,^ .# ^^^^^ <^^^«'tz,^o, Oo PAUL'S LILIES "CONSIDER THE LILIES" SOME WRITTEN , SOME LOVED, BY THE BOY Class eS Z C 07 Book.. ^a^n^'C CoByiightl*!" " COFKRIOHT DEPOSIT ■^^1 PAUL IVARXER ESMOXD. What is Lifer A rolling pebble IV hat is Lifer A grain of sand. What IS Lifer A falling snowfiake hi the holloic of Death's hand. Life and Death. Take them tcgcilie Do they form A soi/i's brief Ji our Can you question Life Eternal f Can you question God's great power' .^^^ OF CHlc^ PAULS LILIES "CONSIDER THE LILIES" SOME WRITTEN, SOME LOVED, BY THE BOY BROADWAY PUBLISHING COMPANY NEW YORK. Library of congress Two CoDie? Rijceived NOV 17 t908 Oopyriiint r.ntry ^ CLASS Oc KXC, No, copy a. j \. b ^A A ^ Copyright, 1V»08. BY DARWIN W. ESMOND ./// A'/V///.? Restn'fd PAUL'S PUSSY WILLOWS. The first to bud in springtime, and from its golden bloom, Paul has carried many a token of his love To tJie teaelier at the sehool desk, zi'here they zuithered all too soon. But lehispered of the deathless flou'ers above. :blue FLAQ CONTENTS. PAGE Absence of a Loved One 64 A Child's Thought 60 An Advertisement 30 A Flower Seed 34 A Toast to Spain 56 Autumn Musings 45 December 50 Endure the Task, the Morning Comes TJ Entered Into Rest 67 Filial Love 14 Foreshadowing — Dedicated to Paul, by Rev. Wm. J. Tilley 4 Gentle Words 63 Hail and Farewell 'J^ Home of the Soul 83 I Love the Blessed Paths 53 Imitation of Paul 75 In Memoriam 91 In Memory of Paul 87 Johnnie's Fourth of July 23 Life 17 Life's Victory 82 Lines in Memory of Little Herbert Mustin 85 Mary 41 My Heart Breala^ — Girlie's Dead 'j'i U Contents. PAGE My Steed ., 69 Ode to a Snow-Ball .' 28 On the River's Bank at Night 38 Paul Warner Esmond, A Blessed Memory I Paul Warner Esmond 7 Response to an Advertisement 31 Rest With Thee, O God 81 Ring Out Your Joy, Glad Bells 19 The Anemone 40 The Broken Circle 16 The Bells of Pontiac 54 The Chariot Race 20 The Chase— Lady Bird Wins 68 The Child Eternal— Jessie Ward 12 The Girl from Sun-set Town 27 The Saviour's Call 62 The Sleeping Twins 70 The Voices of the Bells 43 To a Departed Mother 36 To the Close Communionists 49 To My Love 51 To Paul Warner Esmond 3 To the Reader 13 Victory 65 When Professor Minard is Great 47 1 V/V.---^ ' pau].«s o>vk ims lu'llowhui, and with kind pcrniissioii of Tube r-P rang Art Co., N. Y. GERALDINE LAURA AMELIA WARD. Grandmother of the boy, who read to him from the Bible each day, and very many volumes of prose and verse. At 8i years of age she survives him, but longs for the day when they shall meet again. He always gave her the first flower of Spring and the last one of Fall, and is waiting for her at the gate of pearl with flowers that never fade. IN MEMORIAM. PAUL WARNER ESMOND. This volume contains original poems writ- ten by Paul before he had reached his teens, and the writings of others, especial favorites with him. It is also a pictorial history of this child- poet's life. Many of the photographs were taken by him. THE FIELD. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. — S. Matthew vi, 28, 29. THE TEMPLE OF GOD. And upon the top of the pillars was lily- work, and so the work of the pillars was finished. And it was a hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies. — i Kings vii, 22, 26. THE MASTER. I am the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the Valley. As a lily among thorns so is my love. — Cant, ii, i. DEDICATION BY REV. WARNER E. L. WARD, RECTOR SAINT PAUL'S CHURCH, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. PAUL WARNER ESMOND. The Rector's heart is sad indeed for the hour is come when we must record the falling asleep in Jesus of his dearly beloved nephew, Paul Warner Esmond, whose sweet, wonderful poems have so often brought help to the hearts and tears to the eyes of many. No lovelier flower has been culled from earthly gardens to grace the heavenly courts, and the little chaplet of verses he has left be- hind will be an enduring memory with those who loved him best. Born on the seventh of September, 1893, ^^ lived a joyous little life, until called by seri- ous accidents to be a heroic sufferer in his last few years, and even then he was always bright, cheerful and philosophical — the light of his home. His sufferings seemed the crushing of the violet which caused its sweetest perfume to exhale. His exceptional poetical genius gave great promise of a wide career of useful- ness, but his Heavenly Father and the Saviour whom he loved so earnestly had use for him in other to us unknown fields, to which They called him on Wednesday, February twenty- seventh, leaving a family bowed in deepest grief. The same hand that baptized him, anointed 2 Poetrp of him, and gave him his last earthly blessing, committed his dear body to the dust, and it was the hand of one who loved him. May he rest in peace. "He has solved it, Life's wonderful problem. The deepest, the strangest, the last. And into the school of the angels With the answer in silence has passed. It is idle to talk of the future — The "bright might have been" through our tears, God knows all about it, and took him Away from the incoming years. God knew all about those who loved him, How bitter the trial must be, And right through it all God is loving. And knows so much better than we," c:|)tiDi)ODD TO PAUL WARNER ESMOND. "I cannot believe that earth is man's abiding place. It cannot be that our life is cast up by the ocean of Eternity, to float for a moment on its surface, and then vanish forever. We are born for a higher destiny than that of earth. There is a realm where the rainbow never fades, — where the stars never set, and where the beings that now pass before us like shadows will stay in our presence forever." These words of Prentice come irresistibly to my thought as I recall the gentle soul that has passed beyond Time's boundary into the Silent Land. For his modesty and ingenu- ousness, — his courage and childlike simplicity, — the wisdom beyond his years. In a word, for that rare, mysterious gift of Genius, and for all that he was as I knew him, I am most grateful to have been privileged to count him my friend, and to him I lovingly dedicate this poem. Poetrp of FORESHADOWINGS. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard." Does he not oft, who in the twilight sits and listens, After the noisy tumult of the boisterous day, Catch, in the hush and quiet, wondrous strains of music Wafted in sweetest cadence on the breezes' play ; Now swelling, now receding. Then dying in air away? And hast thou never, 'mid life's battle and con- fusion, When, 'mid the vexing turmoil of the clamor- ous time, There came a pause — heard in the blessed still- ness The distant music of the everlasting chime; Now swelling, now receding. In symphony sublime? And hast thou not, when on thy raptured vision Has beamed a face in which all heavenly graces shine. CJ)ilDJ)OOD 5 Thought there was half revealed, e'en in that face's beauty, Suggestion of a radiance even more divine; Dim, shadow^y, yet prophetic, Mysterious, undefined? O, earth is full of symbols and prophetic voices. Of sense more deep than finite blindness e'er shall see; We catch here but a glimpse, a strain, a vague suggestion. The faintest image of the glory yet to be, When time, in tone majestic, Proclaims Eternity. To Faith's keen eye alone the veil is partly lifted, And beams of heavenly radiance pierce the murkiest cloud, The ear of Love full oft discerns celestial music. Which to the grosser ear of Sense is ne'er allow^ed ; Though, to the soul in waiting, 'Tis strangely clear, and loud. The rarest pearls are found deep hid in stillest caverns, Far from the noisy babblings of the pebbly shore. So truth comes to the soul in hours of sacred silence, 6 Poetrp of Far from the prating rabble's senseless rush and roar; Truth dwells with God, in quiet, For him whose heart is pure. — William James Tilley, B. D, €biinboot^ PAUL WARNER ESMOND. Let me wash my hands and say a prayer, for the things of which I write are Holy things. The earnest boy whose dear life inspired this little book, and whose genius has filled its pages, was born at Newburgh, New York, in his home overlooking the Hudson, September 7th, 1893. His father was of old New Eng- land parentage and his mother grew up in one of the garden spots of our country — Northern Illinois. Nature smiled on Paul ; he was as straight as an arrow, beautiful as a flower, quick and able at anything that came to his hand to do. His home was suited to a boy's life, with large play grounds, adjoining a spacious park, and covered with a wealth of floral beauty, for which he early showed his love. Here he passed his thirteen years of active joyous life. His trend was toward merriment, and though quick to learn, he was all a boy, alert for sport and watchful for the fun in things. He had a boy's idolatry for the horse, it was his special favorite. With loads of girls and boys he was often seen flying over the hills and 8 Poetrp of through the valleys of his picturesque sur- roundings. Now and then in the last months of his life, when illness shut him indoors, chess and bil- liards, with both of which he became most expert, called in his friends to many a glad hour. After Paul's first year of learning, under private tutorage, he was a constant attendant at the public school, ready at his books, and most gentle and loving toward his teachers and all whom he met. He succeeded at what- ever came to his hand. Pyrography, drawing, and painting came naturally. His grandmother, past eighty when he left her, was his constant companion indoors ; when up, the first of the household in the morning; taking his daily rest, or busy with pencil or brush, she was wont to read to him hour after hour, from the best authors of all the ages. The Koran, Scott's works, Stanley's, Bunyan's, Moore's, Victor Hugo's he very much loved. From his earliest days he loved poetry, and his desk and books are full of clippings and quotations, much of his treasured stock ap- pears in this volume. He wrote rapidly and seldom corrected his verse ; at times he would seize a pad and write as fast as his hand could move. He told us he had been thinking and dreaming the poems out for days before. He was writing a story when he ceased to labor on earth. His command of language was ap- parently unlimited. He could declaim for hours most charmingly. His death seemed to come from a series of misfortunes, and possibly from a lack of watchfulness by those who loved him best. Paul was recognized by all who met him as perfect in deportment, charming in conversa- tion, and several hundred letters expressive of the esteem in which he was held, and the loss his death had caused, came from every quarter of the land and from across the seas. Paul was a cheerful companion, with wit and humor always at command ; one who respected God, loved every thing in nature, was ever obedient, solicitous for the welfare of his loved ones, a child with a man's soul and an angel's heart. To take such a boy out of the Home and Life has broken the chain of hope, shipwrecked peace, darkened the sun, made life a burden and song a wail. It seems as if it will do any child good to see his pictures, many of them by his own hand, and read his sweet verses, and it must inspire both the young and the aged to receive the blessed testimonies he has consecrated to hope. Too young so soon to die, and yet, If greater fields of work await him in the better life. His feet and hands are just as busy still, Doing his Master's will, without complaint or strife. lo Poettp of I think of Dear Paul, as a star, ever more bright and clear, and sing these words, in memory of him. We shall reach the summer land, some sweet day, by and by ; We shall press the golden strand, some sweet day, by and by ; O the loved ones watching there, by the tree of life so fair, Till we come their life to share, some sweet day, by and by. By and by, some sweet day, We shall meet our loved ones gone, some sweet day, by and by. At the crystal river's brink, some sweet day, by and by, We shall find each broken link, some sweet day, by and by. Then the star, that fading here, left our hearts and homes so drear. We shall see more bright and clear, some sweet day, by and by. By and by, some sweet day, We shall meet our loved ones gone, some sweet day, by and by. CI)ilD|)OOD II O these parting scenes will end, some sweet : day, by and by, :! We shall gather friend with friend, some sweet : day, by and by ; ;l There before our Father's throne, when the \ winds and clouds have flown, ] We shall know, as we are known, some sweet ' day, by and by, By and by, yes, by and by, some sweet day, ,i We shall meet our loved ones gone, I some sweet day, by and by. | — Mary E. Round, 12 Poetrp of THE CHILD ETERNAL. I heard their prayers and kissed their sleepy- eyes, And tucked them in all warm from feet to head, To wake again with morning's glad sunrise, — Then came where he lay dead. On cold still mouth I laid my lips. Asleep He lay, to wake the other side God's door, My other children mine to love and keep, But this one mine no more. Those other children long to men have grown, — Strange hurried men who give me passing thought. Then go their ways. No longer now my own. Without me they have wrought. So when night comes, and seeking mother's knee, Tired childish feet turn home at eventide, I fold him close — the child that's left to me. My little lad who died. — Irene Fowler Brown. With loving memory of Paul from Aunty, Jessie Ward. r ■f I'V CASTKR tlLY AGE 6 YEARS. As the desert, lone and dreary, As the rough and stormy sea, As the midnight, dark and gloomy Js thy absence unto me. CftilDftooD 13 TO THE READER. As the dew-drop to the flower, As the sunlight to the day, As the moonbeams in their power, Is thy presence unto me. As the desert lone and dreary, As the rough and stormy sea, As the Midnight dark and gloomy. Is thy absence unto me. 14 Poettp of FILIAL LOVE. AN ALL souls' DAY REVERIE. Who saith that when the aged die And find a couch in mouldering clay That lightly parts the loosened tie And scarcely mourn'd they pass away? Speak ! ye who o'er their calm decline » Have bent so tenderly and long, | Did filial love its charge resign And careless seek the unsaddened throng? When to your brow their dying eye With speechless recollection clung, Burst from your breast no bitter sigh? No pang convulsive chained your tongue! Speak ! ye who by a father's side So fondly sat while years swept by, Making his hoary locks your pride And learning how the righteous die. Who deftly culled from storied page Sweets o'er the deafened ear to strew, And quickened oft your homeward step Because that dim eye watched for you CfillOftOOD 15 Say, — was the shaft of anguish slight Or soon dispelled the painful gloom When sank your counsellor and guide A tenant to the voiceless tomb? Hence with the thought! It is not so! Methinks e'en deeper woe should wait Their loss whose rooted virtues show The ripeness of a longer date. When wisdom's crown, so meekly worn, Is shrouded 'mid their frosted hair, And from a younger race's withdrawn The example they but ill could spare. With smitten heart and lingering sigh We miss them from our side away. Then deem not, when the aged die. The tear is cold that dews the clay. i6 Poettp of THE BROKEN CIRCLE. Vvt mourn for the loved and cherished, Called hence in their early bloom, Like fair young flowers that perished In the glow of their rich perfume. We weep for the circle broken Of affection's severed ties, And embalm every garnered token Of the lost ones in hallowed sighs. But we mourn not in hopeless sorrow, Our darkness is not all gloom, For from Faith can our torn hearts borrow A light that illumes the tomb. And a message of peace doth greeet us From the loved ones borne to their rest. Though they come not to earth to meet us, We shall go to them in their bliss. PAUL'S BROTHER WILLIAA[. Who preceded him to the Holy City. 'And the streets of the eity shall be full of boys and girls, play- ing in the streets thereof." ^^- ^'^^^■^^MJUS SWEET PRAYERS. ^" l^^iii^God, help me. Oh ! God, help us all." "Oh ! Lord my Maker, my Redeemer, niv Pfeserver, help me — and help us all." :^ / When his father was away, he always asked ' • j^l / this blessing: V "Oh! Lord, we thank Thee for the Gifts ^.^hou hast bestowed upon us, and pray that \^f Thou wouldst keep and guide us in Thy holy ? V wa^^s. OR *'Oh ! Lord, bless the food Thou hast pro- vided for us, for Christ's sake, Amen." The Lord's prayer. The child's prayer. ''Oh ! Lord, bless Papa and Mama and Grandma and Uncle Warner and Auntie Jes- sie and Cousin Hattie and Paul and every one, for Christ's sake. Amen." "Good night ! Night ze night." "I hope you won't have any d^pg^fl^i^it you have them, have them happy.' Daisies from Hattie For Grace and Paul. CftilDftooD 17 LIFE. "Life is the childhood of immortality." — Goethe, What is Life? A fleeting pleasure, What is Life? A passing wave, What is Life ? A soul's endeavor, Life is but temptation's slave. What is Life ? A mighty battle, What is Life ? A tossing sea. What is Life ? A strife with evil That we may victorious be. What is Life? A tideless ripple, What is Life? A joyous day. What is Life? A strife forever For earth's mammon and earth's sway. i8 Poettp of What is Life ? A quivering aspen, What is Life? An empty dream, What is Life? A passing eddy In the ever-flowing stream. What is Life? A rolling pebble, What is Life? A grain of sand, What is Life? A falling snow-flake In the hollow of Death's hand. Life and Death, Take them together, Do they form A soul's brief hour? Can you question Life Eternal? Can you question God's great power? I IHHjpMiiN H^avTi LiflHH ^Hpifi^H^H '^'''u Among the Leave.^ CbiiaftooD 43 THE VOICES OF THE BELLS. I stood on the side of a leafy hill One summer Sabbath morn, When the fragrant air was so hushed and still, It scarcely rustled the standing corn; And the sun shone so bright, And the trees looked so green, And such a heavenly light Streamed the branches between That an air of delight Seemed to dimple the scene. An air of delight, as though the earth And the trees and the standing corn Rejoiced together to welcome the birth Of that summer Sabbath morn. The fragrant air was hushed and still Save the gurgling plash of the shallow rill, The Song of the joyous bird. And the drowsy hum of the glittering flies. Like drops of sunshine from the skies, — No other sound was heard. All was so tranquil, above, around, Such a sense of repose seemed to hang o'er the ground. So lazily the cattle lay; 44 Poetrp of It seemed as if nature herself obeyed The word of the mighty voice which said : *'Thoii shalt keep holy the Sabbath day." Why is it that still 'mid the fairest scenes The heart is touched with sadness? Why is it that grief o'er the spirit steals When all around is gladness? And why as I stood on that leafy hill Did a nameless fear my bosom chill That whispered to me: 'Though the earth be fair, And the sun shine bright, and the balmy air Be vocal with sweetest melody. And the flowers be beautiful to see ; Yet a day will come when the wintry wind, And the biting frost will not leave behind A vestige of the bright array." -• X ^ < Hilliards was Paul's fai'oritc pastime; in the I II he excelled. Where Paul Wrote and Dreamed. CftilDftOOB 45 AUTUMN MUSINGS. 'Tis Autumn now. Half pleased, half sad I list To the wind's low and melancholy sigh ; That sad low sigh that Autumn winds will breathe Whene'er the leaves are falling and the trees Tossing their leafless branches high in air: When the year's death is nigh and, blossoming fair, Those bright sweet flowers have faded, drooped and died, Save some lone floweret that perchance doth bloom, Seeming so sad amid the loneliness That we might almost grieve for it, as one Whose kindred all are gone — who stands alone Mourning above the wrecks of loveliness And waiting death, that calmer of all griefs. The sun is high in heaven, but still its beams Fall not as they were wont. There is no bloom. No lovely thing for it to shine upon. And day by day it seems to rise more slowly. And to leave the world in haste. Winter will come And cast his icy mantle o'er the scene; But yet we know Spring will return again. 46 Poettp of Then flowers will bloom, and birds will wake the song, And all bright things return. Yet no ! not all ! There are some lovelier than the fairest flow- ers. Some who have left us with the dying year That will not come with the Spring's waken- ing. For they were of a world where Death has power O'er all bright things; and he has breathed around, And bright sweet smiles and voices that had been Like music 'round our way, all, all, are gone Down to the silent tomb. We may not call them back. There is no power e'en in the deepest love To stay one hour that dark, dread summons to the grave. AGE II YEARS. For all we know, free from any disease or threatening death. bt^H S o ^ s,,^.^^ :^ S ^^ S r r5 '^'^-.-^ ?J-" 2^.^ ^ C!)ilDJ)ooD 47 WHEN PROFESSOR MINARD IS GREAT. Oh ! the great Professor Minard, What a noble man was he When he drew forth the rawhide And issued a decree : ''Let none come without their home-work ''Lest they wish to rue the day, "For I promise they shall do it "In a sad and sorry way." Oh ! the great Professor Minard, What a noble man was he When on the morning after He stood glaring at poor me. "Where's your home-work?" then he ques- tioned, And in sorry tones I said : — "O sir ! I forgot it ! I mean, — "It's home in bed !" Oh ! the great Professor Minard, What a noble man was he When he grabbed me by the collar And flopped me on his knee ; Then he took from off the school desk The ferrule and the rod, And applied them without ceasing To the handiwork of God. 48 Poctrp of And in sorry plight he left me, And I passed the schoolhouse door With a fixed determination To enter it no more ; For the great Professor Minard, Though a noble man is he, Oh! dear children of his district. Try not his nobility. RECTOR UF SAINT PAUL'S, HROOKLVX— DRA^^l ATIC SOCIETY OE THE CHURCH. Paul as Censor. Tliroiic/h kindness of Paul's friends, the Misses Balliet. CJ)ilD{)OOD 49 TO THE CLOSE COMMUNICANTS. This ain't the pen you didn't sell, Howe'er it suits us very well. And now we've got a post-card shop That, 'side of yours, is way up top. You keep your pens, — hang to 'em fast. Your fate is sealed. Your die is cast. Your post-card trade will stop for good. We sell 'em as a fellow should. You've got a hundred, maybe two, We've got a thousand 'side of you. Let's see you sell 'em six for five. On this low rate we live and thrive. Our corporate name is signed below, And I'm the boss, of course you know, And when you find that you're outdone, You'll find that we are number one. THE UNIVERSAL, AMERICAN, EURO- PEAN, ASIATIC, AUSTRALIAN, CA- NADIAN AND POLAR REGION GILT EDGED POST-CARD SUPPLY COM- PANY. CHIEF BOSS AND BIG GUN, YOUR RE- SPECTFUL BUT INDEPENDENT FRIEND, PAUL WARNER ESMOND. 50 Poettp of DECEMBER. In a drear night of December Oh happy, happy tree Thy branches ne'er remember Their green feUcity, In a drear night of December Oh happy, happy brook Thy babbUngs ne'er remember Apollo's summer look, But with this sweet forgetting They stay their crystal fretting. Never, never petting About the frozen time. Ah! would 'twere so with many A little girl and boy ! But were there ever any That writhed not at past joy. To know the change and feel it, When there is none to heal it, Nor humbug sense to steal it, Was never said in rime. AUXTIE JESSIE AND HER SHADOW. A freak of Panl's camera, under his own hand. Orf the Playground long enough to be taken l)y his friend, Harold Livingston Thonnas, of West Point. X. Y. C{)iia{)OOD 51 TO MY LOVE. With fairest flowers whilst Summer lasts Thy grave my love shall be strown, And when beneath the Winter's blasts The flowers have sunk, their beauty flown, Fond thoughts of thee shall deck thy place With all of beauty and of grace. Thou shalt not lack whilst Summer reigns Pale primrose, emblem of thy bloom, The azure'd harebell, like thy veins. The leaf of eglantine's perfume, Which, not to slander, cannot claim More sweetness than thine own loved name. From all that blooms most like to you Culled with so many a tender thought, Sw^eet nurselings of the sun and dew Shall daily by our hands be brought To deck the place where thou art laid And fit it for thy gentle shade. We'll gather for thee from the lawn Blue violets, most like thine own eyes, For they, like thee all pure, have drawn Their beauty from the fairest skies, Spreading their bosoms to the sun As thou thy heart to God hast done. 52 Poettp of But sweeter far than breath of flowers Thy memory shall linger 'round Soothing our hearts the many hours We kneel close to thy hallow'd mound, And pour out all our souls in prayer That we thy purity may share. The fairies of a poet's heaven Shall sacred hold thy flowering sod, To angels shall the task be given To guard it hallov/ed to thy God, That none but wounded hearts repair To breathe their adoration there. The flowers we strew in bloom along, Meet emblems are they thus of thee ; And when their bloom and beauty's gone, Alas ! they still will emblems be. The fairest still since Eden's day Are sharers in a quick decay. My icaiidcriiu/ feci Jnivc trod tiicsc paths to-day lilicrc I so late, li'itli thcc, in ioxaiicc icctit. CftiltsftooD 53 I LOVE THE BLESSED PATHS WHICH THE STILL FEET ONCE TROD. My wandering feet have trod those paths to- day Where I so late with thee in joyance went, And gladly thitherward my steps I bent, Turning me from the dust and din away And tracing with a saddened joy each spot Hallowed by some remembrance of thee; A smile, a tone, that cannot be forgot. Places whose every charm was won from thee. And therefore do I love the grassy way And every path that thou hast wandered o'er, And as a miser counts his secret store When darkness has obscured the light of day, So I in thy absence, which is my heart's night, Thy treasured words and smiles recall with deep delight, Dearest, thy name, as if sweet muses own. Hath e'er for me a strange and thrilling power. Like love-words whispered in the twilight lone Which melt the soul with their delicious dower. 54 poetrp of THE BELLS OF PONTIAC. Those wedding bells! those wedding bells! What joy their swelling music tells. What promise of glad days to come Within the newly budding home. Those wedding bells! those wedding bells! As their sweet cadence sinks and swells, I dream of rapture and content, Of hours and days in joy well spent. The sweet confiding of two hearts, Of trusting love that never parts. The hands that, joined by Heaven's pure bann, Make one the maiden and the man. Those silver bells! those golden bells! Speak forth the birth of joy that wells From love sublime, — of heaven's peace. A promise that shall never cease. The world is wide, the skies are high, Their dream is of the by and by, WHien joy so strange, so new, so just. Shall ripen into perfect trust. CftilDftOOD 55 Those wedding bells ! those wedding bells ! No dirge, no mournful sounding knells, Shall ever tell of blasted hope, Of broken vow, or sanded rope. For year on year their love shall grow Still brighter in the afterglow; And into heavenly union sweet Shall come at last their journeying feet. (Written for the wedding of his cousin, Hat- tie E. Wasmuth, of Pontiac, Illinois.) 56 Poetrp of A TOAST TO SPAIN. I've roamed through your cities, and lovely and bright, Are the faces and forms that have greeted my sight. With cheeks where the bright rose has shadowed its hue, And the smiles that beam out from the eye's tender blue. A slave to their charms through the long day am I, But when night draws its star-studded veil o'er the sky, I break from their thraldom, and fly in my dreams Far away from the land where their fair beauty beams To the land where like water flows forth the red wine, To the land of the olive, the land of the vine, Where the bold mountains stoop o'er the soft rolling plain. To the land of my fathers, — my own native Spain. A.S swift as the wind my gay dreams bear me on, Cf)lIDi)OPD 57 Over mountain and valley, o'er hillock and stone, Over churches and coverts all hoary and old. With their stones thick encrusted with cen- turies' mold, Like lightning I speed, nor take rest in my flight, Till the home of my childhood breaks full on my sight. By the Douro that rushes to meet the blue sea. Through the loveliest of valleys that e'er there could be. To the land where like water flows forth the red wine, To the land of the olive, the land of the vine, Where the bold mountains stoop o'er the soft rolling plain, To the land of my fathers, — my own native Spain. And the scene that my heart ever paints to me there Is an avenue bordered with foliage rare Where the air is perfumed with the orange and lime And the sky wears the blue of our warm south- ern clime, And beneath its cool shade wander maidens as bright As the Houris that rove through the gardens of light. For the brightest and fairest of beauty's gay train 58 poetrp of Are the maidens that smile in our own sunny Spain : To the land where like water flows forth the red wine, To the land of the olive, the land of the vine, Where the bold mountains stoop o'er the soft rolling plain. To the land of my fathers, — my own native Spain. And I watch for the one w^hom I parted with there, With her dark sparkling eyes and her raven- black hair. And the light veil that shaded with each grace- ful fold A cheek that was fashioned in beauty's soft mold, With a swift springing step and a lithe grace- ful form, And a soul that beams out unfettered and warm ; Ah ! when but in dreams shall I welcome again That fair girl that I left in my own sunny Spain. To the land where like water flows forth the red wine. To the land of the olive, the land of the vine, Where the bold mountains stoop o'er the soft rolling plain. To the land of my fathers, — my own native Spain. CftilD&ooD 59 Now drink, my good friends, and fill up to the brim. Scout sorrow and trouble, let mirth enter in, Quaff off the red wine to our own well-loved Spain, To that land rich in beauty, that land rich in fame. There is not an ocean that knows not her flag. There is not a country that loves not her crag, So pledge me, I pray ye, with good hearts and true, To a land of such beauty now waiting for you, To the land where like water flows forth the red wine, To the land of the olive, the land of the vine. Where the bold mountains stoop o'er the soft rolling plain, To the land of my fathers, — my own native Spain. 6o Poettp of A CHILD'S THOUGHT. (After a Storm.) She stood with open lips and earnest eye Her face turned upward toward the sombre sky Watching the heavy clouds that o'er the blue The deepening darkness of their shadows threw, While ever and anon a quivering light Burst from their folds and made them briefly bright, A moment's splendor, quenched in deeper gloom. And followed by the far off thunder's boom. Delight, half tempered by religious awe, Kindled her face at all she heard and saw, And her clear eye grew brighter with the glow Of thoughts that stirred her bosom's depth below. What radiant vision to her gaze was given? What rapturous melody was heard from heaven? For who beheld her then, all eye, all ear. Tranced in a bliss too perfect for our sphere, Might well believe she held communion high CftilDftooD 6i With the pure spirits of the upper sky, And heard the songs that ransomed spirits sing, And golden harps with music quivering. "Daughter," her mother said with gentlest tone, "Too long you linger while the rain comes on. "Haste, for the clouds grow darker. "It will storm." And then the child Looked in her mother's serious face, and smiled With more of meaning than could be allied To human words. "O, Mother dear," she cried, As burst again the thunder's sullen roar, "I hear God's horses trampling heaven's high floor." 62 Poettp of THE SAVIOUR'S CALL. Now as our Lord was journeying By the Galilean sea, He saw two brothers fishing, And whispered, "Follow Me." And straightway Andrew followed. With Peter by his side. And then in awe-struck wonder They listened to their Guide. He stood one hand uplifted Toward God's immortal throne, And speaking to the brothers In a soul inspiring tone, He cried, "Fishermen, I will make you Fishers of men alone." And as He turned, departing, They followed the Holy One. AS A MEMBER OF SAEXT GEORGE'S CHOIR— XEW BURGH. Tlic voice that sang God's praises with the earthly choir Has joined itmiuiiibered hosts around His throne, There is now on earth, no beauty, no rose ■leitliout it brier, And so lee make our pilgrimage alone. But if tlie Master's business has need of liim above, And ive sit in tears and long to hear his song, It is blessed to remember, lie still z^'orks above in love. And our journey, to his field of toil, -zeill not be long. OVERLOOKING THE HUDSON. At the Summer House, Downing Park. /;/ the better zcorld beyond us, free from pain and strife The fJozvers exhale a healing for all zvoe : The balmy air around them is freighted with neiv life, The shady leaves will shield from ez'ery foe. G&ilDftooD 63 GENTLE WORDS. Use gentle words, for who can tell The blessings they impart? How oft they fall, as manna fell, On some nigh fainting heart. In lonely wilds, by light-winged birds Rare seeds have oft been sown ; And hope has sprung from gentle words, Where only griefs had grown. 64 poetrp of ABSENCE OF A LOVED ONE. Beloved, how slowly flee the hours, How heavily Time speeds on his wings, Nature, though robed in beauteous flowers, To my sad heart no pleasure brings. Hope on my pathway does not smile. Nor joy my footsteps yet illume. Sadness which mirth can ne'er beguile Spreads o'er my soul its deepest gloom. When shall the music of thy voice Sweep o'er me its melodious strain? When shall thy beaming face rejoice And lighten o'er my heart again? Taken by Paul's friend, W. Dewey Decker, of Xew York Citv. U'Jirii st(irni-st(iyi\I icitJiiii chess i^'us /'(/;r/'.v fiii'oritr ^'W^'*^<»*^^A»-*^ '►^"'-^ » H^»«-«^<^*^"'=^ JLiH U. *1Wvv^ '^-T!)- (^■»■^ ^ ^-.■ ^ ■ . i > — t ■ . >. . CftilDftooO ^ MY STEED. My steed, my steed, my gallant steed, He proudly steps, so light, so free; As swift as eagle's flight his speed When lightly bounding o'er the lea, With arching neck and flowing mane. His hoofs scarce touch the grassy plain. My noble steed, how bright his eye ! How startling is his thrilling neigh ! His head he tosses toward the sky. Then like a deer he springs away. And when his rider's voice he hears He points like feathered darts his ears. My steed, my steed, my prancing steed, How gallantly he bears me on, Leaping each fence his paths impede. O'er hedge and bank we lightly spring Swift as an eagle on the wing, Onward, until the goal is won. 70 Poetrp of THE SLEEPING TWINS. Oh ! beautiful is childhood's sleep As summer's long and sunny day, When gentle streams in murmurs leap And glide in purity away, Giving to grassy banks their spray To deck them with a freshening green. Where midst their shade the fairies play. And tribes of tuneful birds are seen. There in each other's arms they lie, Like Love and Peace together laid, While softly o'er each drooping eye Falls its fair lid's protecting shade. Their romping gladness now has weighed Those airy forms to sweet repose, — Sleep on, — no opiate can persuade Such rest as careless childhood knows. Yes, let them sleep among the flowers, Where from their rosy cheeks each tress Is flung abroad in golden showers Upon the mossy bed they press. Their dreams perchance we may not guess. But if those smiles aright can tell. CljilDftooD 71 Fancies of cloudless happiness Within those infant bosoms swell. Ah ! little, little do they deem, While in those flowery woods they stray Giving their hearts to rapture's dream. That thoughts of fear and sad dismay Fill the far home, where day by day Their steps were watched with jealous care Lest haply to the brook they stray And find a death of terror there. And here as peacefully they lie As if upon their downy bed, Where every night their lullaby In tuneful harmony is said. Look ! how the rose inclines its head As if its beauty now were shown In envy of the cheeks whose red Is fresh and blooming as its own. I gaze, ye lovely slumberers On this your picture of content! And what a tide of feeling stirs, Raised by this gentle sentiment, In the deep caverns of my heart ; A tide that overwhelms the soul With thoughts that make our nature start, Or bid the tears of anguish roll. Oh for a sleep as calm and pure "As that unconscious childhood knew, When rest comes down unwooed and sure, Light as the drops of summer dew; — 7^ Poetrp of Oh that, when years in long review Have brought us cause to sigh and weep, We could bring back the charm that threw Its bliss around our early sleep. JESSIE LOUISE AND MIRIAM WYLIE AND PAUL. The girls are Illinois cousins and the "Sleeping Twins" was dedicated to them. o^>M\ vceY**S •'•"^ •^ -C*^. MU. diX ~Muf¥f t^f>JimmgmJ( itvtt w 'S -wvJ^ , CUlJL ftjuAwMMf UH^ it fc*-^A*«, W» , tl U (aaV «^>^ A*A»»W XUi, M. Ci4l(' a*^ A**VmA.' U^JC) W, VA>AV> »:«, |r^ * C.r,-j^,.c *^-|l«., -^ »^ lCl-*r^, •,<**<»«, ^ Cf)ilDf)OOD 75 IMITATION OF PAUL. With an armful of nasturtiums, to a friend, in the hospital — carrying on the work he loved to do — the flowers fresh with morning dew, from his own garden. To my dear Friend : — Hope, comfort, peace, from this my home above. Would I could hand you one eternal flower. But as I cannot, here's my changeless love. And blossoms of an hour. Lovingly, Paul. 7^ l^oettp of HAIL AND FAREWELL. Thus, ,'*Come" and ''Gone," — What strange ex- tremes These syllables express ! The first may herald hope's fond dreams. Possession to success. The last is eloquent of woe The saddest that we mortals know. 'Tis deprivation's deepest sigh Breathed low beneath the evening sky, Starless and cold, — whose fading ray Can promise no returning day. ''Hail" and "Farewell" — 'tis smiles and tears Blent as the rainbow with the storm. The epitome of hopes and fears, The rosebud and the worm. *Tis life's stern contrast, and must be The motto of mortality. Consolation, MHv*ajaiii?titP»^i'.'Vvr.*v»«rt6ao^i--aB*V*««f^*«^^ 3 Bljall not mant i^t makrtlj mr tn lit &0um in tlj^ gr^^n paatur^B. i^t l^aJurth me bt- Bxht tlj0 HttU tuaters. Uestor- I tl|e patl|H 0f riglftMitaneBB for i^'xB name*0 sake. ^ea, tijnuglf 3 malk tijrnugtf tije l&alleg af ^Iiabnm nf I I Sratlj, 3f mill fear nn eiitl, for I i ®It0u art mttlj me ; ®ljg rob atti I I oltiy staff tljejr romfort me. I I (Jtjnu prepareat a table before me in tlje presenre of mtne enemteH : ®ljou anotnteHt m^ heab mttlj oil ; mg rup runnetlt oner. S^urelg ^oobneHS anh S merry sljall follom me all ttje I Saga of m^ Hife nnh 3( mill itmell in tlje Ifonae of tlje ICorJi I foretter. XXIII Psalm. CftilDftOOD '77 ENDURE THE TEST— THE MORNING COMES. Life is an ocean strangely fraught With woe and weal that we know not ; But well we know that trials deep Across our pathway ever sweep, And trouble's heavy load alway With shadows hides the glorious day. Look! Heavenly radiance! sweet, sublime As beacon lights on high still shine. Oh God ! oh God, when pass away The loved ones from our own short da}^, We pray that when to-morrow's light Touches the mists of this our night, — That when we see the heaven above And think of our Redeemer's love, That we may see it was the best To try us with that awful test. 78 Poettp of MY HEART BREAKS, MY GIRLIE'S DEAD. For my Girlie's left me, Left me all alone, All alone to ponder O'er her empty throne, For she was a Princess, Princess of my heart. Oh, it's all so quiet, And my life's so dark. For