Life is in the horizon yet.
Do not think those charms are flying, Tho’ thy roses fade and fall;
Beauty hath a grace undying,
Which in thee survives them all.
Not for charms, the newest, brightest, That on other cheeks may shine,
Would I change the least, the slightest. That is lingering now o’er thine.
THE GAZELLE.
Dost thou not hear the silver bell,
Thro’ yonder lime-trees ringing?
‘Tis my lady’s light gazelle;
To me her love thoughts bringing,– All the while that silver bell
Around his dark neck ringing.
See, in his mouth he bears a wreath,
My love hath kist in tying;
Oh, what tender thoughts beneath
Those silent flowers are lying,–
Hid within the mystic wreath,
My love hath kist in trying!
Welcome, dear gazelle, to thee,
And joy to her, the fairest.
Who thus hath breathed her soul to me. In every leaf thou bearest;
Welcome, dear gazelle, to thee,
And joy to her the fairest!
Hail ye living, speaking flowers,
That breathe of her who bound ye;
Oh, ’twas not in fields, or bowers; ‘Twas on her lips, she found ye;–
Yes, ye blushing, speaking flowers, ‘Twas on her lips she found ye.
NO–LEAVE MY HEART TO REST.
No–leave my heart to rest, if rest it may, When youth, and love, and hope, have past away. Couldst thou, when summer hours are fled, To some poor leaf that’s fallen and dead, Bring back the hue it wore, the scent it shed? No–leave this heart to rest, if rest it may, When youth, and love, and hope, have past away.
Oh, had I met thee then, when life was bright, Thy smile might still have fed its tranquil light; But now thou comest like sunny skies,
Too late to cheer the seaman’s eyes, When wrecked and lost his bark before him lies! No–leave this heart to rest, if rest it may, Since youth, and love, and hope have past away.
WHERE ARE THE VISIONS.
“Where are the visions that round me once hovered, “Forms that shed grace from their shadows alone; “Looks fresh as light from a star just discovered, “And voices that Music might take for her own?” Time, while I spoke, with his wings resting o’er me, Heard me say, “Where are those visions, oh where?” And pointing his wand to the sunset before me, Said, with a voice like the hollow wind, “There.”
Fondly I looked, when the wizard had spoken, And there, mid the dim-shining ruins of day, Saw, by their light, like a talisman broken, The last golden fragments of hope melt away.
WIND THY HORN, MY HUNTER BOY.
Wind thy horn, my hunter boy,
And leave thy lute’s inglorious sighs; Hunting is the hero’s joy,
Till war his nobler game supplies. Hark! the hound-bells ringing sweet,
While hunters shout and the, woods repeat, Hilli-ho! Hilli-ho!
Wind again thy cheerful horn,
Till echo, faint with answering, dies: Burn, bright torches, burn till morn,
And lead us where the wild boar lies. Hark! the cry, “He’s found, he’s found,” While hill and valley our shouts resound. Hilli-ho! Hilli-ho!
OH, GUARD OUR AFFECTION.
Oh, guard our affection, nor e’er let it feel The blight that this world o’er the warmest will steal: While the faith of all round us is fading or past, Let ours, ever green, keep its bloom to the last.
Far safer for Love ’tis to wake and to weep, As he used in his prime, than go smiling to sleep; For death on his slumber, cold death follows fast, White the love that is wakeful lives on to the last.
And tho’, as Time gathers his clouds o’er our head, A shade somewhat darker o’er life they may spread, Transparent, at least, be the shadow they cast, So that Love’s softened light may shine thro’ to the last.
SLUMBER, OH SLUMBER.
“Slumber, oh slumber; if sleeping thou mak’st “My heart beat so wildly, I’m lost if thou wak’st.” Thus sung I to a maiden,
Who slept one summer’s day,
And, like a flower overladen
With too much sunshine, lay.
Slumber, oh slumber, etc.
“Breathe not, oh breathe not, ye winds, o’er her cheeks; “If mute thus she charm me, I’m lost when she speaks.” Thus sing I, while, awaking,
She murmurs words that seem
As if her lips were taking
Farewell of some sweet dream.
Breathe not, oh breathe not, etc.
BRING THE BRIGHT GARLANDS HITHER.
Bring the bright garlands hither,
Ere yet a leaf is dying;
If so soon they must wither.
Ours be their last sweet sighing.
Hark, that low dismal chime!
‘Tis the dreary voice of Time.
Oh, bring beauty, bring roses,
Bring all that yet is ours;
Let life’s day, as it closes,
Shine to the last thro’ flowers.
Haste, ere the bowl’s declining,
Drink of it now or never;
Now, while Beauty is shining,
Love, or she’s lost for ever.
Hark! again that dull chime,
‘Tis the dreary voice of Time.
Oh, if life be a torrent,
Down to oblivion going,
Like this cup be its current,
Bright to the last drop flowing!
IF IN LOVING, SINGING.
If in loving, singing, night and day
We could trifle merrily life away,
Like atoms dancing in the beam,
Like day-flies skimming o’er the stream, Or summer blossoms, born to sigh
Their sweetness out, and die–
How brilliant, thoughtless, side by side, Thou and I could make our minutes glide! No atoms ever glanced so bright,
No day-flies ever danced so light,
Nor summer blossoms mixt their sigh, So close, as thou and I!
THOU LOVEST NO MORE.
Too plain, alas, my doom is spoken
Nor canst thou veil the sad truth o’er; Thy heart is changed, thy vow is broken, Thou lovest no more–thou lovest no more.
Tho’ kindly still those eyes behold me, The smile is gone, which once they wore; Tho’ fondly still those arms enfold me,
‘Tis not the same–thou lovest no more.
Too long my dream of bliss believing, I’ve thought thee all thou wert before; But now–alas! there’s no deceiving,
‘Tis all too plain, thou lovest no more.
Oh, thou as soon the dead couldst waken, As lost affection’s life restore,
Give peace to her that is forsaken, Or bring back him who loves no more.
WHEN ABROAD IN THE WORLD.
When abroad in the world thou appearest. And the young and the lovely are there, To my heart while of all thou’rt the dearest. To my eyes thou’rt of all the most fair. They pass, one by one,
Like waves of the sea,
That say to the Sun,
“See, how fair we can be.”
But where’s the light like thine,
In sun or shade to shine?
No–no, ‘mong them all, there is nothing like thee, Nothing like thee.
Oft, of old, without farewell or warning, Beauty’s self used to steal from the skies; Fling a mist round her head, some fine morning, And post down to earth in disguise;
But, no matter what shroud
Around her might be,
Men peeped through the cloud,
And whispered, “‘Tis She.”
So thou, where thousands are,
Shinest forth the only star,–
Yes, yes, ‘mong them all, there is nothing like thee, Nothing like thee.
KEEP THOSE EYES STILL PURELY MINE.
Keep those eyes still purely mine,
Tho’ far off I be:
When on others most they shine,
Then think they’re turned on me.
Should those lips as now respond
To sweet minstrelsy,
When their accents seem most fond,
Then think they’re breathed for me.
Make what hearts thou wilt thy own,
If when all on thee
Fix their charmed thoughts alone,
Thou think’st the while on me.
HOPE COMES AGAIN.
Hope comes again, to this heart long a stranger, Once more she sings me her flattering strain; But hush, gentle syren–for, ah, there’s less danger In still suffering on, than in hoping again.
Long, long, in sorrow, too deep for repining, Gloomy, but tranquil, this bosom hath lain: And joy coming now, like a sudden light shining O’er eyelids long darkened, would bring me but pain.
Fly then, ye visions, that Hope would shed o’er me; Lost to the future, my sole chance of rest Now lies not in dreaming of bliss that’s before me. But, ah–in forgetting how once I was blest.
O SAY, THOU BEST AND BRIGHTEST.
O say, thou best and brightest,
My first love and my last.
When he, whom now thou slightest,
From life’s dark scene hath past,
Will kinder thoughts then move thee? Will pity wake one thrill
For him who lived to love thee,
And dying loved thee still?
If when, that hour recalling
From which he dates his woes,
Thou feel’st a tear-drop falling,
Ah, blush not while it flows;
But, all the past forgiving,
Bend gently o’er his shrine,
And say, “This heart, when living,
“With all its faults, was mine.”
WHEN NIGHT BRINGS THE HOUR.
When night brings the hour
Of starlight and joy,
There comes to my bower
A fairy-winged boy;
With eyes so bright,
So full of wild arts,
Like nets of light,
To tangle young hearts;
With lips, in whose keeping
Love’s secret may dwell,
Like Zephyr asleep in
Some rosy sea-shell.
Guess who he is,
Name but his name,
And his best kiss
For reward you may claim.
Where’er o’er the ground
He prints his light feet.
The flowers there are found
Most shining and sweet:
His looks, as soft
As lightning in May,
Tho’ dangerous oft,
Ne’er wound but in play:
And oh, when his wings
Have brushed o’er my lyre,
You’d fancy its strings
Were turning to fire.
Guess who he is,
Name but his name,
And his best kiss
For reward you may claim.
LIKE ONE WHO, DOOMED.
Like one who, doomed o’er distant seas His weary path to measure,
When home at length, with favoring breeze, He brings the far-sought treasure;
His ship, in sight of shore, goes down, That shore to which he hasted;
And all the wealth he thought his own Is o’er the waters wasted!
Like him, this heart, thro’ many a track Of toil and sorrow straying,
One hope alone brought fondly back, Its toil and grief repaying.
Like him, alas, I see that ray
Of hope before me perish,
And one dark minute sweep away
What years were given to cherish.
FEAR NOT THAT, WHILE AROUND THEE.
Fear not that, while around thee
Life’s varied blessings pour,
One sigh of hers shall wound thee,
Whose smile thou seek’st no more.
No, dead and cold for ever
Let our past love remain;
Once gone, its spirit never
Shall haunt thy rest again.
May the new ties that bind thee
Far sweeter, happier prove,
Nor e’er of me remind thee,
But by their truth and love.
Think how, asleep or waking,
Thy image haunts me yet;
But, how this heart is breaking
For thy own peace forget.
WHEN LOVE IS KIND.
When Love is kind,
Cheerful and free,
Love’s sure to find
Welcome from me.
But when Love brings
Heartache or pang,
Tears, and such things–
Love may go hang!
If Love can sigh
For one alone,
Well pleased am I
To be that one,
But should I see
Love given to rove
To two or three,
Then–good by Love!
Love must, in short,
Keep fond and true,
Thro’ good report,
And evil too.
Else, here I swear,
Young Love may go.
For aught I care–
To Jericho.
THE GARLAND I SEND THEE.
The Garland I send thee was culled from those bowers Where thou and I wandered in long vanished hours; Not a leaf or a blossom its bloom here displays, But bears some remembrance of those happy days.
The roses were gathered by that garden gate, Where our meetings, tho’ early, seemed always too late; Where lingering full oft thro’ a summer-night’s moon, Our partings, tho’ late, appeared always too soon.
The rest were all culled from the banks of that glade, Where, watching the sunset, so often we’ve strayed, And mourned, as the time went, that Love had no power To bind in his chain even one happy hour.
HOW SHALL I WOO?
If I speak to thee in friendship’s name, Thou think’st I speak too coldly;
If I mention Love’s devoted flame,
Thou say’st I speak too boldly.
Between these two unequal fires,
Why doom me thus to hover?
I’m a friend, if such thy heart requires, If more thou seek’st, a lover.
Which shall it be? How shall I woo? Fair one, choose between the two.
Tho’ the wings of Love will brightly play, When first he comes to woo thee,
There’s a chance that he may fly away, As fast as he flies _to_ thee.
While Friendship, tho’ on foot she come, No flights of fancy trying,
Will, therefore, oft be found at home, When Love abroad is flying.
Which shall it be? How shall I woo? Dear one, choose between the two.
If neither feeling suits thy heart
Let’s see, to please thee, whether We may not learn some precious art
To mix their charms together;
One feeling, still more sweet, to form From two so sweet already–
A friendship that like love is warm, A love like friendship steady.
Thus let it be, thus let me woo,
Dearest, thus we’ll join the two.
SPRING AND AUTUMN.
Every season hath its pleasures;
Spring may boast her flowery prime, Yet the vineyard’s ruby treasures
Brighten Autumn’s soberer time.
So Life’s year begins and closes;
Days tho’ shortening still can shine; What tho’ youth gave love and roses,
Age still leaves us friends and wine.
Phillis, when she might have caught me, All the Spring looked coy and shy,
Yet herself in Autumn sought me,
When the flowers were all gone by. Ah, too late;–she found her lover
Calm and free beneath his vine,
Drinking to the Spring-time over,
In his best autumnal wine.
Thus may we, as years are flying,
To their flight our pleasures suit, Nor regret the blossoms dying,
While we still may taste the fruit, Oh, while days like this are ours,
Where’s the lip that dares repine? Spring may take our loves and flowers,
So Autumn leaves us friends and wine.
LOVE ALONE.
If thou wouldst have thy charms enchant our eyes, First win our hearts, for there thy empire lies: Beauty in vain would mount a heartless throne, Her Right Divine is given by Love alone.
What would the rose with all her pride be worth, Were there no sun to call her brightness forth? Maidens, unloved, like flowers in darkness thrown, Wait but that light which comes from Love alone.
Fair as thy charms in yonder glass appear, Trust not their bloom, they’ll fade from year to year: Wouldst thou they still should shine as first they shone, Go, fix thy mirror in Love’s eyes alone.
SACRED SONGS
TO
EDWARD TUITE DALTON, ESQ.
THE FIRST NUMBER
OF
SACRED SONGS
IS INSCRIBED,
BY HIS SINCERE AND AFFECTIONATE FRIEND,
THOMAS MOORE.
_Mayfield Cottage, Ashbourne_,
_May, 1816_
SACRED SONGS
THOU ART, O GOD.
(Air.–Unknown.)[1]
“The day is thine, the night is also thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
“Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.”
–_Psalm_ lxxiv. 16, 17.
Thou art, O God, the life and light
Of all this wondrous world we see; Its glow by day, its smile by night,
Are but reflections caught from Thee. Where’er we turn, thy glories shine,
And all things fair and bright are Thine!
When Day, with farewell beam, delays
Among the opening clouds of Even,
And we can almost think we gaze
Thro’ golden vistas into Heaven–
Those hues, that make the Sun’s decline So soft, so radiant, LORD! are Thine.
When Night, with wings of starry gloom, O’ershadows all the earth and skies,
Like some dark, beauteous bird, whose plume Is sparkling with unnumbered eyes–
That sacred gloom, those fires divine, So grand, so countless, LORD! are Thine.
When youthful Spring around us breathes, Thy Spirit warms her fragrant sigh;
And every flower the Summer wreaths Is born beneath that kindling eye.
Where’er we turn, thy glories shine, And all things fair and bright are Thine.
[1] I have heard that this air is by the late Mrs. Sheridan. It is sung to the beautiful old words, “I do confess thou’rt smooth and fair.”
THE BIRD, LET LOOSE.
(AIR.–BEETHOVEN.)
The bird, let loose in eastern skies,[1] When hastening fondly home,
Ne’er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies Where idle warblers roam.
But high she shoots thro’ air and light, Above all low delay,
Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, Nor shadow dims her way.
So grant me, GOD, from every care
And stain of passion free,
Aloft, thro’ Virtue’s purer air,
To hold my course to Thee!
No sin to cloud, no lure to stay
My Soul, as home she springs;–
Thy Sunshine on her joyful way,
Thy Freedom in her wings!
[1] The carrier-pigeon, it is well known, flies at an elevated pitch, in order to surmount every obstacle between her and the place to which she is destined.
FALLEN IS THY THRONE.
(AIR.–MARTINI.)
Fallen is thy Throne, oh Israel!
Silence is o’er thy plains;
Thy dwellings all lie desolate,
Thy children weep in chains.
Where are the dews that fed thee
On Etham’s barren shore?
That fire from Heaven which led thee, Now lights thy path no more.
LORD! thou didst love Jerusalem–
Once she was all thy own;
Her love thy fairest heritage,[1]
Her power thy glory’s throne.[2]
Till evil came, and blighted
Thy long-loved olive-tree;[3]–
And Salem’s shrines were lighted
For other gods than Thee.
Then sunk the star of Solyma–
Then past her glory’s day,
Like heath that, in the wilderness,[4] The wild wind whirls away.
Silent and waste her bowers,
Where once the mighty trod,
And sunk those guilty towers,
While Baal reign’d as God.
“Go”–said the LORD–“Ye Conquerors!
“Steep in her blood your swords,
“And raze to earth her battlements,[5] “For they are not the LORD’S.
“Till Zion’s mournful daughter
“O’er kindred bones shall tread,
“And Hinnom’s vale of slaughter[6]
“Shall hide but half her dead!”
[1] “I have left mine heritage; I have given the clearly beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies.”–_Jeremiah_, xii. 7.
[2] “Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory.”–_Jer_. xiv. 21.
[3] “The LORD called by name a green olive-tree; fair, and of goodly fruit,” etc.–_Jer_. xi. 16.
[4] “For he shall be like the heath in the desert.”–_Jer_. xvii, 6.
[5] “Take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’S.”–_Jer_. v. 10.
[6] “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley or Slaughter; for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place.”– _Jer_. vii. 32.
WHO IS THE MAID?
ST. JEROME’S LOVE.
(AIR.–BEETHOVEN.)
Who is the Maid my spirit seeks,
Thro’ cold reproof and slander’s blight? Has _she_ Love’s roses on her cheeks?
Is _hers_ an eye of this world’s light? No–wan and sunk with midnight prayer
Are the pale looks of her I love;
Or if at times a light be there,
Its beam is kindled from above.
I chose not her, my heart’s elect,
From those who seek their Maker’s shrine In gems and garlands proudly decked,
As if themselves were things divine. No–Heaven but faintly warms the breast
That beats beneath a broidered veil; And she who comes in glittering vest
To mourn her frailty, still is frail.
Not so the faded form I prize
And love, because its bloom is gone; The glory in those sainted eyes
Is all the grace _her_ brow puts on. And ne’er was Beauty’s dawn so bright,
So touching as that form’s decay,
Which, like the altar’s trembling light, In holy lustre wastes away.
THIS WORLD IS ALL A FLEETING SHOW.
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
This world is all a fleeting show,
For man’s illusion given;
The smiles of joy, the tears of woe, Deceitful shine, deceitful flow–
There’s nothing true but Heaven!
And false the light on glory’s plume, As fading hues of even;
And love and hope, and beauty’s bloom, Are blossoms gathered for the tomb–
There’s nothing bright but Heaven!
Poor wanderers of a stormy day,
From wave to wave we’re driven,
And fancy’s flash and reason’s ray
Serve but to light the troubled way– There’s nothing calm but Heaven!
OH THOU WHO DRY’ST THE MOURNER’S TEAR.
(AIR.–HAYDN.)
“He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds,” –_Psalm_. cxlvii. 3.
Oh Thou who dry’st the mourner’s tear, How dark this world would be,
If, when deceived and wounded here, We could not fly to Thee.
The friends who in our sunshine live, When winter comes, are flown;
And he who has but tears to give,
Must weep those tears alone.
But Thou wilt heal that broken heart, Which, like the plants that throw
Their fragrance from the wounded part, Breathes sweetness out of woe.
When joy no longer soothes or cheers, And even the hope that threw
A moment’s sparkle o’er our tears
Is dimmed and vanished too,
Oh, who would bear life’s stormy doom, Did not thy Wing of Love
Come, brightly wafting thro’ the gloom Our Peace-branch from above?
Then sorrow, touched by Thee, grows bright With more than rapture’s ray;
As darkness shows us worlds of light We never saw by day!
WEEP NOT FOR THOSE.
(AIR.–AVISON.)
Weep not for those whom the veil of the tomb, In life’s happy morning, hath hid from our eyes, Ere sin threw a blight o’er the spirit’s young bloom, Or earth had profaned what was born for the skies. Death chilled the fair fountain, ere sorrow had stained it; ‘Twas frozen in all the pure light of its course, And but sleeps till the sunshine of Heaven has unchained it, To water that Eden where first was its source. Weep not for those whom the veil of the tomb, In life’s happy morning, hath hid from our eyes, Ere sin threw a blight o’er the spirit’s young bloom, Or earth had profaned what was born for the skies.
Mourn not for her, the young Bride of the Vale,[1] Our gayest and loveliest, lost to us now, Ere life’s early lustre had time to grow pale, And the garland of Love was yet fresh on her brow. Oh, then was her moment, dear spirit, for flying From this gloomy world, while its gloom was unknown– And the wild hymns she warbled so sweetly, in dying, Were echoed in Heaven by lips like her own. Weep not for her–in her springtime she flew To that land where the wings of the soul are unfurled; And now, like a star beyond evening’s cold dew, Looks radiantly down on the tears of this world.
[1] This second verse, which I wrote long after the first, alludes to the fate of a very lovely and amiable girl, the daughter of the late Colonel Bainbrigge, who was married in Ashbourne church, October 81, 1815, and died of a fever in a few weeks after. The sound of her marriage-bells seemed scarcely out of our ears when we heard of her death. During her last delirium she sung several hymns, in a voice even clearer and sweeter than usual, and among them were some from the present collection, (particularly, “There’s nothing bright but Heaven,”) which this very interesting girl had often heard me sing during the summer.
THE TURF SHALL BE MY FRAGRANT SHRINE.
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
The turf shall be my fragrant shrine; My temple, LORD! that Arch of thine;
My censer’s breath the mountain airs, And silent thoughts my only prayers.
My choir shall be the moonlight waves, When murmuring homeward to their caves,
Or when the stillness of the sea,
Even more than music dreams of Thee!
I’ll seek, by day, some glade unknown, All light and silence, like thy Throne;
And the pale stars shall be, at night, The only eyes that watch my rite.
Thy Heaven, on which ’tis bliss to look, Shall be my pure and shining book,
Where I shall read, in words of flame, The glories of thy wondrous name.
I’ll read thy anger in the rack
That clouds awhile the day-beam’s track; Thy mercy in the azure hue
Of sunny brightness, breaking thro’.
There’s nothing bright, above, below, From flowers that bloom to stars that glow, But in its light my soul can see
Some feature of thy Deity:
There’s nothing dark, below, above,
But in its gloom I trace thy Love,
And meekly wait that moment, when
Thy touch shall turn all bright again!
SOUND THE LOUD TIMBREL.
MIRIAM’S SONG.
(AlR.–AVISON.)[1]
“And Miriam, the Prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her band; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.”
–_Exod_. xv. 20.
Sound the loud Timbrel o’er Egypt’s dark sea! JEHOVAH has triumphed–his people are free. Sing–for the pride of the Tyrant is broken, His chariots, his horsemen, all splendid and brave– How vain was their boast, for the LORD hath but spoken, And chariots and horsemen are sunk in the wave. Sound the loud Timbrel o’er Egypt’s dark sea; JEHOVAH has triumphed–his people are free.
Praise to the Conqueror, praise to the LORD! His word was our arrow, his breath was our sword– Who shall return to tell Egypt the story Of those she sent forth in the hour of her pride? For the LORD hath looked out from his pillar of glory,[2] And all her brave thousands are dashed in the tide. Sound the loud Timbrel o’er Egypt’s dark sea, JEHOVAH has triumphed–his people are free!
[1] I have so much altered the character of this air, which is from the beginning of one of Avison’s old-fashioned concertos, that, without this acknowledgment, it could hardly, I think, be recognized.
[2] “And it came to pass, that, in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians.”–_Exod_. xiv. 24.
GO, LET ME WEEP.
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
Go, let me weep–there’s bliss in tears, When he who sheds them inly feels
Some lingering stain of early years Effaced by every drop that steals.
The fruitless showers of worldly woe Fall dark to earth and never rise;
While tears that from repentance flow, In bright exhalement reach the skies.
Go, let me weep.
Leave me to sigh o’er hours that flew More idly than the summer’s wind,
And, while they past, a fragrance threw, But left no trace of sweets behind.–
The warmest sigh that pleasure heaves Is cold, is faint to those that swell
The heart where pure repentance grieves O’er hours of pleasure, loved too well. Leave me to sigh.
COME NOT, OH LORD.
(AIR.–HAYDN.)
Come not, oh LORD, in the dread robe of splendor Thou worest on the Mount, in the day of thine ire; Come veiled in those shadows, deep, awful, but tender, Which Mercy flings over thy features of fire!
LORD, thou rememberest the night, when thy Nation[1] Stood fronting her Foe by the red-rolling stream; O’er Egypt thy pillar shed dark desolation, While Israel basked all the night in its beam.
So, when the dread clouds of anger enfold Thee, From us, in thy mercy, the dark side remove; While shrouded in terrors the guilty behold Thee, Oh, turn upon us the mild light of thy Love!
[1] “And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these”–_Exod_. xiv. 20.
WERE NOT THE SINFUL MARY’S TEARS.
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
Were not the sinful Mary’s tears
An offering worthy Heaven,
When, o’er the faults of former years, She wept–and was forgiven?
When, bringing every balmy sweet
Her day of luxury stored,
She o’er her Saviour’s hallowed feet The precious odors poured;–
And wiped them with that golden hair, Where once the diamond shone;
Tho’ now those gems of grief were there Which shine for GOD alone!
Were not those sweets, so humbly shed– That hair–those weeping eyes–
And the sunk heart, that inly bled– Heaven’s noblest sacrifice?
Thou that hast slept in error’s sleep, Oh, would’st thou wake in Heaven,
Like Mary kneel, like Mary weep,
“Love much” and be forgiven![1]
[1] “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much.”–St. Luke, vii.47.
AS DOWN IN THE SUNLESS RETREATS.
(AIR.–HAYDN.)
As down in the sunless retreats of the Ocean, Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see, So, deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to Thee, My God! silent to Thee–
Pure, warm, silent, to Thee,
As still to the star of its worship, tho’ clouded, The needle points faithfully o’er the dim sea, So, dark as I roam, in this wintry world shrouded, The hope of my spirit turns trembling to Thee, My GOD! trembling to Thee–
True, fond, trembling, to Thee.
BUT WHO SHALL SEE.
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
But who shall see the glorious day
When, throned on Zion’s brow,
The LORD shall rend that veil away
Which hides the nations now?[1]
When earth no more beneath the fear Of this rebuke shall lie;[2]
When pain shall cease, and every tear Be wiped from every eye.[3]
Then, Judah, thou no more shall mourn Beneath the heathen’s chain;
Thy days of splendor shall return,
And all be new again.[4]
The Fount of Life shall then be quaft In peace, by all who come;[5]
And every wind that blows shall waft Some long-lost exile home.
[1] “And he will destroy, in this mountain, the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.”–Isaiah, xxv. 7.
[2] “The rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth.”–Isaiah, xxv. 8.
[3] “And GOD shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; neither shall there be any more pain.”–Rev. xxi:4.
[4] “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”–Rev. xxi. 5.
[5] “And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”–Rev. xxii. 17.
ALMIGHTY GOD!
CHORUS OF PRIESTS.
(AIR.–MOZART.)
Almighty GOD! when round thy shrine
The Palm-tree’s heavenly branch we twine,[1] (Emblem of Life’s eternal ray,
And Love that “fadeth not away,”)
We bless the flowers, expanded all,[2] We bless the leaves that never fall,
And trembling say,–“In Eden thus
“The Tree of Life may flower for us!” When round thy Cherubs–smiling calm,
Without their flames–we wreathe the Palm. Oh God! we feel the emblem true–
Thy Mercy is eternal too,
Those Cherubs, with their smiling eyes, That crown of Palm which never dies,
Are but the types of Thee above–
Eternal Life, and Peace, and Love!
[1] “The Scriptures having declared that the Temple of Jerusalem was a type of the Messiah, it is natural to conclude that the Palms, which made so conspicuous a figure in that structure, represented that Life and Immortality which were brought to light by the Gospel.”–“Observations on the Palm, as a sacred Emblem,” by W. Tighe.
[2] “And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim, and palm-trees, and _open flowers_.”–1 Kings, VI. 29.
OH FAIR! OH PUREST!
SAINT AUGUSTINE TO HIS SISTER.
(AIR.–MOORE)
Oh fair! oh purest! be thou the dove
That flies alone to some sunny grove, And lives unseen, and bathes her wing,
All vestal white, in the limpid spring. There, if the hovering hawk be near,
That limpid spring in its mirror clear Reflects him ere he reach his prey
And warns the timorous bird away,
Be thou this dove;
Fairest, purest, be thou this dove,
The sacred pages of God’s own book
Shall be the spring, the eternal brook, In whose holy mirror, night and day,
Thou’lt study Heaven’s reflected ray;– And should the foes of virtue dare,
With gloomy wing, to seek thee there, Thou wilt see how dark their shadows lie Between Heaven and thee, and trembling fly! Be thou that dove;
Fairest, purest, be thou that dove.
