And still did this eager and credulous heart
Weave visions of promise, that bloomed but to fade.
5 I thought that the course of the pilgrim to heaven
Would be bright as the summer, and glad as the morn;
Thou showedst me the path, it was dark and uneven;
All rugged with rock, and all tangled with thorn.
6 I dreamed of celestial reward and renown,
I grasped at the triumph that blesses the brave;
I asked for the palm branch, the robe, and the crown,
I asked, and thou showedst me the cross and a grave!