I \- f 'U^y- i- 4' '«■//> M^ i: "• ' ■ -" . J . .^,i// ,. y a tliousand swrofs, had died a\^ay — Tho wave IxMieatli, the hiiirel oti the hill I'ask'd in the heaven's bine heaiity — a.xl were still: — Pom]) — Sileiu-e — Aii;"ht were reiiiiiiiii;- on the earth, \yni|)h, wiioni niy rude \ else worships, at tiiy hirtlil Tlie 3Iuses rear'd thee in their starry eavi's, — Laved thy fair liin'js lieneatli their holiest waves, — And tanirht the wild soul speakin;;' iVoni thine eye 'To ([iiaiF the liii'lit of<;eiiiiis frnni t'le sky. There, by lon(^ mount, and vale, and di'e|)-l)row'd dell, 'i'herc, liy the bee-!oved flowers, and mossy cell, — There, by the glories of the snnimer noon. And tiie sweet sadness of the midnight moon- — Thy spirit stored within its still icccs.s The myriad foi ins of \ature's loveliness ; — The grand — the soft — the lofty and the fair Wooed tliy warm ihonghts — and m.ade their dwcllinif there. 'Tis said — \\\\At minstrel doubts the legc'iid's truth? — The day -god loved thee from tliine earliest yoi;th, And ponr'd uroinid the nuisings of thy heart The shadowy splendours of his holiest art — To sul)stan('e li\"d the luigiit tlionghts all his dwii. \nd breathed the life of I'o."s\' to stone. Inspiring' visions rose at midnight's hour, Wikl shapes of Beauty throng'd thy haunted bower. Till o'er thy mind creative Genius grew — And the hand sculptured what the fancy drew. Nymph of old Castaly ! thou lovest to keep Thy moon-lit vigils whore the mighty sleep; O'er the dim tomb to hold thy silent sway, And rear thy marble triumphs o'er decay. 'Tis thine to fix through ages fresh and warm, The frail perfection of the fading form ; — And though no more by cool Cepliisus' stream The Queen of Beauty haunts the minstrel's dream — Though now no more on Tempe's classic vale Apollo's locks win worship from the gale, Yet still thy spells preserve them to the eye, — Chain to the earth the bright forms of the sky, — And raise high spirits from the mine and ore. That crowds may gaze, — and Genius may adore! To thee, where old Ilyssus roves along The olive banks, all elocpient with song. The bright Athenian bent his thoughtful brow. Breathed his young thoughts, and pour'd his lonely vow. And the far Isle of Roses* o'er the sea Rear'd her world's wonder as a shrine for thee : — Where is that vast Colossus, which bestrode The free waves like Ambition ? — while they flow'd Hushing their wrath like slaves — as through yon arch Frau«-ht with earth's wealth, the proud barks went their march? Where is that brazen pomp was wont to throw Back on the Sun the glory of his glow — And seem'd the Genius of that daring clime. Dazzling all eyes, and fonn'd for every time — ' Rlindc?. iCLLPTLKK. Earth at its tcet, and Heaven upon its blow — Symbol ofGrcece, — and art (lion notbinj^ now ! Enough! — on forms unwrerk'd beneath the blast Or blight of ages, be our wonder cast — Is it a Goddess ? lo ! I bend the knee, Dream of heaven's beauty! let me worship thee I Thou art indeed too lovely for the earlh As earth is now — thy charms are of the birth Of her first morn — wlien every flower was trod And every fount was hallow'd by its god — And brighter beings wander'd from above To win the treasure of a mortal's love. Oh! o'er the sculptor's spirit ponr'd each ra\ AV liich memory hoarded of that golden day, — Each thought of grace, or goddess lingering still J'y silver stream, or Oread-haunted hill. All whiclithe soul deems bright, or passiou donv — When his wild fancy turn'd — and li.v'd them /air .' Oft at deep noon — what time t!ie wearied gule Slept on the violets — while the shadowy vale, The fairy music of the wood-!)ird's lay. The glad bee murmuring on his peri'umed wav, The green leaves laughing in the (piivering beams. Lull'd the luxurious spirit in w ild dreams. Oft hath the marvel of thy beauty stole Sweet sha])0, along the \ isioiis ol'my sou! ! E'en as when young Adonis wooed thy vow, — E'en as tiiou glowest from the marble now, — E'en as thou stood'st 'mid vamjuisird gods above. In breathing, jialpable, embodied love. Terrible! — mark, and tn iiil(l(>! — fold b>, fold See round the wiithing sire *^ the enormous serpent's rolTil I,:inciHiii. jJCULPTURli:. Mark tlic stcni paiii;' — the clencli'd despairing clasp — Tlie wild limits slriini;ling with that fatal grasp — The doi'p coiividsion of tin; lahoiiring hrt^ath — Th' intense and gathering agony of death. — Yet 'mid the mortal's suflerings still is view'd The haugiity sjiirit shaken — not suhdiied, Though nature faint, though every fil)rc burst, Scathed — stifled — crush'd — let vengeance wreak its worst; Fate — terror — hell — let loose your powers of ill, Wring the wrack'd form — the sold can scorn you still. Nymph of my song! I turn my glance, and lo! The Archer-god speeds vengeance from his bow. — Not, as when oft, amid