On the approaching close of The Great Exhibition And other poems. By The Lady Emmeline Stuart Wortley |
 |
| MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. |
 | On the approaching close of The Great Exhibition |  |
49
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.
51
LINES ON SAN FRANCISCO.
1
Swiftly groweth San Francisco,By the deep Pacific wave,
Spreading fast in proud proportions,
Thronged by thousands, free and brave.
2
Like a work of very magic,Rise the city walls on high,—
Like the upspringing of a vision,
Opening forth before the eye.
3
Who can gaze on thee, thou city!—Nor predict thy future state?
Throned on earth's most glorious ocean,
Like the greatest of the great.
52
4
There in vast fraternal concourse,Various nations, gathering, dwell;
Like the waves, that in that ocean,
Heaved together, roll and swell.
5
All is fresh, and new around thee,—Be all fresh and new within!
Love and brotherhood should bless thee!—
Shut thy gates 'gainst War and Sin!
6
In advance a hundred Centuries,Thou may'st be even from thy birth,
Of the long-corrupted cities,
In their worldliness and dearth.
7
Build the walls! Let Human NatureRise,—as they rise,—higher, higher!
With free spring and quickened vigour,
Hurrying, hastening, to aspire.
8
With a newly-bounding motion,Let that take a sudden flight,—
As in Science and in Knowledge,
It hath lately soared aright.
9
So in Virtue's mightier wisdom,And in Concord's holier lore,
Build, Oh! build our Mortal Being,
High—still higher—evermore.
53
10
Build the walls!—for that proud labour,Bring ye steadfast spirits bold;
Each successive undertaking,
Still should outshine all the old.
11
Mind of Man!—while thou contrivest,Spring, as fire still upward springs;
Let thy Works to thee for ever,
Be uplifting Winds and Wings!
12
Be those Works of thine, made proudly,Types of Heaven-touched thoughts and things;
Still be they to thee for ever,
As upheaving Winds and Wings!
13
Let the Present, let the Future,From the Fallen and from the Flown,
Snatch a thousand hints and treasures,
Yet win far more of its own.
14
Climb Improvement's Mountain-summits,Breathe her glorious bracing air;
Leave the swamps and mists beneath ye,
Meet th' Unrisen Sun's splendours there!
15
Build, Oh! Build!—Shout, great Pacific!Strains of greeting thou should'st pour;
Hail thou the Anglo-Saxons' Empire,
Stretched out toward thy gladdened shore.
54
16
Shout! yea, Shout! thou proud Pacific!High shall this thy shores exalt;
Almost strong seems that Great Empire,
To bid thy vast billows halt!
17
Build the walls, Build!—high and proudly,Thence be strife and faction driven,
Build for Infinite and Finite,
For Humanity—and Heaven!
18
There raise mart, and hall, and Temple,Precious home, and Sacred Shrine,
Build!—for Man,—and for his Maker,
Build for Human—and Divine!
19
Build the walls for Men and Angels,Your successors,—and the skies;
Build for Mortal and Immortal,
Let the glorious structures rise!
20
Guardian Spirits look down kindly,With a gracious smile serene,
On that fair uprising City,—
They see all its Future Scene.
21
For Celestial and Terrestrial,Lay foundation-stones sublime,
For material and ethereal,
For the Eternity and Time.
55
22
Aye! for temporal and eternal,Ye must strain and ye must strive,
Raise your consecrated Temples,
Show how vast a life ye live.
23
Let the Exalted and the EnlightenedTheir momentous task fulfil,
And ev'n day by day advancing,
Wreak their souls on Progress still.
24
Let your City's walls rise towering,Smiling proudly at the skies,
And let our lifted Human Nature
Rise—responsive to their rise!
25
Still should all of best and noblest,In the Old World and the New,
Meet in Thee, now,—San Francisco!—
With fresh dawning triumphs, too.
26
Yes! let all of best and noblest,In the New World and the Old,
Meet in Thee now, San Francisco!—
With fresh gifts, a thousand-fold!—
27
Nor shall all the golden treasuresHeaped around thee, lure and blind,
From thy true and gracious mission—
Thou new Home of Human-kind!
56
28
Be not thou to these devoted,There are treasures yet more bright,—
Earth builds mightier Expectations,
On thy majesty and might.
29
Be no City of Corruption,Though for thee teem mart and mine;
No Metropolis of Mammon,—
Loftier prospects should be thine.
30
Thou, of Freedom, the Inviolate,A chief Capital should'st tower;—
A Metropolis of Monarchs,
Kings in Thought, and Deed, and Power!
31
Not all the orient golden treasures,Round thee heaped, should lure and blind,
From thy true, great, glorious Mission,
Thou new Home of Humankind!
57
TO NIAGARA.
1
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,Tremendous Chaos of One Element!
How in the triumph of thy mystery,
The power of all seems largely given to thee;
While still the astounding struggle, as we gaze,
Wakes more and more the wildered soul's amaze;
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,
Transcendant Chaos of One Element!
2
'Tis Morning: all seems dazzling,—all divine;How lustrously thy living waters shine:
The sun on thee hath blazed to second birth,
And Heaven, descending, sure hath touched the earth,—
Touched it, and bade its pride a Shadow be,—
Its motion, strength, and life, resigned to thee!
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,
Majestic Chaos of One Element!
58
3
'Tis Evening: have Her skies blushed more to find,That on thine Earth-born forehead thou canst bind
A glory that shall win the astonished eye
From all their crowning Heavenly Pageantry?
Thou hast power to charm, too, from those Worlds of Light,
The great Celestial Mysteries of the old Night;
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with terrors blent,
Sublimer Chaos of One Element!
4
We greet thee with a burst of thoughts that rollIn wild responsive tumult through the Soul,
There eddying, the endless dreams in answer free,
Thrill, maddening with tempestuous sympathy.
What deep Niagaras have rushed and reigned
Through hosts of minds,—o'ermastering and unchained;
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,
Tremendous Chaos of One Element!
5
Each differing Mind,—that broods o'er this dread scene,—Or stern or mild, or fiery or serene,
Lends to thine awful mien and wonderous tone,
Its shadowy Semblance, faintly o'er thee thrown;
Winged souls, as with a crash of Thought, sweep down,
With thee, in passion, stormier than thine own!—
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,—
Ungoverned Chaos of One Element!
6
There let us stand where thou wouldst seem to beatEarth to a quivering foam beneath thy feet;
Thence upward look, where thou, midst vapoury shrouds,
Com'st like a flashing Ocean from the clouds!
A falling Firmament,—just wrenched away,
A falling Heaven, with stars dashed all to spray:
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,
O'erpowering Chaos of One Element!
59
7
Yea! how thou seem'st through those white eddying shrouds,To burst like some lashed Ocean from the Clouds!
Some loosened Firmament, midst storms of light,
Some down-driven Heaven of Stars, half-bared to sight;
Awe-struck we see these gathering terrors hurled!—
We gaze—Niagara seems made the World;
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,
Stupendous Chaos of One Element!
8
Hast thou, indeed, with wild derision beatEarth and her Empires under thy proud feet?
Art thou Unmaker of her strength and pride?—
Hast thou the unchecked Dominion far and wide?—
“Aha!” thou seem'st to shout, for evermore!
And what shall hurl reply to thy dread roar?
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with terrors blent,
Exulting Chaos of One Element!
9
Lo! be not thou a watery Sampson fierce;Seize not the pillars old of the Universe!
Nor this fair Temple of grey Time destroy,
Smit with a sudden rage, and phrenzied joy.
Hast thou, blind Giant-Terror! thou this power?
No, surely not, till strikes the appointed hour!
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with horror blent,
Appalling Chaos of One Element!
10
Then,—then,—perchance, 'midst all the gathering gloom,The chasmy rending of each yawning Tomb,
Thou, with thy maddened waters yet mayst play
Disastrous part in all the vast dismay;
With seven-fold roar and shuddering hideous leap,
Thou to the centre mayst plunge down thy steep!
Chaos of Beauty!—though with terrors blent,
Terrific Chaos of One Element!
60
11
Or with sublime recoil, up-shooting high,Mayst thou expire in spray along the sky;
Scattered through space,—yet thy moist clouds may float,
Showered o'er the face of some bright world remote,
Snatched to another atmosphere serene,—
So long thou sang'st of Heaven in Earth's dim scene.
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with terrors blent,
Bewildering Chaos of One Element!
12
So long thy rolling Hallelujahs rangTo Heaven, from Earth where thou, glad-shouting sang,
And called vain Man to join thine echoing strain,—
That thus, perchance, thou 'lt sing and shine again
In some fair Planet, thrilled with many a tone
Of thundering Hallelujahs, like thine own.
Chaos of Beauty!—yet with terror blent,
Transcendant Chaos of One Element!
13
One moment let me Heavenwards raise mine eyes,Where flash through the empires of Night's shuddering skies,
Niagaras of Fire!—urged on sublime,
Great Worlds driven hurrying down the Steep of Time;
Grandest Niagara of Nature! Stream,—
Where blazing Cataracts of Creations flame!—
Creations crowded to a Chaos, blent,—
Till theirs,—like thine,—seems One bright Element!
14
One moment Heavenwards, thus, I raise mine eyes,Where flash through Night's outstretched, imperial skies,
Niagaras of Flame, that roll and sweep,
Mysterious Time!—down thy great shadowy Steep,
Mightiest Niagara of Nature, gleam,—
Stream, blazing Cataracts of Creations, stream!
A Sea of Fire ye seem, thus heaved and blent,—
Resplendent Chaos of One Element!
61
LINES ON NAPOLEON.
1
Thou who once towered midst Chiefs and Conquerors first,Say! in that world where man's vain victories cease,
Know'st thou on earth thou art now no more accursed,
Since thou 'st most taught that Earth to prize her Peace?
2
She curses not,—but blesses more and moreHis name, whose victories vanquished War at last!—
That fanged Leviathan of seas of gore,
From his own hideous spoils shrank back aghast.
3
Throned on a thousand thrones!—yet exiled longFrom that proud land which basked in thy fierce light;
Say, know'st thou that Our World forgives the Wrong,
Since most thou hast taught her thus to bless the Right?
62
4
Lord of half Earth!—for years with scarce a grave,—What mighty lessons didst thou leave mankind!
How restless Ocean round thy tomb did rave,
Where thy foes' Flags streamed Conquest on each wind.
5
Till France,—ashamed that He she still deplores,Should haunt that ocean-sepulchre afar,—
Beckoned the dreadful Phantom to her shores,
While there gloomed, mourner-like, Her meteored War.
6
Her marshalled War, with pale dejection bowed,In many-pennoned, many-plumed array,
Stood mourner-like to greet thee in thy shroud,
And mark her greatest glory passed away.
7
Yet thou—even thou—great Conqueror! knew'st Defeat,Though Glory loved so well thy beaming crest;
At times she failed thy maddening soul to greet,
And shunned the counsels of thy stormy breast.
