Little thinks, in the field, yon red-cloaked clown, On thee, from the hill top looking down; And the heifer that lows on the upland farm, Far heard, lows not thine ear to charm; The sexton, tolling the bell at noon, Dreams not that great Napoleon Stops his horse and lists with delight, As his files sweep round yon distant height; Nor knowest thou what argument Thy life to thy neighbor's creed hath lent; All are needed by each one-- Nothing is fair or good alone. I caught the linnet's note from heaven, Singing at dawn, on the alder bough; I brought him home in his nest at even: He sings the song; but it pleases not now; For I did not bring home the river and sky; He sang to my ear--they sing to my eye. The delicate shell lay on the shore; The bubbles of the latest wave Fresh pearls to their emerald gave; And the bellowing of the savage sea Greeted their safe escape to me. I wiped away the weeds and foam, And fetched my sea-born treasures home; But the poor, unsightly, noisome things Had left their beauty on the shore, With the sun, and the sand, and the wild uproar Nor rose, nor stream, nor bird is fair; Their concord is beyond compare. FOOTNOTE: [23] Used by permission of, and special arrangement with, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., the authorized publishers. LAUS DEO![24] ON HEARING BELLS ANNOUNCING EMANCIPATION JOHN G. WHITTIER It is done! Clang of bell and roar of gun Send the tidings up and down. How the belfries rock and reel! How the great guns, peal on peal, Fling the joy from town to town! Ring, O bells! Every stroke exulting tells Of the burial hour of crime. Loud and long, that all may hear. Ring for every listening ear Of Eternity and Time! Let us kneel! God's own voice is in that peal, And this spot is holy ground. Lord, forgive us! What are we, That our eyes this glory see, That our ears have heard the sound! For the Lord On the whirlwind is abroad; In the earthquake he has spoken; He has smitten with his thunder The iron walls asunder, And the gates of brass are broken! Loud and long Lift the old exulting song; Sing with Miriam by the sea He has cast the mighty down; Horse and rider sink and drown; "He hath triumphed gloriously!" Did we dare In our agony of prayer, Ask for more than He has done? When was ever his right hand Over any time or land Stretched as now beneath the sun!