74 ONE THOUSAND FAMOUS THINGS
Dead He Lay Among His Books
DEAD he lay among his books !
The peace of God was in his looks.
As the statues in the gloom
Watch o'er Maximilian's tomb,
So those volumes from their shelves
Watched him, silent as themselves.
Ah I his hand will nevermore
Turn their storied pages o*er ;
Never more his lips repeat
Songs of theirs, however sweet.
Let the lifeless body rest 1
He is gone who was its guest.
Traveller ! in what realms afar,
In what planet, in what star,
In what vast aerial space,
Shines the light upon thy face ?
In what gardens of delight
Rest thy weary feet tonight ?
Friend ! but yesterday the bells
Rang for thee their loud farewells ;
And today they toll for thee,
Lying dead beyond the sea ;
Lying dead among thy books,
The peace of God in all thy looks I Longfellow
I Hear the Voice of Christ Say Peace
WERE half the power that fills the world with terror,
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts.
Given to redeem the human mind from error,
There were no need of arsenals nor forts :
The warrior's name would be a name abhorred,
And every nation that should lift again
Its hand against a brother on its forehead
Would wear for evermore the curse of Cain !
Down the dark future, through long generations,
The echoing sounds grow fainter and then cease ;
And, like a bell, with* solemn, sweet vibrations,
I hear once more the voice of Christ say Peace !
Peace 1 and no longer from its brazen portals
The blast of war's great organ shakes the skies ;
But, beautiful as songs of the immortals.
The holy melodies of love arise, Longfellow