Poems (Stephens)/The lonely worshipper
THE LONELY WORSHIPPER.
It is related of Robert Thorn, a staunch old Quaker, that after his accustomed church had been almost depleted by death and removals, he continued to worship there, with no companion but his dog.
Where nature lavished many gifts,
Of wooded bills and valleys green,
Of bubbling-brooks and rivers grand,
Whose waters sparkled silver sheen;
A worthy band sought out their homes,
Apart from aught of worldly strife,
And gladly wrought in sweet content,
The noblest attributes of life.
Of wooded bills and valleys green,
Of bubbling-brooks and rivers grand,
Whose waters sparkled silver sheen;
A worthy band sought out their homes,
Apart from aught of worldly strife,
And gladly wrought in sweet content,
The noblest attributes of life.
They builded wisely, dwellings fair,
And furnished them for use, not show,
They planted trees, and ate their fruit,
And reaped whatever they did sow;
They taught their children how to live,
To shun the hateful ways of sin,
And more than all the tongues of earth,
To heed the monitor within.
And furnished them for use, not show,
They planted trees, and ate their fruit,
And reaped whatever they did sow;
They taught their children how to live,
To shun the hateful ways of sin,
And more than all the tongues of earth,
To heed the monitor within.
For they had styled themselves as Friends,
And steadfastly believing still,
That oft as sought, the Master gave
A revelation of His will—
And there in that sequestered spot,
They built a temple to the Lord,
And gathered there from year to year,
And pondered on the sacred word.
And steadfastly believing still,
That oft as sought, the Master gave
A revelation of His will—
And there in that sequestered spot,
They built a temple to the Lord,
And gathered there from year to year,
And pondered on the sacred word.
In after times the young went forth,
Where fortune's wilder freaks were played,
And one by one the fathers slept,
And in their honored graves were laid:
Until of all those worshippers
There was remaining only one,
But he still followed out the course
He had in early life begun;
Where fortune's wilder freaks were played,
And one by one the fathers slept,
And in their honored graves were laid:
Until of all those worshippers
There was remaining only one,
But he still followed out the course
He had in early life begun;
And often as the Sabbath dawned,
He sought his old accustomed place,
He waited for a blessing there,
And felt the glow of quickened grace,
His faithful dog lay at bis feet,
And slept and dreamed the hours away;
The quaint old man had holy thoughts
And visions of eternal day.
He sought his old accustomed place,
He waited for a blessing there,
And felt the glow of quickened grace,
His faithful dog lay at bis feet,
And slept and dreamed the hours away;
The quaint old man had holy thoughts
And visions of eternal day.
Oh. brave old man, what memories
Uncalled, would thrill his heart and brain,
And people all that silent room
With those who ne'er would come again.
Oh, brave old man, that dared to look
Along the busy, changeful past,
That calmly faced that present hour,
While time from him was gliding fast.
Uncalled, would thrill his heart and brain,
And people all that silent room
With those who ne'er would come again.
Oh, brave old man, that dared to look
Along the busy, changeful past,
That calmly faced that present hour,
While time from him was gliding fast.
His hopes were in the life beyond—
The ways and people here were strange,
His faith was steadfast in his God,
He waited only one more change.
The ways and people here were strange,
His faith was steadfast in his God,
He waited only one more change.