THE TRAVELER AND THE TEMPEST; AN ORIENTAL TALE by JOHN GODFREY SAXE

A MERCHANT, -- so the tale is told
In Eastern fable, quaint and old, --
Whom urgent business called to roam
On foot in parts remote from home,
Was caught, one morning, in a shower
Of such extremely pelting power,
The man was fairly drenched with rain;
And, though no saint, for once was fain
To call on Jove in earnest prayer
That he, the pluvious god, would spare
A suffering wretch whose shivering form
Was like to perish in the storm.
But still, though loud his prayers arise,
They fail to pierce the murky skies;
And added vows prove all in vain
To stay the fury of the rain.
And now, since Jove no succor lent,
The traveler growls his discontent
In impious scoffs at Heaven's decrees.
"The gods," he muttered, "sit at ease,
And laugh at us who strive to please
Their vanity with praise and prayer,
And gifts that we can poorly spare;
Meanwhile the very ills they send
They lack the power -- or will -- to mend!"
With this, he sought a neighboring wood,
To shun the storm as best he could;
When lo! a robber issuing thence,
The man, unarmed for self-defense,
With flying footsteps sought again
The fury of the open rain, --
A friendly barrier now, perchance,
Against the robber's dread advance.
And so it proved, yet, as he fled,
The other, pointing at his head
A well-aimed arrow, would have slain
The fugitive, had not the rain
The moistened bowstring so unnerved,
The dart fell short, and only served
The more to speed the traveler's flight,
Till he was safely out of sight.
Now, when the storm was spent at last,
And all the pain and peril past,
The traveller, resting for a space
Where sunshine made a pleasant place
His limbs to warm, his cloak to dry,
Heard, thundering from the azure sky,
A solemn voice, whose words proclaim
The source celestial whence they came:
"Consider well, O mortal man!
How wise is Heaven's benignant plan;
When skies are black and tempests lower,
Mark not alone the Thunderer's power,
But in his ways, at every turn,
His kindly providence discern!"

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