Beacon Hill. A local poem, historic and descriptive. Book I. : Published according to act of Congress.

BEACON HILL.

BOOK I.

FAR from this spot, ye light delusions, fly, While fix'd ATTENTION lifts her boundless eye, O'er Bunker's field each hallow'd view explores, Sees the twin-rivers lave the purple shores, Where the high soil disdain'd the trembling flood, And stain'd the white wave with Britannia's blood.— Unwearying change the sacred scene displays, Pillar'd with hills, that sling the morning rays, And glass'd with streams, that through the twilight glade Reflect the reddening skies and broider'd shade; Here the light scyons' wavy beauties flow, And seem a plumage on the mountain's brow.

There the proud dome o'erlooks the distant mead, Where the blue Mystic lifts his sparkling head, Ceres in smiles her liberal treasure yields, And waves of gold enrich the floating fields.

Then come, ye Nymphs, by museful poet seen, With eyes of azure, and with robes of green, Ye tuneful Naiades of Pieria's tide, COME, and o'er Charles's nobler waves preside! While his smooth banks reflect Apollo's beam, Bathe your bright ringlets in his silver stream, The graceful swell of well-turn'd limbs display, And cleave with snowy arms the watery way, Or lowly warbling, as he rolls along, Inspire the listening minstrel's vagrant song:— And thou, gay Goddess of yon clustering trees, Whose loose locks flutter in the wavering breeze, Assist my verse—and, while with ray divine Celestial CLIO guides the bold design, Charm'd by her smile, with partial bounty raise The fairest chaplet of poetic praise,

Full as the wave o'er Charles's bosom flows, Sweet as the breathings of your whispering boughs; Deck the loved lay with all your blending views, Warm'd by the glances of the HISTORIC MUSE, Whose magic wand restores the trophied plain, And tunes to energy the lofty strain, Bids the past scene of glorious deeds return, And lure oblivion from the warrior's urn.

No more the fabled action claims our care, The tales of Ilion, and the Latian war, The length of realms by pious Godfrey trod,⁽1) To free the city of the SAVIOUR-GOD, For those their poets wrought the crown of fame, And all was fiction, save an empty name; Though the full blaze of epic numbers shed Its dazzling lustre round the storied dead, From the bright Muse the peerless wonder grew, Invention reign'd, while blushing Truth withdrew. What though no Genius, with enchanting power, Charm the coy MUSES from their classic bower,

To wake with graceful art the slumbering line, And round Columbia's native minstrel twine One laurel wreath—yet shall her daring hand Sketch the bold trait, the living scene command, Till patriot glory all the strain inspire, And with the ray of TRUTH the coldest fancy fire: Then hence vain fiction from the deathless theme, And hence the rapt bard's visionary dream!

But THOU, Defender of the lengthen'd coast, Freedom's first guardian, and her empire's boast, Who, when thy toils had bid contention cease, And joyful millions hail returning peace, When the glad hope of calm retirement rose, And wearied nature languish'd for repose, Couldst scorn each selfish thought—each bliss resign'd, To civic cares devote that patriot mind, Till thy protected country's rescued name Triumphant rose, and reach'd the heights of fame; And then with graceful majesty RETIRE, Quit the high seat—and bid a world admire.—

In every scene of venturous war renown'd, With every gift of peaceful blessing crown'd, Through the thick shades, thy laurel'd vale displays, Encircling Glory pours its brilliant blaze.— —Hear the chaste Muse, whose unpolluted charms No common theme with venal ardor warms, To the proud verse thy willing ear incline, Inspir'd by virtues, and by fame like thine.— —While tyrants tremble at approaching fate, See on thy sway applauding nations wait, While free Columbia boasts meridian light, See half creation wrapt in hopeless night, See Persia's shaded sun inglorious rise, And see where Turkey's waning crescent lies, Before thy splendor all their beams decay, Like planets fading at the birth of day.

What time the Briton's angry mandate spread, And purple slaughter rear'd his ghastly head, Domestic rage the bolts of ruin hurl'd, And social discord sired the western world,

O'er yon fair scene, by favoring Heaven approved, Enrich'd by Commerce, and by Science loved, The furious blaze its wasteful torrent pours, Wraps the wide domes, and climbs the ascending towers,⁽2) While the red glance of frantic vengeance turns, Where valor perish'd, and where victory mourns, Sees the first chief, Britannia's veterans boast, Whose willing arm commands her conquering host, Draw his high lineage from a laurel'd name, Once borne with glory through the fields of fame; A name to Freedom's grateful country dear, Fix'd on her heart, and bath'd with many a tear, Since first the BROTHER-HERO, nobly brave, Fought in her cause, and found a trophied grave.—⁽3) Now the same blood in fierce defiance flows, Woes follow wrongs, and wrongs succeed to woes; Grief sits enthroned with earth-devoted eye, Rends her dark locks, and heaves the labouring sigh; While her cold cheeks the tears of anguish shed, Immortal WARREN bows his patriot head, Feels from his bleeding heart false hope retire, And life's last boon with Liberty expire.

Yet the prophetic poet's piercing eyes⁽4) Will guard the sod, where wounded valor lies, Till a victorious country's grateful claim Shall bear his relics to eternal fame; And Genius, rising o'er the rescued bier,⁽5) Wake every worth, and hallow every tear, With all the light, that Eloquence can give, Shine round his deeds, and bid their glory live.

Spoil'd of their chief, descend the routed train, Gain the far heights, and skim the distant plain, Demand their leader with desponding prayer, And curse the false disastrous power of war; Now, to high Heaven, with plaintive accents turn, Now chill with fear, and now with vengeance burn;— When FORTUNE, gliding through the ethereal way, Restrain'd her car, whose wealth enrich'd the day, Full gem'd with stars its golden crescent shone, The sweeping centre raised a diamond throne, From whose resplendent height the changling towers, And smiles alternate on the warring powers;

To young Columbia bends with look benign, Then bids her glance on haughty Britain shine,— FORTUNE!—who erst beneath Hesperian skies Saw to her name the lustrous temple rise, While many a votary at the sragrant shrine Implored her gifts, and hymn'd her charms divine!— Now at her side the goddess FAME attends, Here springs the laurel, there the olive bends; Celestial blessings guard the RADIANT PAIR, And chase the hovering progeny of care;— For where the SISTER-DEITIES arise, Swift through their path the train of sorrow flies, Frantic Ambition grasps his glittering knife, And Envy gnaws the quivering nerve of life, Through the light tract with silent mischief steal, And cling to FORTUNE'S ever-rolling wheel.

Nor think the Poet means with venturous song To bear the Pagan deities along, Since their sweet power enlighten'd Truth disdains, And Reason wills them from her patriot plains;

To such alone the timid minstrel bows. As genius loves, and local faith allows:— FORTUNE and FAME, whose consecrated power The varying, wishing, sons of life adore, Though oft regardless, oft to merit blind, Still reign the courted sovereigns of the mind.

From crimson hosts the fickle goddess flies To where Columbia's routed legion lies; FAME wafts with swelling lip her notes around, And all the warrior wakens at the sound;— The radiant pair the mournful band inspire, Heal their deep wounds, their freezing spirits fire, To the raised mind its future hopes unfold, Sustain the timid, and confirm the bold, Recal each boon by patriot valor won, And point the heart to FORTUNE'S FAVORITE SON, A matchless hero, whose victorious hand To fields of FAME shall lead the vanquish'd band.

Where beauteous Vernon blooms in rural pride, And broad Potomack's shoalless waters glide, GREAT WASHINGTON, in ease and wealth reclined. Midst every charm reposed his godlike mind; Rear'd in embattled scenes, and born to dare Each varying danger of the chanceful war,— The lengthen'd line to break,—the height command,— To force the camp, and free the fetter'd land,— His was the first of FORTUNE'S gifts to claim, And his the triumph of unbounded FAME: Indulgent Nature, emulously kind, Gave to his form the graces of his mind; While his bold stature towers supremely high, And like his genius claims the lifted eye, The kindly features peace and truth impart, Calm as his reason, open as his heart:— For HIM the bleeding States united call, On HIM the hopes of varying millions fall, With grief and praise his melting soul assail, And breathe a prayer in every gliding gale.— Touch'd by the view of dark impending woes, From scenes of bliss the PATRIOT-CHAMPION rose,

Disdain'd the meed his peerless perils claim,⁽6) His trophy Freedom, and his guerdon Fame; Could with firm mind luxurious peace despise, And scorning wealth to every glory rise;— At night's mid hour to lead his hardy train O'er the bleak height, and through the murky plain, From the burnt shores, where Carolina glows, To the deep winter of Canadian snows, He quits the lap of ease, the bower of love, The peaceful mansion, and the vocal grove, Braves the dark scene, where cold misfortune lowers, And meets the rage of yet unconquer'd powers; Powers, that his blooming youth to battle bred, For whom he triumph'd, and with whom he bled, On those the Chief his patriot falchion turns, And friendship slumbers, while his country mourns.

