English

ON THE NUPTIALS OF PELEUS, AND THETIS .

When Argos' sons, the golden fleece to gain
That hung in Colchis, dar'd the briny main
In a swift vessel, and, the azure sea
Cleaving with oars, urg'd on their rapid way;
Then the tall pines, that grew on Pelion's steep,
First learn'd to float along the watery deep,
Far as where Phasis rolls its copious waves,
And the wide realms of old Æetes laves:
Th' inventive Goddess, whose imperial throne
From the proud citadel o'erlooks the town;

YOUTHS .

Now Hesper gilds the dusky brow of night;
Rise, tuneful youths; the long-expected light
Beams with soft radiance from yon vaulted skies,
'Tis Hesper beams; ye tuneful youths arise:
The festive board employs your care too long;
The virgin comes; begin the bridal song.
Come, sacred Hymen, source of all our joys;
O, Hymen come, sweet God of nuptial ties!

VIRGINS .

Chapter IX

His work was done; his blessing lay
Like precious ointment on his people's head,
And God's great peace was resting on his soul
His life had been a lengthened sacrifice,
A thing of deep devotion to his race,
Since first he turned his eyes on Egypt's gild
And glow, and clasped their fortunes in his hand
And held them with a firm and constant grasp.
But now his work was done; his charge was laid
In Joshua's hand, and men of younger blood
Were destined to possess the land and pass

Chapter VIII

It was a weary thing to bear the burden
Of that restless and rebellious race. With
Sinai's thunders almost crashing in their ears,
They made a golden calf, and in the desert
Spread an idol's feast, and sung the merry songs
They had heard when Mizraim's songs bowed down before
Their vain and heathen gods; and thus for many years
Did Moses bear the evil manners of his race —
Their angry murmurs, fierce regrets and strange
Forgetfulness of God. Born slaves, they did not love

Chapter VII

They journeyed on from Zuphim's sea until
They reached the sacred mount and heard the solemn
Decalogue. The mount was robed in blackness, —
Heavy and deep the shadows lay; the thunder
Crashed and roared upon the air: the lightning
Leaped from crag to crag; God's fearful splendor
Flowed around, and Sinai quaked and shuddered
To its base, and there did God proclaim
Unto their listening ears, the great, the grand,
The central and primal truth of all
The universe — the unity of God.

Chapter VI

But Pharaoh was strangely blind, and turning
From his first-born and his dead, with Egypt's wail
Scarce still upon his ear, he asked which way had
Israel gone? They told him that they journeyed
Towards the mighty sea, and were encamped
Near Baalzephen.
Then Pharaoh said, " the wilderness will hem them in,
The mighty sea will roll its barriers in front,
And with my chariots and my warlike men
I'll bring them back, or mete them out their graves. "
Then Pharaoh's officers arose

Chapter V

On the next day Pharaoh called a council
Of his mighty men, and before them laid
The message of the brethren: then Amorphel,
Keeper of the palace and nearest lord
Unto the king, arose, and bending low
Before the throne, prayed leave to speak a word.
Amorphel was a crafty, treacherous man,
With oily lips well versed in flattery
And curtly speech, a supple reed ready
To bend before his royal master's lightest
Breath — Pharaoh's willing tool. He said

Chapter IV

Men grow strong in action, but in solitude
Their thoughts are ripened. Like one who cuts away
The bridge on which he has walked in safety
To the other side, so Moses cut off all retreat
To Pharaoh's throne, and did choose the calling
Most hateful to an Egyptian; he became
A shepherd, and led his flocks and herds amid
The solitude and wilds of Midian, where he
Nursed in silent loneliness his earnest faith
In God and a constant love for kindred, tribe

Chapter III

The love of Moses for his race soon found
A stern expression Pharaoh was building
A pyramid; ambitious, cold and proud,
He scrupled not at means to gain his ends
When he feared the growing power of Israel
He stained his hands in children's blood, and held
A carnival of death in Goshen; but now
He wished to hand his name and memory
Down unto the distant ages, and instead
Of lading that memory with the precious
Fragrance of the kindest deeds and words, he

Chapter II

It was a great change from the splendor, light
And pleasure of a palace to the lowly huts
Of those who sighed because of cruel bondage.
As he passed
Into the outer courts of that proud palace,
He paused a moment just to gaze upon
The scenes 'mid which his early life had passed —
The pleasant haunts amid the fairest flowers, —
The fountains tossing on the air their silver spray —
The statues breathing music soft and low
To greet the first faint flushes of the morn, —