Earth rose from wintry sleep[14], baptized and cleansed, And on her tranquil brow, that seemed to feel The holy and confirming hand of Heaven, The warm light in a wealth of comfort streamed; Nature's great floor green-carpeting anew For some glad change, some joyful happening, 1170 Told in the countless caroling of birds, Gilding the foliage, glorying the flowers, Mirroring mingled hues of earth and sky. Glad happening, in sooth, for ne'er before, Since burst the heavens when Judah's star-lit hills Heard angel choristers peal joy's refrain Above the mangered Babe of Bethlehem, Had earth such scene beheld, as now within The bosom of a sylvan solitude, Hard by the borders of a humble home, 1180 Upon that fair and fateful morn was played. Players, immortal twain and mortal one, Standing but fourteen steps upon life's stair, An unlearned boy, thinker of thoughts profound, Boy and yet man, dreamer of lofty dreams. Not solemn, save betimes, when hovered near Some wingéd inspiration from far worlds, Some great idea's all-subduing spell-- His heart grew humbler then, his look more grave; Not melancholy--mirthful, loving life, 1190 And brimming o'er with health and wholesome glee. A stalwart spirit in a sturdy frame, Maturing unto future mightiness. Bowing to God, yet bending to no creed, Adoring not a loveless deity, That saved or damned regardless of desert, Ne'er reckoning the good or evil done; Loving and worshipping the God of love, The gracious God of reason and of right, Long-suffering and just and merciful, 1200 Meting to every work fit recompense, Yet giving more, far more, than merit's claim; Bowing to Him, but not to man-made gods, And shunning shameful strife where peace should dwell, He holds aloof from those degenerate sects, Bewildering Babel of conflicting creeds, And pondering the apostolic line, "Let any lacking wisdom, wisdom ask, And God will freely give, upbraiding none," He puts the promise to the utter test. 1210 What pen can paint the marvel that befell? What tongue the wondrous miracle portray? Than theirs, the Vision's own, what voice proclaim Whose dual presence[15] dimmed the noonday beam, Communing with him there, as friend with friend, And giving to that prayer reply of peace?