8
Yea! though, in sooth, Thy thrice-crowned Triumphs vast,Vanquished the mightiest victories gained of yore;
Since thou those conquerors old so far surpassed,
Thou seem'dst to stoop to where they soared before!
9
Besides the victory which disdained thy thrall,On fateful Belgium's darkly-crimsoned plain;
Failed thee that Victory—first and best of all—
Napoleon could not o'er Napoleon gain.
63
10
War! thou Sphynx-Fiend! thy riddle being read,Thou 'st drooped at once to thine own dust and clay;
And Science, Virtue, Wisdom, bear instead
The name of Glory, and her laurelled sway.
11
Strange, strange that thou, great Chief, whose mighty MindWas fired by Genius, meet for nobler things,
Should'st yield to weak Ambition, mad and blind,—
Yet gracious streams flowed forth from troubled springs.
12
Little thou knew'st thy Task or thy Success,Dark Labourer! whose vast Evil wrought our good;
Hewer of this World's stubborn wood!—no less
Strong drawer of its welling streams of blood;
13
'Twas moulded, softened, chiselled, shaped by thee,—That World so long a sufferer, and thy slave;
Till those rich uses of Adversity,
Taught her to bless the aggressor in his grave!
14
A thousand glittering falsehoods were dethronedWith thy dethronement,—falsehoods worshipped long;
Which still the Universal Heart bemoaned,
While bore the weak, the hard yoke of the strong.
15
A thousand specious falsehoods were discrownedWith thy discrowning,—th' altered world, thy work,
Swept by thy storm-breath e'en to Peace profound,
Found then what blessings in her haven lurk.
64
16
Aye, thy new work, the world!—since in the Thought,The Opinions of the time, thou wrought'st deep change;
In minds,—in moods a change momentous wrought,
Sublime as startling, fortunate as strange.
17
Still the Earth for very weariness remained,Perforce, at first in that new Peace,—at length
She learned the worth of the Great Rest she gained,
And turned no more 'gainst her own self, her strength.
18
No more shall half-depopulated realms,Maddened, rejoice—where they should most bewail;
Nor hail the dismal Power whose rage o'erwhelms,
Nor force fresh tears from the outraged orphan pale.
19
What learned thy Child-World in thy school of wrath?Through years of gloom and strife, through dearth and pain;
To follow still in that tremendous path?—
To court the tumult, or to love the chain?
20
No, no! this learnt thy Child-World in thy schoolOf Fire, of Fate, of Wreck, and Waste, and Wrong,
To loathe the oppressions of a reckless rule,
To scorn the gloze of Glory's treacherous tongue.
21
That vain, false glory, whose weak house is builtOf golden vapours oft, on golden sands;
A glory neighbouring on flagitious guilt,
With stains upon her haughty heart and hands.
65
22
Little thou knew'st thy Task or thy Success!For thine own fierce ambition didst thou toil?—
No!—for Earth's after-good and happiness,—
A great unknown result,—a bless'd recoil!
23
So Heaven o'er-ruled thine awful Evil still;So Heaven re-shaped thine aims, thy deeds controlled:
And all the while thou deem'dst thine unchecked Will
In storms of fire and steel triumphant rolled!
24
Once,—once the World raved madly in thy praise,Thine, such renown as staggers and as stuns;
She dreamed thy hand should light her still, and raise,
She dreamed thy pathway lay through walks of Suns;
25
Through walks of Suns, through ways of Life and Light,Through paths of Empire, and through Worlds of Power;
Through waves of crimson Victory, height on height,—
All Time seemed whirled in thy life's vortex hour.
26
When thy proud Pyramid of Empires fell,The long-resounding ruin deeply taught,
With many a voice, what nought could teach so well,—
Wrath heired but Wrath, and Hate with Death was fraught.
27
Well knows she now the truth! and ray by ray,Sees the false glory fade, and hails the true:—
Nor worships Power that grinds her heart away,
But renders unto radiant Peace her due.
66
28
Steeped to the lips in One Man's sin she seemed,—Grown grey and ghast, as 'twere through dying years;
A second Deluge o'er her, rushing, streamed,
Arkless, yet not unrainbowed,—'twas of tears.
29
Earth wakes from that strange, troubled trance to know,Those most should claim her praise who work her weal,
Not those who still contrive her worst of woe,
And on her forehead stamp Death's withering seal.
30
To know the dreadful laurels shadowing o'er,The warrior's steps, in his most glorious hours,
Rooted 'mid worms, are bathed with showers of gore,—
To know Her heart's core wept those purple showers!—
31
To know Red Battle's fratricidal sin,—To know what joys to thrice-bless'd Peace are given;
And Oh!—while stunned no more by Discord's din,—
To know a warring World, at strife with Heaven!
67
TO MADAME LE VERT, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA, U.S.
1
Our hearts are joined in kindness, gentlest friend!Joined by a strong and ever-precious tie;
Together in affection's truth they blend,
And thoughtful sympathy.
2
Two mourning mothers we, alas! have been,Our hearts have travelled o'er the same dark track;
Since from our cradling arms we both have seen,
Our cherished babes called back.
3
Mothers are we of children loved and lost:Children, the very brightest of the fair,
Mothers of Angels in the Heavenly Host—
Still, still we love them there.
68
4
Perchance a chain of Heaven's own golden flowers,Thy heart, unconscious, to my own may bind,
Unglimpsed, unmarked, from the amaranthine bowers,
By their dear hands entwined.
