Amid the warriors of Palestine Is one, the first in the battle line; It is not for glory he seeks the field, For a blasted tree is upon his shield,
And the motto he bears is, "I fight for a grave:" He found it-that warrior has died with the brave!
ADDRESS TO WOMAN.
SYLPH of the blue and beaming eye! The Muse's fondest wreaths are thine,- The youthful heart beats warm and high, And joys to own thy power divine! Thou shinest on the flowery path
Of youth-and all its pleasures there;- Thou soothest man, whene'er he hath An eye of gloom-a brow of care!
To youth, thou art the early morn, With "light, and melody, and song," To beam around; each scene adorn; And swiftly speed his time along. To man, thou art the gift of Heaven,
A boon for regions bright above,- His lot how dark, had ne'er been given To him the light of woman's love!
When o'er his dark'ning brow the storm Is gathering in its power and might, The radiant beam of woman's form
Breaks through the cloud, and all is light: When dire Disease prepares her wrath To pour in terror from above,
How gleams upon his gloomy path
The glowing light of woman's love!
When all around is clear and bright, And pleasure lends her fairest charm, And man, enraptured with delight,
Feels, as he views, his bosom warm; Why glows his heart with joy prófuse, And all his deeds his rapture prove? It is, because the scene he views Through the bright rays of woman's love!
O woman! thine is still the power, Denied to all but only thee, To chase away the clouds that lower To darken life's eventful sea. Thou light of man! his only joy
Beneath a wide and boundless sky! Long shall thy praise his tongue employ, Sylph of the blue and beaming eye!
THE MINSTREL'S HOUR.
WHEN day is done, and clouds are low, And flowers are honey-dew,
And Hesper's lamp begins to glow Along the western blue,
And homeward wing the turtle-doves,
Then comes the hour the Minstrel loves.
Far in the dimness curtain'd round, He hears the echoes all
Of rosy vale, or grassy mound, Or distant waterfall;
And shapes are on his dreaming sight, That keep their beauty for the night.
And still, as shakes the sudden breeze The forest's deep'ning shade, He hears on Tuscan evening seas The silver serenade!
Or, to the field of battle borne,
Swells at the sound of trump and horn.
The star that peeps the leaves between, To him is but the light That from some lady's bower of
Shines on her pilgrim knight, That feels her spell around him twine, And hastens home from Palestine.
O, if some wand'ring peasant's song Come sweeten'd from the vale, He hears the stately mitred throng Around the altar's pale;
Or sees the dark-eyed nuns of Spain, Bewitching, blooming, young, in vain.
And thus he thinks the hour away In sweet unworldly folly;
And loves to see the shades of gray, That feed his melancholy:
Finding sweet speech and thought in all,
Star, leaf, wind, song, and waterfall!
THE SAILOR.
AN aged Widow, with one only child, And even he was far away at sea:
Narrow and mean the street wherein she dwelt, And low and small the room; but still it had A look of comfort: on the white-wash'd walls Were rang'd her many ocean treasures-shells, Some like the snow, and some pink, with a blush Caught from the sunset on the waters; plumes From the bright pinions of the Indian birds; Long dark sea-weeds, and black and crimson berries, Were treasured with the treasuring of the heart.
Her sailor brought them, when from his first voyage He came so sun-burnt and so tall, she scarce Knew her fair stripling in that manly youth. Like a memorial of far better days,
The large old Bible, with its silver clasps, Lay on the table; and a fragrant air
Came from the window: there stood a rose tree- Lonely, but of luxuriant growth, and rich
With thousand buds, and beautifully blown flowers: It was a slip from that which grew beside
The cottage, once her own, which ever drew Praise from each passer down the shadowy lane Where her home stood, the home where yet she thought
To end her days in peace;-that was the hope That made life pleasant, and it had been fed By the so ardent spirits of her boy,
Who said that God would bless the efforts made For his old mother.-Like a holiday
Each Sunday came, for then her patient way She took to the white church of her own village, A long five miles; and many marvell'd, one So aged, so feeble, still should seek that church. They knew not how delicious the fresh air, How fair the green leaves and the fields, how glad The sunshine of the country, to the eyes That look'd so seldom on them. She would sit Long after service on a grave, and watch The cattle as they grazed, the yellow corn,
The lane where yet her home might be; and then Return with lighten'd heart to her dull street, Refresh'd with hope and pleasant memories,- Listen with anxious ear to the conch shell, Wherein, they say, the rolling of the sea Is heard distinct; pray for her absent child, Bless him, then dream of him.
A shout awoke the sleeping town, the night Rang with the fleet's return, and victory! Men that were slumbering quietly, rose up
And join'd the shout; the windows gleam'd with lights,
The bells rang forth rejoicingly, the paths
Were fill'd with people; even the lone street Where the poor widow dwelt was roused, and sleep Was thought upon no more that night. Next day- A bright and sunny day it was-high flags Waved from each steeple, and green boughs were hung
In the gay market-place; music was heard, Bands that struck up in triumph; and the sea Was cover'd with proud vessels; and the boats Went to-and-fro the shore, and waving hands Beckon'd from crowded decks to the glad strand Where the wife waited for her husband,-maids Threw the bright curls back from their glist'ning eyes, And look'd their best;-and as the splashing oar Brought their dear ones to the land, how every voice Grew musical with happiness!
Stood that old widow woman with the rest, Watching the ship wherein had sail'd her son. A boat came from the vessel,-heavily It toil'd upon the waters, and the oars Were dipp'd in slowly. As it near'd the beach, A moaning sound came from it, and a groan Burst from the lips of all the anxious there, When they look'd on each ghastly countenance; For that lone boat was fill'd with wounded men, Bearing them to the hospital-and then That aged woman saw her son. She pray'd, And gain'd her prayer, that she might be his nurse, And take him home. He lived for many days. It soothed him so to hear his mother's voice, To breathe the fragrant air sent from the roses, The roses that were gather'd one by one For him, by his fond parent nurse; the last Was placed upon his pillow, and that night, That very night, he died! And he was laid In the same church-yard where his father lay,—
« PreviousContinue » |