 | Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature |  |
206
THE “WAR-CHRISTIAN.”
What say the aisles and chancels
Of old cathedrals dim?
What saith the pealing organ
In chant or solemn hymn?—
Fervour of Adoration,
And Love in sweet accord;
Love for the meanest mortal,
And Glory to the Lord!
Of old cathedrals dim?
What saith the pealing organ
In chant or solemn hymn?—
Fervour of Adoration,
And Love in sweet accord;
Love for the meanest mortal,
And Glory to the Lord!
What saith the learned preacher
So high above the crowd,
With his hands so white and dainty,
And his heart so black and proud?
He draws a little circle
As narrow as his mind,
And shuts from all beyond it
God's mercy to mankind.
So high above the crowd,
With his hands so white and dainty,
And his heart so black and proud?
207
As narrow as his mind,
And shuts from all beyond it
God's mercy to mankind.
He rants, he raves, he blusters,
And from his sensual jaws
Pours ribald slang, mistaking
Men's laughter for applause;
And, when the land is deluged
With blood and widows' tears,
Incites redoubled slaughter,
And prates of guns and spears;
And from his sensual jaws
Pours ribald slang, mistaking
Men's laughter for applause;
And, when the land is deluged
With blood and widows' tears,
Incites redoubled slaughter,
And prates of guns and spears;
Forgetful or defiant
That He whose cause he shames,
Whose Gospel he dishonours,
Whose teaching he disclaims,
Was Lord of Loving-kindness,
And taught that war should cease;
That swords should turn to ploughshares,
And nations live in peace.
That He whose cause he shames,
Whose Gospel he dishonours,
Whose teaching he disclaims,
Was Lord of Loving-kindness,
And taught that war should cease;
That swords should turn to ploughshares,
And nations live in peace.
208
I'd rather for my teachers
Have wild winds on the shore,
Or breeze amid the branches,
Or birds that sing and soar,
Or Silence, high and holy—
Than Bigot such as he,
Who dares to measure mercy,
And knows not Charity.
Have wild winds on the shore,
Or breeze amid the branches,
Or birds that sing and soar,
Or Silence, high and holy—
Than Bigot such as he,
Who dares to measure mercy,
And knows not Charity.
New York, January, 1863.
| Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature | |