Sounding the Silver Trumpet
“I had read in the biography of Sir Edward Burne-Jones a legend which he had noted,” said Dr. R. G. Gillie. “When Lucifer was cast out of the Holy City he founded a kingdom of his own, and one of his retainers, greatly caring, asked what he missed most now that he was shut out of Heaven. Pondering, the Prince of Evil paused and answered: ‘I miss the sound of the silver trumpets in the morning.’ According to the legend all the glad populace was called each day to labor and achievement by silver trumpets.”
“Today on weary nations
The heavenly manna falls;
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls.”
The response to this call is touchingly related in an incident: