 | Tales in Verse for Young People |  |
169
PILGRIMS.
With hoary hair, and bent with age,
He goes forth on his pilgrimage,
An old man from his forest-cell,
With sandalled feet and scallop-shell;
His sight is dim, his steps are slow,
And pain and hardship must he know,
An old, wayfaring man, alone,
And yet his spirit bears him on.
For what? the holy place to see;
To kneel upon Mount Calvary,
Golgotha's dreary bound to trace,
To traverse every desert place
In which the Saviour trod of yore;
For this he beareth travel sore,
Hunger and weariness and pain,
Nor longeth for his home again!
He goes forth on his pilgrimage,
An old man from his forest-cell,
With sandalled feet and scallop-shell;
His sight is dim, his steps are slow,
And pain and hardship must he know,
An old, wayfaring man, alone,
And yet his spirit bears him on.
For what? the holy place to see;
To kneel upon Mount Calvary,
Golgotha's dreary bound to trace,
To traverse every desert place
In which the Saviour trod of yore;
For this he beareth travel sore,
Hunger and weariness and pain,
Nor longeth for his home again!
170
Now see another pilgrim gay,
And heartsome as a morn in May;
Young, beautiful, and brave and strong,
As a wild stag he bounds along;
Mountains his path may not impede;
The winds and waters serve his need.
He is a pilgrim bound to see
All the old lands of poesy;
An antique cross and altar-stone,
And where dim pagan rites were done;
In groves; by springs; on mountains hoar;
In classic vale; by classic shore;
Where wise men walked, where brave men fell;
Or tale of love hath left its spell,
It matters not—his foot is there,
Joyful to breathe of classic air;
Joyful on classic forms to gaze,
And call back light from ancient days.
It is a fond and ardent quest,
And leaves its pilgrim ill at rest!
And heartsome as a morn in May;
Young, beautiful, and brave and strong,
As a wild stag he bounds along;
Mountains his path may not impede;
The winds and waters serve his need.
He is a pilgrim bound to see
All the old lands of poesy;
An antique cross and altar-stone,
And where dim pagan rites were done;
In groves; by springs; on mountains hoar;
In classic vale; by classic shore;
Where wise men walked, where brave men fell;
Or tale of love hath left its spell,
It matters not—his foot is there,
Joyful to breathe of classic air;
Joyful on classic forms to gaze,
And call back light from ancient days.
It is a fond and ardent quest,
And leaves its pilgrim ill at rest!
Behold, once more!—From youth to age
Man goeth on a pilgrimage;
Or rich or poor, unwise or wise,
Before each one this journey lies;
'Tis to a land afar, unknown,
Yet where the great of old are gone,
Poet and patriot, sage and seer;
All whom we worship or revere
This awful pilgrimage have made—
Have passed to the dim land of shade.
Youth, with his radiant locks, is there;
And old men with their silver hair;
And children sportive in their glee;—
A strange and countless company!
Ne'er on that land gazed human eyes;
Man's science hath not traced its skies,
Nor mortal traveller e'er brought back
Chart of that journey's fearful track.
Man goeth on a pilgrimage;
Or rich or poor, unwise or wise,
Before each one this journey lies;
171
Yet where the great of old are gone,
Poet and patriot, sage and seer;
All whom we worship or revere
This awful pilgrimage have made—
Have passed to the dim land of shade.
Youth, with his radiant locks, is there;
And old men with their silver hair;
And children sportive in their glee;—
A strange and countless company!
Ne'er on that land gazed human eyes;
Man's science hath not traced its skies,
Nor mortal traveller e'er brought back
Chart of that journey's fearful track.
Thou art a pilgrim to that shore—
Like them, thou canst return no more!
Oh, gird thee, for thou needest strength
For the way's peril's as its length!
Oh, faint not by the way, nor heed
Dangers nor lures, nor check thy speed;
So God be with thee, pilgrim bless'd,
Thou journeyest to the Land of Rest!
Like them, thou canst return no more!
Oh, gird thee, for thou needest strength
For the way's peril's as its length!
Oh, faint not by the way, nor heed
Dangers nor lures, nor check thy speed;
So God be with thee, pilgrim bless'd,
Thou journeyest to the Land of Rest!
| Tales in Verse for Young People | |