THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GEOROE GBKOOKY. 
 
 Booksell. r to 
 
 11. M. Queen Alexandra, 
 
 5 Areyle 8t . BATH.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 BY 
 
 ELLEN THORNEYCROFT FOWLER. 
 
 CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED 
 
 LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE. 
 
 1891. 
 [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
 
 PR 
 60 11 
 
 To MY FATHER,
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE " 9 
 
 WITHIN MY HEART 12 
 
 THE LOST LOVE 15 
 
 DISAPPOINTED 18 
 
 THE HERMIT 21 
 
 " GOLD AND FRANKINCENSE AND MYRRH " . . . .24 
 
 THE SHEPHERD'S SEARCH 27 
 
 IN MEMORIAM 31 
 
 IVY .33 
 
 HARVEST HYMN 35 
 
 RECESSIONAL HYMN ... 38 
 
 SUNSHINE AND SHADOW 42 
 
 A PLEA FOR ZENANA MISSIONS 43 
 
 SPRING-TIME 45 
 
 WINGS 47 
 
 EVENING SHADOWS 48 
 
 NIGHT 49 
 
 HAPPINESS 51 
 
 SPRING SONG . . . . 52
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "AuF WIEDERSEH'N " 54 
 
 Loss AND GAIN 56 
 
 PURPLE AND GOLD 58 
 
 TRANSLATIONS FROM THE GERMAN : 
 
 1. THE STREAMLET 60 
 
 2. SONG OF AUTUMN ....... 61 
 
 3. SONG OF WINTER 63 
 
 4. FOUND 65 
 
 5. WOMEN OF WEINSBERG 67 
 
 GOLDEN DAFFODILS 70 
 
 LENT-LILIES -73 
 
 WHEN? 75 
 
 THOU AND I 76 
 
 AUTUMN SONG . . -77 
 
 INSTEAD 79 
 
 LOVE'S PORTION 81 
 
 THE LONGEST DAY 84 
 
 A PLAYTHING 86 
 
 IN JULY 88 
 
 POT-POURRI 90 
 
 WHICH? 92 
 
 Now AS THEN 94 
 
 "A BLANK, MY LORD" 96 
 
 A "MAIDEN MEDITATION" 98 
 
 IN COLDEST ENGLAND 100 
 
 AMONG THE ROSES 102 
 
 AN OLD LOVE 104 
 
 A DREAM OF ACROSTICS . . 106
 
 CONTENTS. vii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 To KING BABY no 
 
 A FANTASY ... ...... 112 
 
 A VALENTINE TO A PRIMROSE DAME 115 
 
 Sonnets. 
 
 To THE OLD YEAR 121 
 
 To THE NEW YEAR 122 
 
 Two FRIENDS 123 
 
 SUNSHINE 124 
 
 NIGHT 125 
 
 AT THE GATE 126 
 
 AN OLD LEGEND 127 
 
 To MY FRIEND 128 
 
 To MY LADY 129 
 
 COMPENSATIONS 130 
 
 LOYALTY 131 
 
 COMPARISONS 132 
 
 As IN A GLASS 133 
 
 A SPRING BREEZE 134 
 
 A ROYAL SILVER WEDDING 135 
 
 IMPERFECTIONS 136 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LIFE 137 
 
 " IN DARKEST ENGLAND" 138 
 
 To THE HELIOTROPE 139 
 
 A *
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PACE 
 
 REVELATION xxn. 14 140 
 
 PEARLY GATES . . .141 
 
 THE RAINBOW ROUND THE THRONE .->'". . . 142 
 
 IN THE GARDEN 143 
 
 NATURE'S APATHY 144 
 
 SONGS 145 
 
 TIRED 146 
 
 IN THE NEW GALLERY 147
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 asetter, for 
 
 QUOTH he, " Sweetheart, thou art young and fair, 
 And thy story has just begun ; 
 
 But I am as old 
 
 As a tale that's told, 
 And the days of my youth are done." 
 "O'er ruins olden the clinging moss 
 Doth a mantle of velvet spread: 
 
 Shall the climbing flower 
 
 Be more to the tower 
 Than I to my Love ? " she said. 
 
 Quoth he, " Sweetheart, thou hast lands and gold, 
 And thou knowest not want nor woe ; 
 
 As a beggar poor 
 
 I stand at thy door, 
 And I only can love thee so."
 
 io VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 " Through leafless forests the sunbeams creep, 
 All the wealth of their gold to shed: 
 And are they more fair 
 To the woodland bare 
 Than I to my Love ? " she said. 
 
 Quoth he, " Sweetheart, thou art good and kind, 
 
 And wouldst never the lowest spurn ; 
 But the storm of life 
 With its toil and strife 
 
 Has rendered me harsh and stern." 
 " The brooklet murmurs its sweetest lays 
 
 As it makes for the rocks ahead : 
 
 Shall the streamlet's song 
 Be more brave and strong 
 
 Than I for my Love ? " slie said. 
 
 Quoth he, " Sweetheart, thou art blithe and gay, 
 And thou never hast known a care ; 
 But my face is worn 
 And my heart is torn 
 With the sorrow I've had to bear." 
 " The stars ne'er spangle the sapphire sky 
 Till the brightness of day has fled : 
 Shall the pale starlight 
 Be truer to night 
 Than I to my Love ? " she said.
 
 VERSES GRA VE AND GAY. 1 1 
 
 Quoth he, " Sweetheart, who art young and fair, 
 Will thy wonderful love to me 
 
 Through sorrow or shame 
 
 Be always the same ? " 
 " Nay, it rattier will grow" said she. 
 Again he cried, " Will it last, Sweetheart, 
 Till thy lover lies cold and dead, 
 
 And thy latest breath 
 
 Has been hushed in death ? " 
 " Aye, longer than that" site said.
 
 12 
 
 it!)W mp geart. 
 
 DEAREST, in my heart's recesses 
 
 Thou wilt find no lonely spot 
 Which thy presence never blesses 
 
 Where the thought of thee is not. 
 Pass the open doors and straightway 
 
 Search the chambers, scale the stair ! 
 Still from battlement to gateway 
 
 Thou art always everywhere. 
 
 In the nursery, where unbidden 
 
 Dust has buried childish joys, 
 Memories of thee are hidden 
 
 With the long-forsaken toys. 
 In the castle-turrets airy, 
 
 Built ere girlhood's dreams had flown- 
 By some strange fantastic fairy, 
 
 Thou art still the corner-stone.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 13 
 
 In the happy pleasure-garden 
 
 Thou art walking all the while ; 
 Winter frosts can never harden 
 
 In the sunlight of thy smile. 
 At thy touch the fragrant spices 
 
 All their sweetest perfumes yield, 
 And the honey that suffices 
 
 Fills the lilies of the field. 
 
 In the dungeon's darkest centre, 
 
 Where the iron has been wrought 
 Which within the soul must enter 
 
 Ere the final fight is fought 
 Where forsaken hopes are flitting 
 
 Pale and ghost-like through the gloom- 
 Even there I find thee sitting 
 
 Like the Angel on the Tomb. 
 
 In the Holiest, when the chrism 
 
 Of the mystic Gilead-balm 
 Soothes me with its sweet baptism, 
 
 As I hear the far-off psalm 
 Sung by seraph-choirs to guide me 
 
 Up the sloping altar-stairs, 
 Then I feel thee close beside me, 
 
 And thy voice is one with theirs.
 
 14 VEKSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Hope may fail and Faith may falter, 
 
 Art and Learning may decay, 
 Tongues may cease and times may alter, 
 
 Prophecy may pass away ; 
 But as long as Love immortal 
 
 In its strength unshaken stands, 
 Thou shalt dwell within the portal 
 
 Of my house not made with hands.
 
 Cfje ost ilobe. 
 
 THOU art not to blame, Dear, 
 
 That my soul is hurt ; 
 Thou art just the same, Dear, 
 
 As thou always wert ; 
 Thou wouldst never grieve me- 
 
 Thou art far too kind : 
 'Tis myself, believe me, 
 
 That I have to mind. 
 
 For I fell a-dreaming 
 
 Once upon a time, 
 In my folly deeming 
 
 Simple things sublime ; 
 And the best ideal 
 
 That my heart could frame 
 Seemed a being real 
 
 Christened by thy name.
 
 1 6 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 What thou really art, Love 
 
 What my fancy guessed 
 Are as far apart, Love, 
 
 As the East and West. 
 All my adoration 
 
 Was bestowed in vain 
 On a mere creation 
 
 Of my foolish brain. 
 
 Can I scold thee, seeing 
 
 All the blame was mine ? 
 Scorn thee for not being 
 
 Other self than thine ? 
 Thou wert not in fault, Dear, 
 
 Even in my sight, 
 That I did exalt, Dear, 
 
 Thee to such a height. 
 
 Through the long to-morrow, 
 
 I, who did this thing, 
 Must endure the sorrow 
 
 It is bound to bring ; 
 Showing by no token 
 
 How my heart doth ache 
 And is well-nigh broken 
 
 By my own mistake.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 17 
 
 I would scorn as bubbles 
 
 Earthly hopes and fears 
 I would smile at troubles 
 
 In the coming years 
 If thou couldst but seem, Love, 
 
 Once again to me 
 All I used to dream, Love ! 
 
 But it cannot be.
 
 18 
 
 IB&appdftttefc* 
 
 How sweet were the dreams that we dreamed, old 
 Friend, 
 
 Together, when life had but just begun ! 
 How sad are our thoughts now we see the end 
 
 Of the vanity practised beneath the sun ! 
 We neither have done what we meant to do 
 
 We have neither become what we hoped to be : 
 Disappointment has darkened the day for you 
 
 Disillusion has dawned on the world for me. 
 
 For one special treasure you vainly sought, 
 
 And laughed at the toil that the search entailed : 
 You worked and you waited, you prayed and 
 fought, 
 
 And your heart was broken because you failed. 
 So now you are bitter and hard and stern, 
 
 Regarding the world as your cruel foe : 
 As you have not the blessing for which you yearn, 
 
 You scornfully let all the others go. 
 
 I also began with a grand ideal, 
 
 And waited and wrestled and toiled and prayed ;
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 19 
 
 Till I found at last the prosaic real 
 
 So different from all that my dreams portrayed. 
 Then I ceased from the struggle and strain and 
 strife, 
 
 As the work and the waiting seemed all in vain ; 
 And I made up my mind to enjoy my life, 
 
 Nor heed that the hopes of my youth were slain. 
 
 Am I happy ? Yes : I have ceased to pine 
 
 For things that I know are beyond my reach : 
 I have eaten the husks with the herd of swine, 
 
 Extracting what pleasure I could from each. 
 Whilst you have been fretting your heart away 
 
 For joys it was fated you should not find, 
 I have made myself merry from day to day, 
 
 And left all the dreams of the past behind. 
 
 Yet I envy you, 'spite of your bitter pain ; 
 
 Because through earth's hubbub, that grates and 
 
 jars 
 You are listening still to the far-off strain 
 
 Which is sung on high by the morning stars. 
 You never would turn your eyes to the ground 
 
 From the heaven-sent vision they once had seen ; 
 So ready and waiting will you be found 
 
 When the angels bring you your "might have 
 been." 
 
 B 2
 
 2o VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 But as for myself I have piped so long 
 
 The jangling refrains of the market-place, 
 That now I am deaf to the seraph-song 
 
 Which is floating forever through fields of space 
 Among Kedar's tents I have dwelt at ease, 
 
 Forgetting my home in the mansions blest ; 
 The worst has had power my soul to please, 
 
 So it is not for me to attain the best.
 
 21 
 
 Cfoe Imm't 
 
 SAFE in the shelter of a lonely glen 
 A refuge which the distant hum of men 
 
 Could reach but faintly 
 Untouched by human blame or human praise, 
 There dwelt in ancient, half-forgotten days 
 
 A hermit saintly. 
 
 With rapture was his spirit wont to burn ; 
 Each night of prayer was followed in its turn 
 
 By prayerful morrows : 
 He heeded not, in his exalted life, 
 The sordid cares of men, their paltry strife, 
 
 Their sins and sorrows. 
 
 As he one Christmas-Eve his vigil kept, 
 Whilst Nature 'neath her snowy mantle slept, 
 
 He saw with wonder 
 An angel standing smiling by his side, 
 Whilst Heav'n to hosts seraphic opened wide 
 
 Its gates of thunder. 
 
 In silent awe the hermit bowed his head : 
 " Fear not, my son," the angel sweetly said 
 In accents ringing ;
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 " Our Christmas carol strive to learn by heart. 
 And see if thou art fit to take thy part 
 In Heaven's singing." 
 
 " Glory to God ! " bright hosts of seraphs sang, 
 " Glory to God ! " the highest Heavens rang, 
 
 " To God be glory ! " 
 
 " Oh. angel ! " cried the hermit, growing bold, 
 " This can I sing, for all my life has told 
 
 The self-same story." 
 
 The angel smiled " And art thou then as fain 
 To sing the second part of Heaven's strain ? " 
 
 In tones sonorous 
 
 The white-robed carol-singers chanted then, 
 "Peace on the earth, and good-will unto men!"- 
 
 So ran the chorus. 
 
 In tearful shame the hermit bowed his head : 
 " I cannot learn the angels' song," he said, 
 
 (< Nor sing it duly ; 
 
 To God great glory I have ever given, 
 But yet to save men's souls I have not striven, 
 
 Nor loved them truly." 
 
 The angel answered gently, " Grieve not so ! 
 Two things compose man's duty here below 
 Thou hast the one done ;
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 23 
 
 In this thou hast not been of grace bereft, 
 
 Yet none the less thou shouldst not then have 
 
 left 
 The other undone. 
 
 " Be comforted ! it is not yet too late ; 
 
 Ne'er closed to those who knock is Heaven's gate 
 
 Now do thy duty 
 
 Love well thy fellow-creatures, and ere long 
 Thine own shall be the sweet seraphic song 
 
 In all its beauty/' 
 
 The hermit straightway left his lonely glen, 
 And lived and worked amongst his fellow-men 
 
 Like holy leaven : 
 
 At last the carol learnt he ceased to roam, 
 And then the angels bore him safely home 
 
 To sing in Heaven.
 
 jfrankinrense 
 
 ONE Christmas-Day, in long-forgotten years, 
 
 A beggar wept exceeding bitter tears ; 
 
 For, whilst the thronging people went their way 
 
 To God's own house to keep His holy day, 
 
 To deck with offerings meet the Saviour's shrine, 
 
 And praise with carols sweet the Babe divine, 
 
 So poor was he, he could not e'en afford 
 
 The humblest gift wherewith to greet his Lord. 
 
 As, sad at heart, the weary beggar wept, 
 It chanced he fell asleep, and whilst he slept 
 He dreamed there passed before his tear-dimmed eyes 
 Three men in strange and Oriental guise, 
 Who guided by a bright and wondrous star 
 Had left their Eastern home and travelled far, 
 And still were pressing onwards night and day 
 To reach the manger where the Saviour lay. 
 
 The first a stately man of noble mien, 
 With wise and thoughtful eye and brow serene 
 Addressed the sleeper thus : " Pure gold I bring 
 To sacrifice before the new-born King."
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 25 
 
 Then spake the second who was young and fair : 
 " A costly gift of frankincense I bear, 
 Distilled from all the sweetest things on earth, 
 And therefore meet to grace a Monarch's birth." 
 
 The third a weary traveller, worn and old 
 Sighed : " I have neither frankincense nor gold ; 
 To me life brings the bitter, not the sweet, 
 And poor indeed I go my King to meet : 
 I ne'er have found pure gold without alloy, 
 Nor yet the frankincense of love and joy ; 
 Still all I have I give Him, and believe 
 That e'en the bitter myrrh He will receive." 
 
 An angel's voice made answer : " Blest are they 
 
 Who dedicate their gold to God, and pray 
 
 That He thereof will fashion crowns of light 
 
 To wreathe their brows who well have fought the 
 
 fight. 
 
 Twice blest are they who bring the costly spice 
 Of life's most precious gifts as sacrifice ; 
 For all such incense burnt before the Lord 
 One day a thousandfold shall be restored. 
 
 " Thrice blest are they who having nought at all 
 To offer save the wormwood and the gall 
 Lay down their sorrows 'neath their Saviour's Feet ; 
 For He shall change their bitter into sweet,
 
 26 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY, 
 
 His loving Hand shall wipe away their tears, 
 His gracious Smile dispel their doubts and fears ; 
 Eternal joy shall turn their night to day, 
 Whilst grief and sighing swiftly flee away." 
 
 The beggar wept for joy : " Ah ! now I learn," 
 He cried, " that even I may come in turn 
 To lay my gift before the new-born King, 
 Whose praises all the hosts of Heaven sing : 
 Some give Him costly gold, and some prefer 
 Sweet frankincense I nought can bring but myrrh ; 
 Yet God my offering will not worthless deem." 
 The beggar woke and lo ! it was a dream.
 
 ONE Christmas as over the snow-drifts deep the 
 
 silvery starlight streamed 
 A poor old shepherd was lying asleep, and this is the 
 
 dream he dreamed : 
 He thought that he heard the angel of old that glorious 
 
 carol sing 
 " Fear not ; for behold ! there is born this day a Babe 
 
 Which is Christ the King." 
 
 So he started to seek the new-born Christ, on hearing 
 
 the angel's song, 
 And never fainted nor faltered nor failed, though 
 
 weary the way and long ; 
 Till he came to a beautiful city, so wondrously fair to 
 
 see, 
 That " Here," cried the shepherd in joyful hope, " the 
 
 Heavenly Babe must be ! "
 
 28 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Then he tried to pass through the gates of brass, but 
 
 there was his progress barred, 
 For in front of the closely shut portals the sentinels 
 
 stood on guard : 
 " Go home, thou shepherd, go home," they cried ; " of 
 
 a truth, thou canst surely see 
 Here is room for the proud and the princely, but here 
 
 is no place for thee ! " 
 
 Then it came to pass that the wayworn man a palace 
 
 of learning found, 
 Where walls of marble and pillars of gold rose up from 
 
 the mossy ground 
 To shield from the great world's struggle and strife 
 
 the gifted, the learned, the wise ; 
 And the shepherd exclaimed, " 'Tis here, methinks, 
 
 the wonderful Christ-Child lies ! " 
 
 But never a word of welcome kind did the scholarly 
 
 scorners deign 
 To give to the weary old wanderer, ere they turned to 
 
 their books again : 
 " Go home, thou shepherd, go home," they said ; " from 
 
 our presence make haste to flee ; 
 Here is room for the wise and the worthy, but here is 
 
 no place for thee ! "
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 29 
 
 The shepherd sadly pursued his way till he came to a 
 temple fair, 
 
 Where priests in their vestures of purple hue were lift- 
 ing their hearts in prayer 
 
 Where choirs in their garments of snowy white were 
 raising their songs in praise : 
 
 " Ah, here is the spot," was the traveller's cry, " where 
 I on my Lord may gaze ! " 
 
 But he dared not enter that sacred fane, so gaunt did 
 
 he feel and grim, 
 And the beautiful, white-robed choristers had never a 
 
 song for him : 
 He sighed to himself, " In this temple fair, O shepherd, 
 
 thou mayst not be 
 Here is room for the pure and the perfect, but here is 
 
 no place for thee ! " 
 
 Then on he went till at last he felt he could travel 
 
 along no more ; 
 And feeble and footsore and faint at heart he entered 
 
 a stable door : 
 Though the great and the good and the gifted would 
 
 scorn such a humble guest, 
 Yet there with the beasts of burden, perchance, the 
 
 shepherd might take his rest.
 
 3o VEKSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 And lo ! where the vilest might freely come, and no 
 man durst say them nay, 
 
 In the stable, asleep in a manger, the glorious Christ- 
 Child lay : 
 
 " O welcome, thou shepherd," the angels sang ; " fall 
 low on thy bended knee 
 
 Here is room for the sad and the sinful, so heie is the 
 place for thee ! "
 
 JAMES ERASER, LORD BISHOP OF MANCHESTER. 
 
 So he has gone from us ! has gone for ever, 
 Far, far beyond the reach of earthly fame, 
 And left behind, to be forgotten never, 
 A name. 
 
 We mourn him, but he does not heed our sorrow, 
 Nor mark our hearts with grief for him opprest, 
 For now on him has dawned the grand to-morrow 
 Of rest. 
 
 That shining light was his which never paleth, 
 
 But shineth on unto the perfect day ; 
 That charity was his which never faileth 
 For aye. 
 
 Right bravely through the world his way he wended- 
 
 Life's toils and conflicts now for him are past ; 
 To Sion's Hill the victor has ascended 
 At last.
 
 32 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Now he has joined that throng of every nation 
 
 And tribe and kindred, who have fought the fight, 
 And walk with Christ, their Captain of Salvation, 
 In white. 
 
 He cannot hear the tones of weeping mortals, 
 
 For he is welcomed by the angels' cry : 
 " Lift up your heads, ye everlasting portals, 
 On high ! " 
 
 He cannot heed our bitter lamentation, 
 
 For bending low before the Great White Throne 
 He hears the words of gracious commendation, 
 "Well done!"
 
 33 
 
 3*!?. 
 
 THE trailing ivy on the earth is found, 
 
 And closely to its humble home it clings, 
 Nor by itself can ever leave the ground 
 
 From whence it springs. 
 
 Its feeble efforts are all vainly made 
 
 From earth and earth's to set its tendrils free, 
 Until it finds a home beneath the shade 
 Of some great tree. 
 
 The ivy's branches round the trunk are thrown 
 
 And then at last its lower life is o'er ; 
 'Tis upwards raised to better things, unknown, 
 Undreamed before. 
 
 The old earth-loving days are done and past 
 
 A new and higher life is now begun ; 
 The trailing ivy wends its way at last 
 
 Towards stars and sun. 
 
 So we to earth must cling until we find 
 Our rest beneath the shadow of that Tree 
 
 Which once was lifted up for all mankind 
 
 On Calvary. 
 C
 
 34 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 We fling our arms around it, and at length 
 
 Among the sons of Heaven take our place, 
 And by the Cross are raised from strength to strength, 
 From grace to grace. 
 
 It leads us upwards, far beyond the sway 
 
 Of earthly cares, beyond the toil and strife ; 
 In it we find the new and living Way 
 The Tree of Life. 
 
 It lifts us out of darkness into light 
 
 The light which shines, undimmed by cloud or mist, 
 In that Eternal City, gleaming bright 
 As amethyst, 
 
 Where conquering hosts beside the Crystal Sea 
 
 With swelling songs their victories recall, 
 And He, Who died for us upon the Tree, 
 Is all in all.
 
 35 
 
 Now the year is crowned with blessing 
 
 As we gather in the grain ; 
 And, our grateful thanks expressing, 
 
 Loud we raise a joyous strain. 
 Bygone days of toil and sadness 
 
 Cannot now our peace destroy, 
 For the hills are clothed with gladness 
 
 And the valleys shout for joy. 
 
 To the Lord their first-fruits bringing, 
 All His thankful people come, 
 
 To the Father praises singing 
 For the joy of Harvest-Home. 
 
 In the Spring the smiling meadows 
 Donned their robes of living green, 
 
 As the sunshine chased the shadows 
 Swiftly o'er the changing scene ; 
 
 C 2
 
 36 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 In the Summer-time the story 
 
 Of a riper hope was told ; 
 Then the rich Autumnal glory 
 
 Decked the fields in cloth of gold. 
 
 To the Lord their first-fruits bringing, 
 All His thankful people come, 
 
 To the Father praises singing 
 For the joy of Harvest-Home. 
 
 Shall not we, whose hearts are swelling 
 
 With the thought of former days, 
 Sing a joyous song foretelling 
 
 Future gladness, fuller praise ? 
 For the cloud the bow retaineth 
 
 With its covenant of peace, 
 That, as long as earth remaineth, 
 
 Harvest-time shall never cease. 
 
 To the Lord their first-fruits bringing, 
 All His thankful people come, 
 
 To the Father praises singing 
 For the joy of Harvest- Home. 
 
 Though the fig-tree may not flourish, 
 Though the vine no fruit may yield, 
 
 Though the earth no flocks may nourish 
 In the fold or in the field,
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 37 
 
 Still our hearts will trust His Power 
 
 Who the ravens stoops to feed, 
 And the Hand That clothes each flower 
 
 Shall supply our utmost need. 
 
 To the Lord their first-fruits bringing, 
 All His thankful people come, 
 
 To the Father praises singing 
 For the joy of Harvest-Home.
 
