STACK 8 116 393 A. McK, ELLIOTT. Cast forth thy Act, thy Word, into the Ever-living, Ever-working Universe; it is a Seed Grain that cannot die. ' Sartor Resartus. Car/y/e. ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR. INDEX SUNLIGHT - 5 OCEAN - - 1 1 HOPE - 15 Music - - 19 NATURE - 25 NIGHT - 31 DIT*IB HEROES 37 ON FANCY'S GOLDEN WING 44 To THOUGHT - 47 2218136 ft Hbeal, Sunlight ! the very breath of all mortal being. Flowing from countless suns. Voyaging through vast aeons of space ; 'til it mingles with the full glory of our own dazzling orb of majestic grandeur. Sunlight, awaking in us, each day, a new born " hope." Smiling that we may smile. %ike some God with golden feet, chasing the darkness and revealing truth. 1foow often have we watched, ah ! with infinite delight, its first glowing shafts of burnished gold breaking, in showers of beauty, o'er the mountain's lofty summit, and streaming to the valleys. Or breaking through a cloud rift ; making the welcome raindrops, clinging to leaf, ripening corn, and bending grass ; flash like jewels, of priceless purity. As the heavenly light of beautiful eyes, are mirrored through tears of joy. Softly it glideth over the valleys. and their sparkling streams. Where the young colts prance and rear, lambs skip and frolic, and the wild flowers awake, in summer smiles, n to the "foamlet, and the city's surging throng ; gilding each spire and dome ; streaming adown the broad highways ; fain would seek the fetid alleys, and the vaults of crime ; flowing like a thing of glory, life and sweetness, health ! and vigor ! and joy ! Softly it steals, to the bowers of the fair ; flooding with golden lustre, tresses of flowing beauty, alike on the rich and the poor, mingling with the perfume of the rose and the woodbine ; and scattering, on the breath of morn, their fragrance divine ! pening the butterfly's delicate wings. Alluring the fish, with its golden gleam ; as the}' dart, like flashing prisms of silver and of gold, from the rippling waters of the river, or pool. THUhere the swans, neck arched and proudly, glide ; charmed by its glorious influence ; betwixt the lilies white and yellow ; that cup- like hold its soft enchanting rays. Creating soft shadows, in leafy bowers and dripping grottos. Where graceful ferns, crowned with lyre-like fronds, are spread in Nature's wild profusion. 1Hfl,here the cascade's waters laugh and leap, and 'midst its mist-like sprays, soft rainbows float like halos, o'er some thing divine. '{Kflhere its soft rays break through labyrinths of sheltering green ; melodies of sunlight joy, fill the -balmy air with the silvery thrill of sylvan lutes. And where the open flower, smiles back to the glowing Heavens ; the bee hums on its path of sunlight, from flower to flower. ZEhis glorious thing the hand of mammon cannot mar. The emblem of sweetness and of joy. Inspiring the strong ; life to the weak. The smile of hope to the mariner ; when the storm has slackened in its fury ; and its God-like rays, pierce the deep blackness of the sky. pleading with the dark impassioned waves. %ike the soft caress of golden curls, on a dark and fretful brow. Ibalcyon hours of sunlit joy ; treading on paths of air ; that wake the flowers, and the maiden sweet ; and chase the shadows of care. Scattering life in visions of beauty ; filling the golden ears of bounty ; spreading the emerald mantles of spring, and the shimmering veils of golden summer. Cheering the heart of the hapless waif ; and quick'ning the steps of vigorous man- hood. . . . The golden wand of Hope ! to lighten bereavement's aching void, and vanquish the forces of despair. Ibappy, laughing, joyous sunlight. The glory of childhood's happy hours ; weaving the golden mysteries of a maiden's thought, and the airy castles of youth's strong, unyielding hope. Caressing the snowy locks of enfeebled age, and dancing along, with little feet. is mingled with the thoughts of flowers. H language silent, yet sublime ! he victory of beauty's hours ; e beauty is a thing, " divine ' ! H)eep ! in the glowing " Heart of Things eean. ,* IFbeal. cean ! jforever jflftajestic ! jf orever the same ! . The mind of the child is filled with awe ! the mind of the man with feelings of wonder ; on first beholding its mighty expanse ! 1fts huge foam-crested waves ; breaking in graceful grandeur, o'er beach, and rock, and frowning cliff. "QCIho, would it not inspire ? Where is the soul ! that cannot respond to its mighty impulse ? Behold ! this vast, eternal, monument of /K)ajesty ! and of power! . . -. 'Chis restless /IDighty Spirit of the H)eep . JKHitness of Glory and decay ! . . . f empires that have grown out of time, but to vanish ! HS the vessel's track, upon its boundless way ! . ... r as the shadows that melt away, with the sun's departing rays, jfar on its " Udestern IKHay "' to the " (Bates of the Height "... %ost in a scene of transient splendour ! . . . H sea of dazzling purple ; crowned with a golden glory ! giant beneath the sunlight and the stars ! ^hat laughs to scorn the withering frowns of fate ! and buries deep within its " mighty fathoms," the shadowy " /Ifoinions of H)espair " ! Solemn ! yet how sublime ! ^he solemnity that is born of sovereign dignity ! "QXtte have but to behold it ! and our minds respond! . expand ! . . exult ! "Ode have but to sail upon its mighty breast to ex- perience that delightful sense of freedom ! that seems to live in the breath of the Ocean. H buoyancy perhaps alone experienced there. Hway go all thoughts of sadness, our ills, like autumn leaves before the wind ! 1bow can they live whilst " (greatness " holds us in his fresh briny gust seems to kill the sting in every single thought, that lingeis discordant to its " joyous, exultant song" ! . JSorne upon the " THHings of ^ime," there is no change, jfrom the " Dawn," ere verdure first awoke from " latent fire " ; and its great waters rolled, in 12 gleaming splendour, from " Nature's mighty cisterns of space " ! . . . Hs then, so now, . . . symbol of a " splendid constancy " ! 1Roll on ! in restless grandeur, roll ! of /Rajesty ! and Soul ! ! Calm ! Serene ! in its inmost heart and depths. Angry only with the " jfuries," that lash its " beaming waters " into seething mountains of foam ! " TKHhite with passion " ! awful in their /IDajesty !. Jj)et we hear the " deep sighing of its /IDighty Spirit "! As if it would, ah ! a thousand times rather, play with the " Sunlight "in . . . " gleaming gladness," and share with the sky its " melting blue." Soft as an infant's cheek ! this the greatest power on earth ! Xapping the glistening sands, or thundering along the darkened shore ! TChe immense ! immensity ! . '(That bears upon its mighty breast, the winged messengers of commerce and of war ! depths of inspiration, in the cean's mighty impulse ! . 1Jn the strength that is born out of the " Ifoeart of ^hings " ! i '\ffe- . jf-'-v- "c.ti '"> i ' ' ' ' ! ,' i ' I > / : ' i'r 1 . -*^^/- ^^&,&Wji , A' i'afc ^'-.5- ---i> Nv* \ / 'Mi 'i y.-sSa H)EEP IN NATURE'S GLANCE, 'S BRIGHT EYE IS SEEN ! IDeep in nature's glance, " MOpe'6 " bright eye is seen ! "QXI1 hen Spring, a returning glory, iJBursts into living green ! IDeep in the glory of night ; "(Through depths of immortal stars ! Hhe beauty of ' ' Venus ' ' at eve ; Hnd the glittering " Warrior Mars ! IDeep in the crested wave, "Jlhat breaks on the gleaming shore, Tlhe splendour of alpine summit ; Hnd the leaping torrent's roar. IDeep in the songs of the forest, ^he beauty of summer's wing. Hhe trip of a winsome maiden ; Hnd the anvil's merry ring. 5)eep in the mariner's eye, H)eeper in battle's array. H)eep in the palace of wealth ; the soul of a shivering stray. 5)eep in the heart of youth ; e " jfancy " is 0od of displa} r : " Ifoope " like the lamp of Aladdin, Qcattereth jewels, by the way. H)eep in the souls of women ; llhe " %ilies " we seek, to adore ! H)eepest where " %ove," a " H)ivinity " Conquers alone to restore. H)eep in the ceaseless murmur, f the City's human stream. H)eepest where " castles of ah," Hre built in the " light " of a dream. H)eep where the light of day, jfades in a " (Jlory Spread " ! H ^"ision of rapturous splendour ! only a " (Bod " may tread. 