f TAN, PURITAN. A POEM IN SEVEN CANTOS. CINCINNATI: PRINTED 15V ROBERT CLARKE AND COMPANY. MDCCCLXV1II. A Wu Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by GEO. W. HOUK, In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Southern District of Ohio. CANTO i . The Voyage. CANTO II Celebrated Voyages. CANTO III The Landing. CANTO IV Retrospect. CANTO V Settlement. CANTO VI Return to England. CANTO ril; . Final Success. PURITAN. CANTO THE FIRST. THE V Or AGE. I. HAT quivering craft braves Ocean s stormy deep ? What daring will bears on in such a gale? The boreal winds, fierce, unobstructed, sweep, The autumnal clouds droop low, and darkly veil The pointed mast s damp cords and tattered sail; There, thro o erwhelming wave appears the bow ! In wracking trough, a feather were less frail; The upper works rise torn to fragments now! Yet onward course she holds, with bold unwavering prow. II. Floats there a god that naught on earth can scathe? Or saddest outcast that dares tread no land ; Or wretched victim of dread sovereign s wrath ; Or one that tempts all ills, haply to strand Where golden treasure doth such risks demand ? Draw near in awe and wonder! Can it be? Lo! there behold the hero; See him stand In human form, but godlike majesty; Unawed, unsaddened, calm in perfect faith is he. 6 PURIT3N. [G in. He leans against the creaking mast, and feels The Ocean s pulse in every trembling beam; The wind holds him fast bound, and now reveals Beneath his long dark pilgrim s gown, the gleam Of sword and corselet; and his eye doth seem To pierce thro mists and clouds, and view beyond, The land of hope and promise; for no dream The precious words that he but now hath conned ; Tho wet, wind-torn, each page forbids him to despond. IV. Is it responsive to that fervent prayer? The sun has broken thro the murky tide Of ragged clouds, dark fringes trailing bare Across the blue beyond ; now clear descried In sudden light, his ills seem magnified ! Was he a hero thus to dare alone? Behold him thrice heroic; by his side, His arm around her, clings a fragile one; Too dear; her every pang far sorer than his own. V. Her eyes, a heavenly blue, with his, seek heaven; In that too sudden brightness, turn again To rest on him; fond Charite, God given, Blessing divine, nor given to him in vain. How fair and pallid! Each keen throbbing pain Her unveil d temple shows; her sunny hair Rude, wind-disheveled, her appa-rel plain, Lacking its wonted folds, her arms half bare, Seem strained to save one treasure, no whit safer there. C"" 7 -] PURITAN. VI. It is indeed upon her breast a child! A tender infant that there knows no fears ; A maid beside, close clinging, wailing wild, Mingles with Ocean s brine her early tears; And still a youth, anear the sire appears, Pale, but unmoved; erect in earliest pride, He emulates the faith that he reveres; The storms and ills of earth doth proud abide, His stubborn will calls God s, and grows self-deified. VII. And not afar, the sturdy followers group Before and aft, some scores seem clustered close ; These too clasp tender treasures. A bold troop, As ever crossed the Ocean. Is it dross A faith that doth the human soul engross Until it rests all things it holds most dear Against all human senses fears no loss Trusting a Being that the soul draws near, Who, to the Spirit s vision, faith alone is clear? VIII. What matters them, if howling tempests roar! What, if a thousand miles of storming waves Spread raging either side; behind, before; What, tho the lightning midnight blackness paves ! What, tho the quivering, shattered bark scarce saves The precious freight of all that mortals prize, From dreadful plungings to dark watery graves ! What, tho one dead in their sad vision lies ! Is not their life a pilgrimage, and Heaven the prize? 8 PURIT3N. [> i. IX. The ship is damp and dismal, scattered o er With many fragments of the broken deck ; Heard ye that startling cry ! Those brave before, Seized with dismay, their dreadful doom deplore ; Not only are the upper works a wreck, Amidship s beam is wrenched, what now can check The wild waves fatal power ! She settles low ! Each wave breaks higher up a hair a speck As sure as life ebbs out however slow, When bright arterial current from a wound doth flow X. 60 surely that fell stream, still flowing in, Will still the throbs of full an hundred hearts ; Is there no help? The knight doth hush the din, The faint gives strength he hopeful hope imparts, And hastens on, if haply human arts May here suffice, God willing, to repair The fearful vent! " He ne er his righteous thwarts, But gives the weak His power, and doth declare He will bless them that serve Him ; wherefore need ye fear." XI. Aye, He who knew their future, there had stored An instrument for e en this dread hour s need ; Whose aid they never vainly had implored. With wise and patient labor, they succeed The breach repair. From this great danger freed, Now many stand about him, and implore Ere certain doom devour them, to relead Them back to their late haven to restore, At least their lifeless forms to that dear native shore. Canto /.] PURITAN. 9 XII. Sadly he listened to their sore complaint, Speechless he waited till they ceased to speak; And if a tear had gathered, quick restraint Forbade it damp his dark and furrowed cheek. For e en the gentle dame, so worn and meek, Had prayed him pause; her tender buds to spare, Where waves grew wilder, and the winds more bleak ; If for an instant touched with others care, Unwavering will his stern unfaltering words declare. XIII. "Doth God divide his domain? Doth His care But over half the Ocean s waves extend? Will He, whose mercy hath sufficed each where, No longer from the raging storms defend ? The sea is His He made it, and doth send His breath in winds athwart it, to and fro ; They smite the clouds; hail, snow, and rains descend; They smite the sea, the waves to mountains grow ; He wills bright skies calm seas, make earth with beauty glow. XIV. "Why are ye here upon this unknown sea? Did youthful fervor urge a headlong course? Ye know full well how long and prayerfully Ye dwelt upon this way; in sage discourse, How every ill and peril I with force Did seek portray, that none might venture hence In weakness, making foul this stream s pure source; Delays befell, thro God s good providence, To winnow out the chaff; who sought a fair pretence IO PURITAN. !> xv. " Might now at ease on England s shores repose; Or share their cherished brethren s patient toil, Within the hospitable realme they chose, With many exiled from their native soil, When their fair homes the spoiler joyed to spoil. Ye chose the better part ye vowed to find Some far retreat beyond the world s turmoil, A refuge for your babes, for they had pined Like prisoned birds in lands too cumbered, tho most kind. XVI. "A tender foster-mother twelve long years Hath Holland been; but her own children earned Within her narrow bounds their bread with tears; Ye felt the sore constraint; ye, weeping, turned From sight of your poor children, who had learned To wear too grave a look, unplayful, wise, Grown old and weary in that brief sojourn ; Would ye return, cage them again ? They rise E en now, their wings will bear at least to paradise! XVII. "England to you a poorer refuge far; Have ye forgotten how ye were a prey To that proud hierarchy ? They sought to mar Not only your poor homes, yourselves to lay In dungeons damp, far from the light of day. They sought the deathless soul foul to deprave With gainful bait entice sought every way With fears to force you your own souls t enslave ; Ye strong, escaped ; but what would weaker offspring save? 0" " 7 -] PURIT4N. u XVIII. "England s no home to you; a popish king Hath harrowed you from out her goodly soil ; But still ye love your native tongue dared bring Your treasures on the Ocean disembroil Yourselves from her disputes, and freely toil A noble state in loyalty to found; Forget no hope, lest fear may foully foil A worthy labor; and tho cares abound, God s grace much more; e en o er this vast unknown Pro found. XIX. " Nor dare ye once reproach my guidance here. He who dares murmur, tho deep troubles press In grievous burdens that he scarce can bear, Murmurs against his God. Never distress, But He hath meted, sinful soul to bless; Guiana wooed you with her lavish gold ; Virginius prayed you join his host no less; Mauritius proud, rich gainful trade foretold About the forts whose future greatness he extolled. XX. "I promised naught but grief and poverty ; As Israel from Egypt, hence I came, Nor feared the wilderness beyond the sea; To rear an altar to His holy name, Nor brooked one follower zeal did not inflame; To fast, to pray, give thanks as seemed me good; If any now gainsay, theirs be the shame ; We came to find pure streams of heavenly food, To rear our offspring, first of many a goodly brood." 12 PURITAN. {Canto i. XXI. He ceased, then breathed a long and fervent prayer, Nor rose a plaint from e en an infant there ; The helmsman with inspired courage held The prow to West, the wind seemed shifting fair, The mariners loosed; the sail slow swaying swelled, And swift through heaving brine the bark compelled. It was a fair and gallant sight the while, From every brow sad weight of care dispelled There was no sound of mirth, but many a smile And pure and calm thanksgiving did the hoars beguile. XXII. Darkness succeeds the brightest day s sunshine, Tempests the calm, and nights and storms ensued Till hope deferred made many a heart repine; The knight in faith exalted, unsubdued By every ill, his soul with grace imbued. Three score of days upon that troubled sea, Each added morn no land, each night they stood Watching the sun, if haply there might be A shore-line cross the orb, watching, how longingly ! XXIII. One, two, aye, three; each day dawned but on waves; Behind, before, each way a dreary sight. One, two, aye, three; no ray of sunlight paves The darkening sea; passes the pale twilight, No trace of land appears ere falls the night; The morn the fourth the earliest dawn on high Paces a quick impatient path the knight Oft times his searching gaze strained anxiously, But lingering darkness doth his hope as oft belie. Canto I.-] PURITAN. 13 XXIV. How keen the northern blast! the spray blown high Congealing o er his form ; but still he stands Spell-bound in instant prayer; "The clouds that lie Dark on the West tell me are they not lands! Ye mariners behold ! the view expands, The lingering dimness vanishes. Oh God! Not unrewarded they, who Thy commands Obey. Tho heavy falls the chastening rod, We shall tread that near land, as Israel, Canaan trod, XXV. " Awed through the middest deep, at length beyond, Praising the living God, the same Lord then, To-day, as yesterday ever in bond With those who love and serve Him. Godly men, When did He once forsake you? tell me, when?" They gather close around their faithful guide ; Tears, smiles, thanksgivings loud, unseeking ken What trials wait them there, land! land descried! Hour of hope realized, elate, o erjoyed, they ride. XXVI. "Bear to the South ! " The mandate, helm obeyed; The voice imperious as the power supreme, He, unforgetful, tho enrapt they stayed, Gazing upon the wished-for shore and dream To tread firm land, nor breathe they other theme, But he beholds them shuddering in the blast, Keen, unrelenting, sweeps it, cold extreme, And seeks, the long peninsula once past, For some safe haven where they may find rest at last. 3 14 PURITAN. [Cann I. I XXVII. But it was vain; he could have borne their grief, To draw no nearer now that longed-for shore, But hope for rest that way was sad as brief; Dread shoals and breakers threatened more and more. To wreck their shattered ship, and all her store; The hope of drawing near a friend grew faint, The hope, of even life mid perils sore, Lost when the wind, attending their complaint, Veers to the South, forcing them back God s own con straint. XXVIII. A day and night upon that rock-bound coast! Another morning round that yearned-for land! A headland bold, and narrow, for the most Dense wooded to the shore nigh such a strand, The vast and furious Ocean passed, doth stand The knight brave, proud, inspired to lead the van Of hosts that dared to follow his command, And in the light of faith unfold a plan Conceived nor carried out by mortal man Needs it proclaim this daring Hero PURITAN. PURITAN. CANTO THE SECOND. CELEBRATED DOTAGES. I. Puritan! How much the world hath writ Of famous voyages o er Oceans vast ! With jealous care the ancients sought transmit E en dim traditions of exploits long past, When daring mariners shrank back aghast From fearful perils in the fair Levant ; Ere man conceived what mighty depths were massed Beyond his knowledge. Care most vigilant, Has failed one labor find, as thine significant! II. But lest strange unbelief the truth may scorn, And deem such hero-worship,weak, unwise, Deeds of renown, that earliest adorn Th historic page, or that men doubly prize Where poets give immortal fame, arise ! In order show your valiant ; tell them o er, E en fables of pelagic enterprise; Nor shrink ye sages, and the task deplore ; Is it not worthy to record such deeds once more ? (xv) 1 6 PURITAN. \_Camall. III. Bold Argonautica! be yours the praise Of earliest glory on the untried deep; Tho trade of spicery in earlier days Allured the prow, the fragrant gain to reap Far down th Arabian sea perchance to creep Eurythrean currents thro for pearls and gold, Rich gains were theirs, the glory thou may st keep, Oh princely Jason! chief of heroes old ; Patron of Argus, thro all time how oft extolled! IV. Yet only left he Thessaly, to touch The Isle of Lemnos; thence to Mysia cross, Lingering in Thrace to learn what needed much The dread Symplegades, without a loss Pass thro tho wrathfully they clash and toss, And then the Euxine sea, vast as unknown, Sails labored oars compelled them far across To Colchis come the golden fleece he won Thro wise Medea s love. Such aid twere well to shun. V. Thence back to Thessaly, saving the two, Hylas and Hercules, whom friendship stays On Mysia s shore again Alcides view, This but a boyish deed, when he obeys Command Eurystheus gave to steer where graze Geryon s famed oxen j Erytheia s day Dawned far to West he dared the sunset rays, Seeking Hesperides, where guarded lay The golden apples that he sought to bear away. Canto II.] PURITAN. VI. In monumental grandeur stands it now, Unfallen not unchanged, the riven pass Of Hercules ! His labors famed avow The starry heavens, where fadeless glories glass The deeds that earthly monuments surpass ; Here pass d too, Menelaiis, world renown d, As spouse of Helen, too fair cause, alas! Of Troy s sad fall; and this beyond the bound Of sage Ulysses wanderings, whose griefs astound. VII. ./Eneas voyage recall, who bravely bore His sire Anchises from the wreck of Troy, To found far o er the seas, on presaged shore, Another state, to be a pride and joy Greater than that just lost without alloy The deep delights the poet gives the soul Where e en the ancient gods he dares employ, To lend a lustre that exalts the whole, That scarce Ulysses tale the ages more extol. VIII. But leave we song and fable, for we find Not here, one purpose worthy place beside The high, soul-daring, heaven-exalted mind Of this our hero glory, human pride, Nor knowledge, much less love and faith sore tried ! But seek we now the old historic tomes If haply there the truth may best abide, Seleucus, Alexander Magnus roams, Patrocles Onesecritus, none worthy comes. 1 8 PURITAN. {Cant, II. IX. And leave we these few annals of renown; For on that bright and placid inland sea There can no daring deed be truly shown Worthy compare with Ocean s jeopardy. There Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, Face Egypt, Cyrenecia, Carthage famed And Spain, tho far from Palestine it be, The later mariners no glory claimed, Save where the boundless seas their fearless zeal inflamed. X. Tis told that Menelaiis was the first Who passed the cape Speranza, till he came To Indies shores: next Solomon athirst For golden treasures, mighty ships did frame To pass the straits of Mecca riches, fame, Three years of absence from the East, they brought: The worthy deed lends lustre to his name ; Then Neco, Egypt s king, in wisdom sought To join the Red Sea and the Nile, and him bethought, XI. Phrenecians wise to send from Mecca down To dread Speranza, thence to Hercules, And thence to Egypt; won they great renown But nothing found their sovereign s hopes to please. And these same annals tell a favoring breeze Bore Carthaginian merchants on and on Ever to westward, thro tempestuous seas, Till far as our Antilles they had gone, Six hundred years before the Christian era s dawn. canto ii.-] PURITAN. 19 XII. When Roman power had reached the far off coast Of famed Britannia, thro the Ocean sea, It was the mighty Empire s proudest boast, And marks the time her eagle gloriously Swept to the zenith, and there seemed to be E en to the farthest seeing, like a star Eternally transfixed; laboriously His pinions all the while unequal are To stay his sudden downfall; falls he fearful far! XIII. Then came the time when all those cultured shores, Greece, Italy, Gaul, Spain, and Africa, Were wild with tumults Vandals, Huns, Goths, Moors, Sweeping in counter currents; nations saw Barbaric hordes descend, their glories draw Swiftly and hopeless to untimely end. Wide-spreading carnage, plundering might sole law; No more the richly laden fleets may wend, No more romantic rivals on the seas contend. XIV. In grief we turn away, and let the pall Of silence o er such desolation fall; Barbarian ravages served well to hide Worse than Barbarian crimes less tragical More fatal ills destroyed that vaunting pride; As came the tempted fierce barbarian tide Rose grim despair, the stern extreme resource Of fallen greatness glory deified After this fatal lesson! mark its course The mighty Roman Empire in the dust a corse, 20 PURITAN. icaxul xv. It, like the fabled Phcenix, sprang to life; From cradling sepulchre, arose unseen, But unlike that fond wonder, from fell strife Bore not the parent nest selfish we ween Hath human glory from the earliest been Full plumed and proud emerged it in the West, Where armoured heroes gathering were seen; As brilliant birds the stranger phoenix press d, So there King Arthur and his Knights, glory attest. XVI. Ancient renowned, chivalrous Arthur! thou, Thou wert the first that dared the northern blast For conquest, as thy knights impelled the prow, (Heroic as the Argo bore time past) From Celtic isle to North, until thou wast In sight of Hecla s flames; that island bound To faithful homage, far off Russe at last, The Norse and Flanders thine, "chambers first found To Brittain " bold exploit of the famous Table Round. XVII. Wild but heav n-blest Crusades new life had giv n To listless nations; men went to and fro Doing great deeds of valor they had striv n On land and sea, yearning yet more to know Of distant parts; the human currents flow Restless, chivalrous, thro surrounding seas, And neighboring countries felt unwonted glow Of new regard and tender sympathies, Too soon, alas! disturbed by glory s votaries. canto n.-\ PURITJN. 21 XVIII. But love, a motive that doth seldom lead To unknown lands, because the fragile fair Await in ease until the daring speed In quest of glory, and if joys are there, Their tender loves they later thither bear Yet once the fatal cause, for unknown shores Received two lovers in their keen despair. Too tardy refuge tho there lavish stores Of beauties bloom one fading beauty he deplores. XIX. She died his love, his life; and unto him Naught in the skies above, or seas around, Or riches of that virgin isle, but dim, More deathful than the narrow precious mound That all the hopes of his sad soul embound; Oh joy! the island s hero slept as well; In stormless haven, love with joy was crowned! Sad followers mourned in paradise to dwell ; They framed a float, o erjoyed escaped this tale to tell. XX. Near Lusitania heard it not in vain. Don Henry yearned exalt his native land. His wise unrivalled zeal gave her the main, Adown dark Afric s shores; his sails expand, Until the fiery rays naught can withstand. Columbus sought the Lusian monarch then, His mighty project told at his command. The East to East, sole hope of wisest men; Faith in the great unseen, when will ye conquer, when? 22 PURITAN. [c//. XXI. To sail to West o er Ocean was a scheme Consigned to scorn in ignominious pride. Then turned the slighted hero his fond dream Never dispelled, tho all the world deride, Again t explain tho Spain as well denied; The Queen, more wise, his earnest suit attends; Palos vast Ocean Western land descried! Oh mighty exploit! all the past it shends, And none save Puritan s, such vast results portends, XXII. De Gama yearned repair the Lusian loss Of Western Empire, and with constant zeal Bore on and on the burning line across The shores of Afric past, what ills reveal! The blazing flash! the wracking thunder s peal! Where mighty waves in counter currents sweep Amid such perils pulsing veins congeal, To pass where "Spirit of the Cape" would keep Man from all knowledge of that wild and secret deep. XXIII. But tho he gave the coveted, famed East, With all its kings and kingdoms scarcely seen To his far monarch, year by year decreased That empire s fame for fell ambition keen, Too ravishing hath in all ages been. Save freights of gold and purple, spices rare, Rich freights men prize of luxuries terrene, And that it roused the daring everywhere, And of it Camoens wrote, the world the deed might spare. Canto II.} PUR1T4N. 23 XXIV. While England grieves Columbus, Cabot steers Straight for the West; St. George floats proudly there As he the shores, his " Prima vista" nears; It needs but see the fruitful coast each where, Down from the north with spreading sails to bear, Where keenest glimpse commands the dirn coast line, All, all with zeal for England they declare, The title for the continent consign; A strange and unreal right that nations must define. XXV. France, tardier than her compeers, felt a pang That none her Fleur-de-lis transplanted, where The world in praise of wealth and glory rang; Then in her service Verrazanni dare Her arms across the middest Ocean bear, To plant them on that coast from South to North In spacious harbors; he, the earliest there But none survive, nor any blooms put forth, Save where the care of Cartier attends their growth. XXVI. Fair Italy! thy sons for others guide The venturous prow, in far and famous Seas, Past lands of untold beauty, constant glide; Yet not one rood of all the loveliest leas Where soft waves fall, no island galaxies, No spot of all the New Worlds found, give thee; Nor bring e en treasures back thy pride to please ; And thou must see Rome s single legacy, The fervor of thy sons, enhance thy jeopardy ! 24 PURITAN. O" " XXVII. And yet how beautiful ! Nature and Art Bedeck thy form with lavish loveliness, As if to soothe the pangs thy broken heart Feels, that thy sons degenerate confess No filial ardor in thy deep distress; As mourn d Penelope her mighty spouse When suitors arrogant for favors press, So thou; yet she had her Telemachus; Wasting thy people s treasures, kings carouse ; When will Ulysses come to frustrate their false vows? XXVIII. But haste we to recount a few, the best Of Ocean s heroes; bold Magellan sought To compass this great Earth ; he onward pressed Thro his famed fret, in middest ocean brought To untimely end, by savage imps untaught. Successful Cano, bearing westwardly That unsought glory through great suffering found; His monarch proud that all the world might see, Wrote "Primus omnium circumdedisti me" XXIX. Upon his shield; and set the globe beneath; A vaunting emblem, highest boast of fame. Now scores of mariners their deeds bequeath Succeeding ages yet from us scarce claim Tho more deserving e en a passing name. Cabral Vespucius Cortereal Pinzon Frobisher Davis Chancellor o ercame The frozen seas, while to the South had gone Drake, and those bold compeers we blush to dwell upon. Cant* //.] PURITAN. XXX. In weariness we pause; once more attest The Knight supreme; yet know Virginias rare Of England s former marine heroes best, And tho so worthy fame, can he compare With him we vaunt? forget not, pride did share Each noblest purpose; glory the high prize For which the stormy deep he erst did dare, Later for human rights, did death despise Daring alone for earth and earthly things was wise. XXXI. But Puritan felt no chivalrous pride; No hope of conquest, no desire of gain; He sought to worship God and to abide His will on earth, in Heaven a rest attain. He trusted Him he served, in faith was fain All that he prized, to launch on stormiest main. Tho no Shekinah led the unknown way, Faith unas.sisted mourns not, death, nor pain, Nor any labor; he but yearns to pray Past fervent youth, young manhood s hardier day, In Liberty and peace, where none can him gainsay. PURITAN. CANTO THE THIRD. THE LANDING. I. T is indeed a wilderness ; the shore, The sea, hushed, deep, primeval solitudes; The winter winds o er wastes of waters roar, Grey shifting clouds portend the fiercer moods Of gathering storms the low dark circling woods Of sombre cedars, and of shrunken pines, With sapless boles, mark frigid latitudes; So chill and silent, that the darksome lines Of great leviathans, he o er the waves defines. II. And in the bay s deep sheltered close recess, The myriad fowls have found secure retreat; Sole animated objects, to possess Vast silent wilds of nature; region meet The purposes of Puritan ; replete With deepest sorrow, he mourns not the pain; A thousand leagues from friends, from foes deceit As well dissevered, from the love of gain, The churchman s pride, and hated papacy s foul chain. (xxvii) 28 PURITAN. tc* in. in. Thus finds he here, as every faithful breast, Somewhat for deep thanksgiving e en amid Perplexity and car; for those distressed, The young and fragile; yet the shores forbid Within their friendly arms securely hid The Ocean s storms disturb their welcome rest. A thousand ships might float of dangers rid, Within the great round bay, and some attest Great shoals of fishes it at certain times possessed IV. The growth of trees, e en to the waters, told The shore was rich and fruitful, had it been In any moon save when November cold Permitted not prepare for winter keen ; Three long, long months of dreary cold, between Those damp dark days, and earliest cheer of Spring ; Not e en a hut his tenderest pledge to screen From snows and icy storms, tho they shall fling The fiercest shafts upon them, that such climates bring. V. He saw it all aroused his soul s deep power Over impending perils, and weak fears; With zeal heroic to improve the hour; "Free men, I charge you, hear!" and quick appears Each faithful follower that his will reveres; "Freemen of England, know I led you here To make you doubly free ye all are peers; From despot s power ye fled, your purpose dear, All power here is yours, each marks his own career. n ta in.-] PURITAN. 29 VI. "The lands before you choose, plant where you will, For me and mine it is enough to aid Your labors, and if offspring mine instill Base counsels by usurping passion swayed, Be he accursed, his manhood s strength decayed; Here is set forth my purpose and intent; Hark ye the scroll is it in aught gainsaid? Then let it be a solemn covenant That will the most discordant elements cement. VII. " Let every member of this compact feel, His duty singly as before his God; Let each to each be bound, the common weal First care of all, and charge them sway the rod The best and wisest, they who zealous plod Most for the common good; and mark ye well, Give not nor take offense; ye who have trod Rough ways together, strive in peace to dwell; Be wise, and ye shall rear a freeman s citadel. VIII. "Ye are no pampered lordlings, to deplore Lost ease; ye from the earliest learned to bear Your own and others burdens; tho yon shore Is icy,bleak, ye can all needs repair, Inured to labor, now no labor spare ; And what the coast denies ye can produce By corresponding zeal, and toil and care; What is denied has providential use To rouse your sleeping powers and energy infuse. 3 PURITAN. ICant, III. IX. "Know, human wills, if unrestrained, will bring Their own best purposes to ill fruition; Then in calm moments let wise measures spring To bear such stable fruits, that no transition Of stormy passions, no turmoiled condition Can break the bonds of constituted laws; There ever will be many whose ambition Twill be to stand for wise and righteous cause; He who would disannul, dishonored let him pause! X. "He who hath made the Heavens and the Earth, The springs, the rivers, seas, all watery deeps, Whose providence forbids one moment s dearth Of goodly moisture, He earth verdant keeps, That man in season, fitting nurture reaps ; May He so guard and guide you in your ways, With spirit and with power, o er stormiest steeps And tempting meads, your pilgrim hearts to raise Ever to Heaven,your goal, your rest; His be the praise." XI. Now yearned he tread the near encircling shore, The ship lay deep and tranquil, but the sands Forbade approach too near; one effort more, Deep wading to the middle, and he stands Sole lord of all those wild uncultured lands. He marks the sandy hillocks, like the downs Of Holland; and his grateful heart expands, When he beneath the se-eming barren mounds, Finds rich, deep, hopeful soil to wisely cultured grounds. Canto ///.] PURITAN. 31 XII. Onward he presses, and too soon beholds The wide, wide Ocean ; this a narrow tongue Of land ; from that low eminence unfolds A double prospect of wild waves, among These depths, this friendly arm hath seeming flung Its verdant length far thro the sea, to form A refuge for the knight, whose heart was wrung By Ocean s wrath, in fleeing earthly storm ; How long since nature gan that tender task perform! XIII. The trees grew disencumbered, saving where The rope-like vines clung pendant from on high; The oak, the ash, the gainful saffras there, The birch, and walnut, deep green hollies vie With pines and cedars, that refreshingly Brighten the wintry prospect; draws the day Darkly, but hopeful to its close ; supply Of fragrant juniper he bears away; To-morrow their first Sabbath dawns to rest and pray. XIV. How many times the earth had turned that bay Toward the sun, perfecting year by year The circumjacent shores. Was this the day? Did all that long progression center here, Doth Nature pause the spirit to revere ? At midnight hour the wind had ceased to blow; The earth grew silent as the hemisphere Of stars above it; e en the water s flow Was still d; the mirror d stars were perfect stars below. 32 PURITAN. [& "/ XV. If Nature waken d when the sunlight shone, Her solemn reverence hushed every sound; The silent rays pervade the air alone; No cloud strayed o er the blue expanse that bound The hallow d bay and all the shores around; No wild bird spread its wings to stir the air, Vast flocks in secret covert on the ground, Like dry, wind-gathered leaves; the fishes there, As still, as deep, deep down, the countless pebbles were. XVI. What perfect rest it was; the past was past; The future lay beyond the night to come ; First Sabbath of a lengthening chain to last Long as the nation s welfare, linking fast The souls of men, too prone from faith to roam To an eternal, spiritual home. The spirit seemed to brood upon the place : The calm of trustful love, and all the sum Of promised blessings swelled each soul with grace; Pure new-born hopes, and high resolves all fears efface. XVII. The Sabbath pass d, next morn dawned on a scene Of earnest energy, propitious sign Of sure success, the shallop lay between; A score of sturdy men, they form the line, And low she settles on the shallow brine. The strong, the weak and weary bear ashore, Oh blest relief! to those close ships confine; Tho* wet, and cold, and weary, none deplore ; The dreadful ocean passed, they tread firm land once more! c*to ///.] PURITAN. 33 XVIII. But Puritan, impatient all delays, Waits not the injured shallop to repair ; In weight of armor clad, he sought far ways For some fair spot where they might best prepare For coming winter this his earliest care; It needs not tell what painful paths he trod, Seeking the swift and treach rous natives there, Up rugged hills, thro tangled vales to plod, With painful step and slow, the wet half frozen sod. XIX. His armor rent and tarnished, scant repose He found, where in some thicket he was fain Kindle the tardy blaze, that struggling rose Thro frosts and dampness; but at last to gain Sight of a haunt that had been, and much grain, Yellow and precious as pure sands of gold, Where it had been deep buried from the rain, By late fled natives, was a joy untold O er flesh and fowl and living springs, he did behold. XX. The wondrous river, with heap d sands between, Where fairy-like canoes lay on the shore, He reached at length; had there his shallop been He might with ease its farthest bounds explore; But he must weary trace his footsteps o er, Across deep valleys reach the fair fresh lake, Pass bleak, broad highlands, thro deep woods once more, Dense, wild, and pathless, he did painful make His way to where o er path of sand the slow waves break. 34 PURITAN. [""* ///. XXI. When far they heard his arms resounding tell The wonted signal, they swift bore across The stormy bay, strong oars the bark impel, Tho rains fall fast, and waves them wildly toss, Sole thought to reach the knight their souls engross; Welcome as weary reached the cape at last, He safe restored, they feared no sorer loss; Cheering their hearts, he told of lands late pass d, Of wealth of corn, of fields but needing seed to cast XXII. Into the cultured ground. All ready now, The shallop fairly manned, he would them lead That they might view the land; how rudely blow The boreal blasts! their only anchor freed, The winds and waves forbid so rash a deed ! They seek the nearest harbor, there abide Safely the sweeping storm, but dire the seed Of fatal ills those snows and ices breed; Another day more calm they onward ride, To where dark branching streams the heaped up sands divide. XXIII. Some led he inland, while the shallop lay Along the shore; but soon they wearied there; The hills were steep, the valleys deep each way Thro heavy snow, slow wading everywhere, Till he to urge their course did kind forbear; Beneath low pines reposing, chill the night, The earliest morn they northwardly repair, To seek the spot where erst had been the knight, His promised stores of grain their anxious souls delight. \canto in. PURITAN. 35 XXIV. For now they had enough, new fields to plant, Intending to restore its worth again In various trinkets, which the natives want. Thankful their faithful searchings were not vain, Beneath the frozen soil, that they were fain With their good swords to hew; now some forsake The knight, so worn and weary, would constrain Him to return. He bids them straightway take Their precious freight, without him their first harbor make. XXV. Graves! Graves! how many graves lay on the coast; Most fair and kindly furnished, as if those Crumbling to dust, the low or high, might boast The power to use the arms or wares they chose When roused up from that deep profound repose; And not the dark dread savage dead alone, His searchings well known instruments expose, The fair light locks of kindred peoples shown Amid spoiled trinkets, dust, decay, and mouldering bone. XXVI. As everywhere, were life and death anear: Here native huts, or rather bowers, meet More gentle natures tender saplings rear, And at the middle bent with art discreet, In order ranged, secure and warm and neat By double hangings of well woven mats, Rude trenches there, where seethe they savage meat, With earthen vessels, divers wooden vats And store of cunning baskets, and unfinished plaits. 36 PURITAN. [Ca, ;ro in. XXVII. Nor lacking ornaments: the great stag horns Fastened conspicuous, with eagle s claws, And hoof of deer, where silken grass adorns The walls parched acorns, fishes fit for maws Of such wild imps with much that sadly draws Pained thoughts of perils; rusted, broken things From wrecks, or murdered wanderers stores, give cause For cautious watchings; far off echoings Announce the shallop, quickly to the shore he springs. XXVIII. How grieved was Puritan! for well he knew No proper site was found ; day after day Was passing, cold and colder winter grew; Now night and coming storms brooked no delay; The ready wind, transported o er the bay, Bearing to their first landing at the cape His followers would return the self-same way, To settle there, from farther pains escape; But Puritan was still intent new course to shape. XXIX. That harbor true was good, fields ready cleared, And store of whales, and site somewhat secure, And tho the coming winter s storms he feared, When they must dig and build, the while endure Ice, snows, and biting winds, and sadly sure, More scant provisions must them ill sustain; But here low waters were e en now impure, Brought far up rugged hills, with sorry pain; Might there not lie anear some fair well watered plain? Cantt III.} PURITAN. XXX. One told of far Angoam, one had been Upon these shores before, and knew a place Where coursed a noble river, headlands green, Enclosing Ocean s waves, a goodly space; He straight advised them once more dangers face, And all the shore with stern resolve retrace. The hardiest, man the shallop, tho the cold Congealed their pulsings in its hard embrace ; He guides the prow, beyond the sands they hold, Tho mail of ice like steel their stiffened limbs enfold. XXXI. Nigh half a score of leagues, nor wished for sight Along the shore, of harboring bay or creek; At length a cove he sees; but for the night Stays not more stirring ventures he doth seek, Intent with yonder savage troop to speak. They mark him not, sore laboring to secure Some what unweeted, yet how timid, weak Seeing the knight afar, some covert sure They find in forest shade, or whelming hosts procure. XXXII. Despite the shallows he attains the land. The morrow some to guard the craft remain, The rest he leads t explore on either hand, The narrow bay, yet seeks he far in vain, A goodly site or savage haunt to gain. All is deserted, and the great black bulks Of stranded grampus , dead along the main, Make yet more drear the prospect, like the hulks Of broken vessels far the treacherous savage skulks. 6 37 3 8 PURITAN. \ca-, : ,in XXXIII. As sank the sun, he turned from ill reward Of empty huts and cumbering graves, to find The expected shallop; but the sands retard Its coming, and with undiscouraged mind, So late for that hard toil sore disinclined, They fell the damp and frozen boles to warm Their stiffened limbs, but scarcely well reclined, The midnight stillness startling, cries to arm, Broke through the dismal darkness with intense alarm. XXXIV. The blinding redness of the flickering flame, Made doubly dark the deep encircling wood. He, watching, passed the danger; dawning came, Their prayer forgotten never first best good In the dark twilight, some too listless stood, While others neared the shallop as the cry Of the wild natives, in their fiercest mood, Broke on his ear ; his helmet clasped his eye Ranges the copse, and marks the unsparing foe too nigh. XXXV. His goodly armor thwarts their careful aim; The switt shafts fly from out the screening trees; Assurance of the shallop s safety came To cheer his heart; his hardy followers seize The blazing match, and mark his enemies, Till, as the darkness vanished, vanished they; Not one there wounded, tho thick strown he sees Their fallen arrows, dread intent to slay, With points of brass and bone and eagles claws alway. 39 to ///.] PURITAN. XXXVI. Time presses, once again upon his way, He guides along the coast. Two score of miles, He onward bears for harboring stream or bay, Tho chilly rainings drench, and other whiles The blinding snow the craft in ridges piles. And now the rising wind portends worse ills; The waves break rudely, and no hope beguiles Of welcome harbor, but with stubborn will He holds the helm, his earnest purpose to fulfill, XXXVII. Strongly he holds it, but the waves more strong Snap it asunder; then brave ready arms Seize the firm oars, and sweep the bark along. Higher and higher rise the waves, sore harms Them threat, the coming night awakes alarms; The anxious mariners quickly loose the sail, The favoring winds may bear beyond the storms; It swells they fly a moment en the gale The mast bends creaking in the wind s wild wail Then like a reed in sunder riv n, aye! stout hearts qu-iil. XXXVIII. The shallop labored deep, but bore along Upon the raging flood; had human aid Prevailed, she had been lost dread shoals among; Safely swift course thro fearful dangers made, Within the harbour periled coursing stayed; Gone helm and sail and mast to Him alone, The God of Mercy, whom the knight obeyed, Be deep thanksgiving that the craft was thrown Mid rocks and darkness on the sands of shores unknown. 40 PURITAN. [&<" in- XXXIX. All thro that rainy night, tho weary worn, They fearful of the treacherous natives, keep An anxious watch; untrusting fears are born Of human weakness; Faith had given sweet sleep, But mid perplexing ills, thus pressing deep How soon the heart forgets the strength it needs! The morn disclosed an island circling sweep Protecting waves on every side. He speeds It o er; all tenantless the woods and narrow meads. XL. Secure from savage spying, t was a rest Welcome as needed, and the livelong day They seek the bark of snow and ice divest, Their chief s worn tarnished armor bear away To dry and burnish; tho its clasps display No bands of shining metals, t was a task Needed and grateful. Here they tranquil lay The Sabbath, worship, and God s blessing ask, Tho dark the days, in sunlight of his love can bask. XLI. Ever in holy rest the Sabbath spent, Each morrow much refreshed, some noted deeds Betokened strength enhanced inspired intent. The harbor fit for shipping; straight he leads To land. Oh ! may he find the hav en he needs. The shallop nears the extending point of rocks, About the cliff more warily proceeds, He springs a-shore ; earth s crust has yielded blocks For firm,unfalt ring footing, spite the world s rude shocks, Canto III.] PURITAN. 41 XLII. , How yearns man mark the swift events of time In matter most enduring, that he deems Changeless, imperishable, in each clime! The fond and sad device befitting seems His fleeting life, unreal as flitting dreams; Unnumbered generations pass away, The earth with ruins of their labor teems; When fond posterity would homage pay They seek some sure memorial, where all things decay. XLIII. Places of earth, where famous deeds were done, Or siteless areas of once turmoiled seas, Why are ye honored? why do pilgrims shun Fair scenes of earth, the daintiest tastes to please, To seek some shrine whose long lost sanctities Have left but ruins mount, or cave, or plain, A shore, a ROCK, or gnarled and sapless trees, To mark what has been? Here they seek to gain Gleams of th Invisible, tho naught but these remain. XLIV. The realms of mind and spirit, far more real Than e en the granite rocks, that human eyes Think real to look upon; with hands to feel Whose very matter changes as time flies; Oh! may the soul hereafter, say ye wise! The heaven-born soul these subtleties attain? The depth, and influence, as realities Enjoy of every onward step they gain, Who in this earthly life encumbered truth make plain. 42 PURITAN. LConto in. XLV. Ye who are wrapt in matter, bound in clay, Go hence, and view enthused a trodden STONE, Where Puritan s worn footsteps stayed that day! All else has passed beyond you; that alone Yet not unchanged, as fond memorial shown; But ye philosophers, behold his soul Transfuse a nation s being seed there sown, Of lofty principles, have subtly grown, Until Vis spirit animates the whole, And will, with fruits of liberty, while time shall roll! XLVI. Children of men! ye are immortal, all! Ye people this material universe; Your airy spirits tread this earthly ball Held here by weight of matter laws rehearse How greater forms all lesser bulks coerce. Your senses are adapted to enjoy The beauteous things about you, forms diverse, To frame of crudest matter, to employ Life s span to better earth, and purge the soul s alloy. XLVII. Give then the spirit respite; let it feel Its strong affinity with things unseen. Teach it to know the spiritual real ; Its love from things of earth seek ye to wean, Immortal hopes from earthly hopes to glean; All matter must decay, then love it not. The earth itself must perish, what hath been Is now no more, or changing; time allot To dwell on heavenly things, pure joys ye scarcely wot. Canto III.} PURITAN. 43 XLVIII. And most of all, for most of pain is there, Love not the spirit s tenement too well; The rainbow lives a moment, tints most rare Of sunset skies, how fitfully they dwell Upon the vision! Harmonies may spell, But listening fade forever from the ear; And pleasures far less transient these excel, Pure subtle joys to every sense most dear, But sure as rainbows fade, and bright skies disappear, XLIX. So sure these forms must perish; let the heart Love first the source of spirit-life its God. And then of earthly treasures, love the part That cannot perish let the immortal plod The path of life, and strive to make its clod A beauty and a blessing yet to feel Content to lay it low beneath the sod, When heaven recalls the spirit; Oh! the weal Of perfect faith in all that God doth here reveal. L. It was a joy to find sweet running streams ; Fair fields expanding, aye, a goodly site; No more he cared to view these precious gleams Of hope, he yearned convey soon as he might, To those dear anxious ones, from whose fond sight So many days dissevered glad to lead The great ship thence. Tho cruel ills affright, They disembark on that cold shore ; hearts bleed As frail and tender footsteps o er its ices speed. PURITAN. CANTO THE FOURTH. RETROSPECT. I. HO said it was the Morning Star that shone, Rousing the nations for the coming light ? Fallacious, fond belief; thick clouds had thrown A dense, dark veil, athwart the dome of night; There was no force, that with resistless might Could tear the blackness, till at the very noon Of utter night; then heav nly beams grow bright, And thro the shrinking vapors shine the moon And long-prevented stars : with Heaven man may commune II. But the same Power that swept the clouds away, Revealing to the wakeful, wished-for light, Gathered the folds again, and stayed each ray, However fitful, from the earth s deep night; Welcome the many,darkness; men delight To slumber, calmly, trusting watchmen lone, Where on the towers they strain the weary sight. How black the zenith, where the orbs late shone! North, South, West, East, a dark close smothering horixon 7 (45) 46 PURITAN. l>" i m. Those watchmen died, successors passed away, But those who stood the time, did see the Star, The Morning Star! paled by the coming day! Tho the unrisen Sun was still afar, Ever, less bright, the glowing glories mar Its shining. Now the whiteness purples; grows The band of brightness, crowding clouds would bar The glory, but the earth rolls on! how glows The ruddy East! The darkest clouds bright rays enrose IV. Bright, all their varied points and edges, thrown Against dark depths in glowing almandine ; The atmosphere along the earth, quick shone With light, as gorgeous as thro ruddy wine; The fearful gan dread portents to divine, The blood red orb rose vast, dire mortal strife Presaging; high the sun, in hyaline, Pure, azure depths, the snowy clouds were rife; Beneath such skies, earth was astir with busy life. V. The clouds had screened awhile the mountain heights, But soon evanishing to azure air, Disclosed their dazzling snows; reflected lights Brightened the land around, and every where Brought charms to life beneath the glorious glare; As well intensest contrast; shadows deep, Frigid, eternal, darksome, ever there; But fair the silent lakes reflect each steep, Sunlit or dark, pure forms they sternly strive to keep. Canto 1^ PURITAN. 47 . VI. But what of PURITAN ! forefathers his Were watchmen darkest nights; the moon, each star, Had seen ; the sleepers roused from lethargies, To watch the expected dawn tho clouds it mar, And kept them wakeful, when it seemed afar; When rose the burning orb, they strong and stern, Welcomed presaging dangers ; peace or war Alike to them; the day had dawned, return, Should such night never; tho themselves for torches burn. VII The night had had its uses; tho the earth It had in darkness shrouded, making man To stumble, blind ; giv n dang rous errors birth, Confusing human senses; to their ken, It had celestial things made brightest then, Had lured their spirits upward, free to gaze On glories, else perchance to denizen Of earth forever lost ; but these ne er raise Their anxious, willful eyes, they seek for naught to praise. VIII. They were the type for martyrs; they could see Naught good in that which they had learned to hate; Nor trust e en virtue in an enemy; To die was nothing; twas a welcome fate, Rather than what they held as truth, abate One jot. Gainst earthly powers they fearless turned, Patient to perseveringly await Their time; if need be peace or life they spurned; Death pangs to such tried faith had untold numbers earn d. 48 PURITAN. l>" l IX. There was a scroll they long had known divine ; Thro darkest nights its teachings had them cheered, Prized as the choicest heirloom of their line ; Now yearned they much, that what they thus revered By secret consolations, long endeared, Should to their friends and followers hence impart Its precepts rare; its threat nings to be feared; Searching the depths of every human heart, Would they had learned it all, as they had learned a part! X. But tis as well; they who behold mankind Mirrored in ages past, can see that none Who have reformed the world, but have been blind To every good in that which they would shun ; And in fell mortal strife, have victories won, Which they had lost, if less inflamed adverse, Making the world more pure; but there was ONE, Reformers heed it when ye seek coerce! His charity has purified the Universe! XI. Grand sire of Puritan the tyrant s threat Defied, when chained he duplicated scrolls; When King and cringing Parliament had set Statutes of blood to immolate men s souls. The creeds of all mankind the King controls, Aye thoughts and feelings dictates; he, as winds, Wayward, inconstant ; curses ; then extolls ; His own commands, a later hour rescinds, Reveres the scrolls awhile, then burns like living fiends. Canto iv.-\ PURITAN. 49 XII. Must Nations change their faith when kings expire? Are men parts integrant? Must they be swayed By breath of divers monarchs mere desire? The mightiest forests bow when winds upbraid; All bending low on height or slope or glade, Again eredl, to stand, when pass d the gale : Thus strove the tyrant kings to be obeyed; How gloried stubborn wills to see them fail : Nor was the iron hand of power of much avail. XIII. Do not the mountain pines that bear the blasts Of many winters storms, vast strength attain? When sweeps the hurricane, its fury casts To earth whole forests on the extended plain; Uprooted, shattered, where its path hath lain ; But when it smites the storm-trained mountain pines, Quivering, they stand the swift and fearful strain; Scarcely a branch dissevered; their long lines Serried, unbroken, the deep blue of heaven defines. XIV. Thus was the will of Puritanic race, Made as unbending as the mountain pine, By storms of persecution ; for a space Alternate with prosperity s sunshine. A gentle youth, their king, their foes consign To banishment; their purposes succeed, Tho wroth that kingly power would still confine Their wills within the bounds of his own creed; They now demand their souls from all decrees be freed. 50 PURITAN. [c*t ir. xv. Would that the knights, and followers of their faith, Had been content, while goodly days thus bless; More fierce than ever, storms of fearful wrath Follow that respite; mandates merciless, The wretched peoples fill with dire distress; That day too passed; men s hopes rose fair again, Long exiled feet their native shores may press, Fearless of papal power, but deep their pain That stern prerogatives dread errors still maintain. XVI. Capes, copes, robes, rites, creeds, ceremonies made To suit the wishes of their enemies; State policy, wise compromises weighed When strong arm d pow r, now moulds a faith to please The shifting temper of majorities; A state religion full of fallacies, Which all men must beUeve on pain of death ! Who dares assert it, diftate heresies! The voice of kings! creatures of mortal breath, No, never! Christ is. King, sole judge of Christian faith. XVII. And all the rights of kings, long held divine, . Were sifted, and the chaff giv n to the winds ; And men began kings .powers to define, And show the spirit of self-franchised minds. Their chivalry, and long submission, blinds A wise and kingly Queen maintains strong power The many to the issues. But she finds Dread clouds of conflict o er the kingdom lower, And she essays to grasp and crush them in an hour! Canto If.} PURITAN. 51 XVIII. She might as well have sought to grasp and crush The fleecy clouds of heav n in her weak hands; T was vain to smite the air around, to hush The breezes where the royal palace stands: Immortal spirits scorned her proud commands ; True, she might crush the body, but the soul Was farther from her touch, than o er the lands, Lay the fair clouds; far, far yond her control; Exalted faith extends, despite her care and dole. XIX. Aye such a temper Puritan begot; He, hungry, sucked it from maternal breasts. His infancy first lisped it, and he wot - Of popes and bishops, and the sinful teats Of images, and rites, all that molests* The perfect practice of his father s creed : The banished clergy .knows as welcome guests, Small hands destroy that which he can not read, And tiny feet stamp images, nor threat nings heed. XX. His will and conscience strengthen with his strength He knows what he will have, and he can bear All that it needeth, to secure at length Fulfillment of his purpose ; tall and fair, His mafijy youth betokens tender care ; For much his sire abhorred the frequent sneer That all his race were rude; his followers there Untaught and uncouth hinds, their brutish leer Despised by gentle blood he felt himself a peer 52 PURIT4N. ic*ir XXI. In gaining gentle lore and knowledge deep, His years were spent, and much he did delight Chivalrous arms to bear, athletic keep By exercise untiring, tho in sight No badge or token bore, the least to slight The purest faith, held by his ancestry; And when he had arrived at manhood s height, He was aye stalwart, noble, wise was he, Mingling with courtly knights and dames right worthily. XXII. Fearless in Parliament, his voice was heard; His watchword, Liberty ! Altho the rage Of princes fell upon him, when the word Was stifled by thick walls, his pen gan wage A secret war, that nothing could assuage; When strong armed power prevented labors there, He fled to other lands, free to engage In conflicts: learning wisdom every where; Gaining new strength, for all he deemed the right to dare. XXIII. Nor from his early training aught could wean, Where wise and haughty courtiers seek display About the sage-accomplished, honored queen: Where he as well, now mingled; false array Sad as deceiving, aye he turned away More wholly, bent to strive for liberty; For purer faith, more manfully to stay The subtile purposes of kingly sway; As years passed on, the many seemed to be Too hopeless, dull, and blind to their own jeopardy. Canto If.] PURITAN. 53 XXIV. Still he despaired not of his native land. Still gained he followers, he wrote, he spake, But still the throne and church stood hand in hand; Tho their close union he assayed to shake, Vain was his power, united strength to break; The sufferings of his brethren smote his heart, Dread inquisitions, rack, and sword, and stake, When faithful followers perish, sore his smart, Altho their faith and hope new zeal to men impart. XXV. Death promis d soon relief, for from afar Another sov reign comes, free Scotia s hills Had surely bred a worthy monarch, bar . And ban of sternest subjects fashioned wills In many rulers that strong hope instills ; But he, escaped the hateful bonds that kept His untamed pride in fetters, quickly fills Late hopeful Puritan with grief; he wept; Unceasing war or exile, which should he accept? XXVI. In the fierce fervor of his earlier pride War had been welcome, and how many now In his adopted realm, the king defied. But Puritan, tho he did inly vow To aid his brethren, thro that dismal slough Of deep despond, was forced with pain to think Of turning from the strife, where men allow Others their own opinions; oh the brink Of sure destruction here, he sole the draught would drink. 54 PURITAN. icuito ir XXVII. But there were tender pledges, and he shrank To have them learn such sorrow, and he knew, He gone, their life would be a dreary blank ; Thro tortures, prisons damps, he felt how few The years must be, ere death him heavenward drew. Sore tried to leave the coining conflict, reached With others, Holland s shores, they there renew Their broken bonds; thankful their friends beseech d, To come to them, where fervently pure faith was preach cl. XXVIII. Beloved was Puritan, respedled, prized : This, his adopted land, revered him, when Agents of wrath his king had authorized To seize him, and return to thralldom then, That he might soon decay in noisome pen; But it is writ elsewhere, how for the good Of future generations he gan ken New England s savage shores how brave he stood Firm on that frozen coast, twixt wave and wood : Thanking his God for far and peaceful solitude. XXIX. And of his brethren in the realm what fate? Save those that later joined the infant State, Proud, bigoted, more selfish, they intent To hold their homes their high ambition sate, Blindly contend fight on, nor once relent Until the realm is in a wild ferment; Success attends them, theirs at length the power; Canttir.-] PURITAN. 55 No Kings, no Bishops, long, long hoped-for hour - Attained thro seas of blood! but discontent Follows usurped, unhallowed government Glad to escape the storms that threat ning lower, King priests restore for refuge fly to Puritan s far tower! PURITAN. CANTO THE FIFTH. THE SETTLEMENT. HO is the noblest? He who proud and strong, Advances on the tide of life, to sway The sword or sceptre o er the excited throng, Wars for the right, and vanquishes the wrong, Glorying if need be, casts his life away Valiant and fervent in the foremost fray, Fame him alluring, while hot passion gives A reckless, headlong, eagerness alway, That untold wonders in its course achieves Renown from praiseful hosts, for deeds in arms receives ? II. Or is he most heroic, who can bear With patience, pangs that none but God can see, Making the good of others his sole care, Sore laboring day by day, tho there can be No present fruits; striving on cheerfully, Bearing and suffering, faithful; when decay His earthly hopes, gaining humility? Hail! moral hero! heavenly chivalry! As far as souls outvalue mortal clay, This, that, and only these their heavenly Guide obey. ($7) 5 PURITAN. [Canto V. III. The mighty ship lay safe, but from the shore Twelve weary furlongs; every day with pain, Waiting the rising tide, with travail sore, Great Puritan to man the bark was fain, Striving with oar and sail the land to gain; There in the wet cold blasts, they timber fell, Exposed to blinding snows and sleet and rain, And hew and heave, seek mortar, thatch as well, Each night o er stormy waves regain their citadel. IV. Oh! what long, weary, toilsome, sorrowing moons, To those who watched their labor on the land The stormy nights, or gained the wretched boons, To slumber on the ship, where suffering band Pine in the foetid air; they pallid stand, Praying them haste, e en rudest shelter rear. For much, alas! their needs such change demand; Alarmed, they knew the savage hordes too near, Their forms, and rising smoke, on every side appear. V. As ever-toiling Puritan returned From labor for their homes, or from pained quests Of ever-hiding savages, he yearn d Remove the ills, his followers distressed ; Sick ning and dying friends his soul oppress d, Death from his followers arms, their dearest tore, Sad mothers cast their young, strong sires contest The fatal darts, but soon their comrades bore Them dead, and added these, to those they d wept before Canto y.-\ PURITAN. 59 VI. To grief for them, was added keener woe; The tender offspring of his love had borne The Ocean blasts; but keener winds did blow From circling frozen coasts; blithesome at morn, At night he came, the mother trembling, worn, Held to her anguished breast her suffering child; At dawn, the icy form the sine had torn, With silent sorrow,from her pressure wild, Teaching the lowliest there, to be so reconciled. VII. His darling languished; nearest, dearest one, Pine not so sorely on this dreary day ! How much they need him ! here and there nigh lone, He tends the languid couch ; so many lay Diseased scarce half a score to help allay Their suff rings; these him aid; they bear the dead, They keep the stealthy savages at bay; Oh! fearful days! oh nights of drearihead ! The weeks seemed years, and yet too soon they sped. VIII. Each time, when constant pressing care, permits Him cheer his frail, and now more fragile fair, Striving impart love s potent benefits, He grieved to mark her silver-threaded hair; Tho his each fond endeavor of wise care, How faint and pallid, clear each ebbing vein ! Vain prayer for life, but not God s will to bear, Afar from her lost darling, she is lain In that long row neath frozen sod, along the main. 60 PURITAN. !>< r. IX. Thus weariest portion of the toil is his ! Thus fails no pang of deepest drearihead ! To weep her dead, his children motherless! Ah me! ah me! she was too daint ly bred, Too tenderly, too frail, when here bestead Such weathers, and such sorrow ; little babe ! Her heart could not keep warm, when thou wert dead; She laid her life away as twere a trabe, The child, her darling, was her spirit-astrolabe. X. Why tell it? only He who knows the heart, Knows what they suffered, for their every moan Was stifled, lest it knowledge should impart Of their increasing weakness ; never a groan, As they buried in grief the dearest one; The savages so nigh, so watchful too; The graves were levelled, thick with seed were sown, For at the first, they were alas! too few To help brave Puritan rear homes, and foes subdue! XI. But when the warm winds blew, and birds gan sing, The sinking were refreshed ; and soon came days Of sunny warmth. Welcome! ye buds of spring! Winter is past; their burden d hearts always In deep thanksgiving, they rejoice to raise ! Now from the forest comes bold Samoset ; " Welcome ! " upon his lips, a welcome phrase, In that dear speech of England ! never yet, Tho feigning diffidence, did word more hope beget! Car.} PURJTJN. 6 1 XII. The big ship weighed her anchors, and her prow Turned for old England. Calm was Puritan, Yet, touched by grief for others, bade them now Return, if any mourned his earlier vow; No, never! child, nor maid, nor wife, nor man! True was this tried, and ever faithful van! Tho half of them had died, their trust in Him Whom they had vow d to serve, life s narrow span Was undiminished ; when earth s hopes grew dim, Faith entered heav n, joining the joys of Seraphim. XIII. The last link was dissevered, from their ken Slow swaying, moved the ship! how swell d the heart, Yearning in vain for pow r of utt rance then ! Striving its wild emotions to impart, Yet silent, thro some sad mysterious art ; Still Puritan forbade the sacrifice ! "Yon ship sole voice twixt whom these waters part; Ye sorely tried! I feel what yearnings rise! Go! tis your native land, tho princes tyrannize." XIV. There rose no vagrant impulse; they had done All things devoutly, and deep grief can bind The heart like joy : that earth from them had won, Pledges to bind them to it, had the mind Not otherwise for dwelling been inclined; So stood they firm, tho weeping, as the sails Filled from the West ; obedient to the wind She parted the dark waters ; slowly trails The helm; the troubled sea, the narrow coast bewails! 9 62 PURITAN. {.cant, r XV. Long strained each eye, until the less ning mass Faded in depths of azure ; naught was there Betwixt the sea and sky ; yet glances pass, Gladsome and wondering, when upon the ear Falls the slow pulsing air, and they can hear The last low volley in a long farewell ! Still restless waves along the shore appear, Some tidings of that voyaging to tell ; But nights and days that last fond trace dispell d as well. XVI. Through all the summer long were cheerful daysj The corn was gladsome green, and fruits began To ripen from the blossoms ; many ways Thro the deep forest, or where tangled ran O er thickets teeming vines, forbidding man Trespass the shadowy haunts, were beauties rare; The sea, the sky, the land, divinest plan With ever varying details ; flowers fair, Insects and birds, mid leaves and fruits commingled there. XVII. Berries grew on the bushes mid the grass ; Sweet plums and cherries and the amber grapes. There wealth of fishes might belief surpass ; No goodly gift denied them, when escapes Their golden harvest from the phantom shapes Of frosts and blightings, and is safely stored: Vast flocks of fowls enter the circling capes ; Unhoped-for wealth of luxuries ! Each board Groans with the feast j their God in thanks and praise adored. & r-1 PURITAN. 63 XVIII. The joys and sorrows of those faithful few, Why tell ? fast friends, aye peers of Puritan Worthy, as honored; humble, yet how true; But Puritan s high purpose far outran Their simple hopes, their slow expanding plan; He saw their little village but a dot Upon a vasty shore ; enrapt would scan The sailless ocean, or would seek some spot To gaze to West, o er lands whose breadth no mortal wot. XIX. Yet ceased he not from labor for their good ; Spared much, for heav n had giv n them this abode ; Fierce habitants had once this solitude Denied, now perished utterly. He strode Thro all their haunts, and saw how death had mowed The native race, like weeds, as twere to plant The better peoples, God had there bestowed ; But other tribes anear were arrogant, Saving great Massasoit, he, true as adamant. XX. Once when the Indian monarch fell disease Had smitten unto death the fearless knight Hastened alone, daring all jeopardies, Thro pathless forests traced his way aright, Spared by each wondering savage, till in sight Of death-doomed chieftain s dwelling; there he found How wailing wives and pow wows, sad unite Their tears with thronging subjects, to confound And conjure forth grim death, with groans that might astound. 64 PURITAN. |>*" XXI. It was a new but grateful task, and straight, Not resting from his travel, Puritan Sought how he might his pangs alleviate, His parching fever to assuage began ; His dark and swollen tongue, he, speechless, wan, Relaxed its rigor; soon such tender care Bro t back his life; they praised the Godlike man, For wondrous potent power, that could repair The ravages of death, and fond allegiance swear! XXII. " Know, mighty chieftain," said that grateful prince, "What dangers here enthrong you Corbatant Obbatin Canacum sachem and pinse Bound in fierce wrath, and solemn covenant, To smite the strangers who their lands would plant; Theirs, all their past theirs, where in wild excess The beasts and fowls and fishes, none shall daunt With strange report of arms, whose mightiness Can pierce the dark and far ofF ear with pangs distress. XXIII. "Sure as yon sun shall sink beneath the West So sure such foe will smite; they only seek A fitting moment when unguarded rest Shall make more sure their vengeance; fearful, weak, But for an hour, they watchful, quick will wreak Such fury on you, that no living soul Shall scape to tell the tale, or aid bespeak; Strike then, the first appalled in utmost dole, Their chieftains gone, the warriors you may eath control. PURIT2N. 65 XXIV. "Never," said Puritan, "never will I Strike the first blow on these defenseless hordes ; Seeking the calm repose of Liberty I came in peace, and peaceful will aby, So long as these give ear to peaceful words; But I am wary, and these unsheathed swords, Are sharp, two edg d, and glitt ring as yon sun; Let them but shoot an arrow, and the cords Of this fond faith dissever! I will shun No direful deed of blood, until they are undone." XXV. "It is as well, Oh hero! for I see Portents by divination ; these have been Thro many generations, fierce and free, Untrammell d as untutor d, now to ween O erwhelming power, swift, fatal, tho unseen, A baneful presence and in vain assailed ; Aye it is galling, savage hate how keen ! What seas of blood will flow, ere are unveiled / The mighty lands to West, fate vainly countervailed! XXVI. " Fate known in vain ; death drew the vei., nd clear Flitted the sure perspective ; as the day Dawns in the East, as earliest gleams appear, The stars evanish ; fade they fade away ! The Sun spares not the rarest galaxy ! Ye! children of the Sun"! your day just dawns; We fill the land, as stars the night array; As grows your strength, our joy forever wans ; Yet in your triumph fear, fear most the foe that fawns. 66 PURITAN. [fc XXVII. "The stars of heaven fade calmly from the sight; Not so will these; as meteors expire, As pass the comets, waking wild affright, As dart the lightnings with consuming fire, In midday wreaking wide, destruction dire, So will these war ! Thus ruthlessly decay, Yet none the less they perish, and their ire Undying, self-consuming, speeds the day Free in the blest abodes neath Kictan s sway ; Free, for in life or death they must be free alway. XXVIII. " But fear me not ; have I not made my vow ? When was my truth dishonored; me and mine To thee and thine will be true friends; but now, My life was in thy hands, thy power divine Was fond to frustrate e en death s dark design ; Thou seest the leafless trees in yonder wood ; Stalwart and distant, tho the twigs entwine; So dwell the native tribes, strong, unsubdued, Scant peopling vast, far-stretching lands, else solitude. XXIX. "But races thine will throng the mighty land! As multitudinous as in the days Of coming summer, will the leaves expand Upon the forest trees ; see how decays The forest ! mark the fields ! see how they raise Cities and villages! There structures rise Like hills, like mountains, see! what wondrous ways On sea and lake, and river, they entice Those mighty floats! farewell! my native Paradise!" PURIT4N. 6 7 XXX. It filled the knight with rapture, for he oft Had had strange visions, and succeeding dreams Of wondrous exaltation ; he aloft Was wont to seek for succor, and he deems Heaven lights his soul with these celestial beams, T impart fresh strength and fervor; strong he treads A homeward path; his brain with projects teems To haste such consummation ; fancy spreads Fair villages about him, nor dread labor dreads. XXXI. Time passed, and his few followers felt repose ; Sweet respite from long labors, strong and wise, They had secured the end for which they chose To daie the Ocean s unknown jeopardies. Their pray rs and thanks, unquestion d, h^av nward rise; But not so eath content was Puritan ; In near adventure or far enterprise To quell oft-rising dangers, or to scan The land and shores about them hope thro ages ran. XXXII. Full many a site he chose, and chiefly one Near,to his soul enticing, thro the bay Studded with countless islands, he had gone To greet the sachem queen, beyond where lay The wanton colony, whose soon decay Left ruin d Wessagusset, those, (men tell) Had Puritan defended valiantly, From sure destruction; he supreme to quell The riotous strangers, and the savage hordes as well. 68 PURITAN. 1C ,.*; r XXXIII. His emprize thus accomplished, yearned his heart To seek the far-off turmoiled hopeless scene Of freedom s struggles in the realm, t impart True knowledge of the lands his eye had seen The heritage of freedom he had been Long years to man securing; o er the sea, The frequent ships bro t tidings he did ween, Pregnant with undream d horrors, this must be A refuge for his brethren from all tyranny ! XXXIV. The fort was finished; and its bristling ports Looked watchful, o er the village and the bay ; Their favor now, each wily sachem courts ; True friends to guard new sites, lest foes betray He secretly set sail, vast schemes to lay Before his kindred in his native land. What hosts shall rise his power to obey ! The sea shall groan, as countless sails expand, To waft to West, the untold hosts of his command. PURITAN. CANTO THE SIXTH. LABORS IN ENGLAND. 1. AUSE! Ye who hold the fate of nations, pause! Ye stand upon destruction s brink, nor weet The ruin that awaits you ; leave the cause For fools to prate of, and prepare to meet Events fast consummating, or defeat Sudden, o erwhelming, fairest hopes will blight Ye never can restore ; what foul deceit And selfishness perverts all sense of right! Ponder each issue! Choose and act with wise foresight. II. " Ye stand, as stood the host of Israel, Enthronging low the valley, from whose ken The gathering storm was hid, until it fell In overwhelming fury ; I, as when Elijah stood on Carmel prayed he then His watchman marked the cloud, small as a hand, Rise from the sea, quick warning thoughtless men As Ahab hastened on at his command, Spar d from the rains and blasts that drench d the thirsty land. 10 70 PURITAN. O* in. " Hasten to flee the wrath that waits you here, Laud, Strafford, and false Finch, without remorse, Make freemen fettered slaves ; each horrid fear Of past accursed reign, with twofold force Is growing into faft; from hellish source, The double stream of kings and priestly sway, Is stirring wrath in its resistless course, Now big with ruin ; tho the flood ye stay, Such triumph as defeat the nation will dismay. IV. "Why hesitate, oh! weak and selfish men! Are not the bravest, the most daring there? Sure as the earth s foundations there and then Was laid the corner stone of structure rare, That ye shall help build up, if ye do bear Yourselves as worthy such a weighty charge : For Solomon, King David did prepare Exhaustless riches, that he might enlarge God s glory ; well ye wot he did his part discharge, V. "And reared a temple of undream d-of art; Cedar from Lebanon, and algum trees, O erlaid with gold composed each holiest part; Rich gold of Parvaim, fine filagrees Of beaten gold, and carved ivories, And precious Stones, unnumbered; strangers wrought In silver, iron, brass; across far seas, Thousands of skillful workmen wisely sought. Conception grand ; thus wisely to completion brought. Canton.] PURITAN. 71 VI. "Your fathers have amass d the wealth ye need Of spiritual riches; thousands stand Waiting to give wise aid, in word and deed, Ready to give strong aid, with heart and hand; Be ye but faithful to your Lord s command, And skillful laborers will the work advance With zeal untiring, till th inviting land Shall groan beneath the structure; heaven s expanse Grow brighter o er that Temple s domed magnificence. VII. " The wondrous vision unto me was brought The middle watch of night, when deepest sleep Falleth on man ; fear came upon me, fraught With trembling, which made all my flesh to creep, The very hairs thereof stood up, and deep, Deep awe made all my timorous bones to shake. Instant the spirit seemed thro space to sweep Forms vast confused beheld a voice loud spake, The task is thine, ah sure my soul was well awake. VIII. "The holy vision, perfeft faith esteems; As I have dwelt upon that fruitful shore, As I have learned the wealth with which it teems, As I have heard, as I have seen far more, As He hath given me light whom I adore ; Upon the finished summit, I have stood, High o er the earth, exalted, to explore The untold realm ; mid heaven s solitude, The varied land, vision prophetic clearly viewed 72 PURITJN. [Cum-, ri. IX. " Two Oceans clasped the continent, where moored Navies on either shore; all nations seemed To bring rich commerce, and each vale allured Thy multitud nous offspring; cities teemed With countless hosts, each stream with wealth undreamed ; Nor think to sail from sea to sea, thro space Narrow united mountain heights far gleamed, Wide severed by vast valleys, brightly trace, Vast rivers there, how far they flow, whence springs en lace! X "High from the airy Temple s sunny dome, I gazed entranced ; and mark d the peoples there, Like summer bees, as ladened thick they come About the busy hive; with earnest cheer, Enthronging dense laborious every where : What cities, towns and villages, what homes, Dotting the cultured fields; how peaceful fair! What tho the storm in dark ning fury comes, It passes, and the land its busy life resumes. XI. " More glorious than Coliseum vast, The eternal edifice from whence I gazed; The circling columns human art surpassed; Like sunbeams of the moted air, they raised Story on story, while the eye amazed Stretched thro the soft perspective, far away Till neath Auroras, thro the air unhazed Where gleaming ices caught each starry ray ; So far, its glist ning collonades to northward lay. canto vi.-\ p UR IT2N. 7 3 XII. " Nor failed they in the tropics, where the skies Were deep and cloudless; lofty palm-trees waved Beneath the airy arches, where the rise Of circling shores most gorgeous blooms engraved. And yet, to where the Oceans softly laved The unworn columns, with their constant flow; How far the shores the golden pavements paved ! About me gathered folds, whose crimson glow Contrasted with the cloud-like lines of dazzling snow. XIII. "And high, aloft, the countless stars of light Gleamed on the azure ; fell a shadiness Sudden and flitting; mark d I near in sight, The strong-winged Eagle, the empyrean press, Slow swaying to the West, with haughtiness; His eye, undaunted, fixed upon the sun, Fresh as tho yesterday in Rome s distress He had disdained abide ; her shame to shun Imperial power lost, Westward had Empire won. XIV. " Now caught the ear far pasans of liberty ! Freedom forever! thro united power! From frigid North the strains intensify ; From farthest West, where mighty mountains tower; From farthest East, augmenting every hour; Thunders of Liberty and Union, now, Forever! one, inseparable! gan lower Dread storms, but peals swept on, to where palms bow In solemn murmurs, echoing back the nation s vow." 74 PURITAN. [c<o vi. XV. Thus spake the hero; and the list ning throng, Intent and wondering, raised the loud acclaim Of "Liberty!" "New England!" cheers prolong, Until the prudent knight, in middest came With warnings, lest too boisterous zeal inflame, Their adversaries hearts. In councils sage, His friends and followers meeting, faith proclaim, Ever in secret, lest such zeal enrage The stubborn powers that hold e en souls in vassalage. XVI. Sped he thro out the West ; peasant and peer Listened whenever power, argus-eyed, Seemed wanting vigilance. Some, scorning fear, Attended midnight prayer, or hushed would glide At eve or dawn, to where he prophesied; From far and wide, soul-stirring Puritan Gathered conventicles of sorely-tried, Men, just and brave : speeding the godly plan Of truth, of liberty, full franchisement of man. XVII. "Seek not effect such purpose," once he cried, "In this polluted realm, wailing thro time; True, we have kept alive, else had it died, The flame of Liberty ; oh ! how sublime, Could it but blaze, high as yon heaven climb! But what a spark, how dim, it scarcely glows ; To fan its flickering flame is held a crime ! Why wear your lives away in fruitless throes ? There an uncumber d continent high heaven bestows. &*";.] PURITAN. 75 XVIII. "Haste to possess it; native monarchs there Across yon Ocean beckon you to come; Kindly and faithful, they have promised share The exhaustless lands o er which they idly roam ; Or prove they false, and sudden wrath assume What are they, naked, with their puny arms? As leaves before the winds, or Ocean s foam Before the gale evanishing their harms One blast of missiles ours, a mighty host alarms." XIX. He, eloquent, convinced with stirring words ; But when the thoughtless, or the wanton press d To eager haste, hot-headed, brandish d swords, With ribald oaths, and fickle souls confessed, "Stay! stay!" he cried, "it needeth not attest True zeal with blasphemy; this work requires Sore labor, righteousness, it needs the best, Of steady fearless purpose, calm desires, Strong trust in God, true faith, patience that never tires. XX. " But shrink not, oh ! ye worthy ! from the pains ; Whatever was accomplished from the first Without sore travail? He who long refrains In pride or sloth from labor, is accurs d; The fallacies of ease, too fondly nursed, By pampered luxury s minions in this land, Wake vengeance ; suffering, hunger, cold, and thirst The least the times strong energies demand ; Pure hearts, clear minds, strong arms in righteousness to stand. 76 PURITAN. [c vi. XXI. " Brave to advance the dignity of toil, The worth of labor, as a means and end ; Not solely to secure ignoble spoil, Of worldly riches, but the blood to send Throbbing, and healthful ; know ye, souls depend Upon this vital aftion ; and the mind Uninjured by disease, is free to spend It vigor in achievement; souls to find Food for development for heaven, as God designed. XXII. "Far in the East, the myriad slaves exist, To toil forever at a monarch s will; To rear vast monuments, that may resist All change for ages; monuments of skill, Eternal monuments, that well may fill Posterity with wonder; tasks like those Prove Power absolute, pregnant with ill; Fearful discrepancy, one will to impose What million hands must execute without repose. XXIII. "Where are the haunts, where are the homes of these? Of individuality, there lives No trace, save these, of their past miseries: In nearer past, enlightened power strives Create thro zeal, enlightened donatives, T advance its selfish ends; where beauteous art, Exquisitely wrought matter still survives, Expressive of the exalted soul, true heart, Know liberty alone can genius life impart. canto vi.-\ PURITAN. 77 XXIV. "A noble and enlighten d kingly sway, Gives freedom to each individual soul ; Unshadowed by dread Upas power, art may Freely spring up and blossom, for control Imagination brooks not; and in dole The intellectual suffers, to express Its knowledge; virtue, would the world console; Wise power will be an atmosphere to bless Such rare fruition, tho its end is selfishness. XXV. "But why to thee these thoughts of kingdoms tell? Ye would away with empire, as the vast But too unwieldy Roman empire fell Into decay, ye would that men should cast All kingdoms into atoms. Ye may blast Your own best hopes with rashness; men must learn Wise lessons of self-knowledge ; speaks the past, They must be wise who would be free; must yearn With toil for knowledge, that the right they may discern. XXVI. "Strangely the Course of Empire Westward moves! And when, to reach a new world s shore, it needs O er yon vast Ocean float, it well behooves Him who a nation s founders thither leads, Deeply to ponder, as his toil proceeds. Spain sought with untold wealth and pow r to build An empire on that continent; what deeds, What toils heroic there, by brave, proud-willed, Strong armed, undaunted knights, with burning ardor fill d! 78 PURITAN. [.Canto Yl. XXVII. "Did not Columbus toil, and plead, and pray? Did not heroic Cortez labor there, Performing deeds of valor, many a day, Toils which great Hercules had shrunk to bear? Did not Balboa strive with anxious care, Far o er the steep vast Andes, to transport Piecemeal great ships, did he to labor spare? And yet Pizarro, he did travail court, Sore toils on land and sea, for ends of basest sort? XXVIII. " Such efforts for the most, secured success ; But came an end of Conquest, and the gold E en of Peru, and Mexico still less, The fine wrought gold was gone; what wealth untold The mountain mines still from their grasp might hold, None knew ; but it must be secured by toil Of human hands the means which must unfold All earth s resources these, their hands ne er soil, Should Spain s Grandees there dig and delve, tho gold the spoil ! XXIX. " They could to death work slaves, fight who might thers Develop what they could not; but their land A century long, hath lain forlorn and bare, Accursed by proud idolatrous command; Long as their rule so let it barren stand; Nor bring forth gold to crush with haughty pow r, The infancy of nations, that demand To labor for their rights, now comes the hour For their deserved supremacy ; tyrants must covv r. Canto I L] PURITAN. 79 xxx. "Haste haste ye, to possess the inviting shore! Make labor there a duty and a pride; Laugh him to scorn who scorns, and more and more Prove to the world, the blessings that abide With those who God obey ; toiling, confide To Him there labour s issue; he who sows Shall reap; not selfishly- for thus allied Allegiance to the State secures repose, And all will vie t support its laws and smite its foes. XXXI. "He will make the wilderness like Eden; Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody, Peace, joy, and gladness, will be found therein; Come, come ye warm brave hearts, yours shall it be To give rich blessings to posterity ! Tho ye may suffer, and must labor sore God s truth, and righteousness, and liberty, There shall a man be precious yea, far more More precious than fine-beaten gold in goodly store. XXXII. " Each one shall help his neighbor; there shall be No lords, no class proscribed, each man shall strive Helpful to be to each ; right speedily The work shall prosper, not a soulless hive, Where rulers by the toils of thousands thrive, Vast monuments of grandeur to uprear; No tokens of such bonds will there revive, But on the plains, and o er the hills appear, Dear homes, to each the best reward, evermore dear. 8o PURITAN. [&* XXXIII. "Each from his cottage door shall see the green Of God s own fields, the shrubs, the many trees, In fullest leaf; and pluck the fruits I ween; And each shall hear the waters melodies Murmuring concert with the harmonies Of birds, and breathe the pure fresh air of heaven ; And see the clouds changed by each shifting breeze, And yon great azure dome, at starry ev n, At noon, at dawn; a sight these mists have seldom given. XXXIV. " There free and pure may little children play, And aged parents rest them from their cares ; For competence and comfort will repay Wise toil, frugality and fervor theirs ; Old age, of health, and happiness and prayers, A blessing gives remote posterity, The soul for entrance into heaven prepares. Will ye not choose such life, has luxury Or ease a single hope, of such prosperity ?" PURITAN. CANTO THE SEVENTH. FINAL SUCCESS. I. ,OT unsuccessful, was the fervent zeal Of Puritan ; it won the sure reward Such toil must ever win. God did reveal To him, hate, pride, and avarice to ward, Conflicting interests to make accord; And tho the king had set his seal to give That Continent away accounted Lord Of what he had not won prerogative How vain! Was not the land for those who there should live ? II. He mingled in the thickest of the fray; Sandys, Virginius friend, espoused his cause, Coke, powerfully pleading, swept away The fallacies of Kings unrighteous laws; Vainly the council to its measures draws The strong defense of Avalon s pure zeal, The energy of Gorges, kings applause ; In parliament the wisest ill conceal The deep concern for Puritan s success all feel. (8 1) 82 PURITJN. [Canto Vll III. For Lord-Proprietors, would sit at ease Within the realm, and hands must hasten thenct To labor, and return their gains to these; Aye it was futile; well the world might stare, When they in wrath command a knight repair To that far coast, equipped to hold the land Far stretching, and the restless sea; nor spare Who dared his net to spread along the strand, Or on the mighty shores, untaxed, presume to stand. IV. Mason and Gorges merit praise, not scorn ; They helped the mighty work, not as they wished, But as He willed; their day was passed; the morn Of brighter day was dawning; those assist Who thought its coming they might eath resist; Sir Alexander, armed him at their call, From far-off Scotia (of the gift ye wist) To fight their battles; he was brave and tall, He reached their coast, he sailed along, and that was all. V. Saving a name for Scotland, all his toil Was fruitless; won he not a rood of land Upon the continent; twas wished-for spoil, Yet when he saw the countless bays expand, The wild, cold rocky coast his care demand, Dark on the deep dark waters, and the gloom, Deep dark as Ocean, where the forests stand, He turned away disheartened, to assume Power there, against the power of France who would pre- Canto VU.-\ PURITAN. 83 VI. With singleness of purpose, naught could daunt, Pressed Puritan his suit; with knights allied, The best, and bravest, entered Troynovant; Now gave new hopes, new fervor, friends supplied Gold in profusion; tho the court decried From all contending claimants, he secured The land washed by two Oceans, for so wide The vision told nor less had he endured Vague limits, but the hopes were clear which them allured. VII. Lest foes might breed dissensions, turned he hence ; A doughty knight, and one he trusted well, Straight he dispatched to prove the land s defense, While he within the realms might still compel Fast friends to hasten thither; seeking quell The rising humors of his enemies. Brave Endicot, to that far citadel, Despite the raging Ocean s jeopardies, Thy faithful spouse, thy babes thou bearest as sureties, VIII. Of faith, of zeal sincere, of sure success! And with what earnest cheer upon that shore So far and wild, Conant s long loneliness Watching since Puritan s long leave before Was ended ; friends rejoicing more and more, When they had learned these faithful knights there dwelt With full an hundred followers, with store Of all things needful; kindly He had dealt With those who had advanced His cause, true fervor felt. 84 PURITAN. [& rn. IX. Still spread the Godly leaven, far and near, Earnest, courageous followers, rose and armed To conquer in His service; joy sincere, Glowing imaginations, wak ning charmed The doubting; not the weakest were alarmed, By Ocean s dangers, or the wild shore s gloom; These were not exiles that rude power had harmed, They were the cheerful followers, glad to assume For Him e en poverty, and care, nor feared the tomb. X. If there was more chivalric fire, the day The hermit Peter roused the faithful hosts Thro all the West, to arm, and make their way For far-off Palestine s untraveled coasts, To win the Holy Tomb from baleful hosts Of hated infidels nere was true zeal, Intense, enduring; fervently it boasts A nobler purpose, for the whole world s weal, To win a realm for Christ, and His pure truth reveal. XI. To yon poor heathens perishing for light ; His chosen servants welcome weal or woe; Enraptured scores attend the Godly knight; The crowded ships the waves wash to and fro, Deep sinking in the waters, forth they go, In valiant chaplain s and brave knight s command; For Puritan yet lingers to bestow Blessing he must with vital strength demand, Lest hostile powers within the realm his hopes withstand. Canto ru.-\ PURITAN. 85 XII. For he had felt the bonds that so enthralled Virginias in his labors, and to look For justice from far councils sore appalled His anxious heart; far-seeing faith could brook The monarch s insincerity, but shook To think how foes, aye, friends, might harm his cause, Or future powers molest their chosen nook Far off and unprotected; crush with laws Which he could not prevent ; he wished not man s applause, XIII. Still less, to be dependent on the will Of any human; twixt him and his God, No creature to impose e en rules that fill His soul with fervor; he toward heaven would plod His chosen way alone, if others trod Obedient to the word, and inner light, He had discerned, submissive to his nod, These he rejoiced to welcome, and aright Champions of freedom and free faith attend the knight. XIV. Soon others blindly, or for selfish ends Yielding to his persuasion, gave command, And well-nigh every power to his true friends ; Twas wisely done, a powerful, bold band, Unflinching, zealous, wise, united stand ; And warily, th ambiguous clauses writ Transfer, the few perceive it, to his hand, The rule of that far planting; benefit, Beyond all words, sage hero for that work how fit! 12 86 PURITAN. [C"" rii xv If there was zeal before, now ardor burned ; Enthusiasm warmed the nation s heart; Hundreds flocked to his standards, and there turned A fleet with anxious prows, chafing to start ; Knights and fair women fervently impart Strength, purity; and children seemed inspired To lend their aid, with fond and simple art; Teachers, prophetically wise, conspired To speed the mighty work with faith and strength untired XVI. The body-corporate launched on the sea ! The rudimental state, seeking abode, Bearing its subtly-chartered liberty; Subjects and rulers, variously bestowed On many ships, the stormy waters rode; How many hundreds followed where he led! How many pure and godly hearts there glowed With speechless fervor! as they onward sped. Disease and danger tried their hearts, yet none misled. XVII. As when the sun, advancing from the East, Brightens the far horizon, glowing hues Of brilliancy, by nearing beams increased, Until the clouds, effulgent light imbues, Each moment deepening, till the gazer rues The blinding glories of the full-orbed sun; Then earth, the rays receives in sparkling dews, Infinite hues of beauty she has won; Dark clouds, late fair, those rays enfold and earth has none Car.t* ^//.] PURITAN. 87 XVIII. But earth is little saddened, light is fair, The zenith blue, the fields a fresh glad green, And e en the dismal clouds embosom there The glowing sunshine, tho it may be seen But heavenward, above thro space serene ; So seemed the valiant hosts, that Puritan Now led afar; imaginations sheen Had lit the far horizon, and outran Dull reason then their brightest tinted hopes began. XIX. They beamed upon them, every thing aglow ; Their plans perfected, on the sea they ride ; But clouds o er shadow dark, as on they go, Disease, sore sorrows how their souls were tried Yet found they life and light, the heavenward side. Upon the lonely undeveloped shore, None felt repining faithfully they bide His will, heaven seemed more near, low bending o er These devotees, than where hosts worship d Him before. XX. To bear not grudgingly, but with a soul Cheerful, submissive to the Father s will ! Blest Christian principle, that shall control The Universe ; the purposes fulfill Of Him who died to stem earth s flood of ill ; Kingdom of heaven on earth Thy will be done ; Humility, forgiveness, love instill ; For thus God s tender grace is surely won ; With all the power of God, He was the lowliest one, 88 PURITAN. I> ^//. XXI. This is an area where all may strive ; Who is the lowliest, the rudest born Who is the loftiest of all alive Station is nothing, may ye not all mourn, And bear disease, or pain, reproach, or scorn ? Ye all may suffer, aye ye shall, and must; But never grief like His hath any borne ; It is God s roll of honor; He is just; The least shall be the greatest: sorrowing ones, have trust. XXII. Life, health, friends, ease and goodly nourishment, Riches and luxuries, men strive to gain; But Puritan s brave hosts there underwent The loss of every thing, that men are fain To prize. What numbers died! they suffered pain, And famine, toil, and grief on barren coast, A strip betwixt terrific stormy main, And forests dense, primeval, where a host Of treach rous natives made their evil deeds their boast, XXIII. To win free space to pray ! it was indeed A very Bethel; tho he never saw The angels that descended, thence to lead Their lost ones up to heaven, sure he did draw Deep inspirations from God s love and law. Had Charite survived Humilite In love been won, that sad self-righteous flaw His noble heart had grieved. Intolera Alas! inflamed each fault, tainting posterity. Can* Vll.-\ PURITAN. 8 XXIV. There formed they embryonic villages, Along the Ocean, where the ships might ride; Of their past lands and lives sole vestiges; Ye ships! ye are a blessing and a pride! Ye ministering spirits of the wide, Wide earth, and Ocean-severed continents . Without your aid, the waters that divide The lands, had ever been admonishments Of impotence, as are the subtler elements. XXV. Are ye not voices? sure from shore to shore Ye breathe fond words, and speak from mind to mind, Words of deep knowledge, power, inspired lore ! And ye are hands, to bear to all mankind Most precious gifts; ah! human hearts ye bind In love, far peoples send their treasures where Ye tell who needeth, and the favoring wind, The breath of God, doth onward deign to bear Your white wings full against the blue so wondrous fair. XXVI. Would they could lift you from the dark abyss, And bear you upward thro the deep ning blue ! When, when will man attain that yearned-for bliss? The lark rebukes his ignorance, it knew Ages ago to soar; the eagle flew With mighty wings, its wisdom from the first! Man s growing knowledge could the sea subdue, Light, heat, he made to serve him; lightning durst To tame; but gravitation s bonds, when will he burst? 90 PURITAN. [& XXVII. Oh ships! strong wing d, swift, faithful agencies, Taught by the mind of man ye have built up This continent ! the deathless energies Of wise Colono, dared with thee to grope Beyond the limits of all other s hope: Ye led the boldest to possess this land, Brought builders, all things needful, strong to cope With every ill : ye decked the barren strand, And made the Seas as highways as men s needs demand. XXVIII. Here was the spirit dear to Puritan ; Men eager for achievement; wise to advance The welfare of the State; it straight began To prosper; ships sped o er the wide expanse, Intent with fostering care, its weal t enhance. The peoples, fearless, full of enterprise, Pressed onward for abode or sustenance ; Or by adventurous spirits led, surprise The far-off forests, and new regions civilize. XXIX. Soon as great Puritan s parental care Wants physical, all infant needs supplied, He intellectual culture gan prepare ; And most of all the morals sought to guide; Religious training zealous to provide, Made lawful, dangerous espionage; Aye strengthen d innate germs of selfish pride; The very ills he sought by flight to assuage, Shall these perpetuate, and e en their friends enrage? Cantor 11.1 PURITAN 91 xxx. Is this a Zion, where the saints alone Shall enter? Who can tell the constant care Of every soul, that there shall not be one Of diverse faith among his followers there; Who dares to love, or use the written prayer Who dares to think, much less to speak a word, His solemn covenant doth not declare To him, no rest this haven may afford ! All must believe as he believes, or be abhorred XXXI. Be driven back across the raging Sea, Or cast amid the howling wilderness! And many felt his arm fall heavily, For he was stern, and proud, and strong t impress His will with energy and stubbornness; And held denial of his ghostly power Political hostility: unless Faith unitorm prevailed, the ills that lower O er other lands, might here arise in fatal hour XXXII. Freedom and sanctity of conscience right? Right, to permit men to believe and teach Error ? Shall God s own chosen tolerate Sin and foul heresy? These will impeach Who shall declare the liberty of each To his own faith; the truth all must believe; Taught by the faithful, nor with wanton speech Attempt defense, the souls of saints to grieve, They must at least profess belief, whom these receive. 92 PURITAN. [""> yu - XXXIII. Know ye Rogerus? Never nobler soul Dwelt in the bosom of a mortal man; Not that chivalrous knight poets extol, Who fought and conquered under Charlemagne, Wedded to Britomartis, whence began A mighty race of kings; braver than he A noble compeer this, of Puritan Whom he had loved and served and faithfully Followed from far, still fond to serve chivalrously. XXXIV. A vaunt, Rogerus! Is the world not wide? Disturb them not with new unwonted light; Hence Aquiday ! No knight shall here abide Who is not meek and faithful: hence Wheelright, And Aspinwall, hence Coddington, what right Hast thou to brave this knight despitefully ? Wenlock, Dyer, Leddra, Marmaduke invite Sentence of death; in vain he bids them fly, They vow t abide, and by his hand die wretchedly. XXXV. But farthest followers of his Godly faith Found succor at his hands; his care extends O er far Connecticut; he saves from wrath Far as Lygonia, Gorgeana, lends His aid: he Agamenticus defends, And his own Plymouth, ever near and dear; And from his growing people proudly sends Succor to England, when his brethren there, The doom of kings and prelates wrath are forced to bear. canto rn.-\ PURITAN. 93 XXXVI. Thus was achieved his onerous enterprise; He led the van across the mighty deep; He roused the nation s latent energies, Giving an impulse that should never sleep, For myriad souls, the vigils hence should keep. The many villages he planted there, Strong arms, the mighty wilderness to sweep With power away, nor savages to spare, In earnest struggles these gainst nature bring to bear. XXXVII. This work of human hands by dauntless will Encouraged and directed, fills the world With wonder; far-off nations gazing still, To mark how Puritanic race has hurled The gauntlet of achievement, and unfurled Its standard, Liberty, with power and pride ! Where human progress all the past has purled, Here an advancing flood deep, swift, and wide - What can withstand the power of the willful tide ? XXXVIII. Who can predict results ? He who can stand Upon the extremest verge of time, and gaze From then to now on changes in this land, May shrink from all predictions; naught can raise The veil of dark futurity, that lays E en o er to-morrow; who now dares conceive What will be, when two centuries long maze Have crystallized in facts; sure ye believe With much to praise, vast changes may bring much to grieve. 13 94- PURITAN. O* l lL XXXIX. Be wise, Oh nation! Power for weal or woe Dwells in the bosom of each citizen; Past history doth clearly to thee show Th undisciplined fierce passions of past men ; Will not each curb bis dangerous passions then? Priceless experience of all mankind When will man learn its worth ? Oh when, Oh when ? Blest is the nation that doth early find To learn from others woes, ere passion makes it blind !