Auspicious Spirit, whosoe'er thou art,
Who warm, exalt, and fill, the Poet's heart:
Who bade young Homer pour the martial strain,
And led the Tuscan bard thro' hell's profound domain:
By whom unequal Camöens, borne along
A torrent-stream, majestic, wild, and strong,
Sung India's clime disclosed, and fiery showers
Bursting on Calicut's perfidious towers:
By whom soft Maro caught Mæonian fire,
And plaintive Ossian tuned his Celtic lyre:--
If still 'tis thine o'er Morven's heaths to rove,
Tago's green banks, or Meles' hallow'd grove,
Assist me thence--command my growing song
To roll with nobler energy along!
Before me Life's extended vale appears,
Onward I hasten thro' the gulf of years,
And soon must sink beneath them; let my name
With one bright furrow of recording fame
Mark my brief course!--If led by thee I stray'd
In youth's sweet dawn beneath the hazel shade,
While over head clear shone the sunny beam,
And noon's weak breeze scarce curl'd the tepid stream:
Still aid me, gentle Spirit! still inspire
My first bold task, and add diviner fire.
Thou too, eternal Freedom! Britain's friend,
To British strains thy wonted influence lend,
And fire my kindling mind, while I display
Thy own Gustavus in unclouded day.
From where, on vast Nevada's icy brow,
Enthroned in clouds, thou view'st the realm below,
The Lusian, Gaul, and Albion's warring train,
The clash of arms, and tumult of the plain;
From thence I call thee--rouse thy name once more, }
And to an equal theme thine aid implore, }
Since Spain is now, what Sweden was before. }
And now with transport wild Ernestus spies
Dalarne's continuous coast before him rise.
Ere yet he reach'd the bank, the toiling oar
He dropp'd, and sprung impatient to the shore.
Before him wide the dark-brow'd forests frown'd,
And morn's still hour hush'd all the space around,
Save where the whispers of the changeful breeze
Half waved the summits of the towering trees.
Alone, and guided by a straggling beam,
He hastened onward, where the murmuring stream
Cut thro' the woods its liquid way, and laved
The grass, that round their trunks luxuriant waved.
The willing woods an easy passage yield,
And his glad footsteps reach the bordering field.
O'er many a hill he pass'd, and many a plain,
While the steep sun toiled up heaven's blue domain:
At length, o'erspent with labour, he descries
A spire white-glistening in the morning-skies;
Around, a hundred cots in order rose, }
And mingling trees a shadowy scene compose; }
A mighty wood, o'er all, its dark protection throws. }
On vale, on village, and protecting wood,
The southern sun shot down his fiery flood.
Recent from toil, the weary peasant-train
Reclined their languid limbs along the plain,
Or dragg'd their idle steps along the soil,
To watch the mountain-miner's distant toil.
Here first Ernestus paused, and gazing round,
Traced the wide scene, and measured all the ground.
At length, his search determined to delay
'Till deepening twilight quench the crimson ray,
On the cool grass his weary limbs he threw,
While future years rose imaged to his view,
From hope to hope his mind enraptur'd pass'd,
And every hope seem'd brighter than the last.
So the swift eagle, with exulting wings,
Freed from his cage, thro' echoing ether springs;
Towers, cities, hills recede, untired he flies,
Cleaves the blue space, and gains upon the skies:
There wantons in the warm expanse of day,
And drinks, with kindling eyes, the sun's accustomed ray.
Meanwhile the guardian genius round him pours
Celestial dews, and nature's strength restores;
His swimming eyes to balmy sleep resign'd,
And fancy bore sweet visions to his mind.
'Twas now the time, when sober Evening sheds
Her dusky mantle o'er the grassy meads:
Nor yet the pale stars trembled thro' the trees,
Nor sparkling quiver'd on the inconstant seas;
Nor yet the moon illumed the solemn scene:
The fields were silent, and the heavens serene.
The sheep had sought the fold; nor yet arose
Night's listless bird from her dull day's repose.
When in a vale with shadowy firs replete,
Whose broad boughs rustled thro' the dark retreat,
Beneath a pine that sunk to slow decay,
Unseen, Gustavus pass'd the hours away.
From earliest morn, ere day's third glass was run, }
The chief had mused, nor mark'd the rising son; }
And the retiring day appear'd as just begun. }
Each flattering argument his mind revolved,
Each gleam of patriot hope yet undissolved,
Traced to its dubious source each meteor-light,
'Till the last spark went out, and all was night.
Convinced at length, he spoke: the woods around
With solemn awe return'd the mournful sound;
And souls of patriots listen'd from on high,
Uncertain yet of Sweden's destiny.
"Yes, thou must fall! oh once o'er earth renown'd,
Queen of the North, with choicest blessings crown'd,
While martial glory waited on thy voice,
And wealth and power seem'd rivals for thy choice!
Ye fond survivors of a ruined state, }
Here quit, at length, your hopes of happier fate, }
And view your country's fix'd unalterable date! }
You were not made to fear a tyrant's frown,
To gild with tributary wealth his crown,
To welcome some deputed robber's sway,
And watch his wavering will from day to day:
No--once o'erwhelm'd beneath a tyrant's blow.
Each following age will bring increase of woe,
And every sigh, that loads the Swedish air,
Will fly the herald of a patriot's care!
"How art thou changed, oh fate! since smiling Time
Bore on his noiseless wings my youthful prime!--
By my paternal castle-gate reclined,
I caught the murmurs of the evening wind;
Or, leaning o'er the rampire's battled height,
Cast my young eye, with ever-new delight,
O'er rocks, o'er vallies rich with many a flower,
The lake blue-glistening, and the snowy tower:
While my sire joy'd on days long past to dwell,
How Haquin triumph'd, or how Birger fell--
'That land,' he said, 'thy gallant fathers won
From realms that glow beneath a brighter sun.
Their beacons blazing on each snow-clad height,
The yelling sons of Odin rush'd to fight,
And rent the eagles of invading Rome,
Whose power had changed a hundred nations' doom.
In vain the Empress of the Northern Zone,
With arts on arts high piled her ill-gained throne:
Stern Engelbert trod Usurpation down,
And from the thirteenth Eric tore the crown.
Yet may my country fall--earth's works decay,
And heaven's high laws expect the annulling day.
"While yet a youth, by venturous hope impell'd,
Thro' foreign climes my devious course I held;
And came at last, where high in ether shine
The golden towers of sceptred Constantine.
There Palæologus the kingdom sway'd,
And willing Greece his mild commands obey'd.
I saw the town with antique splendours crown'd,
The martial force, the crowded ports around,
The peopled fields, with waving harvests fair,
And deem'd, security and peace were there.
"Onward I pass'd in youthful ardour bold,
'Till o'er the changeful earth four suns had roll'd,
When Stockholm's towers and Meler's native stream,
Of every vision, every thought the theme,
Recall'd my steps.--Returning thence, I saw
Byzantium sunk beneath a victor's law:
O'er the high walls barbaric ensigns wave,
Red with the recent carnage of the brave:
On quarter'd camps the sun his red beam flings;
Thro' night's dim arch the shrill-toned Ezzau rings;
Buried in dust the Christian altars lie,
And exiled Science seeks another sky.
"Thus, Sweden, mayst thou fall! in ruin lost,
Each hope of aid by swift destruction cross'd;
Thy blazing domes may feed a tyrant's ire,
Thy shrines; unwilling, burn with Danish fire;
Thy latest king, like Constantine, in vain
May join his slaughtered subjects on the plain!--
Handmaid of Science, and by Science fed,
Each vice already rears its blooming head:
Already Treason digs his silent mine; }
With, civil follies, foreign wars combine; }
And raging Faction waits to give th' appointed sign. }
Oh! in that hour, when growing dangers rise,
When the weak trembles, and the faithless flies,
Gustavus, fight for her! for Sweden fight!
