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EPILOGUE, 1914 (continued)

But, without halt or haste, its course is sure,
And His good grain must die to live again.

From this dread sowing, grant us harvest, Lord,
Of Nobler Doing, and of Loftier Hope,-
An All-Embracing and Enduring Peace,-
A Bond of States, a Pact of Peoples, based
On no caprice of royal whim, but on
Foundation mightier than the mightiest throne—
The Well-Considered Will of All the Lands.
Therewith, a simpler, purer, larger life,
Unhampered by the dread of war's alarms,
A life attuned to closer touch with Thee,
And golden-threaded with Thy Charity;-
A Sweeter Earth,-a Nearer Heaven,-a World
As emulous in Peace as once in War,

And striving ever upward towards The Goal.

So, once again, through Death shall come New Life,

And out of Darkness, Light.

"POLICEMAN X," which appeared first in Bees in Amber, was written in 1898. The Epilogue was written in 1914. "Policeman X" is the Kaiser. "Policeman"—because if he had so chosen he could have assisted in policing Europe and preserving the peace of the world. "X"-because he was then the unknown quantity. Now we know him only too well.

THE MEETING-PLACE

I saw my fellows

(A Warning)

In Poverty Street,

Bitter and black with life's defeat,
Ill-fed, ill-housed, of ills complete.
And I said to myself,-

"Surely death were sweet

To the people who live in Poverty Street."

I saw my fellows

In Market Place,

Avid and anxious, and hard of face,

Sweating their souls in the Godless race.

And I said to myself,

"How shall these find grace

Who tread Him to death in the Market

Place?"

I saw my fellows

In Vanity Fair,

Revelling, rollicking, debonair,

THE MEETING-PLACE (continued)

Life all a Gaudy-Show, never a care.
And I said to myself,-

"Is there place for these

In my Lord's well-appointed policies?"

I saw my fellows

In Old Church Row,

Hot in discussion of things High and Low,

Cold to the seething volcano below.

And I said to myself,

"The leaven is dead.

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The salt has no savour. The Spirit is fled."

I saw my fellows

As men and men,

The Men of Pain, and the Men of Gain,
And the Men who lived in Gallanty-Lane.
And I said to myself,—

"What if those should dare

To claim from these others their rightful share?"

I saw them all

Where the Cross-Roads meet;

Vanity Fair, and Poverty Street,

THE MEETING-PLACE (continued)

And the Mart, and the Church,-when the Red Drums beat,

And summoned them all to The Great Court

Leet.

And I cried unto God,—

"Now grant us Thy grace!"

For that was a terrible Meeting-Place.

VICTORY DAY

An Anticipation

As sure as God's in His Heaven,

As sure as He stands for Right,

As sure as the hun this wrong hath done,
So surely we win this fight!

Then !

Then, the visioned eye shall see

The great and noble company,

That gathers there from land and sea,

From over-land and over-sea,

From under-land and under-sea,

To celebrate right royally

The Day of Victory.

Not alone on that great day,

Will the war-worn victors come,

To meet our great glad "Welcome Home!"
And a whole world's deep "Well done!"
Not alone! Not alone will they come,
To the sound of the pipe and the drum;
They will come to their own

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