Poems.

To the GENIUS of ROMANCE.

Oh thou ! whose bland intoxicating smile, Darts o'er the gloomy barrenness of Life Its lustrous day, making the desart bloom, E'en as the sun o'er brow of dusky cliff Resplendent shines, cheering the vale beneath, And pouring thro' its wild and curtain'd shade, His gay exulting eye. Thee will I court, Thee shall my Muse invoke to bless her song, Her artless song­whose rude unmeasur'd trill, Has oft‐times cheated Sorrow's dreary hour

Of all its wrath, and bade my musing‐heart, Turn from reality to count the charms Of Fancy's boundless world, has bade it gaze, In mute delight, on gay ideal realms Warm'd by th' effusive beams of joy and love. And thou wast there ! Lo ! on the sunny shore, The woodland‐swell, the bold and Alpine height Thy form appear'd ! I saw thy bounding step Dance o'er the fairy plain, and mark'd thine eye Kindle new beauties in the dreamy scene. Now­on the breezy mountain's utmost verge Tow'ring sublime­I view'd thy beauteous form, With locks loose‐streaming to the frolic gale, And drap'ry floating wild­Entranc'd I've dwelt On all thy rich variety of grace, And cunning witcheries of voice and mien.

How promptly has my wond'ring heart obey'd Thy beck'ning hand that call'd it to survey The wavy features of thy gay domain. And oh ! when waking from the thick‐wove trance Of Fancy's day‐dreams, when the present hour, Return'd again in all its barrenness, How hast thou whisper'd to my palsied soul, That 'midst the weeds, the rank and vulgar weeds That crouded up my path, some straggling flow'r Would brightly rise to gem my rugged fate, And pour its nectar on my thirsty heart. Yes sweet Romance ! my love thou long hast been, Long hast thou sooth'd my pleas'd and list'ning ear, With charming lies, and bade my cheated sight Drink the un‐real tints, the shad'wy charms The slanting sun‐blaze, and the wand'ring gale

Of Hope's gay land : nor would my heart forego Thy tempting feast, or lose thy golden smile, Thy swimming glance, for all the awful charms That Reason boasts ; for 'tis most sweet to think That Joy's fair star shall ever brightly hang, Its lustre‐beaming lamp, whose lucid light These eyes have vainly sought among the stars Of real life ! its dull and darkling sky Seldom emits one lively ray, or yields One bloomy tint ;­'tis murky sadness all, And threat'ning gloom. Or if a transient gleam, Bursts th' impris'ning veil of low‐born cares, And wintry‐mists, and for one winged hour Lends its half‐hidden light, how soon the train, The billowy train of Disappointment's clouds Comes rolling on, to quench its timid beam,

And spread again the universal Night. Arise, fond Memory, and o'er my verse Pour thy effulgence ! Oh relate the spell That busy Fancy wove, and sweet Romance Twin'd round my glowing heart, making each pulse To riot wild, and spreading all around, E'en thro' its quivering, its inly core, The rich voluptuous tide of mad'ning Hope. How I have sprung to meet the fancied dawn Of Love's soft Orb ! how hail'd its seeming rise, And proud Meridian ! Oh my musing soul ! Dwell on the thrilling dreams, the wild conceits, The wishes warm, that o'er my wilder'd brain Have danc'd in gay confusion, scatt'ring wide Th' amusive flame, when I have seem'd to meet The glance, and hang upon the melting smile

Of fond affection.­Come then, dear Romance, Steal o'er my soul, and still shall it survey The bright enchantments of thy dreamy world.