his Dclian glade, The Lord of Beauty knelt to mortal maid; Not, as when winds were hush'd — and waves lay nuit(! Listing, and hdl'd beneath, his silver lute; — But like the terrors of an angry sky. Clouds on his brow, and lightning in his eye. The foot advanced — the haughty lips apart — The voice just issuing from the swelling heart — The breathing scorn — Yet 'mid that scorn appear No carthlier passions mix'd with Inniian iear; The god speaks from the marble not tiie less Than when heaven brightens with his loveliness, And o'er each limb th' enanmur'd Graces play, Leave wrath its pride, but steal its gloom away. Yes, at thos(^ feet, the bard of Fsis sung,* Oft in deep love (he maiden's form was flung, And her soul fed on passion, till her thought Madden'd beneath the anguish it had sought, And health with hope departed — and the flush Of f('V(M- deepen'd o'er youth's piu-er blusii — ' Allnilirif; to the stciry of tlic ''.Maid iif Fraru'c." wliicli lias lnvn =0 lifniilifulli npplipil liy Mr IMillmari. SCI M'TLlIi:. (iricf .s ciiiikcr jncy'tl lliioii licr w itlit riiii; bUnnii- And love's wild vision woke hut in llie (ond). E'en thus of old the Cyprian sculptor * vimv'd 'The star-like form wliieli blessM iiis soIitud( — I'roni earth, and eaithly beauty he had ilown. Vnd i;ia\ed a dream of loveliness on stone; — Vnd madoatem[)le of his healing heart, To worship the perfection of his art- — And aye he knelt adoring- — nonewfre near Th' empassiou'd homage of his vows to hear. The unpeopled forest, and the niMrniniing waA( — The shadowy twilight of his lonely cave, — The mystic language of fli(! rushing wind — Kursed the volujHuous madness of his mind. lie rain'd warm kisses on th' unconscious iinc. — U^ooed the mute inarhle to his wild end)race, — Gazed till the cell swam round his reeling eyes. — Vnd tile chill air w as hnniing with his sighs, — Hung on that lip, alas! so vainly fair — And bicathed at last his very lieing (here. O'er the cold cheek rose Passion's blushing hue— 81ow ly to life the kindling statue grew, Caught the warm spirit from his soid's excess. And bieathed and mo\ed in living loveliness. YcJirs have roU'd on, alas! no longer now IJound Ilella's sword i)l<)oms Freedom's myrtle bougli.- There, "mid the gorgeous piles which still proclaim llnchanged — the changes of her fallen fame, ^mit l)y the Ixilt, and bow'd beneath the bla-r Of fate, — she sits — the s|)cctre of the past. — Vet still the warm haliaii Ioa es her loic, Gleans the rich harvest from each haiuited >liore. ;.li..n SCULPTURE. O'er his rude harp the Roman minstrel flings Flowers from her wreath, and music from her strings ; And from his native banks to Tiber's tide Th' Athenian scidptor wafts the Parian ])ride — Glows the live statue, and the polish'd dome, And Greece hath found a second birth in Rome. Still the 3oung Faun amid the wild flowers sleeps — Still his carousal hoar Silenus keeps — And still Diana's beauty glows as dear, As when Endymion lured her from her sphere. Still unsubdued amid the wrecks of years Her lofty spear Athenian Pallas rears, — And still — though thunder waits not on his nod, Throned in his grandeur sits the imperial God. Still in mad mirth the Bacchanalian throng Weave the wild dance, and raise the frantic song — And calm in stern repose — (his labours done) Stands, like a sleeping storm, Alcmaena's son. Behold, where in his nerved and naked might Rushes the Circus Champion to the fight — Stretches the gaunt arm in its sweeping length — Starts from each limb the eloquence of strength — On he bent brow Pride,. I*ij\ver, and Conquest reign. Fro- . he curved lip the spnit breathes disdain — And all the savage in his sternest mood Spe?ks from the form unawed and unsubdued ! — Where mid yon puny race of courts can be. Son of the woods ! the rham])ion meet for thee ! The strife is o'er — e'en as a broken bow Nerveless and spent — the Terrible lies low ! — He leans upon his hand — the lion crest Bows to the dust — and from the untamed breast Falls drop by drop life's tide — the eye is dim, And o'er the buckler droops the giant limb — And death is mi tiie Miahtyl — Aye, thou piuiid And guilty rity! let thy ruthless crowd Pour o'er their prey the mockery of their niirlli, Blood uitli tliose echoes calls forth from the earth — And Heaven full soon shuli answer. — Iluiryiiig forth Sweeps on dark vvinffs th.e whirlwind of the North- Hush — it hath past! — ]}y Tiber's glassy \vav(> Crouches — where Brutus trod — yon supple slave I Where the voluptuous CVsars held their sway. Couch'd with the Vandal, saddens stern Decay. Wherein those halls, Hurmoniu waked her string-. Hark, the harsh shout of Gothic revel rings, And o'er the pillar'd pomp and tropliied arch Gaunt Havoc speeds her desolating march. But from the midnight of Time's dullest dream Be our's to wake, and hail the earliest heaiii. — Ages have past — a star is in the skies — The clouds are rent — and light and liCo rise — See, from each crumbling stone and mou!d(Ming hii>t Admiring Genius clears th' unhallo\v"d dust! — The buried pomp of years awakes once n;ore — The solemn Earth gives up her silent store — And the world's second morning p •;•.* its ray- Hright as of old, on Michael's eagle gaze ! — Approach and reverence, stranger! calm and lo'ie The Prophet Chief* claims homage from his throne. From that broad brow, closed lip, and marble cheek. And high repose, no human passions sjxak — But power and majesty, august and proud. Brood o'er the aw ful image, — like a cloud I Vnd in tlie lines of that tmearthly face 'I'he eye of Fancy in its gaze might trace -M.-o^-i.v Mill, M. -I \n.f.'l... Deep visions of tlio Futiirc — the siibliine And mystic secrets of primeval time — And tiie ra|)t holiness of liiin who heard Through flame and darkness God's Eternal Word! There the young shepherd* stands, as when he trod The earth, exulting in the might of God. — Scorn'd the strong armour, and the giant liml.- — And knew the Lord of Hosts was over liiiii! Round his light form no sheltering garments cling, He wields no weapon but the simple sling ; Yet in the advancing step — the lofty mien — The calm stern front — the undaunted sotd is seen. Though armies shrink around him ; — though the brav contrast to the stately crest. The da/./.iing croslet, and the glittering vest, With ruiiged gar!), and wondering looks, pass on The stern and simple wanderers from the Don. IJut oft like ciouds amid tluit gorgeous throng- Dark angry forms sweep low eringly along. r\ot theirs the rajit deligiit — the soul's deej) ti'ai'.ce — <>riel' wrings tlu^ heart, and Passion iires the glantr. And ever from the writhing lip, the wrath nt" fierce and struggling spirits flashes forth. 'I'hc iniilter'd vengeance, and th(> scornful jest— The Mciit \ olcaiia of the lalxiuriu"' breast— The uncoiKiuer'd haired of the powerless will, 'J'hat bittei' (ciMifort of the con>iiiii may have past, Turns he not home exultingly at last i And though in climes to Muse and Memory dear My sold is lingering — I recall it hvrc — Lo ! where through cloister'd aisles, the sot'ten'd day Throws o'er the form a " dim religious" ray, In graven pomp and marble majesty Stands the immortal Wanderer of the Skv — The sage, wiio borne on Thought's sublimest car, Track'd the vague moon, and read tiie mystic star. — Sway'd from the iilaiict, or the desert cloud. To him the Spirits of the Night were bow'd — Hoar Time reveal'd his marvels — Nature drew Her secret veil from his nnda/.zlcd view — For him, her glowing depths had solemn speech, — And myriad woilds — life — glory — God in each, Ilvmning liigli joy through Heaven's eternal dome, Blazed from the darkness round Jelio\ah's home! Mark ye — how well the kindling Sculptor took The sweeping robe — the majcsly of look — And o'er each feature's lofty beauty wrought The deep intense pervading soul of thought. And that etherial sunshine which in him Ijife could not cloud, and Passion could iU)t dim. As if the S|iirit which had w ing'd its way Through IIea\('u had jiiuged each earflilier sense a\va\ . Oh, may his iiiHueni'e hallow yet the i-rcvui Where once the lustre of his life hath been! — And — though perchance! \\\ \ain. Ambition's toil, Vouth's dreaming hope — and Labour's midiught oil. Yet, ere the evil days of strife and sin Flave thrown their shadows o'er the light w itliiu, f .earn we from him that truth least understund. — .Mail is most great wliile strnii'iilin::' to be iiond. My harp's nulo notes arc dyinc; — all too long; My sonl hath jrourM its spirit into song, And yet I pause — What though the weeds I bring Waft no rich incense from the breathing spring. I pause — a Northern votary's wri^ath to twine. Land of the Roman round thy ruin'd sin-ine. Oh, from thy lore if e'er his mind hath caught For fancy, fire, or energy for thought. If from the sculptured form, and sacred strain For him the I)cauty was not waked in vain, Then all ungrateful would the Minstrel be Had not his lyre one parting note for thee ! Oh, as the image in that fabled scene* In w'hich Leontes mourns his buried Queen, Came from the dim concealment of long years, (As rainbows shine through Nature's clouds and tears,) And bright with smiles descended from above, Glowing with joy, and redolent of love — Oh, thus from shrouded pomp, and silence deep, Where Memory sits to ponder, and to weeji — Italia, wake ! the hues of life resume — And smile auay the terrors of the tomb. * 'Wiiilrr's Tiile. Act V. scoiir ". FTMS. Deacidjfied using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date; April 2009 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cianbetry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111