Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Thomas WilliamParsons

395 Into the Noiseless Country

INTO the noiseless country Annie went,

Among the silent people where no sound

Of wheel or voice or implement—no roar

Of wind or billow moves the tranquil air:

And oft at midnight when my strength is spent

And day’s delirium in the lull is drowned

Of deepening darkness, as I kneel before

Her palm and cross, comes to my soul this prayer,

That partly brings me back to my content,

“Oh, that hushed forest!—soon may I be there!”