61.- THE LION.
Lion, thou art girt with might!
King by uncontested right;
Strength, and majesty, and pride,
Are in thee personified!
Slavish doubt, or timid fear,
Never came thy spirit near;
What it is to fly, or bow
To a mightier than thou,
Never has been known to thee,
Creature, terrible and free!
Power the mightiest gave the Lion
Sinews like to bands of iron;
Gave him force which never failed;
Gave a heart that never quailed. [1]
Triple-mailed [2] coat of steel,
Plates of brass from head to heel,
Less defensive were [3] in wearing,
Than the Lion's heart of daring;
Nor could towers of strength impart,
Trust like that which keeps his heart,
When he sends his roaring forth,
Silence falls upon the earth;
For the creatures, great and small,
Know his terror-breathing call,
And, as if by death pursued,
Leave to him a solitude.
[1] Quailed sunk into dejection,
[2] Mailed-covered with armour. This word must be, here, pronounced in two syllables for the sake of the verse, [8] Were-for, would be,
Lion, thou art made to dwell
In hot lands, intractable, [1]
And thyself, the sun, the sand,
Are a tyrannous [2] triple band;
Lion-king and desert-throne,
All the region is your own!
62. THE MOTHER AND BABE IN THE SNOW. [8]
The cold winds swept the mountain height,
And pathless was the dreary wild,
And 'mid the cheerless hours of night,
A mother wander'd with her child;
As through the drifting snow she press'd
The babe was sleeping on her breast.
And colder still the winds did blow,
And darker hours of night came on,
And deeper grew the drifts of snow-
Her limbs were chill'd, her strength was gone. "O God!" she cried, in accents wild, "If I must perish-save my child!"
She stript her mantle from her breast,
And bared her bosom to the storm,
[1] Intractable-unmanageable, that cannot be rendered useful to man,
[2] Tyrannous-cruel and powerful.
[3] The circumstances alluded to in these lines (which are taken from an American newspaper) occurred a few years ago in Vermont, United States.
And round the child she wrapt the vest,
And smiled to think her babe was warm;-
One kiss she gave, one tear she shed,
And sunk upon a snowy bed.
At dawn a traveller, passing by,
Saw her beneath the fleecy veil;
The frost of death was in her eye,
Her cheek was cold, and hard, and pale.
He moved the robe from off the child :
The babe looked up, and sweetly smiled.
Thus answered was the mother's prayer,
Thus saved, the object of her care.
63.-THE FAITHFUL FRIEND.
The greenhouse is my summer seat;
My shrubs, displaced from that retreat,
Enjoy'd the open air;
Two goldfinches, whose sprightly song
Had been their mutual solace long,
Liv'd happy pris'ners there.
They sang as blithe as finches sing
That flutter loose on golden wing,
And frolic where they list;
Strangers to liberty, 'tis true,
But that delight they never knew,
And therefore never missed.
But nature works in every breast,
With force not easily suppress'd;
And Dick felt some desires,
Which, after many an effort vain,
Instructed him at length to gain
A pass between the wires.
The open windows seem'd to invite
The freeman to a farewell flight;
But Tom was still confined;
And Dick, although his way was clear,
Was much too generous and sincere
To leave his friend behind.
So settling on his cage, by play,
And chirp, and kiss, he seem'd to say,
“You must not live alone,”-
Nor would he quit that chosen stand,
Till I, with slow and cautious hand,
Return'd him to his own.
O ye, who never taste the joys
Of friendship, satisfied with noise,
Fandango, [1] ball, and rout!
Blush, when I tell you how a bird
A prison with a friend preferr'd,
To liberty without.
64.-THE DESTROYER.
I saw the Memphian [2] pyramid
In awful grandeur rise,
Which, like a mighty pillar, seem'd
Το prop the lofty skies.
[1] Fandango-a Spanish dance.
[2] Memphian-belonging to Memphis, a celebrated city of ancient Egypt, situated on the western bank of the Nile.
An old man, with a snow-white beard,
Across the desert came,
With a long grey robe thrown loosely o'er
His breast and wither'd frame.
He stood beside the pyramid,
And laid his hand thereon,
When, lo! the pile fell crumbling down,
Till every stone was gone.
There was a city, vast and great,
The world's imperial queen,
Whose lofty towers and palaces
On every side were seen:
The hum of busy multitudes,
The shout of armed bands,
The song of triumph, and the clash
Of shields and glittering brands;
With every sound of revelry,
That from the banquet flows,
From out that city's crowded streets,
In mingled discord, rose.
I look'd, and lo! that same old man,
With a visage pale and grim,
Pass'd through those streets, observing none,
And none observing him;
Yet as he paced those crowded streets,
Quick hurrying to and fro,
All sounds of revelry were chang'd
To the bitter wails of woe.
Still on he went, without a stop,
Till every sound had fled;
And nought within those walls was heard
But the echo of his tread.
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