A summer night in Remy--strokes of the midnight bell,
Like drops of molten silver, athwart the silence fell,
Where 'mid the misty meadows, the circling crystal streams,
A little village slumber'd,--locked in quiet dreams.
A lily, green-embower'd, beside a mossy wood,
With golden cross uplifted, the small white chapel stood,
But in that solemn hour, the light of moon and star
Upon its portal shining, revealed the door ajar!
And lo! into the midnight, with noiseless feet, there ran
From out the sacred shadows, a mask'd and muffl'd man,
Who bore beneath his mantle, with sacrilegious hold,
The Victim of the altar within Its vase of gold!
To right--to left,--he faltered; then swift across the sward,
(Like dusky demon fleeing), he bore the Hidden Lord;
By mere and moonlit meadow his rapid passage sped,
Till, at an open wicket, he paused with bended head.
Behold! a grassy terrace,--a garden, wide and fair,
And, 'mid the wealth of roses, a beehive nestling there.
Across the flow'ring trellis, the villain cast his cloak,
Upon the jeweled chalice, the moonbeams, sparkling, broke!
O sacrilegious fingers! your work was quickly done!
Within the hive (audacious!) he thrust the Holy One,
Then gath'ring up his mantle to hide the treasure bright--
Plunged back into the darkness, and vanish'd in the night.
* * * * *
Forth in the summer morning, full of the sun and breeze,
Into his dewy garden, walks the master of the bees.
All silent stands the beehive,--no little buzzing things
Among the flowers, flutter, on brown and golden wings.
Untasted lies the honey within the roses' hearts,--
The master paces nearer,--he listens--lo! he starts,
What sounds of rapturous singing! O heaven! all alive
With strange angelic music, is that celestial hive!
Upon his knees adoring, the master, weeping, sees
Within a honeyed cloister, the Chalice of the bees;
For lo! the little creatures have reared a waxen shrine,
Wherein reposes safely the Sacred Host Divine!...
O little ones, who listen unto this legend old
(Upon my shoulder blending your locks of brown and gold),
From out the hands of sinners whose hearts are foul to see,
Behold! the dear Lord Jesus appeals to you and me.
He says: "O loving children! within your hearts prepare
A hive of honeyed sweetness where I may nestle fair;
Make haste, O pure affections! to welcome Me therein,
Out of the world's bright gardens, out of the groves of Sin.
"And in the night of sorrow (sweet sorrow), like the bees,
Around My Heart shall hover your wingèd ministries,
And while ye toil, the angels shall, softly singing come
To worship Me, the Captive of Love's Ciborium!"
_Eleanor C. Donnelly._
From "The Children of the Golden Sheaf." Published by P.C. Donnelly.
* * * * *
MERE, a waste place; a marsh.
TRELLIS, a frame of latticework.
WAXEN, made of wax. _en_ is here a suffix meaning _made of._ Use
_golden, leaden, wooden,_ in sentences of your own.
Synonyms are words which have very nearly the same meaning. What does
_revealed_ mean? _cloister_? Find as many synonyms of these two words as
you can. Consult your dictionary.
* * * * *
_62_
stalked
ep'au lets
be hind' hand
se date'
trudg' ing
com pos' ed ly
fid' dler
strut' ted
ap pro ba' tion
re sumed'
af firmed'
dis a gree' a ble
whith er so ev' er