To the Moon: Almeeta [pp. 622-624]

622 lmee. [SEPTEMBER,
liberty. They were found by the United States
troops in pursuit, and conducted to the quarters of
the general, who received them with his usual affability and courtesy.
As some of the volunteers from Kentucky were
about returning home, the captives were put under
their protection, and after a fatiguing but safe travel,
reached the town where they had all resided, to,
the great relief of their friends. Old Mr. Winston,
who had been brought to the verge of the grave by
grief for the supposed death of his son, could
seateely bea the revulsion of joy when he saw
him return safe, although greatly wasted away by
fatigue and anxiety. In this state of feeling, the
old man could not find it in his heart any longer to
o p p o s e the marriage of William to one of whose
noble conduct he was now informed. He allowed
his fears and scruples, although such as must have
been entertained by a prudent and conscientious
ma n, to b e overruled by the peculiar excellencies
of Sylvia, and the hope that her remarkable popularity would shield her from the taunts of malevolence. Old Mrs. Turner too, happy at the safe
return of her darling niece, and having had no objection at the commencement except the opposition
of old Mr. Winston, when that was withdrawn,
joyfully assented to the connexion. The pair were
accordingly united, and enjoyed as large a share of
happiness as ever falls to the lot of mortals. He
in time became one of the leading orators and
statesmen of his native state, and one of its most
honored representatives in the halls of congress.
Sylvia was in Washington the ornament of the society in which she moved, as she had been always
the pride and boast of her native town. She was
equally distinguished for the spotless purity of her
conduct-the simple dignity of her manners-her
wyit, and elegant acquirements. But it was not in
the gay circles of fashionable life that she found
her greatest pleasure, or displayed her excellence
to most advantage. A throne would have had less
attraction for her than the domestic hearth, when
surrounded by her husband, children, and select
friends. It was while enjoying the tranquil and
innocent gratification which such a scene only can
afford, that she often ascribed to her good aunt,
next to heaven, her exemption from the evils and
temptations which too often beset a Motherless
Daughter.
Alas! that Superstition's hand
Should thus despoil the Christian's wreathThat she should wander thro' the land
With such a foul and chilling breath,
To stir up strife amongst mankind,
Or turn astray the warning barkTo throw a pall upon the mind
Which was not made by Nature dark.
Full m any a vic tim hath indeed
Been laid upon her blood-stain'd shrine,
Trampled as if a worthless weed,
With none to notice its decline.
They told of many a fearful thing
Which she, by aid of magic, wrought:
How often life's pure healthy spring
Had been with bitter poison fraught;
That like the sorceress of old
She eall'd up spirits to her aidUnholy things, unseen, untold,
All under her dominion laid.
Alas! for e her, she knew no arts
Save those which Nature had bestowed,
To waken joy in human hearts,
Or lighten them of sorrow's load.
She might not choose but pour the lay
Which bird-like in her heart was kept,
Nor all her gentle words unsay
E'en tho' the tempest o'er her swept:
Oh! if the bright and lovely throng
That rests within the poet's heart,
So faintly shadow'd in his song,
Could, from their resting-places, start;
Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven, and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless
Among the stars that have a different birth,And ever changing, like a joyless eye
That finds no object worth its constancy?-Shelley.
622
Almeeta.
[SEPTEMBr,,R,
ALMEETA.
She salt within the prison-cell She of the charmed and gifted lyre,
Whose song had often serv'd to quell
'I'he heart's deep grief and passion's fire;
She, who had hearts in tliraldom kept,
And held domin'IOD over power,
Within that lonely prison wept
That Nature gave her song for dower.
Upon the damp and stony floor,
Her dark h-air falling ll'OY fact,
Almeeta sat, admir'd no more,
The victim of a wild conceit.
But never victim wore a form
More angel-like than she who 6ow'd
So meekly to the coming storin,
With beauty's ev'ry gift endow'd.
Of love turn'd into deep disdain,
Of sweet turn'd into bitter words,
Of foul ingratitude and pain
To stir the coldest spirit's chords;
I
Of many a heart smote to the core
By some mysterious mildew-blightForms that had been all health before
Shrouded at once in Death's dark night:
TO THE MOON.
Full many a bright and beauteous dream
Would haunt the hearts of those on earthBut'tis like wrestling with a gleaiu
Of sunshine, to produce their birth!