Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power. Thy soul was like a Star and dwelt apart: Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea; Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, So didst thou travel on life's common way, In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
ON THE FINAL SUBMISSION OF THE TYROLESE.
It was a moral end for which they fought; Else how, when mighty Thrones were put to
Could they, poor Shepherds, have preserved an
A resolution, or enlivening thought?
Nor hath that moral good been vainly sought; For in their magnanimity and fame
Powers have they left-an impulse-and a claim Which neither can be overturn'd nor bought. Sleep, Warriors, sleep! among your hills repose! We know that ye, beneath the stern control Of awful prudence, keep the unvanquish'd soul. And when, impatient of her guilt and woes, Europe breaks forth; then, Shepherds! shall ye rise
For perfect triumph o'er your Enemies.
SHE was a Phantom of delight When first she gleamed upon my sight; A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment's ornament; Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair; Like Twilight's, too, her dusky hair; But all things else about her drawn From May-time and the cheerful Dawn; A dancing Shape, an Image gay, To haunt, to startle, and way-lay.
I saw her upon nearer view. A Spirit, yet a Woman too! Her household motions light and free, And steps of virgin liberty;
A countenance in which did meet Sweet records, promises as sweet; A Creature not too bright or good For human nature's daily food; For transient sorrows, simple wiles, Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.
And now I see with eye serene The very pulse of the machine; A Being breathing thoughtful breath, A Traveller betwixt life and death; The reason firm, the temperate will, Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill, A perfect Woman, nobly planned, To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright With something of an angel light.
(AT INVERSNEYDE, UPON LOCH LOMOND.)
SWEET Highland Girl, a very shower Of beauty is thy earthly dower! Twice seven consenting years have shed Their utmost bounty on thy head:
And these gray Rocks, this household Lawn, These Trees, a veil just half withdrawn,
This fall of water, that doth make
A murmur near the silent Lake,
This little Bay, a quiet road That holds in shelter thy Abode, In truth together ye do seem Like something fashioned in a dream Such Forms as from their covert peep When earthly cares are laid asleep! Yet, dream and vision as thou art, I bless thee with a human heart: God shield thee to thy latest years! I neither know thee nor thy peers; And yet my eyes are filled with tears.
With earnest feeling I shall pray For thee when I am far away: For never saw I mien, or face, In which more plainly I could trace
Benignity and home-bred sense Ripening in perfect innocence... Here scattered like a random seed, Remote from men, Thou dost not need The embarrassed look of shy distress, And maidenly shamefacedness: Thou wear'st upon thy forehead clear The freedom of a Mountaineer. A face with gladness overspread! Sweet looks, by human kindness bred! And seemliness complete, that sways Thy courtesies, about thee plays; With no restraint, but such as springs From quick and eager visitings Of thoughts, that lie beyond the reach Of thy few words of English speech : A bondage sweetly brooked, a strife That gives thy gestures grace and life! So have I, not unmoved in mind, Seen birds of tempest-loving kind, Thus beating up against the wind.
What hand but would a garland cull For thee who art so beautiful? O happy pleasure! here to dwell Beside thee in some heathy dell; Adopt your homely ways and dress, A Shepherd, thou a Shepherdess ! But I could frame a wish for thee More like a grave reality; Thou art to me but as a wave Of the wild sea: and I would have Some claim upon thee, if I could, Though but of common neighbourhood.
What joy to hear thee, and to see! Thy elder Brother I would be, Thy Father, any thing to thee!
Now thanks to Heaven! that of its grace Hath led me to this lonely place. Joy have I had; and going hence I bear away my recompense. In spots like these it is we prize Our Memory, feel that she hath eyes: Then, why should I be loth to stir ? I feel this place was made for her; To give new pleasure like the past, Continued long as life shall last.
Nor am I loth, though pleased at heart, Sweet Highland Girl! from Thee to part;
For I, methinks, till I grow old,
As fair before me shall behold,
As I do now, the Cabin small, The Lake, the Bay, the Waterfall; And Thee, the Spirit of them all!
DESCRIPTION OF WYOMING.
ON Susquehana's side, fair Wyoming! Although the wild-flower on thy ruin'd wall And roofless homes, a sad remembrance bring Of what thy gentle people did befall;
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