Smyrna times., 1873-04-09
POeirY.
DELAWARE.

Dear little Delaware, my native State
Tho but speck, not least among the great; | '
To thee my weary footsteps ever bend,
For thee to heav my fervent pray'r [ send
That thy fair fame in splendcr still may rise,
And catch the smiles of angels in the skies.
Land of my fathers-cradle of the brave
Nurs ry of genius and the tyrants grave;
To thee l strike the golden string of praise,
And sing thy glories of departed days.
To thee the muse devotes her pensive hours
Amid the w'ry groves and woodland bow rs
| Delights to dwell beside thy purling streams,
| And feast her soul upon immortal dreams
The lofty waves, D Delaware, of thy food,
| And Brandywine, thy banks, distain with
blood,
Might well essay to wake nobler Tyre,
| A harp inspire with fame's eternal fire:
Yet |, the bard, unknown to bright renown,
Shall sing the greatwhat time the daring trown,
Like dark cloud, shot forth tremendous ire,
In one wide sheet of awful vengeance dire.
Ye sons whose fathers fed tyrannic sway,
To plant the church in wild America,
Who fed oppression, fairer joys to scan,
And boldly claim q the equal rights of man,
Ye can proclaim why Delaware rose in arms,
When British thunder spread the dire alarms:
And We can tell how she undaunted stood,
Like young tiger in the tide of blood;
Firm to the cause of liberty and right,
She dar' d the foe, unequal to the fight.
Witness the scene, o Brandywine beside
Thy stream of elegance, romance and pride;
There British valOur sunk in crimson woe,
There ran the tide of life from many foe,
There honor crown d brave Lafayette who bled,
/ And Glory famed around Pulaski head;
And tho proud Albion sleaders claim d the day,
I Freedonia's sons bore laurels bright away.
Nor there alone has valOur built her thrones;
Witness MacGonough and the dauntless Jones;
Champlain' wild murmur, and old ocean sroar,
Shall celebrate their tTiumphs evermore;.
Tn historians pencil shall their deeds relate,
!. And boast of hero's from old Delaware State :
, With HaSlet' name, who in his country scause,
I. Laid down his life, ransom for her laws,
!. Who, like brave man, in the battle stood,
And seal'd the contract with his sacred blood,
Shall these associate on the temple bold,
o. Written in characters of FURNISHED gold.
e. e., Nor less, o Delaware, thou Eden wild,
We Has brilliant genius on thy bosom smiPd.
s' Twas here a Bayard shed infantile tears,
-. And woke his thunder in maturer years.
We Fame saw him rise, and with admiring gaze,
u" Bestow d prousiOn of nation praise;
he And Europe listen d to his noble tongue,
in Which with the strains Of elOquence was hung
he NJ Lane now wakes his voice in Congress halls
er And Wilson pleads upon old Zion $ walls.
And many more the muse could yet rehearse,
es es Emblems of greatness-ornaments to verse.
ais Let these suffice lest prejudice should say
it. .ns Real merit sinks beneath vain display.
Old Delaware still steady to her course,
the Knows not the curse Of faction and of force
sSt s%. While Georgia rises in distracted might,
the Threat ming to sink her foes in endless night,
She still, serene, in peace and plenty stands,
a. Debating law to her patriot bands;
hall While Pennsylvania to contention draws,
" 0, And half her citizens condemn her laws,
4 iG While convention rings in every ear,
'eO And old John Bnns denies his anguish d fea
=. Still Del ware clings to her old constitution
Seard by the blood of one great ReUOtutiOn.
-, Thus may she stand, and never, never cease,
ss to First in the battle and the first in peace;
TT While dread convulsOns shake the nation rOun
May here the voice of faction never sound.
But why, q muse, her greatness only sing
While prosp' rous plenty breathes eternalsprlI
-, Beneath his fg-tree, here the patriot laid,
'AN Finds not a demi god to make afraid;
5tion 55t Here in his wids, the God of nature owns,
and Nor pours oblation at the foot of thrones:
tent" Yes these blest scenes to him are dearer far
Than those where usurpatiOn lifts her car
TS With liberty in deserts more content,
ss. Than with oppression on the banks OF Tren
At night the ploughman to his home return
No cottage now from Indian fury burns,
The war whoOp now no longer greets the ca
l. With thrilling terror and distracted fear,
The bloody Indian turks for prey no more,
their Nor tomahawks drink deep the purple gore
esDon The scaping knives are buried in the earth
ou"u- And give to plough shares trlumphal brit
r,,,.. In peace and JOY he leaves behind alarms,
trans And seeks his happiness in wOman's arms ;
Tisn t He hears no more tempestuOus blasts OF vi
printed Nor thund ring cannon believing from afar
1erSbis Ger fowery fields he casts his smiling eye,
And views serene, the unObstructed sky.
he ex- The goddess Ceres waves her golden grain,
on hc And lofty ships transport it Ger the main
en the To distant nations commerce wings her wa.
Offices And distant nations back their tributes pay
oSs1ss .Sfse This is the joy, o Delaware, to thee
show Since stern resistance set nation free:
there. Not the dark scheme ignoble North design
To sink the noblest race Of all mankind;
rents of Thus may the sons of freedom ever stand,
SsSGs pepsTt And deal affection to old Abons land;
hich IT But when oppression shews her iron chain
full to Then liberty shall rend the tie in twain,
halt hal. an an All commerce cease vndictive vengeance
fraction And TYRANNY resound thro' all the skies
q" tue Man shall remember brother man no more
~ own And murder drown blest peace in human
and a The lion tremble as he hears from far,
res q" The roaring tumults of approaching war,
disc nd And shake zen Britain, with the stern de-
ct to its That freedoms soil shall still be great and
states. MILFORD BAR
cable In
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Most men wish to write verse becau
plainly .bouo oraatar Etorarv ability Thou diSf