descriptive sketches.WW

WERE there, below, a spot of holy ground Where from distress a refuge might be found, And solitude prepare the soul for heaven; Sure, nature's God that spot to man had given Where falls the purple morning far and wide In flakes of light upon the mountain side; Where with loud voice the power of water shakes The leafy wood, or sleeps in quiet lakes. Yet not unrecompensed the man shall roam, Who at the call of summer quits his home, 10 And plods through some wide realm o'er vale and height, Though seeking only holiday delight; At least, not owning to himself an aim To which the sage would give a prouder name. No gains too cheaply earned his fancy cloy, Though every passing zephyr whispers joy; Brisk toil, alternating with ready ease, Feeds the clear current of his sympathies. For him sod-seats the cottage-door adorn; And peeps the far-off spire, his evening bourn! 20 Dear is the forest frowning o'er his head, And dear the velvet green-sward to his tread: Moves there a cloud o'er mid-day's flaming eye? Upward he looks--"and calls it luxury:" Kind Nature's charities his steps attend; In every babbling brook he finds a friend; While chastening thoughts of sweetest use, bestowed By wisdom, moralise his pensive road. Host of his welcome inn, the noon-tide bower, To his spare meal he calls the passing poor; 30 He views the sun uplift his golden fire, Or sink, with heart alive like Memnon's lyre; Blesses the moon that comes with kindly ray, To light him shaken by his rugged way. Back from his sight no bashful children steal; He sits a brother at the cottage-meal; His humble looks no shy restraint impart; Around him plays at will the virgin heart. While unsuspended wheels the village dance, The maidens eye him with enquiring glance, 40 Much wondering by what fit of crazing care, Or desperate love, bewildered, he came there. A hope, that prudence could not then approve, That clung to Nature with a truant's love, O'er Gallia's wastes of corn my footsteps led; Her files of road-elms, high above my head In long-drawn vista, rustling in the breeze; Or where her pathways straggle as they please By lonely farms and secret villages. But lo! the Alps ascending white in air, 50 Toy with the sun and glitter from afar. And now, emerging from the forest's gloom, I greet thee, Chartreuse, while I mourn thy doom. Whither is fled that Power whose frown severe Awed sober Reason till she crouched in fear? 'That' Silence, once in deathlike fetters bound, Chains that were loosened only by the sound Of holy rites chanted in measured round? --The voice of blasphemy the fane alarms, The cloister startles at the gleam of arms. 60 The thundering tube the aged angler hears, Bent o'er the groaning flood that sweeps away his tears. Cloud-piercing pine-trees nod their troubled heads, Spires, rocks, and lawns a browner night o'erspreads; Strong terror checks the female peasant's sighs, And start the astonished shades at female eyes. From Bruno's forest screams the affrighted jay, And slow the insulted eagle wheels away. A viewless flight of laughing Demons mock The Cross, by angels planted on the aerial rock. 70 The "parting Genius" sighs with hollow breath Along the mystic streams of Life and Death. Swelling the outcry dull, that long resounds Portentous through her old woods' trackless bounds, Vallombre, 'mid her falling fanes, deplores, For ever broke, the sabbath of her bowers. More pleased, my foot the hidden margin roves Of Como, bosomed deep in chestnut groves. No meadows thrown between, the giddy steeps Tower, bare or sylvan, from the narrow deeps. 80 --To towns, whose shades of no rude noise complain, From ringing team apart and grating wain-- To flat-roofed towns, that touch the water's bound, Or lurk in woody sunless glens profound, Or, from the bending rocks, obtrusive cling, And o'er the whitened wave their shadows fling-- The pathway leads, as round the steeps it twines; And Silence loves its purple roof of vines. The loitering traveller hence, at evening, sees From rock-hewn steps the sail between the trees; 90 Or marks, 'mid opening cliffs, fair dark-eyed maids Tend the small harvest of their garden glades; Or stops the solemn mountain-shades to view Stretch o'er the pictured mirror broad and blue, And track the yellow lights from steep to steep, As up the opposing hills they slowly creep. Aloft, here, half a village shines, arrayed In golden light; half hides itself in shade: While, from amid the darkened roofs, the spire, Restlessly flashing, seems to mount like fire: 100 There, all unshaded, blazing forests throw Rich golden verdure on the lake below. Slow glides the sail along the illumined shore, And steals into the shade the lazy oar; Soft bosoms breathe around contagious sighs, And amorous music on the water dies. How blest, delicious scene! the eye that greets Thy open beauties, or thy lone retreats; Beholds the unwearied sweep of wood that scales Thy cliffs; the endless waters of thy vales; 110 Thy lowly cots that sprinkle all the shore, Each with its household boat beside the door; Thy torrents shooting from the clear-blue sky; Thy towns, that cleave, like swallows' nests, on high; That glimmer hoar in eve's last light, descried Dim from the twilight water's shaggy side, Whence lutes and voices down the enchanted woods Steal, and compose the oar-forgotten floods; Thy lake, that, streaked or dappled, blue or grey, 'Mid smoking woods gleams hid from morning's ray 120 Slow-travelling down the western hills, to enfold Its green-tinged margin in a blaze of gold; Thy glittering steeples, whence the matin bell Calls forth the woodman from his desert cell, And quickens the blithe sound of oars that pass Along the steaming lake, to early mass. But now farewell to each and all--adieu To every charm, and last and chief to you, Ye lovely maidens that in noontide shade Rest near your little plots of wheaten glade; 130 To all that binds the soul in powerless trance, Lip-dewing song, and ringlet-tossing dance; Where sparkling eyes and breaking smiles illume The sylvan cabin's lute-enlivened gloom. --Alas! the very murmur of the streams Breathes o'er the failing soul voluptuous dreams, While Slavery, forcing the sunk mind to dwell On joys that might disgrace the captive's cell, Her shameless timbrel shakes on Como's marge, And lures from bay to bay the vocal barge. 140 Yet are thy softer arts with power indued To soothe and cheer the poor man's solitude. By silent cottage-doors, the peasant's home Left vacant for the day, I loved to roam. But once I pierced the mazes of a wood In which a cabin undeserted stood; There an old man an olden measure scanned On a rude viol touched with withered hand. As lambs or fawns in April clustering lie Under a hoary oak's thin canopy, 150 Stretched at his feet, with stedfast upward eye, His children's children listened to the sound; --A Hermit with his family around! But let us hence; for fair Locarno smiles Embowered in walnut slopes and citron isles: Or seek at eve the banks of Tusa's stream, Where, 'mid dim towers and woods, her waters gleam. From the bright wave, in solemn gloom, retire The dull-red steeps, and, darkening still, aspire To where afar rich orange lustres glow 160 Round undistinguished clouds, and rocks, and snow: Or, led where Via Mala's chasms confine The indignant waters of the infant Rhine, Hang o'er the abyss, whose else impervious gloom His burning eyes with fearful light illume. The mind condemned, without reprieve, to go O'er life's long deserts with its charge of woe, With sad congratulation joins the train Where beasts and men together o'er the plain Move on--a mighty caravan of pain: 170 Hope, strength, and courage, social suffering brings, Freshening the wilderness with shades and springs. --There be whose lot far otherwise is cast: Sole human tenant of the piny waste, By choice or doom a gipsy wanders here, A nursling babe her only comforter; Lo, where she sits beneath yon shaggy rock, A cowering shape half hid in curling smoke! When lightning among clouds and mountain-snows Predominates, and darkness comes and goes, 180 And the fierce torrent, at the flashes broad Starts, like a horse, beside the glaring road-- She seeks a covert from the battering shower In the roofed bridge; a the bridge, ill that dread hour, Itself all trembling at the torrent's power. Nor is she more at ease on some 'still' night, When not a star supplies the comfort of its light; Only the waning moon hangs dull and red Above a melancholy mountain's head, Then sets. In total gloom the Vagrant sighs, 190 Stoops her sick head, and shuts her weary eyes; Or on her fingers counts the distant clock, Or, to the drowsy crow of midnight cock, Listens, or quakes while from the forest's gulf Howls near and nearer yet the famished wolf. From the green vale of Urseren smooth and wide Descend we now, the maddened Reuss our guide; By rocks that, shutting out the blessed day, Cling tremblingly to rocks as loose as they; By cells upon whose image, while he prays, 200 The kneeling peasant scarcely dares to gaze; By many a votive death-cross planted near, And watered duly with the pious tear, That faded silent from the upward eye Unmoved with each rude form of peril nigh; Fixed on the anchor left by Him who saves Alike in whelming snows, and roaring waves. But soon a peopled region on the sight Opens--a little world of calm delight; Where mists, suspended on the expiring gale, 210 Spread rooflike o'er the deep secluded vale, And beams of evening slipping in between, Gently illuminate a sober scene:-- Here, on the brown wood-cottages they sleep, There, over rock or sloping pasture creep. On as we journey, in clear view displayed, The still vale lengthens underneath its shade Of low-hung vapour: on the freshened mead The green light sparkles;--the dim bowers recede. While pastoral pipes and streams the landscape lull, 220 And bells of passing mules that tinkle dull, In solemn shapes before the admiring eye Dilated hang the misty pines on high, Huge convent domes with pinnacles and towers, And antique castles seen through gleamy showers. From such romantic dreams, my soul, awake! To sterner pleasure, where, by Uri's lake In Nature's pristine majesty outspread, Winds neither road nor path for foot to tread: The rocks rise naked as a wall, or stretch 230 Far o'er the water, hung with groves of beech; Aerial pines from loftier steeps ascend, Nor stop but where creation seems to end. Yet here and there, if mid the savage scene Appears a scanty plot of smiling green, Up from the lake a zigzag path will creep To reach a small wood-hut hung boldly on the steep, --Before those thresholds (never can they know The face of traveller passing to and fro,) No peasant leans upon his pole, to tell 240 For whom at morning tolled the funeral bell; Their watch-dog ne'er his angry bark foregoes, Touched by the beggar's moan of human woes; The shady porch ne'er offered a cool seat To pilgrims overcome by summer's heat. Yet thither the world's business finds its way At times, and tales unsought beguile the day, And 'there' are those fond thoughts which Solitude, However stern, is powerless to exclude. There doth the maiden watch her lover's sail 250 Approaching, and upbraid the tardy gale; At midnight listens till his parting oar, And its last echo, can be heard no more. And what if ospreys, cormorants, herons, cry Amid tempestuous vapours driving by, Or hovering over wastes too bleak to rear That common growth of earth, the foodful ear; Where the green apple shrivels on the spray, And pines the unripened pear in summer's kindliest ray; Contentment shares the desolate domain 260 With Independence, child of high Disdain. Exulting 'mid the winter of the skies, Shy as the jealous chamois, Freedom flies, And grasps by fits her sword, and often eyes; And sometimes, as from rock to rock she bounds The Patriot nymph starts at imagined sounds, And, wildly pausing, oft she hangs aghast, Whether some old Swiss air hath checked her haste Or thrill of Spartan fife is caught between the blast. Swoln with incessant rains from hour to hour, 270 All day the floods a deepening murmur pour: The sky is veiled, and every cheerful sight: Dark is the region as with coming night; But what a sudden burst of overpowering light! Triumphant on the bosom of the storm, Glances the wheeling eagle's glorious form! Eastward, in long perspective glittering, shine The wood-crowned cliffs that o'er the lake recline; Those lofty cliffs a hundred streams unfold, At once to pillars turned that flame with gold: 280 Behind his sail the peasant shrinks, to shun The 'west', that burns like one dilated sun, A crucible of mighty compass, felt By mountains, glowing till they seem to melt. But, lo! the boatman, overawed, before The pictured fane of Tell suspends his oar; Confused the Marathonian tale appears, While his eyes sparkle with heroic tears. And who, that walks where men of ancient days Have wrought with godlike arm the deeds of praise, 290 Feels not the spirit of the place control, Or rouse and agitate his labouring soul? Say, who, by thinking on Canadian hills, Or wild Aosta lulled by Alpine rills, On Zutphen's plain; or on that highland dell, Through which rough Garry cleaves his way, can tell What high resolves exalt the tenderest thought Of him whom passion rivets to the spot, Where breathed the gale that caught Wolfe's happiest sigh, And the last sunbeam fell on Bayard's eye; 300 Where bleeding Sidney from the cup retired, And glad Dundee in "faint huzzas" expired? But now with other mind I stand alone Upon the summit of this naked cone, And watch the fearless chamois-hunter chase His prey, through tracts abrupt of desolate space, Through vacant worlds where Nature never gave A brook to murmur or a bough to wave, Which unsubstantial Phantoms sacred keep; Thro' worlds where Life, and Voice, and Motion sleep; 310 Where silent Hours their deathlike sway extend, Save when the avalanche breaks loose, to rend Its way with uproar, till the ruin, drowned In some dense wood or gulf of snow profound, Mocks the dull ear of Time with deaf abortive sound. --'Tis his, while wandering on from height to height, To see a planet's pomp and steady light In the least star of scarce-appearing night; While the pale moon moves near him, on the bound Of ether, shining with diminished round, 320 And far and wide the icy summits blaze, Rejoicing in the glory of her rays: To him the day-star glitters small and bright, Shorn of its beams, insufferably white, And he can look beyond the sun, and view Those fast-receding depths of sable blue Flying till vision can no more pursue! --At once bewildering mists around him close, And cold and hunger are his least of woes; The Demon of the snow, with angry roar 330 Descending, shuts for aye his prison door. Soon with despair's whole weight his spirits sink; Bread has he none, the snow must be his drink; And, ere his eyes can close upon the day, The eagle of the Alps o'ershades her prey. Now couch