Felicia Hemans in The Literary Gazette 1821/The Cross of the South
The Literary Gazette, 23rd June 1821
THE CROSS OF THE SOUTH.
"The pleasure we felt on discovering the southern cross, was warmly shared by such of the crew as had lived in the colonies. In the solitude of the seas, we hail a star, as a friend from whom we have been long separated. Among the Portuguese and Spaniards, peculiar motives seem to increase this feeling; a religious sentiment attaches them to a constellation, the form of which recalls the sign of the faith planted by their ancestors in the deserts of the new world. The two great stars which mark the summit and the foot of the cross, having nearly the same right ascension, it follows hence, that the constellation is almost perpendicular, at the moment when it passes the meridian. This circumstance is known to every nation that lives beyond the tropics, or in the southern hemisphere. It has been observed at what hour of the night, in different seasons, the cross of the south is erect or inclined. It is a time-piece that advances very regularly nearly four minutes a day, and no other group of stars exhibits, to the naked eye, an observation of time so easily made. How often have we heard our guides exclaim in the savannas of Venezuela, or in the desert extending from Lima to Truxillo, 'midnight is past, the cross begins to bend.'"
[1]*THE CROSS OF THE SOUTH.
In the silence and grandeur of midnight I tread,
Where Savannas in boundless magnificence spread;
And bearing sublimely, their snow-wreaths on high,
The far Cordilleras unite with the sky.
The Fern-tree waves o'er me, the fire-fly's red light,
With its quick-glancing splendor illumines the night;
And I read, in each tint of the skies and the earth,
How distant my steps from the land of my birth.
But to thee, as thy lode-stars resplendently burn,
In their clear depths of blue, with devotion I turn,
Bright Cross of the South! and beholding thee shine,
Scarce regret the lov'd land of the Olive and Vine.
Thou recallest the ages when first o'er the main,
My fathers unfolded the streamer of Spain,
And planted their faith in the regions that see
Its unperishing symbol emblazon'd in thee.
How oft, in their course o'er the oceans unknown,
Where all was mysterious and awfully lone,
Hath their spirit been cheer'd by thy light, when the deep
Reflected its brilliance, in tremulous sleep!
As the vision that rose to the Lord of the world,†[2]
When first his bright banner of faith was unfurl'd;
E'en such, to the heroes of Spain, when their prow
Made the billows the path of their glory, wert thou!
And to me, as I traverse the world of the west,
Thro' deserts of beauty, in stillness that rest;
By forests and rivers untam'd in their pride,
Thy beams have a language, thy course is a guide.
Shine on! My own land is a far distant spot,
And the stars of thy sphere can enlighten it not;
And the eyes which I love, tho' e'en now they may be
O'er the firmament wandering, can gaze not on thee!
But thou to my thoughts art a pure-blazing shrine,
A fount of bright hopes and of visions divine;
And my soul, as an eagle exulting and free,
Soars high o'er the Andes, to mingle with thee!