V] <^ //, ^> "^^ REAM; 0- BY W. H. ♦ . ♦. MO ]SI JNLi EAL: KtlNTED BY HBNRY ROSE, 51, "sT. FRANCOIS XAVIER STRBBT. 18«0. ■ M > # vitmumilm ».,i., ..^ «■ -^- .iVnifrnmur': . ,- 'T^SS^TOSfeiB TO THE HON. JOHN ROSE, CHIEF COMMISSIONER OP PUBLIC WOIJKS, FOR CANADA, As AN HUMBLB EXPRESSION 0? THANKS FOR TIIB MANY KINDNESSES RB- CEIVBD FROM HIM, THIS WORK 18 RISPECTFCLLY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. 1 ':^^SS^^S^*?rj!70l^^l^^tP^''^^^^^^i^'^^^f^'^'' ■''"'''''^■^S^p*"* IWtSu^. I ^^.,j.i»ssmi«mfffJ!f«»-:*-^ THE ICE-BOUND SHIP. AwAT ! away ! o'er the waters blue, The good ship sped with a gallant crew Of hearts — brave hearts that never would quail. Mid thunder's crash, or the tempest's gale, Wlien borne on its wings in angry flight, The storm-king rode in his fiercest might. O'er the towering waves with their hissing surge. That shrieked, as he passed, their ocean dirge : And many a one they left on shore, Whose dearest prayers with them they bore. And whose hearts were ever fondly turning To those that in life they might see no more, Who, perhaps, too, for them were that moment yearning ; Yes, we had those, who, when evening's star Glanced over the deep with silve / sheen, Mingled their spirits with those afar. Though seas rolled darkly and deep bet wean. II. Away we sped with the fav'ring blast, And many a fairy isle we passed, Whose fruitful groves and shining trees, Gleamed beauteous 'neath uuclouded skies. And from the deep blue of the seas Rose like some mimic Paradise : 6 iSo still— 80 bright with all the hues That vernal summer's breath diffjise ; So pure, it seemed that on such earth, Sin's darker stain could ne'er have birth j— And, oh ! how often have I thought, How sweet 'twould be, unsought, unfound, To dwell in some such heavenly spot, With only those I loved arou|id. III. But soon we left behind those islei«», Where balmy summer ceaseless smiles ; Those gentle waves whose sapphire wreath Shines o'er the coral's red beneath. And where the breeze at evening roves, And wantons o'er their placid face, Fraught with the fragrance of the groves. Of scented trees those Isles that grace, And sailed by more than one dark coast. Bleak, rugged, wild and tempest tossed ; Where, beating on the treacherous shore, 1 he waves resound with dismal roar : — Their dreadful hoarseness tear would stir In breast of boldest mariner ; And gladly he his bark would turn From huch inhospitable bourne. I IV. We tacked and sailed day after day, From cost or land- mark far away ; V\'e'd left the last of human kind, Full mfiny a stormy leapiic behind : E'en those ill omened birds* whose home- Borne over on untiring wing — Ts o'er the quivering billow's foam, And joyous most when tempests sing, Had gone from us, and ceased to dip Their feathery pinions in the blue Of ocean's breast, as round our ship, In wheeling circles oft they flew : And we had passed, some days before, The last of those that love of gain Had brought from a far, smiling shore To this ungenial, stormy main ; And, save some monster of the deep, That o'er its face would wildly sweep In solitary flight ; Or distantly in its broad home, In sportive fierceness was with fonm The chill brine lashing white. We nought of living saw or heard ; We'd sped beyond the flight of bird, And though, percliance, there might have been Some of those beasts with milky hide, Fierce and untamed, yet none were seen Throughout that dreary icy void — Yes, all companionship was gone, And onward we pursued alone Our solitary track, • The stormy Petrel, in consequence of its being seldom near the shore, is supposed by unsophisticated seamen, to live entirely on the wing, and is, under certain circumstances, regarded by them as a bird of ill omen. ■mm^ m mmmgmmmum To where the needle's quivering end, lis poised course would over tend Nor thought of turning back. ▼. We now were in the farthest sea Of that chill clime, and silently Our still unswerving course we kept, And wondcreci how ; for nature slept. Or seemed to sleep, us scarce a breeze Disturbed the tranquil of the seas. And many an iceberg towering high, Majestic, huge,— swept grandly by, Whilst we gazed on witli speechless awe, As floating near distinctly saw Its hundred crags against the sky, Abruptly sharp, flash glitteringly ; And rood on rood above the mast, Frown on the pigmy thing it passed With stern contempt, as if we were Too mean its passing glance to share — I've seen the ra onnt? of earth that freeze Their peaks in air, and changeless stand ; But gazed ml as I gazed on these, So awful — so sublimely grand, As moving slowly by they traced Their stately course along the tide :— The silent monarchs of that waste, They seemed its liquid breast to glide : And their companionship, bleak — rude, Increased the dreary solitude That reigned tiiroiighout that icy zone: And as alternately we bore Each other past, we felt it more Than if we'd sailed the deep alon«. VI. At last a calm around us fell, And on the water's face we lay, With sleeping sails, immoveable, The helm untouched day after day: I well remember how 't did seem. The strange creation of a dream, From which I thought to wake and find, All some delusion of the mind — But no : — around us fur away The Icebergs in the distance lay ; Still as ourselves, their huge expanse Sunk into insignificance : It seemed by one consent they'd fiown And left us to the deep alone ; That deep, with waves in awful rest, Shone one unbroken glassy breast — A mirror vast where could unchecked, The universe itself reflect — And its cold surface took the hue Of the fur sky's empyrean blue, And seemed, (the last so deep enshrined,) Both elements as one combined ; And but for the slight circling swell -Mli#iWlilMi«i.. .— .— ...^iMMiwHiMiiiillllirilil'lTMaMteKi"' 16 ' \ II And to and fro It drifted the snow In clouds o'er that empty waste. It drifted the snow and it rattled the mast — We quail'- i 'neath it shiveringly ; But with demon laugh it shrieked as it passed And mocked at our misery : On the deck we cowered, we could not go To the wished for shade of the hold below ; For the frost had shrank Each oaken plank, And the sea rushed gurgling through The parted seams, And swelled to the beams Of the deck as it solid grew. But brief was the time that our strength could bear To battle the keenness of the air And that fearful gale, With its howl and wail, As it swept the wide waste o'er, And wound its grasp With icy clasp Round the forms that there did cower, My ship-mates froze Hard — cold — their woes All o'er — life fled without a gasp:— It iced the blood As they sat or stood, It stilled the lips in their quiver — It fixed the eye Ere the lids could lie Closed on its parting glaaoe forever. mvmM i1 JCIII. Twas some kind Providential power Sustained me in that dismal hour, And lent my nerves the strength — the will To bid defiance to the chill Of that fierce blast in rude careerj And petrifying atmosphere. • • • • • T stript from the mast the jibing sail, And made 'neath the bulwarks* lee A screen around which the furious gale Beat fitful, but harmlessly ; And I had the shreds that the dead once wore j They lent me a warrathful glow ; I ate of the last of our hardened store And for drink I sucked the snow. And there through that seemingly endless night I lay till the blast had spent its might. xir. The sky above again was clear. Save where before the nigh spent gale, The thin scud crept in light career, The unfamiliar stars winked pale : And there, upon that awful waste. Where man before had never traced, Save in imagining, A path or course — with hope all flown -■»tjl«i' ll* Th' unbroken stillness of the grave was ther«, And so oppressive to the mind became, I'hat fancy, quicked by the exclusion of External objects t the visual sense, Grew pregnant with a multitude of sounds, Low noises murmuring confusedly^ And indistinctly falling on the ear. While shapeless phantasies appeared to fill With spirit life the melancholy shade, And flashed thin phosphorescent gleams before The aching eyeballs to their utmost strained. Sudden appeared, and by my side he stood^ Distinctly visible amidst the gloom : (A subdued radiance that around him shone Him rendered palpable unto the sight,) One in a loose aud draping garment clad. As purely white as the new snow from Heaven, Of aspect venerable, serene and mild : A patriarchical and flowing beard Gave to his face a dignity benign. He louked as one o'er whom a cent'ry's span Had winged its silent flight, and fleeting dropped Its hoary dews upon the stately head, Yet weakened not the prime of manhood's days. A zone or cincture girt his waist around. Of fainty glittering substance, and dim rays. Like lingerings of a dying glory, shone With faded brightness from its circling girth : I felt as in the presence of one formed To inspire the gazer with profoundest awe-*- Age ever oarrie* on ita time worn front 31 A quiet dignity that claims respect, But here 'twas more — it reverence inspired--^ In deferential attitude I stood, When thus to me the venerable man : ** Presuming mortal that de^irest to learn Those mysteries to all his kind denied— That