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 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 OF CHRIST 
 
 Bv GEORGE CREEL 
 
 PREFACE BY JULIAN HAWTHORNE 
 
 
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 PAUL ELDER &» COMPANY 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK 
 
<i> 
 
 Bend on this wonder world a 
 
 clearer eye, T^'^ 
 
 Hark closer to the soul's pro- .^ /O ^ 
 
 phetic cry, |j L| n 
 
 Thrill with the happy song <^ 
 
 of growing things, j ^ ^ 
 
 And read the promise of the 
 
 star-set sky. 
 
 Copyright, 1907, by 
 George Creel 
 
 Copyright, 1908, by 
 Paul Elder and Company 
 
 LiBHASY of OONa!5E5S^ 
 I wu oocies rtetdivefl 
 
 AUG 11 1^08 
 
 W.1IUB/ l« I 
 
 f^ 
 
 .i*> 
 
 
>i TO MY MOTHER 
 
 ^ WHOSE TENDER LOVE AND 
 
 - INSPIRING COMPANIONSHIP HAVE 
 BEEN EVER PRESENT 
 PROOFS OF GOD'S 
 GOODNESS 
 
PREFACE 
 
 IT IS strange that the Chris- 
 tian world should have been 
 in need of exactly such a book 
 as this, — that after nineteen 
 hundred years of Christianity 
 we should lack a simple and straight- 
 forward reaffirmation of the truth of the 
 Christian faith. Christ has been much 
 patronized of late, — has been coupled 
 in a sentence with Buddha and Con- 
 fucius and other alleged saints and 
 Messiahs of the past ; but a man has 
 been wanting to say that he is nothing 
 less than God in the flesh, — Son of God 
 as well as Son of man, — the Lord In- 
 carnate, come to redeem us from our 
 sins. Mr. George Creel comes forward 
 to supply this deficiency; there is no 
 evasion or compromise in his speech on 
 the subject ; his is the faith of the Early 
 Christians, before the sectarians got to 
 work on the plain-spoken, sublime rec- 
 ords of the Divine Life on earth; he 
 leaves scepticism on one side, and phil- 
 osophy and the Higher Criticism on 
 the other, and makes straight for his 
 goal. His belief and testimony are as 
 naif as that of a little child, — except 
 we be as whom, we " can in now wise 
 enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." 
 He has little concern with arguments ; 
 he appeals to the interior witness of the 
 adoring heart. This is what the world 
 needs, and no part of the world so much 
 as that which calls itself Christian. 
 His utterance is as free from the apolo- 
 getic note as it is from acerbity and 
 
PREFACE 
 browbeating. He has felt the truth 
 himself, deep down in his soul, and he 
 cannot do otherwise than give it forth 
 with all his soul and strength. He 
 speaks not in contentiousness but in 
 love. The living waters have touched 
 his lips, and he longs to have others 
 drink as he has drunk. He holds up 
 the wonderful and radiant story before 
 our eyes, and summons us to receive 
 its glad tidings with worship and joy. 
 The Lord has come down to earth; 
 and through his lineaments, which we 
 have mocked and disfigured, the light 
 of His divinity shines unquenchable; 
 and the very disfigurements are proof 
 of the indwelling and emerging Perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 More than a thousand years after the 
 Crucifixion, there was born in Nisha- 
 pur, in the Far East, a gentle but cyni- 
 cal soul called Omar Khayyam. His 
 experience of life distilled itself in a 
 sort of kindly pessimism, and was em- 
 bodied in a series of quatrains which 
 lived their day and were forgotten, 
 until, fifty years ago, an Irishman of 
 kindred culture and temperament trans- 
 lated and remoulded some of them into 
 a subtle and musical poem which em- 
 bodied the eloquent philosophic despair 
 of the last century. But it was not till 
 long after Edward FitzGerald's death 
 that the genius of an American artist, 
 Elihu Veddar, gave his verses fame 
 and wide recognition. The Englished 
 Rubaiyat has ever since been conspic- 
 uous on the drawing-room table of 
 
PREFACE 
 
 culture here and in England, and senti- 
 mental women and self-indulgent men 
 have echoed his stanzas whenever the 
 roses of their hopes faded, or the pallor 
 of their existence needed wine. "In 
 the fire of spring, "they murmur, "your 
 winter garment of repentance fling"; 
 adding that " The bird of life has but 
 a little way to flutter — and the bird is 
 on the wing ! " It is a seductive strain, 
 tending to disintegrate moral fibre, and 
 by its attractive expression of a certain 
 indolence of the modern mind, has per- 
 haps done a good deal to discourage 
 whatever remnants of virility were left 
 in contemporary religious thought. 
 
