And the boy-beauty passed from off the face Of those who lived, and into it instead Came proud forgetfulness of ball and race, Sweet commune with the dead. And thoughts beyond their thoughts the Spirit lent, And manly tears made mist upon their eyes, And to them came a great presentiment Of high self-sacrifice. Thus, as the heaven’s many-coloured flames At sunset are but dust in rich disguise, The ascending earthquake dust of battle frames God’s pictures in the skies. _William Alexander._ [1] The heading of a remarkable chapter in the _De Imitatione Christi_. PROCTER LXXXV THE LESSON OF THE WAR The feast is spread through England For rich and poor to-day; Greetings and laughter may be there, But thoughts are far away; Over the stormy ocean, Over the dreary track, Where some are gone, whom England Will never welcome back. Breathless she waits, and listens For every eastern breeze That bears upon its bloody wings News from beyond the seas. The leafless branches stirring Make many a watcher start; The distant tramp of steeds may send A throb from heart to heart. The rulers of the nation, The poor ones at their gate, With the same eager wonder The same great news await. The poor man’s stay and comfort, The rich man’s joy and pride, Upon the bleak Crimean shore Are fighting side by side. The bullet comes--and either A desolate hearth may see; And God alone to-night knows where The vacant place may be! The dread that stirs the peasant Thrills nobles’ hearts with fear-- Yet above selfish sorrow Both hold their country dear. The rich man who reposes In his ancestral shade, The peasant at his ploughshare, The worker at his trade, Each one his all has perilled, Each has the same great stake, Each soul can but have patience, Each heart can only break! Hushed is all party clamour; One thought in every heart, One dread in every household, Has bid such strife depart. England has called her children; Long silent--the word came That lit the smouldering ashes Through all the land to flame. O you who toil and suffer, You gladly heard the call; But those you sometimes envy Have they not given their all? O you who rule the nation, Take now the toil-worn hand-- Brothers you are in sorrow, In duty to your land. Learn but this noble lesson Ere Peace returns again, And the life-blood of Old England Will not be shed in vain. _Adelaide Anne Procter._ MASSEY LXXXVI SIR RICHARD GRENVILLE’S LAST FIGHT Our second Richard Lion-Heart In days of great Queen Bess, He did this deed, he played this part, With true old nobleness, And wrath heroic that was nursed To bear the fiercest battle-burst, When maddened foes should wreak their worst.