seeks a knowledge of that vague futurity Through which he's taught th' immortal soul exist* In pain or pleasure, as a lifetime's deeds, Judged by the world's Creator, shall decide,-* I've heard thy wish and knowing it to bo Prompted by no unhallowed desire, Nor offspring of idle cur'osity ; But emanating from profound regard For the Supreme and all his wondrous works, In part I'll grant it thee, so turn, with mine Thy footsteps whither I will thee conduct." He turned and with a stately motion of The hand, he bade me follow, which I did Almost unconsciously ; as though he led Me on without an impulse of mine own. On, on we moved ; yet no resisting earth Sustained the footsteps, but we seemed to glide Through th' opaque void, and on its atmosphere, (If atmosphere it had) alone to tread : — The faint white lustre of my spirit gui le. So strangely bright amid that awful gloom, Shining with radiance supernatural. At length a pause in our on-gliding course— I felt a heaviness within my breast, A. sense of woe beyond expression drear, And seemed to know that I had reached th' abtMl*,- 8 32 The doleful regions of the unblest dead ; A soul depressing influence throughout The dismal gloom appeared to reign, and low My spirits sank beneath its leaden weight : It seemed to quench the light of Hope, and shut The bosom 'gaiast its cheering ray forever. " Now have thy wish — vain child of earth behold Revealed, the mysteries of that awful world Where those who have incurred the just displeasure Of an offended God, in anguish live forever.'* Thus said the venerable one who stood Beside me, and as sternly fell the words, Yet v;ith soft accent, from commanding lips, A dull, faint glimmer lit the dismal shade With ghastly hue, and pale ; like when the flash Of lightning cleaves the midnight temptest's cloudS| And frightened Nature for an instant gleams All wan and bluely in th' unearthly glare : 'Twas light, if light it could be called, that made The gloom more palpable ; and though the eye Beheld obscurity discovered, yet 'Twas darkness desolate and awful still. But dreadful was the sight revealed unto My shrinking gaze, by that unnatural light : Unnumbered beings, as distinct in form As that they wore on earth, were gathered theroi But with despondence such as never earth Beheld, upon the ghastly features stamped, And each crushed spirit bending 'neath the load Of hopeless misery that filled the breast — No sulphurous flogd whose rolling waves of flams 33 Inflicted on the ne'er consuming damned Its agonies, was there, nor with pale light Lit up the dreadful gloom ; but in its stead Darkness incomprehensible sole reigned With Silence still more terrible than gloom — No wild distortions of the anguished face, Like when corporeal pangs pervade the flesh, Were there— no, different far the countenance : A fearful melancholy from the eye Looked forth, and more than words could tell, bespoke The desolation of the soul within : All there was gloom— despondency — and huge Amidst the darkness, and with haggard cheek, And outspread wings, the demon of Remorse, Engendering woe, hung ghastly o'er the scene. " Can these be beings who once lived and moved In yon far earth, — whose joyous natures swelled With all those ardours passionate, and hopes That through exultant manhood's bosom thrill — Careless and glad as though the spark of life Would linger in their vital dus. forever 1 " In trembling, doubting accents thus I asked. '» Yes, child of earth, dispel thy feeble doubts— These are the souls— immortal essences Of those who once on earth, as thou wilt yet, Their terra of wretched happiness fulfilled — The poor, the lowly— the high-born and prou4 Who gloried in the goodliness they had Of nature's giving— weak'st pride of all, .ilU ....: J. ^r V- UG Ui Uw»,UL yot-irl nf rrro«fi fif form— » I 34 What art thou flesh—and man ? Go ask the gmv«, And in its silence find thy sad reply. All, all are here— creatures on whom the light Of Reason shone,— blessed with a sacred guide To truth and life eternal, and yet braved Their Maker to his worst by scorning all His stern injunctions, and his proffered love Forfeited by excess of evil deeds." " Just fate, yet sad. But are these torments all That they must suffer— whera those dreadful flames In which we're told the wicked expiate Their wretched doom in never ending pain ? '*• S " What ! thinkest thou, material pangs inflict More torture than that deep remorse of mind A ceaseless canker gnawing at the soul, That fearfully the quickened conscience goads? No! No! Pain would be welcomed as companionship In this drear place— as something to divert The mind from silent brooding o'er its woe : Besides these essences are senseless to Such things as rack the living flesh with pain ;— • Corporeal suifering became extinct In them when closed the dark grave o'er their dust. This world of outer darkness is their fate, Stung with remorse— here conscience ever heaps Reproach and agony upon itself— This, this their rlnnm onfl ixiho* ^v.