The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-25

es which is known today as Lanier's
Oak, and with these feelings in his
breast he would worship God through
nature.
Some years ago a band of pilgrims
journeyed to the Holy Land. Sitting
upon the Mount of Olives they dis
ture was the supreme expression OF
Calvary. OF the forty-four pilgrims
all but two wrote Sidney Lanier's
Ballad of Trees and the Master"
Into the woods my Master went,
Clean forspent. forspent,
Into the woods my Master came,
Forspent with love and shame,
But the olives they were net blind to
Him,
The little gray leaves were kind to
Him,
The thorn-tree had a mind to Him,
When out of the woods He came"
Out of the woods my Master went,
And He was we'll content.
Out of the woods my Master came
Content with death and shame.
When Death and Shame would WOO
Him last,
From under the trees they drew
Him last.
Twas on tree they slew Him last
When out of the woods He came
His life at this time reminds us of
Robert Louis Stevenson. Both La
nier and Stevenson did their great
est literary work while making a
pitifully brave fight for life. Each
realized he had a message for the
world. and they equally realized how
short was their time. To some Of
the elect of the earth is given the
means Of expressing the beautiful
through the medium of one art, but
Sidney Lanier was given the power
to express himself equally well in
music and in literature.
Death came all too soon and in
1881, in North Carolina where he
had gone in his endless search for
health. Lanier ceased to be and be-
came a beautiful memory.
How short was his day, and how
slender his opportunity! From the
time he was of age he waged a con-
slant, courageous fight against ply
steal weakness and misfortune for
freedom to live and write. Much
very dear and sweet and sympathet-
ic helpfulness, he met in the city Of
his adoption and from friends else
where, but he could not command
the time and leisure which might
have heightened his life, and given
him opportunity to write the music
and verses with which his soul was
teeming. Yet short as was his lit
erary life and hindered though It
was, it's fruit will fill a large space
in the garnering of the poetic art OF
his country.
The elimination of Lanier's art
and thought and spiritual force
found in the Hymns of the Marsh
es" two of which Sunrise" and
THE Marshes OF Glynn" are magni-
ficent organ chants of dying man.
never so strong of soul as when his
body hung by thread of life. The
finest of this great series, majestic
swan-song, his Sunrise was writ
ten when Lanier lay so weak that he
could scarcely lift his hand:
Ever the artist, ever more large
and bright
Than the eye of a man may avail of
manifold one,
l must pass from thy face, / must
pass from the face of the
Old Want is awake and agog, every
wrinkle a frown;
The worker must pass to his work
in the terrible town;
But / fear not, nay, 1 fear not the
thing to be done;
| am strong with the strength of my
Lord, the Sun;
How dark, how dark soever the race
that must needs be run
/ am lit with the Sun"
And ever my heart through the
night shall with knowledge
abide thee,
And ever by day shall my spirit as
one that hath tried thee,
Labor al leisure, in art. till yonder
beside thee,
Ny soul shall float, friend Sun,
The day being done"
With this consummate expression
of his genius still under his hand,