A Stray Sunbeam Charles H. Williams Williams, Charles H. C. H. W. (poet; Once a Week) C. H. W. Illustrator Unsigned Metadata research and editing DVPP Project Team Fralick Kaitlyn University of Victoria Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry Project Victoria, BC, Canada

In the public domain

 Poet attribution: possibly by Charles H. Williams, whose pseudonym for periodical poetry in Once a Week in the 1860s was C. H. W. (AC) #poetAttribution Once a Week 5 1 10 159 A sunbeam gone astray font-size: 160%; letter-spacing: 0.05em; word-spacing: 0.3em; font-family: gothic; margin-bottom: 0.6em; text-align: right; margin-right: 2.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: -1.3em; font-size: 80%; word-spacing: 0.15em; text-indent: 1.5em; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 27.5em; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 9.5em; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-top: 0.4em; margin-left: 8em; margin-left: 1em; font-style: italic; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 2.6em; display: block; float: left; margin: -0.2rem 0 -1.2rem -0.5rem; padding: 0 0.25rem 0 0; line-height: 1; margin-left: 3em; margin-left: 2em; display: none; display: inline; display: block; font-size: 1rem; width: 30em; width: 10%; margin-top: 0.6em; margin-left: 12.5em; margin-bottom: 0.7em; Auto-tagged instances of cross-stanza rhyme based on existing labels. Removed catRef and figure for decorative border, per AC, since this is not germane to the poem itself. Set status to 'verified'. Created pom_13764_incid_poem rendition to reset font-sizes. Added useful rendition elements in anticipation of CSS reworking. Marking specific renditions as incidental. Handle base cases of incidental titles that match the titleStmt and have a period or a comma. Added missing MultiPart catRef @target value. Resolved initial-letter CSS into explicit rendition + hi elements using XSLT. Updated repeating figDescs in Once a Week 1880 to remove mention of “typographic”—no longer part of updated DVPP illustration protocols. Re-organized change elements in descending date order. Changed decorative border catRef to typographical. Added typographical initial catRef. Assigned dominant rhyme-scheme value to poem div using automated XSLT. Set status to 'proofed'. Added sonic devices. Altered font size and spacing. Moved long strings of CSS to the tagsDecl.
A Stray Sunbeam. “ I will tell you what madness is,” said one of the patients in the Asylum, “ madness is a Sunbeam gone astray, and I am that Sunbeam.” M. S. Journal.
Decorative initial letter “A”. The letter is contained within a square and is superimposed over a vegetal pattern.
A sunbeam gone astray Upon life’s clouded sea ; A sunbeam that has lost its way Amid infinity ; Lonely, bewildered, tost By phantoms of despair, All but its living light is lost— No faith, no hope, no prayer. It sees a light afar, But strange bonds hold it fast : Was it a new-born star ? No matter, it is past ; The path to reason’s day That light had seemed to show, The sunbeam that has gone astray Forgets ere it can know. Blest are the stars of night, Each one a resting place Whereon the thoughts, in wearied flight, Feel nearer heaven’s grace ; But though the stars may beam On that lost sunbeam’s way, They only show it, with their gleam, That is gone astray ! Yes ! gone astray, but though ’Tis lost and lonely here, It has a way from this “ below,” Up to that higher sphere ; There will it glad return, Like tired “ homeing” dove, And in eternal beauty burn A sunbeam found above. C. H. W.