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 GENIUS OF AMERICA.
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 | The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys |  |
THE GENIUS OF AMERICA.
A SONG. Tune—The Watery God, &c.
Where spirits dwell, and shad'wy forms,
On Andes' cliffs, 'mid black'ning storms,
With livid lightnings curl'd;
The awful genius of our clime,
In thunder rais'd his voice sublime,
And hush'd the list'ning world.
On Andes' cliffs, 'mid black'ning storms,
With livid lightnings curl'd;
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In thunder rais'd his voice sublime,
And hush'd the list'ning world.
“In lonely waves and wastes of earth,
“A mighty empire claims its birth,
“And heav'n asserts the claim;
“The sails that hang in yon dim sky,
“Proclaim the promis'd æra nigh,
“Which wakes a world to fame.
“A mighty empire claims its birth,
“And heav'n asserts the claim;
“The sails that hang in yon dim sky,
“Proclaim the promis'd æra nigh,
“Which wakes a world to fame.
“Hail ye first bounding barks that roam,
“Blue tumbling billows topp'd with foam,
“Which keel ne'er plough'd before!
“Here suns perform their useless round,
“Here rove the naked tribes embrown'd,
“Who feed on living gore.
“Blue tumbling billows topp'd with foam,
“Which keel ne'er plough'd before!
“Here suns perform their useless round,
“Here rove the naked tribes embrown'd,
“Who feed on living gore.
“To midnight orgies, off'ring dire,
“The human sacrifice on fire,
“A heav'nly light succeeds—
“But, lo! what horrors intervene,
“The toils severe, the carnag'd scene,
“And more than mortal deeds!
“The human sacrifice on fire,
“A heav'nly light succeeds—
“But, lo! what horrors intervene,
“The toils severe, the carnag'd scene,
“And more than mortal deeds!
“Ye fathers, spread your fame afar,
“'Tis yours to still the sounds of war,
“And bid the slaughter cease;
“The peopling hamlets wide extend,
“The harvests spring, the spires ascend,
“'Mid grateful songs of peace.
“'Tis yours to still the sounds of war,
“And bid the slaughter cease;
“The peopling hamlets wide extend,
“The harvests spring, the spires ascend,
“'Mid grateful songs of peace.
“Shall steed to steed, and man to man,
“With discord thund'ring in the van,
“Again destroy the bliss?
“Enough my mystic words reveal,
“The rest the shades of night conceal
“In fate's profound abyss.”
“With discord thund'ring in the van,
“Again destroy the bliss?
“Enough my mystic words reveal,
“The rest the shades of night conceal
“In fate's profound abyss.”
| The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys | |