When to the wilderness our Master went,
Three angel friends did bear him company:
Courage, the first, strong warder of the thought!
Amid the loneliness, distrust, and doubt,
Fearless and undisturbed he ably stood,
With heart unwavering, and with head unbowed.
Next, Patience, gentle handmaid of the heart,
Strong toiler, firm, and faithful as the day!
Ready to serve; no lesser joy she seeks;
Living to love. In loving, finding life!
The third staunch friend who watched through forty days
And forty nights with our untiring Lord,
Self-conquest was. He never left the side
Of that brave warrior, fighting for a world
As yet unborn; he failed him not through all
The weary days and hours of ceaseless toil
In this lone wilderness, this vestibule
Where matter is no longer 'throned in thought,—
Where Spirit's sense perceives true images.
