 | [The three sceptres, in] The token and Atlantic souvenir |  |
224
THE THREE SCEPTRES.
A VISION.
‘Bring forth the sceptres of command!’—
That awful voice I heard—
‘And let the subject nations stand!’—
The waiting world appeared.
Then drew the sceptre-bearers nigh;
Old Asia, first, crept cowering by;
Then Europe, with her troubled eye,
Then young America;
Each placed her sceptre, passed, and then,
Unveiled before the sons of men,
A sword, a crosier, and a pen
Upon the altar lay.
That awful voice I heard—
‘And let the subject nations stand!’—
The waiting world appeared.
Then drew the sceptre-bearers nigh;
Old Asia, first, crept cowering by;
Then Europe, with her troubled eye,
Then young America;
Each placed her sceptre, passed, and then,
Unveiled before the sons of men,
A sword, a crosier, and a pen
Upon the altar lay.
Again the voice uprose, and loud
Like battle-cry it came,
And wildly, from that heaving crowd,
Echoed the shout—‘For Fame!’
Brother 'gainst brother fiercely stood,
The earth was graves, the seas were blood,—
Kingdoms were crushed, as wasting flood
Had swept o'er crumbling clay;
Till 'mid the din a dove appeared!
The gentle tone of ‘peace’ was heard—
I looked, and with that blessed word
The sword had passed away.
Like battle-cry it came,
And wildly, from that heaving crowd,
Echoed the shout—‘For Fame!’
Brother 'gainst brother fiercely stood,
The earth was graves, the seas were blood,—
Kingdoms were crushed, as wasting flood
Had swept o'er crumbling clay;
225
The gentle tone of ‘peace’ was heard—
I looked, and with that blessed word
The sword had passed away.
Then like a storm of ashes hurled
From the volcano's height,
A thick, dark cloud rolled o'er the world,
Blotting mind's heavenly light;
And men sunk down in utter dread,
Mailed warriors weak as infant's tread,
And monarchs, with uncovered head,
Stooped low the cowl before;
And superstition's iron reign
Has seared the heart and shrunk the brain—
Ha!—thought's strong grasp has rent the chain;—
The crosier's sway is o'er!
From the volcano's height,
A thick, dark cloud rolled o'er the world,
Blotting mind's heavenly light;
And men sunk down in utter dread,
Mailed warriors weak as infant's tread,
And monarchs, with uncovered head,
Stooped low the cowl before;
And superstition's iron reign
Has seared the heart and shrunk the brain—
Ha!—thought's strong grasp has rent the chain;—
The crosier's sway is o'er!
Pure as the light on altar glows,
Lit up by prophet's prayer,
A small, soft, steady light arose
On earth, on sea, on air;
It shines as shed from seraph's wings,
Withering all vile, old, useless things—
Like scorched flax from the grasp of kings
The reins of empire sever;
It burns from craft his mask of night;
Intemperance blasts with perfect light,
And shows the Ethiop's soul is white—
‘The pen—the pen forever!’
Lit up by prophet's prayer,
A small, soft, steady light arose
On earth, on sea, on air;
It shines as shed from seraph's wings,
Withering all vile, old, useless things—
Like scorched flax from the grasp of kings
The reins of empire sever;
It burns from craft his mask of night;
Intemperance blasts with perfect light,
And shows the Ethiop's soul is white—
‘The pen—the pen forever!’
226
Thus rang the voice;—its trumpet tone
Burst like a swelling river;
From land to land went sounding on
‘The pen—the pen forever!’
I saw earth's joyous millions move,
Justice their shield, the banner love—
While freedom's eagle, high above,
Soared with unslumbering eye;
Cool springs gushed forth 'mid arid sands,
Bright flowers sprung up in desert lands,
And bonds of peace, from angel hands,
Were linking earth and sky.
Burst like a swelling river;
From land to land went sounding on
‘The pen—the pen forever!’
I saw earth's joyous millions move,
Justice their shield, the banner love—
While freedom's eagle, high above,
Soared with unslumbering eye;
Cool springs gushed forth 'mid arid sands,
Bright flowers sprung up in desert lands,
And bonds of peace, from angel hands,
Were linking earth and sky.
| [The three sceptres, in] The token and Atlantic souvenir | |