A A n 9A 5 6 2 9 1 HERN REGIONAL L 1 BRARY FACILITY 8 rjs m.<^ ,..> -"^ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 1?V^ O^^k^A^ -^ CAMBRIDGE PRIZE POEMS. Al ^ r. Miller, Printer, 5, Noble Street, Cheapside. CAMBRIDGE PRIZE POEMS: A COMPLBTB COLLECTION ENGLISH POEMS WHICH HAVE OBTAINED THE CHANCELLOR'S GOLD MEDAL UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. LONDON : PRINTED FOR T. AND J. ALLMAN, Prince* Street, Hmtover Square; AKD SOLD BY BALDWIN, CRASOCK, AND JOY, PATERMOSTER'ROW ; t, DEIOBTON AND SONS, CAUBRIDCEj AND J. PARKER, OXPORD. 1818. C^ CONTENTS, Psge Columbus i boadicea 31 Wallace 59 Mahomet 73 Jerusalem , ,. 10:3 84iSI COLUMBUS. ^ loem WHICH OBTAINED THE CHANCELLOR'S MEDAL AT THE CAMBRIDGE COMMENCEMENT Jul!/, 1813. BY GEORGE WADDINGTON, SCHOLAR or TRINITY COLLEGE. Grekada being taken from the Moors, a Voyage of Discovery is proposed to Isabella by the patrons of Columbus, and acceded to. Her feelings and wishes. The great object the propaga- tion of Christianity. Columbus described. His projects of Discovery first formed, perhaps, in Childhood, encouraged by Hope, and ultimately confinned by Reason. He sets sail. Address to the Gales and Sea-gods. His dangers and disap- pointments. Variation of the Needle. jMutiny of his men. Certain signs at length appear, and land is discovered. 1 he Discovery of most importance, as it tends to promote Christi- anity and Civilization. Natural wonders of America. Andes and its Volcanoes. Rivers that rise from it. Forests. Infe- riority of the human race. Superiority of Civilization to a state of Nature. American women often murder their female infants to save them from Slavery. Civilization will probably be the consequence of intercourse with the Old World. Pro- gress of Discovery. Pcyrouse, Cook, Drake, Raleigh, Gama, Return to Columbus. He is sent home in chains; but soon proceeds in liis search after a passage to India, and discovers the Continent near the mouth of the Oronoco. Is shipwrecked on Jamaica, and saves his men from the fury of the Indians by predicting an eclipse. Isabella dies, and Columbus passes the remainder of his life a petitioner at the Court of Ferdinand. Conclusion, COLUMBUS. Ye frowning tow'rs, where erst the bright array Of Moorish warriors glanc'd a fearful day j Ye mosques majestic, where fanatic War Yoked his red steeds to pale Religion's car. Are ye then fall'n, and has your pride confess'd The soul that slumbers in a woman's breast ? But yet, methinks, if glory and if pow'r Must fade and vanish, like a summer flow'r, 4 COLUMBUS. If Heaven command and Fate direct the blow^ 'Tis sweet to fall beneath a gen'rous foe. 10 For hark ! I hear the victor Queen proclaim, " Ambition hence and all the pomp of fame ! *' Let virarlike toils, let furious Discord cease, " And yield her sceptre to the seraph Peace, *' Hail lovely daughter of a rugged sire ! " Chase the dark glooms of War with vestal-fire ; *' Fair as when Spring first shews her trembling form, ** Or morn comes shiv'ring from the midnight storm. " And say, shall Lusian barks alone explore " Each unknown wave, and number ev'ry shore? 20 " Hail wealthier climes and breathe a purer air, " The first to triumph, as the first to dare ? " Ye souls, that taught the faithless Moor to yield, '* Blaze forth more glorious in an ampler field; COLUMBUS, 5 " While to the Indian's wond'ring eyes unfurl'd, " Castilian banners bless the unknown World j " Exalt his views. Religion's charms display, " And point the passage to eternal day." But who that Hero, from whose manly brow Conspiring virtues dart an heav'nly glow ? 30 Each mild, each nobler grace is pictur'd there. The heart to feel, and yet the soul to dare : Onward he darts his rapture-speaking gaze. Eyes the blue waves that drink the ev'ning rays, Salutes the blushing skies, and from afar Hails the bright omen of the western star. Him haply slumb'ring by the waves, that roar In hollow murmurs round his native shore. 6 COLUMBUS. When every nerve was strung to Hope and Joy, And fancy flutter'd round her fav'rite Boy, 40 Oft fairy visions bless'd, and round his head On lightest wing their sweet delusion spread. Then would he seem to plough the western main. While rocks oppos'd and tempests rag'd in vain ; See other skies and stars unnam'd survey, A milder climate, and a brighter day: Then would he start and gaze the concave blue. And half believe the fair deception true j Bless the pale Moon, that pour'd a purer light. Bless ev'ry orb that gemm'd the vest of night : 50 Then how his heart would boil, his bosom swell. Till at stern Reason's touch the baseless fabric fell. Yet, when the billowy solitude he view'd. Thoughts dimly grand and hopes sublimely rude COLUMBUS, 7 Full oft would dart across his troubled mind. Would dart, and leave a dubious track behind : " Ye western gales, that float on silken wing, '' Whence stole ye, say, the fragrance that ye bring? " Is there no green-hair'd daughter of the deep, 59 " Around whose shores the wild waves learn to sleep, " Where thro' the livelong year the dancing hours " Fling from their golden urn unfading flow'rs ? " Yes, not for us alone th' imperial Sun, " Since time began, his giant course has run 5 " The starry hosts their silvery ranks display, " The Moon's bright crescent sheds a midnight day " On other shores, and Nature's viewless hand " Rolls smoother billows round an happier land." Thus would he hold sweet converse with the gale. That flutter'd idly round his little sail 3 TO 8 COLUMBUS. Nor ceas'd the young enthusiast's breast to glow. Where Zembla* slumbers in her waste of snow j E'en there could hope his fearless bosom warm^ And sooth the horrors of a polar storm. And e'en when manhood's calmer pow'r refin'd The thoughts, that wanton'd in his youthful mind. The fair}' landscape at pure Reason's ray Beam'd but more bright, and kindled into day : For he would wander by the ocean's side From blushing morn to ling'ring eventide, 80 Till the mind promis'd what the hopes conceiv'd, And sceptic Wisdom wonder' d and believ'd. Ye Lusitanian shores, ye rocks, that brave The idle threat'nings of th' Atlantic wave, . * Columbus in his youth made some discoveries near Greenland. COLUMBUS. 9 Oft have ye seen him westward dart his eye. While, list'ning to the surge that murmur'd by. With straining look he drank the parting light. Till India burst upon his ravish'd sight. Ye Gales, if e'er, when Time was young, ye bore Phoenician * barks around fair Afric's shore, 90 Breathe softly sweet your mildest murmurs now. As when of yore young Ammon's daring prow Rode proudly floating down the stream, that laves Its native gold, and stemm'd the Indian waves. Be still, thou billowy bosom of the deep j Ye Tempests, fold your dusky wings and sleep : Secure, ye Nymphs, the gallant vessels urge 'Mid rocks that lurk beneath the glassy surge. * Sec Herodotus, Book IV. 42. 10 COLUMBUS. In mute suspense see gazing thousands standi Crown every steep and press the lab'ring strand. 100 But who can trace the feelings, that impart A fearful joy, and swell the throbbing heart ? Where dwells despair, or ardour's gen'rous fire, What fears discourage, or what hopes inspire ? Yes! when the vessels lessen on the view. Perchance some parent weeps a last adieu; Then burns with shame, and clears his glist'ning eye. His pride enforcing, what his hopes deny. E'en now, methinks, the daring barks explore. Where fancy's eye had never pierc'd before; 110 Why start ye, Nereids, from your coral caves. Fly with unsandal'd foot and skim the waves ? Why flit ye. Spirits, on the dusky air. While sighs the gale and distant meteors glare ? COLUMBUS. 11 Hide, sullen Genius, hide that giant form. That yokes the winds, and riots on the storm ; Avenge not now thy violated reign. Thy shatter'd sceptre and thy broken chain j For if thou lov'st to drink the parting breath. And glut thee with the bursting sighs of death, 120 Enough of victims shall thy arms enfold. While breezes waft, while oceans lead to gold. Where never eagle wooed meridian light. Where never sea-bird wing'd its wildest flight. The gallant vessels steer'd their lonely way; A world of waters glimmer'd to the day, A world of waters fading on the view Caught the last tints that purple Ev'ning threw. 12 COLUMBUS. But ah ! how oft did Hope's deluded eye Hail ev'ry distant cloud that fring'd the sky 130 Beneath the pale Moon's visionary gleam. Till morn invidious chased the joyous dream. But fearless still they stem th' unfathom'd plains, One guide still aids them, and one friend remains. True as the wondrous sign, whose cloudy blaze Darken'd or glow'd on Israel's thankless gaze. Mysterious Magnet ! e'er thy use was known Fear, clad the deep in horrors not its own ; But when thy trembling point vouchsaf d to guide, Astonish'd nations rush'd into the tide, 140 While o'er the rocky wave and billowy wild Young Commerce plum'd his eagle-wing and smiled. Mysterious Magnet ! while the tempests low'r Dost thou too leave them at the fearful hour ? COLUMBUS. 13 Does Heaven's protecting hand desert the brave. No hope to cheer them, and no pow'r to save ? Well may Sedition, daughter of Depair, Point to the boundless waste, the starless air. The fancied shapes that float upon the wind. And claim the vales that blossom far behind. 150 But when the Spectre rear'd her baleful form More hideous than the fiend that rides the storm. Say, did the Hero from her clamours fly. Or shrink beneath the terror of her eye ? Ah no ! 1 see the quick indignant glow Flush his dark cheek and glisten on his brow : One glance from him can light a kindred flame. And awe the rebel spirit into shame. But now no tempests rage a gentle gale Sighs thro' the shrouds and lingers round the sail. 14 COLUMBUiS. The ev'ning clouds^ tKat hover o'er the west, 161 Glow with a softer tinge, a lovelier vest j The bird in silence wings his way to greet The shady vallies of his native seat. Hesper leans list'ning from his throne on high To floating strains of heav'nly harmony ; Then all is dark, and all is still again. And night sits brooding o'er the silent main. " Is it a fire * that glimmers from afar ?" 'Tis but some lonely, melancholy star : 170 Or meteor, that descends to drink the wave Or gem, that lights the Sea-fiends to their cave. '' It moves again it moves and on the sand " Sheds its glad beam it must it must be Land!" * Columbus himself discovered a light on shore, which he im- mediately saluted as an emblem of the religious light he was going to spread. COLUMBUS. 15 How sweet to sad misfortune's way-worn child Wanders the streamlet thro' the trackless wild ! How sweet, escap'd the horrors of the storm. The trembling Moon unveils her virgin form ! But oh ! how far more sweet that sacred light Beam'd life and glory on Columbus' sight. 180 Emblem of Faith, and all the joys, that glow From chaste Religion's lamp on men below, I hail thee too ! and may the holy blaze. That hides from half mankind its clouded rays. Pour its full flood (as Truth proclaims it must. E'er the wide world be crumbled into dust) On ev'ry clime, and beaming from above Unveil the glory of eternal love. 16 CULUMBUS. Ye lonely shades, where famish'd Indians stray. Ye too shall blush beneath the lamp of day! 190 Ye mountains, haply on your snow-clad brow Wild flow'rs shall wake to life, and fruitage blowj The streams that roll their nameless waves along, Unknown to fame, and unadorn'd by song. Shall start to view triumphant navies ride. And spires reflected from their glassy tide. Whither does Fancy wing her rapt'rous flight ? " Visions of wonder, spare my aching sight! " See where proud Andes rears his giant form. And smiles serenely tow' ring o'er the storm ; 200 While round his breast innocuous lightnings play, And thunders roll in distant peals away. COLUMBUS. 17 But when he bids his native tempests rave. He shrouds his brow, he bursts each secret cave. And wrapt in clouds from his volcano throne Pours floods of flame and lightnings all his own : Till when he sees his craggy summits hurl'd Afar, and feels the rocking of the world. He veils his nodding crest in deeper shade. And trembles at the storm himself has made, 210 Yet, tho' he crown his starry head with fire, A thousand rivers hail him for their sire. And rolling onward wake the sweets, that sleep Mid fragrant wilds, and bear them to the deepj Or haply wand'ring thro' some trackless grove. Where the lone Indian ne'er had dared to rove. The green banana's od'rous leaf they lave. That leans and listens to the babb'ling wave ; 18 COLUMBUS. Till lost in lorelier shade they fear the day, And in melodious murmurs die away. 2^0 But tell me, Nature, when thy mighty hand Form'd in a nobler mould this new-born land, With bold design a prouder work began. Why in such giant regions dwindles Man ? For mark the feeble limb, the vacant look. The listless form, that slumbers by the brook. And, when the summer's careless hour is past. Shrinks faint and houseless from the wintry blast ; While the proud mind's degraded treasures sleep. Like a gem twinkling to the reckless deep. 230 Oh ye, who ven'rate Nature's artless child. And love man best when rugged and when wild, COLUMBUS. 19 If such primeval freedom's barb'rous train. Hail we the friendly hand that forg'd our chain ! Stoop, Briton, stoop to bless thy Roman lord. And rev'rence Cardoc's* less than Caesar's sword. Oft has the mother by some foaming tide Clasp'd her pale daughter's infant form and sigh'd " Shalt thou too linger thro' the joyless day " A wretch a slave and weep the night away ? " Endure a tyrant's scorn a tyrant's blow 241 " With but one gloomy hope to sooth thy woe ? " Come let us snatch that hope and dare to die !" She spoke and smiled in speechless agony j Then headlong rush'd into the pitying wave " Roll on, ye streams, and waft us to the grave !" * Cardoc was the Caractacus of the Romans, as we learn from Welch Iraditioii. 20 COLUMBUS. What art thou, Man, without the ties that bind Congenial souls, and harmonize the mind ? Without the hopes that thrill, the fears that move. The strings, that vibrate to the voice of love ? 250 Without the tear that gems Compassion's eye ? A dark cloud driv'n across the midnight sky. Yet thou, degraded Savage, thou shalt bless The tender bond of social happiness -, Shalt rise to prouder thoughts, shalt learn to scan Thy native worth, and feel thyself a man ; Then too Religion's self shall smile, and fling Ethereal love, like dew-drops, from her wing. Why sing ye. Muses, round Bellona's car. Responsive only to the shouts of war ? 260 COLUMBUS. 21 Shall harps like your's discordant rage inspire. Shall death be echoed from a virgin lyre ? Tell me, ye surges, on what desert shore Peyrouse lies whit'ning as the tempests roar j Unless, perchance, each toil and danger braved. Some Nereid loved him, or some Triton saved. While now his influence wand'ring unconfin'd Or sooths the troubled deep, or lulls the wind. Or shall we sing lamented Cook, and tell How sigh the wild waves where a Briton fell ? 270 O'er paths untried the gen'rous sailor roved. And died a martyr to the cause he loved. But see another son of Albion * rise ! Fame speeds his course, and sparkles in his eyes : Sir F. Drake. ^ But on her front no milder passion speaks. Severe and stern j not her's the gentler grace. The melting eye, the fascinating face. The charms that o'er each speaking feature rove. And fix the gaze, and steal the soul to love; No would'st thou view fair Woman's softer mould? Then by her side those sister forms behold j 130 Bright o'er the wavy crowd as western beams That gild with trembling light pleased Ocean's streams. BOADICEA. 43 Oh ! though each bosom there, each untaught mind. By social arts untutor'd, unrefined. Knew but the feelings Nature gives her child. Rude as her savage scenes, and harsh, and wild. Yet think not there might Beauty shed her rays Unmark'd, unfelt, by eyery careless gaze. No as each Briton's eye was thither turn'd. Each swelling breast with keener vengeance burn'd. Each firmer grasp'd his spear and inly swore 141 To write their injuries in Roman gore. O Beauty! heaven-born Queen ! thy snowy hands Hold the round earth in viewless magic bands j From burning climes where riper graces flame To shores where cliffs of ice resound thy name. 44 BOADICEA. From savage times ere social life began To fairer days of polish'd, soften'd man. To thee, from age to age, from pole to pole, AH pay the unclaim'd homage of the soul. 150 Though not, Bonduca, thine the dove-like eye That asks, omnipotent, for sympathy. Yet to that stately form, that regal brow Might free-born Pride, and fearless Valour bow. All hail, thy Albion's much-loved Queen, to thee. Daughter of Monarchs ! Monarch of the free ! Heiress of Kings whose patriarchal sway Th' untamed Icenian triumphs to obey! Oft have thy Britons seen a female hand Four life and gladness round a grateful land, Ib'O Oft have they seen a woman's prowess guide The storm of war, and stem the battle's tide j BOADICEA. 45 E'en now they feel thy words, thy looks impart Indignant courage to each free-born heart. And bid thee lead them on, where Freedom cries. And Vengeance beckons from the angry skies. Heard'st thou, ORome, that shout, whose deepen'd shock Shook to its base the isle's eternal rock? Thy steel-clad watchman from his turret high. Has heard it burst the lurid eastern sky, 170 As when the tempest which th' horizon shrouds Rolls in the centre of his gather'd clouds. And up the concave from the south afar The distant Thunder drives his rapid car j And as his fiery steeds impetuous come. And glance with ruddy track across the gloom. 46 BOADICEA. So, red with blood and Desolation's stains The path of Ruin sweeps across thy plains. Haste, Roman, haste ! lo, bending to its fall Destruction trembles o*er Augusta's wall, 180 Thy rising cities wildly shriek dismay'd And ask thy guardian hand, thy parent aid j Go bid the surge of insurrection bide In midway course, and backwards roll its tide ; No "bid thy angry Adria's waves obey Thy chiding voice, and call their storms away j Push backwards up thy red Vesuvius* steep The lava torrent pouring to the deep j Alike thy might is vain ; 'tis thine to fear Imperious despot! thine to tremble here. 190 BOADICEA. 47 Woe to thy towns ! amid their shrieking walls Quick in the work of death the falchion falls j Exulting there Destruction's Demons rise. And on the steaming carnage mount the skies ; And nodding ruins in a lake of blood Mark the sad place where peopled cities stood. Speak not of mercy j of the kindly glow That warms the heart to spare a fallen foe. Would'st thou to pity soothe with suasive tongue The raging lioness who seeks her young, 300 And bid her if her course the spoiler meet Fawn at his knees, and harmless kiss his feet ? Frenzied with wrongs they seek revenge alone, Mercy to beg or give alike unknown. 48 BOADICEA. But ah! not yet 'tis theirs to view the foe Crush'd at their feet, and laid for ever low : Though droops his eagle crest and ruffled plumes Still stern revenge his fiery eye illumes j Driven from his quarry, watchful yet he sails, And wheels in distant circles on the gales, 210 And nearer sweeping still in balanced flight Prepares to stoop with renovated might. Heard ye the clang of mingling armies there, Mix'd with the groans of Anguish and Despair, And all the piercing sounds of battle roar Loud as the deep that yawns on Norway's shore ; When o'er the Ocean's voice of thunder rise The shrieking vessel's agonizing cries. BOADIC^EIA. 49 Lo ! chiefs sublime amid the storm of death Buffet the raging surge that roars beneath, 220 Aiid througii the mangled files the scythe-arm'd car Tears its red path across the opeoing war. And naked bosoms bared to danger feel The mailed legion's points of gleaming steel : Ah, mourn not, warriors, for the life ye leave. Grieve for your Albion, for your country grieve j For lo ! the whirlwind blast of battle veers. And backwards bends that grove of patriot spears. And louder swell above the mingled cry The Roman's pealing shouts of Victory. 230 In vain above the shatter'd throng is seen With terror-darting eye the Warrior-Queen While wet with blood her long bright tresses toss'd Float like a standard o'er the rallying host ; 50 BOADICEA. In vain the conquering legions pause and stand In mid career, check'd by a woman's hand : Borne down the cataract that sweeps the ground O'er falling ranks her fiery coursers bound. Fling from their rapid wheels the crimson spray As Death and Fate in vain might stop their way, And like some meteor red that shoots afar, 241 Across the gloom of elemental vn ar. Deep purpled o'er from head to heel with blood They dart and vanish in yon blacken'd wood. Unheard thy seraph notes, O Pity, rise Where War's stern clamour raves along the skies j In vain would sex, would youth demand thy aid To stay the Victor's slaughter-blunted blade. BOADICEA. 51 With tiger port along the carnaged ground, Glad Triumph stalks, and rolls his eyes around ; And Freedom lingering ere she onward sweeps 251 To Caledonia's wilds and rugged steeps Sheds o'er her sons and daughters there who fell A mournful tear, and breathes a sad farewell. But deep within that wood, where branches throw A vaulted, monumental gloom below. So still that all the battle's distant scream The tumult of another world might seem, Lo ! where its leafless arms yon blasted tree Waves o'er the form of fallen Majesty. 260 Grasp'd in her hand that empty chalice tells. Why on her forehead death's damp chilness dwells. 52 BOADICEA. Why at her feet her children pale are seen. Lovely in death with marble looks serene. It seems as on her brow the changeful strife Would soon for ever close, ,Oif J)eath and Life ; It seems as Life but linger'd there to cast One mother's look before she look'd her last. And near a Druid's sacred brow is rear'd. White on his harp is toss'd his silver beard, 270 While sad and wild amid the waving trees The death- spng floats upon the sighing breeze. And seems in tones of sadden'd praise to shed A grateful influence round her dying head. Though o'er the strings his hands have ceased to stray And left the plaintive notes to die away. BOADICEA, 53 They melt as if some spirit of the air With notes of triumph loved to linger there. Well may the Druid mark that vivid glow, 279 That lightning glance which fires her pallid brow ; As if those sounds that breathed around had cast On life's warm embers one I'eviving blast 5 As if those floating notes on wings sublime Had borne her soul across th' abyss of time : While her fix'd gaze in air appears to spy Unearthly forms conceal'd from mortal eye, And her pale lip triumphant smiles at death> In accents wild she pours her parting breath : " Yes, Roman ! proudly shake thy crested brow, 'Tis thine to conquer, thine to triumph now j 290 54 BOADICEA. For thee, lo. Victory lifts her gory hand And calls the Fiends of Terror on the land. And flaps, as tiptoe on thy helm she springs. Dripping with British blood her eagle wings. " Yet think not, think not long to thee 'tis giv'n To laugh at Justice, and to mock at Heav'nj Soon shall thy head with blood-stain'd laurels crown'd Stoop at the feet of Vengeance to the ground , I see amid the gloom of future days Thy turrets totter, and thy temples blaze ; 300 I see upon thy shrinking Latium hurl'd. The countless millions of the northern world j I see, like vultures gathering to their prey. The shades of states that fell beneath thy sway^ BOADICEA. 55 They leave their fallen palaces and fanes, \ Their grass-grown streets, and ruin-scatter'd plains. Where lonely long they viewless loved to dwell. And mourn the scenes that once they loved so well ; Triumphant, lo ! on all the winds they come And clap th' exulting hand o'er fallen Rome, 310 And hovering o'er thy domes that blazing glow Their waving pinions fan the flames below j They view rejoiced the conflagration's gleams. Shoot their long glare o'er Tiber's redden'd streams; And snufF the carnage- tain ted smokes that rise An incense sweet, a grateful sacrifice. " Sad Tiber's banks with broken columns spread ! Fall'n every fane that rear'd to heav'n its head ! 56 BOADICEjk Poor heap of ashes ! Grandieur's mould'ring tomb I Art thou the place was once Eternal Rome ? 