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[Title Page]
EDITED FOR THE BENEFIT OF A FRIEND,
BY
LONDON:
Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode,
New-Street-Square.
THE numerous and respectable subscribers to this volume are well entitled to the warmest acknowledgments of the Editor, and she begs they will do her the honour to accept her grateful thanks, which are presented with a deep and cordial sense of the kind and generous motives that have led them to favour this collection of Poems with their countenance and liberality. But what will please them more than any thanks which she can offer, is the assurance, that they have enabled her, in a year so peculiarly unfavourable for such an undertaking, to promote the object for which it is published far beyond what she could have hoped, and that they have thereby done a permanent service to one who is worthy of receiving it.
To her literary friends, who have so liberally, readily, and cheerfully supplied her with the manuscripts which compose this collection, she cannot too strongly express her obligations. She is proud of the names she has been permitted to produce as her poetical helpmates on this occasion; and, so supported, feels herself honoured beyond what has ever yet fallen to the lot of any editor. To those, who, from diffidence or other reasons, have given her verses without a name, of which no name needed to have been ashamed, she is likewise greatly indebted, and she thanks them all with a warm and lively gratitude.
This volume also contains several MS. poems of one, who is now out of the reach of all thanks from a being of this world, written with that elegance, tenderness, and graceful facility which characterized every thing that came from her pen: a dutiful daughter, who loves and respects her memory, will consider the acknow-
ledgments implied in this notice as belonging to herself. *
The Editor begs the indulgence of the
Reader, and the pardon of her poetical contributors, for any oversights or mistakes which may be discovered in the various pieces contained
in this volume. The former will do well to attribute any want of correctness to herself, which will make the requested indulgence almost
a personal boon: the latter will be assured that
she has done no injury to their verses from any
wilful carelessness; and will recollect, that in
submitting them to an Editor, without classical
learning, who never has written correctly, they
have rendered themselves liable to be so injured,
which does the more enhance their kindness in
contributing to this collection.
She ought not to omit mentioning that the
liberality of her bookseller, printer, and stationer,
have reduced the expences of publication to
those merely of cost charges.
NAY
, smile not, lady, when I speak of witchcraft,
Tuned but his magic harp to this wild theme,
SCENE.--The summit of a Rocky Pass, about two miles from
the ancient Abbey of Lindores in Fife. In the centre is
Mac Duff's Cross, an antique Monument; and at a small
distance, on one side, a Chapel, with a lamp burning.
Enter
NINIAN and
WALDHAVES, Monks of Lindores.
--NINIAN crosses himself, and seems to recite his devotions.
--WALDHAVES stands gazing on the prospect, as if in deep contemplation.
NINIAN.
HERE
stands the cross, good brother, consecrated
WALDHAVES.
NINIAN.
On the highland hills,
WALDHAVES.
I spoke not of the literal path, good father,
NINIAN.
'Tis good morality.--But yet forget not,
WALDHAVES.
Most true, good brother; and men may be farther
NINIAN (after a pause
).
You do gaze,
In the fair plains of Gowrie--westward yonder,
WALDHAVES.
NINIAN.
WALDHAVES.
NINIAN.
Then have you heard a tale,
WALDHAVES.
NINIAN.
Long the tale--
WALDHAVES.
Enough is said, indeed--for a weak woman;
NINIAN.
They fell at strife,
Men say, on slight occasion that fierce Lindesay
WALDHAVES.
What rights are these?
NINIAN.
Most true! You are but newly come from Rome,
The right was granted in succeeding time,
WALDHAVES.
And here a brother of your order watches,
NINIAN.
Even so;--such is our convent's holy right,
WALDHAVES.
NINIAN.
Honour'd and fear'd he was--but little loved:
WALDHAVES.
How now, sir Priest--forgive me--I was dreaming
NINIAN.
Lindesay's name, my brother,
WALDHAVES.
NINIAN.
Even so;--and I am near, should chance require me.
There is no sin, so that we drink it not
[Exit towards the Chapel.
WALDHAVES.
It is not with me, and alas! alas!
Re-enter
NINIAN.
NINIAN.
Look to your watch, my brother;--horsemen come:
WALDHAVES.
My thoughts have rapt me more than thy devotions.
Else had I heard the tread of rushing horses
NINIAN.
See how they strain adown the opposing hill;
WALDHAVES.
'Tis but for shame to see one man fly thus
NINIAN.
Yet look again,--they quit their horses now,
WALDHAVES.
I'll not believe that ever the bold thane
Rear'd up his cross to be a sanctuary
NINIAN.
He comes:--thou art a novice on this watch:--
[WALDHAVES lets down his cowl, and steps back.
Enter
MAURICE BERKELEY.
NINIAN.
BERKELEY.
I claim the privilege of Clan Mac Duff.
NINIAN.
BERKELEY.
Let him shew it,
Enter
LINDESAY with his Sword drawn; he rushes at
NINIAN.
Peace in the name of Saint Magridius!
LINDESAY.
One charm I'll try first,
BERKELEY.
Were not my right hand fetter'd by the thought
LINDESAY.
He quails and shuns to look upon my weapon,
BERKELEY.
Lindesay; and if there were no deeper cause
NINIAN.
I charge you both, and in the name of heaven,
LINDESAY.
Ask the blue welkin--ask the silver Tay,
NINIAN.
It is said----
LINDESAY.
Aye, in his halls--
BERKELEY.
Thou say'st I came a guest;--I came a victim--
LINDESAY.
Wretch! thou didst dishonor,
BERKELEY.
There is a busy fiend tugs at my heart,
Which may suffice to cover me.--
LINDESAY.
Take worse and blacker;--murderer--adulterer--
BERKELEY.
Do not press me further;
NINIAN.
This heat, lord Berkeley, doth but ill accord
BERKELEY.
Father, forgive, and let me stand excused
Conferr'd her on another.--While she lived,
LINDESAY.
Follow me:--I am glad there is one spur
BERKELEY.
