This dead of midnight is the noon of thought,
And Wisdom mounts her zenith with the stars.
At this still hour the self-collected soul
Turns inward, and beholds a stranger there
Of high descent, and more than mortal rank;
An embryo God; a spark of fire divine.
Bio: James Barnes was an American author. The son of naval officer, lawyer, and collector John Sanford Barnes, he was born at Annapolis, Md., attended St. Paul's School and the Pingry School, before graduating from Princeton in 1891.
