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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c53412f --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54505 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54505) diff --git a/old/54505-8.txt b/old/54505-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e48b223..0000000 --- a/old/54505-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6267 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Poems, by William Anderson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Poems - -Author: William Anderson - -Release Date: April 7, 2017 [EBook #54505] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Nahum Maso i Carcases and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber's Notes: - - Obvious punctuation errors and misprints have been corrected. - - The blank pages of the printed original have been deleted in the - e-text version. - - Text in italics and boldface is indicated between _underscores_ and - =double hyphens=, respectively. - - Text in small capitals has been replaced by regular uppercase text. - - A large curly bracket present in the poem "Mount Horeb" of the - printed original is indicated with three small curly brackets in the - e-text version. - - * * * * * - - - - - POEMS. - - - - - POEMS. - - - BY - - WILLIAM ANDERSON. - - - Now First Collected. - - - EDINBURGH: - J. MENZIES, 61, PRINCES STREET. - 1845. - - - - - EDINBURGH: - - AW. MURRAY, PRINTER, MILNE SQUARE. - - - - - TO - - HENRY EDWARDS, D.D., PH.D., - - AUTHOR OF - - "PIETY AND INTELLECT RELATIVELY ESTIMATED," "CHRISTIAN - HUMILITY," AND SEVERAL OTHER WORKS OF MERIT. - - THIS VOLUME - - IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED - - BY - - HIS SINCERE FRIEND, - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - I. Sunrise, 7 - - II. Morning farther advanced, 10 - - III. Noonday, 13 - - IV. The Sunbeam, 16 - - V. To a Wild Flower, 19 - - VI. Summer, 22 - - VII. Midsummer, 25 - - VIII. The Sunshine of Poetry, 28 - - IX. Autumn, in its First Aspect, 31 - - X. Autumn, in its Second Aspect, 34 - - XI. Sunset, 37 - - XII. Twilight, 40 - - XIII. Moonlight on Land, 43 - - XIV. Moonlight at Sea, 46 - - XV. Home Scenes, 49 - - - POETICAL ASPIRATIONS. - - The Alpine Horn, 55 - - Reflections on Death, 58 - - Through the Wood.--Modern Ballad, 62 - - Song of the Exile, 64 - - To Fame, 66 - - To a Bee, 68 - - The Storm, 71 - - "Lazarus, Come Forth," 73 - - Sonnet. On the Approach of Summer, 74 - - Beauty, 75 - - To M. J. R., 76 - - Sonnet. A Contrast, 77 - - Sonnet. Roslin, 78 - - On the Birth of a Niece, 79 - - On her death, 80 - - Sonnet. To Happiness, 81 - - Thoughts, 82 - - Loch Awe, 85 - - The Wolf, 87 - - The April Cloud, 94 - - Spring, 95 - - Poesy, 97 - - Sonnet. To a Friend of the Author, 100 - - The Gipsy's Lullaby, 101 - - Woodland Song, 102 - - Sonnet. The Ocean, 104 - - Mount Horeb, 105 - - Written beneath an Elm, 111 - - The Wells o' Weary, 115 - - Dryburgh Abbey, 116 - - - POEMS HERE FIRST COLLECTED. - - Grace, 119 - - Matin, 121 - - Immortality, 122 - - Lines. On the Death of John Sinclair, Esq., - Edinburgh, 125 - - Weep not for the Dead, 127 - - Idols, 129 - - Truth, 132 - - Sabbath Morn, 133 - - Sabbath Eve, 134 - - Dreams of the Living, 135 - - Lines, 139 - - Sonnets Written on Viewing Danby's Picture - of the Deluge, 140 - - Thought, 142 - - Lines Written on the Attempted Assassination - of the Queen, July 1840, 143 - - Song.--"I'm Naebody Noo," 147 - - Song. "There's Plenty Come to Woo me," 149 - - The Stout Old British Ship, 151 - - Lines on the Infant Son and Daughter of Hon. - Col. Montague, 154 - - The Martyrs, 156 - - Caledonia, My Country, 158 - - Song. "I Canna Sleep," 160 - - Song. "Yonder Sunny Brae," 162 - - - THE EAGLE'S NEST, AND OTHER POEMS, HERE FIRST - PRINTED. - - The Eagle's Nest, 167 - - The Advent of Truth, 179 - - Lines Suggested by a Walk in a Garden, 182 - - Sonnet. Sunshine, 187 - - Song. "At E'ening when the Kye war in," 188 - - Stanzas on a Bust of Marshal Ney, 191 - - Winter, 194 - - Human Conduct, 197 - - Courtship Lines, 210 - - Love-Weakness, 211 - - Lines to the Rev. Henry Dudley Ryder, on - reading his "Angelicon," 213 - - The Poet, 216 - - Light and Shadow, 223 - - The Early Dead, 226 - - A Dirge, 229 - - A Benediction, 231 - - Health, 233 - - The Game of Life, 235 - - Consumption, 237 - - Change, 238 - - Virtue, 241 - - Vain Hopes, 243 - - The Valley of Life, 245 - - After Thought, 251 - - - NOTES, 255 - - - - - LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - (SECOND EDITION.) - - - - - TO - - THE REV. HENRY DUDLEY RYDER, - - CANON RESIDENTIARY OF LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL, - - THIS VOLUME OF LANDSCAPE LYRICS, - - AS - - A MARK OF RESPECT FOR HIS VIRTUES, - - OF ADMIRATION OF HIS GENIUS, - - AND IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE PLEASANT HOURS PASSED IN HIS SOCIETY, - - IS INSCRIBED, - - BY HIS FRIEND, - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - - PREFACE - - TO THE - - FIRST EDITION OF LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - -THE poems contained in the following pages must be taken as parts of a -whole, being intended to be distinct only in their subjects. This will -account for the same measure being used throughout. - -Of these pieces, the only one which has been previously published is -that addressed "To a Wild Flower." My reason for inserting it here -is, that it harmonizes with the other poems; and, having been already -favourably spoken of by competent judges, I must confess it is one -which I should "not willingly let die." - -In the first poem on "Autumn," I have introduced what has always -appeared to me a beautiful incident in nature; namely, the singing of -the missel-thrush during a thunder-storm. The louder the thunder roars, -the shriller and sweeter becomes its voice. This interesting little -bird is popularly known by the name of the storm-cock, because he is -supposed to sing boldest immediately previous to a storm; but that he -also sends forth his "native wood notes wild," during its continuance, -is a fact which has been satisfactorily ascertained. Undismayed by the -tempest's fury, or, rather rejoicing in its violence, the small but -spirited songster warbles on unceasingly, as if desirous of emulating -the loudness of the thunder-tone, or of making his song be heard above -the noise of the raging elements. - -The poetry of nature, particularly at this joyous season, is in its -landscapes; and if these unpretending "Lyrics" should lead any one to a -healthy contemplation of natural objects, or impart, to refined minds, -any pleasure in the perusal, the time which has been bestowed upon them -will not have been idly or unprofitably employed. - -LONDON, 1st June, 1838. - - - - - POEMS. - - - - - LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - - - - No. I.--SUNRISE. - - - SPREAD are dawn's radiant wings, - Its dazzling feet pursue their silent way, - Leaving no shadow, for each coming ray - A general brightness brings. - - The vapour from the brow - Of the old mountain crests, begins to part, - Like care from off the forehead, and the heart-- - And all is cloudless now! - - The universal air, - The smiling sky, and the far-stretching mead-- - All nature, in its varied forms agreed, - Mingle their beauties there! - - The ripple of the wave, - Beachward returning to the distant shore, - Like a lone pilgrim to the cottage door, - That once a welcome gave: - - The new-waked laureat bee, - On the flower-blossom, breathing in its mirth, - Its conch-like matin song, to greet the earth, - With ever grateful glee! - - The landscape's free expanse, - And all the harmonies that, spread around, - Combine the joys of hearing, sight, and sound, - Are gathered at a glance; - - And powerfully they tell, - With deeper eloquence than notes divine, - Of many things that round our heart-strings twine, - And in our fancies dwell; - - Of boyhood's sportive days, - The thymy glade, the daisy blooming there, - The vale remote, or lake secluded, where - The smiling sunbeam plays; - - The gay flowers on the plain, - Gemming the mead, perfuming all the wood; - As if each Summer morn was Spring renew'd, - Or May-day come again! - - The music of the birds, - Telling all sleepers of the birth of day, - And, with reviving Nature, haste to pay - Their homage, not in words! - - The dreamy waterfall, - Babbling and bubbling from the upland spring; - The soaring crag where eaglets rest their wing, - Listening the eagle's call: - - The minstrel streamlet near, - The zephyr's breath, too languid for a breeze, - That stirs, yet scarcely moves, the gentle trees, - Touching the waters clear. - - The sunrays, as they pass - Into broad sunshine, throw their light on all, - With bloom and blossom, whereso'er they fall; - On mount, or meadow-grass. - - And something more than light - Sleeps on the verdant hill-side; dreams of love, - And glimpses of the happier state above, - Burst on the mental sight. - - - - - No. II.--MORNING FURTHER ADVANCED. - - - MEET 'tis to watch and spy, - The laughing Orient, like a chubby child, - Bringing new joyousness to wood and wild, - To ocean, earth, and sky. - - The groups of early flowers - To th' enamoured sun their bosoms ope,-- - Apt emblems of the welcome birth of Hope, - In life's oft darkened bowers. - - Pass to the green hill-side, - And let us wander where the wild flowers grow, - Gaze on the sedgy stream's calm depths below, - Where gentle minnows glide. - - The sheltered cuckoo's notes, - In the young sunshine, echo on the ear-- - A moving voice, from all around, is here!-- - Hymns from a thousand throats:-- - - The spirit grows the more - Refined and holy, as we stand and gaze - Upon the landscape, brightening in the blaze - That gilds both land and shore. - - All objects, far and near, - The light of morn illumines; it is now - That man can walk erect with glowing brow, - And heart devoid of fear. - - And, lo! there is a stir - In yonder village, bosomed in the dell, - Like a meek babe, loved by its mother well, - And loving nought but her! - - Where claims the eye to rest? - Earth has a balmy look, and so has Heaven; - And thoughts, like mazy clouds through ether driven, - Float in th' enraptured breast. - - The sylvan haunts, where youth - Roams, fancy led, all glorious in their hue; - The quaint sequestered spots and paths we view, - Where Age consorts with Truth. - - Read we of aught that wakes - High inspiration in the soul, in scenes like these? - The tufted trees' fantastic tapestries-- - Romantic knolls and brakes; - - The hill-enskirted glen, - Where bound the wild deer; and the huntsman's horn - Sounds from afar, a welcome to the morn, - Till Echo sounds again! - - And more than all, the old - And pyramidal mountains, that with time - Have stood, defying change, and storm, and clime, - As none else of earth's mould - - Hath done: the sun embrowns, - But does not scorch them; rain, and wind, and snow, - Renew them, not destroy; no waste they know, - But lasting glory crowns. - - Still to the heart endeared - Are sights like this we gaze on. Do we deem - That they are other than a privileged dream?-- - One that the mind has reared! - - - - - No. III.--NOONDAY. - - - LO! like an eastern king, - Forth marches Sunshine gorgeously through earth, - By health attended, and life-giving mirth, - And heralded by Spring. - - Light through the untrack'd air, - Pursues its course authentic; hill and dale - Rejoice, and Nature cries, "All hail!" - As if a king were there. - - The elevated lawns, - Where first the day comes, and where last retires, - Rejoicing seem; their light the mind inspires, - And thought, like morning, dawns. - - The wild, yet artless breeze, - Now, in the ear of Nature, sings its song, - Wandering green fields and flowery banks among, - And over shadowy seas. - - Soft falls the sunlight down - On the old castle that, above the dell, - Stands in its glory, lone, as if to tell - Some tale of past renown. - - The hamlet in the vale, - The church beside the stream that winds remote - Among the hills--the smoothly-going boat, - That midway hoists its sail. - - A scene like this is rife - With pleasurable feelings, as with grace; - Perhaps we here, instructively, may trace - Some simile of life! - - The grey and steadfast hills - Tell of the old immortals of past time: - And, looking downward, beauty, in its prime, - The heart with rapture fills. - - The care-escaping deer - Descend together from the uplands, while - The sprouting grass puts forth a pleasant smile, - As if to tempt them near. - - The sinless flowers, away - In the far inward forest paths bestrown, - Are yet not solitary, though alone; - None are so glad as they. - - The comely violets - Their leaf-buds open, and the sunshine seek; - The pastures fresh their grateful homage speak, - Untinctured with regrets. - - The virgin rose assumes - A bridal bearing, as if noonday came, - With brighter countenance, its love to claim, - And revel 'midst its blooms: - - The prattle of the brook, - The lazy clouds that, hung in middle sky, - Exulting in the balm, float listless by, - Reflecting back their look: - - The buds, the herbs, the leaves, - Each, and all things that blossom, bless the rays - Of the bright sun, and, as they bless, they praise - The bounteous Hand that gives! - - - - - No. IV.--THE SUNBEAM. - - - NOW glory walks abroad, - And on the quiet unassuming stream, - And on the rock-ribbed hills, gently its beam - All lovely is bestowed. - - The daizy-footed day, - O'er the far mead, in virgin radiance comes, - While the bee, jubilant, its welcome hums, - And passes on its way. - - The lily, in its bloom, - Of the lone valley, where the breezes sing - Of love, beside the violet-crested spring, - And heather-bell's perfume: - - And beauty, without guile, - It pictures dreams of in the bounding breast, - And love-breathed vows, and unions that are blest, - And childhood's fairy smile: - - The mountain's verdant side, - Where visioned poesy delights to show - The sights of Heaven to gentle minds below: - The heath-bank in its pride: - - The broken branch, grass-hid, - On which the goat-herd leans, while, far aloof, - His bounding charge rest th' adventurous hoof - Where man's foot dare not tread: - - The cushat in the wood, - Where the laburnum and the lilac grow; - The placid rill, wandering away below, - As one for earth too good: - - The dim-seen paths remote, - That lead to lone retreats and leafy cells, - Where, like a bashful fay, the fancy dwells, - And many-imaged thought: - - The vintage and its cheer, - The peasant, sun-embrown'd, and flow'r-deck'd maid, - The festooned village, music in the shade, - To charm th' expectant ear: - - The flow'ret in the wild, - The mossy resting place, 'neath oaks antique: - The half-grassed foot-track worldlings do not seek, - Where poets are beguiled: - - The foam-bell on the wave; - The full-sailed vessel on its homeward track; - The smile that lights the sorrowing sinner back: - The primrose on a grave! - - The berry's purple shine, - Grape-like and lustrous, scattered 'mid the waste: - The sprinkled heath-flower, healthful, golden-paced: - The patriarchal pine: - - The memories of all - Telling of pleasures rare, and jocund ease, - In deep-toned joyousness, yea, more than these, - The sunbeam does recall: - - The hope of life above; - Rich buds of promise springing everywhere; - The grace-blest gifts that come without our care, - From all-providing Love! - - - - - No. V.--TO A WILD FLOWER. - - - IN what delightful land, - Sweet-scented flower, didst thou attain thy birth? - Thou art no offspring of the common earth, - By common breezes fanned! - - Full oft my gladdened eye, - In pleasant glade, on river's marge has traced, - (As if there planted by the hand of Taste), - Sweet flowers of every dye: - - But never did I see, - In mead or mountain, or domestic bower, - 'Mong many a lovely and delicious flower, - One half so fair as thee! - - Thy beauty makes rejoice - My inmost heart.--I know not how 'tis so,-- - Quick-coming fancies thou dost make me know, - For fragrance is thy voice: - - And still it comes to me, - In quiet night, and turmoil of the day, - Like memory of friends gone far away, - Or, haply, ceased to be. - - Together we'll commune, - As lovers do, when, standing all apart, - No one o'erhears the whispers of their heart, - Save the all-silent moon. - - Thy thoughts I can divine, - Although not uttered in vernac'lar words: - Thou me remind'st of songs of forest birds; - Of venerable wine; - - Of Earth's fresh shrubs and roots; - Of Summer days, when men their thirsting slake - In the cool fountain, or the cooler lake, - While eating wood-grown fruits: - - Thy leaves my memory tell - Of sights, and scents, and sounds, that come again, - Like ocean's murmurs, when the balmy strain - Is echoed in its shell. - - The meadows in their green, - Smooth-running waters in the far-off ways, - The deep-voiced forest where the hermit prays, - In thy fair face are seen. - - Thy home is in the wild, - 'Mong sylvan shades, near music-haunted springs, - Where peace dwells all apart from earthly things, - Like some secluded child. - - The beauty of the sky, - The music of the woods, the love that stirs - Wherever Nature charms her worshippers, - Are all by thee brought nigh. - - I shall not soon forget - What thou hast taught me in my solitude: - My feelings have acquired a taste of good, - Sweet flower! since first we met. - - Thou bring'st unto the soul - A blessing and a peace, inspiring thought! - And dost the goodness and the power denote - Of Him who formed the whole. - - - - - No. VI.--SUMMER. - - - IS vision-land so near, - And we not know of it? Oh! dull and dead - Must be the heart, the passions cold as lead, - That find no beauty here! - - Fresh o'er th' awakened earth, - Now all the glories of the Summer shine; - And Nature, as if drunk with olden wine, - Is laughing in its mirth! - - And melodies are heard - From far and near, and sounds that stir the heart, - Sweeter than fancy dreams of, when slow Art - To rival them has erred. - - All things become more pure - And hallowed to the view: the very flowers - Seem smiling in a world more rich than ours-- - A birth-place more secure! - - The berry of the wood - Blooms with new lustre, 'neath the golden ray - Of the warm sunshine, resting by the way, - Where the green forests brood. - - The old and reverend trees, - And clustering thickets, now are gladly sought - By him who from the heat would stray remote, - And rest his limbs at ease. - - The smell of new-mown hay - Revives the heart, like as at evening time - We love to listen to the tinkling chime - Of sheep-bells far away. - - And, lo! the rustic cot, - On the smooth margin of the quiet lake, - Where wedded Love and pleased Content partake - Their enviable lot: - - Where, daylong, may be seen - Two sister swans, disporting in their joy; - The happy parents, with their baby-boy, - Reclining on the green. - - Decay should seem unknown-- - But spiteful Time its certain change prepares: - Light has its shade, and pleasure has its cares; - Music its saddened tone: - - Summer its springing weeds, - And trodden flowers that tell of bygone joys, - And thoughts long since forgotten, 'mid the noise - That from man's haunts proceeds. - - How beautiful the sight! - Why should we think of change for scenes like this? - Fair as a poet's thought, when thought is bliss, - And all he sees is light! - - Let but th' enraptured eye - Once look upon the landscape's gorgeous train - And, like a kiss upon the brow of pain, - That brings a solace nigh, - - In after years 'twill rest - Within the memory, with bloom and balm, - Refreshing to the soul, like a sweet calm - On ocean's troubled breast. - - - - - No. VII.--MIDSUMMER. - - - A BLAZE is in mine eyes - Of rich and balmy light; and on mine ear - A sound of melody is ringing clear, - Like carols in the skies: - - And on my heart the while - There rests, like Love, when Hope is bright as this, - A charm to soothe, a thrill of good to bless; - A universal smile! - - Is it a picture limned - By some high intellect where genius throngs? - Are these the echoes of celestial songs, - By angel-voices hymned? - - Am I on earth, in air, - In heaven, or on the sea,--with ocean's sights, - And ocean's sounds,--that I partake delights, - And visions see so fair? - - Ah, me! a shadow steals - From out the mountains, like a lurking grief; - As on our happy home, the silent thief - His hateful eye reveals; - - Bringing me down from heaven - To this dull earth, whereon my footsteps tread-- - The sky, so calm and pure above my head, - Health to my soul has given! - - And now, before me placed, - What is there to rejoice the eye or ear? - All that the heart deems fair is surely here, - By God's own fingers traced: - - And bounteously his gifts - HE has bestowed upon the growing land; - Her paths are teeming from his lib'ral Hand, - That knows no grudging thrifts. - - Up looks the toiling hind, - And wipes his brow, and rests upon his spade; - The idle herdsman, in the hawthorn shade, - A-weary lies reclined. - - The village church is seen, - Light streaming through its windows, soft and fair, - Like rays of mercy, answering the prayer - Of penitence serene. - - 'Midst fairy scenes like these, - Whose fruitage beautiful allures each sense, - And whose green leaves, in blooming eloquence, - Exert their aim to please, - - Can thought, in its career - Of joy, pause midway, and with care alight?-- - Can fancy, eagle-winged, restrain its flight, - To dream of winter drear? - - In noonday's warmest ray - We deem that darkness has our clime forsook: - Backward or forward we refuse to look; - But on the present stay. - - Yet let not gloom be here! - The Earth rejoices now in Nature's prime; - Season of joy,--the holiday of Time,-- - The Sabbath of the year! - - - - - No. VIII.--THE SUNSHINE OF POETRY. - - - THINK not the poet's song - Worthless or idle; do not deem his lay - Fantastic, that he offers by the way, - To make it seem less long. - - His numbers have their use, - Though foolish they may sound to worldling's ear; - His own lot, if no other's, they may cheer; - His own content produce. - - Does he not add a light - To earth-born beauty, wanting it unknown? - To bloom give balm, to melody a tone, - Make brightness seem more bright? - - Does he not fill the air - With sights, and shapes, and shadows?--make the sky - The dwelling-place of beings, which no eye - But his can image there? - - And more than all, his lay - Awakes new feelings in the human heart, - And visions bring that never can depart, - When once they feel his sway. - - To him the power is given - To soothe the broken heart, the care-worn mind; - And the waked soul in dreams ecstatic bind, - And bear away to heaven: - - For to none else does earth - Look with so fair a promise; yea, to none - Speaks she with such an eloquence of tone, - Or to such thoughts gives birth, - - Ah! who may analyse - The cloistered feelings of the poet's soul, - When Nature's impulse vibrates through the whole, - And Truth, that never dies! - - Creation's beauties bring - Renewed enjoyment, and his genius fire; - For every sight, and every sound, inspire - His inmost heart to sing! - - His birthright is to live - In citizenship with Nature;--to hold - Communion with her mysteries, his old - And high prerogative! - - Seeks he for wealth, denied - By worldlings, lucre-led, of sordid mind; - His heritage,--free, fertile, unconfined,-- - Is Nature's pastures wide. - - Pants he for peace, to throw - A solace on his soul? The voice that breathes - Its music, 'mong the wild flowers' clustering wreaths, - Does to his heart bestow - - A bliss that none can share, - Save him whom Nature to some far-sought wild - Has led, anointed as her chosen child, - And made her sacred care. - - Where'er the breezes roam, - The mountains soar, or ocean's wave is thrown, - The poet's spirit, free as Nature's own, - Finds for itself a home! - - - - - No. IX.--AUTUMN, IN ITS FIRST ASPECT. - - - THE orchard's plenteous store, - The apple-boughs o'erburdened with their load, - That passers-by may gather from the road, - Hang now the near walls o'er: - - And filberts, bursting fair, - Seduce the loiterer to reach the hand, - And pluck the offered treasures of the land, - With wood-nuts that are there. - - The still hill-sides are clad - With bloom; the distant moorland now is bright - With blossom, and with beauty; the rich sight - The heart of man makes glad. - - The hamlet is at peace; - And, in the ripened fields, the reapers ply - Their useful labour; while a golden sky - Smiles on the soil's increase. - - To the romantic spring, - That gushes lone beneath the neighbouring hill, - The cottage maidens go, their jars to fill, - While carols rude they sing! - - Sweet is the cuckoo's song - In early Spring, and musical and blessed - The nightingale--young Summer's lutenist-- - Pours its gay notes-along; - - And, in the thunder's roar, - In Autumn, when the sudden lightnings flash, - Sweet sings the missel-thrush amid the crash, - The bursting tempest o'er! - - As solitary tree, - That, pilgrim-like, scathless, amid the shock - Of rudest storms, that burst the sterner rock, - Stands in its grandeur free. - - But sweeter than them all, - And softer than the voice of love returned, - Are the untutored lays of lips sunburned, - From village maids that fall! - - To schoolboys' feelings dear - Is rich-toned Autumn. Oh! with what a zest - They plunge in stream retired,--despoil a nest,-- - Or ramble far and near. - - How oft, when changeful Time - Has sprinkled o'er our locks its silver threads, - Remembrance brings to mind--and gladness sheds-- - The pastimes of our prime! - - The lowing of the kine, - In distant meadow-glades, comes on the ear, - With taste of nature fresh, like far-off cheer - Of rustics, as they join - - The merry dance at eve; - Each rural sound has in it joy and health: - Man now should garner thought, as well as wealth, - And gladly truth receive. - - The calm and picturesque; - The foliaged cedar, and the wreathëd beech, - More glowing thoughts and impulses can teach - Than Learning from his desk! - - - - - No. X.--AUTUMN, IN ITS SECOND ASPECT. - - - NOW, Autumn's mantle brown - Falls on the woods and fields, the leaves are sere, - And, like sad offerings to the rifled year, - They drop in clusters down: - - The land is lone and bare; - The grateful trees themselves of leaves divest - To form a covering for earth's naked breast, - With reverential care; - - For why should they be left - In all their foliage, when the sunshine's grace - Is gone from off the hills, and Nature's face - Is of its charms bereft? - - The distance grey, becomes - Like a thin thread of silver, long drawn out;-- - But hark the cheerful tabor, and the shout! - The sound of merry drums! - - Now sportive Harvest-Home - By vintagers and villagers is held, - And heart-bright wine, and strong-lipped ale are welled, - Like water at the foam: - - And labourers rejoice, - That fruits of field and orchard all are housed; - And the glad song of thankfulness is roused - From every manly voice! - - The high ancestral hall,-- - Where Health delights to dwell, and generous Mirth - Holds, when the corn is gathered from the earth, - A grateful festival,-- - - Adorns the waning scene. - Here may be heard, when in a musing mood, - The cawing of the old rooks in the wood, - That flanks it like a screen. - - Is there not much to cheer - In the glad sounds that still from hill and vale, - And glen remote, come echoed on the gale - To greet th' excited ear? - - Lo! o'er the changing sward - Sweep now the huntsmen in the rapid chace, - The deep-toned yell of hounds, mouthing the trace - Of the fleet deer, is heard. - - In lone and hoary wood, - Where the wild cherry and the yellow elm - Commingled with the oak, the soul o'erwhelm - With visions many-hued; - - There comes a solemn tone, - Like what is felt, in passing down the while - Some old cathedral's venerable aisle,-- - A feeling all its own! - - But now, at close of day, - When the damp vapoury veil of eve is gone, - Of gathering winds, the mournful dirge-like moan, - Sounds wildly far away. - - For winter casts its shade - Before it, and the year begins to feel - Its chilling influences on it steal, - Like touches of the dead! - - - - - No. XI.--SUNSET. - - - LIGHT on the landscape shines - Awhile, ere vanishing, as loth to leave;-- - Upon the mead, the wearied ox at eve - Familiarly reclines. - - The plough is left a-field, - And the rude labourer, from his toil set free, - Leads his tired steads forth o'er the upturned lea, - Refreshing drink to yield. - - The hills with light are dyed; - And pointing spires peer o'er the distant trees, - As one tall vessels in the horizon sees, - Careering in their pride! - - Each meek flower, white and red, - That tufts the meadow, in fresh odour sleeps, - Ere the departing Day from off the steeps - Lifts his resplendent head. - - The golden-tissued clouds, - Amid which now the Sun, world-worshipped, sinks, - Retain his glory still upon their brinks, - As gloom the earth enshrouds! - - Slowly the darkness creeps - Up the lone hill-sides, shadow-like, by sighs - Of ev'ning lullabyed, as on man's eyes - Steals slumber ere he sleeps! - - Thus on the mountain-oak, - And on the hoary castle's ruined walls, - The rotting ivy, clinging as it falls, - Seems their past strength to mock. - - Exalted are the thoughts - That rise within our souls at such a time; - The vast, the wild, the awful, the sublime, - Embodied, round us floats! - - And the hushed spirit seems - To listen to the tones from giants flung; - Echoes of war-songs, that of old were sung, - Now rush like mountain streams: - - And what come on the sight - Are not the puny visions of the day; - The near and the familiar pass away, - With the departing light: - - Each mountain range that towers - In desert grandeur o'er the darkening scene, - Looks like a spirit standing now between - Another world and ours! - - Oh! ye time-honoured hills, - The Ancient, the Immortal--is it not - A high-born privilege ne'er to be forgot, - To feel none of earth's ills? - - Sublime ye are as Heaven! - Though bleak not barren, silent yet not dumb, - From out your shadows health and music come, - And thronging thoughts are given! - - Not worthless is your aim, - To stand from age to age, from hour to hour, - The Almighty's temple, token of his power, - And record of his name! - - - - - No. XII.--TWILIGHT. - - - NOW enter we within - The shadows of the ev'ning, as they wind - Around the mountains' summits, and remind - Our startled souls of sin, - - Coiling, like serpent twist, - Round every thought and impulse; thus the night - Brings down its sable curtain o'er the sight, - And veils the world in mist. - - The shrill-piped curlew's song - Wanders, like poesy, in distant glades; - And inexpressive notes that to eve's shades - Are fitted, pass along! - - The beetle's drone is heard, - Dull, sluggish, heavy, in the dark-hued lane: - And, hark! afar, the melancholy strain - Of Echo!--twilight's bard! - - At this lone hour we seek - Some quiet spot, to meditation free;-- - When the Material we do not see, - Then Fancy may bespeak - - Aught that she will;--the dim - And shadowy her peopled world, she finds - Forms in the darkness;--in the troublous winds - Can trace a conqueror's hymn! - - Sleep has its dreams, and night - Its inspirations,--bounding, changing still,-- - Imagination on some shrouded hill - Does, eagle-like, alight. - - Ah! not an hour ago - Here hamlets stood, and palaces, and fields: - What man has furnished, what creation yields, - And what the earth does grow: - - And now, where are they all? - Gone with the mighty, vanished with the past: - For twilight, enviously, has o'er them cast - Her black unpiercing pall, - - And shut all out to sight.-- - Oh! bat-eyed vision! Oh! weak mortal eyes! - Are there no mountains left--no shining skies-- - No rivers clothed in light? - - Are there no happy broods - Of little flowers in rustic ways remote? - No pathways to the woods? And, oh! fell thought, - No golden-foliaged woods? - - Such fancies rise to sight - In night's tranquillity, where Thought is born;-- - But back the laughing world will come with morn-- - Life is not all a blight! - - Should clouded be to-day, - Bring yesterday, and all its joys to view;-- - Though no to-morrow offers to renew - Their smile--'tis not away! - - 'Twill dawn in after-time - On memory.--The charm of Nature's looks, - The voice of birds, the minstrelsy of brooks, - Live ever in their prime! - - - - - No. XIII.--MOONLIGHT ON LAND. - - - THE early bridal Moon - Comes in her splendour forth, and walks between - The stars of Heaven, like an anointed queen - Amid her maids at noon. - - Now from the sleeping hills - The spectral mist-wreaths quickly pass away, - Beneath her pale, but earth enamoured ray, - And glory all things fills. - - Forth let us wander, led - By odours sweet; leaving th' accustomed way, - The valley seek we, where the moonbeams stray, - Like May-flowers newly shed! - - The distant streamlets sing - Their vesper hymn.--Is there a voice below - Can give such music, mingled with such woe, - Or can such rapture bring? - - In the far wild we hear - That soothing tone its murmurings repeat, - And the more sad, the sweeter, as is meet - The spirit lone to cheer. - - Fair is the sky, and fair - The earth; and yet 'tis but the moon, this night, - That lights them both, and makes them look so bright,-- - Clothes them in beauty rare! - - And who are they that come - Into the moonlight from the tranquil shade, - And then shrink back, as to be seen afraid, - With feelings that are dumb? - Two lovers fond and true - Holding communion with each other's hearts;-- - The first pure glow of love that ne'er departs, - Which moonlight scenes renew. - - Who has not on the moon - Looked long and musingly, and, looking, dreamed - Of love and loveliness? Who has not deemed - Its ray a granted boon? - - The unveiled orb of night-- - To which the sighs and orisons, flow'r-wreathed, - Of lovers in all ages have been breathed,-- - Bathes all she sees in light. - - Her tracery is rich - With images Mosaic, soft inlaid;-- - Forms, heav'n-traced, slumber 'twixt the light and shade, - In every quiet niche. - - Moonlight is not like eld,-- - For it is young, and bright, and fresh and clear; - But age the features sharpens, and brings near - Resemblances withheld: - So moonlight in its pride - Outlines the landscape, and brings out to view - Scenes of bright promise, and of fairy hue, - By glen and mountain side! - - In moonlit mead or dell - My soul endenizened, imbibes a tone - Of nature-nurtured truth, which still is prone - A plaintive tale to tell. - - - - - No. XIV.--MOONLIGHT AT SEA. - - - HOW beautiful the chaste - And glorious moonlight glitters on the wave! - Like diamond glancing upward from its cave, - By rushing waters paced! - - The home-bound seaman hails - Its ray auspicious, as it gayly flits - Before him on his ocean-path, or sits - Like silver on the sails! - - Profusely thrown in showers - The dancing beam with every wave curl dips, - Like sunlight sprinkled on the bearded lips - Of humble meadow-flowers. - - On the lone beetling cliff, - Where moonlight streams in all its glory bright, - I see below the fishers, by its light, - Haul beechward their rude skiff: - - And high above, the cot - Which they call home, stands in the glad moonlight, - Dear to their hearts and welcome to their sight, - When they are far afloat. - - Here, as I linger, rapt, - In the lone presence of the ocean free, - Suspended like a bird above the sea, - My bounding soul is apt - - To mingle, as its own, - Among the waters, like a privileged thing; - Or, as a seamew spreads its radiant wing, - On the wild breezes thrown, - - To wander far away - Above the breakers, and then strength inhale; - Or float, like one inspired, upon the gale, - And all its might survey. - - The grey sea, like grey time, - Rolls onward till it traces its fixed bound, - And then resumes its slow accustomed round, - Fettered like measured rhyme! - - The hollow of God's hand - Might hold it; and, though restless in its pride, - It cannot outflow its appointed tide, - Or overrun the land. - - When the rude tempest sings, - And waves run high, and harsh the thunder's threats - Assail the ear, the seaman ne'er forgets - The promise moonlight brings: - - Amid the lashing foam, - When its soft smile anoints the boiling wave; - It tracks his pathway, prompts his soul to brave - Whatever perils come. - - Homeward his vessel drifts, - With beauty fair behind it and before; - Hope leads it onward to the wished-for shore, - And all the heart uplifts. - - Like mellow light of years, - Long since evanished, on the memory, - The moonlight falls upon the bounding sea, - And the whole present cheers! - - - - - No. XV.--HOME SCENES. - - - AS young bird from its nest, - At morn, floats upward--onward--and away; - And when the night brings down its shadows grey. - Returns unto its rest, - - Ev'n thus the youthful mind - Goes forward to the world; partakes its cares - And fleeting joys,--is tempted by its snares; - But can no refuge find: - - The freshness of his home - Goes with him, guidingly, where'er he wends; - A star-like light upon his steps attends-- - A ray from Heaven's bright dome! - - In all his toil and fret, - The quiet fields and gentle streams he knew, - When youth clothed all around in fairest hue, - His soul can ne'er forget: - - For still their memories come, - Like poetry, to his spirit;--as a tone - Of music's echo on the waters thrown, - And heard 'mid evening's gloom. - - In brumal age, the dreams - Of home refresh the soul, as purples pied - Peep up from out the snows, and smile beside - Winter's deserted streams; - - As violets on a rock - They cheer the solitude,--their promise dawns - Upon the mind, like moonlight o'er the lawns-- - Or joy to one grief-broke. - - Home of our youth, what spot - On earth is like thee? Scenes of early days, - Oh! where upon your equals can we gaze? - What palace like the cot - - Where childhood first its eyes - Oped to the day, and marvelled what could be - The world around it? Is there aught we see - Can be compared to skies - - Like those which earliest shone - Upon our path, and like a sunray bright, - Brought with it, freshly, dawnings of the light - That ne'er can be forgone? - - Landscapes of other climes, - Though bountiful in beauty, what are ye - To the fair scenes of home, where'er it be? - Sacred as churchward chimes. - - High may the mountains tower - Into the heavens, and grandeur fill the scene, - The valleys and the pastures may be green, - The hill-sides still in flower, - - Of other lands, where stray - The exile's feet; but none are e'er so fair - Unto his soul, as the blest landscapes where - His visions fly away. - - Those sordid cares beside, - That cloud the mind, 'mong earth-born woes and ills. - Come soothing thoughts of home, as 'tween far hills - The gentle streamlets glide! - - - - - POETICAL ASPIRATIONS. - - -A SMALL volume of poems, entitled "POETICAL ASPIRATIONS," was published -by me, my first adventure, in 1830, and was favourably received. That -volume was dedicated to MRS ROBERTSON of EDNAM HOUSE, Kelso, a lady -whose many virtues are universally acknowledged wherever she is known, -and whose kindness to me it will always be my pride to remember. A -second edition, with additional poems, appeared in 1833. From the -latter volume I have selected the following pieces, the remainder, -bearing evident marks of inexperience and juvenility of taste, not -being deemed worthy of further reprint. - - - - - POETICAL ASPIRATIONS. - - - - - THE ALPINE HORN. (1) - - - SUNSET is streaming o'er the snow-clad crown - Of the high Alps, while darkness settles down - Through all their countless valleys and defiles, - Mixing with shade, where sunlight never smiles: - Ere from the topmost peak, its latest ray - Has, with its wing of glory, sped away, - The mountain shepherd's horn has sounded there, - Like the Muezzin's evening call to prayer; - "Praise God the Lord!" and hark! from all around - A thousand voices answer to the sound: - From every clift, and crag, and ledge, and linn, - The notes of worship and of praise begin. - "Praise God the Lord!" the echoes catch the strain, - And far and near repeat the sound again; - They wake it in the wild and in the wood, - Through all the shades of that far solitude: - Bearing it on, o'er valley and ravine, - Where, till this hour, such sound has never been; - Then, in the distance, fainter grown the lay, - The lingering notes at length dissolve away. - - When all is silent, on the mountain sod - The humble shepherds bend the knee to God; - They kneel in darkness and in peace, to share - The sweet and social intercourse of prayer: - With gleams of manly thought, their prayers arise, - Like incense from the altar, to the skies. - Their temple is the mountain and the mist, - And theirs the shrine where minister the blest; - They kneel before the Spirit of the world, - He who this universe of mountains hurled - Together with a word, and chaos spread - Mid majesty and grandeur, dark and dread. - Prostrate in presence of the Great First Cause, - They own his power, while they obey his laws: - Their thoughts are deeper than th' abyss beneath, - Yet while their humble orisons they breathe, - Their souls are soaring far beyond each height - On which the stars are clustering, with the night; - And while they view, with soul-admiring glance, - The world of fancy, nature, and romance, - That circles round their native rocks, they deem - The glories of the earth an empty dream. - - But hark! that horn again resounds aloud, - Like sudden music bursting from a cloud: - "Good night!" "Good night!" along the mountain breaks, - "Good night!" "Good night!" again each echo wakes; - And all the scene, below, around, above, - Teems with "Good night!" the evening pledge of love. - The eagle, soaring, waits upon the wing, - Charmed with the notes the syren echoes sing; - The startled chamois bounds along the hill, - Yet, half-enraptured, turns to listen still; - From mount to valley, and from wold to wild, - The sounds are borne along, till, faint and mild, - "Good night," shall linger in the echoes' song, - When all to silence and to sleep belong. - - - - - REFLECTIONS ON DEATH. - - - ONE day--the sunbeams danced along the glade - As lovers dance upon their bridal eve-- - I wandered to the wood, where all was bloom; - The earth breathed fresh with fragrance, and the trees - Dropped, as it were, the dew of silent joy. - I loved to listen to the song of birds, - Whose music wild, yet sweet, came o'er the ear, - Telling of ecstasy; and, more than all, - I loved to view the flowers, those stars of earth, - As stars are flowers of heaven, those glimpses bright - Of a far higher, purer, lovelier world; - Those day dreams of Creation, blooming wild, - Scattered on earth, like angel-smiles in heaven. - Oh! I was happy then, for all above, - And all below, was fair, and pure, and bright; - And then I thought that happier still I'd be - If my freed soul could fleet, as dew from grass, - When the glad morning sun is shining forth, - Passing so silently away from earth; - If that were all--if death itself were _death_-- - But after death comes life, more true than this. - - I lay and listened to a wild bird's song, - A little shining, singing, flutt'ring thing: - Its song was full of sweetness and of love: - When, lo! it fell before me on the ground, - And found its grave among a bank of flowers-- - Who would not die, to find a grave so sweet? - I ran and lifted it--'twas cold and stiff, - And in its little heart an arrow sought - Unsanctified admittance, quivering there, - Like an unwelcome messenger of fate. - The spoiler came--I drew his arrow out, - And threw it on the earth--he trod it down, - As he passed onward in his careless path. - - And this is death! How sudden, and how strong! - His harvest ne'er begins nor ends, for still - His scythe is ready ere the corn is ripe, - We cannot shun the stroke; but if prepared - To meet it when it falls, its sting is gone! - - Yet death itself is never terrible, - But 'tis the thought of what comes after death - That wakes the coward in the soul of man-- - Of man carnal and unregenerate. - In the lone grave the body soon is clothed - In vileness, and this most delicate frame - Becomes the food of worms, the gorging feast - Of those vile particles of putresence - We loathe in life to look at--which we spurn - And trample on with horror. =Pride=, bend low! - And meditate on this, that slimy worms, - Gnome-like and insatiate epicures, - Must feed on us to fulness, as on dainties, - When we, like they themselves, become corruption! - This is the pang, the poison, that makes dark - The brightest joys, and chills the warmest hopes - Of all who look no farther than the grave,-- - That calms the laughing thought within the heart: - This is the weapon that affrights the bold, - Makes foolishness of wisdom, and creates - The fear of death, because it terminates - But in corruption and the feast of worms. - - To go into the grave--if that were all, - No one would shrink from it; but that the thought - That this fair form should formless be, the shape - Be shapeless, decomposed, and fall to nought, - Preys on the mind, and hinders it from rest. - And few there are who seek the saving peace - That here can reconcile us to our doom. - The soul remains entire, though in the grave - The body lies, and slowly wastes away. - Then let us strive to find, through God's good grace, - That faith by which alone the soul becomes - "One perfect Chrysolite," and in Christ's blood, - Relieved from stain of guilt, is rendered fit - To stand, approved, before a holy God. - - - - - THROUGH THE WOOD. - - MODERN BALLAD. - - - THROUGH the wood, through the wood, - Warbles the merle! - Through the wood, through the wood, - Gallops the earl! - Yet he heeds not its song - As it sinks on his ear, - For he lists to a voice - Than its music more dear. - - Through the wood, through the wood, - Once and away, - The castle is gained, - And the lady is gay: - When her smile waxes sad, - And her eyes become dim; - Her bosom is glad, - If she gazes on him! - - Through the wood, through the wood, - Over the wold, - Rides onward a band - Of true warriors bold; - They stop not for forest, - They halt not for water; - Their chieftain in sorrow - Is seeking his daughter. - - Through the wood, through the wood, - Warbles the merle; - Through the wood, through the wood, - Prances the earl; - And on a gay palfrey - Comes pacing his bride; - While an old man sits smiling, - In joy, by her side. - - - - - SONG OF THE EXILE. - - - BANISHED for ever! - From the scene of my birth, - For ever! for ever! - From all I loved dearest, and cherished on earth, - From the smile of my friends, and the home of their hearth, - To come again never! - - Banished for ever! - From hope and from home, - For ever! for ever! - Away in the desert of distance to roam, - Like a ship tempest-tost on the wild sea-wave's foam, - To land again never! - - Banished for ever! - When all have gone by, - For ever! for ever! - The gladness of earth, and the brightness of sky, - There's no fear but to live, and no hope but to die-- - To _feel_ again never! - - Banished for ever! - 'Tis madness to me, - For ever! for ever! - To think of the land I shall ne'er again see, - Of the days that have been, and the days that shall be-- - That thought leaves me never! - - Banished for ever! - Be this my adieu-- - For ever! for ever! - Let me roam where I will, ne'er again shall I view, - Scenes so cherished and fair, friends so kind and so true; - Oh, never! oh, never! - - Banished for ever! - Dear land of my birth, - We sever! we sever! - An exile from all I love dearest on earth, - From the smile of my friends, from the home of their hearth-- - For ever! for ever! - - - - - TO FAME. - - - IN the seclusion of my solitude, - Thy echo reached me, and awoke a brood - Of slumbering fancies into life and light; - A spell seemed thrown around me, and my mind - Was full of unfixed images; the bright - And ready impulses of thought, confined - And struggling to be free; a light had dawned - Across my path, as if by Heaven's command. - - A lofty and immeasurable longing - Sprung up within my breast, beyond control, - A throbbing multitude of fancies thronging - Strove to o'ermaster and o'ermatch the whole: - Creation rose from chaos, as at first, - A water in the wilderness to quench my thirst. - The complicated elements of Mind, - No longer dim, confused, and undefined, - Rolled into order, and the springs of thought - Became then less obscure, and less remote. - My mind, not yet in union with its thoughts, - Seemed sad and solitary; o'er it swept - A calmness like the soft sun-breeze that floats - Above the wave, that light and languid leapt: - Then high imaginations, restless, past - Into being--various, vivid, vast-- - And thought, admixing with the mind's emotion, - Assumed a depth and fervour of devotion, - The semblance and the hope, if not the true - Sole inspiration of poetic lore; - Then truth, at times, like light, came struggling through, - And I was sad and heart-forgone no more. - - For thou became my mistress--I have thrown - My heart and hope on thee--I cannot bear - That, with my life, my name should pass away, - And be forgot, when I am dead and gone; - And in the grave, when mouldering in decay, - That my remembrance should be buried there. - I care not for the world, or the world's ways, - I scorn alike its censure and its praise; - But from the mental few, by heaven designed - To rate and recognise a kindred mind, - A sure approval I will strive to gain, - For this is fame indeed,--all other is but vain. - - - - - TO A BEE. - - - HA! pretty little bee, - So artless, blithe, and free! - Whither are you wandering - Thus so gaily on the wing? - To every flower o'erhung with dew, - Whose leaves are blossoming for you; - To the wild flowers far away, - Bright and beautiful as they; - From each blooming one to sip - Sweets, like those of woman's lip, - Oh! happy, happy, happy bee, - Would it were as free to me! - Away! away! for ever thus - Your airy flight has past from us; - And you are gone where flowers invite, - A pilgrimage of rich delight. - - But come not near the hollyhock, (2) - Let not its blooms your fancy mock; - Shun its nectaries so fair, - Death is ever lurking there; - On its petals if you light, - You'll be seized with instant blight. - Shun it as you onward fly! - Sip its poison and you die! - But hie thee to the lavender, - Pretty little pilferer! - Or the limetree, in whose breast - You oft have sipped yourself to rest. - Go, wanderer, to the healthful wild, - By the heath-flower's bloom beguiled, - Where sunshine, like a robe of gold, - Flings its fond light o'er wood and wold; - There, in the calyx of the flower, - You love the best at noontide hour, - Prepare the mead, whose luscious draught, - The best of former nations quaff'd. - Little rambler, do you know - Why it is we love you so? - It is for the ceaseless hymn, - That you warble, as you swim - Through the odoriferous air, - Light as fairy gossamer-- - 'Tis, for you are always gay, - Making life a holiday, - Flying leisurely o'er earth, - A wingëd messenger of mirth. - - When you meet the butterfly, - 'Neath the lovely summer sky, - Do you show to her the bower, - That contains the sweetest flower? - Or do you take herself to be, - While thus wandering so free, - A floweret floating on the air, - Making all delightful there? - - When the moon bursts forth above, - Tinging all with light and love, - When with soft and silky trace, - Slumber finds a resting place - On the eyes of bees and men; - Snug within some floweret then - You have made your bed, till day - Shows the sweets your dreams pourtray. - - - - - THE STORM. - - - THE waves rise in rebellion--far away - The wreck-doomed ship is borne resistless on; - And hark! the screaming sea-mews trill their lay - Of terrible delight--its echo's moan - Dies wildly on the tempest, and the spray - Dashes around us, chilling hope to stone; - And vast and fathomless the mountain waves, - Yawning around us, marshall forth our graves. - - The clouds move like the billows o'er the ocean, - Clashing in fury as they hurry by; - They mingle fiercely, and in rude commotion, - As if a hurricane swept o'er the sky. - Now, let the soul rely on her devotion, - Now, let the prayer to HIM be lifted high, - Who stills the storm, and calms the mighty wave, - "And strong to smite, is also strong to save." - - See! yon poor wretch dashed from the vessel's prow-- - He catches at the spar that hurries past, - 'Tis vain! the waves are mightier still--and now, - Beneath their force his strength gives way at last: - Onward we drift--but, lo! o'er heaven's brow - The moon her welcome light, at length, has cast, - Like hope o'er madness, but it tends to show - The life that smiles above, the death that yawns below. - - - - - "LAZARUS, COME FORTH." - - - THUS Jesus spoke--the earth dismayed - Opened its womb; - The dead man heard, his Lord obeyed; - He left his tomb: - And thousands, unbelievers, saw - The power of God; - Then they believed his holy law, - And word, that burst the sod. - - Thus when he frees the wicked heart - From earth's control, - Sin and ungodliness depart - From the waked soul. - He cleans it by his blood and death-- - To it is given - To know, all peace, all hope, all faith, - All ante-taste of heaven. - - - - - SONNET. - - ON THE APPROACH OF SUMMER. - - - SUMMER approaches, filling earth with flowers, - The skies with beauty, and the woods with song, - While April, like a coy bride, wends along - In tearful smiles, half-wooed by the gay hours. - All nature breathes a welcome to young May, - Summer's bright harbinger, who bears her smile - Through every land, with blooming health the while, - And all are blest who feel her gladd'ning ray. - How pleasant 'tis beneath the summer noon, - When the soft wind hath lulled itself asleep, - On some fair hill a festival to keep, - While fancy on the wing revisits soon - Th' o'erarching world, the true, the pure, the fair, - Gath'ring with bliss all inspiration there. - - - - - BEAUTY. - - - OH! brighter than the brightest star, - That glimmers through the haze of night, - When the blue vault of heaven afar, - Is studded o'er with silver light; - And brighter than that brilliant sky, - May be the glance of woman's eye. - - Oh! lovely as the golden ray - Of sunshine sleeping on the glade, - When morning brightens into day, - And in its radiance melts the shade; - And lovelier than that gorgeous sun, - May be the smile from woman won. - - But beauty does not deign to shine, - In brightness from a woman's eye; - Nor does she in a smile recline, - Blooming, as flowerets do, to die; - All earth-born charms shall fade in death: - Nor change nor ruin beauty hath. - - She dwells but in the pious mind, - Apart for ever from decay; - Where lives the light of heavenly kind, - That shines "unto the perfect day;" - Where Faith and Hope their joy impart-- - Her home is in the virtuous heart. - - - - - TO M. J. R. - - - IS there within my heart a spot - Where thy bright image liveth not, - In its most joyful guise? - Ah, no! though all may be forgot, - Save sorrow, care, and pain, - Yet it securely lies - Within my bosom's secret bowers; - Like dew, descending from above, - On Autumn's seared and withered flowers, - Reviving it again - To happiness and love. - - - - - SONNET. - - A CONTRAST. - - - THE flowers that, unrefreshed with rain or dew, - Pine 'neath the scorching summer's sun away, - Are but the emblems--purer still than they-- - Of hearts that ne'er the blight of sorrow knew, - To contrast with their gladness--for the breast - That welcomes joy back to its shrine again, - After a weary interval of pain, - Enjoys the feeling with a warmer zest: - And when at length the dew-drop lingers o'er - The flowers that sickened with its long delay, - How sweetly do they own its former sway, - And bloom again more lovely than before. - Who would not, for a while then, cherish grief, - To taste the bliss, the rapture of relief? - - - - - SONNET. - - ROSLIN. - - - ROSLIN! thy scattered beauties, rich and wild, - Lie like a garden-map before me spread; - In all thy fairy scenes I gladly tread, - Where sleeps the sun-smile--and the breeze so mild - Enamoured sighs, as to thy presence wed. - Down through thy vale--so lovely and so sweet, - Yet so retiring, like some blushing maid - Apprized of her own beauty--oft I meet, - Two pensive lovers whispering their vows. - Thy woods and thy ravines, thy rocks and caves, - Contain the gleams of grandeur, o'er the brows - Of thy dark crags, the heath-flower freely waves. - Here Drummond sung, sweetly and well, for he - In thy retreats became inspired by thee. - - - - - ON THE BIRTH OF A NIECE. - - E. W. G. - - _11th August, 1828._ - - - THE evening sun had o'er the heavens rolled - His brilliant robe of glory and of gold; - The angels round the throne had just begun - Their vesper hymn of praise--the sweetest one; - The stars were trimming then their lamps of light, - Like watchers, ready for the coming night; - The earth rejoiced through all her numerous fields, - Blest with the crop that generous autumn yields: - The meadow streams subduing music stole, - Like dreams of rapture, to the fainting soul,-- - When thou sprung into being, like the ray - Of early morn, the gleam of dawning day. - Stranger! so bright, so innocent, so fair, - We give thee welcome to our world of care; - Come to partake our sorrow--thou hast known - The pang already, by that stifled moan-- - When rosy pleasure shall her smiles renew, - Come with thy kindred heart, and share them too. - We bless thee, babe! for we have need to bless - A fellow-pilgrim in a world like this, - Where mirth is mockery, and joy a dream, - And we are never happy--though we seem. - Oh! may'st thou never know the ills that we - Have known, and shall know, ere we cease to be: - Be thou thy mother's comfort! thou wert blest - Wert thou, like her, the purest and the best. - - - - - ON HER DEATH, - - _At the Age of Two Years and Two Months._ - - NOT long beside us did the cherub stay: - God's will be done! He gave and took away; - It seemed as if blest memories of heaven, - From whence she came, were to her visions given, - And, tiring soon of earth, whose breath was pain, - Longed to return, and be at rest again. - Too pure for earth, too innocent for grief, - Sweet was her promise, as her sojourn brief. - - - - - SONNET. - - TO HAPPINESS. - - - OH! I do hail thee, Happiness, when thou - Dost shine athwart my path with light and love, - Dispensing joy, like Heaven's aërial bow, - When gathering clouds lour darkly from above. - Oh! I do hail thee, Happiness--the aim - And promise of my being live in thee; - I pine for thee as poets pine for fame, - Or slaves and captives for their liberty; - But fleeting art thou in this vale of strife, - A meteor gleaming o'er a desert heath-- - So seldom comes thy smile to cheer our life, - We learn to hope 'twill visit us in death; - In what bright bower, supremest blessing, may - A mortal find thy never-dying ray? - - - - - THOUGHTS. - - - IN sooth 'tis pleasant on a summer morn, - When the bright sun ascends the orient sky, - And on the mountain zephyr health is borne, - While we inhale it as it murmurs by; - On some lone hill in musing mood to lie, - Then as we watch the day's advancing light, - We learn from it that we but live to die. - The sun will set though shining e'er so bright, - A few short fleeting hours, and all again is night. - - Yet sunshine seldom cheers the lot of life, - 'Tis all a scene of ling'ring pain and woe, - A pilgrimage of fruitless care and strife, - A tide of sorrow that doth ceaseless flow; - Yet some have thought they felt a joy below, - Which to their darker hours did solace prove, - Making their hearts with blissful feelings glow; - And not of earth it seems, but from above - It comes to cheer mankind, and mortals call it love. - - That thought is vain as love's own happiness, - For soon love's sweet illusion is no more; - Then fly those hopes that promised lasting bliss-- - And when the dream of ecstasy is o'er, - We wake, to life, far sadder than before. - It shoots athwart our visions, like the gleam - Of flitting sunshine o'er a desert shore, - Making the wilderness more dreary seem-- - Oh! love is all too like the visions of a dream. - - It boots not now to ponder o'er the past, - Joy blasted oft will mar life's fairest scene; - The beauty of the sky is overcast, - Dark clouds now brood where brightness late hath been; - And thorns appear where once sweet flowers were seen. - Yet hope beams on my soul her soothing light, - Like the first dawning of the morn serene, - Tinging my darkened soul with hues more bright-- - Love ever sorrow brings, as twilight brings the night. - - 'Tis piety alone that can impart - A peace of mind that ne'er will fade away, - A bliss that calms the passions of the heart, - A hope that soothes us even in decay, - Inspires the thought and elevates the lay; - 'Tis this that gives a glory to that hour, - When death relentless seizes on his prey; - Then yet may pleasure dwell in earthly bower, - Though man buds, blooms, and withers, like a summer flower. - - - - - LOCH AWE. (3) - - - OH LAKE! how gentle and how fair art thou, - Above thee and around thee, mountains rise - E'en like a diadem on queenly brow; - Crested in light the snow in masses lies - On Cruachan's cleft head--the eagle flies - In circles o'er thee, and his eyrie makes - Afar upon its summit, from the eyes - Of man removed, for his wild fledgelings' sakes.-- - Sinless and still thou art, most beautiful of lakes! - - Four fairy isles,--like smiles in woman's eye, - Or gems upon her bosom--rise beside - Thy spreading waters, dreamy as the sky, - Whose glories are reflected in thy tide; - While shrubs and flowers are growing in their pride, - And ancient trees, where'er our eyes we turn-- - And, like a melody, thy echoes glide - Within the memory--while grey and stern - Stands, like a spirit of the past, lone old Kilchurn. - - Changeless as Heaven, thoughtful as the stars, - Whose light thou mak'st thy lover, ever true; - Sweet are thy glades and glens; no discord mars - Their quiet now--as when the Bruce o'erthrew - The men of Lorn, and gained his crown anew-- - Save when sweeps by the spirit of the storm; - Fearful and wonderful is then thy hue, - And terrible thy wailings, as thy form, - While Cruachan's wild shriek is heard to far Cairngorm. - - Home of the hunter! birth-place of the Gael! - Why do my musings still return to thee? - Why does the hymn of holy Innis-hail, - Like rhyme of childhood, haunt my memory? - My boy-years have departed, since to me - Thy wildness, solitude, and grandeur brought - Sources of inspiration, ne'er to be - Forgotten or forborne--my mind has sought - Relief from homely scenes, recurring to remote. - - - - - THE WOLF. (4) - - _A Fragment._ - - - 'TIS evening,--one of those rich eves in June, - That look as bright, and feel as warm as noon; - The setting sun its parting ray has thrown - Italia's smiling groves and bowers upon: - Amid the balm of meadow, vale, and hill, - Where all is beautiful, and all is still; - A bard would deem, 'neath such a tranquil sky, - He heard the stream of time while rushing by: - 'Tis the soft hour, to love that doth belong, - To village pastime, and to village song: - But why do happy peasants meet no more? - The village song, the village dance is o'er: - Why is the tabor silent on the plain? - Why does the mountain-pipe refuse its strain? - Where is the lover fond, the trusting maid? - They shun each other, and desert the shade. - Is _this_ Italia's sky, so calm, so fair? - Where are its joyous sons, its laughing daughters where? - · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · - - Hark! 'tis a wild, a solitary cry, - Unheard till now beneath Italia's sky; - And well Italia's sons may shrink to hear - A cry, that fills all who have heard with fear,-- - It is the Alpine wolf's terrific bay, - Roaming abroad ferocious for its prey: - Soon as the sun of earth its farewell takes, - The Alpine wolf his solitude forsakes, - And, like a demon, rushing to the plain, - Scatters the flock, and panic-strikes the swain. - - One summer eve, a monster of the kind, - Hungry for prey, had left his troop behind; - Ranging alone, he spread dismay where'er - His bay was heard, as if a host were there: - Beneath his tusk of steel, his breath of flame, - Italia's bowers a wilderness became: - Grain for a while and sheep he stole away, - But, quitting these, he sought a nobler prey,-- - The tender babe, even in its mother's view, - He bore to crags, where no one dared pursue: - Until the province, late the happiest one - That brightens 'neath Italia's gorgeous sun, - Became, throughout, all desolate and lone, - For there the fell destroyer forth had gone. - · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · - - Lo! like a pageant, slowly up the vale, - A band advances, clad in glittering mail; - While, in the front, a knight of noble mien, - And lofty plume, above the rest is seen: - The peasants from their huts look forth with fear, - But dare not quit them, lest the wolf be near; - And then the chief, advancing from the rest, - At sound of trump, the peasants thus addressed,-- - "A purse of gold, and his own diamond ring, - As a reward, are offered by the king, - To him who slays the wolf!" The trumpet's blast - Re-echoed loud, as that gay pageant passed. - - Meanwhile, each swain, in hope to gain the prize, - Shouldering his gun, to kill the monster tries; - But home returning oft without his prey, - All left the task to Giulio to essay,-- - For Giulio was the best, the bravest youth - Within the province, or the realm, in sooth: - Kind to his mates, and to his mistress true, - Foremost in pastime and in peril too; - Whene'er the river overflowed its bounds, - And the wild flood o'erswept the pleasant grounds, - Bearing away, in its retiring course, - The helpless flocks, too feeble for its force, - Giulio was first among the village brave, - To stretch the hand to succour and to save; - He was a marksman too, and well could hit - The target's eye, when all fell wide of it: - Him, therefore, did they fix upon to be - Their champion--their meadows rich to free - From the destroyer--each resigned his claim - To the reward,--Let Giulio win the same! - - And Giulio ranged afar from morn till eve, - But still no wolf could Giulio perceive; - He searched each wood, explored each copse and cave, - As a fierce gnome invades the quiet grave; - Still did he hear his roar, his ravage see. - But, still unseen himself, the wolf continued free. - - Three days had sped, and Giulio had not traced - The monster out, although he tracked his waste; - And standing on a mountain's rugged brow, - Giulio, despairing, breathed to Heaven a vow, - That he would bring the wolf in triumph slain, - Or never see his native home again, - And Giulio's vow was kept--the monster fell, - But not by him--a sadder tale I tell! - - One eve--it was the fourth--he threw him down, - Fatigued and foot-sore, on the mountain brown; - No wolf as yet had crossed his anxious way, - Although, where'er he roamed, he heard his bay; - Loth to return until the wolf he slew, - Yet, ah! his heart, to love, to feeling, true, - Led him to where his lover's hut arose, - As if her vicinage could soothe his woes. - There for awhile he lingered, and he wept - The tear of fond remembrance--slumber crept - Upon his eyes, for he was overspent, - Wasted for want of needful nourishment: - Before him in the moonlight rolled a stream, - Whose murmur lulled him to a blissful dream: - A dream of love, of happiness and pride,-- - He thought he slew the wolf, and won his blushing bride. - - Beyond the river, to its very edge - Along the bank, there grew a bushy hedge, - Where oft alone, beneath the twilight dim, - The lovely maid would steal to think of him;-- - A stir!--a motion!--it was not the breeze - That shook the hedge,--for why waved not the trees? - He started and awoke--again it shook,-- - His gun was in his hand--one hurried look, - One rapid touch--the fatal ball was sped,-- - A long wild shriek was heard, and Giulio's dream was read. - - In triumph now, he thought of home again,-- - The prize was his, the wolf at length was slain-- - Swift as the ball that from his rifle flew, - He reached the river, and swam gaily through: - The corpse lay there before him in the light!-- - Why breaks that mournful shriek upon the night? - Why motionless stands Giulio gazing there, - A form of stone, a statue of despair? - At length he spoke--"Is _this_ the wolf I've sought - In glen, and mount, and precipice remote? - Its skin is soft, its eyes are bright and fair, - And still they smile on me,--the wolf's should glare; - But sweet though sad, still do they charm my view, - Like my fair bride's, the beautiful, the blue-- - The wolf!--ah, horror! 'tis herself I've slain! - I feel it, like a fire within my brain, - And on my heart--no tear is in mine eye-- - For her alone I lived,--with her I die." - The stream is near, he lifts her as a child, - While from his o'erpressed heart there bursts a wild - And fiendish laugh,--the peasants wondering hear, - And in a crowd assemble, half in fear: - In the broad moonlight then, as in a dream, - A figure rushed before them to the stream; - That form did bear another--on the brink - He pauses not--one plunge--they sink! they sink! - 'Twas Giulio and his bride!--they rise no more,-- - And onward rolls the stream as smoothly as before. - - - - - THE APRIL CLOUD. - - - FAIR as the feather of a dove - That has in gloom been dipt; - Like to a smile, that, flung from love, - Its banishment hath wept; - See yonder little cloud swims by, - As if it sprung to birth, - Mid summer sunshine of the sky, - And winter storms of earth. - - Alas! there ne'er was angel yet - Who from her heaven took wing, - But when the air of earth she met - Became a fallen thing: - And thus yon cloud, that seems so dim, - When near our earth 'tis driven, - Would look all light, if it would skim - Far upward nearer Heaven. - - - - - SPRING. - - - CAN aught be more magnificent than Spring? - Mountain and mead, and foliage and flower, - Assume a bridal look, as if the Sun - Had solemnized his nuptials with the Earth. - A green and growing grandeur consecrates - The general land, like an anointed Queen; - The soil begins to quicken with the birth, - And bounteously proseminates its gifts; - A glory reigns supreme o'er all, a Balm - That moves, like Inspiration, in the soul, - And gives a motive to each quiet thought, - Stirring, in transport, like a little bird. - Creation seems a path to brighter worlds-- - A track to better homes. A permeant good - Pervades the Universe, and all is joy. - The river runs, like one of nimble foot, - And smiling aspect, to embrace the sea, - Henceforth incorporate; even as the youth, - Of fervent spirit and of sanguine hope, - Comes from his home obscure, and wanders forth - To mingle with the world, and there is lost. - The ruminating Ocean is at peace, - And its faint murmur--for its voice is ne'er - All silent--like a half forgotten tone - Seems but the echo of a broken chime, - As if a part of memory, pilgrim-like, - Had gone in quest of all, and died away - Amid the distant traces of the past. - The gentle breeze comes from its groves of spice, - And fragrance bears throughout the Virgin air; - And hark! the woodland music--warblings soft - Steal on the gladdened ear--from every hedge, - From every forest dim, a voice proceeds - Of deep-felt rapture, praise and gratitude. - The swan disports upon the quiet lake, - And shares the cheerfulness that all enjoy; - While thoughts, without a voice, of Heaven remote - In the still waters mirrored, stir its breast.-- - All circumstance of language is too faint - The beautiful of Nature to pourtray; - The eloquent sense, the feeling sensitive, - Alone holds free communion with her charms: - While thought awakes, like day-dawn, and goes forth - To gather stores of knowledge;--like a draught - Of the pure fountain to the unrefreshed, - The bloom of Spring exhilarates the mind, - And gives a tone to virtue--its approach - Is as the coming of sweet health to one - Long time afflicted, for its bloom is blest. - - - - - POESY. - - - ITS sweetest song the cygnet sings - As a soft prelude to its death, - And in that song expends its breath;-- - What boots it that the Poet flings - His wildest notes on high, - Or strikes with truest hand the strings, - If all his strains must die? - And why should he his notes prolong, - If no one listens to his song? - - Yet can the Poet ne'er resign - The lyre he loves, for it alone - Consoles him, when all else is gone; - Its spirit, like the breath divine, - That stirred the water's face, - Pervades ev'n to the farthest line - Of universal space; - And music through the whole is flung, - As when the morning angels sung. - - An echo lingers on each peak, - In every vale, on every hill-- - Should men not listen, angels will; - For Poesy shall never speak, - Shall never sing in vain; - In solitude the breeze shall seek - And still repeat her strain, - Where'er, like an aërial tone, - Her spirit and her voice have gone. - - She moves o'er flowers--her handmaid fair, - Bright Summer, in a joyous dance - Doth still before her path advance, - Sweet blossoms strewing every where, - Which, falling, grow divine; - Fresh incense crowds upon the air, - And floats above her shrine, - Like beauty, when her welcome voice - Makes the whole universe rejoice. - - Why then should her adorer fear, - Or why her votary despond?-- - Partaker of a bliss beyond - All feelings, all enjoyments here, - His impulses sublime - Soar, ev'n in this contracted sphere, - O'er nature and o'er time; - And her undying triumphs spread - A glow like glory round his head. - - - - - SONNET. - - TO A FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR. - - - 'TIS evening, and the summer has put on - Her richest dress, her way with flowers is strewed, - Beauty and music dwell in every wood, - And bower and meadow, hill and valley lone; - A gentle shower is o'er, the earth has wept - Its fragrance into freshness. In this hour,-- - When in a flood of glory all is dipped, - By the soft influence of a higher power,-- - My spirit leaves its prison-house, and flies - Towards the sweet haunts of thy pleasant home, - Where, lover-like, thy river[1] loves to roam;-- - 'Tis there I see thee with my mental eyes, - And hold communion with thee day by day, - Though now we never meet, and haply never may. - - [1] The Tweed, near Kelso. - - - - - THE GIPSY'S LULLABY. - - - SLEEP, baby, sleep! - Though thy fond mother's breast, - Where thy young head reclines, - Is a stranger to rest; - And oh! may soft slumber - Descend on thine e'e, - That the sorrow she feels - May be shared not by thee. - Sleep, baby, sleep! - - Thy father has gone - On his perilous track, - And thy mother will weep, - Till he safely comes back; - But rest thee in peace, - With soft sleep in thine e'e, - Though the tear is in her's - That is shared not by thee. - Sleep, baby, sleep! - - - - - WOODLAND SONG. - - - WILL you go to the woodlands with me, with me, - Will you go to the woodlands with me? - When the sun's on the hill, and all nature is still, - Save the sound of the far-dashing sea. - - For I love to lie lone on the hill, the hill, - I love to lie lone on the hill, - When earth, sea, and sky, in loveliness vie, - And all nature around me is still. - - Then my fancy is ever awake, awake, - My fancy is never asleep; - Like a bird on the wing, like a swan on the lake, - Like a ship far away on the deep. - - And I love 'neath the green boughs to lie, to lie; - I love 'neath the green boughs to lie; - And see far above, like the smiling of love, - A glimpse, now and then, of the sky. - - When the hum of the forest I hear, I hear, - When the hum of the forest I hear,-- - 'Tis solitude's prayer, pure devotion is there, - And its breathings I ever revere.-- - - I kneel myself down on the sod, the sod, - I kneel myself down on the sod, - 'Mong the flowers and wild heath, and an orison breathe - In lowliness up to my God. - - Then peace doth descend on my mind, my mind, - Then peace doth descend on my mind; - And I gain greater scope to my spirit and hope, - For both then become more refined. - - Oh! whatever my fate chance to be, to be, - My spirit shall never repine, - If a stroll on the hill, if a glimpse of the sea, - If the hum of the forest be mine. - - - - - SONNET. - - THE OCEAN. - - - OH! that the Ocean were my element! - And I could dwell among its deepest waves, - Like one whose home is in its gushing caves, - Beneath the waters, whether tame or rent. - Would I could roam down where the Mermaid laves - Her half-formed limbs!--for Envy comes not there, - Nor Pride nor Hatred, nor is Malice sent, - Nor the deep sullenness of dark Despair. - Would I were not of earth--but of the sea! - And held communion with its creatures fair: - Gentle in its gentleness, but whene'er - A tempest shook it, and the winds were free, - My bounding spirit would delight to soar, - Float in its foam, and revel in its roar! - - - - - MOUNT HOREB. (5) - - - OH, Holy Mount! on every side - Deserts are stretching far and wide, - Where thou, uptowering to the sky, } - Dost shoot thy double head on high, } - Mount Horeb, and Mount Sinai; } - And when the weary traveller stands, - Alone amid the sterile sands, - Seeking for water, vain pursuit, - To quench his thirst, grown absolute, - Groaning, as fainter grows his hope, - For water!--water!--but a drop, - His ever burning thirst t' appease; - He through the sudden moonlight sees - Thy dark and shadowy masses rise, - A solace to his weary eyes; - Then gladly on he wends, for he - Becomes refreshed at sight of thee; - For well he knows, that springs and fruit, - Above, below, thy sides salute; - For o'er the wastes of Rephidim, - There is no spot of peace for him, - Until he reach the rock, whence burst - A well, to quench the raging thirst - Of Israel, when they murmured there, - For water, in their deep despair. - - Thrice Sacred Mount! how oft hast thou, - (Though none but pilgrims tread thee now,) - Been hallowed as the blest abode - Of the Most High! Jehovah! God! - Whene'er in furthering his plan - Of mercy and of love to man, - He deigned to touch our earth, to hold - Communion with his Seers of old, - His presence consecrated thee, - His temple and his throne to be. - 'Twas on thy Mount that God, concealed - Within the burning bush, revealed - To Moses his command, to free - His people from their slavery. - There, from the midst of fire and flame, - He did his perfect law proclaim: - Then seemed God's presence in their sight, - A great, a mighty burst of light - Upon thy topmost mount, a fire - Devouring, brighter, deeper, higher, - Than e'er their eyes beheld, a crown - Of glory on thy head, that down - Through all the desert brightness past, - Like wild flame from a holocaust: - And gazing on thy glorious height, } - Israel was dazzled by the sight } - Of that intolerable light. } - - Pursued by persecution's flame, - Elijah to the desert came; - And as he rested in thy cave, - Which shelter and concealment gave, - God spoke! he lay entranced in fear, - "Elijah! speak! what dost thou here?" - He answered,--"Jezabel abhorred - Hath put the prophets to the sword, - And I alone escaped, to be - A prophet and a priest to thee." - Then the Almighty gave command, - "Go forth, and on the mountain stand!" - But ere Elijah could reply, - A great and mighty wind passed by, - Which rent the mountains and the rocks - In pieces, by resistless shocks: - The desert sands uprose afar, - Moving like giant forms in war; - But, when the tempest ceased to rave, - Elijah still within the cave, - Remained unhurt, unmoved, alone-- - A mighty earthquake's shock anon - Shook to its base the Sacred Mount, - And soon a fire, like a small fount, - Came bursting from the highest spot, - Increasing, but consuming not. - The earthquake vanished as it came, - And after it that holy flame; - And hark! a still small voice was heard, - Like sweetest music from a bird; - A still small voice! that speaks to youth - Of wisdom, piety, and truth: - Elijah heard--with solemn pace, - (His mantle covering his face,) - He rose and stood without the cave, - Relying on God's power to save: - The hurricane had past away, - And calm and bright the prospect lay; - Far up the double mountain stood, - Varied by water and by wood; - He saw the herbage thickly grow, - The bubbling springs, and far below - He saw the semicircular fount, - That like a bent bow skirts the mount; - He saw the desert spread beneath, - Like an extended vale of death; - He saw the blue sky far above, - Light up in one bright blaze of love; - A burst, of sunshine fell on him, - To which all other light was dim; - He heard again that still small voice, - Which made his inmost heart rejoice: - It was the Lord! and power he gave - Elijah, to anoint and save. - - Thrice Blessed Mount! thou art a sign, - A type of penitence divine; - Whene'er in darkness and in fear, - We wander in the desert drear - Of sin, and doubt, the welcome light - Of truth breaks sudden on our sight; - The heart becomes a hallowed dome, - Where holy feelings find a home; - For there the law of God secure, - Makes every thought and impulse pure: - Repentance may be slow to bring - Comfort and healing on its wing; - The doubting sinner in despair, - Asks, trembling, in a hurried prayer, - If guilt like his, of foulest trace, - Can hope for pardon and for grace: - But, when such doubts are swept away, - The still small voice of truth bears sway: - For Jesus died and rose again, - To free the world from guilt and pain: - Jesus, the only Son of God, - Like Moses, takes the gospel rod, - And strikes the barren rock within, - Hardened by wickedness and sin-- - Whence springs a living well, to free - The thirsty soul from misery. - He, like Elijah from his cave, - Came to the world with power to save; - And Israel, trusting to his aid, - Shall innocent and pure be made; - Redeemed, shall reach the heavenly land, - Supported by his mighty hand. - - - - - WRITTEN BENEATH AN ELM, - - _In a City Churchyard._ - - - UNDER thy shadow how many recline, - Who never knew rest 'neath the fig-tree or vine![2] - They pass from the banquet, the mall and the mart, - Here they meet, here they mingle, never to part. - - Who comes from the porch, with colourless vest, - And faded black coat, once the minister's best? - The mattock and shovel support him like staves, - As he totters familiarly over the graves. - - 'Tis the hoary old sexton, whose home has been here, - Since the days of his boyhood--and now he is sere; - These mounds are his world--he can name all the lairs, - As a monarch his realms, or a merchant his wares. - - Yet though he apportions a dwelling for all, - And delights when he handles the mattock and pall; - Though his thin hairs are gray, and though feeble his pace, - He ne'er for himself yet has chosen a place. - - Thou wert here when his sire did this office fulfil-- - When the son too is gone, thou wilt blossom here still: - How strange that the grass, and the trees, and the weeds, - Flourish best on that spot whence corruption proceeds! - - On thy trunk some rude sculptor has carved out his name-- - Idle labour! for fleeting and false is such fame: - Lo! wherever we look there is charactered stone, - But to whom is the dust each commemorates known? - - Oh! bury me not by the multitude's side, - I would shun them in death, as in life I avoid; - Where the loathsome newt creeps, 'neath the rank hemlock's shade, - Is not where I would that my bones should be laid. - - But bear me away to the limitless sea, - And heave me afar 'mong its billows so free: - Where my flesh may be wasted, but never shall rot-- - Where man is not dust, and corruption is not. - - Oh delight! to be tost from wild wave to wild wave-- - I seek not for rest--it is found in the grave-- - And my skeleton bleach on the foam it is cast-- - A link of the future--a wreck of the past. - - But alas! if the doom of my kind must be mine, - If my bones in the land of decay must recline; - Seek me out some lone glen, some wild Highland vale, - Where the tempest's loud shriek shall my coronach wail. - - A rude rugged land, with a wild heather sod, - Where the sun never shone, where man's foot never trod; - Where the gleam of the day falls with withering blight, - And a desolate darkness comes with the night. - - Where the waterfall roars like a storm o'er the heath, - The scathed Pine above, and the hoar Elm beneath; - 'Mongst the lone, and the mighty, the vast and the deep-- - 'Tis there, as their own, that a Poet should sleep. - - [2] Micah iv. 4. - - - - - THE WELLS O' WEARY. - - - DOWN in the valley lone, - Far in the wild wood, - Bubble forth springs, each one - Weeping like childhood; - Bright on their rushy banks, - Like joys among sadness, - Little flowers bloom in ranks-- - Glimpses of gladness. - - Sweet 'tis to wander forth, - Like pilgrims at even; - Lifting our souls from earth - To fix them on Heaven; - Then in our transport deep, - This world forsaking: - Sleeping as Angels sleep, - Mortals awaking! - - - - - DRYBURGH ABBEY. (6) - - - BY Tweed's fair stream, in a secluded spot, - Rises an ivy-crowned monastic pile; - Beneath its shadow sleeps the WIZARD, SCOTT; - A Ruin is his resting-place--no vile - Unconsecrated grave-yard is the soil-- - Few moulder there, but these the loved, the good, - The honoured, and the famed--and sweet flowers smile - Around the precincts of the Abbeyhood, - While Cedar, Oak, and Yew adorn that solitude. - - Hail, Dryburgh! to thy sylvan shades all hail!-- - As to a shrine, from places far away, - With awe-struck spirit, to thy classic vale - Shall pilgrims come, to muse, perchance to pray; - More hallowed now than in thy elder day, - For sacred is the earth wherein is laid - The Poet's dust; and still his mind, his lay, - And his renown, shall flourish undecayed, - Like his loved country's fame, that is not doomed to fade. - - - - - POEMS HERE FIRST COLLECTED. - - - - - COLLECTED POEMS. - - - - - GRACE. - - - COME, free-given grace! source of all lasting peace; - My care-worn heart has wanted thee full long; - The charms of earthly joys and pleasures cease, - And fain I'd stray thy tranquil paths among, - Where withered weeds and noxious odours strong - Come not, as here I find them rankly meet; - Give me thy pleasant ways and thy contentments sweet! - - Contentments sweet are ever with thee still; - In the lone valley, where the streamlet flows, - On distant mountain, on the heath-clad hill, - Where springs the daisy, or where blooms the rose, - Even in the desert where no green thing grows; - 'Mid trials of this world, whate'er they be, - Still peace, and joy, and truth accompany with thee. - - With thee there is no darkness; thou dost show - The Sun of Glory shining in His might; - With thee there is no sadness; thou dost go - Into the grief-broke heart, and with the light - Of heavenly love mak'st it serene and bright; - Ah! who that can thy blessings call his own, - Would deem himself, with thee, forsaken or alone? - - Alone! no, never! Jesus still is near; - Friendless we cannot be with Him our friend-- - Our counsellor--although deserted here - By all who to that cherished name pretend-- - His friendship, like Himself, shall have no end; - And for our solace freely is bestowed, - Trusting in Him while here, the bounteous grace of God! - - The grace of God softens the hardened heart. - And makes it oft in gushing joy to sing; - As rod of Moses caused the rock to part, - And made the living waters forth to spring; - The grace of God serenest pleasures bring, - And leads the mind from carnal thoughts away - Into retirements sweet, in solitude to pray. - - To pray!--blest privilege! For evermore - To pray and praise, and lift the soul above - This sordid earth, and, as a lark doth soar, - Ascend into the realms of truth and love, - Whence once the Spirit came in form of dove! - Thither, oh! thither would it wing its flight-- - For ever "take its rest," there where there comes no night! - - - - - MATIN. - - - THE gleam of light that passes o'er - The world ere dawn of day; - That, faintly flashing, shines before - The darkness is away: - - Is not the smile of morn, in bright - And deeply glorious lines; - 'Tis the first presage of its light, - The morning star that shines. - - - - - IMMORTALITY. - -[The following verses were suggested by the striking reply of a -Protestant minister, who was about to proceed to Ireland, to labour -among the deluded and ignorant Popish peasantry, and who, on being -warned by a friend of the personal danger he thereby incurred, nobly -answered, "I am immortal, till my work is done!"] - - - WHAT nerves the soldier in the field, - When foes are raging nigh? - What makes him proudly scorn to yield, - Though numbers round him die? - The faith that Heaven directs each ball, - And course that it shall run;-- - 'Tis, that he knows he will not fall, - Until his work be done! - - What makes the sailor on the wreck, - When storms are frowning near, - Bear up, with heart and form erect - His bosom free from fear?-- - 'Tis that he feels that God is by, - To shield him like a son;-- - 'Tis, that he knows he will not die, - Until his work be done! - - God holds the winds as by a rein, - Which still they must obey; - The ocean fierce he doth restrain, - By his all-guiding sway: - The hand that bears the planets high. - Upholds the fulgent sun, - Has fixed the hour that all must die, - When their set work is done! - - What arms the martyr 'midst his fires, - To smile serene at death; - And his whole heart and soul inspires - With never-changing faith?-- - Until the victor's crown is gained, - The laurel wreath is won; - Th' oppressor's fury is restrained-- - His work must first be done! - - What leads Christ's servant still to dare - All dangers for his sake, - And with unshaken firmness bear, - Ills that the boldest shake? - The trust that God is ever nigh, - To prosper what's begun; - To send a blessing from on high, - Upon his work when done! - - And when the good fight he has fought, - His earthly struggles o'er, - He finds the recompense he sought, - Where grief is felt no more: - 'Tis then he gains th' appointed prize, - His triumph is begun;-- - He lives immortal in the skies, - When all his work is done! - - - - - LINES - - ON THE DEATH OF JOHN SINCLAIR, ESQ., - - _7th April 1844._ - - - WHEN from its prison-house of clay - The spirit is unbound, - When one we love is borne away - To the lone narrow mound: - We feel as if the charm were gone - That renders life so dear, - And as a darkening cloud were thrown - O'er all our prospects here. - - And when _he_ died, we mourned for him - As only they could mourn - Who felt as if a precious limb - Were from the body torn. - Gentle and kind, and always true, - Revered wherever known; - No guile his bosom ever knew, - 'Twas friendship's sacred throne. - - From painful days, without relief, - Death brought at last release; - The change that gave to us but grief - To him was lasting peace. - We bore him to his hill-side grave,[3] - To sleep, but not alone; - To kindred dust his dust we gave, - To mingle with his own. - - To teach us that our home is not - Here, where we seek to live, - But that we have a happier lot - Than aught this world can give, - Death comes,--and when right understood - His lesson sure is blest.-- - Thus one by one, the loved, the good, - Are gathered to their rest! - - [3] He was interred in the family burying-place, New - Calton Burying-ground, Edinburgh. - - - - - WEEP NOT FOR THE DEAD. - - Jeremiah xxii. 10. - - - OH! weep not for the dead; they are at rest-- - No more shall earthly cares their minds molest; - Waste not a thought on them, nor yet bemoan - Who to the grave's cold heritage have gone. - - No sorrow know they in their narrow bed; - They sin no more who slumber with the dead; - They are at rest, from earth-born troubles free,-- - Fixed is their doom, as lies the stricken tree. - - Weep for yourself--for those who linger here, - In pain and sadness, through the varying year; - Still looking through life's vista to the close, - When faith in Christ alone can bring repose. - - And weep for those who go to other climes, - With toil and hoarding to gain gold betimes-- - From friends and country parted, as if nought - But this world's fleeting wealth were worth their thought! - - Weep for the dead in sin--the guilty soul - That might, but yet refuses, to be whole-- - For him who never heard the Saviour's name, - For him who, having heard, rejects the same. - - Oh! weep not for the dead, nor those who go - Into mortality's dread depths below; - But weep for those who mourn and suffer here, - The slaves of sin, and all its guilty fear! - - - - - IDOLS. - - "What have I to do any more with Idols?"--Hos. xiv. 8. - - - WHERE'ER the light of gospel truth - Has shed its glorious rays, - The heart casts off all shapes uncouth, - And shuns the wonted ways. - - The hills assume a brighter mould, - The flowers a fairer hue, - We quit the fading and the old, - And seek the fresh and new. - - The dark and dismal thoughts that brood - Within the carnal mind, - Are straightway changed to bright and good, - When there the truth hath shined: - - As metals in the earth deep set, - Though worthless in its womb, - Refined by skilful art, do yet - Precious and rich become. - - But man, degenerate from his birth, - Headlong in guilt is driven, - Still does his spirit cling to earth, - When it should rise to heaven. - - To vile and perverse courses prone,-- - The viler more his boast, - Rejects all guidance save his own, - And sunk in sin, is lost. - - Like dark and savage men, that dwell - In soul-benighted lands, - That blindly worship things of hell, - The work of their own hands. - - For hideous shapes, instead of dread, - They fierce devotion feel, - And the more hideous they are made, - The greater is their zeal. - - Ye sinners that to Idols bow, - Let light illume your heart, - Leave earth-born things to earth below, - And seek the better part. - - Come to the fountain free to all, - Drink of the living spring; - Before the cross of Jesus fall, - And own Him for your King. - - Come from your dark unwholesome holes, - With hateful things within, - Come and seek comfort to your souls, - And walk no more in sin. - - If self still claims the foremost place, - Where Christ should reign alone, - Self is the Idol that, through grace, - Must quite be overthrown. - - The lust and vanity of life, - All pomp and pride of mind, - Are but the source of grief and strife, - And leave no joy behind: - - Jesus alone is Sovereign King, - In Earth and Heaven above; - And why should we to Idols cling, - When we have Him to love? - - - - - TRUTH. - - - IT is not in the heart of thought, - Nor in the breast of care; - That truth its dwelling-place has sought, - For all is sterile there: - - Nor is it in the mind, where gay - Delusive visions throng, - That chastening truth can find a way - Its glittering dreams among: - - Yet as within the desert far, - There are reflections given - Of light, so in the heart there are - Remembrances of Heaven. - - - - - SABBATH MORN. - - - ON Sabbath morn, one feels - Exalted 'bove the world, and longs to go - Forth to the house of God; and, as the slow - And solemn church-chime on him steals, - - He seems to tread the height - Of Heaven, rise with his risen Lord, and there - Pour out his soul in never-ceasing prayer, - And worship with the saints in light. - - And peace, and joy, and faith - Are his, and all things that the earth contains, - And all above, through the Redeemer's pains, - And groans, and victory o'er death! - - Glory to Him who willed - That man should live, not die! to Him who made - The Sabbath for our comfort, and who said - The soul on Christ its hopes should build! - - - - - SABBATH EVE. - - - ON Sabbath eve, how sad, - Yet sweet, the thoughts that come into the mind, - Unbid, but not unwelcome, and which find - Communion there, and to its solace add. - - The world seems bright no more; - Its witching charms are gone, its voice is dumb: - Vainly its pleasures to the soul say "Come!" - The wish for their enjoyment now is o'er. - - Thoughts of the dead are they - Which then we feel, low whispering to the heart, - Telling that we, like them, must soon depart, - And, with them, go to dull and cold decay. - - How strange it is, in sooth, - That Sabbath morn and eve should, to the breast, - Weary with cares of life, bring thoughts of REST-- - Strong proof of its great purpose and its truth! - - - - - DREAMS OF THE LIVING. - - - NO golden dreams, near quiet streams, - On swelling slopes, no high-reached hopes; - These of themselves are mute: - The spirit wakes, the fancies shoot - Where Nature points, but she - Thought curbs, not renders free, - Unless her portals wide she opes, - And gives of Truth the fruit. - - And man, a dreamer from his youth, - Ne'er knoweth, nor can know, the truth, - Save when Religion with its light - Shines on his mind, to guide his sight. - From every day that dawns, he claims - New thoughts, new fancies, and new aims, - That lead to nothing, nothing leave, - But vague ideas that deceive! - - Boyhood is dreaming, when it quits - Substantial joys for counterfeits; - Courts pleasure as a lasting thing, - Nor deems it bears a hidden sting; - And yields all feeling and all sense, - For hopes that bring no recompense. - Well, when its follies it forsakes, - And from its feverish dreams awakes! - - The loveliness of woman gives - More cause for dreams than aught that lives; - And youth, when it aspires to find - Gladness in beauty, wanting mind, - Like guileless child, is ever dreaming - Of joy and brightness only seeming; - And knows not, till the dream is past, - What spells around the heart are cast. - - And manhood dreams,--when o'er the soul - Ambition has secured control,-- - Of power, and wealth, and worldly state, - And all the splendours of the great: - Builds monuments, to which decay - Clings as a resting-place and prey, - Nor thinks how weak are all his pains, - When nothing at the last remains. - - And age, that ought to know the best, - Is but a dreamer like the rest; - O'erlooking, in its downward pace, - The landmarks of its upward race; - No wisdom from the past it earns, - And from the present only learns - To dread the future; and its staff - Writes its own weary epitaph. - - What dream they of? Earth, with its feelings cold, - Its passions withered, tales that have been told, - And generations dead--the same dull tone - That from the chambers of the past hath gone, - Is echoed now; but, as before, its strain, - For warning, or for teaching, is in vain! - - And hearts on which has come the early blight, - And hopes that never knew aught here but slight, - And scattered flowers, and blossoms tossed and shaken, - And promises foregone, and trusts forsaken, - Still show men's visions false, but still they cherish - Dreams of the earth, which only lure to perish. - - No glow of life, no ante-taste of heaven, - From sordid earth-born thoughts like theirs is given; - But disappointment, with its lagging train - Of blighted prospects, tells that all is vain; - Yet to this earth's allurements fixed, the heart, - Like a wrecked vessel, drifts, without a chart. - Truth teaches higher hopes, and better things, - And o'er the mind a lasting solace brings. - - Oh! that the soul on Heaven were ever bent, - And all its feelings thitherward were sent! - Then would our visions from the world arise, - Clear as the sun, and radiant as the skies: - Visions of light and love that ne'er decay, - No strifes to scare, no terrors to dismay; - But peace, unchanging as the Christian's faith-- - Peace in our life, untroubled hope in death! - - - - - LINES. - - - MAN knows he is immortal: there's within - A principle that tells him that his soul, - Which in himself exists, shall never die, - Although his outward tenement becomes, - By the slow-wasting chemistry of death, - Forgotten, undistinguishable dust. - His mind, his heart, his impulses, are all - Subservient to his soul, his noblest part, - That came from God, returns to God again. - If he his passions could o'ercome and sway, - Place Prudence as a wary sentinel - On all his words and purposes, that trip - He might in neither, he were great indeed! - But sense and selfishness his judgment warp, - And so debase his nature, that, having not - Of his own mind the moral mastery, - His thoughts, affections, powers, and faculties, - Are under the dominion of a yoke - More galling than a tyrant's. Slave of Sin! - - - - - SONNETS. - - _Written on viewing the Picture of "The Deluge," painted by - F. Danby, Esq., A.R.A._ - - - WE gaze in awe upon the solemn scene, - With sense and soul absorbed, as if the sight - Were tranced in that o'erpowering vengeful light - Which shrouds the setting sun; and what has been - A world is now a waste of waters, higher - And darker swells the flood, like one vast pall - Thrown o'er the guilty ones of earth, Heaven's ire - Who braved ere-while.--How fearful, how sublime, - How terrible the sight!--widely they climb, - To rock and mountain top to 'scape their doom, - While rushing torrents, dome and palace hall, - The work of man with man himself, consume; - Nor these alone! Rock, cliff, and mountain grey, - God's handiwork, become with man, their prey! - - How vast the guilt that thus could doom a world - So beautiful as ours was ere man sinned,-- - The waters sweeping, like a mighty wind, - To whelm the earth, from its foundations hurled; - All nature stood aghast, its course was changed-- - A comet threw afar its lurid gleam, - Up-broke the fountains of the ocean stream, - While a fierce earthquake thro' the centre ranged, - Shattering the mountains in its might.--How vain - Was then the strength of man, as poor his pride, - To stem the onsweep of that ceaseless tide, - Which desolation spread o'er mount and plain! - Anguish and terror, madness and despair, - Took hold on all, before they perished there! - - A towering rock, whose shadow in past days - Was hailed by weary ones a place of rest, - Affords brief shelter on its shelving breast - To struggling sufferers crowding from all ways, - Trampling their fellows down for life, sweet life! - Alas! the JUDGMENT'S on them, they as well - Might build their hopes on sand, as stay the swell - Of the full flood and elemental strife. - Yet has not God forgotten all his love - To sinful men, the ARM they madly brave - "Though strong to smite is also strong to save"-- - The ark floats high a buried world above! - While o'er a lifeless pair, to Heaven still dear, - A kneeling Angel drops a pitying tear! (7) - - - - - THOUGHT. - - - LIKE one who on a mountain stands, - When morning into day expands, - And, as a glory, views from Heaven - The plenteousness of brightness given; - Even so is he, who marks remote - The early cheering dawn of thought - Advancing o'er th' awakened mind, - Till truth, within the soul defined, - Spreads light and knowledge in the breast, - And sets all doubts and fears at rest. - - - - - LINES. - - WRITTEN ON THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE QUEEN. - - _20th July 1840._ - - - FAIR as the summer in its joyous prime, - Free from all thoughts of guile, all dread of ill, - Unconscious that a traitor could exist - Within her wide dominions, forth she came, - Young, happy, unattended, save by him, - The husband she had chosen from the world; - All hearts her own--no other guard she wished-- - When ambushed treason aimed its coward blow, - Which Heaven ordained should harmless pass her by, - In mercy to the realms that own her sway. - - Ah! had the public foe, in hostile league, - Come openly against her life and crown, - The chivalry of England, not yet dead, - Had promptly flown to arms, and formed - Around her then a shield impenetrable, - Her sacred person to defend, or die. - From out of England's millions, only one - Was found, so void of all the feelings of a man, - As point a deadly weapon at the breast - Of England's pride--a woman and a Queen! - Then the high bravery of her race was shown; - She blenched not, quivered not, but sat erect; - While, with the lion courage of the Saxon, - Which both their hearts inspired, her consort threw - Himself at once between her and the danger, - To shield the life so dear to him and us. - - The loyal heart of Britain beat with joy - At their escape--the young, the loved, the true! - Many and fervent were the prayers breathed - To Heaven, that they might live extended years, - And each year, as it came, their happiness - Increase, and ours! Thus let the traitor's hopes - For ever end, thus fruitless be his aims-- - His snares recoil upon himself alone! - - How beautiful the trait of filial love, - Of reverence daughterly, was then evinced, - When, freed from danger from th' assassin's arm, - She promptly to her mother hastes, herself - To be the foremost bearer of the tidings, - And, in her own particular person, bring - The proof and the assurance of her safety, - Ere Rumour's tongue had magnified details! - Ah! worthy of her people's love, is she - Who thus could show the veneration due, - At such a time, to her who gave her being! - - The ways of men are in the hands of One - Who cannot err; the destinies of all - On earth, peasants as well as potentates, - Are under His sole guardianship and guidance. - A truism this; yet there are men who doubt, - Nay, worse, deny it; even though instances, - Occurring daily, show the constant care - Of Providence o'er thoughtless, sinful men. - - How oft does evil o'er our head impend, - And we not know it, till the danger's past! - How oft, when evil comes, provided is - A remedy, we know not how or whence! - Ah! blind, and worse than blind, are they who doubt. - The brutish beasts that roam the fields and woods, - And never heard of God, or gospel truth, - Of Christ and his salvation, better are, - And wiser, than the Atheist and Sceptic. - - High is the sovereign's power, and great the sway - Which kings possess; but, higher, greater still - Is His, the King of Kings, who overrules - All things for good to them who love his laws. - - Tyrants have had avengers, but the good - Need fear no peril, dread no coming ill; - Their trust in One who fails not, cannot fail; - In whose hand is the breath of princes held, - As much as meaner men's. To Him thy way commit. - - - - - I'M NAEBODY NOO. - - _The complaint of an old man reduced in the world. Contributed - to the Book of Scottish Song._ - - - I'M naebody noo, though in days that are gane, - Whan I'd hooses, and lands, and gear o' my ain, - There war' mony to flatter, and mony to praise, - And wha but mysel' was sae prood in those days! - - Ah! then roun' my table wad visitors thrang, - Wha laughed at my joke, and applauded my sang, - Though the tane had nae point, and the tither nae glee; - But of coorse they war' grand when comin' frae me! - - Whan I'd plenty to gie, o' my cheer and my crack, - There war' plenty to come, and wi' joy to partak'; - But whanever the water grew scant at the well, - I was welcome to drink all alane by mysel'. - - Sae lang as my bottle was ready and free, - Friends in dozens I had wha then crooded to prie, - They sat ower the toddy until they war' fou,-- - Noo I drink by mysel', for I'm naebody noo. - - Whan I'd nae need o' aid, there were plenty to proffer, - And noo whan I want it, I ne'er get the offer; - I could greet whan I think hoo my siller decreast, - In the feasting o' those who came only to feast. - - The fulsome respec' to my gowd they did gie, - I thought a' the time was intended for me, - But whanever the end o' my money they saw, - Their friendship, like it, also flickered awa'. - - My advice ance was sought for by folks far and near, - Sic great wisdom I had ere I tint a' my gear, - I'm as weel able yet to gie counsel, that's true, - But I may jist haud my wheesht, for I'm naebody noo. - - - - - SONG. - - _Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song._ - - - THERE'S plenty come to woo me, - And ca' me sweet and fair, - There's plenty say they lo'e me, - But they never venture mair: - They never say they'll marry, - Though love is all their tune, - From June to Janu-a-ry, - From January to June. - - I canna keep frae smilin', - At their flatteries and art; - Wi' a' their fond beguilin', - They'll ne'er beguile my heart. - For nought can fix a maiden - Whase heart is warm and true, - But vows wi' marriage laden, - Though mony come to woo. - - That a's no gowd that glitters - I've either heard or read, - And marriage has its bitters, - As well as sweets, is said. - But though it gets the blame o' - Some things that winna' tell, - The fau't that folks complain o' - Lies often wi' themsel'. - - The year, as on it ranges, - Within its twelvemonths' fa', - Shows many sudden changes, - And's lightsome wi' them a'; - Though winter's tempests thicken, - Spring comes wi' cheerful face; - And summer smiles to quicken - A' nature wi' its grace. - - The year of life is marriage, - And we canna wed too sune, - Whan twa divide the carriage, - The wark is cheerily dune. - If one true heart wad hae me, - For better and for worse, - Wi' him I'd gladly share aye - The blessing and the curse. - - - - - THE STOUT OLD BRITISH SHIP. - - - HURRAH! for the stout old British ship, - The monarch of the sea! - That bounds like a greyhound from the slip, - When the sails are loosened free! - That, spite of the storm and deadly gun, - Ne'er yet its course gave o'er; - And never knew what 'twas to run - A hostile flag before! - It long has the bulwark been of our rights, - Of our freedom still the stay; - Then give to the brave old British ship, - Three British cheers--hurrah! - - When Nelson trode its quarter-deck, - Its glory was in its prime; - Victory he had at his finger-beck, - As proved in every clime: - Then England was honoured and feared by all, - And nations sung her praise; - But that is a tale we may not recall - In these degenerate days: - For the stout old ship lies idly ashore, - Laid up like a useless tree; - Its battles and cruises now are o'er, - Though it still is fit for sea! - - The vaunting foreigner long has felt - Its thunders on the main, - And he smiles when he thinks the blows it dealt - Shall ne'er be dealt again. - But the spirit of Nelson is not dead, - It bounds in a hundred hearts, - And his story of fame is remembered and read, - And studied with our charts! - For cherished with care is the glory it won, - The meed of a thousand years; - And its foes will fly as they often have done, - When the stout old ship appears! - - When the brave old ship, as bright as morn, - Hoists high its well-known flag; - The flag that has still been unsullied borne, - Since the days of Drake and Sprague. - Let's see who'll dare dispute its right, - To the empire of the main, - 'Twill prove its title clear and bright, - Against the world again! - Then give to the stout old British ship, - Of our freedom still the stay, - That long has the bulwark been of our rights, - Three British cheers--hurrah! - - - - - LINES, - - ON THE INFANT SON AND DAUGHTER OF THE HON. COL. MONTAGUE. - - - HOW fair is childhood; like the ray - Of summer morn, the blush of day. - Bright scions of a noble race, - Blooming in love and youthful grace, - In innocence and beauty's pride! - As rosebuds blossoming at ease, - Showering their beauties on the breeze, - On some green mountain's side. - - High thoughts are with that lovely boy, - In whose dark eye beams radiant joy; - May blessings on his years attend, - And Heaven its choicest favours send! - Hope of an honourable line, - With feeling heart and mind endued, - May health, and peace, and every good, - And length of life, be thine. - - Oh! love it is a blessed thing, - And to the heart doth comfort bring; - But the fond throb that for a brother - A sister feels, excels all other, - Save only that by parents known: - Sweet maid, a pure affection cheers - Thy gentle heart, and still endears - Thy very smile and tone. - - No cares upon those brows of light, - Round which the tresses cluster bright, - Like mossy flowers 'mong sunshine blended, - Have yet, with envious trace, descended: - But all is happiness and mirth,-- - Ye look like cherubs sent from Heaven, - With hope, and joy, and beauty given, - To cheer this weary earth. - - 1838. - - - - - THE MARTYRS. - - - FAITHFUL to God, 'mid persecutions dire, - The lion-hearts of old still firmly stood, - Unawed by terrors of the block or fire, - For truth and freedom freely gave their blood; - The path of duty lay before them plain, - And boldly they advanced, nor turned again. - - A throne cast down, erected was once more, - An exiled king, a nation, welcomed back; - Planted in blood it was, and tears, and gore, - Its only props the scaffold and the rack; - And there the brave and good did nobly fall, - That Christ the Saviour might be all in all, - - Calmly the martyr Guthrie met his fate, - A victim to oppression's cruel laws, - Nor would, for proudest prelate's form and state, - A traitor turn to his dear Master's cause; - With him no joy on earth so great could be, - As thus to die for Christ's supremacy. - - On the lone mountains of their native land, - Where blooms the heather fragrantly and fair, - In the green valleys waved by breezes bland, - Struck mercilessly down while met in prayer, - Lie Scotland's martyrs in their nameless moulds, - Sustained by Him who the great worlds upholds. (8) - - - - - CALEDONIA, MY COUNTRY! - - - CALEDONIA, my country! How bright is the fame, - Like a halo of glory, that circles thy name; - When thy children remember their fathers' renown, - Can they, faithless, consent e'er to sully thy crown? - - In the battles of freedom, the hot fields of fight, - Thy great men of old stoutly fought for the right; - By their conquering swords, blessed and aided by Heaven, - The hosts of the foe from our country were driven. - - In the fair realms of song thy sons also excel, - Midst the gifted of earth do their memories dwell; - And of praise of thy minstrels, from nations around, - Still the echo returns, with a flattering sound. - - But purer, and brighter, and higher, by far, - Than of those that have triumphed in song or in war, - Are the names,--never breathed but with love they are heard,-- - Of thy fearless Reformers, thy Martyrs revered. - - Now thy sword is at rest, and thy harp is laid by, - But the sword of the Spirit still waves from on high, - And the harp of the Lord sounds in majesty forth, - As of yore it was heard from the lands of the north. - - Again, oh, my country! on thy hills of renown, - Oppression, relentless, has darkly come down-- - On the breeze of the mountain is borne the loud wail, - And the lowlands reply to the wrongs of the Gael. - - From the dark page of history shadows are cast, - And the woes of the future loom out from the past; - There are omens of evil, enshrouded in blood, - But in midst of them all, there are tokens of good. - - - - - I CANNA SLEEP. - - _Written in 1833. Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song._ - - - I CANNA sleep a wink, lassie, - When I gang to bed at night, - But still o' thee I think, lassie, - Till morning sheds its light. - I lie an' think o' thee, lassie, - And I toss frae side to side, - Like a vessel on the sea, lassie, - When stormy is the tide. - - My heart is no my ain, lassie, - It winna bide wi' me, - Like a birdie it has gane, lassie, - To nestle saft wi' thee. - I canna lure it back, lassie, - Sae keep it to yoursel'; - But oh! it sune will brak, lassie, - If you dinna use it well. - - Where the treasure is they say, lassie, - The spirit lingers there, - An' mine has fled away, lassie, - You needna' ask me where. - I marvel oft if rest, lassie, - On my eyes and heart wad bide, - If I thy troth possessed, lassie, - And thou wert at my side. - - - - - YONDER SUNNY BRAE. - - - ON yonder sunny brae we met, - Amid the summer flowers; - And never can my heart forget - The rapture of those hours, - When she I loved forsook her home - And there with me did stray, - Oh! oft delighted did we roam - On yonder sunny brae. - - The gushing of the waterfall, - The sunshine of the sky, - The bloom, the balm, and, more than all, - The sparkle of her eye, - Brought to my heart a blissful tide - That drove all care away, - And I was happy at her side, - On yonder sunny brae. - - 'Twas there I breathed my fondest vow, - Nor told my love in vain; - And I am happy with her now, - Though years have passed since then. - No sweeter scene my eyes shall see - Though far my steps should stray: - There's not a spot so dear to me - As yonder sunny brae. - - - - - THE EAGLE'S NEST, AND OTHER POEMS. - - HERE FIRST PRINTED. - - - - - THE EAGLE'S NEST. - - - GRACE ADAM was a farmer's daughter, - Her youth in the far west was spent, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a flood that will have vent. - - She was a blooming country maiden, - Like those one sees in market towns, - With egg and butter baskets laden, - Dressed in their smartest hats and gowns. - - In household work and dairy labours - Her time passed pleasantly away, - A pattern she to all the neighbours, - Healthy and cheerful as the day. - - Grace Adam was a farmer's daughter,-- - Some share of beauty she could boast, - And lovers, near and far off, sought her, - Each striving who could flatter most. - - From 'mong them all her heart selected - One gentle youth who seemed sincere, - He was by every one respected, - And more it needs not saying here. - - Within an outfield stood an only - Old beech-tree, lightning-smote, and dead,-- - Its branches bare, and bleached, and lonely, - An eagle built its nest amid. - - Forsook the mountain's summit hoary, - The beetling cliff above the sea, - Sought not the forests of Missouri, - But sheltered on this shattered tree. - - And oft to see this noble creature, - Many there came from parts thereby, - Training its young, as is its nature, - To spread their wings and upward fly. - - Among the rest a student, rambling - In woods and meadows, also came, - In search of useful knowledge scrambling, - Wherever he could find the same. - - Grace Adam was a farmer's daughter,-- - Her father had approved her choice; - For duty and her feelings taught her - 'Twere best to have her parents' voice. - - Oft as the summer sunset glowing - Came down in splendour o'er the west, - The lovers forth together going, - Would wander to the eagle's nest. - - And there in courtship sweet and prudent - The happy hours fast slipt away;-- - And often there, too, came the student, - To watch the birds at close of day. - - And so they soon became acquainted, - He knew they were betrothed before; - But while their future bliss _they_ painted, - _His_ object still was to explore. - - The marriage-day, longed for yet dreaded - By maidens fair, at last came round, - Grace Adam and her love were wedded, - With hope and every blessing crowned. - - Their home was in a distant city - Far, far from where her youth was spent, - Where Mississippi's water mighty - Pours like a flood that will have vent. - - And never more the lordly river, - Or its green banks, was Grace to see, - The dear-loved farm, no more, and never - The lonely shattered eagle's tree. - - New duties claimed now her attention, - New feelings rose at name of wife, - And as time passed, she ceased to mention - The loved scenes of her early life. - - Some years had gone, and she could gather - Her children round about her knee,-- - Long since in churchyard lay her father, - And fallen was the eagle's tree. - - And now in course of worldly changes - Another town their home became; - For business oft-times turns the hinges - Of man's condition and his aim. - - And there they settled, growing older, - But Grace aright years passing read; - For the grey hairs appearing told her - Time left its shadow on her head. - - Years twenty since the farmer's daughter - Left the scenes where her youth was spent, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a flood that will have vent. - - Within that town broke out a fever, - Smiting alike the rich and poor; - 'Twas typhus, grim Death's surest lever - To turn the churchyards o'er and o'er. - - Many, o'erborne with grief and watching - At couch of those oppressed with pains, - A hurried hour of slumber snatching, - Woke with the fever in their veins. - - Spared not the children or the father, - Passed not the anxious mother by, - In one swift grave the parents gather - Their offspring with them as they lie. - - Lamented many a one his dearest - Borne to the house whence no retrace, - Mourned high and low for friends the nearest - Soon carried to their resting place. - - A time of gloom, and doubt, and terror, - A time of sorrow and dismay; - The breath of death upon life's mirror - All ghastly and infectious lay. - - A time of judgment, when God's dealings - Make the most careless cry to Him,-- - A time to try the human feelings,-- - When even Hope grows faint and dim. - - Just at the last, when near expending - Its baleful force ere sped away, - Grace caught the fever while attending - A smitten neighbour as she lay. - - Grief in the house but late so cheerful, - Pain on the heart but late so light, - Her husband and her children tearful - Watched o'er her sickbed day and night. - - Beat low the pulse with languid movement, - And stopped the functions of the brain, - No sign her eye gave of improvement - As day and night return again. - - Hastened the Doctor, if yet human - Aid might avail to save her life, - He saw and knew the suffering woman, - Although not as a wedded wife. - - Years twenty since the farmer's daughter - Had met the student at the tree, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a full flood to the sea. - - Bent near the Doctor then, and laid he - His hand upon her wasted breast, - And with low cheerful whisper said he - No more words than "the eagle's nest!" - - The change was sudden and amazing,-- - Opened her eyes and closed again, - And like the keel of vessel grazing - The ground, grated her teeth in twain. - - Gasped a long breath, as if a struggle - Were going on, as night with morn, - No sound made but a low faint guggle, - Like cry of infant newly born. - - A smile passed o'er her features sunken, - Grasped she the hand beside her then, - Remembrance, just as one half-drunken, - Strove to retrace its course again. - - Ah! then came back the well-known faces - Of her young days upon her mind, - The scenes of long ago, in traces - All clear and full and well defined. - - She saw her father as he taught her - Her youthful lessons at his knee, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a full flood to the sea. - - She saw her mother too beside her - Long, long since taken to her rest, - And then, as opened Memory wider, - She stood beneath the eagle's nest, - - With him she loved, in courtship prudent, - And of love's sweetest cup she drank, - She saw again the youthful student,-- - All that came after was a blank. - - Thus ever Memory touched can bring time, - With its past feelings into light, - And thus the sweet joys of her spring-time - Came rushing thickly on her sight. - - Thus, too, doth roused Imagination - Vibrate the tender chords that bind - The wide links of Association - Within the chambers of the mind. - - Then turned the fever, as the meeting - Of the free air upon her brain, - Her pulse resumed a quickened beating, - Revolved the wheels of life again. - - And day by day she gained new strength then - Beneath the Doctor's care and skill, - Able to quit her bed at length then, - 'Twas this she loved to talk of still, - - That when Death's dart did o'er her hover, - And she could find no sleep or rest, - 'Twas this that made her to recover, - The simple words, "the eagle's nest!" (9) - - - - - THE ADVENT OF TRUTH. - - - A time there is, though far its dawn may be, - And shadows thick are brooding on the main, - When, like the sun upspringing from the sea, - Truth shall arise, with Freedom in its train; - - And Light upon its forehead, as a star - Upon the brow of heaven, to shed its rays - Among all people, wheresoe'er they are, - And shower upon them calm and happy days. - - As sunshine comes with healing on its wing, - After long nights of sorrow and unrest, - Solace and peace, and sympathy to bring - To the grieved spirit and unquiet breast. - - No more shall then be heard the slave's deep groan, - Nor man man's inhumanity deplore, - All strife shall cease and war shall be unknown, - And the world's golden age return once more. - - And nations now that, with Oppression's hand, - Are to the dust of Earth with sorrow bowed, - Shall then erect, in fearless vigour, stand, - And with recovered freedom shout aloud. - - Along with Truth, Wisdom, her sister-twin, - Shall come--they two are never far apart,-- - At their approach, to some lone cavern Sin - Shall cowering flee, as stricken to the heart. - - Right shall then temper Justice, as 'tis meet - It should, and Justice give to Right its own; - Might shall its sword throw underneath its feet, - And Tyranny, unkinged, fall off its throne. - - Then let us live in hope, and still prepare - Us and our children for the end, that they - Instruct may those who after them shall heir, - To watch and wait the coming of that day. - - - - - LINES, - - SUGGESTED BY A WALK IN A GARDEN. - - - BALMY as the dew from its own blossoms, - And soothing as the fragrance it creates, - Comes the sweet influence of this summer eve - To my o'erchargëd heart--there is a breeze - Moving amid the foliage, soft and low, - As cradled murmur from a babe asleep. - It is a time for holy thoughts to spring, - And contemplation fill the awakened mind. - - Lo! a bright sunbeam stands 'tween heaven and earth, - Taking its farewell look ere day departs, - And seeking still to light the gloom below, - As Hope,--even when the darkness comes, and Joy - Hath fled,--to cheer the heart, still lingering, smiles: - And when it goes,--ah! no, it ne'er all goes:-- - The sunbeam fades, a moment, and its light, - All shed, dies still-born, swiftly shone and o'er; - But Hope, blest Hope, ev'n when it seems away, - Is near, evermore near, it cannot live - Apart, 'tis wedded to the soul for aye,-- - God joined them twain, and nought can sunder them,-- - Near, ever near, and ever bringing peace, - Groping among the dark things of man's spirit, - And shedding o'er the troubled mind its light, - As a stray ray of sunshine wanders 'mong - The shattered arches of a fallen ruin. - - Ere sunset leaves the world, and sinks behind - The illumined ocean, let me muse awhile. - - 'Twas in a garden that that hideous thing, - Sin, first was born accurst, and now all through - The wide wide universe it ranges fierce. - Where man has placed his foot its trace is seen. - The serpent's slimy trail is everywhere, - Disfiguring, polluting, and destroying, - Death following in its track inseparably. - - But oh! my soul be humbled, yet rejoice;-- - It was, too, in a garden that the great, - The only all-sufficient, all-atoning - Propitiatory sacrifice for sin - Commenced its consummation, when the Man - Christ Jesus swat for thee great drops of blood, - (Even he, the Second Person of the Godhead,) - And prayed in agony that the cup might pass, - If so his Father willed; but none on earth - Or yet in Heaven could drink it, none save Him; - And when the sacrifice was all complete - On Calvary, and satisfied was Justice, - Mercy and Hope held out their hands to man, - And, in Christ's name, showed him redemption's way. - The shame and misery that Adam felt - In Eden's garden, when the first great sin - Was challenged, was as nothing to compare - With the deep agony which on that night,-- - That dreadful night in which he was betrayed,-- - Our Surety felt, when in Gethsemane - He took upon himself to pay the full - Ransom and penalty of that first sin - Which Adam sinned, and all his race in him. - - Of that first sin did Adam put the blame - On Eve, "the woman whom thou gavest me." - Eve on the serpent shifted it, and proud - Was he that he had circumvented both, - Doomed on his womb to crawl in dust, and bruised - His head by woman's seed, short-lived his pride.-- - Christ took upon Himself the sin and all - Its anguish, nor like Adam vainly strove - To shift it to another, knowing well - No other could redeem it but Himself. - Sinless, a sacrifice for sin, that sin - Might from the souls of men be washed away. - 'Twas for that sin, and its infeftments wide - That Jesus died, that its entail cut off - Might be from Adam and his lineage, far - As generations yet to come extend, - And man restored to his lost paradise. - No flaming sword waves at its portals now, - Entrance to bar to the redeemed on earth; - No angels guard the gates to keep them shut, - But open ever are they to the elect, - And there bright angels stand, with joy - To welcome all who come in Christ's name in. - - But now the sun hath bade the world good night, - And gathering darkness warns me to my home. - - - - - SONNET. - - SUNSHINE. - - - ON the old forest, bright the sunrays play, - And from the boughs hang, tinging the green leaves - With golden light that downward interweaves, - Past branch and stem finding itself a way; - And on the greensward, and among the fern, - Some trace of sunshine still we can discern, - A sunbeam's scattered droppings gone astray - Among the wild-flowers, where they nestle close - Within the long grass, or the woodland moss, - Making for Earth a dress with colours gay. - Oh! on our pathway thus may sunshine fall, - And like the little flowers, our hopes still bloom,-- - A share of it at least, if not it all,-- - To light the darkness and to cheer the gloom. - - - - - SONG. - - AT E'ENING, WHAN THE KYE WAR IN. - - - AT e'ening whan the kye war in, - An' lasses milking thrang, - A neebour laird cam ben the byre, - The busy maids amang. - He stood ahint the routin' kye - An' round him glowered a wee, - Then stole to whar young Peggy sat, - The milkpail at her knee. - - "Sweet Peggy, lass," thus spoke the laird, - "Wilt listen to my tale?" - "Stan' out the gate, laird," Peggy cried, - "Or you will coup the pail: - "Mind, Hawkie here's a timorous beast, - An' no acquent wi you." - "Ne'er fash," quo' he, "the milking time's - The sweetest time to woo. - - "Ye ken, I've aften tauld ye that - I've thretty kye and mair, - "An' ye'd be better owning them - Than sittin' milkin' there. - "My house is bein, and stocket weel - In hadden and in ha', - "An' ye've but just to sae the word - Tae leddy be o' a'." - - "Wheesht, laird," quo Peggy, "dinna mak' - Yersel a fule an' me, - "I thank ye, for yer offer kind, - But sae it canna be. - "Maybe yer weel stocked house and farm, - An' thretty lowing kine, - "May win some ither lassie's heart, - They hae nae charms for mine; - - "For in the kirk I hae been cried, - My troth is pledged and sworn, - "An' tae the man I like mysel', - I'll married be the morn'." - The laird, dumfoundered at her words, - Had nae mair will to try'r; - But turned, and gaed far faster out, - Than he'd come in the byre. - - - - - STANZAS - - ON A BUST OF MARSHAL NEY, - - _Presented by the Prince De Moskwa to Donald Sinclair, - Esq. Edinburgh._ - - - THERE stands the hero, "bravest of the brave," - A name well earned, that he to whom alone - NEY, second, scarce to him, in glory shone, - After a hard fought day in honour gave: - And ever shall his laurels greenly wave,-- - Still flourishing with time, for time can ne'er - Blight his deserved renown not even _there_,-- - Over his bloody and untimely grave. - - Where flew the Eagle in its wide domain, - There was he ever foremost in the fight, - Leading his band of heroes, strong in might, - To conquest still,--In Switzerland and Spain, - And where the Rhine, majestic to the main, - Through many fertile lands, doth proudly flow, - His prowess won applause, even from the foe, - Midst blood and carnage on each battle plain. - - High rose his genius with the tide of war, - His country's annals of his valour tell, - Impetuous as the torrent, when the swell - Of waters fierce pours onward from afar, - And sweeps before it every stop and bar: - Where'er his sword flashed, with its sunlike ray, - There victory followed closely on the way, - And danger's track was marked by many a scar. - - Rednitz and Neuwied well his courage knew, - When yet his early deeds foretold the fame - That soon would throw a halo round his name; - Manheim and Hohenlinden felt it too, - And Elchingen and Jena found him true, - Eylau and Friedland, names of high renown, - Moscow and its retreat, his glory crown, - Which paled not even at bloody Waterloo! - - Immortal warrior, could France reward - Thy mighty deeds but with a traitor's death? - The shame is hers, not thine; thy latest breath - Was for thy country, and as one prepared - Thou met'st thy fate, as soldier should on guard: - And still shall time, with every rolling year - The more thy memory to France endear, - And mourned thy fate shall be by patriot and bard. - - Thy death has left a blot upon the fame - Of Wellington and England, ne'er to be - Removed or justified,--alas! that he, - Who with a word thy safety could proclaim, - With callous heart refused to speak the same. - The deed, like that which stained, with blackest ray, - Great Nelson's honour in Palermo's bay, - Our history records "with sorrow and with shame." (10) - - - - - WINTER. - - _Written at Two-Waters, Herts, 11th January 1840, - for a Lady's Album._ - - - COME! we will wander to the lone hill-side, - And, awe-struck, view the winter in its pride;-- - Crispy the grass and scant; - The little flowers have vanished, not a trace - Is left of blossom on pale Nature's face:-- - Restraint lies mighty on the stream--it sings - No more--dead, dead now,--like all other things; - The trees, as spectres gaunt, - Or churchyard monuments, all scattered stand, - As if they mourned the bareness of the land,-- - Meagre as pallid want. - Where be the fairies now, the little fays, - That dance in buttercups in summer days, - Though only Poets view - Their gambols in the flowers and in the rays - Of noonday, which the common sight gainsays, - To Fancy ever new! - - The grasshopper is gone. Ah, me! can death - Have will to stop _its_ modicum of breath? - Swift fly the clouds, why should they fly so swift? - Come they like Angel-spirits, with a gift - Of mercy to mankind? - In this drear time, the heart asks where are they - That tell of sunshine being on the way? - The harbingers of light and genial heat, - That make the meadows and the valleys sweet - When softly sighs the wind: - Make rich the upland grass to mountain goat, - When balm and beauty through the ether float, - Like gossamer reclined. - Oh! for a cheerful note from blackbird--gone, - All gone, the songster and his song are flown; - There's nought to cheer the ear. - Oh! now to list the mavis in the wood,-- - The psalms of Nature's singers, always good, - Bring solace to the year. - - Oh! for one glimpse of sunshine, to remind - The Earth of summer, ever bland and kind. - - - - - HUMAN CONDUCT. - - - WHY is it that the heart of man - So full is of vagary, - That when he's told what's right, he jerks - The rein, and does contrary. - - Like skittish horse, or stubborn pig, - Or other self-willed creature, - That in the public highways shows - Its vile and perverse nature. - - There's many a lesson taught to man, - But little does he mind them, - Many's the warning given to him,-- - He throws them all behind him. - - But let me a short tale relate - Instead of moralising, - You'll prize it more, I dare to say, - Than any such premising. - - The sun was shining on the hills, - The countryside looked sweeter, - And brighter and more beautiful - Than I can tell in metre. - - It was the spring-time of the year, - That pleasant balmy season, - When freshness passes o'er the earth, - And come the buds the trees on. - - When Nature young looks, and is young, - But though she dresses gaily, - The time grows old, for Time, like man, - Grows older daily, daily! - - Ah me! that men should be so weak - As not to read the lesson,-- - Ripe fruits are offered them, but they - The garbage love to mess on. - - One day along a country road - With hedge and hawthorn bristling, - A country lad was passing, and - In merry mood was whistling. - - Stout was he and his joints well knit, - And firm as time-tried timber, - But light withal and agile too, - No sapling yet was limber. - - Anon a horseman came that way - Who sat on horseback rarely, - This the horse knew as well as he, - And so had bolted fairly. - - The young man eyed him as he came - And was by no means idle, - For as he passed he leapt in front, - And caught him by the bridle. - - The horse reared back, and with the shock - His rider fell right over - Among the mud, and well for him - The place was soft as clover. - - Brought to his feet, without a hurt, - But all o'er very muddy, - He thanked the lad, well-pleased to find - He sound was and unbloody. - - He was a thin spare man, and past - Mid-life, and looking sickly; - Not that his health was touched at all, - Or that his limbs were weakly; - - But he had been for many years - In towns a constant dweller, - Confined to business close, and this - On health is oft a teller. - - He had an eye for bales and goods, - And turnings of the market; - But for the country's picturesque, - His shadow rare did dark it. - - He rode out had to breathe the air, - And give his nerves a bracing, - His steed unruly had become, - His horsemanship disgracing. - - The countryman pulled up some grass, - No readier thing appearing, - And rubbed him down in ostler style, - The mud from off him clearing. - - And then for having saved his life,-- - To cut my tale the shorter,-- - He offered him, as a reward, - To take him as his porter; - - And if he showed capacity, - To give him education, - To make him fit in course of time, - To fill a higher station. - - The youth agreed to't, for he thought, - (While handing back the bridle) - He'd like the change, besides just then - He happened to be idle. - - In Glasgow busy city now, - Behold this country clown bred, - First porter and then junior clerk, - And learning to be town bred. - - Years passed, the sun shines once a day, - But days make years, and every - Sun that rises counts one, thus time - Flows on, as water rivery. - - Through all gradations of the desk - The youth, still true and steady, - Had risen till, from senior clerk, - He partner was already. - - The merchant now, as commerce had - To counting-house long held him, - Resolved to take his ease at last, - And came to business seldom: - - The junior partner and head-clerk - Care of the cash-box keeping, - While he himself had chosen to be - What's called the partner sleeping. - - The countryman, no longer young, - Had toiled both late and early, - And gained some wealth, and 'twas his boast - That he had won it fairly. - - But with it he had learnt betimes - And aye the more the faster, - Some of the city's ways that were - Not pleasing to his master. - - He ne'er had married, and was fond - Of being hospitable; - For 'twas his pride always to have - His friends around his table: - - And so extravagant became, - To feasting much addicted, - And rich wines drinking, which of course - His income much restricted. - - One night his master was in town - And heard he had a party, - An old man now, not wanting sense, - But humorous and hearty; - - Yet this he to himself oft thought, - He thought that 'twas a pity, - His clerk should spend his money in - Thus feasting all the city. - - And so resolved to call on him - And bring him to his senses, - Not by a lecture commonplace - Of prudence and expenses: - - But by a something which he had, - A sort of old memento, - That in his judgment was well worth - Of lectures grave a cento. - - It was a frosty night, and there - Had been a fall of snow on, - The slippery streets required great skill - And caution them to go on. - - With but one fall, he reached the house, - The entrance well he knew there, - Sudden and unexpected burst - Amidst the jovial crew there. - - The gas burnt clear, the host looked blue, - And not the lights, as use is - When one particular guest appears - That no one introduces. - - He said, "Lies the skeleton frost - On one street and another, - "I tripped and fell, and where I lay - One skeleton hugged his brother. - - "His breath is on each pane congealed, - Cold enters through each portal, - "How my teeth chatter with the cold, - A sign that we are mortal. - - "What's this, a banquet spread and rich, - The wines all bright and glowing, - "No thought of this when you I met - Along the road-side going." - - He then produced a bundle which - He opened with derision, - And singly held up the contents - To their astonished vision. - - There was the wellworn hairy cap, - The corderoys to back it, - His host had owned, and there too was - His former fustian jacket. - - These were the clothes the country lad - Had on at their first meeting, - And these he now brought forth to be - To him his present greeting; - - That he might pause in his career - Of jollity and revel, - Lest in his age, reduced he should - Be to his former level. - - 'Tis strange that human conduct oft - So reckless is and hollow, - That when the right path reason shows, - It seeks the wrong to follow. - - The master having said and done, - Quick vanished from them after: - The host attempted at the time - To turn it off with laughter. - Next morn reflection made him take - The hint,--and to be brief then,-- - Though roughly put, 'twas kindly meant,-- - He turned o'er a new leaf then. - - - MORAL. - - To be of any use, reproof - Still strong should be and home put, - A lecture grave or saying wise - The mind is quickly from put; - - Instead of gen'ral moral saws, - Facts personal lay stress on, - And like a surgeon probing deep, - Reform is in the lesson. - - - - - COURTSHIP LINES. - - - OH! let not sorrow cloud thine eye, - Or doubt oppress thy heart, - For love, like truth, can never lie, - Nor truth, like love, depart. - To be mine own, I've chosen thee, - From all the world deems fair; - And I've vowed thine own to be, - Then wherefore cherish care? - - Thou canst not think a love like mine, - Could e'er to thee cause pain; - Or make thy gentle heart repine - That it has loved in vain: - Thee still mine eyes desire to see, - Like sunlight from above; - For all my heart is full of thee, - And all my heart is love. - - 1833. - - - - - LOVE-WEAKNESS. - - - I canna' get my mouth about it, - It lies so deeply on my heart, - That aye when trying to divulge it, - My thoughts fly somehow all apart. - - Were I to learn the best confession - That e'er by pen of man was writ, - To try to speak it in her presence - I should not have the power or wit. - - As in the rose's opening petals - Devotion pure is ever spread, - So in the flushings of my countenance - She my heart's feelings must have read. - - Oh! gladly anywhere I'd venture, - Dare anything to prove it true; - But to disclose my ardent passion - Is just the thing I canna' do. - - I canna' get my mouth about it, - It lies so deeply on my heart, - That aye when trying to divulge it, - My thoughts fly somehow all apart. - - - - - LINES - - TO THE REV. HENRY DUDLEY RYDER, - - _On reading his volume, entitled "The Angelicon, a Gallery - of Sonnets, on the Divine Attributes, and the Passions, the - Graces, and the Virtues."_ - - - THY strains, sweet poet, have the power - To give a solace to the mind, - What time the clouds of sadness lour,-- - Like sighs of thine own "lyrëd wind." - - For when thy page I deeply trace, - Where thoughts and fancies thickly throng, - It brings to mind free nature's grace, - Where wood-birds tune their mystic song; - - And pleasant streams in ways remote, - Where sweetest music loves to reign; - Where solitude gives birth to thought, - And thought is born of thought again; - - Visions of earth, the pure and bright, - As poet only hath divined, - When high-toned genius pours her light, - Upon the rapt and feeling mind. - - Well hast thou sung the grace and love - Th' Almighty deigns bestow on man, - When seeking mercy from above - By His own sole appointed plan. - - And well, too, hast thou shown the sway - The passions have o'er mortal kind, - Avarice, Ambition, Jealousy, - And other turmoils of the mind. - - These, like the rays that burst from heaven, - Shine brightly forth in verse of thine, - For the proud gift to thee is given, - To charm, to waken, to refine. - - Go on thy way, thy song must claim, - From a dull world its ardent praise; - With saintly Herbert's twine thy name, - And bind with Herbert's verse thy lays. - - - - - THE POET. - - - I WAS told yesterday by one with wise - Solemn aspect, and wrinkles 'bout his eyes, - That poetry is an idle trade, alack! - He had a good black coat upon his back, - And deemed himself respectable,--he said, too, - That he who verses writes will never do - Well in the world, that his character is gone, - And he himself no better than a drone. - So having said he walked away well pleased;-- - Now that's a man, I say, whose mind's diseased. - Has he in summer ever watched a rose - Burst into blossoming, and as it grows - More and more beautiful, sweeten all the air - With its rich perfume,--poetry was there. - - A sunbeam thrown across - The clouds, that makes them glow - With light ineffable - To eyes from earth below; - A small wave of the sea - When the vast ocean waits - The coming of the storm, - That slightly agitates - Its surface passing,--as - When of danger near - First made aware, the roused - Lion, though not in fear - Looks up, the watchfire then - Kindling in his eye, - His mane scarcely as yet - Moved, nor erected high - His head, but his proud glance - Circling keen, rapid, stern,-- - There poetry is seen - By one that can discern. - A priest of Nature's own, - One she herself ordains, - The poet walks in brightness, - And still new blessings gains. - The sky above hath in it - More beauty to his sight, - Than to the world it shines - In its canopy of light. - - The flowers his kindred are - That grow in fields remote; - They waken in his heart - The pure wellsprings of thought: - They speak to him alone - With low and whispering voice, - Like gentle maiden to - The lover of her choice. - - And none but he can tell - What is it that they say, - For a most sweet communion - Is their's to cheer his way. - The ocean in its vastness, - He loves, too, as he sees - It driven by the tempest, - Or slumbering in the breeze. - It brings into his vision - The coming of that day, - When Time within Eternity - Shall merge itself away. - - The forest trees antique - Are his familiar friends, - With the spirit of the woods - His own for ever blends: - And voices of the past, - With fancies of old times, - Do their murmurings recall - Which he fondly puts in rhymes. - - Echoes of distant lands - Beyond the western sea, - Or in the burning east, - Where'er they chance to be, - Are brought to him at night - And cheer his spirit then, - When sleep forsakes the eyes - Of care-worn worldly men. - And ever for his kind - Doth his spirit warmly yearn, - And his verses speak of things - Which only he can learn. - - The human heart, and all - Its feelings, hopes and fears, - All that it fondly loves, - All that it blindly fears, - Its sympathies, affections, - Its duties and desires, - All that its doubts foreshadow, - All that its pride inspires, - - Its sorrows and its faintings, - Its buoyancy and glee, - Its passions and its promptings, - Its truth and constancy; - He knows, and can depicture, - For of the human mind - He is the chosen minister, - The prophet of his kind. - - Such, yea and more, the poet is, - Had he had a choice - Of destinies, if in his fate - Had been heard his voice; - It might have been so that he had - Been a worldling born, - And looked solemn like his scorners, - And had gravely worn - A black coat too, of fashion's cut, - And smoothed trim his beard, - And shook his head wisely, and been - Sententious, and feared - The world's opinion, and condemned - Poetry as idle, - But in his vocation he can - Ne'er his feelings bridle. - His thoughts are in a stronger hand - Than his own, his mind - Has thinks passing in it still, that - Cannot be confined: - Like the birds flying as they list - Through the summer air, - Or the clouds driven by the breeze - Floating everywhere. - - - - - LIGHT AND SHADOW. - - - SHINE down, fair sun, on vale and hill, - And light each height and hollow;-- - No shade rests in the air, but still - On earth the shadows follow. - - Grow green, old trees, where'er you may - Your festival be keeping;-- - On branch and stem, on leaf and spray, - Decay is slowly creeping. - - Bloom bright, fair flowers, in wild or mead, - Around you all perfuming;-- - The blight that mingles with each seed, - The blossom is consuming. - - Grow well, sweet fruit, on garden walls, - Or in hot-houses hasting;-- - The sooner ripe, the sooner falls - Corruption with its wasting. - - Flow on, calm river, still flow on - With ever constant motion;-- - Soon shalt thou mingle, all unknown, - Forgotten in the Ocean. - - Play up, sweet music, to the ear, - A merry note of gladness;-- - The chords that lively stricken cheer, - Give also tones of sadness. - - Shine bright, young Summer, o'er the earth, - And fill the land with laughter;-- - Soon Autumn comes to mar thy mirth, - And winter follows after. - - Burn high, fair hope, within the breast, - By pleasant things attended;-- - Misdoubt and fear do still molest - Our life, till it is ended. - - Fill slow, oh! Time, the rounded cup - Of numbered hours that's set us; - Soon shall our days be gathered up, - And even our own forget us. - - Then shine, fair sun, on vale and hill, - On tower and town and meadow;-- - 'Tis Heaven that sends the brightness still, - Earth only gives the shadow. - - - - - THE EARLY DEAD. - - _On my youngest Daughter, died 20th March 1845, aged twenty-one - months._ - - - SHE rests within her little grave, - A bud of promise too soon taken, - And wanting the sweet smile she gave, - We deem ourselves as if forsaken. - - Life wore for her no luring guise, - She tasted time, and found it dreary, - Calmly she closed her gentle eyes, - As one that falls asleep aweary: - - Like to a star whose little ray - Is quenched ev'n when 'tis brightly shining; - Or as a flower that fades away - While yet its bloom tells nought of pining. - - And when her latest sigh was spent, - And fled her spirit to its Giver, - We felt as with it also went - A lapsed part of our heart for ever. - - Oh! twice before we knew the blight - Upon the heart that deeply falleth, - When death for ever from the sight, - Of our own life a portion calleth: - - But though it has the power to slay, - Still is this consolation given, - It cannot take the hope away - That we shall meet again in heaven. - - There is a place of rest above, - A home for children there provided, - To which away from earth, in love - Their guileless spirits still are guided. - - And when our hearts with sorrow sink - And our weak eyes are sore with weeping, - 'Twill soothe and cheer us still to think - That they sweet watch are o'er us keeping. - - And in the dark and lonely night, - When sleep our eyelids have forsaken, - We'll see again the faces bright - Of our three babes so early taken. - - - - - A DIRGE. - - - MOURN for the untimely dead! - Early blossoms quickly shed! - Soon taken to their long long rest, - Now there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast, - On their graves. - - Neither care nor sorrow now - Leaves its trace upon their brow, - Nor can pain them more molest, - For there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast, - On their graves. - - Little flowers their heads begem, - But they cannot look at them, - For death's cold hand their eyes have prest, - And there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast - On their graves. - - Winds sigh through the shadowing trees, - Summer brings the hum of bees; - But no sounds can their ears invest, - Where there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast - On their graves. - - Still they lie in their low beds, - To sleep till the last morn sheds - Its light upon their place of rest: - Now there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast - On their graves. - - - - - A BENEDICTION. - - - GOD bless thee! is my fervent prayer, - At morn and eve, from day to day, - Ev'n as thou tend'st, with anxious care, - Thy children dear with love alway. - - God keep thee ever in His grace, - And still new mercies on thee shower, - Ev'n as thou fold'st in thy embrace - Thine infants tender every hour. - - God love thee, with the love he shows - Still to his own, in earth and heaven, - Ev'n as thou lov'st, with true love, those - Who to thy keeping have been given. - - God guide thee still through all thy days, - And let no evil on thee light, - Ev'n as thou guid'st and guard'st the ways, - Of thy dear offspring day and night. - - God comfort thee in all thy grief, - And ever thy sure Hope remain, - Ev'n as thou comfort'st with relief - Thy little ones in woe and pain. - - God cherish thee throughout thy life, - In weal and woe thy guardian be, - Ev'n as a mother and a wife - Thou still hast cherished them and me. - - - - - HEALTH. - - - OH! what a thing is health to lose, - And what a prize to gain, - Most valued when the spirit woos - Its coming back again. - - After long days and restless nights, - Reclined on weary bed, - How sweet when first its blessing lights - Upon the aching head. - - Its coming turns the life, as doth - The ocean with its tide, - Or as the spring renews the growth - Of what Earth's stores provide. - - Power, fame, and with them cherished gold, - That form man's constant aim, - All would be gladly overtold - Its halcyon bliss to claim. - - It passes life and death between, - From heaven's own portals borne, - Like the sweet under-light scarce seen - That parts the night from morn. - - An emblem of the peace that springs, - To chase away all strife, - An earnest of the grace, that brings - Life to the inner life. - - - - - THE GAME OF LIFE. - - - WATCHING the game of life as daily played, - One marvels at the blunders that are made; - Few trust to chance alone to gain their aim, - But with the means they use 'tis just the same. - Low cunning some employ, and call it skill, - Or substitute for Reason headstrong Will; - And when they win the prize for which they strive, - To their own genius they the credit give; - But when they lose, the blame on fate is thrown; - They never think the fault may be their own. - Others who boast that cunning they disdain, - Affect by Pride their purposes to gain; - High-reaching objects do their minds devise, - By which they blind their own and neighbours' eyes; - Aiming at lofty things, they highly rate - Their own designings, but they find too late - That for success mere unassisted Pride - Does not all necessary means provide; - So thinking surely to promote their aim, - And win the stake of their ambition's game, - But not particular as to how 'tis played, - They call, Pride's contrast, meanness to their aid: - Yet ev'n though Fortune should their hopes attend, - It does not change the matter in the end; - Meanness and Pride may climb the highest hill, - But Pride and meanness they continue still. - - Since Life's a game where all their part must play, - Reason and Truth should in it have the sway, - Or wanting these, as is too oft the case, - Folly and Passion will usurp their place. - - When this weak body dwindles into dust, - And man becomes the nothing that he must, - How puny then will to the soul appear - All that man toils and struggles for when here! - Bound to the narrow aims and views of Earth, - At death his spirit finds that all is dearth - That to this world relates, and well that he - Makes Time provide still for Eternity. - - - - - CONSUMPTION. - - - LIKE monumental Patience, see Decay - Watching the sand-glass slowly wear away, - While Death at hand, amid her waning powers, - Counts, as a monk his beads, her numbered hours. - Upon her brow, o'er which the tresses wave, - The cold dew gathers, dankly, of the grave, - And in her pale mild eyes a lustre shines, - As if her spirit, as she wastes, refines; - While ever and anon her sunken cheek, - Life's fading beauties delicately streak; - As the departing sun from ocean's brinks - Sheds out its glories brightly ere it sinks! - - - - - CHANGE. - - - GRIEF and change and sure decay - All on earth are doomed to know, - What the Past's memorials say - Must the Present undergo. - - Time but shifts his glass about, - And the sands their aims adjust, - In Creation's bounds throughout - All that is returns to dust. - - On the bud and on the flower, - On the child and man grown grey, - Change is passing every hour, - Death has set his snare to slay. - - And the feelings when they glow - With a taste of joy intense, - Soon a tinge of sadness know, - Dimming quickly all the sense. - - Vainly do we strive to keep - Such scant solace as we feel, - Blight unseen on all doth creep, - Pleasures hidden stings conceal. - - Weary soon become the things - That at first make glad our way, - And To-morrow never brings - The same joy we knew To-day. - - Toil exhausts, and strong Desire - Wasteth both the heart and head - With its strugglings, as the fire - Fastest burns the more 'tis fed. - - Life is all a chequered score, - Death and Time direct the chess, - One hath not a triumph more, - Nor the other one the less. - - Thus amid Mutation's range, - Man, impatient of relief, - Learns himself to long for change, - Even though bringing with it grief. - - - - - VIRTUE. - - - HE was a sage old man who said, - While in the public way he stood, - Virtue is best of all, because - Without it there is nothing good. - - He was no stoic who thus spoke - A word so practical and true, - Nor sophist that would grandly say - What he would ne'er attempt to do: - - But one of those wise heathen men - Who Reason followed as a guide, - And by it he was learned a truth - So humbling to mere human pride. - - Yet even to him, with all the lore - Philosophy amassed of old, - Was the full meaning all unknown - Of what unaided Reason told. - - A wiser man than he hath said, - By God's own spirit taught the same, - That wisdom is the chiefest thing - Deserving of man's fervent aim. - - Wisdom and virtue both are one, - And only are attained aright - In their whole fulness and intent, - When sought in Revelation's light. - - By it the sage old heathen's word - In all its breadth is understood; - Wisdom is best of all, he said, - Without it there is nothing good. (11) - - - - - VAIN HOPES. - - - VAIN is his labour who begins to sow, - Ere he has well prepared the soil below; - And vainer still his aim who hopes to win - To Heaven, before repenting of his sin. - - Weak is his wish who looks for full crops grown, - Who has prepared his land and no seed sown; - But weaker still his hopes who thinks to win - To Heaven, with mere repentance of his sin. - - To till the land and lay it out for seeds, - And yet none sown, will bring forth nought but weeds; - And wanting grace to fill, the void within - Breeds, with self-merit, all presumptuous sin. - - Fruitless his skill who would a vessel steer - Without a rudder to direct and veer; - More fruitless still his aim who seeks to win - To Heaven, when wanting prayer for light within. - - Hopeless his task who seeks to safely go, - Without a chart the dangerous rocks to show; - More hopeless still his aim, who seeks to win - To Heaven, when wanting faith to lead him in. - - - - - THE VALLEY OF LIFE. - - - IN the still midnight hour I sat alone - Within my chamber, sunk in reverie, - No sound disturbed my musings, all was hushed - In silence and in sleep, the light near done, - A dim uncertain flickering threw around. - The waning fire was but a heap of ashes, - While there and there a feeble red remained, - That now and then threw out a fitful gleam. - Something like slumber fell upon my eyes, - And a dream passed o'er my spirit stealthily, - As, in the early grey of morn, the mists, - Gathered in masses, up the hill-sides creep, - Ere they dissolve before the sun away. - Remembrance cannot all its features tell, - Though vivid and particular they seemed - When that dread vision on my senses came, - And I could trace the shadowy details, - As one might mark a phantom army march - O'er its last field of battle, ere it passed, - Into obscurity,--could note it then,-- - But afterwards cannot recall the place, - Order and rank, of each brigade and file. - - Methought I stood upon a bare hill-top, - And overlooked a vast and fertile plain - Peopled with many multitudes,--there met - Men of all tribes and nations that the globe - Holds in its wide extent, of every kind, - The Mongol, the Malayan, and the Negro, - The red American and Caucasian fair. - Among them Evil strode ubiquitous, - And threw its shadow wheresoe'er it came. - Its Jackal, lewd Temptation, went before, - With angel face and soft alluring eyes, - While close behind Guilt, Anguish, Care, and Pain - Followed incessantly, and left on all - Their mark impressed as with hot iron seared. - As then I looked upon the scene below, - Meseemed that wheresoe'er Temptation came, - And she came everywhere,--no spot escaped,-- - That many, most indeed of these vast crowds, - Themselves threw madly in her way, and sought - To win her smiles, nor deemed them poisonous; - And once within her meshes, few had will - To fly them, or to manfully resist, - As a strong man confronts his enemy, - And strives to overthrow him where they meet;-- - And she the while assumed all shapes and moods - That suited were to their intents and aims, - For, with a penetrating eye precise, - Intuitively still their minds she knew, - Tendencies and dispositions, and wore,-- - As snares in readiness she had for all,-- - The very guise adapted for their lure, - But carefully concealed the stings they bore. - - Disease and sorrow on her victims fell, - Too late they felt the curse that is entailed - On all who to the Tempter yield, and thus - Become an early prey to Evil, whose - Inheritance is misery and woe. - - And I beheld some 'mongst the various crowds - Who stood aloof from her, and would not be - Entangled with her witcheries or wiles. - These with a resolute will refused to come - Within her reach, and so escaped the first - Of Evil's followers, Guilt, though more or less, - They had their share of what the others left - Behind,--Care, Pain, and Anguish,--for the doom - Pronounced on Man was on them, but they knew - That these, to all who hold out to the end, - With a pure conscience and unspotted mind, - To their endurance will be tempered still, - And, in due season, turn to lasting good, - Which to their spirits consolation brought. - - The valley watered was with goodly rivers, - Upon the banks of which were many met. - Prudence was one, and on its grassy sides - Sat some who, calculating every chance, - A deaf ear to Temptation, when she came, - Turned, unseduced from their proprieties. - Repentance was another, near it lay - Those who Remorse felt and a wounded spirit, - Seeking relief from agonising thought - And racking self-reproach. Beyond these two - Was Perseverance, where returning health - Was found by all who there due time remained. - And farther still, with borders ever green, - And fresh flowers ever springing, ever new, - Were two sweet rills, Virtue and Faith their names, - Where peace of mind was known and purity: - And those who sought their banks,--they were not few, - Though, midst the mighty myriads around, - They seemed but small in number and select,-- - Remained unshaken in their constancy, - Resisting all enticements of the Tempter, - And gladly following the path of duty, - Which brought to them a sure and high reward. - On these, whate'er their griefs and trials were, - And they had many, to refine their souls, - And make them nobler after victory, - Enduring hope and perfect peace abode. - But whereso'er I looked besides, was seen - The power of Ill, shedding on all who bore - The fated impress of humanity, - Torment and fear, and bitter agony, - And pain intolerable,--At the sight - My spirit shrank, and, starting, I awoke! - - - - - AFTER-THOUGHT. - - - MAN values many things far more - Than their own worth told o'er and o'er, - Computed at its highest score. - - He counts his gold with anxious care, - As his whole heart's desire were there, - And hoards up treasures for his heir. - - He gives his labour, time, and health, - To add still something to his wealth, - And life enjoys as if by stealth. - - When pleasure's mood his thoughts employ, - He plays with every passing joy, - Just as a child does with its toy. - - He does not to reflexion call - What after reckoning may befall, - For how he has possessed them all. - - In the lapse onward of his years, - Ere age or grief his spirit sears, - He keeps no note of hopes or fears. - - Nor does he estimate his days, - That each its after-mead conveys, - Whether for censure or for praise, - - As they deserve especially, - Each day it is his lot to see, - As bearing on futurity. - - At night he tells up all his gains, - The more he gets the more he strains, - Or at his losses he complains. - - And then, as one who does his best, - He folds his arms upon his breast, - And with contentment takes his rest. - - Thus daily should he estimate - His bygone hours, and calculate - Their good or ill upon his fate; - - That when his days all vanished have, - They may no bitter reckoning crave,-- - There's no renewal in the grave. - - - - - NOTES. - - - - - NOTES. - - - NOTE 1, PAGE 55. - - "_The Alpine Horn._" - -Reichard, a German writer, affirms that when the sun sets, the shepherd -who dwells on the highest part of the Alps, calls through his horn, -"Praise God the Lord!" and the other shepherds, hearing the sound, -hasten out of their huts and repeat it. This continues for some time, -and the name of the Lord is thus re-echoed from mountain to valley. -When the sound ceases, all kneel down on the mountain, and their -prayers ascend together to the throne of grace. The shepherd from the -summit of the mountain then proclaims "Good night!" which is instantly -repeated by the rest. They then retire to their homes. - - - NOTE 2, PAGE 69. - - "_But come not near the hollyhock._" - -The flower of the hollyhock contains a species of poison, which is -fatal to bees, and round its nectaries and petals several of these -insects are frequently found lying insensible. - - - NOTE 3, PAGE 85. - - _Loch Awe._ - -A lake in Argyleshire. My earliest years were spent in its -neighbourhood; but I have not been there since I was a mere boy. - - "Ah! there my young footsteps in infancy wandered, - My cap was the bonnet, my cloak was the plaid; - On chieftains long perished my memory pondered, - As daily I strode through the pine-covered glade." - - BYRON. - -According to the Guide Books, Loch Awe and its vicinity, more perhaps -than any other district in the Highlands, abound with memorials of -former ages. The lake is thirty miles in extent, and of the average -breadth of one, although in some places it does not exceed half a -mile. It is surrounded by mountains finely wooded, and like many of -the Scottish lakes, its surface is studded over with small islands, -beautifully tufted with trees, and some of them large enough to admit -of being pastured. Upon the island of Innis-Hail are the remains of -a convent; and on a rocky promontory at the eastern extremity of the -lake stand the magnificent ruins of Kilchurn Castle. This structure, -which still exhibits the vestiges of a castellated square tower, was -built in 1440, by Sir John Campbell, (second son of Argyle,) Knight of -Rhodes, and ancestor of the Breadalbane family, and in later times it -became, from the extensive view it commanded of the lake, the favourite -residence of the chiefs of the family. In 1745 it was garrisoned by -the king's troops, in order to defend the pass into the Highlands, and -secure the tranquillity of the country. Emerging from the ocean, and -rising on the north-east bank of Loch Awe, soars Ben Cruachan, the -largest mountain in Argyleshire. Its perpendicular height is 3,390 -feet above the level of the sea, and its circumference at the base is -upwards of twenty miles. On the south, the ascent is gentle nearly to -the summit, where it rises abrupt, and divides into two points, each -having the form of a sugar-loaf. Before the storm, "the spirit of the -mountain shrieks" from Ben Cruachan, Ben Doran, and some other Highland -mountains. When Burke made his tour in Scotland, he declared that Loch -Awe was the most picturesque lake he had ever seen. It was in a narrow -pass in the vicinity of this lake that King Robert Bruce defeated the -Macdougals of Lorn, in 1308. In Loch Awe are found salmon, trout, eels, -and other fresh water fish. The lake discharges itself by the river Awe -into Loch Etive at Bunawe Ferry. - - - NOTE 4, PAGE 87. - - _The Wolf._ - -Wolves were once the scourge of England, and are still numerous in many -parts of France. The Poem is founded on an incident which occurred -some years ago in Picardy--the details of which were similar, with the -exception that the peasant shot his mother instead of his sweetheart, -in mistake for the wolf of which he was in pursuit. The last of these -ferocious animals seen in the neighbourhood of Guisne was shot by a -woman named Louise Vernette, nearly fifty years ago. During a severe -winter, when the whole country was covered with snow, a she-wolf, -urged to desperation by hunger, had entered her cottage at an early -hour of the morning, and carried off her infant, as it lay in the -cradle. The mother, on returning from the labours of the field, with -frantic lamentations searched the neighbourhood for her child. During -her wanderings she encountered a peasant, breathless from a long and -unavailing pursuit of the savage beast, which he had seen entering a -wood about three leagues distant with the child in its jaws. The whole -village immediately renewed the chase; the mother, arming herself with -a gun, was, as might have been expected, the most indefatigable, and, -penetrating into the recesses of the forest, encountered the monster, -which she shot dead. No traces of the miserable infant were ever -discovered. - - - NOTE 5, PAGE 105. - - _Mount Horeb._ - -Mount Sinai stands about 120 miles south from Jerusalem, and nearly 260 -eastward from Grand Cairo in Egypt. The mountain is of no great extent, -but extremely high, and has two tops; the western of which is called -Horeb, and the eastern, which is about a third higher, Sinai. There are -several springs and fruit-trees on Horeb, but nothing except rainwater -on the top of Sinai. The ascent of both is very steep, and can only be -effected by steps, now much effaced, which the Empress Helena, mother -of Constantine the Great, caused to be cut in the marble rock. At the -foot of Mount Sinai, on the north, and near to the ascent of Mount -Horeb, there was a monastery dedicated to Saint Catherine, but now in -ruins, not far distant from which there stands a fountain of very clear -water, formed like a bow or arch. A little above which is to be seen -the Cave where Elijah rested when God spoke unto him, 1 Kings xix. From -the top of Sinai, God proclaimed his law to the Hebrews amid devouring -flames of fire, Exod. xxiv. The Rock Rephidim, which seems to have -been a clift fallen off from the side of Sinai, and lies like a large -loose stone in the midst of the valley, gives name to that part of the -desert nearest the mountain. There are twelve openings in it, whence, -on being struck by Moses, the waters gushed out for the supply of the -Israelites, during the forty years they tarried in the desert, Exod. -xvii. - - - NOTE 6, PAGE 116. - - _Dryburgh Abbey._ - -The ruins of Dryburgh Abbey are surpassingly interesting, from their -antiquity, history, picturesque appearance, and more than all, from the -GREAT MINSTREL being buried there. The grave of Sir Walter Scott is -in St. Mary's Aisle of the Abbey Church of Dryburgh, which is in the -form of a cross, and the Poet lies in the left transept of the Cross, -part of which is still standing, and close to where the high altar -formerly stood. This transept is divided into three burial-places; -that of Sir Walter Scott, Baronet, in right of his grandmother, Lady -Haliburton's family; that of James Erskine, Esq. of Shieldhall and -Melrose; and that of James G. Haig, Esq. of the ancient family of -Bemersyde. These, with the tomb-house of the Earl of Buchan, in St. -Moden's Chapel, and that of James Anderson, Esq. of Gledswood, form, -I believe, the only cemeteries in Dryburgh. These venerable ruins -stand on a romantic peninsula, formed by one of the great windings -of the Tweed, commonly called the crescent of that river, in the -south-west nook of Berwickshire, where the river divides that county -from Roxburghshire. The land rises in a sloping bank from the margin of -the Tweed to the top of Dryburgh Hill, about 800 feet high, on which -stands the colossal statue of _Wallace_, erected by the late revered -Earl of Buchan. The trees in the neighbourhood of Dryburgh have a very -luxuriant appearance, and some of them are rather remarkable. There are -many vestiges of old oaks to be found, and the ash and the yew have -grown to a surprising height and circumference; and there is still, -in the cemetery of the Abbey, a yew-tree of uncommon beauty, which is -upwards of ten feet in circumference, at six feet from the ground. In -the grounds opposite the mansion house of Dryburgh, there are also some -fine trees, particularly a noble cedar, which has been much admired. -Many interesting remains of antiquity have been dug up in Dryburgh -Abbey and places adjacent. - - - NOTE 7, PAGE 140. - - _Sonnets on Danby's Picture._ - -Mr Danby could scarcely have chosen a better subject for the display of -his great powers than that of the Deluge. In this highly effective and -beautiful work of art, an Angel of light is introduced, weeping over -the lifeless bodies of a giant and a female, who, floating above the -swelling waters on a hastily constructed raft, were crushed to death by -a fallen tree. This part of the scene is evidently illustrative of that -passage in Scripture which refers to the "Sons of God," who "saw that -the daughters of men were fair, and they took them wives of all whom -they chose." The "Sons of God," according to the best commentators, -were a race of men favoured by God, but who generally incurred his -displeasure, and perished with mankind in general. - - - NOTE 8, PAGE 157. - - "_Calmly the martyr Guthrie met his fate._" - -Mr James Guthrie, minister of Stirling, was executed at Edinburgh, on -the 1st of June 1661, for his adherence to the Covenant. In his dying -speech, he solemnly declared,--"I take God to record upon my soul, I -would not exchange this scaffold with the palace or the mitre of the -greatest prelate in Britain." - - - NOTE 9, PAGE 167. - - _The Eagle's Nest._ - -The incident here versified is founded on fact, although I have taken -the liberty slightly to alter the details,--to change the scene, as it -were, of the heroine's birth-place,--and to give her a name of my own -choosing. The case is thus narrated by Dr Rush of Philadelphia, in his -"Lectures on the Utility of a Knowledge of the Mind to a Physician," -lect. xi.:-- - -"During the time I passed at a country school, at Cecil county, in -Maryland," says that eminent medical philosopher, "I often went, on a -holiday, with my schoolmates, to see an eagle's nest, upon the summit -of a dead tree in the neighbourhood of the school, during the time of -the incubation of that bird. The daughter of the farmer in whose field -the tree stood, and with whom I became acquainted, married, and settled -in this place about forty years ago. In our occasional interviews, we -now and then spoke of the innocent pursuits and rural pleasures of our -youth, and, among other things, of the eagle's nest in her father's -field. A few years ago I was called to visit this woman, when she was -in the lowest stage of a typhus fever. Upon entering her room, I caught -her eye, and, with a cheerful tone of voice, said only--'The eagle's -nest!' She seized my hand, without being able to speak, and discovered -strong emotions of pleasure in her countenance, probably from a sudden -association of all her early domestic connexions and enjoyments with -the words I had uttered. From that time she began to recover. She is -now living, and seldom fails, when we meet, to salute me with the echo -of--'The eagle's nest!'" - - - NOTE 10, PAGE 193. - - "_Our history records, 'with sorrow and with shame.'_" - -Marshal Ney was shot in violation of a solemn capitulation--the -Convention of Paris;--by the twelfth article of which an amnesty -was granted to all persons in the capital, whatever might be their -opinions, their offices, or their conduct. Marshal Davoust, who had -concluded the Convention, explained it in favour of Ney,--and so -will impartial history. The Duke of Wellington, however, on being -appealed to by the unfortunate Ney, during the trial returned the cold -and lawyer-like answer,--"That the Convention was merely a military -convention, and did not, and could not, promise pardon for political -offences, on the part of the French government." And so Ney, the most -heroic of all the marshals of the French Revolution, was most foully -murdered in the garden of the Luxembourg, to satisfy a point of mere -military etiquette! Like the Dacian captive of old,-- - - "Butchered to make a Roman holiday." - -That the Duke of Wellington did not at once strongly remonstrate -against the illegality of the act was unfortunate for his own fame. It -required but the saving of Ney's life to have made him the greatest man -of his time. That the act was illegal is acknowledged by the ablest -jurisconsults of Europe. Well might Ney himself exclaim, when he found -that his death was resolved upon:--"I am accused against the faith of -treaties, and they will not let me justify myself. I appeal to Europe -and to posterity!" - - - NOTE 11, PAGE 241. - - "_He was a sage old man who said._" - -A sophist, wishing to perplex Thales, who was one of the seven wise men -of Greece, asked him many difficult questions; to all of which the sage -replied without the least hesitation. To one of those questions,--which -was the following,--"What is the best of all things?" Thales gave -this response: "Virtue; because without it there is nothing good." -Such is the conviction of mere unassisted and stumbling reason, the -voice of nature, and the unequivocal and direct assertion of a heathen -philosopher.--_Preface to Piety and Intellect Relatively Estimated, by -Dr Henry Edwards._--An excellent work. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Poems, by William Anderson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS *** - -***** This file should be named 54505-8.txt or 54505-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/0/54505/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Poems - -Author: William Anderson - -Release Date: April 7, 2017 [EBook #54505] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Nahum Maso i Carcases and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="medium no-indent center"><b>Transcriber's Notes:</b></p> -<p>Obvious punctuation errors and misprints have been corrected.</p> -<p>The blank pages of the printed original have been deleted in the e-text version.</p> -<p class="tnnote">A large curly bracket present in the poem "Mount Horeb" of the printed original -is indicated with three small curly brackets in the e-text version.