 | Dunluce Castle, A Poem |  |
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IV. PART IV.
I.
But on their still and cautious pathMcDonnel and his clan had sped;
The clamour-raising winds of Wrath
Conspir'd to lull their tread:
Through every well-known subtle clue
The Scot his silent followers drew:
Through vaults whose striking damp obscure
No human sense might long endure:
Where not a sentry kept his vigil,
And Secrecy had hid her sigil.
Is Friendship then indeed the guide
That lights him on with honest smiles?
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His stolen path through gloomy aisles?
And doth not Welcome ever wait
To greet McDonnel at the gate?
O sleepers in the evil hour,
Ye rest without the dream of fear!
And is there not a guardian power,
To thunder in your slumbering ear;
The shades of Death around you lour;
The knife of Murder stealeth near!
All muffled for the mortal stroke,
Beneath McDonnel's treacherous cloak!
II.
At last the very fort withinMcDonnel and his vassals stood:
“Now,” cried the ruffian, “we begin
The sacrifice of blood:
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Who nightly near the bridge have ward;
Lest groan of any wretch expiring,
Should rouse their startled watch enquiring.”
'Twas said—-they darted fleet away,
Upon the unsuspicious prey;
The wave was loud, the wind was high;
The owl scarce heard their feeble cry;
The shivering lip, and closing eye,
Ask faintly wherefore thus they die!
Confus'd they sink—-and know not why:
And now, McDonnel, lives not one,
To tell that such a deed was done!
III.
“'Tis well—-now closer draw the snare;
Around you is their nest;
Dispatch and stillness be your care;
Away—-ye know the rest!”
Around you is their nest;
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Away—-ye know the rest!”
Through winding galleries they disperse;
A scorpion crawls to every door:
Grim Havoc snuffs the draught of gore;
And still, alas! with weightiest curse,
Sleep's dull Lethean dews immerse
The dreamers who may wake no more.
And now on each recess of sleep
Those stern assassins slowly creep;
And now at each unconscious couch,
Behold a plaided murderer crouch;
And lift his arm—-and hold his breath,
Ere he begin the work of death,
As by the pale lamp's sickly beam,
His cruel eye reflects a gleam
Upon the red and dropping dirk,
Already stain'd with bloody work!
And now—-O thou mysterious Power!
In such a spot—-at such an hour,
Will not the reverend sleep of Age
Disarm the fierce Destroyer's rage?
The tranced innocence of youth,
Ah! will not that awake his ruth?
And will not Beauty's slumbering smile
Away his savage purpose wile?
No: hear ye not a hundred groans?
All Hell reverberates their moans;
And all its fiends at once arise,
To mark that scene, with haggard eyes;
Then, shuddering at so black a sight,
Plunge back into their native night.
A scorpion crawls to every door:
Grim Havoc snuffs the draught of gore;
And still, alas! with weightiest curse,
Sleep's dull Lethean dews immerse
The dreamers who may wake no more.
And now on each recess of sleep
Those stern assassins slowly creep;
And now at each unconscious couch,
Behold a plaided murderer crouch;
And lift his arm—-and hold his breath,
Ere he begin the work of death,
As by the pale lamp's sickly beam,
His cruel eye reflects a gleam
Upon the red and dropping dirk,
Already stain'd with bloody work!
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In such a spot—-at such an hour,
Will not the reverend sleep of Age
Disarm the fierce Destroyer's rage?
The tranced innocence of youth,
Ah! will not that awake his ruth?
And will not Beauty's slumbering smile
Away his savage purpose wile?
No: hear ye not a hundred groans?
All Hell reverberates their moans;
And all its fiends at once arise,
To mark that scene, with haggard eyes;
Then, shuddering at so black a sight,
Plunge back into their native night.
IV.
The Chieftain's couch McDonnel sought;Resolv'd the deed of darkest crime
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And give his name to after-time
In hues of villany sublime.
And he had gain'd that couch's side;
Aloft his weapon hung;
That moment had the warrior died,
By cherish'd adder stung;
But harsh uneasy visions prest
Upon his troubled brain;
And at that instant broke the rest,
That ne'er had broke again!
He saw a form that o'er him stood,
He saw the ensign too of blood,
And up the Hero sprung,
And darted on his unknown foe,
And spite of many a struggling blow,
Around him desperate clung.
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V.
Now, wrestling fierce, the wall he made;
And snatching thence a hanging blade,
The dragging foe he from him flings;
Then on with furious valour springs;
Forth leaps McDonnel's sword amain;
They meet—they part—-they close again:
They grapple now—-and now the light
The lamp's dim rays afford,
Strikes full upon the Traitor's sight:
Down drops the Hero's sword!
“Great Powers of Heaven and Earth!” he cries,
“What sight is this to blast mine eyes?
Say, horrid semblance, art thou not,
McDonnel, the confederate Scot?”
That subtle damned Renegade!
While thus by dire amaze betray'd,
The generous Chieftain sunk;
Rush'd full upon his naked breast,
Deep in his heart his faulchion prest;
And prone the warrior sunk:
Yet “Spare my children!” ere he died,
“O spare my children!” feebly cried.
And snatching thence a hanging blade,
The dragging foe he from him flings;
Then on with furious valour springs;
Forth leaps McDonnel's sword amain;
They meet—they part—-they close again:
They grapple now—-and now the light
The lamp's dim rays afford,
Strikes full upon the Traitor's sight:
Down drops the Hero's sword!
“Great Powers of Heaven and Earth!” he cries,
“What sight is this to blast mine eyes?
Say, horrid semblance, art thou not,
McDonnel, the confederate Scot?”
That subtle damned Renegade!
While thus by dire amaze betray'd,
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Rush'd full upon his naked breast,
Deep in his heart his faulchion prest;
And prone the warrior sunk:
Yet “Spare my children!” ere he died,
“O spare my children!” feebly cried.
Now, dark McDonnel, take thy sword,
And lift it to thy lip abhorr'd;
Aye, let that sacrilegious lip,
Its every gout of crimson sip;
Nay, upon blood let bloodhound sup;
Drink, dark McDonnel, drink it up;
For 'twill supply thee to the hilt,
The deepest deadliest drug of guilt,
That e'er on soul of mischief fell,
And clogg'd it till it sunk to hell!
And lift it to thy lip abhorr'd;
Aye, let that sacrilegious lip,
Its every gout of crimson sip;
Nay, upon blood let bloodhound sup;
Drink, dark McDonnel, drink it up;
For 'twill supply thee to the hilt,
The deepest deadliest drug of guilt,
That e'er on soul of mischief fell,
And clogg'd it till it sunk to hell!
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VI.
The carnage ceas'd—-but where are those,Whose hearts were late in joyance heaving?
Who, on that Eve, had wooed repose,
The Morrow's pleasure preconceiving?
They thought, alas! to rise at morn,
And watch the bubbling ocean spray;
Nor deem'd that o'er their heads forlorn
That sparkling froth should play:
Yet thus it was; for every corse,
Such was McDonnel's straight command,
Was hurl'd amid the waters hoarse,
And frighten'd far the blushing strand.
Their heart's blood was their only shroud;
Their wail those waters rudely loud;
And not a creature crost his breast,
To wish their parted spirits rest:
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In the green bosom of the deep;
Alas! it is a troubled grave,
To take their long and lonely sleep.
VII.
And now, perchance, McDonnel's childHad in the cave been sought;
But, lo! with apprehension wild,
She comes, by Owen brought.
They've passed the square; they're on the bridge,
A precipice-o'er-hanging ridge;
That flings across its narrow wall,
And threats the careless walker's fall.
But there, they may not pass the guard,
By Caledonian sentries barr'd;
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“And whence is this obstructive daring?
And where are all my Father's men,
The saffron-vested kerne of Erin?”
The mocking eyes; the hands of Scorn
Down pointed to the wave;
And larum-blast of bugle horn
Was all reply they gave:
It brought their Chief, that larum-blast;
He comes, he sees: a moment past,
In death the knees of Owen stagger;
His heart has felt McDonnel's dagger!
The only passage into the Castle lies along the top of a narrow wall, built in the form of a rude arch from the main land to the rock on which the Castle stands.
VIII.
“And would'st thou know?” the monster cried;
While back on Marion's maddening breast
His sinking dying victim prest:
“And would'st thou know, thou Child of Pride,
Why I have done the glorious deed,
By which Dunluce's household bleed?
I'll tell thee! in our Scottish annals,
Thy house has work'd us many a woe;
Upon our outrag'd coast, in channels
Has bid the blood of Donnels flow.
E'en from my earliest youth I swore
To' avenge the wrongs my fathers bore;
E'en from my mother's breast I drank
The milk of hatred to your race;
And deep into my heart it sank,
And gave no other passion place.
Intestine broils divided all
The summer of my youth;
But still my soul preserv'd the gall
That was to work your ruth.
I came at last in Friendship's guise,
And ye devour'd the shallow bait;
Fools! read ye not the honest eyes,
That told you of their quenchless hate?