 FATHER Everliving, 
 We declared Thy Name 
 When, with glad thanksgiving, 
 
 To Thy courts we came : 
 For Thy gifts to mortals 
 
 Still our songs we raise, 
 As we pass Thy portals 
 
 With a hymn of praise ! 
 
 Father, we adore Thee, 
 And, with one accord, 
 
 Praise Thy Name before Thee 
 In Thy Temple, Lord ! 
 
 For our own creation 
 
 By Thy mighty Will ; 
 For our preservation 
 
 From surrounding ill ; 
 For Thy Word, expressing 
 
 Peace amid the strife ; 
 And for every blessing 
 
 Of our earthly life
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 39 
 
 Father, we adore Thee, 
 
 And, with one accord, 
 Praise Thy Name before Thee 
 
 In Thy Temple, Lord ! 
 
 For the dewy meadows 
 
 In their glory drest ; 
 For the evening shadows, 
 
 Bringing thoughts of rest ; 
 For this world of beauty, 
 
 For the days of youth ; 
 For the path of duty, 
 
 And the way of truth 
 
 Father, we adore Thee, 
 And, with one accord, 
 
 Praise Thy Name before Thee 
 In Thy Temple, Lord ! 
 
 For the faith which brightens 
 
 Darkness of despair ; 
 For the hope which lightens 
 
 Burdens hard to bear ; 
 For the love which fails not, 
 
 Nor can fade away ; 
 For the light which pales not 
 
 Till the perfect day
 
 4O VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Father, we adore Thee, 
 And, with one accord, 
 
 Praise Thy Name before Thee 
 In Thy Temple, Lord ! 
 
 For the wondrous story 
 
 Of the blessed Cross ; 
 For the hope of glory 
 
 After grief and loss ; 
 For the One Oblation 
 
 Of Thine Only Son ; 
 For the world's salvation 
 
 Which by death He won 
 
 Father, we adore Thee, 
 And, with one accord, 
 
 Praise Thy Name before Thee 
 In Thy Temple, Lord ! 
 
 For each faithful servant, 
 
 Who while tarrying here 
 With pure heart and fervent 
 
 Served the Lord in fear ; 
 For the hosts victorious 
 
 Who have fought the fight 
 Who, serene and glorious, 
 
 Walk with Christ in white
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 41 
 
 Father, we adore Thee, 
 
 And, with one accord, 
 Praise Thy Name before Thee 
 
 In Thy Temple, Lord ! 
 
 These Thy mercies tender 
 
 Teach us, Lord, to see 
 That we may surrender 
 
 Lips and lives to Thee ; 
 To Thy service giving 
 
 All that we are worth 
 To Thy glory living 
 
 All our days on earth. 
 
 Father, we adore Thee, 
 
 And, with one accord, 
 Praise Thy Name before Thee 
 
 In Thy Temple, Lord !
 
 anti 
 
 ONE sunny day, as on my way I went, 
 
 And stooped to pluck the flowers I loved so well, 
 I saw that on each bloom o'er which I bent, 
 
 My shadow fell ; 
 
 But when my wandering glances left the ground 
 And travelled sunwards up the shafts of light, 
 The shadow fell behind me, and I found 
 That all was bright. 
 
 So when, with earthward gaze, we set our minds 
 On flowers beside life's pathway blooming fair, 
 Whoever stoops to seize their beauties finds 
 
 A shadow there ; 
 But if, with eyes uplifted, we are wont 
 
 To scan the heavenward stair the angels trod, 
 Behind us is the shadow, and in front 
 The light of God.
 
 43 
 
 a Pea for Zenana 
 
 AT Bethany once, in the chamber of sorrow, 
 
 A heart-broken woman sat mourning her dead ; 
 No promise had she of a brighter to-morrow, 
 
 No hope on her pathway its radiance shed. 
 But suddenly light did her senses bewilder ! 
 
 Her sister caused all the dense darkness to flee 
 By murmuring softly the message which thrilled her : 
 
 " The Master is come, and He calleth for thee ! " 
 
 Both sisters were loved by the Lord ; and the elder 
 
 Had gone forth to meet Him that sorrowful day, 
 And learned from His Lips, while His Presence up- 
 held her, 
 
 That He was the Life, and the Truth, and the Way. 
 Such wonderful knowledge she dared not be hiding 
 
 She felt that her sister this brightness must see 
 So whispered to her in the shadow abiding : 
 
 " The Master is come, and He calleth for thee ! " 
 
 We, too, have a sister, who sits in the shadow, 
 And never has heard of the Father above; 
 
 But He, Who forgets not the flowers of the meadow, 
 Is yearning for her in the might of His Love.
 
 44 VEXSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 When counting the flocks in the fold He has missed 
 her, 
 
 And bids us, " If ye My disciples would be, 
 Go forth in My Name and declare to your sister : 
 
 ' The Master is come, and He calleth for thee ! ' ' 
 
 With us, who are saved by His perfect Salvation, 
 
 The Saviour is pleading the cause of the lost, 
 And charging us now by His own Incarnation 
 
 By all that He purchased by all that it cost 
 By all that He felt when the Temple was shaken 
 
 By all that He suffered on Calvary's Tree 
 To say unto her, who awhile seemed forsaken : 
 
 " The Master is come, and He calleth for thee ! "
 
 45 
 
 THE Spring has come smiling o'er hill and dale 
 With the smile she has worn for a thousand 
 
 years ; 
 She has spread her green carpet across the vale, 
 
 And melted the snowdrifts in happy tears. 
 Shy April has laughed through her well-known 
 
 showers, 
 
 And May with a bountiful hand has flung 
 Over mountain and meadow the same sweet flowers 
 That gladdened the Spring-time when we were 
 young. 
 
 There is nothing new in the cuckoo's strain, 
 
 As he utters his often-repeated cry ; 
 And the hawthorn is blooming along the lane 
 
 As it bloomed in each Spring of the years gone 
 
 by; 
 The cowslips are ringing their silent bells 
 
 To the tune that for ages their chimes have rung ; 
 And the sunbeams are weaving the golden spells 
 
 They wove in the Spring-time when we were 
 young.
 
 46 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 If Spring is the type of the life to come 
 
 Then Heaven will be neither new nor strange, 
 But like the return to a dear old home 
 
 In the land that is far from the fear of change : 
 Well-known and beloved will its pleasures seem, 
 
 Familiar the song by the angels sung, 
 For 'twill be the fulfilment of every dream 
 
 We dreamed in the Spring-time when we were 
 young.
 
 47 
 
 THE branch by wind is stirred, 
 And yet thereon the bird 
 
 His carol sings : 
 
 What though the tree be tall ? 
 He feels he cannot fall 
 
 For he has wings. 
 
 I find no place of rest, 
 Yet I am not opprest 
 
 By earthly things ; 
 Nought is abiding here, 
 But wherefore should I fear ? 
 
 I too have wings.
 
 4 8 
 
 EVENTIDE must come at last 
 
 On the longest June day, 
 When the afternoon has passed 
 
 With the glorious noonday, 
 And the night with outstretched hand 
 Flings the shadows o'er the land. 
 
 Yet we will not sadness see 
 
 In the shadows' warning : 
 Long and lingering they may be, 
 
 But they point to morning 
 To the East where dawning light 
 Shall disperse the darkest night.
 
 49 
 
 PAST are daylight's sunny hours, 
 
 Night her silent watch doth keep ; 
 All the birds and all the flowers 
 Are asleep. 
 
 Morning clouds with silver lining 
 But too quickly passed us by ; 
 Now Night's changeless orbs are shining 
 In the sky. 
 
 Noontide made the sunshine surer, 
 
 And the heavens of azure hue ; 
 Now the sky is of a purer, 
 Richer blue. 
 
 Afternoon stretched calm before us, 
 
 None its waning light could mark ; 
 But a deeper peace is o'er us 
 
 In the dark. 
 D
 
 5o VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Sunset told a glowing story 
 
 With its gold and crimson bars ; 
 But there is a higher glory 
 In the stars. 
 
 So beyond Life's sunny hours 
 
 We shall reach a fairer height, 
 When to us the birds and flowers 
 Say Good-night.
 
 To know through all Earth's changes that Life must 
 conquer Death 
 
 Which is perfect Faith : 
 
 To trust that we are gaining those joys for which we 
 grope 
 
 Which is steadfast Hope : 
 To love our fellow creatures as we beloved would be 
 
 Which is Charity : 
 To have these three abiding our daily lives to bless 
 
 Which is Happiness. 
 
 D 2
 
 Spring 
 
 WINTER hath fled away, 
 
 Darkness hath sped away, 
 Spring cometh now our old grief to destroy : 
 
 After the sleeping-time, 
 
 After the weeping-time, 
 Dawneth the morning of gladness and joy. 
 
 Winter trode wearily, 
 
 Winter sighed drearily, 
 Binding the earth with his ice and his snow: 
 
 Spring steppeth fearlessly, 
 
 Spring smileth peerlessly, 
 Whilst at her bidding the rivulets flow. 
 
 Little birds sing again, 
 
 Sweet flowers spring again, 
 Sunbeams are chasing the shadows away : 
 
 Past is the olden time, 
 
 And a new golden time 
 Comes with the dawn of a happier day. 
 
 Over plains meadowy, 
 Through woodlands shadowy, 
 Breezes are breathing the blessings of Spring ;
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 53 
 
 West winds from prairie-land 
 Change earth to fairy-land, 
 Making her glad with the beauty they bring. 
 
 This shall cease nevermore : 
 
 There shall be evermore 
 Spring after Winter, and smile after frown ; 
 
 After night's fearfulness, 
 
 Morning-light's cheerfulness ; 
 After the conflict, the conqueror's crown ; 
 
 After regretfulness, 
 
 Happy forgetfulness ; 
 After Death's Nay, God's immutable Yea ; 
 
 After strife, sevenfold 
 
 Peace in the Heaven-fold ; 
 After earth's darkness, eternity's day.
 
 54 
 
 THE Spring departs with all the buds that kiss her, 
 
 And all the birds that follow in her train ; 
 But leaves behind a word for those who miss her 
 Auf wiederseJin ! 
 
 Too soon the Summer drops her flowery sceptre, 
 
 Too quickly ends the gladness of her reign ; 
 But she has said to us who fain had kept her 
 Auf iviederseh'n ! 
 
 The Autumn having gilded all the meadows 
 
 And clothed the laughing hills with golden grain 
 Fades whilst she whispers through the darkening 
 shadows 
 
 Auf wiederseJin ! 
 
 The Winter breaks through all her icy fetters : 
 
 But first she traces on the window-pane 
 This legend crystallized in frozen letters 
 A uf wiederseJin ! 
 
 The sun concludes his race in clouds of glory ; 
 
 But ere he sinks to rest beneath the main 
 He lingers to repeat the same old story 
 A uf wiederseh'n !
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 55 
 
 The blossoms' happy day is quickly over, 
 
 And then they fall in sweetly scented rain ; 
 Yet write upon the ground their snow-drifts cover 
 Auf wiederseJin ! 
 
 The swallows find it in their hearts to leave us, 
 
 To seek for Summer on a sunnier plain ; 
 But twitter lest their flight, perchance, should grieve 
 us 
 
 Auf wiedersettn ! 
 
 Thus Nature teaches us her simple chorus, 
 
 That while our hearts are racked with parting 
 
 pain 
 
 We too may cry to those who go before us 
 A uf wiedersetin ! 
 
 Until at last the messenger shall find us 
 
 And bid us, ere we learn the angels' strain, 
 Say in our turn to those we leave behind us 
 A uf wiedersek'n !
 
 antr <gam, 
 
 I SORROWED that the golden day was dead, 
 
 Its light no more the country side adorning ; 
 But whilst I grieved, behold ! the East grew red 
 With morning. 
 
 I sighed that merry Spring was forced to go, 
 
 And doff the wreaths that did so well become 
 
 her; 
 
 But whilst I murmured at her absence, lo ! 
 'Twas Summer. 
 
 I mourned because the daffodils were killed 
 
 By burning skies that scorched my early posies ; 
 But whilst for these I pined my hands were filled 
 With roses.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 57 
 
 Half broken-hearted I bewailed the end 
 
 Of friendships than which none had once seemed 
 nearer ; 
 
 But whilst I wept I found a newer friend, 
 And dearer. 
 
 And thus I learned old pleasures are estranged 
 
 Only that something better may be given ; 
 Until at last we find this earth exchanged 
 For Heaven.
 
 auto 
 
 THE golden corn and the purple heather 
 
 In royal state did the land enfold ; 
 And the children laughed in the sunny weather, 
 
 And clapped their hands at the purple and gold. 
 
 One short month passed, and brought with it the sadness 
 Of Autumn winds and of Autumn rain, 
 
 And though still the children laughed in their gladness, 
 They looked for the purple and gold in vain. 
 
 I wondered whether their hearts were tender 
 And sad that such beauty had passed away, 
 
 So I asked them what had become of the splendour 
 That crowned the country the other day. 
 
 They smiled at my ignorance all unaided, 
 And told me a secret I ought to know 
 
 How the purple and gold were not lost nor faded, 
 But every year were obliged to go ; 
 
 For the purple and gold of the Summers olden 
 
 Were used to build, as the angels list, 
 A City on high, where the streets are golden, 
 
 And the walls are glowing with amethyst.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 59 
 
 As I heard the children's quaint little story, 
 Methought that it brought a message to all, 
 
 For we all are sighing for faded glory, 
 And longing for pleasures beyond recall. 
 
 But the children should teach us to cease our sighing, 
 And let our lives with fresh hopes be crowned ; 
 
 There are no such things as losing and dying, 
 For the dead are alive, and the lost are found. 
 
 The joys that we mourn in such deep dejection 
 
 Were carried away by an angel hand, 
 To make more fair in their full perfection 
 
 Our mansions prepared in the far-off land. 
 
 We shall find them again, all those treasures olden 
 Not one shall be wanting, not one be missed 
 
 In a City on high, where the streets are golden, 
 And the walls are glowing with amethyst.
 
 6o 
 
 Cfte Streamlet 
 
 (From the German.) 
 
 STREAM, flow on evermore, 
 
 Stop or stay nevermore, 
 Shining like silver where'er thou art found ; 
 
 Whilst I stand pondering 
 
 On thy bank, wondering 
 Whence thou art come and whereto thou art bound. 
 
 " Out of the gravity 
 
 Of the rock's cavity 
 Sprang I to life ; and now gaily I rove, 
 
 Through woodland greenery, 
 
 Past sunlit scenery, 
 While the blue heavens are smiling above. 
 
 " On I go heedlessly ; 
 
 Take no thought needlessly 
 As to what waits for me whither I flow : 
 
 He., Who from shadow-land 
 
 Called me to meadow-land, 
 Surely will guide me wherever I go."
 
 6i 
 
 of Autumn* 
 
 (From the German.") 
 
 THE leaves that are faded are silently falling 
 
 From branches forsaken by every bird ; 
 The stillness that reigns in the woods is appalling 
 
 No more in the forest sweet songsters are heard ; 
 No more are they cheering our hearts with their 
 
 singing, 
 No more is the thicket with melody ringing, 
 
 The earth is as silent and still as a grave ; 
 Whilst they, the sweet songsters, are rapidly winging, 
 
 Are winging their way over mountain and wave. 
 
 The frosts every morning grow stronger and 
 
 stronger ; 
 
 The roads are forsaken, deserted the ways ; 
 The nights, dark and dreary, grow longer and 
 
 longer, 
 
 And shorter and shorter the dull Autumn days ; 
 And whilst through bare branches the sad winds are 
 
 sighing, 
 
 The sweet-throated song-birds are steadily flying, 
 Are flying away to a far distant land ;
 
 62 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Whilst here in the Autumn all Nature seems dying, 
 They seek for the Spring on a sunnier strand. 
 
 When leaves that are faded are silently falling 
 
 From woods which in Spring-time with song-birds 
 
 were glad, 
 When reigns in the forest a silence appalling, 
 
 Thy heart should not sorrow though Nature be 
 
 sad : 
 
 Thy way through life's vale be thou cheerily wending, 
 
 Thy steps towards a better and brighter land tending, 
 
 And thou shalt find peace which can ne'er pass 
 
 away ; 
 
 For thee there shall blossom a Spring-time un- 
 ending, 
 A Spring that can know neither death nor decay.
 
 & Winter 
 
 (From the German.} 
 
 How calmly dost thou lie 
 In white-robed purity, 
 
 Thou sleeping Earth ! 
 Where are the songs of Spring 
 Where Summer's painted wing, 
 
 And all her mirth ? 
 
 No blossoms wreath thy brow 
 Thy hills and valleys now 
 
 Are bleak and bare ; 
 The little birds are dumb, 
 The bees no longer hum, 
 
 Yet thou art fair ! 
 
 Thy boughs and branches shine 
 With radiance divine, 
 
 So pure and bright. 
 Who hath prepared thy bed, 
 And decked thy sleeping head 
 
 With crowns of light ?
 
 64 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 The Father from above 
 Thy snowy vesture wove : 
 
 The weary He 
 Into His rest doth take, 
 Until He bids them wake 
 
 To ecstasy. 
 
 Soon at the Spring-time's birth 
 Thou shalt arise, O Earth ! 
 
 With strengthened powers ; 
 The Father's sunlight shed 
 On thee, shall wreathe thy head 
 
 Again with flowers.
 
 jTountr, 
 
 (from the German.) 
 
 IN the wood I wandered 
 Listening to the breeze ; 
 
 Many things I pondered 
 Underneath the trees. 
 
 There I saw a flower 
 Growing in the shade, 
 
 Gladdening a bower 
 In the forest glade ; 
 
 Rivalling in lightness 
 Stars in Summer skies, 
 
 Or the dewy brightness 
 Of a maiden's eyes. 
 
 Said I, " Sweetest flower, 
 Thou shalt come to me ; 
 
 Happy was the hour 
 
 When I chanced on thee ! " 
 
 Then it cried, " Why take me 
 From the forest glade ? 
 
 Prythee do not break me 
 But to let me fade."
 
 66 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 O'er it long I tarried, 
 
 Moved its roots with care, 
 
 And I safely carried 
 
 Home that blossom fair. 
 
 Then my flower I planted 
 
 In a quiet place, 
 Gave it all it wanted, 
 
 Watched it grow in grace : 
 
 Now it is a treasure 
 More to me than gold, 
 
 And beyond all measure 
 Fairer than of old.
 
 6 7 
 
 of 
 
 (From the German.') 
 
 THE army of King Conrad, the Hohenstaufen, lay 
 Before the gates of Weinsberg for many a weary day: 
 The citizens were conquer'd, yet their arms they laid 
 
 not down, 
 But still defended to the last their noble native town. 
 
 But hunger overcame them no more they held their 
 
 ground : 
 In vain they sought for mercy no mercy then they 
 
 found : 
 Quoth Conrad, " Many soldiers brave have here been 
 
 slain by you ; 
 If once you open wide your gates my sword shall 
 
 pierce you through ! " 
 
 The women then petitioned : " If what thou say'st must 
 
 be, 
 Oh ! let us leave the town unharmed, for innocent are 
 
 we." 
 When Conrad heard their pleading cry his anger did 
 
 depart, 
 And pity for their helplessness o'erflowed his manly 
 
 heart. 
 
 E 2
 
 68 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 " The women may depart," he said, " and each may 
 
 take from here 
 As much as she can carry of the things she counts 
 
 most dear ; 
 So they their choicest treasures unharmed shall bear 
 
 away 
 To this King Conrad signs his name and sets his seal 
 
 this day." 
 
 When the early, early morning was dawning fair and 
 
 bright, 
 The Hohenstaufen's army saw a strange and wondrous 
 
 sight ; 
 The city-gates were opened wide, and forth from every 
 
 street 
 Came crowds of starving women with slow and tott'ring 
 
 feet 
 
 But when they saw their burdens the soldiers all looked 
 
 black, 
 For each one bore her husband right bravely on her 
 
 back. 
 " Down with their choicest treasures ! " was now the 
 
 angry cry, 
 " These women have outwitted us and they shall surely 
 
 die ! "
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 69 
 
 But when King Conrad saw them, a loud, loud laugh 
 laughed he : 
 
 "Right well the Weinsberg women have now out- 
 witted me.! 
 
 I cannot break my promise, for well I understand 
 
 That a Monarch's word is sacred in the German 
 Fatherland." 
 
 Thus Conrad kept his promise, as the ancient legends 
 
 tell: 
 
 In the year eleven-hundred-and-forty it befell ; 
 So in those distant ages men had learnt the lesson 
 
 grand, 
 That a Monarch's word is sacred in the German 
 
 Fatherland.
 
 THE Winter days at last are o'er, 
 And hungry little birds no more 
 Come tamely begging to the door 
 
 And on the window-sills ; 
 Sweet songsters chirp on every spray, 
 The fields are bright with lambs at play, 
 And all the sombre woods are gay 
 
 With golden daffodils. 
 
 They deck the meads with cloth of gold, 
 They make sweet sunshine o'er the wold, 
 They dance with joy and glee untold 
 
 To music of the rills ; 
 They chase away old Winter's frown, 
 Spring's coming publish up and down, 
 And Queen proclaim her with a crown 
 
 Of golden daffodils. 
 
 They are not regal like the rose 
 Which in my lady's garden grows, 
 Nor fragrant like the thyme which blows 
 Upon the sun-kissed hills ;
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 71 
 
 No daisy's secret can they tell, 
 Nor cast the poppy's soothing spell, 
 But yet, methinks, I love them well 
 These golden daffodils. 
 
 What though they be not wondrous fair, 
 Nor boast a beauty past compare, 
 Nor yield a perfume rich and rare 
 
 Which nigh with sweetness kills ? 
 They bring a smile to earth's worn face, 
 And make her gladsome with their grace, 
 E'en though they be but commonplace 
 
 My golden daffodils. 
 
 I never ask, with vain regret, 
 Why they are not like mignonette, 
 Or like the blue-eyed violet 
 
 Whose scent my senses thrills : 
 Why let such thoughts my pleasure mar 
 Or cast across my joy a bar ? 
 I love them just for what they are 
 
 My golden daffodils. 
 
 To me each flower a message brings, 
 That from the smallest, simplest things 
 A world of joy and pleasure springs, 
 And hearts with gladness fills,
 
 72 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 If we will but remember this - 
 To value each for what it is, 
 And not expect too rare a bliss 
 From golden daffodils. 
 
 Still one more lesson do they teach : 
 Should great things lie beyond our reach, 
 It falls within the lot of each 
 
 Who duty's claim fulfils 
 Unhelped by special charm or grace 
 To make, for just a little space, 
 " A sunshine in a shady place," 
 
 Like golden daffodils.
 
 73 
 
 GAY Lent-lilies, that are twinkling 
 
 Starlike in the springing grass, 
 How we love to see you sprinkling 
 
 All the meadows as we pass ! 
 Gladly ye foretell the story 
 
 Of the happy days to come, 
 With their spell of Summer glory 
 
 And their peace of Harvest-Home. 
 
 Poor Lent-lilies, that are gleaming 
 
 In your diadems of dew, 
 Know ye not that ye are dreaming 
 
 Of delights not meant for you ? 
 Ere the Summer brings her pleasures 
 
 Ere the sombre woods are gay 
 Ere the Autumn flings her treasures 
 
 Ye will all have passed away. 
 
 Sweet Lent-lilies, do not sorrow, 
 For, perchance, 'tis better so : 
 
 Disillusions of the morrow 
 Ye for ever shall forego.
 
 74 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 We in Summer heat may languish, 
 And by Autumn winds be chilled 
 
 Ye can never know the anguish 
 Of a cherished hope fulfilled. 
 
 Rich Lent-lilies, that are wasting 
 
 Gold upon the lonely lea, 
 Grudge us not our bitter tasting 
 
 Of the fatal knowledge-tree. 
 Summer's sweets may cloy to loathing 
 
 Autumn's wealth its cares may bring ; 
 Blest are ye, whose fate holds nothing 
 
 But the joyful hope of Spring !
 
 75 
 
 TOm? 
 
 WHEN did I hear thee call me from life's feast 
 To walk instead the narrow way of truth ? 
 When did I know thee best and heed thee least ? 
 Perchance in Youth. 
 
 When shall I trace thy teaching to its end, 
 
 And find that on my fate's close-written page 
 The sweetest lines are those that thou hast penned ? 
 Perchance in Age. 
 
