For afar in the kindly heavens The blessed token I saw! And now my life is transfigured, And lost in a nameless awe. In a nameless awe I wander, As one with a joy untold, Too great for his own defining, Too great for him to withhold. But deep in my heart is the secret, And in yonder beckoning Star, And I must wait for the telling Until I can hasten afar,-- Until I can find in travel A heart akin to mine, That day and night is adoring And imploring beauty divine. And so I will share the gladness Which God intends for the world; And so will I lift the banner, To remain forever unfurled." Hardly had Gaspar ended The musing he loved so well, When he heard the dreamy tinkle Of a distant camel-bell. He set his tent in order; He brought forth of his best, After the Arab custom, To welcome the coming guest. Who is this eager stranger Dismounted so soon at the door? A king from another kingdom, Who has traveled the desert o'er, In search of the same communion That Gaspar was longing for. And before of food he tasted, Thus spake King Melchior: "O Gaspar, God hath sent me In the light of a peaceful Star, To tell thee, my royal brother, What my sweet communings are. My life has been hid with Nature For many a quiet year, And in the hearts of my people, Whose love hath cast out fear. And I have been a dweller With God, who is everywhere, On earth, in the stars, the Spirit Sublimest, calmest, most fair. Among his mediators And messengers of rest, Which fill the earth and the heavens, The stars I reckoned the best. To the stars I gave my study, I watched them rise and set, And heard the music of silence My soul can not forget;-- The music that seemed prophetic Of the reign of peace to come, When men shall live as lovers In the quiet of one dear home. But contemplation only My heart could not satisfy: I longed for the very presence The stars did prophesy, And eagerly looked for a token Of heaven descended to earth, A manifestation to tell me The Prince had come to his birth-- The Prince to rule the nations, The blessed Prince of Peace, Through the scepter of whose kingdom Confusion and war shall cease. And God to me has been gracious, Though one of his children the least, For I have seen his token All glorious in the east. Yea, God to me has been gracious, And shown me the way of love, A revelation of goodness As fair as heaven above." The kings sat down together, Communed in the breaking of bread, And each the heart of the other As an open volume read.