves, or rolled up high 
 along the shore, 
 
 Ye counted useless and vile, heaping on it names of con- 
 tempt: 
 
 Yet hath it gloriously triumphed, and man been humbled 
 in his ignorance, 
 
 For health is in the freshness of its savour, and it cum- 
 bereth the beach with wealth ; 
 
 Comforting the tossings of pain with its violet-tinctured 
 essence, 
 
 And by its humbler ashes enriching many proud. 
 
 Be this, then, a lesson to thy soul, that thou reckon no- 
 thing worthless, 
 
 Because thou heedest not its use, nor knowest the vir- 
 tues thereof. 
 
 And herein, as thou walkest by the sea, shall weeds be a 
 type and an earnest 
 
 c 
 
18 ®i %mm ftw. 
 
 Of the stored and uncounted riches lying hid in all crea- 
 tures of God : 
 There be flowers making glad the desert, and roots fat- 
 tening the soil, 
 
 And jewels in the secret deep, scattered amongst groves 
 of coral, 
 
 And comforts to crown all wishes, and aids unto every 
 need, 
 
 Influences yet unthought, and virtues, and many inven- 
 tions, 
 
 And uses above and around, which man hath not yet re- 
 garded. 
 
 Not long to charm away disease hath the crocus yielded 
 up its bulb, 
 
 Nor the willow lent its bark, nor the nightshade its van- 
 quished poison ; 
 
 Not long hath the twisted leaf, the fragrant gift of China, 
 
 Nor that nutritious root, the boon of far Peru, 
 
 Nor the many-coloured dahlia, nor the gorgeous flaunt- 
 ing cactus, 
 
 Nor the multitude of fruits and flowers ministered to life 
 and luxury : 
 
 Even so, there be virtues yet unknown in the wasted fol- 
 iage of the elm, 
 
 In the sun-dried hare-bell of the downs, and the hyacinth 
 drinking in the meadow, 
 
 In the sycamore's winged fruit, and the facet-cut cones 
 of the cedar ; 
 
 And the pansy and bright geranium live not alone for 
 beauty, 
 
 Nor the waxen flower of the arbute, though it dieth in a 
 
Nor the sculptured crest of the fir, unseen but by the 
 stars ; 
 
 And the meanest weed of the garden serveth unto many- 
 uses, 
 
 The salt tamarisk, and juicy flag, the freckled orchis, and 
 the daisy. 
 
 The world may laugh at famine, when forest-trees yield 
 bread, 
 
 When acorns give out fragrant drink, and the sap of 
 the linden is as fatness : 
 
 Eor every green herb, from the lotus to the darnel, 
 
 Is rich with delicate aids to help incurious man. 
 
 J&till, Mind is up and stirring, and pryeth in the corners 
 
 of contrivance, 
 Often from the dark recesses picking out bright seeds of 
 
 truth : 
 Knowledge hath clipped the lightning's wings, and 
 
 mewed it up for a purpose, 
 Training to some domestic task the fiery bird of heaven; 
 Tamed is the spirit of the storm, to slave in all peaceful 
 
 arts, 
 To walk with husbandry and science ; to stand in the 
 
 vanguard against death : 
 And the chemist balanceth his elements with more than 
 
 magic skill, 
 Commanding stones that they be bread, and draining 
 
 sweetness out of wormwood. 
 Yet man, heedless of a God, counteth up vain reckonings, 
 Fearing to be jostled and starved out, by the too prolific 
 
 increase of his kind ; 
 And asketh, in unbelieving dread, for how few years to 
 
 come c 2 
 
20 @f f iirhn tbea. 
 
 Will the black cellars of the world yield unto him fuel 
 
 for his winter. 
 Might not the wide waste sea be pent within narrower 
 
 bounds ? 
 Might not the arm of diligence make the tangled wilder- 
 ness a garden ? 
 And for aught thou canst tell, there may be a thousand 
 
 methods 
 Of comforting thy limbs in warmth, though thou kindle 
 
 not a spark. 
 Tear not, son of man, for thyself nor thy seed : — with a 
 
 multitude is plenty ; 
 God's blessing giveth increase, and with it larger than 
 
 enough. 
 
 Search out the wisdom of nature, there is depth in all 
 
 her doings ; 
 She seemeth prodigal of power, yet her rules are the 
 
 maxims of frugality : 
 The plant refresheth the air, and the earth filtereth the 
 
 water, 
 And dews are sucked into the cloud, dropping fatness on 
 
 the world : r 
 
 She hath, on a mighty scale, a general use for all things ; 
 Yet hath she specially for each its microscopic purpose : 
 There is use in the prisoned air, that swelleth the pods 
 
 of the laburnum ; 
 Design in the venomed thorns, that sentinel the leaves 
 
 of the nettle ; 
 A final cause for the aromatic gum, that congealeth the 
 
 moss around a rose : 
 A reason for each blade of grass, that reareth its small 
 
 spire. 
 
How knoweth discontented man what a train of ills 
 
 might follow, 
 If the lowest menial of nature knew not her secret office ? 
 If the thistle never sprang up to mock the loose hus- 
 bandry of indolence, 
 Or the pestilence never swept away an unknown curse 
 
 from among men ? 
 Would ye crush the buzzing myriads that float on the 
 
 breath of evening ? 
 Would ye trample the creatures of God that people the 
 
 rotting fruit? 
 Would ye suffer no mildew forest to stain the unhealthy 
 
 wall, 
 Nor a noisome savour to exhale from the pool that 
 
 breedeth disease? 
 Pain is useful unto man, for it teacheth him to guard his 
 
 life, 
 And the fetid vapours of the fen warn him to fly from 
 
 danger : 
 And the meditative mind, looking on, winneth good food 
 
 for its hunger, 
 Seeing the wholesome root bring forth a poisonous 
 
 berry ; 
 For otherwhile falleth it out that truth, driven to extre- 
 mities, 
 Yieldeth bitter folly as the spoilt fruit of wisdom. 
 0, blinded is thine eye, if it see not just aptitude in all 
 
 things : 
 O, frozen is thy heart, if it glow not with gratitude for 
 
 all things : 
 In the perfect circle of creation not an atom could be 
 
 spared, 
 
22 #f fitita Wm. 
 
 From earth's magnetic zone to the bindweed round a 
 hawthorn. 
 
 Che sage, and the beetle at his feet, hath each a mini- 
 stration to perform : 
 
 The briar and the palm have the wages of life, rendering 
 secret service. 
 
 Neither is it thus alone with the definite existences of 
 matter ; 
 
 But motion and sound, circumstance and quality, yea, 
 all things have their office. 
 
 The zephyr playing with an aspen-leaf, — the earthquake 
 that rendeth a continent ; 
 
 The moon-beam silvering a ruined arch, — the desert 
 wave dashing up a pyramid ; 
 
 The thunder of jarring icebergs, — the stops of a shep- 
 herd's pipe ; 
 
 The howl of the tiger in the glen, — and the wood-dove 
 calling to her mate ; 
 
 The vulture's cruel rage, — the grace of the stately swan ; 
 
 The fierceness looking from the lynx's eye, and the dull 
 stupor of the sloth : 
 
 To these, and to all, is there added each its use, though 
 man considereth it lightly : 
 
 For Power hath ordained nothing which Economy saw 
 not needful. 
 
 9111 things being are in concord with the ubiquity of God ; 
 Neither is there one thing overmuch, nor freed from 
 
 honourable servitude. 
 Were there not a need-be of wisdom, nothing would be 
 
 as it is ; 
 
For essence without necessity argueth a moral weakness. 
 We look through a glass darkly, we catch but glimpses 
 
 of truth ; 
 But, doubtless, the sailing of a cloud hath Providence to 
 
 its pilot, 
 Doubtless, the root of an oak is gnarled for a special 
 
 purpose, 
 The foreknown station of a rush is as fixed as the station 
 
 of a king, 
 And chaff from the hand of the winnower, steered as the 
 
 stars in their courses. 
 Man liveth only in himself, but the Lord liveth in all 
 
 things; 
 And Ins perrading unity quickeneth the whole creation. 
 Man doeth one thing at once, nor can he think two 
 
 thoughts together ; 
 But God compasseth all things, mantling the globe like 
 
 air: 
 And we render homage to his wisdom, seeing use in all 
 
 his creatures, 
 For, perchance, the universe would die, were not all 
 
 things as they are. 
 
24 
 
 if tapsata. 
 
 <£i£ual is the government of heaven in allotting pleasures 
 
 among men, 
 And just the everlasting law, that hath wedded happiness 
 
 to virtue : 
 For verily on all things else broodeth disappointment 
 
 with care, 
 That childish man may be taught the shallowness of 
 
 earthly enjoyment. 
 Wherefore, ye that have enough, envy ye the rich man 
 
 his abundance ? 
 Wherefore, daughters of affluence, covet ye the cottager's 
 
 content ? 
 Take the good with the evil, for ye all are pensioners of 
 
 God, 
 And none may choose or refuse the cup His wisdom 
 
 mixeth. 
 The poor man rejoiceth at his toil, and his daily meat is 
 
 sweet to him : 
 
#f €am$zn$Mxan. 25 
 
 Content with present good, he looketh not for evil to the 
 future : 
 
 The rich man languisheth with sloth, and findeth plea- 
 sure in nothing, 
 
 He locketh up care with his gold, and feareth the fickle- 
 ness of fortune. 
 
 Can a cup contain within itself the measure of a Ducket ? 
 
 Or the straitened appetites of man drink more than their 
 fill of luxury? 
 
 There is a limit to enjoyment, though the sources of 
 wealth be boundless : 
 
 And the choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of 
 moderation. 
 
 Sflso, though penury and pain be real and bitter evils, 
 I would reason with the poor afflicted, for he is not so 
 
 wretched as he seemeth. 
 What right hath an offender to complain, though others 
 
 escape punishment, 
 If the stripes of earned misfortune overtake him in his 
 
 sin? 
 Wherefore not endure with resignation the evils thou 
 
 canst not avert ? 
 For the coward pain will flee, if thou meet him as a man : 
 Consider, whatever be thy fate, that it might and ought 
 
 to have been worse, 
 And that it lieth in thy hand to gather even blessing from 
 
 afflictions : 
 Bethink thee, wherefore were they sent ? and hath not 
 
 use blunted their keenness ? 
 Need hope, and patience, and courage, be strangers to 
 
 the meanest hovel ? 
 
26 #f €fjm$tnmtwn. 
 
 Thou art in an evil case, it were cruel to deny to thee 
 
 compassion, 
 But there is not unmitigated ill in the sharpest of this 
 
 world's sorrows : 
 I touch not the sore of thy guilt ; hut of human griefs I 
 
 counsel thee, 
 Cast off the weakness of regret, and gird thee to redeem 
 
 thy loss : 
 Thou hast gained, in the furnace of affliction, self-know- 
 ledge, patience, and humility, 
 And these be as precious ore, that waiteth the skill of the 
 
 coiner : 
 Despise not the blessings of adversity, nor the gain thou 
 
 hast earned so hardly, 
 And now thou hast drained the bitter, take heed that 
 
 thou lose not the sweet. 
 
 Power is seldom innocent, and envy is the yoke-fellow of 
 
 eminence ; 
 And the rust of the miser's riches wasteth his soul as a 
 
 canker. 
 The poor man counteth not the cost at which such wealth 
 
 hath been purchased; . 
 He would be on the mountain's top, without the toil and 
 
 travail of the climbing. 
 But equity demandeth recompense: for high-place, ca- 
 lumny and care ; 
 For state, comfortless splendour eating out the heart of 
 
 home ; 
 For warrior fame, dangers and death ; for a name among 
 
 the learned, a spirit overstrained ; 
 For honour of all kinds, the goad of ambition , on every 
 
 acquirement, the tax of anxiety. 
 
<M €om$znmtxon. 27 
 
 He that would change with another, must take the cup 
 
 as it is mixed : 
 Poverty, with largeness of heart ; or a full purse, with a 
 
 sordid spirit ; 
 Wisdom, in an ailing hody; or a common mind, with 
 
 health : 
 Godliness, with man's scorn; or the welcome of the 
 
 mighty, with guilt : 
 Beauty, with a fickle heart ; or plainness of face, with 
 
 affection. 
 For so hath Providence determined, that a man shall not 
 
 easily discover 
 Unmingled good or evil, to quicken his envy or abhor- 
 
 rence. 
 A hold man or a fool must he he, who would change his 
 
 lot with another ; 
 It were a fearful bargain, and mercy hath lovingly re- 
 fused it : 
 For we know the worst of ourselves, but the secrets of 
 
 another we see not, 
 And better is certain bad, than the doubt and dread of 
 
 worse. 
 
 |$ust, and strong, and opportune is the moral rule of 
 
 God; 
 Eipe in its times, firm in its judgments, equal in the 
 
 measure of its gifts : 
 Yet men, scanning the surface, count the wicked happy, 
 Nor heed the compensating peace, which gladdeneth the 
 
 good in his afflictions. 
 They see not the frightful dreams that crowd a bad man's 
 
 pillow, 
 
28 #f €am$tTtmtwn. 
 
 Like wreathed adders crawling round his midnight con- 
 science ; 
 
 They hear not the terrible suggestions, that knock at the 
 portal of his will, 
 
 Provoking to wipe away from life the one weak witness 
 of the deed ; 
 
 They know not the torturing suspicions that sting his 
 panting breast, 
 
 When the clear eye of penetration quietly readeth off 
 the truth. 
 
 Likewise of the good what know they? the memories 
 bringing pleasure, 
 
 Shrined in the heart of the benevolent, and glistening 
 from his eye ; 
 
 The calm self-justifying reason that establisheth the up- 
 right in his purpose ; 
 
 The warm and gushing bliss that floodeth all the thoughts 
 of the religious. 
 
 Many a beggar at the cross way, or grey-haired shepherd 
 on the plain, 
 
 Hath more of the end of all wealth, than hundreds who 
 multiply the means. 
 
 JHoreover, a moral compensation reacheth to the secrecy 
 
 of thought ; 
 For if thou wilt think evil of thy neighbour, soon shalt 
 
 thou have him for thy foe : 
 And yet he may know nothing of the cause that maketh 
 
 thee distasteful to his soul, — 
 The cause of unkind suspicion, for which thou hast thy 
 
 punishment : 
 And if thou think of him in charity, wishing or praying 
 
 for his weal. 
 
&i Compensation:. 29 
 
 He shall not guess the secret charm that lureth his soul 
 
 to love thee. 
 For just is retributive ubiquity : Samson did sin with 
 
 Dalilah, 
 And his eyes and captive strength were forfeit to the 
 
 Philistine : 
 Jacob robbed his brother, and sorrow was his portion to 
 
 the grave : 
 David must fly before his foes, yea, though his guilt is 
 
 covered : 
 And He, who, seeming old in youth, was marred for 
 
 others' sin, 
 For every special crime must bear its special penalty : 
 By luxury, or rashness, or vice, the member that hath 
 
 erred siuTereth, — 
 And therefore the Sacrifice for all was pained at every 
 
 pore. 
 
 glike to the slave and his oppressor cometh night with 
 
 sweet refreshment, 
 And half of the life of the most wretched is gladdened 
 
 by the soothings of sleep. 
 Pain addeth zest unto pleasure, and teacheth the luxury 
 
 of health ; 
 There is a joy in sorrow, which none but a mourner can 
 
 know : 
 Madness hath imaginary bliss, and most men have no 
 
 more ; 
 Age hath its quiet calm, and youth enjoyeth not for 
 
 haste : 
 Daily, in the midst of its beatitude, the righteous soul is 
 
 vexed ; 
 
30 #f $jam$zrtmtwxt. 
 
 And even the misery of guilt doth attain to the bliss of 
 pardon. 
 
 Who, in the face of the born- blind, ever looked on other 
 than content ? 
 
 And the deaf ear listeneth within to the silent music of 
 the heart. 
 
 There is evil poured upon the earth from the overflowings 
 of corruption, — 
 
 Sickness, and poverty, and pain, and guilt, and madness, 
 and sorrow ; 
 
 But, as the water from a fountain riseth and sinketh to 
 its level, 
 
 Ceaselessly toileth justice to equalize the lots of men : 
 
 For, habit and hope and ignorance, and the being but 
 one of a multitude, 
 
 And strength of reason in the sage, and dulness of feel 
 ing in the fool, 
 
 And the light elasticity of courage, and the calm resig- 
 nation of meekness, 
 
 And the stout endurance of decision, and the weak care- 
 lessness of apathy, 
 
 And helps invisible but real, and ministerings not unfelt, 
 
 Angelic aid with worldly discomfiture, bodily loss with 
 the soul's gain, 
 
 Secret griefs, and silent joys, thorns in the flesh, and 
 cordials for the spirit, 
 
 (—Short of the insuperable barrier dividing innocence 
 from guilt,— ) 
 
 Go far to level all things, by the gracious rule ' of Com- 
 pensation. 
 
3J 
 
 §f Infert Inffaetm 
 
 $&tt thy foe in the field, and perchance thou wilt meet 
 
 thy master, 
 For the sword is chained to his wrist, and his armour 
 
 buckled for the battle ; 
 But find him when he looketh not for thee, aim between 
 
 the joints of his harness, 
 And the crest of his pride will be humbled, his cruelty 
 
 will bite the dust. 
 Beard not a lion in his den, but fashion the secret pit- 
 fall, 
 So shalt thou conquer the strong, thyself triumphing in 
 
 weakness. 
 The hurricane rageth fiercely, and the promontory 
 
 standeth in its might, 
 Breasting the artillery of heaven, as darts glance from 
 
 the crocodile : 
 But the small continual creeping of the silent footsteps 
 
 of the sea 
 
32 #f fnirimt litftamea. 
 
 Mineth the wall of adamant, and stealthily compasseth 
 
 its ruin. 
 The weakness of accident is strong, where the strength 
 
 of design is weak : 
 And a casual analogy convinceth, when a mind beareth 
 
 not argument. 
 Will not a man listen ? be silent ; and prove thy maxim 
 
 by example : 
 Never fear, thou losest not thy hold, though thy mouth 
 
 doth not render a reason. 
 Contend not in wisdom with a fool, for thy sense maketh 
 
 much of his conceit ; 
 And some errors never would have thriven, had it not 
 
 been for learned refutation : 
 Yea, much evil hath been caused by an honest wrestler 
 
 for truth, 
 And much of unconscious good, by the man that hated 
 
 wisdom : 
 For the intellect judgeth closely, and if thou overstep 
 
 thy argument, 
 Or seem not consistent with thyself, or fail in thy direct 
 
 purpose, 
 The mind that went along with thee, shall stop and re- 
 turn without thee, 
 And thou shalt have raised a foe, where thou mightest 
 
 have won a friend, 
 
 faints, shrewdly strown, mightily disturb the spirit, 
 Where a bare-faced accusation would be too ridiculous 
 
 for calumny; 
 The sly suggestion toucheth nerves, and nerves contract 
 
 the fronds, 
 
#f Interject Inflame*. 33 
 
 And the sensitive mimosa of affection trembleth to its 
 
 root; 
 x\nd friendships, the growth of half a century, those oaks 
 
 that laugh at storms, 
 Have been cankered in a night by a worm, even as the 
 
 prophet's gourd. 
 Hast thou loved and not known jealousy ? for a sidelong 
 
 look 
 Can please or pain thy heart more than the multitude of 
 
 proofs : 
 Hast thou hated, and not learned that thy silent scorn 
 Doth deeper aggravate thy foe than loud-cursing ma- 
 lice?— 
 A wise man prevaileth in power, for he screeneth his 
 
 battering engine, 
 But a fool tilteth headlong, and his adversary is aware. 
 
 Behold those broken arches, that oriel all unglazed, 
 
 That crippled line of columns bleaching in the sun, 
 
 The delicate shaft stricken midway, and the flying but- 
 tress 
 
 Idly stretching forth to hold up tufted ivy : 
 
 Thinkest thou the thousand eyes that shine with rapture 
 on a ruin, 
 
 Would have looked with half their wonder on the perfect 
 pile? 
 
 And wherefore not — but that light hints, suggesting un- 
 seen beauties, 
 
 Fill the complacent gazer with self-grown conceits ? 
 
 And so, the rapid sketch winneth more praise to the 
 painter, 
 
 Than the consummate work elaborated on his easel : 
 
 D 
 
34 #f |tibmtt Inflames, 
 
 And so, the Helvetic lion caverned in the living rock 
 Hath more of majesty and force, than if upon a marble 
 pedestal. 
 
 Cell me, daughter of taste, what hath charmed thine ear 
 in music ? 
 
 Is it the laboured theme, the curious fugue or cento, — 
 
 Nor rather the sparkles of intelligence flashing from some 
 strange note, 
 
 Or the soft melody of sounds far sweeter for simplicity ? 
 
 Tell me, thou son of science, what hath filled thy mind 
 in reading ? 
 
 Is it the volume of detail where all is orderly set down 
 
 And they that read may run, nor need to stop and think ; 
 
 The book carefully accurate, that counteth thee no better 
 than a fool, 
 
 Gorging the passive mind with annotated notes ; — 
 
 Nor rather the half-suggested thoughts, the riddles thou 
 mayst solve, 
 
 The fair ideas, coyly peeping like young loves out of roses, 
 
 The quaint arabesque conceptions, half cherub and half 
 flower, 
 
 The light analogy, or deep allusion, trusted to thy learn- 
 ing, 
 
 The confidence implied in thy skill to unravel meaning 
 mysteries ? 
 
 For ideas are ofttimes shy of the close furniture of words, 
 
 And thought, wherein only is power, may be best con- 
 veyed by a suggestion : 
 
 The flash that lighteth up a valley, amid the dark mid- 
 night of a storm, 
 
 Coineth the mind with that scene sharper than fifty 
 summers. 
 
& worldly man boasteth in his pride, that there is no 
 
 power but of money ; 
 And he judgeth the characters of men by the differing 
 
 measures of their means : 
 He stealeth all goodly names, as worth, and value, and 
 
 substance, 
 Which be the ancient heritage of Virtue, but such an one 
 
 ascribeth unto Wealth : 
 He spurneth the needy sage, whose wisdom hath en- 
 riched nations, 
 And the sons of poverty and learning, without whom 
 
 earth were a desert : 
 Music, the soother of cares, the tuner of the dank dis- 
 cordant heart-strings, 
 It is nought unto such an one but sounds, whereby 
 
 some earn their living : 
 The poem, and the picture, and the statue, to him seem 
 
 idle baubles, 
 Which wealth condescendeth to favour, to gain him the 
 
 name of patron. 
 But little wotteth he the might of the means his folly 
 
 despiseth ; 
 He considereth not that these be the wires which move 
 
 the puppets of the world. 
 A sentence hath formed a character, and a character 
 
 subdued a kingdom ; 
 A picture hath ruined souls, or raised them to commerce 
 
 with the skies : 
 The pen hath shaken nations, and stablished the world 
 
 in peace ; 
 And the whole full horn of plenty been filled from the 
 
 vial of science. 
 
 » 2 
 
36 ®i |nbkerf Inflame*. 
 
 He regardeth man as sensual, the monarch of created 
 
 matter, 
 And careth not aught for mind, that linketh him with 
 
 spirits unseen ; 
 He feedeth his carcase and is glad, though his soul he 
 
 faint and famished, 
 And the dull hrute power of the body bindeth him a 
 
 captive to himself. 
 
 ;$Han liveth from hour to hour, and knoweth not what 
 
 may happen ; 
 Influences circle him on all sides, and yet must he an- 
 swer for his actions : 
 For the being that is master of himself, bendeth events 
 
 to his will, 
 But a slave to selfish passion is the wavering creature of 
 
 circumstance. 
 To this man temptation is a poison, to that man it 
 
 addeth vigour ; 
 And each may render to himself influences good or evil. 
 As thou directest the power, harm or advantage will 
 
 follow, 
 And the torrent that swept the valley, may be led to turn 
 
 a mill; 
 The wild electric flash, that could have kindled comets, 
 May by the ductile wire give ease to an ailing child. 
 For outward matter or event fashion not the character 
 
 within, 
 But each man, yielding or resisting, fashioneth his mind 
 
 for himself. 
 
 J£ome have said, What is in a name ? — most potent 
 plastic influence ; 
 
®i gnbterf fnftiwtee*. 37 
 
 A name is a word of character, and repetition stablisheth 
 
 the fact : 
 A word of rebuke, or of honour, tending to obscurity or 
 
 fame; 
 And greatest is the power of a mean, when its power is 
 
 least suspected. 
 A low name is a thorn in the side, that hindereth the 
 
 footman in his running ; 
 But a name of ancestral renown shall often put the 
 
 racer to his speed. 
 Few men have grown unto greatness whose names are 
 
 allied to ridicule, 
 And many would never have been profligate, but for the 
 
 splendour of a name. 
 A wise man scorneth nothing, be it never so small or 
 
 homely, 
 For he knoweth not the secret laws that may bind it to 
 
 great effects. 
 The world in its boyhood was credulous, and dreaded 
 
 the vengeance of the stars, 
 The world in its dotage is not wiser, fearing not the in- 
 fluence of small things : 
 Planets govern not the soul, nor guide the destinies of 
 
 man, 
 But trifles, lighter than straws, are levers in the building 
 
 up of character. 
 A man hath the tiller in his hand, and may steer against 
 
 the current, 
 Or may glide down idly with the stream, till his vessel 
 
 founder in the whirlpool. 
 
38 
 
 4&f 3 m *l 
 
 Wfytxt art thou, storehouse of the mind, garner of facts 
 
 and fancies,— 
 In what strange firmament are laid the beams of thine 
 
 airy chambers? 
 Or art thou that small cavern, the centre of the rolling 
 
 brain, 
 Where still one sandy morsel testifieth man's original ? 
 Or hast thou some grand globe, some common hall of 
 
 intellect, 
 Some spacious market-place for thought, where all do 
 
 bring their wares, 
 And gladly rescued from the littleness, the narrow closet 
 
 of a self, 
 The privileged soul hath large access, coming in the 
 
 livery of learning ? 
 Live we as isolated worlds, perfect in substance and 
 
 spirit, 
 
Each a sphere, with a special mind, prisoned in its shell 
 
 of matter ? 
 Or rather, as converging radiations, parts of one majestic 
 
 whole, 
 Beams of the Sun, streams from the Biver, branches of 
 
 the mighty Tree, 
 Some bearing fruit, some bearing leaves, and some dis- 
 eased and barren, — 
 Some for the feast, some for the floor, and some, — how 
 
 many, — for the fire ? 
 Memory may be but a power of coming to the treasury 
 
 of Fact, 
 A momentary self-desertion, an absence in spirit from 
 
 the now, 
 An actual coursing hither and thither, by the mind, 
 
 slipped from its leash, 
 A life, as in the mystery of dreams, spent within the 
 
 limits of a moment. 
 
 % brutish man knoweth not this, neither can a fool com- 
 prehend it, 
 
 But there be secrets of the memory, deep, wondrous, and 
 fearful. 
 
 Were I at Petra, could I not declare, My soul hath been 
 here before me ? 
 
 Am I strange to the columned halls, the calm dead gran- 
 deur of Palmyra ? 
 
 Know I not thy mount, Carmel ! Have I not voyaged 
 on the Danube, 
 
 Nor seen the glare of Arctic snows,— nor the black tents 
 of the Tartar? 
 
40 ®i P*m0rg. 
 
 Is it then a dream, that I remember the faces of them of 
 
 old, 
 While wandering in the grove with Plato, and listening 
 
 to Zeno in the porch ? 
 Paul have I seen, and Pythagoras, and the Stagyrite hath 
 
 spoken me friendly, 
 And His meek eye looked also upon me, standing with 
 
 Peter in the palace. 
 Athens and Rome, Persepolis and Sparta, am I not a 
 
 freeman of you all ? 
 And chiefly can my yearning heart forget thee, Jeru- 
 salem ? — 
 For the strong magic of conception, mingled with the 
 
 fumes of memory, 
 Giveth me a life in all past time, yea, and addeth sub- 
 stance to the future. 
 Be ye my judges, imaginative minds, full-fledged to soar 
 
 into the sun, 
 Whose grosser natural thoughts the chemistry of wisdom 
 
 hath sublimed, 
 Have ye not confessed to a feeling, a consciousness 
 
 strange and vague, 
 That ye have gone this way before, and walk again your 
 
 daily life, 
 Tracking an old routine, and on some foreign strand, 
 Where bodily ye have never stood, finding your own 
 
 footsteps ? 
 Hath not at times some recent friend looked out an old 
 
 familiar, 
 Some newest circumstance or place teemed as with 
 
 ancient memories ? 
 
#£ Pemrag. 41 
 
 A startling sudden flash lighteth up all for an instant, 
 And then it is quenched, as in darkness, and leaveth the 
 cold spirit trembling. 
 
 JHemory is not wisdom ; idiots can rote volumes : 
 
 Yet what is wisdom without memory? a babe that is 
 
 strangled in its birth, 
 The path of the swallow in the air, the path of the dol- 
 phin in the waters, 
 A cask running out, a bottomless chasm : such is wis- 
 
 dom without memory. 
 There be many wise, who cannot store their knowledge ; 
 Yet from themselves are they satisfied, for the fountain 
 
 is within : 
 There be many who store, but have no wisdom of their 
 
 own, 
 Lumbering their armoury with weapons their muscles 
 
 cannot lift : 
 There be many thieves and robbers, who glean and store 
 
 unlawfully, 
 Calling in to memory's help some cunningly devised 
 
 Cabala : 
 But to feed the mind with fatness, to fill thy granary with 
 
 corn, 
 Nor clog with chaff and straw the threshing-floor of 
 
 reason, 
 Reap the ideas, and house them well; but leave the 
 
 words high stubble : 
 Strive to store up what was thought, despising what was 
 
 said. 
 For the mind is a spirit, and drinketh in ideas, as flame 
 
 melteth into flame; 
 
42 ®i jJfcmwB. 
 
 But for words it must pack them as on floors, cumbrous 
 and perishable merchandize. 
 
 Co be pained for a minute, to fear for an hour, to hope 
 for a week, — how long and weary ! 
 
 But to remember fourscore years, is to look back upon 
 a day. 
 
 An avenue seemeth to lengthen in the eyes of the way- 
 faring man, 
 
 But let him turn, those stationed elms crowd up within 
 a yard ; 
 
 Pace the lamp-lit streets of some sleeping city, 
 
 The multitude of cressets shall seem one, in the false 
 picture of perspective ; 
 
 Even so, in sweet treachery, dealeth the aged with himself, 
 
 He gazeth on the green hill-tops, while the marshes be- 
 neath are hidden ; 
 
 And the partial telescope of memory pierceth the blank 
 between, 
 
 To look with lingering love at the fair star of childhood. 
 
 Life is as the current spark on the miner's wheel of 
 flints ; 
 
 Whiles it spinneth there is light ; stop it, all is dark- 
 ness: 
 
 Life is as a morsel of frankincense burning in the hall 
 of Eternity ; 
 
 It is gone, but its odorous cloud curleth to the lofty 
 roof: 
 
 Life is as a lump of salt, melting in the temple-laver ; 
 
 It is gone, — yet its savour reacheth to the farthest atom : 
 
 Even so, for evil or for good, is life the criterion of a 
 man, 
 
pLemorg. 
 
 43 
 
 For its memories of sanctity or sin pervade all the firma- 
 ment of being. 
 
 There is but the flitting moment, wherein to hope or to 
 enjoy, 
 
 But in the calendar of memory, that moment is all time. 
 
44 
 
 %\t |«am til Jutt&itwra- 
 
 I Htft the happy fields that smile around the village of 
 
 Content, 
 And sought with wayward feet the torrid desert of Am- 
 bition. 
 Long time, parched and weary, I travelled that burning 
 
 sand, 
 And the hooded basilisk and adder were strewed in my 
 
 way for palms ; 
 Black scorpions thronged me round, with sharp uplifted 
 
 stings, 
 Seeming to mock me as I ran ; (then I guessed it was a 
 
 dream, — 
 But life is oft so like a dream, we know not where we 
 
 are.) 
 So I toiled on, doubting in myself, up a steep gravel 
 
 cliff, 
 Whose yellow summit shot up far into the brazen sky ; 
 And quickly, I was wafted to the top, as upon unseen 
 
 wings 
 
Carrying me upward like a leaf : (then I thought it was 
 
 a dream, — 
 Yet life is oft so like a dream, we know not where we 
 
 are.) 
 So I stood on the mountain, and behold ! before me a 
 
 giant pyramid, 
 And I clomb with eager haste its high and difficult 
 
 For I longed, like another Belus, to mount up, yea to 
 
 heaven, 
 Nor sought I rest until my feet had spurned the crest of 
 
 earth. 
 
 Chen I sat on my granite throne under the burning sun, 
 And the world lay smiling beneath me, but I was wrapt 
 
 in flames ; 
 (And I hoped, in glimmering consciousness, that all this 
 
 torture was a dream, — 
 Yet life is oft so like a dream, we know not where we 
 
 are.) 
 And anon, as I sat scorching, the pyramid shuddered to 
 
 its root, 
 And I felt the quarried mass leap from its sand founda- 
 tions: 
 Awhile it tottered and tilted, as raised by invisible 
 
 levers, — 
 (And now my reason spake with me ; I knew it was a 
 
 dream : 
 Yet I hushed that whisper into silence, for I hoped to 
 
 learn of wisdom, 
 By tracking up my truant thoughts, whereunto they 
 
 might lead.) 
 
46 %\t gtom 0f ^mbitiatt. 
 
 And suddenly, as rolling upon wheels, adown the cliff it 
 
 rushed, 
 And I thought, in my hot brain, of the Muscovites' icy 
 
 slope ; 
 A thousand yards in a moment we ploughed the sandy 
 
 seas, 
 And crushed those happy fields, and that smiling village, 
 And onward, as a living thing, still rushed my mighty 
 
 throne, 
 Thundering along, and pounding, as it went, the millions 
 
 in my way : 
 Before me all was life, and joy, and full-blown summer. 
 Behind me death and woe, the desert and simoom. 
 Then I wept and shrieked aloud, for pity and for fear ; 
 But might not stop, for, comet-like, flew on the maddened 
 
 mass 
 Over the crashing cities, and falling obelisks and towers, 
 And columns, razed as by a scythe, and high domes. 
 
 shivered as an egg-shell, 
 And deep embattled ranks, and women, crowded in the 
 
 streets, 
 And children, kneeling as for mercy, and all I had ever 
 
 loved, 
 Yea, over all, mine awf ul throne rushed on with seeming 
 
 instinct,— 
 And over the crackling forests, and over the rugged 
 
 beach, 
 And on with a terrible hiss through the foaming wild 
 
 Atlantic 
 That roared around me as I sat, but could not quench 
 
 my spirit,— 
 Still on, through startled solitudes we shattered the pave- 
 ment of the sea, 
 
Down, down, to that central vault, the bolted doors of 
 
 heU; 
 And these, with horrid shock, my huge throne battered 
 
 in, 
 And on to the deepest deep, where the fierce flames were 
 
 hottest, 
 Blazing tenfold as conquering furiously the seas that 
 
 rushed in with me, — 
 And there I stopped: and a fearful voice shouted in 
 
 mine ear, 
 " Behold the home of Discontent ; behold the rest of 
 
 Ambition !" 
 
48 
 
 HaU3 hath dominion over all things, over universal mind 
 
 and matter ; 
 For there are reciprocities of right, which no creature 
 
 can gainsay. 
 Unto each was there added hy its Maker, in the perfect 
 
 chain of being, 
 Dependencies and sustentations, accidents, and qualities, 
 
 and powers : 
 And each must fly forward in the curve, unto which it 
 
 was forced from the beginning : 
 Each must attract and repel, or the monarchy of Order 
 
 is no more. 
 Laws are essential emanations from the self-poised cha 
 
 racter of God, 
 And they radiate from that sun to the circling edges of 
 
 creation. 
 Verily, the mighty Lawgiver hath subjected Himself 
 unto laws, 
 
#f ^nbyttwxt. 49 
 
 And God is the primal grand example of free unrestrained 
 
 obedience ; 
 His perfection is limited by right, and cannot trespass 
 
 into wrong, 
 Because He hath established Himself as the fountain of 
 only good, 
 
 And in thus much is bounded, that the evil hath He left 
 unto another, 
 
 And that dark other hath usurped the eyil which Omni- 
 potence laid down. 
 
 Unto God there exist impossibilities ; for the True One 
 cannot he, 
 
 Nor the Wise One wander from the track which He hath 
 determined for Himself : 
 
 For his will was purposed from eternity, strong in the 
 love of order ; 
 
 And that will altereth not, as the law of the Medes and 
 Persians. 
 
 God is the origin of order, and the first exemplar of his 
 precept ; 
 
 For there is subordination of his Essence, self-guided 
 unto holiness ; 
 
 And there is subordination of his Persons, in due pro- 
 cession of dignity ; 
 
 For the Son, as a son, is subject ; and to him doth the 
 Spirit minister : 
 
 But these things be mysteries to man, he cannot reach 
 nor fathom them, 
 
 And ever must he speak in paradox, when labouring to 
 expound his God ; 
 
 For, behold, God is alone, mighty in unshackled free- 
 dom ; 
 
50 df $nhjzrtxaxt. 
 
 And with those wondrous Persons abideth eternal equality. 
 
 J^o then, start ye from the fountain, and follow the river 
 
 of existence ; 
 For its current is hounded throughout by the banks of 
 just subordination : 
 
 Thrones, and dominions, and powers, Archangels, Che- 
 rubim, and Seraphim, 
 
 Angels, and naming ministers, and breathing chariots 
 and harps. 
 
 For there are degrees in heaven, and varied capabilities 
 of bliss, 
 
 And steps in the ladder of Intelligence, and ranks in ap- 
 proaches to Perfection : 
 
 Doubtless, reverence is given, as their due, to the mas- 
 ters in wisdom ; 
 
 Doubtless, there are who serve ; or a throne would have 
 small glory, 
 
 Regard now the universe of matter, the substance of 
 visible creation, 
 
 Which of old with well-observing truth, the Greek hath 
 surnamed Okdek : 
 
 Where is there an atom out of place ? or a particle that 
 yieldeth not obedience ? 
 
 Where is there a fragment that is free ? or one thing the 
 equal of another ? — 
 
 The chain is unbroken down to man, and beyond him 
 the links are perfect : 
 
 But he standeth solitary sin, a marvel of permitted chaos. 
 
 ^[nd shall this seeming error in the scale of due subor- 
 dination 
 
#f Steljjettimr. 51 
 
 Be a spot of desert unreclaimed, in the midst of the vine- 
 yard of the Lord? 
 
 Shall his presumptuous pride snap the safe tether of con- 
 nexion, 
 
 And his hlind selfish folly refuse the burden of mainten- 
 ance? 
 
 man, thou art a creature ; boast not thyself above the 
 law: 
 
 Think not of thyself as free : thou art bound in the 
 trammels of dependence. 
 
 What is the sum of thy duty, but obedience to righteous 
 rule; 
 
 To the great commanding Oracle, uttered by delegated 
 organs ? 
 
 Thou canst not render homage to abstract Omnipresent 
 Power, 
 
 Save through the concrete symbol of visible ordained 
 authority. 
 
 Those who obey not man, are offcenest found rebels 
 against God ; 
 
 And seldom is the delegate so bold, as to order what he 
 knoweth to be wrong. 
 
 Yet mark me, proud gainsayer ! I say not, obey unto sin ; 
 
 But, where the Principal is silent, take heed thou despise 
 not the Deputy : 
 
 And He that loveth order, will bless thee for thy faith, 
 
 If thou recognize His sanction in the powers that fashion 
 human laws. 
 
 Chou, the vicegerent of the Lord, His high anointed 
 image, 
 
 e 2 
 
52 . #f Stthjotimr. 
 
 Towards whom a good man's loyalty floweth from the 
 
 heart of his religion, 
 Thou, whose deep responsibilities are fathomed by a na- 
 tion's prayers, 
 Whom wise men fear for while they love, and envy thee 
 
 nothing but thy virtues, 
 From thy dizzy pinnacle of greatness, remember thou 
 
 also art a subject, 
 And the throne of thine earthly glory is itself but the 
 
 footstool of thy God. 
 The homage thy kingdoms yield thee, regard thou as 
 
 yielded unto Him ; 
 And while girt with all the majesty of state, consider thee 
 
 the Lord's chief servant; 
 So shalt thou prosper, and be strong, grafted on the 
 
 strength of Another ; 
 So shall thy virgin heart be happy, in being humble. 
 And thou shalt flourish as an oak, the monarch of thine 
 
 island forests, 
 Whose deep-dug roots are twisted around the stout ribs 
 
 of the globe, 
 That mocketh at the fury of the storm, and rejoiceth in 
 
 summer sunshine, 
 Glad in the smiles of heaven, and great in the stability 
 
 of earth. 
 
 & ruler hath not power for himself, neither is his pomp 
 
 for his pride ; 
 But beneath the ermine of his oflice should he wear the 
 
 rough hair-cloth of humility. 
 Nevertheless, every way obey him, so thou break not a 
 
 higher commandment ; 
 
©f Sttbjwtimt* 53 
 
 For Nero was an evil king, yet Paul prescribeth subjec- 
 tion. 
 
 If the rulers of a nation be boly, the Lord hath blessed 
 that nation ; 
 
 If they be lewd and impious, chastisement hath come 
 upon that people : 
 
 For the bitterest scourge of a land is ungodliness in them 
 that govern it, 
 
 And the guilt of the sons of Josiah drove Israel weeping 
 into Babylon. 
 
 Yet be thou resolute against them, if they change the 
 mandates of thy God, 
 
 If they touch the ark of his covenant, wherein all his 
 mercies are enshrined : 
 
 Be resolute, but not rebellious ; lest thou be of the com- 
 pany of Koran : 
 
 Set thy face against them as a flint : but be not num- 
 bered with Abiram. 
 
 Daniel nobly disobeyed ; but not from a spirit of sedi- 
 tion ; 
 
 And Azarias shouted from the furnace, — I will not bow 
 down, king. 
 
 If truth must be sacrificed to unity, then faithfulness 
 were folly ; 
 
 If man must be obeyed before God, the martyrs have 
 bled in vain : 
 
 Yet none of that blessed army reviled the rulers of the 
 land, 
 
 They were loud and bold against the sin, but bent before 
 the ensign of authority. 
 
 Honesty, scorning compromise, walketh most suitably 
 with Reverence ; 
 
54 ®f ^nhprtxaxt. 
 
 Otherwise righteous daring may show but as obstinate 
 
 rebellion : 
 Therefore, suffer not thy censure to lack the savour of 
 
 courtesy, 
 And remember, the mortal sinneth, but the staff of his 
 
 power is from God. 
 
 ;$Han, thou hast a social spirit, and art deeply indebted 
 to thy kind : 
 
 Therefore claim not all thy rights; but yield, for thine 
 own advantage. 
 
 Society is a chain of obligations, and its links must sup- 
 port each other ; 
 
 The branch can not but wither, that is cut from the parent 
 vine. 
 
 Wouldst thou be a dweller in the woods, and cast away 
 the cords that bind thee, 
 
 Seeking, in thy bitterness or pride, to be exiled from thy 
 fellows ? 
 
 Behold, the beasts shall hunt thee, weak, naked, house- 
 less outcast, 
 
 Disease and Death shall track thee out, as bloodhounds 
 in the wilderness : 
 
 Better to be vilest of the vile, in the hated company of 
 men, 
 
 Than to live a solitary wretch, dreading and wanting all 
 things; 
 
 Better to be chained to thy labour, in the dusky thorough- 
 fares of life, 
 
 Than to reign monarch of Sloth, in lonesome savage 
 freedom. 
 
Whence then cometh the doctrine, that all should be 
 equal and free ? — 
 
 It is the lie that crowded hell, when Seraphs flung away 
 subjection. 
 
 No man is his neighbour's equal, for no two minds are 
 similar, 
 
 And accidents, alike with qualities, have every shade but 
 sameness : 
 
 The lightest atom of difference shall destroy the nice 
 balance of equality, 
 
 And all things, from without and from within, make one 
 man to differ from another. 
 
 We are equal and free ! was the watchword that spirited 
 the legions of Satan ; 
 
 We are equal and free ! is the double lie that entrappeth 
 to him conscripts from earth : 
 
 The messengers of that dark despot will pander to thy 
 license and thy pride, 
 
 And draw thee from the crowd where thou art safe, to 
 seize thee in the solitary desert. 
 
 Woe unto him whose heart the syren song of Liberty 
 hath charmed : 
 
 Woe unto him whose mind is bewitched by her treache- 
 rous beauty; 
 
 In mad zeal flingeth he away the fetters of duty and re- 
 straint, 
 
 And yieldeth up the holocaust of self to that fair Idol of 
 the Damned. 
 
 No man hath freedom in aught, save in that from which 
 the wicked would be hindered, 
 
 He is free toward God and good ; but to all else a bond- 
 man. 
 
56 df'Sttljerftotr. 
 
 Chou art in a middle sphere, to render and receive 
 honour ; 
 
 If thy king commandeth, obey; and stand not in the 
 way with rebels : 
 
 But if need be, lay thy hand upon thy sword, and fear 
 not to smite a traitor, 
 
 For the universe acquitteth thee with honour, fighting in 
 defence of thy king. 
 
 If a thief break thy dwelling, and thou take him, it were 
 sin in thee to let him go ; 
 
 Yea, though he pleadeth to thy mercy, thou canst not 
 spare him and be blameless : 
 
 Tor his guilt is not only against thee, it is not thy mo- 
 nies or thy merchandize, 
 
 But he hath done damage to the Law, which duty con- 
 straineth thee to sanction. 
 
 Feast not thine appetite of vengeance, remembering thou 
 also art a man, 
 
 But weep for the sad compulsion, in which the chain of 
 Providence hath bound thee : 
 
 Mercy is not thine to give ; wilt thou steal another's pri- 
 vilege ? 
 
 Or send abroad, among thy neighbours, a felon whom 
 impunity hath hardened ? 
 
 Remember the Roman father, strong in his stern in- 
 tegrity, 
 
 And let not thy slothful self-indulgence make thee a con- 
 niver at the crime. 
 
 Also, if the knife of the murderer be raised against thee 
 or thine, 
 
 And through good providence and courage, thou slay 
 him that would have slain thee, 
 
Thou Ibsest not a tittle of thy rectitude, having executed 
 
 sudden justice ; 
 Still mayst thou walk among the blessed, though thy 
 
 hands he red with blood. 
 For thyself, thou art neither worse nor better ; but thy 
 
 fellows should count thee their creditor : 
 Thou hast manfully protected the right, and the right is 
 
 stronger for thy deed. 
 Also, in the rescuing of innocence, fear not to smite the 
 
 ravisher ; 
 What though he die at thy hand ? for a good name is 
 
 better than the life ; 
 And if Phinehas had everlasting praise in the matter of 
 
 Salu's son, 
 With how much greater honour standeth such a rescuer 
 
 acquitted ? 
 Uphold the laws of thy country, and fear not to fight in 
 
 their defence ; 
 But first be convinced in thy mind ; for herein the 
 
 doubter sinneth. 
 Above all things, look thou well around, if indeed stern 
 
 duty forceth thee 
 To draw the sword of justice, and stain it with the 
 
 slaughter of thy fellows. 
 
 JJ>he, that lieth in thy bosom, the tender wife of thy affec- 
 tions, 
 
 Must obey thee, and be subject, that evil drop not on 
 thy dwelling. 
 
 The child that is used to constraint, feareth not more 
 than he loveth ; 
 
 But give thy son his way, he will hate thee and scorn 
 thee together. 
 
58 #f Sttbjwtxim. 
 
 The master of a well-ordered home knoweth to be kind 
 to his servants ; 
 
 Yet he exacteth reverence, and each one feareth at his 
 post. 
 
 There is nothing on earth so lowly, but duty giveth it 
 importance ; 
 
 No station so degrading, but it is ennobled by obe- 
 dience : 
 
 Yea, break stones upon the highway, acknowledging the 
 Lord in thy lot, 
 
 Happy shalt thou be, and honourable, more than many 
 children of the mighty. 
 
 Thou that despisest the outward forms, beware thou lose 
 not the inward spirit ; 
 
 For they are as words unto ideas, as symbols to things 
 unseen. 
 
 Keep then the form that is good ; retain, and do rever- 
 ence to example ; 
 
 And in all things observe subordination, for that is the 
 whole duty of man. 
 
 §1 horse knoweth his rider, be he confident or timid, 
 And the fierce spirit of Bucephalus stoopeth unto none 
 
 but Alexander ; 
 The tigress, roused in the jungle by the prying spaniels 
 
 of the fowler, 
 Will quail at the eye of man, so he assert his dignity; 
 Nay, the very ships, those giant swans breasting the 
 
 mighty waters, 
 Eoll in the trough, or break the wave, to the pilot's fear 
 
 or courage : 
 How much more shall man, discerning the Fountain of 
 
 authority, 
 
#f %nhjjtttwxt. 59 
 
 Bow to superior commands, and make his own obeyed. 
 
 And yet, in travelling the world, hast thou not often 
 known 
 
 A gallant host led on to ruin by a feeble Xerxes ? 
 
 Hast thou not often seen the wanton luxury of indolence 
 
 Sullying with its sleepy mist the tarnished crown of head- 
 ship? 
 
 Alas ! for a thousand fathers, whose indulgent sloth 
 
 Hath emptied the vial of confusion over a thousand 
 homes : 
 
 Alas ! for the palaces and hovels, that might have been 
 nurseries for heaven, 
 
 By hot intestine broils blighted into schools for hell : 
 
 None knoweth his place, yet all refuse to serve, 
 
 None weareth the crown, yet all usurp the sceptre ; 
 
 And perchance some fiercer spirit, of natural nobility of 
 mind, 
 
 That needed but the kindness of constraint to have grown 
 up great and good>_ 
 
 Now — the rich harvest of his heart choked by unweeded 
 tares, — 
 
 All bold to dare and do, unchecked by wholesome fear, 
 
 A scoffer about bigotry and priestcraft, a rebel against 
 government and God, 
 
 And standard-bearer of the turbulent, leading on the 
 sons of Belial, 
 
 Such an one is king of that small state, head tyrant of 
 the thirty, 
 
 Brandishing the torch of discord in his village-home : 
 
 And the timid Eli of the house, yon humble parish- 
 priest, 
 
 Liveth in shame and sorrow, fearing his own handy- 
 work : 
 
60 §i %xthjtdwn. 
 
 The mother, heartstricken years agone, hath dropped 
 
 into an early grave ; 
 The silent sisters long to leave a home they cannot love ; 
 The brothers, casting off restraint, follow their wayward 
 
 wills; 
 And the chance-guest, early departing, blesseth his kind 
 
 stars, 
 That on his humbler home hath brooded no domestic 
 
 curse ! 
 Yet is that curse the fruit ; wouldest thou the root of the 
 
 evil? 
 A kindness — most unkind, that hath always spared the 
 
 rod; 
 A weak and numbing indecision in the mind that should 
 
 be master ; 
 A foolish love, pregnant of hate, that never frowned on 
 
 sin; 
 A moral cowardice of heart, that never dared command. 
 
 % kingdom is a nest of families, and a family a small 
 kingdom ; 
 
 And the government of whole or part differeth in nothing 
 but extent. 
 
 The house, where the master ruleth, is strong in united 
 subjection, 
 
 And the only commandment with promise, being ho- 
 noured, is a blessing to that house : 
 
 But and if he yieldeth up the reins, it is weak in dis- 
 cordant anarchy, 
 
 And the bonds of love and union melt away, as ropes of 
 sand. 
 
 The realm, that is ruled with vigour, lacketh neither 
 peace nor glory, 
 
©f Swbytihxt. 61 
 
 It dreadeth not foes from without, nor the sons of riot 
 from within : 
 
 But the meanness of temporizing fear rohbeth a kingdom 
 of its honour, 
 
 And the weakness of indulgent sloth ravageth its bowels 
 with discord. 
 
 The best of human governments is the patriarchal rule ; 
 
 The authorized supremacy of one, the prescriptive sub- 
 jection of many : 
 
 Therefore, the children of the east have thriven from age 
 to age, 
 
 Obeying, even as a god, the royal father of Cathay : 
 
 Therefore, to this our day, the Rechabite wanteth not a 
 man, 
 
 But they stand before the Lord, forsaking not the man- 
 date of their sire : 
 
 Therefore shall Magog among nations arise from his 
 northern lair, 
 
 And rend, in the fury of his power, the insurgent world 
 beneath him : 
 
 For the thunderbolt of concentrated strength can be 
 hurled by the will of one, 
 
 While the dissipated forces of many are harmless as 
 summer lightning. 
 
62 
 
 m %wi 
 
 3En the silent watches of the night, calm night that 
 
 hreedeth thoughts, 
 When the task-weary mind disporteth in the careless 
 
 play-hours of sleep, 
 I dreamed ; and hehold, a valley, green and sunny and 
 
 well watered, 
 And thousands moving across it, thousands and tens of 
 
 thousands : 
 And though many seemed faint and toil-worn, and 
 
 stum hied often, and fell, 
 Yet moved they on unresting, as the ever-flowing cata- 
 ract. 
 Then I noted adders in the grass, and pitfalls under the 
 
 flowers, 
 And chasms yawned among the hills, and the ground 
 
 was cracked and slippery : 
 But Hope and her hrother Fear suffered not a foot to 
 
 linger ; ♦ 
 
m $*at 63 
 
 Bright phantoms of false joys beckoned alluringly for- 
 ward, 
 While yelling grisly shapes of dread came hunting on 
 
 behind : 
 And ceaselessly, like Lapland swarms, that miserable 
 
 crowd sped along 
 To the mist-involved banks of a dark and sullen river. 
 There saw I, midway in the water, standing a giant 
 
 fisher, 
 And he held many lines in his hand, and they called him 
 
 Iron Destiny. 
 So I tracked those subtle chains, and each held one 
 
 among the multitude : 
 Then I understood what hindered, that they rested not 
 
 in their path : 
 For the fisher had sport in his fishing, and drew in his 
 
 lines continually, 
 And the new-bom babe, and the aged man, were dragged 
 
 . into that dark river: 
 And he pulled all those myriads along, and none might 
 
 rest by the way, 
 Till many, for sheer weariness, were eager to plunge into 
 
 the drowning stream. 
 
 J^o I knew that valley was Life, and it sloped to the 
 
 waters of Death. 
 But far on the thither side spread out a calm and silent 
 
 shore, 
 Where all was tranquil as a sleep, and the crowded 
 
 strand was quiet : 
 And I saw there many I had known, but their eyes 
 
 glared chillingly upon me, 
 
64 m %mt 
 
 As set in deepest slumber ; and they pressed their fingers 
 
 to their lips. 
 Then I knew that shore was the dwelling of Eest, where 
 
 spirits held their Sabbath, 
 And it seemed they would have told me much, but they 
 
 might not break that silence ; 
 For the law of their being was mystery : they glided on, 
 
 hushing as they went. 
 Yet further, under the sun, at the roots of purple moun- 
 tains, 
 I noted a blaze of glory, as the night-fires on northern 
 
 skies ; 
 And I heard the hum of joy, as it were a sea of melody ; 
 And far as the eye could reach, were millions of happy 
 
 creatures 
 Basking in the golden light ; and I knew that land was 
 
 Heaven. 
 Then the hill whereon I stood split asunder, and a crater 
 
 yawned at my feet, 
 Black and deep and dreadful, fenced round with ragged 
 
 rocks ; 
 Dimly was the darkness lit up by spires of distant 
 
 flame : 
 And I saw below a moving mass of life, like reptiles bred 
 
 in corruption, 
 Where all was terrible unrest, shrieks and groans and 
 thunder. 
 
 J£o I woke, and I thought upon my dream; for it seemed 
 
 of wisdom's ministration. 
 What man is he that findeth rest, though he hunt for it 
 
 year after year ? 
 
•f %t%t 65 
 
 As a child he had not yet heen wearied, and cared not 
 
 then to court it ; 
 As a youth he loved not to he quiet, for excitement spur- 
 red him into strife ; 
 As a man he tracketh rest in vain, toiling painfully to 
 
 catch it, 
 But still is he pulled from the pursuit, hy the strong 
 
 compulsion of his fate : 
 So he hopeth to have peace in old age, as he cannot rest 
 
 in manhood, 
 But troubles thicken with his years, till Death hath 
 
 dodged him to the grave. 
 There remaineth a rest for the spirit on the shadowy side 
 
 of life; 
 But unto this world's pilgrim no rest for the sole of his 
 
 foot. 
 Ever, from stage to stage, he travelleth wearily forward, 
 And though he pluck flowers by the way, he may not 
 
 sleep among the flowers. 
 Mind is the perpetual motion ; for it is a running stream 
 From an unfathomable source, the depth of the divine 
 
 Intelligence : 
 And though it be stopped in its flowing, yet hath it a 
 
 current within, 
 The surface may sleep unruffled, but underneath are 
 
 whirlpools of contention. 
 Seekest thou rest, mortal? — seek it no more on 
 
 earth, 
 For destiny will not cease from dragging thee through 
 
 the rough wilderness of life ; 
 Seekest thou rest, immortal ? — hope not to find it in 
 
 Heaven, 
 
66 #f $wt 
 
 For sloth yieldeth not happiness : the bliss of a spirit is 
 action. 
 
 Best dwelleth onlyon an island in the midst of the ocean 
 of existence, 
 
 Where the world-weary soul for a while may fold its tired 
 wings, 
 
 Until, after short sufficient slumber, it is quickened unto 
 deathless energy, 
 
 And speedeth in eagle flight to the Sun of unapproach- 
 able perfection. 
 
67 
 
 #f fraralitg* 
 
 Witt is grown aweary of her gawds, and donneth russet 
 
 garments, 
 Loving for change to walk as a nun, beneath a modest 
 
 veil: 
 For Pride hath noted how all admire the fairness of 
 
 Humility, 
 And to clutch the praise he coveteth, is content to be 
 
 drest in hair-cloth ; 
 And wily Lust tempteth the young heart, that is proof 
 
 against the bravery of harlots, 
 With timid tears and retiring looks of an artful seeming 
 
 maid; 
 And indolent Apathy, sleepily ashamed of his dull lack- 
 lustre face, 
 Is glad of the livery of meekness, that charitable cloak 
 
 and cowl ; 
 And Hatred hideth his demon frown beneath a gentle 
 
 maskj 
 
 f 2 
 
68 <©f pttmUxtg. 
 
 And Slander, snake-like, creepeth in the dust, thinking 
 
 to escape recrimination. 
 But the world hath gained somewhat from its years, and 
 
 is quick to penetrate disguises, 
 Neither in all these is it easily deceived, but rightly 
 
 divideth the true from the false. 
 
 fi^et there is a meanness of spirit, that is fair in the eyes 
 
 of most men, 
 Yea, and seemeth fair unto itself, loving to be thought 
 
 Humility. 
 Its choler is not roused by insolence, neither do injuries 
 
 disturb it : 
 Honest indignation is strange unto its breast, and just 
 
 reproof unto its lip. 
 It shrinketh, looking fearfully on men, fawning at the 
 
 feet of the great ; 
 The breath of calumny is sweet unto its ear, and it 
 
 courteth the rod of persecution. 
 But what! art thou not a man, deputed chief of the 
 
 creation ? 
 Art thou not a soldier of the right, militant for God and 
 
 good? 
 Shall virtue and truth be degraded, because thou art too 
 
 base to uphold them ? 
 Or Goliath be bolder in blaspheming for want of a David 
 
 in the camp ? 
 I say not, avenge injuries ; for the ministry of vengeance 
 
 is not thine : 
 But wherefore rebuke not a liar ? wherefore do dishonour 
 
 to thyself? 
 Wherefore let the evil triumph, when the just and the 
 
 right are on thy side ? 
 
#f H«militg. 69 
 
 Such Humility is abject, it lacketh the life of sensibility, 
 
 And that resignation is but mock, where the burden is 
 not felt : 
 
 Suspect thyself and thy meekness : thou art mean and 
 indifferent to sin ; 
 
 And the heart that should grieve and forgive, is case- 
 hardened and forgetteth. 
 
 humility mainly becometh the converse of man with his 
 Maker, 
 
 But oftentimes it seemeth out of place in the intercourse 
 of man with man : 
 
 Yea, it is the cringer to his equal, that is chiefly seen bold 
 to his God, 
 
 While the martyr, whom a world cannot brow-beat, is 
 humble as a child before Him. 
 
 Eender unto all men their due, but remember thou also 
 art a man, 
 
 And cheat not thyself of the reverence which is owing 
 to thy reasonable being. 
 
 Be courteous, and listen, and leam : but teach and an- 
 swer if thou canst : 
 
 Serve thee of thy neighbour's wisdom, but be not en- 
 slaved as to a master. 
 
 Where thou perceivest knowledge, bend the ear of atten- 
 tion and respect ; 
 
 But yield not further to the teaching, than as thy mind 
 is warranted by reasons. 
 
 Better is an obstinate disputant, that yieldeth inch by 
 inch, 
 
 Than the shallow traitor to himself, who surrendereth to 
 half an argument. 
 
70 ©f fjmwlitg, 
 
 Modesty winneth good report, but scorn cometh close 
 
 upon servility ; 
 Therefore, use meekness with discretion, casting not 
 
 pearls before swine. 
 For a fool will tread upon thy neck, if he seeth thee 
 
 lying in the dust ; 
 And there be companies and seasons where resolute bear 
 
 ing is but duty. 
 If a good man discloseth his secret failings unto the view 
 
 of the profane, 
 What doeth he but harm unto his brother, confirming 
 
 him in his sin ? 
 There is a concealment that is right, and an open-mouthed 
 
 humility that erreth ; 
 There is a candour near akin to folly, and a meekness 
 
 looking like shame. 
 Masculine sentiments, vigorously holden, well become a 
 
 man ; 
 But a weak mind hath a timorous grasp, and mistaketh 
 
 it for tenderness of conscience. 
 Many are despised for their folly, who put it to the ac- 
 count of their religion, 
 And because men treat them with contempt, they look to 
 
 their God for glory ; 
 But contempt shall still be their reward, who betrayed 
 
 their Master unto ridicule, 
 Beflecting on Him in themselves, meanness and igno- 
 rance and cowardice. 
 A Christian hath a royal spirit, and need not be ashamed 
 
 but unto One : 
 Among just men walketh he softly, but the world should 
 
 see him as a champion : 
 
©f fjwmUitg. 71 
 
 His humbleness is far unlike the shame that covereth the 
 
 profligate and weak, 
 When the sober reproof of virtue hath touched their 
 
 tingling ears; 
 It is born of love and wisdom, and is worthy of all 
 
 honour, 
 And the sweet persuasion of its smile changeth contempt 
 
 into reverence. 
 
 $[ man of a haughty spirit is daily adding to his ene- 
 mies: 
 He standeth as the Arab in the desert, and the hands of 
 
 all men are against him : 
 A man of a base mind daily subtracteth from his 
 
 friends, 
 For he holdeth himself so cheaply, that others learn to 
 
 despise him : 
 But where the meekness of self-knowledge veileth the 
 
 front of self-respect, 
 There look thou for the man, whom none can know but 
 
 they will honour. 
 Humility is the softening shadow before the stature of 
 
 Excellence, 
 And lieth lowly on the ground, beloved and lovely as the 
 
 violet : 
 Humility is the fair-haired maid, that calleth Worth her 
 
 brother, 
 The gentle silent nurse, that fostereth infant virtues : 
 Humility bringeth no excuse ; she is welcome to God 
 
 and man : 
 Her countenance is needful unto all, who would prosper 
 
 in either world : 
 
72 Df fj ttmtlHg. 
 
 And the mild light of her sweet face is mirrored in, the 
 eyes of her companions, 
 
 And straightway stand they accepted, children of peni- 
 tence and love. 
 
 As when the blind man is nigh unto a rose, its sweet- 
 ness is the herald of its beauty, 
 
 So when thou savourest humility, be sure thou art nigh 
 unto merit. 
 
 A gift rejoiceth the covetous, and praise fatteneth the 
 vain, 
 
 And the pride of man delighteth in the humble bearing 
 of his fellow ; 
 
 But to the tender benevolence of the unthanked Al- 
 moner of good, 
 
 Humility is queen among the graces for she giveth Him 
 occasion to bestow. 
 
73 
 
 ffi f rite. 
 
 is the sea, and deep is hell, but Pride mineth 
 
 deeper ; 
 It is coiled as a poisonous worm about the foundations 
 
 of the soul. 
 If thou expose it in thy motives, and track it in thy 
 
 springs of thought, 
 Complacent in its own detection, it will seem indignant 
 
 virtue; 
 Smoothly will it gratulate thy skill, O subtle anatomist 
 
 of self, 
 And spurn at its very being, while it nestleth the deeper 
 
 in thy bosom. 
 Pride is a double traitor, and betrayeth itself to entrap 
 
 thee, 
 Making thee vain of thy self-knowledge ; proud of thy 
 
 discoveries of pride. 
 Fruitlessly thou strainest for humility, by darkly diving 
 
 into self; 
 
74 ®f $rfte. 
 
 Bather look away from innate evil, and gaze upon ex 
 
 traneous good : 
 For in sounding the deep things of the heart, thou shalt 
 
 learn to he vain of its capacities, 
 But in viewing the heights above thee, thou shalt be 
 
 taught thy littleness : 
 Could an emmet pry into itself, it might marvel at its 
 
 own anatomy, 
 But let it look on eagles, to discern how mean a thing 
 
 it is. 
 And all things hang upon comparison ; to the greater, 
 
 great is small : 
 Neither is there anything so vile, but somewhat yet is 
 
 viler: 
 On all sides is there an infinity : the culprit at the gal- 
 lows hath his worse, 
 And the virgin martyr at the stake need not look far for 
 
 a better. 
 Therefore see thou that thine aim reacheth unto higher 
 
 than thyself : 
 Beware that the standard of thy soul wave from the 
 
 loftiest battlement : 
 For pride is a pestilent meteor, flitting on the marshes of 
 
 corruption, 
 That will lure thee forward to thy death, if thou seek to 
 
 track it to its source : 
 Pride is a gloomy bow, arching the infernal firmament, 
 That will lead thee on, if thou wilt hunt it, even to the 
 
 dwelling of despair. 
 Deep calleth unto deep, and mountain overtoppeth 
 
 mountain, 
 And still shalt thou fathom to no end the depth and the 
 
 height of pride : 
 
®f |riite; 75 
 
 For it is the vast ambition of the soul, warped to an idol 
 
 object, 
 And nothing but a Deity in Self can quench its insatiable 
 
 thirst. 
 
 23 e aware of the smiling enemy, that openly sheatheth 
 his weapon, 
 
 But mingleth poison in secret with the sacred salt of 
 hospitality : 
 
 For pride will lie dormant in thy heart, to snatch its se- 
 cret opportunity, 
 
 Watching, as a lion-ant, in the bottom of its toils. 
 
 Stay not to parley with thy foe, for his tongue is more 
 potent than his arm, 
 
 But be wiser, fighting against pride in the simple pano- 
 ply of prayer. 
 
 As one also of the poets hath said, let not the Proteus 
 escape thee ; 
 
 For he will blaze forth as fire, and quench himself in 
 likeness of water ; 
 
 He will fright thee as a roaring beast, or charm thee as 
 a subtle reptile. 
 
 Mark, amid all his transformations, the complicate de- 
 ceitfulness of pride, 
 
 And the more he striveth to elude thee, bind him the 
 closer in thy toils. 
 
 Prayer is the net that snareth him ; prayer is the fetter 
 that holdeth him : 
 
 Thou canst not nourish pride, while waiting as an alms- 
 man on thy God, — 
 
 Waiting in sincerity and trust, or pride shall meet thee 
 even there ; 
 
76 #f gtifa*. 
 
 Yea, from the palaces of Heaven, hath pride cast down 
 
 his millions. 
 Eoot up the mandrake from thy heart, though it cost thee 
 
 blood and groans, 
 Or the cherished garden of thy graces will fade and 
 
 perish utterly. 
 
77 
 
 I ftneto that age was enriched with the hard-earned 
 
 wages of knowledge, 
 And I saw that hoary wisdom was bred in the school of 
 
 disappointment : 
 I noted that the wisest of youth, though provident and 
 
 cautious of evil, 
 Yet sailed along unsteadily, as lacking some ballast of the 
 
 mind : 
 And the cause seemed to lie in this, that while they con 
 
 sidered around them, 
 And warded off all dangers from without, they forgat 
 
 their own weakness within. 
 So steer they in self-confidence, until, from the multitude 
 
 of perils, 
 They begin to be wary of themselves, and learn the first 
 
 lesson of Experience. 
 t knew that in the morning of life, before its wearisome 
 
 journey, 
 
78 ©f fepmwa- 
 
 The youthful soul doth expand, in the simple luxury of 
 being; 
 
 It hath not contracted its wishes, nor set a limit to its 
 hopes ; 
 
 The wing of fancy is unclipt, and sin hath not seared 
 the feelings : 
 
 Each feature is stamped with immortality, for all its de- 
 sires are infinite, 
 
 And it seeketh an ocean of happiness, to fill the deep 
 hollow within. 
 
 But the old and the grave look on, pitying that generous 
 youth, 
 
 For they also have tasted long ago the bitterness of hope 
 destroyed : 
 
 They pity him, and are sad, remembering the days that 
 are past, 
 
 But they know he must taste for himself, or he will not 
 give ear to their wisdom. 
 
 For Experience hath another lesson, which a man will 
 do well if he learn, 
 
 By checking the flight of expectation, to cheat disap- 
 pointment of its pain. 
 
 Experience teacheth many things, and all men are his 
 
 scholars: 
 Yet is he a strange tutor, unteaching that which he hath 
 
 taught. 
 Youth is confident, manhood wary, and old age confident 
 
 again: 
 Youth is kind, manhood cold, and age returneth unto 
 
 kindness, 
 For youth suspecteth nought, till manhood, bitterly 
 
 learned, 
 
©i §xptmwz. 79 
 
 Mistrusteth all, overleaping the mark; and age correcteth 
 
 his excess. 
 Suspicion is the scaffold unto faith, a temporary needful 
 
 eyesore, 
 By which the strong man's dwelling is slowly huilded up 
 
 behind; 
 But soon as the top-stone hath been set to the well- 
 proved goodly pyramid, 
 The scaffold is torn down, and well-timed trust taketh 
 
 its long leave of suspicion. 
 A thousand volumes in a thousand tongues enshrine the 
 
 lessons of Experience, 
 Yet a man shall read them all, and go forth none the 
 
 wiser : 
 For self-love lendeth him a glass, to colour all he conneth, 
 Lest in the features of another he find his own com- 
 plexion. 
 And we secretly judge of ourselves as differing greatly 
 
 from all men, 
 And love to challenge causes to show how we can master 
 
 their effects : 
 Pride is pampered in expecting that we need not fear a 
 
 common fate, 
 Or wrong-headed prejudice exulteth, in combating old 
 
 experience ; 
 Or perchance caprice and discontent are the spurs that 
 
 goad us into danger, 
 Careless, and half in hope to find there an enemy to joust 
 
 with. 
 Private experience is an unsafe teacher, for we rarely 
 
 learn both sides, 
 And from the gilt surface reckon not on steel beneath : 
 
80 ®f faermta, 
 
 The torrid sons of Guinea think scorn of icy seas, 
 
 And the frostbitten Greenlander disbelieveth suns too 
 
 hot. 
 But thou, student of Wisdom, feed on the marrow of the 
 
 matter ; 
 If thou wilt suspect, let it be thyself; if thou wilt expect, 
 
 let it not be gladness. 
 
8J 
 
 ®f Estimating €\mdtx. 
 
 Ha^fjlg, nor ofttimes truly, doth man pass judgment on 
 
 his brother ; 
 For he seeth not the springs of the heart, nor heareth 
 
 the reasons of the mind. 
 And the world is not wiser than of old, when justice was 
 
 meted by the sword, 
 When the spear avenged the wrong, and the lot decided 
 
 the right, 
 When the footsteps of blinded innocence were tracked 
 
 by burning ploughshares, 
 And the still condemning water delivered up the wizard 
 
 to the stake : 
 For we wait, like the sage of Salamis, to see what the 
 
 end will be, 
 Fixing the right or the wrong, by the issues of failure or 
 
 success. 
 Judge not of things by their events; neither of character 
 
 by providence ; 
 
 G 
 
82 <§f feiimH&tjj €\tmudzx. 
 
 And count not a man more evil, because he is more 
 unfortunate : 
 
 For the blessings of a better covenant lie not in the sun- 
 shine of prosperity, 
 
 But pain and chastisement the rather show the wise 
 Father's love. 
 
 ISehold that daughter of the world : she is full of gaiety 
 
 and gladness ; 
 The diadem of rank is on her brow, uncounted wealth is 
 
 in her coffers : 
 She tricketh out her beauty like Jezebel, and is welcome 
 
 in the courts of kings ; 
 She is queen of the fools of fashion, and ruleth the revels 
 
 of luxury : 
 And though she sitteth not as Tamar, nor standeth in 
 
 the ways as Eahab, 
 Yet in the secret of her chamber, she shrinketh not from 
 
 dalliance and guilt. 
 She careth not if there be a God, or a soul, or a time of 
 
 retribution, 
 Pleasure is the idol of her heart : she thirsteth for no 
 
 purer heaven. 
 And she laugheth with light good humour, and all men 
 
 praise her gentleness ; 
 They are glad in her lovely smile, and the river of her 
 
 bounty filleth them. 
 So she prospered in the world: the worship and desire 
 
 of thousands ; 
 And she died even as she had lived, careless and cour- 
 teous and liberal. 
 
#f fistimatrng Character* 83 
 
 The grave swallowed up her pomp, the marble proclaimed 
 her virtues, 
 
 For men esteemed her excellent, and charities sounded 
 forth her praise ; 
 
 But elsewhere far other judgment setteth her — with in- 
 fidels and harlots ! 
 
 She abused the trust of her splendour : and the wages of 
 her sin shall be hereafter. 
 
 Hook again on this fair girl, the orphan of a village 
 
 pastor 
 Who is dead, and hath left her his all, — his blessing and 
 
 a name unstained. 
 And friends, with busy zeal, that their purses be not 
 
 taxed, 
 Place the sad mourner in a home, poor substitute for 
 
 that she hath lost. 
 A stranger among strange faces she drinketh the worm- 
 wood of dependence ; 
 She is marked as a child of want : and the world hateth 
 
 poverty. 
 Prayer is not heard in that house; the day she hath 
 
 loved to hallow 
 Is noted but by deeper dissipation, the riot of luxury 
 
 and gaming : 
 And wantonness is in her master's eye, and she hath no 
 
 where to flee to ; 
 She is cared for by none upon earth, and her God 
 
 seemeth to forsake her ; 
 Then cometh, in fair show, the promise and the feint of 
 
 affection, 
 
 o 2 
 
84 #f fetimH&tg C^mtatte* 
 
 And her heart, long unused to kindness, remembereth her 
 
 father, and loveth. 
 And the villain hath wronged her trust, and mocked, 
 
 and flung her from him, 
 And men point at her and laugh : and women hate her 
 
 as an outcast : 
 But elsewhere far other judgment seateth her — among 
 
 the martyrs ! 
 And the Lord, who seemed to forsake, giveth double 
 
 glory to the fallen. 
 
 $nce more, in the matter of wealth ; if thou throw thine 
 
 all on a chance, 
 Men will come around thee, and wait, and watch the 
 
 turning of the wheel : 
 And if, in the lottery of life, thou hast drawn a splendid 
 
 prize, 
 What foresight hadst thou, and skill ! yea, what enter- 
 prize and wisdom ! 
 But if it fall out against thee, and thou fail in thy 
 
 perilous endeavour, 
 Behold, the simple did sow, and hath, reaped the right 
 
 harvest of his folly : 
 And the world will be gladly excused, nor will reach out 
 
 a finger to help ; 
 For why should this speculative dullard be a whirlpool 
 
 to all around him ? 
 Go to, let him sink by himself : we knew what the end 
 
 of it would be : — 
 For the man hath missed his mark, and his fellows look 
 
 no further. 
 
#f fetxmatmg Character* 85 
 
 &lso, touching guilt and innocence : a man shall walk 
 
 in his uprightness 
 Year after year without reproach, in charity and honesty 
 
 with all : 
 But in one evil hour the enemy shall come in like a 
 
 flood; 
 Shall track him, and tempt him, and hem him, — till he 
 
 knoweth not whither to fly. 
 Perchance his famishing little ones shall scream in his 
 
 ears for oread, 
 And, maddened by that fierce cry, he rusheth as a thief 
 
 upon the world ; 
 The world that hath left him to starve, itself wallowing 
 
 in plenty, — 
 The world, that denieth him his rights, — he daringly 
 
 robbeth it of them. 
 I say not, such an one is innocent ; but, small is the 
 
 measure of his guilt 
 To that of his wealthy neighbour, who would not help 
 
 him at his need ; 
 To that of the selfish epicure, who turned away with 
 
 coldness from his tale ; 
 To that of unsuffering thousands, who look with compla- 
 cence on his fall. 
 
 ©r perchance the continual dropping of the venomed 
 words of spite, 
 
 Insult and injury and scorn, have galled and pierced his 
 heart ; 
 
 Yet, with all long-suffering and meekness, he forgiveth 
 unto seventy times seven : 
 
 Till, in some weaker moment, tempted beyond endur- 
 ance, 
 
86 #f Estimating Character. 
 
 He striketh, more in anger than in hate ; and, alas ! for 
 
 his heavy chance, 
 He hath smitten unto instant death his spiteful life-long 
 
 enemy ! 
 And none was hy to see it ; and all men knew of their 
 
 contentions : 
 Fierce voices shout for his blood, and rude hands hurry 
 
 him to judgment. 
 Then man's verdict cometh, — Murderer, with forethought 
 
 malice; 
 And his name is a note of execration ; his guilt is too 
 
 black for devils. 
 But to the Eighteous Judge, seemeth he the suffering 
 
 victim ; 
 For his anger was not unlawful, but became him as a 
 
 Christian and a man ; 
 And though his guilt was grievous when he struck that 
 
 heavy bitter blow, 
 Yet light is the sin of the smiter, and verily kicketh the 
 
 beam, 
 To the weight of that man's wickedness, whose slow re- 
 lentless hatred 
 Met him at every turn, with patient continuance in evil. 
 Doubtless, eternal wrath shall be heaped upon that 
 
 spiteful enemy. 
 
 It is vain, it is vain, saith the preacher ; there be none 
 
 but the righteous and the wicked, 
 Base rebels, and staunch allies, the true knight, and the 
 
 traitor : 
 And he beareth strong witness among men, There is no 
 
 neutral ground, 
 
#f (Estimating <%racter. 87 
 
 The broad highway and narrow path map out the whole 
 domain ; 
 
 Sit here among the saints, these holy chosen few, 
 
 Or grovel there a wretch condemned, to die among the 
 million. 
 
 And verily for ultimate results, there be but good and 
 bad; 
 
 Heaven hath no dusky twilight ; hell is not gladdened 
 with a dawu. 
 
 Yet looking round among his fellows, who can pass 
 righteous judgment, 
 
 Such an one is holy and accepted, and such an one re- 
 probate and doomed? 
 
 There is so much of good among the worst, so much of 
 evil in the best, 
 
 Such seeming partialities in providence, so many things 
 to lessen and expand, 
 
 Yea, and with all man's boast, so little real freedom of 
 his will, — 
 
 That, to look a little lower than the surface, garb or dia- 
 lect or fashion, 
 
 Thou shalt feebly pronounce for a saint, and faintly 
 condemn for a sinner. 
 
 Over many a good heart and true, fTuttereth the Great 
 King's pennant ; 
 
 By many an iron hand, the pirate's black banner is un- 
 furled : 
 
 But there be many more besides, in the yacht and the 
 trader and the fishing-boat, 
 
 In the feathered war canoe, and the quick mysterious 
 gondola : 
 
 And the army of that Great King hath no stated uniform ; 
 
Of mingled characters and kinds goeth forth the count 
 
 less host ; 
 There is the turhaned Damascene, with his tattooed 
 
 Zealand brother, 
 There the slim bather in the Ganges, with the sturdy 
 
 Eussian boor, 
 The sluggish inmate of a Polar cave, with the fire-souled 
 
 daughter of Brazil, 
 The embruted slave from Cuba, and the Briton of gentle 
 
 birth. 
 For all are His inheritance, of all He taketh tithe : 
 And the church, His mercy's ark, hath some of every 
 
 sort. 
 Who art thou, man, that art fixing the limits of the 
 
 fold? 
 Wherefore settest thou stakes to spread the tent of 
 
 heaven ? 
 Lay not the plummet to the line : religion hath no land- 
 marks: 
 No human keenness can discern the subtle shades of 
 
 faith: 
 In some it is as earliest dawn, the scarce diluted dark- 
 ness ; 
 In some as dubious twilight, cold and grey and gloomy : 
 In some the ebon east is streaked with flaming gold : 
 In some the dayspring from on high breaketh in all its 
 
 praise. 
 And who hath determined the when, separating light 
 
 from darkness ? 
 Who shall pluck from earliest dawn the promise of the 
 
 day? 
 Leave that care to the Husbandman, lest thou garner 
 
 tares ; 
 
<®f Estimating Character, 89 
 
 Help thou the shepherd in his seeking, hut to separate 
 he his; 
 
 For I have often seen the nohle erring spirit 
 
 Wrecked on the shoals of passion, and numbered of the 
 lost; 
 
 Often the generous heart, lit "by unhallowed fire, 
 
 Counted a "brand among the hurning, and left uncared- 
 for, in his sin : 
 
 Yet I waited a little year, and the mercy thou hadst for- 
 gotten 
 
 Hath purged that nohle spirit, washing it in waters of 
 repentance ; 
 
 That glowing generous heart, having "burnt out all its 
 dross, 
 
 Is as a golden censer, ready for the aloes and cassia : 
 
 While thou, hard-visaged man, unlovely in thy strict- 
 ness, 
 
 "Who turned from him thy sympathies with self-com- 
 placent pride, 
 
 How art thou shamed hy him ! his heart is a spring of 
 love, 
 
 While the dry well of thine affections is choked with 
 secret mammon. 
 
 Sometimes at a glance thou judgest well ; years could 
 add little to thy knowledge : 
 
 When charity gloweth on the cheek, or malice is lower- 
 ing in the eye, 
 
 When honesty's open hrow, or the weasel-face of cun- 
 ning is "before thee, 
 
 Or the loose lip of wantonness, or clear bright forehead 
 of reflection. 
 
90 <8Df fetxmatmg (K^Hraxte. 
 
 But often, by shrewd scrutiny, thou judgest to the good 
 
 man's harm : 
 For it may be his hour of trial, or he slumbereth at his 
 
 post, 
 Or he hath slain his foe, but not yet levelled the strong- 
 hold, 
 Or barely recovered of the wounds, that fleshed him in his 
 
 fray with passion. 
 Also, of the worst, through prejudice, thou loosely shalt 
 
 think well : 
 For none is altogether evil, and thou mayst catch him 
 
 at his prayers : 
 There may be one small prize, though all beside be 
 
 blanks ; 
 A silver thread of goodness in the black sergecloth of 
 
 crime. 
 
 ^here is to whom all things are easy : his mind, as a 
 
 master-key, 
 Can open, with intuitive address, the treasuries of art and 
 
 science : 
 There is to whom all things are hard; but industry 
 
 giveth him a crow-bar, 
 To force, with groaning labour, the stubborn lock of 
 
 learning : 
 And often, when thou lookest on an eye, dim in native 
 
 dulness, 
 Little shalt thou wot of the wealth diligence hath 
 
 gathered to its gaze ; 
 Often, the brow that should be bright with the dormant 
 
 fire of genius, 
 Within its ample halls, hath ignorance the tenant. 
 
®f feirmHihuj Character. 91 
 
 Yet are not the sons of men cast as in moulds by the 
 
 lot? 
 The like in frame and feature have much alike in 
 
 spirit; 
 Such a shape hath such a soul, so that a deep discerner 
 From his make will read the man, and err not far in 
 
 judgment : 
 Yea, and it holdeth in the converse, that growing simi- 
 larity of mind 
 Findeth or maketh for itself an apposite dwelling in the 
 
 body : 
 Accident may modify, circumstance may Devil, externals 
 
 seem to change it, 
 But still the primitive crystal is latent in its many varia- 
 tions : 
 For the map of the face, and the picture of the eye, are 
 
 traced by the pen of passion ; 
 And the mind fashioneth a tabernacle suitable for itself. 
 A mean spirit boweth down the back, and the bowing 
 
 fostereth meanness ; 
 A resolute purpose knitteth the knees, and the firm tread 
 
 nourisheth decision ; 
 Love looketh softly from the eye, and kindleth love by 
 
 looking ; 
 Hate furroweth the brow, and a man may frown till he 
 
 hateth : 
 For mind and body, spirit and matter, have reciprocities 
 
 of power, 
 And each keepeth up the strife ; a man's works make or 
 
 mar him. 
 
 Chere be deeper things than these, lying in the twilight 
 of truth 
 
92 ©f Estimating €§murttx. 
 
 But few can discern them aright, from surrounding 
 
 dimness of error, 
 For perchance, if thou knewest the whole, and largely 
 
 with comprehensive mind 
 Couldst read the history of character, the chequered 
 
 story of a life, 
 And into the great account, which summeth a mortal's 
 
 destiny, 
 Wert to add the forces from without, dragging him this 
 
 way and that, 
 And the secret qualities within, grafted on the soul from 
 
 the womh, 
 And the might of other men's example, among whom 
 
 his lot is cast, 
 And the influence of want, or wealth, of kindness or 
 
 harsh ill-usage, 
 Of ignorance he cannot help, and knowledge found for 
 
 him "by others, 
 And first impressions, hard to he effaced, and leadings 
 
 to right or to wrong, 
 And inheritance of likeness from a father, and natural 
 
 human frailty, 
 And the hahit of health or disease, and prejudices 
 
 poured into his mind, 
 And the myriad little matters none hut Omniscience can 
 
 know, 
 And accidents that steer the thoughts, where none hut 
 
 Uhiquity can trace them ; — 
 If thou couldst compass all these, and the consequents 
 
 flowing from them, 
 And the scope to which they tend, and the necessary 
 
 fitness of all things, 
 
®i (Estimating Character- 93 
 
 Then shouldst thou see as He seeth, who judgeth all 
 
 men equal, — 
 Equal, touching innocence and guilt ; and different alone 
 
 in this, 
 That one acknowledged his evil, and looketh to his God 
 
 for mercy ; 
 Another hoasteth of his good, and calleth on his God for 
 
 justice ; 
 So He, that sendeth none away, is largely munificent to 
 
 prayer, 
 But, in the heart of presumption, sheatheth the sword of 
 
 vengeance. 
 
94 
 
 (Bf Jtob atft Jwjjflr. 
 
 iSUmttfJ unto goodness is the heart which anger never 
 
 stirreth, 
 But that which hatred swelleth, is keen to carve out 
 
 evil. 
 Anger is a nohle infirmity, the generous failing of the 
 
 just, 
 The one degree that riseth above zeal, asserting the pre- 
 
 rogatives of virtue : 
 But hatred is a slow continuing crime, a fire in the had 
 
 man's breast, 
 A dull and hungry flame, for ever craving insatiate. 
 Hatred would harm another; anger would indulge 
 
 itself: 
 Hatred is a simmering poison ; anger, the opeuing of a 
 
 valve : 
 Hatred destroy eth as the upas-tree ; anger smiteth as a 
 
 staff: 
 
Df patab- attir %xv$zt. 95 
 
 Hatred is the atmosphere of hell ; but anger is known in 
 heaven. 
 
 Is there not a righteous wrath, an anger just and holy, 
 
 When goodness is sitting in the dust, and wickedness 
 enthroned on Babel? 
 
 Doth pity condemn guilt? — is justice not a feeling but 
 a law 
 
 Appealing to the line and to the plummet, incognizant 
 of moral sense ? 
 
 Thou that condemnest anger, small is thy sympathy with 
 angels, 
 
 Thou that hast accounted it for sin, cold is thy commu- 
 nion with heaven. 
 
 ISeware of the angry in his passion ; but fear not to ap- 
 proach him afterward ; 
 
 For if thou acknowledge thine error, he himself will be 
 sorry for his wrath : 
 
 Beware of the hater in his coolness ; for he meditateth 
 evil against thee : 
 
 Commending the resources of his mind calmly to work 
 thy ruin. 
 
 Deceit and treachery skulk with hatred, but an honest 
 spirit flieth with anger : 
 
 The one lieth secret, as a serpent; the other chaseth, as 
 a leopard. 
 
 Speedily be reconciled in love, and receive the returning 
 offender, 
 
 For wittingly prolonging anger, thou tamperest uncon- 
 sciously with hatred. 
 
 Patience is power in a man, nerving him to rein his 
 spirit : 
 
96 #f fjattjefr nub %xt%tx> 
 
 Passion is as palsy to his arm, while it yelleth on the 
 
 coursers to their speed : 
 Patience keepeth counsel, and standeth in solid self- 
 possession, 
 But the weakness of sudden passion layeth bare the 
 
 secrets of the soul. 
 The sentiment of anger is not ill, when thou lookest on 
 
 the impudence of vice, 
 Or savourest the breath of calumny, or hast earned the 
 
 hard wages of injustice, 
 But see thou that thou curb it in expression, rendering 
 
 the mildness of rebuke, 
 So shalt thou stand without reproach, mailed in all the 
 
 dignity of virtue. 
 
97 
 
 i00*r m f jpp (&8L 
 
 I Ij? ar ^ the man of sin reproaching the goodness of 
 
 Jehovah, 
 Wherefore, if He he Almighty Love, permitteth He misery 
 
 and pain ? 
 I saw the child of hope vexed in the lahyrinth of doubt, 
 Wherefore, holy One and just, is the horn of thy foul 
 
 foe so high exalted ? — 
 And, alas ! for this our groaning world, for that grief 
 
 and guilt are here ; 
 Alas ! for that Earth is the battle-field, where good must 
 
 combat with evil : 
 x^ngels look on and hold their breath, burning to mingle 
 
 in the conflict, 
 But the troops of the Captain of Salvation may be none 
 
 but the soldiers of the cross : 
 And that slender band must fight alone, and yet shall 
 
 triumph gloriously, 
 Enough shall they be for conquest, and the motto of 
 
 their standard is, Enough. 
 
 H 
 
98 #f (toir in ff#rajjs ®Wl 
 
 Thou art sad, O denizen of earth, for pains and diseases 
 
 and death, 
 But remember, thy hand hath earned them ; grudge not 
 
 at the wages of thy doings : 
 Thy guilt, and thy fathers' guilt, must bring many sor- 
 rows in their company, 
 And if thou wilt drink sweet poison, doubtless it shall 
 
 rot thee to the core. 
 What art thou but the heritor of evil, with a right to 
 
 nothing good ? 
 The respite of an interval of ease were a boon which 
 
 Justice might deny thee : 
 Therefore lay thy hand upon thy mouth, man much 
 
 to be forgiven, 
 And wait, thou child of hope, for time shall teach thee 
 
 all things, 
 
 get hear, for my speech shall comfort thee : reverently, 
 
 but with boldness, 
 T would raise the sable curtain, that hideth the sym- 
 metry of Providence. 
 Pain and sin are convicts, and toil in their fetters for 
 
 good; 
 The weapons of evil are turned against itself, fighting 
 
 under better banners : 
 The leech delighteth in stinging, and the wicked loveth 
 
 to do harm, 
 But the wise Physician of the Universe useth that ill 
 
 tendency for health. 
 Verily, from others' griefs are gendered sympathy and 
 
 kindness ; 
 Patience, humility, and faith, spring not seldom from 
 
 thine own : 
 
An enemy, humbled by his sorrows, cannot be far from 
 
 thy forgiveness ; 
 A friend, who hath tasted of calamity, shall fan the dying 
 
 incense of thy love : 
 And for thyself, is it a small thing, so to learn thy 
 
 frailty, 
 That from an aching bone thou savest the whole 
 
 body ? 
 The furnace of affliction may be fierce, but if it refineth 
 
 thy soul, 
 The good of one meek thought shall outweigh years of 
 
 torment. 
 Nevertheless, wretched man, if thy bad heart be hardened 
 
 in the flame, 
 Being earth-born, as of clay, and not of moulded wax, 
 Judge not the hand that smiteth, as if thou wert visited 
 
 in wrath : 
 Reproach thyself, for He is Justice ; repent thee, for He 
 
 is Mercy. 
 
 Cease, fond caviller at wisdom, to be satisfied that every- 
 thing is wrong : 
 
 Be sure there is good necessity, even for the flourishing 
 of evil. 
 
 Would the eye delight in perpetual noon ? or the ear in 
 unqualified harmonics ? 
 
 Hath winter's frost no welcome, contrasting sturdily 
 with summer ? 
 
 Couldst thou discern benevolence, if there were no sor 
 rows to be soothed ? 
 
 Or discover the resources of contrivance, if nothing 
 stood opposed to the means ? 
 
 H 2 
 
100 ©f tfMb m f^mgs mi 
 
 What were power without an enemy ? or mercy without 
 
 an object? 
 Or truth, where the false were impossible? or love, 
 
 where love were a debt ? 
 The characters of God were but idle, if all things around 
 
 Him were perfection, 
 And virtues might slumber on like death, if they lacked 
 
 the opportunities of evil. 
 There is One all-perfect, and but one ; man dare not 
 
 reason of His essence : 
 But there must be deficiencies in heaven, to leave room 
 
 for progression in bliss : 
 A realm of unqualified best were a stagnant pool of 
 
 being, 
 And the circle of absolute perfection, the abstract cipher 
 
 of indolence. 
 Sin is an awful shadow, but it addeth new glories to the 
 
 light; 
 Sin is a black foil, but it setteth off the jewelry of 
 
 heaven : 
 Sin is the traitor that hath dragged the majesty of mercy 
 
 into action ; 
 Sin is the whelming argument, to justify the attribute of 
 
 vengeance. 
 It is a deep dark thought, and needeth to be diligently 
 
 studied, 
 But perchance evil was essential, that God should be 
 
 seen of His creatures : 
 For where perfection is not, there lacketh possible 
 
 good, 
 And the absence of better that might be, taketh from the 
 
 praise of it is well : 
 
#£ (fooir far Strings fibxl 101 
 
 And creatures must be finite, and finite cannot be 
 
 perfect : 
 Therefore, though in small degree, creation involveth 
 
 evil, 
 He chargeth His angels with folly, and the heavens are 
 
 not clean in His sight : 
 For every existence in the universe hath either imperfec 
 
 tion or Godhead : 
 And the light that blazeth but in One, must be softened 
 
 with shadow for the many. 
 There is then good in evil ; or none could have known 
 
 his Maker; 
 No spiritual intellect or essence could have gazed on His 
 
 high perfections, 
 No angel harps could have tuned the wonders of His 
 
 wisdom, 
 No ransomed souls have praised the glories of His 
 
 mercy, 
 No howling fiends have shown the terrors of His justice, 
 But God would have dwelt alone, in the fearful solitude 
 
 of holiness. 
 
 Nevertheless, sinner, harden not thine heart in evil; 
 Nor plume thee in imaginary triumph, because thou art 
 
 not valueless as vile ; 
 Because thy dark abominations add lustre to the clarity 
 
 of Light ; 
 Because a wonder-working alchemy draineth elixir out of 
 
 poisons ; 
 Because the same fiery volcano that scorcheth and 
 
 ravageth a continent, 
 Hath in the broad blue bay cast up some petty island ; 
 
102 <§f foob in JKfcmg* €WL 
 
 Because to the full demonstration of the qualities and 
 accidents of good, 
 
 The swarthy legions of the Devil have toiled as unwitting 
 pioneers. 
 
 For sin is still sin ; so hateful Love doth hate it ; 
 
 A "blot on the glory of creation, which Justice must wipe 
 out. 
 
 Sin is a loathsome leprosy, fretting the white rohe of in- 
 nocence ; 
 
 A rottenness, eating out the heart of the royal cedars of 
 Lehanon ; 
 
 A pestilential "blast, the terror of that holy pilgrim- 
 age ; 
 
 A rent in the sacred veil, whereby God left His temple. 
 
 Therefore, consider thyself, thou that dost not sorrow for 
 thy guilt : 
 
 Fear evil, or face its Enemy : dread sin, or dare Justice. 
 
 §9ea, saith the Spirit, and their works do follow them ; 
 
 Habits, and thoughts, and deeds, are shadows and satel- 
 lites of self. 
 
 What! shall the claimant to a throne stand forward with 
 a rabble rout, — 
 
 Meanness, impiety, and lust; riot and indolence and 
 vanity ? 
 
 Nay, man ! the train wherewith thou comest attend 
 whither thou shalt go : 
 
 A throne for a king's son, but an inner dungeon for the 
 felon. 
 
 For a man's works do follow him : bodily, standing in 
 the judgment, 
 
 Behold the false accuser, behold the slandered saint ; 
 
®f §oob m Clings (EMI. 103 
 
 The slave, and his bloody driver ; the poor, and his 
 generous friend ; 
 
 The simple dupe, and the crafty knave : the murderer, 
 and — his victim ! 
 
 Yet all are in many characters ; the best stand guilty at 
 the bar; 
 
 And he that seemed the worst may have most of real 
 excuse. 
 
 The talents unto which a man is born, be they few or 
 many, 
 
 Are dropped into the balance of account, working un- 
 looked-for changes ; 
 
 And perchance the convict from the galleys may stand 
 above the hermit from his cell, 
 
 For that the obstacles in one outweigh the propensions 
 in the other. 
 
 There be, who have made themselves friends, yea, by 
 unrighteous mammon, — 
 
 Friends, ready waiting as an escort to those everlasting 
 habitations ; 
 
 Embodied in living witnesses, thronging to meet them in 
 a cloud, 
 
 Charity, meekness and truth, zeal, sincerity and pa- 
 tience. 
 
 There be, who have made themselves foes, yea, by 
 honest gain, 
 
 Foes, whose plaint must have its answer, before the 
 bright portal is unbarred : 
 
 Pride, and selfishness, and sloth, apathy, wrath and false- 
 hood, 
 
 Bind to their everlasting toil many that must weary in 
 the fires. 
 
104 §i §00% m ffifctng* <BML 
 
 Love liath a power and a longing to save the gathered 
 
 world, 
 And rescue universal man from the hunting hell-hounds 
 
 of his doings : 
 Yet few, here one and there one, scanty as the gleaning 
 
 after harvest, 
 Are glad of the rohes of praise which Mercy would fling 
 
 around the naked ; 
 But wrapping closer to their skin the poisoned tunic of 
 
 their works, 
 They stand in self-dependence, to perish in abandonment 
 
 of God. 
 
105 
 
 $ f fnger. 
 
 $[ iDtcfc^tt man scorneth prayer, in the shallow sophistry 
 of reason, 
 
 He derideth the silly hope that God can be moved by 
 supplication: — 
 
 Can the Unchangeable be changed, or waver in His pur- 
 pose ? 
 
 Can the weakness of pity affect Him ? Should He turn 
 at the bidding of a man ? 
 
 Methought He ruled all things, and ye called His decrees 
 immutable, 
 
 But if thus He listeneth to words, wherein is the firmness 
 of His will?— 
 
 So I heard the speech of the wicked, and, lo, it was 
 smoother than oil ; 
 
 But I knew that his reasonings were false, for the pro- 
 mise of the Scripture is true : 
 
 Yet was my soul in darkness, for his words were too 
 hard for me ; 
 
106 #f |rager. 
 
 Till I turned to my God in prayer: for 1 know He 
 
 heareth always. 
 Then I looked abroad on the earth, and, behold, the Lord 
 
 was in all things ; 
 Yet saw I not His hand in aught, but perceived that He 
 
 worketh by means ; 
 Yea, and the power of the mean proveth the wisdom that 
 
 ordained it, 
 Yea, and no act is useless, to the hurling of a stone 
 
 through the air. 
 So I turned my thoughts to supplication, and beheld the 
 
 mercies of Jehovah, 
 And I saw sound argument was still the faithful friend 
 
 of godliness ; 
 For as the rock of the affections is the solid approval of 
 
 reason, 
 Even so the temple of Religion is founded on the basis 
 
 of Philosophy. 
 
 JS>corner, thy thoughts are weak, they reach not the sum- 
 mit of tne matter ; 
 Go to, for the mouth of a child might show thee the 
 
 mystery of prayer : 
 Verily, there is no change in the counsels of the Mighty 
 
 Ruler : 
 Verily, His purpose is strong, and rooted in the depths of 
 
 necessity : 
 But who hath shown thee His purpose, who hath made 
 
 known to thee His will ? 
 When, gainsayer! hast thou been schooled in the 
 
 secrets of wisdom ? 
 Fate is a creature of God, and all things move in their 
 
 orbits, 
 
•f f rager, 107 
 
 And that which shall surely happen is known unto Him 
 
 from eternity ; 
 But as, in the field of nature, He useth the sinews of 
 
 the ox, 
 And commandeth diligence and toil, Himself giving the 
 
 increase ; 
 So, in the kingdom of His grace, granteth He omnipotence 
 
 to prayer, 
 For He knoweth what thou wilt ask, and what thou wilt 
 
 ask aright. 
 No man can pray in faith, whose prayer is not grounded 
 
 on a promise : 
 Yet a good man commendeth all things to the righteous 
 
 wisdom of his God : 
 For those, who pray in faith, trust the immutahle Je- 
 hovah, 
 And they, who ask blessings unpromised, lean on un- 
 
 covenanted mercy. 
 
 JHan, regard thy prayers as a purpose of love to thy 
 
 soul ; 
 Esteem the providence that led to them as an index of 
 
 God's good will ; 
 So shalt thou pray aright, and thy words shall meet with 
 
 acceptance. 
 Also, in pleading for others, he thankful for the fulness 
 
 of thy prayer : 
 For if thou art ready to ask, the Lord is more ready to 
 
 bestow. 
 The salt preserveth the sea, and the saints uphold the 
 
 earth ; 
 Their prayers are the thousand pillars that prop the 
 
 canopy of nature. 
 
108 ©f $rag«r. 
 
 Verily, an hour without prayer, from some terrestrial 
 mind, 
 
 Were a curse in the calendar of time, a spot of the "black- 
 ness of darkness. 
 
 Perchance the terrible day, when the world must rock 
 into ruins, 
 
 Will be one unwhitened by prayer, — shall He find faith 
 on the earth ? 
 
 For there is an economy of mercy, as of wisdom, and 
 power, and means ; 
 
 Neither is one blessing granted, unbesought from the 
 treasury of good : 
 
 And the charitable heart of the Being, to depend upon 
 whom is happiness, 
 
 Never withholdeth a bounty, so long as His subject 
 prayeth ; 
 
 Yea, ask what thou wilt, to the second throne in heaven, 
 
 It is thine, for whom it was appointed ; there is no limit 
 unto prayer : 
 
 But and if thou cease to ask, tremble, thou self-sus- 
 pended creature, 
 
 For thy strength is cut off as was Samson's : and the 
 hour of thy doom is come. 
 
 JFrail art thou, man, as a bubble on the breaker, 
 Weak and governed by externals, like a poor bird caught 
 
 in the storm ; 
 Yet thy momentary breath can still the raging waters, 
 Thy hand can touch a lever that may move the world. 
 O Merciful, we strike eternal covenant with thee, 
 For man may take for his ally the King who ruleth 
 
 kings : 
 
#f |rag*r. 109 
 
 How strong, yet how most weak, in utter poverty how 
 rich, 
 
 What possible omnipotence to good is dormant in a 
 man ! 
 
 Behold that fragile form of delicate transparent beauty, 
 
 Whose light-blue eye and hectic cheek are lit by the bale- 
 fires of decline. 
 
 All droopingly she lieth, as a dew-laden lily, 
 
 Her flaxen tresses, rashly luxuriant, dank with unhealthy 
 moisture ; 
 
 Hath not thy heart said of her, Alas! poor child of 
 weakness ? 
 
 Thou hast erred ; Goliath of Gath stood not in half her 
 strength : 
 
 Terribly she fighteth in the van as the virgin daughter of 
 Orleans, 
 
 She beareth the banner of heaven, her onset is the rush- 
 ing cataract, 
 
 Seraphim rally at her side, and the captain of that host 
 is God, 
 
 And the serried ranks of evil are routed by the lightning 
 of her eye ; 
 
 She is the King's remembrancer, and steward of many 
 blessings, 
 
 Holding the buckler of security over her unthankful 
 land: 
 
 For that weak fluttering heart is strong in faith assured, 
 
 Dependence is her might, and behold — she prayeth. 
 
 Angels are round the good man, to catch the incense of 
 
 his prayers, 
 And they fly to minister kindness to those for whom he 
 
 pleadeth ; 
 
110 ®i frager. 
 
 For the altar of his heart is lighted, and hurneth before 
 God continually, 
 
 And he breatheth, conscious of his joy, the native at- 
 mosphere of heaven : 
 
 Yea, though poor, and contemned, and ignorant of this 
 world's wisdom, 
 
 111 can his fellows spare him, though they know not of 
 
 his value. 
 Thousands bewail a hero, and a nation mourneth for its 
 
 king, 
 But the whole universe lamenteth the loss of a man of 
 
 prayer. 
 Verily, were it not for One, who sitteth on His rightful 
 
 throne, 
 Crowned with a rainbow of emerald, the green memorial 
 
 of earth, — 
 For One, a mediating man, that hath clad His Godhead 
 
 with mortality, 
 And offereth prayer without ceasing, the royal priest of 
 
 Nature, 
 Matter and life and mind had sunk into dark annihila- 
 tion, 
 And the lightning frown of Justice withered the world 
 
 into nothing. 
 
 (£hus, worshipper of reason, thou hast heard the sum 
 of the matter : 
 
 And woe to his hairy scalp that restraineth prayer be- 
 fore God. 
 
 Prayer is a creature's strength, his very breath and 
 being ; 
 
 Prayer is the golden key that can open the wicket of 
 Mercy : 
 
®i |rajm\ 1 1 1 
 
 Prayer is the magic sound that saith to Fate, so be it; 
 Prayer is the slender nerve that moyeth the muscles of 
 
 Omnipotence. 
 Wherefore, pray, O creature, for many and great are thy 
 
 wants ; 
 Thy mind, thy conscience, and thy being, thy rig] its 
 
 commend thee unto prayer, 
 The cure of all cares, the grand panacea for all pains, 
 Doubt's destroyer, ruin's remedy, the antidote to all 
 
 anxieties. 
 
 JS>o then, God is true, and yet He hath not changed : 
 It is He that sendeth the petition, to answer it according 
 to His will. 
 
1J2 
 
 %\t f info's fnpr. 
 
 3£nq\xivt&t thou, man, wherewithal may I come unto 
 
 the Lord? 
 And with what wonder-working sounds may I move the 
 
 majesty of Heaven ? 
 There is a model to thy hand ; upon that do thou frame 
 
 thy supplication ; 
 Wisdom hath measured its words; and redemption urgeth 
 
 thee to use them. 
 Call thy God thy Father, and yet not thine alone, 
 For thou art but one of many, thy brotherhood is with 
 
 all: 
 Remember His high estate, that He dwelleth King of 
 
 Heaven ; 
 So shall thy thoughts be humbled, nor love be unmixed 
 
 with reverence : 
 Be thy first petition unselfish, the honour of Him who 
 
 made thee, 
 And that in the depths of thy heart His memory be 
 
 shrined in holiness : 
 
3% $atV* $rager. 113 
 
 Pray for that blessed time, when good shall triumph over 
 evil, 
 
 And one universal temple echo the perfections of Jeho- 
 vah: 
 
 Bend thou to His good will, and subserve His holy pur- 
 poses, 
 
 Till in thee, and those around thee, grow a little heaven 
 upon earth : 
 
 Humbly, as a grateful almsman, beg thy bread of 
 God,— 
 
 Bread for thy triple estate, for thou hast a trinity of 
 nature : 
 
 Humility smootheth the way, and gratitude softeneth the 
 heart, 
 
 Be then thy prayer for pardon mingled with the tear of 
 penitence ; 
 
 Yea, and while, all unworthy, thou leanest on the hand 
 that should smite, 
 
 Thou canst not from thy fellows withhold thy less for- 
 giveness. 
 
 To thy Father thy weaknesses are known, and thou hast 
 not hid thy sin, 
 
 Therefore ask Him, in all trust, to lead thee from the 
 dangers of temptation ; 
 
 While the last petition of the soul, that breatheth on the 
 confines of prayer, 
 
 Is deliverance from sin and the evil one, the miseries of 
 earth and hell. 
 
 And wherefore, child of hope, should the rock of thy 
 confidence be sure ? 
 
 Thou knowest that God heareth, and promiseth an 
 answer of peace ; 
 
 T 
 
114 %\t JfmV* frager- 
 
 Thou knowest that He is King, and none can stay His 
 hand; 
 
 Thou knowest His power to he boundless, for there is 
 none other : 
 
 And to Him thou givest glory, as a creature of His work- 
 manship and favour, 
 
 For the never-ending term of thy saved and bright exist- 
 ence. 
 
115 
 
 §f Mmttim. 
 
 Jfnr what then was I born ? — to fill the circling year 
 With daily toil for daily bread, with sordid pains and 
 
 pleasures ? — 
 To walk this chequered world, alternate light and dark- 
 ness, 
 The day-dreams of deep thought followed by the night- 
 dreams of fancy ? — 
 To be one in a full procession? — to dig my kindred 
 
 clay?— 
 To decorate the gallery of art ? — to clear a few acres of 
 
 forest ?— 
 For more than these, my soul, thy God hath lent thee 
 
 life. 
 Is then that noble end to feed this mind with knowledge, 
 To mix for mine own thirst the sparkling wine of wisdom. 
 To light with many lamps the caverns of my heart, 
 To reap, in the furrows of my brain, good harvest of 
 right reasons ? — 
 
 i 2 
 
116 ®f Qhmttium. 
 
 For more than these, my soul, thy God hath lent thee 
 life. 
 
 Is it to grow stronger in self-government, to check the 
 chafing will, 
 
 To euro with tightening rein the mettled steeds of pas- 
 sion, 
 
 To welcome with calm heart, far in the voiceless desert, 
 
 The gracious visitings of heaven that bless my single 
 self?— 
 
 For more than these, my soul, thy God hath lent thee 
 life. 
 
 To aim at thine own happiness, is an end idolatrous and 
 evil ; 
 
 In earth, yea in heaven, if thou seek it for itself, seeking 
 thou shalt not find. 
 
 Happiness is a road-side flower, growing on the high- 
 way of Usefulness ; 
 
 Plucked, it shall wither in thy hand ; passed by, it is 
 fragrance to thy spirit : 
 
 Love not thine own soul, regard not thine own weal, 
 
 Trample the thyme beneath thy feet ; be useful, and be 
 happy ! 
 
 Chus unto fair conclusions argueth generous youth, 
 And quickly he starteth on his course, knight-errant to 
 
 do good. 
 His sword is edged with arguments, his vizor terrible 
 
 with censures ; 
 He goeth full mailed in faith, and zeal is flaming at his 
 
 heart. 
 Yet one thing he lacketh, the Mentor of the mind, 
 The quiet whisper of Discretion — Thy time is not yet 
 
 come. 
 
®i ^mntxoxt. 117 
 
 For he smiteth an oppressor; and vengeance for that 
 
 smiting 
 Is dealt in doubled stripes on the faint body of the vie 
 
 tim : 
 He is glad to give and to distribute ; and clamorous 
 
 pauperism feasteth, 
 While honest labour, pining, hideth his sharp ribs : 
 He challengeth to a fair field that subtle giant Infidelity, 
 And, worsted in the unequal fight, strengtheneth the 
 
 hands of error ; 
 He hasteth to teach and preach, as the war-horse rusheth 
 
 to the battle, 
 And to pave a way for truth, would break up the Apen- 
 nines of prejudice : 
 He wearieth by stale proofs, where none looked for a 
 
 reason, 
 And to the listening ear will urge the false argument of 
 
 feeling. 
 So hath it often been, that, judging by results, 
 The hottest friends of truth have done her deadliest 
 
 wrong. 
 Alas! for there are enemies without, glad enough to 
 
 parley with a traitor, 
 And a zealot will let down the drawbridge, to prove his 
 
 own prowess : 
 Yea, from within will he break away a breach in the 
 
 citadel of truth, 
 That he may fill the gap, for fame, with his own weak 
 
 body. 
 
 %eal without judgment is an evil, though it be zeal unto 
 good; 
 
118 #f $imttism. 
 
 Touch not the ark with unclean hand, yea, though it 
 seem to totter. 
 
 There are evil who work good, and there are good who 
 work evil, 
 
 And foolish backers of wisdom have brought on her 
 many reproaches. 
 
 Truth hath more than enough to combat in the minds of 
 all men, 
 
 For the mist of sense is a thick veil, and sin hath warped 
 their wills ; 
 
 Yet doth an officious helper awkwardly prevent her vic- 
 tory,— 
 
 These thy wounded hands were smitten in the house of 
 friends : — 
 
 To point out a meaning in her words, he will blot those 
 words with his finger ; 
 
 And winnow chaff into the eyes, before he hath wheat to 
 show : 
 
 He will heap sturdy logs on a faint expiring fire, 
 
 And with a room in flames, will cast the casement open ; 
 
 By a shoulder to the wheel downhill harasseth the 
 labouring beast, 
 
 And where obstruction were needed, will harm by an ill- 
 judged thrusting-on. 
 
 & vessel foundereth at sea, if a storm have unshipped 
 
 the rudder ; 
 And a mind with much sail shall require heavy ballast. 
 Take a lever by the middle, thou shalt seem to prove it 
 
 powerless, 
 Argue for truth indiscreetly, thou shalt toil for falsehood. 
 There is plenty of room for a peaceable man in the most 
 
 thronged assembly ; 
 
®i ^ntxztxan. 119 
 
 But a quarrelsome spirit is straitened in the open field : 
 Many a teacher, lacking judgment, hindereth his own 
 
 lessons ; 
 And the savoury mess of pottage is spoiled by a bitter 
 
 herb : 
 The garment woven of a piece is rashly torn by schism, 
 Because its unwise claimants will not cast lots for its 
 
 possession. 
 
 JBiscretion guide thee on thy way, noble-minded youth, 
 Help thee to humour infirmities, to wink at innocent 
 
 errors, 
 To take small count of forms, to bear with prejudice and 
 
 fancy : 
 Discretion guard thine asking, discretion aid thine answer, 
 Teach thee that well-timed silence hath more eloquence 
 
 than speech, 
 Whisper thee, thou art Weakness, though thy cause be 
 
 Strength, 
 And tell thee, the key-stone of an arch can be loosened 
 
 with least labour from within. 
 The snows of Hecla lie around its troubled smoking 
 
 Geysers ; 
 Let the cool streams of prudence temper the hot spring 
 
 of zeal : 
 So shalt thou gain thine honourable end, nor lose the 
 
 midway prize : 
 So shall thy life be useful, and thy young heart happy. 
 
120 
 
 §i % riffles. 
 
 l?rt once more, saith the fool, yet once, and is it not a 
 
 little one ? 
 Spare me this folly yet an hour, for what is one among 
 
 so many ? 
 And he blindeth his conscience with lies, and stupifieth 
 
 his heart with doubts ; — 
 Whom shall I harm in this matter? and a little ill 
 
 breedeth much good ; 
 My thoughts, are they not mine own ? and they leave no 
 
 mark behind them ; 
 And if God so pardoneth crime, how should these petty 
 
 sins affect Him ? — 
 So he transgresseth yet again, and falleth by little and 
 
 little, 
 Till the ground crumble beneath him, and he sinketh in 
 
 the gulf despairing. 
 For there is nothing in the earth so small that it may 
 
 not produce great things, 
 
#f frifles. 121 
 
 And no swerving from a right line, that may not lead 
 
 eternally astray. 
 A landmark tree was once a seed ; and the dust in the 
 
 balance maketh a difference ; 
 And the cairn is heaped high by each one flinging a 
 
 pebble : 
 The dangerous bar in the harbour's mouth is only grains 
 
 of sand ; 
 And the shoal that hath wrecked a nayy is the work of a 
 
 colony of worms : 
 Yea, and a despicable gnat may madden the mighty ele- 
 phant ; 
 And the living rock is worn by the diligent flow of the 
 
 brook. 
 Little art thou, man, and in trifles thou contendest 
 
 with thine equals, 
 For atoms must crowd upon atoms, ere crime groweth to 
 
 be a giant. 
 What, is thy servant a dog? — not yet wilt thou grasp 
 
 the dagger, 
 Not yet wilt thou laugh with the scoffers, not yet be- 
 tray the innocent ; 
 But, if thou nourish in thy heart the reveries of injury or 
 
 passion, 
 And travel in mental heat the mazy labyrinths of 
 
 guilt, 
 And then conceive it possible, and then reflect on it as 
 
 done, 
 And use, by little and little, thyself to regard thyself a 
 
 villain, 
 Not long will crime be absent from the voice that doth 
 
 invoke him to thy heart, 
 
110 #f |rager. 
 
 For the altar of his heart is lighted, and burnetii before 
 God continually, 
 
 And he breatheth, conscious of his joy, the native at- 
 mosphere of heaven : 
 
 Yea, though poor, and contemned, and ignorant of this 
 world's wisdom, 
 
 111 can his fellows spare him, though they know not of 
 
 his value. 
 Thousands bewail a hero, and a nation mourneth for its 
 
 king, 
 But the whole universe lamenteth the loss of a man of 
 
 prayer. 
 Verily, were it not for One, who sitteth on His rightful 
 
 throne, 
 Crowned with a rainbow of emerald, the green memorial 
 
 of earth, — 
 For One, a mediating man, that hath clad His Godhead 
 
 with mortality, 
 And offereth prayer without ceasing, the royal priest of 
 
 Nature, 
 Matter and life and mind had sunk into dark annihila- 
 tion, 
 And the lightning frown of Justice withered the world 
 
 into nothing. 
 
 Chus, O worshipper of reason, thou hast heard the sum 
 of the matter : 
 
 And woe to his hairy scalp that restraineth prayer be- 
 fore God. 
 
 Prayer is a creature's strength, his very breath and 
 being ; 
 
 Prayer is the golden key that can open the wicket of 
 Mercy : 
 
©f ftager. Ill 
 
 Prayer is the magic sound that saith to Fate, so be it; 
 Prayer is the slender nerve that moyeth the muscles of 
 
 Omnipotence. 
 Wherefore, pray, creature, for many and great are thy 
 
 wants ; 
 Thy mind, thy conscience, and thy being, thy rights 
 
 commend thee unto prayer, 
 The cure of all cares, the grand panacea for all pains, 
 Doubt's destroyer, ruin's remedy, the antidote to all 
 
 anxieties. 
 
 §}o then, God is true, and yet He hath not changed : 
 It is He that sendeth the petition, to answer it according 
 to His will. 
 
1J2 
 
 %\t fart's frapr. 
 
 3inquivt&t thou, man, wherewithal may I come unto 
 
 the Lord? 
 And with what wonder-working sounds may I move the 
 
 majesty of Heaven ? 
 There is a model to thy hand ; upon that do thou frame 
 
 thy supplication ; 
 Wisdom hath measured its words; and redemption urgeth 
 
 thee to use them. 
 Call thy God thy Father, and yet not thine alone, 
 For thou art but one of many, thy brotherhood is with 
 
 all: 
 Eemember His high estate, that He dwelleth King of 
 
 Heaven ; 
 So shall thy thoughts be humbled, nor love be unmixed 
 
 with reverence : 
 Be thy first petition unselfish, the honour of Him who 
 
 made thee, 
 And that in the depths of thy heart His memory be 
 
 shrined in holiness : 
 
%\t fork's $rag*r. US 
 
 Pray for that blessed time, when good shall triumph over 
 evil, 
 
 And one universal temple echo the perfections of Jeho- 
 vah: 
 
 Bend thou to His good will, and subserve His holy pur- 
 poses, 
 
 Till in thee, and those around thee, grow a little heaven 
 upon earth : 
 
 Humbly, as a grateful almsman, beg thy bread of 
 God,— 
 
 Bread for thy triple estate, for thou hast a trinity of 
 nature : 
 
 Humility smootheth the way, and gratitude softeneth the 
 heart, 
 
 Be then thy prayer for pardon mingled with the tear of 
 penitence ; 
 
 Yea, and while, all unworthy, thou leanest on the hand 
 that should smite, 
 
 Thou canst not from thy fellows withhold thy less for- 
 giveness. 
 
 To thy Father thy weaknesses are known, and thou hast 
 not hid thy sin, 
 
 Therefore ask Him, in all trust, to lead thee from the 
 dangers of temptation ; 
 
 While the last petition of the soul, that breatheth on the 
 confines of prayer, 
 
 Is deliverance from sin and the evil one, the miseries of 
 earth and hell. 
 
 And wherefore, child of hope, should the rock of thy 
 confidence be sure ? 
 
 Thou knowest that God heareth, and promiseth an 
 answer of peace ; 
 
 T 
 
114 %\t £mV* $t*px. 
 
 Thou knowest that He is King, and none can stay His 
 hand; 
 
 Thou knowest His power to he boundless, for there is 
 none other : 
 
 And to Him thou givest glory, as a creature of His work- 
 manship and favour, 
 
 For the never-ending term of thy saved and bright exist- 
 ence. 
 
115 
 
 §f gtaturw. 
 
 Jnr what then was I bom ? — to fill the circling year 
 
 With daily toil for daily bread, with sordid pains and 
 pleasures ? — 
 
 To walk this chequered world, alternate light and dark- 
 ness, 
 
 The day-dreams of deep thought followed by the night- 
 dreams of fancy ? — 
 
 To be one in a full procession? — to dig my kindred 
 clay?— 
 
 To decorate the gallery of art ? — to clear a few acres of 
 forest ? — 
 
 For more than these, my soul, thy God hath lent thee 
 life. 
 
 Is then that noble end to feed this mind with knowledge. 
 
 To mix for mine own thirst the sparkling wine of wisdom. 
 
 To light with many lamps the caverns of my heart, 
 
 To reap, in the farrows of my brain, good harvest of 
 right reasons ? — 
 
 i 2 
 
116 ®f ^ktntxan. 
 
 For more than these, my soul, thy God hath lent thee 
 life. 
 
 Is it to grow stronger in self-government, to check the 
 chafing will, 
 
 To curb with tightening rein the mettled steeds of pas- 
 sion, 
 
 To welcome with calm heart, far in the voiceless desert, 
 
 The gracious visitings of heaven that bless my single 
 self?— 
 
 For more than these, my soul, thy God hath lent thee 
 life. 
 
 To aim at thine own happiness, is an end idolatrous and 
 evil; 
 
 In earth, yea in heaven, if thou seek it for itself, seeking 
 thou shalt not find. 
 
 Happiness is a road-side flower, growing on the high- 
 way of Usefulness ; 
 
 Plucked, it shall wither in thy hand ; passed by, it is 
 fragrance to thy spirit : 
 
 Love not thine own soul, regard not thine own weal, 
 
 Trample the thyme beneath thy feet; be useful, and be 
 happy ! 
 
 Chus unto fair conclusions argueth generous youth, 
 And quickly he starteth on his course, knight-errant to 
 
 do good. 
 His sword is edged with arguments, his vizor terrible 
 
 with censures ; 
 He goeth full mailed in faith, and zeal is flaming at his 
 
 heart. 
 Yet one thing he lacketh, the Mentor of the mind, 
 The quiet whisper of Discretion— Thy time is not yet 
 
 come. 
 
#f <§XMXttXQn. 117 
 
 For he smiteth an oppressor; and vengeance for that 
 
 smiting 
 Is dealt in doubled stripes on the faint body of the vie 
 
 tim : 
 He is glad to give and to distribute; and clamorous 
 
 pauperism feasteth, 
 While honest labour, pining, hideth his sharp ribs : 
 He challengeth to a fair field that subtle giant Infidelity, 
 And, worsted in the unequal fight, strengtheneth the 
 
 hands of error ; 
 He hasteth to teach and preach, as the war-horse rusheth 
 
 to the battle, 
 And to pave a way for truth, would break up the Apen- 
 nines of prejudice : 
 He wearieth by stale proofs, where none looked for a 
 
 reason, 
 And to the listening ear will urge the false argument of 
 
 feeling. 
 So hath it often been, that, judging by results, 
 The hottest friends of truth have done her deadliest 
 
 wrong. 
 Alas! for there are enemies without, glad enough to 
 
 parley with a traitor, 
 And a zealot will let down the drawbridge, to prove his 
 
 own prowess : 
 Yea, from within will he break away a breach in the 
 
 citadel of truth, 
 That he may fill the gap, for fame, with his own weak 
 
 body. 
 
 %eal without judgment is an evil, though it be zeal unto 
 good; 
 
118 #f $imttiam. 
 
 Touch not the ark with unclean hand, yea, though it- 
 seem to totter. 
 
 There are evil who work good, and there are good who 
 work evil, 
 
 And foolish hackers of wisdom have brought on her 
 many reproaches. 
 
 Truth hath more than enough to combat in the minds of 
 all men, 
 
 For the mist of sense is a thick veil, and sin hath warped 
 their wills ; 
 
 Yet doth an officious helper awkwardly prevent her vic- 
 tory,— 
 
 These thy wounded hands were smitten in the house of 
 friends : — 
 
 To point out a meaning in her words, he will blot those 
 words with his finger ; 
 
 And winnow chaff into the eyes, before he hath wheat to 
 show : 
 
 He will heap sturdy logs on a faint expiring fire, 
 
 And with a room in flames, will cast the casement open ; 
 
 By a shoulder to the wheel downhill harasseth the 
 labouring beast, 
 
 And where obstruction were needed, will harm by an ill- 
 judged thrusting-on. 
 
 % vessel foundereth at sea, if a storm have unshipped 
 
 the rudder ; 
 And a mind with much sail shall require heavy ballast. 
 Take a lever by the middle, thou shalt seem to prove it 
 
 powerless, 
 Argue for truth indiscreetly, thou shalt toil for falsehood. 
 There is plenty of room for a peaceable man in the most 
 
 thronged assembly ; 
 
<§f giamiimr. 119 
 
 But a quarrelsome spirit is straitened in the open field : 
 Many a teacher, lacking judgment, hindereth his own 
 
 lessons ; 
 And the savoury mess of pottage is spoiled by a bitter 
 
 herb : 
 The garment woven of a piece is rashly torn by schism, 
 Because its unwise claimants will not cast lots for its 
 
 possession. 
 
 discretion guide thee on thy way, noble-minded youth, 
 Help thee to humour infirmities, to wink at innocent 
 
 errors, 
 To take small count of forms, to bear with prejudice and 
 
 fancy: 
 Discretion guard thine asking, discretion aid thine answer, 
 Teach thee that well-timed silence hath more eloquence 
 
 than speech, 
 Whisper thee, thou art Weakness, though thy cause be 
 
 Strength, 
 And tell thee, the key-stone of an arch can be loosened 
 
 with least labour from within. 
 The snows of Hecla lie around its troubled smoking 
 
 Geysers ; 
 Let the cool streams of prudence temper the hot spring 
 
 of zeal : 
 So shalt thou gain thine honourable end, nor lose the 
 
 midway prize : 
 So shall thy life be useful, and thy young heart happy. 
 
120 
 
 §f trifles. 
 
 j^rt once more, saith the fool, yet once, and is it not a 
 
 little one ? 
 Spare me this folly yet an hour, for what is one among 
 
 so many ? 
 And he blindeth his conscience with lies, and stupifieth 
 
 his heart with doubts ; — 
 Whom shall I harm in this matter? and a little ill 
 
 breedeth much good ; 
 My thoughts, are they not mine own ? and they leave no 
 
 mark behind them ; 
 And if God so pardoneth crime, how should these petty 
 
 sins affect Him ? — 
 So he transgresseth yet again, and falleth by little and 
 
 little, 
 Till the ground crumble beneath him, and he sinketh in 
 
 the gulf despairing. 
 For there is nothing in the earth so small that it may 
 
 not produce great things, 
 
©f ffirxfle*. 121 
 
 And no swerving from a right line, that may not lead 
 
 eternally astray. 
 A landmark tree was once a seed ; and the dust in the 
 
 balance maketh a difference ; 
 And the cairn is heaped high by each one flinging a 
 
 pebble : 
 The dangerous bar in the harbour's mouth is only grains 
 
 of sand ; 
 And the shoal that hath wrecked a navy is the work of a 
 
 colony of worms : 
 Yea, and a despicable gnat may madden the mighty ele- 
 phant ; 
 And the living rock is worn by the diligent flow of the 
 
 brook. 
 Little art thou, man, and in trifles thou contendest 
 
 with thine equals, 
 For atoms must crowd upon atoms, ere crime groweth to 
 
 be a giant. 
 What, is thy servant a dog? — not yet wilt thou grasp 
 
 the dagger, 
 Not yet wilt thou laugh with the scoffers, not yet be- 
 tray the innocent ; 
 But, if thou nourish in thy heart the reveries of injury or 
 
 passion, 
 And travel in mental heat the mazy labyrinths of 
 
 guilt, 
 And then conceive it possible, and then reflect on it as 
 
 done, 
 And use, by little and little, thyself to regard thyself a 
 
 villain, 
 Not long will crime be absent from the voice that doth 
 
 invoke him to thy heart, 
 
122 ®i ffrffles. 
 
 And bitterly wilt thou grieve, that the buds have ripened 
 into poison. 
 
 & spark is a molecule of matter, yet may it kindle the 
 
 world : 
 Vast is the mighty ocean, but drops have made it vast. 
 Despise not thou a small thing, either for evil or for 
 
 good; 
 For a look may work thy ruin, or a word create thy 
 
 wealth : 
 The walking this way or that, the casual stopping or 
 
 hastening, 
 Hath saved life, and destroyed it, hath cast down and 
 
 built up fortunes. 
 Commit thy trifles unto God, for to Him is nothing 
 
 trivial; 
 And it is but the littleness of man that seeth no great- 
 ness in a trifle. 
 All things are infinite in parts, and the moral is as the 
 
 material, 
 Neither is anything vast, but it is compacted of atoms. 
 Thou art wise, and shalt find comfort, if thou study thy 
 
 pleasure in trifles, 
 For slender joys, often repeated, fall as sunshine on the 
 
 heart : 
 Thou art wise, if thou beat off petty troubles, nor suffer 
 
 their stinging to fret thee ; 
 Thrust not thine hand among the thorns, but with a 
 
 leathern glove. 
 Regard nothing lightly which the wisdom of Providence 
 
 hath ordered ; 
 
<9f ffriflcs. 123 
 
 And therefore, consider all things that happen unto thee 
 
 or unto others. 
 The warrior that stood against a host, may be pierced 
 
 unto death by a needle ; 
 And the saint that feareth not the fire, may perish the 
 
 victim of a thought : 
 A mote in the gunners eye is as bad as a spike in the 
 
 gun: 
 And the cable of a furlong is lost through an ill-wrought 
 
 inch. 
 The streams of small pleasures fill the lake of happi- 
 ness : 
 And the deepest wretchedness of life is continuance of 
 
 petty pains. 
 A fool observeth nothing, and seemeth wise unto him- 
 self: 
 A wise man heedeth all things, and in his own eyes is a 
 
 fool : 
 He that wondereth at nothing hath no capabilities of 
 
 bliss : 
 But he that scrutinizeth trifles hath a store of pleasure 
 
 to his hand. 
 If pestilence stalk through the land, ye say. This is God"s 
 
 doing : 
 Is it not also His doing when an aphis creepeth on a 
 
 rose-bud *? — 
 If an avalanche roll from its Alp. ye tremble at the will 
 
 of Providence : 
 Is not that will concerned when the sear leaves fall from 
 
 the poplar ? — 
 
124 m trifles, 
 
 A thing is great or little only to a mortal's thinking, 
 
 But abstracted from the body, all things are alike impor- 
 tant : 
 
 The Ancient of Days noteth in His book the idle converse 
 of a creature, 
 
 And happy and wise is the man to whose thought 
 existeth not a trifle. 
 
125 
 
 #f QaaM. 
 
 Co join advantage to amusement, to gather profit with 
 
 pleasure, 
 Is the wise man's necessary aim, when he lieth in the 
 
 shade of recreation. 
 For he cannot fling aside his mind, nor bar up the flood- 
 gates of his wisdom ; 
 Yea, though he strain after folly, his mental monitor 
 
 shall check him : 
 For knowledge and ignorance alike have laws essential to 
 
 their being, — 
 The sage studieth amusements, and the simple laugheth 
 
 in his studies. 
 Few, but full of understanding, are the books of the library 
 
 of God, 
 And fitting for all seasons are the gain and the gladness 
 
 they bestow : 
 The volume of Mystery and Grace, for the hour of deep 
 
 communings, 
 
126 #f gUmattott. 
 
 When the soul considereth intensely the startling marvel 
 
 of itself : 
 The book of destiny and Providence, for the time of 
 
 sober study, 
 When the mind gleaneth wisdom from the olive grove of 
 
 history : 
 And the cheerful pages of Nature, to gladden the plea- 
 sant holiday, 
 When the task of duty is complete, and the heart swelleth 
 
 high with satisfaction. 
 The soul may not safely dwell too long with the deep 
 
 things of futurity ; 
 The mind may not always be bent back, like the Parthian, 
 
 straining at the past ; 
 And, if thou art wearied with wrestling on the broad 
 
 arena of science, 
 Leave awhile thy friendly foe, half vanquished in the 
 
 dust, 
 Eefresh thy jaded limbs, return with vigour to the 
 
 strife, — 
 Thou shalt easier find thyself his master, for the vacant 
 
 interval of leisure. 
 
 Chat which may profit and amuse is gathered from the 
 volume of creation, 
 
 For every chapter therein teemeth with the playfulness 
 of wisdom. 
 
 The elements of all things are the same, though nature 
 hath mixed them with a difference, 
 
 And Learning delighteth to discover the affinity of seem- 
 ing opposites : 
 
 So out of great things and small draweth he the secrets 
 of the universe, 
 
m $tmn&m. 127 
 
 And argueth the cycles of the stars, from a pebble flung 
 
 by a child. 
 It is pleasant to note all plants, from the rush to the 
 
 spreading cedar, 
 From the giant king of palms, to the lichen that staineth 
 
 its stem ; 
 To watch the workings of instinct, that grosser reason 
 
 of brutes, — 
 The river-horse browsing in the jungle, the plover 
 
 screaming on the moor. 
 The cayman basking on a mud-bank, and the walrus an- 
 chored to an iceberg, 
 The dog at his master's feet, and the milch-kine lowing 
 
 in the meadow ; 
 To trace the consummate skill that hath modelled the 
 
 anatomy of insects, 
 Small fowls that sun their wings on the petals of wild 
 
 flowers ; 
 To learn a use in the beetle, and more than a beauty in 
 
 the butterfly: 
 To recognize affections in a moth, and look with admira- 
 tion on a spider. 
 It is glorious to gaze upon the firmament, and see from 
 
 far the mansions of the blest, 
 Each distant shining world, a kingdom for one of the 
 
 redeemed ; 
 To read the antique history of earth, stamped upon those 
 
 medals in the rocks 
 Which Design hath rescued from decay, to tell of the 
 
 green infancy of time ; 
 To gather from the unconsidered shingle mottled starlike 
 
 agates, 
 
128 #f gnrfHBfe 
 
 Full of unstoried flowers in the bubbling bloom-chalce- 
 dony: 
 
 Or gay and curious shells, fretted with microscopic 
 carving, 
 
 Corallines, and fresh seaweeds, spreading forth their de- 
 licate branches. 
 
 It is an admirable lore, to learn the cause in the change, 
 
 To study the chemistry of Nature, her grand, but simple 
 secrets, 
 
 To search out all her wonders, to track the resources of 
 her skill, 
 
 To note her kind compensations, her unobtrusive excel- 
 lence. 
 
 In all it is wise happiness to see the well-ordained laws 
 of Jehovah, 
 
 The harmony that filleth all His mind, the justice that 
 tempereth His bounty, 
 
 The wonderful all-prevalent analogy that testifieth one 
 Creator, 
 
 The broad arrow of the Great King, carved on all the 
 stores of His arsenal. 
 
 But beware, O worshipper of God, thou forget not Him 
 in His dealings, 
 
 Though the bright emanations of His power hide Him in 
 created glory ; 
 
 For if, on the sea of knowledge, thou regardest not the 
 pole-star of religion, 
 
 Thy bark will miss her port, and run upon the sand-bar 
 of folly: 
 
 And if, enamoured of the means, thou considerest not 
 the scope to which they tend, 
 
 Wherein art thou wiser than the child, that is pleased 
 with toys and baubles ? 
 
©f l&ttxmtxon. 129 
 
 Verily, a trifling scholar, thou heedest but the letter of 
 
 instruction ; 
 For, as motive is spirit unto action, as memory endeareth 
 
 place, 
 As the sun doth fertilize the earth, as affection quicken- 
 
 eth the heart, 
 So is the remembrance of God in the varied wonders of 
 
 creation. 
 
 J&an hath found out inventions, to cheat him of the 
 weariness of life, 
 
 To help him to forget realities, and hide the misery of 
 guilt. 
 
 For love of praise, and hope of gain, for passion and de- 
 lusive happiness, 
 
 He joineth the circle of folly, and heapeth on the fire of 
 excitement ; 
 
 Oftentimes sadly out of heart at the tiresome insipidity 
 of pleasure, 
 
 Oftentimes labouring in vain, convinced of the palpable 
 deceit : 
 
 Yet a man speaketh to his brother, in the voice of glad 
 congratulation, 
 
 And thinketh others happy, though he himself be 
 wretched : 
 
 And hand joineth hand to help in the toil of amusement, 
 
 While the secret aching heart is vacant of all but disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 The cheapest pleasures are the best; and nothing is 
 more costly than sin; 
 
 Yet we mortgage futurity, counting it but little loss : 
 
130 f f fUm&tiott. 
 
 Neither can a man delight in that which breedeth sor- 
 row, 
 Yet do we hunt for joy even in the fires that consume it. 
 Whoso would find gladness may meet her in the hovel 
 
 of poverty, 
 Where benevolence hath scattered around the gleanings 
 
 of the horn of plenty ; 
 Whoso would sun himself in peace, may be seen of her 
 
 in deeds of mercy, 
 When the pale lean cheek of the destitute is wet with 
 
 grateful tears. 
 If the mind is wearied by study, or the body worn with 
 
 sickness, 
 It is well to lie fallow for a while, in the vacancy of sheer 
 
 amusement ; 
 But when thou prosperest in health, and thine intellect 
 
 can soar untired, 
 To seek uninstructive pleasure is to slumber on the 
 
 couch of indolence. 
 
131 
 
 %\t %um at leliprn. 
 
 J*>tag awhile, thou blessed band, be entreated, daughters 
 
 of heaven! 
 While the chance-met scholar of Wisdom learneth your 
 
 sacred names : 
 He is resting a little from his toil, yet a little on the 
 
 borders of earth, 
 And fain would he have you his friends, to bid him glad 
 
 welcome hereafter. 
 Who among the glorious art thou, that walkest a God- 
 dess and a Queen, 
 Thy crown of living stars, and a golden cross thy 
 
 sceptre? 
 Who among flowers of loveliness is she, thy seeming 
 
 herald, 
 Yet she boasteth not thee nor herself, and her garments 
 
 are plain in their neatness ? 
 Wherefore is there one among the train, whose eyes are 
 
 red with weeping, 
 
 k 2 
 
132 %\t ffram oi gjkligtmt. 
 
 Yet is her open forehead heaming with the sun of 
 
 ecstasy ? 
 And who is that blood-stained warrior, with glory sitting 
 
 on his crest ? 
 And who that solemn sage, calm in majestic dignity? 
 Also, in the lengthening troop see I some clad in robes 
 
 of triumph, 
 Whose fair and sunny faces I have known and loved on 
 
 earth : 
 Welcome, ye glorified Loves, Graces, and Sciences, and 
 
 Muses, 
 That, like sisters of charity, tended in this world's hos- 
 pital ; 
 Welcome, for verily I knew, ye could not but be children 
 
 of the light, 
 Though earth hath soiled your robes, and robbed you of 
 
 half your glory ; 
 Welcome, chiefly welcome, for I find I have friends in 
 
 heaven, 
 And some I might scarce have looked for, as thou, light- 
 hearted Mirth ; 
 Thou also, star-robed Urania ; and thou, with the curious 
 
 glass, 
 That rejoicedst in tracking wisdom where the eye was 
 
 too dull to note it : 
 And art thou too among the blessed, mild, much-injured 
 
 Poetry ? 
 Who quickenest with light and beauty the leaden face 
 
 of matter, 
 Who not unheard, though silent, fillest earth's gardens 
 
 with music, 
 And not unseen, though a spirit, dost look down upon 
 
 us from the stars, — 
 
%\z %xmu oi ^ztyxoxt. 138 
 
 That hast been to me for oil and for wine, to cheer and 
 
 uphold my soul, 
 When wearied, battling with the surge, the stunning 
 
 surge of life : 
 Of thee, for well have I loved thee, of thee may I ask in 
 
 hope, 
 Who among the glorious is she, that walketh a Goddess 
 
 and a Queen ? 
 And who that fair-haired herald, and who that weeping 
 
 saint? 
 And who that mighty warrior, and who that solemn 
 
 J^on, happy art thou that Wisdom hath led thee hither- 
 ward : 
 
 For otherwise never hadst thou known the joy-giving 
 name of our Queen. 
 
 Behold her, the life of men, the anchor of their ship- 
 wrecked hopes : 
 
 Behold her, the shepherdess of souls, who bringeth back 
 the wanderers to God. 
 
 And for that modest herald, she is named on earth 
 Humility : 
 
 And hast thou not known, my son, the tearful face of 
 Eepentance ? 
 
 Faith is yon time-scarred hero, walking in the shade of 
 his laurels : 
 
 And Reason, the serious sage, who followeth the foot- 
 steps of Faith : 
 
 And we, all we, are but handmaids, ministers of minor 
 bliss, 
 
 Who rejoice to be counted servants in the train of a 
 Queen so glorious : 
 
134 ftfy& fem ai gSWigion. 
 
 But for her name, son of man, it is strange to the lan- 
 guage of heaven, 
 
 For those who have never fallen need not and may not 
 learn it : 
 
 Ligeance we swear to our God, and ligeance well have 
 we kept ; 
 
 It is only the hand of the redeemed who can tell thee 
 the fulness of that name ; 
 
 Yet will I comfort thee, my son, for the love wherewith 
 thou hast loved me, 
 
 And thou shalt touch for thyself the golden sceptre of 
 Keligion. 
 
 £o that blessed train passed by me ; but the vision was 
 
 sealed upon my soul ; 
 And its memory is shrined in fragrance, for the promise 
 
 of the Spirit was true : 
 I learn from the silent poem of all creation round me, 
 How beautiful their feet, who follow in that train. 
 
135 
 
 §i a Muiti 
 
 $Bzg$i$Z not, shrewd reckoner, the God of a good 
 
 man's worship, 
 Neither let thy calculating folly gainsay the unity of 
 
 three: 
 Nor scorn another's creed, although he cannot solve thy 
 
 doubts ; 
 Reason is the follower of faith, where he may not be 
 
 precursor : 
 It is written, and so we believe, waiting not for outward 
 
 proof, 
 Inasmuch as mysteries inscrutable are the clear preroga- 
 tives of godhead. 
 Reason hath nothing positive, faith hath nothing 
 
 doubtful ; 
 And the height of unbelieving wisdom is to question, all 
 
 things. 
 When there is marvel in a doctrine, faith is joyful and 
 
 adoreth ; 
 
136 <§f a ffirimig. 
 
 But when all is clear, what place is left for faith ? 
 
 Tell me the sum of thy knowledge, — is it yet assured of 
 anything? 
 
 Despise not what is wonderful, when all things are won- 
 derful around thee. 
 
 From the multitude of like effects, thou sayest, behold 
 a law: 
 
 And the matter thou art baffled in unmaking is to thy 
 mind an element. 
 
 Then look abroad, I pray thee, for analogy holdeth 
 everywhere, 
 
 And the Maker hath stamped his name on every crea- 
 ture of his hand : 
 
 I know not of a matter or a spirit, that is not three in 
 one, 
 
 And truly should account it for a marvel, a coin without 
 the image of its Caesar. 
 
 #ftan talketh of himself as ignorant, but judgeth by 
 
 himself as wise : 
 His own guess counteth he truth, but the notions of 
 
 another are his scorn. 
 But bear thou yet with a brother, whose thought may 
 
 be less subtle than thine own, 
 And suffer the passing speculation suggested by analogies 
 
 to faith. 
 Like begetteth like, and the great sea of Existence 
 In each of its uncounted waves holdeth up a mirror to 
 
 its Maker : 
 Like begetteth like, and the spreading tree of being 
 With each of its trefoil leaves pointeth at the trinity of 
 
 God. 
 
(Stf a ®mt% 137 
 
 Let him whose eyes have been unfilmed, read this homily 
 
 in all things, 
 And thou, of duller sight, despise not him that readeth : 
 There be three grand principles ; life, generation, and 
 
 obedience ; 
 Shadowing in every creature, the Spirit, and the Father, 
 
 and the Son : 
 There be three grand unities, variously mixed in trini- 
 ties, 
 Three catholic divisors of the million sums of matter : 
 Yea, though science hath not seen it, climbing the ladder 
 
 of experiment, 
 Let faith, in the presence of her God, promulgate the 
 
 mighty truth; 
 Of three sole elements all nature's works consist : 
 The pine, and the rock to which it clingeth, and the 
 
 eagle sailing around it : 
 The lion, and the northern whale, and the deeps wherein 
 
 he sporteth ; 
 The lizard sleeping in the sun; the lightning flashing 
 
 from a cloud; 
 The rose, and the ruby, and the pearl ; each one is made 
 
 of three ; 
 And the three be the like ingredients, mingled in diverse 
 
 measures. 
 Thyself hast within thyself body, and life, and mind : 
 Matter, and breath, and instinct, unite in all beasts of 
 
 the field ; 
 Substance, coherence, and weight, fashion the fabrics of 
 
 the earth ; 
 The will, the doing, and the deed, combine to frame a 
 
 fact: 
 
138 #f a %tmt%. 
 
 The stem, the leaf, and the flower ; beginning, middle, 
 
 and end ; 
 Cause, circumstance, consequent: and every three is 
 
 one. 
 Yea, the very breath of man's life consisteth of a trinity 
 
 of vapours, 
 And the noonday light is a compound, the triune shadow 
 
 of Jehovah. 
 
 Js>hall all things else be in mystery, and God alone be 
 
 understood ? 
 Shall finite fathom infinity, though it sound not the 
 
 shallows of creation ? 
 Shall a man comprehend his Maker, being yet a riddle 
 
 to himself? 
 Or time teach the lesson, that eternity cannot master ? 
 If God be nothing more than one, a child can compass 
 
 the thought ; 
 But seraphs fail to unravel the wondrous unity of three. 
 One verily He is, for there can be but one who is all 
 
 mighty ; 
 Yet the oracles of nature and religion proclaim Him 
 
 three in one. 
 And where were the value to thy soul, miserable 
 
 denizen of earth, 
 Of the idle pageant of the cross, where hung no sacrifice 
 
 for thee ? 
 Where the worth to thine impotent heart, of that stirred 
 
 Bethesda, 
 All numbed and palsied as it is, by the scorpion stings 
 
 of sin ? 
 No, thy trinity of nature, enchained by treble death, 
 
<§i n Cm% 3 39 
 
 Helplessly craveth of its God, Himself for three salva- 
 tions : 
 
 The soul to he reconciled in love, the mind to he glori- 
 fied in light, 
 
 While this poor dying hody leapeth into life. 
 
 And if indeed for us all the costly ransom hath heen 
 paid, 
 
 Bethink thee, could less than Deity have owned so vast 
 a treasure ? 
 
 Could a man contend with God, and stand against the 
 bosses of His "buckler, 
 
 Eendering the "balance for guilt, atonement to the utter- 
 most? 
 
 Thou art subtle to thine own thinking, hut wisdom 
 judgeth thee a fool, 
 
 Eesolving thou wilt not how the knee to a Being thou 
 canst not comprehend : 
 
 The mind that could compass perfection were itself 
 perfection's equal : 
 
 And reason refuseth its homage to a God who can he 
 fully understood. 
 
 Chou that despisest mystery, yet canst expound no- 
 thing, 
 
 Wherefore rejectest thou the fact that solveth the enigma 
 of all things ? 
 
 Wherefore veilest thou thine eyes, lest the light of reve- 
 lation sun them, 
 
 And puttest aside the key that would open the casket of 
 truth? 
 
 The mind and the nature of God are shadowed in all His 
 works, 
 
140 ®f e ftrimtg. 
 
 And none could have guessed of His essence, had He 
 
 not uttered it Himself. 
 Therefore, thou child of folly, that scornest the record 
 
 of His wisdom, 
 Learn from the consistencies of nature the needful 
 
 miracle of Godhead : 
 Yea, let the heathen he thy teacher, who adoreth many 
 
 gods, 
 For there is no wide-spread error that hath not truth for 
 
 its beginning. 
 Be content ; thine eye cannot see all the sides of a cube 
 
 at one view, 
 Nor thy mind in the self-same moment follow two ideas : 
 There are now many marvels in thy creed, believing 
 
 what thou seest, 
 Then let not the conceit of intellect binder thee from 
 
 worshipping mystery. 
 
141 
 
 fjjMmjj, 
 
 &eftectt0tt is a flower of the mind, giving out wholesome 
 fragrance, 
 
 But reverie is the same flower, when rank and running 
 to seed. 
 
 Better to read little with thought, than much with levity 
 and quickness ; 
 
 For mind is not as merchandize, which decreaseth in the 
 using, 
 
 But liker to the passions of man, which rejoice and ex- 
 pand in exertion : 
 
 Yet live not wholly on thine own ideas, lest they lead 
 thee astray ; 
 
 For in spirit, as in suhstance, thou art a social creature ; 
 
 And if thou leanest on thyself, thou rejectest the guid- 
 ance of thy betters, 
 
 Yea, thou contemnest all men, — Am I not wiser than 
 they?— 
 
142 <©f ff^ittkmg. 
 
 Foolish vanity hath blinded thee, and warped thy weak 
 judgment ; 
 
 For, though new ideas flow from new springs, and en- 
 rich the treasury of knowledge, 
 
 Yet listen often, ere thou think much ; and look around 
 thee ere thou judgest. 
 
 Memory, the daughter of Attention, is the teeming 
 mother of Wisdom, 
 
 And safer is he that storeth knowledge, than he that 
 would make it for himself. 
 
 Imagination is not thought, neither is fancy reflection : 
 Thought paceth like a hoary sage, but imagination hath 
 
 wings as an eagle ; 
 Keflection sternly considereth, nor is sparing to condemn 
 
 evil, 
 But fancy lightly laugheth, in the sun-clad gardens of 
 
 amusement. 
 For the shy game of the fowler the quickest shot is the 
 
 surest : 
 But with slow care and measured aim the gunner 
 
 pointeth his cannon : 
 So for all less occasions, the surface-thought is best, 
 But to be master of the great take thou heavier metal. 
 It is a good thing, and a wholesome, to search out bosom 
 
 sins, 
 But to be the hero of selfish imaginings, is the subtle 
 
 poison of pride : 
 At night, in the stillness of thy chamber, guard and curb 
 
 thy thoughts, 
 And in recounting the doings of the day, beware that 
 
 thou do it with prayer, 
 
Or thinking will be an idle pleasure, and retrospect yield 
 no fruit. 
 
 Steer the bark of thy mind from the syren isle of reverie, 
 
 And let a watchful spirit mingle with the glance of re- 
 collection : 
 
 Also, in examining thine heart, in sounding the fountain 
 of thine actions, 
 
 Be more careful of the evil than of the good ; and humble 
 thyself in thy sin. 
 
 Che root of all wholesome thought is knowledge of thy- 
 self, 
 
 For thus only canst thou learn the character of God to- 
 ward thee. 
 
 He made thee, and thou art ; He redeemed thee, and thou 
 wilt be : 
 
 Thou art evil, yet He loveth thee : thou sinnest, yet He 
 pardoneth thee. 
 
 Though thou canst not perceive Him, yet is He in all His 
 works, 
 
 Infinite in grand outline, infinite in minute perfection : 
 
 Nature is the chart of God, mapping out all His attri- 
 butes ; 
 
 Art is the shadow of His wisdom, and copieth His re- 
 sources. 
 
 Thou knowest the laws of matter to be emanations of His 
 will, 
 
 And thy best reason for aught is this, — thou, Lord, 
 wouldst have it so. 
 
 Yea, what is any law but an absolute decree of God ? 
 
 Or the properties of matter and mind, but the arbitrary 
 fiats of Jehovah ? 
 
144 #f Cfcfadnngf. 
 
 He made and ordained necessity ; he forged the chain of 
 reason ; 
 
 And holdeth in his own right hand the first of the golden 
 links. 
 
 A fool regardeth mind as the spiritual essence of mat- 
 ter, 
 
 And not rather matter as the gross accident of mind. 
 
 Can finite govern infinite, or a part exceed the whole, 
 
 Or the wisdom of God sit down at the feet of innate 
 necessity ? 
 
 Necessity is a creature of His hand ; for He can never 
 
 And chance hath no existence where everything is need- 
 ful. 
 
 Canst thou measure Omnipotence, canst thou conceive 
 Ubiquity, 
 
 Which guideth the meanest reptile, and quickeneth the 
 brightest seraph, 
 
 Which steereth the particle of dust, and commandeth the 
 path of the comet ? 
 
 To Him all things are equal, for all things are neces- 
 sary : 
 
 The smith was weary at his forge, and welded the metal 
 carelessly, 
 
 And the anchor breaketh in its bed ; and the vessel foun- 
 dereth with her crew : 
 
 A word of anger is muttered, engendering the midnight 
 murder, 
 
 The sun bursteth from a cloud, and maddeneth the toil- 
 ing husbandman. 
 
 Shall these things be, and God not know it ? 
 
#f Slinking. 145 
 
 Shall He know, and not be in them ? shall He see, and 
 not be among them ? 
 
 And how can they be otherwise than as He knoweth ? 
 
 Truly, the Lord is in all things ; verily, He worketh in all. 
 
 Think thus, and thy thoughts are firm, ascribing each 
 circumstance to Him; 
 
 Yet know surely, and believe the truth, that God willeth 
 not evil; 
 
 For adversities are blessings in disguise, and wickedness 
 the Lord abhorreth : 
 
 That He is in all things is an axiom, and that He is right- 
 eous in all : 
 
 Ascribe holiness to Him, while thou musest on the mys- 
 tery of sin, 
 
 For infinite can grasp that, which finite cannot compass. 
 
 3En works of art, think justly : what praise canst thou 
 
 render unto man ? 
 For he made not his own mind, nor is he the source of 
 
 contrivance. 
 If a cunning workman make an engine that fashioneth 
 
 curious works, 
 Which hath the praise, the machine or its maker, — the 
 
 engine, or he that framed it ? 
 And could he frame it so subtly as to give it a will and 
 
 freedom, 
 Endow it with complicated powers, and a glorious living 
 
 soul, 
 Who, while he admireth the wondrous understanding 
 
 creature, 
 Will not pay deeper homage to the Maker of master 
 
 minds ? 
 
 L 
 
146 @i ftfcmfcmg. 
 
 Otherwise, thou ait senseless as the pagan, that adoreth 
 his own handy-work ; 
 
 Yea, while thou boastest of thy wisdom, thy mind is as 
 the mind of the savage, 
 
 For he boweth down to his idols, and thou art a wor- 
 shipper of self, 
 
 Giving to the reasoning machine the credit due to its 
 creator. 
 
 (Ehe key-stone of thy mind, to give thy thoughts soli- 
 dity, 
 
 To bind them as in an arch, to fix them as the world in 
 its sphere, 
 
 Is to learn from the book of the Lord, to drink from the 
 well of His wisdom. 
 
 Who can condense the sun, or analyse the fulness of the 
 Bible, 
 
 So that its ideas be gathered, and the harvest of its wis- 
 dom be brought in? 
 
 That book is easy to the man who setteth his heart to 
 understand it, 
 
 But to the careless and profane it shall seem the foolish- 
 ness of God ; 
 
 And it is a delicate test to prove thy moral state ; 
 
 To the humble disciple it is bread, but a stone to the 
 proud and unbelieving : 
 
 A scorner shall find nothing but the husks, wherewith 
 to feed his hunger, 
 
 But for the soul of the simple, it is plenty of full-ripe 
 wheat. 
 
 The Scripture abideth the same, in the sober majesty of 
 truth; 
 
<$)f fishing. H7 
 
 And the differing aspects of its teaching proceed from 
 diversity in minds. 
 
 He that would learn to think may gain that knowledge 
 there ; 
 
 For the living word, as an angel, standeth at the gate of 
 wisdom, 
 
 And publisheth, This is the way, walk ye surely in it. 
 
 Eeligion taketh by the hand the humble pupil of repent- 
 ance, 
 
 And teacheth him lessons of mystery, solving the ques- 
 tions of doubt ; 
 
 She maketh man worthy of himself, of his high prero- 
 gative of reason, 
 
 Threadeth all the labyrinths of thought, and leadeth him 
 to his God. 
 
 Come hither, child of meditation, upon whose high fair 
 
 forehead 
 Glittereth the star of mind in its unearthly lustre : 
 Hast thou nought to tell us of thine airy joys, — 
 When, borne on sinewy pinions, strong as the western 
 
 condor, 
 The soul, after soaring for a while round the cloud-capped 
 
 Andes of reflection, 
 Glad in its conscious immortality, leaveth a world be- 
 hind, 
 To dare at one bold flight the broad Atlantic to another ? 
 Hast thou no secret pangs to whisper common men, 
 No dread of thine own energies, still active day and night, 
 Lest too ecstatic heat sublime thyself away, 
 Or vivid horrors, sharp and clear, madden thy tense 
 fibres? 
 
 l 2 
 
148 ®f ftfomkmg. 
 
 In half- shaped visions of sleep hast thou not feared thy 
 Sittings, 
 
 Lest reason, like a raking hawk, return not to thy call : 
 
 Nor waked to work-day life with throbbing head and 
 heart, 
 
 Nor welcomed early dawn to save thee from unrest ? 
 
 For the wearied spirit lieth as a fainting maiden, 
 
 Captive and borne away on the warrior's foam-covered 
 steed, 
 
 And sinketh down wounded, as a gladiator on the sand, 
 
 While the keen faulchion of Intellect is cutting through 
 the scabbard of the brain. 
 
 Imagination, like a shadowy giant looming on the twi- 
 light of the Hartz, 
 
 Shall overwhelm judgment with affright, and scare him 
 from his throne : 
 
 In a dream thou mayst be mad, and feel the fire within 
 thee; 
 
 In a dream thou mayst travel out of self, and see thee 
 with the eyes of another ; 
 
 Or sleep in thine own corpse; or wake as in many 
 bodies ; 
 
 Or swell, as expanded to infinity; or shrink, as impri- 
 soned to a point ; 
 
 Or among moss-grown ruins mayst wander with the sullen 
 disembodied, 
 
 And gaze upon their glassy eyes until thy heart-blood 
 freeze. 
 
 &lone must thou stand, man ! alone at the bar of 
 
 judgment; 
 Alone must thou bear thy sentence, alone must thou 
 
 answer for thy deeds : 
 
®f jinking, 149 
 
 Therefore it is well thou retirest often to secresy and 
 
 solitude, 
 To feel that thou art accountable separately from thy fel- 
 lows: 
 For a crowd hideth truth from the eyes, society drowneth 
 
 thought, 
 And being but one among many, stifleth the chidings of 
 
 conscience. 
 Solitude bringeth woe to the wicked, for his crimes are 
 
 told out in his ear ; 
 But addeth peace to the good, for the mercies of his God 
 
 are numbered. 
 Thou mayst know if it be well with a man, — loveth he 
 
 gaiety or solitude ? 
 For the troubled river rusheth to the sea, but the calm 
 
 lake slumbereth among the mountains. 
 How dear to the mind of the sage are the thoughts that 
 
 are bred in loneliness ; 
 For there is as it were music at his heart, and he talketh 
 
 within him as with friends : 
 But guilt maddeneth the brain, and terror glareth in the 
 
 eye, 
 Where, in his solitary cell, the malefactor wrestleth with 
 
 remorse. 
 Give me but a lodge in the wilderness, drop me on an 
 
 island in the desert, 
 And thought shall yield me happiness, though I may not 
 
 increase it by imparting : 
 For the soul never slumbereth, but is as the eye of the 
 
 Eternal, 
 And mind, the breath of God, knoweth not ideal vacuity. 
 
150 #f ftfohdking. 
 
 At night, after weariness and watching, the body sinketh 
 
 into sleep, 
 But the mental eye is awake, and thou reasonest in thy 
 
 dreams : 
 In a dream thou mayst live a lifetime, and all he forgotten 
 
 in the morning : 
 Even such is life, and so soon perisheth its memory. 
 
.151 
 
 if Shaking. 
 
 §)$tttf) is the golden harvest that folio weth the flower 
 
 ing of thought ; 
 Yet oftentimes runneth it to husk, and the grains be 
 
 withered and scanty: 
 Speech is reason's brother, and a kingly prerogative of 
 
 man, 
 That likeneth him to his Maker, who spake, and it was 
 
 done : 
 Spirit may mingle with spirit, but sense requireth a sym- 
 bol; 
 And speech is the body of a thought, without which it 
 
 were not seen. 
 When thou walkest, musing with thyself, in the green 
 
 aisles of the forest, 
 Utter thy thinkings aloud, that they take a shape and 
 
 being; 
 For he that pondereth in silence crowdeth the store-house 
 
 of his mind, 
 
152 ©f S5peaking- 
 
 And though he hath heaped great riches, yet is he hin- 
 dered in the using. 
 A man that speaketh too little, and thinketh much and 
 
 deeply, 
 Corrodeth his own heart-strings, and keepeth hack good 
 
 from his fellows : 
 A man that speaketh too much, and museth hut little and 
 
 lightly, 
 Wasteth his mind in words, and is counted a fool among 
 
 men: 
 But thou, when thou hast thought, weave charily the 
 
 web of meditation, 
 And clothe the ideal spirit in the suitable garments of 
 
 speech. 
 
 Ottered out of time, or concealed in its season, good 
 
 savoureth of evil ; 
 To be secret looketh like guilt, to speak out may breed 
 
 contention : 
 Often have I known the honest heart, flaming with indig- 
 nant virtue, 
 Provoke unneeded war by its rash ambassador the 
 
 tongue : 
 Often have I seen the charitable man go so slily on his 
 
 mission, 
 That those who met him in the twilight, took him for a 
 
 skulking thief : 
 I have heard the zealous youth telling out his holy 
 
 secrets 
 Before a swinish throng, who mocked him as he spake ; 
 And I considered, his openness was hardening them that 
 
 mocked, 
 
#f Shaking- 153 
 
 Whereas a judicious keeping-back might have won their 
 
 sympathy : 
 I have judged rashly and harshly the hand, liberal in the 
 
 dark, 
 Because in the broad daylight, it hath holden it a virtue 
 
 to be close; 
 And the silent tongue have I condemned, because reserve 
 
 hath chained it, 
 That it hid, yea from a brother, the kindness it had done 
 
 by comforting. 
 No need to sound a trumpet, but less to hush a footfall : 
 Do thou thy good openly, not as though the doing were 
 
 a crime. 
 Secresy goeth cowled, and Honesty demandeth where- 
 fore? 
 For he judgeth, — judgeth he not well ? — that nothing 
 
 need be hid but guilt. 
 Why should thy good be evil spoken of, through thine 
 
 unrighteous silence ? 
 If thou art challenged, speak, and prove the good thou 
 
 doest. 
 The free example of benevolence, unobtruded, yet un- 
 hidden, 
 Soundeth in the ears of sloth, Go, and do thou likewise : 
 And I wot the hypocrite's sin to be of darker dye, 
 Because the good man, fearing, thereby hideth his light : 
 But neither God nor man hath bid thee cloak thy good, 
 When a seasonable word would set thee in thy sphere, 
 
 that all might see thy brightness. 
 Ascribe the honour to thy Lord, but be thou jealous of 
 
 that honour, 
 Nor think it light and worthless, because thou mayst not 
 
 wear it for thyself: 
 
154 #f Speaking. 
 
 Remember, thy grand prerogative is free unshackled 
 
 utterance, 
 And suffer not the flood-gates of secresy to lock the full 
 
 river of thy speech. 
 
 Come, I will show thee an affliction, unnumbered among 
 this world's sorrows, 
 
 Yet real and wearisome and constant, embittering the 
 cup of life. 
 
 There be, who can think within themselves, and the fire 
 burneth at their heart, 
 
 And eloquence waiteth at their lips, yet they speak not 
 with their tongue : 
 
 There be, whom zeal quickeneth, or slander stirreth to 
 reply, 
 
 Or need constraineth to ask, or pity sendeth as her mes- 
 sengers ; 
 
 But nervous dread and sensitive shame freeze the current 
 of their speech ; 
 
 The mouth is sealed as with lead, a cold weight presseth 
 on the heart, 
 
 The mocking promise of power is once more broken in 
 performance, 
 
 And they stand impotent of words, travailing with un- 
 born thoughts : 
 
 Courage is cowed at the portal ; wisdom is widowed of 
 utterance ; 
 
 He that went to comfort is pitied ; he that should rebuke, 
 is silent : 
 
 And fools who might listen and learn, stand by to look 
 and laugh; 
 
 While friends, with kinder eyes, wound deeper by com- 
 passion : 
 
®f Speaking. 3 55 
 
 And thought, finding not a vent, smouldereth, gnawing 
 at the heart, 
 
 And the man sinketh in his sphere, for lack of empty 
 sounds. 
 
 There he many cares and sorrows thou hast not yet con- 
 sidered, 
 
 And well may thy soul rejoice in the fair privilege of 
 speech ; 
 
 For at every turn to want a word, — thou canst not guess 
 that want ; 
 
 It is as lack of hreath or hread : life hath no grief more 
 galling. 
 
 Come, I will tell thee of a joy, which the parasites of 
 pleasure have not known, 
 
 Though earth and air and sea have gorged all the appe- 
 tites of sense. 
 
 Behold, what fire is in his eye, what fervour on his 
 cheek ! 
 
 That glorious burst of winged words ! how hound they 
 from his tongue ! 
 
 The full expression of the mighty thought, the strong 
 triumphant argument, 
 
 The rush of native eloquence, resistless as Niagara, 
 
 The keen demand, the clear reply, the fine poetic image, 
 
 The nice analogy, the clenching fact, the metaphor hold 
 and free, 
 
 The grasp of concentrated intellect wielding the omni- 
 potence of truth, 
 
 The grandeur of his speech in his majesty of mind ! 
 
 Champion of the right, — patriot, or priest, or pleader of 
 the innocent cause, 
 
156 m Sptakkg. 
 
 Upon whose lips the mystic bee hath dropped the honey 
 
 of persuasion, 
 Whose heart and tongue have been touched, as of old, by 
 
 the live coal from the altar, 
 How wide the spreading of thy peace, how deep the 
 
 draught of thy pleasures ! 
 To hold the multitude as one, breathing in measured 
 
 cadence, 
 A thousand men with flashing eyes, waiting upon thy 
 
 wiU; 
 A thousand hearts kindled by thee with consecrated fire, 
 Ten flaming spiritual hecatombs offered on the mount 
 
 of God : 
 And now a pause, a thrilling pause, — they live but in 
 
 thy words, — 
 Thou hast broken the bounds of self, as the Nile at its 
 
 rising, 
 Thou art expanded into them, one faith, one hope, one 
 
 spirit, 
 They breathe but in thy breath, their minds are passive 
 
 unto thine, 
 Thou turnest the key of their love, bending their affec- 
 tions to thy purpose, 
 And all, in sympathy with thee, tremble with tumultuous 
 
 emotions : 
 Verily, O man, with truth for thy theme, eloquence shall 
 
 throne thee with archangels. 
 
15T 
 
 4&W drachma for a good book, and a thousand talents 
 
 for a true friend ; — 
 So standeth the market, where scarce is ever costly : 
 Yea, were the diamonds of Grolconda common as shingles 
 
 on the shore, 
 A ripe apple would ransom kings before a shining stone : 
 And so, were a wholesome book as rare as an honest 
 
 friend, 
 To choose the book be mine : the friend let another take. 
 For altered looks and jealousies and fears have none 
 
 entrance there : 
 The silent volume listeneth well, and speaketh when thou 
 
 listest : 
 It praiseth thy good without envy, it chideth thine evil 
 
 without malice, 
 It is to thee thy waiting slave, and thine unbending 
 
 teacher. 
 Need to humour no caprice, need to bear with no infir- 
 mity; 
 
158 m pairing. 
 
 Thy sin, thy slander, or neglect, chilleth not, quencheth 
 
 not, its love : 
 Unalterably speaketh it the truth, warped nor by error 
 
 nor interest ; 
 For a good book is the best of friends, the same to-day 
 
 and for ever. 
 
 (£o draw thee out of self, thy petty plans and cautions, 
 To teach thee what thou lackest, to tell thee how largely 
 
 thou art blest, 
 To lure thy thought from sorrow, to feed thy famished 
 
 mind, 
 To graft another's wisdom on thee, pruning thine own 
 
 folly, 
 Choose discreetly, and well digest the volume most suited 
 
 to thy case, 
 Touching not religion with levity, nor deep things when 
 
 thou art wearied. 
 Thy mind is freshened by morning air, grapple with 
 
 science and philosophy ; 
 Noon hath unnerved thy thoughts, dream for a while on 
 
 fictions : 
 Grey evening sobereth thy spirit, walk thou then with 
 
 worshippers : 
 But reason shall dig deepest in the night, and fancy fly 
 
 most free. 
 
 O books, ye monuments of mind, concrete wisdom of 
 the wisest ; 
 
 Sweet solaces of daily life ; proofs and results of immor- 
 tality ; 
 
 Trees yielding all fruits, whose leaves are for the healing 
 of the nations ; 
 
&i pairing. 159 
 
 Groves of knowledge, where all may eat, nor fear a flam- 
 ing sword : 
 
 Gentle comrades, kind advisers ; friends, comforts, trea- 
 sures : 
 
 Helps, governments, diversities of tongues ; who can 
 weigh your worth ? — 
 
 To walk no longer with the just ; to he driven from the 
 porch of science ; 
 
 To hid long adieu to those intimate ones, poets, philoso- 
 phers, and teachers ; * 
 
 To see no record of the sympathies which hind thee in 
 communion with the good; 
 
 To he thrust from the feet of Him who spake as never 
 man spake ; 
 
 To have no avenue to heaven hut the dim aisle of super- 
 stition , 
 
 To live as an Esquimaux, in lethargy ; to die as the 
 Mohawk in ignorance : 
 
 what were life, hut a hlank ? what were death, hut a 
 terror ? 
 
 What were man, hut a "burden to himself? what were 
 mind, hut misery ? 
 
 Yea, let another Omar hum the full library of know- 
 ledge, 
 
 And the broad world may perish in the flames, offered on 
 the ashes of its wisdom ! 
 
160 
 
 f£f)£ pen of a ready writer, whereunto shall it be likened ? 
 Ask of the scholar, he shall know, — to the chains that 
 
 bind a Proteus : 
 Ask of the poet, he shall say, — to the sun, the lamp of 
 
 heaven : 
 Ask of thy neighbour, he can answer, — to the friend that 
 
 telleth my thought : 
 The merchant considereth it well, as a ship freighted with 
 
 wares ; 
 The divine holdeth it a miracle, giving utterance to the 
 
 dumb. 
 It fixeth, expoundeth, and disseminate th sentiment ; 
 Chaining up a thought, clearing it of mystery, and send- 
 ing it bright into the wcrld. 
 To think rightly, is of knowledge ; to speak fluently, is 
 
 of nature ; 
 To read with profit, is of care ; but to write aptly, is of 
 
 practice. 
 
©f Writing. 161 
 
 No talent among men hath more scholars, and fewer 
 
 masters : 
 For to write is to speak beyond hearing, and none stand 
 
 by to explain. 
 To be accurate, write; to remember, write* to know 
 
 thine own mind, write ; 
 And a written prayer is a prayer of faith : special, sure, 
 
 and to be answered. 
 Hast thou a thought upon thy brain, catch it while thou 
 
 canst ; 
 Or other thoughts shall settle there, and this shall soon 
 
 take wing : 
 Thine uncompounded unity of soul, which argueth and 
 
 maketh it immortal, 
 Yieldeth up its momentary self to every single thought ; 
 Therefore, to husband thine ideas, and give them stability 
 
 and substance, 
 Write often for thy secret eye: so shalt thou grow 
 
 wiser. 
 The commonest mind is full of thoughts ; some worthy 
 
 of the rarest : 
 And could it see them fairly writ, would wonder at its 
 
 wealth. 
 
 $ precious compensation to the dumb, to write his wants 
 
 and wishes : 
 dear amends to the stammering tongue, to pen his 
 
 burning thoughts ! 
 To be of the college of Eloquence, through these silent 
 
 symbols ; 
 To pour out all the flowing mind without the toil of 
 
 speech ; 
 
 M 
 
162 m JHritmg. 
 
 To show the hahhling world how it might discourse more 
 sweetly ; 
 
 To prove that merchandize of words bringeth no mono- 
 poly of wisdom ; 
 
 To take sweet vengeance on a prating crew, for the 
 tongue's dishonour, 
 
 By the large triumph of the pen, the homage rendered 
 to a writing. 
 
 With such, that telegraph of mind is dearer than wealth 
 or wisdom, 
 
 Enabling to please without pain, to impart without humi- 
 liation. 
 
 Jpair girl, whose eye hath caught the rustic penmanship 
 
 of love, 
 Let thy bright brow and blushing cheek confess in this 
 
 sweet hour, — 
 Let thy full heart, poor guilty one, whom the scroll of 
 
 pardon hath just reached, — 
 Thy wet glad face, mother, with news of a far-off 
 
 child,— 
 Thy strong and manly delight, pilgrim of other shores, 
 When the dear voice of thy betrothed speaketh in the 
 
 letter of affection, — 
 Let the young poet, exulting in his lay, and hope (how 
 
 false) of fame, 
 While watching at deep midnight, he buildeth up the 
 
 verse, — 
 Let the calm child of genius, whose name shall never 
 
 die, 
 For that the transcript of his mind hath made his thoughts 
 
 immortal, — 
 
M mn&a$. 163 
 
 Let these, let all, with no faint praise, with no light gra- 
 titude, confess 
 
 The blessings poured upon the earth from the pen of a 
 ready writer. 
 
 Moreover, their preeiousness in absence is proved by 
 the desire of their presence : 
 
 When the despairing lover waiteth day after day, 
 
 Looking for a word in reply, one word writ by that 
 hand, 
 
 And cursing bitterly the morn ushered in by blank dis- 
 appointment : 
 
 Or when the long-looked-for answer argueth a cooling 
 friend, 
 
 And the mind is plied suspiciously with dark inexplica- 
 ble doubts, 
 
 While thy wounded heart counteth its imaginary scars, 
 
 And thou art the innocent and injured, that friend the 
 capricious and in fault : 
 
 Or when the earnest petition, that craveth for thy needs, 
 
 Unheeded, yea, unopened, tortureth with starving delay : 
 
 Or when the silence of a son, who would have written of 
 his welfare, 
 
 Racketh a father's bosom with sharp-cutting fears. 
 
 For a letter, timely writ, is a rivet to the chain of affec- 
 tion, 
 
 And a letter, untimely delayed, is as rust to the solder. 
 
 The pen, flowing with love, or dipped black in hate, 
 
 Or tipped with delicate courtesies, or harshly edged with 
 censure, 
 
 Hath quickened more good than the sun, more evil than 
 the sword, 
 
 M 2 
 
164 ®i Writing 
 
 More joy than woman's smile, more woe than frowning 
 
 fortune ; 
 And shouldst thou ask my judgment of that which hath 
 
 most profit in the world, 
 For answer take thou this, The prudent penning of a 
 
 letter. 
 
 Chou hast not lost an hour, whereof there is a record : 
 A written thought at midnight shall redeem the livelong 
 
 day. 
 Idea is as a shadow that departeth, speech is fleeting as 
 
 the wind, 
 Beading is an unrememhered pastime ; hut a writing is 
 
 eternal : 
 For therein the dead heart liveth, the clay-cold tongue is 
 
 eloquent, 
 And the quick eye of the reader is cleared hy the reed of 
 
 the scrihe. 
 As a fossil in the rock, or a coin in the mortar of a ruin, 
 So the symholled thoughts tell of a departed soul: 
 The plastic hand hath its witness in a statue, and exacti- 
 tude of vision in a picture, 
 And so, the mind that was among us, in its writings is 
 
 embalmed. 
 
165 
 
 if Hbalfy. 
 
 ij9r0&tjjaltt|> hath a sister Meanness, his fixed antagonist 
 
 heart-fellow, 
 Who often outliveth the short career of the brother she 
 
 despiseth : 
 She hath lean lips and a sharp look, and her eyes are 
 
 red and hungry ; 
 But he sloucheth in his gait, and his mouth speaketh 
 
 loosely and maudlin. 
 Let a spendthrift grow to be old, he will set his heart on 
 
 saving, 
 And labour to build up by penury that which extrava- 
 gance threw down : 
 Even so, with most men, do riches earn themselves a 
 
 double curse; 
 They are ill-got by tight dealing : they are ill-spent by 
 
 loose squandering. 
 Give me enough, saith Wisdom ; — for he feareth to ask 
 
 for more; 
 
3 66 mmtdfy. 
 
 And that by the sweat of my brow, addeth stout-hearted 
 
 Independence : 
 Give me enough, and not less, for want is leagued with 
 
 the tempter; 
 Poverty shall make a man desperate, and hurry him 
 
 ruthless into crime : 
 Give me enough, and not more, saving for the children 
 
 of distress ; 
 Wealth ofttimes killeth, where want but hindereth the 
 
 budding : 
 There is green glad summer near the pole, though brief 
 
 and after long winter, 
 But the burnt breasts of the torrid zone yield never 
 
 kindly nourishment. 
 Wouldst thou be poor, scatter to the rich, — and reap the 
 
 tares of ingratitude ; 
 Wouldst thou be rich, give unto the poor ; — thou shalt 
 
 have thine own with usury : 
 For the secret hand of Providence prospereth the charit- 
 able all ways, 
 Good luck shall he have in his pursuits, and his heart 
 
 shall be glad within him ; 
 Yet perchance he never shall perceive, that, even as to 
 
 earthly gains, 
 The cause of his weal, as of his joy, hath been small 
 
 givings to the poor. 
 
 5n the plain of Benares is there found a root that 
 
 fathereth a forest, 
 Where round the parent banian tree drop its living 
 
 scions ; 
 Thirstily they strain to the earth, like stalactites in a 
 
 grotto, 
 
m SKealty. 167 
 
 And strike broad roots, and branch again, lengthening 
 
 their cool arcades : 
 And the dervish madly danceth there, and the faquir is 
 
 torturing his flesh, 
 And the calm brahmin worshippeth the sleek and pam 
 
 pered bull ; 
 At the base lean jackals coil, while from above depending 
 With dull malignant stare watcheth the branch-like boa. 
 Even so, in man's heart is a sin that is the root of all 
 
 evil; 
 Whose fibres strangle the affections, whose branches 
 
 overgrow the mind : 
 And oftenest beneath its shadow thou shalt meet dis- 
 torted piety, — 
 The clenched and rigid fist, with the eyes upturned to 
 
 heaven, 
 Fanatic zeal with miserly severity, a mixture of gain 
 
 with godliness, 
 And him, against whom passion hath no power, kneel- 
 ing to a golden calf : 
 The hungry hounds of extortion are there, the bond, and 
 
 the mortgage, and the writ, 
 While the appetite for gold, unslumbering, watcheth to 
 
 glut its maw : — 
 And the heart, so tenanted and shaded, is cold to all 
 
 things else ; 
 It seeth not the sunshine of heaven, nor is warmed by 
 
 the light of charity. 
 
 Jfor covetousness disbelieveth God, and laugheth at the 
 
 rights of men ; 
 Spurring unto theft and lying, and tempting to the 
 
 poison and the knife ; 
 
168 M ffibattfe. 
 
 It sundereth the bonds of love, and quickeneth the 
 
 flames of hate ; 
 A curse that shall wither the brain, and case the heart 
 
 with iron. 
 Content is the true riches, for without it there is no 
 
 satisfying, 
 But a ravenous all-devouring hunger gnaweth the vitals 
 
 of the soul. 
 The wise man knoweth where to stop, as he runneth in 
 
 the race of fortune, 
 For experience of old hath taught him, that happiness 
 
 lingereth midway ; 
 And many in hot pursuit have hasted to the goal of 
 
 wealth, 
 But have lost, as they ran, those apples of gold, — the 
 
 mind and the power to enjoy it. 
 
 Chere is no greater evil among men than a testament 
 framed with injustice : 
 
 Where caprice hath guided the boon, or dishonesty re- 
 fused what was due. 
 
 Generous is the robber on the highway, in the open dar- 
 ing of his guilt, 
 
 To the secret coward, whose malice liveth and harmeth 
 after him ; 
 
 Who smoothly sank into the tomb, with the smile of 
 fraud upon his face, 
 
 And the last black deed of his existence was injury with- 
 out redress : 
 
 For deaf is the ear of the dead, and can hear no palliat- 
 ing reasons ; 
 
 The smiter is not among the living, and Bight pleadeth 
 but in vain. 
 
•f meal% 169 
 
 Yet shall the curse of the oppressed he as blight upon 
 
 the grave of the unjust ; 
 Yea, bitterly shall that hand-writing testify against him 
 
 at the judgment. 
 I saw the humble relation that tended the peevishness 
 
 of wealth, 
 And ministered, with kind hand, to the wailings of dis- 
 ease and discontent : 
 I noted how watchfulness and care were feeding on the 
 
 marrow of her youth, 
 How heavy was the yoke of dependence, loaded by petty 
 
 tyranny; 
 Yet I heard the frequent suggestion, — It can be but a 
 
 little longer, 
 Patience and mute submission shall one day reap a rich 
 
 reward. 
 So, tacitly enduring much, waited that humble friend, 
 Putting off the lover of her youth until the dawn of 
 
 wealth : 
 And it came, that day of release, and the freed heart 
 
 could not sorrow, 
 For now were the years of promise to yield their golden 
 
 harvest : 
 Hope, so long deferred, sickly sparkled in her eye, 
 The miserable past was forgotten, as she looked for the 
 
 happier future, 
 And she checked, as unworthy and ungrateful, the dark 
 
 suspicious thought 
 That perchance her right had been the safer, if not left 
 
 alone with honour : 
 But, alas, the sad knowledge soon came, that her stern 
 
 task-master's will 
 
170 ®f »a% 
 
 Hath rewarded her toil with a jibe, her patience with 
 utter destitution ! — 
 
 Shall not the scourge of justice lash that cruel coward, 
 
 Who mingled the gall of ingratitude with the bitterness 
 of disappointment ? 
 
 Shall not the hate of men, and vengeance, fiercely pur- 
 suing, 
 
 Hunt down the wretched being that sinneth in his 
 grave ? 
 
 He fancied his idol self safe from the wrath of his fel- 
 lows, 
 
 But Hades rose as he came in, to point at him the finger 
 of scorn ; 
 
 And again must he meet that orphan-maid to answer her 
 face to face, 
 
 And her wrongs shall cling around his neck, to hinder 
 him from rising with the just : 
 
 For his last most solemn act hath linked his name with 
 liar, 
 
 And the crime of Ananias is branded on his brow ! 
 
 & good man eommendeth his cause to the one great 
 Patron of innocence, 
 
 Convinced of justice at the last, and sure of good mean- 
 while. 
 
 He knoweth he hath a Guardian, wise and kind and 
 strong, 
 
 And can thank Him for giving, or refusing, the trust or 
 the curse of riches : 
 
 His confidence standeth as a rock ; he dreadeth not 
 malice nor caprice, 
 
 Nor the whisperings of artful men, nor envious secret 
 influence ; 
 
#f Wttalfy. 171 
 
 He scorneth servile compromise, and the pliant mouth - 
 
 ings of deceit ; 
 He maketh not a show of love, where he cannot concede 
 
 esteem ; 
 He regardeth ill-got wealth, as the root most fruitful of 
 
 wretchedness, 
 So he walketh in straight integrity, leaning on God and 
 
 his right. 
 
 $o gain, hut hy its price: lahour, for the poor mans 
 
 meal, 
 Ofttimes heart-sickening toil, to win him a morsel for his 
 
 hunger : 
 Lahour, for the chapman at his trade, a dull unvaried 
 
 round, 
 Year after year, unto death ; yea, what a weariness is it ! 
 Labour, for the pale-faced scribe, drudging at his hated 
 
 desk, 
 Who bartereth for needful pittance the untold gold of 
 
 health ; 
 Labour, with fear, for the merchant, whose hopes are 
 
 ventured on the sea ; 
 Labour, with care, for the man of law, responsible in his 
 
 gains ; 
 Labour, with envy and annoyance, where strangers will 
 
 thee wealth ; 
 Labour, with indolence and gloom, where wealth falleth 
 
 from a father ; 
 Labour unto all, whether aching thews, or aching head. 
 
 or spirit, — 
 The curse on the sons of men, in all their states, is 
 
 labour. 
 
172 m ffibalty. 
 
 Nevertheless, to the diligent, labour bringeth blessing: 
 The thought of duty sweeteneth toil, and travail is as 
 
 pleasure; 
 And time spent in doing hath a comfort that is not for 
 
 the idle, 
 The hardship is transmuted into joy by the dear alchemy 
 
 of Mercy. 
 Labour is good for a man, bracing up his energies to 
 
 conquest, 
 And without it life is dull, the man perceiving himself 
 
 useless : 
 For wearily the body groaneth, like a door on rusty 
 
 hinges, 
 And the grasp of the mind is weakened, as the talons of 
 
 a caged vulture. 
 Wealth hath never given happiness, but often hastened 
 
 misery : 
 Enough hath never caused misery, but often quickened 
 
 happiness : 
 Enough is less than thy thought, pampered creature 
 
 of society, 
 And he that hath more than enough, is a thief of the 
 
 rights of his brother. 
 
173 
 
 ®f Inwnium. 
 
 ; is proud of his mind, boasting that it giveth him 
 
 divinity, 
 Yet with all its powers can it originate nothing ; 
 For the great God into all His works hath largely poured 
 
 out Himself, 
 Saving one special property, the grand prerogative, — 
 
 Creation. 
 To improve and expand is ours, as well as to limit and 
 
 defeat ; 
 But to create a thought or a thing is hopeless and im- 
 possible. 
 Can a man make matter ? — and yet this would-be god 
 Thinketh to make mind, and form original idea : 
 The potter must have his clay, and the mason his 
 
 quarry, 
 And mind must drain ideas from everything around it. 
 Doth the soil generate herbs, or the torrid air breed 
 
 flies, 
 
174 ®i Intention. 
 
 Or tlie water frame its monads, or the mist its swarming 
 
 blight?— 
 Mediately, through thousand generations, having seed 
 
 within themselves, 
 All things, rare or gross, own one common Father. 
 Truly spake Wisdom, There is nothing new under the 
 
 sun: 
 We only arrange and combine the ancient elements of all 
 
 things. 
 Invention is activity of mind, as fire is air in motion ; 
 A sharpening of the spiritual sight, to discern hidden 
 
 aptitudes : 
 From the basket and acanthus, is modelled the graceful 
 
 capital ; 
 The shadowed profile on the wall helpeth the limner to 
 
 his likeness ; 
 The footmarks, stamped in clay, lead on the thoughts to 
 
 printing ; 
 The strange skin garments cast upon the shore sug- 
 gest another hemisphere : 
 A falling apple taught the sage pervading gravitation ; 
 The Huron is certain of his prey, from tracks upon the 
 
 grass ; 
 And shrewdness, guessing out the hint, followeth on the 
 
 trail: 
 But the hint must be given, the trail must be there, or 
 
 the keenest sight is as blindness. 
 
 ISehold the barren reef, which an earthquake hath just 
 
 left dry ; 
 It hath no beauty to boast of, no harvest of fair 
 
 fruits : 
 
<§f fntatftat. 175 
 
 But soon the lichen fixeth there, and, dying, diggeth its 
 own grave, 
 
 And softening suns and splitting frosts crumble the re- 
 luctant surface ; 
 
 And cormorants roost there, and the snail addeth its 
 slime, 
 
 And efts, with muddy feet, bring their welcome tribute ; 
 
 And the sea casteth out her dead, wrapped in a shroud 
 of weeds ; 
 
 And orderly nature arrangeth again the disunited 
 atoms ; 
 
 Anon, the cold smooth stone is warm with feathery 
 
 And the light sporules of the fern are dropt by the pass- 
 ing wind, 
 The wood-pigeon, on swift wing, leaveth its crop-full of 
 
 grain, 
 The squirrel's jealous care planteth the fir-cone and the 
 
 filbert: 
 Years pass, and the sterile rock is rank with tangled 
 
 herbage ; 
 The wild- vine clingeth to the briar, and ivy runneth 
 
 green among the corn, 
 Lordly beeches are studded on the down, and willows 
 
 crowd around the rivulet, 
 And the tall pine and hazel-thicket shade the rambling 
 
 hunter. 
 Shall the rock boast of its fertility ? shall it lift the head 
 
 in pride ? — 
 Shall the mind of man be vain of the harvest of its 
 
 thoughts ? 
 The savage is that rock; and a million chances from 
 
 without, 
 
176 #f gttfentiott. 
 
 By little and little acting on the mind, heap up the hot- 
 bed of society ; 
 
 And the soul, fed and fattened on the thoughts and 
 things around it, 
 
 Groweth to perfection, full of fruit, the fruit of foreign 
 
 For we learn upon a hint, we find upon a clue, 
 
 We yield an hundred-fold ; hut the great sower is 
 
 Analogy, 
 There must he an acrid sloe before a luscious peach, 
 A boll of rotting flax before the bridal veil, 
 An egg before an eagle, a thought before a thing, 
 A spark struck into tinder to light the lamp of know- 
 ledge, 
 A slight suggestive nod to guide the watching mind, 
 A half-seen hand upon the wall, pointing to the balance 
 
 of Comparison. 
 By culture man may do all things, short of the miracle, — 
 
 Creation ; 
 Here is the limit of thy power,— here let thy pride be 
 
 stayed : 
 The soil may be rich, and the mind may be active, but 
 
 neither yield unsown ; 
 The eye cannot make light, nor the mind make spirit : 
 Therefore it is wise in man to name all novelty Inven- 
 tion ; 
 For it is to find out things that are, not to create the un- 
 
 existing : 
 It is to cling to contiguities, to be keen in catching 
 
 likeness, 
 And with energetic elasticity to leap the gulfs of con- 
 trast. 
 
•f Mt&mthm. 177 
 
 The globe knowetli not increase, either of matter or 
 
 spirit; 
 Atoms and thoughts are used again, mixing in varied 
 
 combinations ; 
 And though, by moulding them anew, thou makest them 
 
 thine own, 
 Yet have they served thousands, and all their merit is of 
 
 God. 
 
178 
 
 §f pintle. 
 
 &tzm£ of thought for the sage's brow, and laughing 
 
 lines for the fool's face ; 
 For all things leave their track in the mind ; and the 
 
 glass of the mind is faithful. 
 Seest thou much mirth upon the cheek ? there is then 
 
 little exercise of virtue ; 
 For he that looketh on the world, cannot be glad and 
 
 good: 
 Seest thou much gravity in the eye ? be not assured of 
 
 finding wisdom ; 
 For she hath too great praise, not to get many mimics 
 There is a grave-faced folly; and verily, a laughter- 
 loving wisdom ; 
 And what, if surface-judges account it vain frivolity ? 
 There is indeed an evil in excess, and a field may lie 
 
 fallow too long ; 
 Yet merriment is often as a troth, that mantleth on the 
 
 strong mind : 
 
m %Meah. 179 
 
 And note thou this for a verity, — the subtlest thinker 
 
 when alone, 
 From ease of thoughts unbent, will laugh the loudest 
 
 with his fellows : 
 And well is the loveliness of wisdom mirrored in a 
 
 cheerful countenance, 
 Justly the deepest pools are proved by dimpling eddies ; 
 For that, a true philosophy commandeth an innocent life, 
 And the unguilty spirit is lighter than a linnet's heart : 
 Yea, there is no cosmetic like a holy conscience ; 
 The eye is bright with trust, the cheek bloomed over 
 
 with affection, 
 The brow unwrinkled by a care, and the lip triumphant 
 
 in its gladness 
 
 &nd for yon grave-faced folly, need not far to look for 
 
 her ; 
 How seriously on trifles dote those leaden eyes, 
 How ruefully she sigheth after chances long gone by, 
 How sulkily she moaneth over evils without cure ! 
 I have known a true-born mirth, the child of innocence 
 
 and wisdom, 
 I have seen a base-born gravity, mingled of ignorance 
 
 and guilt : 
 And again, a base-born mirth, springing out of careless 
 
 ness and folly, 
 And again, a true-born gravity, the product of reflection 
 
 and right fear. 
 The wounded partridge hideth in a furrow, and a stricken 
 
 conscience would be left alone ; 
 But when its breast is healed, it runneth gladly with its 
 
 fellows : 
 
 N 2 
 
180 #f Jibicttk 
 
 Whereas the solitary heron, standing in the sedgy fen, 
 Holdeth aloof from the social world, intent on wiles and 
 death. 
 
 jleed but of light philosophy to dare the world's dread 
 
 For a little mind courteth notoriety, to illustrate its puny 
 
 self: 
 But the sneer of a man's own comrades trieth the 
 
 muscles of courage, 
 And to be derided in his home is as a viper in the nest : 
 The laugh of a hooting world hath in it a notion of sub 
 
 limity, 
 But the tittering private circle stingeth as a hive of 
 
 Some have commended ridicule, counting it the test of 
 
 truth, 
 But neither wittily nor wisely; for truth must prove 
 
 ridicule : 
 Otherwise a blunt bulrush is to pierce the proof armour 
 
 of argument, 
 Because the stolidity of ignorance took it for a barbed 
 
 shaft ■ ■ 
 Softer is the hide of the rhinoceros, than the heart of de- 
 riding unbelief, ; 
 And truth is idler there, than the Bushman's feathered 
 
 reed : 
 A droll conceit parrieth a thrust, that should have hit 
 
 the conscience, 
 And the leering looks of humour tickle the childish 
 
 mind ; 
 For that the matter of a man is mingled most with folly. 
 
•f Ptole. 181 
 
 Neither can he long endure the searching gaze of 
 
 wisdom. 
 It is pleasanter to see a laughing cheek than a serious 
 
 forehead, 
 And there liveth not one among a thousand whose idol 
 
 is not pleasure. 
 Eidicule is a weak weapon, when levelled at a strong 
 
 mind : 
 But common men are cowards, and dread an empty 
 
 laugh. 
 Fear a nettle, and touch it tenderly, its poison shall hum 
 
 thee to the shoulder ; 
 But grasp it with a hold hand, — is it not a bundle of 
 
 myrrh? 
 Betray mean terror of ridicule, thou shalt find fools 
 
 enough to mock thee ; 
 But answer thou their laughter with contempt, and the 
 
 scoffers will lick thy feet 
 
J 82 
 
 §f fammmMim. 
 
 QEfyt praise of holy men is a promise of praise from their 
 
 Master ; 
 A fore-running earnest of thy welcome, — Well done, 
 
 faithful servant ; 
 A rich preludious note, that droppeth softly on thine 
 
 ear, 
 To tell thee the chords of thy heart are in tune with the 
 
 choirs of heaven. 
 Yet is it a dangerous hearing, for the sweetness may lull 
 
 thee into slumber, 
 And the cordial quaffed with thirst may generate the 
 
 fumes of presumption. 
 So seek it not for itself, but taste, and go gladly on thy 
 
 way, 
 For the mariner slacketh not his sail, though the sandal- 
 groves of Araby allure him ; 
 And the fragrance of that iu cense would harm thee, as 
 
 when, on a summer evening, 
 
ffif €mmm%utwu. 183 
 
 The honied yellow flowers of the broom oppress thy 
 charmed sense : 
 
 And a man hath too much of praise, for he praiseth 
 himself continually ; 
 
 Neither lacketh he at any time self-commendation or ex- 
 cuse. 
 
 praise a fool, and slay him : for the canvas of his vanity 
 
 is spread ; 
 His bark is shallow in the water, and a sudden gust shall 
 
 sink it : 
 Praise a wise man, and speed him on his way ; for he 
 
 carrieth the ballast of humility, 
 And is glad when his course is cheered by the sympathy 
 
 of brethren ashore. 
 The praise of a good man is good, for he holdeth up the 
 
 mirror of Truth, 
 That Virtue may see her own beauty, and delight in her 
 
 own fair face : 
 The praise of a bad man is evil, for he hideth the defor- 
 mity of Vice, 
 Casting the mantle of a queen around the limbs of a 
 
 leper. 
 Praise is rebuke to the man whose conscience alloweth it 
 
 not: 
 And where conscience feeleth it her due, no praise is bet- 
 ter than a little. 
 He that despiseth the outward appearance, despiseth the 
 
 esteem of his fellows ; 
 And he that overmuch regardeth it, shall earn only their 
 
 contempt : 
 The honest commendation of an equal no one can scorn, 
 
 and be blameless, 
 
184 #f (ftjommzxtbutxau. 
 
 Yet even that fair fame no one can hunt for, and be 
 
 honoured : 
 If it come, accept it and be thankful, and be thou hum- 
 ble in accepting ; 
 If it tarry, be not thou cast down ; the bee can gather 
 
 honey out of rue : 
 And is thine aim so low, that the breath of those around 
 
 thee 
 Can speed thy feathered arrow, or retard its flight? 
 The child shooteth at a butterfly, but the man's mark is 
 
 an eagle ; 
 And while his fellows talk, he hath conquered in the 
 
 clouds. 
 Ally thee to truth and godliness, and use the talents in 
 
 thy charge ; 
 So shalt thou walk in peace, deserving, if not having. 
 With a Mend, praise him when thou canst ; for many a 
 
 friendship hath decayed, 
 Like a plant in a crowded corner, for want of sunshine 
 
 on its leaves : 
 With another, praise him not often — otherwise he shall 
 
 despise thee ; 
 But be thou frugal in commending; so will he give 
 
 honour to thy judgment : 
 For thou that dost so zealously commend, art acknow- 
 ledging thine own inferiority, 
 And he, thou so highly hast exalted, shall proudly look 
 
 down on thy esteem. 
 
 SSiilt thou that one remember a thing ? — praise him in 
 
 the midst of thy advice ; 
 Never yet forgat man the word whereby he hath been 
 
 praised. 
 
@f €ommznbntxon. 185 
 
 Better to be censured by a thousand fools, than approved 
 
 but by one man that is wise ; 
 For the pious are slower to help right, than the profane 
 
 to hinder it : 
 So, where the world rebuketh, there look thou for the 
 
 excellent, 
 And be suspicious of the good, which wicked men can 
 
 praise. 
 The captain bindeth his troop, not more by severity than 
 
 kindness, 
 And justly, should recompense well-doing, as well as be 
 
 strict with an offender ; 
 The laurel is cheap to the giver, but precious in his sight 
 
 who hath won it, 
 And the heart of the soldier rejoiceth in the approving 
 
 glance of his chief. 
 Timely-given praise is even better than the merited re- 
 buke of censure, 
 For the sun is more needful to the plant than the knife 
 
 that cutteth out a canker ; 
 Many a father hath erred, in that he hath withheld re- 
 proof, 
 But more have mostly sinned, in withholding praise 
 
 where it was due : 
 There be many such as Eh among men ; but these be 
 
 more culpable than Eh, 
 Who chill the fountain of exertion by the freezing looks 
 
 of indifference : 
 Ye call a man easy and good, yet he is as a two-edged 
 
 sword ; 
 He rebuketh not vice, and it is strong ; he comforteth 
 
 not virtue, and it fainteth. 
 
186 #f ^ommmhutxoxt. 
 
 There is nothing more potent among men than a gift 
 
 timely bestowed; 
 And a gift kept back where it was hoped, separateth chief 
 
 friends : 
 For what is a gift but a symbol, giving substance to 
 
 praise and esteem ? 
 And where is a sharper arrow than the sting of unmerited 
 
 neglect ? 
 
 Expect not praise from the mean, neither gratitude from 
 
 the selfish ; 
 And to keep the proud thy friend, see thou do him not a 
 
 service : 
 For, behold, he will hate thee for his debt : thou hast 
 
 humbled him by giving ; * 
 And his stubbornness never shall acknowledge the good 
 
 he hath taken from thy hand : 
 Yea, rather will he turn and be thy foe, lest thou gather 
 
 from his friendship 
 That he doth account thee creditor, and standeth in the 
 
 second place. 
 Still, kindly feeling heart, be not thou chilled by the 
 
 thankless, 
 Neither let the breath of gratitude fan thee into momen- 
 tary heat : 
 Do good for good's own sake, looking not to worthiness 
 
 nor love ; 
 Fling thy grain among the rocks, cast thy bread upon 
 
 the waters, 
 His claim be strongest to thy help, who is thrown most 
 
 helplessly upon thee, — 
 So shalt thou have a better praise, and reap a richer 
 
 harvest of reward. 
 
<©f CnmmwimtxatT- 187 
 
 If a man hold fast to thy creed, and fit his thinking to 
 
 thy notions, 
 Thou shalt take him for a man right-minded, yea, and 
 
 excuse his evil : 
 But seest thou not, higot, that thy zeal is but a hunt- 
 ing after praise, 
 And the full pleasure of a proselyte lieth in the flattering 
 
 of self? 
 A man of many praises meeteth many welcomes, 
 But he, who blameth often, shall not keep a friend ; 
 The velvet-coated apricot is one thing, and the spiked 
 
 horse-chesnut is another, 
 A handle of smooth amber is pleasanter than rough 
 
 buck-horn. 
 Show me a popular man ; I can tell thee the secret of 
 
 his power ; 
 He hath soothed them with glozing words, lulling their 
 
 ears with flattery, 
 The smile of seeming approbation is ever the companion 
 
 of his presence, 
 And courteous looks, and warm regards, earn him all 
 
 their hearts. 
 
 Nothing but may be better, and every better might be 
 
 best ; 
 The blind may discern, and the simple prove, fault or 
 
 want in all things; 
 And a little mind looketh on the lily with a microscopic 
 
 Eager and glad to pry out specks on its robe of purity ; 
 But a great mind gazeth on the sun, glorying in his 
 brightness, 
 
188 <Sf (fomntmimtion:- 
 
 And taking large knowledge of his good, in the broad 
 
 prairie of creation : 
 What, though he hatch basilisks ? what, though spots are 
 
 on the sun ? 
 In fulness is his worth, in fulness be his praise ! 
 
189 
 
 if S#anpmtiraa- 
 
 HtUlfotefcfle holdeth by the hilt, and heweth out a road 
 to conquest ; 
 
 Ignorance graspeth the blade, and is wounded by its 
 own good sword : 
 
 Knowledge distilleth health from the virulence of oppo- 
 site poisons ; 
 
 Ignorance mixeth wholesomes unto the breeding of dis- 
 ease : 
 
 Knowledge is leagued with the universe, and fmdeth a 
 friend in all things ; 
 
 But ignorance is everywhere a stranger ; unwelcome, ill 
 at ease, and out of place. 
 
 A man is helpless and unsafe up to the measure of his 
 ignorance, 
 
 For he lacketh perception of the aptitudes commending 
 such a matter to his use, 
 
 Clutching at the horn of danger, while he judgeth it the 
 handle of security, 
 
190 ®f ^df-utqumntrntz. 
 
 Or casting his anchor so widely, that the granite reef is 
 
 just within the tether. 
 Untaught in science, he is hut half alive, stupidly taking 
 
 note of nothing, 
 Or listening with dull wonder to the crafty saws of an 
 
 empiric : 
 Simple in the world, he trusteth unto knaves ; and then 
 
 to make amends for folly, 
 Dealeth so shrewdly with the honest, they cannot hut 
 
 suspect him for a thief; 
 With an unknown God, he maketh mock of reason, 
 
 fathering contrivance on chance, 
 Or doting with superstitious dread on some crooked 
 
 image of his fancy : 
 But ignorant of Self, he is weakness at heart ; the key- 
 stone crumhleth into sand, 
 There is panic in the general's tent, the oak is hollow as 
 
 hemlock ; 
 Though the warm sap creepeth up its bark, filling out 
 
 the sheaf of leaves, 
 Though knowledge of all things beside add proofs of 
 
 seeming vigour, 
 Though the master-mind of the royal sage feast on the 
 
 mysteries of wisdom, 
 Yet ignorance of self shall bow down the spirit of a 
 
 Solomon to idols ; 
 The storm of temptation, sweeping by, shall snap that 
 
 oak like a reed, 
 And the proud luxuriance of its tufted crown drag it the 
 
 sooner to the dust. 
 
 f*outh, confident in self, tampereth with dangerous dalli- 
 ance, 
 
Till the vice his heart once hated hath locked him in 
 her foul embrace : 
 
 Manhood, through zeal of doing good, seeketh high 
 place for its occasions, 
 
 Unwitting that the bleak mountain air will nip the tender 
 budding of his motives : 
 
 Or painfully, for love of truth, he climbeth the ladder of 
 science, 
 
 Till pride of intellect heating his heart, warpeth it aside 
 to delusion : 
 
 The maiden, to give shadow to her fairness, plaiteth her 
 raven hair, 
 
 Heedlessly weaving for her soul the silken net of vanity : 
 
 The grey-beard looketh on his gold, till he loveth its yel- 
 low smile, 
 
 Unconscious of the bright decoy which is luring his 
 heart unto avarice : 
 
 Wrath avoideth no quarrel, jealousy counteth its sus- 
 picions, 
 
 Pining envy gazeth still, and melancholy seeketh soli- 
 tude, 
 
 The sensitive broodeth on his slights, the fearful poreth 
 over horrors, 
 
 The train of wantonness is fired, the nerves of indecision 
 are unstrung ; 
 
 Each special proneness unto harm is pampered by igno- 
 rant indulgence, 
 
 And the man, for want of warning, yieldeth to the apt 
 temptation. 
 
 % smith at the loom, and a weaver at the forge, were but 
 sorry craftsmen ; 
 
192 #f Mf-Mqxmxntuntz. 
 
 And a ship that saileth on every wind never shall reach 
 her port : 
 
 Yet there he thousands among men who heed not the 
 leaning of their talents, 
 
 But cutting against the grain, toil on to no good end : 
 
 And the light of a thoughtful spirit is quenched beneath 
 the bushel of commerce, 
 
 While meaner plodding minds are driven up the moun- 
 tain of philosophy : 
 
 The cedar withereth on a wall, while the house-leek is 
 fattening in a hot-bed, 
 
 And the dock with its rank leaves hideth the sun from 
 violets. 
 
 To everything a fitting place, a proper honourable use ; 
 
 The humblest measure of mind is bright in its humble 
 sphere : 
 
 The glow-worm, creeping in the hedge, lighteth her 
 evening torch, 
 
 And her far-off mate, on gossamer sail, steereth his 
 course by that star : 
 
 But ignorance mocketh at proprieties, bringing out the 
 glow-worm at noon ; 
 
 And setteth the faults of mediocrity in the full blaze of 
 wisdom. 
 
 Eavens croaking in darkness, and a sky-lark trilling to 
 the sun, 
 
 The voice of a screech-owl from a ruin, and the black- 
 bird's whistle in a wood, 
 
 A cushion-footed camel for the sands, and a swift rein- 
 deer for the snows, 
 
 A naked skin for Ethiopia, and rich soft furs for the 
 Pole: 
 
@f ^zli-Mspxmxduntz. 193 
 
 In all things is there a fitness : discord with discord hath 
 
 its music ; 
 And the harmony of nature is preserved hy each one 
 
 knowing his place. 
 
 Che Mind at an easel, the palsied with a graver, the halt 
 
 making for the goal, 
 The deaf ear tuning psaltery, the stammerer discoursing 
 
 eloquence, — 
 What wonder if all fail? the shaft flieth wide of the 
 
 mark 
 Alike if itself he crooked, or the how he strung awry ; 
 And the mind which were excellent in one way, hut 
 
 foolishly toileth in another, 
 What is it but an ill-strung how, and its aim a crooked 
 
 arrow ? 
 By knowledge of self, thou provest thy powers : put not 
 
 the racer to the plough, 
 Nor goad the toilsome ox to wager his slowness with the 
 
 fleet: 
 Consider thy failings, heed thy propensities, search out 
 
 thy latent virtues, 
 Analyze the doubtful, cultivate the good, and crush the 
 
 head of evil ; 
 So shalt thou catch with quick hand the golden ball of 
 
 opportunity, 
 The warrior armed shall be ready for the fray, beside his 
 
 bridled steed; 
 Thou shalt ward off special harms, and have the sway of 
 
 circumstance, 
 And turn to thy special good the common current of 
 
 events ; 
 
 o 
 
194 §i ^tli-ucjxtmxthna. 
 
 Choosing from the wardrobe of the world, thou shalt 
 
 suitably clothe thy spirit, 
 Nor thrust the white hand of peace into the gauntlet of 
 
 defiance : 
 The shepherd shall go with a staff, and conquer by sling 
 
 and stone ; 
 The soldier shall let alone the distaff, and the scribe lay 
 
 down the sword ; 
 The man unlearned shall keep silence, and earn one 
 
 attribute of wisdom, 
 The sage be sparing of his lessons before unhearing 
 
 ears: 
 Calm shalt thou be, as a lion in repose, conscious of 
 
 passive strength, 
 And the shock that splitteth the globe, shall not un- 
 throne thy self-possession. 
 
 Acquaint thee with thyself, man ! so shalt thou be 
 
 humble : 
 The hard hot desert of thy heart shall blossom with the 
 
 lily and the rose ; 
 The frozen cliffs of pride shall melt, as an iceberg in the 
 
 tropics ; 
 The bitter fountains of self-seeking be sweeter than the 
 
 waters of the Nile. 
 But if thou lack that wisdom, — thy frail skiff is doomed, 
 On stronger eddy whirling to the dreadful gorge ; 
 Untaught in that grand lore, thou standest, cased in 
 
 steel, 
 To dare with mocking unbelief the thunderbolts of 
 
 heaven. 
 For look now around thee on the universe, behold how 
 
 all things serve thee ; 
 
®i ^tlf-ntqxmmtmxa. 195 
 
 The teeming soil, and the buoyant sea, and undulating 
 
 air, 
 Golden crops, and bloomy fruits, and flowers, and pre- 
 cious gems, 
 Choice perfumes, and fair sights, soft touches and sweet 
 
 music : 
 For thee, shoaling up the bay, crowd the finny nations, 
 For thee, the cattle on a thousand hills live, and labour, 
 
 and die : 
 Light is thy daily slave, darkness inviteth thee to 
 
 slumber ; 
 Thou art served by the hands of Beauty, and Sublimity 
 
 kneeleth at thy feet : 
 Arise, thou sovereign of creation, and behold thy glory ! 
 Yet more, thou hast a mind ; intellect wingeth thee to 
 
 heaven, 
 Tendeth thy state on earth, and by it thou divest down 
 
 to hell ; 
 Thou hast measured the belts of Saturn, thou hast 
 
 weighed the moons of Jupiter, 
 And seen, by reason's eye, the centre of thy globe ; 
 Subtly hast thou numbered by billions the leagues be- 
 tween sun and sun, 
 And noted in thy book the coming of their shadows ; 
 With marvellous unerring truth, thou knowest to an 
 
 inch and to an instant, 
 The where and the when of the comet's path that shall 
 
 seem to rush by at thy command : 
 Arise, thou king of mind, and survey thy dignity ! 
 Yet more, — for once believe religion's flattering tale ; 
 Thou hast a soul, aye, and a God, — but be not therefore 
 
 humbled ; 
 
 o 2 
 
196 ®f Jljelf-EtqwEmtante, 
 
 Thy Maker's self was glad to live and die — a man ; 
 The brigthest jewel in His crown is voluntary manhood : 
 By deep dishonour, and great price, bought He that envied 
 
 freedom, 
 But thou wast born an heir of all, thy Master scarce 
 
 could earn. 
 O climax unto pride, triumph of humanity, 
 triple crown upon thy brow, most high and mighty 
 
 Self! 
 Arise, thou Lord of all, thou greater than a God! — 
 How saidst thou, wretched being? — cast thy glance 
 
 within ; 
 Eegard that painted sepulchre, the hovel of thy heart : 
 Ha! with what fearful imagery swarmeth that small 
 
 chamber ; 
 The horrid eye of murder, scowling in the dark, 
 The bony hand of avarice, filching from the poor, 
 The lurid fires of lust, the idiot face of folly, 
 The sickening deed of cruelty, the foul fierce orgies of 
 
 the drunken, 
 Weak contemptible vanity, stubborn stolid unbelief, 
 Envy's devilish sneer, and the vile features of ingrati- 
 tude, — 
 Man, hast thou seen enough ? or are these full proof 
 That thou art a miracle of mercy, and all thy dignity is 
 
 dross ? 
 
 said the wisdom of earth, O mortal, know thy- 
 self; 
 
 But better the wisdom of heaven, man, learn thou thy 
 God: 
 
 By knowledge of self thou art conusant of evil, and 
 mailed in panoply to meet it ; 
 
By knowledge of God cometh knowledge of good, and 
 universal love is at thy heart. 
 
 Every creature knoweth its capacities, running in the 
 road of instinct, 
 
 And reason must not lag behind, but serve itself of all 
 proprieties : 
 
 The swift to the race, and the strong to the burden, and 
 the wise for right direction ; 
 
 For self-knowledge filleth with acceptance its niche in 
 the temple of utility : 
 
 But vainly wilt thou look for that knowledge, till the 
 clue of all truth is in thy hand, 
 
 For the labpinth of man's heart windeth in complicate 
 deceivings : 
 
 Thou canst not sound its depths with the shallow plumb- 
 line of reason, 
 
 Till religion, the pilot of the soul, have lent thee her un- 
 fathomable coil : 
 
 Therefore, for this grand knowledge, and knowledge is 
 the parent of dominion, 
 
 Leam God, thou shalt know thyself ; yea, and shalt have 
 mastery of all things. 
 
198 
 
 (Bf tolig to Animals* 
 
 §sJ§WXlZ upon thee, savage Monarch-Man, proud Mono- 
 polist of reason : 
 Shame upon Creation's lord, the fierce ensanguined 
 
 despot : 
 What, man ! are there not enough, hunger, and diseases, 
 
 and fatigue, — 
 And yet must thy goad or thy thong add another sorrow 
 
 to existence ? 
 What ! art thou not content thy sin hath dragged down 
 
 suffering and death 
 On the poor dumh servants of thy comfort, and yet 
 
 must thou rack them with thy spite ? 
 The prodigal heir of creation hath gambled away his 
 
 all,— 
 Shall he add torment to the bondage that is galling his 
 
 forfeit serfs ? 
 The leader in nature's paean himself hath marred her 
 
 psaltery, 
 
df Cmeltgr to gimmat^ 199 
 
 Shall lie multiply the din of discord by overstraining all 
 
 the strings? 
 The rebel hath fortified his strong-hold, shutting in his 
 
 vassals with him, — 
 Shall he aggravate the woes of the besieged by oppres- 
 sion from within ? 
 Thou twice deformed image of thy Maker, thou hateful 
 
 representative of Love, 
 For very shame be merciful, be kind unto the creatures 
 
 thou hast ruined ; 
 Earth and her million tribes are cursed for thy sake, 
 Earth and her million tribes still writhe beneath thy 
 
 cruelty : 
 Liveth there but one among the million that shall not 
 
 bear witness against thee, 
 A pensioner of land or air or sea, that hath not whereof 
 
 it will accuse thee ? 
 From the elephant toiling at a launch, to the shrew 
 
 mouse in the harvest-field, 
 From the whale which the harpooner hath stricken, to 
 
 the minnow caught upon a pin, 
 From the albatross wearied in its flight, to the wren in 
 
 her covered nest, 
 From the death-moth and lace-winged dragon-fly, to the 
 
 lady-bird and the gnat, 
 The verdict of all things is unanimous, finding their 
 
 master cruel : 
 The dog, thy humble friend, thy trusting, honest friend ; 
 The ass, thine uncomplaining slave, drudging from morn 
 
 to even; 
 The lamb, and the timorous hare, and the labouring ox 
 
 at plough ; 
 
200 ®i (Kntettg to ^ramal*. 
 
 The speckled trout, basking in the shallow, and the par- 
 tridge, gleaning in the stubble, 
 
 And the stag at bay, and the worm in thy path, and the 
 wild bird pining in captivity, 
 
 And all things that minister alike to thy life and thy 
 comfort and thy pride, 
 
 Testify with one sad voice that man is a cruel master. 
 
 Eerily, they are all thine : freely mayst thou serve thee 
 of them all : 
 
 They are thine by gift for thy needs, to be used in all 
 gratitude and kindness ; 
 
 Gratitude to their God and thine, — their Father and thy 
 Father, 
 
 Kindness to them who toil for thee, and help thee with 
 their all : 
 
 For meat, but not by wantonness of slaying ; for bur- 
 den, but with limits of humanity ; 
 
 For luxury, but not through torture ; for draught, but 
 according to the strength : 
 
 For a dog cannot plead his own right, nor render a rea- 
 son for exemption, 
 
 Nor give a soft answer unto wrath, to turn aside the un- 
 deserved lash ; 
 
 The galled ox cannot complain, nor supplicate a mo- 
 ment's respite ; 
 
 The spent horse hideth his distress, till he panteth out 
 his spirit at the goal ; 
 
 Also, in the winter of life, when worn by constant toil, 
 
 If ingratitude forget his services, he cannot bring them 
 to remembrance ; 
 
 Behold, he is faint with hunger ; the big tear standeth 
 in his eye ; 
 
©f Cnrettg to Qxaxwal*. 201 
 
 His skin is sore with stripes, and he tottereth beneath 
 his burden ; 
 
 His limbs are stiff with age, his sinews have lost their 
 vigour, 
 
 And pain is stamped upon his face, while he wrestleth 
 unequally with toil ; 
 
 Yet once more mutely and meekly endureth he the 
 crushing blow ; 
 
 That struggle hath cracked his heart-strings, — the gene- 
 rous brute is dead ! 
 
 Liveth there no advocate for him ? no judge to avenge 
 his wrongs ? 
 
 No voice that shall be heard in his defence ? no sentence 
 to be passed on his oppressor ? 
 
 Yea, the sad eye of the tortured pleadeth pathetically for 
 him; 
 
 Yea, all the justice in heaven is roused in indignation at 
 his woes ; 
 
 Yea, all the pity upon earth shall call down a curse upon 
 the cruel ; 
 
 Yea, the burning malice of the wicked is their own ex- 
 ceeding punishment. 
 
 The Angel of Mercy stoppeth not to comfort, but passeth 
 by on the other side, 
 
 And hath no tear to shed, when a cruel man is damned. 
 
202 
 
 §f f rmtirsjjip. 
 
 2W frost to the bud, and blight to the blossom, even 
 
 such is self-interest to friendship : 
 For Confidence cannot dwell where Selfishness is porter 
 
 at the gate. 
 If thou see thy friend to be selfish, thou canst not be 
 
 sure of his honesty ; 
 And in seeking thine own weal, thou hast wronged the 
 
 reliance of thy friend. 
 Flattery hideth her varnished face when friendship 
 
 sitteth at his board ; 
 And the door is shut upon suspicion, but candour is bid 
 
 glad welcome : 
 For friendship abhorreth doubt, its life is in mutual 
 
 trust, 
 And perisheth, when artful praise proveth it is sought 
 
 for a purpose. 
 A man may be good to thee at times, and render thee 
 
 mighty service, 
 
®i ixuxtityxy. 203 
 
 Whom yet thy secret soul could not desire as a friend; 
 For the sum of life is in trifles, and though, in the 
 
 weightier masses, 
 A man refuse thee not his purse, nay, his all in thine 
 
 utmost need, 
 Yet if thou canst not feel that his character agreeth with 
 
 thine own, 
 Thou never wilt call him friend, though thou render him 
 
 a heartful of gratitude. 
 A coarse man grindeth harshly the finer feelings of his 
 
 brother ; 
 A common mind will soon depart from the dull com- 
 panionship of wisdom ; 
 A weak soul dareth not to follow in the track of vigour 
 
 and decision ; 
 And the worldly regardeth with scorn the seeming 
 
 foolishness of faith. 
 A mountain is made up of atoms, and friendship of 
 
 little matters, 
 And if the atoms hold not together, the mountain is 
 
 crumbled into dust. 
 
 Come, I will show thee a friend ; I will paint one worthy 
 of thy trust : 
 
 Thine heart shall not weary of him : thou shalt not se- 
 cretly despise him. 
 
 Thou art long in learning him, in unravelling all his 
 worth ; 
 
 And he dazzleth not thine eyes at first, to be darkened in 
 thy sight afterward, 
 
 But riseth from small beginnings, and reacheth the 
 height of thine esteem. 
 
204 #f Jrieritefcip. 
 
 He remembereth that thou art only man ; he expecteth 
 
 not great things from thee ; 
 And his forbearance toward thee silently teacheth thee 
 
 to be considerate unto him. 
 He despiseth not courtesy of manner, nor neglecteth the 
 
 decencies of life : 
 Nor mocketh the failings of others, nor is harsh in his 
 
 censures before thee : 
 For so, how couldst thou tell, if he talketh not of thee in 
 
 ridicule ? 
 He withholdeth no secret from thee, and rejecteth not 
 
 thine in turn ; 
 He shareth his joys with thee, and is glad to bear part in 
 
 thy sorrows. 
 Yet one thing, he loveth thee too well to show thee the 
 
 corruptions of his heart : 
 For as an ill example strengtheneth the hands of the 
 
 wicked, 
 So to put forward thy guilt, is a secret poison to thy 
 
 friend : 
 For the evil in his nature is comforted, and he warreth 
 
 more weakly against it, 
 If he find that the friend whom he honoureth, is a man 
 
 more sinful than himself. 
 I hear the communing of friends ; ye speak out the ful- 
 ness of your souls, 
 And being but men, as men, ye own to all the sympathies 
 
 of manhood : 
 Confidence openeth the lips, indulgence beameth from 
 
 the eye, 
 The tongue loveth not boasting, the heart is made glad 
 
 with kindness : 
 
©I &xwctot$$. 205 
 
 And one standeth not as on a hill, beckoning to the 
 other to follow, 
 
 But ye toil up hand in hand, and carry each other's 
 burdens. 
 
 Ye commune of hopes and aspirations, the fervent 
 breathings of the heart, 
 
 Ye speak with pleasant interchange the treasured secrets 
 of affection, 
 
 Ye listen to the voice of complaint, and whisper the lan- 
 guage of comfort, 
 
 And as in a double solitude, ye think in each other's 
 hearing. 
 
 Choose thy friend discreetly, and see thou consider his 
 
 station, 
 For the graduated scale of ranks accordeth with the or- 
 dinance of Heaven : 
 If a low companion ripen to a friend, in the full sunshine 
 
 of thy confidence, 
 Know, that for old age thou hast heaped up sorrow : 
 For thou sinkest to that level, and thy kin shall scorn 
 
 thee, 
 Yea, and the menial thou hast pampered haply shall 
 
 neglect thee in thy death ; 
 And if thou reachest up to high estates, thinking to 
 
 herd with princes, 
 What art thou but a footstool, though so near a throne ? 
 rush among the lilies, be taught thou art a weed, 
 briar among the cedars, hot contempt shall burn thee. 
 But thou, friend and scholar, select from thine own 
 
 caste, 
 
206 ®f Jmnfrafcip. 
 
 And make not an intimate of one, thy servant or thy 
 master ; 
 
 For only friendship among men is the true republic, 
 
 Where all have equality of service, and all have freedom 
 of command. 
 
 And yet, if thou wilt take my judgment, be shy of too 
 much openness with any, 
 
 Lest thou repent hereafter, should he turn and rend 
 thee: 
 
 For many an apostate friend hath abused unguarded con- 
 fidence, 
 
 And bent to selfish ends the secret of the soul. 
 
 Absence strengtheneth friendship, where the last recol- 
 lections were kindly ; 
 
 But it must be good wine at the last, or absence shall 
 weaken it daily. 
 
 A rare thing is faith, and friendship is a marvel among 
 men, 
 
 Yet strange faces call they friends, and say they believe 
 when they doubt. 
 
 Those hours are not lost that are spent in cementing 
 affection ; 
 
 For a friend is above gold, precious as the stores of the 
 mind. 
 
 Be sparing of advice by words, but teach thy lesson by 
 example : 
 
 For the vanity of man may be wounded, and retort un- 
 kindly upon thee. 
 
 There be some that never had a friend, because they were 
 gross and selfish ; 
 
#f gikvibtfyip 207 
 
 Worldliness, and apathy, and pride, leave not many that 
 
 are worthy : 
 But one who meriteth esteem, need never lack a friend : 
 For as thistledown flieth abroad, and casteth its anchor 
 
 in the soil, 
 So philanthropy yearneth for a % heart, where it may take 
 
 root and blossom. 
 
 f?et I hear the child of sensibility moaning at the wintry 
 
 cold, 
 Wherein the mists of selfishness have wrapped the so- 
 ciety of men : 
 He grieveth, and hath deep reasons : for falsehood hath 
 
 wronged his trust, 
 And the breaches in his bleeding heart have been filled 
 
 with the briars of suspicion. 
 For, alas, how few be Mends, of whom charity hath 
 
 hoped well ! 
 How few there be among men who forget themselves for 
 
 other ! 
 Each one seeketh his own, and looketh on his brethren 
 
 as rivals, 
 Masking envy with friendship, to serve his secret ends. 
 And the world, that corrupteth all good, hath wronged 
 
 that sacred name, 
 For it calle'th any man friend, who is not known for an 
 
 enemy ; 
 And such be as the flies of summer, while plenty sitteth 
 
 at thy board : 
 But who can wonder at their flight from the cold denials 
 
 of want? 
 
208 m $xxtTtb*$$. 
 
 Such be as vultures round a carcase assembled together 
 
 for the feast ; 
 But a sudden noise scareth them, and forthwith are they 
 
 specks among the clouds. 
 There be few, child of sensibility, who deserve to have 
 
 thy confidence ; 
 Yet weep not, for there are some, and such some live for 
 
 thee : 
 To them is the chilling world a drear and barren scene, 
 And gladly seek they such as thou art, for seldom find 
 
 they the occasion : 
 For, though no man excludeth himself from the high 
 
 capability of friendship, 
 Yet verily the man is a marvel whom truth can write a 
 
 friend. 
 
•209 
 
 ffi % m. 
 
 WfytVt is a fragrant blossom, that maketh glad the gar- 
 den of the heart ; 
 Its root lieth deep : it is delicate, vet lasting, as the lilac 
 
 crocus of autumn : 
 Loneliness and thought are the dews that water it mom 
 
 and even ; 
 Memory and Absence cherish it, as the balmy breathings 
 
 of the south : 
 Its sun is the brightness of Affection, and it bloometh in 
 
 the borders of Hope ; 
 Its companions are gentle flowers, and the briar wither- 
 
 eth by its side. 
 I saw it budding in beauty: I felt the magic of its 
 
 smile; 
 The violet rejoiced beneath it. the rose stooped down and 
 
 kissed it ; 
 And I thought some cherub had planted there a truant 
 
 flower of Eden, 
 
 p 
 
21 #f $obz. 
 
 As a bird bringeth foreign seeds, that they may nourish 
 
 in a kindly soil. 
 I saw, and asked not its name ; I knew no language was 
 
 so wealthy, 
 Though every heart of every clime findeth its echo 
 
 within. 
 And yet what shall I say ? Is a sordid man capable of 
 
 Love? 
 Hatha seducer known it? Can an adulterer perceive 
 
 it? 
 Or he that seeketh strange women, can he feel its 
 
 purity ? 
 Or he that changeth often, can he know its truth ? 
 Longing for another's happiness, yet often destroying 
 
 its own ; 
 Chaste, and looking up to God, as the fountain of ten- 
 derness and joy : 
 Quiet, yet flowing deep, as the Ehine among rivers ; 
 Lasting, and knowing not change — it walketh with Truth 
 
 and Sincerity. 
 
 Hove : — what a volume in a word, an ocean in a tear, 
 A seventh heaven in a glance, a whirlwind in a sigh, 
 The lightning in a touch, a millennium in a moment, 
 What concentrated joy or woe in blest or blighted 
 
 love ! 
 For it is that native poetry springing up indigenous to 
 
 Mind, 
 The heart's own-country music thrilling all its chords, 
 The story without an end that angels throng to hear, 
 The word, the king of words, carved on Jehovah's 
 
 heart ! 
 
®i $abt 211 
 
 Go, call thou snake-eyed malice mercy, call envy 
 
 honest praise, 
 Count selfish craft for wisdom, and coward treachery for 
 
 prudence, 
 Do homage to blaspheming unbelief as to bold and free 
 
 philosophy, 
 And estimate the recklessness of license as the right at- 
 tribute of liberty, — 
 But with the world, thou friend and scholar, stain not 
 
 this pure name ; 
 Nor suffer the majesty of Love to be likened to the 
 
 meanness of desire : 
 For love is no more such, than seraphs' hymns are 
 
 discord, 
 And such is no more Love, than Etna's breath is 
 
 summer. 
 
 Hove is a sweet idolatry enslaving all the soul, 
 
 A mighty spiritual force, warring with the dulness of 
 matter, 
 
 An angel-mind breathed into a mortal, though fallen yet 
 how beautiful ! 
 
 All the devotion of the heart in all its depth and grand- 
 eur. 
 
 Behold that pale geranium, pent within the cottage 
 window ; 
 
 How yearningly it stretcheth to the light its sickly long- 
 stalked leaves, 
 
 How it straineth upward to the sun, coveting his sweet 
 influences, 
 
 How real a living sacrifice to the god of all its worship ! 
 
 p 2 
 
212 #| fafe* 
 
 Such is the soul that loveth; and so the rose-tree of 
 
 affection 
 Bendeth its every leaf to look on those dear eyes, 
 Its every hlushing petal basketh in their light, 
 And all its gladness, all its life, is hanging on their 
 
 love. 
 
 3Ef the love of the heart is blighted, it buddeth not 
 
 again : 
 If that pleasant song is forgotten, it is to be learnt no 
 
 more : 
 Yet often will thought look back, and weep over early 
 
 affection ; 
 And the dim notes of that pleasant song will be heard 
 
 as a reproachful spirit, 
 Moaning in iEolian strains over the desert of the heart, 
 Where the hot siroccos of the world have withered its 
 
 one oasis. 
 
213 
 
 4&f Itorrrag*. 
 
 a good wife of thy God, for she is the best gift of 
 
 His providence ; 
 Yet ask not in bold confidence that which He hath not 
 
 promised : 
 Thou knowest not His good will : — be thy prayer then 
 
 submissive thereunto ; 
 And leave thy petition to His mercy, assured that He 
 
 will deal well with thee. 
 If thou art to have a wife of thy youth, she is now living 
 
 on the earth ; 
 Therefore think of her, and pray for her weal; yea, 
 
 though thou hast not seen her. 
 They that love early become like-minded, and the tempter 
 
 toucheth them not : 
 They grow up leaning on each other, as the olive and the 
 
 vine. 
 Youth longeth for a kindred spirit, and yearneth for a 
 
 heart that can commune with his own ; 
 
214 <§f Patriagt. 
 
 He meditateth night and day, doting on the image of his 
 
 fancy. 
 Take heed that what charmeth thee is real, nor springeth 
 
 of thine own imagination ; 
 And suffer not trifles to win thy love; for a wife is 
 
 thine unto death. 
 The harp and the voice may thrill thee, — sound may en- 
 chant thine ear, 
 But consider thou, the hand will wither, and the sweet 
 
 notes turn to discord : 
 The eye, so hrilliant at even, may be red with sorrow in 
 
 the morning ; 
 And the sylph-like form of elegance must writhe in the 
 
 crampings of pain. 
 
 O happy lot, and hallowed, even as the joy of angels, 
 Where the golden chain of godliness is entwined with 
 
 the roses of love : 
 But beware thou seem not to be holy, to win favour in 
 
 the eyes of a creature, 
 For the guilt of the hypocrite is deadly, and winneth 
 
 thee wrath elsewhere. 
 The idol of thy heart is, as thou, a probationary sojourner 
 
 on earth ; 
 Therefore be chary of her soul, for that is the jewel in 
 
 her casket : 
 Let her be a child of God, that she bring with her a 
 
 blessing to thy house,— 
 A blessing above riches, and leading contentment in its 
 
 train : 
 Let her be an heir of heaven ; so shall she help thee on 
 
 thy way : 
 
m Iferiag*. 215 
 
 For those who are one in faith, fight double-handed 
 
 against evil. 
 Take heed lest she love thee before God; that she be not 
 
 an idolator : 
 Yet see thou that she love thee well ; for her heart is the 
 
 heart of woman ; 
 And the triple nature of humanity must be bound by a 
 
 triple chain, 
 For soul and mind and body — godliness, esteem, and 
 
 affection. 
 
 How beautiful is modesty ! it winneth upon all be- 
 holders : 
 
 But a word or a glance may destroy the pure love that 
 should have been for thee. 
 
 Affect not to despise beauty : no one is freed from its 
 dominion ; 
 
 But regard it not a pearl of price : — it is fleeting as the 
 bow in the clouds. 
 
 If the character within be gentle, it often hath its index 
 in the countenance : 
 
 The soft smile of a loving face is better than splendour 
 that fadeth quickly. 
 
 When thou choosest a wife, think not only of thyself, 
 
 But of those God may give thee of her, that they re- 
 proach thee not for their being : 
 
 See that He hath given her health, lest thou lose her 
 early and weep : 
 
 See that she springeth of a wholesome stock, that thy 
 little ones perish not before thee : 
 
 For many a fair skin hath covered a mining disease, 
 
216 #f Paniajpc. 
 
 And many a laughing cheek been bright with the glare 
 of madness. 
 
 JHark the converse of one thou lovest, that it be simple 
 
 and sincere ; 
 For an artful or false woman shall set thy pillow with 
 
 thorns. 
 Observe her deportment with others, when she thinketh 
 
 not that thou art nigh, 
 For with thee will the blushes of love conceal the true 
 
 colour of her mind. 
 Hath she learning ? it is good, so that modesty go with 
 
 it: 
 Hath she wisdom ? it is precious, but beware that thou 
 
 exceed ; 
 For woman must be subject, and the true mastery is of 
 
 the mind. 
 Be joined to thine equal in rank, or the foot of pride 
 
 will kick at thee; 
 And look not only for riches, lest thou be mated with 
 
 misery : 
 Marry not without means ; for so shouldst thou tempt 
 
 Providence ; 
 But wait not for more than enough ; for Marriage is the 
 
 duty of most men : 
 Grievous indeed must be the burden that shall outweigh 
 
 innocence and health, 
 And a well-assorted marriage hath not many cares. 
 In the day of thy joy consider the poor: thou shalt 
 
 reap a rich harvest of blessing ; 
 For these be the pensioners of One who filleth thy cup 
 
 with pleasures : 
 
In the day of thy joy be thankful : He hath well de- 
 served thy praise : 
 
 Mean and selfish is the heart that seeketh Him only in 
 sorrow. 
 
 For her sake who leaneth on thine arm, court not the 
 notice of the world, 
 
 And remember that sober privacy is comelier than pub- 
 lic display. 
 
 If thou marriest, thou art allied unto strangers ; see 
 they be not such as shame thee : 
 
 If thou marriest, thou lea vest thine own ; see that it be 
 not done in anger. 
 
 28ride and bridegroom, pilgrims of life, henceforward to 
 
 travel together, 
 In this the beginning of your journey, neglect not the 
 
 favour of Heaven : 
 Let the day of hopes fulfilled be blest by many prayers, 
 And at even-tide kneel ye together, that your joy be not 
 
 unhallowed : 
 Angels that are round you shall be glad, those loving 
 
 ministers of mercy, 
 And the richest blessings of your God shall be poured 
 
 on His favoured children. 
 Marriage is a figure and an earnest of holier things un- 
 seen, 
 And reverence well becometh the symbol of dignity and 
 
 glory. 
 Keep thy heart pure, lest thou do dishonour to thy 
 
 state ; 
 Selfishness is base and hateful; but love considereth not 
 
 itself. 
 
218 #f itarxage. 
 
 The wicked turneth good into evil, for his mind is 
 warped within him : 
 
 But the heart of the righteous is chaste : his conscience 
 casteth off sin. 
 
 If thou wilt he loved, render implicit confidence ; 
 
 If thou wouldst not suspect, receive full confidence in 
 turn : 
 
 For where trust is not reciprocal, the love that trusted 
 withereth. 
 
 Hide not your grief nor your gladness; be open one 
 with the other; 
 
 Let bitterness be strange unto your tongues, but sym- 
 pathy a dweller in your hearts : 
 
 Imparting halveth the evils, while it doubleth the plea- 
 sures of life, 
 
 But sorrows breed and thicken in the gloomy bosom of 
 Eeserve. 
 
 3?oung wife, be not froward, nor forget that modesty be- 
 
 cometh thee ; 
 If it be discarded now, who will not hold it feigned 
 
 before ? 
 But be not as a timid girl, — there is honour due to thine 
 
 estate , 
 A matron's modesty is dignified : she blusheth not, 
 
 neither is she bold. 
 Be kind to the friends of thine husband, for the love 
 
 they have to him : 
 And gently bear with his infirmities : hast thou no need 
 
 of his forbearance ? 
 Be not always in each other's company ; it is often good 
 
 to be alone ; 
 
•f gfetriajp. 219 
 
 And if there be too much sameness, ye cannnot but grow 
 weary of each other : 
 
 Ye have each a soul to be nourished, and a mind to be 
 taught in wisdom, 
 
 Therefore, as accountable for time, help one another to 
 improve it. 
 
 If ye feel love to decline, track out quickly the secret 
 cause : 
 
 Let it not rankle for a day, but confess and bewail it to- 
 gether : 
 
 Speedily seek to be reconciled, for love is the life of mar- 
 riage; 
 
 And be ye co-partners in triumph, conquering the 
 peevishness of self. 
 
 ICet no one have thy confidence, wife, saving thine 
 husband : 
 
 Have not a Mend more intimate, husband, than thy 
 wife. 
 
 In the joy of a well-ordered home be warned that this is 
 not your rest ; 
 
 For the substance to come may be forgotten in the pre- 
 sent beauty of the shadow. 
 
 If ye are blessed with children, ye have a fearful 
 pleasure, 
 
 A deeper care and a higher joy, and the range of your 
 existence is widened : 
 
 If God in wisdom refuse them, thank Him for an un- 
 known mercy : 
 
 For how can ye tell if they might be a blessing or a 
 curse ? 
 
220 ®f parriagje. 
 
 Yet ye may pray, like Hannah, simply dependent on His 
 
 will : 
 Besignation sweeteneth the cup, but impatience dasheth 
 
 it with vinegar. 
 Now this is the sum of the matter : — if ye will be happy 
 
 in marriage, 
 Confide, love, and be patient: be faithful, firm, and 
 
 holy. 
 
221 
 
 if #rafe. 
 
 9 fcafct in a house is a well-spring of pleasure, a rries- 
 senger of peace and love : 
 
 A resting place for innocence on earth ; a link between 
 angels and men : 
 
 Yet is it a talent of trust, a loan to be rendered back 
 with interest ; 
 
 A delight, but redolent of care ; honey-sweet, but lack- 
 ing not the bitter. 
 
 For character groweth day by day, and all things aid it 
 in unfolding, 
 
 And the bent unto good or evil may be given in the 
 hours of infancy : 
 
 Scratch the green rind of a sapling, or wantonly twist it 
 in the soil, 
 
 The scarred and crooked oak will tell of thee for cen- 
 turies to come ; 
 
 Even so mayst thou guide the mind to good, or lead it 
 to the marrings of evil, 
 
222 ©f (Bterftow. 
 
 For disposition is builded up by the fashioning of first 
 
 impressions : 
 Wherefore, though the voice of Instruction waiteth for 
 
 the ear of reason, 
 Yet with his mother's milk the young child drinketh 
 
 Education. 
 Patience is the first great lesson ; he may learn it at the 
 
 breast : 
 And the habit of obedience and trust may be grafted on 
 
 his mind in the cradle : 
 Hold the little hands in prayer, teach the weak knees 
 
 their kneeling ; 
 Let him see thee speaking to thy God ; he will not for- 
 get it afterward : 
 When old and grey will he feelingly remember a mother s 
 
 tender piety, 
 And the touching recollection of her prayers shall arrest 
 
 the strong man in his sin. 
 
 Select not to nurse thy darling one that may taint his 
 
 innocence, 
 For example is a constant monitor, and good seed will 
 
 die among the tares. 
 The arts of a strange servant have spoiled a gentle dis- 
 position : 
 "M other, let him learn of thy lips, and be nourished at 
 
 thy breast. 
 Character is mainly moulded by the cast of the minds 
 
 that surround it : 
 Let then the playmates of thy little one be not other than 
 
 thy judgment shall approve : 
 For a child is in a new world, and learneth somewhat 
 
 every moment, 
 
©f (Btotcattotr. 2-23 
 
 His eye is quick to observe, liis memory storeth in 
 
 secret, 
 His ear is greedy of knowledge, and his mind is plastic 
 
 as soft wax. 
 Beware then that he heareth what is good, that he 
 
 feedeth not on evil maxims, 
 For the seeds of first instructions are dropt into the 
 
 deepest furrows. 
 That which immemorial use hath sanctioned, seemeth to 
 
 be right and true ; 
 Therefore, never let him have to recollect the time when 
 
 good things were strangers to Ms thought. 
 Strive not to centre in thyself, fond mother, all his love ; 
 Nay, do not thou so selfishly, but enlarge his heart for 
 
 others ; 
 Use him to sympathy betimes, that he learn to be sad 
 
 with the afflicted ; 
 And check not a child in his merriment, — should not 
 
 his morning be sunny ? 
 Give him not all his desire, so shalt thou strengthen him 
 
 in hope ; 
 Neither stop with indulgence the fountain of his tears. 
 
 so shall he fear thy firmness. 
 Above all things graft on him subjection, yea, in the 
 
 veriest trifle ; 
 Courtesy to all, reverence to some, and to thee unanswer- 
 
 ing obedience. 
 
 Head thou first, and well approve, the books thou givest 
 
 to thy child ; 
 But remember the weakness of his thought, and that 
 
 wisdom for him must be diluted : 
 
224 #f fitaeaiiim. 
 
 In the honied waters of infant tales, let him taste the 
 
 strong wine of truth : 
 Pathetic stories soften the heart; hut legends of terror 
 
 oreed midnight misery ; 
 Fairy fictions cram the mind with folly, and knowledge 
 
 of evil tempteth to like evil : 
 Be not loath to curb imagination, nor he fearful that 
 
 truths will depress it ; 
 And for evil, he will learn it soon enough ; he not thou 
 
 the devil's envoy. 
 Induce not precocity of intellect, for so shouldst thou 
 
 nourish vanity ; 
 Neither can a plant, forced in the hot-hed, stand against 
 
 the frozen hreath of winter. 
 The mind is made wealthy hy ideas, hut the multitude of 
 
 words is a clogging weight : 
 Therefore he understood in thy teaching, and instruct to 
 
 the measure of capacity. 
 Analogy is milk for bahes, hut abstract truths are strong 
 
 meat; 
 Precepts and rules are repulsive to a child, but happy 
 
 illustration winneth him : 
 In vain shalt thou preach of industry and prudence, till 
 
 he learn of the bee and the ant ; 
 Dimly will he think of his soul, till the acorn and the 
 
 chrysalis have taught him ; 
 He will fear God in thunder, and worship His loveliness 
 
 in flowers ; 
 And parables shall charm his heart, while doctrines seem 
 
 dead mystery : 
 Faith shall he learn of the husbandman casting good 
 
 corn into the soil ; 
 
©f (Ktotntfiom 225 
 
 And if thou train him to trust thee, he will not withhold 
 
 his reliance from the Lord. 
 Fearest thou the dark, poor child? I would not have 
 
 thee left to thy terrors ; 
 Darkness is the semblance of evil, and nature regardeth 
 
 it with dread : 
 Yet know thy father's God is with thee still, to guard 
 
 thee: 
 It is a simple lesson of dependence ; let thy tost mind 
 
 anchor upon Him, 
 Did a sudden noise affright thee ? lo, this or that hath 
 
 caused it : 
 Things undefined are full of dread, and stagger stouter 
 
 nerves. 
 The seeds of misery and madness have been sowed in 
 
 the nights of infancy ; 
 Therefore be careful that ghastly fears be not the night 
 
 companions of thy child. 
 
 Ho, thou art a landmark on a hill ; thy little ones copy 
 thee in all things : 
 
 Let, then, thy religion be perfect : so shalt thou be 
 honoured in thy house. 
 
 Be instructed in all wisdom, and communicate that thou 
 knowest, 
 
 Otherwise thy learning is hidden, and thus thou seemest 
 unwise. 
 
 A sluggard hath no respect: an epicure commandeth 
 not reverence ; 
 
 Meanness is always despicable, and folly provoketh con- 
 tempt. 
 
 Q 
 
226 ®i (Kteatiim. 
 
 Those parents are best honoured whose characters best 
 deserve it ; 
 
 Show me a child undutiful, I shall know where to look 
 for a foolish father : 
 
 Never hath a father done his duty, and lived to be de- 
 spised of his son. 
 
 But how can that son reverence an example he dare not 
 follow ? 
 
 Should he imitate thee in thine evil ? his scorn is thy 
 rebuke. 
 
 Nay, but bring him up aright, in obedience to God and 
 to thee ; 
 
 Begin betimes, lest thou fail of his fear; and with judg- 
 ment, that thou lose not his love : 
 
 Herein use good discretion, and govern not all alike, 
 
 Yet, perhaps, the fault will be in thee, if kindness prove 
 not all-sufficient : 
 
 By kindness, the wolf and the zebra become docile as 
 the spaniel and the horse ; 
 
 The kite feedeth with the starling, under the law of kind- 
 ness : 
 
 That law shall tame the fiercest, bring down the battle- 
 ments of pride, 
 
 Cherish the weak, control the strong, and win the fear- 
 ful spirit. 
 Be obeyed when thou commandest ; but command not 
 
 often : 
 Let thy carriage be the gentleness of love, not the stern 
 
 front of tyranny. 
 Make not one child a warning to another ; but chide the 
 offender apart : 
 
§{ mention. 227 
 
 For self-conceit and wounded pride rankle like poisons 
 
 in the soul. 
 A mild rebuke in the season of calmness, is better than 
 
 a rod in the heat of passion ; 
 Nevertheless, spare not, if thy word hath passed for 
 
 punishment ; 
 Let not thy child see thee humbled, nor learn to think 
 
 thee false ; 
 Suffer none to reprove thee before him, and reprove not 
 
 thine own purposes by change ; 
 Yet speedily turn thou again, and reward him where 
 
 thou canst, 
 For kind encouragement in good cutteth at the roots of 
 
 evil. 
 
 jSBrive not a timid infant from his home, in the early 
 
 spring-time of his life, 
 Commit not that treasure to an hireling, nor wrench the 
 
 young heart's fibres : 
 In his helplessness leave him not alone, a stranger among 
 
 strange children, 
 Where affection longeth for thy love, counting the 
 
 dreary hours ; 
 Where religion is made a terror, and innocence weepeth 
 
 unheard ; 
 Where oppression grindeth without remedy, and cruelty 
 
 delighteth in smiting. 
 Wherefore comply with an evil fashion ? Is it not to 
 
 spare thee trouble ? 
 Can he gather no knowledge at thy mouth ? Wilt thou 
 
 yield thine honour to another ? 
 
228 #f (Bbtttatiim. 
 
 What can he gain in learning, to equal what he loseth 
 
 in innocence ? 
 Alas ! for the price above gold, by which such learning 
 
 cometh ! 
 For emulative pride and envy are the specious idols of 
 
 the diligent, 
 Oaths and foul-mouthed sin burn in the language of the 
 
 idle: 
 Bolder in that mimic world of boys stare th brazen-fronted 
 
 vice, 
 Than thereafter in the haunts of men, where society doth 
 
 shame her into corners. 
 My soul, look well around thee, ere thou give thy timid 
 
 infant unto sorrows. 
 There be many that say, We were happiest in days long 
 
 past, 
 When our deepest care was an ill-conned book, 
 And when we sported in that merry sunshine of our 
 
 life, 
 Sadness a stranger to the heart, and cheerfulness its gay 
 
 inhabitant. 
 True, ye are now less pure, and therefore are more 
 
 wretched: 
 But have ye quite forgotten how sorely j% travailed at 
 
 your tasks, 
 How childish griefs and disappointments bowed down 
 
 the childish mind ? 
 How sorrow sat upon your pillow, and terror hath waked 
 
 you up betimes, 
 Dreading the strict hand of justice, that would not wait for 
 
 a reason, 
 
Or the whims of petty tyrants, children like yourselves, 
 
 Or the pestilent extract of evil poured into the ear of 
 innocence ? 
 
 Behold the coral island, fresh from the floor of the At- 
 lantic, 
 
 It is dinted by every ripple, and a soft wave can smooth 
 its surface ; 
 
 But soon its substance hardeneth in the winds and tro- 
 pic sun, 
 
 And weakly the foaming billows break against its ada- 
 mantine wall : 
 
 Even thus, though sin and care dash upon the firmness 
 of manhood, 
 
 The timid child is wasted most by his petty troubles ; 
 
 And seldom, when life is mature, and the strength pro- 
 portioned to the burden, 
 
 Will the feeling mind, that can remember, acknowledge 
 to deeper anguish, 
 
 Than when, as a stranger and a little one, the heart first 
 ached with anxiety, 
 
 And the sprouting buds of sensibility were bruised by 
 the harshness of a school. 
 
 My soul, look well around thee, ere thou give thine in- 
 fant unto sorrows. 
 
 Yet there be boisterous tempers, stout nerves, and stub- 
 born hearts, 
 
 And there is a riper season, when the mind is well dis- 
 ciplined in good, 
 
 And a time, when youth may be bettered by the whole- 
 some occasions of knowledge, 
 
 Which rarely will he meet with so well, as among the 
 congregation of his fellows. 
 
230 #f (Efcttntfimr. 
 
 Only for infancy, fond mother, rend not those first affec- 
 tions ; 
 
 Only for the sensitive and timorous, consign not thy 
 darling unto misery. 
 
 <& man looketh on his little one, as a being of better 
 hope; 
 
 In himself ambition is dead, but it hath a resurrection in 
 his son : 
 
 That vein is yet untried, — and who can tell if it be not 
 golden ? 
 
 While his, well nigh worked out, never yielded aught 
 but lead : 
 
 And thus is he hurt more sorely, if his wishes are de- 
 feated there, 
 
 He has staked his all upon a throw, and lo ! the dice 
 have foiled him. 
 
 All ways, and at all times, men follow on in flocks, 
 
 And the rife epidemic of the day shall tincture the stream 
 of education ; 
 
 Fashion is a foolish watcher posted at the tree of know- 
 ledge, 
 
 Who phacketh its unripe fruit to pelt away the birds : 
 
 But, for its golden apples, — they dry upon the boughs, 
 
 And few have the courage or the wisdom to eat in spite 
 of fashion. 
 
 One while, the fever is to learn, what none will be wiser 
 for knowing, 
 
 Exploded errors in extinct tongues, and occasions for 
 their use are small ; 
 
 And the bright morning of life, for years of misspent 
 time. 
 
#f iteatimr. 931 
 
 Wasted in following sounds, hath tracked up little 
 sense, 
 
 Till at noon a man is thrown upon the world, with a 
 mind expert in trifles, 
 
 Having yet everything to learn that can make him good 
 or useful : 
 
 The curious spirit of youth is crammed with unwhole- 
 some garbage, 
 
 While starving for the mother's milk the breasts of 
 nature yield ; 
 
 And high-coloured fables of depravity lure with their 
 classic varnish, 
 
 While truth is holding out in vain her mirror much de- 
 spised. 
 
 <&f olden time, the fashion was for arms, to make an ac- 
 complished slayer, 
 
 And set gregarious man a-tilting with his fellows ; 
 
 Thereafter, occult sciences, and mystic rts, and sym- 
 bols, 
 
 How to exorcise a wizard, and how to lay a ghost ; 
 
 Anon, all for gallantry and presence, the minuet, the 
 palfrey, and the foil, 
 
 And the grand aim of education was to produce a cox- 
 comb ; 
 
 Soon came scholastical dispute with hydra-headed argu- 
 ment, 
 
 And the true philosophy of mind confounded in a laby- 
 rinth of words ; 
 
 Then the Pantheon, and its orgies, initiating docile 
 childhood, 
 
 While diligent youth strove hard to render his all unto 
 Caesar ; 
 
232 <§f (Bhtcation. 
 
 And now is seen the passion for utility, when all things 
 
 are accounted by their price, 
 And the wisdom of the wise is busied in hatching golden 
 
 eggs: 
 Perchance, not many moons to come, and all will again 
 
 be for abstrusity, 
 Unravelling the figured veil that hideth Egypt's gods ; 
 Or in those strange Avatars seeking benignant Vishnu, 
 Kali, and Kamala the fair, and much invoked Ganesa. 
 
 5Che mines of knowledge are oft laid bare through the 
 
 forked hazle wand of chance, 
 And in a mountain of quartz we find a grain of gold. 
 Of a truth, it were well to know all things, and to learn 
 
 them all at once, 
 And what, though mortal insufficiency attain to small 
 
 knowledge of any ? 
 Man loveth exclusions, delighting in the sterile trodden 
 
 path, 
 While the broad green meadow is jewelled with wild 
 
 flowers : 
 And whether it is better with the many to follow a 
 
 beaten track, 
 Or by eccentric wanderings to cull unheeded sweets ? 
 
 TOhen his reason yieldeth fruit, make thy child thy 
 
 friend ; 
 For a filial friend is a double gain, a diamond set in gold. 
 As an infant, thy mandate was enough, but now let him 
 
 see thy reasons ; 
 Confide in him, but with discretion : and bend a willing 
 
 ear to his questions. 
 
M tilmatium. 233 
 
 More to thee than to all beside, let him owe good coun- 
 sel and good guidance ; 
 
 Let him feel his pursuits have an interest, more to thee 
 than to all beside. 
 
 Watch his native capacities ; nourish that which suiteth 
 him the readiest ; 
 
 And cultivate early those good inclinations wherein thou 
 fearest he is most lacking : 
 
 Is he phlegmatic and desponding? let small successes 
 comfort his hope : 
 
 Is he obstinate and sanguine ? let petty crosses accus- 
 tom him to life : 
 
 Showeth he a sordid spirit? be quick, and teach him 
 generosity : 
 
 Inclineth he to liberal excess ? prove to him how hard 
 it is to earn. 
 
 Gather to thy hearth such friends as are worthy of ho- 
 nour and attention ; 
 
 For the company a man chooseth is a visible index of 
 his heart : 
 
 But let not the pastor whom thou hearest be too much a 
 familiar in thy house, 
 
 For thy children may see his infirmities, and learn to 
 cavil at his teaching. 
 
 It is well to take hold on occasions, and render indirect 
 instruction ; 
 
 It is better to teach upon a system, and reap the wisdom 
 of books : 
 
 The history of nations yieldeth grand outlines : of per- 
 sons, minute details : 
 
 Poetry is polish to the mind, and high abstractions 
 cleanse it. 
 
234 #f (Bbtttatifltt. 
 
 Consider the station of thy son, and breed him to his 
 
 fortune with judgment : 
 The rich may profit in much which would bring small 
 
 advantage to the poor. 
 But with all thy care for thy son, with all thy strivings 
 
 for his welfare, 
 Expect disappointment, and look for pain : for he is of 
 
 an evil stock, and will grieve thee. 
 
•235 
 
 0! Wahxmt 
 
 <& fcotee man in a crowded street winneth his way with 
 
 gentleness, 
 Nor rudely pusheth aside the stranger that standeth in 
 
 his path ; 
 He knoweth that hlind hurry will hut hinder, stirring up 
 
 contention against him, 
 Yet holdetli he steadily right on, with his face to the 
 
 scope of his pursuit: 
 Even so, in the congress of opinions, the hustling high 
 
 way of intelligence, 
 Each man should ask of his neighbour, and yield to 
 
 him again, concession. 
 Terms ill- defined, and forms misunderstood, and cus- 
 toms, where their reasons are unknown, 
 Have stirred up many zealous souls to fight against 
 
 imaginary giants ; 
 But wisdom will hear the matter out, and often, by 
 
 keenness of perception, 
 
236 ®i ftokxwm. 
 
 Will find in strange disguise the precious truth he 
 
 seeketh ; 
 So he leaveth unto prejudice or taste the garb and the 
 
 manner of her presence, 
 Content to see so nigh the mistress of his love. 
 There is no similitude in nature that owneth not also to 
 
 a difference. 
 Yea, no two berries are alike, though twins upon one 
 
 stem ; 
 No drop in the ocean, no pebble on the beach, no leaf m 
 
 the forest, hath its counterpart, 
 No mind in its dwelling of mortality, no spirit in the 
 
 world unseen : 
 And therefore, since capacity and essence differ alike 
 
 with accident, 
 None but a bigot partizan will hope for impossible 
 
 unity. 
 Wilt thou ensue peace, nor buffet with the waters of 
 
 contention, 
 Wilt thou be counted wise and gain the love of men, 
 Let unobtruded error escape the frown of censure, 
 Nor lift the glass of truth alway before thy fellows : 
 1 say not, compromise the right, I would not have thee 
 
 countenance the wrong, 
 But hear with charitable heart the reasons of an honest 
 
 judgment ; 
 For thou also hast erred, and knowest not when thou art 
 
 most right, 
 Nor whether to-morrow's wisdom may not prove thee 
 
 simple to-day : 
 Perchance thou art chiding in another what once thou 
 
 wast thyself; 
 
#f SMerante. 237 
 
 Perchance thou sharply reprovest what thou wilt he 
 hereafter. 
 
 A man that can render a reason, is a man worth)* of an 
 answer ; 
 
 But he that argueth for victory, deserveth not the ten- 
 derness of Truth. 
 
 SHhiles a man liveth he may mend : count not thy bro- 
 
 ther reprobate ; 
 When he is dead his chance is gone : remember not his 
 
 faults in bitterness. 
 A man, till he dieth, is immortal in thy sight ; and then 
 
 he is as nothing ; 
 Make not the living thy foe, nor take weak vengeance of 
 
 the dead: 
 For life is as a game of chess, where least causeth 
 
 greatest, 
 And an ill move bringeth loss, and a pawn may ensure 
 
 victory. 
 Dost thou suspect? seek out certainty: for now. by 
 
 seK-inflicted pain, 
 Or ill-directed wrath, thou wrongest thyself or thy 
 
 neighbour ; 
 Suspicion is an early lesson, taught in the school of ex- 
 perience, 
 Neither shalt thou easily unlearn it, though charity ply 
 
 thee with her preaching ; 
 Yet look thou well for reasons, or ever mistrust hatb 
 
 marred thee, 
 Or fear curdled thy blood, or jealousy goaded thee to 
 
 madness ; 
 
238 <©f ftohxiam. 
 
 For a look, or a word, or an act, may be taken well or 
 
 ill 
 As construed by tbe latitude of love, or the closeness of 
 
 cold suspicion. 
 
 Uetter is the wrong with sincerity, rather than the right 
 with falsehood : 
 
 And a prudent man will not lay siege to the strong hold 
 of ignorant bigotry. 
 
 To unsettle a weak mind were an easy inglorious 
 triumph, 
 
 And a strong cause taketh little count of the worthless 
 suffrage of a fool : 
 
 Lightly he held to the wrong, loosely will he cling to 
 the right ; 
 
 Weakness is the essence of his mind, and the reed can- 
 not yield an acorn. 
 
 Dogged obstinacy is oftentimes the buttress that prop- 
 peth an unstable spirit. 
 
 But a candid man blusheth not to own, he is wiser to- 
 day than yesterday. 
 
 A man of a little wisdom is a sage among fools ; 
 
 But himself is chief among the fools, if he look for ad- 
 miration from them. 
 
 A heresy is an evil thing, for its shame is its pride : 
 
 Its necessary difference of error is the character it most 
 esteem eth : 
 
 Give a man all things short of liberty, thou shalt have 
 no thanks, 
 
 And little wilt thou speed with thine opponent, by 
 proving points he will concede. 
 
The tost sand darkeneth the waves ; and clear had been 
 
 the pages of truth, 
 Had not the glosses of men obscured the simplicity of 
 
 faith. 
 In all things consider thine own ignorance, and gladly 
 
 take occasion to be taught ; 
 But suffer not excess of liberality to neutralize thy men 
 
 tal independence. 
 The faults and follies of most men make their deaths a 
 
 gain: 
 But thou also art a man, full of faults and follies : 
 Therefore sorrow for the dead, or none shall weep for 
 
 thee, 
 For the measure of charity thou dealest, shall be poured 
 
 into thine own bosom. 
 That which vexeth thee now, provoking thee to hate thy 
 
 brother, 
 Bear with it ; the annoyance passeth, and may not re- 
 turn for ever : 
 The same combinations and results which aggravate thy 
 
 soul to-day, 
 May not meet again for centuries in the kaleidoscope of 
 
 circumstance ; 
 For men and matters change, new elements mixing in 
 
 continually, 
 And, as with chemical magic, the sour is transmuted 
 
 into sweetness : 
 A little explained, a little endured, a little passed over as 
 
 a foible, 
 And lo, the jagged atoms fit like smooth mosaic. 
 Thou canst not shape another's mind to suit thine own 
 body, 
 
240 ®f ftakrvattt. 
 
 Think not, then, to he furnishing his hrain with thy 
 
 special notions. 
 Charity walketh with a high step, and stumhleth not at 
 
 a trine : 
 Charity hath keen eyes, hut the lashes half conceal 
 
 them : 
 Charity is praised of all, and fear not thou that praise, 
 God will not love thee less, he cause men love thee 
 
 more. 
 
241 
 
 if j&jrato. 
 
 $ jfoftf, I will seek out Sorrow, and minister the balm 
 of pity, 
 
 So I sought her in the house of mourning; hut peace 
 followed in her train. 
 
 Then I marked her brooding silently in the gloomy 
 cavern of Regret ; 
 
 But a sunbeam of heavenly hope gleamed on her folded 
 wing. 
 
 So I turned to the cabin of the poor, where famine dwelt 
 with disease : 
 
 But the bed of the sick was smoothed, and the plough- 
 man whistled at his labour. 
 
 So I stopt, and mused within myself, to remember where 
 sorrow dwelt, 
 
 For I sought to see her alone, uncomforted, uncom- 
 panioned. 
 
 I went to the prison, but penitence was there, and pro- 
 mise of better times ; 
 
 R 
 
242 ®i gurruk 
 
 1 listened at the madman's cell, but it echoed with de- 
 luded laughter. 
 
 Then I Curned me to the rich and noble ; I noted the 
 sons of fashion : 
 
 A smile was on the languid cheek, that had no commerce 
 with the heart ; 
 
 Unhallowed thoughts, like fires, gleamed from the win- 
 dow of the eye ; 
 
 And sorrow lived with those whose pleasures add unto 
 their sins. 
 
 fj^is infancy wanted not guilt; his life was continued 
 evil: 
 
 He drew in pride with his mother's milk, and a father's 
 lips taught him cursing. 
 
 I marked him as the wayward boy ; I traced the disso- 
 lute youth ; 
 
 I saw him betray the innocent, and sacrifice affection to 
 his lust; 
 
 I saw him the companion of knaves, and a squanderer of 
 ill-got gain : 
 
 I heard him curse his own misery, while he hugged the 
 chains that galled him : 
 
 For well had experience declared the bitterness of guilty 
 pleasure, 
 
 But habit, with its iron net, involved him in its folds. 
 
 Behind him loured the thunder-storm, which the cal- 
 dron of his wickedness had brewed ; 
 
 Before him was the smooth steep cliff, whose base is ruin 
 and despair. 
 
 So he rushed madly on, and tried to forget his being : 
 The noisy revel and the low debauch, and fierce excite- 
 ment of play, 
 
#f Sonata. 243 
 
 With dreary interchange of palling pleasures, filled the 
 
 dull round of existence : 
 Memory was to him as a foe, so he flew for false solace 
 
 to the wine-cup, 
 And stunned his enemy at even ; but she rent him as a 
 
 giant in the morning. 
 
 3E turned aside to weep ; I lost him a little while : 
 
 I looked, and years had past; he was hoar with the 
 winter of his age. 
 
 And what was now his hope ? where was the balm for 
 his sadness? 
 
 The memory of the past was guilt : the feeling of the 
 present, remorse. 
 
 Then he set his affections on gold, he worshipped the 
 shrine of Mammon, 
 
 And to lay richer gifts before his idol, he starved his own 
 bowels ; 
 
 So, the youth spent in profligacy ended in the gripings 
 of want : 
 
 The miser grudged himself husks to take deeper "ven- 
 geance of the prodigal. 
 
 And I said, this is Sorrow, but pity cannot reach it ; 
 
 This is to be wretched indeed, to be guilty without re- 
 pentance. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 
 
 JHg soul was sickened within me, so I sought the dwell- 
 ing place of Joy : 
 
 And I met it not in laughter ; I found it not in wealth 
 or power ; 
 
 But I saw it in the pleasant home, where religion smiled 
 upon content, 
 
 And the satisfied ambition of the heart rejoiced in the 
 favour of its God. 
 
 Behold the happy man, his face is rayed with pleasure, 
 
 His thoughts are of calm delight, and none can know 
 his blessedness : 
 
 I have watched him from his infancy, and seen him in 
 the grasp of death, 
 
 Yet, never have I noted on his brow the cloud of de- 
 sponding sorrow. 
 
 He hath knelt beside his cradle ; his mother's hymn 
 lulled him to sleep : 
 
 In childhood he hath loved holiness, and drank from that 
 fountain-head of peace. 
 
245 
 
 Wisdom took him for her scholar, guiding his steps in 
 
 purity : 
 He lived unpolluted hy the world ; and his young heart 
 
 hated sin. 
 But he owned not the spurious religion engendered of 
 
 faction and moroseness, 
 Neither were the sproutings of his soul seared by the 
 
 brand of superstition. 
 His love is pure and single, sincere, and knoweth not 
 
 change ; 
 For his manhood hath been blest with the pleasant choice 
 
 of his youth : 
 Behold his one beloved, she leaneth on his arm, 
 And he looketh on the years that are past, to review the 
 
 dawn of her affection. 
 Memory is sweet unto him, as a perfect landscape to the 
 
 sight ; 
 Each object is lovely in itself, but the whole is the har- 
 mony of nature. 
 Behold his little ones around him, they bask in the 
 
 warmth of his smile ; 
 And infant innocence and joy lighten their happy faces ; 
 He is holy, and they honour him : he is loving, and they 
 
 love him : 
 He is consistent, and they esteem him : he is firm, and 
 
 they fear him. 
 His friends are the excellent among men ; and the bands 
 
 of their friendship are strong : 
 His house is the palace of peace : for the Prince of Peace 
 
 is there. 
 As the wearied man to Ins couch, as the thoughtful man 
 
 to his musings, 
 
246 m $05. 
 
 Even so, from the bustle of life, lie goeth to his well- 
 ordered home. 
 And though he often sin, he returneth with weeping 
 
 For he feeleth the mercies of forgiveness, and gloweth 
 with warmer gratitude. 
 
 Chus did he walk in happiness, and sorrow was a stran- 
 ger to his soul ; 
 
 The light of affection sunned his heart, the tear of the 
 grateful bedewed his feet, 
 
 He put his hand with constancy to good, and angels 
 knew him as a brother, 
 
 And the busy satellites of evil trembled as at God's 
 ally: 
 
 He used his wealth as a wise steward, making him friends 
 for futurity : 
 
 He bent his learning to religion, and religion was with 
 him at the last : 
 
 For I saw him after many days, when the time of his re- 
 lease was come, 
 
 And I longed for a congregated world, to behold that 
 dying saint. 
 
 As the aloe is green and well-liking, till the last best 
 summer of its age, 
 
 And then hangeth out its golden bells, to mingle glory 
 with corruption ; 
 
 As a meteor travelleth in splendour, but bursteth in 
 dazzling light ; 
 
 Such was the end of the righteous : his death was the 
 sun at its setting. 
 
U7 
 
 Hook on this picture of joy, and remember that portrait 
 
 of sorrow : 
 Behold the beauty of holiness, behold the deformity of 
 
 sin! 
 How long, ye sons of men, will ye scorn the words of 
 
 wisdom ? 
 How long will ye hunt for happiness in the caverns that 
 
 breed despair ? 
 Will ye comfort yourselves in misery, by denying the 
 
 existence of delight, 
 And from experience in woe, will ye reason that none 
 
 are happy ? 
 Joy is not in your path, for it loveth not that bleak 
 
 broad road, 
 But its flowers are hung upon the hedges that line a 
 
 narrower way; 
 And there the faint travellers of earth may wander and 
 
 gather for themselves, 
 To soothe their wounded hearts with balm from the 
 
 amaranths of heaven. 
 
 ©EO AOEA. 
 
(second sekies.) 
 
 ftttratotorg* 
 
 C0ttt£ again and greet me as a Mend, fellow-pilgrim 
 
 upon life's highway, 
 Leave awhile the hot and dusty road, to loiter in the 
 
 greenwood of Reflection. 
 Come unto my cool dim grotto, that is watered by the 
 
 rivulet of truth, 
 And over whose time-stained rock climb the fairy flowers 
 
 of content ; 
 Here, upon this mossy bank of leisure fling thy load of 
 
 cares, 
 Taste my simple store, and rest one soothing hour. 
 
28ehold, I would count thee for a brother, and commune 
 
 with thy charitable soul ; 
 Though wrapt within the mantle of a prophet, I stand 
 
 mine own weak scholar. 
 Heed no disciple for a teacher, if knowledge be not 
 
 found upon his tongue ; 
 For vanity and folly were the lessons these lips untaught 
 
 could give : 
 The precious staple of my merchandise cometh from a 
 
 better country, 
 The harvest of my reaping sprang of foreign seed : 
 And this poor pensioner of Mercy, should he boast of 
 
 merit ? 
 The grafted stock, — should that be proud of apples not 
 
 its own ? 
 Into the bubbling brook I dip my hermit shell; 
 Man receiveth as a cup, but Wisdom is the river. 
 
 Moreover, for this fillagree of fancy, this Oriental garnish 
 
 of similitude, 
 Alas, the world is old, — and all things old within it : 
 I walk a trodden path, I love the good old ways ; 
 Prophets, and priests, and kings have tuned the harp I 
 
 faintly touch. 
 Truth, in a garment of the past, is my choice and simple 
 
 theme ; 
 No truth is new to-day : and the mantle was another's. 
 
 J&till, there is an insect swarm, the buzzing cloud of 
 imagery, 
 
 Mote-like steaming on my sight, and thronging my re- 
 luctant mind; 
 
250 QvAxabvdar%. 
 
 The memories of studious culling, and multiplied ana- 
 logies of nature, 
 
 Fresh feelings unrepressed, welling from the heart spon- 
 taneous, 
 
 Facts,, and comparisons, and meditative atoms, gathered 
 on the heap of combination, 
 
 Mingle in the fashion of my speech with gossamer 
 dreams of Reverie. 
 
 I need not beat the underwood for game ; my pheasants 
 flock upon the lawn, 
 
 And gamboling hares disport fearless in my dewy field ; 
 
 I roam no heath -empurpled hills, wearily watching for a 
 covey, 
 
 But thoughts fly swift to my decoy, eager to be caught ; 
 
 I sit no quiet angler, lingering patiently for sport, 
 
 But spread my nets for a draught, and take the glittering 
 shoal ; 
 
 I chase no solitary stag, tracking it with breathless toil, 
 
 But hunt with Aureng-zebe, and spear surrounded thou- 
 sands. 
 
 OThat then, — count ye this a boast? — sweet charity, 
 think it other, 
 
 For the dog-fish and poisonous ray are captured in the 
 mullet-haul : 
 
 The crane and the kite are of my thoughts, alike with 
 the partridge and the quail, 
 
 And unclean meats as of the clean hang upon my Seric 
 shambles. 
 
 — How saith he? shall a man deceive, dressing up his 
 jackal as a lion? 
 
 Or colour in staid hues of fact the changing vest of false- 
 hood?— 
 
fntabmtorg. 251 
 
 Brother, unwittingly lie may ; doubtless, unwillingly he 
 doth : 
 
 For men are full of fault, and how should he be righte- 
 ous? 
 
 Carefully my garden hath been weeded, yet shall it be 
 foul with thistle ; 
 
 My grapery is diligently thinned, and yet many berries 
 will be sour : 
 
 From my nets have I flung the bad away, to my small 
 skill and caution ; 
 
 Yet may some slimy snake have counted for an eel. 
 
 The rudder of Man's best hope cannot always steer him- 
 self from error ; 
 
 The arrow of Man's straightest aim flieth short of truth. 
 
 Thus, the confession of sincerity visit not as if it were 
 presumption : 
 
 Nor own me for a leader, where thy reason is not guide. 
 
252 
 
 Cake courage, prisoner of time, for there be many com- 
 forts, 
 
 Cease thy labour in the pit, and bask awhile with truants 
 in the sun ; 
 
 Be cheerful, man of care, for great is the multitude of 
 chances, 
 
 Burst thy fetters of anxiety, and walk among the citizens 
 of ease : 
 
 Wherefore dost thou doubt ? if present good is round 
 thee, 
 
 It may be well to look for change, but to trust in a con- 
 tinuance is better; 
 
 Whilst, at the crisis of adversity, to hope for some amends 
 were wisdom, 
 
 And cheerfully to bear thy cross in patient strength is 
 duty. 
 
 I speak of common troubles, and the petty plagues of 
 life, 
 
m «(f*erfetae«L 253 
 
 The phantom-spies of Unbelief, that lurk about his out- 
 posts : 
 
 Sharp suspicion, dull distrust, and sullen stern morose- 
 ness 
 
 Are captains in that locust swarm to lead the cloudy 
 host. 
 
 Thou hast need of fortitude and faith, for the adver- 
 saries come on thickly, 
 
 And he that fled hath added wings to his pursuing foes ; 
 
 Fight them, and the cravens flee ; thy boldness is their 
 panic ; 
 
 Fear them, and thy treacherous heart hath lent the ranks 
 a legion : 
 
 Among their shouts of victory resoundeth the wail of 
 Heraclitus, 
 
 While Democrite, confident and cheerful, hath plucked 
 up the standard of their camp. 
 
 $lot few nor light are the burdens of life ; then load it 
 
 not with heaviness of spirit ; 
 Sicknesses, and penury, and travail, — there be real ills 
 
 enow: 
 We are wandering benighted, with a waning moon; 
 
 plunge not rashly into jungles, 
 Where cold and poisonous damps will quench the torch 
 
 of hope : 
 The tide is strong against us; good oarsmen, pull or 
 
 perish, — 
 If your arms be slack for fear, ye shall not stem the 
 
 torrent. 
 A wise traveller goeth on cheerily, through fair weather 
 
 or foul ; 
 
254 #f (K^mfttos. 
 
 He knoweth that his journey must be sped, so he carrieth 
 
 his sunshine with him. 
 Calamities come not as a curse, — nor prosperity for 
 
 other than a trial ; 
 Struggle, — thou art better for the strife, and the very 
 
 energy shall hearten thee. 
 Good is taught in a Spartan school, — hard lessons and a 
 
 rough discipline ; 
 But evil cometh idly of itself, in the luxury of Capuan 
 
 holidays : 
 And Wisdom will go bravely forth to meet the chastening 
 
 scourge, 
 Enduring with a thankful heart that punishment of Love 
 
 Chere be three chief rivers of despondency ; sin, sorrow, 
 
 fear; 
 Sin is the deepest, sorrow hath its shallows, and fear is a 
 
 noisy rapid : 
 But even to the darkest holes in guilt's profoundest 
 
 river 
 Hope can pierce with quickening ray, and all those 
 
 depths are lightened. 
 So long as there is mercy in a God, hope is the privilege 
 
 of creatures, 
 And so soon as there is penitence in creatures, that hope 
 
 is exalted into duty. 
 Verily, consider this for courage ; that the fearful and 
 
 the unbelieving 
 Are classed with idolators and liars, because they trusted 
 
 not in God: 
 For it is none other than selfish sin, a hard and proud 
 
 ingratitude, 
 
<Sf %jerfolttts*. 255 
 
 Where seeming repentance is herald of despair, instead 
 of hope's forerunner. 
 
 Moreover, in thy day of grief,— for friends, or fame, or 
 
 .fortune, 
 Well I wot the heart shall ache, and mind be numbed 
 
 in torpor ; 
 Let nature weep ; leave her alone ; the freshet of her 
 
 sorrow must run off; 
 And sooner will the lake be clear, relieved of turbid 
 
 floodings. 
 Yet see that her license hath a limit ; with the novelty 
 
 her agony is over ; 
 Hasten in that earliest calm, to tie her in the leash with 
 
 Eeason. 
 For regrets are an enervating folly, and the season for 
 
 energy is come, 
 Yea rather, that the future may repair with diligence the 
 
 ruins of the past. 
 
 &gain, for empty fears, the harassings of possible cala- 
 mity; 
 
 Pray, and thou shalt prosper ; trust in God, and tread 
 them down. 
 
 Yield to the phantasy, — thou sinnest ; resist it, He will 
 aid thee : 
 
 Out of Him there is no help, nor any sober courage. 
 
 Feeble is the comfort of the faithless, a man without a 
 God; 
 
 Who dare counsel such an one to fling away his 
 fears ? 
 
256 ®f (Kfcm&te**. 
 
 Fear is the heritage of him, a portion wise and merci- 
 ful, 
 
 To drive the tremhler into safety, if haply he may turn 
 and flee : 
 
 Nevertheless, let him reckon an he will, that all he 
 counteth casual 
 
 May as well he for him as against him ; dice have many 
 sides : 
 
 And, even as in ailments of the hody, diseases follow 
 closely upon dreads, 
 
 So, with infirmities of mind, is fear the pallid harbinger 
 of failure. 
 
 It were wise to walk undaunted even in an accidental 
 chaos, 
 
 For the brave man is at peace, and free to get the mas- 
 tery of circumstance. 
 
 The stoutest armour of defence is that which is worn 
 within the bosom, 
 
 And the weapon that no enemy can parry, is a bold and 
 cheerful spirit ; 
 
 Catapults in old war worked like Titans, crushing foes 
 with rocks ; 
 
 So doth a strong- springed heart throw back every load 
 on its assailants. 
 
 $ went heavily for cares, and fell into the trance of 
 
 sorrow ; 
 And behold, a vision in my trance, and my ministering 
 
 angel brought it. 
 There stood a mountain huge and steep, the awful 
 
 Eock of Ages ; 
 
The sun upon its summit, and storms midway, and deep 
 
 ravines at foot. 
 And, as I looked, a dense black cloud, suddenly drop 
 
 ping from the thunder, 
 Filled, like a cataract with yeasty foam, a narrow 
 
 smiling valley : 
 Close and hard that vaporous mass seemed to press the 
 
 ground, 
 And lamentable sounds came up, as of some that were 
 
 smothering beneath. 
 Then, as I walked upon the mountain, clear in summer's 
 
 noon, 
 For charity I called aloud, Ho ! climb up hither to the 
 
 sunshine. 
 And even like a stream of light my voice had pierced the 
 
 mist ; 
 I saw below two families of men, and knew their names 
 
 of old: 
 Courage, struggling through the darkness, stout of heart 
 
 and gladsome, 
 Ean up the shining ladder which the voice of Hope had 
 
 made ; 
 And tripping lightly by his side, a sweet-eyed helpmate 
 
 with him, 
 I looked upon her face to welcome pleasant Cheerful 
 
 ness ; 
 And a babe was cradled in her bosom, a laughing little 
 
 prattler, 
 The child of Cheerfulness and Courage, — could his name 
 
 be other than Success ? 
 So, from his happy wife, when they both stood beside 
 
 me on the mountain, 
 
258 ®i €\mh\uzm. 
 
 The fond father took that babe, and set him on his 
 shoulder in the sunshine. 
 
 STgahi I peered into the valley, or I heard a gasping 
 
 moan, 
 A desolate weak cry, as muffled in the vapours. 
 So down that crystal shaft into the poisonous mine 
 I sped for charity to seek and save, — and those I sought 
 
 fled from me, 
 At length, I spied, far distant, a trembling withered 
 
 dwarf 
 Who crouched beneath the cloak of a tall and spectral 
 
 mourner : 
 Then I knew Cowardice and Gloom, and followed them 
 
 on in darkness, 
 Guided by their rustling robes and moans and muffled 
 
 cries, 
 Until in a suffocating pit the wretched pair had 
 
 perished, — 
 And lo, their whitening bones were shaping out an epi- 
 taph of Failure. 
 
 Jbo I saw that despondency was death, and flung my 
 
 burdens from me, 
 And, lightened by that effort, I was raised above the 
 
 world ; 
 Yea, in the strangeness of my vision, I seemed to soar 
 
 on wings, 
 And the names they called my wings were Cheerfulness 
 
 and Wisdom. 
 
259 
 
 Ht, poor almsman of to-day, whom none can assure 
 
 of a to-morrow, 
 Tell out, with honest heart, the price thou settest upon 
 
 yesterday. 
 Is it then a writing in the dust, traced hy the finger of 
 
 idleness, 
 Which Industry, clean housewife, can wipe away for 
 
 ever? 
 Is it as a furrow on the sand, fashioned by the toying 
 
 waves, 
 Quickly to be trampled then again by the feet of the 
 
 returning tide ? 
 Is it as the pale blue smoke, rising from a peasant's 
 
 hovel, 
 That melted into limpid air, before it topped the larches ? 
 Is it but a vision, unstable and unreal, which wise men 
 
 soon forget ? 
 
 s 2 
 
260 #f festairag, 
 
 Is it as the stranger of a night, — gone, we heed not 
 
 whither ? 
 Alas ! thou foolish heart, whose thoughts are but as 
 
 these, 
 Alas ! deluded soul, that hopeth thus of Yesterday. 
 
 JFor, behold, — those temples of Ellora, the Brahmin's 
 
 rock-built shrine, 
 Behold — yon granite cliff, which the North Sea buffeteth 
 
 in vain, — 
 That stout old forest fir, — these waking verities of 
 
 life, 
 This guest abiding ever, not strange, nor a servant, but 
 
 a son, — 
 Such, man, are vanity and dreams, transient as a 
 
 rainbow on the cloud, 
 Weighed against that solid fact, thine ill-remembered 
 
 Yesterday. 
 
 Come, let me show thee an ensample, where Nature 
 
 shall instruct us ; 
 Luxuriantly the arguments for truth spring native in her 
 
 gardens. 
 Seek we yonder woodman of the plain ; he is measuring 
 
 his axe to the elm, 
 And anon the sturdy strokes ring upon the wintry 
 
 air: 
 Eagerly the village school-boys cluster on the tightened 
 
 rope, 
 Shouting, and bending to the pull, or lifted from the 
 
 ground elastic ; 
 
#f gjesterbrag. 261 
 
 The huge tree boweth like Sisera, boweth to its foes with 
 faintness, — 
 
 Its sinews crack, — deep groans declare the reeling an- 
 guish of Goliath, 
 
 The wedge is driven home,— and the saw is at its heart, 
 — and lo, with solemn slowness, 
 
 The shuddering monarch riseth from his throne, — top- 
 pled with a crash, — and is fallen ! 
 
 flow, shall the mangled stump teach proud man a 
 lesson : 
 
 Now, can we from that elm tree's sap distil the wine of 
 Truth. 
 
 Heed ye those hundred rings, concentric from the core, 
 
 Eddying in various waves to the red-bark's shore-like 
 rim? 
 
 These be the gatherings of yesterdays, present all to- 
 day, 
 
 This is the tree's judgment, self-history that cannot be 
 gainsaid : 
 
 Seven years agone there was a drough't, — and the seventh 
 ring is narrowed ; 
 
 The fifth from hence was half a deluge, — the fifth is cel- 
 lular and broad. 
 
 Thus, Man, thou art a result, the growth of many yes- 
 terdays, 
 
 That stamp thy secret soul with marks of weal or woe : 
 
 Thou art an almanack of self, the living record of thy 
 deeds ; 
 
 Spirit hath its scars as well as body, sore and aching in 
 their season : 
 
 Here is a knot, — it was a crime ; there is a canker, — 
 selfishness ; 
 
262 ®i f ^terirng. 
 
 Lo, here, the heart-wood rotten, lo, there, perchance, 
 
 the sap-wood sound. 
 Nature teacheth*not in vain; thy works are in thee, of 
 
 thee; 
 Some present evil hent hath grown of older errors : 
 x\nd what if thou he walking now uprightly? Salve not 
 
 thy wounds with poison, 
 As if a petty goodness of to-day hath "blotted out the sin 
 
 of yesterday : 
 It is well, thou hast life and light; and the Hewer 
 
 showeth mercy, 
 Dressing the root, pruning the branch, and looking for 
 
 thy tardy fruits ; 
 But, even here as thou standest, cheerful belike and 
 
 careless, 
 The stains of ancient evil are upon thee, the record of 
 
 thy wrong is in thee : 
 For, a curse of many yesterdays is thine, many yester- 
 days of sin, 
 That, haply little heeded now, shall blast thy many mor. 
 
 rows. 
 
 J*)hall then a man reck nothing, but hurl mad defiance 
 at his Judge, 
 
 Knowing that less than an Omnipotent cannot make the 
 has been, not been ? 
 
 He ought, — so Satan spake ; he must, — so Atheism 
 urgeth ; 
 
 He may, — it was the libertine's thought ; he doth, — the 
 bad world said it. 
 
 But thou of humbler heart, thou student wiser for sim- 
 plicity, 
 
#f gMfcrirag. 263 
 
 While Nature warneth thee betimes, heed the loving 
 counsel of Eeligion. 
 
 True, this change is good, and penitence most precious ; 
 
 But trust not thou thy change, nor rest upon repent- 
 ance ; 
 
 For all we are corrupted at the core, smooth as smtface 
 seemeth ; 
 
 What health can bloom in a beautiful skin, when rotten- 
 ness hath fed upon the bones ? 
 
 And guilt is parcel of us all ; not thou, sweet nursling of 
 affection, 
 
 Art spotless, though so passing fair,— nor thou, mild 
 patriarch of virtue. 
 
 3Sehold then the better Tree of Life, free unto us all for 
 
 grafting, 
 Cut thee from the hollow tree of self, to be budded on a 
 
 richer Vine. 
 Be desperate, man, as of evil, so of good ; tear that 
 
 tunic from thee ; 
 The past can never be retrieved, be the present what it 
 
 may. 
 Vain is the penance and the scourge, vain the fast and 
 
 vigil: 
 The fencer's cautious skill to-day, can this erase his 
 
 scars ? 
 It is Man's to famish as a faquir, it is Man's to die a 
 
 devotee, 
 Light is the torture and the toil, balanced with the wages 
 
 of Eternity : 
 But, it is God's to yearn in love, on the humblest, the 
 
 poorest, and the worst, 
 
264 #f gwtertag. 
 
 For He giveth freely, as a king, asking only thanks for 
 
 mercy. 
 Look upon this noble-hearted Substitute ; seeing thy 
 
 woes, He pitied thee, 
 Bowed beneath the mountain of thy sin, and perished — 
 
 but for Godhead ; 
 There stood the Atlas in his power, and Prometheus in 
 
 his loye is there, 
 Emptying on wretched men the blessings earned from 
 
 heaven : 
 Put them not away, hide them in thy heart, poor and 
 
 penitent receiver, 
 Be gratitude thy counsellor to good, and wholesome fear 
 
 unto obedience; 
 Bemember, the pruning-knife is keen, cutting cankers 
 
 even from the vine ; 
 Remember, twelve were chosen, and one among them 
 
 liveth — in perdition. 
 
 f^ea, — for standing unatoned, the soul is a bison on the 
 
 prairie, 
 Hunted by those trooping wolves, the many sinful yester- 
 days : 
 And it speedeth a terrified Deucalion, flinging back the 
 
 pebble in his flight, 
 The pebble that must add one more to those pursuing 
 
 ghosts. 
 man, there is a storm behind should drive thy bark to 
 
 haven ; 
 The foe, the foe is on thy track, patient, certain, and 
 
 avenging ; 
 Day by day, solemnly, and silently, folio we th the fearful 
 
 past, — 
 
His step is lame, but sure; for he catcheth the present 
 in eternity : 
 
 And how to escape that foe, the present-past in future ? 
 
 How to avert that fate, living consequence of causes 
 unexistent ? — 
 
 Boldly we must overleap his birth, and date above his 
 memories, 
 
 Grafted on the living Tree, that was before a yester- 
 day: 
 
 No refuge of a younger birth than one that saw creation 
 
 Can hide the child of time from still condemning yester- 
 day: 
 
 There, is the Sanctuary-city, mocking at the wrath of 
 thine Avenger, 
 
 Close at hand, with the wicket on the latch : haste for 
 thy life, poor hunted one ! 
 
 The gladiator, Guilt, fighteth as of old, armed with net 
 and dagger ; 
 
 Snaring in the mesh of yesterdays, stabbing with the 
 poignard of to-day ; 
 
 Fly, thy sword is broken at the hilt ; fly, thy .shield is 
 shivered ; 
 
 Leap the barriers, and baffle him : the arena of the past 
 is his. 
 
 The bounds of Guilt are the cycles of Time : thou must 
 be safe within Eternity ; 
 
 The arms of God alone shall rescue thee from Yester- 
 day. 
 
S66 
 
 §f f 0-taa. 
 
 Jin&i, is the constant syllable ticking from the clock of 
 time, 
 
 Now, is the watchword of the wise, Now, is on the 
 banner of the prudent. 
 
 Cherish thy to-day and prize it well, or ever it be 
 gulphed into the past ; 
 
 Husband it, for who can promise, if it shall have a mor- 
 row? 
 
 Behold, thou art, — it is enough ; that present care be 
 thine ; 
 
 Leave thou the past to thy Eedeemer, entrust the future 
 to thy Friend ; 
 
 But for to-day, child of man, tend thou charily the 
 minutes, 
 
 The harvest of thy yesterday, the seed-corn of thy mor- 
 row. 
 
 Hast night died its day; and the deeds thereof were 
 judged : 
 
267 
 
 Thou didst lay thee down as in a shroud, in darkness 
 and death-like slumher : 
 
 But at the trumpet of this morn, waking the world to 
 resurrection, 
 
 Thou didst arise, like others, to live a new day's life : 
 
 Fear, lest folly give thee cause to mourn its passing pre- 
 sence, 
 
 Fear, that to-morrow's sigh he not, would God it had not 
 dawned ! 
 
 jfor, To-day the lists are set, and thou must hear thee 
 
 hravely, 
 Tilting for honour, duty, life, or death without reproach : 
 To-day, is the trial of thy fortitude, dauntless Mandan 
 
 chief; 
 To-day, is thy watch, sentinel ; to-day, thy reprieve, 
 
 captive : 
 What more ? to-day is the golden chance wherewith to 
 
 snatch fruition, — 
 Be glad, grateful, temperate : there are asps among the 
 
 figs. 
 For the potter's clay is in thy hands, — to mould it or to 
 
 mar it at thy will. 
 Or idly to leave it in the sun, an uncouth lump to 
 
 -harden. 
 
 $ bright presence of To-day, let me wrestle with thee, 
 
 gracious angel, 
 I will not let thee go, except thou bless me ; bless me, 
 
 then, To-day : 
 sweet garden of To-day, let me gather of thee, precious 
 
 Eden; 
 
268 
 
 I have stolen bitter knowledge, give me fruits of life To- 
 day: 
 
 true temple of To-day, let me worship in thee, glo- 
 
 rious Zion : 
 
 1 find none other place nor time, than where I am To- 
 
 day: 
 
 living rescue of To-day, let me run into thee, ark of 
 
 refuge : 
 
 1 see none other hope nor chance, but standeth in To- 
 
 day: 
 
 rich banquet of To-day, let me feast upon thee, saving 
 
 manna; 
 
 1 have none other food nor store, but daily bread To- 
 
 day! 
 
 38ehold, thou art pilot of the ship, and owner of that 
 
 freighted galleon, 
 Competent, with all thy weakness, to steer into safety or 
 
 be lost : 
 Compass and chart are in thy hand : roadstead and rocks 
 
 thou knowest ; 
 Thou art warned of reefs and shallows ; thou beholdest 
 
 the harbour and its lights. 
 What ? shall thy wantonness or sloth drive the gallant 
 
 vessel on the breakers ? 
 What ? shall the helmsman's hand wear upon the black 
 
 lee shore? 
 Vain is that excuse; thou canst escape: thy mind is re- 
 sponsible for wrong : 
 Vain that murmur ; thou mayst live : thy soul is debtor 
 
 for the right. 
 To day, in the voyage of thy life down the dark tide of 
 
 time, 
 
#f fo-lmg. 269 
 
 Stand boldly to thy tiller, guide thee by the pole-star, 
 
 and be safe ; 
 To-day, passing near the sunken rocks, the quicksands 
 
 and whirlpools of probation, 
 Leave awhile the rudder to swing round, give the wind 
 
 its heading, and be wrecked. 
 
 Che crisis of man's destiny is Now, a still recurring 
 
 danger ; 
 Who can tell the trials and temptations coming with the 
 
 coming hour ? 
 Thou standest a target-like Sebastian, and the arrows 
 
 whistle near thee ; 
 Who knoweth when he may be hit? for great is the 
 
 company of archers. 
 Each breath is burdened with a bidding, and every 
 
 minute hath its mission ; 
 For spirits, good and bad, cluster on the thickly-peopled 
 
 air : 
 Sin may blast thee, grace may bless thee, good or ill this 
 
 hour : 
 Chance, and change, and doubt, and fear, are parasites 
 
 of all. 
 A man's life is a tower, with a- staircase of many steps, 
 That, as he toileth upward, crumble successively behind 
 
 him : 
 No going back ; the past is an abyss ; no stopping, for 
 
 the present perisheth ; 
 But ever hasting on, precarious on the foothold of To- 
 day; 
 Our cares are all To-day; our joys are all To-day ; 
 And in one little word, our life, what is it, but — To-day ? 
 
270 
 
 if % ff-wrato. 
 
 Cficre is a floating island forward, on the stream of 
 
 time, 
 Buoyant with fermenting air, and borne along the 
 
 rapids ; 
 And on that island is a siren, singing sweetly as she 
 
 Her eyes are bright with invitation, and allurement 
 
 lurketh in her cheeks ; 
 Many lovers, vainly pursuing, follow her beckoning 
 
 finger, 
 Many lovers seek her still, even to the cataract of death. 
 To-morrow is that island, a vain and foolish heritage, 
 And, laughing with seductive lips, Delusion hideth 
 
 there : 
 Often, the precious present is wasted in visions of the 
 
 future, 
 And coy To-morrow cometh not with prophecies fulfilled. 
 
#f %0-vtmttab. 271 
 
 Chere is a fairy skiff, plying on the sea of life, 
 
 And charitably toiling still to save the shipwrecked 
 
 crews ; 
 Within, kindly patient, sitteth a gentle mariner, 
 Piloting, through surf and strait, the fragile barks of 
 
 men : 
 How cheering is her voice, how skilfully she guideth, 
 How nobly leading onward yet, defying even death ! 
 To-morrow is that skiff, a wise and welcome rescue, 
 And, full of gladdening words and looks, that mariner is 
 
 Hope : 
 Often, the painful present is comforted by flattering the 
 
 future, 
 And kind To-morrow beareth half the burdens of To-day. 
 
 Co-morrow, whispereth weakness; and To-morrow 
 
 findeth him the weaker : 
 To-morrow, promiseth conscience ; and behold, no to-day 
 
 for a fulfilment. 
 name of happy omen unto youth, bitter word of 
 
 terror to the dotard, 
 Goal of folly's lazy wish, and sorrow's ever-coming 
 
 friend; 
 Fraud's loophole, — caution's hint, — and trap to catch the 
 
 honest, — 
 Thou wealth to many poor, disgrace to many noble, 
 Thou hope and fear, thou weal and woe, thou remedy, 
 
 thou ruin, 
 How thickly swarms of thought are clustering round To- 
 morrow ! 
 The hive of memory increaseth, to every day its cell ; 
 There is the labour stored, the honey or corruption ; 
 
£72 #f fao-mottaio. 
 
 Each morn the bees fly forth, to fill the growing comb, 
 And levy golden tribute of the uncomplaining flowers : 
 To-morrow is their care, they toil for rest to-morrow ; 
 But man deferreth duty's task, and loveth ease to-day. 
 
 %o morrow is that lamp upon the marsh, which a travel- 
 ler never reacheth ; 
 
 To morrow, the rainbow's cup, coveted prize of igno- 
 rance ; 
 
 To-morrow, the shifting anchorage, dangerous trust of 
 mariners ; 
 
 To-morrow, the wrecker's beacon, wily snare of the de- 
 stroyer. 
 
 Reconcile convictions with delay, and To-morrow is a fatal 
 lie; 
 
 Frighten resolutions into action, To-morrow is a whole 
 some truth ; 
 
 I must, for I fear To-morrow, — this is the Cassava's 
 food; 
 
 Why should I? let me trust To-morrow, — this is the 
 Cassava's poison. 
 
 Ho, it is the even of To-day, — a day so lately a To- 
 morrow ; 
 
 Where are those high resolves, those hopes of yester- 
 night? 
 
 faint fond heart, still shall thy whisper be, To-mor 
 row, 
 
 And must the growing avalanche of sin roll down that 
 easy slope ? 
 
 Alas ! it is ponderous, and moving on in might, that a 
 Sisyphus may not stop it ; 
 
®i &o-moxxo$B. 273 
 
 But haste thee with the lever of a prayer, and stem its 
 strength To-day : 
 
 For its race may speedily be run, and this poor hut, thy- 
 self, 
 
 Be whelmed in death and suffocating guilt, that dreary 
 Alpine snow-wreath. 
 
 •pensioner of life, be wise, and heed a brother's counsel ; 
 
 I also am a beadsman, with scrip and staff as thou : 
 
 Wouldest thou be bold against the past, and all its evil 
 memories, 
 
 Wouldest thou be safe amid the present, its dangers and 
 temptations, 
 
 Wouldest thou be hopeful of the future, vague though it 
 be and endless ? 
 
 Haste thee, repent, believe, obey ! thou standest in the 
 courage of a legion. 
 
 Commend the Past to God, with all its irrevocable 
 harm, 
 
 Humbly, but in cheerful trust, and banish vain re- 
 grets; 
 
 Come to Him, continually come, casting all the Present 
 at His feet, 
 
 Boldly, but in prayerful love, and fling off selfish cares ; 
 
 Commit the Future to His will, the viewless fated 
 future; 
 
 Zealously go forward with integrity, and God will bless 
 thy faith. 
 
 For that, feeble as thou art, there is with thee a mighty 
 Conqueror, 
 
 Thy Friend, the same for ever, yesterday, to-day, and to- 
 morrow ; 
 
 T 
 
274 ®f fao-maxxofo. 
 
 That Friend, changeless as eternity, Himself shall make 
 thee friends 
 
 Of those thy foes transformed, yesterday, to-day, and to- 
 morrow. 
 
!<0 
 
 ©f ^ntjjorsM?- 
 
 Great is the dignity of Authorship : 1 magnify mine 
 
 office : 
 Albeit in much feebleness I hold it thus unworthily. 
 For it is to he one of a noble hand, the welfare of the 
 
 world. 
 Whose haunt is on the lips of men. whose dwelling in 
 
 ?ir hearts. 
 Who are precious in the retrospect of Memory, and walk 
 
 among the visions of Hope, 
 Who commune with the good for everlasting, and call 
 
 the wisest, brother, 
 Whose voice hath burst the Silence, and whose light is 
 
 flung upon the Darkness. 
 — Flashing jewels on a robe of black, and harmony 
 
 bounding out of chaos, — 
 Who gladden empires with their wisdom, and bless to 
 
 the farthest generation. 
 Doers of illimitable good, gainers of inestimable glory ! — 
 
 r a 
 
276 <©f garf&owfcip. 
 
 We speak but of the Magnates, we heed none humbler 
 
 than the highest, 
 We take no count of sorry scribes, nor waste one thought 
 
 upon the groundlings ; 
 Our eyes are lifted from the multitude, groping in the 
 
 dark with candles, 
 To gaze upon that firmament of praise, the constellated 
 
 lamps of learning. 
 Ever-during witnesses of Mind, undisputed evidence of 
 
 Power, 
 Goodly volumes, living stones, build up their author's 
 
 temple : 
 Though of low estate, his rank is above princes, — though 
 
 needy, he hath worship of the rich, 
 When Genius unfurleth on the winds his banner as a 
 
 mighty leader. 
 Just in purpose, and self-possessed in soul, lord of many 
 
 talents, 
 The mental Croesus goeth forth, rejoicing in his wealth ; 
 Keen and clear perception gloweth on his forehead like 
 
 a sunbeam, 
 He readeth men at a glance, and mists roll away before 
 
 him; 
 The wise have set him as their captain, the foolish are 
 
 rebuked at his presence, 
 The excellent * bless him with their prayers, and the 
 
 wicked praise him by their curses ; 
 His voice, mighty in operation, stirreth up the world as 
 
 a trumpet, 
 And kings account it honour to be numbered of his 
 
 friends. 
 
3&are is the worthiness of Authorship : I justify mine 
 office; 
 
 Albeit fancies weak as mine credit not the calling 
 
 For it addeth immortality to dying facts, that are ready 
 to vanish away, 
 
 Embalming as in amber the poor insects of an hour ; 
 
 Shedding upon stocks and stones the tender light of in- 
 terest, 
 
 And illumining dark places of the earth, with radiance 
 of classic lustre. 
 
 It hath power to make past things present, and availeth 
 for the present in the future, 
 
 Delivering thoughts, and words, and deeds, from the 
 outer darkness of oblivion. 
 
 Where are the sages and the heroes, giants of old 
 time ?— 
 
 Where are the mighty kings, that reigned before Aga- 
 memnon ? — 
 
 Alas they lie unwept, unhonoured, hidden in the mid- 
 night; 
 
 Alas, for they died unchronicled : their memorial perished 
 with them. 
 
 Where are the nobles of Nineveh, and mitred rulers of 
 Babylon ? 
 
 Where are the lords of Edom, and the royal pontiffs of 
 Thebais ? 
 
 The golden Satrap, and the Tetrarch, — the Hun, and the 
 Druid, and the Celt ? 
 
 The merchant princes of Phoenicia, and the minds that 
 fashioned Elephant a? 
 
 Alas, for the poet hath forgotten them ; and lo ! they are 
 outcasts of Memory; 
 
278 ®f gm%n%. 
 
 Alas, that tbey are withered leaves, sapless and fallen 
 
 from the chaplet of fame. 
 Speak, Etruria, whose hones he these, entomhed with 
 
 costly care, — 
 Tell out, Herculaneum, the titles that have sounded in 
 
 those thy palaces, — 
 Lycian Xanthus, thy citadels are mute, and the honour 
 
 of their architects hath died; 
 Copan and Palenque, dreamy ruins in the West, the forest 
 
 hath swallowed up your sculptures ; 
 Syracuse, — how silent of the past ! — Carthage, thou art 
 
 blotted from remembrance ! 
 Egypt, wondrous shores, ye are buried in the sand-hills 
 
 of forgetfulness ! 
 Alas, — for in your glorious youth Time himself was 
 
 young, 
 And none durst wrestle with that Angel, iron-sinewed 
 
 bridegroom of Space ; 
 So he flew by, strong upon the wing, nor dropped one 
 
 failing feather, 
 Wherewith some hoary scribe might register your honour 
 
 and renown. 
 Beyond the broad Atlantic, in the regions of the setting 
 
 sun, 
 Ask of the plume-crowned Incas, that ruled in old 
 
 Peru, — 
 Ask of grand Caziques, and priests of the pyramids in 
 
 Mexico, — 
 Ask of a thousand painted tribes, high nobility of 
 
 Nature, 
 Who, once, could roam their own Elysian plains, free, 
 
 generous, and happy, 
 
Who, now, degraded and in exile, having sold their 
 
 fatherland for nought, 
 Sink and are extinguished in the western seas, even as 
 
 the sun they follow, — 
 Where is the record of their deeds, their prowess worthy 
 
 of Achilles, 
 Nestor's wisdom, the chivalry of Maniius, the native elo- 
 quence of Cicero, 
 The skill of Xenophon, the spirit of Alcihiades, the 
 
 firmness of a Maccahaean mother, 
 Brotherly love that Antigone might envy, the honour and 
 
 the fortitude of Eegulus ? 
 Alas, their glory and their praise have vanished like a 
 
 summer cloud ; 
 Alas! that they are dead indeed; they are not written 
 
 down in the Book of the living. 
 
 Sigh is the privilege of Authorship: I purify mine 
 
 office; 
 Alheit earthly stains pollute it in my hands. 
 For it is to the world a teacher and a guide, Mentor of 
 
 that gay Telemachus ; 
 Warning, comforting, and helping, — a lover and friend 
 
 of Man. 
 Heaven's almoner, Earth's health, patient minister of 
 
 goodness, 
 With kind and zealous pen, the wise religious bless- 
 
 eth: 
 Nature's worshipper, and neophyte of grace, rich in 
 
 tender sympathies, 
 With kindled soul and flashing eye, the poet poureth out 
 
 his eartful : 
 
280 m fyxfyotdpp- 
 
 Priest of truth, champion of innocence, warder of the 
 gates of praise, 
 
 Carefully with sifting search lahoureth the pale his- 
 torian : 
 
 Error's enemy, and acolyte of science, firm in sober argu- 
 ment, 
 
 The calm philosopher marshalleth his facts, noting on 
 his page their principles. 
 
 These pour mercies upon men ; and others, little less in 
 honour, 
 
 By cheerful wit and graphic tale refreshening the harassed 
 spirit. 
 
 But, there be other some beside, buyers and sellers in 
 the temple, 
 
 Who shame their high vocation, greedy of inglorious 
 gain; 
 
 There be, who fabricating books, heed of them meanly 
 as of merchandise ; 
 
 And seek nor use, nor truth, nor fame, but sell their 
 minds for lucre : 
 
 false brethren ! ye wot indeed the labour, but are wit- 
 less of the love ; 
 
 lying prophets, chilled in soul, unquickened by the 
 life of inspiration !— 
 
 And there be, who, frivolous and vain, seek to make 
 others foolish, 
 
 Snaring Youth by loose sweet Song, and Age by selfish 
 maxim : 
 
 Cleverly heartless, and wittily profane, they swell the 
 river of corruption : 
 
 Brilliant satellites of sin, — my soul, be not found among 
 their company. 
 
m %T&\m\£%%. 281 
 
 And there be, who, haters of religion, toil to prove it 
 
 priestcraft, 
 Owning none other aim nor hope, but to confound the 
 
 good: 
 Woe unto them ! for their works shall live ; yea, to their 
 
 utter condemnation : 
 Woe ! for their own handwriting shall testify against 
 
 them for ever. 
 
 |Jure is the happiness of Authorship : I glorify mine 
 
 office ; 
 Albeit lightly having sipped the cup of its lower plea- 
 sures. 
 For it is to feel with a father's heart, when he yearneth 
 
 on the child of his affections ; 
 To rejoice in a man's own miniature world, gladdened 
 
 by its rare arrangement. 
 The poem, is it not a fabric of mind ? we love what we 
 
 create : 
 That choice and musical order, — how pleasant is the toil 
 
 of composition ! 
 Yea, when the volume of the universe was blazoned out 
 
 in beauty by its Author, 
 God was glad, and blessed His work ; for it was very 
 
 good. 
 And shall not the image of his Maker be happy in his 
 
 own mind's doing, 
 Looking on the structure he hath reared, gratefully with 
 
 sweet complacence ? 
 Shall not the Minerva of his brain, panoplied and perfect 
 
 in proportions, 
 Gladden the soul and give light unto the eyes, of him 
 
 the travailing parent ? 
 
282 #f got%r^ip. 
 
 Go to the sculptor, and ask him of his dreams, — where- 
 fore are his nights so moonlit ? 
 
 Angel faces, and "beautiful shapes, fascinate the pale 
 Pygmalion : 
 
 Go to the painter, and trace his reveries, — wherefore are 
 his days so sunny ? 
 
 Choice design and skilful colouring charm the flitting 
 hours of Parrhasius : 
 
 Even so, walking in his buoyancy, intoxicate with fairy 
 fancies, 
 
 The young enthusiast of authorship goeth on his way re- 
 joicing : 
 
 Behold, — he is gallantly attended ; legions of thrilling 
 thoughts 
 
 Throng about the standard of his mind, and call his 
 Will their captain ; 
 
 Behold, — his court is as a monarch's ; ideas, and grand 
 imaginations 
 
 Swell, with gorgeous cavalcade, the splendour of his 
 Spiritual State; 
 
 Behold, — he is delicately served : for oftentimes, in soli- 
 tary calmness, 
 
 Some mental fair Egeria smileth on her Numa's wor- 
 ship; 
 
 Behold, — he is happy ; there is gladness in his eye, and 
 his heart is a sealed fountain, 
 
 Bounding secretly with joys unseen, and keeping down 
 its ecstacy of pleasure ! 
 
 gea: how dignified, and worthy, full of privilege and 
 
 happiness, 
 Standeth in majestic independence the self-ennobled 
 
 Author ! 
 
©f %x&\m*\p$. 283 
 
 For God hath blessed him with a mind, and cherished it 
 
 in tenderness and purity, 
 Hath taught it in the whisperings of wisdom, and added 
 
 all the riches of content : 
 Therefore, leaning on his God, a pensioner for soul and 
 
 body, 
 His spirit is the subject of none other, calling no man 
 
 Master. 
 His hopes are mighty and eternal, scorning small ambi- 
 tions : 
 He hideth from the pettiness of praise, and pitieth the 
 
 feebleness of envy. 
 If he meet honours, well ; it may be his humility to take 
 
 them : 
 If he be rebuked, better ; his veriest enemy shall teach 
 
 him. 
 For the master-mind hath a birthright of eminence; his 
 
 cradle is an eagle's eyrie : 
 Need but to wait till his wings are grown, and Genius 
 
 soareth to the sun : 
 To creeping things upon the mountain leaveth he the 
 
 gradual ascent, 
 Besting his swiftness on the summit only for a higher 
 
 flight. 
 Glad in clear good-conscience, lightly doth he look for 
 
 commendation ; 
 What, if the prophet lacketh honour ? for he can spare 
 
 that praise : 
 The honest giant careth not to be patted on the back by 
 
 pigmies ; 
 Flatter greatness, he brooketh it good-humouredly : 
 
 blame him, — thou tiltest at a pyramid : 
 
284 ®f ^nfymtfyxf 
 
 Yet, just censure of the good never can he hear without 
 
 contrition ; 
 Neither would he miss one wise man's praise, for scarce 
 
 is that jewel and costly: 
 Only for the herd of common minds, and the vulgar 
 
 trumpe tings of fame, 
 If aught he heedeth in the matter, his honour is sought 
 
 in their neglect. 
 Slender is the marvel, and little is the glory, when round 
 
 his luscious fruits 
 The worm and the wasp and the multitude of flies are 
 
 gathered as to banquet ; 
 Fashion's freak, and the critical sting, and the flood of 
 
 flatteries he scorneth ; 
 Cheerfully asking of the crowd the favour to forget 
 
 him: 
 The while his blooming fruits ripen in richer fragrance, 
 A feast for the few, — and the many yet unborn, — who 
 
 still shall love their savour. 
 
 Js>o then, humbly with his God, and proudly indepen- 
 dent of his fellows, 
 
 Walketh, in pleasures multitudinous, the man ennobled 
 by his pen : 
 
 He hath built up, glorious architect, a monument more 
 durable than brass; 
 
 His children's children shall talk of him in love, and 
 teach their sons his honour : 
 
 His dignity hath set him among princes, the universe is 
 debtor to his worth, 
 
 His privilege is blessing for ever, his happiness shineth 
 now, 
 
#f gat%rs^P- 285 
 
 For he standeth of that grand Election, each man one 
 
 among a thousand, 
 Whose sound is gone out into all lands, and their words 
 
 to the end of the world ! 
 
286 
 
 ®f Isstog. 
 
 &ll things being are in mystery ; we expound mysteries 
 
 by mysteries ; 
 And yet the secret of them all is one in simple gran- 
 deur : 
 All intricate, yet each path plain, to those who know the 
 
 way; 
 All unapproachable, yet easy of access, to them that hold 
 
 the key : 
 We walk among labyrinths of wonder, but thread the 
 
 mazes with a clue ; 
 We sail in chartless seas, but behold ! the pole-star is 
 
 above us. 
 For counting down from God's good will, thou meltest 
 
 every riddle into Him, 
 The axiom of reason is an undiscovered God, and all 
 
 things live in His ubiquity : 
 There is only one great secret; but that one hideth 
 
 everywhere ; 
 
®i Pg*targ> 287 
 
 How should the infinite be understood in Time, when it 
 
 streteheth on ungrasped for ever ? 
 Can a halting (Edipus of earth guess that enigma of the 
 
 universe ? 
 Not one : the sword of faith must cut the Gordian knot 
 
 of nature. 
 
 CErod, pervading all, is in all things the mystery of each ; 
 The wherefore of its character and essence, the fountain 
 
 of its virtues and its beauties. 
 The child asketh of its mother, — Wherefore is the violet 
 
 so sweet ? 
 The mother answereth her babe, — Darling, God hath 
 
 willed it. 
 And sages, diving into science, have but a profundity of 
 
 words, 
 They track for some few links the circling chain of con- 
 sequence, 
 And then, after doubts and disputations, are left where 
 
 they began, 
 At the bald conclusion of a clown, things are because 
 
 they are. 
 Wherefore are the meadows green, is it not to gratify the 
 
 eye? 
 But why should greenness charm the eye ? such is God's 
 
 good will. 
 Wherefore is the ear attuned to a pleasure in musical 
 
 sounds, 
 And who set a number to those sounds, and fixed the 
 
 laws of harmony ? 
 Who taught the bird to build its nest, or lent the shrub 
 
 its life, 
 
288 ©f Pgstarg. 
 
 Or poised in the balances of order the power to attract 
 and to repel ? 
 
 Who continueth the worlds, and the sea, and the heart, 
 in motion ? 
 
 Who commanded gravitation to tie down all upon its 
 sphere ? — 
 
 For even as a limestone cliff is an aggregate of countless 
 shells, 
 
 One riddle concrete of many, a mystery compact of 
 mysteries, 
 
 So God, cloud capped in immensity, standeth the cohe- 
 sion of all things, 
 
 And secrets, sublimely indistinct, permeate that Uni- 
 verse, Himself: 
 
 As is the whole, so are the parts, whether they be 
 mighty or minute, 
 
 The sun is not more unexplained than the tissue of an 
 emmet's wing. 
 
 Chus then, omnipresent Deity worketh His unbiassed 
 
 mind, 
 A mind, one in moral, but infinitely multiplied in 
 
 means : 
 And the uniform prudence of His will cometh to be 
 
 counted law, 
 Till mutable man fancieth volition stirring in the potter's 
 
 clay: 
 God, a wise father, showeth not His reasons to His 
 
 babes ; 
 But willeth in secresy aod goodness : for causes generate 
 
 dispute : 
 Then we, His darkling children, watch that invariable 
 
 purpose, 
 
®i Itptog. 289 
 
 And invest the passive creature with its Maker's energy 
 and skill. 
 
 Therefore, they of old time stopped short of God in 
 idols, 
 
 Therefore, in these latter days, we heed not the Jehovah 
 in His works. 
 
 Mystery is God's great name; He is the mystery of 
 goodness : 
 
 Some other, from the hierarchs of heaven, usurped the 
 mystery of sin. 
 
 God is the King, yea, even of Himself; He crowned Him- 
 self with holiness ; 
 
 The burning circlet of iniquity another found and wore. 
 
 God is separate, even from His attributes ; but He willed 
 eternally the good ; 
 
 Therefore freely, though unchangeably, is wise, righte- 
 ous, and loving : 
 
 But ambition, open unto angels, saw the evil, flung aside 
 from the beginning, 
 
 It was Lucifer that saw, and nothing loathed those black 
 unclaimed regalia, 
 
 So he coveted and stole, to be counted for a king, an- 
 tagonist of God, 
 
 But when he touched the leprous robes, behold, a 
 cheated traitor. 
 
 jfbr self-existence, charactered with love, with power, 
 
 wisdom, and ubiquity, 
 Could not dwell alone, but willed and worked creation. 
 Thus, in continual exhalation, darkening the void with 
 
 matter, 
 Sprang from prolific Deity the creatures of His skill. 
 
 u 
 
290 ®i Pgsterg. 
 
 And beings living on His breath, were needfully less 
 perfect than Himself, 
 
 Therefore less capable of bliss, whereat His benevolence 
 was bounded ; 
 
 So to make the capability expand, intensely progressive 
 to eternity, 
 
 He suffered darkness to illustrate the light, and pain to 
 heighten pleasure : 
 
 To heap up happiness on souls He loved, allowed He sin 
 and sorrow, 
 
 And then to guilt and grief and shame, He brought un- 
 bidden amnesty : 
 
 Sinless, none had been redeemed, nor wrapt again in 
 God: 
 
 Sorrowless, no conflict had been known, and Heaven 
 had been mulcted of its comfort : 
 
 Yea, with evil unexhibited, probationary toils unfelt, 
 
 Men had not appreciated good, nor angels valued their 
 security. 
 
 Herein, to reason's eye, is revealed the mystery of good- 
 ness 
 
 Blessing, through permitted woe, and teaching by the 
 mystery of sin. 
 
 <& Christian, whose chastened curiosity loveth things 
 
 mysterious, 
 Accounting them shadows and eclipses of Him the one 
 
 great light, 
 Look now, satisfied with faith, on minds that judge by 
 
 sense, 
 And, dull from contemplating matter, take small heed of 
 
 spirit. 
 
m Pgsterg. 291 
 
 Toiling feebly upward, their argument tracketh from 
 
 below, 
 They catch the latest consequent, and prove the nearest 
 
 cause : 
 What is this ? that a seed produced a seed, and so for a 
 
 thousand seasons; 
 Ascend a thousand steps, thy ladder leaveth thee in 
 
 air : 
 Thou canst not climb to God, and short of Him is 
 
 nothing ; 
 There is no cause for ought we see, but in His present 
 
 will 
 Begin from the Maker, thou earliest down His attributes 
 
 to reptiles, 
 The sharded beetle and the lizard live and move in 
 
 Him: 
 Begin from the creature, corruption and infirmity mar 
 
 thy foolish toil, 
 Heap Ossa on Olympus, how much art thou nearer to 
 
 the stars? 
 It is easy running from a mountain's top down to the 
 
 valleys at its foot, 
 But difficult and steep the laborious ascent, and feebly 
 
 shalt thou reach it ; 
 Yet man, beginning from himself, that first deluding 
 
 mystery, 
 Hopeth from the pit of lies to struggle up to truth ; 
 So, taxing knowledge to its strength, he pusheth one 
 
 step further, 
 And fancieth complacently that much is done by reach- 
 ing a remote effect : 
 
 TT 2 
 
292 #f pgatog* 
 
 Then he maketh answer to himself, as a silly nurse to her 
 
 little one, 
 Evading, in a mist of words, hard things he cannot 
 
 solve ; 
 Till, like an ostrich in the desert, he hurieth his head in 
 
 atoms, 
 Thinking that, if he is hlind, no sun can shine in 
 
 heaven. 
 
 (therefore cometh it to pass, that an atheist is ever the 
 
 most credulous, 
 Snatching at any foolish cause, that may dispel his 
 
 doubts ; 
 And, even as it were for ridicule, a spectacle for men and 
 
 angels, 
 The captious and cautious unbeliever is of all men 
 
 weakest to believe : 
 Cut from the anchorage of God, his bark is a plaything 
 
 of the billows ; » 
 
 The compass of his principle is broken, the rudder of 
 
 his faith unshipped : 
 Chance and Fate, in a stultified antagonism, govern all 
 
 for him ; 
 Truth sprang from the conflict of falsities, and the mul- 
 titude of accidents hath bred design ! 
 Where is the imposture so gross, that shall not entrap 
 
 his curiosity ? 
 What superstition is so abject, that it doth not blanch 
 
 his cheek ? 
 Whereof can he be sure, with whom Chaos is substitute 
 
 for Order ? 
 
m PiJsitrg. 293 
 
 How should his silly structure stand, a pyramid built 
 
 upon its apex ? — 
 Yea, I have seen grey-headed men, the bastard slips of 
 
 science, 
 Go for light to glow-worms, while they scorn the sun at 
 
 noon: 
 Men, who fear no God, trembling at a gipsy's curse, 
 Men, who jest at revelation, clinging to a madman's 
 
 prophecy ! 
 
 Chere is a pleasing dread in the fashion of all mysteries, 
 
 For hope is mixed therein and fear; who shall divine 
 their issues ? 
 
 Even the orphan, wandering by night, lost on dreary 
 moors, 
 
 Is sensible of some vague bliss amidst his shapeless 
 terrors ; 
 
 'The buoyancy of instant expectation, spurring on the 
 mind to venture, 
 
 Overbeareth, in its energy, the cramp and the chill of 
 apprehension. 
 
 There is a solitary pride, when the heart, in new import- 
 ance, 
 
 Writeth gladly on its archives, the secrets none other 
 men have seen : 
 
 And there is a caged terror, evermore wrestling with the 
 mind, 
 
 When crime hath whispered his confession, and the se- 
 crets are written there in blood : 
 
 The village maiden is elated at the tenderly confided tale : 
 
 The bandit's wife with sickening fear guessed the preme- 
 ditated murder : 
 
294 $f ftgstag. 
 
 The sage, with triumph on his hrow, hideth up his deep 
 
 discovery ; 
 The idlest clown shall delve all day, to find a hidden 
 
 treasure. 
 
 Jfor mystery is man's life ; we wake to the whisperings 
 
 of novelty : 
 And what, though we lie down disappointed? we sleep, 
 
 to wake in hope. 
 The letter, or the news, the chances and the changes, 
 
 matters that may happen, 
 Sweeten or embitter daily life with the honey-gall of 
 
 mystery. 
 For we walk blindfold, — and a minute may be much, — 
 
 a step may reach the precipice ; 
 What earthly loss, what heavenly gain, may not this 
 
 day produce? 
 Levelled of Alps and Andes, without its valleys and 
 
 ravines, 
 How dull the face of earth, unfeatured of both beauty 
 
 and sublimity: 
 And so, shorn of mystery, beggared in its hopes and 
 
 fears, 
 How flat the prospect of existence, mapped by intuitive 
 
 foreknowledge. 
 Praise God, creatures of earth, for the mercies linked 
 
 with secresy, 
 That spices of uncertainty enrich the cup of life ; 
 Praise God, his hosts on high, for the mysteries that 
 
 make all joy ; 
 What were intelligence, with nothing more to learn, or 
 
 heaven, in eternity of sameness ? 
 
#f itgstag. 295 
 
 Co number every mystery were to sum the sum of all 
 
 things : 
 None can exhaust a theme, whereof God is example and 
 
 similitude. 
 Nevertheless, take a garland from the garden, a handful 
 
 from the harvest, 
 Some scattered drops of spray from the ceaseless mighty 
 
 cataract. 
 Whence are we, — whither do we tend, — how do we feel, 
 
 and reason ? 
 How strange a thing is man, a spirit saturating clay ! 
 When doth soul make embryos immortal, — how do they 
 
 rank hereafter, — 
 And will the unconscious idiot be quenched in death as 
 
 nothing? 
 In essence immaterial, are these minds, as it were, 
 
 thinking machines ? 
 For, to understand may but rightly be to use a mechanism 
 
 all possess, 
 So that in reading or hearing of another, a man shall 
 
 seem unto himself 
 To be recollecting images or arguments, native and con- 
 genial to his mind : 
 And yet, what shall we say, — who can arede the 
 
 riddle ? 
 The brain may be clockwork, and mind its spring, me- 
 chanism quickened by a spirit. 
 
 10 so shrewd as rightly to divide life, instinct, rea- 
 son; 
 Trees, zoophytes, creatures of the plain, and savage men 
 among them ? 
 
296 #f gaging. 
 
 Hath the mimosa instinct, — or the scallop more than 
 
 life,— 
 Or the dog less than reason, — or the brute-man more 
 
 than instinct ? 
 What is the cause of health, — and the gendering of 
 
 disease ? 
 Why should arsenic kill, and whence is the potency of 
 
 antidotes ? 
 Behold, a morsel, — eat and die ; the term of thy proba- 
 tion is expired : 
 Behold, a potion, — drink and be alive ; the limits of thy 
 
 trial is enlarged. 
 Who can expound beauty ? or explain the character of 
 
 nations ? 
 Who will furnish a cause for the epidemic force of 
 
 fashion ? 
 Is there a moral magnetism living in the light of ex- 
 ample? 
 Is practice electricity ? — Yet all these are but names. 
 Doth normal Art imprison, in its works, spirit translated 
 
 into substance, 
 So that the statue, the picture, or the poem , are crystals 
 
 of the mind? 
 And doth Philosophy with sublimating skill shred away 
 
 the matter, 
 Till rarefied intelligence exudeth even out of stocks and 
 
 stones? 
 
 ^ mysteries, ye all are one, the mind of an inexplicable 
 
 Architect 
 Dwelleth alike in each, quickening and moving in them 
 
 all. 
 
•f Sfesteg. 297 
 
 Fields, and forests, and cities of men, their woes and 
 
 wealth and works, 
 And customs, and contrivances of life, with all we see 
 
 and know, 
 For a little way, a little while, ye hang dependent on 
 
 each other, 
 But all are held in one right-hand, and hy His will ye 
 
 are. 
 Here is an answer unto mystery, an unintelligible God, 
 This is the end and the beginning, it is reason that He 
 
 be not understood. 
 Therefore it were probable and just, even to a man's 
 
 weak thinking, 
 To have one for God who always may be learnt, yet 
 
 never fully known : 
 That He, from whom all mysteries spring, in whom they 
 
 all converge, 
 Throned in His sublimity beyond the grovellings of lower 
 
 intellect, 
 Should claim to be truer than man's truest, the boasted 
 
 certainty of numbers, 
 Should baffle his arithmetic, confound his demonstrations, 
 
 and paralyse the might of his necessity, 
 Standing supreme as the mystery of mysteries, every- 
 where, yet impersonate, 
 Essential One in three, essential Three in one i 
 
298 
 
 #f mtu. 
 
 3E fjatf a seeming friend ; — I gave him gifts, and he was 
 
 gone: 
 I had an open enemy ; — I gave him gifts, and won him : 
 Common friendship standeth on equalities, and cannot 
 
 bear a debt ; 
 But the very heart of hate melteth at a good man's 
 
 love: 
 Go to, then, thou that sayest, — I will give and rivet the 
 
 links : 
 For pride shall kick at obligation, and push the giver 
 
 from him. 
 The covetous spirit may rejoice, revelling in thy 
 
 largess, 
 But chilling selfishness will mutter, — I must give 
 
 again : 
 The vain heart may be glad, in this new proof of man's 
 
 esteem, 
 But the same idolatry of self abhorreth thoughts of 
 
 thanking. 
 
#f (Bifig. 299 
 
 Nevertheless, give ; for it shall be a discriminating test 
 
 Separating honesty from falsehood, weeding insincerity 
 from friendship. 
 
 Give, it is like God; thou weariest the bad with 
 benefits : 
 
 Give, it is like God ; thou gladdenest the good by grati- 
 tude. 
 
 Give to thy near of kin, for providence hath stationed 
 thee his helper : 
 
 Yet see that he claim not as his right, thy freewill offer- 
 ing of duty. 
 
 Give to the young, they love it ; neither hath the poison 
 of suspicion 
 
 Spoilt the flavour of their thanks, to look for latent 
 motives. 
 
 Give to merit, largely give ; his conscious heart will 
 bless thee : 
 
 It is not flattery, but love, — the sympathy of men his 
 brethren. 
 
 Give, for encouragement in good ; the weak desponding 
 mind 
 
 Hath many foes, and much to do, and leaneth on its 
 friends. 
 
 Yet heed thou wisely these ; give seldom to thy 
 better ; 
 
 For such obtrusive boon shall savour of presumption ; 
 
 Or, if his courteous bearing greet thy proffered kind- 
 ness, 
 
 Shall not thine independent honesty be vexed at the 
 semblance of a bribe ? 
 
 Moreover heed thou this ; give to thine equal charily, 
 
 The occasion fair and fitting, the gift well chosen and 
 desired : 
 
300 #f tm*. 
 
 Hath he been prosperous and blest ? a flower may show 
 thy gladness ; 
 
 Is he in need ? with liberal love, tender him the well 
 filled purse : 
 
 Disease shall welcome friendly care in grapes and pre- 
 cious unguents ; 
 
 And where a darling child hath died, give praise, and 
 hope, and sympathy. 
 
 Yet once more, heed thou this; give to the poor dis- 
 creetly, 
 
 Nor suffer idle sloth to lean upon thy charitable arm : 
 
 To diligence give, as to an equal, on just and fit occa- 
 sion ; 
 
 Or he bartereth his hard-earned self-reliance for the 
 casual lottery of gifts. 
 
 The timely loan hath 'added nerve, where easy liberality 
 would palsy ; 
 
 Work and wages make a light heart ; but the mendicant 
 asked with a heavy spirit. 
 
 A man's own self-respect is worth unto him more than 
 money, 
 
 And evil is the charity that humbleth, and maketh man 
 less happy. 
 
 (£here are who sow liberalities, to reap the like again ; 
 
 But men accept his boon, scorning the shallow usurer : 
 
 I have known many such a fisherman lose his golden 
 baits ; 
 
 And oftentimes the tame decoy escapeth with the flock. 
 
 Yea, there are who give unto the poor, to gain large in- 
 terest of God, — 
 
 Fool, — to think His wealth is money, and not mind : 
 
•f gxftfl. 301 
 
 And haply after thine alms, thy calculated givings, 
 
 The hurricane shall blast thy crops, and sink the home- 
 ward ship ; 
 
 Then shall thy worldly soul murmur that the balances 
 were false, 
 
 Thy trader's mind shall think of God, — He stood not to 
 His bargain ! 
 
 Give, saith the preacher, be large in liberality, yield to 
 
 the holy impulse, 
 Tarry not for cold consideration, but cheerfully and 
 
 freely scatter. 
 So, for complacency of conscience, in a gush of counter- 
 feited charity, 
 He that hath not wherewith to be just, selfishly pre- 
 
 sumeth to be generous : 
 The debtor, and the rich by wrong, are known among 
 
 the band of the benevolent ; 
 And men extol the noble hearts, who rob that they may 
 
 give. 
 Eeceivers are but little prone to challenge rights of 
 
 giving, 
 Nor stop to test, for conscience' sake, the righteousness 
 
 of mammon : 
 And the zealot in a cause is a receiver, at the hand which 
 
 bettereth his cause ; 
 And thus an unsuspected bribe shall blind the good 
 
 man's judgment : 
 It is easy to excuse greatness, and the rich are readily 
 
 forgiven : 
 What, if his gains were evil, sanctified by using them 
 
 aright ? 
 
302 #f m*. 
 
 shallow flatterer, self-interest is thy thought, 
 Hopeless of partaking in the like, thou too wouldest 
 scorn the giver, 
 
 JHoney hath its value ; and the scatterer thereof his 
 
 thanks : 
 Few men, drinking at a rivulet, stop to consider its 
 
 source. 
 The hand that closeth on an aim, he it for necessities or 
 
 zeal, 
 Hath small scruple whence it came : Vespasian rejoiceth 
 
 in his tribute. 
 Therefore have colleges and hospitals risen upon 
 
 orphans' wrongs, 
 Chapels and cathedrals have thriven on the welcome 
 
 wages of iniquity, 
 And fraud, in evil compensation, hath salved his guilty 
 
 conscience, 
 Not by restoring to the cheated, but by ostentatious 
 
 giving to the grateful. 
 
 Jj>o, those who reap rejoice; and reaping, bless the 
 
 sower : 
 No one is eager to discover, where discovery tendeth 
 
 unto loss : 
 Yet, if knowledge of a theft make gainers thereby 
 
 guilty, 
 Can he be altogether innocent, who never asked the 
 
 honesty of gain ? 
 Therefore, preacher, zealous for charity, temper thy 
 
 warm appeal, — 
 
m «xfis. 303 
 
 Warning the debtor and unjustly rich, they may not dare 
 
 to give : 
 To do good is a privilege and guerdon : how shouldest 
 
 thou rejoice 
 If ill-got gifts of presumptuous fraud be offered on the 
 
 altar ? 
 The question is not of degrees; unhallowed alms are 
 
 evil; 
 Discourage and reject alike the obolus, or talent of 
 
 iniquity. 
 
 get more, be careful that, unworthily, thou gain not an 
 advantage over weakness, 
 
 Unstable souls, fervent and profuse, fluttered by the 
 feeling of the moment ; 
 
 For eloquence swayeth to its will the feeble and the 
 conscious of defect : 
 
 .Rashly give they, and afterward are sad, — a gift that 
 doubly erred. 
 
 It was the worldliness of priestcraft that accounted alms- 
 giving for charity ; 
 
 And many a father's penitence hath steeped his son in 
 penury ; 
 
 Yet, considered he lightly the guilt of a death-bed selfish- 
 ness 
 
 That strove to take with him, for gam, the gold no 
 longer his ; 
 
 So he died in a false peace, and dying robbed his kin- 
 dred; 
 
 The cunning friar at his side having cheated both the 
 living and the dead. 
 
304 #f «tft0. 
 
 Charity sitteth on a fair hill-top, blessing far and near, 
 But her garments drop ambrosia, chiefly, on the violets 
 
 around her : 
 She gladdeneth indeed the maplike scene, stretching to 
 
 the verge of the horizon, 
 For her angel face is lustrous and beloved, even as the 
 
 moon in heaven : 
 But the light of that beatific vision gloweth in serener 
 
 concentration 
 The nearer to her heart, and nearer to her home, — that 
 
 hill-top where she sitteth : 
 Therefore is she kind unto her kin, yearning in affection 
 
 on her neighbours, 
 Giving gifts to those around, who know and love her 
 
 well. 
 But the counterfeit of charity, an hypocrite of earth, not 
 
 a grace of heaven, 
 Seeketh not to bless at home, for her nearer aspect is 
 
 ill-favoured : 
 Therefore hideth she for shame, counting that pride 
 
 humility, 
 And none of those around her hearth are gladdened by 
 
 her gifts : 
 Eather, with an overreaching zeal, flingeth she her 
 
 bounty to the stranger, 
 And scattered prodigalities abroad compensate for mean- 
 ness in her home : 
 For benefits showered on the distant shine in unmixed 
 
 beauty, 
 So that even she may reap their undiscerning praise : 
 Therefore native want hath pined, where foreign need was 
 
 fattened; 
 
m (gifts. 305 
 
 Woman been crushed by the tyrannous hand that upheld 
 
 the flag of liberality ; 
 Poverty been prisoned up and starred, by hearts that 
 
 are maudlin upon crime ; 
 And freeborn babes been manacled by men, who liberate 
 
 the sturdy slave. 
 
 policy counselleth a gift, given wisely and in season, 
 
 And policy afterwards approveth it, for great is the in- 
 fluence of gifts. 
 
 The lover, unsmiled upon before, is welcome for his 
 jewelled bauble ; 
 
 The righteous cause without a fee, must yield to boun- 
 teous guilt: 
 
 How fair is a man in thine esteem, whose just discrimi- 
 nation seeketh thee, 
 
 And so, discerning merit, honoureth it with gifts ! 
 
 Yea, let the cause appear sufficient, and the motive 
 clear and unsuspicious, 
 
 As given unto one who cannot help, or proving honest 
 thanks, 
 
 There liveth not one among a million, who is proof 
 against the charm of liberality, 
 
 And flattery, that boon of praise, hath power with the 
 wisest. 
 
 ;fHan is of three natures, craving all for charity ; 
 
 It is not enough to give him meats, withholding other 
 
 comfort ; 
 For the mind starveth, and the soul is scorned, and so 
 
 the human animal 
 
306 $f mt*. 
 
 Eateth his unsatisfying pittance, a thankless, heartless 
 
 pauper : 
 Yet would he bless thee and be grateful, didst thou feed 
 
 his spirit, 
 And teach him that thine almsgivings are charities, are 
 
 loves : 
 — I saw a beggar in the street, and another beggar pitied 
 
 him ; 
 Sympathy sank into his soul, and the pitied one felt 
 
 happier : 
 Anon passed by a cavalcade, children of wealth and 
 
 gaiety ; 
 They laughed, and looked upon the beggar, and the 
 
 gallants flung him gold ; 
 He, poor spirit-humbled wretch, gathered up their giv- 
 
 ings with a curse, 
 And went — to share it with his brother, the beggar who 
 
 had pitied him 
 
307 
 
 ffl ^tMtl 
 
 (£I)0U mightier than Manoah's son, whence is thy great 
 strength, 
 
 And wherein the secret of thy craft, charmer charm- 
 ing wisely ? — 
 
 For thou art strong in weakness, and in artlessness well- 
 skilled, 
 
 Constant in the multitude of change, and simple amidst 
 intricate complexity. 
 
 Folly's shallow lip can ask the deepest question, 
 
 And many wise in many words should answer, what is 
 heauty ? — 
 
 Who shall separate the hues that flicker on a dying 
 dolphin, 
 
 Or analyse the jewelled lights that deck the peacock's 
 train, 
 
 Or shrewdly mix upon a pallette the tints of an irides- 
 cent spar, 
 
 Or set in rank the wandering shades about a watered 
 silk? 
 
 x 2 
 
308 ftf §z m t n . 
 
 Jbr beauty is intangible, vague, ill to be denned ; 
 
 She hath the coat of a chameleon, changing while we 
 watch it. 
 
 Strangely woven is the web, disorderly yet harmonious, 
 
 A glistering robe of mingled mesh, that may not be un- 
 ravelled. 
 
 It is shot with heaven's blue, the soul of summer skies, 
 
 And twisted strings of light, the mind of noonday suns, 
 
 And ruddy gleams of life, that roll along the veins, 
 
 A coat of many colours, running curiously together. 
 
 There is threefold beauty for man; twofold beauty for 
 the animal ; 
 
 And the beauty of inanimates is single : body, temper, 
 spirit. 
 
 Multiplied in endless combination, issue the changeable 
 results ; 
 
 Each class verging on the other twain, with impercept- 
 ible gradation ; 
 
 And every individual in each having his propriety of 
 difference, 
 
 So that the meanest of creation bringeth in a tribute of 
 the beautiful. 
 
 Yea, from the worst in favour shineth out a fitness of 
 design, 
 
 The patent mark of beauty, its Maker's name im- 
 prest. 
 
 For the great Creator's seal is set to all His works ; 
 
 Its quarterings are Attributes of praise, and all the shield 
 is Beauty : 
 
 So, that heraldic blazon is Creation's common signet; 
 
 And the universal family of life goeth in the colours of 
 its Lord : 
 
•f gmig. 309 
 
 But each one, as a several son, shall hear those arms 
 with a difference : 
 
 Beauty, various in phase, and similar in seeming oppo- 
 sitions. 
 
 The coins of old Borne were struck with a diversity for 
 each, 
 
 Barely two he found alike, in every Caesar's image : 
 
 So, note thou the seals, ranged around the charters of 
 the Universe, 
 
 The finger of God is the stamp upon them all, hut each 
 hath its separate variety. 
 
 SSeauty, theme of innocence, how may guilt discourse 
 
 thee? 
 Let holy angels sing thy praise, for man hath marred thy 
 
 visage. 
 Still the maimed torso of a Theseus can gladden taste 
 
 with its proportions ; 
 Though sin hath shattered every limh, how comely are 
 
 the fragments ! 
 And music leaveth on the ear a memory of sweet 
 
 sounds ; 
 And hroken arches charm the sight with hints of fair 
 
 completeness. 
 So, while humbled at the ruin, he thou grateful for the 
 
 relics : 
 Go forth, and look on all around with kind uncaptious 
 
 eye: 
 Freely let us wander through these unfrequented ways, 
 And talk of glorious beauty filling all the world. 
 
 jfor beauty hideth everywhere, that Reason's child may 
 seek her, 
 
310 ftf 2tot% 
 
 And having found the gem of price, may set it in God's 
 
 crown. 
 Beauty nestleth in the rosebud, or walketh the firmament 
 
 with planets, 
 She is heard in the beetle's evening hymn, and shouteth 
 
 in the matins of the sun ; 
 The cheek of the peach is glowing with her smile, her 
 
 splendour blazeth in the lightning, 
 She is the dryad of the woods, the naiad of the streams ; 
 Her golden hair hath tapestried the silkworm's silent 
 
 chamber, 
 And to her measured harmonies the wild waves beat in 
 
 time; 
 With tinkling feet at eventide she danceth in the mea- 
 dow, 
 Or, like a Titan, lieth stretched athwart the ridgy 
 
 Alps; 
 She is rising, in her veil of mist, a Venus from the 
 
 waters, — 
 Men gaze upon the loveliness, — and lo, it is beautiful 
 
 exceedingly ; 
 She, with the might of a Briareus, is dragging down the 
 
 clouds upon the mountain, — 
 Men look upon the grandeur, — and lo, it is excellent in 
 
 glory. 
 For I judge that beauty and sublimity be but the lesser 
 
 and the great, 
 Sublime, as magnified to giants, and beautiful, diminished 
 
 into fairies. 
 It were a false fancy to solve all beauty by desire, 
 It were a lowering thought to expound sublimity by 
 
 dread. 
 
#f §tmt% 311 
 
 Cowardly men with trembling hearts have feared the 
 furious storm, 
 
 Nor felt its thrilling beauty; but is it then not beau- 
 tiful? 
 
 And careless men, at summer's eve, have loved the dim- 
 pled waves; 
 
 that smile upon the seas, — hath it no sublimity? 
 
 Dost thou nothing know of this, — to be awed at woman's 
 beauty ? 
 
 Nor, with exhilarated heart, to hail the crashing thun- 
 der? 
 
 Thou hast much to learn, that never found a fearfulness 
 in flowers ; 
 
 Thou hast missed of joy, that never basked in beauties 
 of the terrible. 
 
 Js>how me an enthusiast in aught; he hath noted one 
 thing narrowly, 
 
 And lo, his keenness hath detected the one dear hiding- 
 place of beauty : 
 
 Then he boasteth, simple soul, flattered by discovery, 
 
 Fancying that no science else can show so fair and pre- 
 cious : 
 
 He hath found a ray of light, and cherisheth the treasure 
 in his closet, 
 
 Mocking at those larger minds, that bathe in floods of 
 noon; 
 
 Lo, what a jewel hath he gotten, — this is the monopolist 
 of beauty, — 
 
 And lightly heeding all beside, he poured his yearnings 
 thitherward : 
 
 Be it for love, or for learning, habit, art, or nature, 
 
312 m § tm t%. 
 
 Exclusive thought is all the cause of this particular zeal. 
 
 But the like intensity of fitness, kind and skilful beauty, 
 
 So pleasant to his mind in one thing, filleth all beside : 
 
 From the waking minute of a chrysalis, to the perfect 
 cycle of chronology, 
 
 From the centipede's jointed armour, to the mammoth's 
 fossil ribs, 
 
 From the kingfisher's shrill note, to the cataract's thun- 
 dering bass, 
 
 From the greensward's grateful hues, to the fascinating 
 eye of woman, 
 
 Beauty, various in all things, setteth up her home in 
 each, 
 
 Shedding graciously around an omnipresent smile. 
 
 ^Hhere is beauty in the rolling clouds, and placid shingle 
 
 beach, 
 In feathery snows, and whistling winds, and dun electric 
 
 skies ; 
 There is beauty in the rounded woods, dank with heavy 
 
 foliage, 
 In laughing fields, and dinted hills, the valley and its 
 
 lake; 
 There is beauty in the gullies, beauty on the cliffs, 
 
 beauty in sun and shade, 
 In rocks and rivers, seas and plains, — the earth is 
 
 drowned in beauty. 
 
 SSeauty coileth with the watersnake, and is cradled in the 
 
 shrewmouse's nest, 
 She flitteth out with evening bats, and the soft mole hid 
 
 her in his tunnel ; 
 
•f §zmt%. 313 
 
 The limpet is encamped upon the shore, and beauty not 
 
 a stranger to his tent ; 
 The silvery dace and golden carp thread the rushes with 
 
 her : 
 She saileth into clouds with an eagle, she nuttereth into 
 
 tulips with a humming bird ; 
 The pasturing kine are of her company, and she prowleth 
 
 with the leopard in his jungle. 
 
 JHoreover, for the reasonable world, its words, and acts, 
 
 and speculations, 
 For frail and fallen manhood, in his every work and 
 
 way, 
 Beauty, wrecked and stricken, lingereth still among us, 
 And morsels of that shattered sun are dropt upon the 
 
 darkness. 
 Yea, with savages and boors, the mean, the cruel, and 
 
 besotted, 
 Ever in extenuating grace hide some relics of the beau- 
 tiful. 
 Gleams of kindness, deeds of courage, patience, justice, 
 
 generosity, 
 Truth welcomed, knowledge prized, rebukes taken with 
 
 contrition, 
 All, iu various measure, have been blest with some of 
 
 these, 
 And never yet hath lived the man utterly beggared of 
 
 the beautiful. 
 
 beauty is as crystal in the torchlight, sparkling on the 
 poet's page ; 
 
314 #f g^ig. 
 
 Virgin honey of Hymettus, distilled from the lips of the 
 
 orator ; 
 A savour of sweet spikenard, anointing the hands of 
 
 liberality ; 
 A feast of angels' food set upon the tahles of religion. 
 She is seen in the tear of sorrow, and heard in the exu- 
 
 herance of mirth ; 
 She goeth out early with the huntsman, and watcheth at 
 
 the pillow of disease. 
 Science in his secret laws hath found out latent heauty, 
 Sphere and square, and cone and curve, are fashioned 
 
 hy her rules : 
 Mechanism met her in his forces, fancy caught her in 
 
 its nittings, 
 Day is lightened by her eyes, and her eyelids close upon 
 
 the night. 
 
 3Seauty is dependence in the babe, a toothless tender 
 
 nurseling ; 
 Beauty is boldness in the boy, a curly rosy truant; 
 Beauty is modesty and grace in fair retiring girlhood, 
 Beauty is openness and strength in pure high-minded 
 
 youth ; 
 Man, the noble and intelligent, gladdeneth earth in 
 
 beauty, 
 And woman's beauty sunneth him, as with a smile from 
 
 heaven. 
 
 Chere is none enchantment against beauty, Magician 
 
 for all time, 
 Whose potent spells of sympathy have charmed the 
 
 passive world: 
 
®f fttvakg. 315 
 
 Verily, she reigneth a Semiramis; there is no might 
 against her ; 
 
 The lords of every land are harnessed to her triumph. 
 
 Beauty is conqueror of all, nor ever yet was found among 
 the nations 
 
 That iron- moulded mind, full proof against her power. 
 
 Beauty, like a summer's day, suhdueth by sweet influ- 
 ences; 
 
 Who can wrestle against Sleep ? — yet is that giant, very 
 gentleness. 
 
 $/jax may rout a phalanx, but beauty shall enslave him 
 
 single-handed ; 
 Pericles ruled Athens, yet is he the servant of Aspasia : 
 Light were the labour, and often-told the tale, to count 
 
 the victories of beauty, — 
 Helen, and Judith, and Omphale, and Thais, many a 
 
 trophied name. 
 At a glance the misanthrope was softened, and repented 
 
 of his vows, 
 When beauty asked, he gave, and banned her — with a 
 
 blessing ; 
 The cold ascetic loved the smile that lit his dismal cell, 
 And kindly stayed her step, and wept when she de- 
 parted : 
 The bigot abbess felt her heart gush with a mother's 
 
 feeling, 
 When looking on some lovely face beneath the cloister's 
 
 shade ; 
 Usury freed her without ransom; the buccaneer was 
 
 gentle in her presence ; 
 Madness kissed her on the cheek, and Idiotcy brightened 
 
 at her coming : 
 
316 #f §zmt%. 
 
 Yea, the very cattle in the field, and hungry prowlers of 
 
 the forest 
 With fawning homage greeted her, as Beauty glided by. 
 A welcome guest unbidden, she is dear to every hearth ; 
 A glad spontaneous growth of friends is springing round 
 
 her rest : 
 Learning sitteth at her feet, and Idleness laboureth to 
 
 please her, 
 Folly hath flung aside his bells, and leaden Dullness 
 
 gloweth ; 
 Prudence is rash in her defence ; Frugality filleth her 
 
 with riches ; 
 Despair came to her for counsel ; and Bereavement was 
 
 glad when she consoled ; 
 Justice putteth up his sword at the tear of supplicating 
 
 beauty, 
 And Mercy, with indulgent haste, hath pardoned beauty's 
 
 sin. 
 
 Jfor beauty is the substitute for all things, satisfying 
 every absence, 
 
 The rich delirious cup to make all else forgotten : 
 
 She also is the zest unto all things, enhancing every pre- 
 sence, 
 
 The rare and precious ambergris, to quicken each per- 
 fume. 
 
 beauty, thou art eloquent; yea, though slow of 
 tongue, 
 
 Thy breast, fair Phryne, pleaded well before the dazzled 
 judge: 
 
 beauty, thou art wise ; yea, though teaching falsely, 
 
 Sages listen, sweet Corinna, to commend thy lips ; 
 
•f §zunt%. 317 
 
 beauty, thou art ruler ; yea, though lowly as a slave, 
 
 Myrrha, that imperial brow is monarch of thy lord ; 
 
 beauty, thou art winner ; yea, though halting in the 
 race, 
 
 Hippodame, Camilla, Atalanta, — in gracefulness, ye fas- 
 cinate your umpires ; 
 
 beauty, thou art rich ; yea, though clad in russet, 
 
 Attalus cannot boast his gold against the wealth of 
 beauty ; 
 
 beauty, thou art noble; yea, though Esther be an 
 exile, 
 
 Set her up on high, ye kings, and bow before the majesty 
 of beauty ! 
 
 Jfriend and scholar, who, in charity, hast walked with me 
 
 thus far, 
 We have wandered in a wilderness of sweets, tracking 
 
 beauty's footsteps : 
 And ever as we rambled on among the tangled thicket, 
 Many a startled thought hath tempted further roaming : 
 Passion, sympathetic influence, might of imaginary 
 
 haloes, — 
 Many the like would lure aside, to hunt their wayward 
 
 themes. 
 And, look you, — from his ferny bed in yonder hazel 
 
 coppice, *> 
 A dappled hart hath flung aside the boughs and broke 
 
 away; 
 He is fleet and capricious as the zephyr, and with exult- 
 ing bounds 
 Hieth down a turfy lane between the sounding woods ; 
 His neck is garlanded with flowers, his antlers hung 
 
 with chaplets, 
 
318 $f §*a% 
 
 And rainbow-coloured ribbons stream adown his mottled 
 
 flanks : 
 Should we follow? — foolish hunters, thus to chase 
 
 afoot, — 
 Who can track the airy speed and doubling wiles of 
 
 Taste? 
 
 JFor the estimates of human beauty, dependent upon 
 
 time and clime, 
 Manifold and changeable, are multiplied the more by 
 
 strange gregarious fashion : 
 And notable ensamples in the great turn to epidemics 
 
 in the lower, 
 So that a nation's taste shall vary with its rulers. 
 Stern Egypt, humbled to the Greek, fancied softer idols, 
 Greece, the Roman province, nigh forgat her classic 
 
 sculpture ; 
 Home, crushed beneath the Goth, loved his barbarian 
 
 habits, 
 And Alaric, with his ruffian horde, is tamed by silken 
 
 Rome. 
 Columbia's flattened head, and China's crumpled feet, — 
 The civilized tapering waist, — and the pendulous ears of 
 
 the savage, — 
 The swollen throat among the mountains, and an ebon 
 
 skin beneath the tropics, — 
 These shall all be reckoned beauty: and for weighty 
 
 cause. 
 First, for the latter: Providence in mercy tempereth 
 
 taste by circumstance, 
 So that Nature's must shall hit her creature's liking ; 
 Second, for the middle : though the foolishness of vanity 
 
 seek to mar proportion, 
 
•f §zmt%. 319 
 
 Still, defects in those we love shall soon be counted 
 
 praise ; 
 Third, for the first : a chief, and a princess, maimed or 
 
 distorted from the cradle, 
 Shall coax the flattery of slaves to imitate the great in 
 
 their deformity : 
 Hence groweth habit : and habits make a taste, 
 And so shall servile zeal deface the types of beauty. 
 Whiles Alexander conquered, crookedness was comely: 
 And followers leam to praise the scars upon their leader's 
 
 brow. 
 Youth hath sought to flatter age by mimicking grey 
 
 hairs ; 
 Age plastereth her wrinkles, and is painted in the ruddi- 
 ness of Youth. 
 Fashion, the parasite of Eank, apeth faults and failings, 
 Until the general Taste depraved hath warped its sense 
 
 of beauty. 
 
 <2;ach man hath a measure for himself, yet all shall coin- 
 cide in much ; 
 
 A perfect form of human grace would captivate the 
 world : 
 
 Be it manhood's lustre, or the loveliness of woman, all 
 would own its beauty, 
 
 The Caffre and Circassian, Russians and Hindoos, the 
 Briton, the Turk, and Japanese. 
 
 Not all alike, nor all at once, but each in proportion to 
 intelligence, 
 
 His purer state in morals, and a lesser grade in guilt : 
 
 For the high standard of the beautiful is fixed in Rea- 
 son's forum. 
 
3*20 &i §tvadg. 
 
 And sins, and customs, and caprice, have failed to break 
 
 it down : 
 And reason's standard for the creature pointeth three 
 
 perfections, 
 Frame, knowledge, and the feeling heart, well and kindly 
 
 mingled : 
 A fair dwelling, furnished wisely, with a gentle tenant 
 
 in it, 
 This is the glory of humanity: thou hast seen it seldom. 
 
 Chere is a beauty for the body ; the superficial polish of 
 
 a statue, 
 The symmetry of form and feature delicately carved and 
 
 painted. 
 How bright in early bloom the Georgian sitteth at her 
 
 lattice, 
 How softened off in graceful curves her young and gentle 
 
 shape : 
 Those dark eyes, lit by curiosity, flash beneath the 
 
 lashes, 
 And still her velvet cheek is dimpled with a smile. 
 Dost thou count her beautiful? — even as a mere fair 
 
 figure, 
 A plastic image, little more, — the outer garb of woman : 
 Yea, — and thus far it is well; but Reason's hopes are 
 
 higher, — 
 Can he sate his soul on a scantling third of beauty? 
 
 §et is this the pleasing trickery, that cheateth half the 
 
 world, 
 Nature's wise deceit to make up waste in life ; 
 And few be they that rest unc aught, for many a twig is 
 
 limed; 
 
©f geaatg. B^l 
 
 When if the wise among a minion, that took not form 
 for beauty ? 
 
 But watch it well : for vanity and sin. malice, hate, sus- 
 picion. 
 
 rads upon the countenance, win disen- 
 chant its charms. 
 
 The needful complexity oi beauty claimeth mind and 
 soul. 
 igh many coins of foul alloy pass cm-rent lor the 
 true : 
 
 And albeit fairness in the creatine shall often co-exist 
 with excellence. 
 
 Yet hath m igel shape been tenanted by hends. 
 
 A man. spiritually keen, shall detect in surface beauty 
 evil which the sensual cannot 
 see : 
 
 is he proof against a face, unlovely to his 
 likings. 
 
 And common minds shall scorn the taste, that shrank 
 from sins distortion. 
 
 Chere is a beauty for the reason : grandly independent 
 
 of externals. 
 It looketh from the win." be house, shining in 
 
 e man triumphant. 
 I have seen the broad blank face of some misshapen 
 
 dwarf 
 Lit on a sudden as with glory, the brilliant light of 
 
 niind: 
 Who then imagined him deformed? intelligence 
 
 bug on his forehead. 
 
 Y 
 
322 #f §tmt^ 
 
 There is empire in his eye, and sweetness on his lip, and 
 his brown cheek glittereth with beauty : 
 
 And I have known some Nireusof the camp, a varnished 
 paragon of chamberers, 
 
 Fine, elegant, and shapely, moulded as the master-piece 
 of Phidias, — 
 
 Such an one, with intellects abased, have I noted crouch- 
 ing to the dwarf, 
 
 Whilst his lovers scorn the fool, whose beauty hath de- 
 parted ! 
 
 ^[nd there is a beauty for the spirit ; mind in its perfect 
 
 flowering, 
 Fragrant, expanded into soul, full of love and blessed. 
 Go to some squalid couch, some famishing death-bed 
 
 of the poor ; 
 He is shrunken, cadaverous, diseased ; — there is here no 
 
 beauty of the body : 
 Never hath he fed on knowledge, nor drank at the 
 
 streams of science, 
 He is of the common herd, illiterate; — there is here no 
 
 beauty of the reason : 
 But lo ! his filming eye is bright with love from heaven, 
 In every look it beameth praise, as worshipping with 
 
 seraphs ; 
 What honeycomb is hived upon his lips eloquent of 
 
 gratitude and prayer, — 
 What triumph shrined serene upon that clammy brow, 
 What glory flickering transparent under those thin 
 
 cheeks, — 
 What beauty in his face! — Is it not the face of an 
 
 angel 9 
 
<©f $*a«tg. 323 
 
 ^ow, of these three, infinitely mingled and combined, 
 Consisteth human beauty, in all the marvels of its mighti- 
 ness : 
 And forth from human beauty springeth the intensity of 
 
 Love; 
 Feeling, thought, desire, the three deep fountains of 
 
 affection. 
 Son of Adam, or daughter of Eve, art thou trapped by 
 
 nature, 
 And is thy young eye dazzled with the pleasant form of 
 
 beauty ? 
 This is but a lower love; still it hath its honour ; 
 What God hath made and meant to charm, let not man 
 
 despise. 
 Nevertheless, as reason's child, look thou wisely farther, 
 For age. disease, and care, and sin, shall tarnish all the 
 
 surface : 
 Beach a loftier love : be lured by the comeliness of 
 
 mind, — 
 Gentle, kind, and calm, or lustrous in the livery of know- 
 ledge : 
 And more, there is a higher grade ; force the mind to its 
 
 perfection, — 
 Win those golden trophies of consummate love : 
 Add unto riches of the reason, and a beauty moulded to 
 
 thy liking, 
 The precious things of nobler grace that well adorn a 
 
 soul; 
 Thus, be thou owner of a treasure, great in earth and 
 
 heaven, 
 Beauty, wisdom, goodness, in a creature like its God. 
 
 y 2 
 
324 m gjomtg. 
 
 §}0 then, draw we to an end ; with feeble step and fal- 
 tering, 
 I follow Beauty through the universe, and find her home 
 
 Ubiquity ; 
 In all that God hath made, in all that man hath marred, 
 Lingereth beauty, or its wreck, a broken mould and 
 
 castings. 
 And now, having wandered long time, freely and with 
 
 desultory feet. 
 To gather in the garden of the world a few fair sample 
 
 flowers, 
 With patient scrutinizing care let us cull the conclusion 
 
 of their essence, 
 And answer to the riddle of Zorobabel, Whence the 
 
 might of beauty ? 
 
 Ugliness is native unto nothing, but an attribute of 
 
 concrete evil ; 
 In everything created, at its worst, lurk the dregs of 
 
 loveliness : 
 We be fallen into utter depths, yet once we stood sub- 
 lime, 
 For man was made in perfect praise, his Maker's comely 
 
 image : 
 And so his new-born ill is spiced with older good, 
 He carrieth with him, yea to crime, the withered limbs 
 
 of beauty. 
 Passions may be crooked generosities ; the robber steal- 
 
 eth for his children ; 
 Murder was avenger of the innocent, or wiped out shame 
 
 with blood. 
 Many virtues, weighted by excess, sink among the 
 
 vices ; 
 
#f §mttg. 325 
 
 Many vices, amicably buoyed, float among the virtues. 
 
 For, albeit sin is hate, a foul and bitter turpitude, 
 
 As hurling back against the Giver all His gifts with in- 
 sult, 
 
 Still when concrete in the sinner, it will seem to partake 
 of his attractions, 
 
 And in seductive masquerade shall cloak its leprous 
 skin; 
 
 His broken lights of beauty shall illumine its utter 
 black, 
 
 And those refracted rays glitter on the hunch of its de- 
 formity. 
 
 Eerily the fancy may be false, yet hath it met me in my 
 
 musings, 
 (As expounding the pleasantness of pleasure, but no 
 
 ways extenuating licence,) 
 That even those yearnings after beauty, in wayward wan- 
 ton youth, 
 When, guileless of ulterior end, it craveth but to look 
 
 upon the lovely, 
 Seem like struggles of the soul, dimly remembering 
 
 pre-existencej 
 And feeling in its blindness for a long-lost god, to satisfy 
 
 its longing ; 
 As if the sucking babe, tenderly mindful of his mother, 
 Should pall a dragon's dugs, and drain the teats of 
 
 poison. 
 Our primal source was beauty, and we pant for it ever 
 
 and again ; 
 But sin hath stopped the way with thorns; we turn aside, 
 
 wander, and are lost. 
 
326 <§f §}ta»tg. 
 
 6rod, the undiluted good, is root and stock of beauty, 
 And every child of reason drew his essence from that 
 
 stem. 
 Therefore, it is of intuition, an innate hankering for 
 
 home, 
 A sweet returning to the well, from which our spirit 
 
 flowed, 
 That we, unconscious of a cause, should bask these 
 
 darkened souls 
 In some poor relics of the light that blazed in primal 
 
 beauty, 
 And, even like as exiles of idolatry, should quaff from 
 
 the cisterns of creation 
 Stagnant draughts, for those fresh springs that rise in 
 
 the Creator. 
 
 ^nly, being burdened with the body, spiritual appetite 
 
 is warped, 
 And sensual man, with taste corrupted, drinketh of pol- 
 lutions : 
 Impulse is left, but indiscriminate ; his hunger feasteth 
 
 upon carrion : 
 His natural love of beauty doateth over beauty in decay. 
 He still thirsteth for the beautiful ; but his delicate ideal 
 
 hath grown gross, 
 And the very sense of thirst hath been fevered from 
 
 affection into passion. 
 He remembereth the blessedness of light, but it is with 
 
 an old man's memory, 
 A blind old man from infancy, that once hath seen the 
 
 sun, 
 Whom long experience of night hath darkened in his 
 
 cradle recollections, 
 
m §S*mrfg: 327 
 
 Until his brightest thought of noon is hut a shade of 
 black. 
 
 Chis then is thy charm, beauty all pervading ; 
 
 And this thy wondrous strength, beauty, conqueror of 
 all: 
 
 The outline of our shadowy best, the pure and comely 
 creature, 
 
 That winneth on the conscience with a saddening ad- 
 miration : 
 
 And some untutored thirst for God, the root of every 
 pleasure, 
 
 Native to creatures, yea in ruin, and dating from the 
 birthday of the soul. 
 
 For God sealeth up the sum, confirmed exemplar of pro- 
 portions, 
 
 Eich in love, full of wisdom, and perfect in the plenitude 
 of Beauty. 
 
3Q8 
 
 23l0l» the trumpet, spread the wing, fling thy scroll upon 
 
 the sky, 
 Bouse the slumbering world, Fame, and fill the sphere 
 
 with echo ! 
 — Beneath thy blast they wake, and murmurs come 
 
 hoarsely on the wind, 
 And flashing eyes and bristling hands proclaim they 
 
 hear thy message : 
 Boiling and surging as a sea, that upturned flood of 
 
 faces 
 Hasteneth with its million tongues to spread the won- 
 drous tale; 
 The hum of added voices groweth to the roaring of a 
 
 cataract, 
 And rapidly from wave to wave is tossed that exaggerated 
 
 story, 
 Until those stunning clamours, gradually diluted in the 
 
 distance, 
 
®i £nm. 329 
 
 Sink ashamed, and shrink afraid of noise, and die away. 
 Then brooding Silence, forth from his hollow caverns, 
 Cloaked and cowled, and gliding along, a cold and 
 
 stealthy shadow, 
 Once more is mingled with the multitude, whispering as 
 
 he walketh, 
 And hushing all their eager ears, to hear some newer 
 
 Fame. 
 
 J^o all is still again ; but nothing of the past hath been 
 
 forgotten ; 
 A stirring recollection of the trumpet ringeth in the 
 
 hearts of men : 
 And each one, either envious or admiring, hath wished 
 
 the chance were his 
 To fill as thus the startled world with fame, or fear, or 
 
 wonder. 
 This lit thy torch of sacrilege, Ephesian Eratostra- 
 
 tus; 
 This dug thy living grave, Pythagoras, the traveller from 
 
 Hades ; 
 For this, dived Empedocles into Etna's fiery whirlpool ; 
 For this conquerors, regicides, and rebels, have dared 
 
 their perilous crimes. 
 In all men, from the monarch to the menial, lurketh lust 
 
 of fame; 
 The savage and the sage alike regard their labours 
 
 proudly : 
 Yea, in death, the glazing eye is iUumined by the hope 
 
 of reputation, 
 And the stricken warrior is glad, that his wounds are 
 
 salved with glory. 
 
330 #f <f ante. 
 
 $ot fame is a sweet self-homage, an offering grateful to 
 the idol, 
 
 A spiritual nectar for the spiritual thirst, a mental food 
 for mind, 
 
 A pregnant evidence to all of an after immaterial exist- 
 ence, 
 
 A proof that soul is scathless, when its dwelling is dis- 
 solved. 
 
 And the manifold pleasures of fame are sought by the 
 guilty and the good : 
 
 Pleasures, various in kind, and spiced to every palate : 
 
 The thoughtful loveth fame as an earnest of better im- 
 mortality, 
 
 The industrious and deserving, as a symbol of just ap- 
 preciation, 
 
 The selfish, as a promise of advancement, at least to a 
 man's own kin, 
 
 And common minds, as a flattering fact that men have 
 been told of their existence. 
 
 Chere is a blameless love of fame, springing from desire 
 
 of justice, 
 When a man hath featly won and fairly claimed his 
 
 honours : 
 And then fame cometh as encouragement to the inward 
 
 consciousness of merit, 
 Gladdening by the kindliness and thanks, wherewithal 
 
 his labours are rewarded. 
 But there is a sordid imitation, a feverish thirst for 
 
 notoriety, 
 Waiting upon vanity and sloth, and utterly regardless of 
 
 deserving : 
 
#f $umt. 381 
 
 And then fame cometh as a curse; the fire-damp is 
 
 gathered in the mine : 
 The soul is swelled with poisonous air, and a spark of 
 
 temptation shall explode it. 
 
 $dle causes, noised awhile, shall yield most active con- 
 sequents, 
 
 And therefore it were ill upon occasion to scorn the voice 
 of rumour. 
 
 Ye have seen the chemist in his art mingle invisible 
 gases, 
 
 And lo, the product is a substance, a heavy dark pre- 
 cipitate : 
 
 Even so fame, hurtling on the quiet with many meeting 
 tongues, * 
 
 Can out of nothing bring forth fruits, and blossom on a 
 nourishment of air. - 
 
 For many have earned honour, and thereby rank and 
 riches, 
 
 From false and fleeting tales, some casual mere mis- 
 take ; 
 
 And many have been wrecked upon disgrace, and have 
 struggled with poverty and scorn, 
 
 From envious hints and ill reports, the slanders cast on 
 innocence. 
 
 Whom may not scandal hit ? those shafts are shot at a 
 venture : 
 
 Who standeth not in danger of suspicion ? that net hath 
 caught the noblest. 
 
 Caesar's wife was spotless, but a martyr to false fame ; 
 
 And Eumour, in temporary things, is gigantic as a ruin 
 or a remedy : 
 
332 #f Jame. 
 
 Many poor and many rich have testified its popular 
 
 omnipotence, 
 And many a panic-stricken army hath perished with the 
 
 host of the Assyrians. 
 
 Nevertheless, if opportunity be nought, let a man bide 
 
 his time ; 
 So the matter be not merchandize nor conquest, fear 
 
 thou less for character. 
 If a liar accuseth thee of evil, be not swift to answer ; 
 Yea, rather give him licence for awhile ; it shall help 
 
 thine honour afterward: 
 Never yet was calumny engendered, but good men 
 
 speedily discerned it, 
 And innocence hath burst from its injustice, as the green 
 
 world rolling out of Chaos. 
 What, though still the wicked scoff, — this also turneth 
 
 to his praise ; 
 Did ye never hear that censure of the bad is buttress to 
 
 a good man's glory ? 
 What, if the ignorant still hold- out, obstinate in unkind 
 
 judgment, — 
 Ignorance and calumny are paired ; we affirm by two 
 
 negations : 
 Let them stand round about, pushing at the column in 
 
 a circle, 
 For all their toil and wasted strength, the foolish do but 
 
 prop it. 
 And note thou this ; in the secret of their hearts, they 
 
 feel the taunt is false, 
 And cannot help but reverence the courage, that walketh 
 
 amid calumnies unanswering : 
 
•f $ame. 333 
 
 He standeth as a gallant chief, unheeding shot or shell ; 
 He trusted in God his Judge : neither arrows nor the 
 pestilence shall harm him, 
 
 & high heart is a sacrifice to Heaven ; should it stoop 
 
 among the creepers in the dust, 
 To tell them that what God approved, is worthy of 
 
 their praise ? 
 Never shall it heed the thought; but flaming on in 
 
 triumph to the skies, 
 And quite forgetting fame, shall find it added as a 
 
 trophy. 
 A great mind is an altar on a hill: should the priest 
 
 descend from his altitude, 
 To canvass offerings and worship from dwellers on the 
 
 plain ? 
 Eather, with majestic perseverance will he minister in 
 
 solitary grandeur, 
 Confident the time will come, when pilgrims shall he 
 
 flocking to the shrine. 
 For fame is the birthright of genius ; and he recketh not 
 
 how long it be delayed , 
 The heir need not hasten to his heritage, when he know- 
 
 eth that his tenure is eternal. 
 The careless poet of Avon, was he troubled for his 
 
 fame, 
 Or the deep-mouthed chronicler of Paradise, heeded he 
 
 the suffrage of his equals ? 
 Maeonides took no thought, committing all his honours 
 
 to the future, 
 And Flaccus, standing on his watch-tower, spied the 
 
 praise of ages. 
 
334 #f Jrofc 
 
 Smoking flax will breed a flame, and the flame may 
 
 illuminate a world ; 
 Where is he who scorned that smoke as foul and murky 
 
 vapour ? 
 The village stream swelled to a river, and the river was a 
 
 kingdom's wealth, 
 Where is he who boasted he could step across that 
 
 stream ? 
 Such are the beginnings of the famous: little in the 
 
 judgment of their peers, 
 The juster verdict of posterity shall fix them in the orbits 
 
 of the Great. 
 Therefore dull Zoilus, clamouring ascendant of the 
 
 hour, 
 Will soon be fain to hide his hate, and bury up his bit- 
 terness for shame : 
 Therefore mocking Momus, offended at the steps of 
 
 Beauty, 
 Shall win the prize of his presumption, and be hooted 
 
 from his throne among the stars. 
 For, as the shadow of a mountain lengtheneth before the 
 
 setting sun, 
 Until that screening Alp have darkened all the canton, — 
 So, Fame groweth to its great ones ; their images loom 
 
 longer in departing ; 
 But the shadow of mind is light, and earth is filled with 
 
 its glory. 
 
 &nd thou, student of the truth, commended to the praise 
 
 of God, 
 Wouldst thou find applause with men ? — seek it not, nor 
 
 shun it. 
 
®i $nmt. 335 
 
 Ancient fame is roofed in cedar, and her walls are 
 
 marble ; 
 Modern fame lodgeth in a hut, a slight and temporary 
 
 dwelling : 
 Lay not up the treasures of thy soul within so damp a 
 
 chamber, 
 For the moth of detraction shall fret thy robe, and drop 
 
 its eggs upon thy motive ; 
 Or the rust of disheartening reserve shall spoil the lustre 
 
 of thy gold, 
 Until its burnished beauty shall be dim as tarnished 
 
 brass ; 
 Or thieves, breaking through to steal, shall claim thy 
 
 • jewelled thoughts, 
 And turn to charge the theft on thee, a pilferer from 
 
 them ! 
 
 Chere is a magnanimity in recklessness of fame, so fame 
 
 be well deserving, 
 That rusheth on in fearless might, the conscious sense 
 
 of merit : 
 And there is a littleness in jealousy of fame, looking as 
 
 aware of weakness, 
 That creepeth cautiously along, afraid that its title will 
 
 be challenged. 
 The wild boar, full of beechmast, flingeth him down 
 
 among the brambles : 
 Secure in bristly strength, without a watch, he sleepeth : 
 But the hare, afraid to feed, croucheth in its own soft 
 
 form ; 
 Wakefully with timid eyes, and quivering ears, he lis- 
 
 teneth. 
 
336 #f J ame. 
 
 Even so, a giant's might is bound up in the soul of 
 
 Genius, 
 His neck is strong with confidence, and he goeth tusked 
 
 with power : 
 Sturdily he roameth in the forest, or sunneth him in fen 
 
 and field, 
 And scareth from his marshy lair a host of fearful 
 
 foes. 
 But there is a mimic Talent, whose safety lieth in its 
 
 quickness, 
 A timorous thing of doubling guile, that scarce can face 
 
 a friend : 
 This one is captious of reproof, provident to snatch oc- 
 casion, 
 Greedy of applause, and vexed to lose one tittle of the 
 
 glory. 
 He is a poor warder of his fame, who is ever on the 
 
 watch to keep it spotless ; 
 Such care argueth debility, a garrison relying on its 
 
 sentinel. 
 Passive strength shall scorn excuses, patiently waiting 
 
 a reaction, 
 He wotteth well that truth is great, and must prevail at 
 
 last; 
 But fretful weakness hasteth to explain, anxiously 
 
 dreading prejudice, 
 And ignorant that perishable falsehood dieth as a branch 
 
 cut off. 
 
 Purity of motive and nobility of mind shall rarely con- 
 descend 
 
 To prove its rights, and prate of wrongs, or evidence its 
 worth to others. 
 
•f $vm. 337 
 
 And it shall be small care to the high and happy con- 
 science 
 
 What jealous Mends, or envious foes, or common fools 
 may judge. 
 
 Should the lion turn and rend every snarling jackal, 
 
 Or an eagle he stopt in his career to punish the petulance 
 of sparrows ? 
 
 Should the palm tree bend his crown to chide the briar 
 at his feet, 
 
 Nor kindly help its climbing, if it hope, and be ambi- 
 tious ? 
 
 Should the nightingale account it worth her pains to 
 vindicate her music, 
 
 Before some sorry finches, that affect to judge of song ? 
 
 No : many an injustice, many a sneer, and slur, 
 
 Is passed aside with noble scorn by lovers of true fame : 
 
 For well they wot that glory ^shall be tinctured good or 
 evil, 
 
 By the character of those who give it, as wine is fla- 
 voured by the wine-skin : 
 
 So that worthy fame floweth only from a worthy foun- 
 tain, 
 
 But from an ill-conditioned troop the best report is 
 worthless. 
 
 And if the sensibility of genius count his injuries in 
 secret, 
 
 Wisely will he hide the pains a hardened herd would 
 mock: 
 
 For the great mind well may be said to note such little- 
 ness in brethren, 
 
 The while he is comforted and happy in the firmest as- 
 surance of desert. 
 
 z 
 
338 #f Jfamt. 
 
 Cease awhile, gentle scholar; — seek other thoughts and 
 
 themes ; 
 Or dazzling Fame with wildfire light shall lure us on for 
 
 ever. 
 For look, all subjects of the mind may range beneath its 
 
 banner, 
 And time would fail and patience droop, to count that 
 
 numerous host. 
 The mine is deep, and branching wide, — and who can 
 
 work it out ? 
 Years of thought would leave untold the boundless topic, 
 
 Fame. 
 Every matter in the universe is linked in suchwise unto 
 
 others, 
 That a deep full treatise upon one thing might reach to 
 
 the history of all things : 
 And before some single thesis had been followed out in 
 
 all its branches, 
 The wandering thinker would be lost in the pathless 
 
 forest of existence. 
 What were the matter or the spirit, that hath no part in 
 
 Fame? 
 Where were the fact irrelevant, or the fancy out of 
 
 place ? 
 For the handling of that mighty theme should stretch 
 
 from past to future, 
 Catching up the present on its way, as a traveller bur- 
 dened with time; 
 All manner of men, their deeds, hopes, fortunes, and 
 
 ambitions, 
 All manner of events and things, climate, circumstance, 
 
 and custom, 
 
©f $zm. 339 
 
 Wealth and war, fear and hope, contentment, jealousy, 
 
 devotion, 
 Skill and learning, truth, falsehood, knowledge of things 
 
 gone and things to come, 
 Pride and praise, honour and dishonour, warnings, en- 
 samples, emulations, 
 The excellent in virtues, and the reprobate in vice, with 
 
 the cloud of indifferent spectators, — 
 Wave on wave with flooding force throng the shoals of 
 
 thought, 
 Filling that immeasurable theme, the height and depth 
 
 of Fame. 
 With soul unsatisfied and mind dismayed, my feet have 
 
 touched the threshold, 
 Fain to pour these flowers and fruits an offering on that 
 
 altar : 
 Lo, how vast the temple, — there are clouds within the 
 
 dome ! 
 Yet might the huge expanse be filled, with volumes writ 
 
 on Fame. 
 
 2 2 
 
840 
 
 $6l\\$it is commended of the deaf: — but is that praise 
 despised ? 
 
 I trow not : with flattered soul the musician heard him 
 gladly. 
 
 Beauty is commended of the blind :— but is that compli- 
 ment misliking? 
 
 I trow not : though false and insincere, woman listened 
 greedily. 
 
 Vacant Folly talketh high of Learning's deepest rea- 
 son : 
 
 Is she hated for her hollowness? — learning held her 
 wiser for the nonce 
 
 The worldly and the sensual, to gain some end, did 
 homage to religion : 
 
 And the good man gave thanks as for a convert, where 
 others saw the hypocrite. 
 
 |?et none of these were cheated at the heart, nor steadily 
 believed those flatteries; 
 
®f Jflatterg. 341 
 
 They feared the core was rotten, while they hoped the 
 
 skin was sound : 
 But the fruits have so sweet fragrance, and are verily so 
 
 pleasant to the eyes, 
 It were an ungracious disenchantment to find them 
 
 apples of Sodom. 
 So they lahoured to think all honest, winking hard with 
 
 "both their eyes ; 
 And hushed up every whisper that could prove that 
 
 praise absurd : 
 They willingly regard not the infirmities that make such 
 
 worship vain, 
 And palliate to their own fond hearts the faults they will 
 
 not see. 
 For the idol rejoiceth in his incense, and loveth not to 
 
 shame his suppliants, 
 Should he seek to find them false, his honours die with 
 
 theirs : 
 An offering is welcome for its own sake, set aside the 
 
 giver, 
 And praise is precious to a man, though uttered by the 
 
 parrot or the mocking-bird. 
 
 (Ehe world is full of fools ; and sycophancy liveth on the 
 foolish : 
 
 So he groweth great and rich, that fawning supple para- 
 site. 
 
 Sometimes he boweth like a reed, cringing to the pom- 
 pousness of pride, 
 
 Sometimes he strutteth as a gallant, pampering the fic- 
 kleness of vanity : 
 
%i% ®i JIattog. 
 
 I have known him listen with the humble, enacting 
 
 silent marveller, 
 To hear some purse-proud dunce expose his poverty of 
 
 mind; 
 I have heard him wrangle with the obstinate, vowing 
 
 that he will not be convinced, 
 When some weak youth hath wisely feared tbe chance of 
 
 ill success : 
 Now, he will barely be a winner, — to magnify thy 
 
 triumphs afterward ; 
 Now, he will hardly be a loser, — but cannot cease to 
 
 wonder at thy skill : 
 He laudeth his own worth, that the leader may have 
 
 glory in his follower ; 
 He meekly confesseth his unwortbiness, tbat the leader 
 
 may have glory in himself. 
 Many wiles hath he, and many modes of catching, 
 But every trap is selfishness, and every bait is praise. 
 
 Come, I would forewarn thee and forearm thee; for 
 
 keen are the weapons of his warfare ; 
 And, while my soul hath scorned him, I have watched 
 
 his skill from far. 
 His thoughts are full of guile, deceitfully combining 
 
 contrarieties, 
 And when he doeth battle in a man, he is leagued with 
 
 traitorous Self-love. 
 Strange things have I noted, and opposite to common 
 
 fancy ; 
 We leave the open surface, and would plumb the secret 
 
 depths. 
 
<§f <#lattag, 343 
 
 For he will magnify a lover, even to disparaging his 
 
 mistress ; 
 So much wisdom, goodness, grace, — and all to be en- 
 slaved ? 
 Till the Narcissus, self-enamoured, whelmed in floods of 
 
 flattery, 
 Is cheated from the constancy and fervency of love by 
 
 friendship's subtle praise. 
 Moreover, he will glorify a parent, even to the censure 
 
 of his child, — 
 degenerate scion, of a stock so excellent and 
 
 noble ! 
 Scant will he be in well earned praise of a son before his 
 
 father ; 
 And rarely commendeth to a mother her daughter's 
 
 budding beauty : 
 Yet shall he extol the daughter to her father, and be 
 
 warm about the son before his mother ; 
 Knowing that self-love entereth not, to resist applause 
 
 with jealousies. 
 Wisely is he sparing of hyperbole where vehemence of 
 
 praise would humble, 
 For many a father liketh ill to be counted second to his 
 
 son: 
 And shrewdly the flatterer hath reckoned on a self still 
 
 lurking in the mother, 
 When his tongue was slow to speak of graces in the 
 
 daughter. 
 But if he descend a generation, to the grandsire his talk 
 
 is of the grandson, 
 Because in such high praise he hideth the honours of 
 
 the son ; 
 
344 ®i Jkitog. 
 
 And the daughter of a daughter may well exceed, in 
 
 beauty, love, and learning, 
 For unconsciously old age perceived — she cannot be my 
 
 rival. 
 These are of the deep things of flattery: and many a 
 
 shallow sycophant 
 Hath marvelled ill that praise of children seldom won 
 
 their parents. 
 This therefore note, unto detection : flattery can sneer as 
 
 well as smile ; 
 And a master in the craft wotteth well, that his oblique 
 
 thrust is surest. 
 
 Jflattery sticketh like a burr, holding to the soil with 
 
 anchors, 
 A vital, natural, subtle seed, everywhere hardy and in- 
 digenous. 
 Go to the storehouse of thy memory, and take what is 
 
 readiest to thy hand, — 
 The noble deed, the clever phrase, for which thy pride 
 
 was flattered : 
 Oh, it hath been dwelt upon in solitude, and comforted 
 
 thy heart in crowds, 
 It hath made thee walk as in a dream, and lifted up the 
 
 head above thy fellows ; 
 It hath compensated months of gloom, that minute of 
 
 sweet sunshine, 
 Drying up the pools of apathy, and kindling the fire of 
 
 ambition : 
 Yea, the flavour of that spice, mingled in the cup of 
 
 life, 
 Shall linger even to the dregs, and still be tasted with a 
 
 welcome 
 
•f JIattos. 345 
 
 The dame shall tell her grandchild of her coy and 
 
 courted youth, 
 And the grey heard prateth of a stranger, who praised his 
 
 task at school. 
 
 (Sfttimes to the sluggard and the dull, flattery hath done 
 
 good service, 
 Quickening the mind to emulation, and encouraging the 
 
 heart that failed. 
 Even so, a stimulating poison, wisely tendered hy the 
 
 leech, 
 Shall speed the pulse, and rally life, and cheat astonished 
 
 death. 
 For, as a timid swimmer ventureth afloat with hi ad- 
 ders, 
 Until self-confidence and growth of skill have made him 
 
 spurn their aid, 
 Thus commendation may he prudent, where a child hath 
 
 ill deserved it ; 
 But praise unmerited is flattery, and the cure will hring 
 
 its cares : 
 For thy son may find thee out, and thou shalt rue the 
 
 remedy : 
 Yea, rather, where thou canst not praise, he honest in 
 
 rebuke. 
 
 3E have seen the ohjects of a flatterer mirrored clearly on 
 
 the surface, 
 Where self-love scattereth praise, to gather praise 
 
 again. 
 This is a commodity of merchandize, words put out at 
 
 interest : 
 
346 ®f J Iattetg. 
 
 A scheme for canvassing opinions, and tinging them all 
 
 with partiality. 
 He is but a harmless fool ; humour him with pitiful 
 
 good-nature : 
 If a poetaster quote thy song, be thou tender to his 
 
 poem: 
 Did the painter praise thy sketch ? be kind, commend 
 
 his picture ; 
 He looketh for a like return ; then thank him with thy 
 
 praise. 
 In these small things with these small minds count thou 
 
 the sycophant a courtier, 
 And pay back, as blindly as ye may, the too transparent 
 
 honour. 
 
 ^Jlso, where the flattery is delicate, coming unobtrusive 
 and in season, 
 
 Though thou be suspicious of its truth, be generous at 
 least to its gentility. 
 
 The skilful thief of Lacedaemon had praise before his 
 judges, 
 
 And many caitiffs win applause for genius in their 
 callings. 
 
 Moreover, his meaning may be kind, — and thou art a 
 debtor to his tongue ; 
 
 Hasten well to pay the debt, with charity and shrewd- 
 ness : 
 
 He must not think thee caught, nor feel himself dis- 
 covered, 
 
 Nor find thine answering compliment as hollow as his 
 own. 
 
 Though he be a smiling enemy, let him heed thee as the 
 fearless and the friendly; 
 
A searching look, a poignant word, may prove thou art 
 
 aware : 
 Still, with compassion to the frail, though keen to see 
 
 his soul, 
 Let him not fear for thy discretion, see thou keep his 
 
 secret, and thine own. 
 
 however, where the flattery is gross, a falsehood clear 
 and fulsome, 
 
 Crush the venomous toad, and spare not for a jewel in 
 his head. 
 
 Tell the presumptuous in flattery, that or ever he he- 
 spatter thee with praise, 
 
 It might he well to stop and ask how little it were 
 worth : 
 
 Thou hast not solicited his suffrage, — let him not force 
 thee to refuse it ; 
 
 Look to it, man, thy fence is foiled, — and thus we spoil 
 the plot. 
 
 Self-knowledge goeth armed, girt with many weapons, 
 
 And carrieth whips for flattery, to lash it like a slave : 
 
 But the dunce in that great science goeth as a greedy 
 tunny, 
 
 To gorge hoth "bait and hook, unheeding all hut ap- 
 petite : 
 
 He smelleth praise and swalloweth, — yea, though it he 
 palpahle and plain, 
 
 Say unto him, Folly thou art Wisdom, — he will loless 
 thee for thy lie. 
 
 jflatterer, thou shalt rue thy trade, though it have many 
 present gains ; 
 
348 m JIattog. 
 
 Those varnished wares may sell apace, yet shall they 
 
 spoil thy credit. 
 Thine is the intoxicating cup, which whoso drinketh it 
 
 shall nauseate : 
 Thine is trickery and cheating; but deception never 
 
 pleased for long. 
 And though while fresh thy fragrance seemed even as 
 
 the dews of charity, 
 Yet afterwards it fouled thy censer, as with savour of 
 
 stale smoke. 
 For the great mind detected thee at once, answering 
 
 thine emptiness with pity, 
 He saw thy self-interested zeal, and was not cozened by 
 
 vain- glory : 
 And the little mind is bloated with the praise, scorning 
 
 him who gave it, 
 A fool shall turn to be thy tyrant, an thou hast dubbed 
 
 him great : 
 And the medium mind of common men, loving first thy 
 
 music, 
 After, when the harmonies are done, shall feel small 
 
 comfort in their echoes ; 
 For either he shall know thee false, conscious of con- 
 trary deservings, 
 And, hating thee for falsehood, soon will scorn himself 
 
 for truth, 
 Or, if in aught to toilsome merit honest praise be 
 
 due, 
 Though for a season, belike, his weakness hath been 
 
 raptured at thy witcliing, 
 Shall he not speedily perceive, to the vexing of his dis- 
 appointed spirit, 
 
•f ihttztg. 349 
 
 That thine exaggerated tongue hath robbed him of fair 
 
 fame? 
 Thou hast paid in forger s coins, and he had earned true 
 
 money : 
 For the substance of just praise, thou hast put him off 
 
 with shadows of the sycophant : 
 Thou art all things to all men, for ends false and 
 
 selfish, 
 Therefore shalt be nothing unto any one, when those 
 
 thine ends are seen. 
 
 SEurn aside, young scholar, turn from the song of 
 Flattery ! 
 
 She hath the Siren's musical voice, to ravish and be- 
 tray. 
 
 Her tongue droppeth honey, but it is the honey of 
 Anticyra ; 
 
 Her face is a mask of fascination, but there hideth de- 
 formity behind ; 
 
 Her coming is the presence of a queen, heralded by 
 courtesy and beauty, 
 
 But, going away, her train is held by the hideous dwarf, 
 Disgust. 
 
 Stnow thyself, thine evil as thy good, and flattery shall 
 
 not harm thee : 
 Yea, her speech shall be a warning, a humbling and a 
 
 guide. 
 For wherein thou lackest most, there chiefly will the 
 
 sycophant commend thee, 
 And then most warmly will congratulate, when a man 
 
 hath least deserved. 
 
350 ®i ^tettog. 
 
 Behold, she is doubly a traitor ; and will underrate her 
 
 victim's "best, 
 That, to the comforting of conscience, she may plead 
 
 his worse for hetter. 
 
 therefore, is she dangerous — as every lie is dangerous : 
 Believe her tales, and perish: if thou act upon such 
 
 counsel. 
 Her aims are thine not thee, thy wealth and not thy 
 
 welfare, 
 Thy suffrage not thy safety, thine aid and not thine 
 
 honour. 
 Moreover, with those aims insured, ceaseth all her gloz- 
 
 ing; 
 She hath used thee as a handle, — but her hand was wise 
 
 to turn it : 
 Thus will she glorify her skill, that it deftly caught thy 
 
 kindness, 
 Thus will she scorn thy kindness, so pliable and easy to 
 
 her skill. 
 And then, the flatterer will turn to be thy foe, the 
 
 bitterest and hottest, 
 Because he oweth thee much hate to pay off many 
 
 hum brings. 
 Thinkest thou now that he is high, he loveth the re 
 
 membrance of his lowliness, 
 The servile manner, the dependent smile, the conscience 
 
 self-abased ? 
 No, this hour is his own, and the flatterer will be found 
 
 a busy mocker ; 
 He that hath salved thee with his tongue, shall now 
 
 gnash upon thee with his teeth, 
 
®f <f fating. 351 
 
 Yea, he will be leader in the laugh, — silly one, to listen 
 
 to thy loss, 
 We scarce had hoped to lime and take another of the 
 
 fools of flattery. 
 
 &t the last; have charity, young scholar, — yea, to the 
 sycophant convicted ; 
 
 Be not a Brutus to thyself, nor stern in thine own 
 cause. 
 
 Pardon exaggerated praise ; for there is a natural im- 
 pulse, 
 
 Spurring on the nobler mind, to colour facts by feel- 
 ings: 
 
 Take an indulgent view of each man's interest in 
 self, 
 
 Be large and liberal in excuses ; is not that infirmity 
 thine own ? 
 
 Search thy soul and be humble ; and mercy abideth with 
 humility ; 
 
 So that, yea, the insincere may find thee pitiful, and love 
 thee. 
 
 Mildly put aside, without rudeness of repulse, the pam- 
 pering hand of flattery, 
 
 For courtesy and kindness have gone beneath its guise, 
 and ill shouldst thou rebuke them. 
 
 Chou art incapable of theft : but flowers in the garden 
 of a friend 
 
 Are thine to pluck with confidence, and it were unfriend- 
 liness to hesitate : 
 
 Thou abhorrest flattery: but a generous excess in 
 praise 
 
352 ®i Jlatttrg* 
 
 Is tliine to yield with honest heart, and false were the 
 
 charity to douht it : 
 The difference lieth in thine aim; kindliness and good 
 
 are of charity, 
 But selfish, harmful, vile, and had, is Flattery's evil 
 
 end. 
 
353 
 
 m S*ftei 
 
 Gx2tltX8U& and righteous is thy grief, slighted child of 
 sensibility; 
 
 For kindliness enkindleth love, hut the waters of indif- 
 ference quench it : 
 
 Thy soul is athirst for sympathy, and hungereth to find 
 affection, 
 
 The tender scions of thy heart yearn for the sunshine of 
 good feeling ; 
 
 And it is an evil thing and bitter, when the cheerful face 
 of Charity, 
 
 Going forth gaily in the morning to woo the world with 
 smiles, 
 
 Is met by those wayfaring men with coldness, suspicion, 
 and repulse, 
 
 And turneth into hard dead stone at the Gorgon visage 
 of Neglect. 
 
 brother, warm and young, covetous of others* fa- 
 vour, 
 
 A A 
 
354 ®{ Jkjjitti. 
 
 I see thee checked and chilled, sorrowing for censure or 
 forgetfulness : 
 
 Let coarse and common minds despise — that wounding 
 of thy vanity, 
 
 Alas, I note a sorer cause, the "blighting of thy love ; 
 
 Let the callous sensual deride thee, — disappointed of thy 
 praise, 
 
 Alas, thou hast a juster grief, defrauded of their kind- 
 ness : 
 
 It is a theme for tears to feel the soft heart harden- 
 ing, 
 
 The frozen breath of apathy sealing up the fountain of 
 affection ; 
 
 It is a pang, keen only to the best, to be injured well- 
 deserving, 
 
 And slumbering Neglect is injury, — Could ye not watch 
 one hour ? 
 
 When God Himself complained, it was that none re- 
 garded, 
 
 And indifference bowed to the rebuke, Thou gavest Me 
 no kiss when I came in. 
 
 Moreover, praise is good; honour is a treasure to be 
 
 hoarded ; 
 A good man's praise foreshadoweth God's, and in His 
 
 smile is heaven : 
 But men walk on in hardihood, steeling their sinfulness 
 
 to censure, 
 And when rebuke is ridiculed, the love of praise were 
 
 an infirmity ; 
 The judge thou heedest not in fear, cannot have deep 
 
 homage of thy hope, 
 
<§f $kglat. 355 
 
 And who then is the wise of this world, that will own he 
 tremble th at his fellows ? 
 
 Calm, careless, and insensible, he mocketh blame or 
 calumny, 
 
 Neither should Ms dignity be humbled to some pittance 
 of their praise : 
 
 The rather, let false pride affect to trample on the trea- 
 sure 
 
 Which evermore in secret strength unconquered Nature 
 prizeth ; 
 
 Eather, shall he stifle now the rising bliss of triumph, 
 
 Lest after, in the world's Neglect, he must acknowledge 
 bitterness. 
 
 jfor lo, that world is wide, a huge and crowded conti- 
 nent, 
 
 Its brazen sun is mammon, and its iron soil is care : 
 
 A world full of men, where each man clingeth to his 
 idol ; 
 
 A world fall of men, where each man cherisheth his 
 sorrow ; 
 
 A. world full of men, multitude shoaling upon multi- 
 tude ; 
 
 A surging sea, where every wave is burdened with an 
 argosy of self; 
 
 A boundless beach, where every stone is a separate mi- 
 croscopic world : 
 
 A forest of innumerable trees, where every root is inde- 
 pendent. 
 
 (EUhat then is the marvel or the shame, if units be lost 
 among the million ? 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 ®f $egkci. 
 
 Canst thou reasonably murmur, if a leaf drop off un- 
 noticed ? 
 
 Wondrous in architecture, intricate and beautiful, deli- 
 cately tinged and scented, 
 
 Exquisite of feeling and mysterious in life, none cared 
 for its growth, or its decay. 
 
 None? yea, — no one of its fellows, — nor cedar, palm, 
 nor bramble, — 
 
 None ? its twinborn brother scarcely missed it from the 
 spray: 
 
 None ? — if none indeed, then man's neglect were bitter- 
 ness ; 
 
 And Life a land without a sun, a globe without a God ! 
 
 Yea, flowers in the desert, there be that love your beauty; 
 
 Yea, jewels in the sea, there be that prize your bright- 
 ness; 
 
 Children of unmerited oblivion, there be that watch and 
 woo you, 
 
 And many tend your sweets, with gentle ministering 
 care : 
 
 Thronging spirits of the happy, and the everpresent 
 Good One 
 
 Yearning seek those precious things, man hath not heart 
 to love, 
 
 Gems of the humblest or the highest, pure and patient 
 in their kind, 
 
 The souls unhardened by ill usage, and uncorrupt by 
 luxury. 
 
 &nd ye, poor desolates unsunned, toilers in the dark 
 
 damp mine, 
 Wearied daughters of oppression, crushed beneath the 
 
 car of avarice, 
 
•f SCegkct. 357 
 
 There be that count your tears, — He hath numbered the 
 
 hairs of thy head, — 
 There be that can forgive your ill, with kind considerate 
 
 pity: 
 Count ye this for comfort, Justice hath her balances, 
 And yet another world can compensate for all : 
 The daily martyrdom of patience shall not be wanting of 
 
 reward ; 
 Duty is a prickly shrub, but its flower will be happiness 
 
 and glory. 
 
 |?e too, the friendless, yet dependent, that find nor home 
 nor lover, 
 
 Sad imprisoned hearts, captive to the net of circum- 
 stance, — 
 
 And ye, too harshly judged, noble unappreciated intel- 
 lects, 
 
 Who, capable of highest, lowlier fix. your just ambition 
 in content, — 
 
 And chiefest, ye, famished infants of the poor, toiling 
 for your parents' bread, 
 
 Tired, and sore, and uncomforted the while, for want of 
 love and learning, 
 
 Who struggle with the pitiless machine in dull continu- 
 ous conflict, 
 
 Tasked by iron men, who care for nothing but your 
 labour, — 
 
 Be ye long-suffering and courageous : abide the will of 
 Heaven ; 
 
 God is on your side; all things are tenderly remem- 
 bered : 
 
 His servants here shall help you ; and where those fail 
 you through Neglect, 
 
858 ®i gkglrtf. 
 
 His kingdom still hath time and space for ample discri- 
 minative Justice : 
 
 Yea, though utterly on this bad earth ye lose both right 
 and mercy, 
 
 The tears that we forgat to note, our God shall wipe 
 away. 
 
 Nevertheless, kind spirit, susceptible and guileless, 
 Meek uncherished dove, in a carrion flock of fowls, 
 Sensitive mimosa, shrinking from the winds that help to 
 
 root the fir, 
 Fragile nautilus, shipwrecked in the gale whereat the 
 
 conch is glad, 
 Thy sharp peculiar grief is uncomforted by hope of com- 
 pensation, 
 For it is a delicate and spiritual wound, which the probe 
 
 of pity bruiseth : 
 Yet hear how many thoughts extenuate its pain ; 
 Even while a kindred heart can sorrow for its presence. 
 For the sting of neglect is in this, — that such as we are 
 
 all, forget us, 
 That men and women, kith and kin, so lightly heed of 
 
 other : 
 Sympathy is lacking from the guilty such as we, even 
 
 where angels minister, 
 And souls of fine accord must prize a fellow-sinner's 
 
 love; 
 For the worst love those who love them, and the best 
 
 claim heart for heart, 
 And it is a holy thirst to long for love's requital : 
 Hard it will be, hard and sad, to love and be unloved ; 
 And many a thorn is thrust into the side of him that is 
 
 forgotten. 
 
®i DCeglwt. 359 
 
 The oppressive silence of reserve, the frost of failing 
 
 friendship, 
 Affection blighted by repulse, or chilled by shallow 
 
 courtesy, 
 The unaided struggle, the unconsidered grief, the unes- 
 
 teemed self-sacrifice, 
 The gift, dear evidence of kindness, long due, but never 
 
 offered, 
 The glance estranged, the letter flung aside, the greeting 
 
 ill received, 
 The services of unobtrusive care unthanked, perchance 
 
 unheeded, 
 These things, which hard men mock at, rend the feelings 
 
 of the tender, 
 For the delicate tissue of a spiritual mind is torn by 
 
 those sharp barbs ; 
 The coldness of a trusted friend, a plenitude ending in 
 
 vacuity, 
 Is as if the stable world had burst a hollow bubble. 
 
 33 ut consider, child of sensibility; the lot of men is 
 labour, 
 
 Labour for the mouth, or labour in the spirit, labour 
 stern and individual, 
 
 Worldly cares and worldly hopes exact the thoughts of 
 all, 
 
 And there is a necessary selfishness, rooted in each 
 mortal breast. 
 
 The plans of prudence, or the whisperings of pride, or 
 all-absorbing reveries of love, 
 
 Ambition, grief, or fear, or joy, set each man for him- 
 self; 
 
360 ®{ Skglwt 
 
 Therefore, the centre of a cycle, whereunto all the uni- 
 verse convergeth, 
 Is seen in fallen solitude, the naked selfish heart : 
 Stripped of conventional deceptions, untrammelled from 
 
 the harness of society, 
 We all may read one little word engraved on all we 
 
 do; 
 Other men, what are they unto us ? the age, the mass, 
 
 the million, — 
 We segregate, distinct from generalities, that isolated 
 
 particle, a self : 
 It is the very law of our life, a law for soul and hody, 
 An earthly law for earthly men, toiling in responsible 
 
 probation. 
 For each is the all unto himself, disguise it as we may, 
 Each infinite, each most precious; yet even as a nothing 
 
 to his neighbour. 
 O consider, we be crowding up an avenue, trapped in 
 
 the decoy of time, 
 Behind us the irrevocable past, before us the illimitable 
 
 future : 
 What wonder is there, if the traveller, wayworn, hopeful, 
 
 fearful, 
 Burdened himself, so lightly heed the burden of his 
 
 brother ? 
 How shouldst thou marvel and be sad, that the pilgrims 
 
 trouble not to learn thee, 
 When each hath to master for himself the lessons of life 
 
 and immortality ? 
 
 Moreover, what art thou, — so vainly impatient of 
 
 Neglect, 
 
m Select. 361 
 
 Where then is thy worthiness, that so thou claimest 
 
 honour ? 
 Let the true judgment of humility reckon up thine ill 
 
 deserts, 
 How little is there to he loved, how much to stir up 
 
 scorn! 
 The douhle heart, the hitter tongue, the rash and erring 
 
 spirit, 
 Be these, ye purest among men, your passports unto 
 
 favour ? 
 It is mercy in the Merciful, and justice in the Just, to 
 
 he jealous of His creature's love, 
 But how should evil or duplicity arrogate affection to 
 
 itself? 
 Where love is happiness and duty, to he jealous of that 
 
 love is godlike, 
 But who can reverence the guilty? who findeth pleasure 
 
 in the mean ? 
 Check the presumption of thy hopes : thankfully take 
 
 refuge in ohscurity, 
 Or, if thou claimest merit, thy sin shall he proclaimed 
 
 upon the housetops. 
 
 |9et again : consider them of old, the good, the great, 
 
 the learned, 
 Who have hlessed the world hy wisdom, and glorified 
 
 their God hy purity. 
 Did those speed in favour ? were they the loved and the 
 
 admired ? 
 Was every prophet had in honour ? and every deserving 
 
 one remembered to his praise ? 
 What shall I say of yonder hand, a glorious cloud of 
 
 witnesses, 
 
362 <§f Ifegltrf. 
 
 The scorned, defamed, insulted, — but the excellent of 
 
 earth? 
 It were weariness to count up noble names, neglected in 
 
 their lives, 
 Whom none esteemed, nor cared to love, till death had 
 
 sealed them his. 
 Eor good men are the health of the world, valued only 
 
 when it perish eth, 
 Like water, light, and air, all precious in their absence. 
 Who hath considered the blessing of his breath, till the 
 
 poison of an asthma struck him ? 
 Who hath regarded the just pulses of his heart, till 
 
 spasm or paralysis have stopped them ? 
 Even thus, an unobserved routine of daily grace and 
 
 wisdom, 
 When no more here, had worship of a world, whose 
 
 penitence atoned for its neglect. 
 And living genius is seen among infirmities, wherefrom 
 
 the commoner are free ; 
 And other rival men of mind crowd this arena of con- 
 tention ; 
 And there be many cares ; and a man knoweth little of 
 
 his brother ; 
 Feebly we appreciate a motive, and slowly keep pace 
 
 with a feeling : 
 And social difference is much ; and experience teacheth 
 
 How great the treachery of Mends, how dangerous the 
 
 courtesy of enemies. 
 So, the sum of all these things operateth largely upon 
 
 all men, 
 Hedging us about with thorns, to cramp our yearning 
 
 sympathies, 
 
®f JCeglttt 363 
 
 And we grow materialized in mind, forgetting what we 
 see not, 
 
 "But, immersed in perceptions of the present, keep things 
 absent out of thought : 
 
 Thus, where ingratitude, and guilt, and labour, and sel- 
 fishness would harden, 
 
 Humbly will the good man bow, unmurmuring., to 
 Neglect. 
 
 get once more, griever at Neglect, hear me to thy com- 
 fort, or rebuke : 
 
 For, after all thy just complaint, the world is full of 
 love. 
 
 heart of childhood, tender, trusting, and affectionate, 
 
 youth, warm youth, full of generous attentions, 
 
 woman, self-forgetting woman, poetry of human life, 
 
 And not less thou, man, so often the disinterested 
 brother, 
 
 Many a smile of love, many a tear of pity, 
 
 Many a word of comfort, many a deed of magnani- 
 mity, 
 
 Many a stream of milk and honey pour ye freely on the 
 earth, 
 
 And many a rosebud of love rejoiceth in the dew of your 
 affection. 
 
 Neglect ? liberal world, for thine are many prizes : 
 
 Neglect ? charitable world, where thousands feed on 
 bounty ; 
 
 Neglect ? just world, for thy judgments err not 
 often ; 
 
 Neglect? libel on a world where half that world is 
 woman ! 
 
364 ®i gtgUrf. 
 
 Where is the afflicted, whose voice, once heard, stirreth 
 
 not a host of comforters ? 
 Where is the sick untended, or in prison, and they 
 
 visited him not ? 
 The hungry is fed, and the thirsty satisfied, till ability 
 
 set limits to the will, 
 And those who did it unto them, have done it unto God ! 
 For human benevolence is large, though many matters 
 
 dwarf it, 
 Prudence, ignorance, imposture, and the straitenings of 
 
 circumstance and time. 
 And if to the body, so to the mind, the mass of men are 
 
 generous ; 
 Their estimate, who know us best, is seldom seen to 
 
 err ; 
 Be sure the fault is thine, as pride, or shallowness, or 
 
 vanity, 
 If all around thee, good and bad, neglect thy seeming 
 
 merit : 
 No man yet deserved, who found not some to love him ; 
 And he, that never kept a Mend, need only blame him- 
 self: 
 Many for unworthiness will droop and die, but all are 
 
 not unworthy ; 
 It must indeed be cold clay soil, that killeth every seed. 
 Therefore, examine thy state, self-accounted martyr of 
 
 Neglect, 
 It may be, thy merit is a cubit, and thy measure thereof 
 
 a furlong ; 
 But grant it greater than thy thoughts, and grant that 
 
 men thy fellows, 
 For pleasure, business, or interest, misuse, forget, neg- 
 lect thee, — 
 
Gi m$htl 365 
 
 Still be thou conqueror in this, the consciousness of high 
 
 deservings ; 
 Let it suffice thee to be worthy ; faint not thou for 
 
 praise ; 
 For that thou art. be grateful; go humbly even in thy 
 
 confidence ; 
 And set thy foot upon the neck of an enemy so harmless 
 
 as Neglect, 
 
366 
 
 if Ctmtmtttmt 
 
 &0frlttt£££ with Contentment, — these be the pillars of 
 
 felicity, 
 Jachin, wherewithal it is established, and Boaz, in the 
 
 which is strength : 
 And upon their capitals is lily-work, the lotus fruit and 
 
 flower, 
 Those fair and fragrant types of holiness, innocence, 
 
 and beauty ; 
 Great gain pertaineth to the pillars, nets and chains of 
 
 wreathen gold, 
 And they stand up straight in the temple porch, the 
 
 house where Glory dwelleth. 
 
 Che body craveth meats, and the spirit is athirst for 
 
 peacefulness, 
 He that hath these, hath enough; for all beyond is 
 
 vanity, 
 
<Sf Contentment. 367 
 
 Surfeit vaulteth over pleasure, to light upon the hither 
 
 side of pain : 
 And great store is great care, the rather if it mightily 
 
 increaseth. 
 Albeit too little is a trouble, yet too much shall swell 
 
 into an evil, 
 If wisdom stand not nigh to moderate the wishes : 
 For covetousness never had enough, but moaneth at its 
 
 wants for ever, 
 And rich men have commonly more need to be taught 
 
 contentment than the poor. 
 That hungry chasm in their market-place gapeth still 
 
 unsatisfied, 
 Yea, fling in all the wealth of Eome, — it asketh higher 
 
 victims ; 
 So, when the miser's gold cannot fill the measure of his 
 
 lust, 
 Curtius must leap into the pit, and avarice shall close 
 
 upon his life. 
 
 JJehold Independence in his rags, all too easily con- 
 tented, 
 
 Careful for nothing, thankful for much, and uncomplain- 
 ing in his poverty : 
 
 Such an one have I somewhile seen earn his crust with 
 gladness ; 
 
 He is a gatherer of simples, culling wild herbs upon the 
 hills; 
 
 And now, as he sitteth on the beach, with his motherless 
 child beside him, 
 
 To rest them in the cheerful sun, and sort their mints 
 and horehound, — 
 
368 ©f €onkxdmmL 
 
 Tell me, can ye find upon his forehead the cloud of 
 
 covetous anxiety, 
 Or note the dull unkindled eyes of sated sons of 
 
 pleasure ? — 
 For there is more joy of life with that poor picker of the 
 
 ditches, 
 Than among the multitude of wealthy who wed their 
 
 gains to discontent. 
 
 $ have seen many rich, burdened with the fear of 
 poverty, 
 
 I have seen many poor, buoyed with all the carelessness 
 of wealth : 
 
 For the rich had the spirit of a pauper, and the money- 
 less a liberal heart ; 
 
 The first enjoy eth not for having, and the latter hath no- 
 thing but enjoyment. 
 
 None is poor but the mean in mind, the timorous, the 
 weak, and unbelieving ; 
 
 None is wealthy but the affluent in soul, who is satisfied 
 and floweth over. 
 
 The poor-rich is attenuate for fears, the rich-poor is 
 fattened upon hopes ; 
 
 Cheerfulness is one man's welcome, and the other 
 warneth from him by his gloom. 
 
 Many poor have the pleasures of the rich, even in their 
 own possessions ; 
 
 And many rich miss the poor man's comforts, and yet 
 feel all his cares. 
 
 Liberty is affluence, and the Helots of anxiety never can 
 
 be counted wealthy ; 
 , But he that is disenthralled from fear, goeth for the time 
 a king ; 
 
@f €onhntmmt 369 
 
 He is royal, great, and opulent, living free of fortune, 
 
 And looking on the world as owner of its good, the 
 Maker's child and heir : 
 
 Whereas, the covetous is slavish, a very Midas in his 
 avarice, 
 
 Full of dismal dreams, and starved amongst his trea- 
 sures : 
 
 The ceaseless spur of discontent goaded him with instant 
 apprehension, 
 
 And his thirst for gold could never be quenched, for he 
 drank with the throat of Crassus. 
 
 Canity, and dreary disappointment, care, and weariness, 
 
 and envy ; 
 Vanity is graven upon all things; wisely spake the 
 
 preacher. 
 For ambition is a burning mountain, thrown up amid 
 
 the turbid sea, 
 A Stromboli in sullen pride above the hissing waves ; 
 And the statesman climbing there, forgetful of his patriot 
 
 intentions, 
 Shall hate the strife of each rough step, or ever he hath 
 
 toiled midway : 
 iVnd every truant from his home, the happy home of 
 
 duty, 
 Shall live to loathe his eminence of cares, that seething 
 
 smoke and lava. 
 Contentment is the temperate repast, flowing with milk 
 
 and honey : 
 Ambition is the drunken orgy, fed by liquid flames : 
 A black and bitter frown is stamped upon the forehead 
 
 of Ambition, 
 
370 df Contentment. 
 
 But fair Contentment's angel-face is rayed with winning 
 smiles. 
 
 Chere was in Tyre a merchant, the favourite child of 
 
 fortune, 
 An opulent man with many ships, to trade in many 
 
 climes ; 
 And he rose up early to his merchandize, after feverish 
 
 dreaming, 
 And lay down late to his hot unrest, overwhelmed with 
 
 calculated cares. 
 So, day hy day, and month "by month, and year hy year, 
 
 4 he gained ; 
 And grew grey, and waxed great ; for money brought 
 
 him all things. 
 All things? — verily, not all; the kernel of the nut is 
 
 lacking,— 
 His mind was a stranger to content, and as for Peace, 
 
 he knew her not : 
 Luxuries palled upon his palate, and his eyes were sa- 
 tiate with purple ; 
 He could coin much gold, hut buy no happiness with 
 
 it. 
 And on a day, a day of dread, in the heat of inordinate 
 
 ambition, 
 When he threw with a gambler's hand, to lose or to 
 
 double his possessions, 
 The chance hit him, — he had speculated ill, — and men 
 
 began to whisper ; — 
 Those he trusted, failed ; and their usuries had bribed 
 
 him deeply ; 
 One ship foundered out at sea, — and another met the 
 
 pirate, — 
 
m &Qnhxdmznt 371 
 
 And so, with broken fortunes, men discreetly shunned 
 him. 
 
 He was a stricken stag, and went to hide away in soli- 
 tude, 
 
 And there in humility, he thought, — he resolved, and 
 promptly acted : 
 
 From the wreck of all his splendours, from the dregs of 
 the goblet of affluence, 
 
 He saved with management a morsel and a drop, for his 
 daily cup and platter : 
 
 And lo, that little was enough, and in enough was com- 
 petence ; 
 
 His cares were gone, — he slept by night, and lived at 
 peace by day ; 
 
 Cured of his guilty selfishness, — money's love, envy, 
 competition, — 
 
 He lived to be thankful in a cottage that he had lost a 
 palace : 
 
 For he found in his abasement, what he vainly had 
 sought in high estate, 
 
 Both mind and body well at ease, though robed in the 
 russet of the lowly. 
 
 ®nce more, a certain priest, happy in his high 
 
 vocation, 
 With faith, and hope, and charity, well served his village 
 
 altar ; 
 As men count riches he was poor ; but great were his 
 
 treasures in heaven, 
 And great his joys on earth, for God's sake doing 
 
 good : 
 He had few cares and many consolations, one of the 
 
 welcome everywhere ; b b 2 
 
372 #f €axttzntmznt 
 
 The labourer accounted him his Mend, and magnates 
 
 did him honour at their table : 
 With a large heart and little means he still made many 
 
 grateful, 
 And felt as the centre of a circle, of comfort, calmness, 
 
 and content. 
 But, on a weaker sabbath, — for he preached both well 
 
 and wisely, — 
 Some casual hearer loudly praised his great neglected 
 
 talents : 
 Why should he be. buried in obscurity, and throw these 
 
 pearls to swine ? 
 Could he not still be doing good, — the whilst he pushed 
 
 his fortunes ? 
 Then came temptation, even on the spark of discontent ; 
 The neighbouring town had a pulpit to be filled ; hotly 
 
 did he canvass, and won it : 
 Now was he popular and courted, and listened to the 
 
 spell of admiration, 
 And toiled to please the taste, rather than to pierce the 
 
 conscience. 
 Greedily he sought, and seeking found, the patronizing 
 
 notice of the great ; 
 He thirsted for emoluments and honours, and counted 
 
 rich men happy: 
 So he flattered, so he preached; and gold and fame 
 
 flowed in ; 
 They flowed in,- — he was reaping his reward, and felt 
 
 himself a fool. 
 Alas, what a shadow was he following, — how precious 
 
 was the substance he had left ! 
 Man for God, gold for good, this was his miserable 
 
 bargain. 
 
#f ttontmimmt 373 
 
 The village church, its humble flock, aud humbler 
 
 parish priest, 
 Zeal, devotion, and approving Heaven, — his books, and 
 
 simple life, 
 His little farm and flower-beds, — his recreative rambles 
 
 with a friend, 
 And haply, at eventide, the leaping trouts, to help their 
 
 humble fare, 
 All these wretchedly exchanged for what the world 
 
 called fortune, 
 With the harrowing conscience of a state relapsed to 
 
 vain ambitions. 
 Then, — for God was gracious to his soul, — his better 
 
 thoughts returned, 
 And better aims with better thoughts, his holy walk of 
 
 old. 
 Sickened of style, and ostentation, and the dissipative 
 
 fashions of society, 
 He deserted from the ranks of Mammon, and renewed 
 
 his allegiance to God : 
 For he found that the praises of men, and all that gold 
 
 can give, 
 Are not worthy to be named, against godliness and calm 
 
 contentment. 
 
374 
 
 if fife. 
 
 & ifyiXtS was playing in a garden, a merry little child, 
 
 Bounding with triumphant health, and full of happy 
 fancies; 
 
 His kite was floating in the sunshine, — hut he tied the 
 string to a twig 
 
 And ran among the roses to catch a new-horn butterfly ; 
 
 His horn-book lay upon a bank, but the pretty truant 
 hid it, 
 
 Buried up in gathered grass, and moss, and sweet wild- 
 thyme ; 
 
 He launched a paper boat upon the fountain, then 
 wayward turned aside, 
 
 To twine some fragrant jessamines about the dripping 
 marble : 
 
 So, in various pastime shadowing the schemes of man- 
 hood, 
 
 That curly-headed boy consumed the golden hours : 
 
•f fife. 375 
 
 And I blessed his glowing face, envying the merry little 
 
 child, 
 As he shouted with the ecstasy of being, clapping his 
 
 hands for joyfulness : 
 For I said, Surely, Life, thy name is happiness and 
 
 hope, 
 Thy days are bright, thy flowers are sweet, and pleasure 
 
 the condition of thy gift. 
 
 & youth was walking in the moonlight, walking not 
 alone, 
 
 For a fair and gentle maid leant on his trembling arm : 
 
 Their whispering was still of beauty, and the light of 
 love was in their eyes, 
 
 Their twin young hearts had not a thought unvowed to 
 love and beauty : 
 
 The stars and the sleeping world, and the guardian eye 
 of God, 
 
 The murmur of the distant waterfall, and nightingales 
 warbling in the thicket, 
 
 Sweet speech of years to come, and promises of fondest 
 hope, 
 
 And more, a present gladness in each other's trust, 
 
 All these fed their souls with the hidden manna of affec- 
 tion, 
 
 While their faces shone beatified in the radiance of re- 
 flected Eden : 
 
 I gazed on that fond youth, and coveted his heart, 
 
 Attuned to holiest symphonies, with music in its strings: 
 
 For I said, Surely, Life, thy name is love and 
 beauty, 
 
376 #f fife. 
 
 Thy joys axe full, thy looks most fair, thy feelings pure 
 and sensitive. 
 
 & man sat beside his merchandize, a careworn altered 
 man, 
 
 His waking hope, his nightly fear, were money, and its 
 losses : 
 
 Earely was the laugh upon his cheek, except in hitter 
 scorn 
 
 For his foolishness of heart, and the lie of its romance, 
 counting Love a treasure. 
 
 His talk is of stern Eeality, chilling unimaginative 
 facts, 
 
 The dull material accidents of this sensual body ; 
 
 Lucreless honour were contemptible, impoverished affec- 
 tion but a pauper's riches, 
 
 Duty, struggling unrewarded, the bargain of a cheated 
 fool: 
 
 The market value of a fancy must be measured by the 
 gain it bringeth, 
 
 No man is fed or clothed by fame, or love, or duty : — 
 
 So toiled he day by day, that cold and joyless man, 
 
 I gazed upon his haggard face, and sorrowed for the 
 change : 
 
 For I said, Surely, Life, thy name is care and weari- 
 ness, 
 
 Thy soil is parched, thy winds are fierce, and the suns 
 above thee hardening. 
 
 % withered elder lay upon his bed, a desolate man and 
 feeble : 
 
<§f fife. 377 
 
 His thoughts were of the past, the early past, the bye 
 
 gone days of youth : 
 Bitterly repented he the years stolen by the god of this 
 
 world : 
 Eemembering the maiden of his love, and the heart- 
 stricken wife of his selfishness. 
 For the sunshiny morning of his life came again to him a 
 
 vivid truth, 
 But the years of toil as a long dim dream, a cloudy 
 
 blighted noon : 
 He saw the nutting schoolboy, but forgat the speculative 
 
 merchant ; 
 The callous calculating husband was shamed by the 
 
 generous lover : 
 He knew that the weeds of worldliness, and the smoky 
 
 breath of Mammon 
 Had choked and killed those tender shoots, his yearnings 
 
 after honour and affection ; 
 So was he sick at heart, and my pity strove to cheer him, 
 But a deep and dismal gulph lay between comfort and 
 
 his soul. 
 Then 1 said, Surely, O Life, thy name is vanity and 
 
 sorrow, 
 Thy storms at noon are many, and thine eventide is 
 
 clouded by remorse. 
 
 $ow, when I thought upon these things, my heart was 
 
 grieved within me : 
 I wept, with bitterness of speech, and these were the 
 
 words of my complaining : 
 " Wherefore then must happiness and love wither into 
 
 care and vanity, — 
 
378 m fife. 
 
 Wherefore is the bud so beautiful, but flower arid fruit 
 
 so blighted ? 
 Hard is the lot of man ; to be lured by the meteor of 
 
 romance, 
 Only to be snared, and to sink, in the turbid mudpool 
 
 of reality." 
 
 Suddenly, a light, — and a rushing presence, — and a 
 
 consciousness of Something near me, — 
 I trembled, and listened, and prayed : then I knew the 
 
 Angel of Life : 
 Vague, and dimly visible, mine eye could not behold 
 
 Him, 
 As, calmly unimpassioned, He looked upon an erring 
 
 creature ; 
 Unseen, my spirit apprehended Him ; though He spake 
 
 not, yet I heard : 
 For a sympathetic communing with Him flashed upon 
 
 my mind electric. 
 
 Pensioner of God, be grateful; the gift of Life is good : 
 
 The life of heart, and life of soul, mingled with life for 
 the body. 
 
 Gladness and beauty are its just inheritance, — the beauty 
 thou hast counted for romance . 
 
 And guardian spirits weep that selfishness and sorrow 
 should destroy it. 
 
 Thou hast seen the natural blessing marred into a curse 
 by man ; 
 
 Come then, in favour will I show thee the proper ex- 
 cellence of life. 
 
 Keep thou purity, and watch against suspicion, — love 
 shall never perish ; 
 
•f fife. 379 
 
 Guard thine innocency spotless, and the buoyancy of 
 
 childhood shall remain. 
 Sweet ideals feed the soul, thoughts of loveliness delight 
 
 it, 
 The chivalrous affection of uncalculating youth lacketh 
 
 not honourable wisdom. 
 Charge not folly on invisibles, that render thee happier 
 
 and purer, 
 The fair frail visions of Romance have a use beyond the 
 
 maxims of the Real. 
 
 SSehold a patriarch of years, who leaneth on the staff of 
 
 religion ; 
 His heart is fresh, quick to feel, a bursting fount of 
 
 generosity : 
 He, playful in his wisdom, is gladdened in his children's 
 
 gladness, 
 He, pure in his experience, loveth in his son's first 
 
 love: 
 Lofty aspirations, deep affections, holy hopes are his 
 
 delight ; 
 His abhorrence is to strip from Life its charitable gar- 
 ment of Idea. 
 The cold and callous sneerer, who heedeth of the merely 
 
 practical, 
 And mocketh at good uses in imaginary things, that man 
 
 is his scorn : 
 The hard unsympathizing modern, filled with facts and 
 
 figures, 
 Cautious, and coarse, and materialized in mind, that man 
 
 is his pity. 
 Passionate thirst for gain never hath burnt within his 
 
 bosom, 
 
380 m fife. 
 
 The leaden chains of that dull lust have not hound him 
 prisoner : 
 
 The shrewd world laughed at him for honesty, the vain 
 world mouthed at him for honour, 
 
 The false world hated him for truth, the cold world de- 
 spised him for affection : 
 
 Still, he kept his treasure, the warm and nohle heart, 
 
 And in that happy wise old man survive the child and 
 lover. 
 
 For human Life is as Chian wine, flavoured unto him 
 who drinketh it, 
 
 Delicate fragrance comforting the soul, as needful sub- 
 stance for the body : 
 
 Therefore, see thou art pure and guileless ; so shall thy 
 Realities of Life 
 
 Be sweetened, and tempered, and gladdened by the 
 wholesome spirit of Romance. 
 
 Host thou live, man, dost thou live, — or only breathe 
 and labour ? 
 
 Art thou free, or enslaved to a routine, the daily machi- 
 nery of habit ? 
 
 For one man is quickened into Life, where thousands 
 exist as in a torpor, 
 
 Feeding, toiling, sleeping, an insensate weary round : 
 
 The plough, or the ledger, or the trade, with animal cares 
 and indolence, 
 
 Make the mass of vital years a heavy lump unleavened. 
 
 Drowsily lie down in thy dullness, fettered with the irons 
 of circumstance, 
 
 Thou wilt not wake to think and feel a minute in a 
 month. 
 
•f fife. 381 
 
 The epitome of common life is seen in the common 
 epitaph, 
 
 Born on such a day, and dead on such another, with an 
 interval of threescore years. 
 
 For time hath "been wasted on the senses, to the hourly 
 diminishing of spirit : 
 
 Lean is the soul and pineth, in the midst of abundance 
 for the body : 
 
 He forgat the worlds to which he tended, and a creature's 
 true nobility, 
 
 Nor wished that hope and wholesome fear should stir 
 him from his hardened satisfaction. 
 
 And this is death in life ; to be sunk beneath the waters 
 of the Actual, 
 
 Without one feebly-struggling sense of an airier spiritual 
 realm : 
 
 Affection, fancy, feeling — dead ; imagination, conscience, 
 faith, 
 
 All wilfully expunged, till they leave the man mere 
 carcase. 
 
 See thou livest, whiles thou art : for heart must live, and 
 soul, 
 
 But care and sloth and sin and self, combine to kill that- 
 life. 
 
 A man will grow to an automaton, an appendage to the 
 counter or the desk, 
 
 If mind and spirit be not roused, to raise the plodding- 
 groveller. 
 
 Then praise God for sabbaths, for books, and dreams, 
 and pains, 
 
 For the recreative face of nature, and the kindling- 
 charities of home : 
 
382 #f fifc 
 
 And remember, thou that labourest, — thy leisure is not 
 
 loss, 
 If it help to expose and undermine that solid falsehood, 
 
 the Material. 
 
 ILife is a strange avenue of various trees and flowers; 
 
 Lightsome at commencement, hut darkening to its end 
 in a distant massy portal. 
 
 It beginneth as a little path, edged with the violet and 
 primrose, 
 
 A little path of lawny grass, and soft to tiny feet : 
 
 Soon, spring thistles in the way, those early griefs of 
 school, 
 
 And fruit-trees ranged on either hand show holiday de- 
 lights : 
 
 Anon, the rose and the mimosa hint at sensitive affec- 
 tion, 
 
 And vipers hide among the grass, and briars are woven 
 in the hedges : 
 
 Shortly, staked along in order, stand the tender sap- 
 lings, 
 
 While hollow hemlock and tall ferns fill the frequent 
 interval : 
 
 So advancing, quaintly mixed, majestic line the way 
 
 Sturdy oaks, and vigorous elms, the beech and forest- 
 pine: 
 
 And here the road is rough with rocks, wide, and scant 
 of herbage, 
 
 The sun is hot in heaven, and the ground is cleft and 
 parched : 
 
 And many-times a hollow trunk, decayed, or lightning- 
 scathed, 
 
m fife. 383 
 
 Or in its deadly solitude, the melancholy upas ; 
 
 But soon, with closer ranks, are set the sentinel trees, 
 
 And darker shadows hover amongst Autumn's mellow 
 
 tints; 
 Ever and anon, a holly, — -junipers, and cypresses, and 
 
 The soil is damp ; the air is chill ; night cometh on 
 
 apace : 
 Speed to the portal, traveller, — lo, there is a moon, 
 With smiling light to guide thee safely through the 
 
 dreadful shade : 
 Hark, — that hollow knock, — behold, the warder openeth, 
 The gate is gaping, and for thee ; — those are the jaws of 
 
 Death ! 
 
384 
 
 Itojj silence, daughter of frivolity, — for Death is in that 
 
 chamber ! 
 Startle not with echoing sound the strangely solemn 
 
 peace. 
 Death is here in spirit, watcher of a marble corpse, — 
 That eye is fixed, that heart is still, — how dreadful in its 
 
 stillness ! 
 Death, new tenant of the house, pervadeth all the fabric, 
 He waiteth at the head, and he standeth at the feet, and 
 
 hideth in the caverns of the breast : 
 Death, subtle leech, hath anatomized soul from body, 
 Dissecting well in every nerve its spirit from its sub 
 
 stance : 
 Death, rigid lord, hath claimed the heriot clay, 
 While joyously the youthful soul hath gone to take his 
 
 heritage : 
 Death, cold usurer, hath seized his bonded debtor ; 
 Death, savage despot, hath caught his forfeit serf; 
 
©f §zuth. 385 
 
 Death, blind foe, wreaketh petty vengeance on the 
 flesh ; 
 
 Death, fell cannibal, gloateth on his victim, 
 
 And carrieth it with him to the grave, that dismal ban- 
 quet-hall, 
 
 Where in foul state the Eoyal Goul holdeth secret 
 orgies. 
 
 |§ide it up, hide it up, draw the decent curtain : 
 Hence ! curious fool, and pry not on corruption : 
 For the fearful mysteries of change are being there 
 
 enacted, 
 And many actors play their part on that small stage, the 
 
 tomb. 
 Leave the clay, that leprous thing, touch not the fleshly 
 
 garment : 
 Dust to dust, it mingleth well among the sacred soil : 
 It is scattered by the winds, it is wafted by the waves, it 
 
 mixeth with herbs and cattle, 
 But God hath watched those morsels, and hath guided 
 
 them in care ; 
 Each waiting soul must claim his own, when the arch- 
 angel soundeth, 
 And all the fields, and all the hills, shall move a mass of 
 
 life ; 
 Bodies numberless crowding on the land, and covering 
 
 the trampled sea, 
 Darkening the air precipitate, and gathered scatheless 
 
 from the fire ; 
 The Himalayan peaks shall yield their charge, and the 
 
 desolate steppes of Siberia, 
 
 c c 
 
386 ®i $*atfc. 
 
 The Maelstrom disengulph its spoil, and the iceberg 
 
 manumit its captive : 
 All shall teem with life, the converging fragments of 
 
 humanity, 
 Till every conscious essence greet his individual frame ; 
 For in some dignified similitude, alike, yet different in 
 
 glory, 
 This body shall be shaped anew, fit dwelling for the 
 
 soul : 
 The hovel hath grown to a palace, the bulb hath burst 
 
 into the flower, 
 Matter hath put on incorruption, and is at peace with 
 
 spirit. 
 
 $men, — and so it shall be : — but now, the scene is 
 
 drear, — 
 Yea, though promises and hope strive to cheat its sad- 
 ness; 
 Full of grief, though faith herself is strong to speed the 
 
 soul, 
 For the partner of its. toil. is left behind to endure an 
 
 ordeal of change. 
 Dear partner, dear and frail, my loved though humble 
 
 home, — 
 Should I cast thee off without a pang, as a garment 
 
 flung aside? 
 Many years, for joy and sorrow, have T dwelt in thee, 
 How shall I be reckless of thy weal, nor hope for thy 
 
 perfection ? — 
 This also, He that lent thee for my uses in mortality, 
 Shall well fulfil with boundless praise on that returning 
 
 day: 
 
m gtarffc. 387 
 
 Behold, thou shalt be glorified : thou, mine abject 
 
 . Mend, 
 And should I meanly scorn thy state, until it rise to 
 
 greatness ? 
 Far be it, my soul, from thine expectant essence, 
 To be heedless, if indignity or folly desecrate those thine 
 
 ashes : 
 Keep them safe with careful love ; and let the mound be 
 
 holy; 
 And, thou that passest by, revere the waiting dead. 
 
 Naples sitteth by the sea, keystone of an arch of azure, 
 Crowned by consenting nations peerless queen of 
 
 gaiety : 
 She laugheth at the wrath of Ocean, she mocketh the 
 
 fury of Vesuvius, 
 She spurneth disease and misery and famine, that crowd 
 
 her sunny streets : 
 The giddy dance, the merry song, the festal glad pro- 
 cession, 
 The noonday slumber and the midnight serenade, — all 
 
 these make up her Life : 
 Her Life ? — and what her Death ? — look we to the end 
 
 of life- 
 Solon, and Tellus the Athenian, wisely have ye pointed 
 
 to the grave. 
 For behold yon dreary precinct, — those hundreds of 
 
 stone wells, 
 A pit for a day, a pit for a day,— a pit to be sealed for a 
 
 year : 
 And in the gloom of night, they raise the year-closed 
 
 lid — 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 ®f garffc. 
 
 Look in, — for gnawing lime hath half consumed the 
 carcases ; 
 
 Thus they hurl the daily dead into that horrible pit, 
 
 The dead that only died this day, — as unconsidered 
 offal! 
 
 There, a stark white heap, unwept, unloved, uncared 
 for, 
 
 Old men and maidens, young men and infants, mingle 
 in hideous corruption ; 
 
 Fling in the gnawing lime, — seal up the charnel for a 
 year; 
 
 For lo, a morrow's dawn hath tinged the mountain sum- 
 mit. 
 
 fair false city, thou gay and gilded harlot, 
 
 Woe, for thy wanton heart, woe, for thy wicked hard- 
 ness : 
 
 Woe unto thee, that the lightsomeness of Life, beneath 
 Italian suns, 
 
 Should meet the solemnity of Death, in a sepulchre so 
 foul and fearful. 
 
 jfor that, even to the best, the wise and pure and pious, 
 Death, repulsive king, thine iron rule is terrible : 
 Yea, and even at the best, in company of buried kin- 
 dred, 
 With hallowing rites, and friendly tears, and the dear 
 
 old country church, 
 Death, cold and lonely, thy frigid face is hateful, 
 The bravest look on thee with dread, the humblest curse 
 
 thy coming. 
 Still, ye unwise among mankind, your foolishness hath 
 added fears ; 
 
•f $mt% 389 
 
 The crowded cemetery, the catacomb of bones, the pes- 
 tilential vault, 
 
 With fancy's gliding ghost at eve, her moans and flaky 
 footfalls, 
 
 And the gibbering train of terror to fright your coward 
 hearts. 
 
 We speak not here of sin, nor the phantoms of a bloody 
 conscience, 
 
 Nor of solaces, and merciful pardon : we heed but the 
 inevitable grave ; 
 
 The grave, that wage of guilt, that due return to dust, 
 
 The grave, that goal of earth, and starting-post for 
 Heaven. 
 
 Plant it with laurels, sprinkle it with lilies, set it upon 
 yonder dewy hill 
 
 Midst holy prayers, and generous griefs, and consecrating 
 blessings : 
 
 Let Sophocles sleep among his ivy, green perennial gar- 
 lands, 
 
 Let olives shade their Virgil, and roses bloom above 
 Corinne ; 
 
 To his foster-mother, Ocean, entrust the mariner in 
 hope; 
 
 The warrior's spirit, let it rise on high from the flaming 
 fragrant pyre. 
 
 But heap not coffins and corruption to infect the mass 
 of living, 
 
 Nor steal from odious realities the charitable poetry of 
 Death : 
 
 It is wise to gild uncomeliness, it is wise to mask neces- 
 sity, 
 
390 #f gjea% 
 
 It is wise from cheerful sights and sounds to draw their 
 gentle uses : 
 
 Hide the facts, the bitter facts, the foul, and fearful 
 facts, 
 
 Tend the body well in hope, this were praise and wis- 
 dom : 
 
 But to plunge in gloom the parting soul, that hath loved 
 its clay tenement so long, 
 
 This were vanity and folly, the counsel of moroseness 
 and despair. 
 
 Not thus, the Scythian of old time welcomed Death with 
 songs ; 
 
 Not thus, the shrewd Egyptian decorated Death with 
 braveries ; 
 
 Not thus, on his funeral tower sleepeth the sun-worship- 
 ping Parsee ; 
 
 Not thus, the Moslem saint lieth in his arabesque mau- 
 soleum; 
 
 Not thus, the wild red Indian, hunter of the far Mis- 
 souri, 
 
 In flowering trees hath nested up his forest-loving 
 ancestry ; 
 
 Not thus, the Switzer mountaineer scattereth ribboned 
 garlands 
 
 About the rustic cross that halloweth the bed of his be- 
 loved ; 
 
 Not thus, the village maiden wisheth she may die in 
 spring, 
 
 With store of violets and cowslips to be sprinkled on 
 her snow-white shroud ; 
 
 Not thus, the dying poet asketh a cheerful grave, — 
 
 Lay him in the sunshine, friends, nor sorrow that a 
 Christian hath departed ! 
 
#f gjeatfc. 391 
 
 f?ea ; it is the poetry of Death, an Orpheus gladdening 
 
 Hades, 
 To care with mindful love for all so dear — and dead ; 
 To think of them in hope, to look for them in joy, and — 
 
 but for its simple vanity,- — 
 To pray with all the earnestness of nature for souls who 
 
 cannot change. 
 For the tree is felled, and houghed, and hare, and the 
 
 Measurer standeth with His line ; 
 The chance is gone for ever, and is past the reach of 
 
 prayer : 
 For men and angels, good and ill, have rendered all 
 
 their witness ; 
 The trial is over, the jury are gone in, and none can now 
 
 be heard ; 
 Well are they agreed upon the verdict, just, and fixt, 
 
 and final, 
 And the sentence showeth clear, before the Judge hath 
 
 spoken : 
 Now, — while resting matter is at peace within the 
 
 tomb, 
 The conscious spirit watcheth in unspeakable suspense 
 Backed with a fearful looking-forward, or blissfully 
 
 feeding on the foretaste, 
 Waiting souls in eager expectation pass the solemn in 
 
 terval : 
 They slumber not at death, but awaken, quickened to 
 
 the terrors of the judgment ; 
 They lie not insensate among darkness, but exult, look- 
 ing forward to the light : 
 Idiotcy, brightening on the instant, when that veil is 
 
 torn, 
 
392 m gwtfc. 
 
 Is grateful that his torpor here hath left him as an in- 
 nocent : 
 
 The young child, stricken as he played, aud guileless 
 babes unborn, 
 
 Freed from fetters of the flesh, burst into mind imme- 
 diate : 
 
 Madness judgeth wisely, and the visions of the lunatic 
 are gone, 
 
 And each hasteneth to praise the mercy that made him 
 irresponsible. 
 
 For the soul is one, though manifold in act, working the 
 machinery of brain, 
 
 Eeason, fancy, conscience, passion, are but varying 
 phases ; 
 
 If, in God's wise purpose, the machine were shattered or 
 confused, 
 
 Still is soul the same, though it exhibit with a diffe- 
 rence : 
 
 Therefore, dissipate the brain, and set its inmate free, 
 
 Behold, the maniacs and embryos stand in their place 
 intelligent. 
 
 That solvent eateth away all dross, leaving the gold 
 intact : 
 
 Matter lingereth in the retort, spirit hath flown to the 
 receiver : 
 
 And lo, that recipient of the spirits, it is some aerial 
 world, 
 
 An oasis midway on the desert space, separating earth 
 from heaven, 
 
 A prison-house for essences incorporate, a limbus vague 
 and wide, 
 
 Tartarus for evil, and Paradise for good, that intermedi- 
 ate Hades. 
 
#f $*«%. 393 
 
 <£ Death, what art thou? a Lawgiver that never alteretb. 
 
 Fixing the consummating seal, whereby the deeds of life 
 become established : 
 
 Death, what art thou ? a stern and silent usher, 
 
 Leading to the judgment for Eternity, after the trial- 
 scene of Time : 
 
 Death, what art thou ? an Husbandman, that reapeth 
 always, 
 
 Out of season, as in season, with the sickle in his 
 hand : 
 
 Death, what art thou ? the shadow unto every sub- 
 stance, 
 
 In the bower as in the battle, haunting night and day : 
 
 Death, what art thou ? Nurse of dreamless slumbers 
 
 Freshening the fevered flesh to a wakefulness eternal : 
 
 Death, what art thou? strange and solemn Alchy- 
 mist, 
 
 Elaborating life's elixir from these clayey crucibles : 
 
 Death, what art thou? Antitype of Nature's mar- 
 vels, 
 
 The seed and dormant chrysalis bursting into energy 
 and glory. ' 
 
 Thou calm safe anchorage for the shattered hulls of 
 men, — 
 
 Thou spot of gelid shade, after the hot-breathed de- 
 sert, — 
 
 Thou silent waiting-hall, where Adam meeteth with his 
 children, — 
 
 How full of dread, how full of hope, loometh inevitable 
 Death : 
 
 Of dread, for all have sinned; of hope, for One hath 
 saved ; 
 
394 ©f gteatfc. 
 
 The dread is drowned in joy, the hope is filled with im- 
 mortality ! 
 —Pass along, pilgrim of life, go to thy grave unfear- 
 
 The terrors are but shadows now, that haunt the vale of 
 Death. 
 
395 
 
 if |mm0rta% 
 
 (Eftrtf up thy mind to contemplation, trembling inhabit- 
 ant of earth ; 
 
 Tenant of a hovel for a day, — thou art heir of the uni 
 verse for ever ! 
 
 For, neither congealing of the grave, nor gulphing waters 
 of the firmament, 
 
 Nor expansive airs of heaven, nor dissipative fires of 
 Gehenna, 
 
 Nor rust of rest, nor wear, nor waste, nor loss, nor 
 chance, nor change, 
 
 Shall avail to quench or overwhelm the spark of soul 
 within thee ! 
 
 Chou art an imperishable leaf on the evergreen bay-tree 
 of Existence ; 
 
 A word from Wisdom's mouth, that cannot be un- 
 spoken ; 
 
 A ray of Love's own light ; a drop in Mercy's sea ; 
 
396 #f Immortality 
 
 A creature, marvellous and fearful, begotten by the fiat 
 
 of Omnipotence. 
 I, that speak in weakness, and ye, that hear in charity, 
 Shall not cease to live and feel, though flesh must see 
 
 corruption ; 
 For the prison-gates of matter shall be broken, and the 
 
 shackled soul go free, 
 Free, for good or ill, to satisfy its appetence for ever : 
 For ever, — dreadful doom, to be hurried on eternally to 
 
 evil, — 
 For ever, — happy fate, to ripen into perfectness — for 
 
 ever! 
 
 Stnd is there a thought within thy heart, slave of sin 
 and fear, 
 
 A black and harmful hope, that erring spirit dieth ? 
 
 That primal disobedience hath ensured the death of 
 soul, 
 
 And separate evil sealed it thine — thy curse, Annihila- 
 tion? 
 
 Heed thou this ; there is a Sacrifice ; the Maker is Re- 
 deemer of His creature ; 
 
 Freely unto each, universally to all, is restored the privi- 
 lege of essence : 
 
 Whether unto grace or guilt, all must live through Him, 
 
 Live in vital joy, or live in dying woe : 
 
 Death in Adam, Life in Christ : the curse hung upon 
 the cross : 
 
 Who art thou that heedest of redemption, as narrower 
 than the fall ? 
 
 All were dead, — He died for all ; that living, they might 
 love; 
 
#f immortality 397 
 
 If living souls withhold their love, — still, He hath died 
 for them. 
 
 Eve stole the knowledge ; Christ gave the life : 
 
 Knowledge and life are the perquisites of soul, the privi- 
 lege of Man : 
 
 Mercy stepped between and stayed the double theft ; 
 
 God gave ; and giving, bought ; and buying, asketh 
 love : 
 
 And in such asking rendereth bliss, to all that hear and 
 answer, 
 
 For love with life is heaven ; and life unloving, hell. 
 
 Creature of God, His will is for thy weal, eternally pro- 
 gressing ; 
 
 Fear not to trust a Maker's love, nor a Saviour's ran- 
 som : 
 
 He drank for all, — for thee, and me, — the poison of our 
 deeds ; 
 
 We shall not die, but live,— and, of His grace, we love. 
 
 For, in the mysteries of Mercy, the One fore-knowing 
 Spirit 
 
 Outstrippeth reason's halting choice, and winneth men 
 to Him : 
 
 Who shall sound the depths? who shall reach the 
 heights? 
 
 Freedom, in the gyves of fate ; and sovereignty, recon- 
 ciled with justice. 
 
 ffi then, as annihilate by sin, the soul was ever forfeit, 
 Godhead paid the mighty price, the pledge hath been 
 
 redeemed : 
 He from the waters of Oblivion raised the drowning 
 
 race, 
 
398 <$f |mm0rfal% 
 
 Lifting them even to Himself, the baseless Rock of 
 
 Ages. 
 None can escape from Adam's guilt, or second Adam's 
 
 guerdon : 
 Sin and death are thine ; thine also is interminable 
 
 being : 
 Let it be even as thou wilt, still are we ransomed from 
 
 nonentity, 
 The worlds of bliss and woe are peopled with immor- 
 tals : 
 And ruin is thy blame ; for thou, the worst, art free 
 To take from Heaven the grace of love, as the gift of 
 
 life: 
 Yet is not remedy thy praise; for thou, the best, art 
 
 bound 
 In self, and sin, and darkling sloth, until He break the 
 
 chain : 
 None can tell, without a struggle, if that chain be 
 
 broken ; 
 Strive to-day, — one effort more may prove that thou art 
 
 free ! 
 Here is faith and prayer, here is tbfe Grace and the 
 
 Atonement, 
 Here is the creature feeling for its God, and the prodigal 
 
 returning to his Father. 
 But, behold, His reasonable children, standing in just 
 
 probation, 
 With ears to hear, neglect ; with eyes to see, refuse : 
 They will not have the blessing with the life, the bless- 
 ing that enrich eth immortality ; 
 And look for pleasures out of God, for heaven in life 
 
 alone ; 
 
§i lmm0rfalxtg. 399 
 
 So, they snatch that awful prize, existence void of love, 
 And in their darkening exile make a needful hell of self. 
 
 therefore fear, thou sinner, lest the huge "blessing, Im- 
 mortality, 
 
 Be blighted in thine evil to a curse, — it were better he 
 had not been born : 
 
 Therefore hope, thou saint, for the gift of Immortality is 
 free ; 
 
 Take and live, and live in love; fear not, thou art re- 
 deemed ! 
 
 The happy life, that height of hope, the knowledge of all 
 good, 
 
 This is the blessing on obedience, obedience the child of 
 faith; 
 
 The miserable life, that depth of all despair, the know- 
 ledge of all evil, 
 
 This is the curse upon impenitence, impenitence that 
 sprung of unbelief. 
 
 God, from a beautiful necessity, is Love in all He doeth, 
 
 Love, a brilliant fire, to gladden or consume : 
 
 The wicked work their woe by looking upon love, and 
 hating it : 
 
 The righteous find their joys in yearning on its loveliness 
 for ever. 
 
 SKEho shall imagine Immortality, or picture its illimit- 
 able prospect ? 
 
 How feebly can a faltering tongue express the vast idea ! 
 
 For consider the primaeval woods that bristle over broad 
 Australia, 
 
 And count their autumn leaves, millions multiplied by 
 millions ; 
 
400 ®i Immnrtalitg. 
 
 Thence look up to a moonless sky from a sleeping isle of 
 
 the iEgsean, 
 And add to these leaves yon starry host, sparkling on 
 
 the midnight numberless ; 
 Thence traverse an Arabia, some continent of eddying 
 
 sand, 
 Gather each grain, let none escape, add them to the 
 
 leaves and to the stars ; 
 Afterward gaze upon the sea, the thousand leagues of an 
 
 Atlantic, 
 Take drop by drop, and add their sum, to the grains, 
 
 and leaves, and stars; 
 The drops of ocean, the desert sands, the leaves, and 
 
 stars innumerable, 
 (Albeit, in that multitude of multitudes, each small unit 
 
 were an age,) 
 All might reckon for an instant, a transient flash of 
 
 Time, 
 Compared with this intolerable blaze, the measureless 
 
 enduring of Eternity ! 
 
 <£ grandest gift of the Creator, — largess worthy of a 
 
 God,— 
 Who shall grasp that thrilling thought, life and joy for 
 
 ever? 
 For thie sun in heaven's heaven is Love that cannot 
 
 change, 
 And the shining of that sun is life, to all beneath its 
 
 beams : 
 Who shall arrest it in the firmament, — or drag it from 
 
 its sphere ? 
 Or bid its beauty smile no more, but be extinct for ever ? 
 
#f fmmmialitg. 401 
 
 Yea, where God hath given, none shall take away, 
 
 Nor build up limits to His love, nor bid His bounty- 
 cease ; 
 
 Wide, as space is peopled, endless as the empire of 
 heaven, 
 
 The river of the water of life floweth on in majesty for 
 ever ! 
 
 W3hy should it seem a thing impossible to thee, man 
 
 of many doubts, 
 That God shall wake the dead, and give this mortal im- 
 mortality ? 
 Is it that such riches are unsearchable, the bounty too 
 
 profuse ? 
 And yet, what gift, to cease or change, is worthy of the 
 
 King Almighty ? 
 For remember the moment thou art not, thou mightest. 
 
 as well not have been ; 
 A millennium and an hour are equal in the gulph of 
 
 that desolate abyss, annihilation : 
 If Adam had existed till to-day, and to-day had perished 
 
 utterly, 
 What were his gain in length of a life, that hath passed 
 
 away for ever ? 
 No tribute of thanks can exhale from the empty censer 
 
 of nonentity : 
 The Giver, with His gift reclaimed, is mulcted of all 
 
 praise. 
 
 Cell me, ye that strive in vain to cramp and dwarf the 
 soul, 
 
 I) D 
 
402 ®i gmmorialitg. 
 
 Wherefore should it cease to be, and when shall essence 
 die? 
 
 It is, — and therefore shall be, — till just obstacle op- 
 poseth : 
 
 Show no cause for change, and reason leaneth to con- 
 tinuance. 
 
 The body verily shall change; this curious house we 
 live in 
 
 Never had continuing stay, but changeth every instant : 
 
 But the spiritual tenant of the house abideth in unalter- 
 able consciousness, 
 
 He may fly to many lands, but cannot flee himself. 
 
 The soil wherein ye drop the seed, by suns or rains may 
 vary; 
 
 But the seed is the same ; and soul is the seed ; and flesh 
 but its anchorage to earth. 
 
 Che machine may be broken, and rust corrode the 
 springs : but can rust feed on motion ? 
 
 Worms may batten on the brain : but can worms gnaw 
 the mind ? 
 
 Dynamics are, and dwell apart, though matter be not 
 made ; 
 
 Spirit is, and can be separate, though a body were not : 
 
 Power is one, be it lever, screw, or wedge ; but it 
 needeth these for illustration : 
 
 Mind is one, be it causal or ideal ; but it is shown in 
 these. 
 
 The creature is constructed individual, for trial of his 
 reasonable will, 
 
 Clay and soul, commingled wisely, mingled not con- 
 fused : 
 
®i fmmorialiig- 403 
 
 As power is not in the spring, till somewhat give it 
 
 action, 
 So. until spirit be infused, the organism lieth inergetic. 
 
 <©r shalt thou say that mind is the delicate offspring of 
 matter, 
 
 The bright consummate flower that must perish with its 
 leaf? 
 
 Go to : doth weight breed lightness ? is freedom the 
 atmosphere of prisons ? 
 
 When did the body elevate, expand, and bud the mind ? 
 
 Lo, a red-hot cinder flung from the furnaces of iEtna, 
 
 There is fire in that ash ; but did the pumice make it ? 
 
 Nay, cold clod, never canst thou generate a flame, 
 
 Nay, most exquisite machinery, never-more elaborate a 
 mind; 
 
 Rather do ye battle and contend, opposite the one to the 
 other ; 
 
 Till God shall stop the strife, and call the body col- 
 league. 
 
 t&arment of flesh, and art thou then a vest, so tinged 
 with subtls poison, 
 
 (Maddening tunic of the centaur,) as to kill the soul? 
 
 Not so : fruit of disobedience, rot in dissolution, as thou 
 must, — 
 
 The seed is in the core, its germ is safe, and life is in 
 that germ : 
 
 Moreover, Marah shall be sweetened : and a Good Phy- 
 sician 
 
 Yet shall heal those gangrene wounds, the spotted plague 
 of sin : 
 
 d r> 2 
 
404 #f Irnnurrtalitg. 
 
 He, through worldly trials, and the separative cleansing 
 
 of the grave, 
 Shall change its corruptihle to glory, and wash that gar 
 
 ment white. 
 
 JHill, is the whisper in thy heart, that oftenest the bed of 
 death 
 
 Seemeth hut a sluggish ebb, of sinking soul and body ? 
 
 Mind dwelling, long-time, sensual in the chambers of the 
 flesh, 
 
 May slumber on in conscious sloth, and wilfully be 
 dulled: 
 
 But is it therefore nigh to dissolution, even as the body 
 of this death ? 
 
 Ask the stricken conscience, gasping out its terrors ; 
 
 Ask the dying miser, loth to leave his gold ; 
 
 Ask the widowed poor, confiding her fatherless to stran- 
 gers; 
 
 Ask the martyr-maid, a broken reed so strong, 
 
 That weak and tortured frame, with triumph on its 
 brow ! — 
 
 thou gainsayer, the finger of disease may seem to reach 
 the soul, 
 
 But it is a spiritual touch, sympathy with that which 
 aileth : 
 
 Pain or fear may dislocate and shatter this delicate ma- 
 chinery of nerves ; 
 
 But madness proveth mind : the fault is in the engine, 
 not the impetus : 
 
 Dissipate the mists of matter, lo, the soul is clear : 
 
 Timour's cage bowed it in the dust ; but now it goeth 
 forth a freedman. 
 
®i $mmoriaJ% 405 
 
 get more, there is reason in moralities, that the soul 
 must live ; 
 
 If God be king in heaven, or have care for earth. 
 
 Can wickedness have triumphed with impunity, or virtue 
 toiled unseen ? 
 
 Shall cruelty torture unavenged, and the innocent com- 
 plain unheard ? 
 
 Is there no recompense for woe, — must there be no other 
 world for justice, — 
 
 No hope in setting suns of good, nor terror for the evil 
 at its zenith ? 
 
 How shall ye make answer unto this; a just God pros- 
 pering iniquity, 
 
 Wisdom encouraging the foolish, and Goodness abetting 
 the depraved ! 
 
 get again ; mine erring brother^ pardon this abundance 
 
 of my speech, 
 Yield me thy candour and thy charity, listening with a 
 
 welcome : 
 For, even now, a thousand thoughts are trooping to my 
 
 theme ; 
 mighty theme, feeble thoughts ! Alas ! who is suffi- 
 cient ? 
 Judge not so high a cause by these poor words alone, 
 For lo, the advocate hath little skill : pardon, and pass 
 
 on: 
 Certify tbyself with surer proofs ; fledge thine own mind 
 
 for flight ; 
 Think, and pray , those better proofs shall follow on 
 
 with holy aspiration. 
 Yet in my humbler grade to help thy weal and comfort 
 
406 <©f |mm0rfal% 
 
 Thy weal for this and higher worlds, and comfort in thy 
 sickness, 
 
 Suffer the multitude of fancies, walking with me still in 
 love ; 
 
 But tread in fear, it is holy ground, — remember, Immor- 
 tality ! 
 
 2KUilt thou argue from infirmities, thine abject evil 
 state, 
 
 As how should stricken wretched man indeed exist for 
 ever : 
 
 The brutal and besotted, the savage and the slave, the 
 sucking infant and the idiot, 
 
 The mass of mean and common minds, and all to be im- 
 mortal ? — 
 
 Consider every beginning, how small it is and feeble : 
 
 Ganges, and the rolling Mississippi sprung of brooks 
 among the mountains ; 
 
 The Yew tree of a thousand years was once a little 
 seed; 
 
 And Nero's marble Eome, a shepherd's mudbuilt 
 hovel : 
 
 A speck is on the tropic sky, and it groweth to the ter- 
 rible tornado ; 
 
 An apple, all too fair to see, destroyed a world of souls: 
 
 A tender babe is born, — it is Attila, scourge of the 
 nations ! 
 
 A seeming malefactor dieth, — it is Jesus, the Saviour of 
 men ! 
 
 SCnd hive not in thy thoughts the vain and wordy 
 notion 
 
#f gmrnortalitg. 407 
 
 That nothing which was horn in Time can tire out the 
 
 footsteps of Infinity : 
 Reckon up a sum in numbers : where shall progression 
 
 stop? 
 The starting-post is definite and fixed, but what is the 
 
 goal of numeration ? 
 So, begin upon a moment, and when shall being end ? 
 Souls emanate from God. to travel with Him equally for 
 
 ever. 
 Moreover, thou that objectest the unenterable circle of 
 
 eternity, 
 That none but He from everlasting can endure, as to a 
 
 futme everlasting, 
 Consider, may it be impossible that creatines were 
 
 counted in then Maker. 
 And so, that the confines of Eternity are filled by God 
 
 alone? 
 Trust not thy soul upon a fancy : who would freight a 
 
 bubble with a diamond. 
 And launch that priceless gem on the boiling rapids of 
 
 a cataract ? 
 
 £f then we perish not at death, but walk in spirit through 
 
 the darkness. 
 Waiting for a mausion inconiiptible. whereof this body 
 
 is the seed. 
 Tell me, when shall be the period? time and its ordeals 
 
 are done : 
 The storms are passed, the night is at end. behold the 
 
 Sabbath morning. 
 Is death to he conqueror again, and claim once more the 
 
 victory, — 
 
408 <§f |mmorfa% 
 
 Can the enemy's corpse awaken into life, and "bruise the 
 
 Champion's head ? 
 Evil, terrible ensample, that foil to the attributes of 
 
 Good, 
 Is banished to its own black world, weeded out of earth 
 
 and heaven : 
 Shall that great gulf be passed, and sin be sown again ? 
 We know but this, the book of truth proclaimeth 
 
 gladly, Never ! 
 
 Chere remaineth the will of our God : when He re- 
 penteth of His creature, 
 
 Made by self-suggested mercy, ransomed by self-sacri- 
 ficing justice, — 
 
 When Truth, that swore unto his neighbour, disap- 
 pointeth him, and cleaveth to a lie, — 
 
 When the counsels of Wisdom are confounded, and 
 Love warreth with itself, — 
 
 When the Unchangeable is changed, and the arm of 
 Omnipotence is broken, — 
 
 Then, — thy quenchless soul shall have reached the goal 
 of its existence. 
 
 38ut it seemeth to thy notions of the merciful and just, 
 
 a false and fearful thing, 
 To lay such a burden upon time, that eternity be built 
 
 on its foundation : 
 if so casual good or ill should colour all the future, 
 And the vanity of accident, or sternness of necessity, 
 
 save or wreck a soul. 
 Were it casual, vain, or stern, this might pass for 
 
 truth : 
 
©f $mmflrfa% 409 
 
 But all things are marshalled by Design, and carefully 
 tended by Benevolence. 
 
 man, thy Judge is righteous, — noting, remembering, 
 and weighing ; — 
 
 Want, ignorance, diversities of state, are cast into the 
 balance of advantage : 
 
 The poisonous example of a parent asketh for allowance 
 in the child ; 
 
 Care, diseases, toils, and frailties, — all things are consi- 
 dered. 
 
 And again, a mysterious Omniscience knoweth the 
 spirits that are His, 
 
 While the delicate tissues of Event are woven by the 
 fingers of Ubiquity. 
 
 Should Providence be taken by surprise from the pos- 
 sible impinging of an accident, 
 
 One fortuitous grain might dislocate the banded 
 universe : 
 
 The merest seeming trifle is ordered as the morning 
 light; 
 
 And He, that rideth on the hurricane, is pilot of the 
 bubble on the breaker. 
 
 ®nce more, consider Matter, how small a thing is father 
 
 to the greatest ; 
 Thou that lightly hast regarded the results of so-called 
 
 accident. 
 A blade of grass took fire in the sun, — and the prairies 
 
 are burnt to the horizon : 
 A grain of sand may blind the eye, and madden the 
 
 brain to murder : 
 
410 #f Immtrctalitg. 
 
 A careful fly deposited its egg in the swelling bud of an 
 acorn, — 
 
 The sapling grew, — cankrous and gnarled, — it is yonder 
 hollow oak: 
 
 A child touched a spring, and the spring closed a valve, 
 and the labouring engine burst, — 
 
 A thousand lives were in that ship, — wrecked by an in- 
 fant's finger ! 
 
 Shall nature preach in vain ? thy casualty, guided in its 
 orbit, 
 
 Though less than a mote upon the sunbeam, saileth in a 
 fleet of worlds ; 
 
 That trivial cause, watered and observed of the Husband- 
 man day by day, 
 
 In calm undeviating strength doth work its large effect. 
 
 Thus, in the pettiness of life note thou seeds of gran- 
 deur, 
 
 And watch the hour-glass of Time with the eyes of an 
 heir of Immortality. 
 
 Chere still be clouds of witnesses, — if thou art not weary 
 of my speech, — 
 
 Flocks of thoughts adding lustre to the light, and point- 
 ing on to Life. 
 
 For reflect how Truth and Goodness, well and wisely put, 
 
 Commend themselves to every mind with wondrous in- 
 tuition : 
 
 What is this ? the recognition of a standard, unwritten, 
 natural, uniform ; 
 
 Telling of one common source, the root of Good and 
 True. 
 
 And if thus present soul can trace descent from Deity, 
 
©f Immoxtalxtg. 411 
 
 Being, as it standeth, individual, a separate reasonable 
 thing, 
 
 What should hinder that its hope may not trace gladly 
 forward, 
 
 And, in astounding parallel, like Enoch walk with God? 
 
 Yea, the genealogy of soul, that vivifying breath of a 
 Creator, 
 
 Breath, no transient air, but essence, energy, and rea- 
 son, 
 
 Is looming on the past, and shadowing the future, sub- 
 limely as Melchisedek of old, 
 
 Having not beginning, nor end of days, but present in 
 the majesty of Peace ! 
 
 $ false scholar, credulous in vanities, and only sceptical 
 
 of truth, 
 Wherefore toil to cheat thy soul of its birth right, Im- 
 mortality ? 
 Is it for thy guilt ? He pardoneth : Is it for thy frailty ? 
 
 He will help : 
 Though thou fearest, He is love; and Mercy shall be 
 
 deeper than Despair : 
 Even for thy full-blown pride, is it much to be receiver 
 
 of a God ? 
 And lo, thy rights, He made thee ; thy claims, He hath 
 
 redeemed. 
 Hath the fair aspect of affection no beauty that thou 
 
 shouldst desire it ? 
 And are those sorrows nothing, to thee that passest by ? 
 Eor it is Fact, immutable, that God hath dwelt in 
 
 Man: 
 With gentle generous love ennobling while He bought us. 
 
412 ®i Immorfafitg. 
 
 What, though thou art false, ignorant, weak and 
 
 daring, — 
 Can the sun be quenched in heaven — or only Belisarius 
 
 be blind? 
 
 3But, even stooping to thy folly, grant all these hopes are 
 
 vain; 
 Stultify reason, wrestle against conscience, and wither up 
 
 the heart : 
 Where is thy vast advantage ? — I have all that thou 
 
 hast, 
 The buoyancy of life as strong, and term of days no 
 
 shorter ; 
 My cup is full with gladness, my griefs are not more 
 
 galling ; 
 And thus, we walk together, even to the gates of 
 
 death : 
 There, (if not also on my journey, blessing every step, 
 Gladdening with light, and quickening with love, and 
 
 killing all my cares,) 
 There, — while thou art quailing, or sullenly expecting to 
 
 be nothing, — 
 There, — is found my gain ; I triumph where thou tre ru- 
 biest. 
 Grant all my solace is a lie, yet it is a fountain of delight, 
 A spice in every pleasure, and a balm for every pain : 
 O precious wise delusion, scattering both misery and 
 
 sin, — 
 vile and silly truth, depraving while it curseth ! 
 
 Harkling child of knowledge, commune with Socrates 
 and Cicero, 
 
#f gmmortalitg. 413 
 
 They had no prejudice of birth, no dull parental warp- 
 
 ings; 
 See, those lustrous minds anticipate the dawning day, — 
 Whilst thou, poor mole, art burrowing back to darkness 
 
 from the light. 
 I will not urge a revelation, mercies, miracles, and 
 
 martyrs, 
 But, after twice a thousand years, go, learn thou of the 
 
 pagan : 
 It were happier and wiser even among fools, to cling to 
 
 the shadow of a hope, 
 Than, in the company of sages, to wiu the substance of 
 
 despair ; 
 But here, the sages hope ; despair is with the fools, 
 The base bad hearts, the stolid heads, the sensual and 
 
 the selfish. 
 
 ^[nd wilt thou, sorry scorner, mock the phrase, despair? 
 Despair for those who die and live, — for me, I live and 
 
 die : 
 What have I to do with dread? — my taper must go 
 
 out; — 
 I nurse no silly hopes, and therefore feel no fears; 
 I am hastening to an End. — false and feeble answer : 
 For hope is in thee still, and fear, a racking deep 
 
 anxiety. 
 Erring brother, listen : and take thine answer from 
 
 the ancients : 
 Consider every end, that it is but the end of a begin 
 
 ning. 
 All things work in circles ; weariness induceth unto 
 
 rest, 
 
414 #f fmmortalitg. 
 
 Eest invigorateth labour, and labour causetb weariness : 
 War produceth peace, and peace is wanton unto war : 
 Light dieth into darkness, and night dawneth into 
 
 day: 
 The rotting jungle reeds scatter fertility around ; 
 The buffalo's dead carcass hath quickened life in mil- 
 lions : 
 The end of toil is gain, tbe end of gain is pleasure, 
 Pleasure tendeth unto waste, and waste commandeth 
 toil. 
 
 Jj)o, is death an end, — but it breedeth an infinite begin- 
 ning; 
 
 Limits are for time, and death killed time ; Eternity's 
 beginning is for ever. 
 
 Ambition, hath it any goal indeed? is not all fruition, 
 disappointment ? 
 
 A step upon the ladder, and another, and another, — we 
 start from every end ? 
 
 Look to the eras of mortality, babe, student, man, 
 
 The husband, the father, the death-bed of a saint, — and 
 is it then an end ? 
 
 That common climax, Death, shall it lead to nothing? 
 
 How strong a root of causes flowering a consequence of 
 vapour : 
 
 That solid chain of facts, is it to be snapped for ever ? 
 
 How stout a show of figures, weakly summing to non- 
 entity. 
 
 <©r haply, Death, in the doublings of thy thought, shall 
 
 seem continuous ending ; 
 A dull eternal slumber, not an end abrupt. 
 
<M $mmorfaIitg. 415 
 
 most futile chrysalis, wherefore dost thou sleep ? 
 Dreamless, unconscious, never to awake, — what object 
 
 in such slumber ? 
 If thou art still to live, it may as well be wakefully as 
 
 sleeping : 
 How grovelling must that spirit be, to need eternal 
 
 sleep ! 
 Or was indeed the toil of life so heavy and so long, 
 That nevermore can rest refresh thine overburdened 
 
 soul ?— 
 Sleep is a recreance to body, but when was mind 
 
 asleep ? 
 Even in a swoon it dreameth, though all be forgotten 
 
 afterward : 
 The muscles seek relaxing, and the irritable nerves ask 
 
 peace ; 
 But life is a constant force, spirit an unquietable im- 
 petus ; 
 The eye may wear out as a telescope, and the brain work 
 
 slow as a machine, 
 But soul, unwearied, and for ever, is capable of effort 
 
 unimpaired. 
 
 3£ live, move, am conscious : what shall bar my being ? 
 
 Where is the rude hand, to rend this tissue of existence ? 
 
 Not thine, shadowy Death, what art thou but a phan- 
 tom? 
 
 Not thine, foul Corruption, what art thou but a fear ? 
 
 For death is merely absent life, as darkness absent 
 light; 
 
 Not even a suspension, for the life hath sailed away, 
 steering gladly somewhere. 
 
416 <S)f Immoxtalitg. 
 
 And corruption closely noted, is but a dissolving of the 
 
 parts, 
 The parts remain, and nothing lost, to build a better 
 
 whole. 
 Moreover, mind is unity, however versatile and rapid ; 
 Thou canst not entertain two coincident ideas, although 
 
 they quickly follow : 
 And Unity hath no parts, so that there is nothing to 
 
 dissolve : 
 And element is still unchanged in every searching 
 
 solvent. 
 Who then shall bid me be annulled ? — He that gave me 
 
 being ? 
 Amen, if God so will : I know that will is love ; 
 But love hath promised life, and therefore I shall live ; 
 So long as He is God, I shall be His Creature! 
 
 STnd here, shrewd reasoner, so eager to prove that thou 
 
 must perish, 
 I note a sneer upon thy lip, and ridicule is haply on thy 
 
 tongue : 
 How, said he, — creature of a God, and are not all his 
 
 creatures, — 
 The lion, and the gnat, — yea, the mushroom, and the 
 
 crystal, — have all these a soul? 
 Thy fancies tend to prove too much, and overshoot the 
 
 mark : 
 If I die not with brutes, then brutes must live with 
 
 me?— 
 I dare not tell thee that they will, for the word is not in 
 
 my commission ; 
 But of the twain it is the likelier ; continuance is the 
 
 chance : 
 
©f gmmnrtalxtg- 417 
 
 Men, dying in their sins, are likened unto beasts that 
 
 perish ; 
 They are dark, animal, insensate, but have they not 
 
 a lurking soul ? 
 The spirit of a man goeth upward, reasonable, appre- 
 hending God; 
 The spirit of a beast goeth downward, sensual, doting on 
 
 the creature : 
 Who told thee they die at dissolution ? — boldly think it 
 
 out, — 
 The multitude of flies, and the multitude of herbs, the 
 
 world with all its beings : 
 Is Infinity too narrow, Omnipotence too weak, and Love 
 
 so anxious to destroy, 
 Doth Wisdom change its plan, and a Maker cancel His 
 
 created ? 
 God's will may compass all things, to fashion and to 
 
 nullify at pleasure : 
 Yet are there many thoughts of hope, that all which are 
 
 shall live. 
 True, there is no conscience in the brute, beyond some 
 
 educated habit, 
 They lay them down without a fear, and wake without a 
 
 hope : 
 Hunger and pain is of the animal : but when did they 
 
 reckon or compare ? 
 They live, idealess, in instinct ; and while they breathe 
 
 they gain : 
 The master is an idol to his dog, who cannot rise beyond 
 
 him; 
 And void of capability for God, there would seem small 
 
 cause for an infinity. 
 
 E £ 
 
418 ®i gmmortalitg. 
 
 Therefore, caviller, my poor thoughts dare not grant they 
 live : 
 
 But is it not a great thing to assume their annihilation — 
 and thine own ? 
 
 Would it be much if a speck on space, this globe with 
 all its millions, 
 
 Verily, after its pollution, were suffered to exist in 
 purity ? 
 
 Or much, if guiltless creatures, that were cruelly en- 
 treated upon earth, 
 
 Found some commensurate reward in lower joys here- 
 after? 
 
 Or much, if a Creator, prodigal of life, and filled with 
 the profundity of love, 
 
 Eejoice in all creatures of His skill, and lead them to 
 perfection in their kind ? 
 
 man, there are many marvels; yet life is more a 
 mystery than death : 
 
 For death may be some stagnant life, — but life is present 
 God! 
 
 JKany are the lurking holes of evil ; who shall search 
 them out ? 
 
 Who so skilled to cut away the cancer with its fibres ? 
 
 For wily minds with sinuous ease escape from lie to 
 lie; 
 
 And cowards driven from the trench steal back to hide 
 again. 
 
 Vain were the battle, if a warrior, having slain his 
 foes, 
 
 Shall turn and find them vital still, unharmed, yea, un- 
 ashamed : 
 
©f |mrnorfalitg. 419 
 
 For Error, dark magician, daily cast out killed, 
 Quickeneth animate anew beneath the midnight moon : 
 Once and again, once and again, hath reason answered 
 
 wisely ; 
 But not the less with brazen front doth folly urge her 
 
 questions. 
 It were but unprofitable toil, a stand-up fight with un- 
 belief : 
 When was there candour in a caviller, and who can 
 
 satisfy the faithless '? 
 Too long, truant from the fold, have I tracked thy 
 
 devious paths ; 
 Too long, treacherous deserter, fought thee as a noble 
 
 foeman : 
 Haply, my small art, and an arm too weakly for its 
 
 weapon, 
 Hath failed to pierce thine iron coat, and reach thy 
 
 stricken soul : 
 Haply, the fervour of my speech, and too patient sifting 
 
 of thy fancies. 
 Shall tend to make thee prize them more, as worthier 
 
 and wiser : 
 Go to : be mine the gain : we measure swords no more : 
 God, — and a word go with thee. — Man. thou art Im- 
 
 mortal ! 
 
 Child of light, and student in the truth, too long have I 
 
 /or gotten thee : 
 Lo, after parley with an alien, let me hold sweet converse 
 
 with a brother. 
 Glorious hopes, and ineffable imaginings, crowd our 
 
 holy theme, 
 
 E E 2 
 
420 #f |mm0rfH% 
 
 Fear hath been slaughtered on the portal, and Doubt 
 driven back to darkness : 
 
 For Christ hath died, and we in Him ; by faith His All 
 is ours ; 
 
 Cross and crown, and love, and life ; and we shall reign 
 in Him! 
 
 Yea, there is a fitness and a beauty in ascribing immor- 
 tality to mind, 
 
 That its energies and lofty aspirations may have scope 
 for indefinite expansion : 
 
 To learn all things is privilege of reason, and that with 
 a growing capability, 
 
 But in this age of toil and time we scarce attain to al- 
 phabets : 
 
 How hardly in the midst of our hurry, and jostled by 
 the cares of life, 
 
 Shall a man turn and stop to consider mighty secrets; 
 
 With barely hours, and barely powers, to fill up daily 
 duties, 
 
 How small the glimpse of knowledge, his wondering eye 
 can catch ! 
 
 And knowledge is a noting of the order wherein God's 
 attributes evolve, 
 
 Therefore worthy of the creature, worthy of an angel's 
 seeking : 
 
 Yea, and human knowledge, meagre though the har- 
 vest, 
 
 Hath its roots, both deep and strong ; but the plants are 
 exotic to the climate : 
 
 All we seem to know demand a longer learning, 
 
 History and science, and prophecy and art, are workings 
 all of God: 
 
®i fmmnrfalxtg- 421 
 
 And there are galaxies of globes, millions of unimaginecl 
 
 Other senses, wondrous sounds, and thoughts of thrill- 
 ing fire, 
 
 Powers of strange might, quickening unknown ele- 
 ments, 
 
 And attributes and energies of God which man may 
 never guess. 
 
 $ot in vain, brother, hath soul the spurs of enter - 
 
 prize, 
 Nor aimlessly panteth for adventure, waiting at the cave 
 
 of mystery : 
 Not in vain the cup of curiosity, sweet and richly 
 
 spiced, 
 Is ruby to the sight, and ambrosia to the taste, and re- 
 dolent with all fragrance : 
 Thou shalt drink, and deeply, filling the mind with 
 
 marvels ; 
 Thou shalt watch no more, lingering, disappointed of 
 
 thy hope ; 
 Thou shalt roam where road is none, a traveller un- 
 
 tramelled, 
 Speeding at a wish, emancipate, to where the stars are 
 
 suns! 
 
 Count, count your hopes, heirs of immortality and 
 
 love; 
 And hear my kindred faith, and turn again to bless me. 
 For lo, my trust is strong to dwell in many worlds, 
 And cull of many brethren there, sweet knowledge ever 
 
 new: 
 
422 <M |mm0rfa% 
 
 I yearn for realms where fancy shall be filled, and the 
 ecstacies of freedom shall be felt, 
 
 And the sonl reign gloriously, risen to its royal des- 
 tinies : 
 
 I look to recognize again, through the beautiful mask of 
 their perfection, 
 
 The dear familiar faces I have somewhile loved on 
 earth : 
 
 I long to talk with grateful tongue of storms and perils 
 past, 
 
 And praise the mighty Pilot that hath steered us through 
 the rapids : 
 
 He shall be the focus of it all, the very heart of glad- 
 ness, — 
 
 My soul is athirst for God, the God who dwelt in Man ! 
 
 Prophet, priest, and king, the sacrifice, the substitute, 
 the Saviour, 
 
 Eapture of the blessed in the hunted One of earth, the 
 Pardoner in the victim : 
 
 How many centuries of joy concentrate in that theme, 
 
 How often a Methusalem might count his thousand 
 years and leave it unexhausted ! 
 
 And lo, the heavenly Jerusalem, with all its gates one 
 pearl, 
 
 That pearl of countless price, the door by which we 
 entered, — 
 
 Come, tread the golden streets, and join that glorious 
 throng, 
 
 The happy ones of heaven and earth, ten thousand 
 times ten thousand ; 
 
 Hark, they sing that song, — and cast their crowns be- 
 fore Him ; 
 
Their souls alight with love, — Glory, and Praise, and 
 
 Immortality ! — 
 Veil thine eyes : no son of time may see that holy 
 
 vision, 
 And even the seraph at thy side hath covered his face 
 
 with wings. 
 
 J9oth he not speak parahles? — each one goeth on his 
 
 way, 
 Ye that hear, and I that counsel, go on our ways for- 
 getful. 
 For the terrible realities whereto we tend, are hidden 
 
 from our eyes, 
 We know, but heed them not, and walk as if the tem- 
 poral were all things. 
 Vanities, buzzing on the ear, fill its drowsy chambers, 
 Slow to dread those coming fears, the thunder and the 
 
 trumpet ; 
 Motes, steaming on the sight, dim our purblind eyes, 
 Dark to see the ponderous orb of nearing Immortality : 
 Hemmed in by hostile foes, the trifler is busied on an 
 
 epigram ; 
 The dull ox, driven to slaughter, careth but for pasture 
 
 by the way. 
 Alas, that the precious things of truth, and the ever- 
 lasting hills, 
 The mighty hopes we spake of, and the consciousness 
 
 we feel, — 
 Alas, that all the future, and its adamantine facts, 
 Clouded by the present with intoxicating fumes, — 
 Should seem even to us, the great expectant heirs, 
 To us, the responsible and free, fearful sons of reason, 
 
424 #f |mm0rtalitg* 
 
 Only as a lovely song, sweet sounds of solemn music, 
 A pleasant voice, and nothing more, — doth he not speak 
 parables ? 
 
 ilook to thy soul, O man, for none can be surety for his 
 
 brother : 
 Behold, for heaven — or for hell, — thou canst not escape 
 
 from Immortality ! 
 
425 
 
 iWtntf is like a volatile essence, flitting hither and 
 
 thither, 
 A solitary sentinel of the fortress body, to show himself 
 
 everywhere by turns : 
 Mind is indivisible and instant, with neither parts nor 
 
 organs, 
 That it doeth, it doth quickly, but the whole mind doth 
 
 it: 
 An active versatile agent, untiring in the principle of 
 
 energy, 
 Nor space, nor time, nor rest, nor toil, can affect the 
 
 tenant of the brain. 
 His dwelling may verily be shattered, and the furniture 
 
 thereof be disarranged, 
 But the particle of Deity in man slumbereth not, neither 
 
 can be wearied : 
 However swift to change, even as the field of a kaleido- 
 scope, 
 
426 ®i gteHS. 
 
 It taketh in but one idea at once, moulded for the mo- 
 ment to its likeness : 
 
 Mind is as the quicksilver, which, poured from vessel to 
 vessel, 
 
 Instantly seizeth on a shape, and as instantly again dis- 
 cardeth it ; 
 
 For it is an apprehensive power, closing on the pro- 
 perties of Matter, 
 
 Expanding to enwrap a world, collapsing to prison up 
 an atom : 
 
 As, by night, thine irritable eyes may have seen strange 
 changing figures, 
 
 Now a wheel, now suddenly a point, a line, a curve, a 
 zigzag, 
 
 A maze ever altering, as the dance of gnats upon a sun- 
 beam, 
 
 Swift, intricate, neither to be prophesied, nor to be re- 
 membered in succession, 
 
 So, the mind of a man, single, and perpetually moving, 
 
 Flickereth about from thought to thought, changed with 
 each idea ; 
 
 For the passing second metamorphosed to the image of 
 that within its ken, 
 
 And throwing its immediate perceptions into each cause 
 of contemplation. 
 
 It shall regard a tree; and unconsciously, in separate 
 review, 
 
 Embrace its colour, shape, and use, whole and indivi- 
 dual conceptions ; 
 
 It shall read or hear of crime, and cast itself into the 
 commission ; 
 
 It shall note a generous deed, and glow for a moment as 
 the doer; 
 
#f gfogfc 427 
 
 It shall imagine pride or pleasure, treading on the edges 
 
 of temptation ; 
 Or heed of God and of His Christ, and grow transformed 
 
 to glory. 
 
 Cherefore, it is wise and well to guide the mind aright, 
 That its aptness may be sensitive to good, and shrink 
 
 with antipathy from evil : 
 For use will mould and mark it, or nonusage dull and 
 
 blunt it ; — 
 So to talk of spirit by analogy with substance ; 
 And analogy is a truer guide, than many teachers tell of, 
 Similitudes are scattered round, to help us, not to hurt 
 
 us; 
 Moses, in his every type, and the Greater than Moses 
 
 in His parables, 
 Preach, in terms that all may learn, the philosophic 
 
 lessons of analogy : 
 And here, in a topic immaterial, the likeness of analogy 
 
 is just; 
 By habits, knit the nerves of mind, and train the 
 
 gladiator shrewdly : 
 For thought shall strengthen thinking, and imagery 
 
 speed imagination, 
 Until thy spiritual inmate shall have swelled to the giant 
 
 of Otranto. 
 
 Nevertheless, heed well, that this Athlete, growing in 
 
 thy brain, 
 Be a wholesome Genius, not a cursed Afrite : 
 And see thou discipline his strength, and point his aim 
 
 discreetly ; 
 
428 m %%m. 
 
 Feed him on humility and holy things, weaned from 
 
 covetous desires ; 
 Hour by hour and day by day, ply him with ideas of 
 
 excellence, 
 Dragging forth the evil but to loathe, as a Spartan's 
 
 drunken Helot : 
 And win, by gradual allurements, the still expanding 
 
 soul, 
 To rise from a contemplated universe, even to the Hand 
 
 that made it. 
 
 3 common mind perceiveth not beyond his eyes and 
 ears: 
 
 The palings of the park of sense enthral this captured 
 roebuck : 
 
 And still, though fettered in the flesh, he doth not feel 
 his chains, 
 
 Externals are the world to him, and circumstance his 
 atmosphere. 
 
 Therefore tangible pleasures are enough for the animal- 
 man; 
 
 He is swift to speak and slow to think, dreading his own 
 dim conscience ; 
 
 And solitude is terrible, and exile worse than death, 
 
 He cannot dwell apart, nor breathe at a distance from 
 the crowd. 
 
 But minds of nobler stamp, and chiefest the mint- 
 marked of heaven, 
 
 Walk independent, by themselves, freely manumitted of 
 externals ; 
 
 They carry viands with them, and need no refreshment 
 by the way, 
 
®i peas. 429 
 
 Nor drink of other wells than their own inner fountain. 
 Strange shall it seem how little such a man will lean 
 
 upon the accidents of life, 
 He is winged and needeth not a staff; if it break, — he 
 
 shall not fall : 
 And lightly perchance doth he remember the stale 
 
 trivialities around him, 
 He liveth in the realm of thought, beyond the world of 
 
 things ; 
 These are but transient Matter, and himself enduring 
 
 Spirit : 
 And worldliness will laugh to scorn that sublimated 
 
 wisdom. 
 His eyes may open on a prison-cell, but the bare walls 
 
 glow with imagery ; 
 His ears may be filled with execrations, but are listening 
 
 to the music of sweet thoughts ; 
 He may dwell in a hovel with a hero's heart, and canopy 
 
 his penury with peace, 
 For mind is a kingdom to the man, who gathereth his 
 
 pleasure from Ideas. 
 
430 
 
 ^fofam gave the name, when the Lord had made His 
 
 creature, 
 For God led them in review, to see what man would call 
 
 them. 
 As they struck his senses, he proclaimed their sounds, 
 A name for the distinguishing of each, a numeral hy 
 
 which it should be known : 
 He specified the partridge by her cry, and the forest 
 
 prowler by his roaring, 
 The tree by its use, and the flower by its beauty, and 
 
 everything according to its truth. 
 
 (Ehere is an arbitrary name; whereunto the idea at- 
 tach eth ; 
 
 And there is a reasonable name, linking its fitness to 
 idea : 
 
 Yet shall these twain run in parallel courses, 
 
 Neither shalt thou readily discern the habit from the 
 nature. 
 
©f $mz*. 431 
 
 For mind is apt, and quick to wed ideas and names to- 
 gether, 
 
 Nor stoppeth its perception to be curious of priorities ; 
 
 And there is but little in the sound, as some have vainly- 
 fancied, 
 
 The same tone in different tongues shall be suitable to 
 opposite ideas : 
 
 Yea, take an ensample in thine own ; consider similar 
 words : 
 
 How various and contrary the thoughts those kindred 
 names produce : 
 
 A house shall seem a fitting word to call a roomy 
 dwelling, 
 
 Yet there is a like propriety in the small smooth sound, 
 a mouse : 
 
 Mountain, as if of a necessity, is a word both mighty 
 and majestic, — 
 
 What heed ye then of Fountain? — flowing silver in the 
 sun. 
 
 JHany a fair flower is burdened with preposterous appel- 
 latives, 
 
 Which the wiser simplicity of rustics entitled by its 
 beauties : 
 
 And often the conceit of science, loving to be thought 
 cosmopolite, 
 
 Shall mingle names of every clime, alike obscure to 
 each. 
 
 There is wisdom in calling a thing fitly ; name should 
 note particulars 
 
 Through a character obvious to all men, and worthy of 
 their instant acceptation. 
 
432 ®i games. 
 
 The herbalist had a simple cause for every word upon 
 his catalogue, 
 
 But now the mouth of Botany is filled with empty 
 sound ; 
 
 And many a peasant hath an answer on his tongue, 
 concerning some vexed flower, 
 
 Shrewder than the centipede phrase, wherewithal philo- 
 sophers invest it. 
 
 jfor that, the foolishness of pride, and flatteries of 
 
 cringing homage, 
 Strew with chaff the threshing-floors of science ; names 
 
 perplex them all : 
 The entomologist, who hath pried upon an insect, 
 
 straightway shall endow it with his name ; 
 It had many qualities and marks of note, — but in chief, 
 
 a vain observer: 
 The geographer shall journey to the pole, through biting 
 
 frost and desolation, 
 And, for some simple patron's sake, shall name that 
 
 land, the happy : 
 The fossilist hath found a bone, the rib of some huge 
 
 lizard, 
 And forthwith standeth to it sponsor, to tack himself on 
 
 reptile immortalities : 
 The sportsman, hunting at the Cape, found some strange- 
 horned antelope, 
 The spots are new, the fame is cheap, and so his name 
 
 is added. 
 Thus, obscurities encumber knowledge, even by the 
 
 vanity of men 
 Who play into each other's hand the game of giving 
 
 names. 
 
