fosEs, Glass il Book^iLT; / - THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL; WITH OTHER POEMS. BY DAVID MALLOCK, A.M. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. NEW-YORK : W [ L L I A M STOD A R T , No. G Courtlandt-etreet. 1833. IK 41 7^ SOOTH AND SMITH, PRINTERS, No. 7 Wall-street. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. PART I. CONTENTS. IMMORTALITT OF THE SoUL— Part *; ""\V.\Y.\Y. 25 Part II 45 Notes Miscellaneous Poems— Mutability • To a Star Sonnet » • Scene, from Arthur's Seat, near Edinburgh 59 ' . 60 The Fountain 62 The Last of his Race Eudemus and Ellenore Specimens of an unpublished Poem— r „ , 78 E^th The Birth of Clouds and Rivers . 81 Stanzas ► ' The bringing up of the Ark _ 85 Stanzas Babylon : . . 87 To the Stars . ... 85 Palestine 90 The Pilffrimage to Mecca 92 Hebrew Melody Well of Bethlehem • 94 PREFACE. It may be proper to state, that the following Poe m, on the Immortality of the Soul, was read in the University of Edinburgh, Session 1828-27, having been successful in competition with others on the same subject. H ad the Author followed the dictates of self-esteem, rather than of prudence, he might long ere now have given it to the public; but a consciousness of the greatness of the subject, and a knowledge of the weakness of many parts of the Poem, as it originally stood, conjoined with the hope of being able, in maturer years, to render it more worthy of public notice, have deferred its appear- ance till now. Should the Author, however, in the estimation of the candid and the discerning, still be deemed to have failed in his object, (for he is well aware that the mirror of self-love too frequently returns a false reflection,) the erroneousness of private judgment may perhaps meet with gentle treatment, upon the recollection that the innate grandeur of the subject can suffer no eclipse from the dim shadowings of his weakness. London, April 3d, 1832. ANALYSIS OF PART I. The Poem opens with the supposition of Annihilation after death. — The feelings arising from such a supposition attempted to be portrayed by an apostrophic burst of the Soul, in which are depicted the bold and sublime features of Nature.— Reason invoked to dispel the horroi such a Doctrine. — An address to the Deity. FIRST ARGUMENT. The universal belief of Immortality. Scene: — The East. — Vale of Cashmere. — Worship described. — Cau- casus and Himmaluh. — Doctrines of Zoroaster. — Mode of worship de- picted. — India beyond the Ganges. — Siam. — Hindostan. — Doctrines of Bramah illustrated by a Hindoo mother presenting her child as an offer- ing to the sacred river. — Suttee. — Voluntary death of a Brahmin. — Agra and Delhi. — Their plains ensanguined by the fanaticism of Idol worship. Scene: — The West. — The palmy isles of the Pacific. — Mode of worship described. — Conclusion of the Argument. — Inference, Immor- tality. SECOND ARGUMENT. Monumental Remembrances. Sequestered burying ground described. — Nature introduced as a Mourner. — Human Love apostrophised. — The Cypress-tree, an em- blem of Immortality.— The brutal tribes contrasted with man, in respect of their short-lived reminiscences. — Conclusion of the Argument. — Inference, the same. ANALYSIS OF PART I. THIRD ARGUMENT: The Love of Fame. Invocation. — The Spirit of the Past. — Youthful feelings, arising from the contemplation of the illustrious Dead, developed. — Character of Epaminondas. — Egypt. — Her fallen grandeur bewailed. — Palmyra. — Her state of splendour delineated. — Scene changed : — Her sublimity in ruin apostrophised. — The greatness of her fall illustrated by the ever- lasting sleep of her Weeping Fountain. — Twofold inference. — Contem- plation of her ruins exciting in the Soul a lofty consciousness of its own powers, and secondly, showing the hopes of Immortality in the minds of those who erected these Edifices, by means of which they hoped to extend their Existence through future ages. FOURTH ARGUMENT. The delight which the Mind feels in picturing ideal scenes of Purity and Bliss, pointing to a higher state of Existence. The birth of Time. — Allusion to the golden Age of the Poets. — Elysium. — Inference, Immortality. FIFTH ARGUMENT. The Unity and Immateriality of Mind. Close sympathy between the body and the mind, illustrated by streams running from the same fountain. — The separate existence of the Soul exemplified by the Musician and his harp. — The frequent expan- sion of the Soul at Death, proving its immateriality. — Its activity in dreaming. — It3 unity inferred froma contrary supposition. — Apostrophe- —Conclusion of Part the First. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. PART I. NON OMNIS MORIAR. Delusive Hopes, farewell ! Alas ! no more Can your bright visions flatter as before : Fleeting as dreams — their glories could not last ; Baseless as clouds — their airy reign is past. Oh, dreadful presage ! are the skiey tow'rs Of High Thought levcll'd, and Death's sterile bow'rs Cull'd of their roses, by this fearful doom — Man's heaven-born Soul, must perish in the tomb ? Erewhile, methought I could serenely lay My limbs to rest, and breathe my life away ; Upon the dying pillow lean my head, And calmly sink among the voiceless Dead : For I had deem'd, my nobler part would rise, On wings of pow'r, beyond the starry skies, And still speed onward with a Seraph's flight, Until it bask'd in uncreated light. 2 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Vain are these hopes, if such the Spirit's doom — Death its award, — its dwelling place, the tomb ! Ye blindly Wise, who boldly dare to say, The parting soul must perish with the clay ; Who deem Divine Philosophy your own, Yet trample thus upon her radiant throne ; Who call the Wise — the Weak — the Proud — the Free. Those bound in chains — the Sons of Liberty ; Who boast that o'er the lowly Crowd ye rise. Yet thus unplume a Native of the skies ! Ye vainly Great ! O ! mark the gath'ring gloom, Your earth-born wisdom flings around the tomb ! So might the parting Spirit greet our ear, When the dark hour of Endless Night drew near ! And Earth receding from her swimming eye, Hopeless, she sunk in Death's cold agony ! " And must I perish — must the cruel Grave Gorge my existence, pitiless to save, And whelm my being in the dread abyss Of Death eternal — endless Nothingness ? Oh ! thus to linger ! one reviving breath, — I live again ! — alas ! can this be death? Life, Hope, farewell ! it is ! — I feel even now Cold carnal damps stand ( hick upon my brow ! Borne from the regions of the glowing Day, In endless Night I sink — away — away ! THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 3 Farewell, ye glorious Heavens, — intense in brightness ! Ye Clouds all gorgeous, — bas'd in snowy whiteness ! Sailing like islands of the Blest on high, O'er the calm ocean of yon crystal sky ; — Thou radiant Fountain of all Beauty, too, Thee I must leave — God of the day, adieu ! Ye silver Stars— coursers of the Most High, Running your race of swiftness through the sky, Nightly, with silent feet — 'dewing your track With milky splendour, and shedding far back Through Ether's solitudes, in numerous streams Of liquid radiance, which, like light in dreams That vision heaven, o'ermaster the frail sense So wild they shine — they sparkle so intense ! And thou, soul-melting Moon, with thy pale ray Mellowing the fiercer tints of golden day, And, with the soften' d lustre of thy face, Gilding the blue dome of eternal Space ; Chaste Moon, farewell ! Thee, too, Dedalian Earth— Thee I must leave, huge cradle of my birth ! By spirits rock'd, that chaunt life's lullaby In the immortal music of the sky !— Spher'd World, adieu! with thy fair garniture Of Nature's working, that shall still endure ; Eternal pyramids — cloud-cleaving Mountains ! Mirrors translucent — ever-swelling Fountains ! Green Harps of Heaven's wild music, — waving Woods, That sooth with airy notes your solitudes ! — 2 4 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, Realms of the virgin lilies — lowly Vales, Tho' subject, beauteous — where the love-sick gales Linger, to kiss away the dewy tears Of your sweet Natives, when the dawn appears ! Nature's calm chambers, deep Dells, gloomy Bow'rs, With your still people — incense-breathing Flow'rs, That pale and blush in their own mute recess, While gazing on each other's loveliness ! — Rivers majestic ! through the vales that glide To lose your waters in the rolling Tide ; Crowning your verdured banks with endless flow'rs. And sending gladness through this world of ours, Down from yon mountain's snow-crown'd pinnacle, Strong in your might, majestic Streams, farewell ! — Thou boundless Ocean — floor of Nature's dome, King of all floods, their parent and their home ! Mirror of Heaven, where its bright hosts behold Their forms reflected, bathed in trembling gold ; Young in eternal strength, thou still shalt roll Thy giant waters on from Pole to Pole, Girdling the world with thy deep zone of blue, Ocean ! thou last of things, adieu — adieu !" If, from the blissful realms of golden Day The Spirit thus be doom'd to pass away ; If in such anguish, such appalling fears, Must end the round of sorrow-circled years ; O ! Life, what art thou ? what thy brightest beam ? A meteor flash — a lightning-winged dream ! THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Bind with the shady wreath the sunny brow, And for the Myrtle, take the Cypress bough ; Quench the bland lustre of the laughing eye — Hope ! droop thy wings, Thou too art doom'd to die. Hail ! Guiding Light, o'er life's tempestuous sea Unsetting Star ! we gladly turn to thee ! Transcendent Intellect ! thy holy ray Shall chase the gloom of impious Doubt away, And 'mid the closing darkness of the tomb, The nickering lamp of faith shall re-illume ! O ! may that Spirit, whose bright resting-place ' Is the blue temple of unbounded space, Whose breath enkindled those eternal fires That gem Heaven's azure halls when day expires ; Who bade our starry train in pomp arise, And sweep majestic round the circling skies ; Fountain of Being — endless Source of Love, Shed o'er this heart meet influence from above, Such that the Spirit, borne on wings of pow'r, Rising, may claim her everlasting dow'r ; And like the Sun's own bird exulting cry, " Earth gave me birth, — my home is in the sky." If then we deem th' immortal Spirit must Sink with its frail companion in the dust ; Or, like the golden mist that veils the morn, Dissolve away as soon as it is born ; O THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, Whence, Thou Dark Doubting One — say, whence arise In every breast such longings for the skies? Wing thy bold flight around the Dedal world, Where'er the Sun his banner has unfurl'd, And with his host of glittering beams hath driven The shades of night beyond the cope of heaven ; Fly to the East — the realms of silver Light, Where Day springs rosy from the arms of Night ; See ! 'mid the scented vales of sweet Cashmere, Where fadeless roses blossom through the year, And cloudless skies by day, and starry nights, Still prompt the gladdened Soul to new delights, And, Siren-like, invite her still to stay, An erring wand'rer on her viewless way ; Strong in her in-born virtue, see f she springs Aloft, and heaven-ward spreads her glittering wings I No more shall Ahriman the sceptre wield — Shiver'd his fiery sword, and magic shield ; OfSrazd alone in lasting light shall reign, And cleanse the earth-born Soul from every stain I Hark ! from the summits of yon mountains blue — • Of lofty Caucasus, or Himmaluh ; Altars resplendent, of that gorgeous dome Which the rapt Spirit finds her native home ! Melodious accents greet the list'ning ear, Like rippling waves, when summer suns appear— THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. So soft the swell — upborne they mount on high, And enter Mithras' palace in the sky; Sooth'd is the God — his starry legions rise From blest repose, and glance along the skies : Bright are their deeds, but viewless are their forms ;- They rule the day, and shelter it from storms ; Meanwhile, in Passion's ever-wakeful ear, Hope whispers peace — " Thou shalt not perish here ; But when Life's ling-ring years their race have run, Then shalt thou dwell with Mithras in the sun !"' Pierce the dread gloom of woods that shadows o'er India's vast plains, or Siam's spicy shore ; Yes ! 'mid these deep recesses shalt thou find Beings who boast of an Immortal Mind ; Who, 'neath the umbrage of some giant tree, To gods mis-shapen bow the trembling knee, And breathe a prayer for Immortality ! See ! by the banks of Ganges' holy wave, Whose sacred streams enrich the fields they lave, See ! issuing from yon palmy grove that rears On high, the branchings of a thousand years, And casts its shadow o'er the azure plain Which rolls its snowy tribute to the main, Yon solemn pomp — Amid the sounding throng, Slow as a wearied cloud, is borne along The Hindoo Mother ; all her smugglings past, Nature subdued, her heaven she gains at last. 2* Ct THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Lo ! by her side, embedded 'mong bright flow'rs, Such as unfading bloom in Betah's bow'rs, A rosy child appears, whose sparkling eye Mocks the rich lustre of an Indian sky, — Smiles on her placid face, and seems to say, " How my soul yearns to thee this blessed day, Fountain of life ! Let these weak arms entwine Thy form, as doth the elm, the drooping vine. Bright is the sky, unshaken is the tree, Yet still this boding heart would turn to thee." Vain the appeal ; " To holy Bramah thou, Child of my tears, art consecrated now." Lo ! on the bosom of the waters laid, Soon, soon, it sinks in everlasting shade. And yet, if natural things, which ebb and flow, Might e'er be deemed to weep at human wo, The sobbing stream might charm the babe to rest, Folding its robe of azure round his breast, And, ere its waters still'd upon his grave, Might mourn the Innocent it could not save ! Balm to the mother's grief — the God has given Her child a home beside himself in heaven. The spouseless Widow, with a tearful smile, Clasps to her breast her partner on the pile ; And, 'mid the billows of devouring flame, Expires exultant, breathing forth his name. The thousand dangers of life's voyage — o'er, In Scheevah's bow'rs they meet — to part no more. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 9 The high-soul'd Brahmin spurns his home of clay, Breaks its weak walls, and soars to endless day ! Ask Agra steeps, or Delhi's whit'ning plains, Where the dread Power of Superstition reigns ? Ask why the flow'ry sod is sprinkled o'er With purpled dew-drops and ensanguin'd gore ? 'Tis there the starry pathway of the skies Leads with broad sweep to sainted Paradise. Tend thy wild flight to the far distant West, W T here the fierce day-star sinks into his rest, And paves with golden light the lucent sea, Whose peaceful waters slumber silently Round the green shores of many a palmy isle, Which o'er its azure breast is seen to smile — Each, in its verdurous beauty, a fair gem In deep-empurpled Ocean's diadem. Yes ! though embosom'd in the lonely deep, Unknown to Science in her circling sweep — Yes ! even here, Bold Doubter, shalt thou find Illustrious traces of Immortal Mind : Here vows are made, here pray'rs ascend to forms That guard the wat'ry wilderness from storms ; While from the deep Morai's central gloom, The chainless Soul, exulting, mocks the tomb. Circle, on soaring wing, this rounded Sphere, Where Winter wields his storms through half the year, 10 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Where rosy Spring, with all her blooming train, Brings the Elysian ages back again ; Where radiant Summer ne'er is seen to set, Nor Autumn with her golden coronet : Still in each region — still in every clime, Man's spirit spurns the narrowing bounds of Time ; And, like the tow'ring Condor, loves to rise O'er the low earth, and soar along the skies. See, through the branchings of these clust'ring trees, Which wave their emerald tresses in the breeze, How calmy beautiful, how mildly bright, Its shaft it rears, embathed in mellowed light — Yon monumental marble ! Nature's tears Have dimm'd the radiance of its primal years. And, have the Heavens alone bewailed the doom Of Beauty sleeping in that lonely tomb? And have the golden Clouds rain'd down their showers Alone, to nourish these undrooping flowers? And has no human Love, with moistened eye, Bless'd, as they pass'd, these Mourners of the sky. And blended with their balmy drops its own, And joy'd to think they had not wept alone ? Yes ! o'er each grassy heap and flow'ring mound, That marks the region of Sepulchral Ground, Tears have been shed, and, swelling foiih its grief, The sorrow-laden heart has found relief. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOIL. 11 Oh, holy Nature ! still most true to thee, Our Dead we lav beneath the cypress-tree ! Emblem of Grief, and overshadowing Love, It spreads its arms most droopingly above, And shelters them, and whispers o'er their tomb, " Your nobler part, like mine, shall ever bloom !" With meteor wings thought speeds across the plain Where barren Zarah holds her thirsty reign, And fast and far as darts the piercing eye, Heaves her white waves around the bending sky — Un-navigable Sea ! when once has past O'er its gray marge the whirling desert blast! Here do the thousand Savages that roam Afric's drear realms retain their fiery home. And do they ever live? No sign we see " Of dying flesh or dull mortality ; M No turf-crowned tomb, no cypress-shaded urn, No mark of grief to make the living mourn. No ! these can view their frail companions yield To death, and leave them tombless on the field. Not so the noblest of the living race Who wears the God imprinted on his face ; He from unholy hands still seeks to keep The lov'd in death — Faith cries, " They only sleep." Say, whence the passion that absorbs the soul Which pants to reach transcendent Glory's goal ? 12 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Whence the desire of cherishing our name, And feeding it with th' Asphodels of Fame ? Oh. wake, thou Spirit o^ the Past ! unfold Thy banner, blazoned with the deed- See ! through the parting mists of ancient y Like a long line of light, thy roll appears. L ' on its pictured page, undimm'd by Time, Are sainted names, in characters sublin still 'mid lisht unfading seem to stand. The g id guardians of o :r-la>~d. When f. ? ney's airy pinions borne, [seal' mount, and hail'd her purple 1 in" d the bright'ning heav'ns, and mark'd the skies tant blush, to see the Glory ris — Illustrious Theban! thou to me didst seem ' in my youthful dream. H '■ my heart panted, 'mid the deafning roar Of cataracts thund'ring down the mountains hoar, To think of thee — to view thee walking still In Virtue's path — unshook the steadfast will ! oger to Pride, while Greece's hundred Isles Hailed thee Deliverer ; and the sunny smiles Of her fair daughters glanced around thy brow, Like radiant arrows from the Silver Bow, Still, still, unmoved — •• My Parents," would'st thou say, i; How joyful must they be this blessed day ! And, when upborne upon thy bloody shield, A victor, from the carnage-covered field, THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOIL. 13 Still did thy closing lips and p? a ith Murmur forth music in the : death. •• H '.':'. right award for this untimely doom ! — Undying Thoughts, shall hover round n. glorious Greek ! through 1 ring years Shall ■ s, wal Yes, s id the shatter- Theban ! thou towerest — an immortal name. Mysterious Land ! where Darkn - :ar 5, And inly hop'd mans Science-bean; '.. _ *>ierce the de _ re are thy wonde: form — untre - Thy hundred-gated Ci" - Thy _ Domes that haii'd the pur Thy Temples an^ Of with' ring Death ha And crumbling Piles, and Monuments alon Mark the sad spot where E_ t's splendours shone. Green Isle of Beauty, "mid the sandy s Star of the East ! now would vce turn I In palmy pride v. Glance like soft moonlight through thy citron bo~ Wide spreading Porticoes, where _ \ys The ripen'd glories of her golden c 14 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Fanes and tall Temples, where the king of Light Enshrines his Godhead — burst upon the sight ; Divinest forms of marble living there, Breathe their mute thoughts upon the silent air, And fill with preternatural Love thy halls, Which sigh responsive from their pictured walls. Hark ! through thy busy streets, the bright array, The martial pomp proclaims the festive day, While Beauty's shining locks and sparkling eyes Enhance thy lustre — Palmy Paradise ! Past is the music of that fleeting dream ; — On thy white turrets now no longer gleam The silver arrows of that radiant Power, Who guarded thee, and mourn'd thy falling hour. What of thy splendour, Proudest Queen ! remains ? Fragments thick-strewn along the sandy plains ; Nay ! thine own Fountain, in its shadowy sleep, O'er thy lost grandeur has forgot to weep ! — The desert-tempests of a thousand years Have sealed the source of its embalming tears ! — And in thy ruins can we only see The blasted hopes of cold mortality ! — Thou prostrate Beauty ! No, through rolling Time, Thy shiver'd urn shall speak of things sublime, And urge the lofty Soul from earth to rise, To its enduring palace in the skies ! THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 15 While on thy mould'ring columns each can trace, Sculptur'd, the hopes of an Immortal Race ! — Fly to the cradle-home of ages — fly ! — See Time emerging from Eternity ! Fluttering his star-gemm'd pinions for the flight Of myriad years ; — and braiding, in the light Of the young heavens, his locks of golden hue ; Then clustering vine-like, hoary, now, and few ! Look at the primal World, whose fragrant bow'rs Enamoured held the ever-circling Hours ; And Spring, perpetual, in her rosy chain, With laughing eyes, fast bound the fleeting train ! See the bright, scenes which deathless Bards unfold Through ages past — Saturnian years of gold ! When Peace and Innocence walk'd hand in hand, And balmy influence shed, o'er every land — When Earth, unwounded, bared her bounteous bre. And gave the hungry, food — the weary, rest. Dreams, glorious, golden ! heaven-taught Poets sung Your soft deliciousness, ere yet were flung Around man's spirit, that all-dazzling light Which blinded Death and put his shades to flight. 'Twas thus, amid Elysium's liquid plains, Ye banished grief, and sooth'd Life's feverish pains ; 3 16 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, 'Twas thus, amid the gloom of ancient Night, Your Spirits sprung, exultant, into light ! " Yet still the mortal and th' immortal part Conjoin'd, must sink 'neath Death's unerring dart : And thus your glowing proofs must fade away, Cloud-like, before calm Reason's brighter ray." So speaks the Doubter — shall We tamely yield, And, like to vanquish'd wrestlers, quit the field ? Shall We 'neath airy strokes submit to bow, Grief in our heart, and Shame upon our brow ''. Forbid it, holiest Hope — thou still shalt smile On our dim way, and half our cares beguile ; Upborne by thee, pale Unbelief we meet, And victors, view her writhing at our feet ! Though like bright streams which from one fountain run, Sparkling in light beneath the summer sun, The Spirit and her Partner still partake Of joy or grief, each for the other's sake ; Though from the ruby lips soft accents flow, When the full heart embodies forth its wo ; Though mellowed beauty lights the laughing eye. When Pleasure's fairy cup is sparkling high, — These, like the notes the bland Musician flings Harmonious, from his harp of thousand strings, Respond in sympathy — melodious still, The Great Enchanter tunes it at his will — THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 17 And, when his glowing fingers strike no more The golden wires, the melody is o'er ;. — Deem not, that, 'mid the sinking billows toss'd, The Child of Music is for ever lost, Though still, the soundless Instrument remains; No longer sign of Pleasures or of Pains ! What ! were the Soul the offspring of decay, Then would she wither with the with'ring clay ; Yet do we find when Death himself is near, And his grim Horrors palpably appear, The Immortal Spirit, in the mortal strife, Bursts the dread gloom and brightens into life ! If each were of the like material made, Then, when this breathing World is wrapt in shade, And Morpheus from his cloudy throne descends, And o'er our wearied forms his wing extends, Gemm'd with Lethean dews, which bring repose, And all the portals of the Senses close ; Sleep would be dreamless — the dull God would bind, In poppied chains — the Body and the mind. Mark now that radiant Bird of Paradise ! Plum'd for her flight — she gains upon the skies, And scaling Heaven's illimitable dome, Exults to find the Universe her home ! But if corporeal be the human Mind, Parts there must be innumerably join'd ; 18 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Each separate one must will, conceive, design, This to the right, that to the wrong, incline ; Thus, like opposing tides that rush to meet, Swift to engage — still swifter to retreat, Dashing on high their silver-beaming spray, Each will proud power usurp, and none obey. The smiling bond of Unity undone, J)iscord, the realm of Peace shall overrun : Hence then the thought, that Mind must waste away, The subtle sport of perishable clay ! Shiver'd Life's glassy chain, the Spirit springs From earth, and waves on high her starry wings ! Thus Reason speaks, her heaven-directed ray Chases the shades of sceptic Doubt away, Enkindles Hope, whose never-dying charms, Beam on the soul in Nature's last alarms, And o'er the pallid brow and closing eye Pour living lustre that shall never die ! THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. PART II. ANALYSIS OP PART II. Hope of Immortality apostrophised. — Genius of Religion introduced — Allusion to those doctrines which have brought Life and Immortality to lioht. SIXTH ARGUMENT. Refection on the combined powers of the Intellect and the Imagination, impressing ns loith the conviction of its Immortality. The evolution of the feelings, emotions, and intellectual operations of the Soul, illustrated by the wellings of the desert fountain. — Address to these combined Powers. — The immutable distinction betwixt Vir- tue and Vice delineated. — Instance. — Caracalla. — Vastness of the Soul. — Her sounding - the depths of Immensity. — Inference. — Immor- tality. SEVENTH ARGUMENT. Thf potver of the Sonl in giving life to inanimate objects, proving her oio)i plenlitude of that principle. Summer Noon. — Moonlight Scene. — Inference. 22 ANALYSIS OF PART II. EIGHTH ARGUMENT. The power of Conscience. — Remorse pointing to future retribution. Death-bed scene. — Inference. NINTH ARGUMENT. The progressive nature of Mind, showing its capability for eternal duration. Natural objects depicted, each in their kind arriving at perfection. — Apostrophe to Life, on the supposition of Annihilation. — Proof of the ever-rising glories of Mind, in the prospects of Society as delineated by prophetic Bards and departed Benefactors of mankind. — Allusion to political Freedom, blended with the development of our moral Sympa- thies. — Desert scene. — The fall of Tyranny. — Picture at Sea. — The dying Patriarch. TENTH ARGUMENT. The mysterious darkness which hangs over the moral world, contrasted with the benevolence of God, forcing upon us the conclusion, that since He is Goodness this gloom icill be dispelled in a future slate of exist- ence. Combination of epithets as applied to the inferior part of the creation, proving Sublime Benevolence. — Man, alone, marring the universal joy. — Wisdom proclaims Futurity. ELEVENTH ARGUMENT. HOPE. The happiness of the brutal trihes in comparison of man, on the supposition of Annihilation. — " The Pleasures of Hope." — In- ference. ANALYSIS OF PART II. 23 TWELFTH ARGUMENT. The unequal distribution of rewards and punishments in this life, having reference to another. Greece. — Death of Socrates. — Tribute of gratitude to the Memory of the Scottish Martyrs. — Scene among the mountains. THIRTEENTH ARGUMENT. "Intimations of immortality from early reminiscences." Desert scene, illustrative of feelings which arise on the recollection of early years, when Mirth, Hope, and Innocence seem to blend their in- fluences to brighten the scenes of Life. — Spot of early reminiscences described. — Apostrophe to the Genius of Religion! — Conclusion of Part the Second. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, PART II. Hail, glorious Hope ! eternal and sublime, To rise triumphant o'er the wreck of Time ! Celestial Comforter — illustrious Guest ! Still find thy home within this troubled breast ; Soothe it through life, and, with thy balmy breath. Pour incense round it in the vale of Death ; Nor leave it there, but tend the Spirit's flight, Divine Companion ! to the realms of light ! See from afar yon starry-vested form, That sweeps like moonlight through the misty storm. Gath'ring new splendour as she onward flies, Like the young Dawn that purples round the skies ; And from her airy urn of rosy hue, Scatters, benignant, showers of honied dew ; While 'neath her aromatic breath, Earth's bovv'rs Ope their green halls — and wake the sleeping flow'rs, And the white fountains, and the sounding streams, Laugh in the light of her empurpling beams ! — 26 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Onward she moves, majestic, onward still, Changing her course, like changing clouds, at will List, her melodious accents ! how they flow, In silver gushings, on the world below ! — " Stranger to Earth — I come, enshrin'd in light, To pierce the gloom of man's protracted night ; Lone native of a holier, happier sphere, Unsought, I come ! to gild the mental year : — On to the goal — thy steadfast course pursue, Still brighter scenes shall burst upon thy view; Till, like a lark high-soaring from the plain, In blazing light shall end thy darkling strain.*' Celestial Visitant ! thy heavenly pow'r Shall cheer us in Life's darkest, stormiest hour ; In pain and sorrow, we thy love have felt, And at thy shrine in holy rapture knelt ; — Yes ! while the haughty World did pass us by, With deeper love, Thou bless'd us from on high. Yes ! cheer'd by Thee, we will the theme prolong, Till light shall burst upon our ending song ! — As some pure fount, which sun-beams only kiss, Wells forth its waters in the wilderness ! E'en so the Soul on all around, above, Sheds the rich gushings of its deepest love ! Hopes and despairings — sympathies and fears — Feelings of joy — and thoughts that gender tears ;— THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 21 Passion — which Life's illumin'd sky enshrouds. Or gilds her atmosphere with golden clouds, Form the bold features of what Doubt would deem A fleeting shade — a most delusive dream ! — Mark how it can collect, combine, divide ? These thoughts selected — Those are thrown aside. Behold its attributes — how wondrous they ! Bold to resist — submissive to obey ! — Will, Reason, Conscience, hold their triple throne. And claim the glorious kingdom as their own ! — Divine Triumvirate ! — through rolling years. Your sceptre like the Prophet's rod appears, Green in eternal youth — nor wasting Time. Nor chilling Doubt, nor soul-benumbing Crime, Nor Wealth, nor Pomp, nor world-subduing Power. Can blast the bud, or violate the flow'r ! Hail! heavenly opiate 'mid the pain, the strife, The gloom that shades the banqueting of life, Thou, in (he reddest cup of Virtue's woes, Minglest thy balm, and lull'st to soft repose. Oh, vain attempt amid the battle's roar, To drown the voice that cries for evermore ! Vain the red trophies from the gory plain, Where rampant War exults above the slain ; 4 28 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL* And, foulest stain on man ! with servile breath, Nations can dare to laud the wholesale death ! Vain the bright lustre of the regal hall — Glares the dread mandate from the storied wall ! And o'er the mantling cup, the glassy eye Too well reveals the Spirit's agony ! Such the wild horror, such the dark dismay, That scowl'd upon thy life's too lengthened day. King of the thousand Isles that gem the deep, From Stamboul's shores to Calpe's rugged steep I The last long shriek still rung upon thine ears. Unmellowed by the sweep of distant years: — The daily banquet placed thee side by side With him thou slew'st — thou blood-stain'd Fratricide. Divine Triumvirate ! — 'tis thus your pow r Extends through life, to Nature's parting hour ; Judges unerring ! Legates of the sky ! Thus you proclaim our Immortality ! — If the pure Spirit were a mortal thing, Say whence the pow'r she boldly wields to fling, In thought, aside this sin-soil'd robe of clay, And speed like light along the skiey way ; Rounding innumerous worlds with circling sweep, And coursing o'er heaven's star-bespangled deep ; Bursting the barriers of Creation's line, With might that speaks its origin divine, THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. And bounding onward— onward still to fly, Till droop her pinions in infinity ?— Pale child of Terror ! from the dust arise, Nought but a Demi-god can mete the skies !— Gaze on heaven's gorgeous canopy— traverse, On circling wing, the rounded universe ; And on the route of thy celestial way, Mark well its splendours, and its pomp survey. 'Tis summer noon ! The ethereal charioteer Has climb'd the loftiest steep in his career, And from his golden turret, hung on high, !>,,urs in full floods his radiance down the sky. Windless the heavens— the circumambient air, Moveless, proclaims that Mightiness is there. Breathless the world— as with a mantling pall, Silence, in grandeur, has envelop'd all ; Hush'd is the torrent's voice— the insect's wing — Death reigns— vain thought!— 'tis Beauty slumbering Lo ! from their shadowy sleep the hills arise, A mellow'd lustre bright'ning round the skies ; Now has the orbed Queen who rules the night Walk'd o'er the mountains, with her silver light Soothing the Darkness— who, in mildest mood, Meets her caress— and deigns thus to be woo'd ;— . Has the pale maiden gain'd her skiey tow'r, That topples in the Heavens, at midnight hour— 30 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Transcendent scene — lo ! silence deeper still Enwraps the universe, all beautiful. These worldless glories, — say, do they unfold The pow'r that moves the tiniest wing of gold? No, they are dead ; but, prodigal, the Soul Breathes o'er the mass, and animates the whole. Illustrious proof ! — the silence of the sky Unfolds, proud Man ! thine Immortality. If, when the span-length term of life be o'er, We sink into the tomb, and are no more, Whence, ask we — whence may the fierce pang proceed That follows fast upon each guilty deed, While from the bed of death are heard to rise Groans of remorse and penitential sighs ? 'Tis conscience speaks, — the messenger who brings Wrath in her face, and horror on her wings ; Illumes with fiery light the fixing eye, :\nd sternly murmurs — Immortality ! Behold this beauteous world of all fair things : The living weed, the shrub, the flow'r that springs Beside the crystal streamlet in the vale ; The forest trees — the green harps of the gale : — ■ These 'neath the fost'ring of th' immortal skies, Each in their kind, to full perfection rise. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 31 Go ! mark the unfolded flocks that freely roam - This sphere-built globe — the woods and caves their home ; Descend and view the Nations of the deep, Which through its waves like clouds illumin'd sweep ; Behold the painted People of the air, Wheeling in free and feathery grandeur there — The golden Children of the sunny ray, That spring to life, and die along with day : — These in their narrow span their end attain, And gently mingle with the dust again — Complete their bliss — The Everlasting Sire The mandate gives — they sicken and expire. Farewell, thou checquer'd chase of pain and strife ! Thou cup of tears, which men who live call Life ! Farewell thy boasted bliss, which, mantling high, Sinks to the depths of deepest agony ! Hearts riven — hopes blasted — friendship but a name ; Vice blazon'd by the trumpet-tongue of Fame : Virtue — the best, the holiest gift of heaven — Back to her native home in terror driven : — True Love, with which the young heart gushes o'er. Chill'd at its source, and seal'd for evermore. Millions — (Oh, tell it not beneath the sun ! — The heavens will weep !) — Millions the sport of one ! These be the spots beneath thy pictur'd veil, Thou painted Cheat ! Ay ! Truth confirms the tale. 4* 32 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Hailf glorious Wisdom ! hail, ecstatic Bliss ! And are your brightest visions come to this ? Deem not, ye Impious — ye who never knew The glowing wish, the sigh to Nature true — Deem not that through the sunless realms of Time, There soar'd not souls of sympathy sublime, Who from the lofty heights of Thought could scan, Down rolling years, far happier days for man. Yes ! even now, methinks their songs I hear, Prophetic, falling on my ravish'd ear ; Mellow'd as music o'er the moon-lit deep, When wailing winds have lulPd themselves to sleep, And the wool-crested waves forget to roar, Breaking in balmy murmurings round the shore. " Hail, happy Earth! bright pilgrim of the skies — Pure home of love, and love-fraught sympathies ! Alas ! too long bedimm'd with human tears, In light resplendent now thine Orb appears ; No longer shalt thou mourn, once bleeding World — The starry flag of Freedom is unfurl'd. Nor o'er the placid regions of the West, Where the lorn Dove first found an ark to rest, Do we now mark its glittering folds display'd: Repose thy millions 'neath its ample shade ! THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 33 Hark ! o'er the barren waste where Silence reign'd, Or with fierce yells the ear of Night was pain'd, Where blood-pursuing tigers held their sway, Or desert-robbers, far more fierce than they, Songs on the wings of Morn ascending rise, And Evening incense wanders round the skies. Say ! what these ruined piles — these mould'ring walls, On which the shadowy mist of twilight falls; While through yon ragged archway wails the breath Of the low night- winds mutt'ring words of death? " The strong-holds these," responds the golden Lyre. " Where Freedom saw proud Tyranny expire." Bland is the Zephyr's breath; the hurricane Rouses no more the terrors of the main ; The drowsy helmsman on his watch may sleep, So soft the gale, so tranquil is the deep ; Nor winds nor waves the joyous bark delay — No heart is sad — no home seems far away. All glowing impulses, around, above, Speak to the soul unutterable love ! Burst is the binding chain — those links are riven Which to the depths of thousand hearts were driven ; In conscious virtue bold, Man walks the earth Erect, rejoicing in his second birth. 34 THE IMMORTALITY OP THE SOUL. Such, sacred Wisdom ! — such the holy time, When thou shalt walk, majestic and sublime, Around this circling world — when o'er its skies The radiant Sun of Righteousness shall rise, Who, in this dawn of human virtue, flings Light from his face, and healing from his wings/' These were the songs, and this the sacred strain, Which rose through ancient Night — nor rose in vain ; And still the lofty mind and generous heart Expansive grew, till Fate's relentless dart, Aim'd by that shadowy Hand which spreads the gloom Of Death and primal Chaos round the tomb, Struck them : — like eagles in their tovv'ring flight. They reel'd to earth, and sunk in endless night — Hence, impious thought ! — Though the dull brutes may claim Nought to ensure a never-dying name ; The Child of Reason may with beaming eye Gaze on the living glories of the sky, And feel the growing rapture, and adore, — Since rising Mind shall live for evermore, Look at that hoary sire, whose silver hairs Stream'd on the breeze of his pure mountain airs, Like lines of sun-light darting from the shroud That veils their source, and forms the radiant cloud. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 35 See ! as it nears — that spirit-quelling hour, When o'er this frail frame Death exerts his pow'r — Tranquil as balmy sleep, celestial Grace Dwells in his heart, and brightens on his face ; And, like the broad'ning Sun that gilds the wave, His parting soul expands upon the grave. Prescience Divine ! that penetrates the gloom Which Sin has spread so deeply round the tomb ; Proclaiming loud — that, 'neath eternal day, The bloom of Virtue ne'er shall know decay ! The laughing sky — the music of the deep ; The dallying gales that o'er the meadows creep ; The moonlight dancing on the waters blue ; The morning mountains rob'd in rosy hue ; The gentle-minded lilies — the calm bow'rs ; The fragrant breath of ever-blooming flow'rs ; The droning beetle — the glad humming bee ; The frugal ant — the equal and the free; The gilded insects at their airy play ; The small birds warbling on the dewy spray : The lark, Monopolist of light and song; The ethereal King, that loves to soar along ; The home-stead guard, that greets the opening dawn ; The sportive hare that gambols o'er the lawn ; The mingled swell of happiness that floats Around, above, pour'd from a thousand throats !— 36 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Mark well the phrases — words of love intense, They shadow forth — Sublime Benevolence ! Say, 'mid this scene of humble Nature's joy, Which strife of human hearts can ne'er destroy, Why should the bitter blasts of passion rage, From youth, to riper years and hoary age? Why should the blessed charities of life Bleed like the victim 'neath the murderer's knife, By those of loftier soul and. nobler mien, Who walk like demi-ffods the fflowms scene ? e>* Oh, vain demand ! — Can Reason's feeblest light Pervade the gloom that darkens primal Night? Or can her bounded line explore the sea, Soundless and shoreless, of Eternity ? Wisdom proclaims — " In sorrow and in tears, Worth walks the world, and spends her" hapless years : Pass'd the beclouded valley of her life, Joy springs from wo, and harmony from strife." If man were but the creature of an hour, Awhile to bloom, and perish like the flow'r, Most wretched of the wretched would he be — The child of chance, the slave of apathy ; The lowliest tribes that o'er the desert roam, Free in their course as is the billows' foam, THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 37 Might claim o'er him pre-eminence of birth, And walk the Masters of th' unmeasur d earth, Chain'd to the feelings of the present hour, Thoughts of the dismal future have no pow'r To break their slumbers, or disturb their rest ; The conscious craving sated — they are blest. Calm in their dimness — now they sport and play ; A moment pass'd — they breathe their lives away. Were th' Immortal Spirit like to this, Prescience of Death were pain, instead of bliss ! But in the future purest joys are placed, — " Man never is, but always to be bless'd," Thy Pleasures, Hope ! by Him so sweetly sung, Who claims the golden harp and honied tongue ; Thy Pleasures, 'mid the anguish and the gloom, That shadow life, and hover o'er the tomb; Thy Pleasures, pointing still to worlds on high, Gild the dark path to Immortality ! Alas ! how wildly rugged is the road That leads to Virtue, and to Virtue's God ! Who would dare 'tempt to scale that hanging steep In life, if Death were an Eternal sleep ? Who from the lap of Vice would deign to rise, If Virtue's temple were not in the Skies ? 38 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOl'L. Pass o'er the mould'ring dust of many an age, And scan the roll of the historic page ; See how bold Crime rear'd high her guilty head, While Virtue sunk dishonour'd 'mong the dead. Oh ! how polluted on the roll appears Thy silv'ry name, Queen of Eternal years ; Immortal Greece ! Fain would I pass thee by, And speak thy failings only with a sigh; — Thou art the Nurse who, with thy storied lays, Taught the young heart to seek unfading bays ; Lull'd on the pillow of thy fragrant breast, Pain "racks no more, and anguish sinks to rest. Fancy's fair worlds, and Passion's are thine own, 'Tis there thou reign's t supreme, and rear'st thy throne. Bright land of Gods ! and soil of god-like men ! Thy cloudless Heavens were wrapt in darkness, when Thy Wisest eyed, serene, the fatal cup, And — weep not — with calm mildness, drank it up : Dark draught of chilling coldness, — freezing Life In the red channels of her bubbling strife ! And filming o'er that mind-illumin'd eye, Which spoke on earth the language of the sky. Did Nature mourn the sage ? oh, no ! in light She rob'd her form to view the murderous sight. " On old iEgena's rock, and Adra's isle, The God of gladness shed his parting smile," THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 3S And seem'd to linger o'er the purple wave, To smile in mock'ry on a Felon's grave ! And now my wayward heart would turn to thee, Thou fairy land of my nativity ; Swan of the Northern waters, rearing high Thy Crested head in mountain majesty ! I would — but no! — oh, take one sacred tear, All /can place upon thy Martyrs' bier. Unbroken be their rest ! Their mould'ring dust, In holy Hope committed to thy trust, Is hallow'd still, and down the tide of years Borne are their virtues by a Nation's tears. Yes ! kindlier rays than smote th' Athenian's tomb Gild the wild Cairn that marks their place of doom. While the lone clouds that pass with scurrying s\v Fold their pale wings, and tarry there to weep ; And with their summer shade and wintry showers Tend round the rolling year the " Dell of Flowers !" If Virtue thus can form no lasting guard "Gainst ills below — say, whence her bright reward ' Whence but from fairer worlds beyond the skies, In which her fadeless beauty never dies ! Who that now speeds him o'er the scorching plain Sighs not to reach the palmy shade again — 40 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. To snatch the luscious tamarind from the bough, And in the white fount bathe his burning brow? Painful his steps — the gaunt train he may meet ; The scaly serpent hisses at his feet ; The tall Sun, blazing in his mid-day tow'r, Shoots his red darts, and rules the fiery hour ; Nought round the horizon's glowing rim appears — No passing cloud to shadow o'er his fears ; Still'd is the swooping vulture's piercing cry ; Day's flaming Star, alone, is in the sky. Who that thus speeds him o'er the desert plain Sighs not to reach the palmy shade again ? So with the tear-dimm'd eye, which through the haze That veils the past its golden prime surveys ; When o'er Life's waters, of unclouded hue, Nought but the balmy breeze of Pleasure blew ; When Youth, Joy, Innocence, went hand in hand, And smiling Hope and Fancy led the band ; And all this shining world, around, above, A boundless temple seem'd of blandest love ! Romantic spot ! endear'd by every tie Which binds the Soul to things that cannot die ; Romantic spot ! where first in purple light Nature, in lawless grandeur, met my sight, — My gushing heart to thee a debt would pay, Could I but frame a long-remember' d lay ; Were mine the pow'r of holy Nature's Bard, To chaunt the strain, thine were the rich reward. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 41 Hills proudly tow'ring from the surging plain, On whose bald tops the snows of years remain ; Tall crags, that from the lowly valleys rise, Piercing, like massy pyramids, the skies ; O'er-hanging cliffs, that cleave the middle air, And seem to swin^ their trembling horrors there : Pale rocks, that by the fiery bolts of Heav'n, Like Pelion stand, — down to the centre riv'n, Which, opening wide their arms at intervals, Give to the 'lights of eve' their sparry halls, And flame and sparkle in their cavern'd deeps, Where Beauty in the lap of Terror sleeps ! ' Still lakes of silver,' where the mountains blue, Upturn d, in toppling grandeur meet the view ! Mirrors in which the waving forests seem To deck their tresses, — so would Fancy deem ; Coves, which the rays of the far-darting Sun Have never pierc'd, to soil their shadows dun ; Though the green ivy, and the wood-bine wild, There twine their arms, — to make the terror mild ; While in the outward porch, the splashing brook, With Mirth and Beauty pk-tur'd in its look, Through the rent chasm beholds the sun-lit sky. And laughs, and languishes, like Woman's eye ! Dark granite funnels, where red heather bells, Or yellow cowslip, or green sorrel swells ; Long rows of myrtle — cliff-depending pines* On which the ruddy light of evening shines ; 12 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, Nooks where the, purpling daisy lifts her eye ; Dells where the waters of cool fountains lie ; Streams running crystal, — hurrying on to meet. And blend their torrents at the mountain's feet ; Not sluggish, as the Southern rivers be, But rushing on, like eagles, to the sea ! These are thy beauties, spot of earliest Love, Where Earth still smiles below, and Heav'n above. Still, like the ray which through the tempest gleams, They soothe my heart, and gild my feverish dreams ; And though to riper years they can no more, By visual sight, Life's infant joys restore, Yet may we mark in Memory's mellow eye A backward beam, that guides us to the Sky ! Pass'd are the shining plains where Reason's ray First caught our sight, and shone upon our way ; Led us, exultant, from the dreary tomb, And chased away the black'ning shades of Doom. A loftier Guide, celestial and sublime, Still bears us up beyond the bounds of time ; Proclaims — " The pall of Fate, ere long unfurl'd, Shall shade, in double death, a ruin'd world; The Moon shall leave the night, — the God of day, Wrapt in a robe of blood, shall pass away ! But, 'mid the pangs of Nature's dying throes, The Soul shall gain the Source from whence she rose, " 43 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Yes, martyr'd Sage ! well did thy heav'n-lit eye Pierce the dim mists that veil'd futurity ; Well didst thou say, that in the lapse of years, Death and the Tomb would smile away their fears ; And well thou said'st a radiant Sun should rise, To gild the gloom that veil'd our mental skies. That Sun has ris'n, and with his dazzling light Has put the spectre-train of doubts to flight ; That Sun has ris'n, nor were thy hopes too high, — Lo ! Heaven proclaims Man's Immortality ! NOTES ON PART I. Page 2, line 17. And Earth receding from her swimming eye. ' Earth recedes before my swimming eye." Barbauld. P. 3, 1. 10. Milky splendour. "Via lactea." — Ovid. P. 6, 1. 17. No more shall Ahriman, <§-c. For a full account of these deities — Ahriman, Ormuzd, and Mithras — the reader is referred to the eloquent Gibbon. — New edit., chap, viii., p. 76. P. 8, 1. 2. Betah's bow'rs. A rich vale on one of the western branches of the Ganges. — See B., Mod. Geo. P. 9, 1. 3. Ask Agra steeps. The car of Juggernaut need only be mentioned to prove the truth of the text. For the better illustration of the scenes described in the text, the reader is referred to Researches in India, Heber's Journal, and the Asiatic Transactions. 46 NOTES ON PART I. P. 11,1.8. Where barren Zarah. Zarah, or Zaharah, the great northern desert of Africa, extending along the southern shores of the Mediterranean nearly 1200 miles. Its breadth is estimated at 800. P. 11, 1. 17. Dying flesh or dull mortality. Beaumont and Fletcher. — " Faithful Shepherdess." P. 12, 1. 2. Asphodels of Fame. Shellet. P. 12, 1. 15. Illustrious Theban ! fyc. Epaminondas. — See Plutarch. P. 13,1.21. Green Isle of beauty, 4-c. Vide Gibbon, new edit., chap. xi. page 116. P. 14, 1. 1. - - - - the King of Light Enshrines his Godhead. The magnificent Temple of the Sun, at Palmyra ; the ruins of which still excite wonder. P. 14, 1. 