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"TRANSCRIPT" PIECES 
 
 1 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK FOXCROFT. 
 
 NORTH ADAMS, MASS. ; 
 
 JAMES T. ROBINSON * COMPANY, PKINTEM. 
 
 1868. 
 

 TO MY FRIENDS, 
 
 WHOSE LOVE 
 
 HAS GIVEN LIFE ITS PLEASURES. 
 
 And The World Its Sunshine. 
 
 these WAIFS 
 
 Are Affe< tioxately 
 
 DEDICATED. 
 
 May God Bless Them All! 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 A Glimpse, 43 
 
 A Legend , .39 
 
 At The Evening Time, 67 
 
 A Waif, 76 
 
 Battle Of Life, .....15 
 
 Down By The Headland, 78 
 
 1> Eternity, 37 
 
 Farewell To 1868, 25 
 
 God Is Love, 28 
 
 Gone, .-. 80 
 
 Hail To 1868, 82 
 
 Influence, 69 
 
 In The Churchyard, 60 
 
 I Will Give You Rest, 33 
 
 Jericho, 84 
 
 Judge Not, 40 
 
 Look Not On The Wine, 48 
 
 Lost, . 52 
 
 "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," 73 
 
 Only A Name, 23 
 
 Onward, 18 
 
 "Our Darling," .55 
 
 "Our Darling" Dead, 57 
 
 riaying Croquet, .12 
 
 Plea For Home Missions, 71 
 
 Progress, 20 
 
 Requiem, 45 
 
 River Of Dreams, *. 50 
 
 Song Of The Virgins, 83 
 
 Song Of The Ransomed, 16 
 
 Spes In Ad verso, 59 
 
 The Days We Live In, 30 
 
 The Leaves, 54 
 
 The Snow, ...42 
 
 Thoughts On An Hour Glass, 02 
 
 Thy Kingdom Come , ,,,,,..,.,,,,,.,,.....,,,.,. 3 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Melting of the Snow, .7 
 
 The Island of Love, 90 
 
 To The Republic, 88 
 
 Ultima Verba, 11 
 
 Unknown, 41 
 
 What Love Is, 6G 
 
 What The Sea Shells Said, 8 
 
 Why The Snow Came, 64 
 
 "Yet There Is Room," <jl 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I can hardly be dignified with the name of poet or my pro- 
 ductions with the name of poetry as, at the age of seventeen, 
 I give these forth to the world. I call them nothing more than 
 simply the writings of my boyhood. I claim nothing more for 
 them than that they are really fragments of my heart and 
 brain, and that whatever earnestness they may possess is not 
 simulated. I know nothing more of their merits than only that 
 they have been a source of comfort to myself, and that much 
 of the enjoyment of the past two years has come from the 
 composing them. 
 
 I have called them "Transcript Pieces" because about half 
 of them were originally printed in the "Boston Transcript." 
 Most of the others have appeared in various daily and weekly 
 papers. Several see the light for the first time now. 
 
 With this brief introduction I leave them. My friends I know 
 will welcome them if for nothing else than from love for me. 
 And it any copies should reach the great outside world, I trust 
 it will deal with me kindty and at the same time frankly. 
 
 Pittsfield, Mass., 1887. 
 
POEMS. 
 
 THE MELTING OF THE SXOW. 
 
 I stood at the open window, 
 
 This beautiful spring-like day, 
 And watched the wearisome drifts of snow 
 
 As under the sun they lay, 
 And heard, with a thrill of gladness, 
 
 Down-falling from the eaves, 
 The pattering of the snow drops, — 
 
 Quoth I, i; Old winter grieves, 
 And these are the tears he is shedding. 
 
 To think that his reign is done ; 
 That his chilling blast is not long to last. 
 
 But must yield to the potent sun"— 
 And the singing of beautiful birds, 
 
 The budding of beautiful flowers, 
 The warming rays of the golden sun 
 
 That gladden the spring-time hours* 
 All these and more did the glad drops sing. 
 
 As the}' struck the ground below, 
 And my heart kept time to the gladsome rhy m e 
 
 To the melting of the snow. 
 
10 WHAT THE SEA SHELLS SAID. 
 
 To bring her relief; 
 And their wavelets insweeping. 
 Had ended her weeping, 
 
 Had ended her orrief. 
 
 A% 
 
ULTIMA VERBA. 11 
 
 ULTIMA VERBA. 
 
 There are beautiful words of tongue and pen 
 Spoken and written and sung by men, 
 But the sweetest of all and of all the best, 
 Of words of comfort and words of rest, 
 Are the parting words of Christ our Friend, 
 vl am with you always — unto the end." 
 
 There were wondrous songs at the Saviour's birth, 
 Sung by the angels here on earth, 
 Telling of "peace and good will to men" 
 Till the echoes caught back the sound again ; 
 But these sweeter words with their voices blend, 
 "I am with you always — unto the end." 
 
 There is sadness and sorrow iu every life, 
 
 There is waiting and watching and toil and strife ; 
 
 But through all the gloom, through all our fears. 
 
 One ray of promise the pathway cheers. 
 
 Ever those words of love descend, — 
 
 "I am with you always — unto the end." 
 
1*2 PLAYING CROQUET— A VALENTINE. 
 
 PLAYIXG CROQUET— A VALENTINE. 
 
 Of the beauties of nature, the glories of morn. 
 Of clays that are coming and days that are gone. 
 Of the past and the present and similar things 
 Every poet and rhymester eternally sing-. 
 Forgive me. then, if I tune up my lyre. 
 And even to rhythmical honors aspire, 
 To a different tune, in a different way. 
 Permit me to sing the song of Croquet. 
 
 It must he confessed 'tis a wonderful game, 
 However you look at it, always the same; 
 Ring, mallet and ball. ball, mallet and ring, 
 From the first to the last a most wonderful thing. 
 Let corpulent people revile it, in vain, 
 And talk of it lightlv with words of disdain : 
 
 •/ 
 
 Whatever old maids and bachelors say. 
 There is a singular charm in playing Croquet. 
 
 And when, even now, 1 review tin 1 past years, 
 With their burdens and sorrows, their joys and their tears. 
 Where the light and the shadow blend strangely together, 
 The storm and the sunshine, blue sky and rough weather. 
 To these things of the past points Memory's finger. 
 Like oases in life where the mind fain would linger. 
 And though plans for the future may call it away. 
 It pauses to think of those games of Croquet. 
 
PLAYING CROQUET— A VALENTINE. 13 
 
 We're all playing Croquet, from the great to the small. 
 Eaeh knocking away with his mallet and hall. 
 There is space to he gone over, points to he made. 
 And— — the best of mankind are sometimes "croquetted." 
 But he who knocks rashly and misses his ring 
 Finds soon to his sorrow the truth of this thing, 
 That Dame Fortune, too, has a wonderful way, 
 And a singular knack at playing Croquet. 
 
 ^mvjkv^ 
 
 ^ 
 
14 THE BATTLE OF LIFE. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LIFE. 
 
 Yes. 1 am fighting' the battle of Life, 
 
 God knows if I rise or fall ; 
 For I am weary and worn with the strife. 
 
 Sad and heart-sick of it all. 
 
 1 am lighting the wearisome light alone. 
 
 With no one by me to cheer; 
 Yet however alone, I will still tight on 
 
 With never a thought for fear. 
 
 It is easy for those who are out oi the tight. 
 
 To say to us— "Still fight on; 
 You will see the beams of the morning light 
 
 When the darkness and shades are gone." 
 
