Giant Hours With Poet Preachers

F PORT

N MA

L LIN

IN MI

SEE

OXE

ED N

MASEF

T SER

RT B

ODUC

ng to old friends, friends who may have an interest in knowing some of the th

ot failed, for Christianity has nowhere been tried yet, nowhere been tried in a large social sense. Christianity has been tried by individuals, and it has been found to be comforting and transforming. Bu

olehearted effort to make religion the working principle of society. Religion is always cooperative and brotherly, but we have not yet made any earnest effort to apply the cooperative and brotherly principl

ial order as "a Christian civilization." All such references, dear friends, disturb our hearts; for they prove that the speaker has no conception of what a Christian civilization would be, how noble and brotherly it would be. Five minutes' reading of the Sermon on the Mount will convince any alert mind that we

re that this body of earnest Christian men and women will awaken to the call of the social Christ, awake determined to infuse his spirit into the industrial order, and thus extend the power of th

or men. It was this new order that he had in mind when he uttered the great invitation, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." All the work-worn toilers

all the steps of our industrial life. It means that the Golden Rule shall become the working principle in our social o

what I have said in this letter I have tried a thousand times to say in my poems that have gone out into the world. And this

ellowship of t

re: Edwi

Brighto

RE

ose writings are discussed in this book, has expresse

t I had lea

ics read

t 'twas a

would pa

he "Giant Hours" are in the setting he has given t

ICAN

N MA

EL L

UIN

N S

re used by permission of the publishers, Doubleday, Page & Co., and are take

N SERVICE, IN LOWLINESS; AND A BIT

l in the simplicity of his style. He, like the poet of old

ago I was a

ouched with wond

ES OF H

st poet of democracy." Dr. David G. Downey makes his estimate of the poet, in his book, Modern Poets and Christian Teaching, a little broader and deeper in the two phrases: "He is not more poet than prophet," and, "He is the poet of humanity-of man in relations." And of them all I feel that the latter estimate i

rds and rulers

handiwork yo

hing distorted a

ver straighten

*

with kingdoms

shaped him to t

b Terror shal

lence of the

WITH T

day. Yes, Markham is prophet as well as poet. And to this humble writer's way of reading poetry there were never four lines for p

till the crow

of the kings ar

till the hil

ngs of the s

es of H

David the shepherd; the sweet lute, the harp, the wind in the trees

Man with the Hoe," having been discussed by Dr. Downey in the book heretofore mentioned. I have the joy-task in these brief lines to bring to you Mar

for you somewhere, some time, some place, these four favorite lines, with a twinkle in h

circle that

bel, a thin

d I had the

ircle that

es of H

nes he introduces the

of Hap

INESS OF

of "Six Stories," when he finds that the Sultan Mahmoud is near unto death, and that there is just

this can you

the shoes of

es of H

to find these shoes

zier, when th

the shoes, or

this trusted sl

es of H

g among the fields and flowers, a "swarm of the folk of high degr

d heart was

joy was a

es of H

ch and sought the hom

ome of the poor

Viz

eet joys, but I

to-morrow e

es of H

the Vizier thought that surely here would he find

the poet; "yo

s ever the n

es of H

rch he found some touch of unhappi

restless that yo

sad that it

es of H

shoes on the feet of

er

t love is a t

rment, a heav

es of H

r, "I am not glad; I am only wise." At last he heard of a man from far Algiers. Wi

Halil, 'I a

e all in a br

he, for I h

gold to cro

ortune, nor

sk for a roa

pipe of the

the music

he field th

lah! but you

, quick, for th

fortunes are yo

zier,... but I

es of H

INESS OF

iness of poverty, so the next, "The Juggler of

nd a sympathetic monk took him into the monastery to live. Barnabas was happy for a time; but after a while, as he saw everybody else

Barnabas, n

the sun as

es of H

a different bend of the knee than that to which they had been accustomed. How prone we are to judge those who do not worship just as we have worshiped! This seems such a common human weakness that Alfred Noyes, with a touch of kindly indignation,

ied again, 'lo

fingers, and

him cry at Our

am, Madame,

e with span

r altar my li

es of H

s of more modern days, had never caught the real gist of th

h, then, yo

o think that

like, or th

ho perchan

fferent dream

led sins to h

judge; we

mingle, all

one thing c

untranscen

t while a

heeling wor

, as your

aven and si

es of H

o judge one another. T

s not worshiping as th

eal spirit of worship

e this do the

ndal, this

prank in Our

s with him; bac

ace at Our L

es of H

now, men are not

the elders s

tare and their

he rafters

mantle blue

n from the

Beauty and l

stretched in t

dew from his

his hair with

n from the

lilies hall

of harpings

elders, beati

y deed is th

s done from th

he height of t

es of H

GREAT G

MPLETE HAPPIN

f Markham's. Conrad the cobbler had a dream, when he had grown old, that the Master would come "His guest to be

nt home; and hi

or the shadow a

the moments o

should enter t

e call, the l

face, the

e feet where the

e hands where th

last he woul

bread as the

es of H

rying along the streets, lost. He pitied the child and left his shop to take it to its mother; such was his great heart of love. He hurried back that he might not miss the Great Guest when he came. But the Great Guest did not come. As the evening came and the shadows were falling

ord, that you

et that this

es of H

the world than this that follows? Where is Christ more won

the silence a

heart, for I

came to your

y shadow was

eggar with

woman you

ld on the hom

es of H

The Everlasting Mercy," wherein he sp

gives a ch

ls ring in He

gives a c

aces in Ki

o gives a

ur Christ ag

es of H

en, ye have done it unto me," another great-hearted Poet once said; a

FOR THE

buying his food with a verse. And he did that very thing. But Markham had a different idea, an idea that all of us need script for that larger journey, script that is not money and scri

LACE O

of life is wearied unto death with sin, and bickering, and trouble and hurt and

f the cyclone t

he clouds and

e of cent

he roar of m

ce where my

llow of G

es of H

Search for the Holy Grail," in Boston Library; and when we have learned to put our homes, and our children, an

D TO THE

thread that was flown from a kite from shore to shore; and then a larger string, and then a heavy co

nd our little

out to God's rea

nd faith to th

thought until

o a chain no ch

nchored to t

es of H

threads of love and faith will draw greater cords and greater, stronger ropes until at last the chasm between man and God o

NO TIME

the world. It seems impossible that a censorship so strict could ever let such a mass of mire out to the world. But when one reads this M

me for hate, O

ay until th

cient wound? F

t, a forest l

d green over a

ier buried

es of H

ere is no time for hate," the world would happier be. Good script for