(mm .,,..., ;>x ' : LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ~PS 3 51,5* (-hap. Copyright No. Shelf..__6_3*6C UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. OLD MISSION RHYMES BY William Hartley Holcomb San Diego, California Frye, Garrett & Smith Publishers 1900 1 3063 Library of Congress Two Copies Received JAN 7 1901 <7\ Copyright entry SECOND COPY Delivered to ORDER DIVISION JAN 11 1901 Entered according to act of Congress, in the yea r igoo, by the author, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. PREFACE, It is a sad commentary upon the endurance of things temporal that there now remains of that splendid prosperity built by the early Mission Fathers in California, only names and a few crumbling - ruins. Attracted by the atmosphere of beauty; by the delicacy and affluence of color; by the fragrance and the freedom that attach to the scenes where lived and wrought, a century ago, these good and wise men, our historians have in the past invaded the silence which clings to the torn and dis- mantled halls, and have forced them to speak of those golden morning hours. Prom the silent- tongued travelers which come to us from across the river of time, we have gathered fragments of knowledge concerning these pioneers, which have served to illuminate the shadows through which the peoples, conditions and surroundings of one hundred years ago are dimly seen. The purpose of this little volume is to add a few strokes of the pen toward completing a picture which will ever possess for us a wondrous and never worn-out charm. The author has attempted to convey to the reader some little knowledge of that delicacy of ii PREFACE insight, that gift of penetrating into the heart of things, that subtleness of interpretation which seemed to be with these men of the olden time almost an instinct. He has used as a medium, the tales of adventure, of love, of ambitions gratified, and of hopes unfulfilled; the stories of noble piety and of martyrdom, which have come to us from the past, developing in our minds a sense of "far- off unhappy things". He has concerned himself more with the regard for a true historic association, than for an artistic development of the legends, and to this end he has carefully drawn from sources of undisputed au- thenticity, the chronological order, as well as an accurate setting of the scenes which characterize the events, and in clothing the historical fact with its appropriate surroundings, there has been given an added touch of the imagination, to widen out the horizon, and to shadow forth more clearly the character of thought and action of that day. The author has an apology to make with regard to the form in which he has attempted to portray the thought, the life and the scenery of a time, whose mythic cycle must ever remain to our spirit- ual vision as an imperishable reminiscence, and pleads as an excuse, that possessed of a predilection for making rhymes, and the subject matter having exhibited a peculiar susceptibility to this form of treatment, the art of versification was invoked to soften the manner and to forbid the roughness of literary composition. The author would hesitate to affirm any relationship to poetical genius, believ- PREFACE iii ing such to be a gift of God-light from above, while education and perseverance will develop a versifier. In conclusion, if the charitable reader of the lines is able to glean a fragment of the pleasure from their perusal it gave the author to write them, then, the author will feel himself amply re- paid for the care, the study and research involved in their preparation. THE AUTHOR. San Diego, California, December 1st, 1900. vi CONTENTS LILILAH. Charon's Boat Song 169 Death's Boatman 168 Happiness 158 Iyililah Sleeps 166 The Christening 160 The Flowering Thorn 163 The Padre's Consolation 169 The Uses of Contrast 161 Why Do the Caves 165 MISSION GARDEN, THE Among the Herbs 58 Rewards of Labor 57 With the Flowers 61 PADRE JAUME. Boyhood 51 Infancy 50 Jaume's Pupil 54 Nativity 48 Youth 53 PADRE JAUME'S TEACHINGS. Ambition's Worm 101 An Estimate of Man 105 An Estimate of Woman 106 Beauty 106 Compensation 102 Contentment 96 Greatness 103 Jaume's Prayer 99 Lessons from the Past 100 Methods 70 Minor Lessons — Charity 94 The Advent of Sin 98 The First Lesson— Humility 72 The Painter Regenerate 75 The Peasant's Gate 91 The Peculating Steward 80 CONTENTS vii The Second Wesson— Integrity 80 The Tippling Padre 84 The Third Wesson— Hospitality 89 The Vain Queen 108 QUESTIONINGS. Dispute Not Fate 179 Hope, the Elusive Elf 180 In the Shadow 183 Oh, Where and Why? 174 The Acolyte's Lament 190 The Tides of Faith 182 What Said I to the Clock 186 REONA. A Flower from Thee 131 Another Version 117 At Cross-Purposes 129 Black Art 137 Geneology 122 How Fire Came to Earth 118 How Fish Came to Klamath 120 Indian Cosmology 116 Purity 13 2 Re6na's Beauty *24 The Acolyte 13 ° The Acolyte's Dilemma 133 The Coyote n4 The End of Coyote 121 The Officer 126 The Officer's Soliloquy 128 The Padre 131 The Padre's Solution 134 The Song of the Coyote ll5 When Virgin Maid 142 TRAGEDY OF THE CAVES, THE Anathema Maran Atha I Love Thee Still 151 Love's Music. 150 The Arraign ment 153 viii CONTENTS The Authoritative Curse 154 The Caves 146 The Death of Abel 146 The Tragedy 147 'Down, down, where breakers brew their toaming yeast". Page 149 Old Mission Rhymes THE FIRST SETTLERS. DREAM SEAS. Soft seas that dream, dream seas that smile, Gently cradle our bark awhile That we may drift and idly dream Of Time's soft light, whose rosy beam Colors the hours we thus beguile. Retracing years, mile upon mile, We watch the posts go by in file, Illumined by thy kindly gleam — Soft seas that dream. Thy mirror depths will reconcile With winsome grace, man's evil guile; The stain that marks a baser seam No trace will leave on memories ream, As we pass down thy pleasant aisle — Soft seas that dream- Imagine a distance of tropical sea Wreathed in smiles of perpetual glee, Now simmering in heat of southern day, Now cooling with breath of the evening's play; 2, OI,D MISSION RHYMES It is not the effect of landscape and sky- Unfolding there to entrance the eye, 'Tis only the clouds of opaline hue Reflecting their doubles with likeness true. When night lifts her jewels from casket rare And scatters them lavishly everywhere, The sea picks them up in her crystal bowl, And numbers each gem of the Heavenly scroll. On this shimmering strip of southern sea Behold a galleon, adrift to the lea: A vessel of famed Manila fleet, Laden with Orient spices sweet, Whose delicate odors the airs inhale As they languidly stir a listless sail. But perfumes that rival Elysian balms Serve not a ship restrained by calms; Par greater the worth of a roaring gale To Masters who seek the Manila trail. How weary the days on the watery main To mariners longing for home again! Invest this scene spread out to the eye With the wondering thought of years gone by, When the chivalrous men of Western Spain Dispelled the mists o'er the unknown plain; And over it cast the rose-colored spray Of fables believed in by men of that day; With the admiration and mental delight Of mythical legends of mediaeval night; Of narratives epic, in prose and verse Whose rythmical melody oft' would rehearse The power of saints whose anathemas hurled Destruction to doubters throughout the world. This having done, and the place and the time Depicted by words, whose metrical rhyme THE FIRST SETTLERS Mimics not poetry (whose own proper sphere Is to attune the soul to the list'ning ear) ; But rather to grace by caesural pause, And embellish an otherwise simple, cause: Armed with license, the poet's mail, We will venture forth to relate a tale. A tale of the galleon Felicidad, And her weary waiting so long and sad; A tale of a stricken crew who were there Saved from a deadly calm by prayer. This galleon, becalmed on its homeward way, Had drifted idly for many a day. On board the scurvy, that dreaded scourge, Had depleted the crew to the utmost verge. The sailors, all, the disease had gained, The Alferez — Master — alone remained. The ship to steer, and to act as a crew, Was this fated Master's daily due. Yet, not entirely alone in his care, For a passenger shared the duties there; From Manila to Acupulco bound Some Good Samaritan work had he found. Old of years, of grave and reverent mien, A traveler whom all known lands had seen; Of men, a veritable patriarch, Distinguished by a courtier's mark; His costly habit bore upon its breast A golden crucifix the Pope had blessed; His wisdom, time and thought, had polished bright His soul, inclined towards spiritual light. Oft' while in kindness he knelt by the sick, His eyes looking upward, and chest heaving quick, There seemed to flow from his cooling palm An influence soothing as some mild balm. 4 OLD MISSION RHYMES Of different cast was the Master there; A man much bowed under burden of care. Small in his stature, and quick to command, He waited on time with a nervous hand; Which, refusing to yield to one man's view, Kept steadily on its course to pursue. Then, sadly deploring his wretched state, The Master, all power embraced in his hate, Cursed the misfortune that gave him birth, Chided the elements as of no worth, And at length, relapsing in vague despair, The name of the Almighty did forswear. The traveler besought him to calm his mind, To regard his maker as a Being kind, Whose chastening hand reaches forth each day Some virtue to aid, some ill to allay; To remember, that all that is, is best; Do we all we can, let God do the rest. But still the master of the Felicidad Complained that never were things so bad; That Fate was cruel, and God unkind, Destiny bankrupt, and Justice blind. He said: " 'Tis plain the wind and the sea Have leagued with the devil to undo me." The traveler endured his unreasoning sway 'Till, patience exhausted, he made haste to say: "Why hurl thyself 'gainst the petards of Fate? Dost thou presume to be Destiny's mate? Dare thou to dispute the heavenly plan Prevailing on earth since the birth of man? If thou canst not hasten the winds to blow 'Twere wisdom, at least, thy wrath to forego. Call not to account God's all- just will; Retrieve what we may, for the rest, keep still, THE FIRST SETTLERS And now, with good intent I'll unfold a way Whereby we'll have breezes and help this day. THE TRAVELER'S TESTIMONY. "Whatever of credence my white hairs deseiwe Over the dark locks of intrepid youth, Pray you now give, and my statement preserve For the least, having merit of truth." Thus spake the old man, in the winter of age, Yet with heart that beat warmly and kind, As he read from life's book, page upon page, Examples his precepts to bind. "At Asia's pole I've seen ice-bound capes Of roughest stone and barren land, While tropic shores their brooding shapes In ambrosial airs expand. I've been where tempest waves have wrecked Our ship on a rock-strewn coast, And Ocean's furious tongue unchecked Re-echoed the wind's wild boast. "Where Africa's burning sands assail The pilgrim's agonized thirst, The dread sirocco hath made me quail In its torrid heat immersed. While taking the soft Sicilian air Banditti passed me by, While those employing greater care By stiletto were forced to die. "Cuyamaca, Chief of Indians red, Restrained his heartless band, And I alone, of a hundred dead, Was spared by his command. I've gone through the plague's most dreaded flood, My life seemed almost charmed, And once a lion of Nemean blood I slew, and quitted unharmed. 