Make then obeisance to the blessed cross,
(They are going off
.)
WALDHAVES. (Rushing forward.
)
Madman, stand--
BERKELEY.
I swear by Heaven,
WALDHAVES. (Throws back his cowl.
)
LINDESAY.
My brother!--and alive!--
WALDHAVES.
Alive, but yet, my Richard, dead to thee.--
LINDESAY.
I but sought
WALDHAVES.
I ceased to be so when I left the world.--
BERKELEY. (Gives his hand.
)
It is the will
To save from further bloodshed; for, De Berkeley,
HAIL
, Fair Mead! hail, my forest glade!
There, underneath its brow that rears
Thy touch hath clear'd th' ungenial shade,
'Tis in that sole, that sacred spot,
"THE
most original and beautiful, perhaps, of all Schiller's poems,
unequalled by any thing of Goethe's, is called 'The Song of the
Bell,'-- a varying irregular lyric strain. The casting of a bell is, in
Germany, an event of solemnity and rejoicing. In the neighbourhood of the Hartz, and the other mine districts, you read formal announcements in the newspapers from bell-founders, that at a given time and spot a casting is to take place, to which they invite all their friends. An entertainment out of doors is prepared, and held with much festivity. Schiller, in a few short stanzas, forming a sort of
chorus, describes the whole process of the melting, the casting, and
the cooling of the bell, with a technical truth and a felicity of expression, in which the sound of the sharp sonorous rhymes and expressive epithets constantly forms an echo to the sense. Between these technical processes he breaks forth into the most beautiful episodaic pictures of the various scenes of life, with which the
sounds of the bell are connected." *
FAST
immur'd within the earth,
The work we earnestly prepare,
Billets of the fir-wood take,
What now within the earth's deep womb
There its aërial station keeping,
Lo! I see white bubbles spring:--
Hark! 'tis the birth-day's festive ringing
The years like winged arrows fly:
See! the pipes are browning over!
If coated there with glassy cover,
For where strength with softness joins,
Forth the husband must wend
Now the house-wife within
And in smooth polish'd ward-robes range row above row,
The father now, with deep delight,
'Tis time.--Now, now begin the fusion:
Smoking in the handle's bow,
Beneficent the fire, whose flame
Not that, daylight's glowing flood.
Giant high!
One look--one last--
All prosp'rous seems beneath the earth,
But will the day that views its birth,
To the dark lap of holy earth
Ah! 'tis the dear one--'tis the wife!
Torn from each tender child away
While the Bell is cooling, rest,
Quickly with unwearied paces
Come back lowing,
Holy Order! rich in blessing;
To roofs that bind the household tie,
A thousand busy hands in motion
Holy Peace!
Which roseate eve's soft colours faint
Break me the mould: its due employment
The master breaks the mould in pieces,
Where senseless force misrules at pleasure,
Ah! woe! when in the city's slumber
"Freedom! Equality!"--all crying,
No sanctity the bosom shielding,
'Tis dire to rouse a lion sleeping,
Woe!--who to him, the blind, the cruel,
Joy! joy to me, kind heav'n has giv'n:
Come all! come all!
Its voice from yon aërial height
TRIUMPHANT
arch! that fill'st the sky
Still seem, as to my childhood's sight,
Can all that optics teach unfold
When science from creation's face
And yet, fair bow! no fabling dreams,
When o'er the green undeluged earth
And when its yellow lustre smil'd
Methinks, thy jubilee to keep,
Nor ever shall the Muse's eye
The earth to thee its incense yields,
How glorious is thy girdle cast
As fresh in yon horizon dark,
For faithful to its sacred page,
WHEN
hope lies dead within the heart,
'Tis hard to smile when one could weep,
Yet such the lot for thousands cast,
But nature waits her sons to greet,
OH
! Pow'r Supreme, that fill'st the whole
Is it in ether's boundless plains,
Above, below, and all around,
On this small speck, our parent earth,
Exploring land, and air, and sea,
THE
sun declines; his parting ray
Soft, melancholy bloom! to thee
By thee I'll sit, and inly muse
No! 'tis the pang alone to part
SOMETIMES
in youthful years,
Not for themselves alone
With other feelings now,
But thou the while shalt bear,
NOT
love, nor war, nor the tumultuous swell
A VOLANT
tribe of bards on earth are found,
HELP
, Master, help!--we sink--our toil is vain--
But who is she, mid dungeons, chains, and cells?
AWAKE
, thou lov'd strain! oh, again let me hear thee!
Ye musings of tenderness, melt and deceive me!
NAY
, sister, what hast thou to boast
Then on delight for ever fled
And what art thou, vain Hope? a cheat:
Soon as the hop'd-for thing appears,
True, sister, true! in every age
For what? for fame, for love, for gold,
Emmas and Lauras at thy shrine
Say is not mine the early hold
Thou lend'st him help, to read, to spell,
How could he bear the pedant's frown,
True, to thy fairy world he goes,
On me the quiet few rely,
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SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES.
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F.
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I. J.
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K.
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L.
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M.
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N.
O.
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P.
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Y.
Page [1]
MAC DUFF'S CROSS,
A DRAMA.
Page [2]
Page [3]
PRELUDE.
And say that still there lurks amongst our glens
Some touch of strange enchantment.--Mark that fragment,
I mean that rough-hewn block of massive stone,
Placed on the summit of this mountain pass,
Commanding prospect wide o'er field and fell,
And peopled village, and extended moorland,
And the wide ocean and majestic Tay,
And the far distant Grampians.--Do not deem it
A loosened portion of the neighbouring rock,
Detach'd by storm and thunder,--'twas the pedestal
On which, in ancient times, a cross was rear'd,
Carv'd o'er with words which foil'd philologists;
And the events it did commemorate
Were dark, remote, and undistinguishable,
As were the mystic characters it bore.
But, mark,--a wizard by a southern stream,
Page 4
And, lo! the scene is hallow'd.--None shall pass,
Now or in after days, beside that stone,
But he shall have strange visions;--thoughts and words,
That shake, or rouse, or thrill the human heart,
Shall rush upon his memory when he hears
The spirit-stirring name of this rude symbol,--
Oblivious ages, at that simple spell,
Shall render back their terrors with their woes,
Alas! and with their crimes,--and the proud phantoms
Shall move with step familiar to his eye,
And accents which, once heard, the ear forgets not,
Though ne'er again to list them.--Siddons, thine,
Thou matchless Siddons! thrills upon our ear;
And on our eye thy lofty brother's form
Rises as Scotland's monarch.--But, to thee,
Joanna, why to thee speak of such visions?
Thine own wild wand can raise them.--
Yet since thou wilt an idle tale of mine,
Take one which scarcely is of worth enough
To give or to withhold.--But time creeps on,
Fancy grows colder as the silvery hair
Tells the advancing winter of our life.
But if it be of worth enough to please,
That worth it owes to her who set the task,
If otherwise, the fault rest with the author.
Page [5]
MAC DUFF'S CROSS.
By the bold thane unto his patron saint
Magridius, once a brother of our house.
Canst thou not spare an ave or a creed?
Or hath the steep ascent exhausted you?
You trode it stoutly, though 'twas rough and toilsome.--
I have trode a rougher--
Scarcely within our sea-girt province here,
Unless upon the Lomonds or Bennarty.
Page 6
But of the road of life which I had travell'd,
Ere I assumed this habit;--it was bounded,
Hedged in, and limited by earthly prospects,
As ours beneath was closed by dell and thicket.
Here we see wide and far, and the broad sky,
With wide horizon, opens full around,
While earthly objects dwindle.--Brother Ninian,
Fain would I hope that mental elevation
Could raise me equally o'er worldly thoughts,
And place me by so much the nearer heaven.--
That though we look on heaven from this high eminence,
Yet doth the Prince of all the airy space,
Arch foe of man, possess the realms between.
From the fair haven they aim at, even because
They deem themselves secure on't.
Strangers are wont to do so--on the prospect.
Yon is the Tay rolled down from highland hills,
That rests his waves after so rude a race
Page 7
Proud Stirling rises--yonder to the east,
Dundee, the gift of God, and fair Montrose,
And still more northward lie the hills--
Of Edzell.
How know you the towers of Edzell?
I've heard of them.
Which, when he tells, the peasant shakes his head,
And shuns the mouldering and deserted walls.
Why, and by whom deserted?
Enough to say, that the last lord of Edzell,
Bold Reynold Lindesay, had a wife, and found--
Aye, and a tempting fiend, lost paradise,
When man was innocent.
Page 8
Did bend his sword against De Berkeley's breast,
And that the lady threw herself between:
That then De Berkeley dealt the Baron's death-wound.
Enough, that from that time De Berkeley bore
A spear in foreign wars;--and, it is said,
He hath returned of late; and therefore, brother,
The prior hath ordain'd our vigil here,
To watch the privilege of the sanctuary,
And, rights of Clan Mac Duff.--
And do not know our ancient usages.
Know then, when fell Mac Beth beneath the arm
Of the predestined knight, unborn of woman,
A triple boon he ask'd, and thrice did Malcolm,
Stooping the sceptre, which the thane restored,
Assent to his request. And hence the rule,
That first when Scotland's king assumes the crown,
Mac Duff's descendant rings his brow with it:
And hence, when Scotland's king calls forth his host,
Mac Duff's descendant leads the van in battle;
And last, in guerdon of the crown restored,
Red with the blood of the usurping tyrant,
Page 9
That, if a kinsman of the thane of Fife
Commit a slaughter on a sudden impulse,
And fly for refuge to this Cross Mac Duff;
He for his sake shall find it sanctuary;
For here must the avenger's step be staid,
And here the panting homicide find safety.
To see the custom of the place observed?--
Since Saint Magridius, blessed be his memory!
Did by a vision warn the abbot Eadmer,--
And chief we watch, when there is bickering
Among the neighbouring nobles, as most likely
From this return of Berkeley from abroad,
Having the Lindesay's blood upon his hand.--
The Lindesay then was loved among his friends?
For even his bounty bore a show of sternness,
And when his passions waked, he was a Sathan,
For wrath and injury.
Page 10
Of an old baron, who did bear about him
Some touch of your lord Louis.
Indeed was Louis; and methinks beside
That, as you spoke even now, he would have spoken.
I brought him a petition from our convent:
He granted straight, but in such tone and manner,
By my good saint! I thought myself scarce safe
Till Tay roll'd broad between us. I must now
Unto the chapel--meanwhile the vigil's thine;
And, at thy word, the hurrying fugitive,
Should such arrive, must here find sanctuary;
And, at thy word, the fury-paced avenger
Must stop his bloody course--e'en as swoln Jordan
Controll'd his waves, soon as they touch'd the feet
Of those who bore the ark.
Is this my charge?
At midnight I relieve you on your watch,
When we may taste together some refreshment.
I have cared for 't, and for a flask of wine,
Page 11
Until the midnight hour, when lauds have toll'd.
Farewell awhile, and store of peace be with you.
I know not where to seek it. This monk's mind
Is with his cloister mark'd, nor lacks more room.
Its petty duties, formal ritual,
Its humble pleasures, and its paltry troubles,
Fill up his round of life. Even as some reptiles,
They say, are moulded to the very shape,
And all the angles of the rocky crevice,
In which they live and die. But for myself,
Hunted by passion to the narrow cell,
Couching my tired limbs in its recesses,
So ill-adapted am I to its limits,
That every attitude is agony.
How now! what brings him back?
I heard the tread when kneeling in the chapel.
Page 12
Farther than thou could'st hear the sacring bell;
But now in truth they come:--flight and pursuit
Are sights I've been long strange to.--
Yon grey steed bounding on the headlong path
As on the level meadow; and the black,
Urged by the rider with his naked sword,
Stoops on his prey, as I have seen the falcon
Dashing upon the heron.--Thou dost frown
And clench thy hand, as if it grasp'd a weapon.
While only one pursues him.--Coward, turn!--
Turn thee, I say! thou art as stout as he,
And well may'st match thy single sword with his.
Shame, that a man should rein a steed like thee,
Yet fear to turn his front against a foe:--
I am ashamed to look on them.
Unfit for the rough path:--the fugitive
Keeps the advantage still.
Page 13
To the base coward, who shunn'd an equal combat.--
How's this?--that look--that mien--my eyes grow dizzy.--
Brother, I'll take the word and speak to him.
Let down thy cowl;--know that we spiritual champions
Have honor to maintain, and must not seem
To quail before the laity.
Who art thou, stranger? speak thy name and purpose.
My name is Maurice Berkeley, and my lineage
Allies me nearly with the thane of Fife.
Give us to know the cause of sanctuary?
Against whose violence I claim the privilege.
Page 14
BERKELEY; NINIAN interposes.
Peace in our prior's name, and in the name
Of that dear symbol which did purchase peace
And good-will towards man! I do command thee
To sheathe thy sword and stir no contest here.
To lure this craven from the enchanted circle
Which he hath harbour'd in.--Hear you, De Berkeley,
This is my brother's sword,--the hand it arms
Is weapon'd to avenge a brother's death:--
If thou had heart to step a furlong off
And change three blows,--and for so short a space
As these good men may say an avemary,
So, heaven be good to me! I would forgive thee
Thy deed and all its consequences.
That slaying thee were but a double guilt
In which to steep my soul, no bridegroom ever
Stepp'd forth to trip a measure with his bride
More joyfully than I, young man, would wait
Upon your challenge.
Page 15
Yet boasts himself a Berkeley.
For shunning thee than terror of thy weapon,
That rock-hewn cross as soon should start and stir,
Because a hunter-boy blew horn beneath it,
As I for brag of thine.
Breathe no defiance on this sacred spot,
Where christian men must bear them peacefully,
On pain of the church-thunders.--Calmly tell
Your cause of difference;--and lord Lindesay then
Be first to speak them.
The northern Grampians--all know my wrongs;
But ask not me to tell them while a villain,
Who wrought them, stands and listens with a smile.--
Since you refer us thus to general fame,
That Berkeley slew thy brother, the lord Louis,
In his own halls at Edzell--
Page 16
In his own halls, good father, that's the word
In his own halls he slew him, while the wine
Pass'd on the board between!--The gallant thane,
Who wreaked Mac Beth's inhospitable murder,
Built not his cross to sanction deeds like these.
A destined victim, train'd on to the doom
His frantic jealousy prepar'd for me:
He fix'd a quarrel on me, and we fought.
Can I forget the form that came between us,
And perish'd by his sword?--'Twas then I fought
For vengeance--until then I guarded life,
But then I sought to take it, and prevail'd.
And then didst slay him.
But I will struggle with it.--Youthful knight,
My heart is sick of war, my hand of slaughter;
I come not to my lordships or my land,
But seek just so much earth in some cold cloister
As I may kneel on living, and when dead
Page 17
Forgive me that I caus'd your brother's death;
And I forgive thee the injurious terms
With which thou taxest me.----
Art thou not moved yet?--
The hunted stag, even when he seeks the thicket,
If forc'd to stand at bay, grow dangerous!--
Most true, thy brother perish'd by my hand,
And if you term it murther, I will bear it.
Thus far my patience can--but if thou brand
The purity of yonder martyr'd saint,
Whom thus my sword but poorly did avenge,
With one injurious word, come to the valley,
And I will show thee how it shall be answer'd.--
With thy late pious patience.--
To Heaven and thee, if patience brooks no more.--
I loved this lady fondly--truly loved;
Loved her, and was beloved, ere yet her father
Page 18
Each thought of her was to my soul as hallowed
As those I send to Heaven; and on her grave,
Her bloody, early grave, while this poor hand
Can hold a sword, shall no one cast a scorn.--
Can rouze thy sluggard metal.--
For it shall be on earth thy last devotion.--
Stay but one second,--answer but one question.
There, Maurice Berkeley, can'st thou look upon
That blessed sign, and swear thou'st spoken truth?--
And by the memory of that murder'd innocent,
Each seeming charge against her was as false
As Ermengarde was spotless.--Hear, each saint!
Hear me, thou holy rood!--hear me from Heaven,
Thou martyr'd excellence!--Hear me from penal fire,
(For sure not yet thy guilt is expiated?)
Stern ghost of her destroyer!----
Page 19
He hears! he hears!--thy spell hath rais'd the dead.
No tie of kindred binds me to the world:
All were renounc'd, when with reviving life
Came the desire to seek the sacred cloister.--
Alas, in vain! for to that last retreat,
Like to a pack of blood-hounds in full chace,
My passions and my wrongs have followed me,
Wrath and remorse--and to fill up the cry,
Thou hast brought vengeance hither.--
To do the act and duty of a brother
But if he can forgive, as I forgive,
God sends me here a brother in mine enemy,
To pray for me, and with me.--If thou can'st,
De Berkeley, give thy hand.--
Of Heaven made manifest, in thy preservation,
Page 20
The votary, Maurice, lays the title down.--
Go to his halls, lord Richard, where a maiden,
Kin to his blood, and daughter in affection,
Heirs his broad lands.--If thou can'st love her, Lindesay,
Woo her and be a speeder.
Page 21
FAIR MEAD LODGE,
EPPING FOREST.
(AN EXTRACT FROM "RETROSPECTION," A MS. POEM.)
Thou green isle, girt around with shade!
Woods, where of old with hound and horn
The Norman hunter woke the morn:
Where yet along the grassy lawn
At dim of eve, and grey of dawn,
The deer his silent way pursues,
And prints his hoofs in treacherous dews:--
And thou, my lone and little lake,
Where the stag loves his thirst to slake,
When summer on the gilded stream,
Darts the broad sun-shine's noon-day beam!
Hail, peaceful Lodge! my summer-seat,
A wild, sequestered, lone retreat,
Oer-shadow'd by a Druid oak
That whilome felt the woodman's stroke,
Then, as disdainful of the blow,
Drove its gnarl'd roots more deep below,
And proudlier to the tempest spread,
An ampler girt, a broader head.
Page 22
The burden of a thousand years,
Beneath the arms whose branch of yore
The quiver of the Norman bore,
And heard the twanging of the yew
When Harold's shaft like lightning flew;
I trace the spots in grove and glade,
Where in wild woods my childhood stray'd,
When the full moon at magic hour
Shot thro' the leaves a spangled show'r,
That show'd upon the dewy blade
Fresh rings that fairy feet betray'd
Are these the haunts where stray'd the child,
Thro' thorny brakes and thickets wild?
How chang'd the scene! With fond delay,
The woodman, lingering on his way,
Asks the cold soil, and clay-bound earth,
What magic hand has chang'd its birth,
Or art--if art--in that recess
Has tam'd the forest wilderness?
Mary! thy hand hath touch'd that place,
And o'er it cast an added grace;
And where wild nature spread the wood,
And o'er the darken'd solitude,
The beech, the oak, the horn-beam sprung,
And hollies spir'd the thorns among,
Page 23
And gladden'd with new suns the glade.
Th' acacia, laurel, cypress, thine,
And bow'rs that breathe of eglantine.
It was thy hand that rear'd my grove,
And lin'd with moss the seat I love,
Entic'd the ivy-twine that weaves
O'er the thatch'd roof its glossy leaves;
Shap'd each gay plot that decks the scene,
And wound my walk their flow'rs between:
There, from Italia's fragrant shore,
Gay shrubs to deck my dwelling bore;
There bade the myrtle scent the gale,
With sweets that breath'd on Arno's vale;
Woo'd gentlest Zephyrs to awake
The flow'rs that glow'd o'er Como's lake,
And Britain's boldest suns illume
The Pæstan rose's double bloom.----
Sweet is it in such haunts to dwell,
And bid life's troublous scenes farewell,
Nursing in peaceful solitude
High visions that the world exclude!
If yet one spot--one resting place--
Where Peace may build on earth her bow'r,
And in its hallow'd haunt retrace
A dream of Eden's blissful hour,
Page 24
Where innocence and woman dwell;
'Tis in that heart, which wavering not,
Believes what God has deign'd to tell;
And anchoring its hope above,
Passes o'er earth in simple love.
Such, Mary! thy unsully'd heart,
And such the spot, where'er thou art.--
Page 25
THE LAY OF THE BELL.
(FROM THE GERMAN OF SCHILLER.)
Fixt by fire the clay-mould stands,
This day the Bell expects its birth;
Courage, comrades! ply your hands!
Hotly from the brow
Must the sweat-drop flow:
If by his work the master known,
Yet--Heav'n must send the blessing down.
Page 26
May well an earnest word demand:
When cheering words attend our care,
Gay the labour, brisk the hand.
Then, let us weigh with deep reflection,
What by more force must be achiev'd;
And rightly scorn his mis-direction,
Whose foresight ne'er his work conceiv'd.
'Tis this, that human nature graces,
This, gifted reason's destin'd aim,
That in itself the spirit traces
Whate'er the hand shall fitly frame.
Every billet dry and sound;
That flame on gather'd flame awake,
And vault with fire the furnace round.
Cast the copper in,
Quick, due weight of tin,
That the Bell's tenacious food,
Rightly flow in order'd mood.
Our hands by help of fire prepare,
Shall on yon turret mark our doom,
And loudly to the world declare!
Page 27
Touch many an ear to latest time;
Shall mingle with the mourner's weeping,
And tune to holy choirs its chime.
All that to earth-born sons below
The changeful turns of fortune bring,
The Bell from its metallic brow
In warning sounds shall widely ring.
Well!--the molten masses flow.
Haste, ashes of the salt-wort fling,
Quick'ning the fusion deep below.
Yet, from scoria free
Must the mixture be,
That from the metal, clean and clear,
Its sound swell tuneful on the ear.
It welcomes the beloved child,
Who now life's earliest way beginning,
In sleep's soft arm lies meek and mild.
As yet in time's dark lap repose,
Life's sunshine lot, and shadowy woes,
While tenderest cares of mothers born
Watch o'er her infant's golden morn.
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The stripling from the female hand
Bursts into life all wild to roam;
And wandering far o'er sea and land,
Returns a stranger home.
There, in her bloom divinely fair,
An image beaming from the sky,
With blushing cheek and modest air
A virgin charms his eye.
A nameless longing melts his heart,
Far from his comrades' revels rude,
While tears involuntary start,
He strays in pathless solitude,--
There, blushing, seeks alone her trace;
And if a smile his suit approve,
He seeks the prime of all the place,
The fairest flow'r to deck his love.--
Enchanting hope! thou sweet desire!
Thou earliest love! thou golden time!
Heav'n opens to thy glance of fire,
The heart o'erflows with bliss sublime.
Oh that it might eternal prove
The vernal bloom of youthful love!
This little rod I inly dip;
Page 29
Let not the time of fusion slip.
Now, companions!--move,
Now, the mixture prove.
If each alike, in one design
The brittle and the ductile join.
Where force with tenderness combines,
Firm the union, sweet the song.
Thus, ere thou wed no more to part,
Prove first if heart unite with heart:
The dream is brief, repentance long.
Sweet, 'mid the tresses of the bride,
Blooms the virgin coronal,
When merry bells ring far and wide
Kind welcome to the festival
Ah, that life's fairest festive day
Fades with the blossom of our May!
That when the veil and cestus fall,
The sweet illusions vanish, all!--
The passion,--it flies,
The love must endure:
The blossom,--it dies,
The fruit must mature.
Page 30
To the combat of life;
Plunge in turmoil and strife.