</p> -<p class="tnnote">The cover image has been created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center xlarge bold p2">POEMS.</p> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> - -<h1>POEMS.</h1> - -<p class="no-indent center medium">BY</p> - -<p class="no-indent center xlarge bold">WILLIAM ANDERSON.</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p2">Now First Collected.</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"> -EDINBURGH:<br /> -J. MENZIES, 61, PRINCES STREET.<br /> -1845.<br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2">EDINBURGH:</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small"><span class="smcap">Aw. Murray, Printer, Milne Square.</span></p> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p2">TO</p> - -<p class="no-indent center xlarge p1">HENRY EDWARDS, D.D., <span class="smcap">Ph.D.</span>,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p1">AUTHOR OF</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p1">"PIETY AND INTELLECT RELATIVELY ESTIMATED," "CHRISTIAN -HUMILITY," AND SEVERAL OTHER WORKS OF MERIT.</p> - -<p class="no-indent center large p1">THIS VOLUME</p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1">IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p1">BY</p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1">HIS SINCERE FRIEND,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center large p1">THE AUTHOR.</p> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Landscape Lyrics.</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">I. Sunrise,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_7">7</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">II. Morning farther advanced,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_10">10</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">III. Noonday,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_13">13</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">IV. The Sunbeam,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_16">16</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">V. To a Wild Flower,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_19">19</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">VI. Summer,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_22">22</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">VII. Midsummer,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_25">25</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">VIII. The Sunshine of Poetry,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_28">28</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">IX. Autumn, in its First Aspect,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_31">31</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">X. Autumn, in its Second Aspect,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_34">34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">XI. Sunset,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_37">37</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">XII. Twilight,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_40">40</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">XIII. Moonlight on Land,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_43">43</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">XIV. Moonlight at Sea,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_46">46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">XV. Home Scenes,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_49">49</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="tdl tdpt"><span class="smcap">Poetical Aspirations.</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Alpine Horn,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Reflections on Death,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Through the Wood.—Modern Ballad,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span>Song of the Exile,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">To Fame,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_66">66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">To a Bee,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_68">68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Storm, </td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_71">71</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">"Lazarus, Come Forth,"</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnet. On the Approach of Summer,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Beauty,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">To M. J. R.,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_76">76</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnet. A Contrast,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnet. Roslin,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">On the Birth of a Niece,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">On her death,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_80">80</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnet. To Happiness,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Thoughts,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Loch Awe,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Wolf,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The April Cloud,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Spring,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Poesy,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_97">97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnet. To a Friend of the Author,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Gipsy's Lullaby,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Woodland Song,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnet. The Ocean,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Mount Horeb,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Written beneath an Elm,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_111">111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Wells o' Weary,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span>Dryburgh Abbey,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="tdl tdpt"><span class="smcap">Poems here First Collected.</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Grace,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Matin,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_121">121</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Immortality,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Lines. On the Death of John Sinclair, Esq., Edinburgh,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Weep not for the Dead,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Idols,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Truth,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_132">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sabbath Morn,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sabbath Eve,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Dreams of the Living,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Lines,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnets Written on Viewing Danby's Picture of the Deluge,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Thought,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_142">142</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Lines Written on the Attempted Assassination of the Queen, July 1840,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Song.—"I'm Naebody Noo,"</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Song. "There's Plenty Come to Woo me,"</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Stout Old British Ship,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#PoemPage_151">151</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Lines on the Infant Son and Daughter of Hon. Col. Montague,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Martyrs,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Caledonia, My Country,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Song. "I Canna Sleep,"</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span>Song. "Yonder Sunny Brae,"</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="tdl tdpt"><span class="smcap">The Eagle's Nest, and other Poems, here first Printed.</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Eagle's Nest,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Advent of Truth,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Lines Suggested by a Walk in a Garden,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Sonnet. Sunshine,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Song. "At E'ening when the Kye war in,"</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Stanzas on a Bust of Marshal Ney,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Winter,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Human Conduct,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Courtship Lines,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Love-Weakness,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Lines to the Rev. Henry Dudley Ryder, on reading his "Angelicon,"</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Poet,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Light and Shadow,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Early Dead,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">A Dirge,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">A Benediction,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Health,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_233">233</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Game of Life,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Consumption,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Change,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_238">238</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Virtue,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">Vain Hopes,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">The Valley of Life,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdi">After Thought,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl tdpt"><span class="smcap">Notes</span>,</td> - <td class="tdr tdb"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h2>LANDSCAPE LYRICS.</h2> - -<p class="no-indent center small p2">(SECOND EDITION.)</p> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p2">TO</p> - -<p class="no-indent center xlarge p1">THE REV. HENRY DUDLEY RYDER,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p1">CANON RESIDENTIARY OF LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center large p1">THIS VOLUME OF LANDSCAPE LYRICS,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p1">AS</p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1">A MARK OF RESPECT FOR HIS VIRTUES,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1">OF ADMIRATION OF HIS GENIUS,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center small p1">AND IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE PLEASANT HOURS PASSED IN HIS SOCIETY,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center large p1">IS INSCRIBED,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1">BY HIS FRIEND,</p> - -<p class="no-indent center large p1">THE AUTHOR.</p> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<h3>PREFACE -<br /><span class="small">TO THE</span> -<br /><span class="smaller">FIRST EDITION OF LANDSCAPE LYRICS</span>.</h3> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> poems contained in the following pages must -be taken as parts of a whole, being intended to be -distinct only in their subjects. This will account -for the same measure being used throughout.</p> - -<p>Of these pieces, the only one which has been -previously published is that addressed "To a Wild -Flower." My reason for inserting it here is, that -it harmonizes with the other poems; and, having -been already favourably spoken of by competent -judges, I must confess it is one which I should -"not willingly let die."</p> - -<p>In the first poem on "Autumn," I have introduced -what has always appeared to me a beautiful -incident in nature; namely, the singing of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -the missel-thrush during a thunder-storm. The -louder the thunder roars, the shriller and sweeter -becomes its voice. This interesting little bird is -popularly known by the name of the storm-cock, -because he is supposed to sing boldest immediately -previous to a storm; but that he also sends forth -his "native wood notes wild," during its continuance, -is a fact which has been satisfactorily ascertained. -Undismayed by the tempest's fury, or, -rather rejoicing in its violence, the small but spirited -songster warbles on unceasingly, as if desirous -of emulating the loudness of the thunder-tone, -or of making his song be heard above the -noise of the raging elements.</p> - -<p>The poetry of nature, particularly at this joyous -season, is in its landscapes; and if these unpretending -"Lyrics" should lead any one to a healthy -contemplation of natural objects, or impart, to refined -minds, any pleasure in the perusal, the time -which has been bestowed upon them will not have -been idly or unprofitably employed.</p> - -<p class="p1"><span class="smcap">London</span>, 1st June, 1838.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center xlarge bold p2">POEMS.</p> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p id="PoemPage_7" class="poem-heading no-indent xlarge bold p2">LANDSCAPE LYRICS.</p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">No. I.—SUNRISE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Spread</span> are dawn's radiant wings,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its dazzling feet pursue their silent way,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Leaving no shadow, for each coming ray</div> -<div class="verse i6">A general brightness brings.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The vapour from the brow</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the old mountain crests, begins to part,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like care from off the forehead, and the heart—</div> -<div class="verse i6">And all is cloudless now!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The universal air,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The smiling sky, and the far-stretching mead—</div> -<div class="verse i0">All nature, in its varied forms agreed,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Mingle their beauties there!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The ripple of the wave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Beachward returning to the distant shore,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a lone pilgrim to the cottage door,</div> -<div class="verse i6">That once a welcome gave:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The new-waked laureat bee,</div> -<div class="verse i0">On the flower-blossom, breathing in its mirth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its conch-like matin song, to greet the earth,</div> -<div class="verse i6">With ever grateful glee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The landscape's free expanse,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And all the harmonies that, spread around,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Combine the joys of hearing, sight, and sound,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Are gathered at a glance;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And powerfully they tell,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With deeper eloquence than notes divine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of many things that round our heart-strings twine,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And in our fancies dwell;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Of boyhood's sportive days,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The thymy glade, the daisy blooming there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The vale remote, or lake secluded, where</div> -<div class="verse i6">The smiling sunbeam plays;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The gay flowers on the plain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gemming the mead, perfuming all the wood;</div> -<div class="verse i0">As if each Summer morn was Spring renew'd,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Or May-day come again!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The music of the birds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Telling all sleepers of the birth of day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, with reviving Nature, haste to pay</div> -<div class="verse i6">Their homage, not in words!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The dreamy waterfall,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Babbling and bubbling from the upland spring;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The soaring crag where eaglets rest their wing,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Listening the eagle's call:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The minstrel streamlet near,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The zephyr's breath, too languid for a breeze,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That stirs, yet scarcely moves, the gentle trees,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Touching the waters clear.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The sunrays, as they pass</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into broad sunshine, throw their light on all,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With bloom and blossom, whereso'er they fall;</div> -<div class="verse i6">On mount, or meadow-grass.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And something more than light</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sleeps on the verdant hill-side; dreams of love,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And glimpses of the happier state above,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Burst on the mental sight.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_10" class="poem-heading">No. II.—MORNING FURTHER ADVANCED.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Meet</span> 'tis to watch and spy,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The laughing Orient, like a chubby child,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bringing new joyousness to wood and wild,</div> -<div class="verse i6">To ocean, earth, and sky.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The groups of early flowers</div> -<div class="verse i0">To th' enamoured sun their bosoms ope,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Apt emblems of the welcome birth of Hope,</div> -<div class="verse i6">In life's oft darkened bowers.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Pass to the green hill-side,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And let us wander where the wild flowers grow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gaze on the sedgy stream's calm depths below,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Where gentle minnows glide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The sheltered cuckoo's notes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the young sunshine, echo on the ear—</div> -<div class="verse i0">A moving voice, from all around, is here!—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Hymns from a thousand throats:—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The spirit grows the more</div> -<div class="verse i0">Refined and holy, as we stand and gaze</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon the landscape, brightening in the blaze</div> -<div class="verse i6">That gilds both land and shore.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">All objects, far and near,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The light of morn illumines; it is now</div> -<div class="verse i0">That man can walk erect with glowing brow,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And heart devoid of fear.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And, lo! there is a stir</div> -<div class="verse i0">In yonder village, bosomed in the dell,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a meek babe, loved by its mother well,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And loving nought but her!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Where claims the eye to rest?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Earth has a balmy look, and so has Heaven;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And thoughts, like mazy clouds through ether driven,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Float in th' enraptured breast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The sylvan haunts, where youth</div> -<div class="verse i0">Roams, fancy led, all glorious in their hue;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The quaint sequestered spots and paths we view,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Where Age consorts with Truth.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Read we of aught that wakes</div> -<div class="verse i0">High inspiration in the soul, in scenes like these?</div> -<div class="verse i0">The tufted trees' fantastic tapestries—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Romantic knolls and brakes;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The hill-enskirted glen,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where bound the wild deer; and the huntsman's horn</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sounds from afar, a welcome to the morn,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Till Echo sounds again!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And more than all, the old</div> -<div class="verse i0">And pyramidal mountains, that with time</div> -<div class="verse i0">Have stood, defying change, and storm, and clime,</div> -<div class="verse i6">As none else of earth's mould</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Hath done: the sun embrowns,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But does not scorch them; rain, and wind, and snow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Renew them, not destroy; no waste they know,</div> -<div class="verse i6">But lasting glory crowns.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Still to the heart endeared</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are sights like this we gaze on. Do we deem</div> -<div class="verse i0">That they are other than a privileged dream?—</div> -<div class="verse i6">One that the mind has reared!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_13" class="poem-heading">No. III.—NOONDAY.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Lo</span>! like an eastern king,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Forth marches Sunshine gorgeously through earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">By health attended, and life-giving mirth,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And heralded by Spring.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Light through the untrack'd air,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Pursues its course authentic; hill and dale</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rejoice, and Nature cries, "All hail!"</div> -<div class="verse i6">As if a king were there.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The elevated lawns,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where first the day comes, and where last retires,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rejoicing seem; their light the mind inspires,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And thought, like morning, dawns.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The wild, yet artless breeze,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Now, in the ear of Nature, sings its song,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wandering green fields and flowery banks among,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And over shadowy seas.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Soft falls the sunlight down</div> -<div class="verse i0">On the old castle that, above the dell,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Stands in its glory, lone, as if to tell</div> -<div class="verse i6">Some tale of past renown.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The hamlet in the vale,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The church beside the stream that winds remote</div> -<div class="verse i0">Among the hills—the smoothly-going boat,</div> -<div class="verse i6">That midway hoists its sail.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">A scene like this is rife</div> -<div class="verse i0">With pleasurable feelings, as with grace;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Perhaps we here, instructively, may trace</div> -<div class="verse i6">Some simile of life!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The grey and steadfast hills</div> -<div class="verse i0">Tell of the old immortals of past time:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, looking downward, beauty, in its prime,</div> -<div class="verse i6">The heart with rapture fills.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The care-escaping deer</div> -<div class="verse i0">Descend together from the uplands, while</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sprouting grass puts forth a pleasant smile,</div> -<div class="verse i6">As if to tempt them near.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The sinless flowers, away</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the far inward forest paths bestrown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are yet not solitary, though alone;</div> -<div class="verse i6">None are so glad as they.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The comely violets</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their leaf-buds open, and the sunshine seek;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The pastures fresh their grateful homage speak,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Untinctured with regrets.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The virgin rose assumes</div> -<div class="verse i0">A bridal bearing, as if noonday came,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With brighter countenance, its love to claim,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And revel 'midst its blooms:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The prattle of the brook,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The lazy clouds that, hung in middle sky,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Exulting in the balm, float listless by,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Reflecting back their look:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The buds, the herbs, the leaves,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Each, and all things that blossom, bless the rays</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the bright sun, and, as they bless, they praise</div> -<div class="verse i6">The bounteous Hand that gives!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_16" class="poem-heading">No. IV.—THE SUNBEAM.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Now</span> glory walks abroad,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And on the quiet unassuming stream,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And on the rock-ribbed hills, gently its beam</div> -<div class="verse i6">All lovely is bestowed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The daizy-footed day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">O'er the far mead, in virgin radiance comes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While the bee, jubilant, its welcome hums,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And passes on its way.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The lily, in its bloom,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the lone valley, where the breezes sing</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of love, beside the violet-crested spring,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And heather-bell's perfume:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And beauty, without guile,</div> -<div class="verse i0">It pictures dreams of in the bounding breast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And love-breathed vows, and unions that are blest,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And childhood's fairy smile:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The mountain's verdant side,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where visioned poesy delights to show</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sights of Heaven to gentle minds below:</div> -<div class="verse i6">The heath-bank in its pride:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The broken branch, grass-hid,</div> -<div class="verse i0">On which the goat-herd leans, while, far aloof,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His bounding charge rest th' adventurous hoof</div> -<div class="verse i6">Where man's foot dare not tread:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The cushat in the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where the laburnum and the lilac grow;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The placid rill, wandering away below,</div> -<div class="verse i6">As one for earth too good:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The dim-seen paths remote,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That lead to lone retreats and leafy cells,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where, like a bashful fay, the fancy dwells,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And many-imaged thought:</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The vintage and its cheer,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The peasant, sun-embrown'd, and flow'r-deck'd maid,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The festooned village, music in the shade,</div> -<div class="verse i6">To charm th' expectant ear:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The flow'ret in the wild,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The mossy resting place, 'neath oaks antique:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The half-grassed foot-track worldlings do not seek,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Where poets are beguiled:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The foam-bell on the wave;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The full-sailed vessel on its homeward track;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The smile that lights the sorrowing sinner back:</div> -<div class="verse i6">The primrose on a grave!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The berry's purple shine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Grape-like and lustrous, scattered 'mid the waste:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sprinkled heath-flower, healthful, golden-paced:</div> -<div class="verse i6">The patriarchal pine:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The memories of all</div> -<div class="verse i0">Telling of pleasures rare, and jocund ease,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In deep-toned joyousness, yea, more than these,</div> -<div class="verse i6">The sunbeam does recall:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The hope of life above;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rich buds of promise springing everywhere;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The grace-blest gifts that come without our care,</div> -<div class="verse i6">From all-providing Love!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_19" class="poem-heading">No. V.—TO A WILD FLOWER.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">In</span> what delightful land,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sweet-scented flower, didst thou attain thy birth?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thou art no offspring of the common earth,</div> -<div class="verse i6">By common breezes fanned!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Full oft my gladdened eye,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In pleasant glade, on river's marge has traced,</div> -<div class="verse i0">(As if there planted by the hand of Taste),</div> -<div class="verse i6">Sweet flowers of every dye:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">But never did I see,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In mead or mountain, or domestic bower,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Mong many a lovely and delicious flower,</div> -<div class="verse i6">One half so fair as thee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Thy beauty makes rejoice</div> -<div class="verse i0">My inmost heart.—I know not how 'tis so,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Quick-coming fancies thou dost make me know,</div> -<div class="verse i6">For fragrance is thy voice:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And still it comes to me,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In quiet night, and turmoil of the day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like memory of friends gone far away,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Or, haply, ceased to be.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Together we'll commune,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As lovers do, when, standing all apart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">No one o'erhears the whispers of their heart,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Save the all-silent moon.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Thy thoughts I can divine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Although not uttered in vernac'lar words:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thou me remind'st of songs of forest birds;</div> -<div class="verse i6">Of venerable wine;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Of Earth's fresh shrubs and roots;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of Summer days, when men their thirsting slake</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the cool fountain, or the cooler lake,</div> -<div class="verse i6">While eating wood-grown fruits:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Thy leaves my memory tell</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of sights, and scents, and sounds, that come again,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like ocean's murmurs, when the balmy strain</div> -<div class="verse i6">Is echoed in its shell.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The meadows in their green,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Smooth-running waters in the far-off ways,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The deep-voiced forest where the hermit prays,</div> -<div class="verse i6">In thy fair face are seen.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Thy home is in the wild,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Mong sylvan shades, near music-haunted springs,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where peace dwells all apart from earthly things,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Like some secluded child.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The beauty of the sky,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The music of the woods, the love that stirs</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wherever Nature charms her worshippers,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Are all by thee brought nigh.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">I shall not soon forget</div> -<div class="verse i0">What thou hast taught me in my solitude:</div> -<div class="verse i0">My feelings have acquired a taste of good,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Sweet flower! since first we met.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Thou bring'st unto the soul</div> -<div class="verse i0">A blessing and a peace, inspiring thought!</div> -<div class="verse i0">And dost the goodness and the power denote</div> -<div class="verse i6">Of Him who formed the whole.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_22" class="poem-heading">No. VI.—SUMMER.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Is</span> vision-land so near,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And we not know of it? Oh! dull and dead</div> -<div class="verse i0">Must be the heart, the passions cold as lead,</div> -<div class="verse i6">That find no beauty here!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Fresh o'er th' awakened earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Now all the glories of the Summer shine;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And Nature, as if drunk with olden wine,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Is laughing in its mirth!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And melodies are heard</div> -<div class="verse i0">From far and near, and sounds that stir the heart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sweeter than fancy dreams of, when slow Art</div> -<div class="verse i6">To rival them has erred.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">All things become more pure</div> -<div class="verse i0">And hallowed to the view: the very flowers</div> -<div class="verse i0">Seem smiling in a world more rich than ours—</div> -<div class="verse i6">A birth-place more secure!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The berry of the wood</div> -<div class="verse i0">Blooms with new lustre, 'neath the golden ray</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the warm sunshine, resting by the way,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Where the green forests brood.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The old and reverend trees,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And clustering thickets, now are gladly sought</div> -<div class="verse i0">By him who from the heat would stray remote,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And rest his limbs at ease.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The smell of new-mown hay</div> -<div class="verse i0">Revives the heart, like as at evening time</div> -<div class="verse i0">We love to listen to the tinkling chime</div> -<div class="verse i6">Of sheep-bells far away.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And, lo! the rustic cot,</div> -<div class="verse i0">On the smooth margin of the quiet lake,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where wedded Love and pleased Content partake</div> -<div class="verse i6">Their enviable lot:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Where, daylong, may be seen</div> -<div class="verse i0">Two sister swans, disporting in their joy;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The happy parents, with their baby-boy,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Reclining on the green.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Decay should seem unknown—</div> -<div class="verse i0">But spiteful Time its certain change prepares:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Light has its shade, and pleasure has its cares;</div> -<div class="verse i6">Music its saddened tone:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Summer its springing weeds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And trodden flowers that tell of bygone joys,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And thoughts long since forgotten, 'mid the noise</div> -<div class="verse i6">That from man's haunts proceeds.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">How beautiful the sight!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Why should we think of change for scenes like this?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Fair as a poet's thought, when thought is bliss,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And all he sees is light!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Let but th' enraptured eye</div> -<div class="verse i0">Once look upon the landscape's gorgeous train</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, like a kiss upon the brow of pain,</div> -<div class="verse i6">That brings a solace nigh,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">In after years 'twill rest</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within the memory, with bloom and balm,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Refreshing to the soul, like a sweet calm</div> -<div class="verse i6">On ocean's troubled breast.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_25" class="poem-heading">No. VII.—MIDSUMMER.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">A blaze</span> is in mine eyes</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of rich and balmy light; and on mine ear</div> -<div class="verse i0">A sound of melody is ringing clear,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Like carols in the skies:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And on my heart the while</div> -<div class="verse i0">There rests, like Love, when Hope is bright as this,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A charm to soothe, a thrill of good to bless;</div> -<div class="verse i6">A universal smile!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Is it a picture limned</div> -<div class="verse i0">By some high intellect where genius throngs?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are these the echoes of celestial songs,</div> -<div class="verse i6">By angel-voices hymned?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Am I on earth, in air,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In heaven, or on the sea,—with ocean's sights,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And ocean's sounds,—that I partake delights,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And visions see so fair?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Ah, me! a shadow steals</div> -<div class="verse i0">From out the mountains, like a lurking grief;</div> -<div class="verse i0">As on our happy home, the silent thief</div> -<div class="verse i6">His hateful eye reveals;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Bringing me down from heaven</div> -<div class="verse i0">To this dull earth, whereon my footsteps tread—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sky, so calm and pure above my head,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Health to my soul has given!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And now, before me placed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">What is there to rejoice the eye or ear?</div> -<div class="verse i0">All that the heart deems fair is surely here,</div> -<div class="verse i6">By God's own fingers traced:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And bounteously his gifts</div> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">He</span> has bestowed upon the growing land;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her paths are teeming from his lib'ral Hand,</div> -<div class="verse i6">That knows no grudging thrifts.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Up looks the toiling hind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And wipes his brow, and rests upon his spade;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The idle herdsman, in the hawthorn shade,</div> -<div class="verse i6">A-weary lies reclined.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The village church is seen,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Light streaming through its windows, soft and fair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like rays of mercy, answering the prayer</div> -<div class="verse i6">Of penitence serene.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">'Midst fairy scenes like these,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whose fruitage beautiful allures each sense,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And whose green leaves, in blooming eloquence,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Exert their aim to please,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Can thought, in its career</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of joy, pause midway, and with care alight?—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Can fancy, eagle-winged, restrain its flight,</div> -<div class="verse i6">To dream of winter drear?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">In noonday's warmest ray</div> -<div class="verse i0">We deem that darkness has our clime forsook:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Backward or forward we refuse to look;</div> -<div class="verse i6">But on the present stay.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Yet let not gloom be here!</div> -<div class="verse i0">The Earth rejoices now in Nature's prime;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Season of joy,—the holiday of Time,—</div> -<div class="verse i6">The Sabbath of the year!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_28" class="poem-heading">No. VIII.—THE SUNSHINE OF POETRY.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Think</span> not the poet's song</div> -<div class="verse i0">Worthless or idle; do not deem his lay</div> -<div class="verse i0">Fantastic, that he offers by the way,</div> -<div class="verse i6">To make it seem less long.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">His numbers have their use,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though foolish they may sound to worldling's ear;</div> -<div class="verse i0">His own lot, if no other's, they may cheer;</div> -<div class="verse i6">His own content produce.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Does he not add a light</div> -<div class="verse i0">To earth-born beauty, wanting it unknown?</div> -<div class="verse i0">To bloom give balm, to melody a tone,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Make brightness seem more bright?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Does he not fill the air</div> -<div class="verse i0">With sights, and shapes, and shadows?—make the sky</div> -<div class="verse i0">The dwelling-place of beings, which no eye</div> -<div class="verse i6">But his can image there?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And more than all, his lay</div> -<div class="verse i0">Awakes new feelings in the human heart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And visions bring that never can depart,</div> -<div class="verse i6">When once they feel his sway.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">To him the power is given</div> -<div class="verse i0">To soothe the broken heart, the care-worn mind;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the waked soul in dreams ecstatic bind,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And bear away to heaven:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">For to none else does earth</div> -<div class="verse i0">Look with so fair a promise; yea, to none</div> -<div class="verse i0">Speaks she with such an eloquence of tone,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Or to such thoughts gives birth,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Ah! who may analyse</div> -<div class="verse i0">The cloistered feelings of the poet's soul,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When Nature's impulse vibrates through the whole,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And Truth, that never dies!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Creation's beauties bring</div> -<div class="verse i0">Renewed enjoyment, and his genius fire;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For every sight, and every sound, inspire</div> -<div class="verse i6">His inmost heart to sing!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">His birthright is to live</div> -<div class="verse i0">In citizenship with Nature;—to hold</div> -<div class="verse i0">Communion with her mysteries, his old</div> -<div class="verse i6">And high prerogative!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Seeks he for wealth, denied</div> -<div class="verse i0">By worldlings, lucre-led, of sordid mind;</div> -<div class="verse i0">His heritage,—free, fertile, unconfined,—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Is Nature's pastures wide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Pants he for peace, to throw</div> -<div class="verse i0">A solace on his soul? The voice that breathes</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its music, 'mong the wild flowers' clustering wreaths,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Does to his heart bestow</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">A bliss that none can share,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Save him whom Nature to some far-sought wild</div> -<div class="verse i0">Has led, anointed as her chosen child,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And made her sacred care.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Where'er the breezes roam,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The mountains soar, or ocean's wave is thrown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The poet's spirit, free as Nature's own,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Finds for itself a home!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_31" class="poem-heading">No. IX.—AUTUMN, IN ITS FIRST ASPECT.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">The</span> orchard's plenteous store,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The apple-boughs o'erburdened with their load,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That passers-by may gather from the road,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Hang now the near walls o'er:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And filberts, bursting fair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Seduce the loiterer to reach the hand,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And pluck the offered treasures of the land,</div> -<div class="verse i6">With wood-nuts that are there.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The still hill-sides are clad</div> -<div class="verse i0">With bloom; the distant moorland now is bright</div> -<div class="verse i0">With blossom, and with beauty; the rich sight</div> -<div class="verse i6">The heart of man makes glad.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The hamlet is at peace;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, in the ripened fields, the reapers ply</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their useful labour; while a golden sky</div> -<div class="verse i6">Smiles on the soil's increase.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">To the romantic spring,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That gushes lone beneath the neighbouring hill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The cottage maidens go, their jars to fill,</div> -<div class="verse i6">While carols rude they sing!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Sweet is the cuckoo's song</div> -<div class="verse i0">In early Spring, and musical and blessed</div> -<div class="verse i0">The nightingale—young Summer's lutenist—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Pours its gay notes-along;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And, in the thunder's roar,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In Autumn, when the sudden lightnings flash,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sweet sings the missel-thrush amid the crash,</div> -<div class="verse i6">The bursting tempest o'er!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">As solitary tree,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That, pilgrim-like, scathless, amid the shock</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of rudest storms, that burst the sterner rock,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Stands in its grandeur free.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">But sweeter than them all,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And softer than the voice of love returned,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are the untutored lays of lips sunburned,</div> -<div class="verse i6">From village maids that fall!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">To schoolboys' feelings dear</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is rich-toned Autumn. Oh! with what a zest</div> -<div class="verse i0">They plunge in stream retired,—despoil a nest,—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Or ramble far and near.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">How oft, when changeful Time</div> -<div class="verse i0">Has sprinkled o'er our locks its silver threads,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Remembrance brings to mind—and gladness sheds—</div> -<div class="verse i6">The pastimes of our prime!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The lowing of the kine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In distant meadow-glades, comes on the ear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With taste of nature fresh, like far-off cheer</div> -<div class="verse i6">Of rustics, as they join</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The merry dance at eve;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Each rural sound has in it joy and health:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Man now should garner thought, as well as wealth,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And gladly truth receive.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The calm and picturesque;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The foliaged cedar, and the wreathëd beech,</div> -<div class="verse i0">More glowing thoughts and impulses can teach</div> -<div class="verse i6">Than Learning from his desk!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_34" class="poem-heading">No. X.—AUTUMN, IN ITS SECOND ASPECT.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6"><span class="smcap">Now</span>, Autumn's mantle brown</div> -<div class="i0">Falls on the woods and fields, the leaves are sere,</div> -<div class="i0">And, like sad offerings to the rifled year,</div> -<div class="i6">They drop in clusters down:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">The land is lone and bare;</div> -<div class="i0">The grateful trees themselves of leaves divest</div> -<div class="i0">To form a covering for earth's naked breast,</div> -<div class="i6">With reverential care;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">For why should they be left</div> -<div class="i0">In all their foliage, when the sunshine's grace</div> -<div class="i0">Is gone from off the hills, and Nature's face</div> -<div class="i6">Is of its charms bereft?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">The distance grey, becomes</div> -<div class="i0">Like a thin thread of silver, long drawn out;—</div> -<div class="i0">But hark the cheerful tabor, and the shout!</div> -<div class="i6">The sound of merry drums!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">Now sportive Harvest-Home</div> -<div class="i0">By vintagers and villagers is held,</div> -<div class="i0">And heart-bright wine, and strong-lipped ale are welled,</div> -<div class="i6">Like water at the foam:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">And labourers rejoice,</div> -<div class="i0">That fruits of field and orchard all are housed;</div> -<div class="i0">And the glad song of thankfulness is roused</div> -<div class="i6">From every manly voice!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">The high ancestral hall,—</div> -<div class="i0">Where Health delights to dwell, and generous Mirth</div> -<div class="i0">Holds, when the corn is gathered from the earth,</div> -<div class="i6">A grateful festival,—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">Adorns the waning scene.</div> -<div class="i0">Here may be heard, when in a musing mood,</div> -<div class="i0">The cawing of the old rooks in the wood,</div> -<div class="i6">That flanks it like a screen.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">Is there not much to cheer</div> -<div class="i0">In the glad sounds that still from hill and vale,</div> -<div class="i0">And glen remote, come echoed on the gale</div> -<div class="i6">To greet th' excited ear?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">Lo! o'er the changing sward</div> -<div class="i0">Sweep now the huntsmen in the rapid chace,</div> -<div class="i0">The deep-toned yell of hounds, mouthing the trace</div> -<div class="i6">Of the fleet deer, is heard.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">In lone and hoary wood,</div> -<div class="i0">Where the wild cherry and the yellow elm</div> -<div class="i0">Commingled with the oak, the soul o'erwhelm</div> -<div class="i6">With visions many-hued;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">There comes a solemn tone,</div> -<div class="i0">Like what is felt, in passing down the while</div> -<div class="i0">Some old cathedral's venerable aisle,—</div> -<div class="i6">A feeling all its own!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">But now, at close of day,</div> -<div class="i0">When the damp vapoury veil of eve is gone,</div> -<div class="i0">Of gathering winds, the mournful dirge-like moan,</div> -<div class="i6">Sounds wildly far away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i6">For winter casts its shade</div> -<div class="i0">Before it, and the year begins to feel</div> -<div class="i0">Its chilling influences on it steal,</div> -<div class="i6">Like touches of the dead!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_37" class="poem-heading">No. XI.—SUNSET.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Light</span> on the landscape shines</div> -<div class="verse i0">Awhile, ere vanishing, as loth to leave;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon the mead, the wearied ox at eve</div> -<div class="verse i6">Familiarly reclines.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The plough is left a-field,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the rude labourer, from his toil set free,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Leads his tired steads forth o'er the upturned lea,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Refreshing drink to yield.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The hills with light are dyed;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And pointing spires peer o'er the distant trees,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As one tall vessels in the horizon sees,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Careering in their pride!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Each meek flower, white and red,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That tufts the meadow, in fresh odour sleeps,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ere the departing Day from off the steeps</div> -<div class="verse i6">Lifts his resplendent head.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The golden-tissued clouds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Amid which now the Sun, world-worshipped, sinks,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Retain his glory still upon their brinks,</div> -<div class="verse i6">As gloom the earth enshrouds!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Slowly the darkness creeps</div> -<div class="verse i0">Up the lone hill-sides, shadow-like, by sighs</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of ev'ning lullabyed, as on man's eyes</div> -<div class="verse i6">Steals slumber ere he sleeps!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Thus on the mountain-oak,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And on the hoary castle's ruined walls,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The rotting ivy, clinging as it falls,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Seems their past strength to mock.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Exalted are the thoughts</div> -<div class="verse i0">That rise within our souls at such a time;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The vast, the wild, the awful, the sublime,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Embodied, round us floats!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And the hushed spirit seems</div> -<div class="verse i0">To listen to the tones from giants flung;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Echoes of war-songs, that of old were sung,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Now rush like mountain streams:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And what come on the sight</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are not the puny visions of the day;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The near and the familiar pass away,</div> -<div class="verse i6">With the departing light:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Each mountain range that towers</div> -<div class="verse i0">In desert grandeur o'er the darkening scene,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Looks like a spirit standing now between</div> -<div class="verse i6">Another world and ours!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Oh! ye time-honoured hills,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The Ancient, the Immortal—is it not</div> -<div class="verse i0">A high-born privilege ne'er to be forgot,</div> -<div class="verse i6">To feel none of earth's ills?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Sublime ye are as Heaven!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though bleak not barren, silent yet not dumb,</div> -<div class="verse i0">From out your shadows health and music come,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And thronging thoughts are given!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Not worthless is your aim,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To stand from age to age, from hour to hour,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The Almighty's temple, token of his power,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And record of his name!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_40" class="poem-heading">No. XII.—TWILIGHT.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">Now</span> enter we within</div> -<div class="verse i0">The shadows of the ev'ning, as they wind</div> -<div class="verse i0">Around the mountains' summits, and remind</div> -<div class="verse i6">Our startled souls of sin,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Coiling, like serpent twist,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Round every thought and impulse; thus the night</div> -<div class="verse i0">Brings down its sable curtain o'er the sight,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And veils the world in mist.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The shrill-piped curlew's song</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wanders, like poesy, in distant glades;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And inexpressive notes that to eve's shades</div> -<div class="verse i6">Are fitted, pass along!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The beetle's drone is heard,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dull, sluggish, heavy, in the dark-hued lane:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, hark! afar, the melancholy strain</div> -<div class="verse i6">Of Echo!—twilight's bard!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">At this lone hour we seek</div> -<div class="verse i0">Some quiet spot, to meditation free;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">When the Material we do not see,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Then Fancy may bespeak</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Aught that she will;—the dim</div> -<div class="verse i0">And shadowy her peopled world, she finds</div> -<div class="verse i0">Forms in the darkness;—in the troublous winds</div> -<div class="verse i6">Can trace a conqueror's hymn!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Sleep has its dreams, and night</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its inspirations,—bounding, changing still,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Imagination on some shrouded hill</div> -<div class="verse i6">Does, eagle-like, alight.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Ah! not an hour ago</div> -<div class="verse i0">Here hamlets stood, and palaces, and fields:</div> -<div class="verse i0">What man has furnished, what creation yields,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And what the earth does grow:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And now, where are they all?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gone with the mighty, vanished with the past:</div> -<div class="verse i0">For twilight, enviously, has o'er them cast</div> -<div class="verse i6">Her black unpiercing pall,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And shut all out to sight.—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! bat-eyed vision! Oh! weak mortal eyes!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are there no mountains left—no shining skies—</div> -<div class="verse i6">No rivers clothed in light?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Are there no happy broods</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of little flowers in rustic ways remote?</div> -<div class="verse i0">No pathways to the woods? And, oh! fell thought,</div> -<div class="verse i6">No golden-foliaged woods?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Such fancies rise to sight</div> -<div class="verse i0">In night's tranquillity, where Thought is born;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">But back the laughing world will come with morn—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Life is not all a blight!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Should clouded be to-day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bring yesterday, and all its joys to view;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though no to-morrow offers to renew</div> -<div class="verse i6">Their smile—'tis not away!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">'Twill dawn in after-time</div> -<div class="verse i0">On memory.—The charm of Nature's looks,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The voice of birds, the minstrelsy of brooks,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Live ever in their prime!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_43" class="poem-heading">No. XIII.—MOONLIGHT ON LAND.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">The</span> early bridal Moon</div> -<div class="verse i0">Comes in her splendour forth, and walks between</div> -<div class="verse i0">The stars of Heaven, like an anointed queen</div> -<div class="verse i6">Amid her maids at noon.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Now from the sleeping hills</div> -<div class="verse i0">The spectral mist-wreaths quickly pass away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Beneath her pale, but earth enamoured ray,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And glory all things fills.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Forth let us wander, led</div> -<div class="verse i0">By odours sweet; leaving th' accustomed way,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The valley seek we, where the moonbeams stray,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Like May-flowers newly shed!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The distant streamlets sing</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their vesper hymn.—Is there a voice below</div> -<div class="verse i0">Can give such music, mingled with such woe,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Or can such rapture bring?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">In the far wild we hear</div> -<div class="verse i0">That soothing tone its murmurings repeat,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the more sad, the sweeter, as is meet</div> -<div class="verse i6">The spirit lone to cheer.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Fair is the sky, and fair</div> -<div class="verse i0">The earth; and yet 'tis but the moon, this night,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That lights them both, and makes them look so bright,—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Clothes them in beauty rare!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And who are they that come</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into the moonlight from the tranquil shade,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And then shrink back, as to be seen afraid,</div> -<div class="verse i6">With feelings that are dumb?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Two lovers fond and true</div> -<div class="verse i0">Holding communion with each other's hearts;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The first pure glow of love that ne'er departs,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Which moonlight scenes renew.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Who has not on the moon</div> -<div class="verse i0">Looked long and musingly, and, looking, dreamed</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of love and loveliness? Who has not deemed</div> -<div class="verse i6">Its ray a granted boon?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The unveiled orb of night—</div> -<div class="verse i0">To which the sighs and orisons, flow'r-wreathed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of lovers in all ages have been breathed,—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Bathes all she sees in light.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Her tracery is rich</div> -<div class="verse i0">With images Mosaic, soft inlaid;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Forms, heav'n-traced, slumber 'twixt the light and shade,</div> -<div class="verse i6">In every quiet niche.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Moonlight is not like eld,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">For it is young, and bright, and fresh and clear;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But age the features sharpens, and brings near</div> -<div class="verse i6">Resemblances withheld:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">So moonlight in its pride</div> -<div class="verse i0">Outlines the landscape, and brings out to view</div> -<div class="verse i0">Scenes of bright promise, and of fairy hue,</div> -<div class="verse i6">By glen and mountain side!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">In moonlit mead or dell</div> -<div class="verse i0">My soul endenizened, imbibes a tone</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of nature-nurtured truth, which still is prone</div> -<div class="verse i6">A plaintive tale to tell.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_46" class="poem-heading">No. XIV.—MOONLIGHT AT SEA.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">How</span> beautiful the chaste</div> -<div class="verse i0">And glorious moonlight glitters on the wave!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like diamond glancing upward from its cave,</div> -<div class="verse i6">By rushing waters paced!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The home-bound seaman hails</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its ray auspicious, as it gayly flits</div> -<div class="verse i0">Before him on his ocean-path, or sits</div> -<div class="verse i6">Like silver on the sails!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Profusely thrown in showers</div> -<div class="verse i0">The dancing beam with every wave curl dips,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like sunlight sprinkled on the bearded lips</div> -<div class="verse i6">Of humble meadow-flowers.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">On the lone beetling cliff,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where moonlight streams in all its glory bright,</div> -<div class="verse i0">I see below the fishers, by its light,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Haul beechward their rude skiff:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">And high above, the cot</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which they call home, stands in the glad moonlight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dear to their hearts and welcome to their sight,</div> -<div class="verse i6">When they are far afloat.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Here, as I linger, rapt,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the lone presence of the ocean free,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Suspended like a bird above the sea,</div> -<div class="verse i6">My bounding soul is apt</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">To mingle, as its own,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Among the waters, like a privileged thing;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or, as a seamew spreads its radiant wing,</div> -<div class="verse i6">On the wild breezes thrown,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">To wander far away</div> -<div class="verse i0">Above the breakers, and then strength inhale;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or float, like one inspired, upon the gale,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And all its might survey.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The grey sea, like grey time,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rolls onward till it traces its fixed bound,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And then resumes its slow accustomed round,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Fettered like measured rhyme!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The hollow of God's hand</div> -<div class="verse i0">Might hold it; and, though restless in its pride,</div> -<div class="verse i0">It cannot outflow its appointed tide,</div> -<div class="verse i6">Or overrun the land.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">When the rude tempest sings,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And waves run high, and harsh the thunder's threats</div> -<div class="verse i0">Assail the ear, the seaman ne'er forgets</div> -<div class="verse i6">The promise moonlight brings:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Amid the lashing foam,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When its soft smile anoints the boiling wave;</div> -<div class="verse i0">It tracks his pathway, prompts his soul to brave</div> -<div class="verse i6">Whatever perils come.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Homeward his vessel drifts,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With beauty fair behind it and before;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Hope leads it onward to the wished-for shore,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And all the heart uplifts.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Like mellow light of years,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Long since evanished, on the memory,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The moonlight falls upon the bounding sea,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And the whole present cheers!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_49" class="poem-heading">No. XV.—HOME SCENES.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6"><span class="smcap">As</span> young bird from its nest,</div> -<div class="verse i0">At morn, floats upward—onward—and away;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And when the night brings down its shadows grey.</div> -<div class="verse i6">Returns unto its rest,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Ev'n thus the youthful mind</div> -<div class="verse i0">Goes forward to the world; partakes its cares</div> -<div class="verse i0">And fleeting joys,—is tempted by its snares;</div> -<div class="verse i6">But can no refuge find:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">The freshness of his home</div> -<div class="verse i0">Goes with him, guidingly, where'er he wends;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A star-like light upon his steps attends—</div> -<div class="verse i6">A ray from Heaven's bright dome!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">In all his toil and fret,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The quiet fields and gentle streams he knew,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When youth clothed all around in fairest hue,</div> -<div class="verse i6">His soul can ne'er forget:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">For still their memories come,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like poetry, to his spirit;—as a tone</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of music's echo on the waters thrown,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And heard 'mid evening's gloom.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">In brumal age, the dreams</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of home refresh the soul, as purples pied</div> -<div class="verse i0">Peep up from out the snows, and smile beside</div> -<div class="verse i6">Winter's deserted streams;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">As violets on a rock</div> -<div class="verse i0">They cheer the solitude,—their promise dawns</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon the mind, like moonlight o'er the lawns—</div> -<div class="verse i6">Or joy to one grief-broke.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Home of our youth, what spot</div> -<div class="verse i0">On earth is like thee? Scenes of early days,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! where upon your equals can we gaze?</div> -<div class="verse i6">What palace like the cot</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Where childhood first its eyes</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oped to the day, and marvelled what could be</div> -<div class="verse i0">The world around it? Is there aught we see</div> -<div class="verse i6">Can be compared to skies</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Like those which earliest shone</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon our path, and like a sunray bright,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Brought with it, freshly, dawnings of the light</div> -<div class="verse i6">That ne'er can be forgone?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Landscapes of other climes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though bountiful in beauty, what are ye</div> -<div class="verse i0">To the fair scenes of home, where'er it be?</div> -<div class="verse i6">Sacred as churchward chimes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">High may the mountains tower</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into the heavens, and grandeur fill the scene,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The valleys and the pastures may be green,</div> -<div class="verse i6">The hill-sides still in flower,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Of other lands, where stray</div> -<div class="verse i0">The exile's feet; but none are e'er so fair</div> -<div class="verse i0">Unto his soul, as the blest landscapes where</div> -<div class="verse i6">His visions fly away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i6">Those sordid cares beside,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That cloud the mind, 'mong earth-born woes and ills.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Come soothing thoughts of home, as 'tween far hills</div> -<div class="verse i6">The gentle streamlets glide!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - -<h2>POETICAL ASPIRATIONS.</h2> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> - - -<p class="p2"><span class="smcap">A small</span> volume of poems, entitled "<span class="smcap">Poetical Aspirations</span>," -was published by me, my first adventure, in -1830, and was favourably received. That volume was -dedicated to <span class="smcap">Mrs Robertson</span> of <span class="smcap">Ednam House</span>, Kelso, -a lady whose many virtues are universally acknowledged -wherever she is known, and whose kindness to me it will -always be my pride to remember. A second edition, with -additional poems, appeared in 1833. From the latter -volume I have selected the following pieces, the remainder, -bearing evident marks of inexperience and juvenility of -taste, not being deemed worthy of further reprint.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - -<p class="poem-heading no-indent xlarge bold p2">POETICAL ASPIRATIONS.</p> - - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE ALPINE HORN. <a name="ANanchor_1" id="ANanchor_1"></a><a href="#Authornote_1" class="ananchor">(1)</a></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Sunset</span> is streaming o'er the snow-clad crown</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the high Alps, while darkness settles down</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through all their countless valleys and defiles,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Mixing with shade, where sunlight never smiles:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ere from the topmost peak, its latest ray</div> -<div class="verse i0">Has, with its wing of glory, sped away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The mountain shepherd's horn has sounded there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like the Muezzin's evening call to prayer;</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Praise God the Lord!" and hark! from all around</div> -<div class="verse i0">A thousand voices answer to the sound:</div> -<div class="verse i0">From every clift, and crag, and ledge, and linn,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The notes of worship and of praise begin.</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Praise God the Lord!" the echoes catch the strain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And far and near repeat the sound again;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They wake it in the wild and in the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through all the shades of that far solitude:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Bearing it on, o'er valley and ravine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where, till this hour, such sound has never been;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then, in the distance, fainter grown the lay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The lingering notes at length dissolve away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When all is silent, on the mountain sod</div> -<div class="verse i0">The humble shepherds bend the knee to God;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They kneel in darkness and in peace, to share</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sweet and social intercourse of prayer:</div> -<div class="verse i0">With gleams of manly thought, their prayers arise,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like incense from the altar, to the skies.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their temple is the mountain and the mist,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And theirs the shrine where minister the blest;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They kneel before the Spirit of the world,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He who this universe of mountains hurled</div> -<div class="verse i0">Together with a word, and chaos spread</div> -<div class="verse i0">Mid majesty and grandeur, dark and dread.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Prostrate in presence of the Great First Cause,</div> -<div class="verse i0">They own his power, while they obey his laws:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their thoughts are deeper than th' abyss beneath,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Yet while their humble orisons they breathe,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their souls are soaring far beyond each height</div> -<div class="verse i0">On which the stars are clustering, with the night;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">And while they view, with soul-admiring glance,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The world of fancy, nature, and romance,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That circles round their native rocks, they deem</div> -<div class="verse i0">The glories of the earth an empty dream.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But hark! that horn again resounds aloud,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like sudden music bursting from a cloud:</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Good night!" "Good night!" along the mountain breaks,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Good night!" "Good night!" again each echo wakes;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And all the scene, below, around, above,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Teems with "Good night!" the evening pledge of love.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The eagle, soaring, waits upon the wing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Charmed with the notes the syren echoes sing;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The startled chamois bounds along the hill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Yet, half-enraptured, turns to listen still;</div> -<div class="verse i0">From mount to valley, and from wold to wild,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sounds are borne along, till, faint and mild,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Good night," shall linger in the echoes' song,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When all to silence and to sleep belong.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">REFLECTIONS ON DEATH.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2"><span class="smcap">One</span> day—the sunbeams danced along the glade</div> -<div class="verse i0">As lovers dance upon their bridal eve—</div> -<div class="verse i0">I wandered to the wood, where all was bloom;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The earth breathed fresh with fragrance, and the trees</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dropped, as it were, the dew of silent joy.</div> -<div class="verse i0">I loved to listen to the song of birds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whose music wild, yet sweet, came o'er the ear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Telling of ecstasy; and, more than all,</div> -<div class="verse i0">I loved to view the flowers, those stars of earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As stars are flowers of heaven, those glimpses bright</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of a far higher, purer, lovelier world;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Those day dreams of Creation, blooming wild,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Scattered on earth, like angel-smiles in heaven.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! I was happy then, for all above,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And all below, was fair, and pure, and bright;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And then I thought that happier still I'd be</div> -<div class="verse i0">If my freed soul could fleet, as dew from grass,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">When the glad morning sun is shining forth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Passing so silently away from earth;</div> -<div class="verse i0">If that were all—if death itself were <i>death</i>—</div> -<div class="verse i0">But after death comes life, more true than this.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">I lay and listened to a wild bird's song,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A little shining, singing, flutt'ring thing:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its song was full of sweetness and of love:</div> -<div class="verse i0">When, lo! it fell before me on the ground,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And found its grave among a bank of flowers—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who would not die, to find a grave so sweet?