Old, but lusty in thy dotage, on the banks of German Rhine: Though thy rule I may not own it, and thy creed be far from mine, I have loved to hear thy litany o'er the swelling waters float, Gently chaunted from the crowded, gaily-garnished pilgrim-boat; I have felt the heart within me strangely stirred; and, half believer, For a moment wished that Reason on her throne might prove deceiver. Live, while God permits thy living, on the banks of German Rhine, Fond old faith!--thou canst not live but by some spark of power divine; And while man, who darkly gropes, and fretful feels, hath need of thee, Soothe his ear with chiming creeds, and fear no jarring taunt from me. Fare ye well, ye broad-browed thinkers! pride of Bonn upon the Rhine, Patient teachers, in the rock of ancient lore that deeply mine; Men, with whom in soul lives Niebuhr, and loves still to glean with them, From huge piles of Roman ruin many a bright and human gem; Oft with you, beneath the rows of thickly-blooming chestnut trees, I have walked, and seen with wonder how ye flung with careless case Bales of treasured thought about ye, even as children play with toys. Strange recluses! we who live 'mid bustling Britain's smoke and noise, Ill conceive the quiet tenor of your deeply-brooding joys; How ye sit with studious patience, and with curious travelling eyes Wander o'er the well-browned folio, where the thoughtful record lies; Musing in some musty chamber day by day, and hour by hour, Dimly there ye sit, and sip the ripest juice from Plato's bower; Each fair shape that graceful floateth through the merry Grecian clime, Each religious voice far-echoed through the galleries of time, There with subtle eye and ear ye watch, and seize the airy booty, And with faithful ken to know the rescued truth is all your duty. Souls apart! with awe I knew your silent speculative looks, And the worship that ye practise in the temples of your books; And I felt the power of knowledge; and I loved to bridge with you Gulfs of time, till oldest wisdom rose to shake hands with the new; May the God of truth be with you, still to glean, with pious patience, Grains of bright forgotten wisdom for the busy labouring nations; And, while books shall feed my fancy, may I use the pondered line, Grateful to the broad-browed thinkers, pride of Bonn upon the Rhine!