LIFE -LORE POEMS 
 
 BY 
 LUELLA KNOTT 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 SHERMAN, FRENCH & COMPANY 
 1912
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1911 
 SHERMAN, FRENCH 6- COMPANY
 
 To one I love, this book I dedicate, 
 
 My mental spouse, my heart's true mate; 
 
 Whose sweet affection doth my every weakness 
 
 cover, 
 My friend, my husband and my lover. 
 
 S136SOO
 
 PROEM 
 
 CHILDREN or MINE: 
 
 BORN of the heart's desire for better things, 
 
 Go forth and bear these messages upon thy 
 
 wings. 
 They are not weighty truths, not high nor 
 
 grand, 
 But things which simple hearts may know and 
 
 understand. 
 
 I would not have thee soar aloft, but stay 
 Right in the paths of men from day to day. 
 Linger upon Life's high-way, I would ask, 
 Where feeble hands thy simple thoughts may 
 
 grasp. 
 
 I would not have thee bear mere ideality, 
 Nor tell men idle dreams, but things that be. 
 Hold forth those beauties waking eyes may see, 
 And show some hidden charm of sweet reality. 
 
 Speak thou some little word that proves 
 The faithfulness of him who truly loves ; 
 And softly say that mother-love still lingers 
 In holy expectation, for clinging baby fingers. 
 And from thy tiny store of truth let fall 
 One bright bit, proving God is over all.
 
 And do not fail to say that Christ is real, 
 And that among life's paths there is a high-way 
 
 still 
 Where man, e'en though a fool, may walk from 
 
 day to day, 
 And where "old-time religion" marks out the 
 
 "narrow way." 
 And oh, I pray, as thou dost bear these thoughts 
 
 upon thy wings, 
 Thou wilt awake in other hearts desire for 
 
 better things.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAOX 
 
 HOME 3 
 
 WHAT IS LOVE? 5 
 
 DO I LOVE THEE? 7 
 
 THE TEST 8 
 
 A QUESTION OF SPRING 10 
 
 ACCOMPANYING A BOX OF FLOWERS . . 12 
 
 THE REASON WHY 14 
 
 "TOUJOURS AIMANT" 15 
 
 LIFE AND LOVE 16 
 
 MY MISSION 18 
 
 BABY AND I 19 
 
 "OFFEND NOT ONE OF THESE LITTLE 
 
 ONES" 22 
 
 FULL-BLOWN 23 
 
 TO MY BABY 25 
 
 THE SWEETEST NAME 27 
 
 MY HEART'S DESIRE 29 
 
 NEW YEAR'S GREETING 33 
 
 THE EASTER MORN 34 
 
 THANKSGIVING DAY 35 
 
 CHRISTMAS 37 
 
 THE PATRIOT VERSUS THE GRAFTER . 40 
 
 THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 42 
 
 THAT FAMILY TREE 44 
 
 PASS IT ON 47 
 
 WOULD YOU? 48 
 
 LOOK WITHIN 50 
 
 COMPENSATION 51 
 
 THE WAY OF LIFE 52 
 
 DELIVERANCE 53 
 
 EDGAR ALLAN POE 55 
 
 THE NEWLY-WED 63 
 
 "GONA" 65 
 
 "AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT" 68
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST" 71 
 
 THE DAISY'S SECRET 73 
 
 A QUESTION 76 
 
 ACCOMPANYING A WEDDING GIFT ... 78 
 
 TO MABLE CLARE 79 
 
 THE SUNNY SIDE 80 
 
 PUBLIC OFFICE 81 
 
 TWICE HID 82 
 
 THE CASTAWAY 83 
 
 SELF'S TRIAL OF SELF 85 
 
 SWEET SHRUBS 87 
 
 HIDDEN TREASURES 88 
 
 ACCOMPANYING A GIFT OF "THOUGHTS" . 90 
 
 ONE YEAR IN HEAVEN 91 
 
 THE JUDGMENT 93 
 
 THE BREVITY OF LIFE 94 
 
 SELF-DENIAL 99 
 
 MATTHEW 25: 41, 46 100 
 
 "HE PROVETH YOU" 102 
 
 "WHATSOEVER YE DO" 104 
 
 UNSEEN FORCES 106 
 
 "TRADITION OF MEN" 108 
 
 "THERE IS A SIN UNTO DEATH" .... Ill 
 
 "EVEN IN ALL POINTS" 114 
 
 MY PRAYER 116 
 
 "YE KNOW NOT WHAT YE ASK" .... 118 
 "HE THAT SINNETH WRONGETH HIS OWN 
 
 SOUL" 120 
 
 THE THIRTY-SEVENTH PSALM 123 
 
 "LOVEST THOU ME MORE THAN THESE?" 125 
 
 "GREAT IS THE MYSTERY" 128 
 
 LIFE'S HIGHWAY 130 
 
 CONSECRATE AND CONCENTRATE . . .132 
 "HIS BLOOD WILL I REQUIRE" . . . .135
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ACTIVE CHRISTIANITY 137 
 
 SEARCHING FOR TRUTH 145 
 
 "WITH FREEDOM DID CHRIST SET YOU 
 
 FREE" 153 
 
 LIKE UNTO THE MOUNTAINS 160
 
 MY HOME CIRCLE
 
 HOME 
 
 Is it a place of lofty domes, 
 
 Of towering palace walls, 
 Where wondrous architecture 
 
 Adorns the spacious halls? 
 Is it a humble, lowly cot 
 
 Of unpretentious mien, 
 Where hands of poverty oppress 
 
 The lives of those within? 
 
 Ah no, 'tis no material thing, 
 
 The place which men call home ; 
 'Tis not the peasant's humble cot, 
 
 Nor prince's lofty dome. 
 'Tis cheer and comfort, warmth and light, 
 
 A place where power divine 
 Descends, and ever willing waits 
 
 To bless your heart and mine. 
 
 [3]
 
 'Tis where the care-worn, burdened heart 
 
 Finds rest from earthly strife; 
 An atmosphere which we create, 
 
 The first and best of life ! 
 It is a throne where love is king, 
 
 Where peace is given birth; 
 The nestling-place of hope and joy, 
 
 A heaven here on earth! 
 
 [4]
 
 WHAT IS LOVE? 
 
 WHAT is love? I asked a stream. "It is an 
 endless river 
 
 That flows into the measureless and infinite for- 
 ever." 
 
 What is love? I asked the sea; it laughed in 
 wild derision; 
 
 " 'Tis an expanse of heart, which spreads be- 
 yond your mortal vision." 
 
 What is love? I asked the sky, whose vaults 
 
 were o'er me bending; 
 " 'Tis a protecting canopy, which never has an 
 
 ending." 
 
 What is love? I asked the flowers, and this reply 
 
 was given: 
 "A bright and beauteous blossom here, whose 
 
 fruitage is in heaven." 
 
 What is love? I asked the stars, that shone in 
 all directions ; 
 
 "A light that shines on hearts and minds, re- 
 vealing man's perfections." 
 [5]
 
 What is love? I asked my friend. "The tie 
 
 which naught can sever; 
 The seal upon your heart and mine, which 
 
 holds them close forever." 
 
 What is love? I asked my love, his native gen- 
 
 ious proving; 
 He took me in his arms and said : "My darling, 
 
 love is loving!" 
 
 What is love? I asked my soul. " 'Tis some- 
 thing so refining, 
 
 That it is simply past the power of mortal 
 man's defining." 
 
 [6]
 
 DO I LOVE THEE? 
 
 Do I love thee, do I love thee? 
 Ask the skies that bend above thee ; 
 Ask the winds that blow about thee, 
 What my life would be without thee? 
 Ask the seas that stretch before thee, 
 And the stars that twinkle o'er thee ; 
 Ask the heavens, I implore thee, 
 If I love thee and adore thee? 
 Stand upon the highest mountain ; 
 Look below, around, above thee; 
 Find the bound'ries of the boundless ; 
 Ask me then how much I love thee? 
 Fly from off its towering summit 
 Into unknown depths of space; 
 Find what great magnetic power 
 Holds a million worlds in place. 
 Then from Universe's center, 
 Measure space in each direction, 
 Failing in such vain endeavor, 
 Come, and measure on forever 
 My immeasurable affection.
 
 THE TEST 
 
 I LOVED thee once too much to e'er deny thee 
 Aught thou wouldst ask. And it was joy in- 
 deed 
 
 To grant requests, and ever gratify thee, 
 Bestowing all thy loving heart might plead. 
 But now I love thee far too much, my darling, 
 To seek alone thy pleasure and desire; 
 'Tis thy best good for which my heart is yearn- 
 ing* 
 
 'Tis thy completeness I would now require. 
 For though so pure and good, my love de- 
 
 mandeth 
 
 A purer purity, a better good, 
 Than that which human reason understandeth, 
 Or human heart hath ever understood. 
 
 I'd even pain inflict to purify thee, 
 
 And make thee what my heart would have thee 
 
 be; 
 
 My love has grown so great, it can deny thee, 
 Although thy pain is more than pain to me. 
 For oh, the grief of grieving thee ! Was ever 
 Test more supreme, or love more sorely tried, 
 To kindle into flame the fires that never 
 Shall lessen till thy soul is purified? 
 [8]
 
 I love theel So I sit with the Refiner, 
 And like Him, I shall not be satisfied 
 Till the refining fires make thee diviner, 
 And burn until thy soul is glorified! 
 
 [9]
 
 A QUESTION OF SPRING 
 
 THE skies are blue, the winds are sighing, 
 The flowers bloom, the birds are nesting; 
 Earth's beauties manifold are lying 
 Where they will prove most interesting. 
 There's something in the air to-day, love, 
 A subtle perfume, gently stealing, 
 That leads my fancy far away, love, 
 And stirs anew the depths of feeling. 
 
 The budding trees are gently swaying, 
 
 Alive with merry, noisome twitting; 
 
 The world to-day has gone a Maying, 
 
 And at a Cupid's feast is sitting. 
 
 And yet, although you're very near, love, 
 
 Tender as in the long ago, 
 
 Something was there that is not here, love ; 
 
 What is it lacking, do you know? 
 
 The sky and trees and birds and flowers, 
 The fragrance lingering all around us, 
 Still brighten all the golden hours, 
 And find us true, as once they found us. 
 The Spring is just as full of glory, 
 The flowers have just as sweet a smell, 
 But something's gone from love's old story ; 
 What is it, darling, can you tell? 
 [10]
 
 What is it missing? Is it the morning, 
 And has the evening, somber and gray, 
 Stolen upon us, giving no warning 
 That we are nearing the end of the day? 
 Is it because that was the Maytime, 
 The Spring of life, that long ago? 
 And this, the sad, autumnal gray-time; 
 What is it darling, do you know? 
 
 [11]
 
 DEAR heart, these simple flowers 
 
 Betoken love for thee; 
 May they make glad the hours 
 
 Thou art away from me. 
 In each rose-heart abides 
 
 A thought for thy reflection, 
 Each tiny petal hides 
 
 An ocean of affection. 
 Each bud has underneath 
 
 What every lover misses, 
 For under each green leaf 
 
 I smuggled lots of kisses. 
 Mixed with their sweet perfume 
 
 An incense is ascending, 
 An odor from the fires 
 
 Of love that's never-ending. 
 The flowers soon will fade, 
 
 They'll scarcely live a day; 
 But oh, the love, inlaid, 
 
 Will never pass away. 
 For 'tis the love, my dear, 
 
 Hid in among the flowers, 
 That cheers and stays the heart 
 
 In all its lonely hours. 
 
 [12]
 
 And though the flowers die, 
 
 This love, throughout thy life, 
 
 Will strengthen and sustain. 
 As ever, I remain 
 
 Your own devoted wife. 
 
 [13]
 
 THE REASON WHY 
 
 WHY do I patiently endure, beloved, 
 
 And why, in spite of hindrances, do I aspire 
 
 To those sweet gifts of life, so high and pure, 
 
 beloved, 
 What is it strengthens and sustains my heart's 
 
 desire? 
 
 Why is it, when my spirit yearns, beloved, 
 And almost falters in the strenuous race, 
 Something sustains till strength returns, 
 
 beloved, 
 
 And all that sacred life concerns, beloved, 
 Lives in the light of love upon thy face ? 
 
 Why do I patiently endure, beloved, 
 Why do I feel so confident I shall not fail? 
 Why do I know the vict'ry is so sure, beloved, 
 Daring e'en hell itself against me to prevail? 
 Listen : if weak should grow thy love, beloved, 
 Weaker than foes against my soul, then I should 
 
 see 
 
 Myself defeated ! Dost thou not know, beloved, 
 When love is stronger than the foe, beloved, 
 There's no defeat for men below, beloved, 
 I fight, endure and must prevail, because thou 
 
 loves t me! 
 
 [14]
 
 YOU'RE weary love, and tired to-day ; 
 
 I fear you have been reading 
 Too much of prose, when 'tis life's poetry 
 
 You and I are needing. 
 The world's as full of music now 
 
 As ever she used to be ; 
 Her glowing beauties sparkle bright, 
 
 If we but look and see! 
 
 The air is just as balmy, 
 
 The sky is just as blue, 
 And naught is old and faded, 
 
 But bright and sweet and new. 
 Life's poetry still is being sung 
 
 To those who read and hear; 
 And love is ever and always young 
 
 To those who hold it dear. 
 
 So come with me for a little while, 
 
 And place your arms about me, 
 And tell me with the old-time smile, 
 
 You never can live without me. 
 While merry birds are singing rhymes 
 
 In swaying trees above me, 
 Come, tell me as in olden times 
 
 You love me, love me, LOVE ME ! 
 [15]
 
 LIFE AND LOVE 
 
 "I LOVE thee more than life!" 
 
 What meanest thou by such extreme expression? 
 
 Does heart unite with lip in such confession? 
 
 Or is it but a vain exaggeration, 
 
 A meaningless and thoughtless declaration? 
 
 Are life and love a mystic combination, 
 
 Blended and merged into such condensation, 
 
 That to thee there is no discrimination 
 
 Between the two? Is love more dear than life 
 
 to thee, 
 And life, itself, less dear than love for me? 
 
 Forgive my questioning! 
 
 I do not doubt, dear heart, thou lovest me 
 
 As truly and sincerely as I have loved thee. 
 
 And if so, there is no exaggeration, 
 
 There could not be hyperbole in any declaration. 
 
 "I love thee more than life," and in this trite 
 
 confession 
 I have not erred, dear heart, nor used extreme 
 
 expression. 
 
 [16]
 
 And thus I know that love more dear than life 
 
 can be; 
 (What would I care for life, if it were not for 
 
 thee?) 
 If one should restless grow, dear heart, and 
 
 wing its flight 
 
 To some far distant clime in regions far above, 
 Truly, our love would homeless be without its 
 
 life, 
 And life, a tenantless abode without its love. 
 
 [17]
 
 MY MISSION 
 
 A PIECE of clay to mold and shape 
 
 Is given unto me; 
 (I am the Potter's instrument,) 
 
 What shall the vessel be? 
 So soft and pliable it lies, 
 
 So passive and so still, 
 Responsive to my every touch, 
 
 I mold it as I will. 
 And yet, potentially, it holds 
 
 Far more than I can say; 
 The strength and power of giant forms 
 
 Are in this piece of clay. 
 
 I tremble as I take the gift, 
 
 This pleasurable care; 
 For hidden deep, somewhere there lies 
 
 The Potter's image fair. 
 He bids me labor to reveal 
 
 The wondrous power and might 
 Of treasures hid in earthen clay, 
 
 To show what God is like. 
 And so each day I work and pray, 
 
 And grow impatient, maybe; 
 For oh, dear Lord, I long to see 
 
 Thine image in my baby! 
 [18]
 
 BABY AND I 
 
 BABY and I have entered school, and agreed 
 
 to teach each other; 
 I'm to instruct his baby mind, and he is to 
 
 teach his mother. 
 Others may cook the things I eat, and do my 
 
 sewing, maybe; 
 And wash and iron and scrub and clean, but 
 
 / shall teach my baby ! 
 
 For while I teach, he teaches too ; many the les- 
 sons we each assign ; 
 We study and learn the whole day through; 
 
 page upon page and line upon line; 
 I am a student and he is too ; I am his teacher, 
 
 and he is mine. 
 
 When baby holds and clings to me and trusts 
 
 me through all false alarms, 
 Resting in faith upon my breast, hiding in my 
 
 encircling arms, 
 He teaches me how / may cling close to my 
 
 Father's loving side ; 
 How, in His everlasting arms, my soul may 
 
 ever hide. 
 
 [19]
 
 And oft when he desires a thing, insisting with 
 
 repeated cries, 
 And I refuse to grant his prayer, how quickly 
 
 do I realize 
 That God likewise withholds from me things 
 
 which His very love denies. 
 
 When I would teach his feet to walk, behold, 
 
 I get instruction too ! 
 I know God's hands are holding me as I my 
 
 onward way pursue. 
 And when he falls and hurts himself, oh, how 
 
 I hasten to restore ! 
 I kiss the little bruised hands, and lift him to 
 
 his feet once more; 
 And thus my baby teaches me how God is 
 
 watching day by day, 
 Ready to hear my feeble cry, and answer when 
 
 I kneel and pray; 
 Eager to lift me when I fall, and help me over 
 
 life's road-way. 
 
 [20]
 
 Baby and I have much to learn; but do you 
 
 know, I'd rather be 
 My baby's pupil day by day, than have him 
 
 learn of me? 
 His sweet submission to my will, his confidence 
 
 in all I do, 
 Increase my faith and make me yearn to be 
 
 a little baby too. 
 His simple faith, his restfulness, his heart so 
 
 pure and undefiled, 
 Have taught me lessons new and strange, and 
 
 made my wayward spirit mild ; 
 And lo! each day I kneel and pray: "O God, 
 
 make me a little child." 
 
 [21]
 
 "OFFEND NOT ONE OF THESE LITTLE 
 ONES" 
 
 IF God should set some single task for me, 
 Appointing just one work for me to do, 
 I'd pray for power each day to know and see 
 What means to use, what methods to pursue, 
 That I might give these jewels back to Him 
 Unmarred, and brilliant with a light divine: 
 Bright with the luster of the purest gem, 
 Unstained by any unclean touch of mine. 
 Aye, could I choose the blessed task, 
 And say what my appointed work should be, 
 Of all the souls on earth to save, I'd ask, 
 Dear Lord, that Thou wouldst let me save 
 MY THREE! 
 
 Ah, God has set this single task for me, 
 Though many other tasks are given too ; 
 But may I ever labor, watch and pray, 
 As if this work were all I had to do. 
 
 [22]
 
 FULL-BLOWN 
 
 A DEAR little rose-bud white 
 
 Grew out in the Summer weather; 
 The petals were locked up tight 
 
 In a close embrace together. 
 They were pressed so close and locked so tight, 
 You never would guess that the sweet sun- 
 
 light 
 
 Or the dews of night could ever get through, 
 The petals to burst or the lock undo. 
 
 But early one morn I arose, 
 
 And what do you think I discerned? 
 There, wet with the dews of the night, 
 
 My bud to a rose had turned ! 
 The rain and the dew and the golden sun 
 The petals had burst and the lock undone. 
 How they accomplished it no one knows ; 
 But my bud had turned to a beautiful rose! 
 
 A dear little baby form 
 
 Was given into my keeping; 
 I thought of the latent powers 
 
 Locked tight, and quietly sleeping. 
 [23] "
 
 They were pressed so close and locked so tight, 
 You never would guess that the sweet sunlight 
 Of mind and soul could ever get through, 
 The petals to burst or the lock undo. 
 
 But through life's sweet sunshine, 
 
 Its rain and heat and cold, 
 Through mysteries which I can't explain, 
 
 I saw my bud unfold. 
 I cannot tell how the blossoms start 
 From living buds in the human heart, 
 I cannot tell how the powers find, 
 Their sweet awakening in the mind: 
 
 But love has many keys 
 
 As buds have many leaves; 
 And love unlocks the petals, 
 
 And wondrous work achieves. 
 And when her work is done, I see 
 The loveliest sight on earth to me; 
 The sweetest flower that lives or grows, 
 A full-blown, living, HUMAN rose! 
 
 [24]
 
 TO MY BABY 
 
 Is it not strange that though long years 
 Of anxious thought and pain and cares, 
 And weary hours of hopes and fears, 
 
 Await me in my care for thee ; 
 That I should view with such delight 
 Thy tiny face, so sweet and bright? 
 Is it not strange that I rejoice 
 To hear thy feeble, wailing voice? 
 For baby mine, it was my choice 
 And my desire for thee to come, 
 To bring more sunshine to our home, 
 
 And more of joy to me. 
 
 Is it not strange I longed for thee, 
 And felt I could not wait to see 
 The baby who was promised me; 
 
 Though other babes were mine, 
 And countless other duties pressed, 
 I longed to hold thee to my breast 
 Is it not strange, that though my hands 
 And heart were full of love's demands 
 Already, there was time to spare, 
 And strength for still another care: 
 A home and love for thee to share, 
 
 A place already thine? 
 [25]
 
 Let others boast their freedom still 
 To go and come whene'er they will, 
 At founts of pleasure drink their fill ; 
 
 I do not need to roam, 
 Nor go abroad to find my joy: 
 I find it in my baby boy ! 
 Each day brings ample recreation; 
 A satisfying compensation 
 Is ever granted unto me; 
 For life is joyous, glad and free 
 
 In children, love and home. 
 
 It is not strange, O baby sweet! 
 That you this love and welcome meet; 
 Nor that with open arms I greet 
 
 Thy spirit fresh from God. 
 Do not the trees delight to flower, 
 And nature glory in the power 
 To cast her seed? Then should not we, 
 "Made in His image," seek to be 
 Creators? Thus I welcome thee. 
 For O sweet babe, there ever rests 
 In every normal woman's breast 
 
 The parenthood of God! 
 
 [26]
 
 THE SWEETEST NAME 
 
 I'VE always heard 
 
 The dearest name, the sweetest word 
 To everyone beneath the sun ; 
 
 Never ending, ne'er begun, 
 Richest blessings comprehending, 
 
 Every worth and virtue blending ; 
 Thread of gold from worlds enchanted, 
 
 Just a bit of heaven granted ; 
 You were likewise thus impressed, 
 
 And ere this I know you've guessed 
 That the dearest name, and sweetest, 
 
 Purest, broadest and completest, 
 Fairer far than any other, 
 
 Blessed, sacred, holy "MOTHER." 
 
 Now in later years, however, 
 
 I should like to reconsider. 
 "Mother" in the long ago 
 
 Was the sweetest name, I know ; 
 But since I, myself, am "mother," 
 
 I have changed it to another. 
 [27]
 
 Joys of heaven and earth are blended, 
 
 All the sweets of life are lended, 
 Everything is comprehended 
 
 In my substituted word ! 
 Ah, I wonder have you guessed it, 
 
 Ere my mother-heart expressed it; 
 That the sacred name of "Baby" 
 
 Is the sweetest ever heard? 
 
 [28]
 
 MY HEART'S DESIRE. 
 
 I WOULD not ask that wealth or fame, 
 
 Earth's glory and an honored name 
 
 Be thine. My heart's desire would claim 
 
 More lasting joy! 
 
 A spirit, strong and brave and free, 
 A heart of truth and purity, 
 A life unfettered, this for thee 
 
 I ask, my boy. 
 
 I would not ask a conqueror's crown, 
 With many jewels weighted down ; 
 Bold exploits, nor a world's renown, 
 
 Not this my prayer; 
 But I would seek a higher goal, 
 And ask that strong and true thy soul 
 Be kept. That power and self-control 
 
 Sustain thee everywhere. 
 
 I seek for thee no earthly prize, 
 
 I ask the wealth which heaven supplies, 
 
 For strength and power the world denies 
 
 To you and me; 
 
 This earth is far too small to try 
 My soul's deep, best wish to satisfy. 
 'Tis heaven alone can gratify 
 
 My heart's desire for thee. 
 [29]
 
 MISCELLANEOUS
 
 NEW YEAR'S GREETING 
 
 THE year is drawing to a close, dear heart, 
 
 And little good 'twill do for you and I 
 
 To sit and weep, because its record shows, dear 
 
 heart, 
 
 So little done ; nor will we question why 
 We failed so many times to be and do 
 What we desired. We'll save our tears 
 For better things, and seek to know 
 How we may better serve in future years. 
 
 Perhaps we've walked too much alone, dear 
 
 heart, 
 
 And trusted to ourselves from day to day; 
 Our hands were somehow severed from His own, 
 
 dear heart, 
 
 And thus we sometimes stumbled on the way. 
 But with a purpose born of faith and prayer, 
 Close by His side we'll take a firmer stand ; 
 And clinging closer through the coming year, 
 Be this our daily prayer: "Hold Thou my 
 
 hand." 
 
 [33]
 
 THE EASTER MORN 
 
 "SEEK je the living among the dead?" 
 Search ye for light in sepulchral gloom? 
 Looking for warmth in the earth's cold bed, 
 Linger ye ever around some tomb? 
 "What seek ye?" Is it life or death, 
 What does your heart in its searching crave? 
 That which respires with immortal breath 
 Does not lie in the earth's cold grave! 
 "Life abundant" thou wilt not find 
 In tombs of earth ; it long hath fled ! 
 The powers of darkness cannot bind 
 Nor hold the living among the dead! 
 
 Earth cannot give thee thy heart's desire, 
 Nor can she ever reply to thee ; 
 Angels, who sit by the tomb each hour, 
 (Hearing thy questioning: "Where is He?") 
 Answer and say: "He is not here, 
 Turn thy steps from the tomb away." 
 And lo ! As the tints of the dawn appear, 
 Thy soul in gladness awaits the day. 
 For heeding the angels' blissful word, 
 Whose music fills the air around, 
 Thy face is turned to meet the Lord, 
 The sunlight breaks, and life is found!
 
 THANKSGIVING DAY 
 
 "In Everything Give Thanks." 
 
 MANY, dear Lord, are thanking Thee to-day 
 
 For health, for plenty and for peace; 
 
 For comforts and for joys along life's way, 
 
 For luxuries and sumptuous feasts. 
 
 But what of the trials, the pain and cares, 
 
 The troubles and burdens that never cease; 
 
 The heart's dull aches and the burning tears, 
 
 Do we thank Thee, Lord, for these? 
 
 Many, dear Lord, are thanking Thee to-day, 
 For blessings of earth and gifts and powers ; 
 For wealth and joy and love along life's way, 
 For strength, for sunshine, song and flowers. 
 But what of the sorrows we often know, 
 The weaknesses, pain and sore disease; 
 The want, the poverty, grief and woe, 
 Do we thank Thee, Lord, for these? 
 
 [35]
 
 Any, dear Lord, the faithless and the vain, 
 Can thank Thee for the sunshine and the light ; 
 We would do more, we thank Thee for the pain, 
 The anguish and the darkness of the night. 
 For "as the eagle stirreth up her nest" 
 Till hidden thorns shall force the young to rise 
 And fly, so dost Thou pierce the human breast, 
 That we may our weak pinions exercise, 
 And leaving things of earth, may do our best 
 To strive and to attain the heavenly prize. 
 
 [36]
 
 CHRISTMAS 
 
 "For Unto You Is Born This Day in the City of David 
 A Saviour Which Is Christ the Lord." 
 
 WHAT means this angel-song so sweet and clear, 
 
 That falls to-day upon each listening ear? 
 
 What mean the words that ring and sound 
 
 Like music, all the world around? 
 
 Listen and hear "For unto you is born 
 
 A Saviour !" Be it ever known 
 
 That unto you this Saviour came, 
 
 And unto me is breathed His precious name. 
 
 "A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord," 
 
 Was ever sweeter message heard? 
 
 "A SAVIOUR!" listen, dost thou hear 
 
 The angel voices singing everywhere, 
 
 Filling the earth and air, as they proclaim 
 
 The majesty and glory of His name? 
 
 An angel in prediction of His birth 
 Brought glorious tidings to the lost of earth. 
 The virgin trembled when the message came; 
 But earth rejoiced when he pronounced the name 
 Of Him who should be born Ah, hast thou 
 
 heard 
 
 And understood the meaning of the word 
 Saviour? "Jesus his name shall be, 
 For He shall save from sin," said he.
 
 O glorious tidings, message sweet ! 
 
 A SAVIOUR, with salvation all complete, 
 
 Has come ! Ah, have we let Him in, 
 
 And have we let Him save us from our sin? 
 
 If not, we still must look, till we behold 
 
 This Saviour whom the messenger foretold. 
 
 The song the shepherds heard that night 
 
 Still rings abroad. Our spiritual sight 
 
 Still sees the messengers. Our spiritual ears 
 
 Still catch the music floating down the years. 
 
 This is no idle dream this song we hear; 
 
 This is no shepherd's fancy ! Far and near 
 
 The strains are swelling, floating on, 
 
 "For unto you this day is born 
 
 A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord !" 
 
 Have we received the wondrous Word? 
 
 Ah, friend, do you and I each day 
 
 Believe the message and obey 
 
 This Saviour? Have we let Him save, 
 
 And have we proved the promise which He gave ? 
 
 Do we surrender to the power 
 
 That keeps and saves each passing hour? 
 
 The music of the angel-song to-day 
 
 Is sweet as when the shepherds heard the lay. 
 
 The strains are swelling, flowing on : 
 
 "For unto you a Saviour's born !" 
 
 [38]
 
 If you have never known His power to save, 
 Nor yet received the promise which He gave ; 
 O may the light of heaven's radiance shine 
 And flood your heart with glory all divine. 
 May you behold the star, and follow on 
 To know a Saviour truly has been born. 
 May you and I this day anew begin, 
 And let this SAVIOUR save us from our sin ! 
 
 [39]
 
 THE PATRIOT VERSUS THE GRAFTER 
 
 WHAT of the man who, with heart sincere 
 And courage undaunted, hath entered the fight ? 
 Who dares to be true without favor or fear, 
 And always and ever upholdeth the right? 
 What of the man whose work is the sowing 
 Of seedlings whose harvest he knows will be 
 
 long ? 
 
 Who, through persecution, awaiteth the grow- 
 ing. 
 And dares to do right though it looks to be 
 
 wrong? 
 
 Who giveth his name and his good reputation, 
 That he may perform what the people despise ; 
 Who loses himself for the good of the nation, 
 And buries himself that his people may rise? 
 What of the man who hath counted it gain 
 To lose, and to welcome the cup he imbibes ? 
 To triumph o'er pain and to live on a plane 
 Where none dare approach him to offer him 
 bribes ? 
 
 [40]
 
 What of the man who lives on the mountain, 
 
 Where safety, protection and freedom are 
 given, 
 
 Whose soul is refreshed from a life-giving foun- 
 tain, 
 
 Whose spirit is nourished on bread without 
 leaven ; 
 
 What of the peace on the crest of the moun- 
 tain 
 
 Is this not heaven? 
 
 [41]
 
 THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 
 
 HE landed on a golden Easter morn, 
 
 And surely he had steered the boat aright ; 
 
 For there beneath the smiling of the dawn 
 
 An Easter land was nestled, warm and bright. 
 
 In Easter garb the shores were decorated, 
 
 The sky threw Easter lights into the sea ; 
 
 Each color of the rainbow radiated 
 
 From every shrub and flower and budding tree. 
 
 A soldier, strong in enterprise and daring, 
 
 (Granada Moors had trembled at his name; 
 
 Hispaniola's richest treasure sharing 
 
 Had added wealth to military fame.) 
 
 Bent with the weight of years this Easter 
 
 morn, 
 
 He landed with the little Spanish crew; 
 Upon the floral shores new hopes were born, 
 "Pascua Florida will my youth renew! 
 
 "Pascua Florida, show to me the fountain, 
 Where I may sink this weight of years I bear ; 
 For surely in this Easter land of beauty 
 The Fount of Youth is hid away somewhere." 
 [42]
 
 Into the depths of wild and verdant woodland, 
 Far into regions unexplored they go ; 
 Nor fear to test each stream, as on they wander, 
 Still seeking where the magic waters flow. 
 
 Ah, DeLeon! Thou one of many millions, 
 Who seek in vain to know and understand ; 
 Thy bleached bones mark out a path mistaken, 
 A "way that seemeth right" unto a man. 
 'Tis not where weary men are ever searching, 
 It does not flow from depths of earthly clay; 
 The Fount of Youth is hid within thy bosom, 
 Aye, deep within thy heart 'tis hid away. 
 'Tis here the Resurrected life abideth, 
 'Tis here that youth, eternal, each may know; 
 Ah, truly ! 'tis an Easter land of beauty, 
 This kingdom, where the Living Waters flow. 
 Wouldst find it? Be thou passive and recep- 
 tive; 
 
 While faith is active, be thou still and rest! 
 And soon the waters of this Living Fountain 
 Will flow like healing rivers from thy breast. 
 
 [43]
 
 THAT FAMILY TREE 
 
 A WOMAN once was much endowed with won- 
 drous length of tongue, 
 
 And praises of her pedigree from morn till 
 night were sung. 
 
 She told what mighty things were done by 
 gifted men of note, 
 
 Who hung upon her family tree in ages far re- 
 mote. 
 
 So famous was her lineage and aristocracy 
 
 That she could talk of nothing else save gene- 
 alogy. 
 
 Her consanguineous grands and greats were 
 
 wonderful to see, 
 And gifted aunts and uncles hung upon this 
 
 family tree! 
 And cousins, my! they were profuse, and all 
 
 distinguished too! 
 Governors, judges, lawyers shrewd, and leaders 
 
 not a few! 
 
 [44]
 
 No wonder that she looked at it and talked 
 
 of it all day, 
 And naught was right unless 'twas done some 
 
 royal cousin's way. 
 For surely there was never yet a tree so grand 
 
 and high 
 As this immense, gigantic thing, whose branches 
 
 touched the sky. 
 
 But saddest of it all was this, suspended full 
 
 in sight 
 
 There hung an ignoramus, a brainless parasite ! 
 A dangling and contemptuous thing from 
 
 braggadocio school ; 
 Who hadn't even sense enough to know she was 
 
 a fool! 
 And who has never yet displayed one evidence 
 
 of thought, 
 Existing only on the things her great-grand 
 
 daddies wrought. 
 
 When will the human family learn that when 
 
 the blood is blue, 
 'Twill show itself in character strong, firm and 
 
 good and true! 
 When none can know its color except when we 
 
 describe it, 
 We call it low plebeian, and dare you to deny it ! 
 
 [45]
 
 Ancestors' brains don't think for us nor are 
 
 their deeds a credit. 
 Some things are always evident without our 
 
 having said it. 
 If they were true aristocrats, we'll never have 
 
 to yell it, 
 And if their blue blood flows in us, we'll never 
 
 have to tell it. 
 
 [46]
 
 PASS IT ON 
 
 You can smile? Ah, that's a blessing 
 Both to you and those you greet ! 
 Thus you go through life, confessing 
 Warmth of heart to all you meet. 
 Golden sunbeams on life's pathway, 
 Cheap, but priceless, all the while; 
 Just one question more, if I may: 
 Can you make another, smile? 
 For your smile, though sweet and mellow, 
 Does but half it ought to do ; 
 Till you see the other fellow 
 Smiling back at you. 
 
 [47]
 
 WOULD YOU? 
 
 SUPPOSE that to your waiting soul receptive, 
 
 still- 
 Truth came and spoke a message, sweet and 
 
 low; 
 Suppose that to your yearning heart she would 
 
 reveal 
 Things which your spirit most desired to 
 
 know; 
 Should she pour forth sweet strains of some 
 
 rich melody 
 
 Ne'er heard by mortal man since time began, 
 Would you rejoice that she had chosen you 
 
 to hear 
 And bear her revelation unto man? 
 
 Would you be strong and bold her message 
 
 to proclaim? 
 
 Would you rejoice that she had chosen you 
 To stand alone, and seek to glorify the name 
 
 Of Truth, in all that you might say or do? 
 Suppose the message was of such import that 
 
 you 
 
 Could not explain in ways that satisfied 
 The bold demands of reason, nor pursue 
 
 The paths which intellectual powers provide. 
 [48]
 
 Would you be strong enough to say: "Behold 
 I stand 
 
 Where Reason ceaseth, and where Observation 
 Doth never more observe. Here, Reason's hand 
 
 Is clasped and led by that of Revelation, 
 Thus am I led to know the things not yet 
 discerned 
 
 By eyes or ears or heart of natural man ; 
 And lo! unto a natural world I dare proclaim 
 
 Things which the spiritual only understand"? 
 
 [49]
 
 LOOK WITHIN 
 
 THE world to-day is all gone wrong, 
 
 Nobody in it is good or true; 
 
 Through frowns and tears you move along, 
 
 And everything looks awry to you. 
 
 Above, below, and around you seek 
 
 To find where the causes of evil rest, 
 
 But the thing that has made the world go wrong 
 
 Is hidden, my friend, within your breast ! 
 
 [50]
 
 COMPENSATION 
 
 I LOOK into my labor, and I see 
 Material efforts spiritualized, 
 And tasks, most menial, mirror back to me 
 God's Truth, in beauty, undisguised. 
 For be my work of hand or mind or heart, 
 The strength to do it is supplied, 
 And every power of self I thus impart 
 Comes back to me, in power multiplied. 
 
 And thus, whate'er of self I may expend, 
 But makes me richer than I was before. 
 God's Truth: that what we spend or what we 
 
 lend, 
 Comes back, full measure, pressed and running 
 
 o'er. 
 
 And be my service for the high or low, 
 Or be my task the greatest or the least, 
 The bread I cast, will be returned I know 
 As Living bread, augmented and increased 
 In every rich supply, a sumptuous feast. 
 [51]
 
 THE WAY OF LIFE 
 
 A TABLE set for two, in a little house so new, 
 With everything so cozy and so clean 
 That not a speck of dust, and not a bit of rust 
 Within the little house is ever seen. 
 
 A table set for eight, in a house so big and 
 
 great; 
 
 With merry, happy voices, sweet and clear 
 The rooms reverberate. From early until late 
 We hear their noise and laughter everywhere. 
 
 The years go quickly by, they seem to fairly 
 
 fly! 
 
 And with them, all the little ones have flown ; 
 No happy voices fill the rooms so hushed and 
 
 still, 
 For lo ! they live in houses of their own. 
 
 And once again I see, as clean as it can be, 
 A big and silent house, so old and worn ; 
 And once again I view a table set for two, 
 And see an aged couple, ALL ALONE ! 
 [52]
 
 DELIVERANCE 
 
 THE way was rough and thorny, and my feet 
 Oft strayed and stumbled, as I sought to know 
 The safest path; and every step I took 
 Seemed yet more weary, weak and slow. 
 My heart was sorely burdened, and upon my 
 
 life 
 
 There hung a heaviness, as clanking chains 
 Of prisoners, bound in dungeons, weigh them 
 
 down 
 To limitations and exquisite pains. 
 
 Incising flesh and bone, they hold the captive 
 And make him face the walls that hold him in, 
 While they deride his efforts and endeavor, 
 And mock the chafing and the hopeless pain! 
 "Ah, life!" I cried, "the chains are heavy on 
 
 thee, 
 High walls obstruct what seems thy rightful 
 
 way; 
 
 Shut in are thy desires ; shut out their satisfac- 
 tion, 
 
 And scourged and mocked art thou from day 
 to day," 
 
 , [ 53 ]
 
 Helpless, I prayed : "O Father, lift me upward, 
 And lead my weary, struggling spirit where 
 Its equilibrium cannot be molested 
 By earth's continuous and corroding care." 
 He answered me, and raised my longing spirit 
 To heights where I might view my earthly way 
 From heaven's perspective, seeing bars and 
 
 burdens 
 As God observes and judges them each day. 
 
 And lo ! the chains that bound me broke asunder 
 
 As threads that bound the fabled Gulliver, 
 
 When Lilliputian hands had sought so vainly 
 
 Thus to control him as their prisoner. 
 
 And burdens, sorrows, cares and limitations 
 
 Diminished in proportion as my feet 
 
 Climbed upward, and my spirit reached the 
 
 borders 
 
 Where heaven meets earth, in harmony com- 
 plete. 
 
 [54]
 
 EDGAR ALLAN POE 
 
 1809-1849 
 
 CHILD of the muse, so sad, so wild, 
 
 So melancholy and untamed ; 
 
 Thou instrument of sensitive strings, 
 
 Which no man yet has named ; 
 
 Thy tenuous sensibilities 
 
 Were delicately, finely wrought; 
 
 Thy quivering nerve strings, tightly drawn, 
 
 Responded to the touch of thought, 
 
 And sent back strains of wild, uncanny sound, 
 
 Such weird, ethereal harmony, 
 
 That whence it comes or where it goes, 
 
 Alike is wrapt in mystery. 
 
 [55]
 
 Far-seeing child, whose intuition 
 Saw things which duller men could not discern ; 
 Prophetic phrases speak in frank admission 
 Things which the world has waited long to 
 
 learn. 
 
 So full of dreams which speak themselves 
 In ghostly tales and jingling rhyme; 
 So filled with grotesque imagery, 
 Ridiculous, and yet sublime, 
 Belched up from an inferno, 
 And showered from the highest heaven; 
 Thy thoughts have met midway on earth 
 And mingled in melodious rhythm. 
 
 Thou poor, heart-hungry, wild-eyed child, 
 Whose wondrous and impassioned powers 
 Create such horrors, thine own soul 
 Doth fear them. And thy spirit cowers 
 Before them, lest they snatch from thee 
 These earthly terrors, mortal woes ; 
 And give in turn immortal fears 
 And taunt thee with more fiendish foes ; 
 And then condemn thee to the worst 
 That impish spirits yet have named; 
 Target for all the fiery darts 
 That hell itself has ever aimed. 
 
 [56]
 
 Like Baudelaire, thy brother, 
 
 Thou was born to feel and see 
 
 The cosmic terror, restless dread, 
 
 The fearful unreality 
 
 Attending superstitious thought. 
 
 A fierce, insatiate desire 
 
 Was ever smoldering in thy breast, 
 
 A burning and a living fire, 
 
 Whose forked tongues of livid flame 
 
 Reach forth and burn thy fellow-man 
 
 Till he doth, somehow, share thy pain, 
 
 And seem to know and understand 
 
 Thy bold chimeras. Phantoms take 
 
 Material forms, with power to move 
 
 And speak and make men shudder. 
 
 Thou hast ability to prove 
 
 That unreality is real, 
 
 And make thy readers to agree 
 
 With every premise, and to form 
 
 The same conclusions reached by thee. 
 
 Men drink thy thought, and with each quaff 
 
 They feel a strange exhilaration, 
 
 Till they, too, "see things in the night" 
 
 With uncontrolled imagination. 
 
 [57]
 
 The gloomy "House of Usher" stands 
 In gaseous vapors, leaden-hued ; 
 We enter into shrouded halls 
 By melancholia's power subdued. 
 "The Devil in the Belfry" 
 Is no optical illusion ; 
 We see him tugging at the ropes, 
 And feel the wild confusion 
 Resulting from the striking 
 And the counting of thirteen ; 
 And Vondervottemittiss town, 
 The craziest ever seen ! 
 
 We walk with "Ragged Mountain's Man," 
 
 Our sense with his in close alliance; 
 
 And find through strange experience, 
 
 The essence of a future science. 
 
 We don thy magic "Spectacles," 
 
 New truths to learn, new sights to see; 
 
 And lo! we each discern, somewhere, 
 
 Our soul's affinity. 
 
 "The Gold Bug" and the parchment 
 
 With accompanying enigmas 
 
 Are logical and rational, 
 
 With their "death's head" goat and figures. 
 
 [58]
 
 Egyptian mummies rise and speak 
 
 As 'twere a natural thing to do; 
 
 Thy hands unloose the bindings 
 
 Of their souls and bodies too. 
 
 It is not strange that we should hear 
 
 "The Tell-Tale Heart" to throb and beat ; 
 
 We do not feel that death itself 
 
 Could thwart a thing thy lips repeat. 
 
 And e'en "The Black Cat's" wailing voice 
 
 Is music to our willing ears; 
 
 And every ghost that stalks abroad 
 
 Creates most fascinating fears. 
 
 Thou dreadful host of ravens, 
 
 Thou dost beguile the heart and brain, 
 
 Till we, ourselves, would gladly seek 
 
 Uncanny birds to entertain. 
 
 Thy jingling songs and wailing rhymes 
 
 Have ever bound and captivated; 
 
 And those who read and those who -hear 
 
 Are by thy thought inoculated. 
 
 "The Bells" ring out a song to-day 
 
 Men never heard or knew about 
 
 Until thy magic hand reached forth 
 
 To draw the mellow music out. 
 
 [59]
 
 They had no language, spoke no tongue, 
 
 Till thou didst make interpretation ; 
 
 But now we hear a message 
 
 On each tintinnabulation. 
 
 There is "A City in Sea," 
 
 "Where Death hath reared Himself a throne ;" 
 
 But none save thee have ever dared 
 
 To tread its ghostly streets alone. 
 
 Eulalie's curls still glisten bright, 
 
 Fair Helen's starry eyes we see; 
 
 All men adore thy sweet Lenore, 
 
 And weep for Annabel Lee. 
 
 Strange that thy weary life went out 
 And years have passed, ere man could find 
 The hidden beauties of thy thought, 
 And learned the secrets of thy mind. 
 Man's ear was dull these many years ; 
 He could not hear thy soul's deep sighs ; 
 His eye was dim, he could not see 
 The visions clear to keener eyes. 
 His heart strings were too coarse to feel 
 The stroke of such ethereal hands; 
 His spirit had not reached a height 
 To catch the song of other lands. 
 
 [60]
 
 But now, awakened hearts unite 
 In universal admiration; 
 More sensitive ears and keener sight 
 Induce a just appreciation 
 Of all our rich inheritance, 
 Thy legacy, so wondrous great; 
 With natures more in tune with thee, 
 Our own heart strings reverberate 
 And quiver at the magic touch 
 Of genius. And at last we know 
 That gifts and powers such as thine 
 Could not from common sources flow. 
 
 And truly thou hast never seen 
 
 As others saw. Nor hast thou thought 
 
 As ordinary mortals think; 
 
 Thy soul's deep agonies have wrought 
 
 An innovation. Sorrow stands 
 
 All clothed in beauty, soft and gray, 
 
 And pain and suffering doth command 
 
 The world's respect to-day. 
 
 Life's thunder clouds are beautified, 
 
 And by the touch of artist hands 
 
 The leaden skies somehow reflect 
 
 The glorious light of other lands. 
 
 [61]
 
 Thou haunted child, the fires of fate 
 Have ever kindled round thy soul; 
 But they have burned the dross away, 
 And left to us the gold. 
 And all the moans and all the groans, 
 The sighing and the sobbing, 
 The yearning and the burning, 
 And the horrible heart-throbbing, 
 "The pain called Living" conquered, 
 Thou art loved as ne'er before; 
 And thy soul from out the shadows 
 Has been lifted evermore. 
 
 [62]
 
 THE NEWLY-WED 
 
 THE world is big and the world is wide, 
 
 Bigger than just you two; 
 So don't walk over it side by side, 
 
 As if it were built for you, 
 And you alone. There are others, dear, 
 
 So many along life's road 
 Who need just the help you two can give 
 
 To lighten their weary load. 
 
 You love each other, so you are strong 
 
 In strength of love united; 
 Convert no right into a wrong, 
 
 But see that wrongs are righted; 
 For love is bigger than just you two, 
 
 She covers the whole creation, 
 A limitless way you now pursue 
 
 Of boundless compensation. 
 
 [63]
 
 True love embraces the universe, 
 
 'Tis high as heaven, and higher; 
 She links you two for "good or worse' 
 
 To work out her desire. 
 Too wise is she to lead astray, 
 
 Too good to e'er deceive you ; 
 But if you try to "form a trust," 
 
 She'll surely turn and leave you. 
 
 So let your love be brave and strong, 
 
 And broad and firm and true ; 
 Take all humanity along, 
 
 As you your way pursue. 
 For love is far too great and wide 
 
 To shelter just a few; 
 She cannot leave the world outside 
 
 And fondle only you ; 
 For, oh, the world is big, my dear, 
 
 And you are only two. 
 
 [64]
 
 "GONA" 
 
 I LIKE the English-speaking folk, 
 
 Their language, sweet and clear 
 Falls in harmonious cadences 
 
 Upon the cultured ear. 
 Ambitious in philosophy, 
 
 In science up to date; 
 In mathematics, unexcelled, 
 
 They wax exceeding great. 
 A people truly marvelous, 
 
 Progressing every hour; 
 A forward and ambitious race 
 
 Of intellectual power. 
 And yet, with all these qualities, 
 
 Recorded, praised and sung, 
 They murder, with relentless heart, 
 
 Their own, their mother tongue. 
 When first I came a stranger here, 
 
 I said: "This cannot be 
 The language I have learned so well, 
 
 These people talk to me 
 In words and phrases all unknown, 
 
 Unheard-of heretofore ; 
 They drop the middle syllables, 
 
 And endings quite ignore. 
 [65]
 
 There's no such thing as i-n-g, 
 
 And pronouns have no case." 
 But what impressed me most of all 
 
 Was Mr. Cona's grace. 
 For weeks I wondered why it was 
 
 That every man I met 
 Said : "I'm a gona, I'm a gona 
 
 I was quite beset 
 With gonas of most varied kinds, 
 
 A family most diverse; 
 'Twas gona this and gona that, 
 
 And gona bad and worse. 
 
 And every man in all the land 
 
 Was gona, gona do ; 
 Each woman was a gona, 
 
 And all the children too ! 
 My head was fairly in a whirl, 
 
 And ere I half suspected, 
 The microbe germinated, 
 
 And I too was infected. 
 O awful transformation! 
 
 Can it be really true, 
 I'm gona get demoralized, 
 
 And gona talk like you? 
 Beloved English brothers, 
 
 Is your "gona" on my brain? 
 And am / gona do and be, 
 
 And gona go insane? 
 
 [66]
 
 Ah yes, already I can feel 
 
 My tongue a gettin' thick; 
 And oh, I'm gona go and know 
 
 Provincial rhetoric! 
 I'm gona blame and put to shame 
 
 The boastful egotist, 
 I'm gona see if / can be 
 
 A fine grammarianist. 
 I'm gona live and gona give, 
 
 And gona talk like you, 
 I'm gona be correct, you see, 
 
 And gona, gona do 
 A lot o' things, and gona prove 
 
 Before I half get through, 
 That an educated foreigner 
 
 Can be a gona too. 
 I'm gona go and gona show 
 
 You, as my power increases, 
 That though a novice, I'm agona 
 
 Beat you all to pieces! 
 
 [67]
 
 "AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT" 
 
 SHE was a maiden, beautiful and gifted, 
 Whom nature had endowed with rich supply 
 Of power. With added wealth and fame she 
 
 reveled 
 
 In all the world bestows or gold can buy. 
 Each shallow well of earth was sought and 
 
 drunken, 
 
 Each fountainhead of dissipation gained; 
 Each pleasure and each joy the world could 
 
 offer 
 
 Was found, and every broken cistern drained. 
 But oh, the longing and the burning pain, 
 The hunger and the thirst endured each day ! 
 Intensifying, as she sought in vain 
 The thirst to quench, the hunger to allay. 
 
 [68]
 
 Ah, Satisfaction ! Thou art so evasive ! 
 
 A bright mirage, enticing us in vain ; 
 
 Thy sparkling streams and waving branches 
 
 mock us, 
 
 As ever in the distance they remain. 
 Each day some new attraction was presented, 
 Each day her longing spirit tried once more 
 To satisfy, but with each vain endeavor 
 She found herself more hungry than before. 
 And yet, with all the striving and the yearning, 
 She mingled with the gayest of the gay ; 
 And no one saw the hidden embers burning, 
 Nor knew the sorrows deeply hid away. 
 
 And thus the years passed wearily and slowly, 
 
 The hunger of her spirit unallayed, 
 
 Till one day, stricken with a nameless sorrow, 
 
 In agony of soul she knelt and prayed. 
 
 For though her soul had sought for joy and 
 
 gladness, 
 
 She now was forced to find a hopeless woe; 
 She saw a pathway, dark and uninviting, 
 Whose thorny way her tottering feet must go. 
 In shadows of a dark Gethsemane, 
 She lingered, till the victory had been won. 
 Then up the rugged heights of Calvary 
 She bore the heavy cross of shame alone. 
 
 [69]
 
 Alone? One walked before, Whose steps she 
 followed, 
 
 Whose bleeding footsteps marked the rocky 
 way; 
 
 This was the path of death, whose night of 
 anguish 
 
 Precedes the glorious Resurrection day! 
 
 Her tired feet were torn and bruised and bleed- 
 ing* 
 
 She staggered 'neath the weight of what she 
 bore; 
 
 The cross was heavy; yet, with faith unwaver- 
 ing* 
 
 She bravely followed Him Who walked before, 
 
 And through the "narrow way" her broken 
 spirit 
 
 Was led to where the Christ could make it 
 whole ; 
 
 And, like Him, she found satisfaction 
 
 When she had seen the "travail of her send" 
 
 [70]
 
 "THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST" 
 
 To the gates of Paradise one day 
 
 Came a woman, old and worn and gray ; 
 No victories won, no triumphs great, 
 
 Could she present at the golden gate. 
 No noble deeds, no records fair, 
 
 Could gain for her an entrance there. 
 For she'd done nothing but Avork each day 
 
 At home, in the old-time, busy way. 
 From dawn till noon, from noon till late, 
 
 She worked and struggled for children eight. 
 She therefore brought no trophies sweet, 
 
 Nor gifts to lay at the Master's feet. 
 She sat in the distance, and worshiped afar, 
 
 Asking no crown nor a single star. 
 Humble on earth, she was humble still, 
 
 Seeking the humblest place to fill. 
 But lo! as she sought the lowest place, 
 
 The King's own glory filled her face. 
 Hundreds and thousands of angel forms 
 
 Hovered around her with glorious songs. 
 A crown of myriad stars so bright 
 
 Almost blinded her wondering sight ; 
 'Twas placed upon her honored head, 
 
 While angels, hovering 'round her, said: 
 [71]
 
 "For years eight pairs of willing hands 
 
 Have worked for God in many lands. 
 You only saved your boys, you plead; 
 
 They each have found more souls in need 
 Than you could find, had you but tried 
 
 To do a little work outside. 
 Surely a work is better done 
 
 When eight are doing instead of one. 
 So rest in peace, those boys so dear 
 
 Saved all this throng of angels here, 
 And more are coming every day 
 
 Who, through them, found the narrow way. 
 Never was work more nobly done, 
 
 Never a crown more truly won ; 
 Never was trophy more hardly bought, 
 
 Never a battle more fiercely fought; 
 Never a field more broad and vast 
 
 Than that which you have overcast. 
 For while you mingle with this throng, 
 
 Your labor still is going on. 
 And while you rest within the gate, 
 
 Your work is being done by eight. 
 Where ends the work you've done so well, 
 
 ETERNITY alone can tell." 
 
 [72]
 
 THE DAISY'S SECRET 
 
 MY garden was a paradise of color and per- 
 fume, 
 
 The very air around it seemed bursting into 
 bloom. 
 
 The sunshine was so yellow, the grasses were so 
 green, 
 
 And the roses and peonies the reddest ever seen. 
 
 Every color of the rainbow sparkled in the sun 
 and dew, 
 
 And the glowing blossoms nodded as the morn- 
 ing breezes blew. 
 
 I reveled in the beauty, as I breathed the 
 scented air, 
 
 My soul was filled with music and my heart 
 was free from care. 
 
 And when I viewed my Eden in the early golden 
 light, 
 
 My spirit rose within me till it reached a dizzy 
 height ; 
 
 Till enveloped in the mazes of color and per- 
 fume, 
 
 I found myself attracted by a modest little 
 bloom. 
 
 [73]
 
 A commonplace creation in a little frill of 
 white 
 
 Around a heart of purest gold had ventured 
 into sight. 
 
 It stood outside the garden. Beyond it 
 stretched the green 
 
 Of meadows ; and still further on, a shady wood 
 is seen. 
 
 I hear the merry, trickling sound of waters, 
 sweet and clear, 
 
 The babbling murmur of a tiny brooklet flow- 
 ing near. 
 
 I crossed to where the daisy stood, in sweet 
 humility, 
 
 I bent to hear its breathing, and it whispered 
 unto me 
 
 A secret! Shall I tell you? Ah no, I can- 
 not find 
 
 Words to express the secret of a little daisy's 
 mind. 
 
 But an ecstasy no longer pervaded heart and 
 brain, 
 
 And the music in my bosom took on a softer 
 strain. 
 
 [7*]
 
 I kissed the snowy petals and the little heart of 
 gold, 
 
 And hid within my bosom the secret that it 
 told; 
 
 And softer shades stole silently and settled 
 everywhere, 
 
 A calmness and a stillness filled all the earth 
 and air; 
 
 A holy solitude prevailed ; I knew that God was 
 there, 
 
 And my spirit rose to meet Him in sweet ador- 
 ing prayer. 
 
 [75]
 
 A QUESTION 
 
 IF no one knew that you and I 
 
 Performed the loving deed; 
 If no one knew whose hand supplied 
 
 The wants of those in need; 
 If no one knew, and no one cared 
 
 Whether we of our bounty spared, 
 Save One, Who dwells in heaven above; 
 
 Would we perform the deed of love? 
 If no one knew or praised our name, 
 
 Would we perform it just the same? 
 
 If friends should doubt and misconstrue 
 The motives of the good we do, 
 
 And persecute us day by day 
 
 By all that they could do and say ; 
 
 If censure in her scorn should rise 
 Our every effort to despise; 
 
 If grief and sorrow also came, 
 
 And grave suspicion brought our name 
 
 Down low to whisperings of shame; 
 Would we perform the loving deed, 
 And help supply our brother's need? 
 [76]
 
 Ah, wherein dwells the sweet desire? 
 
 What motives do our work inspire? 
 Would we count everything but loss, 
 
 And glory only in the cross 
 Of Jesus, crucified? 
 
 And would our hearts be satisfied, 
 And still delight His will to do, 
 
 If no one saw, and no one knew? 
 Would you and I so joyful be 
 
 If there were none to know or see; 
 And none to praise the good we do? 
 Would you and I be just as true, 
 
 If no one knew? 
 
 [77]
 
 ACCOMPANYING A WEDDING GIFT 
 
 I WOULD not ask the sun to shine 
 
 Unclouded on thy wedded way ; 
 
 I would not ask for thee and thine 
 
 A bright and endless day; 
 
 But I would ask the clouds to lower, 
 
 And even darkest night descend, 
 
 If only strength and spirit power 
 
 Would fill your souls each passing hour, 
 
 And keep you to the end. 
 
 All sunshine would a desert make, 
 
 An endless day destructive be; 
 
 So may a wise and heavenly hand 
 
 Adjust the light and shade for thee. 
 
 [78]
 
 TO MABLE CLARE 
 
 LITTLE white rose-bud, so dainty and pure, 
 Storms of this life thou couldst never endure ; 
 So ere the heat of the mid-summer day, 
 The Master hath plucked thee and borne thee 
 
 away. 
 
 Borne thee away to a garden more fair; 
 Storms cannot hurt thee when sheltered up 
 
 there. 
 
 Winds cannot scatter thy petals afar, 
 Nothing can blight thee and nothing can mar. 
 
 Dear little rose-bud, so fragile and white, 
 Plucked from a garden where storms ever 
 
 blight, 
 
 Thou art transplanted to blossom above, 
 Tended and sheltered by infinite love. 
 Would I recall thee to blossom below, 
 Scorched by the sunshine and chilled by the 
 
 snow? 
 
 No ! Thou shalt never by life's storms be riven ; 
 Gladly I give thee to blossom in heaven. 
 [79]
 
 THE SUNNY SIDE 
 
 THE flowers on the window shelf are very sweet 
 
 and bright, 
 But they always grow one-sided if I do not 
 
 turn them right. 
 
 "And what is right?" I hear you ask. Just 
 
 daily turned around, 
 Until the light from yonder sun each barren 
 
 spot has found. 
 
 The sun's attractive powers draw the side that 
 
 is exposed, 
 Till tiny buds and blossoms spring, and thus 
 
 The flower grows. 
 
 So many faulty human plants this lesson will 
 
 not learn, 
 They always grow one-sided because they will 
 
 not turn. 
 
 Their branches weak and tender should receive 
 
 a little light, 
 They need to face the sun awhile, if they would 
 
 grow aright. 
 
 [80]
 
 PUBLIC OFFICE 
 
 IF you're in the lumber business, 
 
 Run a farm or keep a store; 
 If you follow a profession, 
 
 With a card upon your door; 
 If you're runnin' of a saw-mill, 
 
 Or a' workin' turpentine; 
 From a' peddlin' pins and needles 
 
 To the workin' of a mine: 
 No one cares to criticise you 
 
 If you save or spend or lose ; 
 You can squander all your dollars, 
 
 Or may bank them, if you choose. 
 Liberty is ever granted 
 
 To the pioneer or novice, 
 For to use his own. Exceptin' 
 
 When you're holdin' public office, 
 May the Lord have mercy on you, 
 
 Grant you all-sustainin' grace 
 If you work and make your livin' 
 
 In this awful, awful place. 
 For no matter what you're makin', 
 
 You can never dare control it; 
 Save or spend it, bank or lend it, 
 
 Everybody knows you stole it. 
 [81]
 
 TWICE HID 
 
 "I SHALL not fear what man can do," 
 
 No fiery dart nor word untrue, 
 
 No look of scorn nor censure rife 
 
 Can in the least affect my life. 
 
 No strife nor storm which man can brew, 
 
 No methods which his wiles pursue, 
 
 No poisoned arrow he can fling, 
 
 No accusation he can bring, 
 
 Can ever touch my soul, ah no! 
 
 Safe and secure from mortal foe 
 
 I dwell. "With Christ in God I hide," 
 
 No danger can my soul betide. 
 
 And though the storms without may rage, 
 
 No fear doth e'er my soul engage. 
 
 Such safe protection must suffice, 
 
 For lo! my soul is hidden twice. 
 
 [8*]
 
 THE CASTAWAY 
 
 SHE was dead ! And nobody came to moan, no 
 
 loved one lingered near; 
 In the coffin-shop she lay alone, and nobody 
 
 shed a tear. 
 
 Who was it came in the silent night, 
 As she lay so still and cold and white; 
 When never a trace of her sin she bore, 
 To look at her sad, sweet face once more? 
 
 Who was it came? Her brothers in sin! They 
 
 crowded around the bier, 
 And gazed at the fragile form within; but 
 
 nobody shed a tear ! 
 Nobody moaned that she was gone, 
 For the only friends whom she had known, 
 Had never a tear to shed; 
 So nobody grieved that she was dead. 
 
 They knew as they stood in the silence there, 
 
 and looked at the poor wan face, 
 Of censure and blame they had no share, nor 
 
 sting in the dire disgrace. 
 They still might stand with a head erect, 
 And never lack for the world's respect ; 
 For living or dead, they still might claim 
 The best of friends and a virtuous name ! 
 [83]
 
 But she whose life they had helped to blight 
 
 lacked even a place to die, 
 And the earth itself refused a site for a grave 
 
 in which to lie. 
 
 So they carried her out to the potter's field, 
 In the early morning hours; 
 And nobody followed the lonely bier, 
 Nor strewed the grave with flowers. 
 
 The twitter of birds was the funeral dirge, 
 
 while the sobbing winds, made moan, 
 And the dewdrops wept for the child that slept, 
 
 outcast, forsaken, alone. 
 O heaven, grant what the world denies, 
 Some measure of pity show; 
 Prepare some place in the starry skies, 
 Where the fallen child may go! 
 
