Reverberations Revised with a chapter from my autobiography. By W. M. W. Call |
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| I. |
THE GOOD LORD JAMES.
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 | II. |
 | Reverberations |  |
106
THE GOOD LORD JAMES.
Halt and hold! In calm and strife,
Be the fiery heart controlled;
In the clear blue days of life,
In the dark days, halt and hold.
Be the fiery heart controlled;
In the clear blue days of life,
In the dark days, halt and hold.
Not too eager for the fray,
Willing to abide thy time;
Let another win the day,
Wait,—forbearance is sublime.
Willing to abide thy time;
Let another win the day,
Wait,—forbearance is sublime.
I have read a tale of old,
Legend of the Good Lord James,
How he checked the overbold,
How he gave them worthier aims.
Legend of the Good Lord James,
How he checked the overbold,
How he gave them worthier aims.
Once his rival in the field,
Randolph, on a snow-white horse,
Led a band too proud to yield
To a larger, mightier force.
Randolph, on a snow-white horse,
Led a band too proud to yield
To a larger, mightier force.
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Gallant was the stand he made,
But he found the foe too strong;
Then to bring his rival aid
Marched the Good Lord James along.
But he found the foe too strong;
Then to bring his rival aid
Marched the Good Lord James along.
But he sees them charge again,
But he hears the deadly shock,
And they stand upon the plain
Calm and steady as a rock.
But he hears the deadly shock,
And they stand upon the plain
Calm and steady as a rock.
Scattered foes, like wave on wave,
In a broken tide fall back,
And a feeling great and grave
Turns the Douglas from his track.
In a broken tide fall back,
And a feeling great and grave
Turns the Douglas from his track.
“Halt and hold! too late our aid,”
Gently spoke the gentle heart;
“Nobly has the game been played,
Patiently must we depart.
Gently spoke the gentle heart;
“Nobly has the game been played,
Patiently must we depart.
“Leave them; they alone shall wear
All the glory they have won;
Lessen not by needless care
The great deed that they have done.”
All the glory they have won;
Lessen not by needless care
The great deed that they have done.”
Evermore, in calm and strife,
Be the fiery heart controlled;
In the clear blue days of life,
In the dark days, halt and hold.
Be the fiery heart controlled;
In the clear blue days of life,
In the dark days, halt and hold.
| Reverberations | |