The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys Late Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Court of Madrid |
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| SONNETS. |
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 | The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys |  |
232
SONNETS.
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There are remarkable periods and events, which may serve, figuratively speaking, as points of view, to guide the memory in retracing our wanderings through this world of vicissitudes and care. The times on which we have fallen, and the situations in which I have been placed, may have furnished, perhaps, an unusual number. Upon lately looking over my papers, I found a few Sonnets which recalled to recollection some of the feelings with which they were written. It is presumed, the dates and titles will generally point out what shall be sufficient to be known respecting these compositions, without illustration.
New-Haven, November, 1802.SONNET I.
Addressed to my Friends at Yale College, on my leaving them to join the Army.
Adieu, thou Yale! where youthful poets dwell,
No more I linger by thy classic stream.
Inglorious case and sportive songs farewell!
Thou startling clarion! break the sleeper's dream!
No more I linger by thy classic stream.
Inglorious case and sportive songs farewell!
Thou startling clarion! break the sleeper's dream!
And sing, ye bards! the war-inspiring theme.
Heard ye the din of battle? clang of arms?
Saw ye the steel 'mid starry banners beam?
Quick throbs my breast at war's untried alarms,
Unknown pulsations stirr'd by glory's charms.
Heard ye the din of battle? clang of arms?
Saw ye the steel 'mid starry banners beam?
Quick throbs my breast at war's untried alarms,
Unknown pulsations stirr'd by glory's charms.
While dear Columbia calls, no danger awes,
Though certain death to threaten'd chains be join'd.
Though fails this flesh devote to freodom's cause,
Can death subdue th' unconquerable mind?
Or adamantine chains ethereal substance bind?
Though certain death to threaten'd chains be join'd.
Though fails this flesh devote to freodom's cause,
Can death subdue th' unconquerable mind?
Or adamantine chains ethereal substance bind?
233
SONNET II.
ON THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN AMERICA.
When civil war awak'd his wrathful fire,
I saw the Britons' burnings stain the sky;
I saw the combat rage with ruthless ire,
Welt'ring in gore the dead and dying lye!
I saw the Britons' burnings stain the sky;
I saw the combat rage with ruthless ire,
Welt'ring in gore the dead and dying lye!
How devastation crimson'd on my eye,
When swoon'd the frighten'd maid; the matron fled
And wept her missing child with thrilling cry;
Old men on staves, and sick men from their bed
Crept, while the foe the conflagration sped!
When swoon'd the frighten'd maid; the matron fled
And wept her missing child with thrilling cry;
Old men on staves, and sick men from their bed
Crept, while the foe the conflagration sped!
So broods, in upper skies, that tempest dire,
Whence fiercer heat these elements shall warm;
What time, in robes of blood and locks of fire,
Th' exterminating angel's awful form
Blows the grave-rending blast, and guides the redd'ning storm.
Whence fiercer heat these elements shall warm;
What time, in robes of blood and locks of fire,
Th' exterminating angel's awful form
Blows the grave-rending blast, and guides the redd'ning storm.
SONNET III.
ON THE PROSPECT OF PEACE, IN 1783.
From worlds of bliss, above the solar bounds,
Thou, Peace! descending in these skirts of day,
Bring heav'nly balm to heal my country's wounds,
Joy to my soul, and transport to my lay!
Thou, Peace! descending in these skirts of day,
Bring heav'nly balm to heal my country's wounds,
Joy to my soul, and transport to my lay!
Too long the cannon, 'mid the grim array
Of charging hosts, insufferably roar'd;
When rose th' Almighty pow'r, with sovereign sway,
To end the battle mutual inroads gor'd,
Spare squander'd blood, and sheath the wearied sword.
Of charging hosts, insufferably roar'd;
When rose th' Almighty pow'r, with sovereign sway,
To end the battle mutual inroads gor'd,
Spare squander'd blood, and sheath the wearied sword.