320 " Ye^ Roman,} snatch thy triumph whilst thou may, vyeak is thy rage, and brief thy little day : Vanish'd. and past the momentary storm Albion, my Albion, brighter shews her form. Far o'er the rolling years of gloom I spy Her oak-crown'd forehead lifted to the sky. Above the low-hung mists unclouded seen, Amid the wreck of nations still serene j She bursts the chains, when hands like thine would bind The groaning world, and lord it o'er mankind. 330 BOADICEA. 57 Amid yon glitt'ring flood of liquid light. Float regal forms before my dazzled sight -, Like stars along the milky zone that blaze Their sceptred hands and gold-bound fronts they raise : My Sons ! my Daughters ! faint, alas, and dim Before these, failing eyes your glories swim, Mix'd with the mists of death. 'Tis yours to throw Your radiance round, while happier ages flow j I smile at storms of earthly woe, and rise Shades of my sires ! to your serener skies." 340 WALLACE. WHICH OBTAINED THE CHANCELLOR'S MEDAL AT THE CAMBRIDGE COMMENCEMENT July, 1815. BY EDWARD SMIRKE, OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE. " Manus haec inimica tyrannis Ense petit placidam snb libertate quietem." WALLACE. On Gambia's banks, no sweetly-breathing gale Cheers the lone wild or fans the thirsty vale. In weary silence rolls each livelong day. And nature pants beneath the sultry ray : Yet will the negro, from his deserts torn And far away to western climates borne. O'er the wide ocean cast a wistful eye, Andtthink upon his native sands and sigh. 61 WALLACE. Turn we to where the Northern tempest roars. To Lapland's drear> inhospitable shores ; 10 The breast of Lapland owns no genial glow. Pale is her aspect and her mantle snow j By Winter withered, shrouded by the storm. Amid yon arctic rocks she lifts her form. While ocean-blasts a deadly chilness shed. And meteor phantoms hover round her head : And would you lure the peasant from his home Beneath a milder, kinder heaven to roam ? Vain were the task His ev'ry thought and care Still loves to linger in his native air; 20 The child of woe, by cold and want opprest. He boasts a patriot passion in his breast. And, happy tenant of a humble shed. Smiles at the storm that howls above his heac^. WALLACE. 63 Spirit of generous Pride, whose high command Binds all affections to one spot of land ; Thou that can'st wake a breeze on Afric's shore And bid the Polar blast forget to roar ; When, wrapt in History's page, the eye surveys Deeds of the mighty dead in ancient days, 30 Is there a tongue that honours not thy name ? A heart that burns not with thy kindling flame ? Whether, in classic record, it retrace Th' expiring efforts of a sinking race. And mark the morn morn dear to Rome and thee. When Brutus struck and saw his country free ; Or whether later times the tale disclose. How Grisler triumph'd in a nation's woes, Till vengeance bade insulted worth rebel. And Freedom smiled upon the sword of Tell j 40 64 WALLACE. Or how, nnawed amid a cheerless land. Brave Wallace rear'd on high the patriot brand. Wallace, undaunted foe to lawless power. Friend to thy Scotland in her darkest hour. In action daring, and in danger proved. Famed for thy valour, for thy virtues loved j These were the crimes that claim'd a tyrant's hate> And gave thy manhood to an early fate. Thee, Wallace, thee thy native woodlands mourn'd. The grots and echoing caves the moan return' d ; 50 The frowning cliff, the torrent, vale, and glade. Poured a sad tribute to thy pensive shade. And ev'ry gale that blew from rock and sea. And ev'ry zephyr bore a sigh for thee. WALLACE. 65 The shout of war, that waked a Southern host. Was heard no more upon the sullen coast j In murmurs floating on the banks of Clyde,* The last, sweet music of thy bugle died ; That beacon blaze, which patriot hands had fired, Glimmer'd a parting radiance and expired 5 60 Hush'd was each hope, the dream of gladness fled. And Scotland languish'd, when her offspring bled. Heard ye that war-note burst the deep repose? It was the knell of Caledonia's woes j O saw ye not the banner streaming red } That banner waves above a tyfant's head. * Wallace was betrayed into the hands of Edward in the neighbourhood of Glasgow. 66 WALLACE. Proud with the spoils of Cambria's fallen state^ And reeking from the brave Lewellyn's fate, Edward has summon'd all his warrior band To pour the tide of battle on the land. 70 Insatiate king, when erst on Holy shore Thy battle-blade was drench'd in Paynim gore. Full oft the laurel bloom'd upon thy brow And seek'st thou yet another garland now ? Lord of a mighty race, a wide domain. Yet cans't thou envy Scotland's rugged reign ? O sheath thy sword and fling thy buckler by. Nor smite the mountain haunts of Liberty ! But vain is Reason's voice, and weak her sway. When thirst of endless empire leads the way, 80 And wild Ambition beckons and invites To trample on mankind's insulted rights 3 WALLACE. 67 To standi with gory lance and flag unfurl' d. High o'er the ruins of a prostrate world : Then fair Religion seeks her inmost cell. Indignant Justice bids a long farewell. And Science breathes a last, a dying moan, And sorrowing Virtue pines unpitied and unknown- Cursed be the fatal day, when Edward came In crested pride to urge a lawless claim } 90 Cursed be the day. Let weeping History tell How fought the brave and how the noble fell. When, slowly swelling, roll'd the battle tide On Falkirk's field of death, and Carron's side The beam of morn, that rose on eastern height. Danced on the plume of many a gallant knight; 68 WALLACE. The ray, that lingered on the ocean-wavfe, Kiss'd the red turf of many a soldier's grave : Dark as the torrent's desolating flow. And drear as winter was that time of woe, 100 Yet droop'd not Hope j she turn'd her azure eyes Where heaven-ward Caledonia's mountains rise. And deep embosom'd in the gloom of night, A star was seen to shed a lonely light ) It burn'd afar with lustre pale and sweet. To mark the spot of Freedom's last retreat. There on a rock, unmoved and undismay'd. The sable plumage waving o'er his head. Stern Wallace stood. With high uplifted hand He shook the gleamy terrors of his brand, 1 10 Glanced proudly on th' embattled host below. And mock'd the menace of a conquering foe WALLACE. 69 And long had mock'd, but Heaven untimely frown' d. And pluck'd the fairest flow'r on Scottish ground. It was no falchion raised in mortal strife That snatch'd thee, Wallace, from the light of life , No arrow glided on the wings of death To drink thy blood and steal away thy breath j Thine were no honours of a glorious grave. The patriot's boast, the birthright of the brave j Far other fate thy generous zeal repaid. Torn from thy country, by thy friend betray'd. Methinks 1 see thee led in sullen state, 121 High in thy fall, and, e'en in fetters, great. And view thee dragg'd in all the pomp of woe, A sport of impotence, a public show. 70 WALLACE. Still conscious virtue cheers thy latest hour. Nor sinks thy spirit in the grasp of power j Stilly in the pangs of deaths thy closing eyes Speak the proud thoughts that in thy bosom rise ; And the last sigh, that gave the soul release, Breath'd to thy Scotland liberty and peace. 130 O Wallace ! if nay voice can pierce the gloom. And rouse the silent slumbers of the tomb. O'er thy cold dust the Muse shall pour her strain. To tell thee, that thou did'st not fall in vain Yes, honour'd Shade ! though brief was thy career. And not a stone records thy lowly bier; E'en yet, thy native woods and wilds among, Thy wreaths are verdant and thy deeds arc sung : WALLACE. 71 There haply as some minstrel tells thy tale 141 To many a mountain chief and listening Gael, Their kindling bosoms catch the patriot flame. And learn the path to Freedom and to Fame. MAHOMET. WHICH OBTAINED THE CHANCELLOR'S MEDAL AT THE CAMBRIDGE COMMENCEMENT Jul!/, 1816. BY HAMILTON SYDNEY BERESFOKD, OF CLAHE-HAtr. MAHOMET. Won from a jarring world, full oft the Muse Th' eventful tale of other days reviews ; With patriot deeds her glowing breast she fires. Thinks with the sage, or with the bard aspires. Till all so lovely bright her dream appears. So fraught with glorious forms of other years. That half she deems, this fair abode of fame Had once of earth no vestige, but the name. MAHOMET. Alas ! the sweet illusion charms not long. Chased by the sons of rapine, and of wrong ! 10 The victor-sword on her reluctant sight Beams the wild flash of war's ensanguined light ; Her gaze pursues a meteor's path of fire. And all her peaceful dreams at once expire. She hates that meteor-flame, on which she dwells. While one dark impulse in her bosom swells. That wayward mood, that melancholy strain. In which the heart perversely clings to pain. She mourns the simple rustic's fruitless toil. When Heroes tramp the harvest from his soil j 20 She mourns the limpid streamlet, bright no more. When Heroes stain its startled wave with gorej But when Ambition's heartless sons divide The sacred bands, by love and nature tied. MAHOMET. 77 When all the generous breast revered, adored, Unhonoured falls beneath the victor-sword, Oh ! then, half impious, she pre-dooms the blow. Which Heaven reserves for man's relentless foe. As Ocean's breast, beneath the changeful sky. Assumes a robe of ever varying dye, 30 While, all unchanged, impetuous, vast and deep. The tides below their awful secret keep. Thus o'er her boundless aims though conquest throw Ten thousand hues. Ambition works below. She wants not fancied wrong, or fair pretence. Justice, reform, reprisal, self-defence ; These are the specious terms her flags display. Her undissembling faulchion strikes for sway. 78 MAHOMET. E'en meek Religion, at her stern command. In arms exulting, fiercely waves the brand, 40 And through destruction's van to conflict driven. Proclaims the blood-stained sword the key of Heaven ! " The key of Heaven and Hell,* " Mohammed cries, " On each believer's holy sabre lies. " One night in camps, one gore-drop trickling there, " Outweighs whole months of penance and of prayer. *' The battle-slain, from earthly blemish pure, " Awaits the last tremendous day secure ; " Then shall his wounds with vermeil lustre glow, " Then from their lips shall breath of fragrance flow, Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Vol. IX. p. 297, MAHOMET. 79 " And in the place of each divided limb 51 " Shall angel-plumes be fixed, and wings of cheru- bim!" Such were the words of promise, wild and vain. By which the Warrior-prophet smoothed his reign. He spoke to savage tribes of lawless life. Whose trade was rapine, and whose joy was strife. Like birds, that scent the battle-field afar. To Yathreb's* walls they flocked, and watched for war. For them had Nature's niggard hand arrayed Few soft retreats with verdure and with shade j 60 * Medina. 80 MAHOMET. O'er the dry sandy waste 'twas theirs to roam. Denied that dearest boon^ a social home. Denied the common stream's unpurchased wave. Though raging thirst the cool refreshment crave. Thus more than poor, from Nature's stern decree They gained one only blessing Liberty. But who was he, that chieftain bold and proud. To whom the harsh Bedoween humbly bowed ? Mecca's enthusiast outcast, Yathreb's lord. The self- raised Prophet, Preacher of the sword. 70 From infant years an orphan, on his head Misfortune's withering blight was early shed. He saw the wealth, the power, his birth should claim, Assumed by stronger friends of kindred name, MAHOMtT. 81 Whose niggard hands on him bestowed alone One meanest share of all he deemed his own. Nay more, a home they gave 'twas meet in sooth Who wronged his infancy should guard his youth. Thus lonely left^ no soft maternal breast His murmurs soothed, or cradled him to rest ; 80 Moist with delight, no fond maternal eye Watched his weak limbs their earliest efforts try. No mother's balmy voice, with precept bland. Bade his young bud of opening mind expand. The heart, whose social ties are rent away. In the wild loneliness of thought will stray ; The heart, by Fortune's blind resentment torn. Will seek in dreams a refuge less forlorn. Oft to his mother's grave would he repair. At eve's soft hour, to weep and linger there. 90 81 MAHOMET. 'Twas said, the pious tears that mourner shed Bewailed her hapless doom, in error dead. Perhaps some filial drops bedewed his cheek, Yet that firm spirit scorned a mood so weak. Hope dimly seen, aspirings strange and high. Forced the full tear from each unconscious eye. Well might that tomb of all his joys recall His birth-right proud, his youth's unpitied fall. And well might fancy deem his parent shade To all his vows' a pleased attention paid. 100 For wealth he toiled, that best approach to power. And wealth he found in love's propitious hour. When Man or coldly fosters, or betrays. Warm, generous Woman oft the slight repays : His worth was pictured on Cadijah's breast, She gave that fancied worth the means of rest. MAHOMFP. 8S But ease he valued not, who sighed for fame. And wealth inglorious seemed without a name. His joyless home was but an eagle's nest. Reared amid clouds, upon the mountain's crest, 1 10 Where, in the bosom of mysterious gloom. He poised for one bold flight each strengthening plume. Remote from humankind, he loved to brood O'er high designs, whose nurse is solitude. He shunned the feast, and if he deigned to smile, 'Twas plain his dark heart wandered far the while j But when some pilgrim band, with fervour vain. Grovelled beneath the Caaba's idol-fane. He watched the pious dupes with scornful eye. Or fled the scene's corruption with a sigh ; 120 84 MAHOMET. For on his soul truth shed a transient gleam. E'er power disdained, or passion quenched the beam. Genius of fraud or fancy ! thou whose hand Of Hera's cave the wild delusion planned ! Whate'er thou wert, how darkly wide have rolled The waves of error from thy secret hold ! An Arab's name remoter realms obey, Than Rome's imperial sceptre e'er could sway. Her earthly fetters scarce the form might bind ; 129 His strange, mysterious chain controls the mind Yes, in the depth of Hera's cave he wrought The secret web of visionary thought j An angel-hand, he said, prepared the loom. And dyed the woof in heaven's serenest bloom. MAHOMET. 85 Few, very few, through many a tedious year. Would lend that boastful tale a patient ear ; But Mecca's sons upon th' enthusiast's head Their bitter taunts, and free revilings shed. '^ Of old*," they cried, "the Prophet's gifted arm " Could melt the rock, the severed waters charm, " Do thou, since heaven to thee is all revealed, 141 " Call down thy sacred volume, heavenly sealed ; " Bid Hera's darkling angel face the light; " In the dry waste create a garden bright, " And then, if Mecca yet reject thy claim, " Command from yon blue vault avenging flame." The wounds of pride, that rankle deep and dark. Writhe not the lip beneath a foe's remark. * Gibbon, Vol. IX. p. 270. 86 MAHOMET. On his calin^ tutor'd brow, the glance of scorn With pity blends for mortals so forlorn j 150 But through his secret heart their mockery dealt A pang, dissembled well, yet keenly felt. But not for these declined his aim away From its high mark of lost paternal sway 3 And those who deemed his heavenly claims a jest. Feared the dark schemes of his aspiring breast. With firm undaunted voice he preached aloud Their rulers* crimes and vices to the crowd. Till at the zealot's head, in evil hour, 159 Was hurled th' avenging bolt of outraged power. Deep in the breast of Thor's protecting cave He heard, with silent awe, the tempest rave. MAHOMET. 87 Dark Hera's angel-inmate came not here. Chased by the scowl of wan, unresting fear. But when the storm along th' horizon's verge Moaned, as in some low vale the distant surge. In time mature, he left the womb of earth. Than all her giant-brood a more portentous birth ! Stern Persecution ! all thy racks are vain : Zeal bafEles force, and patience conquers pain. I70 Medina's sons a welcome refuge gave. And hailed him ruler, whom they joyed to save. Then to the priest's he joined the warrior's part. For black revenge was busy in his heart. And he had sworn his bitter foes should rue Their headlong rage, in tears of sanguine hue. 88 MAHOMET. Resounds the din of war through Yathreb's walls To arms ! the prophet- warrior fiercely calls ; With eager haste those lawless tribes obey, Drawn by the lure of Paradise or prey. 180 It boots not here, with borrowed rage, to dwell On the wild rush of foes, the battle-swell j Of Beder's earliest field to mark the boast. Where Mecca fled before th' Angelic host ! Nor the pale rout of Ohud's fearful day. When wounds and death beset the Prophet's way. Too oft the peaceful Muse hath shed a charm O'er scenes abhorred of conflict and alarm ; Too oft has taught the youthful heart to glow. And crowned with Glory's wreath the brows of Woe. 190 MAHOMET. 89 Religion, heavenly maid ! in whose pure breast Calm> dove-like peace, and joy for ever rest ! How, through thy chosen land, thy native East, Were all thy laws perverted and defaced ! E'en where thy tearful smile was taught to glow For boundless bliss, the meed of boundless woe. There, in the midst of thy polluted fanes. Were senseless forms adored, and vile remains j There incense fumed, while many taper's glare Perplexed the meek simplicity of prayer. 200 There, for the sloth and darkness of a cell. Thy pampered votary bade the world farewell. By his own hand a living death he died. And claimed eternal bliss for suicide ! While thus thy genuine rites in pomp were lost. On error's wave Arabia's sons were tossed. 90 MAHOMET. The warm Bedoween blessed the friendly ray Of each bright star, that shaped his trackless wayj Till Heaven's high lamps usurped the worship due To their great Maker, whom he faintly knew. 910 O pitying Maid ! thy tearful eye would melt For those sharp pangs the patient camel felt. When on his master's grave he pined away. To serve the dead beyond the realms of day. If scorn on thy meek brow could ever dwell. The Caaba's motley scene deserved it well j Where, with his blunted darts, red Hobal stood, A wondrous form, controller of the flood ! * While blind devotion inly murmured there To many a shape uncouth the fruitless prayer. 220 * To this idol (of red agate) was attributed tbe power of con>> manding rain. Sale's Preliminary Discourse. MAHOMET. 91 And he, beneath whose arm were doomed to fall Those idols dark> would he thy smile recall i No the stern zealot marred thy peaceful name With murderous steel, and all-devouring flame ; He taught the soul predestined fate to brave. And spread enjoyment's lure beyond the grave. Oh ! 'twas a note that charmed the savage ear. To meet in Heaven the joys he valued here j To drain the luscious coolness of the bowl. In the rich banquet's sweets unharmed to roll, 230 Through flowery shades to woo luxurious rest. Or bask in warm delight, for ever blest. And yet, perchance, his hours of earthly joy. E'en at their wildest height, bad felt annoy. 9i MAHOMET. A secret damp, his tongue could not impart- The cloud that wraps the lightnings of the heart. Why wrought that feeling, vague and undefined. In blissful moments on his wayward mind ? 'Twas that the soul, too fine for gross delight, 239 Despised the sensual chain, that clogg'd her flight. And waved her drooping wing, and longed to soar Where earthly joys delude frail man no more. There is a bud in life's dark wilderness. Whose beauties charm, whose fragrance soothes distress ; There is a beam in life's o'erclouded sky. That gilds the starting tear it cannot dry. That flower, that lonely beam, on Eden's grove Shed the full sweets, and heavenly light of love. MAHOMET. 93 Alas ! that aught so fair could lead astray Man's wavering foot from duty's thornless way. 250 Yet, lovely Woman ! yet thy winning smile. That caused our cares, can every care beguile. And thy soft hand amid the maze of ill Can rear one blissful bower of Eden still. To his low mind thy worth is all unknown. Who deems thee pleasure's transient toy alone ; But oh ! how most deceived, whose creed hath given Thine earthly charms a rival band in heaven ! Yet thou hast charms, that time may not dispel. Whose deathless bloom shall glow where angels dwell : 260 Thy pitying tear in joy shall melt away. Like morn's bright dew beneath the solar ray ; 94 MAHOMET. Thy warm and generous faith, thy patience meek. That plants a smile where pain despoils the cheek,* The balm that virtue mingles here below. To mitigate thy cup of earthly woe These shall remain, when 8orrow*s self is dead. When sex decays, and passion's stain is fled. To stern Mohammed Mecca bends the knee. The doubtful prize of craft or victory. 270 His proudest foes are at the conqueror's feet 3 The fickle crowd their injured Prophet greet But where is she, from whom th' enthusiast drew The first bright glance of hope's inspiring view ? Cadijah sleeps where silence darkly reigns. Nor shares his triumph now, who shared his pains. MAHOMET. 95 Oh ! blame her not, that fondly she believed. For oft the purest heart is most deceived. His ardent breast, the den of loose desire. For many a fair had nursed unhallowed fire j 280 Yet, on the lap of youthful love reclined, Cad^ah's matron-shade would soothe his mind j And once,* when beauty's pride presumed to claim A praise superior to her treasured name j '< No by yon heavens," he cried, " Cadijah gave " Her generous love, when only love could save j " Unfriended, poor, despised, she sought me then " A heart so true shall never beat again! " By fraud or force advanced, Mohammed's name Outstripped each hope his earlier years could frame : Gibbon, Vol. IX. p. 32S. 96 MAHOMET. The convert's humble soul that name adored, 291 Hung on his lips, and drank each holy word. Who scorned his doctrine, feared the teacher's arm : Himself alone his wiles could never charm. Nor sway, nor. wealth, nor pleasure, hush to rest The fiend, for ever wakeful in his breast. Oh ! when he traced the mazes of his plan. How would his soul contemn deluded man. Light as the desert sand, on every blast Of passion's burning gale at random cast 5 30O But on himself he wreaked his deepest scorn. Who stooped to cheat a creature so forlorn. Ambition's dreary shore a refuge gave From the dark swell of thought's devouring wave. MAHOMET, 97 Yet he had felt the impotence of power To buy one smile of joy, one peaceful hour : But action's stormy din might drown the voice. Whose still small whisper said, *' No more rejoice." Wide o'er Arabia's waste his flaming sword Stamped the dark brand of Islam's fraudful word ; On Jordan's holy banks that sabre shone ; 31 1 His name was feared on high Byzantium's throne. Where now the sullied bays of haughty Rome, Torn from their native soil, disdained to bloom . What awful hand arrests his proud career. And thrills his inmost heart with mortal fear ? The power, whose noiseless shafts in darkness fly. Burns in his blood, and glares in either eye. In this dread hour, when worldly hopes subside. When throbs the latest pulse of worldly pride, 320 98 MAHOMET. When the wrapt soul on viewless scenes is bent, Say> will that stubborn, conscious mind relent? No his last fitful gleam of reason's ray. Like some foul vapour, shone but to betray. That light had sunk in death's unfathomed shade: Low on the common ground his limbs were laid j Yet the stern gaze of his unconscious eye Appalled the sad enthusiasts, weeping by. And on his parted lip was faintly seen Some trace of high command, that once had been. In the first doubtful pause of wild despair 331 Hope, short-lived, anxious hope, will vainly share. " He is not dead,*" they cried, '' he cannot die, Gibbon, Vol. IX. p. 319. MAHOMET. Qfj! " Our Prophet here, our Advocate on high ! " Wrapt in a holy trance,* her airy flight " His soul hath winged to Allah's throne of light, " Whose secret laws, that scorn the bounds of time, " Form the dread theme of her discourse sublime. " On him shall Azrael's dart descend in vain " Mohammed must revive, for Jesus rose again ! Fount of eternal life! they durst compare 341 With Thee that breathless form extended there. Dark fraud's deserted cell, pride's mouldering dust. Ambition's refuse vile, the dregs of lust. But Thou wert holy, guileless, pdor, betrayed. Meek as a lamb, that mutely waits the blade, * Alluding to Mahonief s pretended night-journey to heaven. 100 MAHOMET. Pure as the dewy pearl of infant day. Soft as the tear, that pity wipes away. Thy hand of power, thy heart of heavenly love, Displayed on earth the Soul that reigns above, 350 From dark and rayless orbs dispersed the night. Oped the dull ear to sounds of new delight. Stretched the shrunk sinew, loosed the speechless tongue. And waked the vital spark where death's cold damps were hung ! 'Twas the sole bliss of thy benignant sway To heal all wounds, and wipe all tears away ; Nor could thy bitter foes' relentless ire One angry thought of just revenge inspire. The pomp of princely power. Ambition's aim. Thy soul despised, and shunned obstreporous fame. MAHOMET. 101 Thy throne was not of this tumultuous world, 361 Reared on the wreck of kings, to ruin hurled. But where Ambition's tearful triumphs cease. In Heaven's high dome it stands, a throne of Peace. Ye loftier strains adieu ! But ill ye suit The faint low murmur of a trifler's lute, Whose pausing tones, upon the hillock-side The thrush, with untaught song, hath oft outvied. When from his vesper-shade he viewed the west. And sweetly sung day's closing eye to rest. 370 Enough for me, that Nature's mute command From all her vallies, bids my heart expand, Enough for me, that where her mountains rise. Her torrents charm, her awful heights surprise. 102 MAHOMET. To wake one pensive note in Nature's bower. When thought would moralize her simplest flower. To breathe a voice through Nature's varying hue, Be such thy care, my lute Ye loftier strains adieu! JERUSALEM. WHICH OBTAINED THE CHANCELLOR'S MEDAL AT THE CAMBRIDGE COMMENCEMENT Julp, 1817. BY CHAUNCY HARE TOWNSEND, Esq. FELLOW OOMXONKR Of TRINITT BALL. r 'V JERUSALEM. My Spirit some transporting Cherub feels To bear me where the towers of Salem stood. Once glorioos towers, now sunk. Milton'* Ode on the Pauion. Flush*d with her crimes, and sworn with impious pride. Rebellious Judah still her God defied : Then on Isaiah's eye prophetic rose The lengthen'd vision of her future woes ; Then, with his country's gathering fate imprest. The sacred fervour labouring in his breast. 106 JERUSALEM. Against the guilty race his kindling lyre Breathed the deep vengeance of th' Almighty'* ire. " Hear,* O ye Heav'ns, and thou, O Earth, give ear, " And trembling shrink the awful sounds to hear ! 10 *' The Lord the Lord hath spoken from on high, " Whose voice is fate, whose will is destiny. " I see!f I see! the dread avengers come, " Fierce as despair, insatiate as the tomb. *' Heard ye their wheels, like whirlwinds, sweep ? around ? " Heard ye their thundering coursers beat the ground? " Mark'd ye their spears move on in long array, ' ' And shield on shield flash back the beam of day ! "* Isai. i. ft. t Isai. v. 26, &c. and xxix. 6. JERUSALEM. 107 " O'er Salem's* walls Destruction sternly low'rs, " And eyes impatient her devoted towers. 20 " Bow'd to the dust,t she mourns her slaughter'd bands, " And strives in vain to lift her fetter'd hands." O greatly-fall'n, how humbled is thy state ! Thy fields how bare, thy courts how desolate ! \Vhere Joy was wont the nightly dance to lead. Shrieks the lone bat, and hungry vultures feed j There the fierce dragon finds a place of rest. And boding screech-owls build their secret nest. No more, Bethesda, o'er thy desert springs Descending Seraphs wave their healing wings 3 30 * Isai. xxix, 3. t Idem. 4th verse. log JERUSALEM. No more sweet soands, at mom, or eve, declare That hosts angelic hover on the air : All all is fled 3 and Desolation reigns. Without a rival, o'er thy ravaged plains, O days divine, of you may mortal sing. When God himself was Israel's Guard and King ? Will not the eloquence of earthly speech / Fail from a height, which fancy scarce can reach ? To know Creation's Monarch ever nigh, A staff in sorrow, and a friend in joy j 40 To see Heav'n's glories visibly display'd. And all its Seraphim in light array'd ; These were thy rights, O Israel, this thy boast. These the high joys, thy disobedience lost. JERUSALEM. 109 Bear witness, Hermon, thou whose dewy sod Has felt the footstep of a present God ; And, Carmel, thou, whose gales, with incense fraught. The murmurs of a voice divine have caught ; What dreams extatic o'er the vot'ry stole. How swell' d the pious transport in his soul ! 50 E'en now, when o'er your long-forsaken sweets The Pilgrim lingers, in your loved retreats. Steal visionary forms along the vale. And more than music whispers on the gale. O had I pinions,* fleet as those, that bear The dove exulting thro' the realms of air, * Psalm Iv. 6. 110 JERUSALEM. Then would I visit every holy shade. Where Saints have knelt, or Prophets musing stray'd j Bend with a sigh o'er every relic near. And pay each shrine the tribute of a tear. 60 Where o'er the waste, in rude disorder thrown. Neglected lie yon crumbling heaps of stone, O who (sad change!) the blest abode could tell. Where God's own glory once vouchsafed to dwell? Yet Fancy still the ruin'd fane can raise Bright with the glories of departed days. Swift to the view its scatter'd wealth restore. And bid its vanish' d splendors beam once more. JEBUSALEM. Ill Ev'n as I gaze> the sudden spires ascend. With graceful sweep the long-row'd arches bend j Aspiring shafts the heaving dome sustain, 71 And lift the growing fabric from the plain. See, as it rises, all the world combine Its various gifts to deck the work divine : Nature no more her secret treasures hides. The mine uncloses, and the deep divides. Mild o'er the wave the fav'ring breezes play. And waft the Tyrian purple on its way. Her purest marble rocky Pares lends. Her sweetest odours soft Idum^ blends j SO On Carmel's heights the stately cedar falls. And Ophir glistens on the polish'd walls. * 1 Kings, ch. vi. passim. 112 JERUSALEM. See, while the slow-expanding gates unclose. How rich within the boundless lustre glows ! Here the tall palm for ever lives in gold. There sculptur'd flowers their fretted leaves un- fold 3 Thro' the long aisles bright lamps incessant beam. And burnish'd censers roll the spicy stream. But far within retires the dread abode, Jehovah's throne the Oracle of Godj 90 Two cherubs there, with mimic glories bright, High o'er the Ark their guardian wings unite. Beneath that shade no earthly treasures lie. No emblems frail of human meyesty. But there enshrin'd the Holy Tablets rest. By God ordain'd, by God himself imprest. JERUSALEM. 113 Thine were these mighty works, by thee design'd Belov'd of God, and wisest of mankind. What* to thy Sire the will of Heav'n denied To thee it gave, propitious, to provide. 100 Yet, while thy temple in the dust decays. Lives the full splendor of his sacred lays, O skill'd to wake the ever-varying lyre. With all a Prophet's all a Poet's fire. What breast, that does not kindle at thy strain ? What heart, that melts not, when thy strings com- plain ? Hark, how the notes in mournful cadence sigh. Soft as the breeze, that only wakes to die. 2 Sam. vii. 4. 114 JERUSALEM. Changed is their tonej th' impetuous measures sweep, 109 Like the fierce storm conflicting with the deep. Now all th' angelic host at once combine Their golden harps in unison with thine. Extatic fervors seize the trembling soul. And Halleluiahs ring from pole to pole. What* fearful omens heralded the hour. That gave Judaea to a tyrant's power ! As sank the sun, amid the western blaze Terrific visions burst upon the gaze. Unearthly spears reflect the setting beam, 119 Swords wave, helms glitter, hostile standards stream ^ Joseph! Hist, et Tacit, lib. v. c. 13. JERUSALEM. 115 And thronging chariots, hurrying swiftly by. Sweep the wide air, 'till darkness veils the sky. Nor ceased the portents then : a lurid light Shot a fierce splendor from the clouds of night ; Its own sad hue o'er all the temple spread. And on each fear-struck face a ghastlier paleness shed. See ! see untouch'd by any human hand. The temple's gates her massy gates expand ! No earthly sound is that within I hear. As waters bursting on the deafen'd ear, 130 Proclaiming, as it's awful thunders swell, " The Lord no more in Israel deigns to dwell:" No mortal foot th' afirighted threshold trod 'Tis God's own voice, the parting step of God! 116 JERUSALEM. Yes, thou art now abandon'd to thy fate ; Vain is regret, repentance comes too late. Ab-eady onward rush thy angry foes. Already thy devoted walls enclose : Death with pleased eye pursues their destined way. And cheers them on, exulting, to their prey. 140 Darker, and darker still thy doom appears. And Sorrow's face a blacker aspect wears. In vain with equal hand does Justice deal To each the stinted, and unjoyous meal } With looks despairing, as they ask for food. Breaks one shrill shriek from all the multitude : No more remains to fan life's feeble fires. And Hope's last throb just flutters, and expires. JERUSALEM. 117 Ev'n the fond mother, seized with madness wild. While in her arms th' unconscious infant smiled. Drove to its heart the unrelenting steel, 151 And quench'd her fury on th' accursed meal. Amid the tumult of th* embattled field, Death ! thy stern terrors are but half revealed. For, e'en if Victory smile not. Glory's beam Casts a clear light on life's last ebbing stream. But, worn by wasting famine, to decay. Hour after hour, by slow degrees awayj No cheering hope, no glowing pulse to feel. No kindling fervour of exalted zealj 160 Sunk in despair, to wish, yet fear to die. This this is death, in all its agony ! 118 JERUSALEM. Yet, worn by hunger, and opprest with ill. Thy hardy sons remain unconquer'd still. Weakness, and strength alike their weapons wield. And they, who cannot conquer, scorn to yield. Hark, how without the deafening tumult grows. How swell the shouts of thy victorious foes ! Behold, ten thousand torches, hurl'd on high. Gleam o'er the walls, and seem to fire the sky. 170 Now, Salem, now, the spreading flame devours Thy homes^ thy temple, and thy headlong towers : Now vengeance smiling scours th' ensanguined plain. And waves her pinions o'er thy countless slain. JERUSALEM. 119 'Tis done; proud Salem smokes along the ground^ Her pow*r a dream, her name an empty sound. To other realms, from Sion far away. In mute despair, her last sad remnant stray 3 While all the malice of relentless hate, Beneath their foes, her captive sons await j 180 With no kind care their inward wounds to heal. While insult sharpens ev'ry pang they feel. Yet say, base outcasts of offended Heav'n, Rebelling still as often as forgiv'n. Say are the woes, that now your race pursue. More than your crimes, or heavier than your due .^ How oft your God has turn'd his wrath away. How oft in mercy has forborne to slay ! 120 JERUSALEM. How long* by gentle chastisement he strove To win once more his people to his love ! 190 Ah, call to mind, when in a distant land Forlorn ye bow'd beneath a stranger's hand. His hot displeasure on your haughty foes Pour'd the full tempest of unsparing woes. Then, as his flock the tender shepherd leads To softer herbage, and more fertile meads. He led his chosen people far away. Their guide in darkness, their defence by day. Lo, at his word th' obedient depths divide. And whelm th' Egyptian in their refluent tide j 200 While rescued Israel, free from every care. Gains the wish'd bank, and pours the vocal prayer. * Psalm CT. and cvi. passim. JERUSALEM. 121 From the cleft rock see sudden rills rebound. And spread fresh verdure o'er the thirsty ground ! Yet still anew your disobedience sprung. And discontent still murmur'd on your tongue ; To graven idols still the knee ye bove'd. And join'd in Baal's courts th' incestuous crowd. Still in your pride ye mock'd the threatening Seer, As the deaf adder shuts her reckless ear ; 210 Plung'd in the Prophet's breast th' unhallow'd sword. And dared to slay the chosen of the Lord. Swift into light th' expected years roll on, Th' Almighty Father sends his promised Son. 122 JERUSALEM. Not as when Sinai view'd the law reveal'd In fearful lightning, and in thunder seal'd ; Now peaceful omens cheer the drooping earth. And hail the tidings of the Heav'nly birth. Hush'd was the world in darkness and in sleep. The wakeful shepherds watch'd their folded sheep. Clad in the radiant glory of the skies, 221 A forna angelic burst upon their eyes j And, slowly stealing on their wond'ring ear. Rose the glad sounds, 'twas Heav'n itself to hear. " Joy to the world ! ye nations cease to mourn, " Now is the Christ, the promis'd Sariour born!" And, lo, descending, the celestial train Swell the full chorus of the rapt'rous strain j JERUSALEM. 123 Till on the gale the notes departing die. And the bright vision melts into the sky. 230 Did ye not then with bursts of transport raise The loud hosannah of exulting praise ? With trembling homage round his cradle bend. Watch every look, and every smile attend j And all Creation's noblest gifts combine To form an off ring for the Babe divine i Or, when, his mortal part matured to man. His earthly ministry at length began. Did ye not crowd his heav'nly words to hear. And drink instruction with delighted ear i 240 No harden'd still your stubborn souls remain. As sterile rocks resist the softening rain. 124 JERUSALEM. Tho* to the blind unwonted day returns^ And pale Disease with health's new ardor burns ; Tho', deaf to other voice, th' obedient tomb. For him revers'd her universal doom ; More fell than sickness, colder than the grave. Ye shar'd his gifts, yet spurn'd at him who gave. Driv'n* thro' the world, unknowing where to lie. Despised, rejected, and conderan'd to die, 250 Before his foes behold Messiah stand, Meekf as a lamb beneath the shearer's hand. O turn on yonder faded form your eyes, Oppress'd with sorrow, and consumed in sighs ! Ism. liii. 3. t Idem, 7th terse. JERUSALEM. 125 Mark that pale brow, with streaming blood embrued. Where Resignation blends with Fortitude j Those lips in inward prayer that gently move. Those eyes, yet beaming with unconquer'd love ; The meek composure which those looks declare. That holy calm ; and say if guilt be there ? 260 O love unbounded, more than words can tell Tho' hymning angels on the theme should dwell : Not to one people, not one age confined. But flowing ever on to all mankind ! See, on the cross those limbs in torture hang. Convulsed, and quiv'ring with the deathful pang ! A deeper sorrow dwells upon that face. Than Pain's severest agony could trace j 126 JERUSALEM. Ev'n now his spirit mourns Creation's woes. And breathes compassion for his cruel foes. 270 See, by a world's united crimes opprest. He bows his head submissive on his breast. Now fades the light from those expiring eyes. And Judah's King her Lord her Saviour dies! Can this be He before whose awful nod Ev'n seraphs shrink } Is this the Son of God? Heir of the world, and Monarch of the sky ? The voice of Nature shall itself reply. Else why, O Sun, conceal thy face in dread. Why tremble. Earth,* and why give up thy dead? Matt, xxvii. 51, 52, JERUSALEM. 127 Why rends the temple's mystic veil in twain, 281 And fearful thunders shake th* affrighted plain ? Yet, blind to truth, say, wretched outcasts, say. Wait ye the Saviour of a future day ? Lo, he has lived to bless, has died to save. And burst the brazen fetters of the grave ! Awake, redeem'd Jerusalem,* awake. And from the dust thy sullied garments shake ! From thy gall'd neck unloose the servile bands. And cast the fetters from thy captive hands. 290 Break forth, ye mountains, into joyful song ! Ye barren wilds, the rapt'rous strain prolong ! Isah. Ui. 1, 2, 9. 128 JERUSALEM. Barren no morej unwonted verdure grows. And the dry desert blossoms as the rose. Behold, all Nature proves a second birth. New skies embrace a new-created earth : From the glad scene for ever Woe retires. Pain is no more, and Death himself expires. Ye angels, strike the full-resounding lyre. Swell the glad chorus, all ye heav'nly choir I 300 She comes !t she comes! descending from on high The Holy City meets the ravish'd eye ! Bride of the Lamb, without a spot, or stain, Cleans'd of her crimes, and ransom'd of her chain. t Rev. xxi. 1, 2. &c, JERUSALEM. 129 Look at her gates, her glorious tow'rs behold. More clear than crystal, and more fair than gold. There dwell the Lord's Redeem'd in glory bright. Gaze on his face, and live amidst his light : Haste the delights, that time can ne'er destroy. 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