The Freeman, and Other Poems
Date: 2021-06-09T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: American poetry

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Freeman, and Other Poems

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The Freeman, and Other Poems

Author: Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow

Release date: June 9, 2021 [eBook #65574]
Most recently updated: October 18, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65574

Credits: Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREEMAN, AND OTHER POEMS ***

THE FREEMAN
AND OTHER POEMS

THE   FREEMAN
AND   OTHER   POEMS

BY
ELLEN   GLASGOW

NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO.
MCMII

Copyright, 1902, by
Doubleday, Page & Co.

The DeVinne Press.

TO

LOUISE   COLLIER   WILLCOX

CONTENTS

The Freeman, | 13
A Creed, | 15
The Traveller, | 16
A Prayer, | 18
A Battle Cry, | 19
Fame, | 20
Resurrection, | 21
The Shadow, | 22
Justice, | 25
Drinking-song, | 26
Coward Memory, | 28
The Sage, | 29
War, | 31
The True Comedian, | 32
Aridity, | 33
Reunion, | 34
Love has Passed Along the Way, | 35
A Suppliant, | 36
The Mountain Pine, | 38
The Master Hand, | 39
To a Strange God, | 40
The Vision of Hell, | 44
Death-in-Life, | 47
To My Dog, | 50
England’s Greatness, | 51
Mary, | 53
The Hunter, | 55

THE FREEMAN
AND OTHER POEMS

THE FREEMAN

“Hope is a slave, Despair is a freeman”

A vagabond between the East and West,
Careless I greet the scourging and the rod;
I fear no terror any man may bring,
Nor any god.

The clankless chains that bound me I have rent
No more a slave to hope I cringe or cry;
Captives to Fate, men rear their prison walls,
But free am I.

I tread where arrows press upon my path,
I smile to see the danger and the dart;
My breast is bared to meet the slings of hate,
But not my heart.

I face the thunder and I face the rain,
I lift my head, defiance far I fling—
My feet are set, I face the autumn as
I face the spring.

Around me, on the battle-fields of life,
I see men fight and fail and crouch in prayer;
Aloft I stand unfettered, for I know
The freedom of despair.

A CREED

In fellowship of living things,
In kindred claims of Man and Beast,
In common courtesy that brings
Help from the greater to the least,
In love that all life shall receive,
Lord, I believe.

In peace, earth’s passion far above,
In pity, measured not nor priced,
In all souls luminous with love,
Alike in Buddha and in Christ,
In any rights that wrongs retrieve,
Lord, I believe.

In truth that falsehood cannot span,
In the majestic march of Laws,
That weed and flower and worm and man
Result from One Supernal Cause,
In doubts that dare and faiths that cleave,
Lord, I believe.

THE TRAVELLER

The storm clouds swirl against the moon,
The hawk flies black across the snow,
My steed shies at the shifting gloom,
The darkness thickens where I go.
But I ride on when stars are flown,
As one who journeys to his own.

From hamlets draped in frozen white
The flames of ruddy windows fall,
Above the lashing of the night
I hear the cheerful voices call.
The homely hearths are lit in vain
For one who rides across the plain.

The sharp blasts beat upon my breast,
The wolves bay loud behind my back;
I greet their howls with jest for jest,
And laugh to hear them on my track.
Across the night with terrors sown,
I spur and journey to my own.

From open graves on either side,
Wan fingers rise and beckon me;
Old wrongs, uprooted as I ride,
Cry out that right is yet to be.
Dead faces throng upon the way,
Dead voices speak and bid me stay.

The night hawk flies across the snow—
My way leads past the furthest hill;
Though beggared to the tryst I go,
Death waits to woo me to her will.
I press my spurs, I ride alone,
I laugh and journey to my own.

A PRAYER

Grant me but courage, Lord!
I ask not that Thou smooth the appointed path;
I ask not any joys the years afford,
I ask not even Thine averted wrath.

Let me but learn to smile—
Let me face lightly any blow that falls;
Bear bravely with my bondage all the while,
And hug my freedom within prison walls.

