STANZAS

Sublime hath been thy conquest o’er the past, Stemming Oblivion’s torrent by thy might, Reading symbolic records long o’ercast By the deep shadows of unbroken night; Tracing with reverent finger names of kings That long had slumbered with forgotten things. The mists that deeply veiled historic rays, Thou art dispelling with resistless hand; And dynasties that flourished ere the days When Abraham forsook the promised land, No longer noteless, nameless, boldly claim Their lofty tablet in the arch of fame. Thy curious finger with a magic key Unlocked the store of ages, and the light, Flooding the pass of time, sublime and free, Decks ruined temples in its vesture bright: These are the relics of thy grandeur flown, Land of the Pharaohs and their prostrate throne. Ere the white stranger’s land had trodden been By foot of pilgrim, Egypt sat supreme, Queen of the nations, and her realm within Wealth, learning, power convened—a full, deep stream! The bulwarks of her throne were safely reared In hearts by which her greatness was revered. And now, with Science for his trusty guide, The stranger comes to read her mystic lore, Tread her deserted cities, stand beside Her sculptured temples, eloquent once more; Not with man’s voice, but with the nobler speech Of days beyond our spirit’s utmost reach. And those proud monuments of youthful time, The pyramids, whose lofty sides have borne The storms of centuries in that fierce clime, And seeming still to smile in speechless scorn, When bow the everlasting hills with age, Then shall they vanish from the world’s bright page. A mournful ruin to thy utmost bound, A type of glory long since passed away, The statue voiceless whence the thrilling sound Of gushing music hailed the rising day; Thus art thou now, oh Egypt! but the flame Of new-born Science gilds thine ancient name. And from the dust shalt thou arise once more, Not by thine own degenerate sons upreared, But strangers who have sought thy verdant shore Shall hail thy fallen greatness, still revered; Until among the kingdoms of the earth Thou shalt appear renewed—a second birth!