The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys Late Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Court of Madrid |
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 | The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys |  |
While yet detain'd beneath Iberian skies,
Still for my native land new longings rise:
Me keen remembrance goads, by seas confin'd,
While all my country rushes on my mind.
Fir'd at the name, I feel the patriot heat
Throb in my bosom, in my pulses beat,
And on my visage glow. Though what I feel
No words can tell—unutterable zeal!—
Yet thou, Omniscient! whose all-searching eyes
Behold the hidden thoughts that in us rise,
Accept the silent pray'r—“increase, secure,
My country's bliss, while nature's self endure;
'Till pass'd the race of man, like fleeting wind,
Whose viewless current leaves no trace behind,
Th' irrevocable voice from Heav'n absorb
In smould'ring flames, the annihilated orb!”
Still for my native land new longings rise:
Me keen remembrance goads, by seas confin'd,
While all my country rushes on my mind.
Fir'd at the name, I feel the patriot heat
Throb in my bosom, in my pulses beat,
And on my visage glow. Though what I feel
No words can tell—unutterable zeal!—
Yet thou, Omniscient! whose all-searching eyes
Behold the hidden thoughts that in us rise,
Accept the silent pray'r—“increase, secure,
My country's bliss, while nature's self endure;
'Till pass'd the race of man, like fleeting wind,
Whose viewless current leaves no trace behind,
Th' irrevocable voice from Heav'n absorb
In smould'ring flames, the annihilated orb!”
| The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys | |