A gladiatorial show, And eighty thousand men For savage pastime all aglow-- O marvel there and then! An unknown monk, his life Defenseless, interposed, Forbade the old barbaric strife-- The red arena closed! That unrecovered rout! Those fire-shafts from the Sun! O Telemaque! who, who shall doubt Thy Master's will was done? * * * * * Washington. The deeds of Washington Were lit with patriot flame; A crown for Liberty he won, And won undying fame. He heard his country's cry, He heard her bugle-call, 'Twas sweet to live for her, or die; Her cause was all in all. He heard the psalm of peace, He sought again the plow; O civic toil, canst thou increase The laurels for his brow? As with a father's hand He led the infant state; Colossus of his native land, He still is growing great. * * * * * Lincoln. God placed on Lincoln's brow A sad, majestic crown; All enmity is friendship now, And martyrdom renown. A mighty-hearted man, He toiled at Freedom's side, And lived, as only heroes can, The truth in which he died. Like Moses, eyes so dim, All signs he could not spell; Yet he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible. His life was under One "Who made and loveth all;" And when his mighty work was done, How grand his coronal! * * * * * Garfield. Of Garfield's finished days, So fair and all too few, Destruction, which at noon-day strays, Could not the work undo. O martyr prostrate, calm, I learn anew that pain Achieves, as God's subduing psalm, What else were all in vain! Like Samson in his death, With mightiest labor rife, The moments of thy halting breath Were grandest of thy life. And now, amid the gloom Which pierces mortal years, There shines a star above thy tomb To smile away our tears. * * * * * Not Too Near. O workers brave and true, Whose lives are full of song, I dare not take too near a view, Lest I should do you wrong. I only look to see The marks of sacrifice, The heraldry of sympathy, Which can alone suffice. For nothing else is great, However proudly won, Or has the light to indicate The will of God is done. Ah, who would judge what fire Will surely burn away! And ask not, What doth God require At the Eternal Day? * * * * * "Stonewall" Jackson. God somehow owns the creeds That seem so much amiss, What time they bear heroic deeds Above analysis. How, in his burning zeal, Did Stonewall breast his fate, Converted to his country's weal With fame beyond debate!