 It is easy for them to fold their arms. 
 
 And bid us be filled with hope ; 
 They who are all safe from the war's alarms, 
 
 Out of its power and scope. 
 
 But 'tis hard for us who arc younger in years. 
 
 And know so little of war, 
 To grow weaker and weaker while Satan jeers, 
 
 As he looks on from afar. 
 
THE BATTLE OF LIFE. 15 
 
 There are pit-fulls and dangers all' through the land, 
 
 Strongholds that must be taken. 
 So we still fight on with a weary hand 
 
 And a heart that seems forsaken. 
 
 But through the toil of the gloomy night, 
 
 One thought cheers us on the more, 
 That we are waging the self-same fight 
 
 That our Lord has waged before. 
 
 God grant that the shades of this darkened night 
 
 May in beams of glory end ; 
 And that He whose might hath won the fight 
 
 May his strength and armor lend. 
 
 With the shield of Faith and the Banner of Love, 
 
 With the Helmet strong and true, 
 With the Breast-plate bright that the angels wove 
 
 We may yet pass safely through. 
 
16 THE SONG OF THE RANSOMED. 
 
 THE SOXG OF THE RANSOMED. 
 
 On the further shore, in the other land, 
 'Mid the brightness and glory the angels stand. 
 AY r ith a song on their lips and a harp in their hand, 
 Worshiping, praising the Lamb. 
 
 "To Him who hath loved us and cleansed us from sin. 
 Hath taken His blood and washed us therein. 
 Hath given His life up our own life to win. 
 Be power and praise forever. 
 
 To Him who removed the guilt and the stain. 
 Ma}' glory and honor and blessing remain : 
 Worthy, worthy the Lamb that was slain. 
 Worthy, yes worthy the Lamb." 
 
 Thro* many a day and many a year, 
 rnchecked by a sorrow, undimmed by a tear, 
 With never a sin and never a fear. 
 The angels join in His praise. 
 
 In rivers of music, in oceans of song. 
 The wonderful anthem the echoes prolong. 
 Sweeping in currents steady and strong. 
 Over and over the land. 
 
THE SONG OF THE RANSOMED. 1 
 
 m 
 
 Though we may catch but the eehoings here, 
 Though our journeyings' upward be lonely and drear. 
 Yet life is a shadow, Eternity's near, 
 And then we, too, can adore 
 
 m 
 
18 ONWARD. 
 
 ONWARD. 
 
 Oh. the world is marching onward. 
 
 With a grand resistless tread, 
 And the anthems of the living 
 
 Drown the mournings for the dead. 
 
 r- 
 
 Bcams of light are falling round us, 
 Prom the brighter worlds on high. 
 They are driving oft* the shadows, 
 
 They are clearing up the sky. 
 
 Never yet in all the story 
 Of this wondrous world of ours, 
 
 Came a day with half the glory 
 That Is gathered into ours. 
 
 Ages of oppression crumbling, 
 Tell the tale of fading wrong. 
 
 Ami the powers of darkness weaken, 
 And i he cause of Christ grows strong. 
 
 Such shall be our march forever 
 Long as earth and time shall last. 
 
 Till in the glories of the Present 
 We forget the dreary Past. 
 
ONWARD. 19 
 
 Onward, onward, ever onward, 
 With a grand, resistless sway, 
 
 Till at length from out the darkness 
 We shall reach eternal day. 
 
1'0 PROGRESS. 
 
 PPtOGRESS. 
 
 Swift the wheels of Time are turning, 
 
 And the years are speeding* by, 
 But the thoughts within me burning 
 
 Pass more swiftlj r than they fly. 
 For I feel that I am learning 
 
 How to live and how to die. 
 Visions of another being 
 
 Come across me now, 
 From the Past and Present fleeing 
 
 In a way I know not how. 
 I am reaching, ever reaching, 
 To the golden, golden teaching, 
 And the mystic, mystic preaching, 
 
 Of the bright hereafter. 
 
 'e> 
 
 Past and Present now are meeting, 
 
 On the weary shores behind, 
 Age to age is sending greeting, 
 
 Mind is reaching after miud, 
 Though the sands of Life are fleeting, 
 
 And the sisters ever wind, 
 Still the great and mighty Giver 
 
 Of all earthly joys 
 Has the power and will deliver 
 
PROGRESS. 21 
 
 3 
 
 From the care that now annoys, 
 And His might}' love redeeming. 
 Will remove this empty seeming. - 
 Take away this useless dreaming, 
 
 In the bright Hereafter. 
 
 hi a wondrous age we're dwelling 
 
 When the truth is shed abroad 
 Man to fellow man is telling: 
 
 Of a loving, gracious Lord, 
 Heart with heart together welling. 
 
 Chord in unison with chord ; 
 All the bells of Truth are knelling 
 
 Death to every wrong, 
 While the hearts of saints are swelling 
 
 With the rippling waves of song. 
 Heavenly tidings will be going, 
 Heavenly rivers will be flowing, 
 Heavenly breezes will be blowing, 
 
 In the bright Hereafter. 
 
 Shout aloud ye waiting nations, 
 Eaise your paeans to the skies. 
 
 Let the loudest acclamations 
 From your grateful hearts arise ; 
 
 All your bright anticipations 
 Of a joy that never dies. 
 
22 
 
 PROGRESS. 
 
 Soon will end in brighter glories 
 Than you've dared to dream. 
 
 And like long-forgotton stories 
 Will your toils and trials seem. 
 
 Every brightest hope and vision. 
 
 Every wish and dream elysian. 
 
 Soon will meet in sweet fruition. 
 In the bright Hereafter. 
 
 fe 
 
ONLY A NAME. * 23 
 
 ONLY A NAME. 
 
 I sit by the dying embers 
 That will never kindle more 
 
 And my weary heart remembers 
 The glowing* hopes of yore. 
 
 What wonder if I'm lonely? 
 
 In my soul the shadows blend. 
 And I love the darkness, only 
 
 As the semblance of a friend. 
 
 The clock with warning finger, 
 
 Points to the fleeting time, 
 Yet still these memories linger, 
 
 These thoughts and hopes sublime. 
 
 I am neither awake nor dreaming, 
 Yet in colors of crimson and gold, 
 
 Strange fancies, uot wholly a seeming, 
 To my longing heart I unfold. 
 
 By a weird-like necromancy 
 I people these vacant halls, 
 
 And the flickering fires of fancy 
 Lighten the gloomy walls. 
 
24 ONLY A NAME. 
 
 
 And there comes to me a murmur. 
 
 With a burden ever the same, 
 Making my spirit the firmer, 
 
 Though it breathes but an empty name. 
 Sweeter than breezes from Bnrmah. 
 
 Though it breathes but an empty name. 
 
 Lighter than tones of a fairy. 
 
 Brighter than Paradise bird, 
 Clearer than trill of canary. 
 
 Dearer than angel word, — 
 By the name of the long-lost Mary 
 
 The depths of ray heart are stirred. 
 
 v 
 
FAREWELL TO 1866. 25 
 
 FAREWELL TO 1866. 
 
 Farewell, Old Year ! Farewell to you ! 
 
 You've been a faithful friend and true, 
 
 And yet sometimes you've used me ill, 
 
 You've dashed my hopes, you've curbed my will,- 
 I've something more to tell to you 
 
 Before I say farewell to you, 
 
 Old Year. 
 
 VVhv am I left here all alone 
 
 To mourn o'er pleasures dead and gone? 
 
