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Title: Selections From the Poems of John Godfrey Saxe Author: Saxe, John Godfrey (1816-1887) Editor: Anonymous Photographer: Anonymous Book designer: Rogers, Bruce (1870-1957) Date of first publication: 1905 (first edition) Edition used as base for this ebook: Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1905 (first edition) Date first posted: 6 June 2010 Date last updated: 6 June 2010 Project Gutenberg Canada ebook #547 This ebook was produced by: David T. Jones & the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net This file was produced from images generously made available by the Internet Archive/American Libraries [Illustration: front cover SELECTIONS FROM SAXE] SELECTIONS FROM SAXE [Illustration: Jno Godfrey Saxe] SELECTIONS FROM THE POEMS OF JOHN GODFREY SAXE [Illustration: TOVT BIEN OV RIEN] BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY 1905 COPYRIGHT 1905 BY FRANK J. SAXE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CONTENTS EARLY RISING 1 THE OLD CHAPEL-BELL 4 THE PROUD MISS MACBRIDE 11 THE BRIEFLESS BARRISTER 25 MY FAMILIAR 28 THE JOLLY MARINER 31 RHYME OF THE RAIL 36 THE MOURNER À LA MODE 40 TO A BEAUTIFUL STRANGER 43 "IF LOVE AND LIFE WERE ONE" 45 POST PRANDIAL VERSES 46 TO A CLAM 50 LOOKING OUT INTO THE NIGHT 51 THE DEAD LETTER 53 BEREAVEMENT 55 THE SILVER WEDDING 56 Selections from Saxe EARLY RISING "God bless the man who first invented sleep!" So Sancho Panza said, and so say I: And bless him, also, that he didn't keep His great discovery to himself; nor try To make it--as the lucky fellow might-- A close monopoly by patent-right! Yes; bless the man who first invented sleep (I really can't avoid the iteration); But blast the man, with curses loud and deep, Whate'er the rascal's name, or age, or station, Who first invented, and went round advising, That artificial cut-off,--Early Rising! "Rise with the lark, and with the lark to bed," Observes some solemn, sentimental owl; Maxims like these are very cheaply said; But, ere you make yourself a fool or fowl, Pray just inquire about his rise and fall, And whether larks have any beds at all! The time for honest folks to be abed Is in the morning, if I reason right; And he who cannot keep his precious head Upon his pillow till it's fairly light, And so enjoy his forty morning winks, Is up to knavery; or else--he drinks! Thomson, who sung about the "Seasons," said It was a glorious thing to _rise_ in season; But then he said it--lying--in his bed, At ten o'clock, A. M.,--the very reason He wrote so charmingly. The simple fact is, His preaching wasn't sanctioned by his practice. 'Tis, doubtless, well to be sometimes awake,-- Awake to duty, and awake to truth,-- But when, alas! a nice review we take Of our best deeds and days, we find, in sooth, The hours that leave the slightest cause to weep Are those we passed in childhood or asleep! 'Tis beautiful to leave the world awhile For the soft visions of the gentle night; And free, at last, from mortal care or guile, To live as only in the angels' sight, In sleep's sweet realm so cosily shut in, Where, at the worst, we only _dream_ of sin! So let us sleep, and give the Maker praise. I like the lad who, when his father thought To clip his morning nap by hackneyed phrase Of vagrant worm by early songster caught, Cried, "Served him right!--it's not at all surprising; The worm was punished, sir, for early rising!" THE OLD CHAPEL-BELL A BALLAD Within a churchyard's sacred ground, Whose fading tablets tell Where they who built the village church In solemn silence dwell, Half hidden in the earth, there lies An ancient Chapel-Bell. Broken, decayed, and covered o'er With mouldering leaves and rust; Its very name and date concealed Beneath a cankering crust; Forgotten,--like its early friends, Who sleep in neighboring dust. Yet it was once a trusty Bell, Of most sonorous lung, And many a joyous wedding-peal And many a knell had rung, Ere Time had cracked its brazen sides, And broke its iron tongue. And many a youthful heart had danced, In merry Christmas-time, To hear its pleasant roundelay, Sung out in ringing rhyme; And many a worldly thought been checked To list its sabbath chime. A youth--a bright and happy boy-- One sultry summer's day, Aweary of his bat and ball, Chanced hitherward to stray, To read a little book he had, And