<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=418512" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>Vision Of Columbus - Book 5</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0">Columbus hail'd them with a father's smile,<br>Fruits of his cares and children of his toil;<br>With tears of joy, while still his eyes descried<br>Their course adventurous o'er the distant tide.<br>Thus, when o'er deluged earth her Seraph stood,<br>The tost ark bounding on the shoreless flood,<br>The sacred treasure claim'd his guardian view,<br>While climes unnoticed in the wave withdrew.<br>He saw the squadrons reach the rising strand,<br>Leap from the wave and share the joyous land;<br>Receding forests yield the heroes room,<br>And opening wilds with fields and gardens bloom.<br>Fill'd with the glance extatic, all his soul<br>Now seems unbounded with the scene to roll,<br>And now, impatient, with retorted eye,<br>Perceives his station in another sky.<br>Waft me, O winged Angel, waft me o'er,<br>With those blest heroes, to the happy shore;<br>There let me live and die–but all appears<br>A fleeting vision; these are future years.<br>Yet grant in nearer view the climes may spread,<br>And my glad steps may seem their walks to tread;<br>While eastern coasts and kingdoms, wrapp'd in night,<br>Arise no more to intercept the sight.<br>The hero spoke; the Angel's powerful hand<br>Moves brightening o'er the visionary land;<br>The height, that bore them, still sublimer grew,<br>And earth's whole circuit settled from their view:<br>A dusky Deep, serene as breathless even,<br>Seem'd vaulting downward, like another heaven;<br>The sun, rejoicing on his western way,<br>Stamp'd his fair image in the inverted day:<br>Sudden, the northern shores again drew nigh,<br>And life and action fill'd the hero's eye.<br>Where the dread Laurence breaks his passage wide,<br>Where Missisippi's milder currents glide,<br>Where midland realms their swelling mountainsheave,<br>And slope their champaigns to the distant wave,<br>On the green banks, and o'er the extended plain,<br>Rise into sight the happiest walks of man.<br>The placid ports, that break the billowing gales,<br>Rear their tall masts and stretch their whitening sails;<br>The harvests wave, the groves with fruitage bend,<br>And bulwarks heave, and spiry domes ascend;<br>Fair works of peace in growing splendor rise,<br>And grateful earth repays the bounteous skies.<br>Till war invades; when opening vales disclose,<br>In moving crouds, the savage tribes of foes;<br>High tufted quills their painted foreheads press,<br>Dark spoils of beasts their shaggy shoulders dress,<br>The bow bent forward, for the combat strung,<br>The ax, the quiver on the girdle hung;<br>The deep, discordant yells convulse the air,<br>And the wild waste resounds approaching war.<br>The hero look'd; and every darken'd height<br>Pours down the dusky squadrons to the fight.<br>Where Kennebec's high source forsakes the sky,<br>Where deep Champlain's extended waters lie,<br>Where the bold Hudson leads his shadowy tide,<br>Where Kaatskill-heights the azure vault divide,<br>Where the dim Alleganies range sublime,<br>And give their streams to every distant clime,<br>The swarms descended, like an evening shade,<br>And wolves and vultures follow'd where they spread.<br>Thus when a storm, on eastern pinions driven,<br>Meets the firm Andes in the midst of heaven,<br>The clouds convulse, the torrents pour amain,<br>And the black waters sweep the subject plain.<br>Thro' cultured fields, the bloody myriads spread,<br>Sack the lone village, strow the streets with dead;<br>The flames aspire, the smoky volumes rise,<br>And shrieks and shouts redouble round the skies;<br>Fair babes and matrons in their domes expire,<br>Or burst their passage thro' the folding fire;<br>O'er woods and plains, promiscuous rave along<br>The yelling victors and the driven throng;<br>The streams run purple; all the extended shore<br>Is wrapp'd in flames and trod with steps of gore.<br>Till numerous hosts, collecting from afar,<br>Exalt the standard and oppose the war,<br>Point their loud thunders on the shouting foe,<br>And brave the shafted terrors of the bow.