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136  SARAH JOSEPHA HALE.

Through shaggy forests and from palace walls, 
To hide its terrors in a sea of gloom; 
The castled Rhine, whose vine-crown'd waters flow,
The fount of fable and the source of song; 
The rushing Rhone, in whose cerulean depths 
The loving sky seems wedded with the wave;
The yellow Tiber, choked with Roman spoils, 
A dying miser shrinking 'neath his gold ; 
And Seine, where Fashion glasses fairest forms;
And Thames, that bears the riches of the world; 
Gather their waters in one ocean mass, 
—Our Mississippi, rolling proudly on, 
Would sweep them from its path, or swallow up, 
Like aaron's rod, these streams of fame and song! 

And thus the Peoples, from the many Lands, 
Where these old streams are household memories, 
Mingle beside our River, and are one;
And join to swell the strength of Freedom's tide, 
That from the fount of Truth is flowing on, 
To sweep Earth's thousand tyrannies away.

How wise — how wonderful the works of God!
And, hallow'd by his goodness, all are good.
The creeping glow-worm — the careering sun
Are kindled from the effluence of his light.
The ocean and the acorn-cup are fill'd
By gushings from the fountain of his love.
HE pour'd the Mississippi's torrent forth,
And heaved its tide above the trembling land,—
Grand type how Freedom lifts the Citizen
Above the [[italics]] subject [[/italics]] masses of the world—
And mark'd the limits it may never pass.
Trust in His promises, and bless His power,
Ye dwellers on its banks, and be at peace.


SARAH JOSEPHA HALE.           137

And ye, whose way is on the warrior wave,
When the swoln waters have with ocean's might,
And storms and darkness close the gate of heaven,
And the frail bark, fire-driven, bounds quivering on,
As though it rent the iron shroud of night
And struggled with the demons of the flood —
Fear nothing! He who shields the folded flower,
When tempests rage, is ever present here.
Lean on "Our Father's" breast in faith and prayer,
And Sleep, — His arm of love is strong to save.

Great Source of Being, Beauty, Light and Love!
Creator! Lord! the waters worship thee!
Ere thy creative smile had sown the flowers;
Ere the glad hills leap'd upward, or the earth,
With swelling bosom, waited for her child;
Before eternal Love had lit the sun,
Or Time had traced his dial-plate in stars,
The joyful anthem of the waters flow'd;—
And Chaos like a frighten'd felon fled,
While on the Deep the Holy Spirit moved.

And evermore the Deep has worshipp'd God;
And Bards and Prophets tune their mystic lyres,
While listening to the music of the floods.
Oh! could I catch this harmony of sounds,
As borne on dewy wings they float to heaven,
And blend their meaning with my closing strain!

Hark! as a reed-harp thrill'd by whispering winds,
Or Naiad murmurs from a pearl-lipp'd shell,
It comes — the melody of many waves!
And loud, with Freedom's world-awaking note,
The deep-toned Mississippi leads the choir.
— The pure sweet Fountains chant of heavenly hope,
The chorus of the Rills is household love;
12*

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-28 13:12:32 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-28 15:03:22