Page:Livingstone in Africa.djvu/31

By that resplendent Father of the Kings;
Kings lying here in glory, all embalm'd,
And jewell'd o'er with slumbering talismans,
Asleep in their immense sarcophagi.

Yonder, on burning sands of Libya,
Unmoved the tranquil-featured Sphinx beheld
Abraham, Homer, Solon, all the wise
Of every clime, who came, and saw, and wonder'd;
Who pass'd, leaving a heritage to man;
Beheld dissolving dynasties of Kings,
And all their people, pageant-like unroll'd
Before His face; they, with o'erwhelming pillars
Of desert sand before the whirlwind's breath,
Pass'd in loud pomp, and were not any more;
The silent Sphinx regarding, as to-day,
Beyond them all, serene Eternity!

There that colossal Memnon, while the Nile
Pour'd like another morning all around
Sweet life-engendering waters musical,
Murmur'd melodious salutation,