336 POEMS 
HEIRS OF TIME 
INSCRIBED TO EDWARD BELLAMY 
© Aucun homme ne peut aliéner sa souveraineté, parcequ’il ne 
peut abdiquer sa nature ou cesser d’ étre homme; et de la souve- 
raineté de chaque individu naft, dans la société, la souveraineté 
collective de tous ou la souveraineté du peuple, également inalién- 
able.” — ABBE DE LA MENNAIS, Le Livre du Peuple (1837). 
From street and square, from hill and glen 
Of this vast world beyond my door, 
I hear the tread of marching men, 
The patient armies of the poor. re 
The halo of the city’s lamps 
Hangs, a vast torchlight, in the air ; 
I watch it through the evening damps: 
The masters of the world are there. 
Not ermine-clad or clothed in state, 
Their title-deeds not yet made plain ; 
But waking early, toiling late, 
The heirs of all the earth remain. 
Some day, by laws as fixed and fair 
As guide the planets in their sweep, 
The children of each outcast heir 
The harvest-fruits of time shall reap. 
The peasant brain shall yet be wise, 
The untamed pulse grow calm and still ; 
