" " There was a proud, stern man, unused to yield,
Found cold and stark, or so the legend saith,
Among the dying, on a battlefield,
Wounded and nigh to death.

" " Who kindly bore him thence, he never knew,
Nor how the days thereafter, went and came;
Pallid and cold, the feeble breath he drew
Scarce fanned life's flickering flame.

" " But when, from that deep void of nothingness,
The torpid fibers of his heart and brain
Were stung and stirred to life and consciousness
By throes and pangs of pain.

" " He heard a gentle footstep, light as air,
And felt the pressure of a woman's hand,
But knew not wherefore he was lying there,
Confined with splint and band.

" He tried to tax his memory, but it reeled,
And all his thoughts went wandering, vague and weak,
His eyes were darkened and his lips were sealed,
He could not move nor speak.

" " And then he slept again the dreamless sleep
Only vouchsafed to weary heart and brain,
When life stands by her citadel to keep
At bay the powers of pain;

" " And wakened, wondering if he had not crossed
The fabled river to the unknown shore;
Behind, all track and trace of time were lost —
He seemed to live no more.

" " Thus Life and Death the equal battle fought
For many days — he did not know how long;
But in the fiery conflict he was taught
That God alone is strong.

" " In all the changes of his life's eclipse,
That gentle woman hovered round his bed,
Held the cool cordial to his burning lips,
And bathed his aching head.

" " He heard her footsteps falling all day long,
Like rose-leaves shaken by the summer breeze,
And deemed her voice sweet as a love-bird's song
Among the tropic trees.

" " That she was full of tenderness and grace;
Was gentle, pitiful and angel kind,
He knew by heart, but never saw her face,
Because his eyes were blind.

" " He owed her life for life, and more, he said,
Than all a life's devotion could requite,
For the sweet Christian charity that led
His soul from dark to light.

" " Not forms and creeds did she essay to teach
The sick soul trembling on the verge of time;
But, in the simplest words of human speech,
Asserted truths sublime.

" " When he, despairing, sighed: " It is too late.
I have rebelled against the Holy Name. "
She said: " The mercy of our Lord is great.
The blessed Savior came.

" " To seek the lost and lowly; suffered, died
For aliens, rebels, outcasts stained with sin,
And left the door of Mercy open wide,
That all may enter in. "

" " Then, humbly kneeling by his lowly bed,
She prayed for light and love and pardon free,
And when the prayer was done, the sick man said:
" Dear Lord, remember me! "