University of Virginia Library

SONNETS.

INSCRIPTIONS ON A WAYSIDE CROSS.

I. Traveller, lay off thy burden, and bend low

Traveller, lay off thy burden, and bend low,
Where rural faith uplifts this emblem dear;
Think to this symbol what all beings owe;
Though not a saint, yet still the Cross revere,
And thoughtful tribute on its power bestow.
Small souls have hedged its graces with vague fear,
And threats of vengeance; but all blessings flow
Where'er on earth this simple mark we rear.
Through this alone the primal purity,
Which erst on earth made God-like all our kind,
Shall come again. From this shall Error flee;
And modest Truth, the torch-maid of the mind,
Relume her lamp, puffed out by Bigotry,
To blaze serene, though Falsehood stir the wind.

II. Yes rest, and ponder what the nations owe

Yes rest, and ponder what the nations owe—
From the mysterious sacrifice apart—
To this rude emblem. Hence did learning start;
The savage melted 'neath Religion's glow;
Hence Peace and civilizing Science flow,
Refining Culture and creative Art;
The social ties which soothe man's rugged heart,
Beneath its blessing to perfection grow;
And budding hopes around it freshly bloom.
Still we beneath the Druid's leafy gloom
Might wander dark; or, at Valhalla's board,
Hope, with its gods, the foaming cans to smite,
Had not this symbol of our martyred Lord
Like an Aurora, lit the boreal night.