FAIREST! PUT ON AWHILE.

Fairest! put on awhile

These pinions of light I bring thee,
And o'er thy own green isle

In fancy let me wing thee.
Never did Ariel's plume,
At golden sunset hover
O'er scenes so full of bloom,
As I shall waft thee over.

Fields, where the Spring delays
And fearlessly meets the ardour
Of the warm Summer's gaze,

With only her tears to guard her.
Rocks, through myrtle boughs

In grace majestic frowning;

Like some bold warrior's brows

That Love hath just been crowning!

Islets, so freshly fair,

That never hath bird come nigh them, But from his course thro' air

He hath been won down by them; Types, sweet maid, of thee,

Whose look, whose blush inviting,

Never did Love yet see

From Heav'n, without alighting.

17)

Schönste! vertraue kühn.

Schönste! vertraue kühn

Dich diesen Lichtesschwingen,

Ueber dein Eiland grün

Laß mich im Geist dich schwingen. Schwebend wieg' ich im Flug

Dich ob so duft'gem Blühen, Als Uriel nimmer trug

Sein Fittich im Abendglühen.

Fluren, wo Lenz verweilt,

Von fengenden Sommergluthen Furchtlosen Blicks ereilt,

Im Schuß seiner Thränenfluthen; Felsen, die, Myrt'-umlaubt,

Anmuthig hehr erglänzen, Gleich stolzem Kriegerhaupt, Umwunden von Liebeskränzen;

Inseln, so duftig schön,

Daß nimmer dort Vögel flogen,

Die nicht von duft'gen Höh'n

Sich fühlten lieb hingezogen; —17) Bilder von dir, süß Lieb:

So oft dein huldig Grüßen Vom Himmel schaut die Lieb', Entschwebt sie dir zu Füßen.

Lakes, where the pearl lies hid, 18)
And caves, where the gem is sleeping,
Bright as the tears thy lid

Lets fall in lonely weeping.
Glens, where Ocean comes, 19)

To 'scape the wild wind's rancour, And Harbours, worthiest homes Where Freedom's fleet can anchor.

Then, if, while scenes so grand,
So beautiful, shine before thee,
Pride for thy own dear land

Should haply be stealing o'er thee,

Oh, let grief come first,

O'er pride itself victorious

Thinking how man hath curst

What Heaven had made so glorious!

Seeen, drin Edelstein'

Und Perlen ruhn gemeinsam, 18) Licht wie die Thränen dein, Geweint im Kummer einsam; Thäler, drin Ocean 19)

Sich birgt als Sturmeskranker, Und Buchten, fried’umfahn,

Drin Freiheit gern würf' Unker.

Dann, wenn, so schön entrollt,
Groß, glanzvoll ohne Gleichen,
Dich ob der Heimath sollt'

Ein fel'ger Stolz beschleichen --
O, den Stolz beiseit!

Dem Wehruf erst dein Ohr reich': Daß Menschen schnöd' entweiht, Was Gott erschuf so glorreich!

AND DOTH NOT A MEETING LIKE THIS.

And doth not a meeting like this make amends,
For all the long years I've been wand'ring away
To see thus around me my youth's early friends,
As smiling and kind as in that happy day?
Though haply o'er some of your brows, as o'er mine,
The snow-fall of time may be stealing — what then?
Like Alps in the sunset, thus lighted by wine,

We'll wear the gay tinge of youth's roses again.

What soften'd remembrances come o'er the heart,

In gazing on those we 've been lost to so long! The sorrows, the joys, of which once they were part, Still round them, like visions of yesterday, throng; As letters some hand hath invisibly traced,

When held to the flame will steal out on the sight, So many a feeling, that long seem'd effaced,

The warmth of a moment like this brings to light.

And thus, as in memory's bark we shall glide,
To visit the scenes of our boyhood anew,
Tho' oft we may see, looking down on the tide,
The wreck of full many a hope shining through;
Yet still, as in fancy we point to the flowers,

That once made a garden of all the gay shore, Deceived for a moment, we'll think them still ours,

And breathe the fresh air of life's morning once more.