And fiercely dashed the surging foam
Back to the startled tyrant's home;
Or, battling for the gospel word,
Pursued the flash of Zuing's sword.
Huitzla taught my heart to swell,

When lisped my tongue the name of Tell;
My sire whose blood its current drew
From high Tezeuco's regal race,
Oft to my spirit's eager view,

With rival touch, a scene would trace

Of native glories, meet to flame

Beside Helvetia's proudest name.

-They fanned a blaze with playful breath To wrap that mingled line in death.

And subtly worked the specious leaven,
Till earth had wiled my heart from heaven.
Huitzla saw how, many a day,

From her fond side I stole away,
Breathing my soul in secret vows,

And blazing at my country's wrong,
Mingled with men who loved to rouse

The latent spark by tale and song;
Even while I conned the holy word,
My spirit pined for Gideon's sword,
Languished to rend the groaning prey,
From worse than Egypt's tyrant sway:
Still on my lip persuasion hung,

To shame the old and fire the young;
Deeply we quaffed the daring theme,

'Twas Minna stamped my brow too fair,
And softened to its curl my hair:
Oft while these locks profusely spread,
My parents stroked the urchin's head,
And cried with looks of laughing love,
Their Izram would a tell-tale prove.
O days of childhood, sweet ye shone;
Why died I not ere ye were gone!

"When ten short circling years were fled, We saw Nopatzlin droop and fade; Weeping we kneeled around the bed,

Where the expiring saint was laid: Won to receive the living word, Long had he loved and served the Lord. Through the dim shadowy vale of death,

His God a lamp and staff supplied; And lauding him with feeble breath, Joyous in conquering faith he died. His was the mild untroubled breast, In its own cloudless sunshine blest; Like meadow rill that calmly glides Beyond the reign of changeful tides. Mine was the mountain spring, that, led Meandering through its rocky bed, Waits but a sullen swell to sweep With headlong fury down the steep.

"On rainbow wings the seasons flew ; I rose beneath a mother's eye, Answering his beam, with mirror true,

As the still lake reflects the sky; Resplendent in a borrowed light; As yet unruffled, pure, and bright; That was my day of life-the rest Is midnight in my stormy breast. My boyish gaze would oft explore The symbols of our ancient lore, And nobles marked their young Cazique, As, bending o'er the mystic scroll, With starting tear, and burning cheek, The rising vengeance swelled my soul;

'I told thee how Anselmo sought

With serpent wile, our peaceful vale; But spare my soul the maddening thought, The horrors of the tale! When at my feet Huitzla lay, And rising placed in dark array

The apostate's crime and doom, Showing the awful paths that lead Through evil wish to sinful deed, Thence to a hopeless tomb; She warned me of the snare, the stain, She pointed to her widowed bower, The scene of many a tranquil hour, But never more to smile-in vain : I wavered, but ambition spoke, Drowned was the plaintive plea-I broke Impetuous from her wild embrace; Flung far the Saviour's gentle yoke, And joined the demon race.

With snares beset, by sin subdued

My heart grows sick, I cannot tell How, step by step, my foot pursued

The beaten path that leads to hell;
How leisurely the tempter stole,
Unnoticed, from my heedless soul,
Her treasure of celestial joys,
And filled the chasm with airy toys.
In panoply of pride secure,
Well could I spurn the sensual lure;
Abashed before my scornful eye,
Vice veiled her foul deformity:
"Twas in my bosom triumphed sin,
A saint without, a fiend within,
While still, in darkening thought, I sate
My wild revenge, and heath'nish hate.
And when the Lord, with warning breath,
Whispered to shun eternal death,

I turned me from the voice, to prove
That feverish dream of mortal love.
Quenched by my fierce and stubborn will,
Opposed and grieved, the Spirit flies,

And leaves the bartered slave of ill
To perish in his own device.
Though Satan urged a rightful claim,
Fain had I borne the Christian's name,
To soothe my soul; but I was pent
Amid the cowled crew, who bent
A jealous gaze-I could not guile
My reason with the flimsy wile
Of fabling Rome. Anselmo's eye
Was veiled in prudent policy;
He deemed that in the lonely hour
I bowed before some idol power,
And questioned not: his pedant store
Was swelled with tomes of guileful lore,
And these I rifled, day by day,
Forgot to fear, and ceased to pray.
While thus I fed the widening blot

Of hate and passion, scorn and pride,
Neglected in her lonely cot,

My mother wept, and pined, and died. Then earth and heaven arose to plead For vengeance on the parricide; Red came the death-bolt's searching glare, Conscience awakened roused despair, Writhing I rather raged than mourned, My heart in fierce resentment burned; And then the maddening cup I quaffed, For Lethe lurked within the draught. Spurning against the chastening rod, I chose my country for a god, Pledged the wild oath, no other name,

My zeal should move, my care should claim.

I asked but vengeance, let it come
From angel's bower or demon's home--
Who gave revenge should bear away
My spirit his affianced prey;
Anselmo's murder sealed the vow,-
And darest thou speak of mercy now?"

'Mercy, that overtops the height Of yonder vaulted azure light: Mercy, that sets the hated sin

Far from the soul as east from west, And leads the guilty wanderer in,

A pardoned and admitted guest: That saving power thou hast not known, Unbroken was the heart of stone; Unmeet the glorious work to scan, Thy teacher was not God but man. Soon as arose the troublous swell Thy sand-built shed in ruins fell. Far from the Lord thy step hath strayed; Thou hast rebelled, blasphemed, denied Thy Saviour King, but he hath prayed,

And for the foul offender died." "Oh, not for me!"-" Nay, do not spurn His grace-Who sent me o'er the main, To bid thee live, to bid thee turn, To save thee from a darker stain,

And armed me with a secret power
To quell thee in thy wildest hour?"
""Tis wondrous: oft, when thou hast spoke,
Gleams of unearthly radiance broke
Across my spirit's gloomy night;
Glimmers of faint and distant light,
To show th' appalling chaos there,
And fade again in black despair.
Like drowning wretch, with desperate twine,
Long have I linked my heart to thine;

Still brooding o'er the coming day,
When thou wilt soar to bliss divine,

And I must sink, the demon's prey.
"Twas that on thy mild spirit shone,
The light of days for ever gone;
To me thou wert an airy voice,
A phantom shape, of buried joys,
Too holy and too pure to rest
Again in this polluted breast.
Yet stout rebellion linked with pride,
The tie disowned, the claim denied.
Deep in the iron net ensnared,

I fain would deem our common wrong
My life preserved, and peril shared,

Had wove a chain so bright and strong.
And while my soul, o'erawed by thine,
Faltered in every fell design,

Still writhing in th' accursed yoke,
What pangs thy faithful speech awoke!
Nor wine could drown, nor madness quell,
That foretaste of my future hell.”
"Blessed be the Lord, whose watchful care,
Hath laid thy festering bosom bare!

He never made a vain appeal,

Nor searched a wound He would not heal.
The stroke is mercy; lie thou still
Beneath His hand, and wait His will.
Pray-He will send the quickening shower;
Believe-and thou shalt know His power."
"I may not pray; I would not bow
My pride, and He hath left me now.
Too long I waged the frantic strife-
What murderer holds eternal life?"
"As murderer none: but God can lave

To fleecy white that crimson glow,
And scarlet from the blanching wave
Emerges pure as drifted snow:
Be thou of sinners first and chief,
Thy darkest crime were unbelief."

To nurse the budding hope, to calm The stormy throb, and drop the balm Of promise on the smarting wound,

Was patient Albert's daily care; And angel guards encamping round, The heaven-taught labour share. Exulting fiends, whose eager eyes Long glared upon their passive prize,

Repulsed by that celestial band,
In foaming rage expectant stand,

And firmly grasp the loosening chain :Speed to your dens, ye race accursed; The Lord hath spoke, the fetters burst. Your victim lives again :

And o'er the shattered links of hell
Seraphic tones triumphant swell.

The youths had plied their woodland skill In winding dell and slanting hill; And now, beneath the forest shade,

While brightly glowed the western sky, Izram the beauteous scene surveyed,

With placid smile and dewy eye. "Mark how the dazzling glories rest On Andes' steep and frozen brow; Ev'n thus upon my sterner breast,

-' I WILL.'

Albert the ray is beaming now.
That word of comfort haunts me still,
'Lord, if thou wilt thou canst'—
Though measureless the leprous taint,
Though faith be weak, and hope be faint,
He can-He will-Let rocks remove,
And yonder mountains melt in clay,
The promise of redeeming love,

Shall never, never pass away.
In vain my prostrate soul would trace
This miracle of boundless grace;
But THOU who bid'st that soul believe,
Jesus, thy ransomed foe receive!
Here, in this heart of yielding stone,
Engrave thy law, and fix thy throne."

A joy too full for speech or thought In Albert's swelling bosom wroughtKnow'st thou the joy of him, whose breath

With pleadings faith alone can give,
Hath won a soul from ways of death,

To seek the narrow path and live?
Hapless and strange thy doubtful lot,
O Christian! if thou know'st it not;
While sinners throng thy daily road,
And death's rude billow, rolling deep,
Down to perdition's fell abode

Bears them with hourly sweep.
Hast thou ne'er led a pondering eye
To that dread word, ETERNITY?
Hath ne'er thy lip essayed to tell
The saving strength of Jesus' name,
Nor questioned if a soul could dwell

In whirlpools of devouring flame?
Go mark the stately bird, betrayed

To scoffing foes; her idiot head Shrouded within the narrow shade,

She hears the hunters' threatening tread, Yet deems her spreading bulk unseen, If but a leaf her vision screen,

Nor shrinks while busy hands prepare
The piercing dart, or coiling snare.
Impressive type of fools, who close
The mental eye in false repose;
And, starting, wake to writhe in vain,
Bound in an everlasting chain.

CANTO IV.

SWEET was the morning's tint that gave
Its first blush to the rugged cave;
Sweet was the quivering beam that glowed,
Tempered by deep, o'erarching shades,
Along the hunters' noon-day road,
Winding amid the flowery glades;
And sweet the parting ray that fell
Lengthening within their simple cell.
Where'er they rove, where'er they rest,
Hovers unseen the stainless dove,
And faith in either tranquil breast

Feeds the pure flame of hope and love.
Brightly through life's dark vista given,
Shone on their view the courts of heaven;
While day by day the brothers share
Inspiring converse, praise, and prayer-
Balm of the weary pilgrim's woe,
Dawn of celestial bliss below,
When, darkling yet awakened, man
Ponders redemption's glorious plan,
And to a kindred heart makes known
The labouring thought that swells his own,
Of mercies countless, measureless,
Immortal as the soul they bless!
But thorns bestrew the path divine,
And sevenfold flames the gold refine;
Sealed is the heir with scourging love,
Chastened below to reign above.

There came a note at even-tide

Of trampling hoofs that swiftly trod; For, herding close, the wild deer hied

Impetuous o'er the dewy sod. Roused from their nests, the eagles go, With scream of menace floating low, And summon many a wing to rise Fluttering beneath the darkened skies. Izram hath quenched the flaming torch And fixed within the narrow porch A ponderous stone-through slender chink The crescent shoots her feeble blink, While slow her infant glories die, Remotely in the western sky. Sinks the harsh sound, the tumults cease, Night's gentle brow is wrapped in peace;

And Albert speaks-" Some beast of prey
Holds through the woods unwonted way."
"No step but man's would waken here
Such clamorous notes of rage and fear:
Ambushed perchance in yonder glen,
The foe hath marked this secret den,
And scans, beneath the glooming night,
Our fortress in the rocky height."

"What counsel then ?"-" With augur's care
Observe each wing that cleaves the air;
Note if the timid herd shall trace
Their wonted path with heedless pace;
Till then, within our watch-tower pent,
Lurk we secure, and bide th' event.
Our ample hoard"—with whizzing sound
An arrow passed, and smote the ground
Joyous he seized the shaft; "How true,
Ev'n through the shade, thy greeting flew,
Brave Xloti! O for dawning light,
To give this hieroglyph to sight!

Cheer thee, my friend: the Lord hath set

A guard above the tangling net."

O'er the still spirit, pealing slow Its fiat of eternal woe!"

"A louder plea, resounding high Through mercy's portals, drowns the cry: Gushed on the cross a richer vein, To blot the record, purge the stain: By faith descried, received in prayer, Confess thy costly ransom there He bore thy sin, and who shall roll That burden back upon thy soul? Resplendent Sun of righteousness, Omnipotent to save and bless, Mistrustful earth a while may shroud Her vision in her own dark cloud, But far above our wayward skill, Beacon of hope! thou shinest still. That glorious orb is blazing yet, It will not wane, it cannot set."

Izram, with calm but saddened look Again the pictured greeting took :

Xloti hath graved, with native art,
Some warning word of treacherous foe
Embosomed in the vale below:
Else had his step securely trod
The inlet of our wild abode.
The Lord, this bold device who blest,
Will guard the hours of needful rest:
Undoubting on thy couch recline;
Peace to thy soul, and grace to mine!"

Soft rose the morning's welcome rays, That gave the shaft to Izram's gaze. With swelling heart the lines he eyed"Gone are the wrecks of Aztlan's pride! And many a perjured spirit gone Unsheltered to the judgment throne. Not mine the deed; but oh, how well, How long I wrought the craft of hell! How full thy ravening flame I fed, Unhallowed wrath! and lured the tread Of brother men, to wander far Beneath ambition's baleful star. Rebellion! 'twas the crime that hurled Seraphs from bliss, and wrecked the world. The tyrant chain, the iron rod, Commissioned scourges, sent of God, Proclaim, Repent:' but I have wrung To blasphemy that awful word, Translating to a demon tongue

The message of the Lord."

In silent agony he strode,
Crossed and re-crossed the dim abode,
Smote his damp brow, and pausing stood-
"How deep the thrilling voice of blood?
Unmarked 'mid passion's maddening swell,
How sternly rolls the ruthless knell

By Nepuel's tale, the cavern sought;
But Xloti, undiscovered, sped
The billows to its secret bed:
In torturing pangs the traitor died,
Beneath the rage of baffled pride,
That judged his fabling lip had told
A dream, to mock their thirst of gold.
But some unhappy clue he gave
Had led them to this mountain cave,
Where, as they deemed, an ample band
Was marshalled under Izram's hand.
Less would the cautious foemen dare
By open force than secret snare;
And Xloti warned, "Whene'er I fly
A purple shaft, the storm is nigh."

Wheeling their round unbroken flight, Glide the fair day, and tranquil night; Far distant roamed the peaceful deer, The jealous eagle hovered near, Guarding her brood: within the cell Watched the alternate sentinel, Piled close the stony fence, and bent The ear, in silent heed intent; Waiting a sovereign master's will, In deep submission, calm and still. A second week had scantly passed, The evening beam, with kind farewell, A lingering line of glory cast

Athwart the captive's leagured cell; They gazed upon the mellowing glow That deepened in the blushing sky; When murmuring from the plain below, Arose a melting melody. Slowly across the velvet sod A form of female beauty trod;

She shone in soft majestic grace,
Like maiden of Iberian race;
Sparkled beneath the filmy veil
A dazzling eye; her cheek was pale,
Till Albert's meeting glance revealed

Their secret stand; then, blushing red
Her bending features haif concealed,
Her hand upon the lute she spread.
The Briton turned an anxious eye
On Izram: flushing quick and high,
Crimsoned his very brow; his breath
Gasped as beneath the arm of death:
Shuddering, an upward look he gave,
Then paced with faltering step the cave;
While richly o'er the plain beneath

The notes their deep enchantment breathe,
And mock-birds from the quivering spray
With mimic cadence swelled the lay,
That called the youth's light tread to press
The flowery woodland's soft recess,-
"While bears the vestal queen of night
Her lamp through heaven's triumphal arch,
And glittering guards, in armour bright,

Observant trace their sovereign's march,
And silence walks the shadowy groves,
And mute is every sigh but love's;
Whose stealing footstep will not wake

A rustle o'er the hum-bird's nest,
Nor fright, amid the spangled brake,
The firefly from his leafy rest."

"Twas nature's lullaby; the note Scarce o'er a murmuring whisper rose ; Dubious a while it seemed to float,

Then faltered to a dying close: And soft o'er Izram's melting soul With wonted spell the witchery stole, As, pausing on his breathless tread, Drooped the long lash, and bending head. But starting soon in conscious shame, Brightly the mantling crimson came, And flashed his eye, while glancing round Firmly he paced the cavern's bound. "Hear'st thou the lay? a goodly net For truant wing by fowler set! That syren tone hath bade me break Through iron fence, and stormy lake, Through filial love, and faith divine, All but the idol's fatal shrine, My country's cause-How wildly soft The liquid poison steals aloftBane of my soul! and dare it come Polluting thus our hallowed home? Again the wildering accents swellSpeak, Albert; burst the tempter's spell; I may not list-a thousand ties Press on my heart-O Lord, arise! Arm me with strengthening grace within, Pierce me with every shaft but sin!" 5

VOL. II.

66

Leila, where lurks thy wedded lord? Plies he the huntsman's craft, to win The quarry with so stale a gin? And thou, combined with evil men, Darest thou explore yon fearful glen, Dreadless of Him, whose righteous breath Can quench th' unhallowed wile in death?" "Izram, thy Leila comes"- "Away! Hath woman shame so light a sway? Pure as the wreath on Andes' brow I thought thee once, or never vow Had linked my soul to thee-'twas thine To rend the chain, and be it mine To warn thee that a gulf of woe Flames for the faithless wife below. Haste to thy spouse, nor longer roam, Unseemly, from a matron home." "I came to save thee, not to snare"Thanks, lady, for thy generous care, Needless but kind”—abrupt he left The winning voice, and dangerous cleft; Yet sad remembrance wrings his breast, And troublous visions break his rest, Till morning's opening eye revealed His lids in heavy slumber sealed.

To veil the brightening beams, that streak His pallid brow and sunken cheek, Albert approached the chink; amaze And horror fixed his silent gaze; For, lifeless on the dewy turf,

Young Leila lay beneath the cave,
As lies a mound of silvery surf

Upon the green sea wave.
Their shadowy veil the tresses throw
Profusely o'er the arm of snow
That props her head; the other pressed
Her lute beneath the folding vest,
Clasping it, as her fondest care
In death itself had centered there.
Aroused by Izram's waking sigh,
Albert withdrew his glistening eye,
Bent o'er the youth, and strove to guile
His watchful heed with wonted smile,
Pressing the hand whose feverish glow
Betrayed the recent work of woe.
"How far the stealing rays have crept,
While heavily the sluggard slept !
The night was drear-an evil guest
Was lurking in my gloomy breast,
Impatience-little known to thee;
Comrade of crime and misery