Must plant, and must plan;
Gain get as he can.
Hazard all, all importune,
To woo and win fortune.
Then streams, like a spring-flood, his wealth without measure,
And his granaries groan with the weight of their treasure;
And his farm-yards increase, and his mansion expands.
Her course must begin;
Nurse, mother, and wife
Share the troubles of life:
Discreetly severe
Rule all in her sphere;
Give each maiden employ,
Watch each troublesome boy.
With orderly care,
Keep all in repair;
And store without ceasing
Her riches increasing:
Fill her sweet-scented coffers; and, restlessly twirling,
Set each spindle a spinning, each wheel ever whirling;
Page 31
Her woollen all radiant, her linen all snow;
And trim them, and pranck them, and fashion them ever,
And rest--never.--
From his proud seat's wide-seeing roof,
Sums up the wealth that feasts his sight;
The branching columns that support
The loaded barns rang'd round the court;
Granaries that with corn o'er-flow,
And harvests billowing to and fro:
And deems, fond man! that, propt on gain,
Like pillars that the globe sustain,
His house in glory shall withstand
Misfortune's rough and ruthless hand.
But--none--no mortal can detain
Fate in adamantine chain.
Mischance with hurried foot advances.
The crevice now yields promise fair.
Yet, pause--nor hasten the conclusion,
Till Heav'n has heard our pious pray'r.
Push the stopper out.
Saints! watch the house about.
Page 32
Shoot the waves that darkly glow.--
The pow'r of man can watch and tame;
When all, whate'er he forms and makes,
From Heav'n's kind gift perfection takes.
But terrible this gift of Heav'n,
When bursting forth, its fetters riv'n,
This free-born child of nature free
Issues in random liberty.
Woe--woe--when loose, without controul,
Gathering fresh force to feed their ire,
On thro' the populous city roll,
Sheeted flames of living fire!
The elements, unpitying, hate
Whate'er the hands of man create.
From the clouds
Blessings flow,
Rain streams below:
From the clouds,
Here and there,
Lightnings glare.
Heard you yon turret moan from high?
Storm is nigh.
Red as blood
The Heav'n's suffusion;
Page 33
What confusion!
Clouds of smoke
The dark streets choke;
Flaring mounts up higher and higher,
Through lengthen'd streets, the pillar'd fire,
Borne before the wild wind's ire.
The flame as from a furnace streams,
Glows the ether, crack the beams;
Mothers wandering, children moaning,
Cattle under ruins groaning;
Windows clattering, pillars crushing,
All for safety wildly rushing.
This way, that way, twisting, turning,
Midnight like the noonday burning,
Hand to hand, a lengthen'd chain,
How they strain!
Fly the buckets; flood and fountain
Burst in liquid arches mounting:
The howling tempest on its course
Gives to the flames resistless force:
The fire-flood through each granary streams,
And blazes o'er the rafter'd beams;
And, as if the self-same hour
Would earth and all its growth devour,
To heav'n it rears its tow'ring flight,
Page 34
Hopelessly
Beneath its godlike strength man bows the head:
And, as his treasures sink and sunder,
Beholds the ruins round him spread,
In idle wonder--
Consum'd by flame.
One waste the place:
Nought but the storm there leaves a trace.
In the wide casement's vacancy
Dire horrors brood,
And clouds that sweep aloft the sky
Look on its solitude.
On that earth-womb,
His treasure's tomb:
One lingering look--'tis o'er--'tis past--
He grasps his staff--the world has room
The raging flame not all has reft,
One heartfelt solace yet is left.
He numbers those belov'd the most,--
Of those, so lov'd, not one is lost.
Full and kindly fill'd the mould:
Page 35
What crowns our toil and art behold?
If the fusion fail!--
If the mould prove frail!--
Ah! haply, while Hope's sunbeams glow,
Fate has already wrought the woe!
We trust the unaccomplish'd deed:
The sower fearless trusts his seed,
In hope to gather in the birth
At the blest time by heav'n decreed.
And far more precious seed concealing,
We mournful hide in earth's dark womb,
In hope that God, the grave unsealing,
Revive it, grac'd with brighter bloom.
From the dome,
Sad and slow,
Tolls the Bell,
The song of woe;--
Its sad, its solemn, strokes attend
A wand'rer to his journey's end.
'Tis the belov'd, the loving mother!
Who by the prince of darkness borne,
From her fond husband's arms is torn,--
Page 36
She bore him in her bloom of day,--
Those who had grown upon her breast,
By love--a mother's love--carest.
Ah! the household's gentle band
Is loos'd for ever,--ever more;
She dwells within the shadowy land
Whose fondness hung that household o'er.
Now ceas'd her zealous occupation,
None her kindness more shall prove;
O'er that wide waste, that orphan station,
A stranger rules devoid of love.
Rest from toil and trouble free;
Each, as fits his fancy best,
Sport like bird at liberty.
Peeps a star in air,
The man void of care
At vesper chime from labor ceases:
No hour the master's care releases.
The wand'rer in wild woods afar
Seeks his household roof's embraces:
Bleating, homeward draw the sheep:
Herds and cows
Sleek their hides, and broad their brows,
Page 37
Each his wonted manger knowing.
Charg'd with grain
In rocks the wain,
Harvest laden:
With gay leaves,
On the sheaves,
Garlands lie;
While to the dance the youthful mowers
Briskly fly.
Street and market hush their speaking;
The householders, when day decays,
Gather around their blissful blaze;
And the town-gate closes creaking.
Earth with clouds is darken'd over;
Yet underneath his roof's safe cover,
The peaceful burgher dreads not night,
Which wakes the wicked with affright,
While Law's keen eye ne'er rests its sight.
Heavenly daughter! whose caressing
To social bonds free man endears:
Thou, whose base the city rears;
Thou, who from the wild and wood
Call'st the unsocial savage brood,
Page 38
And sooth the soul with courtesy!
Hail, Thou that weav'st the dearest band,
The union of a Father-land!