^^- t .•i,i- « *i . . . ^.jv, TT iitis. iUviC bCiiiUiC i" 35 1 shrank from contemplation of the scene ; And yet, as if by fascination bound My gaze still wandered sorrowfully o'er all, Until, at last, it fixed itself upon Two forms that sat dejectedly apart From all the rest, and these, alas ! seemed doomed \ To suffer under more than common curse : Such deep despondence and excess of woe And mental agony as was impressed Upon each haggard countenance, is far Beyond the weak conception of humanity To picture to itself. A mute despair — A settled hopelessness the dull eye fixed On vacancy, as if the wrecked soul knew No sunny gleam of a redeeming hour Would e'er dispel the cloud of wrath that hung, With vengeance 'pregnated, o'er it so fearfully. Even he, whose light of Reason is obscured, The child of Melancholy ut his grated bars. Gazing the livelong day, with leaning head And vacant eyes, upon the world without, Unconscious all of Nature's fair existence: The proud fields robe them in their green attire. The glad trees rustle in the summer breeze. The sunshine glistens, and the misty hills, Dim in the distance, look the same as when They once had filled his childhood's wondering mind With fancies strange — now all their charms are spread In vain to wake emotion in his mind — He sees — but there his apprehension ends — Even his sad eye with eloquence of thought, CnmntirfiH with those OH which I ffBzed, was filled: I 26 Their's was the woe compassion could not find A vulnerable point to touch, and soothe With kindly sympathy of word or deed- Disdaining sympathy, th' o'erpowering grief Looked not beyond itself, as if it sought For consolation only in despair. Long, long, I gazed abstractedly, my thoughts, On some indefinable dread intent, Wandering I knew not whither— till at once, With impulse sudden, to my guide I turned, And, fearing the reply, I timorous asked j— "How long hath this existence drear to last, Till vengeance of th* Eternal one be satisfied ? " '* How long ! Throughout Eternity— a space of time Too vast for man's poor comprehension to Encompass. Take the largest numeral; That ingenuity of man has called Into existence to assist him in His calculation of vain theorems And speculations diflicult, abstruse. Which numbei multiplied into itself Ten thousand times, the monstrous sum in years Would show the end no nearer than before : Kingdoms may change— earth's dynasties may pass From recollection of mankind— even earth And all the glories of creation by Some fierce convulsion of the elements, May be dissolved— returning to the Night— The chaos whence the Supreme called them forth, 37 But the immortal soul in baing strange— Incomprehensible— exists forever." I shuddered as he spoke— an icy chill Crept through my bosom, yet I dared to seek For further knowledge — pointing to the twain, In humbleness one more request preferred : — « What monstrous crime outraging God and man Have these committed that they should incur A Retribution terrible as this 1 " « The tale is not o'er long,— 'twill soon be told.— This one, decrepit not with gathered years, But care, ere manhood's prime of days were reached- The crime, beneath whose penalty he groans, Is still the bent, in yon revolving sphere. Of thoughtless thousands, and yet deemed no crime : The world's outcry against the petty felon, Is raised aloud for some slight injury Done to his fellow-man (who might, perhaps, Be guilty of the same misdeed, were but Their circumstances or conditions changed,) And justice hounds him even to the death,— Her righteous claims must all be satisfied ; But crimes against the God of Heaven and Earth, Upon whose favor man's existence hangs From day to day, are treated with contempt, Or gazed upon with half approving eye. This one the slave of sordid passion lived— The lust of gain the ruin of his soul ; And he with unremitting toil wore out His manhood's vigour striving to amass 38 I The glittering hoard, whose full extent would now Be gladly given for a day's respite From this tormenting agony of mind, And deem the favor purchased far too cheap ; — The morn beheld him early it his toil, The night's dull taper with its tufted wick And flickering, smoky flame, beheld him bent. With countenance impressed with covetousness And mean desire, over the inky page, Eagerly pondering on the past day's gains. And thus day after day, year after year Beheld a repetition of the same Unvarying round, save that the mind grew more And more absorbed in his increasing wealth And treasured store — and to all else without Its magic circle, negligent and cold : — Wrapped in his treasure, he forgot that e'er A Deity existed who controlled The destines of man — that all he had Was from His great munificence received — He knew no shrine but Mammon's to adore ; The worshipped idol of his soul was gold. And there with mad fanaticisim bowed— Oh ! would the world but turn their hearts to Heaven, And its divine inculcations perform To God and man with half such fervor, then Earth might be made a Paradise indeed, Instead of now a spacious field for strife, Contention, enmity to rage upon. — He lived alone ; no sympathy he met From fellow beings : yet the vulgar paid A deferential tribute to his gold j 39 Affection for his race ne'er warmed his heart With kindly glow— his heart had long became As cold, unfeeling as his senseless ore : The springs of charity that therein rise, Dispensing kindnesses of word or deed, As thence in full stream of benevolence They sweetly flow, filling the donor's soul With glad emotion, self-approving joy At having brought a gleam of sunshine to Some spirit desolate and wrung with woes, Were all dried up, (as is the meadow's stream By summer's sun, leaving the pebbly bed All hard and bare,) by his absorbing love, His guilty passion for his treasured gold. No ties of kindred nor of that pure love. Each generous impulse of the tender soul Expanding, bound him in their holy thrall : He was a stranger to the fervid joy That thrills in silence thro' the raptured breast, Responding to another sweet chord, when The warm affection of a love filled heart Showers its o'er-brimming ecstacies upon it ; Alas ! he knew not what it was to have The fond affection of another heart Twining with eagerness around his own And opening fountains of some new sweet bliss Each hour and minute all unknown before. He cared not for the sympathy of man Beyond what brought some increase to his hoard, Nor cared he for his God ; for where there is No love for man, there is no love for God. 40 At length o'er wearied nature could withstand Such anxious care no longer, and succumbed To the incessant toil ; and yet with age Came no reversion of his former state ; The gathering years, that sage reflection bring. With their accumulation, to the mind. Dropped noislessly upon him ; yet they wrought No healthful change. He grieved to forsake The scene whereon he long had played a part So miserable ; and now his only joy Was contemplation of his ill-got gains In selfish solitude, unseen, unknown. And there, with wild insanity of eye, He'd hang enraptured o'er the glittering heap Whose fascination often brought forlli tears Of base delight, as if the shining adamant Found sympathy with his own sordid soul. The wretched mendicant with pale, pinched cheek, Expressing poverty, and want, and woe. An humble pittance asking at his hands. Was thrust uncharitably from his door. Nor granted of his great abundnnce ought: 'Twould wring his heart with auguish to behold The smallest atom from the treasured heap Detached for even purpose necessary — And yet the instrument that damned his soul, Another's from perdition might have saved. At last amidst his selfishness Death came, With summons unavertible, and called For that which soon or late is by him claimed Ah ! then the tumults strugglings in the breast Of the inexorable tyrant's victim ; .«f«*W- 41 His lore of life, and his still more than life— The treasure idolized beyond aught else Were the chief burden of his sordid grief: He mourned for an extension of the span Of days allotted him, and yet for what 1 To bring fruits worthy of repentance 1 No ; — But that he might further communion hold "With his bright treasure — and the sorest pang 'Neath which he suffered, and that filled his mini With anguish, was that he must go and leave All, all behind : he thought not of his soul ; * That treasure, in comparison, was small With that in which his bosom was bound up — At length in splendid poverty he died, The sordid wretch that he had ever lived— Unmourned, and a reproach unto his kind." " This next, though born in poverty obscure, The lamp of Genius at his natal hour Shone bright and o'er him cast its hallowed ray : Imparting its divine influence to The quickened soul : — and yet the Destiniei That predispose the fate of mortals born Into the world, wept tears of unfeigned woe While glancing o'er the melancholy part Allotted him to play upon life's stage : The one bestowed on him the blessed source Of many a fount of pure and hoi y joy — The others meted him a cup of gall — Sad dispensation, yet who dare impeach The acts of an unknown, mysterious Power, Or seek with impious reasoning to slur •<«nMi*iMMpliN 42 I Decrees inscrutable to all but Heaven. He grew in stature as the years sped on. And understanding far beyond his years: While yet a boy, on opening manhood's verge, (As tinted morn precedes the golden day) He loved the solitude where Nature reigned, In rugged pomp, sole mistress of the scene. And, swayed by her mysterious influence, To hold communion with himself alone. He loved to roam the unfrequented wood, And list in wonder to the unseen breeze uEolian music making wild and sad Among the hoary branches overhead : — The fabled tree whose melody refined Woke exquisite sensations of delight Within the listner's breast, would not have stirred Th' unsounded depths of his young soul, like this Wild forst harmony, — unmeasured — strange. The mountain vale, where the out-jutting rocks, Frowning terrific'ly in mid-air hung, Destruction threatening to all beneath, — Where twilight's sombre shadows lingered e'er. Nor felt the influence of noon-day's glare, And scarce a visitant of life beheld, Unless the swooping eagle as she sped, In flight majestic, to her craggy nest, A fond resort was also, and there oft With rapt devotion unto Nature's God, He felt his bosom thrill. The rushing stream With flood tumultous sweeping past its shore, Enchained his spirit with a mystic spell : Upon its shelving banks in thoughtful mood, 43 Wand'ring through some ideal world, — with oft A restless spirit flashing in his eye. Yet softened by a melancholy tinge It constant wore, he'd sit for hours and gaze Upon the torrent glancing swifty by : — One favorite spot was where the leaping waves Instinct with life, each other fiercely chased In gambols wild, and where the noisy stream Updashing 'gainst the fixed rocks that opposed A mimic barrier to its onward course, Formed curved jets of sportive snowy foam:— There gazing on the troubled flood, iti roar Would touch the keys to contemplation's chords And wake reflection in his thoughtful soul. He lovd with all *he fervor of his breast The starry solitude of midnight's skies, When shining worlds, innumerable, looked Their all Omnipotent Creator's praise, And their eternal lumination burnt With holy zeal, in silence, to his Power. The soothing influence of the ha'lowed hour Then fell upon his spirits, like its dew Upon the slowly opening night-flowers, A nourishment to pure and holy thought: Far, far, from earth his soar'ng mind should wing Its flight ideal — oft 'twould gaze beyond The spangled beauty of the dark profound, And th«re in raptured visions would behold Th' undying glory of Creation's Lord, (And yet the picture, dazaling with all The profuse glories that unbridled thought Could add to its magnificience, fell far I 44 I Behind the bright invisible reality ; For mind of man ne'er had conception of The blaze of splendor round Jehovah's throne,) Tague phantasies— yet such imaginings were Ever to him a source of strange delight. He felt a holy, reverential awe For all the grandeur that he saw displayed In the arched firmament of gorgeous night, A.nd bowed in humbleness of soul before A Power so vast as could create control The revealed wonders of the Universe : Still not a stranger was his bosom to The milder inspirations of such Power : Descending from its airy flight, hia soul Could take devotion's tinge from objects lew In nature than the glory of the skies And grander portions of the Universe, The still and echoing Sabbath morning when All nature seems to feel there is a God — Not nature only but the dingy town, From noisy labor resting, and the hum Of busy life, then steeped in peaceful quiet, Can also feel its sacred influenoe, And by a hallowed silence show its praise — This, teo, could touch those tender, fervent chords With which his breast was strung — nor needed he A wordy monitor with ready lip And aealous will, to wake devotion in His breast — instinctively devotion came From all he saw ; for he therein beheld The interference of some mighty hand Invisible, yet powerful and wise. li %^ 45 The solemn chiming of the Sabbath-bells, Stately and slow, was ever heard by him With melancholy, and emotion sad. Within the sacred edifice of prayer, He loved to listen to the texts divine Expounded by some servant of the Lord : And though around him tilled wealth were ranged, Their vanities paraded even there, Not one amongst them such devotion felt As that which gushed to his own humble breast j— And whejt the lab'ring organ's measured peal, Rose with grand swell and filled the vaulted aisle, As if on its vibrating strains, aloft The adoration of assembled hearts Was borne unto the Mercy-seat of Heaven, He felt an ecstacy of rapt delight — An undefined thrill of something strange, Yet sweet, tumultously his bosom sweep. His nature was of an ideal cast, Nourished by contemplation of the real. And feeling sympathy with all he saw In earth or sky ; for all things were by him Endowed with some peculiar charm and grace- Delighting mostly in the mystic realms Of his creative fancy, and too mild— Tof gentle for collision with the rude And sterner stuff of which yon world is made He grew to manhood j but the wintry hand Of poverty ever upon him pressed, And rudely pinched both body's yearnings and Th' aspiring thought's that mounted in his soul— His worth unnoticed— Oh ! too often worth I OMMIBIipia 46 Is treated with contumely and despised Because the humble garb of poverty, Like basest dross around the virgin gold, A mean disguise, conceals the sterling ore : 'Tis hard to be forever straining under Such sad oi)pression ; and the dreams that Hops Concieved to cheer the laborer in his toil, Dissolving with the slow advance of Time, (Deceptive visions) one by one away: The breast that's felt the stings of poverty, Can doubly thrill with gratitude to Him, And to his agent that has wrought him good And scared the mocking demon from his door. — Brooding o'er disappointments he became A prey to melancholy, and in temper soured : He lived but in himself, and strove to shun All intercourse with creatures ofhis kind ; For self-persuasion nourished his belief That human sympathy was a thing that dwelt But in the fancy of some foolish breast: A nature far too sensitive to slight, Allowed him not to buffet such rude storms As every where beset the path of life, With sturdy arm : but shrank as tenderly From contact with them as the feeling plant That folds its petals at the slightest touch. A passion for the beautiful— the grand In nature and its solitude, still reigned Predominant within his breast, — but now He was a being differing from all That former self that in the abstract viewed 'MM^tk4 47 With glad emotion a deep hidden source Of wisdom, goodness, care, in all he saw j Now he heheld with superficial glance, Yet warm and ardent as his boyish love. Only th' effect— the palpable display, Nor Tentured e'er a tnought upon the cause :— . The dark viscissitudes of life concurred To impregnate his bosom with harsh thoughts 'Gainst man— and Heaven's unquestionable decrees- Maturing Reason had perverted grown, And weighed, in bitterness of soul, his lot With prejudicial and reproachful thought; His judgment, tempered with no kindness, looked On all things with uncharitable eye. And thence erroneous estimates inferred. Oppressed with sorrows fanciful and real- Alas ! too real ! for pondering on these To giant magnitude the others reached— He, day by day, more melancholy grew, Reserved and solitary — shunning all That bore the semblance of humanity. And then to 'scape the burden of his woes, The weak altern'tive of an o'er-strained mind. His hand insane against himself he raised. And branded with self-murder — vilest stain- He rushed into the presence of his God." He ceased — oppressive silence once more reigned Throughout that dismal region ; yet I wished Te know still further of the scene I saw Man's mind unsatisfied is ever straining For knowledge farthest from its anxious grasp ; •upwMMnnp; o 48 Yet oHce obtained, tis but a bauble thought : Possession robs the object of its charm — And as the words were even on my lips To beg another boon, the scene was changed-* All, all as instantaneously as thought Had disappeared — I was again alone Within the Cemetery of the dead, Keclining on a sloping grassy mound, The diamond sprinkled canopy of night In dark magnificence above me spread, And silent as the slumber of the grave,— A soft, still breeze passed whisper in gly by And woke a mournful cadence in the palm* And cypretis trees that reared their aged tops Far into the obscurity of night — There pondering over what I had beheld In dreams, — I sighed to find the vision gone. j^ V. '%! d*' ■M' t V,