Southern literary gazette. (Athens, Ga.) 1848-1849, October 28, 1848, Image 1
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE:
3ln illustrated tUeeklg Journal of Belles-Ccttres, Science and ti)c Jlrts.
H M. C. RICHARDS, EDITOR.
(Original JJoctrn.
For the Southern Literury Gazette.
GLORIA TIBI DOMINE!
BY LEILA CAMERON.
Darkly round my drooping head
Hangs the cloud of human woe;
Weary is the path I tread,
Gathering blackness as I go:
Still I faint not on the way,
For my trust is fixed on Thee—
On the cross my hopes I stay—
Gloria tibi Dornine!
Few and ill have been the days
Os my sojourn here on earth ;
Soon are spent life’s fleeting rays—
Quickly grief succeeds to mirth.
Brightest joys are tinged with gloom,
Sweetest pleasures soonest flee;
But I look beyond the tomb,
Gloria tibi Dornine !
Life deceitful is at best,
Thorns are hidden ’mid its flowers;
Here I find nor peace, nor rest —
O’er me still the storm-cloud lowers.
But along this thorny road,
Jesus bore the Cross for me;
Suffering here he long abode,
Gloria tibi Dornine !
What though earthly hope may fail,
Friends prove false, and kindred die,
Human succor naught avail,
Iu the hour of agony 1
Keener pangs, our blessed Lord
Bore in dark Gethsemane—
Ever be his name adored,
Gloria tibi Dornine!
Nothing want I here on earth,
While my Saviour proves my friend;
All things else are little worth—
On his love my hopes depend !
Love like Ilis, divinely *rcat,
Never can forgotten be;
Meekly I His coming wait,
Gloria tibi Dornine!
When my earthly race is o’er,
And this weary, aching head,
Free from pain forevermore,
Peaceful slumbers with the dead —
Joyful shall my spirit rise,
Through a priceless ransom free,
Ringing, as it upward flies —
Gloria tibi Dornine!
i • i
For the Southern Literary Gazette.
IMMORTALITY.
BY WILLIAM C. RICHARDS.
ITow vain is Life, whose boundary is hid t #
In the dark shadows which enfold the tomb
That hath no eye of Faith to pierce the gloom
That wraps the form beneath the coffin-lid.
Oh, vain, indeed! though crowned with honors here,
If to no glorious Future it aspires—
If Earth can fill the sum of its desires;
And all beyond the grave a blank appear!
Yet Human Wisdom its disciples taught
That it was all of life to live —that Death
Was an eternal sleep, and with the breath
Ceased all the springs of Action and of Thought!
By Revelation’s light alone we see
Rife's high fruition— Immortality !
For the Southern Literary Gazette.
DREAMING MOMENTS.
BY “SAMIVEL,” OF SAVANNAH.
I dream of hopes bright while thoy last,
Os love and friendship true ;
The sweet, glad voices of the past —
Os childhood’s sky so blue:
And all to me is bright and fair, save the changing
touch of time —
1 may not rest in sorrow's shade, for my heart is in
its primo.
I dream of Love’s gay plumed wing,
Resting where all is fair;
And sweet thoughts which the angels bring,
Live for another's care :
ATHENS, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2s, ISIS.
■ A flower-thatched cottage by a stream of purest
crystal dew,
And a maiden rises in my dream with love-lit eye of
blue.
I dream of Friendship’s brightest smile,
Its gentle, guarded voice,
Waking the heart to joy the while,
And bidding it rejoice:
And I clasp the hand of earth’s dear friends in this
my sunniest dream,
And the moments I have smiled with them pass like
a rippled stream.
The sweet, glad voices of the past,
And childhood’s sky so blue —
The former hushed by time’s rude blast,
The latter’s clouded view—
Are sweet withal to dream upon, for they waken
childhood’s bliss;
Oh ! what would Love or Friendship be, did memory
not give this 1
My Father! thou who gavest me
These sweet and thrilling dreams,
And pourest out so pure, so free,
Thoughts dear as heaven’s gleams:
For these, I thank thee, Father, and be this mine
earnest prayer —
“ Let not my heart grow cold and sad, but keep me
in thy care!”
©riginal Sale.
For the Southern Literary Gazette.
THE FEUD
OF—
THE ROMANS AND SABINES.
BY CAROLINE HOWARD.
It is of Rome —but not of her palaces and
meridian, her villas and costly baths, of her
triumphant heroes, that this tale treats, nor of
her luxuriant vineyards, delicious fruits, and
ornamental gardens, nor of the Appenine
country-seats, and the purple and velvet of
her imperial sovereigns. No libraries owned
by the rich patrician as yet adorned her edi
fices, and no fountains threw their cooling
waters with pleasant murmurs into the clas
sic marble basin. Luxury, with its pamper
ing and never-ending wants, had scarcely in
troduced its thousand refinements, and the
golden tables, the silver couches, and scented
oils, with the voluptuous tastes of a later
date, had not as yet degraded to the condition
of the votaries of mere animal pleasure the
people of this far-famed city.
So far, her inhabitants were incorrupt, at
least with refinements and luxuries, and a
mong the “banditti” with whom policy had
peopled her boundaries, a few noble hearts
were beating with impulses which descended
in after years to the good, the noble, and the
brave.
Romulus, by united acclamation, had just
been elected sovereign magistrate of Rome.—
Already had all the insignia of royalty suited
to the simplicity of that era, been bestowed
upon him. His imposing body-guard of lie
tors had been instituted to enforce his com
| mands. The senate, with its pomp and pow
| er and its hundred wise men, thundered over
! the neighboring provinces their newly enact
-led laws; the patricians, proud of their grow
ing power, thought themselves second only to
kings, and kept down the plebeian “ hewers
of wood and drawers of water.” who were, at
least in outward appearance, resigned, and
who bowed themselves to the recently passed
and enacting laws. The bitter spirit of after
times had not as yet burst into a flame. The
people of other countries heard of the fame of
j this young nation, and coveted a share in her
growing • popularity. Men crowded to her
j walls, where all seemed prosperity. A hap
j py dawn and a happier twilight, each morn
ing and each evening, shed their influence
; around. The equal distribution of labor and
amusement encouraged the lower classes,
while the aristocrat longed to revel in the
magnificence and luxury which he could per
ceive advancing in the future.
Such was the aspect outwardly ; but Avho
can judge of the inner view, the working and
contending fires of a sleeping volcano! A
shadow, or a darkness denser than a shadow,
gathered over the faces of the proud youths.
Many a lip was curled in scorn or revenge,
many a hand closed and was clenched with
thoughts of vengeance, while now and then
softer emotions of disappointed anticipations
gave a pensive shade to the visage of some
more gentle youth.
The cause of this revengeful or downcast
spirit, was a rejection of a proposition from
their king, Romulus, to his powerful neigh
bors, the Sabines, to grant their fair daughters
in marriage to the Romans. But the Sabines,
jealous, warlike and conservative, returned a
message of scorn, and refused compliance
with this request. This was the reason of
the sudden anger, the awakened volcano, the
thought of unrequited love, in a whole body
of young and impassioned heroes. What
was the light of heaven to them without the
smile of woman, or what was pomp, or fame,
or glory!
On a declivity of one of the, as yet, unpeo
pled hills of Rome, stood Silvius, in the pride
and beauty of early manhood, musing in list
less mood on this sad state of things. The
Palatine hill of the eternal city lay before
him, and the square-built tow T n of Rome rose
up busy and animated in his view. He had
drawn his toga closely around him, and his
sandalled feet wilh a hurried movement paced
to no i fro. He had been intensely interested
in regard to the treaty with the Sabines, for
he had been one of the deputies who were
sent to seek the alliance, and at that time, at
a feast in honor of one of their gods, had be
held the object of his present thoughts, Julia,
the proud and haughty Sabine; and the fate
of his affections by that view was sealed.—
Hopeful and loving, therefore, he awaited the
expected compliance, and now the reverse
had come to blast his hopes forever, while
she, unconscious of his love and devotion, as
of her own loveliness, gave not a thought to
him. Dark intentions entered his brain, and
clouded for a moment his countenance —but
they gave way to an expression of tender
ness, beautiful as the skies on which a rain
bow is painted. No wicked or revengeful
thought lingered there, but enduring, suffering
affection, bowed for an instant his manly and
symmetrical form. To him she was, and ever
would be, his only love, and with the idea
that no one could deny him the privilege of
hoarding her image in his breast, he slowly
turned to leave the spot.
It is a pitiable sight when the young heart j
sighs for companionship, and seeks and finds :
it not. The moon sheds her hallowed light \
upon but a feeble worshipper of her bright- j
ness, if that worshipper has not a companion j
to call upon for sympathy. The skies lose
half their glory when one views them alone. J
The waves, as they flow onward with glad
ness in the bound, rejoice together in their
freedom. There are few things under heaven j
entirely alone. The mother, with her child !
on he* bosom, is happy, and has her world
around her. The husband, as he gazes on
the charms of the beloved one, is contented.
In those two so united is concentrated one- |
ness, but oh! how wide apart from loneliness. |
A man or woman, a vestal virgin or a priest,
in a state of so-called blessedness, apart from
the world, are far from being alonefor they
create around them an atmosphere of sympa- ;
VOLUME I*—NUMBER 25.
thy. The song of a pet bird, the color of a
cherished flower, send a thrill to their hearts
which is joy. It is joy, because they feel
that they are not entirely forsaken, that the
song gushes out for them, and that were it
not for their care, the flower would not un
fold its velvet leaves to the sunshine.
Scarce had Silvius advanced many paces,
when he beheld the figure of a man a little
beyond the age set apart as the boundary of
youth. He possessed a face which might
have been called handsome, but for the bad
passions which disfigured it. A form, ele
gant and graceful, and above the common
height, was dilated with anger, and an ex
pression such as fiends might rejoice in, seem
ed to emanate from his eyes. Over all reign
ed a look of fixed determination, which shut
out all the softer feelings of the heart.
“ My friend,” said Silvius calmly, but with
almost a shudder at his presence as he con
fronted him, “can you not hear this event
tranquilly and manfully, or in a few words,”
he added, with a sad smile, “as a Roman
should I”
A hoarse whisper of vengeance was the
only reply.
“We will seek our king,” continued Sil*
vius, “ and see what can be done in this fear
ful strait.”
The two men strode on silent and thought
ful. As soon as they entered the city, they
found that gladiatorial amusements were in
progress, and mixed with the crowd, many of
whom were devoting their fellow men to
death. Day expired, and left the wounded
and dying uncared for, or only ministered to
with the hope that at some future period they
would renew their inhuman sport. It Vras
not then the custom, as it became m the
course of time, to establish schools for these
victims, who were bred and perfected in this
wretched accomplishment, for the express
purpose of adding to the popular thirst for
blood.
In a few days after the answer before al
luded to was returned, and which had kindled
a fire never quite to be smothered, a stroke of
policy worthy of a better cause had been
planned. Romulus himself, with all the ar
dor of twenty summers, under pretence of a
feast in honor of Neptune, had invited the in
habitants of the adjoining villages, together
with the unsuspecting Sabines, to enjoy
with them this unique and gorgeous specta
cle. Preparations on a more magnificent
scale than had yet been attempted, followed
this announcement, and all the amusements
of the age were put in requisition for the ex
pected rejoicings.
When the real intention of the king was
made known to the chosen band, the proposi
tion was received with different feelings, and
while some hailed the occasion ■with a burst
1 of joy, others there were who looked with
! mistrust on an adventure in which they fear
!ed they must fail. However, they hoped at
last to possess their scornful and beautiful
! neighbors. The most lovely of the Sabine
women were to be surprised in the midst of
their feasting and enjoyment, to be captured,
and to become the wives of the triumphant
Romans.
A thrill at first stole to the heart of Silvius,
succeeded by a sense of shame at being about
to commit an act of injustice; but he vowed,
even while he coveted, that no unjust act be
yond that of the planned abduction, should
be shown by him towards her he loved so
well. To win her love was the boundary of
his wishes, and his heart beat high with
youthful hope. But far different was the
mood of the haughty Valerius. Revenge,
like an incubus, brooded over his stormy