The Angel's Bidding
Not a sound is heard in the Convent;The Vesper Chant is sung,The sick have all been tended,The poor nun's toils are endedTill the Matin bell has rung.All is still, save the Clock, that is tickingSo loud in the frosty air,And the soft snow, falling as gentlyAs an answer to a prayer.But an Angel whispers, "Oh, Sister,You must rise from your bed to pray;In the silent, deserted chapel,You must kneel till the dawn of day;For, far on the desolate moorland,So dreary, and bleak, and white,There is one, all alone and helpless,In peril of death to-night.
"No sound on the moorland to guide him,No star in the murky air;And he thinks of his home and his loved onesWith the tenderness of despair;He has wandered for hours in the snow-drift,And he strives to stand in vain,And so lies down to dream of his childrenAnd never to rise again.Then kneel in the silent chapelTill the dawn of to-morrow's sun,And ask of the Lord you worshipFor the life of that desolate one;And the smiling eyes of his childrenWill gladden his heart again,And the grateful tears of God's poor onesWill fall on your soul like rain!--
"Yet, leave him alone to perish,And the grace of your God implore,With all the strength of your spirit,For one who needs it more.Far away, in the gleaming city,Amid perfume, and song, and light,A soul that Jesus has ransomedIs in peril of sin to-night.
"The Tempter is close beside him,And his danger is all forgot,And the far-off voices of childhoodCall aloud, but he hears them not;He sayeth no prayer, and his mother--He thinks not of her to-day,And he will not look up to Heaven,And his Angel is turning away.
"Then pray for a soul in peril,A soul for which Jesus died;Ask, by the cross that bore Him,And by her who stood beside;And the Angels of God will thank you,And bend from their thrones of light,To tell you that Heaven rejoicesAt the deed you have done to-night."
Words in this poem
- vesper n.
- The evening star; Hesper; Venus, when seen after sunset; hence, the evening. [L., the evening, the evening star, the west; akin to Gr. west. Cf. Hesperian, Vespers.]
- matin n.
- A French mastiff. [F. matin.]
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
- ticking n.
- A strong, closely woven linen or cotton fabric, of which ticks for beds are made. It is usually twilled, and woven in stripes of different colors, as white and blue; -- called also ticken. [From Tick a bed cover. Cf. Ticken.]
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- moorland n.
- Land consisting of a moor or moors. [AS. morland.]
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- gladden v. t.
- To make glad; to cheer; to please; to gratify; to rejoice; to exhilarate. [See Glad, v. t.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- tempter n.
- One who tempts or entices; especially, Satan, or the Devil, regarded as the great enticer to evil.
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Angel's Bidding is in the public domain. This text is taken from Legends and Lyrics. Part 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #2304; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Adelaide Anne Procter, The Angel's Bidding, in Legends and Lyrics: Second Series (1861), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2304, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/procter-legends-lyrics/the-angel-s-bidding.html, id L21806.
Form and metre
The Angel's Bidding is 57 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -ABBAAC-C-D-D-E-E convent · sungA · tendedB · endedB · rungA · tickingA · airC · gently · prayerC · sister · prayD · chapel · dayD · moorland · whiteE · helpless · nightE
- 2 -ABA-CDC-E-EDCBC him · airA · onesB · despairA · drift · vainC · childrenD · againC · chapel · sunE · worship · oneE · childrenD · againC · onesB · rainC
- 3 -ABA-B-B perish · imploreA · spiritB · moreA · city · lightB · ransomed · nightB
- 4 -A-A-B-B him · forgotA · childhood · notA · mother · dayB · heaven · awayB
- 5 -A-A-B-B peril · diedA · him · besideA · you · lightB · rejoices · nightB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Not a sound is heard in the Convent; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The Vesper Chant is sung, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The sick have all been tended, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The poor nun's toils are ended | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Till the Matin bell has rung. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| All is still, save the Clock, that is ticking | 10 | ········/˘ |
| So loud in the frosty air, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And the soft snow, falling as gently | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| As an answer to a prayer. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But an Angel whispers, "Oh, Sister, | 9 | ··/˘/˘·/˘ |
| You must rise from your bed to pray; | 8 | ········ |
| In the silent, deserted chapel, | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| You must kneel till the dawn of day; | 8 | ········ |
| For, far on the desolate moorland, | 8 | ····/˘/· |
| So dreary, and bleak, and white, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| There is one, all alone and helpless, | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| In peril of death to-night. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| "No sound on the moorland to guide him, | 9 | ····/···· |
| No star in the murky air; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And he thinks of his home and his loved ones | 10 | ·········· |
| With the tenderness of despair; | 8 | ··/˘˘·˘/ |
| He has wandered for hours in the snow-drift, | 10 | ··/˘·/···· |
| And he strives to stand in vain, | 7 | ······· |
| And so lies down to dream of his children | 10 | ········/˘ |
| And never to rise again. | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| Then kneel in the silent chapel | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Till the dawn of to-morrow's sun, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And ask of the Lord you worship | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For the life of that desolate one; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And the smiling eyes of his children | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Will gladden his heart again, | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| And the grateful tears of God's poor ones | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Will fall on your soul like rain!-- | 7 | ······· |
| "Yet, leave him alone to perish, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| And the grace of your God implore, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| With all the strength of your spirit, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For one who needs it more. | 6 | ······ |
| Far away, in the gleaming city, | 9 | ·˘/··/˘/˘ |
| Amid perfume, and song, and light, | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| A soul that Jesus has ransomed | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Is in peril of sin to-night. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| "The Tempter is close beside him, | 8 | ·/˘···/· |
| And his danger is all forgot, | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| And the far-off voices of childhood | 9 | ····/˘·/· |
| Call aloud, but he hears them not; | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| He sayeth no prayer, and his mother-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| He thinks not of her to-day, | 7 | ······· |
| And he will not look up to Heaven, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And his Angel is turning away. | 9 | ··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| "Then pray for a soul in peril, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| A soul for which Jesus died; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ask, by the cross that bore Him, | 7 | ······· |
| And by her who stood beside; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And the Angels of God will thank you, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And bend from their thrones of light, | 7 | ······· |
| To tell you that Heaven rejoices | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| At the deed you have done to-night." | 8 | ········ |
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