Part 3

O dame! as thou art such are they Who after years of care and cost, The burning hope of many a day By one ignoble stoop have lost.

THE LOST FISH.

"Ah!" cries the boy, "was never seen A fish like that which broke my rod, Such weight, such breadth of scaly sheen, A sucking whale he might have been, A grampus or Newfoundland cod."

Thus in our aims we all are boys, And Fortune's present grace abuse; For, ever of all earthly toys, Love, honours, triumph, gain, or joys, The richest is the one we lose.

STRIKING THE TENT.

This quaint round bower, this sheltering canvas cave, In which we ate and slept, and prayed, and planned, Falls in a moment, when to yonder slave Expectant of the sign my hand I wave, All limp and shapeless on the desert sand.

Depart in peace, O wanderer of Useit! Rejoicing in thy strength the mountain tread, Yet never may'st thou this memento slight; Erect to-day for labour and delight, To-morrow prone among the dusty dead.

THE TURKISH BRIDGE.

Whene'er we saw the arches gleam, We shouted trending down the ridge, "Better by far to ford the stream, Than trust the doubtful Turkish bridge."

Such, are false promises believed; Such, confidence and love betrayed; Such those who having once deceived A warning offer, not an aid.

THE CROCODILE.

This monstrous Effet on the solid ground Right on and on can work his easy way, But in his cramping plates of armour bound, Slowly and sorely wheels his length around, And so eludes him every nimble prey.

So have we known through prejudice and use, A mind that crawls in one pernicious groove, A dreary tunnel with the narrowest views, A cumbrous mind inflexibly obtuse, Which reason cannot turn nor feeling move.

THE MOUNTAINS OF EL TIH.

The pilgrim on the bleached El Tih Stares at the rocky wall awhile, Nor through the shadeless glare can see, Rift, pathway, or defile.

Yet, just one burning corner past, Behold the glittering cliffs dispart; He finds himself ascending fast Into the mountain's heart.

When troubles thus a barrier raise, Oh, yield not to despair or wrath, Press for the turn; by His own ways Great God will show the path.

DAMASCUS IN THE EVENING.

The dream of an enchanted home Set in an emerald frame, Peach bloom, and topaz walls, and dome, And minarets of flame; So the great city flashed on us, Descending Antilibanus.

From lower slopes a change we see; The towers, like white-stoled maids, All bleached to purest ivory, Arise from purple shades: So the great city smiled on us, Descending Antilibanus.

But soon within her gates we found The grace and glory gone: Darkness for splendour all around, And clay for precious stone. Was this the joy that beamed on us, Descending Antilibanus?

Again a change--a door we pass-- O magical surprise! Fount, lamps, divans, arcaded glass, A traveller's paradise! Emblems of life and death with us We brought from Antilibanus.

THE TWO GOATS.

Two goats met on an Alpine ridge, Sharp, sheer, and horrible to see; One crouched and formed a living bridge, And so they passed unscathed and free.

That both might prosper one must bend, Oh, learn the lesson, reader mine! So shalt thou compass mercy's end, And so conform to love divine.

THE ARAB WELL.

Ah me! it is a cruel spell For Truth as for mankind, If to the depth of yonder well The goddess be consigned.

For there the sex in daily rout With scandal taint the air; No lying rumour runs about But hath a mother there.

Dumb Truth the while in that dark place A laughing-stock is laid; They dash the bucket in her face, Widow, and wife, and maid.

THE DEAD CROCODILE.

Upon the bank of ancient Nile, A shoal of Arab boys Belaboured a dead crocodile, With oriental noise.

They cursed his mother and his beard, They cursed his spotted sire, They kicked, and smote, and spat, and jeered, And pelted him with mire.

They lashed a cord around his jaws, They sat astride his back, They twisted round his webbed claws, And made the sinews crack.

When all at once the cold dead thing, As by Galvani's art, Its flabby tail appeared to swing With momentary start.

Away, away, fled every one, Round corners and up trees, And left the monster all alone In death's unbroken peace.

Emblem of cowardice is here, Patent to mind and eye: What they deserve such wretches fear, Without a danger nigh.

THE HYÆNA.

I saw a foul hyæna led, Two slaves his snout had bound, Captured within a tomb they said, And showed his jaws still reeking red With blood from holy ground.

Vile scribblers in their greed of gold, Thus through death's cerements thrust, 'Mid scandals there obscene and old, And tales of darkness best untold, Battening on filthy dust.

GRATITUDE.

The Moslem who accepts your alms Thanks God alone, the kind and true; The Frank, if guerdon cross his palms, Thanks only you.

Both kindness here, and grace above, Duly should every heart confess; And they who slight a brother's love, Slight God's no less.

THE NUBIAN BOATMEN.

These bronze-armed slaves so lithe and strong, Row on for many a glassy mile Through burning hours, and all the while They praise in sweet recurring song, "The Lord that brings the Nile."

O thou, recumbent traveller, note Approval of their simple ways, Who lighten toil with pious lays; 'Twere ill adown life's stream to float Without or work or praise.

THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM.

Now the Christian pilgrim wanders 'Mid ravines of sin and care; On the craggy ledge he ponders, Probing all with staff of prayer.

Freshened by the wayside fountain With the flag of peace still furled, Lo! he hails the shining mountain O'er the ruins of the world.

There upon the heights of glory, Lettered on the golden clay, He shall read Earth's complex story And his banner float for aye.

THE FORGET-ME-NOT.

Among the meadow-grasses dank That fringe the running stream, This little flower begems the bank With turquoise-coloured gleam.

Emblem of many a mortal's lot, Who, tracking bygone years, Still finds the sweet Forget-me-not Fast by the fount of tears.

TEXTS ON TOMBSTONES.

Where round our church the pious stones Watch the green pillows of the dead, Pass not, but read in reverent tones The silent Scripture overhead.

From desert peak the storm-cloud poured Light on the tables of the Law, But sunshine here o'er flowers and sward Reveals the grace that softens awe.

And faith will greet on many a tomb An emblem of His loving speech Who said, if every mouth were dumb The very stones His truth would teach.

ROSE GARDEN AT ASHRIDGE.

Softly at noontide one reposes When sunshine melts the thought to dream, Within this labyrinth of roses Whose centre is the fountain's gleam.

We match our mortal life and beauty, With this ineffable array Of creatures free from sin and duty, Delicious even in decay;

And love, in you, O blooms and fountain, A brilliant emblem here to own Of souls upon the shining mountain, Exulting round the Mercy throne,

Where, lovelier than the loveliest flowers, And all like you in God's employ, They shine their everlasting hours, And shed around a glorious joy.

THE HEIFER DEPRIVED OF HER MATES.

For absent friends and interrupted loves See yonder solitary heifer mourn, As questing vainly round the close she roves, Of all her spotted yoke-fellows forlorn.

Quickened like us this thing of kindred clay Frets with our passions, trembles with our fears, But lacking spirit-wings it finds no way To hopes that shine above the fount of tears.

DUCKS AT PLAY.

They flirt and flounce with many a quack and blow, Those ducks intoxicate with summer rain; Then deeply dive, and hidden long below, From unexpected places rise again.

Thus our old playmates in life's widening stream, Amid the crossing currents disappear, Yet haply show again as in a dream With startling gladness after many a year.

THE TAME HARE.

Was never beast so cautious seen As Tiny our pet hare; He sniffs at dado, chair, and screen, With such suspicious care.

Yet when his nightly quest is o'er, Each rift and corner scanned, He'll spring around and snatch his store Of parsley from my hand.

With Puss let all suspicion end; The jealous heart will rue; Ah! never doubt an ancient friend, Though wary with the new.

THE WATCHFUL DOG.

One ear he held, a flapping dockleaf, low, The other pricking like a horn on high; This heeded all around that come and go, And this the larks careering up the sky.

Smile, twofold man, yet own your emblem here, Spirit and flesh alert for duty's call; And, 'mid the discords of this earthly sphere, Hearken the voice of Heaven above them all.

THE PUPPIES AND THE THUNDER.

We heard the puppies madly scold, When crashed on high the thundering peal; They leaped aloft, as though to hold The lightning by the heel.

And as the flashes followed fast, Still sharper rang the yelping tone, Till hoarse and worn they sank at last, Yet rolled the thunder on.

So worth above detraction's rout Maintains its even lofty course, And clamour ceases, wearied out With its own futile force.

EMBLEM OF TRUE PHILOSOPHY.

At fashion's call with cruel shears They cropped poor Tray's superfluous ears; Twice shrieked the mutilated pup, Then sniffed and ate the fragments up, Nor stayed his losses to deplore, But wagged his tail and craved for more. Here, without Tupper, we may see The marrow of philosophy, The how and where with natural ease To stow away our miseries; Nor simply to gulp down our pain, But turn disaster into gain; And when her scissors shear our pate To batten on the spoils of Fate.

THE GUIDE-POST.

Vainly, unlettered youth, you come And scrutinise each painted word, No aid those arms all fixed and dumb, To your perplexity afford.

God's ministers life's guide-posts are, And to the people roundly tell At each cross road and thoroughfare, The track to Heaven, the ways to Hell.

Still more, they purge the darkened mind With helping hands and tongues of fire; What boots the guide-post to the blind, Or paralytic in the mire?

THE WAYSIDE MONITOR.

To one of Nature's loving tricks Chance lent a solemn power, A skull beneath a crucifix Upheld a shining flower.

This by the road a traveller saw, And wondering could not chuse But nearer still and nearer draw, In silence then to muse.

To faith he owned with bated breath An emblematic call; Life blooming in the jaws of death, And Jesus over all.

THE BOOMERANG.

On isles within a distant zone, Where bows are slighted or unknown, Of toughest wood they say is made A missile with a curving blade, Which at an angle cleaves the air, And smites its victim unaware. But, should a hand unskilful throw, It works an unexpected woe, Swift on its owner whirling back Like levin on its deadly track. So from malicious lips slung forth, False words of calumny or wrath Recoil upon the utterer's heart, Inflicting with remorseful dart The festering wound, so slow to heal In breasts that are not brass or steel.

THE WRONG PLACE.

Friend Colin reared his country seat Close to a group of noble trees, He blessed their shadows in the heat, He blessed their music in the breeze.

Grown old and sere, he dreads their fall, 'Tis safety waging war with taste; He cries, "Down with them one and all, Were never wych elms so misplaced."

So they who neither thought nor planned Hold for secure some transient good, And having built upon the sand, Declaim against the wind and flood.

THE WRONG TIME.

Some indiscreet Abderite boys Within a limpet's hollow, Offer'd in laurel-juice blue flies As victims to Apollo.

The god appeased will bless, they thought, Our tasks of prose and rhyme; So they the flitting insects caught, But lost the flitting time.

When Pedagogue their progress tries, Nor finds the lesson done, In vain they plead the sacrifice, He whips them every one.

TRAVELLING FOR EXCITEMENT.

I heard the great gorilla roar, My icy blood did curdling creep, Astride the Erymanthian boar, The brute came crashing through my sleep.

I woke, and there all fleecy white, My dainty dog in sunshine played, His feathery paw, which caused the fright, Upon my bosom gently laid.

"Thank heaven," I gasped, and quivering cried, For still the roaring shook my ear, "Why seek Gaboona's deadly tide, When I can thrill in safety here?"

THE HAWSER.

We saw a crew in bygone years Bear out a hawser long and good, Which to the tune of mighty cheers That stirred our hearts and stunned our ears, Drew forth a barque from shoal and mud.

Large-hearted love thus flies to save Some victim of life's treacherous sea, From the oppressor's deadly cave, From calumny's o'erwhelming wave, Or sordid sink of poverty.

TRAINED CORMORANTS.

These cormorants bear a metal ring, The channel of their greed to stay, So trained--they are not taught to sing-- They dive at will and catch and bring, But cannot gorge the prey.

When orators in their excess Blab forth what prudence would conceal, Say, could their partisans wish less Than for a ring their throats to press, And throttle half their zeal?

THE BAT.

O plumeless bird, O legless mouse; Between the night and day, Flitting around my summer-house In quest of insect prey.

In thee a type of man is seen, Half ape, half angel he, Hope chases the dim hours between Blank and eternity.

But when his twilight course is o'er, Freed from the bestial clay, Above the angels he shall soar In everlasting day.

