 | Poems, by Joseph Cottle |  |
3
Sir MALCOLM AND ALLA,
A TALE.
Shewing to all the World,
What Woman's Love can do.
What Woman's Love can do.
21
Where Clyde tumultuous bursts his source,
The theme of Scottish song,
And near a mountain's craggy base,
Meandering rolls along;
The theme of Scottish song,
And near a mountain's craggy base,
Meandering rolls along;
A venerable Lord of Ayre,
With every virtue fraught,
To shun the senseless noise of life,
A tranquil refuge sought;
With every virtue fraught,
To shun the senseless noise of life,
A tranquil refuge sought;
22
His Castle (landmark from afar,)
In matchless pride appear'd,
And plenty round his wide domain,
Each vassal's bosom cheer'd,
In matchless pride appear'd,
And plenty round his wide domain,
Each vassal's bosom cheer'd,
When wint'ry clouds the sky conceal'd,
And snow descending fast,
Wav'd with the gently curling breeze,
Or hurry'd with the blast;
And snow descending fast,
Wav'd with the gently curling breeze,
Or hurry'd with the blast;
To soothe the soul of penury,
He left his mansion warm;
To cheer the peasant's ice-bound cot,
Withstood the ruthless storm,
He left his mansion warm;
To cheer the peasant's ice-bound cot,
Withstood the ruthless storm,
Heard, when caress'd by guardian ease,
The poor man's cheerless sigh,
And answer'd to the tender call,
Of God-like Charity.
The poor man's cheerless sigh,
23
Of God-like Charity.
This goodly Lord a Daughter had,
Fairer than summer's morn;
And joy prevail'd the country round,
When Scotland's Pride was born;
Fairer than summer's morn;
And joy prevail'd the country round,
When Scotland's Pride was born;
Her Mother in the bloom of years,
Relentless death assail'd,
And whilst her sullen death-bell toll'd,
Responsive sighs prevail'd:
Relentless death assail'd,
And whilst her sullen death-bell toll'd,
Responsive sighs prevail'd:
For with each storm-beat child of woe,
Her bosom bore a part:
Each noble passion had prepar'd
The future Angel's heart.
Her bosom bore a part:
Each noble passion had prepar'd
The future Angel's heart.
24
And when from earth's inferior soil,
Her ripen'd spirit flew,
From Court to rear his infant charge,
The drooping Sire withdrew;
Her ripen'd spirit flew,
From Court to rear his infant charge,
The drooping Sire withdrew;
Where, when revolving fancy roll'd,
O'er sleeping virtue's shrine,
And earth unheeded shrank to nought,
Before her form divine.
O'er sleeping virtue's shrine,
And earth unheeded shrank to nought,
Before her form divine.
Despair sat rankling at his heart,
Till Alla, peerless maid,
Subdu'd the agonizing Fiend,
And clear'd the mental shade;
Till Alla, peerless maid,
Subdu'd the agonizing Fiend,
And clear'd the mental shade;
For as the bud's unfolding leaf,
The future flower pourtrays,
So Alla rising into youth,
Her Mother's worth displays.
The future flower pourtrays,
25
Her Mother's worth displays.
The well-tun'd bagpipe ceas'd to play,
When Alla's song arose,
The breathing zephyr softer blew,
Or melted to repose;
When Alla's song arose,
The breathing zephyr softer blew,
Or melted to repose;
When with her nineteenth natal morn,
She grac'd the village green,
The warmth of each admiring eye,
Proclaim'd her beauty's queen.
She grac'd the village green,
The warmth of each admiring eye,
Proclaim'd her beauty's queen.
Full many a youth of high renown,
Attentive homage paid,
And sought by every art to gain,
This lovely blooming maid;
Attentive homage paid,
And sought by every art to gain,
This lovely blooming maid;
26
But one alone of all the throng,
Her envy'd smile obtain'd,
Who vow'd full oft the love he bore,
Nor was his passion feign'd:
Her envy'd smile obtain'd,
Who vow'd full oft the love he bore,
Nor was his passion feign'd:
Each virtue kindred to her own,
Sir Malcolm's heart possess'd,
The fire of heroes fill'd his eye,
The worth of saints his breast:
Sir Malcolm's heart possess'd,
The fire of heroes fill'd his eye,
The worth of saints his breast:
A Chieftain of a veteran band,
Sir Malcolm long had been,
And one whose valor brighter shone,
Had Scotland never seen;
Sir Malcolm long had been,
And one whose valor brighter shone,
Had Scotland never seen;
The southern warriors of the isle,
Beheld his frown with dread,
Rebellion starting at his shade,
Conceal'd her haggard head:
Beheld his frown with dread,
27
Conceal'd her haggard head:
Tho' rough where war the task requir'd,
To urge a Chief's controul,
Yet from the clang of arms afar,
He own'd a feeling soul,
To urge a Chief's controul,
Yet from the clang of arms afar,
He own'd a feeling soul,
Where all the softer virtues bloom'd,
Unruffl'd and sedate,
Which swell the triumphs of the brave,
And form the hero great;
Unruffl'd and sedate,
Which swell the triumphs of the brave,
And form the hero great;
His well-earn'd fame fair Alla priz'd,
And he her worth rever'd,
By mutual tenderness improv'd,
In mutual friendship rear'd.
And he her worth rever'd,
By mutual tenderness improv'd,
In mutual friendship rear'd.
28
The Sire perceiv'd his Daughter's choice,
Whilst joy inspir'd his breast,
And thus, by sage experience taught,
Sir Malcolm brave address'd:
Whilst joy inspir'd his breast,
And thus, by sage experience taught,
Sir Malcolm brave address'd:
“Your merit at an early age,
“Your generous Country scann'd,
“And not confin'd to rule, but right,
“Bade Malcolm guard the land;
“Your generous Country scann'd,
“And not confin'd to rule, but right,
“Bade Malcolm guard the land;
“But Oh! beware insatiate pride,
“Despise its tinsel glare,
“Behold it taint each heaven-born soul,
“And poison all that's fair;
“Despise its tinsel glare,
“Behold it taint each heaven-born soul,
“And poison all that's fair;
“Whilst meek humility adorns
“The Monarch or the Clown,
“Shines in a soft celestial garb,
“Tho' fortune smile or frown;
“The Monarch or the Clown,
29
“Tho' fortune smile or frown;
“Pride is the secret restless source,
“Whence all contentions rise,
“And the fierce Fiend, from whose dread glare,
“Affrighted Virtue flies;
“Whence all contentions rise,
“And the fierce Fiend, from whose dread glare,
“Affrighted Virtue flies;
“Therefore, brave youth, if spotless fame
“Thine ardent bosom warm,
“If zeal to gain a nation's praise,
“Thy ravish'd fancy charm;
“Thine ardent bosom warm,
“If zeal to gain a nation's praise,
“Thy ravish'd fancy charm;
“Let grovelling passions rear'd on pride,
“No refuge find with thee,
“But honor, modesty, and truth,
“Thy lov'd companions be;
“No refuge find with thee,
“But honor, modesty, and truth,
“Thy lov'd companions be;
30
“So shall thy soul's best seeds expand,
“Thy latent virtues shine,
“And she who most thy love deserves,
“Be bless'd in being thine;
“Thy latent virtues shine,
“And she who most thy love deserves,
“Be bless'd in being thine;
“To-morrow's dawn shall join their hands,
“Whose hearts have long been tied,
“To-morrow's dawn the Pride of day,
“Become Sir Malcolm's bride:”
“Whose hearts have long been tied,
“To-morrow's dawn the Pride of day,
“Become Sir Malcolm's bride:”
And when the morn serenely fair,
Unveil'd her blushing face,
The raptured youth in Alla's form,
Beheld a chaster grace;
Unveil'd her blushing face,
The raptured youth in Alla's form,
Beheld a chaster grace;
Whilst gentle tumults heav'd her breast,
Or fond emotions fir'd,
Till on the shrine of love divine,
The vestal flame expir'd.
Or fond emotions fir'd,
31
The vestal flame expir'd.
The wedding of Sir Malcolm brave,
Had days been only twain,
When adverse fortune call'd him forth,
To wield his spear again;
Had days been only twain,
When adverse fortune call'd him forth,
To wield his spear again;
For as the twilight Queen arose,
And beam'd her placid ray;
Commanding by its torpid charm,
All mortal cares away;
And beam'd her placid ray;
Commanding by its torpid charm,
All mortal cares away;
Swift as a dart by Malcolm hurl'd,
A messenger did bring,
To Scotia's Bulwark of defence,
A mandate from the King,
A messenger did bring,
To Scotia's Bulwark of defence,
A mandate from the King,
32
To call his bold Clans to the field;
For England's royal head,
Had scourg'd the confines of the Tweed,
And onward daring sped.
For England's royal head,
Had scourg'd the confines of the Tweed,
And onward daring sped.
When thus the Chief to Alla spake,
Let firmness guard thine heart;
To arms my monarch calls me hence,
I mourn, but must depart!
Let firmness guard thine heart;
To arms my monarch calls me hence,
I mourn, but must depart!
Tho' when with battle I have done,
And gain'd this glorious fray;
No more from happiness and thee
Shall wretched Malcolm stray.
And gain'd this glorious fray;
No more from happiness and thee
Shall wretched Malcolm stray.
“And wilt thou to the battle go,
“To combat, blood, and strife?
“And wilt thou from thine home depart,
“And leave thy loving wife?”
“To combat, blood, and strife?
33
“And leave thy loving wife?”
I must, the sighing Knight reply'd,
Or Scotland is undone;
My country calls, and Malcolm's soul
Disdains her call to shun.
Or Scotland is undone;
My country calls, and Malcolm's soul
Disdains her call to shun.
When forth amid the martial ranks,
He urg'd his rapid way,
And bade the war-drum loudly roar,
The hostile clarion bray.
He urg'd his rapid way,
And bade the war-drum loudly roar,
The hostile clarion bray.
“Let each his well-try'd arms prepare;
“For, at the morning break,
“We all must hye to Edinburgh,
“For good King Bruce's sake.
“For, at the morning break,
“We all must hye to Edinburgh,
“For good King Bruce's sake.
34
“For, England's haughty Edward comes,
“From London, (mighty town,)
“To waste fair Scotland's fruitful land,
“And pull her Monarch down.”
“From London, (mighty town,)
“To waste fair Scotland's fruitful land,
“And pull her Monarch down.”
When all, their brazen bucklers seiz'd,
And closer grasp'd their spears,
By rage transported, as the tale
Thrill'd on their list'ning ears:
And closer grasp'd their spears,
By rage transported, as the tale
Thrill'd on their list'ning ears:
For, much their country's weal they lov'd,
And much their monarch too,
And felt their breasts with ardour glow,
To face the ruffian crew;
And much their monarch too,
And felt their breasts with ardour glow,
To face the ruffian crew;
Sir Malcolm then fair Alla sought,
And thus forlorn did say,
“Misfortune envious feeds her spleen,
“In tearing us away;
And thus forlorn did say,
35
“In tearing us away;
“Yet thou in Malcolm's heart shalt dwell;
“Thou, only thou, shalt reign,
“Till triumph in her blazon'd car
“Conducts him back again.”
“Thou, only thou, shalt reign,
“Till triumph in her blazon'd car
“Conducts him back again.”
Now roar'd the trumpet's warlike note,
When through the sounding hall,
He hurl'd his pond'rous spear, and swore,
“Thus shall proud Edward fall;”
When through the sounding hall,
He hurl'd his pond'rous spear, and swore,
“Thus shall proud Edward fall;”
Quoth Alla, “If presiding heaven,
(“Tho' well I know thy might,)
“Sir Malcolm brave should doom to fall,
“Amid the raging fight;
(“Tho' well I know thy might,)
“Sir Malcolm brave should doom to fall,
“Amid the raging fight;
36
“The world with every charm it yields,
“Could not dispel my woe:
“Forgive the frailty of the heart,
“That cannot let thee go.”
“Could not dispel my woe:
“Forgive the frailty of the heart,
“That cannot let thee go.”
“Tho' cheer'd to find,” the Knight reply'd,
“Such love thy bosom warm;
“Tho' hard the conflict in my breast,
“I must outbrave the storm;
“Such love thy bosom warm;
“Tho' hard the conflict in my breast,
“I must outbrave the storm;
“For, when my country danger dreads,
“Should ought engage my heart?
“Tho' much my bleeding soul recoils,
“Sir Malcolm must depart.”
“Should ought engage my heart?
“Tho' much my bleeding soul recoils,
“Sir Malcolm must depart.”
When from the trembling fair he burst,
Impetuous for the fight;
Whilst Alla mark'd his distant shade,
Wane on her aching sight.
Impetuous for the fight;
37
Wane on her aching sight.
Sir Malcolm now with hasty step,
His sovereign's will obey'd,
And march'd with twice five thousand men,
In brazen garb array'd;
His sovereign's will obey'd,
And march'd with twice five thousand men,
In brazen garb array'd;
With glittering pomp and dauntless stride,
They hye to meet the foe,
By indignation's spirit fir'd,
To Rosland's castle go.
They hye to meet the foe,
By indignation's spirit fir'd,
To Rosland's castle go.
Where stood King Bruce with sadden'd eye,
By anxious care oppress'd,
But when he saw them marching in,
Hope cheer'd his drooping breast;
By anxious care oppress'd,
But when he saw them marching in,
Hope cheer'd his drooping breast;
38
“Approach,” said he, “ye valiant bands,
“Your monarch greets ye true;
“Let tyrant Edward by your might,
“His wild ambition rue.”
“Your monarch greets ye true;
“Let tyrant Edward by your might,
“His wild ambition rue.”
When thus Sir Malcolm brave reply'd,
“Behold these shining spears,
“And us who wield them sworn to-day,
“To chace thy people's fears;
“Behold these shining spears,
“And us who wield them sworn to-day,
“To chace thy people's fears;
“By the fam'd cross, St. Andrew bore,
“To give the deadly blow,
“And what indignant Scots can do,
“To let proud Edward know.”
“To give the deadly blow,
“And what indignant Scots can do,
“To let proud Edward know.”
When Bruce exultingly reply'd,
“I know your hearts full well;
“And that the hero's choicest gifts
“Within thy bosom dwell;
“I know your hearts full well;
39
“Within thy bosom dwell;
“March then against my daring foes,
“And let King Edward feel,
“What injur'd Scotland can perform,
“When Justice points the steel:
“And let King Edward feel,
“What injur'd Scotland can perform,
“When Justice points the steel:
“The tardy morrow's earliest dawn
“Shall light thee on the way,
“Prepare thy yet unconquer'd arms,
“And Scotland's scourge dismay;
“Shall light thee on the way,
“Prepare thy yet unconquer'd arms,
“And Scotland's scourge dismay;
“Mean while thy monarch will assert
“The power which fortune gave,
“To call each patriot to his arms,
“When hostile banners wave;
“The power which fortune gave,
“To call each patriot to his arms,
“When hostile banners wave;
40
“And when success rewards his toil,
“Sure as the north star's course,
“Shall one o'erwhelming ruin smite,
“The faithless Edward's force.”
“Sure as the north star's course,
“Shall one o'erwhelming ruin smite,
“The faithless Edward's force.”
The morn drew nigh, Sir Malcolm brave,
Arouz'd his sleeping train,
From dreams of slaughter, ranks o'erpower'd,
To tread th'embattled plain;
Arouz'd his sleeping train,
From dreams of slaughter, ranks o'erpower'd,
To tread th'embattled plain;
Each heart with martial zeal inspir'd,
Preferr'd the soldier's prayer,
To fall by glory crown'd, or live,
The conqueror's plume to wear;
Preferr'd the soldier's prayer,
To fall by glory crown'd, or live,
The conqueror's plume to wear;
And when oppos'd the armies came,
Each rent his bosom bare,
Of all the high and lowland lads,
And felt a hero there.
Each rent his bosom bare,
41
And felt a hero there.
Grim vengeance now from ev'ry face,
Beam'd forth in dread array,
Vultures of war in shadowing crowds
Invoke their coming prey.
Beam'd forth in dread array,
Vultures of war in shadowing crowds
Invoke their coming prey.
Till piercing cries and dying groans
The cloudless concave rend,
And force the frighted birds of blood,
Their farther course to bend,
The cloudless concave rend,
And force the frighted birds of blood,
Their farther course to bend,
Loud houl'd the storm, as o'er the plain
Its sweeping pinions pass'd;
Whilst broken sounds of harmony
Rode on the deathful blast:
Its sweeping pinions pass'd;
Whilst broken sounds of harmony
Rode on the deathful blast:
42
Where ere Sir Malcolm's helmet shone,
Opposing ranks withdrew;
Fir'd by the fury of their Chief,
His men more furious grew;
Opposing ranks withdrew;
Fir'd by the fury of their Chief,
His men more furious grew;
But still King Edward's haughty soul
Disdain'd to quit the field;
And tho' his choicest troops were slain,
The vict'ry scorn'd to yield.
Disdain'd to quit the field;
And tho' his choicest troops were slain,
The vict'ry scorn'd to yield.
When rouz'd to agony of rage,
Sir Malcolm's valiant train,
Disdaining doubtful darts to guide,
And madd'ning ire restrain.
Sir Malcolm's valiant train,
Disdaining doubtful darts to guide,
And madd'ning ire restrain.
Their thirsty blades resentful drew,
The scabbards cast away,
Resolv'd in death their eyes to close,
Or gain the ling'ring fray.
The scabbards cast away,
43
Or gain the ling'ring fray.
Now by indignant passions fir'd,
Each sword to slaughter led,
With thirst insatiate, round the plain
Vindictive carnage spread;
Each sword to slaughter led,
With thirst insatiate, round the plain
Vindictive carnage spread;
The deaf'ning clash of arms arose,
Expiring, legions lie,
Whilst o'er their heads contending spears,
For death-bought honors vie;
Expiring, legions lie,
Whilst o'er their heads contending spears,
For death-bought honors vie;
Through nine long hours each angry chief,
Sustain'd the deadly fight,
Impending vict'ry hovering o'er,
Stood dubious where to light;
Sustain'd the deadly fight,
Impending vict'ry hovering o'er,
Stood dubious where to light;
44
Till at the tenth a sudden host,
From Edward's yielding side,
Of brass clad spearmen bursting forth,
The hard fought day decide;
From Edward's yielding side,
Of brass clad spearmen bursting forth,
The hard fought day decide;
The Scots encircled unawares,
In wild disorder fly,
The resonance of rallying troops,
Ran thundering through the sky;
In wild disorder fly,
The resonance of rallying troops,
Ran thundering through the sky;
In vain Sir Malcolm brave appear'd,
And strove to quell the storm;
Tho' passing brave, he could not more
Than mortal man perform;
And strove to quell the storm;
Tho' passing brave, he could not more
Than mortal man perform;
And tho' to stem the conqueror's course,
He combat scorn'd to shun,
Full many an hostile champion met,
Full many a laurel won.
He combat scorn'd to shun,
45
Full many a laurel won.
Yet left alone, to brave the fight,
For Scotland's hapless state,
To earth he hurl'd his blushing spear,
And greatly bent to fate.
For Scotland's hapless state,
To earth he hurl'd his blushing spear,
And greatly bent to fate.
Sir Malcolm now with shouts was led,
To Edward's presence nigh,
His brow the blood-red path survey'd,
His bosom heav'd a sigh:
To Edward's presence nigh,
His brow the blood-red path survey'd,
His bosom heav'd a sigh:
“And what,” said Edward, as he came,
“Could prompt thy puny might;
“Thy bands the sport of every breeze,
“With England's arms to fight?
“Could prompt thy puny might;
“Thy bands the sport of every breeze,
“With England's arms to fight?
46
“Shall I the mightier of the two,
“From Scotland's vengeance fly?
“Or ought that Edward stoops to ask—
“Thy monarch dare deny?
“From Scotland's vengeance fly?
“Or ought that Edward stoops to ask—
“Thy monarch dare deny?
“Thou shalt be told; disturber bold
“Of Scotland's happy land;
“Think not unscourg'd, thy neighbour's right,
“To grasp with barbarous hand;
“Of Scotland's happy land;
“Think not unscourg'd, thy neighbour's right,
“To grasp with barbarous hand;
“Behold around this tent of thine,
“What breathless victims lie,
“Read in the portion of the slain,
“Thy pendent destiny.
“What breathless victims lie,
“Read in the portion of the slain,
“Thy pendent destiny.
“These mangl'd forms for justice call,
“And heaven their call will hear:
Said brave Sir Malcolm as his eye,
Shone through the pitying tear.
“And heaven their call will hear:
47
Shone through the pitying tear.
“Repress thy rage,” said Edward's guard,
“Nor thus insult our Lord;
“Thy tongue restrain,” cry'd England's King,
“Or death is thy reward:
“Nor thus insult our Lord;
“Thy tongue restrain,” cry'd England's King,
“Or death is thy reward:
“Shall Malcolm cease the truth to speak,
“Because his power is fled?
“Behold this blood-stain'd plain and see,
“What lust of power hath shed:
“Because his power is fled?
“Behold this blood-stain'd plain and see,
“What lust of power hath shed:
“In wild ambition's baneful strife,
“What slaughter'd thousands die!
“Around proud war's imperious march,
“What boding horrors fly!
“What slaughter'd thousands die!
“Around proud war's imperious march,
“What boding horrors fly!
48
“Each parent, brother, kindred, friend,
“Torn by impending fate;
“And what the darkness of that soul,
“Which can such pangs create!
“Torn by impending fate;
“And what the darkness of that soul,
“Which can such pangs create!
“Think not to bribe my peace by threats,
“Of death, or clanking chains;
“Sir Malcolm vanquish'd scorns his life,
“Thy vengeance he disdains;
“Of death, or clanking chains;
“Sir Malcolm vanquish'd scorns his life,
“Thy vengeance he disdains;
“Eternal scourge of every clime,
“Where foster'd virtues rest,
“Oppression stalks around thy tent,
“The furies gore thy breast.
“Where foster'd virtues rest,
“Oppression stalks around thy tent,
“The furies gore thy breast.
“Prepare the block,” King Edward cry'd,
“Shall thus a prisoner say?
Thy neck to-morrow's dawn shall cleave,
The ravens on thee prey.
“Shall thus a prisoner say?
49
The ravens on thee prey.
But now the muse attempts to paint
The wars of Alla's mind;
Who when Sir Malcolm brave was gone,
No happiness could find;
The wars of Alla's mind;
Who when Sir Malcolm brave was gone,
No happiness could find;
And thus she moan'd her lonely lot;
“If in the contest, he
“Of all mankind I most approve,
“Should sorely wounded be;
“If in the contest, he
“Of all mankind I most approve,
“Should sorely wounded be;
“No Alla near, his wants to ask,
“And soft endearment blend,
“With every ruthless pang, that needs
“The solace of a friend.
“And soft endearment blend,
“With every ruthless pang, that needs
“The solace of a friend.
50
“Perhaps the hand of death may seize,
“Amid the battle sore,
“Nor I with joy unspeakable,
“Behold Sir Malcolm more.
“Amid the battle sore,
“Nor I with joy unspeakable,
“Behold Sir Malcolm more.
“And can my heart its Lord resign,
“To war's untimely death?
“And not affection fervent glow
“To sooth his parting breath?
“To war's untimely death?
“And not affection fervent glow
“To sooth his parting breath?
“I must unto Sir Malcolm fly,
“Nor can I brook delay;
“It is but danger to depart,
“And certain death to stay;
“Nor can I brook delay;
“It is but danger to depart,
“And certain death to stay;
“The torch of love shall light me on,
“To trace the reeking field;
“Affection's zeal endue mine arm,
“The warrior's lance to wield;
“To trace the reeking field;
51
“The warrior's lance to wield;
“My strength might not with men's compare,
“Nor o'er a host prevail;
“But yet my feeble aid might help,
“If nothing turn'd the scale.”
“Nor o'er a host prevail;
“But yet my feeble aid might help,
“If nothing turn'd the scale.”
Fair Alla now with sandals lac'd,
And trusty servants four,
Resolv'd with heart and hand right well,
Sir Malcolm to explore;
And trusty servants four,
Resolv'd with heart and hand right well,
Sir Malcolm to explore;
Set out before the rising lark
Proclaim'd the hast'ning day,
And onward press'd, till dying eve
Withdrew her parting ray:
Proclaim'd the hast'ning day,
And onward press'd, till dying eve
Withdrew her parting ray:
52
And when through five long toilsome days,
Chill'd with tempestuous fear;
To Scotland's far fam'd sons of war,
Fair Alla journey'd near;
Chill'd with tempestuous fear;
To Scotland's far fam'd sons of war,
Fair Alla journey'd near;
She saw with agony untold,
The nearer banners fly,
Whilst dread suspence and deadly fears
Beam'd from her eager eye.
The nearer banners fly,
Whilst dread suspence and deadly fears
Beam'd from her eager eye.
Said Alla fair, “Oh what the news?”
To him who first rode near,
“Oh sad to say, oh sad to say,
“Ask not the news to hear;”
To him who first rode near,
“Oh sad to say, oh sad to say,
“Ask not the news to hear;”
“But I will know,” the Fair reply'd,
“Nor thus my bosom freeze,
“Heav'n will uphold my feeble heart
“To bear what Heav'n decrees.”
“Nor thus my bosom freeze,
53
“To bear what Heav'n decrees.”
“Then oh! my Lady fair, 'tis hard,
“'Tis hard for us and thee;
“Sir Malcolm is a prisoner made,
“His army forc'd to flee:”
“'Tis hard for us and thee;
“Sir Malcolm is a prisoner made,
“His army forc'd to flee:”
“Then I will be a prisoner too;”
(Said Alla fill'd with woe,)
“Nor will I rest another day,
“Until to him I go.
(Said Alla fill'd with woe,)
“Nor will I rest another day,
“Until to him I go.
“But where are all those warriors bold,
“Whom Scotland's Chief did lead?
“Can those be they o'er yonder plain,
“Running with cowards speed?”
“Whom Scotland's Chief did lead?
“Can those be they o'er yonder plain,
“Running with cowards speed?”
54
“Those are the men, my lady fair,
“Who running come this way,
“All of Sir Malcolm brave depriv'd,
“They shun the luckless fray:”
“Who running come this way,
“All of Sir Malcolm brave depriv'd,
“They shun the luckless fray:”
“Then from thy milk-white charger spring,
“Resign its aid to me,
“And what a female arm can do,
“Shall Edward wondering see:”
“Resign its aid to me,
“And what a female arm can do,
“Shall Edward wondering see:”
When with a leap she caught the reins,
And flew to meet the train
Of horse and archers, as they forth
Came scouring o'er the plain;
And flew to meet the train
Of horse and archers, as they forth
Came scouring o'er the plain;
And thus to all fair Alla spoke,
“Behold a friend in me;
“Sir Malcolm's loving wife arriv'd,
“Your conqu'ring chief to be:
“Behold a friend in me;
55
“Your conqu'ring chief to be:
“Resume your hearts, ye valiant tribes,
“Your sinking country save,
“Dissever from the tyrant's grasp,
“Your chief Sir Malcolm brave;
“Your sinking country save,
“Dissever from the tyrant's grasp,
“Your chief Sir Malcolm brave;
“Whose budding laurels, but for you,
“May now untimely fade;
“And Edward's refuse of mankind,
“Your choicest rights invade.”
“May now untimely fade;
“And Edward's refuse of mankind,
“Your choicest rights invade.”
When quick as lightning's rapid flight,
Confusion pierc'd each eye,
Whilst one and all repentant cry'd,
We further scorn to fly:
Confusion pierc'd each eye,
Whilst one and all repentant cry'd,
We further scorn to fly:
56
“Yet curb your wrath,” said Alla fair,
“Until the morning light,
“The rally'd troops of Scotland's King
“Shall then resume the fight.”
“Until the morning light,
“The rally'd troops of Scotland's King
“Shall then resume the fight.”
Now each on future vengeance bent,
Prepar'd his shining blade;
Indignant strung his stubborn bow,
Or mighty javelin made.
Prepar'd his shining blade;
Indignant strung his stubborn bow,
Or mighty javelin made.
And long before the bright-ey'd morn
Enflam'd the orient sky,
Fair Alla and her daring troops
In silent ambush lie;
Enflam'd the orient sky,
Fair Alla and her daring troops
In silent ambush lie;
Prepar'd to deal the fatal blow,
And save from keen disgrace
The name of Bruce, to Scotland dear,
And Malcolm's spotless race.
And save from keen disgrace
57
And Malcolm's spotless race.
And now the valiant hosts proceed,
As led by Alla fair,
Till bordering on the English camp,
For battle they prepare.
As led by Alla fair,
Till bordering on the English camp,
For battle they prepare.
The sentence of Sir Malcolm brave,
Which England's Monarch spoke,
Was now about to be perform'd,
As morn her slumber broke.
Which England's Monarch spoke,
Was now about to be perform'd,
As morn her slumber broke.
Sir Malcolm, dignify'd in chains,
The solemn scene survey'd;
The murd'rous axe, and grov'ling sledge,
Undaunted, undismay'd;
The solemn scene survey'd;
The murd'rous axe, and grov'ling sledge,
Undaunted, undismay'd;
58
He backward to the fatal block
With steady heart did ride,
King Edward and his army both,
Attending by his side:
With steady heart did ride,
King Edward and his army both,
Attending by his side:
When like the sweeping blast of heaven,
Which lays the forest bare,
The arms of Alla, from the plain
The English standards tear;
Which lays the forest bare,
The arms of Alla, from the plain
The English standards tear;
With sudden vengeance hurl the dart,
Or sling the massy spar;
And with o'erwhelming fury roll
Destruction's crimson car;
Or sling the massy spar;
And with o'erwhelming fury roll
Destruction's crimson car;
Ranks in confusion fall on ranks,
Armies of horrors rise;
King Edward, seiz'd with panic fear,
From conquering Alla flies:
Armies of horrors rise;
59
From conquering Alla flies:
Thus England's glory felt a wound,
A mortal wound indeed,
Whilst fame, the genius of her clime,
Seem'd at each pore to bleed.
A mortal wound indeed,
Whilst fame, the genius of her clime,
Seem'd at each pore to bleed.
The wild confusion of the fray
A timely offer gave
For brave Sir Malcolm to escape,
And further carnage save.
A timely offer gave
For brave Sir Malcolm to escape,
And further carnage save.
“Forbear,” said he, “ye more than men,
“A flying foe revere,
“For when compell'd to slay, alone,
“Should Scotsmen prove severe;
“A flying foe revere,
“For when compell'd to slay, alone,
“Should Scotsmen prove severe;
60
“The palm is won, the honor firm,
“Proud Edward yields the day:
“His fate may ev'ry conqueror meet,
“Till conquest dies away.
“Proud Edward yields the day:
“His fate may ev'ry conqueror meet,
“Till conquest dies away.
“But whom that Nymph whose might prevail'd,
“When ev'ry hope was gone?
“On milk-white charger form'd your ranks,
“And urg'd your footsteps on?”
“When ev'ry hope was gone?
“On milk-white charger form'd your ranks,
“And urg'd your footsteps on?”
Rejoic'd to tell our wond'ring Lord,
A shouting host reply'd,
The Nymph who led thy conquering bands,
Was brave Sir Malcolm's bride.
A shouting host reply'd,
The Nymph who led thy conquering bands,
Was brave Sir Malcolm's bride.
Scarce had his eye, with fond surprise,
Diffus'd a darting ray,
When Alla at Sir Malcolm's feet.
In speechless transport lay;
Diffus'd a darting ray,
61
In speechless transport lay;
“And art thou she,” the Knight exclaim'd,
“To whom I owe my life?
“And art thou, as thou seem'st to be,
“Truly my loving wife?”
“To whom I owe my life?
“And art thou, as thou seem'st to be,
“Truly my loving wife?”
When thus the rising fair one spoke,
“From these thy life receive,
“But that I am thy loving wife,
“Full faithfully believe.”
“From these thy life receive,
“But that I am thy loving wife,
“Full faithfully believe.”
Cry'd brave Sir Malcolm, “can my soul
“Such crouded transports bear?
“Preserv'd by thee, my life shall be
“Devoted to thy care.
“Such crouded transports bear?
“Preserv'd by thee, my life shall be
“Devoted to thy care.
62
“Thou monument of wedded worth,
“Thou first of woman kind,
“Thy brow unfading wreaths shall grace,
“Immortal laurels bind.”
“Thou first of woman kind,
“Thy brow unfading wreaths shall grace,
“Immortal laurels bind.”
A bending herald now arriv'd,
From England's vanquish'd King,
And did a letter from his Lord
To brave Sir Malcolm bring,
From England's vanquish'd King,
And did a letter from his Lord
To brave Sir Malcolm bring,
Imploring peace with might and main,
Bought with a proffer'd sum,
Imploring pardon for the past,
And right good-will to come.
Bought with a proffer'd sum,
Imploring pardon for the past,
And right good-will to come.
Sir Malcolm to the breathless man
Thus courteously did say,
“With England's king a peace to make.
“I do not answer nay;
Thus courteously did say,
63
“I do not answer nay;
“Tho' foul revenge, with clamour loud,
“Requires thy Monarch's death;
“The life of him, who conquering dar'd
“Demand Sir Malcolm's breath:
“Requires thy Monarch's death;
“The life of him, who conquering dar'd
“Demand Sir Malcolm's breath:
“Yet sway'd by honor's high controul,
“This heart shall ever be;
“A generous victor knows to blend
“Success with modesty;
“This heart shall ever be;
“A generous victor knows to blend
“Success with modesty;
“So take thy gift, Sir Malcolm's soul
“So mean a boon disdains,
“But longs with equal zeal to stop
“Each bleeding country's veins;
“So mean a boon disdains,
“But longs with equal zeal to stop
“Each bleeding country's veins;
64
“I only want him to be just,
“To mould his soul anew;
“That soil where proud ambition grows,
“Which would a world subdue.
“To mould his soul anew;
“That soil where proud ambition grows,
“Which would a world subdue.
“When war's ensanguin'd banners wave,
“And thousands fall around,
“What shall avail each victim'd corse,
“Tho' reason late be found?
“And thousands fall around,
“What shall avail each victim'd corse,
“Tho' reason late be found?
“Peace may return as statesmen chuse,
“And commerce rear its head;
“But where the statesman, who the prince,
“Can raise the injur'd dead?
“And commerce rear its head;
“But where the statesman, who the prince,
“Can raise the injur'd dead?
“Yet cease;—if Edward will reform,
“And be in future kind,
“A faithful friend, till time doth end,
“He shall in Scotland find.”
“And be in future kind,
65
“He shall in Scotland find.”
The herald now with speed return'd,
And all Sir Malcolm said
Recounted with an accent bold,
Without disguise or dread.
And all Sir Malcolm said
Recounted with an accent bold,
Without disguise or dread.
Quoth Edward, “Princely are his words,
“We will in truth be fair;
“That first of heroes, best of men,
“Shall hence my friendship share;
“We will in truth be fair;
“That first of heroes, best of men,
“Shall hence my friendship share;
“The Foe, who thus can bravely act,
“Can better play the Friend;
“To gain his love, reward his worth,
“My future life shall tend.”
“Can better play the Friend;
“To gain his love, reward his worth,
“My future life shall tend.”
66
Then England's king and Scotland's knight,
All on Cromarty's plain,
With faith did there, agree to swear
Right conduct to maintain;
All on Cromarty's plain,
With faith did there, agree to swear
Right conduct to maintain;
From ev'ry hostile act to fly,
Which jealousy might name,
As cause sufficient to provoke
Contention's dying flame.
Which jealousy might name,
As cause sufficient to provoke
Contention's dying flame.
And now they both with one consent,
Full cordially did meet;
It would have done one's heart's-blood good
To see how they did greet;
Full cordially did meet;
It would have done one's heart's-blood good
To see how they did greet;
With promis'd care, good will to bear,
And be for ever true;
And thus 'twas shown to all the world,
What woman's love could do.
And be for ever true;
67
What woman's love could do.
Let ev'ry generous youth revere,
His every effort move,
To merit first, and then possess,
The pearl of woman's love.
His every effort move,
To merit first, and then possess,
The pearl of woman's love.
Oh! woman rare, and woman fair,
From whom such blessings flow;
May ev'ry bonny Scottish lad
Thy blooming virtues know.
From whom such blessings flow;
May ev'ry bonny Scottish lad
Thy blooming virtues know.
69
WAR,
A FRAGMENT.
71
How much should man foul Anger's ocean flee!
High on whose surge his giddy bark is toss'd,
His rudder broken, and his anchor lost;
Whilst hidden fires his frantic bosom scorch,
Whilst to his eye the Furies hold their torch;
Adjust each feature with satanic grace,
And dance their orgies round his kindred face.
72
How! many a hateful form before Thee flies,
On whose dark brow, and grinning smile, and yell,
Thou might'st, if justice reign'd, for ever dwell!
Yet thou hast mark'd their faults, whilst pity sigh'd,
And to disturb thy peace, their little powers defy'd.
But whilst of happiness we feebly tell,
And praise her worth, and paint her halcyon cell;
Declare of joys that round their parent twine,
And speak of shores where suns perpetual shine;
How many pence-bought engines wield the spear,
Whose slavish breasts this sun must never cheer!
How many myriads of the human race,
On carnage bent, the name of man disgrace!
Some lazy tyrant's hireling tool obey,
And rush like blood-hounds on their unknown prey.
73
Should stop to sooth a gasping Soldier's pain;
Enquire the cause that urg'd him to engage
In war's fell clangor, and infernal rage;
“I know no cause,” his trembling tongue replies,
And with a hollow groan distends his frame, and dies.
Orlando, urg'd by Pity, whisp'ring near,
The victims of a stubborn fight to cheer;
When a fam'd City hail'd the victor band,
And ceas'd to glut with blood th'neighbouring land;
At midnight's solemn hour withdrew to tread
The plain bestrew'd with dying and with dead:
Long had it stood the thundering blast of war,
And long defy'd Britannia's tow'ring car,
Till stalking Famine in her haggard form,
Withstood the longer fight, and hush'd the storm:
74
Cast its red gleams, the sun's departing ray;
The hollow-sounding zephyr floating near,
Wont to convey the shout or clashing spear;
Now bears the trembling accents of despair,
And wafts alone the wounded wretch's prayer.
As the pale moon disclos'd her silver beam,
Orlando pass'd the town's encircling stream,
That on its surface many a carcass bore,
Staining the shatter'd walls with patriot gore.
Pensive, and slow, Orlando bent his way,
Through the wide carnage of the deadly fray;
Thousands of bloodless trunks the ground had stain'd,
Whilst sorely wounded thousands still remain'd;
Wailing in broken groans a soldier's fate,
As on their faded cheeks grim Anguish sate:
75
The life blood stagnates in Orlando's heart.
Unnumber'd eyes, just glimm'ring on the verge
Of death's dark precincts, and o'erwhelming surge,
Seem'd to implore his aid, and gently say,
“Oh! wand'ring stranger, hither bend thy way.”
“One moment help a wounded wretch forlorn.”
“Pluck the deep bullet from my bosom torn.”
“Screen from my quiv'ring limbs the nightly dew.”
Or, “bear to some lov'd name, a last adieu.”
Such countless claims on soft compassion's aid,
Such pallid forms in clotted garb array'd,
All panting for a friend to sooth their breath,
Or trembling in the iron grasp of death;
With bleeding pity fill'd the wand'rer's heart:
Unknowing where assistance first to dart,
76
Where stones might grieve, or tyrants learn to weep,
He saw a Youth bare to the evening gale,
Silent and sad, and as the snow-drop pale,
Feebly withstanding life's expiring tide,
As lying on the ground, he press'd his wounded side:
One hand, tho' cold, and rudely smear'd with gore,
In the faint grasp a Female's picture bore;
And as his eye-lid seem'd to heave its last,
Dead to the future, heedless of the past,
On the fond maid (as death itself might move),
He fix'd the lingering look of faithful love.
With lightning's speed, Orlando rush'd to save
So fair a victim from the gaping grave;
Upheld his sinking head, and sooth'd his pain,
And sought to bear him from the blood-moist plain.
Call'd from the shore of death's unebbing tide,
With sickly smile the Youth Orlando ey'd,
77
“In peace, oh! gen'rous stranger, let me die;
“Others there are who more require thy aid,
“Mine eyes, low sinking, court the hov'ring shade.”
Orlando cry'd, (whilst dropt the pitying tear),
“Oh! heed a friend, if friendship's voice can cheer
“On the cold confines of the dark-wav'd lake,
“And let mine heart thy rending pangs partake;
“Say, bleeding Youth, what urg'd thee thus to stray
“Far from thy kindred and thy coast away?
“To dare the fight with indignation blind,
“To lift the spear against thy fellow kind?
“Know'st thou the cause for which the crimson tide
“Deserts thine heart, and oozes from thy side?
“Perchance some statesman's pique, some shrine profan'd,
“A flag insulted, or a skiff detain'd;
“These blow the blasts of war; whose noxious breath
“Fills the wide earth with discord, dread, and death.
78
“And flee from blood, the nurture tyrants crave.”
As tho'a Power endu'd with sov'reign might
Had call'd his spirit from the shades of night,
The dying Youth appear'd; uprose in part,
And tore the tale of anguish from his heart:
‘An English Cot first gave me birth, and fed,
‘Till nineteen summer suns their course had sped,
‘Contented then, my soul no sorrow knew,
‘With heart untainted, and with bosom true,
‘Join'd I the village dance, the circle gay,
‘And jocund pass'd the smiling hours away;
‘(The fond remembrance of my native plain,
‘Darts wilder anguish through my throbbing brain;
‘I see the wolves, that once like lambs did bleat,
‘I see the serpents coiling at my feet,
79
‘Led me from home to drink this bitter draught:
‘Mark you the cause that laid me bleeding here,
‘And warn mankind to shun the hostile spear;
‘Rais'd but to please some haughty Lordling's pride,
‘Made but to pierce the harmless Peasant's side.)
‘Whilst o'er the stubborn glebe I urg'd my team,
‘Or led my flocks beside the pebbl'd stream,
‘Or with my reeden-pipe, at break of day,
‘Pour'd the rude warblings of a shepherd's lay;
‘Some Soldiers came; clad in a dazzling dress,
‘Laugh'd at my garments, dwelt on my distress;
‘Said, “spurn your plough, and all such grov'ling toys,
“And know the value of a Soldier's joys,
“No little Master do we deign to greet,
“My Lord or Duke directs our playful feet;
80
“We dress like Princes, and like Princes fare;
“Behold our cloaths, gay as autumnal trees,
“Behold our plumes nod to the passing breeze;
“But what are splendid garbs to deathless fame?
“We sigh for honors of a nobler name;
“We pant for Glory; and aspire to gain,
“Immortal laurels from the blood-red plain,
“Stain'd with the gore of Britain's slaughter'd prey,
“Whilst o'er their heads exulting clarions play.”
‘The shadowy prospect charm'd my foolish heart,
‘Urg'd me with home and happiness to part;
‘To leave my aged Sire, with anguish wild,
‘To leave my Mother, frantic for her child,
‘To leave the Maid I lov'd.
81
‘Which tore me from my Cath'rine's arms away;
“And wilt thou go? all wildly pale, she cry'd,
“And must the wars our faithful loves divide?
“Stay with thy Kate, nor cross the treach'rous sea!
“Let others fight, who are not lov'd like thee.”
‘Oh, Cath'rine! Cath'rine! thou shalt never more
‘Behold thy Henry! weltering in his gore
‘He hears the answering groans of death resound,
‘And marks his blood slow creeping o'er the ground.
‘My heart beats slow. The nightly dews fall cold.
‘Stranger! farewell.’—
He said; and heaving his last labouring breath
Exhausted sunk into the arms of death.
It is no idle dream, when Faith surveys
The glorious dawn, whose renovating raies
82
His glowing breast with Love's exalted fire;
When vanquish'd self shall yield her hateful reign,
And mental light restore our race again.
That time shall come; bless'd be the prospect fair!
When Friendship's cordial shout shall rend the air;
When no dark policy shall discord fan,
But man behold a brother's face in man.
That time shall also come, nor slowly creep,
When Justice, starting from her couch of sleep,
Shall seize her long-neglected sword of fate,
And call to vengeance earth's devouring Great;
Terror shall then the Conqueror's brow o'ercast,
The war-delighting Monarch stand aghast;
Dismay corrode the starting Despot's breast,
When doom'd to meet the Ghosts his chains oppress'd.
83
Display their crowns with gorgon snakes attir'd:
Thy Plunderers, Poland! find beyond the tomb
The Tyrant's portion and the Murderer's doom.
Amid the brave, the gen'rous, and the pure,
Thy name, most-injur'd Patriot! shall endure;
Succeeding ages mourn thy hapless fate,
And load its Author's name with deathless hate.
And, though to gain a people equal laws,
Thy weary'd limb a clanking fetter draws,
Yet, what sustains the good man's suff'ring breast,
Shall, tho' endungeon'd, give thy spirit rest:
Unconquer'd, scorn thy once luxurious ease;
With patience arm'd, defy her pow'r to teize;
Whom neither laws of God or man can bind!
Who wars, as interest serves, on all mankind.
84
Thy name descend to Time's remotest verge
With growing honors crown'd; and o'er thy grave
The bay shall bloom, the seerless laurel wave.
On pure-ey'd reason, and unsullied fame?
The waster's rude of Chili's happy land?
The blood-drunk Conqueror's of Indostan's strand?
And all the train of Warriors', as they rose,
Feasting, from age to age, on human woes?
What the fierce Rival's of Moscovian Czar,
Or His, who tore Darius from his car?
Scourgers of earth, and Heralds of dismay,
Pests of mankind, and whirlwinds of their day;
From whose example blushing History rakes
Her nest of Scorpions, and her brood of Snakes;
85
War's wasting firebrands o'er a suff'ring world.
What countless pangs to such have owed their birth!
What blood and murder stain'd the smiling earth!
To grant these Tyrants unexplor'd domain,
How many a fruitful clime has desert lain!
To please these monsters in their lordly pride,
How many an eye hath wept, and bosom sigh'd!
Shepherds, unskill'd in war's infernal trade,
Torn from their cots to wield the murderer's blade;
Peasants, with hearts revolting at the sight,
Compell'd to sack the town, and dare the fight;
Till War's malignant deeds, and wizard spell,
Transform them, saints of light, to fiends of hell.
The hostile Chief, in conquest's honors drest,
Sporting the trophy'd car and nodding crest,
But little thinks, or, thinking, little cares,
How hard the inmate of the cottage fares;
What thousands fall before his mad career;
What countless orphans drop the secret tear:
Laughs at their wrongs, and revels o'er his wine,
Whilst flatterers hail each fiend-like deed, divine.
Yet let him know, and those who wars admire,
Whose music charms them, or whose garbs inspire,
On the red plain, where putrid thousands lie,
Each leaves a friend to heave the pitying sigh,
With grief as poignant, as the pangs that wait
The proud funereal honors of the great.
Each carcase by the carrion worms carest,
Felt as we feel, ere slept his throbbing breast;
A rapid survey cast on friends afar;
And, whilst Destruction roll'd hi scithed car,
Curst, in his pangs, the murderers of mankind,
And dropt the tear for those he left behind.
Even whilst his limbs look ghastly in their wounds,
And war's loud clangor round the battle sounds,
He faintly hears a Daughter's frantic cries;
A Son's pale image swims before his eyes.
Ah, fond delusion! these shall live to tell
The far-off country where their Father fell;
What blazon'd warrior led him to his doom,
To gain, he knew not what, to fight, he knew not whom.
Sporting the trophy'd car and nodding crest,
86
How hard the inmate of the cottage fares;
What thousands fall before his mad career;
What countless orphans drop the secret tear:
Laughs at their wrongs, and revels o'er his wine,
Whilst flatterers hail each fiend-like deed, divine.
Yet let him know, and those who wars admire,
Whose music charms them, or whose garbs inspire,
On the red plain, where putrid thousands lie,
Each leaves a friend to heave the pitying sigh,
With grief as poignant, as the pangs that wait
The proud funereal honors of the great.
Each carcase by the carrion worms carest,
Felt as we feel, ere slept his throbbing breast;
A rapid survey cast on friends afar;
And, whilst Destruction roll'd hi scithed car,
Curst, in his pangs, the murderers of mankind,
And dropt the tear for those he left behind.
87
And war's loud clangor round the battle sounds,
He faintly hears a Daughter's frantic cries;
A Son's pale image swims before his eyes.
Ah, fond delusion! these shall live to tell
The far-off country where their Father fell;
What blazon'd warrior led him to his doom,
To gain, he knew not what, to fight, he knew not whom.
Contracted is the life of man at most,
And much in childhood, much in dotage lost;
Full short the time with prejudice to part,
And tear its hemlock fibrils from the heart;
Yet man, regardless, dares the field of strife,
And fir'd by vengeance, yields his fleeting life:
Yea, and before he met the fatal blow,
He grasp'd the spear, and call'd a Brother—Foe;
Rush'd on to combat, and, with deadly hate,
Plung'd deep the steel, and seal'd that Brother's fate.
Is man on man for ever doom'd to prey?
And much in childhood, much in dotage lost;
Full short the time with prejudice to part,
And tear its hemlock fibrils from the heart;
Yet man, regardless, dares the field of strife,
And fir'd by vengeance, yields his fleeting life:
Yea, and before he met the fatal blow,
He grasp'd the spear, and call'd a Brother—Foe;
88
Plung'd deep the steel, and seal'd that Brother's fate.
Shall he for ever passively obey
The voice which Discord thunders from afar?
Exulting wield the infuriate scourge of war?
Shall never Reason whisper in the ear
Of him who lights the torch, or hurls the spear,
‘Know you their crimes on whom you warfare wage?
‘For whom you feel resentment's deadly rage?
‘Has never the obtruding thought arose,
“What is the cause, for which I slay my foes?
“Have they deceiv'd their friends? from justice swerv'd?
“Betray'd their country? and their fates deserv'd?
“Or have they not, mid clashing interest's cry,
“Ventur'd their lives, like me, unknowing why?”
