Thomas Carlyle.
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43
dole man’ na em’ blem re leased’
plumes breathe crim’ son feath’ ered
soared dou’ bly hom’ i ly ser’a
phim
Up soared
the lark into the air,
A shaft
of song, a winged prayer,
As if a
soul, released from pain,
Were flying
back to heaven again.
St. Francis
heard; it was to him
An emblem
of the Seraphim;
The upward
motion of the fire,
The light,
the heat, the heart’s desire.
Around Assisi’s
convent gate
The birds,
God’s poor who cannot wait,
From moor
and mere and darksome wood
Came flocking
for their dole of food.
“O
brother birds,” St. Francis said,
“Ye
come to me and ask for bread,
But not
with bread alone to-day
Shall ye
be fed and sent away.
“Ye
shall be fed, ye happy birds
With manna
of celestial words;
Not mine,
though mine they seem to be,
Not mine,
though they be spoken through me.
“O,
doubly are ye bound to praise
The great
Creator in your lays;
He giveth
you your plumes of down,
Your crimson
hoods, your cloaks of brown.
“He
giveth you your wings to fly
And breathe
a purer air on high,
And careth
for you everywhere,
Who for
yourselves so little care!”
With flutter
of swift wings and songs
Together
rose the feathered throngs,
And singing
scattered far apart;
Deep peace
was in St. Francis’ heart.
He knew
not if the brotherhood
His homily
had understood;
He only
knew that to one ear
The meaning
of his words was clear.
Longfellow.
From “Children’s Hour and Other Poems.”
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Publishers.
[Illustration: ST. FRANCIS PREACHING]
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LAYS, songs.
ASSISI ([:a]s s[=e]’ ze), a town of Italy, where
St. Francis was born in 1182.
What does “manna of celestial words” mean?
What is the singular form of seraphim?
Memory Gem:
Every word has its own spirit,
True or false, that never dies;
Every word man’s lips have uttered
Echoes in God’s skies.
Adelaide A. Procter.
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44
Gloria in excelsis!
Sound the thrilling song;
In excelsis Deo!
Roll the hymn along.
Gloria in excelsis!
Let the heavens ring;
In excelsis Deo!
Welcome, new-born King.