</div> -<div class="verse i0">I ran and lifted it—'twas cold and stiff,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And in its little heart an arrow sought</div> -<div class="verse i0">Unsanctified admittance, quivering there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like an unwelcome messenger of fate.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The spoiler came—I drew his arrow out,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And threw it on the earth—he trod it down,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As he passed onward in his careless path.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">And this is death! How sudden, and how strong!</div> -<div class="verse i0">His harvest ne'er begins nor ends, for still</div> -<div class="verse i0">His scythe is ready ere the corn is ripe,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">We cannot shun the stroke; but if prepared</div> -<div class="verse i0">To meet it when it falls, its sting is gone!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Yet death itself is never terrible,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But 'tis the thought of what comes after death</div> -<div class="verse i0">That wakes the coward in the soul of man—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of man carnal and unregenerate.</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the lone grave the body soon is clothed</div> -<div class="verse i0">In vileness, and this most delicate frame</div> -<div class="verse i0">Becomes the food of worms, the gorging feast</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of those vile particles of putresence</div> -<div class="verse i0">We loathe in life to look at—which we spurn</div> -<div class="verse i0">And trample on with horror. <b>Pride</b>, bend low!</div> -<div class="verse i0">And meditate on this, that slimy worms,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gnome-like and insatiate epicures,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Must feed on us to fulness, as on dainties,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When we, like they themselves, become corruption!</div> -<div class="verse i0">This is the pang, the poison, that makes dark</div> -<div class="verse i0">The brightest joys, and chills the warmest hopes</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of all who look no farther than the grave,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">That calms the laughing thought within the heart:</div> -<div class="verse i0">This is the weapon that affrights the bold,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Makes foolishness of wisdom, and creates</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The fear of death, because it terminates</div> -<div class="verse i0">But in corruption and the feast of worms.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">To go into the grave—if that were all,</div> -<div class="verse i0">No one would shrink from it; but that the thought</div> -<div class="verse i0">That this fair form should formless be, the shape</div> -<div class="verse i0">Be shapeless, decomposed, and fall to nought,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Preys on the mind, and hinders it from rest.</div> -<div class="verse i0">And few there are who seek the saving peace</div> -<div class="verse i0">That here can reconcile us to our doom.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The soul remains entire, though in the grave</div> -<div class="verse i0">The body lies, and slowly wastes away.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then let us strive to find, through God's good grace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That faith by which alone the soul becomes</div> -<div class="verse i0">"One perfect Chrysolite," and in Christ's blood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Relieved from stain of guilt, is rendered fit</div> -<div class="verse i0">To stand, approved, before a holy God.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THROUGH THE WOOD. -<br /><span class="smaller">MODERN BALLAD.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Through</span> the wood, through the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i4">Warbles the merle!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through the wood, through the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i4">Gallops the earl!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Yet he heeds not its song</div> -<div class="verse i4">As it sinks on his ear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For he lists to a voice</div> -<div class="verse i4">Than its music more dear.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Through the wood, through the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i4">Once and away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The castle is gained,</div> -<div class="verse i4">And the lady is gay:</div> -<div class="verse i0">When her smile waxes sad,</div> -<div class="verse i4">And her eyes become dim;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her bosom is glad,</div> -<div class="verse i4">If she gazes on him!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Through the wood, through the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i4">Over the wold,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rides onward a band</div> -<div class="verse i4">Of true warriors bold;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They stop not for forest,</div> -<div class="verse i4">They halt not for water;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their chieftain in sorrow</div> -<div class="verse i4">Is seeking his daughter.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Through the wood, through the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i4">Warbles the merle;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through the wood, through the wood,</div> -<div class="verse i4">Prances the earl;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And on a gay palfrey</div> -<div class="verse i4">Comes pacing his bride;</div> -<div class="verse i0">While an old man sits smiling,</div> -<div class="verse i4">In joy, by her side.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONG OF THE EXILE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i10"><span class="smcap">Banished</span> for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i8">From the scene of my birth,</div> -<div class="verse i10">For ever! for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i0">From all I loved dearest, and cherished on earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">From the smile of my friends, and the home of their hearth,</div> -<div class="verse i10">To come again never!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i10">Banished for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i8">From hope and from home,</div> -<div class="verse i10">For ever! for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Away in the desert of distance to roam,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a ship tempest-tost on the wild sea-wave's foam,</div> -<div class="verse i10">To land again never!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i10">Banished for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i8">When all have gone by,</div> -<div class="verse i10">For ever! for ever!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The gladness of earth, and the brightness of sky,</div> -<div class="verse i0">There's no fear but to live, and no hope but to die—</div> -<div class="verse i10">To <i>feel</i> again never!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i10">Banished for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i8">'Tis madness to me,</div> -<div class="verse i10">For ever! for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i0">To think of the land I shall ne'er again see,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the days that have been, and the days that shall be—</div> -<div class="verse i10">That thought leaves me never!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i10">Banished for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i8">Be this my adieu—</div> -<div class="verse i10">For ever! for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Let me roam where I will, ne'er again shall I view,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Scenes so cherished and fair, friends so kind and so true;</div> -<div class="verse i10">Oh, never! oh, never!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i10">Banished for ever!</div> -<div class="verse i8">Dear land of my birth,</div> -<div class="verse i10">We sever! we sever!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">An exile from all I love dearest on earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">From the smile of my friends, from the home of their hearth—</div> -<div class="verse i10">For ever! for ever!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_66" class="poem-heading">TO FAME.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">In</span> the seclusion of my solitude,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thy echo reached me, and awoke a brood</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of slumbering fancies into life and light;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A spell seemed thrown around me, and my mind</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was full of unfixed images; the bright</div> -<div class="verse i0">And ready impulses of thought, confined</div> -<div class="verse i0">And struggling to be free; a light had dawned</div> -<div class="verse i0">Across my path, as if by Heaven's command.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A lofty and immeasurable longing</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sprung up within my breast, beyond control,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A throbbing multitude of fancies thronging</div> -<div class="verse i0">Strove to o'ermaster and o'ermatch the whole:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Creation rose from chaos, as at first,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A water in the wilderness to quench my thirst.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The complicated elements of Mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">No longer dim, confused, and undefined,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rolled into order, and the springs of thought</div> -<div class="verse i0">Became then less obscure, and less remote.</div> -<div class="verse i0">My mind, not yet in union with its thoughts,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Seemed sad and solitary; o'er it swept</div> -<div class="verse i0">A calmness like the soft sun-breeze that floats</div> -<div class="verse i0">Above the wave, that light and languid leapt:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then high imaginations, restless, past</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into being—various, vivid, vast—</div> -<div class="verse i0">And thought, admixing with the mind's emotion,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Assumed a depth and fervour of devotion,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The semblance and the hope, if not the true</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sole inspiration of poetic lore;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then truth, at times, like light, came struggling through,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I was sad and heart-forgone no more.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">For thou became my mistress—I have thrown</div> -<div class="verse i0">My heart and hope on thee—I cannot bear</div> -<div class="verse i0">That, with my life, my name should pass away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And be forgot, when I am dead and gone;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And in the grave, when mouldering in decay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That my remembrance should be buried there.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">I care not for the world, or the world's ways,</div> -<div class="verse i0">I scorn alike its censure and its praise;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But from the mental few, by heaven designed</div> -<div class="verse i0">To rate and recognise a kindred mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A sure approval I will strive to gain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For this is fame indeed,—all other is but vain.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_68" class="poem-heading">TO A BEE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Ha!</span> pretty little bee,</div> -<div class="verse i0">So artless, blithe, and free!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whither are you wandering</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thus so gaily on the wing?</div> -<div class="verse i0">To every flower o'erhung with dew,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whose leaves are blossoming for you;</div> -<div class="verse i0">To the wild flowers far away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bright and beautiful as they;</div> -<div class="verse i0">From each blooming one to sip</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sweets, like those of woman's lip,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! happy, happy, happy bee,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Would it were as free to me!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Away! away! for ever thus</div> -<div class="verse i0">Your airy flight has past from us;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And you are gone where flowers invite,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A pilgrimage of rich delight.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But come not near the hollyhock, <a name="ANanchor_2" id="ANanchor_2"></a><a href="#Authornote_2" class="ananchor">(2)</a></div> -<div class="verse i0">Let not its blooms your fancy mock;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shun its nectaries so fair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Death is ever lurking there;</div> -<div class="verse i0">On its petals if you light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">You'll be seized with instant blight.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shun it as you onward fly!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sip its poison and you die!</div> -<div class="verse i0">But hie thee to the lavender,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Pretty little pilferer!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or the limetree, in whose breast</div> -<div class="verse i0">You oft have sipped yourself to rest.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Go, wanderer, to the healthful wild,</div> -<div class="verse i0">By the heath-flower's bloom beguiled,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where sunshine, like a robe of gold,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Flings its fond light o'er wood and wold;</div> -<div class="verse i0">There, in the calyx of the flower,</div> -<div class="verse i0">You love the best at noontide hour,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Prepare the mead, whose luscious draught,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The best of former nations quaff'd.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Little rambler, do you know</div> -<div class="verse i0">Why it is we love you so?</div> -<div class="verse i0">It is for the ceaseless hymn,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That you warble, as you swim</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through the odoriferous air,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Light as fairy gossamer—</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis, for you are always gay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Making life a holiday,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Flying leisurely o'er earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A wingëd messenger of mirth.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When you meet the butterfly,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Neath the lovely summer sky,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Do you show to her the bower,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That contains the sweetest flower?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or do you take herself to be,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While thus wandering so free,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A floweret floating on the air,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Making all delightful there?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When the moon bursts forth above,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Tinging all with light and love,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">When with soft and silky trace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Slumber finds a resting place</div> -<div class="verse i0">On the eyes of bees and men;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Snug within some floweret then</div> -<div class="verse i0">You have made your bed, till day</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shows the sweets your dreams pourtray.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_71" class="poem-heading">THE STORM.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">The</span> waves rise in rebellion—far away</div> -<div class="verse i0">The wreck-doomed ship is borne resistless on;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And hark! the screaming sea-mews trill their lay</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of terrible delight—its echo's moan</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dies wildly on the tempest, and the spray</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dashes around us, chilling hope to stone;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And vast and fathomless the mountain waves,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Yawning around us, marshall forth our graves.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The clouds move like the billows o'er the ocean,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Clashing in fury as they hurry by;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They mingle fiercely, and in rude commotion,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As if a hurricane swept o'er the sky.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Now, let the soul rely on her devotion,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Now, let the prayer to <span class="smcap">Him</span> be lifted high,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who stills the storm, and calms the mighty wave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"And strong to smite, is also strong to save."</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">See! yon poor wretch dashed from the vessel's prow—</div> -<div class="verse i0">He catches at the spar that hurries past,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis vain! the waves are mightier still—and now,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Beneath their force his strength gives way at last:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Onward we drift—but, lo! o'er heaven's brow</div> -<div class="verse i0">The moon her welcome light, at length, has cast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like hope o'er madness, but it tends to show</div> -<div class="verse i0">The life that smiles above, the death that yawns below.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">"LAZARUS, COME FORTH."</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Thus</span> Jesus spoke—the earth dismayed</div> -<div class="verse i2">Opened its womb;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The dead man heard, his Lord obeyed;</div> -<div class="verse i2">He left his tomb:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And thousands, unbelievers, saw</div> -<div class="verse i2">The power of God;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then they believed his holy law,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And word, that burst the sod.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thus when he frees the wicked heart</div> -<div class="verse i2">From earth's control,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sin and ungodliness depart</div> -<div class="verse i2">From the waked soul.</div> -<div class="verse i0">He cleans it by his blood and death—</div> -<div class="verse i2">To it is given</div> -<div class="verse i0">To know, all peace, all hope, all faith,</div> -<div class="verse i2">All ante-taste of heaven.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNET. -<br /><span class="smaller">ON THE APPROACH OF SUMMER.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Summer</span> approaches, filling earth with flowers,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The skies with beauty, and the woods with song,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While April, like a coy bride, wends along</div> -<div class="verse i0">In tearful smiles, half-wooed by the gay hours.</div> -<div class="verse i0">All nature breathes a welcome to young May,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Summer's bright harbinger, who bears her smile</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through every land, with blooming health the while,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And all are blest who feel her gladd'ning ray.</div> -<div class="verse i0">How pleasant 'tis beneath the summer noon,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When the soft wind hath lulled itself asleep,</div> -<div class="verse i0">On some fair hill a festival to keep,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While fancy on the wing revisits soon</div> -<div class="verse i0">Th' o'erarching world, the true, the pure, the fair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gath'ring with bliss all inspiration there.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">BEAUTY.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Oh!</span> brighter than the brightest star,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That glimmers through the haze of night,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When the blue vault of heaven afar,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Is studded o'er with silver light;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And brighter than that brilliant sky,</div> -<div class="verse i0">May be the glance of woman's eye.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! lovely as the golden ray</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of sunshine sleeping on the glade,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When morning brightens into day,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And in its radiance melts the shade;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And lovelier than that gorgeous sun,</div> -<div class="verse i0">May be the smile from woman won.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But beauty does not deign to shine,</div> -<div class="verse i2">In brightness from a woman's eye;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor does she in a smile recline,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Blooming, as flowerets do, to die;</div> -<div class="verse i0">All earth-born charms shall fade in death:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor change nor ruin beauty hath.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">She dwells but in the pious mind,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Apart for ever from decay;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where lives the light of heavenly kind,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That shines "unto the perfect day;"</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where Faith and Hope their joy impart—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her home is in the virtuous heart.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_76" class="poem-heading">TO M. J. R.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Is</span> there within my heart a spot</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where thy bright image liveth not,</div> -<div class="verse i2">In its most joyful guise?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ah, no! though all may be forgot,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Save sorrow, care, and pain,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Yet it securely lies</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within my bosom's secret bowers;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like dew, descending from above,</div> -<div class="verse i0">On Autumn's seared and withered flowers,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Reviving it again</div> -<div class="verse i2">To happiness and love.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNET. -<br /><span class="smaller">A CONTRAST.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">The</span> flowers that, unrefreshed with rain or dew,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Pine 'neath the scorching summer's sun away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are but the emblems—purer still than they—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of hearts that ne'er the blight of sorrow knew,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To contrast with their gladness—for the breast</div> -<div class="verse i0">That welcomes joy back to its shrine again,</div> -<div class="verse i0">After a weary interval of pain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Enjoys the feeling with a warmer zest:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And when at length the dew-drop lingers o'er</div> -<div class="verse i0">The flowers that sickened with its long delay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">How sweetly do they own its former sway,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And bloom again more lovely than before.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who would not, for a while then, cherish grief,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To taste the bliss, the rapture of relief?</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNET. -<br /><span class="smaller">ROSLIN.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Roslin!</span> thy scattered beauties, rich and wild,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Lie like a garden-map before me spread;</div> -<div class="verse i0">In all thy fairy scenes I gladly tread,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where sleeps the sun-smile—and the breeze so mild</div> -<div class="verse i0">Enamoured sighs, as to thy presence wed.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Down through thy vale—so lovely and so sweet,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Yet so retiring, like some blushing maid</div> -<div class="verse i0">Apprized of her own beauty—oft I meet,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Two pensive lovers whispering their vows.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thy woods and thy ravines, thy rocks and caves,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Contain the gleams of grandeur, o'er the brows</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of thy dark crags, the heath-flower freely waves.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Here Drummond sung, sweetly and well, for he</div> -<div class="verse i0">In thy retreats became inspired by thee.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">ON THE BIRTH OF A NIECE. -<br /><span class="smaller">E. W. G.</span> -<br /><span class="small"><i>11th August, 1828.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">The</span> evening sun had o'er the heavens rolled</div> -<div class="verse i0">His brilliant robe of glory and of gold;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The angels round the throne had just begun</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their vesper hymn of praise—the sweetest one;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The stars were trimming then their lamps of light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like watchers, ready for the coming night;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The earth rejoiced through all her numerous fields,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Blest with the crop that generous autumn yields:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The meadow streams subduing music stole,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like dreams of rapture, to the fainting soul,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">When thou sprung into being, like the ray</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of early morn, the gleam of dawning day.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Stranger! so bright, so innocent, so fair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">We give thee welcome to our world of care;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Come to partake our sorrow—thou hast known</div> -<div class="verse i0">The pang already, by that stifled moan—</div> -<div class="verse i0">When rosy pleasure shall her smiles renew,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Come with thy kindred heart, and share them too.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">We bless thee, babe! for we have need to bless</div> -<div class="verse i0">A fellow-pilgrim in a world like this,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where mirth is mockery, and joy a dream,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And we are never happy—though we seem.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! may'st thou never know the ills that we</div> -<div class="verse i0">Have known, and shall know, ere we cease to be:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Be thou thy mother's comfort! thou wert blest</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wert thou, like her, the purest and the best.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_80" class="poem-heading">ON HER DEATH, -<br /><span class="small"><i>At the Age of Two Years and Two Months.</i></span></h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Not</span> long beside us did the cherub stay:</div> -<div class="verse i0">God's will be done! He gave and took away;</div> -<div class="verse i0">It seemed as if blest memories of heaven,</div> -<div class="verse i0">From whence she came, were to her visions given,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, tiring soon of earth, whose breath was pain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Longed to return, and be at rest again.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Too pure for earth, too innocent for grief,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sweet was her promise, as her sojourn brief.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNET. -<br /><span class="smaller">TO HAPPINESS.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Oh!</span> I do hail thee, Happiness, when thou</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dost shine athwart my path with light and love,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dispensing joy, like Heaven's aërial bow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When gathering clouds lour darkly from above.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! I do hail thee, Happiness—the aim</div> -<div class="verse i0">And promise of my being live in thee;</div> -<div class="verse i0">I pine for thee as poets pine for fame,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or slaves and captives for their liberty;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But fleeting art thou in this vale of strife,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A meteor gleaming o'er a desert heath—</div> -<div class="verse i0">So seldom comes thy smile to cheer our life,</div> -<div class="verse i0">We learn to hope 'twill visit us in death;</div> -<div class="verse i0">In what bright bower, supremest blessing, may</div> -<div class="verse i0">A mortal find thy never-dying ray?</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THOUGHTS.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2"><span class="smcap">In</span> sooth 'tis pleasant on a summer morn,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When the bright sun ascends the orient sky,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And on the mountain zephyr health is borne,</div> -<div class="verse i2">While we inhale it as it murmurs by;</div> -<div class="verse i2">On some lone hill in musing mood to lie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Then as we watch the day's advancing light,</div> -<div class="verse i2">We learn from it that we but live to die.</div> -<div class="verse i2">The sun will set though shining e'er so bright,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A few short fleeting hours, and all again is night.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Yet sunshine seldom cheers the lot of life,</div> -<div class="verse i2">'Tis all a scene of ling'ring pain and woe,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A pilgrimage of fruitless care and strife,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A tide of sorrow that doth ceaseless flow;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Yet some have thought they felt a joy below,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Which to their darker hours did solace prove,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Making their hearts with blissful feelings glow;</div> -<div class="verse i2">And not of earth it seems, but from above</div> -<div class="verse i0">It comes to cheer mankind, and mortals call it love.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">That thought is vain as love's own happiness,</div> -<div class="verse i2">For soon love's sweet illusion is no more;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Then fly those hopes that promised lasting bliss—</div> -<div class="verse i2">And when the dream of ecstasy is o'er,</div> -<div class="verse i2">We wake, to life, far sadder than before.</div> -<div class="verse i2">It shoots athwart our visions, like the gleam</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of flitting sunshine o'er a desert shore,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Making the wilderness more dreary seem—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! love is all too like the visions of a dream.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">It boots not now to ponder o'er the past,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Joy blasted oft will mar life's fairest scene;</div> -<div class="verse i2">The beauty of the sky is overcast,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Dark clouds now brood where brightness late hath been;</div> -<div class="verse i2">And thorns appear where once sweet flowers were seen.</div> -<div class="verse i2">Yet hope beams on my soul her soothing light,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like the first dawning of the morn serene,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Tinging my darkened soul with hues more bright—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Love ever sorrow brings, as twilight brings the night.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">'Tis piety alone that can impart</div> -<div class="verse i2">A peace of mind that ne'er will fade away,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A bliss that calms the passions of the heart,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A hope that soothes us even in decay,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Inspires the thought and elevates the lay;</div> -<div class="verse i2">'Tis this that gives a glory to that hour,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When death relentless seizes on his prey;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Then yet may pleasure dwell in earthly bower,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though man buds, blooms, and withers, like a summer flower.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LOCH AWE. <a name="ANanchor_3" id="ANanchor_3"></a><a href="#Authornote_3" class="ananchor">(3)</a></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2"><span class="smcap">Oh Lake!</span> how gentle and how fair art thou,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Above thee and around thee, mountains rise</div> -<div class="verse i2">E'en like a diadem on queenly brow;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Crested in light the snow in masses lies</div> -<div class="verse i2">On Cruachan's cleft head—the eagle flies</div> -<div class="verse i2">In circles o'er thee, and his eyrie makes</div> -<div class="verse i2">Afar upon its summit, from the eyes</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of man removed, for his wild fledgelings' sakes.—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sinless and still thou art, most beautiful of lakes!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Four fairy isles,—like smiles in woman's eye,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or gems upon her bosom—rise beside</div> -<div class="verse i2">Thy spreading waters, dreamy as the sky,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Whose glories are reflected in thy tide;</div> -<div class="verse i2">While shrubs and flowers are growing in their pride,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And ancient trees, where'er our eyes we turn—</div> -<div class="verse i2">And, like a melody, thy echoes glide</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -<div class="verse i2">Within the memory—while grey and stern</div> -<div class="verse i0">Stands, like a spirit of the past, lone old Kilchurn.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Changeless as Heaven, thoughtful as the stars,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Whose light thou mak'st thy lover, ever true;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Sweet are thy glades and glens; no discord mars</div> -<div class="verse i2">Their quiet now—as when the Bruce o'erthrew</div> -<div class="verse i2">The men of Lorn, and gained his crown anew—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Save when sweeps by the spirit of the storm;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Fearful and wonderful is then thy hue,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And terrible thy wailings, as thy form,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While Cruachan's wild shriek is heard to far Cairngorm.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Home of the hunter! birth-place of the Gael!</div> -<div class="verse i2">Why do my musings still return to thee?</div> -<div class="verse i2">Why does the hymn of holy Innis-hail,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like rhyme of childhood, haunt my memory?</div> -<div class="verse i2">My boy-years have departed, since to me</div> -<div class="verse i2">Thy wildness, solitude, and grandeur brought</div> -<div class="verse i2">Sources of inspiration, ne'er to be</div> -<div class="verse i2">Forgotten or forborne—my mind has sought</div> -<div class="verse i0">Relief from homely scenes, recurring to remote.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE WOLF. <a name="ANanchor_4" id="ANanchor_4"></a><a href="#Authornote_4" class="ananchor">(4)</a> -<br /><span class="small"><i>A Fragment.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">'Tis</span> evening,—one of those rich eves in June,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That look as bright, and feel as warm as noon;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The setting sun its parting ray has thrown</div> -<div class="verse i0">Italia's smiling groves and bowers upon:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Amid the balm of meadow, vale, and hill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where all is beautiful, and all is still;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A bard would deem, 'neath such a tranquil sky,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He heard the stream of time while rushing by:</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis the soft hour, to love that doth belong,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To village pastime, and to village song:</div> -<div class="verse i0">But why do happy peasants meet no more?</div> -<div class="verse i0">The village song, the village dance is o'er:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Why is the tabor silent on the plain?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Why does the mountain-pipe refuse its strain?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where is the lover fond, the trusting maid?</div> -<div class="verse i0">They shun each other, and desert the shade.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -<div class="verse i2">Is <i>this</i> Italia's sky, so calm, so fair?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where are its joyous sons, its laughing daughters where?</div> -<div class="verse i0 poem-elipsis">· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Hark! 'tis a wild, a solitary cry,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Unheard till now beneath Italia's sky;</div> -<div class="verse i2">And well Italia's sons may shrink to hear</div> -<div class="verse i2">A cry, that fills all who have heard with fear,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">It is the Alpine wolf's terrific bay,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Roaming abroad ferocious for its prey:</div> -<div class="verse i2">Soon as the sun of earth its farewell takes,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The Alpine wolf his solitude forsakes,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And, like a demon, rushing to the plain,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Scatters the flock, and panic-strikes the swain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">One summer eve, a monster of the kind,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Hungry for prey, had left his troop behind;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Ranging alone, he spread dismay where'er</div> -<div class="verse i2">His bay was heard, as if a host were there:</div> -<div class="verse i2">Beneath his tusk of steel, his breath of flame,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Italia's bowers a wilderness became:</div> -<div class="verse i2">Grain for a while and sheep he stole away,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But, quitting these, he sought a nobler prey,—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The tender babe, even in its mother's view,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He bore to crags, where no one dared pursue:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Until the province, late the happiest one</div> -<div class="verse i0">That brightens 'neath Italia's gorgeous sun,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Became, throughout, all desolate and lone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For there the fell destroyer forth had gone.</div> -<div class="verse i0 poem-elipsis">· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Lo! like a pageant, slowly up the vale,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A band advances, clad in glittering mail;</div> -<div class="verse i0">While, in the front, a knight of noble mien,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And lofty plume, above the rest is seen:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The peasants from their huts look forth with fear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But dare not quit them, lest the wolf be near;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And then the chief, advancing from the rest,</div> -<div class="verse i0">At sound of trump, the peasants thus addressed,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">"A purse of gold, and his own diamond ring,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As a reward, are offered by the king,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To him who slays the wolf!" The trumpet's blast</div> -<div class="verse i0">Re-echoed loud, as that gay pageant passed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Meanwhile, each swain, in hope to gain the prize,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shouldering his gun, to kill the monster tries;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">But home returning oft without his prey,</div> -<div class="verse i0">All left the task to Giulio to essay,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">For Giulio was the best, the bravest youth</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within the province, or the realm, in sooth:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Kind to his mates, and to his mistress true,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Foremost in pastime and in peril too;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whene'er the river overflowed its bounds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the wild flood o'erswept the pleasant grounds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bearing away, in its retiring course,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The helpless flocks, too feeble for its force,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Giulio was first among the village brave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To stretch the hand to succour and to save;</div> -<div class="verse i0">He was a marksman too, and well could hit</div> -<div class="verse i0">The target's eye, when all fell wide of it:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Him, therefore, did they fix upon to be</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their champion—their meadows rich to free</div> -<div class="verse i0">From the destroyer—each resigned his claim</div> -<div class="verse i0">To the reward,—Let Giulio win the same!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And Giulio ranged afar from morn till eve,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But still no wolf could Giulio perceive;</div> -<div class="verse i0">He searched each wood, explored each copse and cave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As a fierce gnome invades the quiet grave;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -<div class="verse i2">Still did he hear his roar, his ravage see.</div> -<div class="verse i0">But, still unseen himself, the wolf continued free.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Three days had sped, and Giulio had not traced</div> -<div class="verse i2">The monster out, although he tracked his waste;</div> -<div class="verse i2">And standing on a mountain's rugged brow,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Giulio, despairing, breathed to Heaven a vow,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That he would bring the wolf in triumph slain,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or never see his native home again,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And Giulio's vow was kept—the monster fell,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But not by him—a sadder tale I tell!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">One eve—it was the fourth—he threw him down,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Fatigued and foot-sore, on the mountain brown;</div> -<div class="verse i2">No wolf as yet had crossed his anxious way,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Although, where'er he roamed, he heard his bay;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Loth to return until the wolf he slew,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Yet, ah! his heart, to love, to feeling, true,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Led him to where his lover's hut arose,</div> -<div class="verse i2">As if her vicinage could soothe his woes.</div> -<div class="verse i2">There for awhile he lingered, and he wept</div> -<div class="verse i2">The tear of fond remembrance—slumber crept</div> -<div class="verse i2">Upon his eyes, for he was overspent,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Wasted for want of needful nourishment:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -<div class="verse i2">Before him in the moonlight rolled a stream,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Whose murmur lulled him to a blissful dream:</div> -<div class="verse i2">A dream of love, of happiness and pride,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">He thought he slew the wolf, and won his blushing bride.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Beyond the river, to its very edge</div> -<div class="verse i2">Along the bank, there grew a bushy hedge,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where oft alone, beneath the twilight dim,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The lovely maid would steal to think of him;—</div> -<div class="verse i2">A stir!—a motion!—it was not the breeze</div> -<div class="verse i2">That shook the hedge,—for why waved not the trees?</div> -<div class="verse i2">He started and awoke—again it shook,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">His gun was in his hand—one hurried look,</div> -<div class="verse i2">One rapid touch—the fatal ball was sped,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">A long wild shriek was heard, and Giulio's dream was read.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">In triumph now, he thought of home again,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">The prize was his, the wolf at length was slain—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Swift as the ball that from his rifle flew,</div> -<div class="verse i2">He reached the river, and swam gaily through:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -<div class="verse i2">The corpse lay there before him in the light!—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Why breaks that mournful shriek upon the night?</div> -<div class="verse i2">Why motionless stands Giulio gazing there,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A form of stone, a statue of despair?</div> -<div class="verse i2">At length he spoke—"Is <i>this</i> the wolf I've sought</div> -<div class="verse i2">In glen, and mount, and precipice remote?</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its skin is soft, its eyes are bright and fair,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And still they smile on me,—the wolf's should glare;</div> -<div class="verse i2">But sweet though sad, still do they charm my view,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like my fair bride's, the beautiful, the blue—</div> -<div class="verse i2">The wolf!—ah, horror! 'tis herself I've slain!</div> -<div class="verse i2">I feel it, like a fire within my brain,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And on my heart—no tear is in mine eye—</div> -<div class="verse i2">For her alone I lived,—with her I die."</div> -<div class="verse i2">The stream is near, he lifts her as a child,</div> -<div class="verse i2">While from his o'erpressed heart there bursts a wild</div> -<div class="verse i2">And fiendish laugh,—the peasants wondering hear,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And in a crowd assemble, half in fear:</div> -<div class="verse i2">In the broad moonlight then, as in a dream,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A figure rushed before them to the stream;</div> -<div class="verse i2">That form did bear another—on the brink</div> -<div class="verse i2">He pauses not—one plunge—they sink! they sink!</div> -<div class="verse i2">'Twas Giulio and his bride!—they rise no more,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">And onward rolls the stream as smoothly as before.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE APRIL CLOUD.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Fair</span> as the feather of a dove</div> -<div class="verse i2">That has in gloom been dipt;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like to a smile, that, flung from love,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its banishment hath wept;</div> -<div class="verse i0">See yonder little cloud swims by,</div> -<div class="verse i2">As if it sprung to birth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Mid summer sunshine of the sky,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And winter storms of earth.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Alas! there ne'er was angel yet</div> -<div class="verse i2">Who from her heaven took wing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But when the air of earth she met</div> -<div class="verse i2">Became a fallen thing:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And thus yon cloud, that seems so dim,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When near our earth 'tis driven,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Would look all light, if it would skim</div> -<div class="verse i2">Far upward nearer Heaven.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SPRING.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Can</span> aught be more magnificent than Spring?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Mountain and mead, and foliage and flower,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Assume a bridal look, as if the Sun</div> -<div class="verse i0">Had solemnized his nuptials with the Earth.</div> -<div class="verse i0">A green and growing grandeur consecrates</div> -<div class="verse i0">The general land, like an anointed Queen;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The soil begins to quicken with the birth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And bounteously proseminates its gifts;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A glory reigns supreme o'er all, a Balm</div> -<div class="verse i0">That moves, like Inspiration, in the soul,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And gives a motive to each quiet thought,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Stirring, in transport, like a little bird.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Creation seems a path to brighter worlds—</div> -<div class="verse i0">A track to better homes. A permeant good</div> -<div class="verse i0">Pervades the Universe, and all is joy.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The river runs, like one of nimble foot,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And smiling aspect, to embrace the sea,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Henceforth incorporate; even as the youth,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Of fervent spirit and of sanguine hope,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Comes from his home obscure, and wanders forth</div> -<div class="verse i0">To mingle with the world, and there is lost.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The ruminating Ocean is at peace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And its faint murmur—for its voice is ne'er</div> -<div class="verse i0">All silent—like a half forgotten tone</div> -<div class="verse i0">Seems but the echo of a broken chime,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As if a part of memory, pilgrim-like,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Had gone in quest of all, and died away</div> -<div class="verse i0">Amid the distant traces of the past.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The gentle breeze comes from its groves of spice,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And fragrance bears throughout the Virgin air;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And hark! the woodland music—warblings soft</div> -<div class="verse i0">Steal on the gladdened ear—from every hedge,</div> -<div class="verse i0">From every forest dim, a voice proceeds</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of deep-felt rapture, praise and gratitude.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The swan disports upon the quiet lake,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And shares the cheerfulness that all enjoy;</div> -<div class="verse i0">While thoughts, without a voice, of Heaven remote</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the still waters mirrored, stir its breast.—</div> -<div class="verse i0">All circumstance of language is too faint</div> -<div class="verse i0">The beautiful of Nature to pourtray;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The eloquent sense, the feeling sensitive,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Alone holds free communion with her charms:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">While thought awakes, like day-dawn, and goes forth</div> -<div class="verse i0">To gather stores of knowledge;—like a draught</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the pure fountain to the unrefreshed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The bloom of Spring exhilarates the mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And gives a tone to virtue—its approach</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is as the coming of sweet health to one</div> -<div class="verse i0">Long time afflicted, for its bloom is blest.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_97" class="poem-heading">POESY.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Its</span> sweetest song the cygnet sings</div> -<div class="verse i2">As a soft prelude to its death,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And in that song expends its breath;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">What boots it that the Poet flings</div> -<div class="verse i2">His wildest notes on high,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or strikes with truest hand the strings,</div> -<div class="verse i2">If all his strains must die?</div> -<div class="verse i0">And why should he his notes prolong,</div> -<div class="verse i0">If no one listens to his song?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Yet can the Poet ne'er resign</div> -<div class="verse i2">The lyre he loves, for it alone</div> -<div class="verse i2">Consoles him, when all else is gone;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its spirit, like the breath divine,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That stirred the water's face,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Pervades ev'n to the farthest line</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of universal space;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And music through the whole is flung,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As when the morning angels sung.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">An echo lingers on each peak,</div> -<div class="verse i2">In every vale, on every hill—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Should men not listen, angels will;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For Poesy shall never speak,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Shall never sing in vain;</div> -<div class="verse i0">In solitude the breeze shall seek</div> -<div class="verse i2">And still repeat her strain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where'er, like an aërial tone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her spirit and her voice have gone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">She moves o'er flowers—her handmaid fair,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Bright Summer, in a joyous dance</div> -<div class="verse i2">Doth still before her path advance,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sweet blossoms strewing every where,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -<div class="verse i2">Which, falling, grow divine;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Fresh incense crowds upon the air,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And floats above her shrine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like beauty, when her welcome voice</div> -<div class="verse i0">Makes the whole universe rejoice.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Why then should her adorer fear,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or why her votary despond?—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Partaker of a bliss beyond</div> -<div class="verse i0">All feelings, all enjoyments here,</div> -<div class="verse i2">His impulses sublime</div> -<div class="verse i0">Soar, ev'n in this contracted sphere,</div> -<div class="verse i2">O'er nature and o'er time;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And her undying triumphs spread</div> -<div class="verse i0">A glow like glory round his head.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNET. -<br /><span class="smaller">TO A FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">'Tis</span> evening, and the summer has put on</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her richest dress, her way with flowers is strewed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Beauty and music dwell in every wood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And bower and meadow, hill and valley lone;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A gentle shower is o'er, the earth has wept</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its fragrance into freshness. In this hour,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">When in a flood of glory all is dipped,</div> -<div class="verse i0">By the soft influence of a higher power,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">My spirit leaves its prison-house, and flies</div> -<div class="verse i0">Towards the sweet haunts of thy pleasant home,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where, lover-like, thy river<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> loves to roam;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis there I see thee with my mental eyes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And hold communion with thee day by day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though now we never meet, and haply never may.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p class="footnote-text"><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1" class="label"><span>[1]</span></a> The Tweed, near Kelso.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE GIPSY'S LULLABY.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Sleep</span>, baby, sleep!</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though thy fond mother's breast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where thy young head reclines,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Is a stranger to rest;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And oh! may soft slumber</div> -<div class="verse i2">Descend on thine e'e,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That the sorrow she feels</div> -<div class="verse i2">May be shared not by thee.</div> -<div class="verse i16">Sleep, baby, sleep!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thy father has gone</div> -<div class="verse i2">On his perilous track,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And thy mother will weep,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Till he safely comes back;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But rest thee in peace,</div> -<div class="verse i2">With soft sleep in thine e'e,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though the tear is in her's</div> -<div class="verse i2">That is shared not by thee.</div> -<div class="verse i16">Sleep, baby, sleep!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">WOODLAND SONG.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Will</span> you go to the woodlands with me, with me,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Will you go to the woodlands with me?</div> -<div class="verse i0">When the sun's on the hill, and all nature is still,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Save the sound of the far-dashing sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">For I love to lie lone on the hill, the hill,</div> -<div class="verse i2">I love to lie lone on the hill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When earth, sea, and sky, in loveliness vie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And all nature around me is still.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Then my fancy is ever awake, awake,</div> -<div class="verse i2">My fancy is never asleep;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a bird on the wing, like a swan on the lake,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like a ship far away on the deep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And I love 'neath the green boughs to lie, to lie;</div> -<div class="verse i2">I love 'neath the green boughs to lie;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And see far above, like the smiling of love,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A glimpse, now and then, of the sky.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When the hum of the forest I hear, I hear,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When the hum of the forest I hear,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis solitude's prayer, pure devotion is there,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And its breathings I ever revere.—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">I kneel myself down on the sod, the sod,</div> -<div class="verse i2">I kneel myself down on the sod,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Mong the flowers and wild heath, and an orison breathe</div> -<div class="verse i2">In lowliness up to my God.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Then peace doth descend on my mind, my mind,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Then peace doth descend on my mind;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I gain greater scope to my spirit and hope,</div> -<div class="verse i2">For both then become more refined.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! whatever my fate chance to be, to be,</div> -<div class="verse i2">My spirit shall never repine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">If a stroll on the hill, if a glimpse of the sea,</div> -<div class="verse i2">If the hum of the forest be mine.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNET. -<br /><span class="smaller">THE OCEAN.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Oh!</span> that the Ocean were my element!</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I could dwell among its deepest waves,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like one whose home is in its gushing caves,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Beneath the waters, whether tame or rent.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Would I could roam down where the Mermaid laves</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her half-formed limbs!—for Envy comes not there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor Pride nor Hatred, nor is Malice sent,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor the deep sullenness of dark Despair.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Would I were not of earth—but of the sea!</div> -<div class="verse i0">And held communion with its creatures fair:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gentle in its gentleness, but whene'er</div> -<div class="verse i0">A tempest shook it, and the winds were free,</div> -<div class="verse i0">My bounding spirit would delight to soar,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Float in its foam, and revel in its roar!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">MOUNT HOREB. <a name="ANanchor_5" id="ANanchor_5"></a><a href="#Authornote_5" class="ananchor">(5)</a></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Oh</span>, Holy Mount! on every side</div> -<div class="verse i0">Deserts are stretching far and wide,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where thou, uptowering to the sky,<span class="bracket-11">}</span></div> -<div class="verse i0">Dost shoot thy double head on high,<span class="bracket-12">}</span></div> -<div class="verse i0">Mount Horeb, and Mount Sinai;<span class="bracket-13">}</span></div> -<div class="verse i0">And when the weary traveller stands,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Alone amid the sterile sands,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Seeking for water, vain pursuit,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To quench his thirst, grown absolute,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Groaning, as fainter grows his hope,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For water!—water!—but a drop,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His ever burning thirst t' appease;</div> -<div class="verse i0">He through the sudden moonlight sees</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thy dark and shadowy masses rise,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A solace to his weary eyes;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then gladly on he wends, for he</div> -<div class="verse i0">Becomes refreshed at sight of thee;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">For well he knows, that springs and fruit,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Above, below, thy sides salute;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For o'er the wastes of Rephidim,</div> -<div class="verse i0">There is no spot of peace for him,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Until he reach the rock, whence burst</div> -<div class="verse i0">A well, to quench the raging thirst</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of Israel, when they murmured there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For water, in their deep despair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Thrice Sacred Mount! how oft hast thou,</div> -<div class="verse i0">(Though none but pilgrims tread thee now,)</div> -<div class="verse i0">Been hallowed as the blest abode</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of the Most High! Jehovah! God!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whene'er in furthering his plan</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of mercy and of love to man,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He deigned to touch our earth, to hold</div> -<div class="verse i0">Communion with his Seers of old,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His presence consecrated thee,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His temple and his throne to be.</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Twas on thy Mount that God, concealed</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within the burning bush, revealed</div> -<div class="verse i0">To Moses his command, to free</div> -<div class="verse i0">His people from their slavery.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">There, from the midst of fire and flame,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He did his perfect law proclaim:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then seemed God's presence in their sight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A great, a mighty burst of light</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon thy topmost mount, a fire</div> -<div class="verse i0">Devouring, brighter, deeper, higher,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Than e'er their eyes beheld, a crown</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of glory on thy head, that down</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through all the desert brightness past,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like wild flame from a holocaust:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And gazing on thy glorious height,<span class="bracket-21">}</span></div> -<div class="verse i0">Israel was dazzled by the sight<span class="bracket-22">}</span></div> -<div class="verse i0">Of that intolerable light.<span class="bracket-23">}</span></div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Pursued by persecution's flame,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Elijah to the desert came;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And as he rested in thy cave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which shelter and concealment gave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">God spoke! he lay entranced in fear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Elijah! speak! what dost thou here?"</div> -<div class="verse i0">He answered,—"Jezabel abhorred</div> -<div class="verse i0">Hath put the prophets to the sword,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I alone escaped, to be</div> -<div class="verse i0">A prophet and a priest to thee."</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Then the Almighty gave command,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Go forth, and on the mountain stand!"</div> -<div class="verse i0">But ere Elijah could reply,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A great and mighty wind passed by,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which rent the mountains and the rocks</div> -<div class="verse i0">In pieces, by resistless shocks:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The desert sands uprose afar,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Moving like giant forms in war;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But, when the tempest ceased to rave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Elijah still within the cave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Remained unhurt, unmoved, alone—</div> -<div class="verse i0">A mighty earthquake's shock anon</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shook to its base the Sacred Mount,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And soon a fire, like a small fount,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Came bursting from the highest spot,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Increasing, but consuming not.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The earthquake vanished as it came,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And after it that holy flame;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And hark! a still small voice was heard,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like sweetest music from a bird;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A still small voice! that speaks to youth</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of wisdom, piety, and truth:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Elijah heard—with solemn pace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">(His mantle covering his face,)</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">He rose and stood without the cave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Relying on God's power to save:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The hurricane had past away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And calm and bright the prospect lay;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Far up the double mountain stood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Varied by water and by wood;</div> -<div class="verse i0">He saw the herbage thickly grow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The bubbling springs, and far below</div> -<div class="verse i0">He saw the semicircular fount,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That like a bent bow skirts the mount;</div> -<div class="verse i0">He saw the desert spread beneath,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like an extended vale of death;</div> -<div class="verse i0">He saw the blue sky far above,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Light up in one bright blaze of love;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A burst, of sunshine fell on him,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To which all other light was dim;</div> -<div class="verse i0">He heard again that still small voice,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which made his inmost heart rejoice:</div> -<div class="verse i0">It was the Lord! and power he gave</div> -<div class="verse i0">Elijah, to anoint and save.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i2">Thrice Blessed Mount! thou art a sign,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A type of penitence divine;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Whene'er in darkness and in fear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">We wander in the desert drear</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of sin, and doubt, the welcome light</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of truth breaks sudden on our sight;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The heart becomes a hallowed dome,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where holy feelings find a home;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For there the law of God secure,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Makes every thought and impulse pure:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Repentance may be slow to bring</div> -<div class="verse i0">Comfort and healing on its wing;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The doubting sinner in despair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Asks, trembling, in a hurried prayer,</div> -<div class="verse i0">If guilt like his, of foulest trace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Can hope for pardon and for grace:</div> -<div class="verse i0">But, when such doubts are swept away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The still small voice of truth bears sway:</div> -<div class="verse i0">For Jesus died and rose again,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To free the world from guilt and pain:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Jesus, the only Son of God,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like Moses, takes the gospel rod,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And strikes the barren rock within,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Hardened by wickedness and sin—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whence springs a living well, to free</div> -<div class="verse i0">The thirsty soul from misery.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">He, like Elijah from his cave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Came to the world with power to save;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And Israel, trusting to his aid,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shall innocent and pure be made;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Redeemed, shall reach the heavenly land,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Supported by his mighty hand.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_111" class="poem-heading">WRITTEN BENEATH AN ELM, -<br /><span class="small"><i>In a City Churchyard.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Under</span> thy shadow how many recline,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who never knew rest 'neath the fig-tree or vine!<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></div> -<div class="verse i0">They pass from the banquet, the mall and the mart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Here they meet, here they mingle, never to part.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Who comes from the porch, with colourless vest,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And faded black coat, once the minister's best?</div> -<div class="verse i0">The mattock and shovel support him like staves,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As he totters familiarly over the graves.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis the hoary old sexton, whose home has been here,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Since the days of his boyhood—and now he is sere;</div> -<div class="verse i0">These mounds are his world—he can name all the lairs,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As a monarch his realms, or a merchant his wares.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Yet though he apportions a dwelling for all,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And delights when he handles the mattock and pall;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though his thin hairs are gray, and though feeble his pace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He ne'er for himself yet has chosen a place.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thou wert here when his sire did this office fulfil—</div> -<div class="verse i0">When the son too is gone, thou wilt blossom here still:</div> -<div class="verse i0">How strange that the grass, and the trees, and the weeds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Flourish best on that spot whence corruption proceeds!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">On thy trunk some rude sculptor has carved out his name—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Idle labour! for fleeting and false is such fame:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Lo! wherever we look there is charactered stone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But to whom is the dust each commemorates known?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! bury me not by the multitude's side,</div> -<div class="verse i0">I would shun them in death, as in life I avoid;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where the loathsome newt creeps, 'neath the rank hemlock's shade,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is not where I would that my bones should be laid.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But bear me away to the limitless sea,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And heave me afar 'mong its billows so free:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where my flesh may be wasted, but never shall rot—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where man is not dust, and corruption is not.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh delight! to be tost from wild wave to wild wave—</div> -<div class="verse i0">I seek not for rest—it is found in the grave—</div> -<div class="verse i0">And my skeleton bleach on the foam it is cast—</div> -<div class="verse i0">A link of the future—a wreck of the past.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But alas! if the doom of my kind must be mine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">If my bones in the land of decay must recline;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Seek me out some lone glen, some wild Highland vale,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where the tempest's loud shriek shall my coronach wail.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A rude rugged land, with a wild heather sod,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where the sun never shone, where man's foot never trod;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where the gleam of the day falls with withering blight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And a desolate darkness comes with the night.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Where the waterfall roars like a storm o'er the heath,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The scathed Pine above, and the hoar Elm beneath;</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Mongst the lone, and the mighty, the vast and the deep—</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis there, as their own, that a Poet should sleep.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p class="footnote-text"><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2" class="label"><span>[2]</span></a> Micah iv. 4.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE WELLS O' WEARY.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Down</span> in the valley lone,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Far in the wild wood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bubble forth springs, each one</div> -<div class="verse i2">Weeping like childhood;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bright on their rushy banks,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like joys among sadness,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Little flowers bloom in ranks—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Glimpses of gladness.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Sweet 'tis to wander forth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like pilgrims at even;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Lifting our souls from earth</div> -<div class="verse i2">To fix them on Heaven;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then in our transport deep,</div> -<div class="verse i2">This world forsaking:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sleeping as Angels sleep,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Mortals awaking!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">DRYBURGH ABBEY. <a name="ANanchor_6" id="ANanchor_6"></a><a href="#Authornote_6" class="ananchor">(6)</a></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">By</span> Tweed's fair stream, in a secluded spot,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rises an ivy-crowned monastic pile;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Beneath its shadow sleeps the <span class="smcap">Wizard</span>, <span class="smcap">Scott</span>;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A Ruin is his resting-place—no vile</div> -<div class="verse i0">Unconsecrated grave-yard is the soil—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Few moulder there, but these the loved, the good,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The honoured, and the famed—and sweet flowers smile</div> -<div class="verse i0">Around the precincts of the Abbeyhood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While Cedar, Oak, and Yew adorn that solitude.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Hail, Dryburgh! to thy sylvan shades all hail!—</div> -<div class="verse i0">As to a shrine, from places far away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With awe-struck spirit, to thy classic vale</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shall pilgrims come, to muse, perchance to pray;</div> -<div class="verse i0">More hallowed now than in thy elder day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For sacred is the earth wherein is laid</div> -<div class="verse i0">The Poet's dust; and still his mind, his lay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And his renown, shall flourish undecayed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like his loved country's fame, that is not doomed to fade.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p> - -<h2>POEMS HERE FIRST COLLECTED.</h2> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> - -<p class="poem-heading no-indent xlarge bold p2">COLLECTED POEMS.</p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">GRACE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Come</span>, free-given grace! source of all lasting peace;</div> -<div class="verse i0">My care-worn heart has wanted thee full long;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The charms of earthly joys and pleasures cease,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And fain I'd stray thy tranquil paths among,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where withered weeds and noxious odours strong</div> -<div class="verse i0">Come not, as here I find them rankly meet;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Give me thy pleasant ways and thy contentments sweet!