6 OLD MISSION RHYMES "Thus to relate, in endless array, My memory would serve me still Of wondrous 'scapes from fierce affray Of nature, or savage will. Let this be said, my truth to adorn Its import I would impress, In man is a power, oft' held in scorn, Of rescue when in distress. "Deign not to doubt, nor boastfully say My precept deserves no care, A force in you lies, more potent than day, The power of silent prayer. Think not the God who gave you life Hath given no refuge to save: By prayer alone we may ward off strife Which follows from cradle to grave. "For I would have died on icy floe, Or in jungle as I fell, My bones would bleach where the hot winds blow, Bandits my jewels would sell. The sea maids would plait their wavy hair And mock at my grinning skull. Had not I invoked the force of prayer Each untoward Pate to lull. "For prayer is unction of hidden fire, Unuttered or expressed, It leagues our souls to beings higher Than by human forms impressed. The myriad hosts of Heaven attend When prayer is heard above, Majestic law stoops to forfend With the soft wings of love. "Hadst thou known lived a gift so rare, Concealed in thy innermost breast, Thy heart would have breathed a constant prayer, Thy cause would have been thrice blest. THE FIRST SETTLERS. Assume at once thy rightful place, Wouldst thou thy heritage shun? Pray now to God, Omnipotent Grace; Grandiose, Most Absolute One." The traveler ceased, about him his gaze Pell on Master and crew, whose deep amaze "Was born of the spell of the speaker's word, As well as of marvelous doctrine heard. The Master, impulsive in everything, In haste gave the order:' "Our Lady bring!" And soon the banner of Saint so fair, "Our Lady Guadaloupe." was floating there. Our Lady, whose perfect and sinless life Exalts our souls to forego all strife, In compassion kind, on those kneeling prone, Smiled sweetly down from her painted throne. With deep emotion and loud acclaim The Master called on "Our Lady's" name, "While the crew in wonder at what they saw Joined in the prayers with genuine awe: "O Lady, vouchsafe our vessel to save, O send thy sweet breath to stir up the wave: Hear us, Oh hear us. restrain not thy hand. Have mercy upon this poor stricken band." Again, and again did they loudly cry, While the traveler in silent prayer stood by. With what infinite ease the heart turns to God. When it feels the sting of the chastening rod. O Miracle, why didst thou cede thy reign To reason's age. with its doubts and pain? Why didst thou leave man like a homeless waif To struggle, sustained alone by faith? Poremost in battle thou didst aid the right. On land and sea shone thy resplendent light, 8 OLD MISSION RHYMES The pains of martyrs thy strengthening art assuaged, While evil forces oft' thou fearlessly engaged. O come again, with thy sovereign power to bind Our faltering spirits to mysteries most kind. Know thou 'tis better far for restless mind To trust the eye, than abstract reason blind. Lo, mark the strength of religious zeal! Dramatic power of a Saint's appeal! A spectacle strange now instantly grew, Inspiring awe in the kneeling crew. A power, seeming more than strong nature's arm, — Reached out from space and sounded alarm: Dull clouds were suddenly put to flight, The sluggard airs rippled the waters bright, The shrouds, mysterious force to prove, Tugged at their ropes and bade the ship move; While praise and joy at wonder profound Along the billowy waves resound. How oft' the dweller by the storm-swept ways Beholds the day unfold with cheerful blaze, While waves so boisterous of the day before Emit a petulant and sullen roar. Thus nature ever holds her balance free, Each wilder moment shades to less degree. Each exaltation of the human brain Must by depression reach its mean again. So with the sailors of the Felicidad, Whom joyful ecstasy drove almost mad: Their exultation being overthrown By calmer moments of a deeper tone. And on the ship sprang homeward, with a bound, While fondest hopes revived and smiled around. But darkness ever follows brightest light, The brilliant day dies in the arms of night, THE FIRST SETTLERS ' The dearest dreams depart as we awake, Fate seems to grudge the little joy we take. To cause man's high ambitions to decay Is Earth's sweet pastime and her daily play. Man's duty leads to constant sacrifice, Recurring hopes he may not realize; And still his ship bowls merrily along 'Neath gracious winds with Pair "Wind's magic song: PAIR WINDS THAT BLOW. Fair winds that blow, that onward flee Across the floor of painted sea, Thy work our minds may never know; Or whence ye come or where ye go, Ye are not slaves but gladly free. For vigil kept o'er wave and lea, For pushing on man's argosy, No pay ye seek as on ye flow, Fair Winds that blow. And yet, in shade of trysting tree, Lover's sweets are daily sipped by thee, While kiss from dim seraglio Is caught by thee on portico. What greater pay couldst thou decree? Fair Winds that blow. Ah! fain would I a fairy tale relate; How favoring winds the gallant ship await; How, when the anchor lodges in the sea, Fond lovers greet their sweethearts at the quay. How eager merchants, freed from anxious care, Count profits on the cargo anchored there. Yet, such an end alone in fiction lies, Life in the real embraces tears and sighs; On whirling wheel the sparkling gem is ground, In disappointment's edge are virtues found. 10 OLD MISSION RHYMES He travels farthest on life's seething main Who cultivates capacity for pain. Strength be to those who dear ones wait in dread! May merchant's loss rest lightly on his head! For seas are ruled by sprites of wilful guile, And hidden dangers lurk beneath their smile. The Spanish ship, with crew and treasure-trove, Her carved head-piece through giant billows drove, And dreadful tempest wrecked her masts and spars, While darkest night forgot to light her stars, And lurid lightning's flash, with thunder's roll, Revealed the form but 'lumined not the soul. With deaf'ning crash the waves upon her roll'd, Through broken hatches water filled the hold. Emergency will make a weak man brave, Fear flies before the soul aroused to save. The human mind seems ever to enclose A latent force our actions to dispose. Full many a man whose outward mien is mild, As innocent and trustful as a child, When clash of arms announces battle's fray, Springs to the front and bravely wins the day. Thus often do we see in common life Heroes arise to overcome the strife. One well may hold this form we highly prize To be a God, in mask of human guise. The Master and the crew, with sturdy will, Besought the ship to save through sailor's skill; Winds and waves, wild in their wanton strength, Defied their efforts to their utmost length. The men resigned control unto the seas, And straightway to "Our Lady" bent their knees. From out the darkness of that stormy scene THE FIRST SETTLERS. 11 Shone forth "Our Lady's" face with glance serene. The painted halo o'er her shapely head A streaming - light on her surroundings shed. Shall we say now, incredible event? The storm declined as prayers were upward sent. As if in answer to divine appeal Though adverse winds still made the ship to reel, Its strength exhausted in one vengeful blow. The storm expiring, sighed in dying throe. And stillness fell upon the seething wave, Broken by thankful shouts the sailors gave. . And now there shot from out the Western night A glorious shaft of vari-colored light. A meteor, speeding far with glistening beam, The ship enameled with its liquid gleam, Transforming human features by its glare To angel faces, upward turned in prayer. Yet once again, upon this fateful night, Was prayerful awe to precede greater fright. Rich tokens of a Great Creator's will Had not conserved to keep misfortune still. A cry rang through the ship, by storm waves toss'd: "Help! sailors, man the boats, or we are lost!" Where timber joints had proven frail and weak The sea crept in, the ship had sprung a leak. No human art could patch the rotten pine, Nor keep the gushing flow to water-line; With sullen swash the ship was sinking slow. With scurried tread the rats came from below. Soft breaks the morning's tide upon the East, And tips with rose the crests of billow'd yeast, Where wave and rock, in matin love embrace, And seek the night's dread fury to efface. 12 OLD MISSION RHYMES As deepens light upon the peaceful sky- No sign of gallant ship can we descry. If we would pierce the veil of hidden deep. And see where wreckage lies and sailors sleep: If we would know the truth, not that which seems, "We first must learn the art of inward dreams. To such, the galleon rests beneath the wave, While all but two have found the mermaid's grave. "Where Ocean in his sweep across the world On rocky ribs of Mother Earth is hurled: Where, locking with her arms of sandstone .erray, He conquers her by dint of dashing spray: Where Neptune, with his constant digging spade, Most weird caves and grottoes quaint has made*; Where Undine's chisel carves from night to morn Fantastic shapes these chambers to adorn: Where Nymphs their most exquisite arts define With frieze and dado of grotesque design; Where shallow shoals give way to sudden steeps, And deep-sea life by side of shore-life sleeps. Where gold-fish flash their brilliant coats of mail, As through the tangled moss and kelp they sail; Where star-fish, giant squids and eels abound, And sea-shells of most varied hues are found; Lies a bright coast, whose rocky brows expand In mountain tops, which o'erlook sea and land; Where, in each season's time, midst gentle showers, Old Earth bedecks herself with fragrant flowers, And robes herself in gown of emerald hue To hide her wrinkled forehead from man's view; A place where Nature stores her priceless toys And deals them out to man as ceaseless joys. La Jolla, was that place, and is today, "The Jewel"— Nature's gem of purest ray. THE FIRST SETTLERS. IS Here sits the Dame and grants her treasured boon 'Till Earth seems Heaven's land, approached too soon. Here, when gray light stole softly from the sky Revealing distant land to searching eye, The Master came alone with Traveler old, With relics they had saved from swimming hold; Some rolls of China silks and casks of wax, A box of gold dubloons — the royal tax — Which in the Master's private room had lain, Sent from far Colonies unto the King of Spain. Of food and drink they brought but little store, For, while the raging waves with frightful roar Had leapt upon the ship in fury's might, Intent the spell of Saint to put to flight; While water swept the deck and filled the hold, And drenched the weakened men 'till stiff and cold, The master, moved by danger to prepare, Had launched the boats and brought provisions there. When water's bulk began the ship to sink, Her upper ports to kiss the briny brink, The boats were pulled away by feeble hand. Alas, but one was spared to meet the land! Sad facts of History could we employ, Descriptive lines of brain and pen alloy, Depicting days of want, privations sore, For these unwilling pilgrims held in store. Yet, why seek fancy's realm to gild our theme, When like events are found in every dream; Where fondest hopes of men are turned aside And each must ride perforce, some foreign tide, Where through some channel they wish not to go, There life's endeavors are compelled to flow, Until at last, surmounting some high crest They see that God is wise, that He knew best. 14 <>l,r> MISSION RHYMES The sorrowing know, a marvelous kind Of Lethian draft will soothe the mind, When anguish keen her ruthless blade intrudes, And men, despairing, reach their lowest moods. The mind, through action, to indifference comes; Oblivion's stream across our sadness runs; The indentations made on memory's page, Are smoothed away as sorrows grow in age; Bright day surmounts a fitful space of night, Illusions pass before our strengthened sight. Let this suffice to show how passing days Restored to life and hope our cast-a-ways. But first, there came the fearful crushing force Of aspirations wrecked upon their