Rose on the hot and trembling air
Cloud after cloud, in dark array,
Enfolding from their serpent lair
The starry flag that guards the free:—
One after one its stars grew dun,
Heaven given to shine on Liberty.
But swifter than the lightning's gleam
Flashed out the spears of Northern-light,
And with the north wind's saving wings,
The cloud-host, vanquished, took to flight.