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Contentments sweet are ever with thee still;</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the lone valley, where the streamlet flows,</div> -<div class="verse i0">On distant mountain, on the heath-clad hill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where springs the daisy, or where blooms the rose,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Even in the desert where no green thing grows;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">'Mid trials of this world, whate'er they be,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Still peace, and joy, and truth accompany with thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">With thee there is no darkness; thou dost show</div> -<div class="verse i0">The Sun of Glory shining in His might;</div> -<div class="verse i0">With thee there is no sadness; thou dost go</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into the grief-broke heart, and with the light</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of heavenly love mak'st it serene and bright;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ah! who that can thy blessings call his own,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Would deem himself, with thee, forsaken or alone?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Alone! no, never! Jesus still is near;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Friendless we cannot be with Him our friend—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Our counsellor—although deserted here</div> -<div class="verse i0">By all who to that cherished name pretend—</div> -<div class="verse i0">His friendship, like Himself, shall have no end;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And for our solace freely is bestowed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Trusting in Him while here, the bounteous grace of God!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The grace of God softens the hardened heart.</div> -<div class="verse i0">And makes it oft in gushing joy to sing;</div> -<div class="verse i0">As rod of Moses caused the rock to part,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And made the living waters forth to spring;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The grace of God serenest pleasures bring,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">And leads the mind from carnal thoughts away</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into retirements sweet, in solitude to pray.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">To pray!—blest privilege! For evermore</div> -<div class="verse i0">To pray and praise, and lift the soul above</div> -<div class="verse i0">This sordid earth, and, as a lark doth soar,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ascend into the realms of truth and love,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whence once the Spirit came in form of dove!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thither, oh! thither would it wing its flight—</div> -<div class="verse i0">For ever "take its rest," there where there comes no night!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_121" class="poem-heading">MATIN.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">The</span> gleam of light that passes o'er</div> -<div class="verse i2">The world ere dawn of day;</div> -<div class="verse i0">That, faintly flashing, shines before</div> -<div class="verse i2">The darkness is away:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Is not the smile of morn, in bright</div> -<div class="verse i2">And deeply glorious lines;</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis the first presage of its light,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The morning star that shines.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">IMMORTALITY.</h3> - -<p>[The following verses were suggested by the striking -reply of a Protestant minister, who was about to proceed -to Ireland, to labour among the deluded and ignorant Popish -peasantry, and who, on being warned by a friend of -the personal danger he thereby incurred, nobly answered, -"I am immortal, till my work is done!"]</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">What</span> nerves the soldier in the field,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When foes are raging nigh?</div> -<div class="verse i0">What makes him proudly scorn to yield,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though numbers round him die?</div> -<div class="verse i0">The faith that Heaven directs each ball,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And course that it shall run;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis, that he knows he will not fall,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Until his work be done!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">What makes the sailor on the wreck,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When storms are frowning near,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bear up, with heart and form erect</div> -<div class="verse i2">His bosom free from fear?—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis that he feels that God is by,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To shield him like a son;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis, that he knows he will not die,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Until his work be done!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">God holds the winds as by a rein,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Which still they must obey;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The ocean fierce he doth restrain,</div> -<div class="verse i2">By his all-guiding sway:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The hand that bears the planets high.</div> -<div class="verse i2">Upholds the fulgent sun,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Has fixed the hour that all must die,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When their set work is done!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">What arms the martyr 'midst his fires,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To smile serene at death;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And his whole heart and soul inspires</div> -<div class="verse i2">With never-changing faith?—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Until the victor's crown is gained,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The laurel wreath is won;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Th' oppressor's fury is restrained—</div> -<div class="verse i2">His work must first be done!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">What leads Christ's servant still to dare</div> -<div class="verse i2">All dangers for his sake,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And with unshaken firmness bear,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Ills that the boldest shake?</div> -<div class="verse i0">The trust that God is ever nigh,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To prosper what's begun;</div> -<div class="verse i0">To send a blessing from on high,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Upon his work when done!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And when the good fight he has fought,</div> -<div class="verse i2">His earthly struggles o'er,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He finds the recompense he sought,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where grief is felt no more:</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis then he gains th' appointed prize,</div> -<div class="verse i2">His triumph is begun;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">He lives immortal in the skies,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When all his work is done!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LINES -<br /><span class="smaller">ON THE DEATH OF JOHN SINCLAIR, ESQ.,</span> -<br /><span class="small"><i>7th April 1844.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">When</span> from its prison-house of clay</div> -<div class="verse i2">The spirit is unbound,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When one we love is borne away</div> -<div class="verse i2">To the lone narrow mound:</div> -<div class="verse i0">We feel as if the charm were gone</div> -<div class="verse i2">That renders life so dear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And as a darkening cloud were thrown</div> -<div class="verse i2">O'er all our prospects here.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And when <i>he</i> died, we mourned for him</div> -<div class="verse i2">As only they could mourn</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who felt as if a precious limb</div> -<div class="verse i2">Were from the body torn.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gentle and kind, and always true,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Revered wherever known;</div> -<div class="verse i0">No guile his bosom ever knew,</div> -<div class="verse i2">'Twas friendship's sacred throne.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">From painful days, without relief,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Death brought at last release;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The change that gave to us but grief</div> -<div class="verse i2">To him was lasting peace.</div> -<div class="verse i0">We bore him to his hill-side grave,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></div> -<div class="verse i2">To sleep, but not alone;</div> -<div class="verse i0">To kindred dust his dust we gave,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To mingle with his own.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">To teach us that our home is not</div> -<div class="verse i2">Here, where we seek to live,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But that we have a happier lot</div> -<div class="verse i2">Than aught this world can give,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Death comes,—and when right understood</div> -<div class="verse i2">His lesson sure is blest.—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thus one by one, the loved, the good,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Are gathered to their rest!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p class="footnote-text"><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3" class="label"><span>[3]</span></a> He was interred in the family burying-place, New -Calton Burying-ground, Edinburgh.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">WEEP NOT FOR THE DEAD. -<br /><span class="small">Jeremiah xxii. 10.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Oh!</span> weep not for the dead; they are at rest—</div> -<div class="verse i0">No more shall earthly cares their minds molest;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Waste not a thought on them, nor yet bemoan</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who to the grave's cold heritage have gone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">No sorrow know they in their narrow bed;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They sin no more who slumber with the dead;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They are at rest, from earth-born troubles free,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Fixed is their doom, as lies the stricken tree.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Weep for yourself—for those who linger here,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In pain and sadness, through the varying year;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Still looking through life's vista to the close,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When faith in Christ alone can bring repose.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And weep for those who go to other climes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With toil and hoarding to gain gold betimes—</div> -<div class="verse i0">From friends and country parted, as if nought</div> -<div class="verse i0">But this world's fleeting wealth were worth their thought!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Weep for the dead in sin—the guilty soul</div> -<div class="verse i0">That might, but yet refuses, to be whole—</div> -<div class="verse i0">For him who never heard the Saviour's name,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For him who, having heard, rejects the same.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! weep not for the dead, nor those who go</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into mortality's dread depths below;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But weep for those who mourn and suffer here,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The slaves of sin, and all its guilty fear!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">IDOLS. -<br /><span class="small">"What have I to do any more with Idols?"—Hos. xiv. 8.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Where'er</span> the light of gospel truth</div> -<div class="verse i2">Has shed its glorious rays,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The heart casts off all shapes uncouth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And shuns the wonted ways.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The hills assume a brighter mould,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The flowers a fairer hue,</div> -<div class="verse i0">We quit the fading and the old,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And seek the fresh and new.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The dark and dismal thoughts that brood</div> -<div class="verse i2">Within the carnal mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are straightway changed to bright and good,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When there the truth hath shined:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">As metals in the earth deep set,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though worthless in its womb,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Refined by skilful art, do yet</div> -<div class="verse i2">Precious and rich become.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But man, degenerate from his birth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Headlong in guilt is driven,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Still does his spirit cling to earth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When it should rise to heaven.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">To vile and perverse courses prone,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">The viler more his boast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Rejects all guidance save his own,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And sunk in sin, is lost.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Like dark and savage men, that dwell</div> -<div class="verse i2">In soul-benighted lands,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That blindly worship things of hell,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The work of their own hands.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">For hideous shapes, instead of dread,</div> -<div class="verse i2">They fierce devotion feel,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the more hideous they are made,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The greater is their zeal.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Ye sinners that to Idols bow,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Let light illume your heart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Leave earth-born things to earth below,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And seek the better part.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Come to the fountain free to all,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Drink of the living spring;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Before the cross of Jesus fall,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And own Him for your King.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Come from your dark unwholesome holes,</div> -<div class="verse i2">With hateful things within,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Come and seek comfort to your souls,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And walk no more in sin.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">If self still claims the foremost place,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where Christ should reign alone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Self is the Idol that, through grace,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Must quite be overthrown.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The lust and vanity of life,</div> -<div class="verse i2">All pomp and pride of mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are but the source of grief and strife,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And leave no joy behind:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Jesus alone is Sovereign King,</div> -<div class="verse i2">In Earth and Heaven above;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And why should we to Idols cling,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When we have Him to love?</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_132" class="poem-heading">TRUTH.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">It</span> is not in the heart of thought,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Nor in the breast of care;</div> -<div class="verse i0">That truth its dwelling-place has sought,</div> -<div class="verse i2">For all is sterile there:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Nor is it in the mind, where gay</div> -<div class="verse i2">Delusive visions throng,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That chastening truth can find a way</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its glittering dreams among:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Yet as within the desert far,</div> -<div class="verse i2">There are reflections given</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of light, so in the heart there are</div> -<div class="verse i2">Remembrances of Heaven.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SABBATH MORN.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">On</span> Sabbath morn, one feels</div> -<div class="verse i2">Exalted 'bove the world, and longs to go</div> -<div class="verse i2">Forth to the house of God; and, as the slow</div> -<div class="verse i0">And solemn church-chime on him steals,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He seems to tread the height</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of Heaven, rise with his risen Lord, and there</div> -<div class="verse i2">Pour out his soul in never-ceasing prayer,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And worship with the saints in light.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And peace, and joy, and faith</div> -<div class="verse i2">Are his, and all things that the earth contains,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And all above, through the Redeemer's pains,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And groans, and victory o'er death!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Glory to Him who willed</div> -<div class="verse i2">That man should live, not die! to Him who made</div> -<div class="verse i2">The Sabbath for our comfort, and who said</div> -<div class="verse i0">The soul on Christ its hopes should build!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SABBATH EVE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">On</span> Sabbath eve, how sad,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Yet sweet, the thoughts that come into the mind,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Unbid, but not unwelcome, and which find</div> -<div class="verse i0">Communion there, and to its solace add.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The world seems bright no more;</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its witching charms are gone, its voice is dumb:</div> -<div class="verse i2">Vainly its pleasures to the soul say "Come!"</div> -<div class="verse i0">The wish for their enjoyment now is o'er.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thoughts of the dead are they</div> -<div class="verse i2">Which then we feel, low whispering to the heart,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Telling that we, like them, must soon depart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, with them, go to dull and cold decay.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">How strange it is, in sooth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That Sabbath morn and eve should, to the breast,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Weary with cares of life, bring thoughts of <span class="smcap">Rest</span>—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Strong proof of its great purpose and its truth!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">DREAMS OF THE LIVING.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">No</span> golden dreams, near quiet streams,</div> -<div class="verse i0">On swelling slopes, no high-reached hopes;</div> -<div class="verse i4">These of themselves are mute:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The spirit wakes, the fancies shoot</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where Nature points, but she</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thought curbs, not renders free,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Unless her portals wide she opes,</div> -<div class="verse i4">And gives of Truth the fruit.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And man, a dreamer from his youth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ne'er knoweth, nor can know, the truth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Save when Religion with its light</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shines on his mind, to guide his sight.</div> -<div class="verse i0">From every day that dawns, he claims</div> -<div class="verse i0">New thoughts, new fancies, and new aims,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That lead to nothing, nothing leave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But vague ideas that deceive!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Boyhood is dreaming, when it quits</div> -<div class="verse i0">Substantial joys for counterfeits;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Courts pleasure as a lasting thing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor deems it bears a hidden sting;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And yields all feeling and all sense,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For hopes that bring no recompense.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Well, when its follies it forsakes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And from its feverish dreams awakes!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The loveliness of woman gives</div> -<div class="verse i0">More cause for dreams than aught that lives;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And youth, when it aspires to find</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gladness in beauty, wanting mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like guileless child, is ever dreaming</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of joy and brightness only seeming;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And knows not, till the dream is past,</div> -<div class="verse i0">What spells around the heart are cast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And manhood dreams,—when o'er the soul</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ambition has secured control,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of power, and wealth, and worldly state,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And all the splendours of the great:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Builds monuments, to which decay</div> -<div class="verse i0">Clings as a resting-place and prey,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Nor thinks how weak are all his pains,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When nothing at the last remains.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And age, that ought to know the best,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is but a dreamer like the rest;</div> -<div class="verse i0">O'erlooking, in its downward pace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The landmarks of its upward race;</div> -<div class="verse i0">No wisdom from the past it earns,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And from the present only learns</div> -<div class="verse i0">To dread the future; and its staff</div> -<div class="verse i0">Writes its own weary epitaph.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">What dream they of? Earth, with its feelings cold,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its passions withered, tales that have been told,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And generations dead—the same dull tone</div> -<div class="verse i0">That from the chambers of the past hath gone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is echoed now; but, as before, its strain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For warning, or for teaching, is in vain!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And hearts on which has come the early blight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And hopes that never knew aught here but slight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And scattered flowers, and blossoms tossed and shaken,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And promises foregone, and trusts forsaken,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Still show men's visions false, but still they cherish</div> -<div class="verse i0">Dreams of the earth, which only lure to perish.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">No glow of life, no ante-taste of heaven,</div> -<div class="verse i0">From sordid earth-born thoughts like theirs is given;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But disappointment, with its lagging train</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of blighted prospects, tells that all is vain;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Yet to this earth's allurements fixed, the heart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a wrecked vessel, drifts, without a chart.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Truth teaches higher hopes, and better things,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And o'er the mind a lasting solace brings.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! that the soul on Heaven were ever bent,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And all its feelings thitherward were sent!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then would our visions from the world arise,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Clear as the sun, and radiant as the skies:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Visions of light and love that ne'er decay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">No strifes to scare, no terrors to dismay;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But peace, unchanging as the Christian's faith—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Peace in our life, untroubled hope in death!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LINES.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Man</span> knows he is immortal: there's within</div> -<div class="verse i0">A principle that tells him that his soul,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which in himself exists, shall never die,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Although his outward tenement becomes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">By the slow-wasting chemistry of death,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Forgotten, undistinguishable dust.</div> -<div class="verse i0">His mind, his heart, his impulses, are all</div> -<div class="verse i0">Subservient to his soul, his noblest part,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That came from God, returns to God again.</div> -<div class="verse i0">If he his passions could o'ercome and sway,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Place Prudence as a wary sentinel</div> -<div class="verse i0">On all his words and purposes, that trip</div> -<div class="verse i0">He might in neither, he were great indeed!</div> -<div class="verse i0">But sense and selfishness his judgment warp,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And so debase his nature, that, having not</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of his own mind the moral mastery,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His thoughts, affections, powers, and faculties,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are under the dominion of a yoke</div> -<div class="verse i0">More galling than a tyrant's. Slave of Sin!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNETS. -<br /><span class="small"><i>Written on viewing the Picture of "The Deluge," painted by F. Danby, Esq., A.R.A.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">We</span> gaze in awe upon the solemn scene,</div> -<div class="verse i2">With sense and soul absorbed, as if the sight</div> -<div class="verse i0">Were tranced in that o'erpowering vengeful light</div> -<div class="verse i2">Which shrouds the setting sun; and what has been</div> -<div class="verse i0">A world is now a waste of waters, higher</div> -<div class="verse i2">And darker swells the flood, like one vast pall</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thrown o'er the guilty ones of earth, Heaven's ire</div> -<div class="verse i2">Who braved ere-while.—How fearful, how sublime,</div> -<div class="verse i0">How terrible the sight!—widely they climb,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To rock and mountain top to 'scape their doom,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While rushing torrents, dome and palace hall,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The work of man with man himself, consume;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor these alone! Rock, cliff, and mountain grey,</div> -<div class="verse i2">God's handiwork, become with man, their prey!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">How vast the guilt that thus could doom a world</div> -<div class="verse i2">So beautiful as ours was ere man sinned,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The waters sweeping, like a mighty wind,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To whelm the earth, from its foundations hurled;</div> -<div class="verse i0">All nature stood aghast, its course was changed—</div> -<div class="verse i2">A comet threw afar its lurid gleam,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Up-broke the fountains of the ocean stream,</div> -<div class="verse i2">While a fierce earthquake thro' the centre ranged,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shattering the mountains in its might.—How vain</div> -<div class="verse i2">Was then the strength of man, as poor his pride,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To stem the onsweep of that ceaseless tide,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Which desolation spread o'er mount and plain!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Anguish and terror, madness and despair,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Took hold on all, before they perished there!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A towering rock, whose shadow in past days</div> -<div class="verse i2">Was hailed by weary ones a place of rest,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Affords brief shelter on its shelving breast</div> -<div class="verse i2">To struggling sufferers crowding from all ways,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Trampling their fellows down for life, sweet life!</div> -<div class="verse i2">Alas! the <span class="smcap">Judgment's</span> on them, they as well</div> -<div class="verse i0">Might build their hopes on sand, as stay the swell</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of the full flood and elemental strife.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Yet has not God forgotten all his love</div> -<div class="verse i2">To sinful men, the <span class="smcap">Arm</span> they madly brave</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Though strong to smite is also strong to save"—</div> -<div class="verse i2">The ark floats high a buried world above!</div> -<div class="verse i0">While o'er a lifeless pair, to Heaven still dear,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A kneeling Angel drops a pitying tear! <a name="ANanchor_7" id="ANanchor_7"></a><a href="#Authornote_7" class="ananchor">(7)</a></div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_142" class="poem-heading">THOUGHT.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Like</span> one who on a mountain stands,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When morning into day expands,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, as a glory, views from Heaven</div> -<div class="verse i0">The plenteousness of brightness given;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Even so is he, who marks remote</div> -<div class="verse i0">The early cheering dawn of thought</div> -<div class="verse i0">Advancing o'er th' awakened mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Till truth, within the soul defined,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Spreads light and knowledge in the breast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And sets all doubts and fears at rest.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LINES. -<br /><span class="smaller">WRITTEN ON THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE QUEEN.</span> -<br /><span class="small"><i>20th July 1840.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Fair</span> as the summer in its joyous prime,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Free from all thoughts of guile, all dread of ill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Unconscious that a traitor could exist</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within her wide dominions, forth she came,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Young, happy, unattended, save by him,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The husband she had chosen from the world;</div> -<div class="verse i0">All hearts her own—no other guard she wished—</div> -<div class="verse i0">When ambushed treason aimed its coward blow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which Heaven ordained should harmless pass her by,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In mercy to the realms that own her sway.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Ah! had the public foe, in hostile league,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Come openly against her life and crown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The chivalry of England, not yet dead,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Had promptly flown to arms, and formed</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Around her then a shield impenetrable,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her sacred person to defend, or die.</div> -<div class="verse i0">From out of England's millions, only one</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was found, so void of all the feelings of a man,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As point a deadly weapon at the breast</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of England's pride—a woman and a Queen!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then the high bravery of her race was shown;</div> -<div class="verse i0">She blenched not, quivered not, but sat erect;</div> -<div class="verse i0">While, with the lion courage of the Saxon,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which both their hearts inspired, her consort threw</div> -<div class="verse i0">Himself at once between her and the danger,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To shield the life so dear to him and us.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The loyal heart of Britain beat with joy</div> -<div class="verse i0">At their escape—the young, the loved, the true!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Many and fervent were the prayers breathed</div> -<div class="verse i0">To Heaven, that they might live extended years,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And each year, as it came, their happiness</div> -<div class="verse i0">Increase, and ours! Thus let the traitor's hopes</div> -<div class="verse i0">For ever end, thus fruitless be his aims—</div> -<div class="verse i0">His snares recoil upon himself alone!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">How beautiful the trait of filial love,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of reverence daughterly, was then evinced,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">When, freed from danger from th' assassin's arm,</div> -<div class="verse i0">She promptly to her mother hastes, herself</div> -<div class="verse i0">To be the foremost bearer of the tidings,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, in her own particular person, bring</div> -<div class="verse i0">The proof and the assurance of her safety,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ere Rumour's tongue had magnified details!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ah! worthy of her people's love, is she</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who thus could show the veneration due,</div> -<div class="verse i0">At such a time, to her who gave her being!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The ways of men are in the hands of One</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who cannot err; the destinies of all</div> -<div class="verse i0">On earth, peasants as well as potentates,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are under His sole guardianship and guidance.</div> -<div class="verse i0">A truism this; yet there are men who doubt,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nay, worse, deny it; even though instances,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Occurring daily, show the constant care</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of Providence o'er thoughtless, sinful men.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">How oft does evil o'er our head impend,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And we not know it, till the danger's past!</div> -<div class="verse i0">How oft, when evil comes, provided is</div> -<div class="verse i0">A remedy, we know not how or whence!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ah! blind, and worse than blind, are they who doubt.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The brutish beasts that roam the fields and woods,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And never heard of God, or gospel truth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of Christ and his salvation, better are,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And wiser, than the Atheist and Sceptic.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">High is the sovereign's power, and great the sway</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which kings possess; but, higher, greater still</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is His, the King of Kings, who overrules</div> -<div class="verse i0">All things for good to them who love his laws.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Tyrants have had avengers, but the good</div> -<div class="verse i0">Need fear no peril, dread no coming ill;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their trust in One who fails not, cannot fail;</div> -<div class="verse i0">In whose hand is the breath of princes held,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As much as meaner men's. To Him thy way commit.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">I'M NAEBODY NOO. -<br /><span class="small"><i>The complaint of an old man reduced in the world. Contributed to the Book of -Scottish Song.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">I'm</span> naebody noo, though in days that are gane,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whan I'd hooses, and lands, and gear o' my ain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">There war' mony to flatter, and mony to praise,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And wha but mysel' was sae prood in those days!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Ah! then roun' my table wad visitors thrang,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wha laughed at my joke, and applauded my sang,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though the tane had nae point, and the tither nae glee;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But of coorse they war' grand when comin' frae me!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Whan I'd plenty to gie, o' my cheer and my crack,</div> -<div class="verse i0">There war' plenty to come, and wi' joy to partak';</div> -<div class="verse i0">But whanever the water grew scant at the well,</div> -<div class="verse i0">I was welcome to drink all alane by mysel'.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Sae lang as my bottle was ready and free,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Friends in dozens I had wha then crooded to prie,</div> -<div class="verse i0">They sat ower the toddy until they war' fou,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Noo I drink by mysel', for I'm naebody noo.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Whan I'd nae need o' aid, there were plenty to proffer,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And noo whan I want it, I ne'er get the offer;</div> -<div class="verse i0">I could greet whan I think hoo my siller decreast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the feasting o' those who came only to feast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The fulsome respec' to my gowd they did gie,</div> -<div class="verse i0">I thought a' the time was intended for me,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But whanever the end o' my money they saw,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their friendship, like it, also flickered awa'.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">My advice ance was sought for by folks far and near,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sic great wisdom I had ere I tint a' my gear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">I'm as weel able yet to gie counsel, that's true,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But I may jist haud my wheesht, for I'm naebody noo.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONG. -<br /><span class="small"><i>Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">There's</span> plenty come to woo me,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And ca' me sweet and fair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">There's plenty say they lo'e me,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But they never venture mair:</div> -<div class="verse i0">They never say they'll marry,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though love is all their tune,</div> -<div class="verse i0">From June to Janu-a-ry,</div> -<div class="verse i2">From January to June.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">I canna keep frae smilin',</div> -<div class="verse i2">At their flatteries and art;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wi' a' their fond beguilin',</div> -<div class="verse i2">They'll ne'er beguile my heart.</div> -<div class="verse i0">For nought can fix a maiden</div> -<div class="verse i2">Whase heart is warm and true,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But vows wi' marriage laden,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though mony come to woo.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">That a's no gowd that glitters</div> -<div class="verse i2">I've either heard or read,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And marriage has its bitters,</div> -<div class="verse i2">As well as sweets, is said.</div> -<div class="verse i0">But though it gets the blame o'</div> -<div class="verse i2">Some things that winna' tell,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The fau't that folks complain o'</div> -<div class="verse i2">Lies often wi' themsel'.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The year, as on it ranges,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Within its twelvemonths' fa',</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shows many sudden changes,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And's lightsome wi' them a';</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though winter's tempests thicken,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Spring comes wi' cheerful face;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And summer smiles to quicken</div> -<div class="verse i2">A' nature wi' its grace.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The year of life is marriage,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And we canna wed too sune,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whan twa divide the carriage,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The wark is cheerily dune.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">If one true heart wad hae me,</div> -<div class="verse i2">For better and for worse,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wi' him I'd gladly share aye</div> -<div class="verse i2">The blessing and the curse.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h3 id="PoemPage_151" class="poem-heading">THE STOUT OLD BRITISH SHIP.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Hurrah!</span> for the stout old British ship,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The monarch of the sea!</div> -<div class="verse i0">That bounds like a greyhound from the slip,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When the sails are loosened free!</div> -<div class="verse i0">That, spite of the storm and deadly gun,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Ne'er yet its course gave o'er;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And never knew what 'twas to run</div> -<div class="verse i2">A hostile flag before!</div> -<div class="verse i0">It long has the bulwark been of our rights,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of our freedom still the stay;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then give to the brave old British ship,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Three British cheers—hurrah!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When Nelson trode its quarter-deck,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its glory was in its prime;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Victory he had at his finger-beck,</div> -<div class="verse i2">As proved in every clime:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then England was honoured and feared by all,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And nations sung her praise;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But that is a tale we may not recall</div> -<div class="verse i2">In these degenerate days:</div> -<div class="verse i0">For the stout old ship lies idly ashore,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Laid up like a useless tree;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its battles and cruises now are o'er,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though it still is fit for sea!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The vaunting foreigner long has felt</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its thunders on the main,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And he smiles when he thinks the blows it dealt</div> -<div class="verse i2">Shall ne'er be dealt again.</div> -<div class="verse i0">But the spirit of Nelson is not dead,</div> -<div class="verse i2">It bounds in a hundred hearts,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And his story of fame is remembered and read,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And studied with our charts!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">For cherished with care is the glory it won,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The meed of a thousand years;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And its foes will fly as they often have done,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When the stout old ship appears!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When the brave old ship, as bright as morn,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Hoists high its well-known flag;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The flag that has still been unsullied borne,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Since the days of Drake and Sprague.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Let's see who'll dare dispute its right,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To the empire of the main,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Twill prove its title clear and bright,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Against the world again!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then give to the stout old British ship,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of our freedom still the stay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That long has the bulwark been of our rights,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Three British cheers—hurrah!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LINES, -<br /><span class="smaller">ON THE INFANT SON AND DAUGHTER OF THE -HON. COL. MONTAGUE.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">How</span> fair is childhood; like the ray</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of summer morn, the blush of day.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bright scions of a noble race,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Blooming in love and youthful grace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In innocence and beauty's pride!</div> -<div class="verse i0">As rosebuds blossoming at ease,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Showering their beauties on the breeze,</div> -<div class="verse i6">On some green mountain's side.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">High thoughts are with that lovely boy,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In whose dark eye beams radiant joy;</div> -<div class="verse i0">May blessings on his years attend,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And Heaven its choicest favours send!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Hope of an honourable line,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With feeling heart and mind endued,</div> -<div class="verse i0">May health, and peace, and every good,</div> -<div class="verse i6">And length of life, be thine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! love it is a blessed thing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And to the heart doth comfort bring;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But the fond throb that for a brother</div> -<div class="verse i0">A sister feels, excels all other,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Save only that by parents known:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sweet maid, a pure affection cheers</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thy gentle heart, and still endears</div> -<div class="verse i6">Thy very smile and tone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">No cares upon those brows of light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Round which the tresses cluster bright,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like mossy flowers 'mong sunshine blended,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Have yet, with envious trace, descended:</div> -<div class="verse i0">But all is happiness and mirth,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ye look like cherubs sent from Heaven,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With hope, and joy, and beauty given,</div> -<div class="verse i6">To cheer this weary earth.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i26">1838.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE MARTYRS.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Faithful</span> to God, 'mid persecutions dire,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The lion-hearts of old still firmly stood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Unawed by terrors of the block or fire,</div> -<div class="verse i2">For truth and freedom freely gave their blood;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The path of duty lay before them plain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And boldly they advanced, nor turned again.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A throne cast down, erected was once more,</div> -<div class="verse i2">An exiled king, a nation, welcomed back;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Planted in blood it was, and tears, and gore,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its only props the scaffold and the rack;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And there the brave and good did nobly fall,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That Christ the Saviour might be all in all,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Calmly the martyr Guthrie met his fate,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A victim to oppression's cruel laws,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor would, for proudest prelate's form and state,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A traitor turn to his dear Master's cause;</div> -<div class="verse i0">With him no joy on earth so great could be,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As thus to die for Christ's supremacy.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">On the lone mountains of their native land,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where blooms the heather fragrantly and fair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In the green valleys waved by breezes bland,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Struck mercilessly down while met in prayer,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Lie Scotland's martyrs in their nameless moulds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sustained by Him who the great worlds upholds. <a name="ANanchor_8" id="ANanchor_8"></a><a href="#Authornote_8" class="ananchor">(8)</a></div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">CALEDONIA, MY COUNTRY!</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Caledonia</span>, my country! How bright is the fame,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a halo of glory, that circles thy name;</div> -<div class="verse i0">When thy children remember their fathers' renown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Can they, faithless, consent e'er to sully thy crown?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">In the battles of freedom, the hot fields of fight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thy great men of old stoutly fought for the right;</div> -<div class="verse i0">By their conquering swords, blessed and aided by Heaven,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The hosts of the foe from our country were driven.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">In the fair realms of song thy sons also excel,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Midst the gifted of earth do their memories dwell;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And of praise of thy minstrels, from nations around,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Still the echo returns, with a flattering sound.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But purer, and brighter, and higher, by far,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Than of those that have triumphed in song or in war,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are the names,—never breathed but with love they are heard,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of thy fearless Reformers, thy Martyrs revered.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Now thy sword is at rest, and thy harp is laid by,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But the sword of the Spirit still waves from on high,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the harp of the Lord sounds in majesty forth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As of yore it was heard from the lands of the north.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Again, oh, my country! on thy hills of renown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oppression, relentless, has darkly come down—</div> -<div class="verse i0">On the breeze of the mountain is borne the loud wail,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the lowlands reply to the wrongs of the Gael.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">From the dark page of history shadows are cast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the woes of the future loom out from the past;</div> -<div class="verse i0">There are omens of evil, enshrouded in blood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But in midst of them all, there are tokens of good.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">I CANNA SLEEP. -<br /><span class="small"><i>Written in 1833. Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song.</i></span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">I canna</span> sleep a wink, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When I gang to bed at night,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But still o' thee I think, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Till morning sheds its light.</div> -<div class="verse i0">I lie an' think o' thee, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And I toss frae side to side,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a vessel on the sea, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When stormy is the tide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">My heart is no my ain, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">It winna bide wi' me,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like a birdie it has gane, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To nestle saft wi' thee.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">I canna lure it back, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Sae keep it to yoursel';</div> -<div class="verse i0">But oh! it sune will brak, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">If you dinna use it well.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Where the treasure is they say, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The spirit lingers there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">An' mine has fled away, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">You needna' ask me where.</div> -<div class="verse i0">I marvel oft if rest, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">On my eyes and heart wad bide,</div> -<div class="verse i0">If I thy troth possessed, lassie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And thou wert at my side.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">YONDER SUNNY BRAE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">On</span> yonder sunny brae we met,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Amid the summer flowers;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And never can my heart forget</div> -<div class="verse i2">The rapture of those hours,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When she I loved forsook her home</div> -<div class="verse i2">And there with me did stray,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! oft delighted did we roam</div> -<div class="verse i2">On yonder sunny brae.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The gushing of the waterfall,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The sunshine of the sky,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The bloom, the balm, and, more than all,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The sparkle of her eye,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Brought to my heart a blissful tide</div> -<div class="verse i2">That drove all care away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I was happy at her side,</div> -<div class="verse i2">On yonder sunny brae.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">'Twas there I breathed my fondest vow,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Nor told my love in vain;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I am happy with her now,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though years have passed since then.</div> -<div class="verse i0">No sweeter scene my eyes shall see</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though far my steps should stray:</div> -<div class="verse i0">There's not a spot so dear to me</div> -<div class="verse i2">As yonder sunny brae.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p> - -<h2>THE EAGLE'S NEST, -<br /><span class="small">AND</span> -<br /><span class="smaller">OTHER POEMS.</span></h2> - -<p class="no-indent center medium bold p1">HERE FIRST PRINTED.</p> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE EAGLE'S NEST.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Grace Adam</span> was a farmer's daughter,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Her youth in the far west was spent,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where Mississippi's mighty water</div> -<div class="verse i2">Rolls like a flood that will have vent.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">She was a blooming country maiden,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like those one sees in market towns,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With egg and butter baskets laden,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Dressed in their smartest hats and gowns.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">In household work and dairy labours</div> -<div class="verse i2">Her time passed pleasantly away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A pattern she to all the neighbours,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Healthy and cheerful as the day.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Grace Adam was a farmer's daughter,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Some share of beauty she could boast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And lovers, near and far off, sought her,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Each striving who could flatter most.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">From 'mong them all her heart selected</div> -<div class="verse i2">One gentle youth who seemed sincere,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He was by every one respected,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And more it needs not saying here.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Within an outfield stood an only</div> -<div class="verse i2">Old beech-tree, lightning-smote, and dead,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its branches bare, and bleached, and lonely,</div> -<div class="verse i2">An eagle built its nest amid.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Forsook the mountain's summit hoary,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The beetling cliff above the sea,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sought not the forests of Missouri,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But sheltered on this shattered tree.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And oft to see this noble creature,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Many there came from parts thereby,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Training its young, as is its nature,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To spread their wings and upward fly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Among the rest a student, rambling</div> -<div class="verse i2">In woods and meadows, also came,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In search of useful knowledge scrambling,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Wherever he could find the same.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Grace Adam was a farmer's daughter,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Her father had approved her choice;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For duty and her feelings taught her</div> -<div class="verse i2">'Twere best to have her parents' voice.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oft as the summer sunset glowing</div> -<div class="verse i2">Came down in splendour o'er the west,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The lovers forth together going,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Would wander to the eagle's nest.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And there in courtship sweet and prudent</div> -<div class="verse i2">The happy hours fast slipt away;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">And often there, too, came the student,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To watch the birds at close of day.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And so they soon became acquainted,</div> -<div class="verse i2">He knew they were betrothed before;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But while their future bliss <i>they</i> painted,</div> -<div class="verse i2"><i>His</i> object still was to explore.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The marriage-day, longed for yet dreaded</div> -<div class="verse i2">By maidens fair, at last came round,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Grace Adam and her love were wedded,</div> -<div class="verse i2">With hope and every blessing crowned.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Their home was in a distant city</div> -<div class="verse i2">Far, far from where her youth was spent,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where Mississippi's water mighty</div> -<div class="verse i2">Pours like a flood that will have vent.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And never more the lordly river,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or its green banks, was Grace to see,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The dear-loved farm, no more, and never</div> -<div class="verse i2">The lonely shattered eagle's tree.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">New duties claimed now her attention,</div> -<div class="verse i2">New feelings rose at name of wife,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And as time passed, she ceased to mention</div> -<div class="verse i2">The loved scenes of her early life.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Some years had gone, and she could gather</div> -<div class="verse i2">Her children round about her knee,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Long since in churchyard lay her father,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And fallen was the eagle's tree.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And now in course of worldly changes</div> -<div class="verse i2">Another town their home became;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For business oft-times turns the hinges</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of man's condition and his aim.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And there they settled, growing older,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But Grace aright years passing read;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For the grey hairs appearing told her</div> -<div class="verse i2">Time left its shadow on her head.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Years twenty since the farmer's daughter</div> -<div class="verse i2">Left the scenes where her youth was spent,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where Mississippi's mighty water</div> -<div class="verse i2">Rolls like a flood that will have vent.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Within that town broke out a fever,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Smiting alike the rich and poor;</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Twas typhus, grim Death's surest lever</div> -<div class="verse i2">To turn the churchyards o'er and o'er.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Many, o'erborne with grief and watching</div> -<div class="verse i2">At couch of those oppressed with pains,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A hurried hour of slumber snatching,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Woke with the fever in their veins.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Spared not the children or the father,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Passed not the anxious mother by,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In one swift grave the parents gather</div> -<div class="verse i2">Their offspring with them as they lie.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Lamented many a one his dearest</div> -<div class="verse i2">Borne to the house whence no retrace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Mourned high and low for friends the nearest</div> -<div class="verse i2">Soon carried to their resting place.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A time of gloom, and doubt, and terror,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A time of sorrow and dismay;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The breath of death upon life's mirror</div> -<div class="verse i2">All ghastly and infectious lay.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A time of judgment, when God's dealings</div> -<div class="verse i2">Make the most careless cry to Him,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">A time to try the human feelings,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">When even Hope grows faint and dim.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Just at the last, when near expending</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its baleful force ere sped away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Grace caught the fever while attending</div> -<div class="verse i2">A smitten neighbour as she lay.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Grief in the house but late so cheerful,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Pain on the heart but late so light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her husband and her children tearful</div> -<div class="verse i2">Watched o'er her sickbed day and night.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Beat low the pulse with languid movement,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And stopped the functions of the brain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">No sign her eye gave of improvement</div> -<div class="verse i2">As day and night return again.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Hastened the Doctor, if yet human</div> -<div class="verse i2">Aid might avail to save her life,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He saw and knew the suffering woman,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Although not as a wedded wife.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Years twenty since the farmer's daughter</div> -<div class="verse i2">Had met the student at the tree,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where Mississippi's mighty water</div> -<div class="verse i2">Rolls like a full flood to the sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Bent near the Doctor then, and laid he</div> -<div class="verse i2">His hand upon her wasted breast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And with low cheerful whisper said he</div> -<div class="verse i2">No more words than "the eagle's nest!"</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The change was sudden and amazing,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Opened her eyes and closed again,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And like the keel of vessel grazing</div> -<div class="verse i2">The ground, grated her teeth in twain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Gasped a long breath, as if a struggle</div> -<div class="verse i2">Were going on, as night with morn,</div> -<div class="verse i0">No sound made but a low faint guggle,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like cry of infant newly born.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A smile passed o'er her features sunken,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Grasped she the hand beside her then,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Remembrance, just as one half-drunken,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Strove to retrace its course again.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Ah! then came back the well-known faces</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of her young days upon her mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The scenes of long ago, in traces</div> -<div class="verse i2">All clear and full and well defined.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">She saw her father as he taught her</div> -<div class="verse i2">Her youthful lessons at his knee,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where Mississippi's mighty water</div> -<div class="verse i2">Rolls like a full flood to the sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">She saw her mother too beside her</div> -<div class="verse i2">Long, long since taken to her rest,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And then, as opened Memory wider,</div> -<div class="verse i2">She stood beneath the eagle's nest,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">With him she loved, in courtship prudent,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And of love's sweetest cup she drank,</div> -<div class="verse i0">She saw again the youthful student,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">All that came after was a blank.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thus ever Memory touched can bring time,</div> -<div class="verse i2">With its past feelings into light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And thus the sweet joys of her spring-time</div> -<div class="verse i2">Came rushing thickly on her sight.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thus, too, doth roused Imagination</div> -<div class="verse i2">Vibrate the tender chords that bind</div> -<div class="verse i0">The wide links of Association</div> -<div class="verse i2">Within the chambers of the mind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Then turned the fever, as the meeting</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of the free air upon her brain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Her pulse resumed a quickened beating,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Revolved the wheels of life again.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And day by day she gained new strength then</div> -<div class="verse i2">Beneath the Doctor's care and skill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Able to quit her bed at length then,</div> -<div class="verse i2">'Twas this she loved to talk of still,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">That when Death's dart did o'er her hover,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And she could find no sleep or rest,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Twas this that made her to recover,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The simple words, "the eagle's nest!" <a name="ANanchor_9" id="ANanchor_9"></a><a href="#Authornote_9" class="ananchor">(9)</a></div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE ADVENT OF TRUTH.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">A</span> time there is, though far its dawn may be,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And shadows thick are brooding on the main,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When, like the sun upspringing from the sea,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Truth shall arise, with Freedom in its train;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And Light upon its forehead, as a star</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon the brow of heaven, to shed its rays</div> -<div class="verse i0">Among all people, wheresoe'er they are,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And shower upon them calm and happy days.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">As sunshine comes with healing on its wing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">After long nights of sorrow and unrest,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Solace and peace, and sympathy to bring</div> -<div class="verse i0">To the grieved spirit and unquiet breast.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">No more shall then be heard the slave's deep groan,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor man man's inhumanity deplore,</div> -<div class="verse i0">All strife shall cease and war shall be unknown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And the world's golden age return once more.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And nations now that, with Oppression's hand,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Are to the dust of Earth with sorrow bowed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shall then erect, in fearless vigour, stand,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And with recovered freedom shout aloud.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Along with Truth, Wisdom, her sister-twin,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shall come—they two are never far apart,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">At their approach, to some lone cavern Sin</div> -<div class="verse i0">Shall cowering flee, as stricken to the heart.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Right shall then temper Justice, as 'tis meet</div> -<div class="verse i0">It should, and Justice give to Right its own;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Might shall its sword throw underneath its feet,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And Tyranny, unkinged, fall off its throne.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Then let us live in hope, and still prepare</div> -<div class="verse i0">Us and our children for the end, that they</div> -<div class="verse i0">Instruct may those who after them shall heir,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To watch and wait the coming of that day.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LINES, -<br /><span class="smaller">SUGGESTED BY A WALK IN A GARDEN.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Balmy</span> as the dew from its own blossoms,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And soothing as the fragrance it creates,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Comes the sweet influence of this summer eve</div> -<div class="verse i0">To my o'erchargëd heart—there is a breeze</div> -<div class="verse i0">Moving amid the foliage, soft and low,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As cradled murmur from a babe asleep.</div> -<div class="verse i0">It is a time for holy thoughts to spring,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And contemplation fill the awakened mind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Lo! a bright sunbeam stands 'tween heaven and earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Taking its farewell look ere day departs,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">And seeking still to light the gloom below,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As Hope,—even when the darkness comes, and Joy</div> -<div class="verse i0">Hath fled,—to cheer the heart, still lingering, smiles:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And when it goes,—ah! no, it ne'er all goes:—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sunbeam fades, a moment, and its light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">All shed, dies still-born, swiftly shone and o'er;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But Hope, blest Hope, ev'n when it seems away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is near, evermore near, it cannot live</div> -<div class="verse i0">Apart, 'tis wedded to the soul for aye,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">God joined them twain, and nought can sunder them,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Near, ever near, and ever bringing peace,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Groping among the dark things of man's spirit,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And shedding o'er the troubled mind its light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As a stray ray of sunshine wanders 'mong</div> -<div class="verse i0">The shattered arches of a fallen ruin.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Ere sunset leaves the world, and sinks behind</div> -<div class="verse i0">The illumined ocean, let me muse awhile.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">'Twas in a garden that that hideous thing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sin, first was born accurst, and now all through</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The wide wide universe it ranges fierce.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where man has placed his foot its trace is seen.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The serpent's slimy trail is everywhere,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Disfiguring, polluting, and destroying,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Death following in its track inseparably.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But oh! my soul be humbled, yet rejoice;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">It was, too, in a garden that the great,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The only all-sufficient, all-atoning</div> -<div class="verse i0">Propitiatory sacrifice for sin</div> -<div class="verse i0">Commenced its consummation, when the Man</div> -<div class="verse i0">Christ Jesus swat for thee great drops of blood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">(Even he, the Second Person of the Godhead,)</div> -<div class="verse i0">And prayed in agony that the cup might pass,</div> -<div class="verse i0">If so his Father willed; but none on earth</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or yet in Heaven could drink it, none save Him;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And when the sacrifice was all complete</div> -<div class="verse i0">On Calvary, and satisfied was Justice,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Mercy and Hope held out their hands to man,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, in Christ's name, showed him redemption's way.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The shame and misery that Adam felt</div> -<div class="verse i0">In Eden's garden, when the first great sin</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was challenged, was as nothing to compare</div> -<div class="verse i0">With the deep agony which on that night,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">That dreadful night in which he was betrayed,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Our Surety felt, when in Gethsemane</div> -<div class="verse i0">He took upon himself to pay the full</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ransom and penalty of that first sin</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which Adam sinned, and all his race in him.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Of that first sin did Adam put the blame</div> -<div class="verse i0">On Eve, "the woman whom thou gavest me."</div> -<div class="verse i0">Eve on the serpent shifted it, and proud</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was he that he had circumvented both,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Doomed on his womb to crawl in dust, and bruised</div> -<div class="verse i0">His head by woman's seed, short-lived his pride.—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Christ took upon Himself the sin and all</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its anguish, nor like Adam vainly strove</div> -<div class="verse i0">To shift it to another, knowing well</div> -<div class="verse i0">No other could redeem it but Himself.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sinless, a sacrifice for sin, that sin</div> -<div class="verse i0">Might from the souls of men be washed away.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">'Twas for that sin, and its infeftments wide</div> -<div class="verse i0">That Jesus died, that its entail cut off</div> -<div class="verse i0">Might be from Adam and his lineage, far</div> -<div class="verse i0">As generations yet to come extend,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And man restored to his lost paradise.</div> -<div class="verse i0">No flaming sword waves at its portals now,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Entrance to bar to the redeemed on earth;</div> -<div class="verse i0">No angels guard the gates to keep them shut,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But open ever are they to the elect,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And there bright angels stand, with joy</div> -<div class="verse i0">To welcome all who come in Christ's name in.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But now the sun hath bade the world good night,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And gathering darkness warns me to my home.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONNET. -<br /><span class="smaller">SUNSHINE.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">On</span> the old forest, bright the sunrays play,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And from the boughs hang, tinging the green leaves</div> -<div class="verse i0">With golden light that downward interweaves,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Past branch and stem finding itself a way;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And on the greensward, and among the fern,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Some trace of sunshine still we can discern,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A sunbeam's scattered droppings gone astray</div> -<div class="verse i0">Among the wild-flowers, where they nestle close</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within the long grass, or the woodland moss,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Making for Earth a dress with colours gay.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! on our pathway thus may sunshine fall,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And like the little flowers, our hopes still bloom,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">A share of it at least, if not it all,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">To light the darkness and to cheer the gloom.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">SONG. -<br /><span class="smaller">AT E'ENING, WHAN THE KYE WAR IN.</span></h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">At</span> e'ening whan the kye war in,</div> -<div class="verse i2">An' lasses milking thrang,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A neebour laird cam ben the byre,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The busy maids amang.</div> -<div class="verse i0">He stood ahint the routin' kye</div> -<div class="verse i2">An' round him glowered a wee,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Then stole to whar young Peggy sat,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The milkpail at her knee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"Sweet Peggy, lass," thus spoke the laird,</div> -<div class="verse i2">"Wilt listen to my tale?"</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Stan' out the gate, laird," Peggy cried,</div> -<div class="verse i2">"Or you will coup the pail:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">"Mind, Hawkie here's a timorous beast,</div> -<div class="verse i2">An' no acquent wi you."</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Ne'er fash," quo' he, "the milking time's</div> -<div class="verse i2">The sweetest time to woo.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"Ye ken, I've aften tauld ye that</div> -<div class="verse i2">I've thretty kye and mair,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"An' ye'd be better owning them</div> -<div class="verse i2">Than sittin' milkin' there.