The eagle hath stooped from his eyrie on high,Weep, daughter of Salem, the spoiler is nigh;Weep, weep and lament, for he comes in his wrath,And the vengeance of God is the guide of his path;I see his fierce horsemen prepare for the war,And I hear their loud shouts as they rush from afar. Mourn, mourn […]

A VOICE of wailing and of woeFills the proud monarch’s regal hall,There’s madness on the kingly brow,There’s frenzy in the soul of Saul.Where is the bard whose gifted lyreCan solace to the mind impart?Whose lips can utter words of fire,And drive the demon from the heart?He comes! the shepherd minstrel comes,His hallowed fingers sweep the […]

The loud blast leaps from wave to wave,Around our heads the thunders rave,And dark, dark is the midnight sky,Save when the lightning flashes high. O! God whom we revere!Thy voice can still the raging deep,Thy mercy lull the winds to sleep–Then, Father, hear!In Thee we trust–to Thee we fly–Guide and protect us, or we die! […]

Hope on her wings, and God her guide.The dove of Noah soared,Far through the dim unfathomed space,Where shoreless ocean roared.But ah! she found no valley green,No resting-place,–no track,Until the peaceful ark receivedThe weary wanderer back. So we, on Life’s tempestuous sea,Beset by grief and pain,May seek a solace here below,But ah! the search is vain.A […]

O! why should we bewail the dead,Why sorrow o’er their narrow bed?Have they not sought the happy shore,Where human cares oppress no more?Bewail them not!–more blest than we,From mortal woes and anguish free,Their parted spirits rest in peace,In the still land, where troubles cease! Bewail them not! their bright abodeIs with a Father and a […]

1832. When your rights are destroyed, and when freedom expires,When your kings and your princes to crush ye combine,O! shall it be said that no vengeance inspiresThe land of the Oder, the Elbe, and the Rhine!O! shall it be said that the Germans lay still,While their puny oppressors were working their will? Forbid it, O […]

Earth heard the loud, the solemn sound,And started from her utmost bound,And Darkness, on his ebon car,Spread his black wings, and fled afar;The dun clouds opened with affright,And hailed the burst of life and light! “‘Tis light! ’tis light!” the mountains rung,“‘Tis light! ’tis light!” the valleys sung!The stars beheld its dawning bright,The spheres confessed […]

“LORENZO pines in dungeon gloom,“In chains my gallant lover lies,“A tyrant has pronounced his doom,“To-morrow he is free–or dies!“O Love! if thou hast power below,“Or favour where the angels dwell,“Protect thy maiden votary now–“Jesu Maria! shield me well!” The maiden doffs her robe of white,And clothes her in the priestly stole,Binds back her locks of […]

(AFTER BERANGER.) SHEPHERD, thou say’st there is a starWhich rules our changeful destinies:Can mortal vision soar so far,Or pierce such mighty mysteries?Shepherd, ’tis said thy mind recalsThe lore of grey departed seers:say, what is yonder star which falls,Which falls, falls, and disappears? My son, a child of joy expired,Yon was his star which glided by,The […]

When tke sentinel mastiff keepeth guard,And all is dark in the farmer’s yard,Ere the early cock hath begun to crow,Abroad with the owl and the bat we go:Thirst is mighty–hunger is strong–Our sticks are stout, and our arms are long–Hurra!And woe to the chicken–ah, woe, to the henThat flappeth her wings on our pathway then!Hurra! […]

A MIGHTY tempest rent the sky,As if a god were passing by.Bending to earth my humbled head,In solemn and religious dread,And kneeling on the sod,I heard a voice proclaim aloud,Whose echoes sprung from cloud to cloud,“Great is the Lord our God!” And ocean swelled its waters vast,Repeating, as it roared,In chorus with the furious blast,“O! […]

“Muse des bois et des accords champetres.” Far from bustle, strife, and care,‘Mong the woods I’ve wooed her.And to her secluded nook,By the margin of a brook,And by waters bright and blue,Over meadows wet with dew,Many a time pursued her:And far away in forests lone,Listening to the rugged toneOf the windy weather,She and I, at […]

Why, O wind of summer.Why that restless moan?Weepest thou for pleasuresThat are past and gone?Mournest thou for visionsThat have fled away,Or hopes which only flourishedTo wither and decay? Hath thy loved-one left theeTo misfortune’s smart,With a wounded spiritAnd a broken heart?Grievest thou like Ellen,O, thou moaning wind,For the scorn and pityOf a world unkind? Let […]

“Rosen auf den Weg gestreut “Und des Harm vergessen.” Strew roses on the way,And think no more of grief,Short is the passing day,Short-lived the summer leaf;Short is our mortal span–Then, ere the minutes die,‘Tis Wisdom’s wisest planTo gild them as they fly:The present only is our own,The future dark, and all unknown. Then, O give […]

COOL breeze of summer’s eve,‘Mid leafy branches playing,Oh hasten to her bower,And chide my love for staying:Tell her, with anxious hopeMy faithful heart is beating,That long, long time hath pastThe still sweet hour of meeting. Ray of the patient moon,That floatest on the billow,Shine through her lattice high,And beam upon her pillow:Tell her that truth […]

A TALE OF THE OLDEN TIME. There came a pilgrim to the gate,An aged man was he,And he sat him down upon a stone,And sighed most bitterly:The night was cold,–the fierce winds howledWith loud and blustering din,So, to restore his drooping strength,We asked the good man in. “Now sit thee down, thou aged man,“Here’s ale […]

When Morning sheds her ruddy lightO’er heath and dusky dell,Away we go to the mountain’s height,To chase the swift gazelle;To chase afar the savage wolf,Or light and bounding roe,O’er slippery steep, o’er ravine deep,With merry hearts we go.While Echo still,From some far hill,Repeats our glad hallo! Hallo! Where heart-inspiring danger dwells,With fearless feet we roam,And […]

The man is thought a knave, or fool.Or bigot, plotting crime,Who, for the advancement of his kind.Is wiser than his time.For him the hemlock shall distil;For him the axe be bared;For him the gibbet shall be built;For him the stake prepared.Him shall the scorn and wrath of menPursue with deadly aim;And malice, envy, spite, and […]

Part the First I. “WHERE shall I hide myself?–Lost and undone!–A beggar–an outcast–Insulting the Sun!Oh! Yesterday vanished!How lovely wert thou;–The hope in my spirit,The pride on my brow,The firm self-relianceMy guardian and friend,The courage unyieldingThat Fate could not bend;Were mine to support me;–Oh! Yesterday fair!Come back, oh come back to me,Free from despair!To-day is relentless,My […]

AN ANTICIPATION OF THE CHOLERA, 1848. Dense on the stream the vapours lay,Thick as wool on the cold highway;Spongy and dim, each lonely lampShone o’er the streets so dull and damp;The moonbeam could not pierce the cloudThat swathed the city like a shroud.There stood three Shapes on the bridge alone,Three figures by the coping-stone;Gaunt, and […]