Now bids that voice divine th' invaders yield,
From glooms of midnight morn's gay prospects rise:
There, see the dawn of heav'n's great day reveal'd,
Where new auroras dim our dazzled eyes,
Flash o'er th' Atlantic waves, and fire the western skies!
From glooms of midnight morn's gay prospects rise:
There, see the dawn of heav'n's great day reveal'd,
Where new auroras dim our dazzled eyes,
Flash o'er th' Atlantic waves, and fire the western skies!
234
SONNET IV.
ON DISBANDING THE ARMY.
Ye brave Columbian bands! a long farewell!
Well have ye fought for freedom—nobly done
Your martial task—the meed immortal won—
And time's last records shall your triumphs tell.
Well have ye fought for freedom—nobly done
Your martial task—the meed immortal won—
And time's last records shall your triumphs tell.
Once friendship made their cup of suff'rings sweet—
The dregs how bitter now those bands must part!
Ah! never, never more on earth to meet:
Distill'd from gall that inundates the heart,
What tears from heroes' eyes are seen to start!
The dregs how bitter now those bands must part!
Ah! never, never more on earth to meet:
Distill'd from gall that inundates the heart,
What tears from heroes' eyes are seen to start!
Ye, too, farewell, who fell in fields of gore,
And chang'd tempestuous toil for rest serene;
Soon shall we join you on the peaceful shore,
(Though gulfs irremeable roll between)
Thither by death-tides borne, as ye full soon have been.
And chang'd tempestuous toil for rest serene;
Soon shall we join you on the peaceful shore,
(Though gulfs irremeable roll between)
Thither by death-tides borne, as ye full soon have been.
It will be difficult for any person who was not present with the troops at the conclusion of the war, to form an adequate idea of the affecting circumstances which attended the disbanding of the army.
SONNET V.
ON LIFE.
Ere we can think of time—the moment's past—
And straight another since that thought began:
So swift each instant mingles with the last,
The flying now exists—no more for man.
And straight another since that thought began:
So swift each instant mingles with the last,
The flying now exists—no more for man.
With consciousness suspended ev'n by sleep,
To what this phantom, life, then likest seems?
Say, thou! whose doubtful being (lost in dreams)
Allows the wilder'd but to wake and weep,
So thoughtless hurried to th' eternal deep!
To what this phantom, life, then likest seems?
Say, thou! whose doubtful being (lost in dreams)
Allows the wilder'd but to wake and weep,
So thoughtless hurried to th' eternal deep!
'Tis like a moon-light vision's airy shade,
A bubble driving down the deep beneath—
Then, ere the bubble burst, the vision fade,
Dissolv'd in air this evanescent breath!
Let man, not mortal, learn true life begins at death.
A bubble driving down the deep beneath—
Then, ere the bubble burst, the vision fade,
Dissolv'd in air this evanescent breath!
Let man, not mortal, learn true life begins at death.
With the Deity, past, present, and future, (as they respect man, who recognizes the pares of duration by succession) are the same.
235
SONNET VI.
ON A NIGHT-STORM AT SEA.
Heav'n's! what a sight my startled eyes behold!
'Mid peals of thunder how the lightnings play!
Now dark'ning clouds, in dire confusion roll'd,
Hide the last glimm'rings of departed day.
'Mid peals of thunder how the lightnings play!
Now dark'ning clouds, in dire confusion roll'd,
Hide the last glimm'rings of departed day.
Now night in tenfold gloom begins her reign;
Wild bounds our bark with all her canvass furl'd.
How howls the madd'ning wind along the main,
The breaking billows o'er the topmast hurl'd,
And fearful yawns, by fits, th' unfathom'd world!
Wild bounds our bark with all her canvass furl'd.
How howls the madd'ning wind along the main,
The breaking billows o'er the topmast hurl'd,
And fearful yawns, by fits, th' unfathom'd world!
Oh, thou! whom not the heav'n of heav'ns contains,
Who oft has sav'd me from the wat'ry grave,
And leaden deaths that cours'd the crimson plains;
Thy arm Omnipotent extend to save,
Oh, speed the halcyon dawn and still the stormy wave.
