Strike hands with me! Dark is the way we go, But souls-courageous line it--that I know!
_Everard Jack Appleton._
From "The Quiet Courage."
IF
If I were fire I"d burn the world away.
If I were wind I"d turn my storms thereon, If I were water I"d soon let it drown.
_Cecco Angolieri._
If I were fire I"d seek the frozen North And warm it till it blossomed fairly forth And in the sweetness of its smiling mien Resembled some soft southern garden scene.
And when the winter came again I"d seek The chilling homes of lowly ones and meek And do my small but most efficient part To bring a wealth of comfort to the heart.
If I were wind I"d turn my breath upon The calm-bound mariner until, anon, The eager craft on which he sailed should find The harbor blest towards which it hath inclined.
And in the city streets, when summer"s days Were withering the souls with scorching rays, I"d seek the fevered brow and aching eyes And take to them a touch of Paradise.
If I were water it would be my whim To seek out all earth"s desert places grim, And turn each arid acre to a fair Lush home of flowers and oasis rare.
Resolved in dew, I"d nestle in the rose.
As summer rain I"d ease the harvest woes, And where a tear to pain would be relief, A tear I"d be to kill the sting of grief.
If I were gold, I"d seek the poor man"s purse.
I"d try to win my way into the verse Of some grand singer of Man"s Brotherhood, And prove myself so pure, so fraught with good.
That all the world would bless me for the cup Of happiness I"d brought for all to sup.
And when at last my work of joy was o"er I"d be content to die, and be no more!
_John Kendrick Bangs._
From "Songs of Cheer."
THE GIFTS OF G.o.d
Why are we never entirely satisfied? Why are we never at absolute peace or rest? Many are the answers that have been made to this question. The answer here given by the poet is that so richly is man endowed with qualities and attributes that if contentment were added to them, he would be satisfied with what he has, and would not strive for that which is higher still--the fulfilment of his spiritual cravings.
When G.o.d at first made Man, Having a gla.s.s of blessings standing by; Let us (said He) pour on him all we can: Let the world"s riches, which dispersed lie, Contract into a span.
So strength first made a way; Then beauty flow"d, then wisdom, honor, pleasure When almost all was out, G.o.d made a stay, Perceiving that alone, of all His treasure, Rest in the bottom lay.
For if I should (said He) Bestow this jewel also on My creature, He would adore My gifts instead of Me, And rest in Nature, not the G.o.d of Nature.
So both should losers be.
Yet let him keep the rest, But keep them with repining restlessness: Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to My breast.
_George Herbert._
A PHILOSOPHER
"The web of our life is of mingled yarn, good and ill together," says Shakespeare. It behooves us therefore to find the good and to make the best of the ill. Two men were falling from an aeroplane. "I"ll bet you five dollars," said one, "that I hit the ground first."
To take things as they be-- Thet"s my philosophy.
No use to holler, mope, or cuss-- If they was changed they might be wuss.
If rain is pourin" down, An" lightnin" buzzin" roun", I ain"t a-fearin" we"ll be hit, But grin thet I ain"t out in it.
If I got deep in debt-- It hasn"t happened yet-- And owed a man two dollars, Gee!
Why I"d be glad it wasn"t three.
If some one come along, And tried to do me wrong, Why I should sort of take a whim To thank the Lord I wasn"t him.
I never seen a night So dark there wasn"t light Somewheres about if I took care To strike a match and find out where.
_John Kendrick Bangs._
From "Songs of Cheer."
THE LIFE WITHOUT Pa.s.sION
A person may feel deeply without shouting his emotion to the skies, or be strong without seizing occasions to exhibit his strength. In truth we distrust the power which makes too much a display of itself. Let it exert itself only to the point of securing the ends that are really necessary. Restraint, self-control are in truth more mighty than might unshackled, just as a self-possessed opponent is more dangerous than a frenzied one. Moreover, there is a moral side to the question. A good quality, if abused or allowed free sway, becomes a force for evil and does its owner more harm than if he had not possessed it in the first place.
They that have power to hurt, and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow,--
They rightly do inherit heaven"s graces, And husband nature"s riches from expense; They are the lords and owners of their faces, Others, but stewards of their excellence.
The summer"s flower is to the summer sweet, Though to itself it only live and die; But if that flower with base infection meet, The basest weed outbraves his dignity: