The Battle of Largs A Gothic Poem. With Several Miscellaneous Pieces [by John Galt] |
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| 1. | CANTO FIRST. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
 | The Battle of Largs |  |
CANTO FIRST.
‘Alarum'd by the thunder drum,
‘At war and woe to work we come.’
The weird Sisters meeting, said,
And Nature shook like one afraid;
While wrapt in Night's black cloke, the sky
Frown'd down on every praying eye,
Mocking the holly supplication
With the rude tempest's declamation.
‘At war and woe to work we come.’
The weird Sisters meeting, said,
And Nature shook like one afraid;
While wrapt in Night's black cloke, the sky
Frown'd down on every praying eye,
Mocking the holly supplication
With the rude tempest's declamation.
2
Loud from an umber'd abbey tower
The dark, unclaimed, mysterious hour,
Time's solemn sentinel had hail'd,
And deeper shades of gloom prevail'd.
The dark, unclaimed, mysterious hour,
Time's solemn sentinel had hail'd,
And deeper shades of gloom prevail'd.
‘Hark, a wretch his vengeance gorges,
‘That's the signal for our orgies.
‘Haste while perturbed murder wrestles
‘With his victim, 'range the vessels,
‘And swift the potent secrets mix
‘Which the grim fire's tongue quickly licks.’
‘That's the signal for our orgies.
‘Haste while perturbed murder wrestles
‘With his victim, 'range the vessels,
‘And swift the potent secrets mix
‘Which the grim fire's tongue quickly licks.’
With shrieks that shook the midnight air,
Tossing their fell fangs, lean and bare,
The Three Eternal Sisters spoke;
And fiercely through the witched smoke,
Their drugged caldron muttering glar'd,
And with its red lugubrious light
Enhanced the horror of the night,
While populous grew the gloom, and length'ning groans were heard.
When the foul perfume of the spell,
Had pierced the stench opake of hell,
And Lok's enormous nostrils pleased,—
This stern request the Sisters raised.
Tossing their fell fangs, lean and bare,
The Three Eternal Sisters spoke;
And fiercely through the witched smoke,
Their drugged caldron muttering glar'd,
And with its red lugubrious light
Enhanced the horror of the night,
While populous grew the gloom, and length'ning groans were heard.
3
Had pierced the stench opake of hell,
And Lok's enormous nostrils pleased,—
This stern request the Sisters raised.
‘Oh, sire of woes, thy dreadful will
‘Alert and daily we fulfil—
‘Around hoarse Mailstrom's roaring tide
‘The white-main'd billows oft we ride,
‘And shrieking shrill, for thee incite
‘Nature's fierce fitful bedlamite,
‘The howling wind, to chase and hurry
‘Rich-laden barks to the sea fury;
‘While to their doom the seamen sail,
‘Nor hope, nor fear, with them prevail;
‘But swilling, swear, o'er plunder'd drink,
‘And flouting death remorseless sink.
‘The hideous storm that dozing lay
‘Thick blanketted in clouds all day,
‘Behind sulphureous Hecla, we
‘Rous'd to this wrecking wrath for thee,
‘And sent him raging round the world
‘High in a thund'ring chariot hurl'd;
‘Whose steeds, exulting with their load,
‘As the grim fiend they drag abroad,
‘Whisk with their tails the turrets down
‘Of many a temple, tow'r, and town;
‘And watchful of thy mirthful mood,
‘Babes born unseen we swathe in blood:
‘Or a lewd bastard-biggent wench,
‘With her own garter stretch and wrench
‘Her neck, till forth her ken-orbs burst,
‘And drag her hellward self-accurst.
‘Alert and daily we fulfil—
‘Around hoarse Mailstrom's roaring tide
‘The white-main'd billows oft we ride,
‘And shrieking shrill, for thee incite
‘Nature's fierce fitful bedlamite,
‘The howling wind, to chase and hurry
‘Rich-laden barks to the sea fury;
‘While to their doom the seamen sail,
‘Nor hope, nor fear, with them prevail;
‘But swilling, swear, o'er plunder'd drink,
‘And flouting death remorseless sink.
‘The hideous storm that dozing lay
‘Thick blanketted in clouds all day,
‘Behind sulphureous Hecla, we
‘Rous'd to this wrecking wrath for thee,
4
‘High in a thund'ring chariot hurl'd;
‘Whose steeds, exulting with their load,
‘As the grim fiend they drag abroad,
‘Whisk with their tails the turrets down
‘Of many a temple, tow'r, and town;
‘And watchful of thy mirthful mood,
‘Babes born unseen we swathe in blood:
‘Or a lewd bastard-biggent wench,
‘With her own garter stretch and wrench
‘Her neck, till forth her ken-orbs burst,
‘And drag her hellward self-accurst.
‘Though we nor boon, nor fee desire,
‘Nor in the weird traffic tire,
‘Thou oft hast to our hands resign'd
‘The engines of the human mind;
‘And we in changing good to bad;
‘Have ample compensation had.
‘Thyself alone enjoyed the spoils
‘Of all our crime-engend'ring wiles.
‘Nor in the weird traffic tire,
‘Thou oft hast to our hands resign'd
‘The engines of the human mind;
‘And we in changing good to bad;
‘Have ample compensation had.
‘Thyself alone enjoyed the spoils
‘Of all our crime-engend'ring wiles.
5
‘Again, O mighty Lok bestow
‘Thine aid, to what we purpose now.
‘Norweyan Hako, young and bold,
‘Sublim'd with tales of chiefs of old,
‘Feeds on the future gifts of fame,
‘And lives but for a deathless name;
‘Help us to subjugate his heart,
‘And rude and ruthless thoughts impart;
‘For he who weds ambition must
‘Be cold as iron, harsh as rust.
‘Then shall we lure him on to guilt,
‘By arts resistless and occult,
‘Till deeds of fraud, and acts of force,
‘Deform his soul with foul remorse,
‘And terminate his glorious dreams,
‘Like the alchymist's golden schemes,
‘That burst away in dire explosion,
‘Tumultuous ruin and confusion.’
‘Thine aid, to what we purpose now.
‘Norweyan Hako, young and bold,
‘Sublim'd with tales of chiefs of old,
‘Feeds on the future gifts of fame,
‘And lives but for a deathless name;
‘Help us to subjugate his heart,
‘And rude and ruthless thoughts impart;
‘For he who weds ambition must
‘Be cold as iron, harsh as rust.
‘Then shall we lure him on to guilt,
‘By arts resistless and occult,
‘Till deeds of fraud, and acts of force,
‘Deform his soul with foul remorse,
‘And terminate his glorious dreams,
‘Like the alchymist's golden schemes,
‘That burst away in dire explosion,
‘Tumultuous ruin and confusion.’
Lok, wrapt in secresy and gloom,
Bent his vast eye through Hell's dense fume,
To where the Sisters, hand in hand,
The universe surrounding stand:
Their caldron, Chaos rages high;
Th' infernal fires the heat supply;
Th' infernal fires, that crackling dart
Comets the steller spheres athwart,
Perplexing all the orbs of light,
And shedding horror and affright
On nations, while thaw'd atheist's pray,
And muse of Nature's final day.
He saw, and stretch'd his truncheon forth,
Whose length extends from south to north,
And as he waves it east or west,
The turns are by the winds exprest;
As his wide scarf evolves and folds,
Or day or night the world beholds,
The plumes that crest his dreadful helm
The wintry welkin oft o'erwhelm,
Diffusing snow at every nod,
Or scattering hurtling hail abroad.
The hills that strength to kingdoms yield,
Are but the bosses of his shield;
And when the deadly light'nings glare,
'Tis but his polish'd falchion bare.
While time endures by signs alone,
His will and purposes are known;
For ev'n his gentlest oral call
Would rend the vault, and burst the ball.
Hence, now to bring the mischiefs nigh,
He waves the awful truncheon high;
And, like the tempests in the woods,
Rustling, the evils flock in crowds
Around his throne, from all the deep,
Such gory grizly shapes as sleep
Leads nightly to the ruffian's couch,
To force his tiger-mind to crouch.
And what of virtue, tear and rive
That may in his lost soul survive;
Amidst this wild and wither'd crew,
Stern Erie to the tyrant flew,
And her with murky spells he fraught,
To stain and darken Hako's thought;—
Stern Erie! whose tremendous power
Display'd at midnight's silent hour,
Makes flitting wraiths and airy screams,
Death-hailing dogs, and chiefly dreams,
The sad effects of ill create,
And blab th' intended woes of Fate.
Bent his vast eye through Hell's dense fume,
6
The universe surrounding stand:
Their caldron, Chaos rages high;
Th' infernal fires the heat supply;
Th' infernal fires, that crackling dart
Comets the steller spheres athwart,
Perplexing all the orbs of light,
And shedding horror and affright
On nations, while thaw'd atheist's pray,
And muse of Nature's final day.
He saw, and stretch'd his truncheon forth,
Whose length extends from south to north,
And as he waves it east or west,
The turns are by the winds exprest;
As his wide scarf evolves and folds,
Or day or night the world beholds,
The plumes that crest his dreadful helm
The wintry welkin oft o'erwhelm,
Diffusing snow at every nod,
Or scattering hurtling hail abroad.
7
Are but the bosses of his shield;
And when the deadly light'nings glare,
'Tis but his polish'd falchion bare.
While time endures by signs alone,
His will and purposes are known;
For ev'n his gentlest oral call
Would rend the vault, and burst the ball.
Hence, now to bring the mischiefs nigh,
He waves the awful truncheon high;
And, like the tempests in the woods,
Rustling, the evils flock in crowds
Around his throne, from all the deep,
Such gory grizly shapes as sleep
Leads nightly to the ruffian's couch,
To force his tiger-mind to crouch.
And what of virtue, tear and rive
That may in his lost soul survive;
Amidst this wild and wither'd crew,
Stern Erie to the tyrant flew,
8
To stain and darken Hako's thought;—
Stern Erie! whose tremendous power
Display'd at midnight's silent hour,
Makes flitting wraiths and airy screams,
Death-hailing dogs, and chiefly dreams,
The sad effects of ill create,
And blab th' intended woes of Fate.
She to the haggard Sisters hied,
Who soon her dark approach descried;
And pleas'd to see success attend
Their cruel prayer, the sullen fiend
With strange prostrations they embrace;
A mystic circle then they trace,
Whence whirl'd centrifugal away,
Stern Erie lights where Hako lay.
Who soon her dark approach descried;
And pleas'd to see success attend
Their cruel prayer, the sullen fiend
With strange prostrations they embrace;
A mystic circle then they trace,
Whence whirl'd centrifugal away,
Stern Erie lights where Hako lay.
To tell how deep, how dark, how dire,
The witchrie wax'd would crimes inspire,
And sock and soil the list'ner's soul
With thoughts and themes profane and foul.
For even the names of horror rust
The very shudderings of disgust
That flush the face of innocence
Are pythian throbs that warn her hence.
The witchrie wax'd would crimes inspire,
And sock and soil the list'ner's soul
With thoughts and themes profane and foul.
9
The very shudderings of disgust
That flush the face of innocence
Are pythian throbs that warn her hence.
Now glad I wind the streaming song,
The bright domains of day among,—
Sweet whispering Spring, with fragrant breath,
From Winter had regain'd the heath,
Though oft at morn and evening chill,
He frowning stalk'd from hill to hill;
And oft with scornful pride dispers'd
The flaunting flowers untimely burst.
The Baltic, vext by prows and oars,
Murmur'd from all her sounds and shores.
Her shores with glittering armour bright,
Flash'd o'er the sea portentous light;
Such as along the polar sky,
The sad seer-swains of Scotland eye,
With pallid hearts, and thence forewarn
What shall make many a matron mourn;
And spangled kings infest with pain,
The hurling human hurricane.
Thus, while amidst the neighbouring lands,
With active tongue and idle hands
Lounged the pamper'd gossip Peace,
King Hako's martial powers increase.
Untired and ardent, still he toils
To fit his banner'd strength for broils;
Impatient of their aimless task
The Earls his motives muttering ask.
Frequent at evening's shadowy close,
Their murmurs startle coy Repose;
And here and there with threat'ning mein,
A fierce declaiming chief is seen.
At length their bristling ire to smooth,
With lowly steps and speeches sooth,
The hoary herald scalds prepare
The chiefs their monarch's mind to share.
The bright domains of day among,—
Sweet whispering Spring, with fragrant breath,
From Winter had regain'd the heath,
Though oft at morn and evening chill,
He frowning stalk'd from hill to hill;
And oft with scornful pride dispers'd
The flaunting flowers untimely burst.
The Baltic, vext by prows and oars,
Murmur'd from all her sounds and shores.
Her shores with glittering armour bright,
Flash'd o'er the sea portentous light;
Such as along the polar sky,
The sad seer-swains of Scotland eye,
With pallid hearts, and thence forewarn
What shall make many a matron mourn;
10
The hurling human hurricane.
Thus, while amidst the neighbouring lands,
With active tongue and idle hands
Lounged the pamper'd gossip Peace,
King Hako's martial powers increase.
Untired and ardent, still he toils
To fit his banner'd strength for broils;
Impatient of their aimless task
The Earls his motives muttering ask.
Frequent at evening's shadowy close,
Their murmurs startle coy Repose;
And here and there with threat'ning mein,
A fierce declaiming chief is seen.
At length their bristling ire to smooth,
With lowly steps and speeches sooth,
The hoary herald scalds prepare
The chiefs their monarch's mind to share.
‘O strength of Norway, mighty lords!
‘Whose fame transcends the force of swords,
‘Whose faith is Hako's sceptre-power,
‘Await to-morrow's noontide hour;
‘Then will the King, as ye request,
‘Unfold the secrets of his breast,
‘And hopes of high heroic fame
‘To all th' assembl'd chiefs proclaim.’
They ceas'd, and from a solemn pause,
A blairing cataract of applause
Burst out around from all the host,
And shook the inland hills, and roar'd along the coast.
‘Whose fame transcends the force of swords,
11
‘Await to-morrow's noontide hour;
‘Then will the King, as ye request,
‘Unfold the secrets of his breast,
‘And hopes of high heroic fame
‘To all th' assembl'd chiefs proclaim.’
They ceas'd, and from a solemn pause,
A blairing cataract of applause
Burst out around from all the host,
And shook the inland hills, and roar'd along the coast.
| The Battle of Largs | |