The Battle of Largs A Gothic Poem. With Several Miscellaneous Pieces [by John Galt] |
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| 3. | CANTO THIRD. |
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 | The Battle of Largs |  |
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CANTO THIRD.
‘Seize the wild tempest by the wing,
‘Till squall and blast its strugglings fling,
‘For Hako's navy stems the waves,
‘And old imperial Ocean braves.’
To Urd th' inexorable cried
Wirandi, and to Sculdi hied,
Who silent seathing sorrows sat
Beside black Hecla's caldron squat,
Nor sun nor moon nor human torch
Ere gleam'd beyond the dismal porch
Of her tremendous antre vault,
Hewn vast in igneous sulphur salt.
Wirandi stoop'd her giant head,
Her eyes terrific radiance shed
Around, and on the Sister fell
Who, startling, hail'd her with a yell
That rous'd the gaunt and viewless power,
Who in deep caves delights to cower,
With hollow mockery to astound
Who ever treads their herbless ground.
‘Till squall and blast its strugglings fling,
‘For Hako's navy stems the waves,
‘And old imperial Ocean braves.’
To Urd th' inexorable cried
Wirandi, and to Sculdi hied,
Who silent seathing sorrows sat
Beside black Hecla's caldron squat,
Nor sun nor moon nor human torch
Ere gleam'd beyond the dismal porch
Of her tremendous antre vault,
Hewn vast in igneous sulphur salt.
Wirandi stoop'd her giant head,
Her eyes terrific radiance shed
26
Who, startling, hail'd her with a yell
That rous'd the gaunt and viewless power,
Who in deep caves delights to cower,
With hollow mockery to astound
Who ever treads their herbless ground.
‘Arouse thee, Sculdi, mount the air,
‘King Hako's keels the surges tear;
‘Urd on the lone pole holds the storm;
‘Away, away, thy part perform,
‘With hair dishevel'd wrap the blasts,
‘And flame in omens on the masts,
‘While from a cliff-like cloud's black verge
‘I heaven's loud engin'ry discharge.’
‘King Hako's keels the surges tear;
‘Urd on the lone pole holds the storm;
‘Away, away, thy part perform,
‘With hair dishevel'd wrap the blasts,
‘And flame in omens on the masts,
‘While from a cliff-like cloud's black verge
‘I heaven's loud engin'ry discharge.’
Wirandi ceas'd, the cavern rung,
The Sisters through the darkness sprung;
Horror rejoiced, the thunders beat,
And Terror rav'd o'er Hako's fleet.
The Sisters through the darkness sprung;
Horror rejoiced, the thunders beat,
And Terror rav'd o'er Hako's fleet.
But as the blushing morning warms,
Dissolve the Sisters' potent charms,
Brief are the Evils' dreadful sway;
Fear flies with night, hope springs with day
To cheer and heal the drooping mind
That Erie's hideous charms confin'd.
Dissolve the Sisters' potent charms,
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Fear flies with night, hope springs with day
To cheer and heal the drooping mind
That Erie's hideous charms confin'd.
The silv'ry dawn, that during night
Fringed the polar skies with light,
A broader brighter radiance show'd,
Till all the East with morning glow'd.
The breeze on idling pinions stray'd,
And through the white-sail'd vessels play'd;
The seaman's call spread o'er the waste,
And Ocean smooth'd his ruffled breast.
Fringed the polar skies with light,
A broader brighter radiance show'd,
Till all the East with morning glow'd.
The breeze on idling pinions stray'd,
And through the white-sail'd vessels play'd;
The seaman's call spread o'er the waste,
And Ocean smooth'd his ruffled breast.
While o'er the prows the sailors hung,
Or some rude lay half musing sung,
King Hako turn'd his pensive eye
Where Norway's shores were wont to lie;
But distance and the curved deep
Conceal'd each cliff and bosky steep;
Around the skybound sea was drawn,
A vast unvaried hazy zone.
Or some rude lay half musing sung,
King Hako turn'd his pensive eye
Where Norway's shores were wont to lie;
But distance and the curved deep
Conceal'd each cliff and bosky steep;
Around the skybound sea was drawn,
A vast unvaried hazy zone.
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The silenc'd winds had ceas'd to sigh
The sun stood lonely in the sky,
No bird the viewless air sustain'd,
But only sky and sea remain'd,
When slowly up the northern skies
A dusky spire began to rise,
Still high and higher still it grew,
Amazement through the navy flew;
Still high and higher still it rose,
And fill'd the fleet with fancied woes;
Still high, so high it now had reach'd,
That every eye, upturn'd and stretch'd,
Could gaze no more; it seem'd to bend,
And to the western verge descend;
Bridging the sea from north to west,
A living arch appear'd confest;
A rustling fluttering stirs the ear,
And wearied straggling birds appear,
While the slopt sun his radiance flings
On countless breasts and twinkling wings;
For, lo! the sign so dread and strange
Was fowls upon their annual range,
Flying from Lapland's lakes and fens
To Albion's marshy moors and glens.
Releas'd, rejoic'd, King Hako cried,
While still the fleet admiring eyed
The feather'd myriads pass above,
‘Behold, the heavens our course approve;
‘What bowers of bliss, and vales, and plains,
‘Fair Albion's temperate isle contains,
‘Since, lo! the birds of Norway these,
‘Leave home like us and dare the seas.’
The sun stood lonely in the sky,
No bird the viewless air sustain'd,
But only sky and sea remain'd,
When slowly up the northern skies
A dusky spire began to rise,
Still high and higher still it grew,
Amazement through the navy flew;
Still high and higher still it rose,
And fill'd the fleet with fancied woes;
Still high, so high it now had reach'd,
That every eye, upturn'd and stretch'd,
Could gaze no more; it seem'd to bend,
And to the western verge descend;
Bridging the sea from north to west,
A living arch appear'd confest;
A rustling fluttering stirs the ear,
And wearied straggling birds appear,
While the slopt sun his radiance flings
On countless breasts and twinkling wings;
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Was fowls upon their annual range,
Flying from Lapland's lakes and fens
To Albion's marshy moors and glens.
Releas'd, rejoic'd, King Hako cried,
While still the fleet admiring eyed
The feather'd myriads pass above,
‘Behold, the heavens our course approve;
‘What bowers of bliss, and vales, and plains,
‘Fair Albion's temperate isle contains,
‘Since, lo! the birds of Norway these,
‘Leave home like us and dare the seas.’
The sun retir'd and twilight gone,
The amber moon serenely shone,
Silvering the raven-plumes of night,
And burnishing the ocean bright;
Calm wooing Silence won repose—
O'er head the glistering concave glows;
Below reflected in the main,
The glistering concave glows again,
And Hako's moveless ships appear
Suspended in a spangled sphere.
The watchmen as they whistling pace
The pitched decks, or pausing gaze
To snuff the fishy scented wind,
Or loitering o'er the rail reclin'd,
View with delight the glancing fry
In brisk and ceaseless revelry.
The amber moon serenely shone,
Silvering the raven-plumes of night,
And burnishing the ocean bright;
Calm wooing Silence won repose—
O'er head the glistering concave glows;
Below reflected in the main,
The glistering concave glows again,
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Suspended in a spangled sphere.
The watchmen as they whistling pace
The pitched decks, or pausing gaze
To snuff the fishy scented wind,
Or loitering o'er the rail reclin'd,
View with delight the glancing fry
In brisk and ceaseless revelry.
What time the blithe and breezy Morn
Couch'd on the golden clouds, and borne
With varying tinted kirtle gay
On the bright shoulders of the day,
Freshen'd the sense with dewy hand,
The faint blue sketch of dawning land
Abridg'd th' horizon of the South,
And cheer'd the keen Norweyan youth.
But ere the sun to noon had soar'd,
The sick'ning welkin gloom'd and lower'd;
For to the fatal Sisters' prayer
The fickle fell perfidious Air
Sent howling from his hundred caves
Tumultuous tempest o'er the waves,
While from Spitzbergen's icy cliffs
To Greenland's houseless shores, its drifts,
(The withering earth was shook with dread)
On wings of murky vengeance spread,
Sad Iceland saw black Winter come,
Brushing the ocean into foam.
