Some heed our hero's warning. See, toward the hills they fly! Will _Periton_ now turn aside, or like a hero die? Straight on he goes, brave fellow; to turn aside he scorned, His life he deems of little worth if other men be warned. We honor those brave soldiers, who scaled the rampart height, To plant the standard of their queen in the defence of right, The fire was hot before them, and bursting shells o'erhead, Yet on they pressed, till bullet-pierced they fell--our honored dead; But he, I hold, was braver, who ran his race alone, No comrade's cheer to urge him on, no bugle blast was blown, Nor grand review to follow if he should win the day; But thoughts of self were all too weak his onward course to stay. Spur up your steed, brave fellow--the flood is at his heels! Too late! the waves now gird him round; the gallant rider reels; Entombed beneath the debris his warning voice is stilled, But he, I trust, ran not in vain; his mission is fulfilled. Like Jesus, he saved others, yet _would_ not save himself; The plaudits of the world sought not, but scorned its praise and pelf. He still sat in the saddle, and held the guiding rein, Yet wind and wave awoke him not, and thunders roared in vain. His spirit had ascended, death set the hero free, And God shall say in His great day, "_Thou didst it unto Me!_" Look down, ye Alleghenies, with ever-darkening frown, Upon the selfishness which caused the ruin of Johnstown. A reservoir was fashioned, of full three miles in length, An inland lake, kept back by dam of insufficient strength; No mills were driven by it; no water-works supplied; A few rich men, for selfish sport, claimed all these waters wide. They rode upon its surface in skiff, and bark canoe, Shot grouse and duck, caught fish and eel, and held their title true; For other people's safety took not a single thought-- Ten thousand lives were less to them than fish thus daily caught. The dam revealed its weakness by frequent leaks, but they Turned not aside to strengthen it till came the fateful day; But God, who rules the nations, to whom all bow the knee, Will say to them on judgment day, "_Ye did it not to Me._" EYE HATH NOT SEEN Somewhere in the realms supernal Is a home prepared for me, Where my joys shall be eternal, And my spirit ever free; Mortal vision helps not here, God conceals it from my sight, By effulgent beams of light; Oh that He would bring it near! But I hear a voice say, softly, "Be content to leave it so, For God's thoughts are far too lofty For a man like thee to know; Human spirits must be free From their tenements of clay, Ere they bear that full-orbed day, Bide thy time and thou shalt see." I cannot draw back the curtain That conceals the glory land, Yet my hope is sure and certain, For the tracings of God's hand On the outside do appear, Like the cherubim of old, Wrought in needle-work and gold, Bringing all the glory near.