 Where are the hopes that filled me, when 
 
 You first came down to dwell with men? 
 When I waited for the dawning 
 Of your gladsome natal morning, 
 
 Old Year. 
 
 You changed my gladness into rears. 
 
 You filled my soul with doubts and fears. 
 
 You've stolen all my hopes away, 
 
 I cannot longer bid you stay. — 
 
 Golden sands vou've shaken from me, 
 Loving friends you've taken from me, 
 
 Old Year. 
 
26 FAREWELL TO 1800. 
 
 But still in all afflictions sent, 
 I thank you for the good intent, 
 And take you once more by the hand 
 Before you leave this dreary laud, 
 
 For the winter winds are wailing 
 And your feeble life is failing, 
 
 Old Year. 
 
 Sitting here 1 still remember 
 
 How I felt on last December, 
 
 Thinking how brave and true I'd be, 
 
 Whatever you might bring to me. 
 
 Joy and grief were the same to me 
 So long as you only came to me. 
 
 Old Year. 
 
 Now, although you are well-nigh dead. 
 
 Those earnest longings have not fled ; 
 
 All the dreams that still T cherish 
 
 Will not with your dying perish. 
 
 Though your withered cheek be paling, 
 And your feeble life be failing. 
 
 Old Year. 
 
 1 thank you for the good you brought. 
 The higher wish, the nobler thought, 
 And for aught I have done amiss 
 I humbly ask forgiveness ; 
 
FAREWELL TO 1866. 27 
 
 ■ ■ " ' ■ ■ ' — ■ ' " ■- " "*— ■ ' ' ■■--■' ...,—.——. ... f — ■ — -* ; ■ ■ ■- - _ ■ - ■ .. . j-, 
 
 I want to make things square with you, 
 I want to do what's fair with you, ^ 
 j Old Year. 
 
 But while I fain would make amends, 
 I hardly seem the best of friends; 
 For while I bid good bye to you 
 I turn to welcome in the new, — 
 
 I've nothing more to tell to 3^0 u, 
 
 Again I say farewell to 3^011, 
 
 Old Year. 
 
28 GOD IS LOVE. 
 
 GOD IS LOVE. 
 
 O. mortal, filled with empty daring, 
 Of all earthly aid despairing", 
 
 Look above ! 
 All the realms of Nature, speaking", 
 Say to thy misguided seeking, 
 
 "God is Love." 
 
 From the rivers, from the mountains. 
 From the hills and from the fountains. 
 
 Comes the word. 
 From the rock bv Moses -mitten. 
 From the Book that He has written. 
 
 Praise the Lord ! 
 
 From the worlds He has created, 
 Star with star forever mated 
 
 In their rounds, 
 From all on earth, above, and under. 
 In tones of mingling love and wonder. 
 
 Worship sound-. 
 
 By the words that He has spoken. 
 By the promise never broken, 
 By His grace. 
 
GOD IS LOVE. 2d 
 
 Turn from earth and earthly pleasure 
 To the joy that knows no measure. 
 Seek His face. 
 
 For when all thy friends forsake thee. 
 Then the Lord thy God will take thee. 
 
 In His .hands, 
 By still waters He will lead thee. 
 In the pleasant pastures feed thee. 
 
 In His lands. 
 
 ™te 
 
30 THE DAYS WE LIVE IN. 
 
 THE DAYS WE LIVE IX. 
 
 Delivered July -itlu 1867. 
 
 Let others sing of auld lang syne, 
 
 And days long since gone by, 
 And ring out the chimes of the good old times. 
 
 The times too good to die. 
 
 But give to ni}' heart the fresher song. 
 
 The song of the days that are, 
 For the world moves on and there's work to be done. 
 
 Work that is nobler far. 
 
 We have nought to do with the buried Past, 
 
 Its sorrows, its hopes and fears, 
 We are swept along in the current strong. 
 
 And the golden Future nears. 
 
 We raise our hands to our God to-dav. 
 
 For our hearts are full of praise, 
 And we breathe this prayer through the open air. 
 
 That He will bless our days. 
 
 We see this glorious land of ours 
 Which the slave for years has trod. 
 
THE DAYS WE LIVE IN. 31 
 
 We see it free from sea to sea, 
 And for this we bless our God. 
 
 u 
 
 There is no war through all our land 
 
 To bring us death and woe, 
 But the Wrong has failed and the Eight prevailed, 
 
 And the zephyrs of plenty blow. 
 
 No fettered hand in all our land, 
 
 No foe on our free sod, 
 Shall we not raise eternal praise 
 
 To God, our fathers' God? 
 
 And the day is coming, coming soon, 
 
 As it needs no seer to tell, 
 When our rule shall be from sea to sea 
 
 And from pole to pole as well. 
 
 Then let us join with hand in hand 
 
 And heart to heart to-day, 
 Like a bulwark stand around our land 
 
 And keep her foes at bay. 
 
 All Europe's thrones shall tremble soon 
 
 And learn what freemen are, 
 I give you this toast as the nation's boast, 
 
 ;; For the Stars and Stripes, Hurrah ! " 
 
32 
 
 THE DAYS WE LIVE IX. 
 
 The Past and the Future are well enough, 
 Thev are times to forget and forgive in. 
 
 But I give you this toast as the poet's boast. 
 4 * Hurrah for the days we live in." 
 
 i%T\ 
 
 B 
 
; I WILL GIVE YOU REST." 33 
 
 "I WILL GIVE YOU REST." 
 
 Long before our lives were woven, 
 Or the first few threads were spun, 
 
 Long before our days of action 
 Or our life-work had begun, 
 
 Was the Christian's mansion builded 
 And the Christian's battle won. 
 
 Piercing through the gloom of ages, 
 
 Of a dead and buried Past, 
 Comes a voice, whose gentle cadence 
 
 Tells of peaceful rest at last, 
 Tells of rest somewhere hereafter, 
 
 Rest from Sorrow's wintry blast. 
 
 When a soul by sin o'erladen 
 Is borne down with heavy cares, 
 
 When a heart is filled with sorrow 
 And is wild with fierce despairs, 
 
 Conies this voice from out the darkness 
 And it lifts the load it bears. 
 
 When the Christian's heart is weary, 
 When the Christian's strength is low, 
 
 When his soul is faint within him 
 And his onward march is slow, 
 
34 U I WILL GIVE YOU REM 
 
 ■ TT-I - - ' ' - . i <r ■ i, . — i i ... . i ■ i ii. . ., i . -, - 
 
 Comes this voice from out the darkness, 
 And it takes away his woe. 
 
 So when we are tired of struggling, 
 When we sink beneath the wave, 
 
 When it seems there's nothing left us. 
 When it seems there's none to save, 
 
 Comes this voice from out the darkness, 
 And it points beyond the grave. 
 
U THY KINGDOM COME." 35 
 
 ^l,«g.jy,li, l, gj|,"l 4 ' 
 
 "THY KINGDOM COME." 
 
 Clouds and shadows all are fading, 
 
 That obscured the way, 
 And the gloom of pagan darkness 
 
 Passes into day. 
 
 For the shades of night are thickest 
 
 Just before the sun, 
 And the labor seems the hardest 
 
 Just before its done. 
 
 So the reign of superstition 
 
 Marks a brighter dawn, 
 And we hardly feel the darkness 
 
 Ere it all is gone. 
 
 Jesus' kingdom is advancing, 
 
 Spite of all the earth, 
 And the heathen nations bowing, 
 
 Testify its worth. 
 
