 | Lays of Leisure Hours |  |
404
EAST, WEST, SOUTH, AND NORTH.
Sweet South! thine be the scenes for me,
How beautiful those scenes must be,
There grow the golden fruited trees,
And myrtle-thickets scent the breeze,
The fountains fall in music still,
And vineyards gird the sunny hill.
How beautiful those scenes must be,
There grow the golden fruited trees,
And myrtle-thickets scent the breeze,
The fountains fall in music still,
And vineyards gird the sunny hill.
The royal Heavens of purple shine
From dawn of day to day's decline,
Still beautiful and blue and bright,
One boundless Paradise of Light,
As Heaven restored to us in love,
That fair One, lost below—above!
From dawn of day to day's decline,
Still beautiful and blue and bright,
One boundless Paradise of Light,
As Heaven restored to us in love,
That fair One, lost below—above!
405
There all is love!—and all is light,
To chain and charm the Soul and sight,
And Poetry breathes still around,
Soft from the kindling air and ground,
And Nature bloometh like a bride
In all her pomp, and all her pride!
To chain and charm the Soul and sight,
And Poetry breathes still around,
Soft from the kindling air and ground,
And Nature bloometh like a bride
In all her pomp, and all her pride!
There all things living live in joy
Without a measure of alloy—
There seems the World in its glad prime,
Fair is the country—fair the clime,
Nay, there the golden plains and bowers
Remind of lovelier Worlds than ours.
Without a measure of alloy—
There seems the World in its glad prime,
Fair is the country—fair the clime,
Nay, there the golden plains and bowers
Remind of lovelier Worlds than ours.
Oh! balmy breeze—Oh! bounteous beam,
Your sighs, your smiles entrancing seem
To waft us Heavenwards for awhile,
But still you sigh—but still you smile,
It is no trance—no dream of bliss—
A true and lasting joy is this!
Your sighs, your smiles entrancing seem
To waft us Heavenwards for awhile,
But still you sigh—but still you smile,
It is no trance—no dream of bliss—
A true and lasting joy is this!
406
Sweet South! Sweet South! thy scenes I choose,
All brightening o'er with sunniest hues,
Aye! snatch me to the Southern Land
Where prospects fair as Hope expand,
Where all is blessed, all is bright,
A World of Love—a World of Light!
All brightening o'er with sunniest hues,
Aye! snatch me to the Southern Land
Where prospects fair as Hope expand,
Where all is blessed, all is bright,
A World of Love—a World of Light!
Yet farther South, still farther, where
More scorching grows the breezeless air,
Full of the Sun-god—evermore
Whom fervent Earth appears to adore—
And like a worshipper to gaze
Upon his full unfolded blaze.
More scorching grows the breezeless air,
Full of the Sun-god—evermore
Whom fervent Earth appears to adore—
And like a worshipper to gaze
Upon his full unfolded blaze.
Where days of boundless beauty break,
And Earth, Air, Heaven one glory make,
Where nights of awful majesty
Make yon starred sky one dark-blue sea
Heaving round blazing isles of fire,
That tempt the coldest thoughts to aspire.
And Earth, Air, Heaven one glory make,
Where nights of awful majesty
Make yon starred sky one dark-blue sea
Heaving round blazing isles of fire,
That tempt the coldest thoughts to aspire.
407
But, beauteous East, can I pass o'er
Thy treasures' proud exhaustless store?
Can I forget what splendours there
Shine kindling out, supremely fair,
Even where thy scenes of glorious pride
Expand and smile on every side!
Thy treasures' proud exhaustless store?
Can I forget what splendours there
Shine kindling out, supremely fair,
Even where thy scenes of glorious pride
Expand and smile on every side!
Bright beauteous East, to thee I turn,
Where gems of rainbowed glory burn
All dazzlingly and strangely fair,
As sunbeams shone imprisoned there,
Still struggling to escape, in vain,
And to their source to flow again!
Where gems of rainbowed glory burn
All dazzlingly and strangely fair,
As sunbeams shone imprisoned there,
Still struggling to escape, in vain,
And to their source to flow again!
Blushing to be thus still detained,
And thus by earthly bonds enchained!
As though those sunbeams evermore
Pent in the jewel's burning core—
Trembling and quivering sought to evade
The stubborn fetters on them laid.
And thus by earthly bonds enchained!
As though those sunbeams evermore
Pent in the jewel's burning core—
Trembling and quivering sought to evade
The stubborn fetters on them laid.
408
The East—the East—the gorgeous East,
Not yet the mighty charm hath ceased
Which governed me with mystic power
Through many a rapt and dreaming hour,
While o'er the fabling Eastern lore
'Twas mine with pleased amaze to pore—
Not yet the mighty charm hath ceased
Which governed me with mystic power
Through many a rapt and dreaming hour,
While o'er the fabling Eastern lore
'Twas mine with pleased amaze to pore—
There did the fairy's form alight—
Vouchsafed to some more favoured sight,
There did the powerful Genii lurk,
And their dark deeds of mystery work—
There magic took for evermore
The fairest shape she ever bore!
Vouchsafed to some more favoured sight,
There did the powerful Genii lurk,
And their dark deeds of mystery work—
There magic took for evermore
The fairest shape she ever bore!
Who hath not dreamt, (that ever bent,
That ever mute and breathless leant
O'er that rich page whose space contains
The records of their golden reigns)—
Of the old crowned Caliphs of the East,
And all the pomps that with them ceased?
That ever mute and breathless leant
O'er that rich page whose space contains
The records of their golden reigns)—
Of the old crowned Caliphs of the East,
And all the pomps that with them ceased?
409
Who hath not courted for awhile,
And bade those scenes of splendour smile
Around them in their full-blown pride,
That there are imaged forth, and dyed,
With colourings magical and strange,
Beautiful in their boundless change?
And bade those scenes of splendour smile
Around them in their full-blown pride,
That there are imaged forth, and dyed,
With colourings magical and strange,
Beautiful in their boundless change?
Who hath not all those splendours seen,
Who hath not overshadowed been
By the proud pile's fair roof sublime
That mocked all works of art and time,
Whose walls by Genii hands were wrought
To shame the speed of tardier thought?
Who hath not overshadowed been
By the proud pile's fair roof sublime
That mocked all works of art and time,
Whose walls by Genii hands were wrought
To shame the speed of tardier thought?
Who hath not, with youth's blood astir,
With Sindbad been a voyager?
And rapt in a delicious awe,
Heard all he heard, seen all he saw—
While wonder after wonder came
His kindling fancy to inflame?
With Sindbad been a voyager?
And rapt in a delicious awe,
Heard all he heard, seen all he saw—
While wonder after wonder came
His kindling fancy to inflame?
410
Then lived he in the enchanted tales—
Now o'er the unknown seas he sails,
Now lands with him, his fearless guide,
On some strange shore, and doth abide
'Mid the alien habitants, or try
Its haunts of lonelier mystery!
Now o'er the unknown seas he sails,
Now lands with him, his fearless guide,
On some strange shore, and doth abide
'Mid the alien habitants, or try
Its haunts of lonelier mystery!
Who hath not gazed in thought on thee
Sweet Sultaness Zobeidé,
And basked in Schemselnihar's smile,
And owned the Queen of Beauty's wile,
And with the awakened sleeper blessed
Fair “Lip of Coral,” and the rest?
Sweet Sultaness Zobeidé,
And basked in Schemselnihar's smile,
And owned the Queen of Beauty's wile,
And with the awakened sleeper blessed
Fair “Lip of Coral,” and the rest?
Who hath not in the Enchanted Halls,
'Midst murmuring tones of fountain falls,
And precious gleams of glory bright,
And odorous breathings of delight,
Feasted his senses and his Soul,
And raptured, made his own the whole?
'Midst murmuring tones of fountain falls,
And precious gleams of glory bright,
And odorous breathings of delight,
Feasted his senses and his Soul,
And raptured, made his own the whole?
411
The East—the East—the gorgeous East—
Both sense and Soul we there may feast,
Oh! bear me to the East, for there
The Earth is golden and the air—
The rising Sun there rears a throne,
And claims the empire for his own.
Both sense and Soul we there may feast,
Oh! bear me to the East, for there
The Earth is golden and the air—
The rising Sun there rears a throne,
And claims the empire for his own.
There the pomegranite trees extend
Their lovely umbrage to defend
The wanderer from that Sun so bright,
Which reigns omnipotent of light,
And date-trees too their soft shade spread,
And the proud palm exalts its head.
Their lovely umbrage to defend
The wanderer from that Sun so bright,
Which reigns omnipotent of light,
And date-trees too their soft shade spread,
And the proud palm exalts its head.
There float the birds of Paradise,
Like natives of the upper skies—
Sent from the Edens of their birth
To bear glad messages to Earth—
While to their glorious crests and wings
Surely a light celestial clings.
Like natives of the upper skies—
Sent from the Edens of their birth
To bear glad messages to Earth—
While to their glorious crests and wings
Surely a light celestial clings.
412
But, mighty West! I turn to thee,
Canst thou passed o'er in silence be?
Of loftiest charms art thou possessed,
Oh! thou sublime and wond'rous West,
Let me with startled eyes behold
Thine ample beauties wide unrolled.
Canst thou passed o'er in silence be?
Of loftiest charms art thou possessed,
Oh! thou sublime and wond'rous West,
Let me with startled eyes behold
Thine ample beauties wide unrolled.
Oh! West! whose shadowy world of Woods
Re-echoes to the roar of floods,
And in the Sun's immortal face
Heaves up a darkness in his place,
How must thy boundless features melt
The Soul with awe, before unfelt!
Re-echoes to the roar of floods,
And in the Sun's immortal face
Heaves up a darkness in his place,
How must thy boundless features melt
The Soul with awe, before unfelt!
Thy mighty mountains proudly rise
To lose themselves within the skies,
Broad spread thy lakes of aspect bright,
Unbounded oceans to the sight,
Fair seas of beauty—that unfold
Glassed Heavens of purple and of gold.
To lose themselves within the skies,
Broad spread thy lakes of aspect bright,
Unbounded oceans to the sight,
Fair seas of beauty—that unfold
Glassed Heavens of purple and of gold.
413
Oh! West! in fancy I can hear
Thy stunning cataract peals of fear—
In fancy I can see extend
Thy forest shadows without end,
In all the umbrageous pride of gloom
Which deepens like a cloud of doom!
Thy stunning cataract peals of fear—
In fancy I can see extend
Thy forest shadows without end,
In all the umbrageous pride of gloom
Which deepens like a cloud of doom!
And follow too the serpentine
Of thy proud rivers' silvery line,
And those broad boundless prairies view
Which please the eye with verdant hue—
And gaze upon thy mountain-heights
Crested with jewel-coloured lights.
Of thy proud rivers' silvery line,
And those broad boundless prairies view
Which please the eye with verdant hue—
And gaze upon thy mountain-heights
Crested with jewel-coloured lights.
Nor let me only in a dream
Behold the forest, mount, and stream,
Of vast proportions and sublime,
That glorify that distant clime—
Oh! bear me o'er the severing sea
To where the Western wonders be.
Behold the forest, mount, and stream,
Of vast proportions and sublime,
That glorify that distant clime—
Oh! bear me o'er the severing sea
To where the Western wonders be.
414
Bear, bear me to the far-off West
Across the ocean's billowy breast,
And let my lifted mind expand
In sight of the Majestic Land,
And let my Soul be girt to hail
Nature on her sublimest scale!