Each to each its aid imparts,
And in brotherly devotion
Adds strength and grace to all the arts.
Man and master, in their station,
In Freedom's holy safeguard rest;
And in joyful occupation
Laugh to scorn the scorner's jest.
Work!--'tis the burgher's exaltation,--
A blessing rests on labor's head:
Honor the king who rules the nation,
Honor the hand that earns its bread.
Concord sweet!
Remain, remain:
O'er this region kindly reign.
Never may that day arise
When war's rough plund'rers shall assail!
And violate this peaceful vale:
Never may those lovely skies,
Page 39
Lovelily paint,
View on the blissful village roof
The battle-beacon flame aloof!
Now done, no more its aid we need.
Let heart and eye in full enjoyment,
On the well-formed image feed.
Swing, the hammer swing,
Till the cover spring.
When the earth the Bell releases,
The mould may split in thousand pieces.
And timely frees the precious charge;
But woe--if, as the flame encreases,
The glowing metal stream at large.
Blind-raging with the roar of thunder,
Forth from its riv'n cell it rushes;
And as from hell-jaws burst asunder,
Destruction with the fire-flood gushes.
No form comes forth in rule and measure--
When nations burst the social band,
Ill fares it with the ravag'd land.
Page 40
By stealth a spark of fire gains force:
Woe! when the mob's unfetter'd number
Finds in itself its sole resource.
Then--Uproar, to the bell-ropes springing,
Spreads far and wide the dread alarm;
And where Peace hail'd its joyful ringing,
Its signal bids the city arm.
The burgher arms for his defence;
Through streets, through halls, this, that way flying,
Fell Murder's bands their work commence.
Wild women, like hyænas darting,
Laughs mixed with groans, strange dread impart;
While thrills the nerve, while blood is starting,
The woman rends the quivering heart.
No decency, restraint, or shame,
The wicked, as the good are yielding,
To crime impunity proclaim.
Terrific is the tiger's jaw;
But there's a woe surpasses weeping,--
'Tis savage man let loose from law:
Page 41
Lends the blest gift from heav'n brought down--
It lights him not, but fires the fuel
That turns to ashes land and town.
Lo! like a star of golden birth,
The metal polish'd, smooth, and even,
Comes from its coverture of earth.
Lo! round its beauteous crown
Sunlike radiance thrown
And the coat of arms' gay burnish
Shall to my skill new honor furnish.
Close your ranks, in order settle;
Baptize we now the hallow'd metal:
"Concordia!"--Such her name we call.
To harmony, to heartfelt union,
It gathers in the blest communion.
Be this henceforward its vocation;
For this I watch'd o'er its creation,
That while our life goes lowly under,
The Bell, 'mid yon blue heav'n's expansion,
Should soar, the neighbour of the thunder,
And border on the starry mansion.
Page 42
Shall seem the music of the sphere,
That rolling lauds its Maker's might,
And leads along the crowned year:
To solemn and eternal things
Alone shall consecrate its chime,
And hourly, as it swiftly swings,
O'ertake the flying wing of time:
Shall lend to Fate its iron tongue,
Heartless itself, nor form'd to feel,
Shall follow life's mix'd scenes among,
Each turn of Fortune's fickle wheel--
And, as its echo on the gale
Dies off, though long and loud the tone,
Shall teach that all on earth shall fail,
All pass away--save God alone.
Now, with the rope's unweary'd might,
From its dark womb weigh up the Bell,
That it may gain th' aërial height,
And in the realm of Echo dwell.
Draw! draw!--it swings;
Hark! hark! it rings.
Joy to this town, be heard around!
Peace unto all, the Bell's first sound!
Page 43
TO THE RAINBOW.
When storms prepare to part,
I ask not proud philosophy
To teach me what thou art:--
A midway station given,
For happy spirits to alight
Betwixt the earth and heaven.
Thy form to please me so,
As when I dreamt of gems and gold
Hid in thy radiant bow?
Enchantment's veil withdraws,
What lovely visions yield their place
To cold material laws!
Page 44
But words of the Most High,
Have told why first thy robe of beams
Was woven in the sky.
Heaven's covenant thou did'st shine,
How came the world's grey fathers forth
To watch thy sacred sign!
O'er mountains yet untrod,
Each mother held aloft her child
To bless the bow of God.
The first-made anthem rang,
On earth deliver'd from the deep,
And the first poet sang.
Unraptur'd greet thy beam:
Theme of primeval prophecy!
Be still the poet's theme.
Page 45
The lark thy welcome sings,
When glitt'ring in the freshen'd fields
The snowy mushroom springs.
O'er mountain, tower, and town;
Or mirror'd in the ocean vast,
A thousand fathoms down!
As young thy beauties seem,
As when the eagle from the ark
First sported in thy beam.
Heaven still rebuilds thy span;
Nor lets the type grow pale with age,
That first spoke peace to man.
Page 46
THE LOT OF THOUSANDS.
By secret sorrow long conceal'd,
We shrink lest looks or words impart
What may not be reveal'd.
To speak when one would silent be;
To wake when one would wish to sleep,
And wake to agony.
Who wander in this world of care,
And bend beneath the bitter blast,
To save them from despair.
Where disappointment cannot come;
And time leads with unerring feet,
The weary wanderer home.
Page 47
Of wide creation's boundless space!
The Life of life, the Soul of soul,
Where shall we find thy dwelling-place?
Where radiant suns unnumber'd rise,
To warm their planetary trains,
And cheer with light far-distant skies?
Existence rises at thy call,
And, wrapt in mystery profound,
Thy works proclaim thee, Lord of all.
How bounteously thy gifts are spread!
Rich blessings here receive their birth
From Intellect by Science led.
Bringing far-distant objects nigh;
And in thy works adoring thee,
Beneath thy own all-seeing eye.
Page 48
ADDRESS
TO
THE EVENING PRIMROSE.
Shall bear the cheerful light away,
And on the landscape close:
Then will I seek the lonely vale,
Where sober ev'ning's primrose pale,
To greet the night-star, blows.
I turn with conscious sympathy;
Like thee, my hour is come:
When length'ning shadows slowly fade,
Till, lost in universal shade,
They sink beneath the tomb.
What are the charms in life we lose
When time demands our breath:
Alas! the load of ling'ring age
Has little that can hope engage,
Or point the shaft of death.
Page 49
From those we love, that rends the heart;
That agony to save
Some nameless pow'r in nature strives;
Our fading hope in death revives,
And blossoms on the grave.
Page 50
LINES,
WRITTEN IN LADY LONSDALE'S ALBUM, AT LOWTHER
CASTLE, OCT. 13. 1821.
When in some ancient ruin I have stood,
Alone and musing, till with quiet tears
I felt my cheeks bedew'd,
A melancholy thought hath made me grieve
For this our age, and humbled me in mind,
That it should pass away and leave
No monuments behind.
Our fathers lived; nor with a niggard hand
Raised they the fabrics of enduring stone,
Which yet adorn the land:
Their piles, memorials of the mighty dead,
Survive them still, majestic in decay;
But ours are like ourselves, I said,
The creatures of a day.
Page 51
Lowther! have I beheld thy stately walls,
Thy pinnacles, and broad embattled brow,
And hospitable halls.
The sun those wide spread battlements shall crest,
And silent years unharming shall go by,
Till centuries in their course invest
Thy towers with sanctity.
To after times, an old and honour'd name,
And to remote posterity declare,
Thy founder's virtuous fame.
Fair structure! worthy the triumphant age
Of glorious England's opulence and power,
Peace be thy lasting heritage,
And happiness thy dower!
Page 52
SONNET.
Of civil conflicts, nor the wrecks of change,
And duty struggling with afflictions strange,
Not these alone inspire the tuneful shell;
But where untroubled peace and concord dwell,
There also is the muse not loth to range,
Watching the blue smoke of the elmy grange,
Skyward ascending from the twilight dell.
Meek aspirations please her lone endeavour,
And sage content and placid melancholy;
She loves to gaze upon a crystal river,
Diaphanous, because it travels slowly:
Soft is the music that would please for ever,
The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly.
Page 53
SONNET.
Who, while the flatt'ring zephyrs round them play,
On "coignes of vantage" hang their nests of clay,
Work cunningly devis'd, and seeming sound;
But quickly from its airy hold unbound
By its own weight, or wash'd, or blown away
With silent imperceptible decay.
If man must build, admit him to thy ground,
O Truth!--to work within the eternal ring,
When the stars shine, or while day's purple eye
Is gently closing with the flowers of spring;
When even the motion of an angel's wing
Would interrupt the intense tranquillity
Of silent hills, and more than silent sky.
Page 54
TO MRS. FRY,
THE REFORMER OF NEWGATE.
We perish--help!--the faint disciples cried:
The Saviour rose and look'd upon the main,
And lo! the billows at his word subside.
(Not yet th' Almighty Master's wonders cease;)
Round her the storm of guilt and fury swells,
And in His name she speaks till all is peace.
Page 55
ST. CECILIA.
Breathe o'er me again thy enchantment divine:
'Tis silence,--'tis night,--no intruder is near me,
To mock what for kingdoms I would not resign.
Oh, pour o'er my heart all that soften'd emotion,
No reason can know, and no language display;
Receive my still spirit's surrender'd devotion,
And charm the dull sense of existence away.
O pity and love! for your dreams I implore;
And Thou, who art love and art pity, receive me,
Great Father of light! whom I sigh to adore.
Oh, welcome, ye forms in mild radiance descending,
That whisper responsive, and smile as I gaze!
Before the far throne, lo, the seraphs are bending;
I hear their hosannas of rapture and praise.
Page 56
HOPE AND MEMORY.
HOPE.
Of joy? a poor reciter thou,
Whose happiest thought is but the ghost
Of some past pleasure vanish'd now.
When better things may not be found,
By sad reflecting, weary men,
They on thy records look around,
Their only friend, and only then.
They cast a melancholy view,
Where, as on pictures of the dead,
The likeness makes the sorrow true.
But could'st thou from thy page efface
What brings regret, remorse, or shame,
Nor all our wandering steps retrace,
Then mortals might endure thy name.
Page 57
MEMORY.
For didst thou ever promise make,
That either time did not defeat
Or some intruding evil break?
Or say that chance has prov'd thee true,
The expected joy shall be thy own;
No sooner comes the good in view,
But Hope herself is lost and gone.
That was with such delight pursued,
Another aspect then it wears,
And is no more the fancied good.
So 'tis in dreams, men keenly chase
A something lov'd, desir'd, caress'd;
They overtake, and then embrace
That which they loathe, despise, detest.
Will men in thy delusions share;
And thou a lasting war wilt wage
With Wisdom's joy and Reason's care.
Who comes to thee? the rash, the bold,
The dreaming bard, the sighing youth:
Page 58
And they receive thy tales for truth.
Attend, and deem thy answers true,
And, calling Hope a power divine,
Their Corydons and Damons view.
And girls at school, and boys at taw,
Seduced by thy delusive skill,
Think life is love, and love is law,
And they may choose just whom they will.
HOPE.
On man? whose heart I make my own
And, long e'er thy dull tale be told,
I bear him forth to worlds unknown.
Before the mind can trust to thee,
And slowly gain thy heavy store,
It travels far and wide with me,
My worlds and wonders to explore.
His progress slow, his efforts mean:
I take him in my realms to dwell,
To win a throne, to wed a queen.
Page 59
That frights the sad bewilder'd boy,
Or hear such words as verb and noun,
But for my tales of love and joy?
MEMORY.
And there his terms he idly keeps,
Till Truth breaks in on his repose,
And then for past neglect he weeps.
What, if we grant the heart is thine
Of rash and unreflecting youth,
How is it in his life's decline,
When truth is heard and only truth?
&