 | 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition |  |
A KING OF COMMERCE.
A sober silent man, who rarely speaks,
And sceptre-like his hand
Waves, as a watcher upon mountain peaks
Sighting a distant land,
And in one sweep of action swiftly wreaks
The custom of command.
And sceptre-like his hand
Waves, as a watcher upon mountain peaks
Sighting a distant land,
And in one sweep of action swiftly wreaks
The custom of command.
A simple steadfast man, who knows his mind
And others' even as well,
Able to shut and open, loose or bind,
As fortune's turn may tell,
And fixed in farthest venture gain to find,
True as his dinner bell.
And others' even as well,
Able to shut and open, loose or bind,
As fortune's turn may tell,
And fixed in farthest venture gain to find,
True as his dinner bell.
A calm and earnest man, whom nothing moves
From purpose duly weighed—
That more than giant sword which first he proves,
If purblind souls inveighed
Against it, flashed on sure triumphant grooves;
He speaks, and is obeyed.
From purpose duly weighed—
That more than giant sword which first he proves,
If purblind souls inveighed
Against it, flashed on sure triumphant grooves;
He speaks, and is obeyed.
A self-sufficient man, who leans on none,
And shapes the hindrance meet
To serve his object, ere the fight is done,
And deems brief failure sweet—
Who sees, as forth he steps, reliant, one
All markets at his feet.
And shapes the hindrance meet
To serve his object, ere the fight is done,
And deems brief failure sweet—
Who sees, as forth he steps, reliant, one
All markets at his feet.
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A many-witted man, whom trial shakes
But to a firmer hold,
Whereby the tempest at its flood he takes—
Upon it stamps his mould,
And from its baffled wrath and refuse makes,
Serene, a bridge of gold.
But to a firmer hold,
Whereby the tempest at its flood he takes—
Upon it stamps his mould,
And from its baffled wrath and refuse makes,
Serene, a bridge of gold.
A poised and prudent man, who looks all round,
While others dine and dance,
Feels every pulse, notes dim sedition's sound,
No handle leaves for chance,
Exactly tests the worth of each rebound,
That he may yet advance.
While others dine and dance,
Feels every pulse, notes dim sedition's sound,
No handle leaves for chance,
Exactly tests the worth of each rebound,
That he may yet advance.
A wakeful working man, who not by pelf
Rules over realms that heed,
And lays no plans to moulder on the shelf,
Until dark days of need,
But what he wishes done that does himself,
And therefore must succeed.
Rules over realms that heed,
And lays no plans to moulder on the shelf,
Until dark days of need,
But what he wishes done that does himself,
And therefore must succeed.
A wise and kingly man, who patient bides
The season that will send
His will at last, and gloriously rides
On seas that nations bend,
And bids all winds and waves and adverse tides
Bring tribute to his end.
The season that will send
His will at last, and gloriously rides
On seas that nations bend,
And bids all winds and waves and adverse tides
Bring tribute to his end.
| 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition | |