"Twas when upon her death-bed laid-
(0, what a sight was that to see!)
“My child! —my child!" she feebly said,
And gave a parting kiss to me!
So now I am an orphan boy,
With nought below my heart to cheer;
No mother's love—no father's joy,
Nor kin nor kind to wipe the tear.
My lodging is the cold-cold ground,
I eat the bread of charity;
And, when the kiss of love goes round,
There is no kiss of love for me!
OLD ENGLAND for ever!
No power shall sever
My heart from the land of my birth;
"Tis the land of the brave,
Which none can enslave,
"Tis the happiest land upon earth!
"Tis the land of the free
So it ever shall be,
Her children no fetters can bind:
Ere Britons are slaves
She shall sink in the waves,
And leave not a vestige behind.
If the African stand
But once on her strand,
That moment, his shackles are broke;
A captive no more,
He leaps on her shore,
And shakes from his shoulders the yoke.
"Tis the land of the Brave
And the patriot's grave,
And heroes, and sages of old;
We hallow their dust,
And esteem it a trust,
More precious than jewels or gold.
'Tis the land of the Fair,
And beauty is there,
And the gladness that woman bestows;
When the circle is bright,
With the heart-cheering light,
From the eye of affection that flows.
"Tis the land of the Wise,
With the glorious prize
Of genius her temples are bound;
And she beams from afar,
Like a bright morning star,
To give light to all nations around.
Hail, land of my birth,
Brightest spot upon earth!
Shall I leave thee for others?—No, never!
Where'er I may roam,
Still thou art my home,
Old England, my country, for ever!
LINES ON THE DEATH OF A LAST CHILD.
FAREWELL, my young blossom!
The fairest, the fleetest,
The pride of my bosom
The last and the sweetest.
Take the gem that thou gavest,
Take the flow'r thou dost sever;
Take the soul that thou savest -
It is thine, and for ever!
UNIVERSAL PRAISE DUE TO GOD.
JEHOVAH reigns: let every nation hear,
And at his footstool bow with holy fear;
Let heaven's high arches echo with his name,
And the wide peopled earth his praise proclaim;
Then send it down to hell's deep glooms resounding,
Thro' all her caves in dreadful murmurs sounding.
He rules with wide and absolute command,
O'er the broad ocean and the steadfast land:
Jehovah reigns, unbounded and alone,
And all creation hangs beneath his throne:
He reigns alone: let no inferior nature
Usurp or share the throne of the Creator.
He saw the struggling beams of infant light
Shoot thro' the massy gloom of ancient night;
His spirit hush'd the elemental strife,
And brooded o'er the kindling seeds of life:
Seasons and months began the long procession,
And measured o'er the year in bright succession.
The joyful sun sprung up the ethereal way,
Strong as a giant, as a bridegroom gay;
And the pale moon diffused her shadowy light
Superior o'er the dusky brow of night;
Ten thousand glittering lamps the skies adorning,
Numerous as dew-drops from the womb of morning.
Earth's blooming face with rising flow'rs he dress'd,
And spread a verdant mantle o'er her breast;
Then from the hollow of his hand he pours
The circling waters round her winding shores,
The new-born world in their cool arms embracing,
And with soft murmurs still her banks caressing.
At length she rose complete in finish'd pride,
All fair and spotless, like a virgin bride:
Fresh, with untarnish'd lustre as she stood;
Her Maker bless'd his work, and call'd it good;
The morning stars, with joyful acclamation,
Exulting sung, and hail'd the new creation.
Yet this fair world, the creature of a day,
Tho' built by God's right hand, must pass away;
And long oblivion creep o'er mortal things,
The fate of empires, and the pride of kings:
Eternal night shall veil their proudest story,
And drop the curtain o'er all human glory.
The sun himself, with weary clouds opprest,
Shall in his silent dark pavilion rest;
His golden urn shall broke and useless lie,
Amidst the common ruins of the sky!
The stars rush headlong in the wild commotion,
And bathe their glittering foreheads in the ocean.
But fix'd, O God! for ever stands thy throne;
Jehovah reigns, a universe alone;
Th' eternal fire that feeds each vital flame,
Collected or diffused is still the same.
He dwells within his own unfathom'd essence,
And fills all space with his unbounded presence.
|