Poetical Remains of the Late Mrs Hemans

by Felicia Hemans

POETICAL REMAINS

OF THE LATE

MRS HEMANS.

Vainly, too vainly 'gainst the power I strive,
Which, night and day, comes rushing through my soul!
Without that pouring forth of thought and song
My life is life no more!
Wilt thou forbid the silkworm to spin on,
When hourly with the laboured line he draws
Nearer to death?—In vain! the costly web
Must from his inmost being still be wrought,
Till he lies wrapt in his consummate shroud.
Oh! that a gracious God to us may give
The lot of that blest worm!—to spread free wings
And burst exultingly on brighter life,
In a new realm of sunshine!
Translated by F. H. From the Tasso of Goethe.

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, EDINBURGH;
AND T. CADELL, STRAND, LONDON.
MDCCCXXXVI.

Contents.
	PAGE
Despondency and Aspiration	1
The Huguenot's Farewell	11
The English Boy	15
Antique Greek Lament	19
To a Picture of the Madonna	23
Records of the Spring of 1834	27
I. A Vernal Thought	28
II. To the Sky	29
III. On watching the Flight of a Sky-Lark	30
IV. On Records of Immature Genius	31
V. A Thought of the Sea	32
VI. Distant Sound of the Sea at Evening	33
VII. The River Clwyd in North Wales	34
VIII. Orchard Blossoms	35
IX. To a Distant Scene	36
X. Thoughts connected with Trees	37
XI. The Same	38
XII. A Remembrance of Grasmere	39
XIII. On reading Paul and Virginia in Childhood	40
XIV. A Thought at Sunset	41
XV. Images of Patriarchal Life	42
XVI. Attraction of the East	43
XVII. To an Aged Friend	44
XVIII. Foliage	45
XIX. A Prayer	46
XX. Prayer Continued	47
XXI. Memorial of a Conversation	48
Records of the Autumn of 1834	49
I. The Return to Poetry	49
II. On reading Coleridge's Epitaph written by Himself	50
III. Dreams of the Dead	51
IV. Hope of Future Communion with Nature	52
V. On the Datura Arborea	53
VI. On a Scene in the Dargle	54
VII. Design and Performance	55
VIII. The Poetry of the Psalms	56
IX. To Silvio Pellico on Reading his "Prigione,"	57
X. To the Same, Released	58
The Shepherd Poet of the Alps	59
Marguerite of France	71
The Free'd Bird	79
To the Mountain Winds	83
The Procession	86
To the Blue Anemone	90
The Broken Lute	94
The Burial in the Desert	101
The Maremma	105
Sebastian of Portugal	121
Translations from Horace	154
I. To Venus	154
II. To his Attendant	155
III. To Delius	157
IV. To the Fountain of Bandusia	160
V. To Faunus	163
VI. In Imitation of part of Ode III. Book II.	165
On the Hebe of Canova	166
From the Italian of Filicaya	167
Ode on the Defeat of King Sebastian of Portugal, and his Army in Africa	168
Fragments from the Iphigenia of Goethe	176
I. Joy of Pylades on hearing his Native Language	176
II. Exclamation of Iphigenia on seeing her Brother	177
III. Lot of Man and Woman compared by Iphigenia	178
IV. Longing of Orestes for repose	179
V. "Hark! in the trembling leaves,"	180
The Sculptured Children	181
The Voice of Music	186
The Chieftain's Son	189
Psyche borne by Zephyrs to the Island of Pleasure	192
Passing Away	196
Belshazzar's Feast	199
The Wish	206
Song for Air by Hummel	209
A Fragment	210
To a Wandering Female Singer	212
Song of the Spanish Wanderer	214
No More	216
To my own Portrait	219
The Broken Chain	222
The Angler	225
Dreams of Heaven	228
The Funeral Genius, an Antique Statue	232
The Song of Penitence	236
A Tale of the Fourteenth Century	239
The Bard's Farewell	267
The Prayer for Life	271
The Welcome to Death	275
Lines Written for the Album at Rosanna, in 1829	278
The Wanderer	279
Welsh Melodies	281
I. Druid Chorus on the Landing of the Romans	283
II. The Sea-song of Gavran	285
III. The Hall of Cynddylan	287
IV. The Lament of Llywarch Hen	289
V. Grufydd's Feast	292
VI. The Cambrian in America	295
VII. The Monarchy of Britain	297
VIII. Taliesin's Prophecy	299
IX. Owen Glyndwr's War Song	302
X. Prince Madoc's Farewell	306
XI. Caswallon's Triumph	308
XII. Howel's Song	310
XIII. The Mountain-Fires	313
XV. Eryri Wen	316
XVI. Chant of the Bards before their Massacre by Edward I.	319
Sabbath Sonnet	321