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margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - .c036 { font-size: 90%; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - .c037 { font-size: 85%; } - .c038 { margin-left: 5.56%; font-size: 85%; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - .c039 { font-size: 85%; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - .footnote {font-size: small; } - .footnote .label {font-size: small; } - div.footnote > :first-child { margin-top: 0.0em; } - div.footnote p { text-indent: 3em; margin-top: 0.0em; margin-bottom: 0.0em; } - </style> - </head> - <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Patience Worth, by Casper Salathiel Yost - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Patience Worth - A Psychic Mystery - -Author: Casper Salathiel Yost - -Release Date: December 31, 2015 [EBook #50810] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PATIENCE WORTH *** - - - - -Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Elizabeth Oscanyan and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div> - <h1 class='c000'><span class='xxlarge'>PATIENCE WORTH</span><br /> <br /><span class='xlarge'>A PSYCHIC MYSTERY</span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div class='c002'>By</div> - <div class='c001'><span class='xlarge'>CASPER S. YOST</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/logo.jpg' alt='colophon' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>NEW YORK</div> - <div><span class='large'>HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>1916</span></div> - <div class='c002'><span class='xsmall'><span class='sc'>Copyright, 1916</span></span></div> - <div class='c001'><span class='xxsmall'>BY</span></div> - <div class='c001'><span class='xsmall'>HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY</span></div> - <div class='c001'><span class='xsmall'><i>Published February, 1916</i></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_iii'>iii</span> - <h2 class='c003'>PREFACE</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>The compiler of this book is not a spiritualist, -nor a psychologist, nor a member of -the Society for Psychical Research; nor has -he ever had anything more than a transitory -and skeptical interest in psychic phenomena of -any character. He is a newspaper man whose -privilege and pleasure it is to present the facts -in relation to some phenomena which he does -not attempt to classify nor to explain, but -which are virtually without precedent in the -record of occult manifestations. The mystery -of Patience Worth is one which every reader -may endeavor to solve for himself. The sole -purpose of this narrative is to give the visible -truth, the physical evidence, so to speak, the -things that can be seen and that are therefore -susceptible of proof by ocular demonstration. -In this category are the instruments of communication -<span class='pageno' id='Page_iv'>iv</span>and the communications themselves, -which are described, explained and, in -some cases, interpreted, where an effort at interpretation -seems to be desirable.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c003'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='84%' /> -<col width='15%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c005'></td> - <td class='c006'><span class='xsmall'>PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>The Coming of Patience Worth</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>Nature of the Communications</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_9'>9</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>Personality of Patience</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_37'>37</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>The Poetry</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_63'>63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>The Prose</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_107'>107</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>Conversations</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_173'>173</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>Religion</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_223'>223</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>The Ideas on Immortality</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_247'>247</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><span class='sc'>Index</span></td> - <td class='c006'><a href='#Page_287'>287</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c003'>THE COMING OF PATIENCE WORTH</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Upon a July evening in 1913 two women -of St. Louis sat with a ouija board upon their -knees. Some time before this a friend had -aroused their interest in this unfathomable -toy, and they had since whiled away many an -hour with the inscrutable meanderings of the -heart-shaped pointer; but, like thousands of -others who had played with the instrument, -they had found it, up to this date, but little -more than a source of amused wonder. The -messages which they had laboriously spelled -out were only such as might have come from -the subconsciousness of either one or the other, -or, at least, were no more strange than innumerable -communications which have been received -through the reading of the ouija board.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But upon this night they received a visitor. -The pointer suddenly became endowed with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>an unusual agility, and with great rapidity -presented this introduction:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Many moons ago I lived. Again I come. -Patience Worth my name.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The women gazed, round-eyed, at each other, -and the board continued:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wait. I would speak with thee. If thou -shalt live, then so shall I. I make my bread by -thy hearth. Good friends, let us be merrie. -The time for work is past. Let the tabbie -drowse and blink her wisdom to the firelog.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How quaint that is!” one of the women -exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good Mother Wisdom is too harsh for -thee,” said the board, “and thou shouldst love -her only as a foster mother.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus began an intimate association with -“Patience Worth” that still continues, and -a series of communications that in intellectual -vigor and literary quality are virtually without -precedent in the scant imaginative literature -quoted in the chronicles of psychic phenomena.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>The personality of Patience Worth—if personality -it may be called—so impressed itself -upon these women, at the first visit, that they -got pencil and paper and put down not only -all that she transmitted through the board, -but all the questions and comment that elicited -her remarks; and at every meeting since -then, a verbatim record has been made -of the conversation and the communications.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These records have accumulated until they -have filled several volumes of typewritten -pages, and upon them, and upon the writer’s -personal observations of the workings of the -phenomena, this narrative is based. They -include conversations, maxims, epigrams, allegories, -tales, dramas, poems, all the way from -sportive to religious, and even prayers, most of -them of no little beauty and of a character -that may reasonably be considered unique in -literature.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>The women referred to are Mrs. John H. -Curran, wife of the former Immigration Commissioner -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>of Missouri, and Mrs. Emily Grant -Hutchings, wife of the Secretary of the Tower -Grove Park Board in St. Louis, both ladies of -culture and refinement. Mrs. Curran is a -young woman of nervous temperament, bright, -vivacious, ready of speech. She has a taste for -literature, but is not a writer, and has never -attempted to write anything more ambitious -than a personal letter. Mrs. Hutchings, on -the other hand, is a professional writer of skill, -and it was to her quick appreciation of the -quality of the communications that the starting -of the record is due. It was soon apparent, -however, that it was Mrs. Curran who was the -sole agent of transmission; for the communications -came only when she was at the board, -and it mattered not who else sat with her. -During the first months only Mrs. Curran and -Mrs. Hutchings sat, but gradually the circle -widened, and others assisted Mrs. Curran. -Sometimes as many as five or six would sit with -her in the course of an evening. Mr. Curran -has acted as amanuensis, and recorded the communications -at most of the sittings, Mrs. Curran’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>mother, Mrs. Mary E. Pollard, occasionally -taking his place.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>The ouija board is a rectangular piece of -wood about 16 inches wide by 24 inches in -length and half an inch thick. Upon it the -letters of the alphabet are arranged in two -concentric arcs, with the ten numerals below, -and the words “Yes” and “No” at the upper -corners. The planchette, or pointer, is a thin, -heart-shaped piece of wood provided with -three legs, upon which it moves about upon -the board, its point indicating the letters of -the words it is spelling. Two persons are -necessary for its operation. They place the -tips of their fingers lightly upon the pointer -and wait. Perhaps it moves; perhaps it does -not. Sometimes it moves aimlessly about the -board, spelling nothing; sometimes it spells -words, but is unable to form a sentence; but -often it responds readily enough to the impulses -which control it, and even answers questions -intelligibly, occasionally in a way that -excites the wonder and even the awe of those -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>about it. Its powers have been attributed by -some to supernatural influence, by others to -subconsciousness, but science has looked upon -it with disdain, as, until recent years, science -has looked upon nearly all unprecedented -phenomena.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mr. W. T. Carrington, an eminent English -investigator of psychical phenomena, in an -exhaustive work upon the subject, has this to -say of the ouija board: “Granting for the sake -of argument that the board is moved by the -sitter, either consciously or unconsciously, the -great and vital question still remains: What is -the intelligence behind the board, that directs -the phenomena? Whoever sets out to give a -final and decisive answer to this question in the -present state of our knowledge will have his -task cut out for him, and I wish him happiness -in the undertaking. Personally I am attempting -nothing of the kind.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The ouija board has been in use for many -years. There is no element of novelty in the -mere fact that curious and puzzling messages -are received by means of it. I emphasize this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>fact because I wish to place the board in its -proper relation to the communications from -the intelligence calling herself Patience -Worth. Aside from the psychical problem -involved—and which, so far as the board is -concerned, is the same in this case as in many -others—the ouija board has no more significance -than a pen or a pencil in the hand. It is -merely an instrument for the transmission of -thought in words. In comparison with the personality -and the literature which it reveals in -this instance, it is a factor of little significance. -It is proper to say, however, at this point, -that every word attributed to Patience Worth -in this volume was received by Mrs. Curran -through this instrument.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span> - <h2 class='c003'>NATURE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS</h2> -</div> -<p class='c009'>“He who buildeth with peg and cudgel but buildeth -a toy for an age who will but cast aside the bauble as -naught; but he who buildeth with word, a quill and -a fluid, buildeth well.”—<span class='sc'>Patience Worth.</span></p> - -<p class='c004'>There are a number of things that distinguish -Patience Worth from all other “intelligences” -that have been credited with -communications pretending to come from a -spiritual source. First is her intellect. One -of the strongest arguments against the genuineness -of such communications has been -the lack of intelligence often displayed in -them. They have largely been, though with -many exceptions, crude emanations of weak -mentalities, and few of the exceptions have -shown greater intellect or greater knowledge -than is possessed by the average human being.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>In a work entitled, “Is Death the -End?” Dr. John H. Holmes, an eminent -New York divine, gives considerable space -to the psychic evidence of immortality. In -the course of his discussion of this phase of -his subject he concisely describes the characteristic -features of psychic communications. -“Nobody,” he says, “can study the evidence -gathered in this particular field without noticing, -first of all, the triviality, almost the inanity, -of the communications received. Here -we come, eager for the evidence of future life -and information as to what it means to die and -pass into the great beyond. And what do we -get? First of all—and naturally enough, perhaps—frantic -efforts on the part of the alleged -spirits to prove their identity by the citation -of intricate and unimportant details of where -they were and what they did at different times -when they were here among men. Sometimes -there is a recounting of an event which is -taking place in a part of the world far removed -from the locality in which the medium -and the recipient are sitting. Again and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>again there is a descent to obscurity and feeble -chattering.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>I quote this passage, not merely because -it so clearly states the experience and conclusions -of many who have investigated these -phenomena, but because it serves to show -by its marked contrast the wonder of -the communications from Patience Worth. -There are no efforts on her part to prove -her identity. On the contrary, she can -rarely be induced to speak of herself, and the -personal information she has reluctantly given -is disappointingly meager. “About me,” she -says, “thou wouldst know much. Yesterday -is dead. Let thy mind rest as to the past.” -She never speaks of her own acts as a physical -being; she never refers to any event taking -place in the world now or that has taken place -in the past. But far more important than -these, she reveals an intellect that is worthy -of any man’s respect. It is at once keen, swift, -subtle and profound. There is not once but -always a “sustained level of clear thought and -fine feeling.” There is obscurity at times, but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>it is usually the obscurity of profundity, and -intelligent study generally reveals a meaning -that is worth the effort. There is never a -“focusing of attention upon the affairs of this -world,” except for the purpose of displaying -its beauties and its wonders, and to assist in -explaining the world that she claims is to -come. For that other world she seems to try -to explain as far as some apparent limitations -permit, speaks as few have spoken before, and -her words often bring delight to the mind and -consolation to the soul.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>Before considering these communications in -detail, it would be well for the reader to become -a little better acquainted with the alleged -Patience herself. I speak of her as a -person, for whatever she, or it, may be, the -impression of a distinct personality is clear and -definite; and it is, besides, more convenient -so to designate her. Patience as a rule -speaks an archaic tongue that is in general the -English language of about the time of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>Stuarts, but which contains elements of a -usage still more ancient, and, not rarely, word -and phrase forms that seem never to have -been used in English or in any English dialect. -Almost all of her words, however, whether in -conversation or in literary composition, are -of pure Anglo-Saxon-Norman origin. There is -seldom a word of direct Latin or Greek parentage. -Virtually all of the objects she refers to -are things that existed in the seventeenth century -or earlier. In all of the great mass of -manuscript that has come from her we have not -noticed a single reference to an object of modern -creation or development; nor have more -than a dozen words been found in her writings -that may be of later origin than the seventeenth -century, and some of these words are -debatable. She has shown, in what would -seem to be a genuinely feminine spirit of -perversity, that she can use a modern word if -she chooses to do so. And if she is living now, -no matter when she was on earth, why should -she not? (She has twice used the word -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>“shack,” meaning a roughly constructed -cabin, a word which is in that sense so new and -so local that it has but recently found a place -in the dictionaries.) But the fact remains that -the number of such words is so small as to be -negligible.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Only one who has tried to write in archaic -English without committing anachronisms can -realize its tremendous difficulty. We are so -saturated with words and idioms of modern -origin that it is almost impossible wholly to -discard them, even when given every advantage -of time and reflection. How much more -difficult must it be then to use and maintain -such language without an error in ordinary -impromptu conversation, answering questions -that could not have been expected, and flashing -repartee that is entirely dependent upon -the situation or remarks of the moment. Yet -Patience does this with marvelous facility. So -she can hardly be Mrs. Curran.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All of her knowledge of material things -seems to be drawn from English associations. -She is surprisingly familiar with the trees and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>flowers, the birds and beasts of England. She -knows the manners and customs of its people -as they were two or three centuries ago, the -people of the fields or the people of the -palace. Her speech is filled with references to -the furniture, utensils and mechanical contrivances -of the household of that time, and to -its articles of dress, musical instruments, and -tools of agriculture and the mechanical arts. -There are also a few indications of a knowledge -of New England life. Yet she has never -admitted a residence in England or New England, -has never spoken of a birthplace or an -abiding place anywhere, has never, in fact, -used a single geographical proper name in relation -to herself.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>The communications of Patience Worth -come in a variety of forms: Conversation that -is strewn with wit and wisdom, epigrams and -maxims; poems by the hundred; parables and -allegories; stories of a semi-dramatic character, -and dramas.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here is an example of her conversation from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>one of the early records—an evening when a -skeptical friend, a young physician, somewhat -disposed to the use of slang, was present with -his wife.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As the ladies took the board, the doctor remarked:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I hope Patience Worth will come. I’d like -to find out what her game is.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Patience was there and instantly responded:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dost, then, desire the plucking of another -goose?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“By George, she’s right there with -the grease, isn’t she?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Enough to baste the last upon -the spit.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“Well, that’s quick wit for you. -Pretty hard to catch her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“The salt of today will not serve -to catch the bird of tomorrow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“She’d better call herself the bird -of yesterday. I wonder what kind of a mind -she had, anyway.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Dost crave to taste the sauce?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“She holds to her simile of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>goose. I wish you’d ask her how she makes -that little table move under your hands to -spell the words.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“A wise cook telleth not the -brew.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“Turn that board over and let me -see what’s under it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was done, and after his inspection it -was reversed.</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Thee’lt bump thy nose to look -within the hopper.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“Whew! She doesn’t mind handing -you one, does she?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. Pollard.</i>—“That’s Patience’s way. -She doesn’t think we count for anything.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“The bell-cow doth deem the -good folk go to Sabboth house from the ringing -of her bell.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“She evidently thinks we are a -conceited lot. Well, I believe she’ll agree with -me that you can’t get far in this world without -a fair opinion of yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“So the donkey loveth his -bray!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span><i>The Doctor’s Wife.</i>—“You can draw her -on all you please. I’m going to keep perfectly -still.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Oh, e’en the mouse will have a -nibble.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. Curran.</i>—“There! She isn’t going to -let you off without a little roast. I wonder -what she has to say to you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Did’st ever see the brood hen -puff up with self-esteem when all her chicks -go for a swim?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Doctor.</i>—“Let’s analyze that and see if -there’s anything in it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Strain the potion. Mayhap -thou wilt find a fly.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>This will be sufficient to illustrate Patience’s -form of speech and her ready wit. It also -shows something of the character of the people -to whom and through whom she has usually -spoken. They are not solemn investigators nor -“pussy-footed” charlatans. There is no ceremony -about the sitting, no dimmed lights, no -compelled silences, no mummeries of any sort. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>The <i>assistance</i> is of the ordinary, fun-loving, -somewhat irreverent American type. The -board is brought into the living-room under the -full glare of the electric lamps. The men -perhaps smoke their cigars. If Patience -seems to be in the humor for conversation, all -may take part, and she hurls her javelins impartially. -A visitor is at once brought within -the umbra of her wit.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her conversation, as already indicated, is -filled with epigrams and maxims. A book -could be made from these alone. They are, -of course, not always original. What maxims -are? But they are given on the instant, without -possibility of previous thought, and are -always to the point. Here are a few of these -prompt aphorisms:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A lollypop is but a breeder of pain.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“An old goose gobbles the grain like a -gosling.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Dead resolves are sorry fare.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The goose knoweth where the bin leaketh.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Quills of sages were plucked from geese.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>“Puddings fit for lords would sour the belly -of the swineboy.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“To clap the cover on a steaming pot of -herbs will but modify<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c011'><sup>[1]</sup></a> the stench.”</p> -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c010'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. A word of this degree of latinity is very rare with her.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c010'>“She who quacketh loudest deems the gander -not the lead at waddling time.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Climb not the stars to find a pebble.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He who hath a house, a hearth and a friend -hath a lucky lot.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She is often caustic and incisive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A man loveth his wife, but, ah, the buckles -on his knee breeks!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Should I present thee with a pumpkin, -wouldst thou desire to count the seeds?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A drink of asses’ milk would nurture the -swine, but wouldst thou then expect his song -to change from Want, Want, Want?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Some folk, like the bell without a clapper, -go clanging on in good faith, believing the good -folk can hear them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Were I to tell thee the pudding string -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>were a spinet’s string, thou wouldst make -ready for the dance.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Thee’lt tie thy God within thy kerchief, -else have none of Him, and like unto a bat, -hang thyself topsy-turvy to better view His -handiwork.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Twould pleg thee sore should thy shadow -wear cap and bells.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“From constant wishing the moon may tip -for thee.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wouldst thou have a daisy blossom upon -a thistle?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ye who carry pigskins to the well and lace -not the hole are a tiresome lot.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He who eateth a bannock well made flattereth -himself should his belly not sour.”</p> - -<p class='c013'>Aside from the dramatic compositions, some -of which are of great length, most of the communications -received from Patience have been -in verse. There is rarely a rhyme, practically -all being iambic blank verse in lines of irregular -length. The rhythm is almost uniformly -smooth. At some sittings the poetry begins -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>to come as soon as the hands are placed upon -the planchette, and the evening is given over to -the production of verse. At others, verses are -mingled with repartee and epigram, but seldom -is an evening spent without at least one -poem coming. This was not the case in the -earlier months, when many sittings were given -up wholly to conversation. The poetry has -gradually increased in volume, as if the earlier -efforts of the influence had been tentative, -while the responsiveness of the intermediary -was being tested. So, too, the earlier verses -were fragments.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in6'>A blighted bud may hold</div> - <div class='line'>A sweeter message than the loveliest flower.</div> - <div class='line'>For God hath kissed her wounded heart</div> - <div class='line'>And left a promise there.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A cloak of lies may clothe a golden truth.</div> - <div class='line'>The sunlight’s warmth may fade its glossy black</div> - <div class='line'>To whitening green and prove the fault</div> - <div class='line'>Of weak and shoddy dye.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh, why let sorrow steel thy heart?</div> - <div class='line'>Thy busom is but its foster mother,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>The world its cradle, and the loving home</div> - <div class='line'>Its grave.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Weave sorrow on the loom of love</div> - <div class='line'>And warp the loom with faith.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Such fragments, however, were but steps -leading to larger things. A little later on this -came:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>So thou hast trod among the tansey tuft</div> - <div class='line'>And murr and thyme, and gathered all the garden’s store,</div> - <div class='line'>And glutted on the lillie’s sensuous sweet,</div> - <div class='line'>And let thy shade to mar the sunny path,</div> - <div class='line'>And only paused to strike the slender humming bird,</div> - <div class='line'>Whose molten-tinted wing but spoke the song</div> - <div class='line'>Of fluttering joy, and in thy very hand</div> - <div class='line'>Turned to motley gray. Then thinkest thou</div> - <div class='line'>To build the garden back by trickery?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>And then, some six months after her first -visit, came the poem which follows, and which -may be considered the real beginning of her -larger works:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Long lines of leaden cloud; a purple sea;</div> - <div class='line'>White gulls skimming across the spray.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>Oh dissonant cry! Art thou</div> - <div class='line'>The death cry of desire?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, wail, ye winds,</div> - <div class='line'>And search ye for my dearest wish</div> - <div class='line'>Along the rugged coast, and down</div> - <div class='line'>Where purling waters whisper</div> - <div class='line'>To the rosy coral reef.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, search! Ah, search!</div> - <div class='line'>And when ye return, bring ye the answering.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Do I stand and call unto the sea for answer?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, wisdom, where art thou?</div> - <div class='line'>A gull but shows thee to the Southland,</div> - <div class='line'>And leaden sky but warneth thee of storm.</div> - <div class='line'>And wind, thou art but a changeling.</div> - <div class='line'>So, shall I call to thee? Not so.</div> - <div class='line'>I build not upon the spray,</div> - <div class='line'>And seek not within the smaller world,</div> - <div class='line'>For God dwelleth not abroad, but deep within.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>There is spiritual significance, more or less -profound, in nearly all of the poems. Some -of the lines are obscure, but study reveals a -meaning, and the more I, at least, study them, -the more I have been impressed with the intellectual -power behind them. It is this that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>makes these communications seem to stand -alone among the numerous messages that -are alleged to have come from “that undiscovered -country.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>An intense love of nature is expressed in -most of the communications, whether in prose -or verse, and also a wide knowledge of -nature—not the knowledge of the scientist, but -that of the poet.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>All silver-laced with web and crystal-studded, hangs</div> - <div class='line'>A golden lily cup, as airy as a dancing sprite.</div> - <div class='line'>The moon hath caught a fleeting cloud, and rests in her embrace.</div> - <div class='line'>The bumblefly still hovers o’er the clover flower,</div> - <div class='line'>And mimics all the zephyr’s song. White butterflies,</div> - <div class='line'>Whose wings bespeak late wooing of the buttercup,</div> - <div class='line'>Wend home their way, the gold still clinging to their snowy gossamer.</div> - <div class='line'>E’en the toad, who old and moss-grown seems,</div> - <div class='line'>Is wabbled on a lilypad, and watches for the moon</div> - <div class='line'>To bid the cloud adieu and light him to his hunt</div> - <div class='line'>For fickle marsh flies who tease him through the day.</div> - <div class='line'>Why, every rose has loosed her petals,</div> - <div class='line'>And sends a pleading perfume to the moss</div> - <div class='line'>That creeps upon the maple’s stalk, to tempt it hence</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>To bear a cooling draught. Round yonder trunk</div> - <div class='line'>The ivy clings and loves it into green.</div> - <div class='line'>The pansy dreams of coaxing goldenrod</div> - <div class='line'>To change her station, lest her modest flower</div> - <div class='line'>Be ever doomed to blossom ’neath the shadow of the wall.</div> - <div class='line'>And was not He who touched the pansy</div> - <div class='line'>With His regal robes and left their color there,</div> - <div class='line'>All-wise to leave her modesty as her greatest charm?</div> - <div class='line'>Here snowdrops blossom ’neath a fringe of tuft,</div> - <div class='line'>And fatty grubs find rest amid the mold.</div> - <div class='line'>All love, and Love himself, is here,</div> - <div class='line'>For every garden is fashioned by his hand.</div> - <div class='line'>Are then the garden’s treasures more of worth</div> - <div class='line'>Than ugly toad or mold? Not so, for Love</div> - <div class='line'>May tint the zincy blue-gray murk</div> - <div class='line'>Of curdling fall to crimson, light-flashed summertide.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, why then question Love, I prithee, friend?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This is poetry, but there is something more -than liquid sweetness in its lines. There is a -truth. Deeper wisdom and a lore more profound -and more mystical are revealed or delicately -concealed in some of the others.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I searched among the hills to find His love,</div> - <div class='line'>And found but waving trees, and stones</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>Where lizards flaunt their green and slip to cool</div> - <div class='line'>Adown the moss. I searched within the field</div> - <div class='line'>To find His treasure-trove, and found but tasseled stalk</div> - <div class='line'>And baby grain, encradled in a silky nest.</div> - <div class='line'>I searched deep in the rose’s heart to find</div> - <div class='line'>His pledge to me, and steeped in honey, it was there.</div> - <div class='line'>Lo, while I wait, a vagabond with goss’mer wing</div> - <div class='line'>Hath stripped her of her loot and borne it all to me.</div> - <div class='line'>I searched along the shore to find His heart,</div> - <div class='line'>Ahope the lazy waves would bear it me;</div> - <div class='line'>And watched them creep to rest upon the sands,</div> - <div class='line'>Who sent them back again, asearch for me.</div> - <div class='line'>I sought amid a tempest for His strength,</div> - <div class='line'>And found it in its shrieking glee;</div> - <div class='line'>And saw man’s paltry blocks come crashing down,</div> - <div class='line'>And heard the wailing of the trees who grew</div> - <div class='line'>Afeared, and, moaning, caused the flowers to quake</div> - <div class='line'>And tremble lest the sun forget them at the dawn;</div> - <div class='line'>While bolts shot clouds asunder, and e’en the sea</div> - <div class='line'>Was panting with the spending of his might.</div> - <div class='line'>I searched within a wayside cot for His white soul,</div> - <div class='line'>And found a dimple next the lips of one who slept,</div> - <div class='line'>And watched the curtained wonder of her eyes,</div> - <div class='line'>Aflutter o’er the iris-colored pools that held His smile:</div> - <div class='line'>And touched the warm and shrinking lips, so mute,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>And yet so wise. For canst thou doubt whose kiss</div> - <div class='line'>Still lingers on their bloom?</div> - <div class='line in4'>Amid a muck of curse, and lie,</div> - <div class='line'>And sensuous lust, and damning leers,</div> - <div class='line'>I searched for Good and Light,</div> - <div class='line'>And found it there, aye, even there;</div> - <div class='line'>For broken reeds may house a lark’s pure nest.</div> - <div class='line'>I stopped me at a pool to rest,</div> - <div class='line'>And toyed along the brink to pluck</div> - <div class='line'>The cress who would so guard her lips:</div> - <div class='line'>And flung a stone straight to her heart,</div> - <div class='line'>And, lo, but silver laughter mocketh me!</div> - <div class='line'>And as I stoop to catch the plash,</div> - <div class='line'>Pale sunbeams pierce the bower,</div> - <div class='line'>And ah, the shade and laughter melt</div> - <div class='line'>And leave me, empty, there.</div> - <div class='line'>But wait! I search and find,</div> - <div class='line'>Reflected in the pool, myself, the searcher.</div> - <div class='line'>And, on the silver surface traced,</div> - <div class='line'>My answer to it all.</div> - <div class='line'>For, heart of mine, who on this journey</div> - <div class='line'>Sought with me, I knew thee not,</div> - <div class='line'>But searched for prayer and love amid the rocks</div> - <div class='line'>Whilst thou but now declare thyself to me.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, could I deem thee strong and fitting</div> - <div class='line'>As the tempest to depict His strength;</div> - <div class='line'>Or yet as gentle as the smile of baby lips,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>Or sweet as honeyed rose or pure as mountain pool?</div> - <div class='line'>And yet thou art, and thou art mine—</div> - <div class='line'>A gift and answer from my God.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It is not my purpose to attempt an extended -interpretation of the metaphysics of these -poems. This one will repay real study. No -doubt there will be varied views of its meaning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These poems do not all move with the murmuring -ripple of running brooks. Some of -them, appalling in the rugged strength of their -figures of speech, are like the storm waves -smashing their sides against the cliffs. In my -opinion there are not very many in literature -that grip the mind with greater force than the -first two lines of the brief one which follows, -and there are few things more beautiful than -its conclusion:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, God, I have drunk unto the dregs,</div> - <div class='line'>And flung the cup at Thee!</div> - <div class='line'>The dust of crumbled righteousness</div> - <div class='line'>Hath dried and soaked unto itself</div> - <div class='line'>E’en the drop I spilled to Bacchus,</div> - <div class='line'>Whilst Thou, all-patient,</div> - <div class='line'>Sendest purple vintage for a later harvest.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>The poems sometimes contain irony, gentle -as a summer zephyr or crushing as a mailed -fist. For instance this challenge to the vainglorious:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strike ye the sword or dip ye in an inken well;</div> - <div class='line'>Smear ye a gaudy color or daub ye the clay?</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, beat upon thy busom then and cry,</div> - <div class='line'>“’Tis mine, this world-love and vainglory!”</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, master-hand, who guided thee? Stay!</div> - <div class='line'>Dost know that through the ages,</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, through the very ages,</div> - <div class='line'>One grain of hero dust, blown from afar,</div> - <div class='line'>Hath lodged, and moveth thee?</div> - <div class='line'>Wait. Wreathe thyself and wait.</div> - <div class='line'>The green shall deepen to an ashen brown</div> - <div class='line'>And crumble then and fall into thy sightless eyes,</div> - <div class='line'>While thy moldering flesh droppeth awry.</div> - <div class='line'>Wait, and catch thy dust.</div> - <div class='line'>Mayhap thou canst build it back!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>She touches all the strings of human emotion, -and frequently thrums the note of sorrow, -usually, however, as an overture to a pæan of -joy. The somber tones in her pictures, -to use another metaphor, are used mainly to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>strengthen the high lights. But now and then -there comes a verse of sadness such as this one, -which yet is not wholly sad:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in6'>Ah, wake me not!</div> - <div class='line'>For should my dreaming work a spell to soothe</div> - <div class='line'>My troubled soul, wouldst thou deny me dreams?</div> - <div class='line in6'>Ah, wake me not!</div> - <div class='line'>If ’mong the leaves wherein the shadows lurk</div> - <div class='line'>I fancy conjured faces of my loved, long lost;</div> - <div class='line'>And if the clouds to me are sorrow’s shroud;</div> - <div class='line'>And if I trick my sorrow, then, to hide</div> - <div class='line'>Beneath a smile; or build of wasted words</div> - <div class='line'>A key to wisdom’s door—wouldst thou deny me?</div> - <div class='line in6'>Ah, let me dream!</div> - <div class='line'>The day may bring fresh sorrows,</div> - <div class='line'>But the night will bring new dreams.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>When this was spelled upon the board, its -pathos affected Mrs. Curran to tears, and, to -comfort her, Patience quickly applied an antidote -in the following jingle, which illustrates -not only her versatility, but her sense of -humor:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Patter, patter, briney drops,</div> - <div class='line'>On my kerchief drying:</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>Spatter, spatter, salty stream,</div> - <div class='line'>Down my poor cheeks flying.</div> - <div class='line'>Brine enough to ’merse a ham,</div> - <div class='line'>Salt enough to build a dam!</div> - <div class='line'>Trickle, trickle, all ye can</div> - <div class='line'>And wet my dry heart’s aching.</div> - <div class='line'>Sop and sop, ’tis better so,</div> - <div class='line'>For in dry soil flowers ne’er grow.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This little jingle answered its purpose. -Mrs. Curran’s tears continued to fall, but they -were tears of laughter, and all of the little -party about the board were put in good spirits. -Then Patience dryly remarked:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Two singers there be; he who should sing -like a troubadour and brayeth like an ass, and -he who should bray that singeth.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>These examples will serve to illustrate the -nature of the communications, and as an introduction -to the numerous compositions that will -be presented in the course of this narrative.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The question now arises, or, more likely, it -has been in the reader’s mind since the book was -opened: What evidence is there of their genuineness? -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>Does Mrs. Curran, consciously or -subconsciously, produce this matter? It is -hardly credible that anyone able to write such -poems would bother with a ouija board to -do it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It will probably be quite evident to a -reader of the whole matter that whoever or -whatever it is that writes this poetry and -prose, possesses, as already intimated, not only -an unusual mind, but an unusual knowledge of -archaic forms of English, a close acquaintance -with nature as it is found in England, and a -familiarity with the manners and customs of -English life of an older time. Many of the -words used in the later compositions, particularly -those of a dramatic nature, are -obscure dialectal forms not to be found in any -work of literature. All of the birds and flowers -and trees referred to in the communications -are native to England, with the few exceptions -that indicate some knowledge of New -England. No one not growing up with the -language used could have acquired facility in -it without years of patient study. No one -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>could become so familiar with English nature -without long residence in England: for the -knowledge revealed is not of the character that -can be obtained from books. Mrs. Curran has -had none of these experiences. She has never -been in England. Her studies since leaving -school have been confined to music, to which -art she is passionately attached, and in which -she is adept. She has never been a student of -literature, ancient or modern, and has never -attempted any form of literary work. She -has had no particular interest in English history, -English literature or English life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But, it may be urged, this matter might be -produced subconsciously, from Mrs. Curran’s -mind or from the mind of some person associated -with her. The phenomena of subconsciousness -are many and varied, and the word -is used to indicate, but does not explain, numerous -mysteries of the mind which seem -wholly baffling despite this verbal hitching -post. But I have no desire to enter into an -argument. My sole purpose is so to present -the facts that the reader may intelligently form -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>his own opinion. Here are the facts that relate -to this phase of the subject:</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Curran does not go into a trance when -the communications are received. On the contrary, -her mind is absolutely normal, and she -may talk to others while the board is in operation -under her hands. It is unaffected by conversation -in the room. There is no <i>effort</i> at -mental concentration. Aside from Mrs. Curran, -it does not matter who is present, or -who sits at the board with her; there are seldom -the same persons at any two successive -sittings. Yet the personality of Patience is -constant and unvarying. As to subconscious -action on the part of Mrs. Curran, it would -seem to be sufficient to say that no one can -impart knowledge subconsciously, unless it -has been first acquired through the media of -consciousness; that is to say, through the -senses. No one, for example, who had never -seen or heard a word of Chinese, could speak -the language subconsciously. One may unconsciously -acquire information, but it must be -through the senses.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>It remains but to add that the reputation -and social position of the Currans puts them -above the suspicion of fraud, if fraud were at -all possible in such a matter as this; that Mrs. -Curran does not give public exhibitions, nor -private exhibitions for pay; that the compositions -have been received in the presence of their -friends, or of friends of their friends, all specially -invited guests. There seems nothing abnormal -about her. She is an intelligent, conscientious -woman, a member of the Episcopalian -church, but not especially zealous in -affairs of religion, a talented musician, a clever -and witty conversationalist, and a charming -hostess. These facts are stated not as gratuitous -compliments, but as evidences of character -and temperament which have a bearing upon -the question.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span> - <h2 class='c003'>PERSONALITY OF PATIENCE</h2> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c016'> - <div><span class='c017'>“Yea, I be me.”</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Patience, as I have said, has given very -little information about herself, and every effort -to pin her to a definite time or locality -has been without avail. When she first introduced -herself to Mrs. Curran, she was asked -where she came from, and she replied, “Across -the sea.” Asked when she lived, the pointer -groped among the figures as if struggling with -memory, and finally, with much hesitation -upon each digit, gave the date 1649. This -seemed to be so in accord with her language, -and the articles of dress and household use to -which she referred, that it was accepted as a -date that had some relation to her material -existence. But Patience has since made it -quite plain that she is not to be tied to any -period.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>“I be like to the wind,” she says, “and -yea, like to it do blow me ever, yea, since -time. Do ye to tether me unto today I -blow me then tomorrow, and do ye to -tether me unto tomorrow I blow me then -today.