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Page Peter Faultless to his Brother Simon, - 5 Chopp'd Cabbage and Darkness tangible, - 6 Notes to the Epistle, - 35 Tales of Night, - - 41 The Exile, - - - 49 Matrimonial Magic, - - - 79 Bothwell, - - 113 Notes to Bothwell, - - - 149 Second Nuptials, - - - 151 Poems, - 191 Fragment, - - - 193 To the Michaelmas Daisy, - - - 194 To the Wood Anemone, - - 196 A Sketch of One who cannot be Caricatured, 197 To the Reverend — — - - 198 On seeing a Wild Honeysuckle in Flower, near the source of the River Don, August 1817, - - 200 Fragment, - - - 204 To the Reverend J. B.— «, with a Copy of Night, ib. CONTENTS. Page Elegy, - • - - - 206 Song, - - - - 209 Extempore Lines, - - - 210 Ilderim, - - - ib. To a Friend in Heaven, - - 214 To One who once knew me, - - 216 Extempore Lines, - - - 219 The Devil on Snealsden-Pike, - - 220 PETER FAULTLESS TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. i Genus irritabile vatum. Horace. ADVERTISEMENT. The Monthly Reviewers (we are informed by them- selves) hailed with applause Lord Byron's first ap- pearance as an author. They certainly may be al- lowed to boast of such an inadvertency ; and, while they make their praise the prelude to insult, they may endeavour to account to themselves for their unaccountable blunder, by fancying his Lordship bears some resemblance to their idols. u In his Corsair, he" (Lord Byron) " approaches Pope, and even Dryden ; but can never sustain the parallel!" See Monthly Review for July 1819, page 811. Simon the Faultless is not (as the above quota- tion may sufficiently prove) an imaginary personage. I address a living pedant, and in the individual ex- 4 ADVERTISEMENT. hibit the species. Unable to perceive merit in any British poet since Pope, and himself a most invete- rate syllable-weigher and finger-counter, Simon might pass for a certain Review personified. The expence of engraving prevented me from exhibiting a print of him, by way of frontispiece to this volume. The drawing was taken in a happy moment. Si- mon was seated on the works of Milton and Shake- speare, and almost bursting with indignation, while in the act of suspending aloft, in opposite scales, the delinquent words " shone" and " throne ;" and on the table before him lay a rule, a pair of compasses, the instrument which he calls a word-clipper, and that invaluable treatise, the ancient finger-and-thumb method of counting ten. Should my book be well received, I may be encouraged to publish the print separately, as an illustration of the epistle. PETER FAULTLESS TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. Thou ablest scribbler in our chaste Review ; Who, darning old thoughts, mak'st them pass for new! Still lash the imps who try, nor try in vain, To wake the muses of Eliza's reign ; Call Scott " a croaker," Southey u an old woman/' Byron half god, half log, a thing uncommon. Consistent most in inconsistency, Be still the bigot's, slave's apology, The judge, the law, of poets, and of song, Simon the Faultless, always in the wrong. O PETER FAULTLESS Drivel of drivel, vapid in th* excess, And all pretension, tho' pretensionless. Behold no heav'n in Shakespeare's fretted sky ; Nor ev'n deplore with blushes, or a sigh, The fate that gave the gate of bliss to thee, Made thee Saint Peter, but denied the key ! Oh ! much miscalPd the synonime of slander, And quite as fam'd for genius as for candour ! Thou, on whose forehead sapience, rooted well, Grows, like the solemn horn, invisible ! Terror of Tyros ! here transcribe, I send The little ode which, yesterday, I penn'd. ODE TO CHOPP'D CABBAGE AND DARK- NESS TANGIBLE. " Chopp'd Cabbage! food for destin'd author meet! All hail, Chopp'd Cabbage ! for thy juice is sweet ; TO HIS BROTHER SIMON* 7 Fed; erst, by thee, we utter truths divine, (1) And, soft as cabbage boil'd, th' unmeaning line, While Simon's prose sounds just like verse of mine! Hail, gloom in light ! let hope before thee melt ; And long may Simon make his darkness felt^ What think'st thou of it ? tell me by the post: My wife likes all my odes, but this the most. That it hath meaning thou wilt quickly see, For sweetly it alludes to thee and me. Curse on long poems ! dull, heroic stuff! Ten lines, at once, are excellence enough ; And know, each tedious canto-weaving churl, A little ode is Cleopatra's pearl. What, though despised ? the tiny strains we prize Are strains immortal — in their author's eyes; Not the full flower on each rank soil that grows, But gem-like petals of the classic rose ; Or, cast by rapid genius from behind, His sweetest winglets of poetic wind. Sweet, to read rhyme with emulation's tingle ! More sweet, the proser's languish into jingle ! 8 PETER FAULTLESS Most sweet, to die of Liliputian lay, In ecstasies of epigram, away ! Vain dreamer, who expects we will, or can, Dissect his tedious incidents and plan ! Unread his book, if read, not understood, To praise, or blame in generals, is good. An epic insult cannot be forgiven ! What then ? a sonnet is a little heaven, The bard's Elysium, and the critic's too : Measured with ease, in each dimension true. It asks no skill — the eye can comprehend it ; Prais'd, without risk — if faultless, who can mend it ? But ere thou splash with censure, or applause, Elaborate Epic, or high Drama — pause. Ask if the crowd receive the numbers well ? Ask if the first edition promptly sell ? If beaux admire and buy it in a trice, As every dunce did Milton's Paradise ? Then tremble at the uncertain deep no more, But launch thy bark with safety from the shore ; Then read a page, to understand a volume, And columns fill with grubs, on half a column. TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 9 Greatly, like thee, in trifles I delight, Songs, chaste as those thou lov'st to praise, I write, Like thee, for dull monotony I plead, And what was poorly written, vilely read ; And long to lounge with coxcombs now and then, And nonsense humbly lisp to childish men, Who sing by rule, and safely praise by rote, And idolize the fashion of a coat. I, too, with all the critic's genuine spirit, Would rather damn, than read a work of merit ; Hear the poor poet howl to all his pain, And laugh to see him rant and rave in vain, Write satires on us, and be damn'd again ; For nobler 'tis, and easier, to excel In slandering basely, than in writing well,, And bliss to mark,the pangs of bard in critic's hell. Thou more than Johnson, in verbosity, Than Pope in smoothness ! who shall vie with thee ? Weave verse, without or merit, or defect, And write the Babylonish dialect ? a 2 10 PETER FAULTLESS Richly, in scraps of sad translation, flows The thick molasses of thy rhyming prose, Darkening our sage Review, that all may see No poet living can translate, but thee ; And still I wonder, (as, at length, I tell thee,) The murder'd ancients never rose to fell thee. But who, like thee, infallible in lies, Can slander genius, alias criticise ? Let malice say (for what can malice less ?) That, in our censure, we our fear express, Poor mediocrity's affrighted yell, And writhing envy's hiss, that startles hell. Shalt thou, for taunts, the scourge, thy hope below, And, with the scourge, thy very soul forego ? Tithe of the tenth part of a tailor's ! No. Classic like thee, though less profound than thou, Snarl' d once Ben Jonson ; but who heeds him now Less learnd the Caliban that Shakespeare drew ; But Ben, all envy, prov'd the portrait true. Grinning, he railed, and gasp'd for brains and breath ; But Shakespeare smil'd, and still fools read Macbeth. TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. il Then, Simon, droop not thou ! With spleen elate, Vent all thou hast, and leave th' effect to fate. Let irony applaud thy depth, thy skill ; Let no fool equal thee in writing ill ; Curtail'd in soul, let pedantry suffice ; Oppose to truth thy shield of prejudice ; Excel even Darwin in the Fudge sublime ; Then print critiques that emulate my rhyme ; And pour the oil of eulogy on those Whose lofty verses ape thy lifeless prose. Though Scott shall live, like sin in deathless fire, And future Byrons read him, and admire ; A better doom than Ben's awaits thy lies, If thee oblivions self shall patronize. Should some plain rustic, fac'd with impudence, Bid thee translate thy jargon into sense ; Hard is the task (and do not thou begin it) To write no meaning, and find meaning in it. Should some sly school-boy, o'er his grammar squat- ting, Ask, " Who was't taught thee, what he knew not, Latin?" 12 PETER FAULTLESS Say, that thy patron paid, and paid enough, To make a prodigy of stubborn stuff. " What are thy powers 1" should some prick'd poet cry; Say, fudge and Latin all thy wants supply ; Say, quoted Latin, (well misunderstood,) Not English, — though we'd write it if we could ; (But this apart, — the vulgar must not know it ; Oh, tell it not in Gath, thou fear'd of poet !) Say, quoted Latin proves thy learned pains, And misapplied, atones for lack of brains ; Latin, which taught Demosthenes to speak, (2) And made old Homer write so well — in Greek, Should sceptics still, with intellects awry, Presume to doubt thy learned stupidity, Chop from thy solid sconce a fragment ample, And, by the waggon, send the ponderous sample, (As curious folks might do by th' Sheffield air,) And make the unbelievers gasp and stare. And should the times grow worse, as some expect, Pack sundry parcels of thine intellect, TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 13 Swear that Bceotia's densest can't excel it, Call't " mist of mind," and in Newfoundland sell it ; For there the happy people feed on vapour, Just like thy readers, — but they save their paper. Mute hears conceit, while self and folly teach : Bigots preach pride, and practise what they preach : So, like spoil'd children, genuine critics still (3) Adore their own dear petulance of will. In music, all who can count eight are singers ; So, all are poets who can count their fingers. Yet, dread and shun the sin of bastard rhyme, Where " shone," with " throne/' is vilely made to chime ; (4) For still such coupling shall be deem'd by me Kank crambo, whoredom, and adultery. Write thou by th' compass, and th' unerring string, Sweet strains, that we, who cannot read, may sing. Let not thy line, like drunken wight perplex'd, In reeling errors, run into the next. Seize thou each wordy truant by the throat, Pass thou thy five feet rule o'er every thought ; 14 PETER FAULTLESS And bid reviewing knights, where'er they go, Hang all but our firm, Epigram and Co. Nor stop thou there, but write what none else may, An epic in acrostics, or a play ! With fist of wool, strike sense, the smiler, dumb ; Dire difficulties make, and overcome, Not to poor purpose, but to none at all ; Call faultless that which Crabbe would senseless call ; Cram thy bless'd song with labour'd stuff to fulness, And be, at least, original in dulness. So shall our perfect art, in its result, Be best amusement for the babe adult. So shall sage Sing-song bend th* adoring knee, And Titum, Tumti, Tweedle-dum, to thee, Grand metropolitan of Tweedle-dee ! So shall the dread, oh, Simon, of thy shears Make each true poet loath to show his ears. So, hungry as a rat, shall genius prowl, And at thy line, thy rule, thy compass growl ; Yet scorn, tho' lean as death, and fed on hope, To ape the mimic of the apes of Pope, And boast of bondage. In the crowded fair, So shall the pedlar clothe his honoured ware TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 15 In lawn Parnassian ; and the chandler see His counter shagg'd with shades of poesy — Immortal ! If the fates no shop-fiend move To rend, with stormy hand, the Heliconian grove. Far from the white man's frown, to western skies The vanquish'd native of Columbia flies, And, flying, hears, amid the sunless brake, His father's spirits, in each hissing snake, Taunt their degenerate offspring ! On his soul, Black in the torrent's growling depth they scowl ; Invoke the storms, on every mountain's brow, To chill him with the forest-wail of woe ; Flap o'er his eyes the night-bird's ominous pinion, And, viewless, chase the desert's frighted minion ; Or, gamboling with the vollied rain in ire, Deride him with their dreadful laugh of fire, Shout in the voice of the contending cloud, Howl to his heart, and smite their hands aloud. Shame on his temples pales the raven's wing : He lies him down upon the serpent's sting, 16 PETER FAULTLESS No more to feel it ! and the white man's child Crops on his grave the floweret of the wild. Thus,, high-souFd Genius, vanquish'd in the strife With Envy's shield of lead, and viewless knife, Flies far, and pines aloof, but scorns to weep. He calls no more his " spirits from the deep ;" Diseas'd in soul, he dreads to meet the morn, And those who pity seem to him to scorn. Vainly in woods of deepest shade he lingers ; The very bushes seem to count their fingers, Emptiness calls for rhyme in every breeze, And tortured syllables seem to leaf the trees. He rushes to thy dreamless bed, Despair ! But Malice, with the stake, shall find him there, And deep transfix him in unhallow'd clay: The fools he scorn'd shall drag his faults to day, Gloat on his woes, till rancour hath her fill, And, true to baseness, mangle whom they kill. Let all, who trash and Cumberland admire, (5) Condemn thy censure, and call folly fire ; TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 17 To letter'd woe her tear ]et pity pay, Dull Franklin (6) praise harsh Cowper's (7) taste- less lay, And genius, and the bleeding heart, deplore, O'er Kirk White's (8) dust, the flower that blooms no more. But still ply thou the finger-counting trade ; Be still of sense and scoundrel wit afraid ; Still curse the ravings of the Avonian Seer, And all that Milton lov'd — the style severe, The iron verse, with happiest labour wrought, The verbal strength that girds the might of thought. Still, when thou writ'st, write nonsense ! smooth and fine, In wiry length, drawl out the empty line ; For brew we flat blank verse, or dulcet rhyme, The