Wave on, thou flag of freedom, and this day Still live in hearts of nations! O, thou Land, Where Man was first the monarch, where the sway Of birth exalted first was broken, stand To guard the helpless with a mighty hand, And give the weak protection; scout the ban Which tyrants utter, and with growing band Of noble freemen serve thy primal plan, And bind all nations in the Brotherhood of Man! "O, GENTLE SHADE OF QUIET WOODS." O, gentle shade of quiet woods, Where nature dwells in leafy halls, I love the sacred voice that falls In music o'er thy solitudes! Within thine arms the weary heart Is hidden from the toils of men, And pleasure makes ambition start Into a nobler life again. Among the fragrant shadows throng With all the riches of their truth, Glad echoes from the days of youth And mingle into laughing song; While angel fingers touch the keys That slumber in the silent breast, Till mem'ry wakes her lullabies And childhood fancies rock to rest. Again the hours of early joy Upon the aged years intrude, And dance amid the summer wood The golden dreamings of the boy; Again the songs of wonder thrill The days of life with gladness wild, And lofty visions fondly fill The longing fancies of the child. Enchanted choirs of baby years, Sweet dirges from the cradle's keys, The glories of your harmonies Impel my secret soul to tears! The roses of my fancies fade Into the dust of wicked strife, And all the promise boyhood made Has proved the desert of my life. O, fragrant woods of happy times, Fair children of the glowing days, How sweet the music of your lays Is mingled into fairy chimes! Ye lisp again the songs of yore, The stories of my infant years, And throw a sweeter cadence o'er My hoary sorrows and my tears! LOVE. Angelic theme of ancient lays! By Doric hills, Athenian vales, The nations bound thy brows with bays And fanned thy cheeks with scented gales; While golden lamps illumed thy shrines Beside the Tiber and the Po, Till anthems thine were taught to flow Along the Alps and Appenines. The souls of sages and of slaves Were faithful servants unto thee, Whose rapture soothed the Grecian waves, And kissed the islands of the sea; And bounding on from strand to strand It crossed the coasts and climbed the slopes, To place a crown of tender hopes Upon the vine-clad Roman land. Great empress of that early time, Glad ruler of the gentle souls, Each year is changed to raptured rhyme That o'er thy laughing bosom rolls; For cycles as they sink to rest So closely guard thy joy and truth, That fondness and immortal youth Give sweet embraces to thy breast.