For her employ the day, outwatch the night!
Untouch'd by grief, by terror, or dismay,
Urge thro' surrounding ills thy fearless way;
Let useless torture and defeated hate
Confess the triumphs of a hero's fate:
Let tranquil courage in each act be seen,
And tyrants tremble at thy dying mien!'
"He spoke no more. O'er my astonish'd soul
I felt a flood of high emotions roll:
Toss'd on the mighty stream of future time,
My young heart shook with ecstasies sublime!
"Oh, look not from thy skies, lamented shade,
Nor view that land to misery betray'd:
If ignorance can cloud immortal sight,
Be Sweden's fortunes wrapp'd in tenfold night!
Thou saw'st not Devastation sweep her shore,
Her forests smoke, her rivers roll in gore;
Thou saw'st not half her woes. Her senate low,
Thou thought'st her people would revenge the blow;
And hope shone kindling in thy dying eye,
That some new sun would rise to light her starless sky.--
'Twas then, when Christiern thought the axe too slow,
And watch'd with eager transport every blow,
And drank each murmur that to death consign'd
The noblest, wisest, bravest of mankind,--
When ev'n the gazing crowd was doom'd to feel
The fury of his yet unsated steel,--
'Twas then thou met thy fate,--unshared by me!
Thou fell'st, and with thee Sweden's liberty!
Thy spouse, thy daughter, wrapp'd in fetters lie;
Thy son, self-exiled, quits his native sky!"--
He paused, and starting from the verdant ground
With hurried footsteps paced the forests round,
Stung with fierce grief, 'till the full tide of woes
Subsiding sunk, and calmer thoughts arose.
While yet he roams beneath the shady groves,
And tears gush forth at every step he roves;
Sleep's humid vapours lessening on his eyes,
Ernestus rose, and mark'd the changing skies.
And now a furze-clad eminence he found,
That wide o'erlook'd the immensity of ground:
From this, with eye insatiate, he admires
Woods, hamlets, fields, and awe-commanding spires.
And seeks where first to steer his fateful flight,
Safe under covert of the quiet night.
Wide to the left the blue-tinged river roll'd,
And faintly tipped with eve's departing gold,
The village rose: half-shaded, on the right
A sloping hill appeared to bound the sight:
From its hoar summit to the midmost vale,
Unnumbered boughs waved floating in the gale.
Imbrown'd with ceaseless toil, a smiling train
Whirl the keen axe, and clear the farther plain,
The intruding trees and scatter'd stems o'erthrow,
And form a grassy theatre below.
A hundred piles beneath the moon's wan beams,
O'er rock and valley shed their lengthening streams;
Three youths at each their joyous station keep,
In festive contest bent to banish sleep,
And strive which first shall see the morn arise
With pale-red streamer waving thro' the skies.
Sequester'd from the rest a shaded dome
Arose, the son of Eric's rural home:
On its low roof the light appear'd to rest,
The last green light that trembled in the west.
Thither, by Heaven impell'd, he took his way,
And sought the spot where Sweden's hero lay.
Meanwhile beneath an oak, ere day was met,
The village-chiefs, a rustic council, met;
Whom ancient custom bade with annual care
The ensuing day's festivities prepare.
Thro' their dark locks cold sigh'd the evening wind;
Their dogs upon the dewy plain reclined
Beside them lay. In their afflicted thought
Each proof of Christiern's fell oppression wrought,
Each deed, each menace: gloomy bodings swell
In every bosom--not a tongue can dwell
On sports, on prizes, or on social games:--
O'er their wide vallies doom'd to hostile flames,
O'er their devoted domes, their eyes they throw,
Dimm'd with the rising tear that dares not flow.
