BY JAMES CLARENCE HARVEY.
I wonder if, under the grass-grown sod,
The weary human heart finds rest!
If the soul, with its woes, when it flies to God,
Leaves all its pain, in the earth's cold breast!
Or whether we feel, as we do to-day,
That joy holds sorrow in hand, alway.
I wonder if, after the kiss of death,
The love that was sweet, in days of yore.
Departs with the last, faint, fleeting breath,
Or deeper grows than ever before!
I wonder if, there in the great Unknown,
Fond hearts grow weary when left alone!
I think of the daily life I lead,
Its broken dreams and its fitful starts,
The hopeless hunger, the heart's sore need,
The joy that gladdens, the wrong that parts,
And wonder whether the coming years
Will bring contentment, or toil and tears.
SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY.
[Delivered before the Convention of Delegates of Virginia, March 23, 1775.]
Mr. President: It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern our temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth,—to know the worst, and to provide for it!
I have but one lamp, by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And, judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry, for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet! Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss! Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love?