But, | sleepless | still, ¦ of the | universe, | Thy long appointed | watch: | And bid the north for- | ever | know its | place. Ages have witnessed | thy de- | voted | trust, | Un-changed, un-changing. When the sons of | God | Sent forth that shout of | joy which | rang through | heaven,| And echoed from the outer | spheres that | bound The il- | limitable | universe, || thy | voice | Joined the high | chorus; The glad | cry | sounded, from | thy | radiant | orbs | swelling to | his | praise | Who thus had | cast an- | other | sparkling | gem, | Little but | beautiful, | a- | mid the | crowd Of splendors that en- | rich his | firmament. As thou art | now, | so wast thou | then | the | same. Ages have | rolled their | course; | and | time grown | gray; | The seas have changed their beds; the e- | ternal | hills Have stoop'd with | age; the | solid | continents | Have left their banks; and man's im- | perial | works, | The toil, | pride, | strength of | kingdoms, which had|flung Their haughty | honors in the | face of | heaven, | As if im- mortal, Shatter'd and mouldering, have been | swept a- | way, 11 buried and for- | got. 1111 But | time has | shed | no | dimness on | thy | front, | Nor touch'd the | firmness of thy | tread; || youth, | strength, And beauty still are | thine, as clear, as | bright | As when the Al- mighty | Former | sent thee | forth, || Beautiful offspring of his | curious | skill, | To watch earth's | northern | beacon, | and | pro- | claim | The eternal | chorus of e- | ternal | love. I wonder as I gaze. That | stream of | light, | | | | | Un- dimmed, un- | quenched, just as I | | thee now, see Has issued from | those | dazzling points through | years | That go back | far into e- | ternity. For ever! | yea, | | 11 ever | spent, re- | newed | and those re- | fulgent | drops, | Which | now de- | scend upon my | lifted | eye, │ Left there far fountains | twice three years a- | go. 1111 While those winged | particles, whose | speed out- | strips The flight of thought, were on their way, the earth | Compassed its | tedious | circuit | round and | round; | And in the ex- | tremes of | annual | change be- | held | Six autumns | fade, | six | springs re- | new their | bloom: So far from earth those | mighty | orbs re- | volve! | So vast the void through | which their | beams de- | scend! | Ye glorious | lamps of | God, | He may have | quenched | | Your ancient | flames, and | bid e- | ternal | night | Rest on your spheres, and yet no | tidings | reach | This distant planet. || Messengers | still come, | | Laden with your | far | fire, | and we may | seem To see your lights | still | burning; | while their | blaze But | hides the | black | wreck of ex- | tinguished | realms, | Where anarchy and | darkness | long have | reigned. Yet what is | this, | which, to the as- | tonished | mind, Seems measureless, and which the | baffled | thought Con- founds? a span, a point in | those do- | mains, | Which the | keen eye can | traverse. Dwell in that brilliant | cluster, | Em- | braces | all at once; Seven stars | and the sight yet | each from | each Re- | sides as | far as | each of | them from | earth, |77| And every | star from | every | other | burns | No less remote. From the pro- | found of | heaven, Un- | travelled | e'en in | thought, | keen | piercing | rays | Earth, | sun, and | nearer | constel- | lations, | what Are | ye a- | mid this | infinite ex- | tent, And multitude of | God's | most | infinite | works! 1971 And these are | suns! | vast, | central, | living | Lords of de- | pendent | systems, || kings of | worlds, That wait as satellites upon their | power, | Blaze | round thee, | leading | forth their countless | worlds! | ◄ And | drink the | bliss of | being | from the | fount What tongue can | utter | all their | multitudes! | Of thee! || No, not the | humblest | soul that dwells A- mid the giant | glories of the | sky, | Like the mean | mote that | dances in the | beam, A-mongst the | mirrored | lamps which | fing Their wasteful | splendor from the | palace | wall, |◄ None, none es- cape the | kindness of thy | care; 71 All compassed under- | neath thy | spacious | wing, | Each fed and guided by thy | powerful | hand. Tell me, ye Ye mark the Your sway, splendid | orbs, | as from your throne rolling | provinces that | own what | beings | fill those | bright a- | bodes? How formed, how | gifted? | what their | powers, their state, | Their happiness, bear their | wisdom? || do they | The stamp of human | nature? || or has | God | | Still wear her native and un- | tainted | bloom? 191 Or has sin | breathed his | deadly | blight a- | broad, | And sowed cor- | ruption in those | fairy | bowers? | Has | war trod | o'er them | with his foot of | fire? | and And slavery | forged his | chains, and | wrath, | hate, | And sordid | selfishness, and I cruel | lust, | ។ Leagued their base | bands to | tread out | light and | truth, ¦ Upon the heart, or | weariness of | life, Hope | never | quenched, | And death un- | feared; youth | and | age un- | known, | while | fresh and | fadeless | Glows in the light from God's | near | throne of | love? | Open your lips, ye | wonderful and | fair! | Speak, speak! the mysteries of those | living | worlds Un-fold! No | language? | And everlasting | silence? | May | read and | under- | stand. Ever-lasting | light Yet the eye The | hand of | God | Has written | legibly what | man may | know, | The glory of the | Maker. || There it | shines, Ineffable, un- | changeable; and man, | | | | Bound to the surface of this | pigmy | globe, | May know and | ask no | more. |