ANGEL OF CHARITY.
(AIR.–HANDEL)
Angel of Charity, who, from above,
Comest to dwell a pilgrim here,
Thy voice is music, thy smile is love, And Pity’s soul is in thy tear.
When on the shrine of God were laid First-fruits of all most good and fair, That ever bloomed in Eden’s shade,
Thine was the holiest offering there.
Hope and her sister, Faith, were given But as our guides to yonder sky;
Soon as they reach the verge of heaven, There, lost in perfect bliss, they die. But, long as Love, Almighty Love,
Shall on his throne of thrones abide, Thou, Charity, shalt dwell above,
Smiling for ever by His side!
BEHOLD THE SUN.
(AIR.–LORD MORNINGTON.)
Behold the Sun, how bright
From yonder East he springs,
As if the soul of life and light
Were breathing from his wings.
So bright the Gospel broke
Upon the souls of men;
So fresh the dreaming world awoke
In Truth’s full radiance then.
Before yon Sun arose,
Stars clustered thro’ the sky–
But oh how dim, how pale were those, To His one burning eye!
So Truth lent many a ray,
To bless the Pagan’s night–
But, Lord, how weak, how cold were they To Thy One glorious Light!
LORD, WHO SHALL BEAR THAT DAY.
(AIR.–DR. BOYCE.)
Lord, who shall bear that day, so dread, so splendid, When we shall see thy Angel hovering o’er This sinful world with hand to heaven extended, And hear him swear by Thee that time’s no more?[1] When Earth shall feel thy fast consuming ray– Who, Mighty God, oh who shall bear that day?
When thro’ the world thy awful call hath sounded– “Wake, all ye Dead, to judgment wake, ye Dead!” And from the clouds, by seraph eyes surrounded, The Saviour shall put forth his radiant head;[2] While Earth and Heaven before Him pass away[3]– Who, Mighty God, oh who shall bear that day?
When, with a glance, the Eternal Judge shall sever Earth’s evil spirits from the pure and bright, And say to _those_, “Depart from me for ever!” To _these_, “Come, dwell with me in endless light!”[4] When each and all in silence take their way– Who, Mighty God, oh who shall bear that day?
[1] And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and swear by Him that liveth for ever and ever…that there should be time no longer.”–_Rev_. x. 5, 6.
[2] “They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven–and all the angels with him.”–_Matt_. xxiv. 90, and xxv. 80.
[3] “From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.”–_Rev_. xx. ii.
[4] “And before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one from another.
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, etc.
“Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, etc.
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.”
–_Matt_ xxv. 32, _et seq_.
OH, TEACH ME TO LOVE THEE.
(AIR.–HAYDN.)
Oh, teach me to love Thee, to feel what thou art, Till, filled with the one sacred image, my heart Shall all other passions disown;
Like some pure temple that shines apart, Reserved for Thy worship alone.
In joy and in sorrow, thro’ praise and thro’ blame, Thus still let me, living and dying the same, In _Thy_ service bloom and decay–
Like some lone altar whose votive flame In holiness wasteth away.
Tho’ born in this desert, and doomed by my birth To pain and affliction, to darkness and dearth, On Thee let my spirit rely–
Like some rude dial, that, fixt on earth, Still looks for its light from the sky.
WEEP, CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
Weep, weep for him, the Man of God–[1] In yonder vale he sunk to rest;
But none of earth can point the sod[2] That flowers above his sacred breast.
Weep, children of Israel, weep!
His doctrine fell like Heaven’s rain.[3] His words refreshed like Heaven’s dew– Oh, ne’er shall Israel see again
A Chief, to GOD and her so true.
Weep, children of Israel, weep!
Remember ye his parting gaze,
His farewell song by Jordan’s tide, When, full of glory and of days,
He saw the promised land–and died.[4] Weep, children of Israel, weep!
Yet died he not as men who sink,
Before our eyes, to soulless clay; But, changed to spirit, like a wink
Of summer lightning, past away.[5] Weep, children of Israel, weep!
[1] “And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab.”– _Deut_. xxxiv, 8.
[2] “And, he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab…but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.”–_Ibid_. ver. 6.
[3] “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew.”–_Moses’ Song_.
[4] “I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.”–_Deut_. xxxiv. 4.
[5] “As he was going to embrace Eleazer and Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, a cloud stood over him on the sudden, and he disappeared in a certain valley, although he wrote in the Holy Books that he died, which was done out of fear, lest they should venture to say that, because of his extraordinary virtue, he went to GOD.”–_Josephus_, book iv. chap. viii.
LIKE MORNING, WHEN HER EARLY BREEZE.
(AIR. BEETHOVEN.)
Like morning, when her early breeze
Breaks up the surface of the seas,
That, in those furrows, dark with night, Her hand may sow the seeds of light–
Thy Grace can send its breathings o’er The Spirit, dark and lost before,
And, freshening all its depths, prepare For Truth divine to enter there.
Till David touched his sacred lyre.
In silence lay the unbreathing wire; But when he swept its chords along,
Even Angels stooped to hear that song.
So sleeps the soul, till Thou, oh LORD, Shalt deign to touch its lifeless chord– Till, waked by Thee, its breath shall rise In music, worthy of the skies!
COME, YE DISCONSOLATE.
(AIR.–GERMAN.)
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er you languish, Come, at God’s altar fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish– Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.
Joy of the desolate, Light of the straying, Hope, when all others die, fadeless and pure, Here speaks the Comforter, in GOD’S name saying– “Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”
Go, ask the infidel, what boon he brings us What charm for aching hearts _he_ can reveal, Sweet as that heavenly promise Hope sings us– “Earth has no sorrow that GOD cannot heal.”
AWAKE, ARISE, THY LIGHT IS COME.
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
Awake, arise, thy light is come;[1]
The nations, that before outshone thee, Now at thy feet lie dark and dumb–
The glory of the Lord is on thee!
Arise–the Gentiles to thy ray,
From every nook of earth shall cluster; And kings and princes haste to pay
Their homage to thy rising lustre.[2]
Lift up thine eyes around, and see
O’er foreign fields, o’er farthest waters, Thy exiled sons return to thee,
To thee return thy home-sick daughters.[3]
And camels rich, from Midians’ tents, Shall lay their treasures down before thee; And Saba bring her gold and scents,
To fill thy air and sparkle o’er thee.[4]
See, who are these that, like a cloud,[5] Are gathering from all earth’s dominions, Like doves, long absent, when allowed
Homeward to shoot their trembling pinions.
Surely the isles shall wait for me,[6] The ships of Tarshish round will hover, To bring thy sons across the sea,
And waft their gold and silver over.
And Lebanon thy pomp shall grace[7]– The fir, the pine, the palm victorious
Shall beautify our Holy Place,
And make the ground I tread on glorious.
No more shall dischord haunt thy ways,[8] Nor ruin waste thy cheerless nation;
But thou shalt call thy portal Praise, And thou shalt name thy walls Salvation.
The sun no more shall make thee bright,[9] Nor moon shall lend her lustre to thee; But God, Himself, shall be thy Light,
And flash eternal glory thro’ thee.
Thy sun shall never more go down;
A ray from heaven itself descended Shall light thy everlasting crown–
Thy days of mourning all are ended.[10]
My own, elect, and righteous Land!
The Branch, for ever green and vernal, Which I have planted with this hand–
Live thou shalt in Life Eternal.[11]
[1] “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.”–_Isaiah_, xl.
[2] “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”–_Isaiah_, xl.
[3] “Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.”–_Isaiah_, lx.
[4] “The multitude of camels shall cover thee; the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense.”–_Ib_.
[5] “Who are these that fly as a cloud and as the doves to their windows?”–_Ib_.
[6] “Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them.”–_Ib_.
[7] “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee; the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.”–_Ib_.
[8] “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls, Salvation, and thy gates, Praise.–_Isaiah_, lx.
[9] “Thy sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.”–_Ib_.
[10] “Thy sun shall no more go down…for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.”–_Ib_.
[11] “Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands.”–_Ib_.
THERE IS A BLEAK DESERT.
(AIR.–CRESCENTINI.)
There is a bleak Desert, where daylight grows weary Of wasting its smile on a region so dreary– What may that Desert be?
‘Tis Life, cheerless Life, where the few joys that come Are lost, like that daylight, for ’tis not their home.
There is a lone Pilgrim, before whose faint eyes The water he pants for but sparkles and flies– Who may that Pilgrim be?
‘Tis Man, hapless Man, thro’ this life tempted on By fair shining hopes, that in shining are gone.
There is a bright Fountain, thro’ that Desert stealing To pure lips alone its refreshment revealing– What may that Fountain be?
‘Tis Truth, holy Truth, that, like springs under ground, By the gifted of Heaven alone can be found.
There is a fair Spirit whose wand hath the spell To point where those waters in secrecy dwell– Who may that Spirit be?
‘Tis Faith, humble Faith, who hath learned that where’er Her wand bends to worship the Truth must be there!
SINCE FIRST THY WORD.
(AIR.–NICHOLAS FREEMAN.)
Since first Thy Word awaked my heart, Like new life dawning o’er me,
Where’er I turn mine eyes, Thou art, All light and love before me.
Naught else I feel, or hear or see– All bonds of earth I sever–
Thee, O God, and only Thee
I live for, now and ever.
Like him whose fetters dropt away
When light shone o’er his prison,[1] My spirit, touched by Mercy’s ray,
Hath from her chains arisen.
And shall a soul Thou bidst be free, Return to bondage?–never!
Thee, O God, and only Thee
I live for, now and ever.
[1] “And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison…and his chains fell off from his hands.”–_Acts_, xii. 7.
HARK! ‘TIS THE BREEZE.
(AIR.–ROUSSEAU.)
Hark! ’tis the breeze of twilight calling; Earth’s weary children to repose;
While, round the couch of Nature falling, Gently the night’s soft curtains close. Soon o’er a world, in sleep reclining,
Numberless stars, thro’ yonder dark, Shall look, like eyes of Cherubs shining From out the veils that hid the Ark.
Guard us, oh Thou, who never sleepest, Thou who in silence throned above,
Throughout all time, unwearied, keepest Thy watch of Glory, Power, and Love.
Grant that, beneath thine eye, securely, Our souls awhile from life withdrawn
May in their darkness stilly, purely, Like “sealed fountains,” rest till dawn.
WHERE IS YOUR DWELLING, YE SAINTED?
(AIR.–HASSE.)
Where is your dwelling, ye Sainted?
Thro’ what Elysium more bright
Than fancy or hope ever painted,
Walk ye in glory and light?
Who the same kingdom inherits?
Breathes there a soul that may dare Look to that world of Spirits,
Or hope to dwell with you there?
Sages! who even in exploring
Nature thro’ all her bright ways,
Went like the Seraphs adoring,
And veiled your eyes in the blaze– Martyrs! who left for our reaping
Truths you had sown in your blood– Sinners! whom, long years of weeping
Chastened from evil to good–
Maidens! who like the young Crescent, Turning away your pale brows
From earth and the light of the Present, Looked to your Heavenly Spouse–
Say, thro’ what region enchanted
Walk ye in Heaven’s sweet air?
Say, to what spirits ’tis granted,
Bright, souls, to dwell with you there?
HOW LIGHTLY MOUNTS THE MUSE’S WING.
(AIR–ANONYMOUS.)
How lightly mounts the Muse’s wing,
Whose theme is in the skies–
Like morning larks that sweeter sing The nearer Heaven they rise,
Tho’ love his magic lyre may tune,
Yet ah, the flowers he round it wreathes, Were plucked beneath pale Passion’s moon, Whose madness in their ode breathes.
How purer far the sacred lute,
Round which Devotion ties
Sweet flowers that turn to heavenly fruit, And palm that never dies.
Tho’ War’s high-sounding harp may be., Most welcome to the hero’s ears,
Alas, his chords of victory
Are wet, all o’er, with human tears.
How far more sweet their numbers run, Who hymn like Saints above,
No victor but the Eternal One,
No trophies but of Love!
GO FORTH TO THE MOUNT,
(AIR.–STEVENSON.)
Go forth to the Mount; bring the olive-branch home,[1] And rejoice; for the day of our freedom is come! From that time,[2] when the moon upon Ajalon’s vale, Looking motionless down,[3] saw the kings of the earth, In the presence of God’s mighty champion grow pale– Oh, never had Judah an hour of such mirth! Go forth to the Mount–bring the olive-branch home, And rejoice, for the day of our freedom is come!
Bring myrtle and palm–bring the boughs of each tree That’s worthy to wave o’er the tents of the Free.[4] From that day when the footsteps of Israel shone With a light not their own, thro’ the Jordan’s deep tide, Whose waters shrunk back as the ark glided on[5]– Oh, never had Judah an hour of such pride! Go forth to the Mount–bring the olive-branch home, And rejoice, for the day of our Freedom is come!
[1] And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive-branches,’! etc.–_Neh_. viii. 15.
[2] “For since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so; and there was very great gladness.”– _Ib_. 17.
[3] “Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.”–_Josh_. x. 12.
[4] “Fetch olive-branches, and pine-branches, and myrtle-branches, and palm-branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths.”
–_Neh_. viii. 15.
[5] “And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground.”–_Josh_. iii. 17.
IS IT NOT SWEET TO THINK, HEREAFTER.
(AIR.–HAYDN.)
Is it not sweet to think, hereafter,
When the Spirit leaves this sphere. Love, with deathless wing, shall waft her To those she long hath mourned for here?
Hearts from which ’twas death to sever. Eyes this world can ne’er restore,
There, as warm, as bright as ever,
Shall meet us and be lost no more.
When wearily we wander, asking
Of earth and heaven, where are they, Beneath whose smile we once lay basking, Blest and thinking bliss would stay?
Hope still lifts her radiant finger
Pointing to the eternal Home,
Upon whose portal yet they linger,
Looking back for us to come.
Alas, alas–doth Hope deceive us?
Shall friendship–love–shall all those ties That bind a moment, and then leave us,
Be found again where nothing dies?
Oh, if no other boon were given,
To keep our hearts from wrong and stain, Who would not try to win a Heaven
Where all we love shall live again?
WAR AGAINST BABYLON.
(AIR.–NOVELLO.)
“War against Babylon!” shout we around, Be our banners through earth unfurled;
Rise up, ye nations, ye kings, at the sound– “War against Babylon!” shout thro’ the world! Oh thou, that dwellest on many waters,[1] Thy day of pride is ended now;
And the dark curse of Israel’s daughters Breaks like a thundercloud over thy brow! War, war, war against Babylon!
Make bright the arrows, and gather the shields,[2] Set the standard of God on high;
Swarm we, like locusts, o’er all her fields. “Zion” our watchword, and “vengeance” our cry! Woe! woe!–the time of thy visitation[3] Is come, proud land, thy doom is cast– And the black surge of desolation
Sweeps o’er thy guilty head, at last! War, war, war against Babylon!
[1] “Oh thou that dwellest upon many waters…thine end is come.”–_Jer_. li. 13.
[2] “Make bright the arrows; gather the shields…set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon”–_Jer_. li. 11, 12.
[3] “Woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation!”–_Jer_. l. 27.
A MELOLOGUE UPON NATIONAL MUSIC.
ADVERTISEMENT.
These verses were written for a Benefit at the Dublin Theatre, and were spoken by Miss Smith, with a degree of success, which they owed solely to her admirable manner of reciting them. I wrote them in haste; and it very rarely happens that poetry which has cost but little labor to the writer is productive of any great pleasure to the reader. Under this impression, I certainly should not have published them if they had not found their way into some of the newspapers with such an addition of errors to their own original stock, that I thought it but fair to limit their responsibility to those faults alone which really belong to them.
With respect to the title which I have invented for this Poem, I feel even more than the scruples of the Emperor Tiberius, when he humbly asked pardon of the Roman Senate for using “the outlandish term, _monopoly_.” But the truth is, having written the Poem with the sole view of serving a Benefit, I thought that an unintelligible word of this kind would not be without its attraction for the multitude, with whom, “If ’tis not sense, at least ’tis Greek.” To some of my readers, however, it may not be superfluous to say, that by “Melologue,” I mean that mixture of recitation of music, which is frequently adopted in the performance of Collins’s Ode on the Passions, and of which the most striking example I can remember is the prophetic speech of Joad in the Athalie of Racine.
T.M.
MELOLOGUE
A SHORT STRAIN OF MUSIC FROM THE ORCHESTRA.
_There_ breathes a language known and felt Far as the pure air spreads its living zone; Wherever rage can rouse, or pity melt,
That language of the soul is felt and known. From those meridian plains,
Where oft, of old, on some high tower The soft Peruvian poured his midnight strains, And called his distant love with such sweet power, That, when she heard the lonely lay,
Not worlds could keep her from his arms away,[1] To the bleak climes of polar night,
Where blithe, beneath a sunless sky, The Lapland lover bids his reindeer fly,