ELEGANT EXTRACTS.

PART XII.

Translations.

ODE TO JEHOVAH.

FROM THE HEBREW OF MOSES

In high Jehovah's praise, my strain
Of triumph shall the chorus lead,
Who plunged beneath the rolling main
The horseman with his vaunted steed.
Dread breaker of our servile chains,
By whom our arm in strength remains,
The scented algum forms thy car!

Our fathers' God! Thy name we raise
Beyond the bounds of mortal praise,
The Chieftain and the Lord of war.

Far in the caverns of the deep

Their chariots sunk to rise no more;

And Pharaoh's mighty warriors sleep
Where the Red Sea's huge monsters roar.
Plunged like a rock amid the wave,

Around their heads the billows lave;

It is scarcely necessary to say that this is a paraphrastic version of Exodus, chap. xv. v. 1-19; much of the sublimity of which Dr. Leyden has certainly failed to preserve.

VOL. VI.

CC

Down, down the yawning gulf they go,
Dash'd by Thy high-expanded hand
To pieces on the pointed sand,
That strews the shelving rocks below.

What lambent lightnings round Thee gleam,
Thy foes in blackening heaps to strew!
As o'er wide fields of stubble stream
The flames, in undulation blue.
And lo! the waters of the deep
Swell into one enormous heap,
Collected at Thy nostrils' breath.

The bosom of the abyss reveal'd,
Wall'd with huge crystal waves congeal'd,
Unfolds the yawning jaws of death.

'Swift steeds of Egypt, speed your course,
And swift, ye rapid chariots, roll!
Not ocean's bed impedes our force;
Red vengeance soon shall glut our soul;
The sabre keen shall soon embrue
Its glimmering edge in gory dew.'—
Impatient cried the' exulting foe;-
When like a ponderous mass of lead
They sink and sudden, o'er their head
The bursting waves impetuous flow.

But Thou, in whose sublime abode
Resistless might and mercy dwell,
Our voices, high o'er every god,

With grateful hearts Thy praises swell!
Outstretch'd we saw thy red right hand,
The earth her solid jaws expand;

Adown the gulf alive they sink:

While we, within the' incumbent main,
Behold the tumbling floods in vain

Storm on our narrow pathway's brink.

But, far as Fame's shrill notes resound,
With dire dismay the nations hear;
Old Edom's sons with laurels crown'd,
And Moab's warriors melt with fear.
The petrifying tale disarms

The might of Canaan's countless swarms,
Appall'd their heroes sink supine;

No mailed band with thrilling cries
The might of Jacob's sons defies,
That moves to conquer Palestine.
Nor burning sands our way impede,
Where nature's glowing embers lie;
But led by Thee, we safely tread
Beneath the furnace of the sky.
To fields, where fertile olives twine
Their branches with the clustering vine
Soon shalt Thou Jacob's armies bring;
To plant them by Thy mighty hand
Where the proud towers of Salem stand;
And ever reign their God and King.
Far in the deep unfathom'd caves

Lie strew'd the flower of Mazur's land,
Save when the surge, that idly raves,
Heaves their cold corses on the sand.
With courage unappall'd, in vain
They rush'd within the channel'd main,
Their heads the billows folded o'er :

While Thou hast Israel's legions led
Through the green ocean's coral bed,
To ancient Edom's palmy shore.

DR. LEYDEN.

PSALM CIV.

FROM THE HEBREW.

My soul, adore the Lord of might;
With uncreated glory crown'd
And clad in royalty of light,

He draws the curtain'd heavens around;
Dark waters his pavilion form,
Clouds are his car, his wheels the storm.
Lightning before him, and behind
Thunder rebounding to and fro;
He walks upon the winged wind,
And reins the blast, or lets it go:

This goodly globe his wisdom plann'd,
He fix'd the bounds of sea and land.

When o'er a guilty world, of old,
He summon'd the avenging main,
At his rebuke the billows roll'd
Back to their parent-gulf again :

The mountains raised their joyful heads,
Like new creations, from their beds.

Henceforth the self-revolving tide

Its daily fall and flow maintains;
Through winding vales fresh fountains glide,
Leap from the hills, or course the plains;
There thirsty cattle throng the brink,
And the wild asses bend to drink.

Fed by the currents, fruitful groves
Expand their leaves, their fragrance fling,
Where the cool breeze at noontide roves,
And birds among the branches sing;

Soft fall the showers when day declines, And sweet the peaceful rainbow shines. Grass through the meadows, rich with flowers, God's bounty spreads for herds and flocks; On Lebanon his cedar towers,

The wild goats bound upon his rocks;
Fowls in his forests build their nests,
The stork amid the pinetree rests.
To strengthen man, condemn'd to toil,
He fills with grain the golden ear;
Bids the ripe olive melt with oil,

And swells the grape, man's heart to cheer:
The moon her tide of changing knows,
Her orb with lustre ebbs and flows.

The sun goes down, the stars come out;
He maketh darkness, and 'tis night;
Then roam the beasts of prey about,
The desert rings with chase and flight:
The lion and the lion's brood

Look up-and God provides them food.
Morn dawns far east; ere long the sun
Warms the glad nations with his beams;
Day, in their dens, the spoilers shun,
And night returns to them in dreams :
Man from his couch to labour goes,
Till evening brings again repose.

How manifold thy works, O Lord,
In wisdom, power, and goodness wrought!
The earth is with thy riches stored,
And ocean with thy wonders fraught:
Unfathom'd caves beneath the deep
For Thee their hidden treasures keep.