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WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS

[For the details of Simms s life see the sketch given (page 104) in connection with selections from his prose romances. In poetry he was prolific, but his hand was too heavy for verse, and his poetic work ranks distinctly lower than his prose writings.]

OH, THE SWEET SOUTH!

Oh, the sweet South! the sunny, sunny South! Land of true feeling, land forever mine! I drink the kisses of her rosy mouth, And my heart swells as with a draft of wine; She brings me blessings of maternal love; I have her smile which hallows all my toil; Her voice persuades, her generous smiles approve, She sings me from the s"ky and from the soil! Oh! by her lonely pines, that wave and sigh Oh! by her myriad flowers, that bloom and fade By all the thousand beauties of her sky, And the sweet solace of her forest shade. She s mine she s ever mine Nor will I aught resign Of what she gives me, mortal or divine: Will sooner part With life, hope, heart Will die before I fly! Oh! love is hers such love as ever glows In souls where leaps affection s living tide; She is all fondness to her friends to foes She glows a thing of passion, strength, and pride; She feels no tremors when the danger s nigh, But the fight over, and the victory won,