Ellsworth American., 1874-06-18
1oetrp.
Sumner.

VI SKY, my mourning children trod.
And now with all thy woods 10 leaf,
Thy fields in flower, beside thy dead
Thou sittest, in thy robes Of grief,
A Rachel yet uncomfortedi
And once again the organ swells,
Once more the dag is halfway hung,
And yet again the mournful bells
In all thy steeple-towers are rung.
And l, obedient to thy will,
Have come q simple wreath 70 lay,
Supernuous, on grave that stIl
Is sweet with all the flowers Of Nay.
l take with awe the task assigned;
IL may be that my friend might miss,
In his new sphere Of heart and mind,
Some token from my hand in this.
By many tender memory moved,
Along the past my thought l send;
The record oil the cause he loved
Is the best record Of its friend.
What hath been said, can but say;
All know the work the brave man did,
For he was open rs the dzy,
And nothing Of himself he hid.
No trumpet sounded In his ear,
Hes hot sinais cloud and flame,
But never yet 10 Hebrew seer
A clearer voice Of duty came.
God said; Break thou these yokes; undo
These heavy burdens. l ordain
A work to last thy whole life through,
ministry OF strife and pain.
Forego thy dreams Of leitered ease,
Put thou the scholars promise by
he rights Of man aud more than these
lie heard, And answered: Here am II
He set his face against the blast
Ills feet against the finty shard,
Til the hard service grew, at last,
lis own exceeding great reward.
The fixed star Of his faith, through all
Loss, doubt, and peril, khone the same,
As through night VI storm, some tail,
Strong lighthouse lif,s Its steady fame.
Beyond the dust and smoke he saw
The shea'cs Of freedoms large increase,
The holy ianes Of equal law,
4 he New Jerusalem Of peace
No wall was in his voice.-none heard
When treason's storm cloud blsekest grew,
The weakness Of doubtful word,
His duty, znd the end, he knew
The first TO snite, the first 10 sparc;
When once the hostile ensixns fell,
lie stretched OFT hands Of ge ne rous care
To. I'm the foe he fought 81 well.
For there was nothing base or small
or craven In his souls broad plan;
forgiving all things personal.
lie hated only wrong TO man.
The old traditions Of hi. State,
The memories Of her grea, and good,
look from his life fresher date,
And IA himself embodied stood
How felt the greed Of gold and place,
-, he 'enai crew that sehemed and planned,
he nne scorn Of that naughty face,
The spurninS Of tina; bripeiess hand.
Ifthan Rome's tribunes stafelier
lie wore his Senatorial -oi.r.
His ioftv pnrf - aaf S~~ her,
Tie one dear spot upon the globe.
II 10 the masters plea he gave
The vast contempt his manhood felt,
He saw 4 brother IN the slave
With man equal man he dealt.
Proud was he. II his presence kept
Its grandeur whereso'er be trod,
As II from Plutarch's gallery stepped
The hero and the demi-god.
None failed, al least, TO reach his ear,
Nor ant nor woe appealed In vain;
The homesick soldier knew his cheer,
And blessed him from his ward Of pain.
Safely his dearest friends may own
The slight defects he never hid,
The surface-blemish in the stone
OF the tall, stately pyramid.
Suffice il that he never brought
His conscience TO the public mart;
But lived himself the truth he taught.
White-souled, clean-hsnded, pure Of heart.
wha; II he felt the natural pride
Ofpower in noble use. too true
With thin humilities TO hide
The wor K he did the lore he knew,
Was he not just, Was any wronged
BY that assured self-estimate!
He took but what TO him belonged,
Unenyious OF another's state.
Well might he heed the words he spake,
And scan with care the written page
Through which he still shall warm and wake
The hearts Of men from age TO age.
All. who shall blame him now because
He solaced thus his hours Of pain.
Should not the o'erworn thresher pause,
And hold TO light the golden grain'
No sense Of humor dropped its oil
on the hard ways his purpose went;
Small play OF fancy lightened toll;
lie spske alone the thing he ment.
He loved his books, the art that hints
A beauty veiled behind its own,
The graver's line, the pencils tints,
The chisers shape evoked from stone.
he cherished, void Of selfish ends,
The social courtesies that bless
And sweeteu life, and loved his friends
With most unworldly tenderness.
But still his tired eyes rarely learned
The glad relief by Nature brought;
Her mountain ranges never turned
His current Of persistent thought.
The sea rolled chorus to his speech.
The pine-grove whispered Of his theme;
Whereer he wandered, rock and beach
Were Forum and the Academe.
The sensuous joy from all thin,s fair
His strenuous bent Of soul repressed,
And left from youth to silvered hair
Few hours for pleasure, mona for rest.
For all his life was poor without;
Oh Nature, make the last amends;
Train al thy nowers his grave shout,
And make thy singing birds his friends!
Revive again, thou Summer rain,
The broken turf upon his bed:
Breathe, Summer wind, thy tendereSt strain
OF low, sweet music overhead!
Nor cant nor poor solicitudes
Made weak his life's great argument;
Small leisure his fer frames and moods
Who followed duty where she went.
The broad, fair fields Of God he saw
Beyond the bigots narrow bound;
The truths he nodded into Law,
In Chrisrs beatitudes he found.
His State-craft was the Golden Rule,
His right Of vote . sacred trust;
Clear, over threat and ridiculs.
All heard the challenge: SIS Il justY
And when the hour supreme bad come,
Not for himself thought he gave;
In that last pang Of msrtyrdom,
His care Was t0r the halffreed slave.
Not vainly dusky hands upbore.
In prayer, the passing soul 70 heaven;
Whose mercy TO the suffering poor
Was service TO the Master given.
Long shall the good States annals tell,
Her childrsn's children long Be taught,
How, praised or blamed, ~ guarded well
The trust he neither shunned nor sought.
II for one moment turned thy face,
o Mother, from thy son. not long
He waited calmly In his place
The sure rem0rte which follows wroaG.
Foexiven be the State he loved
Tie one brief lapse, the single blot;
Forgotten be the stain removed.
Her righted record shows II eot.
The lined sword above her shield
With jealous care shall guard his fAme;
The pine-tsee on her ancient 6eld
To I'll the winds shall speak his name.
The marble image Of her son
Her loving ha1ds shall yearly crown,