sterling senseless is the true sublime. Then (by thy scull, I swear !) our stuff is good ; And damn'd be he whose verse is understood ! Damn'd to be read ! his snowy couplets stain'd, And every page with sweaty thumbs profan'd ; While not an eye, with envious leer malign, Presumes to glance on page of thine, or mine. IB l»ITIE FAULTLESS Proud may we be to sleep " in virgin sheets !" Even Talma spouts Racine to empty seats ; In France itself the Faultless loses ground; All fly the perfect Drama's drowsy sound ; And, while spoil'd Shakespeare pleases in Voltaire, Boileau reposes with the things which were. Thou tyrant Dwarf 1 who, hating still the tall, Would'st to thy paltry standard level all ! Malignant instinct of pedantic dulness, That feed'st on merit's pangs, and cram'st to fulness! Swell to the Mammoth's bulk thy worshipp'd mouse, And bid the lion deify a louse. What ! shall th' undazzl'd eagle from on high Implore the bat to lead him thro' the sky ? What ! shall our guides be blinder than the blind ? Must strength adore thine impotence of mind ? Aye, " dash Apollo from his throne of light!" And let the hunch-back' d cripple, letter'd spite, Shuffling and puff'd, as frog in fable big, Place there a monkey in a periwigs TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 19 To snarl, and peep thro' glass at button-hole. And whisk his sapient tail, in sign of soul. Fly, fly to Thule, ere we singe thy wings, Fly, Scott, and rest with unremember'd kings ! Hide, hide thee, Southey, in some savage wild, And spout to trees thine " English undefil'd f Crabbe, burn thy rules, thy brains — unlearn thy trade ; Paint views for tea-pots, without light or shade ! Prais'd, dreaded Childe! some rhyming farce produce, And barter Hippocrene for turnip-juice ! Mend, Harold, mend, thou heretic in disguise ! Mend, or consent to lose thy ears and eyes ! Lo, genius falls, and falls to rise no more ! His day Aurelian, and its pomp, are o'er : Deep plung'd in darkness, who shall heed his pain, Who mark the smile of his sublime disdain ? Art thou, too, falFn — immortal and divine, — Thou only giant who eould'st vanquish time ? No — not Bceotia's mist, not envy's shade 5 Not zealous Simon's diuretic aid. 20 PETER FAULTLESS Can quench thy torch, or hide, or dim its ray, The star that never sets of mental day. There needs no angel th' uncontrolFd to free, No resurrection, deathless life, to thee 1 Is there a rhymster, musical as Pope, A wholesale dealer in magnific trope, Proud stifFest crambo's buckram'd Nash to be, At war with grammar, but at peace with thee, Tho' much 'twould pose the sovereign of pretence To cull from half his stanzas six of sense ? (9«) Is there a sage of titum-tumti skill Who, writing little, writes that little ill, (Sweet school-boy jingle, meaningless as sweet, Chaste thoughtlets, sinless as a virgin sheet,) And steeps in numbers pure as scentless rose The wond'rous things which gossips say in prose, To form with labour, in his tranquil rabies, A lullaby for intellectual babies I Them shall our very hate of genius raise To one hour's long eternity of praise, TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 21 Consistent folly laud them to the sky, And malice growl applause, lest envy die. When moral essays, sermons spoil'd with rhyme, And back'd by Byron, fail to vanquish time ; When tuneful memory sleeps with tuneful hope ; Shall Scott, Crabbe, Southey, dare with fate to cope ? Is there a poet, whose congenial mind Young Milton would have chos'n from all mankind? And can that poet flatter in his lay The literary bigots of the day, And taunt with thankless sneer the men of might Whose hands unbarr'd for him " the gates of light V 9 Lo, virtue weeps o'er self-degraded worth ! Lo, kindred bards, the deathless of the earth, Tremble with rage and grief in every limb^ And envy dulness, to be unlike him, Compeird to see, in agony and scorn, The courser with the eyelids of the morn, The fire-wing'd courser, stoop so meanly low, Ev'n from Olympus, to salute a crow ! 22 PETER FAULTLESS But we — on talents' golden deeds severe,— Commend his wond'rous fault, in wond'ring fear ; Swear that he far the northern Bear surpasses., And dub him almost equal to our asses ; Yet inly dread the thunder of his mane, And curse his deviations from our lane, And humbly bid him, if he would excel, Respect its dear twin fences, trimm'd so well. All hail to him, whose thoughts are as the wind Free and unchainable, — the man whose mind Glows like his heart, and shines instinct with light ! Let him review the work which he could write. Hard is the task, and hourly harder, too, To write a book in style and matter new, Where sense and fancy are in splendour blent, At once original and excellent. But if to hunt for flaws, to merit blind, Requires perfection, too, of other kind, Grave folly, the ridiculous by rule, And basest spleen, ne'er found but in a fool ; 1 TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 23 What wonder, if thy zealous lash assail'd Cowper's first song, and for a time prevail'd ? What wonder, if thou try, so bravely well, To crush young genius bursting from the shell, Sure that the noble bird^ once plum'd and freed, Would soar, and spurn thy malice and thy creed ? What wonder, if— since cowards loudest boast, And he who least deserves still claims the most- Each prosing grandmamma, each sage old woman, (Female or male,) each broken-knee'd and common Slave of the monthly press, should rail to live ? Insolence is the fool's prerogative. Proud of that art which in the dunce is nature, Critic and dunce ! conceit dilates his stature. The very ease with which he gropes his way, The ardour of the dupes who flock to pay Gold for his dross, the frequent fractured head Of thin-scull'd genius fell'd with fist of lead, Make him mistake for truth the witticism, That want of sense and shame is criticism. His cap and crown, pedantic arrogance, Blind as the mole in letter'd ignorance, 24 PETER FAULTLESS Vain as the Gropius of some modern Vandal^ Or queen of gossips taking tea and scandal, He boasts his mean inglorious victories, He boasts the very dulness of his lies. Owl-eyed to splendour, eagle-ey'd to spy Spots on the disk of glory, Envy's eye Admires no loveliness, beholds no worth ; Her soul is darkness, for her brain is earth : No joy she knows, but in another's smart ; No God she worships, but her own black heart. Hell dreads her coming, with erected hair, For, envy absent, 'tis Elysium there i No fiend, o'er fiery broth, with hollow eye, Pines to behold his neighbour's brimstone pye ; No sparkless devil damns, in scribbling ire, The happier, hotter devil's pen of fire ; But Satan, pleas'd, resigns his earthly throne, And swears our monthly hell exceeds his own In dulness, darkness — every thing, but light : Down, zealous Simon, set his dunces right ! Run, mother Ph ps, teach his worship spite ! TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 25 Back to that isle, the banish'd maids of song Let Southey lead, with stripling hand, along. Struck by th' assassin's blow, let genius come, (10) Knock at his heart, and find her friend at home, From her pierc'd brain to draw th' envenom'd steel, And all but cure the wound which death must heal. Let him, with Spenser's mastery, and his own, Paint Madoc, David, Conrade, Rhoderic, Joan; Wild Laila, fiction's cherub ; in her sire Evil, that mil not hope ; in Julian's ire, Faith wounded, trampling glory in the dust, Arm'd vengeance, almost in rebellion just ; What in Florinda ? beauty, sorrow, worth, A suffering angel, in the garb of earth. Let him to light drag Hades ; bid the deep, Reserv'd for him, Fate's awful secrets keep; And (wildest spirit, on the strongest wing) Soar sightless heights, a matchless wreath to bring From that bright heav'n, where none but he durst soar, And never flower was snatch'd for truth before. B 26 PETER FAULTLESS Triumphant o'er the ear-offending tone, Sublimely mournful, let Sheafs bard, (11) alone, Attain in rhyme great Shakespeare's rhymeless ease, The pleasing sweet that never fails to please. Tearing from want's dread woes the rags and all, Let Crabbe the eye of startled ease appal, Obtrude a gorgon on his dream of bliss, And show poor human nature as it is, Let Erin's child produce his wond'rous gem, And set the emerald in her diadem, That she, unrivall'd in her sons before, May strike ev'n envy silent, bless'd with Moore. What second Shakespeare, faultless without plan, Creates anew the wond'rous Proteus, Man ? Who steals from Heav'n a pencil wildly true ? Scott, Scott alone, can draw as Shakespeare drew, Dip the heath's bell in immortality, Bid landscapes bloom in hues that cannot die, Paint battle's rage, while awe his hand controls, And sketch the surge of horror as it rolls ; Or, give the wild weird sisters' attributes To her whose wildness well such horror suits, TO HIS BROTHER SIMON. 27 More dire than they who made their presence— air, Who seem'd not of the earth, and yet were there. Let Byron, in his hurried line, condense But he, with soothing words, and many a tear, Spake to her woe, bidding her yet be glad, And question'd of her destiny severe, And how, and why, she met a doom so sad ? THE EXILE. 6l She did not lift her eye — she fear'd to look On him who talk'd of comfort — but it came ; For, like a sweet remember'd vision, stole His tones of pity on her drooping soul ; Or, like the liquid music of the brook To thirst's charm'd ear, when th' unseen waters creep Beneath the blossoming umbrage of the vale, Among flowers dear to woe, that love to weep. And, thus, she told her melancholy tale, While, o'er the hut, loud moan'd th* increasing gale, And nearer thunder chas'd the lightning pale : VII. " Oh; thou art good ! — I did not hope to hear The voice of kindness in this land of fear ! — My love went to the war, and came not back : Prince Charles, they said, was worsted in the strife : Anxious, I watch'd, on expectation's rack ; But Alfred fled, beyond the sea, for life. Soon I became — a mother ! not a wife. My wrathful parents spurn'd me from their door. Oh ! cherish'd, like the choicest garden flower, 62 THE EXILE. And nurtured on the breast of tenderness, And all-unused to the evil hour, How should their silk-clad daughter face distress ? Where should the outcast Emma lay her head ? I sought, and found, a little, lowly shed, Where long we liv'd, resigned and calm, though poor: My active needle earn'd our daily bread. But sickness, then, by famine follow'd, came : My hungry boy look'd up for food, and pin'd ! My wearying task was profitless ; my frame, Enfeebled by disease, unnerv'd my mind. I would not beg the alms of charity, Nor ask the legal dole of paupery ; No, I did worse, far worse, — Heaven pardon me 1 Thou would'st not think that Emma once was fair ; Yet fair she was, or envy's self hath lied : And she had still some sweet and drooping charms ; But she had still some virtue, and some pride. I turn'd abhorrent from lust's venomous arms ; How could I clasp pollution to my heart ? I wept, and pray'd, but want would not depart ; THE EXILE, 63 And my boy's asking look, so pale and sad, Drove me, in one unhappy moment, mad. No pitying daughter of the rich and free. With angel looks, and bounty, came to me. Oh, how I envied then the spotless maid Who pass'd me, blushing, and almost afraid ! Spurn'd by the base, scarce pitied by the good, Affliction rush'd upon me, like a flood. No aid without, and want and woe within ; Deserted — ah, no I left — by him I lov'd ; My life's life was that boy, the child of sin ! What mother's heart could see his tears, unmov'd ? I pawn'd the stolen silk ! — detected — tried, — In the throng'd court I stood, half-petrified, And there was doom'd beyond the billowy tide, On wild Columbia's shore of tears, to groan ! \ VIII. " As on the strand I stood, and not alone, But, chain'd to others, like in crime and fate, And female, too, though lost to female fears, A man approach'd, more old in grief than years, And kiss'd the fetter'd hand he bathed with tears, 64f THE EXILE. And, faultering, strove, but strove in vain, to speak Oh, he was chang'd ! but Emma knew him well ; And with him came forgiveness, though too late. But when he ask'd forgiveness of his child, His guilty child, I thought my heart would break ! And when I bade him to my mother bear A lock of hapless Emma's golden hair, — A kiss from one so lost, — and pray'd him tell If she, too, had the sinful one forgiv'n,— Oh, God ! in more than agony, he smiVd, He rav'd, amid his tears, in laughter wild ! cc Emma," he said, " thy mother is in Heaven, Brought to the grave with sorrow — not by thee, — It was God's will ! and none from sin are free." Again he kiss'd me, and he turn'd to go ; But No, — poor Emma would not have it so ; He saw the boy on whom my sad eye fell, And kiss'd my little Alfred — then — farewell ! I saw him not, but sobb'd, in sorrow blind, And heard his faint, " God bless thee !" in the wind. THE EXILE. 65 IX. a Ah, surely, in that hour I should have died., But that my boy clung fondly to my side, And, not in vain, to soothe his mother tried ! Then came a thought which nature could not bear : "What! take him from me?" shriek'd my heart's despair. But little Alfred left the land with me ; And, while the tall ship rush'd into the sea, He sate, and smiFd upon his mother's knee, Pleas'd with the sails, the motion, and the deep. The billows seem'd to rock my cares to sleep. Oh, there was comfort in the dreadful thought That, far from happiest England, I should go, Where none who knew me could behold my woe, To taunt the burning shame that crime had brought ; And that the sad companions of my way Were wretches, too, but I less vile than they ! I lov'd to sit upon the airy deck, While swelFd the moonlight heav'ns without a speck, O'er ocean without wrinkle ; and I lov'd, While star-light only glimmer'd through the clouds^ 66 THE EXILE. And, arrow-like, and billow-borne, we mov'd, To hear the fresh gale whistle in the shrouds, And see the maned waves each other chase, Like flaming coursers in the endless race. Then, with delighted terror from the prow, High on the mountain billow's summit curl'd, Down look'd I on the wat'ry vales below, That, like a tenantless and hopeless world. Barren and black, and deepening chilly, frown'd. And on that far land,, whither I was bound, Enthusiast Hope beheld, nor whip, nor chains ; But hill and shadowy vale seem'd fairy-ground, And groves Elysian deck'd the teeming plains ; And airy ringers form'd, with many a flower Of dulcet breath, a visionary bower ; And there my fancy wander'd with my child, And saw him strive, with lifted hand, to reach The grape's dark luxury, or the glowing peach ; And peace walk'd with us through the balmy wild, Look'd on my tears, nor only look'd, but smil'd. THE EXILE. 