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Indeed, she at times seems to take a mischievous -delight in baffling the seeker after -personal information; and at other times, when -she has a composition in hand, she expresses -sharp displeasure at such inquiries. As this -is not a speculative work, but a narrative, the -attempt to fix a time and place for her will be -left to those who may find interest in the task. -All that can be said with definiteness is that -she brings the speech and the atmosphere, as -it were, of an age or ages long past; that she -is thoroughly English, and that while she can -and does project herself back into the mists -of time, and speak of early medieval scenes as -familiarly as of the English renaissance, she -does not make use of any knowledge she may -possess of modern developments or modern -conditions. And yet, archaic in word and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>form as her compositions are, there is something -very modern in her way of thought and -in her attitude toward nature. An eminent -philologist asked her how it was that she used -the language of so many different periods, and -she replied: “I do plod a twist of a path and -it hath run from then till now.” And when -he said that in her poetry there seemed to be -echoes or intangible suggestions of comparatively -recent poets, and asked her to explain, -she said: “There be aneath the every stone a -hidden voice. I but loose the stone and lo, the -voice!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But while the archaic form of her speech and -writings is an evidence of her genuineness, and -she so considers it, she does not approve of its -analysis as a philological amusement. “I brew -and fashion feasts,” she says, “and lo, do ye -to tear asunder, thee wouldst have but grain -dust and unfit to eat. I put not meaning to -the tale, but source thereof.” That is to say, -she does not wish to be measured by the form -of her words, but by the thoughts they convey -and the source from which they come. And -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>she has put this admonition into strong and -striking phrases.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Put ye a value ’pon word? And weigh ye -the line to measure, then, the gift o’ Him ’pon -rod afashioned out by man?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I tell thee, He hath spoke from out the -lowliest, and man did put to measure, and lo, -the lips astop!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And He doth speak anew; yea, and He -hath spoke from out the mighty, and man doth -whine o’ track ashow ’pon path he knoweth not—and -lo, the mighty be astopped!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yea, and He ashoweth wonders, and man -findeth him a rule, and lo, the wonder shrinketh, -and but the rule remaineth!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yea, the days do rock with word o’ Him, -and man doth look but to the rod, and lo, the -word o’ Him asinketh to a whispering, to die.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And yet, in patience, He seeketh new days -to speak to thee. And thou ne’er shalt see His -working. Nay!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look ye unto the seed o’ the olive tree, -aplanted. Doth the master, at its first burst -athrough the sod, set up a rule and murmur -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>him, ‘’Tis ne’er an olive tree! It hath but a -pulp stem and winged leaves?’ Nay, he letteth -it to grow, and nurtureth it thro’ days, and -lo, at finish, there astandeth the olive tree!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ye’d uproot the very seed in quest o’ root! -I bid thee nurture o’ its day astead.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I tell thee more: He speaketh not by line -or word; Nay, by love and giving.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do ye also this, in His name.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>But, aside from the meagerness of her -history, there is no indefiniteness in her -personality, and this clear-cut and unmistakable -individuality, quite different from -that of Mrs. Curran, is as strong an evidence -of her genuineness as is the uniqueness -of her literary productions. To speak -of something which cannot be seen nor heard -nor felt as a personality, would seem to be a -misuse of the word, and yet personality is much -more a matter of mental than of physical characteristics. -The tongue and the eyes are -merely instruments by means of which personality -is revealed. The personality of Patience -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>Worth is manifested through the instrumentality -of a ouija board, and her striking -individuality is thereby as vividly expressed as -if she were present in the flesh. Indeed, it -requires no effort of the imagination to visualize -her. Whatever she may be, she is at hand. -Nor does she have to be solicited. The moment -the fingers are on the board she takes command. -She seems fairly to jump at the opportunity -to express herself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And she is essentially feminine. There are -indubitable evidences of feminine tastes, emotions, -habits of thought, and knowledge. She -is, for example, profoundly versed in the methods -of housekeeping of two centuries or more -ago. She is familiar with all the domestic machinery -and utensils of that olden time—the -operation of the loom and the spinning wheel, -the art of cooking at an open hearth, the sanding -of floors; and this homely knowledge is the -essence of many of her proverbs and epigrams.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A good wife,” she says, “keepeth the floor -well sanded and rushes in plenty to burn. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>pewter should reflect the fire’s bright glow; -but in thy day housewifery is a sorry trade.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At another time she opened the evening -thus:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have brought me some barley corn and -a porridge pot. May I then sup?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And the same evening she said to Mrs. Pollard:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thee’lt ever stuff the pot and wash the -dishcloth in thine own way. Alackaday! Go -brush thy hearth. Set pot aboiling. Thee’lt -cook into the brew a stuff that tasteth full well -unto thy guest.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A collection of maxims for housekeepers -might be made from the flashes of Patience’s -conversation. For example:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Too much sweet may spoil the short -bread.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Weak yarn is not worth the knitting.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A pound for pound loaf was never known -to fail.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A basting but toughens an old goose.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>These and many others like them were used -by her in a figurative sense, but they reveal an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>intimate knowledge of the household arts and -appliances of a forgotten time. If she knows -anything of stoves or ranges, of fireless cookers, -of refrigerators, of any of the thousand -and one utensils which are familiar to the -modern housewife, she has never once let slip -a word to betray such knowledge.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At one time, after she had delivered a poem, -the circle fell into a discussion of its meaning, -and after a bit Patience declared they were -“like treacle dripping,” and added, “thee’lt -find the dishcloth may make a savory stew.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She’s roasting us,” cried Mrs. Hutchings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Nay,” said Patience, “boiling the pot.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You don’t understand our slang, Patience,” -Mrs. Hutchings explained. “Roasting -means criticising or rebuking.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yea, basting,” said Patience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Pollard remarked: “I’ve heard my -mother say, ‘He got a basting!’”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“An up-and-down turn to the hourglass -does to a turn,” Patience observed dryly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I suppose she means,” said Mrs. Hutchings, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>“that two hours of basting or roasting -would make us understand.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Would she be likely to know about hourglasses?” -Mrs. Curran asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Patience answered the question.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A dial beam on a sorry day would make a -muck o’ basting.” Meaning that a sundial was -of no use on a cloudy day.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>But Patience is not usually as patient with -lack of understanding as this bit of conversation -would indicate.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I dress and baste thy fowl,” she said once, -“and thee wouldst have me eat for thee. If -thou wouldst build the comb, then search thee -for the honey.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, we know we are stupid,” said one. -“We admit it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Saw drip would build thy head and fill thy -crannies,” Patience went on, “yet ye feel smug -in wisdom.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And again: “I card and weave, and ye look -a painful lot should I pass ye a bobbin to -wind.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>A request to repeat a doubtful line drew -forth this exclamation: “Bother! I fain would -sew thy seam, not do thy patching.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At another time she protested against a discussion -that interrupted the delivery of a -poem: “Who then doth hold the distaff from -whence the thread doth wind? Thou art shuttling -’twixt the woof and warp but to mar the -weaving.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And once she exclaimed, “I sneeze on rust -o’ wits!”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>But it must not be understood that Patience -is bad-tempered. These outbreaks are quoted -to show one side of her personality, and they -usually indicate impatience rather than anger: -for, a moment after such caustic exclamations, -she is likely to be talking quite genially or dictating -the tenderest of poetry. She quite -often, too, expresses affection for the family -with which she has associated herself. At one -time she said to Mrs. Curran, who had expressed -impatience at some cryptic utterance -of the board:</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>“Ah, weary, weary me, from trudging and -tracking o’er the long road to thy heart! Wilt -thou, then, not let me rest awhile therein?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And again: “Should thee let thy fire to ember -I fain would cast fresh faggots.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And at another time she said of Mrs. Curran: -“She doth boil and seethe, and brew and -taste, but I have a loving for the wench.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But she seems to think that those with -whom she is associated should take her love -for granted, as home folks usually do, and she -showers her most beautiful compliments upon -the casual visitor who happens to win her -favor. To one such she said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The heart o’ her hath suffered thorn, but -bloomed a garland o’er the wounds.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>To a lady who is somewhat deaf she paid -this charming tribute:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She hath an ear upon her every finger’s -tip, and ’pon her eye a thousand flecks o’ -color for to spread upon a dreary tale and -paint a leaden sky aflash. What need she o’ -ears?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And to another who, after a time at the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>board, said she did not want to weary Patience:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Weary then at loving of a friend? Would -I then had the garlanded bloom o’ love she -hath woven and lighted, I do swear, with -smiling washed brighter with her tears.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And again: “I be weaving of a garland. -Do leave me then a bit to tie its ends. I -plucked but buds, and woe! they did spell but -infant’s love. I cast ye, then, a blown bloom, -wide petaled and rich o’ scent. Take thou -and press atween thy heart throbs—my gift.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of still another she said: “She be a star-bloom -blue that nestleth to the soft grasses -of the spring, but ah, the brightness cast to -him who seeketh field aweary!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And yet again: “Fields hath she trod -arugged, aye, and weed agrown. Aye, and -e’en now, where she hath set abloom the blossoms -o’ her very soul, weed aspringeth. And -lo, she standeth head ahigh and eye to sky -and faith astrong. And foot abruised still -troddeth rugged field. But I do promise ye -’tis such an faith that layeth low the weed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>and putteth ’pon the rugged path asmoothe, -and yet but bloom shalt show, and ever shalt -she stand, head ahigh and eye unto the sky.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Upon an evening after she had showered -such compliments upon the ladies present she -exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I be a wag atruth, and lo, my posey-wreath -be stripped!”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>She seldom favors the men in this way. -She has referred to herself several times as a -spinster, and this may account for a certain -reluctance to saying complimentary things of -the other sex. “A prosy spinster may but -plash in love’s pool,” she remarked once, and -at another time she said: “A wife shall brush -her goodman’s blacks and polish o’ his buckles, -but a maid may not dare e’en to blow the -trifling dust from his knickerbockers.” With -a few notable exceptions, her attitude toward -men has been expressed in sarcasm, none the -less cutting to those for whom she has an -affection manifested in other ways. To one -such she said:</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>“Thee’lt peg thy shoes, lad, to best their -wearing, and eat too freely of the fowl. Thy -belly needeth pegging sore, I wot.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Patience doesn’t mean that for me,” he -protested.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Nay,” she said, “the jackass ne’er can -know his reflection in the pool. He deemeth -the thrush hath stolen of his song. Buy thee -a pushcart. ’Twill speak for thee.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And of this same rotund friend she remarked, -when he laughed at something she -had said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He shaketh like a pot o’ goose jell!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I back up, Patience,” he cried.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And thee’lt find the cart,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of a visitor, a physician, she had this to -say:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He bindeth and asmears and looketh at a -merry, and his eye doth lie. How doth he -smite and stitch like to a wench, and brew o’er -steam! Yea, ’tis atwist he be. He runneth -whither, and, at a beconing, (beckoning) -yon, and ever thus; but ’tis a blunder-mucker -he he. His head like to a steel, yea, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>heart a summer’s cloud athin (within), -enough to show athrough the clear o’ blue.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>But it is upon the infant that Patience bestows -her tenderest words. Her love of childhood -is shown in many lines of rare and touching -beauty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ye seek to level unto her,” she said of a -baby girl who was present one evening, “but -thou art awry at reasoning. For he who putteth -him to babe’s path doth track him high, -and lo, the path leadeth unto the Door. Yea, -and doth she knock, it doth ope.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Cast ye wide thy soul’s doors and set -within such love. For, brother, I do tell thee -that though the soul o’ ye be torn, aye, and -scarred, ’tis such an love that doth heal. The -love o’ babe be the balm o’ earth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“See ye! The sun tarrieth ’bout the lips o’ -her; aye, and though the hand be but thy finger’s -span, ’tis o’ a weight to tear away thy -heart.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And upon another occasion she revealed -something of herself in these words:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c018'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>Know ye; in my heart’s mansion</div> - <div class='line'>There be apart a place</div> - <div class='line'>Wherein I treasure my God’s gifts.</div> - <div class='line'>Think ye to peer therein? Nay.</div> - <div class='line'>And should thee by a chance</div> - <div class='line'>To catch a stolen glimpse,</div> - <div class='line'>Thee’dst laugh amerry, for hord (hoard)</div> - <div class='line'>Would show but dross to thee:</div> - <div class='line'>A friend’s regard, ashrunked and turned</div> - <div class='line'>To naught—but one bright memory is there;</div> - <div class='line'>A hope—now dead, but showeth gold hid there;</div> - <div class='line'>A host o’ nothings—dreams, hopes, fears;</div> - <div class='line'>Love throbs afluttered hence</div> - <div class='line'>Since first touch o’ baby hands</div> - <div class='line'>Caressed my heart’s store ahidden.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Returning to the femininity of Patience, it is -also shown in her frequent references to dress. -Upon an evening when the publication of her -poems had been under discussion, when next -the board was taken up she let them know that -she had heard, in this manner:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My pettieskirt hath a scallop,” she said. -“Mayhap that will help thy history.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh,” cried Mrs. Curran, “we are discovered!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>“Yea,” laughed Patience—she must have -laughed, “and tell thou of my buckled boots -and add a cap-string.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Further illustrative of her feminine characteristics -and of her interest in dress, as well -as of a certain fun-loving spirit which now -and then seems to sway her, is this record of a -sitting upon an evening when Mr. Curran and -Mr. Hutchings had gone to the theater, and -the ladies were alone:</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Go ye to the lighted hall to -search for learning? Nay, ’tis a piddle, not a -stream, ye search. Mayhap thou sendest thy -men for barleycorn. ’Twould then surprise -thee should the asses eat it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. H.</i>—“What is she driving at?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. P.</i>—“The men and the theater, I suppose.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. H.</i>—“Patience, what are they seeing -up there?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Ne’er a timid wench, I -vum.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. C.</i>—“You don’t approve of their going, -do you, Patience?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span><i>Patience.</i>—“Thee’lt find a hearth more -profit. Better they cast the bit of paper.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. C.</i>—“What does she mean by paper? -Their programmes?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Painted parchment squares.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. P.</i>—“Oh, she means they’d better stay -at home and play cards.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. H.</i>—“Are they likely to get their -morals corrupted at that show?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“He who tickleth the ass to start -a braying, fain would carol with his brother.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. C.</i>—“If the singing is as bad as it -usually is at that place, I don’t wonder at her -disapproval. But what about the girls, Patience?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“My pettieskirt ye may borrow -for the brazens.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. P.</i>—“Now, what is a pettieskirt? Is -it really a skirt or is it that ruff they used to -wear around the neck?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Nay, my bib covereth the neckband.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. H.</i>—“Then, where do you wear your -pettieskirt?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span><i>Patience.</i>—“’Neath my kirtle.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. C.</i>—“Is that the same as girdle? Let’s -look it up.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Art fashioning thy new -frock?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. H.</i>—“I predict that Patience will -found a new style—Puritan.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“’Twere a virtue, egad!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. H.</i>—“You evidently don’t think much -of our present style. In your day women -dressed more modestly, didn’t they?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Many’s the wench who pulled -her points to pop. But ah, the locks were -combed to satin! He who bent above might see -himself reflected.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. C.</i>—“What were the young girls of -your day like, Patience?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“A silly lot, as these of thine. -Wait!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no movement of the board for -about three minutes, and then:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“’Tis a sorry lot, not harming but boresome!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span><i>Mrs. H.</i>—“Oh, Patience, have you been to -the theater?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“A peep in good cause could -surely ne’er harm the godly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Mrs. C.</i>—“How do you think we ought to -look after those men?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Thine ale is drunk at the -hearth. Surely he who stops to sip may bless -the firelog belonging to thee.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the men returned home they agreed -with the verdict of Patience before they had -heard it, that it was a “tame” show, “not -harming, but boresome.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The exclamation of Mrs. Curran, “Let’s -look it up,” in the extract just quoted from the -record, has been a frequent one in this circle -since Patience came. So many of her words -are obsolete that her friends are often compelled -to search through the dictionaries and -glossaries for their meaning. Her reference to -articles of dress—wimple, kirtle, pettieskirt, -points and so on, had all to be “looked up.” -Once Patience began an evening with this -remark:</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>“The cockshut finds ye still peering to find -the other land.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is cock’s hut?” asked Mrs. H.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Nay,” said Patience, “Cock-shut. Thee -needeth light, but cockshut bringeth dark.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Cockshut must mean shutting up the cock -at night,” suggested a visitor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Aye, and geese, too, then could be put to -quiet,” Patience exclaimed. “Wouldst thou -wish for cockshut?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Search revealed that cockshut was a term -anciently applied to a net used for catching -woodcock, and it was spread at nightfall, hence -cockshut acquired also the meaning of early -evening. Shakespeare uses the term once, in -Richard III., in the phrase, “Much about -cockshut time,” but it is a very rare word in -literature, and probably has not been used, -even colloquially, for centuries.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There are many such words used by Patience—relics -of an age long past. The writer -was present at a sitting when part of a romantic -story-play of medieval days was being -received on the board. One of the characters -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>in the story spoke of herself as “playing the -jane-o’-apes.” No one present had ever heard -or seen the word. Patience was asked if it had -been correctly received, and she repeated it. -Upon investigation it was found that it is a -feminine form of the familiar jackanapes, -meaning a silly girl. Massinger used it in one -of his plays in the seventeenth century, but -that appears to be the only instance of its use -in literature.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These words may be not unknown to many -people, but the point is that they were totally -strange to those at the board, including Mrs. -Curran—words that could not possibly have -come out of the consciousness or subconsciousness -of any one of them. The frequent use -of such words helps to give verity to the archaic -tongue in which she expresses her thoughts, -and the consistent and unerring use of this -obsolete form of speech is, next to the character -of her literary production, the strongest -evidence of her genuineness. It will be noticed, -too, that the language she uses in conversation -is quite different from that in her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>literary compositions, although there are definite -similarities which seem to prove that -they come from the same source. In this also -she is wholly consistent: for it is unquestionably -true that no poet ever talked as he wrote. -Every writer uses colloquial words and idioms -in conversation that he would never employ in -literature. No matter what his skill or genius -as a writer may be, he talks “just like other -people.” Patience Worth in this, as in other -things, is true to her character.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>It may be repeated that in all this matter—and -it is but a skimming of the mass—one -may readily discern a distinct and striking personality; -not a wraith-like, formless, evanescent -shadow, but a personality that can be -clearly visualized. One can easily imagine -Patience Worth to be a woman of the Puritan -period, with, however, none of the severe -and gloomy beliefs of the Puritan—a woman -of a past age stepped out of an old picture and -leaving behind her the material artificialities of -paint and canvas. From her speech and her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>writings one may conceive her to be a woman -of Northern England, possibly: for she uses -a number of ancient words that are found to -have been peculiar to the Scottish border; a -country woman, perhaps, for in all of her communications -there are only two or three references -to the city, although her knowledge and -love of the drama may be a point against this -assumption; a woman who had read much in -an age when books were scarce, and women -who could read rarer still: for although she -frequently expresses disdain of book learning, -she betrays a large accumulation of such learning, -and a copious vocabulary, as well as a degree -of skill in its use, that could only have -been acquired from much study of books. “I -have bought beads from a pack,” she says, -“but ne’er yet have I found a peddler of -words.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And then, after we have mentally materialized -this woman, and given her a habitation -and a time, Patience speaks again, and all has -vanished. “Not so,” she said to one who questioned -her, “I be abirthed awhither and abide -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>me where.” And again she likened herself to -the wind. “I be like the wind,” she said, “who -leaveth not track, but ever ’bout, and yet like -to the rain who groweth grain for thee to -reap.” At other times she has indicated that -she has never had a physical existence. I have -quoted her saying: “I do plod a twist o’ a path -and it hath run from then till now.” At a later -time she was asked what she meant by that. -She answered:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Didst e’er to crack a stone, and lo, a worm -aharded? (a fossil). ’Tis so, for list ye, I -speak like ye since time began.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is thus she reveals herself clearly to the -mind, but when one attempts to approach too -closely, to lay a hand upon her, as it were, she -invariably recedes into the unfathomable deeps -of mysticism.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span> - <h2 class='c003'>THE POETRY</h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c019'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Am I a broken lyre,</div> - <div class='line'>Who, at the Master’s touch,</div> - <div class='line'>Respondeth with a tinkle and a whir?</div> - <div class='line'>Or am I strung in full</div> - <div class='line'>And at His touch give forth the full chord?</div> - <div class='c020'>—<span class='sc'>Patience Worth.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>As the reader will have observed, the poetry -of Patience Worth is not confined to a single -theme, nor to a group of related themes. It -covers a range that extends from inanimate -things through all the gradations of material -life and on into the life of spiritual realms as -yet uncharted. It includes poems of sentiment, -poems of nature, poems of humanity; -but the larger number deal with man in relation -to the mysteries of the beyond. All of -them evince intellectual power, knowledge of -nature and human nature, and skill in construction. -With the exception of one or two -little jingles, the poems are rhymeless. Patience -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>may not wholly agree with Milton that -rhyme “is the invention of a barbarous age to -set off wretched matter and lame metre,” -but she seldom uses it, finding in blank verse a -medium that suits all her moods, making it at -will as light and ethereal as a summer cloud or -as solemn and stately as a Wagnerian march. -She molds it to every purpose, and puts it to -new and strange uses. Who, for example, ever -saw a lullaby in blank verse? It is, I believe, -quite without precedent in literature, and yet -it would not be easy to find a lullaby more -daintily beautiful than the one which will be -presented later on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In all of her verse, the iambic measure is -dominant, but it is not maintained with monotonous -regularity. She appreciates the -value of an occasional break in the rhythm, and -she understands the uses of the pause. But -she declines to be bound by any rules of line -measurement. Many of her lines are in accord -with the decasyllabic standard of heroic verse, -but in no instance is that standard rigidly adhered -to: some of the lines contain as many -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>as sixteen syllables, others drop to eight or -even six.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It should be explained, however, that the -poetry as it comes from the ouija board is not -in verse form. There is nothing in the dictation -to indicate where a line should begin or -where end, nor, of course, is there any punctuation, -there being no way by which the marks -of punctuation could be denoted. There is -usually, however, a perceptible pause at the -end of a sentence. The words are taken down -as they are spelled on the board, without any -attempt, at the time, at versification or punctuation. -After the sitting, the matter is punctuated -and lined as nearly in accord with the -principles of blank verse construction as the -abilities of the editor will permit. It is not -claimed that the line arrangement of the verses -as they are here presented is perfect; but that -is a detail of minor importance, and for whatever -technical imperfections there may be in -this particular, Patience Worth is not responsible. -The important thing is that every -word is given exactly as it came from the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>board, without the alteration of a syllable, and -without changing the position or even the spelling -of a single one.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a rule, Patience spells the words in accordance -with the standards of today, but there -are frequent departures from those standards, -and many times she has spelled a word two or -three different ways in the same composition. -For example, she will spell “spin” with one -n or two n’s indifferently: she will spell -“friend” correctly, and a little later will add -an e to it; she will write “boughs” and -“bows” in the same composition. On the -other hand she invariably spells tongue -“tung,” and positively refuses to change it, -and this is true also of the word bosom, which -she spells “busom.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There are indications that the poems and the -stories are in course of composition at the time -they are being produced on the ouija board. -Indeed, one can almost imagine the author dictating -to an amanuensis in the manner that was -necessary before stenography was invented, -when every word had to be spelled out in longhand. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>At times the little table will move with -such rapidity that it is very difficult to follow -its point with the eye and catch the letter indicated. -Then there will be a pause, and the -pointer will circle around the board, as if the -composer were trying to decide upon a word -or a phrase. Occasionally four or five words -of a sentence will be given, then suddenly the -planchette will dart up to the word “No,” and -begin the sentence again with different and, it -is to be presumed, more satisfactory words.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sometimes, though rarely, Patience will begin -a composition and suddenly abandon it -with an exclamation of displeasure, or else take -up a new and entirely different subject. Once -she began a prose composition thus:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I waste my substance on the weaving of -web and the storing of pebbles. When shall I -build mine house, and when fill the purse? Oh, -that my fancy weaved not but web, and desire -pricketh not but pebble!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was an impatient dash across the -board, and then she exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Bah, ’tis bally reasoning! I plucked a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>gosling for a goose, and found down enough -to pad the parson’s saddle skirts!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At another time she began:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Rain, art thou the tears wept a thousand -years agone, and soaked into the granite walls -of dumb and feelingless races? Now——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a long pause and then came this -lullaby:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh, baby, soft upon my breast press thou,</div> - <div class='line'>And let my fluttering throat spell song to thee,</div> - <div class='line'>A song that floweth so, my sleeping dear:</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, buttercups of eve,</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, willynilly,</div> - <div class='line'>My song shall flutter on,</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, willynilly.</div> - <div class='line'>I climb a web to reach a star,</div> - <div class='line'>And stub my toe against a moonbeam</div> - <div class='line'>Stretched to bar my way,</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, willynilly.</div> - <div class='line'>A love-puff vine shall shelter us,</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, baby mine;</div> - <div class='line'>And then across the sky we’ll float</div> - <div class='line'>And puff the stars away.</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, willynilly, on we’ll go,</div> - <div class='line'>Willynilly floating.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>“Thee art o’erfed on pudding,” she added -to Mrs. Curran. “This sauce is but a butter-whip.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And now, having briefly referred to the -technique of the poems, and explained the -manner in which they are transmitted we will -make a more systematic presentation of them. -For a beginning, nothing better could be offered -than the Spinning Wheel lullaby heretofore -referred to.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In it we can see the mother of, perhaps, -the Puritan days, seated at the spinning wheel -while she sings to the child which is supposed -to lie in the cradle by her side. One can view -through the open door the old-fashioned -flower garden bathed in sunlight, can hear the -song of the bird and the hum of the bee, and -through it all the sound of the wheel. But!—it -is the song of a childless woman to an -imaginary babe: Patience has declared herself -a spinster.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, wee one,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>Croon unto the tendrill tipped with sungilt,</div> - <div class='line'>Nodding thee from o’er the doorsill there.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>My wheel shall sing to thee.</div> - <div class='line'>I pull the flax as golden as thy curl,</div> - <div class='line'>And sing me of the blossoms blue,</div> - <div class='line'>Their promise, like thine eyes to me.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>’Tis such a merry tale I spinn.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, wee one, croon unto the honey bee</div> - <div class='line'>Who diggeth at the rose’s heart.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>My wheel shall sing to thee,</div> - <div class='line'>Heart-blossom mine. The sunny morn</div> - <div class='line'>Doth hum with lovelilt, dear.</div> - <div class='line'>I fain would leave my spinning</div> - <div class='line'>To the spider climbing there,</div> - <div class='line'>And bruise thee, blossom, to my breast.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>What fancies I do weave!</div> - <div class='line'>Thy dimpled hand doth flutter, dear,</div> - <div class='line'>Like a petal cast adrift</div> - <div class='line'>Upon the breeze.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>’Tis faulty spinning, dear.</div> - <div class='line'>A cradle built of thornwood,</div> - <div class='line'>A nest for thee, my bird.</div> - <div class='line'>I hear thy crooning, wee one,</div> - <div class='line'>And ah, this fluttering heart.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>How ruthlessly I spinn!</div> - <div class='line'>My wheel doth wirr an empty song, my dear,</div> - <div class='line'>For tendrill nodding yonder</div> - <div class='line'>Doth nod in vain, my sweet;</div> - <div class='line'>And honey bee would tarry not</div> - <div class='line'>For thee; and thornwood cradle swayeth</div> - <div class='line'>Only to the loving of the wind!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>My wheel still sings to thee,</div> - <div class='line'>Thou birdling of my fancy’s realm!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>An empty dream, my dear!</div> - <div class='line'>The sun doth shine, my bird;</div> - <div class='line'>Or should he fail, he shineth here</div> - <div class='line'>Within my heart for thee!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Strumm, strumm!</div> - <div class='line in4'>My wheel still sings to thee.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>Who would say that rhyme or measured -lines would add anything to this unique -song? It is filled with the images which are the -essentials of true poetry, and it has the rhythm -which sets the imagery to music and gives it -vitality. “The tendrill tipped with sungilt,” -“the sunny morn doth hum with lovelilt,” -“thy dimpled hand doth flutter like a petal -cast adrift upon the breeze”—these are figures -that a Shelley would not wish to disown. There -is a lightness and delicacy, too, that would -seem to be contrary to our notions of the -adaptiveness of blank verse. But these are -technical features. It is the pathos of the -song, the expression of the mother-yearning -instinctive in every woman, which gives it -value to the heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And yet there is a pleasure expressed in -this song, the pleasure of imagination, which -makes the mind’s pictures living realities. In -the poem which follows Patience expresses the -feelings of the dreamer who is rudely -awakened from this delightful pastime by the -realist who sees but what his eyes behold:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>Athin the even’s hour,</div> - <div class='line'>When shadow purpleth the garden wall,</div> - <div class='line'>Then sit thee there adream,</div> - <div class='line'>And cunger thee from out the pack o’ me.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, speak thou, and tell to me</div> - <div class='line'>What ’tis thou hearest here.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>A rustling? Yea, aright!</div> - <div class='line'>A murmuring? Yea, aright!</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, then, thou sayest, ’tis the leaves</div> - <div class='line'>That love one ’pon the other.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and the murmuring, thou sayest,</div> - <div class='line'>Is but the streamlet’s hum.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Nay, nay! For wait thee.</div> - <div class='line'>Ayonder o’er the wall doth rise</div> - <div class='line'>The white faced Sister o’ the Sky.</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, she beareth thee a fairies’ wand,</div> - <div class='line'>And showeth thee the ghosts o’ dreams.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Look thou! Ah, look! A one</div> - <div class='line'>Doth step adown the path! The rustle?</div> - <div class='line'>‘Tis the silken whisper o’ her robe.</div> - <div class='line'>The hum? The love-note o’ her maiden dream.</div> - <div class='line'>See thee, ah, see! She bendeth there,</div> - <div class='line'>And branch o’ bloom doth nod and dance.</div> - <div class='line'>Hark, the note! A robin’s cheer?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>Ah, Brother, nay.</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis the whistle o’ her lover’s pipe.</div> - <div class='line'>See, see, the path e’en now</div> - <div class='line'>Doth show him, tall and dark, aside the gate.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>What! What! Thou sayest</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis but the rustle o’ the leaves,</div> - <div class='line'>And brooklet’s humming o’er its stony path!</div> - <div class='line'>Then hush! Yea, hush thee!</div> - <div class='line'>Hush and leave me here!</div> - <div class='line'>The fairy wand hath broke, and leaves</div> - <div class='line'>Stand still, and note hath ceased,</div> - <div class='line'>And maiden vanished with thy word.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thou, thou hast broke the spell,</div> - <div class='line'>And dream hath heard thy word and fled.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, sunk, sunk upon the path,</div> - <div class='line'>They o’ my dreams—slain, slain,</div> - <div class='line'>And dead with but thy word.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, leave me here and go,</div> - <div class='line'>For Earth doth hold not</div> - <div class='line'>E’en my dreaming’s wraith.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>In previous chapters I have spoken of the -wit and humor of Patience Worth. In only -one instance has she put humor into verse, and -that I have already quoted; but at times her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>poetry has an airy playfulness of form that -gives the effect of humor, even though the -theme and the intent may be serious. Here is -an example:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind,</div> - <div class='line'>And whiffing on its way, doth blow a merry tale.</div> - <div class='line'>Where, in the fields all furrowed and rough with corn,</div> - <div class='line'>Late harvested, close-nestled to a fibrous root,</div> - <div class='line'>And warmed by the sun that hid from night there-neath,</div> - <div class='line'>A wee, small, furry nest of root mice lay.</div> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind.</div> - <div class='line'>I found this morrow, on a slender stem,</div> - <div class='line'>A glory of the morn, who sheltered in her wine-red throat</div> - <div class='line'>A tiny spinning worm that wove the livelong day,—</div> - <div class='line'>Long after the glory had put her flag to mast—</div> - <div class='line'>And spun the thread I followed to the dell,</div> - <div class='line'>Where, in a gnarled old oak, I found a grub,</div> - <div class='line'>Who waited for the spinner’s strand</div> - <div class='line'>To draw him to the light.</div> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind!</div> - <div class='line'>I blew a beggar’s rags, and loving</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>Was the flapping of the cloth. And singing on</div> - <div class='line'>I went to blow a king’s mantle ’bout his limbs,</div> - <div class='line'>And cut me on the crusted gilt.</div> - <div class='line'>And tainted did I stain the rose until she turned</div> - <div class='line'>A snuffy brown and rested her poor head</div> - <div class='line'>Upon the rail along the path.</div> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind.</div> - <div class='line'>I blow me ’long the coast,</div> - <div class='line'>And steal from out the waves their roar;</div> - <div class='line'>And yet from out the riffles do I steal</div> - <div class='line'>The rustle of the leaves, who borrow of the riffle’s song</div> - <div class='line'>From me at summer-tide. And then</div> - <div class='line'>I pipe unto the sands, who dance and creep</div> - <div class='line'>Before me in the path. I blow the dead</div> - <div class='line'>And lifeless earth to dancing, tingling life,</div> - <div class='line'>And slap thee to awake at morn.</div> - <div class='line in4'>Whiff, sayeth the wind.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>There is a vivacity in this odd conceit that in -itself brings a smile, which is likely to broaden -at the irony in the suggestion of the wind cutting -itself on the crusted gilt of a king’s mantle. -Equally spirited in movement, but vastly different -in character, is the one which follows:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'><span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>Hi-ho, alack-a-day, whither going?</div> - <div class='line'>Art dawdling time away adown the primrose path</div> - <div class='line'>And wishing golden dust to fancied value?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, catch the milch-dewed air, breathe deep</div> - <div class='line'>The clover-scented breath across the field,</div> - <div class='line'>And feed upon sweet-rooted grasses</div> - <div class='line'>Thou hast idly plucked.</div> - <div class='line'>Come, Brother, then let’s on together.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Hi-ho, alack-a-day, whither going?</div> - <div class='line'>Is here thy path adown the hard-flagged pave,</div> - <div class='line'>Where, bowed, the workers blindly shuffle on;</div> - <div class='line'>And dumbly stand in gullies bound,</div> - <div class='line'>The worn, bedogged, silent-suffering beast,</div> - <div class='line'>Far driven past his due?</div> - <div class='line'>And thou, beloved, hast thy burden worn thee weary?</div> - <div class='line'>Come, Brother, then let’s on together.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Hi-ho, alack-a-day, whither going?</div> - <div class='line'>Hast thou begun the tottering of age,</div> - <div class='line'>And doth the day seem over-long to thee?</div> - <div class='line'>Art fretting for release, and dost thou lack</div> - <div class='line'>The power to weave anew life’s tangled skein?</div> - <div class='line'>Come, Brother, then let’s on together.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The second line of this will at once recall -Shakespeare’s “primrose path of dalliance,” -and it is one of the rare instances in which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>Patience may be said to have borrowed a metaphor; -but in the line which follows, “and wishing -golden dust to fancied value,” she puts the -figure to better use than he in whom it originated. -Beyond this line there is nothing specially -remarkable in this poem, and it is given -mainly to show the versatility of the composer, -and as another example of her ability to -present vivid and striking pictures.