Man says that He is jealous, Man says that He is wise, Man says that He is watching From His throne beyond the skies. But perchance the arch above us Is one great mirror’s span, And the Figure seen so dimly Is a vast reflected man. If it is love that gave us A thousand […]

1 God’s own best will bide the test, And God’s own worst will fall; But, best or worst or last or first, He ordereth it all. 2 For all is good, if understood, (Ah, could we understand!) And right and ill are tools of skill Held in His either hand. 3 The harlot and the […]

I am not blind I understand; I see him loyal, good, and wise, I feel decision in his hand, I read his honour in his eyes. Manliest among men is he With every gift and grace to clothe him; He never loved a girl but me — And I I loathe him! loathe him! The […]

Masters, I sleep not quiet in my grave, There where they laid me, by the Avon shore, In that some crazy wights have set it forth By arguments most false and fanciful, Analogy and far-drawn inference, That Francis Bacon, Earl of Verulam (A man whom I remember in old days, A learned judge with sly […]

The bloom is on the May once more, The chestnut buds have burst anew; But, darling, all our springs are o’er, ‘Tis winter still for me and you. We plucked Life’s blossoms long ago What’s left is but December’s snow. But winter has its joys as fair, The gentler joys, aloof, apart; The snow may […]

Her cheek was wet with North Sea spray, We walked where tide and shingle meet; The long waves rolled from far away To purr in ripples at our feet. And as we walked it seemed to me That three old friends had met that day, The old, old sky, the old, old sea, And love, […]

When, ere the tangled web is reft, The kid-gloved villain scowls and sneers, And hapless innocence is left With no assets save sighs and tears, ‘Tis then, just then, that in there stalks The hero, watchful of her needs; He talks, Great heavens how he talks! But we forgive him, for his deeds. Life is […]

1909 Breathing the stale and stuffy air Of office or consulting room, Our thoughts will wander back to where We heard the low Atlantic boom, And, creaming underneath our screw, We watched the swirling waters break, Silver filagrees on blue Spreading fan-wise in our wake. Cribbed within the city’s fold, Fettered to our daily round, […]

1902 They said that it had feet of clay, That its fall was sure and quick. In the flames of yesterday All the clay was burned to brick. When they carved our epitaph And marked us doomed beyond recall, “We are,” we answered, with a laugh, “The Empire that declines to fall.”

Father, father, who is that a-whispering? Who is it who whispers in the wood? You say it is the breeze As it sighs among the trees, But there’s some one who whispers in the wood. Father, father, who is that a-murmuring? Who is it who murmurs in the night? You say it is the roar […]

From our youth to our age We have passed each stage In old immemorial order, From primitive days Through flowery ways With love like a hedge as their border. Ah, youth was a kingdom of joy, And we were the king and the queen, When I was a year Short of thirty, my dear, And […]

Being the doggerel Itinerary of a Holiday in September, 1908 To St. Albans’ town we came; Roman Albanus hence the name. Whose shrine commemorates the faith Which led him to a martyr’s death. A high cathedral marks his grave, With noble screen and sculptured nave. From thence to Hatfield lay our way, Where the proud […]

First begin Taking in. Cargo stored, All aboard, Think about Giving out. Empty ship, Useless trip! Never strain Weary brain, Hardly fit, Wait a bit! After rest Comes the best. Sitting still, Let it fill; Never press; Nerve stress Always shows. Nature knows. Critics kind, Never mind! Critics flatter, No matter! Critics curse, None the […]

(After Heine) Through the lonely mountain land There rode a cavalier. “Oh ride I to my darling’s arms, Or to the grave so drear?” The Echo answered clear, “The grave so drear.” So onward rode the cavalier And clouded was his brow. “If now my hour be truly come, Ah well, it must be now!” […]

Said Paul Leroy to Barrow, ‘Though the breach is steep and narrow, If we only gain the summit Then it’s odds we hold the fort. I have ten and you have twenty, And the thirty should be plenty, With Henderson and Henty And McDermott in support.’ Said Barrow to Leroy, ‘It’s a solid job, my […]

[The French Army, including a part of the Irish Brigade, under Marshal Villeroy, held the fortified town of Cremona during the winter of 1702. Prince Eugene, with the Imperial Army, surprised it one morning, and, owing to the treachery of a priest, occupied the whole city before the alarm was given. Villeroy was captured, together […]

What of the bow? The bow was made in England: Of true wood, of yew-wood, The wood of English bows; So men who are free Love the old yew-tree And the land where the yew-tree grows. What of the cord? The cord was made in England: A rough cord, a tough cord, A cord that […]

What marks the frontier line? Thou man of India, say! Is it the Himalayas sheer, The rocks and valleys of Cashmere, Or Indus as she seeks the south From Attoch to the fivefold mouth? ‘Not that! Not that!’ Then answer me, I pray! What marks the frontier line? What marks the frontier line? Thou man […]

The following narrative was found among the papers of Dr. James Hardcastle, who died of phthisis on February 4th, 1908, at 36, Upper Coventry Flats, South Kensington. Those who knew him best, while refusing to express an opinion upon this particular statement, are unanimous in asserting that he was a man of a sober and […]

So long as the oceans are the ligaments which bind together the great broad-cast British Empire, so long will there be a dash of romance in our minds. For the soul is swayed by the waters, as the waters are by the moon, and when the great highways of an empire are along such roads […]