16 UN THK MUSIC OF THE RIU, ! IN THE RUSTLE OF LEAVES ! ime Hts Influence. /IDusic ! . transcendent '. . . JDivinest . Hrt ! . . . "fcow limitless its depths of inspira- tion ! 1bow glorious its influence upon the human mind ! Xong, ere we learnt the true meaning of the word ; by the side of one whose voice was to us music ever ; we felt for the first time " that influence sublime." As it softly stole from gentle fingers ; one music, one memory, forever sweet. o shall say it> soul inspiring melodies ! touch but the fibres of a human sense ; transitory alone in their influence ? 2)o they not stir within us, the deepest feelings, ah ! the noblest feelings ; and leave their impressions, whether of joy or of sadness, no less thrilling ! no less inspiring ! no less divine ! ! IRay, in the mind of the most brutalized being, music has touched a deeper chord. Whilst for countless thousands, 'tis a voice of enchantment, ^he (golden IRey of the Hh ! even the poor dumb brute at our feet ; unfailing in friendship and in devo tion ; who looks up with his honest eyes, into ours ; and seems to speak to us in language we cannot mistake. Why does he moan and howl at the sound of music ? Us it because it overpowers him ? As the noonday sun, in its full glory, dazzles the eye and dims the sight. Too much for his kindly, but limited, sense. J^et does he not, only too often, exhibit far more soul than many a man ? true emotions of heart and brain, are they not, so often, born of music ? Twin chords that wake to the touch of fingers divine ! 1fn- voking long thoughts from " whispered depths." flu the language of rippling water ; in the murmur of the ocean, breaking softly on a sunlight shore ; in the rustle of leaves at the waking of day, in the song of the lark, on its heavenward course. Seemingly limitless, as the Universe itself, its melodies of beauty vibrate through every fibre of our being ; and hold us spell - bound, under their entrancing influence. IDoicing the tempest's awful fury ! Its voices of thunder ! The lightning's vivid flash portraying ! The roar of the furies ! passion blind ! Anon the dark threat of hatred ! The dread heat of passion ! or the last farewell ! J^et ever from depths of darkest shadow, breaking into golden bars, that soul-thrilling rapture ! the " soft- light-of-!lLove " ! 1bow naturally our thoughts respond to the " rgan's grand appeal " ! . . . when its rich sonorous tones roll out ! and our truest feelings well up from " ^he Ibeart of tunings." Where next the deepest shadows, " for a truce," glow the highest lights ! . ..." 1fn the distance loom the returning victors ! one sweeping mass of glittering steel ! Nearer! . . . and yet near, floats the flag of freedom ! But, 'tis in the well-known martial strain, we feel the warm blood leap within us ! As the hills re-echo, Well done! . . . Well done! ^he music of the dance, with its measures of delight ! The graceful rhythm of the waltz ! The trip of the spirited mazurka ! IKHhere maid and gallant, free from care, seem to glide on feet of air ! . laughter, dancing in their eyes 1Re veals a joy that deeper lies ! the sparkling vivity of the operetta ! As the noon-day glow of the sunlight ; when the shadows have crept out of sight ! ^he enchanting beauties of the pera ! Where light and shade are mingled, in triumph and despair ! the music of music ! voicing the glories of crowning genius ! as chords from harps immortal ! IRe-echoing the deep-souled oracles of time ! . . . Are they not the chords that awoke in Egypt ! To invoke the stars ; that their glowing clusters might speak to us of countless ages ! The music that is deep in the " fjeart of ^hings." tlhe lofty splendour of Ifoandel's great /IDessiah ! . The deep-soul' d pathos of the jpassions of Bach ! The majesty of the great requiems of flftozart ! The towering ]lijah of /IDen- delssohn ! The soul-like symphonies of ^Beethoven ! ^he liquid numbers of (Jhopin ! and the dulcet tones of Schubert ! Anon ! 