"Deep in the grove retiring,
To choose our secret seat,
We found an oak aspiring,
Beneath whose mossy feet,
Where the tall herbage swelling
Had form'd a green alcove,
We built our humble dwelling,
And hallow'd it with love.
"Sweet scene of vanish'd pleasure!
This day, this fatal day,
My little ones, my treasure,
My spouse, were stolen away!
I saw the precious plunder,
All in a napkin bound;
Then smit with human thunder,
I flutter'd on the ground!
"O man! beneath whose vengeance
All Nature bleeding lies!
Who charged thine impious engines
With lightning from the skies?
Ah! is thy bosom iron?
Does it thine heart enchain?
As these cold bars environ,
And, captive, me detain ?
"Where are my offspring tender?
Where is my widow'd mate?
Thou Guardian Moon! defend her!
Ye Stars! avert their fate! -
O'erwhelm'd with killing anguish,
In iron cage, forlorn,
I see my poor babes languish :
I hear their mother mourn!
"O Liberty! inspire me,
And eagle-strength supply!
Thou, Love almighty! fire me!
I'll burst my prison
He sung, and forward bounded;
He broke the yielding door!
But, with the shock confounded,
Fell, lifeless, on the floor!
Farewell, then, Philomela :
Poor martyr'd bird! adieu! There's one, my charming fellow! Who thinks, who feels, like you: The bard that pens thy story, Amidst a prison's gloom,
not for wealth nor glory,
But freedom, or thy tomb!
HAIL! resplendent Evening Star! Brightly beaming from afar;
Fairest gem of purest light
In the diadem of night.
Now thy mild and modest ray Lights to rest the weary day; While the lustre of thine eye Sweetly trembles through the sky; As the closing shadows roll Deep and deeper round the pole, Lo! thy kindling legions bright Steal insensibly to light; Till, magnificent and clear, Shines the spangled hemisphere.
In these calmly pleasing hours, When the soul expands her powers, And, on wings of contemplation, Ranges round the vast creation; When the mind's immortal eye Bounds, with rapture, to the sky, And, in one triumphant glance, Comprehends the wide expanse,
Where stars, and suns, and systems shine,
Faint beams of MAJESTY DIVINE;
Now, when visionary sleep
Lulls the world in slumbers deep;
When silence, awfully profound,
Breathes solemn inspiration round;
Queen of Beauty! queen of stars!
Smile upon these frowning bars,
Softly sliding from thy sphere,
Condescend to visit here.
In the circle of this cell,
No tormenting demons dwell;
Round these walls in wild despair,
No agonizing spectres glare:
Here reside no furies gaunt;
No tumultuous passions haunt;
Fell revenge, nor treachery base;
Guilt, with bold unblushing face;
Pale remorse, within whose breast
Scorpion-horrors murder rest;
Coward malice, hatred dire,
Lawless rapine, dark desire;
Pining envy, frantic ire;
Never, never dare intrude
On this pensive solitude:
-But a sorely-hunted deer
Finds a sad asylum here;
One, whose panting sides have been
Pierced with many an arrow keen;
One, whose deeply-wounded heart
Bears the scars of many a dart.
In the herd he vainly mingled;
From the herd, when harshly singled,
Too proud to fly, he scorn'd to yield ;
Too weak to fight, he lost the field;
Assail'd, and captive led away,
He fell a poor, inglorious prey.
Deign then, gentle Star! to shed
Thy soft lustre round mine head;
With cheering radiance gild the room,
And melt the melancholy gloom.
When I see thee, from thy sphere,
Trembling like a brilliant tear,
Shed a sympathizing ray
On the pale expiring day,
Then a welcome emanation
Of reviving consolation,
Swifter than the lightning's dart,
Glances through my glowing heart;
Soothes my sorrows, lulls my woes,
In a soft, serene repose.
Like the undulating motion
Of the deep, majestic ocean,
When the whispering billows glide
Smooth along the tranquil tide;
Calmly thus, prepared, resign'd,
Swells the independent mind.
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