darmes cry out, "Midnight is past; the cross begins to bend."
"While overhead the holy sign,
The Southern Cross, is in the sky:
Assurance that an eye Divine
Watches the exile from on high."
The cross consists of four large, bright stars, two perpendicular and two horizontal, to which fancy gives a cruciform shape. The two perpendicular are the lode or magnet, and point us to the south pole. They are the emblem of peace to the sailor. Humboldt refers to his first view of this constellation with much emotion, and Mrs. Hemans gives vent to her feelings in the following verses:
"But to thee, as thy lodestars resplendently burn
In their clear depths of blue, with devotion I turn,
Bright Cross of the South! and beholding thee shine
Scarce regret the loved land of the olive and vine.
"Thou recallest the ages when first o’er the main
My fathers unfolded the ensign of Spain,
And planted their faith in the regions that see
Its unperishing symbol emblazoned in thee.
"Shine on — my own land is a far distant spot,
And the stars of thy sphere can enlighten it not;
And the eyes that I love, though 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."
