Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies: There is a soft sadness throughout this last poem that seems to come from a soul that is longing to feel the Divine Presence. The spirit of humility is beautifully expressed in a sonnet by Barnabe Barnes, and we feel at once that we have found a lyric very like the Victorian, but the Victorian treatment of humility far surpasses anything found among the Elizabethan lyrics. And through all it seems to be the poet's belief that this spirit cannot be shown unless the speaker is moved to tears. THE TALENT, By Barnabe Barnes. (Schelling, page 81.) "Gracious, Divine, and most Omnipotent! JUST AS I AM, By Charlotte Elliott. (Vic. An., p. 169.) "Just as I am, without one plea Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Perhaps none of the sacred lyrics are more interest ing than those treating of the heavenly journey. There is the joyous tone of the bearers of "palms of victory," and the one supreme thought seems to be the magnificence of the material grandeur of Heaven. HIS PILGRIMAGE, By Sir Walter Raleigh. (Schelling, page 129) "Give me my scallop-shell of quiet, My bottle of salvation, My gown of glory, hope's true gage; Blood must be my body's balmer, No other balm will there be given; |