British Women Romantic Poets Project

Poems : electronic version.

Hornblower, Jane Elizabeth Roscoe, 1797-1853.



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Davis British Women Romantic Poets Series

I.D. no. 105


-- Managing Editor
Charlotte Payne
-- Founding Editor
Nancy Kushigian

Poems

Hornblower, Jane Elizabeth Roscoe, 1797-1853.



-- by
One of the authors of "Poems for youth, by a family circle."

Printed for Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy London 1820

This text was scanned from its original in the Shields Library Kohler Collection, University of California, Davis, Kohler I:611. Another copy available on microfilm as Kohler I:611mf.

All poems, line groups, and lines are represented. All material originally typeset has been preserved with the exception of original prose line breaks and line-end hyphens (except in headings and title pages), running heads, signature markings, smallcaps, and decorative typographical elements. Page numbers and page breaks have been preserved. The long "s" is displayed as a standard "s". Pencilled annotations and other damage to the text have not been preserved.

October 30, 2007

Charlotte Payne
-- ed.

  • Proofed and entered final corrections.





  • Page [i]


    Title Page
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    POEMS,

    BY ONE OF THE AUTHORS
    OF
    "POEMS FOR YOUTH, BY A FAMILY
    CIRCLE."

    LONDON:
    PRINTED FOR BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY,
    PATERNOSTER-ROW.
    1820.
    Page [ii]

    J. M'Creery, Tooks-Court,
    Chancery-Lane, London.

    Page [iii]

    ADVERTISEMENT.

    THE following Poems have been selected from many others, written principally between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one years. The kind reception given by the public to a small volume, intitled "Poems for Youth, by a Family Circle," to which the Author of these little pieces was a contributor, has induced her to allow them to be printed, under an assurance from her friends that they are not inferior to those which have preceded them.


    Page [iv]



    Page [1]

    POEMS,
    &c.

    LINES.

    AS on the world I gaze with fearful eye,
        And mark the vast expanse to wander through,
    My full heart heaves with many a deep drawn sigh,
        And almost trembles at the awful view.
    Where lies my path amid this wondrous waste,
        Hung with dark clouds, or circled with serene?
    What is the bourne to which I daily haste?
        What the dread changes of the future scene?
    Lost in the mists of dark futurity,
        For ever hid from my unbidden gaze
    They rest, Almighty One!—they rest with Thee:
        Wise and inscrutable are all thy ways.


    Page 2

    The humble creature thou hast deign'd to make
        Here also rests. Thy mercies I have prov'd;
    Deep in this heart a holy trust they wake,
        To bid me bear the ills of life unmov'd.—
    Vain terrors, peace!—Go, spirit, mail'd in worth
        Hallow'd, not injur'd, by the trials given;
    And, look upon the varied woes of earth
        But as the pains which purify for heaven.


    Page 3

    LINES.

    SEVERER woes my spirit steep,
    I weep not as I used to weep;
    The tear bedews my cheek no more,
    But lives within my heart's warm core.
    What, tho' it may not reach my eye,
    It thrills my frame with agony;
    And tho' the sigh must be represt,
    It swells within my aching breast.
    O Christian! are they cherish'd there—
    The food of anguish and despair?
    And is not life too frail and brief
    For time to feed on secret grief?
    Hast thou no duties to pursue?
    No sacred claims before thy view?
    No task appointed for the day,
    That hours may thus be mourn'd away?


    Page 4

    No preparation for the morrow,
    To steal one passing pang from sorrow?
    No fellow-creature to befriend,
    That thus life's interest seems to end?
    No good to do?—no hope to cheer?—
    That wan and worn thou lingerest here.
    Is nought of blessing to thee given?
    No home on earth?—no trust in Heaven?
    —O, if those holy hopes on thee
    Have pour'd their sacred agency;
    And if thou hast a soul to feel
    The mercies which such hopes reveal;
    However dark thy path may be,
    With this world's passing misery,
    Go, and be thankful—murmur not
    Over the sorrows of thy lot;
    But, meekly happy, kiss the rod;
    All-grateful that thou hast a God;
    And let all earthly grief be still
    In the high aim to do his will.—
    All fear, all doubt, all woe discard,
    And He will be "Thy great reward."


    Page 5

    STANZAS.

    I.

    THE gay hues of life are fast fading away,
        And dark is the cloud that o'ershadows my morn;
    Yet would I not change this wild storm-troubled day
        For the calms that a fairer horizon adorn.

    II.

    O moments of sorrow with rapture o'erpaid!
        O dreams of delight, tho' ye die in my breast,
    Your beautiful forms are but soften'd to shade,
        And more dear in their faintness they still are imprest.

    III.

    My thoughts on such sweet recollections are straying,
        The griefs of the present pass heedlessly by;
    Like the unnotic'd clouds, when the lightning is playing
        Across the dark verge of a turbulent sky.


    Page 6

    THE DYING SOLDIER.

    I SAW afar a dark and bloody field;
        The evening sun was setting on the brave,
    Who, pierc'd with gashes never to be heal'd,
        Lay in their glory, reckless of a grave.
    They did not murmur, tho' the damp of death
        Was rising cold on every noble brow;
    Nor deem it sorrow to resign their breath,
        While freedom's spirit drank their dying vow.
    And when the thoughts of home with anguish crept
        Over their senses, and those broken ties—
    Those thoughts, which in the battle-field had slept,
        With well-known faces rose before their eyes—
    They did not weep;—but to their babes bequeath'd
        Their glorious cause—the strife of liberty;
    A ruddy sword, for her to be unsheath'd,
        The same glad fearlessness for her to die.


