436
POEMS 1814-1816.
2.
And the midnight Moon is weaving
Her bright chain o'er the deep;
Whose breast is gently heaving,
As an infant's asleep:
So the spirit bows before thee,
To listen and adore thee;
With a full but soft emotion,
Like the swell of Summer's ocean.
March 28 [1816].
[First published, Poems, 1816.]
[First published, Poems, 1816.]
ON THE STAR OF "THE LEGION OF HONOUR."[1]
[FROM THE FRENCH.]
1.
Star of the brave!—whose beam hath shed
Such glory o'er the quick and dead—
Thou radiant and adored deceit!
Which millions rushed in arms to greet,—
Wild meteor of immortal birth!
Why rise in Heaven to set on Earth?
2.
Souls of slain heroes formed thy rays;
Eternity flashed through thy blaze;
The music of thy martial sphere
- ↑ ["The Friend who favoured us with the following lines, the poetical spirit of which wants no trumpet of ours, is aware that they imply more than an impartial observer of the late period might feel, and are written rather as by Frenchman than Englishman;—but certainly, neither he nor any lover of liberty can help feeling and regretting that in the latter time, at any rate, the symbol he speaks of was once more comparatively identified with the cause of Freedom."—Examiner, April 7, 1816.]
