172
FEMALE CHARACTERS OF SCRIPTURE.
III.
THE SONG OF MIRIAM.
A song for Israel's God!—Spear, crest, and helm,
Lay by the billows of the old Red Sea,
When Miriam's voice o'er that sepulchral realm
Sent on the blast a hymn of jubilee;
With her lit eye, and long hair floating free,
Queen-like she stood, and glorious was the strain,
E'en as instinct with the tempestuous glee
Of the dark waters, tossing o'er the slain.
A song for God's own victory!—O, thy lays,
Bright Poesy! were holy in their birth:—
How hath it died, thy seraph note of praise,
In the bewildering melodies of earth!
Return from troubling bitter founts—return,
Back to the life-springs of thy native urn!