<br>When, like a broken wave, the savage train<br>Lead back the flight and scatter o'er the plain,<br>Slay their weak captives, leave their shafts in haste,<br>Forget their spoils and scour the distant waste.<br>As, when the morning sun begins his way,<br>The shadows vanish where he gives the day;<br>So the dark tribes, from brighter regions hurl'd,<br>Sweep o'er the heights and lakes, far thro' the wilder'd world.<br>Now move in nobler pomp the toils of peace<br>New temples rise and splendid towers increase.<br>He saw, where Penn his peaceful thousands led,<br>A spreading town bright Del'ware's waves o'ershade;<br>The crossing streets in fair proportion run,<br>The walls and pavements sparkle to the sun.<br>Like that famed city, rose the beauteous plan,<br>Whose spacious bounds Semiramis began;<br>Long ages finish'd what her hand design'd,<br>The pride of kings and wonder of mankind.<br>Where labouring Hudson's glassy current strays,<br>York's growing walls their splendid turrets raise,<br>Albania rising in her midland pride,<br>Rolls her rich treasures on his lengthening tide;<br>Fair in her circling streams blest Newport laves,<br>And Boston opens o'er the subject waves;<br>On southern shores, where happier currents glide,<br>The banks bloom gay, and cities grace their side;<br>Like morning clouds, that tinge their skirts with gold,<br>Bright Charleston's roofs and sparkling spires unfold.<br>Thro' each extended realm, in wisdom great,<br>Rose the dread sires, that claim the cares of state;<br>Long robes of purest white their forms embrace,<br>Their better hands imperial sceptres grace,<br>Their left the laws, that shining leaves infold,<br>Where rights and charters flame in figured gold.<br>High on a seat, that opening crouds disclose,<br>Blest Baltimore, from toils and dangers, rose;<br>The sacred Cross, before his kindling eyes,<br>From foes defended, and of peace the prize,<br>Waves o'er the host; who catch the liberal flame,<br>Partake the freedom and extend the fame,<br>With port majestic, rising to his throne,<br>Immortal Penn, in rival lustre shone,<br>Dispensing justice to the train below,<br>Peace in his voice and firmness on his brow.<br>Another croud sees generous Belcher stand,<br>And gains new glory from his liberal hand;<br>He aids the toil, and still exalts the plan,<br>Patron of science, liberty and man,<br>With steady step, bold Winthrop towers along,<br>Waves the bright wand and cheers the noble throng;<br>Beneath his firm, unalterable sway,<br>Fair Virtue reigns, and grateful realms obey.<br>While other forms, the rising states around,<br>By wisdom graced, with equal honours crown'd,<br>Trail the long robe, extend the sceptred hand,<br>Drive guilt and slavery from the joyous land,<br>Bid arts and culture, wealth and wisdom rise,<br>Friends of mankind and favourites of the skies.<br>Up the wild streams, that bound the hero's view,<br>Great Gallia's sons their western course pursue;<br>On fertile banks fair towns and villas rose,<br>That dared the vengeance of surrounding foes.<br>Here cold Canadia round her Laurence spread,<br>And raised her cities o'er his watery glade;<br>There Louisiana's happier borders run,<br>Spread fairer lawns and feel a purer sun;<br>While the glad lakes and broad Ohio's stream<br>Seem smiling conscious of approaching same.<br>Now larger barks pursue their rapid course,<br>Unite their labours and extend their force;<br>Beneath their listed sails, arise in sight<br>White flags display'd and armies robed in white;<br>Through the deep midland waste, they stream afar,<br>And threat weak realms with desolating war.<br>Where proud Quebec exalts her rocky seat,<br>They range their camp and spread the frowning fleet,<br>Lead conquering legions, western wilds to brave,<br>Raise lone Oswago o'er the untraversed wave;<br>While other squadrons tempt another flood,<br>And dark Ohio swells beneath the load.<br>When, fierce, from Albion's coast, a warlike train<br>Moves o'er the sea, and treads the dusky plain;<br>Swift to their aid, from all the crouded strand,<br>Rise, bright in arms, the wide colonial band;<br>They join their force; and, tow'rd the falling day,<br>The same bold banners lead their dreadful way;<br>O'er Allagany-heights, like streams of fire,<br>The red flags wave and glittering arms aspire;<br>Beyond the hills, where, o'er the lonely flood,<br>A hostile fortress spreads its bounds abroad,<br>They bend the venturous march; the host within<br>Behold their danger, and the strife begin.<br>From the full bursting gates, the sweeping train<br>Pour forth the war and hide the sounding plain;<br>The opposing squadrons, ranged in order bright,<br>Wait the dire shock and kindle for the fight;<br>The batteries blaze, the moving vollies pour,<br>The shuddering vales and echoing mountains roar;<br>Clouds of convolving smoke the welkin spread,<br>Shroud the wide champaign, and the hills o'ershade.<br>Lost in the rocking thunder's loud career,<br>No shouts or groans invade the hero's ear,<br>Nor val'rous feats are seen, nor flight, nor fall,<br>While deep-surrounding darkness buries all.<br>Till, driv'n by rising winds, the clouds withdrew,<br>And oped the spreading slaughter to his view;<br>He saw the British leader, borne afar,<br>In dust and gore beyond the wings of war;<br>Saw the long ranks of foes his host surround,<br>His chiefs confused, his squadrons press the ground;<br>As, hemm'd on every side, the trembling train<br>Nor dare the fight, nor can they flee the plain.<br>But, while conflicting tumult thinn'd the host,<br>Their flags, their arms in wild confusion tost,<br>Bold in the midst a blooming warrior strode,<br>And tower'd undaunted o'er the field of blood,<br>In desperate toils with rising vengeance burn'd,<br>And the pale squadrons brighten'd where he turn'd.<br>As, when thick vapors veil the evening sky,<br>And starry hosts, in half-seen lustre fly,<br>Bright Hesper shines o'er all the twinkling croud,<br>And gives new splendor thro' the opening cloud.<br>Fair on a firey steed, sublime he rose,<br>Wedg'd the firm files and eyed the circling foes;<br>Then waved his gleamy sword, that flash'd the day,<br>And, thro' dread legions, hew'd the rapid way,<br>His hosts roll forward, like an angry flood,<br>Sweep ranks away and smear their paths in blood;<br>The hovering foes pursue the strife afar,<br>And shower their balls along the flying war;<br>When the brave leader turns his sweeping force,<br>Points the flight forward–speeds his backward course;<br>The foes fly scattering where his arm is wheel'd,<br>And his firm train treads safely o'er the field.<br>While these fierce toils the pensive chief descried,<br>With anxious thought he thus address'd the guide;<br>These numerous throngs, in robes of white array'd,<br>From Gallia's shores the peaceful bounds invade,<br>And there Britannia's standard waves sublime,<br>In crimson pomp to shield the friendly clime.<br>Why here, in vengeance, roll the furious bands?<br>And strow their corses o'er these pathless lands?<br>Can Europe's realms, the seat of endless strife,<br>Afford no trophies for the waste of life?<br>Can monarchs there no proud applauses gain?<br>No living laurel for their subjects slain?<br>Nor Belgia's plains so fertile made with gore,<br>Hide heroes' bones nor feast the vultures more?<br>Danube and Rhine no more their currents stain,<br>Nor sweep the slaughter'd myriads to the main?<br>That infant empires here the rage must feel,<br>And these pure streams with foreign carnage swell.<br>But who the chief, that closed in firm array<br>The baffled legions and restored the day?<br>There shines, in veteran skill and youthful charms,<br>The boast of nature and the pride of arms.<br>The Power replied; In each successive age,<br>Their different views thy varying race engage.<br>Here roll the years, when Albion's generous host,<br>Leagued with thy children, guard the invaded coast;<br>That infant states their veteran force may train,<br>And nobler toils in later fields sustain;<br>When future foes superior banners wave,<br>The realms to ravage and the race enslave.<br>Here toils brave Albion with the sons of Gaul;<br>Here hapless Braddock finds his destined fall;<br>Thy greatest son, in that young martial frame,<br>From yon lost field begins a life of fame.<br>Tis he, in future strife and darker days,<br>Desponding states to sovereign rule shall raise,<br>When the weak empire, in his arm, shall find<br>The sword, the shield, the bulwark of mankind.<br>The Seraph spoke; when thro' the purpled air,<br>The northern squadrons spread the flames of war:<br>O'er dim Champlain, and thro' surrounding groves<br>Rash Abercrombie, mid his thousands, moves<br>To fierce unequal strife; the batteries roar,<br>Shield the grim foes and rake the banner'd shore;<br>His fainting troops the dreadful contest yield,<br>And heaps of carnage strow the fatal field.<br>While glorious Amherst on a distant isle,<br>Leads a bold legion, and renews the toil;<br>High flame the ships, the billows swell with gore,<br>And the red standard shades the conquer'd shore.<br>And lo, a British host, unbounded spread,<br>O'er sealike Laurence, casts a moving shade;<br>On lessening tides, they hold their fearless flight,<br>Till rocky walls salute their longing sight.<br>They tread the shore, the arduous conflict claim,<br>Rise the tall mountain, like a rolling flame,<br>Stretch their wide wings in circling onset far,<br>And move to fight, as clouds of heaven at war.<br>The smoke falls folding thro' the downward sky,<br>And shrouds the mountain from the hero's eye;<br>While on the burning top, in open day,<br>The flashing swords, in fiery arches, play.<br>As on a ridgy storm, in terrors driven,<br>The forky flames curl round the vault of heaven,<br>The thunders break, the bursting torrents flow,<br>And flood the air, and whelm the hills below;<br>Or, as on plains of light, when Michael strove,<br>And swords of Cherubim to combat move;<br>Ten thousand fiery forms together play,<br>And flash new lightning on empyreal day.<br>Long raged promiscuous combat, half conceal'd;<br>When sudden parle suspended all the field;<br>Thick groans succeed, the cloud forsakes the plain,<br>And the high hill is topp'd with heaps of slain.<br>Now, proud in air, the conquering standard waved,<br>And shouting hosts proclaim'd a country saved;<br>While, calm and silent, where the ranks retire,<br>He saw brave Wolfe, in pride of youth, expire.<br>So the pale moon, when morning beams arise,<br>Veils her lone visage in the silent skies;<br>Required no more to drive the shades away,<br>Nor waits to view the glories of the day.<br>Again the towns aspire, the cultured field<br>And blooming vale their copious treasures yield;<br>The grateful hind his cheerful labour proves,<br>And songs of triumph fill the warbling groves;<br>The conscious flocks, returning joys that share,<br>Spread thro' the midland, o'er the walks of war:<br>When, borne on eastern winds, dark vapors rise,<br>And sail and lengthen round the western skies;<br>Veil all the vision from his anxious sight,<br>And wrap the climes in universal night.<br>The hero grieved, and thus besought the Power<br>Why sinks the scene? or must I view no more?<br>Must here the fame of that fair world descend?<br>And my brave children find so soon their end?<br>Where then the word of Heaven, Mine eyes should see<br>That half mankind should owe their bliss to me?<br>The Power replied; Ere long, in happier view,<br>The realms shall brighten, and thy joys renew.<br>The years advance, when round the thronging shore,<br>They rise confused to change the source of power;<br>When Albion's Prince, that sway'd the happy land,<br>Shall stretch, to lawless rule, the sovereign hand;<br>To bind in slavery's chains the peaceful host,<br>Their rights unguarded and their charters lost.<br>Now raise thine eye; from this delusive claim,<br>What glorious deeds adorn their growing fame!<br>Columbus look'd; and still around them spread,<br>From south to north, the immeasurable shade;<br>At last, the central shadows burst away,<br>And rising regions open'd on the day.<br>He saw, once more, bright Del'ware's silver stream.<br>And Penn's throng'd city cast a cheerful gleam:<br>The dome of state, that met his eager eye,<br>Now heaved its arches in a loftier sky;<br>The bursting gates unfold; and lo, within,<br>A solemn train, in conscious glory, shine.<br>The well-known forms his eye had traced before,<br>In different realms along the extended shore;<br>Here, graced with nobler fame, and robed in state,<br>They look'd and moved magnificently great.<br>High on the foremost seat, in living light,<br>Majestic Randolph caught the hero's sight:<br>Fair on his head, the civic crown was placed,<br>And the first dignity his sceptre graced.<br>He opes the cause, and points in prospect far,<br>Thro' all the toils that wait the impending war–<br>But, hapless sage, thy reign must soon be o'er,<br>To lend thy lustre and to shine no more.<br>So the bright morning star, from shades of even,<br>Leads up the dawn, and lights the front of heaven,<br>Points to the waking world the sun's broad way,<br>Then veils his own and shines above the day.<br>And see great Washington behind thee rise,<br>Thy following sun, to gild our morning skies;<br>O'er shadowy climes to pour the enlivening flame,<br>The charms of freedom and the fire of fame.<br>The ascending chief adorn'd his splendid seat,<br>Like Randolph, ensign'd with a crown of state;<br>Where the green patriot bay beheld, with pride,<br>The hero's laurel springing by its side;<br>His sword hung useless, on his graceful thigh,<br>On Britain still he cast a filial eye;<br>But sovereign fortitude his visage bore,<br>To meet their legions on the invaded shore.<br>Sage Franklin next arose, in awful mein,<br>And smiled, unruffled, o'er the approaching scene;<br>High on his locks of age a wreath was braced,<br>Palm of all arts, that e'er a mortal graced;<br>Beneath him lies the sceptre kings have borne,<br>And crowns and laurels from their temples torn,<br>Nash, Rutledge, Jefferson, in council great,<br>And Jay and Laurens oped the rolls of fate;<br>The Livingstons, fair Freedom's generous band,<br>The Lees, the Houstons, fathers of the land,<br>O'er climes and kingdoms turn'd their ardent eyes,<br>Bade all the oppress'd to speedy vengeance rise;<br>All powers of state, in their extended plan,<br>Rise from consent to shield the rights of man.<br>Bold Wolcott urged the all-important cause;<br>With steady hand the solemn scene he draws;<br>Undaunted firmness with his wisdom join'd,<br>Nor kings nor worlds could warp his stedfast mind.<br>Now, graceful rising from his purple throne,<br>In radiant robes, immortal Hosmer shone;<br>Myrtles and bays his learned temples bound,<br>The statesman's wreath the poet's garland crown'd,<br>Morals and laws expand his liberal soul,<br>Beam from his eyes and in his accents roll.<br>But lo, an unseen hand the curtain drew,<br>And snatch'd the patriot from the hero's view;<br>Wrapp'd in the shroud of death, he sees descend<br>The guide of nations and the Muses' friend.<br>Columbus dropp'd a tear; the Angel's eye<br>Traced the freed spirit mounting thro' the sky.<br>Adams, enraged, a broken charter bore,<br>And lawless acts of ministerial power;<br>Some injured right, in each loose leaf appears,<br>A king in terrors and a land in tears;<br>From all the guileful plots the veil he drew,<br>With eye retortive look'd creation thro',<br>Oped the wide range of nature's boundless plan,<br>Traced all the steps of liberty and man;<br>Crouds rose to vengeance while his accents rung,<br>And Independence thunder'd from his tongue.<br>The hero turn'd. And tow'rd the crouded coast,<br>Rose on the wave a wide-extended host,<br>They shade the main and spread their sails abroad,<br>From the wide Laurence to the Georgian flood,<br>Point their black batteries to the approaching shore,<br>And bursting flames begin the hideous roar.<br>Where guardless Falmouth, looking o'er the bay,<br>Beheld, unmoved, the stormy thunders play,<br>The fire begins; the shells o'er-arching fly,<br>And shoot a thousand rainbows thro' the sky;<br>On Charlestown spires, on Bristol roofs, they light,<br>Groton and Fairfield kindle from the flight,<br>Fair Kingston burns, and York's delightful fanes,<br>And beauteous Norfolk lights the neighbouring plains,<br>From realm to realm, the smoky volumes bend,<br>Reach round the bays and up the streams extend;<br>Deep o'er the concave heavy wreaths are roll'd,<br>And midland towns and distant groves infold.<br>Thro' the dark curls of smoke the winged fires<br>Climb in tall pyramids, above the spires;<br>Cinders, high-sailing, kindle heaven around,<br>And falling structures shake the smouldering ground.<br>Now, where the sheeted flames thro' Charlestown roar<br>And lashing waves hiss round the burning shore,<br>Thro' the deep folding fires, a neighbouring height<br>Thunders o'er all and seems a field of fight.<br>Like shadowy phantoms in an evening grove,<br>To the dark strife the closing squadrons move;<br>They join, they break, they thicken thro' the air,<br>And blazing batteries burst along the war;<br>Now, wrapp'd in reddening smoke, now dim in sight,<br>They sweep the hill or wing the downward flight;<br>Here, wheel'd and wedg'd, whole ranks together turn,<br>And the long lightnings from their pieces burn,<br>There, scattering flashes light the scanty train,<br>And broken squadrons tread the moving plain.<br>Britons in fresh battalions rise the height,<br>And, with increasing vollies, give the fight.<br>Till, smear'd with clouds of dust, and bath'd in gore,<br>As growing foes their raised artillery pour,<br>Columbia's hosts move o'er the fields afar,<br>And save, by slow retreat, the sad remains of war.<br>There strides bold Putnam, and from all the plains,<br>Calls the tired host, the tardy rear sustains,<br>And, mid the whizzing deaths that fill the air,<br>Waves back his sword and dares the following war.<br>Thro' falling fires, Columbus sees remain<br>Half of each host in heaps promiscuous slain;<br>While dying crouds the lingering life-blood pour,<br>And slippery steeps are trod with prints of gore.<br>There, hapless Warren, thy cold earth was seen,<br>There spring thy laurels in immortal green;<br>Dearest of chiefs, that ever press'd the plain,<br>In Freedom's cause, with early honours, slain,<br>Still dear in death, as when in fight you moved,<br>By hosts applauded and by Heaven approved;<br>The faithful Muse shall tell the world thy fame,<br>And unborn realms resound the immortal name.<br>Now, from all plains, as smoky wreaths decay,<br>Unnumber'd shapes start forward to the affray;<br>Tall, thro' the lessening shadows, half conceal'd,<br>They glide and gather in a central field;<br>There, stretch'd immense, like lengthening groves they stand,<br>Eye the dark foe and eager strife demand.<br>High in the frowning front, exalted shone<br>A hero, pointing tow'rd the half-seen sun;<br>As, thro' the mist the bursting splendors glow,<br>And light the passage to the distant foe;<br>His waving steel returns the living day,<br>Clears the broad plains and marks the warrior's way;<br>The long, deep squadrons range in order bright,<br>And move impatient for the promised fight.<br>When great Columbus saw the chief arise,<br>And his bold blade cast lightning on the skies,<br>He traced the form that met his view before,<br>On drear Ohio's desolated shore.<br>Matured with years, with nobler glory warm,<br>Fate in his eye, and vengeance on his arm.<br>The great Observer here with joy beheld<br>The hero moving in a broader field.<br>Unnumber'd chiefs around their leader stand,<br>Fired by his voice, and guided by his hand,<br>Now on his steps their raptured eye-balls glow,<br>And now roll dreadful on the approaching foe.<br>There rose brave Greene, in all the strength of arms,<br>Unmoved and brightening as the danger warms;<br>In counsel great, in every science skill'd,<br>Pride of the camp and terror of the field.<br>With eager look, conspicuous o'er the croud,<br>The daring port of great Montgomery strode;<br>Bared the bright blade, with honour's call elate,<br>Claim'd the first field, and hasten'd to his fate.<br>Calm Lincoln next, with unaffected mein,<br>In dangers daring, active and serene,<br>Careless of pomp, with steady greatness shone,<br>Sparing of others' blood and liberal of his own.<br>Heath, for the impending strife, his falchion draws;<br>And fearless Wooster aids the sacred cause.<br>There stood stern Putnam, seam'd with many a scar,<br>The veteran honours of an earlier war;<br>Undaunted Stirling, dreadful to his foes,<br>And Gates and Sullivan to vengeance rose;<br>While brave M'Dougall, steady and sedate,<br>Stretch'd the nerved arm to ope the scene of fate.<br>Howe moved with rapture to the toils of fame,<br>And Schuyler still adorn'd an honour'd name;<br>Parsons and Smallwood lead their daring bands,<br>And bold St. Clair in front of thousands stands.<br>There gallant Knox his moving engines brings<br>Mounted and graved, the last resort of kings;<br>The long, black rows in dreadful order wait,<br>Their grim jaws gaping soon to utter fate;<br>When, at his word, the red-wing'd clouds shall rise,<br>And the deep thunders rock the shores and skies.