rest him from his play. "A soft and shady spot is this!" The rosy youngster cried, And sat him down beneath a tree, That ancient Bell beside; (But, hidden in the tangled grass, The Bell he ne'er espied.) Anon, a mist fell on his book, The letters seemed to stir, And though, full oft, his flagging sight The boy essayed to spur, The mazy page was quickly lost Beneath a cloudy blur. And while he marveled much at this, And wondered how it came, He felt a languor creeping o'er His young and weary frame, And heard a voice, a gentle voice, That plainly spoke his name. That gentle voice that named his name Entranced him like a spell, Upon his ear so very near And suddenly it fell, Yet soft and musical, as 'twere The whisper of a bell. "Since last I spoke," the voice began, "Seems many a dreary year! (Albeit, 'tis only since thy birth I've lain neglected here!) Pray list, while I rehearse a tale Behooves thee much to hear. "Once, from yon ivied tower, I watched The villagers around, And gave to all their joys and griefs A sympathetic sound,-- But most are sleeping, now, within This consecrated ground. "I used to ring my merriest peal To hail the blushing bride; I sadly tolled for men cut down In strength and manly pride; And solemnly,--not mournfully,-- When little children died. "But, chief, my duty was to bid The villagers repair, On each returning sabbath morn Unto the House of Prayer, And in his own appointed place The Saviour's mercy share. "Ah! well I mind me of a child, A gleesome, happy maid, Who came, with constant step, to church, In comely garb arrayed, And knelt her down full solemnly, And penitently prayed. "And oft, when church was done, I marked That little maiden near This pleasant spot, with book in hand, As you are sitting here,-- She read the Story of the Cross, And wept with grief sincere. "Years rolled away,--and I beheld The child to woman grown; Her cheek was fairer, and her eye With brighter lustre shone; But childhood's truth and innocence Were still the maiden's own. "I never rang a merrier peal Than when, a joyous bride, She stood beneath the sacred porch, A noble youth beside, And plighted him her maiden troth, In maiden love and pride. "I never tolled a deeper knell, Than when, in after years, They laid her in the churchyard here, Where this low mound appears,-- (The very grave, my boy, that you Are watering now with tears!) "_It is thy mother!_ gentle boy, That claims this tale of mine,-- Thou art a flower whose fatal birth Destroyed the parent vine! A precious flower art thou, my child,-- Two lives were given for thine! "One was thy sainted mother's, when She gave thee mortal birth; And one thy Saviour's, when in death He shook the solid earth; Go! boy, and live as may befit Thy life's exceeding worth!" The boy awoke, as from a dream, And, thoughtful, looked around, But nothing saw, save at his feet His mother's lowly mound, And by its side that ancient Bell, Half hidden in the ground! THE PROUD MISS MACBRIDE A LEGEND OF GOTHAM I O terribly proud was Miss MacBride, The very personification of Pride, As she minced along in Fashion's tide, Adown Broadway,--on the proper side,-- When the golden sun was setting; There was pride in the head she carried so high, Pride in her lip, and pride in her eye, And a world of pride in the very sigh That her stately bosom was fretting; II A sigh that a pair of elegant feet, Sandaled in satin, should kiss the street,-- The very same that the vulgar greet In common leather not over "neat,"-- For such is the common booting; (And Christian tears may well be shed, That even among our gentlemen bred, The glorious day of Morocco is dead, And Day and Martin are reigning instead, On a much inferior footing!) III O, terribly proud was Miss MacBride, Proud of her beauty, and proud of her pride, And proud of fifty matters beside, That wouldn't have borne dissection; Proud of her wit, and proud of her walk, Proud of her teeth, and proud of her talk, Proud of "knowing cheese from chalk," On a very slight inspection! IV Proud abroad, and proud at home, Proud wherever she chanced to come, When she was glad, and when she was glum; Proud as the head of a Saracen Over the door of a tippling shop!