Part III.
In the Iroquois towns very deep was the grief, When they heard of the pitiful plight of their chief; There wasn't a woman in all the Five Nations, Who didn't indulge in prolonged lamentations. They tried to relieve him, but tried all in vain, The tenderest touch produced exquisite pain: The med'cine men tried incantations and sorceries, And yet, though their magic as strong as a hawser is, The tooth wouldn't budge for the best of the lot; The more they incanted the tighter it got.
A Dutchman from Albany came to their aid, Who had once been a student of medicine at Leyden; He practised in vain each resource of his trade, And swore that the tooth by the foul fiend was made, While its carious cavity was, so he said, A hole for the Devil to hide in.
Big Hornet meanwhile grew haggard and grey, With grief and chagrin he was wasting away; His friends found their efforts all powerless to save Their chief in his rapid descent to the grave; There was nobody able to set the tooth free, It clung like a little Old Man of the Sea!
It happened one day there was brought to the town A captive French priest in a shabby black gown; He had very black eyes and a rather red nose, Wore shoes with steel buckles, and very square toes; He'd a stoop in the shoulder, was yellow of skin, And a week's growth of bristles disfigured his chin. Alas and alack! it was Father Le Cocq: The Iroquois wolves had both harried the flock And kidnapped the shepherd--now doomed to be fried as Soon as it suited the heathen Oneidas!
Now, just as a drowning man grabs at a straw, His aid was besought by the favourite squaw Of the sick man--no doubt at some saint's kind suggestion To specify which is quite out of the question. "O Frenchman, remove the excrescence that grows So horribly tight on the bridge of his nose, And home to your friends you shall safely return Instead of remaining among us to burn!" Thus urged, the good Jesuit followed the squaw; But oh! his bewilderment, wonder and awe, No tongue can describe, and no pencil can paint, When lifting his hands in amazement he saw On the nose of the red-skin the tooth of the saint.
But Father Le Cocq wasn't long at a loss; He made on the relic the sign of the cross, When, wondrous to hear and amazing to tell, The tooth from the nose incontinent fell. And the chief, from that moment, began to get well!
My story is told. There's no more to relate. The Iroquois sent back the Father in state; They feasted him daily as long as he'd tarry, Then gave him more furs than he knew how to carry, And safe in his bosom, thrice fortunate man, He bore the back tooth of the blessed Saint Anne!
As for Little White Crow from that day to the end Of his life he was known as the "Frenchman's best friend"; A friend of French missions he called himself, and he Without any doubt was a friend of French brandy. At the close of a well spent career the old man had a Collection of scalps quite unequalled in Canada: But never again did he venture to sneer At the bones of the saints, looked they never so queer. He often would say that his good luck began, On the day he received the back tooth of Saint Anne; And for all his successes he piously thanked it. He Died full of years in the odour of sanctity.
1878.
Consider the Lilies of the Field[5]
O weary child of toil and care, Trembling at every cloud that lowers, Come and behold how passing fair Thy God hath made the flowers.
From every hillside's sunny slope, From every forest's leafy shade The flowers, sweet messengers of hope, Bid thee "Be not afraid."
The windflower blooms in yonder bower All heedless of to-morrow's storm, Nor trembles for the coming shower The lily's stately form.
No busy shuttle plied to deck With sunset tints the blushing rose, And little does the harebell reck Of toil and all its woes.
The water-lily, pure and white, Floats idle on the summer stream, Seeming almost too fair and bright For aught but Poet's dream.
The gorgeous tulip, though arrayed In gold and gems, knows naught of care, The violet in the mossy glade Of labour has no share.
They toil not--yet the lily's dyes Phoenicean fabrics far surpass, Nor India's rarest gem out-vies The little blue-eyed grass.
For God's own hand hath clothed the flowers With fairy form and rainbow hue, Hath nurtured them with summer showers And watered them with dew.
To-day, a thousand blossoms fair, From sunny slope and sheltered glade, With grateful incense fill the air-- To-morrow they shall fade.
But thou shalt live when sinks in night Yon glorious sun, and shall not He Who hath the flowers so richly dight, Much rather care for thee?
O, faithless murmurer, thou may'st read A lesson in the lowly sod, Heaven will supply thine utmost need, Fear not, but trust in God.
1865.
[5]Awarded the prize for English verse in the University of Toronto in 1865.
The Skunk Cabbage
"Along the oozing margins of swampy streams, where Spring seems to detach the sluggish ice from the softening mud, the Skunk Cabbage is boldly announcing nature's revival. Handsome, vigorous and strong, richly coloured in purple, with delicate . . . markings of yellow, it rises . . . a pointed bulb-like flower, as large as a lemon. . . . Even its devoted admirers, who seek it as the earliest of all the awakening flowers, feel constrained to apologise for the odour it exhales."--S. T. Wood, in _The Globe_.
The soft south wind hath kissed the earth That long a widowed bride hath been; And she begins in tearful mirth, To weave herself a robe of green. The budding spray On maples grey Proclaims the quick approaching spring; And brooks their new-found freedom sing.
Green is the moss in yonder glade On cedars old that loves to grow; And, underneath the pine tree's shade, The wintergreen peeps through the snow. The fields no more With frost are hoar; But not a flower doth yet appear In glade or wood or meadow sere.
The earth within her sheltering breast The pale hepatica doth hide; The bloodroot and wake-robin rest In quiet slumber side by side; The violet Is sleeping yet; And still the sweet spring-beauty lies Beyond the reach of longing eyes.
But look! beside the silent stream, Beneath the alders brown and bare, What is it shines with purple gleam 'Mid withered leaves that moulder there? I know thee well, But may not tell Thy name. Yet I rejoice to meet thee, And from my heart, old friend, I greet thee!
The lily hangs her dainty head To hear her charms so loudly sung; The rose doth blush a deeper red To know her praise on every tongue. But no kind word Is ever heard Of thee: The poets all reject thee, The vulgar scorn thee or neglect thee.
And yet I love thee. Thou dost bring To me a thousand visions bright Of joyous birds that soon will sing Among the hawthorn blossoms white; Of happy hours 'Mid dewy flowers; The hum of bees; the silvery gleams Of leaping trout in amber streams.
Soon as the snows of winter yield To April sun and April floods, Retiring from the open field To strongholds in the thickest woods, Then like a scout, Dost thou peep out, And cheerily lift up thy head To tell the flowers the foe has fled.
O thou that comest our hearts to cheer, The first of all the flowers of spring, Brave herald of the opening year, Accept the tribute that I bring, When now once more, The winter o'er, Thy honest face has greeted us, O Symplocarpus foetidus![6]
1904.
[6]The fickle botanists have changed the generic name of the Skunk Cabbage to Spathyema. For reasons which will be obvious to the intelligent reader, the author prefers to retain the older designation.
The Wanderer's Song
We have left far behind us the dwellings of men, We have traversed the forest, the lake and the fen, From island to island like sea birds we roam, The waves are our path, and the world is our home. Juvallera, Juvallera, Juvallera, lera, lera! Juvallera, Juvallera, Juvallera, lera, lera!
On the lone rugged rocks a rich table we spread, The balsam and hemlock afford us a bed; While the gleam of our camp fire illumines the sky, And the murmuring pines sing a soft lullaby. Juvallera, etc.
When the orient hues of the dawning of day Emblazon the clouds and smile back from the bay, We spring from our couch like the stag from his lair, And drink in new life with the free morning air. Juvallera, etc.
Then we launch our light bark on the silvery lake, That dimples and breaks into smiles in our wake; While we sweeten our toil with a tale or a song, Or rest while the winds waft us bravely along. Juvallera, etc.
At night when the deer to the thicket has fled, And the scream of the night hawk is heard overhead, We startle with laughter the wilderness dim, Or the forests resound with our evening hymn. Juvallera, etc.
Then Hurrah for the north, with its woods and its hills; Hurrah for its rocks, and its lakes and its rills! And long may its forests be lovely as now, Untouched by the axe, and unscathed by the plow! Juvallera, etc.
1870.
The Cowdung Fly
Of all the flies that ever I see The Cowdung Fly is the fly for me In cloud or shine, in wet or dry You can't find the beat of the Cowdung Fly! So early in the morning or when the sun is sinking, So early in the morning or any time of day.
The salmon fly shines in purple and gold Brighter than Solomon shone of old But give me the finest that money can buy And I'll give it you back for the Cowdung Fly! So early, &c.
A cute little chap is the silver trout When the wind is still and the sun shines out! No maiden so coy and no widow so sly But he'll jump like a shot at the Cowdung Fly! So early, &c.
A tough old cuss is the big black bass It's a mighty hard job to bring him to grass But it makes no odds how hard he may try He can't resist the Cowdung Fly! So early, &c.
There's many a fly of old renown Green Drake, Red Spinner and little March Brown, Coachman, Professor, but Oh my eye! They ain't a patch on the Cowdung Fly! So early, &c.
There are Hackles black and Hackles white Good by day and good by night Hackles brown and Hackles red But the Cowdung Fly is away ahead! So early, &c.
There's the little black gnat when the sun shines bright And the big white moth for the cool twilight But of all the bugs in earth and sky I'll bet my boots on the Cowdung Fly! So early, &c.
Then anglers all you can't go wrong If you've plenty of Cowdung Flies along You never will want for fish to fry If your book's well stocked with the Cowdung Fly!
Song of the Bass
Over the waters, merrily dancing, Softly glides our light canoe, While the phantom mirror glancing, Shines alternate white and blue.
_Chorus._
Never can tell when the bass is a-coming, Never can tell when he's going to bite; First thing you know your reel will be humming, Strike him quickly and hold him tight.
Past the maples, red and yellow, Crimson oak and purple ash-- Gosh! you've hooked a monstrous fellow! Golly! don't you hear him splash?
Hold him lightly, reel him slowly If you wish your fish to save; Nothing's gained by hurry--Holy Moses! what a jump he gave.
Lower your rod; now take the slack up-- Thank your stars you've got him yet! Now he sticks his thorny back up-- Now you've got him in the net!
In the basket, wrapped in fern, he'll Lie in state in scaly grace; In the pan, when we return, he'll Find a warmer resting place.
Let him fry in crumbs and butter-- Hear the appetizing fizz! No weak words that I could utter Can describe how good he is.
Serve him with a slice of bacon, Quickly to the banquet come, And unless I'm much mistaken Your remark will be "yum, yum!"
Never can tell when the Bass is a-comin'
Words: Drs. Ellis & Spencer. Music: Adapted.
_Allegro piscatore: con brio._
Maskinongewagaming[7]
Would you slay the Maskinongé In the fastness where he lurks? Leave a card _pour prendre congé_ On the town and all its works.
Leave the tram-car's jarring jangle For the silent bark canoe; For the forest's leafy tangle, Bid the dusty streets adieu.
As befits her slender tonnage, In our tiny craft we stow Cunningly our modest dunnage-- Shove her off, away we go!
Joy once more to grasp the paddle! Farewell worry, doubt and gloom. Care, who clings behind the saddle, Finds in our canoe no room.
Off we go! The lake before us Stretches far and stretches fair; Forest scents are wafted o'er us; Forest voices fill the air.
Paddling past the pebbly beaches Where the ancient cedar grows; Toiling in the open reaches When the stiff nor'wester blows.
Winding down the silent river Where the scarlet maples blaze, And the pallid aspens quiver Through the warm September days;
Past the oily eddies sweeping Where the hidden boulder lies; Down the rapid gaily leaping Where the spray about us flies.
Poling through the gravelly shallows, Floating 'neath the alder's shade, Where the moose at noon-tide wallows, And the beaver plies his trade;
Shoving through the rustling sedges, Battling with the autumn gale; Lifting over rocky ledges, Sweating on the portage trail--
On we go, with steadfast faces, Till at last with gladdened eyes, We behold the secret places Where the Maskinongé lies.
Shall we find him in the rushes? Where the waterlilies grow? Where the roaring torrent gushes? In the foam-flecked pool below?
Fierce and cunning, bold and cruel, Is the Maskinongé grim, Who shall dare him to a duel? Who shall fight and conquer him? * * * *
Proudly with his spoil returning, We with shouts the victor greet; By the camp-fire brightly burning, He shall have the warmest seat.
Is he hungry? Pile the platter; Thirsty? Join the gay carouse; Weary with his toil? What matter? Heap his bed with balsam boughs.
Fill his pipe with rare Virginian, Cheer him till the echoes ring, Monarch of his new dominion, Maskinongewagaming.
1904.
[7]The place where the Maskinongé dwells. In the vulgar tongue "Lunge Lake."
Magaguadavic[8] and Digdeguash
"Are not Abana and Pharpar rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?"
Let each man praise the river That's dearest to his heart, The Rhine, the Guadalquivir, The Danube or the Dart. Let others sing the Tavy, The Tweed, the Wye, the Lea, Give me the Magaguadavic, The Digdeguash for me.
Some men choose lakes for fishing-- Ceceebe or Couchiching, Namabinagashishing, Kenongewagaming. I'll take my affidavy That what they say is bosh; Give me the Magaguadavic, Give me the Digdeguash!
Beneath the shady willow Cast cunningly your flies, His wake a widening billow; Behold the monster rise! No dreadnought in the navy Could make so big a splosh; You'd hear at Magaguadavic The trout of Digdeguash!
Behind the purple spruces The golden sunset dies, As each his pipe produces And puts away his flies. The basket's full, the slavey To-morrow morn shall wash The spoils of Magaguadavic, The loot of Digdeguash!
And when upon the table They come to lie in state, Hardly shall we be able A decent grace to wait. They need no sauce nor gravy, For none can beat, by gosh! The trout of Magaguadavic, But those of Digdeguash!
O restless Bay of Fundy, O mist and fog and rain, Hope whispers I may one day Behold you yet again. How gladly would I brave ye, Nor ask a mackintosh, To see the Magaguadavic, To fish the Digdeguash.
Callirrhoe's fair daughters Have fled their ancient grots; The voice of many waters Turns shrieking into watts. But spare, oh! spare, I crave ye, Amid the general squash, The falls of Magaguadavic, The rips of Digdeguash!
1910.
[8]Pronounced Mackadavy.
Rhona Adair
How dull these links to me! Rhona's not there, She whom I long to see, Rhona Adair! Who has a swing so true? Who such a follow through? Who, who can putt like you, Rhona Adair?
Who drives her ball so far, Far through the air Swift as a shooting star? Rhona Adair. Who hits her ball so clean, Landing, whate'er's between Dead on the putting green? Rhona Adair!
Whose strokes, of all who strike With hers compare? Who has a waggle like Rhona Adair? Of all the girls I've seen Playing across the green You, Rhona, are the Queen! Rhona Adair!
The Duffer's Elegy
"Oh! put me on your waiting list I'll be a golfer if I may And learn the joys too long I've missed Before I get too old to play!"
They gave him on the list a place And year by year they let him wait, For golfers are a long-lived race And very seldom emigrate.
When, after many weary years, He reached the top his sponsor said, "The friend (excuse these natural tears) Whom I proposed has long been dead."
And when at last in Charon's wherry, It was the sponsor's turn to stand His friend came down to meet the ferry A phantom niblick in his hand.
"Welcome to Hades," thus the shade In hollow-sounding accents spoke Then spied a puff-ball and essayed To loft it, but he muffed his stroke.
"Permit me, pray, to be your guide Until you've learnt your way about Our golf course is our greatest pride Old Colonel Bogey laid it out.
"Some people say Avernus stinks And Acheron smells like a sewer But Fernhill golfers like our links They find the air so fresh and pure.
"Cocytus, Styx and Phlegethon As hazards serve extremely well, In this particular alone, The Lambton links are just like Hell.
"The asphodel wants cutting sadly, The lies are wretched, more's the pity But everything is managed badly By that infernal Green Committee.
"Come, lay aside your shroud and pall And play a friendly round with me." (A Dead Sea apple was the ball, A pinch of church-yard dust, the tee.)
He took the club of cypress wood And smote what seemed a mighty blow, But, though the aim was true and good The ball remained in _statu quo_.
"Alack and well-a-day," he cried, "A duffer must I ever be, A duffer I have lived and died A duffer through Eternity."
1905.
When Potter Played
When Potter played in front of me The other day upon the links, The mist rolled landward from the sea (The sleepy Caddie yawns and blinks), We watched him waggle at the tee And curl his body into kinks, When Potter played in front of me The other day upon the links.
We watched him make the divots flee And dribble o'er the bunker's brinks, The dewdrops sparkled on the lea, The sun shone through the fog bank's chinks. My partner, hopeful, said to me "He'll lose, and let us through methinks!" When Potter played in front of me The other day upon the links.
The noonday sun looks down in glee While Potter in the bunker swinks, He plies the niblick merrily While Caddie unto Caddie winks. The crow on yonder tall fir tree Looks down and caws at such high jinks, When Potter played in front of me The other day upon the links.
The shadows fall on land and sea, The sun to rest in splendour sinks, And Potter crouched on hand and knee Thinks out each putt, and thinks and thinks. We all got home too late for tea! My mind with grief and horror shrinks From memory of the day when we Played after Potter on the links.
1910.
Colonial Preference
Macgregor, always spick and span, Was quite the military man. He never walked about the town Arrayed in sober cap and gown, But blazed in scarlet, gold and steel, And clanked a sabre at his heel. He took no pride in his degree, In F.C.S. and F.I.C., But wrote with joy akin to tears C.D., Canadian Engineers! Macgregor had been often sent His country's arms to represent, To Chatham, Woolwich, Aldershot, Or anywhere, it mattered not. He always followed, never weary, "Quo fas et gloria duxere." At length, because they thought him yearning To represent his Country's learning, Toronto Universitee, Knowing how ready he would be Alike in "bello" and in "pace," Despatched him to the I.C.A.C. He packed his trappings Academical, And sailed to join the Congress Chemical, Which met that year in London reeky, To study "la chimie appliquée." Watching the vessel's fall and rise, 'Twas thus he did soliloquise-- "I may not wear my sword and spurs, But one glad thought my bosom stirs, 'Tis this that I shall surely be Presented to His Majesty! It may be when he sees my face He will reward me with a place With my deserts commensurate The Secretary, say, of State For War, or give me Chief Command Of all his troops on sea and land!" Arrived in town, his journey done, He took a cab to Kensington, Sir William Ramsay, honest man, With kindly words to greet him ran. "Put on," he cried, "your cleanest shirt And free your hands and face from dirt, To-morrow you shall go with me To meet His Gracious Majesty!" When they alighted from the train They met the Lord High Chamberlain Who scanned each name with anxious care Lest some who ought not should be there. "Here's Stinkemout from Buda Pesth, And Sneezetoff, and all the rest, Ezra P. Binks from Idaho, But here's a name I do not know 'Dr. Macgregor from Toronto,' That's something that I've not got onto!" Sir William cried "The College where My friend Macgregor holds a chair Is in Toronto, Canada." "Ah!" said the Chamberlain, "Ahah! I've heard of Canada, of course, But that's another coloured horse. Your friend, to say it gives me pain, Will have to toddle back again! The King, the invitation states, Receives the Foreign Delegates. Remove this person from the list He's nothing but a Colonist." A prophet, says the Holy Book, Must not at home for honour look, The greater here includes the lesser, For "Prophet" therefore read "Professor."
1912.
The Lyric League[9]
We be seventy Lyric Poets, All in the Fatherland, Our verse is delightful, although its Not easy to understand.
We're the flower and crown of the nation, The crown and flower of the earth, But we find our remuneration Inadequate to our worth.
We sing of "Sehnsucht" and "Trauer," "Die Liebe," "Das Herz" and "Die Welt," But leider, we haven't the power, To sing from the public "Das Geld."
The plumbers have their Union, Fast joined the joiners keep, And sweep hold dark communion, With sooty brother sweep.
The motormen and switchmen, The very firemen band, Alone against the richmen, The Poets helpless stand.
A fig for the Philistine slander, Let's cut from all precedent loose, What's sauce for the bus-driving gander, Is sauce for the quill-driving goose.
We'll found (because empty our purse is) A Lyrische Dichterverein; And we won't write any more verses, Under 50 pfennig a line.[10]
[9]"Seventy lyric poets in Germany have formed a trade's union, and agreed not to sell their verses for less than half a mark a line."--_Daily paper._
[10]The author encloses his name and address, not for publication, but in order that the editor may know where to send the three dollars and thirty-six cents--twenty-eight lines at twelve cents.
Psychology
Dr. Jaeger has propounded the theory that the Soul is an emanation emitted by animals, and is the cause of the odour characteristic of each species. Cf. in _Lives of the Saints_, "the odour of sanctity"; also _supra_, page 17.
What's the Soul? throughout the ages Mystery never yet unveiled Prophets, poets, saints and sages All have tried and all have failed.
But at last we've got an answer No vague dream or fancy vaguer From a scientific man--Sir Herr Professor Dr. Jaeger.
Printed in his lucid pages This is what he has to tell Listen poets; listen sages; That's the Soul that makes the smell.
Whoso takes his meat to season Onions chopped or garlic whole Shall enjoy a feast of reason Followed by a flow of soul.
The Bal Poudré[11]
The Reverend Canon Dumoulin Although he don't object To dancing in a room along With company select Can't tolerate the _Bal Poudré_ I am not surprised at all For when there's powder, cannons play The mischief with a ball.
[11]While rector of St. James's, Toronto, the late Canon Dumoulin protested against the holding of a _bal poudré_ in aid of a local charity.
Wisdom and Fancy _From the German of_ A. G. Marius.
With weary steps as Wisdom trod In Reason's dusty way Came Fancy with alluring nod And beckoned him astray. Laughing she snatched away his books, And charmed him with her witching looks, He could not say her nay.
She shook her curls with childlike grace And all his anger fled, He looked into her sunny face And followed where she led.
And lo! his weariness was gone Fresh vigour filled his soul She led him up, she led him on Till he had reached his goal.
Persicos odi TO MY TOBACCONIST
I hate your imported Havannahs, Your perfumed cheroots I decline; His own special weakness each man has, A pipe, I confess it, is mine.
Why take from their elegant wrappers Your gilded cork-tipped cigarettes, Fit only for militant flappers Or reckless R.M.C. cadets?
What need for cigars to be pining When smoking a briar or a clay; In front of the fire I'm reclining, And peacefully puffing away.
The Iceberg
We stood upon the deck and saw Mid fog and mist the iceberg loom; And while we gazed in wondering awe, It vanished into mist and gloom.
With various skill each tried to draw What printed on his brain had been The vision that he thought he saw Or that he thought he should have seen.
Some drew it flat, some drew it round And some with many a tower and steeple And when we shewed our work we found As many bergs as there were people!
Across each other's paths we drift Pale shadows on a misty sea. The clouds but for a moment lift Then naught is left but memory.
If then at any distant day Your thoughts should chance to turn to me Draw me not as I am, I pray, But as you think I ought to be.
Horace, Odes I. i.[12]
Colonel, Most worthy President, Our Club's chief stay and ornament, One man who drives with dust and jar A 40 h.p. motor car, All other mortals counts but clods, Himself a rival of the Gods. The fickle crowd another woos Him for a threefold term to choose. A third will lie awake all night If Manitoba wheat be light. Not Rockefeller's treasure chest Could tempt the Farmer to invest The savings of his life of toil In shares of rubber or of oil. The liner's skipper when he steers, The foghorn booming in his ears, Through thousand dangers all unseen, Sighs for the peaceful village green; Yet fog nor ice nor foundered ships Can stop him making record trips. Some spurn not, when their throats are dry, Long drinks of Irish or Old Rye, Nor scorn to blow through moistened lips Great clouds of smoke between the sips; Others in such things find no charms, And when the bugle calls to arms Would banish from the tented green (Bugbear of matrons) the Canteen. The hunter leaves his tender spouse For a rude bed of hemlock boughs, Content to bag a head or two Of bearded moose or caribou. But give me rather, if you please, A score-card full of 4's and 3's. The bunker cleared, the putt gone done, And, of all joys the flower and crown, The well-hit tee-shot's graceful flight When everything has gone just right! Alas! Fate holds for me in store No chances of a bogey score. I must send in till I am sick Cards that defy arithmetic; Nay, Haply, the Etobicoke May add to every hole a stroke, Yet, Colonel, if your grace awards Some place among the minor bards, Who sing the Game to me--Ah, then, I am the happiest of men! If me from this no fate debars Then my swelled head shall strike the stars.
[12]Read at the Farewell Dinner at the Old Toronto Golf Club House, October 19th, 1912, Col. G. A. Sweny, the President of the Club, in the Chair.
When You and I were Young[13]
When you and I were babes, Adam, In good Prince Albert's time, The word went forth that war should cease, Commerce should link all lands, and Peace Should dwell in every clime.