89
‘Thou dare despise, and be to mercy blind;
‘Pant to survey, in gore, thy brethren drest,
‘And thirst to plunge thy sabre in their breast:
‘Such bitter hopes with none but Demons dwell,
‘Their Sire is Satan, and their home is hell.’
Tales might have once inspir'd compassion's sigh,
Or rous'd resentment, darting from the eye,
Which now no longer melt the pitying breast.
Lost in the lapse of time, with Heav'n they rest!
Of frantic maiden o'er the hostile plain
Seeking her Love amid the high-heap'd slain,
Till in the slaughter'd rank she eyes his face,
And, dying, clasps him in her fond embrace.
Or youth, from peaceful home to battle led,
And, wounded, left to perish with the dead;
90
He marks around the screaming Vultures sail,
Lifts one faint arm to turn their beaks away,
Yet strives in vain to scare them from their prey.
Even now some cottage child may starve for bread,
And lisping call upon its father—dead;
At whose approach, when eve her shadows threw,
To meet its Sire the pratling Infant flew.
Saw with delight the Loaf his arm sustain'd,
And shar'd the meal his honest toil had gain'd;
Now in the wars laid low, no longer gay
It pines and sobs its little heart away;
Whilst the rack'd Mother hides her anguish deep,
And, weeping, bids her baby cease to weep.
Would but one child thus early learnt to fare!
Would but one scene of such distress there were.
91
‘With such unmanly thoughts, away! away!
‘Let Women love their timid breasts to goad,
‘And weep o'er Emmets crusht in Glory's road;
‘But Men, the Lords of wide creation's race,
‘Should never let a tear their cheeks disgrace;
‘Nor, when pursuing Fame with ardent eye,
‘Stoop to survey what worms beneath them lie.
‘I love thy clarion'd deeds, victorious war,
‘To hear thy bold atchievements from afar;
‘To see the martial ranks retire, advance,
‘Now view with furious rage the war-horse prance;
‘Now hear rich music charm the troubled air,
‘And now behold the sun-bright falchion's glare;
‘And though unnumber'd heroes gash'd must lie,
‘And Death o'ercast full many a victim's eye;
‘Yet, in that hour, disdaining slavish dread,
‘Shall exultation raise each drooping head;
92
‘They leave a country grateful for their aid;
‘They dare, with triumphs crown'd, resign their breath,
‘And mid their country's glory smile in death.’
These swelling words may charm the careless ear,
These artful sounds disperse the shallow tear;
Yet, with indignant spirit, Truth disdains
To crouch in silence, bound by Falshood's chains,
She rends the veil that hides her glorious ray,
And dares the spoils of demon War display.
These artful sounds disperse the shallow tear;
Yet, with indignant spirit, Truth disdains
To crouch in silence, bound by Falshood's chains,
She rends the veil that hides her glorious ray,
And dares the spoils of demon War display.
Hard are the ills a Soldier must endure,
Grief is his lot, and Death his only cure;
He little knows what fierce opponents wait
To hand the chalice at the hour of fate;
He little dreams, whilst number'd with the brave,
What dangers lurk to sink him to the grave.
Few are the favour'd breasts who sudden feel
The gun's swift ruin, or destruction's steel;
Too often, wounds the sinking frame oppress,
Torpid and pale, with hopeless wretchedness:
Or if from wounds protected he remain,
Distemper's venom swells his burning vein;
A foe's dank prison bounds his feeble view,
While on his brow sits death's untimely dew;
Or in the ship that bore him to the fight,
He breaths the air of pestilence and night;
Or on his scanty straw-bed, rests his arm,
And, sighing, asks for War's seductive charm;
For which he left a father's house, alone,
To pine unnotic'd, and to die unknown;
Whilst round the tent expiring veterans lie;
His sad participants in misery!
These are no scenes in Fancy's clothing drest,
Framed with strange cares to pierce the feeling breast;
But, true, too true! for ere they bade farewel,
Thus, oh ye Mothers! thus your Children fell.
Grief is his lot, and Death his only cure;
He little knows what fierce opponents wait
To hand the chalice at the hour of fate;
He little dreams, whilst number'd with the brave,
What dangers lurk to sink him to the grave.
93
The gun's swift ruin, or destruction's steel;
Too often, wounds the sinking frame oppress,
Torpid and pale, with hopeless wretchedness:
Or if from wounds protected he remain,
Distemper's venom swells his burning vein;
A foe's dank prison bounds his feeble view,
While on his brow sits death's untimely dew;
Or in the ship that bore him to the fight,
He breaths the air of pestilence and night;
Or on his scanty straw-bed, rests his arm,
And, sighing, asks for War's seductive charm;
For which he left a father's house, alone,
To pine unnotic'd, and to die unknown;
Whilst round the tent expiring veterans lie;
His sad participants in misery!
These are no scenes in Fancy's clothing drest,
Framed with strange cares to pierce the feeling breast;
94
Thus, oh ye Mothers! thus your Children fell.
If such the ills of war, by Heaven abhorr'd!
What are your crimes, ye Guardians of the sword,
At whose decision countless scabbards fly,
And murders fill the earth, and groans the sky?
What are your crimes, if, sway'd by wealth or power,
Ye loose your “war-dogs” in ambition's hour?
Contented view your subjects bleed and groan,
To add some bauble to a burthen'd throne?
Or, that when Death ten thousand eyes has chain'd,
Courtiers may shout some glorious—feather gain'd?
Sins so stupendous, here but seldom find,
That signal wrath of heaven which waits behind;
Too foul such terpitude for mortal woe!
Too huge such crimes for cognizance below!
What are your crimes, ye Guardians of the sword,
At whose decision countless scabbards fly,
And murders fill the earth, and groans the sky?
What are your crimes, if, sway'd by wealth or power,
Ye loose your “war-dogs” in ambition's hour?
Contented view your subjects bleed and groan,
To add some bauble to a burthen'd throne?
Or, that when Death ten thousand eyes has chain'd,
Courtiers may shout some glorious—feather gain'd?
Sins so stupendous, here but seldom find,
That signal wrath of heaven which waits behind;
Too foul such terpitude for mortal woe!
Too huge such crimes for cognizance below!
95
Are they more innocent, with plenty crown'd,
Who at the head of slaughtering hords are found?
Whom stern necessity's remorseless hand
Forc'd not to join the desolating band?
Who, seiz'd by Luxury's fever of the brain,
Brandish the spear, and dangers brave, to gain
A prize they well might spare, and which, possest,
Leaves but a sting that rankles in their breast.
If these from choice the savage path pursue,
And in in the blood of Man their spears embrue;
Though Justice spare their lives, and Fame declare
In many a hard campaign their valiant share,
With war's black authors be their deeds abhorr'd,
And equal dooms their equal crimes reward.
Who at the head of slaughtering hords are found?
Whom stern necessity's remorseless hand
Forc'd not to join the desolating band?
Who, seiz'd by Luxury's fever of the brain,
Brandish the spear, and dangers brave, to gain
A prize they well might spare, and which, possest,
Leaves but a sting that rankles in their breast.
If these from choice the savage path pursue,
And in in the blood of Man their spears embrue;
Though Justice spare their lives, and Fame declare
In many a hard campaign their valiant share,
With war's black authors be their deeds abhorr'd,
And equal dooms their equal crimes reward.
Yet, if invaded rights the task demand,
If men behold opprest their native land,
By foreign despots wandering far for prey,
Who, lucusts like, with ruin mark their way:
Or, if a factious band their schemes pursue,
To God rebellious, and to Man untrue;
Who curse all crimes but those themselves have done,
And wish to act the Tyrant's part, alone;
Triumphant stride o'er vanquish'd order's grave,
And laugh to hear confusion's whirlwind rave:
Or if a Monarch guide the public helm,
In ruin's surge a nation to o'erwhelm;
Reward for foulest deeds a venal tribe,
Nor shun to blacken whom he cannot bribe;
On power despotic rear a rush-built throne,
And, crown'd for all, live to himself alone;
Bid Justice stoop to servile Interest's awe;
His look a mandate, and his word a law.
'Twill then be right to grasp the blazing spear,
Be duty then the banner'd staff to rear;
To dare the fight at Freedom's sacred call,
And, if by Heav'n decreed, exulting fall.
But, if embark'd to urge oppression's claim,
For love of vengeance, or for thirst of fame
Men heed the trumpet's bray, the clarion's call,
Rush on to battle, and untimely fall;
Fall, whilst extending War's tartarean brand!
Fall, with the Murderer's dagger in their hand!
—Compassion draws a veil, and leaves their wrongs
With Heav'n, to whom decision's right belongs.
If men behold opprest their native land,
By foreign despots wandering far for prey,
Who, lucusts like, with ruin mark their way:
96
To God rebellious, and to Man untrue;
Who curse all crimes but those themselves have done,
And wish to act the Tyrant's part, alone;
Triumphant stride o'er vanquish'd order's grave,
And laugh to hear confusion's whirlwind rave:
Or if a Monarch guide the public helm,
In ruin's surge a nation to o'erwhelm;
Reward for foulest deeds a venal tribe,
Nor shun to blacken whom he cannot bribe;
On power despotic rear a rush-built throne,
And, crown'd for all, live to himself alone;
Bid Justice stoop to servile Interest's awe;
His look a mandate, and his word a law.
'Twill then be right to grasp the blazing spear,
Be duty then the banner'd staff to rear;
To dare the fight at Freedom's sacred call,
And, if by Heav'n decreed, exulting fall.
97
For love of vengeance, or for thirst of fame
Men heed the trumpet's bray, the clarion's call,
Rush on to battle, and untimely fall;
Fall, whilst extending War's tartarean brand!
Fall, with the Murderer's dagger in their hand!
—Compassion draws a veil, and leaves their wrongs
With Heav'n, to whom decision's right belongs.
MONODY ON THE DEATH OF JOHN HENDERSON, A. B. OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, OXFORD.
In life's gay prime, the Friend of Virtue died!
Fair was the flower, but Heaven the fruit deny'd.
As o'er thy tomb, my Henderson! I bend,
Shall I not praise thee, Scholar! Christian! Friend!
The tears which o'er a Brother's recent grave
Fond Nature sheds, those copious tears I gave:
But, now that Time its softening hues has brought,
And mellow'd anguish into pensive thought;
Since through the varying scenes of life I've pass'd,
Comparing still the former with the last;
I prize thee more! The Great, the Learn'd I see,
Yet Mem'ry turns from little men to THEE,
And views, with smiles that light her trembling tear,
Thy Genius destin'd for a nobler sphere.
Fair was the flower, but Heaven the fruit deny'd.
As o'er thy tomb, my Henderson! I bend,
Shall I not praise thee, Scholar! Christian! Friend!
The tears which o'er a Brother's recent grave
Fond Nature sheds, those copious tears I gave:
98
And mellow'd anguish into pensive thought;
Since through the varying scenes of life I've pass'd,
Comparing still the former with the last;
I prize thee more! The Great, the Learn'd I see,
Yet Mem'ry turns from little men to THEE,
And views, with smiles that light her trembling tear,
Thy Genius destin'd for a nobler sphere.
Silent too long this sorrowing heart hath been;
Thy worth too long unhonor'd have I seen;
And mark'd thy Fame, which, like the morning sky,
Beam'd with full glory whilst the storm was nigh,
Now with thy Newton's sleep (dear, valued mind,
Who, dying, left no purer heart behind.)
Thy worth too long unhonor'd have I seen;
And mark'd thy Fame, which, like the morning sky,
Beam'd with full glory whilst the storm was nigh,
Now with thy Newton's sleep (dear, valued mind,
Who, dying, left no purer heart behind.)
99
If human spirits then begin to live
When they mortality's frail robe receive;
And, born to endless being, urge their way,
Progressive travellers through the eternal day;
Dart wide the glance; yet, dart on God alone;
Approaching still his ever-distant throne;
If, e'en the unletter'd Peasant, in that flight
Shall soar beyond a Newton's earthly height,
To what shall he attain, whose infant scan
Pierc'd through the frames of nature and of man?
When they mortality's frail robe receive;
And, born to endless being, urge their way,
Progressive travellers through the eternal day;
Dart wide the glance; yet, dart on God alone;
Approaching still his ever-distant throne;
If, e'en the unletter'd Peasant, in that flight
Shall soar beyond a Newton's earthly height,
To what shall he attain, whose infant scan
Pierc'd through the frames of nature and of man?
'Twas his the times of elder fame to view,
And all that Greece or Rome e'er wrote or knew;
Now on bold pinion float mid Plato's blaze,
Now patient tread the Schoolman's thorny maze.
In thrice ten years his soul had run the round
Of human knowledge in her depths profound;
Alike could mete the earth or dart his eye
To where, with suns, the Zodiac belts the sky,
Through æther rove on Wisdom's mounting car,
And join the course of each revolving star.
Yet could he shape the log or prune the tree,
Or stoop to roll the marble on his knee.
Ev'n as the Lark, by loftier flights opprest,
That seeks at eve her calm and lowly nest;
Who yet when sleep no longer seals the eye,
And light returning streaks the orient sky,
Uprising, calls the opening morn her own,
And revels in the tide of new-born day alone.
And all that Greece or Rome e'er wrote or knew;
100
Now patient tread the Schoolman's thorny maze.
In thrice ten years his soul had run the round
Of human knowledge in her depths profound;
Alike could mete the earth or dart his eye
To where, with suns, the Zodiac belts the sky,
101
And join the course of each revolving star.
Yet could he shape the log or prune the tree,
Or stoop to roll the marble on his knee.
Ev'n as the Lark, by loftier flights opprest,
That seeks at eve her calm and lowly nest;
Who yet when sleep no longer seals the eye,
And light returning streaks the orient sky,
Uprising, calls the opening morn her own,
And revels in the tide of new-born day alone.
Not souls from him lay ambush'd, he could trace
The mute, unlying, language of the face;
In manhood's varying features, knew to read
The ruling passion stamp'd, the habitual deed;
And, through the acorn's fibrils, saw the hour
When the tall Oak defy'd the tempest's power.
The mute, unlying, language of the face;
In manhood's varying features, knew to read
The ruling passion stamp'd, the habitual deed;
And, through the acorn's fibrils, saw the hour
When the tall Oak defy'd the tempest's power.
102
Though like an eagle he could stand sublime
On summits which no toil might hope to climb;
And though, whene'er he spake, the pausing sage
Wonder'd, and lov'd the idol of his age;
Yet did kind Heav'n one worthier gift impart,
The priceless treasure of a lowly heart!
O hear thou proud one! thou, whose soul assumes
Or Wisdom's robe, or Wit's fantastic plumes,
Though Learning's Alpine height before him shone,
He on the footstool rear'd a nobler throne:
E'en children doated on his accent mild,
And sported careless round their fellow child.
On summits which no toil might hope to climb;
And though, whene'er he spake, the pausing sage
Wonder'd, and lov'd the idol of his age;
Yet did kind Heav'n one worthier gift impart,
The priceless treasure of a lowly heart!
O hear thou proud one! thou, whose soul assumes
Or Wisdom's robe, or Wit's fantastic plumes,
Though Learning's Alpine height before him shone,
He on the footstool rear'd a nobler throne:
E'en children doated on his accent mild,
And sported careless round their fellow child.
Ye sons of calumny! go, hide your head!
Away, ye Vampires! that devour the dead!
Who fain would force the long-clos'd wound to bleed,
And hunt through Paradise to find a weed.
When droopt his frame beneath its restless lord,
And cut its sheath the keenly-temper'd sword;
What, if an artificial aid he sought,
Worn out with prodigality of thought!
What if, his frail car driven with heedless force,
He fired the wheels in his too rapid course!
'Tis true, the midnight bowl he lov'd to share,
Yet never cloud it rais'd, or maniac glare;
But, only made, with stimulation kind,
The body wakeful to the unsleeping mind;
But only (till unmechaniz'd by death)
Kept the pipe vocal to the player's breath.
With wonted thought, with loftier eloquence,
Truth's sacred precepts would he then dispense:
So fair the effect that Virtue made a pause,
And only, not forgave the faulty cause.
Away, ye Vampires! that devour the dead!
103
And hunt through Paradise to find a weed.
When droopt his frame beneath its restless lord,
And cut its sheath the keenly-temper'd sword;
What, if an artificial aid he sought,
Worn out with prodigality of thought!
What if, his frail car driven with heedless force,
He fired the wheels in his too rapid course!
'Tis true, the midnight bowl he lov'd to share,
Yet never cloud it rais'd, or maniac glare;
But, only made, with stimulation kind,
The body wakeful to the unsleeping mind;
But only (till unmechaniz'd by death)
Kept the pipe vocal to the player's breath.
104
Truth's sacred precepts would he then dispense:
So fair the effect that Virtue made a pause,
And only, not forgave the faulty cause.
Guarded with pious joy, and vestal care,
Those sacred hours let bleeding memory bear,
When o'er his couch, with tears, I nightly hung,
And drank the words of wisdom from his tongue.
The simplest truths, that else had quickly fled,
Strike with deep meaning from a sick friend's bed:
How richly then his precepts must I prize,
Lov'd by the good and echo'd by the wise.
Those sacred hours let bleeding memory bear,
When o'er his couch, with tears, I nightly hung,
And drank the words of wisdom from his tongue.
The simplest truths, that else had quickly fled,
Strike with deep meaning from a sick friend's bed:
How richly then his precepts must I prize,
Lov'd by the good and echo'd by the wise.
But, where is all the sense that once was thine?
The grace that charm'd us? and the wit divine?
Where are those lips that play'd so well their part?
And where that eye which analiz'd the heart?
Now are they known no more!—the shivering frame
Ponders on death, and sighs o'er human fame.
The flower may please the eye and scent the air,
Whilst in its folds the Canker-worm is there;
For, like the flower, at morn we raise our head,
And, ere the day be past, our life is fled.
Yet, when, for virtues famed, the reasoning sage,
Vanquish'd by death, forsakes this mortal stage,
His parting hopes or fears imperious rise,
And, as we lov'd the man, his words we prize.
Oh, hither come, all ye! whose smoaky lamps
Burn dim and foul mid doubts unwholesome damps,
Who pine in vain for intellectual food,
And o'er the void of cold conjecture brood;
Oh hither come, all ye! who dare deride
That Faith, which blooms alone by Virtue's side,
Who spurn the truths which wiser minds receive,
And just have wit enough to disbelieve:
Oh hither come! from me, the mourner, hear
What tranquil smiles a Christian's lips can wear,
When some kind Angel sooths the labouring breath,
And lifts the emancipating wand of death.
The grace that charm'd us? and the wit divine?
Where are those lips that play'd so well their part?
And where that eye which analiz'd the heart?
105
Ponders on death, and sighs o'er human fame.
The flower may please the eye and scent the air,
Whilst in its folds the Canker-worm is there;
For, like the flower, at morn we raise our head,
And, ere the day be past, our life is fled.
Yet, when, for virtues famed, the reasoning sage,
Vanquish'd by death, forsakes this mortal stage,
His parting hopes or fears imperious rise,
And, as we lov'd the man, his words we prize.
Oh, hither come, all ye! whose smoaky lamps
Burn dim and foul mid doubts unwholesome damps,
Who pine in vain for intellectual food,
And o'er the void of cold conjecture brood;
Oh hither come, all ye! who dare deride
That Faith, which blooms alone by Virtue's side,
Who spurn the truths which wiser minds receive,
And just have wit enough to disbelieve:
106
What tranquil smiles a Christian's lips can wear,
When some kind Angel sooths the labouring breath,
And lifts the emancipating wand of death.
Then only not the friend of all mankind,
When to thyself a foe—farewell, great mind!
We wander tearful through this vale below,
But thou art there, where tears forget to flow;
Where Love and Joy eternal vigils hold,
And scatter healing as their wings unfold;
Where souls their radiant course for ever run,
Like Planets circling the Almighty Sun.
When to thyself a foe—farewell, great mind!
We wander tearful through this vale below,
But thou art there, where tears forget to flow;
Where Love and Joy eternal vigils hold,
And scatter healing as their wings unfold;
Where souls their radiant course for ever run,
Like Planets circling the Almighty Sun.
If friendship be a flower, whose am'ranth bloom
Endures that heavenly clime; beyond the tomb,
I, haply I, thy honor'd form may see;
And thou, perchance, with joy remember me;
Hail my escape from grief's distemper'd train,
And be my loved Instructor once again.
Teach me what snares my mortal steps assail'd,
And by what secret impulse I prevail'd:
Dispel the mists upborn by Error's rays,
Unfold the doors of Wisdom to my gaze;
Instruct mine eye, to grasp with nobler sense,
The dark, mysterious rounds of Providence.
Endures that heavenly clime; beyond the tomb,
I, haply I, thy honor'd form may see;
And thou, perchance, with joy remember me;
107
And be my loved Instructor once again.
Teach me what snares my mortal steps assail'd,
And by what secret impulse I prevail'd:
Dispel the mists upborn by Error's rays,
Unfold the doors of Wisdom to my gaze;
Instruct mine eye, to grasp with nobler sense,
The dark, mysterious rounds of Providence.
And whilst with trembling awe, and sacred dread,
Before the Omniscient's throne, my palm I spread.
Aid thou my tongue to thank that Lamb above,
Whose words were blessings and whose life was love.
Before the Omniscient's throne, my palm I spread.
Aid thou my tongue to thank that Lamb above,
Whose words were blessings and whose life was love.
The Reverend James Newton was a particular friend of John Henderson, and forms one, of many instances, where superior learning and exalted virtues sink down to the grave, unknown by the world, and wept only by that confined circle who knew how to appreciate excellence; but, whose praise, with its object, is soon carried away by “the onward-rolling waves of Time.”
Some Gentlemen of Pembroke College, Oxford (amongst whom was the Tutor) willing to be satisfied of the reputation which John Henderson had acquired for his knowledge of the Schoolmen, made themselves acquainted with the arguments of Thomas a'Quinas on a particular point; and then applied to Henderson for the opinions of that author on the same. Without any hesitation he gave them Thomas a'Quinas's sentiments upon the subject, in a long train of deductions and arguments. But, what rendered the circumstance most remarkable was, the strength of memory which he discovered, as he delivered himself almost verbatim in the language of the Author he cited.
This anecdote was received from Dr. Thomas Beddoes, who was at that time a Member of Pembroke College, and a Professor in the same University.
The Vampires (in the mythology of the Hungarian superstition) are loathly Spirits, who delight to enter the graves of the newly-buried, and mangle their bodies.
The partiality of friendship must give place to the sacredness of truth: “his friends lamented this failing,” which was both a solitary and a short-liv'd one, “and he himself sincerely repented of it. Of his fallen creatures, the God of heaven does not require more.” Agutter's Sermon on his death.
123
AN ATTEMPT AT A FREE PARAPHRASE OF SOME PART OF THE EIGHTEENTH PSALM.
125
From the deep anguish of a wounded mind,
When no relief my troubled soul could find;
When sunk my breast at enmity's dark frown,
And like a flood th'ungodly bore me down:
I felt the crimes to which my heart was prone,
That youth had cherish'd, or that age had known;
And trembling at the black and countless train,
Saw Hell in triumph shake her giant chain.
Then on the mercy of my God I thought,
Whose guardian power, thro' infancy, had brought
My wayward spirit, and to manhood's form
Shelter'd my head through many a wintry storm.
Fir'd with affection's holy flame I cry'd,
Thee will I love, oh Lord, the Patriarch's guide!
Thee will I love, for thou the sword canst wield!
Thee will I love, oh Lord, my mighty shield!
When no relief my troubled soul could find;
When sunk my breast at enmity's dark frown,
And like a flood th'ungodly bore me down:
I felt the crimes to which my heart was prone,
That youth had cherish'd, or that age had known;
126
Saw Hell in triumph shake her giant chain.
Then on the mercy of my God I thought,
Whose guardian power, thro' infancy, had brought
My wayward spirit, and to manhood's form
Shelter'd my head through many a wintry storm.
Fir'd with affection's holy flame I cry'd,
Thee will I love, oh Lord, the Patriarch's guide!
Thee will I love, for thou the sword canst wield!
Thee will I love, oh Lord, my mighty shield!
When those who hate thy law against me came,
Mock'd me to scorn, and curst Jehovah's name;
While thro' th'applauding land their railings flew,
I call'd upon the God my fathers knew.
That God, whose word upholds the rolling stars,
Tho' served by Seraphs in their Sun-girt cars!
Tho' storms and tempests form his awful train!
And Angels hymn a never-ending strain!
Tho' all the orbs the midnight heavens display,
And all the suns that throng the milky way,
Hang on his smile for life! he smiles on all,
Yet stoops to hear the good man's secret call!
He mark'd the foes my sorrowing heart abhorr'd,
Whose bitter tongues had slander'd Israel's Lord;
He saw the worm revolting at its God,
And bade the vallies quake, the mountains nod.
Mock'd me to scorn, and curst Jehovah's name;
While thro' th'applauding land their railings flew,
I call'd upon the God my fathers knew.
That God, whose word upholds the rolling stars,
Tho' served by Seraphs in their Sun-girt cars!
127
And Angels hymn a never-ending strain!
Tho' all the orbs the midnight heavens display,
And all the suns that throng the milky way,
Hang on his smile for life! he smiles on all,
Yet stoops to hear the good man's secret call!
He mark'd the foes my sorrowing heart abhorr'd,
Whose bitter tongues had slander'd Israel's Lord;
He saw the worm revolting at its God,
And bade the vallies quake, the mountains nod.
Now from the realms above, the Lord of light,
Downward to earth directs his beaming flight.
Whilst Heaven, all darkness, mourns no God-head nigh,
He glides serene, amid the stormy sky!
Moves, undisturb'd, tho' lightnings blaze around!
Tho' bellowing whirlwinds shake creation's bound!
Dreadless, the terrors he had rais'd, surveys,
And while aghast the trembling Cherubs gaze,
With thought all-mighty calms each follower's mind,
And rides upon the pinions of the wind.
Downward to earth directs his beaming flight.
Whilst Heaven, all darkness, mourns no God-head nigh,
He glides serene, amid the stormy sky!
Moves, undisturb'd, tho' lightnings blaze around!
Tho' bellowing whirlwinds shake creation's bound!
128
And while aghast the trembling Cherubs gaze,
With thought all-mighty calms each follower's mind,
And rides upon the pinions of the wind.
Hark! from the clouds convulsive thunders break!
From either pole Earth's central Caverns shake!
Their heads, in dust, the forest tall Pines hide!
The lofty Cedars rock on every side!
Mountains and hills, in wild confusion nod;
Before the wind of Heaven—before the voice of God.
From either pole Earth's central Caverns shake!
Their heads, in dust, the forest tall Pines hide!
The lofty Cedars rock on every side!
Mountains and hills, in wild confusion nod;
Before the wind of Heaven—before the voice of God.
Now the pale host, who late high Heaven could dare
Shrink as the bright blaze darts its forked glare;
And, stretch'd on crags, immur'd in rayless den,
Trembling retire the impious sons of men.
Shrink as the bright blaze darts its forked glare;
And, stretch'd on crags, immur'd in rayless den,
Trembling retire the impious sons of men.
129
The Lord was wrath: when darkness veil'd the sky!
He frown'd, and discord jarr'd the worlds on high!
Then the foundations of the earth appear'd;
Ocean, uptorn, her deepest channels rear'd;
Whilst Nature, rising from her secret bed,
In speechless anguish waves her hoary head;
Starts, as the whirlwind traverses the air,
And, shiv'ring, dreads her last short moment near.
He frown'd, and discord jarr'd the worlds on high!
Then the foundations of the earth appear'd;
Ocean, uptorn, her deepest channels rear'd;
Whilst Nature, rising from her secret bed,
In speechless anguish waves her hoary head;
Starts, as the whirlwind traverses the air,
And, shiv'ring, dreads her last short moment near.
He, who prepar'd creation's varyed form,
Who speaks majestic in the midnight storm,
Whose word dissolves the pillars of the sky,
Whilst as a scroll the Heavens are passed by;
Lives not alone to raise the view sublime,
Moves not indifferent to the deeds of time,
But, passing mortal thought! inclines his ear,
To man's repentant sigh and contrite tear.
Thee well we love, oh Lord! unchanging friend!
To thine abode our grateful songs shall tend;
For thou canst raise us from the silent dust,
And art our friend, our fortress, and our trust.
Who speaks majestic in the midnight storm,
Whose word dissolves the pillars of the sky,
Whilst as a scroll the Heavens are passed by;
Lives not alone to raise the view sublime,
Moves not indifferent to the deeds of time,
But, passing mortal thought! inclines his ear,
To man's repentant sigh and contrite tear.
130
To thine abode our grateful songs shall tend;
For thou canst raise us from the silent dust,
And art our friend, our fortress, and our trust.
Shall ought prescribe the limits of thy reign?
Boundless as Heaven! 'tis impotent and vain!
Whose lifted arm no hostile power can bind;
Scatt'ring its foes upon the tempest's wind.
Our God sustains the glowing orb of day;
He bade the pale Moon beam a milder ray;
He call'd, from nothing, countless Suns to burn;
He speaks,—and back to nothing they return.
May we resign'd behold his arrows fly,
Nor dare provoke his judgments lest we die.
Boundless as Heaven! 'tis impotent and vain!
Whose lifted arm no hostile power can bind;
Scatt'ring its foes upon the tempest's wind.
Our God sustains the glowing orb of day;
He bade the pale Moon beam a milder ray;
He call'd, from nothing, countless Suns to burn;
He speaks,—and back to nothing they return.
May we resign'd behold his arrows fly,
Nor dare provoke his judgments lest we die.
131
RICARDO AND CASSANDRA,
A MORAL TALE.
133
Intemperance! King of Death's aye hov'ring train,
How many thorns o'erspread thy drear domain!
How many miriads round thy temple fly,
And LIFE, and HONOR, sacrifice to thee.
What wild conceit allures their steps away,
Round thine eternal ice-bound realm to stray?
Where never Worth surveys the steril sphere,
Where never Pleasure views Contentment near.
How many thorns o'erspread thy drear domain!
How many miriads round thy temple fly,
And LIFE, and HONOR, sacrifice to thee.
What wild conceit allures their steps away,
Round thine eternal ice-bound realm to stray?
Where never Worth surveys the steril sphere,
Where never Pleasure views Contentment near.
134
RICARDO, once the theme of ev'ry song,
Thro' early life sequester'd, past along;
His Mother taught his infant thought to rise,
Up where Creation's Founder gems the skies;
Improved his heart from white-rob'd Virtue's store,
Enlarged his mind with scientific lore,
Taught him to root-out prejudice, nor care,
Splendor, and pomp, and artificial glare,
Which caught the vulgar eye, which rais'd the vulgar stare.
And thus, by tears obstructed, would she say,
“Let me, the debt thy Father owed thee, pay.
“How few of all the countless sons of men,
“Run the full round of threescore years and ten!
“How much does VICE curtail life's little thread,
“And swell the army of inglorious dead!
“Shun the dark Fiend, before whose jaundiced eye
“Creation frowns, and Tempests sweep the sky.
“In all thy strides o'er learning's thorny ground
“Let not Conceit within thy breast be found.
“What tho' thy soul enlighten'd burst her tomb,
“And call fair science from her cloister'd gloom;
“Yet, if with all, soft Modesty should die,
“And lordly Pride distend thy tow'ring eye;
“The silver stream of happiness 'twill stem,
“And rob thy bosom of its brightest gem.
“Humility! that gift by Heaven bestow'd,
“To Worth's bright Temple points the certain road;
“Imparts to Learning's pinion, angel power,
“And adds new graces to the bending flower.”
Thro' early life sequester'd, past along;
His Mother taught his infant thought to rise,
Up where Creation's Founder gems the skies;
Improved his heart from white-rob'd Virtue's store,
Enlarged his mind with scientific lore,
Taught him to root-out prejudice, nor care,
Splendor, and pomp, and artificial glare,
Which caught the vulgar eye, which rais'd the vulgar stare.
And thus, by tears obstructed, would she say,
“Let me, the debt thy Father owed thee, pay.
“How few of all the countless sons of men,
“Run the full round of threescore years and ten!
“How much does VICE curtail life's little thread,
“And swell the army of inglorious dead!
“Shun the dark Fiend, before whose jaundiced eye
“Creation frowns, and Tempests sweep the sky.
135
“Let not Conceit within thy breast be found.
“What tho' thy soul enlighten'd burst her tomb,
“And call fair science from her cloister'd gloom;
“Yet, if with all, soft Modesty should die,
“And lordly Pride distend thy tow'ring eye;
“The silver stream of happiness 'twill stem,
“And rob thy bosom of its brightest gem.
“Humility! that gift by Heaven bestow'd,
“To Worth's bright Temple points the certain road;
“Imparts to Learning's pinion, angel power,
“And adds new graces to the bending flower.”
Not more enlarg'd his mind than fair his face,
His manly form the seat of ev'ry grace;
No lurking, mean suspicion damp'd his breast;
No interest sway'd the friendship he profest;
No little cunning clos'd his full-orb'd eye;
Which, forward glancing, beam'd with Majesty;
And as he spake of TRUTH his face would shine,
And as he told her worth 'twas melody divine.
His manly form the seat of ev'ry grace;
No lurking, mean suspicion damp'd his breast;
No interest sway'd the friendship he profest;
136
Which, forward glancing, beam'd with Majesty;
And as he spake of TRUTH his face would shine,
And as he told her worth 'twas melody divine.
Amid the Passions brave which most adorn
The breast of man, in life's unclouded morn;
He was not left to mourn, thy empire, LOVE!
And, thro' a World of Flowers, unconscious rove:
CASSANDRA, dear to all whom virtue sway'd,
The Youth had long his heart's best homage paid.
The breast of man, in life's unclouded morn;
He was not left to mourn, thy empire, LOVE!
And, thro' a World of Flowers, unconscious rove:
CASSANDRA, dear to all whom virtue sway'd,
The Youth had long his heart's best homage paid.
Pride of her sex, Cassandra liv'd to please,
Polite with dignity, reserved with ease;
Prompt to relieve the sigh, assuage the tear;
In friendship stedfast, and in love sincere.
Polite with dignity, reserved with ease;
Prompt to relieve the sigh, assuage the tear;
In friendship stedfast, and in love sincere.
137
As thro' the flow'ry vale the fond pair stray'd,
Or wander'd lonely thro' the forest glade;
The fair-one's lily hand Ricardo prest,
And told the love that warm'd his glowing breast:
And when the Maid would say, “O flatt'ring Youth,
“Does on thy words attend immortal truth?”
As light'ning quick Ricardo would reply,
“Pride of my heart, and idol of my eye,
“If ever false this throbbing breast shall prove,
“If ever other than Cassandra love;
May I! pursued by heart-distracting woe,
Scorn'd by mankind, thro' earth unshelter'd go.
Or wander'd lonely thro' the forest glade;
The fair-one's lily hand Ricardo prest,
And told the love that warm'd his glowing breast:
And when the Maid would say, “O flatt'ring Youth,
“Does on thy words attend immortal truth?”
As light'ning quick Ricardo would reply,
“Pride of my heart, and idol of my eye,
“If ever false this throbbing breast shall prove,
“If ever other than Cassandra love;
May I! pursued by heart-distracting woe,
Scorn'd by mankind, thro' earth unshelter'd go.
Ricardo yet of life had little known,
Nor felt the crimes to which his heart was prone;
Nor knew the toils, clad in seductive dress,
That lure unthinking Youths to wretchedness.
Nor felt the crimes to which his heart was prone;
Nor knew the toils, clad in seductive dress,
That lure unthinking Youths to wretchedness.
138
Ricardo's friends had urged him to survey,
The varying charms which distant climes display;
To store his mind with more than books could teach,
And wisdom gain beyond the vulgar reach.
A Tutor soon they found to bear him part:
Calm were his words, but tempest was his heart.
This world of shadows and this life of toil,
Where Virtue drooping seeks a better soil:
This world so fill'd with barrenness and shade,
To all his views a dark horizon made.
Yet could he tell what Greek or Roman told
Of Monarch heartless, or Plebeian bold;
What Chieftains, Kings, and Senators were found
In councils honor'd, or in wars renown'd.
To know what virtues other minds had known,
He deem'd enough to constitute his own;
For in his breast no love of truth remain'd
His grov'ling soul deceit and falshood chain'd;
He own'd no pitying eye that loved to flow,
When Grief in sadness told a brother's woe;
No foot that toil'd another's good to gain,
No heart that throbb'd to ease a brother's pain;
Wrapt in himself, he cast the world behind,
And found in his reward, the world he scorn'd, unkind.
The varying charms which distant climes display;
To store his mind with more than books could teach,
And wisdom gain beyond the vulgar reach.
A Tutor soon they found to bear him part:
Calm were his words, but tempest was his heart.
This world of shadows and this life of toil,
Where Virtue drooping seeks a better soil:
This world so fill'd with barrenness and shade,
To all his views a dark horizon made.
Yet could he tell what Greek or Roman told
Of Monarch heartless, or Plebeian bold;
What Chieftains, Kings, and Senators were found
In councils honor'd, or in wars renown'd.
To know what virtues other minds had known,
He deem'd enough to constitute his own;
For in his breast no love of truth remain'd
His grov'ling soul deceit and falshood chain'd;
139
When Grief in sadness told a brother's woe;
No foot that toil'd another's good to gain,
No heart that throbb'd to ease a brother's pain;
Wrapt in himself, he cast the world behind,
And found in his reward, the world he scorn'd, unkind.
Ricardo, ere thro' Gallia's realm he mov'd,
Was modest, chaste, and all that Virtue lov'd;
But, doom'd to meet the Gambler's deadly crew,
They soon within their toils Ricardo drew;
And whilst they stript his purse, with courteous guile,
Poison'd his bosom with their converse vile.
Was modest, chaste, and all that Virtue lov'd;
But, doom'd to meet the Gambler's deadly crew,
They soon within their toils Ricardo drew;
And whilst they stript his purse, with courteous guile,
Poison'd his bosom with their converse vile.
The youth, who long contending with the wave,
Marks the high surge, and hears the tempest rave,
Whilst in a moment o'er the vessel's side,
Masts, cords, and sails are swallow'd in the tide;
Surveys the stormy scene with faultering breath,
And dreads in every blast the Form of Death:
Yet, if the Hull be sound, he still may share
A Father's blessing and a Mother's care.
So, he who sails on Pleasure's rocky sea,
At length may mark the crags and danger flee;
Trembling survey the quicksands he has crost:
But, when the mind is poison'd, all is lost.
A world unknown Ricardo's eye perceives,
And once-lov'd paths now unregretted leaves.
Tumult and noise he seeks with endless care,
Flies to escape Remorse's frightful glare,
Joins in the song, extends the circling fume,
And fills his Bumper to,—he cares not whom:
Hears gentle Conscience whisper, but in vain,
Drinks with the Drunkard, swears with the Profane;
Recounts their toasts and tales with cordial glee,
And laughs most loud at thee, oh Chastity!
Marks the high surge, and hears the tempest rave,
Whilst in a moment o'er the vessel's side,
Masts, cords, and sails are swallow'd in the tide;
140
And dreads in every blast the Form of Death:
Yet, if the Hull be sound, he still may share
A Father's blessing and a Mother's care.
So, he who sails on Pleasure's rocky sea,
At length may mark the crags and danger flee;
Trembling survey the quicksands he has crost:
But, when the mind is poison'd, all is lost.
A world unknown Ricardo's eye perceives,
And once-lov'd paths now unregretted leaves.
Tumult and noise he seeks with endless care,
Flies to escape Remorse's frightful glare,
Joins in the song, extends the circling fume,
And fills his Bumper to,—he cares not whom:
Hears gentle Conscience whisper, but in vain,
Drinks with the Drunkard, swears with the Profane;
Recounts their toasts and tales with cordial glee,
And laughs most loud at thee, oh Chastity!
141
When injur'd Virtue leaves her calm retreat,
Vice soon supplies the desolated seat;
When once the bosom scorns her mild controul,
Ten thousand evils crowd upon the soul.
Vice soon supplies the desolated seat;
When once the bosom scorns her mild controul,
Ten thousand evils crowd upon the soul.
Cassandra now no longer fans his flame,
The scoul of Hatred rises at her name:
For Love, chaste Love, disdains the vicious breast,
And blooms alone where Virtue sits carest.
The scoul of Hatred rises at her name:
For Love, chaste Love, disdains the vicious breast,
And blooms alone where Virtue sits carest.
Two years elaps'd in Folly's baneful train,
The youth resolves to visit home again:
His form, which once might with Adonis vie,
His step matur'd, and meditating eye,
His placid brow which spake superior sense,
His honest smile, and look of diffidence;
Now like a dream remain'd; whilst pale and wan
The present shape disgrac'd the former man.
The youth resolves to visit home again:
His form, which once might with Adonis vie,
His step matur'd, and meditating eye,
His placid brow which spake superior sense,
His honest smile, and look of diffidence;
Now like a dream remain'd; whilst pale and wan
The present shape disgrac'd the former man.
142
With hectic cough he slowly mov'd along,
Whisper'd his joke, or faintly humm'd his song;
Till in due time he saw the village dome,
Till with decrepid step he reach'd his home.
Whisper'd his joke, or faintly humm'd his song;
Till in due time he saw the village dome,
Till with decrepid step he reach'd his home.
With heart entranc'd his Mother ran to greet;
“My son! my son!” she cried, “I heard his feet,
“I heard his well-known voice, or seem'd to hear!”
I am your son, reply'd his shadow near.
“Imposter vile! thou slanderer of the youth!
“My son look'd modest, and his smile was truth.
“But if thou art my son!” the mother said,
“At what curst shrine hast thou thine homage paid?
“What Fiend of Hell uptore fair Virtue's sence,
“And robb'd thy beaming eye of innocence?”
“My son! my son!” she cried, “I heard his feet,
“I heard his well-known voice, or seem'd to hear!”
I am your son, reply'd his shadow near.
“Imposter vile! thou slanderer of the youth!
“My son look'd modest, and his smile was truth.
“But if thou art my son!” the mother said,
“At what curst shrine hast thou thine homage paid?
“What Fiend of Hell uptore fair Virtue's sence,
“And robb'd thy beaming eye of innocence?”
With steps all faltering, and with looks all hate,
Scarce could his feeble limbs support their weight:
For Vice in her dark train had held him long,
And charm'd him with her soul-seducing song;
And led his footsteps by her twilight gleam,
Till on the verge of Death's oblivious stream.
Scarce could his feeble limbs support their weight:
143
And charm'd him with her soul-seducing song;
And led his footsteps by her twilight gleam,
Till on the verge of Death's oblivious stream.
Far from those scenes Ricardo render'd dear,
Cassandra past her hours, and strove to cheer
The tedious moments of his lengthen'd stay,
In list'ning to the homely Roundelay
Of Scotia's Rustics, when at silver eve
They met to sing or mazy circle weave;
But still the Maiden's heart to love was true,
But still Ricardo's image was in view,
Still for his sake she felt her bosom burn,
And when the tidings came of his return,
With anxious joy and palpitating breast,
She sought the travell'd Youth, by fancy drest
In all the charms that Love could picture forth,
In beauty, honor, dignity, and worth;
And as his room she enter'd with delight,
(Where, feebly glimmering, beam'd a taper's light)
She cast her eye with wistful glance around,
And on a distant Couch Ricardo found:
Stretch'd as in death his senseless members lay;
His eye, erst gleaming with effulgent ray,
At fair Cassandra's sight, now round her stray'd,
Nor show'd emotion at the once-lov'd Maid.
Cassandra past her hours, and strove to cheer
The tedious moments of his lengthen'd stay,
In list'ning to the homely Roundelay
Of Scotia's Rustics, when at silver eve
They met to sing or mazy circle weave;
But still the Maiden's heart to love was true,
But still Ricardo's image was in view,
Still for his sake she felt her bosom burn,
And when the tidings came of his return,
With anxious joy and palpitating breast,
She sought the travell'd Youth, by fancy drest
144
In beauty, honor, dignity, and worth;
And as his room she enter'd with delight,
(Where, feebly glimmering, beam'd a taper's light)
She cast her eye with wistful glance around,
And on a distant Couch Ricardo found:
Stretch'd as in death his senseless members lay;
His eye, erst gleaming with effulgent ray,
At fair Cassandra's sight, now round her stray'd,
Nor show'd emotion at the once-lov'd Maid.
As when a Lamb, by angry lightnings slain,
Extended lies upon the storm-drench'd plain;
Some neighbouring Shepherd, doubtful of the cause,
With anxious step around the suff'rer draws;
Unknowing, first, if 'tis his fleecy charge,
Or one of flocks that range the plain at large;
Till, closer prying,—piteous is his state,
He knows the wanderer, and deplores his fate.
Extended lies upon the storm-drench'd plain;
Some neighbouring Shepherd, doubtful of the cause,
With anxious step around the suff'rer draws;
Unknowing, first, if 'tis his fleecy charge,
Or one of flocks that range the plain at large;
145
He knows the wanderer, and deplores his fate.
So fair Cassandra, trembling, view'd his face;
What once was lovely, fancied she could trace;
And now in doubt remain'd; till, by his eye
She saw indeed Ricardo's self was nigh;
Startling and wild, exclaim'd the sorrowing Maid,
“And art thou he to whom my vows were paid?
“For whom my prayers (regardless of repose)
“Have linger'd through the night till morn arose?
“What means that alter'd cheek? that sudden start?
“That cold, cold look that petrifies my heart?”
She paus'd awhile;—when, on her list'ning ear,—
Ricardo breath'd his last.—In wild amaze,
On his clos'd eye Cassandra fix'd her gaze:
When,—low she sunk upon his breathless clay,
And thus with soul all agoniz'd did say;
Cold is my heart, and dim my aching sight;
The day-star of my hope is sunk in night.—
What once was lovely, fancied she could trace;
And now in doubt remain'd; till, by his eye
She saw indeed Ricardo's self was nigh;
Startling and wild, exclaim'd the sorrowing Maid,
“And art thou he to whom my vows were paid?
“For whom my prayers (regardless of repose)
“Have linger'd through the night till morn arose?
“What means that alter'd cheek? that sudden start?
“That cold, cold look that petrifies my heart?”
She paus'd awhile;—when, on her list'ning ear,—
Ricardo breath'd his last.—In wild amaze,
On his clos'd eye Cassandra fix'd her gaze:
When,—low she sunk upon his breathless clay,
And thus with soul all agoniz'd did say;
146
The day-star of my hope is sunk in night.—
And as she homeward thro' the church-yard stray'd
And mark'd a tomb beneath a yew-tree's shade;
This be my lot, she cry'd; and let me be,
Clos'd in one grave, my better self, with thee.
But fifteen suns had spread their radiance wide,
Before Cassandra droop'd her head and died;
And bury'd was the Maid close by her Lover's side.
And mark'd a tomb beneath a yew-tree's shade;
This be my lot, she cry'd; and let me be,
Clos'd in one grave, my better self, with thee.
But fifteen suns had spread their radiance wide,
Before Cassandra droop'd her head and died;
And bury'd was the Maid close by her Lover's side.
And when to prayers the Sunday church bells toll,
And neighbouring Rustics, musing as they stroll,
The new rais'd mound of fair Cassandra pass,
And mark the red earth spotted o'er with grass;
A deep-toned sigh bespeaks their burthen'd hearts,
Whilst ever from their eyes the tear unconscious starts.
Even the old Sexton, whom no common fate
Stops in his road, and leads to contemplate,
Here, pauses sad, and to the Children nigh,
Tells, that beneath a hapless couple lie;
The Youth who once a matchless Fair admired,
Till vice prevail'd, and love and life expired:
The Maid, who mark'd the change, with wasting care,
And died at last the Victim of despair.
And neighbouring Rustics, musing as they stroll,
The new rais'd mound of fair Cassandra pass,
And mark the red earth spotted o'er with grass;
A deep-toned sigh bespeaks their burthen'd hearts,
Whilst ever from their eyes the tear unconscious starts.
147
Stops in his road, and leads to contemplate,
Here, pauses sad, and to the Children nigh,
Tells, that beneath a hapless couple lie;
The Youth who once a matchless Fair admired,
Till vice prevail'd, and love and life expired:
The Maid, who mark'd the change, with wasting care,
And died at last the Victim of despair.
149
LEE BOO,
A POEM.
150
ARGUMENT.
Lee Boo, and his Father Abba Thulle conversing. Time, the evening before the Prince departed with the English.—Scene, the sea-shore.
151
“Go! dauntless, go! the Sire of Pélew cry'd.
“Long have I rear'd thee with unsleeping care,
“Child of thy Father's love! But now prepare
“To cross the green sea perilous and wide,
“These strangers, Lée Boo! be thy future guide.
“For know, my son, beyond the isles I sway
“Of Oroolong or Keth, or Corooraa,
“Still other lands in smiling verdure rise,
“And other oceans sweep reclining skies.
“Long have I rear'd thee with unsleeping care,
“Child of thy Father's love! But now prepare
“To cross the green sea perilous and wide,
“These strangers, Lée Boo! be thy future guide.
“For know, my son, beyond the isles I sway
“Of Oroolong or Keth, or Corooraa,
152
“And other oceans sweep reclining skies.
“I see thy young eye sparkle at the tale!
“Yes, with these daring English shalt thou sail;
“With them direct the Bark of towering form,
“And ride like them triumphant thro' the storm.
“Yes, with these daring English shalt thou sail;
“With them direct the Bark of towering form,
“And ride like them triumphant thro' the storm.
“King of these isles, a long and glorious reign!
“Has Abba Thulle liv'd, nor liv'd in vain!
“His subjects smile beneath his equal sway,
“And new-born pleasures charm each opening day,
“His envying foes gaze at his empire vast,
“Yet from his arm uplifted—shrink aghast.
“The wisdom which his far-fam'd Sires possest
“Has long and amply Abba Thulle blest;
“None better know the Plantain grove to rear,
“To cleave the tree, or launch the massy spear;
“To guide with nicer skill the sea-form'd knife,
“Or save from fierce disease the sufferer's life.
“Yet hear, the unheard tidings I proclaim!
“Hear me, my son! and mark my kindling shame!
“As shrink the sea-mists from the wilder'd eye,
“When the warm sun refulgent mounts the sky;
“So from the skill these unknown Whites display,
“Your father's high-priz'd wisdom dies away.”
“Has Abba Thulle liv'd, nor liv'd in vain!
“His subjects smile beneath his equal sway,
“And new-born pleasures charm each opening day,
“His envying foes gaze at his empire vast,
“Yet from his arm uplifted—shrink aghast.
“The wisdom which his far-fam'd Sires possest
“Has long and amply Abba Thulle blest;
“None better know the Plantain grove to rear,
“To cleave the tree, or launch the massy spear;
153
“Or save from fierce disease the sufferer's life.
“Yet hear, the unheard tidings I proclaim!
“Hear me, my son! and mark my kindling shame!
“As shrink the sea-mists from the wilder'd eye,
“When the warm sun refulgent mounts the sky;
“So from the skill these unknown Whites display,
“Your father's high-priz'd wisdom dies away.”
The astonish'd youth awhile his thoughts supprest;
Then, rous'd by wonder, thus his Sire addrest:
“What! does the world a distant Isle contain,
“That has not learn'd great Abba Thulle's reign?
“Methought the Sun for thee resplendent shone,
“And that the stars were form'd for us alone:
“Hadst thou not told me other parts there were,
“With seas as spacious, and with lands as fair;
“Viewing these blue-vein'd strangers on thy earth,
“I should have judg'd the waves had giv'n them birth!
“Their skins so foully white! unknown their tale
“Their limbs so fetter'd, and their teeth so pale!
“But though no Bones like ours their arms array,
“Nor healthful brown their sickly forms display;
“Yet, why should colour change the feeling mind?
“In being men, I love my fellow-kind:
“And, as the Sire of Lée Boo bids his son,
“The thorn-strew'd path of duty, boldly run
“Fearless and calm I quit my father's throne
“To brave the dangers of a world unknown.
“Yet let me ask, shall we, so weak a band,
“Dread the fierce vengeance of no mightier hand?
Then, rous'd by wonder, thus his Sire addrest:
“What! does the world a distant Isle contain,
“That has not learn'd great Abba Thulle's reign?
“Methought the Sun for thee resplendent shone,
“And that the stars were form'd for us alone:
“Hadst thou not told me other parts there were,
“With seas as spacious, and with lands as fair;
154
“I should have judg'd the waves had giv'n them birth!
“Their skins so foully white! unknown their tale
“Their limbs so fetter'd, and their teeth so pale!
“But though no Bones like ours their arms array,
“Nor healthful brown their sickly forms display;
“Yet, why should colour change the feeling mind?
“In being men, I love my fellow-kind:
“And, as the Sire of Lée Boo bids his son,
“The thorn-strew'd path of duty, boldly run
“Fearless and calm I quit my father's throne
“To brave the dangers of a world unknown.
“Yet let me ask, shall we, so weak a band,
“Dread the fierce vengeance of no mightier hand?
“No!” cried the father, “legions may assail,
“But where the daring race that shall prevail?
“When Artingall prov'd faithless to her trust,
“And laid thine Uncle prostrate in the dust;
“When my fierce wrath against her treach'ry rose,
“And hosts prepar'd to scourge thy father's foes;
“Awhile we strove, awhile we hurl'd the spear,
“Yet saw we not exultant triumph near:
“But, when these white men, merciful, yet brave,
“Born to subject the earth, and rule the wave!
“When these our squadrons led, swift as the wind,
“Our foes, retreating, left the palm behind:
“Then fear not, child! to leave thy native isle,
“And on thy kindred cast a parting smile.
“I would not, Lée Boo! urge thee thus to roam
“O'er the wide ocean, from thy peaceful home,
“Did not the hope inspire thy father's breast,
“That, ere his bones beneath the cold sod rest,
“The countless arts these strangers hither bore,
“Should richly thrive on Pèlew's favour'd shore.
“Thou on the morrow's dawn shalt join the band,
“About to leave thy father's fruitful land;
“The stormy ocean thou shalt nobly dare,
“And soon exulting to thy country bear,
“News of the climes o'er which thy feet have stray'd
“And tidings of atchievements there display'd:
“And, when triumphant from the trackless way
“Thy feet return, and distant arts display;
“The choicest Bone shall tell thy well-earn'd praise,
“A Rupack's honors crown thy future days.”
“But where the daring race that shall prevail?
155
“And laid thine Uncle prostrate in the dust;
“When my fierce wrath against her treach'ry rose,
“And hosts prepar'd to scourge thy father's foes;
“Awhile we strove, awhile we hurl'd the spear,
“Yet saw we not exultant triumph near:
“But, when these white men, merciful, yet brave,
“Born to subject the earth, and rule the wave!
“When these our squadrons led, swift as the wind,
“Our foes, retreating, left the palm behind:
“Then fear not, child! to leave thy native isle,
“And on thy kindred cast a parting smile.
“I would not, Lée Boo! urge thee thus to roam
“O'er the wide ocean, from thy peaceful home,
“Did not the hope inspire thy father's breast,
“That, ere his bones beneath the cold sod rest,
“The countless arts these strangers hither bore,
“Should richly thrive on Pèlew's favour'd shore.
156
“About to leave thy father's fruitful land;
“The stormy ocean thou shalt nobly dare,
“And soon exulting to thy country bear,
“News of the climes o'er which thy feet have stray'd
“And tidings of atchievements there display'd:
“And, when triumphant from the trackless way
“Thy feet return, and distant arts display;
“The choicest Bone shall tell thy well-earn'd praise,
“A Rupack's honors crown thy future days.”
“Thank thee, my Sire!” the youth rejoicing said:
“The untrodden path will Lée Boo dauntless tread;
“He shall survey what other lands there are,
“Improvement learn from Pèlew's isles afar;
“Collect of all his scepter'd Sire would see,
“And hope for happiness in pleasing thee.
“And, when the appointed moons their course shall run,
“Ere back to Pèlew turns thy wandering son;
“Then shall he charm thee with the wonderous tale
“Of all the dangers that befel his sail;
“Recount, with tears of transport in his eye,
“Each fearful whirlwind roaring through the sky,
“Each sea he travers'd, and each country new,
“Since to his Father's arms he bade adieu.
“The untrodden path will Lée Boo dauntless tread;
“He shall survey what other lands there are,
“Improvement learn from Pèlew's isles afar;
“Collect of all his scepter'd Sire would see,
“And hope for happiness in pleasing thee.
157
“Ere back to Pèlew turns thy wandering son;
“Then shall he charm thee with the wonderous tale
“Of all the dangers that befel his sail;
“Recount, with tears of transport in his eye,
“Each fearful whirlwind roaring through the sky,
“Each sea he travers'd, and each country new,
“Since to his Father's arms he bade adieu.
“But to my Dorack now the news I bear,
“Receive her blessing, and her transport share.”
“Receive her blessing, and her transport share.”
And now the youth enraptur'd urg'd his way,
To where his Dorack's secret dwelling lay;
And, when arriv'd upon the causeway nigh
Catching her Lée Boo's pleasure-speaking eye,
She rose to meet the idol of her heart,
And in his sudden transport claim'd a part.
To where his Dorack's secret dwelling lay;
And, when arriv'd upon the causeway nigh
Catching her Lée Boo's pleasure-speaking eye,
She rose to meet the idol of her heart,
And in his sudden transport claim'd a part.
158
“Oh, my fond Dorack! I have news to name
“That shall with joy thy throbbing heart inflame;
“Know then, from Pèlew, with these strangers fair,
“Is Lée Boo fixt their glorious lot to share!
“To roam with them the trackless ocean o'er,
“And search with them the world's remotest shore:
“For, hear with wonder! where the blue-edg'd main
“Connects the heavens in one continued chain;
“Or, farther still, beyond the verge of sight,
“Where all is bliss supreme and endless light,
“A race of white men dwell, who, like the sky,
“Deal forth their thunder, and ten thousand die!
“These are my friends! with them I cross the sea,
“Pleas'd with the opening world, and mourning only thee.
“And when returning to my native isle,
“Weary'd with toil, I seek thy cheering smile,
“Whilst all I have lies prostrate at thy feet,
“Oh, with what untold transport shall we meet!
“Give me thy blessing, Dorack, e'er I stray,
“And oft will I recount thy praises far away.”
“That shall with joy thy throbbing heart inflame;
“Know then, from Pèlew, with these strangers fair,
“Is Lée Boo fixt their glorious lot to share!
“To roam with them the trackless ocean o'er,
“And search with them the world's remotest shore:
“For, hear with wonder! where the blue-edg'd main
“Connects the heavens in one continued chain;
“Or, farther still, beyond the verge of sight,
“Where all is bliss supreme and endless light,
“A race of white men dwell, who, like the sky,
“Deal forth their thunder, and ten thousand die!
“These are my friends! with them I cross the sea,
“Pleas'd with the opening world, and mourning only thee.
“And when returning to my native isle,
“Weary'd with toil, I seek thy cheering smile,
“Whilst all I have lies prostrate at thy feet,
“Oh, with what untold transport shall we meet!
159
“And oft will I recount thy praises far away.”
“When doest thou go? and how?” the Maiden cries,
Pale turn'd her cheeks, and wildly beam'd her eyes.
Pale turn'd her cheeks, and wildly beam'd her eyes.
The Youth reply'd, half wond'ring at the sight,
Whilst rude conjecture lent her dubious light;
“Even now, my Dorack! do I wait to share
“Thy fervent blessing and thy parting prayer.”
Whilst rude conjecture lent her dubious light;
“Even now, my Dorack! do I wait to share
“Thy fervent blessing and thy parting prayer.”
“What phantom of the ever-restless brain
“Has thy poor mind possest? refrain! refrain!
“Do not hereafter for thy rashness weep!
“Nor seek to taste the perils of the deep!
“Let these strange white men from our coast retire,
“And thou contented sojourn with thy sire.”
“Has thy poor mind possest? refrain! refrain!
“Do not hereafter for thy rashness weep!
“Nor seek to taste the perils of the deep!
“Let these strange white men from our coast retire,
“And thou contented sojourn with thy sire.”
160
“My Father bids me go, with purpose stern,
“And now impatient waits his son's return.”
“Ah, say not so! the trembling Maid reply'd,
“I cannot let thee cross the ocean wide!”
(She paus'd, and from the tumult of her soul
Adown her cheek the tear unconscious stole.)
“And now impatient waits his son's return.”
“Ah, say not so! the trembling Maid reply'd,
“I cannot let thee cross the ocean wide!”
(She paus'd, and from the tumult of her soul
Adown her cheek the tear unconscious stole.)
To her the Youth, “O cease that bitter woe,
“Not for myself but Pèlew's realm I go.”
“Not for myself but Pèlew's realm I go.”
When thus the Maiden urged her soft reply,
“Live with thy friends, nor from thy Dorack fly.
“Why shouldst thou wish to leave thy peaceful home,
“And thro' the world with pale-faced strangers roam,
“To quit the land where every joy arose,
“To rouze thine heart or lull it to repose?
“Where smiling plenty all her dainties spread!
“And light-robed Pleasure play'd around thy head!
“Who like thy race such ponderous spears can throw?
“Where can such Yams regale or Chinam grow?
“What clime like ours her plaintain grove can boast?
“Her palm-tree forest, and her shell-lin'd coast?
“To cure the restless wandering of thy mind,
“Thou seek'st on distant shores, that peace to find
“Which only thrives by Friendship's hallow'd side;
“Where souls congenial stem misfortune's tide.”
“Live with thy friends, nor from thy Dorack fly.
“Why shouldst thou wish to leave thy peaceful home,
“And thro' the world with pale-faced strangers roam,
“To quit the land where every joy arose,
“To rouze thine heart or lull it to repose?
161
“And light-robed Pleasure play'd around thy head!
“Who like thy race such ponderous spears can throw?
“Where can such Yams regale or Chinam grow?
“What clime like ours her plaintain grove can boast?
“Her palm-tree forest, and her shell-lin'd coast?
“To cure the restless wandering of thy mind,
“Thou seek'st on distant shores, that peace to find
“Which only thrives by Friendship's hallow'd side;
“Where souls congenial stem misfortune's tide.”
“I would not leave thee thus, the Youth reply'd,
“Thou best of womankind! mine only pride!
“Did I not trust again thy smile to meet,
“And lay my humble offerings at thy feet:
“Without thy cheering smile the world would cloy,
“And my robb'd bosom starve with all its joy.”
“Thou best of womankind! mine only pride!
“Did I not trust again thy smile to meet,
“And lay my humble offerings at thy feet:
“Without thy cheering smile the world would cloy,
“And my robb'd bosom starve with all its joy.”
162
Faintly, and slow, the drooping Maiden said,
Whilst the wind whistling shook her reeden shed,
“Should'st thou, by Folly urged, from Pèlew roam,
“And chance conduct thy storm-beat vessel home,
“No Dorack's eye shall live to see the hour!
“No Dorack's blossoms deck thy favourite bower!
“But, stern-brow'd Death behold her mourn for thee,
“And, pitying, set her drooping spirit free.”
Whilst the wind whistling shook her reeden shed,
“Should'st thou, by Folly urged, from Pèlew roam,
“And chance conduct thy storm-beat vessel home,
“No Dorack's eye shall live to see the hour!
“No Dorack's blossoms deck thy favourite bower!
“But, stern-brow'd Death behold her mourn for thee,
“And, pitying, set her drooping spirit free.”
“Ah, say not so!” the shiv'ring Youth reply'd,
“Nay! more I tell thee,” urg'd the promised bride,
“If, sway'd by madness, thou these councils spurn,
“Never, ah never shall thy feet return!
“I see thy cold corse float before mine eye!
“Tell me, loved Youth! oh why will Lée Boo die?
“What can this grief-corroded bosom know,
“But one eternal round of phrenzying woe,
“Whilst wandering on the beach I mark the surge,
“And hear the hoarse wind sing its mournful dirge?
“Thinking how thy little bark shalt save,
“Amid the driving blast, the mountain wave.
“Then will reflection bring these warnings near,
“And cold Remorse his thorn-strew'd altar rear;
“Exulting force your conquer'd heart to bend,
“And call on Death, your stern, but only friend.
“Nay! more I tell thee,” urg'd the promised bride,
“If, sway'd by madness, thou these councils spurn,
“Never, ah never shall thy feet return!
“I see thy cold corse float before mine eye!
“Tell me, loved Youth! oh why will Lée Boo die?
“What can this grief-corroded bosom know,
“But one eternal round of phrenzying woe,
163
“And hear the hoarse wind sing its mournful dirge?
“Thinking how thy little bark shalt save,
“Amid the driving blast, the mountain wave.
“Then will reflection bring these warnings near,
“And cold Remorse his thorn-strew'd altar rear;
“Exulting force your conquer'd heart to bend,
“And call on Death, your stern, but only friend.
“Exclaim'd the Youth, “My Dorack, dry thy tear,
“Let nobler views thy sinking bosom cheer;
“What tho' thy Lée Boo wander far away,
“And thou deplore each long and cheerless day;
“Think of the cause, for which he dares the tide,
“And bid those bosom-rending tears, subside.
“For tho' the mild affection of thine eye,
“No other Maid may boast or clime supply,
“And tho' resolved, whatever storm prevail,
“To smile at danger, and defy the gale;
“Tho' bent to traverse, far from Pèlew's shore,
“Seas spreading vast, and realms unknown before.
“Yet at thy name his secret tear shall flow!
“For thee his heart with fixt affection glow!
“And whilst he wanders through the world afar,
“Thy form shall hover round in midnight's shadowy car.”
“Let nobler views thy sinking bosom cheer;
“What tho' thy Lée Boo wander far away,
“And thou deplore each long and cheerless day;
“Think of the cause, for which he dares the tide,
“And bid those bosom-rending tears, subside.
“For tho' the mild affection of thine eye,
“No other Maid may boast or clime supply,
164
“To smile at danger, and defy the gale;
“Tho' bent to traverse, far from Pèlew's shore,
“Seas spreading vast, and realms unknown before.
“Yet at thy name his secret tear shall flow!
“For thee his heart with fixt affection glow!
“And whilst he wanders through the world afar,
“Thy form shall hover round in midnight's shadowy car.”
“Vain are your words,” reply'd the weeping Maid,
“We want no stranger's artificial aid,
“And tho' no Boats like theirs protect our coast,
“Nor Thula's sons their varying knowledge boast;
“Yet humbler arts our humbler minds possess;
“Yet, still we know enough for happiness.
“Are they more peaceful? or more free from woe?
“More true to honor, for the arts they know?
“Hast thou not told me with a scornful frown,
“What discords fierce disturb'd their little town?
“And when hast thou beheld such tumults here?
“Our minds are tranquil and our hearts sincere.
“Ah! little thinks the Youth who leaves his friends,
“And far from home his heedless footstep bends;
“What deep conflicting pangs his heart may know,
“What tears unnumber'd from repentance flow.
“Then shall he learn his rash resolves to mourn,
“And bear the pressing anguish they have borne.
“We want no stranger's artificial aid,
“And tho' no Boats like theirs protect our coast,
“Nor Thula's sons their varying knowledge boast;
“Yet humbler arts our humbler minds possess;
“Yet, still we know enough for happiness.
“Are they more peaceful? or more free from woe?
“More true to honor, for the arts they know?
165
“What discords fierce disturb'd their little town?
“And when hast thou beheld such tumults here?
“Our minds are tranquil and our hearts sincere.
“Ah! little thinks the Youth who leaves his friends,
“And far from home his heedless footstep bends;
“What deep conflicting pangs his heart may know,
“What tears unnumber'd from repentance flow.
“Then shall he learn his rash resolves to mourn,
“And bear the pressing anguish they have borne.
“Rous'd at her sorrowing words, the Youth reply'd,
“Soon shalt thou prove thy Lée Boo's happy bride,
“Yet must he first forsake his native shore,
“Yet must he first thy priceless smile deplore;
“Tho' much he Dorack loves, he loves his country more.”
“Then! if to please thee in an evil hour,
The Maiden cry'd, “thou brave the ocean's power
“If, reckless of thy drooping Dorack's pain,
“Thou spurn her councils and her tears disdain!
“Forsake thine home where only thou canst find,
“The balm of life and sunshine of the mind!
“And tho' resolved thy Dorack's prayer to spurn,
“Despite her anguish with thy short return!
“Talk of delights thy search shall never find,
“And boast of honors, fleeting as the wind!
“Go! heedless go! this heart can nurse its care,
“Silent in woe, and calm amid despair;
“And when its friends enquire the reason why,
“Tell with a tear, and answer with a sigh!”
She said, and slow retiring, in amaze
Left the desponding Youth awhile to gaze;
When, starting from a dream, he smote his breast,
And downward pondering sought his nightly rest.
“Soon shalt thou prove thy Lée Boo's happy bride,
“Yet must he first forsake his native shore,
“Yet must he first thy priceless smile deplore;
“Tho' much he Dorack loves, he loves his country more.”
“Then! if to please thee in an evil hour,
The Maiden cry'd, “thou brave the ocean's power
166
“Thou spurn her councils and her tears disdain!
“Forsake thine home where only thou canst find,
“The balm of life and sunshine of the mind!
“And tho' resolved thy Dorack's prayer to spurn,
“Despite her anguish with thy short return!
“Talk of delights thy search shall never find,
“And boast of honors, fleeting as the wind!
“Go! heedless go! this heart can nurse its care,
“Silent in woe, and calm amid despair;
“And when its friends enquire the reason why,
“Tell with a tear, and answer with a sigh!”
She said, and slow retiring, in amaze
Left the desponding Youth awhile to gaze;
When, starting from a dream, he smote his breast,
And downward pondering sought his nightly rest.
Now on the eastern verge of earth, arose
Morn's doubtful light, and now it feebly glows
With solitary beam, still spreading far
The rising glories veil the morning star;
Till in the burning sky the Sun appears,
And heavily and grand his form resplendent rears.
Morn's doubtful light, and now it feebly glows
167
The rising glories veil the morning star;
Till in the burning sky the Sun appears,
And heavily and grand his form resplendent rears.
Dorack, upstarting from her short repose,
Beheld the Sun his earliest beam disclose.
That wave-emerging orb, whose vital force
Inspires with joy the wide world in his course
Bids countless beings songs of gladness raise,
And mute creation join the grateful praise!
To her convey'd a pale heart-freezing light,
More gloomy than the horrors of the night.
Beheld the Sun his earliest beam disclose.
That wave-emerging orb, whose vital force
Inspires with joy the wide world in his course
Bids countless beings songs of gladness raise,
And mute creation join the grateful praise!
To her convey'd a pale heart-freezing light,
More gloomy than the horrors of the night.
Now on the shore a numerous host appear,
Chieftains and Rupacks to the bark draw near;
With wonder-speaking eyes, behold the sail,
Each heart exultant, or each visage pale,
As o'er the wat'ry waste they cast their eyes,
And hopes or fears for Lée Boo's safety rise.
When the bare Monarch stalk'd across the strand,
And courteous hail'd the small adventuring band.
Chieftains and Rupacks to the bark draw near;
With wonder-speaking eyes, behold the sail,
Each heart exultant, or each visage pale,
168
And hopes or fears for Lée Boo's safety rise.
When the bare Monarch stalk'd across the strand,
And courteous hail'd the small adventuring band.
Tho' far removed from Learning's fostering sway,
Past Abba Thulle's unblest years away;
Tho' nurst in realms where science never shone,
And of mankind, unknowing and unknown,
Yet Heav'n enrich'd him with a princely mind,
Her noblest gift—the milk of human kind.
He lived his country's pride, her evening star,
Whose cheering ray descended wide and far;
Spread o'er the land a little stream of light,
Tho' twinkling, constant, and tho' humble, bright.
Fram'd to display the great in life and thought,
He lived to teach, himself by nature taught.
Past Abba Thulle's unblest years away;
Tho' nurst in realms where science never shone,
And of mankind, unknowing and unknown,
Yet Heav'n enrich'd him with a princely mind,
Her noblest gift—the milk of human kind.
He lived his country's pride, her evening star,
Whose cheering ray descended wide and far;
Spread o'er the land a little stream of light,
Tho' twinkling, constant, and tho' humble, bright.
Fram'd to display the great in life and thought,
He lived to teach, himself by nature taught.
169
Him soon Lée Boo with pensive look drew near;
Solemn his step, and on his cheek a tear.
“Why weepest thou?” the fire of Péelew cry'd;
“Oh! I have cause,” the downcast Youth reply'd.
“The Maid, whom most my drooping heart adores,
“For Lée Boo's stay with fantic grief implores:
“Torn is my bosom, and my purpose wild;
“Must love, or duty, triumph o'er thy child?”
To him the Monarch, “Much I prize thine heart,
“And shudder at the hour that bids us part;
“But when to gain, than all, a nobler name,
“To raise the fabric of immortal fame;
“To learn the truth of what these strangers say,
“And bear their arts to Thulle's isles away;
“No selfish views should obstacles create,
“Great is thy object! thy reward be great!
“The grandest principle on man bestow'd,
“The noblest journey, tho' the roughest road,
“Is—to toil onward in our Country's good:
“So much professed! so little understood!
“This be thy task. If not one cross arise
“One fond hope blasted, or one sacrifice,
“Where is the Patriot's praise? prepare thy mind
“Full many a dark and storm-vext sky to find;
“Tempests, tho' hard, shall leave the brighter day,
“And stamp the meed posterity shall pay.
“Mind not the Maiden, when thy feet return,
“With equal love shall Dorack's bosom burn;
“Her, to his tent, will Abba Thulle take,
“And doubly prize her for her Lée Boo's sake:
“And when thy Bark upon our coast shall sail,
“Thy long-lost Dorack gladd'ning at the tale;
“Thulle shall rush with all a father's pride,
“And give the blushing Maiden to thy Bride.
“The vessel waits—one last glance dart around—
“Leap to the Bark, and be for ever crown'd.
“Suppress that tear—thy native valour show—
“Men should disdain to deal in Women's woe.”
Solemn his step, and on his cheek a tear.
“Why weepest thou?” the fire of Péelew cry'd;
“Oh! I have cause,” the downcast Youth reply'd.
“The Maid, whom most my drooping heart adores,
“For Lée Boo's stay with fantic grief implores:
“Torn is my bosom, and my purpose wild;
“Must love, or duty, triumph o'er thy child?”
To him the Monarch, “Much I prize thine heart,
“And shudder at the hour that bids us part;
“But when to gain, than all, a nobler name,
“To raise the fabric of immortal fame;
“To learn the truth of what these strangers say,
“And bear their arts to Thulle's isles away;
“No selfish views should obstacles create,
“Great is thy object! thy reward be great!
170
“The noblest journey, tho' the roughest road,
“Is—to toil onward in our Country's good:
“So much professed! so little understood!
“This be thy task. If not one cross arise
“One fond hope blasted, or one sacrifice,
“Where is the Patriot's praise? prepare thy mind
“Full many a dark and storm-vext sky to find;
“Tempests, tho' hard, shall leave the brighter day,
“And stamp the meed posterity shall pay.
“Mind not the Maiden, when thy feet return,
“With equal love shall Dorack's bosom burn;
“Her, to his tent, will Abba Thulle take,
“And doubly prize her for her Lée Boo's sake:
“And when thy Bark upon our coast shall sail,
“Thy long-lost Dorack gladd'ning at the tale;
“Thulle shall rush with all a father's pride,
“And give the blushing Maiden to thy Bride.
171
“Leap to the Bark, and be for ever crown'd.
“Suppress that tear—thy native valour show—
“Men should disdain to deal in Women's woe.”
Firmness may worlds subdue! but still, 'tis hard
To keep, for ever keep, o'er Nature guard;
The Monarch's eyes the soft infection caught.
And what his tongue condemn'd, his conduct taught.
To keep, for ever keep, o'er Nature guard;
The Monarch's eyes the soft infection caught.
And what his tongue condemn'd, his conduct taught.
The silent Youth, submissive bow'd his head,
Then waved his hand, and to the vessel sped.
When from the deck, he spy'd his Dorack's form,
Bending in calm submission to the storm;
Casting a look to Heav'n, whose glimm'ring light
Scarce forc'd a passage thro' her tear-drown'd sight.
The sails were rais'd, when swift the Maiden ran
Down to the Ocean's brink, and thus began.
“Go, much lov'd Youth, urg'd by mad Folly's sway!
Go, voyage safe, and prosperous be thy way!
“Protected when each sweeping blast arise,
“And safe whilst Heaven's destructive light'ning flies;
“And when thy mind shall feel its wandering fire,
“In disappointment's gloomy port expire;
Oh may that God, of whom the white men tell,
“Have pity on thee! with my Lée Boo dwell
“From every toil thy sorrowing heart defend,
“And back to Pèlew's Isles thy steps attend!
“But, as these eyes no more with joy must shine,
“And never meet the answering glance of thine;
“Let not this last fond moment from us glide,
“And the stern Bark our kindred souls divide,
“Without one parting hope, one rising sigh,
“That each unguarded word may quickly die:
“The mutual wish! oh, let contention cease!
“And, if thou must depart,—depart in peace!”
Then waved his hand, and to the vessel sped.
When from the deck, he spy'd his Dorack's form,
Bending in calm submission to the storm;
Casting a look to Heav'n, whose glimm'ring light
Scarce forc'd a passage thro' her tear-drown'd sight.
The sails were rais'd, when swift the Maiden ran
Down to the Ocean's brink, and thus began.
172
Go, voyage safe, and prosperous be thy way!
“Protected when each sweeping blast arise,
“And safe whilst Heaven's destructive light'ning flies;
“And when thy mind shall feel its wandering fire,
“In disappointment's gloomy port expire;
Oh may that God, of whom the white men tell,
“Have pity on thee! with my Lée Boo dwell
“From every toil thy sorrowing heart defend,
“And back to Pèlew's Isles thy steps attend!
“But, as these eyes no more with joy must shine,
“And never meet the answering glance of thine;
“Let not this last fond moment from us glide,
“And the stern Bark our kindred souls divide,
“Without one parting hope, one rising sigh,
“That each unguarded word may quickly die:
“The mutual wish! oh, let contention cease!
“And, if thou must depart,—depart in peace!”
173
Scarce had she said, and as the Youth arose
To lull the Maiden's anguish to repose;
The lifted canvas caught the rising gale,
And from her aching eye convey'd the ling'ring sail.
To lull the Maiden's anguish to repose;
The lifted canvas caught the rising gale,
And from her aching eye convey'd the ling'ring sail.
Ah! never more to Pélew's happy isle,
Returning with a fond and artless smile,
Shalt thou recount the wonders thou hast known,
And claim the much-lov'd Dorack as thy own,
Ah! hapless Youth, soon shall thy race be run!
Untimely set thy mildly-beaming Sun!
And when at last the mortal debt thou pay,
Far from thine home, poor blossom of a day!
Thy bursting heart shall on thy Dorack dwell,
And parting with the World, exclaim farewel!
Returning with a fond and artless smile,
Shalt thou recount the wonders thou hast known,
And claim the much-lov'd Dorack as thy own,
Ah! hapless Youth, soon shall thy race be run!
Untimely set thy mildly-beaming Sun!
And when at last the mortal debt thou pay,
Far from thine home, poor blossom of a day!
Thy bursting heart shall on thy Dorack dwell,
And parting with the World, exclaim farewel!
The little toys which pleas'd thy opening mind,
E'er o'er thee past distemper's ruthless wind,
And which thou fondly hoped'st to display,
When back returning to thy Corooraa,
These shalt thou leave behind! fair youth! mine eye
Weeps as I write, to think that thou should'st die.
E'er o'er thee past distemper's ruthless wind,
174
When back returning to thy Corooraa,
These shalt thou leave behind! fair youth! mine eye
Weeps as I write, to think that thou should'st die.
Thy kindred sad shall deem their Lée Boo slain!
Thy weeping Sire call after thee in vain!
And when perceiving at the promis'd time,
No son returning to his native clime;
Days of unceasing pain his heart shall know,
And gloomy nights of never-sleeping woe;
Till Grief shall dash him with her poison'd wave,
And his grey hairs go sorrowing to the grave.
Thy weeping Sire call after thee in vain!
And when perceiving at the promis'd time,
No son returning to his native clime;
Days of unceasing pain his heart shall know,
And gloomy nights of never-sleeping woe;
Till Grief shall dash him with her poison'd wave,
And his grey hairs go sorrowing to the grave.
Thy Dorack too shall o'er her Lée Boo pore!
Each evening wander on the sea lasht shore!
Each morning roam with heart-corroding pain,
And count the crags so often past in vain!
Still, Maiden! still, thy hapless path pursue;
Still to affection prove thy bosom true;
And dwell with all a lover's fond delight,
When the proud bark shall crowd upon thy sight:
But never more shall Lée Boo call thee dear!
And never more his voice thy bosom cheer!
The bond of death his once-loved corse detains;
A foreign country holds his cold remains.
Ah! why that sudden start? that heaving sigh?
Did'st thou in fancy see thy Lée Boo nigh?
No! 'twas the wind at which thou stood'st aghast,
The fearful howling of the midnight blast.
Poor Maiden, grieve not! he shall ne'er complain,
Tho' storms and tempests heave the raging main;
Peaceful, his bones beneath the valley lie,
Whilst the fierce whirlwind sweeps the darken'd sky.
Each evening wander on the sea lasht shore!
Each morning roam with heart-corroding pain,
And count the crags so often past in vain!
175
Still to affection prove thy bosom true;
And dwell with all a lover's fond delight,
When the proud bark shall crowd upon thy sight:
But never more shall Lée Boo call thee dear!
And never more his voice thy bosom cheer!
The bond of death his once-loved corse detains;
A foreign country holds his cold remains.
Ah! why that sudden start? that heaving sigh?
Did'st thou in fancy see thy Lée Boo nigh?
No! 'twas the wind at which thou stood'st aghast,
The fearful howling of the midnight blast.
Poor Maiden, grieve not! he shall ne'er complain,
Tho' storms and tempests heave the raging main;
Peaceful, his bones beneath the valley lie,
Whilst the fierce whirlwind sweeps the darken'd sky.
176
Mourn then a little longer! tell thy tale
Of wasting anguish, to the passing gale!
Still count thy Cord, thy wretched lot deplore,
And nightly wander on the ocean's shore!
Search with the rising sun the briny verge,
And trace each spot upon its foaming surge,
Cherish the hope of meeting him again,
Tho' hope be hopeless, and thy tears be vain!
A little longer only shalt thou stray,
Thro' the bleak beatings of thy wintry day!
On earth a little longer shalt thou roam,
E'er Death shall call thee to thy last long home,
To join beyond life's never-ceasing storm,
Thy faithful Lée Boo in a Seraph's form.
Of wasting anguish, to the passing gale!
Still count thy Cord, thy wretched lot deplore,
And nightly wander on the ocean's shore!
Search with the rising sun the briny verge,
And trace each spot upon its foaming surge,
Cherish the hope of meeting him again,
Tho' hope be hopeless, and thy tears be vain!
A little longer only shalt thou stray,
Thro' the bleak beatings of thy wintry day!
On earth a little longer shalt thou roam,
E'er Death shall call thee to thy last long home,
To join beyond life's never-ceasing storm,
Thy faithful Lée Boo in a Seraph's form.
THE END.
| Poems, by Joseph Cottle | |