5
Yes, our sweet children may in joy have met,In some far-off and glad, angelic band;
And by the light of suns that never set,
Gone wandering hand in hand;—
6
Wandering 'midst worlds of glory and of bliss,Where loveliest shows and happiest scenes unroll;
Yet from those worlds still winging thoughts to this,
Straight to the mothers' soul.
7
By an electric, yet enduring tie,May they our touched and thrilling hearts have bound,
Still nearer to us in the o'erlooking sky,
Than all that girds us round.
8
From those bless'd realms, athwart the haunted night,Of our sad bosoms they perchance have thrown
A starry-clustered influence, full of might,
While still their sway we own.
9
Their wing-linked rosy-fluttering shadows fall,Far through the new-calmed spirit's glassy deep;
And make it own a strange and mystic thrall,
And moods accordant keep.
69
10
Whispering sweet tones to which our being starts,Have they indeed controlled and stamped our thought?
And laid their blessed hands upon our hearts,
And our new friendship taught?
11
Their clasped-together hands, perchance, may thusHave circled us with more than magic chain;
Their linked-together hearts may wake in us,
A kind responsive vein.
12
Fain would I think it!—sunbeams, incense, flowers,Float through such kindling thoughts of living light,
And their sweet Heaven-love, mirrored thus in ours,
Should bring glad tidings bright.
13
Oh, if the fanciful presumption seemToo boldly soaring, and too wildly high,
May Heaven forgive a mother's yearning dream,
That lingering haunts the sky.
14
That in a thousand once vain, common things,Marks seraph-shadowings, breath, and touch, and smile,
And hears the wave of high celestial wings,
Where all was earth erewhile.
15
This from our loss, at least, we both have gained,Our longing hearts are ever drawn and raised
Toward heights to which our darlings have attained,
Where love hath all but gazed!
70
16
Hath zeal, hath hope, hath science, ever soaredSo gladly to the deathless realms serene,
As hearts, whose living treasures there are stored,—
Scarce seems a cloud between.
17
Yet Oh! that cloud, impervious to our gaze,It spreads, though slight, with dread and awful power,
And hides a Heavenly Universe's blaze,
Till the appointed hour.
18
But from our loss, if we thus much have gained,Our humbly-lifted hearts should grateful prove,
Grateful to be no more to Earth enchained,
Freed through the upspringing love.
19
Even now, like cherub-parents of our souls,Our children seem to nurse our nobler powers;
From them we gain, while time still heavenward rolls,
New hopes and richest dowers.
20
Still let it be so!—let us owe to themShowers of celestial gifts—unnamed, untold!
Flowered dream, and starry thought, and spirit-gem,
Richer than pearl and gold.
21
Still let it be so! let us feel and see,Their high-sphered influence ever round us steal;
And as each day glides towards Eternity,
Learn more to love and feel.
71
22
And when ourselves shall breathe diviner air,Oh, may we find, and clasp at last the unlost;
Our beatific treasures gathered there,
Fairest amidst a host.
72
TO NIAGARA.
Niagara!—that glorious voice of thine,With never-ceasing, gathering power, seems still,
To charm each haunting sense of mortal ill;
It speaks but of the distant—the divine—
It lifts the soul to Nature's holiest shrine,
It links the mind, with a surpassing skill,
To worlds that loftier destinies fulfil,—
Those worlds that scorn Creation's boundary line.
Dread Fall! In beauty a crowned Sun of Light!
In action an Atlantic!—such thy force,
Ocean 'gainst Ocean, battling in their might,
Were scarce more dreadful than thy raging course;—
While mounts thy glittering spray the Heavenly Height,
Tossed like the flashing mane of Death's pale Horse!
73
LINES WRITTEN AT BOSTON, UNITED STATES, 1849, ON THE FOURTH OF JULY,
(THE ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,)
1
Hail! all hail! to the star-spangled banner of pride,Deathless Flag of the great and the brave!
While with England's own right-royal standard allied,
In fair concord and peace it shall wave!
2
Boast your proud Independence,—your sun-blazing birth,—All your Glory and Liberty boast;
Tell it out to the ends of the wide-listening Earth,
And that Land which still loves ye the most!
74
3
For no jealousy more can disturb or destroy,England's pride in her world-renowned son!—
All her millions of hearts would fain bound to your joy,
All her millions of hands grasp your own.
4
Tell it out then to all the wide Lands of the World,Tell it most to that Land o'er the Seas,
Which shall best hail the flag that in freedom unfurled,
With her own rules the Billow and Breeze!
5
Mighty England seems leaning in love o'er the sea(As winged Bark after Bark seeks your strand);
Giant Heir of her Greatness!—she honours in thee,
Her own image of Strength and Command.
6
Yea! best mirrored in thee, she, exultant, beholds,All the pomps of her own Earthquake-march;
And her Flag, and the star-spangled Banner's free folds,
Light together Eternity's arch!
7
And together commingling, your names as One Name,Shall be reverenced alike and renowned;
And for Ye shall the cloud-riding eagles of Fame,
Loud and long bid Her echoes resound.
8
Perish every vile thought of dissension and doubt,—Perish, perish, each foe that would light
Even one spark of foul discord,—or blend with the shout
Of your gladness, one breath that would blight.
75
9
Boast—aye! boast of your freedom, your glory, your power,—All the triumphs that gild your career;
Till the dread tempest-breathings that hail this proud hour,
Seem re-echoing from sphere e'en to sphere!
