Classic Poem

D EEP in a loathsome dungeon's twilight gloom,
Which scarce received a dubious gleam of day,
Where many a wretch had found a living tomb —
Pining for home, — a prisoned patriot lay.
As the rich hues of sunset waned away,
And land and sea with rosy radiance shone,
Through the barred lattice came the evening ray,
Beaming in beauty on the wall of stone, —
And lingered, loth to leave the Captive sad and lone.

That brief reflection of the summer skies,
Sent from the happier region of the spheres,
Caught the poor mourner's dim and drooping eyes,
And stirred the slumbering fountains of his tears;
For all the rapture of his boyish years,
And all his ardent youth's romantic spell, —
All that fair freedom — all that love endears,
Came like the sad tones of a vesper bell,
While thus the Captive woke the echoes of his cell: —

" Blest was my boyhood! when I wandered free,
Fearless and far, o'er mountain, moor, and vale;
When every season brought its share of glee, —
Life in the sun and gladness in the gale;
When the young moon that rose serenely pale,
Looked like a fairy bark through cloud-waves driven,
And the rich music of the nightingale
Sank like a spirit's voice which God had given
To teach the listening soul the melody of heaven!

" Lured by the genial freshness of the hour,
With buoyant step I bounded forth at morn,
And hied away to some familiar bower
To pluck the wild-rose from the dewy thorn;
Or roved through fields of undulating corn —
Or watched the winding of some wizard stream —
Or lay beneath some beetling rock forlorn,
Wrapt in the quiet ecstasy of dream,
Till Phaebus flushed the west with his departing beam.

" Around the precincts of my tranquil home,
I knew each barren spot, each cultured nook —
The pathless wild, the wood's umbrageous dome —
The tumbling torrent, and the dimpling brook;
And ever and anon my way I took
Through scenes, alas! which I shall view no more;
For Nature was my ever-open book,
Whose peaceful, pleasant, and exhaustless lore,
Gave to my craving soul the choicest of its store.

" When time, at length, had knit my growing form,
And shaped my spirit in a manlier mould,
I loved to share the grandeur of the storm,
As its vast billows o'er the welkin rolled:
Oft have I borne the midnight gloom and cold,
In contemplation of those worlds on high
Which men call stars — those drops of heavenly gold
Which burn and brighten o'er the slumbering sky,
Like gems which cannot fade — like flowers which cannot die!

" All that is lovely, tender, and serene, —
All that is wild, and wonderful, and strong, —
All that is free as it hath ever been,
Spoke to my spirit with a trumpet's tongue:
The rush of winds — the roar of waves — the long
Reverberated thunder — the far boom
Of ever restless Ocean — the glad song
Of birds and bees in sylvan haunts — the bloom
That sleeps in buds and blossoms, cradled in perfume; —

" The opening splendour that Aurora yields,
Deep Noon, rich Eve, and philosophic Night;
The harvest waving on the peaceful fields —
The billowy forest on the mountain's height;
The rainbow's arch, prismatically bright —
The Summer music in the air that rings —
The sweeping cloud — the eagle's sunward flight —
The joyous flutter of a thousand wings,
And all the boundless range of universal things!

" Oh! I was calm and happy, though, as yet,
In all my gladness I had been alone;
But heaven was round my footsteps when I met
One gentle soul congenial with my own
Like chords that thrill in harmony of tone,
Our thoughts, words, looks, and feelings were the same,
And o'er my heart so sweet a spell was thrown,
That e'en the poet's glowing words were tame,
To paint the gush of joy that o'er my being came!

" And I was blest, if man be blest below, —
The favoured father of as fond a child
As e'er brought gladness in a world of woe;
My household sprite, fair, frolicsome, and wild —
The Ariel of my home, whose voice beguiled
My darkest hours — my peace-preserving dove,
Whose young affections, fresh and undefiled,
Gushed from his heart in syllables of love,
And winged my prayers for him unceasingly above.

" Alas, for all my joys! in evil hour
I yearned to mingle with my fellow-men;
Left the calm pleasures of my cottage bower,
Never to taste tranquillity again:
I found the city a tumultuous den,
Where crime, oppression, ignorance, and strife,
Made up one mass of misery — a fen
Where every vicious weed grew rank and rife,
And flung a withering taint on all the flowers of life.

" But why was this? the earth was passing fair,
Flinging rich gifts from her prolific breast;
The ocean, with its mighty bosom bare,
Wildly magnificent in storm or rest;
The heavens with wondrous beauty were impressed,
Whether in summer's noon, or winter's night!
Lovely, their varying splendours of the west —
Sublime their wilderness of starry light —
Hours when the soul had wings to take unbounded flight.

" A God of wisdom, harmony, and love,
Was seen and felt in all things, from the round
Of burning worlds that wheel their course above,
To the mute glow-worm on the dewy ground:
Where'er I roved, my eager spirit found
Things which reflected Hope's inspiring beam;
Some shape of beauty — some melodious sound,
Which touched my heart with joy; and could I deem
That Man was made to mar Creation's perfect scheme?

" I raised my voice imploringly aloud,
And wicked men were startled into fear! —
Nor vain my cry, for soon a gathering crowd,
Haggard and worn with misery, drew near;
Some came to scoff, and some to lend an ear,
With wondering eyes and faces sadly pale;
My heart waxed warmer, and my voice more clear,
Till soft, persuasive Reason did prevail,
To make the thousands feel my true yet fearful tale.

" Fired with the earnest eloquence of Truth,
My words warmed every listener to the core,
Inspired old Age, and in the soul of Youth
Aroused those energies which slept before:
I strove to teach them, from the sickening lore
Of Europe's annals — dark with many a stain —
How much of human tears and human gore
Had fallen unheeded as the summer rain,
That selfish man might reap unprofitable gain.

" I bade them scan the universe and see
What God had done for man; I bade them seek
That virtuous knowledge which adorns the free,
Softens the strong and dignifies the weak;
I bade them deeply think, and calmly speak,
And promptly act at love or duty's call;
I urged them to be patient, mild, and meek,
But fearless, firm, and watchful; and withal,
To keep heart, mind, and limb, secure from slavish thrall.

" I bade them leave those haunts of vice and gloom,
Where they profaned the Sabbath's holy hours;
To go abroad, and revel in the bloom
That blushed in beauty on a thousand flowers!
To scale the mountains, thread the tangled bowers,
And by the brinks of brawling brooks repair;
To catch the freshness of the summer showers,
And breathe the life of unpolluted air;
Till the wrapt soul was filled with all of pure and fair

" I prayed that they would strengthen and employ
Each wiser, nobler faculty of mind;
Gather the gems of Science, and enjoy
Those flowers of thought which Genius had entwined;
I bade them walk with Charity, and bind
The stricken heart by sin or sorrow riven;
Succour and serve the feeblest of their kind,
Moved by those sympathies which Love hath given
To soothe the ills of Earth, and win the joys of Heaven.

" Had I been swayed by selfishness, and built
My hopes of glory on a rebel's name,
I could have led my followers into guilt,
And blown the sparks of Discord into flame;
But no; I had a higher, holier aim —
And well my hallowed mission was begun —
To rouse my country from her slavish shame, —
To do what human effort could have done,
To make her free and blest; — and lo! what I have won!

" A felon's fare, and worse than felon's doom,
With fetters rusting on my fleshless bones:
This narrow prison of perpetual gloom —
This cold damp pillow of unyielding stones!
Far from Affection's gentle looks and tones,
My wife's fond smile — my child's rich voice of glee,
With none to silence or to soothe my groans —
Father of Mercy! let me turn to thee,
I feel thy spirit here, and bow to thy decree! " —

The manly victim of Oppression's law,
Faint with the nightly vigils he had kept,
Sunk down supine upon his couch of straw,
And, lapped in brief forgetfulness, he slept.
Enchanting visions through his memory swept,
Flushed his pale cheek, and heaved his weary breast;
Fair forms and faces round his pillow crept,
Which he in early youth had loved and blest;
And voices such as these stole through his troubled rest: —