WATERFALL BY THE SEA.

This little fountain night and day So far from all the flowers, Chants to itself, and flings away A wealth of diamond showers.

Incessantly without demand, Here Nature's purest gift Moistens the unproductive sand, Or floats the base sea-drift.

So from the living Rock above, On stony hearts and ears The message falls of Gospel love, Where not a fruit appears.

Judge not, O stranger, thus, but know There many a thirsty fleet Has filled its casks to overflow, And found the water sweet.

Though hearts awhile may stony prove, And fruitless as the main, God's mingled stream of truth and love Has never flowed in vain.

THE DYING SWAN.

_Host._

Tell me, O pilgrim! for my soul is stirred, On what far shore the willing winds prolong The melody of that imperial bird Which sings to chill-eared death its only song.

_Pilgrim._

Not mine Ogygian secrets to impart; But this they said where vague Meander shone, That only he who hath the poet's heart May hear the music of the dying swan.

THE PEACOCK.

O paragon of feathered grace, What charms thy neck enfold, Backed by that glorious orbed space Thick starred with eyes of gold.

Though Philomela soothe the night, 'Tis thine to paint the day; And each a splendour and delight Sheds on our earthly way.

So in thy beauty I rejoice, Nor flout thy tuneless cries; Peacocks with Philomela's voice, Sing but in Paradise.

THE HUNTER.

True Faith.

A royal boon for man's delight We deem this noble steed, So great in his enduring might Of courage, spring, and speed.

And as from coronet to crest I muse the creature o'er, There rises freely in my breast One happy emblem more.

'Tis Faith, the spirit-steed so strong, God's gift to our poor race, Which bears the soul of man along Through duty's arduous chase.

With reason's rein his fervour guide O soul, he'll carry thee Safe up the jagged mountain's side As on the level lea.

Alike to him the morn outspread, Or midnight on his way, The fields of light where he was bred Know neither night nor day.

The floods in vain lift up their voice, No slough makes him despond; His rider smiles at ocean's voice, And cries, "Beyond! beyond!"

He leaps with a sublime delight O'er æther's flaming zones, And cheers the rider with the sight Of Heaven and all its thrones.

Best at the last, he knows not death; And when the chase is o'er, Changes the simple name of "Faith" To "Joy for evermore."

THE RACER.

While to the racer swift and strong, Inexorable fate Assigns the weight, the spur, the thong, The choking struggle sharp and long, The owner wins the plate.

Falls to the hind rasped down by toil, And prematurely old, The scanty dole his only spoil From lifelong battle with the soil, The master wins the gold.

Now comes a crying through the air, The peasant's righteous call; Lords of the land in liberal care Earth's profit with the workers share, And we'll be winners all.

THE SYBARITES.

Valour, not ornament, Wins the life tournament.

The silken Sybarites, we know, In their superfluous elegance, To measured music, swift or slow, Had trained their battle steeds to dance.

'Twas thus they fell before the flutes Of that sagacious Spartan crew, For with the caracoling brutes What could such dainty riders do?

O tutors! nerve your pupils' hearts With energy for strenuous deeds, Or all your sciences and arts May prove but Sybaritic steeds.

FRANCIS PERRIER THE ENGRAVER.

With our needs change our deeds.

That coinless youth who left his home Was wealthy in an ardent soul, For, failing other ways to Rome, He led the blind and shared his dole.

But when the guidance reached its end, The sacred seat of art and fame, His skilful burin stood his friend, And won him competence and name.

He leads no more the poor and blind, His walk in life is altered quite; The rich he guides to art refined, And caters for the keenest sight.

ROME.

Three symbols in one sketch combine The charms, O Rome, we find in thee, The dome, the monument, the pine, Nature, and Art, and Memory.

THEODORIC.

"Conscience makes cowards of us all."

A tale grotesque in old-world story read Of conscience in its dread fantastic force, Tells at a banquet how a fish's head Wrought in the tyrant an insane remorse.

For great Theodoric with blood imbrued, Blood of the guiltless, was to death struck down, When in the dull-eyed sturgeon's face he viewed Stark murdered Symmachus' avenging frown.

SOCIAL LIFE A PICNIC.

