Class _&4.:i SJkX 
 
 Book 
 
 Copyright N«„\3J)A. 
 
 COFfRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
CONQUEST 
 
 JAMES LEMUEL YAGER 
 
 When the Muse scolds let mortals beware, 
 
 The sensitive heart ot the poet laid bare 
 
 To the quickening touch of celestial fire 
 
 Must record, as it's flames leap higher and higlici 
 
 The great God is coming amongst us in ire — 
 
 When the Muse scolds. 
 
 W. Maw, Printer, 
 Snohomish, Wash. 
 
LIBRARY '.>■( CONGRESS 
 Tw» Copies Received 
 
 FEB 12 1904 
 
 . Copyright £ntry 
 CUSS ' <=»- kXc. No. 
 COPY 8 
 
 
 CO PY R;IGH;T, 1 9 
 
 Jam e s Lemuel Y a g 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 Introdudoty 
 
 To 
 
 RALPH WALDO EMERSON 
 
 and 
 
 MARY BAKER EDDY 
 
 in the author's opin- 
 ion the two greatest 
 religious writers and 
 teachers of this con- 
 tinent, these lines 
 are respectfully ded- 
 icated. 
 
 AS a fatuous painting 
 was the inspiration 
 of P r o f e s s o r Edwin 
 M a r k h a ni ' s p o e m : 
 "The Man With The 
 Hoe," so the shadow of 
 two distinguished and 
 notable lives, thrown up- 
 on the canvas of Time by 
 the magic of Creative 
 Genius, became the in- 
 spiration of "Conquest." 
 The association of kin- 
 ■' dred ideas seeius t o be a 
 
 fixed rule of intellect; and these two— a Man and 
 a Woman— seem ever to be placed side by side by 
 my mother's son in his gallery of honor. 
 
 No apology is offered the friends of either, as the 
 texture of one seems equal to that of the other. 
 The substance and texture of each is God, frankly 
 confessed and bravely defended; hence their very 
 excellent manifestation of the attributes of the 
 universal Soul. 
 
 I would here reiterate to my mother's son, and 
 incidentally to all others, the command, "Go thou 
 and do likewise." 
 The point of view of these verses is Eternity; for 
 
though I am nothing, 3-et having caught a glimpse 
 of the glory and infinitude of "Mind," time is 
 abolished; all is an eternal now; so likewise, all 
 history becomes an ever present fact. 
 
 I appeal to the intelligent and fair-minded. 
 
 This soul has heard the voice of God 
 
 That quickens and renews. 
 This soul has seen the cruel crown 
 
 And the red blood that trickled down 
 The noblest brow that ever lent 
 
 To earth it's song and sentiment. 
 
 James Lemuel Yager. 
 
The Author (on the left) at His Daily Task. 
 
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 The Famous Bicycle Tree at Snohomish, Washington. 
 
CONQUEST 
 
 PART 1. 
 
 Upon a lofty prominence 
 
 That pierced the vault of Heaven, 
 
 Sat one in meditation wrapt 
 
 From morning until even'. 
 
 Below him lay the laughing world 
 
 Unmindful of its doom. 
 
 Around the mountain's base there rolled 
 
 The earth-born clouds all edged with gold, 
 
 In forms of beauty yet untold. 
 
 That hid the vale in gloom. 
 
The radiant Orb of Light rode on; 
 The undulating fields of green, 
 Changing his rays to myriad hues, 
 Shed glory o'er the scene. 
 Far in the distant east, unbid. 
 Dogging his steps, the boastful Night 
 Advanced, recounting all his deed. 
 Claiming of praise the highest meed, 
 That e'er before him must recede 
 The last faint gleam of light. 
 
 A twinkling star sent forth its ray. 
 
 It seemed an answer meet 
 
 To him who boasted victory. 
 
 Hurled onward in defeat. 
 
 Then, taking up the evening hymn, 
 
 A beautiful array 
 
 Of kindred lights, like Hope's pale gleam 
 
 Their glory o'er the earth did stream. 
 
 Until the towering night did seem 
 
 Fair sister of the day. 
 
Up from the fruitful valley rose 
 
 The sound of vesper bells, 
 
 As from the heart by love renewed 
 
 A vocal offering swells: 
 
 The listening hills with glory crowned 
 
 Caught up the joyful strain; 
 
 Each mountain seem.ed a living throat, 
 
 Each echoing sound a fainter note. 
 
 And ever onward seemed to float 
 
 The beautiful refrain. 
 
 Now, by the monarchs of the wilds 
 Half screened from mortal sight, 
 Robed in her softened radiance, 
 Comes forth the Queen of Night, 
 As maiden from seclusion drawn, 
 First peeping through the curtained pane 
 Advances boldly in the light, 
 A vision ever new and bright. 
 That drives the dull prosaic night 
 Back to its former chains. 
 
Seated in his high gallery 
 
 Beneath the arching skies 
 
 The lonely recluse views the scene 
 
 Which all around him lies. 
 
 No tableau ever yet devised 
 
 By any human skill 
 
 Could spread before the willing gaze 
 
 So fair a tribute of high praise 
 
 To Beauty's God, whose pleasant lays 
 
 The coldest heart can thrill. 
 
 From out the stillness of the hills 
 
 Comes one long, wailing cry. 
 
 The watcher hears the dismal sound, 
 
 And notes with flashing eye. 
 
 Ere morning dawn the silent stars 
 
 A ghastly crime shall see; 
 
 The whitened bones of Nature's child, 
 
 From her solicitude exiled, 
 
 Shall cry to Heaven that thus defiled 
 
 One pleasant life should be. 
 
A sense of heaviness profound 
 As though all nature were oppressed — 
 A freshening breeze — a driving cloud 
 Of inky blackness in the v/est, 
 That onward rolls like ocean waves, 
 With flashing lights and tongues of fire, 
 With sound like roll of muffled drum, 
 With steady march and ceaseless hum. 
 As though a mighty host had come 
 Led by a monarch's ire. 
 
 Onward he comes! The tempest strikes! 
 The hills and valleys feel the shock! 
 Great trees fall headlong with a crash, 
 And sweeping past huge tottering rocks, 
 Adown the slope the motley train 
 Spreads death and ruin in its path; 
 The thunders peal and crash and roar. 
 The lightnings flash, the waters pour. 
 The loosened land slides down before 
 The mighty Storm-King's wrath. 
 
And heardst thou not the vesper bells 
 
 Whose pleasing anthem rose, 
 
 Disturbing with their offering 
 
 Thy indolent repose? 
 
 Go seek the altar and the shrine, 
 
 There let the burden of thy song 
 
 Be told to every listening ear 
 
 Of friend and foe from far and near, 
 
 For what is there to dread or fear 
 
 Amongst that gentle throng?" 
 
 "I cannot down their pottage, sir, 
 
 'Tis spiced with dead mens' bones; 
 
 And when I raise it to my lips 
 
 I hear their dying groans. 
 
 For hand to hand v/ith many men 
 
 I've labored in the field, 
 
 Have heard the men whom Wisdom sent 
 
 To teach us how to be content 
 
 Striving for place and preferment 
 
 With treachery ill-concealed. 
 
And while they strove, confusion reigned. 
 'Tis written in the book of life 
 That God is not the Author of 
 This petty jealousy and strife; 
 But they in their perverted zeal 
 Heed not hov/ clouds of black despair 
 Hang heavy over timid minds, 
 Thus I've beheld their v/ords unkind. 
 Like winds the desert sands unbind, 
 Spread desolation everyv^'here. 
 
 Have seen an aged mother bowed 
 
 Above her wayward daughter's bier, 
 
 Have felt the grief that blanched her cheeks 
 
 Unutterable in tears. 
 
 Have seen an aged father's form 
 
 Convulsed with agony unassuaged. 
 
 That told the load that long has lain 
 
 Beneath life's ever surging main, 
 
 A needless history of pain 
 
 Not writ on any page. 
 
This soul abhors the fearful thought; 
 And art thou angel, man, or devil, 
 Or shape my meditation brings, 
 Be it known to thee 1 fear no evil ! 
 Lo, Order reigns, and Beauty sheds 
 Its hallowed presence o'er our ways ! 
 And art thou God, and is there hell, 
 And wouldst Thou send m.e there to dwell, 
 This harp would be attuned to tell 
 The love that lit my earlier days: 
 
 No purer love can angels sing. 
 The love of home, the love of maid, 
 Of valiant foe and faithful friend, 
 Of ocean, river, hill and glade; 
 And is there nobler love in Heaven 
 Let angels sing a nobler song; 
 This soul shall never bend the knee 
 To any earth-born dignity, 
 Or float the flag of liberty 
 O'er any boastful wrong. 
 
The Earth laments her heritage 
 
 If millions must be given 
 
 To endless torment, that a few 
 
 Might taste the joys of Heaven: 
 
 She knows the hand of tyrant kings, 
 
 Has felt their brutal sway; 
 
 Has seen the cruel incense rise, 
 
 An offering to the angry skies. 
 
 And heard with wondering, mute surprise 
 
 The crazed fanatic's lay.'' 
 
 w * * * w * 
 
 The storm has passed, the sky is cleared. 
 The mountain tops are white v/ith snow; 
 And now the honored traveler 
 Would on his journey go; 
 He meets the hermit's questioning glance 
 With eyes that speak of sympathy, 
 The hermit fain would have him stay, 
 So seldom does there pass that way, 
 A kindred soul, serene and gay. 
 To bear him company. 
 
The hermit from his open dcor 
 
 Beholds the rising sun. 
 
 The panoply of heaven proclaims 
 
 One more bright day begun. 
 
 The valley lieth fair below. 
 
 The gloom is passing in the v/est. 
 
