| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | September 16 | | Bishop Patteson | | By Menella Bute Smedley (1820–1877) |
| | | | An English missionary Bishop of Melanesia murdered by the natives of the Santa Cruz islands on Sept. 16, 1871. |
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AN ANGEL came and cried to him by night, | |
| “God needs a Martyr from your little band; | |
| Name me the purest soul, which, closely scanned, | |
| Still overflows with sweetness and with light | |
| That find no limit till they reach the Land | 5 |
| Whence first they sprang!” Weeping for what must be, | |
| He named them all, with love adorning each; | |
| And still that angel smiled upon his speech, | |
| And, smiling still, went upward silently | |
| Not marking any name. Amazed he knelt, | 10 |
| Pondering the silent choice. But when the stroke, | |
| Fell, not an Angel, but the Master, spoke, | |
| With voice so strong that nothing else was felt; | |
| “Thou art the man! Beloved, come to Me!” | | | |
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