67 X. " Oh, Heaven ! thou should'st, according to the load, Apportion strength to bear it on the road ! My boy refus'd his food, forgot to play, And sicken'd on the waters, day by day. He smil'd more seldom on his mother's smile; He prattled less, in accents void of guile. Of that wild land, beyond the golden wave, Where I, not he, was doom'd to be a slave ; Cold o'er his limbs, the listless languor grew ; Paleness came o'er his eye of placid blue ; Pale mourn d the lily where the rose had died, And timid, trembling, clung he to my side. He was my all on earth. Oh ! who can speak The anxious mother's too prophetic woe, Who sees death feeding on her dear child's cheek, And strives in vain to think it is not so ? Ah ! many a sad and sleepless night I pass'd, O'er his couch listening, in the pausing blast, While on his brow, more sad from hoar to hour, Droop'd wan dejection, like a fading flower I 6S THE EXILE. At length, my boy seem'd better,, and I slept, — Oh, soundly I but, methaught, my mother wept O'er her poor Emma, and, in accents low, Said, i Ah ! why do I weep ? and weep in vain For one so lov'd, so lost ? Emma, thy pain Draws to a close ! ev'n now is rent in twain The loveliest link that binds thy breast to woe. Soon, broken heart, we soon shall meet again f Then o'er my face her freezing hand she cross'd, And, bending, kiss'd me with her lip of frost. I wak'd ; and, at my side, — Oh ! still and cold ! — Oh ! what a tale that dreadful chillness told ! Shrieking, I started up, in terror wild ; Alas ! and had I liv'd to dread my child ? Eager, I snatch'd him from his swinging bed ; His limbs were stiff — he mov'd not — he was dead ! XL " Oh ! let me weep ! — what mother would not weep, To see her child committed to the deep ? — All lifeless, o'er his marble forehead roll'd, The third night saw his locks repose in gold. THE EXILE. 69 Methinks 'twas moonlight, and a torch cast wide Its lanthorn'd radiance, o'er the amber'd tide 5 As wan on deck he lay, serenely fair. And, oh ! so like his sire ! that man of care, (From home and hope by ruthless fate impell'd,) Who could not come, my breaking heart to share, And ne'er his child, in life, or death, beheld ! No mournful flowers, by weeping fondness laid, Nor pink, nor rose, droop'd, on his breast display'd, Nor half-blown daisy, in his little hand : Wide was the field around, but 'twas not land. Enamour'd death, with sweetly pensive grace, Was awful beauty on his silent face. No more his sad eye ldok'd me into tears ! Clos'd was that eye beneath his pale cold brow ; And on his calm lips, which had lost their glow, But which, though pale, seem'd half unclos'd to speak, Loiter'd a smile, like moonlight on the snow. I gaz'd upon him still— not wild with fears- Gone were my fears, and present was despair ! But, as I gaz'd, a little lock of hair, 70 THE EXILE. Stirr'd by the breeze, play'd, trembling, on his cheek, — Oh, God ! my heart ! — I thought life still was there. But, to commit him to his wat'ry grave, O'er which the winds, unwearied mourners, rave, — One, who strove darkly sorrow's sob to sway, Uprais'd the body; thrice I bade him stay ; For still my wordless woe had much to say, And still I bent, and gaz'd, and, gazing, wept. At last, my sisters, with humane constraint, Held me, and I was calm, as dying saint ; While that stern weeper lowered into the sea My ill-starr'd boy ! deep — buried deep, he slept. And then I look'd to heaven in agony, And pray'd to end my pilgrimage of pain, That I might meet my beauteous boy again ! Oh ! had he liv'd to reach this wretched land, And then expir'd ; I would have bless'd the strand. But, where my poor boy lies, I may not lie ; I cannot come, with broken heart, to sigh O'er his lov'd dust, and strew with flowers his turf: His pillow hath no cover, but the surf! THE EXILE. 71 I may not pour the soul- drop from mine eye Near his cold bed : he slumbers in the wave ! Oh ! I will love the sea, because it is his grave !" XII. Weeping, she saw not him, whose swimming eye O'erflow'd with bitterness and agony : But when he smote his breast, with frenzied force, And, stamping, curs'd himself, in dread remorse ; Then started she, as one who sleeps, with pain O'erwearied, starts awake, but sleeps again ; And soon, more calm, with alter'd voice, she said, " Perhaps, my boy had liv'd, had Alfred stay'd ! Ah ! wherefore fled he, hopeless and afraid ? And, ah ! why fled not Emma at his side ? I on the scaffold would, with him, have died. Without a look, a kiss, a tear, he went ; Unheard by Emma every pray'r he sent To heaven, (while grim mischance stood by, and smil'd,) To bless the mother of his unborn child ! * 72 THE EXILE. Nor, after weeks, and months, and mournful years, Did his dear letter, sad, and stain'd with tears, Bring to her bosom, o'er the waters wide, Comfort and hope, which nought could bring beside! Alas ! he fled not, but, at Worcester, died 1" XIIL a Oh, blame him not I" exclaim'd th' impassion'd youth, " If he has err'd, forgive his fault, forgive ! And canst thou doubt thy Alfred's love and truth ? And deem him dead, who lives to bid thee live ? We both live, Emma, happier days to see ; Behold, 'tis Alfred's self, preserv'd for thee ! Come to my heart ! thou still art all to me." XIV. Ah ! clasp'd he death ? or did she lifeless seem ? Slackening his grasp, he stoop'd, but heard no sigh ! Then paleness blush'd ; and life's returning beam Relum'd the faded azure of her eye. THE EXILE. 73 Faintly she strove to clasp him to her side : ic Was it, indeed, my angel's voice V she cried ; " And wilt thou take the convict to thy breast? And shall the vile, the outcast, the oppress'd, The poor and trodden worm, again be bless'd ? Ah I no, no — heaven ordaineth otherwise ! — My love ! — we meet too late ! thy Emma dies. 5 ' XV. Then, with clasp'd hands, and fervent hearts dis- may'd, That she might live for him, both mutely pray'd. But o'er their silence burst the heavy blast ; And, on his pinions, the sky-torrent pass'd ; And down the giants of the forest dash'd ; And, pale as day, the night with lightning flash'd; And, through a w'd heaven, a peal, that might have been The funeral dirge of suns and systems, crash'd : More dread, more near, the bright, blue blaze was seen, Peal following peal, with direr pause between. 74 THE EXILE. On the wild light she turn'd her wilder eye, And grasp'd his hands, in dying agony, Fast, and still faster, as the flash rush'd by. a Spare me !" she cried, " Oh, thou destroying rod ! Hark ! — 'tis the voice of unforgiving God ! — A mother murder'd, and a sire in woe ! Alfred, the deed was mine — for thee, for thee I broke her heart, and turn'd his locks to snow! Hark ! — 'tis the roaring of the stormy sea ! Lo ! how the mountain billows fall and rise ! And, while their rage, beneath the shrieking night, Lifts my boy's tresses to the wild moon-light, Yet doth the wretch, th' unwedded mother, live, Who for those poor, unvalued locks, would give All, save her hope to kiss them in the skies ! But, see ! — he rises from the ocean's bed, And at his guilty mother shakes his head ! There dost thou see him, blue and shiv'ring, stand, And, threat'ning, lift at thee his little hand. Oh, dreadful ! — Hold me ! catch me ! die with me ! Alas ! that must not, and it should not, be ! THE EXILE, 75 Pray, pray that both our sins may be forgiven ; Then come ! and heaven will — will, indeed, be heaven !" XVI. He felt her slack'ning grasp his hand forego, And grasp'd more firmly her's, in speechless woe. Quiver'dher cheek, with death's convulsions streak'd: Still gaz'd he — all was fix'd I he started up, and shriek'd. XVII. No sound is heard, save of the brook increas'd ; The weary cloud is still. The blast hath ceas'd To rend the wildly-fluctuating sky, And tear the tall pine from his place on high. Meek quiet on the freshen'd verdure sleeps. Less frequent, from the beauteous cedar weeps The heavy rain-drop on the flower beneath ; And, fainter round the hills, the dying gale Murmurs the requiem of departed night ; While, like bless'd isles, the woods emerge in light, -76 THE EXILE. In placid light, fair as the brow of death O'er which that mourner bends, so lost and pale, Emma, how sweet the calm that follows storms ! How sweet to sleep in tears, and wake in heaven ! Morn soon will smile on Nature's drooping charms, And smooth the tresses which the night hath riven ; But no sun shall arise that wretch to cheer; Alas ! his grief despairs, and hath no tear ! From heaven's deep blue the stars steal, one by one; Pale, fades the moon — still paler — she is gone. As yet, no marshall'd clouds, in splendour roll'd, See, on Patowmac's breast, their mirror'd gold ; Yet, eastward, lo ! th' horizon, forest-fring'd, Blushes, — and dusky heights are ruby-ting'd! Lo ! — like a warrior, in impatient ire, On mailed steed, fire-scarfd, and helm'd with fire, Forth rides the sun, in burning beauty strong, Hurling his bright shafts, as he darts along ! Oh ! not more splendidly emerg'd the morn, When light, and life, and blissful love were born, And day, and beauty, ere his woes began, Smil'd first Elysium on the soul of man, THE EXILE. 77 And, — while no cloud in stillest heaven was seen, — O'er ocean's waveless magnitude serene, Rose, all on flame his vital race to run, In dreadless youth, how proudly, rose that sun ! And see !— o'er Emma's still and snowy cheek There comes a glow, etherial, heavenly, meek, As if a lily blush'd to meet the light ! But what, wan Exile, may be said to thee ? Look'st thou on death ? then death is fair to see. The sunbeams mingle with her lifeless hair ; From her clos'd eye a tear is stealing slow ; Life seems to linger on the silence there, Like fragrance in a gathered rose of snow ; But, oh ! that kiss of ice ! — despair ! despair !— Ah ! woods and waves, and heaven and earth, are bright ; But, on the hopeless Exile's heart, 'tis night ! MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. INTRODUCTION. I. Oh, Lady of the sable vest, Thy sad hands clasp'd upon thy breast ! When heaven is hung with mourning, thou Turn'st from th' extinguish'd stars thy brow, To curse and interdict the lights And hallow darkness ! thou art Night. When shipwreck howls along the deep, Thou sittest on the wave-worn steep, To see destruction's giant hand With more than horror strew the strand ! I call'd not thee, thou face of tears, All channell'd by the share of years ! 80 INTRODUCTION. Enough hath man of dread and sadness To turn his dream of hope to madness ; The throne of trouble is his heart. What need hath he of fear and thee ? Lady of Gloom ! depart, depart ! II. When she, the hope of nations, died, Whose story is a realm in woe, Was it not thou, whose wing supplied A fitting pall for such a bier ? Following the dead, with footstep slow, England beheld thy gloomy tear. While, from thy wan and trembling hand, Death's torch flash'd o'er a blasted land The mockery of the blessed day. Lady of Death ! away, away ! Oh ! — Lady of Despair ! — away ! III. Hath Night no smiles ? or none for me ? I love not gloom, but jollity. INTRODUCTION. 81 I may not paint the hell of guilt, The dreadful drop by murder spilt, The scowl of the renounced of heaven, The self-condemn'd, the unforgiven; That task be his, of soul severe, The poet of the burning tear, Who sung Medora, love, and woe ; To gloomy spirit, darkness, go ! Yet come, (but smiling,) Night, to me; Or, bring the urchin, Fun, with thee. d 2 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Oh, Tarn, had'st thou but been sae wise As ta'en thy ain wife Kate's advice. Burns, Twas midnight wild ! and, heavy, pass'd O'er John White's cot the frequent blast. The clouds, beneath Night's awful noon, Pursued the oft-extinguish'd moon, Like troubled waves, that, maned with foam Bound o'er the sailor's wandering home. Long had John's window wanted mending ; And the blast blew his candle out, The sparks o'er bed and corn-bin sending. Cold by the fire, he wip'd his snout, MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 83 Or, shook the ashes from his short pipe ; And toothache gave him many a tort gripe ; While, like the very Hag of spite, Nell, his old wife, sat opposite ; And, o'er the sink, of nought afraid, Washing her smock, bent Moll, the maid ; And Tom, the plowman, on the floor Snor'd, though he was not heard to snore. Full thirty years had John taught Nelly ; Yet, still unlearn'd, though long at school, Brains had she never — in her belly ; What could he hope from such a fool ? They snagg'd, the learn'd aver, and truly, From August scorched, till blazing July ; For, while Nell bore not children any, Her husband father'd bastards many ; And said it was, by every liar, That oft the wife of Farmer Bacon Had Nell's Lord for her own mistaken, And that fat Giles, with face of fire, Had sons who might call John their Sire. 84? MATRIMONIAL MAGIC, But Nelly was by nature evil ; And, were she riding to the devil, Yet would she, in her headlong course, Whip him who did not whip the horse. John ne'er was, by his neighbours, deem'd The best good-natured man on earth ; But sulkier now than ever seem'd The stern old sinner ! while to mirth And sudden fun inclin'd was Nell ; But why, old Johnny could net tell. No longer now the type express, And visible sign of loneliness, She laugh'd, talk'd, kick'd the kettle o'er, And laid John, sprawling, on the floor ; When had she such a fit before I The ruddy embers, almost spent, SeemM to partake her merriment, And wink o'erpower'd, then blaze amain, But all her pranks were play'd in vain ; For still more darkly frown'd old John. Vainly she laugh'd, like woman mad, And lifted up her dear old lad, MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 85 Then plac'd her palm his knee upon, And chuck'd his chin, and chuck'd again. Still sat he shy, with awful eye Like statue of austerity, Or banker's clerk behind his book, Or monthly critic in his nook, Hunting for flaws, but lacking game, And sick at thought of rising name. And cause, as after will be seen, There was, for both their moods, I ween. At last, incens'd, and weary, too, With wrinkled hand, of greyish blue, Into the fire her cap she threw ; And, from her crown, her tresses flew, And down her back, like pale snakes, hung, And o'er her breast, and o'er her beard ; While, grim as witch the fiends among, And, dancing like a squib, she sung, With more than melody, a song Which all true lovers should have heard. 