XXXVII. DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. FALLEN is thy throne, O Israel!- That fire from heaven which led thee Lord, thou didst love Jerusalem! Thy long-loved olive tree; Then sunk the star of Solyma, Silent and waste her bowers, Where once the mighty trod; And sunk those guilty towers Where Baal reign'd as God. Go," said the Lord, "ye conquerors! Steep in her blood your swords; And raze to earth her battlements, For they are not the Lord's: Tell Zion's mournful daughter, O'er kindred bones she 'll tread; And Hinnom's hall of slaughter Shall hide but half her dead." But soon shall other pictured scenes When Zion's sun shall sevenfold shine And on her mountains beauteous stand The messengers of peace : "Salvation by the Lord's right hand!” They shout and never cease. XXXVIII. THE MOSS IN THE DESERT. Ан! lovely flower, what care, what power, Thy tender stalk, and fibres fine, The dewdrop glistens on thy leaf, As if thou seem'dst to shed a tear- But ah! thou know'st not my distress By men more fierce by far than they. Nor canst thou ease my burden'd sigh, Thou dost thy balmy sweets impart. Yet He that form'd thee, little plant, Can still support me by His grace. Oft has His arm, all strong to save, Nor could my feeble hand have stay'd. Then shall I still pursue my way O'er this wild desert's sun-burnt soil, To where the ocean's swelling spray Washes my long'd-for native isle. XXXIX. THE EVENING WALK. How sweet the calm of this sequester'd shore, And solitude and silent eve restore The sighing gale, whose murmurs lull to rest To sympathetic quiet soothes the breast, Farewell the objects of diurnal care, Your task be ended with the setting sun; Let all be undisturb'd vacation here, While o'er yon wave ascends the peaceful moon. What beauteous visions o'er the soften'd heart, In this still moment, all their charms diffuse; Serener joys and brighter hopes impart, And cheer the soul with more than mortal views! Here faithful mem'ry wakens all her powers, And quick to ev'ry gladden'd thought restores Come, Marianne, come, and with me share |