By the bodies, which lie all open to the sky, Tracking from Elbe to Rhine the tyrant's flight; By the widow's and the orphan's cry; By the childless parent's misery ; By the lives which he hath shed; By the ruin he hath spread;
By the prayers which rise for curses on his head,-- Redeem, O France! thine ancient fame, Revenge thy sufferings and thy shame, Open thine eyes!--too long hast thou been blind; Take vengeance for thyself, and for mankind!
By those horrors which the night Witness'd when the torches' light To the assembled murderers show'd Where the blood of Condé flow'd; By thy murder'd Pichegru's fame; By murder'd Wright--an English name; By murder'd Palm's atrocious doom; By murder'd Hofer's martyrdom,-- Oh! by the virtuous blood thus vilely spilt, The villain's own peculiar, private guilt,
Open thine eyes!--too long hast thou been blind; Take vengeance for thyself, and for mankind!
O READER! hast thou ever stood to see The holly-tree?
The eye that contemplates it well perceives Its glossy leaves
Order'd by an intelligence so wise, As might confound the Atheist's sophistries.
Below, a circling fence, its leaves are seen Wrinkled and keen;
No grazing cattle through their prickly round Can reach to wound;
But as they grow where nothing is to fear, Smooth and unarm'd the pointless leaves appear.
I love to view these things with curious eyes, And moralize;
And in this wisdom of the holly-tree
But when the bare and wintry woods we see, What then so cheerful as the holly-tree? So serious should my youth appear among The thoughtless throng;
So would I seem amid the young and gay More grave than they,
That in my age as cheerful I might be As the green winter of the holly-tree.
Nor to the grave, not to the grave, my soul, Descend to contemplate
The form that once was dear!
The spirit is not there Which kindled that dead eve, Which throbb'd in that cold heart, Which in that motionless hand Hath met thy friendly grasp. The spirit is not there! It is but lifeless, perishable flesh That moulders in the grave;
Earth, air, and water's ministering particles Now to the elements
Resolved, their uses done.
Not to the grave, not to the grave, my soul, Follow thy friend beloved;
The spirit is not there!
Often together have we talk'd of death; How sweet it were to see All doubtful things made clear; How sweet it were with powers Such as the Cherubim, To view the depth of heaven! O Edmund! thou hast first Begun the travel of eternity! I look upon the stars, And think that thou art there, Unfetter'd as the thought that follows thee. And we have often said how sweet it were With unseen ministry of angel power, To watch the friends we loved. Edmund! we did not err! Sure I have felt thy presence! Thou hast given A birth to holy thought,
Hast kept me from the world unstain'd and pure. Edmund! we did not err!
Our best affections here,
They are not like the toys of infancy; The soul outgrows them not;
We do not cast them off;
O, if it could be so,
It were indeed a dreadful thing to die!
Not to the grave, not to the grave, my soul, Follow thy friend beloved! But in the lonely hour, But in the evening walk,
Think that he companies thy solitude; Think that he holds with thee Mysterious intercourse; And though remembrance wake a tear, There will be joy in grief.
Ir was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun, And by him sported on the green His little grandchild Wilhelmine. She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round, Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.
Old Kaspar took it from the boy, Who stood expectant by;
And then the old man shook his head, And with a natural sigh,
"Tis some poor fellow's skull," said he,
"I find them in the garden,
For there's many here about; And often, when I go to plough,
The ploughshare turns them out! For many thousand men," said he, "Were slain in that great victory." "Now tell us what 't was all about,"
Young Peterkin he cries; While little Wilhelmine looks up, With wonder-waiting eyes; "Now tell us all about the war, And what they kill'd each other for." "It was the English," Kaspar cried,
"Who put the French to rout; But what they kill'd each other for, I could not well make out. But everybody said," quoth he, "That 't was a famous victory.
My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by ;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground, And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
With fire and sword the country round Was wasted far and wide;
And many a childing mother then, And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be At every famous victory.
They say it was a shocking sight After the field was won; For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be After a famous victory.
"Great praise the Duke of Marlbro' won,
"Nay-nay-my little girl," quoth he, "It was a famous victory.
"And everybody praised the Duke Who this great fight did win." "And what good came of it at last?" Quoth little Peterkin. "Why, that I cannot tell," said he, "But 't was a famous victory."
The remembrance of youth is a sigh.-.Ali.