By many an image, saint and sage Have figured human life; A mart, a maze, a pilgrimage, A race, a battle strife.

And many another he might phrase Who studies as they pass The human emmet's social ways, Through observation's glass.

So in my emblem I compare Life to that summer feast Where every guest supplies a share, The greatest and the least,

In this wide hall which God hath built And hung with landscapes round, Whose belted dome at night is gilt With stars on azure ground.

And here beneath the varying sky, 'Mid meadows, streams, and trees, I place my motley company Reclined in summer ease.

In circles set by chance or choice, Custom, or birth, or creed; Yet none so wide but hand or voice May minister at need.

To live and let live their intent, And viands interchange, Piquant, and sweet, and succulent, The homely and the strange.

Bitters and acids some supply, And some the loving cup, While some exhibit wondrously A zeal for stirring up.

Lo, where apart by fount and rock Sit lovers all in pairs; Here grin buffoons, here cynics mock Our follies and our cares.

See too the bores, expect no less From any crowd on earth; These teach us patience, we confess, And give them ample berth.

Now let us range from group to group, And mingle where we may; Let no one scoff, or scorn to stoop, It is but clay to clay.

Here all may gain, and all rejoice Beneath the genial law Proclaimed by Nature's loving voice From Siam to Loch Awe.

"Mingle," she cries, "a glance, a tone May play an angel's part, And serve to pulverise the stone Which chills the lonely heart."

"Mingle," she cries, "Who loves us best, Society decreed; And inequality the test Of love in every need."

Here some are grand in gems and silk, Some grim in ragged grey, Poor parents bring but "mother's milk," And millionaires Tokay.

Some as if empty-handed come; Yet with brave sound and show Add to the brilliance and the hum; Life scarce might these forego.

And faithful guests will aye believe The poor who nought afford, Welcomed, bring more than they receive, In blessings from the Lord.

And surely 'twere a godless roll Whose record should exclude The hearts that feed the hungry soul With spiritual food.

The cates that wit and science bring, Beauty, and art, and joy, The arms that toil and tongues that sing Might Homer's lyre employ.

My emblem briefly would express The wealth of deed and speech Man brings to man, wherewith to bless All hearts within their reach,

So they observe as they approve, The golden rule divine, His sacramental law of Love Who blessed the bread and wine.

THE HIPPOCAMPUS, OR SEA-HORSE.

Sea minnow this with pony's crest, Just one of Amphitrite's toys, With which her Nereids coax to rest The little stormy Triton boys;

In truth, a tiny twisted thing Which cast upon that golden shore The dark-eyed boys to strangers bring Where sang Parthenope of yore.

Device befitting sculptured page Quaintly with whiffs of song entwined, Waif from the ebbing tide of age, A Hippocampus of the mind,

Which seeks from out the old and new, A happy cento to compile, Whose signs and words around may strew The soothing of a quiet smile.

Now in the fish some hearts may claim A symbol ever dear to us; And some the pony pet, though lame, A little mule of Pegasus.

Then haste, thou atom of a book, To young and old with cheery call; In town, or train, or pastoral nook, Thy message has a word for all.

BIVALVES

BIVALVES.

ABSTINENCE AND TEMPERANCE.

Proud Abstinence the gifts of Heaven denies; But Temperance the Giver justifies.

AFFECTATION AND RUDENESS.

Affected manners irritate we know, But rudeness hurts us like a clumsy blow.

ALMSGIVING.

Deny yourself how much let no one see; God loves a secret costly charity.

ARCHITECT.

O Architect! beware how you begin: Who founds in error elevates a sin.

ART.

When Genius took fair Nature to his heart, She bore a daughter, and her name is Art.

ART.

Five powers combine for Art's successful course: Truth, beauty, passion, unity, and force.

BEAUTY.

A stream to feed love, joy, and wonder given; It blesses Earth, but springs and ends in Heaven.

BOOKS.

Books I prefer, for when not to my mind, I shut them up; not so with human kind.

CANDOUR.

You speak out what you think, I hear you boast; To think out what you speak would profit most.

CANDOUR.

You always speak your mind; then cautious be; No mind from prejudice is always free.

CERTAIN PREACHERS.