1ft cannot be that these glorious numbers are ever lost ! TKHe may but seek for them, as the bee seeks the amber honey, deep in the " of filings " ' IHATl'RK CLOTHED IN HER GARMENTS OF SPRING. Qahre. Delightful the cool fresh morning air ! As we pace the beaten track, or tread the dewy grass beneath our feet. Smoke lightly curling from cot or farm-house, far and near blue against the sombre olive of the forest, ^he distant hills, deep blue in shadow, crowned with a soft radiance of purpling light ; pierced by many a golden shaft. Soft trailing veils of mist ; that like spirits of the night, reluctant to depart, gather their long ethereal robes about them, and with exquisite grace bow their farewells to the monarch of day, ere they vanish out of sight, or gather in the distance far away. 1bere every wild flower by the way ; sweet, ever} 7 song from glist'ning boughs ; and nature in her heart of hearts, hath joined with us in one long exultation . . . Xife glowing every- where, in the sparkling beauty of the morn. "Ode view the, rippling brook, wind like a silver thread, through soft downy banks of green, moss-grown rocks and spreading fern ; with mur- murings of joy ; like the babble of little tongues and 25 the patter of little feet ; as it bounds away through the valley, leaping and sparkling, in the first soft beams of the early sunlight. ^Everywhere sunlight glow, and shadow soft and deep, jf luttering wings of birds, dart- ing through leafy bowers of " Calm delight." The bleating of the scattered flocks, and the soft lowing of cattle upon the distant slopes, give token of the awaking, joyous life of Nature, free and peaceful. jfor a moment, let us pause : Whilst we rest upon this grassy knoll ; and contemplate the stretching panorama, far as the eye can see, of Nature clothed in her garments of spring, soft veils of shim- mering sheen. H)elighting the eye, and invoking thoughts sublime. Scent of hay and honeyed wattle, wild hyacinth and rambling hawthorn ; with its memories sweet and olden. Xet us drink in this pleasure, as it were. %et us not even speak for a moment . . . lest we mar its " perfect one ac- cord." 'Chere would seem a moment, at the glowing hour of noon, as at the silent hour of mid- night, when "Mature would seem almost to pause ! to sleep ! lichen the flowers are drowsy ! when the cattle slumber ! And the birds are silent in the leafy glades ! a stillness serene is over all . 26 JBalmy moments of peaceful repose ! In the seclusion that is rest ! In the air that is life ! In the scene that holds the lover of "Mature ! that speaks to us in a language all its own ! 1fn the gleam of limpid waters, silver streaked ! reflecting, in soft blendings, every hue ! In the liquid depths of the deep ! irradiating ! capti- vating ! glorious blue of the Austral skies ! Whose fleecy clouds of dazzling whiteness, float dreamily ! becalmed ! In the sweep of the stretching velvet pasturage of fresh spring growth ! . . . In the bronzy-olive glint of the woodland leaf ! outspread in clustering profusion ! In the golden haze of the noon- day sun-rays ! Where they mingle, in powdery trans- parencies, with the soft veil-like shadows ! winding, interlacing ! Zlhese rocks of brown and grey ! to the geologist an open book ! As likewise the glist'ning pebbles in the brook ! the scattered boulders of basalt ! telling of ages past ! "CXflhen from the crater of some huge towering volcano they were swept high in mid-air ! glowing volleys of molten lava ! to flow in devastating streams, from "Nature's mighty furnaces" beneath, adown the smiling slopes of rich primeval verdure ! %ofty ferns of exquisite form and beauty ! 'neath sheltering forests of gigantic growth ! whose fossil remains lie buried, far beneath our feet ! jf ar in the distance, loom the lofty mountain ranges ! a shimmer of blue haze ! seeming almost to mingle with the arching skies ! The sleeping hills, that fringe the valley ! crowned with the mantles of spring. IRo wonder, that the stately savage ! alone with Nature undisturbed, is a poet in thought, is eloquent in speech ! Xo wonder, that he can hear the Great Spirit ! whisper flowers of beauty into being, upon the low winds ! and waft the wild swan, to the silvery waters of the enchanted lake ! . . . t rapture ! in the sunset's glow ! In its islets of dazzling, burnished gold ! afloat in seas of liquid jasper ! ... In the glorious purple radiance ! scintillating, streaming, aslant the shadow' d hills ! ... In the gleam ! of golden arrows, shot through the glinting tree-tops, and piercing the long sweeping shadows, that float o'er the valley ! {passing in transient splendour, where Yenus heralds the glory of Height, down ! gently down ! a dream of beauty, into the great sheltering tbeart of 28 IRlC.HT WITH ITS SILENT GRANDKKR ! . . . Height with its silent grandeur ! and its mystic, magic spell ! Fathomless depths of jewelled splendour ! Moonlight soft its silent hours enchanting ; mirrored in every sylvan stream, or dancing on the restless wave. IKHeaving with its soft half lights, and stealthily gliding shadows, the mystic dread phantoms of the savage mind. Awaking in the breasts of mankind, in all ages, feelings of the supernatural. To some the charm of mystic beauty. To others, like its winding ghost-like mists, dreadsome as the cold touch of steel. Yet ever alluring, to its silvery thrones, alike the timid and the brave. "QXUhat depths of calm beauty in the night. As if some great spirit were at rest, upon the endless paths of eternity. Whose mighty breast is heaved in the ocean's unceasing swell ; and whose breath is in the low winds, pure as that of a sleeping child. 1Rest ! glorious rest, that life renews ; rest in the strong yet tender arms of calm, majestic night ! "CXUho ! has not felt, its soft wooings from childhood. What memories of the heart ! its mystic charms recall. When " Fancy " decked in silvery robes was ever Oueen of Xight. When later its whis- pered " thoughts profound " carried us away, amidst its glowing highways, in mind ; away into the vast, soul-like depths, of " spirit night." ^Bright, glorious eyes, that seem to penetrate our minds, and read our very thoughts. Like the full glance of some giant mind, invoking ! inspiring ! at every step. JSeneath the flashing lights, of street or hall, with cheery step, the numbers flock. For the spell of Xight is over all, and the gathering hours but seem to deepen, the fascination of its double charm ; that beguiles alike the gentle, fair youth and fine old age. Merry hearts that love the Xight, and the touch of its magic wand ! Thrills of jov, and full-souled laughter, born of the " Xight ! " Cflho has not loved to mingle with the gay smiling song of dancers ; beneath the brilliant lights that seem to flash their welcome. Where the wit seems thrice sparkling, and that soft light in beauties' eyes, " mightier than the sword or pen," rules imperious o'er the hearts of men. H)ark deeds are hidden in its swarthy folds, and anguish curtained in its silent hours. Yet night to us all, in its hallowed depths is a spirit of calm and peace. Zhat spirit that enthralls the tireless eyes of the Astronomer ; peering into the ever- growing paths of light, and dazzling beauty. And in mind penetrating into its glowing, vast, eternal depths ; grand ! yet awful ! to contemplate. Companions of a kindred thought, the philosopher would seem to walk with night. At whose side we fain would linger, hour after hour, to view : IDast kingdoms of the mind arise, 11 n nobler sequence to the skies. "dp from the dark boundaries of the Night, breaks the pale moon ; like some saintly soul whose thoughts are of the sleeping world. Away in the misty distance, across the rippling waters of the stretching lake, or the ocean's cycling horizon, she sheds her silvery beams. Amidst the calm beauty of the wild, weird, shadowy Landscape, with its crowning, sphinx- like, mountain crags ! That whisper of ages almost ! and that seem to say : " Why this feverish human hast'ning ? Why these passions that burn within 33 your breasts ? Be calm as this ' splendid night silence ! ' and await the ' gleam of the dawn ! ' a bird, on the wing, glides the barque, with wide-spread sails, o'er the ocean's swell- ing track. The phosphorus sparkling in her wake. " Eight bells " have told the hour of midnight, and all is silent, in starry heights, and ocean depths profound : save where the foam flows immaculate, as the dark waves curl back, with a long soft sigh. 1foow brilliantly the meteors flash ! How majestically the comet streams ! As night, after night, we view the wondrous sight ! ... As gazing upon its fiery flow, we become charmed with the eternal glory of but one glimpse of a vast Universe ! forsooth without beginning, and without end ! The gorgeous Aurora's mighty-rainbow' d-cycling-rays. Like some vast transformation scene, or brilliant pyrotechnical display. Sweeping the horizon a vision of dazzling beauty. For beauty would seem to dwell in ever-chang- ing scenes ; like thought in ever- winding paths of up- ward, outward, trending. The far off misty landscape boundaries of to-day, beneath our feet, 'ere the close of to-morrow. . . . To-morrow, 'tis said, can never conic ! . . . Xor yet the end ! . . . For does not all this " real!" and " seeming ! " roll on as one, gigantic, transformation scene. %ight and shade. Xife forever . . . yet clothed but in a different 34 form. Seed to bloom ! bloom to seed ! . .Gas to star ! and star to gas ! . Infmito I . Yet Immortal stars ! of soul-mind ! that never set ! . . . In the " Heart of Things " ! ! ^Beauty's eye fades like the rose, and the strong arm must yield to time. Day gives place to Night and the shadows must cover even for awhile. But if these shadows are but like the " sweetest sleep of Night " ! 'twill be well ! Indeed it will be well ! rapture in the mystic scene, . TIo view the majesty of Night ! . nd feel that " spirit " stretch between fits myriad sentinels of light ! 35 1b 1C ROES ! A BARRIER OF DEFENCE ! elm TKDle build, for all time, fine monuments! to gratefully commemorate the noble deeds of the heroes of mankind ! Monuments that in themselves bear testimony to the glorious achievements of art ! And upon which we may, well gaze with pride ! in that .our heroes are re- membered, truly and well. ITQhat of the heroes not of mankind ?' . Heroes ! that have given such splendid service to the human race ! . ' . .In their noble courage ! and heroic, unfaltering, endurance ! contributing so often to the splendid achievements of arms ! To the glory that wins the cherished badge of honour ! The highly prized insignia of hard won victory ! ^he well-tried trusty steed ! that carries the gallant star-bedecked warrior ; who bears himself proudly to the thrilling music, of a grateful Nation's welcome ! Jf resh from the field of victory, he leads his gallant men ! 37 jfor whom alone ! the deaf ning, lusty, shouts of welcome ! The thrice re-echoing well done ! Shall not the spirited war-horse, the dumb hero of many a glorious victory ! share the proud moment ! the wild acclaim of gratitude ! "ffs it not seen in his courtly glance ! Does he not proclaim it in his kingly bearing ? "I am no less a hero of the hour ! " H)ocile as a child, a lion at heart ! where for him the badge of honour ! Shall he not also wear a " star of victory " ! upon his glossy breast ! 'ftrue to his training and fine instincts, the riderless war-horse regains the ranks ! obedient to the bugle's shrill notes, re-echoing the word of command ! "CQhat a grand ! imposing sight these dumb warriors make ! Ranged up in line of battle ! 'Midst the full blast of war! The roar of cannon ! the tierce flash of flame ! The rolling, livid smoke ! The gleam of steel ! and agony, and death ! JHow warrior-like they look ! with their rolling fiery eyes, and nostrils wide extended ! The hot steam shooting out in sprays of white silvery vapour ! Champing, anon, their gleaming bits, and pawing the earth. Xow tossing their beautiful heads in seeming defiance : eager again for the fray ! even as man ! Truly of animals the most stately ! the most graceful ! the most beautiful. "Ho wonder that gentle woman, in the hour of bitterness and disappointment, has caressed the velvet nostrils of this noble animal ! the beloved, trusty, steed ! Have looked into his speaking eyes ; for the friendship that is in his kindly glance ! for the hero- ship that is in his soft reply. Shall poets forget these dumb heroes ? . When they sing to the memory ! to the glory of gallant deeds ! ... Of the valorous sweep to death ! Few dumb heroes have been remembered ? f)ow welcome the ring of metal ! As the messenger of war is borne through the streets of some Tlown, that lies upon the path of a victorious foe ! Ibis trusty steed dripping at the flanks, the foam flying from his mouth in feathery flakes ! racing for dear life. The warning cry of fire, illuming the distant sky in awful splendour ! or floods, in torrents sweeping ! away ! away ! The rider has dismounted ! the noble steed is trembling in every limb, his eyes are starting from their sockets, behold him sink in death ! ! ... to be forgotten ! . .... 39 1)ow many lives have hung upon his heroship ! j^et where is even a simple wayside, granite tablet ! to mark a hero's fall ! f)e is only a horse ? yet a horse may be a hero ? no less than a man. Hlike ! in winter's bitter blast, or summer's scorching heat, ever the trusty friend of man, in fair and in foul, his place is in the forefront of every war-like or peaceful achievement ; in the advancing trend of human events. IKHith the fierce Saracen, beneath the crescent, or with the flower of European chivalry, brave ! unflinching ! The same invincible lion ! on the path of duty. "([([Hheri we gaze upon the marble statue of some great human warrior ! some revered hero of " flood or field ! " . . .let us not forget mayhap the other hero that bore him to victory ! e would be the stately Arab ? without his beloved steed I ... a. silken model of perfect grace ! And where the sons of this sunny isle of the south ! that dearly love a goodly steed. Horseman ! truly to the manner born ! Xlhe hardy Australian horse that is proving himself in almost every land to-day, a worthy scion of his race, may yet prove to us, or to our children-; 40 as they have so truly proved themselves in all times of peace and danger, from fire or flood "Heroes ! a barrier of defence ! " . . . should fate decree the purple tide of war to sweep away the envied peace ! The sweet immunity of a hundred years ! 5)eny it ! some ma} 7 , that a soul or a mind ! Soft glows from the eye, of this model of beauty ! Jj)et ! they may not deny what is due from mankind ! ^o the heart of a hero in duty ! Inhere is another dumb hero ! It matters not to him how we place him ! first or last upon the tablets of our hearts ! He will but laugh, with his tongue out, and offer his affectionate paw ! Expectant in every movement he would seem to divine our every thought. Xove me ! love my dog ! How many have had good reason to feel a grateful, deep affection for this type of hero ! He that will so often give his life for ours ! "QXUhen all have for- saken he remains ! true to the last ! H motherless infant is asleep in the cradle of a shepherd's cottage ! A fine collie is on guard ! stretched in front of the sleeping infant ! The slightest stir from without and a low growl escapes him ! What deep sjonpathy is expressed in those watchful, kindly eyes ! . . . Obedient to the temporary absentee's command he remains ! A guardian hero by day, and by night. Is it not marvellous ? the devotion this dumb animal exhibits ! In his simple child-like tenacity. Exposed to bitter cold and days of hunger, he awaits once more the voice of his master ! though his master has crossed the bounds of eternity ! IftHith whispered requiems in the sigh of the fanning breeze ! And the tears of a faithful dog ! "fee was not alone ! "In the Heart of Things " ! 