When you and I were boys, Adam, In Queen Victoria's days, Those guns that now so silent stand, Where meet the rulers of our land, With olive decked and bays.
Roared from the Russian ramparts grim, Their muzzles all ablaze, While old Todleben, with his back Against the wall, foiled each attack In Queen Victoria's days.
When you and I were young, Adam, In good Victoria's time, We stood together side by side, When Mewburn and Mackenzie died, And Tempest, "ere their prime."
But say not "they have left no peer--" That were unwelcome praise To those three friends of ours long dead, Whose blood for Fatherland was shed In good Victoria's days.
In royal Edward's time, Adam, Fresh prophecies were rife. They told us nickel-pointed shot And flat trajectories and what not Would rid the world of strife.
But now that we are old, Adam, We see with startled eyes Quick-firing guns won't stop the Jap, Nor Serb nor Bulgar cares a rap Who wins the Nobel prize.
When you and I were young, Adam, There were no telephones; There was no ultramicroscope; And no X-rays for those who grope And pry among the bones.
But, though with diagnostic aids They were but ill supplied, There were a few who shrewdly guessed (Old What's-his-name among the rest) At what went on inside.
When you and I were young, Adam, It was damnation stark To doubt that all that breathe the air, Came, male and female, pair by pair, Straight out of Noah's ark.
"Mutantur," Adam, "tempora Mutamur atque nos," And now we're not a bit afraid To tell just how the world was made In detail and in gross.
In pre-Archæan periods Of elemental stress The C and H and O and N Collide, rebound, combine, and then React with H_{2}S.
Colloidal specks from this ensued Which grew, and grew, and grew, With lively motion all endued, Till they attained a magnitude Of 0·01_m_.
Then somewhere over ·01 And under ·05 Amoeboid feelers out they sent And took some liquid nourishment And, lo, they were alive!
In pre-Archæan periods Let fancy have her fling, But, Adam, will your faith allow Such goings on can happen now When George the Fifth is King?
Well, times may change, and we may change, But find him when I can, I'll drink a health to one who's stood For all that's honest, kind and good; So here's to you, Old Man!
1912.
[13]Read at the Dinner given at the York Club, Toronto, November 29th, 1912, in honour of Dr. Adam H. Wright.
As a Watch in the Night[14]
The soldier called from rest or play To take his post as sentinel, To guard until the break of day Some sore-beleaguered citadel,
Springs to his arms with beating heart To take some war-worn veteran's place, Proud to perform a soldier's part, Dreading what yet he dares to face.
His comrades' footsteps on his ears Ring fainter and fainter. Silence falls About him. Moments seem like years, And loneliness his soul appals.
But when the signal rockets flare He strains his eyes the void to scan; When sounds of battle fill the air In face of death he plays the man.
He stays where duty bids him stay, The boldest when he fears the most; And Rounds, come whensoe'er they may, Find him alert and at his post.
Unnumbered now the moments fly By him whose thoughts are set upon Each moment's task. The eastern sky Brightens with dawn. The night is gone.
And hark, at last he grows aware Of footsteps his release that tell. Clear rings his challenge, "Who goes there?" "Relief!" "Advance, Relief, all's well!"
1913.
[14]Read at the Dinner given in May, 1913, in honour of Professor van der Smissen, Professor of German in University College, Toronto, on his retirement after forty-eight years' service in the University and University College.
To R. R. W.[15]
From Scotland's mists across the sea you bore The sacred fire, (kindled by him whose name Has made the century famous with his fame,) And bid our lamp burn brighter than before. Upon our Tree, a branch from Scotland's shore You grafted, and behold our Tree became Wanton in leafage; with blossoms all aflame; Deep rooted; and with boughs to heaven that soar.
We see the better issue from the strife, And hope the best. In loathsome crawling things We feel the fluttering of jewelled wings. In Nature's score, with seeming discords rife, We seek to read, with you, the note that brings To harmony the jarring chords of life.
[15]Read at the Dinner given in honour of Professor R. Ramsay Wright, Professor of Biology and Dean of the Faculty of Arts in the University of Toronto, on his retirement, May, 1912.
Richard Clay and Sons, Limited, BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.