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>Reference has been made to the love of -nature and the knowledge of nature betrayed -in these poems. Even in those of the most -spiritual character nature is drawn upon for -illustrations and symbols, and the lines are -lavishly strewn with material metaphor and -similes that open up the gates of understanding. -This picture of winter, for example, -brings out the landscape it describes with the -vividness and reality of a stereoscope, and yet -it is something more than a picture:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Snow tweaketh ’neath thy feet,</div> - <div class='line'>And like a wandering painter stalketh Frost,</div> - <div class='line'>Daubing leaf and lichen. Where flowed a cataract</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>And mist-fogged stream, lies silvered sheen,</div> - <div class='line'>Stark, dead and motionless. I hearken</div> - <div class='line'>But to hear the she-e-e-e of warning wind,</div> - <div class='line'>Fearful lest I waken Nature’s sleeping.</div> - <div class='line'>Await ye! Like a falcon loosed</div> - <div class='line'>Cometh the awakening. Then returneth Spring</div> - <div class='line'>To nestle in the curving breast of yonder hill,</div> - <div class='line'>And sets to rest like the falcon seeketh</div> - <div class='line'>His lady’s outstretched arm.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>And here is another picture of winter, -painted with a larger brush and heavier pigment, -but expressing the same thought, that -life doth ever follow death:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Dead, all dead!</div> - <div class='line'>The earth, the fields, lie stretched in sleep</div> - <div class='line'>Like weary toilers overdone.</div> - <div class='line'>The valleys gape like toothless age,</div> - <div class='line'>Besnaggled by dead trees.</div> - <div class='line'>The hills, like boney jaws whose flesh hath dropped,</div> - <div class='line'>Stand grinning at the deathy day.</div> - <div class='line'>The lily, too, hath cast her shroud</div> - <div class='line'>And clothed her as a brown-robed nun.</div> - <div class='line'>The moon doth, at the even’s creep,</div> - <div class='line'>Reach forth her whitened hands and sooth</div> - <div class='line'>The wrinkled brow of earth to sleep.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>Ah, whither flown the fleecy summer clouds,</div> - <div class='line'>To bank, and fall to earth in billowed light,</div> - <div class='line'>And paint the winter’s brown to spangled white?</div> - <div class='line'>Where, too, have flown the happy songs,</div> - <div class='line'>Long died away with sighing</div> - <div class='line'>On the shore-wave’s crest?</div> - <div class='line'>Will they take Echo as their Guide,</div> - <div class='line'>And bound from hill to hill at this,</div> - <div class='line'>The sleepy time of earth,</div> - <div class='line'>And waken forest song ’mid naked waste?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, slumber, slumber, slumber on.</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis with a loving hand He scattereth the snow,</div> - <div class='line'>To nestle young spring’s offering,</div> - <div class='line'>That dying Earth shall live anew.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>How different this from Thomson’s pessimistic,</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Dread winter spreads his latest glooms</div> - <div class='line'>And reigns tremendous o’er the conquered year.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This poem seemed to present unusual difficulties -to Patience. The words came slowly -and haltingly, and the indications of composition -were more marked than in any other of -her poems. The third line was first dictated -“Like weary workmen overdone,” and then -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>changed to “weary toilers,” and the eighteenth -line was given: “On the shore-wavelet’s -breast,” and afterwards altered to read “the -shorewave’s crest.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Possibly it was because the poet has not the -same zest in painting pictures of winter that -she has in depicting scenes of kindlier seasons, -in which she is in accord with nearly all poets, -and, for that matter, with nearly all people. -Her pen, if one may use the word, is speediest -and surest when she presents the beautiful, -whether it be the material or the spiritual. She -expresses this feeling herself with beauty of -phrase and rhythm in this verse, which may be -entitled “The Voice of Spring.”</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The streamlet under fernbanked brink</div> - <div class='line'>Doth laugh to feel the tickle of the waving mass;</div> - <div class='line'>And silver-rippled echo soundeth</div> - <div class='line'>Under over-hanging cliff.</div> - <div class='line'>The robin heareth it at morn</div> - <div class='line'>And steals its chatter for his song.</div> - <div class='line'>And oft at quiet-sleeping</div> - <div class='line'>Of the Spring’s bright day,</div> - <div class='line'>I wander me to dream along the brooklet’s bank,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>And hark me to a song of her dead voice,</div> - <div class='line'>That lieth where the snowflakes vanish</div> - <div class='line'>On the molten silver of the brooklet’s breast;</div> - <div class='line'>And watch the stream,</div> - <div class='line'>Who, over-fearful lest she lose the right</div> - <div class='line'>To ripple to the chord of Spring’s full harmony,</div> - <div class='line'>Doth harden at her heart</div> - <div class='line'>And catch the song a prisoner to herself;</div> - <div class='line'>To loosen only at the wooing kiss</div> - <div class='line'>Of youthful Winter’s sun,</div> - <div class='line'>And fill the barren waste with phantom spring.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Or, passing on to autumn, consider this -apostrophe to a fallen leaf:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, paled and faded leaf of spring agone,</div> - <div class='line'>Whither goest thou? Art speeding</div> - <div class='line'>To another land upon the brooklet’s breast?</div> - <div class='line'>Or art thou sailing to the sea, to lodge</div> - <div class='line'>Amid a reef, and, kissed by wind and wave,</div> - <div class='line'>Die of too much love?</div> - <div class='line'>Thou’lt find a resting place amid the moss,</div> - <div class='line'>And, ah, who knows! The royal gem</div> - <div class='line'>May be thine own love’s offering.</div> - <div class='line'>Or wilt thou flutter as a time-yellowed page,</div> - <div class='line'>And mould among thy sisters, ere the sun</div> - <div class='line'>May peep within the pack?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>Or will the robin nest with thee</div> - <div class='line'>At Spring’s awakening? The romping brook</div> - <div class='line'>Will never chide thee, but ever coax thee on.</div> - <div class='line'>And shouldst thou be impaled</div> - <div class='line'>Upon a thorny branch, what then?</div> - <div class='line'>Try not a flight. Thy sisters call thee.</div> - <div class='line'>Could crocus spring from frost,</div> - <div class='line'>And wilt thou let the violet shrink and die?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, speed not, for God hath not</div> - <div class='line'>A mast for thee provided.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Autumn, too, is the theme of this:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>She-e-e! She-e-e! She-e-e-e!</div> - <div class='line'>The soughing wind doth breathe.</div> - <div class='line'>The white-crest cloud hath drabbed</div> - <div class='line'>At season’s late. The trees drip leaf-waste</div> - <div class='line'>Unto the o’erloved blades aneath,</div> - <div class='line'>Who burned o’ love, to die.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>’Tis the parting o’ the season.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and earth doth weep. The mellow moon</div> - <div class='line'>Stands high o’er golded grain. The cot-smoke</div> - <div class='line'>Curleth like to a loving arm</div> - <div class='line'>That reacheth up unto the sky.</div> - <div class='line'>The grain ears ope, to grin unto the day.</div> - <div class='line'>The stream hath laden with a pack o’ leaves</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>To bear unto the dell, where bloom</div> - <div class='line'>Doth hide in waiting for her pack.</div> - <div class='line'>The stars do glitter cold, and dance to warm them</div> - <div class='line'>There upon the sky’s blue carpet o’er the earth.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>’Tis season’s parting.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and earth doth weep. The Winter cometh,</div> - <div class='line'>And he bears her jewels for the decking</div> - <div class='line'>Of his bride. A glittered crown</div> - <div class='line'>Shall fall ’pon earth, and sparkled drop</div> - <div class='line'>Shall stand like gem that flasheth</div> - <div class='line'>’Pon a nobled brow. Yea, the tears</div> - <div class='line'>Of earth shall freeze and drop</div> - <div class='line'>As pearls, the necklace o’ the earth.</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis season’s parting. Yea,</div> - <div class='line'>And earth doth weep.</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis Fall.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>She does not confine herself to the Seasons -in her tributes to the divisions of time. There -are many poems which have the day for their -subject, all expressive of delight in every -aspect of the changing hours. There is a pæan -to the day in this:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Morn awoke from off her couch of fleece,</div> - <div class='line'>And cast her youth-dampt breath to sweet the Earth.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>The birds sent carol up to climb the vasts.</div> - <div class='line'>The sleep-stopped Earth awaked in murmuring.</div> - <div class='line'>The dark-winged Night flew past the Day</div> - <div class='line'>Who trod his gleaming upward way.</div> - <div class='line'>The fields folk musicked at the sun’s warm ray.</div> - <div class='line'>Web-strewn, the sod, hung o’er o’ rainbow gleam.</div> - <div class='line'>The brook, untiring, ever singeth on.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The Day hath broke, and busy Earth</div> - <div class='line'>Hath set upon the path o’ hours.</div> - <div class='line'>Mute Night hath spread her darksome wing</div> - <div class='line'>And loosed the brood of dreams,</div> - <div class='line'>And Day hath set the downy mites to flight.</div> - <div class='line'>Fling forth thy dreaming hours! Awake from dark!</div> - <div class='line'>And hark! And hark! The Earth doth ring in song!</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis Day! ’Tis Day! ’Tis Day!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The close observer will notice in all of these -poems that there is nothing hackneyed. The -themes, the thoughts, the images, the phrasing, -are almost if not altogether unique. The verse -which follows is, I am inclined to believe, absolutely -so:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Go to the builder of all dreams</div> - <div class='line'>And beg thy timbers to cast thee one.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>Ah, Builder, let me wander in this land</div> - <div class='line'>Of softened shapes to choose. My hand doth reach</div> - <div class='line'>To catch the mantle cast by lilies whom the sun</div> - <div class='line'>Hath loved too well. And at this morrow</div> - <div class='line'>Saw I not a purple wing of night</div> - <div class='line'>To fold itself and bask in morning light?</div> - <div class='line'>I watched her steal straight to the sun’s</div> - <div class='line'>Bedazzled heart. I claim her purpled gold.</div> - <div class='line'>And watched I not, at twi-hours creep,</div> - <div class='line'>A heron’s blue wing skim across the pond,</div> - <div class='line'>Where gulf clouds fleeted in a fleecy herd,</div> - <div class='line'>Reflected fair? I claim the blue and let</div> - <div class='line'>My heart to gambol with the sky-herd there.</div> - <div class='line'>At midday did I not then find</div> - <div class='line'>A rod of gold, and sun’s flowers,</div> - <div class='line'>Bounded in by wheat’s betasseled stalks?</div> - <div class='line'>I claim the gold as mine, to cast my dream.</div> - <div class='line'>And then at stormtide did I catch the sun,</div> - <div class='line'>Becrimsoned in his anger; and from his height</div> - <div class='line'>Did he not bathe the treetops in his gore?</div> - <div class='line'>The red is mine. I weave my dream and find</div> - <div class='line'>The rainbow, and the rainbow’s end—a nothingness.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Almost equally weird is this “Birth of a -Song”:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I builded me a harp,</div> - <div class='line'>And set asearch for strings.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>Ah, and Folly set me ’pon a track</div> - <div class='line'>That set the music at a wail;</div> - <div class='line'>For I did string the harp</div> - <div class='line'>With silvered moon-threads;</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and dead the notes did sound.</div> - <div class='line'>And I did string it then</div> - <div class='line'>With golden sun’s-threads,</div> - <div class='line'>And Passion killed the song.</div> - <div class='line in2'>Then did I to string it o’er—</div> - <div class='line'>And ’twer a jeweled string—</div> - <div class='line'>A chain o’ stars, and lo,</div> - <div class='line'>They laughed, and sorry wert the song.</div> - <div class='line'>And I did strip the harp and cast</div> - <div class='line'>The stars to merry o’er the Night;</div> - <div class='line'>And string anew, and set athrob a string</div> - <div class='line'>Abuilded of a lover’s note, and lo,</div> - <div class='line'>The song did sick and die,</div> - <div class='line'>And crumbled to a sweeted dust,</div> - <div class='line'>And blew unto the day.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Anew did I to string,</div> - <div class='line'>Astring with wail o’ babe,</div> - <div class='line'>And Earth loved not the song.</div> - <div class='line'>I felled asorrowed at the task,</div> - <div class='line'>And still the Harp wert mute.</div> - <div class='line'>So did I to pluck out my heart,</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, it throbbed and sung,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>And at the hurt o’ loosing o’ the heart</div> - <div class='line'>A song wert born.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>That, however, is but a pretty play of fancy -upon things within our ken, however shadowy -and evanescent she may make them by her -touch. But in the poem which follows she -touches on the border of a land we know not:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I’d greet thee, loves of yester’s day.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d call thee out from There.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d sup the joys of yonder realm.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d list unto the songs of them</div> - <div class='line'>Who days of me know not.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d call unto this hour</div> - <div class='line'>The lost of joys and woes.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d seek me out the sorries</div> - <div class='line'>That traced the seaming of thy cheek,</div> - <div class='line'>O thou of yester’s day!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I’d read the hearts astopped,</div> - <div class='line'>That Earth might know the price</div> - <div class='line'>They paid as toll.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d love their loves, I’d hate their hates,</div> - <div class='line'>I’d sup the cups of them;</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, I’d bathe me in the sweetness</div> - <div class='line'>Shed by youth of yester’s day.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>Yea, of these I’d weave the Earth a cloak—</div> - <div class='line'>But ah, He wove afirst!</div> - <div class='line'>They cling like petal mold, and sweet the Earth.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, the Earth lies wrapped</div> - <div class='line'>Within the holy of its ghost.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>“’Tis but a drip o’ loving,” she said when -she had finished this.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nearly every English poet has a tribute to -the Skylark, but I doubt if there are many -more exquisite than this:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I tuned my song to love and hate and pain</div> - <div class='line'>And scorn, and wrung from passion’s heat the flame,</div> - <div class='line'>And found the song a wailing waste of voice.</div> - <div class='line'>My song but reached the earth and echoed o’er its plains.</div> - <div class='line'>I sought for one who sang a wordless lay,</div> - <div class='line'>And up from ’mong the rushes soared a lark.</div> - <div class='line'>Hark to his song!</div> - <div class='line'>From sunlight came his gladdening note.</div> - <div class='line'>And ah, his trill—the raindrops’ patter!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And think ye that the thief would steal</div> - <div class='line'>The rustle of the leaves, or yet</div> - <div class='line'>The chilling chatter of the brooklet’s song?</div> - <div class='line'>Not claiming as his own the carol of my heart,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>Or listening to my plaint, he sings amid the clouds;</div> - <div class='line'>And through the downward cadence I but hear</div> - <div class='line'>The murmurings of the day.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>One naturally thinks of Shelley’s “Skylark” -when reading this, and there are some -passages in that celebrated poem that show a -similarity of metaphor, such as this:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Sounds of vernal showers</div> - <div class='line'>On the twinkling grass;</div> - <div class='line'>Rain-awakened flowers;</div> - <div class='line'>All that ever was</div> - <div class='line'>Joyous and clear and fresh</div> - <div class='line'>Thy music doth surpass.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>And there is something of the same thought -in the lines of Edmund Burke:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O lark! with thee to greatly rise,</div> - <div class='line'>T’ exalt my soul and lift it to the skies;</div> - <div class='line'>To make each worldly joy as mean appear,</div> - <div class='line'>Unworthy care when heavenly joys are near.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>But Patience nowhere belittles earthly joys -that are not evil in themselves; nor does she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>teach that all earthly passions are inherently -wrong: for earthly love is the theme of many -of her verses.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her expressions of scorn are sometimes -powerful in their vehemence. This, on “War,” -for example:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>Ah, thinkest thou to trick?</div> - <div class='line'>I fain would peep beneath the visor.</div> - <div class='line'>A god of war, indeed! Thou liest!</div> - <div class='line'>A masquerading fiend,</div> - <div class='line'>The harlot of the universe—</div> - <div class='line'>War, whose lips, becrimsoned in her lover’s blood,</div> - <div class='line'>Smile only to his death-damped eyes!</div> - <div class='line'>I challenge thee to throw thy coat of mail!</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, God! Look thou beneath!</div> - <div class='line'>Behold, those arms outstretched!</div> - <div class='line'>That raiment over-spangled with a leaden rain!</div> - <div class='line'>O, Lover, trust her not!</div> - <div class='line'>She biddeth thee in siren song,</div> - <div class='line'>And clotheth in a silken rag her treachery,</div> - <div class='line'>To mock thee and to wreak</div> - <div class='line'>Her vengeance at thy hearth.</div> - <div class='line'>Cast up the visor’s skirt!</div> - <div class='line'>Thou’lt see the snakey strands.</div> - <div class='line'>A god of war, indeed! I brand ye as a lie!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>Such outbreaks as this are rare in her -poetry, but in her conversation she occasionally -gives expression to anger or scorn or contempt, -though, as stated, she seldom dignifies -such emotions in verse. Love, as I have said, -is her favorite theme in numbers, the love of -God first and far foremost, and after that -brother love and mother love. To the love of -man for woman, or woman for man, there is -seldom a reference in her poems, although it -is the theme of some of her dramatic works. -There is an exquisite expression of mother -love in the spinning wheel lullaby already -given, but for rapturous glorification of infancy, -it would be difficult to surpass this, -which does not reveal its purport until the last -line:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, greet the day, which, like a golden butterfly,</div> - <div class='line'>Hovereth ’twixt the night and morn;</div> - <div class='line'>And welcome her fullness—the hours</div> - <div class='line'>’Mid shadow and those the rose shall grace.</div> - <div class='line'>Hast thou among her hours thy heart’s</div> - <div class='line'>Desire and dearest? Name thou then of all</div> - <div class='line'>His beauteous gifts thy greatest treasure.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>The morning, cool and damp, dark-shadowed</div> - <div class='line'>By the frowning sun—is this thy chosen?</div> - <div class='line'>The midday, flaming as a sword,</div> - <div class='line'>Deep-stained by noon’s becrimsoned light—</div> - <div class='line'>Is this thy chosen? Or misty startide,</div> - <div class='line'>Woven like a spinner’s web and jeweled</div> - <div class='line'>By the climbing moon—is this thy chosen?</div> - <div class='line'>Doth forest shade, or shimmering stream,</div> - <div class='line'>Or wild bird song, or cooing of the nesting dove,</div> - <div class='line'>Bespeak thy chosen? He who sendeth light</div> - <div class='line'>Sendeth all to thee, pledges of a bonded love.</div> - <div class='line'>And ye who know Him not, look ye!</div> - <div class='line'>From all His gifts He pilfered that which made it His</div> - <div class='line'>To add His fullest offering of love.</div> - <div class='line'>From out the morning, at the earliest tide,</div> - <div class='line'>He plucked two lingering stars, who tarried</div> - <div class='line'>Lest the dark should sorrow. And when the day was born,</div> - <div class='line'>The glow of sun-flush, veiled by gossamer cloud</div> - <div class='line'>And tinted soft by lingering night;</div> - <div class='line'>And rose petals, scattered by a loving breeze;</div> - <div class='line'>The lily’s satin cheek, and dove cooes,</div> - <div class='line'>And wild bird song, and Death himself</div> - <div class='line'>Is called to offer of himself;</div> - <div class='line'>And soft as willow buds may be,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>He claimeth but the down to fashion this, thy gift,</div> - <div class='line'>The essence of His love, thine own first-born.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>In brief, the babe concentrates within itself -all the beauties and all the wonders of nature. -Its eyes, “two lingering stars who tarried lest -the dark should sorrow,” and in its face “the -glow of sun flush veiled by gossamer cloud,” -“rose petals” and the “lily’s satin cheek”; -its voice the dove’s coo. “From all His gifts -He pilfered that which made it His”—the -divine essence—“to add His fullest offering -of love.” This is the idealism of true poetry, -and what mother looking at her own firstborn -will say that it is overdrawn?</p> - -<p class='c007'>So much for mother-love. Of her lines on -brotherhood I have already given example. -In only a few verses, as I have said, does Patience -speak of love between man and woman. -The poem which follows is perhaps the most -eloquent of these:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>’Tis mine, this gift, ah, mine alone,</div> - <div class='line'>To paint the leaden sky to lilac-rose,</div> - <div class='line'>Or coax the sullen sun to flash,</div> - <div class='line'>Or carve from granite gray a flaming knight,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>Or weave the twilight hours with garlands gay,</div> - <div class='line'>Or wake the morning with my soul’s glad song,</div> - <div class='line'>Or at my bitterest drink a sweetness cast,</div> - <div class='line'>Or gather from my loneliness the flower—</div> - <div class='line'>A dream amid a mist of tears.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, treasure mine, this do I pledge to thee,</div> - <div class='line'>That none may peer within thy land; and only</div> - <div class='line'>When the moon shines white shall I disclose thee;</div> - <div class='line'>Lest, straying, thou should’st fade; and in the blackness</div> - <div class='line'>Of the midnight shall I fondle thee,</div> - <div class='line'>Afraid to show thee to the day.</div> - <div class='line'>When I shall give to Him, the giver,</div> - <div class='line'>All my treasure’s stores, and darkness creeps upon me,</div> - <div class='line'>Then will I for this return a thank,</div> - <div class='line'>And show thee to the world.</div> - <div class='line'>Blind are they to thee, but ah, the darkness</div> - <div class='line'>Is illumined; and lo! thy name is burned</div> - <div class='line'>Like flaming torch to light me on my way.</div> - <div class='line'>Then from thy wrapping of love I pluck</div> - <div class='line'>My dearest gift, the memory of my dearest love.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, memory, thou painter,</div> - <div class='line'>Who from cloud canst fashion her dear form,</div> - <div class='line'>Or from a stone canst turn her smile,</div> - <div class='line'>Or fill my loneliness with her dear voice,</div> - <div class='line'>Or weave a loving garland for her hair—</div> - <div class='line'>Thou art my gift of God, to be my comrade here.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>Next to such love as this comes friendship, -and she has put an estimate of the value of a -friend in these words:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Of Earth there be this store of joys and woes.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and they do make the days o’ me.</div> - <div class='line'>I sit me here adream that did I hold</div> - <div class='line'>From out the whole, but one, my dearest gift,</div> - <div class='line'>What then would it to be? Doth days and nights</div> - <div class='line'>Of bright and dark make this my store?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay. Do happy hours and woes-tide, then,</div> - <div class='line'>Beset this day of me and make the thing I’d keep?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay. Doth metal store and jewelled string</div> - <div class='line'>Then be aworth to me? Nay. I set me here,</div> - <div class='line'>And dreaming, fall to reasoning for this,</div> - <div class='line'>That I would keep, if but one gift wert mine</div> - <div class='line'>Must hold the store o’ all. Yea, must hold</div> - <div class='line'>The dark for light, yea, and hold the light for dark,</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and hold the sweet for sours, aye, and hold</div> - <div class='line'>The love for Hate. Yea, then, where may I to turn?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And lo, as I adreaming sat</div> - <div class='line'>A voice spaked out to me: What ho! What ho!</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, the voice of one, a friend!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>This, then, shall be my treasure,</div> - <div class='line'>And the Earth part I shall hold</div> - <div class='line'>From out all gifts of Him.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>Love of God, and God’s love for us, and the -certainty of life after death as a consequence -of that love, are the themes of Patience’s finest -poetry, consideration of which is reserved for -succeeding chapters. Yet a taste of this devotional -poetry will not be amiss at this point -in the presentation of her works, as an indication -of the character of that which is to come.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Lo, ’pon a day there bloomed a bud,</div> - <div class='line'>And swayed it at adance ’pon sweeted airs.</div> - <div class='line'>And gardens oped their greenéd breast</div> - <div class='line'>To shew to Earth o’ such an one.</div> - <div class='line'>And soft the morn did woo its bloom;</div> - <div class='line'>And nights wept ’pon its cheek,</div> - <div class='line'>And mosses crept them ’bout the stem,</div> - <div class='line'>That sun not scoarch where it had sprung.</div> - <div class='line in2'>And lo, the garden sprite, a maid,</div> - <div class='line'>Who came aseek at every day,</div> - <div class='line'>And kissed the bud, and cast o’ drops</div> - <div class='line'>To cool the warm sun’s rays.</div> - <div class='line'>And bud did hang it swaying there,</div> - <div class='line'>And love lept from the maiden’s breast.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And days wore on; and nights did wrap</div> - <div class='line'>The bud to wait the morn;</div> - <div class='line'>And maid aseeked the spot.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>When, lo, there came a Stranger</div> - <div class='line'>To the garden’s wall,</div> - <div class='line'>Who knocked Him there</div> - <div class='line'>And bid the maiden come.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And up unto her heart she pressed her hand,</div> - <div class='line'>And reached it forth to stay the bud’s soft sway,</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, the sun hung dark,</div> - <div class='line'>And Stranger knocked Him there.</div> - <div class='line'>And ’twere the maid did step most regal to the place.</div> - <div class='line'>And harked, and lo, His voice aspoke.</div> - <div class='line'>And she looked upon His face,</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, ’twere sorry sore, and sad!</div> - <div class='line'>And soft there came His word</div> - <div class='line'>Of pleading unto her:</div> - <div class='line'>“O’ thy garden’s store do offer unto me.”</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, the maid did turn and seek her out the bud,</div> - <div class='line'>And pluck it that she bear it unto Him.</div> - <div class='line'>And at the garden’s ope He stood and waited her.</div> - <div class='line'>And forth her hand she held, therein the bud,</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, He took therefrom the bloom</div> - <div class='line'>And left the garden bare,</div> - <div class='line'>And maid did stand astripped</div> - <div class='line'>Of heart’s sun ’mid her garden’s bloom.</div> - <div class='line'>When lo, athin the wound there sunk</div> - <div class='line'>A warmpth that filled it up with love.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, ’twere the smile o’ Him, the price.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>But she has given another form of poem -which should be presented before this brief review -of her more material verse is concluded, -and it is a form one would hardly expect from -such a source. I refer to the “poem of occasion.” -A few days before Christmas, Mrs. -Curran remarked as she sat at the board: “I -wonder if Patience wouldn’t give us a Christmas -poem.” And without a moment’s hesitation -she did. Here it is:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I hied me to the glen and dell,</div> - <div class='line'>And o’er the heights, afar and near,</div> - <div class='line'>To find the Yule sprite’s haunt.</div> - <div class='line'>I dreamt me it did bide</div> - <div class='line'>Where mistletoe doth bead;</div> - <div class='line'>And found an oak whose boughs</div> - <div class='line'>Hung clustered with its borrowed loveliness.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, could such a one as she</div> - <div class='line'>Abide her in this chill?</div> - <div class='line'>For bleakness wraps the oak about</div> - <div class='line'>And crackles o’er her dancing branch.</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, her very warmth</div> - <div class='line'>Would surely thaw away the icy shroud,</div> - <div class='line'>And mistletoe would die</div> - <div class='line'>Adreaming it was spring.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>I hied me to the holly tree</div> - <div class='line'>And made me sure to find her there.</div> - <div class='line'>But nay,</div> - <div class='line'>The thorny spines would prick her tenderness.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, where then doth she bide?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I asked the frost who stood</div> - <div class='line'>Upon the fringéd grasses ’neath the oak.</div> - <div class='line'>“I know her not, but I</div> - <div class='line'>Am ever bidden to her feast.</div> - <div class='line'>Ask thou the sparrow of the field.</div> - <div class='line'>He searcheth everywhere; perchance</div> - <div class='line'>He knoweth where she bides.”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Nay, I know her not,</div> - <div class='line'>But at her birthday’s tide</div> - <div class='line'>I find full many a crumb</div> - <div class='line'>Cast wide upon the snow.”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I found a chubby babe,</div> - <div class='line'>Who toddled o’er the ice, and whispered,</div> - <div class='line'>Did she know the Yule sprite’s haunt?</div> - <div class='line'>And she but turneth solemn eyes to me</div> - <div class='line'>And wags her golden head.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I flitted me from house to shack,</div> - <div class='line'>And ever missed the rogue;</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>But surely she had left her sign</div> - <div class='line'>To bid me on to search.</div> - <div class='line'>And I did weary of my task</div> - <div class='line'>And put my hopes to rest,</div> - <div class='line'>And slept me on the eve afore her birth,</div> - <div class='line'>Full sure to search anew at morn.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And then the morning broke;</div> - <div class='line'>And e’er mine eyes did ope,</div> - <div class='line'>I fancied me a scarlet sprite,</div> - <div class='line'>With wings of green and scepter of a mistletoe,</div> - <div class='line'>Did bid me wake, and whispered me</div> - <div class='line'>To look me to my heart.</div> - <div class='line'>Soft-nestled, warm, I found her resting there.</div> - <div class='line'>Guard me lest I tell;</div> - <div class='line'>But, heart o’erfull of loving,</div> - <div class='line'>Thee’lt surely spill good cheer!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The following week, without request, she -gave this New Year’s poem, remarkable for -the novelty of its treatment of a much worn -theme:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The year hath sickened;</div> - <div class='line'>And dawning day doth show his withering;</div> - <div class='line'>And Death hath crept him closer on each hour.</div> - <div class='line'>The crying hemlock shaketh in its grief.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>The smiling spring hath hollowed it to age,</div> - <div class='line'>And golden grain-stalks fallen</div> - <div class='line'>O’er the naked breast of earth.</div> - <div class='line'>The year’s own golden locks</div> - <div class='line'>Have fallen, too, or whitened,</div> - <div class='line'>Where they still do hold.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And do I sorrow me?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, I do speed him on,</div> - <div class='line'>For precious pack he beareth</div> - <div class='line'>To the land of passing dreams.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I’ve bundled pain and wishing</div> - <div class='line'>’Round with deeds undone,</div> - <div class='line'>And packed the loving o’ my heart</div> - <div class='line'>With softness of thine own;</div> - <div class='line'>And plied his pack anew</div> - <div class='line'>With loss and gain, to add</div> - <div class='line'>The cup of bitter tears I shed</div> - <div class='line'>O’er nothings as I passed.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Old year and older years—</div> - <div class='line'>My friends, my comrades on the road below—</div> - <div class='line'>I fain would greet ye now,</div> - <div class='line'>And bid ye Godspeed on your ways.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I watch ye pass, and read</div> - <div class='line'>The aged visages of each.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>I love ye well, and count ye o’er</div> - <div class='line'>In fearing lest I lose e’en one of you.</div> - <div class='line'>And here the brother of you, every one,</div> - <div class='line'>Lies smitten!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>But as dear I’ll love him</div> - <div class='line'>When the winter’s moon doth sink;</div> - <div class='line'>And like the watery eye of age</div> - <div class='line'>Doth close at ending of his day.</div> - <div class='line'>And I shall flit me through his dreams</div> - <div class='line'>And cheer him with my loving;</div> - <div class='line'>And last within the pack shall put</div> - <div class='line'>A Hope and speed him thence.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And bow me to the New.</div> - <div class='line'>A friend mayhap, but still untried.</div> - <div class='line'>And true, ye say?</div> - <div class='line'>But ne’er hath proven so!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Old year, I love thee well,</div> - <div class='line'>And bid thee farewell with a sigh.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>One who reads these poems with thoughtfulness -must be impressed by a number of attributes -which make them notable, and, in some -respects, wholly unique. First of all is the -absence of conventionality, coupled with skill -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>in construction, in phrasing, in the compounding -of words, in the application to old words of -new or unusual but always logical meanings, in -the maintenance of rhythm without monotony. -Next is the absolute purity, with the sometimes -archaic quality, of the English. It is the -language of Shakespeare, of Marlowe, of -Fletcher, of Jonson and Drayton, except that -it presents Saxon words or Saxon prefixes -which had already passed out of literary use in -their time, while on the other hand it avoids -nearly all the words derived directly from -other languages that were habitually used by -those great writers. There is rarely a word -that is not of Anglo-Saxon or Norman birth. -Nor are there any long words. All of these -compositions are in words of one, two and -three syllables, very seldom one of four—no -“multitudinous seas incarnadine.” Among -the hundreds of words of Patience Worth’s in -this chapter there are only two of four syllables -and less than fifty of three syllables. Fully -95 per cent of her works are in words of one -and two syllables. In what other writing, ancient -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>or modern, the Bible excepted, can this -simplicity be found?</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the most impressive attribute of these -poems is the weirdness of them, an intangible -quality that defies definition or location, but -which envelops and permeates all of them. -One may look in vain through the works of the -poets for anything with which to compare -them. They are alike in the essential features -of all poetry, and yet they are unalike. There -is something in them that is not in other -poetry. In the profusion of their metaphor -there is an etherealness that more closely resembles -Shelley, perhaps, than any other poet; -but the beauty of Shelley’s poems is almost -wholly in their diction: there is in him no profundity -of thought. In these poems there is -both beauty and depth—and something else.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span> - <h2 class='c003'>THE PROSE</h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c019'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Word meeteth word, and at touch o’ me, doth</div> - <div class='line'>spell to thee.”—<span class='sc'>Patience Worth.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Strictly speaking, there is no prose in the -compositions of Patience Worth. That which -I have here classified as prose, lacks none of -the essential elements of poetry, except a continuity -of rhythm. The rhythm is there, the -iambic measure which she favors being fairly -constant, but it is broken by sentences and -groups of sentences that are not metrical, and -while it would not be difficult to arrange most -of this matter in verse form, I am inclined to -think that to the majority it will read smoother -and with greater ease as prose. Nevertheless, -as will be seen, it is poetry. The diction is -wholly of that order, and it is filled with strikingly -vivid and agreeable imagery. There is, -however, this distinction: most of the matter -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>here classed as prose is dramatic in form and -treatment, and each composition tells a story—a -story with a definite and well-constructed -plot, dealing with real and strongly individualized -people, and mingling humor and -pathos with much effectiveness. They bring at -once a smile to the face and a tear to the eye. -They differ, too, from the poetry, in that they -have little or no apparent spiritual significance. -They are stories, beautiful stories, unlike -anything to be found in the literature of -any country or any time, but, except in the -shadowy figure of “The Stranger,” they do -not rise above the things of earth. That is not -to say, however, that they are not spiritual in -the intellectual or emotional sense of the word, -as distinguished from the soul relation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the end of an evening a year and a half -after Patience began her work, she said: “Thy -hearth is bright. I fain would knit beside its -glow and spinn a wordy tale betimes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the next sitting she began the “wordy -tale.” Up to that time she had offered nothing -in prose form but short didactic pieces, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>such as will appear in subsequent chapters of -this book, and the circle was lost in astonishment -at the unfolding of this story, so different -in form and spirit from anything she had previously -given.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her stories are, as already stated, dramatic -in form. Indeed they are condensed dramas. -After a brief descriptive introduction or prologue, -all the rest is dialogue, and the scenes -are shifted without explanatory connection, as -in a play. In the story of “The Fool and the -Lady” which follows, the fool bids adieu to the -porter of the inn, and in the next line begins a -conversation with Lisa, whom he meets, as the -context shows, at some point on the road to the -tourney. It is the change from the first to -the second act or scene, but no stage directions -came from the board, no marks of division or -change of scene, nor names of persons speaking, -except as indicated in the context. In reproducing -these stories, no attempt has been -made to put them completely in the dramatic -form for which they were evidently designed, -the desire being to present them as nearly as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>possible as they were received; but to make -them clearer to the reader the characters are -identified, and shift of scene or time has been -indicated.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span> -<h3 class='c021'>THE FOOL AND THE LADY</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>And there it lay, asleep. A mantle, gray as -monk’s cloth, its covering. Dim-glowing -tapers shine like glowflies down the narrow -winding streets. The sounds of early morning -creep through the thickened veil of heavy -mist, like echoes of the day afore. The wind is -toying with the threading smoke, and still it -clingeth to the chimney pot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There stands, beyond the darkest shadow, -the Inn of Falcon Feather, her sides becracked -with sounding of the laughter of the king and -gentlefolk, who barter song and story for the -price of ale. Her windows sleep like heavy-lidded -eyes, and her breath doth reek with -wine, last drunk by a merry party there.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The lamp, now blacked and dead, could -boast to ye of part to many an undoing of the -unwary. The roof, o’er-hanging and bepeaked, -doth ’mind ye of a sleeper in his cap.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>The mist now rises like a curtain, and over -yonder steeple peeps the sun, his face washed -fresh in the basin of the night. His beams now -light the dark beneath the palsied stair, and rag -and straw doth heave to belch forth its baggage -for the night.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “Eh, gad! ’Tis morn, Beppo. -Come, up, ye vermin; laugh and prove thou art -the fool’s. An ape and jackass are wearers of -the cap and bells. Thou wert fashioned with -a tail to wear behind, and I to spin a tale to -leave but not to wear. For the sayings of the -fool are purchased by the wise. My crooked -back and pegs are purses—the price to buy my -gown; but better far, Beppo, to hunch and yet -to peer into the clouds, than be as strong as -knights are wont to be, and belly, like a snake, -amongst the day’s bright hours.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, eat thy crust. ’Tis funny-bread, the -earnings of a fool.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I looked at Lisa as she rode her mount at -yesternoon, and saw her skirt the road with -anxious eyes. Dost know for whom she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>sought, Beppo? Not me, who, breathless, -watched behind a flowering bush to hide my -ugliness. Now laugh, Beppo, and prove thou -art the fool’s!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But ’neath these stripes of color I did feel -new strength, and saw me strided on a black -beside her there. And, Beppo, knave, thou -didst but rattle at thy chain, and lo, the shrinking -of my dream!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But we do limp quite merrily, and could -we sing our song in truer measure—thou the -mimic, and I the fool? Thine eyes hold more -for me than all the world, since hers do see me -not.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We two together shall flatten ’neath the -tree in yonder field and ride the clouds, Beppo, -I promise ye, at after hour of noon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“See! Tonio has slid the shutter’s bolt! -I’ll spin a song and bart him for a sup.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Tonio</i>) “So, baggage, thou hast slept -aneath the smell thou lovest best!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “Oh, morrow, Tonio. The smell -is weak as yester’s unsealed wine. My tank -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>doth tickle with the dust of rust, and yet methinks -thou would’st see my slattern stays to -rattle like dry bones, to please thee. See, -Beppo cryeth! Fetch me then a cup that I -may catch the drops—or, here, I’ll milk the -dragon o’er thy door!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Tonio</i>) “Thou scrapple! Come within. -’Tis he who loveth not the fool who doth hate -his God.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “I’m loth to leave my chosen company. -Come, Beppo, his words are hard, but -we do know his heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A health to thee, Antonio. Put in thy -wine one taste of thy heart’s brew and I need -not wish ye well.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To her, Beppo. Come, dip and take a lick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tonio, hast heard that at a time not set -as yet the tournament will be? Who think -ye rides the King’s lance and weareth Lisa’s -colors? Blue, Tonio, and gold, the heavens’ -garb—stop, Beppo, thou meddling pest! -Antonio, I swear those bits of cloth are but -patches I have pilfered from the ragheap -adown the alleyway. I knew not they were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>blue. And this is but a tassel dropt from off -a lance at yester’s ride. I knew not of its -tinselled glint, I swear!