 Mr. George Creel was therefore well 
 inspired to attack the enemy on his 
 own ground, and to fight him with his 
 own weapon. The Quatrains of Christ 
 are, in form, the Rubaiyat of Omar 
 over again ; but save that they are full 
 of veritable poetry, they are as differ- 
 ent from them in purpose and issue as 
 light is different from shadow. They 
 are informed with the beautiful whole- 
 someness of youth, reverence and can- 
 dor; and they seem to avenge us of 
 the old adage that the Devil has all the 
 good tunes, by embodying in the very 
 lilt and measure of disbelief the fra- 
 grance and beauty of true doctrine. 
 There is not throughout the entire little 
 volume one moment of nasal psalm- 
 singing and unctuous exhortation ; but 
 there is not a verse in it, either, that 
 is not joyfully religious through and 
 through, and that does not convey an 
 
 I*] 
 
PREFACE 
 
 enthusiasm of conviction that is both 
 instructive and contagious. Page after 
 page is as though we were listening 
 to Sir Galahad, pure in heart, as he 
 sang in the forest, riding on his quest 
 for the Holy Grail. And ever and anon 
 the singer chants forth an actual phrase 
 or figure from Old Omar, as though a 
 new Moses were to transform the rods 
 of Pharaoh's enchanters into hostile 
 serpents to devour them. If humor 
 were predicable of a poem so serious 
 and vital in purpose as this, I should be 
 disposed to think there was humor in 
 these passages. 
 
 The interest in Creel's production, 
 unlike Omar's or FitzGerald's, is con- 
 tinuous from page to page, instead of 
 being confined to separate passages ; so 
 that though there is not, in strictness, 
 either argument or narrative, there is a 
 distinct thread of purpose and senti- 
 ment from end to end, which we follow 
 with accumulating appreciation. The 
 poet has read his Gospels with awak- 
 ened and living insight ; he has forgot- 
 ten the commentators and the critics, 
 and gives us the freshness and sweet- 
 ness of the original story. He has kept it 
 in his heart, and let it grow and fructify 
 there. He has pondered longingly over 
 the silence of the Gospel narratives as to 
 the early boyhood of the Saviour : — 
 
 "Did Mary's arms turn childish grriefs to 
 
 bliss ? 
 Or did His holy mission make Him miss 
 
 The happiness of youth's abandoningrs, 
 The maffic solace of a mother's kiss ? " 
 
PREFACE 
 
 But he will not repine because no an- 
 swer is returned to his listening ear. 
 The loving heart can surmise truths 
 which history dare not disclose ; and he 
 will listen to his heart, — 
 
 " * * * for as we see 
 A child, locked in, leap up when it may be 
 The watched-for, longed-for loved one 
 comes at last, 
 So does it leap, O Lord, to welcome 
 thee ! " 
 
 And it suffices to be assured that the 
 Divine mission was fulfilled: — 
 
 "The worm ■within each rose's heart ^was 
 
 curled 
 
 Until Thy mystic might at Nain hurled 
 
 Death's menace back upon itself and 
 
 stilled 
 
 The immemorial wailing of the world." 
 
 I must remember that I am writing 
 not a review but a preface; but what I 
 have instanced will not forestall the 
 reader's pleasure or his interest. He 
 will read this little book not once nor 
 twice only, but will make it his own. It 
 is a new thing in literature; but its 
 appeal is to something deeper in man 
 than the literary sense ; it deals with an 
 immortal theme, and shines with the 
 reflection of the joyful dignity thereof. 
 
 JULIAN HAWTHORNE. 
 
 JU 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 GOME, strike thy harp's most 
 high, exultant string, 
 Until its golden ecstasy 
 shall ring 
 To very Heaven : thence flaming 
 down the dark. 
 Shall thrill dead souls to new, sweet 
 blossoming. 
 
 >i^II^ 
 
 BGAIN a Star dawns in the 
 Eastern sky, 
 Again the startled shepherd 
 lifts his cry. 
 As waking from his midnight 
 sleep, he sees 
 The camelsof the Wise Men sweep- 
 ing by. 
 
 ^^^^HE years have worked their 
 M C\ measure of decay. 
 ^L J Wliere is the inn or stable ? 
 ^^^ Who can say, 
 " This is the spot," or "There the 
 very place 
 Where Lord Christ came into the 
 light of day"? 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 QO MORE chants Caiaphas 
 his vengeful song, 
 And scattered to the wind 
 is all the throng 
 That clamored for Barabbas,only 
 held 
 In memory by reason of their 
 wrong. 
 
 M^^HE weak-souled Pilate long 
 # C\ has passed away, 
 ^ V Great Caesar, too, is now 
 ^^^^ obstructive clay, 
 
 Their mighty Rome forgotten 
 save as theme 
 To keep the grumbling schoolboy 
 
 from his play. 
 
 UT still the sweet of frank- 
 incense and myrrh 
 Steals down the centuries, 
 and as it w^ere 
 But yesterday, so sweet and new 
 it seems, 
 Did blessed Mary bear the Har- 
 binger. 
 
 © 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 © 
 
 UT yesterday that through 
 
 the stable gloom 
 An angel shape, with droop- 
 ing pity's plume, 
 Swept beaded anguish from the 
 Virgin's brow 
 That dewed sin-arid earth to vernal 
 bloom. 
 
 ^^^^HOU giv'st to each a price- 
 m C\ less diadem 
 ^L J Of precious gifts, but, ah, 
 ^^^^ the fairest gem 
 Is that clear faith, O God, with 
 which we shrine 
 The miracle of far-off Bethlehem. 
 
 BYE, bless us so, and let it 
 never be 
 Like tapestried romance 
 men peer to see, 
 Or some old song with meaning 
 half forgot. 
 That drowsy children hear at grand- 
 sire's knee. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 aL W AYS with sense of viv- 
 idness — with thrill 
 Of things intensely pres- 
 ent — may we still 
 Remember this : that human flesh 
 and blood 
 Were chosen to exemplify His will. 
 
 e 
 
 'UARD us from Habit's 
 poppied charm, and let 
 The lotus-laden flight of 
 Time beget 
 No far-away, faint half- remem- 
 berings. 
 No spectral shadowing or silhou- 
 ette. 
 
 'HRINK not, but draw in 
 wide-eyed wonder near 
 Each incident in all the 
 Christ career — 
 From birth to cross there were 
 no veils or walls, 
 And nearer makes it dearer and 
 more clear. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^XIII^ 
 
 O VIRGIN, were thy young 
 eyes unafraid, 
 Or didst thou shrink, sore 
 startled and dismayed, 
 From that first mystic thrill when 
 thou didst leam 
 God's precious Burden had on thee 
 been laid ? 
 
 nOUD sang the golden - 
 throated Cherubim, 
 And all the wheeling hosts 
 of Seraphim, 
 Whose flashing pinions ermined 
 humble thatch, 
 And shot with fire the Heaven's 
 sapphire rim. 
 
 ^-■-^HAT must have been thy 
 ^ ■ ^ happy, sweet amaze 
 % 1 ^ To see the sudden aureate 
 ^^^ halo blaze, 
 
 And from the wide-flung gates 
 of Paradise 
 Hear mighty harmonies of joyous 
 
 praise. 
 
►I^XVI^ 
 
 '^^l^^-^WEREsweet if knowledge 
 m (TA bridged the gap between 
 ^k^J Christ's manger cradle and 
 ^^^ that later scene 
 Companioned by the elders, gray 
 and grim 
 Full -blossomed youth in favor and 
 in mien. 
 
 OID laughter bubble as He 
 leapt and ran ? 
 Was He as others ere His 
 work began 
 Of lifting from the W^orld its dole 
 of doubt. 
 And making straight Salvation's 
 tender plan ? 
 
 OR \NPiS there hint of Pi- 
 late's fell decree. 
 The lonely horror of Geth- 
 semane, 
 A prescience of thorny diadem, 
 Or shadow from the hill of Cal- 
 vary ? 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 OID Mary's arms turn child- 
 ish griefs to bhss ? 
 Or did His holy mission 
 make Him miss 
 The happiness of youth's aban- 
 donings, 
 The magic solace of a mother's 
 kiss? 
 
 EOR, given then the secret 
 of those years, 
 Long lapse of stripling days 
 undamped with tears, 
 I could come nearer to Him, and 
 athrill, 
 Be quit forever of my a\A^cs and 
 fears. 
 
 ►I^XXI^I^ 
 
 DAY, Lord, let this not give 
 offense to Thee, 
 For if a passion for sheer 
 nearness be 
 Aroused by those of earth, then 
 how much more 
 When Thou art loved in such su- 
 perb degree. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 m 
 
 'ERE thought of Thee doth 
 pour into my veins 
 A leaping flame that burns 
 the sullen stains 
 Of sin from out the broidered 
 Cloth of Life, 
 Till the fair fabric white and gold 
 remains. 
 
 ►i^XXIII^ 
 
 ^J^ ^HE marvel blaze that blind- 
 m C\ ed raging Saul, 
 %^ ^ And held black Herod's 
 ^^■^ savage soul in thrall — 
 
 That swept from Mary all her 
 silks and shame 
 And ashed the splendor of her 
 
 onyxed hall. 
 
 ^^-;=^OW doth it rapture fancy 
 ^ ^ and enchain 
 I p Belief and love to marshal 
 ^ *^ once again 
 
 The great, kaleidoscopic surge of 
 men 
 Who felt that flame and followed 
 in His train. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ETHINK you of this fol- 
 lowing ! No part 
 Gave all, nor class — as 
 mountain torrents start 
 In spring, they poured from pal- 
 ace, tent and cot. 
 From? sea and field, the desert and 
 the mart. 
 
