When from a visionary, short repose, [woes, That nurs'd new cares, and temper'd keener Columbus woke, and to the walls address'd The deep-felt sorrows bursting from his breast: "Here lies the purchase, here the wretched spoil

Of painful years and persevering toil: [pain, For these damp caves, this hideous haunt of I trac'd new regions o'er the chartless main, Tam'd all the dangers of untravers'd waves, Hung o'er their clefts, and topp'd their surging graves,

Saw trait'rous seas o'er coral mountains sweep, Red thunders rock the pole and scorch the deep, Death rear his front in ev'ry varying form, Gape from the shoals, and ride the roaring storm,

My struggling bark her seamy planks disjoin, Rake the rude rock, and drink the copious brine:

Till the tired elements are lull'd at last,
And milder suns allay the billowing blast,
Lead on the tradewinds with unvarying force,
And long and landless curve our constant
[forlorn
Our homeward heaven recoils; each night
Calls up new stars, and backward rolls the

course.

morn;

The boreal vault descends with Europe's shore,
And bright Calisto shuns the wave no more;
The Dragon dips his fiery-foaming jole,
The affrighted magnet flies the faithless pole;
Nature portends a gen'ral change of laws;
My daring deeds are deem'd the guilty cause;
The desperate crew, to insurrection driven,
Devote their captain to the wrath of Heaven,
Resolve at once to end the audacious strife,
And buy their safety with his forfeit life.

In that sad hour, this feeble frame to save, (Unblest reprieve!) and rob the gaping wave, The morn broke forth, these tearful orbs descried

The golden banks that bound the western tide. With full success I calm'd the clam'rous race, Bade heaven's blue arch a second earth em

brace ;

And gave the astonish'd age that bounteous
shore,
power.
Their wealth to nations, and to kings their
Land of delights! ah, dear, delusive coast,
To these fond, aged eyes for ever lost!
No more thy flow'ry vales I travel o'er,
For me thy mountains rear the head no more;
For me thy rocks no sparkling gems unfold,
Nor streams luxuriant wear their paths in gold;
From realms of promis'd peace for ever borne,
I hail mute anguish, and in secret mourn.

But dangers past, a world explored in vain, And foes triumphant, show but half my pain: Dissembling friends, each early joy who gave, And fired my youth the storms of fate to brave, Swarm'd in the sunshine of my happier days, Pursued the fortune, and partook the praise, Now pass my cell with smiles of sour disdain, Insult my woes, and triumph in my pain,

One gentle guardian once could shield the brave;

But now that guardian slumbers in the grave.
Hear from above, thou dear departed shade!
As-once my hopes, my present sorrows aid;
Burst my full heart, afford that last relief;
Breathe back my sighs, and reinspire my grief
Still in my sight thy royal form appears,
Reproves my silence, and demands my tears.
E'en on that hour no more I joy to dwell,
When thy protection bade the canvass swell;
When kings and churchmen found their fac-
tions vain,

Blind Superstition shrunk beneath her chain,
The sun's glad beam led on the circling way,
And isles rose beauteous in Atlantic day.
For on those silv'ry shores, that new domain,
What crowds of tyrants fix their murd'rous
reign!

Her infant realm indignant Freedom flies,
Truth leaves the world, and Isabella dies.
Ah, lend thy friendly shroud to veil my sight,
That these pain'd eyes may dread no more the
light;
[doom,
These welcome shades shall close my instant
And this drear mansion moulder to a tomb."
Thus mourn'd the hapless man: a thunder-
ing sound
[the ground;
Roll'd through the shudd'ring walls, and shook
O'er all the dungeon, where black arches bend,
The roofs unfold, and streams of light descend;
The growing splendor fills the astonish'd room,
And gales ethereal breathe a glad perfume.
Rob'd in the radiance, moves a form serene,
Of human structure, but of heavenly mien ;
Near to the pris'ner's couch he takes his stand,
And waves, in sign of peace, his holy hand.
Tall rose his stature; youth's endearing grace
Adorn'd his limbs, and brighten'd in his face;
Loose o'er his locks the star of ev'ning hung,
And sounds melodious mov'd his cheerful
tongue.

day;

Slow glimm'ring into sight wide regions drew, And rose and brighten'd on the expanding view; Fair sweep the waves, the lessening ocean smiles;

In misty radiance loom a thousand isles; Near and more near the long drawn coasts arise; [the skies, Bays stretch their arms, and mountains lift The lakes, unfolding, point the streams their [display; way; Slopes, ridges, plains, their spreading skirts| The vales branch forth, high-walk, approaching groves,

And all the majesty of Nature moves.

