III

The Messenger of Fate

"They Seized the Favorable Moment."



Take all reasonable advantage of that which the present may offer
you.... It is the only time which is ours. Yesterday is buried
forever, and to-morrow we may never see.

--Victor Hugo.


Master of human destinies am I;
Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait,
Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate
Deserts and seas remote, and passing by
Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late
I knock unbidden once at every gate;
If sleeping wake; if feasting, rise before
I turn away. It is the hour of fate,
And they who follow me reach every state
Mortals desire and conquer every foe
Save death; but those who doubt or hesitate,
Condemned to failure, penury, and woe,
Seek me in vain and uselessly implore;
I answer not and I return no more.