 He miourns his frugal store decreased, 
 
 So much he had no fitting feast, 
 
 Of fruits, or flesh of fowl or beast, 
 
 To set before his guest. 
 
 Ah well, his heart again is light; 
 
 For deem that hour nobly spent 
 
 That told the burden of the heart 
 
 To Him the Heavens in kindness lent 
 
 To be the bearer of our ills, 
 
 To lead the captived wanderer on, 
 
 To larger hopes and better ways. 
 
 To fairer scenes and nobler days, 
 
 While slowly come the brightening rays. 
 
 Of that eternal dawn. 
 
PART II, 
 
 Days have rolled into weeks 
 
 And weeks to months have flown 
 
 Since I betook me to the mount 
 
 To meet with God alone; 
 
 There, in her clearer altitudes, 
 
 Fair Nature marshalled all her might, 
 
 She sang the same sweet, lofty strain 
 
 The angels sang o'er Bethlehem's plain. 
 
 Dispersing with her glad refrain 
 
 The terrors of the night, 
 
My heart was heavy with the weight 
 Of memories that would not sleep. 
 As infant waked from troubled dreams 
 I craved the searchless parent Deep. 
 I scaled the heights to contemplate 
 The might and majesty of Being; 
 And there beheld the glories roll, 
 The voiceless glories of the Soul, 
 Whose silent beauties e'er extol 
 The Seer and the Seeing. 
 
 And there a higher anthem heard 
 Than ever rose from vocal chord, 
 As sinless Nature bravely hymined 
 Her risen Architect and Lord. 
 Shamed by her calm serenity, 
 The murmurings of discontent 
 Fled backv/ard dov/n the steep incline, 
 Letting the light of Heaven shine 
 Into this humbled heart of mine, 
 Love's highest compliment. 
 
Where once was cruel environment 
 Now only drifting clouds appear, 
 And through the rifts the morning sun 
 Upon his steady course shines clear. 
 The thunder-peals from Sinai 
 Reverberate down the age. 
 They fall like music on the ear, 
 Dispelling every doubt and fear, 
 In them deliverance is near. 
 From Error's fateful rage. 
 
 The kingly Arbiter declares 
 Immutable, unerring laws. 
 All Beauty foUov/s in his train. 
 The Consequent of faultless Cause. 
 When mortals would her standard lower 
 Then Truth and Beauty firmly stands 
 Forbidding, her indignant mien — 
 No lesser knight may come between 
 Her love and her high Lord unseen, 
 For him her queenly hands. 
 
They worship best the mighty God 
 Who hold Him guilty of no wrong, 
 High over discord they arise 
 To join the universal song. 
 The great Interpreter is near, 
 So should our testimony be. 
 They honor not the honored Son 
 Who shame the victories he has won, 
 In that for petty ends v/ere done 
 The deeds that make us free. 
 
 The liberated consciousness 
 
 To higher planes ascends. 
 
 Accompanied by a goodly host 
 
 Of kindly thoughtful friends. 
 
 How fair the flowers of Eden bloom 
 
 Along the sloping mountain sides! 
 
 The Soul betrays her tender care, 
 
 As over rocks and deserts bare 
 
 She floats Love's fragrance on the air, 
 
 And in his chariot rides. 
 
Unswerving Law before Love moves, 
 
 Such is necessity's decree. 
 
 Ail must obey liis changeless will, 
 
 That is the price of liberty. 
 
 Who knows v/here stands the Tree of Life 
 
 Let that man bravely do his deed — 
 
 Servant of servants they shall be 
 
 Who bind the souls they should set free, 
 
 So v/itness then my minstrelsy, 
 
 I see no other need. 
 
 Stay not the onward march of Mind 
 By lengthening shadows of the past. 
 Mark how the ever-flowing Truth 
 It's present shadows o'er us casts. 
 Cling not to strange antiquities. 
 The curios of other days. 
 The Alpha now for ages known, 
 First principles we have outgrown, 
 So let us sing before his throne 
 The wonderful Omega's praise. 
 
Brave men from time to time arose; 
 Ttiey led the struggling nations out 
 From bondage to barbarian codes, 
 They put man's enemies to rout. 
 The nations in their light rejoiced 
 Till presently the light had fled, 
 They built a temple to their name, 
 They reared a monument to fame; 
 Thus their degenerate faith became 
 The worship of the mighty dead. 
 
 The great God saw their towers ascend. 
 Almost they reached the arching skies, 
 Lest they Mis well-laid .plans destroy 
 Set other heroes in their eyes; 
 Thus v/as their language so confused 
 The Word all various colors took. 
 The kind Soul found a willing heart 
 joyful to prove the better part. 
 She taught that one the healing art, 
 To nevz-translate the Book. 
 
Ths stagnant waters stir again, 
 
 The Spirit moves upon the deep, 
 
 The angels and archangels bend 
 
 Above the forms aroused from sleep; 
 
 A new light breaks, the old light fades, 
 
 Old heavens have passed, new heavens form. 
 
 Thus shall it be till strife shall cease. 
 
 Till all the nations are at peace. 
 
 Till perfect knowledge gives release 
 
 From changeful Error's storms. 
 
 The Fountain-Head is Highest Heaven. 
 The waters may ascend the hill. 
 The lively oracles declare 
 Primeval Cause is conquering Will. 
 The first and last of all our day 
 Is hid in God the Ever-Good. 
 What all the ancient worthies found 
 When they attained to holy ground. 
 We each shall find in us abound 
 And stand where they have stood. 
 
Onward through endless cycles moves 
 The conquering hosts of conscious form, 
 Led safely through the varying scenes 
 Of cosmic eddy, calm, and storm. 
 As swung the planets into place 
 Each to their orbit surely drawn. 
 So in the end shall gravitate 
 All entities to their estate. 
 Each wanderer though returning late 
 Find Mercy's tide still rolling on. 
 
 "Seventy times seven" spoke the Christ, 
 
 Eternity is vast and deep. 
 
 Whoe'er would be the sinner's friend 
 
 Go comfort them that mourn and weep, 
 
 Creative Genius ever young 
 
 Is property of Love Divine. 
 
 Shall woman's love be mightier then. 
 
 Than he who gave his life for men? 
 
 Or clamoring creeds determine when. 
 
 The star of hope shall cease to shine? 
 
Shine on, Thou Sun of Righteousness ! 
 Roll on, Thou Billows of God's Love ! 
 Pure waves of fine celestial fire 
 That cleanse us for the courts above. 
 Encompassed by redeeming grace 
 Who then shall fear the coming hour ? 
 Or shrink when fiery trials portend 
 The onward march of our great Friend, 
 Trampling down Error to extend 
 Truth's ever-blessed power? 
 
PART III. 
 
 Take up the harp, it's strings vibrate, 
 So let the music softly flow. 
 It hangs no longer by the brook 
 Where only drooping willows grow — 
 Not trodden underfoot of men 
 Nor cast adrift upon the wave; 
 But with a goodly company, 
 To hail the hour of liberty, 
 My portion evermore to be 
 The noble and the brave. 
 
I am owner of all things, 
 All the Father hath is mine. 
 I may fully understand 
 All the mysteries divine. 
 All the magic art of Moses, 
 All of Jesus' healing art. 
 All the ancient prophet's lore. 
 All Elijah's wondrous store. 
 Flow to them forevermore 
 Who choose the better part. 
 
 In the hour of contemplation 
 Mark the regal Spirit's ways; 
 See how the worthy dead arise 
 And shed their lustre o'er our days; 
 Once they kept the tryst appointed, 
 Long they v/aited till He came. 
 Now they see the King of kings. 
 All to each the Spirit brings. 
 Who truly worship while they sing 
 Giving honor to His name. 
 
The bridegroom had a broad estate, 
 The bride was destitute and sad, 
 He made her heir of all his wealth 
 So was her heart renewed and glsd. 
 The father saw his son depart 
 Where ambushed foemen lie in wait, 
 He kept the fire burning bright. 
 He trimmed for him the beacon light, 
 Hailed him returning with delight 
 Outside the castle gate. 
 
 Man is the bride of Deity, 
 
 Inheritor of all His wealth. 
 
 All latent strength of God is ours 
 
 The life, the light, the joy, the health. 
 
 We are the ruined prodigal 
 
 Who tend the swine of earthly gains; 
 
 And see not that our Father waits, 
 
 To restore our first estate, 
 
 Releasing us from pride and hate 
 
 And all of Error's pains. 
 
Long ages ere the earth was formed 
 The Spirit wrought in other worlds. 
 There, as all being sprang to light, 
 Truth's royal banner He unfurled. 
 But ever down the ages ran 
 A shudder of dismay and fear, 
 A hovering cloud that boded ill 
 Seemed ever to withstand His will. 
 It brooded o'er His works until 
 Truth's message sounded clear. 
 
 A shout rang from the hosts of Heaven 
 When Error's final doom was sealed. 
 How did they all rejoice to know 
 Sin's treachery should be revealed! 
 A world of symbols was declared 
 Where all illusions should hold sway, 
 There Spirit veiled awhile His face 
 And Evil claimed the holy place, 
 Deceiver of an erring race 
 He burdened all their day. 
 
Bear the loved ones onward, upward, 
 
 Carry them to higher ground; 
 
 New-generalize our clearer visions 
 
 So shall the better way be found, 
 
 Deluge all the waiting earth 
 
 With the holier thoughts of God. 
 
 Honor with the very best 
 
 Him, Who all mankind has blest, 
 
 So may we enter in his rest 
 
 And find the pleasant paths He trod. 
 