O'er the wild hemisphere his glances fly, Its forms distending as it still draws nigh, As all its salient sides force far their sway, Crowd back the ocean, and indent the day. He saw, through central zones, the winding shore

[fore; Spread the deep gulf his sail had trac'd beThe Darien isthmus check the raging tide, Join distant lands, and neighb'ring seas divide; On either hand the shores unbounded bend, Push wide their waves, to each dim pole ascend; The two twin continents united rise, Broad as the main, and lengthen'd with the skies. [Guide: Long gazed the Mariner; when thus the "Here spreads the world thy daring sail descried,

Hesperia call'd, from my anterior claim;
But now Columbia, from thy patriarch name.
So from Phenicia's peopled strand of yore
Europa sail'd, and sought an unknown shore;
There stamp'd her sacred name; and thence
her race,
[brace,
Hale, vent'rous, bold, from Jove's divine em-
Rang'd o'er the world, predestin'd to bestride
Earth's elder continents and each far tide.

Ages unborn shall bless the happier day, That saw thy streamer shape the guideless way; Their bravest heroes trace the path you led, And sires of nations through the regions spread. Behold yon isles, where first thy flag unfurl'd, In bloodless triumph, o'er the younger world; As, awed to silence, savage bands gave place, And hail'd with joy the sun-descended race.

Retrace the banks'yon rushing waters lave; There Oronoco checks great Ocean's wave; Thine is the stream; it cleaves the well known coast,

Where Paria's walks thy former footsteps

boast.

But these no more thy wide discov'ries bound:
Superior prospects lead their swelling round;
Nature's remotest scenes before thee roll,
And years and empires open on thy soul.

To yon dim rounds first elevate thy view; See Quito's plains o'erlook their proud Peru; On whose huge base, like isles amid sky driven, A vast protub'rance props the cope of heaven;

arise,

bends,

Hills form on hills, and croupe o'er croupe exAscending, whit'ning, how the crags are lost, O'erhung with headcliffs of eternal frost! Broad fields of ice give back the morning ray, Like walls of suns, or heaven's perennial day." 172. The Annunciation. PIERPONT. THE night was moonless :-Judah's shepherds kept [them slept. starlight watch their flocks around heaven's blue fields their wakeful eyes were turn'd,

Their To

And to the fires that there eternal burn'd.
Those azure regions had been peopled long,
With Fancy's children, by the sons of song:
And there, the simple shepherd, conning o'er
His humble pittance of Chaldean lore,
Saw, in the stillness of a starry night,
The Swan and Eagle wing their silent flight;
And, from their spangled pinions, as they flew,
On Israel's vales of verdure shower the dew;
Saw there the brilliant gems, that nightly flare,
In the thin mist of Berenice's hair;
And there, Bootes roll his lucid wain,
On sparkling wheels, along the ethereal plain;
And there, the Pleiades, in tuneful gyre,
Pursue, for ever, the star-studded Lyre;
And there, with bickering lash, heaven's
Charioteer

Urge round the Cynosure his bright career.
While thus the shepherds watch'd the host

of night,

O'er heaven's blue concave flash'd a sudden light.

The unrolling glory spread its folds divine, O'er the green hills and vales of Palestine; And, lo! descending angels, hovering there, Stretch'd their loose wings, and in the purple air Hung o'er the sleepless guardians of the fold :When that high anthem, clear, and strong, and bold,

On wavy paths of trembling ether ran: "Glory to God;-benevolence to man;Peace to the world:"-and in full concert came, From silver tubes, and harps of golden frame, The loud and sweet response, whose choral strains

Linger'd and languish'd on Judea's plains. Yon living lamps, charm'd from their chambers blue.

By airs so heavenly, from the skies withdrew

Nieflehm's black, funereal dome;
Hither rise, and hither come!
By the potent Runic rhyme,
Awful, mystic, and sublime;
By the streams that roar below;
By the sable fount of woe;
By the burning gulf of pain,
Muspell's home, and Surtur's reign;
By the Day, when, o'er the world,
Wild confusion shall be hurl'd,
Rymer mount his fiery car,
Giants, Genii, rush to war;

To vengeance move the Prince of Fire,
And heaven, and earth, in flames expire!

From the dreary realms below,

From the dark domains of fear, From the ghastly seats of woe,

Hear! tremendous Hela, hear!

§ 175. A poor Woman, attending in the Field of Battle, sees her only Son slain, and expresses her Feelings in the following Lamen

tation.

NAMELESS Sons of want and sorrow,

Few and evil were your days;
To-day the cowslip buds, to-morrow
Low the sithe the cowslip lays!
Men and brethren still I hail ye,
Though in hostile bands ye be;
Men and brethren, I bewail ye

With a tear of sympathy!
Yes, ye all were born of woman,

Suck'd a tender mother's breast; Hark! she cries, O! sword inhuman, Spare my child! I'm sore distress'd. Me! me!-kill me! me, who bore him! Spare the babe this bosom fed! Ruffians from my cottage tore him,

Where he earn'd my daily bread. Warrior, here, with rage unfeeling,

Here behold my white breast bare; Dye it red, and plunge your steel in, But my child, poor stripling, spare: My age's solace !—for his father

Perish'd in the bloody field; A babe he left me, which I'd rather Than the gold the Indies yield: Pledge of his love;-and I did dearly Love the father in the child; Slay us both, I beg sincerely; On us both the earth be pil'd. They sink; but, lo! a wondrous vision, Cloud-clad ghosts unnumber'd rise; Pale, wan looks, that speak contrition; Blood-stain'd cheeks and hollow eyes. More in number than the ocean

Rolls the pebbles on its shore,
See, they come! and, lo! a motion
From a hand all red with gore!
"Listen, listen, sons of sorrow;

Few and evil were your days;
To-day the cowslip buds, to-morrow
Low the sithe the cowslip lays.

We, like you,-O! heed our warning,—
Warriors were, all blithe and gay:
But we fell in life's bright morning,
Ere we knew the joys of day.
Sons of men, all doom'd to trouble,
Travelling quickly to the grave,
Sheath the sword, for fame's a bubble;
Live to bless, O live to save!

Life to be enjoy'd was given :

Such the will of Him above;
Live and love; make earth a heaven;
God made men to live and love!

Hark! the skies with music ringing,
Silver sounds the concave fill;
Angels' voices sweetly singing,
'Peace on earth, to men good-will.'"

176. The Last Man. CAMPBELL,

ALL worldly shapes shall melt in gloom,

The Sun himself must die,

Before this mortal shall assume

Its Immortality!

I saw a vision in my sleep,
That gave my spirit strength to sweep
Adown the gulf of Time!

I saw the last of human mould,
That shall Creation's death behold,
As Adam saw her prime!

The Sun's eye had a sickly glare;
The Earth with age was wan;
The skeletons of nations were
Around that lonely man!
Some had expir'd in fight-the brands
Still rusted in their bony hands;

In plague and famine some!
Earth's cities had no sound nor tread;
And ships were drifting with the dead
To shores where all was dumb!

Yet, prophet-like, that lone one stood,
With dauntless words and high,
That shook the sere leaves from the wood,
As if a storm pass'd by,

Saying, We're twins in death, proud Sun,
Thy face is cold, thy race is run,

"Tis Mercy bids thee go-
For thou ten thousand thousand years
Hast seen the tide of human tears,
That shall no longer flow.

What though beneath thee man put forth
His pomp, his pride, his skill;
And arts that made fire, flood, and earth
The vassals of his will ;-
Yet mourn I not thy parted sway,
Thou dim, discrowned King of day;

For all those trophied arts
And triumphs that beneath thee sprang
Heal'd not a passion or a pang

Entail'd on human hearts.
Go, let oblivion's curtain fall

Upon the stage of men,
Nor with thy rising beams recall
Life's tragedy again.