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So, thou dost laugh? Ah, Beppo, see, he -laughs! And we too, eh? But do we laugh -the same? Come, jump! Thy pulpit is my -hump. Aday, Antonio!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Antonio</i>) “Aday, thou fool, and would I -had the wisdom of thy ape.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>(<i>On the Road to the Tournament.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lisa</i>) “Aday, fool!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “Ah, lady fair, hath lost the silver -of thy laugh, and dost thee wish me then to -fetch it thee?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lisa</i>) “Yea, jester. Thou speaketh wisely; -for may I ripple laughter from a sorry -heart? Now tease me, then.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “A crooked laugh would be thy -gift should I tease it with a crooked tale; and, -lady, didst thee e’er behold a crooked laugh—one -which holds within its crook a tear?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lisa</i>) “Oh, thou art in truth a fool. I’d -bend the crook and strike the tear away.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>(<i>Fool</i>) “Aye, lady, so thou wouldst. But -thou hast ne’er yet found thy lot to bear a -crook held staunch within His hand! Spring -rain would be thy tears—a balm to buy fresh -beauties. And the fool? Ah, his do dry in -dust, e’en before they fall!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lisa</i>) “Pish, jester, thy tears would paint -thy face to crooked lines, and thee wouldst -laugh to see the muck. My heart doth truly -sorry. Hast heard the King hath promised me -as wages for the joust? And thee dost know -who rideth ’gainst my chosen?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “Aye, lady, the crones do wag, and -I do promise ye they wear their necks becricked -to see his palfrey pass. They do tell -me that his sumpter-cloth doth trail like a -ladies’ robe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lisa</i>) “Yea, fool, and pledge me thy -heart to tell it not, I did broider at its hem a -thrush with mine own tress—a song to cheer -his way, a wing to speed him on.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “Hear, Beppo, how she prates! -Would I were a posey wreath and Beppo here -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>a fashioner of song. We then would lend us to -thy hand to offer as a token. But thou dost -know a fool and ape are ever but a fool and -ape. I’m off to chase thy truant laugh. Who -cometh there? The dust doth rise like storm-cloud -along the road ahead, and ’tis shot with -glinting. Oh, I see the mantling flush of -morning put to shame by the flushing of thy -cheek! See, he doth ride with helmet ope. Its -golden bars do clatter at the jolt, and—but -stop, Beppo, she heareth not! We, poor beggars, -thee and me—an ape with a tail and a -fool with a heart!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“See, Beppo, I did tear a rose to tatters but -to fling its petals ’neath her feet. They tell me -that his lance doth bear a ribband blue and a -curling lock of gold—and yet he treads the -earth! Let’s then away!</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The world may sorrow</div> - <div class='line in6'>But the fool must laugh.</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis blessed grain</div> - <div class='line in6'>That hath no chaff.</div> - <div class='line'>To love an ape</div> - <div class='line in6'>Is but to ape at love.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>I sought a hand,</div> - <div class='line in6'>And found—a glove!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>“Beppo, laugh, and prove thyself the fool’s! -I fain would feel the yoke, lest I step too high.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come, we’ll seek the shelt’ring tree. I’ve -in my kit a bit of curd. Thy conscience need -not prick. I swear that Tonio, the rogue, did -see me stow it there!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, me, ’tis such a home for fools, the -earth. And they that are not fools are apes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see the crowd bestringing ’long the road, -and yonder clarion doth bid the riders come. -Well, Beppo, do we ride? Come, chere, we -may tramp our crooked path and ride astraddle -of a cloud.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She doth love him, then; and even now the -horn doth sound anew—and she the prize!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I call the God above to see the joke that -fate hath played; for I do swear, Beppo, that -when he rides he carries on his lance-point this -heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I fret me here, but dare I see the play? -Yea, ’tis a poor fool that loveth not his jest.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>“I go, Beppo; I know not why, save I do -love her so.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll bear my hunch like a badge of His -colors and I shall laugh, Beppo, shall laugh at -losing. He loves me well, else why didst send -me thee?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The way seems over long.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They parry at the ring! I see her veil to -float like cloud upon the breeze.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She sees me not. I wonder that she heareth -not the thumping of my heart. My eyes do -mist. Beppo, look thou! Ah, God, to see -within her eyes the look of thine!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They rank! And hell would cool my brow, -I swear. Beppo, as thou lovest me, press -sorely on my hump! Her face, Beppo, it -swayeth everywhere, as a garden thick with -bloom—a lily, white and glistening with a rain -of tears. My heart hath torn asunder, that I -know.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The red knight now doth cast! O Heaven -turn his lance!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“’Tis put!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now the blue and gold! Wait, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>brother ape! Hold, in the name of God! -Straight! ’Tis tie! Can I but stand?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—ah, lady, he doth ride full well. May I -but steady thee? My legs are wobbled but—my -hand, dear lady, lest ye sink.</p> - -<p class='c007'>(”Beppo, ’tis true she seeth me!)</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thy hand is cold. I wager you he wins. -He puts a right too high. Thy thrush is singing; -hear ye not his song? His wing doth flutter -even now. Ah, he is fitting thee——</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I do but laugh to feel the tickle of a feathering -jest. An age before he puts! A miss! -A tie! Ah, lady, should’st thee win I’ll laugh -anew and even then will laugh at what thee -knowest not.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The red knight! God weight his charger’s -hoof! (My God, Beppo, she did kiss my -hand!)</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s off! Beppo, cling!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lisa</i>) “The fool! Look ye, the fool and -ape! Oh heaven stop their flight! He’s well -upon them! Blind me, lest I die! He’s -charged anew, but missed! What, did his -mantle fall? That shape that lieth! Come!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>(<i>Lisa, to her knight</i>) “So, thou, beloved, -didst win me right! Where go they with the -litter?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Knight</i>) “The fool, my lady, and a chattering -ape, did tempt to jest a charger in the -field. We found them so. He lives but -barely.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>(<i>Enter Fool upon litter.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “Aday, my lady fair! And hast -thee lost the silver of thy laugh and bid me -fetch it thee? The world doth hold but fools -and lovers, folly sick.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lisa</i>) “His eye grows misty. Fool, I -know thee as a knave and love thee as a man.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Fool</i>) “’Tis but a patch, Beppo, a patch -and tassel from a lance ... but we did ride, -eh? Laugh, Beppo, and prove thou art the -fool’s! I laugh anew, lest my friends should -know me not. Beppo, I dream of new roads, -but thou art there! And I do faint, but -she ... did kiss my hand.... Aday ... -L—a—d—y.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>Very soon after the completion of this story -Patience began another one, a Christmas story, -a weird, mystical tale of medieval England, -having for its central theme a “Stranger” who -is visible only to Lady Marye of the Castle. -The stranger is not described, nor does he -speak a word, but he is presumedly the Christ. -There are descriptions of the preparations for -the Christmas feast at this lordly stronghold -of baronial days, and the coarse wit of the -castle servants and the drunken profanity of -their master, “John the Peaceful,” form a -vivid contrast to the ethereal Lady Marye and -the simple love of the herder’s family at the -foot of the hill. There are striking characters -and many beautiful lines in this story, but it is -not as closely woven nor as coherent in plot as -the story of the fool and the lady.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span> -<h3 class='c021'>THE STRANGER</h3> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>’Twas at white season o’ the year, the -shrouding o’ spring and summerstide.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Steep, rugged, was the path, and running -higher on ahead to turret-topped and gated -castle o’ the lordly state o’ John the Peaceful, -where Lady Marye whiled away the dragging -day at fingering the regal.<a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c011'><sup>[2]</sup></a></p> -<div class='footnote' id='f2'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. Regal. A small portable pipe organ used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It was played with one hand while the bellows was worked with the other.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>From sheltered niche she looked adown the -hillside stretching ’neath. The valley was bestir. -A shepherd chided with gentle word his -flock, and gentle folk did speak o’ coming -Christ-time. Timon, the herder’s hut, already -hung with bitter sweets, and holly and fir -boughs set to spice the air.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>“Timon, man, look ye to the wee lambs well, -for winter promiseth a searching night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>Thus spake Leta, who stands, her babe -astride her hip.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And come ye then within. I have a brew -that of a truth shall tickle at thy funny bone. -Bring then a bundle o’ brush weed that we -may ply the fire. I vow me thy boots are snow -carts, verily!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hast seen the castle folk? And fetched ye -them the kids? They breathe it here that the -boar they roast would shame a heiffer. All of -the sparing hours today our Leta did sniff her -up the hill; nay, since the dawning she hath -spread her smock and smirked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Leta, thou art such a joy! Thou canst -wish the winter-painted bough to bloom, and -like the plum flowers falls the snow. Fetch -thee a bowl and put the bench to table-side. -Thy sire wouldst sup. Go now and watch -aside the crib. Perchance thee’lt catch a -glimpse o’ heaven spilled from Tina’s dream.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Timon, man, tell me now the doings o’ the -day. I do ettle<a id='r3' /><a href='#f3' class='c011'><sup>[3]</sup></a> for a spicey tale.”</p> -<div class='footnote' id='f3'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. Ettle. In this case, to have a strong desire.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>(<i>Timon</i>) “Well, be it so then, minx. I did -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>fell the kids at sun-wake, and thee’lt find the -skins aneath the cape I cast in yonder corner -there. And I did catch a peep aslaunch<a id='r4' /><a href='#f4' class='c011'><sup>[4]</sup></a> at -mad Lady Marye, who did play the pipes most -mournfully. They tell me she doth look a -straining to this cot of ours. And what think -ye, Leta? She doth only smile when she doth -see our wee one’s curls to glint. And ever she -doth speak of him who none hath seen. ’Tis -strange, think ye not?”</p> -<div class='footnote' id='f4'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. Aslaunch. Aslant or obliquely. As we would now say, “Out -of the corner of the eye.”</p> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Nay, Timon, I full oft do pause -and peer on high to see her at the summertide. -Like a swan she bendeth, all white, amid her -garden ’long the lake, and even ’tempts to -come adown the path to us below. And ever -at her heels the pea-fowl struts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She ne’er doth see my beckoning, but do -I come with Tina at my breast she doth smile -and wave and sway her arms a-cradle-wise.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They tell, but breathlessly, that she doth -sadly say the Stranger bideth here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Timon</i>) “I’ll pit my patch ’gainst purse -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>o’ gold, that ‘Mad Marye’ fitteth her as surely -as ‘Peaceful John’ doth fit her sire. Thee -knowest ’peace’ to him is of his cutting, and -’piece’ doth patch his ripping.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They’ve bid a feast at Christ-night, and ye -shouldst see the stir! I fain would see Sir -John at good dark on that eve, besmeared with -boar grease and soaked with ale, his mouth -adrip with filth, and every peasant there who -serves his bolts shall hit. And Lady Marye -setteth like a lily under frost!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Leta, little one, thine eyes do blink like -stars beshadowed in a cloudy veil. Come, -bend thy knee and slip away to dream!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Little Leta prays</i>) “Vast blue above, -wherein the angels hide; and moon, his lamp o’ -love; and cloud fleece white—art thou the wool -to swaddle Him? And doth His mother bide -upon a star-beam that leadeth her to thee? I -bless Thy name and pray Thee keep my sire to -watch full well his flock. And put a song in -every coming day; my Tina’s coo, and mother’s -song at eve. Goodnight, sweet night! I know -He watcheth thee and me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>(<i>Timon</i>) “He heareth thee, my Leta. -Watch ye the star on high. See ye, it winketh -knowingly. God rest ye, blest.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>(<i>At the Castle.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “And I the Lady Marye, -o’ the lord’s estate! Jana, fetch me a goblet -that I drink.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Jana</i>) “Aye, lady. A wine, perchance?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “Nay, for yester thou didst -fetch me wine, and I did cast it here upon the -flags. Its stain thee still canst see. Shouldst -thou fetch a goblet filled to brim with crystal -drops, and I should cast it here, the greedy -stone would sup it up, and where be then the -stain? Think ye the stone then the wiser o’ -the two?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I but loosed my fancy from its tether to -gambol at its will, and they do credit me amiss. -I weave not with strand upon a wheel. ’Tis -not my station. Nay, I dally through the day -with shuttle-cock and regal—a fitting play for -yonder babe.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>“Jana, peer ye to the valley there. Doth -see the Stranger? He knocketh at the sill o’ -yonder cot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I saw him when the cotter locked the sheep -to tap a straying ewe who lagged, and he did -enter as the cotter stepped within—unbidden, -Jana, that I swear—and now he knocketh -there!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Jana</i>) “Nay, lady, ’tis but a barish limb -that reacheth o’er the door. The cotter heedeth -not, ye see.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “I do see him now to enter, -and never did he turn! Jana, look ye now! -Doth still befriend a doubt?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Jana</i>) “Come, lady, look! Sirrah John -hath sent ye this, a posey, wrought o’ gold and -scented with sweet oils.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “Ah, Jana, ’tis a hateful -sight to me—a posey I may keep! Why, -the losing o’ the blossom doth but make it -dear!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stay! I know thee’lt say ’twas proffered -with his love. But, Jana, thou hast much to -learn. What, then, is love? Can I then sort -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>my tinder for its building and ply the glass to -start its flame? The day is o’er full now of -ones who tried the trade. Nay, Jana, only -when He toucheth thee and bids thee come and -putteth to thy hand His own doth love abide -with thee.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come to the turret, then. I do find me -whetted for a look within.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How cool the eve! ’Tis creepy to the marrow. -Look ye down the hillside there below. -See ye the cotter’s taper burning there? How -white the night! ’Tis put upon the earth a -mantling shroud, and sailing in the silver sky a -fairy boat. Perchance it bringeth us the -Babe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Jana, see’st thou the Stranger? He now -doth count the sheep. Dare I trust him there? -I see him fondling a lamb and he doth hold it -close unto his breast.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Jana</i>) “Nay, lady, ’tis the shepherd’s dog -who skulketh now ahind the shelter wall.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “Ah, give me, spite o’ this, -the power to sing like Thine own bird who -swayeth happily upon the forest bough and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>pours abroad his song where no man heareth -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hear ye them below within the hall? -They do lap at swine-broth. Their cups do -clank. At morrow’s eve they feast and now -do need to stretch their paunches. Full often -have I seen my ladye mother’s white robe -stained crimson for a jest, and oftener have I -been gagged to swallow it. But, Jana, I do -laugh, for the greatest jest is he who walloweth -in slime and thinketh him a fish.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Jana</i>) “See, Lady Marye! This, thy -mother’s oaken chest, it still doth bear a scent -o’ her. And this, thy gown o’ her own fashioning.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “Yea, Jana, and this o’ -her, a strand wound to a ball for mine own casting. -And this! I tell thee, ’tis oft and oft she -did press me to her own breast and chide me -with her singing voice: ‘My Marye, ’tis a game -o’ buff, this living o’ these days o’ ours o’ seeking -happiness. When ye would catch the -rogue he flitteth on.’</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>“See, these spots o’ yellowed tears—the -rusting of her heart away! Stay, Jana, I’ll -teach thee a trick o’ tripping, for she full oft -did say a heart could hide aneath a tripping.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thee shouldst curtsey so; and spread thy -fan. ’Tis such a shield to hide ahind. Then -shouldst thy heart to flutter, trip out its measure, -so. See, I do laugh me now—nay, ’tis -ne’er a tear, Jana, ’tis the mist o’ loving! Doth -see the moon hath joined the dance? Or, am I -swooning? ’Tis fancy. See, the cotter’s taper -still doth flicker from the shutter. What’s -then amiss? The stranger, Jana! See! He -entereth the shelter place! Come, I fear me -lest I see too much? Lend me thy hand. I’ve -played the jane-o-apes till the earth doth seem -awry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hear ye the wine-soaked song, and aye, -the feed-drunkened? My sire, Jana, my sire! -I do grow hateful of myself, but mark ye, at -the setting o’ the feast I do wage him war at -words! A porridge pot doth brew for babes; I -promise ye a full loaf. Do drop the curtain -now, I weary me with reasoning.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>(<i>Morning at the Castle Gate.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Tito</i>) “Aho, within! Thine eyes begummed -and this the Christ-eve and mornin’ -come? Scatter! Petro, stand ahand! I do -fetch ye sucklings agagged with apples red. -Ye gad, my mouth doth slime! To whiff a -hungerfull would make the sages wag.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Petro</i>) “Amorrow, Tito. Thee’lt wear -thee white as our own Lady long afore ye -e’en canst dip thy finger in the drip.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Tito</i>) “Pst! Petro, I did steal the brain -and tung. Canst leave me have a peep now to -the hall? Jesu! What a breeder o’ sore bellies. -I’d pay my price to heaven to rub Sir John a -briskish rub with mullien o’er the back.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They do tell me down below that trouble -bideth Timon. His Tina layeth dull and Leta -doth little but mumble prayer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Petro</i>) “Tito, thee art a chanter of sad -lays at this Christ-time. Go thou to the -turret and play ye at the pipes. Put thee the -sucklings to the kitchen, aside the fire dogs -there. And Tito, thee’lt find a pudding pan -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>ahind the brushbox. Go thee and lick it -there!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>To Sir John</i>) “Aye, I do come, my lord. -’Tis but the sucklers come. I know not where -in the castle she doth bide, but hark ye and ye’ll -surely hear the pipes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Sir John</i>) “Bah! Damn the drivelling -pipes! I do hear them late and early. ’Tis a -fine bird for a lordly nest! Go, fetch her here! -But no, I’d tweak her at a vaster sitting. Get -thee, thou grunting swine! And take this as -thy Christ-gift. I’d deal thee thrice the measure -wert not to save these lordly legs. Here, -fetch me a courser. I’d ride me to the hounds. -And strip him of his foot cloth, that I do waste -me not a blow. Dost like the smart? Or shall -I ply it more? Thee’lt dance to tune, or damn -ye, run from cuts!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ho, Timon, how goes it with the brat? -The world’s o’erfull o’ cattle now!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Timon</i>) “Yea, sire, so did my Leta say -when she did see thee come. ’Tis with our -Tina as a bird behovered in the day. Aday, -and God forgive thee.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>(<i>In Lady Marye’s Chamber.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “Jana, morn hath come. -’Tis Christ-tide and He not here! My limbs -do fail, and how do I then to stand me thro’ -the day? The feast, the feast, yea, the feast! -The day doth break thro’ fog in truth!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My mother’s bridal robe! Go, Jana, fetch -it me, and one small holly bough. Lend me a -hand. I fain would see the cot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“See thou! The sun doth love it, too, and -chooseth him to rise him o’er its roof! Hath -thee seen the herder yet to buckle loose the -shelter place? And, Jana, did all seem well to -thee? Nay, the Stranger, Jana! See, he still -doth hold the lamb! ‘My Marye, ’tis a game -o’ buff, this living o’ these days o’ ours.’ In -truth, ’tis put.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Jana, I did dream me like a babe the night -hours through; a dream so sweet, o’ vast blue -above wherein the angels hid, and I did see the -Christ-child swaddled in a cloud; and Mary, -maid of sorrows, led to him adown a silver -beam.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>“Then thee dost deem my fitful fancy did -but play me false? Stay thou, my tears, and, -heart o’ me, who knoweth He doth watch o’er -thee and me?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Her robe! Ah, Fancy, ’tis thy right that -thou art ever doubted. For thou art a conjurer, -a trickster, verily. What chamming<a id='r5' /><a href='#f5' class='c011'><sup>[5]</sup></a> -joy didst thee then offer her?</p> -<div class='footnote' id='f5'> -<p class='c007'><a href='#r5'>5</a>. Obsolete form of “champing.” Used here figuratively.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>“Thou cloud of billowed lace, a shield befitting -her pure heart! And I the flowering -of the bud! Hear me, all this o’ her! I love -thee well, and should the day but offer a bitter -draft to quaff, ’tis but to whet me for a sweeter -drink. And mother, heart o’ me, hearken and -do believe. I love my sire, Sir John.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come, Jana. Hear ye the carolers? Their -song doth filter thro’ my heart and lighten it. -The snow doth tweak aneath their feet like -pipes to ’company them. Cast ye a bit o’ holly -and a mistletoe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The feasters come to whet them with a -pudding whiff. See, my sire doth ride him up -the hill and o’er his saddle front a fallow deer. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>Hear thee the cheering that he comes! Her -loved, my Jana, and her heart doth beat -through me!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Christ-love to thee, my sire! Dost hear -me here? And I do pledge it thee upon His -precious drops caught by the holly tree. He -seeth not, but she doth know!”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>(<i>Christmas Eve.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Jana</i>) “My lady, who doth come a knocking -at the door? ’Tis Petro, come to bid ye to -the feast.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Petro</i>) “The candles are long since lit -and Sirrah John hath wearyed him with jest. -The feasting hath not yet begun, for he doth -wait thee to drink a health to feasters in the -hall.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “Yea, Petro, say unto my -sire, the Lady Marye comes. And say ye -more, she bids the feasters God-love. And say -thee more, she doth bear the blessings of her -Lady Mother who wisheth God’s love to them -all. And fetch ye candle trees to scores, and -fetch the dulcimer and one who knocketh on its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>strings, and let him patter forth a lively tune, -for Lady Marye comes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Jana, look ye once again to the valley -there. The tapers burn not for Christ-night. -Nay, a sickly gleam, and see, the Stranger, how -he doth hold the lamb! And o’er his face a -smile—or do my eyes beblur, and doth he -weep?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Jana</i>) “Nay, lady, all is dark. ’Tis but -the whitish snow and shadow pitted by the -tapers’ light.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “Fetch me then my fan. -I go to meet my Lord. Doth hear? Already -they do play. I point me thus, and trip my -heart’s full measure.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>(<i>In the Hall.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Sir John</i>) “So, lily-lip, thee’lt scratch! -Thy silky paw hath claws, eh? Egad! A -phantom! A ghoulish trick! My head doth -split and where my tung? Get ye! Why sit -like grinning asses! And where thy tungs? -My God! What scent o’ graves she beareth -with that shroud!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>(<i>Lady Marye</i>) “God cheer, my lord, and -doth my tripping suit thee well? These flags -are but my heart and hers, and do I bruise them -well for thee? Ah, aha! See, I do spread my -fan. To shield my tears, ye think? Nay, were -they to fall like Mayday’s rain and thee wert -buried ’neath a stone, as well then could’st thou -see! And yet I love thee well. See thee, my -sire, I pour this to thee!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look ye, good people at the feast; the boar -is ready to slip its bones.</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Aside</i>) “God, send Thy mantling love -here to Thine own! For should I judge, when -Thou I know dost love the saint and sinner as -Thine own?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To thee, my sire, to thee!”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>And gusted wind did flick the tapers out and -they did hear her murmuring “The Stranger! -He doth bid me come!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And to this day they tell that Lady Marye -cast the wine into a suckler’s mouth and never -did she drink!</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>“By all the saints! Do thee go and search!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus spake her sire, Sir John. And all the -long night thro’ the torches gleamed, but all in -vain. And they do say that Sirrah John did -shake him in a chilling and flee him to a friar, -while still the search did last.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>(<i>In Timon’s Cot.</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Timon, waken ye! Our Leta still -doth court her dreams and I do weary me. -The long night thro’ the feasters cried them -thro’ the hills and none but Him could shield -our Tina from their din.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Take heart, my lad, I fear me yet to look -within the crib. Hold thou my hand, man. -Nay, not yet! Come, waken Leta that she then -do feed thy lambs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Timon</i>) “Come, Leta, wake! The sun -hath tipped the crown o’ yonder hill and spread -a blush adown her snow-white side.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Yea, sire. And Tina, how be -she?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Timon</i>) “A fairy, sleeping, Tad.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Ah, sire, but I did dream the dark -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>o’ yesterday away. And, mother, she doth -strain unto the sun! I see her eyes be-glistened. -See, the frost-cart dumped beside our -door, and look ye! he, the Frost man, put a -cap upon the chimney pot. I’ll fetch a brush -and fan away his cloak. My Christ-gift, it -would be my Tina’s smile. She did know me -not at late o’ night; think ye it were the dark? -Stay, sire! I’ll cast the straw and put the -sheep aright!” (<i>Exit.</i>)</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Timon</i>) “My Leta, come! Thy Christ-gift -bideth o’er our Tina’s lips and she doth -coo!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Timon, call aloud, that she heareth -thee. Leta! Leta! Little one! Dost hear -thy sire to call? Why, what’s amiss with thee? -Thy staring eyes, my child! Speak thou!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Sh-e-e-e! Sire, His mother’s -come! And, ah, my heart! All white she be -an’ crushed unto her breast a holly bough, and -one white arm doth circle o’er a lamb! See, -sire, the snow did drift it thro’ and weave a -fairy robe to cover her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>(<i>Timon</i>) “Who leaveth by the door; a -stranger?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Nay, He bideth here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Timon</i>) “The Lady Marye, on my soul! -Leta, drop ye here thy tears, for madness bideth -loosed upon the earth! And shouldst——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>(<i>Leta</i>) “Nay, sire! Who cometh there?”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>And searchers there did find the Lady -Marye, dead, amid the lambs and snow—a -flowering o’ the rose upon a bush o’ thorn.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And hark ye! At the time when winter’s -blast doth sound, thee’lt hear the wailing o’ the -Lady Marye’s pipes, and know the Stranger -bideth o’er the earth.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c001' /> -</div> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>The two dramatic stories presented here -were but a paving of the way for larger work. -“The Stranger” had been hardly completed -when Patience announced, “Thee’lt sorry -at the task I set thee next.” And then she -began the construction of a drama that in its -delivery consumed the time of the sittings for -several weeks, and it contained when finished -some 20,000 words. It is divided into six acts, -each with a descriptive prologue, and three of -the acts have two scenes each, making nine -scenes in all. It, like the two shorter sketches, -is medieval in scene, and the pictures which it -presents of the customs and costumes and manners -of the thirteenth or fourteenth century -(the period is not definitely indicated) are -amazingly vivid. It has a somewhat intricate -plot, which is carried forward rapidly and its -strands skillfully interwoven until the nature -of the fabric is revealed in the sixth act. This -play is much more skillfully constructed in -respect of stage technique than the two playlets -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>that preceded it, and it could, no doubt, -be produced upon the stage with perhaps a -little alteration to adapt it to modern conditions. -Some idea of its beauty, its sprightliness -and its humor may be obtained from the -prologue to the first act, which follows:</p> -<p class='c022'>Wet earth, fresh trod.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Highway cut to wrinkles with cart wheels -born in with o’erloading. A flank o’ daisy -flowers and stones rolled o’er in blanketing o’ -moss. Brown o’ young oak-leaves shows soft -amid the green. Adown a steep unto the vale, -hedged in by flowering fruit and threaded -through with streaming silver o’ the brook, -where rushes shiver like to swishing o’ a lady’s -silk.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Moss-lipped log doth case the spring who -mothereth the brook, and ivy hath climbed it -o’er the trunk and leafless branch o’ yonder -birch, till she doth stand bedecked as for a -folly dance.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c023'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat!</div> - <div class='line'>Rat-a-tat! Sh-h-h-h!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>From out the thick where hides the logged -and mud-smeared shack.</p> -<div class='lg-container-l c024'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in10'>Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat!</div> - <div class='line in18'>Sh-h-h-h!</div> - <div class='line'>And hark ye, to the tanner’s song!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c023'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Up, up, up! and down, down, down!</div> - <div class='line'>A hammer to smite</div> - <div class='line in2'>And a hand to pound!</div> - <div class='line'>A maid to court,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And a swain to woo,</div> - <div class='line'>A heiffer felled</div> - <div class='line in2'>And I build a shoe!</div> - <div class='line'>A souse anew in yonder vat,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And I’ll buy my lady</div> - <div class='line'>A feathered hat!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The play then begins with the tanner and -his apprentice, and the action soon leads to the -royal castle, where the exquisite love story is -developed, without a love scene. There is no -tragedy in the story. It is all sentiment, and -humor. And it is filled with poetry. Consider, -for example, this description of Easter morn, -from the prologue to the sixth act:</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>The earth did wake with boughs aburst. A -deadened apple twig doth blush at casting -Winter’s furry coat, to find her naked blooms -abath in sun. The feathered hosts, atuned, do -carol, “He hath risen!” E’en the crow with -envy trieth melody and soundeth as a brass; -and listening, loveth much his song. Young -grasses send sweet-scented damp through the -hours of risen day. The bell, atoll, doth bid -the village hence. E’en path atraced through -velvet fields hath flowered with fringing bloom -and jeweled drops, atempting tarriers. The -sweet o’ sleep doth grace each venturing face. -The kine stand knee depth within the silly-tittered -brook, or deep in bog awallow. Soft -breath ascent and lazy-eyed, they wait them -for the stripping-maid.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The play is permeated with rich humor, and -to illustrate this I give a bit of the dialogue -between Dougal, the page, and Anne, the -castle cook. To appreciate it one must know -a little of the story. The hand of the Princess -Ermaline is sought by Prince Charlie, a doddering -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>old rake, whom she detests, but whom -for reasons of state she may be compelled to -accept. However, she vows she will not speak -while he is at court, nor does she utter a word, -in the play, until the end of the last act. She -has fallen in love with a troubadour, who has -come from no one knows where, but who by his -grace and his wit and his intelligence has made -himself a favorite with all the castle folk. -Anne has a roast on the spit, and is scouring a -pot with sand and rushes, when Dougal enters -the kitchen.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dougal.</i>—“Anne, goody girl, leave me but -suck a bone. My sides have withered and -fallen in, in truth.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Anne.</i>—“Get ye, Dougal! Thy footprints -do show them in grease like to the Queen’s -seal upon my floor!”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dougal.</i>—“The princess hath bidden me to -stay within her call, but she doth drouse, -adrunk on love-lilt o’ the troubadour, and -Prince of Fools (Prince Charlie) hath gone -long since to beauty sleep. He tied unto his -poster a posey wreath, and brushed in scented -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>oils his beauteous locks, and sung a lay to -Ermaline, and kissed a scullery wench afore -he slept.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Anne.</i>—“The dog! I’d love a punch to -shatter him! And Ermaline hath vowed to -lock her lips and pass as mute until his going.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dougal.</i>—“Yea, but eye may speak, for hers -do flash like lightning, and though small, her -foot doth fall most weighty to command.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yester, the Prince did seek her in the -throne room. He’d tied his kerchief to a sack -and filled it full o’ blue-bells, and minced him -’long the halls astrewing blossoms and singing -like to a frozen pump.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Within the chamber, Ermaline did hide her -face in dreading to behold him come, but at the -door he spied the dear and bounded like a -puppy ’cross the flags, apelting her with blooms -and sputtering ’mid tee-hees. She, tho’, did -spy him first, and measured her his sight and -sudden slipped her ’neath the table shroud. -And he, Anne, I swear, sprawled him in his -glee and rose to find her gone. And whacked -my shin, the ass, acause I heaved at shoulders.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span><i>Anne.</i>—“Ah, Dougal, ’tis a weary time, in -truth. Thee hadst best to put it back, to court -thy mistress’ whim. Good sleep, ye! And -Dougal, I have a loving for the troubadour. -Whence cometh he?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dougal.</i>—“Put thy heart to rest, good -Anne; he’s but a piper who doth knock the -taber’s end and coaxeth trembling strings by -which to sing. He came him out o’ nothing, -like to the night or day. We waked to hear -him singing ’neath the wall.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Anne.</i>—“Aye, but I do wag! For surely -thee doth see how Ermaline doth court his -song.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dougal.</i>—“Nay, Anne, ’tis but to fill an -empty day.”</p> -<hr class='c025' /> - -<p class='c004'><span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>When Patience had finished this she preened -herself a little. “Did I not then spin a lengthy -tale?” she asked. But immediately she began -work upon another, a story of such length -that it alone will make a book. It differs in -many respects from her other works, particularly -in the language, and from a literary -standpoint is altogether the most amazing of -her compositions. This, too, is dramatic in -form, but scene often merges into scene without -division, and it has more of the characteristics -of the modern story. It is, however, -medieval, but it is a tale of the fields, primarily, -the heroine, Telka, being a farm lass, and the -hero a field hand. Perhaps this is why the -obscure dialectal forms of rural England of a -time long gone by are woven into it. In this -Patience makes an astonishingly free use of -the prefix “a,” in place of a number of prefixes, -such as “be” and “with,” now commonly -used, and she attaches it to nouns and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>verbs and adjectives with such frequency as to -make this usage a prominent feature of the -diction. Let me introduce Telka in the words -of Patience:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Dewdamp soggeth grasses laid low aneath -the blade at yester’s harvest, and thistle-bloom -weareth at its crown a jewelled spray.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brown thrush, nested ’neath the thick o’ -yonder shrub, hath preened her wings full long -aneath the tender warmth o’ morning sun.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Afield the grasses glint, and breeze doth -seeming set aflow the current o’ a green-waved -stream.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Soft-footed strideth Telka, bare toes -asink in soft earth and bits o’ green acling, -bedamped, unto her snowy limbs. Smocked -brown and aproned blue, she seemeth but a -bit o’ earth and sky alight amid the field. -Asplit at throat, the smock doth show a busom -like to a sheen o’ fleecy cloud aveiling o’er the -sun’s first flush.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Betanned the cheek, and tresses bleached -by sun at every twist of curl. Strong hands -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>do clasp a branch long dead and dried, at end -bepronged, and casteth fresh-cut blades to -heap.”</p> -<p class='c013'>Such is Telka in appearance. “She seemeth -but a bit o’ earth and sky alight amid the field.” -Seemeth, yes, but there is none of the sky in -Telka. She is of the earth, earthy, an intensely -practical young woman, industrious, economical, -but with no sense of beauty whatever, no -imagination, no thought above the level of the -ground. “I fashioned jugs o’ clay,” her -father complained, “and filled with bloom, and -she becracked their necks and kept the swill -therein.” Add to this a hot temper and a sharp -tongue, and the character of Telka is revealed. -Franco, the lover, on the other hand, is an -artist and poet, although a field worker. He -has been reared, as a foundling, by the friars -in the neighboring monastery, and they have -taught him something of the arts of mosaics -and the illumination of missals. Between these -two is a constant conflict of the material and -the spiritual, and the theme of the story is the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>spiritual regeneration or development of -Telka.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“See,” says Franco, “Yonder way-rose -hath a bloom! She be a thrifty wench and hath -saved it from the spring.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Telka.</i>—“I hate the thorned thing. Its -barb hath pricked my flesh and full many a -rent doth show it in my smock.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Franco.</i>—“Ah, Telka, thine eyes do look -like yonder blue and shimmer like to brooklet’s -breast.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Telka.</i>—“The brooklet be bestoned, and -muddied by the swine. Thy tung doth trip -o’er pretty words.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Franco.</i>—“But list, Telka, I would have -thee drink from out my cup!”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Telka.</i>—“Ah, show me then the cup.”</p> -<p class='c013'>And Telka’s father, a wise old man, cautions -Franco:</p> -<p class='c010'>“Thee hadst best to take a warning, Franco. -She be o’ the field and rooted there; and thee -o’ the field, but reaped, and bound to free thee -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>of the chaff by flailing of the world. She then -would be to thee but straw and waste to cast -awhither.”</p> -<p class='c013'>But an understanding of the nature of this -strange tale and its peculiar dialect requires -a longer extract. The “Story of the Judge -Bush” will serve, better perhaps than anything -else, to convey an idea of the characters of -Telka and Franco, as well as to illustrate the -language; and the episode is interesting in -itself. The dialogue opens with Telka, Franco -and Marion on their way to Telka’s hut. -Marion is Telka’s dearest friend, although one -gets a contrary impression from Telka’s -caustic remarks in this excerpt; but unlike -Telka, she can understand and appreciate the -poetic temperament of Franco. To show her -contempt for Franco’s aspirations, Telka has -taken his color pots and buried them in a -dung-heap, and this characteristic act is the -foundation of the “Story of the Judge Bush.”</p> -<p class='c012'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Come, we do put us to a-dry. -’Tis sky aweep, and ’tis a gray day from now. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>I tell thee, Telka, we then put us to hearth, -and spin ye shall. And thou, Marion, shalt -bake an ash loaf and put o’ apples for to burst -afore the fire. ’Tis chill, the whine-wind o’ the -storm. We then shall spin a tale by turn; and -Telka, lass, I plucked a sweet bloom for thee -to wear. Thine eye hath softened, eh, my -lass? Here, set thy nose herein and thou canst -ne’er to think a tho’t besoured.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Ah, ’tis a wise lad I wed, who -spendeth o’ his stacking hours to pluck weed, -and thee wouldst have me sniff the dung-dust -from their leaf. Do cast them whither, and -’pon thy smock do wipe thy hand. It be my -fancy for to waste the gray hours aside the -fire’s glow,—but, Franco, see ye, the wee pigs -asqueal! ’Tis nay liking the wet. Do fetch -them hence. Here, Marion, cast my cape -about thee, since thou dost wear thy pettiskirt -and Sabboth smock. Gad! Blue maketh thee -to match a plucked goose. Thy skin already -hath seamed, I vow. And, Marion, ’tis ’deed a -flash to me thy tress be red! Should I to bear -a red top I’d cast it whither.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>(<i>Franco</i>) “Telka, Telka, drat thy barbed -tung! Cast thou the bolt. Gad! What a -scent o’ browning joint!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Do leave me for to turn the spit -that I may lick the finger-drip. Thy nose, -Franco, doth trick thee. Thou canst sniff o’ -dung-dust and scoff at drip. Go, roll the -apples o’er in yonder pile. They then would -suit thee well!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Telka, I bid thee to wash away -such tunging. Here, I set them so. Now do -I to fetch thy wheel. Nay, Marion, do cast -thy blush. ’Tis but the Telka witch. Do thou -to start thee at thy tale aspin.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Aye, Marion, thou then, since -ne’er truth knoweth thee, thou shouldst ne’er -to lack for story. Story do I say? Aye, or -lie, ’tis brothers they be. And, Franco, do thou -to spin, ’twill suit thy taste to feed ’pon maid’s -fare. I be the spinner o’ the tale afirst. But, -Franco, I fain would have thee fetch a pair o’ -harkers. Didst deem to fret me that thee -dumped the twain aneath the stack? Go thou -and fetch. ’Tis well that thee shouldst bed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>with swine lest thee be preening for a -swan.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Ugh, Telka! Thou art like to -a vat o’ wine awork. Thou’lt fetch the swine -do ye seek to company them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “So well, Polly, I do go, for ’tis -swine o’ worth amore than color daub. Set -thee, since thou be wench.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Look ye, Telka, ’tis here I cast -the cloak and show thee metal abared. Thou -hast ridden ’pon a high nag for days, and I -do kick his hock and set him at a limp. Do -thou to clip thy words ashort or I do cast a -stone athro’ thy bubble.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Ah, Franco, ’tis nay meaning! -Put here. Do spin thy tale, but do ye first to -leave me fetch the wee-squeals. Then I do -be a tamed dove. See ye?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Away, then, and fetch thee -back ahurry.” (<i>Exit Telka.</i>)</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Marion, ’tis what that I should -put as path to tread? She be awronged but do -I feed the fires, or put a stop?