Ballads for the Times (Now first collected,) Geraldine, A Modern Pyramid, Bartenus, A Thousand Lines, and other poems. By Martin F. Tupper. A new Edition, enlarged and revised |
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Mont Orgueil: Jersey.
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 | Ballads for the Times |  |
22
Mont Orgueil: Jersey.
An Historical Picture.
Mount of honour, Mount of Pride,
Throned above the stormy tide,—
Feudal eyrie, built on high,
As to flout the common sky,
Weather-beaten, ivied pile,
Glory of this Norman isle,—
Thee my song would praise to-day,
Dreaming of ages past away!
Throned above the stormy tide,—
Feudal eyrie, built on high,
As to flout the common sky,
Weather-beaten, ivied pile,
Glory of this Norman isle,—
Thee my song would praise to-day,
Dreaming of ages past away!
Woe! for those old evil times,
Foul with wrong, and full of crimes;
Woe! for those drear days of old,
Dark with horrors all untold!
Through the mist of centuries past,
Dimly cluster'd, thick and fast,
Shadowy forms of terror loom,
Shrouded in sepulchral gloom!
See! the Cromlech on this height,
Red with the Druid's bloody rite,—
The Beacon, blazing far away,
To beckon pirates to their prey,—
The Cairn, piled high above the wave,
Some rude Berserkir's gory grave,—
The rocky Fort, aloft that stood
To guard some Sea-king's briny brood,
When off he flew, for blood to roam,
Leaving his vulture flock at home,—
All these, with Shame, and Sin, and Fear,
Dimly vision'd, cluster here!
Foul with wrong, and full of crimes;
Woe! for those drear days of old,
Dark with horrors all untold!
Through the mist of centuries past,
Dimly cluster'd, thick and fast,
Shadowy forms of terror loom,
Shrouded in sepulchral gloom!
See! the Cromlech on this height,
Red with the Druid's bloody rite,—
The Beacon, blazing far away,
To beckon pirates to their prey,—
The Cairn, piled high above the wave,
Some rude Berserkir's gory grave,—
The rocky Fort, aloft that stood
To guard some Sea-king's briny brood,
When off he flew, for blood to roam,
Leaving his vulture flock at home,—
All these, with Shame, and Sin, and Fear,
Dimly vision'd, cluster here!
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Then, Rome's vengeful cohorts came
To cleanse the nest by sword and flame;
With foss and mound secured the post,
And mann'd it with her iron host:
So on, so on; till Rollo's power
Tore down amain the Roman's tower,
And proudly flung against the sky
Old Gouray's battlements on high!
This was thine hour of pride and fame;
When gentle knight, and high-born dame,
In hall, and bower, and warder'd gate
Kept their high chivalric state:
Nor soon was this thy glory set;—
De Barentin, De Carteret,
Stand forth! and tell us of your might
Against Du Guesclin in the fight;
How the Great Captain lost the day,
And rash Maulevrier slunk away,
And our fifth Henry's favouring smile
Changed Gouray Fort to Mont Orgueil,
For patriot praise, and truth well tried,
Mount of honour, Mount of Pride!
To cleanse the nest by sword and flame;
With foss and mound secured the post,
And mann'd it with her iron host:
So on, so on; till Rollo's power
Tore down amain the Roman's tower,
And proudly flung against the sky
Old Gouray's battlements on high!
This was thine hour of pride and fame;
When gentle knight, and high-born dame,
In hall, and bower, and warder'd gate
Kept their high chivalric state:
Nor soon was this thy glory set;—
De Barentin, De Carteret,
Stand forth! and tell us of your might
Against Du Guesclin in the fight;
How the Great Captain lost the day,
And rash Maulevrier slunk away,
And our fifth Henry's favouring smile
Changed Gouray Fort to Mont Orgueil,
For patriot praise, and truth well tried,
Mount of honour, Mount of Pride!
So on, so on; and years flew by
That times were changed, and words ran high,
And fanatics stood charged with sin,
And foolish zeal imprison'd Prynne:
Then, Charles, in retribution's hour,
Felt here a despot people's power,
Hiding his wanderer head awhile,
Ere yet he left the loyal isle.
So, years flew on; by scores they past,
And kings and kingdoms perish'd fast;
Till a fair Queen, in happier days,
Bless'd all her realm with peaceful praise,
And gilt, with Her benignant smile,
Her royal castle, Mont Orgueil!
That times were changed, and words ran high,
And fanatics stood charged with sin,
And foolish zeal imprison'd Prynne:
Then, Charles, in retribution's hour,
Felt here a despot people's power,
Hiding his wanderer head awhile,
Ere yet he left the loyal isle.
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And kings and kingdoms perish'd fast;
Till a fair Queen, in happier days,
Bless'd all her realm with peaceful praise,
And gilt, with Her benignant smile,
Her royal castle, Mont Orgueil!
O, God be thank'd, for quiet hours,
When nought is known of feudal towers,
But the fair picture that they fill,
With sea, and sky, and wooded hill!
O, God be thank'd for times like these,
Of brother's love, and grateful ease,
When war no fiercer sight affords
Than ivied forts, and rusty swords!
When nought is known of feudal towers,
But the fair picture that they fill,
With sea, and sky, and wooded hill!
O, God be thank'd for times like these,
Of brother's love, and grateful ease,
When war no fiercer sight affords
Than ivied forts, and rusty swords!
| Ballads for the Times | |