    Page 7

    And to their wives they left their living fame,
        Their country's gratitude; and the last glow,
    Which o'er their pallid cheek in fondness came,
        Ere the destroying pang had laid them low.
    —Yet there was one to life who closely clung,
        As wanting that which made departing sweet;
    When, as he turn'd, a soft form o'er him hung,
        And all he lov'd his dying sight did meet!
    That tender face with transient rapture flush'd
        To find him living, and some tremulous sound
    Rose to her lips,—but soon the voice was hush'd,
        And she stretch'd by him on the bloody ground.
    She laid his head upon her breaking heart;
        Yet in that anguish'd moment both were blest;
    Each smil'd a look which said "we do not part,"
        And the next sunbeam shone upon their rest.


    Page 8

    SONNET.

    I HAD a dream; and I was wandering,
        Lonely and sad, upon a foreign shore;
        Round me I heard the sea's eternal roar,
        And the wild wind's prophetic murmuring!
    I watch'd the storm upon its strange career;
        I grew acquainted with the mountain blast;
        It was my music—leaves that rusted sere,
        And the scath'd foliage, crackling as it past!
    I mus'd upon the scene—when 'mid the waste,
        Thro' the long distance, came a voice of dread,
        Like thunder o'er my senses:—"Mortal, haste,
    For clouds and whirlwinds are around thy head,
        Thy port is there, in yon pure stainless sky,
        And thy next step may be eternity!'


    Page 9

    THE REPENTANT CRIMINAL.

    ART thou a wretch to whom the past
    Speaks of dire deeds?—O'er whom the blast
    Of guilt hath swept a pestilence,
    Destroying to the soul and sense?
    Whose heart that rankling steel has worn
    Which goads the feelings it has torn?
    And gashes in its dark profound,
    The deep immedicable wound?
    Over whose dim and festering hue
    A sickening shadow memory threw;
    And brought to light forgotten things,
    But to add keenness to its stings?—
    O is there written on thy brain,
    In black indentures, sin and pain?


    Page 10

    And is there nought on earth to thee,
    But thine own secret agony?
    —Yet raise thy burning eye above
    To the high Heaven, for God is love;—
    And tho' the clouds obscure thy sight!
    Yet fearless gaze—for God is light!
    And soon shall earthly struggles cease
    In that blest trust—for God is peace!
    —Yes, dark and sinful tho' thou art,
    Some beam of Heaven shall touch thy heart;
    In years to come shall bloom for thee
    A purer, happier destiny;
    When thou shalt meekly gaze within,
    On thy own soul redeem'd from sin;
    Shalt calmly smile on each past sigh,
    And every chastening agony;
    And feel thro' thy expanding spirit
    The holier hopes thou dost inherit.
    —Yes! sanctified by flood and fire,
    Thy heart shall spurn each low desire;
    And from the pangs and stings of fate,
    Shall rise more nobly elevate;—

    Page 11

    Look back upon the flaming path,
    See mercy's hand that pour'd the wrath,
    Still kind, while o'er thy shrinking form,
    It flung the darkness of the storm;
    And taught thee, even by despair,
    To pour thy fainting soul in prayer;
    And lowly bend to kiss the rod
    Which led thee back to peace and God!


    Page 12

    SONNET.

    I HEARD a happy murmur thro' the sky
        Arch'd in blue beauty, thousand birds were singing;
        Beneath my feet earth's loveliest flowers were springing;
        And radiant prospects burst upon my eye!
    The wind was murmuring its sweet lullaby;
        The sun in glory shot his living rays;
        It seem'd the hour of nature's jubilee,
        And all creation found a voice of praise!
    My heart throbb'd high—but, O, it was not bliss,—
        Trembling I cried ——And did I e'er repine?
        And could I gaze upon a world like this,
    Nor breathe one vow at nature's holy shrine?—
        Then, bending low upon my parent dust,
        I pour'd my soul in deep repentant trust.


    Page 13

    THE CROSS.

    TIME past I wandered weeping on my way
        O'er the vain changes of all earthly things;
    Mid life's dull cares I saw no cheering ray,
        And my aspiring spirit droop'd her wings
    Earthward in sadness. Holy truths I knew;
        And my aw'd soul their sacredness confest;
    But had not felt, tho' I believ'd them true,
        Their daily influence on my life imprest.
    In sorrow then I sought them—now I know
        The Cross must be endur'd from hour to hour;
    And bitter tho' it seem, in scenes of woe,
        It has a blessed and a soothing power;


    Page 14

    Its yoke is easy and its burthen light;
        Such bosom-cherished hopes it can inspire
    That thro' the darkest scenes of this world's night,
        The faith-enlightened spirit can look higher
    Unto its rest!—O thou example pure,
        And untir'd traveller in this holy road,
    Still grant thy warning counsel, and secure,
        My soul shall follow thine unto its God!


    Page 15

    SONNET.

    THO' to my living eye be still denied
        The sight of Nature in her glorious mood,
        Amid her wilds of trackless solitude;
        —Yet in my dreaming soul the forms abide
    Of grandeur and of beauty, and I brood
        O'er inexpressive thoughts; and spreading wide,
        Behold those scenes my fancy oft has woo'd;
        But in my heart these visions fair I hide,
    They mingle not with aught of this vain world;
        On shadowy wing alone I love to roam,
        For unto me their secret views unfurl'd
    Are hope's young dwelling place and rapture's home.
        Alone I bow to Him who gave this light,
        And form'd my spirit for its radiant flight.


    Page 16

    STANZAS.

    THERE are feelings that lie in the depth of the soul,
        Unnotic'd and even unknown,
    'Till occasion calls for them, and onward they roll,
        And we wonder to find them our own.

    Was it danger that rous'd the sublime in the breast,
        That conquer'd all natural fear?
    That taught it a strength it scarce knew it possest,
        And whisper'd—Thy safety lies here?

    Or was it oppression that taught it to burn
        With such an unquenchable flame?
    On pride and injustice undaunted to turn,
        At Liberty's glorious name!


    Page 17

    O what made a rock of the patriot's heart,
        Unshaken by threat or alarm?
    An eagle's keen glance to his eye could impart?
        A terrible strength to his arm?

    And whence is that calm which within us we feel
        As the perils around us increase?
    In sorrow and trouble the spirit to steel,
        'Till all is internally peace;

    'Tis a visitant sent from the brightness of Heaven,
        A beam of the mercy of God;
    A courage divine to mortality given,
        That points to its blessed abode!


    Page 18

    SONNET.

    O WHY art thou disquieted, my soul?
        And why do human sufferings dim these eyes?
        Is not yon azure heaven thy destin'd goal,
        And thy sweet home of welcome in the skies?
    Faint not upon thy weary path.—Arise!
        Gird on thy might of wisdom's pure control;
        And in thy bosom hush all earthly sighs,
        And check the tears that down thy wan cheek roll
    The Father of thy spirit guards its fate;
        And the blest spark but for a time did fold
        In the low mansion of a mortal mould,
    Allied to angels in its native state!
        Then faint not, O my soul, on thy dark way
        The light is round thee of eternal day.


    Page 19

    STANZAS.

    WEEP not, tho' lonely and wild be thy path,
        And the storms may be gathering round;
    There is one who can shield from the hurricane's wrath,
        And that one may for ever be found.
    He is with thee, around thee, He lists to thy cry,
        And thy tears are recorded by Him—
    A pillar of fire He will be to thine eye,
        Whose brightness no shadow can dim.

    O follow it still through the darkness of night,
        In safety 'twill lead to the morrow;
    'Tis not like the meteor of earth's fickle light,
        Often quench'd in delusion and sorrow;


    Page 20

    For pure is the beam, and unfading the ray,
        And the tempests assail it in vain,
    When the mists of this world are all vanish'd away,
        In its brightness it still will remain.

    And weep not that none are around thee to love,
        For a Father is with thee to bless;
    And if griefs have exalted thy spirit above,
        O say wouldst thou wish for one less?
    He is with thee, whose favor for ever is life;
        Could a mortal heart guard thee so well?
    O hush the vain wish, calm thy bosom's wild strife,
        And forbid but a thought to rebel.


    Page 21

    LINES.

    SMILING serenely, as on earth she smil'd,
        But those sweet eyes no longer tear-bedew'd,
        She sat, invested with Heaven's sanctitude,
        Amid the blissful bowers, happy and mild
    And angel-like in gentleness; unchanged,
        Save that the grief which weigh'd upon her breast
        Had fled, and left her now entirely blest,
        Earth's chain unloos'd, and free where'er she rang'd.
    She still retain'd her spirit's playfulness;
        With sweet and holy thoughts so calmly blended,
        As spoke Heaven's peace upon her head descended,
    And her brow wore no shadow of distress,


    Page 22

    I saw her thus—the angels cherishing
        Their long-belov'd, and welcoming her home,
        And whispering her of pure joys yet to come,
        And hopes eternal and unperishing.
    I saw her smile upon them, and the band
        Of fadeless flowers they laid upon her brow;
        And heard her sigh, O happy, happy now,
        Th' immortal airs my burning cheek have fann'd.
    And those I left on earth, and wept to leave
        Their ministering angel I awhile shall be;
        But soon their wearied hearts shall cease to grieve,
        And they will come to rapture and to me.


    Page 23

    SONNET.

    I HAIL thee, Solitude! for unto me
        Thou art but memory of the hours most dear;
        Chosen from all life's strange variety,
        To live again with calmer feelings here.
    Calmer and sweeter, in that soften'd glow,
        With which we view the flight of years gone by;
        And feel the joys we ne'er again can know,
        Yet in a constant heart can never die.
    Forms rise around me which affection owns,
        Tho' long estranged by fate's untimely doom;
        And memory's hallow'd intercourse atones
    For every tear I wept upon their tomb.
        And thou, O Solitude, to me hast given
        High dreams, and aspirations after Heaven!


    Page 24

    SONNET.

