Originally published in The Keepsake for 1828 (Hurst, Chance, and Co.; Nov 1827).
I.
In Judah's halls the harp is hush'd,
Her voice is but the voice of pain;
The heathen heel her helm has crush'd,
Her spirit wears the heathen chain.
From the dark prison-house she cried,
"How long, O Lord! thy sword has slept!
Oh quell the oppressor in his pride!"—
Still Pharaoh ruled, and Israel wept.
II.
The morning breezes freshly blow,
The waves in golden sunlight quiver;
The Hebrew's daughter wanders slow
Beside the mighty Idol River.
A babe within her bosom lay,—
And must she plunge him in the deep?
She raised her eyes to Heaven to pray;
She turn'd them down to earth to weep.
III.
She knelt beside the rushing tide,
'Mid rushes dank, and flow'rets wild;
Beneath the plane-tree's shadow wide,
The weeping mother plac'd her child.
"Peace be around thee—though thy bed
"A mother's breast no more may be;
"Yet he that shields the lily's head,
"Deserted babe, will watch o'er thee!"
IV.
She's gone! that mourning mother! gone—
List to the sound of dancing feet,
And lightly bounding, one by one,
A lovely train the timbrel beat.
'Tis she of Egypt—Pharaoh's daughter,
That, with her maidens, comes to lave
Her form of beauty in the water,
And light with beauty's glance the wave.
V.
Oh! woman's heart is like the rose,
That glows beneath the tropic's flame,
That blooms as sweet 'mid northern snows,
For ever lovely—and the same.
Whate'er her rank—whate'er her lot,
Where'er her gentle influence ranges,
The art to bless is ne'er forgot,
The will to comfort never changes.
VI.
The monarch's daughter saw and wept—
(How lovely falls compassion's tear!)
The babe that there in quiet slept,
Blest in unconsciousness of fear.
'Twas hers to pity and to aid
The infant Chief, the infant Sage;
Undying fame the deed repaid,
Recorded upon heaven's own page.
VII.
Years pass away—the land is free!
Daughter of Zion! mourn no more!
The Oppressor's hand is weak on thee,
Captivity's dark reign is o'er.
Thy chains are burst—thy bonds are riven—
On! like a river strong and wide:
A Captain is to Judah given—
The babe that slept by Nile's broad tide.