10
But boast not—Oh! boast not still too much that ye gained,O'er the sons of your fathers, the day;
'Twas those old Lion-fathers that taught ye, and trained,
In red Victory's immortalized way!
11
Bless the hour!—Be it blessed as the last one of wrath,As the first of fair Fellowship's peace!—
And press on!—Ye two mightiest of Lands!—in the path
Of those triumphs that never shall cease!
12
Noblest Triumphs of Knowledge, of Thought, Skill, and Art,That when shared, grow more precious and proud;
That make richer the Mind,—that make nobler the heart,—
Round those Nations, still clustering, they crowd.
13
Science, Commerce, and Art!—Their proud triumphs, in sooth,Shine all Earthlier atchievements above;
There the Victories of each, seem as Victories of both,
And Defeat claims more homage and love.
14
Yea, the Vanquished look up to their Vanquishers then,With glad reverence, with loftier esteem,
Glory! No human hecatombs claim thou again,
Near those Conquests of Mind, thou 'rt a Dream!
76
15
Press still on,—Ye two mightiest of Lands!—in the pathOf those triumphs that never shall fade
While forgetting vain dreams of distraction and wrath,
Each the other shall urge, and shall aid.
16
In the dizzying magnificence even of your flight,While together ye sweep toward the Sun,
In the far-soaring grandeur and pride of your height,
Still the awed Nations shall see ye as—One!
17
Like those stars that so high overhead shine in power,They seem mingled and merged to the sight,—
Lo! Columbia and Albion, the rest shall o'ertower,
Till they stream in one blaze to unite!
18
Hence!—Away with all whisperings of envy or hate,With all ranklings of injury or wrong;
Glorious Nations!—apart,—how transcendently great!—
But combined—how invincibly strong!
19
Now, even now, great America!—speeds to thy strand,One who seems like a guest from above;
In his high hallowed fame he has sought thy brave Land,
To be met by a whole host—of Love!
20
Mild Ambassador!—Conquerors and Chieftains, avaunt!From the Prince of all Peace 'tis he comes;
Th' everlasting green olives to waft and to plant,
'Twixt two Worlds, in your hearts, hearths, and homes.
77
21
And even now a fair vessel from England speeds fast,To bring greetings fraternal from far;
Blessings, prayers, and kind wishes, have flown with the blast,
'Stead of thunderings and threatenings of War.
22
Even this hour a proud vessel to England departs,To bear on, o'er the blue tossing brine,
The flushed hopes and the feelings of thousands of hearts,
Which in deep ties of friendship entwine.
23
And even now, to the tones of a woman's meek voice,How your noblest of hearts have throbbed high!—
Lofty Land!—from this moment ye have bade us rejoice,
In a new, dearer, soul-binding tie.
24
Hail! thou generous America! Hail evermore!Thus,—thou'st vanquished us yet once again;
And thy high-minded sympathy thrills to the core,
Of a Land where 'twill deathlessly reign.
25
In Humanity's cause, what true zeal hath inspired,—Oh! how nobly thou'st answered th' appeal!
For our Heroes, what brave brother-feeling hath fired,
Praise—all praise to that truth and that zeal!
78
26
If we fettered Thee once, oh! Thou hast fettered Us now,In the holiest and loveliest of bonds,—
Lo! a Voice from our homesteads—a Voice faint and low,
And this whole mighty Nation responds.
27
If we fettered Thee once,—more Thou hast now fettered Us,Through the loftiest and strongest of ties;—
Hark! a Voice from our homesteads, faint-whispering,—and thus,
This whole wonderful Nation replies!
28
Thus be still past Oppressors full nobly oppressed,But by blessings and benefits given!
Let Earth follow th' example,—brave World of the West!—
That thou fling'st to the four ends of Heaven.
29
Who can dream of past strifes?—who would dwell on a thought,That could mar such a Beautiful Peace?
Be each hour with pure joys of fraternity fraught,
In perpetual Heaven-honoured increase.
30
Peace!—Aye! England and Englishmen well know the worthOf the People who spurned back and scorned
Ties, dishonoured by trammels,—while ev'n had all Earth
Joined against them, all Earth should have mourned;—
31
Should have mourned, should have bowed to the dust, and confessed,Nought could vanquish where Freedom inspired;
While the whole mighty Land seemed to throb with one breast,—
While that breast one Great Feeling had fired.
79
32
Black Oblivion and Ruin seize each venomed dream,Of fell discord, division, and doubt;
Brothers!—Light with your gladness the sun's orient beam,
Shout your triumph;—Hark!—Hark!—how they shout!—
33
Peace?—my Land!—even to-day thou should'st reap no annoy,—Thou would'st join in each jubilant tone!—
All thy millions of hearts would fain bound to their joy,
All thy millions of hands grasp their own.
34
Hence!—begone! ye past strifes,—not a word, not a thought,Now should mar this most Beautiful Peace;—
The fair links have been forged, the proud work hath been wrought,—
This bright Calm should ne'er change, should ne'er cease.
35
Then all hail to the star-spangled Banner of pride,That famed Flag of the great and the brave!
For with England's own right-royal standard allied,
Still in concord and friendship 't will wave.
36
Well ye severed the links of a chain ye abhorred,—But—Great Heaven! what can ever unbind
The electrical chain and the heart-wreathing cord,
That unites through the Soul and the Mind?
37
Of two proud mighty Peoples' great love there is framedOne eternal, unchangeable yoke;
And magnanimous words have in thunder proclaimed,
It shall never be loosened or broke.
80
38
On the necks of Earth's two mightiest nations 'tis laid,To teach Faith, Love, and Peace to that Earth,
Till the last dread eclipse shall her regions o'ershade,
Can it fail in its weight or its worth?
39
Then away with all memories of Bloodshed and Wars,Let them fade from this day,—from this hour!
On yon Flag I will mark but the Heaven-glancing stars,
Not the Earth-blazoned ensigns of power!
40
I would dwell not on themes of vain strifes and distrust,Seraph-tongues whisper themes far more fair,—
Seraph-hands point where Mathew, the sainted, the just,
Is made glorious America's care.
41
And that noblest response to a heart's solemn cry,E'er yet breathed by a Nation beneath,
(Gallant Franklin! methinks that immortal reply,
Must yet reach thee,—in life or in death!)
42
Let that grow to the soul, let that flash from the tongue,Of great England's true sons evermore;
Could one broad bridge of gold o'er old Ocean be flung,—
No! not thus should it link shore to shore!
43
Let that live in the heart, let that burn to the thought,Of true Britons eternally still;
And all shame on the soul that could fail to be taught,
With a kindred emotion to thrill.
81
44
Hail! Americans—hail! Honour, glory, and praise,To the Lords of the New World be given!
Wave your star-spangled Flag,—for now fresh 'midst its rays,
More direct shines the true Fire from Heaven.
45
And forgive the faint voice that is faulteringly raisedIn the midst of your whirlwind-acclaim,
Thus to honour your far-flashing Standard emblazed
With all trophies of Glory and Fame.
46
Let that voice from the Land of your Forefathers greet,—May no dream glance toward Her as a foe;
Let this heart that adores her still venture to beat
With your own in proud Sympathy's glow.
47
Starry Queen of the Atlantic! for England and Thee,Smiles one bright guardian genius august;
Yours—one language, one aim,—Oh! ye First of the Free!
Yours one mission, one charter, one trust.
48
Yours one language, one lineage, one fortune, one fame,—Oh! ye First of the Famous and Free;
And how glorious your course, and how generous your aim,
A glad World, bless'd and brightened, shall see!
49
Freedom, Progress, Religion, and Knowledge, shall joinYour illustrious march through all Time,
Till Creation seems bade by Commandment Divine,
Round your joint steps to flush more sublime.
82
50
Hail, again! Then, thou star-spangled Banner! float wide!—Float!—Thou Firmament-flag of the Free!
Leagued with England's magnificent Standard of pride,
Thou shalt queen it in pomp o'er the Sea.
51
And avaunt!—ye dark memories of Vengeance and Wars,Ye should droop,—ye should die,—from this hour;
On yon Flag we should mark but the Heaven-borrowed Stars,
Not the Earth-blazoned signs of your Power!
52
Wave! Thou Banner of Stars!—stream in splendour and light,—And full oft may Our Flag float with thee!
O'er the waves, o'er the lands, thou shalt queen it in might,—
Oh!—Thou Firmament-flag of the Free!
Lady Franklin. Since this was written the Government declined to send any vessels, but some were fitted out and sent by high-minded individuals; my excellent friend, Mr. Henry Grinnell, almost entirely defrayed the expenses of one expedition, to which he subscribed most munificently.
83
ON THE AMERICANS CROSSING THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA.
1
Beneath the Tropics' blaze of lustrous day,The Empire-founders take their glorious way;
Not solely for the vulgar thirst of gold,
Pass hurrying on the adventurous and the bold;
They haste to bear unto that distant soil
(To flourish soon beneath their patient toil),
Law, order, science, arts,—and all that springs,
Beneath Civilization's sheltering wings.
Pass—Nation-makers!—onward go!—
All earth shall yet your triumph know!
2
Here, their inspiring and momentous march,Seems under one august triumphal arch,—
By Nature raised, as though to greet and grace,
Their conquering progress to the Chosen Place.
She shows her vernal pomps,—her rich array,
And with her silvery voice she seems to say,—
84
Blest hoards of pure delights that ne'er shall cloy;—
On! Empire-founders!—bold and free,—
But keep your souls still true to me!”
3
And not alone her outward charms appear,The wanderer's wearied sense to soothe and cheer;
But all her gentlest influences seem
Away from home,—to call up home's sweet dream.
The breath of flowers,—the stir of leaves,—the breeze,
Whispering soft music through the embowering trees,
Seem still to speak of home with tenderest tone,
And bid them still that pure dominion own.
On!—Empire-framers!—do and dare,—
Home-prayers shall bless you here—and there!
4
A thousand generations hence shall ownYour power—your influence,—felt from zone to zone;
A thousand generations hence shall bless,
Shall praise you for their homes,—their happiness!
Yours is a kingly mission, brave and high,—
On!—in the name of Truth and Liberty!
'Tis a right royal progress!—round ye wait
The guardian powers that watch and bless a state.
Long ages needs your task?—away!—
Enough is Freedom and a Day!
5
Treasures ye seek, but treasures, too, ye take,To those fair shores, which ye shall glorious make;
Treasures that globes of gold could never buy,—
The wealth of Thought, and Heart, and Memory!
Generous affections, quenchless zeal and skill,
To mould, and rule, and conquer, at your will!—
On to your task!—with mind resolved, and soul
On fire to seize the prize,—to reach the goal.
Wide be your Flag of Stars unfurled,
Ye workmen, that shall build—a world!—
85
6
Wide be your Banner of the Stars unfurled,And on, ye workmen,—that shall build a world!—
A hoat of nations, wreathed with power and pride,
Have rushed to glory, flourished, changed, and died.
