Enquires not if the breast it means to pierce Be friend or enemy. Mir. Thy son, the heav'n-taught guide, shall lead them forth, And perjur'd Pharaoh be constrain❜d to loose Blest event! Joc. Mir. God hardens no man's heart. 'Tis not His work; he does no more than leave it To its own callous nature: if his grace Be once withdrawn, the hard grows harder still. Joc. As the withdrawing of the sun's warm beams, Leaving the chill wave to its natural temper, Congeals the liquid stream. Mir. F'en so, my mother. Joc. Protect thy people, Lord, and spare my son. Mir. Ah! what successive scenes in order pass! I see all Israel march. Ah, glorious vision! Myriads! A moving nation! Moses leads. Here manly vigour marches in the van; There female weakness follows as it may: Here helpless childhood, there decrepid age! Now they advance! patient, they cheer each other. Joc. Miriam thy visage changes. What alarms thee? Mir. Ah me! they move no longer, ocean stands Direct in front, barrier invincible! No friendly vessel to conduct them o'er. What refuge now is left? for on their rear And Pi-hahiroth's lofty mountains stand Close on each side, impossible to scale. Joc. Nothing remains. Mir. Omnipotence remains. They look before, behind, on either side; Where shall they turn for succour?-they look up! Crowd on my mental eye! Near and more near Firm, dry, and safe the intervening space. Joc. But dare they venture on? Mir. Yes! they dare venture. The fearless Hebrews trust the miracle: With holy confidence their bands advance. They find an easy passage through the deep They touch the farther shore. How loud their joy! But still the foe pursues. Joc. And have they 'scap'd The ocean's rage to fall by that of man? Mir. Arm'd at all points see Egypt's sons advance! They reach the open passage. Joc. All is lost. Mir. But what suspends their progress? Something stays them; Slow, and more slow, their lagging motion seems. Joc. Can this be realis'd? Mir. they rise no more! It can, it will. 'Tis great; but great is HE whose will controls it. Methinks I hear the shouts of victory, I hear triumphant Moses' grateful song! Thou art our strength, O Lord! the work is thine. Thou didst stretch forth Thy hand, and Moses pass'd; Fearful in praises, wonderful in power, What mighty marvels Thy right hand has wrought! Thy purchas'd people shall inhabit there, Joc. My daughter! Thy spirit sinks beneath the mighty impulse. Yes, Miriam's feeble voice shall aid the chorus, This land of promise, wealthy Canaan's land, Reserv'd for God's true servants, those who fought Not from the body's slav'ry, the brief bondage Note. — The Author is fearful that she may be thought, in this last part, to have exceeded the bounds of poetical license. For though Miriam, in the chapter which contains the Song of Moses*, is called a prophetess; and though the prophet Micah, in his sixth chapter, speaks of Miriam as assisting jointly with her brothers, Moses and Aaron, in the redemption of Israel from captivity, yet we hear little or nothing of her elsewhere in her prophetic character. * Exodus, chap. xv. VOL. I. |