Say, know ye not the pilgrim band

Say, know ye not the pilgrim band,
Who wander far and wide,
And greeting find in every land
Wherever they abide ?

They meet full many a friend I wot,
Who fain would have them stay ;
To such they cling, and leave them not,
Yet still go on their way.

Each bears a staff and often twain,
And need they many a rest ;
The oldest oft seems young again,
And perhaps we love them best.

They speak a language passing sweet,
With heart-lore richly fraught ;
But oh ! to some they daily meet
Their eloquence is nought.

Yet strange the laws their speech obeys,
Who drink its mystic tone
May find within each simplest phrase
A meaning all their own.

Some deem they tell of long past years,
When they were girls and boys ;
Some only hear of bygone tears,
And some of present joys.

Some hear them speak of One who sent
That welcome pilgrim band,
And bless the love that freely lent
Such boon to every land.