POETRY.
DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS.
Amin after hour, when the tidings came, They called on the great Diana's name ; A loud and a long defence they made Of a threatened creed, and a threatened trade, Of the faith that their fathers knew and taught, And the craft that was like to be brought to naught.
New faiths, new crafts, new creeds may be,
But Great is Diana—Great is she.
So is it yet, when the old things pass, As the sands run down, run down in the glass, Still in the forefront, still with us, Are the noisy zealots from Ephesus, The men who would check Advancement's pace By a series of shouts in the market-place, The men who stand on the ancient ways, Loudly singing Diana's praise.
Your iron steeds through the cutting scream, But where is the Highflyer's famous team P In an idle column the hansoms stand, While your taxi whizzes you down the Strand; And everywhere, always, by the way Lies the worn-out wisdom of yesterday, The craftsmen who laboured and lived in state, In days when Diana was reckoned great.
0 Catos, fighting at hopeless odds
Against the causes that please the Gods, In vain, in vain through the streets you cry Your images nobody wants to buy, In vain you chant to the heedless earth Of Diana's power, and Diana's worth, For the movement follows the usual lines, And there's no more money in silver shrines.
ALFRED COCHRANE:
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