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OFTEN have I seen

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 22, 1902

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 79, No. 29.

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From "The World's Work." Copyright, 1902, by Doubleday, Page & Co.
From "The World's Work." Copyright, 1902, by Doubleday, Page & Co.

OFTEN have I seen

By Dean Stanley

A stripling tree, all foliage and all green; But not a hope of grateful, soothing shade, Its empty strength in fluttering leaves displayed. Give me the solid trunk, the aged stem, That rears its scant but glorious diadem: That through long years of battle or of storm Has striv'n whole forests round it to reform; That plants its roots too deep for men to shake; That lifts its head too high for grief to break; That still, through lightning flash and thunder stroke, Retains its vital sap and heart of oak. Such gallant tree for me shall ever stand, A great rock's shadow in a weary land. — Dean Stanley.