APRIL. "A violet by a mossy stone, Is shining in the sky." I HAVE found violets. April hath come on, And read it, when the "fever of the world" THE ANNOYER. LOVE knoweth every form of air, He peeps into the warrior's heart From the tip of a stooping plume, And the serried spears, and the many men, May not deny him room. He'll come to his tent in the weary night, And be busy in his dream, And he'll float to his eye in morning light, Like a fay on a silver beam. He hears the sound of the hunter's gun, And sighs in his ear like a stirring leaf, And flits in his woodland track. The shade of the wood, and the sheen of the river, The cloud, and the open sky, He will haunt them all with his subtle quiver, The fisher hangs over the leaning boat, For Love is under the surface hid, And a spell of thought has he: He blurs the print of the scholar's book, In the darkest night, and the bright daylight, Not on his own lone heart, his own rapt ear and I look upon a face as fair As ever made a lip of heaven Falter amid its music-prayer! The first-lit star of summer even Springs not so softly on the eye, Nor grows, with watching, half so bright, Nor, mid its sisters of the sky, So seems of heaven the dearest light; Men murmur where that face is seen My youth's angelic dream was of that look and mien Yet, though we deem the stars are blest, And fear'd the enchanter for his power, The fountain of its waters bright, And every thing most sweet and fair That souls, else lost on earth, remember angels by. THEODORE S. FAY. [Born, 1807.] THE author of "Dreams and Reveries," « Norman Leslie," and "The Countess Ida," was born in the city of New York on the tenth of February, 1807. His father was a lawyer of unusual professional and literary abilities, which were honorably displayed in an earnest and persistent advocacy of the abolition of imprisonment for debt, in numerous contributions to the public journals under the signature of "Howard." After his death, in 1825, Mr. FAY continued the study of the law with Mr. SYLVANUS MILLER, and was admitted to the bar in 1829. He acquired his earliest distinction as a writer by completing a series of papers entitled "The Little Genius," commenced by his father, in the "New York Mirror," of which he became one of the editors. In 1833 he was married, and soon after went to Europe, where he has nearly ever since resided. He was appointed secretary of the United States legation at the court of Berlin in 1837, and in 1853 became the first resident minister from this country in Switzerland. An account of his essays and novels may be found in "The Prose Writers of America." In poetry he has published, besides a considerable number of fugitive pieces," Ulric, or the Voices," of which nineteen cantos appeared in one volume in 1851, and an additional canto in The Knickerbocker Gallery," in 1855. The scene of the poem is laid in Germany during the great reformation in the fifteenth century. The hero, Ulric Von Rosenberg, a young rittmaster, or captain of cavalry, is converted to the doctrines of Luther, and makes a public profession of his faith, after which he is exposed to extraordinary temptations, to struggles between conscience and inclination, which Mr. FAY describes as "supernatural solicitings," and "voices," from heaven and hell. The work has not been very popular. Mr. FAY is more successful in prose fiction. MY NATIVE LAND. COLUMBIA, was thy continent stretch'd wild, When struggling JOSEPH dropp'd fraternal tears, When GoD came down from heaven, and mortal men were seers? Or, have thy forests waved, thy rivers run, Yet, what to me, or when, or how thy birth,- and tree, Or whether since, by changes, silently, Some shock stupendous rent the globe in two, And thee, a fragment, far in western oceans threw. I know but that I love thee. On my heart, Not these o'er thee their mystic splendours throw, But thou art sternly artless, wildly free. We worship thee for beauties all thine own: Like damsel, young and sweet, and sure to be Admired, but only for herself alone. With richer foliage ne'er was land o'ergrown, No mightier rivers run, nor mountains rise, Nor ever lakes with lovelier graces shone, Nor wealthier harvests waved in human eyes, Nor lay more liquid stars along more heavenly skies. I dream of thee, fairest of fairy streams, Sweet Hudson! Float we on thy summer breast: Who views thy enchanted windings ever deems Thy banks, of mortal shores the loveliest! Hail to thy shelving slopes, with verdure dress'd, Bright break thy waves the varied beach upon; Soft rise thy hills, by amorous clouds caress'd: Clear flow thy waters, laughing in the sunWould through such peaceful scenes, my life might gently run! And, lo! the Catskills print the distant sky, Till, as you nearer draw, each wooded height Mount to the cloud-kissed summit. Far below Till earth receive him neyer can forget. Even when returned amid the city's roar, When first discover'd, awe-struck and amazed, Scarce loftier JOVE-whom men and gods adoreOn the extended earth beneath him gazed, Temple, and tower, and town, by human insect raised. Blow, scented gale, the snowy canvass swell, The Highland rocks and hills in solemn grandeur rise. Nor clouds in heaven, nor billows in the deep, More graceful shapes did ever heave or roll, Nor came such pictures to a painter's sleep, Nor beamed such visions on a poet's soul! The pent-up flood, impatient of control, In ages past here broke its granite bound, Then to the sea in broad meanders stole, While ponderous ruins strew'd the broken ground, And these gigantic hills forever closed around. And ever-wakeful echo here doth dwell, The nymph of sportive mockery, that still Hides behind every rock, in every dell, And softly glides, unseen, from hill to hill. No sound doth rise but mimic it she will, The sturgeon's splash repeating from the shore, Aping the boy's voice with a voice as shrill, The bird's low warble, and the thunder's roar, Always she watches there, each murmur telling o'er. Awake my lyre, with other themes inspired, But see! the broadening river deeper flows, In charms that soothe the heart with sweet desires, And thoughts of friends we ne'er again may see, Till lo! ahead, Manhatta's bristling spires, Above her thousand roofs red with day's dying fires, May greet the wanderer of Columbia's shore, Proud Venice of the west! no lovelier scene. Of thy vast throngs now faintly comes the roar, Though late like beating ocean surf I ween,— And everywhere thy various barks are seen, Cleaving the limpid floods that round thee flow, Encircled by thy banks of sunny green,— The panting steamer plying to and fro, Or the tall sea-bound ship abroad on wings of snow. And radiantly upon the glittering mass But oh, my native land, not one, not one like thee! SONG. A CARELESS, simple bird, one day Unhurt at length away he flew. False girl! another trap for me." ADDRESS TO BLACK HAWK. THERE's beauty on thy brow, old chief! the high And manly beauty of the Roman mould, And the keen flashing of thy full, dark eye Speaks of a heart that years have not made cold; Of passions scathed not by the blight of time; Ambition, that survives the battle-rout. The man within thee scorns to play the mime To gaping crowds, that compass thee about. Thou walkest, with thy warriors by thy side, Wrapp'd in fierce hate, and high, unconquer'd pride. Chief of a hundred warriors! dost thou yetVanquish'd and captive-dost thou deem that here The glowing day-star of thy glory set Dull night has closed upon thy bright career! Old forest-lion, caught and caged at last, Dost pant to roam again thy native wild? To gloat upon the lifeblood flowing fast Of thy crush'd victims; and to slay the child, To dabble in the gore of wives and mothers, [thers? And kill, old Turk! thy harmless, pale-faced broFor it was cruel, BLACK HAWK, thus to flutter The dove-cotes of the peaceful pioneers, To let thy tribe commit such fierce and utter Slaughter among the folks of the frontiers. Though thine be old, hereditary hate, Begot in wrongs, and nursed in blood, until It had become a madness, 'tis too late [will To crush the hordes who have the power and To rob thee of thy hunting-grounds and fountains, And drive thee backward to the Rocky Mountains. Spite of thy looks of cold indifference, [wonder; There's much thou'st seen that must excite thy Wakes not upon thy quick and startled sense The cannon's harsh and pealing voice of thunder? Our big canoes, with white and widespread wings, That sweep the waters as birds sweep the sky; Our steamboats, with their iron lungs, like things Of breathing life, that dash and hurry by? Or, if thou scorn'st the wonders of the ocean, What think'st thou of our railroad locomotion? Thou'st seen our museums, beheld the dummies That grin in darkness in their coffin cases; What think'st thou of the art of making mummies, So that the worms shrink from their dry embraces? Thou'st seen the mimic tyrants of the stage Strutting, in paint and feathers, for an hour; Thou'st heard the bellowing of their tragic rage, Seen their eyes glisten,and their dark brows lower. Anon, thou'st seen them, when their wrath cool'd down, Pass in a moment from a king-to clown. Thou seest these things unmoved! sayst so, old fellow? Then tell us, have the white man's glowing daughters Set thy cold blood in motion? Has't been mellow First make them cowards, and then white men's slaves; And sloth, and penury, and passion's prey, And