 | Ballads of the North and Other Poems |  |
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FATHER MACKONOCHIE.
Rose-red o'er Ballachulish
The sunset dies away,
And glorious to the last expands
The short December day;
The purple islands of the West
Stretch down the ocean way;
The great and lonely mountain-land
Looms inland ghostly-grey.
The sunset dies away,
And glorious to the last expands
The short December day;
The purple islands of the West
Stretch down the ocean way;
The great and lonely mountain-land
Looms inland ghostly-grey.
Suddenly with the evening
The snow begins to fall,
And wailing voices of the North
In the wild winds to call;
And night wears on, and still they wait,
Nor hear within the hall
Thy homeward steps, O father
And friend, beloved of all!
The snow begins to fall,
And wailing voices of the North
In the wild winds to call;
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Nor hear within the hall
Thy homeward steps, O father
And friend, beloved of all!
Oh, dark upon Loch Leven
Comes down the winter night;
The desert spirits that love not man
The lonely hills affright;
The blinding whirlwinds and the snow
Beat out all sound and sight,
No moon is there, nor stars to give
The wanderer any light.
Comes down the winter night;
The desert spirits that love not man
The lonely hills affright;
The blinding whirlwinds and the snow
Beat out all sound and sight,
No moon is there, nor stars to give
The wanderer any light.
Oh, many on wild winter nights
Have been out here too late,
And left among the haunted glens
A hearthstone desolate;
Poor men and women, none have marked
Their name or their estate;
And now the father of the flock
Has come to share their fate.
Have been out here too late,
And left among the haunted glens
A hearthstone desolate;
Poor men and women, none have marked
Their name or their estate;
And now the father of the flock
Has come to share their fate.
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Oh, awful is the wilderness,
And pitiless the snow;
But down in dim St. Alban's
The seven lamps burn aglow,
And softly in the Sanctuary
The priest moves to and fro,
And with one heart the people pray;
And this is home below.
And pitiless the snow;
But down in dim St. Alban's
The seven lamps burn aglow,
And softly in the Sanctuary
The priest moves to and fro,
And with one heart the people pray;
And this is home below.
And higher, in the House of God,
Seven lamps before the Throne,
The golden vials of odours sweet,
The voice of praise alone;
With the belovèd, the redeemed,
Whose toil and tears are done,—
And this is in the Father's Home
That waits for everyone.
Seven lamps before the Throne,
The golden vials of odours sweet,
The voice of praise alone;
With the belovèd, the redeemed,
Whose toil and tears are done,—
And this is in the Father's Home
That waits for everyone.
O Priest, whom men unkindly judged
Too fixed on rule and rite,
In this thine hour no ritual comes
To help thee through this night;
None but the Everlasting Arms
Support thee with their might,
None but the unseen Comforter
Upholds thy soul in flight.
Too fixed on rule and rite,
In this thine hour no ritual comes
To help thee through this night;
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Support thee with their might,
None but the unseen Comforter
Upholds thy soul in flight.
For thee no priest, nor passing bell,
No holy oil or wine,
No prayer to speed the parting soul,
No sacred word or sign;
Long as thou hast by dying beds
Ministered things divine,
Nor voice nor hand of earthly friend
May minister to thine.
No holy oil or wine,
No prayer to speed the parting soul,
No sacred word or sign;
Long as thou hast by dying beds
Ministered things divine,
Nor voice nor hand of earthly friend
May minister to thine.
There is none other left but Thou,
O Jesus, now give ear!
Far off is every help and hope,
O Jesus, now draw near!
The heart is sinking and the flesh,
O Jesus, save and hear!
Darkness and death—Oh, show Thy Face,
O Jesus, Lord, most dear!
O Jesus, now give ear!
Far off is every help and hope,
O Jesus, now draw near!
The heart is sinking and the flesh,
O Jesus, save and hear!
Darkness and death—Oh, show Thy Face,
O Jesus, Lord, most dear!
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One kneeleth in his chamber,
Near midnight, at his prayer,
He feels a cold breath suddenly,
A presence in the air:
The white wraith flits before his eyes,
Awe-stricken and aware;—
Yet till the morrow all unknown
Whose visiting was there.
Near midnight, at his prayer,
He feels a cold breath suddenly,
A presence in the air:
The white wraith flits before his eyes,
Awe-stricken and aware;—
Yet till the morrow all unknown
Whose visiting was there.
No funeral tapers round thee burn,
No hand thy bed to dress,
No watchers kneeling round in prayer
And tears of tenderness.