 [84]
 
 SELF'S TRIAL OF SELF 
 
 IT is not hard to satisfy what others may re- 
 quire, 
 
 Nor is it hard for us to grant what other 
 men desire. 
 
 'Tis easy to insure good will so long as we are 
 pleasing, 
 
 If we but flatter and caress, men's praises flow 
 unceasing. 
 
 If life were nothing but to please and satisfy 
 our neighbor, 
 
 Each man his conscience might appease and 
 save himself much labor. 
 
 A smile; a few well chosen words; an interest 
 and attention ; 
 
 Decided preference shown for each, avoidance 
 of contention; 
 
 Small favors that would manifest a deep con- 
 sideration : 
 
 These, with a sympathy expressed, will gain 
 his approbation. 
 
 [85]
 
 'Tis easy other men to please, but have you 
 
 e'er reflected 
 How hard it is to be and do all that yourself 
 
 expected ? 
 The man within you doth require more than the 
 
 man without you, 
 And self is more exacting far than any man 
 
 about you. 
 So many standards have been raised and 
 
 placed for our attainment, 
 And many judges sit in state for mortal man's 
 
 arraignment. 
 But strange to say, each judge may be the 
 
 dupe of some deception ; 
 Their standards vary every day, and there 
 
 is much deflection. 
 
 One only standeth firm and true, defying con- 
 troversy, 
 And self, the gravest judge of all, condemns us 
 
 without mercy. 
 
 [86]
 
 SWEET SHRUBS 
 
 THE tiny brown thing in my hand 
 Can scarce be called a bloom; 
 So unattractive to the eye, 
 The petals stiff and closely lie, 
 Emitting no perfume. 
 
 I crush it harshly in my palm, 
 When lo! to my surprise 
 A heavenly fragrance fills the room, 
 A sweet and ravishing perfume 
 From the crushed petals rise. 
 
 I lay me in my Father's hand, 
 A life without perfume ; 
 In earth's degenerate garden born, 
 No bright and glowing shades adorn 
 The stiff and blighted bloom. 
 
 I dare not question what He does, 
 He knows what He's about; 
 If aught of good doth in me hide, 
 If any sweetness there abide; 
 He crushes, till He brings it out. 
 [87]
 
 HIDDEN TREASURES 
 
 DAY by day the work went on, 
 
 The earth's great bosom was rent and torn ; 
 As men digged down with relentless stroke, 
 
 Till her bosom heaved and her heart was 
 
 broke. 
 But a way was made to the depths below, 
 
 Where gems were hid in a golden glow; 
 And day by day as time went by, 
 
 When the earth had ceased to moan and 
 
 sigh, 
 I saw brought forth in boundless measure 
 
 The richest and best of her hidden treasure ; 
 For deep in the broken heart there lay 
 
 The richest gems ever hid away. 
 
 Day by day the work goes on, 
 
 The bosom of man is rent and torn, 
 
 As spiritual forces daily try 
 
 To open the depths where the treasures lie. 
 
 The bosom may heave and the heart may break, 
 But forces of God make no mistake. 
 [88]
 
 The flesh is pierced, till the real and true 
 Of man's best nature is brought to view. 
 
 Destroying the forces of self and sin, 
 The Christ is working His way within. 
 
 For He knows that the rarest treasures start 
 And have their root in a broken heart. 
 
 [89]
 
 ACCOMPANYING A GIFT OF 
 "THOUGHTS" 
 
 MANY have sent thee gifts to-day. 
 Which loving hands have wrought; 
 Treasures from home and far-away 
 Love's tender hands have brought. 
 A miscellany doubtless shows 
 Some things which money bought. 
 I longed to add some little thing, 
 To bring one trophy more; 
 And wondered much what gift I'd bring 
 To swell the gracious store. 
 
 I looked in all the shops and stores, 
 On every laden shelf; 
 And then, dear friend, I sat me down 
 And looked into myself. 
 I searched my heart. Some cherished truths 
 Were soon disclosed to me; 
 I brought them forth, and wrote them down, 
 And simple though they be, 
 They are the treasures of my heart, 
 Which I divide with thee. 
 [90]
 
 ONE YEAR IN HEAVEN 
 
 TO MABLE-CLARE 
 
 ONE year ago thy house of clay 
 
 Was left to ruin and decay ; 
 While thou, thyself, ascended high 
 
 To brighter realms beyond the sky. 
 Ah, wondrous change, what glories thine! 
 
 What peace, what joys about thee shine! 
 No sickness and no sorrow given, 
 No pain nor tears for thee, in heaven. 
 
 One year in heaven! How sublime 
 
 The thought to us, and yet the time 
 Which we have spent has been in tears ; 
 
 The sorrow and the pain of years 
 Have flowed from out these hearts of ours, 
 Since on thy breast the orange flowers 
 Were placed, with roses, sweet and fair, 
 Whose perfume filled the morning air. 
 
 [91]
 
 One year in heaven, from sorrow free; 
 
 No fear, no pain, no tears for thee. 
 What paths of peace thy feet have trod, 
 
 Since thou hast been one year with God ! 
 Yet all the years that thou shalt be 
 
 In heaven's vast eternity, 
 Shall take none from its endless store, 
 
 Thy joys shall live forevermore. 
 
 We're one year nearer thee to-day 
 
 Than when thy spirit passed away. 
 We're one year closer to the goal 
 
 That waits for every faithful soul. 
 And while our hearts still ache and yearn, 
 
 We would not have thee to return. 
 We know that we shall come to thee, 
 
 And where thou art, we soon shall be. 
 
 [92]
 
 THE JUDGMENT 
 
 WHAT would I have my Lord to say, 
 When He shall judge my life, some day? 
 Would I rejoice to have my name 
 Read from a weighty roll of fame, 
 And hear Him say : "Lo, she was great, 
 She ranked as First in earthly state. 
 Her genius stirred the depths of thought, 
 And great the wonders that she wrought. 
 In word or work I find no flaws, 
 She merited the world's applause. 
 Her name was first, the greatest, best, 
 As judged by man's severest test"? 
 Not thus, not thus ! My Lord, ah, no ! 
 I would not have Thee judge me so. 
 For first on earth, the last shall be; 
 The great shall be the least with Thee ! 
 No, Master, let me hear Thee say : 
 "She was the last and least, alway. 
 For Me she lived, and for My cause 
 She worked; nor sought the world's applause. 
 Her humble service hath withstood 
 The test of fire. I find it good ; 
 For lo! she hath done what she could!" 
 [93]
 
 THE BREVITY OF LIFE 
 
 "We spend our years as a tale that is told." 
 
 And the whole world hears the story; 
 
 Does it bring to the name of the Heavenly King 
 
 All honor and praise and glory? 
 
 'Tis one of the tales that is not twice told, 
 
 Only once 'tis briefly spoken ; 
 
 Say, what would your life and mine speak out 
 
 If the tale were suddenly broken? 
 
 "We spend our lives as a tale that is told," 
 "We all do fade as a leaf ;" 
 "As the grass of the field" we fade away, 
 "As a flower" our days are brief. 
 "As a shadow declineth" our years are spent, 
 "A wind that passeth away ;" 
 Thou hast made "as a hairbreadth our pilgrim- 
 age here;" 
 And given us "dwellings of clay." 
 
 [94]
 
 "Our breath is corrupt and our days are ex- 
 tinct," 
 
 The graves stand open for all; 
 "To the land of darkness and shadow of death, 
 We hasten to answer the call. 
 "Lord make us to know our measure of days" 
 And fill them with knowledge and power; 
 O, grant that we honor and glorify Thee, 
 Even though we "fade as a flower." 
 
 Even though "as a shadow we vanish away ;" 
 Though our "years are spent as a sleep ;" 
 Though "carried away as with a great flood," 
 Still over us vigilance keep. 
 O, guard Thou our days, our months and our 
 
 years, 
 
 And grant they may glorify Thee ; 
 May they be as full of Thy knowledge and 
 
 power, 
 "As waters that cover the sea." 
 
 The life that we live is the tale that we tell, 
 Only once 'tis briefly spoken; 
 Say, what would your life and mine speak out, 
 If the tale were suddenly broken? 
 
 [95]
 
 RELIGIOUS
 
 SELF-DENIAL 
 
 "DENY thyself!" The Master says to me, 
 And in the circumstances of each hour 
 He shows me what this self-denial means 
 And teaches me the secret of its power. 
 'Tis in the little things of life, each day, 
 The common-place conditions of my lot; 
 The Master comes, and in His loving way 
 Shows things forbid, and sayeth: "Thou shalt 
 
 not." 
 
 "Deny thyself" means just to lay on Him 
 The things that check our progress on the road 
 To heaven; laying our weary burdens down 
 And trusting Him to bear the heavy load. 
 To yield the things that hinder and impede, 
 And get, in turn, the things that satsify; 
 To yield earth's scanty tribute to our need, 
 And draw on heaven for every rich supply. 
 
 [99]
 
 MATTHEW 25 : 41, 46 
 
 LORD, when didst Thou come hungry, and I 
 
 refuse to feed? 
 When didst Thou come a stranger, and I not 
 
 know Thy need? 
 When didst Thou come in sickness and sorrow 
 
 unto me? 
 And when wast Thou in prison, and I not visit 
 
 Thee? 
 "Ah verily," He answered: "Each time thy 
 
 brother came 
 
 To ask thy ministration, he pleaded in My name. 
 In countless ways, disguised I came and asked 
 
 thee for relief; 
 In want, in suffering and shame, I brought to 
 
 thee my grief. 
 
 "I often came an hungered, and many times I 
 
 pled 
 
 Just for a cup of water or for a crust of bread. 
 Sometimes I looked unworthy and ragged, 
 
 worn and poor; 
 And oft as a stranger have I knocked upon 
 
 thy door. 
 
 [100]
 
 And one day when thy house was full, when 
 
 sorest burdens pressed, 
 And thou wast sick ; I came to thee, thy love to 
 
 fully test. 
 As Abram's royal visitors, disguised I passed 
 
 thy way; 
 But thou didst not invite me to rest with thee 
 
 that day. 
 
 "Thy reasoning was so logical that I could 
 
 clearly see 
 That though thy house was spacious, there was 
 
 no room for me. 
 But ah, if thou hadst known Me, and what 
 
 thou wouldst have gained, 
 The room would somehow have been made, and 
 
 I would have remained." 
 And thus it is from time to time, the loved 
 
 and unloved come 
 To ask some benediction; to share our hearts 
 
 and home. 
 The Lord, disguised! He comes to test His 
 
 children day by day ; 
 Ah, dare we scorn His pleading voice, and turn 
 
 our Lord away? 
 
 [101]
 
 "HE PROVETH YOU" 
 
 THY feet may walk in shadowed ways, thy 
 
 heart with pain may heavy be ; 
 But "Fear not, for thy God is come, and He 
 
 but proveth thee." 
 Sorrows may come and anguish sore may rage 
 
 within thy heaving breast; 
 But be thou not cast down, for thus God often 
 
 brings his test. 
 The days may bring but joyless hours, the 
 
 night may dark and heavy be ; 
 But God moves in each circumstance, and 
 
 through them proveth thee. 
 No matter what may be thy lot, no matter 
 
 whither thou dost move: 
 In every detail of thy life, the Master comes 
 
 to prove. 
 
 If thou wilt but submissive be and daily bear 
 
 the test, 
 He'll lead thee up to higher ground and thou 
 
 shalt be more fully blest. 
 For after thou hast bravely stood the test of 
 
 water and of fire, 
 He'll show thee wondrous things, and give to 
 
 thee thy heart's desire. 
 [102]
 
 Then falter not, accept God's plan, and ask for 
 eyes of faith to see 
 
 "The wealthy place which lies beyond" the 
 tests which come to thee. 
 
 Beyond the water and the fire lies an experi- 
 ence, rich and rare, 
 
 Where thou canst say : "He tries my heart, and 
 findest nothing there." 
 
 [103]
 
 "WHATSOEVER YE DO" 
 
 LORD, if I may not use Thee in my daily life, 
 In the small tasks that come from hour to 
 
 hour; 
 
 If, in the petty trials, in the jar and strife, 
 I may not call on Thee for strength and 
 
 grace and power: 
 Then why, O Lord, hast Thou entreated me 
 
 To come to Thee when weary, and find rest? 
 Why hast Thou offered me Thy yoke, and bid- 
 den me 
 To find in Thee the sweetest and the best? 
 
 Why hast Thou said Thou art a help in time 
 of need, 
 
 If, when I need Thee most, Thou must deny? 
 Why hast Thou said Thou art a mighty Rock, 
 
 If I unto that fortress may not fly? 
 And, Lord, if Thou art water in a weary land, 
 
 Surely, when in my work I strive to honor 
 
 Thee, 
 Thou wilt permit my thirsty soul to drink 
 
 The Living Waters, clear and pure and free ! 
 
 [104]
 
 If, as a Father, Thou dost pity me, 
 
 Then give me zeal and knowledge, give me 
 
 power, 
 That I may give Thee glory in the work I do 
 
 And honor in the tasks of every hour. 
 Why hast Thou said Thou art a shelter in the 
 
 storm, 
 If from those storms Thou wilt not let me 
 
 hide? 
 O God, if in my daily life Thou dost not walk 
 
 with me 
 My soul shall find no other help beside. 
 
 Wilt Thou not shelter me, and in my work each 
 
 day 
 
 Stand by and show me how to honor Thee ? 
 Let those who look upon me in my labor say : 
 
 "Just see how strong a child of God can be !" 
 
 Let everything be done as unto God, my King, 
 
 And may I honor Thee in things both great 
 
 and small, 
 Oh give me might to do whate'er my hands may 
 
 find, 
 And in my work may Christ be "All in All." 
 
 [105]
 
 UNSEEN FORCES 
 
 "HE maketh his angels spirits, his ministers, 
 
 flaming fire," (Heb. 1: 7) 
 He sendeth His hosts in danger to work out His 
 
 desire. 
 "Are they not ministering spirits" sent forth 
 
 from God above? (Heb. 1 : 14) 
 To heirs of His salvation, the objects of His 
 
 love ? 
 
 O'er thee He gives His angels charge to keep 
 in all thy ways; (Psa. 91: 11) 
 
 Wilt thou not trust the heavenly hosts his ban- 
 ner wide to raise? 
 
 They'll bear thee up, lest thou shouldst dash 
 thy foot against a stone; 
 
 He will not suffer thee to stray nor ever be 
 alone. 
 
 With thee He sends his angels to prosper all 
 
 thy way; (Gen. 24: 40) 
 He goeth on before thee to make thy path like 
 
 day. (Isa. 58: 10) 
 Chariots, twenty thousand, a great and 
 
 mighty throng, (Psa. 68: 17) 
 He sends for thy protection to guard thy way 
 
 along. 
 
 [106]
 
 Ah, let us dare to tread the way the faithful 
 
 ever trod, 
 For wonderful and great and strong are forces 
 
 of our God. 
 Imbued with power, they move along, unseen, 
 
 unheard and still; 
 They come as "messengers of God" to do His 
 
 holy will. 
 
 [107]
 
 "TRADITION OF MEN" 
 
 LORD, I would magnify Thee in my body day 
 by day, (Phil. 1 :20) 
 
 And seek to glorify Thee in Thine own ap- 
 pointed way. (I Cor. 6: 20) 
 
 But doctrines new and strange have come and 
 filled my heart with grief: 
 
 They call this body Thou hast made: "Erro- 
 neous belief." 
 
 "The Lord is for the body, and the body for 
 the Lord;" (I Cor. 6: 13) 
 
 "The sound old doctrine" teaches in Thine 
 inspired Word. 
 
 But now, alas ! they tell us the body Thou didst 
 make 
 
 From earth's material substance was all a big 
 mistake. 
 
 'Tis an "Illusion"; nothing real attended its 
 creation ; 
 
 An "Error" and the product of a "Vain im- 
 agination." 
 
 "My body was not hid from Thee" was written 
 long ago; (Psa. 139:15) 
 
 And Thou hast called this "House of clay" Thy 
 "dwelling-place" below; (I. Cor. 3: 16) 
 
 "A temple of the Holy Ghost" which God would 
 fain enjoy; 
 
 [108]
 
 And whosoe'er destroys it, God surely will de- 
 stroy. (I Cor. 3:17) 
 
 "The Saviour of the body" (Eph. 5: 23) re- 
 quires a consecration; (Rom. 12:1) 
 
 But how can I present to Him a "vain imagi- 
 nation" ? 
 
 Forgive me, Lord, I cannot yield my body 
 unto Thee, 
 
 For "Scientists" have destroyed it, and taken 
 it from me. 
 
 My "non-existing, sinless self" is filled with 
 dire confusion ; 
 
 To know what even God would do with "mortal- 
 mind illusion." 
 
 "That which is born of flesh is flesh," say men 
 
 inspired of old; (John. 3: 16) 
 But "learned men" of recent years a different 
 
 tale have told. 
 I have no body to be sick, nor limbs to give me 
 
 pain; 
 I have no head to throb and ache, nor hold 
 
 imagined brain. 
 Sweet "chemicalization" is the only hope I 
 
 know; 
 
 And if I suffer, I must lie, and say it is not so ; 
 Until I reach a higher plane where "latent 
 
 errors" cease; 
 And tear from out my Bible all mention of 
 
 disease. 
 
 [109]
 
 For though God spoke of sickness, and pains 
 
 that throb and ache, 
 Our present "sages" were not there to tell Him 
 
 His mistake. 
 And so we must forgive Him, O sacrilegious 
 
 thought ! 
 He simply lacked instruction on what His 
 
 hands had wrought. 
 He says He made a body and breathed a soul 
 
 therein ; 
 But God was just "deluded," for this could 
 
 not have been. 
 "Philosophers and scientists" give us a new 
 
 translation ; 
 Material man was never made, and there was 
 
 no creation. 
 
 Through curious forms of logic and unique dis- 
 putation, 
 They prove that from the dust of earth God 
 
 formed "imagination." 
 Of course the dust did not exist, so this is their 
 
 conclusion : 
 That out of nothing God created "Error and 
 
 delusion" ! 
 
 [110]
 
 "THERE IS A SIN UNTO DEATH" 
 
 I SAW a great and mighty throng, 
 
 Who pressed the way of life along 
 As if their feet were marching on 
 
 To funeral dirge, or mourning song, 
 To meet a direful fate. The way 
 
 They walked all uninviting lay; 
 Yet, which it seemed they still must tread 
 
 Without alternative. In fear and dread, 
 They seemed compelled a hopeless road 
 
 To walk, and bear a hopeless load. 
 
 How strange ! methought, that sons of God, 
 
 Made in His image, thus have trod 
 The way of life ! Why so ? 
 
 Why all this sorrow, grief and woe? 
 If life's a spark thrown from the living fire 
 
 Of God's own nature, born of His desire, 
 Made in His likeness : why should we 
 
 Live in such hopeless misery? 
 Where is the light of the living spark, 
 
 That men should grope in a path so dark? 
 
 , [111]
 
 And yet, a sort of light is evident to me, 
 
 As I more closely look. In their dark eyes 
 
 I see 
 A gleam of light! But, ah, it starts 
 
 From minds, and not from out their hearts. 
 For though I see a gleam of mental fire, 
 
 Something is lacking, Is't the heart's desire 
 For better things than mind can give? 
 
 And is this why they die while yet they live?) 
 Something is gone ; for lifeless, cold and dead 
 
 Each spiritual thought within the bosom 
 bred. 
 
 'Tis darkness all the way along. 
 
 And yet, each one of all that mighty throng 
 Is visible. As a dark spot 
 
 On darkness, I see each ; a blot 
 Upon the blackness of the atmosphere. 
 
 Each man a groping slave to dread and fear. 
 I watch them with abated breath, 
 
 A mass of lifeless life, a deathless death! 
 Dead ? Yea, and yet they live ! Each day 
 
 Rattling their bones of death along life's 
 way. 
 
 [112]
 
 Who are they, all this mighty throng, 
 
 That press the way of life along? 
 Adding such deadness unto death, 
 
 Polluting darkness with their darker breath? 
 Lo ! these are they who, having eyes, see naught ; 
 
 Whose ears to hear, the message never 
 
 caught ; 
 The spark which in their breasts did shine 
 
 Was never lit by light divine, 
 Because they never would admit 
 
 Its glorious rays, but banished it. 
 
 Preferring darkness and the night to day, 
 
 That which they had the Master took away. 
 "The lamp of life within, is darkness" ; ne'er 
 
 again 
 Can it be lit! Thy prayers for them are 
 
 vain. 
 "The salt hath lost its savor." Day by day 
 
 They grieved my Spirit, till He went away. 
 They would not let the germ of life conceive; 
 
 And now, alas ! they never can receive 
 The spiritual life! Death reigns instead, 
 And hopeless night prevails ; for lo ! the seed is 
 dead! 
 
 [113]
 
 "EVEN IN ALL POINTS" 
 
 "TOUCHED with a feeling of all my infirmities," 
 
 Filled with a pity for all I endure; 
 "Tempted in all points," even as I am, 
 
 Friend of the sinner, though sinless and pure. 
 Blest Son of God, mine own "elder brother" ! 
 
 Sweet the assurance which Thou dost declare ; 
 Never impatient and never upbraiding, 
 
 "Touched with a feeling" of all I must bear. 
 
 Others may charge me with weakness and error, 
 
 Others may censure and justly reprove; 
 But thou art "touched with a feeling" of pity, 
 
 Moved with compassion and infinite love ! 
 "Touched with a feeling of all my infirmities," 
 
 Thou hast provided escape from them all; 
 "Tempted in all points" even as we are, 
 
 Thou wilt not suffer Thy children to fall.
 
 For like the lambs that are wayward and help- 
 less, 
 
 Carried by Thee until strengthened to stand ; 
 Then gently led o'er the uneven pathway, 
 
 Ever supported by Thy loving hand. 
 Power for the weak ones Thou hast provided, 
 
 Each bruised reed is an object of care; 
 "Tempted in all points" even as I am, 
 
 "Touched with a feeling" of all I must bear. 
 
 [115]
 
 MY PRAYER 
 
 FULLY surrendered, dear Father; passive, sub- 
 missive and still; 
 
 Mold me and shape me and use me; do what- 
 soever You will. 
 
 If there is aught that I know not, aught in my 
 life or my heart, 
 
 Aught that is still unsurrendered, wilt Thou 
 the knowledge impart? 
 
 Show it to me, O my Saviour, prove me and 
 know I am Thine; 
 
 Try all my reins, test and prove me, fill me 
 with knowledge divine. 
 
 Crucify every ambition, all that I am or shall 
 be; 
 
 Reckon me dead, and then raise me glorified, 
 Saviour, with Thee. 
 
 Do not withhold from me, Father, aught Thou 
 hast promised to me; 
 
 Let it be always descending ; measureless, bound- 
 less and free. 
 
 Show me the depths of thy mercy, make me to 
 see and to know 
 
 All that Thy love and Thy power stand ever 
 glad to bestow. 
 
 [116]
 
 Show me the hope of Thy calling ; what is Thy 
 purpose for me; 
 
 Making me glad to fulfill and attain all that 
 will glorify Thee. 
 
 Make me each day to approach Thee nearer 
 than ever before; 
 
 Make me to ever press onward, loving and serv- 
 ing Thee more. 
 
 Make the cross heavy, if need be; bitter the 
 cup Thou dost give: 
 
 If it will only work in me, more in Thy pres- 
 ence to live. 
 
 Lord, I am weary with struggling, helpless I 
 cry unto Thee; 
 
 Take me and daily work in me all Thou wouldst 
 have me be. 
 
 Clay in the hands of the Potter; gold in a fur- 
 nace of fire ; 
 
 Come and fulfill in my being all of Thy heart's 
 desire. 
 
 Fully surrendered, dear Master; passive, sub- 
 missive and still; 
 
 Mold me and shape me and use me; do what- 
 soever you will. 
 
 [117]
 
 "YE KNOW NOT WHAT YE ASK" 
 
 "GivE me, O Lord, a spotless life, a heart of 
 
 purity ; 
 And all that Thy redemption hath promised 
 
 unto me. 
 
 Give me the fullness of Thy power, 
 Sufficient grace each passing hour." 
 But as I pled each passing day, 
 I heard a voice beside me say: 
 "Ye know not what ye ask." 
 
 "Give me, O Lord, ability, that I someday stand 
 Exalted, in Thy Kingdom, Lord, and by Thine 
 
 own right hand. 
 Ambition fires my soul, to-day; 
 So give the greatest gifts I pray; 
 And promise I shall sit by Thee 
 On high"; again He said to me: 
 "Ye know not what ye ask." 
 
 [118]
 
 "O Christ, Thou knowest my desire is ever just 
 
 and right; 
 Fill me with grace and love and light, and 
 
 strength and pow'r and might, 
 Oh, give me honor, glory, fame, 
 And all God offers, in Thy name 
 May I with boldness dare to claim." 
 But lo ! the same voice said again : 
 "It is not mine to give." 
 
 "But it is mine to fill for thee the cup each 
 
 passing day, 
 And bid thee drink till thou art filled with deep 
 
 humility. 
 
 If thou wouldst daily serve and save, 
 Be thou baptized in sorrow's wave: 
 Ask nothing, but to follow on, 
 And drink the cup as I have done; 
 Drink ye the cup and live ! 
 
 "The gifts and powers thou hast asked, the 
 
 spiritual life divine, 
 Are built and strengthened in their growth and 
 
 likened unto mine. 
 By drinking of the cup I give ; 
 'Tis only thus thy soul shall live. 
 But when ye ask for exaltation, 
 For gifts and honors of salvation, 
 Ye know not what ye ask." 
 
 [119]
 
 "HE THAT SINNETH WRONGETH HIS 
 OWN SOUL" 
 
 CHILDREN, 'tis yourselves ye injure when ye 
 
 walk in paths of sin, 
 'Tis your own souls ye are wronging, when 
 
 My ways ye walk not in. 
 When ye hate Me, ye are hating life and all 
 
 the joy it holds; 
 Loving death, and all the suffering which it 
 
 brings to sinful souls. 
 
 He that hateth Me, but wrongeth his own soul, 
 
 and soon is caught (Psa. 9: 16) 
 In the net which he hath woven, in the work his 
 
 hands hath wrought. 
 And into the pit he diggeth, he himself shall 
 
 soon be cast; (Psa. 9: 15) 
 His own hands have shaped its borders, made 
 
 it deep and broad and vast. 
 
 [120]
 
 His own hands have built the prison where he 
 must in bondage lie ; 
 
 His own lips have drunk the poison which com- 
 pels his soul to die. 
 
 Man's own wickedness correcteth, his back- 
 sliding doth reprove; (Jer. 2: 14) 
 
 Laws of sin convict the sinner, when he doth 
 reject my love. (Jer. 10: 14) 
 
 Filled with their own vile devices, eating fruit 
 of their own ways, (Prov. 1: 31) 
 
 Walking in the sparks they kindle, thus the 
 wicked spend their days. (Isa. 50: 1) 
 
 Ye, who in affliction dwelleth, with a heart 
 estranged from Me; 
 
 Thine own ways and thine own doings have pro- 
 cured these things for thee. 
 
 Would ye know what hath withholden good 
 
 things from thee all thy days? (Jer. 5: 
 
 25) 
 Thine iniquity and sinning, and thy disobedient 
 
 ways. 
 Do ye think ye can provoke Me by the evil 
 
 that ye choose? (Jer. 7:19) 
 Lo! it is yourselves ye injure, 'tis your own 
 
 souls that ye lose! 
 
 [121]
 
 I Am GOD, ye cannot harm Me by an evil act of 
 
 thine ; 
 And whate'er My law requireth is for thy best 
 
 good, not Mine. 
 Yet, I made thee in My image, and would not 
 
 have thee degrade 
 Nor to wrong the soul I gave thee, nor despise 
 
 the life I made. 
 
 For thine own sake, I would have thee choose 
 to-day the better part ; 
 
 'Tis for thee, not for thy Master, I desire thy 
 mind and heart. 
 
 Sin will surely overthrow thee, hard is the trans- 
 gressor's way; (Prov. 13: 15) 
 
 When no peace is to the wicked, why reject My 
 peace to-day? (Isa. 57: 21) 
 
 In thine own volition dwelleth thine own destiny 
 
 and fate; 
 Choose to-day, for there is danger, if thou 
 
 shouldst procrastinate. 
 Come back to the "Rock of Ages," that from 
 
 which thy soul was hewn ; 
 In Me thou shalt find completeness, all for which 
 
 thy soul doth yearn. 
 
 [122]
 
 THE THIRTY-SEVENTH PSALM 
 
 FRET not thyself because of evil doers in the 
 
 land; 
 Trust in the Lord, and do thou good, so shalt 
 
 thou understand 
 That they shall be cut down as grass and wither 
 
 as the herb ; 
 Let not the evil deeds of men thy heart's sweet 
 
 peace disturb. 
 Thy righteousness shall shine as light, thy 
 
 judgments as the day. 
 Rest in the Lord, wait patiently, commit to 
 
 Him thy way. 
 For He shall laugh at evil men, and knoweth 
 
 what shall be; 
 He cutteth him from off the earth ; but He shall 
 
 prosper thee ! 
 
 Preserved art thou forevermore, and some day 
 
 thou shalt know 
 The fate of men who love not God nor serve 
 
 Him here below. 
 The wicked draweth out his sword and bends 
 
 his bow to slay 
 The faithful and the upright ones ; who serve 
 
 and watch and pray. 
 [123]
 
 But God hath said the sword they draw shall 
 
 cut their hearts in twain, 
 The bows they draw shall broken be, and they 
 
 themselves be slain. 
 The wicked, great within himself, doth spread 
 
 himself in pride, 
 Like green trees in their native soil which have 
 
 the storms defied. 
 
 But someday, thou shalt look for him; and lo, 
 
 he shall not be ! 
 For God shall surely cut him down; but He 
 
 shall prosper thee! 
 And give thee all thy heart's desire and mark 
 
 thy latter end 
 With peace and rich inheritance, and will thy 
 
 cause defend. 
 Wait on the Lord and keep His way, He shall 
 
 thy stronghold be; 
 When wicked men shall be no more, He still 
 
 will prosper thee. 
 The Lord forsaketh not His saints, He is their 
 
 strength and stay; 
 Their feet shall never slide, for He goes with 
 
 them all the way. 
 
 [124]
 
 "LOVEST THOU ME MORE THAN 
 THESE?" 
 
 CHILDREN, whom I love so fondly, ye for whom 
 
 I gave my all; 
 Count with Me this day the pleasures which 
 
 your heart and soul enthrall. 
 Come and let us talk together, come and let 
 
 us look and see 
 What thou lovest of earth's pleasures more than 
 
 thou hast loved ME ! 
 
 Thou, who art a slave to riches, full of greed 
 
 and loving gain; 
 Heedless of the many warnings, I have made 
 
 so clear and plain ; 
 Lay thy gold in shining masses, as is best 
 
 thine eye to please; 
 Look upon it, then give answer: "Dost thou 
 
 love Me more than these?" 
 
 [125]
 
 Daughter, dressed in fashion's plumage, decked 
 
 with jewels rich and rare, 
 Filled with pride for thine adornment, anxious, 
 
 lest thou be not fair: 
 Thou, who art a friend to mammon, who with 
 
 worldlings mingle free; 
 Who, amused with their amusements, ne'er can 
 
 truly follow Me: 
 
 Hast thou never read the message written in 
 my holy Word, 
 
 Warning thee that mammon's friendship must 
 estrange thee from thy Lord? 
 
 Let Me give thee holy garments, undefiled and 
 free from sin; 
 
 Be the King's own glorious daughter, beauti- 
 ful and pure within. 
 
 Thou, who art forever burdened with life's 
 
 petty toils and cares ; 
 Thou, who for earth's food and raiment spendest 
 
 all thy strength and years ; 
 Look thou unto Me, and love ME! Let thy 
 
 hands from labor cease 
 Long enough for Me to teach thee how to love 
 
 Me more than these. 
 
 [126]
 
 Whatsoever thou hast loved more than thou 
 
 hast loved Me, 
 Yield it, spurn it, cast it from thee, share with 
 
 Me my calvary. 
 Lay it down upon the altar; let it no more 
 
 hinder thee; 
 Love not aught in earth or heaven, more than 
 
 thou hast loved ME ! 
 
 [127]
 
 O LORD, mine eyes have searched to find 
 
 The workings of Thy mighty mind ; 
 Mine ears have listened to discern 
 
 The things I so desire to learn. 
 Through reasoning powers and mental strain, 
 
 Have I endeavored to obtain 
 Knowledge of what Thy hands have wrought, 
 
 The secrets of Thy mighty thought. 
 Surely the time is near at hand 
 
 When men shall know and understand; 
 Philosophy and science will show 
 
 All that our souls desire to know! 
 Investigation will not be 
 
 In vain. The mystery 
 Which He hath hitherto concealed, 
 
 Through deep research shall be revealed. 
 
 And so I labored on each day, 
 
 Seeking to know the truth, the way, 
 Through mental effort, demonstration, 
 
 And strenuous investigation, 
 Ever learning, yet remaining 
 
 In the bond of error's chaining. 
 Shame, dismay and deep confusion 
 
 Crowding fast on my delusion. 
 [128]
 
 Till in deep humiliation 
 
 I implored for Christ's salvation. 
 Wise no more, I now became 
 
 Fool enough to see my shame. 
 Starving for the Living Bread, 
 
 As a little child I pled. 
 Till the blessed Spirit's power 
 
 Showed through wondrous revelation, 
 That the kingdom of our Lord 
 
 Cometh not with observation! 
 
 [129]
 
 LIFE'S HIGHWAY 
 
 I STAND to-day upon a place 
 
 Where many pathways meet ; 
 They stretch afar their separate ways 
 
 From underneath my feet. 
 A step decides the way I choose, 
 
 But I decide which step to take; 
 I therefore hesitate, and pray 
 
 That I the wisest choice may make. 
 Each holds its own reward, and each 
 
 Leads to its separate goal; 
 Each path allures my doubting heart 
 
 And tempts my waiting soul. 
 I look each shining way, and see 
 
 The bright attractions there displayed ; 
 The gifts and prizes offered me 
 
 In bold relief arrayed. 
 
 How can I choose? My greedy heart 
 Desires them all. My wayward feet 
 
 Would walk all ways at once, and reach, 
 If possible, each joy complete. 
 
 I therefore hesitate. And ere 
 I choose my way, I hear a voice: 
 [130]
 
 "There is a way that seemeth right 
 
 Unto a man, withhold thy choice; 
 And hear ! The end thereof is death ! 
 
 These ways appeal to carnal eyes ; 
 'Tis to the natural heart they call 
 
 And offer each respective prize. 
 Beware! Nor turn from left to right, 
 
 Thine onward way pursue; 
 Trust me, and be thou not afraid, 
 
 I'll lead thee safely through." 
 
 But Lord, I see no other path, 
 
 Save these, which brightly turn aside; 
 The forward way is dark and cold, 
 
 Where naught but danger can betide. 
 "Press forward, Thou canst not discern 
 
 The spiritual visions waiting thee; 
 But I will give thee eyes of faith, 
 
 If thou wilt walk with me." 
 I stand to-day upon a place 
 
 Where many pathways meet; 
 On right and left they stretch afar, 
 
 And tempt my faltering feet. 
 I look ahead! The way is dark; 
 
 But "Turn ye not" I hear Him say; 
 I place my trembling hand in His, 
 
 And trust the Christ, the Living Way! 
 
 [131]
 
 CONSECRATE AND CONCENTRATE 
 
 CONSECRATION, consecration means to give my 
 
 all to Thee ; 
 Yielding up the life that now is, and the life 
 
 that is to be. 
 Concentration, concentration means to fix my 
 
 mind and heart 
 On this purpose of my being, and to nobly do 
 
 my part. 
 Consecration, concentration, two essentials to 
 
 salvation ; 
 
 Trusting Him for saving grace: 
 Yet with strong determination to receive His 
 
 approbation, 
 And to nobly fill my place.
 
 I must be co-worker with Him; consecrate and 
 
 concentrate 
 
 All my body, soul and spirit to attain the per- 
 fect state. 
 Diligently must I labor; concentrate my every 
 
 power 
 To work out the great salvation He works in 
 
 me every hour. 
 Consecration, concentration, work in me, 
 
 Lord, Thy salvation; 
 And help me from day to day, 
 With a strong determination to work out my 
 
 own salvation 
 In Thine own appointed way. 
 
 Consecrate me, concentrate me, more and more 
 
 with power divine ; 
 Make me diligent and faithful, make me to be 
 
 wholly Thine. 
 
 Make me to receive Thy power in a quiet, pas- 
 sive way; 
 
 Then to work with strength and vigor, faint- 
 ing not from day to day. 
 Working in my consecration, as if all my 
 
 soul's salvation 
 Was depending upon me; 
 Trusting, as if all depended on Thy mercies, 
 
 never ending. 
 Help me, Lord, to faithful be. 
 
 [183]
 
 Consecrated concentration is the Christian's 
 
 daily need ; 
 I must work out my salvation if I would be 
 
 Thine indeed. 
 Vigilant and energetic, passive, lowly, meek 
 
 and still; 
 Letting Thee work in me daily all Thy blessed, 
 
 holy will. 
 Then, with deep humiliation, seeking constant 
 
 revelation, 
 
 Looking always unto Thee ; 
 Consecrated concentration works out full 
 
 and free salvation, 
 Which Thou workest, Lord, in me. 
 
 [134]
 
 "HIS BLOOD WILL I REQUIRE" 
 
 I WALKED along the strait and narrow way, 
 Grateful and glad that He had chosen me 
 To follow where He leadeth, day by day, 
 In sunny paths of life and liberty. 
 
 But many were the paths that oft diverged, 
 And subtly crept aside, to lead astray 
 The traveler, oft allured, and oft deceived 
 By imitations of the "narrow way." 
 
 One path alluring, and withal so near 
 To me, I thought 'twould surely do no harm 
 To merely turn aside awhile. And so 
 I walked therein with no alarm. 
 
 I did not stumble, neither did I stray afar; 
 Mine eyes still saw my Guide, and I returned 
 Into the blessed way ; but soon had cause to 
 
 weep 
 Over the ruin wrought, the lesson learned. 
 
 For just behind me, where the paths diverged, 
 A brother, weak, had stumbled on the way; 
 Stumbled in following me ! "O God, forgive !" 
 I cried, as he, my brother, helpless lay. 
 [135]
 
 Helpless and weak and lamer than before ! 
 I saw him fight and struggle to be free; 
 Until he sank, defeated, lost forevermore, 
 With feeble hands outstretched in vain to me! 
 
 And though I soon regained the narrow way, 
 Aspiring still to reach the shining goal, 
 I sorely wept, for through each passing day 
 I felt this brother's blood upon my soul. 
 
 [136]
 
 ACTIVE CHRISTIANITY 
 
 The simple conditions of entering the spiritual life, 
 the passive state of merely "believing on Christ," the 
 attitude of being as "clay in the hands of the Potter," 
 have their place in Christian experience and are good 
 as far as they go. The soul that stops here, however, 
 soon finds that the seed brings forth no fruit, that 
 "faith without works is dead," and will some day learn 
 the truth of those mighty and awful words: "Not 
 everyone that saith Lord, Lord, will enter the king- 
 dom, but he that doeth the will of my Father which 
 is in heaven." 
 
 "Go forth," the Spirit saith, "and work each 
 passing hour; 
 
 Whate'er thy hand may find to do, perform with 
 all thy power. 
 
 Open thine eyes, behold the fields already white ; 
 
 Go forth and labor, early, late, with all thy 
 strength and might. 
 
 Hasten! The night comes on, the darkness 
 closes down, 
 
 When none can work; nor hope to win a glo- 
 rious crown. 
 
 [137]
 
 Be active, diligent and strong; 
 The time for work will not be long. 
 So gird thyself to will and do 
 Whate'er I may appoint to you. 
 Be stedfast; strong; endure each day 
 A soldier's hardships. Fight and pray 
 And work, and ever faithful be 
 In all that I require of thee." 
 
 "A doer of the Word," the Spirit saith to me, 
 "Is what thy Lord requires and now expects 
 
 of thee. 
 Blessed are they that do. So stir the gift 
 
 within, 
 
 And exercise its power against the hosts of sin. 
 The lost cry out to thee, give them the Living 
 
 Bread. 
 Bestir thyself ! Go forth ! The hungry must 
 
 be fed. 
 The lost ones must be found, the ignorant must 
 
 be taught, 
 The troubled spirits comforted, the sick and 
 
 suffering sought. 
 No longer must thou passive be, 
 Since Christ, the Lord, abides with thee ; 
 And dwells within thy breast each hour, 
 Imparting grace and strength and power 
 With which to work. Awake! Arise! 
 
 [138]
 
 And as each passing moment flies, 
 
 Seek to improve it. Let thine eyes 
 
 Be ever open ; do not shirk 
 
 Nor disregard thy Master's work. 
 
 Be up and doing while 'tis day, 
 
 Uplift the fallen by the way ; 
 
 No longer passive must thou stand, 
 
 Awake! Arise! Stretch forth thy hand 
 
 To seek, to rescue and to save 
 
 Thy brother! Be thou strong and brave. 
 
 For lo! the time has come for thee 
 
 To do some active work for Me. 
 
 "Go forth," the Spirit saith ; I heard the great 
 
 command ; 
 But though, distinct and clear His voice, I 
 
 could not understand. 
 I answered: "Lord, Thou knowest well that 
 
 since these eyes of mine 
 First saw the light, I sought to do the will 
 
 divine. 
 To act was ever my desire; to go and do and 
 
 dare; 
 
 And leave no work undone, Thy glory to de- 
 clare. 
 But Thou didst say: Be still, and trust it all 
 
 to me; 
 Seek not to do, but be all I require of thee. 
 
 [139]
 
 And lo! just as my heart has learned 
 
 The lesson, and mine eyes discerned 
 
 The Truth, lo ! Thou dost speak to me 
 
 And tell me I must active be. 
 
 Active? When all these many years, 
 
 I've sought with prayers and bitter tears 
 
 To have Thee work within my breast 
 
 A passive quietness and rest. 
 
 Active? When Thou hast always said 
 
 That I must reckon myself dead? 
 
 Go forth? When Thou hast said: Be still, 
 
 And let Me work My holy will? 
 
 Blessed are they that do? How strange 
 
 That Thy commands so soon should change." 
 
 "My child," the Spirit saith, "canst thou not 
 
 understand 
 
 That truly passive souls obey each new com- 
 mand 
 Without a doubt that He Who gives, knows 
 
 what is best each day, 
 And in submission follows on to serve and to 
 
 obey? 
 Passive enough to act, when He shall bid thee 
 
 rise and go ; 
 Restful enough to follow on the way that He 
 
 may show. 
 
 Active enough to do and dare 
 Whate'er thy Master may declare. 
 / 
 
 [140]
 
 'Tis time for thee to know and see 
 That passive souls may active be, 
 When power sufficient has accrued: 
 And when with life divine imbued, 
 They throb and breathe, no longer dead, 
 But resurrected, move ahead. 
 
 "The engine passive stands, while other hands 
 
 contrive 
 Conditions that produce a power that make it 
 
 seem alive. 
 
 Onward it goes. Behold, it doth not idly wait. 
 An action, not its own, transforms its passive 
 
 state 
 Into sublime activity. Behold the wondrous 
 
 plan 
 That typifies the power divine on weak and 
 
 helpless man. 
 
 No longer doubt, but onward move, 
 The power within thy bosom prove. 
 The Lord, with inner works divine, 
 Transforms this passive life of thine 
 Into a life of active state; 
 He would not have thee longer wait, 
 But onward move. Nor cease to be 
 A creature of activity. 
 Move thou, with vigor, on life's way, 
 And promptly His commands obey. 
 He planned the way, the track He laid ; 
 Each change and turn and curve He made. 
 [141]
 
 His hand is on the throttle too; 
 Submit to Him, His way pursue ; 
 For if thou give Him full control, 
 His power, like steam, will fill thy soul. 
 
 "Behold the ponderous loom. Note the inten- 
 sity 
 With which it weaves and works. And with 
 
 what regularity 
 It swingeth back and forth, and shoots the 
 
 shuttle through, 
 Packing each tiny thread, as if it thought and 
 
 knew 
 Just where each thread must go and where each 
 
 shade must twine; 
 Making, in time, a fabric rare, of beautiful 
 
 design. 
 
 We call it active, and 'tis so, 
 As its continuous movements show. 
 And yet, submissive, quiet, still, 
 It stood; until another's will 
 Had made it ready, bade it go, 
 And swing with vigor to and fro. 
 Passive it stood, while in and out 
 Another twined the threads about, 
 And planned with care and patient thought 
 What kind of fabric should be wrought. 
 But ere its parts could move or act, 
 And every hindrance counteract, 
 
 [142]
 
 The power must be turned on, to start 
 In motion every separate part. 
 And when the time has come, behold ! 
 With action, heavy, strong and bold, 
 It moves and works from hour to hour, 
 As if alive with strength and power. 
 Active, because an unseen force 
 Controls and guides it in its course. 
 
 "Thus things invisible, my child, may be made 
 
 plain to thee 
 By viewing things material ; things which 
 
 thine eyes can see. 
 For things invisible are shown by those things 
 
 that are made; 
 So learn a lesson from the seen, trust Me, nor 
 
 be afraid. 
 I've planned the most harmonious shades of 
 
 beautiful design ; 
 I've twined the threads with tender care about 
 
 this life of thine; 
 I've studied what thou canst produce, what 
 
 fabric thou must make; 
 So when I turn the power on, there will be no 
 
 mistake. 
 
 Produce the beautiful design, 
 Planned and arranged by power divine. 
 My child, hast thou not yet discerned 
 That nothing moves and acts alone ? 
 
 [143]
 
 Hast them observed one action yet 
 That doth its motive power beget? 
 Is there perpetual motion found 
 On land or sea, the world around? 
 Then how canst thou, frail child of clay, 
 Work all alone, from day to day? 
 
 "Go forth," the Spirit saith, "while I thy needs 
 
 supply ; 
 I shall thy righteousness increase, thy talents 
 
 multiply." 
 
 And so behold! I go, I move, I work, I act, 
 With God's own power for mine each hour, what 
 
 shall I need or lack? 
 Submissive to Him still, this new command I 
 
 hear; 
 To be or do or bear or dare, I yield, without 
 
 a fear. 
 
 "For me to live is Christ," exalted may He be ; 
 I'm hidden in His life, and He is hid in me. 
 To glory only in the cross, 
 I come; and count all else but loss, 
 That I may gain Him, Christ, my Lord. 
 Abiding in His precious Word, 
 I say with Him : "Lo ! I am come 
 To do Thy will, and Thine alone." 
 
 [144]
 
 SEARCHING FOR TRUTH 
 
 IN every age since Time began, 
 
 Inquiring minds have sought to know 
 Life's mysteries, and the laws divine 
 
 That govern things below. 
 Man's busy brain and reasoning powers 
 
 Have ever speculated 
 Upon the Elemental Cause 
 
 Of everything created. 
 The purpose of his being, 
 
 And the end of earthly strife, 
 The why, the what, the wherefore 
 
 Of the Way, the Truth and Life. 
 
 And though he groped in darkness, 
 
 Faint gleams of Truth he caught; 
 "A law unto himself" he found 
 
 A part of what he sought. 
 For He Who promised He would write 
 
 His law upon men's hearts, 
 Who said He would reveal Himself 
 
 Unto the inward parts, 
 Moved in the darkness on the deep 
 
 Of man's benighted life ; 
 Till latent powers were waked from sleep, 
 
 By strange internal strife. 
 