 © 
 
 ►i^XXVI^ 
 
 EIERCE Syrians, swart Pu- 
 nic chiefs, and bands 
 Of blacks, grim Romans 
 who in many lands 
 Had seen strange gods, Egyp- 
 tians, fire-eyed Gauls, 
 Pale Greeks, and nomads yellowed 
 with far sands. 
 
 ^O HUGELY great the num- 
 ber, none can tell 
 How many died in circus 
 or in cell 
 For Him who was of their own 
 day — and still 
 We yield to Controversy's wasting 
 spell ! 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ►i^XXVIII^ 
 
 "^^^^^yOR Him who was of their 
 *^*-^ own day ! " Ah, there 
 W \ We have a sword, all rea- 
 -^ ^ son-forged, to wear 
 And wield in swirling splendor 
 when against 
 The Powers of the Dark we do and 
 dare, 
 
 ITS hilt star-studded by the 
 mad array 
 Of gems that ransomed 
 Mary threw away. 
 The flaming, ravished jewels that 
 were Saul's 
 When stricken cities knew his ruth- 
 less sway. 
 
 'ND witnesses! Ah, there 
 was Pilate's wife 
 Who pleaded for the Gali- 
 lean's life. 
 And tiger-hearted Herod, over- 
 awed, 
 Refused Christ Jesus to the heads- 
 man's knife. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 Ho, MARTYRS' blood cas- 
 cades from ev'ry page 
 Of history, and Nero's de- 
 mon rage 
 Still chills the heart — then shall 
 our voices rise. 
 And futile argument our minds en- 
 gage ? 
 
 'S HOMING birds flee from 
 the darkling W^est, 
 As babes with thrusting 
 lips seek mother breast. 
 So do I turn to Thee, thou tender 
 Christ, 
 My tear-scorched eyes asmile, my 
 doubts at rest. 
 
 ►i^XXXIII^ 
 
 IN LOVING Thee I seek 
 not Logic's aid. 
 Nor do I ever ask to have 
 displayed 
 Disrupted Science's confusing 
 page. 
 O'er writ with guesses restless 
 minds have made. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ►i^XXXIV^i^ 
 
 UT listen to my heart, for 
 
 as we see 
 A child, locked in, leap up 
 when it may be 
 The watched-for, longed-for loved 
 one comes at last, 
 So does it leap, O Lord, to welcome 
 Thee. 
 
 © 
 
 ffi 
 
 EN sing of that they love, 
 
 and so have sung 
 In many ways since first 
 the earth was young, 
 So shall I then, in simple fashion, 
 ease 
 A heart by lack of full confession 
 wrung. 
 
 ►I^XXXVI^i^ 
 
 'IMPLICITY! No other 
 way is clear 
 That may, at end of all, 
 bring pilgrims near 
 To Thee, O one white Flower 
 swaying fair 
 Amid the blighted blooms of yester- 
 year. 
 
* 
 
 QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 QOR worship where pale 
 priestesses supine 
 All bloodily adore some 
 midnight shrine, 
 No mystic murmurings or stran- 
 gled scream, 
 But sound of singing brook and 
 whispering pine. 
 
 ►i^ XXXVIII ►I^ 
 
 \^^ ^HEN must the flame-eyed 
 m Ov musenowstrip,abashed, 
 ^L J Of flowing, purpled splen- 
 ^^^^ dors, jewel-splashed. 
 And take the narrow path in 
 cooling white, 
 Her hair the maiden's way, and lily 
 sashed. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OP 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^XXXIX^ 
 
 ^w^HERE Alexander's steel 
 ■ ■ ■ with all its stains ? 
 \mF Attila's mace that crumbled 
 ^^^ haughty reigns ? 
 Alaric's lance or Soldan's scimi- 
 tar? 
 The Savior's fadeless palm alone 
 remains. 
 
 ►J^XL^i^ 
 
 O PRINCE of Peace, Thy 
 argent temple yields 
 Far richer spoils than e'er 
 were brought on shields 
 From sack of Lydian metropolis, 
 Or plundering of prostrate Persia's 
 fields. 
 
 *XLI^ 
 
 CHE ancient chains that 
 weighed a people down. 
 Oppression's dripping 
 sword, the prison gown 
 Of Opportunity, Injustice's red 
 scourge. 
 And Tyranny's once awe-inspiring 
 crown. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 aND over all, like Paradisal 
 snow, 
 The petals of Life's roses 
 drift and glow — 
 The thorns turned pointless in 
 Thy heart of hearts. 
 The blossom for Thy brothers here 
 below. 
 
 ^XLIII^ 
 
 CHE wind that moaned an 
 ancient pain away 
 Was soothed of all its sobs 
 and sick dismay — 
 Thou gav'st new courage to the 
 coward dawn 
 And glad triumphant guidons to the 
 day. 
 
