Queen Berengaria's Courtesy, and Other Poems By the Lady E. Stuart Wortley. In Three Vols |
 | I, II, III. |
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THE LAND OF BEAUTY. |
 | Queen Berengaria's Courtesy, and Other Poems |  |
364
THE LAND OF BEAUTY.
Oh! Land of Beauty's sunniest boast!
My Heart now greets thee well;
Fame, with her twice ten thousand tongues,
But ill thy charms could tell!
My Heart now greets thee well;
Fame, with her twice ten thousand tongues,
But ill thy charms could tell!
The Cactus and the Aloe here
Please the unaccustomed eye;
Th' Olive and Orange Trees pronounce
Thy praises, southern Sky!
Please the unaccustomed eye;
Th' Olive and Orange Trees pronounce
Thy praises, southern Sky!
The Myrtles and the Mulberry Trees
Their gentle Shade bestow!
Look on the Earth to know how bright
A Sun above must glow!
Their gentle Shade bestow!
Look on the Earth to know how bright
A Sun above must glow!
365
That very Earth appears to emit
Broad beams of living light,
Its surface is so glowing-ripe,
So dazzling and so bright!
Broad beams of living light,
Its surface is so glowing-ripe,
So dazzling and so bright!
And as, in its own self it were
One Orb of glorious blaze,
It seems to pour divinely forth,
This wealth of glittering rays!
One Orb of glorious blaze,
It seems to pour divinely forth,
This wealth of glittering rays!
Land of the South, and of the Sun,
Thou know'st not dearth nor gloom—
One garden, and one galaxy,
Of brightness and of bloom!
Thou know'st not dearth nor gloom—
One garden, and one galaxy,
Of brightness and of bloom!
Not so—a thousand Ruins raise
Their heads in sad reply,
And eloquent with mute reproach,
Blame the too garish sky.
Their heads in sad reply,
And eloquent with mute reproach,
Blame the too garish sky.
366
And yet these ruins are themselves,
With growths luxuriant girt,
And thy soft climate doth from these
Destruction's stroke avert!
With growths luxuriant girt,
And thy soft climate doth from these
Destruction's stroke avert!
Italia! Ah! not half so fair,
Wert thou without their gloom,
We love thee more for their proud sake,
Land of the Eternal Rome!
Wert thou without their gloom,
We love thee more for their proud sake,
Land of the Eternal Rome!
| Queen Berengaria's Courtesy, and Other Poems | |