 When shall I cease to miss thee from my side, 
 To yearn for thee with every passing breath, 
 To pray for thee at morn and eventide ? 
 Perchance in Death. 
 
 When shall I meet thee once again to tell 
 
 How thou hast been my life's upraising leaven, 
 To answer to thy questions " All is well " ? 
 Perchance in Heaven.
 
 Cftou anfc 5. 
 
 TELL me, Sweetheart, can I ever forget thee, 
 Ever regret I have worshipped thee so, 
 
 Ever can cease to rejoice that I met thee, 
 Met thee and loved thee a long time ago ? 
 
 Happy the days that we twain spent together 
 
 Days unforgotten for ever by me ; 
 Happy in stormy and sunshiny weather 
 
 Simply because they were brightened by thee. 
 
 Darling, without thee the day is so dreary ! 
 
 Dreaming of thee is my only delight : 
 Sweetheart, without thee the way is so weary 
 
 Starless as cloudland and sunless as night ! 
 
 Shall I e'er love thee less fondly than now, Dear ? 
 
 Tell me if e'er my devotion can die I- 
 Never until thou shalt cease to be thou, Dear, 
 
 Never until I no longer am I.
 
 77 
 
 Autumn 
 
 SWEETHEART, the Autumn days are dark and dreary, 
 The wind is wildly wailing o'er the wold, 
 
 The year and I are growing worn and weary, 
 And all the world is desolate and cold- 
 
 It seems not long since thou and I together 
 Made merry with our mirth the sunny day, 
 
 But thou didst leave me with the Summer weather, 
 And now art far away, so far away ! 
 
 The Spring-time will return with all her treasures, 
 The Summer with her glory and her glow ; 
 
 But can they bring again the bygone pleasures ? 
 I do not know, Sweetheart, I do not know. 
 
 Once more the garden may be bright with posies ; 
 
 But will they be to me as sweet and gay 
 As lilies that are dead, and faded roses ? 
 
 I dare not say, Sweetheart, I dare not say.
 
 78 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 New friends will meet me and will greet me kindly ; 
 
 But shall I learn to love them half as well 
 As thee whom I have loved so long and blindly ? 
 
 I cannot tell, Sweetheart, I cannot tell.
 
 79 
 
 WE pluck a rose that sweetly blows ; 
 . And when its petals frail are shed, 
 We quickly find another rose 
 Instead. 
 
 We revel in the joys of Spring ; 
 
 And when its happy hours have sped, 
 Another year fresh flowers will bring 
 Instead. 
 
 We love a peaceful Summer morn ; 
 
 And when its dewy charms have fled, 
 Another rosy day is born 
 
 Instead. 
 
 But were I parted, Dear, from thee, 
 
 And down some distant pathway led, 
 No other friend would do for me 
 Instead. 
 
 No other voice would sound the same 
 
 No other foot so softly tread 
 No music thrill another name 
 Instead.
 
 8o VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 I need thee, Love, in peace or strife : 
 For till Time's latest page be read, 
 No other smile could light my life 
 Instead ; 
 
 And even in that happier place, 
 
 Where pain is past and sorrow dead, 
 I could not love an angel's face 
 Instead.
 
 8i 
 
 llobe'g 
 
 " SWEETHEART," he cried 
 
 With joyous pride, 
 " New hopes I am come to bring ; 
 
 With sunny hours 
 
 And sweetest flowers 
 To wake all thy world to Spring ! " 
 
 In accents low 
 
 She answered, " Go, 
 'Mongst others to scatter free 
 
 Thy gayest wiles, 
 
 Thy gladdest smiles 
 But keep all thy tears for me." 
 
 " Sweetheart," he cried, 
 " Away I ride ; 
 
 And therefore I bid thee take 
 A curly tress, r 
 
 Which thou shalt bless 
 
 And save as my own keepsake ! " 
 In accents low 
 She answered " No ; 
 
 I take not a gift from thee : 
 F
 
 82 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Let others hold 
 Thy curls of gold 
 But keep the grey hairs for me." 
 
 " Sweetheart/' he cried, 
 
 " The flowing tide 
 Of Fortune allures me on, 
 
 To breast its wave, 
 
 Its storms to brave, 
 Ere youth with its strength is gone ! " 
 
 She answered low, 
 
 " The tide shall flow 
 And carry thy ships to sea : 
 
 Let others greet 
 
 Thy conquering fleet 
 But keep all the wrecks for me." 
 
 " Sweetheart," he cried, 
 
 " The world is wide, 
 And morning has just begun ; 
 
 With thee all day 
 
 I'll work and pray, 
 From dawn till the set of sun ! " 
 
 In accents low 
 
 She answered, " So, 
 Dear Love, it can never be : 
 
 Let others share 
 
 Thy morning prayer 
 At evensong wait for me."
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 83 
 
 " Sweetheart," he cried, 
 
 " If side by side 
 We joyfully speed along, 
 
 Through toil and strife, 
 
 Our psalm of life 
 Shall echo the angels' song ! " 
 
 In accents low 
 
 She said, " I trow, 
 Divinely attuned are we : 
 
 With others raise 
 
 Thy hymns of praise 
 Thy requiems chant with me." 
 
 " Sweetheart," he cried, 
 
 " With thee for guide 
 I feel that the world is mine : 
 
 With head and hand 
 
 I'll rule the land, 
 And count all my triumphs thine ! " 
 
 In accents low 
 
 She said, " I know 
 That I thy success shall see : 
 
 To others' gain 
 
 Give hand and brain 
 But keep all thy heart for me." 
 
 F 2
 
 8 4 
 
 Bap. 
 
 THE Summer's story 
 
 Has reached its glory, 
 Fulfilling all the sweet dreams of May ; 
 
 The daylight lingers, 
 
 With rosy fingers 
 Defying night on the longest day. 
 
 Yet I remember 
 
 No dark December 
 When sunbeams seemed to elude delay 
 
 Like those which measure 
 
 The hours of pleasure 
 I spend with you on the longest day. 
 
 With you beside me 
 
 To cheer and guide me, 
 I feel whatever the sages say 
 
 That evening shadows 
 
 Across the meadows 
 Come all too soon on the longest day. 
 
 If we together 
 Face sunny weather, 
 And love each other when skies are grey-
 
 VERSF.S GRAVE AND GAY. 85 
 
 Life's span shall be, Dear, 
 To you and me, Dear, 
 As short and sweet as the longest day. 
 
 And, Dearest, after 
 
 The tears and laughter 
 Are all forgotten and passed away, 
 
 We two for ever, 
 
 Where night falls never, 
 Will spend together the longest day.
 
 86 
 
 A BABY mistook a bright gem for a plaything, 
 
 And laughed when it sparkled blue, purple, and red ; 
 The owner discovered and rescued the gay thing, 
 
 And gave the small culprit some trifle instead. 
 The child then continued his pastime undaunted 
 
 A gem was no more than a bat or a ball ; 
 As something to play with was all that he wanted, 
 
 The worth of the toy did not matter at all. 
 
 A similar accident happened to me, Dear : 
 
 I gave you the love that my heart counted best. 
 Its merits at first you were happy to see, Dear, 
 
 Though what was its value you knew not, nor guessed. 
 As long as it pleased you the treasure you vaunted, 
 
 Then handled it lightly, and so let it fall : 
 As something to play with was all that you wanted, 
 
 The worth of the toy did not matter at all.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 87 
 
 I took from you therefore my deepest devotion, 
 
 So fond and forgiving, so tender and true ; 
 And gave you instead a less perfect emotion, 
 
 More selfish and shallow more suited to you. 
 By neither regret nor remorse are you haunted, 
 
 Though love that you prized not is gone past recall : 
 As something to play with was all that you wanted, 
 
 The worth of the toy did not matter at all.
 
 In 
 
 SUNSHINE dallies 
 
 In the valleys, 
 Laughing hills in beauty vie ; 
 
 Yet a sadness 
 
 Taints the gladness 
 Which is reigning in July. 
 
 In her zenith 
 
 Summei weeneth 
 That her day is passing by ; 
 
 Time, the Reaper, 
 
 Will not keep her 
 Scatheless after warm July. 
 
 As we stand, Dear, 
 
 Hand in hand, Dear, 
 Who so light of heart as I, 
 
 Since you told me 
 
 That you hold me 
 Sweet as lilies in July ? 
 
 Yet I know, Love, 
 You will go, Love, 
 When the swallows southward fly
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 89 
 
 Like the roses 
 And the posies 
 You will vanish with July. 
 
 Future history 
 
 Is a mystery, 
 But the past can change defy ; 
 
 In November 
 
 I'll remember 
 How you loved me in July. 
 
 While I'm mortal 
 
 My heart's portal 
 All new-comers shall deny ; 
 
 And I'll trace it 
 
 With, " Hicjacet 
 One sweet memory of July''
 
 WHY do I count as so dear (you ask) 
 
 This old-fashioned jar, which is but the tomb 
 
 Of flowers that once in the sun could bask, 
 
 And now with their fragrance can make my room 
 
 As sweet as the cedar-ceiled halls of Jewry ? 
 
 Tis only a handful of old pot-pourri. 
 
 Roses once gathered by vanished hands, 
 Cowslips that blossomed in bygone Springs, 
 
 Lilies that flourished in far-off lands, 
 Violets sweet with remembered things, 
 
 And dark as the eyes of an Eastern houri 
 
 All these you will find in my old pot-pourri. 
 
 Doomed in the day of their youth to die/ 
 Cruelly soon was their Spring-time done : 
 
 Now triumphantly they can defy 
 
 Whirlwinds of Winter and Summer's sun. 
 
 Time with his changes and Death with his fury, 
 
 Steal none of the sweetness from old pot-pourri.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 91 
 
 Roses are blooming as fresh to-day, 
 
 Lilies as fair in my garden grow ; 
 And you wonder which are the sweeter they 
 
 Or the flowers that withered so long ago ? 
 If me you appoint as your judge and jury 
 I will give the verdict for old pot-pourri.
 
 9 2 
 
 Do I love you ? 
 
 Can I prove you 
 More than all the world to me ? 
 
 So you wonder, 
 
 And I ponder 
 What my true reply must be. 
 
 For of you, Dear, 
 There are two, Dear : 
 
 One a thing of common delf ; 
 One a treasure 
 Past all measure : 
 
 Which I ask you is yourself? 
 
 None is nearer, 
 
 Closer, dearer, 
 Than (to me) your better part : 
 
 I will perish 
 
 Ere I cherish 
 Its companion in my heart.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 93 
 
 If the delf, Love, 
 
 Is yourself, Love, 
 And the other fancy-born 
 
 You have grieved me 
 
 And deceived me 
 Till I loathe you in my scorn. 
 
 If the real 
 
 And ideal 
 Are in truth the very same 
 
 I adore you, 
 
 Kneel before you, 
 Find life's music in your name. 
 
 If I prize you 
 
 Or despise you, 
 I can never tell you true 
 
 Till you show, Dear, 
 
 And I know, Dear, 
 Which of these is really you.
 
 94 
 
 as 
 
 ONCE upon a time (say folk) 
 
 When the roads were in a muddle, 
 
 Walter Raleigh laid his cloak 
 Right across the largest puddle, 
 
 Crying " Madam, now you dare 
 Rain or mud or dust defy shod 
 
 With your subject's loving care ! " 
 So the queen passed over dryshod. 
 
 Though his raiment fine was soiled 
 Raleigh did not mind a feather ; 
 
 For his velvet was well spoiled 
 In defending her shoe-leather. 
 
 Gorgeous mantles decorate 
 
 Now no more the sons of Adam ; 
 
 Puddles do not devastate 
 
 Modern roadways of Macadam : 
 
 But though garments change their name, 
 And though forms and fashions alter, 
 
 Thoughts and feelings are the same 
 As they were to good Sir Walter.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 95 
 
 So my Dearest I will strain 
 All I am and have and swear by, 
 
 For the chance that you may gain 
 Just a moment's pleasure thereby ; 
 
 I will spoil my robes of state, 
 
 Sacrifice my silks and laces, 
 If they may but separate 
 
 Your small shoes from miry places ; 
 
 I will strew my best till death 
 On your path across life's valley : 
 
 You my Queen Elizabeth ! 
 / your faithful Walter Raleigh !
 
 9 6 
 
 Blanfe, 
 
 " WE met (like others) in a crowd " 
 
 A very unromantic meeting ! 
 Yet fate to us has ne'er allowed 
 
 A warmer greeting. 
 
