The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-03-01
Grace Darling.
BIZ sw1LLIAH WORDSWORTH.

Among the dwellers in the silent fields
The natural heart is touched, and public way
INSPIRED by ONE whose very name bespeaks
Favor divine, exaitfng human love,
whom, since her birth on bleak Northumbria.s
Known unto few, but priced as far as known.
4. single act endears to high and low
through the whole land; 70 Manhood, moved
OF the worlds freezing cares. to generous
To Infancy. that lisps her praise: to Age,
Whose eye reflects it, glistening through a tear
OF tremulons admiration. Such true fame
Do no imperishable record ind,
Save in the rolls of heaven where hers may live
The high-soued virtues Ii which forsetfnI earth
has witnessed. Oh, that winds and waves
q things which their united power called forth
From the pure depths OF her humanityI
A maiden gentle, yet, at duty call,
Firm and unflinching as the lighthouse reared
Or like the invineihle rock itself, that braves.
Age after age, the hostile elements,
AS when it guarded holy Cuthbert's cell.
All night the storm had ragged, nor ceased, not
paused,
When, as day broke, the maid, through misty
Espies far of wreck, amid the surf,
I Beasing on one OF those disastrous isles
haiI or q vessel. half-no more; the rest
Had vanished, swallowed up with all that there
Had for the common safety striven in vain,
or tnlther thronged for refuge With quick
Daughter and sire through optic-glass discern,
CSllnging about the remnant Of this ship
For whom, belize, the old man grieyes still
Than for their fellow-sufferers ingnlfed
Where every parting agony is hushed,
Ana nope and fear mix not in further strife.
BUT courage, fatheri let us out to sea-
a Few may yet be saved" The daughters
words.
Her earnest tone, and look beaming with faith,
D1spei the fathers doubts, nor do they lack
The undetermined mothers helping hand
To launch the boat; and with her blessing
And inwardly sustained by silent prayer,
together they put forth. father and child.
Each grasps an oar, and struggling on they go
Rivals in effort; and, alike intent
Here to eIude and there Surmount, they watch
The pillows iengthenihg. mutually crossed
As if the tumult by the Almighty's will
Were, in the conscious sea, reused and pro-
That woman's fortitude-so tried, SO proved
May brighten more and morei
True to the mark
Ihey stem the current of that perilous gorge,
Their arms still strengthening with the
Though danger, as the wreck is neared, be-
More imminent. Not unseen do they approach;
And rapture. with varieties of fear
necessarily conflicting, thrills the frames
OF those who, in that dauntless energy,
Foretaste deliverance; but the least perturbed
Can scarcely trust his eys, when he perceives
That of the pair-tossed on the waves to bring
Hope to the hopeless, to the dying, life
One 10 woman, poor earthly sister,
Or, be the visftant other than she seems,
A guardian spirit sent from plying Heaven
In woman's shape. But why prolong the tale,
Casting weak words amid host of thoughts
Armed to repel them? Every hazard faced
And difficulty mastered, with resolve
That no one breathing should be left to.perish,
This last remainder of the crew are all
Placed in the little boat; then DER the deep
Are safely borne. landed upon the beach,
And, in fulfllment of Gods mercy, lodged
Within the sheitering lighthouse. Shout, ye
waves
Sends forth song of triumph. Waves and
Exult In this deliverence wrought through
faith
In Him whose providence your rage hath
SeEedf
" screaming Sea-mews, in concert joint
And would that some immortal voice-a voice
Fifty attuned to that gratitude
Breathes out from floor or couch, through
pallid lips
OF the surviyorS-to the clouds ght bear
Blended with praise of that parental love,
Beneath whose watchful eye the maiden grew
Pious and pure, modest, and yet so brave,
Though young SO wise, though meek SO reso-
Might carry to the clouds and to the stars,
Yea, to celestial choirs, GRACE DARLING'S
N name!