my Girlie's left me For another clime, And I've oft, oft wondered At that will Divine That has so deprived me Of my earthly shrine, And my mind oft wonders Why this lot is mine. For my Girlie's left me. Left me, don't you know, O'er and o'er I'm wishing That I, too, might go, Go and join my Girlie, Go and join my love, Go and join my darling In those realms above. For my Girlie's left me, Left me here to pine, Wishing every moment For the end of time. When I hear her birdie Singing by the door, Ever still Fm wishing For that other shore. Oh, I miss my Girlie, Miss her every day. Miss her, Oh so often. From my side away. Oh, my God ! when will you End these weary days ? Oh, I pray Thee, hasten All Thy loving ways. Life has now no pleasure Since my Girlie's gone. All the days are tedious, All the nights are long. Oh, give me my Girlie, Give her back to me Oh, I cry for mercy, Cry on bended knee. I would cast my fortune In the deep blue sea, I would wreck my palaces Only to be free ; For my heart is broken. Broken, yea, in twain, And the bonds that bind it God's eternal chain. 8o Ipoetrp of Give me back my Girlie, 'T is my only cry, I live but to battle With this mighty sigh. Oh, my God! my Maker! Wilt Thou not consent? All my life is wretched. Happiness is spent. y.'. >- -K '— ' -T ' ? Caf^yright 1906, IVolf & Co. ]\"iih kind permission. The latest shadow of Panh (Taken in the hiter days of August, 1906.) C{)il»booD 8i REST WITH THEE, O GOD. As when the mission dove of old Skimmed with slow flight the spreading main And ne'er his weary wings could fold Till welcomed in the ark again, So, tossed upon the rougher wave Of human passion's restless sea, No haven to my soul they gave Till my worn heart found rest with Thee. Like to the fruit all gilded o'er Which turns to dust within the hand. Or like the lake which flies before The traveler on the desert sand, The pleasures which my wild youth sought Proved but a bitter cup to me ; Yet sweet the lesson which has taught My weary heart to rest with Thee. And now when worn with earthly care, With weary strife for fame or gold, The fierce encounters men must bear. Which make the warmest heart groAv cold, Thy words, Thy deeds, have magic power From their dark spells to set me free. And glad I hail the tranquil hour When my worn heart finds rest with Thee. ^2 Poetrp of LIFE'S VICTORY. No more we're waging the eternal battle, No more we're struggling with our heavy load, No more our ship is hurled upon the billows. We rest with God. At last the mighty strife is over. No more we struggle with the surging waves. We stand and gaze at demons lined before us ; They are our slaves. We've conquered, and we've kept that mighty standard, No more we need with blood its folds uphold. No more need we protect with soul and body Its every fold. We've conquered, and we stand again unbaf- fled, We stand upon the summit of success, Happy to think that from their snares around us We fought to happiness. ^ 9 CI)ilDJ)OOD 83 HOME OF THE SOUL. As the shadows gathered, a little while be- fore the Eternal morning came, Paul said, "Father, sing me the 'Home of the Soul.' " And with his mother and grandmother his clear voice joined in this his favorite hymn. "I will sing you a song of that beautiful land, The far away home of the soul Where no storms ever beat on the glittering strand, While the years of eternity roll ; While the years of eternity roll ; Where no storms ever beat on that glittering strand. While the years of eternity roll. Oh, that home of the soul, in my visions and dreams. Its bright jasper walls I can see; Till I fancy but dimly the veil intervenes Between that fair city and me ; Between that fair city and me ; Till I fancy but dimly the veil intervenes Between that fair city and me. Oh, how sweet it will be in that beautiful land. So free from all sorrow and pain, 84 Poetrp of With song's on our lips, and with harps in our hands, To meet one another again ; To meet one another again ; With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands, To meet one another again. There the great trees of life in their beauty do grow, And the river of life floweth by : For no death ever enters that city you know, And nothing that maketh a lie ; And nothing that maketh a lie ; For no death ever enters that city you know, And nothing that maketh a lie." E. H. Gates. Philip Philips. CftilDijooO LINES IN MEMORY OF LITTLE HER- BERT MUSTIN. From us a dear one has gone, A voice we loved is stilled ; The place made vacant at home Can never more be filled. So sudden came the message, That we heard not the rustling wings Of the dark robed Angel that bore him From his parents to heav'nly things. He lingered not long in the valley, For scarce had his feet pressed the sod, Before the freed spirit had entered Its home in the presence of God. His little playmates all loved him, And from each dear one tears fell, As they gathered around his casket And bade the sleeper farewell. So they smoothed the hair from his forehead. Placed the dear little hands on his breast; With flowers frona Paul in his casket, They laid little Herbert to rest. 86 POCttp Of Bowing- low in deepest submission, Though our hearts are sad and lone, We would say : O Thou who gavest, Not our will but thine be done. — By a Grandma. Herbert Mustin, a sweet child, well known to Paul, died a few months after Paul fell asleep. Flowers from Paul's own garden were placed in the dear departed little boy's hand when he was buried. .-icross the floii.'crs that ci'oi'.'ii /ilni Into his guarded tent: 11 e (jaze to see life's soldier, yoinu/ and fair. But our ehief is noic off duty. Oh shoie us -ichere he leejit. And l:7in