Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1825-01-29
POETRY.

POETRY.
r,om he NATIONAL BstslIgener, Of M@ea Sd
f' - 1924
ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
TO G. xKRcrR, ESQ.
Awhile from public cares the muse woulo lA''
Thy thoughtful mind, Oh Mercer suaSe 20
gain,
Tho Gar removed her destiny from thine,
One link at least in sympathy may JOIN;
ria love ofcountry in thy bosom sways'
And love of country too. inspires heriays
In deep resolve methinks see thee stand,
Survey the map of thy lov'd native land
Trace out the course forpubhc ways deslgn'd'
The fertile wales where beauteous rivers wind'
Amid the mountains, seek an opening wide,
Where western waves to eastern shores may
glide,
On mark the sites where cities soon shall rlse'
with heartfelt rapture sparkling IN thine eyes;
Illust,ious task the last and anxious ann
Of Washington. Oh may the hero's name
focal views each statesman's mind divest,
And with fresh ardour FIRE the patriots breast ;
That every heart and every han nay join,
To aid the progress of the vast design. Issued!
How bright the course by him thro' life pur-
Who knew no interest, save his country's good
Tho base intriguers oft condemned his aiIn,
And men yet viler, dar'd assault his fame,
Still kept in view-this ever glorious goal,
Undamp'd the sacred ardour of his soul
Thus the strong eagle cleaves the liquid sky
To his proud eyry on some mountain high,
Tho birds of evil omen urge his stay.
Hears their vain clamours distant die away;
Tho fiocks and feebler prey beneath him lie,
Turns not on them his onward-dartng eye:
One only object claims his peering sight,
He scars and perches on the cragsy height
Behold, the dawn of our improvements rise!
Diffusing radience DER these eastern skies;
ind soon the fertile regions of the west,
Shall with the genial influence too be blest
Rise then, my muse, on freedom'spinions borne,
Be thine tn aspiring task to hail the morn.
Internal Commerce is that pulse, whose rate
Strong and UNMARRIED. marks healthful state;
Canals-her arteries, first receive the flood,
End Roads, Ike veins, diffase the general good
The system this imperial China sways,
End marx what wealth her fertile shore dis
plays;
Within herbounds, tho swarming myriads live,
Nought does she need that foreign chimes can
give,
No flag has she on distant seas unfurled,
Yet draws tribute from the Christian world.
This too the course, by keen-ey'd patriots
plan'd. [land.
With strength and treasures blest Brittania's
While Spain for riches sought distant coast,
acquired by rapine,-by oppression lost lsold,
To neighboring States now sees her interests,
And ike spendthrift mourns her squander'd
gold.
When from the Gauges to the frozen zone,
The imperious tarterf calrd each realm his
own; Hand,
And gems and gold were sparkling round the
What then resulted to the warrior band ,
Were they in wealth and happiness mature
No, they were fierce, rough, harbarous poor.
Nay that great powerwhose all.pevading ken,
Beholds afar the destimes ofmen,
Our peaceful land preserve from martial reign,
From rage Of conquest, and from lust ofgain.
Oh when in thoughtful mood, ! ponder Ger
The widespread blessings Of my native shore;
Her cultivated plains, underwriting woods,
Aspiring cities. and majestic floods;
Her lakes immense, adorned with islets green,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS rising o'erthe scene;
What fervent feelings glow within my breast!
How springs the soul exulting Ger the west!
Then fancy, mounting on triumphant wings,
The raptur'd thought in pleasing vision brings,
Where Allegheny rears his head on high,
And seems the clouds and tempests to defy
How rich! how varied! is the scene below
Here forests wave-there winding rivers flow:
See where Ohio, gushing from his source,
Thro' plain and valley takeshis devious course;
Now pent by hills, with woods and crags DER
hung,
Bursts, half unseen, the sylvan shades among;
Now wide dispread, the beauteous sheet dis.
plays
The broad effalgence Of the noontide blaze,
While many youthful city. rising fan.
Smiles DER the wave & views her image there.
Through six vast States the ausmentng wa
tiers glide.
when mighty Mississippi swells the tide.
Majestic, now, thro' fertile wales they sweep,
And bear their treasures 10 the rolling deep.
ipnumercss arks. with ponderous burthens
fr.nght
From distant shores and fruitful valHes brought
Adown the streams impetuous current glide,
Like mans fiail bah. on times resistless tide,
Soon IS hey reach their Ast longdestn'd
shore. -. 4-s SEQ $3.50