will God indeed Dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven, and heaven Of heavens, cannot contain Thee; how much less This house that man hath builded! .... hear Thou in heaven, thy dwelling-place; And when Thou hearest, O Lord God, forgive! ISAIAH, XXV. 1. 4. 7. Thy counsels, Lord, of old, Are faithfulness and truth. A strength to the weak hast thou been, A help to the poor in his need, A refuge from the storm, A shadow from the heat. The covering that is cast Over all people shall be then removed, And the veil that is spread Over all nations be taken away. ISAIAH, XXVI. 3. 5. 8. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace Whose mind is stay'd on Thee. He bringeth down them that dwell on high; The foot shall tread it down, In the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee. ISAIAH, XXVIII. 15. 17. 18. And under falsehood have they hid themselves; By the storm shall their refuge be swept away, By the flood be overflown. ISAIAH, XXVIII. 16. In Zion the foundation hath been laid, A precious corner-stone, a sure foundation. ISAIAH, XXXI. 3. When the Lord shall put forth his anger, Then both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen. ISAIAH, LVII. 1. The righteous perisheth, And none layeth it to heart! The merciful man Is taken away EZEKIEL, VII. 5, 6, 7. 12. Is come,-1 the end is come! It watcheth for thee, behold it is come. Is upon all the multitudes thereof. EZEKIEL, XXII. 7, 8. 14. In thee have they set light By venerable age, By natural piety. In thee God's holy things have they despised, God's sabbaths have profaned. Oh can thine heart endure, Or can thine hand be strong, LITTLE BOOK, IN GREEN AND GOLD. LITTLE BOOK, in green and gold, Little Book, when thou art old, And when these have past away, Thou in due descent shouldst come, And in whom thou may'st awake, When those feelings, and that race, Thou wilt then be bought and sold, But if some collector find thee, 9th September, 1831. IMAGINATION AND REALITY. THE hill was in the sunshine gay and green, A thin white cloud, that scarce was seen to fly, Yet cloud methinks I err in calling it, That I stood loitering for the view: And many a time had travell'd them all o'er; Yet now such change the hazy air had wrought, That I could well have thought I never had beheld the scene before. But while I gazed the cloud was passing by; On the slow air it slowly travell'd on, Eftsoon and that deceitful haze was gone, Which had beguiled me with its mockery; And all things seem'd again the things they were. Alas! but then they were not half so fair As I had shaped them in the hazy air! LINES WRITTEN IN THE ALBUM OF ROTHA Q. ROTHA, after long delays, Since thy book must cross the Raise, Wiser wish than what thy name Their pastoral course from lake to lake, Till into Windermere sedate They flow and uncontaminate. Thus in childhood blithe and free, Thus in thy maturity, Blest and blessing, may it be; Thus serenely close at last. MADRIGAL, TRANSLATED FROM LUIS MARTIN. [This poem is selected for publication from a small volume of translations, because, having been printed before în a newspaper, it attracted the attention of Mr. D'Israeli, who has inserted it in the "Curiosities of Literature," as a beautiful specimen of a kind of extravagance characteristic of Spanish poetry. It seemed, therefore, worth while to place it among the poems of the Translator.] On the green margin of the land, With golden key Sleep's gentle hand MOHAMMED; A FRAGMENT, WRITTEN IN 1799. CLOAK'D in the garment of green, who lies on the bed of Mohammed, All their tread, and their whisp'ring, till even the play of his pulses Fix on the green-robed youth their eyes; impatiently watchful Steady the hero's face it was pale, for his life was a blessing; It was calm, for in death he look'd on to the crown of the martyr. Dark as they were of soul, and goaded by rage disappointed, They shed not the blood of the youth, but remember'd their chieftain his father, Abu Taleb the good, and respected the virtue of friendship. Baffled, and full of wrath, through Mecca they scatter the tidings: "He has fled, has discover'd our plans, has eluded our vengeance. "Saw ye the steps of his flight? Where lurks he, the lying blasphemer? "Now to the chase, to the chase; seize now the bow and the quiver; "Now with the sword and the spear, ye stubborn of Mecca! pursue him; "Seek him now to the north and the south, to the sunset and sunrise; "Follow, follow the chosen one's flight!" They rush from the city: Over the plain they pursue him, pursue him with cries and with cursesSounds that rung over the plain, and rung in the echoing mountains; And Mecca received in her streets the din of their clamorous uproar. But the voice of the Moslem, the silent prayer of the faithful, Rose to the throne of God; and tears of the heart overflowing Interceded for him whom they loved and believed his apostle. " "Where is the blasphemous fled ?- the lying disturber of Mecca? "Has he journey'd to Tayef? Under the shield of his uncle "Lurks he for safety there?—or to Yathreb, the credulous city? "Or seeks he the Ethiop's court, where the earlier runaways shelter? Lashing their steeds, they pursue; to the east and the dwelling of Abbas Hasten the thirsty for blood; to the north they hurry, to Yathreb; Some to the shore of the sea, lest haply a bark might await him, And the waves should become his protectors: impetuously rushing, Drive they in fury along; beneath the hoofs of their horses Sparkles the rock of the valley, and rises the dust of the desert. Others the while, more cool in wrath, and thoughtful in fury, All whom the Prophet loved, who believed in the son of Abdallah. Not in their hollows and glens, can they track the steps of his going. Fled. The advancing pursuers heard the whirr of her pinions, And he who was first exclaim'd, "There is none in the hole of the mountain; "For lo! a pigeon fled from her nest at the sound of my coming, "And the spider hath spread his network over the entrance." Then from the cave he turn'd. Was thy spirit shaken, Mohammed, When in the depth of the rock thou heardest the voice of the Koreish? And his eyes in alarm were turn'd towards thee in the darkness. Silent they sat in the rock; nor moved they, nor breathed they; but listen'd Long to the tread of the feet, that, fainter and fainter sounding, Died in the distance now: yet still they were silent, and listen'd. Abubeker first, as his fear gave faith to the echo, Fresh in his sense alarm'd-" Hark! hark! I hear them returning : So the night came on, and they in the place of their refuge He in the cave laid down the water-skin that he carried, Low was his voice, for he spake in fear: "The peril is pressing, "Prophet of God, I saw thy foes return in the twilight: "Sullen they came from their toil, and talk'd of the search on the morrow. "The Idolaters joy in thy flight, and grieve at thy safety: "God shall remember their joy, and that grief, in the day of his judgement. They shall feel in their evil load! A price is appointed "His who shall shed thy blood: but keep thou close in the mountain; He paused so, suddenly checking Mohammed heard; and he bow'd his head, and groan'd for his exile. |