 | Rhymes of travel, ballads and poems |  |
III.
Life-Tones.
“Glissez comme une main sur la harpe qui vibre
Glisse de corde en corde, arrachant á la fois
A chaque corde une ame, á chaque ame une voix!”
Lamartine.
Glisse de corde en corde, arrachant á la fois
A chaque corde une ame, á chaque ame une voix!”
Lamartine.
95
THE ENCHANTED KNIGHT.
In the solemn night, when the soul receives
The dreams it has sighed for long,
I mused o'er the charmed, romantic leaves
Of a book of German Song.
The dreams it has sighed for long,
I mused o'er the charmed, romantic leaves
Of a book of German Song.
From stately towers I saw the lords
Ride out to the feudal fray;
I heard the ring of meeting swords
And the Minnesinger's lay!
Ride out to the feudal fray;
I heard the ring of meeting swords
And the Minnesinger's lay!
And, gliding ghost-like through my dream,
Went the Erl-king with a moan,
Where the wizard willow o'erhung the stream
And the spectral moonlight shone.
Went the Erl-king with a moan,
Where the wizard willow o'erhung the stream
And the spectral moonlight shone.
I followed the hero's path, who rode
In harness and helmet bright,
Through a wood where hostile elves abode,
In the glimmering noon of night.
In harness and helmet bright,
Through a wood where hostile elves abode,
In the glimmering noon of night.
96
Banner and bugle's call had died
Amid the shadows far,
And a misty stream, from the mountain side,
Dropped like a silver star.
Amid the shadows far,
And a misty stream, from the mountain side,
Dropped like a silver star.
Thirsting and flushed, from the steed he leapt,
And quaffed from his helm unbound;
Then a mystic trance o'er his spirit crept
And he sank to the elfin ground.
And quaffed from his helm unbound;
Then a mystic trance o'er his spirit crept
And he sank to the elfin ground.
He slept in the ceaseless midnight cold
By the faery spell possessed,
His head sunk down, and his gray beard rolled
On the rust of his armèd breast!
By the faery spell possessed,
His head sunk down, and his gray beard rolled
On the rust of his armèd breast!
When a mighty storm-wind smote the trees
And the crashing thunder fell,
He raised the sword from its mould'ring ease
And strove to burst the spell.
And the crashing thunder fell,
He raised the sword from its mould'ring ease
And strove to burst the spell.
And thus may the fiery soul, that rides
Like a knight to the field of foes,
Drink of the chill world's tempting tides
And sink to a charmed repose.
Like a knight to the field of foes,
Drink of the chill world's tempting tides
And sink to a charmed repose.
The warmth of the generous heart of Youth
Will die in the frozen breast—
The look of Love and the voice of Truth
Be charmed to a palsied rest!
Will die in the frozen breast—
97
Be charmed to a palsied rest!
In vain will the thunder a moment burst
The chill of that torpor's breath;
The slumbering soul shall be wakened first
By the Disenchanter, Death!
The chill of that torpor's breath;
The slumbering soul shall be wakened first
By the Disenchanter, Death!
102
GAUTAMA'S SONG OF REST.
The Hindoo philosopher Gautama, now worshiped under the name of
Buddha, lived in the fifth century before Christ. He taught the unity of
God and Nature, or rather, that the physical and spiritual worlds are merely
different conditions of an Eternal Being. In the spiritual state, this Being
exists in perfect and blissful rest, whose emanations and overflowings enter
the visible world, first in the lowest forms of nature, but rising through
gradual and progressive changes till they reach man, who returns after
death to the original rest and beatitude.
The Hindoo philosopher Gautama, now worshiped under the name of Buddha, lived in the fifth century before Christ. He taught the unity of God and Nature, or rather, that the physical and spiritual worlds are merely different conditions of an Eternal Being. In the spiritual state, this Being exists in perfect and blissful rest, whose emanations and overflowings enter the visible world, first in the lowest forms of nature, but rising through gradual and progressive changes till they reach man, who returns after death to the original rest and beatitude.
How long, oh! all-pervading Soul of Earth,
Ere Thy last toils on this worn being close,
And trembling with its sudden glory-birth,
Its wings are folded in the lost repose!
Ere Thy last toils on this worn being close,
And trembling with its sudden glory-birth,
Its wings are folded in the lost repose!
Thy doom, resistless, on its travel lies
Through weary wastes of labor and of pain,
Where the soul falters, as its Paradise
In far-off mirage fades and flies again.
Through weary wastes of labor and of pain,
Where the soul falters, as its Paradise
In far-off mirage fades and flies again.
From that pure realm of silence and of joy,
The quickening glories of Thy slumber shine,
Kindling to birth the lifeless world's alloy,
Till its dead bosom bears a seed divine.
The quickening glories of Thy slumber shine,
Kindling to birth the lifeless world's alloy,
Till its dead bosom bears a seed divine.
Through meaner forms the spirit slowly rose,
Which now to meet its near Elysium burns;
Through toilsome ages, circling toward Repose,
The sphere of Being on its axle turns!
Which now to meet its near Elysium burns;
Through toilsome ages, circling toward Repose,
The sphere of Being on its axle turns!
103
Filled with the conscious essence that shall grow,
Through many-changed existence, up to Man,
The sighing airs of scented Ceylon blow,
And desert whirlwinds whelm the caravan.
Through many-changed existence, up to Man,
The sighing airs of scented Ceylon blow,
And desert whirlwinds whelm the caravan.
On the blue bosom of th' eternal deep
It moves forever in the heaving tide;
And, throned on giant Himalaya's steep,
It hurls the crashing avalanche down his side!
It moves forever in the heaving tide;
And, throned on giant Himalaya's steep,
It hurls the crashing avalanche down his side!
The wing of fire strives upward to the air,
Bursting in thunder rock-bound hills apart,
And the deep globe itself, complains to bear
The earthquake beatings of its mighty heart!
Bursting in thunder rock-bound hills apart,
And the deep globe itself, complains to bear
The earthquake beatings of its mighty heart!
Even when the waves are wearied out with toil,
And in their caverns swoon the winds away,
A thousand germs break through the yielding soil,
And bees and blossoms charm the drowsy day.
And in their caverns swoon the winds away,
A thousand germs break through the yielding soil,
And bees and blossoms charm the drowsy day.
In stillest calms, when Nature's self doth seem
Sick for the far-off rest, the work goes on
In deep old forests, like a silent dream,
And sparry caves, that never knew the dawn.
Sick for the far-off rest, the work goes on
In deep old forests, like a silent dream,
And sparry caves, that never knew the dawn.
From step to step, through long and weary time,
The struggling atoms rise in Nature's plan,
Till dust instinctive reaches mind sublime—
Till lowliest being finds its bloom in Man!
The struggling atoms rise in Nature's plan,
104
Till lowliest being finds its bloom in Man!
Here, on the borders of that Realm of Peace,
The gathered burdens of existence rest,
And like a sea whose surges never cease
Heaves with its care the weary human breast.
The gathered burdens of existence rest,
And like a sea whose surges never cease
Heaves with its care the weary human breast.
Oh! bright effulgence of th' Eternal Power,
Break the worn band, and wide thy portals roll!
With silent glory flood the solemn hour
When star-eyed slumber welcomes back the soul!
Break the worn band, and wide thy portals roll!
With silent glory flood the solemn hour
When star-eyed slumber welcomes back the soul!
Then shall the spirit sink in rapture down,
Like some rich blossom drunk with noontide's beam,
Or the wild bliss of music, sent to crown
The wakening moment of a midnight dream.
Like some rich blossom drunk with noontide's beam,
Or the wild bliss of music, sent to crown
The wakening moment of a midnight dream.
Through all the luminous seas of ether there,
Stirs not a trembling wave, to break the rest;
But fragrance, and the silent sense of prayer,
Charm the eternal slumber of the Blest!
Stirs not a trembling wave, to break the rest;
But fragrance, and the silent sense of prayer,
Charm the eternal slumber of the Blest!
105
THE SOUL'S SONG OF ACTION.
Like the silver wing of starlight, sweeping on its silent race,
Widening forward and forever through eternities of space,
Moves the human soul in longings and in thought and deed sublime,
On from summit unto summit, o'er the solemn hills of Time!
Widening forward and forever through eternities of space,
Moves the human soul in longings and in thought and deed sublime,
On from summit unto summit, o'er the solemn hills of Time!
Earth would sink to Night and Chaos, were that golden draught no more
From the sun's o'erbrimming chalice on the thirsty gloom to pour,
And the spirit-planet darkens in its orbit blind and chill,
When its flaming wings are folded and its pulse of lightning still.
From the sun's o'erbrimming chalice on the thirsty gloom to pour,
And the spirit-planet darkens in its orbit blind and chill,
When its flaming wings are folded and its pulse of lightning still.
Not with sweat of weary labor, as we shed on earthly soil,
But with thrills of power and glory, goes the spirit to its toil—
To the long and eager striving for the grasp of things afar,
Like the throbbing of the firefly for the lustre of the star!
But with thrills of power and glory, goes the spirit to its toil—
106
Like the throbbing of the firefly for the lustre of the star!
Toil and Grief and Self-denial, must its burdened pinions bear,
Beating vainly for the freedom of the far empyreal air;
But above Earth's wail and struggling, like a trumpet in the van,
Through the dim and listening ages, speaks the Destiny of Man!
Beating vainly for the freedom of the far empyreal air;
But above Earth's wail and struggling, like a trumpet in the van,
Through the dim and listening ages, speaks the Destiny of Man!
From the living soul of Nature comes an echo to the heart,
Filled with deep, resistless longing, when the fading beams depart—
When the holy shadows gather and the stars are in the sky,
And a saddened fire of feeling kindles in the dewy eye.
Filled with deep, resistless longing, when the fading beams depart—
When the holy shadows gather and the stars are in the sky,
And a saddened fire of feeling kindles in the dewy eye.
When the noon of night is silent, and the silvery moonlight falls
On the forest's branching columns, on its broken foliage-walls—
Comes that starry presence nearer, hushing all the fearful air,
Till the soul has prophet-glimpses of the glory it shall wear.
On the forest's branching columns, on its broken foliage-walls—
Comes that starry presence nearer, hushing all the fearful air,
Till the soul has prophet-glimpses of the glory it shall wear.
107
Not within the sick wind's sighing, nor in sleeping sea and field—
Outward types of weary toiling—are its oracles revealed;
But in shadows and in whispers from the void and vast Unknown,
And in thoughts whose holy beauty seems to come from God alone.
Outward types of weary toiling—are its oracles revealed;
But in shadows and in whispers from the void and vast Unknown,
And in thoughts whose holy beauty seems to come from God alone.
Far-away appears the gleaming of a radiant star of bliss,
As if that sublime existence were foreshadowēd unto this;
And the spirit, onward speeding, to the summit yet untrod,
Sees the shining path of angels leading upward unto God.
As if that sublime existence were foreshadowēd unto this;
And the spirit, onward speeding, to the summit yet untrod,
Sees the shining path of angels leading upward unto God.
Through the hushed and solemn portal, where a silent warder stands,
Rests its purer gaze, rejoicing, on the shores of better lands;
In the Night it triumphed over, lie the fetters it has worn,
And it floats with wing unshackled on the golden tides of morn!
Rests its purer gaze, rejoicing, on the shores of better lands;
In the Night it triumphed over, lie the fetters it has worn,
And it floats with wing unshackled on the golden tides of morn!
With a kingly grasp of knowledge shall it mount before the sun,
Adding realms of conquered Darkness to the wide dominion won:
There the lore of Truth Eternal shall the angel-mind employ,
And in active being blossom the immortal flowers of Joy!
Adding realms of conquered Darkness to the wide dominion won:
There the lore of Truth Eternal shall the angel-mind employ,
And in active being blossom the immortal flowers of Joy!
108
AN AUTUMN THOUGHT.
Here arches high the forest's golden ceiling,
And hides the heaven of blue,
Save where a dim and lonely ray is stealing
The twining branches through.
And hides the heaven of blue,
Save where a dim and lonely ray is stealing
The twining branches through.
Here mossed with age, stands many a hoary column,
To prop the mighty hall;
Nought breaks the silence, undisturbed and solemn,
Save when the dry leaves fall.
To prop the mighty hall;
Nought breaks the silence, undisturbed and solemn,
Save when the dry leaves fall.
The world's annoyance to the wide air flinging,
Alone I tread its floor;
What joy, to feel a purer thought upspringing,
Within the wood once more!
Alone I tread its floor;
What joy, to feel a purer thought upspringing,
Within the wood once more!
Here, the good angels that my childhood guarded,
Come to my side again,
And by their presence is my soul rewarded
For many an hour of pain.
Come to my side again,
And by their presence is my soul rewarded
For many an hour of pain.
109
The Summer's beauty, by the frosts o'ershaded,
May be with sadness fraught,
Yet, wandering through her long pavilions faded,
I read a joyous thought.
May be with sadness fraught,
Yet, wandering through her long pavilions faded,
I read a joyous thought.
Hopes that around us in their beauty hover,
Fall like this forest-rain;
But, the stern winter of Misfortune over,
They bloom as fresh again!
Fall like this forest-rain;
But, the stern winter of Misfortune over,
They bloom as fresh again!
The spring-like verdure of the heart may perish
Beneath some frosty care,
But many a bud which Sorrow learned to cherish
Will bloom again as fair.
Beneath some frosty care,
But many a bud which Sorrow learned to cherish
Will bloom again as fair.
Keep but the artless and confiding spirit
That beamed on Childhood's brow,
And when thy soul Life's Autumn shall inherit,
Thou shalt rejoice as now!
That beamed on Childhood's brow,
And when thy soul Life's Autumn shall inherit,
Thou shalt rejoice as now!
1845.
110
UPWARD!
Cease your wild fluttering, Thoughts that fill the soul!
Silence awhile, 'tis but the hour of birth!
Spurn not impatiently the mind's control,
Nor seek the clouds ere ye have looked on earth!
Still your strong beating till the day has gone
And starry eve comes on!
Silence awhile, 'tis but the hour of birth!
Spurn not impatiently the mind's control,
Nor seek the clouds ere ye have looked on earth!
Still your strong beating till the day has gone
And starry eve comes on!
Why would you sweep so proudly through the sky,
With fearless wing the snow-crowned hills above,
Where the strong eagle scarcely dares to fly
And the cloud-armies thunder as they rove—
Make in the solitude of storms your path
And tempt the lightning's wrath?
With fearless wing the snow-crowned hills above,
Where the strong eagle scarcely dares to fly
And the cloud-armies thunder as they rove—
Make in the solitude of storms your path
And tempt the lightning's wrath?
Will ye not linger in the earth's green fields
Till the first feebleness of youth is o'er,
Clasp the fresh joy that young existence yields
In the bright Present, and desire no more?
Lulled among blossoms, down Life's morning stream
Glide, in Elysian dream?
Till the first feebleness of youth is o'er,
111
In the bright Present, and desire no more?
Lulled among blossoms, down Life's morning stream
Glide, in Elysian dream?
I pause. In might the thronging Thoughts arise:
Hopes unfulfilled and glory yet afar,
Vague, restless longings, that would seek the skies,
And back in flame come like a falling star.
I hear ye in the heart's loud beating seek
A voice wherewith to speak.
Hopes unfulfilled and glory yet afar,
Vague, restless longings, that would seek the skies,
And back in flame come like a falling star.
I hear ye in the heart's loud beating seek
A voice wherewith to speak.
“Say, can the children of a loftier sphere
Find on the earth the freedom they desire?
Can the strong spirit fold its pinions here
And give to joy the utterance of its lyre?
Can the fledged eaglet, born where sunbeams burn,
Back into darkness turn?
Find on the earth the freedom they desire?
Can the strong spirit fold its pinions here
And give to joy the utterance of its lyre?
Can the fledged eaglet, born where sunbeams burn,
Back into darkness turn?
“Must not the wing that would aspire to sweep
Through realms undarkened by the breath of sin,
Dare in its earliest flight the trackless deep,
Nor faint and feebly on the earth begin—
Mount as a soaring lark, in morning's glow,
And leave the mists below?
Through realms undarkened by the breath of sin,
Dare in its earliest flight the trackless deep,
Nor faint and feebly on the earth begin—
Mount as a soaring lark, in morning's glow,
And leave the mists below?
112
“No soul can soar too loftily, whose aim
Is God-given Truth and brother-love of man;
Who builds in hearts the altars of his fame,
And ends in love what sympathy began.
Spirit, ascend! though far thy flight may be,
God then is nearer thee.
Is God-given Truth and brother-love of man;
Who builds in hearts the altars of his fame,
And ends in love what sympathy began.
Spirit, ascend! though far thy flight may be,
God then is nearer thee.
1845.
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