    AND can this bright and heaven descended spark,
        —Portion of thine own Immortality,—
        In future ages, Father, cease to be
        The spirit's vital fire eclips'd and dark?
    No,—by the pure aspirings after Thee,
        Which even sin-bound souls at moments feel,
        By every high and glorious faculty,
        Which thou hast stamp'd with thine Almighty seal,
    It shall not perish!—Thou hast breath'd the flame,
        And Thou canst purify. Tho' mortal sight
        Thro' earth's involving shades behold no light,
    The soul's vitality is still the same;
        And those whom earth saw grovelling in her dust,
        In heaven shall perfect virtue in thy trust.


    Page 25

    GOOD MORN.

    GOOD morn, good morn—see the sweet light breaking
    O'er hill and dale to greet thy waking!—
    The dark grey clouds are flitting away,
    And the young sun sheds forth a twilight ray;
    And a halo of bloom is in the skies,
    Yet the night of slumber is on thine eyes.
    The opening dew lies fresh on the flower,
    And sweetly cool is the youthful hour;
    And the birds are twittering their tender song,
    The bright and weeping boughs among;
    And all seems fresh and with rapture rife,
    While wakening into conscious life.
    O rouse thee!—rouse thee!—the precious time
    Is fleeting fast; and merrily chime


    Page 26

    The morning bells; and the beautiful view
    Thy touch should arrest, is fading too!—
    The glow of the cloud is darkening fast,
    And the sunny mist is almost past;
    And thy lyre is lying all unstrung,
    And thy matin hymn is still unsung;
    And thy lip is mute and thy knee unbending,
    Nor is yet the sweet prayer to heaven ascending.
    —What! slumbering still!—Arise! arise!—
    For thy lovely dreams are fantasies,
    And mock thy waking; but come with me,
    And listen to life's reality.
    And come and muse on that deeper sleep,
    O'er which Hope will her silent vigils keep,
    And sooth and shield with her guardian wing
    The spirit's secret fluttering,
    And lead it on to that brighter day,
    Which knows no evening and no decay.


    Page 27

    GOOD NIGHT.

    GOOD night, good night; for the dews are sleeping,
    And the moon in the pale blue skies is steeping
    Her radiant locks; and the birds are at rest,
    And the cushat sits brooding on her nest;
    And the shade on the woods is a deeper green:
    And the dark gray hills are more faintly seen;
    And the flowers their bells of beauty close,
    And wearied nature seeks repose.
    —There is rest for all, but none for thee,
    For thy heart is spell-bound, and thou must flee
    From the influence of this twilight hour,
    For it hath a strange bewitching power.
    'Twill breathe of hopes which will never be true;
    'Twill bring thine infancy fresh to thy view;
    And with its sweet and shadowy light,
    Retouch each vision to thy sight.


    Page 28

    And, last of all, 'twill breathe of love,
    And thou wilt start—but cannot remove
    The heavy weight of the lingering sigh,
    And the dream of the vanish'd extasy.
    'Twill fall on thy heart like sun on flowers,
    Like spring to the birds among the bowers;
    And while thou art hailing the vision bright,
    Thou shalt waken and find—the chill of night.


    Page 29

    SONNET.

    THOU! whom Creation doth proclaim aloud,
        Breathing her living spirit at thy shrine!
        Whose glory streams upon the burning cloud!
        Who taught the stars 'mid the blue depths to shine!
    Father of Earth and Heaven! all, all are Thine!
        The boundless tribes in ocean, air, and plain;
        And nothing lives, and moves, and breathes in vain;
        Thou art their soul—the impulse is divine!—
    Nature lifts loud to Thee her happy voice,
        And calls her caverns to resound thy praise!
        Thy name is heard amid her pathless ways;
    And even her senseless things in Thee rejoice.
        O God! what homage shall He pour to Thee,
        Whom thou hast stamp'd with Immortality!


    Page 30

    THE MOURNER.

    SHE flung her white arms round him.—"Thou art all,
    That this poor heart can cling to: yet I feel
    That I am rich in blessings; and the tear
    Of this most bitter moment still is mingled
    With a strange joy. Reposing on thy heart,
    I hear the blasts of fortune sweeping by,
    As a babe lists to music,—wondering,
    But not affrighted. In the darkest hour
    Thy smile is brightest; and when I am wretched
    Then am I most belov'd. In hours like this
    The soul's resources rise, and all its strength
    Bounds into being.—I would rather live
    With all my faculties thus waken'd round me,
    Of hopes, and fears, and joys, and sympathies,
    A few short moments, ev'n with every feeling
    Smarting from fate's deep lash,—than a long age,


    Page 31

    However calm and free from turbulence,
    Bereft of these most high capacities.
    Not vainly have I nurs'd them; for there is
    An impulse ev'n in suffering; and so pure
    Rise the eternal hopes, call'd by the anguish
    Of a world-wearied spirit; with such light
    They rush before me, like a sunny ray,
    Piercing the dark shades of my clouded thoughts,
    That for such high and holy consolations,
    I welcome misery; and I know thy heart
    Hath the same blessed anchor. In heaven-ward hopes
    We drank the cup of youthful happiness;
    And now, when sorrow shades our early promise,
    In heaven-ward trust we comfort one another."


    Page 32

    SONNET.

    O SHROUD me, Heaven, beneath thy guardian wings!
        For my soul sickens of a mortal trust;
        And mourning its alliance to the dust,
        Fondly to its Eternal Kindred springs.
    For earth is full of perishable things;
        And the sweet visions of the heart's young bloom
        Are faithless all; and human sufferings
        Make life's fair flowers soon wither on the tomb.
    But, in my spirit's awful secrecy,
        I feel the peace, the purity above;
        And sigh to join the holy band of love,
    Who breathe the breath of Immortality.
        Alas! in vain! feelings of mortal woe
        Rush o'er my soul, and I am still below.


    Page 33

    SI DESERIS, PEREO.

    HE seem'd to love her; and her youthful cheek
        Wore for a while the transient bloom of joy;
    And her heart throbb'd with hopes she could not speak,
        New to delight, and mute in extasy.
    He won that heart in its simplicity,
        All undisguis'd in its young tenderness;
    And, smiling, saw that he and only he,
        Had power at once to wound it, or to bless.


    Page 34

    She gave to him her innocent affection,
        And the warm feelings of her guileless breast;
    And from the storms of life she sought protection,
        In his dear love, her home of earthly rest:
    In this sweet trust her opening days were blest,
        And joyously she hail'd her coming years;
    For well she knew that even if distrest,
        There would be one kind hand to dry her tears.

    He left her—and in trouble she awoke
        From her young dream of bliss; but murmur'd not
    Over her silent sufferings, nor spoke
        To any one upon her cruel lot.
    You would have deem'd that he had been forgot,
        Or thought her bosom callous to the stroke;
    But on her cheek there was one hectic spot,
        'Twas little,—but it told her heart was broke.


    Page 35

    And deeper and more deep the painful flush
        Daily became; yet all distress seem'd o'er,
    Save when the life-blood gave a sudden rush,
        Then "trembled into silence as before."
    At once too proud, too humble to deplore,
        She bow'd her head in quietness:—she knew
    Her blighted prospects could revive no more;
        Yet was she calm, for she had heaven in view.

    She lov'd and she forgave him—and in dying
        She ask'd a blessing on his future years;
    And so she went to sleep; meekly relying
        Upon that power which shall efface all tears.
    Her simple turf the young spring flow'ret wears,
        And the pale primrose grows upon her tomb;
    And when the storm its little blossom tears
        It bows its head—an emblem of her doom.


    Page 36

    SONNET.

    As fades this mortal life of few frail days,
        Thus one by one we drop into the tomb;
        Yet, 'midst the darkness of th' impending gloom,
        Still memory feebly sheds some lingering rays;
    And for a moment dying fancy plays
        'Mid the young hours of life's unclouded bloom,
        Feels on her cheek the summer's noontide blaze,
        And smiles amid the darkness of her doom.
    Smile on, thou mourner of departed time;
        If not unblest to thee those moments sped;
        If rich in toils to win a purer clime,
    Fear not the slumber of the quiet dead;
        And gaze in calmness on this sacred dust;
        Her life was virtue and her death was trust.


    Page 37

    A VISION.

    I SAW in heaven the radiant form of one
        Who had been mine on earth. Love's pale pure buds
    Lay braided on her brow, and her eye shone
        With tenderest blue thro' rapture's holy floods.
    O'er the wide ether stream'd her shadowy hair,
        Encircled with a calm and silvery light;
    And the slight veil that rob'd her bosom fair,
        Was gently heaving with untold delight.
    The purple hue of fadeless youth lay there;
        And her cheek beam'd with an immortal bloom;
    And with a voice my spirit thrill'd to hear
        She spoke—"Thus am I risen from the tomb!
    I heard my Saviour's voice, my soul did spring
        From the deep slumber of its earthly rest,
    Stirring the high air with its glorious wing,
        Until it reach'd the mansion of the blest;


    Page 38

    And now indeed I live. Above, around,
        Roll those deep blessings mortal cannot view;
    And heaven's wide arch is ringing with the sound
        Of extasy, which human heart ne'er knew
    In its sublimest broodings.—Mortal, go
        And do his will who form'd this starry sphere;
    And thro' the darkest scenes of earthly woe,
        His ceaseless mercy will conduct thee here.
    But be thou shrined in virtue; for the love
        Of God and human kind is blossoming
    In these sweet homes of everlasting spring."
        The voice was hush'd; the calm lip ceas'd to move;
    The vision vanish'd. Fearless of my doom,
        With outstretch'd arms I grasp'd Eternity;
    "Not yet," was softly breath'd, and all was gloom.
        The golden gates of heaven were clos'd on me.


    Page 39

    SONNET.

    NURST in the solitude of the waste wild,
        And lonely haunts by mortal foot untrod,
        Thou hast not been alone; but, nature's child,
        Hast held high converse with thy guardian God,
    And bow'd before the bright etherial forms
        Of grandeur and of grace his touch has given;
        And own'd the spirit which Creation warms,
        A mighty impulse which is caught from Heav'n.
    To thee the murky cloud, the lightnings keen,
        And rushing surges, were but proofs sublime,
        Of where that awe-inspiring power has been,
    Which calmly triumphs o'er the wrecks of time;
        'Till all thy lofty musings burst in song,
        And the full tide of rapture roll'd along.


    Page 40

    SONNET.

    As o'er the smiling face of the blue heaven,
        The angry clouds in trouble sweep away;
        By the remorseless winds all tempest-driven,
        And hurrying from the brightness of the day.
    So, on my soul, do sorrow and dismay,
        And tracks of earthly suffering leave their mark;
        But they too fly, and on my spirit dark,
        Peace and religion shed their hallowing ray;
    And o'er my faded hopes I cease to sigh,
        Nor longer nurse the solitary tear;
        For such sweet scenes are waiting me on high,
    That my heart's trust is wean'd from resting here;
        And springing far above life's troubled sea,
        I look in rapture to Eternity.


    Page 41

    THE VISIONARY.

    I HAVE been lonely, even from a child;
    Tho' bound with sweet ties to a happy home,
    With all life's sacred charities around me;
    I have been lonely—for my soul had thirst
    The waters of this world could not assuage:
    I found them bitter, and I had high dreams,
    And strange imaginations—yea, I liv'd
    Amid my own creations; and a world
    Of many hopes and raptures was within me,
    Such as I could not tell of; for I knew
    Such feelings could not bear a sympathy;
    They were too sacred to admit communion,
    Too blest to need it—to the fields and woods
    Did my heart's fulness pour them; solitude


    Page 42

    Was the expansion of my secret visions,
    When I could ask my soul to tell me all,
    And many a bright and blessed reverie
    Hath cheer'd my wanderings. I have heard sweet music
    In my own thoughts; mysterious harmonies,
    Felt, but not understood; vague, happy musings,
    And shadowy sketches of my future fate,
    In young and glowing colours. Are they faded?
    —Years are gone by; and once again I commune
    With my own spirit—it is passionless,
    And silent now, its loveliest visions over;
    And yet I do not shun this scrutiny.
    Tho' I have fed my heart with perishing joys,
    They have not been in vain; for those wild hopes,
    And noble aims, and all those proud aspirings,
    Gave me a loftier being. I have plung'd
    Within the maddening wave, unaw'd, to succour
    An object of my love. I have stood calm
    In danger's fiercest moment, with a trust
    Above all mortal peril. I have wander'd

    Page 43

    O'er moors and mountains to assuage the woes
    Of human kind. In all that could excite
    I have been foremost:—then have woke and wept
    To feel how little and how weak I was. ——


    Page 44

    SONNET.

    O THOU young worshipper at nature's throne,
        Whom she hath blest with that electric spirit,
        That genius, which hath stampt thee for her own,
        And which her votaries may alone inherit!
    Grieve not while gazing on the mountain brow,
        The rocky precipice, or torrent's roar,
        That strange emotions bid thine eye o'erflow,
        And that thy heart in trouble doth adore
    The glory that is round thee; there are few
        Form'd to partake a joy so pure and holy,
        As is that high and tender melancholy,
    To every finer feeling ever true;
        Then O repine not that thy throbbing vein
        Is keenly strung alike to pleasure and to pain.


    Page 45

    THE APPEAL.

    SPIRITS! blest spirits! hear,
        I call ye from your shadowy throne,
        From the shroud of death around ye thrown—
    Spirits! blest spirits, appear.
        And come array'd in your heavenly guise,
        With the purple lips and the burning eyes,
        And with all the bright and breathing bloom,
        Which ye inhal'd on the day of doom,
        When heaven was open'd to your sight,
        And ye sprang like flowers to drink the light;
        Descend! and bid my soul inherit
        The pure aspirings of your spirit;
    Pour on my trembling lip the vow
        Which weds me to the joys above;
        And start not at the mournful love,
    Which earth has stamp'd on my pale brow.


    Page 46

    I see, I see the glorious goal,
    The river for my thirsting soul;
    And I hear the voice which calls for me
    O'er the billows of Eternity.
    Spirits! who died unknown,
        Whose blossom of virtue perish'd
        On sorrow's wild gale uncherish'd,
    Where, where is that blossom flown
        To play on the breezes of heaven,
    To bloom in the beam of the sky,
        And to find earth was only given
    To gain Eternity.
        And thou, sweet spirit of one
    Whom love wept, but could not save;
        Who smiling lay down alone
    In the darkness of the grave!
        Come, and a moment beam
    Where we sigh above thy rest;
        And our eyes shall cease to stream,
    As they see thee for ever blest.


    Page 47

    ANGEL-MINDED.

    O ANGEL-MINDED we have lov'd;
    And holier ties our souls have prov'd,
        Than earthly bond could frame;
    And each within its deep recess
    Has breathed a purer tenderness,
        A more celestial flame.

    We lov'd indeed, but not such love
    As common hearts are wont to prove,
        In the gay hopes of youth;
    It was in sorrow and in trial,
    We taught each other self-denial,
        And pledg'd our mutual truth.


    Page 48

    Each bore the cross, and every day
    Together learnt to watch and pray,
        In the high trust of heaven;
    And from this pure and lofty faith,
    We smil'd at danger and at death,
        In the hopes which it had given.

    We knew each other's mind and heart,
    Each form'd to act a nobler part,
        In a more blest abode;
    And so we lov'd, because both bent
    Upon one hallow'd high intent,
        Bound in the fear of God.

    What tho' we part, it is not here
    That even these vows, so pure and dear.
        Can have their perfect rest;
    But tried and sanctified by time,
    Shall blossom in a fairer clime,
        Where virtue shall be blest.


    Page 49

    Then sigh not in this long farewell;
    Or if thy bosom heave one swell,
        Thy cheek one struggle own,
    Remember, we shall meet again,
    Releas'd from every care and pain,
        Before th' Eternal throne.


    Page 50

    ST. HELEN'S WOOD.

    IT was a summer's day, and the warm air
    Was glowing in my frame; all things around
    With heat, and youth, and joy were animate;
    The very breeze was loaded with the hum
    Of happy myriads, on their light blue wings,
    Exhaling their glad being, eagerly
    Sipping heaven's nectar from the opening flowers.
    The little vetch, with its deep purple bloom
    And slender stalk; the bright convolvulus
    With canopy of blue and fragile frame,
    Clinging around for succour; the low daisy,
    With little buds up peeping, blossom'd round
    In wild luxuriance. On the ground I lay,
    Musing in that cessation of the thoughts
    Which is so sweet and inexpressible,


    Page 51

    When new ideas beam upon us, and
    The soul is loosen'd from the daily burthen
    Of common cares and feelings;—can expand,
    Urg'd by its fancy and the blest scenes round,
    In waking visions, and unfold its wings.

        Over my head the deep embowering trees
    Form'd a soft shade;—with venerable trunks
    And richly loaded boughs impending round.—
    The dark green wood shone brightly beautiful,
    And lighter trees in many a graceful group,
    Met my eyes wandering, and inspir'd my touch:
    And there were forms mov'd round me—forms I lov'd,
    Of whom I could not recollect the day
    When first I knew them;—who in infancy
    Had been my playmates—in all little sports
    Welcome companions. Many a summer sun
    And winter evening we beguil'd together;
    And when the spirit of our childhood fled,
    And riper years and deeper cares came on,


    Page 52

    Youth found us friends, and with more thoughtful love
    Endear'd us to each other. Were all there?—
    Did not my eye want one accustom'd smile?
    Did not my heart own one sad vacancy?
    Ah yes!—And it had wept its loneliness:—
    But as I gaz'd unto the deep blue heaven,
    It smil'd so placidly and so serene,
    It had been sin to murmur; for I knew
    That She above that living azure dwelt,
    In joys I could not image; and I then
    Did meditate on Him who destin'd all things,
    And wove the thread of every mortal fate,
    And felt it was in mercy. All was good!
    Or when He took us to those happier scenes,
    Where tears shall be unknown and day or night,
    But He himself our sunshine and our joy:
    Or when He left us in this world of trial,
    And strew'd our path with troubles—that more pure,
    More firm our faith and deeper our endurance,

    Page 53

    We might turn to Him.—Still his eye was on us
    In care and tenderness;—and knowing this
    I did unfold my heart to the glad impulse
    Of all things round, in peace and thankfulness,
    And with hush'd spirit then pursued my way.


    Page 54

    SONNET.

    How oft beneath his blest and healing wings
        He would have gather'd me, and I would not!
        Like a weak bird, all heedless of my lot;
        Perverse and idle in my wanderings.
    Now my soul would return, and trembling brings
        Her wearied pinion to its wonted rest;
        And faint with its short flights and flutterings
        Would seek a refuge in its parent breast!
    O Father! in thy mercy shelter me,
        For I am worn with mortal miseries;
        My dark and earth-entangled spirit free,
    And plume it to ascend its native skies;
        With loosen'd wing to thy high rest to soar,
        And never to desert its mansion more!


    Page 55

    HYMN.

    O THOU, who from the silent dust
        Gav'st these young eyes to drink the light;
    And taught'st my spirit in thy trust
        To wing above its happy flight:
    Who thro' the clouds of mortal care
        The sunshine of thy mercy pour'd,
    'Till my pale lip breath'd forth the prayer,
        And all my aching heart ador'd.

    Father of Heaven, be with me now,
        And place before my untried youth,
    When fate's dark storms around me blow,
        Thy armour of celestial truth!
    Thy love shall calm, thy power shall save,
        And I shall smile on earth's vain strife,
    With the sweet presage that the grave
        But opens to eternal life!


    Page 56

    O, ere that fateful hour arrive
        What changes may I live to see!
    How many a hope I may survive,
        How heart-sick of the world may be
    Then lead me, lead me to thy shrine,
        Th' immortal hope again renew,
    O keep this trembling spirit thine,
        Each pulse to its Creator true!

    Tho' human love may die away,
        Its only dirge a passing tear—
    Thy mercy will unfold a day,
        When those sweet hopes shall re-appear;
    And human friendships shall not fade,
        Thy call shall re-unite the blest;
    And earth's long suffering be repaid
        With thine own everlasting rest!

    To faith's rapt eye that scene is bright;
        O may I firmly walk on earth,
    'Till I deserve that purer light—
        That moment of celestial birth!


    Page 57

    To thee, my God, freed from its chain,
        My disencumber'd soul shall fly;
    And lingering years of mortal pain
        Shall vanish in eternity!


    Page 58

    HYMN.

    I HAVE trembled with emotion,
        Bending at thy holy shrine;
    And my heart's absorb'd devotion
        Lord, hath been entirely thine!
    I have pour'd my soul before Thee,
        Spirit-humbled on my knees;
    And have waken'd to adore Thee,
        All my being's energies.

    I have laid my wearied head
        On thy sacred book of rest,
    When my quivering lips have read
        The high promise of the blest.
    Nature faints beneath the splendour
        Of thine unveil'd words of truth;
    While to that pure pledge I render
        The deep homage of my youth.


    Page 50

    Thro' the mists of earthly sorrow
        I have raised mine eyes to Thee,
    And have mark'd a happier morrow,
        Bosom'd in eternity;
    There in ceaseless splendour beaming,
        Lie the scenes of blessedness;
    Floods of light with rapture streaming,
        Glories—nothing can express!


    Page 60

    ECCLESIASTICUS, c. 43.
    PARAPHRASED.

    THE glory of the lofty height,
    The firmament serenely bright,
    The dazzling splendours of the sun
    Declaring God's own work begun;
    That beaming orb to which is given
    To lead the armies of the Heaven;
    And the pale moon, in high array
    Decreasing in her perfect ray,
    And pouring forth a mellower light
    On the dark shadows of the night;
    And every pure etherial cloud,
    Which seems th' Almighty throne to shroud,
    And flings its veil across the sky,
    As if to guard from earthly eye


    Page 61

    The lustre of each glorious star,
    Shining more soften'd from afar;
    Each in their own impervious place
    Running their appointed race;
    By the Holy One's command
    Impell'd by his almighty hand;
    Sweeping round with constant force,
    Never fainting in their course;
    Who these regions can explore,
    Who behold and not adore?
    Look upon heaven's beauteous bow,
    Praise Him who taught its hues to glow,
    Whose hands the radiant arch did bend,
    And bade the rival colors blend;
    Who sent his lightning's vivid scroll,
    Quick as thought fleets thro' the soul;
    Soon as felt 'tis past away,
    Spark of a celestial ray!
    Who pour'd his deep resounding thunder,
    Filling mortal ears with wonder.
    At whose sight the mountains shake,
    And all earth begins to quake;

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    Who rides upon the northern storm,
    And in the whirlwind hides his form;
    Who scattereth snow down from on high,
    Like winter birds that skim the sky;
    And dazzleth the astonish'd sight,
    With its glittering spotless white,
    'Till mortal heart owns, inly aw'd,
    These are indeed the works of God:
    How wide in their eternal range
    Are they! How glorious and how strange!
    They are surprising thro' the land,
    But He is terrible and grand!—
    And all Creation bows to own
    That He Himself is God alone!


    Page 63

    SONNET.

    ADVENTUROUS power! that hath transported me
        To an invisible and brighter world;
        Open'd the records of futurity,
        And all its wonders to my soul unfurl'd.
    Prophetic hope! O, in life's wildest doom,
        When all around is dim and desolate,
        Thou art the smiling conqueror of fate;
        Thy form sits brooding o'er the lowliest tomb.
    Still be th' unfailing guardian of my way;
        Thy smile was blessing to my infant breast,
        The inspiration of my youthful day,
    When doubtful, trust—and comfort, when distrest;
        And now when clouds and tempests o'er me lower,
        O bear my spirit up in this dark hour!


    Page 64

    LLANBERIS PASS.

    WHERE rocks tremendous frown on either side,
    Casting an awful gloom, and starting forth
    In wild projections, as with instant death
    Threatening the venturous traveller, in a pass
    Dark, dread, and desolate, alone I stood:
    I gaz'd on nature's most terrific features,
    And hailed them with a strange sublimity,
    Such as those feel who have held high communion
    With all her glorious forms;—and if I trembled,
    It was with joy to read her mysteries—
    The very danger fill'd me with a pleasure
    And deep enthusiasm.—I had peril'd
    All for that burst of gloomy extasy
    Which fill'd my spirit in that drear abyss.
    It was no common feeling—and it told me
    My soul had secret chords, which with a touch


    Page 65

    Would waken into passion; for such scenes
    Had been before in my imagination,
    And were familiar to me. I had thirsted
    For such a living vision, and rejoiced
    In the dark city, when the brightening thought
    That such things were came o'er me. It had been
    A lofty consolation, 'mid the cares
    And toils of my existence. Now I stood
    Inhaling all the majesty of nature;
    But was this all?—Was there no sudden impulse
    Bore my soul upward, and impell'd its gaze
    Unto th' Almighty Author?—Yes, my heart,
    With wonder and with gratitude was bounding,
    And every throb was answering the appeal.
    I saw a coming storm; there was a voice
    Of thunder in the Heavens, which seem'd to call
    For adoration; and the lightnings flash'd
    A sudden glory past me. On I hasten'd,
    Aw'd by the jar of struggling elements:
    When soon a gleam of beauty met my view.
    Amid the mountain waste a little spot

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    Shone fair and verdant. The sun's parting ray
    Still linger'd on it, and I heard the tone
    Of human voices, and astonish'd saw
    A cottage hanging on the sloping brow
    Of the deep precipice. What new emotions
    It brought upon me!—human sympathies,
    And rural pleasures, and domestic toils,
    And all the hopes and cares of busy life.—
    It vanish'd, and the solitary way
    Still lay before me, and the darkening rocks
    Became more intricate;—they too are vanish'd;
    Yet in their grandeur often seem to rise:
    And in my lone or melancholy hours
    My memory muses on Llanberis Pass.

    FINIS.
    J. M'Creery, Tooks Court,
    Chancery Lane, London.