Poetical Remains of the Late Mrs Hemans

by Felicia Hemans

POETICAL REMAINS

OF THE LATE

MRS HEMANS.

Vainly, too vainly 'gainst the power I strive,
Which, night and day, comes rushing through my soul!
Without that pouring forth of thought and song
My life is life no more!
Wilt thou forbid the silkworm to spin on,
When hourly with the laboured line he draws
Nearer to death?—In vain! the costly web
Must from his inmost being still be wrought,
Till he lies wrapt in his consummate shroud.
Oh! that a gracious God to us may give
The lot of that blest worm!—to spread free wings
And burst exultingly on brighter life,
In a new realm of sunshine!
⁠Translated by F. H. From the Tasso of Goethe.

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, EDINBURGH;
AND T. CADELL, STRAND, LONDON.
MDCCCXXXVI.

Contents.
	PAGE
Despondency and Aspiration⁠	1
The Huguenot's Farewell⁠	11
The English Boy⁠	15
Antique Greek Lament⁠	19
To a Picture of the Madonna⁠	23
Records of the Spring of 1834⁠	27
⁠ I. A Vernal Thought	28
⁠ II. To the Sky	29
⁠ III. On watching the Flight of a Sky-Lark	30
⁠ IV. On Records of Immature Genius	31
⁠ V. A Thought of the Sea	32
⁠ VI. Distant Sound of the Sea at Evening	33
⁠ VII. The River Clwyd in North Wales	34
⁠VIII. Orchard Blossoms⁠	35
⁠ IX. To a Distant Scene⁠	36
⁠ X. Thoughts connected with Trees	37
⁠ XI. The Same	38
⁠ XII. A Remembrance of Grasmere	39
⁠XIII. On reading Paul and Virginia in Childhood	40
⁠ XIV. A Thought at Sunset	41
⁠ XV. Images of Patriarchal Life	42
⁠ XVI. Attraction of the East⁠	43
⁠ XVII. To an Aged Friend	44
⁠XVIII. Foliage	45
⁠ XIX. A Prayer	46
⁠ XX. Prayer Continued	47
⁠ XXI. Memorial of a Conversation	48
Records of the Autumn of 1834	49
⁠ I. The Return to Poetry	49
⁠ II. On reading Coleridge's Epitaph written by Himself	50
⁠ III. Dreams of the Dead	51
⁠ IV. Hope of Future Communion with Nature	52
⁠ V. On the Datura Arborea	53
⁠ VI. On a Scene in the Dargle	54
⁠ VII. Design and Performance	55
⁠ VIII. The Poetry of the Psalms	56
⁠ IX. To Silvio Pellico on Reading his "Prigione,"	57
⁠ X. To the Same, Released	58
The Shepherd Poet of the Alps	59
Marguerite of France	71
The Free'd Bird	79
To the Mountain Winds	83
The Procession	86
To the Blue Anemone	90
The Broken Lute	94
The Burial in the Desert	101
The Maremma	105
Sebastian of Portugal	121
Translations from Horace	154
⁠ I. To Venus	154
⁠ II. To his Attendant	155
⁠III. To Delius⁠	157
⁠IV. To the Fountain of Bandusia	160
⁠V. To Faunus	163
⁠VI. In Imitation of part of Ode III. Book II.	165
On the Hebe of Canova	166
From the Italian of Filicaya	167
Ode on the Defeat of King Sebastian of Portugal, and his Army in Africa	168
Fragments from the Iphigenia of Goethe	176
⁠I. Joy of Pylades on hearing his Native Language	176
⁠II. Exclamation of Iphigenia on seeing her Brother	177
⁠III. Lot of Man and Woman compared by Iphigenia	178
⁠IV. Longing of Orestes for repose	179
⁠V. "Hark! in the trembling leaves,"	180
The Sculptured Children	181
The Voice of Music	186
The Chieftain's Son	189
Psyche borne by Zephyrs to the Island of Pleasure	192
Passing Away	196
Belshazzar's Feast	199
The Wish	206
Song for Air by Hummel	209
A Fragment	210
To a Wandering Female Singer	212
Song of the Spanish Wanderer	214
No More	216
To my own Portrait	219
The Broken Chain	222
The Angler	225
Dreams of Heaven	228
The Funeral Genius, an Antique Statue	232
The Song of Penitence	236
A Tale of the Fourteenth Century	239
The Bard's Farewell	267
The Prayer for Life	271
The Welcome to Death	275
Lines Written for the Album at Rosanna, in 1829	278
The Wanderer	279
Welsh Melodies	281
⁠I. Druid Chorus on the Landing of the Romans	283
⁠II. The Sea-song of Gavran	285
⁠III. The Hall of Cynddylan	287
⁠IV. The Lament of Llywarch Hen	289
⁠V. Grufydd's Feast	292
⁠VI. The Cambrian in America	295
⁠VII. The Monarchy of Britain	297
⁠VIII. Taliesin's Prophecy	299
⁠IX. Owen Glyndwr's War Song	302
⁠X. Prince Madoc's Farewell	306
⁠XI. Caswallon's Triumph	308
⁠XII. Howel's Song	310
⁠XIII. The Mountain-Fires	313
⁠XV. Eryri Wen	316
⁠XVI. Chant of the Bards before their Massacre by Edward I.⁠	319
Sabbath Sonnet	321