 [145]
 
 From Egypt's buried monuments 
 
 And records excavated, 
 We learn that years before the flood 
 
 These truths were much debated. 
 And through the darkness they discerned 
 
 A radiant star, one God, supreme ; 
 "Ptah," the God of lesser gods, 
 
 "Who reigns from mount to stream." 
 "If thou art wise, bring up thy son 
 
 In love of God," they taught; 
 Was e'er command more tersely made, 
 
 Or more with wisdom fraught? 
 
 In Iran, when Hypastes reigned, 
 
 Zoroaster sought to show 
 In the "Avesta" Truth and Life 
 
 Which men desired to know. 
 Ahriman, imp of evil, strove 
 
 With Ormuzd, of the light; 
 A daily conflict in the heart, 
 
 And man must daily fight. 
 But final victory awaits ! Man would no longer 
 
 grope ! 
 Zoroaster caught it from afar, 
 
 Ahura's star of hope.
 
 Again, about King David's time, 
 
 Brave Aryans sought to find 
 A revelation that would show 
 
 The Way, and Life to human-kind. 
 Recorded in Rig- Veda, 
 
 Which Brahmans thought divine- 
 Bright bits of Truth, like tiny stars, 
 
 From countless errors shine. 
 Then Lao-tze, groping in the dark, 
 
 Sought also for the Way ; 
 And Taoists, his disciples, 
 
 Walked "Tao" day by day. 
 
 Shangti, the God supremest, 
 
 Was deified in thought ; 
 And man's first Trinity, San-tsing, 
 
 The bit of Truth they caught. 
 Following after, came Confucius, 
 
 Who in turn his millions led, 
 Pointing to his Ti and Tien, 
 
 Praying to departed dead. 
 "Never do to any other, 
 
 What you'd not have done to you" ; 
 Golden rule of life, presented 
 
 From a mass of things untrue.
 
 Buddha, sitting 'neath the Bo-tree, 
 
 Left to wait and watch alone, 
 Self-denying, self-suppressing, 
 
 Prayed to know the great unknown. 
 Groping in the dark, he fancied 
 
 That he saw the Truth descend; 
 Suffering and its cause discovered, 
 
 Sweet Nirvana at the end! 
 Sweet Nirvana ! Precious message ! 
 
 End of struggling and of strife ; 
 This the message of "The Blessed," 
 
 Was to them the Truth and Life. 
 
 Ancient Greece, in all her glory, 
 
 Bent her haughty head and prayed 
 To "The unknown God," beseeching 
 
 For the Truth so long delayed. 
 One of seven was learned Thales ; 
 
 "The first principle" he sought ; 
 "Know thyself," his admonition, 
 
 And the message that he brought. 
 Next appeared Anaximenes, 
 
 Seeking still the Truth and right; 
 One step further than his master, 
 
 Catching clearer gleams of light. 
 
 [148]
 
 Diogenes, of Appollonia, 
 
 Spoke to men no idle dream, 
 When he said : "Back of creation, 
 
 Is Intelligence supreme." 
 Heraclitus, seeking further, 
 
 Found a life within his own, 
 Linking him with life in others, 
 
 Knowledge heretofore unknown. 
 Anaxamanda, vague, but learned; 
 
 Pythagoras, who followed on, 
 Brings us to Xenophanes' message, 
 
 God as an eternal One. 
 
 Zeno and Parmenides 
 
 Came with wondrous contemplation, 
 Adding bits of Truth and logic 
 
 Through the art of disputation. 
 Empedicles appeared in time, 
 
 Not one of vague fanatics, 
 But one who reasoned out the Truth 
 
 Like comrade Eleatics. 
 And "God is love" was first declared,- 
 
 Sublimest declaration, 
 That ever yet had been proclaimed 
 
 By any tribe or nation. 
 
 [149]
 
 Wise Socrates, that mighty man 
 
 Of broad, inquiring vision, 
 Took up the thread and traveled far 
 
 Upon man's favorite mission. 
 Through skillful dialectics 
 
 He taught the mind to see, 
 And through deductive reasoning 
 
 Proved immortality! 
 Plato succeeded, more profound, 
 
 Searching as scholars should; 
 Teaching that science, real and true, 
 
 Is knowing God and good. 
 
 Then Aristotle came and sought 
 
 For deeper revelation ; 
 He emphasized Socratic thought 
 
 By deeper concentration. 
 He studied, found and taught each day, 
 
 And following his master's plan, 
 He tried to find the Truth, the Way, 
 
 By study of the inner man, 
 Through bold, deductive reasoning 
 
 He silenced many isms, 
 Completing what Thales began 
 
 Through wondrous syllogisms. 
 
 [150]
 
 And many minds of lesser power 
 
 Were strewn along the ages, 
 Inquiring all along the years 
 
 The question of the sages, 
 lonians, Stoics, Cynics 
 
 And Sophies, each were trying 
 To find the Way, the Truth, the Life 
 
 For which the world was crying; 
 And each one groaned within himself, 
 
 And travailed with creation, 
 And looked and longed and wept and prayed 
 
 For their emancipation. . 
 
 But all these years a nation walked 
 
 Apart from other nations, 
 Divinely led, divinely taught, 
 
 By constant revelations. 
 Through them the promised life would come, 
 
 The star arise some day ; 
 Soon God would say: "Let there be light!" 
 
 The Truth was on its way. 
 While hearts and minds of men reached out 
 
 For holier, better things, 
 "The Sun of righteousness arose 
 
 With healing in his wings !" 
 
 [151]
 
 From out the lowly haunts of life, 
 
 A cry went forth, one day ; 
 And listening hearts rejoiced to hear: 
 
 "Behold, / am the WAY !" 
 Man halted in his search for Truth 
 
 And ceased his weary strife, 
 And listening, caught the voice again: 
 
 "7 am the Truth, the LIFE !" 
 
 And famished souls and hungry hearts, 
 
 Desiring to be fed, 
 Drank from a Living fountain, 
 
 And ate the Living bread. 
 A mighty light shone o'er the world, 
 
 In rays of gold descending; 
 And lo ! the Way, the Truth, the Life, 
 
 Were in Him comprehended. 
 Men saw the Elemental Cause, 
 
 In Whom all things were blending, 
 The Alpha and Omega 
 
 The Beginning and the Ending. 
 And since that mighty Light arose, 
 
 All other lights grew dim; 
 No matter what men may desire, 
 
 They find it all in Him! 
 
 [152]
 
 "WITH FREEDOM DID CHRIST SET 
 YOU FREE" 
 
 "THROUGH one trespass came the judgment 
 Unto all men" here below; (Rom. 5:18) 
 "Under law" and "held in bondage" (Gal. 3: 
 
 23) 
 
 To the soul's most bitter foe. 
 All humanity in prison 
 Breathing out one yearning cry, 
 In united prayer ascending, 
 Till it pierced the azure sky. 
 Man had sold himself to sin, (Rom. 
 But the agony endured 
 Chased away the clouds of anger 
 Which the Father's face obscured. 
 Angel armies bent in pity, 
 Touched were all the heavenly hosts ; 
 Stirred and moved to deep compassion, 
 Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 
 Clouds had draped the blue of heaven, 
 Darker grew earth's doubts and fears ; 
 Triune God was moved to pity 
 Till the earth was wet with tears. 
 
 [153]
 
 "Under law" and "held in bondage," (Gal. 3: 
 
 23) 
 
 Wretched man would long have lain ; 
 Had not Christ besought the Father 
 For to break the captive's chain. 
 Great the joy when God consented 
 That His Son should ransom be; 
 Blessed promise, "That with freedom 
 Christ should set the captive free!" (Gal. 5:23) 
 Free? Ah, how the vaults of heaven 
 Rang with cherubimic song! 
 Glory, honor and dominion 
 Unto Christ the Lord, belong. 
 Free? Ah, how the happy chorus 
 Sped to earth, where misery 
 Sat in captive chains and shackles, 
 Praying, pleading to be free! 
 "When the fullness of the time 
 Came," God sent His Son, so true; (Gal. 4:4) 
 "Under law" and "born of woman" (Gal. 4:4) 
 Man's great error to undo. 
 
 "Through one man" sin dominated, 
 
 Satan ruled and havoc wrought ; 
 
 "Through one man" was freedom purchased, 
 
 And complete deliverance brought. (Rom. 5: 
 
 15) 
 
 "Through one trespass came the judgment 
 Unto all men," slaves to be; 
 "Even so, through Christ's obedience" 
 Came the gift of life, so free. (Rom. 5:19) 
 [154]
 
 Free? What means the term to sinners? 
 
 Who by nature are enthralled? (Eph. 2:2) 
 
 Helpless captives, bound in prison, (Isa. 42:7) 
 
 Slaves and bondmen since the fall. (Rom. 6:20) 
 
 Free? Shall they remain entangled 
 
 With the yoke of sin and shame? (Gal. 4:9) 
 
 Is a free-man still a bond-man, 
 
 Was the purchase all in vain? 
 
 Does "redeemed" mean unredeemed, 
 
 Does "delivered" mean to be 
 
 Ever in the toils of bondage, 
 
 When His Word declares us free? 
 
 Some, alas! who live in darkness, 
 
 Call themselves, "delivered," "free"; 
 
 Knowing naught of His redemption, 
 
 Feeling naught of liberty. 
 
 Who can dare deny his bondage 
 
 Who succumbs to Satan's power? 
 
 Who would dare proclaim his freedom, 
 
 Serving sin each passing hour? 
 
 "Whosoever" saith the Master, 
 
 "Doth commit sin, is its slave!" (John, 8:34) 
 
 Hearken, therefore! Ye in bondage, 
 
 Will ye heed the truth He gave? 
 
 Hear ye Him, He speaks it plainly, 
 
 Recognizing every need ; 
 
 "He to whom the Son gives freedom 
 
 Shall be free indeed !" (John 8:36) 
 
 [155]
 
 "To destroy the works of Satan" (I John 3:8) 
 He hath suffered, bled and died ; 
 "Whosoever will" is pardoned 
 By a justice satisfied. (Eph. 2:16) 
 
 "Being thus made free from sinning" (Rom. 
 
 Is the gospel's message clear; 
 
 Purchased not with gold or silver, 
 
 He hath paid a price more dear. 
 
 "Free from sin," ye now are servants 
 
 Unto righteousness divine; (Rom. 6:13) 
 
 "Ye are not your own," He whispers, (I Cor. 
 
 6:19) 
 I have bought thee, thou art mine. (I Cor. 
 
 6:20) 
 
 Bought thee, not with things corrupted, 
 Not with silver or with gold; (I Peter 1 :18) 
 But with blood, the sacrificial, 
 Death and agony, untold! 
 Bought you, freed you and redeemed you, 
 That the God Who reigns above 
 Might adopt you as His children, (Rom. 8:17) 
 Heir to all His wealth of love. 
 "Heir through God" to all His riches; (Gal. 
 
 4:7) 
 
 Free from lusts of flesh and sin; (Gal. 5:24) 
 "Sons of God" in glorious freedom, 
 Liberty, without and in! (Rom. 8:21)
 
 Flesh would hold you still in bondage, (Gal. 
 
 5:17) 
 
 Dominate your mind and soul; 
 But I give your spirit power 
 Every passion to control. (Rom. 8:13) 
 Herein lies the full redemption; 
 Mind and spirit are imbued 
 With a power that overcometh, 
 Power to keep the flesh subdued. (Rom. 8:10) 
 Power to mortify its members, 
 Crucify the works of sin; (Gal. 5:24) 
 "More than conquerors," ye shall triumph 
 
 (Rom. 8:37) 
 
 By the power that works within. (Col. 1 :29) 
 Cast thou out the son of weakness, 
 Which doth daily tyrannize 
 O'er the sonship of the spirit, 
 Closing fast his holy eyes. 
 Cast him out, this son of matter, 
 He who strives against thy soul ; 
 He who wars against thy spirit, 
 Let him no more have control. 
 Cast him out, or thou canst never 
 See the golry of my face; (Heb. 12:14) 
 'Tis not for him to inherit 
 Blessings of my saving grace. (Gal. 4:30) 
 "Sold to sin" thou art by nature, (Rom. 7:14) 
 Flesh is master since that day 
 When was sold the spirit's power 
 Over all created clay. 
 
 [157]
 
 Dost thou ask whereof the bondage, 
 
 Wouldst thou know wherein the fall? 
 
 'Twas the loss of spirit-power 
 
 Over all that would enthrall. 
 
 Flesh with manifold desires 
 
 Quick supplanted power of soul ; 
 
 Bringing spirit into bondage 
 
 To the body's full control. 
 
 But my blood rebought this power, (I Cor. 
 
 9:27) 
 
 Ye are slave to sin no more ; 
 "Stand fast" therefore in your freedom, 
 Power of spirit I restore. (Gal. 5:25) 
 As the first created Adam, 
 Live and move and master be! 
 Know the truth of my redemption, 
 "For the truth shall make you free!" (John 
 
 8:32) 
 
 He hath sent me for to heal you, 
 
 And to open wide the door 
 
 Of the prison that confines you, 
 
 He hath sent me to restore. (Isa. 61:1) 
 
 To proclaim your full redemption, 
 
 And to offer liberty ; 
 
 Binding up the broken-hearted, 
 
 Making blinded eyes to see; (Psa. 146:7) 
 
 Giving oil of joy for mourning, 
 
 Garbs of praise to those who wear 
 
 [158]
 
 Robes of heaviness and sorrow, (Isa. 61:1) 
 
 Love, that casteth out all fear. 
 
 Lo ! I come to bring you freedom, 
 
 Will ye now my gift receive? 
 
 When I promise full redemption, 
 
 Will ye not my word believe? 
 
 Thou hast still the power of choosing, 
 
 In thy breast is strength of will; (Rev. 22:17) 
 
 Wilt thou enter glorious freedom, (Rom. 8:21) 
 
 Or remain a vassal still? 
 
 Shall the inner rule the outer, 
 
 Things unseen, the things we see? 
 
 Shall the spirit be enfranchised, 
 
 Stand unfettered, firm and free? 
 
 Glorious liberty is promised (Rom. 8:21) 
 
 To adopted sons and heirs ; 
 
 "Where the spirit of the Lord is 
 
 There is freedom," He declares. (II Cor. 3 :17) 
 
 Let thy spiritual eyes be opened, (Eph. 1 :18) 
 
 Look and know and feel and see 
 
 Truth, as Jesus hath revealed it, 
 
 "For the truth shall make you free!" 
 
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 "LIKE UNTO THE MOUNTAINS" 
 
 AROUND the Holy City, great mountains, strong 
 
 and high, 
 Lift up their proud gigantic heads against the 
 
 azure sky. 
 Ah, mighty, everlasting hills! immovable and 
 
 sure; 
 As sentinels, they stand and watch; protective 
 
 and secure. 
 Above the Holy City the sun shines, warm and 
 
 bright ; 
 Its golden rays are spreading far, diffusing 
 
 glorious light; 
 The hills are there, we see them ! majestic, strong 
 
 and true; 
 Our hearts can never doubt, for lo ! they're 
 
 standing full in view! 
 
 Above the Holy City, black, heavy clouds doth 
 hover ; 
 
 And nowhere in the distance can I the hill dis- 
 cover. 
 
 But do I think those mountains have been re- 
 moved away, 
 
 Because I no more see them, as on a sunny day ? 
 
 Could their secure foundations be shaken or 
 disturbed ? 
 
 [160]
 
 Could their annihilation have possibly occurred? 
 Ah, no ! Around the city, beyond those clouds, 
 
 so gray, 
 The mountains stand, as strong and sure, as 
 
 on the brightest day ! 
 
 And this my Lord hath told me : that like those 
 
 mountains high, 
 Around all those who fear His name, He 
 
 sta,ndeth ever nigh. 
 Why should I doubt or be afraid because I 
 
 cannot see, 
 When fleeting clouds of life arise and hide His 
 
 face from me? 
 If there are times when He remains a little 
 
 while unseen, 
 'Tis just because some mist of earth has risen 
 
 up between. 
 And even though the darkness should hide His 
 
 blessed face, 
 He's still my "Mount of happiness," my 
 
 strong abiding place! 
 
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