"In thine? I've watched the scornful smile And heard thy withering tone Whene'er the Christian's humble hope Was placed above thine own. I've heard thee speak of coming death Without a shade of gloom, And laugh at all the childish fears That cluster round the tomb.
"Or, is it my mother's faith? How fondly do I trace, Through many a weary year long past, That calm and saintly face! How often do I call to mind, Now she is 'neath the sod, The place, the hour, in which she drew My early thoughts to God.
"'Twas then she took this sacred book, And from its burning page Read how its truths support the soul In youth and failing age; And bade me in its precepts live, And by its precepts die, That I might share a home of love In worlds beyond the sky.
"My father, shall I look above, Amid the gathering gloom, To him whose promises of love Extend beyond the tomb Or curse the being who hath blessed This chequered path of mine, And promises eternal rest, And die, my sire, in thine?
"The frown upon that warrior brow Passed, like a cloud, away, And tears coursed down the rugged cheek That flowed not till that day. "_Not--not in mine_," with choking voice, The skeptic made reply; "_But in thy mother's holy faith,_ _My daughter, mayst thou die._"
Philosophy has sometimes forgotten God, as great people never did. The skepticism of the last century could not uproot Christianity because it lived in the hearts of the millions. Do you think that infidelity is spreading? Christianity never lived in the hearts of so many millions as at this moment. Many forms under which it is professed may decay, for they, like all that is the work of man's hands, are subject to the changes and chances of mortal beings, but the spirit of truth is incorruptible; it may be developed, illustrated and applied; it can never die; it never can decline. No truth can perish. No truth can pass away. The flame is undying, though generations disappear. Wherever immortal truth has started into being, humanity claims and guards the bequest. Each generation gathers together the imperishable children of the past and increases them by the new sons of the light, alike radiant with immortality.--_Bancroft._