Wherefore should I
Thrust her from my guilty heart away?
Ah, how could I!
Whatsoe’er the righteous world might say—
She, my sister,
One who shared in mine own life a part—
Nay, I kissed her,
And upraised her to a brother’s heart.
And I said, “Henceforth we will not sever,
But with faith and patience failing never,
We will work for truth and right forever.
Ministers of light,
Watching o’er the city!
Guide! O, guide our erring feet aright!”
Gently o’er us
Came a breath of warm and balmy air,
And before us
Stood a man with silvery, flowing hair.
How appearing
From the murky gloom that round us fell,
Mild and cheering
In his presence, I could never tell.
But I say with solemn asservation,
That it was no fanciful creation,
Bearing to this life no true relation,
Which we saw that night,
Standing in the city,
Underneath the street-lamps’ changing light.
“Children!” said he,
“One of life’s great lessons you are taught;
Be then ready
To apply the teaching as you ought.
All are brothers—
All are sisters in this lower life.
Many others
Make sad failures in the weary strife;
But each failure is a grand expression
Of the law which underlies progression,
Which will raise the soul above transgression.
Yea, this very night,
All throughout this city,
Every soul is striving toward the light.”
“Bruised and broken,
Many hearts in patient sorrow wait,
To hear spoken
Words of love, which often come too late.
Lift their crosses,
And their sins—the heaviest load of all—
Bear their losses,
And be patient with them when they fall.”
Then he vanished, as the shadows parted,
Leaving us alone, but hopeful hearted,
Gazing into space where he departed
From our wondering sight,
In that mazy city—
Vanished in the shadows of the night.
Sacred presence!
Dwelling just beyond our mortal sense,
Through thine essence,
Fill our beings with a life intense.
By creation
Man fulfills a destiny sublime,
And salvation
Comes to each in its appointed time.
In that region of celestial splendor,
Where the angel-faces look so tender,
Human weakness needeth no defender.
In the perfect light
Of the heavenly city,
Souls can read the law of life aright.
A RESPECTABLE LIE.
“A respectable lie, sir! Pray what do you mean?
Why the term in itself is a plain contradiction.
A lie is a lie, and deserves no respect,
But merciless judgment, and speedy conviction.
It springs from corruption, is servile and mean,
An evil conception, a coward’s invention,
And whether direct, or but simply implied,
Has naught but deceit for its end and intention.”
Ah, yes! very well! So good morals would teach;
But facts are the most stubborn things in existence,
And they tend to show that great lies win respect,
And hold their position with wondrous persistence.
The small lies, the white lies, the lies feebly told,
The world will condemn both in spirit and letter;
But the great, bloated lies will be held in respect,
And the larger and older a lie is, the better.
A respectable lie, from a popular man,
On a popular theme, never taxes endurance;
And the pure, golden coin of unpopular truth,
Is often refused for the brass of assurance.
You may dare all the laws of the land to defy,
And bear to the truth the most shameless relation,
But never attack a respectable lie,
If you value a name, or a good reputation.