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Title: Stray Pebbles from the Shores of Thought

Author: Elizabeth Porter Gould

Release Date: February 21, 2014 [EBook #44973]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by David Garcia, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ***

STRAY PEBBLES

FROM THE

SHORES OF THOUGHT

BY

ELIZABETH PORTER GOULD

BOSTON

PRESS OF T. O. METCALF & CO.

1892

COPYRIGHT 1892

BY

ELIZABETH PORTER GOULD

CONTENTS.

P   OEMS OF NATURE:

PAGE

To Walt Whitman

11

To Summer Hours

12

A True Vacation

13

A Question

14

To a Butterfly

16

In a Hammock

18

O rare, sweet summer day

20

An Old Man's Reverie

22

On Jefferson Hill

26

On Sugar Hill

28

At "Fairfield's," Wenham

29

Blossom-time

31

The Primrose

33

Joy, all Joy

35

Among the Pines

37

Conscious or Unconscious

39

P   OEMS OF LOVE:

Love's How and Why

43

Love's Guerdon

44

A Birthday Greeting

45

Three Kisses

48

If I were only sure

50

Absence

52

A Love Song

53

In Her Garden

55

Love's Wish

56

Is there anything purer

58

Longing

60

Young Love's Message

61

A Diary's Secret

63

A Monologue

65

A Priceless Gift

66

The Ocean's Moan

67

Love's Flower

70

Renunciation

71

Love Discrowned

74

A Widow's Heart Cry

76

Together

78

Shadowed Circles

80

M   ISCELLANEOUS POEMS:

A Song of Success

85

The Under World

87

She Knows

88

At Pittsford, Vermont

90

Childhood's Days

92

An Answer

94

Where, What, Whence

96

Heroes

98

A Magdalen's Easter Cry

100

For the Anniversary of Mrs. Browning's Death

103

Robert Browning

105

To Neptune, in behalf of S. C. G.

107

To the Pansies growing on the grave of A. S. D.

109

A Broken Heart

111

My Release

113

The god of music

115

To Wilhelm Gericke

118

For E. T. F.

1.—After the birth of her son

119

2.—Upon the death of her son

121

To C. H. F.

123

An Anniversary Poem

126

A Comfort

128

An Anniversary

129

To Miss Elizabeth P. Peabody

131

At Life's Setting

133

Grandma Waiting

136

Does it Pay

144

Auxilium ab Alto

145

Limitations

147

The Muse of History

148

An Impromptu to G. H. T.

151

To Mrs. Partington

153

Lines for the Seventieth Birthday Anniversary of Walt Whitman

156

S   ONNETS:

The Known God

161

To Phillips Brooks

163

At the "Porter Manse"

165

Our Lady of the Manse

167

To B. P. Shillaber

169

To Our Mary

171

A Birthday Remembrance

173

Josef Hofmann

175

After the Denial

177

Gethsemane

179

On Lake Memphremagog

181

Luke 23: 24

183

To Members of my Home Club

185

F   OR MY LITTLE NEPHEWS AND NIECES:

Mamma's Lullaby

189

Warren's Song

190

Baby Mildred

192

Rosamond and Mildred

194

'Chilla

196

Childish Fancies

197

What little Bertram did

199

"Dear little Mac"

202

Willard and Florence on Mt. Wachusett

207

A little Brazilian

210

The little doubter

213

Our Kitty's Trick

217

A Message

220

POEMS OF NATURE.

TO WALT WHITMAN.

"I loafe and invite my soul."

And what do I feel?

An influx of life from the great central power

That generates beauty from seedling to flower.

"I loafe and invite my soul."

And what do I hear?

Original harmonies piercing the din

Of measureless tragedy, sorrow, and sin.

"I loafe and invite my soul."

And what do I see?

The temple of God in the perfected man

Revealing the wisdom and end of earth's plan.

August, 1891.

TO SUMMER HOURS.

DAY.

Trip lightly, joyous hours,

While Day her heart reveals.

Such wealth from secret bowers

King Time himself ne'er steals.

O joy, King Time ne'er steals!

NIGHT.

Breathe gently, tireless hours,

While Night in beauty sleeps.

Hold back e'en softest showers,—

Enough that mortal weeps.

Ah me, that my heart weeps!

A TRUE VACATION.

IN A HAMMOCK.

"Cradled thus and wind caressed,"

Under the trees,

(Oh what ease.)

Nature full of joyous greeting;

Dancing, singing, naught secreting,

Ever glorious thoughts repeating—

Pause, O Time,

I'm satisfied!

Now all life

Is glorified!

Porter Manse, Wenham, Mass.

A QUESTION.

Is life a farce?

Tell me, O breeze,

Bearing the perfume of flowers and trees,

While gaily decked birds

Pour forth their gladness in songs beyond words,

And cloudlets coquette in the fresh summer air

Rejoicing in everything being so fair—

Is life a farce?

How can it be, child,

When Nature at heart

Is but the great spirit of love and of art

Eternally saying, "I must God impart."

Is life a farce?

Tell me, O soul,

Struggling to act out humanity's whole

'Midst Error and Wrong,

And failure in sight of true victory's song;

With Wisdom and Virtue at times lost to view,

And love for the many lost in love for the few—

Is life a farce?

How can it be, child,

When humanity's heart

Is but the great spirit of love and of art

Eternally crying, "I must God impart."

TO A BUTTERFLY.

O butterfly, now prancing

Through the air,

So glad to share

The freedom of new living,

Come, tell me my heart's seeking.

Shall I too know

After earth's throe

Full freedom of my being?

Shall I, as you,

Through law as true,

Know life of fuller meaning?

O happy creature, dancing,

Is time too short

With pleasure fraught

For you to heed my seeking?

Ah, well, you've left me thinking:

If here on earth

A second birth

Can so transform a being,

Why may not I

In worlds on high

Be changed beyond earth's dreaming?

IN A HAMMOCK.

The rustling leaves above me,

The breezes sighing round me,

A network glimpse of bluest sky

To meet the upturned seeing eye,

The greenest lawn beneath me,

Loved flowers and birds to greet me,

A well-kept house of ancient days

To tell of human nature's ways,—

Oh happy, happy hour!

Whence comes all this to bless me,

The soft wind to caress me,

The life which does my strength renew

For purer visions of the true?

Alas! no one can tell me.

But, hush! let Nature lead me.

Let even wisest questions cease

While I breathe in such life and peace

This happy, happy hour.

Porter Manse, Wenham, Mass.

O RARE, SWEET SUMMER DAY.

"The day is placid in its going,

To a lingering motion bound,

Like a river in its flowing—

Can there be a softer sound?"

—Wordsworth.

O rare, sweet summer day,

Could'st thou not longer stay?

The soothing, whispering wind's caress

Was bliss to weary brain,

The songs of birds had power to bless

As in fair childhood's reign.

The tinted clouds were free from showers,

The sky was wondrous clear,

The precious incense of rare flowers

Made sweet the atmosphere;

The shimmering haze of mid-day hour

Was balm to restlessness,

While thought of silent hidden power

Was strength for helplessness—

O rare, sweet summer day,

Could'st thou not longer stay?

Porter Manse.

AN OLD MAN'S REVERIE.

Blow breezes, fresh breezes, on Love's swiftest wing,

And bear her the message my heart dares to sing.

Pause not on the highways where gathers earth's dust,

Nor in the fair heavens, though cloudlets say must.

But blow through the valleys where flowers await

To give of their essence ere yielding to fate;

Or blow on the hill tops where atmospheres lie

Imbued with the health which no money can buy.

But fail not, O breezes, on Love's swiftest wing

To bear her the message my heart dares to sing.

The breezes, thus ladened, sped on in their flight,

As, cradled in hammock, I sang in delight,

On that blest summer day in the years long ago,

When life was all sunshine and youth all aglow.

The sweets of the valleys, the breath of the hills

Were gathered—the best that our loved earth distills—

As, obedient still to my wish, on they flew

To the home of my darling they now so well knew.

*      *      *      *      *      *

Alas for the breezes, alas for my heart,

Alas for my message, so full of love's art!

If only the breezes had followed their will,

And loitered among the pure cloudlets so still,

They'd have met a fair soul from the earth just set free

In search of their help for its message to me;

The message my darling, with last fleeting breath,

In vain tried to utter, o'ertaken by death.

The breezes, fresh breezes, have blown on since then,

With messages laden again and again.

As for me, I send none. I wait only their will

To bring me that message my lone heart to fill.

They'll find it some day in a light zephyr chase,

For nothing is lost in pure love's boundless space.

ON JEFFERSON HILL.

(BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL RANGE.)

The sovereign mountains bask in sunset rays,

The valleys rest in peace;

The lingering clouds melt into twilight haze,

The birds their warbling cease;

The villagers' hour of welcome sleep is near,

The cattle wander home,

While wrapped in summer-scented atmosphere,

Calm evening comes to roam

With gentle pace

Through star-lit space,

Till moon-kissed Night holds all in her embrace,

And Morning waits to show her dawn-flushed face.

ON SUGAR HILL.

TO F. B. F.

The lovely valleys nestling in the arms

Of glorious mountain peaks;

The purple tint of sunset hour, and charms

The evening hour bespeaks;

The monarch peak kissed by the rising sun,

While clouds keep guard below;

Grand, restful views, with foliage autumn-won,

And Northern lights rare glow,—

Will e'er recall,

In memory's hall,

The happy days when on fair "Look-Off's" height,

Sweet friendship cast her hues of golden light.

Hotel Look-Off, September, 1891.

AT FAIRFIELDS[A], WENHAM.

June, 1890.

Buttercups and daisies,

Clover red and white,

Ferns and crown-topped grasses

Waving with delight,

Dainty locust-blossoms,

All that glad June yields,

Welcome me with gladness

To dearly-loved "Fairfields."

But where's my happy collie dog,

My Rosa?

The orioles sing greeting,

The butterflies come near,

The hens cease not their cackling,

The horses neigh "I'm here,"

The cows nod "I have missed you,"

The pigs' eyes even shine,

And from the red-house hearth-stone

Comes pet cat Valentine.

But where's my happy collie dog,

My Rosa?

I miss her joyful greeting,

Her handsome, high-bred face,

Her vigorous, playful action

In many a fair field chase.

Not even lively Sancho

Can fill for me her place.

O Rosa, happy Rosa,

Gone where the good dogs go,

Dost find such fields as "Fairfields,"

More love than we could show?

[A] "Fairfields" is but another name for "Porter Manse."

BLOSSOM-TIME.

Blossoms floating through the air,

Bearing perfumes rich and rare,

Free from trouble, toil, and care.

Would I were a blossom!

Robins singing in the trees,

Feeling every velvet breeze,

Free from knowledge that bereaves.

Would I were a robin!

Violets peaceful in the vale,

Telling each its happy tale,

Free from worldly noise and sale.

Would I were a violet!

Blessed day of needed wealth,

Full of Nature's perfect health,

Fill me with thy power.

Then like blossoms I shall be,

Wafting only purity,

Or like robins, singing free

'Midst the deepening mystery,

Or like violets, caring naught

Only to reflect God's thought."

Porter Manse.

THE PRIMROSE.

Who tells you, sweet primrose, 'tis time to wake up

After dreaming all day?

Who changes so quickly your sombre green dress

To the yellow one gay,

And makes you the pet of the twilight's caress,

And of poet's sweet lay?

Who does, primrose, pray?

The primrose, secure on his emerald throne,

Looked up quickly to say,

"A dear lovely fairy glides down from his throne

In the sun's golden ray,

And with a sweet kiss opens wide all our eyes,

Saying, 'Now is your day.'

And lo! when he's gone we are filled with surprise

At our wondrous array,

So fresh and so gay.

Do tell us the name of this fairy, I pray,

Who gives of his beauty, and then hies away

Without thanks, without pay.

Does he linger your way?"

JOY, ALL JOY.

Lying on the new-mown hay, in a sightly field,

On a summer day,

With no care to weigh,

Or a bitter thought to stay all that sense might yield—

What a joy to have alway!

Sky as blue as blue can be, perfect green all round,

Birdlings on the wing

Ere they pause to sing

On the top of bush or tree, or on sweet hay-mound—

Restful joy in everything!

Butterflies just come to light, proud of freedom's hour,

Cows in pastures near,

Wondering why I'm here,

Chipmunks now and then in sight, bees in clover-flower—

Added joy when these appear!

Happy children far and near climbing loads of hay,

Running here and there.

Farmer's work to share,

Skipping, shouting loud and clear, full of daring play—

Children's joy! Joy everywhere!

AMONG THE PINES.

Far up in air the pines are murmuring

Love songs sweet and low,

With a rhythmic flow,

Worthy of the glad sun's glow.

The airy clouds are o'er them bending,

Captured by the sound

Of such pleasure found

In a playful daily round.

The birds pause in their flight to listen,

Wondering all the while

How the trees can smile

Rooted so to earthly guile.

The hush of summer noon enwraps them

Perfumed from below

By the flowers that show

They, too, murmuring love songs know.

All nature finds a joy in loving—

Oh, that I could hear

Love songs once so dear

Death has hushed forever here!

Intervale Woods, North Conway.

CONSCIOUS OR UNCONSCIOUS?

The earthquake's shock, the thunder's roar,

The lightning's vivid chain,

The ocean's strength, the deluge's pour,

The wildest hurricane,

Are moods that Nature loves to show

To man who boasts his birth

From conscious force she could not know

Because denied soul-worth.

But is it true she does not share

A knowledge in God's plan?

Must not she His own secret bear

To so touch soul of man?

Those who deny this see not clear

Into the heart of things;

For how could otherwise God here

Reveal His wanderings?

POEMS OF LOVE.

LOVE'S HOW AND WHY.

How do I love thee?

Oh, who knows

How the blush of the rose

Can its secret disclose?

Oh, who knows?

Why do I love thee?

Ah, who cares

Sound a passion he shares

With the angels? Who dares,

Yes, who dares?

LOVE'S GUERDON.

Thine eyes are stars to hold me

To love's pure rapturous height.

Thy thoughts are pearls to lead me

To truth beyond earth's sight.

Thy love is life to keep me

Forever in God's light.

A BIRTHDAY GREETING.

Thy birthday, dear?

Oh, would I had the poet's art

By which I could my wish impart

For thy new year;

But e'en a poet's pen of gold

Would fail my wish to thee unfold

In earthly sphere.

Thy birthday, dear?

Oh, would I had the painter's skill

Prophetic visions to fulfill

For thy new year;

But e'en a painter's rarest brush

Would but my holy visions crush,

Or fail to cheer.

Thy birthday, dear?

Oh, would I had sweet music's aid

To vitalize the prayers I've made

For thy new year;

Alas! not even music's best

Could put in form my soul's behest

For thee, my dear.

That only will expression find

In purest depths of thine own mind

This coming year;

As, guided by the inner light,

There'll come to thee the new-born sight

Of ravished seer.

But in this sight thou may'st so feel

Eternal beauty o'er thee steal—

God's gift, my dear—

That thou can'st find the blessed art

By which to make e'en depths of heart

In form appear.

Yet, it may be a heaven's birthday

Will have to dawn for us to say

Our best things, dear.

For, as thou know'st, Truth's deepest well

Must e'er reflect, its depths to tell

Heaven's atmosphere.

THREE KISSES.

The kiss still burns upon my brow,

That kiss of long ago,

When in the flush of love's first hour

He said he loved me so.

Another burns yet deeper still,

The kiss of wedded bliss,

When soul met soul in rapture sweet—

Oh, pure love's burning kiss!

The third was laid away with him,

A kiss for heaven's day,

(O heart abide God's way)—

When in the life beyond earth's change,

Beyond these mysteries sad and strange,

New life will spring from out the old,

New thoughts will larger truth unfold,

And love have endless sway.

IF I WERE ONLY SURE.

If I were only sure

He loves me still,

As in the realms of beauteous space

(Alas! so far from my embrace)

He bides God's will,

I could be more content to bear

The bitter anguish and despair

Which now me fill.

If I were only sure

He waits for me

To join him in the heavenly realm

(Oh, how the thought does overwhelm)

When body-free,

I could the better bear my fate,

As day by day I learn to wait

In silent agony.

O Father, in my doubt

One thing is sure,

That Thou, all love, could ne'er destroy

(Death only is in earth's alloy)

Such love so pure

As that which blessed our union here,

The love which knew no change nor fear—

Such must endure.

ABSENCE.

The days are happy here, dear,

But happier would they be

Could'st thou be near to bless me

With love's sweet ministry;

Then all this beauty round me

Would on my memory lie,

As prayers of sainted mother,

Or childhood's lullaby.

Hotel Look-Off, Sugar Hill, N.H.

A LOVE SONG.

Oh! ecstasy rare

Comes down to share

The heart that with human love trembles;

While all on the earth

Is crowned with new birth

And everything heaven resembles.

But grief and despair

Have latent their share

In hearts that with human love tremble,

Since fires of love

Enkindled above

In frail earthen vessels assemble.

Still, ecstasy rare

Comes down to share

The heart that with human love trembles;

While all on the earth

Is crowned with new birth

And everything heaven resembles.

IN HER GARDEN.

She picks me June roses.

Were ever such roses?

Their fragrance would honor

The heavenly halls.

She finds me pet pansies.

Such wondrous-eyed pansies,

And lovely nasturtiums

That run on the walls.

Sweet peas she's now bringing,

While all the time singing.

And I? Ask the flowers

To tell what befalls.

LOVE'S WISH.

Would I were beautiful!

Then you at Beauty's shrine might freely dine,

A welcome guest

For joy's bequest.

But, dear, if this were so,—

If I were Beauty's child, all undefiled,

To make you blest

In beauty's quest,

You might forget to see

The soul's pure hidden shrine wherein e'er shine

The things that test

Love's true behest.

Would I were beautiful,

That you might better see the soul in me!

That wish is best,

Is 't not, dearest?

IS THERE ANYTHING PURER?

Oh, the prayer of a dear virgin-heart,

Breathed forth with true love's gentle art!

Is there anything purer

On land or on sea,

More laden with blessing

For you or for me?

It is sweeter than song ever heard,

More precious than love's spoken word.

It is fraught with a keen recognition

Of truest soul-need and fruition.

Is there anything purer

On land or on sea,

More laden with comfort

For you or for me?

It is oftentimes born in great pain,

With no ray of hope's blessed gain.

But as lulled by the angels at midnight

Ere reaching the infinite daylight

Is there anything surer,

On land or on sea,

To bring the God-Father

To you or to me?

LONGING.

Through all this summer joy and rest,

Though lying on fair Nature's breast,

There breathes the longing heart's desire,

Would he were here!

The thrill of pain kind Nature feels;

For all the while there o'er me steals

Like holy chimes in midnight air,

"He'll soon be here."

And flowers and trees, vales, hills, and birds

Make haste to echo her glad words,

"He'll soon be here."

YOUNG LOVE'S MESSAGE.

Sing too, little bird, what my heart sings to-day.

Dost thou know?—

I'll speak low—

"Oh, I do love him so."

Hold safe, waving grass, in thy rhythmical flow,

What I say,

Till the day

When as sweet new-mown hay

Thou can'st bear it to him in the fragrance loved best.

Thou dost fear?—

Oh, love dear,

How I wish thou wert here!

But pause, little cloud, thou canst carry it now,

I am sure,

Sweet and pure,

Though the winds do allure;

For thou art on the way to the west where he is.

