Fold her, O Father! in Thine arms,
And let her henceforth be
A messenger of love between
Our human hearts and Thee.

Still let her mild rebuking stand
Between us and the wrong,
And her dear memory serve to make
Our faith in Goodness strong.

And grant that she who, trembling, here
Distrusted all her powers,
May welcome to her holier home
The well-beloved of ours.
1845.


TO RONGE.

This was written after reading the powerful and manly protest of
Johannes Ronge against the "pious fraud" of the Bishop of Treves.
The bold movement of the young Catholic priest of Prussian Silesia
seemed to me full of promise to the cause of political as well as
religious liberty in Europe. That it failed was due partly to the
faults of the reformer, but mainly to the disagreement of the
Liberals of Germany upon a matter of dogma, which prevented them
from unity of action. Rouge was born in Silesia in 1813 and died in
October, 1887. His autobiography was translated into English and
published in London in 1846.