At length a veteran chief, Olafsen named,
In early youth for fiery valour famed,
By labour unimpaired, unchilled by age,
And still in battle more than counsel sage--
At length Olafsen rose, and darting round
His eyes, where rage and resolution frown'd,
"Arouse!" he cried, "delay were madness here!
Let all who dare in arms, in arms appear!
Enough our eyes have track'd the conquering foe,
And in calm torpor watch'd each new o'erthrow!
Yon troop of peasants, ignorantly gay,
Who waste in careless sports the passing day,
Soon shall behold the waving sheets of fire,
Sent from their peaceful domes, to heaven aspire.
Each year, each month, new towns with ruin smoke,
And province after province feels the yoke.
Already on our conquer'd castle's height
The Danish watchfires redden all the night,
Soon, soon, their inroads will our fate decide--
Haste, let us spread th' eventful tidings wide,
Arm every hand, provoke the lingering fight;
And woe to him, that joys not at the sight!
By this dread tree, which many an age has stood
Unshaken, and survived the subject wood,
Which never pruner's steel has dared invade,
Nor venturous woodman lopp'd the hallow'd shade;
By this dread tree I swear, no peace to know,
'Till conqueror, captive, or in death laid low!
Arouse, and conquer, by my zeal inspired!"
He spoke, and speaking every bosom fired.
From one to one the patriot ardour flows,
As on the ruffled deep the watery circle grows.
First rose his generous son, Adolphus named, }
For martial sports and manly courage famed, }
A youth, who once in war the palm of honour claimed: }
And thus express'd his mind: "To-morrow's dawn
Will see assembled on our spreading lawn
The chiefs of Dalecarlia's mountain-land,
With all their following train, a countless band.
To that vast crowd let some bold youth proclaim }
Eternal war on Denmark's hated name, }
And say, "From Mora's chiefs this martial challenge came." }
Their valiant clans will gather at the sound,
And squadrons people all the dales around.
Oh! did one fearless heart, of those who died
When reeking Stockholm pour'd a crimson tide,
Did one, but one, remain, his country's shield,
To lead our warriors to the deathful field;
Then might the angry king his legions tire,
Waste on these rocks his ineffectual ire,
Scowl at his freeborn foes, and vainly try
To plant his silken standards in our sky!"
Struck with the welcome thought, from man to man
Mingled with praise, assenting murmurs ran
Unequal--So in night's tempestuous roar
The waves successive lash the stony shore.
The bold advice, by inexperience moved,
All seem'd applauding, yet not all approved;
And old Adalfi thus: "Tho' hopes remain; }
Tho' dauntless rashness may oft-times attain }
What wisdom's wiliest arts had sought in vain; }
He, whose wild counsels risk a nation's fate,
For public fame, may meet with public hate.
Perhaps, ev'n now, to the victorious Dane
Dalarne has yielded half her rich domain:
Shall we to Denmark's slaves our hopes disclose,
And court with frantic haste Oppression's rushing woes?--
Oft have our sires the work of war delay'd,
'Till signs aërial promised heavenly aid;
Oft pitch'd their idle lances in the plain,
While south-winds held their unpropitious reign.
Remember too the word disclosed from high,
The sacred word of ancient prophecy,--
"When gather'd mists from Denmark's sky shall crowd,
And blot the North with one continued cloud,
Then shall a second sun to Sweden rise,
And with unchanging glory gild her skies."
Reflect on this, and let my words have way,
Nor spurn the needful counsels of delay.
Should all our province with united strength
Assail the foe, the foe may yield at length,
And backward shrink, while in the favouring hour
All Sweden aids us with collective power.
The hope that yet remains our care should guard,
Nor blast by rashness, nor by fears retard.
Ere yet the assembled chiefs our fate decide,
Let chosen spies among the council glide,
To every speech a listening ear incline,
And sound each heart, and fathom each design.
Let the skill'd augur Heaven's high will explore,
And all with suppliant fear Heaven's Lord adore:
So may success our fearless efforts guide,
And Heaven auspicious fight on
Who warm, exalt, and fill, the Poet's heart:
Who bade young Homer pour the martial strain,
And led the Tuscan bard thro' hell's profound domain:
By whom unequal Camöens, borne along
A torrent-stream, majestic, wild, and strong,
Sung India's clime disclosed, and fiery showers
Bursting on Calicut's perfidious towers:
By whom soft Maro caught Mæonian fire,
And plaintive Ossian tuned his Celtic lyre:--
If still 'tis thine o'er Morven's heaths to rove,
Tago's green banks, or Meles' hallow'd grove,
Assist me thence--command my growing song
To roll with nobler energy along!
Before me Life's extended vale appears,
Onward I hasten thro' the gulf of years,
And soon must sink beneath them; let my name
With one bright furrow of recording fame
Mark my brief course!--If led by thee I stray'd
In youth's sweet dawn beneath the hazel shade,
While over head clear shone the sunny beam,
And noon's weak breeze scarce curl'd the tepid stream:
Still aid me, gentle Spirit! still inspire
My first bold task, and add diviner fire.
Thou too, eternal Freedom! Britain's friend,
To British strains thy wonted influence lend,
And fire my kindling mind, while I display
Thy own Gustavus in unclouded day.
From where, on vast Nevada's icy brow,
Enthroned in clouds, thou view'st the realm below,
The Lusian, Gaul, and Albion's warring train,
The clash of arms, and tumult of the plain;
From thence I call thee--rouse thy name once more, }
And to an equal theme thine aid implore, }
Since Spain is now, what Sweden was before. }
And now with transport wild Ernestus spies
Dalarne's continuous coast before him rise.
Ere yet he reach'd the bank, the toiling oar
He dropp'd, and sprung impatient to the shore.
Before him wide the dark-brow'd forests frown'd,
And morn's still hour hush'd all the space around,
Save where the whispers of the changeful breeze
Half waved the summits of the towering trees.
Alone, and guided by a straggling beam,
He hastened onward, where the murmuring stream
Cut thro' the woods its liquid way, and laved
The grass, that round their trunks luxuriant waved.
The willing woods an easy passage yield,
And his glad footsteps reach the bordering field.
O'er many a hill he pass'd, and many a plain,
While the steep sun toiled up heaven's blue domain:
At length, o'erspent with labour, he descries
A spire white-glistening in the morning-skies;
Around, a hundred cots in order rose, }
And mingling trees a shadowy scene compose; }
A mighty wood, o'er all, its dark protection throws. }
On vale, on village, and protecting wood,
The southern sun shot down his fiery flood.
Recent from toil, the weary peasant-train
Reclined their languid limbs along the plain,
Or dragg'd their idle steps along the soil,
To watch the mountain-miner's distant toil.
Here first Ernestus paused, and gazing round,
Traced the wide scene, and measured all the ground.
At length, his search determined to delay
'Till deepening twilight quench the crimson ray,
On the cool grass his weary limbs he threw,
While future years rose imaged to his view,
From hope to hope his mind enraptur'd pass'd,
And every hope seem'd brighter than the last.
So the swift eagle, with exulting wings,
Freed from his cage, thro' echoing ether springs;
Towers, cities, hills recede, untired he flies,
Cleaves the blue space, and gains upon the skies:
There wantons in the warm expanse of day,
And drinks, with kindling eyes, the sun's accustomed ray.
Meanwhile the guardian genius round him pours
Celestial dews, and nature's strength restores;
His swimming eyes to balmy sleep resign'd,
And fancy bore sweet visions to his mind.
'Twas now the time, when sober Evening sheds
Her dusky mantle o'er the grassy meads:
Nor yet the pale stars trembled thro' the trees,
Nor sparkling quiver'd on the inconstant seas;
Nor yet the moon illumed the solemn scene:
The fields were silent, and the heavens serene.
The sheep had sought the fold; nor yet arose
Night's listless bird from her dull day's repose.
When in a vale with shadowy firs replete,
Whose broad boughs rustled thro' the dark retreat,
Beneath a pine that sunk to slow decay,
Unseen, Gustavus pass'd the hours away.
From earliest morn, ere day's third glass was run, }
The chief had mused, nor mark'd the rising son; }
And the retiring day appear'd as just begun. }
Each flattering argument his mind revolved,
Each gleam of patriot hope yet undissolved,
Traced to its dubious source each meteor-light,
'Till the last spark went out, and all was night.
Convinced at length, he spoke: the woods around
With solemn awe return'd the mournful sound;
And souls of patriots listen'd from on high,
Uncertain yet of Sweden's destiny.
"Yes, thou must fall! oh once o'er earth renown'd,
Queen of the North, with choicest blessings crown'd,
While martial glory waited on thy voice,
And wealth and power seem'd rivals for thy choice!
Ye fond survivors of a ruined state, }
Here quit, at length, your hopes of happier fate, }
And view your country's fix'd unalterable date! }
You were not made to fear a tyrant's frown,
To gild with tributary wealth his crown,
To welcome some deputed robber's sway,
And watch his wavering will from day to day:
No--once o'erwhelm'd beneath a tyrant's blow.
Each following age will bring increase of woe,
And every sigh, that loads the Swedish air,
Will fly the herald of a patriot's care!
"How art thou changed, oh fate! since smiling Time
Bore on his noiseless wings my youthful prime!--
By my paternal castle-gate reclined,
I caught the murmurs of the evening wind;
Or, leaning o'er the rampire's battled height,
Cast my young eye, with ever-new delight,
O'er rocks, o'er vallies rich with many a flower,
The lake blue-glistening, and the snowy tower:
While my sire joy'd on days long past to dwell,
How Haquin triumph'd, or how Birger fell--
'That land,' he said, 'thy gallant fathers won
From realms that glow beneath a brighter sun.
Their beacons blazing on each snow-clad height,
The yelling sons of Odin rush'd to fight,
And rent the eagles of invading Rome,
Whose power had changed a hundred nations' doom.
In vain the Empress of the Northern Zone,
With arts on arts high piled her ill-gained throne:
Stern Engelbert trod Usurpation down,
And from the thirteenth Eric tore the crown.
Yet may my country fall--earth's works decay,
And heaven's high laws expect the annulling day.
"While yet a youth, by venturous hope impell'd,
Thro' foreign climes my devious course I held;
And came at last, where high in ether shine
The golden towers of sceptred Constantine.
There Palæologus the kingdom sway'd,
And willing Greece his mild commands obey'd.
I saw the town with antique splendours crown'd,
The martial force, the crowded ports around,
The peopled fields, with waving harvests fair,
And deem'd, security and peace were there.
"Onward I pass'd in youthful ardour bold,
'Till o'er the changeful earth four suns had roll'd,
When Stockholm's towers and Meler's native stream,
Of every vision, every thought the theme,
Recall'd my steps.--Returning thence, I saw
Byzantium sunk beneath a victor's law:
O'er the high walls barbaric ensigns wave,
Red with the recent carnage of the brave:
On quarter'd camps the sun his red beam flings;
Thro' night's dim arch the shrill-toned Ezzau rings;
Buried in dust the Christian altars lie,
And exiled Science seeks another sky.
"Thus, Sweden, mayst thou fall! in ruin lost,
Each hope of aid by swift destruction cross'd;
Thy blazing domes may feed a tyrant's ire,
Thy shrines; unwilling, burn with Danish fire;
Thy latest king, like Constantine, in vain
May join his slaughtered subjects on the plain!--
Handmaid of Science, and by Science fed,
Each vice already rears its blooming head:
Already Treason digs his silent mine; }
With, civil follies, foreign wars combine; }
And raging Faction waits to give th' appointed sign. }
Oh! in that hour, when growing dangers rise,
When the weak trembles, and the faithless flies,
Gustavus, fight for her! for Sweden fight!
For her employ the day, outwatch the night!
Untouch'd by grief, by terror, or dismay,
Urge thro' surrounding ills thy fearless way;
Let useless torture and defeated hate
Confess the triumphs of a hero's fate:
Let tranquil courage in each act be seen,
And tyrants tremble at thy dying mien!'
"He spoke no more. O'er my astonish'd soul
I felt a flood of high emotions roll:
Toss'd on the mighty stream of future time,
My young heart shook with ecstasies sublime!
"Oh, look not from thy skies, lamented shade,
Nor view that land to misery betray'd:
If ignorance can cloud immortal sight,
Be Sweden's fortunes wrapp'd in tenfold night!
Thou saw'st not Devastation sweep her shore,
Her forests smoke, her rivers roll in gore;
Thou saw'st not half her woes. Her senate low,
Thou thought'st her people would revenge the blow;
And hope shone kindling in thy dying eye,
That some new sun would rise to light her starless sky.--
'Twas then, when Christiern thought the axe too slow,
And watch'd with eager transport every blow,
And drank each murmur that to death consign'd
The noblest, wisest, bravest of mankind,--
When ev'n the gazing crowd was doom'd to feel
The fury of his yet unsated steel,--
'Twas then thou met thy fate,--unshared by me!
Thou fell'st, and with thee Sweden's liberty!
Thy spouse, thy daughter, wrapp'd in fetters lie;
Thy son, self-exiled, quits his native sky!"--
He paused, and starting from the verdant ground
With hurried footsteps paced the forests round,
Stung with fierce grief, 'till the full tide of woes
Subsiding sunk, and calmer thoughts arose.
While yet he roams beneath the shady groves,
And tears gush forth at every step he roves;
Sleep's humid vapours lessening on his eyes,
Ernestus rose, and mark'd the changing skies.
And now a furze-clad eminence he found,
That wide o'erlook'd the immensity of ground:
From this, with eye insatiate, he admires
Woods, hamlets, fields, and awe-commanding spires.
And seeks where first to steer his fateful flight,
Safe under covert of the quiet night.
Wide to the left the blue-tinged river roll'd,
And faintly tipped with eve's departing gold,
The village rose: half-shaded, on the right
A sloping hill appeared to bound the sight:
From its hoar summit to the midmost vale,
Unnumbered boughs waved floating in the gale.
Imbrown'd with ceaseless toil, a smiling train
Whirl the keen axe, and clear the farther plain,
The intruding trees and scatter'd stems o'erthrow,
And form a grassy theatre below.
A hundred piles beneath the moon's wan beams,
O'er rock and valley shed their lengthening streams;
Three youths at each their joyous station keep,
In festive contest bent to banish sleep,
And strive which first shall see the morn arise
With pale-red streamer waving thro' the skies.
Sequester'd from the rest a shaded dome
Arose, the son of Eric's rural home:
On its low roof the light appear'd to rest,
The last green light that trembled in the west.
Thither, by Heaven impell'd, he took his way,
And sought the spot where Sweden's hero lay.
Meanwhile beneath an oak, ere day was met,
The village-chiefs, a rustic council, met;
Whom ancient custom bade with annual care
The ensuing day's festivities prepare.
Thro' their dark locks cold sigh'd the evening wind;
Their dogs upon the dewy plain reclined
Beside them lay. In their afflicted thought
Each proof of Christiern's fell oppression wrought,
Each deed, each menace: gloomy bodings swell
In every bosom--not a tongue can dwell
On sports, on prizes, or on social games:--
O'er their wide vallies doom'd to hostile flames,
O'er their devoted domes, their eyes they throw,
Dimm'd with the rising tear that dares not flow.
At length a veteran chief, Olafsen named,
In early youth for fiery valour famed,
By labour unimpaired, unchilled by age,
And still in battle more than counsel sage--
At length Olafsen rose, and darting round
His eyes, where rage and resolution frown'd,
"Arouse!" he cried, "delay were madness here!
Let all who dare in arms, in arms appear!
Enough our eyes have track'd the conquering foe,
And in calm torpor watch'd each new o'erthrow!
Yon troop of peasants, ignorantly gay,
Who waste in careless sports the passing day,
Soon shall behold the waving sheets of fire,
Sent from their peaceful domes, to heaven aspire.
Each year, each month, new towns with ruin smoke,
And province after province feels the yoke.
Already on our conquer'd castle's height
The Danish watchfires redden all the night,
Soon, soon, their inroads will our fate decide--
Haste, let us spread th' eventful tidings wide,
Arm every hand, provoke the lingering fight;
And woe to him, that joys not at the sight!
By this dread tree, which many an age has stood
Unshaken, and survived the subject wood,
Which never pruner's steel has dared invade,
Nor venturous woodman lopp'd the hallow'd shade;
By this dread tree I swear, no peace to know,
'Till conqueror, captive, or in death laid low!
Arouse, and conquer, by my zeal inspired!"
He spoke, and speaking every bosom fired.
From one to one the patriot ardour flows,
As on the ruffled deep the watery circle grows.
First rose his generous son, Adolphus named, }
For martial sports and manly courage famed, }
A youth, who once in war the palm of honour claimed: }
And thus express'd his mind: "To-morrow's dawn
Will see assembled on our spreading lawn
The chiefs of Dalecarlia's mountain-land,
With all their following train, a countless band.
To that vast crowd let some bold youth proclaim }
Eternal war on Denmark's hated name, }
And say, "From Mora's chiefs this martial challenge came." }
Their valiant clans will gather at the sound,
And squadrons people all the dales around.
Oh! did one fearless heart, of those who died
When reeking Stockholm pour'd a crimson tide,
Did one, but one, remain, his country's shield,
To lead our warriors to the deathful field;
Then might the angry king his legions tire,
Waste on these rocks his ineffectual ire,
Scowl at his freeborn foes, and vainly try
To plant his silken standards in our sky!"
Struck with the welcome thought, from man to man
Mingled with praise, assenting murmurs ran
Unequal--So in night's tempestuous roar
The waves successive lash the stony shore.
The bold advice, by inexperience moved,
All seem'd applauding, yet not all approved;
And old Adalfi thus: "Tho' hopes remain; }
Tho' dauntless rashness may oft-times attain }
What wisdom's wiliest arts had sought in vain; }
He, whose wild counsels risk a nation's fate,
For public fame, may meet with public hate.
Perhaps, ev'n now, to the victorious Dane
Dalarne has yielded half her rich domain:
Shall we to Denmark's slaves our hopes disclose,
And court with frantic haste Oppression's rushing woes?--
Oft have our sires the work of war delay'd,
'Till signs aërial promised heavenly aid;
Oft pitch'd their idle lances in the plain,
While south-winds held their unpropitious reign.
Remember too the word disclosed from high,
The sacred word of ancient prophecy,--
"When gather'd mists from Denmark's sky shall crowd,
And blot the North with one continued cloud,
Then shall a second sun to Sweden rise,
And with unchanging glory gild her skies."
Reflect on this, and let my words have way,
Nor spurn the needful counsels of delay.
Should all our province with united strength
Assail the foe, the foe may yield at length,
And backward shrink, while in the favouring hour
All Sweden aids us with collective power.
The hope that yet remains our care should guard,
Nor blast by rashness, nor by fears retard.
Ere yet the assembled chiefs our fate decide,
Let chosen spies among the council glide,
To every speech a listening ear incline,
And sound each heart, and fathom each design.
Let the skill'd augur Heaven's high will explore,
And all with suppliant fear Heaven's Lord adore:
So may success our fearless efforts guide,
And Heaven auspicious fight on