PALESTINE:

A PRIZE POEM,

RECITED

IN THE THEATRE, OXFORD,

IN THE YEAR MDCCCIII.

SYNOPSIS.

LAMENTATION over the miseries of Palestine-The guar dian angels of the land invoked-Subject proposed-Present appearance of the country, with its present inhabitants geographically described, beginning from the north-The Druses, from their situation and importance, first noticed-Contrast between the inhabitants of mountain and plain-Saracens and Bedouins (Nebaioth and Kedar)-Modern Jewstheir degraded state of banishment-Appeal to the Almighty in their behalf, founded upon his miraculous interpositions of old-Their former greatness-David-Solomon-His splendour-Popular superstitions respecting him-Improved state of the arts among the Jews-Their Temple-Firmness of the Jews under misfortunes-derived principally from their hopes of the Messiah-His advent-miracles-crucifixion-Consequent punishment of the Jews, in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and total desolation of the country-Scenes of Christ's sufferings, however, continued to be venerated-Pilgrimages-Holy Sepulchre-Empress Helena-Crusades-Nations which embarked in them described-English heroism-Edward the First-Richard Cœur de Lion-Palestine still the scene of British valour-Acre

Conclusion.

PALESTINE.

REFT of thy sons, amid thy foes forlorn,
Mourn, widow'd queen, forgotten Sion, mourn!
Is this thy place, sad City, this thy throne,
Where the wild desert rears its craggy stone?
While suns unblest their angry lustre fling,

And way-worn pilgrims seek the scanty spring?—
Where now thy pomp, which kings with envy view'd?
Where now thy might, which all those kings subdu'd?
No martial myriads muster in thy gate;

No suppliant nations in thy Temple wait;

No prophet bards, thy glittering courts among,
Wake the full lyre, and swell the tide of song :

But lawless Force, and meagre Want is there,

And the quick-darting eye of restless Fear,

While cold Oblivion, 'mid thy ruins laid,

Folds his dank winga beneath the ivy shade.

Ye guardian saints! ye warrior sons of heaven, To whose high care Judæa's state was given! O wont of old your nightly watch to keep, A host of gods, on Sion's towery steep! If e'er your secret footsteps linger still By Siloa's fount, or Tabor's echoing hill, If e'er your song on Salem's glories dwell, And mourn the captive land you lov'd so well;

a Alluding to the usual manner in which sleep is represented in ancient statues. See also Pindar, Pyth. I. v. 16, 17. “ κνώσσων ὑγρὸν νῶτον αἰωρεῖ.”

b Authorities for these celestial warriors may be found, Josh. v. 13. 2 Kings vi. 2. 2 Macc. v. 3. Ibid. xi. Joseph. Ed. Huds vi. p. 1282. et alibi paffim.

c It is scarcely necessary to mention the lofty site of Jeru salem. "The hill of God is a high hill, even a high hill as

"the hill of Bashan."

(For, oft, 'tis said, in Kedron's palmy vale
Mysterious harpings & swell the midnight gale,
And, blest as balmy dews that Hermon cheer,
Melt in soft cadence on the pilgrim's ear ;)
Forgive, blest spirits, if a theme so high
Mock the weak notes of mortal minstrelsy!

Yet, might your aid this anxious breast inspire
With one faint spark of Milton's seraph fire,
Then should my Muse ascend with bolder flight,
And wave her eagle-plumes exulting in the light.
O happy once in heaven's peculiar love,
Delight of men below, and saints above!
Though, Salem, now, the spoiler's ruffian hand
Has loos'd his hell-hounds o'er thy wasted land;
Tho' weak, and whelm'd beneath the storms of fate,

See Sandys, and other travellers into Asia.

• Common practice, and the authority of Milton, seem sufficient to justify using this term as a personification of poetry.