The vigil and the fast are kept
Beside thee none the less,
By the dumb creatures in their love
And living faithfulness.
No hand thy bed to dress,
No watchers kneeling round in prayer
And tears of tenderness.
The vigil and the fast are kept
Beside thee none the less,
By the dumb creatures in their love
And living faithfulness.
The deerhound and the terrier
Lie watching foot and head,
They only left of all on earth
To guard thy dying bed.
Two nights and days the searchers toil,
The trackless wastes they tread,
In howling darkness, storm, and snow,
Until they find the dead.
Lie watching foot and head,
They only left of all on earth
To guard thy dying bed.
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The trackless wastes they tread,
In howling darkness, storm, and snow,
Until they find the dead.
Thy feet are bruised upon the rocks,
In struggle stiff and sore,
Thy corpse is frozen in the snow,
With snow-wreaths mantled o'er;
Thy face is calm,—the smile of one
Remembering pain no more;—
Their hearts were lightened of a load,
Seeing the look it wore.
In struggle stiff and sore,
Thy corpse is frozen in the snow,
With snow-wreaths mantled o'er;
Thy face is calm,—the smile of one
Remembering pain no more;—
Their hearts were lightened of a load,
Seeing the look it wore.
Ill-omened Pass! laid under ban
By curse from sire to son,—
The elemental powers have raved
O'er torrent and o'er stone;
Untamed and hostile hitherto,
At last their worst is done,
A holier death has hallowed thee,—
The Cross its place has won.
By curse from sire to son,—
The elemental powers have raved
O'er torrent and o'er stone;
Untamed and hostile hitherto,
At last their worst is done,
A holier death has hallowed thee,—
The Cross its place has won.
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The funeral barge is on its way
Across the pearly seas;
One great white sea-bird flies before,
With waving wings of peace;
All shrouded white, the mountain-heights
Still silently increase;
Thy violet pall with flakes that fall
Has grown snow-white as these.
Across the pearly seas;
One great white sea-bird flies before,
With waving wings of peace;
All shrouded white, the mountain-heights
Still silently increase;
Thy violet pall with flakes that fall
Has grown snow-white as these.
They wait within the city,
Stricken with grief, to lay
Their dead within St. Alban's,
For one sad night and day.
Around thy bier the music wails,
Thy people weep and pray;
Thy mourners fill the streets on foot,
Along the funeral way.
Stricken with grief, to lay
Their dead within St. Alban's,
For one sad night and day.
Around thy bier the music wails,
Thy people weep and pray;
Thy mourners fill the streets on foot,
Along the funeral way.
O soul, that hast already passed
Beyond this earthly bourn,
In London, in the narrow streets
They miss thee, and they mourn;
Thy face still haunts the holy house
Where thou wilt not return;
The hearts are aching day by day,
With whom thou didst sojourn.
Beyond this earthly bourn,
In London, in the narrow streets
They miss thee, and they mourn;
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Where thou wilt not return;
The hearts are aching day by day,
With whom thou didst sojourn.
Is not thy sleep the smoother
Because of hearts that ache?
Is not thy rest the deeper,
That thy own heart did break?
Because to-day the sick and sad
Are weeping for thy sake,
Surely their sighs have gone before,
Thy bed in heaven to make.
Because of hearts that ache?
Is not thy rest the deeper,
That thy own heart did break?
Because to-day the sick and sad
Are weeping for thy sake,
Surely their sighs have gone before,
Thy bed in heaven to make.
To fast among the hungering,
To serve among the poor,
To toil among the weary,
Among the sick endure;
To intercede for sinners,
The tempted to secure:—
Thy lifelong path of pilgrimage,
Most strait, most steep, most sure.
To serve among the poor,
To toil among the weary,
Among the sick endure;
To intercede for sinners,
The tempted to secure:—
Thy lifelong path of pilgrimage,
Most strait, most steep, most sure.
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Sleep on in Christ. ‘O Lamb of God!’
Resounds the Passion hymn;
And heaven is opened, and we join
The song of Seraphim:
One Presence fills, unites, transforms,
Beneath these arches dim,
And they who wake, and they who sleep,
Together live in Him.
Resounds the Passion hymn;
And heaven is opened, and we join
The song of Seraphim:
One Presence fills, unites, transforms,
Beneath these arches dim,
And they who wake, and they who sleep,
Together live in Him.
| Ballads of the North and Other Poems | |