Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-07-16


Summoning that one, whom God had chosen
First to unveil the promised heritage,
Repaird him to the place, where he was wont
To meet his High Commander, face to face,
And with him to converse. When they were
come
Into the tabernacle spake again
That uoice, as hov'ring Notwithstanding Ger
Them,-stood the cloud that long had been
their guide!
The sacred charge to Joshua is given;
Into his soul heavily zeal descending.
Nerves him, to battle bravely for his Lord.
Meanwhile, the Prophet with grave aspect sat,
Brooding, as It were, er some troubled vision ;
But, looking now, we see his eyes are raisd
AS if he held some converse with the clouds.
At length, when the last charge which he must
give
Unto his people was sent down from Heav'n,
When he had spoken it throughout the camp
Had given kindly his last aoorels of cheer
To them and to their leader,-then there FELL
As with dirge-like greeting. these deep tones,
Melting in mournful cadence ON his ear
Servant. thy course is run, thy day has come,
That thou must, too, forever dwell in peace,
As wrapt in slumber lie thy faithful sires;
Nor, shall it e'er be given thee, to cross
That sacred Threshold which forever bars
Thee from this land. 1 give to Israers race.
Yet, will lead thee to yon lowring height,
And let thee, ere call thee hence for aye,
Gain one fair prospect of this smiling land
Then shalt thou die gather'd at last above
Unto thy people,-to thy promised rest!'
The voice had ceas'd from speaking, and
now. save
When thro' the trees the light wind softly
play'd,
Rested pail of stiffness Ger the vale.
".
How must his heart, who, a lone wanderer
Cast forth upon the barren waste of life,
Shrink with deep dread as solennly draws
nigh
The dark and gloomy hour CT death. No hand
Ofloved one then extends to smooth for him
The rude and lonely pillow, soon upon
Which he must sleep his everlasting sleep;
No tender voice, at his departure, breathes
On the cold cheek some Whispered word of cheer,
Or tells him, as the ebbing tide recedes
How TREASURED will his mem'ry ever be;
No anxious eyes are near him now to weep.
AS the pale shadow of that ruthless hand
Settles at last upon his lifeless clay.
So must he die, a0ho low'ring storms had braved,
And tempests dire withstood, till now the port
Inviting lay before him, where he might
Find ease and safety,-but his luckless bark
Was sent adrift-an exile all alone:-
And while his people, far away, may weep
For him, whose life had always been their stay
And consolation in their sufferings,-
He shall be sleeping in a nameless grave,
With none permitted there to drop tear
Or raise frail memorial DER his tomb!
NIL
AS strong as when in boyhood's sunny years,
At eve he strolpd along the banks of Nile,
Or bounded through the halls of Pharo,-slow
From Jacobs goodly tents. which spread upon
The plain like gardens by the riverside,
He turns to scale grim Nebos rugged steep.
AS step by step he climbs the stony mount
Sometimes concealed by 81 huge frowning cliff,
That stands out, like warder. from the slope;
Then deep ravines cast round him their thick
shades,
RObing him in a sombre gar6 of light;
Till now. he stands on projecting crag
And scans with longing eye the plain below.
There, in full view, the great encampment lay,
Looking to him as peaceful as fold,
When claimed to rest beneath the setting sun.
Fain would the Prophet long enjoy this scene,
But, he must now resume his upWard course
So turns he, then, and with a youthful bound,
Onward he marks his solitary way!
Still up he labors towrd the barren crest,
Nor tires Mccullough, less aged limbs
Might well have shrunk before such arduous
task!
His heart now throbs with a redoubled beat,
Which tells him that the moments are but few,
Ere this, his Masters stern behest, is done;
For. as he the last barrier surmounts,
And stands on soil, strange to the tread Of
man.
AS if 'twere brought up through flood oflight,
That It might satiate his longing heart,
And prove the picture which his mind had
drawn
The future Home of Israel smiles beyond!
VI.
As merging from dark secluded dell,
Where Natures charms, cloak in deep forest
shades,
But half reveal their beauties to vhe eye,
The trav'ler, welcomed by the blithesome
scenes
Rejoices when he meets the picture fair,
OF fertile fields and ripping waters near
Which, kindly rursed within some sylvan /
nook,
An humble hamlet, haply, rears its spires:
SO did the Prophet now behold the land,
Which to the Patriarchal host was giv'n.
! no PActuro, uOucHcO Dy the OreaL ArtlSL'S |
hand,
Lay thrown upon the canvass of the earth.
Gazing to northward, first his vision fell
On the outline ofHermon's snowy range;
Whose fieecy crest seem'd dipping into sky
the picture from the world beyond
There, too. arose a scene which was the first
His youthful vision fondly dwelt upon =
Mount Lebanon clad in a purple robe
)f ancient cedars,-guarding, sentinel-like
Her gushing fountains of perpetual streams.
Long did his fearful eye in rapture greet
Her gentle slopes; and almost did he feel
Himself transported meath thoseroya boughs,
With oriental breezes whispering DER
The pleasant groves and pastures of Gilead
looked rich as gems set in kingly crown; =
While rose the sunny hills of Galilee,
n nearer prospect, on th'enrapturing scene.
Far away, westward, to the utmost sea,
n the dim distance, Carmels sunmit wild
And Sharon, in her rose-crowned beauty,
gleam'd.
here right below him, like the Orient queen 4
Its in perfum'd bower of richest flowers,
at Jericho, smiling in loveliness,
eneath her canopy of feathery palms. T.
arther beyond, kissing the horizons hem, II