LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 i^t ^w^w $^ 
 
 Shelf ..aC_J 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 NOV 15 1883 
 
HEART'S OWN 
 
 VERSES 
 
 BY 
 
 r 
 
 EDWIN RrCHAMPLIN 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY 
 
 1886 
 
.Co 
 
 Copyriglit, 188G, 
 
 Py EDWIN R. (JHAMPLIK 
 
 uiU Rights Reserved. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Prefatory Note ..... ix 
 
 Memories ...... 11 
 
 A Lover's Mood 12 
 
 A Lost Boy ..... lo 
 Defense . . . • . . .15 
 
 Dying at Eighty . . . . . 15 
 
 On a Friend's Ivetuni . . . . 1<S 
 
 Inheritance . . . . . , 19 
 Love's Faithfulness . . . .2!) 
 
 Loss and Salvation . . . . 21 
 
 When Need is Greatest , . . " . 21 
 
 A Faded Flower 22 
 
 Barriers . . . . . . .24 
 
 Reunion ...... 25 
 
 A Prayer ...... 2(> 
 
 An Old Story 27 
 
 The Things a Little Child Can Do . . 28 
 
 Silent Trust ...... 29 
 
 A Rhyme of Duty .... 30 
 
 A Day ... . :n 
 
 The Lost Messenger . , , . Ml 
 
 Love's Death ...... 32 
 
 A Song of God's Comfort „ ' . 33 
 
 To D. G. R „ .34 
 
iv Heart's Own. 
 
 A Victor's Message .... 35 
 The Wanderer . . . . .35 
 
 A Wanderer's Prayer . , . . 3& 
 
 Attitude 3& 
 
 To a Fellow-worker .... 37 
 
 The Kecall 38 
 
 Transgression ..... 39 
 
 Vanished Lights . . . . .40 
 To a Kose's Remains .... 41 
 
 In May 42 
 
 Criteria ...... 43 
 
 Waiting for Love . . . . .44 
 
 After the Vanishing .... 45 
 
 On a Glimpse (from my Window in May) . 46 
 A Prisoner ...... 47 
 
 In the Hollow of Thy Hand . 48 
 
 The Gift of Years 48 
 
 Remembered . • . . . .49 
 If Thou Shuttest Thine Ear . . 50 
 
 A Motto 50 
 
 Confidence ...... 61 
 
 Growth ....... 52 
 
 Wordswortli . .... 53 
 
 Hearing ....... 54 
 
 Shelter 55 
 
 A Thought after a Petition . .56 
 
 Praise ....... 56 
 
 Provision ..-...• 57 
 
Contents. v 
 
 The Wakened Heart 59 
 
 Two CJrowths ..... 60 
 
 The King's Daughter . . . .GO 
 
 Grant 61 
 
 A Word to O. W. 11 62 
 
 Living Waters ..... 63 
 
 Influence . . . ... . .64 
 
 Mary . 65 
 
 Hope 66 
 
 On Seeing a Boy Playing Clappers . 66 
 
 Christma.s Morning . . , . .67 
 
 Man's Part 68 
 
 The Discovery . . „ . . 69 
 
Out of mij heart I send you forth ^ O tender- 
 thoughted crew, 
 
 And may you find a resting-place in hearts 
 I never haew. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 Most of the pieces in this book have not 
 bdcn published ; those which have been will 
 doubtless be readily recognized by most 
 readers. My aim in bringing these together 
 has been to present a representative collec- 
 tion of my later verse. The fact that the 
 collection contains some pieces of very little 
 consequence should be considered in the 
 light of this reflection. I thank all who 
 have aided me in bringing out the volume, 
 including the J. B. Lippincott Company, 
 who kindly granted the use of " A Lover's 
 Mood," on which they own the copyright. 
 
MEMORIES. 
 
 MUSIC I've heard, I liear you still,— 
 I shall hear you again, — 
 
 I shall hear you forever iii heaven ! 
 
 sweet I have breath'd, I breathe you uow, — 
 I shall breathe you till death, — 
 
 I shall hold all your fragrance forever ! 
 
 skies I have seen, I see you yet, — 
 I shall see you again, — 
 
 I shall see you when new sight is given ! 
 
 thoughts that were dear, I have you still, — 
 I shall have you again, — 
 
 For your music, your breath, and your 
 skies depart never 1 
 
12 Ilcarfs Oivn. 
 
 A LOVER'S MOOD. 
 
 O LIPS, be still, and let the heart make speech: 
 Her lightest thought is far beyond your reach. 
 And, worldly \7isd0m, unto faith give sway: 
 Your brightest light but darkens this dim day. 
 
 A place to rest in, tender sense of love, 
 The heart that seeks still finds, — whate'er ye 
 
 prove. 
 Lip-speech, earth-lore, that men account so 
 
 wise, — 
 Still in the dark hears lovers' sweet replies, 
 
 All heedless of the distance that divides. 
 Since in all space the lover's soul abides, 
 And knows and trusts the heart against its 
 
 own, 
 As heart by tongue to heart is ne'er made 
 
 known. 
 
 Sing, then, thy song, heart whose beat 1 
 
 hear : 
 She is not far when thought of her is near. 
 
A Lost Boy. . 13 
 
 And she must hear thy singing over all 
 That world-lore saith or foolish lips let f\ill. 
 
 A LOST BOY. 
 
 Where is the boy I used to know — 
 My oldest comrade, nearest kin — 
 In the bright lost land of Long Ago, 
 Where all boys longed, with me, to grow 
 To height of men, and the gold to win 
 That we count dross in the land I'm in? 
 
 A thousand times I've wished I knew. 
 Thinking back with sore, sad heart, 
 
 Where that dear comrade wandered to. 
 He did'nt die ; what did he do, 
 
 ( I ask), when he and I did part, 
 And I came on to this land of art? 
 
 I never knew (it seems most strange) 
 The time we parted, — what we said; 
 
 Only know there's a wondrous change, 
 And often wonder where he did range, 
 
14 Htarfs Oivii. 
 
 And (luestion oft if he be dead; — 
 For I haven't seen him since I fled 
 
 The land where we were one, and went 
 Through the common fields with hearts of 
 
 joy, 
 
 Nor dreamed of parting, or discontent 
 
 In the long, long days I here have spent, 
 When I should question for him — lost boy. 
 
 child ! have you found all gold alloy ? 
 
 T see him yet in that far-off land, 
 And he and I in that land are one ! 
 
 If he never returns, I shall see him stand 
 With his fresh bright eye and his fair soft 
 hand. 
 
 In the long, long past; and when that is gone, 
 
 1 may see him where all unto each are 
 
 known ! 
 
Dying (it Eighty. 15 
 
 DEFENSE. 
 
 When shadows of base thoughts upon me 
 8teal, 
 
 My soul her silvery-gleaming shield uprears, 
 
 And every shade darts back to where 'twas 
 born. 
 
 In that dark world whence all death's shad- 
 ows come. 
 
 Love is that shield, and heaven, whence it 
 came, 
 
 Doth reen force it with its own pure light. 
 
 So shall it brighten in the years to be, 
 
 No shade of sin shall dare my soul assail. 
 
 DYING AT EIGHTY. 
 
 JiLY 14, 1886. 
 
 Where art thou now, Friend 
 So near thy journey's end? 
 Hear'st thou through dream the song 
 Thine ears have waited lone;? 
 
16 Heart's Own. 
 
 Seest thou Christ's face and theirs 
 AVho've climbed the heavenly stairs ? 
 Feel'st thou new life and power, 
 Perpetual youth thy dower? 
 
 Or art thou dead to all 
 Sweet sounds from heaven let fall? 
 And seest no face or form, 
 Nor feel'st or cold or warm, 
 Bead as men seem to those 
 Who watch their last repose? 
 
 ^Once thou wert strong and glad; 
 <Once thou didst hear and see. 
 And feel life's good and glee, 
 xVnd none for thee were sad. 
 For all were glad loith thee. 
 
 Some went the same strange way 
 Thou goest; none came back 
 To tell us if their track 
 Lay through the night or day, — 
 
 If silence as in sleep 
 
 Held them fast-bound awhile. 
 
Dying at Eighty. ^7 
 
 And then they woke to smile 
 With those who used to weep, 
 Now free from pain and guile;— 
 
 Or if they went to heaven, 
 
 And, conscious of new rest, 
 
 In end of all their quest, 
 
 Found that for which they'd striven : 
 
 Life of and with the blest ; 
 
 Or if they went to dust. 
 Voiceless and sightless, reft 
 Of all man's glory, left 
 In old Death's hold and trust, 
 Of Life's dear body cleft. 
 
 And now, while thou go'st out 
 As theij went, where the shout 
 Of comrades we ne'er hear. 
 And only dream them near,— 
 We wonder how and where 
 Thou farest— here or there. 
 Yet, though we knew thee well; 
 We shall not hear thee tell. 
 
 Where thou art now, kind heart, 
 
18 Heart's Oicn.. 
 
 None knoweth but in part ; 
 But on what journey gone, 
 Well knoweth every one. 
 Hecu' thou at length the song 
 Thine ears have waited long! 
 See thou Christ's face and theirs 
 Who've climbed the heavenly stairs L 
 Feel thou new life and power, 
 Perpetual youth thy dower! 
 
 ON A FRIEND'S RETURN. 
 
 O FACE that dims all dreams ! 
 Time stops to give thee place ! 
 
 Rare lily of life's streams, — 
 Still lives the olden grace ; 
 
 Still, in thy mouth's bright gleam.- 
 Still, in thine eyes I trace 
 Such love as neither space 
 Nor time can e'er efface. 
 
 Robed in thine olden guise, 
 Lookest thou on me here ;, 
 
Inheritance. 10 
 
 Uncliangcd in any wise, 
 
 Dead to each vanished year, 
 
 'Live to all lover's ties. 
 
 Friends fade and disappear ; 
 Still may I hold thee dear. 
 Faithful thouiih far or near ! 
 
 INHERITANCE. 
 
 The space of the greatest of earth 
 Doth shrink to a little dark dwelling 
 
 T^ot they but a greater doth keep, 
 In spite of their stoutest rebelling. 
 
 AVhen I saw them lie down at Death's call, 
 Poor tenants that late w^ere proud keepers, 
 
 And heard the vast multitudes moan 
 
 At the change that had come to the 
 sleepers, 
 
 I thought of the word of the Lord, 
 
 And I longed that the living might fear it: 
 
 ^' The meek are the blest," saith the word, 
 ^' For they shall the kingdoms inherit." 
 
20 Tlearfs Own. 
 
 LOVE'S FAITHFULNESS. 
 
 Love hid himself from me so many days., 
 I felt myself abandoned ; sick at heart 
 That one I counted true should leave me so^ 
 I thinned, and fevered, and complained, and 
 
 wept; 
 jMy world became a dark, wild-rolling cloudy 
 
 presaging storm ; 
 When, lo ! one day dear Jen came up to me,, 
 And turning her bright eyes full up to mine, 
 And touching her sweet lips against my 
 
 own, — 
 Mine, parched with Love's long absence, 
 
 fain to turn 
 Back into mold, — gave me a clasp 
 Of those rich lips, oft-kissed in dear Love's 
 
 day, [youth. 
 
 That brought Love back in all the bloom of 
 He had not died ; nor fled so far away 
 But that one icord might bring him back 
 
 to m3, — [ days, 
 
 But one long kiss, like those in Love's first 
 Might bring him in the beauty of his youth !. 
 
When Need is Greatest. 21 
 
 LOSS AND SALVATION. 
 
 When the ship went down in the sea, 
 One soul drank the sea to his death, 
 Because there was none underneath 
 
 To hold him up where Life was free, 
 And the sea could not rob him of breath. 
 
 And musing on his destiny, 
 
 I thought, Never one of Christ's crew 
 
 That are beating up Life's troubled sea, 
 
 But the Lord will bring with him, saith he, 
 When the heavenward journey is through. 
 
 WHEN NEED IS GREATEST. 
 
 When need is greatest, 
 Heaven is nearest. 
 
 Tliou that to the soul appearest, 
 And its thirst satest 
 
 From thy full fount, 
 To thee at earliest beam and latest 
 
 1 mount — I mount! 
 
22 Heart's Oicn. 
 
 A FADED FLOWER. 
 
 If in my heart the love 
 I once confessed to you, 
 And fancied deep and true, 
 Should blossom out anew, 
 
 And I its worth should prove, 
 
 Would I confess again? 
 Ah ! Love in youth is blind 
 Bereft of half its mind: 
 It dreams it loves, to find 
 
 At length dream-love is vain. 
 
 Some color won its eye , 
 Some turn of head or foot ; 
 A smile, or signal mute 
 Of fondness ; or pursuit 
 
 Congenial ; or some sly 
 
 Sweet token wrong-construed. 
 Love fancies easily ; 
 And ere a week goes by 
 'Twill for its object die, — 
 
 Said I not that I would ? 
 
A Faded Flower, 23 
 
 I thought I loved thee true ; 
 I would have died for thee. 
 To-day where thou mayst be 
 I do not know: how free 
 
 I feel ! I love — not you ! 
 
 The love that in an hour 
 Within me blossomed so 
 Is dead ; how it did glow, 
 And set its leaves for show ! 
 
 'Twas but a passion-flower ! 
 
 'Tis dead ; and not again 
 Shall I its bloom behold ; 
 Dead, and gone into mold ; 
 Like fancies manifold, 
 
 That, dying, gave no pain. 
 
 And should it bloom anew. 
 It would so fragile seem, 
 Like as a bloom of dream, 
 And not of Love's pure stream, 
 
 I'd say no word to you ! 
 
Heart's Own. 
 
 BARRIERS. 
 
 If fear of death would die, 
 And love of truth increase, 
 
 Far-oiF desire come nigh, 
 Distrust and anger cease, 
 
 How would the soul upmount 
 As on an eagle's wings, 
 
 Drink from a heavenly fount, 
 And sing as seraph sings ! 
 
 But while we droop with fear, 
 And tremble with distrust. 
 
 Desire comes never near, 
 Against our loves we lust ; 
 
 We cannot lift our souls 
 
 Beyond these self-built bars : 
 
 And ours are earthly goals, 
 
 Who thousrht to reach the stars f 
 
Reunion, 25 
 
 REUNION. 
 
 If all are " here," it little matters : 
 
 Who fought and died have found it well : 
 
 The grave nor censures nor yet flatters ; — 
 And here is heaven, and here is hell. 
 
 Who fought and live have grown the wiser ;. 
 
 They love so well their friends and foes, 
 They feel alike to giver, miser. 
 
 The sense of debt that each man owes. 
 
 Who live or sleep, if all forgiven. 
 
 If here or there, have had life's best : 
 
 To meet on earth, or e'en in heaven. 
 Would not be joy, wouM not be rest. 
 
 If all are "here," it little matters: 
 
 Who fought and died have found their 
 own; 
 
 Nor can Death deal, as shot that scatters, 
 A blow that leaves a brave alone ! 
 
26 Heart's Own, 
 
 A PRAYER. 
 
 O Love that hast no equal, make me meek ! 
 
 That with new eyes thine image I may see, 
 
 And know how far thy kindness unto me 
 Exceeds the love of them that their love 
 
 speak ! 
 Help me to grow in strength, who am so weak, 
 
 By service great or small, as pleaseth thee. 
 
 I care not, now, to stand with royalty, 
 But where I am, thy pleasure would I seek. 
 
 Now to go forward, and look not behind ; 
 Now to reach out and lead the wanderer 
 
 back ; 
 Now more to heed the light on mine own 
 track. 
 Nor spy for sins whereto I should be blind, 
 Would I, God : but I in vain must seek 
 This way or that till (hou hast made me 
 meek. 
 
An Old Story. 
 
 AN OLD STORY. 
 
 " GoOD-BY, dear," I heard him !^ay 
 Just before he went away : 
 Words that, said some earher year. 
 With a lover's youthful cheer, 
 Would have sounded, oh, how sweet ! 
 But to-day, though they repeat 
 Sense of love as deep as then. 
 Seem like words of other men 
 On his partner's ear to fall — 
 Empty ceremonial ! 
 
 And I said, with sinking heart. 
 
 So our early dreams depart ! 
 
 Who to hearts can e'er restore 
 
 That which, fled, returns no more ? 
 
 Who can resurrect a trust 
 
 That is buried in the dust ? 
 
 Who, when Pride usurps the place 
 
 That was meant for Love to grace, 
 
 Can receive with olden cheer 
 
 From her mate, '' Good-by, my dear"? 
 
28 Heart's Oicn. 
 
 THE THINGS A LITTLE CHILD 
 CAN DO. 
 
 The things a little child can do 
 Are never great and always few ; 
 But those that men grown great pursue 
 ( Remember when your life looks blue ) 
 Are those to whose pursuit they grew 
 
 From doing smallest duties ; 
 And this is what I'd say to you 
 
 I love so well, my beauties : 
 
 The faithful doer of little things — 
 Though it be but winding broken strings- 
 Shall one day sit by side of kings 
 (Not kings with crowns and diamond rings- 
 Kings of 80vl)\ for the mighty springs 
 
 From the weak, and true pursuing 
 Of the little work the present brings 
 
 Will fit you for kingly doing. 
 
Siienf Trust. 29 
 
 SILENT TEUST. 
 
 In this loud strife, where tongues and swords 
 prevail, 
 I, who would surely win the victory, 
 Need not to fear the foes that me asail, 
 For, though I seek my armor silently, 
 My God doth fight with me. 
 
 In that still hour when, life's worst foes 
 o'ercome, 
 I seek the rest that follows victory ; 
 I shall not fail to find my welcome home. 
 Although as silent, then, my lips may be — 
 My God will watch for me ! 
 
 He who, in strife, or in the peace of death, 
 Knows who is his, and who his enemy, 
 
 Looks at the heart, and never at the breath ; 
 And, though I pray, or though I silent be. 
 Fights, leads, and rests with me ! 
 
30 Heart's Own. 
 
 A RHYME OF DUTY. 
 
 There was never loss so great 
 
 As of sense of debt to all. 
 
 Let the suffering selfist call, — 
 Lacking thee, meet whatso fate ; 
 
 Evil only can befall 
 
 By neglect of due to all. 
 
 Singly every man must die, 
 Singly live, and singly strive ; 
 But to all that are alive, 
 
 Not to friend or enemy, 
 
 Must he of his treasure give, — 
 Help the world, not one, to thrive. 
 
 So, alone, is self preserved, — 
 Not by toilsome penury : 
 Giving out will bring to thee 
 
 All thy loving gifts deserved, 
 Build thee up in charity. 
 Help all men along with thee. 
 
The Lost Messenger. 31 
 
 A DAY. 
 
 It came in blackness shrouded, 
 And all my spirit clouded ; 
 And, till its dreaded form went. 
 It filled my soul with torment ! 
 
 But when it had departed, — ■ 
 Such glory it imparted ; 
 Such glimpses it revealed 
 Of what it had concealed 
 
 Beneath its grim apparel — 
 I saw that I might bear well 
 All pain of soul and spirit 
 Its beauty to inherit ! 
 
 THE LOST MESSENGER 
 
 Where he fell, none know — none care;- 
 He was bearing the banner of love : 
 
 And to know that he bore lover's share 
 Is enough — till we meet him above ! 
 
32 Heart's Own. 
 
 LOVE'S DEATH. 
 
 Bow thy head ; 
 Let naught be said ; 
 Not man is dead, 
 But Love. 
 
 When tears are shed, 
 Some heart has bled 
 For one who's fled 
 
 Above ; 
 
 Its hope is sped : 
 Uneomforted, 
 It mourns as dead 
 Its Love. 
 
 But when Love's dead- 
 woful stead ! — 
 Hearts silent tread 
 Life's groove; 
 
 For no tear shed, 
 And no word said, 
 
A Song of God's Comfoit. 38 
 
 One more than dead 
 Can prove. 
 
 Bow thy head ; 
 Let naught be said ; 
 Not man is dead 
 But Love. 
 
 A SONa OF GOD'S COMFORT 
 
 When thought of loss brings tears, 
 
 And sorrows grow more sore, 
 In vision rare appears 
 
 The Lord that I adore : 
 His wordless peace is nearest, 
 My thought of Him is dearest, 
 "When earthly lot is drearest, 
 And fled the dreams of yore. 
 
 And if thy youth's hopes fade. 
 Thy manhood's vigor wane, 
 
 Love flee, and trust's betrayed, 
 And life yield 'neath the strain; 
 
34 Heart's Ouon. 
 
 Still, when thy case is sorest, 
 The Lord whom thou adorest, 
 O soul that vain implorest 
 Man's aid, will thee sustain. 
 
 TO D. G. R. 
 
 KossETTi ! I, who know thee not, but may 
 
 Some day when I can trace to thine abode, 
 
 Would tell thee how like water when the 
 
 road 
 
 Is parched that I have followed all the day, — 
 
 No brook in sight that might my thirst 
 
 allay, — 
 
 Is that sweet stream that from thy spirit 
 
 flowed. 
 Ah ! many a freshened soul to thee has 
 owed 
 The slake of thirst that kept him on his way, 
 And visions of the heavenly home of Love 
 That in thy liquid draughts so bright 
 appear. 
 Thy " Damozel" still leaneth from above ; 
 
The Wanderer. 35 
 
 Thy '• Lost Days" are our own : thy soul 
 
 is near. 
 The chaste, new beauty of thy verse 
 
 hath grace 
 To make us long some day to see thy 
 
 face. 
 
 A VICTOirS MESSAGE. 
 
 O LIVING men and dying ! 
 
 The way to conquer death 
 Is not by weak defying, 
 Nor cowardly complying, 
 
 But by a joyful breath, 
 AVith all life's colors flying! 
 
 THE WANDERER. 
 
 I AM not hard to please, although I dis- 
 contented be ; 
 
 A little loving company were all the world 
 to me .' 
 
36 Heart's Own. 
 
 A WANDERER'S PRAYER. 
 
 What can I do without Thee? 
 What, but deny and doubt Thee ? 
 Master ! guide me to thy feet ; 
 And make my life with Thine comclete. 
 
 Teach me Thine own humility ! 
 Mine eyes are blurred ; I cannot see 
 How like the world my soul has grown 
 Since I have been these years alone. 
 
 Give sight, as in Thine earthly days 
 Thou gav'st it to the outer phase. 
 And make me, seeing self anew, 
 To Thee return, to Thee be true. 
 
 ATTITUDE. 
 
 Teach the teachers ; but with humility 
 Give heed to all ; — the least can still teach 
 thee! 
 
To a FcUorc- War Jeer. 37 
 
 TO A FELLOW-WORKER. 
 
 Spread not thyself; but know the second's 
 grace, 
 The moment's beauty— aye, the moment's 
 
 power : 
 The crown of all perfection's m some 
 
 hour, — 
 And all the minutes in the century's space 
 Some great work grew in, hold fore'er their 
 place : — 
 If their part fell fall'n were the glorious 
 
 tower ! 
 Nor count thy gift as small beside another's 
 
 dower : 
 None ever wrought to purpose in disgrace 
 
 With his own eyes; but men most small, 
 
 To the world's sight, have wrought, in modest 
 
 thought. 
 
 So nobly that at length the tongues of all 
 
 Have praised them with a praise they never 
 
 sought. 
 All's thine, Soul! time's long;— each 
 moment full ; 
 
38 Hearts Oicn. 
 
 Work with thy might,, and leave no spacet: 
 dull! 
 
 THE RECALL. 
 
 Come back to me ! 
 
 Oh let me feel thy heart 
 Close-pressed to mine as in the days of 
 wooing ! 
 Stand here by me, 
 
 And know thyself a part 
 Of all the life I live, and all that I'm pursuing. 
 
 All I have lost, 
 
 Love, since thou wert near. 
 Then will return, and thou be more than ever ! 
 Love that's been crossed 
 May yet have title clear 
 To lasting life, and thou and I ne'er sever ! 
 
TransgressioiK 30 
 
 TRANSGRESSION. 
 
 What wisdom hatli he gained who knowt^ 
 the bound, 
 And pays it faithful heed, where glee 
 
 should end, 
 Allegiance terminate twixt friend and 
 friend, 
 Or toil-strife cease, — to leave the spirit 
 
 sound ! 
 Through every hour do sorrow's moans 
 resound, 
 Repentance and resolve their voices blend, 
 Because herein the sons of men oifend ; 
 And hearts are hourly cursed that else were 
 crown'd, 
 Because to play, or fincied love, or need, 
 They gave their souls, nor thought of aught 
 beside 
 Till roused at last to find their only meed 
 Sea-apples dead, — and loss of soul abide. 
 
 So easy is it to transgress the line 
 
 Of righteousness, when {cvf indeed decline ! 
 
40 Heart's Own, 
 
 vanishp:d lights. 
 
 They who've gone out, that once did shine 
 on me, 
 And in whose sight I gloried more tnan 
 
 sun, 
 Cannot their shining have forever done, 
 Nor I have ceased fore'er their Hght to see. 
 Somewhere, when I, like them, no more 
 shall be 
 To any outward sense of any one 
 That still lives on, shall I not in their sun 
 My spirit bathe, that mourns them ceaselessly? 
 
 The love of life, for life's own sake, is strong; 
 
 The love of truth and God grows day by 
 
 day: 
 
 But, loving life, and truth, and God, I long 
 
 (Whatever new stars greet me on my way) 
 
 For the old lights that left me in the dark, 
 
 With but this hope their trackless way to 
 
 mark. 
 
To a Rosen Remains. 41 
 
 TO A HOSE'S REMAINS. 
 
 O SWEET wild rose, 
 Thy seemiDg death 
 
 Is an immortal memory ; — 
 Thy life outgoes 
 To meet the breath 
 
 Of souls that in all life to be 
 Shall see thee from thy thorn-bush 
 free, 
 Where blossom never withereth, 
 But beauty blows, — 
 No thorn beneath, — 
 
 In endless fields eternally, 
 A.nd music flows 
 
 With fragrant breath 
 
 In spirit seas of harmony. 
 
 Mourn not that thou thy shape must 
 lose, — 
 We, too, must lay our vesture by ; — 
 Nor grieve if in thy dwelling high 
 Thou find'st no rose — there all sweets- 
 fuse — 
 
42 flenrfs Own. 
 
 No beauty for an earthly eye ; 
 Thou shalt be safe from storm and bruise, 
 And share our immortality ! 
 
 TN MAY. 
 
 Who cannot be content in crowds of men 
 Should take him, in the May-days, to the 
 
 fields, 
 And, where the wall shuts out the rasping- 
 wind, 
 Lie in the sun, and watch the rising earth. 
 There is a sense of kinship in the soul 
 AVith'every stone and every solid thing ; 
 And, sheltered by a wall in sunlight lying, 
 List'ning to far-off birds, that dart o'er fields 
 New-cut by plows, on to their leafy homes, 
 And watching mellowing sod and warming 
 
 water, 
 Fills us with cheer, and hope of better days. 
 While kings are sad, and slaves see only 
 
 death, 
 Thou by the wall art raised to such a height. 
 The woe of life's unfelt, its joy alone appears. 
 
Criteria. 43. 
 
 CRITERIA. 
 
 .To every one this mandate comes at last : 
 Choose thou the standard thou wouldst 
 
 be judged by ! 
 And every one does choose, for, though we 
 
 % 
 
 All others' sight, we cannot fly hhu past 
 Who speaks and earth dissolves or else stands 
 fast ; 
 Nor, — free as air to choose or low or high, — 
 Can any drown or silence that breast-cry ;, 
 Then, having chosen, each will often cast 
 Such censure on his soul for his base choice, 
 Will so reproach him that he could be proud 
 To be thus judged e'en by the low and 
 vain. 
 That, should he dare to give his thought a 
 voice. 
 Both low and high would own their guilt 
 avow'd. 
 And long to choose (as choose they 
 might !) again. 
 
44 Heart's Own. 
 
 WAITING FOR LOVE. 
 
 I'll wait for thee, love unseen, 
 
 Of whom I've dreamed, for whom I've 
 planned. 
 Let whatso distance intervene 
 Thy darling soul and mine between ; 
 Love's language we can understand — 
 Love's wire extends from land to land. 
 
 I know that thou wilt come to me 
 
 When tides are fair and skies are bright ; 
 And, thinking of the days to be, 
 My heart, once weak with misery, 
 Grows strong with rapturous delight. 
 Come, — early, late, — welcome sight ! 
 
After the. Vanishing. 45 
 
 AFTER THE VANISHING. 
 
 My life, that late did glitter like a star 
 Gold-red and full, 
 In Love's blue firmament, 
 Since she that lit it so hath gone so far, 
 Lies shrunk and dull. 
 Its spirit well-nigh spent! 
 
 Heart of Light, that givest all their glow, — 
 Maker of skies 
 And all the stars that shine ! 
 In the new heavens shall not that spirit 
 show, — 
 Lit by those eyes, 
 Shall not th' old joy be mine? 
 
46 Heart's Own. 
 
 ON A GLIMPSE. 
 
 (FROM MY WINDO W IN MA Y.) 
 
 O SHINING grass and shining sky, 
 Together gleam ! — for those who die 
 Some other grass and sky may shine. 
 But those who grieve and those who pine 
 Need look on ye when graves are green, 
 To know life's road is lined with sheen ! 
 
 Shine on, to show incessantly 
 
 Some token of the glow to be ! 
 
 Shine, that the joy that liveth yet 
 
 In men may overcome regret, 
 
 And that all hearts may know how fair 
 
 The world that lies beyond despair ! 
 
A Prisoner. 47 
 
 A PRISONER. 
 
 In Poverty's dark cell I sit, 
 
 But God's rich skies above me shine, 
 And beams my face with joy divine, 
 
 For with his love my heart is lit. 
 
 Am I not king, to him who owns 
 The little kingdoms of the earth ? 
 A loving heart hath greater worth 
 
 Than any king's dominions 1 
 
 In Poverty's dark cell I sit. 
 
 And gaze upon the heavenly faces 
 That bid me to those luminous spaces 
 
 Through which, at length, my soul shall 
 flit. 
 
48 Heart's Oimi. 
 
 IN THE HOLLOW OF THY HAND. 
 
 The living or the dead 
 
 Who rest, God, in Thee, 
 
 Need not a castle bed 
 Or gates' security : 
 
 Guests of the King, indeed ! 
 
 All others are but slaves, 
 Wear they the monarch's weed. 
 
 Or lie in guarded graves. 
 
 THE GIFT OF YEARS. 
 
 The Years that came and left me, one by one, 
 
 Brought me a gift that I may keep forever; 
 
 The sense that Time's a stream that's never 
 
 run. 
 
 That Love's the greatest force beneath the 
 
 sun. 
 
 And God from Man not God himself can 
 
Remembered. 41) 
 
 REMEMBERED. 
 
 1 CANNOT hear the wind's voice sigh, 
 
 But through it all I hear her sighing; 
 I cannot watch the sunshine lie 
 
 On dew'd green fields, but her smiles 
 vying 
 In my young heart ; I cannot feel 
 
 The south-wind's kiss, but still all through 
 me 
 Runs that sweet thrill I used to feel 
 
 Whenever she came nearest to me ! 
 I cannot smell the sweetest rose 
 
 June brings as gentle Summer's suitor. 
 But all around her being glows, 
 
 And perfume sheds than rose-breath 
 sweeter ! 
 
 She is not dead ; she cannot die ! 
 
 God doth in fairest mansions keep her ; 
 And while she lives in memory, 
 
 I will not mourn, I cannot weep her ! 
 
, 50 Heart's Own. 
 
 IF THOU SHUTTEST THINK EAR- 
 
 If thou shuttest thine ear 
 
 To the meaningless din 
 Of the world, thou canst hear 
 
 A fit song to join in 
 From Eternity clear ; — 
 
 A song of his word 
 That is sung day and night, 
 
 And by spirit-ear heard 
 From the Infinite Height : 
 
 " Be strong in the Lord, 
 And the pow'r of his might!" 
 
 A MOTTO. 
 
 Whoever you are, and whatever you do, 
 Here's a good motto for you to pursue : 
 In the dark, 
 
 In the light, 
 In the peace, 
 In the fight, 
 Merry and true — Merry and true!. 
 
Confidence. 51 
 
 CONFIDENCE. 
 
 I WILL not fear what Love may do. 
 
 Fill not my mind with thoughts of fear ! 
 
 Why should I fear, when I can hear : 
 " Heart's own is true ! Heart's own is true" ? 
 
 Some written word may mystify, 
 Or lack in gentleness of sound ; 
 
 But I can trust that charity 
 
 Which never gives or takes a wound. 
 
 And so I banish thought of fear, 
 
 And wait for Love's expression new : 
 
 The old words dear that greet my ear : 
 ^' Heart's own is true ! Heart's own is 
 true!" 
 
52 Heart's Own. 
 
 GROWTH. 
 
 The river that I knew, a child, 
 
 How wide and deep its waters seemed !: 
 To-day I saw the stream, and smiled ! 
 
 Had air absorbed it, or I dreamed ? 
 
 The house that was my childhood home, 
 How high its roof-tree used to be ; 
 
 But now how shrunken seems its dome. 
 How short the stairs once climbed by me. 
 
 80 shrink the things of sense and time, 
 While those of life eternal grow ; 
 
 The things we dreamed not of, sublime , 
 Replacing things we used to know. 
 
Wordsworth. 53 
 
 WORDSWORTH. 
 
 Wordsworth, who drank of truth and love 
 As men drink water, from the heavenly 
 springs ; 
 Who, while he walk'd the earth, with head 
 above 
 Sang heaven-sweet of earth's unhonored 
 things ; 
 And showed, as none had ever shown before. 
 That God and man are one, though far 
 apart, — 
 Wordsworth still points man upward as of 
 yore. 
 And leads the way with pure and patient 
 heart ! 
 
54 Heart's Oivri. 
 
 HEARING. 
 
 " Take heed how ye hear."' 
 
 In silence, and apart from other men, 
 
 When Grod's great voice some waiting soul 
 
 had heard. 
 Were writ those words of might that so 
 have stirred 
 The hearts they touched that they have lived 
 
 since then ' 
 What heed give such to word of tongue or pen 
 Spoke in God's name, whene'er the world 
 
 has erred. 
 Or he some trying duty has conferred, 
 And many hear not — listening unto men ! 
 
 In silence still, and from all souls apart. 
 Must thou attend to hear his message great. 
 
 Or not to thee will God the charge impart 
 Whereby to wake the sleepmg church or 
 state : 
 
 Who dimly hears the message of his Lord 
 
 Can never be entrusted with that word. 
 
Shelter . 55 
 
 SHELTER. 
 
 To feci, when the winds arc wild, and full of 
 
 keen drawn swords, 
 The shield of a wayside house, or a great 
 
 high fence, or a wall, — 
 Ah, that is joy, fair friend, who sittest in 
 
 parlors warm. 
 And knowest but what men tell of the hard 
 
 ship of wind and storm: — 
 Joy above all thy feasts, thy greetings ot 
 
 fondest friends, — 
 Above (if I read aright the writing in 
 
 mine own heart) 
 Thy dearest posiVtre joy; for, negative 
 
 though it be, 
 'Tis a symbol of other joy, so strong and 
 
 comforting. 
 That my heart would be cold as the winds, 
 
 and this shelter a blank to me. 
 If Grod's great love should depart! 
 
56 Heart's Own. 
 
 A THOUGHT AFTER A PETITION. 
 
 What though we hear no voice 
 In answer to our prayer ? 
 Something subdues despair, 
 Something directs our choice, 
 And we are led as we had sought, 
 " In word, in action, and in thought." 
 
 O soul that waitest still 
 To hear the Voice Divine; 
 As on the printed line 
 Thou look'st to find God's will. 
 Look at thy life, and there find wrought 
 The blessing that thy lips have sought. 
 
 PRAISE. 
 
 Who praises thee as true man, praises Truth : 
 Pass that word on to hfA\^ ambitious youth I 
 
Provision. 
 
 PROVISION. 
 
 My thought goes o'er and o'er 
 To those who think no more — 
 (rone strangely out of sight, 
 And hushed in death's still night. 
 
 Loves still remain, but they 
 Who've left me on the way 
 Seem dearer since they've gone 
 Thau these who still live on. 
 
 I know them better now ; 
 Lives in the darkness show 
 Their whiteness best; and near^ 
 One cannot see them clear. 
 
 Ah, if in that weird light 
 The vanished had their sight, 
 How would our lives appear 
 Who keep our dwelling here? 
 
 I cannot quite assent 
 To silent banishment — 
 
58 Heart's Own. 
 
 To senseless, soulless rest; 
 Yet I would count that best, 
 
 Knew I that I might choose 
 My state; — I would refuse 
 A state on earth wherein 
 I might behold the sin 
 
 That smirches my beloved. 
 While to their sight I proved 
 But pure and true. God's love 
 Makes no such state above ! 
 
 friends long lost and still 1 
 
 1 cannot know your will 
 As once I knew ; but I 
 Can leave you trustfully 
 
 In his great care who gave 
 The ground to hold your grave- 
 What I could do for you 
 Were poor when God doth do. 
 
 And if ye still have sense 
 Of his vast providence, 
 
The Wahcned Heart. 5^ 
 
 Or if ye senseless lie, 
 Ye're one with us, and I 
 
 Nor ye shall be alone, 
 Since Grod and we are one. 
 So, calm is in my heart, 
 And I would its peace impart, 
 
 When my thought goes o'er and o'er 
 To those who think no more — 
 Gone strangely out of sight. 
 And hushed in death's still night. 
 
 THE WAKENED HEART. 
 
 In youth a matchless melody, 
 
 That now I prize so dear. 
 Its answering chord found not in me, 
 
 Its notes I could not hear. 
 
 But now I feel a joy complete 
 
 The loving only know. 
 For day and night heaven's music sweet 
 
 Beats on me here below. 
 
60 Heart's Own. 
 
 TWO GROWTHS. 
 
 Who lives a life of love outvies 
 The soul that measures life by creed, 
 
 As roses in a garden rise 
 Above the thriftless weed ; 
 
 For loving souls, set in such ground 
 They grow, and fruit and fragrance yield, 
 
 In more than King's array are crowned, 
 Like lillies of the field. 
 
 THE KING'S DAUGHTER. 
 
 When I was born, to me was given 
 Title to all in earth and heaven ; 
 
 My wealth's unspent; 
 Though Fortune's wheel go up or down, 
 It cannot rob me of my crown : 
 
 I am content ! 
 
Grant. Gl 
 
 GRANT. 
 
 He was not earth's commander — as we 
 know. 
 Some victories of great renown he gained; 
 O'er mighty hosts he triumphed, and 
 maintained, 
 Where others ran, the flag against the foe ; 
 "What, more than other mortals, could he 
 show 
 When Nature of her broken law com- 
 plained ? 
 What slave so abject, soul and body 
 chained, 
 When Evil Habit bade him come and go ? 
 
 But when the King of Evil, Lord of Death, 
 Began the siege against his purged soul, 
 He found the great Commander in control. 
 
 And, with his utmost,could but take his breath ! 
 
 So he who oft on earth was slain in strife 
 
 Hath won the grander fight 'twixt Death 
 
 and Life. 
 
1)2 Heart's Own. 
 
 A WORD TO 0. W. H. 
 
 {On His Election as First Immortal.) 
 
 [prom a dkleoation of his COXSTITVEXTS.J 
 
 Dear Dr. Holmes: Though we are late, 
 
 We hope you'll let us through your portal, 
 For we would fain congratulate 
 You on your quite exclusive fate 
 Of standing as the First Immortal ! 
 
 We hope ('tis all we've come to say, 
 
 For though you've time enough to hear us, 
 As mortals long we cannot stay) — 
 With stories like '-The One-Hoss Shay " 
 We hope you'll never cease to cheer us ; 
 
 And rhymes like those at college dinners, 
 With tales of comet-ary visions, 
 
 And yarns, of which you're chief of spinners; 
 
 (For had we thought — we're selfish dinners — 
 You'd drop your pen for "higher" missions, 
 
Living Waters. 63 
 
 We'd let you rattle on with those 
 
 Who still, like us, are common mortals). 
 So still with witty verse and prose 
 Make light of mortals' fancied woes, 
 Thou greatest of the Great Immortals! 
 
 LIVING WATERS. 
 
 When I would drink an everlasting draught. 
 I lock my doors to all the world's mixed 
 
 drinks. 
 Cease aught to care what any neighbor 
 thinks, 
 And, all-alone as Adam when he quaffed 
 
 Eden's pure water, I drink in the thought 
 Of that great love which hath all beings 
 
 wrought 
 With such desire for its own perfectness, 
 The more they drink, they yet desire no less. 
 
64 Heart's Own. 
 
 INFLUENCE. 
 
 As Holy Spirit walks with each, 
 
 And, silent as ourselves in thought, 
 Moves us to do the things we ought 
 With tenfold force of angel's speech, 
 While rarely we the Power discern , 
 So with us walk revered and loved, 
 And, though nor tongue nor hand is 
 moved. 
 Our minds they guide, our feet they turn. 
 And force that else we might have dared 
 Impels to acts we dreamed not of. 
 Who of his weakness needeth proof 
 May find it here. Who feels prepared 
 To stand alone against the world's loud scorn, 
 Should see that he from all mankind has torn. 
 
Mary. 65 
 
 xAIARY. 
 
 All the maids have died but one, — 
 
 She will live forever ; 
 In the Land of Love, the sun 
 
 Setteth, fadeth never ! 
 
 Maidens pure and lovers true 
 Long the world has boasted, 
 
 But the maid that first we knew, 
 Lover first we trusted — 
 
 Still the world holds none so dear; 
 
 Nor to us shall any 
 (Though maids be for many a year, 
 
 And lads be for many). 
 
 Dwell apart, star-souled and rare, 
 
 While the fickle vary. 
 Like the maid that used to care 
 
 For us with name of Mary. 
 
66 Heart's Own. 
 
 HOPE. 
 
 Thy heart, God ! is niiae, 
 Truest of all that love ; — 
 
 But mine's not wholly Thine, 
 Or it would truer prove. 
 
 Uut since thy heart is mine. 
 And Thou dost love for aye, 
 
 Mine shall be wholly thine 
 When earth's loves fall away, 
 
 ON SEEING A BOY PLAYING 
 CLAPPERS. 
 
 glee! in a little boy's face, 
 
 In his hands, in his feet, in his heart ! 
 
 Should life set his soul such a race. 
 
 That from hands and from feet thou de- 
 part 
 As they yield to Life s spiritless art, — 
 O spirit, still stay in his heart ! 
 
Christmas Morning. 67 
 
 CHRISTMAS MORNING. 
 
 What other day from year to year 
 So fills the souls of men with cheer ; 
 What memories are half so sweet 
 As those that in devotion meet, 
 On Christmas morning? 
 
 The dawn upon the world's long night 
 Of him God sent to give it light 
 Hath spring of joy and blessedness 
 That faileth not nor groweth less, 
 On Christmas morning. 
 
 I cannot hear the Christmas chimes, 
 Or list to Christmas singers' rhymes, 
 But tenderer my spirit grows, 
 And gladness all my speech o'erflows, 
 On Christmas morning. 
 
 I cannot greet or young or old 
 But merry wishes manifold 
 Return to me; for like my own, 
 All hearts appear wide-open thrown 
 On Christmas morning. 
 
68 Heart's Oion. 
 
 Our Christmas days on earth may be 
 How few God knoweth — only He; 
 Yet may our lives so Christlike grow 
 Each day our hearts shall feel ths glow 
 Of Christmas morning. 
 
 With Christmas cheer for all the year, — 
 A heart set free from care and fear, — 
 Our souls may ripe for Advent grow, 
 And thus each year more gladness know 
 On Christmas morning. 
 
 MAN'S PART. 
 
 To eat and drink and build is all that the 
 
 heavens decree : 
 For this were the worlds create, for this 
 
 grows the land, flows the sea : 
 And who eats and drinks and builds, like 
 
 to God himself is he, — 
 And his is a part of the land, and his is a 
 
 part of the sea. 
 
The Discovery. 69 
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 
 
 I KNOW, at last, why earth such beaut)^ 
 wears, 
 Why hearts are tender, and hands reach to 
 hft 
 The burdens that each says he, only, bears, 
 When burden seems our solitary gift; 
 
 Why lives go on that fear had said would end; 
 
 Why loves ford safely streams of sacrifice 
 
 Wherein who fell were lost ; why bright 
 
 hues blend 
 
 When grief-storms pass ; why even homes 
 
 of vice 
 
 Are lit with sunbeams ; and — oh, stranger 
 yet! 
 Why all this haps to thankless, cursing 
 souls : 
 Ood,who made all — e'en these who him for- 
 get— 
 Grod's in the world, and still by love 
 controls ! 
 
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