Thou God-crowned, patient Century!
Thine hour hath come. Eternity
Draws nigh—and bec'ning from above,
One hundred years, aflame with Love,
Again shall bid old earth good-bye—
And to, the light! far Heaven is nigh!—
New themes seraphic, Life divine,
And bliss that wipes the tears of time
Away, will enter, when they may—
And bask in one eternal day:
'Tis writ on earth, on leaf and flower—
Love hath one race, one realm, one power.
Dear God! how great, how good Thou art
To heal humanity's sore heart;
To probe the wound, then pour the balm—
A life perfected, strong and calm.
The dark domain of pain and sin
Surrenders—Love doth enter in,
And peace is won, and lost is vice:
Right reigns, and blood was not its price.
January, 1901.
