d;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And their idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
EACH AND ALL[23]
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Little thinks, in the field, yon red-cloaked clown,
On thee, from the hill top looking down;
And the heifer that lows on the upland farm,
Far heard, lows not thine ear to charm;
The sexton, tolling the bell at noon,
Dreams not that great Napoleon
Stops his horse and lists with delight,
As his files sweep round yon distant height;
Nor knowest thou what argument
Thy life to thy neighbor's creed hath lent;
All are needed by each one--
Nothing is fair or good alone.
I caught the linnet's note from heaven,
Singing at dawn, on the alder bough;
I brought him home in his nest at even:
He sings the song; but it pleases not now;
For I did not bring home the river and sky;
He sang to my ear--they sing to my eye.
The delicate shell lay on the shore;
The bubbles of the latest wave
Fresh pearls to their emerald gave;
And the bellowing of the savage sea
Greeted their safe escape to me.
I wiped away the weeds and foam,
And fetched my sea-born treasures home;
But the poor, unsightly, noisome things
Had left their beauty on the shore,
With the sun, and the sand, and the wild uproar
Nor rose, nor stream, nor bird is fair;
Their concord is beyond compare.
FOOTNOTE:
[23] Used by permission of, and special arrangement with, Houghton,
Mifflin & Co., the authorized publishers.
LAUS DEO![24]
ON HEARING BELLS ANNOUNCING EMANCIPATION
JOHN G. WHITTIER
It is done!
Clang of bell and roar of gun
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