MAN hath a weary pilgrimage As through the world he wends; On every stage, from youth to age, Still discontent attends; With heaviness he casts his eye
Upon the road before, And still remembers with a sigh
The days that are no more. To school the little exile goes, Torn from his mother's arms,-- What then shall soothe his earliest woes, When novelty hath lost its charms? Condemn'd to suffer through the day
Restraints which no rewards repay, And cares where love has no concern, Hope lengthens as she counts the hours Before his wish'd return.
From hard control and tyrant rules, The unfeeling discipline of schools, In thought he loves to roam, And tears will struggle in his eye, While he remembers with a sigh The comforts of his home.
Youth comes; the toils and cares of life Torment the restless mind; Where shall the tired and harass'd heart Its consolation find? Then is not Youth, as Fancy tells, Life's summer prime of joy? Ah no! for hopes too long delay'd And feelings blasted or betray'd,
Its fabled bliss destroy;
And Youth remembers with a sigh The careless days of Infancy. Maturer Manhood now arrives, And other thoughts come on, But with the baseless hopes of Youth Its generous warmth is gone; Cold, calculating cares succeed, The timid thought, the wary deed, The dull realities of truth; Back on the past he turns his eye, Remembering, with an envious sigh, The happy dreams of Youth. So reaches he the latter stage Of this our mortal pilgrimage, With feeble step and slow; New ills that latter stage await, And old Experience learns too late That all is vanity below.
Life's vain delusions are gone by; Its idle hopes are o'er; Yet Age remembers with a sigh The days that are no more.
COUNT Julian's soldiers and the Asturian host Set up a shout, a joyful shout, which rung Wide through the welkin. Their exulting cry With louder acclamation was renew'd,
When from the expiring miscreant's neck they saw That Roderick took the shield, and round his own Hung it, and vaulted in the seat. My horse! My noble horse! he cried, with flattering hand Patting his high-arch'd neck! the renegade- I thank him for't-hath kept thee daintily! Orelio, thou art in thy beauty still,
Thy pride and strength! Orelio, my good horse, Once more thou bearest to the field thy lord, He who so oft hath fed and cherish'd thee, He for whose sake, wherever thou wert seen, Thou wert by all men honour'd. Once again Thou hast thy proper master! Do thy part As thou wert wont; and bear him gloriously, My beautiful Orelio,-to the last- The happiest of his fields !-Then he drew forth The cimeter, and, waving it aloft,
Rode toward the troops; its unaccustom'd shape Disliked him. Renegade in all things! cried The Goth, and cast it from him; to the chiefs Then said, If I have done ye service here, Help me, I pray you, to a Spanish sword! The tru-tiest blade that e'er in Bilbilis Was dipp'd, would not to-day be misbestowed On this right hand!-Go, some one, Gunderick cried, And bring Count Julian's sword. Whoe'er thou art, The worth which thou hast shown avenging him Entitles thee to wear it. But thou goest For battle unequipp'd--haste there, and strip Yon villain of his armour! Late he spake, So fast the Moors came on. It matters not, Replied the Goth; there's many a mountaineer, Who in no better armour cased this day Than his wonted leathern gipion, will be found In the hottest battle, yet bring off untouch'd The unguarded life he ventures.-Taking then Count Julian's sword, he fitted round his wrist The chain, and eyeing the elaborate steel With stern regard of joy-The African Under unhappy stars was born, he cried, Who tastes thy edge!-Make ready for the charge! They come-they come!-On, brethren, to the field!-
The word is, Vengeance!
