Walter Scott And Washington Irving

by James Nack

GOD bless thee, Walter Scott!
For thou hast blest mankind,
And flung upon their lot
The brightness of thy mind,
And filled the soul with pleasures
None other can impart,
And stored the mind with treasures,
And purified the heart.

Shame on them who abuse
Their gifts of peerless price,
And prostitute the muse
To passion or to vice!
Who pour into the mind
The bitterness and gall
Which makes us hate mankind,
Ourselves, and heaven, and all!
We leave their withering page,
For thine, with healing rife,
The fevered soul assuage,
And drink the stream of life!
Thy shrine is virtue's altar,
Thy fame without a blot;
God bless thee, dear SIR WALTER!
God bless thee, WALTER SCOTT!

One only son of light
Attends thy cloudless path,
In purity as bright
As thy own spirit hath;
To charm away distress,
To comfort, to delight,
To teach, to aid, to bless,
He shares thy wizard might!
His muse from virtue's shrine
Hath never turned astray,
Nor ever breathed a line
That love could wish away;
The temple of the free
Is radiant with his fame,
His country's glory he --
And IRVING is his name.

God's blessings on ye both!
Twin heirs of glory's prize!
How often when I loath
All that around me lies, --
When in the crowded world
I feel myself alone,
From all communion hurled
That by the rest is known,
Debarred, by fate's control,
From every human sound,
And burying my soul
In solitude profound --
Oh, then, ye glorious pair!
I seek the world ye give,
And find a kindred there
With whom I love to live,
Your precious magic nerving
My soul to bear its lot --
God bless thee, gentle IRVING!
God bless thee, WALTER SCOTT!