 Cosmic eddies play about us. 
 Cosmic currents onward flow. 
 O'er the waves of Life's great ocean 
 Cosmic winds of Heaven blow — 
 Out of chaos ever springing 
 Order, Beauty, Harmony — 
 Voice of Spirit ever calling, 
 Chains and shackles ever falling. 
 From the deep the dead recalling 
 To Life and Love and Liberty. 
 
Woman in the council halls 
 Toiling bravely up the hill, 
 Where would then be passion's dolls, 
 The toys of desecrating will ? 
 Noble woman. Love's exemplar, 
 Cleanly, patient, kind and true ! 
 Chivalry still stands beside you. 
 Asking that no ill betide you. 
 That the loving Father guide you, 
 Keep you, all the journey through. 
 
 Homeward toiling o'er the deserts 
 Hers has been the heavier care. 
 Gently wooing man from ruin 
 By her ministrations fair — 
 Not a tempter, but deliverer, 
 Render unto her, her due — 
 Not the plaything of the ages, 
 Not of foolish fiction's pages 
 The idol; nor the jest of sages. 
 But a beatific vision ever new. 
 
Cosmic eddies play about us, 
 Cosmic currents onward flow, 
 O'er the waves of Life's great ocean 
 Cosmic winds of Heaven blow — 
 All is symbol, type, and figure, 
 Nothing is that shall endure 
 Save the attributes of Spirit — 
 Virtue, Goodness, Truth, and Merit- 
 Only these we may inherit, 
 Their foundation is secure. 
 
 Solids into liquids turning. 
 Liquids crystallized to rock, 
 Mutations following mutations, 
 Nothing may abide the shock — 
 Spirit only, Spirit truly, 
 Is our stronghold, tower and shield; 
 All things else shall fade as flowers, 
 Even the joys of our best hours. 
 Be transferred to other bowers. 
 Their sweet comforts there to yield. 
 
Eat your morsel then while marching, 
 Keeping step v/ith Nature's rhymes, 
 Heed not how the days are passing 
 There will be still happier times, 
 There will be a great reunion 
 Where all tears are wiped away, 
 Identity is not in danger, 
 He who came by Judah's monger 
 A visitant, but not a stranger. 
 Illumined all the narrow way. 
 
 In the palaces of Beauty 
 We shall find what here v/e've lost; 
 Heed no more the bleeding footsteps 
 That the joys elysian cost; 
 Having Life within us springing 
 Wed to Spirit evermore. 
 Even now the bright adorning, 
 Golden sunlight of the morning. 
 All the power of darkness scorning, 
 Breaks upon earth's clouded shore. 
 
PART IV. 
 
 Gently led the Spirit onward 
 
 In the embryonic age — 
 
 Fire and tempest, sword and famine, 
 
 Bellowings of fruitless rage, 
 
 Stormed in vain Truth's royal fortress, 
 
 Inspiration bore the shock; 
 
 While men strove to overthrow, 
 
 Pushed the battle to and fro, 
 
 This only did they learn to know 
 
 Faith is founded on a rock. 
 
Dial-marked in the age Aeonian 
 Miracles of Mind were wrought, 
 Thrones and empires came and vanished 
 Flowing from a fluid thought. 
 Mighty Mind, majestic, tov/ering 
 O'er the ages. King of kings — 
 Dearest Friend of prattling childhood — 
 Dearest Lover of the wild-wood — - 
 What, by Beauty's form beguiled, could 
 Sing so sweetly as He sings? 
 
 Listen to the babbling brooklet — 
 Listen to the whispering trees- 
 Listen to the song-birds singing. 
 Rocking gently in the breeze. 
 All the wisdom of the ages 
 Hides behind each ruffled breast; 
 Hence the intellect returning, 
 All its treasured folk-lore spurning, 
 All its "wormy pages" burning, 
 Finds its haven of sweet rest; 
 
All concentered in a love-note, 
 All distributed abroad, 
 Love the watchv/crd of the nations 
 Hate forevermore outlawed — 
 Pride, Ambition, Desecration, 
 Temples crumibling to decay — 
 Order out of chaos springing, 
 Beauty it's sweet incense swinging. 
 Harmony forever singing 
 Praises unto Endless Day. 
 
 Molten earth-core slowly cooling, 
 
 Earth-crust wrinkled, heaved, and cracked. 
 
 Backward o'er earth-written history 
 
 Mind by intellect slowly tracked — 
 
 All the ages sing the praises 
 
 Of a Character Eternal; 
 
 Circles, centre, zone, and border 
 
 Tell of love-lit Law and Order, 
 
 Wise Conservator and Hoarder 
 
 Of beatitudes supernal, 
 
The language of accommodation 
 Paved the way for many creeds, 
 Not discerning our great Teacher 
 Shaped His discourse to our needs: 
 Plainly state the truth in dogma, 
 You have yet to state it o'er — 
 We may never see the end. 
 We may never comprehend, 
 Our great Counsellor and Friend, 
 He leadeth on forevermore. 
 
 Like the sound of many waters 
 
 Came His voice o'er Patmos breaking, 
 
 To the well-beloved disciple 
 
 From one narrow creed awaking — 
 
 Voices of the mighty, mingling 
 
 In one all-harmonious note 
 
 By the great Peacemaker blended, 
 
 All their strife and discord ended. 
 
 All their yearning hope defended, 
 
 Down the age the music floats. 
 
Slowly He had brought one nation 
 Out of pantheistic night. 
 All the naajesty of Spirit 
 Arose and walked before their sight. 
 Mind, the Maker, shaped their conduct, 
 Thus their consciousness was taught. 
 Great displays of power He gave thenn 
 Despoiled the nations' strength to save them, 
 From the gods that v/ould deprave them. 
 Though by man's own cunning wrought. 
 
 Ever His reflection falling 
 
 On the intellects of men 
 
 Bore witness in an adoration. 
 
 Rising as the earth-mists, when 
 
 The great Sun shines upon its waters. 
 
 Causing vapors to arise. 
 
 Always to return again 
 
 In the dew-drops or the rain, 
 
 Or cast their shadows o'er the plain 
 
 Drifting under azure skies. 
 
To what depths the human concept 
 Wandered in the heathen time! 
 What horrors sprang from man's devotion 
 To the gods he held sublime! 
 The pit, the awful pit, unfathomed, 
 Yawned beneath our struggling race. 
 Scarce a ray of sunlight gladdened 
 All the many millions saddened, 
 Aching hearts, bereaved and maddened 
 For the glory of His face. 
 
 Error led them downward, downward 
 Into loathsome vice and shame, 
 Forms and features all distorted. 
 Sloping foreheads, eyes aflame 
 With the lust-fires burning, burning, 
 Kindled by the lowest hell — 
 Came the gleams of revelation 
 From a weak and wandering nation, 
 Came the v/orld-wide invitation, 
 "Come" — where joyful anthems swell. 
 
Many sages had arisen, 
 
 Scaled the heights of human will, 
 
 But not all of human wisdom 
 
 The Soul's high mission could fulfill. 
 
 Led the Spirit onward, upward, 
 
 "In due time" the Perfect came; 
 
 Earth has witnessed all his glory 
 
 On her fields of battle, gory 
 
 With her life-blood, heard the story 
 
 Of his never-dying fame. 
 
 Not one word has been forgotten, 
 
 Not one gesture, act, or token; 
 
 Of the faultless chain he gave us 
 
 Not one weakest link is broken. 
 
 He has bound the lying monster 
 
 Hand and foot, the dragon Death — 
 
 As the breezes of the ocean 
 
 Set the flowers of earth in motion. 
 
 So revives our true devotion 
 
 In the fragrance of Love's breath. 
 
Slowly swing the countless armies 
 
 Of Earth's nations into line, 
 
 As forward goes the royal message: 
 
 "Thy light is come: arise and shine.' 
 
 Prison, gallows, belching cannon. 
 
 Scourge and famine, death and terror, 
 
 Swept onward as a beaten foe; 
 
 No longer earth to overflow 
 
 With an unrelenting woe. 
 
 Drawn from the bitter fount of error. 
 
 From the One the many springing, 
 All partaking of the One, 
 To each and all the message bringing 
 The welcome word of praise "well done 
 Not the least of all his creatures 
 But some temptation has withstood. 
 Love athirst for love's caresses, 
 Forgets not what the heart expresses, 
 For each small cup returns and blesses 
 With an everlasting good. 
 
PART V, 
 
 Onward, Love-hallowed intellect, 
 Swing far out on thy widening range, 
 Fear not when countless suns and worlds 
 Burst on thy vision new and strange, 
 Thy trackless deep is hourly scanned 
 By Mind ali-comprehensive, vast, 
 Soul of the Universe, who sings 
 In worlds, in empires, laws and kings. 
 Enthroned where all the future brings 
 Its presaged wealth to meet the Past. 
 
What narrov/ dogmatist confined 
 Thee to a vicious pedant lore? 
 Unnumbered lights as bright as his 
 Shine o'er the deep lorevermore. 
 Mind-chaos sparkles everywhere 
 V/ith intellects in beauty dressed. 
 They gather honor as they go, 
 Selecting from the overflow 
 Of Life's abundant weal and woe, 
 Guests of the Host forever-blessed. 
 
 Does one small planet hold the sum 
 Of mighty Minds creative art? 
 Who knows where in the age's sweep 
 The love-lore of redemption starts? 
 The Christ! We hail Him with delight, 
 Instructor, Guide, and Friend of man! 
 Who knows what other worlds He moves 
 With the sweet influence of love? 
 What wisdom there unfolds to prove 
 His wide resource of deed and plan? 
 
Generic Fountain, Voice cf God, 
 Thy music ripples million-tongued! 
 By mute, by word-lit beauty-forms 
 To love attuned Thy praise is sung! 
 Throughout all ages, in all climes, 
 Thy high art of expression gives 
 Free rein to all Thy lofty themes, 
 Surpassing man's profoundest dreams; 
 While in the sim.plest forms, it seems, 
 The universal cadence lives! 
 
 Thy painted canvas lives and breathes! 
 Thy sculptured forms obey Thy will ! 
 Thy perfumed landscapes waft abroad 
 Sweet tokens of Thy matchless skill ! 
 The poorest, having eyes to see. 
 Have richer galleries of art 
 Than ever shone from frescoed walls, 
 Or graced a fond connoisseur's halls, 
 Where Heaven's impartial favor falls 
 Alike to each minutest part. 
 
The mighty elements at play 
 Depict the passionate heart of man, 
 A self-exiled and truant king, 
 Soul-centered in a marvelous plan. 
 Nature, a kindergarten seems 
 Of symbols shaped with faultless skil 
 For every various mode of thought, 
 For every good the Soul has sought, 
 For every work in kindness wrought 
 To train a separate, blameless Will. 
 
 Together with the storied past. 
 All these arise at man's request, 
 They pass before him in review 
 As troops before a royal guest; 
 The planets, rolling on their course, 
 The modest violets of the field, 
 The colonies of ants and bees, 
 The lowly shrubs, the towering trees. 
 The wondrous denizens of the seas, 
 Do each a valued lesson yield. 
 
Proverbial follies are expressed. 
 
 Proverbial wisdom is revealed. 
 
 When Mind resolved the present mode, 
 
 No needed semblance was concealed: 
 
 The Accused before the accuser ranged 
 
 His arguments unanswerable. 
 
 Each thought became a living thing, 
 
 To soar aloft on vibrant wing, 
 
 To creep, to crawl, to walk, to sing 
 
 In ordered ways unalterable. 
 
 No barren rock, no stagnant pool 
 But has its wonders to disclose. 
 Does death destroy one living form. 
 Onward in other forms life goes. 
 Bacteria flows where health recedes. 
 Malignant scourge obeys the call. 
 The unseen law, whose fatal brush 
 Portrays a modest maiden's blush 
 Or pale consumptive's hectic flush. 
 Is despot ruler over all. 
 
A cruel despoiler holds the reins 
 
 When we forget that Love is King, 
 
 In blind conceit, cur high estate 
 
 Is bartered for a viper's sting. 
 
 The imprisoned consciousness beholds 
 
 Calamities on every hand. 
 
 Like cowards fleeing from a foe 
 
 We mumble litanies as we go, 
 
 Petitioning the overthrow 
 
 Of him who scorns our weak commands. 
 
 Where now is man whom God declared 
 Should rule the power of v/ind and wave? 
 For one brief season he appeared, 
 Then vanished through the open grave. 
 No other prophet yet has come 
 So versed in all the arts of Heaven. 
 True, many since have claimed the keys 
 To all Love's hidden mysteries— 
 Their record gleams from history. 
 Earth shudders at their fearful leaven. 
 
But better days are dawning now 
 
 Than Earth has ever seen. 
 
 A brighter light is shining 
 
 O'er the fields of living green, 
 
 Old systems fade and pass away. 
 
 Kind Mercy wings her flight 
 
 To many homes, where Sorrow long 
 
 Has brooded o'er the scenes of wrong. 
 
 That shrouded Hope's eternal song 
 
 In vestures of the night. 
 
PART VL 
 
 Together let us here recount 
 The excellence of him who came 
 In unpretentious workman's guise 
 To vindicate his Father's name. 
 No weak compliance with the Law 
 In grumbling discontent he gave. 
 Above its stern demands he moved 
 In purest atmosphere of Love, 
 And in his short, fierce conflict proved 
 Man's perfect victory o'er the grave. 
 
He came, a king from peasant home; 
 From lowly station moved abroad 
 Amongst the thronging multitudes, 
 Ambassador and friend of God. 
 He sundered all the filial ties 
 That bound him to a mother's heart, 
 For larger views and nobler ends. 
 He numbered all amongst his friends. 
 His published spirit still extends 
 It's rays to earth's remotest part. 
 
 He braved the roaring of the waves. 
 The tumult raged where'er he went. 
 The craftiest tongues in error schooled 
 Against his guileless words were sent. 
 The earth had long obeyed a helm 
 Contrary to his Father's v/ill. 
 He met the mighty in command 
 With certain, strong, unwavering hand; 
 Against their tyrannies took his stand, 
 Truth's happier mission to fulfill. 
 
When the good old ship of state 
 
 Rides upon the boundless wave 
 
 Manned by a weak, unskillful crew, 
 
 Who shall the nation's honor save? 
 
 The King's son saw his Father's statesmen 
 
 Baffled, foiled, and overthrown — 
 
 By Heaven's most pleasant paths pursuing. 
 
 It's highest arts in patience wooing, 
 
 He gained the enemy's undoing, 
 
 And made his peoples' cause his own. 
 
