When man, begun to know himself, The social cup of Tea.'” The next verses, suggested by a well-known old song, show his early love of humanity and aspirations for an improved social state. It was probably written at Neath about 1847 or 1848. "THE LIGHT OF DAYS TO COME. "The light of other days is faded, But we will not repine, Nor waste the precious hours as they did, We will not sign in gloom and sadness But rather share the mirth and gladness "The past brought luxury and pleasure But equal all shall share the treasure Knowledge shall strengthen each endeavour And Justice with her sword shall sever The iron hand of Might. "The fields where warriors have commanded, And men have fought for fame, Shall in a future age be branded With an inglorious name. Bright souls who perish unassuming, Your work is not yet done, Like scattered seed your deeds shall bloom in The Light of days to come." I preserve the following fantastic little poem because it so well describes the mode of house-building of the dwellers in the grand equatorial forests which supply so many of man's wants in a way unknown in the colder climes. "THE INDIAN'S HUT. "'Twas on the mighty Amazon, We floated with the tide, While steep and flowery were the banks And where the green bananas grow, "Like to the halls of Solomon, "Those wild fantastic slender cords Which hang from branches high, "All silently, for stake and pole Were sharpened where they grew; And where the house was built, no axe But slow and still the Indian worked, "Oh, for a lodge!' thus Cowper cried ; A quiet spot, a calm retreat, I give the following verses on the Cayman or Alligator of the Amazon because I remember how pleased my brother was with the quotation from Macbeth, which so aptly applies to this dangerous reptile. "SONG OF THE CAYMAN. (Written, 1850.) "Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold: Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Which thou dost glare with.' "I bask in the waveless waters When the sun is shining on high, Woe to the careless bather "I float on the midnight waters Which flattens the hunter's lead; "I hear the house-dog prowling, And seize him on the brink. "I dwell not in rushing waters, But in woodland pool and lake, "Midnight deeds have I witness'd, I preserve the next little poem because I feel sure that the first three verses were inspired by the memories of his childhood, while the conclusion indicates those deeper feelings still more dominant in that which follows it. "VOICES. "I remember voices Breathed in sweetest tone "Little manly voices, Brothers then were near, Soft and kindly voices ; "I remember voices, Tones of later years, "Eloquent and earnest, Seeming firm and true, "Friendship's voice deceived me, False and fickle proved. "I remember voices, Now I hear but one, "Calm amid the tempests, Live in peace with me, Thou shalt learn Earth's wisdom And Heaven's mystery."" The following poem is probably the last written by my brother. There is no draft or note of it in his rough notebook, and it is written out carefully on a sheet of thin letterpaper which he probably obtained in Para. It was therefore almost certainly written during the two weeks before his fatal illness. "OUR BETTER MOMENTS. "Uncalled they come across the mind, A power strange, yet holy too, Breathes through our every sense; Each atom of our being feels Its subtle influence. High visions, noble thinkings, flash Like meteors through the brain, 'Tis surely come again! Better moments! Better moments! Ye are sunny angels' wings, Sent to shed a holier radiance o'er all dim and worldly things. "Perchance we love to watch awhile, In simple child-like mood, The ebbing of the flood, Or lie upon a mossy bank In some secluded shade, When sudden, from before our gaze, Better moments! Better moments! Ye are sunny angels' wings, Sent to shed a holier radiance o'er all dim and worldly things. "Or sitting in a leafy wood, Some still and breathless hour, The joyous twitter of a bird Has strange unconscious power; The power to send through ev'ry nerve A better moment, like the dawn, Takes in its pure embrace, All life! all nature! high or mean, Of colour, tongue, or race. Better moments! Better moments! Ye are sunny angels' wings, Sent to shed a holier radiance o'er all dim and worldly things. |