 | 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition |  |
166
THE SUNBEAM.
It upsprang, in the splendour of its track,
From the mercy-seat of God;
To scatter its radiance on the wrack,
And a glory on the clod.
From the mercy-seat of God;
To scatter its radiance on the wrack,
And a glory on the clod.
And it came, on a mission of peace and joy,
With a message of love and bliss;
To say that the earth was only a toy,
And that death was only a kiss.
With a message of love and bliss;
To say that the earth was only a toy,
And that death was only a kiss.
And it burst from the cloudland dark and drear,
Till its brightness filled the shade;
While it lit with a glow the falling tear,
And the cheek that began to fade.
Till its brightness filled the shade;
While it lit with a glow the falling tear,
And the cheek that began to fade.
And it warmed the heart that was dim and cold,
In the saddest, dullest land;
And whatever it touched it turned to gold,
With the magic of its hand.
In the saddest, dullest land;
And whatever it touched it turned to gold,
With the magic of its hand.
And it lingered fondly, if it went,
To brighten and to bless;
And the wearied spirit nearly spent,
Was revived by its glad caress.
To brighten and to bless;
And the wearied spirit nearly spent,
Was revived by its glad caress.
And it fell on the evil and the good,
With its grand impartial span;
And as with the bonds of brotherhood,
It united man to man.
With its grand impartial span;
And as with the bonds of brotherhood,
It united man to man.
And it seemed like a saviour in its flight,
When it glanced on the judgment rod;
And the flowers that were pining for the light,
Leapt up from the laughing sod.
When it glanced on the judgment rod;
And the flowers that were pining for the light,
Leapt up from the laughing sod.
And it gathered in its gracious smile,
All things that arose or fell;
It ennobled what was mean or vile,
With its soft transfiguring spell.
All things that arose or fell;
It ennobled what was mean or vile,
With its soft transfiguring spell.
And it shed its shining on the peer,
As upon the beggar's face;
And it folded blooming lives and sere,
In the breadth of its embrace.
As upon the beggar's face;
And it folded blooming lives and sere,
In the breadth of its embrace.
And it rested, a moment, on the crutch
Of the cripple helpless laid;
And it seemed to him like an angel's touch,
Sent down from the heavens to aid.
Of the cripple helpless laid;
And it seemed to him like an angel's touch,
Sent down from the heavens to aid.
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And it strengthened the faith that waxèd faint,
While it lightened the darkened eyes;
And it lay on the brow of the dying saint,
As a benediction lies.
While it lightened the darkened eyes;
And it lay on the brow of the dying saint,
As a benediction lies.
And, at last, when the shadows were painted bright,
On the pathway of peace it trod;
It returned from the duty that was delight,
To the Goodness that is God.
On the pathway of peace it trod;
It returned from the duty that was delight,
To the Goodness that is God.
| 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition | |