POEMS DEDICATED TO NATIONAL
INDEPENDENCE AND LIBERTY

PART I
I

COMPOSED BY THE SEA-SIDE, NEAR CALAIS, AUGUST, 1802

AIR Star of evening, Splendour of the west,

FA

Star of my Country!-on the horizon's brink Thou hangest, stooping, as might seem, to sink On England's bosom; yet well pleased to rest, Meanwhile, and be to her a glorious crest Conspicuous to the Nations. Thou, I think, Shouldst be my Country's emblem; and shouldst wink, Bright Star! with laughter on her banners, drest In thy fresh beauty. There! that dusky spot Beneath thee, that is England; there she lies. Blessings be on you both! one hope, one lot, One life, one glory!-I, with many a fear For my dear Country, many heartfelt sighs, Among men who do not love her, linger here.

II

CALAIS, AUGUST, 1802

S it a reed that's shaken by the wind,

Is

Or what is it that ye go forth to see?

Lords, lawyers, statesmen, squires of low degree,

Men known, and men unknown, sick, lame, and blind,
Post forward all, like creatures of one kind,

With first-fruit offerings crowd to bend the knee

In France, before the new-born Majesty.

'Tis ever thus. Ye men of prostrate mind,

A seemly reverence may be paid to power;

But that's a loyal virtue, never sown

In haste, nor springing with a transient shower:
When truth, when sense, when liberty were flown,
What hardship had it been to wait an hour?
Shame on you, feeble Heads, to slavery prone!

ΤΟ

10

J

III

COMPOSED NEAR CALAIS, ON THE ROAD LEADING
TO ARDRES, AUGUST 7, 1802

ONES! as from Calais southward you and I

Went pacing side by side, this public Way

Streamed with the pomp of a too-credulous day,1
When faith was pledged to new-born Liberty:
A homeless sound of joy was in the sky:
From hour to hour the antiquated Earth

Beat like the heart of Man: songs, garlands, mirth,
Banners, and happy faces, far and nigh!

And now, sole register that these things were,
Two solitary greetings have I heard,

'Good morrow, Citizen!' a hollow word,
As if a dead man spake it! Yet despair
Touches me not, though pensive as a bird
Whose vernal coverts winter hath laid bare.2

I

IV 1801

GRIEVED for Buonaparté, with a vain

And an unthinking grief! The tenderest mood
Of that Man's mind-what can it be? what food
Fed his first hopes? what knowledge could he gain?
'Tis not in battles that from youth we train
The Governor who must be wise and good,
And temper with the sternness of the brain
Thoughts motherly, and meek as womanhood.
Wisdom doth live with children round her knees:
Books, leisure, perfect freedom, and the talk
Man holds with week-day man in the hourly walk
Of the mind's business: these are the degrees
By which true Sway doth mount; this is the stalk
True Power doth grow on; and her rights are these.
May 21, 1802

F

V

CALAIS, AUGUST 15, 1802

ESTIVALS have I seen that were not names:
This is young Buonaparte's natal day,

And his is henceforth an established sway—
Consul for life. With worship France proclaims

1 July 14, 1790.

2 See Note.

ΤΟ

ΙΟ

N

Her approbation, and with pomps and games.
Heaven grant that other Cities may be gay!
Calais is not and I have bent my way

To the sea-coast, noting that each man frames
His business as he likes. Far other show
My youth here witnessed, in a prouder time;
The senselessness of joy was then sublime!
Happy is he, who, caring not for Pope,
Consul, or King, can sound himself to know
The destiny of Man, and live in hope.

VI

ON THE EXTINCTION OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC

O

NCE did She hold the gorgeous east in fee;

And was the safeguard of the west: the worth

Of Venice did not fall below her birth,

Venice, the eldest Child of Liberty.

She was a maiden City, bright and free;
No guile seduced, no force could violate;
And, when she took unto herself a Mate,
She must espouse the everlasting Sea.
And what if she had seen those glories fade,
Those titles vanish, and that strength decay;
Yet shall some tribute of regret be paid
When her long life hath reached its final day:
Men are we, and must grieve when even the Shade
Of that which once was great is passed away.

Τ

VII

THE KING OF SWEDEN

Probably Aug. 1802

HE Voice of song from distant lands shall call

ΙΟ

ΙΟ

To that great King: shall hail the crowned
Youth

Who, taking counsel of unbending Truth,
By one example hath set forth to all

How they with dignity may stand; or fall,
If fall they must. Now, whither doth it tend?
And what to him and his shall be the end?
That thought is one which neither can appal
Nor cheer him ; for the illustrious Swede hath done
The thing which ought to be; is raised above
All consequences: work he hath begun
Of fortitude, and piety, and love,

Which all his glorious ancestors approve :
The heroes bless him, him their rightful son.1

Probably Aug. 1802

1 See Note.

Τ

VIII

TO TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE

OUSSAINT, the most unhappy man of men!
Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough
Within thy hearing, or thy head be now

Pillowed in some deep dungeon's earless den ;-
O miserable Chieftain! where and when
Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou
Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow :
Though fallen thyself, never to rise again,

Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind

Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies; 10
There's not a breathing of the common wind

That will forget thee; thou hast great allies;

Thy friends are exultations, agonies,

And love, and man's unconquerable mind.

IX

SEPTEMBER 1, 1802

Probably Aug. 1802

AMONG the capricious acts of tyranny that disgraced those times, was the chasing of all Negroes from France by decree of the government: we had a Fellow-passenger who was one of the expelled.

E had a female Passenger who came

WE

From Calais with us, spotless in array,--
A white-robed Negro, like a lady gay,
Yet downcast as a woman fearing blame;
Meek, destitute, as seemed, of hope or aim
She sate, from notice turning not away,
But on all proffered intercourse did lay
A weight of languid speech, or to the same
No sign of answer made by word or face:
Yet still her eyes retained their tropic fire,
That, burning independent of the mind,
Joined with the lustre of her rich attire
To mock the Outcast-O ye Heavens, be kind!
And feel, thou Earth, for this afflicted Race!

1802

ΙΟ

X

COMPOSED IN THE VALLEY NEAR DOVER, ON THE DAY OF LANDING

H

ERE, on our native soil, we breathe once more.

The cock that crows, the smoke that curls, that
sound

Of bells; those boys who in yon meadow-ground
In white-sleeved shirts are playing; and the roar

Of the waves breaking on the chalky shore;
All, all are English. Oft have I looked round
With joy in Kent's green vales; but never found
Myself so satisfied in heart before.

Europe is yet in bonds; but let that pass,
Thought for another moment. Thou art free,
My Country! and 'tis joy enough and pride
For one hour's perfect bliss, to tread the grass
Of England once again, and hear and see,
With such a dear Companion at my side.

I

XI

Aug. 30, 1802

SEPTEMBER, 1802. NEAR DOVER

NLAND, within a hollow vale, I stood;

And saw, while sea was calm and air was clear, The coast of France-the coast of France how near! Drawn almost into frightful neighbourhood.

I shrunk; for verily the barrier flood

Was like a lake, or river bright and fair,

A span of waters; yet what power is there!
What mightiness for evil and for good!
Even so doth God protect us if we be

Virtuous and wise. Winds blow, and waters roll,
Strength to the brave, and Power, and Deity;
Yet in themselves are nothing! One decree
Spake laws to them, and said that by the soul
Only, the Nations shall be great and free.

Sept. 1802

ΤΟ

ΤΟ

XII

THOUGHT OF A BRITON ON THE SUBJUGATION OF SWITZERLAND

WO Voices are there; one is of the sea,

Tw

One of the mountains; each a mighty Voice:

In both from age to age thou didst rejoice,

They were thy chosen music, Liberty!

There came a Tyrant, and with holy glee

Thou fought'st against him; but hast vainly striven:
Thou from thy Alpine holds at length art driven,
Where not a torrent murmurs heard by thee.
Of one deep bliss thine ear hath been bereft :
Then cleave, O cleave to that which still is left;
For, high-souled Maid, what sorrow would it be
That Mountain floods should thunder as before,
And Ocean bellow from his rocky shore,
And neither awful Voice be heard by thee!

ΤΟ