thyself where, heard with fear afar, Thunders through echoing pines the headlong Aar; Or rather stay to taste the mild delights Of pensive Underwalden's pastoral heights. --Is there who 'mid these awful wilds has seen 340 The native Genii walk the mountain green? Or heard, while other worlds their charms reveal, Soft music o'er the aerial summit steal? While o'er the desert, answering every close, Rich steam of sweetest perfume comes and goes. --And sure there is a secret Power that reigns Here, where no trace of man the spot profanes, Nought but the 'chalets', flat and bare, on high Suspended 'mid the quiet of the sky; Or distant herds that pasturing upward creep, 350 And, not untended, climb the dangerous steep. How still! no irreligious sound or sight Rouses the soul from her severe delight. An idle voice the sabbath region fills Of Deep that calls to Deep across the hills, And with that voice accords the soothing sound Of drowsy bells, for ever tinkling round; Faint wail of eagle melting into blue Beneath the cliffs, and pine-woods' steady 'sugh'; The solitary heifer's deepened low; 360 Or rumbling, heard remote, of falling snow. All motions, sounds, and voices, far and nigh, Blend in a music of tranquillity; Save when, a stranger seen below, the boy Shouts from the echoing hills with savage joy. When, from the sunny breast of open seas, And bays with myrtle fringed, the southern breeze Comes on to gladden April with the sight Of green isles widening on each snow-clad height; When shouts and lowing herds the valley fill, 370 And louder torrents stun the noon-tide hill, The pastoral Swiss begin the cliffs to scale, Leaving to silence the deserted vale; And like the Patriarchs in their simple age Move, as the verdure leads, from stage to stage: High and more high in summer's heat they go, And hear the rattling thunder far below; Or steal beneath the mountains, half-deterred, Where huge rocks tremble to the bellowing herd. One I behold who, 'cross the foaming flood, 380 Leaps with a bound of graceful hardihood; Another, high on that green ledge;--he gained The tempting spot with every sinew strained; And downward thence a knot of grass he throws, Food for his beasts in time of winter snows. --Far different life from what Tradition hoar Transmits of happier lot in times of yore! Then Summer lingered long; and honey flowed From out the rocks, the wild bees' safe abode: Continual waters welling cheered the waste, 390 And plants were wholesome, now of deadly taste: Nor Winter yet his frozen stores had piled, Usurping where the fairest herbage smiled: Nor Hunger driven the herds from pastures bare, To climb the treacherous cliffs for scanty fare. Then the milk-thistle flourished through the land, And forced the full-swoln udder to demand, Thrice every day, the pail and welcome hand. Thus does the father to his children tell Of banished bliss, by fancy loved too well. 400 Alas! that human guilt provoked the rod Of angry Nature to avenge her God. Still, Nature, ever just, to him imparts Joys only given to uncorrupted hearts. 'Tis morn: with gold the verdant mountain glows More high, the snowy peaks with hues of rose. Far-stretched beneath the many-tinted hills, A mighty waste of mist the valley fills, A solemn sea! whose billows wide around Stand motionless, to awful silence bound: 410 Pines, on the coast, through mist their tops uprear, That like to leaning masts of stranded ships appear. A single chasm, a gulf of gloomy blue, Gapes in the centre of the sea--and, through That dark mysterious gulf ascending, sound Innumerable streams with roar profound. Mount through the nearer vapours notes of birds, And merry flageolet; the low of herds, The bark of dogs, the heifer's tinkling bell, Talk, laughter, and perchance a churchtower knell: 420 Think not, the peasant from aloft has gazed And heard with heart unmoved, with soul unraised: Nor is his spirit less enrapt, nor less Alive to independent happiness, Then, when he lies, out-stretched, at eventide Upon the fragrant mountain's purple side: For as the pleasures of his simple day Beyond his native valley seldom stray, Nought round its darling precincts can he find But brings some past enjoyment to his mind; 430 While Hope, reclining upon Pleasure's urn, Binds her wild wreaths, and whispers his return. Once, Man entirely free, alone and wild, Was blest as free--for he was Nature's child. He, all superior but his God disdained, Walked none restraining, and by none restrained Confessed no law but what his reason taught, Did all he wished, and wished but what he ought. As man in his primeval dower arrayed The image of his glorious Sire displayed, 440 Even so, by faithful Nature guarded, here The traces of primeval Man appear; The simple dignity no forms debase; The eye sublime, and surly lion-grace: The slave of none, of beasts alone the lord, His book he prizes, nor neglects his sword; Well taught by that to feel his rights, prepared With this "the blessings he enjoys to guard." And, as his native hills encircle ground For many a marvellous victory renowned, 450 The work of Freedom daring to oppose, With few in arms, innumerable foes, When to those famous fields his steps are led, An unknown power connects him with the dead: For images of other worlds are there; Awful the light, and holy is the air. Fitfully, and in flashes, through his soul, Like sun-lit tempests, troubled transports roll; His bosom heaves, his Spirit towers amain, Beyond the senses and their little reign. 460 And oft, when that dread vision hath past by, He holds with God himself communion high, There where the peal of swelling torrents fills The sky-roofed temple of the eternal hills; Or when, upon the mountain's silent brow Reclined, he sees, above him and below, Bright stars of ice and azure fields of snow; While needle peaks of granite shooting bare Tremble in ever-varying tints of air. And when a gathering weight of shadows brown 470 Falls on the valleys as the sun goes down; And Pikes, of darkness named and fear and storms, Uplift in quiet their illumined forms, In sea-like reach of prospect round him spread, Tinged like an angel's smile all rosy red-- Awe in his breast with holiest love unites, And the near heavens impart their own delights. When downward to his winter hut he goes, Dear and more dear the lessening circle grows; That hut which on the hills so oft employs 480 His thoughts, the central point of all his joys. And as a swallow, at the hour of rest, Peeps often ere she darts into her nest, So to the homestead, where the grandsire tends A little prattling child, he oft descends, To glance a look upon the well-matched pair; Till storm and driving ice blockade him there. There, safely guarded by the woods behind, He hears the chiding of the baffled wind, Hears Winter calling all his terrors round, 490 And, blest within himself, he shrinks not from the sound. Through Nature's vale his homely pleasures glide, Unstained by envy, discontent, and pride; The bound of all his vanity, to deck, With one bright bell, a favourite heifer's neck; Well pleased upon some simple annual feast, Remembered half the year and hoped the rest, If dairy-produce, from his inner hoard, Of thrice ten summers dignify the board. --Alas! in every clime a flying ray 500 Is all we have to cheer our wintry way; And here the unwilling mind may more than trace The general sorrows of the human race; The churlish gales of penury, that blow Cold as the north-wind o'er a waste of snow, To them the