Couch'd on the golden clouds, and borne
With varying tinted kirtle gay
On the bright shoulders of the day,
Freshen'd the sense with dewy hand,
The faint blue sketch of dawning land
Abridg'd th' horizon of the South,
And cheer'd the keen Norweyan youth.
But ere the sun to noon had soar'd,
The sick'ning welkin gloom'd and lower'd;
For to the fatal Sisters' prayer
The fickle fell perfidious Air
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Tumultuous tempest o'er the waves,
While from Spitzbergen's icy cliffs
To Greenland's houseless shores, its drifts,
(The withering earth was shook with dread)
On wings of murky vengeance spread,
Sad Iceland saw black Winter come,
Brushing the ocean into foam.
With shrill short shrieks the petterels past
Before the howling hurrying blast;
Bold birds, that o'er the desert deep
On vague adventures swiftly sweep;
When ridgy waves the clouds assail,
They skim along the dreadful vale,
And oft and ere the dangers gloom,
To warn a fated vessel's doom,
They flock her hanging stern beneath,
And churming chaunt the dirge of death.
The bernacle, that wary fly,
The marine sportsman's aiming eye,
(Of fabulous birth, a plumy brood,
Bred by the sea in porous wood,)
Whirl'd in the vollies of the storm,
Flew thick around, nor dreaded harm.
With circling flight the murmuring gulls
Of tusky rocks and shelving shoals
Appriz'd the pilots, while the shore,
With drizzly mist impervious hoar,
Alarms their breasts with throbbing fears
As on the rushing navy nears.
Before the howling hurrying blast;
Bold birds, that o'er the desert deep
On vague adventures swiftly sweep;
When ridgy waves the clouds assail,
They skim along the dreadful vale,
And oft and ere the dangers gloom,
To warn a fated vessel's doom,
They flock her hanging stern beneath,
And churming chaunt the dirge of death.
The bernacle, that wary fly,
The marine sportsman's aiming eye,
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Bred by the sea in porous wood,)
Whirl'd in the vollies of the storm,
Flew thick around, nor dreaded harm.
With circling flight the murmuring gulls
Of tusky rocks and shelving shoals
Appriz'd the pilots, while the shore,
With drizzly mist impervious hoar,
Alarms their breasts with throbbing fears
As on the rushing navy nears.
The cordage creek'd, the masts inclin'd,
Still loud and louder sung the wind,
And forc'd the hoary mist away,
Unfolding Kirkwall's shelt'ring bay,
Where smoothly safe the vessels moor'd,
Their wrecks repair'd, their strength secur'd,
Till spritely Spring's appeasing smile
Drew warring Winter from his toil,
Who, fondly fain and gruffly shy,
Reviews and shuns her radiant eye,
While she, with soft and gay caresses,
His dreadful dazzling mail unbraces.
He yields, though half ashamed to yield,
His crystal adamantine shield:
The spear of deadly cold ungraspt,
The helm of sable storms unclaspt,
Forgot the Sisters dire behest,
He sighs, and sinks upon her breast.
Still loud and louder sung the wind,
And forc'd the hoary mist away,
Unfolding Kirkwall's shelt'ring bay,
Where smoothly safe the vessels moor'd,
Their wrecks repair'd, their strength secur'd,
Till spritely Spring's appeasing smile
Drew warring Winter from his toil,
Who, fondly fain and gruffly shy,
Reviews and shuns her radiant eye,
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His dreadful dazzling mail unbraces.
He yields, though half ashamed to yield,
His crystal adamantine shield:
The spear of deadly cold ungraspt,
The helm of sable storms unclaspt,
Forgot the Sisters dire behest,
He sighs, and sinks upon her breast.
Now while the fleet serenely rode,
And heard the winter's-winds abroad,
The King and Chiefs with gifts incline
Before St. Magnus holly shrine.
When the shrill sacring bell was rung,
And the high mass devoutly sung,
The mitred monk with hands display'd
For recompensing vict'ry pray'd;
The choir a long-resounding strain
Chaunt as the warriors leave the fane.
Diffused around the accents flow;—
The soldiers in the ships below
With pious ears the notes inhale,
That vaguely tremble on the gale,
Till airy Silence slips to meet
The cadence closing low and sweet.
