Now may you quench those signal fires,
Whose light they long look'd back upon

From their dark deck — watching the flame

As fast it faded from their view,

With thoughts, that, but for manly shame,
Had made them droop and weep like you.
Home to your chambers! home, and pray
For the bright coming of that day,

When, bless'd by heaven, the Cross shall sweep
The Crescent from the Ægean deep,

And your brave warriors, hastening back,
Will bring such glories in their track,
As shall, for many an age to come,
Shed light around their name and home.

There is a Fount on Zea's isle,
Round which, in soft luxuriance, smile
All the sweet flowers, of every kind,

On which the sun of Greece looks down,
Pleased as a lover on the crown

His mistress for her brow hath twined,
When he beholds each floweret there,
Himself had wish'd her most to wear;

Here bloom'd the laurel-rose *, whose wreath
Hangs radiant round the Cypriot shrines,
And here those bramble-flowers, that breathe
Their odour into Zante's wines†:—
The splendid woodbine, that, at eve,
To grace their floral diadems,

The lovely maids of Patmos weave ‡ :—
And that fair plant, whose tangled stems
Shine like a Nereid's hair§, when spread,
Dishevell'd, o'er her azure bed;

All these bright children of the clime,
Each at its own most genial time,

The summer, or the year's sweet prime,)
Like beautiful earth-stars, adorn

The Valley, where that Fount is born:

"Nerium Oleander. In Cyprus it retains its ancient name, Rhododaphne, and the Cypriots adorn their churches with the flowers on feast-days." - Journal of Dr. Sibthorpe, Walpole's Turkey.

+ Id.

Lonicera Caprifolium, used by the girls of Patmos for garlands.

S Cuscuta europæa. "From the twisting and twining of the stems, it is compared by the Greeks to the dishevelled hair of the Nereids." - Walpole's Turkey.

While round, to grace its cradle green,
Groups of Velani oaks are seen,
Towering on every verdant height-
Tall, shadowy, in the evening light,
Like Genii, set to watch the birth
Of some enchanted child of earth
Fair oaks, that over Zea's vales,

Stand with their leafy pride unfurl'd;

While Commerce, from her thousand sails,
Scatters their fruit throughout the world!*

'Twas here—as soon as prayer and sleep (Those truest friends to all who weep) Had lighten'd every heart, and made Ev'n sorrow wear a softer shade

'Twas here, in this secluded spot,

Amid whose breathings calm and sweet
Grief might be soothed, if not forgot,
The Zean nymphs resolved to meet
Each evening now, by the same light
That saw their farewell tears that night;

* "The produce of the island in these acorns alone amounts annually to fifteen thousand quintals.” — Clarke's Travels.

And try, if sound of lute and song,
If wandering mid the moonlight flowers
In various talk, could charm along

With lighter step, the lingering hours,
Till tidings of that Bark should come,
Or Victory waft their warriors home!

When first they met· the wonted smile
Of greeting having gleam'd awhile-
"Twould touch ev'n Moslem heart to see
The sadness that came suddenly

O'er their young brows, when they look'd round
Upon that bright, enchanted ground;

And thought, how many a time, with those

Who now were gone to the rude wars,

They there had met, at evening's close,
And danced till morn outshone the stars!

But seldom long doth hang th' eclipse
Of sorrow o'er such youthful breasts
The breath from her own blushing lips,

That on the maiden's mirror rests,
Not swifter, lighter from the glass,
Than sadness from her brow doth pass.

Soon did they now, as round the Well
They sat, beneath the rising moon
And some, with voice of awe, would tell
Of midnight fays, and nymphs who dwell

In holy founts—while some would tune
Their idle lutes, that now had lain,
For days, without a single strain;
And others, from the rest apart,
With laugh that told the lighten'd heart,
Sat, whispering in each other's ear

Secrets, that all in turn would hear;

Soon did they find this thoughtless play
So swiftly steal their griefs away,

That many a nymph, though pleased the while,
Reproach'd her own forgetful smile,

And sigh'd to think she could be gay.

Among these maidens there was one,
Who to Leucadia * late had been -
Had stood, beneath the evening sun,

On its white towering cliffs, and seen

Now Santa Maura-the island, from whose cliffs Sappho leaped into the sea.