Thus when the end draws near,
With lifted head let me the potion quaff,
And so—as one who never learned to fear—
Pass on to meet Thy judgment with a laugh.

A BATTLE CRY

I have made my stand at last
Where the thickest foes are found;
I shall fall as I have fought,
Yielding inch by inch the ground.

I have no surrender given,
I have measured hate with hate;
I have never stooped to call,
“Quarter!” to victorious Fate.

When sore pressed I have not sought
Aid from comrades in the field;
I have never turned to find
Succour from a friendly shield.

This shall be my guerdon gained,
When the hounds of war are passed:
“Peace to him who fought alone,
And who fell alone at last.”

FAME

In life he lived among them and they cast
Him stones for bread.
He that was mightiest of them all had not
Whereon to lay his head.

In death, where flaming poppies fired the dust,
They brought a laurel wreath:
Honour to ashes on the coffin lid!
Fame to the skull beneath!

RESURRECTION

The trumpet of the Judgment shook the night,
Dust quickened and was flesh; grave-clothes were shed;
With moaning of strong travail and lament,
The sea gave up her dead.

One, rising from a rotting tomb, beheld
The heavens unfold beneath Jehovah’s breath.
“Great God!” he cried, “with Thine eternity,
Couldst Thou not leave me Death?”

THE SHADOW

It has followed me for years,
I have seen It slim and tall;
When the day its distance wears,
It has lengthened on the wall;
Slanting black
On my track,
I have felt Its presence fall.

Oft I flee at break of day,
But It races as I ride;
Oft I seek to slink away,
But It slouches at my side;
Or It steals
On my heels,
As the bridegroom to the bride.

As I roam along the track
Of the vagrants o’er the leas;
Oft I mark one glancing back,
And I ask him what he sees—
But they laugh
As they chaff,
“’Tis his shadow that he flees!”

I shall ask of one I love,
Pointing to Its passage fleet,
As along the ways we rove,
What It is that haunts the street.
She will say,
“Nay, nay, nay,
’Tis the shadow at your feet!”

I shall wink and see the trick—
Do they dream that I am blind?
I have but to turn, and quick,
On my pathway I shall find
That It wags,
And It lags,
But It follows close behind.

All the night It hides Its shape
In the dusk beside my bed;
If my vigil I escape,
If I once but turn my head,
While I sleep,
It will creep,
Till I lie beneath It dead.

And the end at last shall come,
Weariness will close my eyes,
I shall fall before It dumb,
When unto my heart It flies.
It will gloat
O’er my throat,
As Its length upon me lies.

JUSTICE

They cursed her with the curse of God,
They smote her with His awful Name:
With brands of fire they branded her,
And brands of shame.

She fell beside the road and lay
Silent within the sounding place;
A dog turned from the passers-by
And licked her face.

Their anger melted into tears;
They wept for her they had disowned—
They bore her to her grave, and then
The dog they stoned.

DRINKING-SONG

Fill the bowl and praise the wine,
Give good measure, rise and quaff—
(Who dares say the dawn-stars shine?
Brothers, shame him by a laugh.)
What knows he of soon or late,
Who has been the fool of Fate?

Kiss the blue eyes and the brown,
Cheeks that pale and cheeks that glow,
Kiss the smile and kiss the frown,
Lightly love and lightly go.
He knows neither love nor hate,
Who has been the fool of Fate.

Clasp a stranger by the hand,
Call it friendship for a day;
When alone you see him stand,
Swear you only spoke in play.
What cares he for friend or mate,
Who has been the fool of Fate?

Gather laurels that decay,
Wear them withered on your breast;
Ere they crumble in a day;
Tread them under foot in jest.
What knows he of honour’s weight,
Who has been the fool of Fate?

Take the best that Life can give,
Drink, but do not pass it on.
Live to drink and drink to live—
(Who spoke of a dream foregone?)
He has seen all dreams abate,
Who has been the fool of Fate.

Dreams! What dreams of heaven or hell?
Gods that bless and Gods that spurn?
What if lighter blows befell,
Does he bide till death to burn?
What cares he for hells that wait,
Who has been the fool of Fate?

COWARD MEMORY

A street half flecked with shade and sun,
A last year’s leaf along it blown,
A gray wall where green lichens run;
Like water falling on dry stone,
A robin’s ripe notes dropping one by one.

Sad sun and shade and sadness over all
The distance blended into solemn hues,
On the warm air suspended as a pall
The sweetness dying violets diffuse,
While from a single tree the ashen elm flowers fall.

At the street’s sudden end a shining square,
The sunny threshold of an open door,
Thick with the dust of an untrodden stair
That leads beyond me to the upper floor—
Then memory halts—it dares not enter there.

THE SAGE

I do not see the lightning’s flash,
Nor hear the thunder’s din;
What though the storms about me crash—
My refuge is within.

Though every evil stands confest,
And every pleasure flies,
I bear a world within my breast,
A light within my eyes.

Of every fount from out the earth
I, too, have drunk my fill,
And all the joys I count of worth
Become my own at will.

Though I have never loved a maid,
Love’s heights I may ascend;
Though no friend’s hand my own has stayed,
I still can pledge my friend.

From good and bad alike I draw
Security of soul;
Naught happens but becomes a law
To strengthen my control.

No passions ever rock my heart,
I know not fear nor hate;
A peace in which all worlds have part
Encompasses my fate.

I dread not any form of wrath,
I hate not any sin;
Whatever grief assail my path,
It cannot come within.

For there secure my spirit reigns,
Serene amid unrest,
Since all that Life or Death contains
I hold within my breast.

WAR

Ripples of ribbons borne on high,
Bloodstains upon a brazen sky;
From cannon belching on the plain,
Fire that by fire is fought again.
A flash where steel by steel is met;
A fume of smoke and blood and sweat.
Sharp from the smeared and trodden gorse
The death-cry of a wounded horse.

Dust of a plain ground into red
By armies of majestic dead.
Gaunt shadows on the changeless sky,
A flock of vultures swarming nigh.
’Mid ashes where a hearth has stood,
Children that cry aloud for food.
Where green the peaceful highways run,
A woman ravished in the sun.
And far across the reeking sod
A Nation sounding thanks to God.

THE TRUE COMEDIAN

What if the road is rough, the dart
Of mischance levelled at thy breast?
Beyond the shudder and the smart,
Canst thou not see the jest?

What if the arrow in the sling
Was tipped with poison ere it flew?
Since thine the hurt and thine the sting,
Be thine the laughter too.

Canst thou not read the wit that lies
Beneath the bold burlesque of Fate?
Or art thou sick of parodies
Who playest with love and hate?

What! take the stage again and gasp
The comedy of self-control?—
Nay, better stand aside to grasp
The humour of the whole.

ARIDITY

She looked unto the east and saw
A pallid stretch of sickly sea;
Unto the west she turned and met
The land’s aridity.

A bloodless wave of rising sun
Was flung across her open door;
It smote her like a slimy thing,
And crawled along the floor.

Her hands took up the weary round—
A colourless and common part.
Her stillborn hopes were buried in
The desert of her heart.

REUNION

Ah, hold me fast! What of the day?
I care not if the sun be dead,
Nor if the stars be gold or gray.
Nay, though the rising moon be red,
Our dawn is here, our night is past,
The world may fade—but hold me fast!

Ah, hold me fast! What of the years?
I care not if our youth be fled,
Nor that our drink be blood and tears,
And bitterness our daily bread.
Nay, though the flames of hell be cast—
They light thy face—ah, hold me fast!

LOVE HAS PASSED ALONG THE WAY

Love has passed along the way—
Lo! the doors have opened wide,
Hands have beckoned him to stay,
Hearts have fluttered to his side.
Let him loiter as he may,
Love has passed along the way.

Ah, what means the vacant room?
Ashes where the flames were red?
What the shudder in the gloom?
What the corpse upon the bed?
Break my heart as best it may,
Love has passed along the way.

A SUPPLIANT

Lo, these many years I lay,
As a suppliant to my God,
Bore the Cross upon my breast,
Bowed my head beneath the rod.

I have kept my temple fair,
I have watched it day and night,
Lo, my cruse of oil is full,
And my lamp of faith is bright!

I have knelt these many years,
Lord, and I am kneeling still;
On my spirit send Thy grace,
On my body work Thy will.

For at last I shall arise,
I shall stand before Thy throne,
Saying: “Lord, the night is past,
And I come to claim my own!”

Saying: “I have served Thee well,
Great my fathers’ God and mine,
I have kept Thy temple white,
And the lamp of faith is Thine.

“I have knelt my whole years long,
Now I must arise and stand;
There is one among the lost
Who shall clasp me by the hand.

“All the prayers that I have prayed
Were as naught could this not be,
That wherever he has lain
He might stretch his hand to me.

“All the years that I have bowed,
Kneeling there, I knelt in vain,
Could I not in heaven or hell
Look and see his face again.

“I shall hold his hand in mine
When I make my prayer to Thee.
‘Lord, as one and not as twain,
Deal with him and deal with me.’”

THE MOUNTAIN PINE

Around me in the void of night there moves
The struggle of uncreate worlds to be,
The stars are not the stars, I hear afar
The planets’ minstrelsy.

For me there is no time, no space, no depth,
No love, no hate, no passionate despair.
I face my destiny—to what has been
And will be, I am heir.

The vulture sails below me, and across
Immeasurable spaces tempests roll.
Decay cannot unmake me, I am part
Of an eternal whole.

THE MASTER HAND

WRITTEN BEFORE ANDREA DEL SARTO’S
PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF

The master hand lifted the brush, and lo,
Colour and light took form at his command,
When Death struck down with an immortal blow
The master hand.

A heap of clay becomes a heap of sand,
The mad, tumultuous centuries bestow
Laurel and dust to sweeten Death’s demand.

Dust chills desire, and laurel lieth low,
But art’s eternal hills triumphant stand—
Whose summits feel in one long afterglow
The master hand.

TO A STRANGE GOD

IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, AUGUST, 1896

All day within the clanging town
There sounds the press of weary feet;
All night do men and beasts go down
Into the struggle of the street.
From sun to sun, from round to round,
The reek of sweat pollutes the ground.

The clamour of discordant days
Reaches the desecrated room
Where faces wan from alien ways
Shine through the daylight to the gloom,
Where, thick with dust and shadows sown,
A heathen god lies overthrown.

His altar is a case of glass;
Strange laughter flies into his face;
From side to side before him pass
Rude voices of a younger race.
Around him, stripped of gold and flowers,
Lie gods of other creeds than ours.

He looks before him and he harks
The heathen scoffing at his shame;
Like arrows in the air he marks
The lips that trifle with his name;
And he whose worship they disown,
He smiles on them—a God of stone.

He smiles upon them, on his face
No graven majesty beguiles.
They mock his Godhead—from his place
He bends unto them and he smiles.
His favours as a garnered sheaf
Know not belief from unbelief.

He sits in silence, he who saw
The hoary homage of the East—
Before whose sovereignty of Law
There bowed, adoring, man and beast.
He sits in silence, and a God
He bows himself beneath the rod.

O God of stone! to whom the years
Rustle like leaves that drop away,
The seal upon thy forehead bears
The impress of a larger day.
No doubt that damns may bid to cease
Thine old insuperable peace.

When, blind with carnage that inflames,
We pander to the pangs of lust,
Our orgies falter, and the shames
That hold us dwindle into dust.
From gods of flesh that we have known
We turn to thee—a God of stone.

Our right hath been the right of steel,
Our litany the battle-cry;
Bound and abased beneath our heel,
Thy chosen people prostrate lie.
And where thy children came in prayer,
Our proud hosannas rend the air.

Though we have warred with doubts for deeds,
Our fortresses and faiths decay,
Our altars rot with canker creeds—
Thou art forever and to-day;
No sacrifice averts thy frown,
No worship brings thy blessing down.

Far as the East is from the West,
Thy graven smile this curse hath cast—
Thy vengeance is our own unrest,
Our future is a people’s past.
The blows that on thine image fall
Are blows that smite the God of all.

THE VISION OF HELL

I died and passed from earth and went my way,
I trod the starry gulf from sphere to sphere,
I felt the breath of God upon my brow
As I drew near.

I paused above Infinity’s abyss,
Scanning the upward path my spirit trod;
A million silver planets spun between
The earth and God.

Yet, scarlet on the ether’s inky waves,
The crooked orbit of the earth was cast;
Dark silhouettes against that solemn light,
Its countless creatures passed.

I saw those mortal shadows stumble on,
Rising in anguish, passing in a breath,
Blind atoms, treading their predestined doom
From birth to death.

Upon the smiling mask that Nature wears,
Was writ the blasphemy of human wills;
I saw man’s bloody footprint on the shore,
His hand upon the hills.

I heard his laughter as he passed along,
I heard the mortal boast immortal breath;
I saw the earth in tragic irony,
Plunge to its death.

Then low into Jehovah’s listening ear
I spoke: “O God of Gods, the life you gave
Is but a lying travesty, whose lie
Ends in the grave.

“Look on the lives that you have made and marred,
Filing gray phantoms in a hapless train:
The stronger finds your heaven; the weaker finds
An endless pain.

“O God, within the hollow of whose hand
A million worlds are tossed to win or lose,
You choose the stronger for salvation, but
The damned I choose.

“I take my stand upon the weaker side,
I grasp the sinner’s hand, I share his fate;
The hell of those who failed, I choose, or those
Who win too late.”

God smiled: across the inky ether way,
A flash that lighted worlds supernal fell.
“It is the damned you look upon,” God said:
“The earth is hell.”

DEATH-IN-LIFE

When the blasts beat loud and the tempests shriek,
And the winds are smote as the chords of a lyre,
I curtain the cold where the corners leak,
Tossing the logs till the flames leap higher,
As I sit on the hearth while the rafters creak,
Feeding the fangs of the hungry fire.
(Hark! ’tis a child on the howling plain!
Nay, the fir-tree’s tap on the window pane.)

Do you hear her knock? Are her feet on the stones?
She may call in vain, for the storm is loud,
And her speech is the rattle of rigid bones.
Perchance she is lost where the thickets crowd;
It is far from the church where a vault she owns,
And for cover she has but a crumbling shroud.
(’Tis a mad soul clutched by a demon—hist!
Nay, nay, but the wail of the wind, I wist.)

She enters the door with a blast of cold—
She enters to me and to my embrace;
Her fingers are freed from their fleshly fold,
The veil is rent from her ashen face.
To her sheet there lingers a scent of mould,
Where the wily worms have woven a trace.
(Hark! is it Love on the writhing rack!
Nay, nay, but the wolves on a shepherd’s track.)

She has taken her seat at my board of pine,
We have poured the water and broken the bread,
I have pledged her health in the blood-red wine,
She has bowed to me with her spectral head.
I am hers forever, as she is mine,
I shall lie with her in her nuptial bed.
(Hark! ’tis a stroke on a coffin nail!
Nay, the beat of your heart as the pulses fail!)

From her fleshless lips I have felt her kiss
(The room is small, but the world is wide).
What matter the honours that I shall miss,
When I find her lying against my side?
From the reefs of Fate God has spared me this—
The love that is long and the breast of a bride.
(For bone of my bone I have chosen Death!
“Nay, nay—ah, love, I am Life,” she saith.)

TO MY DOG

O tried and true! together we have passed
Life’s whirlpool, and have felt Fate’s heaviest blow—
Shall I, then, stand the traitor at the last?
Or prize a heaven that you could never know?

