The works of Lord Byron A new, revised and enlarged edition, with illustrations. Edited by Ernest Hartley Coleridge and R. E. Prothero |
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The works of Lord Byron | ||
ON LEAVING NEWSTEAD ABBEY.
Why dost thou build the hall, Son of the winged days? Thou
lookest from thy tower to-day: yet a few years, and the blast of the
desart comes: it howls in thy empty court.—Ossian.
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Through thy battlements, Newstead, the hollow winds whistle:Thou, the hall of my Fathers, art gone to decay;
In thy once smiling garden, the hemlock and thistle
Have choak'd up the rose, which late bloom'd in the way.
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Of the mail-cover'd Barons, who, proudly, to battle,Led their vassals from Europe to Palestine's plain,
The escutcheon and shield, which with ev'ry blast rattle,
Are the only sad vestiges now that remain.
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No more doth old Robert, with harp-stringing numbers,Raise a flame, in the breast, for the war-laurell'd wreath;
Near Askalon's towers, John of Horistan slumbers,
Unnerv'd is the hand of his minstrel, by death.
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Paul and Hubert too sleep in the valley of Cressy;For the safety of Edward and England they fell:
My Fathers! the tears of your country redress ye:
How you fought! how you died! still her annals can tell.
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On Marston, with Rupert, 'gainst traitors contending,Four brothers enrich'd, with their blood, the bleak field;
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Till death their attachment to royalty seal'd.
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Shades of heroes, farewell! your descendant departingFrom the seat of his ancestors, bids you adieu!
Abroad, or at home, your remembrance imparting
New courage, he'll think upon glory and you.
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Though a tear dim his eye at this sad separation,'Tis nature, not fear, that excites his regret;
Far distant he goes, with the same emulation,
The fame of his Fathers he ne'er can forget.
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That fame, and that memory, still will he cherish;He vows that he ne'er will disgrace your renown:
Like you will he live, or like you will he perish;
When decay'd, may he mingle his dust with your own!
1803.
The works of Lord Byron | ||