BENJAMIN PEIRCE:' 



ASTRONOMER, MATHEMATICIAN. 



1809-1880. 



FOR him the Architect of all 

 Unroofed our planet's starlit hall ; 

 Through voids unknown to worlds unseen 

 His clearer vision rose serene. 



With us on earth he walked by day, 

 His midnight path how far away ! 

 We knew him not so well who knew 

 The patient eyes his soul looked through ; 



For who his untrod realm could share 

 Of us that breathe this mortal air, 

 Or camp in that celestial tent 

 Whose fringes gild our firmament ? 



How vast the workroom where he brought 

 The viewless implements of thought ! 

 The wit how subtle, how profound, 

 That Nature's tangled webs unwound ; 



That through the clouded matrix saw 



The crystal planes of shaping law, 



Through these the sovereign skill that planned, 



The Father's care, the Master's hand ! 



1 From the Atlantic Monthly, by permission of Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. 