And heard the winter's-winds abroad,
The King and Chiefs with gifts incline
Before St. Magnus holly shrine.
When the shrill sacring bell was rung,
And the high mass devoutly sung,
The mitred monk with hands display'd
For recompensing vict'ry pray'd;
The choir a long-resounding strain
Chaunt as the warriors leave the fane.
Diffused around the accents flow;—
The soldiers in the ships below
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That vaguely tremble on the gale,
Till airy Silence slips to meet
The cadence closing low and sweet.
At length the sun began to turn,
And wheeling from his southern bourn,
With brighter green the Orkneys drest,
And cheered King Hako's anxious breast,
For long in Kirkwall's bay confin'd,
He watch'd the rude obstreperous wind,
Till on the witched wasthill shone
The glorious rich mysterious stone,
Which far at sea the sailors spy,
Bright as the Syrius of the sky,
But when they climb, by Avarice led,
The haunted mountain's heathy head,
This precious gem contracts apace,
Till none can find its sacred place,
Save where it glow'd, their greed to mock,
A trickling streamlet streaks the rock.
Now on the larboard red and bare,
Cape Wraths rough ledges ruin dare;
And now the winding navy goes
Down the wide Minsh with rippling prows;
The fractur'd Hebudes emerge,
And thicker stud the ocean's verge;
A vista vast of misty isles
With various views the voyage beguiles.
By lofty Skye's cavernous shores,
And rugged Uist, sweep the oars;
The needle-vexing Cana left,
Their southward course to Rum they shift,
And thence (upon the starboard Coll)
They trace the winding coast of Mull.
A new delight the mind pervades
From Staffa's sculptured colonnades,
That like Palladian Venice shine
Sublimely o'er the ocean brine.
Majestic Staffa viewed, they veer,
And down to blest Iona steer,
Iona, where the antique lamp
Of knowledge, though by cloister-damp
Obscured, maintained a starry light
When all the world was wrapt in night,
While grey before in dread repose,
The cairny cones of Jura rose,
Hoarse on the left with deaf'ning cries
The tides of Brekan laved the skies.
The ports of regal Illa gain'd,
With Donald Hako long remain'd,
And to allure the island lord
To aid his cause with art and sword,
He to the neighbouring isles commands
A numerous fleet with skilful bands,
Proud towers and stubborn forts to build,
Till guile to guilt matur'd invokes them to the field.
And wheeling from his southern bourn,
With brighter green the Orkneys drest,
And cheered King Hako's anxious breast,
For long in Kirkwall's bay confin'd,
He watch'd the rude obstreperous wind,
Till on the witched wasthill shone
The glorious rich mysterious stone,
Which far at sea the sailors spy,
Bright as the Syrius of the sky,
But when they climb, by Avarice led,
The haunted mountain's heathy head,
This precious gem contracts apace,
Till none can find its sacred place,
Save where it glow'd, their greed to mock,
A trickling streamlet streaks the rock.
35
Cape Wraths rough ledges ruin dare;
And now the winding navy goes
Down the wide Minsh with rippling prows;
The fractur'd Hebudes emerge,
And thicker stud the ocean's verge;
A vista vast of misty isles
With various views the voyage beguiles.
By lofty Skye's cavernous shores,
And rugged Uist, sweep the oars;
The needle-vexing Cana left,
Their southward course to Rum they shift,
And thence (upon the starboard Coll)
They trace the winding coast of Mull.
A new delight the mind pervades
From Staffa's sculptured colonnades,
That like Palladian Venice shine
Sublimely o'er the ocean brine.
Majestic Staffa viewed, they veer,
And down to blest Iona steer,
36
Of knowledge, though by cloister-damp
Obscured, maintained a starry light
When all the world was wrapt in night,
While grey before in dread repose,
The cairny cones of Jura rose,
Hoarse on the left with deaf'ning cries
The tides of Brekan laved the skies.
The ports of regal Illa gain'd,
With Donald Hako long remain'd,
And to allure the island lord
To aid his cause with art and sword,
He to the neighbouring isles commands
A numerous fleet with skilful bands,
Proud towers and stubborn forts to build,
Till guile to guilt matur'd invokes them to the field.
| The Battle of Largs | |