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THE MEDITERRANEAN.
THE MEDITERRANEAN.
[A school composition.]
Hail! thou eternal flood, whose restless waves
Roll onward in their course, as wild and free,
As if the shores they lashed were not the graves
Of mouldering empires; When I think of thee,
Thou dost remind me of that ebbless sea—
The sea of Time, whose tide sweeps unconfined,
Its channel Earth, its shores Eternity;
Whose billows roll resistless o’er mankind;—
Like that thou rollest on, nor heed’st the wrecks behind.
Roll onward in their course, as wild and free,
As if the shores they lashed were not the graves
Of mouldering empires; When I think of thee,
Thou dost remind me of that ebbless sea—
The sea of Time, whose tide sweeps unconfined,
Its channel Earth, its shores Eternity;
Whose billows roll resistless o’er mankind;—
Like that thou rollest on, nor heed’st the wrecks behind.
Thy shores were empires; but the tide of Time
Rolled o’er them, and they fell; and there they lie,
Wrecked in their greatness, mouldering, yet sublime
And beautiful in their mortality.
And god-like men were there, the wise and free;
But what are they who now look o’er thy waves?
They’re but as worms that feed on their decay;
They kneel to stranger lords—a land of slaves,
Of men whose only boast is their ancestral graves.
Rolled o’er them, and they fell; and there they lie,
Wrecked in their greatness, mouldering, yet sublime
And beautiful in their mortality.
And god-like men were there, the wise and free;
But what are they who now look o’er thy waves?
They’re but as worms that feed on their decay;
They kneel to stranger lords—a land of slaves,
Of men whose only boast is their ancestral graves.