 HOR fevered living, fret and 
 pain the price, 
 Until the oil of Thy dear 
 sacrifice 
 Assuaged, and smoothed a hal- 
 cyon expanse 
 To mirror the allure of Paradise. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 CHE worm within each rose's 
 heart was curled, 
 Until Thy mystic might at 
 Nain hurled 
 Death's menace back upon itself 
 and stilled 
 The immemorial wailing of the 
 world. 
 
 ffi 
 
 'AYHAP, when Twilight's 
 sombre hosts parade, 
 That Terror's tears will 
 hail the hasting Shade — 
 Believe it ancient weakness of the 
 flesh — 
 My soul awaits Thy call all un- 
 afraid. 
 
 ►i^XLVII* 
 
 UT will Thou not be tender 
 
 of this fear, 
 As mothers comfort when 
 the dark is near, 
 And while I huddle in the haunted 
 gloom, 
 Throw wide the gate, and let Thy 
 light appear. 
 
 © 
 
IS IT too much to ask, or 
 will Thy wrath 
 Be kindled by the creeping 
 doubt that hath 
 Its way with flesh ? Ah, no, the 
 dying thief 
 W^as fearful too, and Thou didst 
 blaze his path. 
 
 ►J^XLIX^ 
 
 ND as I, kneeling, breathe 
 
 my silent prayer. 
 When weak of heart or 
 weighted with despair, 
 I think of how the faithful Simon 
 once 
 Did help Thee, weary Christ, Thy 
 cross to bear. 
 
 O CRUEL cross and Cal- 
 vary's wild stress! 
 A crown of thorns, a clos- 
 ing tomb, the press 
 Of traitor lips — what sorry gifts 
 indeed 
 To counterpoise unpurchased hap- 
 piness ! 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 u 
 
 UT it is done! The strange 
 
 exchange is made ! 
 Salvation is for all, the price 
 is paid — 
 So let us, shriven and consoled, 
 abide 
 In meek acceptance of the gracious 
 trade. 
 
 QOT thoughtless joy, nor yet 
 the thoughtless tear, 
 Not brazen forwardness 
 nor shrinking fear. 
 But aye serene in perfect con- 
 fidence 
 Of marshalled love and mercy ever 
 near. 
 
 ^w^ET was Thy disappoint- 
 ^ ■ ^ ment with its tears, 
 \mf But one finds not that any- 
 ^■^^ where appears 
 Grim Melancholy as Thy chosen 
 friend. 
 Or sordid Gloom as master of Thy 
 years. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 'O LET us never be afraid 
 to rise 
 In sure aloofness from 
 among the eyes 
 That shut to light and beauty, 
 and all blind, 
 Invoke a broken Christ with sobs 
 and sighs. 
 
 'ULL oft must Thou have 
 
 paused in greening dale, 
 
 And, seeing soul-white 
 
 blossoms grow less pale 
 
 Beneath a young sun's shy caress, 
 
 thrilled deep. 
 
 And prayed of God that loveliness 
 
 prevail. 
 
 'ARTH heard and hid her 
 scars at Thy command. 
 Threw viny mantles o'er 
 the unrich land. 
 Flung flowers to the waste, and 
 palms and springs 
 Companioned to redeem the desert's 
 sand. 
 
 fi 
 
 & 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 'ND, O love exquisite ! Thou 
 hast the rose. 
 The swaying fragrance of 
 the garden close, 
 Stand forth as fair, renewing 
 monuments. 
 To mark where clean hearts find a 
 brief repose. 
 
 OEAR Nazarene, Thou art 
 the soul and source 
 Of all true joy. I will my- 
 self divorce 
 From gloom, and Death shall hear 
 a happy song 
 "When he shall reach me in his 
 sombre course. 
 
 BH,SWEET the world since 
 to Thy tender breast 
 Thou gathered all that 
 darkened and oppressed, 
 And breathing it with beauty and 
 delight 
 Pursued Thy way to Calvary's sad 
 rest. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OP 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^-■^HAT madness then to seek 
 ^ I ^ what He hath ta'en, 
 \i/ To lift the cup of bitter 
 ^^^ wine and drain 
 Its dregs, or grope to find the 
 crown of thorns, 
 All drunkenly infatuate with pain. 
 
 ' WEET Jesus, never let me 
 be afraid 
 To sing my love in lilting 
 strain, nor swayed 
 By such as have no heart for 
 happiness, 
 And build their altars in Golgotha's 
 shade. 
 
 IS good to read the written 
 
 tale of those 
 Who shared His triumphs 
 and condoled His woes. 
 And mark the joyousness of sim- 
 ple faith 
 That 'lumes the rigor of the gospel 
 prose. 
 
 © 
 
 u 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OP 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^w^HAT better if their words 
 ^ ■ ^ fell soft as lace 
 1 1 ^ On silken breasts? Or that 
 ^"^^ they had the grace 
 
 Of sylvan silhouettes? A finer 
 mesh 
 Would not enhance Truth's never- 
 
 aging face. 
 
 BS MOTHER countries send 
 a guarded fire 
 To light a newland'saltars, 
 O Desire 
 Of all the ^Vo^ld, flame in sad 
 souls a flare 
 Of faith from off" Thy Pentecostal 
 pyre. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 nET fools with much pre- 
 tense of wisdom scout 
 The News, and wag their 
 heads in owlish doubt 
 Of great Jehovah's all-embracing 
 scheme 
 Because there is a Door they stand 
 without. 
 
 CONTENT are we, the chil- 
 dren of His hand. 
 To watch and wait, nor 
 blatantly demand, 
 Assured that in His own good 
 time He will 
 Unlock the Door, and let us under- 
 stand. 
 
 ^w^ITH all the wonder of the 
 ■ ■ ■ world before 
 \ 1 ^ Our eyes, His love unfold- 
 ^**^ ing more and more, 
 
 Shall we not grasp the Miracle of 
 Life, 
 Ere thronging fierce and clamant at 
 
 the Door? 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 I HAVE no gift to see be- 
 yond the years, 
 But when repentance came 
 with helpful tears 
 Dear Faith accompanied, and has 
 remained 
 To guard my soul against recurring 
 fears. 
 
 Goo much of rain may fall 
 and rot the vine, 
 A drought burn bare the 
 field, the first-born pine. 
 Disaster raze the House of Hap- 
 piness — 
 Small things to match against the 
 Plan divine. 
 
 ^Tw^HEN sleeps the trusting 
 ^ ■ ^ soul in sweet content, 
 \mF Faith marshaling its 
 ^^^^ dreams, and all unrent 
 By warring doubts and mad un- 
 rests, then why 
 Awake and plunge it into vain fer- 
 ment? 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OP 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 GHAOS first reigned. Did 
 star call unto star, 
 The seas select their beds, 
 and from afar 
 The worlds assemble to assign 
 their swings, 
 Or did a Master place them as they 
 are? 
 
 'ND if 'twas God that en- 
 tered brooding Space, 
 And gave to everything a 
 plan and place, 
 Was it achildishgame He stooped 
 to play, 
 And, having played, then turned 
 away His face ? 
 
 ►i^LXXIII^I^ 
 
 ^^^^HE queenly seasons, flash- 
 m C\ ingly arrayed, 
 ^L J In tuneful, circumstantial 
 ^^^^ pomp parade. 
 
 And on the carpet-stretch of 
 splendid days. 
 The varied wonders of the world 
 
 are laid. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 u 
 
 ►J^LXXIV^I< 
 
 M^^^HE singing soul's insistent, 
 m C^ yearning strain 
 %^ J Tells immortality, yet are 
 ^^^ there vain 
 
 And insolent demands for guar- 
 antee 
 That we shall come to live and 
 
 love again. 
 
 'y^ -^IS of His wisdom that He 
 m C\ does not set 
 ^k^J Ungrateful doubts at rest, 
 ^^^ else would we let 
 Mad passions loose, and scornful 
 of this life, 
 Give over to neglect and evil fret 
 
 ►i^LXXVI^i^ 
 
 ^J^ -^HINK you that He who 
 m C\ wakes the vernal seed 
 ^^ J From where it sleeps with 
 ^^^ death beneath the mead, 
 
 \A/'ill coldly let His imaged chil- 
 dren sink 
 To nothingness, and pay no further 
 
 heed? 
 
LT^ quatrains i^Y^^ 
 I^P I I CHRIST IPJP 
 
 ►i^LXXVII^ 
 
 CODAYwiUYesterda/srare 
 rose entomb, 
 Ah, yes, but where a hint 
 of final dooEQ ? 
 Some rest, the trumpet call, a 
 judgment passed. 
 And then Tomorrov/s new and 
 richer bloom. 
 
 ^LXXVIII^ 
 
 ®HAT mad pretense it is 
 that fails to hear 
 The symphony of suns, and 
 shuts the ear 
 When through the joyous lilt of 
 growing things, 
 The testimony of the sea comes 
 clear. 
 
 ►x^LXXIX *i^ 
 
 ^ — ^OOK to the singing seed 
 I / and sap. The whole 
 M m Of nature races to an un- 
 ^ ^ seen goal, 
 
 Where God, the Master of the 
 Games, hath hung 
 The high incentive of a human 
 soul. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 I KNOW that many are the 
 tales they tell 
 Of fearful flames in an en- 
 during hell, 
 But ever have they failed to ter- 
 rify, 
 So powerful Creation's tender spell. 
 
 CHE Hand that wrought 
 with such a sure intent. 
 And half of Heaven's 
 hoarded beauty spent 
 Upon the world, could never 
 clench to strike. 
 Or hurl a sightless soul to punish- 
 ment. 
 
 ^LXXXII^I^ 
 
 ^^^^HE message of a day is 
 m C\ altered by 
 %^ ^ The thoughts of those that 
 ^^■^^ pass it on, then why 
 Assume God's word uncolored 
 and unchanged 
 By all His messengers since Sinai ? 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OP 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^LXXXIII>i< 
 
 © 
 
 PATHS of peril, agony 
 and shame, 
 Past coupled menaces of 
 sword and flame, 
 Through wolf-fanged centuries 
 that howled their hate — 
 *Twas in such way the holy message 
 came. 
 
 ►i^LXXXIV^i^ 
 
 
 
 REAT souls who suffered 
 
 silently, and yet 
 What blame to them if all 
 the hate they met 
 Bit passion deep, and charged 
 their carried words 
 With less of gentleness and more 
 of threat ? 
 
 UT let it pass. This night 
 
 a moon shall rise 
 To paint a pledge of peace 
 upon the skies, 
 And with the splendor of the 
 morning come 
 A reassuring sun to kiss our eyes. 
 
 © 
 
►I^LXXXVI^ 
 
 CHE west- wind Ariels shall 
 gaily spill 
 Earth's chaliced charm, and 
 quickened by the shrill 
 Sweet bugles of the dawn, sweep 
 swiftly on 
 To fret the frondage of the dream- 
 ing hill. 
 
 ►i^LXXXVII^i^ 
 
 ND ere the burning noon 
 
 shall faint and fail 
 A joy-mad lark shall brave 
 the higher gale 
 To sing his love, and jealously 
 efface 
 The echoed mem'ries of the night- 
 ingale. 
 
 ►i^LXXXVIII^ 
 
 OWORLDofbeauty! World 
 of charm! Where naught 
 Is left to vagrant chance, or 
 ever brought 
 To drear misuse by dearth of 
 tenderness. 
 Or e'er a second's lack of loving 
 thought. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OP 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 HORD, dost offend this sim- 
 ple, hackneyed strain 
 In pointed praise of that 
 which should be plain — 
 This poor attempt to garland 
 crumbling phrase, 
 Somewhat of charm and newness 
 to attain ? 
 
 ^XC^ 
 
 OLET me take the world's 
 old worn-out tongue 
 And crush it to the vague 
 from which it sprung, 
 Then fashion from the inarticu- 
 late, 
 New songs to vary those that have 
 been sung. 
 
 ►J^XCI^i^ 
 
 SET is it not the singer nor 
 the song, 
 But faith alone — so Ignor- 
 ance's long 
 Monotonies may vie with jeweled 
 psalm. 
 And echo in Thine ear as clear and 
 strong ? 
 
 L 
 
n 
 
 QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^XCII^ 
 
 EULL oft from out the pleas- 
 ure groves that lie 
 About the Vineyard comes 
 the taunting cry, 
 " Why toil ye through the pleas- 
 ant days, O Fools ? 
 Hast ever yet beheld the Master's 
 
 eye 
 
 ^XCIII^i^ 
 
 H, SWEET the luring 
 shade at noontide's heat, 
 With garland-weaving 
 Phyllis near, and sweet 
 The lulling song, the heart-com- 
 pelling pipe, 
 The rhythmic twinkling of the 
 dancers' feet. 
 
1 
 
 .T^ 
 
 QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 
 
 
 \^ ^HEY chant the sun, the 
 # C^ rose ; and dreamy-eyed, 
 %, J Sing sultans, beauty, wine, 
 ^^■^ the pomp and pride 
 
 That ever tends on Pleasure's 
 golden court, 
 Till simple Faith seems very poor 
 
 beside. 
 
 y^ CND soft as flower-petals 
 
 fr 1 Chloe's breast, 
 
 ^ 1 Its creamy charm allur- 
 ^' ^ ingly confessed — 
 
 Aye, soft as blossoms in a prince's 
 keep. 
 Slave -watched, and by Hyblean 
 
 winds caressed. 
 
 /^ ^\ UT solemn night descends 
 
 V 1/''^^ upon the play, 
 
 \m^M In crashing discord ends 
 
 ^^-^ the roundelay — 
 On Chloe's chilling breast the 
 roses droop, 
 
 And Phyllis sorrows for the van- 
 ished day. 
 
 
fl 
 
 QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ftolM 
 
 CHE night that frightens 
 idlers brings me peace, 
 The dusk that scatters 
 them marks my release, 
 And so throughout the day I toil 
 content, 
 Until the twilight's signal of sur- 
 cease. 
 
 CHE Vineyard hath its heat 
 and hurt, and thin 
 My cheeks with tears, but 
 what a goal to win ! 
 And there are Jordan's banks all 
 soft with shade. 
 And Kedron's flow to lave the body 
 
 in. 
 
 © 
 
 ►i^XCIX^i^ 
 
 'IS written so upon the 
 world's great crest, 
 A million things in Nature 
 all attest 
 A perfect law of balance which 
 makes clear 
 That only those who work shall 
 know His rest. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 'IN may with gorgeousness 
 conceal its dole, 
 And gloriously garb the 
 body's whole 
 In dream-born tissues soft as 
 Circe's lips, 
 But only faith can ornament the 
 soul. 
 
 FINER savor has the 
 
 beaded brine 
 That drops from brow to 
 lip than idle wine. 
 And dearer far the laurel's sober 
 leaves 
 Than gaily flaunting garlands from 
 the vine. 
 
 'O HOLD thy soul to faith- 
 fulness, nor yet 
 The ends and purposes of 
 toil forget, 
 But through the day keep thou 
 thine eyes in love 
 On that dear Heaven where God's 
 throne is set. 
 
(QUATRAINS 
 
 Ob 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 K 
 
 HOk some, eyes hard upon 
 the httle place 
 They plot and potter in, 
 ne'er raibe a face, 
 Until Death's heavy hand arouses 
 them 
 Tocringe before an undreamt, great 
 cr space. 
 
 CHE Pearl of Peace cannot 
 be bought by strands 
 Of gems, or treasure gath 
 ercd from far lands 
 Remember Simon Magus failed 
 to buy 
 God's gift from Philip of the Blessed 
 Hands. 
 
 'AlwVATlON has no price, 
 hut all must ask 
 Who would receive the 
 boon, nor wear a mask 
 To shield the shame and evil in 
 their eyes, 
 And hide a face unbronzed by 
 worthy task. 
 
?D 
 
 ^ kMit. fi^m <9M fm 
 
 
 
 G 
 
 
 
 vjGi*jtL ^k^at 
 
 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 CHE fevered throng infre- 
 quently condoles 
 With effort-filled defeat, 
 yet aureoles 
 Unfair success, but God's dear 
 mercy makes 
 All well within the Marketplace of 
 Souls. 
 
 e 
 
 'OD'S mercy ! 'Tis the level 
 where agree 
 The rich, the poor, the fet- 
 tered and the free, 
 And where the slave's entreaty 
 rings as clear 
 As some imposing Sultan's haughty 
 plea. 
 
 'OD'S marketplace ! Where 
 subtly swift and strange 
 The values of this sorry 
 world all change. 
 So that the widow's mite will 
 buy far more 
 Than all the wealth of Ophir's gold- 
 en range. 
 
 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 'TRANGE, then, that with 
 it all so clear and straight 
 There should be argument, 
 high-pitched debate, 
 Dark misconceptions bred in 
 angry hearts, 
 And swirling mists of controversial 
 hate. 
 
 ^^^-^HUS, awe-struck and afraid, 
 # CA some fear God's grace, 
 ^ V And, crouching, cringing, 
 ^^^^ fulsomely abase 
 Themselves, while others scorn 
 the bended knee, 
 And harden eyes to look Him in 
 the face. 
 
 "IP^i^E moulded suns, and 
 W M fashioned seas and land, 
 1 f He gave us life, and with 
 '^"^^ His mighty hand 
 
 Arched Heaven over all, then 
 sent His Son 
 To consummate the scheme His 
 love had planned. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 SON all reft of princely cir- 
 cumstance, 
 Those glories that the 
 kingly lot enhance, 
 And sent along the way of sacri- 
 fice, 
 A path that took no heed of change 
 or chance. 
 
 'ND that the humblest 
 might not miss the clue, 
 Denied the royal birth that 
 was His due, 
 Delivered by a Virgin in the 
 dark, 
 Her bed of pain the straw the cattle 
 knew. 
 
 'TRANGE, then, that with 
 this beauty all about 
 The shining path that 
 points the one way out. 
 There should be unrequited wan- 
 derings — 
 Allurement in the sterile fields of 
 Doubt. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 ^CXVIII^i< 
 
 ^w^H AT midnight madness not 
 ^ ■ ^ to understand, 
 \mF To flee the happiness di- 
 ^*^^ vinely planned, 
 
 And in some tangle mow a matted 
 head, 
 And boast escape from Mercy's 
 
 reaching hand. 
 
 'ND strange that sons of 
 Thomas still abide 
 W^ith us on earth, and still 
 the truth deride. 
 Because they cannot grasp His 
 nail-torn hands 
 And see the blood gush from His 
 pierced side. 
 
 O SHAME of shames! The 
 Wise Men saw on high 
 God's guiding Star gleam 
 in the Eastern Sky, 
 And straightway journeyed forth 
 across the world. 
 With ne'er a question asked of 
 Where or Why. 
 
QUATRAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRIST 
 
 •« 
 
 OSTAR, may thy blest radi- 
 ance ever lend 
 Its glory to the Heavens 
 that o'er us bend, 
 That it may guide us to that holy 
 place 
 Where Christ awaits us at our 
 Journey's end. 
 
AUG 11 >SOy 
 
/