lives of misery, and early graves. For, by their power, believe me, not a day goes But kills some Foxes, Sacs, and Winnebagoes. Say, does thy wandering heart stray far away, To the deep bosom of thy forest-home? The hill-side, where thy young pappooses play, And ask, amid their sports, when thou wilt come? Come not the wailings of thy gentle squaws For their lost warrior loud upon thine ear, Piercing athwart the thunder of huzzas, That, yell'd at every corner, meet thee here? The wife who made that shell-deck'd wampum belt. Thy rugged heart must think of her-and melt. Chafes not thy heart, as chafes the panting breast Led, like a walking bear, about the town, And stared at, gratis, by the gaping clown? Boils not thy blood, while thus thou'rt led about, The sport and mockery of the rabble rout? Whence came thy cold philosophy! whence came, Thou tearless, stern, and uncomplaining one, The power that taught thee thus to veil the flame Of thy fierce passions? Thou despisest fun, And thy proud spirit scorns the white men's glee, Save thy fierce sport, when at the funeral-pile Of a bound warrior in his agony, Who meets thy horrid laugh with dying smile. Thy face, in length, reminds one of a Quaker's; 'Thy dances, too, are solemn as a Shaker's. Proud scion of a noble stem! thy tree Is blanch'd, and bare, and scar'd, and leafless I'll not insult its fallen majesty, [now. Nor drive,with careless hand, the ruthless plough Over its roots. Torn from its parent mould, Rich, warm, and deep, its fresh, free, balmy air, No second verdure quickens in our cold, New, barren earth; no life sustains it there, But, even though prostrate, 'tis a noble thing, Though crownless, powerless, "every inch a king." Give us thy hand, old nobleman of nature, Proud ruler of the forest aristocracy; The best of blood glows in thy every feature, And thy curl'd lip speaks scorn for our democracy. Thou wear'st thy titles on that godlike brow; Let him who doubts them meet thine eagle-eye, He'll quail beneath its glance, and disavow All question of thy noble family; Thou little siren, when the nymphs of yore Charm'd with their songs till men forgot to dine, And starved, though music-fed, upon their shore, Their voices breathed no softer lays than thine. They sang but to entice, and thou dost sing As if to lull our senses to reposc, That thou mayst use, unharm'd, thy little sting, The very moment we begin to doze; Thou worse than siren, thirsty, fierce blood-sipper, Thou living vampire, and thou gallinipper! Nature is full of music, sweetly sings The bard, (and thou dost sing most sweetly too,) Through the wide circuit of created things, Thou art the living proof the bard sings true. Nature is full of thee; on every shore, 'Neath the hot sky of Congo's dusky child, From warm Peru to icy Labrador, The world's free citizen, thou roamest wild. Wherever" mountains rise or oceans roll," Thy voice is heard, from "Indus to the Pole." The incarnation of Queen MAB art thou, For thou mayst here become, with strict propriety, (Though that they "straight on kisses dream,” I A leader in our city good society. Thou tiny minstrel, who bid thee discourse Of lessons from some master of the lyre? Who bid thee twang so sweetly thy small trump? Did Nonrox form thy notes so clear and full? Art a phrenologist, and is the bump Of song developed in thy little skull? At NIBLO's hast thou been when crowds stood mute, Tell me the burden of thy ceaseless song. A wandering blade, roaming in search of sweets, Pledging thy faith to every fond believer, Who thy advance with halfway shyness meets? Or art o' the softer sex, and sing'st in glee, In maiden meditation, fancy free?" doubt-) On smiling faces, and on eyes that weep, Thou lightest, and oft with "sympathetic snout" "Ticklest men's noses as they lie asleep; And sometimes dwellest, if I rightly scan, "On the forefinger of an alderman." Yet thou canst glory in a noble birth. As rose the sea-born VENUS from the wave, Thy little form, though beauty dwells not there So lean and gaunt, that economic fate Meant thee to feed on music or on air. The hues of dying sunset are most fair, And twilight's tints just fading into night, Most dusky soft, and so thy soft notes are By far the sweetest when thou takest thy flight. The swan's last note is sweetest, so is thine; Sweet are the wind-harp's tones at distance heard; "Tis sweet at distance, at the day's decline, To hear the opening song of evening's bird. The autumn-winds are wailing: 'tis thy dirge; Albeit thy voice is somewhat husky now. "Tis well to end in music life's last day, Of one so gleeful and so blithe as thou: For thou wilt soon live through its joyous hours, And pass away with autumn's dying flowers. |