I mark'd your Cave's approach conceal'd,
In idiot confidence reveal'd;
And from that hour conceiv'd the plot,
Should make your name a sanguine blot!
And I have done the deed; and thou,
The boasted of the crew of pride!
May'st seek thy Sire and kindred now
In yonder blood discolour'd tide;
For there they lie: they met their doom
Even in their sanctuaries of slumber;
But I shall want their household room;
So gave the shark their deaths to number;
Go, seek them there—-”
While back on Marion's maddening breast
His sinking dying victim prest:
“And would'st thou know, thou Child of Pride,
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By which Dunluce's household bleed?
I'll tell thee! in our Scottish annals,
Thy house has work'd us many a woe;
Upon our outrag'd coast, in channels
Has bid the blood of Donnels flow.
E'en from my earliest youth I swore
To' avenge the wrongs my fathers bore;
E'en from my mother's breast I drank
The milk of hatred to your race;
And deep into my heart it sank,
And gave no other passion place.
Intestine broils divided all
The summer of my youth;
But still my soul preserv'd the gall
That was to work your ruth.
I came at last in Friendship's guise,
And ye devour'd the shallow bait;
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That told you of their quenchless hate?
I mark'd your Cave's approach conceal'd,
In idiot confidence reveal'd;
And from that hour conceiv'd the plot,
Should make your name a sanguine blot!
And I have done the deed; and thou,
The boasted of the crew of pride!
May'st seek thy Sire and kindred now
In yonder blood discolour'd tide;
For there they lie: they met their doom
Even in their sanctuaries of slumber;
But I shall want their household room;
So gave the shark their deaths to number;
Go, seek them there—-”
and now his grasp
Had sever'd him from Marion's clasp;
“But no:” exclaim'd the Maid;
“My Sire hath wove a web of slaughter,
And will not sure deny his daughter,
To add another braid.”
Had sever'd him from Marion's clasp;
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“My Sire hath wove a web of slaughter,
And will not sure deny his daughter,
To add another braid.”
IX.
Still on the bridge the Maiden stood;
Her white arm stain'd with Owen's blood;
And deep beneath the sea was splashing,
The rocks in bellowing fury lashing.
In stricter fold she round him twin'd;
He felt her o'er his bosom wind;
And rais'd his pallid faded face,
To thank her for that last embrace.
Together now their lips were muttering;
Their souls were there together fluttering;
And each on each beam'd forth the while
A languid and a mournful smile;
Of which no earthly tongue may tell
The tenderness ineffable:
Then, in the strength of her despair;
She with him plunges into air!
Adown the dreadful void they sink;
The whirling waves affrighted shrink
As they receive the double freight;
Down dashing loud its headlong weight.
Her white arm stain'd with Owen's blood;
And deep beneath the sea was splashing,
The rocks in bellowing fury lashing.
In stricter fold she round him twin'd;
He felt her o'er his bosom wind;
And rais'd his pallid faded face,
To thank her for that last embrace.
Together now their lips were muttering;
Their souls were there together fluttering;
And each on each beam'd forth the while
A languid and a mournful smile;
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The tenderness ineffable:
Then, in the strength of her despair;
She with him plunges into air!
Adown the dreadful void they sink;
The whirling waves affrighted shrink
As they receive the double freight;
Down dashing loud its headlong weight.
“Save, save the daughter of your Chief!”
In the mad agony of grief
Accurst McDonnel cries;
“Save her!” a hundred mouths exclaim,
A hundred torches lend their flame
To watch the billows' rise.
'Tis vain; those torches only lend
Their light to guide them through the ocean,
As down their liquid path they wend,
In sobbing undulating motion:
And deep and deeper as they glided,
The tempest more and more subsided;
For even the Spirits of the Blast,
Who in the wreck of men rejoice;
Were soften'd as they by them past;
And hush'd their harsh and horrid voice!
In the mad agony of grief
Accurst McDonnel cries;
“Save her!” a hundred mouths exclaim,
A hundred torches lend their flame
To watch the billows' rise.
'Tis vain; those torches only lend
Their light to guide them through the ocean,
As down their liquid path they wend,
In sobbing undulating motion:
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The tempest more and more subsided;
For even the Spirits of the Blast,
Who in the wreck of men rejoice;
Were soften'd as they by them past;
And hush'd their harsh and horrid voice!
The fact by which Dunluce Castle is here described to have been lost to the family of its original possessors is historical. The Writer has added what fictitious circumstances he thought proper.
FINIS.
| Dunluce Castle, A Poem | |