4. Breathe their mute thoughts. " And dead men Hans their mute thoughts on the mute walls around." Shui.let. 47 NOTES ON PART I. P. 15, I. 14. Saturnian years. Vide Ovid, Met. P. 15,1.2 0. Your soft deliciousness. 11 White deliciousness." — Keats. P. 18, 1. 3. Thus, like opposing tides. The Author has frequently witnessed in the German Ocean the phe- nomenon alluded to in the text, where the rapid sweep of the eastern portion of the tide, setting in from the Atlantic, meets with fury the western and more slowly progressing portion. A like phenomenon occurs in the Bay of Biscay. NOTES ON PART II. Page 27, line 2. Gilds Life's atmosphere. Shellet. P. 27, 1. 12. Your sceptre like the Prophet's rod appears. Numbers, chap. xvii. ver. 8. P. 28, 1. 9. King of the thousand Isles. Caracalla. — He is termed by Ossian, Son of the King of the World. We may perhaps be allowed, by a like license, to make use of the epi- thet already mentioned. — Vide Gibboh, new edit., chap. vi. page 51 . P. 31, 1. 6. Painted People oj the air. "Pictaeque volucres." — Virgil. P. 31,1. 15- Thou cup of tears, xohich men who live call Life. " Thou painted veil which men," &c. — Shelley. P. 33, 1. 17. Nor winds nor loaves. " Rocks, winds, and waves, the shatter'd bark delay ; Thy heart is sad — thy home is far away." — Campbell. 50 NOTES ON PART II. P. 36, 1. 20. Awhile to bloom, and perish like thejlow'r. " Frail as the leaf in Autumn's yellow bow'r." — Campbell. P. 37, 1. 17. Thy Pleasures, Hope ! by Him so sweetly sung. His name need not be mentioned, whose splendid Genius has changed a mere emotion into a burning Passion. P. 38, 1. 19. Thy Wisest eyed, serene, the fatal cup. Socrates, P. 33, 1. 20. And, weep not ! Cicero says, that he could not peruse Plato's account of the death u! Socrates without shedding tears. And has not the lapse of more than eighteen centuries rather replenished than exhausted the deep Foun- tains of human love ? P. 38, 1. 27. On old JEgena^s rock, and Adra's isle, The God of gladness shed his parting smile. — Byron. P. 39, 1. 14. Gild the wild cairn. Cairn, a rude monument. For the description in the text the author is indebted to an admirable painting, by Mr. Thompson, of Duddingstone, entitled " The Martyr's Tomb." The Writer would likewise take this opportunity of stating, that if he has been at all successful in depicting any of the bolder fea- tures of Nature, this he in a great measure owes to the conversations of his respected friend, William Douglas, Esq., Edinburgh, who is no less a true Poet than an eminent Artist. Scarcely had the above been sent to press, when the writer learnl NOTES ON PART II. $1 that his lamented friend was no more. Life ! thou wouldst truly be a dark valley, were not thy shadows illumined with the hopes of Immor- tality. P. 40, 1. 21. Romantic spot. The spot described in the text is Dunkeld, on the banks of the Tay, Perthshire, anciently the See of the patriotic and classic Gavin Douglas — a spot endeared to the author by many pleasant recolloctions. The reader who has visited the scene will best know whether the description be exaggerated. P. 40. !. 27. Holy Nature's Bard. W. Wordsworth, Esq. — " That Priest of nature." — It is proper- t< ng flowers, Splendour of all stern bowers ; Tell me where t 1 brightest gem, Sparkling in Beaut) s diadem, My own, my fai now reposes, She who dwells >ng the roses ? 94 Oh ! oft in sorrow and in tears, With racking doubts and inward fears, In anguish from my Love I've parted, — Disconsolate and broken hearted : And last, beneath the evening ray, That crimson'd deep the dying day, I left her — say ! where she reposes, My fair who dwells among the roses ? Maids of Judah ! — from yon fountain, Like a young roe on Bether's mountain, See she comes ! — the rose of roses, — No more I ask where she reposes ! ?HE WELL OF BETHLEHEM. High on the summit of a cliff that beetled o'er the plain, The warrior stood — his fiery eye full flashing in disdain ; For in the breakings of the morn, beneath, in myriads lay The wild beleaguering hosts that swept his brightest hopes away ; 95 Thick as the pest o'er Mizraim's land the rolling thou- sands came, And Judah felt round all her coasts the devastating flame. And as he gazed, deep thoughts of wrath his inmost bosom stirr'd, As floating on the rising breeze their impious songs he heard. From lips unholy — awful thought ! — like pestilence there came, In horrid mirth — in mutter d sounds — the Unutterable Name. Dark grew his brow — his nervous arm upraised his shining spear, Strong in his might, his conscious heart 'mong thousands knew not fear. Lo ! buried thoughts, a glittering train, rose o'er his troubled mind, Like painted clouds before the breath of the soft summer wind ; He thought of hours of victory, when, borne in blushing pride, The wave of beauty rolled along and glitter'd by his side ; When rosy lips, in silver sounds, responded o'er the plain — " Saul has his thousands — David has his tens of thou- sands slain !" 96 Dark grew the terrors of his brow, when gleaming from afar, Thro' its tall palms, sweet Beth'lem's Fount show'd like a radiant star. Pure Fountain ! thoughts of deepest love came on that glance of thine ; The warrior's tear — his nerveless arm — proclaim the potent sign : Yes ! peaceful thoughts of other days, when, round thy shaded brink, He watched his bleating flocks, and bore his weakling lambs to drink ! And 'neath thy shelt'rmg palms he raised the consecrated strain, And sung the glories of the Heavens — the wonders of the Main ; And in the moments of 'rapt thought, with more than Seraph's fire, Transcendent Bard ! he swept the strings, and struck the golden lyre ! Celestial thoughts were his — he cried, "All hail, pellucid Spring, Who from thy fountain's lucent wave one cooling draught may bring? Without the gate I see thee gleam, 'twould ease this burning brow To know, as oft in other years, thy limpid waters now ; 97 ! that some valiant arm might gain thine ever-living spring, And through the godless hosts, even now, one cooling draught would bring." He spoke, and swifter than the bird that loves the moun- tain crest, His warriors thro' the embattled lines on to the fountain prest. — ■ Tt* ^V" ^F tJP 7T- rff' ■?? * Exulting to their leader, they in conscious pride return, Bearing aloft, in blood-stain'd hands, the overflowing Urn! He gazed, the sacred vessel took, and o'er the flow'ry sod Libations pour'd, in pious joy, to Israel's chosen God : — " Unhallow'd wish — Lord of my life ! I consecrate to Thee The peril'd draught — Forgive my sin, and still my Guardian be." Lord ! like the glorious Prototype, we still would cast our eyes To the red source whence Zion's wave and cleansing waters rise ; We, 'mid the shades of changing life, in sunshine, and in storm, Would gaze on that most tranquil depth, which nothing can deform ; And from its holy calmness, we, thro' life's most chequer'd years, Would find a balm for agony — an antidote for tears ! 98 Yes ! we would cast our cherish'd hopes, our earth-born thoughts away, And, as an off'ring, at Thy shrine, our brightest tro- phies lay. Accept, forgive, this erring heart !^-Oh ! consecrate our strain, And from Thy temple in the skies, smile, smile on us again ! THE XND. LHBd Deacidiiied using the Bookkeeper process. 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