</div> -<div class="verse i0">"My house is bein, and stocket weel</div> -<div class="verse i2">In hadden and in ha',</div> -<div class="verse i0">"An' ye've but just to sae the word</div> -<div class="verse i2">Tae leddy be o' a'."</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"Wheesht, laird," quo Peggy, "dinna mak'</div> -<div class="verse i2">Yersel a fule an' me,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"I thank ye, for yer offer kind,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But sae it canna be.</div> -<div class="verse i0">"Maybe yer weel stocked house and farm,</div> -<div class="verse i2">An' thretty lowing kine,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">"May win some ither lassie's heart,</div> -<div class="verse i2">They hae nae charms for mine;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"For in the kirk I hae been cried,</div> -<div class="verse i2">My troth is pledged and sworn,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"An' tae the man I like mysel',</div> -<div class="verse i2">I'll married be the morn'."</div> -<div class="verse i0">The laird, dumfoundered at her words,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Had nae mair will to try'r;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But turned, and gaed far faster out,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Than he'd come in the byre.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">STANZAS -<br /><span class="smaller">ON A BUST OF MARSHAL NEY,</span></h3> - -<p class="poem-heading no-indent small p-1"><i>Presented by the Prince De Moskwa to Donald Sinclair, Esq. Edinburgh.</i></p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">There</span> stands the hero, "bravest of the brave,"</div> -<div class="verse i0">A name well earned, that he to whom alone</div> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Ney</span>, second, scarce to him, in glory shone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">After a hard fought day in honour gave:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And ever shall his laurels greenly wave,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Still flourishing with time, for time can ne'er</div> -<div class="verse i0">Blight his deserved renown not even <i>there</i>,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Over his bloody and untimely grave.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Where flew the Eagle in its wide domain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">There was he ever foremost in the fight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Leading his band of heroes, strong in might,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To conquest still,—In Switzerland and Spain,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">And where the Rhine, majestic to the main,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Through many fertile lands, doth proudly flow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His prowess won applause, even from the foe,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Midst blood and carnage on each battle plain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">High rose his genius with the tide of war,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His country's annals of his valour tell,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Impetuous as the torrent, when the swell</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of waters fierce pours onward from afar,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And sweeps before it every stop and bar:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where'er his sword flashed, with its sunlike ray,</div> -<div class="verse i0">There victory followed closely on the way,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And danger's track was marked by many a scar.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Rednitz and Neuwied well his courage knew,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When yet his early deeds foretold the fame</div> -<div class="verse i0">That soon would throw a halo round his name;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Manheim and Hohenlinden felt it too,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And Elchingen and Jena found him true,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Eylau and Friedland, names of high renown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Moscow and its retreat, his glory crown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which paled not even at bloody Waterloo!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Immortal warrior, could France reward</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thy mighty deeds but with a traitor's death?</div> -<div class="verse i0">The shame is hers, not thine; thy latest breath</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was for thy country, and as one prepared</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thou met'st thy fate, as soldier should on guard:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And still shall time, with every rolling year</div> -<div class="verse i0">The more thy memory to France endear,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And mourned thy fate shall be by patriot and bard.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thy death has left a blot upon the fame</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of Wellington and England, ne'er to be</div> -<div class="verse i0">Removed or justified,—alas! that he,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who with a word thy safety could proclaim,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With callous heart refused to speak the same.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The deed, like that which stained, with blackest ray,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Great Nelson's honour in Palermo's bay,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Our history records "with sorrow and with shame." <a name="ANanchor_10" id="ANanchor_10"></a><a href="#Authornote_10" class="ananchor">(10)</a></div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">WINTER.</h3> - -<p class="poem-heading no-indent small p-1"><i>Written at Two-Waters, Herts, 11th January 1840, for a Lady's Album.</i></p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Come!</span> we will wander to the lone hill-side,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, awe-struck, view the winter in its pride;—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Crispy the grass and scant;</div> -<div class="verse i0">The little flowers have vanished, not a trace</div> -<div class="verse i0">Is left of blossom on pale Nature's face:—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Restraint lies mighty on the stream—it sings</div> -<div class="verse i0">No more—dead, dead now,—like all other things;</div> -<div class="verse i2">The trees, as spectres gaunt,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or churchyard monuments, all scattered stand,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As if they mourned the bareness of the land,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Meagre as pallid want.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Where be the fairies now, the little fays,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That dance in buttercups in summer days,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Though only Poets view</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their gambols in the flowers and in the rays</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of noonday, which the common sight gainsays,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To Fancy ever new!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The grasshopper is gone. Ah, me! can death</div> -<div class="verse i0">Have will to stop <i>its</i> modicum of breath?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Swift fly the clouds, why should they fly so swift?</div> -<div class="verse i0">Come they like Angel-spirits, with a gift</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of mercy to mankind?</div> -<div class="verse i0">In this drear time, the heart asks where are they</div> -<div class="verse i0">That tell of sunshine being on the way?</div> -<div class="verse i0">The harbingers of light and genial heat,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That make the meadows and the valleys sweet</div> -<div class="verse i2">When softly sighs the wind:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Make rich the upland grass to mountain goat,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When balm and beauty through the ether float,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like gossamer reclined.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! for a cheerful note from blackbird—gone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">All gone, the songster and his song are flown;</div> -<div class="verse i2">There's nought to cheer the ear.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! now to list the mavis in the wood,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The psalms of Nature's singers, always good,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Bring solace to the year.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! for one glimpse of sunshine, to remind</div> -<div class="verse i0">The Earth of summer, ever bland and kind.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">HUMAN CONDUCT.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Why</span> is it that the heart of man</div> -<div class="verse i2">So full is of vagary,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That when he's told what's right, he jerks</div> -<div class="verse i2">The rein, and does contrary.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Like skittish horse, or stubborn pig,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or other self-willed creature,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That in the public highways shows</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its vile and perverse nature.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">There's many a lesson taught to man,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But little does he mind them,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Many's the warning given to him,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">He throws them all behind him.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But let me a short tale relate</div> -<div class="verse i2">Instead of moralising,</div> -<div class="verse i0">You'll prize it more, I dare to say,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Than any such premising.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The sun was shining on the hills,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The countryside looked sweeter,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And brighter and more beautiful</div> -<div class="verse i2">Than I can tell in metre.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">It was the spring-time of the year,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That pleasant balmy season,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When freshness passes o'er the earth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And come the buds the trees on.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When Nature young looks, and is young,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But though she dresses gaily,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The time grows old, for Time, like man,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Grows older daily, daily!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Ah me! that men should be so weak</div> -<div class="verse i2">As not to read the lesson,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ripe fruits are offered them, but they</div> -<div class="verse i2">The garbage love to mess on.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">One day along a country road</div> -<div class="verse i2">With hedge and hawthorn bristling,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A country lad was passing, and</div> -<div class="verse i2">In merry mood was whistling.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Stout was he and his joints well knit,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And firm as time-tried timber,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But light withal and agile too,</div> -<div class="verse i2">No sapling yet was limber.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Anon a horseman came that way</div> -<div class="verse i2">Who sat on horseback rarely,</div> -<div class="verse i0">This the horse knew as well as he,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And so had bolted fairly.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The young man eyed him as he came</div> -<div class="verse i2">And was by no means idle,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For as he passed he leapt in front,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And caught him by the bridle.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The horse reared back, and with the shock</div> -<div class="verse i2">His rider fell right over</div> -<div class="verse i0">Among the mud, and well for him</div> -<div class="verse i2">The place was soft as clover.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Brought to his feet, without a hurt,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But all o'er very muddy,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He thanked the lad, well-pleased to find</div> -<div class="verse i2">He sound was and unbloody.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He was a thin spare man, and past</div> -<div class="verse i2">Mid-life, and looking sickly;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Not that his health was touched at all,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or that his limbs were weakly;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But he had been for many years</div> -<div class="verse i2">In towns a constant dweller,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Confined to business close, and this</div> -<div class="verse i2">On health is oft a teller.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He had an eye for bales and goods,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And turnings of the market;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But for the country's picturesque,</div> -<div class="verse i2">His shadow rare did dark it.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He rode out had to breathe the air,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And give his nerves a bracing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His steed unruly had become,</div> -<div class="verse i2">His horsemanship disgracing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The countryman pulled up some grass,</div> -<div class="verse i2">No readier thing appearing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And rubbed him down in ostler style,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The mud from off him clearing.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And then for having saved his life,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">To cut my tale the shorter,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">He offered him, as a reward,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To take him as his porter;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And if he showed capacity,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To give him education,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To make him fit in course of time,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To fill a higher station.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The youth agreed to't, for he thought,</div> -<div class="verse i2">(While handing back the bridle)</div> -<div class="verse i0">He'd like the change, besides just then</div> -<div class="verse i2">He happened to be idle.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">In Glasgow busy city now,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Behold this country clown bred,</div> -<div class="verse i0">First porter and then junior clerk,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And learning to be town bred.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Years passed, the sun shines once a day,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But days make years, and every</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sun that rises counts one, thus time</div> -<div class="verse i2">Flows on, as water rivery.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Through all gradations of the desk</div> -<div class="verse i2">The youth, still true and steady,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Had risen till, from senior clerk,</div> -<div class="verse i2">He partner was already.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The merchant now, as commerce had</div> -<div class="verse i2">To counting-house long held him,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Resolved to take his ease at last,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And came to business seldom:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The junior partner and head-clerk</div> -<div class="verse i2">Care of the cash-box keeping,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While he himself had chosen to be</div> -<div class="verse i2">What's called the partner sleeping.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The countryman, no longer young,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Had toiled both late and early,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And gained some wealth, and 'twas his boast</div> -<div class="verse i2">That he had won it fairly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But with it he had learnt betimes</div> -<div class="verse i2">And aye the more the faster,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Some of the city's ways that were</div> -<div class="verse i2">Not pleasing to his master.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He ne'er had married, and was fond</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of being hospitable;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For 'twas his pride always to have</div> -<div class="verse i2">His friends around his table:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And so extravagant became,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To feasting much addicted,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And rich wines drinking, which of course</div> -<div class="verse i2">His income much restricted.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">One night his master was in town</div> -<div class="verse i2">And heard he had a party,</div> -<div class="verse i0">An old man now, not wanting sense,</div> -<div class="verse i2">But humorous and hearty;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Yet this he to himself oft thought,</div> -<div class="verse i2">He thought that 'twas a pity,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His clerk should spend his money in</div> -<div class="verse i2">Thus feasting all the city.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And so resolved to call on him</div> -<div class="verse i2">And bring him to his senses,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Not by a lecture commonplace</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of prudence and expenses:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But by a something which he had,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A sort of old memento,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That in his judgment was well worth</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of lectures grave a cento.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">It was a frosty night, and there</div> -<div class="verse i2">Had been a fall of snow on,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The slippery streets required great skill</div> -<div class="verse i2">And caution them to go on.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">With but one fall, he reached the house,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The entrance well he knew there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sudden and unexpected burst</div> -<div class="verse i2">Amidst the jovial crew there.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The gas burnt clear, the host looked blue,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And not the lights, as use is</div> -<div class="verse i0">When one particular guest appears</div> -<div class="verse i2">That no one introduces.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He said, "Lies the skeleton frost</div> -<div class="verse i2">On one street and another,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"I tripped and fell, and where I lay</div> -<div class="verse i2">One skeleton hugged his brother.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"His breath is on each pane congealed,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Cold enters through each portal,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"How my teeth chatter with the cold,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A sign that we are mortal.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"What's this, a banquet spread and rich,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The wines all bright and glowing,</div> -<div class="verse i0">"No thought of this when you I met</div> -<div class="verse i2">Along the road-side going."</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He then produced a bundle which</div> -<div class="verse i2">He opened with derision,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And singly held up the contents</div> -<div class="verse i2">To their astonished vision.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">There was the wellworn hairy cap,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The corderoys to back it,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His host had owned, and there too was</div> -<div class="verse i2">His former fustian jacket.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">These were the clothes the country lad</div> -<div class="verse i2">Had on at their first meeting,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And these he now brought forth to be</div> -<div class="verse i2">To him his present greeting;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">That he might pause in his career</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of jollity and revel,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Lest in his age, reduced he should</div> -<div class="verse i2">Be to his former level.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis strange that human conduct oft</div> -<div class="verse i2">So reckless is and hollow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That when the right path reason shows,</div> -<div class="verse i2">It seeks the wrong to follow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The master having said and done,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Quick vanished from them after:</div> -<div class="verse i0">The host attempted at the time</div> -<div class="verse i2">To turn it off with laughter.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Next morn reflection made him take</div> -<div class="verse i2">The hint,—and to be brief then,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though roughly put, 'twas kindly meant,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">He turned o'er a new leaf then.</div> -</div> - -<p class="poem-heading no-indent small p1 p-1">MORAL.</p> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">To be of any use, reproof</div> -<div class="verse i2">Still strong should be and home put,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A lecture grave or saying wise</div> -<div class="verse i2">The mind is quickly from put;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Instead of gen'ral moral saws,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Facts personal lay stress on,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And like a surgeon probing deep,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Reform is in the lesson.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">COURTSHIP LINES.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Oh!</span> let not sorrow cloud thine eye,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or doubt oppress thy heart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For love, like truth, can never lie,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Nor truth, like love, depart.</div> -<div class="verse i0">To be mine own, I've chosen thee,</div> -<div class="verse i2">From all the world deems fair;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I've vowed thine own to be,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Then wherefore cherish care?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thou canst not think a love like mine,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Could e'er to thee cause pain;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or make thy gentle heart repine</div> -<div class="verse i2">That it has loved in vain:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Thee still mine eyes desire to see,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like sunlight from above;</div> -<div class="verse i0">For all my heart is full of thee,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And all my heart is love.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i26">1833.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LOVE-WEAKNESS.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">I</span> canna' get my mouth about it,</div> -<div class="verse i2">It lies so deeply on my heart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That aye when trying to divulge it,</div> -<div class="verse i2">My thoughts fly somehow all apart.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Were I to learn the best confession</div> -<div class="verse i2">That e'er by pen of man was writ,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To try to speak it in her presence</div> -<div class="verse i2">I should not have the power or wit.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">As in the rose's opening petals</div> -<div class="verse i2">Devotion pure is ever spread,</div> -<div class="verse i0">So in the flushings of my countenance</div> -<div class="verse i2">She my heart's feelings must have read.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! gladly anywhere I'd venture,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Dare anything to prove it true;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But to disclose my ardent passion</div> -<div class="verse i2">Is just the thing I canna' do.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">I canna' get my mouth about it,</div> -<div class="verse i2">It lies so deeply on my heart,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That aye when trying to divulge it,</div> -<div class="verse i2">My thoughts fly somehow all apart.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LINES -<br /><span class="smaller">TO THE REV. HENRY DUDLEY RYDER,</span></h3> - -<p class="poem-heading no-indent small p1 p-1"><i>On reading his volume, entitled "The Angelicon, a Gallery of Sonnets, on the -Divine Attributes, and the Passions, the Graces, and the Virtues."</i></p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Thy</span> strains, sweet poet, have the power</div> -<div class="verse i2">To give a solace to the mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">What time the clouds of sadness lour,—</div> -<div class="verse i2">Like sighs of thine own "lyrëd wind."</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">For when thy page I deeply trace,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where thoughts and fancies thickly throng,</div> -<div class="verse i0">It brings to mind free nature's grace,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where wood-birds tune their mystic song;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And pleasant streams in ways remote,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where sweetest music loves to reign;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where solitude gives birth to thought,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And thought is born of thought again;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Visions of earth, the pure and bright,</div> -<div class="verse i2">As poet only hath divined,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When high-toned genius pours her light,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Upon the rapt and feeling mind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Well hast thou sung the grace and love</div> -<div class="verse i2">Th' Almighty deigns bestow on man,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When seeking mercy from above</div> -<div class="verse i2">By His own sole appointed plan.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And well, too, hast thou shown the sway</div> -<div class="verse i2">The passions have o'er mortal kind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Avarice, Ambition, Jealousy,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And other turmoils of the mind.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">These, like the rays that burst from heaven,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Shine brightly forth in verse of thine,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For the proud gift to thee is given,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To charm, to waken, to refine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Go on thy way, thy song must claim,</div> -<div class="verse i2">From a dull world its ardent praise;</div> -<div class="verse i0">With saintly Herbert's twine thy name,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And bind with Herbert's verse thy lays.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE POET.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">I was</span> told yesterday by one with wise</div> -<div class="verse i0">Solemn aspect, and wrinkles 'bout his eyes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That poetry is an idle trade, alack!</div> -<div class="verse i0">He had a good black coat upon his back,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And deemed himself respectable,—he said, too,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That he who verses writes will never do</div> -<div class="verse i0">Well in the world, that his character is gone,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And he himself no better than a drone.</div> -<div class="verse i0">So having said he walked away well pleased;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Now that's a man, I say, whose mind's diseased.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Has he in summer ever watched a rose</div> -<div class="verse i0">Burst into blossoming, and as it grows</div> -<div class="verse i0">More and more beautiful, sweeten all the air</div> -<div class="verse i0">With its rich perfume,—poetry was there.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A sunbeam thrown across</div> -<div class="verse i2">The clouds, that makes them glow</div> -<div class="verse i0">With light ineffable</div> -<div class="verse i2">To eyes from earth below;</div> -<div class="verse i0">A small wave of the sea</div> -<div class="verse i2">When the vast ocean waits</div> -<div class="verse i0">The coming of the storm,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That slightly agitates</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its surface passing,—as</div> -<div class="verse i2">When of danger near</div> -<div class="verse i0">First made aware, the roused</div> -<div class="verse i2">Lion, though not in fear</div> -<div class="verse i0">Looks up, the watchfire then</div> -<div class="verse i2">Kindling in his eye,</div> -<div class="verse i0">His mane scarcely as yet</div> -<div class="verse i2">Moved, nor erected high</div> -<div class="verse i0">His head, but his proud glance</div> -<div class="verse i2">Circling keen, rapid, stern,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">There poetry is seen</div> -<div class="verse i2">By one that can discern.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> - - -</div> -<div class="stanza"> - - -<div class="verse i0">A priest of Nature's own,</div> -<div class="verse i2">One she herself ordains,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The poet walks in brightness,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And still new blessings gains.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sky above hath in it</div> -<div class="verse i2">More beauty to his sight,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Than to the world it shines</div> -<div class="verse i2">In its canopy of light.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The flowers his kindred are</div> -<div class="verse i2">That grow in fields remote;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They waken in his heart</div> -<div class="verse i2">The pure wellsprings of thought:</div> -<div class="verse i0">They speak to him alone</div> -<div class="verse i2">With low and whispering voice,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like gentle maiden to</div> -<div class="verse i2">The lover of her choice.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And none but he can tell</div> -<div class="verse i2">What is it that they say,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For a most sweet communion</div> -<div class="verse i2">Is their's to cheer his way.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">The ocean in its vastness,</div> -<div class="verse i2">He loves, too, as he sees</div> -<div class="verse i0">It driven by the tempest,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or slumbering in the breeze.</div> -<div class="verse i0">It brings into his vision</div> -<div class="verse i2">The coming of that day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When Time within Eternity</div> -<div class="verse i2">Shall merge itself away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The forest trees antique</div> -<div class="verse i2">Are his familiar friends,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With the spirit of the woods</div> -<div class="verse i2">His own for ever blends:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And voices of the past,</div> -<div class="verse i2">With fancies of old times,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Do their murmurings recall</div> -<div class="verse i2">Which he fondly puts in rhymes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Echoes of distant lands</div> -<div class="verse i2">Beyond the western sea,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or in the burning east,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Where'er they chance to be,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Are brought to him at night</div> -<div class="verse i2">And cheer his spirit then,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When sleep forsakes the eyes</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of care-worn worldly men.</div> -<div class="verse i0">And ever for his kind</div> -<div class="verse i2">Doth his spirit warmly yearn,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And his verses speak of things</div> -<div class="verse i2">Which only he can learn.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The human heart, and all</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its feelings, hopes and fears,</div> -<div class="verse i0">All that it fondly loves,</div> -<div class="verse i2">All that it blindly fears,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its sympathies, affections,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its duties and desires,</div> -<div class="verse i0">All that its doubts foreshadow,</div> -<div class="verse i2">All that its pride inspires,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Its sorrows and its faintings,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its buoyancy and glee,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its passions and its promptings,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its truth and constancy;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">He knows, and can depicture,</div> -<div class="verse i2">For of the human mind</div> -<div class="verse i0">He is the chosen minister,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The prophet of his kind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Such, yea and more, the poet is,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Had he had a choice</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of destinies, if in his fate</div> -<div class="verse i2">Had been heard his voice;</div> -<div class="verse i0">It might have been so that he had</div> -<div class="verse i2">Been a worldling born,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And looked solemn like his scorners,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And had gravely worn</div> -<div class="verse i0">A black coat too, of fashion's cut,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And smoothed trim his beard,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And shook his head wisely, and been</div> -<div class="verse i2">Sententious, and feared</div> -<div class="verse i0">The world's opinion, and condemned</div> -<div class="verse i2">Poetry as idle,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But in his vocation he can</div> -<div class="verse i2">Ne'er his feelings bridle.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">His thoughts are in a stronger hand</div> -<div class="verse i2">Than his own, his mind</div> -<div class="verse i0">Has thinks passing in it still, that</div> -<div class="verse i2">Cannot be confined:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like the birds flying as they list</div> -<div class="verse i2">Through the summer air,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or the clouds driven by the breeze</div> -<div class="verse i2">Floating everywhere.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">LIGHT AND SHADOW.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Shine</span> down, fair sun, on vale and hill,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And light each height and hollow;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">No shade rests in the air, but still</div> -<div class="verse i2">On earth the shadows follow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Grow green, old trees, where'er you may</div> -<div class="verse i2">Your festival be keeping;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">On branch and stem, on leaf and spray,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Decay is slowly creeping.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Bloom bright, fair flowers, in wild or mead,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Around you all perfuming;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The blight that mingles with each seed,</div> -<div class="verse i2">The blossom is consuming.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Grow well, sweet fruit, on garden walls,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Or in hot-houses hasting;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The sooner ripe, the sooner falls</div> -<div class="verse i2">Corruption with its wasting.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Flow on, calm river, still flow on</div> -<div class="verse i2">With ever constant motion;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Soon shalt thou mingle, all unknown,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Forgotten in the Ocean.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Play up, sweet music, to the ear,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A merry note of gladness;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The chords that lively stricken cheer,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Give also tones of sadness.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Shine bright, young Summer, o'er the earth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And fill the land with laughter;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Soon Autumn comes to mar thy mirth,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And winter follows after.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Burn high, fair hope, within the breast,</div> -<div class="verse i2">By pleasant things attended;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Misdoubt and fear do still molest</div> -<div class="verse i2">Our life, till it is ended.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Fill slow, oh! Time, the rounded cup</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of numbered hours that's set us;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Soon shall our days be gathered up,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And even our own forget us.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Then shine, fair sun, on vale and hill,</div> -<div class="verse i2">On tower and town and meadow;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Tis Heaven that sends the brightness still,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Earth only gives the shadow.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE EARLY DEAD.</h3> - -<p class="poem-heading no-indent small p1 p-1"><i>On my youngest Daughter, died 20th March 1845, aged twenty-one months.</i></p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">She</span> rests within her little grave,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A bud of promise too soon taken,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And wanting the sweet smile she gave,</div> -<div class="verse i2">We deem ourselves as if forsaken.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Life wore for her no luring guise,</div> -<div class="verse i2">She tasted time, and found it dreary,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Calmly she closed her gentle eyes,</div> -<div class="verse i2">As one that falls asleep aweary:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Like to a star whose little ray</div> -<div class="verse i2">Is quenched ev'n when 'tis brightly shining;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or as a flower that fades away</div> -<div class="verse i2">While yet its bloom tells nought of pining.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And when her latest sigh was spent,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And fled her spirit to its Giver,</div> -<div class="verse i0">We felt as with it also went</div> -<div class="verse i2">A lapsed part of our heart for ever.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Oh! twice before we knew the blight</div> -<div class="verse i2">Upon the heart that deeply falleth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">When death for ever from the sight,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of our own life a portion calleth:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But though it has the power to slay,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Still is this consolation given,</div> -<div class="verse i0">It cannot take the hope away</div> -<div class="verse i2">That we shall meet again in heaven.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">There is a place of rest above,</div> -<div class="verse i2">A home for children there provided,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To which away from earth, in love</div> -<div class="verse i2">Their guileless spirits still are guided.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And when our hearts with sorrow sink</div> -<div class="verse i2">And our weak eyes are sore with weeping,</div> -<div class="verse i0">'Twill soothe and cheer us still to think</div> -<div class="verse i2">That they sweet watch are o'er us keeping.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And in the dark and lonely night,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When sleep our eyelids have forsaken,</div> -<div class="verse i0">We'll see again the faces bright</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of our three babes so early taken.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">A DIRGE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Mourn</span> for the untimely dead!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Early blossoms quickly shed!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Soon taken to their long long rest,</div> -<div class="verse i12">Now there waves</div> -<div class="verse i0">The green grass thickly o'er their breast,</div> -<div class="verse i12">On their graves.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Neither care nor sorrow now</div> -<div class="verse i0">Leaves its trace upon their brow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor can pain them more molest,</div> -<div class="verse i12">For there waves</div> -<div class="verse i0">The green grass thickly o'er their breast,</div> -<div class="verse i12">On their graves.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Little flowers their heads begem,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But they cannot look at them,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For death's cold hand their eyes have prest,</div> -<div class="verse i12">And there waves</div> -<div class="verse i0">The green grass thickly o'er their breast</div> -<div class="verse i12">On their graves.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Winds sigh through the shadowing trees,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Summer brings the hum of bees;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But no sounds can their ears invest,</div> -<div class="verse i12">Where there waves</div> -<div class="verse i0">The green grass thickly o'er their breast</div> -<div class="verse i12">On their graves.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Still they lie in their low beds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To sleep till the last morn sheds</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its light upon their place of rest:</div> -<div class="verse i12">Now there waves</div> -<div class="verse i0">The green grass thickly o'er their breast</div> -<div class="verse i12">On their graves.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">A BENEDICTION.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">God</span> bless thee! is my fervent prayer,</div> -<div class="verse i2">At morn and eve, from day to day,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ev'n as thou tend'st, with anxious care,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Thy children dear with love alway.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">God keep thee ever in His grace,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And still new mercies on thee shower,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ev'n as thou fold'st in thy embrace</div> -<div class="verse i2">Thine infants tender every hour.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">God love thee, with the love he shows</div> -<div class="verse i2">Still to his own, in earth and heaven,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ev'n as thou lov'st, with true love, those</div> -<div class="verse i2">Who to thy keeping have been given.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">God guide thee still through all thy days,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And let no evil on thee light,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ev'n as thou guid'st and guard'st the ways,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of thy dear offspring day and night.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">God comfort thee in all thy grief,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And ever thy sure Hope remain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ev'n as thou comfort'st with relief</div> -<div class="verse i2">Thy little ones in woe and pain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">God cherish thee throughout thy life,</div> -<div class="verse i2">In weal and woe thy guardian be,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ev'n as a mother and a wife</div> -<div class="verse i2">Thou still hast cherished them and me.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">HEALTH.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Oh!</span> what a thing is health to lose,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And what a prize to gain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Most valued when the spirit woos</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its coming back again.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">After long days and restless nights,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Reclined on weary bed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">How sweet when first its blessing lights</div> -<div class="verse i2">Upon the aching head.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Its coming turns the life, as doth</div> -<div class="verse i2">The ocean with its tide,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or as the spring renews the growth</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of what Earth's stores provide.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Power, fame, and with them cherished gold,</div> -<div class="verse i2">That form man's constant aim,</div> -<div class="verse i0">All would be gladly overtold</div> -<div class="verse i2">Its halcyon bliss to claim.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">It passes life and death between,</div> -<div class="verse i2">From heaven's own portals borne,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Like the sweet under-light scarce seen</div> -<div class="verse i2">That parts the night from morn.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">An emblem of the peace that springs,</div> -<div class="verse i2">To chase away all strife,</div> -<div class="verse i0">An earnest of the grace, that brings</div> -<div class="verse i2">Life to the inner life.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE GAME OF LIFE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Watching</span> the game of life as daily played,</div> -<div class="verse i0">One marvels at the blunders that are made;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Few trust to chance alone to gain their aim,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But with the means they use 'tis just the same.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Low cunning some employ, and call it skill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or substitute for Reason headstrong Will;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And when they win the prize for which they strive,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To their own genius they the credit give;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But when they lose, the blame on fate is thrown;</div> -<div class="verse i0">They never think the fault may be their own.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Others who boast that cunning they disdain,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Affect by Pride their purposes to gain;</div> -<div class="verse i0">High-reaching objects do their minds devise,</div> -<div class="verse i0">By which they blind their own and neighbours' eyes;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Aiming at lofty things, they highly rate</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their own designings, but they find too late</div> -<div class="verse i0">That for success mere unassisted Pride</div> -<div class="verse i0">Does not all necessary means provide;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">So thinking surely to promote their aim,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And win the stake of their ambition's game,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But not particular as to how 'tis played,</div> -<div class="verse i0">They call, Pride's contrast, meanness to their aid:</div> -<div class="verse i0">Yet ev'n though Fortune should their hopes attend,</div> -<div class="verse i0">It does not change the matter in the end;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Meanness and Pride may climb the highest hill,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But Pride and meanness they continue still.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Since Life's a game where all their part must play,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Reason and Truth should in it have the sway,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or wanting these, as is too oft the case,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Folly and Passion will usurp their place.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When this weak body dwindles into dust,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And man becomes the nothing that he must,</div> -<div class="verse i0">How puny then will to the soul appear</div> -<div class="verse i0">All that man toils and struggles for when here!</div> -<div class="verse i0">Bound to the narrow aims and views of Earth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">At death his spirit finds that all is dearth</div> -<div class="verse i0">That to this world relates, and well that he</div> -<div class="verse i0">Makes Time provide still for Eternity.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">CONSUMPTION.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Like</span> monumental Patience, see Decay</div> -<div class="verse i0">Watching the sand-glass slowly wear away,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While Death at hand, amid her waning powers,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Counts, as a monk his beads, her numbered hours.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon her brow, o'er which the tresses wave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The cold dew gathers, dankly, of the grave,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And in her pale mild eyes a lustre shines,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As if her spirit, as she wastes, refines;</div> -<div class="verse i0">While ever and anon her sunken cheek,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Life's fading beauties delicately streak;</div> -<div class="verse i0">As the departing sun from ocean's brinks</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sheds out its glories brightly ere it sinks!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">CHANGE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Grief</span> and change and sure decay</div> -<div class="verse i2">All on earth are doomed to know,</div> -<div class="verse i0">What the Past's memorials say</div> -<div class="verse i2">Must the Present undergo.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Time but shifts his glass about,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And the sands their aims adjust,</div> -<div class="verse i0">In Creation's bounds throughout</div> -<div class="verse i2">All that is returns to dust.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">On the bud and on the flower,</div> -<div class="verse i2">On the child and man grown grey,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Change is passing every hour,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Death has set his snare to slay.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And the feelings when they glow</div> -<div class="verse i2">With a taste of joy intense,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Soon a tinge of sadness know,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Dimming quickly all the sense.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Vainly do we strive to keep</div> -<div class="verse i2">Such scant solace as we feel,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Blight unseen on all doth creep,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Pleasures hidden stings conceal.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Weary soon become the things</div> -<div class="verse i2">That at first make glad our way,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And To-morrow never brings</div> -<div class="verse i2">The same joy we knew To-day.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Toil exhausts, and strong Desire</div> -<div class="verse i2">Wasteth both the heart and head</div> -<div class="verse i0">With its strugglings, as the fire</div> -<div class="verse i2">Fastest burns the more 'tis fed.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Life is all a chequered score,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Death and Time direct the chess,</div> -<div class="verse i0">One hath not a triumph more,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Nor the other one the less.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thus amid Mutation's range,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Man, impatient of relief,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Learns himself to long for change,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Even though bringing with it grief.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">VIRTUE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">He</span> was a sage old man who said,</div> -<div class="verse i2">While in the public way he stood,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Virtue is best of all, because</div> -<div class="verse i2">Without it there is nothing good.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He was no stoic who thus spoke</div> -<div class="verse i2">A word so practical and true,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Nor sophist that would grandly say</div> -<div class="verse i2">What he would ne'er attempt to do:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">But one of those wise heathen men</div> -<div class="verse i2">Who Reason followed as a guide,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And by it he was learned a truth</div> -<div class="verse i2">So humbling to mere human pride.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Yet even to him, with all the lore</div> -<div class="verse i2">Philosophy amassed of old,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was the full meaning all unknown</div> -<div class="verse i2">Of what unaided Reason told.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">A wiser man than he hath said,</div> -<div class="verse i2">By God's own spirit taught the same,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That wisdom is the chiefest thing</div> -<div class="verse i2">Deserving of man's fervent aim.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Wisdom and virtue both are one,</div> -<div class="verse i2">And only are attained aright</div> -<div class="verse i0">In their whole fulness and intent,</div> -<div class="verse i2">When sought in Revelation's light.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">By it the sage old heathen's word</div> -<div class="verse i2">In all its breadth is understood;</div> -<div class="verse i0">Wisdom is best of all, he said,</div> -<div class="verse i2">Without it there is nothing good. <a name="ANanchor_11" id="ANanchor_11"></a><a href="#Authornote_11" class="ananchor">(11)</a></div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">VAIN HOPES.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Vain</span> is his labour who begins to sow,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ere he has well prepared the soil below;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And vainer still his aim who hopes to win</div> -<div class="verse i0">To Heaven, before repenting of his sin.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Weak is his wish who looks for full crops grown,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who has prepared his land and no seed sown;</div> -<div class="verse i0">But weaker still his hopes who thinks to win</div> -<div class="verse i0">To Heaven, with mere repentance of his sin.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">To till the land and lay it out for seeds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And yet none sown, will bring forth nought but weeds;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">And wanting grace to fill, the void within</div> -<div class="verse i0">Breeds, with self-merit, all presumptuous sin.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Fruitless his skill who would a vessel steer</div> -<div class="verse i0">Without a rudder to direct and veer;</div> -<div class="verse i0">More fruitless still his aim who seeks to win</div> -<div class="verse i0">To Heaven, when wanting prayer for light within.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Hopeless his task who seeks to safely go,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Without a chart the dangerous rocks to show;</div> -<div class="verse i0">More hopeless still his aim, who seeks to win</div> -<div class="verse i0">To Heaven, when wanting faith to lead him in.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">THE VALLEY OF LIFE.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">In</span> the still midnight hour I sat alone</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within my chamber, sunk in reverie,</div> -<div class="verse i0">No sound disturbed my musings, all was hushed</div> -<div class="verse i0">In silence and in sleep, the light near done,</div> -<div class="verse i0">A dim uncertain flickering threw around.</div> -<div class="verse i0">The waning fire was but a heap of ashes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While there and there a feeble red remained,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That now and then threw out a fitful gleam.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Something like slumber fell upon my eyes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And a dream passed o'er my spirit stealthily,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As, in the early grey of morn, the mists,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Gathered in masses, up the hill-sides creep,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ere they dissolve before the sun away.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Remembrance cannot all its features tell,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though vivid and particular they seemed</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">When that dread vision on my senses came,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And I could trace the shadowy details,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As one might mark a phantom army march</div> -<div class="verse i0">O'er its last field of battle, ere it passed,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Into obscurity,—could note it then,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">But afterwards cannot recall the place,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Order and rank, of each brigade and file.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Methought I stood upon a bare hill-top,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And overlooked a vast and fertile plain</div> -<div class="verse i0">Peopled with many multitudes,—there met</div> -<div class="verse i0">Men of all tribes and nations that the globe</div> -<div class="verse i0">Holds in its wide extent, of every kind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The Mongol, the Malayan, and the Negro,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The red American and Caucasian fair.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Among them Evil strode ubiquitous,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And threw its shadow wheresoe'er it came.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Its Jackal, lewd Temptation, went before,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With angel face and soft alluring eyes,</div> -<div class="verse i0">While close behind Guilt, Anguish, Care, and Pain</div> -<div class="verse i0">Followed incessantly, and left on all</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their mark impressed as with hot iron seared.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">As then I looked upon the scene below,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Meseemed that wheresoe'er Temptation came,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And she came everywhere,—no spot escaped,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">That many, most indeed of these vast crowds,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Themselves threw madly in her way, and sought</div> -<div class="verse i0">To win her smiles, nor deemed them poisonous;</div> -<div class="verse i0">And once within her meshes, few had will</div> -<div class="verse i0">To fly them, or to manfully resist,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As a strong man confronts his enemy,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And strives to overthrow him where they meet;—</div> -<div class="verse i0">And she the while assumed all shapes and moods</div> -<div class="verse i0">That suited were to their intents and aims,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For, with a penetrating eye precise,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Intuitively still their minds she knew,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Tendencies and dispositions, and wore,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">As snares in readiness she had for all,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">The very guise adapted for their lure,</div> -<div class="verse i0">But carefully concealed the stings they bore.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Disease and sorrow on her victims fell,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Too late they felt the curse that is entailed</div> -<div class="verse i0">On all who to the Tempter yield, and thus</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">Become an early prey to Evil, whose</div> -<div class="verse i0">Inheritance is misery and woe.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And I beheld some 'mongst the various crowds</div> -<div class="verse i0">Who stood aloof from her, and would not be</div> -<div class="verse i0">Entangled with her witcheries or wiles.</div> -<div class="verse i0">These with a resolute will refused to come</div> -<div class="verse i0">Within her reach, and so escaped the first</div> -<div class="verse i0">Of Evil's followers, Guilt, though more or less,</div> -<div class="verse i0">They had their share of what the others left</div> -<div class="verse i0">Behind,—Care, Pain, and Anguish,—for the doom</div> -<div class="verse i0">Pronounced on Man was on them, but they knew</div> -<div class="verse i0">That these, to all who hold out to the end,</div> -<div class="verse i0">With a pure conscience and unspotted mind,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To their endurance will be tempered still,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And, in due season, turn to lasting good,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which to their spirits consolation brought.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">The valley watered was with goodly rivers,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Upon the banks of which were many met.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Prudence was one, and on its grassy sides</div> -<div class="verse i0">Sat some who, calculating every chance,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">A deaf ear to Temptation, when she came,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Turned, unseduced from their proprieties.</div> -<div class="verse i0">Repentance was another, near it lay</div> -<div class="verse i0">Those who Remorse felt and a wounded spirit,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Seeking relief from agonising thought</div> -<div class="verse i0">And racking self-reproach. Beyond these two</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was Perseverance, where returning health</div> -<div class="verse i0">Was found by all who there due time remained.</div> -<div class="verse i0">And farther still, with borders ever green,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And fresh flowers ever springing, ever new,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Were two sweet rills, Virtue and Faith their names,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Where peace of mind was known and purity:</div> -<div class="verse i0">And those who sought their banks,—they were not few,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Though, midst the mighty myriads around,</div> -<div class="verse i0">They seemed but small in number and select,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">Remained unshaken in their constancy,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Resisting all enticements of the Tempter,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And gladly following the path of duty,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Which brought to them a sure and high reward.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -<div class="verse i0">On these, whate'er their griefs and trials were,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And they had many, to refine their souls,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And make them nobler after victory,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Enduring hope and perfect peace abode.</div> -<div class="verse i0">But whereso'er I looked besides, was seen</div> -<div class="verse i0">The power of Ill, shedding on all who bore</div> -<div class="verse i0">The fated impress of humanity,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Torment and fear, and bitter agony,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And pain intolerable,—At the sight</div> -<div class="verse i0">My spirit shrank, and, starting, I awoke!</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="poem-rule" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p> - -<h3 class="poem-heading">AFTER-THOUGHT.</h3> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0"><span class="smcap">Man</span> values many things far more</div> -<div class="verse i0">Than their own worth told o'er and o'er,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Computed at its highest score.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He counts his gold with anxious care,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As his whole heart's desire were there,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And hoards up treasures for his heir.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He gives his labour, time, and health,</div> -<div class="verse i0">To add still something to his wealth,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And life enjoys as if by stealth.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">When pleasure's mood his thoughts employ,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He plays with every passing joy,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Just as a child does with its toy.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">He does not to reflexion call</div> -<div class="verse i0">What after reckoning may befall,</div> -<div class="verse i0">For how he has possessed them all.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">In the lapse onward of his years,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Ere age or grief his spirit sears,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He keeps no note of hopes or fears.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Nor does he estimate his days,</div> -<div class="verse i0">That each its after-mead conveys,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Whether for censure or for praise,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">As they deserve especially,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Each day it is his lot to see,</div> -<div class="verse i0">As bearing on futurity.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">At night he tells up all his gains,</div> -<div class="verse i0">The more he gets the more he strains,</div> -<div class="verse i0">Or at his losses he complains.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">And then, as one who does his best,</div> -<div class="verse i0">He folds his arms upon his breast,</div> -<div class="verse i0">And with contentment takes his rest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">Thus daily should he estimate</div> -<div class="verse i0">His bygone hours, and calculate</div> -<div class="verse i0">Their good or ill upon his fate;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">That when his days all vanished have,</div> -<div class="verse i0">They may no bitter reckoning crave,—</div> -<div class="verse i0">There's no renewal in the grave.</div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> - -<h2>NOTES.</h2> - -<hr class="chap2" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center xlarge bold p2">NOTES.</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_1" id="Authornote_1"></a><a href="#ANanchor_1" class="anlabel">Note 1</a>, Page 55.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1">"<i>The Alpine Horn.</i>"</p> - -<p>Reichard, a German writer, affirms that when the sun sets, -the shepherd who dwells on the highest part of the Alps, calls -through his horn, "Praise God the Lord!" and the other -shepherds, hearing the sound, hasten out of their huts and -repeat it. This continues for some time, and the name of the -Lord is thus re-echoed from mountain to valley. When the -sound ceases, all kneel down on the mountain, and their -prayers ascend together to the throne of grace. The shepherd -from the summit of the mountain then proclaims "Good -night!" which is instantly repeated by the rest. They then -retire to their homes.</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_2" id="Authornote_2"></a><a href="#ANanchor_2" class="anlabel">Note 2</a>, Page 69.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1">"<i>But come not near the hollyhock.</i>"</p> - -<p>The flower of the hollyhock contains a species of poison, -which is fatal to bees, and round its nectaries and petals several -of these insects are frequently found lying insensible.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_3" id="Authornote_3"></a><a href="#ANanchor_3" class="anlabel">Note 3</a>, Page 85.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1"><i>Loch Awe.</i></p> - -<p>A lake in Argyleshire. My earliest years were spent in its -neighbourhood; but I have not been there since I was a mere -boy.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"Ah! there my young footsteps in infancy wandered,</div> -<div class="verse i4">My cap was the bonnet, my cloak was the plaid;</div> -<div class="verse i0">On chieftains long perished my memory pondered,</div> -<div class="verse i4">As daily I strode through the pine-covered glade."</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i26"><span class="smcap">Byron.</span></div> -</div> -</div></div> - -<p>According to the Guide Books, Loch Awe and its vicinity, -more perhaps than any other district in the Highlands, abound -with memorials of former ages. The lake is thirty miles in -extent, and of the average breadth of one, although in some -places it does not exceed half a mile. It is surrounded by -mountains finely wooded, and like many of the Scottish lakes, -its surface is studded over with small islands, beautifully -tufted with trees, and some of them large enough to admit of -being pastured. Upon the island of Innis-Hail are the remains -of a convent; and on a rocky promontory at the eastern -extremity of the lake stand the magnificent ruins of -Kilchurn Castle. This structure, which still exhibits the vestiges -of a castellated square tower, was built in 1440, by Sir -John Campbell, (second son of Argyle,) Knight of Rhodes, -and ancestor of the Breadalbane family, and in later times it -became, from the extensive view it commanded of the lake, -the favourite residence of the chiefs of the family. In 1745<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> -it was garrisoned by the king's troops, in order to defend the -pass into the Highlands, and secure the tranquillity of the -country. Emerging from the ocean, and rising on the north-east -bank of Loch Awe, soars Ben Cruachan, the largest -mountain in Argyleshire. Its perpendicular height is 3,390 -feet above the level of the sea, and its circumference at the -base is upwards of twenty miles. On the south, the ascent is -gentle nearly to the summit, where it rises abrupt, and divides -into two points, each having the form of a sugar-loaf. Before -the storm, "the spirit of the mountain shrieks" from Ben -Cruachan, Ben Doran, and some other Highland mountains. -When Burke made his tour in Scotland, he declared that -Loch Awe was the most picturesque lake he had ever seen. -It was in a narrow pass in the vicinity of this lake that King -Robert Bruce defeated the Macdougals of Lorn, in 1308. In -Loch Awe are found salmon, trout, eels, and other fresh -water fish. The lake discharges itself by the river Awe into -Loch Etive at Bunawe Ferry.</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_4" id="Authornote_4"></a><a href="#ANanchor_4" class="anlabel">Note 4</a>, Page 87.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1"><i>The Wolf.</i></p> - -<p>Wolves were once the scourge of England, and are still -numerous in many parts of France. The Poem is founded -on an incident which occurred some years ago in Picardy—the -details of which were similar, with the exception that the -peasant shot his mother instead of his sweetheart, in mistake<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -for the wolf of which he was in pursuit. The last of these -ferocious animals seen in the neighbourhood of Guisne was -shot by a woman named Louise Vernette, nearly fifty years -ago. During a severe winter, when the whole country was -covered with snow, a she-wolf, urged to desperation by hunger, -had entered her cottage at an early hour of the morning, -and carried off her infant, as it lay in the cradle. The mother, -on returning from the labours of the field, with frantic lamentations -searched the neighbourhood for her child. During -her wanderings she encountered a peasant, breathless from a -long and unavailing pursuit of the savage beast, which he had -seen entering a wood about three leagues distant with the -child in its jaws. The whole village immediately renewed the -chase; the mother, arming herself with a gun, was, as might -have been expected, the most indefatigable, and, penetrating -into the recesses of the forest, encountered the monster, which -she shot dead. No traces of the miserable infant were ever -discovered.</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_5" id="Authornote_5"></a><a href="#ANanchor_5" class="anlabel">Note 5</a>, Page 105.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1"><i>Mount Horeb.</i></p> - -<p>Mount Sinai stands about 120 miles south from Jerusalem, -and nearly 260 eastward from Grand Cairo in Egypt. The -mountain is of no great extent, but extremely high, and has -two tops; the western of which is called Horeb, and the eastern, -which is about a third higher, Sinai. There are several -springs and fruit-trees on Horeb, but nothing except rainwater<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -on the top of Sinai. The ascent of both is very steep, -and can only be effected by steps, now much effaced, which the -Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, caused to -be cut in the marble rock. At the foot of Mount Sinai, on the -north, and near to the ascent of Mount Horeb, there was a -monastery dedicated to Saint Catherine, but now in ruins, not -far distant from which there stands a fountain of very clear -water, formed like a bow or arch. A little above which is to -be seen the Cave where Elijah rested when God spoke unto -him, 1 Kings xix. From the top of Sinai, God proclaimed his -law to the Hebrews amid devouring flames of fire, Exod. xxiv. -The Rock Rephidim, which seems to have been a clift fallen -off from the side of Sinai, and lies like a large loose stone in -the midst of the valley, gives name to that part of the desert -nearest the mountain. There are twelve openings in it, whence, -on being struck by Moses, the waters gushed out for the supply -of the Israelites, during the forty years they tarried in the -desert, Exod. xvii.</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_6" id="Authornote_6"></a><a href="#ANanchor_6" class="anlabel">Note 6</a>, Page 116.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1"><i>Dryburgh Abbey.</i></p> - -<p>The ruins of Dryburgh Abbey are surpassingly interesting, -from their antiquity, history, picturesque appearance, and -more than all, from the <span class="smcap">Great Minstrel</span> being buried there. -The grave of Sir Walter Scott is in St. Mary's Aisle of the -Abbey Church of Dryburgh, which is in the form of a cross, -and the Poet lies in the left transept of the Cross, part of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -which is still standing, and close to where the high altar formerly -stood. This transept is divided into three burial-places; -that of Sir Walter Scott, Baronet, in right of his -grandmother, Lady Haliburton's family; that of James Erskine, -Esq. of Shieldhall and Melrose; and that of James G. -Haig, Esq. of the ancient family of Bemersyde. These, with -the tomb-house of the Earl of Buchan, in St. Moden's Chapel, -and that of James Anderson, Esq. of Gledswood, form, I believe, -the only cemeteries in Dryburgh. These venerable ruins -stand on a romantic peninsula, formed by one of the great -windings of the Tweed, commonly called the crescent of that -river, in the south-west nook of Berwickshire, where the river -divides that county from Roxburghshire. The land rises in -a sloping bank from the margin of the Tweed to the top of -Dryburgh Hill, about 800 feet high, on which stands the colossal -statue of <i>Wallace</i>, erected by the late revered Earl of -Buchan. The trees in the neighbourhood of Dryburgh have -a very luxuriant appearance, and some of them are rather -remarkable. There are many vestiges of old oaks to be -found, and the ash and the yew have grown to a surprising -height and circumference; and there is still, in the cemetery -of the Abbey, a yew-tree of uncommon beauty, which is upwards -of ten feet in circumference, at six feet from the -ground. In the grounds opposite the mansion house of Dryburgh, -there are also some fine trees, particularly a noble -cedar, which has been much admired. Many interesting remains -of antiquity have been dug up in Dryburgh Abbey and -places adjacent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_7" id="Authornote_7"></a><a href="#ANanchor_7" class="anlabel">Note 7</a>, Page 140.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1"><i>Sonnets on Danby's Picture.</i></p> - -<p>Mr Danby could scarcely have chosen a better subject for -the display of his great powers than that of the Deluge. In -this highly effective and beautiful work of art, an Angel of -light is introduced, weeping over the lifeless bodies of a giant -and a female, who, floating above the swelling waters on a -hastily constructed raft, were crushed to death by a fallen -tree. This part of the scene is evidently illustrative of that -passage in Scripture which refers to the "Sons of God," who -"saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took them -wives of all whom they chose." The "Sons of God," according -to the best commentators, were a race of men favoured -by God, but who generally incurred his displeasure, and perished -with mankind in general.</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_8" id="Authornote_8"></a><a href="#ANanchor_8" class="anlabel">Note 8</a>, Page 157.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1">"<i>Calmly the martyr Guthrie met his fate.</i>"</p> - -<p>Mr James Guthrie, minister of Stirling, was executed at -Edinburgh, on the 1st of June 1661, for his adherence to the -Covenant. In his dying speech, he solemnly declared,—"I -take God to record upon my soul, I would not exchange this -scaffold with the palace or the mitre of the greatest prelate -in Britain."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span></p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_9" id="Authornote_9"></a><a href="#ANanchor_9" class="anlabel">Note 9</a>, Page 167.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1"><i>The Eagle's Nest.</i></p> - -<p>The incident here versified is founded on fact, although I -have taken the liberty slightly to alter the details,—to change -the scene, as it were, of the heroine's birth-place,—and to -give her a name of my own choosing. The case is thus narrated -by Dr Rush of Philadelphia, in his "Lectures on the -Utility of a Knowledge of the Mind to a Physician," lect. xi.:—</p> - -<p>"During the time I passed at a country school, at Cecil -county, in Maryland," says that eminent medical philosopher, -"I often went, on a holiday, with my schoolmates, to see an -eagle's nest, upon the summit of a dead tree in the neighbourhood -of the school, during the time of the incubation of -that bird. The daughter of the farmer in whose field the -tree stood, and with whom I became acquainted, married, and -settled in this place about forty years ago. In our occasional -interviews, we now and then spoke of the innocent -pursuits and rural pleasures of our youth, and, among other -things, of the eagle's nest in her father's field. A few years -ago I was called to visit this woman, when she was in the lowest -stage of a typhus fever. Upon entering her room, I caught -her eye, and, with a cheerful tone of voice, said only—'The -eagle's nest!' She seized my hand, without being able to -speak, and discovered strong emotions of pleasure in her -countenance, probably from a sudden association of all her -early domestic connexions and enjoyments with the words I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> -had uttered. From that time she began to recover. She is -now living, and seldom fails, when we meet, to salute me with -the echo of—'The eagle's nest!'"</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_10" id="Authornote_10"></a><a href="#ANanchor_10" class="anlabel">Note 10</a>, Page 193.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1">"<i>Our history records, 'with sorrow and with shame.'</i>"</p> - -<p>Marshal Ney was shot in violation of a solemn capitulation—the -Convention of Paris;—by the twelfth article of -which an amnesty was granted to all persons in the capital, -whatever might be their opinions, their offices, or their conduct. -Marshal Davoust, who had concluded the Convention, -explained it in favour of Ney,—and so will impartial history. -The Duke of Wellington, however, on being appealed to by -the unfortunate Ney, during the trial returned the cold and -lawyer-like answer,—"That the Convention was merely a -military convention, and did not, and could not, promise pardon -for political offences, on the part of the French government." -And so Ney, the most heroic of all the marshals of -the French Revolution, was most foully murdered in the -garden of the Luxembourg, to satisfy a point of mere military -etiquette! Like the Dacian captive of old,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse i0">"Butchered to make a Roman holiday."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>That the Duke of Wellington did not at once strongly remonstrate -against the illegality of the act was unfortunate -for his own fame. It required but the saving of Ney's life to -have made him the greatest man of his time. That the act<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -was illegal is acknowledged by the ablest jurisconsults of -Europe. Well might Ney himself exclaim, when he found that -his death was resolved upon:—"I am accused against the faith -of treaties, and they will not let me justify myself. I appeal -to Europe and to posterity!"</p> - - -<p class="no-indent center medium p2"><span class="smcap"><a name="Authornote_11" id="Authornote_11"></a><a href="#ANanchor_11" class="anlabel">Note 11</a>, Page 241.