#f gbmeg. 433 
 
 Various are the names of men, and drawn from different 
 
 wells; 
 Aspects of body, or characters of mind, the creature's 
 
 first idea : 
 And some have sprung of trades, and some of dignities 
 
 or office ; 
 Other some added to a father's, and yet more growing 
 
 from a place : 
 Animal creation, with sciences, and things, — their com- 
 posites, and near associations, 
 Contributed their symbollings of old, wherewith to title 
 
 men: 
 And heraldry set upon its creature the figured attributes 
 
 as ensigns 
 By which, as by a name concrete, its bearer should be 
 
 known. 
 
 <£gypt opened on the theme, dressing up her gods in 
 
 qualities ; 
 Horns of power, feathers of the swift, mitres of catholic 
 
 dominion, 
 The sovereign asp, the circle everlasting, the crook and 
 
 thong of justice, 
 By many mystic shapes and sounds displayed the idol's 
 
 name. 
 Thereafter, high-plumed warriors, the chieftains of 
 
 Etruria and Troy, 
 And Xerxes, urging on his millions to the tomb of pride, 
 
 Thermopylae, 
 And Hiero with his bounding ships, all figured at the 
 
 prow, 
 
 F F 
 
434 ®l gtemeg. 
 
 And Eome's Praetorian standards, piled with strange 
 
 devices, 
 And stout crusaders pressing to the battle, clad in 
 
 sable mail ; 
 These all in their speaking symbols, earned, or wore, a 
 
 name. 
 Eve, the mother of all living, and Abraham, father of a 
 
 multitude, 
 Jacob, the supplanter, and David, the beloved, and all 
 
 the worthies of old time, 
 Noah, who came for consolation, and Benoni, son of 
 
 sorrow, 
 Kings and prophets, children of the East, owned each 
 
 his title of significance. 
 
 5Dhere be names of high descent, and thereby storied 
 
 honours : 
 Names of fair renown, and therein characters of merit : 
 But to lend the lowborn noble names, is to sbed upon 
 
 them ridicule and evil ; 
 Yea, many weeds run rank in pride, if men have dubbed 
 
 them cedars. 
 And to herald common mediocrity with the noisy notes 
 
 of fame, 
 Tendeth to its deeper scorn ; as if it were to call the 
 
 mole a mammoth. 
 Yet shall ye find the trader's babe dignified with sound- 
 ing titles, 
 And little hath the father guessed the harm he did his 
 
 child : 
 For either may they breed him discontent, a peevish re 
 
 pining at his station, 
 
<Sf pmw. 435 
 
 Or point the finger of despite at the mule in the trap- 
 pings of an elephant : 
 And it is a kind of theft to filch appellations from the 
 
 famous, 
 A soiling of the shrines of praise with folly's vulgar 
 
 herd. 
 Prudence hath often gone ashamed for the name they 
 
 added to his father's, 
 If minds of mark and great achievements hore it well 
 
 before : 
 For he walketh as the jay in the fable, though not by his 
 
 own folly, 
 Another's fault hath compassed his misfortune, making 
 
 him a martyr to his name 
 
 OTflio would call the tench a whale, or style a torch., 
 Orion? 
 
 Yet many a silly parent hath dealt likewise with his 
 nurseling 
 
 Give thy child a fit distinguishment, making him sole 
 tenant of a name, 
 
 For it were a sore hindrance to hold it in common with 
 a hundre I : 
 
 In the Babel of confused identities fame is little feasible, 
 
 The felon shall detract from the philanthropist, and the 
 sage share honours with the simple ; 
 
 Still, in thy title of distinguishment, fall not into arro- 
 gant assumption, 
 
 Steering from caprice and affectations ; and for all thou 
 doest, have a reason. 
 
 He that is ambitious for his son, should give him un- 
 tried names, 
 
 F F 2 
 
436 ®i $fam*s. 
 
 For those that have served other men, haply may injure 
 
 by their evils ; 
 Or otherwise may hinder by their glories ; therefore, set 
 
 him by himself, 
 To win for his individual name some clear specific praise. 
 There were nine Homers, all goodly sons of song, but 
 
 where is any record of the eight ? 
 One grew to fame, an Aaron's rod, and swallowed up his 
 
 brethren : 
 Who knoweth ? more distinctly titled, those dead eight 
 
 had lived ; 
 But the censers were ranged in a circle to mingle their 
 
 sweets without a difference. 
 
 &rt thou named of a common crowd, and sensible of 
 
 high aspirings ? 
 It is hard for thee to rise, — yet strive : thou mayest be 
 
 among them a Musaeus. 
 Art thou named of a family, the same in successive gene- 
 rations ? 
 It is open to thee still to earn for epithets, such an one, 
 
 the good or great. 
 Art thou named foolishly ? Show that thou art wiser than 
 
 thy fathers, 
 Live to shame their vanity or sin by dutiful devotion to 
 
 thy sphere. 
 Art thou named discreetly? It is well, the course is 
 
 free : 
 No competitor shall claim thy colours, neither fix his 
 
 faults upon thee : 
 Hasten to the goal of fame between the posts of duty, 
 And win a blessing from the world, that men may love 
 
 thy name : 
 
m gamw. 437 
 
 Yea, that the unction of its praise, in fragrance well de- 
 
 serving, 
 May float adown the stream of time, like ambergris at 
 
 sea; 
 So thy sons may tell their sons, and those may teach their 
 
 children, 
 He died in goodness, as he lived ; — and left us his good 
 
 name. 
 And more than these : there is a roll whereon thy name 
 
 is written ; 
 See that, in the Book of Doom, that name is fixed in 
 
 light : _ 
 Then, safe within a better home, where time and its 
 
 titles are not found, 
 God will give thee His new Name, and write it on thy 
 
 heart : 
 A Name, better than of sons, a Name dearer than of 
 
 daughters, 
 A Name of union, peace, and praise, as numbered in thy 
 
 God. 
 
438 
 
 4Df %\mp. 
 
 <3bgtVXttttJ from all substance, and flying with the 
 
 feathered flock of thoughts, 
 The idea of a thing hath the nature of its Soul, a 
 
 separate seeming essence : 
 Intimately linked to the idea, suggesting many qualities, 
 The name of a thing hath the nature of its Mind, an in- 
 tellectual recorder : 
 And the matter of a thing, concrete, is a Body to the 
 
 perfect creature, 
 Compacted three in one, as all things else within the 
 
 universe. 
 Nothing canst thou add to them, and nothing take away, 
 
 for all have these proportions, 
 The thought, the word, the form, combining in the 
 
 Thing : 
 All separate, yet harmonizing well, and mingled each 
 
 with other, 
 One whole in several parts, yet each part spreading to a 
 
 whole : 
 
#f Swings- 439 
 
 The idea is a whole ; and the meaning phrase that spake 
 
 idea, a whole ; 
 And the matter, as ye see it, is a whole ; the mystery of 
 
 true tri-unity : 
 Yea, there is even a deeper mystery, — which none, I wot, 
 
 can fathom, 
 Matter, different from properties whereby the solid sub- 
 stance is described ; 
 For, size and weight, cohesion and the like, live distinct 
 
 from matter, 
 Yet who can imagine matter, unendowed with size and 
 
 weight ? 
 As in the spiritual, so in the material, man must rest 
 
 with patience, 
 And wait for other eyes wherewith to read the books of 
 
 God. 
 
 jHen have talked learnedly of atoms, as if matter could 
 
 be ever indivisible ; 
 They talk, but ill are skilled to teach, and darken truth 
 
 by fancies : 
 An atom by our grosser sense was never yet conceived, 
 And nothing can be thought so small, as not to be 
 
 divided : 
 For an atom runneth to infinity, and never shall be 
 
 caught in space, 
 And a molecule is no more indivisible than Saturn's 
 
 belted orb. 
 Things intangible, multiplied by multitudes, never will 
 
 amass to substance, 
 Neither can a thing which may be touched, be made of 
 
 impalpable proportions ; 
 
440 ©f ®Jwtg$. 
 
 The sum of indivisibles must need be indivisible, as add- 
 ing many nothings, 
 
 And the building up of atoms into matter is but a silly 
 sophism ; 
 
 Lucretius, and keen Anaximander, and many that have 
 followed in their thoughts, 
 
 (For error hath a long black shadow, dimming light for 
 
 In the foolishness of men without a God fancied to 
 
 fashion Matter 
 Of intangibles, and therefore uncohering, indivisibles, 
 
 and therefore Spirit. 
 
 ©rings breed thoughts ; therefore at Thebes and Helio- 
 
 polis, 
 In hieroglyphic sculptures are the priestly secrets 
 
 written : 
 Things breed thoughts; therefore was the Athens of 
 
 idolatry 
 Set with carved images, frequent as the trees of Acade- 
 
 mus: 
 Things breed thoughts ; therefore the Brahmin and the 
 
 Burin an 
 With mythologic shapes adorn their coarse pantheon : 
 Things breed thoughts ; therefore the statue and the pic- 
 ture, 
 Kelics, rosaries, and miracles in act, quicken the Papist 
 
 in his worship : 
 Things breed thoughts; therefore the lovers at their 
 
 parting, 
 Interchanged with tearful smiles the dear reminding 
 
 tokens : 
 
©f agings, 441 
 
 Things breed thoughts; therefore when the clansman 
 met his foe, 
 
 The blood-stained claymore in his hand revived the me- 
 mories of vengeance. 
 
 Chings teach with double force ; through the animal eye, 
 
 and through the mind, 
 And the eye catcheth in an instant, what the ear shall 
 
 not learn within an hour. 
 Thence is the potency of travel, the precious might of 
 
 its advantages 
 To compensate its dissipative harm, its toil and cost and 
 
 danger. 
 Ulysses, wandering to many shores, lived in many 
 
 cities, 
 And thereby learnt the minds of men, and stored his own 
 
 more richly : 
 Herodotus, the accurate and kindly, spake of that he 
 
 saw, 
 And reaped his knowledge on the spot, in fertile fields 
 
 of Egypt : 
 Lycurgus culled from every clime the golden fruits of 
 
 justice ; 
 And Plato roamed through foreign lands, to feed on 
 
 truth in all. 
 For travel, conversant with Things, bringeth them in 
 
 contact with the mind ; 
 We breathe the wholesome atmosphere about ungarbled 
 
 truth : 
 Pictures of fact are painted on the eye, to decorate the 
 
 house of intellect, 
 Rather than visions of fancy, filling all the chambers 
 
 with a vapour. 
 
442 #f ffjjtogg. 
 
 For, in Ideas, the great mind will exaggerate, and the 
 
 lesser extenuate truth : 
 But in Things the one is chastened, and the other 
 
 quickened, to equality : 
 And in Names, — though a property be told, rather than 
 
 some arbitrary accident, 
 Still shall the thought be vague or false, if none have 
 
 seen the Thing : 
 Tor in Things the property with accident standeth in a 
 
 mass concrete, 
 These cannot cheat the sense, nor elude the vigilance of 
 
 spirit. 
 Travel is a ceaseless fount of surface education, 
 But its wisdom will be simply superficial, if thou add 
 
 not thoughts to things : 
 Yet, aided by the varnish of society, things may serve 
 
 for thoughts, 
 Till many dullards that have seen the world shall pass 
 
 for scholars : 
 Because one single glance will conquer all descriptions, 
 Though graphic, these left some unsaid, though true, 
 
 these tended to some error ; 
 And the most witless eye that saw, had a juster notion 
 
 of its object, 
 Than the shrewdest mind that heard and shaped its 
 
 gathered thoughts of Things. 
 
443 
 
 §f |attfe. 
 
 Cnnfitfenr^ was bearer of the palm ; for it looked like 
 conviction of desert : 
 
 And where the strong is well assured, the weaker soon 
 allow it. 
 
 Majesty and Beauty are commingled, in moving with im- 
 mutable decision, 
 
 And well may charm the coward hearts that turn and 
 hide for fear. 
 
 Faith, firmness, confidence, consistency, — these are well 
 allied ; 
 
 Yea, let a man press on in aught, he shall not lack of 
 honour : 
 
 For such an one seemeth as superior to the native in- 
 stability of creatures ; 
 
 That he doeth, he doeth as a god, and men will marvel 
 at his courage. 
 
 Even in crimes, a partial praise cannot be denied to 
 daring, 
 
444 ©f <f Hitfc. 
 
 And many fearless chiefs have won the friendship of a 
 foe. 
 
 Confidence is conqueror of men; victorious both over 
 them and in them ; 
 
 The iron will of one stout heart shall make a thousand 
 quail : 
 
 A feeble dwarf, dauntlessly resolved, will turn the tide of 
 battle, 
 
 And rally to a nobler strife the giants that had fled ; 
 
 The tenderest child, unconscious of a fear, will shame 
 the man to danger, 
 
 And when he dared it, danger died, and faith had van- 
 quished fear. 
 
 Boldness is akin to power : yea, because ignorance is 
 
 Knowledge with unshrinking might will nerve the 
 
 vigorous hand : 
 Boldness hath a startling strength ; the mouse may fright 
 
 a lion, 
 And oftentimes the horned herd is scared by some brave 
 
 cur. 
 Courage hath analogy with faith, for it standeth both in 
 
 animal and moral ; 
 The true is mindful of a God, the false is stout in self : 
 But true or false, the twain are faith ; and faith worketh 
 
 wonders : 
 Never was a marvel done upon the earth, but it had 
 
 sprung of faith : 
 Nothing noble, generous, or great, but faith was the root 
 
 of the achievement ; 
 Nothing comely, nothing famous, but its praise is faith. 
 
©f $m% 445 
 
 Leonidas fought in human faith, as Joshua in divine : 
 
 Xenophon trusted to his skill, and the sons of Matta- 
 thias to their cause : 
 
 In faith Columbus found a path across those untried 
 waters ; 
 
 The heroines of Arc and Saragossa fought in earthly 
 faith : 
 
 Tell was strong, and Alfred great, and Luther wise, by- 
 faith ; 
 
 Margaret by faith was valiant for her son, and Wallace 
 mighty for his people : 
 
 Faith in his reason made Socrates sublime, as faith in 
 his science, Galileo ; 
 
 Ambassadors in faith are bold, and unreproved for bold- 
 ness; 
 
 Faith urged Fabius to delays, and sent forth Hannibal 
 to Cannae : 
 
 Caesar at the Rubicon, Miltiades at Marathon ; both were 
 sped by faith. 
 
 I set not all in equal spheres : I number not the martyr 
 with the patriot ; 
 
 I class not the hero with his horse, because the twain 
 have courage ; 
 
 But only for ensample and instruction, that all things 
 stand by faith ; 
 
 Albeit faith of divers kinds, and varying in degree. 
 
 There is a faith towards men, and there is a faith to- 
 wards God ; 
 
 The latter is the gold and the former is the brass ; but 
 both are sturdy metal : 
 
 And the brass mingled with the gold floweth into rich 
 Corinthian ; 
 
446 #f <$*% 
 
 A substance bright and hard and keen, to point Achilles' 
 
 spear : 
 So shalt thou stop the way against the foes that hem 
 
 thee; 
 Trust in God to strengthen man ; — be bold, for He doth 
 
 help. 
 
 get more : for confidence in man, even to the worst and 
 
 meanest, 
 Hath power to overcome his ill, by charitable good. 
 Fling thine unreserving trust even on the conscience of 
 
 a culprit, 
 Soon wilt thou shame him by thy faith, and he will melt 
 
 and mend : 
 The nest of thieves will harm thee not, if thou dost bear 
 
 thee boldly ; 
 Boldly, yea and kindly, as relying on their honour : 
 For the hand so stout against aggression, is quite dis- 
 armed by charity : 
 And that warm sun will thaw the heart casehardened by 
 
 long frost. 
 Treat men gently, trust them strongly, if thou wish their 
 
 weal; 
 Or cautious doubt and bitter thoughts will tempt the 
 
 best to foil thee. 
 Believe the well in sanguine hope, and thou shalt reap 
 
 the better ; 
 But if thou deal with men so ill, thy dealings make them 
 
 worse. 
 Despair not of some gleams of good still lingering in 
 
 the darkest, 
 And among veterans in crime, plead thou as with their 
 
 children : 
 
©f Jai% 447 
 
 So, astonied at humanities, the bad heart long estranged, 
 Shall even weep to feel himself so little worth thy love ; 
 In wholesome sorrow will he bless thee; yea, and in that 
 
 spirit may repent ; 
 Thus wilt thou gain a soul, in mercy given to thy faith. 
 
 Hook aside to lack of faith, the mass of ills it bringeth : 
 All things treacherous, base, and vile, dissolving the 
 
 brotherhood of men. 
 Bonds break ; the cement hath lost its hold ; and each 
 
 is separate from other; 
 That which should be neighbourly and good, is cankered 
 
 into bitterness and evil. 
 thou serpent, fell Suspicion, coiling coldly round the 
 
 heart, — 
 thou asp of subtle Jealousy, stinging hotly to the 
 
 soul, — 
 distrust, reserve, and doubt, — what reptile shapes are 
 
 here, 
 Poisoning the garden of a world with death among its 
 
 flowers ! 
 No need of many words, the tale is easy to be told ; 
 A point will touch the truth, a line suggest the picture. 
 For if, in thine own home, a cautious man and captious, 
 Thou hintest at suspicion of a servant, thou soon wilt 
 
 make a thief; 
 Or if, too keen in care, thou dost evidently disbelieve 
 
 thy child, 
 Thou hast injured the texture of his honour, and 
 
 smoothed to him the way of lying ; 
 Or if thou observest upon friends, as seeking thee sel- 
 fishly for interest, 
 
448 ®t gmfy. 
 
 Thou hast hurt their kindliness to thee, and shalt be 
 
 paid with scorn : 
 Or if, silly ones of Marriage, your foul and foolish 
 
 thoughts, 
 Harshly misinterpreting in each the levity of innocence 
 
 for sin, 
 Shall pour upon the lap of home, pain where once was 
 
 pleasure, 
 And mix contentions in the cup, that mantled once with 
 
 comforts, 
 Bitterly and justly shall ye rue the punishment due to 
 
 unbelief; 
 Ye trust not each the other, nor the mutual vows of 
 
 God; 
 Take heed, for the pit may now be near, a pit of your 
 
 own digging, — 
 Faith abused tempteth unto crime, and doubt may make 
 
 its monster. 
 
 Jtftan verily is vile, but more in capability than action ; 
 
 His sinfulness is deep, but his transgressions may be 
 few, even from the absence of temptation : 
 
 He is hanging in a gulph midway, but the air is breath- 
 able about him : 
 
 Thrust him not from that slight hold, to perish in the 
 vapours underneath. 
 
 For, God pleadeth with the deaf, as having ears to hear, 
 
 Christ speaketh to the dead, as those that are capable of 
 living ; 
 
 And an evil teacher is that man, a tempter to much sin, 
 
 Who looketh on his hearers with distrust, and hath no 
 confidence in brethren. 
 
•f imt\. ' 449 
 
 All may mend ; and sympathies are healing : and reason 
 
 hath its influence with the worst; 
 And in those worst is ample hope, if only thou hast 
 
 charity, and faith. 
 
 JS>omewhiles have I watched a man exchanging the 
 
 sohriety of faith, 
 Old lamps for new, — even for fanatical excitements. 
 He gained surface, but lost solidity; heat, in lieu of 
 
 health ; 
 And still with swelling words and thoughts he scorned 
 
 his ancient coldness : 
 But, his strength was shorn as Samson's ; he walked he 
 
 knew not whither ; 
 Doubt was on his daily path; and duties showed not 
 
 certain. 
 Until, in an hour of enthusiasm, stung with secret 
 
 fears, 
 He pinned the safety of his soul on some false prophet's 
 
 sleeve : 
 And then, that sure word failed ; and with it, failed his 
 
 faith ; 
 It failed, and fell ; deep and dreadful was his fall in 
 
 faith ! 
 He could not stop, with reason's rein, his coursers on 
 
 the slope, 
 And so they dashed him down the cliff of hardened un- 
 belief. 
 With overreaching grasp he had strained for visionary 
 
 treasures, 
 But a fiend had cheated his presumption, and hurled 
 
 him to despair. 
 
 G G 
 
450 ®i $mi\. 
 
 So lie lay in his blood, the victim of a credulous false 
 
 faith, 
 And many nights, and night-like days, he dwelt in outer 
 
 darkness. 
 But, within a while, his variable mind caught a new im- 
 pression, 
 A new impression of the good old stamp, that sealed 
 
 him when a child : 
 He was softened, and abjured his infidelity; he was 
 
 wiser, and despised his credulity ; 
 And turned again to simple faith more simply than 
 
 before. 
 Experience had declared too well his mind was built of 
 
 water, 
 And so, renouncing strength in self, he fixed his faith in 
 
 God 
 
 $t is not for me to stipulate for creeds ; Bible, Church, 
 and Eeason, 
 
 These three shall lead the mind, if any can, to 
 truth. 
 
 But I must stipulate for faith ; both God and man de- 
 mand it : 
 
 Trust is great in either world, if any would be well. 
 
 Verily, the sceptical propensity is an universal foe ; 
 
 Sneering Pyrrho never found, nor cared to find, a 
 friend : 
 
 How could he trust another ? and himself, whom would 
 he not deceive ? 
 
 His proper gains were all his aim, and interests clash 
 with kindness. 
 
 So, the Bedouin goeth armed, an enemy to all, 
 
•f Jfaitfc. 451 
 
 The spear is stuck beside his couch, the dagger hid be- 
 neath his pillow. 
 
 For society, void of mutual trust, of credit, and of 
 faith, 
 
 Would fall asunder as a waterspout, snapped from the 
 cloud's attraction. 
 
 JFaith may rise into miracles of might, as some few wise 
 
 have shown : 
 Faith may sink into credulities of weakness, as the mass 
 
 of fools have witnessed. 
 Therefore, in the first, saints and martyrs have fulfilled 
 
 their mission, 
 Conquering dangers, courting deaths, and triumphing 
 
 in all. 
 Therefore, in the last, the magician and the witch, 
 
 victims of their own delusion, 
 Have gained the bitter wages of impracticable sins. 
 They believed in allegiance with Satan ; they worked in 
 
 that belief, 
 And thereby earned the loss and harm of guilt that 
 
 might not be. 
 For, faith hath two hands ; with the one it addeth virtue 
 
 to indifferents ; 
 Yea, it sanctified a Judith and a Jael, for what otherwise 
 
 were treachery and murder : 
 With the other hand it heapeth crime even on impos- 
 sibles or simples, 
 And .many a wizard well deserved the faggot for his 
 
 faith : 
 He trusted in his intercourse with evil, he sacrificed 
 
 heartily to fiends, 
 
 g g 2 
 
452 <©f Jfaftfe. 
 
 He withered up with curses to the limit of his will, and 
 was vile, because he thought himself a villain. 
 
 <M, great mind is ready to believe, for he hungereth to 
 
 feed on facts, 
 And the gnawing stomach of his ignorance craveth un- 
 ceasing to be filled ; 
 A little mind is boastful and incredulous, for he fancieth 
 
 all knowledge is his own, 
 So will he cavil at a truth ; how should it be true, and 
 
 he not know it ? — 
 There is an easy scheme, to solve all riddles by the 
 
 sensual, 
 And thus, despising mysteries, to feel the more suffi- 
 cient : 
 For it comforteth the foul hard heart, to reject the pure 
 
 unseen, 
 And relieve th the dull soft head, to hinder one from 
 
 gazing upon vacancy. 
 True wisdom, labouring to expound, heareth others 
 
 readily ; 
 False wisdom, sturdy to deny, closeth up her mind to 
 
 argument. 
 The sum of certainties is found so small, their field so 
 
 wide an universe, 
 That many things may truly be, which man hath not 
 
 conceived : 
 The characters revealed of God are a strong mind's sole 
 
 assurance 
 That any strangeness may not stand a sober theme for 
 
 faith. 
 Ignorance being light denied, this ought to show the 
 
 stronger in its view, 
 
•f ivatig. 453 
 
 But ignorance is commonly a double negative, both of 
 
 light and morals : 
 So, adding vanity to blindness, for ease, it taketh refuge 
 
 in a doubt, 
 And aching soon with ceaseless doubt, it finisheth the 
 
 strife by misbelieving. 
 
 jfaith, by its very nature, shall embrace both credence 
 
 and obedience : 
 Yea, the word for both is one, and cannot be divided. 
 For, work void of faith, wherein can it be counted for a 
 
 duty; 
 And faith not seen in work, — whereby can the doctrine 
 
 be discovered? 
 Faith in religion is an instrument; a handle, and the 
 
 hand to turn it : 
 Less a condition than a mean, and more an operation 
 
 than a virtue. 
 A moral sickness, like to sin, must have a moral 
 
 cure; 
 And faith alone can heal the mind, whose malady is 
 
 sense. 
 Ye are told of God's deep love : they that believe will 
 
 love Him : 
 They that love Him, will obey : and obedience hath its 
 
 blessing. 
 Ye are taught of the soul's great price ; they that believe 
 
 will prize it, 
 And, prizing soul, will cherish well the hopes that make 
 
 it happy. 
 Effects spring from feelings, and feelings grow of 
 
 faith : 
 
454 m Jex% 
 
 If a man conceive himself insulted, will not his anger 
 
 smite ? 
 Thus, let a soul believe his state, his danger, destiny, 
 
 redemption, 
 Will he not feel eager to be safe, like him that kept the 
 
 prison at Philippi ? 
 
 £1 mother had an only son, and sent him out to sea : 
 She was a widow, and in penury; and he must seek his 
 
 fortunes. 
 How often in the wintry nights, when waves and winds 
 
 were howling, 
 Her heart was torn with sickening dread, and bled to 
 
 see her boy. 
 And on one sunny morn, when all around was com- 
 fort, 
 News came, that weeks agone, the vessel had been 
 
 wrecked ; 
 Yea, wrecked, and he was dead ! they had seen him 
 
 perish in his agony : 
 Oh then, what agony was like to her's, — for she believed 
 
 the tale. 
 She was bowed and broken down with sorrow, and un- 
 
 comforted in prayer ; 
 Many nights she mourned, and pined, and had no hope 
 
 but death. 
 But on a day, while sorely she was weeping, a stranger 
 
 broke upon her loneliness, — 
 He had news to tell, that weather-beaten man, and must 
 
 not be denied : 
 And what were the wonder-working words that made 
 
 this mourner joyous, 
 
m <#aitjj, 455 
 
 That swept her heaviness away, and filled her world with 
 
 praise ? 
 Her son was saved, — is alive, — is near ! — did she stop 
 
 to question? 
 No, rushing in the force of faith, she met him at the 
 
 door ! 
 
456 
 
 WX is vanity which is not honesty; — thus is it graven 
 
 on the tomh : 
 And there is no wisdom hut in piety ; — so the dead man 
 
 preacheth : 
 For, in a simple village church, among those classic 
 
 shades 
 Which sylvan Evelyn loved to rear, (his praise, and my 
 
 delight,) 
 These, the words of truth, are writ upon his sepulchre 
 Who learnt much lore, and knew all trees, from the 
 
 cedar to the hyssop on the wall. 
 A just conjunction, godliness and honesty ; ministering 
 
 to hoth worlds, 
 Well wed, and ill to he divided, a pair that God hath 
 
 joined together. 
 I touch not now the vulgar thought, as of tricks and 
 
 cheateries in trade ; 
 I speak of honest purpose, character, speech and action. 
 
©f jgawrfg, 457 
 
 For an honest man hath special need of charity, and 
 prudence, 
 
 Of a deep and humbling self-acquaintance, and of 
 blessed commerce with his God, 
 
 So that the keennesses of truth may be freed from asperi- 
 ties of censure, 
 
 And the just but vacillating mind be not made the pen- 
 dulum of arguments : 
 
 For a false reason, shrewdly put, can often not be an- 
 swered on the instant, 
 
 And prudence looketh unto faith, content to wait solu- 
 tions ; 
 
 Yea, it looketh, yea, it waiteth, still holding honesty in 
 leash, 
 
 Lest, as a hot young hound, it track not game, but 
 vermin. 
 
 Many a man of honest heart, but ignorant of self and 
 God, 
 
 Hath followed the marsh-fires of pestilence, esteeming 
 them the lights of truth ; 
 
 He heard a cause, which he had not skill to solve, — and 
 so received it gladly; 
 
 And that cause brought its consequence, of harm to an 
 unstable soul. 
 
 Prudence, for a man's own sake, never should be sepa- 
 rate from honesty ; 
 
 And charity, for other's good, and his, must still be 
 joined therewith : 
 
 For the harshly chiding tongue hath neither pleasuring 
 nor profit, 
 
 And the cold unsympathizing heart never gained a good. 
 
458 ®f j$mi£8tg. 
 
 Sin is a sore, and folly is a fever ; touch them tenderly 
 
 for healing ; 
 The bad chirurgeon's awkward knife harmeth, spite of 
 
 honesty. 
 Still, a rough diamond is better than the polished 
 
 paste, — 
 That courteous flattering fool, who spake of vice as 
 
 virtue : 
 And honesty, even by itself, though making many ad- 
 versaries 
 Whom prudence might have set aside, or charity have 
 
 softened, 
 Evermore will prosper at the last, and gain a man great 
 
 honour 
 By giving others many goods, to his own cost and 
 
 hindrance. 
 
 ^Freedom is father of the honest, and sturdy Indepen- 
 dence is his brother; 
 
 These three, with heart and hand, dwell together in 
 unity. 
 
 The blunt yeoman, stout and true, will speak unto 
 princes unabashed : 
 
 His mind is loyal, just and free, a crystal in its plain in- 
 tegrity ; 
 
 What should make such an one ashamed? where 
 courtiers kneel, he standeth ; — 
 
 I will indeed bow before the king, but knees were knit 
 for God. 
 
 And many such there be, of a high and noble con- 
 science, 
 
§i jjgmixstg. 459 
 
 Honourable, generous, and kind, though blest with 
 
 little light : 
 What should he barter for his Freedom? some petty 
 
 gain of gold ? 
 Free of speech, and free in act, magnates honour him 
 
 for boldness : 
 Long may he flourish in his peace, and a stalwarth race 
 
 around him, 
 Eooted in the soil like oaks, and hardy as the pine upon 
 
 the mountains ! 
 
 get, there be others, that will truckle to a lie, selling 
 
 honesty for interest : 
 And do they gain ? — they gain but loss ; a little cash, 
 
 with scorn. 
 Behold, the sorrowful change wrought upon a fallen 
 
 nature : 
 He hath lost his own esteem, and other men's respect ; 
 For the buoyancy of upright faith, he is clothed in the 
 
 heaviness of cringing ; 
 For plain truth where none could err, he hath chosen 
 
 tortuous paths ; 
 In lieu of his majesty of countenance — the timorous 
 
 glances of servility ; 
 Instead of Freedom's honest pride, — the spirit of a slave. 
 
 Nevertheless, there is something to be pleaded, even for 
 
 a necessary guile, 
 Whilst the world, and all that is therein, lieth deep in 
 
 evil. 
 Who can be altogether honest, — a champion never out 
 
 of mail, 
 
460 ®f f anzzty. 
 
 Ready to break a lance for truth with every crowding 
 error? 
 
 Who can be altogether honest, — dragging out the 
 secresies of life, 
 
 And risking to be lashed and loathed for each unkind 
 disclosure ? 
 
 Who can be altogether honest, — living in perpetual 
 contentions, 
 
 And prying out the petty cheats that swell the social 
 scheme ? 
 
 For he must speak his instant mind, — a mind corrupt 
 and sinful, 
 
 Exhibiting to other men's disgust its undisguised de- 
 formities : 
 
 He must utter all the hatred of his heart, and add to it 
 the venom of his tongue ; 
 
 Shall he feel, and hide his feelings ? that were the mean- 
 ness of a hypocrite. — 
 
 Still, man, such hypocrisy is better, than this bold 
 honesty to sin : 
 
 Kill the feeling, or conceal it : let shame at least do the 
 work of charity. 
 
 & charity, thou livest not in warnings, meddling among 
 men, 
 
 Rebuking every foolish word, and censuring small sins ; 
 
 This is not thy secret, — rather wilt thou hide their mul- 
 titude, 
 
 And silence the condemning tongue, and wearisome ex- 
 hortation. 
 
 But for thee, thy strength and zeal shine in encourage- 
 ment to good, 
 
©f liomstg. 461 
 
 Lifting up the lantern of ensainple, that wanderers may 
 
 rind the way : 
 That lantern is not lit to gaze on all the hatefulness of 
 
 evil. 
 But set on high for life and light, the loveliness of 
 
 good. 
 The hard censorious mind sitteth as a keen anatomist 
 Tracking up the fibres in corruption, and prying on a 
 
 fearful corpse : 
 But the charitable soul is a young lover, enamoured 
 
 little wisely. 
 That saw no fault in her he loved, and sought to see one 
 
 less: 
 So, in his kind and genial light, she grew more worthy 
 
 of his love : 
 Won to good by gentle suns, and not by frowning 
 
 tempest. 
 
 Eerily, infirm thyself, — be slow to chide a brother's 
 
 imperfections ; 
 For many times the decent veil must hang on faults of 
 
 nature : 
 And the rude hands, that rend it, offend against the 
 
 modesty of right, 
 While seeming zeal, and its effort to do good, is only 
 
 feigned self-praise : 
 Often will the meannesses of life, hidden away in 
 
 comers. 
 Prove wisdom : and the generous is glad to leave them 
 
 unregarded in the shade. 
 The follies none are found to praise, let them die un- 
 
 blamed : 
 
462 ®f fmwstg. 
 
 Thine honest strife will only tend to make some think 
 
 them wise : 
 And small conventional deceits, let them live uncen- 
 
 sured : 
 Or if thou war with pigmies, thou shalt haply help the 
 
 cranes. 
 Where to he "blind was safety, Ovid had heen wise for 
 
 winking : 
 And when a tell-tale might do harm, he sure it is prudent 
 
 to he dumh ; 
 That which is just and fit is often found combating with 
 
 honesty : 
 In the cause of good, he wise ; and in a case indifferent, 
 
 keep silence. 
 
 Het honesty's unblushing face be shaded by the mantle 
 
 of humility, 
 So shall it shine a lamp of love, and not the torch of 
 
 strife : 
 Otherwise the lantern of Diogenes, presumptuously 
 
 thrust before the face, 
 If it never find an honest man, shall often make an 
 
 angered. 
 Let honesty be companied by charity of heart, lest it 
 
 walk unwelcome ; 
 Or the mouthing censor of others and himself, soon 
 
 shall sink to scorn. 
 Let honesty be added unto innocence of life : then a 
 
 man may only be its martyr ; 
 But if openness of speech be found with secresy of 
 
 guilt, the martyr will be seen a malefactor. 
 
®i jpmttrfg, 463 
 
 Chere is a cunning scheme, to put on surface bluntness, 
 
 And cover still deep water, with the clamorous ripples 
 of a shallow. 
 
 For a man, to gain his selfish ends, will make a stalking- 
 horse of honesty ; 
 
 And hide his poaching limbs behind, that he may cheat 
 the quicker. 
 
 Such an one is loud and ostentatious, full of oaths for 
 argument, 
 
 Boastful of honour and sincerity, and not to be put down 
 by facts : 
 
 He is obstinate, and showeth it for firmness : he is rude, 
 displaying it for truth ; 
 
 And glorieth in doggedness of temper, as if it were un- 
 compromising justice. 
 
 Be aware of such a man; his brawling covereth de- 
 signs ; 
 
 This specious show of honesty cometh as the herald of a 
 thief: 
 
 His feint is made with awkward clashing on the buckler's 
 boss, 
 
 But meanwhile doth his secret skill ensure its fatal 
 aim. 
 
 This is the hypocrite of honesty ; ye may know him by 
 an overacted part ; 
 
 Taking pains to turn and twist, where other men walk 
 straight ; 
 
 Or walking straight, he will not step aside to let another 
 
 But roughly pusheth on, provoking opposition on the 
 
 way; 
 He is full of disquietude for calmness, full of intriguing 
 
 for simplicity, 
 
464 @f jlmiedg. 
 
 Valorous with those who cannot fight, and humble to the 
 brave : 
 
 Where ' brotherly advice were good, this man rudely 
 blameth, 
 
 And on some small occasion, flattereth with coarse praise. 
 
 The craven in a lion's skin hath conquered by his cha- 
 racter for courage ; 
 
 Sheep's clothing helped the wolf, till he slew by his cha- 
 racter for kindness. 
 
 Jfor honesty hath many gains, and well the wise have 
 known 
 
 This will prosper to the end, and fill their house with 
 gold. 
 
 The phosphorus of cheatery will fade, and all its profits 
 perish, 
 
 While honesty with growing light endureth as the 
 moon. 
 
 Yea, it would be wise in a world of thieves, where 
 cheating were a virtue, 
 
 To dare the vice of honesty, if any would be rich. 
 
 For that which by the laws of God is heightened into 
 duty, 
 
 Ever, in the practice of a man, will be seen both policy 
 and privilege. 
 
 Thank God, ye toilers for your bread, in that, daily la- 
 bouring, 
 
 He hath suffered the bubbles of self-interest to float upon 
 the stream of duty : 
 
 For honesty, of every kind, approved by God and man, 
 
 Of wealth and better weal is found the richest cornu- 
 copia, 
 
<M fjorastg. 465 
 
 Tempered by humbleness and charity, honesty of speech 
 
 hath honour ; 
 And mingled well with prudence, honesty of purpose 
 
 hath its praise : 
 Trust payeth homage unto truth, rewarding honesty of 
 
 action : 
 And all men love to lean on him, who never failed nor 
 
 fainted. 
 Freedom gloweth in his eyes, and Nobleness of nature at 
 
 his heart, 
 And Independence took a crown and fixed it on his 
 
 head : 
 So, he stood in his integrity, just and firm of purpose, 
 Aiding many, fearing none, a spectacle to angels, and to 
 
 men: 
 Yea, — when the shattered globe shall rock in the throes 
 
 of dissolution, 
 Still, will he stand in his integrity, sublime — an honest 
 
 man. 
 
466 
 
 §f Stocwtg. 
 
 Mttttv is the mass of men, Suspicion, than thy fears, 
 
 Kinder than thy thoughts, chilling heart of Pru- 
 dence, 
 
 Purer than thy judgments, ascetic tongue of Censure, 
 
 In all things worthier to love, if not also wiser to 
 esteem. 
 
 Yea, let the moralist condemn, there he large extenua- 
 tions of his verdict, 
 
 Let the misanthrope shun men and ahjure, the most are 
 rather loveahle than hateful. 
 
 How many pleasant faces shed their light on every 
 side, 
 
 How many angels unawares have crossed thy casual 
 way! 
 
 How often, in thy journeyings, hast thou made thee in- 
 stant friends, 
 
 Found, to he loved a little while, and lost, to meet no 
 more; 
 
•f ftwitig. 467 
 
 Friends of happy reminiscence, although so transient in 
 
 their converse, 
 Liberal, cheerful, and sincere, a crowd of kindly traits. 
 I have sped by land and sea, and mingled with much 
 
 people, 
 But never yet could find a spot, unsunned by human 
 
 kindness ; 
 Some more, and some less, — but truly all can claim a 
 
 little ; 
 And a man may travel through the world, and sow it 
 
 thick with friendships. 
 
 {£here be indeed, to say it in all sorrow, bad apostate 
 
 souls, 
 Deserted of their ministering angels, and given up to 
 
 liberty of sin, — 
 And other some, the miserly and mean, whose eyes are 
 
 keen and greedy, 
 With stony hearts, and iron fists, to filch and scrape and 
 
 clutch, — 
 And others yet again, the coarse in mind, selfish, sen- 
 sual, brutish, 
 Seeming as incapable of softer thoughts, and dead to 
 
 better deeds, — 
 Such, no lover of the good, no follower of the generous 
 
 and gentle, 
 Can nearer grow to love, than may consist with pity. 
 Few verily are these among the mass, and cast in fouler 
 
 moulds, 
 Few and poor in Mends, and well-deserving of their 
 
 poverty : 
 
 h h 2 
 
468 ®i ftwidg. 
 
 Yet, or ever thou hast harshly judged, and linked then- 
 presence to disgust, 
 
 Consider well the thousand things that made them all 
 they are. 
 
 Thou hast not thought upon the causes, ranged in con- 
 secutive necessity, 
 
 Which tended long to these effects, with sure constrain- 
 ing power : 
 
 For each of those unlovely ones, if thou couldst hear his 
 story, 
 
 Hath much to urge of just excuse, at least as men 
 count justice : 
 
 Foolish education, thwarted opportunities, natural pro- 
 pensities unchecked, — 
 
 Thus were they discouraged from all good, and pam- 
 pered in their evil ; 
 
 And, if thou wilt apprehend them well, tenderly looking 
 on temptations, 
 
 Bearing the base indulgently, and liberally dealing with 
 the froward, 
 
 Thou shalt discern a few fair fruits even upon trees so 
 withered, 
 
 Thou shalt understand how some may praise, and some 
 be found to love them. 
 
 Nevertheless for these, my counsel is, Avoid them if 
 thou canst ; 
 
 For the finer edges of thy virtues will be dulled by at- 
 trition with their vice. 
 
 And there is an enemy within thee ; either to palliate 
 their sin, 
 
<®f Sfocittg. 469 
 
 Until, for surface-sweetness, thou too art drawn adown 
 the vortex; 
 
 Or, even unto fatal pride, to glorify thy purity by con- 
 trast, 
 
 Until the publican and harlot stand nearer heaven than 
 the Pharisee : 
 
 Or daily strife against their ill, in subtleness may irritate 
 thy soul, 
 
 And in that struggle thou shalt fail, even through in- 
 firmity of goodness ; 
 
 Or, callous by continuance of injuries, thou wilt cease to 
 pardon, 
 
 Cease to feel, and cease to care, a cold case-hardened 
 man. 
 
 Beware of their example, — and thine own; beware the 
 hazards of the battle ; 
 
 But chiefly be thou ware of this, an unforgiving spirit. 
 
 Many are the dangers and temptations compassing a bad 
 man's presence ; 
 
 The upas hath a poisonous shade, and who would slum- 
 ber there ? 
 
 Wherefore, avoid them if thou canst ; only, under pro- 
 vidence and duty, 
 
 If thy lot be cast with Kedar, patiently and silently live 
 to their rebuke. 
 
 fgow beautiful thy feet, and full of grace thy corning, 
 better kind companion, that art well for either world ! 
 There is an atmosphere of happiness floating round that 
 
 man, 
 Love is throned upon his heart, and light is found within 
 
 his dwelling : 
 
470 m Sfocxdg. 
 
 His eyes are rayed with peacefulness, and wisdom waiteth 
 
 on his tongue ; 
 Seek him out, cherish him well, walking in the halo of 
 
 his influence : 
 For he shall be fragrance to thy soul, as a garden of 
 
 sweet lilies, 
 Hedged and apart from the outer world, an island of the 
 
 blest among the seas. 
 
 Chere is an outer world, and there is an inner centre ; 
 
 And many varying rings concentric round the self. 
 
 For, first, about a man, — after his communion with 
 Heaven, — 
 
 Is found the helpmate even as himself, the wife of his 
 vows and his affections: 
 
 See then that ye love in faith, scorning petty jealousies, 
 
 For Satan spoileth too much love, by souring it with 
 doubts ; 
 
 See that intimacy die not to indifference, nor anxiety 
 sink into moroseness, 
 
 And tend ye well the mutual minds bound in a copart- 
 nership for life. 
 
 jlext of those concentric circles, radiating widely in cir- 
 cumference, 
 
 Wheel in wheel, and world in world, — come the band of 
 children : 
 
 A tender nest of soft young hearts, each to be separately 
 studied, 
 
 A curious eager flock of minds, to be severally tamed 
 and tutored. 
 
 And a man, blest with these, hath made his own society, 
 
©f Sf0ridg. 471 
 
 He is independent of the world, hanging on his friends 
 
 more loosely : 
 For the little faces round his hearth are friends enow for 
 
 him, 
 If he seek others, it is for sake of these, and less for his 
 
 own pleasure. 
 What companionship so sweet, yea, who can teach so 
 
 well 
 As these pure budding intellects, and bright unsullied 
 
 hearts? 
 What voice so musical as theirs, what visions of elegance 
 
 so comely, 
 What thoughts and hopes and holy prayers, can others 
 
 cause like these ? 
 If ye count society for pastime, — what happier recreation 
 
 than a nurseling, 
 Its winning ways, its prattling tongue, its innocence and 
 
 mirth ? 
 If ye count society for good, — how fair a field is here, 
 To guide these souls to God, and multiply thyself for 
 
 heaven ! 
 
 &nd this sweet social commerce with thy children, 
 groweth as their growth, 
 
 Unless thou fail of duty, or have weaned them by thine 
 absence. 
 
 Keep them near thee, rear them well, guide, correct, in- 
 struct them ; 
 
 And be the playmate of their games, the judge in their 
 complainings. 
 
 So shall the maiden and the youth love thee as their 
 sympathizing friend, 
 
472 ®i Sfcrtietj. 
 
 And bring their joys to share with thee, their sorrows for 
 
 consoling : 
 Yea, their inmost hopes shall yearn to thee for counsel, 
 They will not hide their very loves, if thou hast won 
 
 their trust ; 
 But, even as man and woman, shall they gladly seek 
 
 their father, 
 Feeling yet as children feel, though void of fear in 
 
 honour : 
 And thou shalt be a Nestor in the camp, the just and 
 
 good old man, 
 Hearty still, though full of years, and held the friend of 
 
 all; 
 No secret shall be kept from thee ; for if ill, thy wisdom 
 
 may repair it ; 
 If well, thy praise is precious ; and they would not miss 
 
 that prize. 
 the blessing of a home, where old and young mix 
 
 kindly, 
 The young unawed, the old unchilled, in unreserved 
 
 communion ! 
 
 that refuge from the world, when a stricken son or 
 
 daughter 
 
 May seek, with confide ace of love, a father's hearth and 
 heart ; 
 
 Sure of a welcome, though others cast them out; of 
 kindness, though men scorn them ; 
 
 And finding there the last to blame, the earliest to com- 
 mend. 
 
 Come unto me, my son, if sin shall have tempted thee 
 astray, 
 
 1 will not chide thee like the rest, but help thee to re- 
 
 turn ; 
 
©f Sorirfg. 473 
 
 Come unto me, my son, if men rebuke and mock thee. 
 There always shall be one to bless, — for I am on thy 
 side ! 
 
 SPas, — and bitter is their loss, the parents, and the chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Who, loving up and down the world, have missed each 
 other's friendship. 
 
 Haply, it had grown of careless life, for years go swiftly 
 
 " by; 
 
 Or sprang of too much carefulness, that drank up all 
 the streams : 
 
 Haply, sullen disappointment came and quenched the 
 fire ; 
 
 Haply, sternness, or misrule, crushed or warped the feel- 
 ings. 
 
 Then, ill-combined in tempers, they learnt not each the 
 other ; 
 
 The growing child grew out of love, and drew the breath 
 of fear ; 
 
 The youth, ill-trained, renounced his fears, and made 
 a league with cunning ; 
 
 And so those hardened men were foes, that should have 
 been chief Mends. 
 
 Where was the cause, the mutual cause ? hunt it out 
 to kill it : 
 
 And what the cure, the simple cure ? — A mutual flash of 
 love. 
 
 For dull estrangement's daily air froze up those early 
 sympathies 
 
 By cold continuance in apathy, or cutting winds of cen- 
 sure ; 
 
474 M £oatt%. 
 
 It was a slow process, which any fleeting hour could have 
 
 melted ; 
 But every hour duly came, and passed without the sun. 
 Caution, care, and dry distrust, obscured each other's 
 
 minds, 
 Till both those gardens, rich to yield, were rank with 
 
 many weeds : 
 And doubt, a hidden worm, gnawed at the root of their 
 
 Society, 
 They lacked of mutual confidence, and lived in mutual 
 
 dread. 
 Judge me, many fathers ; and hearken to my counsel, 
 
 many sons ; 
 I come with good in either hand, to reconcile conten- 
 tions ; 
 For better friends can no man have, than those whom 
 
 God hath given, 
 And he that hath despised the gift, thought ill of that he 
 
 knew not. 
 Be ye wiser, — (I speak unto the sons,) — and win paternal 
 
 friendships, 
 Cultivate their kindness, seek them out with honour, 
 
 and be the screening Japheth to their failings : 
 And be ye wiser, — (I speak unto the fathers,) — gain those 
 
 filial comrades, 
 Cherish their reasonable converse, and look not with 
 
 coldness on your children. 
 For the friendship of a child is the brightest gem set 
 
 upon the circlet of Society, 
 A jewel worth a world of pains — a jewel seldom seen. 
 
 Che third cycle on the waters, another of those rings 
 upon the onyx, 
 
©f Storidg. 475 
 
 A further definite broad zone, holdeth kith and kin : 
 A motley band of many tribes, and under various ban- 
 ners; 
 The intimate and strangers, the known and loved, or 
 
 only seen for loathing : 
 Some, dear for their deserts, shall honour and have 
 
 honour of relationship, 
 Some, despising duties, will add to it both burden and 
 
 disgrace. 
 A man's nearest kin are oftentimes far other than his - 
 
 dearest, 
 Yet in the season of affliction those will haste to help 
 
 him. 
 For, note thou this, the Providence of God hath bound 
 
 up families together, 
 To mutual aid and patient trial; yea, those ties are 
 
 strong. 
 Friends are ever dearer in thy wealth, but relations to be 
 
 trusted in thy need, 
 For these are God's appointed way, and those the choice 
 
 of man : 
 There is lower warmth in kin, but smaller truth in 
 
 friends, 
 The latter show more surface, and the first have more of 
 
 depth. 
 Relations rally to the rescue, even in estrangement and 
 
 neglect, 
 Where friends will have fled at thy defeat, even after pro- 
 mises and kindness. 
 For Mends come and go, the whim that bound may 
 
 loose them, 
 
476 ftf »oaxtg. 
 
 But none can dissever a relationship, and Fate hath tied 
 the knot. 
 
 SHide, and edged with shadowy bounds, a distant boule- 
 vard to the city, 
 
 The common crowd of social life is buzzing round 
 about : 
 
 That is as the outer court, with all defences levelled, 
 
 Ranged around a man's own fortress, and his father's 
 house. 
 
 For many friends go in and out, and praise thee, finding 
 pasture, 
 
 And some are honey-comb to-day, who turn to gall to- 
 morrow : 
 
 And many a garrulous acquaintance with his frequent 
 visit 
 
 Will spend his leisure to thy cost, selling dullness 
 dearly : 
 
 For the idle call is a heavy tax, where time is counted 
 gold, 
 
 And even in the day of relaxation, haply he may spare 
 his presence, — 
 
 He found himself alone, and came to talk, — till they that 
 hear are tired ; 
 
 Let the man bethink him of an errand, that his face be 
 not unwelcome. 
 
 38ut many friends there be, both well and wisely 
 
 greeted, 
 Gladly are they hailed upon the hills, and are chidden 
 
 that they come so seldom. 
 
®f Sarirfg. 477 
 
 Of such are the early recollections, school friendships 
 
 that have thriven to grey hairs, 
 And veteran men are young once more, and talk of boy- 
 ish pranks ; 
 And such, yet older on the list, are those who loved thy 
 
 father, 
 Thy father's friend, and thine, who tendereth thee tried 
 
 love: 
 Such also, many gentle hearts, whom thou hast known 
 
 too lately, 
 Hastening now to learn their worth, and chary of those 
 
 minutes ; 
 And such, thy faithful pastor, coming to thy home with 
 
 peace ; — 
 Greet the good man heartily, — and hid thy children bless 
 
 him ! 
 
 ;j&any thoughts, many thoughts, — who can catch them 
 
 all? 
 The best are ever swiftest winged, the duller lag be- 
 hind; 
 For, behold, in these vast themes, my mind is as a forest 
 
 of the West, 
 And flocking pigeons come in clouds, and bend the 
 
 groaning branches ; 
 Here for a rest, then off and away, — they have sped to 
 
 other climes, 
 And leave me to my peace once more, a holiday from 
 
 thoughts. 
 I dare not lure them back, for the mighty subject of 
 
 Society 
 
478 ®i Storietg. 
 
 Would tempt to many a hackneyed note in many a 
 
 weary key : 
 Sage warnings, stout advice, experiences ever to be 
 
 learned, 
 The foolish floatiness of vanity, and solemn trumperies 
 
 of pride, — 
 Economy, the poor man's mint, — extravagance, the rich 
 
 man's pitfall, 
 Harmful copings with the better, and empty-headed 
 
 apings of the worse, 
 Circumstance and custom, sympathies, antipathies, di- 
 verse kinds of conversation, 
 Vapid pleasures, the weariness of gaiety, the strife and 
 
 bustle of the world, 
 Home comforts, the miseries of style, the cobweb lines 
 
 of etiquette, 
 The hollowness of courtesies, and substance of deceits, — 
 
 idleness, business, and pastime, — 
 The multitude of matters to be done, the when, and 
 
 where, and how, 
 And varying shades of character, to do, undo, or miss 
 
 them, — 
 All these, and many more alike, thick converging 
 
 fancies, 
 Flit in throngs about my theme, as honey-bees at even 
 
 to their hive. 
 Find an end, or make one : these seeds are dragon's 
 
 teeth : 
 Sown thoughts grow to things, and fill that field, the 
 
 world : 
 Many wise have gone before, and used the sickle 
 
 well; 
 
#f S0ti% 479 
 
 Who can find a corner now, where none have bound the 
 
 sheaves ? 
 So, other some may reap : I do but glean and gather : 
 My sorry handful hath been culled after the ripe harvest 
 
 of Society. 
 
480 
 
 ®f Mtofo 
 
 hath known his hrother, — or found him in his 
 freedom unrestrained ? 
 
 Even he, whose hidden glance hath watched his deepest 
 Solitude. 
 
 For we walk the world in domino, putting on characters 
 and hahits, 
 
 And wear a social Janus mask, while others stand 
 around : 
 
 I speak not of the hypocrite, nor dream of meant de- 
 ceptions, 
 
 But of that quick unconscious change, whereof the best 
 know most. 
 
 For mind hath its influence on mind ; and no man is 
 free hut when alone ; 
 
 Yea, let a dog he watching thee, its eye will tend to thy 
 restraint. 
 
 Self-possession cannot he so perfect, with another intel- 
 lect beside thee, 
 
#f Stolitate. 481 
 
 It is not as a natural result, but rather the educated pro- 
 duce. 
 The presence of a second spirit must control thine 
 
 own, 
 And throw it off its equipoise of peace, to balance by an 
 
 effort. 
 The common minds of common men know of this but 
 
 little ; 
 What then ? they know nothing of themselves : I speak 
 
 to those who know. 
 The consciousness that some are hearing, cometh as a 
 
 care, 
 The sense that some are watching near, bindeth thee to 
 
 caution ; 
 And the tree of tender nerves shrinketh as a touched 
 
 mimosa, 
 Drooping like a plant in drought, with half its strength 
 
 decayed. 
 There are antipathies warning from the many, and sym 
 
 pathies drawing to the few, 
 But merchant-minds have crushed the first, and cannot 
 
 feel the latter : 
 Whereas to the quickened apprehension of a keen and 
 
 spiritual intellect, 
 Antipathies are galling, and sympathies oppress, and 
 
 solitude is quiet. 
 
 |ge that dwelleth mainly by himself, heedeth most of 
 
 others, 
 But they that live in crowds, think chiefly of them- 
 
 There is indeed a selfish seeming, where the anchorite 
 liveth alone, . i 1 
 
482 #f SMitate. 
 
 But probe his thoughts, — they travel far, dreaming for 
 ever of the world : 
 
 And there is an apparent generosity, when a man mixeth 
 freely with his fellows, 
 
 But prove his mind, by day and night, his thoughts are 
 all of self : 
 
 The world, inciting him to pleasures, or relentlessly pro- 
 voking him to toil, 
 
 Is full of anxious rivals, each with a difference of in- 
 terest ; 
 
 So must he plan and practise for himself, even as his 
 own best friend ; 
 
 And the gay soul of dissipation never had a thought un- 
 selfish. 
 
 The hermit standeth out of strife, abiding in a contem- 
 plative calmness ; 
 
 What shall he contemplate, — himself? a meagre theme 
 for musing : 
 
 He hath cast off follies, and kept aloof from cares ; a 
 man of simple wants ; 
 
 God and the soul, these are his excuse, a just excuse, 
 for solitude : 
 
 But he carried with him to his cell the half-dead feelings 
 of humanity : 
 
 There were they rested and refreshed ; and he yearned 
 once more on men. 
 
 is the wise, or the learned, or the good, that 
 sought not solitude for thinking, 
 
 And from seclusion's secret vale brought forth his pre- 
 cious fruits ? 
 
 Forests of Aricia, your deep shade mellowed Numa's 
 wisdom, 
 
•f Sotihtoi. 483 
 
 Peaceful gardens of Vaucluse, ye nourished Petrarch's 
 
 love; 
 Solitude made a Cineinnatus, ripening the hero and the 
 
 patriot, 
 And taught De Stael self-knowledge, even in the damp 
 
 Bastile; 
 It fostered the piety of Jerome, matured the labours of 
 
 Augustine, 
 And gave imperial Charles religion for Ambition : 
 That which Scipio praised, that which Alfred practised, 
 Which fired Demosthenes to eloquence, and fed the 
 
 mind of Milton, 
 Which quickened zeal, nurtured genius, found out the 
 
 secret things of science, 
 Helped repentance, shamed folly, and comforted the 
 
 good with peace, — 
 By all men just and wise, by all things pure and per- 
 fect, 
 How truly, Solitude, art thou the fostering nurse of 
 
 Enough; — the theme is vast; sear me these necks of 
 
 Hydra: 
 What shall drive away the thoughts nocking to this 
 
 carcase? 
 Yea, — that all which man may think, hath long been 
 
 said of Solitude ; 
 For many wise have proved and preached its evils and 
 
 its good : 
 I cannot add, — I will not steal; enough, for all is 
 
 spoken : 
 Yet heed thou these for practice, and discernment among 
 
 men. i i 2 
 
484 #f Stolfote. 
 
 Chere are pompous talkers, solemn, oracular, and dull : 
 
 Track them from society to solitude ; and there ye find 
 them fools. 
 
 There are light-hearted jesters, taking up with company 
 for pastime ; 
 
 How speed they when alone? — serious, wise, and 
 thoughtful. 
 
 And wherefore? "both are actors, saving when in soli- 
 tude, 
 
 There they live their truest life, and all things show sin- 
 cere : 
 
 But the fool "by pomposity of speech striveth to he 
 counted wise, 
 
 And the wise, for holiday and pleasance, playeth with the 
 fool's hest bauhle. 
 
 The solemn seemer, as a rule, will be found more igno- 
 rant and shallow 
 
 Than those who laugh both loud and long, content to 
 hide their knowledge. 
 
 jfor thee ; seek thou Solitude, but neither in excess nor 
 morosely ; 
 
 Seek her for her precious things, and not of thine own 
 pride. 
 
 For there, separate from a crowd, the still small voice 
 will talk with thee, 
 
 Truth's whisper, heard and echoed by responding con- 
 science ; 
 
 There, shalt thou gather up the ravelled skeins of 
 feeling, 
 
 And mend the nets of usefulness, and rest awhile for 
 duties : 
 
•f SMitote. 485 
 
 There, thou shalt hive thy lore, and eat the fruits of 
 
 study, 
 For Solitude delighteth well to feed on many thoughts : 
 There, as thou sittest peaceful, communing with fancy, 
 The precious poetry of life shall gild its leaden cares : 
 There, as thou walkest by the sea, beneath the gentle 
 
 stars, 
 Many kindling seeds of good will sprout within thy 
 
 soul ; 
 Thou shalt weep in Solitude, — thou shalt pray in Soli- 
 tude, 
 Thou shalt sing for joy of heart, and praise the grace of 
 
 Solitude. 
 Pass on, pass on ! — for this is the path of wisdom : 
 God make thee prosper on the way ; I leave thee well 
 with SoHtude. 
 
486 
 
 %\t €nk 
 
 1&btV% beginning is shrouded in a mist, those vague 
 
 ideas beyond, 
 And the traveller setteth on his journey, oppressed with 
 
 many thoughts, 
 Balancing his hopes and fears, and looking for some 
 
 order in the chaos, 
 Some secret path between the cliffs, that seem to bar his 
 
 way: 
 So, he commenceth at a clue, unravelling its tangled 
 
 skein, 
 And boldly speedeth on to thread the labyrinth before 
 
 him. 
 Then as he gropeth in the darkness, light is attendant 
 
 on his steps, 
 He walketh straight in fervent faith, and difficulties 
 
 vanish at his presence ; 
 The very flashing of his sword scattereth those shadowy 
 
 foes; 
 
%\t $nir. 487 
 
 Confident and sanguine of success, he goeth forth con- 
 quering and to conquer. 
 
 <£very middle is burdened with a weariness, — to have to 
 
 go as far again, — 
 And Diligence is sick at heart, and Enterprize foot- 
 sore : 
 That which began in zeal, bursting as a fresh-dug 
 
 spring, 
 Goeth on doggedly in toil, and hath no help of nature : 
 Then, is need of moral might, to wrestle with the animal 
 
 re-action, 
 Still to fight, with few men left, and still though faint 
 
 pursuing. 
 The middle is a marshy flat, whereon the wheels go 
 
 heavily, 
 With clouds of doubt above, and ruts of discouragement 
 
 below : 
 Press on, sturdy traveller, yet a league, and yet a 
 
 league ! 
 While every step is binding wings on thy victorious 
 
 feet. 
 
 C£very end is happiness, the glorious consummation of 
 
 design, 
 The perils past, the fears annulled, the journey at its 
 
 close : 
 And the traveller resteth in complacency, home-returned 
 
 at last : 
 Work done may claim its wages, the goal gained hath 
 
 won its prize : 
 While the labour lasted, while the race was running, 
 
488 % ««*>• 
 
 Many-times the sinews ached, and half refused the 
 struggle : 
 
 But now, all is quietness, a pleasant hour given to re- 
 pose; 
 
 Calmness in the retrospect of good, and calmness in the 
 prospect of a Messing. 
 
 Hope was glad in the beginning, and fear was sad mid- 
 way, 
 
 But sweet fruition cometh in the end, a harvest safe and 
 sure. 
 
 That which is, can never not have been : facts are solid 
 as the pyramids : 
 
 A thing done is written in the rock, yea, with a pen of 
 iron. 
 
 Uncertainty no more can scare, the proof is seen com- 
 plete, 
 
 Nor accident render unaccomplished, for the deed is 
 finished. 
 
 Thus the end shall crown the work, with grace, grace, 
 unto the topstone, 
 
 And the work shall triumph in its crown, with peace, 
 peace, unto the builder. 
 
 5 have written, as other some of old, in quaint and mean- 
 ing phrase, 
 
 Of many things for either world, a crowd of facts and 
 fancies : 
 
 And will ye judge me, men of mind? — judge in kindly 
 calmness ; 
 
 For bitter words of haste or hate have often been re- 
 pented. 
 
 Deep dreaming upon surface reading ; imagery crowded 
 over argument ; 
 
%\t finfr. 489 
 
 Order less considered in the multitude of thoughts : 
 
 this witnessing is just. 
 Scripture gave the holier themes, the well-turned words 
 
 and wisdom ; 
 While Fancy on her swallow's wing skimmed those 
 
 deeper waters. 
 And wilt thou say with shrewdness, — He hath burnished 
 
 up old truths, 
 But where he seemed to fashion new, the novelty was 
 
 false? 
 Alas, for us in these last days, our elders reaped the 
 
 harvest : 
 Alas, for all men in all times, who glean so many tares ! 
 That which is true, how should it he new ? for time is 
 
 old in years : 
 That which is new, how should it be true? for I am 
 
 young in wisdom. 
 
 Nevertheless, I have spoken at my best, according to the 
 
 mercies given me, 
 Of high, and deep, and famous things, of Evil, or of 
 
 Good. 
 I have told of Errors near akin to Truth, and whole- 
 somes linked with poison ; 
 Of subtle Uses in the humblest, and the deep-laid plots 
 
 of Pride : 
 I have praised Wisdom, comforted thy Hope, and 
 
 proved to thee the folly of Complainings ; 
 Hinted at the hazard of an Influence, and turned thee 
 
 from the terrors of Ambition. 
 I have shown thee thy Captivity to Law ; yet bade thee 
 
 hide Humilities : 
 
490 Sjp ««&. 
 
 T have lifted the curtains of Memory : and smoothed the 
 soft pillow of Best. 
 
 Experience had his soher hour; and Character its keen 
 appreciation ; 
 
 And holy Anger stood sublime, where Hatred fell con- 
 demned. 
 
 Prayer spake the mind of God, even in His own good 
 words : 
 
 And Zeal, with kindness warmly mixt, allied him to 
 Discretion. 
 
 T taught thee that nothing is a Trifle, even to the laugh 
 of Eecreation ; 
 
 I led thee with the Train of Religion, to be dazzled at 
 the name of the Triune. 
 
 Thought confessed his unseen fears ; and Speech de- 
 clared his triumphs ; 
 
 I sang the blessedness of Books; and commended the 
 prudence of a Letter : 
 
 Riches found their room, either unto honour — or de- 
 spising : 
 
 Inventions took their lower place, for all things come of 
 God. 
 
 I scorned Eidicule ; nor would humble me for Praise ; 
 for I had gained Self-knowledge ; 
 
 And pleaded fervently for Brutes, who suffer for man's 
 sin. 
 
 Then, I rose to Friendship ; and bathed in all the ten- 
 derness of Love ; 
 
 Knew the purity of Marriage ; and blest the face of 
 Children. 
 
 And whereas, by petulance or pride, I had haply said 
 some evil, 
 
&\t <&vib. 491 
 
 Mine after-thought was Tolerance, to bear the faults of 
 
 aU: 
 Many faults, ill to bear, bred the theme of Sorrow ; 
 Many virtues, dear to see, induced the gush of Joy. 
 
 Chus, for awhile, as leaving thee in joy, was I loth to 
 
 break that spell ; 
 I roamed to other things and thoughts, and fashioned 
 
 other books. 
 But in a season of reflection, after many days, 
 A thought stood before me in its garment of the past, — 
 
 and lo, a legion with it ! 
 They came in thronging bands, — I could not fight nor 
 
 fly them, — 
 And so they took me to their tent, the prisoner of 
 
 thoughts. 
 
 Chen, I bade thee greet me well, and heed my cheerful 
 
 counsels ; 
 For every day we have a Friend, who changeth not with 
 
 time. 
 Gladly did I speak of my commission, for I felt it graven 
 
 on my heart, 
 And could not hold my wiser peace, but magnified mine 
 
 office. 
 Mystery had left her echoes in my mind, and I dis- 
 coursed her secret : 
 And thence I turned aside to man, and judged him for 
 
 his Gifts. 
 Beauty, noble thesis, had a world of sweets to sing 
 
 of, 
 
492 Z\ t «nfc 
 
 And dated all her praise from God, the birthday of the 
 
 soul. 
 Thence grew Fame; and Flattery came like A gag; 
 But this was as the nauseous dregs, of that inspiring 
 
 cup : 
 Forth from Flattery sprang in opposition harsh and dull 
 
 Neglect ; 
 And kind Contentment's gentle face to smile away the 
 
 sadness. 
 Life, all buoyancy and light, and Death, that sullen 
 
 silence, 
 Sped the soul to Immortality, the final home of man. 
 Then, in metaphysical review, passed a triple troop, 
 Swift Ideas, sounding Names, and heavily armed 
 
 Things : 
 Faith spake of her achievements even among men her 
 
 brethren ; 
 And Honesty, with open mouth, would vindicate himself: 
 The retrospect of Social life had many truths to tell of. 
 And then I left thee to thy Solitude, learning there of 
 
 Wisdom. 
 
 jfriend and scholar, lover of the right, mine equal kind 
 
 companion, — 
 I prize indeed thy favour, and these sympathies are 
 
 dear: 
 Still, if thy heart be little with me, wot thou well, my 
 
 brother, 
 I canvass not the smiles of praise, nor dread the frowns 
 
 of censure. 
 Through many themes in many thoughts, have we held 
 
 sweet converse ; 
 
S^e ®tt&. 493 
 
 But God alone be praised for mind ! He only is suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 And every thought in every theme by prayer had been 
 established : 
 
 Who then should fear the face of man, when God hath 
 answered prayer ? 
 
 I speak it not in arrogance of heart, but humbly as of 
 justice, 
 
 I think it not in vanity of soul, but tenderly, for grati- 
 tude, — 
 
 God hath blest my mind, and taught it many truths ; 
 
 And I have echoed some to thee, in weakness, yet sin- 
 cerely : 
 
 Yea, though ignorance and error shall have marred those 
 lessons of His teaching, 
 
 I stand in mine own Master's praise, or fall to His re- 
 proof. 
 
 If thou lovest, help me with thy blessing ; if otherwise, 
 mine shall be for thee ; 
 
 If thou approvest, heed my words ; if otherwise, in kind- 
 ness be my teacher. 
 
 Many mingled thoughts for self have warped my better 
 aim; 
 
 Many motives tempted still, to toil for pride or praise : 
 
 Alas, I have loved pride and praise, like others worse or 
 worthier ; 
 
 But hate and fear them now, as snakes that fastened on 
 my hand : 
 
 Sceevola burnt both hand and crime ; but Paul flung 
 the viper on the fire : 
 
 He shook it off, and felt no harm ; so be it ! I renounce 
 them. 
 
494 ftfye (Rift. 
 
 Eebuke then, if thou wilt rebuke, — but neither hastily 
 
 nor harshly ; 
 Or, if thou wilt commend, be it honestly, of right : T 
 
 work for God and good. 
 
 TEA02. 
 
 LONDON : 
 G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
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