gentle groups of bliss deny That on the noon-day bank of leisure lie. Yet more;--compelled by Powers which only deign That 'solitary' man disturb their reign, Powers that support an unremitting strife 510 With all the tender charities of life, Full oft the father, when his sons have grown To manhood, seems their title to disown; And from his nest amid the storms of heaven Drives, eagle-like, those sons as he was driven; With stern composure watches to the plain-- And never, eagle-like, beholds again! When long-familiar joys are all resigned, Why does their sad remembrance haunt the mind? Lo! where through flat Batavia's willowy groves, 520 Or by the lazy Seine, the exile roves; O'er the curled waters Alpine measures swell, And search the affections to their inmost cell; Sweet poison spreads along the listener's veins, Turning past pleasures into mortal pains; Poison, which not a frame of steel can brave, Bows his young head with sorrow to the grave. Gay lark of hope, thy silent song resume! Ye flattering eastern lights, once more the hills illume! Fresh gales and dews of life's delicious morn, 530 And thou, lost fragrance of the heart, return! Alas! the little joy to man allowed Fades like the lustre of an evening cloud; Or like the beauty in a flower installed, Whose season was, and cannot be recalled. Yet, when opprest by sickness, grief, or care, And taught that pain is pleasure's natural heir, We still confide in more than we can know; Death would be else the favourite friend of woe. 'Mid savage rocks, and seas of snow that shine, 540 Between interminable tracts of pine, Within a temple stands an awful shrine, By an uncertain light revealed, that falls On the mute Image and the troubled walls. Oh! give not me that eye of hard disdain That views, undimmed, Einsiedlen's wretched fane. While ghastly faces through the gloom appear, Abortive joy, and hope that works in fear; While prayer contends with silenced agony, Surely in other thoughts contempt may die. 550 If the sad grave of human ignorance bear One flower of hope--oh, pass and leave it there! The tall sun, pausing on an Alpine spire, Flings o'er the wilderness a stream of fire: Now meet we other pilgrims ere the day Close on the remnant of their weary way; While they are drawing toward the sacred floor Where, so they fondly think, the worm shall gnaw no more. How gaily murmur and how sweetly taste The fountains reared for them amid the waste! 560 Their thirst they slake:--they wash their toil-worn feet And some with tears of joy each other greet. Yes, I must see you when ye first behold Those holy turrets tipped with evening gold, In that glad moment will for you a sigh Be heaved, of charitable sympathy; In that glad moment when your hands are prest In mute devotion on the thankful breast! Last, let us turn to Chamouny that shields With rocks and gloomy woods her fertile fields: 570 Five streams of ice amid her cots descend, And with wild flowers and blooming orchards blend;-- A scene more fair than what the Grecian feigns Of purple lights and ever-vernal plains; Here all the seasons revel hand in hand: 'Mid lawns and shades by breezy rivulets fanned, They sport beneath that mountain's matchless height That holds no commerce with the summer night. From age to age, throughout his lonely bounds The crash of ruin fitfully resounds; 580 Appalling havoc! but serene his brow, Where daylight lingers on perpetual snow; Glitter the stars above, and all is black below. What marvel then if many a Wanderer sigh, While roars the sullen Arve in anger by, That not for thy reward, unrivalled Vale! Waves the ripe harvest in the autumnal gale; That thou, the slaves of slaves, art doomed to pine And droop, while no Italian arts are thine, To soothe or cheer, to soften or refine. 590 Hail Freedom! whether it was mine to stray, With shrill winds whistling round my lonely way, On the bleak sides of Cumbria's heath-clad moors, Or where dank sea-weed lashes Scotland's shores; To scent the sweets of Piedmont's breathing rose, And orange gale that o'er Lugano blows; Still have I found, where Tyranny prevails, That virtue languishes and pleasure fails, While the remotest hamlets blessings share In thy loved presence known, and only there; 600 'Heart'-blessings--outward treasures too which the eye Of the sun peeping through the clouds can spy, And every passing breeze will testify. There, to the porch, belike with jasmine bound Or woodbine wreaths, a smoother path is wound; The housewife there a brighter garden sees, Where hum on busier wing her happy bees; On infant cheeks there fresher roses blow; And grey-haired men look up with livelier brow,-- To greet the traveller needing food and rest; 610 Housed for the night, or but a half-hour's guest. And oh, fair France! though now the traveller sees Thy three-striped banner fluctuate on the breeze; Though martial songs have banished songs of love, And nightingales desert the village grove, Scared by the fife and rumbling drum's alarms, And the short thunder, and the flash of arms; That cease not till night falls, when far and nigh, Sole sound, the Sourd prolongs his mournful cry! --Yet, hast thou found that Freedom spreads her power 620 Beyond the cottage-hearth, the cottage-door: All nature smiles, and owns beneath her eyes Her fields peculiar, and peculiar skies. Yes, as I roamed where Loiret's waters glide Through rustling aspens heard from side to side, When from October clouds a milder light Fell where the blue flood rippled into white; Methought from every cot the watchful bird Crowed with ear-piercing power till then unheard; Each clacking mill, that broke the murmuring streams, 630 Rocked the charmed thought in more delightful dreams; Chasing those pleasant dreams, the falling leaf Awoke a fainter sense of moral grief; The measured echo of the distant flail Wound in more welcome cadence down the vale; With more majestic course the water rolled, And ripening foliage shone with richer gold. --But foes are gathering--Liberty must raise Red on the hills her beacon's far-seen blaze; Must bid the tocsin ring from tower to tower!-- 640 Nearer and nearer comes the trying hour! Rejoice, brave Land, though pride's perverted ire Rouse hell's own aid, and wrap thy fields in fire: Lo, from the flames a great and glorious birth; As if a new-made heaven were hailing a new earth! --All cannot be: the promise is too fair For creatures doomed to breathe terrestrial air: Yet not for this will sober reason frown Upon that promise, nor the hope disown; She knows that only from high aims ensue 650 Rich guerdons, and to them alone are due. Great God! by whom the strifes of men are weighed In an impartial balance, give thine aid To the just cause; and, oh! do thou preside Over the mighty stream now spreading wide: So shall its waters, from the heavens supplied In copious showers, from earth by wholesome springs, Brood o'er the long-parched lands with Nile-like wings! And grant that every sceptred child of clay Who cries presumptuous, "Here the flood shall stay," 660 May in its progress see thy guiding hand, And cease the acknowledged purpose to withstand; Or, swept in anger from the insulted shore, Sink with his servile bands, to rise no more! To-night, my Friend, within this humble cot Be scorn and fear and hope alike forgot In timely sleep; and when, at break of day, On the tall peaks the glistening sunbeams play, With a light heart our course we may renew, The first whose footsteps print the mountain dew. 670 1791 & 1792.

Pasurams for the Lord at Thiruvananthapuram.

Nammalwar is the only alwar to have sung pasurams to this Lord at Thiruvananthapuram.
in 3678.
he request the devotees to go to the Lord at Thiruvanantapuram and if obstacles come just mention Kesava and even Yama cannot come near you.
he uses the words"Kootrin tamargalum kuruga gillaar" the alwar says Kesava nama sankirtana will obviate experiencing the troubles associate with hell.
he also uses Vida mudai aravil refering to the divine serpant Adisesha as a venomous serpent. and the myraid kainkaryam he performs to the lord the only nitya suri not ever to get separated from the Lord. he says Adisesha is the yellow Peethamba cloth worn by the Lord, he is also the sandal worn by the lord when he walks, he is the bed when he lies down, he is also the chair on which the Lord sits, he is also the umbrella when the Lord walks for ever protecting the Lord. He is the inseparable from the Lord.
in 3679.
he uses the wordsUllu vaarku refering devotion through meditation, through mind body and tongue to recite at least a few names of the Lord at Thiruvanantapuram which is equivalent to reciting the Sahasranamam, and that not only one would reach the holy shrine but also be assured of Paramapada. he uses the word Poi pugutheer, the walking to the temple itself involving the body and the mind he is sure to think of only the Lord when one visits this magnificent temple.
in 3680
the alwar says that all ills and sins will get wiped out if with unswerving devotion and single minded attention you reach Thiruvanantapuram and offer supreme devotion to the Lord who resides there. He has Garuda as Vahanam and also on his flag mast. he is the same who during the deluge swallowed the worlds and kept them safe within him and later brought it out to continue this creation. he pleads with the devotees to please take at least any one of his thousand names and assures them that it would rid them of all their ills. he uses "Theeyinil doosaagum seppu" saying just like the cotton when ablaze is completely consumed with out any trace so to on taking the Lords name all sins will get destroyed thus proving the efficacy of chanting the Lords name.
in 3681
he says Oh ye men without any hesitation, proclaim loudly that those who are able to worship and shower flowers on the Lord who resides in Thiruvanantapuram, surrounded by the sea and full of luscious fields and scented flower groves are indeed very fortunate. he wonder what is the good deed they have done to merit such fortune?
in 3682
he says oh ye men I categorically with conviction affirm that those who worship the twin lotus feet of the Lord at Thiruvanantapuram full of scented groves, are equal to Nityasuris in being able to enjoy the divine presence. here he uses "Ennumin entha namam" there are no limitations of either time or any other constraints for repeating the Thirunamam of the Lord. he goes on to say the desire itself is sufficient to put an end to the cycle of births and deaths thus further proclaming the benifits of reciting the Lords Thirunamam. Patram, pushpam, phalam, toyam. conveying that ordinary flowers fruits water or even leaves are gladly accepted by the Lord and no costly ingredients are necessary to pray to the Lord. (mud flowers were accepted too)
in3683
if you worship the lord at Thiruvantapuram you will get qualified to render antharanga kainkiarya to the Lord he uses the word "Amarar aai Thirginraarkatku"  and "Amarar kone archikinru angu" and also "Naamum poi naduga vendum" Shiva Brahma Visvaksena and others also come to worship the lord here. he also seems to tell that the nitya suris worship him through the mukha dwara Brahma and other gods through the madya or middle dwara and the devotees of the world through the Pada dwara.
in 3684
by sprinkaling scented water making colourful kolams cleaning up the temple precincts will make one eligible for moksa. even today people perform the cleaning task in spirit and honour the words of Nammalwar. he uses the words "Pambanai male pallikondar" he says the Lord in the Yoga nidra pose is all the time contemplating as to how to safeguard and protect the world that he himself has created.
in 3685
here he says ye men go and worship the feet of the Anantha Padmanabha ye sure will be rid of all of your sins. he uses the words "Kodi vinai kadayal aagum" even the worst of the sins will be redeemed with the Lord's help here. he also says "Kaamanai payantha kaalai" "Naam umakku ariya sonnome" manmadha the son of Rukmini and Krishna has the quality of being ever youthful and beautiful also called Pradyumna.
an interesting story.
It is said that Manakkal Nambi the sishya of Naathamuni taught Alavandar all the basic tenets of Vaishnavism. and he advised him to go to Kurugai Kaavalappan and learn through him the yoga rahasyas. Alavandar accordingly went to requested Kurugai Kaavalappan to teach him he was advised to come at a later date. meantime Alavandar went to Srirangam and it was the time of Adyayana utsavam here he was enjoying the Araiyar sevai and listening to the beautiful pasurams the lines "Ezhil ani Ananthapuram oadumudai aravill palli payinravan paadam Kaana nadamino Namargalulleer naam umakku ariya sonnom." which on account of his deep concentration seemed to be repeating itself in his minds eye and therefore giving him a message to go to Thiruvananthapuram. once there our Alwar lost himself in service to the lord and the appointment with Kurugai Kavalappan too forgotten.
in3686 and 3687
he is in an urgent need to convey the message to all humanity that they have to approach the Lord in the temple and seek his blessings. itseems as if the Alwar is aware of his time on earth coming to a close and with his last words too wants to fulfill his purpose of living among mortals, drawing them too to see the Magnificent Lord at Thiruvananthapuram.
in 3688
The phala stuthi sloka emphasising that those who recite thses 10 verses and worship the Lord at Thiruvananthapuram will indeed be enjoying the union with the Lord in Paramapada too.

3794:##
ketum idaraayavellaam* kEchavaa venna* naaLum-
kotuvinai seyyum* kooRRin thamargaLum kuRukakillaar*
vidamudai aravilpaLLi* virumpinaan surumpalaRRum*
thadamudai vayal* anandhapura_nagarp pukuthuminRE.  (2) 10.2.1

1. Just Call lovingly "Kesavaa!" once. All sorrows will disappear. Even
the terrific yama kimkarars (Yama's men) get shivers when they hear
"Kesavan" name and will not come near us. Hence, We will reach today
itself such Emperumaan's place Thiruvananthapuram where He has, most
willingly, out of His own desire, appeared and be present Permanently.
Thiruvanathapuram is the place where Emperumaan has the venomous
AdhisEshan as His bed and reclines on it. Let us reach that beautiful
Divya dEsam today. (Right now!)

3795:
inRupOyp pukuthiraakil* ezumaiyum Ethamchaaraa*
kunRunNaer maatamaatae* kurundhuchEr serundhipunnai*
manRalar pozil* anandhapura_nagar maayan_naamam*
onRumOr aayiramaam* uLLuvaarkku umparoorE. 10.2.2

2. At Thiruvananthapuram, tall, huge, mountain like buildings are there;
Nearby lots of trees, lots of fragrant flowers, and most beautiful gardens
are there. If you reach such a beautiful Divya dEsam, you will never get
in any of your future births at all. Every name of the Lord who is here at
this sthalam, is capable of granting you fruits equivalent to the thousand
names of His. Hence, those who recite His name at this place, this place
itself is Paramapadham (Sri Vaikuntam).

3796:
oorumput kodiyum aqthE* ulakellaam undumizndhaan*
chErum thaNNanandhapuram* sikkenap pukuthiraakil*
theerum_nOy vinaikaLellaam* thiNNa_naam aRiyachchonnOm*
pErum OraayiraththuL* onRu_neer pEchuminE. 10.2.3

3. Emperumaan has the Strongest GarudA as His vaahanam. The same GarudA-
he has as His flag for His chariot. The Bhagawaan, who ate and brought the
universe back, after the PraLayam (Cosmic cycle) is here most gracefully
presenting Himself at Thiruvananthapuram. If you enter into this Divya
dEsam, all diseases, all sins, will immediately evaporate.  Let me tell
you all one thing firmly and decisively. Enjoy His Greatness and kalyANA
guNAs by uttering at least one of His Greatest unparalleled, unmatched
Names.

3797:
pEchumin koochaminRip* periya_neer vElaichoozndhu*
vaachamE kamazum chOlai* vayalaNiyanandhapuram*
nEchaNYcheythu uRaikinRaanai* neRimaiyaal malargaLthoovi*
poochanai seykinRaargaL* puNNiyam seythavaaRE. 10.2.4

4. Thiruvanathapuram is hugged by the vast deep ocean waters; Most
fragrant gardens surrounding the paddy fields are filled entirely in this
fertile Divya dEsam. Offer flowers and perform Thiruvaaraadhanam as per
saashthrAs to this Bhagawaan, who, most willingly shows Himself, at this
sthalam. Those who do that are blessed ones. And please do not feel shy or
ashamed of talking about such puNyavaans (blessed people) and their
bhAgyams.

3798:
puNNiyam seythu* _nalla punalotu malargaLthoovi*
eNNumiNn endhai_naamam* ippiRappaRukkum appaal*
thiNNam_naam aRiyachchonnOm* seRipozil anandhapuraththu*
aNNalaar kamalapaatham* aNukuvaar amararaavaar. 10.2.5

5. Have unalloyed deep, sincere bhakti on Emperumaan and offer pure water
and flowers in your arcchanai and think of His Names. Such a thought and
prayer will remove this birth cycle. Those who reach the Lotus Feet of
Thiruvananthapiram Emperumaan will become NityasUris for sure. It is
definite and have no doubts about it. We have told this assertively in
order to let everyone know of this great factual truth.

3799:
amararaayth thirikinRaargatku* aathichEr anandhapuraththu*
amarar_kOn archchikkinRu* angakappaNi seyvarviNNOr*
namargaLO! sollakkENmin* naamumpOy naNukavEndum*
kumaranaar thaathai* thunbam thudaiththa kOvindhanaarE. 10.2.6

6. This Emperumaan- Govindhan- is the One who removed the sin of
SubrahmaNyan's Father, Sivan (refer recent posts on 5th head of BrahmA!).
He is such Greatest Supreme Lord of all. Those who call themselves as
Devas also pay obeisance to Him as their Lord. Such Primordial Chief is
present here majestically and permanently at Thiruvananthapuram and is
worshiped even by VishvaksEnar (Senai Mudali) at this Divya sthalam. Even
NiyasUris and Mukthars, likewise, perform their kaimkaryams, to this Lord
here. Oh My DEAREST BHAAGAWATHAAS!  Listen to me please! Let us also join
these NityasUris and involve ourselves deeply in Bhgawath Kaimkaryams.

3800:
thudaiththa kOvindhanaarE* ulakuyir thEvummaRRum*
padaiththa emparamamoorththi* paampaNaip paLLikondaan*
madaiththalai vaaLaipaayum* vayalaNiyanandhapuram*
kadaiththalai seeykkappeRRaal* kaduvinai kaLaiyalaamE. 10.2.7

7. This Emperumaan- Govindhan- is the One who creates all the worlds, all
beings, all demi Gods, and everything - is the One who re-creates all of
these again after MahApraLayam. He is The Grandest and Greatest Primordial
Lord. Such Supreme Lord, is so simple to offer Himself for us at this
place for us, (the Greatest and Grandest mahA Sinners) to have such an
easy accessibility to Him here at Thiruvananthapuram. He reclines so
beautifully on AdhisEshan as Hs Bed. IF WE GO HERE (THIRVANDRUM) AND DO
SOME MOPPING WORK AND CLEANING UP KAIMKARYAM AT THE TEMPLE ENTRANCE, ALL
OUR IRREMOVABLE SINS WILL SIMPLY DISAPPEAR. (Dearest Sisters and Brothers!
Read the message! We shall perform such mopping, cleaning kaimkaryams at
temples- Sri yathirAjar was performing the kaimkaryam of bringing well
water to the temple. We should NEVER EVER think that it is not the work of
one who knows so much slOkams, has done kaalakshEpams, etc.. etc.. or one
who has earned so much dollars, or in a respected high post (manager) in a
firm - how can "we" do such cleaning the dirt from temples? No! what will
others think of me?. Great jnAni, BhakthA, Our kulapathi NammAzhwAr, our
Dearest AchAryA Sri rAmAnujAchAryA have advised  and done that. Where are
we? Are we learned( poginRa jnAnam? Pollaa ozhukkam?), wealthy? (naasthi
pithuraarjitham kinchith namayaa kinchithaarjitham).

3801:
kaduvinai kaLaiyalaakum* kaamanaip payandhakaaLai*
idavakai kondathenbar* ezilaNiyanandhapuram*
padamudaiyaravil paLLi* payinRavan paathamkaaNa*
nadaminO namargaLuLLeer!* naam umakkaRiyach chonnOm. 10.2.8

8. Bhagawaan- The Father of Manmathan (Cupid), is staying permanently at
this beautiful Divya dEsam Thiruvanathapuram. He is reclining on the Bed
of AdhisEshan here. To see His Lotus Feet and pay obeisance to Him , all
of you!  my dear ones! proceed towards this place. If you do that, the
enormous amounts of sins that you have accrued over the ages can simply
vanish. I just want to let you all know that.

3802:
naam umakku aRiyachchonna* naaLkaLum naNiyavaana*
chEmam naNnkudaiththukkandeer* seRipozilanandhapuram*
thooma_nal viraimalargaL* thuvaLaRa aayndhukondu*
vaamanan adikkenRu eththa* maayndhaRum vinaikaLthaamE. 10.2.9

9. FOR ALL OF YOU (Dearest Sisters and Brothers), THE FINAL DAYS ON DEATH
BED ARE FAST APPROACHING! This lovely Divya dEsam Thiruvananthapuram can
do good to us and protect us. You can really experience it here. Hence,
collect fragrant flowers, some incense sticks sincerely, without any
faults, and worship Him and pay obeisance to this Lord of
Thiruvanathapuram, by placing those flowers at the Lotus feet of Sri
Anantha PadmanAbhan, who came as Vaamanan. If you all do that, all paapams
will automatically vanish.

3803:
maayndhaRum vinaikaLthaamE* maathavaa enna* naaLum-
Eyndhapon mathiL* anandhapura nagarendhaikkenRu*
chaandhotu viLakkamthoopam* thaamarai malargaL_nalla*
aayndhukoNtu Eththavallaar* andhamil pukazinaarE. 10.2.10.

10. If you call Emperumaan as "MADHAVAA!", the same moment, all your sins
will disappear. Hence, those who can gather pure Sandal, Lotus flowers,
incense sticks, and a ViLakku (lamp), go daily to Thiruvanathapuram,
(which is surrounded by tall ramparts), and pay obeisance to the Lord
Emperumaan AnanthapadmanAbhan, will attain limitless, unbounded fame and
state.

3804:##
andhamil pukaz* anandhapura nagar aathithannai*
kondhalar pozil* kurukoor maaRan chollaayiraththuL*
aindhinOtu aindhumvallaar* aNaivar_pOy amarulakil*
paindhodi madandhaiyar_tham* vEymaru thOLiNaiyE.  (2) 10.2.11

11. The unbounded, limitless Greatest Lord Emperumaan is gracefully and
permanently staying in this Divya dEsam of Thiruvanathapuram and He is the
Primordial Chief and is the Parama Purushan. Sri SadagOpar of
Thirukkurugoor has song these ten (out of his 1000 pAsurams) pAsurams on
Thiruvananthapuram Emperumaan Sri AnanathaPadmanAbhan. Those who read
these ten ARE SURE TO ATTAIN SRIVAIKUNTAM and attain Nitya vibhUtI at the
end of their present lives. There (at Sri vaikuntam), they will be served
by Devamaathar (ladies in Deva lOkam) who have beautiful bamboo like
shoulders. (means: They all will be served with reverence, sincerity  and
affection, love by Deva maathargaL. However,  AARaayirappadi vyAkhyAnam
interprets little differently and in a beautiful manner: In as much as the
loving husbands are served lovingly, affectionately by their beautiful
wives, the readers of these ten will be served at Srivaikuntam.)

God reaching out to the alwar.

Who but Nammalwar can be the one.
ref verses 3722 to 3732 in these 11 verses in the eedu written by Nampillai he says the lord is eager to locate the alwar and seeks his company to lift him bodily to heaven. he has let the alwar be amongst the people so that he can sing the glories of the Lord to guide the other jeevathmas. here the alwar is seen conversing with his own mind and impressing on his mind the simplicity of the Lord, the magnitude of the lords love for his devotees. how very far away we are from even qualifying to be called a devotee of the Lord.
In the Phalastuthi the alwar says that the Nitya suris wish to listen to these pasurams of nammalwar and instead of satisfying them increases their desire to want to listen more and more of the verses sung by Nammalwar. no doubt the Lord too enjoys the verses by nammalwar.

to be continued.

A Brahmin widow, plate of rice salt and mango.(Tiruvattar)

Raja Marthanda Varma once was going about incognito trying to escape from his enemies who were after him. one night he happened to reach a brahmin widow's hut for the nights rest. the poor lady could offer to the king what she herself was to have for dinner. which was a plate of rice with salted mango. the hungry worried king did have the meal and relished it. when he regained his kingdom he wanted to pay back to the women her generous deed and also that the generations hence would be made aware of the kind lady he instituted the large plate of rice with salted mango to be offered at the temple of the Lord Adikesava to the Lord and thereafter to be given as neivedhyam prasadam to the old lady. this practice does continue even today where the family members of the kind old lady get the offerings.

Kulasekar alwar's pasurams for the Lord of Thiruvithvacode.

Pasurams 688 to 697.
Each pasuram reflects one aspect of the sambandha between jeevatma and paramathma.
in 688.
He picturises himself as a child and Perumal as mother.
in 689.
he is the dutiful wife and Perumal the Husband.
in 690.
He is the subject and Perumal the Raja.
in 691.
He is the Patient and God the doctor.
in 692.
He is a lone bird perched on the sail of the ship and Perumal the ship.
in 693.
He is the lotus flower and Perumal the Sun.
in 694.
He is the crop in need of water and Perumal the rain bearing cloud.
in 695.
He is the river that merges into the ocean which the Perumal is.
in 696.
He is the property and the Lord the owner of all the property.
in 697.
He is the supplicant medicant and the Lord the Benevolent, kind and extremely compassionate paramathma.
The perumal will not only reward the jeevathma of the alwar but of all those who read and recite the above ten pasurams

Akananuru

Akananuru As many as 145 poets are said to have contributed to Akananuru collection.^[2] Perunthevanaar, who translated theMahabharatham into Tamil, is one of the authors. Rudrasarman compiled this anthology^[3] at the behest of thePandya king Ukkiraperuvazhuthi.

Date

It is highly likely that the poems in Akananuru collection were prevalent independently before they were collected and categorized in this present form. The anthology is dated to around the first and the second century C.E. The poems probably are of a much earlier date. At least few poems must belong to 5th century BC to 3rd BC depending on the structure of poems. There were mentions of Nanda and Mauryas in few poems, which eventually date these poems to 4th to 3rd centuries BC.

Poetic characteristics

This book comes under the Akam (subjective) category in its subject matter. Ancient Tamil poems was categorised into the broad categories of Akam- Subjective, dealing with matters of the heart and human emotions, andPuram  Objective, dealing with the tangibles of life such as war, politics, wealth, etc. The poems of this anthology are of the Akaval meter.

In the poems on Akam, the aspects of love of a hero and a heroine are depicted. The story of love is never conceived as a continuous whole. A particular moment of love is captured and described in each poem as the speech of the hero or the lady-companion or somebody else. A young man leading a peaceful life of love and affection with his wife is referred as "A bird with two heads and one soul".^[4] Women are always referred as Mangala Mahilar, Melliyal Mahalir, Seyelai Mahalirand Manaiyal - all of these indicating the soft characterization and glorifying the house hold presence of women folk during the Sangam period.^[4] The auspicious time of wedding was considered to be the harvest season.^[5] A high standard of moral virtue seems to have prevailed among women of household.^[5]

Akananuru contains 401 stanzas and is divided into three sections^[2]

1. Kalintruyanainirai  121 stanzas
2. Manimidaipavalam  180 stanzas
3. Nittilakkovai  100 stanzas

Akananuru: Mullai - Poem 4

(The heroine’s companion consoles her friend at the advent of the rainy season)

The rumbling clouds winged with lightning

Poured amain big drops of rain and augured the rainy season;

Buds with pointed tips have sprouted in the jasmine vines;

The buds of Illam and the green trunk Kondrai have unfolded soft;

The stags, their black and big horns like twisted iron

Rushed up toward the pebbled pits filled with water

And leap out jubilantly having slaked their thirst;

The wide expansive Earth is now free

From all agonies of the summer heat

And the forest looks exceedingly sweet;

Behold there O friend of choicest bangles!

Our hero of the hilly track will be coming soon,

Driving fast his ornate chariot drawn by the steeds

With waving plumes and trimmed manes

When the stiffly tugged reins

Will sound like the strumming of Yal.

As he drives, he has the chariot bells tied up

So as not to disturb the union of bees

That live on the pollen of the blossoms in the bushes.

He rushes onward thinking all along of your great beauty.

O friend whose fragrance is like unto the blossoming Kantal

On the mountain, tall and huge,east of Urantai of dinsome festivity!

Venkanna.

Srinivasa nine paliso, Sritajanapala, Ganalola Srimukundane
Dhyana malpa sajjanara manadinda Paripalisuva, Venugopala Govinda, Veda vedya nityananda.

OSrinivasa surely you are my saviour you, shelter of those who seek your feet; one who finds joy in music, O Mukunda 
Those good souls who meditate upon you. You care for them and reward them.
O Venugopala Govinda you are knowable by the vedas, you are joy eternal.

Yendige nina padabjava ponduva
sukha yendige labhyavo madhava;
andhakaranyadalli nindu tattarisu 
tiheno, andadim bhavabdhiyolu
nindu nondeno Mukunda.

When Oh! when can I touch your lotus feet and be happy?
In the forest of darkness I stand and stagger;
In the ocean of births and deaths i stay and suffer
O Srinivasa, surely you are my saviour.

Kvacit prhvisayya kvachidapi ca paryankasayanah,
Kvacicchakaharah kvacidapi ca salyodana ruchi
kvacit kanthadhari kvacidapi ca divyambaradharo,
Manasvi karyarthi na ganayati duhkham na ca sukham.

To him who is bent upon reaping success, sometimes the earth will serve as bed, sometimes he may be lucky to roll upon a soft mattress. sometimes he may have to live upon green leaves; sometimes he may be treated with luxurious rice preperations. sometimes he may have to go in ragged clothes; sometimes he may wear brocaded silks. he is neutral to sorrow as well as happiness. All his attention is concentrated upon the task at hand.
In this way Venkanna's mind was engrossed with the thought of Lord Srinivasa.  

Sampatsu mahatam cittam bhavatyutpata komalam,
Apatsu ca mahasailasilasamghatakarkatam.

In the happy state the minds of great souls become soft as the blue lotus; but when in difficulties their mind gets hardened like the rocks of the hill. those rocks then are not disturbed by wind or rain and they face them boldly.

The lord seems ready to leave vikunta too but not abandon his baktha.
Vaikuntham va parityakse na bhaktan tyaktumutsahe. 

Kimalabhyam Bhagavati prasanne Sriniketane.

when Srinivasa smiles, what is impossible to gain! honours and comforts come seeking the person so blessed.