Its piteous pageants bring not back,
Nor waken flesh, upon the rack

Of pain anew to writhe;
Stretch'd in disease's shapes abhorr'd,
Or mown, in battle by the sword,
Like grass beneath the sithe.
Ev'n I am weary in yon skies
To watch thy fading fire;
Test of all sumless agonies,

Behold not me expire.

My lips that speak thy dirge of death-
Their rounded gasp and gurgling breath
To see, thou shalt not boast.
Th' eclipse of Nature spreads my pall,—
The majesty of Darkness shall

Receive my parting ghost!
This spirit shall return to Him

That gave its heavenly spark;
Yet think not, Sun, it shall be dim
When thou thyself art dark!
No! it shall live again, and shine
In bliss unknown to beams of thine,
By Him recall'd to breath,
Who captive led Captivity,
Who robb'd the grave of Victory,-
And took the sting from Death!
Go, Sun, while Mercy holds me up
On Nature's awful waste,
To drink this last and bitter cup

Of grief that man shall taste-
Go, tell the night that hides thy face,
Thou saw'st the last of Adam's race,
On earth's sepulchral clod,
The dark'ning universe defy
To quench his Immortality,

Or shake his trust in God!

177. To the Rainbow. CAMPBELL.
TRIUMPHANT arch, that fill'st the sky
When storms prepare to part,
I ask not proud Philosophy

To teach me what thou art.
Still seem, as to my childhood's sight,
A midway station given,

For happy spirits to alight

Betwixt the earth and heaven.

Can all that optics teach unfold

Thy form to please me so,
As when I dream of gems and gold
Hid in thy radiant bow?
When Science from Creation's face
Enchantment's veil withdraws,
What lovely visions yield their place
To cold material laws!

And yet, fair bow, no fabling dreams,
But words of the Most High,
Have told why first thy robe of beams
Was woven in the sky.
When o'er the green, undeluged earth
Heaven's covenant thou didst shine,
How came the world's gray fathers forth
To watch the sacred sign!

And when its yellow lustre smiled
O'er mountains yet untrod,
Each mother held aloft her child
To bless the bow of God.
Methinks, thy jubilee to keep,
The first-made anthem rang,
On earth deliver'd from the deep,
And the first Poet sang.
Nor ever shall the Muse's eye
Unraptur'd greet thy beam:
Theme of primeval prophecy,

Be still the poet's theme.

The earth to thee its incense yields,
The lark thy welcome sings,
When, glitt'ring in the freshen'd fields,
The snowy mushroom springs.
How glorious is thy girdle, cast

O'er mountain, tower, and town,
Or mirror'd in the ocean vast,

A thousand fathoms down.
As fresh in yon horizon dark,

As young thy beauties seem
As when the eagle from the Ark
First sported in thy beam.
For, faithful to its sacred page,

Heaven still rebuilds thy span,
Nor lets the type grow pale with age,
That first spoke peace to man.

§ 178. Hohenlinden; the Scene of a dreadful Engagement between the French and Imperialists, in which the former conquered. CAMPBELL.

ON Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow,
And dark as winter was the flow

Of Iser rolling rapidly:
But Linden show'd another sight,
When the drum beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light

The darkness of the scenery.
By torch and trumpet fast array'd,
Each horseman drew his battle blade,
And furious every charger neigh'd

To join the dreadful revelry:
Then shook the hills by thunder riven;
Then flew the steed to battle driven;
And, rolling like the bolts of heaven,

Far flash'd their red artillery.
But redder yet their fires shall glow
On Linden's heights of crimson'd snow;
And bloodier still the torrent flow

Of Iser rolling rapidly.

The combat deepens! on, ye brave,
Who rush to glory, or the grave!
Wave, Munich, all thy banners wave,
And charge with all thy chivalry.
'Tis morn ;-but scarce yon level sun
Can pierce the war-clouds rolling dun,
Where fiery Frank and furious Hun

Shout in their sulphury canopy.