Vengeance was the word; From man to man, and rank to rank it pass'd, By every heart enforced, by every voice Sent forth in loud defiance of the foe. The enemy in shriller sounds return'd Their Akbar and the prophet's trusted name. The horsemen lower'd their spears, the infantry, Deliberately, with slow and steady step, [hiss'd, Advanced; the bow-strings twang'd, and arrows
And javelins hurtled by. Anon the hosts Met in the shock of battle, horse and man [mace, Conflicting; shield struck shield, and sword, and And curtle-axe on helm and buckler rung; Armour was riven, and wounds were interchanged, And many a spirit from its mortal hold Hurried to bliss or bale. Well did the chiefs Of Julian's army in that hour support Their old esteem; and well Count Pedro there Enhanced his former praise; and by his side, Rejoicing like a bridegroom in the strife, Alphonso through the host of infidels Bore on his bloody lance dismay and death. But there was worst confusion and uproar, There widest slaughter and dismay, where, proud Of his recover'd lord, Orelio plunged Through thickest ranks, trampling beneath his feet The living and the dead. Where'er he turns,
The Moors divide and fly. What man is this, Appall'd they say, who to the front of war Bareheaded offers thus his naked life? Replete with power he is, and terrible, Like some destroying angel! Sure his lips Have drank of Kaf's dark fountain, and he comes Strong in his immortality! Fly! fly! They said; this is no human foe!-Nor less Of wonder fill'd the Spaniards when they saw How flight and terror went before his way, And slaughter in his path. Behold, cries one, With what command and knightly ease he sits The intrepid steed, and deals from side to side His dreadful blows! Not Roderick in his power Bestrode with such command and majesty That noble war-horse. His loose robe this day Is death's black banner, shaking from its folds Dismay and ruin. Of no mortal mould Is he who in that garb of peace affronts Whole hosts, and sees them scatter where he turns! Auspicious Heaven beholds us, and some saint Revisits earth!
A dewy freshness fills the silent air; No mist obscures, nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain, Breaks the serene of heaven.
In full-orb'd glory yonder moon divine Rolls through the dark-blue depths. Beneath her steady ray
The desert-circle spreads,
Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky. How beautiful is night!
Who, at this untimely hour, Wanders o'er the desert sands? No station is in view,
Nor palm-grove, islanded amid the waste. The mother and her child,
The widow'd mother and the fatherless boy, They at this untimely hour, Wander o'er the desert sands.
AND oh! what odours the voluptuous vale Scatters from jasmine bowers, From yon rose wilderness,
From cluster'd henna, and from orange groves That with such perfume fill the breeze, As Peris to their sister bear,
When from the summit of some lofty tree She hangs, engaged, the captive of the Dives. They from their pinions shake The sweetness of celestial flowers; And as her enemies impure From that impetuous poison far away
Fly groaning with the torment, she the while Inhales her fragrant food.
Such odours flow'd upon the world, When at Mohammed's nuptials, word Went forth in heaven to roll The everlasting gates of paradise Back on their living hinges, that its gales Might visit all below: the general bliss Thrill'd every bosom, and the family Of man, for once, partook a common joy.
THIS to a mother's sacred memory Her son hath hallow'd. Absent many a year Far over sea, his sweetest dreams were still Of that dear voice which sooth'd his infancy: And after many a fight against the Moor And Malabar, or that fierce cavalry Which he had seen covering the boundless platn Even to the utmost limits where the eye Could pierce the far horizon,-his first thought, In safety, was of her, who, when she heard The tale of that day's danger, would retire And pour her pious gratitude to heaven
In prayers and tears of joy. The lingering hour Of his return, long-look'd for, came at length, And full of hope he reach'd his native shore. Vain hope that puts its trust in human life! For cre he came the number of her days Was full. O reader, what a world were this, How unendurable its weight, if they Whom Death hath sunder'd did not meet again!
'Tis pleasant, by the cheerful hearth, to hear Of tempests, and the dangers of the deep, And pause at times, and feel that we are safe; Then listen to the perilous tale again, And with an eager and suspended soul, Woo terror to delight us; but to hear The roaring of the raging elements,
To know all human skill, all human strength, Avail not; to look round and only see The mountain wave incumbent, with its weight Of bursting waters, o'er the reeling bark,—— O God, this is indeed a dreadful thing! And he who hath endured the horror once Of such an hour, doth never hear the storm Howl round his home, but he remembers it, And thinks upon the suffering mariner !
CHILDHOOD OF JOAN OF ARC.
My soul was nurst, amid the loveliest scenes Of unpolluted nature. Sweet it was, As the white mists of morning roll'd away, To see the mountains' wooded heights appear Dark in the early dawn, and mark its slope, Rich with the blossom'd furze, as the slant sun On the golden ripeness pour'd a deepening light. Pleasant, at noon, beside the vocal brook, To lie me down and watch the floating clouds, And shape to fancy's wild similitudes
Their ever-varying forms; and ho, most sweet! To drive my flock at evening to the fold, And hasten to our little hut, and hear The voice of kindness bid me welcome home.
A SUB-MARINE CITY.
THEIR golden summits in the noonday light, Shone o'er the dark-green deep that roll'd between; For domes and pinnacles, and spires were seen Peering above the sea-a mournful sight! Well might the sad beholder ween from thence What works of wonder the devouring wave Had swallow'd there, when monuments so brave Bore record of their old magnificence. And on the sandy shore, beside the verge Of ocean, here and there a rock-hewn fane Resisted in its strength the surf and surge That on their deep foundations beat in vain. In solitude the ancient temples stood, Once resonant with instrument and song, And solemn dance of festive multitude; Now as the weary ages pass along, Hearing no voice save of the ocean flood, Which roars for ever on the restless shores; Or, visiting their solitary caves, The lonely sound of winds, that moan around, Accordant to the melancholy waves.
AN EASTERN EVENING. EVENING comes on: arising from the stream, Homeward the tall flamingo wings his flight; And where he sails athwart the setting beam, His scarlet plumage glows with deeper light. The watchman, at the wish'd approach of night,
Gladly forsakes the field, where he all day, To scare the winged plunderers from their prey, With shout and sling, on yonder clay-built height, Hath borne the sultry ray. Hark! at the Golden Palaces, The Bramin strikes the hour. For leagues and leagues around, the brazen sound Rolls through the stillness of departing day, Like thunder far away.
And yonder birds, our welcome visitants, Lo! where they soar above the embodied host, Pursue their way, and hang upon their rear,
And thin their spreading flanks, Rejoicing o'er their banquet! Deemest thou The scent of water on some Syrian mosque Placed with priest-mummery, and the jargon-rites Which fool the multitude, hath led them here From far Khorassan? Allah, who decreed Yon tribe the plague and punishment of man, These also hath he doom'd to meet their way: Both passive instruments
Of his all-acting will, Sole mover he, and only spring of all."
THUS having said, the pious sufferer sate, Beholding with fix'd eyes that lovely orb, Till quiet tears confused in dizzy light The broken moonbeams. They too by the toil Of spirit, as by travail of the day Subdued, were silent, yielding to the hour. The silver cloud diffusing slowly past, And now into its airy elements
Resolved is gone; while through the azure depth Alone in heaven the glorious moon pursues Her course appointed, with indifferent beams Shining upon the silent hills around, And the dark tents of that unholy host, Who, all unconscious of impending fate, Take their last slumber there. The camp is still; The fires have moulder'd, and the breeze which stirs The soft and snowy embers, just lays bare At times a red and evanescent light, Or for a moment wakes a feeble flame. They by the fountain hear the stream below, Whose murmurs, as the wind arose or fell, Fuller or fainter reach the ear attuned. And now the nightingale, not distant far, Began her solitary song; and pour'd To the cold moon a richer, stronger strain Than that with which the lyric lark salutes The new-born day. Her deep and thrilling song Seem'd with its piercing melody to reach The soul, and in mysterious unison
Blend with all thoughts of gentleness and love. Their hearts were open to the healing power Of nature; and the splendour of the night, The flow of waters, and that sweetest lay, Came to them like a copious evening dew Falling on vernal herbs which thirst for rain.
THEY sin who tell us love can die. With life all other passions fly, All others are but vanity; In heaven ambition cannot dwell, Nor avarice in the vaults of hell; Earthly these passions of the earth, They perish where they have their birth; But love is indestructible: Its holy flame for ever burneth, From heaven it came, to heaven returneth. Too oft on earth a troubled guest, At times deceived, at times oppress'd, It here is tried and purified, Then hath in heaven its perfect rest: It soweth here with toil and care, But the harvest-time of love is there. Oh! when a mother meets on high The babe she lost in infancy, Hath she not then, for pains and fears, The day of wo, the watchful night, For all her sorrow, all her tears, An over-payment of delight!
My days among the dead are pass'd; Around me I behold, Where'er these casual eyes are cast,
The mighty minds of old; My never-failing friends are they, With whom I converse day by day.
With them I take delight in weal, And seek relief in wo; And while I understand and feel How much to them I owe, My cheeks have often been bedew'd With tears of thoughtful gratitude.
My thoughts are with the dead; with them I live in long-past years; Their virtues love, their faults condemn, Partake their hopes and fears, And from their lessons seek and find Instruction with an humble mind.
My hopes are with the dead; anon My place with them will be, And I with them shall travel on Through all futurity:
Yet leaving here a name, I trust, That will not perish in the dust.
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