</span></p> - -<p class="no-indent center medium p1 p-1">"<i>He was a sage old man who said.</i>"</p> - -<p>A sophist, wishing to perplex Thales, who was one of the -seven wise men of Greece, asked him many difficult questions; -to all of which the sage replied without the least hesitation. -To one of those questions,—which was the following,—"What -is the best of all things?" Thales gave this response: -"Virtue; because without it there is nothing good." Such is -the conviction of mere unassisted and stumbling reason, the -voice of nature, and the unequivocal and direct assertion of -a heathen philosopher.—<i>Preface to Piety and Intellect Relatively -Estimated, by Dr Henry Edwards.</i>—An excellent work.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Poems, by William Anderson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS *** - -***** This file should be named 54505-h.htm or 54505-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/0/54505/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Poems - -Author: William Anderson - -Release Date: April 7, 2017 [EBook #54505] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Nahum Maso i Carcases and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber's Notes: - - Obvious punctuation errors and misprints have been corrected. - - The blank pages of the printed original have been deleted in the - e-text version. - - Text in italics and boldface is indicated between _underscores_ and - =double hyphens=, respectively. - - Text in small capitals has been replaced by regular uppercase text. - - A large curly bracket present in the poem "Mount Horeb" of the - printed original is indicated with three small curly brackets in the - e-text version. - - * * * * * - - - - - POEMS. - - - - - POEMS. - - - BY - - WILLIAM ANDERSON. - - - Now First Collected. - - - EDINBURGH: - J. MENZIES, 61, PRINCES STREET. - 1845. - - - - - EDINBURGH: - - AW. MURRAY, PRINTER, MILNE SQUARE. - - - - - TO - - HENRY EDWARDS, D.D., PH.D., - - AUTHOR OF - - "PIETY AND INTELLECT RELATIVELY ESTIMATED," "CHRISTIAN - HUMILITY," AND SEVERAL OTHER WORKS OF MERIT. - - THIS VOLUME - - IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED - - BY - - HIS SINCERE FRIEND, - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - I. Sunrise, 7 - - II. Morning farther advanced, 10 - - III. Noonday, 13 - - IV. The Sunbeam, 16 - - V. To a Wild Flower, 19 - - VI. Summer, 22 - - VII. Midsummer, 25 - - VIII. The Sunshine of Poetry, 28 - - IX. Autumn, in its First Aspect, 31 - - X. Autumn, in its Second Aspect, 34 - - XI. Sunset, 37 - - XII. Twilight, 40 - - XIII. Moonlight on Land, 43 - - XIV. Moonlight at Sea, 46 - - XV. Home Scenes, 49 - - - POETICAL ASPIRATIONS. - - The Alpine Horn, 55 - - Reflections on Death, 58 - - Through the Wood.--Modern Ballad, 62 - - Song of the Exile, 64 - - To Fame, 66 - - To a Bee, 68 - - The Storm, 71 - - "Lazarus, Come Forth," 73 - - Sonnet. On the Approach of Summer, 74 - - Beauty, 75 - - To M. J. R., 76 - - Sonnet. A Contrast, 77 - - Sonnet. Roslin, 78 - - On the Birth of a Niece, 79 - - On her death, 80 - - Sonnet. To Happiness, 81 - - Thoughts, 82 - - Loch Awe, 85 - - The Wolf, 87 - - The April Cloud, 94 - - Spring, 95 - - Poesy, 97 - - Sonnet. To a Friend of the Author, 100 - - The Gipsy's Lullaby, 101 - - Woodland Song, 102 - - Sonnet. The Ocean, 104 - - Mount Horeb, 105 - - Written beneath an Elm, 111 - - The Wells o' Weary, 115 - - Dryburgh Abbey, 116 - - - POEMS HERE FIRST COLLECTED. - - Grace, 119 - - Matin, 121 - - Immortality, 122 - - Lines. On the Death of John Sinclair, Esq., - Edinburgh, 125 - - Weep not for the Dead, 127 - - Idols, 129 - - Truth, 132 - - Sabbath Morn, 133 - - Sabbath Eve, 134 - - Dreams of the Living, 135 - - Lines, 139 - - Sonnets Written on Viewing Danby's Picture - of the Deluge, 140 - - Thought, 142 - - Lines Written on the Attempted Assassination - of the Queen, July 1840, 143 - - Song.--"I'm Naebody Noo," 147 - - Song. "There's Plenty Come to Woo me," 149 - - The Stout Old British Ship, 151 - - Lines on the Infant Son and Daughter of Hon. - Col. Montague, 154 - - The Martyrs, 156 - - Caledonia, My Country, 158 - - Song. "I Canna Sleep," 160 - - Song. "Yonder Sunny Brae," 162 - - - THE EAGLE'S NEST, AND OTHER POEMS, HERE FIRST - PRINTED. - - The Eagle's Nest, 167 - - The Advent of Truth, 179 - - Lines Suggested by a Walk in a Garden, 182 - - Sonnet. Sunshine, 187 - - Song. "At E'ening when the Kye war in," 188 - - Stanzas on a Bust of Marshal Ney, 191 - - Winter, 194 - - Human Conduct, 197 - - Courtship Lines, 210 - - Love-Weakness, 211 - - Lines to the Rev. Henry Dudley Ryder, on - reading his "Angelicon," 213 - - The Poet, 216 - - Light and Shadow, 223 - - The Early Dead, 226 - - A Dirge, 229 - - A Benediction, 231 - - Health, 233 - - The Game of Life, 235 - - Consumption, 237 - - Change, 238 - - Virtue, 241 - - Vain Hopes, 243 - - The Valley of Life, 245 - - After Thought, 251 - - - NOTES, 255 - - - - - LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - (SECOND EDITION.) - - - - - TO - - THE REV. HENRY DUDLEY RYDER, - - CANON RESIDENTIARY OF LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL, - - THIS VOLUME OF LANDSCAPE LYRICS, - - AS - - A MARK OF RESPECT FOR HIS VIRTUES, - - OF ADMIRATION OF HIS GENIUS, - - AND IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE PLEASANT HOURS PASSED IN HIS SOCIETY, - - IS INSCRIBED, - - BY HIS FRIEND, - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - - PREFACE - - TO THE - - FIRST EDITION OF LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - -THE poems contained in the following pages must be taken as parts of a -whole, being intended to be distinct only in their subjects. This will -account for the same measure being used throughout. - -Of these pieces, the only one which has been previously published is -that addressed "To a Wild Flower." My reason for inserting it here -is, that it harmonizes with the other poems; and, having been already -favourably spoken of by competent judges, I must confess it is one -which I should "not willingly let die." - -In the first poem on "Autumn," I have introduced what has always -appeared to me a beautiful incident in nature; namely, the singing of -the missel-thrush during a thunder-storm. The louder the thunder roars, -the shriller and sweeter becomes its voice. This interesting little -bird is popularly known by the name of the storm-cock, because he is -supposed to sing boldest immediately previous to a storm; but that he -also sends forth his "native wood notes wild," during its continuance, -is a fact which has been satisfactorily ascertained. Undismayed by the -tempest's fury, or, rather rejoicing in its violence, the small but -spirited songster warbles on unceasingly, as if desirous of emulating -the loudness of the thunder-tone, or of making his song be heard above -the noise of the raging elements. - -The poetry of nature, particularly at this joyous season, is in its -landscapes; and if these unpretending "Lyrics" should lead any one to a -healthy contemplation of natural objects, or impart, to refined minds, -any pleasure in the perusal, the time which has been bestowed upon them -will not have been idly or unprofitably employed. - -LONDON, 1st June, 1838. - - - - - POEMS. - - - - - LANDSCAPE LYRICS. - - - - - No. I.--SUNRISE. - - - SPREAD are dawn's radiant wings, - Its dazzling feet pursue their silent way, - Leaving no shadow, for each coming ray - A general brightness brings. - - The vapour from the brow - Of the old mountain crests, begins to part, - Like care from off the forehead, and the heart-- - And all is cloudless now! - - The universal air, - The smiling sky, and the far-stretching mead-- - All nature, in its varied forms agreed, - Mingle their beauties there! - - The ripple of the wave, - Beachward returning to the distant shore, - Like a lone pilgrim to the cottage door, - That once a welcome gave: - - The new-waked laureat bee, - On the flower-blossom, breathing in its mirth, - Its conch-like matin song, to greet the earth, - With ever grateful glee! - - The landscape's free expanse, - And all the harmonies that, spread around, - Combine the joys of hearing, sight, and sound, - Are gathered at a glance; - - And powerfully they tell, - With deeper eloquence than notes divine, - Of many things that round our heart-strings twine, - And in our fancies dwell; - - Of boyhood's sportive days, - The thymy glade, the daisy blooming there, - The vale remote, or lake secluded, where - The smiling sunbeam plays; - - The gay flowers on the plain, - Gemming the mead, perfuming all the wood; - As if each Summer morn was Spring renew'd, - Or May-day come again! - - The music of the birds, - Telling all sleepers of the birth of day, - And, with reviving Nature, haste to pay - Their homage, not in words! - - The dreamy waterfall, - Babbling and bubbling from the upland spring; - The soaring crag where eaglets rest their wing, - Listening the eagle's call: - - The minstrel streamlet near, - The zephyr's breath, too languid for a breeze, - That stirs, yet scarcely moves, the gentle trees, - Touching the waters clear. - - The sunrays, as they pass - Into broad sunshine, throw their light on all, - With bloom and blossom, whereso'er they fall; - On mount, or meadow-grass. - - And something more than light - Sleeps on the verdant hill-side; dreams of love, - And glimpses of the happier state above, - Burst on the mental sight. - - - - - No. II.--MORNING FURTHER ADVANCED. - - - MEET 'tis to watch and spy, - The laughing Orient, like a chubby child, - Bringing new joyousness to wood and wild, - To ocean, earth, and sky. - - The groups of early flowers - To th' enamoured sun their bosoms ope,-- - Apt emblems of the welcome birth of Hope, - In life's oft darkened bowers. - - Pass to the green hill-side, - And let us wander where the wild flowers grow, - Gaze on the sedgy stream's calm depths below, - Where gentle minnows glide. - - The sheltered cuckoo's notes, - In the young sunshine, echo on the ear-- - A moving voice, from all around, is here!-- - Hymns from a thousand throats:-- - - The spirit grows the more - Refined and holy, as we stand and gaze - Upon the landscape, brightening in the blaze - That gilds both land and shore. - - All objects, far and near, - The light of morn illumines; it is now - That man can walk erect with glowing brow, - And heart devoid of fear. - - And, lo! there is a stir - In yonder village, bosomed in the dell, - Like a meek babe, loved by its mother well, - And loving nought but her! - - Where claims the eye to rest? - Earth has a balmy look, and so has Heaven; - And thoughts, like mazy clouds through ether driven, - Float in th' enraptured breast. - - The sylvan haunts, where youth - Roams, fancy led, all glorious in their hue; - The quaint sequestered spots and paths we view, - Where Age consorts with Truth. - - Read we of aught that wakes - High inspiration in the soul, in scenes like these? - The tufted trees' fantastic tapestries-- - Romantic knolls and brakes; - - The hill-enskirted glen, - Where bound the wild deer; and the huntsman's horn - Sounds from afar, a welcome to the morn, - Till Echo sounds again! - - And more than all, the old - And pyramidal mountains, that with time - Have stood, defying change, and storm, and clime, - As none else of earth's mould - - Hath done: the sun embrowns, - But does not scorch them; rain, and wind, and snow, - Renew them, not destroy; no waste they know, - But lasting glory crowns. - - Still to the heart endeared - Are sights like this we gaze on. Do we deem - That they are other than a privileged dream?-- - One that the mind has reared! - - - - - No. III.--NOONDAY. - - - LO! like an eastern king, - Forth marches Sunshine gorgeously through earth, - By health attended, and life-giving mirth, - And heralded by Spring. - - Light through the untrack'd air, - Pursues its course authentic; hill and dale - Rejoice, and Nature cries, "All hail!" - As if a king were there. - - The elevated lawns, - Where first the day comes, and where last retires, - Rejoicing seem; their light the mind inspires, - And thought, like morning, dawns. - - The wild, yet artless breeze, - Now, in the ear of Nature, sings its song, - Wandering green fields and flowery banks among, - And over shadowy seas. - - Soft falls the sunlight down - On the old castle that, above the dell, - Stands in its glory, lone, as if to tell - Some tale of past renown. - - The hamlet in the vale, - The church beside the stream that winds remote - Among the hills--the smoothly-going boat, - That midway hoists its sail. - - A scene like this is rife - With pleasurable feelings, as with grace; - Perhaps we here, instructively, may trace - Some simile of life! - - The grey and steadfast hills - Tell of the old immortals of past time: - And, looking downward, beauty, in its prime, - The heart with rapture fills. - - The care-escaping deer - Descend together from the uplands, while - The sprouting grass puts forth a pleasant smile, - As if to tempt them near. - - The sinless flowers, away - In the far inward forest paths bestrown, - Are yet not solitary, though alone; - None are so glad as they. - - The comely violets - Their leaf-buds open, and the sunshine seek; - The pastures fresh their grateful homage speak, - Untinctured with regrets. - - The virgin rose assumes - A bridal bearing, as if noonday came, - With brighter countenance, its love to claim, - And revel 'midst its blooms: - - The prattle of the brook, - The lazy clouds that, hung in middle sky, - Exulting in the balm, float listless by, - Reflecting back their look: - - The buds, the herbs, the leaves, - Each, and all things that blossom, bless the rays - Of the bright sun, and, as they bless, they praise - The bounteous Hand that gives! - - - - - No. IV.--THE SUNBEAM. - - - NOW glory walks abroad, - And on the quiet unassuming stream, - And on the rock-ribbed hills, gently its beam - All lovely is bestowed. - - The daizy-footed day, - O'er the far mead, in virgin radiance comes, - While the bee, jubilant, its welcome hums, - And passes on its way. - - The lily, in its bloom, - Of the lone valley, where the breezes sing - Of love, beside the violet-crested spring, - And heather-bell's perfume: - - And beauty, without guile, - It pictures dreams of in the bounding breast, - And love-breathed vows, and unions that are blest, - And childhood's fairy smile: - - The mountain's verdant side, - Where visioned poesy delights to show - The sights of Heaven to gentle minds below: - The heath-bank in its pride: - - The broken branch, grass-hid, - On which the goat-herd leans, while, far aloof, - His bounding charge rest th' adventurous hoof - Where man's foot dare not tread: - - The cushat in the wood, - Where the laburnum and the lilac grow; - The placid rill, wandering away below, - As one for earth too good: - - The dim-seen paths remote, - That lead to lone retreats and leafy cells, - Where, like a bashful fay, the fancy dwells, - And many-imaged thought: - - The vintage and its cheer, - The peasant, sun-embrown'd, and flow'r-deck'd maid, - The festooned village, music in the shade, - To charm th' expectant ear: - - The flow'ret in the wild, - The mossy resting place, 'neath oaks antique: - The half-grassed foot-track worldlings do not seek, - Where poets are beguiled: - - The foam-bell on the wave; - The full-sailed vessel on its homeward track; - The smile that lights the sorrowing sinner back: - The primrose on a grave! - - The berry's purple shine, - Grape-like and lustrous, scattered 'mid the waste: - The sprinkled heath-flower, healthful, golden-paced: - The patriarchal pine: - - The memories of all - Telling of pleasures rare, and jocund ease, - In deep-toned joyousness, yea, more than these, - The sunbeam does recall: - - The hope of life above; - Rich buds of promise springing everywhere; - The grace-blest gifts that come without our care, - From all-providing Love! - - - - - No. V.--TO A WILD FLOWER. - - - IN what delightful land, - Sweet-scented flower, didst thou attain thy birth? - Thou art no offspring of the common earth, - By common breezes fanned! - - Full oft my gladdened eye, - In pleasant glade, on river's marge has traced, - (As if there planted by the hand of Taste), - Sweet flowers of every dye: - - But never did I see, - In mead or mountain, or domestic bower, - 'Mong many a lovely and delicious flower, - One half so fair as thee! - - Thy beauty makes rejoice - My inmost heart.--I know not how 'tis so,-- - Quick-coming fancies thou dost make me know, - For fragrance is thy voice: - - And still it comes to me, - In quiet night, and turmoil of the day, - Like memory of friends gone far away, - Or, haply, ceased to be. - - Together we'll commune, - As lovers do, when, standing all apart, - No one o'erhears the whispers of their heart, - Save the all-silent moon. - - Thy thoughts I can divine, - Although not uttered in vernac'lar words: - Thou me remind'st of songs of forest birds; - Of venerable wine; - - Of Earth's fresh shrubs and roots; - Of Summer days, when men their thirsting slake - In the cool fountain, or the cooler lake, - While eating wood-grown fruits: - - Thy leaves my memory tell - Of sights, and scents, and sounds, that come again, - Like ocean's murmurs, when the balmy strain - Is echoed in its shell. - - The meadows in their green, - Smooth-running waters in the far-off ways, - The deep-voiced forest where the hermit prays, - In thy fair face are seen. - - Thy home is in the wild, - 'Mong sylvan shades, near music-haunted springs, - Where peace dwells all apart from earthly things, - Like some secluded child. - - The beauty of the sky, - The music of the woods, the love that stirs - Wherever Nature charms her worshippers, - Are all by thee brought nigh. - - I shall not soon forget - What thou hast taught me in my solitude: - My feelings have acquired a taste of good, - Sweet flower! since first we met. - - Thou bring'st unto the soul - A blessing and a peace, inspiring thought! - And dost the goodness and the power denote - Of Him who formed the whole. - - - - - No. VI.--SUMMER. - - - IS vision-land so near, - And we not know of it? Oh! dull and dead - Must be the heart, the passions cold as lead, - That find no beauty here! - - Fresh o'er th' awakened earth, - Now all the glories of the Summer shine; - And Nature, as if drunk with olden wine, - Is laughing in its mirth! - - And melodies are heard - From far and near, and sounds that stir the heart, - Sweeter than fancy dreams of, when slow Art - To rival them has erred. - - All things become more pure - And hallowed to the view: the very flowers - Seem smiling in a world more rich than ours-- - A birth-place more secure! - - The berry of the wood - Blooms with new lustre, 'neath the golden ray - Of the warm sunshine, resting by the way, - Where the green forests brood. - - The old and reverend trees, - And clustering thickets, now are gladly sought - By him who from the heat would stray remote, - And rest his limbs at ease. - - The smell of new-mown hay - Revives the heart, like as at evening time - We love to listen to the tinkling chime - Of sheep-bells far away. - - And, lo! the rustic cot, - On the smooth margin of the quiet lake, - Where wedded Love and pleased Content partake - Their enviable lot: - - Where, daylong, may be seen - Two sister swans, disporting in their joy; - The happy parents, with their baby-boy, - Reclining on the green. - - Decay should seem unknown-- - But spiteful Time its certain change prepares: - Light has its shade, and pleasure has its cares; - Music its saddened tone: - - Summer its springing weeds, - And trodden flowers that tell of bygone joys, - And thoughts long since forgotten, 'mid the noise - That from man's haunts proceeds. - - How beautiful the sight! - Why should we think of change for scenes like this? - Fair as a poet's thought, when thought is bliss, - And all he sees is light! - - Let but th' enraptured eye - Once look upon the landscape's gorgeous train - And, like a kiss upon the brow of pain, - That brings a solace nigh, - - In after years 'twill rest - Within the memory, with bloom and balm, - Refreshing to the soul, like a sweet calm - On ocean's troubled breast. - - - - - No. VII.--MIDSUMMER. - - - A BLAZE is in mine eyes - Of rich and balmy light; and on mine ear - A sound of melody is ringing clear, - Like carols in the skies: - - And on my heart the while - There rests, like Love, when Hope is bright as this, - A charm to soothe, a thrill of good to bless; - A universal smile! - - Is it a picture limned - By some high intellect where genius throngs? - Are these the echoes of celestial songs, - By angel-voices hymned? - - Am I on earth, in air, - In heaven, or on the sea,--with ocean's sights, - And ocean's sounds,--that I partake delights, - And visions see so fair? - - Ah, me! a shadow steals - From out the mountains, like a lurking grief; - As on our happy home, the silent thief - His hateful eye reveals; - - Bringing me down from heaven - To this dull earth, whereon my footsteps tread-- - The sky, so calm and pure above my head, - Health to my soul has given! - - And now, before me placed, - What is there to rejoice the eye or ear? - All that the heart deems fair is surely here, - By God's own fingers traced: - - And bounteously his gifts - HE has bestowed upon the growing land; - Her paths are teeming from his lib'ral Hand, - That knows no grudging thrifts. - - Up looks the toiling hind, - And wipes his brow, and rests upon his spade; - The idle herdsman, in the hawthorn shade, - A-weary lies reclined. - - The village church is seen, - Light streaming through its windows, soft and fair, - Like rays of mercy, answering the prayer - Of penitence serene. - - 'Midst fairy scenes like these, - Whose fruitage beautiful allures each sense, - And whose green leaves, in blooming eloquence, - Exert their aim to please, - - Can thought, in its career - Of joy, pause midway, and with care alight?-- - Can fancy, eagle-winged, restrain its flight, - To dream of winter drear? - - In noonday's warmest ray - We deem that darkness has our clime forsook: - Backward or forward we refuse to look; - But on the present stay. - - Yet let not gloom be here! - The Earth rejoices now in Nature's prime; - Season of joy,--the holiday of Time,-- - The Sabbath of the year! - - - - - No. VIII.--THE SUNSHINE OF POETRY. - - - THINK not the poet's song - Worthless or idle; do not deem his lay - Fantastic, that he offers by the way, - To make it seem less long. - - His numbers have their use, - Though foolish they may sound to worldling's ear; - His own lot, if no other's, they may cheer; - His own content produce. - - Does he not add a light - To earth-born beauty, wanting it unknown? - To bloom give balm, to melody a tone, - Make brightness seem more bright? - - Does he not fill the air - With sights, and shapes, and shadows?--make the sky - The dwelling-place of beings, which no eye - But his can image there? - - And more than all, his lay - Awakes new feelings in the human heart, - And visions bring that never can depart, - When once they feel his sway. - - To him the power is given - To soothe the broken heart, the care-worn mind; - And the waked soul in dreams ecstatic bind, - And bear away to heaven: - - For to none else does earth - Look with so fair a promise; yea, to none - Speaks she with such an eloquence of tone, - Or to such thoughts gives birth, - - Ah! who may analyse - The cloistered feelings of the poet's soul, - When Nature's impulse vibrates through the whole, - And Truth, that never dies! - - Creation's beauties bring - Renewed enjoyment, and his genius fire; - For every sight, and every sound, inspire - His inmost heart to sing! - - His birthright is to live - In citizenship with Nature;--to hold - Communion with her mysteries, his old - And high prerogative! - - Seeks he for wealth, denied - By worldlings, lucre-led, of sordid mind; - His heritage,--free, fertile, unconfined,-- - Is Nature's pastures wide. - - Pants he for peace, to throw - A solace on his soul? The voice that breathes - Its music, 'mong the wild flowers' clustering wreaths, - Does to his heart bestow - - A bliss that none can share, - Save him whom Nature to some far-sought wild - Has led, anointed as her chosen child, - And made her sacred care. - - Where'er the breezes roam, - The mountains soar, or ocean's wave is thrown, - The poet's spirit, free as Nature's own, - Finds for itself a home! - - - - - No. IX.--AUTUMN, IN ITS FIRST ASPECT. - - - THE orchard's plenteous store, - The apple-boughs o'erburdened with their load, - That passers-by may gather from the road, - Hang now the near walls o'er: - - And filberts, bursting fair, - Seduce the loiterer to reach the hand, - And pluck the offered treasures of the land, - With wood-nuts that are there. - - The still hill-sides are clad - With bloom; the distant moorland now is bright - With blossom, and with beauty; the rich sight - The heart of man makes glad. - - The hamlet is at peace; - And, in the ripened fields, the reapers ply - Their useful labour; while a golden sky - Smiles on the soil's increase. - - To the romantic spring, - That gushes lone beneath the neighbouring hill, - The cottage maidens go, their jars to fill, - While carols rude they sing! - - Sweet is the cuckoo's song - In early Spring, and musical and blessed - The nightingale--young Summer's lutenist-- - Pours its gay notes-along; - - And, in the thunder's roar, - In Autumn, when the sudden lightnings flash, - Sweet sings the missel-thrush amid the crash, - The bursting tempest o'er! - - As solitary tree, - That, pilgrim-like, scathless, amid the shock - Of rudest storms, that burst the sterner rock, - Stands in its grandeur free. - - But sweeter than them all, - And softer than the voice of love returned, - Are the untutored lays of lips sunburned, - From village maids that fall! - - To schoolboys' feelings dear - Is rich-toned Autumn. Oh! with what a zest - They plunge in stream retired,--despoil a nest,-- - Or ramble far and near. - - How oft, when changeful Time - Has sprinkled o'er our locks its silver threads, - Remembrance brings to mind--and gladness sheds-- - The pastimes of our prime! - - The lowing of the kine, - In distant meadow-glades, comes on the ear, - With taste of nature fresh, like far-off cheer - Of rustics, as they join - - The merry dance at eve; - Each rural sound has in it joy and health: - Man now should garner thought, as well as wealth, - And gladly truth receive. - - The calm and picturesque; - The foliaged cedar, and the wreathed beech, - More glowing thoughts and impulses can teach - Than Learning from his desk! - - - - - No. X.--AUTUMN, IN ITS SECOND ASPECT. - - - NOW, Autumn's mantle brown - Falls on the woods and fields, the leaves are sere, - And, like sad offerings to the rifled year, - They drop in clusters down: - - The land is lone and bare; - The grateful trees themselves of leaves divest - To form a covering for earth's naked breast, - With reverential care; - - For why should they be left - In all their foliage, when the sunshine's grace - Is gone from off the hills, and Nature's face - Is of its charms bereft? - - The distance grey, becomes - Like a thin thread of silver, long drawn out;-- - But hark the cheerful tabor, and the shout! - The sound of merry drums! - - Now sportive Harvest-Home - By vintagers and villagers is held, - And heart-bright wine, and strong-lipped ale are welled, - Like water at the foam: - - And labourers rejoice, - That fruits of field and orchard all are housed; - And the glad song of thankfulness is roused - From every manly voice! - - The high ancestral hall,-- - Where Health delights to dwell, and generous Mirth - Holds, when the corn is gathered from the earth, - A grateful festival,-- - - Adorns the waning scene. - Here may be heard, when in a musing mood, - The cawing of the old rooks in the wood, - That flanks it like a screen. - - Is there not much to cheer - In the glad sounds that still from hill and vale, - And glen remote, come echoed on the gale - To greet th' excited ear? - - Lo! o'er the changing sward - Sweep now the huntsmen in the rapid chace, - The deep-toned yell of hounds, mouthing the trace - Of the fleet deer, is heard. - - In lone and hoary wood, - Where the wild cherry and the yellow elm - Commingled with the oak, the soul o'erwhelm - With visions many-hued; - - There comes a solemn tone, - Like what is felt, in passing down the while - Some old cathedral's venerable aisle,-- - A feeling all its own! - - But now, at close of day, - When the damp vapoury veil of eve is gone, - Of gathering winds, the mournful dirge-like moan, - Sounds wildly far away. - - For winter casts its shade - Before it, and the year begins to feel - Its chilling influences on it steal, - Like touches of the dead! - - - - - No. XI.--SUNSET. - - - LIGHT on the landscape shines - Awhile, ere vanishing, as loth to leave;-- - Upon the mead, the wearied ox at eve - Familiarly reclines. - - The plough is left a-field, - And the rude labourer, from his toil set free, - Leads his tired steads forth o'er the upturned lea, - Refreshing drink to yield. - - The hills with light are dyed; - And pointing spires peer o'er the distant trees, - As one tall vessels in the horizon sees, - Careering in their pride! - - Each meek flower, white and red, - That tufts the meadow, in fresh odour sleeps, - Ere the departing Day from off the steeps - Lifts his resplendent head. - - The golden-tissued clouds, - Amid which now the Sun, world-worshipped, sinks, - Retain his glory still upon their brinks, - As gloom the earth enshrouds! - - Slowly the darkness creeps - Up the lone hill-sides, shadow-like, by sighs - Of ev'ning lullabyed, as on man's eyes - Steals slumber ere he sleeps! - - Thus on the mountain-oak, - And on the hoary castle's ruined walls, - The rotting ivy, clinging as it falls, - Seems their past strength to mock. - - Exalted are the thoughts - That rise within our souls at such a time; - The vast, the wild, the awful, the sublime, - Embodied, round us floats! - - And the hushed spirit seems - To listen to the tones from giants flung; - Echoes of war-songs, that of old were sung, - Now rush like mountain streams: - - And what come on the sight - Are not the puny visions of the day; - The near and the familiar pass away, - With the departing light: - - Each mountain range that towers - In desert grandeur o'er the darkening scene, - Looks like a spirit standing now between - Another world and ours! - - Oh! ye time-honoured hills, - The Ancient, the Immortal--is it not - A high-born privilege ne'er to be forgot, - To feel none of earth's ills? - - Sublime ye are as Heaven! - Though bleak not barren, silent yet not dumb, - From out your shadows health and music come, - And thronging thoughts are given! - - Not worthless is your aim, - To stand from age to age, from hour to hour, - The Almighty's temple, token of his power, - And record of his name! - - - - - No. XII.--TWILIGHT. - - - NOW enter we within - The shadows of the ev'ning, as they wind - Around the mountains' summits, and remind - Our startled souls of sin, - - Coiling, like serpent twist, - Round every thought and impulse; thus the night - Brings down its sable curtain o'er the sight, - And veils the world in mist. - - The shrill-piped curlew's song - Wanders, like poesy, in distant glades; - And inexpressive notes that to eve's shades - Are fitted, pass along! - - The beetle's drone is heard, - Dull, sluggish, heavy, in the dark-hued lane: - And, hark! afar, the melancholy strain - Of Echo!--twilight's bard! - - At this lone hour we seek - Some quiet spot, to meditation free;-- - When the Material we do not see, - Then Fancy may bespeak - - Aught that she will;--the dim - And shadowy her peopled world, she finds - Forms in the darkness;--in the troublous winds - Can trace a conqueror's hymn! - - Sleep has its dreams, and night - Its inspirations,--bounding, changing still,-- - Imagination on some shrouded hill - Does, eagle-like, alight. - - Ah! not an hour ago - Here hamlets stood, and palaces, and fields: - What man has furnished, what creation yields, - And what the earth does grow: - - And now, where are they all? - Gone with the mighty, vanished with the past: - For twilight, enviously, has o'er them cast - Her black unpiercing pall, - - And shut all out to sight.-- - Oh! bat-eyed vision! Oh! weak mortal eyes! - Are there no mountains left--no shining skies-- - No rivers clothed in light? - - Are there no happy broods - Of little flowers in rustic ways remote? - No pathways to the woods? And, oh! fell thought, - No golden-foliaged woods? - - Such fancies rise to sight - In night's tranquillity, where Thought is born;-- - But back the laughing world will come with morn-- - Life is not all a blight! - - Should clouded be to-day, - Bring yesterday, and all its joys to view;-- - Though no to-morrow offers to renew - Their smile--'tis not away! - - 'Twill dawn in after-time - On memory.--The charm of Nature's looks, - The voice of birds, the minstrelsy of brooks, - Live ever in their prime! - - - - - No. XIII.--MOONLIGHT ON LAND. - - - THE early bridal Moon - Comes in her splendour forth, and walks between - The stars of Heaven, like an anointed queen - Amid her maids at noon. - - Now from the sleeping hills - The spectral mist-wreaths quickly pass away, - Beneath her pale, but earth enamoured ray, - And glory all things fills. - - Forth let us wander, led - By odours sweet; leaving th' accustomed way, - The valley seek we, where the moonbeams stray, - Like May-flowers newly shed! - - The distant streamlets sing - Their vesper hymn.--Is there a voice below - Can give such music, mingled with such woe, - Or can such rapture bring? - - In the far wild we hear - That soothing tone its murmurings repeat, - And the more sad, the sweeter, as is meet - The spirit lone to cheer. - - Fair is the sky, and fair - The earth; and yet 'tis but the moon, this night, - That lights them both, and makes them look so bright,-- - Clothes them in beauty rare! - - And who are they that come - Into the moonlight from the tranquil shade, - And then shrink back, as to be seen afraid, - With feelings that are dumb? - Two lovers fond and true - Holding communion with each other's hearts;-- - The first pure glow of love that ne'er departs, - Which moonlight scenes renew. - - Who has not on the moon - Looked long and musingly, and, looking, dreamed - Of love and loveliness? Who has not deemed - Its ray a granted boon? - - The unveiled orb of night-- - To which the sighs and orisons, flow'r-wreathed, - Of lovers in all ages have been breathed,-- - Bathes all she sees in light. - - Her tracery is rich - With images Mosaic, soft inlaid;-- - Forms, heav'n-traced, slumber 'twixt the light and shade, - In every quiet niche. - - Moonlight is not like eld,-- - For it is young, and bright, and fresh and clear; - But age the features sharpens, and brings near - Resemblances withheld: - So moonlight in its pride - Outlines the landscape, and brings out to view - Scenes of bright promise, and of fairy hue, - By glen and mountain side! - - In moonlit mead or dell - My soul endenizened, imbibes a tone - Of nature-nurtured truth, which still is prone - A plaintive tale to tell. - - - - - No. XIV.--MOONLIGHT AT SEA. - - - HOW beautiful the chaste - And glorious moonlight glitters on the wave! - Like diamond glancing upward from its cave, - By rushing waters paced! - - The home-bound seaman hails - Its ray auspicious, as it gayly flits - Before him on his ocean-path, or sits - Like silver on the sails! - - Profusely thrown in showers - The dancing beam with every wave curl dips, - Like sunlight sprinkled on the bearded lips - Of humble meadow-flowers. - - On the lone beetling cliff, - Where moonlight streams in all its glory bright, - I see below the fishers, by its light, - Haul beechward their rude skiff: - - And high above, the cot - Which they call home, stands in the glad moonlight, - Dear to their hearts and welcome to their sight, - When they are far afloat. - - Here, as I linger, rapt, - In the lone presence of the ocean free, - Suspended like a bird above the sea, - My bounding soul is apt - - To mingle, as its own, - Among the waters, like a privileged thing; - Or, as a seamew spreads its radiant wing, - On the wild breezes thrown, - - To wander far away - Above the breakers, and then strength inhale; - Or float, like one inspired, upon the gale, - And all its might survey. - - The grey sea, like grey time, - Rolls onward till it traces its fixed bound, - And then resumes its slow accustomed round, - Fettered like measured rhyme! - - The hollow of God's hand - Might hold it; and, though restless in its pride, - It cannot outflow its appointed tide, - Or overrun the land. - - When the rude tempest sings, - And waves run high, and harsh the thunder's threats - Assail the ear, the seaman ne'er forgets - The promise moonlight brings: - - Amid the lashing foam, - When its soft smile anoints the boiling wave; - It tracks his pathway, prompts his soul to brave - Whatever perils come. - - Homeward his vessel drifts, - With beauty fair behind it and before; - Hope leads it onward to the wished-for shore, - And all the heart uplifts. - - Like mellow light of years, - Long since evanished, on the memory, - The moonlight falls upon the bounding sea, - And the whole present cheers! - - - - - No. XV.--HOME SCENES. - - - AS young bird from its nest, - At morn, floats upward--onward--and away; - And when the night brings down its shadows grey. - Returns unto its rest, - - Ev'n thus the youthful mind - Goes forward to the world; partakes its cares - And fleeting joys,--is tempted by its snares; - But can no refuge find: - - The freshness of his home - Goes with him, guidingly, where'er he wends; - A star-like light upon his steps attends-- - A ray from Heaven's bright dome! - - In all his toil and fret, - The quiet fields and gentle streams he knew, - When youth clothed all around in fairest hue, - His soul can ne'er forget: - - For still their memories come, - Like poetry, to his spirit;--as a tone - Of music's echo on the waters thrown, - And heard 'mid evening's gloom. - - In brumal age, the dreams - Of home refresh the soul, as purples pied - Peep up from out the snows, and smile beside - Winter's deserted streams; - - As violets on a rock - They cheer the solitude,--their promise dawns - Upon the mind, like moonlight o'er the lawns-- - Or joy to one grief-broke. - - Home of our youth, what spot - On earth is like thee? Scenes of early days, - Oh! where upon your equals can we gaze? - What palace like the cot - - Where childhood first its eyes - Oped to the day, and marvelled what could be - The world around it? Is there aught we see - Can be compared to skies - - Like those which earliest shone - Upon our path, and like a sunray bright, - Brought with it, freshly, dawnings of the light - That ne'er can be forgone? - - Landscapes of other climes, - Though bountiful in beauty, what are ye - To the fair scenes of home, where'er it be? - Sacred as churchward chimes. - - High may the mountains tower - Into the heavens, and grandeur fill the scene, - The valleys and the pastures may be green, - The hill-sides still in flower, - - Of other lands, where stray - The exile's feet; but none are e'er so fair - Unto his soul, as the blest landscapes where - His visions fly away. - - Those sordid cares beside, - That cloud the mind, 'mong earth-born woes and ills. - Come soothing thoughts of home, as 'tween far hills - The gentle streamlets glide! - - - - - POETICAL ASPIRATIONS. - - -A SMALL volume of poems, entitled "POETICAL ASPIRATIONS," was published -by me, my first adventure, in 1830, and was favourably received. That -volume was dedicated to MRS ROBERTSON of EDNAM HOUSE, Kelso, a lady -whose many virtues are universally acknowledged wherever she is known, -and whose kindness to me it will always be my pride to remember. A -second edition, with additional poems, appeared in 1833. From the -latter volume I have selected the following pieces, the remainder, -bearing evident marks of inexperience and juvenility of taste, not -being deemed worthy of further reprint. - - - - - POETICAL ASPIRATIONS. - - - - - THE ALPINE HORN. (1) - - - SUNSET is streaming o'er the snow-clad crown - Of the high Alps, while darkness settles down - Through all their countless valleys and defiles, - Mixing with shade, where sunlight never smiles: - Ere from the topmost peak, its latest ray - Has, with its wing of glory, sped away, - The mountain shepherd's horn has sounded there, - Like the Muezzin's evening call to prayer; - "Praise God the Lord!" and hark! from all around - A thousand voices answer to the sound: - From every clift, and crag, and ledge, and linn, - The notes of worship and of praise begin. - "Praise God the Lord!" the echoes catch the strain, - And far and near repeat the sound again; - They wake it in the wild and in the wood, - Through all the shades of that far solitude: - Bearing it on, o'er valley and ravine, - Where, till this hour, such sound has never been; - Then, in the distance, fainter grown the lay, - The lingering notes at length dissolve away. - - When all is silent, on the mountain sod - The humble shepherds bend the knee to God; - They kneel in darkness and in peace, to share - The sweet and social intercourse of prayer: - With gleams of manly thought, their prayers arise, - Like incense from the altar, to the skies. - Their temple is the mountain and the mist, - And theirs the shrine where minister the blest; - They kneel before the Spirit of the world, - He who this universe of mountains hurled - Together with a word, and chaos spread - Mid majesty and grandeur, dark and dread. - Prostrate in presence of the Great First Cause, - They own his power, while they obey his laws: - Their thoughts are deeper than th' abyss beneath, - Yet while their humble orisons they breathe, - Their souls are soaring far beyond each height - On which the stars are clustering, with the night; - And while they view, with soul-admiring glance, - The world of fancy, nature, and romance, - That circles round their native rocks, they deem - The glories of the earth an empty dream. - - But hark! that horn again resounds aloud, - Like sudden music bursting from a cloud: - "Good night!" "Good night!" along the mountain breaks, - "Good night!" "Good night!" again each echo wakes; - And all the scene, below, around, above, - Teems with "Good night!" the evening pledge of love. - The eagle, soaring, waits upon the wing, - Charmed with the notes the syren echoes sing; - The startled chamois bounds along the hill, - Yet, half-enraptured, turns to listen still; - From mount to valley, and from wold to wild, - The sounds are borne along, till, faint and mild, - "Good night," shall linger in the echoes' song, - When all to silence and to sleep belong. - - - - - REFLECTIONS ON DEATH. - - - ONE day--the sunbeams danced along the glade - As lovers dance upon their bridal eve-- - I wandered to the wood, where all was bloom; - The earth breathed fresh with fragrance, and the trees - Dropped, as it were, the dew of silent joy. - I loved to listen to the song of birds, - Whose music wild, yet sweet, came o'er the ear, - Telling of ecstasy; and, more than all, - I loved to view the flowers, those stars of earth, - As stars are flowers of heaven, those glimpses bright - Of a far higher, purer, lovelier world; - Those day dreams of Creation, blooming wild, - Scattered on earth, like angel-smiles in heaven. - Oh! I was happy then, for all above, - And all below, was fair, and pure, and bright; - And then I thought that happier still I'd be - If my freed soul could fleet, as dew from grass, - When the glad morning sun is shining forth, - Passing so silently away from earth; - If that were all--if death itself were _death_-- - But after death comes life, more true than this. - - I lay and listened to a wild bird's song, - A little shining, singing, flutt'ring thing: - Its song was full of sweetness and of love: - When, lo! it fell before me on the ground, - And found its grave among a bank of flowers-- - Who would not die, to find a grave so sweet? - I ran and lifted it--'twas cold and stiff, - And in its little heart an arrow sought - Unsanctified admittance, quivering there, - Like an unwelcome messenger of fate. - The spoiler came--I drew his arrow out, - And threw it on the earth--he trod it down, - As he passed onward in his careless path. - - And this is death! How sudden, and how strong! - His harvest ne'er begins nor ends, for still - His scythe is ready ere the corn is ripe, - We cannot shun the stroke; but if prepared - To meet it when it falls, its sting is gone! - - Yet death itself is never terrible, - But 'tis the thought of what comes after death - That wakes the coward in the soul of man-- - Of man carnal and unregenerate. - In the lone grave the body soon is clothed - In vileness, and this most delicate frame - Becomes the food of worms, the gorging feast - Of those vile particles of putresence - We loathe in life to look at--which we spurn - And trample on with horror. =Pride=, bend low! - And meditate on this, that slimy worms, - Gnome-like and insatiate epicures, - Must feed on us to fulness, as on dainties, - When we, like they themselves, become corruption! - This is the pang, the poison, that makes dark - The brightest joys, and chills the warmest hopes - Of all who look no farther than the grave,-- - That calms the laughing thought within the heart: - This is the weapon that affrights the bold, - Makes foolishness of wisdom, and creates - The fear of death, because it terminates - But in corruption and the feast of worms. - - To go into the grave--if that were all, - No one would shrink from it; but that the thought - That this fair form should formless be, the shape - Be shapeless, decomposed, and fall to nought, - Preys on the mind, and hinders it from rest. - And few there are who seek the saving peace - That here can reconcile us to our doom. - The soul remains entire, though in the grave - The body lies, and slowly wastes away. - Then let us strive to find, through God's good grace, - That faith by which alone the soul becomes - "One perfect Chrysolite," and in Christ's blood, - Relieved from stain of guilt, is rendered fit - To stand, approved, before a holy God. - - - - - THROUGH THE WOOD. - - MODERN BALLAD. - - - THROUGH the wood, through the wood, - Warbles the merle! - Through the wood, through the wood, - Gallops the earl! - Yet he heeds not its song - As it sinks on his ear, - For he lists to a voice - Than its music more dear. - - Through the wood, through the wood, - Once and away, - The castle is gained, - And the lady is gay: - When her smile waxes sad, - And her eyes become dim; - Her bosom is glad, - If she gazes on him! - - Through the wood, through the wood, - Over the wold, - Rides onward a band - Of true warriors bold; - They stop not for forest, - They halt not for water; - Their chieftain in sorrow - Is seeking his daughter. - - Through the wood, through the wood, - Warbles the merle; - Through the wood, through the wood, - Prances the earl; - And on a gay palfrey - Comes pacing his bride; - While an old man sits smiling, - In joy, by her side. - - - - - SONG OF THE EXILE. - - - BANISHED for ever! - From the scene of my birth, - For ever! for ever! - From all I loved dearest, and cherished on earth, - From the smile of my friends, and the home of their hearth, - To come again never! - - Banished for ever! - From hope and from home, - For ever! for ever! - Away in the desert of distance to roam, - Like a ship tempest-tost on the wild sea-wave's foam, - To land again never! - - Banished for ever! - When all have gone by, - For ever! for ever! - The gladness of earth, and the brightness of sky, - There's no fear but to live, and no hope but to die-- - To _feel_ again never! - - Banished for ever! - 'Tis madness to me, - For ever! for ever! - To think of the land I shall ne'er again see, - Of the days that have been, and the days that shall be-- - That thought leaves me never! - - Banished for ever! - Be this my adieu-- - For ever! for ever! - Let me roam where I will, ne'er again shall I view, - Scenes so cherished and fair, friends so kind and so true; - Oh, never! oh, never! - - Banished for ever! - Dear land of my birth, - We sever! we sever! - An exile from all I love dearest on earth, - From the smile of my friends, from the home of their hearth-- - For ever! for ever! - - - - - TO FAME. - - - IN the seclusion of my solitude, - Thy echo reached me, and awoke a brood - Of slumbering fancies into life and light; - A spell seemed thrown around me, and my mind - Was full of unfixed images; the bright - And ready impulses of thought, confined - And struggling to be free; a light had dawned - Across my path, as if by Heaven's command. - - A lofty and immeasurable longing - Sprung up within my breast, beyond control, - A throbbing multitude of fancies thronging - Strove to o'ermaster and o'ermatch the whole: - Creation rose from chaos, as at first, - A water in the wilderness to quench my thirst. - The complicated elements of Mind, - No longer dim, confused, and undefined, - Rolled into order, and the springs of thought - Became then less obscure, and less remote. - My mind, not yet in union with its thoughts, - Seemed sad and solitary; o'er it swept - A calmness like the soft sun-breeze that floats - Above the wave, that light and languid leapt: - Then high imaginations, restless, past - Into being--various, vivid, vast-- - And thought, admixing with the mind's emotion, - Assumed a depth and fervour of devotion, - The semblance and the hope, if not the true - Sole inspiration of poetic lore; - Then truth, at times, like light, came struggling through, - And I was sad and heart-forgone no more. - - For thou became my mistress--I have thrown - My heart and hope on thee--I cannot bear - That, with my life, my name should pass away, - And be forgot, when I am dead and gone; - And in the grave, when mouldering in decay, - That my remembrance should be buried there. - I care not for the world, or the world's ways, - I scorn alike its censure and its praise; - But from the mental few, by heaven designed - To rate and recognise a kindred mind, - A sure approval I will strive to gain, - For this is fame indeed,--all other is but vain. - - - - - TO A BEE. - - - HA! pretty little bee, - So artless, blithe, and free! - Whither are you wandering - Thus so gaily on the wing? - To every flower o'erhung with dew, - Whose leaves are blossoming for you; - To the wild flowers far away, - Bright and beautiful as they; - From each blooming one to sip - Sweets, like those of woman's lip, - Oh! happy, happy, happy bee, - Would it were as free to me! - Away! away! for ever thus - Your airy flight has past from us; - And you are gone where flowers invite, - A pilgrimage of rich delight. - - But come not near the hollyhock, (2) - Let not its blooms your fancy mock; - Shun its nectaries so fair, - Death is ever lurking there; - On its petals if you light, - You'll be seized with instant blight. - Shun it as you onward fly! - Sip its poison and you die! - But hie thee to the lavender, - Pretty little pilferer! - Or the limetree, in whose breast - You oft have sipped yourself to rest. - Go, wanderer, to the healthful wild, - By the heath-flower's bloom beguiled, - Where sunshine, like a robe of gold, - Flings its fond light o'er wood and wold; - There, in the calyx of the flower, - You love the best at noontide hour, - Prepare the mead, whose luscious draught, - The best of former nations quaff'd. - Little rambler, do you know - Why it is we love you so? - It is for the ceaseless hymn, - That you warble, as you swim - Through the odoriferous air, - Light as fairy gossamer-- - 'Tis, for you are always gay, - Making life a holiday, - Flying leisurely o'er earth, - A winged messenger of mirth. - - When you meet the butterfly, - 'Neath the lovely summer sky, - Do you show to her the bower, - That contains the sweetest flower? - Or do you take herself to be, - While thus wandering so free, - A floweret floating on the air, - Making all delightful there? - - When the moon bursts forth above, - Tinging all with light and love, - When with soft and silky trace, - Slumber finds a resting place - On the eyes of bees and men; - Snug within some floweret then - You have made your bed, till day - Shows the sweets your dreams pourtray. - - - - - THE STORM. - - - THE waves rise in rebellion--far away - The wreck-doomed ship is borne resistless on; - And hark! the screaming sea-mews trill their lay - Of terrible delight--its echo's moan - Dies wildly on the tempest, and the spray - Dashes around us, chilling hope to stone; - And vast and fathomless the mountain waves, - Yawning around us, marshall forth our graves. - - The clouds move like the billows o'er the ocean, - Clashing in fury as they hurry by; - They mingle fiercely, and in rude commotion, - As if a hurricane swept o'er the sky. - Now, let the soul rely on her devotion, - Now, let the prayer to HIM be lifted high, - Who stills the storm, and calms the mighty wave, - "And strong to smite, is also strong to save." - - See! yon poor wretch dashed from the vessel's prow-- - He catches at the spar that hurries past, - 'Tis vain! the waves are mightier still--and now, - Beneath their force his strength gives way at last: - Onward we drift--but, lo! o'er heaven's brow - The moon her welcome light, at length, has cast, - Like hope o'er madness, but it tends to show - The life that smiles above, the death that yawns below. - - - - - "LAZARUS, COME FORTH." - - - THUS Jesus spoke--the earth dismayed - Opened its womb; - The dead man heard, his Lord obeyed; - He left his tomb: - And thousands, unbelievers, saw - The power of God; - Then they believed his holy law, - And word, that burst the sod. - - Thus when he frees the wicked heart - From earth's control, - Sin and ungodliness depart - From the waked soul. - He cleans it by his blood and death-- - To it is given - To know, all peace, all hope, all faith, - All ante-taste of heaven. - - - - - SONNET. - - ON THE APPROACH OF SUMMER. - - - SUMMER approaches, filling earth with flowers, - The skies with beauty, and the woods with song, - While April, like a coy bride, wends along - In tearful smiles, half-wooed by the gay hours. - All nature breathes a welcome to young May, - Summer's bright harbinger, who bears her smile - Through every land, with blooming health the while, - And all are blest who feel her gladd'ning ray. - How pleasant 'tis beneath the summer noon, - When the soft wind hath lulled itself asleep, - On some fair hill a festival to keep, - While fancy on the wing revisits soon - Th' o'erarching world, the true, the pure, the fair, - Gath'ring with bliss all inspiration there. - - - - - BEAUTY. - - - OH! brighter than the brightest star, - That glimmers through the haze of night, - When the blue vault of heaven afar, - Is studded o'er with silver light; - And brighter than that brilliant sky, - May be the glance of woman's eye. - - Oh! lovely as the golden ray - Of sunshine sleeping on the glade, - When morning brightens into day, - And in its radiance melts the shade; - And lovelier than that gorgeous sun, - May be the smile from woman won. - - But beauty does not deign to shine, - In brightness from a woman's eye; - Nor does she in a smile recline, - Blooming, as flowerets do, to die; - All earth-born charms shall fade in death: - Nor change nor ruin beauty hath. - - She dwells but in the pious mind, - Apart for ever from decay; - Where lives the light of heavenly kind, - That shines "unto the perfect day;" - Where Faith and Hope their joy impart-- - Her home is in the virtuous heart. - - - - - TO M. J. R. - - - IS there within my heart a spot - Where thy bright image liveth not, - In its most joyful guise? - Ah, no! though all may be forgot, - Save sorrow, care, and pain, - Yet it securely lies - Within my bosom's secret bowers; - Like dew, descending from above, - On Autumn's seared and withered flowers, - Reviving it again - To happiness and love. - - - - - SONNET. - - A CONTRAST. - - - THE flowers that, unrefreshed with rain or dew, - Pine 'neath the scorching summer's sun away, - Are but the emblems--purer still than they-- - Of hearts that ne'er the blight of sorrow knew, - To contrast with their gladness--for the breast - That welcomes joy back to its shrine again, - After a weary interval of pain, - Enjoys the feeling with a warmer zest: - And when at length the dew-drop lingers o'er - The flowers that sickened with its long delay, - How sweetly do they own its former sway, - And bloom again more lovely than before. - Who would not, for a while then, cherish grief, - To taste the bliss, the rapture of relief? - - - - - SONNET. - - ROSLIN. - - - ROSLIN! thy scattered beauties, rich and wild, - Lie like a garden-map before me spread; - In all thy fairy scenes I gladly tread, - Where sleeps the sun-smile--and the breeze so mild - Enamoured sighs, as to thy presence wed. - Down through thy vale--so lovely and so sweet, - Yet so retiring, like some blushing maid - Apprized of her own beauty--oft I meet, - Two pensive lovers whispering their vows. - Thy woods and thy ravines, thy rocks and caves, - Contain the gleams of grandeur, o'er the brows - Of thy dark crags, the heath-flower freely waves. - Here Drummond sung, sweetly and well, for he - In thy retreats became inspired by thee. - - - - - ON THE BIRTH OF A NIECE. - - E. W. G. - - _11th August, 1828._ - - - THE evening sun had o'er the heavens rolled - His brilliant robe of glory and of gold; - The angels round the throne had just begun - Their vesper hymn of praise--the sweetest one; - The stars were trimming then their lamps of light, - Like watchers, ready for the coming night; - The earth rejoiced through all her numerous fields, - Blest with the crop that generous autumn yields: - The meadow streams subduing music stole, - Like dreams of rapture, to the fainting soul,-- - When thou sprung into being, like the ray - Of early morn, the gleam of dawning day. - Stranger! so bright, so innocent, so fair, - We give thee welcome to our world of care; - Come to partake our sorrow--thou hast known - The pang already, by that stifled moan-- - When rosy pleasure shall her smiles renew, - Come with thy kindred heart, and share them too. - We bless thee, babe! for we have need to bless - A fellow-pilgrim in a world like this, - Where mirth is mockery, and joy a dream, - And we are never happy--though we seem. - Oh! may'st thou never know the ills that we - Have known, and shall know, ere we cease to be: - Be thou thy mother's comfort! thou wert blest - Wert thou, like her, the purest and the best. - - - - - ON HER DEATH, - - _At the Age of Two Years and Two Months._ - - NOT long beside us did the cherub stay: - God's will be done! He gave and took away; - It seemed as if blest memories of heaven, - From whence she came, were to her visions given, - And, tiring soon of earth, whose breath was pain, - Longed to return, and be at rest again. - Too pure for earth, too innocent for grief, - Sweet was her promise, as her sojourn brief. - - - - - SONNET. - - TO HAPPINESS. - - - OH! I do hail thee, Happiness, when thou - Dost shine athwart my path with light and love, - Dispensing joy, like Heaven's aerial bow, - When gathering clouds lour darkly from above. - Oh! I do hail thee, Happiness--the aim - And promise of my being live in thee; - I pine for thee as poets pine for fame, - Or slaves and captives for their liberty; - But fleeting art thou in this vale of strife, - A meteor gleaming o'er a desert heath-- - So seldom comes thy smile to cheer our life, - We learn to hope 'twill visit us in death; - In what bright bower, supremest blessing, may - A mortal find thy never-dying ray? - - - - - THOUGHTS. - - - IN sooth 'tis pleasant on a summer morn, - When the bright sun ascends the orient sky, - And on the mountain zephyr health is borne, - While we inhale it as it murmurs by; - On some lone hill in musing mood to lie, - Then as we watch the day's advancing light, - We learn from it that we but live to die. - The sun will set though shining e'er so bright, - A few short fleeting hours, and all again is night. - - Yet sunshine seldom cheers the lot of life, - 'Tis all a scene of ling'ring pain and woe, - A pilgrimage of fruitless care and strife, - A tide of sorrow that doth ceaseless flow; - Yet some have thought they felt a joy below, - Which to their darker hours did solace prove, - Making their hearts with blissful feelings glow; - And not of earth it seems, but from above - It comes to cheer mankind, and mortals call it love. - - That thought is vain as love's own happiness, - For soon love's sweet illusion is no more; - Then fly those hopes that promised lasting bliss-- - And when the dream of ecstasy is o'er, - We wake, to life, far sadder than before. - It shoots athwart our visions, like the gleam - Of flitting sunshine o'er a desert shore, - Making the wilderness more dreary seem-- - Oh! love is all too like the visions of a dream. - - It boots not now to ponder o'er the past, - Joy blasted oft will mar life's fairest scene; - The beauty of the sky is overcast, - Dark clouds now brood where brightness late hath been; - And thorns appear where once sweet flowers were seen. - Yet hope beams on my soul her soothing light, - Like the first dawning of the morn serene, - Tinging my darkened soul with hues more bright-- - Love ever sorrow brings, as twilight brings the night. - - 'Tis piety alone that can impart - A peace of mind that ne'er will fade away, - A bliss that calms the passions of the heart, - A hope that soothes us even in decay, - Inspires the thought and elevates the lay; - 'Tis this that gives a glory to that hour, - When death relentless seizes on his prey; - Then yet may pleasure dwell in earthly bower, - Though man buds, blooms, and withers, like a summer flower. - - - - - LOCH AWE. (3) - - - OH LAKE! how gentle and how fair art thou, - Above thee and around thee, mountains rise - E'en like a diadem on queenly brow; - Crested in light the snow in masses lies - On Cruachan's cleft head--the eagle flies - In circles o'er thee, and his eyrie makes - Afar upon its summit, from the eyes - Of man removed, for his wild fledgelings' sakes.-- - Sinless and still thou art, most beautiful of lakes! - - Four fairy isles,--like smiles in woman's eye, - Or gems upon her bosom--rise beside - Thy spreading waters, dreamy as the sky, - Whose glories are reflected in thy tide; - While shrubs and flowers are growing in their pride, - And ancient trees, where'er our eyes we turn-- - And, like a melody, thy echoes glide - Within the memory--while grey and stern - Stands, like a spirit of the past, lone old Kilchurn. - - Changeless as Heaven, thoughtful as the stars, - Whose light thou mak'st thy lover, ever true; - Sweet are thy glades and glens; no discord mars - Their quiet now--as when the Bruce o'erthrew - The men of Lorn, and gained his crown anew-- - Save when sweeps by the spirit of the storm; - Fearful and wonderful is then thy hue, - And terrible thy wailings, as thy form, - While Cruachan's wild shriek is heard to far Cairngorm. - - Home of the hunter! birth-place of the Gael! - Why do my musings still return to thee? - Why does the hymn of holy Innis-hail, - Like rhyme of childhood, haunt my memory? - My boy-years have departed, since to me - Thy wildness, solitude, and grandeur brought - Sources of inspiration, ne'er to be - Forgotten or forborne--my mind has sought - Relief from homely scenes, recurring to remote. - - - - - THE WOLF. (4) - - _A Fragment._ - - - 'TIS evening,--one of those rich eves in June, - That look as bright, and feel as warm as noon; - The setting sun its parting ray has thrown - Italia's smiling groves and bowers upon: - Amid the balm of meadow, vale, and hill, - Where all is beautiful, and all is still; - A bard would deem, 'neath such a tranquil sky, - He heard the stream of time while rushing by: - 'Tis the soft hour, to love that doth belong, - To village pastime, and to village song: - But why do happy peasants meet no more? - The village song, the village dance is o'er: - Why is the tabor silent on the plain? - Why does the mountain-pipe refuse its strain? - Where is the lover fond, the trusting maid? - They shun each other, and desert the shade. - Is _this_ Italia's sky, so calm, so fair? - Where are its joyous sons, its laughing daughters where? - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - Hark! 'tis a wild, a solitary cry, - Unheard till now beneath Italia's sky; - And well Italia's sons may shrink to hear - A cry, that fills all who have heard with fear,-- - It is the Alpine wolf's terrific bay, - Roaming abroad ferocious for its prey: - Soon as the sun of earth its farewell takes, - The Alpine wolf his solitude forsakes, - And, like a demon, rushing to the plain, - Scatters the flock, and panic-strikes the swain. - - One summer eve, a monster of the kind, - Hungry for prey, had left his troop behind; - Ranging alone, he spread dismay where'er - His bay was heard, as if a host were there: - Beneath his tusk of steel, his breath of flame, - Italia's bowers a wilderness became: - Grain for a while and sheep he stole away, - But, quitting these, he sought a nobler prey,-- - The tender babe, even in its mother's view, - He bore to crags, where no one dared pursue: - Until the province, late the happiest one - That brightens 'neath Italia's gorgeous sun, - Became, throughout, all desolate and lone, - For there the fell destroyer forth had gone. - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - Lo! like a pageant, slowly up the vale, - A band advances, clad in glittering mail; - While, in the front, a knight of noble mien, - And lofty plume, above the rest is seen: - The peasants from their huts look forth with fear, - But dare not quit them, lest the wolf be near; - And then the chief, advancing from the rest, - At sound of trump, the peasants thus addressed,-- - "A purse of gold, and his own diamond ring, - As a reward, are offered by the king, - To him who slays the wolf!" The trumpet's blast - Re-echoed loud, as that gay pageant passed. - - Meanwhile, each swain, in hope to gain the prize, - Shouldering his gun, to kill the monster tries; - But home returning oft without his prey, - All left the task to Giulio to essay,-- - For Giulio was the best, the bravest youth - Within the province, or the realm, in sooth: - Kind to his mates, and to his mistress true, - Foremost in pastime and in peril too; - Whene'er the river overflowed its bounds, - And the wild flood o'erswept the pleasant grounds, - Bearing away, in its retiring course, - The helpless flocks, too feeble for its force, - Giulio was first among the village brave, - To stretch the hand to succour and to save; - He was a marksman too, and well could hit - The target's eye, when all fell wide of it: - Him, therefore, did they fix upon to be - Their champion--their meadows rich to free - From the destroyer--each resigned his claim - To the reward,--Let Giulio win the same! - - And Giulio ranged afar from morn till eve, - But still no wolf could Giulio perceive; - He searched each wood, explored each copse and cave, - As a fierce gnome invades the quiet grave; - Still did he hear his roar, his ravage see. - But, still unseen himself, the wolf continued free. - - Three days had sped, and Giulio had not traced - The monster out, although he tracked his waste; - And standing on a mountain's rugged brow, - Giulio, despairing, breathed to Heaven a vow, - That he would bring the wolf in triumph slain, - Or never see his native home again, - And Giulio's vow was kept--the monster fell, - But not by him--a sadder tale I tell! - - One eve--it was the fourth--he threw him down, - Fatigued and foot-sore, on the mountain brown; - No wolf as yet had crossed his anxious way, - Although, where'er he roamed, he heard his bay; - Loth to return until the wolf he slew, - Yet, ah! his heart, to love, to feeling, true, - Led him to where his lover's hut arose, - As if her vicinage could soothe his woes. - There for awhile he lingered, and he wept - The tear of fond remembrance--slumber crept - Upon his eyes, for he was overspent, - Wasted for want of needful nourishment: - Before him in the moonlight rolled a stream, - Whose murmur lulled him to a blissful dream: - A dream of love, of happiness and pride,-- - He thought he slew the wolf, and won his blushing bride. - - Beyond the river, to its very edge - Along the bank, there grew a bushy hedge, - Where oft alone, beneath the twilight dim, - The lovely maid would steal to think of him;-- - A stir!--a motion!--it was not the breeze - That shook the hedge,--for why waved not the trees? - He started and awoke--again it shook,-- - His gun was in his hand--one hurried look, - One rapid touch--the fatal ball was sped,-- - A long wild shriek was heard, and Giulio's dream was read. - - In triumph now, he thought of home again,-- - The prize was his, the wolf at length was slain-- - Swift as the ball that from his rifle flew, - He reached the river, and swam gaily through: - The corpse lay there before him in the light!-- - Why breaks that mournful shriek upon the night? - Why motionless stands Giulio gazing there, - A form of stone, a statue of despair? - At length he spoke--"Is _this_ the wolf I've sought - In glen, and mount, and precipice remote? - Its skin is soft, its eyes are bright and fair, - And still they smile on me,--the wolf's should glare; - But sweet though sad, still do they charm my view, - Like my fair bride's, the beautiful, the blue-- - The wolf!--ah, horror! 'tis herself I've slain! - I feel it, like a fire within my brain, - And on my heart--no tear is in mine eye-- - For her alone I lived,--with her I die." - The stream is near, he lifts her as a child, - While from his o'erpressed heart there bursts a wild - And fiendish laugh,--the peasants wondering hear, - And in a crowd assemble, half in fear: - In the broad moonlight then, as in a dream, - A figure rushed before them to the stream; - That form did bear another--on the brink - He pauses not--one plunge--they sink! they sink! - 'Twas Giulio and his bride!--they rise no more,-- - And onward rolls the stream as smoothly as before. - - - - - THE APRIL CLOUD. - - - FAIR as the feather of a dove - That has in gloom been dipt; - Like to a smile, that, flung from love, - Its banishment hath wept; - See yonder little cloud swims by, - As if it sprung to birth, - Mid summer sunshine of the sky, - And winter storms of earth. - - Alas! there ne'er was angel yet - Who from her heaven took wing, - But when the air of earth she met - Became a fallen thing: - And thus yon cloud, that seems so dim, - When near our earth 'tis driven, - Would look all light, if it would skim - Far upward nearer Heaven. - - - - - SPRING. - - - CAN aught be more magnificent than Spring? - Mountain and mead, and foliage and flower, - Assume a bridal look, as if the Sun - Had solemnized his nuptials with the Earth. - A green and growing grandeur consecrates - The general land, like an anointed Queen; - The soil begins to quicken with the birth, - And bounteously proseminates its gifts; - A glory reigns supreme o'er all, a Balm - That moves, like Inspiration, in the soul, - And gives a motive to each quiet thought, - Stirring, in transport, like a little bird. - Creation seems a path to brighter worlds-- - A track to better homes. A permeant good - Pervades the Universe, and all is joy. - The river runs, like one of nimble foot, - And smiling aspect, to embrace the sea, - Henceforth incorporate; even as the youth, - Of fervent spirit and of sanguine hope, - Comes from his home obscure, and wanders forth - To mingle with the world, and there is lost. - The ruminating Ocean is at peace, - And its faint murmur--for its voice is ne'er - All silent--like a half forgotten tone - Seems but the echo of a broken chime, - As if a part of memory, pilgrim-like, - Had gone in quest of all, and died away - Amid the distant traces of the past. - The gentle breeze comes from its groves of spice, - And fragrance bears throughout the Virgin air; - And hark! the woodland music--warblings soft - Steal on the gladdened ear--from every hedge, - From every forest dim, a voice proceeds - Of deep-felt rapture, praise and gratitude. - The swan disports upon the quiet lake, - And shares the cheerfulness that all enjoy; - While thoughts, without a voice, of Heaven remote - In the still waters mirrored, stir its breast.-- - All circumstance of language is too faint - The beautiful of Nature to pourtray; - The eloquent sense, the feeling sensitive, - Alone holds free communion with her charms: - While thought awakes, like day-dawn, and goes forth - To gather stores of knowledge;--like a draught - Of the pure fountain to the unrefreshed, - The bloom of Spring exhilarates the mind, - And gives a tone to virtue--its approach - Is as the coming of sweet health to one - Long time afflicted, for its bloom is blest. - - - - - POESY. - - - ITS sweetest song the cygnet sings - As a soft prelude to its death, - And in that song expends its breath;-- - What boots it that the Poet flings - His wildest notes on high, - Or strikes with truest hand the strings, - If all his strains must die? - And why should he his notes prolong, - If no one listens to his song? - - Yet can the Poet ne'er resign - The lyre he loves, for it alone - Consoles him, when all else is gone; - Its spirit, like the breath divine, - That stirred the water's face, - Pervades ev'n to the farthest line - Of universal space; - And music through the whole is flung, - As when the morning angels sung. - - An echo lingers on each peak, - In every vale, on every hill-- - Should men not listen, angels will; - For Poesy shall never speak, - Shall never sing in vain; - In solitude the breeze shall seek - And still repeat her strain, - Where'er, like an aerial tone, - Her spirit and her voice have gone. - - She moves o'er flowers--her handmaid fair, - Bright Summer, in a joyous dance - Doth still before her path advance, - Sweet blossoms strewing every where, - Which, falling, grow divine; - Fresh incense crowds upon the air, - And floats above her shrine, - Like beauty, when her welcome voice - Makes the whole universe rejoice. - - Why then should her adorer fear, - Or why her votary despond?-- - Partaker of a bliss beyond - All feelings, all enjoyments here, - His impulses sublime - Soar, ev'n in this contracted sphere, - O'er nature and o'er time; - And her undying triumphs spread - A glow like glory round his head. - - - - - SONNET. - - TO A FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR. - - - 'TIS evening, and the summer has put on - Her richest dress, her way with flowers is strewed, - Beauty and music dwell in every wood, - And bower and meadow, hill and valley lone; - A gentle shower is o'er, the earth has wept - Its fragrance into freshness. In this hour,-- - When in a flood of glory all is dipped, - By the soft influence of a higher power,-- - My spirit leaves its prison-house, and flies - Towards the sweet haunts of thy pleasant home, - Where, lover-like, thy river[1] loves to roam;-- - 'Tis there I see thee with my mental eyes, - And hold communion with thee day by day, - Though now we never meet, and haply never may. - - [1] The Tweed, near Kelso. - - - - - THE GIPSY'S LULLABY. - - - SLEEP, baby, sleep! - Though thy fond mother's breast, - Where thy young head reclines, - Is a stranger to rest; - And oh! may soft slumber - Descend on thine e'e, - That the sorrow she feels - May be shared not by thee. - Sleep, baby, sleep! - - Thy father has gone - On his perilous track, - And thy mother will weep, - Till he safely comes back; - But rest thee in peace, - With soft sleep in thine e'e, - Though the tear is in her's - That is shared not by thee. - Sleep, baby, sleep! - - - - - WOODLAND SONG. - - - WILL you go to the woodlands with me, with me, - Will you go to the woodlands with me? - When the sun's on the hill, and all nature is still, - Save the sound of the far-dashing sea. - - For I love to lie lone on the hill, the hill, - I love to lie lone on the hill, - When earth, sea, and sky, in loveliness vie, - And all nature around me is still. - - Then my fancy is ever awake, awake, - My fancy is never asleep; - Like a bird on the wing, like a swan on the lake, - Like a ship far away on the deep. - - And I love 'neath the green boughs to lie, to lie; - I love 'neath the green boughs to lie; - And see far above, like the smiling of love, - A glimpse, now and then, of the sky. - - When the hum of the forest I hear, I hear, - When the hum of the forest I hear,-- - 'Tis solitude's prayer, pure devotion is there, - And its breathings I ever revere.-- - - I kneel myself down on the sod, the sod, - I kneel myself down on the sod, - 'Mong the flowers and wild heath, and an orison breathe - In lowliness up to my God. - - Then peace doth descend on my mind, my mind, - Then peace doth descend on my mind; - And I gain greater scope to my spirit and hope, - For both then become more refined. - - Oh! whatever my fate chance to be, to be, - My spirit shall never repine, - If a stroll on the hill, if a glimpse of the sea, - If the hum of the forest be mine. - - - - - SONNET. - - THE OCEAN. - - - OH! that the Ocean were my element! - And I could dwell among its deepest waves, - Like one whose home is in its gushing caves, - Beneath the waters, whether tame or rent. - Would I could roam down where the Mermaid laves - Her half-formed limbs!--for Envy comes not there, - Nor Pride nor Hatred, nor is Malice sent, - Nor the deep sullenness of dark Despair. - Would I were not of earth--but of the sea! - And held communion with its creatures fair: - Gentle in its gentleness, but whene'er - A tempest shook it, and the winds were free, - My bounding spirit would delight to soar, - Float in its foam, and revel in its roar! - - - - - MOUNT HOREB. (5) - - - OH, Holy Mount! on every side - Deserts are stretching far and wide, - Where thou, uptowering to the sky, } - Dost shoot thy double head on high, } - Mount Horeb, and Mount Sinai; } - And when the weary traveller stands, - Alone amid the sterile sands, - Seeking for water, vain pursuit, - To quench his thirst, grown absolute, - Groaning, as fainter grows his hope, - For water!--water!--but a drop, - His ever burning thirst t' appease; - He through the sudden moonlight sees - Thy dark and shadowy masses rise, - A solace to his weary eyes; - Then gladly on he wends, for he - Becomes refreshed at sight of thee; - For well he knows, that springs and fruit, - Above, below, thy sides salute; - For o'er the wastes of Rephidim, - There is no spot of peace for him, - Until he reach the rock, whence burst - A well, to quench the raging thirst - Of Israel, when they murmured there, - For water, in their deep despair. - - Thrice Sacred Mount! how oft hast thou, - (Though none but pilgrims tread thee now,) - Been hallowed as the blest abode - Of the Most High! Jehovah! God! - Whene'er in furthering his plan - Of mercy and of love to man, - He deigned to touch our earth, to hold - Communion with his Seers of old, - His presence consecrated thee, - His temple and his throne to be. - 'Twas on thy Mount that God, concealed - Within the burning bush, revealed - To Moses his command, to free - His people from their slavery. - There, from the midst of fire and flame, - He did his perfect law proclaim: - Then seemed God's presence in their sight, - A great, a mighty burst of light - Upon thy topmost mount, a fire - Devouring, brighter, deeper, higher, - Than e'er their eyes beheld, a crown - Of glory on thy head, that down - Through all the desert brightness past, - Like wild flame from a holocaust: - And gazing on thy glorious height, } - Israel was dazzled by the sight } - Of that intolerable light. } - - Pursued by persecution's flame, - Elijah to the desert came; - And as he rested in thy cave, - Which shelter and concealment gave, - God spoke! he lay entranced in fear, - "Elijah! speak! what dost thou here?" - He answered,--"Jezabel abhorred - Hath put the prophets to the sword, - And I alone escaped, to be - A prophet and a priest to thee." - Then the Almighty gave command, - "Go forth, and on the mountain stand!" - But ere Elijah could reply, - A great and mighty wind passed by, - Which rent the mountains and the rocks - In pieces, by resistless shocks: - The desert sands uprose afar, - Moving like giant forms in war; - But, when the tempest ceased to rave, - Elijah still within the cave, - Remained unhurt, unmoved, alone-- - A mighty earthquake's shock anon - Shook to its base the Sacred Mount, - And soon a fire, like a small fount, - Came bursting from the highest spot, - Increasing, but consuming not. - The earthquake vanished as it came, - And after it that holy flame; - And hark! a still small voice was heard, - Like sweetest music from a bird; - A still small voice! that speaks to youth - Of wisdom, piety, and truth: - Elijah heard--with solemn pace, - (His mantle covering his face,) - He rose and stood without the cave, - Relying on God's power to save: - The hurricane had past away, - And calm and bright the prospect lay; - Far up the double mountain stood, - Varied by water and by wood; - He saw the herbage thickly grow, - The bubbling springs, and far below - He saw the semicircular fount, - That like a bent bow skirts the mount; - He saw the desert spread beneath, - Like an extended vale of death; - He saw the blue sky far above, - Light up in one bright blaze of love; - A burst, of sunshine fell on him, - To which all other light was dim; - He heard again that still small voice, - Which made his inmost heart rejoice: - It was the Lord! and power he gave - Elijah, to anoint and save. - - Thrice Blessed Mount! thou art a sign, - A type of penitence divine; - Whene'er in darkness and in fear, - We wander in the desert drear - Of sin, and doubt, the welcome light - Of truth breaks sudden on our sight; - The heart becomes a hallowed dome, - Where holy feelings find a home; - For there the law of God secure, - Makes every thought and impulse pure: - Repentance may be slow to bring - Comfort and healing on its wing; - The doubting sinner in despair, - Asks, trembling, in a hurried prayer, - If guilt like his, of foulest trace, - Can hope for pardon and for grace: - But, when such doubts are swept away, - The still small voice of truth bears sway: - For Jesus died and rose again, - To free the world from guilt and pain: - Jesus, the only Son of God, - Like Moses, takes the gospel rod, - And strikes the barren rock within, - Hardened by wickedness and sin-- - Whence springs a living well, to free - The thirsty soul from misery. - He, like Elijah from his cave, - Came to the world with power to save; - And Israel, trusting to his aid, - Shall innocent and pure be made; - Redeemed, shall reach the heavenly land, - Supported by his mighty hand. - - - - - WRITTEN BENEATH AN ELM, - - _In a City Churchyard._ - - - UNDER thy shadow how many recline, - Who never knew rest 'neath the fig-tree or vine![2] - They pass from the banquet, the mall and the mart, - Here they meet, here they mingle, never to part. - - Who comes from the porch, with colourless vest, - And faded black coat, once the minister's best? - The mattock and shovel support him like staves, - As he totters familiarly over the graves. - - 'Tis the hoary old sexton, whose home has been here, - Since the days of his boyhood--and now he is sere; - These mounds are his world--he can name all the lairs, - As a monarch his realms, or a merchant his wares. - - Yet though he apportions a dwelling for all, - And delights when he handles the mattock and pall; - Though his thin hairs are gray, and though feeble his pace, - He ne'er for himself yet has chosen a place. - - Thou wert here when his sire did this office fulfil-- - When the son too is gone, thou wilt blossom here still: - How strange that the grass, and the trees, and the weeds, - Flourish best on that spot whence corruption proceeds! - - On thy trunk some rude sculptor has carved out his name-- - Idle labour! for fleeting and false is such fame: - Lo! wherever we look there is charactered stone, - But to whom is the dust each commemorates known? - - Oh! bury me not by the multitude's side, - I would shun them in death, as in life I avoid; - Where the loathsome newt creeps, 'neath the rank hemlock's shade, - Is not where I would that my bones should be laid. - - But bear me away to the limitless sea, - And heave me afar 'mong its billows so free: - Where my flesh may be wasted, but never shall rot-- - Where man is not dust, and corruption is not. - - Oh delight! to be tost from wild wave to wild wave-- - I seek not for rest--it is found in the grave-- - And my skeleton bleach on the foam it is cast-- - A link of the future--a wreck of the past. - - But alas! if the doom of my kind must be mine, - If my bones in the land of decay must recline; - Seek me out some lone glen, some wild Highland vale, - Where the tempest's loud shriek shall my coronach wail. - - A rude rugged land, with a wild heather sod, - Where the sun never shone, where man's foot never trod; - Where the gleam of the day falls with withering blight, - And a desolate darkness comes with the night. - - Where the waterfall roars like a storm o'er the heath, - The scathed Pine above, and the hoar Elm beneath; - 'Mongst the lone, and the mighty, the vast and the deep-- - 'Tis there, as their own, that a Poet should sleep. - - [2] Micah iv. 4. - - - - - THE WELLS O' WEARY. - - - DOWN in the valley lone, - Far in the wild wood, - Bubble forth springs, each one - Weeping like childhood; - Bright on their rushy banks, - Like joys among sadness, - Little flowers bloom in ranks-- - Glimpses of gladness. - - Sweet 'tis to wander forth, - Like pilgrims at even; - Lifting our souls from earth - To fix them on Heaven; - Then in our transport deep, - This world forsaking: - Sleeping as Angels sleep, - Mortals awaking! - - - - - DRYBURGH ABBEY. (6) - - - BY Tweed's fair stream, in a secluded spot, - Rises an ivy-crowned monastic pile; - Beneath its shadow sleeps the WIZARD, SCOTT; - A Ruin is his resting-place--no vile - Unconsecrated grave-yard is the soil-- - Few moulder there, but these the loved, the good, - The honoured, and the famed--and sweet flowers smile - Around the precincts of the Abbeyhood, - While Cedar, Oak, and Yew adorn that solitude. - - Hail, Dryburgh! to thy sylvan shades all hail!-- - As to a shrine, from places far away, - With awe-struck spirit, to thy classic vale - Shall pilgrims come, to muse, perchance to pray; - More hallowed now than in thy elder day, - For sacred is the earth wherein is laid - The Poet's dust; and still his mind, his lay, - And his renown, shall flourish undecayed, - Like his loved country's fame, that is not doomed to fade. - - - - - POEMS HERE FIRST COLLECTED. - - - - - COLLECTED POEMS. - - - - - GRACE. - - - COME, free-given grace! source of all lasting peace; - My care-worn heart has wanted thee full long; - The charms of earthly joys and pleasures cease, - And fain I'd stray thy tranquil paths among, - Where withered weeds and noxious odours strong - Come not, as here I find them rankly meet; - Give me thy pleasant ways and thy contentments sweet! - - Contentments sweet are ever with thee still; - In the lone valley, where the streamlet flows, - On distant mountain, on the heath-clad hill, - Where springs the daisy, or where blooms the rose, - Even in the desert where no green thing grows; - 'Mid trials of this world, whate'er they be, - Still peace, and joy, and truth accompany with thee. - - With thee there is no darkness; thou dost show - The Sun of Glory shining in His might; - With thee there is no sadness; thou dost go - Into the grief-broke heart, and with the light - Of heavenly love mak'st it serene and bright; - Ah! who that can thy blessings call his own, - Would deem himself, with thee, forsaken or alone? - - Alone! no, never! Jesus still is near; - Friendless we cannot be with Him our friend-- - Our counsellor--although deserted here - By all who to that cherished name pretend-- - His friendship, like Himself, shall have no end; - And for our solace freely is bestowed, - Trusting in Him while here, the bounteous grace of God! - - The grace of God softens the hardened heart. - And makes it oft in gushing joy to sing; - As rod of Moses caused the rock to part, - And made the living waters forth to spring; - The grace of God serenest pleasures bring, - And leads the mind from carnal thoughts away - Into retirements sweet, in solitude to pray. - - To pray!--blest privilege! For evermore - To pray and praise, and lift the soul above - This sordid earth, and, as a lark doth soar, - Ascend into the realms of truth and love, - Whence once the Spirit came in form of dove! - Thither, oh! thither would it wing its flight-- - For ever "take its rest," there where there comes no night! - - - - - MATIN. - - - THE gleam of light that passes o'er - The world ere dawn of day; - That, faintly flashing, shines before - The darkness is away: - - Is not the smile of morn, in bright - And deeply glorious lines; - 'Tis the first presage of its light, - The morning star that shines. - - - - - IMMORTALITY. - -[The following verses were suggested by the striking reply of a -Protestant minister, who was about to proceed to Ireland, to labour -among the deluded and ignorant Popish peasantry, and who, on being -warned by a friend of the personal danger he thereby incurred, nobly -answered, "I am immortal, till my work is done!"] - - - WHAT nerves the soldier in the field, - When foes are raging nigh? - What makes him proudly scorn to yield, - Though numbers round him die? - The faith that Heaven directs each ball, - And course that it shall run;-- - 'Tis, that he knows he will not fall, - Until his work be done! - - What makes the sailor on the wreck, - When storms are frowning near, - Bear up, with heart and form erect - His bosom free from fear?