And History bares them to your gaze,—behold!
High towers her Pyramid of Nations old.
Plant the sublime foundations of your own,
On those chief heights of elder lands undone.
Begin with all they had of best,
And Heaven inspire ye with the rest.
7
The noblest heights that others have attained,(What time o'er earth with sovereign sway they reigned,)
Shall be the lowliest step,—the humblest base,
Of your bright state, in eagle pride of place.
There shall be felt through all its movements free,
The heavings of Eternity's great sea.
No dull stagnation e'er shall check its powers,—
Like rounds of the angels' ladder, all its hours,
Shall higher lead, and higher still,
Till Time his measured march fulfil.
86
TO THE STARS.
1
Stars! how can ye shine,O'er a World so sad;
Doomed to mourn and pine,—
Ye, so proud and glad?—
Ye Sons of Light and Life, in strength and triumph clad!
2
Gorgeous, deathless things,Shuddering with delight,—
Hence!—have ye no wings?
Speed ye from our Night!—
So haunted still by Death, and stern Despair's dark blight!
3
Thrones they seem to be,Shades of all the Gods,—
Those th' old Lands gave Ye,
Firmaments and Floods!—
Great Mountains high and hoar, and deep umbrageous Woods!
87
4
Roll on your proud cars!Shine as then ye shone,—
Royal, mystic Stars!—
Through those ages flown,
Shades of all their Gods,—ye shrink before The One.
5
Stars! ye ne'er have shoneBright enough to be,
Faintest shades of One,—
Lord of Heaven and Ye;
Dread Lord of Suns and Worlds, and all the Eternity!
6
Fire-crowned Kings of Time,Can ye thus shine down,
O'er Earth's dust, and slime,—
And nor weep, nor frown?
But still rejoice in light, crowned with your burning Crown!
7
Is there, then, no ruthTroubling your proud peace,—
Ye, whose quenchless youth,
May not change or cease?—
March!—glorying still as roll the suns, the moons increase.
8
Lustrous stars!—perchanceYe know, where ye are,
With your prophet-glance,
All shall be a Star,—
More kingly, still more proud,—Heavenlier and happier far!
88
9
Sons of all the Heavens!—Gorgeous mysteries crowned!—
Sumptuous nights and evens,
Ye with light surround;—
Do you glimpse our Land of Life without a bound?
10
Therefore is't ye smileO'er our pains and fears,—
Lasting but awhile,
Through swift-rushing years—
And blaze, while glittering sad, ye are glassed in our deep tears?
89
TIME.
1
Lo! the filings and the raspings of our scarce-considered Time,—We should prize them all, and put them all to rightful use sublime:
For these moments of our leisure,
They are rich as royal treasure,
If we make them silver steps wherewith to heavenly heights to climb.
2
There is work for strenuous hands to do, for strenuous thoughts and brains,—And for the earnest heart to guide itself, and hold itself in chains;
For if ye are not assiduous,
Step by step your Foe invidious
Shall pursue his deadly march, and make ye rue his blights and banes.
90
LINES WRITTEN ON THE PASSING OF THE SUGAR-BILL, 1846.
1
Earth!—Earth!—and canst thou longer bearThe groan of slavery's long despair,
The shadows of its gloom?
Canst thou endure th' abhorrent wrong,
If thou art armed, and brave, and strong,
To stamp the Horror's doom?
2
Know, while in yoke of suffering bound,One crushed and tortured wretch is found,
On thy brow is the brand!
Accurs'd shall states and races be
That boast their own high liberty,
And bind their brother's hand.
91
3
While groaning o'er his world-wide graveRemains one scourged and outraged slave,
Ne'er boast your Force or Fame!
His wrongs are venom in your veins,
His degradations are your stains,
His martyrdom—your shame.
4
His every anguish is your crime!Beware! or this shall through all time,
Attest your base unworth!
His scars are your enormous guilt,
Your sin, each heart-drop he hath spilt,
Dishonour to you, Earth!
5
A generation all of Cains,Red—red—with deadliest murder-stains,
This generation seems,
If they, while knowing th' awful truth,
Steeled 'gainst remorse, and deaf to ruth,
Staunch not the out-welling streams.
6
Perish the Monster-Plague that grindsAll Nations through their thoughts and minds,
While they That Wrong allow!
While they submit, and coward-like bend,
Their sanction to such deeds to lend,—
That sanction dare avow.
7
One land enslaved should frown like Night,—One fettered people cast a blight,
O'er twice ten thousand free:
Vainly ye boast,—while these things last,—
Your pride of Present and of Past,—
Freedom from Sea to Sea.
92
8
Freedom?—not while a single slave,Doomed in unsuccoured pangs to rave,
Contaminates our sphere!
Lo! million millions free, should be,
Barred from Heaven-bless'd true liberty,
While One mourns, shackled here!
9
Freedom!—forswear the sacred sound!—It is not freedom if you 're bound
To such degrading needs;—
If you 're thus forced to sit and mark
The triumph of this outrage dark,
While Heaven's scarred image bleeds.
10
Heaven's desecrated temple, thatWhich for itself it deigned create,
Embruted, blurred, and banned!
Poor Slaves! They even might pity those
Who dare not grandly interpose
With Power's avenging hand.
11
Shame on Ye!—sordid or supine,Who see unmoved your fellows pine,
Whate'er your climes or creeds;
Fetters, and goads, and gyves may gall,
But more even stings and stains the thrall,
Of black dishonouring deeds.
12
Freedom?—Are they not Slaves of Soul,Who lack the courage to control
That evil they condemn?
