A Leaf from the Old Forest
Nimæra, Who their being’s fire feedeth, Gives them space for life and glory, With that limit ends their being; For no hidden spirit have they Image to the holy Maker. Now the grave shall yield its token, And the battle-field its relic, Stained in gore and kept in glory; And the caverns of the ocean Shall advance a token likewise, p. 81Opening wide their watery great doors, Shew the works of many ages By the hand of King Nimæra, With the wonders stored among them, Worked, and fashioned, and performéd. Then the voice of stormy Winter, And the soft and pleasing fair notes Of the Springtime and the Summer, And the richly-laden Autumn, Shall a ready answer make us. And the mighty wind that bloweth, And the soothing and the soft breeze With a pensive murmur cometh— Cometh laden with responses From the trees of every forest (Every leaflet’s tiny voice joined), From the fair and fertile valleys, From among the hills and mountains, With advisings to speak boldly Of the powers of King Nimæra; That in every race or ramble Has his throne been set around them, Built of wonders and composéd Far amid the wilds and fertiles. Here and hence these heralds answer; Then they take their pinions swiftly, p. 82And are vanished ere we know them, Still to roam, and race, and ramble. Next the voices shall be blended Of the brooklets and great rivers, Of the ever-murmuring ocean, Of the wild and roaring thunders, Of the tempest howling terrors, Hailstones heavy and great snow-storms, And the flames of fire roaring; These shall boldly say their saying, That he is among them alway, That they have for ever known him, And their strength dependeth on him. Then the rocks in echoes answer— Answer to the roll of thunders, And the roaring of the ocean, In a myriad sounds replying, Own the powers of King Nimæra. Then the stars shall twinkle signs forth, Like the language of the speechless; And the sun in dazzling bright rays, And the moon with mellow fair beams, And the evening and the morning, And the noonday and the midnight, And the dew which gently falleth, And the raindrops and the vapors, p. 83And the mists on all the rivers, And the fleecy and the black clouds Shall inscribe their ready answers, And with mystic fingers write thus: “When our buoyant pinions take us High unto the outer heavens, Far beyond the eagle’s soarings, Then we see Nimæra’s wonders In all spaces that we visit On the earth or in the heavens, And, in every form that nears us, See his wondrous power and greatness; For his throne is firmly builded, Rising unto all the world.” And they further shall inform us That some strange and mystic stories Have been spoken of Nimæra And his dealings with the people, Counted in the ancient numbers, Reckoned in the current courses. Now that we are well informéd Of 
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