Page images
PDF
EPUB

A fragrance from the cedars thickly set

With pale blue berries. In these peaceful shades--
Peaceful, unpruned, immeasurably old-

My thoughts go up the long dim path of years,
Back to the earliest days of Liberty.

O FREEDOM! thou art not, as poets dream,
A fair young girl, with light and delicate limbs,
And wavy tresses gushing from the cap

With which the Roman master crown'd his slave,
When he took off the gyves. A bearded man,
Arm'd to the teeth, art thou: one mailéd hand
Grasps the broad shield, and one the sword; thy brow,
Glorious in beauty though it be, is scarr'd

With tokens of old wars; thy massive limbs

Are strong and struggling. Power at thee has launch'd
His bolts, and with his lightnings smitten thee;-
They could not quench the life thou hast from Heaven.
Merciless Power has dug thy dungeon deep,

And his swart armourers, by a thousand fires,

Have forged thy chain; yet, while he deems thee bound,
The links are shiver'd, and the prison walls
Fall outward; terribly thou springest forth,
As springs the flame above a burning pile,
And shoutest to the nations, who return
Thy shoutings, while the pale oppressor flies.

Thy birth-right was not given by human hands:
Thou wert twin-born with man. In pleasant fields,
While yet our race was few, thou sat'st with him,
To tend the quiet flock and watch the stars,
And teach the reed to utter simple airs.
Thou by his side, amid the tangled wood,
Didst war upon the panther and the wolf,
Thine only foes: and thou with him didst draw
The earliest furrows on the mountain side,
Soft with the Deluge. Tyranny himself,
Thy enemy, although of reverend look,
Hoary with many years, and far obey'd,
Is later born than thou; and as he meets
The grave defiance of thine elder eye,
The usurper trembles in his fastnesses.

Thou shalt wax stronger with the lapse of years,
But he shall fade into a feebler age;

Feebler, yet subtler. He shall weave his snares,
And spring them on thy careless steps, and clap
His wither'd hands, and from their ambush call
His hordes to fall upon thee. He shall send
Quaint maskers, forms of fair and gallant mien,
To catch thy gaze, and, uttering graceful words,
To charm thy ear; while his sly imps, by stealth,
Twine round thee threads of steel, light thread on thread,
That grow to fetters; or bind down thy arms
With chains conceal'd in chaplets. Oh! not yet
May'st thou unbrace thy corslet, or lay by
Thy sword! nor yet, O Freedom! close thy lids
In slumber; for thine enemy never sleeps;
And thou must watch and combat, till the day
Of the new Earth and Heaven.

But would'st thou rest

A while from tumult and the frauds of men,
These old and friendly solitudes invite
Thy visit. They, while yet the forest trees
Were young upon the inviolated Earth,
And yet the moss-stains on the rock were new,
Beheld thy glorious childhood, and rejoiced.

LESSON CXVIII.

Charade on the Name of the Poct Campbell.-W. M. PRAED.

COME from my First, ay, come!

The battle dawn is nigh:

And the screaming trump and the thund'ring drum

Are calling thee to die!

Fight as thy father fought,

Fall as thy father fell

Thy task is taught, thy shroud is wrought:

So forward! and farewell!

Toll ye, my Second! toll!

Fling high the flambeau's light,

And sing the hymn of a parted soul,

Beneath the silent night!

The wreath upon his head,

The cross upon his breast,-

Let the prayer be said, and the tear be shed: take him to his rest!

So

Call ye my Whole, ay, call

The lord of lute, and lay! And let him greet the sable pall

With a noble song to-day : Go, call him by his name,

No fitter hand may crave,

To light the flame of a soldier's fame,
On the turf of a soldier's grave!

LESSON CXIX.

Confidence in God.-ADDISON.

How are thy servants bless'd, O Lord!
How sure is their defence!
Eternal wisdom is their guide,
Their help-omnipotence.

In foreign realms, and lands remote,
Supported by thy care,

Through burning climes I pass'd unhurt
And breathed in tainted air.

Thy mercy sweeten'd every soil,
Made every region please;
The hoary Alpine hills it warm'd,
And smoothed the Tyrrhene seas.

Think, O my soul! devoutly think,
How, with affrighted eyes,
Thou saw'st the wide-extended deep
In all its horrors rise!

Confusion dwelt in every face,

And fear in every heart,

When waves on waves, and gulfs on gulfs.
O'ercame the pilot's art!

Yet then, from all my griefs, O Lord!
Thy mercy set me free:

While, in the confidence of prayer,
My soul took hold on thee.

For though in dreadful whirls we hung
High on the broken wave,

I knew thou wert not slow to hear,
Nor impotent to save.

The storm was laid, the winds retired,
Obedient to thy will;

The sea that roar'd at thy command,
At thy command was still.

In midst of dangers, fears, and deaths,
Thy goodness I'll adore;

And praise thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.

My life-if thou preserve my life—
Thy sacrifice shall be ;

And death-if death must be my doom-
Shall join my soul to thee.

LESSON CXX.

To One in Affliction.-J. MONTGOMERY.

LIFT up thine eyes, afflicted soul!
From earth lift up thine eyes,
Though dark the evening shadows roll,
And daylight beauty dies;

One sun is set-a thousand more

Their rounds of glory run,

Where science leads thee to explore

In every star a sun.

Thus when some long-loved comfort ends,

And nature would despair,

Faith to the heaven of heaven ascends,

And meets ten thousand there;

First faint and small, then clear and bright,
They gladden all the gloom,

And stars that seem but points of light,
The rank of suns assume.

LESSON CXXI.

Exhortation against Subjection to Foreign Influence.-GEO. WASHINGTON.

AGAINST the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove, that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate, to see danger only on one side; and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favourite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables

us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people,

« EelmineJätka »