 For you were poor, you will allow, 
 
 And I was not, that bright September 
 When first we met. (I wonder now 
 If you remember.) 
 
 x 
 
 In fashion's chains you saw me led, 
 
 And so it never struck you clearly 
 That it could come into my head 
 
 To love you dearly. 
 
 'Twas not your fault, I must admit : 
 
 You simply worshipped from a distance, 
 And I could take no note of it 
 
 Without assistance.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 97 
 
 And thus we drifted far apart, 
 
 Not bound by e'en the frailest fetter ; 
 Yet yours completely was my heart 
 For worse or better. 
 
 So owing to your fatal pride, 
 
 And owing to my foolish shyness, 
 The love, you never knew of, died 
 For ever. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 G
 
 9 8 
 
 ARE you really what ideally 
 
 I adore, 
 That you hold me and enfold me 
 
 Evermore ? 
 I don't think so : yet I wink so 
 
 At your faults, 
 That I merely notice clearly 
 
 What exalts. 
 If each virtue should desert you, 
 
 You would find 
 Me as tender a defender, 
 
 And as kind. 
 You know nothing of the loathing 
 
 Deep and true 
 That I measure to each pleasure 
 
 Without you, 
 Which is mirthless, and as worthless 
 
 Me to please 
 As ash-flavoured, Sodom-savoured 
 
 Apple-trees. 
 In a small room, or a ball-room 
 
 When I'm drest 
 In my new gauze and my gew-gaws 
 
 Like the rest
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 99 
 
 For you sighing, I am crying, 
 
 " Vanitas 
 Vanitatum ! how I hate 'em 
 
 All, alas ! " 
 Dare I bravely tell you gravely 
 
 That you bring 
 To my sadness all the gladness 
 
 Of the Spring 
 That as cheering to my hearing 
 
 Are your words, 
 As the mighty, sweet Venite 
 
 Of the birds ? 
 Shall I mention the intention 
 
 On my part, 
 Just to learn 'em (in aeternum) 
 
 All by heart ? 
 Shall I show you that I know you 
 
 Well may use 
 That speech spicy "Veni, vici ! " 
 
 If you choose ? 
 (For you straightway through the gateway 
 
 Of my soul 
 Once did enter to be centre 
 
 Of the whole.) 
 How you grieve me, when you leave me, 
 
 Dare I say ? 
 No, for certain. Drop the curtain 
 
 On the play. 
 
 G 2
 
 IOO 
 
 Jit 
 
 IN General Booth's great treatise on the gloom 
 Which English people plunge their submerged 
 
 sinners in, 
 
 He says the Poor should have a nice warm room 
 To eat their dinners in. 
 
 Oh, that another prophet would appear 
 
 Who with a duly philanthropic flourish meant 
 To grant the Wealthy a mild atmosphere 
 For taking nourishment ! 
 
 For at the merry-makings of the Rich 
 
 (As half their martyred visitors can verify) 
 They are exposed to winds of Heaven, which 
 The strongest terrify. 
 
 Through open windows round the festive board 
 
 Catarrh and Influenza ride victorious, 
 While (louder than at sea he ever roared) 
 Sings rude old Boreas. 
 
 The Poor inclement weather cannot bear 
 
 Because their scanty clothes are worn to filaments ;
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 101 
 
 But, at their revellings, the Wealthy wear 
 As slight habiliments. 
 
 Oh, that a modern prophet might arise, 
 
 Who having warmed and cared for the De- 
 mocracy 
 
 Would strive to shelter from the stormy skies 
 The Aristocracy ; 
 
 Who like a true-born hero would not mind 
 
 A fashionable charge of incivility, 
 If only he could come " betwixt the wind 
 And their nobility ! "
 
 102 
 
 t\)t 
 
 LONG ago in Love's old garden, 
 Where no frosts the dew-drops harden 
 
 And the South wind ever blows, 
 Two brave Knights of kingly bearing 
 Set their hearts upon the wearing 
 
 Both of one especial Rose. 
 
 Quoth the first Knight, " Rose of roses, 
 You are Queen of all the posies 
 
 That this garden-plot adorn : 
 I should die of your rejection, 
 For in you I find perfection, 
 
 Lovely rose without a thorn ! " 
 
 Quoth the second Knight, " Sweet flower, 
 Let me take you to my bower, 
 
 For I love you, thorns and all : 
 From your briars I would remove you, 
 And would train you and improve you, 
 
 If to me your charms should fall ! " 
 
 Then the Rose addressed the Second 
 (As the First she hardly reckoned 
 Worthy of a wise reply) :
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 103 
 
 " Much, Sir Knight, you have to proffer, 
 And I must regard your offer 
 As a compliment most high : 
 
 "I should be with you beside me 
 To correct and guard and guide me 
 
 Quite the rarest flower that grows. 
 You shall have the Rose's blessing, 
 All her grateful thanks expressing ; 
 
 And your friend shall have the Rose"
 
 IO4 
 
 OH ! I \vd.s so young and he was so old, 
 
 When we met in the Spring of a bygone year ; 
 
 And he seemed so stately, and stern, and cold, 
 That he filled my soul with a childish fear. 
 
 But I learned to know him so well, so well 
 Far better than any I'd ever known ; 
 
 So much to me then did he deign to tell 
 That his inmost secrets became my own. 
 
 So I set to work for his only sake, 
 
 And found he was always to me the same. 
 
 I was careless and crude, yet he never spake 
 One word of reproof, or of scorn, or blame. 
 
 The charms of the world were beneath his ken, 
 And he cared not a tittle for sordid pelf ; 
 
 But he taught me to study my fellow-men, 
 And (which was still better) to know myself. 
 
 Forsaken he stood by the rushing stream 
 Of Life, with its eddies of joy and pain ; 
 
 For his day was done and he did not dream 
 He could ever be sorry or glad again.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 105 
 
 But to me he opened fresh fields of thought, 
 Regaling my spirit from Wisdom's store : 
 
 Surprising and strange were the truths he taught, 
 Undreamed of, unguessed at, by me before. 
 
 We have parted but still I am glad we met : 
 He has passed away far out of my reach : 
 
 But never no never can I forget 
 
 The wonderful lessons he used to teach. 
 
 Never a sigh did he squander on me, 
 
 Nor stoop to take note of my girlish whim ; 
 
 Yet all my life through I shall surely be 
 Wiser and better for meeting with him. 
 
 Much did he teach me so came it to pass, 
 
 Gratefully now I remember it all : 
 / was a girl at an " Ambulance Class " 
 
 He was a skeleton hung on the wall.
 
 io6 
 
 3 Dream of Sfcrositfass, 
 
 NOT long ago, when wrapped in " balmy sleep," 
 Methought I chanced to meet a pallid throng, 
 With figures writhing under anguish deep 
 And faces long. 
 
 Their tangled hair was grey, " but not with years." 
 
 They wandered wearily like homeless wights, 
 Their heavy eyes were red, though not with tears, 
 But sleepless nights. 
 
 " Poor souls ! " I cried, " What mean these sobbing 
 
 sighs 
 
 This Fourteenth-century excess of woe 
 This early English anguish in your eyes 
 These gestures slow ? 
 
 " These attitudes of mediaeval fondness 
 
 These minds immersed in bitterness of gall 
 This Botticellian yearning for beyondness 
 What means it all ? " 
 
 And then made answer that despairing band : 
 
 " To cure our ills in vain we call physicians ; 
 Our utter anguish none can understand 
 But acrosticians.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 107 
 
 " Special acrostics, by all solvers feared, 
 
 With Lights made dark by most obscure quotations, 
 Have been the awful cause of all our weird 
 Hallucinations. 
 
 " We've studied volumes of poetic might, 
 
 Wittier than Whittier gayer e'en than Gay ; 
 Our heads are hoary grown with reading White 
 And Thomas Gray. 
 
 " Tennyson's Idylls we have idled o'er, 
 
 With heavy heads and eyelids hot and burning, 
 Till the " Round Table " spun behind before 
 Like table-turning. 
 
 " We're prematurely old with reading Young ; 
 
 We've pick'd the choicest lines of Walter Scott's ; 
 And learnt the how and why of him who sung 
 As Doctor Watts. 
 
 " We've pondered Goldsmith's writings, gay and sad, 
 
 Until our heads are silvered o'er with cares ; 
 And Cowper's poems till we are as mad 
 As Cowper's hares. 
 
 " We've studied long (as if for hard Exams.) 
 
 All Wordsworth's simple rhymes on bleating flocks, 
 And long to massacre his " mountain lambs " 
 And " weathercocks."
 
 io8 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 11 We've pored o'er Akenside with ctcldng head ; 
 
 Digested Lamb and Hogg with Thomson's Seasons; 
 And Odes by other odious poets read 
 For divers reasons. 
 
 " We quite detest the poets of to-day, 
 
 And shrink with loathing from the bards of yore 
 Who wrote, and after died (Why couldn't they 
 Have died before ? ) 
 
 " We're quite Rome-antic grown with reading Pope ; 
 
 Dean Swiff -we find abominably slow. 
 Alas ! there's not a single ray of hope 
 In all our woe : 
 
 " For each must ' dree his weird ' his weary self, 
 
 Because there ever dangles 'fore our eyes 
 That Jack-'o-lantern made of gilded pelf 
 The quarter's prize ! " 
 
 " Poor souls ! " I cried with spirit-melting ruth, 
 
 " Oh, cease this fleshly, earthly strife for gold ! 
 Because it makes you look (to tell the truth) 
 So ill and old. 
 
 " Oh ! turn your thoughts from these acrostic prizes 
 
 To other pleasing and instructive facts 
 As rosy cloudlets when Apollo rises 
 Or temperance tracts
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 109 
 
 " Or blossoms lying in the lap of Spring 
 
 Or Summer bonnets sweet in shape and tint 
 Or silver-throated song-birds on the wing 
 Or peppermint ! " 
 
 I ceased : when lo ! th' acrostic-solving flame 
 
 Was kindled in my bosom fierce and hot ; 
 " The curse had come upon me," like the Dame 
 Of fair Shalott : 
 
 Acrostics seemed to lead to wealth untold 
 
 All else did vanity and ashes seem ; 
 When suddenly I wakened and behold ! 
 It was a dream ! "
 
 no 
 
 Co 
 
 You are quite a little king ! 
 
 And there's not a single thing 
 Not an action with its consequence and sequel- 
 
 Done by mighty kings of old, 
 
 As the history-books have told, 
 Wherein you are not undoubtedly their equal. 
 
 You can smile your princely smile, 
 Though my foolish heart the while 
 
 With anxiety is torn across the middle : 
 Thus did Nero sit at home, 
 While the flames were sacking Rome, 
 
 And performed an obligato on the fiddle. 
 
 You can end my brightest day 
 
 When you take yourself away, 
 You despotic Czar, you scorner of the serf, you 
 
 So the conquering William's hand 
 
 Brought the night across the land 
 By the ringing of that evening-bell, the curfew. 
 
 You can make me lose my head 
 In an agony of dread, 
 When you leave me for a moment in vexation :
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. m 
 
 So the Eighth of Henry's name, 
 When he found a friend to blame, 
 Would allow of nothing but decapitation. 
 
 You are fond of your own way 
 
 As was Cromwell in the day 
 
 That he clipped his people's flowing locks like 
 pollards : 
 
 You are easy to provoke 
 
 As was Henry Bolingbroke 
 When he took to lighting fires with all the Lollards. 
 
 Alexander in his pride 
 
 Not more regally defied 
 Every foe than you can silence an offender : 
 
 And you can forget your friends 
 
 When they cease to serve your ends 
 As completely as that prince, the Young Pretender. 
 
 Yet your praises will I sing, 
 
 And will cry, " Long live the King ! " 
 And will faithfully obey your least suggestion ; 
 
 For (if all the truth be told) 
 
 You are barely two years old, 
 Whilst I am but that is quite another question.
 
 112 
 
 ONCE on a time (we know we can't offend 
 
 By this commencement any who are listening) 
 The fairies all were bidden to attend 
 A baby's christening. 
 
 By one of those sad accidents, which grieve 
 
 The houses of best-ordered regulation, 
 A cross old witch omitted to receive 
 An invitation. 
 