Whose wants, whose fears, must make them still
Thus aid the abhorred, infernal Ill,
That yet bounds back on them.
93
13
Freedom! I tell ye, No!—'tis vain,While round your soul of souls that chain
Is wreathed!—the deadliest—worst,—
Which binds ye to such grovelling mood,
Your loftiest duties all withstood,—
Earth!—'tis a thing accursed!
14
Then let mankind in might arise,(Blessed by yon just, approving skies,)
To do the Deed of Worth!
Be freedom to the Bound One given,
Then frown no more, thou Outraged Heaven!
Thou desecrated Earth!
15
Foul Upas tree of Slavery's curse,Dark Upas of the Universe!
Down with it!—Root and branch!
Unite!—Ye Nations! each and all:
Haste! bid the o'ershadowing Gloom to fall
Magnanimously staunch!
16
Hushed be those groans that seemed to scarePeace from the universal air,—
Hushed—or to hymn-notes changed;
'T will be a Golden Age for thee,—
World!—when fierce War and Slavery
Are Both from Thee estranged.
17
Hear, all ye Nations, hear and heed,War shall no longer bid ye bleed,
Perchance when Justice guides;—
While ye the Helpless doom to woe,
Or suffer ev'n the coward blow,
Heaven chastens thus and chides.
94
18
But heed that hand, and hear that voiceWhich points your course, which prompts your choice;
Break the slave's bonds—Be just!—
Dash down the blood-brimmed cup;—Awake!
Your bonds of Thought and Spirit break;
Dash them, too, in the dust.
19
Attend, ye Lands! while yet 'tis time,Abjure the monstrous, dastard crime,
Ere worse woes spring to birth,
Crush ye that Worm which gnaws the World,—
Like that the old Northmen say lies curled
Round the huge roots of Earth!
20
Chief, Thou! my Country! heed and hear!Lest Vengeance, threatening darkly near,
Should whelm thee in its flood;—
Should bid thy Sun go down in ire,—
Should turn thy Seas to Seas of Fire,—
Thy Heavens—to Heavens of blood.
95
LINES WRITTEN IN PERU, 1850.
1
I gaze still round,—beneath—above,Seeking for what may best remind
Of my dear land of life and love,—
And may I hope to find?
2
Those golden-streaming Heavens serene,This glittering, crystal air,—
Yon tropical and lustrous scene
I hail no likeness there.
3
The very stars seem stranger-things,And all around, beneath,
Unlike, indeed, a shadow flings,
O'er memory's magic wreath!
96
4
But stay!—seem England's own, those smiles,Which sparkle far and free,
(Dear to the children of the Isles,—)
Where rolls Her own proud Sea!
5
Her own proud subject Sea,—for, say,Where can we rest or roam,
Beside his thundering waves' wild play,
Nor hail a Briton's home?
6
Those thunders are but welcomes sweet,To ears that love their sound;
Glad time the tossing billows beat,
To the free pulses' bound.
7
Where'er Men rest, where'er they roam,Oh, thou majestic sea!
They find brave Englishmen at home,—
In England, when on Thee!
8
Home as thou art thus of Albion's sons,Thou ever-glorious Main!—
Still seem'st thou to her faithful ones,
Part of her noble reign.
9
Throne of Our Albion and Her Sons,Oh, Royal Sea! thou art;
For ever to Her faithful ones,
Of her proud reign seem part!
97
10
Still the outstretched Deep,—their world-wide home,—Like them endures no chain;
A loving sway is theirs who roam,
O'er their own glorious main.
11
Do Seas where their vast Triumph rides,Hold their proud Empire dear?—
The Imperial Main,—the exultant Tides,
Seem ruled by love, not fear!
12
Ocean!—thou art an England stillTo our fond eyes and heart;
And Memory needs but feeble skill
To paint Her where Thou art!
98
ON PORTRAITS OF MADAME LE VERT'S LOST CHILDREN AT MOBILE, ALABAMA.
1
Bright, lovely beings!—on each imaged faceMore of the angel than the child we trace;—
More of the immortal than the mortal see,
In each mild aspect's pictured purity.
2
Sweet mother, check thy deeply mournful sighs,Grieve not to spare those seraphs to the skies;
Ah! not for them need flow the bitter tear,
How blest their sunny fate, both There and Here!
3
Oh! not for them should sorrow's drops be shed!We scarce can dream they died, scarce deem they fled;
Still round them seemed to smile, all fresh and fair,
A happier world's serener, clearer air.
99
4
'Twas scarce a change, 'twas scarce a second birth,More of Elysium knew they than of Earth!—
From Love to Love, from living Light to Light,
How smooth the transit, and how short the flight!
5
Still seemed to shine, even round their life below,Bright Immortality's ethereal glow;
Seemed but transplanted hence, each precious flower,
Back to its native soil, ere frowned one shower.
6
And what to them was Death's pale Kiss of Peace,That bade the flutter of life's pulse to cease?
Though swift the stroke, though brief the warning given,
'Twas but a step from such a Home—to Heaven!
7
Yes, short the flight, yet it was bright and bless'd,They soared, soft-cradled, on an angel's breast;—
All bliss is theirs,—thus called from life's young bloom,
Though Home seemed Heaven, 'tis Heaven indeed is Home.
8
And when thyself shalt leave this world of gloom,Shall Death's stern Angel call thee to thy tomb?—
Surely thy Soul shall pass, from earth and strife,
Freed by the dearest Angels of thy Life!
| On the approaching close of The Great Exhibition | |