 | “WHAT THEN?” Water-drops |  |
42. “WHAT THEN?”
Light was his step, his eye was bright,
The youth with gesture proud,—
Who thus, as Fancy prompted, spake
The exulting thought aloud:—
“Oh! when the blessed time shall come
That studious toils are o'er,
And this stern college-durance past,
Like uncaged bird I'll soar.”
“What then?”—a reverend sage inquired:
“High honors shall be mine,
And listening crowds my wisdom seek,
As to a Delphic shrine,—
For learning from my lips shall flow,
And eloquence divine.”
“What then?”—“Where'er my footsteps tend,
A tide of wealth shall roll;
And gems, and wine, and luxuries rare
Be mine, from pole to pole,—
And men shall find my nod of power
Their destinies control.”
The youth with gesture proud,—
Who thus, as Fancy prompted, spake
The exulting thought aloud:—
“Oh! when the blessed time shall come
That studious toils are o'er,
And this stern college-durance past,
Like uncaged bird I'll soar.”
“What then?”—a reverend sage inquired:
“High honors shall be mine,
And listening crowds my wisdom seek,
As to a Delphic shrine,—
For learning from my lips shall flow,
And eloquence divine.”
“What then?”—“Where'er my footsteps tend,
A tide of wealth shall roll;
And gems, and wine, and luxuries rare
Be mine, from pole to pole,—
And men shall find my nod of power
Their destinies control.”
249
“What then?”—“Around my secret bower
The wreaths of love I'll twine,
And all that youth and beauty yield
In transport, shall be mine,—
Cloudless and long my life shall be
Till stars of evening shine.”
“What then?”—“When all hath been enjoyed
That charm the ear and eye,
To mortal life's extremest verge,
In sculptured tomb I'll lie,—
Because the sentence hath gone forth
That all of dust must die.”
“What then?”—
A lightning flash of thought
Quelled the proud spirit's dream,
And conscience, with a lifted scourge,
Broke in on Folly's theme,—
And for the mercy of his God
He learned in prayer to bow;
And seek a refuge in His Love,
When Time's illusive span should prove
One everlasting Now.
The wreaths of love I'll twine,
And all that youth and beauty yield
In transport, shall be mine,—
Cloudless and long my life shall be
Till stars of evening shine.”
“What then?”—“When all hath been enjoyed
That charm the ear and eye,
To mortal life's extremest verge,
In sculptured tomb I'll lie,—
Because the sentence hath gone forth
That all of dust must die.”
“What then?”—
A lightning flash of thought
Quelled the proud spirit's dream,
And conscience, with a lifted scourge,
Broke in on Folly's theme,—
And for the mercy of his God
He learned in prayer to bow;
And seek a refuge in His Love,
When Time's illusive span should prove
One everlasting Now.
| “WHAT THEN?” Water-drops | |