ENGLAND’S GREATNESS

AT THE GRAVE OF CHARLES DARWIN, 1896

England’s greatness! not the sword avenging,
Not the nations bowed beneath her heel;
Not the cross of blood that to her kingdoms
Sets its seal.

These are ghosts of old barbaric splendours,
Rotting where Imperial Rome lies low;
Things that thrill the heart like tales of slaughter
Long ago.

Far beyond them is her glory shining,
Brighter than the sword within the sun;
It shall last when her superb oppressions
All are done.

Other armies has she as victorious,
Slayers these whose hands are clean of blood,
Soldiers whose sublime and steadfast phalanx
Wrong withstood.

England’s greatness! this abides unchanging,
Won by arms that sound no loud refrains:
When all wars and warriors shall have perished,
Truth remains.

MARY

Daughter of dreams and visions,
Flushed by the world’s desire,
Empress of priests’ decisions,
Priestess of altar fire—
Treading a march immortal,
As the Cross to the sunrise swings,
Passing the inmost portal,
Over the crowns of kings—
By the worship with which we woo thee,
By the hymns that our hearts repeat,
By the flames that have burned unto thee,
By the prayers that have warmed thy feet,
By the moons that have risen below thee,
By the stars that have set on thy brow,
By the saints that have suffered to know thee,
We hail thee “Blessed,” now.

Mother of all the Sorrows,
Pierced by the world’s despair,
Wearing a veil that borrows
Gloom from our earthly air;
Broken by ceaseless sighing,
Ravaged by endless tears,
Bearing thy pangs undying
Into the dying years—
By the sweat on thy brow that paleth,
By the Cross where thy heart has lain,
By memory’s pang that naileth
Thy heart to the wood again,
By the passions that rise below thee,
By the sorrows enthroned on thy brow,
By the hearts that have broken to know thee,
We hail thee “Blessed,” now.

THE HUNTER

I sit within the sodden gloom,
Amid the dead that wall the room;
Through galleries damp that reek decay,
My stumbling feet have groped the way.
Mine eyes that shudder at the light
Have read the secrets of the night—
From skeletons with toothless jaws
I wring the utterance of the laws.

Where foul the spider makes his lair,
I con the lesson of his care.
In threads too fine for mortal eyes
I read Eternal Mysteries.
In graves of mouldered love and lust,
I search for secrets of the dust;
Through palls with time and ashes spread,
I plunge my hands among the dead.

Then forth into the light of day,
I fare again upon my way.
A grain of sand, a blade of grass,
Smite me to silence as I pass.
In living men and worms I trace
Old allegories of the race;
In weeds put forth from out the sod
I read the Scriptures of my God.

Unto the hills I mount and see
The vultures of the mountains flee;
My failing eyes I backward cast
To glean the harvest of the past.
My tottering feet have paused alone
Before the barriers of the known—
For onward still, through wrong and ruth,
I fare—a hunter of the Truth.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREEMAN, AND OTHER POEMS ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg electronic works provided that:

- • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

- • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

- • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 41 Watchung Plaza #516, Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

Table of Contents

- THE FREEMAN AND OTHER POEMS

- CONTENTS

- THE FREEMAN AND OTHER POEMS

- THE FREEMAN
- A CREED
- THE TRAVELLER
- A PRAYER
- A BATTLE CRY
- FAME
- RESURRECTION
- THE SHADOW
- JUSTICE
- DRINKING-SONG
- COWARD MEMORY
- THE SAGE
- WAR
- THE TRUE COMEDIAN
- ARIDITY
- REUNION
- LOVE HAS PASSED ALONG THE WAY
- A SUPPLIANT
- THE MOUNTAIN PINE
- THE MASTER HAND
- TO A STRANGE GOD
- THE VISION OF HELL
- DEATH-IN-LIFE
- TO MY DOG
- ENGLAND’S GREATNESS
- MARY
- THE HUNTER
- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE