But soon it spread
Waving, rushing, fierce, and red,
From wall to wall, from tower to tower,
Raging with resistless power;
Till every fervent pillar glowed,
And every stone seemed burning coal,
Instinct with living heat, that flowed
Like streaming radiance from the kindled pole.
Beautiful, fearful, grand,
Silent as death, I saw the fabric stand.
At length a crackling sound began;
From side to side, throughout the pile it ran;
And louder yet, and louder grew,-
Till now in rattling thunder peals it flew,
Huge, shivered fragments from the pillars broke,
Like fiery sparkles from the anvil's stroke:
The shattered walls were rent and riven,
And piecemeal driven
Like blazing comets through the troubled sky.-
'Tis done; what centuries had reared,
In quick explosion disappeared,
Nor even its ruins met my wondering eye.
But in their place,
Bright with more than human grace,
Robed in more than mortal seeming,
Radiant glory in her face,
And eyes with heaven's own brightness beaming, Rose a fair, majestic form,
As the mild rainbow from the storm.
I marked her smile, I knew her eye;
And when, with gesture of command,
She waved aloft the cap-crowned wand,
My slumbers fled mid shouts of "LIBERTY!"
Read ye the dream? and know ye not
How truly it unlocked the word of fate?
Went not the flame from the illustrious spot,
And spreads it not, and burns in every state?
And when their old and cumbrous walls,
Filled with this spirit, glow intense,
Vainly they rear their impotent defense,-
The fabric falls!
That fervent energy must spread,
Till despotism's towers be overthrown;
And in their stead,
Liberty stands alone!
Hasten the day, just Heaven!
Accomplish thy design;
And let the blessings thou hast freely given,
Freely on all men shine;
Till equal rights be equally enjoyed,
And human power for human good employed,
Till law, not man, the sovereign rule sustain,
And peace and virtue undisputed reign.
Ex. CXXXII-THE SEA SERPENT.
FROM what abysses of the unfathomed sea
Turnest thou up, Great Serpent, now and then,
If we may venture to believe in thee,
And affidavits of sea-faring men?
What whirlpool gulf to thee affords a home!
Amid the unknown depths where dost thou dwell? If-like the mermaid, with her glass and comb— Thou art not what the vulgar call a Sell.
Art thou, indeed, a serpent and no sham?
Or, if no serpent, a prodigious eel,
An entity, though modified by flam,
A basking shark, or monstrous kind of seal?
Sea-Serpent, art thou venomous or not?
What sort of snake may be thy class and style? That of Mud-Python, by APOLLO shot,
And mentioned-rather often-by CARLYLE?
Or, art thou but a serpent of the mind?
Doubts, though subdued, will oft recur againA serpent of the visionary kind,
Proceeding from the grog-oppressed brain?
Art thou a giant ådder, or huge asp,
And hast thou got a rattle at thy tail?
If of the Boa species, couldst thou clasp
Within thy fold, and suffocate, a whale?
How long art thou ?-Some sixty feet, they say,
And more-but how much more they do not know:
I fancy thou couldst reach across a bay
From head to head, a dozen miles or so.
Scales hast thou got, of course-but what 's thy weight?
On either side 'tis said thou hast a fin,
A crest, too, on thy neck, deponents state,
A saw-shaped ridge of flabby, dabby skin.
If I could clutch thee-in a giant's grip-
Could I retain thee in that grasp sublime?
Wouldst thou not quickly through my fingers slip,
Being all over glazed with fishy slime?
Hast thou a forked tongue-and dost thou hiss
If ever thou art bored with Ocean's play?
And is it the correct hypothesis
That thou of gills or lungs dost breathe by way?
What spines, or spikes, or claws, or nails, or fin,
Or paddle, Ocean-Serpent, dost thou bear?
What kind of teeth show'st thou when thou dost grin ?—
A set that probably would make one stare.
What is thy diet? Canst thou gulp a shoal
Of herrings? Or hast thou the gorge
To bolt fat porpoises and dolphins, whole,
By dozens, e'en as oysters we consume?
As a dead whale, but as a whale, though dead,
Thy floating bulk a British crew did strike;
And, so far, none will question what they said,
That thou unto a whale wast very like.
A flock of birds a record, rather loose,
Describes as hovering o'er thy lengthy hull;
Among them, doubtless, there was many a Goose,
And also several of the genus Gull.
THE feast is o'er! Now brimming wine
In lordly cup is seen to shine
Before each eager guest;
And silence fills the crowded hall,
As deep as when the herald's call,
Thrills in the loyal breast.
Then up arose the noble host,
And smiling cried: "A toast! a toast!
To all our ladies fair!
Here, before all, I pledge the name
Of Staunton's proud and beauteous dame,--
The Ladye Gundamere!"
Then to his feet each gallant sprung,
And joyous was the shout that rung,
As Stanley gave the word;
And every cup was raised on high,
Nor ceased the loud and gladsome cry,
Till Stanley's voice was heard.
"Enough, enough," he smiling said,
And lowly bent his haughty head;
"That all may have their due,
Now each, in turn, must play his part,
And pledge the lady of his heart,
Like gallant knight and true!"
Then, one by one, each guest sprang up,
And drained in turn the brimming cup,
And named the loved one's name;
And each, as hand on high he raised,
His lady's grace or beauty praised,
Her constancy and fame.
'Tis now St. Leon's turn to rise;
On him are fixed those countless eyes;-
A gallant knight is he;
Envied by some, admired by all,
Far famed in lady's bower, and hall,-
The flower of chivalry.
St. Leon raised his kindling eye,
And lifts the sparkling cup on high:
"I drink to one," he said,
"Whose image never may depart,
Deep graven on this grateful heart,
Till memory be dead.
To one whose love for me shall last
When lighter passions long have past,—
So holy 'tis and true;
To one whose love hath longer dwelt,
More deeply fixed, more keenly felt,
Than any pledged by you."
Each guest upstarted at the word,
And laid a hand upon his sword,
With fury-flashing eye;
And Stanley said: "We crave the name,
Proud knight, of this most peerless dame,
Whose love you count so high."
St. Leon paused, as if he would
Not breathe her name in careless mood,
Thus lightly, to another;
Then bent his noble head, as though
To give that word the reverence due,
And gently said: "My Mother!"
Ex. CXXXIV.-DEATH OF DE ARGENTINE.
The scene is that of the battle of Bannockburn, in which Robert Bruce king of Scotland, defeated the English army under king Edward.
ALREADY Scattered o'er the plain,—
Reproof, command, and counsel, vain,-
The rearward squadrons fled amain,
Or made but doubtful stay :-
In vain the royal Edward threw
His person mid the spears,
Cried Fight!" to terror and despair,
Menaced, and wept, and tore his hair,
And cursed their caitiff fears;
Till Pembroke turned his bridle rein,
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