THE HUGUENOT'S FAREWELL. I STAND upon the threshold stone Of mine ancestral hall; I hear my native river moan; I see the night o'er my old forests fall. I look round on the darkening vale The low wind in its rising wail Hath a strange tone, a sound of other days. But I must rule my swelling breast: A sign is in the sky; Bright o'er yon grey rock's eagle nest Shines forth a warning star-it bids me fly. My father's sword is in my hand, His deep voice haunts mine ear; He tells me of the noble band Whose lives have left a brooding glory here. He bids their offspring guard from stain Their pure and lofty faith; And yield up all things, to maintain The cause for which they girt themselves to death. And I obey.-I leave their towers Unto the stranger's tread; Unto the creeping grass and flowers; Unto the fading pictures of the dead. Their banners to the dust; I go, and only bear away Their old majestic name a solemn trust! I go up to the ancient hills, Where chains may never be, Where leap in joy the torrent rills, 305 Where man may worship God, alone and free. There shall an altar and a camp Impregnably arise; There shall be lit a quenchless lamp, To shine, unwavering, through the open skies. And song shall 'midst the rocks be heard, While, thrilling to God's holy word, The mountain pines in adoration bend. And there the burning heart no more Free currents thence, amidst the wilderness. Then fare thee well, my mother's bower, Perish my home! where lawless power Perish! let deathlike silence fall Spread fast, dark ivy, spread thy pall;- THE ENGLISH BOY. "Go, call thy sons; instruct them what a debt Those sacred rights to which themselves were born." Look from the ancient mountains down, Thy country's fields around thee gleam Ages have roll'd since foeman's march Gaze proudly on, my English boy! There, in the shadow of old Time, How bravely and how solemnly AKENSIDE. THE ENGLISH BOY. And round their walls the good swords hang And shields of knighthood, pure from stain- Gaze where the hamlet's ivied church Or where the minster lifts the cross Martyrs have shower'd their free hearts' blood Along their aisles, beneath their trees, Gaze on-gaze farther, farther yet- Yon blue sea bears thy country's flag, The billows' pride and joy! Those waves in many a fight have closed Above her faithful dead; That red-cross flag victoriously Hath floated o'er their bed. They perish'd-this green turf to keep Those churches unprofaned. 307 And high and clear, their memory's light Along our shore is set, And many an answering beacon-fire Lift up thy heart, my English boy! ANTIQUE GREEK LAMENT. By the blue waters-the restless ocean waters, I pine for thee through all the joyless day By the old temple on the breezy cliff, These hands have heap'd the watch-fire, till it stream'd Thy white sail comes not from the distant isles- |