A Wreath Of Virginia Bay Leaves Part 17

Who shall blame the social order Which gave us men as great as these?

Who condemn the soil of t' forest Which bring forth gigantic trees?

Who presume to doubt that Providence Shapes out our destinies?

Fore-ordained, and long maturing, Came the famous men of old: In the dark mines deep were driven Down the shafts to reach the gold, And the story is far longer Than the histories have told.

From Bacon down to Was.h.i.+ngton The generations pa.s.sed, Great events and moving causes Were in serried order ma.s.sed: Berkeley well was first confronted, Better George the King at last!

From the time of that stern ruler To our own familiar days Long the pathway we have trodden, Hard, and devious were its ways Till at last there came the second Mightier Revolution's blaze:

Till at last there broke the tempest Like a cyclone on the sea, When the lightnings blazed and dazzled And the thunders were set free-- And riding on that whirlwind came Majestic, Robert Lee!

Who--again I ask the question-- Who may challenge in debate, With any show of truthfulness, Our former social state Which brought forth more than heroes In their lives supremely great?

Not Peter, the wild Crusader, When bent upon his knee, Not Arthur and his belted knights, In the Poet's Song, could be More earnest than those Southern men Who followed Robert Lee.

They thought that they were right and this Was hammered into those Who held that crest all drenched in blood Where the "b.l.o.o.d.y Angle" rose.

As for all else? It pa.s.ses by As the idle wind that blows.

III.

Then stand up, oh my Countrymen!

And unto G.o.d give thanks, On mountains, and on hillsides And by sloping river banks-- Thank G.o.d that you were worthy Of the grand Confederate ranks:

That you who came from uplands And from beside the sea, Filled with love of Old Virginia And the teachings of the free, May boast in sight of all men That you followed Robert Lee.

Peace has come. G.o.d give his blessing On the fact and on the name!

The South speaks no invective And she writes no word of blame; But we call all men to witness That we stand up without shame.

Nay! Send it forth to all the world That we stand up here with pride, With love for our living comrades And with praise for those who died: And in this manly frame of mind Till death we will abide.

G.o.d and our consciences alone Give us measure of right and wrong; The race may fall unto the swift And the battle to the strong: But the truth will s.h.i.+ne in history And blossom into song.

Human grief full oft by glory Is a.s.suaged and disappears When its requiem swells with music Like the shock of s.h.i.+elds and spears, And its pa.s.sion is too full of pride To leave a s.p.a.ce for tears.

And hence to-day, my Countrymen, We come, with undimmed eyes, In homage of the hero Lee, The good, the great, the wise!

And at his name our hearts will leap Till his last old soldier dies.

Ask me, if so you please, to paint Storm winds upon the sea; Tell me to weigh great Cheops-- Set volcanic forces free; But bid me not, my Countrymen, To picture Robert Lee!

As Saul, bound for Damascus fair, Was struck blind by sudden light So my eyes are pained and dazzled By a radiance pure and white Shot back by the burnished armor Of that glory-belted Knight.

His was all the Norman's polish And sobriety of grace; All the Goth's majestic figure; All the Roman's n.o.ble face; And he stood the tall exemplar Of a grand historic race.

Baronial were his acres where Potomac's waters run; High his lineage, and his blazon Was by cunning heralds done; But better still he might have said Of his "works" he was the "son."

Truth walked beside him always, From his childhood's early years, Honor followed as his shadow, Valor lightened all his cares: And he rode--that grand Virginian-- Last of all the Cavaliers!

As a soldier we all knew him Great in action and repose, Saw how his genius kindled And his mighty spirit rose When the four quarters of the globe Encompa.s.sed him with foes.

But he and his grew braver As the danger grew more rife, Avaricious they of glory But most prodigal of life, And the "Army of Virginia"

Was the Atlas of the strife.

As his troubles gathered round him, Thick as waves that beat the sh.o.r.e, _Atra Cura_ rode behind him, Famine's shadow filled his door; Still he wrought deeds no mortal man Had ever wrought before.

IV.

Then came the end, my Countrymen, The last thunderbolts were hurled!

Worn out by his own victories His battle flags were furled And a history was finished That has changed the modern world.

As some saint in the arena Of a b.l.o.o.d.y Roman game, As the prize of his endeavor, Put on an immortal frame, Through long agonies our Soldier Won the crown of martial fame.

But there came a greater glory To that man supremely great (When his just sword he laid aside In peace to serve his State) For in his cla.s.sic solitude He rose up and mastered Fate.

He triumphed and he did not die!-- No funeral bells are tolled-- But on that day in Lexington Fame came herself to hold His stirrup while he mounted To ride down the streets of gold.

He is not dead! There is no death!

He only went before His journey on when CHRIST THE LORD Wide open held the door, And a calm, celestial peace is his: Thank G.o.d! forevermore.

V.

When the effigy of Was.h.i.+ngton In its bronze was reared on high 'Twas mine, with others, now long gone.

Beneath a stormy sky, To utter to the mult.i.tude His name that cannot die.

And here to-day, my Countrymen, I tell you Lee shall ride With that great "rebel" down the years-- Twin "rebels" side by side!-- And confronting such a vision All our grief gives place to pride.

Those two shall ride immortal And shall ride abreast of Time, Shall light up stately history And blaze in Epic Rhyme-- Both patriots, both Virginians true, Both "rebels," both sublime!

Our past is full of glories It is a shut-in sea, The pillars overlooking it Are Was.h.i.+ngton and Lee: And a future spreads before us, Not unworthy of the free.

And here and now, my Countrymen, Upon this sacred sod, Let us feel: It was "OUR FATHER"

Who above us held the rod, And from hills to sea Like Robert Lee Bow reverently to G.o.d.