ST. LEONARD'S. BY CAMPBELL. HAIL to thy face and odours, glorious Sea! With thee beneath my windows, pleasant Sea, The eagle's vision cannot take it in: The lightning's wing, too weak to sweep its space, Their hosts within the concave firmament, Nor on the stage Of rural landscape are there lights and shades Mighty Sea! Chameleon-like thou changest, but there's love And brook'st commandment from the heavens alone For marshalling thy waves Yet, potent Sea! That power and grandeur can be so serene, A blind worm in the dust, great Deep, the man And with thy tints and motion stir its chords Is visible; thou hast in thee the life- Has spires and mansions more amusive still Men's volant homes that measure liquid space On wheel or wing. The chariot of the land, With pained and panting steeds and clouds of dust, Has no sight-gladdening motion like these fair Careerers with the foam beneath their bows, Whose streaming ensigns charm the waves by day, Whose carols and whose watch-bells cheer the night, Moored as they cast the shadows of their masts The trade-winds, and to stem the ecliptic surge. Come swarming over the meditative mind. |