"I fed, but spared them not a whit;
I gave to all who walked in,
Not clams and succotash alone,
But stronger meat of doctrine.
"I proved the prophets false, I pricked
The bubble of perfection,
And clapped upon their inner light
The snuffers of election.
"And looking backward on my times,
This credit I am taking;
I kept each sectary's dish apart,
No spiritual chowder making.
"Where now the blending signs of sect
Would puzzle their assorter,
The dry-shod Quaker kept the land,
The Baptist held the water.
"A common coat now serves for both,
The hat's no more a fixture;
And which was wet and which was dry,
Who knows in such a mixture?
"Well! He who fashioned Peter's dream
To bless them all is able;
And bird and beast and creeping thing
Make clean upon His table!
"I walked by my own light; but when
The ways of faith divided,
Was I to force unwilling feet
To tread the path that I did?
"I touched the garment-hem of truth,
Yet saw not all its splendor;
I knew enough of doubt to feel
For every conscience tender.
"God left men free of choice, as when
His Eden-trees were planted;
Because they chose amiss, should I
Deny the gift He granted?
"So, with a common sense of need,
Our common weakness feeling,
I left them with myself to God
And His all-gracious dealing!