-- Proud as a duchess, proud as a fop, "Proud as a boy with a bran-new top," Proud beyond comparison! * * * * * VI What _Lowly_ meant she didn't know, For she always avoided "everything low," With care the most punctilious, And queerer still, the audible sound Of "super-silly" she never had found In the adjective supercilious! VII The meaning of _Meek_ she never knew, But imagined the phrase had something to do With "Moses,"--a peddling German Jew, Who, like all hawkers the country through, Was a person of no position; And it seemed to her exceedingly plain, If the word was really known to pertain To a vulgar German, it wasn't germane To a lady of high condition! VIII Even her graces,--not her grace, For that was in the "vocative case,"-- Chilled with the touch of her icy face, Sat very stiffly upon her; She never confessed a favor aloud, Like one of the simple, common crowd, But coldly smiled, and faintly bowed, As who should say: "You do me proud, And do yourself an honor!" IX And yet the pride of Miss MacBride, Although it had fifty hobbies to ride, Had really no foundation; But, like the fabrics that gossips devise,-- Those single stories that often arise And grow till they reach a four-story size, Was merely a fancy creation! * * * * * XI That her wit should never have made her vain, Was, like her face, sufficiently plain; And as to her musical powers, Although she sang until she was hoarse, And issued notes with a Banker's force, They were just such notes as we never indorse For any acquaintance of ours! XII Her birth, indeed, was uncommonly high, For Miss MacBride first opened her eye Through a skylight dim, on the light of the sky; But pride is a curious passion, And in talking about her wealth and worth She always forgot to mention her birth, To people of rank and fashion! XIII Of all the notable things on earth, The queerest one is pride of birth, Among our "fierce Democracie"! A bridge across a hundred years, Without a prop to save it from sneers,-- Not even a couple of rotten Peers,-- A thing for laughter, fleers, and jeers, Is American aristocracy! XIV English and Irish, French and Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, and Danish, Crossing their veins until they vanish In one conglomeration! So subtle a tangle of Blood, indeed, No modern Harvey will ever succeed In finding the circulation! XV Depend upon it, my snobbish friend, Your family thread you can't ascend, Without good reason to apprehend You may find it waxed at the farther end By some plebeian vocation; Or, worse than that, your boasted Line May end in a loop of stronger twine, That plagued some worthy relation! XVI But Miss MacBride had something beside Her lofty birth to nourish her pride; For rich was the old paternal MacBride, According to public rumor; And he lived "Up Town," in a splendid square, And kept his daughter on dainty fare, And gave her gems that were rich and rare, And the finest rings and things to wear, And feathers enough to plume her! XVII An honest mechanic was John MacBride As ever an honest calling plied, Or graced an honest ditty; For John had worked, in his early day, In "Pots and Pearls," the legends say, And kept a shop with a rich array Of things in the soap and candle way, In the lower part of the city. XVIII No _rara avis_ was honest John (That's the Latin for "sable swan"), Though, in one of his fancy flashes, A wicked wag, who meant to deride, Called honest John "Old _Phoenix_ MacBride, Because he rose from his ashes!" XIX Alack! for many ambitious beaux! She hung their hopes upon her nose, (The figure is quite Horatian!)[1] Until from habit the member grew As queer a thing as ever you knew Turn up to observation! [Footnote 1: "Omnia suspendens naso."] * * * * * XXII (The Muse must let a secret out,-- There isn't the faintest shadow of doubt That folks who oftenest sneer and flout At "the dirty, low mechanicals," Are they whose sires, by pounding their knees, Or coiling their legs, or trades like these, Contrived to win their children ease From poverty's galling manacles.) * * * * * XXIV A young attorney of winning grace Was scarce allowed to "open his face," Ere Miss MacBride had closed his case With true judicial celerity; For the lawyer was poor, and "seedy" to boot, And to say the lady discarded his _suit_ Is merely a double verity. XXV The last of those who came to court Was a lively beau of the dapper sort, "Without any visible means of support,"-- A crime by no means flagrant In one who wears an elegant coat, But the very point on which they vote A ragged fellow "a vagrant." XXVI A courtly fellow was Dapper Jim, Sleek and supple, and tall and trim, And smooth of tongue as neat of limb; And, maugre his meagre pocket, You'd say, from the glittering tales he told, That Jim had slept in a cradle of gold, With Fortunatus to rock it! XXVII Now Dapper Jim his courtship plied (I wish the fact could be denied) With an eye to the purse of the old MacBride, And really "nothing shorter"! For he said to himself, in his greedy lust, "Whenever he dies,--as die he must,-- And yields to Heaven his vital trust, He's very sure to 'come down with his dust,'-- In behalf of his only daughter." XXVIII And the very magnificent Miss MacBride, Half in love and half in pride, Quite graciously relented; And tossing her head, and turning her back, No token of proper pride to lack, To be a Bride without the "Mac," With much disdain, consented. XXIX Alas! that people who've got their box Of cash beneath the best of locks, Secure from all financial shocks, Should stock their fancy with fancy stocks, And madly rush upon Wall Street rocks, Without the least apology; Alas! that people whose money affairs Are sound beyond all need of repairs, Should ever tempt the bulls and bears Of Mammon's fierce Zoölogy! XXX Old John MacBride, one fatal day, Became the unresisting prey Of Fortune's undertakers; And staking his all on a single die, His foundered bark went high and dry Among the brokers and breakers! XXXI At his trade again in the very shop Where, years before, he let it drop, He follows his ancient calling,-- Cheerily, too, in poverty's spite, And sleeping quite as sound at night, As when, at Fortune's giddy height, He used to wake with a dizzy fright From a dismal dream of falling. XXXII But alas for the haughty Miss MacBride! 'Twas such a shock to her precious pride, She couldn't recover, although she tried Her jaded spirits to rally; 'Twas a dreadful change in human affairs From a Place "Up Town" to a nook "Up Stairs," From an Avenue down to an Alley! XXXIII 'Twas little condolence she had, God wot, From her "troops of friends," who hadn't forgot The airs she used to borrow; They had civil phrases enough, but yet 'Twas plain to see that their "deepest regret" Was a different thing from Sorrow! XXXIV They owned it couldn't have well been worse, To go from a full to an empty purse; To expect a reversion and get a "reverse" Was truly a dismal feature; But it wasn't strange,--they whispered,--at all; That the Summer of pride should have its Fall Was quite according to Nature! XXXV And one of those chaps who make a pun-- As if it were quite legitimate fun To be blazing away at every one With a regular double-loaded gun-- Remarked that moral transgression Always brings retributive stings To candle-makers, as well as kings! And making light of cereous things Was a very wick-ed profession! XXXVI And vulgar people, the saucy churls, Inquired about "the price of Pearls," And mocked at her situation; "She wasn't ruined, they ventured to hope; Because she was poor, she needn't mope,-- Few people were better off for soap, And that was a consolation!" XXXVII And to make her cup of woe run over, Her elegant, ardent, plighted lover Was the very first to forsake her; He quite regretted the step, 'twas true,-- The lady had pride enough for two, But that alone would never do To quiet the butcher and baker! XXXVIII And now the unhappy Miss MacBride, The merest ghost of her early pride, Bewails her lonely position; Cramped in the very narrowest niche, Above the poor, and below the rich, Was ever a worse condition? MORAL Because you flourish in worldly affairs, Don't be haughty, and put on airs, With insolent pride of station! Don't be proud, and turn up your nose At poorer people in plainer clo'es, But learn, for the sake of your soul's repose, That wealth's a bubble, that comes--and goes! And that all Proud Flesh, wherever it grows, Is subject to irritation! THE BRIEFLESS BARRISTER A BALLAD An Attorney was taking a turn, In shabby habiliments drest; His coat it was shockingly worn, And the rust had invested his vest. His breeches had suffered a breach, His linen and worsted were worse; He had scarce a whole crown in his hat, And not half a crown in his purse. And thus as he wandered along, A cheerless and comfortless elf, He sought for relief in a song, Or complainingly talked to himself:-- "Unfortunate man that I am! I've never a client but grief: The case is, I've no case at all, And in brief, I've ne'er had a brief! "I've waited and waited in vain, Expecting an 'opening' to find, Where an honest young lawyer might gain Some reward for toil of his mind. "'Tis not that I'm wanting in law, Or lack an intelligent face, That others have cases to plead, While I have to plead for a case. "O, how can a modest young man E'er hope for the smallest progression,-- The profession's already so full Of lawyers so full of profession!" While thus he was strolling around, His eye accidentally fell On a very deep hole in the ground, And he sighed to himself, "It is well!" To curb his emotions, he sat On the curbstone the space of a minute, Then cried, "Here's an opening at last!" And in less than a jiffy was in it! Next morning twelve citizens came ('Twas the coroner bade them attend), To the end that it might be determined How the man had determined his end! "The man was a lawyer, I hear," Quoth the foreman who sat on the corse. "A lawyer? Alas!" said another, "Undoubtedly died of remorse!" A third said, "He knew the deceased, An attorney well versed in the laws, And as to the cause of his death, 'Twas no doubt for the want of a cause." The jury decided at length, After solemnly weighing the matter, That the lawyer was drown_d_ed, because He could not keep his head above water! MY FAMILIAR "Ecce iterum Crispinus!" I Again I hear that creaking step!-- He's rapping at the door!-- Too well I know the boding sound That ushers in a bore. I do not tremble when I meet The stoutest of my foes, But Heaven defend me from the friend Who comes--but never goes! II He drops into my easy-chair, And asks about the news; He peers into my manuscript, And gives his candid views; He tells me where he likes the line, And where he's forced to grieve; He takes the strangest liberties,-- But never takes his leave! III He reads my daily paper through Before I've seen a word; He scans the lyric (that I wrote) And thinks it quite absurd; He calmly smokes my last cigar, And coolly asks for more; He opens everything he sees-- Except the entry door! IV He talks about his fragile health, And tells me of the pains He suffers from a score of ills Of which he ne'er complains; And how he struggled once with death To keep the fiend at bay; On themes like those away he goes,-- But never goes away! V He tells me of the carping words Some shallow critic wrote; And every precious paragraph Familiarly can quote; He thinks the writer did me wrong; He'd like to run him through! He says a thousand pleasant things,-- But never says, "Adieu!" VI Whene'er he comes,--that dreadful man,-- Disguise it as I may, I know that, like an Autumn rain, He'll last throughout the day. In vain I speak of urgent tasks; In vain I scowl and pout; A frown is no extinguisher,-- It does not put him out! VII I mean to take the knocker off, Put crape upon the door, Or hint to John that I am gone To stay a month or more. I do not tremble when I meet The stoutest of my foes, But Heaven defend me from the friend Who never, never goes! THE JOLLY MARINER A BALLAD It was a jolly mariner As ever hove a log; He wore his trousers wide and free, And always ate his prog, And blessed his eyes, in sailor-wise, And never shirked his grog. Up spoke this jolly mariner, Whilst walking up and down:-- "The briny sea has pickled me, And done me very brown; But here I goes, in these here clo'es, A-cruising in the town!" The first of all the curious things That chanced his eye to meet, As this undaunted mariner Went sailing up the street, Was, tripping with a little cane, A dandy all complete! He stopped,--that jolly mariner,-- And eyed the stranger well:-- "What that may be," he said, says he, "Is more than I can tell; But ne'er before, on sea or shore, Was such a heavy swell!" He met a lady in her hoops, And thus she heard him hail:-- "Now blow me tight! but there's a sight To manage in a gale! I never saw so small a craft With such a spread o' sail! "Observe the craft before and aft,-- She'd make a pretty prize!" And then in that improper way He spoke about his eyes, That mariners are wont to use In anger or surprise. He saw a plumber on a roof, Who made a mighty din:-- "Shipmate, ahoy!" the rover cried, "It makes a sailor grin To see you copper-bottoming Your upper decks with tin!" He met a yellow-bearded man, And asked about the way; But not a word could he make out Of what the chap would say, Unless he meant to call him names, By screaming, "Nix furstay!" Up spoke this jolly mariner, And to the man said he:-- "I haven't sailed these thirty years Upon the stormy sea, To bear the shame of such a name As I have heard from thee! "So take thou that!"--and laid him flat; But soon the man arose, And beat the jolly mariner Across his jolly nose, Till he was fain, from very pain, To yield him to the blows. 'Twas then this jolly mariner, A wretched jolly tar, Wished he was in a jolly-boat, Upon the sea afar, Or riding fast, before the blast, Upon a single spar! 'Twas then this jolly mariner Returned unto his ship, And told unto the wondering crew The story of his trip, With many oaths and curses, too, Upon his wicked lip! As hoping--so this mariner In fearful words harangued-- His timbers might be shivered, and His le'ward scuppers danged, (A double curse, and vastly worse Than being shot or hanged!) If ever he--and here again A dreadful oath he swore-- If ever he, except at sea, Spoke any stranger more, Or like a son of--something--went A-cruising on the shore! RHYME OF THE RAIL Singing through the forests, Rattling over ridges, Shooting under arches, Rumbling over bridges, Whizzing through the mountains, Buzzing o'er the vale,-- Bless me! this is pleasant, Riding on the Rail! Men of different "stations" In the eye of Fame Here are very quickly Coming to the same. High and lowly people, Birds of every feather, On a common level Traveling together! Gentleman in shorts, Looming very tall; Gentleman at large, Talking very small; Gentleman in tights, With a loose-ish mien; Gentleman in gray, Looking rather green. Gentleman quite old, Asking for the news; Gentleman in black, In a fit of blues; Gentleman in claret, Sober as a vicar; Gentleman in Tweed, Dreadfully in liquor! * * * * * Ancient maiden lady Anxiously remarks, That there must be peril 'Mongst so many sparks! Roguish-looking fellow, Turning to the stranger, Says it's his opinion _She_ is out of danger! Woman with her baby, Sitting _vis-à-vis_; Baby keeps a squalling; Woman looks at me; Asks about the distance, Says it's tiresome talking, Noises of the cars Are so very shocking! Market-woman careful Of the precious casket, Knowing eggs are eggs, Tightly holds her basket; Feeling that a smash, If it came, would surely Send her eggs to pot Rather prematurely! Singing through the forests, Rattling over ridges, Shooting under arches, Rumbling over bridges, Whizzing through the mountains, Buzzing o'er the vale,-- Bless me! this is pleasant, Riding on the Rail! THE MOURNER A LA MODE I saw her last night at a party (The elegant party at Mead's), And looking remarkably hearty For a widow so young in her weeds; Yet I know she was suffering sorrow Too deep for the tongue too express,-- Or why had she chosen to borrow So much from the language of dress? Her shawl was as sable as night; And her gloves were as dark as her shawl; And her jewels--that flashed in the light-- Were black as a funeral pall; Her robe had the hue of the rest, (How nicely it fitted her shape!) And the grief that was heaving her breast Boiled over in billows of crape! What tears of vicarious woe, That else might have sullied her face, Were kindly permitted to flow In ripples of ebony lace! While even her fan, in its play, Had quite a lugubrious scope, And seemed to be waving away The ghost of the angel of Hope! Yet rich as the robes of a queen Was the sombre apparel she wore; I'm certain I never had seen Such a sumptuous sorrow before; And I couldn't help thinking the beauty, In mourning the loved and the lost, Was doing her conjugal duty Altogether regardless of cost! One surely would say a devotion Performed at so vast an expense Betrayed an excess of emotion That really was something immense; And yet, as I viewed, at my leisure, Those tokens of tender regard, I thought:--It is scarce without measure-- The sorrow that goes by the yard! Ah! grief is a curious passion; And yours--I am sorely afraid The very next phase of the fashion Will find it beginning to fade; Though dark are the shadows of grief, The morning will follow the night, Half-tints will betoken relief, Till joy shall be symboled in white! Ah well! it were idle to quarrel With Fashion, or aught she may do; And so I conclude with a moral And metaphor--warranted new:-- When _measles_ come handsomely out, The patient is safest, they say; And the _Sorrow_ is mildest, no doubt, That works in a similar way! TO A BEAUTIFUL STRANGER A glance, a smile,--I see it yet! A moment ere the train was starting; How strange to tell! we scarcely met, And yet I felt a pang at parting. And you (alas! that all the while 'Tis _I_ alone who am confessing!), What thought was lurking in your smile Is quite beyond my simple guessing. I only know those beaming rays Awoke in me a strange emotion, Which, basking in their warmer blaze, Perhaps might kindle to devotion. Ah! many a heart as stanch as this, By smiling lips allured from Duty, Has sunk in Passion's dark abyss,-- "Wrecked on the coral reefs of Beauty!" And so, 'tis well the train's swift flight That bore away my charming stranger Took her--God bless her!--out of sight, And me, as quickly, out of danger! "IF LOVE AND LIFE WERE ONE" Much have I mused, if love and life were one, How blest were love! how beautiful were life! Which now, so oft, are alien, or at strife; Though each, in bitter wise, makes secret moan Of lamentation--knowing well its own; Each needing each, yet evermore apart; Here--saddest of the twain--the yearning heart, And there the barren life. Ah! thus alone, Existence, empty of its chief delight, Creeps, dull and shallow, to the weary close; And--like some plant shut up in rayless night-- Love pales and pines, that in the summer sun Of life had flourished like the garden rose; Would God that ever love and life were one! POST-PRANDIAL VERSES RECITED AT THE FESTIVAL OF THE PSI UPSILON FRATERNITY, IN BOSTON, JULY 21, 1853 Dear Brothers, who sit at this bountiful board, With excellent viands so lavishly stored That, in newspaper phrase, 'twould undoubtedly _groan_, If groaning were but a convivial tone, Which it isn't,--and therefore, by sympathy led, The table, no doubt, is rejoicing instead. Dear Brothers, I rise,--and it won't be surprising If you find me, like bread, all the better for rising,-- I rise to express my exceeding delight In our cordial reunion this glorious night! Success to "Psi Upsilon!"--Beautiful name!-- To the eye and the ear it is pleasant the same; Many thanks to old Cadmus who made us his debtors, By inventing, one day, those capital letters Which still, from the heart, we shall know how to speak When we've fairly forgotten the rest of our Greek! To be open and honest in all that you do; To every high trust to be faithful and true; In aught that concerns morality's scheme, To be more ambitious to _be_ than to _seem_; To cultivate honor as higher in worth Than favor of fortune, or genius, or birth; By every endeavor to render your lives As spotless and fair as your--possible wives; To treat with respect all the innocent rules That keep us at peace with society's fools; But to face every _canon_ that e'er was designed To batter a town or beleaguer a mind, Ere you yield to the Moloch that Fashion has reared One jot of your freedom, or hair of your beard,-- All this, and much more, I might venture to teach, Had I only a "call"--and a "license to preach;" But since I have not, to my modesty true, I'll lay it all by, as a layman should do, And drop a few lines, tipt with Momus's flies, To angle for shiners--that lurk in your eyes! May you ne'er get in love or in debt with a doubt As to whether or no you will ever get out; May you ne'er have a mistress who plays the coquette, Or a neighbor who blows on a cracked clarionet; May you learn the first use of a lock on your door, And ne'er, like Adonis, be killed by a bore; Shun canting and canters with resolute force, (A "canter" is shocking, except in a horse); At jovial parties mind what you are at, Beware of your head and take care of your hat, Lest you find that a favorite son of your mother Has a brick in the one and an ache in the other; May you never, I pray, to worry your life, Have a weak-minded friend, or a strong-minded wife; A tailor distrustful, or partner suspicious; A dog that is rabid, or nag that is vicious; Above all--the chief blessing the gods can impart-- May you keep a clear head and a generous heart; Remember 'tis blesséd to give and forgive; Live chiefly to love, and love while you live; And dying, when life's little journey is done, May your last, fondest sigh, be _PSI_ Upsilon! TO A CLAM Dum tacent _clam_ant Inglorious friend! most confident I am Thy life is one of very little ease; Albeit men mock thee with their similes And prate of being "happy as a clam!" What though thy shell protects thy fragile head From the sharp bailiffs of the briny sea? Thy valves are, sure, no safety-valves to thee, While rakes are free to desecrate thy bed, And bear thee off,--as foemen take their spoil,-- Far from thy friends and family to roam; Forced, like a Hessian, from thy native home, To meet destruction in a foreign broil! Though thou art tender, yet thy humble bard Declares, O clam! thy case is shocking hard! LOOKING OUT INTO THE NIGHT Looking out into the night I behold in space afar Yonder beaming, blazing star; And I marvel at the might Of the Giver of the rays, And I worship as I gaze, Looking out into the night. Looking out into the night, I espy two lovers near, And their happy words I hear, While their solemn troth they plight; And I bless the loving twain, Half in pleasure, half in pain,-- Looking out into the night. Looking out into the night, Lo! a woman passing by, Glancing round with anxious eye, Tearful, fearful of the light; And I think what might have been But for treachery and sin,-- Looking out into the night. Looking out into the night, I behold a distant sail Roughly beaten by the gale Till it vanishes from sight; And I ponder on the strife Of our fleeting human life, Looking out into the night. Looking out into the night, I bethink me of the rest And the rapture of the blest In the land where all is light; Sitting on the heavenly shore, Weeping never,--nevermore Looking out into the night! THE DEAD LETTER And can it be? Ah, yes, I see, 'Tis thirty years and better Since Mary Morgan sent to me This musty, musky letter. A pretty hand (she couldn't spell), As any man must vote it; And 'twas, as I remember well, A pretty hand that wrote it! How calmly now I view it all, As memory backward ranges,-- The talks, the walks, that I recall, And then--the postal changes! How well I loved her I can guess (Since cash is Cupid's hostage),-- Just one-and-sixpence--nothing less-- This letter cost in postage! The love that wrote at such a _rate_ (By Jove! it was a steep one!) Five hundred notes (I calculate) Was certainly a deep one; And yet it died--of slow decline-- Perhaps suspicion chilled it; I've quite forgotten if 'twas mine Or Mary's flirting killed it. At last the fatal message came: "My letters,--please return them; And yours--of course you wish the same-- I'll send them back or burn them." Two precious fools, I must allow, Whichever was the greater: I wonder if I'm wiser now, Some seven lustres later? And _this_ alone remains! Ah, well! These words of warm affection, The faded ink, the pungent smell, Are food for deep reflection. They tell of how the heart contrives To change with fancy's fashion, And how a drop of musk survives The strongest human passion! BEREAVEMENT Nay, weep not, dearest, though the child be dead; He lives again in Heaven's unclouded life, With other angels that have early fled From these dark scenes of sorrow, sin, and strife. Nay, weep not, dearest, though thy yearning love Would fondly keep for earth its fairest flowers, And e'en deny to brighter realms above The few that deck this dreary world of ours: Though much it seems a wonder and a woe That one so loved should be so early lost, And hallowed tears may unforbidden flow To mourn the blossom that we cherished most, Yet all is well; God's good design I see, That where our treasure is, our hearts may be. THE SILVER WEDDING "A wedding of Silver!--and what shall we do?" I said in response to my excellent spouse, Who hinted, this morning, we ought to renew According to custom, our conjugal vows. "I wouldn't much mind it, now--if--and suppose-- The bride were a blooming--Ah! well--on my life, I think--to be candid--(don't turn up your nose!) That every new wedding should bring a new wife!" "And what if it should?" was the laughing reply; "Do you think, my dear John, you could ever obtain Another so fond and so faithful as I, Should you purchase a wig, and go courting again?" "Ah! darling," I answered, "'tis just as you say;" And clasping a waist rather shapely than small, I kissed the dear girl in so ardent a way You wouldn't have guessed we were married at all! September 9, 1866. [End of _Selections From the Poems of John Godfrey Saxe_]