ITS PAST HISTORY, AND IMPENDING CHANGES.
"Ring out a slowly-dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws."
RICH with the wealth of Persia's vanquish'd throne, And plunder won from empires not his own, Unsated yet with Glory's feast of blood,
The lord of Asia wept by Indus' flood;
Wept that the narrow bounds of earth should bar
The onward march of desolating war,
That envious Nature's limit should deny
More kings to fall, more enemies to die;
Wept that he found the conquer'd world so small,
And sigh'd to think so little should be all.
O had he known, on that remorseful day,
How fair a clime beyond his vision lay;
A land secure in undisturb'd repose,
Untorn by factions, and unscathed by foes,
How high had been his lot, how fair his fame,
To blend the statesman's with the conqueror's name, Unlock to Europe China's teeming store,
And bear to Hellas arts unknown before;
Bid Knowledge grow, and Commerce, undismay'd,
Welcome the magic needle's guiding aid;
And sacred Learning's multiplying page
Give to the world the wisdom of the sage.
Such were thy glories, China, such thy state
When arts and arms combined to make thee great :
To waft thy commerce flow'd the broad canal,
To guard thy frontier rose the northern wall,
A mighty shield, to check barbaric rage,
And mock the wonder of a feebler age.
Down the long vista of thine ancient reign
The gaze of Hist'ry's muse may toil in vain,
Trace the proud line of monarchs, and explore
The dim remains of legendary lore;
Till, scarce incredulous, she hears the tale,
How rose the nation from the teeming vale,
And deems the boast, that swell'd Athenian pride,
In China's dateless annals verified.
But vain the labour'd works, the regal show,
The pomp of wealth that does but tempt a foe,
In vain the hills are green, the valleys smile,
And lavish Plenty reigns, where man is vile ;
The dull mechanic march of barren Time,
The narrow soul that deems improvement crime,
The jealous care, the ports to Commerce barr'd,
The selfish silence, and the watchful guard,
The settled pride that chills creative thought,
Unskill'd to teach, unwilling to be taught ;-
For these the muse deserts th' exclusive state,
And scorns the race that dares not to be great.
Yet all have not been such; not such appears
The larger, kindlier soul of early years,
Ere burst the tempest, ere the northern horde,
In China's evil day, unsheathed the sword,
Swept from their wilds in unresisted course,
And ruled by terror what they seized by force.
The ancient glories loom more fair and great
E'en from the haze that wraps her after-state,
And Mem'ry's sigh, that mourns her vanish'd fame,
From the dead Past recalls each mighty name;
Sages, ere Greece was charm'd by Plato's tongue,
And poets, ere the tale of Troy was sung;
Chief the pure soul, who lawless vice withstood,
And nobly dared be great by being good,
Strengthen'd the frail, the stubborn-hearted bow'd,
Reclaim'd the erring, and abash'd the proud,
Sway'd with the voice of Truth the guilty breast,
And lull'd the vulture passions into rest.
Well did the dream of England's bard assign*
In Honour's fame the loftiest, brightest shrine
To him, who won the crowd to Virtue's side
By Stoic morals free from Stoic pride;
Who taught, what earthly lore could ne'er supply,
Unblamed to live, and undisturbed to die.
Turn we to later scenes, when dawning light
Burst the long gloom of Occidental night,
When infant Commerce, o'er the Western world,
Her peaceful standard to the winds unfurl'd,
Dared for her own the pathless waters claim,
And call'd her sons to enterprize and fame.
When waken'd Europe cast her cords away,
And youthful Science struggled into day,
First plough'd the barks of Portugal the main,
In quest at once of glory and of gain,
First dared their track to China's coast to shape, And braved the thunders of the Stormy Cape.
* Vid. Pope, Temple of Fame, v. 107:
Superior, and alone, Confucius stood,
Who taught that useful science, to be good."
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