MIDNIGHT-THE 31ST OF DECEMBER

1900

Extracts

STEPHEN PHILLIPS

Lo! now on the midnight the soul of the century passing,

And on midnight the voice of the Lord!

"In the years that shall be I will bind me nation to nation

And shore unto shore," saith our God.

"For this cause I will make of your warfare a terrible thing,

A thing impossible, vain;

For a man shall set his hand to a handle and wither Invisible armies and fleets,

And a lonely man with a breath shall exterminate armies,

With a whisper annihilate fleets;

And the captain shall sit in his chamber and level a city,

The far-off capital city.

Then the Tsar that dreameth in snow and broodeth in winter,

That foilèd dreamer in frost,

And the Teuton Emperor then, and the Gaul and the Briton

Shall cease from impossible war,

Discarding their glittering legions, armadas of iron,

As children toys that are old.

As a man hath been brought, I will bring unto judgment a nation;

Nor shall numbers be pleaded for sin.

And that people to whom I gave in commission the

ocean

To use my waters for right,

Let them look to the inward things, to the searching of spirit,

And cease from boasting and noise.

Then nation shall cleave unto nation, and Babel shall fall:

They shall speak in a common tongue,

And the soul of the Gaul shall leap to the soul of the Briton

Through all disguises and shows;

And soul shall speak unto soul- I weary of tongues, I weary of babble and strife.

Lo! I am the bonder and knitter together of spirits,

I dispense with nations and shores.

"Lo! I am the burster of bonds and the breaker of barriers

I am He that shall free," saith the Lord.

"For the lingering battle, the contest of ages is ending, And victory followeth Me."

THE GLORIOUS FOURTH

JULIA WARD HOWE

UNFURL the flag, ye veterans all,
Respond to the familiar call!

Let Drum and Fife awakened be
For Freedom's glorious Reveillé!

The gathering crowds with haste obey
The joyful summons of the day.
The cannon's rhythmic boom resounds,
The snapping fire toy goes its rounds.

Above the noise, above the sport,
Shall Justice hold her sober court:
"You, people whom this day set free,
What shall you do for liberty?"

Our friendly harbors open stand,
To hail the ships of every land.
The fainting exile at our door
Finds cheer and welcome evermore.

With the great boon that we have gained
A holy promise is enchained.

Not for ourselves alone we fought,
But for a wide deliverance wrought.

Freedom is in the dauntless heart,
The will t' enact a noble part,

The faith that reads with reverent eyes
A message writ beyond the skies.

While yet on earth one Tyrant wields
The scourge that strips the fertile fields,
While one his iron rule doth fling

O'er men who call their conscience King,
While Right from armed Might must flee,
We are not free, we are not free.

Where sets the Autocrat his seal,
And starving hinds his prowess feel,
Where bleeds the Christian for his cross,
There do we suffer pain and loss.

As in one temple let us kneel

To pray for every nation's weal;
Then speed the messengers of peace

To cry: "The reign of blood must cease."

THE PRAYER FOR PEACE

ALFRED NOYES

Unless public opinion can rise to the height of discussing the substitution of law for force as a great world-movement, the American arbitration proposals cannot be carried out.”

DARE we

Sir Edward Grey.

though our hope deferred

Left us faithless long ago

Dare we let our hearts be stirred,

Lift them to the light and know,

Cast away our cynic shields,

Break the sword that Mockery wields,
Know that Truth indeed prevails,
And that Justice holds the scales?
Britain, kneel!

Kneel, Imperial Commonweal!

Dare we know that this great hour,
Dawning on thy long renown,
Marks the purpose of thy power,
Crowns thee with a mightier crown,
Know that to this purpose climb
All the blood-red wars of Time?
If indeed thou hast a goal
Beaconing to thy warrior soul,
Britain, kneel!

Kneel, Imperial Commonweal!

Dare we know what every age
Writes with an unerring hand,
Read the midnight's moving page,
Read the stars and understand,-
Out of Chaos ye shall draw
Linked harmonies of Law,
Till around the Eternal Sun
All your peoples move in one?
Britain, kneel!

Kneel, Imperial Commonweal!

Dare we know that wearied eyes
Dimmed with dust of every day

Can, once more, desire the skies
And the glorious upward way?