Oh! what a dazzling vision, by the veil
That o'er thy spirit hung, was shut from thee,
When' sceptred chieftains throng'd, with palms, to hail
The crowning isle, th' anointed of the sea!
Within thy palaces the lords of earth
Met to rejoice,—rich pageants glitter'd by,
And stately revels imaged, in their mirth,
The old magnificence of chivalry.
They reach'd not thee,—amidst them, yet alone,
Stillness and gloom begirt one dim and shadowy throne.
Yet was there mercy still—if joy no more
Within that blasted circle might intrude,
Earth had no grief whose footstep might pass o'er
The silent limits of its solitude!
If all unheard the bridal song awoke
Our hearts' full echoes, as it swell'd on high;
Alike unheard the sudden dirge, that broke
On the glad strain, with dread solemnity!
If the land's rose, unheeded wore its bloom,
Alike unfelt the storm, that swept it to the tomb.