-- - 'Tis that he feels that God is by, - To shield him like a son;-- - 'Tis, that he knows he will not die, - Until his work be done! - - God holds the winds as by a rein, - Which still they must obey; - The ocean fierce he doth restrain, - By his all-guiding sway: - The hand that bears the planets high. - Upholds the fulgent sun, - Has fixed the hour that all must die, - When their set work is done! - - What arms the martyr 'midst his fires, - To smile serene at death; - And his whole heart and soul inspires - With never-changing faith?-- - Until the victor's crown is gained, - The laurel wreath is won; - Th' oppressor's fury is restrained-- - His work must first be done! - - What leads Christ's servant still to dare - All dangers for his sake, - And with unshaken firmness bear, - Ills that the boldest shake? - The trust that God is ever nigh, - To prosper what's begun; - To send a blessing from on high, - Upon his work when done! - - And when the good fight he has fought, - His earthly struggles o'er, - He finds the recompense he sought, - Where grief is felt no more: - 'Tis then he gains th' appointed prize, - His triumph is begun;-- - He lives immortal in the skies, - When all his work is done! - - - - - LINES - - ON THE DEATH OF JOHN SINCLAIR, ESQ., - - _7th April 1844._ - - - WHEN from its prison-house of clay - The spirit is unbound, - When one we love is borne away - To the lone narrow mound: - We feel as if the charm were gone - That renders life so dear, - And as a darkening cloud were thrown - O'er all our prospects here. - - And when _he_ died, we mourned for him - As only they could mourn - Who felt as if a precious limb - Were from the body torn. - Gentle and kind, and always true, - Revered wherever known; - No guile his bosom ever knew, - 'Twas friendship's sacred throne. - - From painful days, without relief, - Death brought at last release; - The change that gave to us but grief - To him was lasting peace. - We bore him to his hill-side grave,[3] - To sleep, but not alone; - To kindred dust his dust we gave, - To mingle with his own. - - To teach us that our home is not - Here, where we seek to live, - But that we have a happier lot - Than aught this world can give, - Death comes,--and when right understood - His lesson sure is blest.-- - Thus one by one, the loved, the good, - Are gathered to their rest! - - [3] He was interred in the family burying-place, New - Calton Burying-ground, Edinburgh. - - - - - WEEP NOT FOR THE DEAD. - - Jeremiah xxii. 10. - - - OH! weep not for the dead; they are at rest-- - No more shall earthly cares their minds molest; - Waste not a thought on them, nor yet bemoan - Who to the grave's cold heritage have gone. - - No sorrow know they in their narrow bed; - They sin no more who slumber with the dead; - They are at rest, from earth-born troubles free,-- - Fixed is their doom, as lies the stricken tree. - - Weep for yourself--for those who linger here, - In pain and sadness, through the varying year; - Still looking through life's vista to the close, - When faith in Christ alone can bring repose. - - And weep for those who go to other climes, - With toil and hoarding to gain gold betimes-- - From friends and country parted, as if nought - But this world's fleeting wealth were worth their thought! - - Weep for the dead in sin--the guilty soul - That might, but yet refuses, to be whole-- - For him who never heard the Saviour's name, - For him who, having heard, rejects the same. - - Oh! weep not for the dead, nor those who go - Into mortality's dread depths below; - But weep for those who mourn and suffer here, - The slaves of sin, and all its guilty fear! - - - - - IDOLS. - - "What have I to do any more with Idols?"--Hos. xiv. 8. - - - WHERE'ER the light of gospel truth - Has shed its glorious rays, - The heart casts off all shapes uncouth, - And shuns the wonted ways. - - The hills assume a brighter mould, - The flowers a fairer hue, - We quit the fading and the old, - And seek the fresh and new. - - The dark and dismal thoughts that brood - Within the carnal mind, - Are straightway changed to bright and good, - When there the truth hath shined: - - As metals in the earth deep set, - Though worthless in its womb, - Refined by skilful art, do yet - Precious and rich become. - - But man, degenerate from his birth, - Headlong in guilt is driven, - Still does his spirit cling to earth, - When it should rise to heaven. - - To vile and perverse courses prone,-- - The viler more his boast, - Rejects all guidance save his own, - And sunk in sin, is lost. - - Like dark and savage men, that dwell - In soul-benighted lands, - That blindly worship things of hell, - The work of their own hands. - - For hideous shapes, instead of dread, - They fierce devotion feel, - And the more hideous they are made, - The greater is their zeal. - - Ye sinners that to Idols bow, - Let light illume your heart, - Leave earth-born things to earth below, - And seek the better part. - - Come to the fountain free to all, - Drink of the living spring; - Before the cross of Jesus fall, - And own Him for your King. - - Come from your dark unwholesome holes, - With hateful things within, - Come and seek comfort to your souls, - And walk no more in sin. - - If self still claims the foremost place, - Where Christ should reign alone, - Self is the Idol that, through grace, - Must quite be overthrown. - - The lust and vanity of life, - All pomp and pride of mind, - Are but the source of grief and strife, - And leave no joy behind: - - Jesus alone is Sovereign King, - In Earth and Heaven above; - And why should we to Idols cling, - When we have Him to love? - - - - - TRUTH. - - - IT is not in the heart of thought, - Nor in the breast of care; - That truth its dwelling-place has sought, - For all is sterile there: - - Nor is it in the mind, where gay - Delusive visions throng, - That chastening truth can find a way - Its glittering dreams among: - - Yet as within the desert far, - There are reflections given - Of light, so in the heart there are - Remembrances of Heaven. - - - - - SABBATH MORN. - - - ON Sabbath morn, one feels - Exalted 'bove the world, and longs to go - Forth to the house of God; and, as the slow - And solemn church-chime on him steals, - - He seems to tread the height - Of Heaven, rise with his risen Lord, and there - Pour out his soul in never-ceasing prayer, - And worship with the saints in light. - - And peace, and joy, and faith - Are his, and all things that the earth contains, - And all above, through the Redeemer's pains, - And groans, and victory o'er death! - - Glory to Him who willed - That man should live, not die! to Him who made - The Sabbath for our comfort, and who said - The soul on Christ its hopes should build! - - - - - SABBATH EVE. - - - ON Sabbath eve, how sad, - Yet sweet, the thoughts that come into the mind, - Unbid, but not unwelcome, and which find - Communion there, and to its solace add. - - The world seems bright no more; - Its witching charms are gone, its voice is dumb: - Vainly its pleasures to the soul say "Come!" - The wish for their enjoyment now is o'er. - - Thoughts of the dead are they - Which then we feel, low whispering to the heart, - Telling that we, like them, must soon depart, - And, with them, go to dull and cold decay. - - How strange it is, in sooth, - That Sabbath morn and eve should, to the breast, - Weary with cares of life, bring thoughts of REST-- - Strong proof of its great purpose and its truth! - - - - - DREAMS OF THE LIVING. - - - NO golden dreams, near quiet streams, - On swelling slopes, no high-reached hopes; - These of themselves are mute: - The spirit wakes, the fancies shoot - Where Nature points, but she - Thought curbs, not renders free, - Unless her portals wide she opes, - And gives of Truth the fruit. - - And man, a dreamer from his youth, - Ne'er knoweth, nor can know, the truth, - Save when Religion with its light - Shines on his mind, to guide his sight. - From every day that dawns, he claims - New thoughts, new fancies, and new aims, - That lead to nothing, nothing leave, - But vague ideas that deceive! - - Boyhood is dreaming, when it quits - Substantial joys for counterfeits; - Courts pleasure as a lasting thing, - Nor deems it bears a hidden sting; - And yields all feeling and all sense, - For hopes that bring no recompense. - Well, when its follies it forsakes, - And from its feverish dreams awakes! - - The loveliness of woman gives - More cause for dreams than aught that lives; - And youth, when it aspires to find - Gladness in beauty, wanting mind, - Like guileless child, is ever dreaming - Of joy and brightness only seeming; - And knows not, till the dream is past, - What spells around the heart are cast. - - And manhood dreams,--when o'er the soul - Ambition has secured control,-- - Of power, and wealth, and worldly state, - And all the splendours of the great: - Builds monuments, to which decay - Clings as a resting-place and prey, - Nor thinks how weak are all his pains, - When nothing at the last remains. - - And age, that ought to know the best, - Is but a dreamer like the rest; - O'erlooking, in its downward pace, - The landmarks of its upward race; - No wisdom from the past it earns, - And from the present only learns - To dread the future; and its staff - Writes its own weary epitaph. - - What dream they of? Earth, with its feelings cold, - Its passions withered, tales that have been told, - And generations dead--the same dull tone - That from the chambers of the past hath gone, - Is echoed now; but, as before, its strain, - For warning, or for teaching, is in vain! - - And hearts on which has come the early blight, - And hopes that never knew aught here but slight, - And scattered flowers, and blossoms tossed and shaken, - And promises foregone, and trusts forsaken, - Still show men's visions false, but still they cherish - Dreams of the earth, which only lure to perish. - - No glow of life, no ante-taste of heaven, - From sordid earth-born thoughts like theirs is given; - But disappointment, with its lagging train - Of blighted prospects, tells that all is vain; - Yet to this earth's allurements fixed, the heart, - Like a wrecked vessel, drifts, without a chart. - Truth teaches higher hopes, and better things, - And o'er the mind a lasting solace brings. - - Oh! that the soul on Heaven were ever bent, - And all its feelings thitherward were sent! - Then would our visions from the world arise, - Clear as the sun, and radiant as the skies: - Visions of light and love that ne'er decay, - No strifes to scare, no terrors to dismay; - But peace, unchanging as the Christian's faith-- - Peace in our life, untroubled hope in death! - - - - - LINES. - - - MAN knows he is immortal: there's within - A principle that tells him that his soul, - Which in himself exists, shall never die, - Although his outward tenement becomes, - By the slow-wasting chemistry of death, - Forgotten, undistinguishable dust. - His mind, his heart, his impulses, are all - Subservient to his soul, his noblest part, - That came from God, returns to God again. - If he his passions could o'ercome and sway, - Place Prudence as a wary sentinel - On all his words and purposes, that trip - He might in neither, he were great indeed! - But sense and selfishness his judgment warp, - And so debase his nature, that, having not - Of his own mind the moral mastery, - His thoughts, affections, powers, and faculties, - Are under the dominion of a yoke - More galling than a tyrant's. Slave of Sin! - - - - - SONNETS. - - _Written on viewing the Picture of "The Deluge," painted by - F. Danby, Esq., A.R.A._ - - - WE gaze in awe upon the solemn scene, - With sense and soul absorbed, as if the sight - Were tranced in that o'erpowering vengeful light - Which shrouds the setting sun; and what has been - A world is now a waste of waters, higher - And darker swells the flood, like one vast pall - Thrown o'er the guilty ones of earth, Heaven's ire - Who braved ere-while.--How fearful, how sublime, - How terrible the sight!--widely they climb, - To rock and mountain top to 'scape their doom, - While rushing torrents, dome and palace hall, - The work of man with man himself, consume; - Nor these alone! Rock, cliff, and mountain grey, - God's handiwork, become with man, their prey! - - How vast the guilt that thus could doom a world - So beautiful as ours was ere man sinned,-- - The waters sweeping, like a mighty wind, - To whelm the earth, from its foundations hurled; - All nature stood aghast, its course was changed-- - A comet threw afar its lurid gleam, - Up-broke the fountains of the ocean stream, - While a fierce earthquake thro' the centre ranged, - Shattering the mountains in its might.--How vain - Was then the strength of man, as poor his pride, - To stem the onsweep of that ceaseless tide, - Which desolation spread o'er mount and plain! - Anguish and terror, madness and despair, - Took hold on all, before they perished there! - - A towering rock, whose shadow in past days - Was hailed by weary ones a place of rest, - Affords brief shelter on its shelving breast - To struggling sufferers crowding from all ways, - Trampling their fellows down for life, sweet life! - Alas! the JUDGMENT'S on them, they as well - Might build their hopes on sand, as stay the swell - Of the full flood and elemental strife. - Yet has not God forgotten all his love - To sinful men, the ARM they madly brave - "Though strong to smite is also strong to save"-- - The ark floats high a buried world above! - While o'er a lifeless pair, to Heaven still dear, - A kneeling Angel drops a pitying tear! (7) - - - - - THOUGHT. - - - LIKE one who on a mountain stands, - When morning into day expands, - And, as a glory, views from Heaven - The plenteousness of brightness given; - Even so is he, who marks remote - The early cheering dawn of thought - Advancing o'er th' awakened mind, - Till truth, within the soul defined, - Spreads light and knowledge in the breast, - And sets all doubts and fears at rest. - - - - - LINES. - - WRITTEN ON THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE QUEEN. - - _20th July 1840._ - - - FAIR as the summer in its joyous prime, - Free from all thoughts of guile, all dread of ill, - Unconscious that a traitor could exist - Within her wide dominions, forth she came, - Young, happy, unattended, save by him, - The husband she had chosen from the world; - All hearts her own--no other guard she wished-- - When ambushed treason aimed its coward blow, - Which Heaven ordained should harmless pass her by, - In mercy to the realms that own her sway. - - Ah! had the public foe, in hostile league, - Come openly against her life and crown, - The chivalry of England, not yet dead, - Had promptly flown to arms, and formed - Around her then a shield impenetrable, - Her sacred person to defend, or die. - From out of England's millions, only one - Was found, so void of all the feelings of a man, - As point a deadly weapon at the breast - Of England's pride--a woman and a Queen! - Then the high bravery of her race was shown; - She blenched not, quivered not, but sat erect; - While, with the lion courage of the Saxon, - Which both their hearts inspired, her consort threw - Himself at once between her and the danger, - To shield the life so dear to him and us. - - The loyal heart of Britain beat with joy - At their escape--the young, the loved, the true! - Many and fervent were the prayers breathed - To Heaven, that they might live extended years, - And each year, as it came, their happiness - Increase, and ours! Thus let the traitor's hopes - For ever end, thus fruitless be his aims-- - His snares recoil upon himself alone! - - How beautiful the trait of filial love, - Of reverence daughterly, was then evinced, - When, freed from danger from th' assassin's arm, - She promptly to her mother hastes, herself - To be the foremost bearer of the tidings, - And, in her own particular person, bring - The proof and the assurance of her safety, - Ere Rumour's tongue had magnified details! - Ah! worthy of her people's love, is she - Who thus could show the veneration due, - At such a time, to her who gave her being! - - The ways of men are in the hands of One - Who cannot err; the destinies of all - On earth, peasants as well as potentates, - Are under His sole guardianship and guidance. - A truism this; yet there are men who doubt, - Nay, worse, deny it; even though instances, - Occurring daily, show the constant care - Of Providence o'er thoughtless, sinful men. - - How oft does evil o'er our head impend, - And we not know it, till the danger's past! - How oft, when evil comes, provided is - A remedy, we know not how or whence! - Ah! blind, and worse than blind, are they who doubt. - The brutish beasts that roam the fields and woods, - And never heard of God, or gospel truth, - Of Christ and his salvation, better are, - And wiser, than the Atheist and Sceptic. - - High is the sovereign's power, and great the sway - Which kings possess; but, higher, greater still - Is His, the King of Kings, who overrules - All things for good to them who love his laws. - - Tyrants have had avengers, but the good - Need fear no peril, dread no coming ill; - Their trust in One who fails not, cannot fail; - In whose hand is the breath of princes held, - As much as meaner men's. To Him thy way commit. - - - - - I'M NAEBODY NOO. - - _The complaint of an old man reduced in the world. Contributed - to the Book of Scottish Song._ - - - I'M naebody noo, though in days that are gane, - Whan I'd hooses, and lands, and gear o' my ain, - There war' mony to flatter, and mony to praise, - And wha but mysel' was sae prood in those days! - - Ah! then roun' my table wad visitors thrang, - Wha laughed at my joke, and applauded my sang, - Though the tane had nae point, and the tither nae glee; - But of coorse they war' grand when comin' frae me! - - Whan I'd plenty to gie, o' my cheer and my crack, - There war' plenty to come, and wi' joy to partak'; - But whanever the water grew scant at the well, - I was welcome to drink all alane by mysel'. - - Sae lang as my bottle was ready and free, - Friends in dozens I had wha then crooded to prie, - They sat ower the toddy until they war' fou,-- - Noo I drink by mysel', for I'm naebody noo. - - Whan I'd nae need o' aid, there were plenty to proffer, - And noo whan I want it, I ne'er get the offer; - I could greet whan I think hoo my siller decreast, - In the feasting o' those who came only to feast. - - The fulsome respec' to my gowd they did gie, - I thought a' the time was intended for me, - But whanever the end o' my money they saw, - Their friendship, like it, also flickered awa'. - - My advice ance was sought for by folks far and near, - Sic great wisdom I had ere I tint a' my gear, - I'm as weel able yet to gie counsel, that's true, - But I may jist haud my wheesht, for I'm naebody noo. - - - - - SONG. - - _Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song._ - - - THERE'S plenty come to woo me, - And ca' me sweet and fair, - There's plenty say they lo'e me, - But they never venture mair: - They never say they'll marry, - Though love is all their tune, - From June to Janu-a-ry, - From January to June. - - I canna keep frae smilin', - At their flatteries and art; - Wi' a' their fond beguilin', - They'll ne'er beguile my heart. - For nought can fix a maiden - Whase heart is warm and true, - But vows wi' marriage laden, - Though mony come to woo. - - That a's no gowd that glitters - I've either heard or read, - And marriage has its bitters, - As well as sweets, is said. - But though it gets the blame o' - Some things that winna' tell, - The fau't that folks complain o' - Lies often wi' themsel'. - - The year, as on it ranges, - Within its twelvemonths' fa', - Shows many sudden changes, - And's lightsome wi' them a'; - Though winter's tempests thicken, - Spring comes wi' cheerful face; - And summer smiles to quicken - A' nature wi' its grace. - - The year of life is marriage, - And we canna wed too sune, - Whan twa divide the carriage, - The wark is cheerily dune. - If one true heart wad hae me, - For better and for worse, - Wi' him I'd gladly share aye - The blessing and the curse. - - - - - THE STOUT OLD BRITISH SHIP. - - - HURRAH! for the stout old British ship, - The monarch of the sea! - That bounds like a greyhound from the slip, - When the sails are loosened free! - That, spite of the storm and deadly gun, - Ne'er yet its course gave o'er; - And never knew what 'twas to run - A hostile flag before! - It long has the bulwark been of our rights, - Of our freedom still the stay; - Then give to the brave old British ship, - Three British cheers--hurrah! - - When Nelson trode its quarter-deck, - Its glory was in its prime; - Victory he had at his finger-beck, - As proved in every clime: - Then England was honoured and feared by all, - And nations sung her praise; - But that is a tale we may not recall - In these degenerate days: - For the stout old ship lies idly ashore, - Laid up like a useless tree; - Its battles and cruises now are o'er, - Though it still is fit for sea! - - The vaunting foreigner long has felt - Its thunders on the main, - And he smiles when he thinks the blows it dealt - Shall ne'er be dealt again. - But the spirit of Nelson is not dead, - It bounds in a hundred hearts, - And his story of fame is remembered and read, - And studied with our charts! - For cherished with care is the glory it won, - The meed of a thousand years; - And its foes will fly as they often have done, - When the stout old ship appears! - - When the brave old ship, as bright as morn, - Hoists high its well-known flag; - The flag that has still been unsullied borne, - Since the days of Drake and Sprague. - Let's see who'll dare dispute its right, - To the empire of the main, - 'Twill prove its title clear and bright, - Against the world again! - Then give to the stout old British ship, - Of our freedom still the stay, - That long has the bulwark been of our rights, - Three British cheers--hurrah! - - - - - LINES, - - ON THE INFANT SON AND DAUGHTER OF THE HON. COL. MONTAGUE. - - - HOW fair is childhood; like the ray - Of summer morn, the blush of day. - Bright scions of a noble race, - Blooming in love and youthful grace, - In innocence and beauty's pride! - As rosebuds blossoming at ease, - Showering their beauties on the breeze, - On some green mountain's side. - - High thoughts are with that lovely boy, - In whose dark eye beams radiant joy; - May blessings on his years attend, - And Heaven its choicest favours send! - Hope of an honourable line, - With feeling heart and mind endued, - May health, and peace, and every good, - And length of life, be thine. - - Oh! love it is a blessed thing, - And to the heart doth comfort bring; - But the fond throb that for a brother - A sister feels, excels all other, - Save only that by parents known: - Sweet maid, a pure affection cheers - Thy gentle heart, and still endears - Thy very smile and tone. - - No cares upon those brows of light, - Round which the tresses cluster bright, - Like mossy flowers 'mong sunshine blended, - Have yet, with envious trace, descended: - But all is happiness and mirth,-- - Ye look like cherubs sent from Heaven, - With hope, and joy, and beauty given, - To cheer this weary earth. - - 1838. - - - - - THE MARTYRS. - - - FAITHFUL to God, 'mid persecutions dire, - The lion-hearts of old still firmly stood, - Unawed by terrors of the block or fire, - For truth and freedom freely gave their blood; - The path of duty lay before them plain, - And boldly they advanced, nor turned again. - - A throne cast down, erected was once more, - An exiled king, a nation, welcomed back; - Planted in blood it was, and tears, and gore, - Its only props the scaffold and the rack; - And there the brave and good did nobly fall, - That Christ the Saviour might be all in all, - - Calmly the martyr Guthrie met his fate, - A victim to oppression's cruel laws, - Nor would, for proudest prelate's form and state, - A traitor turn to his dear Master's cause; - With him no joy on earth so great could be, - As thus to die for Christ's supremacy. - - On the lone mountains of their native land, - Where blooms the heather fragrantly and fair, - In the green valleys waved by breezes bland, - Struck mercilessly down while met in prayer, - Lie Scotland's martyrs in their nameless moulds, - Sustained by Him who the great worlds upholds. (8) - - - - - CALEDONIA, MY COUNTRY! - - - CALEDONIA, my country! How bright is the fame, - Like a halo of glory, that circles thy name; - When thy children remember their fathers' renown, - Can they, faithless, consent e'er to sully thy crown? - - In the battles of freedom, the hot fields of fight, - Thy great men of old stoutly fought for the right; - By their conquering swords, blessed and aided by Heaven, - The hosts of the foe from our country were driven. - - In the fair realms of song thy sons also excel, - Midst the gifted of earth do their memories dwell; - And of praise of thy minstrels, from nations around, - Still the echo returns, with a flattering sound. - - But purer, and brighter, and higher, by far, - Than of those that have triumphed in song or in war, - Are the names,--never breathed but with love they are heard,-- - Of thy fearless Reformers, thy Martyrs revered. - - Now thy sword is at rest, and thy harp is laid by, - But the sword of the Spirit still waves from on high, - And the harp of the Lord sounds in majesty forth, - As of yore it was heard from the lands of the north. - - Again, oh, my country! on thy hills of renown, - Oppression, relentless, has darkly come down-- - On the breeze of the mountain is borne the loud wail, - And the lowlands reply to the wrongs of the Gael. - - From the dark page of history shadows are cast, - And the woes of the future loom out from the past; - There are omens of evil, enshrouded in blood, - But in midst of them all, there are tokens of good. - - - - - I CANNA SLEEP. - - _Written in 1833. Contributed to the Book of Scottish Song._ - - - I CANNA sleep a wink, lassie, - When I gang to bed at night, - But still o' thee I think, lassie, - Till morning sheds its light. - I lie an' think o' thee, lassie, - And I toss frae side to side, - Like a vessel on the sea, lassie, - When stormy is the tide. - - My heart is no my ain, lassie, - It winna bide wi' me, - Like a birdie it has gane, lassie, - To nestle saft wi' thee. - I canna lure it back, lassie, - Sae keep it to yoursel'; - But oh! it sune will brak, lassie, - If you dinna use it well. - - Where the treasure is they say, lassie, - The spirit lingers there, - An' mine has fled away, lassie, - You needna' ask me where. - I marvel oft if rest, lassie, - On my eyes and heart wad bide, - If I thy troth possessed, lassie, - And thou wert at my side. - - - - - YONDER SUNNY BRAE. - - - ON yonder sunny brae we met, - Amid the summer flowers; - And never can my heart forget - The rapture of those hours, - When she I loved forsook her home - And there with me did stray, - Oh! oft delighted did we roam - On yonder sunny brae. - - The gushing of the waterfall, - The sunshine of the sky, - The bloom, the balm, and, more than all, - The sparkle of her eye, - Brought to my heart a blissful tide - That drove all care away, - And I was happy at her side, - On yonder sunny brae. - - 'Twas there I breathed my fondest vow, - Nor told my love in vain; - And I am happy with her now, - Though years have passed since then. - No sweeter scene my eyes shall see - Though far my steps should stray: - There's not a spot so dear to me - As yonder sunny brae. - - - - - THE EAGLE'S NEST, AND OTHER POEMS. - - HERE FIRST PRINTED. - - - - - THE EAGLE'S NEST. - - - GRACE ADAM was a farmer's daughter, - Her youth in the far west was spent, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a flood that will have vent. - - She was a blooming country maiden, - Like those one sees in market towns, - With egg and butter baskets laden, - Dressed in their smartest hats and gowns. - - In household work and dairy labours - Her time passed pleasantly away, - A pattern she to all the neighbours, - Healthy and cheerful as the day. - - Grace Adam was a farmer's daughter,-- - Some share of beauty she could boast, - And lovers, near and far off, sought her, - Each striving who could flatter most. - - From 'mong them all her heart selected - One gentle youth who seemed sincere, - He was by every one respected, - And more it needs not saying here. - - Within an outfield stood an only - Old beech-tree, lightning-smote, and dead,-- - Its branches bare, and bleached, and lonely, - An eagle built its nest amid. - - Forsook the mountain's summit hoary, - The beetling cliff above the sea, - Sought not the forests of Missouri, - But sheltered on this shattered tree. - - And oft to see this noble creature, - Many there came from parts thereby, - Training its young, as is its nature, - To spread their wings and upward fly. - - Among the rest a student, rambling - In woods and meadows, also came, - In search of useful knowledge scrambling, - Wherever he could find the same. - - Grace Adam was a farmer's daughter,-- - Her father had approved her choice; - For duty and her feelings taught her - 'Twere best to have her parents' voice. - - Oft as the summer sunset glowing - Came down in splendour o'er the west, - The lovers forth together going, - Would wander to the eagle's nest. - - And there in courtship sweet and prudent - The happy hours fast slipt away;-- - And often there, too, came the student, - To watch the birds at close of day. - - And so they soon became acquainted, - He knew they were betrothed before; - But while their future bliss _they_ painted, - _His_ object still was to explore. - - The marriage-day, longed for yet dreaded - By maidens fair, at last came round, - Grace Adam and her love were wedded, - With hope and every blessing crowned. - - Their home was in a distant city - Far, far from where her youth was spent, - Where Mississippi's water mighty - Pours like a flood that will have vent. - - And never more the lordly river, - Or its green banks, was Grace to see, - The dear-loved farm, no more, and never - The lonely shattered eagle's tree. - - New duties claimed now her attention, - New feelings rose at name of wife, - And as time passed, she ceased to mention - The loved scenes of her early life. - - Some years had gone, and she could gather - Her children round about her knee,-- - Long since in churchyard lay her father, - And fallen was the eagle's tree. - - And now in course of worldly changes - Another town their home became; - For business oft-times turns the hinges - Of man's condition and his aim. - - And there they settled, growing older, - But Grace aright years passing read; - For the grey hairs appearing told her - Time left its shadow on her head. - - Years twenty since the farmer's daughter - Left the scenes where her youth was spent, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a flood that will have vent. - - Within that town broke out a fever, - Smiting alike the rich and poor; - 'Twas typhus, grim Death's surest lever - To turn the churchyards o'er and o'er. - - Many, o'erborne with grief and watching - At couch of those oppressed with pains, - A hurried hour of slumber snatching, - Woke with the fever in their veins. - - Spared not the children or the father, - Passed not the anxious mother by, - In one swift grave the parents gather - Their offspring with them as they lie. - - Lamented many a one his dearest - Borne to the house whence no retrace, - Mourned high and low for friends the nearest - Soon carried to their resting place. - - A time of gloom, and doubt, and terror, - A time of sorrow and dismay; - The breath of death upon life's mirror - All ghastly and infectious lay. - - A time of judgment, when God's dealings - Make the most careless cry to Him,-- - A time to try the human feelings,-- - When even Hope grows faint and dim. - - Just at the last, when near expending - Its baleful force ere sped away, - Grace caught the fever while attending - A smitten neighbour as she lay. - - Grief in the house but late so cheerful, - Pain on the heart but late so light, - Her husband and her children tearful - Watched o'er her sickbed day and night. - - Beat low the pulse with languid movement, - And stopped the functions of the brain, - No sign her eye gave of improvement - As day and night return again. - - Hastened the Doctor, if yet human - Aid might avail to save her life, - He saw and knew the suffering woman, - Although not as a wedded wife. - - Years twenty since the farmer's daughter - Had met the student at the tree, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a full flood to the sea. - - Bent near the Doctor then, and laid he - His hand upon her wasted breast, - And with low cheerful whisper said he - No more words than "the eagle's nest!" - - The change was sudden and amazing,-- - Opened her eyes and closed again, - And like the keel of vessel grazing - The ground, grated her teeth in twain. - - Gasped a long breath, as if a struggle - Were going on, as night with morn, - No sound made but a low faint guggle, - Like cry of infant newly born. - - A smile passed o'er her features sunken, - Grasped she the hand beside her then, - Remembrance, just as one half-drunken, - Strove to retrace its course again. - - Ah! then came back the well-known faces - Of her young days upon her mind, - The scenes of long ago, in traces - All clear and full and well defined. - - She saw her father as he taught her - Her youthful lessons at his knee, - Where Mississippi's mighty water - Rolls like a full flood to the sea. - - She saw her mother too beside her - Long, long since taken to her rest, - And then, as opened Memory wider, - She stood beneath the eagle's nest, - - With him she loved, in courtship prudent, - And of love's sweetest cup she drank, - She saw again the youthful student,-- - All that came after was a blank. - - Thus ever Memory touched can bring time, - With its past feelings into light, - And thus the sweet joys of her spring-time - Came rushing thickly on her sight. - - Thus, too, doth roused Imagination - Vibrate the tender chords that bind - The wide links of Association - Within the chambers of the mind. - - Then turned the fever, as the meeting - Of the free air upon her brain, - Her pulse resumed a quickened beating, - Revolved the wheels of life again. - - And day by day she gained new strength then - Beneath the Doctor's care and skill, - Able to quit her bed at length then, - 'Twas this she loved to talk of still, - - That when Death's dart did o'er her hover, - And she could find no sleep or rest, - 'Twas this that made her to recover, - The simple words, "the eagle's nest!" (9) - - - - - THE ADVENT OF TRUTH. - - - A time there is, though far its dawn may be, - And shadows thick are brooding on the main, - When, like the sun upspringing from the sea, - Truth shall arise, with Freedom in its train; - - And Light upon its forehead, as a star - Upon the brow of heaven, to shed its rays - Among all people, wheresoe'er they are, - And shower upon them calm and happy days. - - As sunshine comes with healing on its wing, - After long nights of sorrow and unrest, - Solace and peace, and sympathy to bring - To the grieved spirit and unquiet breast. - - No more shall then be heard the slave's deep groan, - Nor man man's inhumanity deplore, - All strife shall cease and war shall be unknown, - And the world's golden age return once more. - - And nations now that, with Oppression's hand, - Are to the dust of Earth with sorrow bowed, - Shall then erect, in fearless vigour, stand, - And with recovered freedom shout aloud. - - Along with Truth, Wisdom, her sister-twin, - Shall come--they two are never far apart,-- - At their approach, to some lone cavern Sin - Shall cowering flee, as stricken to the heart. - - Right shall then temper Justice, as 'tis meet - It should, and Justice give to Right its own; - Might shall its sword throw underneath its feet, - And Tyranny, unkinged, fall off its throne. - - Then let us live in hope, and still prepare - Us and our children for the end, that they - Instruct may those who after them shall heir, - To watch and wait the coming of that day. - - - - - LINES, - - SUGGESTED BY A WALK IN A GARDEN. - - - BALMY as the dew from its own blossoms, - And soothing as the fragrance it creates, - Comes the sweet influence of this summer eve - To my o'ercharged heart--there is a breeze - Moving amid the foliage, soft and low, - As cradled murmur from a babe asleep. - It is a time for holy thoughts to spring, - And contemplation fill the awakened mind. - - Lo! a bright sunbeam stands 'tween heaven and earth, - Taking its farewell look ere day departs, - And seeking still to light the gloom below, - As Hope,--even when the darkness comes, and Joy - Hath fled,--to cheer the heart, still lingering, smiles: - And when it goes,--ah! no, it ne'er all goes:-- - The sunbeam fades, a moment, and its light, - All shed, dies still-born, swiftly shone and o'er; - But Hope, blest Hope, ev'n when it seems away, - Is near, evermore near, it cannot live - Apart, 'tis wedded to the soul for aye,-- - God joined them twain, and nought can sunder them,-- - Near, ever near, and ever bringing peace, - Groping among the dark things of man's spirit, - And shedding o'er the troubled mind its light, - As a stray ray of sunshine wanders 'mong - The shattered arches of a fallen ruin. - - Ere sunset leaves the world, and sinks behind - The illumined ocean, let me muse awhile. - - 'Twas in a garden that that hideous thing, - Sin, first was born accurst, and now all through - The wide wide universe it ranges fierce. - Where man has placed his foot its trace is seen. - The serpent's slimy trail is everywhere, - Disfiguring, polluting, and destroying, - Death following in its track inseparably. - - But oh! my soul be humbled, yet rejoice;-- - It was, too, in a garden that the great, - The only all-sufficient, all-atoning - Propitiatory sacrifice for sin - Commenced its consummation, when the Man - Christ Jesus swat for thee great drops of blood, - (Even he, the Second Person of the Godhead,) - And prayed in agony that the cup might pass, - If so his Father willed; but none on earth - Or yet in Heaven could drink it, none save Him; - And when the sacrifice was all complete - On Calvary, and satisfied was Justice, - Mercy and Hope held out their hands to man, - And, in Christ's name, showed him redemption's way. - The shame and misery that Adam felt - In Eden's garden, when the first great sin - Was challenged, was as nothing to compare - With the deep agony which on that night,-- - That dreadful night in which he was betrayed,-- - Our Surety felt, when in Gethsemane - He took upon himself to pay the full - Ransom and penalty of that first sin - Which Adam sinned, and all his race in him. - - Of that first sin did Adam put the blame - On Eve, "the woman whom thou gavest me." - Eve on the serpent shifted it, and proud - Was he that he had circumvented both, - Doomed on his womb to crawl in dust, and bruised - His head by woman's seed, short-lived his pride.-- - Christ took upon Himself the sin and all - Its anguish, nor like Adam vainly strove - To shift it to another, knowing well - No other could redeem it but Himself. - Sinless, a sacrifice for sin, that sin - Might from the souls of men be washed away. - 'Twas for that sin, and its infeftments wide - That Jesus died, that its entail cut off - Might be from Adam and his lineage, far - As generations yet to come extend, - And man restored to his lost paradise. - No flaming sword waves at its portals now, - Entrance to bar to the redeemed on earth; - No angels guard the gates to keep them shut, - But open ever are they to the elect, - And there bright angels stand, with joy - To welcome all who come in Christ's name in. - - But now the sun hath bade the world good night, - And gathering darkness warns me to my home. - - - - - SONNET. - - SUNSHINE. - - - ON the old forest, bright the sunrays play, - And from the boughs hang, tinging the green leaves - With golden light that downward interweaves, - Past branch and stem finding itself a way; - And on the greensward, and among the fern, - Some trace of sunshine still we can discern, - A sunbeam's scattered droppings gone astray - Among the wild-flowers, where they nestle close - Within the long grass, or the woodland moss, - Making for Earth a dress with colours gay. - Oh! on our pathway thus may sunshine fall, - And like the little flowers, our hopes still bloom,-- - A share of it at least, if not it all,-- - To light the darkness and to cheer the gloom. - - - - - SONG. - - AT E'ENING, WHAN THE KYE WAR IN. - - - AT e'ening whan the kye war in, - An' lasses milking thrang, - A neebour laird cam ben the byre, - The busy maids amang. - He stood ahint the routin' kye - An' round him glowered a wee, - Then stole to whar young Peggy sat, - The milkpail at her knee. - - "Sweet Peggy, lass," thus spoke the laird, - "Wilt listen to my tale?" - "Stan' out the gate, laird," Peggy cried, - "Or you will coup the pail: - "Mind, Hawkie here's a timorous beast, - An' no acquent wi you." - "Ne'er fash," quo' he, "the milking time's - The sweetest time to woo. - - "Ye ken, I've aften tauld ye that - I've thretty kye and mair, - "An' ye'd be better owning them - Than sittin' milkin' there. - "My house is bein, and stocket weel - In hadden and in ha', - "An' ye've but just to sae the word - Tae leddy be o' a'." - - "Wheesht, laird," quo Peggy, "dinna mak' - Yersel a fule an' me, - "I thank ye, for yer offer kind, - But sae it canna be. - "Maybe yer weel stocked house and farm, - An' thretty lowing kine, - "May win some ither lassie's heart, - They hae nae charms for mine; - - "For in the kirk I hae been cried, - My troth is pledged and sworn, - "An' tae the man I like mysel', - I'll married be the morn'." - The laird, dumfoundered at her words, - Had nae mair will to try'r; - But turned, and gaed far faster out, - Than he'd come in the byre. - - - - - STANZAS - - ON A BUST OF MARSHAL NEY, - - _Presented by the Prince De Moskwa to Donald Sinclair, - Esq. Edinburgh._ - - - THERE stands the hero, "bravest of the brave," - A name well earned, that he to whom alone - NEY, second, scarce to him, in glory shone, - After a hard fought day in honour gave: - And ever shall his laurels greenly wave,-- - Still flourishing with time, for time can ne'er - Blight his deserved renown not even _there_,-- - Over his bloody and untimely grave. - - Where flew the Eagle in its wide domain, - There was he ever foremost in the fight, - Leading his band of heroes, strong in might, - To conquest still,--In Switzerland and Spain, - And where the Rhine, majestic to the main, - Through many fertile lands, doth proudly flow, - His prowess won applause, even from the foe, - Midst blood and carnage on each battle plain. - - High rose his genius with the tide of war, - His country's annals of his valour tell, - Impetuous as the torrent, when the swell - Of waters fierce pours onward from afar, - And sweeps before it every stop and bar: - Where'er his sword flashed, with its sunlike ray, - There victory followed closely on the way, - And danger's track was marked by many a scar. - - Rednitz and Neuwied well his courage knew, - When yet his early deeds foretold the fame - That soon would throw a halo round his name; - Manheim and Hohenlinden felt it too, - And Elchingen and Jena found him true, - Eylau and Friedland, names of high renown, - Moscow and its retreat, his glory crown, - Which paled not even at bloody Waterloo! - - Immortal warrior, could France reward - Thy mighty deeds but with a traitor's death? - The shame is hers, not thine; thy latest breath - Was for thy country, and as one prepared - Thou met'st thy fate, as soldier should on guard: - And still shall time, with every rolling year - The more thy memory to France endear, - And mourned thy fate shall be by patriot and bard. - - Thy death has left a blot upon the fame - Of Wellington and England, ne'er to be - Removed or justified,--alas! that he, - Who with a word thy safety could proclaim, - With callous heart refused to speak the same. - The deed, like that which stained, with blackest ray, - Great Nelson's honour in Palermo's bay, - Our history records "with sorrow and with shame." (10) - - - - - WINTER. - - _Written at Two-Waters, Herts, 11th January 1840, - for a Lady's Album._ - - - COME! we will wander to the lone hill-side, - And, awe-struck, view the winter in its pride;-- - Crispy the grass and scant; - The little flowers have vanished, not a trace - Is left of blossom on pale Nature's face:-- - Restraint lies mighty on the stream--it sings - No more--dead, dead now,--like all other things; - The trees, as spectres gaunt, - Or churchyard monuments, all scattered stand, - As if they mourned the bareness of the land,-- - Meagre as pallid want. - Where be the fairies now, the little fays, - That dance in buttercups in summer days, - Though only Poets view - Their gambols in the flowers and in the rays - Of noonday, which the common sight gainsays, - To Fancy ever new! - - The grasshopper is gone. Ah, me! can death - Have will to stop _its_ modicum of breath? - Swift fly the clouds, why should they fly so swift? - Come they like Angel-spirits, with a gift - Of mercy to mankind? - In this drear time, the heart asks where are they - That tell of sunshine being on the way? - The harbingers of light and genial heat, - That make the meadows and the valleys sweet - When softly sighs the wind: - Make rich the upland grass to mountain goat, - When balm and beauty through the ether float, - Like gossamer reclined. - Oh! for a cheerful note from blackbird--gone, - All gone, the songster and his song are flown; - There's nought to cheer the ear. - Oh! now to list the mavis in the wood,-- - The psalms of Nature's singers, always good, - Bring solace to the year. - - Oh! for one glimpse of sunshine, to remind - The Earth of summer, ever bland and kind. - - - - - HUMAN CONDUCT. - - - WHY is it that the heart of man - So full is of vagary, - That when he's told what's right, he jerks - The rein, and does contrary. - - Like skittish horse, or stubborn pig, - Or other self-willed creature, - That in the public highways shows - Its vile and perverse nature. - - There's many a lesson taught to man, - But little does he mind them, - Many's the warning given to him,-- - He throws them all behind him. - - But let me a short tale relate - Instead of moralising, - You'll prize it more, I dare to say, - Than any such premising. - - The sun was shining on the hills, - The countryside looked sweeter, - And brighter and more beautiful - Than I can tell in metre. - - It was the spring-time of the year, - That pleasant balmy season, - When freshness passes o'er the earth, - And come the buds the trees on. - - When Nature young looks, and is young, - But though she dresses gaily, - The time grows old, for Time, like man, - Grows older daily, daily! - - Ah me! that men should be so weak - As not to read the lesson,-- - Ripe fruits are offered them, but they - The garbage love to mess on. - - One day along a country road - With hedge and hawthorn bristling, - A country lad was passing, and - In merry mood was whistling. - - Stout was he and his joints well knit, - And firm as time-tried timber, - But light withal and agile too, - No sapling yet was limber. - - Anon a horseman came that way - Who sat on horseback rarely, - This the horse knew as well as he, - And so had bolted fairly. - - The young man eyed him as he came - And was by no means idle, - For as he passed he leapt in front, - And caught him by the bridle. - - The horse reared back, and with the shock - His rider fell right over - Among the mud, and well for him - The place was soft as clover. - - Brought to his feet, without a hurt, - But all o'er very muddy, - He thanked the lad, well-pleased to find - He sound was and unbloody. - - He was a thin spare man, and past - Mid-life, and looking sickly; - Not that his health was touched at all, - Or that his limbs were weakly; - - But he had been for many years - In towns a constant dweller, - Confined to business close, and this - On health is oft a teller. - - He had an eye for bales and goods, - And turnings of the market; - But for the country's picturesque, - His shadow rare did dark it. - - He rode out had to breathe the air, - And give his nerves a bracing, - His steed unruly had become, - His horsemanship disgracing. - - The countryman pulled up some grass, - No readier thing appearing, - And rubbed him down in ostler style, - The mud from off him clearing. - - And then for having saved his life,-- - To cut my tale the shorter,-- - He offered him, as a reward, - To take him as his porter; - - And if he showed capacity, - To give him education, - To make him fit in course of time, - To fill a higher station. - - The youth agreed to't, for he thought, - (While handing back the bridle) - He'd like the change, besides just then - He happened to be idle. - - In Glasgow busy city now, - Behold this country clown bred, - First porter and then junior clerk, - And learning to be town bred. - - Years passed, the sun shines once a day, - But days make years, and every - Sun that rises counts one, thus time - Flows on, as water rivery. - - Through all gradations of the desk - The youth, still true and steady, - Had risen till, from senior clerk, - He partner was already. - - The merchant now, as commerce had - To counting-house long held him, - Resolved to take his ease at last, - And came to business seldom: - - The junior partner and head-clerk - Care of the cash-box keeping, - While he himself had chosen to be - What's called the partner sleeping. - - The countryman, no longer young, - Had toiled both late and early, - And gained some wealth, and 'twas his boast - That he had won it fairly. - - But with it he had learnt betimes - And aye the more the faster, - Some of the city's ways that were - Not pleasing to his master. - - He ne'er had married, and was fond - Of being hospitable; - For 'twas his pride always to have - His friends around his table: - - And so extravagant became, - To feasting much addicted, - And rich wines drinking, which of course - His income much restricted. - - One night his master was in town - And heard he had a party, - An old man now, not wanting sense, - But humorous and hearty; - - Yet this he to himself oft thought, - He thought that 'twas a pity, - His clerk should spend his money in - Thus feasting all the city. - - And so resolved to call on him - And bring him to his senses, - Not by a lecture commonplace - Of prudence and expenses: - - But by a something which he had, - A sort of old memento, - That in his judgment was well worth - Of lectures grave a cento. - - It was a frosty night, and there - Had been a fall of snow on, - The slippery streets required great skill - And caution them to go on. - - With but one fall, he reached the house, - The entrance well he knew there, - Sudden and unexpected burst - Amidst the jovial crew there. - - The gas burnt clear, the host looked blue, - And not the lights, as use is - When one particular guest appears - That no one introduces. - - He said, "Lies the skeleton frost - On one street and another, - "I tripped and fell, and where I lay - One skeleton hugged his brother. - - "His breath is on each pane congealed, - Cold enters through each portal, - "How my teeth chatter with the cold, - A sign that we are mortal. - - "What's this, a banquet spread and rich, - The wines all bright and glowing, - "No thought of this when you I met - Along the road-side going." - - He then produced a bundle which - He opened with derision, - And singly held up the contents - To their astonished vision. - - There was the wellworn hairy cap, - The corderoys to back it, - His host had owned, and there too was - His former fustian jacket. - - These were the clothes the country lad - Had on at their first meeting, - And these he now brought forth to be - To him his present greeting; - - That he might pause in his career - Of jollity and revel, - Lest in his age, reduced he should - Be to his former level. - - 'Tis strange that human conduct oft - So reckless is and hollow, - That when the right path reason shows, - It seeks the wrong to follow. - - The master having said and done, - Quick vanished from them after: - The host attempted at the time - To turn it off with laughter. - Next morn reflection made him take - The hint,--and to be brief then,-- - Though roughly put, 'twas kindly meant,-- - He turned o'er a new leaf then. - - - MORAL. - - To be of any use, reproof - Still strong should be and home put, - A lecture grave or saying wise - The mind is quickly from put; - - Instead of gen'ral moral saws, - Facts personal lay stress on, - And like a surgeon probing deep, - Reform is in the lesson. - - - - - COURTSHIP LINES. - - - OH! let not sorrow cloud thine eye, - Or doubt oppress thy heart, - For love, like truth, can never lie, - Nor truth, like love, depart. - To be mine own, I've chosen thee, - From all the world deems fair; - And I've vowed thine own to be, - Then wherefore cherish care? - - Thou canst not think a love like mine, - Could e'er to thee cause pain; - Or make thy gentle heart repine - That it has loved in vain: - Thee still mine eyes desire to see, - Like sunlight from above; - For all my heart is full of thee, - And all my heart is love. - - 1833. - - - - - LOVE-WEAKNESS. - - - I canna' get my mouth about it, - It lies so deeply on my heart, - That aye when trying to divulge it, - My thoughts fly somehow all apart. - - Were I to learn the best confession - That e'er by pen of man was writ, - To try to speak it in her presence - I should not have the power or wit. - - As in the rose's opening petals - Devotion pure is ever spread, - So in the flushings of my countenance - She my heart's feelings must have read. - - Oh! gladly anywhere I'd venture, - Dare anything to prove it true; - But to disclose my ardent passion - Is just the thing I canna' do. - - I canna' get my mouth about it, - It lies so deeply on my heart, - That aye when trying to divulge it, - My thoughts fly somehow all apart. - - - - - LINES - - TO THE REV. HENRY DUDLEY RYDER, - - _On reading his volume, entitled "The Angelicon, a Gallery - of Sonnets, on the Divine Attributes, and the Passions, the - Graces, and the Virtues."_ - - - THY strains, sweet poet, have the power - To give a solace to the mind, - What time the clouds of sadness lour,-- - Like sighs of thine own "lyred wind." - - For when thy page I deeply trace, - Where thoughts and fancies thickly throng, - It brings to mind free nature's grace, - Where wood-birds tune their mystic song; - - And pleasant streams in ways remote, - Where sweetest music loves to reign; - Where solitude gives birth to thought, - And thought is born of thought again; - - Visions of earth, the pure and bright, - As poet only hath divined, - When high-toned genius pours her light, - Upon the rapt and feeling mind. - - Well hast thou sung the grace and love - Th' Almighty deigns bestow on man, - When seeking mercy from above - By His own sole appointed plan. - - And well, too, hast thou shown the sway - The passions have o'er mortal kind, - Avarice, Ambition, Jealousy, - And other turmoils of the mind. - - These, like the rays that burst from heaven, - Shine brightly forth in verse of thine, - For the proud gift to thee is given, - To charm, to waken, to refine. - - Go on thy way, thy song must claim, - From a dull world its ardent praise; - With saintly Herbert's twine thy name, - And bind with Herbert's verse thy lays. - - - - - THE POET. - - - I WAS told yesterday by one with wise - Solemn aspect, and wrinkles 'bout his eyes, - That poetry is an idle trade, alack! - He had a good black coat upon his back, - And deemed himself respectable,--he said, too, - That he who verses writes will never do - Well in the world, that his character is gone, - And he himself no better than a drone. - So having said he walked away well pleased;-- - Now that's a man, I say, whose mind's diseased. - Has he in summer ever watched a rose - Burst into blossoming, and as it grows - More and more beautiful, sweeten all the air - With its rich perfume,--poetry was there. - - A sunbeam thrown across - The clouds, that makes them glow - With light ineffable - To eyes from earth below; - A small wave of the sea - When the vast ocean waits - The coming of the storm, - That slightly agitates - Its surface passing,--as - When of danger near - First made aware, the roused - Lion, though not in fear - Looks up, the watchfire then - Kindling in his eye, - His mane scarcely as yet - Moved, nor erected high - His head, but his proud glance - Circling keen, rapid, stern,-- - There poetry is seen - By one that can discern. - A priest of Nature's own, - One she herself ordains, - The poet walks in brightness, - And still new blessings gains. - The sky above hath in it - More beauty to his sight, - Than to the world it shines - In its canopy of light. - - The flowers his kindred are - That grow in fields remote; - They waken in his heart - The pure wellsprings of thought: - They speak to him alone - With low and whispering voice, - Like gentle maiden to - The lover of her choice. - - And none but he can tell - What is it that they say, - For a most sweet communion - Is their's to cheer his way. - The ocean in its vastness, - He loves, too, as he sees - It driven by the tempest, - Or slumbering in the breeze. - It brings into his vision - The coming of that day, - When Time within Eternity - Shall merge itself away. - - The forest trees antique - Are his familiar friends, - With the spirit of the woods - His own for ever blends: - And voices of the past, - With fancies of old times, - Do their murmurings recall - Which he fondly puts in rhymes. - - Echoes of distant lands - Beyond the western sea, - Or in the burning east, - Where'er they chance to be, - Are brought to him at night - And cheer his spirit then, - When sleep forsakes the eyes - Of care-worn worldly men. - And ever for his kind - Doth his spirit warmly yearn, - And his verses speak of things - Which only he can learn. - - The human heart, and all - Its feelings, hopes and fears, - All that it fondly loves, - All that it blindly fears, - Its sympathies, affections, - Its duties and desires, - All that its doubts foreshadow, - All that its pride inspires, - - Its sorrows and its faintings, - Its buoyancy and glee, - Its passions and its promptings, - Its truth and constancy; - He knows, and can depicture, - For of the human mind - He is the chosen minister, - The prophet of his kind. - - Such, yea and more, the poet is, - Had he had a choice - Of destinies, if in his fate - Had been heard his voice; - It might have been so that he had - Been a worldling born, - And looked solemn like his scorners, - And had gravely worn - A black coat too, of fashion's cut, - And smoothed trim his beard, - And shook his head wisely, and been - Sententious, and feared - The world's opinion, and condemned - Poetry as idle, - But in his vocation he can - Ne'er his feelings bridle. - His thoughts are in a stronger hand - Than his own, his mind - Has thinks passing in it still, that - Cannot be confined: - Like the birds flying as they list - Through the summer air, - Or the clouds driven by the breeze - Floating everywhere. - - - - - LIGHT AND SHADOW. - - - SHINE down, fair sun, on vale and hill, - And light each height and hollow;-- - No shade rests in the air, but still - On earth the shadows follow. - - Grow green, old trees, where'er you may - Your festival be keeping;-- - On branch and stem, on leaf and spray, - Decay is slowly creeping. - - Bloom bright, fair flowers, in wild or mead, - Around you all perfuming;-- - The blight that mingles with each seed, - The blossom is consuming. - - Grow well, sweet fruit, on garden walls, - Or in hot-houses hasting;-- - The sooner ripe, the sooner falls - Corruption with its wasting. - - Flow on, calm river, still flow on - With ever constant motion;-- - Soon shalt thou mingle, all unknown, - Forgotten in the Ocean. - - Play up, sweet music, to the ear, - A merry note of gladness;-- - The chords that lively stricken cheer, - Give also tones of sadness. - - Shine bright, young Summer, o'er the earth, - And fill the land with laughter;-- - Soon Autumn comes to mar thy mirth, - And winter follows after. - - Burn high, fair hope, within the breast, - By pleasant things attended;-- - Misdoubt and fear do still molest - Our life, till it is ended. - - Fill slow, oh! Time, the rounded cup - Of numbered hours that's set us; - Soon shall our days be gathered up, - And even our own forget us. - - Then shine, fair sun, on vale and hill, - On tower and town and meadow;-- - 'Tis Heaven that sends the brightness still, - Earth only gives the shadow. - - - - - THE EARLY DEAD. - - _On my youngest Daughter, died 20th March 1845, aged twenty-one - months._ - - - SHE rests within her little grave, - A bud of promise too soon taken, - And wanting the sweet smile she gave, - We deem ourselves as if forsaken. - - Life wore for her no luring guise, - She tasted time, and found it dreary, - Calmly she closed her gentle eyes, - As one that falls asleep aweary: - - Like to a star whose little ray - Is quenched ev'n when 'tis brightly shining; - Or as a flower that fades away - While yet its bloom tells nought of pining. - - And when her latest sigh was spent, - And fled her spirit to its Giver, - We felt as with it also went - A lapsed part of our heart for ever. - - Oh! twice before we knew the blight - Upon the heart that deeply falleth, - When death for ever from the sight, - Of our own life a portion calleth: - - But though it has the power to slay, - Still is this consolation given, - It cannot take the hope away - That we shall meet again in heaven. - - There is a place of rest above, - A home for children there provided, - To which away from earth, in love - Their guileless spirits still are guided. - - And when our hearts with sorrow sink - And our weak eyes are sore with weeping, - 'Twill soothe and cheer us still to think - That they sweet watch are o'er us keeping. - - And in the dark and lonely night, - When sleep our eyelids have forsaken, - We'll see again the faces bright - Of our three babes so early taken. - - - - - A DIRGE. - - - MOURN for the untimely dead! - Early blossoms quickly shed! - Soon taken to their long long rest, - Now there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast, - On their graves. - - Neither care nor sorrow now - Leaves its trace upon their brow, - Nor can pain them more molest, - For there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast, - On their graves. - - Little flowers their heads begem, - But they cannot look at them, - For death's cold hand their eyes have prest, - And there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast - On their graves. - - Winds sigh through the shadowing trees, - Summer brings the hum of bees; - But no sounds can their ears invest, - Where there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast - On their graves. - - Still they lie in their low beds, - To sleep till the last morn sheds - Its light upon their place of rest: - Now there waves - The green grass thickly o'er their breast - On their graves. - - - - - A BENEDICTION. - - - GOD bless thee! is my fervent prayer, - At morn and eve, from day to day, - Ev'n as thou tend'st, with anxious care, - Thy children dear with love alway. - - God keep thee ever in His grace, - And still new mercies on thee shower, - Ev'n as thou fold'st in thy embrace - Thine infants tender every hour. - - God love thee, with the love he shows - Still to his own, in earth and heaven, - Ev'n as thou lov'st, with true love, those - Who to thy keeping have been given. - - God guide thee still through all thy days, - And let no evil on thee light, - Ev'n as thou guid'st and guard'st the ways, - Of thy dear offspring day and night. - - God comfort thee in all thy grief, - And ever thy sure Hope remain, - Ev'n as thou comfort'st with relief - Thy little ones in woe and pain. - - God cherish thee throughout thy life, - In weal and woe thy guardian be, - Ev'n as a mother and a wife - Thou still hast cherished them and me. - - - - - HEALTH. - - - OH! what a thing is health to lose, - And what a prize to gain, - Most valued when the spirit woos - Its coming back again. - - After long days and restless nights, - Reclined on weary bed, - How sweet when first its blessing lights - Upon the aching head. - - Its coming turns the life, as doth - The ocean with its tide, - Or as the spring renews the growth - Of what Earth's stores provide. - - Power, fame, and with them cherished gold, - That form man's constant aim, - All would be gladly overtold - Its halcyon bliss to claim. - - It passes life and death between, - From heaven's own portals borne, - Like the sweet under-light scarce seen - That parts the night from morn. - - An emblem of the peace that springs, - To chase away all strife, - An earnest of the grace, that brings - Life to the inner life. - - - - - THE GAME OF LIFE. - - - WATCHING the game of life as daily played, - One marvels at the blunders that are made; - Few trust to chance alone to gain their aim, - But with the means they use 'tis just the same. - Low cunning some employ, and call it skill, - Or substitute for Reason headstrong Will; - And when they win the prize for which they strive, - To their own genius they the credit give; - But when they lose, the blame on fate is thrown; - They never think the fault may be their own. - Others who boast that cunning they disdain, - Affect by Pride their purposes to gain; - High-reaching objects do their minds devise, - By which they blind their own and neighbours' eyes; - Aiming at lofty things, they highly rate - Their own designings, but they find too late - That for success mere unassisted Pride - Does not all necessary means provide; - So thinking surely to promote their aim, - And win the stake of their ambition's game, - But not particular as to how 'tis played, - They call, Pride's contrast, meanness to their aid: - Yet ev'n though Fortune should their hopes attend, - It does not change the matter in the end; - Meanness and Pride may climb the highest hill, - But Pride and meanness they continue still. - - Since Life's a game where all their part must play, - Reason and Truth should in it have the sway, - Or wanting these, as is too oft the case, - Folly and Passion will usurp their place. - - When this weak body dwindles into dust, - And man becomes the nothing that he must, - How puny then will to the soul appear - All that man toils and struggles for when here! - Bound to the narrow aims and views of Earth, - At death his spirit finds that all is dearth - That to this world relates, and well that he - Makes Time provide still for Eternity. - - - - - CONSUMPTION. - - - LIKE monumental Patience, see Decay - Watching the sand-glass slowly wear away, - While Death at hand, amid her waning powers, - Counts, as a monk his beads, her numbered hours. - Upon her brow, o'er which the tresses wave, - The cold dew gathers, dankly, of the grave, - And in her pale mild eyes a lustre shines, - As if her spirit, as she wastes, refines; - While ever and anon her sunken cheek, - Life's fading beauties delicately streak; - As the departing sun from ocean's brinks - Sheds out its glories brightly ere it sinks! - - - - - CHANGE. - - - GRIEF and change and sure decay - All on earth are doomed to know, - What the Past's memorials say - Must the Present undergo. - - Time but shifts his glass about, - And the sands their aims adjust, - In Creation's bounds throughout - All that is returns to dust. - - On the bud and on the flower, - On the child and man grown grey, - Change is passing every hour, - Death has set his snare to slay. - - And the feelings when they glow - With a taste of joy intense, - Soon a tinge of sadness know, - Dimming quickly all the sense. - - Vainly do we strive to keep - Such scant solace as we feel, - Blight unseen on all doth creep, - Pleasures hidden stings conceal. - - Weary soon become the things - That at first make glad our way, - And To-morrow never brings - The same joy we knew To-day. - - Toil exhausts, and strong Desire - Wasteth both the heart and head - With its strugglings, as the fire - Fastest burns the more 'tis fed. - - Life is all a chequered score, - Death and Time direct the chess, - One hath not a triumph more, - Nor the other one the less. - - Thus amid Mutation's range, - Man, impatient of relief, - Learns himself to long for change, - Even though bringing with it grief. - - - - - VIRTUE. - - - HE was a sage old man who said, - While in the public way he stood, - Virtue is best of all, because - Without it there is nothing good. - - He was no stoic who thus spoke - A word so practical and true, - Nor sophist that would grandly say - What he would ne'er attempt to do: - - But one of those wise heathen men - Who Reason followed as a guide, - And by it he was learned a truth - So humbling to mere human pride. - - Yet even to him, with all the lore - Philosophy amassed of old, - Was the full meaning all unknown - Of what unaided Reason told. - - A wiser man than he hath said, - By God's own spirit taught the same, - That wisdom is the chiefest thing - Deserving of man's fervent aim. - - Wisdom and virtue both are one, - And only are attained aright - In their whole fulness and intent, - When sought in Revelation's light. - - By it the sage old heathen's word - In all its breadth is understood; - Wisdom is best of all, he said, - Without it there is nothing good. (11) - - - - - VAIN HOPES. - - - VAIN is his labour who begins to sow, - Ere he has well prepared the soil below; - And vainer still his aim who hopes to win - To Heaven, before repenting of his sin. - - Weak is his wish who looks for full crops grown, - Who has prepared his land and no seed sown; - But weaker still his hopes who thinks to win - To Heaven, with mere repentance of his sin. - - To till the land and lay it out for seeds, - And yet none sown, will bring forth nought but weeds; - And wanting grace to fill, the void within - Breeds, with self-merit, all presumptuous sin. - - Fruitless his skill who would a vessel steer - Without a rudder to direct and veer; - More fruitless still his aim who seeks to win - To Heaven, when wanting prayer for light within. - - Hopeless his task who seeks to safely go, - Without a chart the dangerous rocks to show; - More hopeless still his aim, who seeks to win - To Heaven, when wanting faith to lead him in. - - - - - THE VALLEY OF LIFE. - - - IN the still midnight hour I sat alone - Within my chamber, sunk in reverie, - No sound disturbed my musings, all was hushed - In silence and in sleep, the light near done, - A dim uncertain flickering threw around. - The waning fire was but a heap of ashes, - While there and there a feeble red remained, - That now and then threw out a fitful gleam. - Something like slumber fell upon my eyes, - And a dream passed o'er my spirit stealthily, - As, in the early grey of morn, the mists, - Gathered in masses, up the hill-sides creep, - Ere they dissolve before the sun away. - Remembrance cannot all its features tell, - Though vivid and particular they seemed - When that dread vision on my senses came, - And I could trace the shadowy details, - As one might mark a phantom army march - O'er its last field of battle, ere it passed, - Into obscurity,--could note it then,-- - But afterwards cannot recall the place, - Order and rank, of each brigade and file. - - Methought I stood upon a bare hill-top, - And overlooked a vast and fertile plain - Peopled with many multitudes,--there met - Men of all tribes and nations that the globe - Holds in its wide extent, of every kind, - The Mongol, the Malayan, and the Negro, - The red American and Caucasian fair. - Among them Evil strode ubiquitous, - And threw its shadow wheresoe'er it came. - Its Jackal, lewd Temptation, went before, - With angel face and soft alluring eyes, - While close behind Guilt, Anguish, Care, and Pain - Followed incessantly, and left on all - Their mark impressed as with hot iron seared. - As then I looked upon the scene below, - Meseemed that wheresoe'er Temptation came, - And she came everywhere,--no spot escaped,-- - That many, most indeed of these vast crowds, - Themselves threw madly in her way, and sought - To win her smiles, nor deemed them poisonous; - And once within her meshes, few had will - To fly them, or to manfully resist, - As a strong man confronts his enemy, - And strives to overthrow him where they meet;-- - And she the while assumed all shapes and moods - That suited were to their intents and aims, - For, with a penetrating eye precise, - Intuitively still their minds she knew, - Tendencies and dispositions, and wore,-- - As snares in readiness she had for all,-- - The very guise adapted for their lure, - But carefully concealed the stings they bore. - - Disease and sorrow on her victims fell, - Too late they felt the curse that is entailed - On all who to the Tempter yield, and thus - Become an early prey to Evil, whose - Inheritance is misery and woe. - - And I beheld some 'mongst the various crowds - Who stood aloof from her, and would not be - Entangled with her witcheries or wiles. - These with a resolute will refused to come - Within her reach, and so escaped the first - Of Evil's followers, Guilt, though more or less, - They had their share of what the others left - Behind,--Care, Pain, and Anguish,--for the doom - Pronounced on Man was on them, but they knew - That these, to all who hold out to the end, - With a pure conscience and unspotted mind, - To their endurance will be tempered still, - And, in due season, turn to lasting good, - Which to their spirits consolation brought. - - The valley watered was with goodly rivers, - Upon the banks of which were many met. - Prudence was one, and on its grassy sides - Sat some who, calculating every chance, - A deaf ear to Temptation, when she came, - Turned, unseduced from their proprieties. - Repentance was another, near it lay - Those who Remorse felt and a wounded spirit, - Seeking relief from agonising thought - And racking self-reproach. Beyond these two - Was Perseverance, where returning health - Was found by all who there due time remained. - And farther still, with borders ever green, - And fresh flowers ever springing, ever new, - Were two sweet rills, Virtue and Faith their names, - Where peace of mind was known and purity: - And those who sought their banks,--they were not few, - Though, midst the mighty myriads around, - They seemed but small in number and select,-- - Remained unshaken in their constancy, - Resisting all enticements of the Tempter, - And gladly following the path of duty, - Which brought to them a sure and high reward. - On these, whate'er their griefs and trials were, - And they had many, to refine their souls, - And make them nobler after victory, - Enduring hope and perfect peace abode. - But whereso'er I looked besides, was seen - The power of Ill, shedding on all who bore - The fated impress of humanity, - Torment and fear, and bitter agony, - And pain intolerable,--At the sight - My spirit shrank, and, starting, I awoke! - - - - - AFTER-THOUGHT. - - - MAN values many things far more - Than their own worth told o'er and o'er, - Computed at its highest score. - - He counts his gold with anxious care, - As his whole heart's desire were there, - And hoards up treasures for his heir. - - He gives his labour, time, and health, - To add still something to his wealth, - And life enjoys as if by stealth. - - When pleasure's mood his thoughts employ, - He plays with every passing joy, - Just as a child does with its toy. - - He does not to reflexion call - What after reckoning may befall, - For how he has possessed them all. - - In the lapse onward of his years, - Ere age or grief his spirit sears, - He keeps no note of hopes or fears. - - Nor does he estimate his days, - That each its after-mead conveys, - Whether for censure or for praise, - - As they deserve especially, - Each day it is his lot to see, - As bearing on futurity. - - At night he tells up all his gains, - The more he gets the more he strains, - Or at his losses he complains. - - And then, as one who does his best, - He folds his arms upon his breast, - And with contentment takes his rest. - - Thus daily should he estimate - His bygone hours, and calculate - Their good or ill upon his fate; - - That when his days all vanished have, - They may no bitter reckoning crave,-- - There's no renewal in the grave. - - - - - NOTES. - - - - - NOTES. - - - NOTE 1, PAGE 55. - - "_The Alpine Horn._" - -Reichard, a German writer, affirms that when the sun sets, the shepherd -who dwells on the highest part of the Alps, calls through his horn, -"Praise God the Lord!" and the other shepherds, hearing the sound, -hasten out of their huts and repeat it. This continues for some time, -and the name of the Lord is thus re-echoed from mountain to valley. -When the sound ceases, all kneel down on the mountain, and their -prayers ascend together to the throne of grace. The shepherd from the -summit of the mountain then proclaims "Good night!" which is instantly -repeated by the rest. They then retire to their homes. - - - NOTE 2, PAGE 69. - - "_But come not near the hollyhock._" - -The flower of the hollyhock contains a species of poison, which is -fatal to bees, and round its nectaries and petals several of these -insects are frequently found lying insensible. - - - NOTE 3, PAGE 85. - - _Loch Awe._ - -A lake in Argyleshire. My earliest years were spent in its -neighbourhood; but I have not been there since I was a mere boy. - - "Ah! there my young footsteps in infancy wandered, - My cap was the bonnet, my cloak was the plaid; - On chieftains long perished my memory pondered, - As daily I strode through the pine-covered glade." - - BYRON. - -According to the Guide Books, Loch Awe and its vicinity, more perhaps -than any other district in the Highlands, abound with memorials of -former ages. The lake is thirty miles in extent, and of the average -breadth of one, although in some places it does not exceed half a -mile. It is surrounded by mountains finely wooded, and like many of -the Scottish lakes, its surface is studded over with small islands, -beautifully tufted with trees, and some of them large enough to admit -of being pastured. Upon the island of Innis-Hail are the remains of -a convent; and on a rocky promontory at the eastern extremity of the -lake stand the magnificent ruins of Kilchurn Castle. This structure, -which still exhibits the vestiges of a castellated square tower, was -built in 1440, by Sir John Campbell, (second son of Argyle,) Knight of -Rhodes, and ancestor of the Breadalbane family, and in later times it -became, from the extensive view it commanded of the lake, the favourite -residence of the chiefs of the family. In 1745 it was garrisoned by -the king's troops, in order to defend the pass into the Highlands, and -secure the tranquillity of the country. Emerging from the ocean, and -rising on the north-east bank of Loch Awe, soars Ben Cruachan, the -largest mountain in Argyleshire. Its perpendicular height is 3,390 -feet above the level of the sea, and its circumference at the base is -upwards of twenty miles. On the south, the ascent is gentle nearly to -the summit, where it rises abrupt, and divides into two points, each -having the form of a sugar-loaf. Before the storm, "the spirit of the -mountain shrieks" from Ben Cruachan, Ben Doran, and some other Highland -mountains. When Burke made his tour in Scotland, he declared that Loch -Awe was the most picturesque lake he had ever seen. It was in a narrow -pass in the vicinity of this lake that King Robert Bruce defeated the -Macdougals of Lorn, in 1308. In Loch Awe are found salmon, trout, eels, -and other fresh water fish. The lake discharges itself by the river Awe -into Loch Etive at Bunawe Ferry. - - - NOTE 4, PAGE 87. - - _The Wolf._ - -Wolves were once the scourge of England, and are still numerous in many -parts of France. The Poem is founded on an incident which occurred -some years ago in Picardy--the details of which were similar, with the -exception that the peasant shot his mother instead of his sweetheart, -in mistake for the wolf of which he was in pursuit. The last of these -ferocious animals seen in the neighbourhood of Guisne was shot by a -woman named Louise Vernette, nearly fifty years ago. During a severe -winter, when the whole country was covered with snow, a she-wolf, -urged to desperation by hunger, had entered her cottage at an early -hour of the morning, and carried off her infant, as it lay in the -cradle. The mother, on returning from the labours of the field, with -frantic lamentations searched the neighbourhood for her child. During -her wanderings she encountered a peasant, breathless from a long and -unavailing pursuit of the savage beast, which he had seen entering a -wood about three leagues distant with the child in its jaws. The whole -village immediately renewed the chase; the mother, arming herself with -a gun, was, as might have been expected, the most indefatigable, and, -penetrating into the recesses of the forest, encountered the monster, -which she shot dead. No traces of the miserable infant were ever -discovered. - - - NOTE 5, PAGE 105. - - _Mount Horeb._ - -Mount Sinai stands about 120 miles south from Jerusalem, and nearly 260 -eastward from Grand Cairo in Egypt. The mountain is of no great extent, -but extremely high, and has two tops; the western of which is called -Horeb, and the eastern, which is about a third higher, Sinai. There are -several springs and fruit-trees on Horeb, but nothing except rainwater -on the top of Sinai. The ascent of both is very steep, and can only be -effected by steps, now much effaced, which the Empress Helena, mother -of Constantine the Great, caused to be cut in the marble rock. At the -foot of Mount Sinai, on the north, and near to the ascent of Mount -Horeb, there was a monastery dedicated to Saint Catherine, but now in -ruins, not far distant from which there stands a fountain of very clear -water, formed like a bow or arch. A little above which is to be seen -the Cave where Elijah rested when God spoke unto him, 1 Kings xix. From -the top of Sinai, God proclaimed his law to the Hebrews amid devouring -flames of fire, Exod. xxiv. The Rock Rephidim, which seems to have -been a clift fallen off from the side of Sinai, and lies like a large -loose stone in the midst of the valley, gives name to that part of the -desert nearest the mountain. There are twelve openings in it, whence, -on being struck by Moses, the waters gushed out for the supply of the -Israelites, during the forty years they tarried in the desert, Exod. -xvii. - - - NOTE 6, PAGE 116. - - _Dryburgh Abbey._ - -The ruins of Dryburgh Abbey are surpassingly interesting, from their -antiquity, history, picturesque appearance, and more than all, from the -GREAT MINSTREL being buried there. The grave of Sir Walter Scott is -in St. Mary's Aisle of the Abbey Church of Dryburgh, which is in the -form of a cross, and the Poet lies in the left transept of the Cross, -part of which is still standing, and close to where the high altar -formerly stood. This transept is divided into three burial-places; -that of Sir Walter Scott, Baronet, in right of his grandmother, Lady -Haliburton's family; that of James Erskine, Esq. of Shieldhall and -Melrose; and that of James G. Haig, Esq. of the ancient family of -Bemersyde. These, with the tomb-house of the Earl of Buchan, in St. -Moden's Chapel, and that of James Anderson, Esq. of Gledswood, form, -I believe, the only cemeteries in Dryburgh. These venerable ruins -stand on a romantic peninsula, formed by one of the great windings -of the Tweed, commonly called the crescent of that river, in the -south-west nook of Berwickshire, where the river divides that county -from Roxburghshire. The land rises in a sloping bank from the margin of -the Tweed to the top of Dryburgh Hill, about 800 feet high, on which -stands the colossal statue of _Wallace_, erected by the late revered -Earl of Buchan. The trees in the neighbourhood of Dryburgh have a very -luxuriant appearance, and some of them are rather remarkable. There are -many vestiges of old oaks to be found, and the ash and the yew have -grown to a surprising height and circumference; and there is still, -in the cemetery of the Abbey, a yew-tree of uncommon beauty, which is -upwards of ten feet in circumference, at six feet from the ground. In -the grounds opposite the mansion house of Dryburgh, there are also some -fine trees, particularly a noble cedar, which has been much admired. -Many interesting remains of antiquity have been dug up in Dryburgh -Abbey and places adjacent. - - - NOTE 7, PAGE 140. - - _Sonnets on Danby's Picture._ - -Mr Danby could scarcely have chosen a better subject for the display of -his great powers than that of the Deluge. In this highly effective and -beautiful work of art, an Angel of light is introduced, weeping over -the lifeless bodies of a giant and a female, who, floating above the -swelling waters on a hastily constructed raft, were crushed to death by -a fallen tree. This part of the scene is evidently illustrative of that -passage in Scripture which refers to the "Sons of God," who "saw that -the daughters of men were fair, and they took them wives of all whom -they chose." The "Sons of God," according to the best commentators, -were a race of men favoured by God, but who generally incurred his -displeasure, and perished with mankind in general. - - - NOTE 8, PAGE 157. - - "_Calmly the martyr Guthrie met his fate._" - -Mr James Guthrie, minister of Stirling, was executed at Edinburgh, on -the 1st of June 1661, for his adherence to the Covenant. In his dying -speech, he solemnly declared,--"I take God to record upon my soul, I -would not exchange this scaffold with the palace or the mitre of the -greatest prelate in Britain." - - - NOTE 9, PAGE 167. - - _The Eagle's Nest._ - -The incident here versified is founded on fact, although I have taken -the liberty slightly to alter the details,--to change the scene, as it -were, of the heroine's birth-place,--and to give her a name of my own -choosing. The case is thus narrated by Dr Rush of Philadelphia, in his -"Lectures on the Utility of a Knowledge of the Mind to a Physician," -lect. xi.:-- - -"During the time I passed at a country school, at Cecil county, in -Maryland," says that eminent medical philosopher, "I often went, on a -holiday, with my schoolmates, to see an eagle's nest, upon the summit -of a dead tree in the neighbourhood of the school, during the time of -the incubation of that bird. The daughter of the farmer in whose field -the tree stood, and with whom I became acquainted, married, and settled -in this place about forty years ago. In our occasional interviews, we -now and then spoke of the innocent pursuits and rural pleasures of our -youth, and, among other things, of the eagle's nest in her father's -field. A few years ago I was called to visit this woman, when she was -in the lowest stage of a typhus fever. Upon entering her room, I caught -her eye, and, with a cheerful tone of voice, said only--'The eagle's -nest!' She seized my hand, without being able to speak, and discovered -strong emotions of pleasure in her countenance, probably from a sudden -association of all her early domestic connexions and enjoyments with -the words I had uttered. From that time she began to recover. She is -now living, and seldom fails, when we meet, to salute me with the echo -of--'The eagle's nest!'" - - - NOTE 10, PAGE 193. - - "_Our history records, 'with sorrow and with shame.'_" - -Marshal Ney was shot in violation of a solemn capitulation--the -Convention of Paris;--by the twelfth article of which an amnesty -was granted to all persons in the capital, whatever might be their -opinions, their offices, or their conduct. Marshal Davoust, who had -concluded the Convention, explained it in favour of Ney,--and so -will impartial history. The Duke of Wellington, however, on being -appealed to by the unfortunate Ney, during the trial returned the cold -and lawyer-like answer,--"That the Convention was merely a military -convention, and did not, and could not, promise pardon for political -offences, on the part of the French government." And so Ney, the most -heroic of all the marshals of the French Revolution, was most foully -murdered in the garden of the Luxembourg, to satisfy a point of mere -military etiquette! Like the Dacian captive of old,-- - - "Butchered to make a Roman holiday." - -That the Duke of Wellington did not at once strongly remonstrate -against the illegality of the act was unfortunate for his own fame. It -required but the saving of Ney's life to have made him the greatest man -of his time. That the act was illegal is acknowledged by the ablest -jurisconsults of Europe. Well might Ney himself exclaim, when he found -that his death was resolved upon:--"I am accused against the faith of -treaties, and they will not let me justify myself. I appeal to Europe -and to posterity!" - - - NOTE 11, PAGE 241. - - "_He was a sage old man who said._" - -A sophist, wishing to perplex Thales, who was one of the seven wise men -of Greece, asked him many difficult questions; to all of which the sage -replied without the least hesitation. To one of those questions,--which -was the following,--"What is the best of all things?" Thales gave -this response: "Virtue; because without it there is nothing good." -Such is the conviction of mere unassisted and stumbling reason, the -voice of nature, and the unequivocal and direct assertion of a heathen -philosopher.--_Preface to Piety and Intellect Relatively Estimated, by -Dr Henry Edwards._--An excellent work. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Poems, by William Anderson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS *** - -***** This file should be named 54505.txt or 54505.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/0/54505/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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