Across the ocean's billowy breast,
And let my lifted mind expand
In sight of the Majestic Land,
And let my Soul be girt to hail
Nature on her sublimest scale!
But thou, Oh! stern and frozen North,
Hast thou no glory and no worth?
Have thy far frowning regions wide
No beauties of severer pride?
Hast thou no wonders to display,
No mighty and sublime array?
Hast thou no glory and no worth?
Have thy far frowning regions wide
No beauties of severer pride?
Hast thou no wonders to display,
No mighty and sublime array?
Aye! verily, Old North! thou hast,
And o'er thine outstretched icy waste
'Twere marvellous to mark the sway
Of lengthened night or lingering day,
While spreads the frozen World beneath,
As though it knew no life, nor breath.
And o'er thine outstretched icy waste
'Twere marvellous to mark the sway
Of lengthened night or lingering day,
While spreads the frozen World beneath,
As though it knew no life, nor breath.
415
And marvellous and strange 'twere too,
Thy mighty monster-things to view,
Thy huge leviathans that keep
Their hoary empire of the deep—
And in their wrath or in their play
Lash the great waters into spray!
Thy mighty monster-things to view,
Thy huge leviathans that keep
Their hoary empire of the deep—
And in their wrath or in their play
Lash the great waters into spray!
And beautiful I guess 'twould be
The arrows of keen light to see,
That dart with dazzling splendour there,
Enkindling all the brightened air,
Making at once Earth, Air, and Sky
A more than starry galaxy!
The arrows of keen light to see,
That dart with dazzling splendour there,
Enkindling all the brightened air,
Making at once Earth, Air, and Sky
A more than starry galaxy!
And much of beauty might we mark
Where spread thy fir-formed forests dark,
Like a vast pall of funeral gloom
Hung o'er some old imperial tomb—
Blackening and massive, cumbering all
The ground where but its shadows fall.
Where spread thy fir-formed forests dark,
Like a vast pall of funeral gloom
Hung o'er some old imperial tomb—
Blackening and massive, cumbering all
The ground where but its shadows fall.
416
And wond'rous must it be to see
The boiling geysers bubbling free,
And strange to view the icebergs vast
Like moving islands floating past,
And strange and beauteous to behold
The snow a thousand winters old!
The boiling geysers bubbling free,
And strange to view the icebergs vast
Like moving islands floating past,
And strange and beauteous to behold
The snow a thousand winters old!
Oh! North and South and East and West,
Each are of mighty charms possessed,
Wherever thou, great Nature, art,
In beauty hast thou still thy part,
And still dost thou disclose sublime
Thy triumphs through each varying clime.
Each are of mighty charms possessed,
Wherever thou, great Nature, art,
In beauty hast thou still thy part,
And still dost thou disclose sublime
Thy triumphs through each varying clime.
And North and South and East and West
Are by their mighty Maker blessed,
All parts of one great Work Divine,
All portions of one grand Design—
The Eternal Lord pronounced it good,
And fast the proud Creation stood!
Are by their mighty Maker blessed,
All parts of one great Work Divine,
All portions of one grand Design—
The Eternal Lord pronounced it good,
And fast the proud Creation stood!
417
And still where'er we wander forth,
Or East or West or South or North,
The Heavenly Hand we still may trace
Through every clime and every place—
And wondering own on sea or land
The triumphs of that Heavenly Hand!
Or East or West or South or North,
The Heavenly Hand we still may trace
Through every clime and every place—
And wondering own on sea or land
The triumphs of that Heavenly Hand!
And North and South and East and West
The Almighty Ruler's power attest,
And far as Wanderer's foot can stray,
As eye of mortal can survey,
Still all is glorious—all is fair,
Nature and Nature's God are there!
The Almighty Ruler's power attest,
And far as Wanderer's foot can stray,
As eye of mortal can survey,
Still all is glorious—all is fair,
Nature and Nature's God are there!
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