course; Of worldly loss of cargo and of fame, The blighting thought of ruined earthly name; Of sympathy for those who dwelt at home In wonder that the ship so long should roam; Of terror at the lonesomeness of things, With all the fears that sudden parting brings; Of sadness for those lives the sea had taken, Of doubts lest by their God they were forsaken. The master, broken down by strange events, With tearful eyes poured forth these wild laments: THE MASTER'S LAMENTATION. "Oh God, why punish thou the good and wise, O'erpower the valiant and forsake the true? Why spare thy gifts for heart where evil lies? Why gild their fortunes with a roseate hue, While souls of innocence are pressed with sighs? "Why doth thy chastening hand oppress the pure, And with increasing force tempt them to stray? Why deck with flowers the path to shame's allure? Why walk upright the wicked in their day, While those in righteousness creep insecure? THK FIRST SETTLERS. 15 "Have I not always sought to do thy will? Have I not kept my life without a stain? Yet sinful Masters are permitted still To guide their ships beneath the flag of Spain, And ply their wicked arts with greater skill. "While I am cast upon a heathen land, Devoid of hope, all honor, glory past, The wicked live, a hateful, loveless band Preferred before me, who must be the last And waste my useful years on desert sand. "What is the recompense for doing good? Where is reward for wearing virtue's crown, When profit shines on Satan's brotherhood? When wickedness usurps the purple gown, And Christian acts are e'en misunderstood? "My prayers return unanswered from the skies; My heart's oblation falters to the ground; My soul no more on wings of faith will rise; No more in saintly life will power abound To solve the hidden strength of mysteries." When sorrows of a brother we would share We quickly rise above our own despair. The Traveler gray, whose voice had given birth To sage advice the Master deemed of worth, In sweet compassion moved by his sad speech, With gentle precept sought his soul to reach; Endeavored from these contemplations void To turn his mind to feel the good enjoyed, To learn how seeming ills great gifts enfold, JIow troubles cast our lives to wider mold. A joyous light the Master's face o'erspread While drinking in the truths the Traveler said. 16 OLD MISSION RHYMES THE TRAVELER'S REPLY. "The bruised seed gives up the purest oil, The caged bird laments with sweetest note, The polished stone reflects the grinder's toil, As does the golden book man's labor wrote; The largest yield flows from a well-tilled soil. "The rarest odors from crushed petals part, The trampled grape yet offers crimson wine, Privation leads the soul to highest Art, By disappointment only we refine And discipline the truest human heart. "How oft' we see poetic instincts thrilled With love for all mankind: When left alone In want, by heavenly thoughts instilled. While seeking wisdom from the Great Unknown Man's faith in loving God is never chilled. "Or artist in some upper garret bare, Dining on crumbs, who aspiration hath Lifting the hearts of men when in despair By pictured love, compared with human wrath: Still while he paints his body needs no care. "The restless spirit, moored to bed of pain, Compelled to watch the flight of limping years, Will gather from life's field of glinting grain, The seeds of patience, and the substance cheers The drooping heart, as herbs are cheered by rain. "Did not the Holy One as humble man, Give up his life, a token, to fulfill Inspired Word concerning Heaven's plan, That ages down should ring with God's good will; His gracious right to bless, His power to ban? "Who conquers flesh, to him the truth is given; The bitter war is followed by calm peace; By sorrow's lamp we find the way to Heaven; By resignation we our chains release — Love is the Universal leaven. THE FIRST SKTTLERSi 17 "The power of prayer hath limits as you see; God cannot grant us everything we ask. Our lives from peril he will always free, But not the labor of a bidden task Will He exempt from His all-wise decree. "He freed the ship from stillness of the wave; He calmed the winds when storms were raging wild; All this in answer to our prayers he gave, As father gives to supplicating child Whom he would make more trustful, true and brave. "Because his wish does not accord with thine, Why shouldst thou deem his sacred purpose lost? Perhaps some greater work will He assign To compensate thy high ambitions crossed, And dedicate to thee a nobler shrine." Good deeds, like tones of silvery chime, King clearly out across the fields of time. When California first received her name, And Spanish sailors to her harbors came, The guileless natives to their hearers told Their tribal legends, in form manifold: Of men whose likeness true the Spaniards bore, Those who in ancient times were washed ashore From off the flowing seas amidst the storm, Who sought great deeds of friendship to perform; And how their painted Goddess they unfurled And bowed to Her as ruler of the world. When zealous Friars followed sailors here Their costly works of piety to rear, These tales of shipwrecked strangers who were white, They heard from lips of gentle neophyte; How, by their deeds of kindness, not through fear, The natives learned their presence to revere. How they had lived and taught the law of love, And worship of the Greatest Good above; IS (>U> MISSION RHYMES How they had mated with the daughters of the tribe, And rules of civil life did oft prescribe; How came their end, as brave as was their life, A crowning* victory o'er worldly strife. THE SEED TIME. How doth kind nature, with generous hand, Distribute her bounties throughout the land? A thousand of seeds are sown broadly and free That one may develop a plant or a tree; A thousand of cells, that one tiny flower May germinate, bloom and die in its hour. So, likewise, the course of inspired thought "With nature's prolific measure is fraught; Across intellectual fields of toil A thousand ideas find lodgment in soil; And blossoming forth, some truth to adorn, A seed-thought belated, adds life to its form. Great minds which revolutionize our thought Have not in single file their treasures brought, But widely strewn apart on life's broad wave A thousand flaming lights appear to save. By solid phalanx sweeps Fair Progress on, Compelling every land her garb to don. The precious truths of nature are too rare For individual mind alone to bear. The reckless waste of force she counts no cost — For one that lives, a thousand thoughts are lost. Embosomed in the depths of myriad mind Similitude of thought we ever find. Some special epochs seem to sow the seed Which later ripens in historic creed; A time when earth a restlessness assumes And newer thought the horizon illumes; When tyrants first are gently criticised, THK FIRST SETTLERS. 19 And public thought is slowly crystallized, Existing forms are found to gall and pinch And Freedom's girth increases inch by inch; Religious truths men beg to amplify, And lesser ill their spirits magnify; Downtrodden beings cease to vegetate And larger manhood seeks to germinate. When once the growth of progress has begun The boundaries of time are overrun. Its wilful impetus engulfs the land And scatters seeds of good on every hand. Here, minds emboldened by its forceful sway, A sudden lesolution will display To strike the shackles from their bounden bones, While tyrants totter on unsteady thrones. Here, impulse stirs the wilds of waste to track That fame of new-found worlds may echo back. There, in the humbler gleam of spiritual light Some heroes struggle in the cause of right. Thus, while to Eastern coast the seed-time came, And Freedom's flower put forth her scarlet flame, There lodged on California's fair soil A zealous band inured to faithful toil. The chemist learns how with a sudden blow- Precipitates are formed from liquid flow. Thus, Boston riots brought their powerful shock To harden this Republic into rock. Thus, Russia reaching forth her grasping hand To seize the treasures of a Southern strand, Inspired Carlos, Third, of Spain, with fear, And bade him Northern barriers to rear. Uniting with the King's material arm Franciscan Friars added spiritual charm; 20 OLD MISSION RHYMES And each agreed a common work to share: Arms to the King; to Friars, a pious care. In four divisions was their force to be, Two by land, while two should go by sea. At San Diego, their objective point, The four should meet and, by their efforts joint, Establish there, in regal splendors clad, A Mission such as Spain had never had. A conquest, spiritual and secular, Was sown on California's realm afar. THE COMING OF THE FATHERS. SOOTHSAYING. Note that far sound, distinctly clear, Which bridges distance to the ear: And like the murmurs in the shell On air records the faintest swell! The solemn rumble of the mill, The muttered babble of the rill, The tinkling signal of the herd, The music language of the bird, O'er Nature's bosom hushed and still Are wafted at their own sweet will. The eager pulse of life is stayed While earth, reposeful, seeks the shade. Foreboding Silence holds his sway, Quiescent Lord of living day. Above the changing, darkening, clouds Below, their gloom the earth enshrouds. And now the storm comes on apace, Fulfillment of prophetic grace; In which the earth, the sky and sea Reveal an inborn potency. List to the lull of tranquil hour And heed the lesson of its power. An ominous pause precedes a storm; 'Tis Nature's warning speaks in form; 24 OI,D MISSION RHYMES The guttural voice of father giving blame, The sound of foot where man had left his bed To speak of weird sounds, each word he said, Struck on the tense-drawn vault of blue And echoed back interpretation true. Dark, hovering Evil ere he wrecks his spite, Rests his fell pinions to gather utmost might, A burst of wind, preceding ominous pause, Signals the Aids, to marshal for the cause. And wary, silent, casts a watchful eye Along his ranks some weakness to descry. "With willing readiness prepared, at length, He marches forth secure in allied strength. Thus, on this night, before the streak of morn, Awoke the day her duties to perform, A sullen stillness cast intensest calm, While Evil read misfortune from his palm. Then came a distant, deep, intoned report, Like monster gun discharged from some strong fort. Anon dreadful sound like rumbling wheels, Reverberating like dread thunder's peals, The earth, like frame-work to a pile stone's block, Vibrated visibly with vehement shock, As when some ship in fearful naval broil Quivers with violence from a gun's recoil. Then quiet reigned for one brief moment's space, While reinforcements ranged themselves in place. Again resounds the subterranean roar, Again the dire rebound along the shore. As billowy waves which break upon the beach In swift progression greatest volume reach, Until the seventh of its successive race, Crowns all in misty heigh th and breadth of space; THE COMING OF THE FATHERS. 