His dauntless courage must brave the anger of
the greedy waves and boldly ride them down. Nor must his cup of joy be
full until the wished-for land shall greet his eager eyes.

=Overweening ambition.=--Or, again, the poet may yearn to teach the
wrong of overweening, vaulting ambition and he writes "Paradise Lost"
and "Recessional." He pictures Satan overthrown, like the Giants who
would climb into the throne on Olympus. He pictures Hell as the fitting
place for Satan overthrown, and in his own place he pictures the outcast
and downcast Satan writhing and cursing because he was balked of his
unholy ambition. And, lest mortals sink from their high estate, borne
down by their sins of unsanctified ambition, he prays, and prays again,
"Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget." And
the prayer echoes and reechoes in the soul of the man, and the world
sees his lips moving in the prayer of the poet, "Lest we forget, lest we
forget."

=Native land.=--Or, again, he writes Bannockburn and the spirit is fired
with patriotic devotion to native land. We hear the bagpipe and the drum
and see the martial clans gathering in serried ranks and catch the glint
of their arms and armor as they flash back the sunlight. We hear their
lusty calls as they rush together to defend the hills and the homes they
love. We see, again, the Wallace and the Bruce inciting valorous men to
deeds of heroism and hear the hills reechoing with the shock of steel
upon steel. From hill to hill the pibroch leaps, and hearts and feet
quicken at its sound. And mothers are pressing their bairns to their
bosoms as they cheer their loved ones away to the strife. And while
their eyes are weeping their hearts are saying:

"Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha so base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee!"

=Faith.=--And after the sounds of battle are hushed he sings "To Mary in
Heaven" and causes the man to stand in the presence of the Burning Bush
and to hear the command "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the
place whereon thou standest is holy ground." And the heart of the man
grows tender as the poet opens his eyes to catch a glimpse of the life
of faith that the star foretells even as the Star of Bethlehem was
prophetic. And, through the eyes of the lover, he looks over into the
other life and knows that his faith is not in vain. And when faith sits
enthroned, the music of the brook at his fee