Bethink thee of those days to be,
When floods shall swell no more; Nor loud-voiced surge, nor angry sea
Shall break upon the shore. Where white-winged storm shall never beat
Across the verdant plain; Where severed lives, once more complete,
E'erlasting life shall gain.
THE STUDENT.
The cloudless sun of southern clime
Shone full that Christmas Day, As the city of the Cæsars
Held regal holiday.
For Him whose gracious advent,
Hailed in seraphic tone, The saved of earth, and saints in Heaven
In grateful praises own.
Full loud above the city's hum
Pealed forth cathedral chime; While round the loftiest, proudest dome,
Wreathed harmony sublime,
Which thrilled among those ruins vast
That long have braved the skies; Proud monument of Pagan hate
And Christian sacrifice.
Rejoicing echoes filled the breeze
That fanned the martyrs' tombs; Fit requiem! they sowed the seed
Which now triumphant blooms.
Where Reason held its vaunted sway,
Firm-leagued with Godless might, Round storied urn, through marbled halls
Loud shriek the birds of night.
Whilst borne along the sounding waves
Which fleck the furthest shore, That light of life, that perfect faith
Sealed with the martyrs' gore.
But, within that regal city,
On that bright Christmas Day, In hectic flush of fever heat
A stranger student lay.