"When these famed kingdoms shall as sisters be, "And one great sovereign rule the powerful three: "Then yon rich Vale, far stretching to the west, Beyond thy bound, shall be by one possess'd: “Then shall true grace and dignity accord "With splendour, ease- -the Castle with its Lord."

The Baron waked, "It was," he cried, 66

a

view

Lively as truth, and I will think it true: "Some gentle spirit to my mind has brought "Forms of fair works to be hereafter wrought; "But yet of mine a part will then remain, "Nor will that Lord its humbler worth disdain; "Mix'd with his mightier pile shall mine be found, "By him protected, and with his renown'd; "He who its full destruction could command, "A part shall save from the destroying hand, "And say, 'It long has stood,still honour'd let it stand.'

9 99

116

THE WORLD OF DREAMS.

I.

AND is thy soul so wrapt in sleep?
Thy senses, thy affections, fled?
No play of fancy thine, to keep

Oblivion from that grave, thy bed?
Then art thou but the breathing dead:
I envy, but I pity too:

The bravest may my terrors dread,
The happiest fain my joys pursue.

II.

Soon as the real World I lose,

Quick Fancy takes her wonted way,
Or Baxter's sprites my soul abuse-
For how it is I cannot say,
Nor to what powers a passive prey,
I feel such bliss, I fear such pain;
But all is gloom, or all is gay,

Soon as th' ideal World I gain.

III.

Come, then, I woo thee, sacred Sleep!
Vain troubles of the world, farewell!
Spirits of Ill! your distance keep —

And in your own dominions dwell,
Ye, the sad emigrants from hell!

Watch, dear seraphic beings, round,
And these black Enemies repel;
Safe be my soul, my slumbers sound!

IV.

In vain I pray! It is my sin

That thus admits the shadowy throng. Oh! now they break tumultuous in—

Angels of darkness fierce and strong. Oh! I am borne of fate along ;

My soul, subdued, admits the foe, Perceives and yet endures the wrong, Resists, and yet prepares to go.

V.

Where am I now? and what to meet?
Where I have been entrapt before:
The wicked city's vilest street,

I know what I must now explore.
The dark-brow'd throng more near and more,
With murderous looks are on me thrust,

And lo! they ope the accursed door,
And I must go-I know I must!

VI.

That female fiend! Why is she there?
Alas! I know her.-Oh, begone!
Why is that tainted bosom bare,

Why fix'd on me that eye of stone?
Why have they left us thus alone?

I saw the deed-why then appear? Thou art not form'd of blood and bone! Come not, dread being, come not near!

VII.

So! all is quiet, calm, serene;
I walk a noble mansion round.
From room to room, from scene to scene,
I breathless pass, in gloom profound:

No human shape, no mortal sound ·

I feel an awe, I own a dread, And still proceed! nor stop nor boundAnd all is silent, all is dead.

VIII.

Now I'm hurried, borne along,
All is business! all alive!
Heavens! how mighty is the throng,
Voices humming like a hive!
Through the swelling crowd I strive,
Bustling forth my way to trace:
Never fated to arrive

At the still-expected place.

:

IX.

Ah me! how sweet the morning sun
Deigns on yon sleepy town to shine!
How soft those far-off rivers run

Those trees their leafy heads decline!
Balm-breathing zephyrs, all divine,

Their health-imparting influence give:
Now, all that earth allows is mine
Now, now I dream not, but I live.

X.

My friend, my brother, lost in youth,
I meet in doubtful, glad surprise,
In conscious love, in fearless truth:

What pleasures in the meeting rise! Ah! brief enjoyment!--Pleasure dies

E'en in its birth, and turns to pain: He meets me with hard glazed eyes! He quits me spurns me with disdain.

XI.

I sail the sea, I walk the land;
In all the world am I alone:
Silent I pace the sea-worn sand,

Silent I view the princely throne;
I listen heartless for the tone

Of winds and waters, but in vain ;
Creation dies without a groan !
And I without a hope remain!