In Memoriam: Joseph Le Conte. 27 



Ye whose hearts are seared with the iron of anguish and 

 sorrow, 



Ye whom passions have scorched till the life of the spirit 



has perished, " 

 Ye who live, dead in your hearts — hear the song of the 



mighty Sierra — 

 Come back with me, ye who wander; I will lead you 



again unto Nature. 

 Come to that heart whence we sprang, to the infinite love 



of our mother. 

 Far have ye wandered away from the paths which she 



showed at life's dawning; 

 Seeking false gods have ye roamed, while her woodland 



shrines were deserted. 

 The mist and the dust of the world dim your eyes to 



your olden ideals. 

 Come back to the old glad life, to the hopes and the 



dreams of your childhood. 

 Never again can ye know the joys of a vanished Arcadia ; 

 Nymph and fawn are dead, and the heights of Olympus 



are silent. 



Never again will the joys of a careless and thoughtless 

 existence, 



A soulless rapture and thrill in the sensuous joy of 

 living. 



Gladden your hearts as of old ; for life has grown fuller 

 and deeper; 



Higher the reach of your thought, broader the scope 



of your vision; 

 Keener the pangs of the soul, but higher the flight of 



the spirit. 



Though no more ye may revel in careless delights of 



your childhood, — 

 Purer joys shall you know if you turn again unto Nature. 

 Still in her woodland temples the fires of her altars are 



burning ; 



And there may your souls renew the faith and the hope 

 of life's morning. 