<br>Beneath a waving sword, in blooming prime,<br>Fayette moves graceful, ardent and sublime;<br>In foreign guise, in freedom's noble cause,<br>His untried blade the youthful hero draws;<br>On the great chief his eyes in transport roll,<br>And fame and Washington inspire his soul.<br>Steuben advanced, in veteran armour drest,<br>The noble ensign beaming on his breast;<br>From rank to rank, in eager haste, he flew,<br>And marshall'd hosts in dread arrangement drew<br>Morris, in aid, with open coffers stood,<br>And Wadsworth, patron of the brave and good.<br>While other chiefs and heirs of deathless fame<br>Rise into sight, and equal honours claim;<br>But who can tell the dew-drops of the morn?<br>Or count the rays that in the diamond burn?<br>Now, the broad field as gathering squadrons shade,<br>The sun's glad beam their shining ranks display'd;<br>The glorious leader waved his glittering steel,<br>Bade the long train in circling order wheel;<br>And while the banner'd hosts around him roll,<br>Thus into thousands speaks the warrior's soul:<br>Ye patriot chiefs, and every daring band,<br>That lift the steel or tread the invaded strand,<br>Behold the task! these beauteous realms to save,<br>Or yield whole nations to an instant grave.<br>See the dark squadrons moving to the shore,<br>Hear, from all ports, their boasted thunders roar:<br>O'er bloody plains, from Charlestown-heights, they stray,<br>O'er far Champlain they lead their northern way,<br>Virginian banks behold their streamers glide,<br>And hostile navies load each southern tide.<br>Beneath their steps your smouldering temples lie,<br>And wreaths of smoke o'ercast the reddening sky.<br>With eager stride they tempt a nobler prize;<br>These boundless empires feast their envious eyes;<br>They see your fields to lordly manors turn'd,<br>Your children butcher'd and your villas burn'd;<br>While following millions, thro' the reign of time,<br>That claim their birth in this indulgent clime,<br>Bend the weak knee, in servile chains confined;<br>And sloth and slavery overwhelm mankind.<br>Rise then to war, to noble vengeance rise,<br>Ere the grey sire, the helpless infant dies;<br>Look thro' the world, where endless years descend,<br>What realms, what ages on your arms depend!<br>Reverse the fate, avenge the insulted sky;<br>Move to the strife, we conquer or we die.<br>While thus he spoke, the furious files advance,<br>And fiercer lightnings o'er the champaign dance.<br>At once, the different skirts are wheel'd, afar,<br>In different realms, to meet the distant war.<br>With his dread host, Montgomery issues forth,<br>And lights his passage thro' the dusky north;<br>O'er streams and lakes his conquering banners play,<br>Navies and forts, surrendering, mark his way;<br>Thro' desert wilds, o'er rocks and fens, they go,<br>And hills before them, lose their craggs in snow;<br>Unbounded toils they brave; when rise in sight<br>Quebec's dread walls, and Wolfe's still dreary height;<br>They climb the steep, he eyes the turrets round,<br>With piked hosts and dark artillery crown'd,<br>The daring onset points; and, high in air,<br>O'er rocky ramparts leads the dreadful war.<br>As wreaths of morning mist ascend on high<br>Up the tall mountain's side, and reach the sky,<br>So rose the rapid host; the walls are red<br>With flashing flames; down roll the heaps of dead;<br>Now back recoil the ranks, o'er squadrons slain,<br>And leave their leader, with a scanty train,<br>Closed in the circling terrors of the wall,<br>Where round his arm the hostile legions fall.<br>Through the wide streets, collecting from afar,<br>The foes in shouting squadrons urged the war,<br>The smoke convolved, the thunders rock'd around,<br>And the brave hero prest the gorey ground.<br>Another Wolfe Columbus here beheld,<br>In youthful charms, a soul undaunted yield:<br>But lost, o'erpower'd, his hardy host remains,<br>Stretch'd by his side, or led in captive chains.<br>Now the bright Angel turn'd the hero's eye,<br>In other realms, where other standards fly;<br>Where the great leader, mid surrounding foes,<br>Still greater rises, as the danger grows;<br>And wearied ranks, o'er weltering warriors slain,<br>Attend his course thro' many a crimson'd plain.