158 FROM A NEW ENGLAND HILLSIDE. 



XXIX. 



WE stand with bowed heads as the angel 

 with the inverted torch passes swiftly by 

 us. &quot; The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 

 taken away ; blessed be the name of the 

 Lord.&quot; 



Let sorrow have her way. &quot;The heart 

 knoweth his own bitterness ; and a stranger 

 doth not intermeddle with his joy,&quot; neither 

 with his sorrow. But it is permitted to 

 others to shoulder in part the burdens of 

 those that suffer most, and to go down into 

 the dark valley with them. Do not try to 

 smother the sorrow ; it is the one right of 

 the human being which none can question. 

 We stand upon the brink and look out upon 

 the vast unknown, and to our call no 

 answer comes from the silence. Let us 

 indulge the heartache, and commune with 

 our own. The day was so fair ; the bark 

 kept on an even keel : 



Where lies the land to which the ship would 



go? 

 Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know. 