But dost know?—

Tell him low,

"That I do love him so,

Oh! I do love him so."

A DIARY'S SECRET.

January 1, 1867.

God's love was once enough

My heart to satisfy,

When in the days of childhood's faith

I knew not doubt or sigh.

But since I saw Roy's face,

And knew his love's sweet cheer,

And felt the anguish and despair

Which come from partings here,

So hungry have I grown

No love can satisfy,

And all my childhood's faith in God

Doth mock me as a lie.

But still in these dark hours

I hold one anchor fast:

Perhaps this is the woman's way

To reach God's love at last.

January 1, 1887.

The deepening years have proved

Love's conquest justified.

The woman's hungry heart at last

In God is satisfied.

A MONOLOGUE.

Has Love come?

Ah, too late!

Already Death stands o'er me

With hungry eyes that bore me—

O cruel fate,

That after all life's years

Of sacrifice and tears,

'Tis Death, not Love, that wins.

But, stay! This message bear,

Ere yet Death's work begins:

"In other realms earth's losses

Will change from saddening crosses

To love-crowned joy,

Where Death shall have no mission,

But Love his sweet fruition

Without alloy."

A PRICELESS GIFT.

'Twas much he asked—a virgin heart

Unknown to worldly ways.

What could he give? Ah, well he knew

He lacked sweet virtue's praise.

The virgin heart was given to him

Without a doubting thought,

When, lo! through seeming sacrifice

A miracle was wrought;

A miracle of love and grace,

Revealing woman's power;

For, clothed in purity, he rose

To meet the coming hour.

THE OCEAN'S MOAN.

Last night the ocean's moan

Was to my ears

The deep sad undertone

Of vanished years,

Bearing a burden,

A bliss unattained,

A strife and a longing,

A life sad and pained,

To the shores vast and free

Of eternity's sea.

But in that undertone

Of restless pain,

Came at length a monotone

Of sweet refrain,

Bearing a passion

Long known to the sea—

Told in moments of silence

A sad heart to free—

To be borne me some day

In the ocean's own way.

And this rare monotone

Of mystery

Was now that passion-moan

Of secrecy,

Bearing, "I love her,

My moaning ne'er'll cease

Till she on my breast

Findeth love's perfect peace;

Till she on my breast

Findeth love's perfect rest."

Oh, is there tenderer tone

For mortal ear,

Than such a monotone,

Distinct and clear,

Bearing its comfort,

Its heavenly peace,

Its help for all sorrow,

Its heart-pain release,

To a soul waiting long

For love's tender, true song?

And now the ocean's moan

Is to my ears

The dearest undertone

Of all the years,

Bearing a memory,

A sweet bliss attained,

A gratified longing,

A life's joys regained,

To the shores vast and free

Of eternity's sea.

Boar's Head, Hampton, N.H.

LOVE'S FLOWER.

Love's sweet and tender flower

Of pure, perennial life,

Blooms ever fresh in power

O'er all earth's wrong and strife.

Pluck not in haste, young man,

This flower of wondrous hue,

Nor dare to crush, nor fail to scan.

Such beauty ever new.

Gaze at it long, young girl,

And guard its sacred blush;

Then shall its treasures old unfurl

Your yearning soul to hush.

LOVE DISCROWNED.

(In Four Scenes.)

SCENE I.

"When he comes, my darling,

I shall tell him all:

All the secret ecstasy,

All the peace and joy,

All my heart's sweet fantasy,

Free from self's alloy,—

All—

O blessed power

Of love's sweet hour,

When I shall tell him all,

Shall tell him all!"

SCENE II.

"Hark, hark! he's come. I hear his step.

O joy, love's hour is here.

I knew that he was true and pure,

I could not feel love's fear.

Oh, no; I could not, dear."

SCENE III.

She gave one look, one piercing look,

Drew back her anguished soul,

Then murmured low, "O bitter hour!

But—God—forgive—the—whole—

Forgive—

O bitter power

Of love's death-hour,

I thought to tell him all,

To tell him all."

SCENE IV.

He gazed upon her lifeless face,

He held her lifeless hand.

Was this the form he once had loved?

He did not understand.

Once loved? Yes, that was so.

He'd loved since, one or two,

And—well, what was a woman for,

If not for man to woo?

MORAL.

Alas, for broken hearts and lives

Of those who can but trust!

Alas, for those who see no law

But that of selfish must!

RENUNCIATION.

"Oh, is not love eternal

When once the heart be won?

Oh, is not love infernal

When love can be undone?"

So sighed a gentle maiden

In light of memory dear,

As, sad and heavy-laden,

She longed for knowledge clear.

But soon the bitter heart-ache

Gave way to victory's cheer;

For, brave, she chose for His sake

The life which knows no peer;

The life of abnegation

Which gives the Christ's own peace,

But leaves the sad temptation

To ask for life's release.

A WIDOW'S HEART-CRY.

"Thy will, not mine, be done!"

So breathe I when the day's begun,

So breathe I when the day is done.

I whisper it in blinding tears,

I pause and listen, till appears

The welcome voice for listening ears;

The voice which checks my wayward will

And makes my longing heart to thrill

With love for those who need me still.

But, O, how long must I so pray?

When will I learn to calmly say,

"Thy will is mine," both night and day?

Ah! this can never be on earth,

Since he who gladly gave me birth

To everything that was of worth

Has gone from out my sense and sight,

To what? O ye who still invite

To heaven's sure realm and faith's own right,

Reveal some clue for me to see

What life is his, what he's to me.

Alas! ye can't. Then what can be

More precious when the day is done,

Or when the morning is begun,

Than, "Not my will, but Thine, be done."

TOGETHER.

Transformed, redeemed from all that dwarfs or blights,

In perfect harmony with beauteous sights

Beyond imagination's highest flights

Ere reached by seer,

We shall together walk the golden streets

Sometime, my dear.

But how, you ask, shall we each other know,

So changed from what we were while here below,

When, caged like birds, we longed and suffered so?

Ah, do not fear.

Will not the soul, when free, seek like the bird

Its own, my dear?

It may not be at once or soon, 'tis true.

For you may be among the blessed few

Who'll sooner reach the blissful heights—your due

For pure life here—

But sometime, sure as God is love and truth,

We'll meet, my dear.

Some precious, long-forgotten look or word

Breathed through the softest, sweetest music heard,

Or some vibration rare of soul depths stirred

By memory's tear,

Will, like a flash of light, reveal our souls

Together, dear,

To live the fuller life we've dreamed of here.

SHADOWED CIRCLES.

Why weepest thou, O dear one?

Do sorrows press?

Beneath the weight of sorrow

Is love's caress.

Why joyest thou, O dear one?

Is love thine own?

Ah! 'neath love's deep rejoicing

Is sorrow's moan.

Indeed, all earth's great passions—

Is it not so?—

Are circled in the shadow

Of joy or woe.

But why should we bemoan this?

Could otherwise

Truth's dazzling light be subject

To mortal eyes?

Could otherwise we enter

The endless light,

Beyond the shadowed circle

Of mortal sight?

MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.

A SONG OF SUCCESS.

YOUTH.

I am dancing along. Just to live is a joy,

I'm so happy and free.

I know not nor care what will tame or destroy,

Life now satisfies me.

Oh, there's naught like dear youth

To reveal the glad truth

That 'tis pure, healthful joy just to know and to be!

MIDDLE AGE.

I am marching along, full of work and of plan

To alleviate wrong.

With a heart full of love both to God and to man,

And an arm free and strong.

Oh, there's naught like mid-life

To make sure without strife

The beauty of progress through action and song.

OLD AGE.

I am living along, sitting down by the way.

My work is all done.

I have fought the good fight, known the full of each day,

And true victory won.

Oh, there's naught like old age

To declare with the sage,

Life ending on earth is but heaven begun.

THE UNDER-WORLD.

Under the restless surface

Of ocean's vast domain,

The god of perfect quiet

Holds ever peaceful reign.

Under the restless surface

Of passions strong and wild,

The still small voice of conscience

Is heard in accents mild.

Under the restless surface

Of all man's life on earth,

The Christ of sacred story

Renews each day his birth.

SHE KNOWS.

(Written at Mountain Cottage, on Mount Wachusett, where Louisa M. Alcott spent the last summer of her life.)

Last summer she believed that in and through these beauteous scenes

God's loving self did flow,

But now she knows 'tis so.

For, having crossed the boundary lines of honest doubt and fear,

She sees with spirit-eye

What sense could not descry.

Her firm belief, thus blossomed into perfect flower of sight,

Becomes a restful cheer

To all who linger here,

Still asking for the secret of these changing, beauteous scenes,

And troubled with the why

Of all earth's sorrowing cry.

Her presence here has filled the place with memory of a soul

Made beautiful through pain

Eternity to gain.

August, 1888.

AT PITTSFORD, VERMONT.

TO J. A. C.

As winds the lovely Otter Creek through vales of summer green,

Ne'er pausing on its way,

Though love its tribute pay,

So gently winds my loving thought through memory's changing scenes,

To days of long ago

When thee I first did know.

Thy heartfelt sympathy and help were to my fresh young soul

What these dear Vermont hills

Are to the little rills;

A presence near, a faithful strength, life-giving and serene—

Oh, hills, be now as much

To her who feels Time's touch!

In different paths, through various ways, we've known the world since then.

Together now we rest

On Nature's peaceful breast.

CHILDHOOD'S DAYS.

TO M. C.

If knowledge gained in later years

May wholly cloud from sight

The glimpse which childhood's eye hath caught

Of heaven's celestial light,

Then need we not the atmosphere

Of second childhood's days

To catch another broader glimpse

Of heaven's immortal rays?

Ah, yes; we even need to seek,

Through earth's illusive hour,

Immortal childhood's heavenly days

Of sweet, revealing power;

For how can otherwise we catch

The deeper glimpses yet

Of life eternal, glorious, pure,

Where sun hath never set?

AN ANSWER.

TO B. P. S.

"Why don't I write a story?"

Ah, friend, if you could see

The depths of hidden heart-life

Alas! so known to me,

You'd find the truest story

Flashed out in gleams of light,

Before which all pens falter

And vanish out of sight.

And as they vanish from me

They leave the impress clear,

That only Heaven's pen could write

Such stories acted here.

So in His book of life,

Revealed to all some day,

You'll find my story grand and true,

Worked out in His own way.

WHERE? WHAT? WHENCE?

The kingdom of heaven is where?

Oh, where?

Would that the heart which with pity o'erflows,

While deigning love's burdens to share,

Could disclose!

The kingdom of heaven is what?

Oh, what?

Would that the Infinite Presence which flows

Through a life on the earth finely cut

Might disclose!

The kingdom of heaven is whence?

Oh, whence?

Ah! let the wind and the breath of the rose

Their secrets of life and of sense

Dare disclose!

Could we then see the better whence spirit arose?

Who knows? Oh, who knows?

HEROES.

The heroes on the battlefield are calm in death,

Their fighting o'er;

They feel no more the fevered breath

Of battle's war;

They hear at last the voice that saith

"Fight on no more."

But oh, the heroes on the grander field of peace,

Who know no rest!

Whose hearts ne'er feel the full release

From mortal quest,

Nor breathe the air where struggles cease

The soul to test.

For such we mourn, O purifying soul of life,

For such we pray.

Let Nature free them from the strife

Of falsehood's way,

And Love through every struggle rife

Have free, full play.

A MAGDALEN'S EASTER CRY.

In the different mansions of heavenly space

Prepared for the faithful and pure,

(Ah me, for the faithful and pure!)

Can I dare hope to find e'en a small resting place

Free from sin and all earthly allure?

Can a soul such as mine, that has wasted life's wealth

On the baubles and gewgaws of time,

(Ah me, on the baubles of time!)

Have a fitting strength left to regain needed health

For the life of a heavenly clime?

For a life where the laws of the spirit, not sense,

Bring their perfect eternal reward,

(Ah me, their eternal reward!)

And the pleasures obtained with such fever intense

Can find nowhere a vibrating chord?

Oh, woe is me, woe is me, this Easter day!

No hope riseth up in my soul.

(Ah me, my poor sin-laden soul!)

I have only the dregs of my pleasure to pay,

And such wrong, bitter thoughts of life's whole.

But, listen! What's that? What's that message I hear

Bearing down on my sad troubled heart?

(Ah me, on my sad troubled heart!)

"Christ is risen indeed. He is risen to cheer,

And His strength to the weakest impart."

O Christ, can it be that Thine own risen strength

Can give life, added life, to my soul,

To my sin-laden, weak, starving soul?

Yes, 'tis true. I'll believe, and rejoice now at length

To feel Easter's sweet joy o'er me roll.

FOR THE ANNIVERSARY OF MRS. BROWNING'S DEATH.

June 29, 1861.

"'Tis beautiful," she faintly cried,

Then closed her weary eyes and died.

So stands plain fact on history's page,

Attested to by friend and sage.

But in our hearts the fact grows bright,

Illumined with immortal light.

For open eyes saw heaven's shores,

And life, not death, revealed its stores.

"'Tis beautiful!" It must be so,

If such a soul 'midst parting's woe,

Could with truth's perfect clearness see

The secret of life's mystery;

Could know that fullest life of man

Needs heaven's light to round God's plan.

O woman-soul without a peer,

We thank thee more and more each year

For this sweet proof of Beauty's power

Beyond earth's transitory hour.

It calms our hours of doubt and pain,

And beautifies earth's troubled reign,

To feel that thou art sending still

This same sweet message of God's will,

Born of fruition's grander sight,

Of perfect beauty, peace, and light.

ROBERT BROWNING.

"A peace out of pain,

Then a light, then thy breast.

O thou soul of my soul, I shall clasp thee again,

And with God be the rest!"

—Prospice.

Fulfilled December 12, 1889.

Oh, the blessed fruition

Of peace out of pain!

Of a light without darkness,

A clasping again!

Of a full soul reunion

In Love's endless reign!

Sing, O earth, with new joy

At this victory won!

For the faith that endured

Till the setting of sun!

For the hope that shone clear

Through the mighty work done!

For the love that sought God

To guide love here begun!

Sing, O earth, with new joy

For such victory won!

TO NEPTUNE, IN BEHALF OF S. C. G.

O Neptune, in thy vast survey

Of all the ships that sail,

Watch lovingly the well-known way

Of one we wait to hail.

The Cephalonia is her name—

But why need I tell more?

Thou knowest indeed the well earned fame

She bears from shore to shore.

But since among her company's band

Is one who's life to me,

O Neptune, bear her in thy hand

E'en yet more tenderly,

O'er gentle waves, 'neath fair blue sky,

'Midst winds that only blow

To make the time more swiftly fly

For hearts that hunger so.

Boston, September 4, 1886.

TO THE PANSIES GROWING ON THE GRAVE OF A. S. D.

Beautiful pansies, ye must know

Your sacred mission here,

For how could otherwise ye grow

So sweet and full of cheer?

Your watchful love we can't o'errate,

As, lingering here in tears,

Fond memory brings the precious weight

Of friendship's golden years.

Ye are the symbols, pure and sweet,

Of heartsease and of life,

Through which our thought may dare retreat

From pain and death so rife,

To realms of light and peace above,

From earth's alloy set free,

Wherein abide immortal love

And deathless ministry.

But still, while we your comfort seek,

Our hearts will wildly yearn

To hear once more the loved one speak,

Once more the form discern.

At Woodlawn Cemetery, May, 1886.

A BROKEN HEART.

I.

Must I always look for sorrow

On the morrow?

Must I never have the hope

That a life of larger scope

Will before my vision ope?

II.

Ah, 'tis true there is but sorrow

On the morrow

For the broken hearts that wait,

Bearing secretly their fate.

Yet the opening of the gate

To the blessed heaven's morrow,

When the aching, longing heart

Shall be free from pain and sorrow,

Comes before my tired eyes

With a wondrous sweet surprise.

III.

But this joy is not for me,

Not for me.

Alas! for my poor broken heart,

With its poisoned arrow's dart.

Without hope, alone, apart.

MY RELEASE.

I hear in the ocean's restless moan

My soul's lament.

Will it ever cease?

I feel in the rumbling earthquake's groan

Deep anguish spent.

Shall I now know peace?

I see in the smallest heaven's loan

Enough for content—

But is that release?

O no!

My release is but found in the pure undertone,

Coming nearer and dearer to me,

Of a great human love beyond Nature at best,

Eternal, inspiring, and free.

Oh, that's my release.

Happy me, happy me!

THE GOD OF MUSIC.

TO E. T. G.

Out from the depths of silence

The god of music came,

To echo heavenly cadence

On earth's fair shores of fame.

Full-orbed, with heavenly glory,

He met the lords of earth.

But 'twas the old, old story,

They blind were to his worth.

So back to depths of silence

He flew on wings of light,

"To bide their time of nonsense,"

He sang when out of sight.

And as rolled on the ages,

He ever and anon

Sent down to earth his pages

The lords to breathe upon.

At length he felt vibrations,

From Germany's fair clime,

Of sweetest modulations

E'er heard in realms of time.

So forth he flew in rapture

To that dear father-land,

To seize—ere earth could capture—

A spirit pure and grand,

To which he could surrender

Himself with perfect ease,

And weave the music tender,

Of heaven's own harmonies.

He found the child Beethoven;

On him his blessing fell.

And in his soul was woven

The sounds we know so well.

TO WILHELM GERICKE.

(On the completion of his conductorship of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.)

1884–1889.

Great poets can without the aid

Of kindred mind

Reveal to us the secrets laid

On them to find;

But music-kings need ministries

To sound their hidden harmonies.

For showing us the inmost heart

Of these great kings,

And making clear with wondrous art

Their wanderings,

We thank thee, while we tender here

A "bon voyage" to home's loved sphere.

FOR E. T. F.

I.

AFTER THE BIRTH OF HER SON, R. A. F.

May 28, 1887.

I'd rather hear my baby's coo,

That little gurgling coo,

Than rarest song or symphony

Born out of music's mystery

Which once did woo.

I'd rather see my baby's face,

That lovely dimpled face,

Than all the choicest works of art,

Inspired by loving hand or heart,

Contained in space.

I'd rather feel my baby's eyes,

Such deep blue heavenly eyes,

Than all the world's delighted gaze,

Proclaiming with continued praise

My power to rise.

O yes, 'tis true, my baby dear,

My precious baby dear,

Is more than music, art, or fame,

Or anything that bears the name

Of pleasure here.

For in this joy I find a rest,

A soul-inspiring rest,

Beyond the wealth of fame or art,

To satisfy my woman-heart,

Or make it blest.

And as I live in this my gift,

My heaven-sent, blessed gift,

Thoughts such as Mary pondered o'er

Deep in her heart in days of yore

Come to uplift,

And make the claims of motherhood,

Dear sacred motherhood,

Become creation's mountain height,

Whereon e'er shines the beacon-light

Of womanhood.

Chelsea, Mass.

II.

AFTER THE DEATH OF R. A. F.

February 5, 1888.

Would I could see my baby's face,

That lovely dimpled face,—

O God, how can I bear the pain

Of never seeing it again,

My baby's face;

Of never seeing in those eyes,

Those deep blue heavenly eyes,

The wondrous glimpses of soul-light

Which filled my heart with strange delight

And sweet surprise;

Of never hearing baby's coo,

That little gurgling coo—

O God, how can I bear the pain

Of never hearing it again,

My baby's coo.

Alas! "Thy will, not mine, be done."

Not mine, but Thine, be done.

I can but breathe again this prayer,

As in the days of past despair,

When peace was won.

TO C. H. F.

(Upon receiving a twig of green from the grave of Helen Hunt Jackson, October, 1888.)

With reverent touch and grateful heart,

Dear thoughtful friend,

I hold this precious bit of green

You kindly send

From Cheyenne's holy, lonely grave,

Where pilgrims tend.

It touches springs of tenderest life

Inspired by her,

Who, child of poetry and ease,

Did not demur

From sacrificing all to be

Wrong's arbiter.

That rare mosaic it suggests

Made by the hand

Of those who seek this favored spot

In chosen land,

Where, oft in life, she penned her soul

At Truth's command.

'Tis true, she wished no monument

To mark the place;

But must she not be satisfied

To see the space

Thus blessed and open to the heart

Of every race?

O brain of power and heart of fire,

America's pride,

No wonder that the mountain height,

Above sin's tide,

Was chosen as the resting place

With death to hide;

For such could give the needed rest

On earth denied,

Could satisfy the poet's thought,

Unsatisfied,

And symbolize the soul's true rest

When glorified.

AN ANNIVERSARY POEM.

And is time marked in heaven? Dost know, O spirit friend,

'Tis just a year ago to-day

Thou went so suddenly away,

And left me in my loneliness the weary days to spend?—

Ah, weary days,

Denied thy praise

And all thy many helpful ways!

And is earth known in heaven? Dost see, O clear-eyed soul,

The present changing life of man

Still working out the wondrous plan

Of making even broken lives add to the complete whole?—

Ah, broken lives

That death deprives

Of help like thine that heavenward strives!

And are we known in heaven? Do I, thy once fond care,

Still have that patient yearning love

Which longed to lift my soul above

The sweet though transitory joys of even earth's best fare?—

Ah, earth's best fare

Cannot compare

With thy ideal of me laid bare!

A COMFORT.

TO S. R. H.

I have sowed in tears,—

Shall I reap in joy?

Shall my human heart be satisfied,

And sorrow and pain be justified?

Shall full fruition free my soul

From limitation's sad control,

And all my faculties of mind

Their perfect rest and freedom find?

"They that sow in tears

Shall reap in joy,"

Sang a poet-heart in the long ago,

'Midst depths of sorrow, pain, and woe;

And what to him was truth and life

Has shone through all the ages' strife,

To be at last our beacon-light

Of comfort in the darkest night.

AN ANNIVERSARY.

The autumn tints of these loved hills

Outlined against the sky,

Are dearer far to me this year

Than in the years gone by;

For they are colors Nature wears

To celebrate the time

When her pet child changed life on earth

For that of heavenly clime.

She thus rejoices, while our hearts

Wear not their flowers of joy.

Alas! could she but give us back

Our gifted artist boy!

But then she sees that it was best

That he, like her, should know

Death, and the Resurrection too,

The fullest life to show.

A THANK-OFFERING.

TO MISS ELIZABETH P. PEABODY.

Thou priestess of pure childhood's heart,

Wherein God's spirit lies,

Thou willing priestess of the art

Of true self-sacrifice,

Ere thy rare spirit takes its flight

To realms beyond our praise,

Where childhood's pure eternal light

Shines through the blessed days,

We thank thee for thy legacy

Of thought wrought out in deed,

By which love's sweet supremacy

Becomes man's potent need.

*      *      *      *      *      *

Our nation must thy secret share,

Ere it can fully rise

To heights of truth and insight where

True wisdom's glory lies.

AT LIFE'S SETTING.

Put your arms around me.

There—like that.

I want a little petting

At life's setting.

For 'tis harder to be brave

When feeble age comes creeping,

And finds me weeping

(Dear ones gone),

Or brings before my tired eyes

Sweet visions of my youth's fair prize

(There is a pain in sacrifice),

Denied me then and ever.

Left me alone? No, never.

For in God's love I nestled,

While with deep thought I wrestled,

Till all my busy life at length

Was spent in giving others strength,

In making others' homes more bright,

In making others' burdens light.

But now, alone and weary,

I am hungry

For a human love's sweet petting

At life's setting.

Keep your arms around me,

Kiss my fevered brow,

Whisper that you love me

I can bear it now.

Oh, how this does rest me

Now my work is done!

I've all my life loved others,

Now I want love, dear one.

Just a little petting

At life's setting;

For I'm old, alone, and tired,

And my long life's work is done.

GRANDMA WAITING.

A TRUE EXPERIENCE.

"Still waiting, dear good grandma, for the blessed angel Death?"

"Yes waiting, only waiting to be borne across the sea,

To the home my soul's been building all these years of mystery,

Through ninety years and over now of deep and wondrous change,

Wherein I've known the heights and depths of human feeling's range,

And tried to solve the problems old of human life so strange.

*      *      *      *      *      *

You want to know my history, because I am so good?

Ah, child, no human life can here be fully understood.

You call me good, and what is more, a 'true and blessed saint.'

(There is illusion sweet indeed in what you child-souls paint

Before you know too much of life and feel its evil taint.)

You even picture beauties of my home across the sea

Which I never dared to hope for e'en on heights of ecstasy.

You see me sitting helpless here, blind now for many years,

Apparently so full of peace, so free from doubts and fears,—

Though never free from Memory's thought which often brings the tears,—

And you wonder where's the passion and the energy of youth,

The power that even dared to sway to evil ways forsooth.

Ah, you but see the blessed fruit of what God planted sure,

When in my years of sorrow He was whispering, 'Endure.'

You cannot see the dreadful scars which naught on earth can cure.

You cannot see the passion wild, when, 'neath the coffin lid,

Among the flowers, my children three, my precious all, were hid.

Nor can you see my conflict sore, when I went almost mad

Before the dying form of him who had loved me from a lad,

A loving husband, kind and true, as ever woman had.

But still, before my dear one died, more children came to me:

Two lovely boys, who seemed at last a recompense to be.

For sometimes it does seem as if God sends a special gift,

To be a special help and strength, the selfish clouds to lift,

Or—what, perhaps, we need as much—the wheat from chaff to sift.

Through all my lonely, widowed life I lived in their sweet ways,

And found no sacrifice too great in work for future days.

At length they were my crowning joy. I'd come again to know

The blessings of a married life—the happiest here below—

When, lo! Death seized the oldest one, my boy that I loved so.

This opened fresh the old deep wounds; but still I had much left,

For then I was not, as before, of every child bereft.

So on I went in daily life, determined to be true

To blessings that were left to me. That does one's life renew,—

Remember this, my dear one, when your grandma's gone from you.

The years went on. I felt I'd had my share of sorrow's pain,

So I banished every lingering thought that Death could come again.

But when we are the surest, child, 'tis then he seems to be

More vigilant than ever to proclaim his mystery,

As if he envied us an hour of joy's sweet company.

My husband first was stricken down; then came the added blow:

Two grown up sons, all settled with as fine a business show

As ever comes to mortals, were cut down in prime of life,

Having just begun to free me from the circumstances rife,

Which boded of the bitterness of poverty's dread strife.

My soul was then so mystified, so dazed before God's will,

That I could only find my voice in His calm words, 'Be still.'

Oh, could I not been spared this stroke, known one less bitter pain,

And been as good for duties here, as fit for heaven's reign?

Was this the way, the only way, eternal life to gain?

It cannot be much longer. I shall soon have crossed the sea,

To the home my soul's been building all these years of mystery.

I've had my share of sorrow, but I've done the best I could.

God knows I've tried through all to grow more patient, wise, and good;

To get at least this out of life, as every mortal should.

But, though I've had his comfort, and still hear his sweet 'Endure,'

I feel the bitter heartache which no time or sense can cure.

My friends have all been laid away, my work long since was o'er,

And now I'm only waiting for Death's landing on the shore.

I hope 'twill be at sunset when he knocks at my soul's door;

For, somehow, it much easier seems to go the unknown way

Attended by the beauty of the sun's last glorious ray.

But as I calmly wait and think, it does seem rather queer

That what you 'blessed angel' call has seemed my chief curse here.

Alas! how much we suffer before God's ways appear."

DOES IT PAY?

Does it pay—all this burden and worry,

All the learning acquired with pain,

All the planning and nervous wild action,

The restlessness following gain,

Does it pay?

To be free from this burden and worry,

To have knowledge without fear and pain,

To be peaceful, far-seeing, sweet tempered,

And calm in the presence of gain,

We must know the pure secret of Nature,

Like her be obedient to law,

And work in the light of the promise

Of blessed results Christ foresaw.

Then each day,

And alway,

Life will pay.

AUXILIUM AB ALTO.

The poet young e'er finds a tongue

To tell the joys of love.

The poet bold e'en dares behold

The mystery above.

The poet brave e'er loves to rave

Of wars and victories gained.

The poet sweet e'en dares repeat

The angels' songs unfeigned.

And to each one we say, "Well done,

Go on and do thy best."

Though still we feel each doth but seal

A part of life's bequest.

But yet we cry, "O goddess high,

Must thou thy wealth so share?

America feign would have the reign

Of one thy gift to bear.

She needs such one to help her shun

The dangerous shoals of thought,

Which in this age of clown and sage

Her progress gained hath wrought.

She needs such one to help her shun

The deeper shoals of wrong,

Which in these days of doubt's fond lays

Tempt e'en her favored strong.

Oh, send such one to say, 'Well done,'

And tell in truth God's plan,

While he declares as well as shares

The fullest life of man."

LIMITATIONS.

"Would that my acts could equal the noble acts I've told.

Would that I could but master myself as visions bold!"

So cried a famous artist, in agony of soul,

As waves of great temptation before him high did roll.

"Oh, would that I could body the thoughts that govern me.

Oh, would that I could picture the visions I foresee!"

So cried a saintly woman, in ecstasy of pain,

As waves of sad depression rolled on her soul to gain.

THE MUSE OF HISTORY.

Clio, with her flickering light

And book of valued lore,

Comes down the ages, dark and bright,

Our interest to implore.

She walks with glad majestic mien,

Proud of her knowledge gained;

Though mourning oft at having seen

Man's life so dulled and pained.

Her face with lines of care is wrought,

From searching mystery's cause,

And dealing with the hidden thought

Of nature's subtle laws.

Yet still she blushes with new life

At sight of actions fine,

And pales with anguish at the strife

Of evil's dread design.

She stops to sing her grandest lays

When, in creation's heat,

She sees evolved a higher phase

Of life's fruition sweet.

'Twas thus in days of Genesis,

When man came forth supreme.

'Twas thus in days of Nemesis,

When Love did dare redeem.

And thus 'twill be in future days,

When out from spirit laws,

Shall be brought forth for lasting praise

The ever great First Cause.

Oh, gladly know this wondrous muse

Who walks the aisles of Time,

And not so thoughtlessly refuse

Her book of lore sublime;

For in it is the precious force

Of spirit-life divine,

Which even through a winding course

Leads in to Wisdom's shrine.

AN IMPROMPTU.

(Written for G. H. T., on the death of W. S. T., March, 1889.)

As brothers here we've shared the smiles,

The tears of boyhood's hour,

And felt the sweet companionship

Of manhood's love and power.

But now the tie is snapped. He's fled

Beyond the mortal sight.

The grave with all its mystery

Asserts Death's power to blight.

Alas! Death seems the cruel thing

In this bright world of ours.

The bravest soul shrinks from its hold

Though loving faith empowers.

But, hark! Is 't not his voice I hear,

With comfort as of yore?

"Dear brother, Death is but more Life,

The grave is heaven's door."

TO MRS. PARTINGTON.

July 12, 1886.

Another birthday here?

It hardly seems a year

Since I these words did hear,—

When three score years and one did crown thee,—

"Not till I am an octagon,

Or, worse still, a centurion,

Shall I be old, with factories gone

All idiomatic and forlorn."

But thou art still a "membrane" dear

Of what we call society's cheer;

"Ordained beforehand, in advance."

('Twas "foreordained," that does enhance,)

To hurl not "epitaphs" which sting,

But a new "Erie's" dawn to bring,

Of "fluid" thoughts which counteract

The "bigamies" of fate and fact.

Alas! thy crutch of many years

Still hints "romantic" pains and fears;

A "Widow Cruise's oil jug" say,

To keep "plumbago" still at bay!

Its helpful mission has a share

In "Lines of Pleasant Places" rare.

And, by the way, not crutch alone

Finds in that book its value shown.

There in the depths of friendship's mines

Are seen thy tenderest, purest lines;

Impromptus born at love's command

To deck occasion's wise demand.

One finds no "Sarah's desert" there,

No "reprehensible" despair;

But teeming thoughts on Mounds and Press

Poured out in pure unselfishness.

This brings to mind thy Knitting-Work,

Wherein that "plaguey Ike" does lurk,

And other books with humor rife,

Done in the priming of thy life.

"Contusion of ideas." O no;

What "Angular Saxon" would say so?

"Congestive thoughts then so inane

They'd decompose the soundest brain."

Yes, there it is, thy humor still,

Not seventy years and two can kill.

'Tis free from all "harmonious" lore,

A "wholesome" not a "ringtail" store.

LINES

SENT TO THE DINNER GIVEN IN HONOR OF WALT WHITMAN'S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY, AT CAMDEN, N.J., MAY 31, 1889, AT 5 O'CLOCK P.M.

"Splendor of ended day floating and filling me,"[B]

Comes to my mind as I think of the hour

When our poet and friend will be lovingly drinking

The mystical cup of the seventy years' power.

Were I the man-of-war bird he has pictured

Nothing could keep me from flying that way.

But, though absent in body, there's nothing can hinder

My tasting the joys of that festive birthday;

For on the swift wings of the ending day's splendor

My soul will glide in to drink deep the cup's wealth.

Who knows but the poet's keen sense of pure friendship

Will feel, 'midst the joy, what I drink to his health?—

Splendor of ended day

Be but the door

Opening the endless way

Life evermore.

[B] "Song at Sunset."—W. W.

SONNETS.

THE KNOWN GOD.

(Suggested by Arlo Bates' sonnet, "The Unknown God," published in the BOSTON COURIER of August 21, 1887.)

If Paul in Athens' street left nothing more

Than what he found when deep in sacred thought,

He stood and marvelled o'er what had been wrought,—

The To the Unknown God of heathen lore,—

Then were he only one on thought's wide shore

To lose his name in others. But, heaven-taught,

Undaunted, and in words experienced-fraught,

Declared he God as known forevermore.

Paul's words, made deep and strong by martyred life,

Are more than vision deified. They are

Love's balm to permeate true mental strife,

And bring to sin-sick weary souls a star

Of hope born of temptation's struggles rife.

To the Known God. Through Paul we dare thus far.

August, 1887.

TO PHILLIPS BROOKS.

O type of manhood, strong, serene, and chaste,

Attuned to law of man as well as God,

We hail thee as a guide, who, having trod

With Christ the spirit-fields, in eager haste

Makes glad return to give us blessed taste

Of fruit there found. Through thee our feet are shod

With gospel-peace, while thy imperial rod

Becomes our need in times of drought or waste.

How can we thank thee for thy helpful cheer,

O master-spirit of the priests of earth?

By daily doing penance without fear,

Or resting satisfied in deeds of worth?

O no! 'Tis when we breathe love's atmosphere,

And live like thee the life of heavenly birth.

Boston, 1890.

AT THE "PORTER MANSE."

[That part of the Porter Manse containing the room referred to was built early in the last half of the seventeenth century. It was the house which Wenham (the first distinct township set off—in 1639—from Salem) gave to the second pastor of its church, Rev. Antipas Newman, who married, while living there, Governor Winthrop's daughter. It was bought by John Porter in 1703, and has remained in his family name without alienation to this day.]

Before a smouldering fire at twilight hour

I muse alone. The ancient room, low-beamed,

Holds for my ear thoughts voiced by forms that teemed

Two hundred years ago with life and power.

I breathe the essence of sweet joys that flower

In light of home; while life that only seemed

On history's page becomes the real, redeemed

From all the chaff that time fails not to shower.

Ah, such old places, holding through the years

Continuous life of man's activity,

Reveal a wealth beyond that which appears

In modern homes built e'er so lovingly.

Imbued so long with human hopes and fears,

Have they not claim to personality?

OUR LADY OF THE MANSE.

Of all those born into the name to share

The charming freedom of the Porter Manse,

None were more worthy of inheritance

Than she who now presides as lady there.

Her gracious calm makes hospitality wear

A beauteous crown of peace. Kind tolerance

And wide-embracing sympathy enhance

Her power to please and lighten daily care.

'Tis only such rare souls who pierce the truth

Of home-life secrets, and through tact and grace,

Make growing years reflect the joys of youth.

They lose not hope, though sorrow leave a trace

In all their joy. Such cannot fail, forsooth,

Of making home a loved abiding place.

TO B. P. SHILLABER.

July 12, 1888.

When lingering Day at last recedes from sight,

And Night comes slowly forth to fill her place,

Preceded by a twilight-hour's loved face

Reflecting glorious rays of sunset light,

'Tis then my thoughts go wandering with delight

Through oft-frequented avenues of space

To those dear souls—the dearest of the race—

Who've dwelt with me on friendship's purest height.

From this old mountain-top I come to you,

My large souled trusted friend of many a year,

With birthday greetings of the roseate hue

Left by a perfect Day just lingering here.

Oh, may life's twilight hold a peace as true,

And be as filled with hope of dawn's sweet cheer!

Mount Wachusett, Mass.

TO OUR MARY.

Sweet sister, thoughtful ever of our need,

Forgetting self, if only we be served,

How oft thy loving sympathy has nerved

Our fainting hearts to kinder, nobler deed,

Or brought to being thoughts that intercede

For others' progress. We, all undeserved,

Cannot forget that life to ends thus curved

Made time for us to plant our own pet seed.

The world owes much to many a sister dear,

Who, banishing with tears in midnight hour

A fond desire for larger, happier sphere,

Strives faithfully in lowly life to shower

Rich daily blessings. Such may know e'en here

A Christ-like joy unknown to worldly power.

Chelsea, Mass., 1887.

A BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCE.

TO F. D. L.

September 26.

Time brings to thee from out his storehouse old

Another year, which graciously awaits

Thy fair soul's bidding, as it estimates

The wealth the parting year has left untold.

Clothed in chameleon garments, which unfold

The fresh new days thine eye ne'er underrates,

It brings continued hope of life that dates

Man's finest being. Thou its secrets hold!

Are not such birthdays restful stepping stones,

To aid the growing soul pick out the way

To life eternal? Not earth's bitterest moans

Or wildest joys can man's true progress stay,

If, in these pauses, he but hear the tones

Of immortality's soothing, deathless lay.

1887.

JOSEF HOFMANN.

(After hearing him play at Boston Music Hall in 1888.)

O marvellous child, a temple where in ease

Expectant Genius dwells, while lingering here

On earth to fit us for the heavenly sphere,

Dost feel awe-struck to know thou hast the keys

To new and wondrous unheard harmonies?

O favored boy, marked out to be the peer

Of those who in all ages God's voice hear,

Hushed are our souls before what thy soul sees!

Guard tenderly, O earth, O sky, O fates,

This precious earthly temple of Art's shrine!

May chilling poverty, or sin that dates

Soul loss, ne'er hinder Genius' wise design

To have full sway—as she anticipates—

In working out, in time, her laws divine.

I.

AFTER THE DENIAL.

John 21: 15–18.

When fast was broken on Tiberias' shore,

The risen Lord, still anxious that his own

Should know love's secret as to him 'twas known,

Thrice asked of Peter, "Lovest thou me more

Than these?" The third time Peter's heart was sore.

Must even love divine have doubt's sad tone?

"Thou knowest, Lord, I love thee," was his moan.

Then, "Feed my sheep," Christ answered as before.

Still in these days the risen Lord bends o'er

The shores of time, and longs for human love;

The love that hears his voice, awake, asleep,

And makes response as Peter did of yore.

"Lovest thou me?" O Christ, from heights above,

Thou knowest that we love thee. "Feed my sheep."

II.

GETHSEMANE.

Matthew 26:36–46.

"Could ye not watch with me one hour?" O heart

Of Christ, still longing in the bitterest hour

For human sympathy and love to shower

A needed strength beyond words to impart!

Humanity is richer for this art

Of seeing in poor finite man a power—

Before which even ministering angels cower—

To know all truth, e'en dread Gethsemane's smart.

Alas! the power to know will bring the pain.

But through the pain of wisdom's true insight

Is Christ's own perfect sympathy made plain.

Possessed of this, we see in tenderest light

His sorrowing heart in failing to obtain

The longed-for love in hour of darkest night.

ON LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG.

By old Owl's Head on Memphremagog's side,

In hammock-nook 'midst scenery wild and bold,

The spirit of the waters, as of old,

Broods o'er my soul, its secrets to confide,

It whispers of the anguish, joy, and pride,

The heart of man has on its bosom told;

And hails as conqueror Him who once did hold

Its heart in peace when tempest-tossed and tried.

Loved spirit of the waters, we too hail

The power of Him who walked the holy sea

Of Galilee. Capacity to fail

Were harder to believe than victory.

May He who conquered wildest Nature's heart

His infinite power and rest to us impart!

August, 1891.

LUKE 23:24.

From holy depths he to the Father prayed,

"Forgive them, for they know not what they do."

His heart, pierced then with anguish through and through,

Cried out "'Tis finished," as he death obeyed.

In bitterest wrong this marvellous soul was weighed

With tenderest love and longing towards those who,

Through ignorance of what they might be too,

Were now the slaves of evil passion's raid.

"They know not what they do." O blessed sight

Into the heart of sin's great mystery.

Forgiveness here is shown in sweetest light,

Clothed in her garment of sincerity.

Blest are those souls who reach this precious height;

They know the secret of Christ's victory.

TO THE MEMBERS OF MY HOME CLUB.[C]

While dwelling in sweet wisdom's fruitful ways,

In company with poets grand and good

Who met our human nature's every mood,

What life was ours, beyond our words to praise!

In seeking for the secret of the lays

Which clothed in art pure Nature's daily food,

Or brought to light a Christian brotherhood,

Did we not garner thoughts for future days?

'Tis one of wisdom's joys, while lingering here

To plant her seeds of righteousness and peace,

To give a sweet companionship and cheer

To those who seek from her their soul's increase.

This, friends, we've felt in our Club atmosphere.

May its sweet memory linger till life cease!

Chelsea, Mass., 1888.

[C] For an account of this Home Club, see the Boston Literary World, of July 9, 1887, and June 9, 1888; also, Lend a Hand, for September, 1889.

FOR MY LITTLE NEPHEWS AND NIECES.

A MAMMA'S LULLABY.

Dream of loveliest beauty in thine hour of sleep,

Harold, baby boy.

Lullaby, lullaby, lullaby.

Catch the sweetest glimpses of the heavenly bliss,

While the holy angels bless thee with a kiss.

Lullaby, lullaby.

So shall mamma feel a breath

Of celestial power,

To beautify the ministry,

Of baby's waking hour.

Lullaby, lullaby, lullaby,

Harold, baby boy.

Lullaby, lullaby.

WARREN'S SONG.

How I love you, baby dear,

Sister Rosamond!

I must kiss you,

I must hug you,

I must be your little beau,

To protect you

Or to rescue

From the faults of friend or foe.

I must grow more wise and graceful

Every way,

That I may be true and helpful

For the day

When, as lovely fair young woman,

You will need my stay.

Darling Rosebud,

How I love you,

How I love you, sister dear!

Oh, I will be good and pure,

Striving always to endure

What will make me honest, kind,

Generous, manly, strong in mind,

Worthy of my Rosebud.

Darling Rosebud,

Sweetest Rosebud,

How I love you, sister dear!

BABY MILDRED.

Darling baby Mildred, playing on the floor—

I see!

Creeping here and creeping there,

Into mischief everywhere,

Mamma's little pet and care—

I see!

Fearless baby Mildred, on her rocking horse—

I see!

Never slipping from her place,

Joyous laughter keeping pace

With a motion full of grace—

I see!

Thoughtful baby Mildred, papa's pet and pride—

I know!

Lighting up the passing days

With such happy, winsome ways,

Joy of household life that pays—

I know!

Tired baby Mildred, lovely eyes all closed—

Sleep on!

Waking, heaven will be more near

For the angels' presence here,

Whispering secrets in her ear—

Sleep on! Sleep on!

ROSAMOND AND MILDRED.

Rosamond and Mildred, playing on the floor—

I see!

Laughing blue eyes, dimpled face,

Laughing brown eyes, ways of grace,

Chubby hands that interlace—

I see!

Rosamond and Mildred, trying hard to walk—

I see!

Clinging now to mamma's dress,

Trembling in new happiness,

Then at last a sweet success—

I see!

Rosamond and Mildred, born the same glad year—

I know!

Cousins; each in her own way

Growing wiser every day,

Full of promise as of play—

I know!

Rosamond and Mildred, parting to go home—

Good-bye!

Each a little picture fair,

Carrying blessing everywhere.

Grateful are we for our share—

Good-bye! Good-bye!

'CHILLA.

Chinchilla? Come, 'Chilla!—

Ah, here she comes bounding,

So quickly responding,

Oh, who could but love her!

Her fur like chinchilla—

Her movements all grace—

Such a wise little face—

What kitty is like her?

Oh, who could but love her,

Our dear pretty 'Chilla!

CHILDISH FANCIES.

(A FACT.)

My little nephew, four years old,

A sweet-faced, blue-eyed boy,

Was one day playing by my side

With this and that pet toy,

When all at once he said to me,—

As, laying down my book,

I paused a while to watch with joy

His bright, expressive look,—

"If Mac and I should plant today

Some paper in the ground,

Say, would it grow to be a book

Like yours, with leaves all bound?"

These were the same two little boys

Whose nurse searched far and wide

For little sister's rubber shoes;

"Where can they be?" she cried.

"I know," replied Mac, eagerly,

"We planted them last night,

To see if they would bigger grow

To fit our feet all right."

Dear little boys! These fancies hint

Of future questions deep,

When evolution's grand idea

Shall o'er their vision sweep.

God grant that when these come to them,

As at Truth's shrine they bow,

A childlike faith and earnestness

May fill them then as now.

WHAT LITTLE BERTRAM DID.

(A FACT)

Our little Bertram, six years old,

Sat on his grandpa's knee,

Enjoying to the full the love

That grandpa gave so free,

When, looking up bewitchingly,

He said,—the little teaze,—

"Will grandpa give me just one cent

To buy some candy, please?"

Who could resist such loveliness?

This grandpa could not, sure.

So with a kiss he gave the cent—

Ah, how such things allure!

No sooner was the cent in hand,

Than off the fair boy ran

To buy his candy, "'lasses kind,"

Or little "candy-man."

Now on his way, in scanning well

A window full of toys,

He spied a ring with big red stone,

O'erlooked by other boys.

All thought of candy was forgot.

He'd buy that ring so fine

For his new sister, Rosamond—

Oh, how his eyes did shine!

How could he stop to calculate

The size of such a thing;

His only care was for the price—

Would one cent buy the ring?

Ah yes, it would. The ring was bought;

And never girl or boy

Went tripping homeward through the streets

With greater wealth or joy.

"DEAR LITTLE MAC."[D]

(A FACT.)

When nearly eight years old, dear little Mac

Was called from out his happy home-life here

To that blest sphere

Beyond earth's dearest power to call him back.

"His questions wise will now sure answer find,"

Said one who'd loved to watch his eager face,

In happy chase

Of many a thought which flitted through his mind.

"Yes, he knows more than we," another said,

"Instead of guiding him, he'll be our guide

To where abide

The things we need most to be comforted."

While thus the older ones their comfort sought,

Two of the children paused in midst of play,

To have their say

Concerning this great mystery Death had brought.

"Dear little Mac," said Miriam, with a sigh,

"He's gone way up to heaven where angels are,

Way up so far

That we can't ever see him till we die."

"He's not up there," said Bertram. "He can't be.

I saw them put him in the cold dark ground,

And I went round

And threw some flowers in for him to see."

"He isn't there," replied the four-year old,

"He's up in heaven. My mamma told me so.

He is, I know.

He isn't in the ground all dark and cold."

A moment Bertram sat absorbed in thought,

While Miriam felt the joy of victory.

Then suddenly

The lovely six-year-old this idea caught:

"I tell you what, Mac's body's in the ground;

His head, his feet, and every other part,

But just his heart—

And that's gone up to heaven, and angels found."

The child thus solved the thought that troubled so.

And as I overheard this earnest talk,—

Which might some shock,—

I wondered if we could more wisdom show.

As each seemed satisfied, their play went on.

But Bertram's thought sank deep in sister's mind,

And left behind

The wonder how dear Mac to heaven had gone.

At last, when ready for their sweet "Good Night,"

She softly said, "It can't be very dark,

Not very dark

For Mac, I know, 'cause God will make it light."

Oh, lovely faith of childhood's trusting days,

Sent fresh from heaven to be our loving guide,

When sadly tried

By doubt or sorrow's strange, mysterious ways.

[D] MacLaurin Cooke Gould, died in Maplewood, Mass., November 8, 1887.

WILLARD AND FLORENCE ON MOUNT WACHUSETT.

July, 1888.

Happy little girl and boy,

Dancing hand in hand

Over hill and valley land,

Filled with summer joy;

Climbing up the steep path side

To Wachusett's top,

With that graceful skip and hop

Born where fairies hide;

Seeing Holyoke from the height,

Old Monadnock clear,

While Washacum twin-lakes near

Sparkle in sun-light;

Tripping down the mountain-road

Back to cottage home,

Only pausing there to roam

Where laurel finds abode;

Jumping on the new-mown hay,

Sitting under trees,

Feeling every mountain breeze,

Hearing birds' sweet lay;

Lying on the mossy stone

By the brook's cascade,

Listening 'neath the sylvan shade

To its rippling tone;

Down at pretty Echo Lake,

Plucking maiden-hair,

Gathering glistening "sundew" there

For "dear mamma's sake";

Picking in the pastures near

Berries red and blue;

Spying where the mayflowers grew

Earlier in the year;

Watching for the sun to rise,

Following sunset-cloud,

Singing low and singing loud

While the swift day flies;

Waiting for the "Tally-Ho,"

With its looked-for mails,

Hearing strangers tell their tales

As they come and go;

Happy little girl and boy,

Dancing hand in hand

Over hill and valley land,

Filled with summer joy.

A LITTLE BRAZILIAN.

(A FACT.)

'Twas in Brazil last Christmas day,

While at a family feast,

A little girl of five years old

The merriment increased,

By crying out,—as glasses held

The ice she ne'er had seen,—

"Oh see! what pretty little stones.

What for? Where have they been?"

"Here, give her one," the host exclaimed,

Pleased with her childish glee.

"'Twill show her as no words could show

What ice is, and must be."

She grasped the "white stone" in her hand,

All watching eagerly,

When suddenly she let it fall,

And cried, "It's burning me."

But, anxious still to see it more,

She asked a servant near

To hand it in a napkin wrapped—

Then there would be no fear.

Again the ice was in her hand,

Her plaything for the day,

When all at once she cried aloud,

"The stone is running away."

A glass of water now was used,

Sure that would keep it hers.

But no! with all her loving watch

The same result occurs.

The plaything gone, at evening hour

She sat on uncle's knee.

"Who makes those white stones, you or God?"

She asked, inquiringly.

"In Miss Brown's land [a Boston friend]

God makes them," answered he.

"But in Brazil a factory-man

Makes them for you and me."

A moment's pause. Then said the child,—

Heaven's blessing on her fall,—

"Why doesn't God get from Brazil

A man to make them all?"

THE LITTLE DOUBTER.

"Mamma, where is the sun to-day,

While all this rain comes down?"

Ah, little girl

Of flaxen curl,

Who has not asked before

This question o'er and o'er?

"Behind the clouds so thick and black

The sun is shining still,"

The mother quickly answered back,

Her child with faith to fill.

The child looked up in strange surprise,

In doubt almost a pain,

Then turned again her wistful eyes

To watch the pouring rain.

"I don't believe 'tis shining still,"

She muttered to herself.

Ah, little girl

Of flaxen curl,

Why doubt e'en mother's word,

Because of feelings stirred?

"I won't believe it till I see

The sun behind that cloud,"

She still went on, defiantly,

To say in accents loud.

Now, while she gazed as if to see

The truth made known by sight,

Behold the cloud did suddenly

Become imbued with light.

"There, there, mamma, the sun, the sun!"

The little doubter cried.

And, full of joy at victory won,

She danced with childish pride.

The mother watched with tearful eyes

Her child's transparent joy,

But dared not quench the glad surprise,

Or victory's power destroy.

"Perhaps she'll need this proof," she sighed,

"Of hidden things made plain,

When in the depths of life she's tried,

And all fond hopes are slain."

While thus she mused, as mothers will,

The little daughter fair

Rushed to her arms, all smiling still,

And said, while nestling there,

"Behind the clouds the sun does shine,

E'en while the rain comes down."

Ah, little girl

Of flaxen curl,

This wisdom is indeed

For future hours of need.

OUR KITTY'S TRICK.[E]

I know that all the boys and girls

Would be so glad to see

Our kitty do the little trick

She often does for me.

When asked, "O kitty, where's the ball?"

She to my shoulder leaps,

And looks directly to the shelf,

Where from a box it peeps.

She will not cease to look and beg,

Until I find the place

Where she can take between her teeth

The ball with easy grace.

Then quickly to the floor she jumps;

When, dropping first the ball,

She runs behind the open door

That leads into the hall.

She waits, with only head in sight,

The ball to see me throw;

Then after it she scampers well

Some forty feet or so.

She never fails to bring it back;

Then lifts with wondrous grace

Her velvet paw to take the ball

From out its hiding place.

This done, she nestles by my side,

And purrs while I caress,

Unconscious of the trick she's done,

Since three months old or less.

She thus will lie in calm repose

So long as I am still;

But if I move to touch the ball,

Then all her nerves will thrill,

Her eyes will shine, she'll quickly find

Her place behind the door,

And wait again to see the ball

Roll on the long hall floor.

Ah, kitty dear, who told you how

To join thought, act, and sight?

Must not we think that in you dwells

The germ of mental light,

The germ that makes you kin to us

In kind though not degree,

But which was quickened by His touch

For our supremacy?

[E] These verses, true in every detail, are only preserved in remembrance of a pet cat of our family for many years.

A MESSAGE.

A mountain hides within itself

This message grand and true,

Which at my bidding came to-day

For me to give to you:

"Drink deep of Nature's sweetest life,

While learning how to wait.

Stand strong against the tempest's strife,

Not questioning the fate.

Then shalt thou live above the din

Of petty things below,

Absorbing depths of life within,

The future to o'erflow."

At the foot of Mount Holyoke.

Transcribers' Notes

Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; inconsistent hyphenation was retained.

Footnotes have been moved to the ends of the poems that reference them.

It sometimes was unclear whether or not a new stanza began on a new page.

Page 32: Unbalanced closing quotation mark retained after: God's thought.

Page 78: "In perfect harmony" was printed as "perect".

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Table of Contents

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Stray Pebbles from the Shores of Thought, by Elizabeth Porter Gould

STRAY PEBBLES FROM THE Shores of Thought

CONTENTS.

POEMS OF NATURE.

TO WALT WHITMAN.

TO SUMMER HOURS.

A TRUE VACATION.

A QUESTION.

TO A BUTTERFLY.

IN A HAMMOCK.

O RARE, SWEET SUMMER DAY.

AN OLD MAN'S REVERIE.

ON JEFFERSON HILL.

ON SUGAR HILL.

AT FAIRFIELDSA, WENHAM.

BLOSSOM-TIME.

THE PRIMROSE.

JOY, ALL JOY.

AMONG THE PINES.

CONSCIOUS OR UNCONSCIOUS?

POEMS OF LOVE.

LOVE'S HOW AND WHY.

LOVE'S GUERDON.

A BIRTHDAY GREETING.

THREE KISSES.

IF I WERE ONLY SURE.

ABSENCE.

A LOVE SONG.

IN HER GARDEN.

LOVE'S WISH.

IS THERE ANYTHING PURER?

LONGING.

YOUNG LOVE'S MESSAGE.

A DIARY'S SECRET.

A MONOLOGUE.

A PRICELESS GIFT.

THE OCEAN'S MOAN.

LOVE'S FLOWER.

LOVE DISCROWNED.

RENUNCIATION.

A WIDOW'S HEART-CRY.

TOGETHER.

SHADOWED CIRCLES.

MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.

A SONG OF SUCCESS.

THE UNDER-WORLD.

SHE KNOWS.

AT PITTSFORD, VERMONT.

CHILDHOOD'S DAYS.

AN ANSWER.

WHERE? WHAT? WHENCE?

HEROES.

A MAGDALEN'S EASTER CRY.

FOR THE ANNIVERSARY OF MRS. BROWNING'S DEATH.

ROBERT BROWNING.

TO NEPTUNE, IN BEHALF OF S. C. G.

TO THE PANSIES GROWING ON THE GRAVE OF A. S. D.

A BROKEN HEART.

MY RELEASE.

THE GOD OF MUSIC.

TO WILHELM GERICKE.

FOR E. T. F.

TO C. H. F.

AN ANNIVERSARY POEM.

A COMFORT.

AN ANNIVERSARY.

A THANK-OFFERING.

AT LIFE'S SETTING.

GRANDMA WAITING.

DOES IT PAY?

AUXILIUM AB ALTO.

LIMITATIONS.

THE MUSE OF HISTORY.

AN IMPROMPTU.

TO MRS. PARTINGTON.

LINES

SONNETS.

THE KNOWN GOD.

TO PHILLIPS BROOKS.

AT THE "PORTER MANSE."

OUR LADY OF THE MANSE.

TO B. P. SHILLABER.

TO OUR MARY.

A BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCE.

JOSEF HOFMANN.

I.

II.

ON LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG.

LUKE 23:24.

TO THE MEMBERS OF MY HOME CLUB.C

FOR MY LITTLE NEPHEWS AND NIECES.

A MAMMA'S LULLABY.

WARREN'S SONG.

BABY MILDRED.

ROSAMOND AND MILDRED.

'CHILLA.

CHILDISH FANCIES.

WHAT LITTLE BERTRAM DID.

"DEAR LITTLE MAC."D

WILLARD AND FLORENCE ON MOUNT WACHUSETT.

A LITTLE BRAZILIAN.

THE LITTLE DOUBTER.

OUR KITTY'S TRICK.E

A MESSAGE.

Transcribers' Notes

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