<br>From Hudson's banks, along the dreary strand,<br>He guards in firm retreat, his feeble band;<br>While countless foes, with British Howe advance,<br>Bend o'er his rear and point the lifted lance;<br>O'er Del'ware's frozen wave, with scanty force,<br>He lifts the sword and points the backward course,<br>Wings the dire vengeance on the shouting train,<br>And leads whole squadrons in the captive chain;<br>Where vaunting foes to half their numbers yield,<br>Tread back the flight, or press the fatal field.<br>While, mid the furious strife, brave Mercer strode,<br>And seal'd the victory with his streaming blood.<br>Now, where dread Laurence mingles with the main,<br>Rose, on the widening wave, a hostile train:<br>From shore to shore, along the unfolding skies,<br>Beneath full sails, the approaching squadrons rise;<br>High waving on the right, red banners dance,<br>And British legions o'er the decks advance;<br>While at their side an azure flag, display'd,<br>Leads a long host, in German robes array'd<br>Tall on the boldest bark, superior shone<br>A warrior, ensign'd with a various crown;<br>Myrtles and laurels equal honours join'd,<br>Which arms had purchased and the Muses twined;<br>His sword waved forward, and his ardent eye<br>Seem'd sharing empires in the southern sky.<br>Beside him rose a herald, to proclaim<br>His various honours, titles, feats and fame;<br>Who raised an opening scroll, where proudly shone<br>Pardon to realms and nations yet unknown.<br>Champlain receives the congregated host,<br>And his dark waves, beneath the sails, are lost;<br>St. Clair beholds; and, with his scanty train,<br>In firm retreat, o'er many a fatal plain,<br>Lures their wild march.–Wide moves their furious force,<br>Where flaming hamlets mark their wasting course;<br>Thro' pathless realms their spreading ranks are wheel'd<br>O'er Mohawk's western wave and Bennington's dread field.<br>Till, where deep Hudson's winding waters stray,<br>A yeoman host opposed their rapid way;<br>There on a towery height brave Gates arose,<br>Waved the blue steel and dared the headlong foes;<br>Undaunted Lincoln, moving at his side,<br>Urged the dread strife, and spread the squadrons wide;<br>Now roll, like winged storms, the lengthening lines,<br>The clarion thunders and the battle joins;<br>Thick flames, in vollied flashes, fill the air,<br>And echoing mountains give the noise of war;<br>The clouds rise reddening, round the dreadful height,<br>And veil the skies and wrap the sounding fight.<br>Now, in the skirt of night, where thousands toil,<br>Ranks roll away and into light recoil;<br>The rout increases, all the British train<br>Tread back their steps and scatter o'er the plain;<br>To the glad holds precipitate retire,<br>And wide behind them streams the flashing fire.<br>Scarce moved the smoke above the gorey height,<br>And oped the slaughter to the hero's sight;<br>Back to their fate, when baffled squadrons flew,<br>Resumed their rage and pour'd the strife anew,<br>Again the batteries roar, the lightnings play,<br>Again they fall, again they roll away.<br>And now Columbia, circling round the field,<br>Points her full force, the trembling thousands yield;<br>When bold Burgoyne, in one disastrous day,<br>Sees future crowns and former wreaths decay;<br>While two illustrious armies shade the plain,<br>The mighty victors and the captive train.</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br /></a><br />poem by <a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/by.php?a=Joel+Barlow">Joel Barlow</a><div class=q> <img src="https://www.citatepedia.ro/g/32share.png" style="float:left" alt="Share"> <script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=citatepedia" async="async"></script><div style="display:inline-block" class="addthis_sharing_toolbox" data-url="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=418512" data-title="Vision Of Columbus - Book 5 de Joel Barlow" data-description="Columbus hail'd them with a father's smile, Fruits of his cares and children of his toil; With tears of joy, while still his eyes descried Their course adventurous o'er the distant tide. Thus, when o'er deluged earth her Seraph stood, The tost ark..."></div> </div> </div>

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