The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-10-29
"NAK I'll STAY WITH THE
LAD."

[1N Hutton seam, No. 3, they saw two bod
!es father and son, clasped together. One of
me explorers knew the man, and knew that
Of the men afterwards rescued to go alonQ
with him to another part Of the workings, and
the father replied cpl Nay RI stay with the
these both died, with one or two others near.
from the after damp. They were lying peace
ably, having made pillows Of their jackets and
clOthes.-Ddlv Netus. =
"Nay. I'll stay with the lad:"
Down in the deep, black seam,
Huddled together, dying and dead,
Far from the day-wOrld overhead,
Face to face, by a sudden fate.
With horror Of night precipttate;
Hidden away from the merciful sun.
The death and the burial all in one,
BY their fifties cut on in vain.
More than battle counts its slain:
Huddled together, man and horse,
In the grip Of the fre-damp's watchful force
Unsung heroes OF simple mold,
All unchanged from the race Of old,
To the golden truths, with a martyrs cry,
Out OF the depths they testify:
And never has rede been read. deem,
Hobler than that in the deep, black seam,
OF Love and Courage, the message sad
Only, NAY, Ill stay with the lad"
MAY, I'll stay with the lad:".
Down In the deep, black seam,
They found him living, and strong, and
In spite Of the terror underground.
And they babe him come and live again
In the light bright haunts of living men,
And once more look the sun in the face
AND gladden. IN earth's beloved embrace.
But he looked at his young boy, dead or dy
In the midst Of the shattered fragments w.
Dying or dead-but powerless to move
At the help of man. or the voice of Love.
And self lay dead where the child must die,
And he let deliverance pass him by:
He saw his duty set straight before th
In the love that liveth for cvermOre,
And he put the proRered freedom behind,
With never a thought of self in mind;
He stayed with him in the deep, black seam,
And to prayer and warning one answer had,
A brave one-'Nay, I'll stay with the lad"
"Nay, I'll stay with the lad"
Down in the deep, black seam,
Once again was the story told
Old as Honor, as POesy old:
And the rugged miner, whose cares might be
Something unknown to you or me,
Rather than leave his boy below,
Alone in the grip of the lurking foe,
Chose to die with him there and then,
Rather than live with his fellow-men;
SmoOthed the pillow the child beneath,
Turned with him to the void Of Death.
And to all mankind, in its strong self-love,
Taught the unself proclaimed above;
Ghoss @ sr ms sn a1a er MS
Went to his Maker straight and free,
And pleaded his plea courageousy:
For his boy he lived. for his boy he died;
And the two together, side by side,
Before the divine eternal Throne
Had nothing to plead but their love alone
And there. perchance, from the answer prove
That the greatest wisdom Of all Is Love.
Self! be hushed, while in places high
The many pass thoughts of others by
Let others starve and let Others bear
The woes that beset US everywhere
So the great be but free from the curse Of
dearth,
So the great but gather the fruit of the earth,
So property flourish and riches thrive,
And keep but the wording life alive,
What is it to them that these grave things be?
That these sights are given to who will see?
While wealth may prosper, denial dream,
Life's moral is told in the deep, black seam;
And angels rejoice in that answer glad,
And human-"Nay, I'll stay with the lad"
Herman Merirdle, IN London Spectator.