 Fairy the First remarked " The infant's soul 
 
 Shall have a habitation fair to dwell in, 
 And she shall be as pretty on the whole 
 As Trojan Helen/' 
 
 Another said " The charming child shall be 
 
 Replete with all variety of knowledge, 
 And prove herself a maid of high degree 
 At any college." 
 
 A third exclaimed " Bewitching swains shall woo 
 
 The girl, and of our darling try to fleece us, 
 For she shall be a millionairess too 
 A Lady Croesus."
 
 VERSES GRA VE AND GAY. 113 
 
 But thereupon the beldame, cross and old, 
 
 Disturbed the party, crying in a gruff rage 
 " Wit, beauty, she may have, but I'll withhold 
 From her the Suffrage." 
 
 In spite of charms that might with Venus vie, 
 
 The maid grew up to grief and disappointment, 
 Finding the witch's curse a bitter fly 
 Within her ointment ; 
 
 For what to her was scintillating wit 
 
 And what to her was physical perfection 
 I f she were Jiors de combat (out of it) 
 At an Election ? 
 
 And what were health and wealth and love to her 
 And " Primrose-paths " of pleasure near or dis- 
 tant 
 
 If she upon the Voters' Register 
 Were non-existent ? 
 
 Whether some. Prince (by no rebuffs unnerved) 
 
 From this political, unnatural slumber 
 Aroused the lady fair, must be reserved 
 Till Time's next number ; 
 
 When we shall learn if, by a magic kiss, 
 The hero of her fond imagination 
 H
 
 ii4 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Awoke the maid to woman's crowning bliss 
 Of legislation. 
 
 For future history only can convince 
 
 Her soul that she was guided or deluded 
 By dreams of a delivering Fairy Prince. 
 
 ( To be concluded?)
 
 Ualenttne* 
 
 To A PRIMROSE-DAME. 
 
 MOST estimable Primrose-Dame, 
 Worthy supporter of that name, 
 
 I lay upon thy shrine 
 A flowery tribute from my heart, 
 This festal morning set apart 
 
 To good St. Valentine ! 
 
 When Valentines allured my eye, 
 I flitted like a butterfly 
 
 From that design to this ; 
 For I was at a loss to say 
 What flower most aptly would convey 
 
 My wishes for thy bliss. 
 
 The Rose is fair when in its prime, 
 But then its hidden thorn in time 
 
 Might give thy hand a smart : 
 Forget-me-nots would earn thy scorn, 
 For in the world thy smiles adorn 
 
 Forgetting is an art : 
 H 2
 
 ii6 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 The Thistle is a seemly child 
 Of " Caledonia stern and wild," 
 
 But not beloved as such : 
 The Shamrock's fresh and green and cool 
 But highly flavoured with Home Rule 
 
 And that entails so much : 
 
 The Apple-blossom's fair and pink, 
 But might, unwitting, make thee think 
 
 Of those primeval days 
 When Woman's influence in the State 
 (Arising from the fruit she ate) 
 
 Was not accorded praise : 
 
 Thyme is a sweetly-scented thing, 
 But might recall its " fugiting " 
 
 A theme of doubtful cheer : 
 Upon the Speedwell's " azure brow " 
 It " writes no wrinkle " yet, I vow, 
 
 A blue look-out is drear : 
 
 The golden Daffodils, that " take 
 
 The winds of March with beauty," shake 
 
 Their heads too much for me, 
 Who dread a lady's negative ; 
 And London-pride perhaps might give 
 
 Too true a glimpse of thee.
 
 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 117 
 
 At last it chanced I called to mind 
 One, " Peter Bell," whom thou wilt find 
 
 Renowned in Wordsworth's lore 
 " A Primrose by a river's brim 
 A yellow Primrose was to him, 
 
 And it was nothing more." 
 
 Thou art not thus I know full well ! 
 Beyond the ken of " Peter Bell " 
 
 Thy intellect doth soar : 
 A yellow Primrose on the lea 
 More than a Primrose is to thee 
 
 Considerably more. 
 
 To thee it means long-looked-for dates, 
 When wealth and land and Primrose-fetes 
 
 Shall Radicals o'erwhelm 
 When Ships of State Life's main shall plough 
 With " Youth (and Beauty) at the prow, 
 
 And Pleasure at the helm." 
 
 In short, this Primrose is to thee 
 What law-abiding liberty, 
 
 And Socialistic fuss, 
 The greatest number's happiness, 
 The uncurbed freedom of the Press, 
 
 Et cetera are to us.
 
 n8 VERSES GRAVE AND GAY. 
 
 Therefore I send thee as a spell 
 That flower despised by " Peter Bell," 
 
 Whom no romance could vex. 
 No knight am I of Primrose fame, 
 So only dare to sign my name 
 
 The unknown number X.
 
 SONNETS.
 
 121 
 
 SONNETS. 
 
 Co tbe ilr gear. 
 
 OLD Year, farewell ! thy fateful thread is spun, 
 And now at last thy finished work we see. 
 Though thou hast been a kindly friend to me 
 
 I do not sorrow that thy course is run : 
 
 The golden glory of thy setting sun 
 Is but the dawning of a year to be, 
 So all regretful thoughts, Old Year, of thee 
 
 Are lost in gladness for the year begun. 
 
 Old Year, 'twas true thy pleasures could not last ; 
 But yet I hold it to be just as true 
 
 That bright to-morrows shall eclipse to-day : 
 
 The future shall be better than the past 
 The old shall be forgotten in the new 
 Until " the former things are passed away."
 
 122 
 
 Co t&e ^eto gear* 
 
 WE bid thee welcome, thou unknown New Year, 
 With all the treasures that thou hast in store ! 
 Thou mayst bring less than former years, or more 
 
 Yet still above them all we count thee dear ; 
 
 For they have passed away, but thou art near : 
 
 And though we cannot change those days of yore, 
 Thou sayst, as thou art knocking at the door 
 
 " Do with me as ye will, for I am here ! " 
 
 And who will sigh for withered leaves and dead, 
 Whilst far in front and fair on either side 
 
 Fresh living flowers make the meadows bright ? 
 
 And who will turn regretful tears to shed 
 Towards the sad West where yesterday has died, 
 Whilst all the East shines red with morning light ?
 
 123 
 
 &too 
 
 A FRIEND have I of beauty great and rare ; 
 If good or wise she be I do not know, 
 And yet for her my heart is all aglow 
 
 I love her well because her face is fair. 
 
 Another friend have I my joys to share ; 
 I know not if her face be fair or no 
 I love her face because I love her so, 
 
 And feel her virtues are beyond compare. 
 
 And which, methinks, is dearer of the two ? 
 Because the first is passing fair to see 
 I'd swear all virtues follow in her train : 
 
 Because the second is so good and true 
 Her face is wondrous beautiful to me : 
 I know not which is dearer of the twain.
 
 124 
 
 WHAT wonders Sunshine works upon the world ! 
 
 It turns the hillside to an emerald throne, 
 
 The sullen ocean to a sapphire stone, 
 The clouds to crimson bannerets unfurled : 
 Beneath its spell the meadows are be-pearled 
 
 With dew-drops bright in glory not their own ; 
 
 The land is girded with a golden zone ; 
 The rose's dainty petals are uncurled. 
 When Sunshine doth such wondrous beauty bring 
 
 As makes our worn old world awhile to glow 
 
 With brightness borrowed from the realms above, 
 It typifies to us that higher thing 
 
 Which makes this earth a very heaven below, 
 The Sunshine of the soul we call it Love.
 
 125 
 
 NIGHT comes with silent steps across the plain, 
 In all the gloom of sable garments drest : 
 Legions of dreams obey her least behest, 
 
 And clouds and darkness follow in her train. 
 
 Whilst constellations chant their stately strain 
 She takes our weary earth upon her breast, 
 And, like a mother, hushes us to rest, 
 
 Bidding us now forget life's toil and pain. 
 
 'Tis said that morning's joy shall end the night, 
 The dayspring drive the darkness far away, 
 
 And new-born gladness comfort them that weep: 
 
 Let those who can, look forward to the light, 
 And plan the pleasures of the coming day ! 
 But I am weary let me go to sleep.
 
 126 
 
 %t tfee <ate. 
 
 " I'LL meet thee at the gate, Sweetheart," said he, 
 
 " When I come home from foreign lands again ; 
 
 As here we part to-day in grief and pain 
 So here in joy I'll keep my tryst with thee." 
 He sailed away across the sunlit sea, 
 
 But soon was sleeping 'neath the stormy main. 
 
 She waited for her lover long in vain 
 " I know he'll meet me at the gate," said she. 
 She waited through the long and weary years, 
 
 And ever at the gate her tryst did keep, 
 
 Until at last she knew he must be dead ; 
 Then having lived her life she dried her tears, 
 
 And, smiling sweetly, softly fell asleep 
 "He'll meet me at the pearly gate," she said.
 
 127 
 
 Segrnlr. 
 
 THREE knights went forth to fight in days of yore : 
 The first in golden armour glittered bright, 
 The next in burnished silver glistened white, 
 
 The third a well-worn suit of iron wore. 
 
 Each on his breast a carven legend bore : 
 
 "Who wears the Gold shall conquer in the fight !"- 
 " Pleasure and ease attend the Silver Knight ! " 
 
 " The Iron Knight hath better things in store ! " 
 
 They fought right bravely through the bitter fray ; 
 
 And when at -last night fell o'er land and sea 
 
 Each warrior went to his allotted place 
 
 The first was crowned the victor of the day, 
 The next forgot his toils in mirth and glee, 
 The third lay dead, a smile upon his face.
 
 128 
 
 jfrinfo. 
 
 MY Friend, when thou wert here the woods were gay 
 
 With Summer sunshine glinting far and near ; 
 
 Above our heads the sapphire sky shone clear 
 In all the glory of the golden day. 
 'Tis Autumn now that thou art gone away, 
 
 The wild winds wail through woodlands dark and 
 drear 
 
 In sorrow for the slowly dying year, 
 And all the sullen sky with gloom is grey. 
 They tell me that the Winter will not last 
 
 That I shall find again with smiling Spring 
 A glad new year all clad in vernal green : 
 But ne'er can it recall the happy past, 
 
 Nor the departed days ; nor can it bring 
 Another friend as dear as thou hast been.
 
 129 
 
 Co 
 
 SWEET Lady mine, a rose thou gavest me ! 
 As long as it was fragrant, fresh, and fair, 
 Upon my breast did I my treasure wear 
 
 That all the world its excellence might see. 
 
 But when at last its beauty ceased to be, 
 
 And men no longer for its charms could care, 
 I hid it next my heart and keep it there 
 
 For ever in fond memory of thee. 
 
 So will I deal with thee, fair Lady mine ! 
 
 Whilst thou art young I'll wear thee as a flower 
 That all the world may see thee and adore ; 
 
 But when thy peerless charms have ceased to shine, 
 And men no longer own thy beauty's power, 
 I'll hide thee next my heart for evermore.
 
 130 
 
 Compensations. 
 
 ONCE on a time I grieved because my bowers 
 No more with yellow roses were bedight, 
 Which in the Summer were a goodly sight, 
 
 But which, alas I soon fell in scented showers. 
 
 And then I found there came with Autumn hours 
 Chrysanthemums to make the garden light ; 
 And in the Spring came daffodillies bright 
 
 To strew the shady woodland paths with flowers. 
 
 .'Twas thus I learned that when one joy has fled, 
 Its empty place a new-born pleasure fills, 
 And all regrets for what is gone are vain : 
 
 So now I grieve no more for flowerets shed, 
 But wait among the golden daffodils 
 Until the time of roses comes again.
 
 FEW friends have I to whom I now could say, 
 " My mind to you is like an open book ; 
 In all its secret places ye may look, 
 
 And I shall never need to say you nay ! " 
 
 For howsoever near and dear were they, 
 
 They might, perchance, explore some hidden nook 
 Where friendship's fixed foundations faintly shook, 
 
 And dim, disloyal shadows shunned the day. 
 
 But shouldst thou, Dearest, with unblinded eyes 
 The dark recesses of my spirit prove, 
 And all its inmost sanctuaries see : 
 
 Much wouldst thou find that was not good or wise 
 And much, maybe, unworthy of thy love 
 But not a single thought untrue to thee. 
 
 I 2
 
 132 
 
 Comparteong, 
 
 I WOULD that words could truly tell thee, Sweet, 
 
 The sum of all things that to me thou art ! 
 
 As hope's fruition to the fainting heart ; 
 As streams of healing to the wayworn feet ; 
 As Summer sunshine to the waving wheat ; 
 
 As balm of Gilead to the stinging smart ; 
 
 As cheering news to friends that dwell apart ; 
 As shade to those who shirk the noonday heat ; 
 As peace to those who falter in the fight ; 
 
 As flowery paths to gloomy forest glades ; 
 
 As harbour-lights to ships that seek the shore ; 
 As angel-voices calling through the night 
 
 To souls that tread the valley of the shades : 
 All this thou art to me, Beloved, and more.
 
 133 
 
 Ste in a 
 
 DEAR, hast thou ever learned to thy surprise 
 
 On entering a chamber mirror-lined, 
 
 That all the friends thou didst appear to find 
 Were but thyself reflected severalwise ? 
 The room seemed full to unaccustomed eyes 
 
 Whilst thou werf there ; but when thou wert 
 inclined 
 
 To leave it, nothing then remained behind 
 But emptiness proportioned to its size. 
 So if thou lookest in my heart, dear Love, 
 
 Such overflowing fulness wilt thou see 
 
 That thou shalt seek a vacant spot in vain : 
 But on a close inspection it will prove 
 
 To be completely filled with nought but thee 
 And wert thou gone, then nothing would remain.
 
 134 
 
 8 Spring 
 
 ACROSS the valley swept a balmy breeze, 
 
 Which came from far beyond the purple hills ; 
 
 And at his touch the happy little rills 
 Laughed, and forgot that they had learned to freeze 
 He breathed new life among the forest trees, 
 
 And carpeted the fields with daffodils ; 
 
 Then passed away, as one who just fulfils 
 A task, nor cares if the result will please. 
 So didst thou turn my Winter into Spring 
 
 Life's deeper meanings teaching me to see, 
 
 Till in waste places flowers began to grow ; 
 Then smiling as at some unheeded thing 
 
 Didst say Farewell. What thou hast been to me 
 I cannot tell, and thou wilt never know.
 
 135 
 
 (IOTH MARCH, 1888.) 
 
 BLEST with a Silver- Wedding now are they 
 
 Who, hand in hand, for five-and-twenty years 
 'Neath clouds and sunny skies, with smiles and 
 
 tears 
 
 Have nobly trodden their appointed way. 
 We render thanks for this ; and also pray 
 
 That they unhurt by griefs, unharmed by fears 
 May long be spared, till 'midst a nation's cheers 
 They celebrate their Golden Wedding-Day ; 
 And on beyond, till some far-distant date, 
 
 When having done their work and earned their 
 
 rest 
 
 They lay the heavy cares of empire down, 
 Resign the weary load of worldly state, 
 
 And leaving what is good for what is best 
 Exchange an earthly for a heavenly crown.
 
 136 
 
 ONE day I grieved because our greatest gain 
 
 Grows pale beside the smallest loss we feel ; 
 
 One hour of wrong can years of right repeal ; 
 One faulty link can spoil the strongest chain ; 
 One little thorn can cause a cruel pain 
 
 That twice ten thousand roses cannot heal ; 
 
 One harsh discordant note can straightway steal 
 All harmony from e'en the sweetest strain. 
 To these my doubts there came an answer sure 
 
 " God's laws are right if rightly understood ! 
 
 Man's patent of perfection lies in this, 
 That naught imperfect can his soul endure : 
 
 The highest natures seek the highest good 
 Till they are perfect as their Father is."
 
 i37 
 
 Battle of lift. 
 
 THINK not the weary warfare nought avails 
 Though oftentimes it seem beyond thy might. 
 Strive ever on the side of truth and right, 
 
 And heed not whom the world as victor hails ! 
 
 We know not here who conquers, nor who fails ; 
 But angels gazing from their peaceful height 
 See clearly those who well have fought the fight, 
 
 And name him Prince who wrestles and prevails. 
 
 So one, perchance, whom men called strong and 
 
 brave, 
 Shall find his wreath of earthly laurels fade 
 
 When heaven's glory ends the storm and strife ; 
 
 Whilst one, who slept within a nameless grave, 
 Shall stand before the seraphs undismayed, 
 And wear upon his brow a crown of life.
 
 138 
 
 " $n IBartot <nglanfc*" 
 
 " IN darkest England let there now be light ! " 
 Men start at first to hear the trumpet blare ; 
 Then fall to wondering how and when and where 
 The sunshine best should meet the human sight : 
 If through the lens of science clear and white 
 The people that in darkness dwell should dare 
 To look ; or if they first should see the glare 
 Made soft by " storied windows richly dight " ; 
 Forgetting that the sunshine is the same 
 
 Whether it glitter through some leafless tree, 
 
 Or glow through panes bejewelled in the past, 
 Or glide through broken rafters like a flame : 
 These things change not the light ; we only see 
 A difference in the shadows that they cast.
 
 139 
 
 Co tfoe 
 
 FAIR flower ! thou waitest on the Sun all day, 
 Till in the West his light doth fade and die ; 
 Then Westward dost thou turn thy weeping eye 
 
 To guard the gates through which he passed away. 
 
 Whilst thou art watching at those portals grey 
 In vain for him that lately reigned on high, 
 A sudden glory floods the Eastern sky 
 
 Where round their rising king the sunbeams play. 
 
 Sweet flower ! thou servest to remind us now 
 Of her who long ago, in bitter need, 
 
 Sought vainly that dead Lord she held so dear : 
 
 She heard an angel's voice " Why weepest thou ? 
 He is not here, for He is ris'n indeed ! " 
 
 And turning straightway saw her Master near.
 
 140 
 
 ftebdatum flrii. 14 
 
 "Blessed are they that do His commandments." Authorised Version. 
 ' ' Blessed are they that wash their robes. " Revised Version. 
 
 THE Old Book teacheth us that they are blest, 
 And enter that fair City filled with light 
 Like to a jasper stone most clear and bright, 
 
 Who faithfully fulfil their Lord's behest. 
 
 The New Book saith to spirits sore distrest, 
 
 That they who wash their robes though black as 
 
 night 
 Shall make them pure in God's most holy sight, 
 
 And pass through pearly gates to perfect rest. 
 
 The Old is just ; but yet, alas ! how few 
 
 Have done their Master's bidding here below, 
 And never faltered spite of toil and pain : 
 
 The Old is just : how merciful the New ! 
 
 For all may wash their robes as white as snow 
 By faith in Him Who died and rose again.
 
 flearlp 
 
 TWELVE gates each gate a pearl shall open wide 
 To welcome conquering hosts who come to fling 
 Their golden crowns before their Lord and King 
 
 In that fair City, His all-glorious bride. 
 
 A pearl is found beneath the flowing tide 
 
 And there is held a worse than worthless thing, 
 Spoiling the shell-built home where it doth cling 
 
 Marring the life near which it must abide. 
 
 The everlasting portals are of these, 
 
 To teach us that perchance some heavy load 
 Some cross 'gainst which so sorely we have striven, 
 
 That seems to mar our lives and spoil our ease 
 May bring us nearer to the Saints' abode, 
 And prove at last the very Gate of Heaven.
 
 142 
 
 " 8 &aint)0to rmmfc about tbe 
 
 (REVELATION iv. 3.) 
 
 A RAINBOW round the Throne shall shed its light 
 To tell the old, old story o'er again, 
 That only in the clouds once black with rain 
 
 The Arc of Promise sets its jewels bright ; 
 
 That only those who well have fought the fight 
 And here on earth have suffered grief and pain, 
 Can learn to swell that new, triumphant strain 
 
 Which ransomed hosts shall sing on Sion's height. 
 
 And then those white-robed armies, who have passed 
 Through tribulation in the bygone years, 
 
 Shall learn that all the sorrow they have known 
 
 Serves but to bring them fuller joy at last, 
 
 When Heaven's sunshine falling on Earth's tears 
 Girds with a Rainbow the Eternal Throne.
 
 143 
 
 Jn t&e <arlmu 
 
 I DREAMED about Earth's garden, where I found 
 That little foxes spoil the tender vine ; 
 Among the roses deadly creepers twine, 
 
 And lilies fair lie trampled on the ground ; 
 
 Whilst round them all the Serpent's coils are wound. 
 Whereat dense darkness of despair was mine, 
 For in my blindness I perceived no sign 
 
 Of help or comfort as I gazed around. 
 
 Then One, I took to be the Gardener, came ; 
 To Whom I cried, " Sir, is it nought to Thee 
 
 That sin and sorrow spoil Thy flowerets sweet ? " 
 
 For answer He but called me by my name, 
 
 And as I doubted turned and looked on me, 
 Who said, " Rabboni ! "falling at His Feet.
 
 Nature's: 
 
 No heart hath Nature, though across the wold 
 The Summer breezes wander to and fro 
 Though vine-clad mountains in the sunlight glow, 
 
 And smiling vales stand thick with harvest-gold. 
 
 She is as heedless as she was of old ; 
 
 And cares no more for human weal or woe 
 Than when she scattered her hoar-frost and snow, 
 
 And none were able to abide her cold. 
 
 So crying : " Who will show us any good ? " 
 We turn from Nature's apathy, which chills 
 The gladness and the grief beyond her ken, 
 
 To One Who sits above the waterflood 
 Who weighs as dust the everlasting hills 
 And yet is mindful of the sons of men.
 
 145 
 
 THE breeze sings sweetly as it sweeps along 
 The brook sings slowly as it sparkles by 
 The star sings softly as it shines on high 
 
 The bird sings shrilly, with clear note and strong. 
 
 But we, who sojourn 'mid the city's throng, 
 With stifled hearts and voices vainly try 
 To swell the strain of Nature's symphony, 
 
 And take our part in the seraphic song. 
 
 Our ears are deafened by delusive dreams ; 
 Our harps are silent, and no tuneful string 
 Makes music at the striker's sweet command 
 
 We weep beside the Babylonian streams, 
 
 And sigh like them of old " How can we sing 
 The songs of Sion in this strangers' land ? "
 
 146 
 
 Ctretu 
 
 I AM too worn and weary now to trace 
 The story of what thou for me hast done 
 In all my wanderings underneath the sun 
 
 Since that fair morn when first I saw thy face. 
 
 I fain would rest me for a little space, 
 Let Time's relentless hour-glass idly run ; 
 But do not blame me, Dear, nor deem me one 
 
 Devoid of either gratitude or grace : 
 
 I am not thankless only tired, my Sweet ; 
 And simply ask to hold thee by the hand 
 In silence while the shades of evening fall. 
 
 Yet it may come to pass we twain shall meet 
 Beyond the borders of the Shadowland, 
 And then it will be time to tell thee all.
 
 *47 
 
 1891. 
 
 No. 34. " SPONSA DE LIBANO." 
 
 AWAKE, awake, thou bitter Northern wind ; 
 
 And thou, O Southern zephyr, softly blow ! 
 
 That spices in my garden forth may flow, 
 And my Beloved His pleasant fruits may find. 
 Ye both are needed North, with blasts unkind ; 
 
 And South, that flingest flowerets high and low 
 
 To make the spikenard and the saffron grow, 
 And vine-leaves with the tender grapes entwined. 
 Breathe on mine orchard, harsh and gentle breeze ! 
 
 Ere my Beloved come down to gather there 
 
 Red-hearted pomegranates, and lilies white 
 That fringe the streams beneath the cedar-trees : 
 
 For Love and Sorrow only can make fair 
 For Him the garden of the Shulamite.
 
 148 
 
 En tl)* ^elw <allerp, 1891. 
 
 No. 190. " EARTH-RISE FROM THE MOON." 
 
 Is that our Earth that pale and ghostly thing 
 Casting a feeble and reflected light 
 Across the dark abysses of the night, 
 
 Where weird, fantastic forms their shadows fling ? 
 
 To Earth with fond and filial hearts we cling, 
 And vaunt unceasingly her children's might 
 Thinking how wise we are, how great, how right, 
 
 And how omniscient in our reasoning : 
 
 Not dreaming that to other, higher spheres 
 
 This globe we prize as peerless which we deem 
 The crown of Heaven's canopy unfurled 
 
 Is but a pallid lamp, which spends the years 
 In lighting with a sickly, borrowed beam 
 The ruins of a long-forsaken world. 
 
 Printed by CASSELL & COMI-ANY, LIMITED, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.G.
 
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