"Twas when upon her death-bed laid- So now I am an orphan boy, With nought below my heart to cheer; And, when the kiss of love goes round, There is no kiss of love for me! THE LAND OF MY BIRTH. OLD ENGLAND for ever! No power shall sever My heart from the land of my birth; "Tis the land of the brave, Which none can enslave, "Tis the happiest land upon earth! "Tis the land of the free So it ever shall be, Her children no fetters can bind: Ere Britons are slaves She shall sink in the waves, If the African stand But once on her strand, That moment, his shackles are broke; A captive no more, He leaps on her shore, And shakes from his shoulders the yoke. THELWAL. "Tis the land of the Brave And esteem it a trust, More precious than jewels or gold. 'Tis the land of the Fair, And beauty is there, And the gladness that woman bestows; With the heart-cheering light, From the eye of affection that flows. "Tis the land of the Wise, With the glorious prize Of genius her temples are bound; Like a bright morning star, Hail, land of my birth, Brightest spot upon earth! Shall I leave thee for others?—No, never! Where'er I may roam, Still thou art my home, Old England, my country, for ever! RAFFLES. LINES ON THE DEATH OF A LAST CHILD. FAREWELL, my young blossom! The fairest, the fleetest, The pride of my bosom The last and the sweetest. Take the gem that thou gavest, DALE. UNIVERSAL PRAISE DUE TO GOD. JEHOVAH reigns: let every nation hear, He rules with wide and absolute command, He saw the struggling beams of infant light The joyful sun sprung up the ethereal way, Ten thousand glittering lamps the skies adorning, Earth's blooming face with rising flow'rs he dress'd, And spread a verdant mantle o'er her breast; At length she rose complete in finish'd pride, Yet this fair world, the creature of a day, The sun himself, with weary clouds opprest, The stars rush headlong in the wild commotion, But fix'd, O God! for ever stands thy throne; Th' eternal fire that feeds each vital flame, He dwells within his own unfathom'd essence, And fills all space with his unbounded presence. BARBAULD. |