Then welcome Grütli's free-born flower! There dwells a breath, a tone, a power, ON A LEAF FROM THE TOMB OF VIRGIL. AND was thy home, pale wither'd thing, Those suns in golden light e'en now, The flowers, o'er Posilippo's brow, May cluster in their purple bloom, Thy breezy place is void by Virgil's tomb. Thy place is void; oh! none on earth, Save that which souls of loftiest birth Another leaf, ere now, hath sprung On the green stem which once was thine; Like his whose dust hath made that spot a shrine ? THE CHIEFTAIN'S SON. YES, it is ours!-the field is won, A dark and evil field! Lift from the ground my noble son, Let me not hear your trumpets ring, Swell not the battle-horn! Thoughts far too sad those notes will bring, When to the grave my glorious flower is borne! Speak not of victory!-in the name There is too much of woe! Hush'd be the empty voice of Fame- Speak not of victory!-from my halls Within the dwelling of my sires The hearths will soon be cold, With me must die the beacon-fires That stream'd at midnight from the mountain-hold. And let them fade, since this must be, My lovely and my brave! Was thy bright blood pour'd forth for me, And is there but for stately youth a grave? Speak to me once again, my boy! Thou wert so full of life and joy, I had not dreamt of this-that thou couldst fall! Thy mother watches from the steep How shall I tell her that thy sleep Thou didst not seem as one to die, With all thy young renown! -Ye saw his falchion's flash on high, In the mid-fight, when spears and crests went down! Slow be your march! the field is won! A dark and evil field! Lift from the ground my noble son, And bear him homewards on his bloody shield! A FRAGMENT. REST on your battle-fields, ye brave! Oh! there was mourning when ye fell, But that hath long been o'er! Rest with your still and solemn fame; But we on changeful days are cast, ENGLAND'S DEAD. SON of the ocean isle! Where sleep your mighty dead? Show me what high and stately pile Is rear'd o'er Glory's bed. Go, stranger! track the deep, Free, free the white sail spread! On Egypt's burning plains, With fearful power the noonday reigns, And the palm-trees yield no shade. But let the angry sun From heaven look fiercely red, Unfelt by those whose task is done! - The hurricane hath might Along the Indian shore, And far by Ganges' banks at night, Is heard the tiger's roar. But let the sound roll on! It hath no tone of dread, For those that from their toils are gone;- Loud rush the torrent-floods And free, in green Columbia's woods, But let the floods rush on! The mountain-storms rise high In the snowy Pyrenees, And toss the pine-boughs through the sky, But let the storm rage on! Let the fresh wreaths be shed! On the frozen deeps repose |