 Men are weak and nations feeble, 
 
 Battling for the Wrong, 
 But the Eight is going onward, 
 
 Never yet so strong. 
 
36 "THY KINGDOM COME." 
 
 And the cause will surely triumph, 
 
 Whether soon or late, 
 For the hands of man are guided 
 
 By the hand of Fate. 
 
ETERNITY. 37 
 
 ETERNITY. 
 
 Go stand upon some lofty mountain height, 
 Where mighty forests stretch out before you, 
 And of all the trees that reach forth their arms 
 Into God's own sunlight, let every leaf 
 Be to your mind a century of time,— 
 And you have just commenced Eternity. 
 
 Or take within the compass of your mind 
 
 The countless grains of dust that make the earth, 
 
 And as you measure all the mighty mass, 
 
 Let every grain represent a hundred, 
 
 Yes, a thousand years of light and life and love, 
 
 And still Eternity lies far beyond. 
 
 O consummation of our hopes and fears, 
 Thou dread receptacle of finite time, 
 Thou, whom no man can fully comprehend 
 Until he stands upon thy boundless shores ; 
 Thou, whom we know only by that vast name 
 Eternity,— how strangely great art thou ! 
 
 And we, frail creatures of a feeble race, 
 Who in the farthest reach of intellect. 
 
38 ETERNITY. 
 
 Fail still to comprehend thee as thou art, 
 How can we come to dwell within thy shade ? 
 Thanks be to God, we have a faith and trust 
 That shall endure as long as thou shalt last. 
 
A LEGEND. 39 
 
 A LEGEND. . 
 
 There's a weird and strange tradition, 
 And a wondrous superstition 
 
 Found in the legends of yore, 
 That long before we had a being, 
 Or had joined the armies, fleeing 
 
 On to Eternity's shore. 
 
 Long before this thing serial 
 Sweeping through the realms etherial, 
 
 Thing that mortals have called earth, 
 Had been founded or created 
 Or with other planets mated, 
 
 Long before it had its birth. 
 
 All the space wherein we're dwelling, 
 ('Tis a legend I am telling) 
 
 Was but chaos black as night, 
 And that rays of feeble beaming, 
 Through the thickest darkness streaming, 
 
 Marked the first approach of light. 
 
 Then its radiance outward throwing, 
 With its glories ever growing, 
 
 Growing, growing more and more, 
 
40 A LEGEND. 
 
 It increased, till through all spaces 
 In its brightness it embraces 
 
 From the farther shore to shore. 
 So this superstitious nation 
 Make the sun their adoration, 
 
 Worship thus the source of light, 
 Send the sours profound devotion 
 Far across the ether ocean 
 
 To this king of day and night. 
 
 Great the lessons that this preaches, 
 Great the knowledge that it teaches 
 
 Of the tire within the heart, 
 Of the hidden thirst for learning, 
 Of the proud ambitions burning, 
 
 That of life and soul are part. 
 
 And since this dark, benighted nation, 
 Take as theme of adoration 
 
 The noblest object in their sight, 
 Let us take the One Supernal 
 King of kings, through all eternal. 
 
 God of life and God of light. 
 
UNKNOWN. 41 
 
 UNKNOWN. 
 
 Who can know the mysteries 
 
 Of another's life, 
 Who can write the histories 
 
 Of another's strife? 
 
 Who can see the filaments 
 Of another's heart, 
 
 Or can tell the elements 
 That in him have part ? 
 
 Who can read the inner strivings 
 
 Of another's soul, 
 Or the coldness or revivings 
 
 Which his life control? 
 
 Sealed the book at end and middle 
 Such is Nature's plan ; 
 
 Man is but a living riddle 
 To his fellow man. 
 
42 THE SNOW. 
 
 THE SNOW. 
 
 What is purer than the snow? 
 With its tiny, fleecy flakes. 
 What a glorious robe it makes 
 For the grand old earth to wear. 
 Covering* up the marks of care, 
 Reaching all things high and low. 
 
 Though the earth he tilled with wrong. 
 And iniquity he strong, 
 There's a pleasure in the air, 
 Beaching all things everywhere. 
 And the snow-flakes in a night 
 Cover everything from sight 
 And for once the earth is white. 
 
 Every flake a perfect gem 
 Fit for regal diadem ; 
 Every flake a work of art, 
 Full, complete in every part ; 
 Every flake a thing of light, . 
 Every flake of spotless white, 
 In the golden sunlight glancing, 
 In the wintry breezes dancing, 
 Joy of all, and love of all, 
 Down the merry snow-flakes fall. 
 
A GLIMPSE. 43 
 
 A GLIMPSE, 
 
 I had a vision the other night, 
 
 A vision of wonderful brightness ; 
 Methought I saw the angels of light 
 
 With robes of glittering whiteness. 
 
 I stood for a while on the further shore, 
 
 And I heard the angels sing, 
 I heard such songs as never before, * 
 
 While they gathered around the King. 
 
 I caught a glimpse of the loved and lost, 
 
 Thank God ! not lost forever,— 
 They stood by the stream where the breakers tossed, 
 
 By the swiftly flowing river. 
 
 They stood by the rolling gulf that lies 
 'Twixt two shores, the bright and the dark, 
 
 Watching and waiting with heart and eyes, 
 For a sight of the boatman's bark. 
 
 Watching for us whom they left behind 
 
 When they joined that happy band, 
 For us, whom the shackles of earth still bind, 
 
 Prisoners in a dreary land. 
 
44 A GLIMPSE. 
 
 I saw the disciple whom Jesus loved 
 
 Still leaning on Jesus- breast, 
 I saw those whom the fire had proved, 
 
 Entered into their rest. 
 
 I saw the harps and the crowns of gold, 
 
 All lying at Jesus's feet, 
 And the Shepherd still led on his fold. 
 
 Where the waters and pastures meet. 
 
 But how can I tell of the golden sheet 
 
 That the crystal waters lave, 
 Of the great white throne, and the pastures sweet, 
 
 That lie on the edge of the wave? 
 
 It would take a more than mortal pen 
 
 A burden so great to bear, 
 But remembering now the glories then. 
 
 I would to God I were there. 
 
A REQUIEM. 4o 
 
 A KEQU1EM. 
 
 Lower the coffin down ! 
 
 Into the heart of the gray old earth, 
 
 Until the soil that gave her birth 
 Has covered her once more. 
 
 4 'She died in the faith, and a Christian's trust, 
 
 Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," — 
 
 And the minister's work is o'er. 
 
 Lower the coffin down ! 
 The hopes of a life-time are crushed, 
 The voice that we loved so is hushed, 
 
 Hushed in the grave forever ; 
 And a blank is left in our hearts, 
 A sorrow that never departs, 
 
 A craving that leaveth us never. 
 
46 JUDGE NOT. 
 
 JUDGE NOT. 
 
 There are chords in the human heart 
 
 Deeper than eye can see, 
 That throb with the hidden sorrows 
 
 And the soul's great agony. 
 
 There are threads of sadness woven 
 
 And interwoven in life, 
 There are bitter inward strugglings 
 
 That make the outward strife. 
 
 There are torrents of passion, covered, 
 
 But raging still within, 
 That will sometimes break their fetters, 
 
 And plunge the heart in sin. 
 
 So when you know some great one 
 
 Has fallen from his height; 
 You only know of half the tale, 
 
 The rest is out of sight. 
 