25 In far retreat they link their foamy hands, And rush once more in wrath upon the sands. In equal sequence now came earthquakes on From middle night to break of smoky dawn. The God of Light arose in lurid red, And frightened creatures left their quaking bed, The course of day resumed its wonted bent And earth relapsed in sullen discontent. No joyous heralds came of this new morn, Instead of dews and flowers, all was forlorn, The struggling sun shone through a murky cloud, Which clung upon the earth like dusty shroud. The wretched natives grovelled in byways, And ventured not their downcast eyes to raise, To angry gaze of blood-red tribal God, Who thus administered his chast'ning rod. This abject scene was rendered more complete When swinging planets chanced their ways to meet: An occultation of the sun occurred, And brighter day with darker night was blurred. When evening came to this eventful day A man stood on the hill above the bay, And scanned with care the distant sweep of kelp, In search of fishermen who might need help. At close of daylight on the night before, The fishing fleet had left with flying oar; As time flew past the hour they should appear The hearts of wives and friends were filled with fear. But savage eyes and savage uncouth mind, To beauteous scenes below could not be blind — The peaceful bay, begirt by brown hills bold, A turquoise, seemed in bracelet of dull gold. 26 OI,D MISSION RHYMES For ages long had these waters lain, Reflecting thus the Heaven's stain. No coppered keel, with white sails spread, Had fretted the tide in its daily tread; But the paddle alone of the skin canoe, Had caressed the waves they sought to woo. But now, in the span of a moment's play, We bid, Adieu, aboriginal day! As the Indian seaward casts his gaze An approaching ship her sail displays, His untutored mind greets hull and sail As the giant bulk of winged whale. BEGINNINGS. A towering rock once reared its lofty head O'er thick-ribbed mountain serving for its bed. Seeming impregnable, a monster tower Defying all titanic, fabled power To move its giant form the smallest space, Or bend its obelisk height the slightest trace, A tiny seed, of parent home bereft, Found entrance there within a narrow cleft, And swelling with the moisture and the sun Put forth its slender rootlets one by one. A sturdy tree in time here cast its shade Where birds and squirrels quiet homestead made. One day this sovereign rock, with sudden bound, Dashed down the cliffs with a mighty, deaf'ning sound. Incipient rootlets had puissant grown, One cell of life had overwhelmed the stone. From minute means comes amplitude of strength. Capacious growth is measured by time's length. Invisible lies the force of lusty life, Unknown the end that follows earthly strife. As cleaved the hardened structure of the rock, THE COMING OF THE FATHERS. 27 By trifling seed he long- had thought to mock, So through all life there runs the same small thread: Collossal strength with unseen causes wed. Untutored mind could scarce perceive the power To follow in the wake of this strange hour. Some mystic Seer was needed to fortell The springing growth to come from Caravel. The dropping of the anchor in the bay, Gave standard royal of the King full sway. The lighting of the campfires on the beach Gave Christian light a farther, wider reach. A plant of precious worth and fair renown, Sprang up from seed thus wisely, safely sown. Prom that hour on the earth was not the same As it had been, before the Fathers came. THE ARRIERO. In Seventeen Sixty-nine, the month of May, When Juan Perez, an anchorage had made, In San Diego's clear and tranquil bay, Portala moved north with a cavalcade. Good Padre Serra would not heed advice To go by sea, or wait 'till wound should heal: "Think'st thou Franciscan Friars are like mice? They tarry not in fright, lest nerves may feel." The second day the Padre's foot became Too sore to bear the pressure of his weight. Despite his protests, that he was not lame, He plodded on with ever slower gait. In vain the Gov'nor urged him to return And take a time more favorable to go. All such appeals the Padre still would spurn And bravely trudged along, but oh, how slow! And, thereupon, a litter was brought forth; The Padre was prevailed thereon to lie, 28 OLD MISSION RHYMES While on shoulders he was carried to the North By native herdsmen who had gathered by. But this was painful to the Padre's pride And troubled much his patient, loving heart. 'Twas not this humble Padre's faith to ride, He pitied much the natives' labored part. Calling an arriero to his side, The evening of the day the litter came, He at once began his troubles to confide And begged the man to try and cure the same. "Can you not a soothing salve prepare From herbs and tallows, whose all-healing power Will these lamed and swollen joints repair, That I may travel on at daylight's hour?" The arriero bowed and answered low: "Am I a surgeon wise, to heal a man? Good Padre, what remedy do I know? My work is but to drive the wagon span. My medicines are made for beasts alone, Not fit for Holy Friar's sickened limb; I would not dare to treat thy ulcered bone, Or try thy swollen ankle joints to trim." "Then, Son," up spake the suffering Priest, "Consider this to be a saddle gall, Allow me for the night to be thy beast, And occupy a place within thy stall; And make like medicaments for me, As thou would'st do for thy own lamed brute; I know my ills will leave me henceforth free And thus your lack of confidence refute." The arriero yielded with good grace, While Padre Serra lay upon the straw; The beasts surrounding, in their resting place, Looked calmly on with reverential awe. The campfire gave a flaming, ruddy light, Where the arriero sat his herbs to clean; THE COMING OF THE FATHERS. 2'» Above, the mystic canopy of night, Hung calmly over this benignant scene. The ointment made, and ankle dressed with care, While Arriero knelt beside his charge, The Padre blessed the work with muttered prayer, And called on saints their mercy to enlarge. The pain decreased and Padre slept a while, When came, to the meek Muleteer's profound amaze, The vision of an angel with a smile, Who looked upon him with resplendent gaze. A lily hand, extending, touched the wound, And instantly no sign of ill was there; Then gathering close her gleaming robes around She floated lightly off in misty air. When Padre woke he gave a joyful cry, And drew the arriero to his breast, Who vainly tried his praises to deny And place the cure to angel hand most blest. "What thou hast seen I will not doubt to be," Replied the priest to protestations wild, "Thy love, the healing angel brought to me; Henceforth I claim thee as our Mission's Child. Thy miracle shall live, a witness true Of aid divine surmounting earthly fear, And teach our wrathful enemies to rue Their unkind greeting of our work sincere." From that night on the Padre had no pain; Thenceforth the ignorant muleteer Sought every hour true wisdom to attain, And fit himself to be a Padre's peer. And well his chosen task did he perform, A great logician from the Master's den This arriero did in time become, In the sacred halls where dwelt these wisest men. THE FOUNDING OF THE MISSION. THE MISSION BELLS. What time since land from waters of the earth Divided were, and life was given birth Upon this swinging planetary world, Which out from sweeping space by law was hurled- What time, since God had placed his flaming sun, To light the course where race of life is run, Had balmy airs of these far western shores Been forced to vibrate in melodic scores? To vibrate swiftly, and with blending zone, Embrace and kiss with love's awakening tone; Vibrations, trembling with that sweetest bliss Which flows in ecstasy from love's first kiss. Since when had Echo, sleeping midst the hills, Wakened from slumber, roused by rythmic thrills: ('harmed by the clear harmonious tone Of metals vibrant from a force unknown? Since when had undulating waves of air, Which wandered freely, unrestrained by care, Soft strains of fleeting ministrelsy to wed, Pursued those silver sounds which quickly fled? Which, thus pursued, like virgin maids of old, Became enamored of pursuers bold And slackened pace and willingly were bound, Uniting breathing space with tuneful sound. THE FOUNDING OF THK MISSION ;,1 Through aeons down, naught but the mournful wail Of some lone coyote from the mesa trail, — Or screech discordant falling from on high Where some great eagle beat against the sky, — Or angry clash of war where natives wage A savage strife to pacify their rage — Was heard through years unnumbered, or the sullen roar, Of wrathful billows, breaking on the shore, Or thunder's cannon booming out through space, Jarring the jagged mountains in their place, Had used these avenues of air which bound With sweet potentialities for sound. But now, this habit of long standing years, To sound the noises of discordant spheres, Is in one moment quickly overthrown, And yields to give to earth sweet music's tone. Chromatic strains which long have lain unused, Are now through quick'ning stranger airs diffused, From spirit lands of possibility, Is born enchanting child — Utility. The doors of nature ope on rusty hinge Admitting melodies to thus impinge Upon the air, which thenceforth, loved to tell The intoned measures of the Mission bell. LIST TO THE BELLS. There speaks a voice across one hundred years, A melodious note from a silvery throat. Hark! How it tells through sounding bells, Of gilded hour, when Spanish power, By noble men with love of conquest moved, Unknown to fear, became the pioneer, And Mission bell placed here, to tell The tale of Christ in western hemisphere. Hear! Hear! How dulcet clear 3,2 OIvD MISSION RHYMES The Mission bell is pealing. Par! Near! List! bend thy ear! To catch the music o'er the mere, Soft harmonies revealing. The soul of sound upspringing, Memories so gently bringing, Sweetly clinging, ringing, ringing. While sound those tones upon the evening air, How soft they fall, at vesper's call! And vision's fair the eyes ensnare Of ancient days, when Holy Frays Devoted life to spread of God's great laws. Mark, how they kneel in sacred weal, While Mission bell's sweet cadence dwells, Upon the cause of Christ's divine appeal! Ding-dell! clear, tuneful bell, The Mission bell is swaying, Dong-dell! what does it tell, What import marks each tonic swell, From clarion throat thus swinging! Singing, singing, softly winging Lullabys are gently ringing. Again, the vision shifting to our view Brings fairy morn of beauty born. The orange trees embrace the breeze, An incense bland o'erspreads the land, Awakes the lark to cheer with rippling song. Across the grass, there slowly pass In files, to where the white-walled mission stands, The faithful neophytes to mass. Rhyme! rhyme! sweet strains sublime Of Mission bell resounding! Time! time! speaks forth the chime; The measured accents scale and climb, The airs with dew abounding. Full melodies are bringing, Ringing, ringing, swift outflinging, Hozannas deep, are loudly singing. THE FOUNDING OF THE MISSION. 33 What meaning have these sounds which flow along And inundate the hills with choral song? Which cross the pearly waters of the bay And idle where the Ocean breakers play? What doctrine do these music waves expound, And what the message thus conveyed by sound? These enharmonic tones from Mission bell, To lowly savage life must change foretell. Denote an end to day where flesh and fish And skins, and furs, engage man's highest wish. An end to time wherein like sluggish clod He grovels to the earth, nor thinks of God. It ushers in the day when light of love, Shall permeate the mists, from God above, When love of brother man shall humbly reign In place and stead of savage might and main, When peaceful husbandry of virgin soil Instils those attributes which spring from toil; When words of Christ, the Indian mind shall change, And idol worship pass beyond their range; And selfishness with all its sordid hold, Shall turn to abnegation's purer gold — That gold, whose increment of valued worth, Exceeds the combined riches of the earth. Did ever sound more feelingly exalt The hearts of men to o'erlook human fault? Did ever vibrate in a nobler cause The gentle airs that lightly go and pause? Did ever nature thrill with love more sweet Than that aroused by harmonies complete? To him who lists to Mission bell's sweet call His soul serener thoughts will sure enthrall. The very gates of life will gleam with pearl, Like petals of the flower good d^pds uncurl: 34 OI