"O Ruth, I think I have within my heart Foretokening sent that He will call to-day; A fluttering in my blood admonishes me. I should be thankful if I might once more Ere going bear some witness to His name! For Krishna's sake, too; ever a soul sincere He seemed to me, but he would listen now With other ear, eager to drink the truth." "Yea, and that may be," Ruth said, "not once more But often if the will of God be so. God grant it! For indeed I could but grieve To lose thee from my side; grieve, though I saw Heaven open to receive thee, as to Stephen, My Stephen, it opened--with the glory of God Full shown Him in the face of Christ the Lord!
"Yet so the weather promises this night The morning will, I think, be heavenly fair And mild, and haply thou indeed shalt greet Full soon thy wished-for chance of testimony. Thou wilt remember we were all to meet On such a morning as this sure will be And hear thee tell thy story of the Lord's Victorious resurrection from the dead Just then when day is glorying over night."
Those women with each other communing so, The morning hastened, and--now nigh to break Full splendor but with brilliance soft and chaste Over the welcoming world both land and sea-- Mary and Ruth, with Rachel at the sign Awakening and Eunicé fresh as dawn, Heard from without a matin signal sound Blown with the breath of Stephen on his reed-- Token of tryst by all well understood, While secretly entrusted with a thrill To one heart that the others knew not of.
The Indian joyful to his host had said: "I shall forestall thee, O my Publius, I know it by my heart within me wise, In hailing the selectest dawn to break, And fittest, for our meeting on the shore To hear from Hebrew Mary what she yet Reserves to tell us of her rising Lord: So, if thou please, I will myself betimes Awake thee when the hour I wait for comes." Publius thus roused, he in his turn awaked Stephen, who rallied with his pipe the rest; But Paul, with Stephen in one chamber sleeping Woke, as his nephew woke, when Publius called.
The new wine of the vernal weather filled The golden cup of morning to the brim, And those blithe wakers drank deep draughts of it; But other morning bathed their souls with light. They to a hill of gentle rise repaired That sloped its eastern side into the main Thence rippling up in spiral terraces By playful Nature round about it wound: Here goodly prospect over sea and shore, From a well-sheltered seat, invited them. Before they sat, Paul stretched his hands toward heaven And prayed: "Thou who didst out of darkness make Light dawn on chaos, and who day by day Dost kindle morning from the shades of night, Thanks to thy name for this fair spring of dawn! Dawn Thou into our hearts, and dayspring there Make with the shining of thy face on us Shown milder in the face of Christ thy Son!"-- Then, to his fellows turning, added this: "We owe it to Krishna that we thus are here; His wishes waked him, and, as was agreed, He waked us that we might prevent the morn To celebrate the rising of the Lord. Krishna knew not, what yet by happy chance Has now befallen, if aught befall by chance, That we, upon the first day of the week Meeting, meet on the day when Christ arose, The Lord's day, day peculiarly His own. We listen, Mary, tell us of that morn."