Felicia Hemans

“ They are gone forth, the Desert's warrior-race,
By stormy lakes to track the elk and roe;
But where art thou, the swift one in the chase,
With thy free footstep and unfailing bow?
Their singing shafts have reach'd the panther's lair,
And where art thou?—thine arrows are not there!
They rest beside their streams—the spoil is won—
They hang their spears upon the cypress-bough,
The night-fires blaze, the hunter's work is done—
They hear the tales of old—and where art thou? ”

“ Like a spring dew-drop—then his forehead wore
A prouder look—his eye a keener light—
—I knew these woods might be his world no more!
He loved me—but he left me!—thus they go,
Whom we have rear'd, watch'd, bless'd, too much adored! ”

“ A shiver'd spear, a cloven shield,
A helm with its white plume torn,
And a blood-stain'd turf on the fatal field,
Where a chief to his rest was borne!
He lies not where his fathers sleep,
But who hath a tomb more proud? ”

“ An old man's tears lie far too deep
To be pour'd for this alone!
But by that sign too well I know
That a youthful head must soon be low!
A youthful head, with its shining hair,
And its quick bright-flashing eye—
Well may I weep! for the boy is fair,
Too fair a thing to die! ”

“ And I see my brethren's lances gleam,
And their pennons wave, by the mountain-stream,
And their plumes to the glad wind float!
Cease awhile, clarion! clarion wild and shrill,
Cease! let them hear the captive's voice,—be still! ”

“ Though the fires give ruddy light,
Leave the hearth, and leave the hall—
Arm thee! Britain's foes must fall."
And the chieftain arm'd, and the horn was blown,
And the bended bow and the voice pass'd on. ”

“ When the Jungfrau's cliffs send back the tone
Through their eagles' lonely sky;
When spear-heads light the lakes,
When trumpets loose the snows,
When the rushing war-steed shakes
The glacier's mute repose ”

“ But thou hast no part in the gladdening notes;
There are bright young faces that pass thee by,
But they fix no glance of thy wandering eye!
Away! there's a void in thy yearning breast,
Thou weary man! wilt thou here find rest? ”

“ In the misty depths of thy soft dark eyes?
—Thou hast loved, fair girl! thou hast loved too well!
Thou art mourning now o'er a broken spell,
Thou hast pour'd thy heart's rich treasures forth,
And art unrepaid for their priceless worth! ”

“ Look upon thee—the tired one, slumbering there!
Why, so the peasant sleeps
Beneath his vine!—And man must kneel before thee,
And for his birthright vainly still implore thee—
Shalt thou be stay'd because thy brother weeps? ”

“ Leaves have their time to fall,
And flowers to wither at the North-wind's breath,
And stars to set—but all,
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, oh, Death! ”

“ The three founders of the Helvetic Confederacy are thought to sleep in a cavern near the Lake of Lucerne. The herdsmen call them the Three Tells, and say that they lie there in their antique garb, in quiet slumber; and when Switzerland is in her utmost need, they will awaken and regain the liberties of the land.—See Quarterly Review, No. ”

“ THE VASSAL'S LAMENT FOR THE FALLEN TREE.
"Here (at Brereton in Cheshire) it one thing incredibly strange, but attested, as I myself have heard, by many persons, and commonly believed. Before any heir of this family dies, there are seen in a lake adjoining, the bodies of trees swimming on the water for several days."—Camden's Britannia. ”

“ And dimm'd in aspect, who like thee return!
Thou 'rt faint—stay, rest thee from thy toils at last,
Through the high chesnuts lightly plays the breeze,
The stars gleam out, the Ave hour is past,
The sailor's hymn hath died along the seas. ”

“ Some of the Brazilians pay great veneration to a certain bird that sings mournfully in the night-time. They say it is a messenger which their deceased friends and relations have sent, and that it brings them news from the other world. ”