And I cowered deprecatingly— “Thou Love of God! Or let me die, “Or grant what shall seem heaven almost! “Let me not know that all is lost, “Though lost it be—leave me not tied “To this despair, this corpse-like bride! “Let that old life seem mine—no more— “With limitation as before, “With darkness, hunger, toil, distress: “Be all the earth a wilderness! “Only let me go on, go on, “Still hoping ever and anon “To reach one eve the Better Land!” XXXII. Then did the form expand, expand— I knew him through the dread disguise As the whole God within his eyes Embraced me. XXXIII. When I lived again, The day was breaking,—the grey plain I rose from, silvered thick with dew. Was this a vision? False or true? Since then, three varied years are spent, And commonly my mind is bent To think it was a dream—be sure A mere dream and distemperature— The last day’s watching: then the night,— The shock of that strange Northern Light Set my head swimming, bred in me A dream. And so I live, you see, Go through the world, try, prove, reject, Prefer, still struggling to effect My warfare; happy that I can Be crossed and thwarted as a man, Not left in God’s contempt apart, With ghastly smooth life, dead at heart, Tame in earth’s paddock as her prize. Thank God, she still each method tries To catch me, who may yet escape, She knows, the fiend in angel’s shape! Thank God, no paradise stands barred To entry, and I find it hard To be a Christian, as I said! Still every now and then my head Raised glad, sinks mournful—all grows drear Spite of the sunshine, while I fear And think, “How dreadful to be grudged “No ease henceforth, as one that’s judged, “Condemned to earth for ever, shut “From heaven!” But Easter-Day breaks! But Christ rises! Mercy every way Is infinite,—and who can say? [Illustration] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. THE CHAUTAUQUA PRESS. In order to create a permanent library of useful and standard books for the homes of our C. L. S. C. members, and to reduce the expense of the Seal courses, we have organized the CHAUTAUQUA PRESS. The first issues of the Chautauqua Press will be “THE GARNET SERIES,” four volumes in the general line of the “required readings” for the coming year, as follows:— READINGS FROM RUSKIN. With an Introduction by H. A. BEERS, Professor of English Literature in Yale College. This volume contains chapters from Ruskin on “The Poetry of Architecture,” “The Cottage—English, French, and Italian,” “The Villa—Italian,” and “St. Mark’s,” from “Stones of Venice.” READINGS FROM MACAULAY. With an Introduction by DONALD G. MITCHELL (“Ik Marvel”).