 You only know that the fetters 
 That bind your heart to right, 
 
 In him have rusted and broken. 
 Letting loose the torrent's might. 
 
JUDGE NOT. 
 
 47 
 
 Deal kindly with such erring ones, 
 For you are no less frail, 
 
 And when the hour of trial comes 
 Mayhap you too will fail . 
 
 L 
 
48 ;; LOOK NOT OX THE WINE." 
 
 -LOOK NOT OX THE WINE.'" 
 
 Look not on the wine when it sparklet If, 
 
 When it nioveth itself aright, 
 For its sting is the sting of an adder, 
 
 And like that of the serpent, its bite. 
 
 Its color is red as the ruby. 
 
 For the stain that dyes it is blood. 
 And the current that giveth it color 
 
 Ts of man, in the image of Ood. 
 
 Twas the hand of Satan that pressed it,— 
 It came from the caverns of hell. 
 
 And the woes that it brings in its passage 
 No one but its maker fan tell. 
 
 Keep off from the sin-stained goblet, 
 As you would from the portals of death. 
 
 For utter destruction is in it, 
 And poison i« borne on its breath. 
 
 For the sake of the manhood within you, 
 Of the soul that is j^ours to save, 
 
 For the fear of the death eternal. 
 And the never opening gravo. 
 
; ' LOOK NOT ON THE W IN E. " 49 
 
 In the name of all that is holy. 
 
 In the name of all that is true, 
 Keep off from the death-freighted potion. 
 
 Let the cup have no charms for you. 
 
50 THE RIVER OF DREAMS, 
 
 THE RIVER OF DREAMS. 
 
 Oft have I sailed in a mystic craft. 
 
 A-down the river of Dreams, 
 Where the perfume, laden breezes waft 
 
 And the golden sunlight streams. 
 
 r- 
 
 Beautiful palaces line the shore. 
 
 Covered with purple and gold, 
 And the river flows, with a sullen roar, 
 
 "Past cities grim and old. 
 
 Islands rioat on the tireless tide, 
 Glowing with crimson flowers, 
 
 And numberless charms on every side 
 Quicken the fleeting hours. 
 
 Through all the cities that line the banks, 
 
 Shadowy spectres go, 
 And phantom hosts, in misty ranks. 
 
 March silently to and fro. 
 
 Never a cloud in the skies above, 
 
 Never a ripple below, 
 But the river is like to the River of Love 
 
 In its steady, onward flow. 
 
THE RIVER OF DREAMS. 51 
 
 And still flows on the River of Dreams 
 Through the beautiful Land of Rest, 
 
 And still the golden sunlight streams 
 Over its quiet breast. 
 
 Whene'er I am wearied with toil and care, 
 With sorrow and pain oppressed, 
 
 I give my sails to the balmy air, 
 And glide over its pulseless breast. 
 
52 • LOST. 
 
 LOST. 
 
 I. 
 
 A maiden and a lover 
 
 Walk down along the beach. 
 Their eyes alight with tenderness. 
 
 Too deep and sweet for speech. 
 While all the sky is fair and bine. 
 
 Far as the eye can reach. 
 
 Together they walk the shore. 
 
 Where land and water meet. 
 And the breaking of the wavelets 
 
 Makes music at their feet. 
 Rhymes in with their heart throbbing < 
 
 In music strangely sweet. 
 
 11. 
 A man walks down the shore alone. 
 
 With arms before him crossed, 
 Where the billows break in angry spray. 
 
 And the white-capped waves are tossed. 
 And he murmurs and moans of nothing else 
 
 But of her forever lost. 
 
 The shore is chill and dreary. 
 The sky is dark overhead, 
 
LOST, 53 
 
 And the hollow roar of the waters 
 
 Echoes back his rapid tread, 
 And sea and sky and atmosphere 
 
 All speak to him of the dead. 
 
54 THE LEAVES. 
 
 THE LEAVES. 
 
 The autumn leaves are falling- 
 Down from the grand old trees, 
 
 For a mystical voice is calling, 
 The strange, wierd voice of the breeze. 
 
 The beautiful leaves it beguileth 
 
 To go with it whither it will, 
 And with joyful heart it smileth 
 
 At the trees left barren and still. 
 
 * 
 
 Gladly they seek the new coiner, 
 Gladly they go with the breeze, 
 
 Forgetting their old friend, summer, 
 And their ancient companions, the trees. 
 
 But as I see them Hying, 
 Borne by that mystical breath. 
 
 T sigh as I think of them, lying 
 In the withering grasp of death. 
 
 For I know that their brightness fadetb, 
 
 As everything earthly will, 
 And the gloom of uncertainty shadeth 
 The light in our pathway still. 
 
OUR DARLING. 55 
 
 OUR DARLING. 
 
 Another weary pilgrimage, 
 
 Only just begun, 
 Another battle to be fought, 
 
 Another race to run. 
 
 The way is rough and thorny 
 
 For the little dimpled feet ; 
 Often the clouds will gather, 
 
 Oft will the tempests beat. 
 
 Who knows what bitter trials 
 
 TV ill lie along her way, 
 What night of thickest darkness 
 
 Will usher in her clay? 
 
 The cross is not yet lifted 
 That will prove so hard to bear, 
 
 The pure child-heart is throbbing, 
 Unchecked, unchillecl by care. 
 
 This is a world of changes, 
 
 Of mingled joy and tears, 
 Where the light and shadow blending, 
 
 Form the warp and woof of years. 
 
56 OCR DARLING. 
 
 But still we bid thee welcome, 
 What'er thy lot may be, 
 
 Where'er thy path may lead thee. 
 We can but welcome thee. 
 
 God bless our little darling, 
 And keep her for His own, 
 Until she join His children, 
 
 Around the great white Throue. 
 
 May 1st. 
 
"OUR DARLING DEAD." 57 
 
 " OUR DARLING DEAD. » 
 
 Thy ways, O God, are mysteries 
 To our weak human sight, 
 
 We fain would read their histories 
 But cannot read aright. 
 
 "»■ 
 
 'Tis our own weakness cloudeth 
 The glory of thy deeds, 
 
 Our lack of faith enshroudeth 
 Our sorrows and our needs. 
 
 We harbor in our blindness 
 Some lingering doubts of Thee, 
 
 Remembering not thy kindness, 
 Thy love and equity. 
 
 Shall we repine, our Father, 
 Or bend beneath the rod? 
 
 We praise and thank thee rather 
 That the child is safe with God. 
 
 We know not the temptation, 
 The weary toil and strife, 
 
 That might have risked salvation 
 Or lost the second life. 
 
 6 
 
58 " OUR DARLING DEAD." 
 
 But bowing in submission 
 
 We raise our hearts to Thee. 
 Adoring, with contrition, 
 The Love that made her free. 
 November 1st. 
 
SPES IN ADVERSO 59 
 
 SPES m ADVERSO. 
 
 Dark the cloud and sad its falling, 
 
 All our light has flown ; 
 Thou didst hear the Father, calling 
 
 From the Great White Throne. 
 
 Thou hast gone heyond the portal 
 
 Of the Golden Gate, 
 And amidst the life immortal 
 
 Ever wilt thou wait. 
 
 But the heavy clouds are lifting 
 
 That obscured our view, 
 And the darkness, backward drifting, 
 
 Shows God's mercy through. 
 
 We can hear the angels singing 
 
 Glad to have thee come, 
 The Eternal City ringing 
 
 With that Welcome Home. 
 
 All the grand blue arch above us 
 
 Seems ablaze with light, 
 And the thought that you still love us 
 
 Puts our fears to flight. 
 
60 IX THE CHURCH-YAK D. 
 
 IN THE CHURCH-YARD, 
 
 Tremont Street, Boston. 
 
 I sit in the church-yard damp, 
 
 Only a foot apart 
 From the people's ceaseless tramp, 
 
 And the city's throbbing- heart. 
 
 I gather a lesson here 
 
 From the strangeness of this -scene, 
 The dead and living seem so near, 
 
 With only this fence between. 
 
 And the thought comes over me 
 
 Banish it as I will, 
 That however young in life we be, 
 
 "We're near its ending- still. 
 
 And a voice comes forth from the ground. 
 
 Soft as an angel's breath, 
 With this the burden of its sound, — 
 
 " In life ve are in death.'' 
 
44 YET THERE IS ROOM." 61 
 
 "YET THERE IS ROOM. 
 
 5? 
 
 Iii the army of the Lord, 
 That with Heaven-given sword 
 Still is battling for the Word, — 
 There is room. 
 
 In the few, the chosen few, 
 Who still strive His work to do, 
 Sinner, there is room for you, — 
 There is room. 
 
 In the number of Christ's friends,— 
 Christ, who grace and mercy sends 
 Till in joy the journey ends, — 
 There is room. 
 
 In the better, brighter land, 
 Where the saints and angels stand, 
 Even at God's own right hand, 
 There is room. 
 
62 THOUGHTS ON AN HOUR GLASS. 
 
 THOUGHTS ON AN HOUR GLASS. 
 
 As a miser counts his gold 
 
 O'er and o'er, 
 While he himself is growing old 
 
 More and more. 
 
 So I count the moments told 
 
 In this glass ; 
 And I feel that I grow old 
 
 As they pass. 
 
 For I cling with lessening hold 
 
 To this life, 
 And my heart is all but cold 
 
 To its strife. 
 
 Yet perchance I may enfold 
 
 What I've lost, 
 When the waters dark and cold 
 
 Shall be crossed. 
 
 For the billows, bleak and bold, 
 
 Of this tide, 
 Lead to glories manifold 
 
 By its side. 
 
THOUGHTS ON AN HOUR GLASS. 63 
 
 And a joy as yet untold 
 
 Waits us there, 
 When we walk the streets of gold, 
 
 Freed from care. 
 
64 WHY THE SNOW CAME. 
 
 WHY THE SNOW CAME. 
 
 All day the blinding 1 ' snow came down 
 
 On the whitening roofs of the gray old town : 
 
 All through the day and through the night, 
 Till the earth was wrapt in a robe of white. 
 
 And the Storm King howled in his palace hall, 
 While his grim attendents made merry all. 
 
 He had bound the earth in a mystic spell, 
 Whose wonderful strength he knew full well ; 
 
 And lie laughed out now with a mocking sound, 
 As he looked o'er the mighty earth he had bound. 
 
 The snowy locks of the green old pines, 
 The heaps of snow on the buried vines, 
 
 The tall oak trees with their spectral arms, — 
 All had for him peculiar charms. 
 
 For they spoke to him of kingly state, 
 And of resources vast and great. 
 
WHY THE SNOW CAME. 65 
 
 ■"" - " " - 1 "" ' *" il l ■ . ■ ■ I ■ i ■ l M H I ■ I n — ,■■, , . _ , . , m 
 
 His friend, the Old Year, a few days before, 
 Had lifted the latch of Eternity's door. 
 
 And had gone to joint the Old Years past, 
 In the bitter wail of the Winter blast. 
 
 And the Storm King mourned for his ancient friend, 
 With a hearty grief that knew no end. 
 
 It had pained his sad heart more and more, 
 To see that all men, as before, 
 
 Carrying each the self-same load, 
 Plodded along in the same old road ; 
 
 Pausing not to drop a tear 
 
 On the snowy tomb of the gray Old Year. 
 
 And this was the reason he used his spell, 
 Whose wonderful strength we know so well. 
 
 '£5' 
 
 This was the reason he wove his shroud, 
 And spread it over the earth so proud, — 
 
 That the sons of men, whether willing or no, 
 Should cease for a moment to onward go, 
 
 And should pause to drop an unwilling tear 
 
 On the snowy tomb of the dear Old Year. 
 January, 1867. 
 
66 WHAT LOVE IS. 
 
 WHAT LOVE IS. 
 
 Never a maiden's face so fair 
 
 In all this wide, wide world, 
 Never a lock of dark brown hair 
 
 That ever so gracefully curled. 
 
 Never an eye so clear and bright, 
 
 Reading my inmost heart, 
 Warming my soul with its tender light 
 
 Till all things else depart. 
 
 I am borne along by the tidal waves. 
 
 The passionate waves of love, 
 Xaught else do I know in the realms below, 
 
 Xaught else in the realms above. 
 
 Till I find, alas ! what women are, 
 
 How false and fickle and vain, 
 And taking some other as guiding star, 
 
 1 try mv chances again. 
 
"AT THE EVENING TIME." 67 
 
 14 AT THE EVEOTNTG TIME." 
 
 O Pilgrim , weary 
 
 Of the long road, 
 Though dark be the clouds, 
 
 Heavy the load, 
 Onward ! push onward ! 
 
 Through the thick night, 
 " At the evening time 
 
 It shall be light." 
 
 O Soldier, fighting 
 
 With many foes, 
 Though hard to resist, 
 
 Countless, their blows, 
 Gird on thy armor, 
 
 Keep up the fight, 
 " At the evening time 
 
 It shall be light," 
 
 O Toiler, sowing, 
 
 And reaping not, 
 Soon all toil shall cease, 
 
 # 
 
 Care be forgot. 
 Soon will the harvest 
 
 Eise in its might, 
 " At the evening time 
 
 It shall be light." 
 
68 u AT THE EVENING TIME/' 
 
 O Christian, who art 
 
 A Pilgrim here, 
 Soldier, and Toiler, — 
 
 Harbor no fear, 
 Be this your sole trust, 
 
 God aids the right, 
 " At the evening time 
 
 It shall be lights 
 
INFLUENCE. 69 
 
 INFLUENCE. 
 
 Wandering once along the sea, 
 A sudden impulse came to me. 
 
 A little stone, so very small, 
 
 Tli at it scarce seemed to have weight at all. 
 
 I seized with opened hand, and threw 
 Into the waters deep and blue. 
 
 The ripples outward and outward spread, 
 As the stone sank down to the ocean's bed ; 
 
 Circling ever, far and wide, 
 
 On the rugged waves of the flowing tide. 
 
 Quoth I to myself, "There's a lesson here, 
 That may well be learned with loving fear. 
 
 "Every man, and woman, and child, 
 Is a pebble thrown into the waters wild ; 
 
 "Every stone some motion imparts, 
 In this turbulent sea of human hearts ; 
 
 7 
 
'0 INFLUENCE. 
 
 "For nothing there is so weak and small, 
 As to leave no trace of power at all. 
 
 "And the rippled waves of this troubled sea 
 Will be seen and felt in Eternity." 
 
A PLEA FOR HOME MISSIONS. 71 
 
 A PLEA FOR HOME MISSIONS. 
 
 From every court and by-way 
 
 Where sin and sorrow meet. 
 From every lane and highway, 
 
 From every crowded street. 
 From every town and city, 
 
 From every hill and vale, 
 Comes up a cry for pity, 
 
 A never-ending wail. 
 
 O ye who serve the Master, 
 
 Enlisted in His cause, 
 Would ye speed on the faster 
 
 The triumph of His laws ? 
 Go then with succor speedy 
 
 And stand up for the right, 
 Go to the poor and needy, 
 
 And bring them to the light. 
 
 To every heathen nation 
 
 We tell the Saviour's love, 
 
 While full and deep salvation 
 Comes to them from above, 
 
 But while with strong endeavor 
 We strive to make them free, 
 
 Let us relinquish never 
 Heathen this side the sea. 
 
'2 A PLEA FOR HOME MISSIONS. 
 
 High floats the Gospel banner 
 
 In every land unfurled, 
 And loud the glad hosanua 
 
 Kings back from all the world. 
 But while these cares enslave us 
 
 To lead these near the throne, 
 God, in His mercy, save us 
 
 From passing by our own. 
 
i4 MENE, MJSNE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." 73 
 
 "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." 
 
 i. 
 The king sat down in his banquet hall, 
 And gathered around his courtiers all. 
 
 High foamed the cups with the purple wine. 
 As the king and his guests sat down to dine. 
 
 Rich vessels of gold adorned the board, 
 From the pillaged temples of the Lord ; 
 
 And the cups appointed for priests alone 
 On the heathen's table in beauty shone. 
 
 The king arose. All turned to him 
 And filled their goblets to the brim. 
 
 Quoth he, U A God these things did own, 
 But I am king, and king alone. " 
 
 E'en as he spoke, within the hall 
 There passed a hand along the wall— 
 
 A blood-red hand, on nothing placed. 
 Four words of fearful mystery traced. 
 
74 * k MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." 
 
 Pale was the face of every guest — 
 Silenced the laughter- and the jest ; . 
 
 And the king, oppressed with an unknown fear. 
 Summoned the Hebrew prophet near. 
 
 In warning accents, clear and bold, 
 The fearful Future the seer told, 
 
 That king and kingdom would be o'erthrown, 
 
 And the Hebrews' God would have his own. 
 
 ii. 
 Our President sits in his chair of state, 
 Thinking of plans and projects great. 
 
 He gathers around each chosen one. 
 To advise what is or shall be done. 
 
 The thoughts of each are centred in self, 
 And each is plotting for profit and pelf; 
 
 While he says in his heart, u These things are my own, 
 For I am ruler, and I alone." 
 
 Still the people impatiently wait, 
 Moved more by sorrow than b} r hate. 
 
 And through the gloom of Future years, 
 Through all the Present's sorrow and tears. 
 
" MENE, MENE, TEKEL, TJPHARSIN." 75 
 
 Rises the sound of a nation's wrath, 
 That sweeps all obstacles out of its path. 
 
 The people's mandate has gone forth — 
 The voice of freemen, South and North; 
 
 And though the shadows hang over all, 
 Still gleams that writing on the wall — 
 
 That mystic writing, that seems to say, 
 "Thy name and thy power shall pass away, 
 
 And thou thyself shalt be unknown, 
 Save by the wrong that thou hast done ; 
 
 Thine only heritage shall be 
 A blackened page of history.-' 
 July, 1867. 
 
76 A WAIF. 
 
 A WAIF. 
 
 When the earth is dark at midnight, 
 
 Wrapt in a sombre gloom, 
 And never a ray of moonlight 
 
 Lightens my lonel\ r room ; 
 
 Then over my dreaming vision 
 
 Shadowy phantoms go, 
 And the shifting scenes of a minic stage, 
 
 Pass silently to and fro. 
 
 A voice, like the rush of a torrent, 
 
 Reaches my waiting ears, 
 The voice of the by-gone ages, 
 
 Borne down the tide of years! 
 
 And I see the forms and faces 
 
 Of the hero men sublime, 
 Whose statues fill the niches 
 
 In the grand old halls of Time. 
 
 w 
 
 And I muse on these misty tokens 
 
 Of a long forgotten Past, 
 And think of the dreams and fancies 
 
 That were far too bright to last. 
 
A WAIF. 77 
 
 There were visions of future glory, 
 
 There were castles built in air, 
 That have crumbled away in fragments, 
 
 With never a stone to spare. 
 
 So I sit at night and ponder 
 
 On these things of long ago, 
 While the shifting scenes of memory's stage, 
 
 Pass silently to and fro. 
 
78 DOWN BY THE HEADLAND. 
 
 DOWN BY THE HEADLAND. 
 
 Down where the rocky headland 
 
 Juts out to meet the sea, 
 There are flowers of wondrous beauty, 
 
 Blooming for Mary and me. 
 We wander there in the twilight 
 
 When the tide comes in from the sea, 
 But Mary, my beautiful Mary, 
 
 Has never a word for me. 
 
 We linger still in the morning, 
 
 When the shadows and darkness flee, 
 And the rising sun is streaming, 
 
 Over the golden sea. 
 But the splendors of the morning, 
 
 However great they be, 
 Have not the power to charm us, 
 
 My beautiful Mary and me. 
 
 We loiter there in the noonday light, 
 
 Where the wild waves, dashing free. 
 Make music in their rocky homes, 
 
 Music for Mary and me. 
 And so, all through the day and night, 
 
 Still at our post are we, 
 Down where the stormy headland 
 
 Jut»out to the open sea. 
 
DOWN BY THE HEADLAND. 79 
 
 The people marvel to see us go, 
 
 And say there is none but me, 
 But a hand there is to clasp my own 
 
 Their eyes can never see, 
 And a shadowy form from the spirit-land, 
 
 Goes down to the shore with me, 
 For Mary, my beautiful Mary, 
 
 Is never apart from me. 
 
SO GONE. 
 
 GONE. 
 
 Two little white arms folded 
 Over the quiet breast — 
 
 Two little blue eyes sleeping 
 In an eternal rest. 
 
 One little heart that loved us, 
 
 Silent forever and aye, 
 And the heavy clouds of sorrow 
 
 Are darkening our way. 
 
 Two little feet aweary 
 Of all this toil and strife, 
 
 Joining the ranks of their Captain 
 In the march of a higher life. 
 
 One angel spirit wandering 
 Over the brighter shore, 
 
 And only the casket left us, 
 To sadden us the more. 
 
 One infant anthem blending 
 With the mighty choirs above ; 
 
 One little new harp swelling 
 In the harmony of love. 
 
GONE. 81 
 
 One more to wait there for us, 
 And meet us wiien we go, 
 
 Leaving this world of darkness— 
 This world of sin and woe. 
 
 O Christ our God and Saviour, 
 We thank thee for the word, 
 
 That of children — little children. 
 Is the Kingdom of the Lord. 
 
 8 
 
82 HAIL TO 1868. 
 
 HAIL TO 1868. 
 
 Hail to the New Year happy and bright. 
 
 Hail to the New Year, hail ! 
 Hail to the days that are to be light. 
 Hail to the Xew Year, hail! 
 We care not for sorrows 
 Of times that are past ; 
 Since golden to-morrows 
 Are nearimr so fast. 
 
 "o 
 
 Hail to the monarch born but this night, 
 
 Hail to the New Year, hail ! 
 His kingdom though short is sure to be bright, 
 Hail to the New Year, hail ! 
 
 Though kingdoms are fleeting, 
 
 And kings pass awaj r , 
 We'll give him a greeting 
 And force him to stay. 
 December 31, 1867. 
 
SONG OF . THE VIRGINS. 83 
 
 SONG OF THE VIKGINS. 
 
 We have watched, we have waited, 
 For thee, Bridegroom Belated, 
 Why comest thou not? 
 
 We are worn, we are weary, 
 And the darkness is dreary, 
 Canst thou have forgot? 
 
 Though the night be so chilling, 
 Thou art true, thou art willing, 
 Thou canst not forget. 
 
 We will watch through the cold night, 
 Without starlight or moonlight, 
 We will trust Thee yet. — 
 
 Hark ! What was that, 
 Borne by on the blast? 
 
 'Tis the sound of his chariot, 
 He cometh at last. 
 
 Bring together the guests 
 
 Into their home. 
 Shut to the door, 
 
 The Bridegoom has come. 
 
84 JERICHO. 
 
 JERICHO. 
 
 JOSHCTA: CHAP. 6. 
 I. 
 
 Around the walls of Jericho 
 The Israelitish armies <ro. 
 
 o 
 
 With steady tramp, their spears in hand. 
 They follow out the Lord's command. 
 
 Six days, six journej's, now are past. 
 The sun has risen upon the last. 
 
 Scarce had the first flushings of the dawn 
 Announced that weaiy Night had gone. 
 
 When, forth from every well-known tent, 
 The mighty hosts of Israel went. 
 
 w 
 
 Thus early start they on their way, 
 Seven rounds must he fulfilled to-dav. 
 
 ii. 
 Within the walls of Jericho, 
 Tn stern indifference wait the foe. 
 
 What care they for these haggard men 
 Who have commenced their march again? 
 
JERICHO. 85 
 
 How can they hope to overthrow, 
 In such a way, proud Jericho ? 
 
 And so with a laugh and a scornful glance, 
 They join the wild mazes of the dance. 
 
 And pass around the ruddy wine. 
 Barest of all in Palestine. 
 
 The sounds of revelry rise high, 
 Beneath the glare of the noon-day sky. 
 
 in. 
 
 Outside the walls of Jericho, 
 Steadily on the warriors go. 
 
 Six of the rounds are already past, 
 And they have now commenced the last. 
 
 Throughout those ranks no sound is heard, 
 No merry jest, no cheering word. 
 
 There rises up no other sound 
 
 Than the steady foot-heat on the ground. 
 
 Now suddenly they turn about, 
 And with one voice the people shout. 
 
86 JERICHO. 
 
 Down fall the walls of Jericho, 
 The heathen's power lieth low. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Low lie the walls of Jericho, 
 
 And through her halls her foemen go. 
 
 All hope for the city proud hath fled, 
 For all her boasted host are dead ; 
 
 And the ringing pavement of the street 
 Echoeth naught but the foemen's feet. 
 
 Thus did firm faith in God's commands. 
 Prove mightier than human hands. 
 
 Thus did the strong right arm of God, 
 Scatter the heathen hosts abroad. 
 
 Thus did He great honor la> 
 Upon the name of Joshua. 
 
 y. 
 
 In the long march of every life, 
 Where there is much of toil and strife. 
 
 llemaineth still some Jericho, 
 
 Some firm stronghold where lurks the foe. 
 
 And as the Israelites, of ok], 
 Trusted the promise, we are told, 
 
JERICHO. 87 
 
 And had the patience to fulfill 
 
 The unknown mysteries of God's will ; 
 
 L 
 
 So we, if we with patience wait, 
 Unbought by love, unmoved by hate, 
 
 Shall see the w r alls of Error go 
 As went the walls of Jericho. 
 
88 TO THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 TO THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 O ship, once more the waves of strife 
 
 Bear thee forth ; 
 Again the piercing blasts come down 
 
 From the north. 
 
 Brave should be the heart to guide thee. 
 Firm the hand 
 
 That shall steer thy bruised timber- 
 Back to land. 
 
 Deep and dark the chilling Waters 
 Bound thy form : 
 
 Loud the rattling of thy rigging. 
 Fierce the storm. 
 
 But within the silenl Future, 
 
 This we know, 
 Waiting but the Master's bidding. 
 Ere he go, 
 
 Stands the man who is to save us. 
 
 Under God, 
 And to plant true Freedom's banner 
 
 In our sod. 
 
TO THE REPUBLIC. 89 
 
 Name or place or rank we know not, 
 
 Neither care ; 
 But we know the God of Nations 
 
 Hears our prayer;* 
 
 And will give us righteous rulers, 
 
 Brave and true, 
 Who shall guide thee, O, our country. 
 
 Safely through. 
 
 Though the billows rise around thee, 
 
 Stern and prow, 
 Still the Master Hand that made thee 
 
 Guards thee now. 
 
 And we know there lie before thee 
 
 Years of rest, 
 When no danger and no warfare 
 
 Shall molest. 
 
 Lying in the quiet harbor, 
 Dajr and night, 
 Holden by the firm sheet-anchors. 
 Truth and Ri£*ht. 
 January, 1868. 
 
 L cv 
 
90 THE ISLAND OF LOVE. 
 
 THE ISLAXD OF LOVE. 
 
 APART OF FAIRY LAND. 
 
 On an island, weird and lonely, 
 Haunted by the sea birds only. 
 Dwelt a maiden 
 Long ago. 
 
 Oft I sailed in search of gladness, 
 
 When my heart was filled with sadness, 
 Heavy laden 
 
 With its woe. 
 
 Till one da}' I saw this island. 
 Saw from far its jutting highland 
 
 Fashing boldly 
 
 To the sea. 
 
 And its rounding beach of sand 
 Seemed a half-unwilling hand. 
 Keaching coldly 
 Out to me. 
 
 So I anchored In the haven. 
 And by her strange charms enslaven 
 Long I wandered 
 With the maid. 
 
THE ISLAND OF LOVE. 01 
 
 And we climbed the rugged mountain, 
 Listened to the tuneful fountain, 
 Talked and pondered, 
 In the shade. 
 
 After that I came more often, 
 For the meeting seemed to soften 
 All the passions 
 Of my heart. 
 
 It was sweet to leave the city, 
 With its toilers, void of pity,— 
 From its fashions 
 All apart. 
 
 And I found my sweetest pleasure, 
 Listening to the ceaseless measure 
 Of the waters 
 Bold and free. 
 
 And we sat entranced and listened, 
 While the breaking wavelets glistened, 
 (Truant daughters 
 Of the sea.) 
 
 But 5 alas! to our enjoyment, 
 This sweet rest, yet sweet employment, 
 Came a breaking 
 And an end. 
 
92 THE ISLAND OF LOVE. 
 
 For one day when I departed 
 From the city many-hearted, 
 And was making 
 
 Tow-'rd my friend, 
 
 Every trace of that sweet island, 
 The white beach and rugged highland. 
 And the maiden, — 
 All had srone. 
 
 e> 
 
 All had thus together vanished, 
 Leaving me, an exile, banished, 
 Heavy-laden, 
 
 Lonsr to mourn. 
 
 © 
 
 Still I wander, weak and weary, 
 Up and down the cit} r dreary, 
 With no gladness 
 In my heart. 
 
 Nor, so long as earth shall hold me, 
 And these walls of flesh enfold me, 
 Will my sadness 
 E'er depart. 
 
1(0 
 
 ■^/cr". '!'-?': ■£ - ' -& '■■" A3 ^cAQ'b&NOXo^^yaeQ^^oV^ igjjj 
 
 £ 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK FOX CROFT. 
 
 NORTH ADAMS, MASS. : 
 
 JAMES T. ROBINSON & COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
 
 1868, 
 
 
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