Then the Lord of the tent of the world made answer: _The right of a guest endureth for a certain time, After three days and nights cometh the day of departure._
_Yet hearken to me since thou fearest to go in the dark: I will make with thee a new covenant of hospitality, Behold I will come unto thee as a stranger and be thy guest._
_Poor and needy will I come that thou mayest entertain me, Meek and lowly will I come that thou mayest find a friend, With mercy and with truth will I come to give thee comfort._
_Therefore open thy heart to me and bid me welcome, In this tent of the world I will be thy brother of the bread, And when thou farest forth I will be thy companion forever._
Then my soul rested in the word of the Lord; And I saw that the curtains of the world were shaken, But I looked beyond them to the stars, The camp-fires of my eternal friend.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Songs Out of Doors, by Henry Van Dyke