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Marion</i>) “Franco, ’tis a pot and stew she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>loveth. Think ye to coax thy dream-forms -from out the pot? Telka arounded and -awrathed be like unto a thunder-storm, but -Telka less the wrath and round, be Winter’s -dreary.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Not so, Marion, I shall then -call forth the ghosts o’ painted pots and touch -the dreary abloom. Didst thou e’er to slit thy -eye and view thro’ afar? Dost thou then behold -the motes? So, then, shall I to view the -Telka maid. Whist! Here she be! Aback, -Telka? Come, I itch for to spin a tale. Sit -thee here and dry the wet sparkles from thy -curls. List, do!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Twere a peddle-packer who did stroll -adown the blade-strewn path along the village -edge, abent. And brow-shagged eye did hide -a twinkle-mirth aneath——”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“E-e-ek! E-e-e-k!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Look, Franco, see they ’e-e-e-k’ -do I to pull their tails uncurl!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Do ye then wish thee, Telka, -for to play upon their one-string lyre, or do I -put ahead?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“Bestrung, aborder o’ the road, the cots -send smoke-wreathes up to join the cloud. -’Twere sup-hour, and drip afrazzle soundeth -thro’ the doors beope, like to a water-cachit -aslipping thro’ dry leaf to pool aneath. Do I -then put it clear?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Yea, Franco, what hath he in -his pack? I’d put a gander for a frock!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Marion</i>) “On, Franco, thy tale hath a -lilt.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Awag-walk he weaveth to the -door afirst-hand. The wee lads and lass do -cluster ’bout the door, and twist atween their -finger and thumb their smock-hem, or chew -thereon. But he doth seem aloth to cast of -pack or ope, and standeth at apeer to murmur—then -to cast.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“E-e-e-k! E-e-e-k!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Nay, Franco, ’twere not my -doing, I swear. ’Twere he who sat upon a fire-spark. -Do haste! I hot for sight athin the -pack.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “What, Telka, thou awag and -pig asqueak, and me the tail! Do put quiet!</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>“The dame and sire do step them out from -gray innards o’ the hut, and pack-tipper beggeth -for a mug o’ porridge, and showeth o’ the -strand-bound pack. Wee lads and lass -aquiver, tip-topple at a peep, and dame doth -fetch the brew, but shaketh nay at offering o’ -gift, and spake it so: ‘A porridge pot doth -hold a mug, and one amore for he who bideth -’thout a brew. Nay, drink ye, and thank the -morrow’s sun. ’Tis stony path thee trod, and -dust choketh. Do rest, and bide thee at our -sill till weariness awarn away.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Think ye, Marion, that peddle-man did -leave and cast not pence? What think ye, -Telka?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “I did hear thee tell o’ his fill, but -tell thee o’ fill o’ pack.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “A time, Telka. Nay, he did -drink and left as price an ancient jug o’ clay, -and thick and o’ a weight, to thank and wag-weave -hence.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Did he then to pack anew and -off ’thout a peep?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Yea, and dark did yawn and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>swallow him. But morrow bringeth tale that -peddle-packer had paid to each o’ huts a beg, -and what think ye? Left a jug where’er, he -supped!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “’Twere a clayster, and the -morrow findeth him afollow for price, -egh?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Nay, Telka, not so. And jugs -ashaken soundeth like to a wine; but atip did -show nay drop. Marion, do tweak the Telka—she -be aslumber.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Marion</i>) “Wake thee, Telka, the jugs be -now to crack.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “Nay, ’tis a puddle o’ a tale—a -packster and a strand-bound pack, aweary.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “But list thee! For ’twere eve -that found the dames awag. For tho’ they set -the jugs aright, there be but dust where they -did stand. Yea, all, Telka maid, save that the -peddle-man did give to dame at first hand. -The gabble put it so, that ’twere the porridge -begged that dames did fetch but for a hope o’ -price, where jugs ashrunk.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “But ’twere such a scurvey, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>Franco! I wage the jug aleft doth leak. -What think ye I be caring ’bout jug or peddle-packer?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Marion</i>) “Snip short thy word, Telka. -Leave Franco for to tell. I be aprick for -scratch to ease the itch o’ wonder. On, lad, -and tie the ends o’ weave-strand.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “’Tis told the dame did treasure -o’ the jug, and sire did shew abroad the wonder, -and all did list unto the swish o’ ’nothing -wine,’ and thirsted for asup, and each did -tip its crook’d neck and shake, but ne’er a drop -did slip it through. And wonder, Marion, the -sides did sweat like to a damp within! So -’twere. The townsmen shook awag their heads -and feared the witch-work or the wise man’s -cunger, and they did bid the sire to dig a pit -and put therein the jug.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “’Twere waste they wrought, I -vow, for should ye crack away its neck ’twould -then be fit for holding o’ the swill. There be -a pair ahind the stack.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Nay, Telka, not as this, for -they did dig a pit and plant jug therein, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>morrow showed from out the fresh-turned -earth a bush had sprung, and on its every -branch a bud o’ many colored hue alike to -rainbow’s robe. And lo, the dames and sires -did cluster ’bout, and each did pluck a twig -aladen with the bud, but as ’twere snapped, -what think ye? There be in the hand a naught—save -when the dame who asked not price did -pluck. And ’tis told that to this day the townsmen -fetch unto the bush and force apluck do -they make question o’ their brotherman. And -so ’tis with he who fashions o’ the rainbow’s -robe a world to call his own, and fetcheth to -the grown bush his brother for to shew, and -he seeth not, ’tis so he judge.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “O, thou art a story-spinner o’ a -truth, and peddle-packer too, egh? And thou -dost deem that thou hast planted o’ thy pot to -force thy bush by which ye judge. Paugh! -Thou art a fool, Franco, and thy pots o’ color -be not aworth thy pains. So thou dost think -then I be plucking o’ naught aside thy bush. -Well, I do tell thee this. Thy pots ne’er as -the jug shall spring. Nay, for morn found me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>adig, and I did cast them here to the fire, afearing -they should haunt.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “’Tis nuff, Telka, I leave them -to the flame. But thou shouldst know the bush -abud doth show in every smouldering blaze.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Telka</i>) “See, Franco, I be yet neck -ahead, for I do spat upon the flame and lo, -thy bush be naught!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>(<i>Franco</i>) “Aye, ’tis so, but there be ahid -a place thou ne’er hast seen. Therein I put -what be mine own—the love for them. Thou -art a butterfly, Telka, abeating o’ thy wing -upon a thistle-leaf. Do hover ’bout the -blooms thou knowest best and leave dream-bush -and thistle-leaf.”</p> -<p class='c013'>It is a remarkable story. Many lines are -gems of wit or wisdom or beauty, and it contains -some exquisite poetry. There are many -characters in it, all of them lovable but Telka, -and she becomes so ere the end.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A curious and interesting fact in this connection -is that after beginning this story Patience -used its peculiar form of speech in her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>conversation and in her poems. Previously, as -I have pointed out, there was a natural and -consistent difference between her speech and -her writings, and it would seem that in this -change she would show that she is not subject -to any rules, nor limited to the dialect of any -period or any locality. Scattered through this -present volume are poems, prose pieces and -bits of her conversation, in which the curious -and frequent use of the prefix a-, the abbreviation -of the word “of” and the strange twists -of phrase of the Telka story are noticeable. -All of these were received after this story was -begun.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>But there is another form of prose composition -that Patience has given to us. While she -is writing a story she does not confine herself -to that work, but precedes or follows it with a -bit of gossip, a personal message, a poem or -something else. Sometimes she stops in the -midst of her story to deliver something entirely -foreign to it that comes into her mind. During -one week, while “Telka” was being received, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>she presented three parables, all in the -peculiar language of that story. I reproduce -them here and leave it to the reader to ponder -o’er their meaning.</p> -<p class='c012'>“Long, yea, long agone, aside a wall atilt -who joined unto a brother-wall and made -atween a gap apoint abacked, there did upon -the every day, across-leged, sit a bartmaker, -amid his sacks aheaped. And ne’er a buy did -tribesmen make. Nay, but ’twere the babes -who sought the bartman, and lo, he shutteth -both his eyes and babes do pilfer from the -sacks and feed thereon, till sacks asink. And -still at crosslegs doth he sit.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, and days do follow days till Winter -setteleth ’pon his locks its snow. Aye, and lo, -at rise o’ sun ’pon such an day as had followed -day since first he sat, they did see that he had -ashrunked and they did wag that ’twere -the wasting o’ his days at sitting at crossleg.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And yet the babes did fetch for feast and -wert fed. Till last a day did dawn and gap -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>ashowed it empty and no man woed; but babes -did sorry ’bout the spot ’till tribesmen marveled -and fetched alongside and coaxed with -sweets their word. But no man found answer -in their prate. And they did ope remaining -sacks and lo, there be anaught save dry fruit, -and babes did reach forth for it and wert fed, -and more, it did nurture them, and they went -forth alater to the fields o’ earth astrengthened -and fed ’pon—what, Brother? List ye. ’Pon -truth.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c010'>“There be aside the market’s place a merchant -and a brother merchant. Aye, and one -did put price ahigh, and gold aclinketh and -copper groweth mold atween where he did -store. And his brother giveth measure full and -more, for the pence o’ him who offereth but -pence, at measure that runneth o’er to full o’ -gold’s price.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, they do each to buy o’ herds, and he -who hath full price buyeth but the shrunk o’ -herd, and he who hath little, buyeth the full o’ -herd. And time maketh full the sacks o’ him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>who hoardeth gold, and layeth at aflat the sacks -o’ him who maketh poor price. And lo, he who -hath plenty hoardeth more, and he who had -little buyed o’ seed and sowed and reaped -therefrom. And famine crept it nearer and -fringed ’pon the land and smote the land o’ -him who asacketh o’ gold and crept it ’pon the -land o’ him o’ pence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And herds did low o’ hunger and he who -hath but gold hath naught to feed thereon. -For sacks achoked ’pon gold. And he who had -but pence did sack but grain and grass and fed -the herd. And lo, they fattened and did fill -the emptied sacks with gold, while he who hath -naught but gold did sick, and famine wasted o’ -his herd and famine’s sun did rise to shine ’pon -him astricken ’pon gold asacked.”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c010'>“There wert a man and his brother and they -wrought them unalike. Yea, and one did -fashion from wood, and ply till wonderwork -astood, a temple o’ wood. And his brother -fashioneth o’ reeds and worketh wonder baskets. -And he who wrought o’ wood scoffeth. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>And the tribesmen make buy o’ baskets and -wag that ’tis a-sorry wrought the temple, and -spake them that the Lord would smite, and lay -it low. For he who wrought did think him o’ -naught save the high and wide o’ it, and looked -not at its strength or yet its stand ’pon earth. -And they did turn the baskets ’bout and put -to strain, and lo, they did hold. And it were -the tribesmen, who shook their heads and murmured, -‘Yea, yea, they be a goodly.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“So ’tis; he who doth fashion from wood o’ -size doth prosper not, and he who doth fashion -o’ reed and small, doth thrive verily.”</p> - -<p class='c013'>These are all somewhat cryptic, although -their interpretation is not difficult, but that -which follows on the magic of a laugh needs no -explanation. “I do fashion out a tale for -babes,” said Patience, when she presented this -parable of the fairy’s wand, and in it she gives -expression to another one of her characteristics, -one that is intensely human, the love of laughter, -which she seems to like to hear and often -to provoke.</p> -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>“Lo, at a time thou knowest not, aye, I, thy -handmaid, knowest not, there wert born unto -the earth a babe. And lo, the dame o’ this -babe wert but a field’s woman. And lo, days -and days did pass until the fullness of the -babe’s days, and it stood in beauty past word -o’me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, and there wert a noble, and he did -pass, and lo, his brow was darked, and smile -had forsook his lips. And he came unto the -cot and there stood the babe, who wert now a -maid o’ lovely. And he spaked unto her and -said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“‘Come thou, and unto the lands of me -shall we make way. Thou art not o’ the fields, -but for the nobles.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And she spake not unto his word. And lo, -the mother of the babe came forth and this -man told unto her of this thing, that her babe -wert not of the field but for the nobled. And, -at the bidding of the noble, she spake, yea, the -maid should go unto his lands.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And time and time after the going, lo, no -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>word came unto the mother. And within the -lands of the noble the maid lived, and lo, the -days wert sorry, and the paths held but -shadows, and nay smiles shed gold unto the -hours. And she smiled that this noble did -offer unto her much of royal stores. Yea, -gems, and gold, and all a maid might wish, -and she looked in pity unto the noble and -spake:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“‘What hast thou? Lo, thou hast brought -forth of thy store and given unto me, and -what doth it buy? Thy lips are ever sorry and -thy hours dark. Then take thou these gifts -and keep within such an day as thine, for, hark -ye, my dame, the field’s woman, hath given -unto me that which setteth at a naught thy -gifts; for hark ye: mid thy dark o’ sorry I shall -spill a laugh, and it be a fairies’ wand, and -turneth dust to gold.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And she fled unto the sun’s paths of the -fields.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Verily do I to say unto thee, this, the -power of the fairies’ wand, is thine, thy gift of -thy field-mother, Earth. Then cast out that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>which earth-lands do offer unto thee and flee -with thy gift.”</p> - -<p class='c013'>It is somewhat difficult to select an ending -for this chapter on the prose of Patience: the -material for it is so abundant and so varied, -but this “Parable of the Cloak” may perhaps -form a fitting finish:</p> -<p class='c012'>“There wert a man, and lo, he did to seek -and quest o’ sage, that which he did mouth -o’ermuch. And lo, he did to weave o’ such an -robe, and did to clothe himself therein. And -lo, ’twer sun ashut away, and cool and heat and -bright and shade.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, still did he to draw ’bout him the -cloak, and ’twer o’ the mouthings o’ the sage. -And lo, at a day ’twer sent abroad that Truth -should stalk ’pon Earth, and man, were he to -look him close, shouldst see.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, the man did draw ’bout him the -cloak, and did to wag him ‘Nay’ and ‘Nay, -’twer truth the sages did to mouth and I did -weave athin the cloak o’ me.’</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>“And then ’twer that Truth did seek o’ -Earth, and she wert clad o’ naught, and seeked -the man, and begged that he would cast the -cloak and clothe o’ her therein. And lo, he -did to draw him close the cloak, and hid his -face therein, and wag him ’Nay,’ he did to -know her not.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, she did to fetch her unto him -athrice, and then did he to wag him still a -‘Nay! Nay! Nay!’ And lo, she toucheth o’ -the cloth o’ sage’s mouths and it doth fall -atattered and leave him clothed o’ naught, and -at a wishing. And he did seek o’ Truth, aye, -ever, and when he did to find, lo, she wagged -him nay, and nay, and nay.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CONVERSATIONS</h2> -</div> -<p class='c026'>“This be bread. If man knoweth not the grain -from which ’twer fashioned, what then? ’Tis bread. -Let man deny me this.”—<span class='sc'>Patience Worth.</span></p> - -<p class='c004'>But after all, perhaps the truest conception -of the character and versatility of Patience can -be acquired from her “conversations.” The -word “conversation” I here loosely apply to all -that comes from her in the course of an evening, -excepting the work on her stories. The -poems and parables are usually woven into her -remarks with a sequence that suggests extemporaneous -production for the particular -occasion, although as a rule they are of general -application. Almost invariably they are -brought out by something she or someone -else has said, or as a tribute, a lesson or a comfort -to some person who is present. Her -songs, as she calls her poems, are freely given, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>apparently without a thought or a care as to -what may become of them. They seem to come -spontaneously, without effort, with no pause -for thought, no groping for the right word, and -to fall into their places as part of the spoken -rather than the written speech. So it is that -the term “conversation” in this connection is -made to include much that ordinarily would -not fall within that designation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One of the pleasures of an evening with Patience -is the uncertainty of the form of the -entertainment. Never are two evenings alike -in the general nature of the communications. -She adapts herself to circumstances and to the -company present, serious if they are bent on -serious subjects, merry if they are so; but seldom -will the serious escape without a little of -the merry, or the merry without a little of the -serious. Sometimes her own feelings seem to -have an influence. Always, however, she is -permitted to take her own course, except in -the case of a formal examination, to which she -readily responds if conducted with respect. -She may devote the evening largely to poetry, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>possibly varying the themes, as on one evening -when she gave a nature poem, one of a religious -character, a lullaby, a humorous verse and a -prayer, interspersed with discussion. She may -talk didactically with little or no interruption. -She may submit to a catechism upon religion, -philosophy, philology, or any subject that may -arise. She may devote an evening to a series of -little personal talks to a succession of sitters, or -she may elect just to gossip. “I be dame,” she -says, and therefore not averse to gossip. But -rarely will she neglect to write something on -whatever story she may have in hand. She -speaks of such writing as “weaving.” “Put -ye to weave,” she will say, and that means that -conversation is to stop for a time until a little -real work is accomplished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The conversations which follow are selected -to illustrate the variety of form referred to, as -well as to introduce a number of interesting -statements that throw light on the character of -the phenomena.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Upon a certain evening the Currans had two -visitors, Dr. and Mrs. W. With Dr. W. and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>Mrs. C. at the board and Mrs. W. leaning over -it, Patience began:</p> -<p class='c010'>“Ah, hark! Here abe athree; yea, love, -faith and more o’ love! Thee hast for to hark -unto word I do put o’ them, not ye.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And then she told this tale of the Mite and -the Seeds:</p> -<p class='c010'>“Hark! Aneath the earth fell a seed, and -lay aside a Mite, a winged mite, who hid from -cold. Yea, and the Mite knew o’ the day o’er -the Earth’s crust, and spake unto the Seed, and -said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“‘The hours o’ day show sun and cloud, -aye, and the Earth’s crust holdeth grass -and tree. Aye, and men walk ’pon the -Earth.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Aye, and the Seed did say unto the Mite:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“‘Nay, there be a naught save Earth and -dark, for mine eye hath not beheld what thou -tellest of.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, and the Mite spake it so:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“‘’Tis dark and cold o’er the crust -o’ Earth, and thou and me awarm and -close ahere.’</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>“But the Seed spake out: ‘Nay, this be the -time I seek me o’er the Earth’s crust and see -the Day thou tellest of.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, he sent out leaf, and reached high. -And lo, when the leaf had pushed up from -’neath the crust, there were snow’s cut and cold, -and it died, and knew not the Day o’ the Mite: -for the time was not riped that he should seek -unto new days.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, the Stalk that had sent forth the -Seed, sent forth amore, and lo, again a one did -sink aside the Mite. And he spake to it of the -Day o’ Earth and said: ‘Thy brother sought -the Day, and it wert not time, and lo, he is no -more.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And he told of the days of Earth unto the -seed, and it spaked unto him and said: ‘This -day o’ thee meaneth naught to me. Lo, I shall -spring not a root, nor shall I to seek me the -days o’ Earth. Nay, I shall lay me close and -warm.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And e’en though the Mite spake unto the -Seed at the time when it wert ripe that it should -seek, lo, it lay, and Summer’s tide found it a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>naught, for it feeded ’pon itself, and lo, wert -not.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And at a later tide did a seed to fall, and it -harked unto the Mite and waited the time, and -when it wert riped, lo, it upped and sought the -day. And it wert so as the Mite had spaked. -And the Seed grew into a bush.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, the winged Mite flew out: for it -had brought a brother out o’ the dark and unto -the Day, and the task wert o’er.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“These abe like unto them who seek o’ the -words o’ me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now aweave thou.”</p> -<p class='c013'>Patience then wrote about two hundred -words of a story, after which Mrs. W. inquired -of Mr. C:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t you ever try to write on the board?” -To which he replied facetiously, “No, I’m too -dignified.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Yea, he smirketh unto swine -and kicketh the nobles.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then seeming to feel that the visitors were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>wanting something more personal than the -“Tale” she said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Alawk, they be ahungered, and did weave -a bit. Then hark. Here be.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What think ye, man? They do pucker -much o’er the word o’ me, and spat forth that -thou dost eat and smack o’ liking. Yea, but -hark! Who shed drop for Him but one o’ His, -yea, the Son o’ Him? Think ye this abe the -pack o’ me? Nay, and thou and thou and thou -shalt shed drops in loving for the pack, for it -be o’ Him. Now shall I to sing:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>How doth the Mise-man greed,</div> - <div class='line'>And lay unto his store,</div> - <div class='line'>And seek him out the pence of Earth,</div> - <div class='line'>Wherein the hearts do rust?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>How doth the Muse-man greed,</div> - <div class='line'>And seek him o’ the Day,</div> - <div class='line'>And word that setteth up a wag—</div> - <div class='line'>While hearts o’ Earth are filthed?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>How doth the See-man greed?</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and how he opeth up his eye,</div> - <div class='line'>And seeth naught and telleth much—</div> - <div class='line'>While hearts of earth are hurt.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>How doth the Good-man greed,</div> - <div class='line'>Who dealeth o’ the Word?</div> - <div class='line'>He eateth o’ its flesh and casts but bone,</div> - <div class='line'>While hearts o’ Earth are woed.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>How doth the Man-man greed?</div> - <div class='line'>He eateth o’ the store, yet holdeth ope</div> - <div class='line'>His hands and scattereth o’ bread</div> - <div class='line'>And hearts o’ Earth are fed.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>This then abe, and yet will be</div> - <div class='line'>Since time and time, and beeth ever.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>As soon as this was read, she followed with -another song:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Drink ye unto me.</div> - <div class='line'>Drink ye deep, to me.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and seek ye o’ the Brew ye quaff,</div> - <div class='line'>For this do I to beg.</div> - <div class='line'>Seek not the wine o’ Summer’s sun,</div> - <div class='line'>That hid ’mid purpled vine,</div> - <div class='line'>And showeth there amid the Brew</div> - <div class='line'>Thou suppest as the Wine.</div> - <div class='line'>Seek not the drops o’ pool,</div> - <div class='line'>Awarmed aneath the sun,</div> - <div class='line'>And idly lapping at the brink</div> - <div class='line'>Of mosses’ lips, to sup.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>Seek not o’ vintage Earth doth hold.</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, unto thee this plea shall wake</div> - <div class='line'>The Wine that thou shouldst quaff.</div> - <div class='line'>For at the loving o’ this heart</div> - <div class='line'>The Wine o’ Love shall flow.</div> - <div class='line'>Then drink ye deep, ah, drink ye deep,</div> - <div class='line'>And drink ye deep o’ Love.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Yea, thine unto me, and mine to thee.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c015'>After which she explained:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I did to fashion out a brew for her ayonder -and him ahere. And they did eat o’ it. Yea, -for they know o’ Him and know o’ the workings -o’ Him and drinked o’ the love o’ me as -the love o’ Him. Yea, and hark, there abe -much athin this pack for thee.”</p> -<p class='c013'>This, it will be observed, is rather a discourse -than a conversation, and it is often so, Patience -filling the evening with her own words; not as -exclusively so, however, as this would indicate: -for there is always more or less conversation -among the party, which it would profit nothing -to reproduce.</p> -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>The next sitting is somewhat more varied. -There were present Dr. X., a teacher of anatomy, -Mrs. X., Mrs. W. and Miss B. Dr. X. -sat at the board with Mrs. Curran:</p> -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Eh, gad! Here be a one who -taketh Truth unto him and setteth the good -dame apace that she knoweth not the name o’ -her. I tell thee ’tis he who knoweth her as a -sister, and telleth much o’ her, and naught he -speaketh oft holdeth her, and much he speaketh -holdeth little o’ her, and yet ever he holdeth -her unto him. He taketh me as truth, yea, he -knoweth he taketh naught and buildeth much, -and much and buildeth little o’ it. I track me -unto the door o’ him and knock and he heareth -me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This, of course, referred to Dr. X. and his -work, and it aroused some discussion, after -which Patience asked, “Would ye I sing?” -The answer being in the affirmative, she gave -this little verse, also directed to Dr. X.:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Out ’pon the sea o’ learning,</div> - <div class='line'>Floateth the barque o’ one aseek.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>Out ’pon troubled waters floateth the craft,</div> - <div class='line'>Abuilded staunch o’ beams o’ truth.</div> - <div class='line'>And though the waves do beat them high</div> - <div class='line'>And wash o’er and o’er the prow,</div> - <div class='line'>Fear thee not, for Truth saileth on.</div> - <div class='line'>Set thy beacon, then, to crafts not thine,</div> - <div class='line'>For thou hast a light for man.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'>“There, thou knowest me. I tell thee I -speak unto him who hath truth for his very -own. Set thee aweave.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sitters complied and received about six -hundred words of the story, after which Mrs. -X. took the board, remarking as she did so that -she was afraid, which elicited this observation -from Patience:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She setteth aside the stream and seeth the -craft afloat and be at wishing for to sail, and -yet she would to see her who steereth.”</p> -<p class='c013'>Mrs. X. gave up her place to Miss B., a -teacher of botany, to whom Patience presented -this tribute:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The eye o’ her seeth but beauties and shutteth -up that which showeth darked, that that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>not o’ beautie setteth not within the see o’ her. -Yea, more; she knoweth how ’tis the dark and -what showeth not o’ beauty, at His touching -showeth lovely for the see o’ her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Such an heart! Ah, thou shouldst feast -hereon. I tell thee she giveth unto multitudes -the heart o’ her; and such as she dealeth unto -earth, earth has need for much. She feasteth -her ’pon dusts and knoweth dust shall spring -forth bloom. Hurt hath set the heart o’ her, -and she hath packed up the hurt with petals.”</p> -<p class='c013'>Patience then turned her attentions again to -Dr. X. “He yonder,” she said, “hath much -aneath his skull’s-cap that he wordeth not.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus urged, Dr. X. inquired:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Does Patience prepare the manuscript she -gives in advance? It rather seems that she -reads the material to Mrs. Curran.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“See ye,” cried Patience, “he hath spoke -a thing that set aneath his skull’s-cap!” And -then, in answer to his question:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She who afashioneth loaf doth shake well -the grain-dust that husks show not. Then doth -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>she for to brew and stir and mix, else the loaf -be not afit for eat.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>By grain-dust she means flour or meal, and -she uses the word brew in its obsolete sense of -preparation for cooking. The answer may be -interpreted that she arranges the story in her -mind before its dictation, and as to her formal -work she has said many things to indicate that -such is her method. Dr. X. then asked:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are these stories real happenings?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>To which Patience replied:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Within the land o’ here [her land] be -packed the days o’ Earth, and thy day hath -its sister day ahere, and thy neighbor’s day and -thy neighbor’s neighbor’s day. And I tell thee, -didst thou afashion tale thou couldst ne’er -afashion lie, for all thou hast athin thy day -that thy put might show from the see o’ thee -hath been; at not thy time, yea, but it hath -been.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then,” asked Dr. X., “should you have -transmitted through one who spoke another -language you would have used their tongue?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Patience answered:</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>“I pettiskirt me so that ye know the me of -me. Yea, and I do to take me o’ the store o’ -her that I make me word for thee.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Pettiskirt” is a common expression of -hers to mean dress, in either a literal or a figurative -sense. The answer does not mean that -she is limited by Mrs. Curran’s vocabulary, but -is an affirmative response to the question.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The word “put” in the preceding answer -is one that requires some explanation, for it is -frequently used by her, and makes some of her -sayings difficult to understand. She makes it -convey a number of meanings now obsolete, -but it usually refers to her writings, her words, -her sayings. She makes a noun of it, it will be -noticed, as well as a verb. In the foregoing -instance it means “tale,” and it has a relation -to the primary meaning of the verb, which is -to place. The words that are put down become -a “put,” and the writer becomes a “putter.” -To a lady who told her that she had -heard a sound like a bell in her ear, and asked -if it was Patience trying to communicate with -her, she answered dryly: “Think ye I be a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>tinkler o’ brass? Nay. I be a putter o’ -words.” Further to illustrate this use of the -word, and also to throw an interesting light -upon her method of communication and the -reason for it, I present here a part of a conversation -in which a Dr. Z. was the interrogator.</p> - -<p class='c012'><i>Dr. Z.</i>—“Why isn’t there some other means -you could use more easy to manipulate than -the ouija board?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“The hand o’ her (Mrs. Curran) -do I to put (write) be the hand o’ her, and ’tis -ascribe (the act of writing) that setteth the one -awhither by eyes-fulls she taketh in.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>By this she seems to mean that if Mrs. Curran -tried to write for Patience with a pen or -pencil, the act, being always associated with -conscious thought, would set her consciousness -to work, and put Patience “awhither.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dr. Z.</i>—“How did you know this avenue -was open?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“I did to seek at crannies for to -put; aye, and ’twer the her o’ her who tireth -past the her o’ her, and slippeth to a naught o’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>putting; and ’twer the me o’ me at seek, aye, -and find. Aye, and ’twer so.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the time Patience first presented herself -to Mrs. Curran, she (Mrs. Curran) was very -tired, and was sitting at the board with Mrs. -Hutchings, with her head, as she expresses it, -absolutely empty.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dr. Z.</i>—“Did you go forth to seek, or were -you sent?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“There be nay tracker o’ path -ne’er put thereon by sender.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dr. Z.</i>—“Did you know of the ouija board -and its use before?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Nay, ’tis not the put o’ me, the -word hereon. ’Tis the put o’ me at see o’ -her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I put athin the see o’ her, aye and ’tis the -see o’ ye that be afulled o’ the put o’ me, and -yet a put thou knowest not.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That which ye know not o’ thy day hath -slipped it unto her, and thence unto thee. And -thee knowest ’tis not the put o’ her; aye, and -thee knowest ’tis ne’er a putter o’ thy day there -be at such an put. Aye, and did he to put, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>’twould be o’ thy day and not the day o’ me. -And yet ye prate o’ why and whence and -where. I tell thee ’tis thee that knowest that -which ye own not.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dr. Z.</i>—“Why don’t we own it, Patience?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“’Tis at fear o’ gab.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is no easy task to untangle that putting -of puts, but, briefly, it seems to mean that Patience -does not put her words on the board -direct, with the hands of Mrs. Curran, but -transmits her words through the mind or inner -vision of Mrs. Curran, and yet it is the word of -Patience and not of Mrs. Curran that is recorded. -This accords with Mrs. Curran’s impressions. -And thou knowest, Patience farther -says, that it is not the language of her, -and no writer of thy day would or could write -in such a language as I make use of.</p> -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>Returning to Dr. X. and his party. They -were present again a few days after the interview -just given, having with them a Miss J., -a newspaper writer from an Ohio city. Dr. X. -in the meantime had thought much upon the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>phenomena, and Patience immediately directed -her guns upon the anatomist, in this -manner:</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Hark ye, lad, unto thee I do -speak. Thou hast a sack o’ the wares o’ me, -and thou hast eat therefrom. Yea, and thou -hast spat that which thou did’st eat, and eat it -o’er. And yet thou art not afulled.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Hark! Here be a trick that shall best thee -at thine own trick. Lo, thou lookest upon flesh -and it be but flesh. Yea, thou lookest unto thy -brother, and see but flesh. And yet thy -brother speakest word, and thou sayest: ‘Yea, -this is a man, aye, the brother o’ me.’ Then -doth death lay low thy brother, and he speak -not word unto thee, thou sayest: ‘Nay, this is -no man; nay, this is but clay.’ Then lookest -thou unto thy brother, and thou seest not the -him o’ him. Thou knowest not the him o’ him -(the soul) but the flesh o’ him only.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“More I tell thee. Thy very babe wert not -flesh; yea, it were as dead afore the coming. -Yet, at the mother’s bearing, it setteth within -the flesh. And thou knowest it and speak, yea, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>this is a man. And yet I tell thee thou knowest -not e’en the him o’ him! Then doth it die, -’tis nay man, thou sayest. Yet, at the dying -and afore the bearing, ’twer what? The him -o’ him wert then, and now, and ever.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, I speak unto thee not through flesh, -and thou sayest: This is no man, yea, for thine -eyes see not flesh, yet thou knowest the me o’ -me, and I speak unto thee with the me o’ me. -And thou art where upon thy path o’ learning!”</p> - -<p class='c013'>There was some discussion following this -argument in which Dr. X. admitted that he -accepted only material facts and believed but -what he saw.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Man maketh temples that reach -them unto the skies, and yet He fashioneth a -gnat, and where be man’s learning!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The earth is full o’ what the blind in-man -seeth not. Ope thine eye, lad. Thou art -athin dark, and yet drink ye ever o’ the -light.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Dr. X.</i>—“That’s all right, Patience, and a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>good argument; but tell me where the him o’ -him of my dog is.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Thou art ahungered for what -be thine at the hand o’ thee. Thy dog hath far -more o’ Him than thy brothers who set them -as dogs and eat o’ dog’s eat. The One o’ One, -the All o’ All, yea, all o’ life holdeth the Him -o’ Him, thy Sire and mine! ’Tis the breath o’ -Him that pulses earth. Thou asketh where -abides this thing. Aneath thy skull’s arch there -be nay room for the there or where o’ this!”</p> -<p class='c013'>Miss J. then took the board and Patience -said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She taketh it she standeth well athin the -sight o’ me that she weareth the frock o’ me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This caused a laugh, for it was then explained -by the visitors that Miss J. had chosen -to wear a frock somewhat on the Puritan -order, having a gray cape with white cuffs and -collar, and had said she thought Patience -would approve of it.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Here be a one aheart ope, and -she hath the in-man who she proddeth that he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>opeth his eyes. Yea, she seest that which be -and thou seest not.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was remarked that Patience was evidently -trying to be very nice to Miss J.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Nay, here be a one who tickleth -with quill, I did hear ye put. Think ye not a -one who putteth as me, be not a love o’ me? -Yea, she be. And I tell thee a something that -she will tell unto ye is true. Oft hath she -sought for word that she might put, and lo, -from whence she knoweth not it cometh.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Miss J. said this was true.</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Patience.</i>—“Shall I then sing unto thee, -wench?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Miss J. expressed delight, and the song followed.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, how do I to build me up my song for thee?</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and tell unto thee of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d shew unto thee His loving,</div> - <div class='line'>I’d shew unto thee His very face.</div> - <div class='line'>Do then to list to this my song.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Early hours, strip o’ thy pure,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the heart of Him.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>Earth, breathe deep thy busom,</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and rock the sea,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the breath of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>Fields, burst ope thy sod,</div> - <div class='line'>And fling thee loose thy store,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the robe of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>Skies, shed thou thy blue,</div> - <div class='line'>The depth of heaven,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the eyes of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>Winter’s white, stand thou thick</div> - <div class='line'>And shed thy soft o’er earth,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the touch of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>Spring, shed thou thy loosened</div> - <div class='line'>Laughter of the streams,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the voice of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>Noon’s heat, and tire o’ earth,</div> - <div class='line'>Shed thou of rest to His,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the rest of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>Evil days of earth,</div> - <div class='line'>Stride thou on and smite,</div> - <div class='line'>For ’tis the frown of Him.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Earth, this, the chant o’ me,</div> - <div class='line'>May end, as doth the works o’ man,</div> - <div class='line'>But hark ye; Earth holdeth all</div> - <div class='line'>That hath been;</div> - <div class='line'>And Spring’s ope, and sowing</div> - <div class='line'>O’ the Winter’s tide,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>Shall bear the Summer’s full</div> - <div class='line'>Of that that be no more.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>For, at the waking o’ the Spring,</div> - <div class='line'>The wraiths o’ blooms agone</div> - <div class='line'>Shall rise them up from out the mould</div> - <div class='line'>And speak to thee of Him.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thus, the songs o’ me,</div> - <div class='line'>The works o’ thee,</div> - <div class='line'>The Earth’s own bloom,</div> - <div class='line'>Are HIM.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>The interest of Dr. X. in this phenomenon -brought an eminent psychologist, associated -with one of the greatest state universities in -the country, some distance from Missouri, for -an interview with Patience. He shall be known -here as Dr. V. With him and Dr. X. was Dr. -K., a physician. Dr. V. sat at the board first, -and Patience said to him:</p> -<p class='c010'>“Here be a one, verily, that hath a sword. -Aye, and he doth to wrap it o’er o’ silks. Yea, -but I do say unto thee, he doth set the cups o’ -measure at aright, and doth set not the word -o’ me as her ahere (Mrs. Curran). Nay, not -till he hath seen and tasted o’ the loaf o’ me; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>and e’en athen he would to take o’ the loaf and -crumb o’ it to bits and look unto the crumb -and wag much afore he putteth. And he wilt -be assured o’ the truth afore the putting.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was discussed as a character delineation.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“I’d set at reasoning. Since the -townsmen do fetch aforth for the seek o’ me, -and pry aneath the me o’ me, then do thou -alike. Yea, put thou unto me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“Why fear Death?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Thou shouldst eat o’ the loaf -(her writings). Ayea, ’tis right and meet that -flesh shrinketh at the lash.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Dr. V. was told of her poems on the fear of -death.</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“What do you think of the attempts -to investigate you? Is it right?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Ayea. And thou hast o’ me -the loaf o’ the me o’ me, and thou hast o’ it -afar more than thou hast o’ thy brother o’ -earth, and yet they seek o’ me and seek ever.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“Have you ever lived?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“What! Think ye that I be a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>prater o’ thy path and ne’er atrod? Then -thou art afollied, for canst thou tell o’ here?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“When did you live on earth?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“A seed aplanted be watched -for grow. Ayea, but the seed held athin the -palm be but a seed, and Earth hath seeds not -aplanted that she casteth forth, e’en as she -would to cast forth me, do I not to cloak me -much.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“I understand; but can you not -answer a little clearer the question I put?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“The time be not ariped for the -put o’ this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“What does Lethe mean?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“This be a tracker! Ayea, ’tis -nay a word o’ thy day or yet the word o’ thy -brother, that meaneth unto me. I be a maker -o’ loaf for the hungered. Eat thou. ’Tis not -aright that thou shouldst set unto the feast -athout thou art fed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>By this she seemed to mean that she wanted -him to read her writings and see what it is she -is endeavoring to do. She continued:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Brother, this be not a trapping o’ thy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>sword, the seeking o’ me. Nay, ’tis ahind a -cloak I do for to stand, that this word abe, and -not me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mr. Curran here stated that this had ever -been so; that Patience had obscured herself so -that her message could not be clouded.</p> - -<p class='c027'><i>Patience.</i>—“Aright. I do sing.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Gone! Gone! Ayea, thou art gone!</div> - <div class='line'>Gone, and earth doth stand it stark.</div> - <div class='line'>Gone! Gone! The even’s breath</div> - <div class='line'>Doth breathe it unto me</div> - <div class='line'>In echo soft; yea, but sharped,</div> - <div class='line'>And cutting o’ this heart.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Gone! Gone! Aye, thou art gone!</div> - <div class='line'>The day is darked, and sun</div> - <div class='line'>Hath sorried sore and wrapped him in the dark.</div> - <div class='line'>Gone! Gone! This heart doth drip o’ drops</div> - <div class='line'>With sorry singing o’ this song.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Gone! Gone! Yea, thou art gone!</div> - <div class='line'>And where, beloved, where?</div> - <div class='line'>Doth yonder golden shaft o’ light</div> - <div class='line'>That pierceth o’ the cloud</div> - <div class='line'>Then speak unto this heart?</div> - <div class='line'>Art thou athin the day’s dark hours?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>Hast thou then hid from sight o’ me,</div> - <div class='line'>And yet do know mine hour?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Gone! Gone! What then hath Earth?</div> - <div class='line'>What then doth day to bring</div> - <div class='line'>To this the sorry-laden heart o’ me,</div> - <div class='line'>That weepeth blood drops here?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Gone! Gone! Yea, but hark!</div> - <div class='line'>For I did trick the sorry, loved;</div> - <div class='line'>For where e’er thou art am I.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, this love o’ me shall follow thee</div> - <div class='line'>Unto the Where, and thou shalt ever know</div> - <div class='line'>That though this sorry setteth me</div> - <div class='line'>I be where’er thou art.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>After this Dr. K., who resides in St. Louis, -took the board.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Here abe a townsman. Aye, -a Sirrah who knoweth men and atruth doth -ne’er acloak the blade o’ him as doth brother -ayonder. Ayea, ahind a chuckle beeth fires.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There abe weave ’pon the cloth o’ me, yea, -but ’tis nay ariped the time that I do weave. -Yea, thou hast a pack o’ tricks. Show unto -me, then, thine.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here Dr. V. asked: “Do you know Dr. -James?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>This referred to the late Dr. William James, -the celebrated psychologist of Harvard.</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“I telled a one o’ the brothers -and the neighbors o’ thy day, and he doth -know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had given such an answer to a frequent -visitor who had inquired as to her knowledge -of several eminent men long since dead. It -was considered an affirmative answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“Have you associated with Dr. -James?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Hark! Unto thee I do say -athis; ’tis the day’s break and Earth shall -know, e’en athin thy day, much o’ the Here.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“This, the brother o’ ye, the seeker o’ the -Here, hath set a promise so, and ’tis for to be, -I say unto thee. Thou knowest ’tis the word -o’ him spaked in loving. Yea, for such a man -as the man o’ him wert, standeth as a beacon -unto the Here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. V.</i>—“Could Dr. James, by seeking as -you did, communicate with someone here as -you are doing?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“This abe so; he who seeketh abe -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>alike unto thee and thee. Ayea, thee and thy -brother do set forth with quill, and thou dost -set aslant, and with thy hand at the right o’ -thee. And thy brother doth trace with the -hand at the left of him. And ’tis so, thou puttest -not as him. This, the quill o’ me, be for -the put o’ me, and doth he seek and know the -trick o’ tricks o’ sending out a music with the -quill o’ me, it might then be so.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was interpreted as meaning that if Dr. -James could find one who had the conditions -surrounding Mrs. Curran, and was able to -master the rhythm which Patience uses to give -the matter to her, then he could do it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the record of the foregoing interview -was being copied, Mrs. Curran felt an impulse -to write. Taking the board, Patience indicated -that she had called, and at once set forth, apparently -for Dr. V., the following explanation -of her method of communication and the principle -upon which it is based:</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Aye, ’tis a tickle I be. Hark, -there be a pulse—Nay, she (Mrs. Curran) -putteth o’ the word! Alist.—There abe a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>throb; yea, the songs o’ Earth each do throb -them, like unto the throbbing o’ the heart that -beareth them. Yea, and there be a kinsman o’ -the heart that beareth them. Yea, and there -be a kinsman o’ thee who throbbeth as dost -thou. Yea, and he knoweth thee as doth nay -brother o’ thee whose throb be not as thine. -So ’tis, the drop that falleth athin the sea, doth -sound out a silvered note that no man heareth. -Yet its brother drops and the drop o’ it do to -make o’ the sea’s voice. Aye, and the throb o’ -the sea be the throb o’ it. So, doth thy brother -seek out that he make word unto thee from the -Here, he then falleth aweary. For thee of -Earth do hark not unto the throb. And be the -one aseeked not attuned unto the throb o’ him -he findeth, ’tis nay music. So ’tis, what be the -throb o’ me and the throb o’ her ahere, be nay -a throb o’ music’s weave for him aseek.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I tell thee more. The throb hath come -unto thy day long and long. Yea, they be -afulled o’ throb, and yet nay man taketh up -the throbbing as doth the sea. The drop o’ me -did seek and find, and throb met throb o’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>loving. Yea, and even as doth the sea to -throb out the silvered note o’ drop, even so -doth she to throb out the love o’ me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This seems, in effect, a declaration that communications -of this character are a matter of -attunement, possible only between two natures -of identical vibrations, one seeking and the -other receptive. It indicates too that her -rhythmical speech has an influence upon -the facility of her utterances. At another -time she described her own seeking in this -verse:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>How have I sought!</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, how have I asought,</div> - <div class='line'>And seeked me ever through the earth’s hours,</div> - <div class='line'>Amid the damp, cool moon, when winged scrape</div> - <div class='line'>Doth sound and cry unto the day</div> - <div class='line'>The waking o’ the hosts!</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, and ’mid the noon’s heat,</div> - <div class='line'>When Earth doth wither ’neath the sun,</div> - <div class='line'>And rose doth droop from sun’s-kiss,</div> - <div class='line'>That stole the dew; and ’mid the wastes</div> - <div class='line'>O’ water where they whirl and rage,</div> - <div class='line'>And seeked o’ word that I</div> - <div class='line'>Might put to answer thee.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>Ayea, from days have I then stripped</div> - <div class='line'>The fulness of their joys, and pryed</div> - <div class='line'>The very buds that they might ope for thee.</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and sought the days apast,</div> - <div class='line'>That I might sing them unto thee.</div> - <div class='line'>And ever, ever, cometh unto me</div> - <div class='line'>Thy song o’ why? why? why?</div> - <div class='line'>And then, lo, I found athin this heart</div> - <div class='line'>The answer to thy song.</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, it chanteth sweet unto this ear,</div> - <div class='line'>And filleth up the song.</div> - <div class='line'>Do hark thee, hark unto the song,</div> - <div class='line'>For answer to thy why? why? why?</div> - <div class='line'>I sing me Give! Give! Give!</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, ever Give!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>When the foregoing verse was received, Dr. -X. was again present, this time with his wife -and two physicians, Dr. R. and Dr. P. It will -have been observed that many doctors of many -kinds have “sat at the feet” of Patience -Worth, but all, as I have said, have come as -the friends of friends of Mrs. Curran, upon -her invitation, or upon that of Mr. Curran. -On this occasion Patience began:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They do seek o’ me, ever; that they do -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>see the pettiskirt o’ me, and eat not o’ the loaf! -(More interested in the phenomenon than the -words.) Ayea, but he ahere (Dr. R.) hath a -wise pate. Aye, he seeketh, and deep athin the -heart o’ him sinketh seed o’ the word o’ me. -Aye, even though he doth see the me o’ me -athrough the sage’s eye o’ him, still shall he -to love the word o’ me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>After due acknowledgments from Dr. R., -she continued:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, brother, hark unto the word o’ me, -for thou dost seek amid the fields o’ Him! -Aye, and ’tis, thou knowest, earth’s men that -be afar amore awry athin the in-man than in -the flesh. And ’tis the in-man o’ men thou -knowest.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Dr. R., a neurologist, gave hearty assent.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Put thou unto me. (Question me.) ’Tis -awish I be that ye weave.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Dr. R.</i>—“Do you see through Mrs. Curran’s -eyes and hear through her ears?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Even as thou hast spoke, it be. -Aye, and yet I say me ’tis the me o’ me that -knoweth much she heareth and seeth not.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>Then to a question had she ever talked before -with anyone, she said: “Anaught save the -flesh o’ me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fetch ye the wheel,” she commanded, -“that I do sit and spin.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was one of her ways of saying that she -desired to write on her story, and she dictated -several hundred words of it, after which Dr. P. -took the board and she said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What abe ahere? A one who seeth sorry -and maketh merry! Yea, a one who leaveth -the right hand o’ him unto its task, and setteth -his left at doing awry o’ the task o’ its brothers. -Aye, he doeth the labors o’ his brother, aye, -and him. Do then, aweave.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In compliance some more of the story was -written, and then Dr. R. “wondered” why he -could not write for Patience, to which she answered:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Hark unto me, thou aside. Thou shalt -put (say) ’tis her ahere (<i>i.e.</i>, Mrs. Curran, who -does it); ayea, and say much o’ word, and e’en -set down athin thy heart thy word o’ what I -be, and yet I tell thee, I be me! Aye, ever, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>and the word o’ me shall stand, e’en when thou -and thou art ne’er ahere!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“E’en he who doth know not o’ the Here -hath felt the tickle o’ my word, and seeketh -much this hearth.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then eat thee well and fill thee up, and -drink not o’ the brew o’ me and spat forth the -sup. Nay, fill up thy paunch. ’Twill merry -thee!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Dr. P. asked her a question about her looks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“’Tis a piddle he putteth,” she said.</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>And now we come to a sitting of a lighter -character. There were present at this Dr. and -Mrs. D., Mr. and Mrs. M. and Mrs. and -Miss G.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Aflurry I be!” cried Patience. “Aye, for -the pack o’ me be afulled o’ song and weave, -and e’en word to them ahere.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, but afirst there be a weave, for the -thrift-bite eateth o’ me.” (The bite of her -thrifty nature.)</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some of the story followed and then she said -to Mrs. M., who sat at the board:</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>“Here be aone who doth to lift up the lid -o’ the brew’s pot, that she see athin! Aye, -Dame, there abe but sweets athin the brew for -thee. Amore, for e’en tho’ I do brew o’ sweets -and tell unto thee, I be a dealer o’ sours do I -to choose! Ayea, and did I to put the spatting -o’ thee athin the brew, aye verily ’twould be -asoured a bit!” Then deprecatingly: “’Tis a -piddle I put!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, for him aside who sitteth that he -drink o’ this brew do I to sing; fetch thee -aside, thee the trickster o’ thy day!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There being so many “tricksters” in the -room, they were at a loss to know which one -she meant. Mr. C. asked if she meant Dr. D., -but Patience said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Thinkest thou he who setteth astraight the -wry doth piddle o’ a song? Anay, to him who -musics do I to sing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This referred to Mr. G., who is a musician -and a composer, and he took the board. Patience -at once gave him this song:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Nodding, nodding, ’pon thy stem,</div> - <div class='line'>Thou bloom o’ morn,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>Nodding, nodding to the bees,</div> - <div class='line'>Asearch o’ honey’s sweet.</div> - <div class='line'>Wilt thou to droop and wilt the dance o’ thee,</div> - <div class='line'>To vanish with the going o’ the day?</div> - <div class='line'>Hath the tearing o’ the air o’ thy sharped thorn</div> - <div class='line'>Sent musics up unto the bright,</div> - <div class='line'>Or doth thy dance to mean anaught</div> - <div class='line'>Save breeze-kiss ’pon thy bloom?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hath yonder songster harked to thee,</div> - <div class='line'>And doth he sing thy love?</div> - <div class='line'>Or hath he tuned his song of world’s wailing o’ the day?</div> - <div class='line'>Doth morn shew thee naught save thy garden’s wall</div> - <div class='line'>That shutteth thee away, a treasure o’ thy day?</div> - <div class='line'>Doth yonder hum then spell anaught,</div> - <div class='line'>Save whirring o’ the wing that hovereth</div> - <div class='line'>O’er thy bud to sup the sweet?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, garden’s deep, afulled o’ fairies’ word,</div> - <div class='line'>And creeped o’er with winged mites,</div> - <div class='line'>Where but the raindrops’ patter telleth thee His love—</div> - <div class='line'>Doth all this vanish then, at closing o’ the day?</div> - <div class='line'>Anay. For He hath made a one who seeketh here,</div> - <div class='line'>And storeth drops, and song, and hum, and sweets,</div> - <div class='line'>And of these weaveth garland for the earth.</div> - <div class='line'>From off his lute doth drip the day of Him.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>Patience then turned her attention to Mr. -M., saying:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ayea, he standeth afar from the feasting -place and doth to smack him much!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mr. M. took the board, and she began to -talk to him in an intimate way about the varying -attitudes of people toward her and her -work, and what they say of her:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I be a dame atruth,” she said, “and I tell -thee the word o’ wag that shall set thy day, -meaneth anaught but merry to me. Hark! I -put a murmur o’ thy day, for at the supping o’ -this cup the earth shall murmur so:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Tis but the chatter o’ a wag! Aye, the -putting o’ the mad! ’Tis piddle! Yea, the -trapping o’ a fool! Yea, ’tis but the dreaming -o’ the waked! Aye, the word o’ a wicked -sprite! Yea, and telleth naught and putteth -naught!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And yet, do harken unto me. They then -shall seek to taste the brew and sniff the whiffing -o’ the scent; ayea, and stop alonger that -they feast! And lo, ’twill set some asoured, and -some asweet; aye and some, ato (too), shall -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>fill them upon the words THEY do to put o’ -me, and find them filled o’ their own put, and -lack the room for eat o’ the loaf o’ me. ’Tis -piddle, then! Aye, and yet I say me so, ’tis -bread, and bread be eat though it be but sparrows -that do seek the crumb. Then what care -ye? For bake asurely shall be eat!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This is a point she often makes, and strives -earnestly to impress—that whatever she may -be, whatever the world may think she is, there -is substance in her words. It is bread, and -will be eaten, if only by the sparrows. So, she -is content. She has put this thought, somewhat -pathetically, into the little verse which -follows:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Loth as Night to dark o’ Day,</div> - <div class='line'>Loth do I to sing.</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, but doth the Day aneed a song,</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis they, o’ Him,</div> - <div class='line'>The songsters o’ the Earth,</div> - <div class='line'>Do sing them on, to Him.</div> - <div class='line'>What though ’tis asmiled? And what</div> - <div class='line'>Though ’tis nay aseeked o’ such a song?</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, what though ’tis sung ’mid dark?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>’Tis I would sing,</div> - <div class='line'>Do thee to list, or nay.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>“I be a dame who knoweth o’ the hearth. -Aye, and do to know o’ the hearts o’ men,” she -said to Mrs. D., who next took the place with -Mrs. Curran. “Ayea, and do to put o’ that -athin the hearts o’ them that doth tickle o’ their -merry! This be a tale for her ahere.”</p> - -<h3 class='c021'><span class='sc'>The Story of the Herbs</span></h3> - -<p class='c012'>“Lo, there wert a dame and her neighbor’s -dame and her neighbor’s dame. And they did -to plant them o’ their gardens full. And lo, -at a day did come unto the garden’s ope a -stranger, who bore him of a bloom-topped -herb. And lo, he spaked unto the dame who -stood athin the sun-niche that lay at the garden’s -end, and he did tell unto her of the herb -he bore. And lo, he told that he would give -unto her one of these, and to her neighbor -dame a one, atoo (also), and to her neighbor -dame a one atoo, and he then would leave the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>garden’s place and come at the fulling o’ the -season-tide when winter’s bite did sear, and -that he then would seek them out, and they -should shew unto him the fulling o’ the herb.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, he went him out unto the neighbor’s -dame and telled unto her the same, and -to her neighbor’s dame the same, and they did -seek one the other and tell o’ all the stranger -had told unto them. And each had sorry, for -feared ’twer the cunger o’ the wise men, and -each aspoke her that she would to care and -care for this the herb he did to leave, and that -she would have at the fulling o’ the season the -herb that stood at the fullest bloom. And each -o’ the dames did speak it that this herb o’ her -should be the one waxed stronger at the fulling. -And lo, none told unto the other o’ how -this would to be.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, the first o’ dames did plant her -herb adeep and speak little, and lo, her neighbor -dames did word much o’ the planting, and -carried drops from out the well that the herbs -might full. And lo, they did pluck o’ the first -bud that them that did follow should be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>afuller. And lo, the dame afirst o’ the garden -the stranger did to seek, did look with sunked -heart at the thriving o’ the herbs o’ the neighbor -dames. And lo, she wept thereon, and -’twer that her well did dry, and yet she seeked -not the wells of her sisters. Nay, but did weep -upon the earth about the herb, and lo, it did -to spring it up. And lo, she looked not with -greed upon her sister’s herb; nay, for at the -caring for the bloom, lo, she loved its bud and -wept that she had nay drop to give as drink -unto it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, at a certain day the stranger came -and did seek the dames, and came him unto -her garden where the herb did stand, and he -bore the herbs of her sisters, and they wert tall -and full grown and filled o’ bloom. And he -did to put the herb o’ her sisters anext the herb -o’ her, and lo, the herb o’ her did spring it up, -and them o’ her sisters shrunked to but a twig. -And he did call unto the dames and spake:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“‘Lo, have ye but fed thy herb that it be -full o’ bloom, that thou shouldst glad thee o’er -thy sister? And lo, the herb o’ her hath -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>drunked her tears shed o’ loving, and standeth -sweet-bloomed from out the tears o’ her.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, the herb did flower aneath their -very eyes. And lo, the flowering wert fulled -o’ dews-gleam, and ’twer the sweet o’ her heart, -yea, the dew o’ heaven.”</p> - -<p class='c013'>Following this pretty parable someone -spoke of a newspaper article that had appeared -that day, and Patience remarked:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“’Tis a gab o’ fool. Aye, and the gab o’ -fool be like unto a spring that be o’erfull o’ -drops, ’tis ne’er atelling when it breaketh out -its bounds.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With this sage observation she dismissed the -“fool” as unworthy of further consideration, -and gave this poem:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Do I to love the morn,</div> - <div class='line'>When Earth awakes, and streams</div> - <div class='line'>Aglint o’ sun’s first gold,</div> - <div class='line'>As siren’s tresses thred them through the fields;</div> - <div class='line'>When sky-cup gleameth as a pearl;</div> - <div class='line'>When sky-hosts wake, and leaf bowers</div> - <div class='line'>Wave aheavied with the dew?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>Do I to love the eve,</div> - <div class='line'>When white the moon doth show,</div> - <div class='line'>And frost’s sweet sister, young night’s breath,</div> - <div class='line'>Doth stand aglistened ’pon the blades;</div> - <div class='line'>When dark the shadow deepeth,</div> - <div class='line'>Like to the days agone that stand</div> - <div class='line'>As wraiths adraped o’ black</div> - <div class='line'>Along the garden’s path;</div> - <div class='line'>When sweet the nestlings twitter</div> - <div class='line'>’Neath the wing of soft and down</div> - <div class='line'>That hovereth it there within</div> - <div class='line'>The shadows deep atop the tree?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Do I to love the mid-hours deep—</div> - <div class='line'>The royal color o’ the night?</div> - <div class='line'>For earth doth drape her purpled,</div> - <div class='line'>And jeweled o’er athin this hour.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Do I to love these hours, then,</div> - <div class='line'>As the loved o’ me?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, for at the morn,</div> - <div class='line'>Lo, do I to love the eve!</div> - <div class='line'>And at the eve,</div> - <div class='line'>Lo, do I to love the morn!</div> - <div class='line'>And at the morn and eve,</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis night that claimeth me.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>A little of the reasoning of Patience upon -Earth questions may appropriately come in -here. The Currans, with a single visitor, had -talked at luncheon of various things, beginning -with music and ending with capital punishment, -the latter suggested by an execution -which at the moment was attracting national -attention. When they took the board, after -luncheon, Patience said:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“List thee. Earth sendeth up much note. -Yea, and some do sound them at wry o’ melody, -and others sing them true. And lo, they who -sing awry shall mingle much and drown in -melody. And I tell thee, o’er and above shall -sound the note o’ me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And then she gave them to understand that -she had listened to their discussion!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ye spake ye of eye for eye. Yea, and -tooth for tooth. Yea, but be thy brother’s -eye not the ope o’ thine, then ’tis a measure -less the full thou hast at taking o’ the eye o’ -him. Yea, and should the tooth o’ him put -crave for carrion, and thine for sweets, then -how doth the tooth o’ him serve thee?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>Here the sitters asked: “How about a life -for a life, Patience?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><i>Patience.</i>—“Ye fill thy measure full o’ sands -that trickle waste at each and every putting. -I tell thee thou hast claimed life; aye, and -life be not thine or yet thy brother’s for the -taking or giving. Yea, and such an soul hath -purged at the taking or giving, and rises to -smile at thy folly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Aye, and more. List! The earth’s baggage, -hate, and might, and scorn, fall at earth’s -leave, a dust o’ naught, like the dust o’ thy -body crumbleth.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Thou canst strip the body, yea, but the -soul defieth thee!”</p> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'>The visitor referred to in the preceding talk -is a frequent guest of the Currans, and is one -of the loved ones of Patience. This visitor, -who is a widow, remarked one evening that -Patience was deep and lived in a deep -place.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Aye,” said Patience, “a deeper than word. -There be ahere what thou knowest abetter far -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>than word o’ me might tell. (This seems to -refer to the visitor’s husband.) Ayea thou -hungereth, and bread be thine, for from off -lips that spaked not o’ the land o’ here in word -o’ little weight, thou hast supped of love, and -know the path that be atrod by him shall be -atrod even so by thee, e’en tho’ thou shouldst -find the mountain’s height and pits o’ depth -past Earth’s tung.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Shouldst thou at come o’ here to hark unto -the sound of this voice, thinkest thou that -heights, aye or depths, might keep thee from -there? And even so, doth not the one thou -seeketh too, haste e’en now to find the path -and waiteth?</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then thinkest thou this journey be lone? -Nay, I tell thee, thou art areach e’en past the -ye o’ ye, and he areach ato. Then shall the -path’s ope be its end and beginning. In love -is the end and beginning of things.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, yea, yea, the earth suppeth o’ the -word o’ me, and e’en at the supping stoppeth -and speaketh so. What that one not o’ me -doth brew. Thou knowest this, dame. Aye, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>but what then? And why doth not the blood -o’ me speak unto me?</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Tis a merry I be. Lo, have I not fetched -forth unto a day that holdeth little o’ the blood -o’ me, that I might deal alike unto my brother -and bring forth word that be ahungered for -aye, and they speak them o’ her ahere and wag -and hark not? Yea, and did the blood o’ them -spake out unto their very ears I vow me -’twould set the earth ariot o’ fearing. Yea, -man loveth blood that hath not flowed, but -sicketh o’er spilled blood. Yea, then weave.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was some discussion following this, to -the effect that whatever explanations might be -given of this phenomenon, many would believe -in Patience Worth as an independent personality, -which brought from her the following -discourse which may well conclude these conversations:</p> -<p class='c012'>“Yea, the tooth o’ him who eateth up the -flesh I did to cloak me athin, shall rot and he -shalt wither. Aye, and the word o’ me shalt -stand. Fires but bake awell.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>“Sweet hath the sound of the word o’ Him -asounded unto the ears o’ Earth that hark -not.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, and He hath beat upon the busom of -Earth and sounded out a loud noise, and Earth -harkened not.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And He hath sung thro’ the mother’s songs -o’ Earth, and Earth harkened not.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, and He hath sent His own with word, -and Earth harkened not.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then ’tis Earth’s own folly that batheth -her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, and Folly cometh astreaming ribbands, -and showering color, and grinning ’pon -his way.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, but Folly masketh and leadeth Earth -and man assuredly unto Follies pit—self. -And self is blind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then whence doth Earth to turn for aid? -For Folly followeth not the blind, and the -voice of him who falleth unto the pit of Folly -soundeth out a loud note. Yea, and it echoeth -’self.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And lo, the Earth filled up o’ self, hearketh -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>not unto the words of Him, the King of -Wisdom.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, and I say unto thee, though them o’ -Him fall pierced and rent athin the flow o’ -their own blood thro’ the self-song o’ his -brother, he doeth this for Him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And the measuring rod shall weight out -for him who packeth the least o’ self athin -him, afull o’ measure, and light for him who -packeth heavy o’ self.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ayea, and more. I speak me o’ lands -wherein the high estate be self. Yea, yea, yea, -o’ thy lands do I to speak. Woe unto him -who feareth that might shall slay! Self may -wield a mighty blow, but it slayeth never.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“’Tis as the dame who watcheth o’er her -brood, and lo, this one hath sorry, and that one -hath sorry. And she flitteth here and yon, -and lo, afore she hath fetched out the herbs, -they sleep them peaceful. So shall it be at -this time. The herbs shall be fetched forth -but lo, the lands shall sleep them peaceful.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yea, for Folly leadeth, and Wisdom warreth -Folly.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span> - <h2 class='c003'>RELIGION<br /> <br /><span class='c028'>“Teach me that I be Ye.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>And now we well may ask: What is the purpose -of all this? Here we appear to have an -invisible intelligence, speaking an obsolete -language, producing volumes of poetry containing -many evidences of profound wisdom. -So far as I have been able to find out, no such -phenomenon has occurred before since the -world began. Do not misunderstand that assertion. -There is nothing extraordinary in the -manner of its coming, as I have said before. -The publications of the Society for Psychical -Research are filled with examples of communications -received in the same or a similar way. -The fact that makes this phenomenon stand -out, that altogether isolates it from everything -else of an occult nature, is the character and -quality of its literature. Literature is something -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>tangible, something that one can lay -hands on, so to speak. It is in a sense physical; -it can be seen with the eyes. And this literature -is the physical evidence which Patience -Worth presents of herself as a separate and -distinct personality.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But why is it contributed? Is there in it -any intimation or assertion of a definite purpose?</p> - -<p class='c007'>If we may assume that Patience is what she -seems to be—a voice from another world, then -indeed we may discern a purpose. She has a -message to deliver, and she gives the impression -that she is a messenger.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do eat that which I offer thee,” she says. -“’Tis o’ Him. I but bear the pack apacked -for the carry o’ me by Him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Constantly she speaks of herself as bearing -food or drink in her words. “I bid thee eat,” -she said to one, “and rest ye, and eat amore, -for ’tis the wish o’ me that ye be filled.” The -seed, the loaf, the cup, are frequently used -symbolically when referring to her communications.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>“There be a man who buyeth grain and he -telleth his neighbor and his neighbor’s neighbor, -and lo, they come asacked and clamor for -the grain. And what think ye? Some do -make price, and yet others bring naught. But -I be atelling ye, ’tis not a price I beg. Nay, -’tis that ye drink my cup.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“’Tis truth o’ earth that ’tis the seed -aplanted deep that doth cause the harvester for -to watch. For lo, doth he to hold the seed -athin (within) his hand, ’tis but a seed. And -aplanted he doth watch him in wondering. -Verily do I say, ’tis so with me. I be aplanted -deep; do thee then to watch.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And with greater significance she has exclaimed: -“Morn hath broke, and ye be the first -to see her light. Look ye wide-eyed at His -workings. He hath offered ye a cup.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is thus she announces herself to be a -herald of a new day, a bearer of tidings -divinely commissioned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>What, then, is her message? For answer -it may be said that it is at once a revelation, a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>religion and a promise. Whatever we may -think of the nature of this phenomenon, Patience -herself is a revelation, and there are -many revelations in her words. The religion -she presents is not a new one. It is as old -as that given to the world nineteen centuries -ago; for fundamentally it is the same. It is -that religion, stripped of all the doctrines and -creeds and ceremonials and observances that -have grown up about it in all the ages since -His coming, and paring it down to the point -where it can be expressed by the one word—Love. -Love, going out to fellow man, to all -nature and overflowing toward God.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the consideration of this religion let us -begin at the beginning, at the ground, so to -speak, with this expression of love for the loveless:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, could I love thee,</div> - <div class='line'>Thou, the loveless o’ the earth,</div> - <div class='line'>And pry aneath the crannies</div> - <div class='line'>Yet untouched by mortal hand</div> - <div class='line'>To send therein this love o’ mine—</div> - <div class='line'>Thou creeping mite, and winged speck,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>And whirled waters o’ the mid o’ sea</div> - <div class='line'>Where no man seeth thee?</div> - <div class='line'>And could I love thee, the days</div> - <div class='line'>Unsunned and laden with hate o’ sorrying?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, could I love thee,</div> - <div class='line'>Thou who beareth blight;</div> - <div class='line'>And thou the fruit bescorched</div> - <div class='line'>And shrivelling, to fall unheeded</div> - <div class='line'>’Neath thy mother-stalk?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, could I love thee, love thee?</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, for Him who loveth thee,</div> - <div class='line'>And blightest but through loving;</div> - <div class='line'>Like to him who bendeth low the forest’s king</div> - <div class='line'>To fashion out a mast.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Love for everything is the essence of her -thought and of her song. And as she thus -sings for the loveless, so she sings for the -wearied ones and the failures of the earth:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I’d sing.</div> - <div class='line'>Wearied word adropped by weary ones,</div> - <div class='line'>And broked mold afashioned out by wearied hands;</div> - <div class='line'>A falter-song sung through tears o’ wearied one;</div> - <div class='line'>A fancied put o’ earth’s fair scene</div> - <div class='line'>Afallen at awry o’ weariness. Love’s task</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>Unfinished, aye, o’ertaken by sore weariness—</div> - <div class='line'>O’ thee I’d sing.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Aye, and put me such an songed-note</div> - <div class='line'>That earth, aye, and heaven, should hear;</div> - <div class='line'>And thou, aye all o’ ye, the soul-songs</div> - <div class='line'>O’ my brothers, be afinished,</div> - <div class='line'>At the closing o’ my song.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Aye, and wearied, aye and wearied, I’d sing.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d sing for them, the loved o’ Him,</div> - <div class='line'>And brothers o’ thee and me. Amen.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This is the prelude and now comes the song:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I choose o’ the spill</div> - <div class='line'>O’ love and word and work,</div> - <div class='line'>The waste o’ earth, to build.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ye hark unto the sages,</div> - <div class='line'>And oft a way-singer’s song</div> - <div class='line'>Hath laden o’erfull o’ truth,</div> - <div class='line'>And wasteth ’pon the air,</div> - <div class='line'>And falleth not unto thine ear.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Think ye He scattereth whither</div> - <div class='line'>E’en such an grain? Nay.</div> - <div class='line'>And do ye seek o’ spill</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>And put unto thy song,</div> - <div class='line'>’Twill fill its emptiness.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ye seek to sing but o’ thy song,</div> - <div class='line'>And ’tis an empty strain. ’Tis need</div> - <div class='line'>O’ love’s spill for to fill.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>The spill of earth, the love that goes unnoticed -and unappreciated, the words that are -unheard or unheeded, the work that seems to -be for naught—none of these is waste. A song -it is for the wearied ones, the heart-sick and -discouraged, “the loved of Him and brothers -of thee and me.”</p> - -<hr class='c029' /> - -<p class='c007'>And yet she calls them waste but to show -that they are not. “The waste of earth,” she -says, “doth build the Heaven,” and this is the -theme of much of her song.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Earth hath filled it up o’ waste and waste.</div> - <div class='line'>The sea’s fair breast, that heaveth as a mother’s,</div> - <div class='line'>Beareth waste o’ wrecks and wind-blown waste.</div> - <div class='line in4'>The day doth hold o’ waste.</div> - <div class='line'>The smiles that die, that long to break,</div> - <div class='line'>The woes that burden them already broke,</div> - <div class='line in4'>’Tis waste, ah yea, ’tis waste.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>And yet, and yet, at some fair day,</div> - <div class='line'>E’en as the singing thou dost note</div> - <div class='line'>Doth bound from yonder hill’s side green</div> - <div class='line'>As echo, yea, the ghost o’ thy voice;</div> - <div class='line'>So shall all o’ this to sound aback</div> - <div class='line'>Unto the day.</div> - <div class='line'>Of waste, of waste, is heaven builded up.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It is to the waste of earth that she speaks in -this message of love and sympathy:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, emptied heart! The weary o’ the path!</div> - <div class='line'>How would I to fill ye up o’ love!</div> - <div class='line'>I’d tear this lute, that it might whirr</div> - <div class='line'>A song that soothed thy lone, awearied path.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d steal the sun’s pale gold,</div> - <div class='line'>And e’en the silvered even’s ray,</div> - <div class='line'>To treasure them within this song</div> - <div class='line'>That it be rich for thee.</div> - <div class='line'>From out the wastes o’ earth I’d seek</div> - <div class='line'>And catch the woe-tears shed,</div> - <div class='line'>That I might drink them from the cup</div> - <div class='line'>And fill it up with loving.</div> - <div class='line'>From out the hearts afulled o’ love</div> - <div class='line'>Would I to steal the o’er-drip</div> - <div class='line'>And pack the emptied hearts of earth.</div> - <div class='line'>The bread o’ love would I to cast</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>Unto thy bywayed path, and pluck me</div> - <div class='line'>From the thornèd bush that traileth o’er</div> - <div class='line'>The stepping-place, the thorn, that brothers</div> - <div class='line'>O’ the flesh o’ me might step ’pon path acleared.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, I’d coax the songsters o’ the earth</div> - <div class='line'>To carol thee upon thy ways,</div> - <div class='line'>And fill ye up o’ love and love and love.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>And a message of cheer and encouragement -she gives to those who sorrow, in this:</p> -<p class='c010'>“The web o’ sorrow weaveth ’bout the days -o’ earth, and ’tis but Folly who plyeth o’ the -bobbin. I tell thee more, the bobbins stick and -threads o’ day-weave go awry. But list ye; -’tis he who windeth o’ his web ’pon smiles and -shuttleth ’twixt smiles and woe who weaveth -o’ a day afull and pleantious. And sorrow -then wilt rift and show a light athrough.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Smiles amid sorrows. He who windeth of -his web upon smiles not only rifts his own woes -but those of others, as she expresses it in this -verse:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The smile thou cast today that passed</div> - <div class='line'>Unheeded by the world; the handclasp</div> - <div class='line'>Of a friend, the touch of baby palms</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>Upon its mother’s breast—</div> - <div class='line'>Whither have they flown along the dreary way?</div> - <div class='line in4'>Mayhap thy smile</div> - <div class='line'>Hath fallen upon a daisy’s golden head,</div> - <div class='line'>To shine upon some weary traveler</div> - <div class='line'>Along the dusty road, and cause</div> - <div class='line'>A softening of the hard, hard way.</div> - <div class='line'>Perchance the handclasp strengthened wavering love</div> - <div class='line'>And lodged thee in thy friend’s regard.</div> - <div class='line'>And where the dimpled hands caress,</div> - <div class='line'>Will not a well of love spring forth?</div> - <div class='line'>Who knows, but who will tell</div> - <div class='line'>The hiding of these fleeting gifts!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>And she gives measure to the same thought -in this:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Waft ye through the world sunlight;</div> - <div class='line'>Throw ye to the sparrows grain</div> - <div class='line'>That runneth o’er the heaping measure.</div> - <div class='line'>Scatter flower petals, like the wings</div> - <div class='line'>Of fluttering butterflies, to streak</div> - <div class='line'>The dove-gray day with daisy gold,</div> - <div class='line'>And turn the silver mist to fleece of gold.</div> - <div class='line'>Hath the king a noble who is such</div> - <div class='line'>An wonder-worker? Or hath his jester</div> - <div class='line'>Such a pack of tricks as thine?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>Both of these last have to do with the hands -and with the use of the hands in the expression -of love for others, but in the following poem -Patience pays a tender and yet somewhat mystical -tribute to the hands themselves, empty -hands filled with the gifts of Him, the power -to build and weave and soothe:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hands. Hands. The hands o’ Earth;</div> - <div class='line'>Abusied at fashioning, Aye,</div> - <div class='line'>And put o’ this, aye, and that.</div> - <div class='line'>Hands. Hands upturned at empty.</div> - <div class='line'>Hands. Hands untooled, aye, but builders</div> - <div class='line'>O’ the soothe o’ Earth.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hands. Hands aspread, aye, and sending forth</div> - <div class='line'>That which they do hold—the emptiness.</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, at empty they be, afulled o’ the give o’ Him.</div> - <div class='line'>At put at up, aye, and down, ’tis at weave</div> - <div class='line'>O’ cloth o’ Him they be.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hands. Hands afulled o’ work o’ Him;</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and ever at a spread o’ doing in His name.</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and at put o’ weave</div> - <div class='line'>For naught but loving.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>There are no doubt such hands on earth, -many of them “ever at a spread of doing in -His name,” but not often have their work and -their mission been so beautifully and so fittingly -expressed as in this strange verse which, -to me at least, grows in wonder at every reading. -And this not so much because of the -quaintness of the words and the singularity -of the construction, as for the thought. This, -however, is characteristic of all of her work. -There is always more in it than appears upon -the surface. And yet when one analyzes it, -one finds that whatever may be the nature or -the subject of the composition, in nearly every -instance love is the inspiration.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The love that she expresses is universal. It -goes out to nature in all its forms, animate and -inanimate, lovely and unlovely. It is manifested -in all her references to humanity, from -the infant to doddering age; and her compositions -are filled with appeals for the application -of love to the relations between man and -man. But it is when she sings of God that she -expresses love with the most tender and passionate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>fervency—His love for man, her love -for Him. “For He knoweth no beginning, no -ending to loving,” she says, “and loveth thee -and me and me and thee ever and afore ever.” -“Sighing but bringeth up heart’s weary; tears -but wash the days acleansed; hands abusied -for them not thine do work for Him; prayers -that fall ’pon but the air and naught, ye deem, -sing straight unto Him. Close, close doth He -to cradle His own to Him.” She gives poetic -expression to this divine love in the song which -follows:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Brother, weary o’ the plod,</div> - <div class='line'>Art sorried sore o’ waiting?</div> - <div class='line'>Brother, bowed aneath the pack o’ Earth,</div> - <div class='line'>Art seeking o’ the path</div> - <div class='line'>That leadest thee unto new fields</div> - <div class='line'>O’ green, and breeze-kissed airs?</div> - <div class='line'>Art bowed and bent o’ weight o’ sorry?</div> - <div class='line'>Art weary, weary, sore?</div> - <div class='line'>Then come and hark unto this song o’ Him.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Hast thou atrodden ’pon the Earth,</div> - <div class='line'>And worn the paths o’ folly</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>Till thou art foot-sore?</div> - <div class='line'>And hast the day grinned back to thee,</div> - <div class='line'>A folly-mask adown thy path</div> - <div class='line'>That layeth far behind thee?</div> - <div class='line'>Thy heart, my brother, hast thou then</div> - <div class='line'>Alost it ’pon the path?</div> - <div class='line'>And filled thee up o’ word and tung</div> - <div class='line'>O’ follysingers long the way?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Ah, weary me, ah, weary me!</div> - <div class='line'>Come thou unto this breast.</div> - <div class='line'>For though thou hast suffered o’ the Earth,</div> - <div class='line'>And though thy robe be stained</div> - <div class='line'>O’ travel o’er the stoney way,</div> - <div class='line'>And though thy lips deny thy heart,</div> - <div class='line'>Come thou unto this breast,</div> - <div class='line'>The breast o’ Him.</div> - <div class='line'>For He knoweth not the stain.</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and the land o’ Him doth know</div> - <div class='line'>No stranger ’mid its hosts.</div> - <div class='line'>Ayea, and though thou comest mute,</div> - <div class='line'>This silence speaketh then to Him,</div> - <div class='line'>And He doth hold Him ope His arms.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>So come thou brother, weary one,</div> - <div class='line'>To Him, for ’tis but Earth and men</div> - <div class='line'>Who ask thee WHY.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>She pours out her love for God in many -verses of praise and prayer.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Bird skimming to the south,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Bear thou my song,</div> - <div class='line'>Sand slipping to the wave’s embrace,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Do thou but bear it too!</div> - <div class='line'>And, shifting tide, take thou</div> - <div class='line in2'>Unto thy varied paths</div> - <div class='line'>The voicing of my soul!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I’d build me such an endless</div> - <div class='line in2'>Chant to sing of Him</div> - <div class='line'>That days to follow days</div> - <div class='line in2'>Would be but builded chord</div> - <div class='line'>Of this my lay.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Still more ardently does she express her love -in these lines:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Spring, thou art but His smile</div> - <div class='line'>Of happiness in me, and sullen days</div> - <div class='line'>Of weariness shall fall when Spring is born</div> - <div class='line'>In winds of March and rains of April’s tears.</div> - <div class='line'>Methinks ’tis weariness of His that I,</div> - <div class='line'>His loved, should tarry o’er the task</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>And leave life’s golden sheaves unbound.</div> - <div class='line'>And, Night, thou too art mine, of Him.</div> - <div class='line'>Thy dim and veiled stars are but the eyes</div> - <div class='line'>Of Him that through the curtained mystery</div> - <div class='line'>Watch on and sever dark from me.</div> - <div class='line'>And, Love, thou too art His,</div> - <div class='line'>His words of wooing to my soul.</div> - <div class='line'>Should I, then, crush thee in embrace,</div> - <div class='line'>And bruise thee with my kiss,</div> - <div class='line'>And drink thy soul through mine?</div> - <div class='line'>What, then! ’Tis He, ’tis He, my love,</div> - <div class='line'>That gave me thee, and while my love is thine,</div> - <div class='line'>What wonder is it causeth here</div> - <div class='line'>This heart of mine to stifle so</div> - <div class='line'>And seek expression in a prayer of thanks?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>With equal fervency of devotion and gratitude -she sings this tribute to the day:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, what a day He hath made, He hath made!</div> - <div class='line'>It flasheth abright and asweet, and asweet.</div> - <div class='line'>It showeth His love and His smile, yea, His smile.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The hills stand abrown, aye astand brown,</div> - <div class='line'>And peaked as a monk in his cowl, aye, his cowl!</div> - <div class='line'>The grass it hath seared, aye, hath seared</div> - <div class='line'>And scenteth asweet, yea, asweet.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>Ayonder a swallow doth whirl, aye, doth whirl,</div> - <div class='line'>And skim mid the grey o’ the blue,</div> - <div class='line in12'>Aye, the grey o’ the blue.</div> - <div class='line'>The young wave doth lap ’pon the sands,</div> - <div class='line in12'>Yea, lap soft and soft ’pon the sands.</div> - <div class='line'>The field’s maid doth seek, yea, doth seek,</div> - <div class='line'>And send out her song to the day,</div> - <div class='line in12'>Yea, send out her song to the day.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>My heart it is full, yea, ’tis full,</div> - <div class='line'>For the love of Him batheth the day,</div> - <div class='line in12'>Yea, the love of Him batheth the day.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, what a day He hath made,</div> - <div class='line in12'>Yea, He hath made it for me!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Her prayers are not appeals for aid; they -are not begging petitions. They are outpourings -of love and trust and gratitude.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To an old couple, friends of Mr. and Mrs. -Curran, who passed a round-eyed evening with -Patience, she said:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Keep ye within thy heart a song</div> - <div class='line'>And murmur thou this prayer:</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My God, am I then afraid</div> - <div class='line'>Of heights or depths?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>And doth this dark benumb my quaking limbs?</div> - <div class='line'>And do I stop my song in fear</div> - <div class='line'>Lest Thee do then forsake me?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, for I do love Thee so,</div> - <div class='line'>I fain would choose a song</div> - <div class='line'>Built from my chosen tung,</div> - <div class='line'>And though it be but chattering</div> - <div class='line'>Of a soul bereft of reasoning,</div> - <div class='line'>I know Thou would’st love it as Thine own,</div> - <div class='line'>For I do love Thee so!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This was not given for another, but is her -own cry:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I beseech Thee, Lord, for naught!</div> - <div class='line'>But cry aloud unto the sunlight</div> - <div class='line'>Who bathes the earth in gold</div> - <div class='line'>And boldly breaketh into crannies</div> - <div class='line'>Yet unseen by man:</div> - <div class='line'>Flash thou in flaming sheen!</div> - <div class='line'>Mine own song of love doth falter</div> - <div class='line'>And my throat, it is afail!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And thou, the greening shrub along the way,</div> - <div class='line'>And earth at bud-season,</div> - <div class='line'>Do thou then spurt thy shoots</div> - <div class='line'>And pierce the air with loving!</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>And age-wabbled brother—</div> - <div class='line'>I do love thee for thy spending,</div> - <div class='line'>And I do gaze in loving at thy face,</div> - <div class='line'>Whereon I find His peace,</div> - <div class='line'>And trace the withered cheek</div> - <div class='line'>For record of His love.</div> - <div class='line'>Around thy lips doth hang</div> - <div class='line'>The child-smile of a trusting heart;</div> - <div class='line'>And world hath vanished</div> - <div class='line'>From thine eyes, bedimmed</div> - <div class='line'>To gard thee at awakening.</div> - <div class='line'>Thou, too, art of my song of love.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I beseech Thee, Lord, for naught.</div> - <div class='line'>These hands are Thine for loving,</div> - <div class='line'>And this heart, already Thine,</div> - <div class='line'>Why offer it?</div> - <div class='line'>I beseech Thee, Lord, for naught.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This one does ask for something, but only to -know Him:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O God,</div> - <div class='line'>To say, “’Tis not enough.”</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, teach me, O Brother,</div> - <div class='line'>To sing, and though the weight</div> - <div class='line'>Be past this strength,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>Teach me, O God, to say,</div> - <div class='line'>“’Tis not enough—to pay!”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O God, for I be weak.</div> - <div class='line'>Teach me to learn</div> - <div class='line'>Of strength from Thee.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O God, to trust, and do.</div> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O God, no word to pray.</div> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O God, the heart Thou gavest me.</div> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O God, to read thereon.</div> - <div class='line'>Teach me, O God, to waste not word.</div> - <div class='line'>Teach me that I be Ye!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>That last line presents the most impressive -principle of the religion she expresses, and -which, we might almost say, she embodies. -“Who are you?” she was once asked abruptly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I be Him,” she replied; “alike to thee. -Ye be o’ Him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At another time she said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I be all that hath been, and all that is, all -that shalt be, for that be He.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Taken alone this would seem to be a declaration -that she herself was God, but when it is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>read in connection with the previous affirmation -it is readily understood.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thou art of Him,” she said again, “aye, -and I be of Him, and ye be of Him, and He -be all and of all.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In this prayer, where she says “Teach me, -O God, no word to pray,” it is evident from -her other prayers that she uses the word pray -in the sense of “to beg.” Her prayers are -merely expressions of love and gratitude.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She herself interprets the line, “Teach me, -O God, to waste not word,” in this verse:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Speak ye a true tongue,</div> - <div class='line'>Or waste ye with words the Soul’s song?</div> - <div class='line'>A damning evidence is with wasted words;</div> - <div class='line'>For need I prate to yonder star</div> - <div class='line'>When hunger fills the world wherein I dwell?</div> - <div class='line'>Cast I a glance so precious as His</div> - <div class='line'>Which wakes at every dawn?</div> - <div class='line'>Speak I a tongue one half so true</div> - <div class='line'>As sighing winds who sing amid</div> - <div class='line'>Aeolian harps strung with siren tress?</div> - <div class='line'>For lo, the sea murmureth a thousand tones,</div> - <div class='line'>Wrung from its world within,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>But telleth only of Him,</div> - <div class='line'>And so His silence keeps.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>In the order in which we have chosen to present -these poems, they are more and more -mystical as we go on. We trust, then, that the -reader meeting them for the first time will feel -no impertinence in increasing attempts at -elucidation from one who has read them often -and pondered them much.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There is another and a very interesting -phase of these communications in the place -Christ holds in them. Patience’s attitude toward -the Savior is one of deep and loving -reverence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Didst thou then,” she says, “with those -drops so worth, buy the throbbing at thy memory -set aflutter? And is this love of mine so -freely thine by that same purchase, or do I -love thee for thy love of me? And do I, then, -my father’s tilling for love of Him, like thee -to shed my blood and tears for reapers in an -age to come, because He wills it so? God -grant ’tis so!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>Nor does she hesitate to assert His divinity -with definiteness. “Think ye,” she cries, -“that He who doth send the earth aspin -athrough the blue depth o’ Heaven, be not a -wonder-god who springeth up where’er He -doth set a wish! Yea, then doth He to spring -from out the dust a lily; so also doth He to -breathe athin (within) the flesh, and come unto -the earth, born from out flesh athout the touch -o’ man. ’Tis so, and from off the lute o’ me -hath song aflowed that be asweeted o’ the -blood o’ Him that shed for thee and me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And she puts the same assertion of His -divine birth into this tribute to the Virgin:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Mary, mother, thou art the Spring</div> - <div class='line'>That flowereth, though nay man aplanteth thee.</div> - <div class='line'>Mary, mother, the song of thee</div> - <div class='line'>That lulled His dreams to come,</div> - <div class='line'>Sing them athrough the earth and bring</div> - <div class='line'>The hope of rest unto the day.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Mary, mother, from out the side of Him</div> - <div class='line'>That thou didst bear, aflowed the crimson tide</div> - <div class='line'>That doth to stain e’en unto this day—</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>The tide of blood that ebbed the man</div> - <div class='line'>From out the flesh and left the God to be.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Mary, mother, wilt thou then leave me catch</div> - <div class='line'>These drops, that I do offer them as drink</div> - <div class='line'>Unto the brothers of the flesh of me of earth?</div> - <div class='line'>Mary, mother of the earth’s loved!</div> - <div class='line'>Mary, bearer of the God!</div> - <div class='line'>Mary, that I might call thee of a name befitting thee,</div> - <div class='line'>I seek, I seek, I seek, and none</div> - <div class='line'>Doth offer it to me save this:</div> - <div class='line'>Mother! Mother! Mother of the Him;</div> - <div class='line'>The flesh that died for me.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span> - <h2 class='c003'>THE IDEAS ON IMMORTALITY</h2> -</div> -<p class='c026'>“Earth! Earth, the mother of us all! Aye, the -mother of us all! How loth, how loth, like to a child -we be, to leave and seek ’mid dark!”—<span class='sc'>Patience -Worth.</span></p> - -<p class='c004'>If the personality of Patience Worth and -the nature and quality of her literary productions -are worthy of consideration as evidences -of the truth of her claim to a spiritual existence, -then in the sufficiency of the proof may -be found an answer to the world-old question: -Is there a life after death? To what extent the -facts that have been presented in this narrative -may be accepted as proof, is for the reader to -determine. But Patience has not been content -to reveal a strange personality and a unique -literature; she has had much to say upon this -question of immortality. There is more or less -spiritual significance in nearly all of her poetry -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>and in some of her prose, and while her references -to the after life are usually veiled under -figures of speech, they nevertheless give assurances -of its existence. She makes it clear, however, -that she is not permitted to reveal the -nature of that life beyond the veil, but she goes -as far apparently as she dares, in the repeated -assertion, through metaphor and illustration, -of its reality.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My days,” she cries, “I have scattered like -autumn leaves, whirled by raging winds, and -they have fallen in various crannies ’long the -way. Blown to rest are the sunny spring-kissed -mornings of my youth, and with many -a sigh did I blow the sobbing eves that -melted into tear-washed night. Blow on, thou -zephyr of this life, and let me throw the value -of each day to thee. Blow, and spend thyself, -till, tired, thou wilt croon thyself to sleep. -Perchance this casting of my day may cease, -and thou wilt turn anew unto thy blowing and -reap the casting of the world.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What then is a sigh? Ah, man may -breathe a sorrow. Doth then the dumbness of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>his brother bar his sighing? Nay—and hark! -The sea doth sigh, and yonder starry jasmine -stirreth with a tremorous sigh; and morning’s -birth is greeted with the sighing of the world. -For what? Ah, for that coming that shall fulfill -the promise, and change the sighing to a -singing, and loose the tongue of him whom -God doth know and, fearful lest he tell His -hidden mysteries, hath locked his lips.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And again she asks: “Needest thou see what -God himself sealeth thine eyes to make thee -know?” Meaning, undoubtedly, that only -through the process of death can the soul be -brought to an understanding of that other life; -and she declares that even if we were shown, -we could not comprehend. “If thou should’st -see His face on morrow’s break,” she says, -“’twould but start a wagging,” a discussion. -And she continues: “Ah, ope the tabernacle, -but look thou not on high, for when the filmy -veil shall fade away—ah, could’st thou but -know that He who waits hath looked, aye -looked, on thee, and thou hast looked on Him -since time began!” This enigmatical utterance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>is in itself sufficient to start a “wagging,” -but Patience evidently feels that the solution -is beyond our powers: for she repeatedly asserts -that the key to the mystery is within our -reach if we could but grasp it. “Fleet as down -blown from its moorings, seeking the linnet -who dropped her seed, so drift ye,” she says, -“ever seeking, when at the root still rests the -seed pod.” And again: “Knowest thou that -fair land to which the traveler is loath to go, -but loath, so loath, to leave? Ah, the mystery -of the snail’s shell is far deeper than this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet she tells us again and again that Nature -itself is the proof of another life. “Why live,” -she asks, “the paltry span of years allotted -thee, in desolation, while all about thee are His -promises? Thou art, indeed, like a withered -hand that holds a new-blown rose.” The truth, -she says, is not to be found in “books of wordy -filling,” but in the infant’s smile and in the -myriad creations and resurrections that are -ever within our cognizance. “I pipe of learning,” -she cries, “and fall silent before the fool -who singeth his folly lay.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>The natural evidences she points out are -visible to all and within the comprehension of -the feeblest intelligence, but he whose vision is -obscured by book knowledge “is like unto the -monk who prays within his cell, unheedful of -the timid sunbeam who would light the page -his wisdom so befogs.” “Ah!” she exclaims, -“the labor set thee to unlearn thine inborn -fancies!” meaning, apparently, the suppression -of the intuitions of immortality; and in the -same line of thought she cries: “Am I then -drunkened on the chaff of knowledge supped -by mine elderborn? Nay, my forefolk drank -not truth, but sent through my veins acoursing, -chaff, chaff, naught by chaff.” Plainly, then, -Patience has no great respect for learning, and -it is the book of Nature rather than the book -of words that she would have us read.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I made a song from the dead notes of His birds,</div> - <div class='line'>And wove a wreath of withered lily buds,</div> - <div class='line'>And gathered daisies that the sun had scorched,</div> - <div class='line'>And plucked a rose the riotous wind had torn,</div> - <div class='line'>And stolen clover flowers, down-trodden by the kine,</div> - <div class='line'>And fashioned into ropes and tied with yellow reed,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>An offering unto Him: and lo, the dust</div> - <div class='line'>Of crumbling blossoms fell to bloom again,</div> - <div class='line'>And smiled like sickened children,</div> - <div class='line'>Wistfully, but strong of faith that mother-stalk</div> - <div class='line'>Would send fresh blossoms in the spring.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>So it is she sings, presenting the symbolisms -of nature to illustrate the renewal or the continuance -of life; or again, she likens life to the -seasons (as did Shakespeare and Keats, and -many another poet) in this manner:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>My youth is promising as spring,</div> - <div class='line'>And verdant as young weeds,</div> - <div class='line'>Whose very impudence taketh them</div> - <div class='line'>Where bloom the garden’s treasures.</div> - <div class='line'>My midlife, like the summer, who blazeth</div> - <div class='line'>As a fire of blasting heat, fed by withered</div> - <div class='line'>Crumbling weeds of my spring.</div> - <div class='line'>My sunset, like the fall who ripeneth</div> - <div class='line'>The season’s offerings. And hoar frost</div> - <div class='line'>Is my winter night, fraught with borrowed warmth,</div> - <div class='line'>And flowers, and filled with weeds,</div> - <div class='line'>Which spring e’en ’neath the frozen waste?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, is the winter then my season’s close?</div> - <div class='line'>Or will I pin a faith to hope and look</div> - <div class='line'>Again for spring, who lives eternal in my soul?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>Faith is the keynote of many of her songs, -the faith that grows out of that profound love -which is the essential principle of the religion -she presents. The triumph of faith she expresses -in the poem which follows:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>O sea! The panting bosom of the Earth;</div> - <div class='line'>The sighing, singing carol of her heart!</div> - <div class='line'>I watch thee and I dream a dream</div> - <div class='line'>Whose fruit doth sicken me.</div> - <div class='line'>White sails do fleck thy sheen, and yonder moon</div> - <div class='line'>Doth seem to dip thy depths</div> - <div class='line'>And sail the silver mirror, high above.</div> - <div class='line'>Unharbored do I rove. Along the shore behind,</div> - <div class='line'>The shadow of Tomorrow creepeth on.</div> - <div class='line'>A seething silvered path doth stretch thy length,</div> - <div class='line'>To meet the curving cheek of Lady Moon.</div> - <div class='line'>I dream the flutt’ring waves to fanning wings</div> - <div class='line'>And fain would follow in their course. But stay!</div> - <div class='line'>My barque doth plow anew, and set the wings to flight;</div> - <div class='line'>For though I watch their tremorous mass, my craft</div> - <div class='line'>But saileth harbor-loosed, and ever stretcheth far</div> - <div class='line'>Beyond the moon’s own phantom path—</div> - <div class='line'>And I but dream a dream whose fruit doth sicken me.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, Sea! who planted thee, and cast</div> - <div class='line'>A silver purse, unloosed, upon thy breast?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>My barque, who then did harbor it,</div> - <div class='line'>And who unfurled its sail?</div> - <div class='line'>And yonder moon, from whence her silver coaxed?</div> - <div class='line'>Methinks my dream doth wax her wroth,</div> - <div class='line'>Else why the pallor o’er her cast?</div> - <div class='line'>Dare I to sail, to steer me at the wheel?</div> - <div class='line'>Shall I then hide my face and cease my murmuring,</div> - <div class='line'>O’erfearful lest I find the port?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, I do know thee, Lord, and fearless sail me on,</div> - <div class='line'>To harbor then at dawning of new day.</div> - <div class='line'>I stand unfearful at the prow.</div> - <div class='line'>At anchor rests my barque. Away, thou phantom Moon,</div> - <div class='line'>And restless, seething path!</div> - <div class='line'>My chart I cast unto the sea,</div> - <div class='line'>For I do know Thee, Lord!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This triumph of faith is also the theme of the -weird allegory which follows. It is, perhaps, -the most mystical of Patience’s productions.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span> -<h3 class='c021'>THE PHANTOM AND THE DREAMER</h3> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Thick stands the hill in garb of fir,</div> - <div class='line'>And winter-stripped the branching shrub.</div> - <div class='line'>Cold gray the sky, and glistered o’er</div> - <div class='line'>With star-dust pulsing tremorously.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Snow, the lady of the Winter Knight,</div> - <div class='line'>Hath danced her weary and fallen to her rest.</div> - <div class='line'>She lieth stretched in purity</div> - <div class='line'>And dimpled ’neath the trees.</div> - <div class='line'>A trackless waste doth lie from hill</div> - <div class='line'>To valley ’neath, and Winter’s Knight</div> - <div class='line'>Doth sing a wooing lay unto his love.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Cot on cot doth stand deserted,</div> - <div class='line'>And thro’ the purpled dark they show</div> - <div class='line'>Like phantoms of a life long passed</div> - <div class='line'>To nothingness. Hear thou the hollowness</div> - <div class='line'>Of the sea’s coughing beat against</div> - <div class='line'>The cliff beneath, and harken ye</div> - <div class='line'>To the silence of the valley there.</div> - <div class='line'>Doth chafe ye of thy loneliness?</div> - <div class='line'>Then sleep and let me put a dream to thee.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in28'><span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>See ye the cot—</div> - <div class='line'>A speck o’ dark adown the hillside,</div> - <div class='line'>And sheltered o’er with fir-bows,</div> - <div class='line'>Heavy-laden with the kiss of Lady Snow?</div> - <div class='line'>Come hither then. Let’s bruise this snowy breast,</div> - <div class='line'>And fetch us there unto its door.</div> - <div class='line in28'>See! Here a twig</div> - <div class='line'>Hath battled with the wind, and lost.</div> - <div class='line'>We then may cast it ’mid its brothers</div> - <div class='line'>Of the bush and plow us on.</div> - <div class='line'>Look ye to the thick thatch</div> - <div class='line'>O’er the gable of the roof,</div> - <div class='line'>Piled higher with a blanketing of snow;</div> - <div class='line'>And shutters hang agape, to rattle</div> - <div class='line'>Like the cackle of a crone.</div> - <div class='line'>The blackness of a pit within,</div> - <div class='line'>And filled with sounds that tho’ they be</div> - <div class='line'>But seasoning of the log, doth freeze</div> - <div class='line'>Thy marrowmeat. I feel the quake</div> - <div class='line'>And shake thee for thy fear.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Stride thou within and set a flint to brush</div> - <div class='line'>Within the chimney-place. We then shall rouse</div> - <div class='line'>The memory of the tenant here—</div> - <div class='line'>A night, my friend, thee’lt often call to mind.</div> - <div class='line'>The flame hath sprung and lappeth at the twigs.</div> - <div class='line'>Thee’lt watch the burning of thy hastiness,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>And wait thee long</div> - <div class='line'>Until the embers slip away to smoke.</div> - <div class='line'>Then strain ye to its weaving</div> - <div class='line'>And spell to me the reading of its folds.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>I see thin, threading lines that writhe them</div> - <div class='line'>To a shape—a visage ever changeful,</div> - <div class='line'>Or mine eyes do play me false,</div> - <div class='line'>For it doth smile to twist it to a leer,</div> - <div class='line'>And sadden but to laugh in mockery.</div> - <div class='line'>I see a lad whose face</div> - <div class='line'>Doth shine illumed, and he doth bear</div> - <div class='line'>The kiss of wisdom on his brow.</div> - <div class='line'>I see him travail ’neath a weary load,</div> - <div class='line'>And close beside him Wisdom follows on.</div> - <div class='line'>Burdened not is he. Do I see aright?</div> - <div class='line'>For still the light of wisdom shineth o’er.</div> - <div class='line'>But stay! What! Do mine eyes then cheat?</div> - <div class='line'>This twisting smoke-wreath</div> - <div class='line'>Filleth all too much my sight!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Nay, friend, strain thee now anew.</div> - <div class='line'>The lad! Now canst thou see?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, for like to him</div> - <div class='line'>Thou hast looked thee at the face of Doubt.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Who art thou, shape or phantom, then,</div> - <div class='line'>That thou canst set my dream to flight?</div> - <div class='line'>I doubt me that the lad could stand</div> - <div class='line'>Beneath the load!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Nay, thee canst ravel well, my friend.</div> - <div class='line'>The lad was thee, and Doubt</div> - <div class='line'>O’ertook with Wisdom on thy way.</div> - <div class='line'>Come, bury Doubt aneath the ash.</div> - <div class='line'>We travel us anew.</div> - <div class='line'>Seest thou, a rimming moon doth show</div> - <div class='line'>From ’neath the world’s beshadowed side.</div> - <div class='line'>A night bird chatteth to its mate,</div> - <div class='line'>And lazily the fir-boughs wave.</div> - <div class='line'>We track us to the cot whose roof</div> - <div class='line'>Doth sag—and why thy shambling tread?</div> - <div class='line'>I bid ye on!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Who art thou—again I that demand—</div> - <div class='line'>That I shall follow at thy bidding?</div> - <div class='line'>Who set me then this task?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Step thou within!</div> - <div class='line'>Stand thee on the thresh of this roofless void!</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>Look thou! Dost see the maid</div> - <div class='line'>Who coyly stretcheth forth her hand</div> - <div class='line'>To welcome thee? She biddeth thee</div> - <div class='line'>To sit and sup. I bid thee speak.</div> - <div class='line'>Awaken thee unto her welcoming.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Enough! This fancy-breeding sickeneth</div> - <div class='line'>My very soul! A skeleton of murdered trees,</div> - <div class='line'>Ribbed with pine and shanked of birch!</div> - <div class='line'>And thee wouldst bid me then</div> - <div class='line'>Embrace the emptiness.</div> - <div class='line'>I see naught, and believe but what I see.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Look thou again, and strain.</div> - <div class='line'>What seest thou?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>I see a newly kindled fire,</div> - <div class='line'>And watch its burning glow until</div> - <div class='line'>The embers die and send their ghosts aloft.</div> - <div class='line'>But ash remaineth—and I chill!</div> - <div class='line'>For rising there, a shape</div> - <div class='line'>Whose visage twisteth drunkenly,</div> - <div class='line'>And from her garments falls a dust of ash.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Doubt! Unburied, friende! We journey on,</div> - <div class='line'>And mark ye well each plodding footfall</div> - <div class='line'>Singing like to golden metal with the frost.</div> - <div class='line'>The night a scroll of white, and lined</div> - <div class='line'>With blackish script—</div> - <div class='line'>The lines of His own putting!</div> - <div class='line'>Read thee there! Thou seest naught,</div> - <div class='line'>And believe but what ye see!</div> - <div class='line'>Stark nakedness and waste—but hearken ye!</div> - <div class='line'>The frost skirt traileth o’er the crusted snow</div> - <div class='line'>And singeth young leaves’ songs of Spring.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Still art thou blind!</div> - <div class='line'>But at His touching shall the darkness bud</div> - <div class='line'>And bloom to rosy morn. And even now,</div> - <div class='line'>Were I to snap a twig ’twould bleed and die.</div> - <div class='line'>See ye; ’tis done! Look ye!</div> - <div class='line'>Ye believe but what ye see:</div> - <div class='line'>Here within thy very hand</div> - <div class='line'>Thou holdest Doubt’s undoing.</div> - <div class='line'>I bid ye look upon the bud</div> - <div class='line'>Already gathered ’neath the tender bark.</div> - <div class='line'>The sun’s set and rise hath coaxed it forth.</div> - <div class='line'>Thee canst see the rogue hath stolen red</div> - <div class='line'>And put it to its heart. And here</div> - <div class='line'>Aneath the snow the grass doth love the earth</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>And nestles to her breast.</div> - <div class='line'>I stand me here, and lo, the Spring hath broke!</div> - <div class='line'>The dark doth slip away to hide,</div> - <div class='line'>And flowering, singing, sighing, loving Spring</div> - <div class='line'>Is here!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Aye, thou art indeed</div> - <div class='line'>A wonder-worker in the night!</div> - <div class='line'>A black pall, a freezing blast,</div> - <div class='line'>An unbroken path—and thou</div> - <div class='line'>Wouldst have me then to prate o’ Spring,</div> - <div class='line'>And pluck a bud where dark doth hide the bush!</div> - <div class='line'>Who cometh from the thicket higher there?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>’Tis Doubt to meet thee, friend!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Who art thou? I fain would flee,</div> - <div class='line'>And yet I fear to leave lest I be lost.</div> - <div class='line'>I hate thee and thy weary task!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Nay, brother, thy lips do spell,</div> - <div class='line'>But couldst thee read their words aright</div> - <div class='line'>Thee wouldst meet again with Doubt.</div> - <div class='line'>Come! We journey on unto the cot</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>Beloved the most by me. I bid thee</div> - <div class='line'>Let thy heart to warm within thy breast.</div> - <div class='line'>A thawing melteth frozen Hope.</div> - <div class='line'>See how, below, the sea hath veiled</div> - <div class='line'>Her secret held so close,</div> - <div class='line'>And murmured only to the winds</div> - <div class='line'>Who woo her ever and anon.</div> - <div class='line'>The waves do lap them, hungry for the sands.</div> - <div class='line'>Careful! Lest the sun’s pale rise</div> - <div class='line'>Should blind thee with its light.</div> - <div class='line'>A shaft to put it through</div> - <div class='line'>The darkness of thy soul must needs</div> - <div class='line'>But be a glimmering to blind.</div> - <div class='line'>Step ye to the hearthstone then,</div> - <div class='line'>And set thee there a flame anew.</div> - <div class='line'>I bid ye read again</div> - <div class='line'>The folding of the smoke.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>’Tis done, thou fiend!</div> - <div class='line'>A pretty play for fools, indeed.</div> - <div class='line'>I swear me that ’tis not</div> - <div class='line'>For loving of the task I builded it,</div> - <div class='line'>But for the warming of its glow.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>In truth ye speak. But read!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>I see a hag whose brow</div> - <div class='line'>Doth wrinkle like a summer sea.</div> - <div class='line'>For do I look unto the sea</div> - <div class='line'>At Beauty’s own fair form,</div> - <div class='line'>It writheth to a twisted shape,</div> - <div class='line'>And I do doubt me of her loveliness.</div> - <div class='line'>The haggard visage of the crone</div> - <div class='line'>I now behold, doth set me doubting</div> - <div class='line'>Of mine eye, for dimples seem</div> - <div class='line'>To flutter ’neath the wrinkled cheek.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Phantom:</i></div> - <div class='line'>So, then, thee believest</div> - <div class='line'>But what thine eyes behold!</div> - <div class='line'>Thee findest then</div> - <div class='line'>Thy seeing in a sorry plight.</div> - <div class='line'>I marvel at thy wisdom, lad.</div> - <div class='line'>Look ye anew. Mayhap thee then</div> - <div class='line'>Canst coax the crone away.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dreamer:</i></div> - <div class='line'>Enough! The morn hath kissed the night adieu,</div> - <div class='line'>And even while I prate</div> - <div class='line'>A redwing crimsoneth the snow in flight.</div> - <div class='line'>Kindled tinder smoldereth away,</div> - <div class='line'>And I do strain me to its fold.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>I glut me of the loveliness I there behold,</div> - <div class='line'>For from the writhing stream a sprite is born</div> - <div class='line'>Whose beauteous form bedazzles me,</div> - <div class='line'>And she doth point me</div> - <div class='line'>To the golding gray of morn. The sea</div> - <div class='line'>Is singing, singing her unto my soul.</div> - <div class='line'>I dreamed she sighed, but waked to hear her sing.</div> - <div class='line'>I hear thee, Phantom, bidding me on, on!</div> - <div class='line'>But morn hath stolen dreams away.</div> - <div class='line'>I strain me to the hills to trace our path,</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, unbroken is the snow,</div> - <div class='line'>And cots have melted with the light,</div> - <div class='line'>And yet, methinks a murmuring doth come</div> - <div class='line'>From out the echoes of the night,</div> - <div class='line'>That hid them ’neath the crannies of the hills.</div> - <div class='line'>Life! Life! I lead thee on!</div> - <div class='line'>And faith doth spring from seedlings of thy doubt!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='c030'><span class='sc'>Epilogue.</span></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thick stands the hill in garb of fir and snow.</div> - <div class='line'>The Lady of the Winter’s Knight hath danced</div> - <div class='line'>Her weary, and stretched her in her purity,</div> - <div class='line'>To cover aching wounds of Winter’s overloving woo.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c008' /> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>“And faith doth spring from seedlings of -thy doubt!” plainly meaning an active doubt -that searches for the truth and finds it. But -she personifies Doubt in another and more forbidding -form in this:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Like to a thief who wrappeth him</div> - <div class='line'>Within the night-tide’s robe,</div> - <div class='line'>So standeth the specter o’ the Earth;</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, he doth robe him o’ the Earth’s fair store.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, he decketh in the star-hung purple o’ the eve,</div> - <div class='line'>And reacheth from out the night unto the morn,</div> - <div class='line'>And wringeth from her waking all her gold,</div> - <div class='line'>And at his touching, lo, the stars are dust,</div> - <div class='line'>And morn’s gold but heat’s glow, and ne’er</div> - <div class='line'>The golden blush of His own metal store.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in6'>Yea, he strideth then</div> - <div class='line'>Upon the flower-hung couches of the field,</div> - <div class='line'>And traileth him thereon his robe,</div> - <div class='line'>And lo, the flowers do die of thirst</div> - <div class='line'>And parch of scoarching of his breath.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>Yea, and ’mid the musics of the earth he strideth him,</div> - <div class='line'>And full-songed throats are mute.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, music dieth of his luring glance.</div> - <div class='line'>And e’en the love of earth he seeketh out</div> - <div class='line'>And turneth it unto a folly-play.</div> - <div class='line'>Yea, beneath his glance, the fairy frost</div> - <div class='line'>Upon the love sprite’s wing</div> - <div class='line'>Doth flutter, as a dust, and drop, and leave</div> - <div class='line'>But bruised and broken bearers for His store.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in6'>Yea, and ’mid man’s day he ever strideth him</div> - <div class='line'>And layeth low man’s reasoning. His robes</div> - <div class='line'>Are hung of all the earth’s most loved.</div> - <div class='line'>From off the flowers their fresh; from off the day</div> - <div class='line'>The fairness of her hours. For dark, and hid</div> - <div class='line'>Beneath his cloak, he steppeth ever,</div> - <div class='line'>And doth hiss his name to thee—</div> - <div class='line'>Doubt.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>I have said that the message of Patience -Worth contained a revelation, a religion and a -promise. The revelation is too obvious to need -a pointer. In the preceding chapter were presented -the elements of the religion that she reveals, -with which should be included the unfaltering -faith expressed in these poems. Love -and Faith—these are the two Graces upon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>whom, to personify them, all her work is rested, -and from them spring the promise she conveys. -That promise has to do with the hereafter, and -Patience knows the human attitude in relation -to that universal problem, and she gives courage -to the shrinking heart in this poem on the -fear of death:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I stride abroad before my brothers like a roaring lion,</div> - <div class='line'>Yet at even’s close from whence cometh the icy hand</div> - <div class='line'>That clutcheth at my heart and maketh me afraid—</div> - <div class='line'>The slipping of myself away, I know not whither?</div> - <div class='line in4'>And lo, I fall atremble.</div> - <div class='line'>When I would grasp a straw, ’tis then I find it not.</div> - <div class='line'>Can I then trust me on this journey lone</div> - <div class='line'>To country I deem peopled, but know not?</div> - <div class='line'>My very heart declareth faith, yet hath not thine</div> - <div class='line'>Been touched and chilled by this same phantom?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, through the granite sips the lichen—</div> - <div class='line'>And hast thou not a long dark journey made?</div> - <div class='line'>Why fear? As cloud wreaths fade</div> - <div class='line'>From spring’s warm smile, so shall fear</div> - <div class='line'>Be put to flight by faith.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I pluck me buds of varied hue and choose the violet</div> - <div class='line'>To weave a garland for my loved and best.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>I search for bloom among the rocks</div> - <div class='line in4'>And find but feathery plume.</div> - <div class='line'>I weave, and lo, the blossoms fade</div> - <div class='line in4'>Before I reach the end,</div> - <div class='line'>And faded lie amid my tears—</div> - <div class='line in4'>And yet I weave and weave.</div> - <div class='line'>I search for jewels ’neath the earth,</div> - <div class='line in4'>And find them at the dawn,</div> - <div class='line'>Besprinkled o’er the rose and leaf,</div> - <div class='line'>And showered by the sparrow’s wing,</div> - <div class='line'>Who seeketh ’mid the dew-wet vine</div> - <div class='line in4'>A harbor for her home.</div> - <div class='line'>I search for truth along the way</div> - <div class='line in4'>And find but dust and web,</div> - <div class='line'>And in the smile of infant lips</div> - <div class='line in4'>I know myself betrayed.</div> - <div class='line'>I watch the swallow skim across the blue</div> - <div class='line in4'>To homelands of the South,</div> - <div class='line'>And ah, the gnawing at my heart doth cease;</div> - <div class='line in4'>For how he wings and wings</div> - <div class='line'>To lands he deemeth peopled by his brothers,</div> - <div class='line'>Whose song he hears in flight!</div> - <div class='line'>Not skimming on the lake’s fair breast is he,</div> - <div class='line'>But winging on and on,</div> - <div class='line'>And dim against the feathery cloud</div> - <div class='line in4'>He fades into the blue.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>I stand with withered blossoms crushed,</div> - <div class='line in4'>And weave and weave and weave.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This is Patience’s answer to the eternal -question:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Can I then trust me on this journey lone</div> - <div class='line'>To country I deem peopled, but know not?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It is the cry of him who believes and yet -doubts, and Patience points to the swallow -winging across the blue “to lands he deemeth -peopled with his brothers” who have gone on -before. In imagination he can hear their song -in the home lands of the South, and though he -cannot see them, and cannot have had word -from them, he knows they are there, and he -does not skim uncertainly about the lake, but -with unfaltering faith “wings him on and on” -until—</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Dim against the feathery cloud</div> - <div class='line'>He fades into the blue.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>But Patience does not content herself with -appeals to faith, eloquent as they may be. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>While her communications are always clothed -in figures of speech, they are sometimes more -definite in statement than in the lines which -have been thus far presented. In the prose -poem which follows, she asks and answers the -question in a way that can leave no doubt of -her meaning:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Shall I arise and know thee, brother, when -like a bubble I am blown into Eternity from -this pipe of clay? Or shall I burst and float -my atoms in a joyous spray at the first beholding -of this home prepared for thee and me, -and shall we together mingle our joys in one -supreme joy in Him? It matters not, beloved, -so comfort thee. For should the blowing be -the end, what then? Hath not thy pack been -full, and mine? We are o’erweary with the -work of living, and sinking to oblivion would -be rest. Yet sure as sun shall rise, my dust -shall be unloosed, and blow into new fields of -new days. I see full fields yet to be harvested, -and I am weary. I see fresh business of living, -work yet to be done, and I am weary. Oh, let -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>me fold these tired hands and sleep. Beloved, -I trust, and expect my trust, for ne’er yet did -He fail.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She puts this into the mouth of one who -lives, but it is not merely an expression of -faith; it is a positive assertion. “Yet sure as -sun shall rise, my dust shall be unloosed, and -blow into new fields of new days.”</p> - -<hr class='c029' /> - -<p class='c007'>And again she sings:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>What carest, dear, should sorrow trace</div> - <div class='line'>Where dimples sat, and should</div> - <div class='line'>Her dove-gray cloud to settle ’neath thine eye?</div> - <div class='line'>The withering of thy curving cheek</div> - <div class='line'>Bespeaks the spending of thy heart.</div> - <div class='line'>Lips once full are bruised</div> - <div class='line'>By biting of restraint. Wax wiser, dear.</div> - <div class='line'>To wane is but to rest and rise once more.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Or she puts the thought in another form in -this assurance:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Weary not, O brother!</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis apaled, the sun’s gold sink.</div> - <div class='line'>Then weary not, but set thy path to end,</div> - <div class='line'>E’en as the light doth fade and leave</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>Nay trace to mar the night’s dark tide.</div> - <div class='line'>Sink thou, then, as doth the sun,</div> - <div class='line'>Assured that thou shalt rise!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c029' /> -<p class='c007'>All these, however, are but preparatory to -the communication in which she asserts not -only the actuality of the future life but something -of the nature of it. One might say that -the preceding poems and prose-poems, taken -alone and without regard to the mystery of -their source, were merely expressions of belief, -but in this communication she seems to speak -with knowledge, seems even to have overstepped -the bounds within which, she has often -asserted, she is held. “My lips be astopped,” -she has said in answer to a request for information -of this forbidden character, but here she -appears to have been permitted to give a -glimpse of the unknown, and to present a -promise of universal application. This poem, -from the spiritual standpoint, is the most remarkable -of all her productions.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>How have I caught at fleeting joys</div> - <div class='line'>And swifter fleeting sorrows!</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>And days and nights, and morns and eves,</div> - <div class='line'>And seasons, too, aslipping thro’ the years, afleet.</div> - <div class='line'>And whither hath their trend then led?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, whither!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>How do I to stop amid the very pulse o’ life.</div> - <div class='line'>Afeared! Yea, fear clutcheth at my very heart!</div> - <div class='line'>For what? The night? Nay, night doth shimmer</div> - <div class='line'>And flash the jewels I did count</div> - <div class='line'>E’er fear had stricken me.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The morn? Nay, I waked with morn atremor,</div> - <div class='line'>And know the day-tide’s every hour.</div> - <div class='line'>How do I then to clutch me</div> - <div class='line'>At my heart, afeared?</div> - <div class='line'>The morrow? Nay,</div> - <div class='line'>The morrow but bringeth old loves</div> - <div class='line'>And hopes anew.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, woe is me, ’tis emptiness, aye, naught—</div> - <div class='line'>The bottomlessness o’ the pit that doth afright!</div> - <div class='line'>Afeared? Aye, but driven fearless on!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>What! Promise ye ’tis to mart I plod?</div> - <div class='line'>What! Promise ye new joys?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, but should I sleep, to waken me</div> - <div class='line'>To joys I ne’er had supped!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>I see me stand abashed and timid,</div> - <div class='line'>As a child who cast a toy beloved,</div> - <div class='line'>For bauble that but caught the eye</div> - <div class='line'>And left the heart ahungered.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>What! Should I search in vain</div> - <div class='line'>To find a sorrow that had fleeted hence</div> - <div class='line'>Afore my coming and found it not?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, me, the emptiness!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And what! should joys that but a prick</div> - <div class='line'>Of gladness dealt, and teased my hours</div> - <div class='line'>To happiness, be lost amid this promised bliss?</div> - <div class='line'>Nay, I clutch me to my heart</div> - <div class='line'>In fear, in truth!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Do harken Ye! And cast afearing</div> - <div class='line'>To the wiles of beating gales and wooing breeze.</div> - <div class='line'>I find me throat aswell and voice attuned.</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, let me then to sing, for joy consumeth me!</div> - <div class='line'>I’ve builded me a land, my mart,</div> - <div class='line'>And fear hath slipped away to leave me sing.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I sleep, and feel afloating.</div> - <div class='line'>Whither! Whither! To wake,—</div> - <div class='line'>And wonder warmeth at my heart,</div> - <div class='line'>I’ve waked in yester-year!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>What! Ye? And what! I’st thou?</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, have I then slept, to dream? Come,</div> - <div class='line'>Ne’er a dream-wraith looked me such a welcoming!</div> - <div class='line'>’Twas yesterday this hand wert then afold,</div> - <div class='line'>And now,—ah, do I dream?</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis warm-pressed within mine own!</div> - <div class='line'>Dreams! Dreams! And yet, we’ve met afore!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I see me flitting thro’ this vale,</div> - <div class='line'>And tho’ I strive to spell</div> - <div class='line'>The mountain’s height and valley’s depth,</div> - <div class='line'>I do but fall afail.</div> - <div class='line'>Wouldst thou then drink a potion</div> - <div class='line'>Were I to offer thee an empty cup?</div> - <div class='line'>Couldst thou to pluck the rainbow from the sky?</div> - <div class='line'>As well, then, might I spell to thee.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>But I do promise at the waking,</div> - <div class='line'>Old joys, and sorrows ripened to a mellow heart.</div> - <div class='line'>And e’en the crime-stained wretch, abasked in light,</div> - <div class='line'>Shall cast his seed and spring afruit!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Then do I cease to clutch the emptiness</div> - <div class='line'>And sleep, and sleep me unafeared!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>What is it that affrights, she asks, when we -think of death? It is the emptiness, she answers, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>the utter lack of knowledge of what -lies beyond. And if we waken to “joys we -ne’er have supped”—using the word sup in -the sense of to taste or to know—what is there -to attract us in the prospect? It is an illustration -she presents of our attitude toward promises -of joys with which we are unfamiliar; and -which therefore do not greatly interest us—the -child who casts aside a well beloved toy -“for bauble that but caught the eye and left -the heart ahungered.” Shall the joys, she -makes us exclaim, which we have known here -but barely tasted in this fleeting life, “be -lost amid this promised bliss!” and shall we -“search in vain to find a sorrow that had -fleeted hence before our coming?”—meaning, -apparently, shall we look there in vain for a -loved one who has gone before? She answers -these questions of the heart. Personality persists -beyond the grave, she gives us plainly to -understand. We take with us all of ourselves -but the material elements. “Thou art ye,” -she has said, “and I be me and ye be ye, aye, -ever so.” The transition is but a change from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>the material to the spiritual. We “wake in -yesteryear,” she says,—amid the friends and -associations of the past; and the joys of that -life, one must infer, are the spiritual joys of -this one, the joy that comes from love, from -good deeds, from work accomplished. For it -is quite evident that she would have us believe -that there is a continuous advancement in that -other life.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And e’en the crime-stained wretch, abasked in light,</div> - <div class='line'>Shall cast his seed and spring afruit.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>This can mean nothing else than that the -hardened sinner, amid supernal influences, -shall develop into something higher, and as no -one can be supposed to be perfect when leaving -earth, it follows that progress is common to all. -Progress implies effort, and this indicates that -there will be something for everyone to do—a -view quite different from the monotony of -eternal idleness.</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>But this I promise at the waking,</div> - <div class='line'>Old joys, and sorrows ripened to a mellow heart.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>To those who would peer into the other land -these are perhaps the most important lines she -has given. But what does she mean by “sorrows -ripened to a mellow heart?” She was -asked to make that plainer and she said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That that hath flitted hence be sorrows of -earth, and ahere be ripened and thine. Love -alost be sorrow of earth and dwell ahere.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She thus makes these lines an answer to the -question put before:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>What! Should I search in vain</div> - <div class='line'>To find a sorrow that had fleeted hence</div> - <div class='line'>Afore my coming and found it not?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>These are the sorrows that are “ripened -to a mellow heart,” and she was asked if there -were new sorrows to be borne in that other -life. She replied:</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Nay. Earth be a home of sorrow’s dream. -For sorrow be but dream of the soul asleep. -’Tis wake (death) that setteth free.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And after such assurance comes the cry of -faith and content and peace:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>Then do I cease to clutch the emptiness,</div> - <div class='line'>And sleep, and sleep me unafeared!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>With this comforting assurance in mind one -may cheerfully approach her solemn address -to Death:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Who art thou,</div> - <div class='line'>Who tracketh ’pon the path o’ me—</div> - <div class='line'>O’ each turn, aye, and track?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thou! And thou astand!</div> - <div class='line'>And o’er thy face a cloud,</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, a darked and somber cloud!</div> - <div class='line'>Who art thou,</div> - <div class='line'>Thou tracker ’mid the day’s bright,</div> - <div class='line'>And ’mid the night’s deep;</div> - <div class='line'>E’en when I be astopped o’ track?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Who art thou,</div> - <div class='line'>That toucheth o’ the flesh o’ me,</div> - <div class='line'>And sendeth chill unto the heart o’ me?</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and who art thou,</div> - <div class='line'>Who putteth forth thy hand</div> - <div class='line'>And setteth at alow the hopes o’ me?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Aye, who art thou,</div> - <div class='line'>Who bideth ever ’mid a dream?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>Aye, and that the soul o’ me</div> - <div class='line'>Doth shrink at know?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Who art thou? Who art thou,</div> - <div class='line'>Who steppeth ever to my day,</div> - <div class='line'>And blotteth o’ the sun away?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Who art thou,</div> - <div class='line'>Who stepped to Earth at birth o’ me,</div> - <div class='line'>And e’en ’mid wail o’ weak,</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, at the birth o’ wail,</div> - <div class='line'>Did set a chill ’pon infant flesh;</div> - <div class='line'>And at the track o’ man ’pon Earth</div> - <div class='line'>Doth follow ever, and at height afollow,</div> - <div class='line'>And doth touch,</div> - <div class='line'>And all doth crumble to a naught.</div> - <div class='line'>Thou! Thou! Who art thou?</div> - <div class='line'>Ever do I to ask, and ever wish</div> - <div class='line'>To see the face o’ thee,</div> - <div class='line'>And ne’er, ne’er do I to know thee—</div> - <div class='line'>Thou, the Traveler ’pon the path o’ me.</div> - <div class='line'>And, Brother, thou dost give</div> - <div class='line'>That which world doth hold</div> - <div class='line'>From see o’ me!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Stand thou! Stand thou!</div> - <div class='line'>And draw thy cloak from o’er thy face!</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>Ever hath the dread o’ thee</div> - <div class='line'>Clutched at the heart o’ me.</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and at the end o’ journey,</div> - <div class='line'>I beseech thee,</div> - <div class='line'>Cast thy cloak and show thee me!</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, show thee me!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ah, thou art the gift o’ Him!</div> - <div class='line'>The Key to There! The Love o’ Earth!</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and Hate hath made o’ man</div> - <div class='line'>To know thee not—</div> - <div class='line'>Thou! Thou! O Death!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>She finds Death terrible from the human -point of view, and reveals him at the end as -“the gift of Him, the Key to There!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>One of her constant objects seems to be to -rob death of its terrors, and to bring the -“There” into closer and more intimate connection -with us. Here is another effort:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Spring’s morn afulled o’ merry-song,</div> - <div class='line'>Aye, and tickle o’ streams-thread through Summer’s noon;</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Arock o’ hum o’ hearts-throb,</div> - <div class='line'>And danced awhite the air at scorch;</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>Winter’s rage asing o’ cold</div> - <div class='line'>And wail o’ Winter’s sorry at the Summer’s leave;</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ashivered breeze, abear o’ leaf’s rustling</div> - <div class='line'>At dry o’ season’s ripe;</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Night’s deep, where sound astarteth silence;</div> - <div class='line'>Morn’s sweet, awooed by bird’s coax.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Earth’s sounds, ye deem?</div> - <div class='line'>I tell thee ’tis but the echoing o’ Here.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thy days be naught</div> - <div class='line'>Save coax o’ Here athere!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>All that is worth while on earth is but the -echoes of Heaven, and there would be nothing -to life but for the joys that have been -“coaxed” from there. How closely that -thought unites the here and the there. Earth -sounds but the echoes of the other land adjoining! -She makes it something tangible, something -almost material, something we may -nearly comprehend; and then, having opened -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>the door a little way, as far, no doubt, as it is -possible for her to do, she presents this response -to human desires, this promise of joys -to come:</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Swift as light-flash o’ storm, swift, swift,</div> - <div class='line'>Would I send the wish o’ thine asearch.</div> - <div class='line'>Swift, swift as bruise o’ swallows’ wing ’pon air,</div> - <div class='line'>I’d send asearch thy wish, areach to lands unseen;</div> - <div class='line'>I’d send aback o’ answer laden.</div> - <div class='line'>Swift, swift, would I to flee unto the Naught</div> - <div class='line'>Thou knowest as the Here.</div> - <div class='line'>Swift, swift I’d bear aback to thee</div> - <div class='line'>What thou wouldst seek. Swift, swift,</div> - <div class='line'>Would I to bear aback to thee.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Dost deem the path ahid doth lead to naught?</div> - <div class='line'>Dost deem thy footfall leadest thee to nothingness?</div> - <div class='line'>Dost pin not ’pon His word o’ promising,</div> - <div class='line'>And art at sorry and afear to follow Him?</div> - <div class='line'>I’d put athin thy cup a sweet, a pledge o’ love’s-buy.</div> - <div class='line'>I’d send aback a glad-song o’ this land.</div> - <div class='line'>Sing thou, sing on, though thou art ne’er aheard—</div> - <div class='line'>Like love awaked, the joy o’ breath</div> - <div class='line'>Anew born o’ His loving.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>Set thee at rest, and trod the path unfearing.</div> - <div class='line'>For He who putteth joy to earth, aplanted joy</div> - <div class='line'>Athin the reach o’ thee, e’en through</div> - <div class='line'>The dark o’ path at end o’ journey.</div> - <div class='line'>His smile! His word! His loving!</div> - <div class='line'>Put forth thy hand at glad, and I do promise thee</div> - <div class='line'>That Joy o’ earth asupped shall fall as naught,</div> - <div class='line'>And thou shalt sup thee deep o’ joys,</div> - <div class='line'>O’ Bearer, aye, and Source; and like glad light o’ day</div> - <div class='line'>And sweet o’ love, thy coming here shall be!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>With this promise, this covenant, we bring -the narrative of Patience to an end. There -will be many and widely varied views of the -nature of this intelligence, but surely there can -be but one opinion of the beauty of her words -and the purity of her purpose. She has -brought a message of love at a time when the -world is sadly deficient in that attribute, wisely -believed to be the best thing in earth or heaven; -and an inspiration to faith that was never so -greatly in need of strength as now. An inevitable -consequence of the world-war will be a -universal introspection. There will be a great -turning of thought to serious things. That -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>tendency is already discernible. May it not be -possible that it is the mission of Patience -Worth to answer the question that is above all -questions at a time when humanity is filled -with interrogation?</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>FINIS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span> - <h2 class='c003'>INDEX</h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-l c031'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Affection, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Allegory, on faith (verse), <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>-266</div> - <div class='line in1'>Anatomist. <i>See</i> Teacher of anatomy</div> - <div class='line in1'>Anglo-Saxon, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Anne, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Ape, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Aphorisms, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Attunement, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Autumn (verse), <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>B., Mrs., <a href='#Page_182'>182</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Babe, parable of a, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Bartman, parable of a, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Basketmaker, parable of the, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Beppo, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Birth of a Song (verse), <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Blank verse, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Book learning, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Books, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Botanist. <i>See</i> Teacher of botany</div> - <div class='line in1'>Brew, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>“Builder of dreams” (verse), <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Burke, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Capital punishment, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Carrington, W. T., quoted, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Charlie, Prince, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Childhood, tone of, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Christ, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Attitude toward, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Christmas (verse), <a href='#Page_99'>99</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Christmas story, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>-141</div> - <div class='line in1'>Cloak, parable of the, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Cockshut, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Communications, character, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Genuineness, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Intellectual character 9, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Method, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Compliments, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Composition, method, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Conversations, character, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a></div> - <div class='line in5'>Substance in her words, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Cup, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Curran, John H., <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Curran, Mrs. John H., <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a>, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a></div> - <div class='line in5'>Education, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a></div> - <div class='line in5'>Sittings, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>D., Dr. and Mrs., <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>-212</div> - <div class='line in1'>Day, pæan to the (verse), <a href='#Page_84'>84</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Death, fear of, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Fear of (verse), <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>-269</div> - <div class='line in4'>Life following, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>robbed of terrors, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Solemn address to (verse), <a href='#Page_279'>279</a>-281</div> - <div class='line in1'>Devotional verse, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Divinity of the human, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Doubt (verse), <a href='#Page_265'>265</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Dougal, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Drama, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Six-act medieval play described, <a href='#Page_142'>142</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Dress, references to, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a></div> - <div class='line in1'><span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>Dreams. <i>See</i> “Builder of dreams”</div> - <div class='line in4'><i>See</i> Phantom <i>also</i></div> - <div class='line in1'>Dreamer (verse), <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Earth questions, reasoning upon, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Eastern morn, <a href='#Page_144'>144</a>, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>England, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Northern, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Epigrams. <i>See</i> Aphorisms</div> - <div class='line in1'>Ermaline, Princess, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Failures in life, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Fairy’s wand, parable of, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Faith, allegory on (verse), <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>-266</div> - <div class='line in4'>Triumph of (verse), <a href='#Page_253'>253</a>-266</div> - <div class='line in1'>Femininity, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Flesh. <i>See</i> Soul</div> - <div class='line in1'>Folly, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Fool, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Fool and the Lady, The (story), <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>-121</div> - <div class='line in1'>Franco, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Friendship (verse), <a href='#Page_96'>96</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Fun-loving spirit, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Future. <i>See</i> Immortality</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>G., Miss, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>G., Mr., <a href='#Page_208'>208</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>G., Mrs., <a href='#Page_207'>207</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>God, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Identity with, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Love for (verse), <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>-239</div> - <div class='line in4'>Song of, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>“Hands” (verse), <a href='#Page_233'>233</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Harp (verse), <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Herbs, story of the, <a href='#Page_212'>212</a>-215</div> - <div class='line in1'>Holmes, John Haynes, quoted, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Hours of day (verse), <a href='#Page_215'>215</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Housekeeping, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Humor, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>in verse, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Hutchings, Mr., <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Hutchings, Mrs. Emily Grant, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Imagery, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Immortality, growth, <a href='#Page_277'>277</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Mystery, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Nature, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Reality, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Recognition of friends, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a>, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Impatience, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Individuality, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Infancy, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Inn of Falcon Feather, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>J., Miss, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>James, Wm., <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Jana, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Jane-o’-apes, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a>, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>John the Peaceful, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Joy, promise of future, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>-284</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>K., Dr., <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>King of Wisdom, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Kirtle, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Language, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Laughter, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Leaf, fallen (verse), <a href='#Page_82'>82</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Leta, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Life for a life, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Life likened to the seasons (verse), <a href='#Page_252'>252</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Lisa, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a>, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Literature, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Love, childhood, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Divine (verse), <a href='#Page_235'>235</a>, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>for Christ, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>for the loveless (verse), <a href='#Page_226'>226</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>for the wearied (verse), <a href='#Page_227'>227</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Friendly, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>God’s (verse), <a href='#Page_97'>97</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Man and woman (verse), <a href='#Page_94'>94</a></div> - <div class='line in4'><span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>maternal, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Religious, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Song, “Drink ye unto me,” 180</div> - <div class='line in4'>to God (verse), <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>-239</div> - <div class='line in4'>Universal, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a></div> - <div class='line'>“Loves of yester’s day” (verse), <a href='#Page_88'>88</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Lullaby, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>, example, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Spinning Wheel, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>M., Mr. and Mrs., <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>-210</div> - <div class='line in1'>Marion, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Mary, the Virgin, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Marye, Lady, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Massinger, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Maxims. <i>See</i> Aphorisms</div> - <div class='line in1'>Men, attitude toward, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Men and women, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Merchants, parable of, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Message, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Metaphor, borrowed, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Metaphysics, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Mise-man song, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Mission, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Mite and the Seeds, tale of the, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>-178</div> - <div class='line in1'>Musician, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Nature, Love of, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Value of, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Neurologist, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>New England, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>New Year (verse), <a href='#Page_101'>101</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Newspaper article, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Newspaper writer, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Ouija board, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>P., Dr., <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>-207</div> - <div class='line in1'>Parables, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Story of the herbs, <a href='#Page_212'>212</a>-215</div> - <div class='line in1'>Personality, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Pettieskirt, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a>, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a>, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Phantom and the Dreamer, The (verse), <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>-266</div> - <div class='line in1'>Physicians, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Physician, conversation with a young, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Description, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Poetry. <i>See</i> Songs; Verse</div> - <div class='line in1'>Pollard, Mrs. Mary E., <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Prayers, Character, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Examples (verse), <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>-244</div> - <div class='line in1'>“Primrose path,” 77, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Prose, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Psychic communications. <i>See</i> Communications</div> - <div class='line in1'>Puritan, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a>, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>“Put,” 186-189</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>R., Dr., <a href='#Page_204'>204</a>-207</div> - <div class='line in1'>Records of communications, character, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Regal, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Religion, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Revelation, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Rhyme, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Rhythm, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Sarcasm, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Scottish, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Seed, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Seeds. <i>See</i> Mite and the Seeds</div> - <div class='line in1'>Self, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Shakespeare, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a>, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Shelley, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Simplicity, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Sittings, character, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Skylark (verse), <a href='#Page_89'>89</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Society for Psychical Research, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Song, birth of a (verse), <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Songs, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>“Do I love the morn?” 215</div> - <div class='line in4'>“Drink ye unto me,” 180</div> - <div class='line in4'>“Gone, gone,” 198</div> - <div class='line in4'>“How have I sought!” 203</div> - <div class='line in4'>“Loth as Night,” 211</div> - <div class='line in4'>Mise-man, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>To Miss J., <a href='#Page_193'>193</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>To Mr. G., a musician, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a></div> - <div class='line in1'><span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>Sorrow, comfort for, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>“Sorrows ripened to a mellow heart,” 275, <a href='#Page_278'>278</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Soul, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Body and, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Spelling, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Spinning, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Spinning Wheel (verse), <a href='#Page_69'>69</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Spinster, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Spirituality, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_152'>152</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Spring (verse), <a href='#Page_81'>81</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Stories, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Character, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Dramatic character, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Story of Telka, described, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>“Story of the Judge Bush,” 153-163</div> - <div class='line in1'>Stranger, The (story), <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>-141</div> - <div class='line in1'>Subconsciousness, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a>, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Teacher of anatomy, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Teacher of botany, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Telka, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Theater, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Throb, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Timon, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Tina, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Tonio, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Tournament, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Tricksters, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Triviality, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Truth, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>V., Dr., <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>-201</div> - <div class='line in1'>Verse, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Dictation, manner, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Range, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a></div> - <div class='line in4'>Technique, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Virgin Mary, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>W., Dr., <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>W., Mrs., <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>War, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>War (verse), <a href='#Page_91'>91</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>“Waste of earth” (verse), <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>-231</div> - <div class='line in1'>Wasted words, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Wearied ones, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>“Weaving,” 175</div> - <div class='line in1'>Widow, visitor at the Currans, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a>, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Wind (verse), <a href='#Page_75'>75</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Winter (verse), <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Wisdom, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Wit, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>Worth, Patience, advent, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>affection, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>appearance, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>book learning, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>date, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>elusiveness, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>femininity, <a href='#Page_42'>42</a>, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>fun-loving spirit, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>impatience, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>individuality, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>laughter, love of, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>love her inspiration, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>men, attitude toward, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>message, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>mission, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>obscurity, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>on being investigated, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>personality, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a>, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>phrases, striking, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>place, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>revelation, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>sarcasm, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>speech, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a>, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>spinster, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>;</div> - <div class='line in4'>substance in her words, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>X., Dr., <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>-195, <a href='#Page_204'>204</a></div> - <div class='line in1'>X., Mrs., <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in1'>Z., Dr., <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>-189</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c016' /> -</div> - -<p class='c032'>“An Authentic Original Voice in Literature.”—<i>The Atlantic -Monthly.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>ROBERT FROST</span></div> - <div>The New American Poet</div> - <div class='c001'><span class='xlarge'>NORTH OF BOSTON</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c033'><i>Alice Brown</i>:</p> - -<p class='c033'>“Mr. Frost has done truer work about New England than anybody—except -Miss Wilkins.”</p> - -<p class='c034'><i>New York Evening Sun</i>:</p> - -<p class='c033'>“The poet had the insight to trust the people with the book of -the people and the people replied ‘Man, what is your name?’... -He forsakes utterly the claptrap of pastoral song, classical -or modern.... His is soil stuff, not mock bucolics.”</p> - -<p class='c034'><i>Boston Transcript</i>:</p> - -<p class='c033'>“The first poet for half a century to express New England -life completely with a fresh, original and appealing way of his -own.”</p> - -<p class='c034'><i>Brooklyn Daily Eagle</i>:</p> - -<p class='c033'>“The more you read the more you are held, and when you -return a few days later to look up some passage that has -followed you about, the better you find the meat under the -simple unpretentious form. <i>The London Times</i> caught that -quality when it said: ‘Poetry burns up out of it, as when a -faint wind breathes upon smouldering embers.’... That is -precisely the effect....”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c016' /> -</div> -<p class='c032'><span class='xlarge'>A BOY’S WILL</span> Mr. Frost’s First Volume of Poetry</p> - -<p class='c034'><i>The Academy</i> (<i>London</i>):</p> - -<p class='c033'>“We have read every line with that amazement and delight -which are too seldom evoked by books of modern verse.”</p> - -<table class='table1' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='44%' /> -<col width='55%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><i>NORTH OF BOSTON.</i></td> - <td class='c006'><i>Cloth. $2.35 net.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><i>NORTH OF BOSTON.</i></td> - <td class='c006'><i>Leather. $2.00 net.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c005'><i>A BOY’S WILL.</i></td> - <td class='c006'><i>Cloth. 75 cents net.</i></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c016' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c016'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span><b><span class='large'><em class='gesperrt'>JEAN-CHRISTOPHE</em></span></b></div> - <div class='c001'><b><i>By ROMAIN ROLLAND</i></b></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c033'>Translated from the French by <span class='sc'>Gilbert Cannan</span>. In -three volumes, each $1.50 net.</p> - -<p class='c033'>This great trilogy, the life story of a musician, at first -the sensation of musical circles in Paris, has come to be one -of the most discussed books among literary circles in France, -England and America.</p> - -<p class='c033'>Each volume of the American edition has its own individual -interest, can be understood without the other, and -comes to a definite conclusion.</p> - -<p class='c033'><i>The three volumes with the titles of the French volumes -included are:</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><b>JEAN-CHRISTOPHE</b></div> - <div><span class='sc'>Dawn—Morning—Youth—Revolt</span></div> - <div class='c001'><b>JEAN-CHRISTOPHE IN PARIS</b></div> - <div><span class='sc'>The Market Place—Antoinette—The House</span></div> - <div class='c001'><b>JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: JOURNEY’S END</b></div> - <div><span class='sc'>Love and Friendship—The Burning Bush—The New Dawn</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><i>Some Noteworthy Comments</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c035'>“‘Hats off, gentlemen—a genius.’... One may mention ‘Jean-Christophe’ -in the same breath with Balzac’s ‘Lost Illusions’; it is as big -as that.... It is moderate praise to call it with Edmund Gosse ’the -noblest work of fiction of the twentieth century.’... A book as -big, as elemental, as original as though the art of fiction began today.... -We have nothing comparable in English literature....”—<i>Springfield -Republican.</i></p> - -<p class='c035'>“If a man wishes to understand those devious currents which make -up the great, changing sea of modern life, there is hardly a single -book more illustrative, more informing and more inspiring.”—<i>Current -Opinion.</i></p> - -<p class='c035'>“Must rank as one of the very few important works of fiction of the -last decade. A vital compelling work. We who love it feel that it -will live.”—<i>Independent.</i></p> - -<p class='c035'>“The most momentous novel that has come to us from France, or -from any other European country, in a decade.”—<i>Boston Transcript.</i></p> - -<p class='c033'><i>A 32-page booklet about Romain Rolland and Jean-Christophe, -with portraits and complete reviews, on request.</i></p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c016' /> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span> -<h3 class='c021'><b><span class='large'><em class='gesperrt'>THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE</em></span></b></h3> -</div> - -<p class='c034'>“A collection so complete and distinguished that it is difficult -to find any other approaching it sufficiently for comparison.”—<i>N. -Y. Times Book Review.</i></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>Compiled by <span class='large'>BURTON E. STEVENSON</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c036'>Collects the best short poetry of the English language—not -only the poetry everybody says is good, but also the verses that -everybody reads. (<i>3742 pages, India paper, complete author, -title and first line indices.</i>)</p> - -<p class='c036'>The most comprehensive and representative collection of -American and English poetry ever published, including 3,120 -unabridged poems from some 1,100 authors.</p> - -<p class='c036'>It brings together in one volume the best short poetry of the -English language from the time of Spencer, with especial attention -to American verse.</p> - -<p class='c036'>The copyright deadline has been passed, and some three -hundred recent authors are included, very few of whom appear -in any other general anthology, such as Lionel Johnson, Noyes, -Housman, Mrs. Meynell, Yeats, Dobson, Lang, Watson, Wilde, -Francis Thompson, Gilder, Le Gallienne, Van Dyke, Woodberry, -Riley, etc., etc.</p> - -<p class='c036'>The poems as arranged by subject, and the classification is -unusually close and searching. Some of the most comprehensive -sections are: Children’s rhymes (300 pages); love poems -(800 pages); nature poetry (400 pages); humorous verse (500 -pages); patriotic and historical poems (600 pages); reflective -and descriptive poetry (400 pages). 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The chapter concerning -‘Rapport’ is to be especially recommended to those who -find in the phenomena of subconsciousness support for supernatural -and spiritistic theories.”</p> - -<p class='c038'><i>Chicago Evening Post</i>: “He discusses the question with -earnestness, candor and many illustrations.... He says many -things that are sensible and suggestive.”</p> - -<p class='c038'><i>Churchman</i>: “The book has a very practical value, and considerable -ethical significance.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c016' /> -</div> -<p class='c032'><b>MASON’S TELEPATHY AND THE SUBLIMINAL SELF.</b> -<span class='small'>Treating of Hypnotism, Automatism, Dreams, and Phantasms.</span></p> -<p class='c039'><b>5th Impression.</b> 343 pp. 12mo. $1.50.</p> - -<p class='c038'><i>Boston Transcript</i>: “He repudiates the idea of the supernatural -altogether, and in this he is in accord with the best -thought of the day.... Interesting and logical.”</p> - -<p class='c038'><i>N. Y. Times</i>: “The curious matter he treats about he presents -in an interesting manner.”</p> - -<p class='c038'><i>Outlook</i>: “Will have many readers.... A not inconsiderable -contribution to psychical research.”</p> - -<p class='c038'><i>Chicago Tribune</i>: “Certain to attract wide attention; ... -thoroughly interesting.... The spirit of his work is such as to -deserve respectful attention from every scientific mind.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'><em class='gesperrt'>HENRY HOLT & CO.</em></span></div> - <div>29 West 23d Street New York</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c001' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c003'>Transcriber's Notes</h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-l c031'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Generally, older or dialectual spellings were left unchanged.</div> - <div class='line'>A couple of obviously needed typographical changes were made.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>In addition:</div> - <div class='line in2'>On page 231 "thornéd" was changed to "thornèd"</div> - <div class='line in2'>In the Index page "365" for 'Doubt' was changed to page "265".</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Patience Worth, by Casper Salathiel Yost - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PATIENCE WORTH *** - -***** This file should be named 50810-h.htm or 50810-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/8/1/50810/ - -Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Elizabeth Oscanyan and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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