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456    ANNE CHARLOTTE LYNCH.

The sacred honour of the Cross
Was trailing, soil'd, and torn;
And often had the hostile ranks
That blessed ensign borne.

But from her death-like slumber now,
The seven-hilled city wakes;
Italia! on thy shrouded sky
A gleam of morning breaks.

Along the Alps and Apennines
Runs an electric thrill;
A golden splendour lights once more
The Capitolian hill.

And hopes bright as thy sunny skies
Are o'er thy future cast;
The future that upon thee beams
As glorious as thy past.

The laurels that thy Cæsars wore
Were dyed with crimson stains;
Their triumphs glitter'd with the spoil,
Won on the battle plains.

But for thy Pontiff Prince to-day
A laurel mightst thou twine,
Unsullied as the spotless life
He lays upon thy shrine.

For him might the triumphal car
Ascend the hill again;
No slaves bound to the chariot wheels
Should swell the lengthen'd train.

Such trains as in her proudest days
Was never seen in Rome––
Of captives from the dungeon freed––
Of exiles welcomed home

ANNE CHARLOTTE LYNCH.    457

When gazing on the doubtful strife,
The Hebrew leader pray'd;
The friends of Israel gather'd round,
His drooping hands they stay'd.

And thus around the Patriach's chair
The friends of Freedom stand––
All eager, though it falters not,
To stay his lifted hand.

And in a clearer, firmer tone,
I heard their rallying cry;
From Etna to the Alps it sounds,
"For God and Liberty!"

BOOKS FOR THE PEOPLE.

"Let there be light."

Light to the darken'd mind
Bear like the sun the world's wide circle round,
Bright messengers that speak without a sound!
Sight on the spirit-blind
Shall fall where'er ye pass; your living ray
Shall change the night of ages into day;
God speed ye on your way!

In closet and in hall,
Too long alone your message hath been spoken,
The spell of gold that bound ye there is broken,
Go forth and shine on all!
The world's inheritance, the legacy
Bequeathed by Genius to the race are ye;
Be like the sunlight, free!

A mighty power ye wield!
Ye wake grim centuries from their repose,
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Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-06-29 14:53:34