Who oft has sav'd me from the wat'ry grave,
And leaden deaths that cours'd the crimson plains;
Thy arm Omnipotent extend to save,
Oh, speed the halcyon dawn and still the stormy wave.
The two Sonnets, on a storm and calm at sea, were composed on board the brig Sophia, a dispatch vessel of the United States, purchased by the American government to carry the author to Europe in 1795.
SONNET VII.
On a calm Morning which succeeded a Night-Storm at Sea.
That pow'r, whose voice from Chaos' vast inane
Call'd this fair orb, when sang the sister-stars,
Hath lull'd the tumult of the madden'd main,
And hush'd the rage of elemental wars.
Call'd this fair orb, when sang the sister-stars,
Hath lull'd the tumult of the madden'd main,
And hush'd the rage of elemental wars.
Where rav'd the tempest—yields the blast of night
To matin gales that smooth the liquid way,—
And orient morn, in beams of beauty bright,
Awakes the rapture of the hymning lay,
Thy tribute due, eternal source of day!
To matin gales that smooth the liquid way,—
And orient morn, in beams of beauty bright,
Awakes the rapture of the hymning lay,
Thy tribute due, eternal source of day!
Where night more dismal dwells, with gladd'ning light
So will a day-star spring; to cheer the gloom
Where chills of death the buds of being blight;
To wake the sleeping tenants of the tomb,
And make their faded forms in youth immortal bloom.
So will a day-star spring; to cheer the gloom
Where chills of death the buds of being blight;
To wake the sleeping tenants of the tomb,
And make their faded forms in youth immortal bloom.
236
SONNET VIII.
ON THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.
My Heav'n-born soul! by body unconfin'd,
Leave that low tenement, and roam abroad;
Forestall the time, when, left each clog behind,
Thy flight shall mount where never mortal trod.
Leave that low tenement, and roam abroad;
Forestall the time, when, left each clog behind,
Thy flight shall mount where never mortal trod.
Ev'n now, methinks, upborne in tranced dreams,
The disencumber'd essence tries its wings;
Sees better planets, basks in brighter beams,
To purer sight mysterious symbols brings,
Of unconceiv'd, unutterable things.
The disencumber'd essence tries its wings;
Sees better planets, basks in brighter beams,
To purer sight mysterious symbols brings,
Of unconceiv'd, unutterable things.
Though dust return'd to dust the worms devour,
Thee, can dread death annihilate or bind?
There, king of terrors! stops thy dreaded pow'r;
The bright assurgent from all dross refin'd,
High o'er th' immense of space regains the world of mind.
Thee, can dread death annihilate or bind?
There, king of terrors! stops thy dreaded pow'r;
The bright assurgent from all dross refin'd,
High o'er th' immense of space regains the world of mind.
SONNET IX.
On the Death of Major John Pallsgrave Wyllys.
Belov'd in life! and mourn'd in death! when slain,
Where flow'd the sanguine flood of savage war—
Where white with red men mingling press'd the plain,
Thy bones long bleaching in lone fields afar:
Where flow'd the sanguine flood of savage war—
Where white with red men mingling press'd the plain,
Thy bones long bleaching in lone fields afar:
Thee, Wyllys! thee, the sighing winds deplore,
Through wilds where axe-men erst no branch had fell'd:
Still mourns for thee, Ohio's peopling shore,
His groves (where late the painted warriors yell'd)
Vocal with grief, with tears his waters swell'd.
Through wilds where axe-men erst no branch had fell'd:
Still mourns for thee, Ohio's peopling shore,
His groves (where late the painted warriors yell'd)
Vocal with grief, with tears his waters swell'd.
No friend was nigh to lave thy clotted wound,
Catch thy last breath, and close thy bursting eyes;
Yet thee full cities wail in woe profound—
Thy friends, thy sire, beyond funereal cries,
Stifle in dumb despair abortive groans and sighs.—
Catch thy last breath, and close thy bursting eyes;
Yet thee full cities wail in woe profound—
Thy friends, thy sire, beyond funereal cries,
Stifle in dumb despair abortive groans and sighs.—
The aboriginal inhabitants of America denominate the Europeans the pale, and themselves the red flesh.
237
SONNET X.
On the Murders committed by the Jacobin Faction in the early Period of the French Revolution.
When heads by guillotines all ghastly fell,
As, mad for gore, o'er Gaul a faction hung;
Then giant Terror toll'd his nightly knell,
Wide on the winds the sounds of murder flung!
As, mad for gore, o'er Gaul a faction hung;
Then giant Terror toll'd his nightly knell,
Wide on the winds the sounds of murder flung!
With agonizing shrieks each prison rung—
Nor yet the tocsin ceas'd its louder roar,
But every time it undulating swung,
Cold horror froze through every shivering pore,
For victims doom'd to view the dawn no more.
Nor yet the tocsin ceas'd its louder roar,
But every time it undulating swung,
Cold horror froze through every shivering pore,
For victims doom'd to view the dawn no more.
Those blood-stain'd Jacobins in turn shall fall,
Murd'rers of millions under freedom's name!
But not the blood that delug'd frantic Gaul,
In calm Columbia quenches reason's flame,
Or blots with bloody slur our fair Republic's fame.
Murd'rers of millions under freedom's name!
But not the blood that delug'd frantic Gaul,
In calm Columbia quenches reason's flame,
Or blots with bloody slur our fair Republic's fame.
SONNET XI.
Addressed to his Royal Highness the Prince of Brazil, on my taking leave of the Court of Lisbon, July, 1797.
Farewell ye flow'ry fields! where nature's hand
Profusely sheds her vegetable store,
Nurtur'd by genial suns and zephyrs bland!
Farewell thou Tagus! and thy friendly shore:
Profusely sheds her vegetable store,
Nurtur'd by genial suns and zephyrs bland!
Farewell thou Tagus! and thy friendly shore:
Long shall my soul thy lost retreats deplore,
Thy haunts where shades of heroes met my eyes—
As oft I mus'd where Camoëns trod before,
I saw the godlike form of Gama rise,
With chiefs renown'd beneath yon eastern skies.
Thy haunts where shades of heroes met my eyes—
As oft I mus'd where Camoëns trod before,
I saw the godlike form of Gama rise,
With chiefs renown'd beneath yon eastern skies.
Oh, long may peace and glory crown thy scene—
Farewell, just Prince! no sycophantic lay
Insults thy ear—be what thy sires have been,
Thy great progenitors! who op'd the way
Through seas unsail'd before to climes of orient day.
Farewell, just Prince! no sycophantic lay
Insults thy ear—be what thy sires have been,
Thy great progenitors! who op'd the way
Through seas unsail'd before to climes of orient day.
This Sonnet was translated into Portuguese verse by the Marshall-General, and Commander in Chief, Duke de Alafoens, the uncle of the Queen of Portugal.
338
SONNET XII.
On receiving the News of the Death of General Washington .
Hark! friends! what sobs of sorrow, moans of grief,
On every gale, through every region spread!
Hark! how the western world bewails our chief,
Great Washington, his country's father dead!
On every gale, through every region spread!
Hark! how the western world bewails our chief,
Great Washington, his country's father dead!
Our living light expiring with his breath,
His bright example still illumes our way
Through the dark valley of thy shadow, death!
To realms on high of life without decay,
His bright example still illumes our way
Through the dark valley of thy shadow, death!
To realms on high of life without decay,
Faint, he relied on heav'nly help alone,
While conscience cheer'd th' inevitable hour;
When fades the glare of grandeur, pomp of pow'r,
And all the pageantry that gems a throne:
Then from his hallow'd track, who shall entice
Columbia's sons to tread the paths of vice?
While conscience cheer'd th' inevitable hour;
When fades the glare of grandeur, pomp of pow'r,
And all the pageantry that gems a throne:
Then from his hallow'd track, who shall entice
Columbia's sons to tread the paths of vice?
| The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys | |