I wandered down a dusty road,
And spent myself to sheer fatigue,
Until I fell beneath a load
Of misery and man’s intrigue,
When all at once I saw a string
Of lustrous pearls, close by the way,
It seemed such strange a hap and thing,
That I believed my sense astray.
But as I dared to touch the gems,
And as I felt their soft delight,
And saw the coloring, which hems
The robe of dawn o’er snowcapped height,
Play in their orbs, I felt a thrill
Of pleasure surging through my soul,
And then a peace, so rare and still,
Upon my restless heart to fall.
At length I rose to journey on,
But with a new-born strength and zest,
The burden gone, I saw the sun,
I felt that life is heaven-blest,
The string of pearls I treasured most,
And guarded it with fondest care,
Lest such a fount of joy be lost,
Lest doubt again should me ensnare.
I travelled long, at last I came
Into a place of Palaces,
Such as in heaven have highest fame,
But which the earthbound covet less;
The saints of old did know them well,
And gave their all that they might win
Admittance to the humblest cell,
And God’s forgiveness for their sin.
Each pearl became within my hand
A key wherewith the doors to ope,
And angel guides did ready stand
To point to each sincerest hope;
And dazzling glory filled the halls,
To archéd roof the music rose,
And master’s art adorned the walls,
And o’er it all hung sweet repose.
The first and nearest door, I tried,
Was one a singer, long ago,
Found when distressed with pain he cried
For healing streams to him to flow,
Then sang his praise alone to Him,
“Who healeth all thy sicknesses,”
And there I found a truth, now dim,
That God with health the sick can bless.
Another palace-door a pearl
Swung open widely to my gaze,
And like the waves that gently curl
Upon the sunlit water’s face,
There came in waves of harmony
A thousand voices in this place,
All promises of things to be,
And of His daily help of grace.
As the orchestral melody
By variations is enhanced,
So did his words: “Come unto me,”
Lead jubilant; I stood entranced,--
“Come unto me, I’ll give you rest,
My yoke is easy, burden light,”--
Ah, here I found all that my quest
Had sought in weariness and night.
Another pearl did ope the gate
To throne-rooms of the Sovereign’s pow’r,
Where not a shadow of dark Fate
Had part in any dial’s hour;
But truth and righteousness and love
Did govern life and destiny,
The Sovereign’s will, supreme above
The ways of man, did all decree.
And in this hour of awful gloom,
When faith is wrecked, and hope is low,
The glory from this Palace-room
Makes all the mountain-peaks aglow;
And shadows flee from vale and plain,
And struggling armies see a gleam,
Commensurate with grief and pain,--
The truth of what seemed but a dream.
My rosary has many beads,
I need an endless life to learn,
To what exalted things each leads,
For which my soul doth truly yearn,--
And when the innermost I gain,
There hangs a cross which lights the way
To Palace-portals where I fain
Would be this moment, and for aye.