Page:Felicia Hemans in The New Monthly Magazine Volume 38 1833.pdf/2

This page has been validated.

The New Monthly Magazine, Volume 38, Page 16


REPOSE OF THE HOLY FAMILY.

A SONNET.BY MRS. HEMANS.


Under a palm tree, by the green old Nile,
    Lulled on his mother's breast the young child lies,
With dove-like breathings, and a tender smile
    Brooding above the slumber of his eyes:
And through the silence of the burning skies,
    Lo! the dread works of Egypt's buried kings,
Temple and pyramid, beyond him rise,
    Regal and still, as everlasting things.
Vain pomps! from Him, with that pure flowery cheek,
    Soft shadowed by his mother's bending head,
A new-born spirit, mighty and yet meek,
    Through the whole world like vernal air shall spread
And bid all earthly grandeurs cast the crown
Before the suffering and the lowly down.