Roses and thistles

Front matter

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Dedication

They still to me have constant been,

In calm and storm, through thick and thin.

The}' 've been with me in many a land- On mountain wild, on desert sand. On meadow green, and where the breeze Sings softly o'er the rolling seas. They 've stood around my lonely bed, And silent tears of grief have shed, When wasting sickness laid its hand Upon me in a foreign land.

Index

Page

Dedication — An Apology to Charles D. Lane 5

Preface 7

The Genius of Progress — California 17

Malinche ; An Aztec Romance 30

The Tree of " La Noche Triste " . . . . 78

Epistle to a Friend [Thomas T. Bouldin] 81

To a Withered Rose 88

To the Memory of the Rose — Twenty Years Later .90

Under a Cloud 92

The Shadowy Land — Part I. 93

" —Part II no

Hymn to the Angels of Beauty 126

Harmony .... 128

Losada ; A Mexican-Indian Tale 129

Man's Heritage of Freedom 159

Lament of the Guardian of Earth 170

To the Toiling Sons of Earth 179

A Fragment — Lines on the Spirit of the Times .184

The Dying Sinner and the Confessor 197

The Holy Coat 206

The Materialist and the Spiritualist . . 207

The Ancestry of Man : A Soliloquy 220

The Improvement of the Human Race 222 lo INDEX,

God Is Love! The Theologian and the Free-Thinker . . 229 Good and Evil. The Priest and the Philosopher -233

An Apology for the Devil 244

The Unpardonable Sin 246

A Chat with Horatio. Some Philosophic Advice about Hornets 247

Suffering 249

''Lay On, Macduff!" 251

Compensation 252

Adversity 254

The Children of Erin 260

To the Genius of Poesy . 261

To a Picture of Tom Moore 263

To the Memory of Robert Burns 264

William Shakespeare . 265

Henry Fielding .... 268

Westminster Abbey 269

To James Linen 270

Letter to a Friend 276

Song to Willie 277

To Johnnie 279

To a Sweet Singer of the Songs of Scotland . 280

Answer to David Calderwood 282

Allopathy and Homeopathy 285

Gambling: A Defence of Governor Haight 287

Woman 291

Cuerudo 292

Slander 293

Fashion 294

INDEX. II

The Miser 296

Prayer of the Rev. Ezekiel Mucklewrath 308

To a Land-Bird at Sea 314

The Shepherd's Lament 315

Adieu to Thee, Effie 317

The Broken Heart 318

Recollections of Childhood 319

The Wanderer's Dream of Childhood 321

The Willow Tree 324

To Clara — On My Fiftieth Birthday 330

Song to Little MoUie 332

To Little Mary Asleep 333

To Mary — On Her Fifteenth Birthday 334

To Clem 336

On the Death of a Poor Young Girl 337

On the Death of a Friend, Who Died Among Strangers 338

Epitaph on Sophie 341

In Memory of Harry . 341

In Memory of Clara 342

On the Death of Dick, a Canary-Bird 344

On a Lee-Shore 351

My Seventieth Birthday 353

Old Age and Time 355

The Voices of Childhood 366

A Greeting to Carlos and Miguel 368

A Fragment— "How long, O Nature, must I stay?" ... 370

To Ila- On Her Eighteenth Birthday 371

12 INDEX.

To Ila — On Her Marriage 372

They Have All Gone Before 377

The Minstrel's Last Song 379

I '11 Strike the Epic Lyre No More 381

Death Scene 382

The Two Harps 383

Old Man and Death 384

Let Me Not Sleep In the Valley Low 386

Bones and the Grave-Digger 388

The Argonauts of California 390

A Los Mejicanos de California 393

The Immortal Spirit 394

The Hermit and the Prince: A Lesson of Life .396

Drifting 406

Imaginary Conversations between a Student of Nature and Sages of

Antiquity 407

Conversation I. Student and Pythagoras .... 408

Conversation II. Student and Pythagoras ... 414

Conversation III. Student and Pythagoras ... 424

Conversation IV. Student, Pythagoras, and Ancient One 433

Conversation V. Student and Ancient One 443

Conversation VI. Student and Ancient One .... 453

Conversation VII. Student and Ancient One 468

ROSES AND THISTLES

THE GENIUS OF PROGRESS.

CALIFORNIA.

The Warrior writes his name in blood Where once fair Art and Science stood, And sleeps, accursed by human groans. Beneath a monument of bones.

The Poet leaves a deathless name Upon the loftiest peaks of Fame, Round which eternal sunbeams play, While empires rise and pass away. The Grecian mount has echoed long To Homer's lyre of epic song, And still the voice of Roman days Is heard in Virgil's pastoral lays. On Albion's moors and meadows green Immortal Shakspeare still is seen; The burning words of Byron's pen Still linger on the tongues of men; Hibernia's muse in sorrow weeps Where Tara's harp in silence sleeps; And heathery hill and flowery dell Still of the bard of Scotia tell.

Led by these beaming stars of light, Let nie attempt a daring flight ! That I, perchance, a name may give To coming years that long shall live. I '11 carve it on the eternal rock

* This poem was suggested by reading some N-ears since a work on 'Geology, by one Evan Hopkins, in which was advanced a theory under -which the highest type of the human race would probably be found in the northern hemisphere of the earth.— H.

i8 THE GENIUS OF PROGRESS.

That still defies the earthquake's shock !

I '11 write it on the loftiest peak

Of hoary mountain, bare and bleak !

I '11 leave it on the sunny plain

Where wave wide fields of bearded grain

I '11 trace it on the golden strand

Of this far-spreading, beauteous land

That looks with glance so proud and free

Far o'er the rolling Western sea !

Then, come, my Muse ! my soul inspire, And tune for me the magic lyre, That I from mount and plain may bring The Genius of the land I sing :

What do I see ? A female form

Borne wildly on the rising storm !

A flowing, feathery robe she wears;

A sacrificial knife she bears;

Her dusky arms are sprinkled o'er

With purple stains of human gore,

And in her burning eyes I trace

The Genius of the Aztec race !

With angry brow, and flashing eye

She points to where old ruins lie.

That mark where once her temples stood;

And her grim altars streamed with blood.

She 's borne away upon the breeze That floats across the Western seas — Another form I now behold, Clad in the garb of minstrel old; She bears the ancient shield of Spain, And chants a sad Iberian strain. Hark ! to the wailing song she sings To her wild harp of broken strings:

No more by Duero's winding stream I '11 tread with step of pride,

Nor sing the songs of love again By Ebro's rolling tide.

" In stern Asturias' mountain land No more of war I '11 sing, Nor hear the shining Moorish blade On Spanish helmet ring.

" Hushed is Hispania's voice of pride; Her days of power are o'er; Her mighty chieftains all are gone; Her minstrels sing no more.

" No longer now her galleons spread Upon the ocean breeze The proudest banner that was seen Upon the Indian seas! "

With drooping head she passes on; The weeping Genius now is gone — But crumbling ruins still prolong The echoes of her wailing song.

And who is she that's coming now, Of queenly form and lofty brow ? Her rosy cheek and bright blue eye Tell of a cold and wintry sky. A mountain pine in snowy field Is shown upon her sturdy shield. And, by her spear and Cimbric brand, She comes, I know, from Odin's land.

Bright Genius of the icy North, Why hast thou left thy land of birth ? What seek'st thou in this sunny clime That ne'er has heard of Runic rhyme ?

" I come to tell thee, son of song, Of ages past, forgotten long — And that I now may show to thee A page of dim futurity.

" My cradle was by mountain streams,

'Mid rugged hills and forests hoar; My cradle-song the mighty winds

That swept a wild, tempestuous shore. My playmates were the howling storms;

I sported with the thunders loud; My rugged couch of flinty rock

Was curtained by the mountain cloud. The forked lightning's vivid glare

Flashed fiercely on the brow of night, And crimsoned were the murky clouds

By the volcano's lurid light.

" But this was when the earth was )^oung;

I cannot count the ages o'er Since first I saw the lightning's flash,

And heard the thermal oceans roar! 'T was in those ages dim and dark.

When mightiest thunders shook the earth, Before the golden cloud was seen.

That Nature gave my spirit birth. And, nursed 'mid such tempestuous scenes,

I learned my savage strength to try 'Gainst powers that rent the heaving earth,

And storms that swept the boreal sky.

*' But, as the ages rolled along

And decked the earth with tree and flower, I found that Nature's generous laws

Had given to me a loftier power: The light of Reason slowly dawned,

And shed its brightness on my soul. And whispering voices bade me rise

And Nature's wildest powers control.

" I looked abroad upon the earth; I looked upon the roUing sea; And with exultant pride I felt

That my proud empire these should be !

THE GENIUS OF PROGRESS.

'With mountain pine, and rugged stone,

A dwelling rude I made, And from the dark and sullen ore

I wrought the shining blade !

I smote the savage beast of prey,

I scaled the beetling crag, And o'er the wide and grassy plain

I chased the bounding stag !

" And age on age thus rudely passed,

When lo ! a brighter fire Burned on the altar of my soul.

And waked a new desire.

I looked again upon the earth.

And on the ocean blue, I looked upon the bloommg flower

That drank the morning dew.

My savage home distasteful grew;

I longed for brighter things; I heard the voice that softly breathed

The song that Beauty sings.

"I pruned the wild and wayward vine;

I tilled the sunny plain, And with a beaming eye of pride

Beheld the golden grain !

I watched the play of light and shade

On Nature's smiling face, And learned to paint the tree and flower,

And forms of beauty trace.

"The Column, Frieze, and Capital

I from the quarries wrought.

And in the marble's silent bed

The sleeping Graces sought !

With tireless hand, the sculptured stone

In Theban walls I laid, And reared on many a classic mount

The marble colonnade !

'"Neath Chaldea's bright, transparent skies, I watched the stars by night, And worshipped on the Persian hills The burning orb of hght !

*' I watched the feathery vapors rise

From out their drowsy sleep, And saw them borne on breezy wings

Across the vaulted deep.

And when loud thunders shook the skies,

I saw the clouds again Poured down upon the thirsty earth

In showers of summer rain.

" As I beheld the ages roll, A new ambitio7i fired my soul ! I watched the course of Nature's laws. And longed to learn the secret cause That bade the starry lamps to burn And brought the seasons in their turn.

"Young Science came!— a spirit bright, Who, with a magic key of light. Unlocked the treasure-house of Mind, And bade me seek, if I would find.

''That I this counsel heeded well, Let History and Tradition tell ! Go read the ancient records o'er, And pages bright of modern lore.

" In ages now in darkness hid, I reared the lofty pyramid; And records left that yet remain On Persian mount and Indian plain !

" In cavern dark, and desert lone, I sought the fabled magic stone, Whose touch could light the silent urn And bid the dust to life return.

" With silent seer and hoary sage I scanned by day the occult page; And still beneath the astral light I sought the magic lore by night.

** Through ages dim (now quite forgot) I sought the charm, but found it not — Alchemic science failed to tell Of magic stone or mystic spell.

" Yet though the stars all silent were,

They shed a light on me That led me on to range the fields

Of bright Astronomy !

With old Copernicus I watched

The circling seasons run.

And traced the rolling planet's path

Around the central sun !

I stood by Newton when he cast

His plumb-line in the deep, And learned the laws that bid the orb

Its circling orbit keep !

Saw Franklin chain the rending bolt,

And clip the lightning's wing, And make its fiery, forked tongue

A quiet, harmless thing ! 'T was I, that taught laborious Watt

To use the mighty force That drives the frigate o'er the deep

And rides the iron horse ! 'T was I inspired far-seeing Morse

To teach the electric fire To bear a message round the earth

Upon a slender wire !

" Now list to the sound of the humming wheel, And list to the thundering forge ! And hark to the neigh of the iron steed, As he drives through the mountain gorge !

These are my servants, and these are my slaves

That labor and toil as I will; They toil all the day, and toil all the night,

And are fresh and vigorous still. They feed on the wind; they feed on the flame;

They feed on the flash of the leven; They ask not for rest, for their fierce-throbbing veins

Are coursed by the lightnings of heaven ! A highway they 've made o'er mountain and plain;

Have sounded the ocean so deep, And a pathway have laid for the treading of Thought

Through the realms where the dark billows sleep ! They bore to the base of mountain and hill,

And seek in the caverns of night The red golden dust, and the white silver ore,

And the gems that glitter so bright ! Their footsteps are heard where the earthquake treads;

They speak in the voice of the thunder; And with the fierce strength they bear in their arms

They rend the dark mountains asunder ! They ride on the breeze, they touch the soft lute.

And weave from the sunshine and shower The carpet that covers the meadow so green

And the soft, bright leaf of the flower."

PROPHECY.

Strike now a harp of bolder string, And of the coming future sing ! And prophesy in song sublime Of things still in the womb of time.

CALIFORNIA.

The smiling Genius waves her hand, And lo ! I see a beauteous land — The brightest land that e'er I've seen, Of vine-clad hill and meadow green. The city, town, and village tell Of millions in this land that dwell;

And cultured field and fruitful vine Tell that it flows with milk and wine. Amid the humming sound of life I hear no voice of angry strife, — For smiling Peace and Concord reign From mountain top to sunny plain. The warrior's sword is rusted now; No laurels deck his haughty brow; His shining spear and sounding shield Now prune the vine and till the field. Strong Labor now, with skilful hand. With wisdom tills the fruitful land, While Science woos the smiling earth And watches for her children's birth ! Harmonious sounds, from far and near Fall sweetly on my listening ear — The age of strife and blood has passed, And Wisdom rules the world at last.

The picture fades — the charm is broke, — And thus again the Genius spoke:

" Now, son of song immortal, go —

And tune thy harp to notes sublime; And sing of man's far-reaching mind

That shall outlive the breath of Time I Its empire is creation wide;

And, borne on Wisdom's wing of liglit, It yet shall reach the brightest realms

And sound the darkest caves of niglit.

"Behold the far-off twinkling star

That lights the solemn, soundless deepi Go watch the trembling drops of dew

That on the rose's bosom sleep! And know that thou the laws shalt learn

That formed the far-off rolling sphere; That gilds the cloud, and paints the flower,.

And shapes the silent falling tear."

Sail Francisco, January, 1870.

THE COMET AND THE MORTAL.

Tell me, highwayman of the skies,

Where in thy wanderings thou hast been ?

And tell me of the rolling orbs That in thy travels thou hast seen ?

And tell me, wanderer, what thou art — Sporadic light, without a place ?

Or ghost of some departed world. Now homeless in the realms of space ?

Or monster of abnormal birth, Untimely by convulsion hurled

From Nature's all-engendering womb. An embryo of abortive world ?

And, like an outcast, doomed to roam Through solar realms and Stygian night,

Until thy wandering life shall end. And thy pale torch shall lose its light !

Then, tell me, wanderer of the skies. Where on thy journey thou hast been?

And tell me of the rolling orbs That in thy travels thou hast seen ?

I 'm from that lonely region far

Where Darkness dwells and Silence sleeps; Where solar beams are never felt.

Nor rolling orb Time's measure keeps.

Where balanced forces mark the line That bounds the realms of solar sway.

Where laws attractive, shifting turn — And other central powers obey.

I '11 tell thee, mortal, what I saw In that dark realm, so cold and drear,

Beyond where far Uranus rolls, And Neptune's still more wintry sphere:

I saw by the light of my flaming torch

As it lit up the solemn gloom, The shadowy forms of the wasted worlds

That in that region had found a tomb !

And they hung like phantoms in the soundless void,

And no record of time they kept, — For they drank no life from the solar beams

As on that silent coast they slept.

These phantoms once were living worlds !

Born of some glowing orb of light; They had their morn, their glowing noon.

Declining eve, and dreamless night, —

When they were cast upon that shore,

Where they in slumber long remain. Until the eternal laws of force

Bid them awake to life again.

They wake again ! but not the same

As when in glowing robes of light They drank the rosy beams of day.

Or gemm'd the ebon brow of night.

They go to feed the wasting fires

Of that controlling central Power That gives its life to all that moves,

From rolling orb to blooming flower !

My mission is to course the realms

From central sun to solar bounds; And countless ages have I passed

In travelling on these mighty rounds.

I gather on the silent coast

The wrecks of worlds, whose lives have run; I bear them to the solar orb,

And give them to the glowing sun !

Again, from off his shining skirts

I 'm launched into the depths of space- Again, with burning torch renewed, I start upon my distant race !

But now the time approaches near When I shall leave the solar plain;

Will sail the starry deep no more, Nor light the midnight sky again.

All forms of matter transient are;

They live a while their fleeting day — They have their youth and their decline.

And then, by chafige, they pass away.

Thus I'm approaching now mine end;

This circling journey is the last — In which upon elliptic curve

ISIy perihelion will be passed.

When next I seek the solar beams, From my long journey I will rest

Within the burning orb of day, And die upon his glowing breast.

From whence I '11 be sent forth again — Perchance, to mould the drop of dew,

To paint the golden clouds of eve, Or give the rose its blushing hue.

Thus change is writ on all that moves, From mightiest orb to tiniest thing;

From oak that shades the mountain side To flower that decks the breast of spring..

The sun hhnself s,h2i\\ lose his light; The lamps of night shall cease to burn,

And, by the eternal laws of chafige, To other forms of being turn.

Now farewell, mortal ! when again

I seek the realms of solar day, Thou, with all the sons of earth,

Wilt surely long have passed away.

AN AZTEC ROMANCE.

ARGUMENT.

The following dramatic representation is taken from the account of the Conquest of Mexico, as given by Bernal Diaz, the quaint old chronicler of Hernando Cortez, whom he accompanied on his expedition to Mexico.

Hernando Cortez, with his adventurous companions, sailed from the harbor of Havana without the knowledge of his father in-law, the Governor of Cuba, with whom he does not appear to have been on friendly terms.

Touching at the island of Tabasco, Cortez rescued from bondage Malinche, known in Spanish romance as Dona Marina. She accompanied him through Mexico, acting in the capacity of an interpreter, in the meantime falling desperately in love with him, Bernal Diaz remarking that she soon learned the Castilian tongue, for with her it was the language of love.

The story, though told in verse and somewhat embellished, substantially corresponds with the account as given by Bernal Diaz.

DRAMATIS PERSONS.

SPANIARDS.

HERNANDO CORTEZ, Conqueror of Mexico.

PEDRO DE ALVARADO, 1 „■ . , y- e.. • ^ r- ^ ■

GONZALO DE SANDOVAL, \ Htdal.,os of Sparn^ and Cou.pamons

ALONZO DE AVILA, J '^ ^''''''^

OLMEDO, a Priest.

CHIEF PILOT.

LOOKOUT.

Sailors, Soldiers, and Servants.

AZTECS.

MONTEZUMA, Emperor of Mexico.

CUITLAHUA, Brother of Montezuma.

TLASCALAN CHIEF.

HIGH PRIEST.

MALINCHE, a Princess (in love with Cortez).

TAZMALA, her Companion.

SPIRIT OF MALINCHE'S FATHER.

Priests, Warriors, Maidens, and Victims.

Scene: Havana; on board ship ; a7id i7i Mexico.

Scene I. — Casino in the Havana; Gonzalo de Sandoval and Alonzo de Avila seated at a table. AVI LA {to servant)

Bring us wine, Diego, — the best you have Of bright Andalusia's richest vintage ! We '11 drink, Gonzalo, to our absent loves And to the Grand Captain's bold adventure. Come, fill a brimming cup ! and pledge with me The fairest maid that dwells by Arno's stream — The sweet Maria! Behold her picture ! Hast ever seen a more enchanting face ?

'Tis passing fair; but more, in sooth, I love To look upon an Andalusian face. Than that of fairest maid that ever dwelt By Arno's stream, or gathered dewy flowers Upon the vine-clad hills of sunny France.

Bright are the maids of Gallic blood;

Italia's damsels fair to see; But, for the fiery glance of love,

The Andalusian maid for me!

The dark-eyed maid of Andaluz ! The bright-eyed maid of Andaluz ! Aye, for the burning glance of love, Give me the maid of Andaluz !

Her cheek is Hke the blushing rose;

There 's honey on her ruby lips; And wildly throbs her heaving breast

When love their mad'ning nectar sips. The Andalusian maid for me !

The Andalusian maid for me !

With glowing breast and melting eye. The Andalusian maid for me !

AVILA.

Bravo, Gonzalo ! a good song and well sung —

But more I love the dewy spring Than summer's fierce and fiery breath:

The one brings gentle, sweet repose; The other oft is fraught with death.

Then give to me the gentle face, And I '11 content and happy be;

No fierce and burning glance would I, — The gentle eye of love for me !

So you can have the fiery eyes

To wake you from your midnight dream;

But give to me the gentle maid That dwells by Arno's silver stream.

Aye, give to me the gentle face, And I '11 content and happy be;

I do not love the burning glance, — The gentle eye of love for me !

But enough of love and wine, Gonzalo! We must to work — for we have much to do Ere we may meet our absent loves again Beneath the Andalusian skies, or on The sunny banks of Arno's silver stream. Dost know the hour at which Hernando Cortez His anchor weighs, and to the ocean breeze Gives the proudest banner that e'er has led The conquering arms of vSpain ?

SANDOVAL.

When from the land the breeze to seaward sets, The fleet will sail. I have the Admiral's orders To be that hour aboard.

AVILA.

' Tis well; we there will meet. Now let us take A farewell cup of Andalusian wine —

With hope that we may meet again Beneath the sunny skies of Spain.

MALINCHE.

Scene II. — On board the AdmiraV s ship. Til

PILOT.

Pipe, boatswain! pipe the cheering strain That calls to heave the anchor-chain! From landward now the mountain breeze Blows softly o'er the rippling seas; So, boatswain, pipe the cheering strain That calls to heave the anchor-chain! Boatswain btoivs his whistle ; sailors heave on capstan.l

ONE VOICE.

Heave O! heave O! heave ahead!

ALL.

Roly, boly, roly O!

ONE VOICE.

Heave the anchor from its bed !

ALL.

Roly, boly, roly O!

ONE VOICE.

Heave O! heave again!

ALL.

Roly, boly, roly O!

Heave upon the anchor-chain,

Roly, boly, roly O!

O'er the rolling seas we go To the land of Mexico! [i^'-'^/^r Alvarado, Sandoval, Avila and Olmedo.]

OLMEDO.

Don Pedro, is the anchor weighed?

alvarado.

The anchor 's up, and we are off to sea!

OLMEDO.

Gracias a Dios !

May San Antonio give us breezes fair! [Enter Cortez.]

CORTEZ.

Well met, brave comrades!

To-morrow, ere the sun shall gild the East, We '11 be away upon the rolling deep; Free as the bird that skims the crested wave, And daring as the eagle in his flight.

ALL.

Aye; we '11 be as free as the ocean winds!

CORTEZ.

Sons of proud Iberian sires,

Of Hispania's noblest blood !

Warriors on the battle-field,

Seamen on the rolling flood !

Heroes of a hundred fights —

In Asturias' mountain land, On the sunny GaUic plains,

And on Afric's burning sand — Let us, ere we leave this shore,

Plight the proud hidalgo's word That each will be as bravely true

As is his bright Toledo sword ! \^All drazu their swords.']

CHORUS.

By the hiked cross we swear That, where'er on earth we are — On the wild and rolling main; On the arid desert plain; By the watch-fire burning bright; In the dark, tempestuous night; Where the tide of battle swells, When the brazen trumpet tells That the fight is lost or won, And the ghastly strife is done, We will by each other stand — Heart to heart ! and hand to hand! With our Chief we '11 stand or fall, So swear we one — so swear we all!

By the cross's sacred name; By our hopes of deathless fame; By all that now on earth we love; By all we hope in heaven above — With our Chief, we '11 stand or fall; So swear we one — so swear we all ! S^All kneel and kiss their cross-hilted swords. '\