On yon fair plains, in peaceful green array'd, Where the mild student courts the musing shade,* 1.1 Where learning's sons their blameless lives repose, At danger's call the camp of freedom rose;

Columbia's HERO all her cause commands, And trains to war her new untutor'd bands.— —What bands, what warriors, from what climes they came. O THOU, whose music fills the harp of Fame, Bright CLIO, say—since thy immortal power Can to new life the dying deed restore, And call the virtues of the patriot-brave From deep oblivion's adamantine grave.— —As the sweet portrait's mimic charm displays Each moving feature to the lover's gaze, Recals the moment of his young desire, While like a cloud unheeded hours retire, He hears, he sees, he lives on every grace, That tuned the voice, and tints the touching face, Forgets that time, and many a grief, has shed The leaves of autumn on his drooping head, Drawn to a span the long, long days appear, Which mark'd the anguish of each parted year, The cheek, the lip, the eye's enchanting roll, Steals on his sense, and soothes his pensive soul, Till the soft shade, with many a vow caress'd, Gives the whole charmer to his raptured breast.—

So, heavenly Muse, thy kindling touches give, And bid the long-departed action live, With glowing hand the Hero's soul inspire, Melt his firm heart, and wake its slumbering fire!

Then say, submitted to the PATRIOT'S power, What mighty chiefs the starry standard bore, What varying States, in varying numbers, join The marshal'd cohort, and the guarded line.— And first from whence the younger Albion* 1.2 leads, Her narrow isthmus* 1.3 to the neighboring meads, Rich in commercial wealth, prolific smiles, And gems her ocean with uncounted isles, The hardy children of the searching east Bare to her wintry gale their dauntless breast, And, guardless of her summer's withering ray, Oppose with eagle-eye the flame of day; True to the varying year, the storms, that bind The manly members, nerve their kindred mind,

That arm, which stems the tide's tempestuous roar, Braves with congenial might the warring shore;— Sons of the sea, and guardians of the soil, Nurtured to peril, and inured to toil, The Patriot's firmness, with the Hero's fire, Live in the war, and deathless deeds inspire.— First of the band in merit and in name, The gallant LINCOLN points the path of Fame.— —But where her grainy hills and grassy coasts, Enrich'd by streams, the happy Hartford boasts, Where every Muse resorts with partial love, Won by the flowery field and shady grove, A rustic race, to sylvan labors bred, In snowy age the veteran PUTNAM led, Who erst on cold Canadia's savage shore, With martial arm, the conquering banner bore, His rugged form the active war inspires, And like the flint calls forth its latent fires.— Can then the verdure of these blissful plains Conceal the caves, where penal Rigor reigns!⁽7) Where the starved wretch, by suffering folly led To snatch the feast, whence pamper'd plenty fed,

Shut from the sunny breeze, and healthful skies, On the cold dripping stone low-withering lies! Torn from the clime, that gave his miseries birth, A palsied member of the vital earth! —If the sweet Muse, with Nature's best control, Can melt to sympathy the reasoning soul, She bids thee rend those grating bars away, And o'er the dungeon beam the break of day; Give the frail felon, with laborious toil, To pay the penance of his wrested spoil, Hear his deep groan, heed his repentant prayer, And snatch his frenzied spirit from despair; Nor let those fields, array'd in heavenly bloom, Blush o'er the horrors of a living tomb.— —Through curtaining forests and emerging towns, Queen of the north, the stern HANTONIA frowns; Vain of the wonders of her bounded line, Her marble quarries, and her azure mine, Whose branching veins their rich meanders spread, Where the White Mountains lift their sparkling head;⁽8) Here the red hunter's venerating eyes Behold the quiver'd shades of heroes rise;

Yet since the ancient tenants of the wood Gain'd a dry refuge from the covering flood, No impious step the hallow'd height profanes; But crown'd with gems, unvarying brightness reigns, With wintry breath the trackless region keeps, And locks the soil, while frigid NATURE sleeps, Till, gently waking, on the distant dale She heaves the sod, and thaws the genial gale, Prints her green step, expands her fragrant wings, And pours her fountains from a thousand springs, Which, swift descending through the peopled shore, Spread the full mart, and wing the flying oar, Whence patient labor with unwasted toil Ploughs the rough wave, and turns the mellow soil;— While WENTWORTH, patron of his parent clime,⁽9) With hand of bounty, and with soul sublime, Mid the blank forest arch'd the sumptuous dome, And dress'd the desert with exotic bloom.— The blue cot rising on the rivulet's side, The hungry plain with seeding pulse supplied, The clover'd valley, and the barley'd hid, The busy flail, the never-resting mill,

Join'd with the milk-maid's song, the ploughman's glee, Were all thy gift, and drew their hope from thee;— Thee WENTWORTH! born the humblest hut to cheer, From vexing Want to chase the gathering tear, Or, round thy brow while civic myrtles twine, To rule in council, and in courts to shine. Loved as thou art, a Country's dearer cause Far from thy side the patriot-soldier draws, To the fierce field a powerful legion brings, Which scorns the sway, and braves the strength of kings.— A chosen Chief,* 1.4 not yet in battle tried, Moves in the van, their comrade and their guide.— —Where the mid Ocean's beating bosom flows, Her blooming brow the fertile NEWPORT shows, Whence glorious GREENE to Freedom's Chief proceeds, And with firm step a graceful column leads:— On this bold shore, ere polish'd Plenty smiled, The native warriors of the woody wild Beneath the sway of fearless Philip shone,⁽10) And call'd the habitable clime their own.

To guard that soil, which birth and being gave, The tube of fire and cleaving falchion brave, With naked limbs a mailed host assail, And blast the beauty of the cottaged vale; Till, by the arts of craftier foes subdued, The brave Barbarian drains his wasted blood, Falls with his country ere his power declines, Nor his last "HOPE" till closing life resigns.

Now from the central States* 1.5 a mingling host Prepares to shield the war-invaded coast; E'en where the rich Batavian's careful hand O'er the new region spread his mild command, Till grasping Britain snatch'd the envied spoil, Reap'd the green isle, and ruled its subject soil, To YORK's imperial House transfer'd the claim,⁽11) Won by his arm, and titled from his name: Hence with the sovereign sons of Albion join The thriftier children of the Belgic line,

While from their lips a mingling idiom flows, Warm in their souls the fire of freedom glows; A foreign hero fans its fervid flame, MONTGOMERY, glorious in the list of fame. —From fair Ierne's balsam-breathing dales The veteran-warrior stretch'd his opening sails, Left her soft seasons and her pasturing isle, Lured by the love of freedom's social smile, From his steel'd breast his parent country tore, And braved her warriors on the hostile shore, Where western climes, beneath their happier zone, Receive his vows, and make his worth their own, With him from Saratoga's mountain groves, Columbia's son, the generous SCHUYLER moves.— —Each flaxen field and undulating stream, Where bright Cesaria sheds her starry beam, Rise o'er the level coast, and proudly claim Protective strength from STERLING'S noble name.— —But where the Schuylkill's erring waters glide, And wind their blue path to the parent-tide, The LAND OF BROTHERS, whose benignant plains No crimes disgrace, no impious murder stains,⁽12)

Where PENN immortal fix'd his pure abode, The meek disciple of the pitying God, The guiltless race their threaten'd fate deplore, And the war's thunder shakes the quiet shore;— Then from the balmy bosom of repose, First of the blameless band, a soldier rose, MIFFLIN, who, born amid the placid kind, To peaceful precepts gave his youthful mind; Yet, while reclined beneath the sylvan grove, He strung the lute, and tuned the strain to love, In his full soul heroic ardors shone, And made the hope of nobler powers his own, Powers, that disdain'd his country's wrongs to bear, Speak in his eye and call the indignant tear, While his proud heart with kindling courage glows, Quick from his limbs the simple garb he throws,— A people's voice, he cries, this cause displays, THE VOICE IS GOD'S and answering zeal obeys. To thee, loved leader of the patriot-band, I come at Nature's, Reason's, Heaven's command; Though vain the hope to reach thy soaring fame, Yet shall this breast some kindred glory claim,

Raised by thy worth, I quit the cherish'd scene, Where native Virtue rears her temperate mien, To guard her rights my fearless soul proceeds, Led by thy will, and tutor'd by thy deeds.— Thus the pacific votary firmly draws The sword of Glory in his country's cause, At the hard hour, when adverse Fortune reigns, And bleeding Freedom flies the pillaged plains, When o'er Columbia's climes destruction flows, Great in command, the loved apostate rose:— Erewhile ST. CLAIR, and thou, triumphant WAYNE, Intrepid leaders of a warlike train, With powerful arm and dauntless spirit join The sacred cause—and shield the portion'd line.— ST. CLAIR, in many an arduous conflict tried, Strength in his mind, and valor at his side, Though flattering FAME full many a laurel gave, Yet doom'd by Fate less fortunate than brave; While happier WAYNE from War's victorious hands For every toil an equal boon commands.— —From glebes, by nature rich, by culture fair, Crown'd with thy name, majestic Delaware,

LEE, fiery champion of a people's right, Invites the war, and seeks the coming fight, Disdaining fear, impatient of control, Pride in his port, and passion in his soul; From Albion's clime he drew his earliest breath, And Prussia's field had felt his deeds of death, Now in his wane of years neglected fame Is all the boon his glorious actions claim; Stung by revenge, beneath Columbian skies He seeks that hope his native realm denies, First of a valiant band, in War's array, To Freedom's Chief directs his furious way.

And now the patriotic legions rise, Where parching Auster* 1.6 rules the ruddy skies, Where the gay charms of bright VIRGINIA shine, And smooth Potomack waves his azure line, Sees the high mansion grace his stately side, And round its green vale leads his wandering tide,

VIRGINIA! blest beyond each bordering clime, The noblest plume, that lifts the wing of time!— Not that luxuriance decks her festive bowers, While the rich weed its curling fragrance pours; That fatal weed, with many a blossom fair, Was nursed by tears, and ripen'd in despair!— Not that her ample skirts redundant spread, And towering mountains crown her princely head; The wasteful wilderness unheeded lies, And round those heights the fiend of Slavery hies!— Yet thou, Virginia, fairest of the fair, More bright than all thy radiant sisters are, Shalt rise supreme, and every wreath of fame Twine its rich foliage round thy elder name;⁽13) Since to those sovereign skies, that ruling earth, An infant nation owes its brilliant birth; Enlighten'd empires shall thy influence own, And hail the clime, that bore a WASHINGTON!— In age, in wisdom, and in glory blest, Thou first-born daughter of the blooming west, What happier fate can mark thy golden days! What other hero win the voice of praise!

And yet thy shores two laurel'd leaders yield, Brave as the foremost veterans of the field; GATES, train'd to war in Britain's regal band, Now call'd to freedom bears her loved command, While MERCER, by the clans of Scotia bred, A chosen corps with equal honor led.— —And next, neglectful of each pleasing care, A young Marcellus* 1.7 joins the growing war; Led by his worth, the sons of Fortune roam Through dreary wilds, and leave their happy home, Where the bold Chesapeak, by tempests borne, Round many an island winds his moony horn, Sees the rich land display its cultured green, And grace the name of Britain's exiled Queen,— Maria, hapless fair! to FORTUNE known By each extreme, that marks her smile or frown,⁽14) When, soaring high, she waves her silver plume, Or points to earth, the scaffold and the tomb! —Could birth, could beauty no protection claim, Nor e'en thy glorious father's deathless fame!— Yet shall the clime, with vernal blushes fair, That hapless name in proud distinction wear,

And every trophy of her patriot-brave Recal thy life, and triumph o'er the grave, Till the bold race, by hardy valor crown'd, Shall free those fields, and reap that laurel'd ground.— —CHILD OF THE SUN, proud Carolina, rise! And say what chief thy haughty hand supplies! Canst thou contend for freedom, while yon vale Pours its deep sorrows on the sultry gale! Thus rise with patriot heart supremely brave, Nor heed the scourge, that breaks thy shackled slave!— What boots the fleecy field, and ricy mead, If mid their bloom the culturing captive bleed! Or what avails, that many a sumptuous dome To every traveller yields a generous home, If the rich banquet, and the costly cheer, Are fan'd by sighs, and moisten'd with a tear!— Thine is the grace of courts, the polish'd pride, That bears no equal at its lordly side,⁽15) On the poor artist bends its frowning eye, And bids discarded commerce shrink and die; But still the stranger gladdens at the feast, An ever welcome, ever valued guest,

The robe, the gown, with PEAN'S healing art, Shine at the board, and share the master's heart.— When tired with toils of indolence and ease, Sick at the sun, or shuddering at the breeze, The listless fair, on silken sofas spread, Hang the white hand, and droop the graceful head, While thousand menials loiter in their train, And speak the despot of a new domain.— What leader, worthy of this lofty band, What brave patrician claims the high command! Thou, MOULTRIE! famed in camps, to glory known, By deeds more brilliant, than a regal crown,— Great in thyself,—most noble in thy fame,— And rich in all, that worth and valor claim.— —While in the south proud Carolina towers, Famed for her palmy plains, and myrtle bowers, Without her stately mind, and polish'd charms, Her PALLID SISTER lifts her languid arms;—⁽16) When from her woods the regulating band, Discarded children of their native land, Urged by insidious power, and cherish'd hate, Aim'd at her bleeding heart the bolts of fate,

She calls her faithful sons in bold array To stem the torrent of their wasteful way;— Raised at her voice, intrepid MOORE appears, Restores her hopes, and stills her patriot fears; He guards the culture of her labor'd fields, Whose sandy soil a golden vintage yields, Whose native pine its spiky summit rears, And pours profusion from its fragrant tears; While Health, auspicious to their balmy stream, Fills the loose breeze, and fans the sweltering beam, O'er the wan cheek her vernal lily throws, But bears to colder climes her ruddy rose.— —An ardent youth the sultry race commands, Where green Savannah folds the level lands, And Altimaha's sounding waters run With headlong fury to the vertic sun, Where the mail'd reptile of Egyptian Nile From shore to shore directs his floating file.⁽17) While, from the cavern of his clashing jaw, The hands of death an hundred arrows draw, He crops the verdure of the growing grain, Or drags the wailing baby from the plain;

E'en while the watchful fisher reads the skies, He feels his leaning bark unconscious rise, Then whirl impetuous to the plunging wave, Drink the salt surge, and dash the billowy grave.— Yet round these shores prolific plenty twines, Stores the thick field, and swells the clustering vines, A thousand groves their glossy leaves unfold, Where the rich orange rolls its ruddy gold, China's green shrub, divine magnolia's bloom,⁽18) With mingling odors fling their high perfume;— A depth of forest, and a breadth of plain, Screens the hot soil, and spreads the opening main, Whence freighted fleets, with many a streamer gay, To eastern empires bend their wealthy way, While the blythe sons of jovial commerce stand Round the high deck, and bless the parting land;— Land last of Freedom! youngest child of Fame! Graced with thy great Defender's glorious name, Bright Georgia, hail!—Though fiery Summer pours His fierce electric round thy blasted bowers, While in black streams the turbid clouds descend, And peals on peals the flashing concave rend,—

Though many a reptile rear its slimy brood On the moist bosom of thy breezeless wood,— Though Afric feel thee on her ravaged plain,⁽19) And stay thy step, and stop thy hand in vain,— Yet Britain claims thee with maternal prayer, Won by her wealth, and nurtured by her care, For thee alone her royal riches spread, Her kindness clothed thee, and her bounty fed,— While many a charm, and many a courtly wile, Allure thy love, and woo thy grateful smile, Columbia moved thee with encircling arms To dread those wiles, and shun those dangerous charms; Erewhile thy sons, by social rights inspired, From Albion's side and regal rule retired; To aid the nobler cause thy powers expand, The shield of Freedom guards thy lifted hand, Brave Mc INTOSH a corps of warriors leads, Less famed for numbers, than for glorious deeds.

And now the strong Artillery claims its birth, Terrific guardian of the trembling earth,

With voice of vengeance, and tremendous breath, That wake the fiends of ruin, flight and death;— What daring arm directs its dangerous way! What Chief beloved, ye brave Columbians, say!— 'Tis thine, intrepid KNOX, on glory's car To shield the ranks, and guide the vollied war, And thine the clime of Freedom's early boast, Where the cold isthmus joins the stormy coast:— What time thy much-enduring country draws Thy active valor to her suffering cause, Warm'd at her call, in winter's dreary reign Thy hardy step explored the northern plain;—⁽20) I see thee dauntless tread the trackless way, Where frowning forests quench the glimmering day, Through the bleak wild, and up the boreal steeps, Where, wrap'd in frost, the still'd artillery sleeps, I see that arm its ponderous weight prepare, And call its thunder to the distant war: Raised by thy toils, the brazen bulwark stands, Thy care creates it, and thy voice commands;— Yet as the truly brave are truly kind, And mildest manners mark the noblest mind, ⁽21)

So while a country's wrong thy spirit sires, And patriot ardor every deed inspires, Not more revered in arms, than loved by fame For every worth the social virtues claim,— In war, the terror of the blazing line, In peace, the soul of gentleness, is thine.—

Thus from the snowy District of the Maine To where red Georgia spreads her parching plain, In one fix'd union, with one soul inspired, By their great wrongs, and greater prospects fired, The blended offspring of each varying clime, From wintry age to nature's vernal prime, Brace their bold arms, and with collected might In the just cause their differing forms unite;— So with the oak the fair magnolia blows, And thus the bending thorn supports the rose.— E'en thus the freeborn race indignant rise Beneath their chosen CHAMPION'S partial eyes; While HE, with boundless mind and patient care, Train'd the young rustic to the veteran war,

By bold example nerved the feeble hand, And shone the model of his own command,

Round yon blue shores, where curling billows shine, The PATRIOT CHIEF contracts his lessening line, Till close besieged, the sons of Albion lie, Death waits their stay, and shame forbids to fly;— And as the truant boy, with venturous pride, Resolves to stem the river's ruffling tide, While on the shore his pleading inmates stand, Spreads his white limbs, and points the distant strand, Disdains to yield till all his springs decay, And the mid current sweep his form away; But then, low-sinking with exhausted powers, Too late the folly of his fall deplores; Since, snatch'd from whelming fate, the scoffing train, Joy in his grief, and triumph in his pain:— So, while on war's last verge the Briton lies, Unyielding still he grasps the flattering prize, Nor, till the last weak ray of hope declines, To dark defeat his brilliant fame resigns.

With rapid force the growing dangers press, And round the sufferers pour their deep distress, The crowding siege impels the wasted foe, The loud artillery rolls the peals of woe, The bursting shells, on wings of lightning thrown, Fill the blazed air, and rock the tottering town, Distemper reigns, and threatening famine lowers, No juicy fruitage yields its cooling powers, No verdant herbs their grateful aid impart To thin the tainted stream, that clogs the heart; Around the snowy neck the nurseling clings— In vain—no cry the draught of nectar brings, For thirsty fever, hunger and dismay, Had dried the feeding fount of health away; The chiefs of Britain throng the saddening shore, Defy their danger, but their fame deplore.

While, led by hope, or borne by fruitless fear, The groan of sufferance gains the HERO'S ear, Full many a pang his melting heart assails, Yet the firm purpose of his mind prevails;

E'en while soft pity raised her fond behest, An injured country nerved his closing breast: No restless hate his equal soul subdued, No fever'd vengeance, and no thirst for blood, Defence, not conquest, was the PATRIOT'S care, Peace all his effort, Freedom all his prayer.

Now, slowly moving from the rampired town, The chosen herald* 1.8 greets Columbia's SON, From his raised arm the peaceful flag extends, And low before the camp of Freedom bends, Thus to her Chief prefers his firm demand— We quit the sea-wash'd limits of your land, If from the breasted borders of the lawn The cars of death and hostile troops are drawn; If not—we rest by time and force subdued, But sell destruction with our purchased blood, With us the glories of your cultured coast, Your wives, your children and your town, are lost.— Britannia's sons recruited strength prepare, And to the climes of summer bend the war,

The faithful Hanoverian, long allied, Leads his bold bands on Albion's sovereign side, The hardy Hesse, a fierce undaunted train, Climb the high bark, and plough the furrow'd main, Inured to danger, and unawed by fear, Aim the blue tube, and point the polish'd spear, On southern plains their numerous ranks display, And veil with spreading shades the breast of day; Columbia's bravest warriors there may claim The wreath of glory in the field of fame.— The herald ceased—While in his prudent breast The CIVIC HERO weighs the bold behest— If on the foe his closing lines proceed, What countless woes await the desperate deed! The starting infant's shriek!—The parent's sigh!— The frighted female's supplicating cry!— If heedless ruin wrap the shatter'd wall, On their own sons the crackling mansions fall!— Columbia's native race condemn'd to wait The victor's vengeance, or the captive's fate!— Touch'd at the thought, the PATRIOT CHIEF restrains His ardent warriors from the forceful plains,

Then yields accordant to the stern desire, And bids the unmolested foe retire.

While bending east the winged vessels fly, And on the scite of wintry Scotia lie, The free-born millions of the stretching shores, Where young Columbia's rising eagle soars, In full assemblage meet—And firmly join'd, With one great purpose, one determined mind, From the first wisdom of each peopled town, Graced by the martial helm or civic gown, They cull with jealous eye a peerless band, Deputed sovereigns of the guideless land, To bid the laws resume their sacred reign, Defend the weak, the ruffian arm restrain, Till the maternal realm, pacific grown, Shall heal their wounds, and make their wrongs her own.

