 | Ballads and Other Poems |  |
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THE PREACHER'S STORY.
Mine is no idle legend of romance,
No flowery tale of knights and chivalrie,
Of love-lorn damsel, or of elfin dance
Held in the moonlight 'neath some haunted tree;
Nor fabled marvels of the far-off sea:
Such lighter themes I leave to younger men;
Ill would it suit an ancient man like me,
Whose days are verging to fourscore and ten,
On light and trivial tale toemploy my feeble pen.
No flowery tale of knights and chivalrie,
Of love-lorn damsel, or of elfin dance
Held in the moonlight 'neath some haunted tree;
Nor fabled marvels of the far-off sea:
Such lighter themes I leave to younger men;
Ill would it suit an ancient man like me,
Whose days are verging to fourscore and ten,
On light and trivial tale toemploy my feeble pen.
Fain would I, from my long experience,
Teach you what well beseemeth all to know:
How good it is to trust in Providence,
Who clothes the lilies in their vests of snow,
And from his high heaven sees our want and woe,
Counts every tear, and hears each secret sigh;
Who bids the floods of righteous vengeance flow,
Yet bounds their devastation. Even I
Have seen his love displayed, and of it testify.
Teach you what well beseemeth all to know:
How good it is to trust in Providence,
Who clothes the lilies in their vests of snow,
And from his high heaven sees our want and woe,
Counts every tear, and hears each secret sigh;
Who bids the floods of righteous vengeance flow,
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Have seen his love displayed, and of it testify.
Bonds unto death my pious fathers knew,
For conscience' sake: the might of bigot power,
Even on their hearths and at their altars, slew,
As a fierce Moloch greedy to devour.
How strong the weak in persecution's hour,
Who put their trust in God! Fair women stood
Like the mailed champion in his vantage tower;
And tender little ones, through fire and blood,
Maintained their holy faith, pure martyrs unsubdued.
For conscience' sake: the might of bigot power,
Even on their hearths and at their altars, slew,
As a fierce Moloch greedy to devour.
How strong the weak in persecution's hour,
Who put their trust in God! Fair women stood
Like the mailed champion in his vantage tower;
And tender little ones, through fire and blood,
Maintained their holy faith, pure martyrs unsubdued.
God saw his little band in their distress,
And heard their cry rise from the prison cell;
For them he oped the pathless wilderness,
And led them from captivity, to dwell
In a broad land of summer rest, where fell
On them no bigot fury, no behest
Of king or priest their conscience to compel.
No! in the wide free forests of the West
Fearless they worshipped God as they believed it best.
And heard their cry rise from the prison cell;
For them he oped the pathless wilderness,
And led them from captivity, to dwell
In a broad land of summer rest, where fell
On them no bigot fury, no behest
Of king or priest their conscience to compel.
No! in the wide free forests of the West
Fearless they worshipped God as they believed it best.
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Hemmed by the mountains and the forests round,
Beside the margin of a mighty lake,
How quiet was the heritage they found!
How tranquilly each morning did they wake!
How tranquilly, when day was done, betake
Themselves to rest! and on the genial air
What holy sounds of psalmody did break
Forth from the silence of the forest, where
Those humble people met for fervent praise and prayer!
Beside the margin of a mighty lake,
How quiet was the heritage they found!
How tranquilly each morning did they wake!
How tranquilly, when day was done, betake
Themselves to rest! and on the genial air
What holy sounds of psalmody did break
Forth from the silence of the forest, where
Those humble people met for fervent praise and prayer!
They laid their dead beneath the spreading trees,
Making the place about them holy ground.
Years passed: the men grew old, and on their knees
Seated their children's children, and the sound
Of prosperous human life rang gaily round.
No storms had been within their homes of peace;
God's blessing went with them; and they had found,
In flocks, and herds, and stores, a vast increase;
In daughters and in sons, as though the blessing would not cease.
Making the place about them holy ground.
Years passed: the men grew old, and on their knees
Seated their children's children, and the sound
Of prosperous human life rang gaily round.
No storms had been within their homes of peace;
God's blessing went with them; and they had found,
In flocks, and herds, and stores, a vast increase;
In daughters and in sons, as though the blessing would not cease.
I was among the children of those sires.
The forest in its beauty was our own;
And the wild creatures, and the woodland quires,
To us were as familiar playmates known;
And every flower by liberal nature sown
We gathered in our sylvan revelry:
For gladness, as a robe, was o'er us thrown;
And our grey fathers 'neath some forest tree
Sate in their pleasant rest, as joyfully as we.
The forest in its beauty was our own;
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To us were as familiar playmates known;
And every flower by liberal nature sown
We gathered in our sylvan revelry:
For gladness, as a robe, was o'er us thrown;
And our grey fathers 'neath some forest tree
Sate in their pleasant rest, as joyfully as we.
More joyfully; for their tried hearts could measure
Their rest by knowledge all unknown to ours.
Alas! upon that dream of summer pleasure
Broke whirlwind rumours of contending powers;
A quick alarm ran through those sylvan bowers,
With the wild tumult of approaching war;
And in the deep hush of the midnight hours
The dismal war-whoop sounded from afar,
Rousing the slumberers up with its unearthly jar.
Their rest by knowledge all unknown to ours.
Alas! upon that dream of summer pleasure
Broke whirlwind rumours of contending powers;
A quick alarm ran through those sylvan bowers,
With the wild tumult of approaching war;
And in the deep hush of the midnight hours
The dismal war-whoop sounded from afar,
Rousing the slumberers up with its unearthly jar.
And then, with morning's light we sadly traced
Where those wild dwellers of the woods had gone;
Behind them lay a black and smoking waste,
As carrying fire and terror they went on.
Then passed the hostile army; and anon
Our flocks and herds were driven from the stall,
The harvests of our summer trampled down;
And we were left in penury, stripped of all;
Yet dreading worse distress and terror to befall.
Where those wild dwellers of the woods had gone;
Behind them lay a black and smoking waste,
As carrying fire and terror they went on.
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Our flocks and herds were driven from the stall,
The harvests of our summer trampled down;
And we were left in penury, stripped of all;
Yet dreading worse distress and terror to befall.
Trouble on trouble came, and woe on woe,
And famine triumphed o'er our sylvan town;
No more the hunters to the woods could go;
For the fierce Indian ranging up and down,
Or skulking 'neath the dark low boughs, had done
His work of death so frequently and well,
That often of the hunter bands not one
Returned unto the desolate town, to tell
How hopeless was their quest, or where their brethren fell.
And famine triumphed o'er our sylvan town;
No more the hunters to the woods could go;
For the fierce Indian ranging up and down,
Or skulking 'neath the dark low boughs, had done
His work of death so frequently and well,
That often of the hunter bands not one
Returned unto the desolate town, to tell
How hopeless was their quest, or where their brethren fell.
The winter came. Oh, sorrowful to see!
No longer food within the frozen lake,
Nor corn, nor fruits, nor venison store had we,
Nor refuge was there whither to betake
Ourselves from wasting want; and famine spake
Appalling truths in hale men's feebleness;
But it was saddest, when the child did make
Piteous appeal, to dole forth less and less
Of miserable food, a mockery of distress.
No longer food within the frozen lake,
Nor corn, nor fruits, nor venison store had we,
Nor refuge was there whither to betake
Ourselves from wasting want; and famine spake
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But it was saddest, when the child did make
Piteous appeal, to dole forth less and less
Of miserable food, a mockery of distress.
One Sabbath night, one Christmas Sabbath night,
When the bright stars looked from the frosty sky,
And all around the silent earth was white
With the crisp snow, which all untracked did lie,
A blank expanse 'neath Heaven's eternal eye,
We met, as was our wont, for prayer and praise,
Beneath the roof which in long years gone by
Our fathers in the wilderness did raise,
That they might serve the Lord who had redeemed their days.
When the bright stars looked from the frosty sky,
And all around the silent earth was white
With the crisp snow, which all untracked did lie,
A blank expanse 'neath Heaven's eternal eye,
We met, as was our wont, for prayer and praise,
Beneath the roof which in long years gone by
Our fathers in the wilderness did raise,
That they might serve the Lord who had redeemed their days.
My years were few: I was a thoughtless child,
Thoughtless till then; but ne'er shall I forget
That solemn time. My hoary sire, a mild,
Strong-hearted man; I can recall him yet;
He was our minister, and there he met
His little flock, a pale dejected band.
He stood amid them, and his cheeks were wet
With sorrow which his strength could ill withstand,
And love, that o'er his soul had absolute command.
Thoughtless till then; but ne'er shall I forget
That solemn time. My hoary sire, a mild,
Strong-hearted man; I can recall him yet;
He was our minister, and there he met
His little flock, a pale dejected band.
He stood amid them, and his cheeks were wet
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And love, that o'er his soul had absolute command.
He prayed, and he exhorted all to hope,
And put in God undoubting confidence;
He culled from Holy Writ the glorious scope
Of mercy, miracle, and providence,
Proving how faith 'gainst woe is sure defence.
He told of Israel, through the desert led,
Eating of food that came they knew not whence;
And the seven thousand on the mountain fed,
In humble, holy faith, by Christ, the Living Bread.
And put in God undoubting confidence;
He culled from Holy Writ the glorious scope
Of mercy, miracle, and providence,
Proving how faith 'gainst woe is sure defence.
He told of Israel, through the desert led,
Eating of food that came they knew not whence;
And the seven thousand on the mountain fed,
In humble, holy faith, by Christ, the Living Bread.
Strong were his words, mighty and eloquent,
Unlike the usual tenor of his speech;
And to all hearts a clear conviction w en
That God spoke through him, graciously to reach
Their drooping spirits, to console, to teach
How He the fountain of all good would be.
Thus did the Apostles to the churches preach.
All bowed, that blessed night, the trembling knee,
Knowing that God could save, and praying fervently.
Unlike the usual tenor of his speech;
And to all hearts a clear conviction w en
That God spoke through him, graciously to reach
Their drooping spirits, to console, to teach
How He the fountain of all good would be.
Thus did the Apostles to the churches preach.
All bowed, that blessed night, the trembling knee,
Knowing that God could save, and praying fervently.
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Oh, marvel of God's love! The morning light
Put doubt and misbelieving fear to shame;
For, from the forest, in the silent night,
Herds of the wild-deer trooping onward came
Into our empty folds, as come the tame
Flocks from the pasture. To the very door
Those shy, wild creatures, which all art disclaim,
Came a free sacrifice, a living store
Sent by their God and ours, that we might want no more.
Put doubt and misbelieving fear to shame;
For, from the forest, in the silent night,
Herds of the wild-deer trooping onward came
Into our empty folds, as come the tame
Flocks from the pasture. To the very door
Those shy, wild creatures, which all art disclaim,
Came a free sacrifice, a living store
Sent by their God and ours, that we might want no more.
Pity it seemed those gentle beasts to slay:
But hunger hath no mercies; and so great
Had been our want, that on their easy prey
They fell and slew, and, thankfully elate,
They and their famished households freely ate.
There was no longer want, no longer fear,
All saw that God, in love compassionate,
Had in their sorest need vouchsafed to hear,
And given unto their prayers food to sustain and cheer.
But hunger hath no mercies; and so great
Had been our want, that on their easy prey
They fell and slew, and, thankfully elate,
They and their famished households freely ate.
There was no longer want, no longer fear,
All saw that God, in love compassionate,
Had in their sorest need vouchsafed to hear,
And given unto their prayers food to sustain and cheer.
From that day forth all vain and idle thought,
All cold and sinful doubt, I put aside;
I felt that a strong power within me wrought,
Which changed my foolish heart and purified;
God's power I saw, which could not be belied;
His arm outstretched, as in the ancient day;
Therefore, abasing all unholy pride,
I vowed to be his minister alway,
And preach to all His love, which hath no stint nor stay.
All cold and sinful doubt, I put aside;
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Which changed my foolish heart and purified;
God's power I saw, which could not be belied;
His arm outstretched, as in the ancient day;
Therefore, abasing all unholy pride,
I vowed to be his minister alway,
And preach to all His love, which hath no stint nor stay.
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