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If thou art weary of watching 
Faces so haggard and gray, 
Sordid, and callous, and cunning, 
Passing thee day by day ; 
Faces furrowed, and careworn, 
And loveless as thine own; 
HKyes that look out upon thee 
From the depths of a trouble unknown; 
If thou art weary of pity 
For the ways of human-kind, 
For the pride of the rich that are poorer 
Than beggars kinless and blind, 
For the pride of knowing that knows not, 
For the boastful science of fools, 
For the rattle and prattle of emptiness, 
And the wisdom of the schools; 
If thou art weary of folly, 
Weary of wisdom’s strife, 
Weary of knowledge that cannot know 
The mystery of life ;— 
Arise in the early dawning, 
Hasten thy steps away, 
And learn in the briery dingle 
What the primrose-blossoms say. 
If thou art weary of reading 
All that is said and done, 
The doleful tale of sorrow and death 
Since the making of the sun; 
How the people perish in myriads, 
By famine, and fire, and flood, 
Fighting the battles of guile and greed, 
In toil, and tears, and blood; 
If thou art weary of praying 
For the light of a milder day, 
That peace may yet be on the earth 
Ere the heavens have passed away, 
That greed may not always triumph, 
Nor cunning for ever rule, 
Nor the gilded hoop of honour ring 
The forehead of a fool; 
If thou art weary of sorrow, 
Weary of earth-born care, 
Weary of pride and folly, 
Weary of bootless prayer ;— 
Arise in the early dawning, 
Hasten thy feet and go, 
And learn in the briery dingle 
What the primrose-blossoms know! 
Do these thoughts seem impertinent in the presence of the 
primroses? ‘A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.” Why should 
we cross that joy with the shadow of darker things? Because 
we cannot help it. The contrast between our human lives and 
surroundings and the calm and loveliness of nature, is and 
always must be painful to the lover of this tranquility and 