 Patiently the Spirit taught him 
 All the statecraft of the ages. 
 In his early youth endowed him 
 Far beyond the graybeard sages. 
 Predisposed, his talents drew him. 
 Charmed him with their voice divine. 
 Words of Life were pleasant to him, 
 Heaven, discerning, stooped to woo him, 
 Enraged, his jealous brethren slew him; 
 Over all his light still shines. 
 
Truant Earth could not reward him 
 For the good that he had done; 
 Heaven alone could crown the victor 
 When the victory was won. 
 Twice he conquered — once while toiling. 
 Bearing patiently our blame — 
 Once, when all the power of hate 
 Pressed him through death's awful gate, 
 He rose triumphant over fate, 
 Forever vanquishing our shame. 
 
 Earth, a culprit, in amazement 
 Long has gazed upon the sight, 
 Fearing thunder-bolts of vengeance 
 From a God of truth and right, 
 "He that hateth" said the Master, 
 "Is a murderer" — in fact; 
 Though removed by space and time 
 From the presence of the crime 
 Is, so taught the Word sublime, 
 Accessory to all the act. 
 
How the tender Spirit shames us 
 Nov/, as in the former days! 
 While we marvel at His mercy 
 Kindlier glows His brightening rays. 
 Love's rebuke, than jurisprudence 
 Is a higher law and older — 
 Older than a twinkling star. 
 Or the ancient arts of v/ar. 
 Filled with glory from afar, 
 It grows knightlier and bolder. 
 
 How often has the Spirit chided 
 The great universal heart 1 
 Given loyal sons and daughters. 
 Champions of the better part, 
 To the torture, mob, and stake, 
 Not witholding them nor sparing; 
 That the many still might see 
 The ease and joy of victory. 
 And arise from error's mutiny 
 All the claims of evil daring. 
 
Best of all the gallant patriots 
 Is the meek and lowly One, 
 Of an ancient, royal lineage, 
 Purity's most honored son — 
 From a line of conquering heroes. 
 Sprang the King of all the saints. 
 His devotion to the right 
 Gave him grace in Heaven's sight, 
 Saved him from the ruthless blight 
 Of a worldly scion's taint. 
 
 Note the great contending army — 
 They are brethren of a king. 
 As they pass the golden portals 
 Angels in their honor sing. 
 Dire calamity to others 
 Is a crowning, grand event 
 To those valiant sons of toil, 
 Who the hosts of malice foil; 
 And receiving Heaven's spoil. 
 Learn therewith to be content. 
 
PART VII. 
 
 Droop not thy wings, an evil muse 
 
 Restricted to one passing day! 
 
 See yonder wild-fowl shape their course 
 
 To sunnier fields, long leagues away. 
 
 Art thou — the child of tireless mind — 
 
 An eaglet of so little worth. 
 
 Thou mayest not sail the boundless sea 
 
 In quest of that sweet minstrelsy, 
 
 That lifts thy nobler thoughts and thee 
 
 Above the dull gray mists of earth? 
 
Thy tones, harp, may waft delight 
 To many a friend as yet unknown, 
 Art thou but faithful to thy task 
 And daily wait before Love's throne, 
 Aeolian to the winds that blow 
 Joy-laden with the angels' song — 
 Forgetting what we may not mend, 
 In honor, hoping to the end 
 With watchful care, lest we descend 
 To former paths of guilt and wrong: 
 
 For many hearts with thee must feel 
 
 The happier thrill of victory; 
 
 And hear with joy the cheery hail, 
 
 Lo, I am free, forever free! 
 
 Fell slavery is such common state 
 
 Amongst the free-born sons of men, 
 
 Who loosens all the cords that bind 
 
 A hero's high esteem shall find, 
 
 His steps may never lag behind 
 
 Fair Freedom's forward ranks again. 
 
Brave perseverance in the right 
 
 Is highest service we may give 
 
 To those dear friends v/hose constancy 
 
 Renews the heart's desire to live. 
 
 Too oft we nneet reproach and blame 
 
 Where we had hoped for love's reward — 
 
 May we not still with purer eyes 
 
 See good intent in ill disguise? 
 
 And note all-potent Truth devise 
 
 For holier love a new accord? 
 
 The tide that flows from Heaven's high throne 
 
 Bears many changes on its wave, 
 
 Each victor meets a good estate, 
 
 Death after death awaits each slave. 
 
 The unseen hosts obey one Voice, 
 
 Tend homeward to one common goal — 
 
 By what wide circuits many go 
 
 Through hate, despair, rebuke and woe, 
 
 The faultless Judge alone may know, 
 
 The true and faithful guardian Soul. 
 
No circumstance creates the man 
 Who renders unto God His own, 
 And none may bring relief to him 
 Who wanders through the mists alone. 
 Above the power of all events 
 They move who heed the Voice Divine. 
 Let billows heave and tempests sweep, 
 The pestilence o'er dead cities creep, 
 For them who faithful vigil keep 
 A friendly light forever shines. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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