Cora C. Bass

“ And throb and burn, the feeble step grow light
And freer speed to scale life's fairest height
As some sweet song, or merry jest or deep
Toned humorous note lulls lagging care to sleep.
Man may be mirthful built and yet contrite,
May bear a buoyant heart through darkest night
Whilst hope and love their angel vigil keep
Twin foes of fear and gloom. Oh, loyal soul
That dares to walk upright with dauntless tread;
Amid the din of battle and the roll
Of thunder-guns storm shattered o'er thy head,
Press on, press ever onward, to the goal,
And round thee joy-refulgent freely shed. ”

“ When the heart lies crushed 'neath a load of sorrow,
When life's broad river moves sad and slow;
When hope is lost in a dread to-morrow,
Where all is worry and weight and woe;
When hands reject the cross they carry,
When feet would falter and strength would fail,
When better days seem bound to tarry;
Eyes grow tearful and lips grow pale.
When even the pleasantest hours are dreary,
And each new effort is like despair;
When we are so worn and weak and weary,
We fain would yield to the cruel care ”

“ Laugh 'mid the wild, rushing storms of to-day;
Breasting the current when downward it trends,
Grand is the battle if grandly it ends.
Laugh and be happy; laugh, it is best,
Sailing the wide sweeping sea of unrest;
Though the dark billows are running so high,
Courage! my brother, the haven is nigh.
Laugh and be happy, laugh while you may,
Laugh 'mid the wild, rushing storms of to-day;
Faith, like a beacon light, woos us along,
Fill the glad moments with laughter and song. ”

“ Lay the patriot, the comrade, with his martyr's work complete.
We beheld the spires of Richmond and Columbia at peace;—
An eternal badge of glory in the stricken slave's release.
Names, alone, may be forgotten in the ceaseless rush of years,
But our deeds are doubly hallowed by a nation's smiles and tears.
Will the future find us ready:—ready as in sixty-one,
When we heard the voice of freedom in the boom of Sumter's gun?
Faith and hope and love sustain us, e'en as when we sought to stand
In the forefront of the conflict, the defenders of our land. ”

“ OUR DEAR ONES.
How tender we are of our dear ones, we never can smile at their pain;
We never can laugh when they sorrow, we never can love them in vain.
How careful we are of our dear ones, what sympathy wakes at a glance;
What happiness waits on their presence to ev'ry new blessing enhance.
How patient we are with our dear ones, though hearts may with anguish be wrung;
We ever are one with their sadness, no matter how timid or young.
How gentle we are with our dear ones when swiftly the tide rushes by ”

“ And boldly they strive to press forward, unawed by the battle's dread din,
So ready to struggle and suffer, to struggle and suffer and win.
Steadfast and faithful and fearless, though every advantage they gain
Is a legacy, cruel, of sorrow to the loved ones of the slain.
Hark! to the booming of cannon, to the shrill piercing scream of a shell,
And yonder poor widow is weeping a lad who at Gettysburg fell.
Leaden hail raining around him, at the head of the column he stood,
Determined if needs be to die there as only a patriot could;
And fighting as brave as a lion ”

“ To comfort, to bless.
Would we stand like heroes of yore
When life's sternest conflicts are o'er,
Would we stand triumphant at last,
Or weep the chances we miss
As the tide of the battle sweeps past—
To conquer is bliss. ”

“ Sweet is the voice of the springtime when the soldiers assemble as one
To eulogize those who have fallen in the wake of service well done;
Many are quietly sleeping 'neath the blush of the warm southern sky,
But the lilies are blooming above them and the old flag floats on high. 36
They have bivouacked oft in the south-land, the enemy fully in view,
With cities and armies to conquer, herculean duties to do;
With the earth itself for a pillow, their shelter the heaven's blue dome,
But now all too swiftly and surely, the comrades are gathering home. ”

“ Which proves, by the fruit of his effort, the work of the martyr succeeds;
And fitting it is that the blossoms should ever be destined to shed
A shower of delicate perfume o'er the hallowed graves of the dead.
Blessed it is to do homage to the men who would willingly give
The promises fair of the future, that we as a nation might live;
And whether they fell in the conflict, or wounded and weary returned,
May theirs be the glorious tribute the true hearted heroes have earned. ”

“ Fairest blossom of the heart. 63
Dark may be the days and years
Strewn with leaves of roses dead;
Smile we brighter for the tears
When the northern winds have fled.
Singer sweet, the thought is true,—
Roses fade and springs run dry;
But there's nothing old or new
That has life can ever die.
Sweetest hopes must needs be fed
If they'd spring to life anew,
When grief's winter shall have fled,
Giving place to sun and dew;
When earth withers like the rose,
All its treasure leaves closed up,
Then that other blossom blows
Life immortal in its cup.
64
LAUGH ON.
Laugh on! ”

“ How loving we are with our dear ones, ambitious to lighten the cross;
More anxious to carry the burden, the greater the pain and the loss. 73
How pleasant we are with our dear ones, how gladly with them we rejoice ”

“ HE LIES IN STATE. Frederic T. Greenhalge.
He lies in state
'Neath nature's peerless catafalque of snow,
The friend beloved, the good, the grand, the great,
He lies in state.
In silent state;
Well may the tide of feeling fuller flow,
While men upon his noble worth dilate,
He lies in state.
In silent state,
Our faithful Governor, the fearless foe
Of ev'ry wrong. By memory's pearly gate
He lies in state.
The regal state,
That only kingly souls can come to know,
Which truth and character alone create:
He lies in state.
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HOPE-ON-RIVER.
Hope-On-River leads to bliss ”