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THE FROZEN GRAIL.
TO PEARY AND HIS BAND.
By ELSA BARKER.
Why sing the legends of the Holy Grail,
The dead crusaders of the Sepulchre,
While these men live? Are the great bards
all dumb?
Here is a theme to shake the heart of Song,
And make Fame's watchman tremble at his
post.
What shall prevail against the spirit of man,
When solitude, and space, and cold, and
hunger,
And the white menace of uncertainty
Prevail not? Dante in his frozen hell
Shivering endured no bleakness like the void
These men have warmed with their own
flaming will
And peopled with their visions. The fierce
wind
From Arcturus in their faces, at their backs
The whip of the world's doubt, and in their
souls
Courage to die-if death should be the price
Of the cold cup that shall assuage their
thirst,
They climb, and fall. and stagger toward
the goal.
They lay themselves the road whereby they
travel.
And sue God for a franchise. Does He watch
Behind the lattice of the Northern Lights?
In that Grail-chapel of their stern-vowed
quest,
Ninety degrees beyond earth's blazing belt,
Will they behold the splendor of His face?
To conquer the world must man renounce
the world?
These have renounced it. Had ye only faith
Ye might move mountains, said the Naz-
arene.
Why, these have faith to move the zones of
man
Out to the point where All and Nothing meet.
They catch the bit of Death between their
teeth
In one wild dash to trample the unknown
And leap the bounds of knowledge. They
have dared
Even to defy the sentinel that guards
The doors of the forbidden-dared to hurl
Their breathing bodies after the Ideal,
That like the Heavenly Kingdom must be
taken
Only by violence. The star that leads
The leader of this quest has held the world
True to its orbit for a million years.
And shall he fail? They never fail who light
Their lamp of faith at the unwavering flame
Burnt for the altar service of the Race
From the beginning. He shall find the
The white immaculate Virgin of the North,
strange,
Whose steady gaze no mortal ever dared,
Whose icy hand no human ever grasped.
In the dread silence and the solitude
She waits and listens through the centuries
For one indomitable, destined soul,
Born to endure the glory of her eyes
And lift his warm lips to the frozen Grail.
-New York Times.
Document source description
This file contains poems, articles, and letters relating to polar explorers Robert Peary, Ernest Shackleton, and Frederick Cook, and their expeditions.
Page data
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- 0db203d038b40ef2
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Document data
- ID
- 518259876
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DTO data
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"ocrText": "THE FROZEN GRAIL.\nTO PEARY AND HIS BAND.\nBy ELSA BARKER.\nWhy sing the legends of the Holy Grail,\nThe dead crusaders of the Sepulchre,\nWhile these men live? Are the great bards\nall dumb?\nHere is a theme to shake the heart of Song,\nAnd make Fame's watchman tremble at his\npost.\nWhat shall prevail against the spirit of man,\nWhen solitude, and space, and cold, and\nhunger,\nAnd the white menace of uncertainty\nPrevail not? Dante in his frozen hell\nShivering endured no bleakness like the void\nThese men have warmed with their own\nflaming will\nAnd peopled with their visions. The fierce\nwind\nFrom Arcturus in their faces, at their backs\nThe whip of the world's doubt, and in their\nsouls\nCourage to die-if death should be the price\nOf the cold cup that shall assuage their\nthirst,\nThey climb, and fall. and stagger toward\nthe goal.\nThey lay themselves the road whereby they\ntravel.\nAnd sue God for a franchise. Does He watch\nBehind the lattice of the Northern Lights?\nIn that Grail-chapel of their stern-vowed\nquest,\nNinety degrees beyond earth's blazing belt,\nWill they behold the splendor of His face?\nTo conquer the world must man renounce\nthe world?\nThese have renounced it. Had ye only faith\nYe might move mountains, said the Naz-\narene.\nWhy, these have faith to move the zones of\nman\nOut to the point where All and Nothing meet.\nThey catch the bit of Death between their\nteeth\nIn one wild dash to trample the unknown\nAnd leap the bounds of knowledge. They\nhave dared\nEven to defy the sentinel that guards\nThe doors of the forbidden-dared to hurl\nTheir breathing bodies after the Ideal,\nThat like the Heavenly Kingdom must be\ntaken\nOnly by violence. The star that leads\nThe leader of this quest has held the world\nTrue to its orbit for a million years.\nAnd shall he fail? They never fail who light\nTheir lamp of faith at the unwavering flame\nBurnt for the altar service of the Race\nFrom the beginning. He shall find the\nThe white immaculate Virgin of the North,\nstrange,\nWhose steady gaze no mortal ever dared,\nWhose icy hand no human ever grasped.\nIn the dread silence and the solitude\nShe waits and listens through the centuries\nFor one indomitable, destined soul,\nBorn to endure the glory of her eyes\nAnd lift his warm lips to the frozen Grail.\n-New York Times."
}