It will be remembered that the last time Doctor Holmes appeared in public to read a poem was on May 28, 1893, when he attended the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the reorganization of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union. The beautiful hymn he wrote for this occasion is the sweet, simple expression of his own lifelong creed:
"Our Father! while our hearts unlearn
The creeds that wrong thy name,
Still let our hallowed altars burn
With faith's undying flame.
Not by the lightning's gleam of wrath
Our souls thy face shall see,
The star of love must light the path
That leads to heaven and thee.
Help us to read our Master's will
Through every darkening stain
That clouds his sacred image still,
And see him once again,
The brother man, the pitying friend
Who weeps for human woes,
Whose pleading words of pardon blend
With cries of raging foes.
If, 'mid the gathering storms of doubt
Our hearts grow faint and cold,
The strength we cannot live without,
Thy love will not withhold.
Our prayers accept; our sins forgive;
Our youthful zeal renew;
Shape for us holier lives to live,
And nobler work to do!"