And now the delegated rulers shine A CONSTELLATION, form'd by power divine,

That, with reflected force and blended rays, Each sovereign right, and patriot worth, displays. But when, at calm debate's enlighten'd hour, The wrongs of rapine, and the wounds of power, Which spread their horrors round the filial coast, Till the hard parent in the foe is lost, Crowd on their view,—and every pang reveal, Which tyrants urge, and subject wretches feel, With equal force that breadth of empire rose, Which all Columbia's varying world bestows, Where lavish nature's proudest gifts appear, Ranged on the brow of either hemisphere. Balanced on hope and doubt—through every state The GUIDING POWERS proclaim their firm debate.— And what, they cry, can this transcendent land From distant sway and parent care demand! Why suppliant still! nor daring to be free, Like feeble infants bend the filial knee! Forget that manhood swells each branching vein, And drag with willing step a foreign chain!— When the fell mother, with uplifted knife, Thirsts for the stream, that seeds her children's life,

Far from her rage the self-defenders fly, And wounded nature breaks the kindred tie.— Then, while your fields with fierce invaders flow, And civil discord aids an impious foe, Be to yourselves, to unborn millions, true; No wrongs can injure, and no force subdue. Assert your rights, which self-supported rise, Free as the air, and boundless as the skies:— If now, disdainful of those early bands, That bound in triple chains your nerveless hands, Ye greatly dare, and INDEPENDENT claim A free Republic, and an empire's name, Soon to your cause will distant realms afford The willing largess, and the valiant sword; Along your seas will allied navies bend, While your own sons their native shores defend; E'en now your stripling bands, in firm array, Through veteran armies force their fearless way, While at their head, in war's unrival'd pride, Your Patriot-Hero, Champion, Friend and Guide, Bends his bold course,—and, foremost of his train, Meets every danger of the bleeding plain:

Too long this subjugated land has borne The lust of rapine, and the slight of scorn, Too long has seen oppressive power prevail, Usurp your laws, your native rights assail!— Then know yourselves, and feel how wrong'd ye are, Nor deign from kindred claims such chains to wear; To Britain's realm your purposed will disclose,— In PEACE, their friends—in WAR, their desperate foes.— 'Tis Freedom's cause, and outraged Nature cries, Wrong'd as ye are, disclaim your filial ties.

SOON as the delegated powers decree Their rising empire from subjection free, Dispersed by FAME, the sovereign mandate flies, Till with one soul assenting millions rise,— To the full field their patriot troops repair, Inspired by hope, united by despair, Before the CHIEF with sworn allegiance kneel, And to high Heaven prefer the great appeal.* 1.9

Nor were these bands, what lordly Europe brings, The vagrant vassals of her feudal kings; But the bold peasant, whose unfetter'd arm Defends his own hereditary farm, The shepherd-soldier, who indignant bears His country's wrong, and all her glory shares.

THUS SUNG THE MINSTREL, by the theme inspired, With truth, with freedom, with ambition fired;— What though her brow no laurel wreath displays, To lure attention by the power of praise; Though the cold clime subdue the Muse's flame, And colder bosoms blast the hope of fame, Some bard more blest may the high strain prolong, Till free Columbia feel the sway of song, Till, as the streams of epic music roll, Past scenes of glory fill the patriot's soul, The torpid heart of dull indifference charm, To pity waken, and to virtue warm, Of deathless deeds the treasured meed proclaim, And round the Hero's twine the Poet's name,

Who, with prophetic voice, and votive lyre, Breathes what the Muses and THE GOD inspire.— —In this bright hour, when opening truth appears, And o'er the mind her starry sceptre rears, When waning empires own her powerful sway, And rend the fetters of their youth away, THOU, pure instructress of the searching thought, Whose chastening ray the wanton nations caught, Thou, blest Columbia, shalt with cloudless fame Spread the mild lustre of thy temperate flame, And still abhorrent from the blast retire, That wraps the realms in extirpating fire;— While from its rage insulted FREEDOM flies, And on thy virtues rests her wearied eyes, A patriot muse the mystic mandate bears, That wills the triumph of her future years, When, led by THEE, she wings her rapid flight, And through the dark earth spreads her mental light, From the hard bosom of the ice-clad seas, To the hot sorehead of the austral breeze,

From where the morning wakes her infant beam, And golden Ganges slopes his amber stream, To where the West a crimson robe extends, And o'er La Plata's spreading mirror bends,— Till the full ray of EQUAL FREEDOM shine, And like the sun this genial globe entwine.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cambridge.
• * 1.2

  New-England, consisting of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connec|ticut and Rhode Island.
• * 1.3

  The isthmus which joins the peninsula of Boston (the capital of New-England) to the Continent.
• * 1.4

  General JOHN SULLIVAN.
• * 1.5

  New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware form the central States.
• * 1.6

  Virginia, Maryland, North-Carolina, South-Carolina and Georgia are distinguished as the southern States.
• * 1.7

  General SMALLWOOD.
• * 1.8

  For this circumstance, see Ramsay's Hist, of the Revel. Vol. I.
• * 1.9

  The emphatical motto of "Appeal to Heaven," was early in the Revo|lution affixed to the American Standard. GORDON.