The seraph paused, and downward cast his eyes,
Whilst heav'nly hosts stood throbbing with surprise.
Again the Lord of all the realms above,
Supreme in might, but infinite in love,
With no harsh accent in His tones replied:
"Go, drop this Emerald in the envious tide!"
Quick as the lightning cleaves the concave blue,
The seraph seized the proffer'd gem, and flew
Until he reached the confines of the earth,
Still struggling in the throes of turbid birth;
And there, upon his self-sustaining wing,
Sat poised, and heard our globe her matins sing;
Beheld the sun traverse the arching sky,
The sister Moon walk forth in majesty;
Saw every constellation rise and roll
Athwart the heaven, or circle round the pole.
Nor did he move, until our spotted globe
Had donned for him her morn and evening robe;
Till on each land his critic eye was cast,
And every ocean rose, and heav'd, and pass'd;
Then, like some eagle pouncing on its prey,
He downward sail'd, through bellowing clouds and spray,
To where he saw the billows bounding free,
And dropped the gem within the stormy sea!
And would'st thou know, Chief of St. Patrick's band,
Where fell this jewel from the seraph's hand?
What ocean caught the world-enriching prize?
O! Child of Moina, homeward cast your eyes!
Lo! in the midst of wat'ry deserts wide,
Behold the Emerald bursting through the tide,
And bearing on its ever vernal-sod
The monogram of seraph, and of God!
Its name, the sweetest human lips e'er sung,
First trembled on an angel's fervid tongue;
Then chimed Æolian on the evening air,
Lisped by an infant, in its mother prayer;
Next roared in war, with battle's flag unfurl'd;
Now, gemm'd with glory, gather'd through the world!
What name! Perfidious Albion, blush with shame:
It is thy sister's! Erin is the name!
Once more the seraph stood before the throne
Of dread Omnipotence, pensive and alone.
"What hast thou done?" Heaven's Monarch sadly sigh'd.
"I dropped the jewel in the flashing tide,"
The seraph said; but saw with vision keen
A mightier angel stalk upon the scene,
Whose voice like grating thunder smote his ear
And taught his soul the mystery of fear.
"Because thy heart with impious pride did swell,
And dared make better what thy God made well;
Because thy hand did fling profanely down
On Earth a jewel wrenched from Heaven's bright crown,
The Isle which thine own fingers did create
Shall reap a blessing and a curse from fate!"
THE CURSE.
Far in the future, as the years roll on,
And all the pagan ages shall have flown;
When Christian virtues, flaming into light,
Shall save the world from superstition's night;
Erin, oppress'd, shall bite the tyrant's heel,
And for a thousand years enslaved shall kneel;
Her sons shall perish in the field and flood,
Her daughters starve in city, wold, and wood;
Her patriots, with their blood, the block shall stain,
Her matrons fly behind the Western main;
Harpies from Albion shall her strength consume,
And thorns and thistles in her gardens bloom.
But, curse of curses thine, O! fated land:
Traitors shall thrive where statesmen ought to stand!
THE BLESSING.