11 n so many instances the sagacity of this hero would seem to have passed into the realms of almost the supernatural ! In, for instance, the sense of impending danger ! A remarkable instance being given, upon credible authority* : A fine specimen of the mastiff breed, the property of an English gentleman, persisted on one occasion in creeping under his master's bed, at evenfal!, notwithstanding that he had been pun- ished as a forbidden intruder ! His master at last giving up the attempt in surprise at his unusual per- sistency ! That night the gentleman's life was at- tempted ! but a friend from beneath the bed saved him from the assassin's knife ! "QClith a readiness that bailies human understanding, he will play the de- tective with no uncertain result, where affecting his master, or those of the household to which he belongs. Hnon ! some messenger of hope is wending his way down the gleaming Alpine slope ! f)is fine eyes speaking courage and intelligence ! Iftis every movement full of dignity and grace ! ^he hero of those wintry wastes ! to rescue from tombs of eternal snow ! Victims of the Alpine blast ! Tfoow tender to a child ! how gentle to a woman ! Compeers of men ! in courage, endurance and faithfulness ! What have they not en- dured for our race, for all mankind ! Jf ew monuments ! few memorial stones ! have been erected to the memory of these true heroes of the Animal Kingdom "... the music thrills, where silver stars are glinting! Where the. name re-echoes! of brave defen- ders of life and property, by field ! and fire ! and flood ! . When the glasses clink ! and the toast is honored ! to many a human hero ! Oh ! let us not forget, for very shame-sake ! those that have so truly earned the title of H)UMB IfoEROES ! 43 Golden Win?. n " jf ancy's <3olden TKHing ! " we glide, 'Co where old scenes of glory lie. Id halls of " Knightly chivalry ! " (3reat deeds ! that never die. Id warriors of the sword and pen. tRich tokens of forgotten art, Crusaders ! from old Jewry's wreck, 'jRed Cross Knight ! and I Jon Heart ! C<> shrines of beauty ! queenly grace ! Che " Rose ! " . . . The "Lily "! ever blessed ! HS if within those oaken frames, Che fragrance of the violets pressed. 44 To ruins of old castles stout that frown upon the silver IRhine ! IKHhere Prince, of old, and JSaron quaffed, "dhe purpled nectar of the vine. TKflhere old Cathedrals of Madrid, ]point their " long fingers " to the sky ! the matador ! with dripping steel, Seeks the soft light ! of beauty's eye ! Venice sleepeth ! on the sea ! (3ondolas decked in splendour glide ! 'dhere dark-eyed maid and lover seek, 'dhe soft arms of the tide. fiery blasts ! the deserts sweep ! wrecks of mer's ! valour lie ! ^he glory of an empire floats ^Unchallenged ! ... to the sky. 'do golden cities ! of the East ! wrecks of splendour ! that has been ; mingled races of the earth . jflow like a tide ! between o domes cf Mecca ! pilgrims seek ! Great temples ! that enchant the eye ! Himalaya's ! mighty peaks ! seems to mingle with the sky. 45 like a star ! the " Orient prince " ! dazzling splendour ! holds the eye. Hnd saints of Budda in their zeal ! jforget to live beneath the sky. scattered o'er the Yellow Sea ! Ifouge junks their bat-like wings display ! " dark soul'd " pirates ! ever steal, %ike panthers ! to their prey. re spices from the " Sunda Isles " ! e wafted by the summer breeze ! slumbering to " fair Austral' s " shores, Hwake ! the tropic seas. southern seas in beauty break ! 'er coral reefs, in " summer smiles " \ waving palm leaves cluster o'er ; e beauteous verdure of the isles. the vast lake ! enchanted lies mighty forests deck the shore H while upon its glassy face The Indian lingers, to adore ! Jj)et where the arctic isles of ice, Afloat with the white bear and the seal, IReflecting glories ! of the sun Greater ! than pen or art, can e'er reveal. 46 o ! with the bee, into tbe Heart ! of every flower ! ]ach palace, of pure delight ! $o ! taste the sweetness ! of the soul ! that dwells, " Illimitable Light " ! IRest ! where the golden beams of day, Smile ! through the leafy shade. "{Twill speak to thee, the merry brook ! 11 n the sweet language of the glade. JSehold ! the insect, with its beauteous wings ; ^Enraptured ! in the balmy air ... "ftwill tell thee more than all the stars ! ^he hidden splendours ! there. 1bere " Nature " ! robed in ever-changing forms, Si n -gs to the " Heart " ; or gives to the storm its awe- some force. H Voice ! within a Voice ! entreats the humble insect : Hnd guides the rolling spheres in their eternal course. 47 JOHN SAND, SYDNBY. UC SOUTHERN RE&ONAL LIBRARY FAOLJY A 000 0677948