86 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. II. u How quiet, in the church-yard wide, Lie John and Nelly side by side ! Their wedded war is o'er ; Silent the curtain lecture sweety The Iliad in a nuptial sheet ; Hating, they died ; and hop'd to meet, In heaven, or hell, no more." III. Moll laugh'd, almost until she split, And overthrew both suds and kit ; But still more grimly frown'd grey John ! The old clock, which he gaz'd upon, Tick'd slower, some say, with affright ; A proof that spectres walk'd that night- He took his hat from where it hung ; But Nell more loud and wildly sung, And seiz'd him, as in spite ; " Stay thou with me, love, I pray thee, For terrors haunt the night." MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 87 And, rapid as the reinless wind, Around her love her arms she twin'd, And gave him such a potent kiss, As set the cottage-door ajar ; So loud it spake of wedded bliss. Moll stood astonish'd ! — well she might, — Because it was a thing not common : " Hem !" growl'd old John, " Is't devil i' th* woman?" And rais'd his hand, and push'd her far. Then — while the clock struck one, and shook,— Gruff, into th' night his way he took, And Nell bang'd after him the door ; And up rose Thomas from the floor, Staring, as if he fear'd the fall Of roof and rig-tree over alL IV. By the wild moon's disastrous light, Whither, oh, Night, in such a night, Albeit unus'd to palpitations, Went the grey sire of generations i He went (and haply for no good) Strait to the hut, beyond the wood, 88 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Where dwelt, renown' d for cure of itch, Martha, the doctress, and the witch, Whose physic (there was magic in it) Could make folks sleep an hour a minute. Strange things, indeed, could Mat perform ! "lis certain she could lay a storm, And bottle th' lightning ; and — a wonder ! — She kept in pots her pounded thunder ; And, when hot summers bak'd all dry, She pickled th' sunshine, to lay by For future use, in wintry day. But could poor Mat have witch'd away Those ills that caus'd her still to sigh, Disease, and age, and poverty ; Or, had she been young, fair, or rich, She would not have been deem'd a Witch. Her form, that once, perhaps, was strait, Was crooked now, as bend of skate, And, symptom sure of sorcery, She had a wart beneath her eye. Not of the Graces lov'd was she ; But Fun she lov'd, and her lov'd he, MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 89 Her best, almost her only friend. But she was wearing to her end ; And, though none better lov'd a joke, One secret woe, would oft provoke The deep, unbidden sigh, that spoke More than words could, but spoke in vain, And lighten'd not her load of pain. Her sons had left their house of birth. That house, no more the home of mirth ; All scatter'd were they over earth ; Well might she death to life prefer ! Alas, they fail'd to visit her ! Years pass'd, and still they came not near ; This cost her many a bitter tear. The four green acres, low and warm, (Now joined to fat Giles Bacon's farm,) That fed their cow, ere William died, — She wish'd to keep them ! 'twas denied ; And the dark workhouse, frowning nigh, Was her sole earthly treasury. Oh ! to desertion, want, and age, What ill could fate add, in his rage ? 90 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. What "bore she in her aged breast ? Not the dread fire of soul unbless'd ;. But in that bosom, torture-sore, A cancer, cureless ill, she bore ! Death star'd her ever in the face, And woe watch'd in her dwelling place ; Yet was she cheerful, though in pain ; For in the cup which she must drain, A gem of heavenly lustre shone- And, frequent, on her pillow lone, She shed the tear of memory, — No curse to her ! with streaming eye, Then thought she of her husband's grave, Crown'd with the turf of twenty years, Where latest verdure still shall wave, And spring the earliest daisy rears. The dead, whom vainly we deplore, Not lost, she deem'd, but gone before ; And her tried soul, its haven nigh, Was anchor'd on eternity. Heaven, pitying, stoop'd, to make her sorrows less, Man scowl' d to see her burdensome distress, And the dogs knew her by her wretchedness. MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Ql V. Night's angels (who, perchance, know well More queer things than they choose to tell) Have not inform'd us what befell John, on the road from home and hell, To meet the wrinkled sorceress ; Whether the air-borne coffin met The hoary sinner on his way ; Whether the whisper accentless Of wretch self slain, his path beset, While dumb hand beckon'd him to stay ; Whether he stood aghast to see, Beneath the yew's etersial gloom, Gleaming in rawness horribly, The flay'd horse, rampant on a tomb ; Or whether, where the four roads meet, And the three oaks their moss'd boughs stretch, He heard the sound of lifeless feet, Or sigh of ne'er-seen gabelwretch. But 'tis most certain, that the spark Which redly rose, and rose to die, From Martha's chimney in the dark, 92 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Woke not in Johnny's breast a sigh, Or thought of his mortality. No! — Queerer thoughts on John, instead, Grinn'd, like an old wife's maidenhead, And, laughing through his frost, were seen The wrinkles of a leaf of green. VI. He reach'd the hut, and knocked with strength ; Long knock'd he vainly ! but, at length, The door was open'd, and he enter'd, Wondering no little how he ventur'd. Yet scarce within the open door, He stood, the viewless witch before ; For darkness darken'd, in the light That glimmer'd from the eyes of sprite Who with her dwelt^ in shape a cat ; And Johnny quak'd with dread thereat ! But when he heard the demon pur,—. His very guts began to stir ! And that sound only could he hear, Save creaking fire., all rayless^ near. MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. His slow foot, lifted from the ground, Struck something that returned no sound ; Dead to the touch, and black it lay. Yet, causeless, learnd historians say, At that dire moment, were his fears, And that 'twas but a bag of soot 'Gainst which so dreadly struck his foot* Her son, the sweep, to do her honour, Had call'd that afternoon upon her, For the first time in ten long years : He spake not, — though he saw her tears,—- But left his bag, and went away, Because he did not come to stay. And yet, oh ! widow, yet to thee, That visit stern was ecstasy ! The mother, bow'd with time and pain, Hath seen her child, her child, again ! Oh ! sweetest in thy bitter cup, That sweet drop, mother, drink it up ! Sweet, and the last that thou shalt have, Perchance, on this side of the grave ! — 94 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Oh ! even in woe's petrific shade, Where age and want the wretch invade, Nature, thy bless'd affections burn ! Bless'd, she awaited his return : ic He'll come back for his bag !" she said ; Nor could the wealth of worlds have bought Th' Elysium of that simple thought ; But so deep in the reverie Of its enjoyment lapp'd was she, That John, unheard, and bent on sin, Knock'd long, before she let him in. VII. " Mat !" said grey John, and listen'd, " Mat ! Well know you what I would be at : True to appointment, here stand I. May the lie choak me, if I lie ! But Nell, as bottled beer, is mad. Curs'd with a shrew, a woful man, Now rid me, as you say you can, Of her, and married misery; MATRIMONIAL MAGIC* 95 Or I shall be than she is madder. If she were dead, I should be glad ; And would I in her coffin had her ! Not that I love my servant Molly, As bawls Giles Bacon, in his folly ^ For that would be both sin and shame, In one so old as I am, dame. Beside, I fear she likes my man, Who ne'er gets drunk, but when he can : Sot ! he should th' whipping post be tied to> If all lov'd whoremasters as I do !" VIII. Mute, sigh'd the witch : he heard the sigh, But did not heed it ! nor could he Discern the pity, mix'd with scorn, That glimmer'd in her faded eye, Behind her locks so white and worn. Even in resentment, kind was she : Unlike some saints of this sad world Whose life of serpents, envy curl'd, 96 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Would venom, while it kiss'd a brother ; Saints than whom nought in hell can be Less like the angels of the other ! Honey with gall she lov'd to deal, And never wounded, but to heal. IX. " It will be all the same to me, Whether my wife/' continued he, u Be carried, living, into hell, Or, by enchantment, die in bed." X. Still was the sorceress silent. " Nell Must, when her time comes, die," he said, ce Nor care I, if she die before, — Provided we from guilt be free, That is, provided none blame me. Aye, let the blame at Satan's door, Or any door, but mine, be laid, And even do with her what thou wilt ; For then we shall be free from guilt." MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. QJ XI. " Certainly," said the witch, at last, " The blame will, as we wish, be cast Ev'n on themselves, the evil powers, "Twill seem the Devil's deed, and not our's. But that contrive we can to steer Guiltless, as blameless, is not clear." XII. " For guilt no matter !" answer'd he, " Provided slander silent be, Conscience shall sit as still as she/' XIII. " Yet pause,'' said Mat, " or ere thou do This thing of fear. Canst thou go through The dreadful business, without shrinking ? Think." — li Phoo !" cried he, H what matters think- ing ? I mil go through it, come what may ; — Not that 1 love my servant Molly, As guts, lies, horns, and melancholy 98 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. May (having often said it) say ; For Giles, whom no ties satisfy, Is not content, we all know well, To talk of sweet sounds as they fly, But hoards, for after claps, the smell ; A huge paunch, set on props a-straddle, That, ever cramming, never glutted, Hath fed (all swear't who see his waddle) On roast ducks till he's grown web-footed !" XIV. " Lo !" mutter'd she, a I write thy name In Satan's blood !" Then, still more low, In accents half suppress'd, and slow, She spake the curse : u May fiends of flame Pursue, and scourge thee to the tomb, A hope-left, God-abandon'd man ! And may the hell-rung frying-pan Jar in thine ears till th' crack of doom I If thou per form not what I bid, When fate hath clos'd this volume's lid ! MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 99 And woe ! if thou have aught conceal'd, And not thine inmost soul reveal'd." XV. Then, with the magic grasp of hands, The witch impos'd her dread commands, In whispers, such as sinners needed, And us'd with caution, in th' beginning, Ere prayers and cant had superseded The use of clumsier tools in sinning ; And, passion-rul'd, and evil-sent, And hag-instructed, forth he went. Whither ? To Bacon's barn, that stood Where roars the river through the wood, Then battling with the blast on high, And o'er rocks waving gloomily, What time, in dreams of dying men, The winged dragon, from his den, Was seen, o'er Huthwaite's firs reclin'd, To lash, with tail of woe, the wind. He, entering, trode the spacious floor, But did not dare to shut the door ; 100 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. And, while the moon's inconstant light, Illum'd, by fits, his locks of white, Thus he address'd, on bended knee, The powers that are, and still will be, Till man shall triumph o'er the grave, And fate no more be passion's slave. XVL " Ye, who prescribe the doom of man! Ye, to whom life is dancing dust ! Ye, who must aid me, if you can ! (Dread slaves!) ye shall! because ye must. Let my wife die ! no matter how ; But be it soon ! and why not now ? And, if to wed again I choose, Let not the baggage, Moll, refuse ! For well ye know, — or I'd not tell ye, — I love her, as I ne'er lov'd Nelly, And Giles says, all my actions show it: I tell ye th' truth, because ye know it. Now — by her chaste lip's rosy red ! And by her stainless maidenhead ! MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 101 And by her garters, strip'd with black ! And by the gown upon her back, Made of six yards of tawny cotton, Which I bought cheap, because 'twas rotten, And to her gave, (all good betide her !) Unknown to Nell, who can't abide her ! By these, and by her soul and liver, Let her, I charge ye, love the giver Of gown and garters, and forever John White to all the world prefer, With passion hot, as his for her ! Last — make me, spite of time and pain, (If ye can do it,) young again r XVII. Lo ! as if dead in heaven, the moon Vanish'd from night's portentous noon ! And two fleet forms, perchance, of air, (John saw not whether foul or fair,) Enter'd the barn inaudibly ; And, quick, as glance of trout in stream, Sudden, as comes, uncall'd, a dream, 102 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Clos'd the huge door. All-shuddering, he Might soothly swear, but might not see, That things of earth they could not be. And now, immers'd in utter darkness. Even his inward light was sparkless ; For, as he felt, or smelt, or heard Their passing tread, his ancient beard Cring'd, and his hair threw off his hat ; And, as in river plunges rat, Down, heavy, dropp'd the hat to th' ground, Which inly groan'd, a deathly sound, Like fall of clay on coffin lid, Johnny, 'tis written, never did, When of that twain he chose to tell, Say what the craft they made a trade of, Nor what the stuff he thought them made of,- Whether o' th' dunnest smoke of hell, Or moonshine, when invisible, Or sound, or fragrance : who shall tell i But, howsoe'er it came to pass, An odour certainly there was s MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 103 Though some aver who would not lie, It savour'd of mortality. But Johnny neither would nor could, Suppose they might be flesh and blood ; And, if omniscient, too, they were, They must have known that he was there ! Yet learn'd historians have averr'd, And bards have sung, and I have heard, Whate'er might then their business be, They did not wish for company. Bodiless did the phantoms glide ? And yet an elbow struck hi& side ! But hoary John was too polite To ask, at such a time of night, How elbow of unreal sprite Did e'er, or could, since time began, Give pain to rib of living man ; But, listening, as was wise and meet, He heard what seem'd the tread of feet, Like distant step on midnight street ; And something heavy seem'd to fall, If not on th' floor, against the wall. 104 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. Then, while his heart throbb'd loud and fast, Ceas'd the old walls to reel and shake ? The rafters, overhead, to quake ? The earth to shudder ? Did the blast Pause, and at once, on clouds above ? And slept the aspin in the grove ? Did he — a power, but not a form, — Who more than whirlwind's strength can bind ; Did he, the Genius of the storm, Stoop, listening, as he rein'd the wind ? Did midnight, did the stars, the skies, With damned witchcraft sympathise ? XVIII. Poor human nature ! could'st thou see, In their own forms, distinct and bare, Stripped of their fancied foul and fair, The things that bless, or bother, thee ; Then — Earth, indeed, would desert be ! XIX. The tyrant is sometimes a slave ; So brave men are not always brave : MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 105 Truth treads o s th' tale of serpent error ; So courage may succeed to terror. Vanish'd, at length, poor Johnny's fears, And he began to prick his ears. 'Twas silence all! save, soft and low, A sound, as of the melting snow ; Or, distant music's faintest flow ; Or, sigh of sorrow in repose ; Or, dewdrop, sliding from the rose, When, sweet, the breath of midnight blows ; Or, murmur of the moonlight grass, When fairies o'er the daisy pass; Or, tremble of the conscious grove That hides the stolen kiss of love Even from the prying stars above, When passion pants on beauty's cheek, And blushes what it cannot speak. John wish'd for light, to use his eyes ! What was that voice of whisper'd bliss ? Was't the old compound, lovers' sighs, Mix'd with the oft-imprinted kiss ; e 2 106 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. A compound, ere love learn'd to grieve, Invented by our mother Eve, Who granted — so 'tis said of Madam — A patent for't to the devil, and Adam ? Lo ! light burst, sudden, from on high ! John ask'd no questions, how, or why, But all was light, as brightest day ! And, plain, before him, on the hay, The two mysterious phantoms lay, Less like two spectres, side by side, Than bridegroom and enamour'd bride. Male seem'd the one ; John could have ta'en him For his own plowman, Tommy Blainim, So like he seem'd in form and size : But t'other caus'd him most surprise ! Female it seem'd, with bosom bare ; And, o'er the heaven of whiteness there, Seem'd wandering locks of Night's dark hair 1 But may he call his eyes his own ? Or, did he buy that tawny gown ? And does he see, or seem to see, Bound on that loveliest spectre-knee, MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 107 A garter, strip'd with black and white ? He star'd with eyes mile-wide, or more : Darkness and devils, what a sight ! And soon his grunt became a roar ! (C Forgery ! Tipstaves ! Help ! Thou boar ! " Oh, Lord, ha' mercy! Moll, Tom ! Whore 1" XX. Shrieking, up sprang that seeming female ; Laughing, with her upstarted the male; A laugh it was, uncouth and dread, That shook the stumps in Johnny's head. Still, as he laugh'd, the spectre rais'd His eye accurs'd, and upward gaz'd. And upward, too, look'd haggard John : — Oh, Night ! what horror stares he on ? What vision binds him, or what charm I And something trickles, wet and warm, As tear of brine from mourner's eyes, Down both his lean and wither'd thighs, Which when that laughing devil sees Hot-issuing at the breeches knees, 108 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. And dripping, bright, as rose distill'd, Until the wooden shoes are fill'd, He claps his hellish hands for gladness, And howls, like folly drunk, or madness. XXL As lady fine, rais'd from her grave By some abhorr'd enchanter-knave, (And still, as erst, precise and proud,) Shudders, and, from her faded shroud, The wriggling worms, so foul to sense, Shakes, — wondering at their impudence ; So wonder'd Johnny ! — well he might, — To see the sibyl of affright Who, seated on the highest beam, Cast from her eyes a sulphur-gleam, Which he beholding, lowly cring'd, For't seem'd a blaze that might have sing'd His very soul, if he had had one, So grimly glar'd that very bad one. Her awful right hand grasp'd a candle ; And in the other, like pump handle, MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. 109 Wav'd, what hath made the bravest faulter, The twisted cord of fate, a halter; While, streaming from her capless scull, Her gorgon tresses, white as wool, Veil'd features that might startle hell. John thought he saw his old wife Nell ! And, diuretic as he trembled, Muttering what could not be dissembled, (Like night-mare in a widow's bed, Who sees, return'd, her husband, dead,) iC Take any shape but that !" he said ; While to the balk, with hideous leer, The hag bound fast her cord of fear, Which done, these accents met his ear : " Did'st thou not come to get unmarried? Then, John, thy plot hath not miscarried. Place in this noose thy neck abhorr'd ; And, if I stir, to cut the cord, Still shall Old Nick thy true friend be, And hang grey Nell, instead of thee." 110 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. XXII. Alas ! what horrors face must he Who deals with damned sorcery ! The door., at that dread instant, flew Wide open, and rush'd in a crew Of demons dire, that well could ape The human voice, the human shape, 'Mid whom, on stang high mounted, sate Martha, the grisly hag of fate. What torches of Plutonian tar Cast red their radiance near and far ! In hands of seeming boy and man Was many a seeming frying-pan ; And female voices rang in air, And many a seeming cap was there, And many a bosom laughter heav'd ; And hundreds grinn'd, while one was griev'd. John thought his neighbours, for their evils, Fed all on brimstone, and were devils ! XXIII. a Come down, in all thy charms, come down ! John shall not die !" yell'd Mat the brown ; MATRIMONIAL MAGIC 111 " But though thou may'st not him there hang, Thou shalt, with halter, soundly bang His back and sides, and ancient breech, Until his distant home he reach." Thereat, what seem'd her sooty son Began John's torments new, for fun : Sly, he approach'd, in raven guise, And, into John's despairing eyes, A handful threw of dusky grain ! Then black tears flow'd, like sable rain ; And Johnny fled, but slowly flew, Him hemm'd so close the goblin crew. Still, as he strove his flight to urge, That wife-like spectre plied the scourge, And chang'd, with halter's sounding thwack, From white to black and blue, his back ; While laughter, and demoniac noises Made such pother in the night, That certain asses, wak'd in fright, Half-envious, wish'd to change their voices. Small leisure then had John to wonder At what seem'd Farmer Bacon's thunder; 112 MATRIMONIAL MAGIC. A voice it was that struck him dumb, — To any witch, worth any sum, To raise the devil with, in a storm. But lowly bow'd his bleeding form ; Fainting, he stoop'd, amid the throng, Yet 'scap'd not so the cruel thong. At length, from scalp to buttock sore, Eager, he reach'd his cottage door, Where entering, pale, — how stunn'd was he, Asleep by th' fire, old Nell to see ! Up she arose, and sad was she, And cause she had to grieve ! He scratch'd his head, he touch'd his belly, Nor. could, nor would believe, If he was John, that she was Nelly ! Until, at last, his pains to ease, She stripp'd him bare from head to knee, And rubb'd his back with candle-grease, And fondly pass'd her faithful thumb From scragg of neck to ridge of bum. BOTHWELL. ADVERTISEMENT. After the conspirators against David Rizio had seized the person of Mary Queen of Scots, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, became very instru-. mental in the recovery of her liberty. Her grati- tude was soon converted into love. She held at Jedburgh a court of justice, during the sitting of which Bothwell was wounded in a skirmish, and carried to Hermitage Castle. Mary flew thither with suspicious impatience ; and, on her return to Jedburgh, fatigue, and the anguish of her mind, threw her into a fever. During her illness, her hus- band, Darnley, never made his appearance at Jed- burgh. When she baptized her son at Stirling, he also repaired thither, but only to remain sullenly in 114 ADVERTISEMENT. his apartment. The Queen felt this insult deeply, and often wept. Immediately after the departure of the King from Stirling, and before his arrival at Glasgow, he was seized with a distemper, which was supposed to be the effect of poison. Mary jaunted all over the kingdom, and suffered a month to elapse before she visited him. He had then nearly reco- vered, and she became apparently reconciled to him ; but in two of her letters, written at the time to Bothwell, she expresses a boundless passion for the Earl, and equal contempt of the King. Darn- ley suffered himself to be persuaded to remove with her to a house near Edinburgh, called Kirk of Field, on the pretence that he would there be nearer the advice of physicians. Mary was seldom absent from him during the day, and slept several nights in a chamber under him. But on Sunday, February 9, 1567, about eleven at night, she left him, to be pre- sent at a mask in the palace. About two in the morning, the house in which the King slept was blown up with gunpowder. The shock alarmed the whole city. The dead body of the King was found in a garden near the house, untouched by fire, and without any mark of violence upon it. Bothwell and the Queen were universally suspected. Voices were heard at midnight, charging him with the mur* ADVERTISEMENT. 115 der. But he fearlessly invited the nobles to an en- tertainment, when, having surrounded the house with armed men, he informed them that he had ob- tained the consent of the Queen to his marriage with her, and demanded not their advice, but their approbation. Seaton warmly seconded him ; and, by promises, flattery, terror, and force, he prevailed upon all present to subscribe an infamous paper, Mary, on pretence of visiting her son, went from Edinburgh to Stirling, when Bothwell, meeting her on her return near Linlithgow, dispersed her slen- der train, and carried her a prisoner to his castle of Dunbar. And thus, if we may believe the letters ascribed to her, she became his willing and inten- tional captive. Bothwell then procured a divorce from his wife, the Lady Jane Gordon, sister to the Earl of Huntly, and married the Queen. Craig the minister, who was commanded to publish the banns, loudly expressed his disapprobation. The people maintained a sullen silence. Bothwell at« tempted to get the Prince out of the hands of the Earl of Mar, but unsuccessfully. The nobles flew to arms. He advanced to meet his advancing foes, They found him with the Queen, on the same ground which the English occupied before the bat- tle of Pinkie. Du Croc, the French ambassador^ 116 ADVERTISEMENT. attempted to negotiate ; but Morton and Glencairn sternly answered, that, not being in arms against the Queen, they came not to ask pardon, but to pu- nish the King's murderer. By this time, the Queen's army, although it was posted advantageously, and more numerous than the other, began to steal out of the field. Mary endeavoured to animate her troops ; she wept, threatened, and reproached them w r ith cowardice, but in vain. Bothwell then offered to decide the battle by single combat. Kirkaldy of Grange, Murray of Tullibardin, and Lord Lindsay, contended for the honour of fighting with him. But either the consciousness of guilt deprived Bothwell of his wonted courage, or the Queen forbade the combat. He took his last farewell of her, and rode off, with a few followers, one month after his mar- riage. The Queen was conducted to Edinburgh in triumph, the victors bearing a flag before her, on which were painted the dead body of Darnley, with the Prince kneeling beside it, and the words, u Judge, and revenge my cause, O God !" Both- well fitted out a few small ships, and became a pi- rate. But Murray and the brave Kirkaldy defeated his fleet, and compelled him to fly towards the coast of Norway, with a single ship. On that coast, he fell in with a vessel richly laden, which he attack* .ADVERTISEMENT. 117 ed ; but boats from the shore assisting the Norwe- gian ship, his own, after a desperate fight, was cap- tured. All his followers were executed; but he himself was thrown into prison, where he became insane, and died, after a captivity of ten years. The action of this poem commences a few hours before the death of Bothwell, which I suppose to be preceded by an awful, though imperfect, return of reason and memory, during which, with fervid and half-frantic irregularity, he relates his history to his fellow prisoner, with whom he had been confined ten years, without knowing him, and without being even conscious of his presence. INTRODUCTION. I. Splendour in heaven, and horror on the main ! Sunshine and storm at once, a troubled day. Clouds roll in brightness, and descend in rain. How the waves rush into the rocky bay, Shaking th' eternal barriers of the land ! And ocean's face is like a battle-plain, Where giant demons combat, hand to hand, While— as their voices sink, and swell again, — Peace, on the beauteous bow, sits listening, but in pain. II. Mighty to calcine on woe's cheek the tears, Or, lest he perish, bid the current flow, INTRODUCTION, 119 Where is the voice, whose stillness man's heart hears, Like dream'd-of music, wordless, soft, and low ? That voice the whirlwind in his rage reveres; It bids the blast a tranquil Sabbath keep ; Lonely as death, harmonious as the spheres, It whispers to the wildness of the deep ; And, calm as cradled babe, th' obedient billows sleep. III. Oh, careless of the tempest in his ire, Blush, ruby glow of western heaven ! oh, cast The hue of roses, steep'd in liquid fire, O'er ocean in his conflict with the blast, And quiver into darkness, and retire, And let wild day to calmest night subside; Let the tir'd sailor from his dread respire, The drench'd flag hang, unmoving, o'er the tide, And, pillow'd on still clouds, the weary whirlwind ride. IV. Then, Queen of silence, robe thee, and arise, And, through the barr'd loop of that dungeon old. 120 INTRODUCTION. Visit once more its inmates blasted eyes, Which shall again, though late, thy light behold. Soulless, not sightless, have his eye-balls rolPd Alike, in light and darkness desolate : The storm beat on his heart — he felt no cold ; Summer look'd on him, from heaven's fiery gate — He scowFd, but felt no heat, and knew not that he scowl'd. V. Unweeping, yet perturb'd ; his bed a stone ; Bonds on his body ; on his mind a spell ; Ten years in solitude, (yet not alone,) And conscious only to the inward hell, There hath it been his hideous lot to dwell. But pitying Night shall bid a dream depart, To chase from his dark soul the demon fell, And, whispering, find a listener in his heart ; And he shall weep again ! then, tearless, dreamless, dwell, Dark tenant, in the dust, unrung by passing-bell. BOTHWELL. Mark, how that lone and blighted bosom sears The scathing thought of execrated years ! Lord Byrok. I. Is it repose, or death? The drowsy trees Scarce stir a leaflet ; and, on ocean's breast, How softly, yet how solemnly, the breeze, With unperceived gradation, sinks to rest ! No voice* no sound is on the ear impress'd ; Twilight is weeping o'er the pensive rose ; The stoat slumbers coiled up in his nest ; The grossbeak on the owl's perch seeks repose ; And slowly o'er the heights the pale light grows. 122 BOTHWELL. Waked by the bat, upsprings the startled snake. The cloud's edge brightens, — lo, the moon! and grove, And tree, and shrubs bath'd in her beams, awake, With tresses cluster'd like the locks of love. Behold ! — the ocean's tremor ! — slowly move The cloud-like sails ; and, as their way they urge, Fancy might almost deem she saw above, The streamers' chasten'd hues : bright sleeps th Q surge, And dark the fort, on ocean's glittering verge. Now lovers meet, and labour's task is done. Now stillness hears the breathing heifer. Now Heaven's azure deepens ; and, where rock rills run, Rest on the shadowy mountain's airy brow Clouds that have ta'en their farewell of the sun ; While calmness, reigning o'er that wint'ry clime, Pauses and listens ; — hark ! — the evening gun ! Oh, hark! — the sound expires! and silence is sublime. II. Moonlight o'er ocean's stillness ! on the crest Of the poor maniac, moonlight ! he is calm ; BOTHWELL. 123 Calmer he soon will be in endless rest. Oh, be thy coolness to his brow as balm, And breathe, thou fresh breeze, on his burning breast ! For memory is returning to his brain ; The dreadful past, with worse than woe impress'd ; And torturing time's eternity of pain ; The curse of mind returns! oh, take it back again! III. Rhinvalt. " Alas, how flutteringly he draws his breath !" BOTHWELL. " My blessed Mary !" Rhinvalt. " Calmer he appears ; Sad, fatal symptom ! swift approaches death." Bothwell. " Mary ! a hand of fire my bosom sears.-— Oh, do not leave me ! — Heavenly Mary ! — years, 124 BOTHWELL. Ages of torture pass'd — and thou cam'st not ; I waited still, and watch'd, but not in tears ; I could not weep ; mine eyes are dry and hot, And long, long since, to shed a tear forgot. — A word ! tho' it condemn me ! — stay ! — she's gone I Gone ! and to come no more !'• Rhinvalt. " Ah! is it so? His pilgrimage is o'er, his task is done. How grimly still he lies ! Yet his eyes glow, As with strange meaning. — Troubled spirit, go !<— i How threat'ningly his teeth are clenchM ! how fast He clutches his grasp'd hair ! — hush !— breathless ? No. Life still is here, though withering hope be pass'd : Come, bridegroom of despair ! and be this sigh his last!" IV. BOTHWELL. « Where am 1 ? What art thou?" bothwell. 125 Rhinvalt. " Call me a friend, And this a prison/' Bothwell. " Voice of torture, cease! — Oh, it returns ! — terrific vision, end ! — When was it ? Yesterday ? — no matter, — peace ! I do remember, and too well, too well. ,, Rhinvalt. " How is it with thee I" Bothwell. " Why wilt thou offend ?— - Ha ! all ye fiends of earth, and ye of hell, I surely am awake ! Thine angel send, Thou, King of Terrors call'd, and break this hideous spell !" V, Rhinvalt. " A tear? and shed by thee J" 126 BOTHWELL. BOTHWELL. u I breath'd in flame ; The sleepless worm of wrath was busy here ; When — ah, it was a dream ! my lady came,, Lovely and wan in woe, with the big tear To cool my fever'd soul. In love and fear, O'er me she bent, as at the Hermitage, When (maim'd in conflict with mountaineer) She kiss'd my wounds, while Darnley swelFd with rage ; Tears only ! not a word ! she fled — and I am here. She fled ; and then, within a sable room, Methought, I saw the headsman and the axe ; And men stood round the block, with brows of gloom, Gazing, yet mute, as images of wax ; And, while the victim mov'd to meet her doom, All wept for Mary Stuart. Pale, she bent, As when we parted last ; yet towards the tomb Calmly she look'd, and smiling prayers up sent To pitying heaven. A deep and fearful boom BOTHWELL. 127 Of mutter'd accents rose, when to the ground The sever'd head fell, bleeding ! and, aghast, Horror on horror star'd. And then a sound Swell'd, hoarsely yelling, on the sudden blast. As of a female voice that mimick'd woe ; (l) But, as above that hall of death it pass'd, 'Twas changed into a laugh, wild, sullen, low, Like growl of fiends, who, from heaven's splendour cast, Quaff fire and wrath, where pain's red embers glow- Do I not know thee ! I'm forgetful grown : Where did I see thee first ?"— Rhinvalt. " Here, even here ; Thy ten years' comrade, still to thee unknown. In all that time thou did'st not shed a tear, Until this hour. Having, with groan on groan, Thou speak'st of more than horror ! and thy moan Was torture's music. O'er thy forehead hot Thine hands were clasp'd ; and still wast thou alon^ 128 BOTHWELL. Brooding o'er things that have been and are not, Though I was with thee, almost turn'd to stone, Here, where I pin'd for twenty years before Thy coming." Bothwell. " Thirty years a prisoner ! Here, did'st thou say t" Khinvalt. " Aye, thirty years, and more. — My wife ! — oh, never may I look on her ! My children !" Bothwell. " Did'st thou spill man's blood ? or why ?" Rhinvalt. u I spilt man's blood, in battle.-- Oh, no more, Liberty, shall I breathe thy air, on high Where the cloud travels, or along the shore When the wave frowns, like patriot sworn to die ! — BOTHWELL. 129 I met th* oppressors of my native land, (Wide wav'd their plumes o'er Norway's wilds afar,) I met them, breast to breast, and hand to hand, Overcome, not vanquish'd, in th' unequal war : And this is Freedom's grave." Bothwell. " Freedom ? Thou fool, Deserving chains ! Freedom ? a word, to scare The sceptred babe. Of thy own dream thou tool And champion, white in folly ! from me far Be rant like thine, of sound a senseless jar," Rhinvalt. " Say, who art thou that rav'st of murder'd kings, And dar'st, before her champion vow'd, profane The name of freedom ? long-forgotten things To my soul beckon, and my hand would fain (Stung by thy venom) grasp a sword again In battle with these tyrants ! — gone ? — alas ! 'Tis the death-rattle in the throat — his pain Draws to a close — again 1 — dark spirit pass !" v 2 130 BOTHWELL. BOTHWELL. " Lift, lift me up ! that on ray burning brain The pallid light may shine ! and let me see, Once more, the ocean — thanks ! — hail, placid deep ! — Oh, the cold light is comfort ! and to me The freshness of the breeze comes, like sweet sleep To him whose tears his painful pillow steep ! — When last I saw those billows, they were red. Mate of my dungeon ! know'st thou why I weep ? My chariot, and my war horse, and my bed, Ocean before me swells, in all his glory spread * VI. u Lovely ! still lovely, nature ! — and a line Of quivering beams, athwart the wavy space, Runs, like a beauteous road to realms divine, Ending, where sea and stooping heaven embrace. Crisp'd with glad smiles is ocean's aged face ; Gem'd are the fingers of his wrinkled hand ; Like glistering fishes, in the wanton race, The little waves leap, laughing, to the lana, BOTHWELL. 131 Light following light, an everlasting chase. — ■ Lovely, still lovely ! — Chaste moon, is thy beam Now laid on Jedburgh's mossy walls asleep, Where Mary pin'd for me ? or dost thou gleam O'er Stirling, where I first, in transport deep, Kiss'd her bless'd hand, when Darnley bade her weep ? Or o'er Linlithgow, and the billows blue, Where (captured on the forest- waving steep) She almost fear'd my love, so dear and true ? Or on that sad field, where she could but look ? Adieu ?" VII. Rhinvalt. " Weep on ! if thou, indeed, art he whose fame Hath pierc'd th' oblivion even of this tomb Where life is buried, and whose fearful name Amazement loves to speak, while o'er thy doom, Trembling, he weeps. Did she, whose charms make tame All other beauty, Scotland's matchless queen, 132 B0THWELL. Creation's wonder, on that wither'd frame, Enamour'd smile ? sweet tears there are, I ween ; Speak then of her, where tears are shed more oft than seen." VIII. BOTHWELL. " Perhaps, the artist might, with cunning hand, Mimic the morn on Mary's lip of love ; And fancy might before the canvas stand, And deem he saw the unreal bosom move. But who could paint her heavenly soul, which glows With more than kindness ? the soft thoughts that rove Over the moonlight of her heart's repose ? The wish to hood the falcon, spare the dove, Destroy the thorn, and multiply the rose? Oh, had'st thou words of fire, thou could'st not paint My Mary, in her majesty of mind, Expressing half the queen, and half the saint ! Her fancy, wild as pinions of the wind, BOTHWELL. 133 Or sky-ascending eagle,, that looks down, Calm, on the homeless cloud he leaves behind ; Yet beautiful, as freshest flower, full-blown, That bends, beneath the midnight dews reclin'd ; Or yon resplendent path, o'er ocean's slumber thrown !'' IX. " 'Twas such a night — oh, ne'er, bless'd thought, depart !-- When Mary utter'd first, in words of flame, The love, the guilt, the madness of her heart, While on my bosom burn'd her cheek ©f shame. Thy blood is ice, and, therefore, thou wilt blame The queen, the woman, the adulterous wife, The hapless and the fair ! — oh, but her name Needs not thy mangling ! her disastrous life Needs not thy curse ! spare, slanderer, spare her fame ! — Then wore the heavens, as now, the clouded veil ; Yet mark'd I well her tears, and that wan smile So tender, so confiding, whose sweet tale, 134 BOTHWELL. By memory told, can, even now, beguile My spirit of its gloom ! for then the pale Sultana of the night her form display'd, Pavilion'd in the pearly clouds afar, Like brightness sleeping, or a naked maid In virgin charms unrivalFd ; while each star, Astonish'd at her beauty, seem'd to fade, Each planet, envy-stung, to turn aside, Veiling their blushes with their golden hair. — (2) Oh ! moment, rich in transport ; love and pride, Big, too, with woe, with terror, with despair ! While, wrestling thus, I strive to choak my groaii, And, what I cannot shun, may learn to bear ; That moment is immortal, and my own ! Fate from my grasp that moment cannot tear ! That moment for an age of torture might atone !" X. ic Poor Rizio of the flute, whom few bewail, Worth Mary's tears, was well worth Darnley's hate. Jealous again ? Why, who could e'er preva ;i , Monarch or slave, in conflict with his fate ? BOTHWELL. 135 Behold the King of -, Hear it not, chaste night ! — King ! keep no monkey that has got a tail ! In nought, but things emasculate, delight ! Let no fly touch her — lest it be a male ! And, like the devil, infest a paradise in spite f * XL " Pride, without honour ? body, without soul ! The heartless breast a brainless head implies i If men a re mad, when passion scorns control, And self-respect, with shame and virtue, flies, Darnley hath long been mad. — Thou coxcomb rude! Thou reptile, shone on by an angel's eyes ! Intemperate brute, with meanest thoughts imbued! Dunghill! would'st thou the sun monopolize? Would'st thou have Mary's love ? for what ? In- gratitude/' XII. " The quivering flesh, though torture- torn, may live; But souls, once deeply wounded, heal no more : 136 BOTHWELL. And deera'st thou that scorn' d woman can forgive ? Darnley, thou dream'st, but not as heretofore ! Mary's feign'd smile, assasin-like, would gore ; There is a snake beneath her sorrowing eye ; The crocodile can weep : with bosom frore, O'er thy sick bed, she heaves a traitorous sigh : Ah ! do not hope to live J . she knows that thou shalt die." XIII. " Yet Mary wept for Darnley, while she kiss'd His murderer's cheek at midnight. Sad was she ; And he, who then had seen her, would have miss'd The rose, that was not where it wont to be, Or marvell'd at its paleness. None might see The heart, but on the features there was woe. Then put she on a mask, and gloomily, For dance and ball prepar'd, arose to go : ' Spare, spare my Darnley's life!' she said, but mean'd she so l" BOTHWELL. 137 XIV. a Now bends the murderer. — Mark his forehead fell! What says the dark deliberation there ?• — Now bends the murderer. — Hark ! — it is a knell I — Hark ! — sound or motion ? 'Twas his cringing hair. Now bends the murderer. — Wherefore doth he start? 'Tis silence, silence that is terrible! When he hath business, silence should depart, And maniac darkness, borrowing sounds from hell* Suffer him not to hear his throbbing heart ! — Now bends the murderer o'er the dozing king, Who lies, like o'ergorg'd serpent, motionless, Drunken with wine, a seeming-senseless thing. Yet his eyes roll with dreadful consciousness, Thickens his throat in impotent distress, And his voice strives for utterance, while that wretch Doth, on his royal victim's bosom, press His foot, preparing round the neck to stretch The horrible cord. Lo, dark as th 5 alpine vetch, Stares his wide-open, blood-shot, bursting eye, And on the murderer flashes vengeful fire ; While the black visage, in dire agony, Swells, like a bloated toad that dies in ire^ 138 BOTHWELL. And quivers into fixedness ! On high Raising the corse, forth into th* moonlight air The staggering murderer bears it silently. Lays it on earth, sees the fix'd eye-ball glare, And turns, affrighted, from the lifeless stare. Ho ! fire the mine ! and let the house be rent To atoms ; that dark guile may say to fear, 6 Ah, dire mischance ! mysterious accident ! Ah, would it were explain'd ! ah, would it were !' Up, up the rushing, red volcano went, And wide o'er earth, and heaven, and ocean flash'd, Like torrent of earth-lightnings skyward sent ; O'er heaven, earth, sea, the dread explosion crash'd; Then, clattering far, the downward fragments dash'd. Roar'd the rude sailor o'er th' illumin'd sea, 6 Hell is in Scotland !' shudder'd Roslin's hall ; Low'd the scar'd heifer on the distant lea ; Trembled the city ; shriek'd the festival ; Paus'd the pale dance from his delighted task ; Quak'd every masker of the splendid ball ; Rais'd hands unanswer'd questions seemM to ask ; BOTHWELL. 139 And there was one who lean'd against the wall, Close pressing to her face, with hand convuls'd, her mask." XV. " And night was after that, but blessed night Was never more ! for thrilling voices cried To th' dreaming sleep, on th' watcher's pale affright^ 6 Who murder'd Darnley ? who the match applied ? Did Hepburn murder Darnley ?'— * c Fool!' replied, Accents responsive, fang'd with scorpion sting, In whispers faint, while all was mute beside, i 'Twas the queen's husband that did kill the king.' And o'er the murderer's soul swept horror's freezing wing." XVI. Rhinvalt. a Terrific ! but untrue ? Have such things been ? Thy looks say, aye ! and dire are they to me. Unhappy king ! and more unhappy queen ! But who the murderer }" 140 BOTHWELL. BOTHWELL. " What is that to thee ? Think'st thou I kill'd him ? Come but near my chain, Thou base suspecter of scath'd misery ! And I will dash the links into thy brain, And lay thee (champion of the cant be free !) There, for thine insolence ! never to rise again." XVII. Rhinvalt. " Alas, how far'st thee now ? Darkness hath chas'd The dreadful paleness from thy face ; thine eye, Upturn'd, displays its white ; thy cheek is laced With quivering, tortuous folds ; thy lip, awry, Snarls, as thou tear'st the straw ; the speechless storm Frowns on thy brow, where drops of agony Stand, thick and bead-like ; and, while all thy form Is crumpled with convulsion, threat'ningly Thou breathest, smiting th* air, and writhing like a worm. ,, BOTHWELL, 141 XVIII. BOTHWELL. '* Treason ! in arms ?— Sirs, ye are envious all. To Mary's marriage did ye not consent ? Do you deny your signatures ? this scrawl Of your vile names ? True, I do not repent That I divorc'd my wife, to wed the queen ; True, I hate Mar ; true, I scorn Huntly's bawl ; True, I am higher now than I have been,— And will remain so, though your heads should fall. Craig, of the nasal twang, that pray'st so well ! Glencairn, of th' icy eye, and tawny hide ! If I am prouder than the prince of hell, Are ye all meanness that ye have no pride ? My merit is my crime. I love my sword, And that high sin for which the angels fell ; But still agrees my action with my word ; That your's does not so, let rebellion tell. — Submit ! or perish here ! or elsewhere — by the cord." XIX. " My comrades, whose brave deeds my heart attests, Be jocund! — But, ah, see their trembling knees! 142 BOTHT.VELL. Their eyes are vanquish'd — not by th' tossing crests, — But by yon rag, the pestilence of the breeze, (3) Painted with villanous horror ! In their breast, Ardour and manliness make now with fear A shameful treaty, casting all behests That honour loves, into th' inglorious rear. By heaven, their cowardice hath sold us here f l — " Ha ! dastards terror-quell'd, as by a charm, What ! steal ye from the field ?" — " My sword for thee, Mary ! and courage for his cau se ! this arm Shall now decide the contest!'* — Can it be? Did Lindsay claim the fight ? and still lives he I He lives, and I to say it. Hell's black night Lowr'd o'er my soul, and Darnley scowl'd on me, And Mary would not let her coward fight, But bade him barter all for infamy; Dishonour'd yet unburied ! Morton's face Wrinkled with insult ; while, with cover'd brow, Bravest Kirkaldy mourn d a foe's disgrace ; And Murray's mean consent was mutter'd low. BOTHWELL. 143 Pale, speechless, Mary wept, almost asham'd Of him she mourn'd. Flash'd o'er my cheek the glow Of rage against myself; and undefam'd, Worse than my reputation, and not slow, I left my soul behind, and fled in wordless woe." ' XX. " Then ocean was my home, and I became Outcast of human kind, making my prey The pallid merchant ; and my wither'd name Was leagued with spoil, and havock, and dismay e Fear'd, as the lightning-fiend, on steed of flame. The Arab of the sky. And from that day Mary I saw no more. Sleepless desire Wept ; but she came not, even in dreams, to say, With sorrowing looks of love, (until this night,) " Expire !" XXI. Rhinvalt. " A troubled dream thy changeful life hath been Of storm and splendour. Girt with awe and powe:, 144 BOTHWELL. A thane illustrious ; married to a queen ; Obey'd, lov'd, flatter'd ; blasted in an hour ; A homeless homicide ; a fugitive O'er earth, to thee a waste without a flower ; A pirate on the ocean, doom'd to live Like the dark osprey ! Could Fate sink thee lower ? Defeated, captured, dungeon'd, in this tower A raving maniac !" Bothwell. " Ah, what next ? the gloom Of rayless fire, eternal, o'er the foam Of torment, uttering curses, and the boom That wails through horror's everlasting home ? Woe, without hope ? immortal wakefulness ? The brow of tossing agony ? the gloam Of flitting fiends, who, with taunts pitiless, Talk of lost honour, rancorous, as they roam Thro' night, whose vales no dawn shall ever bless ? — Accursed who outlives his fame ! — thou scene Of my last conflict, where the captive's chain Made me acquainted with despair ! serene BOTHWELL. 145 Ocean, thou mock'st my bitterness of pain, For thou, too, saw'st me vanquished, yet not slain ! Oh, that my heart's blood had distaind the wave, That I had plunged, never to rise again, And sought, in thy profoundest depths, a grave, Where calmness cannot hear, or storm, or battle, rave!" XXII. " White billow, know'st thou Scotland ? did thy wet Foot ever spurn the shell on her lov'd strand ? There hast thou stoop'd the sea-weed grey to fret ? Or glaze the pebble with thy crystal hand ? I am of Scotland. Dear to me the sand That sparkles where my infant days were nurs'd ! Dear is the vilest weed of that wild land Where I hapye been so happy, so accursed ! Oh, tell me, hast thou seen my lady stand Upon the moonlight shore, with troubled eye, Looking towards Norway ? did'st thou gaze on her ? And did she speak of one far thence, and sigh ? Oh, that I were, with thee, a passenger G 146 BOTHWELL. To Scotland, the bless'd Thule, with a sky Changeful like woman ! would, ah, would I were ! But vainly hence my frantic wishes fly Who reigns at Holyrood ? Is Mary there ? And does she sometimes shed, for him once lov'd, a tear ?" XXIII. " Farewell, my heart's divinity ! To kiss Thy sad lip into smiles of tenderness ; To worship at that stainless shrine of bliss; To meet th' Elysium of thy warm caress ; To be the prisoner of thy tears ; to bless Thy dark eye's weeping passion ; and to hear The word, the sigh, soul-ton'd, or accentless, Murmur for one so vile, and yet so dear ; Alas, 'tis mine no more I — Thou hast undone me, Fear I" XXIV, u Champion of Freedom ! — pray thee, pardon me My laughter, if I now can laugh ! in hell BOTHWELL. 147 They laugh not. He who thus addresses thee Is Hepburn Earl of BothwelL — Hark ! my knell ! The death-owl shrieks it — Ere I cease to fetch These pantings for the shroud, tell me, oh, tell ! Belie v'st thou God ? — Blow on a dying wretch, Blow, wind that com'st from Scotland ! — Fare thee well ! The owl shrieks— I shall have no other passing-bell." XXV. As from the chill, bright ice the sunbeam flies, So (but reluctant) life's last light retires From the cold mirror of his closing eyes : He bids the surge, adieu !— falls back — expires. Rhinvalt. " No passing-bell ? yea, I that bell will be ; Pale night shall hear the requiem of my sighs ; My woe-worn heart hath still some tears for thee ; Nor will thy shade the tribute sad despise. Lost brother, fare thee well ! — here scath'd ambi- tion lies I" 148 BOTHWELL. XXVI. Thus, o'er the dead the dungeoned mourner spake, Freedom, thy Champion, with the locks of snow ! Nor other accent from his bosom brake ; But, motionless, he look'd, in silent woe, On him who, at his feet, so darkly slept. Soon,, like heaven's voice, by sorrow heard below, A solemn calm upon his spirit crept ; Back from the corse he drew, with footstep slow, In awe, almost in dread ! and, distant gazing, wept. NOTES TO BOTHWELL. (l) As of a female voice that mimick'd woe. An allusion to the hypocrisy of Mary's deadliest foe., Queen Elizabeth. (2) While each star, Astonish 9 d at her beauty, seemd to fade— A friend of mine has objected to this passage as unna- tural and inflated ; but I think he did not make sufficient allowance for the excited state of the speaker's mind. (3) Their eyes are vanquish' d— not by the tossing crests,— But by yon ray, the pestilence of the breeze — After the flight of Both well, Mary was conducted to Edinburgh, by her rebellious subjects, who bore before her a flag, on which was painted the dead body of Darnley, with the prince kneeling beside it, and the words, " Revenge our cause, O Lord !" This flag, it is supposed, had been not a little useful in disposing the followers of Bothwell to flight. " Of all our senses, the eyes are the first vanquished in battle."— Gibbon. SECOND NUPTIALS. ADVERTISEMENT* In this book it is related, how William Bray deserted his wife; how Mathew Hall won her heart, by talk- ing of her husband until she wept ; how she swam a drake with her tears, and married Mathew; how William Bray returned to his wife, after an absence of ten years ; how she took him for the Devil, and did her best to scratch his eyes out ! and how the man had his mare again 5 and all was well. INTRODUCTION. I. Oh ! thou, who tak'st thy smiling seat Close by the fire, where rustics meet, When toil is done, to feed on ale, And join the laugh, or tell the tale, While haste the hours, by pleasure speeded, And darkness frowns without, unheeded ! When, next, oh ! night, the genial powers, Satiate with drink, not crown'd with flowers, Assemble at a tinker's wedding ; May I be there, to see the bedding ! And when thou wakest at country fair, To mark the feats of baited bear ; Or pugilistic battle's rage ; Or showman's feats, on lofty stage, Around which, like th* Athenians old, Crowd Albion's toil-strung peasants bold, INTRODUCTION. 153 To hear, or stare at, something new ; Lady of Laughter ! wake me, too, II. Oh ! thou, who, in th* eccentric maze Of motion, wedded to sweet sound, Lov'st powerful beauty's roseate blaze, The march of music, and the bound Of youthful health, an angel tall, Th' enchantress of the splendid hall ! When, next, oh ! nymph, the Graces meet, To frolic on harmonious feet, And, through the heaven of smiles, serene, The stately dance moves, like a queen ; Then, to that loveliest scene of night, Where Emma beams in looks of light, With eye of life, and step of air, Lady of Grace ! with me repair. III. Art thou not she, assigned to lead The lover o'er the moonlight mead, With her, his life of life decreed, g2 154 INTRODUCTION. When all around, on plain and hill, Save the far-moaning waterfall, Save their own beating hearts, is still ; While every leaf with dew is gemm'd, And passion is their heaven, their all, And wealth and worlds roll by, contemn' d ? Then, when, unseen, they fly to thee ; When nought, but conscious night, is near ; What see'st thou then ? what none may see : What hear'st thou then ? what none may hear. Saint of the heart ! to thee, to thee Shall bow the might of poesy. Oh ! Lady of the starry stole, Rich in the secrets of the soul ! To thee shall rise th' impassion'd song, Devoutly sweet, divinely strong ; And ne'er shall bard inspired refuse To crown thee mistress of the muse, To wear thy bonds, to scorn the free, Lady of Love! and kneel to thee. SECOND NUPTIALS. And, sudden, rush'd into the hall A man, whose aspect and attire Startled the circle by the fire. Scott. I. Long since, to th' wood return'd the crow ; Don, bounding o'er his bank, is loud ; And thick above the melting snow, Night's blackness hides the pouring cloud. No azure islands heaven, no star O'er Thrybergh's grey oaks peeps afar, Piercing the deluge of the sky, Through which the blast wades drearily. But on the hill, a blaze with light, Deserted Mary's cottage gleams, 156 SECOND NUPTIALS. And there the elms, distinct and bright, Wave fast their bare arms in the beams. Is this the widow's wedding night ? 'lis now ten years since William went, The slave of jealous discontent, To fight the Yankees, in despite, Rather than stay at home and fight ; And now six months are passed, or more, Since Mathew Hall arriv'd, and told That William's limbs lie stiff and cold, On wintry Champlain's forest shore. And does the widow wed again ? Oh ! widowhood is weary pain, Of ills the worst that can befall ! And, loving him, as he loves her, Say, does she wed the messenger Of late good tidings, Mathew Hall ? II. The scar'd fox in the coppice hoar, Hears the dance shake the oaken floor ; SECOND NUPTIALS. 157 Joy revels on the green hill's side ; And Mary is again a bride. As wave on Canklow's forehead fair Th' autumnal maple's locks of gold, In many a curl, her flaxen hair, Above the flowing tear, is roll'd. Sad ? and a bride ! A mourning bride, She sits her new-espous'd beside, And her tears bathe his hand the while ! What may such ill-tim'd tears betide ? Or, is she far too bless'd to smile ? lit The fiddle's shriek was superseded : The tale, the joke, the laugh succeeded, And scandal stoop'd at folly's ear. Soft-touching, with his finger's end, Her, who, erewhile, was Mary Bray, Said Mathew then unto his dear : " How strange that my expected friend Came not to give the bride away ! What stays his coming? cans't thou say V 9 l£$ SECOND NUPTIALS. IV. " The flood/' she answer'd, " is abroad, And peril haunts the buried road. The ferryman hath left his boat, Which hath not, this day, earn'd a groat, And now in Mexbro, with his wench, Tipsy, he sits on the alehouse bench." V. " Yet," then said he, with look of fear, " I would, I would, my friend were here ! For much indeed — now mark thou me ! — Imports his coming, love, to thee : He is a man of mystery ! And come he will, or soon, or late, To question thee with words of fate. Tell him no lies, my loving mate ! For, on thy answers truth depend The weal of husband, wife, and friend/' VI. " Thou shalt be well obey'd," replied, While faster stream'd her tears, the bride. SECOND NUPTIALS. 159 Then thus, once more, spake Mathew Hall ! le A wedding ? or a funeral ? Weeping ! and on thy wedding day ? Weeping ! and still for William Bray ? By heaven thou hast shed tears for him Enough old Martha's drake to swim ! Of this no more, no more, I pray ! — Ho ! where is now the blasant Muse i Is she to scare the pigs afraid ? A song i a song ! nor man, nor maid, Who hopes to wed, to sing refuse. But pensive Harry shall sing first, The cross'd in love, the sorrow-nurs'd. Harry, thou ne'er did'st rightly pray Till sulky Sarah jilted thee. Religion, ancient sages say, Religion, from the realms above, Came down, to soothe the mourner, love ; And passion then was piety. Indulge me, Harry, in my whim — (Solemn th' occasion !) sing a hymn ; 160 SECOND NUPTIALS. A hymn, a psalm, a — any thing ; Ev'n call it what thou wilt — but sing T VII. Pensive and pale, arose the youth, The child of feeling and of truth, And modestly, and yet with pride, His ancient fiddle laid aside, Which not its weight in gold could buy. True, it was clumsy to the eye ; True, its dark side some cracks display'd ; Yet was there more than music in't ; For why ? 'twas by his grand-sire made, The Genius, fam'd so far and wide, Th' inventor of the butter-print ! The worm of death was in his breast. Sarah, the faithless, met his eye, Which grief and mute reproach express'd ; Then, gazing, self-condemn'd, on earth, She heav'd, or seem'd to heave, a sigh ; But, lo, she saw the hairy hide Of big-boned Jacob at her side, SECOND NUPTIALS, l6l Her amorous mate ! and, in its birth, The infant, frail repentance, died. At first, the Minstrel's voice was low, As whisper'd prayer of fear, or woe ; But soon, distinct, and deep^ and clear, The soul-felt accents met the ear, Full of that fervour of the heart Which bids all earthly toys depart, Taught by calamity to scorn All that of human pride is born, VIIL THE LOVER'S SONG. " Scarcely from Mary's cheek, where bliss In tears and blushes lay, Had William kiss'd, with transport's kiss, Love's blissful tear away, When, o'er her murdered sister's bier, He saw her shed a wilder tear. " Fast, fast, into the new-made grave., Fast fell the melting snow ; 162 SECOND NUPTIALS. But scarce had Winter ceas'd to rave O'er her who slept below, When Mary mourn'd her William fled ! And then she mourn'd her William dead! " Ah, life is but a tearful stream, On which floats joy, the flower ! Deeply we plunge, and rise, and scream, And strive, with all our power, To grasp the bright weed gliding nigh, And snatch, and miss, and sink, and die. " The young bride wept ; the sister wept Where Ann serenely sleeps ; The widow wept, when William slept ; The wedded widow weeps ! Ah, earth's frail love is w r oe, is woe ! Did not thy sister find it so ? ci And not to soothe wild passion came Religion from above : SECOND NUPTIALS. 163 Speak not, in scorn, her holy name ; Religion's self is love- Love, with no poison in her kiss ; And, if she weeps, her tear is bliss. u Be still my heart ! soon shalt thou be- Beneath thy mother's mould ; There is a bed of rest for thee, Where Ann reposes cold : The turf sleeps sweetly on her breast ; And thou (but not like it) shalt rest." IX. Ended his ditty sadly sweet ; Resum'd his fiddle and his seat ; Applauded by the noiseless tear, Although no plaudit met his ear ; Sigh'd he, the meekest child of woe. His cheek, late pallid as the snow, Now burn'd with feeling's hectic glow, (Consumption's banner there display 'd,) Beautiful, as a dying maid ; 164* SECOND NUPTIALS. Or, blushing merit in distress ; Or, like the rose, the splendour less. Oh, not the white one, but the pale, That droops, the mourner of the vale, Carnation' d faintly, in the gale ! X. u My drooping Mary !" Mathevv said, " I like this lay of Harry's well ; Though not by practis'd poet made, (He's not, like Charles, there, one of th/ trade,) *Tis sad, and true. But can'st thou tell What of the murderer, John, became ? Well may'st thou tremble at his name. Mary, I slew the accursed man, The wretch, who killed thy sister Ann. We met — 'twas in the ranks of death. — With set teeth, and suspended breath : On me the conscious traitor scowl'd ; On him my startled eye was rowl'd ; He rush'd to slay, but paus'd aghast ; Through him my cranshing bayonet pass'd ; SECOND NUPTIALS. 165 He shriek'd, and fell ! with dreadful stare He lay, and look'd a hopeless prayer. I, shuddering, turn'd — I eould not bear To look upon the horror there." XI. Then, deeply skilPd in Ford and Quarles, Up rose the village Homer, Charles, A wight uncouth, unshav'd, unclean, In stature tall, of visage mean, To sing, or say, and sans persuasion. His poem, written for th' occasion. Contempt rode in his half shut eye, And, on his curPd lip, yanity ; While, from the depth of lungs up drawn, Preluding to his song, a yawn, From mouth to mouth, with solemn boom, Went in procession round the room. XII. THE POET'S SONG. " Methought, I wander'd long and far, and slept On purple heath flowers, while the black stream crept 166 SECOND NUPTIALS. Moaning, beside me, o'er its bed of stone : But soon before my troubled spirit pass'd A dream of unclimb'd hills, and forests vast, And sea-like lakes, and shadowy rivers lone. " And there, a man, whose youth seem'd palsied eld, Mov'd, slow and faint, by wildering thought impell'd ; Yet beam'd the sorrow of his gentle eye, With a sweet calmness, on the mountain s hoar, And the magnificent Flora, and the shore Of shipless waves, that swelfd to meet the sky." " And, oh," he said, " falsehood, that truth-like seem'd ! I lov'd, and thought I was belov'd — I dream'd, — Who hath had joys, and who hath woes, like mine? The worm that gnaws the soul, hath found me out. Can th' lightning blast like thee, thou withering doubt ? Suspicion ! hath the wolf a fang like thine i" " Farewell for ever ! — and. oh, thank'd be thou, Realm of the roaring surge, that part'st us now ! SECOND NUPTIALS. 167 Andhail, ye pathless swamps, ye unsaiFd floods! — Thou owest nought, thou glistening snake, to me ; Hiss ! if thou wilt ! I ask not love of thee. And then he plung'd into the night of woods." XIIL " A Milton P loudly Mathew cried; " A Milton I" ten harsh throats replied ; And Charles look'd round, with scornful air, Prouder than Punch at country fair : While Jacob, by th' applauding iaugh Rous'd from his wonted stupor, gaz'd On poet, groom, and all, amaz'd. But bride's maid Nancy's well-timed tear, More eloquent than words by half, Paid to his powers, so loudly prais'd, Applause, the sweetest and most dear. The song had pathos ! and she slept Till it was ended ; then she wept — It was a way she had, a whim. Unseen, he thought, for sly was he (Yet not, perchance, more sly than she) 168 SECOND NUPTIALS. He watch'd, and saw her — prying thing 1— Pass the rich bride-cake through the ring ; Doubtless, in hope to dream of him ! XIV. Then Mathew to his umber'd cheek, Acquainted long with sun and wind, Press'd drooping Mary's forehead meek ; And, " Bride !" he said, a now, now a treat \ ( Nay, drive the mourner from thy mind !) After the Epic, somewhat long, Of our judicious man of song, (Thy William's friend, also a prophet That weeping love would soon tire of it,) Give us a ballad short and sweet, And, if more gay than sad, no worse ; Sadness — like dulness — is a curse." XV. He ended, sneering at the poet, Who, although stung, seem'd not to know it : She rose not from her Mathew's side, But met his warm kiss, and complied. SECOND NUPTIALS, 169 XVI. THE BRIDE'S SONG. Tune, " Ye banks and braes o' bonny Doon" (i The frost was crisping o'er the Don ; Along his banks stray'd Ann with John ; The moon look'd through the rustling firs ; Her lover's hand was clasp'd in her's. Oft look'd he backward, as he talk'd ; Towards Sprosbro's hazels slow they walk'd ; And, o'er the valley, lone, and low, Frown'd, dark, the age of Conisbro. ei To-morrow, thou wilt wed me," said The ill-starr'd maiden, half afraid: " And, when the rose and woodbine here Shall blush through morning's dewy tear, The unborn babe, begot in sin, That, hapless, leaps my womb within, Shall smile on thee, and on thy bride, And I will smile on him, with pride." H 170 SECOND NUPTIALS, " But she, too well, alas, he knew, Nor rose, nor woodbine more, should view ! And, as she bent his hand to kiss, He aim'd a blow, and did not miss, But plung'd his knife into her side, And whelm'd her, shrieking, in the tide : Then, as with lightning wing'd, fled he, To join the Yankees o'er the sea. cc Thine eye is clos'd, Ann ! not in sleep, — - Thou never more shalt wake to weep : Cold is thy brow, and cold thy bed ; The morning from thy cheek is fled ; Thy blood is ice, thy pains are o'er, And even thy dark wound bleeds no more : Tears cannot heal thy wounded name, But death hath quenched thy burning shame. " They said the babe leaped in thy womb ! That unborn baby shares thy tomb ; — Where the torn heart is low at rest ; The rose is with'ring on thy breast, SECOND NUPTIALS. 171 And, emblem of thy sex and woe, The lily in thine hand of snow. Short was thy path, and strewed with pain — But, sister, we shall meet again !'■ XVII. She ceas'd, but not the flowing tear ; Nor was she then sole weeper there. What Mathew felt he would not own. But cough'd, to keep the woman down ; Nor did he vainly cough, or long ; Rather than weep, he sung a song. XVIII. THE BRIDEGROOM'S SONG. a A widow, who, dwelling on ocean's wild shore, Had mourn'd her dead husband six months, perhaps, more, Saw a gallant approaching, with comical air : He touched her soft hand, while he swore she was fair; 172 SECOND NUPTIALS. He talk'd of her husband — she could not but cry ; Then he took up her apron, to wipe her sad eye, But, wondering to see it so suddenly dry, Said, u Come, kiss me !" and — What could she do, but comply V XIX. He ceas'd, and from the room withdrew, While Mary blush'd shame's deepest hue, And, like a daisy bent with dew, Look'd, in confusion, on the ground. Fast then the brimful horn went round. Who miss'd the bridegroom, save the bride ? An hour had pass'd ; he came not back : She writh'd, like victim stretch'd on rack, And twitch'd, as if on wasps she sate, Her wriggling bum from side to side. And now the ale in Jacob's pate Confused his brain with eddying swirl : Snake-like, began he to uncurl. " The bridegroom, " snigger'd he, u is gone, And shall the bride sit there alone ?" SECOND NUPTIALS. 173 He rose, and placed her on his knee ; While, in the hell of jealousy, That almost turn'd her blood to tinder, Grim Sarah smok'd, like steak on cinder, And froth'd, and fired, with ire and heat. But Mary, who disliked her seat, Dealt on his mouth and ruby nose, With Amazonian fist, her blows, And laid him, bleeding, at her feet. Oh, holy wedded love ! divine Discord in unison ! 'tis thine Our hope, our stay, our shield to prove, When ills assail ! and, wedded love, When tender Sarah saw his blood, She felt thy power, as good wife should. Hideous, she rush'd to claw the victor ; But Mary stepped aside, and kick'd her ; And Sarah prone on Jacob fell, Who wish'd her (so th' unmarried tell, And so he fondly said) in hell, — Meaning that pillow peaceable, 1 74 SECOND. NUPTIALS. Where, calm at last, the married sleep, Of whom, and second nuptials, too, The widow'd think the lone night through., And, finding joy in sorrow, weep, XX. Then Mary to the window drew, And, hid behind the curtain blue, Look'd out into the dismal night. Gone was the universal white ; Wild heaven with skurrying clouds was spread ; And through the darkness rush'd the light Oft, as the wan moon, overhead, Like murder chas'd by conscience, fled ; And lovely was th' illumin'd cloud, As, on the tip of virgin dead, The smile that mocks her stainless shroud. And, as a maniac bends aghast, Smiting his clench'd hands high and fast, Did many a huge tree, in the blast Wave, crashing loud, his branches vast, Between her and the light. SECOND NUPTIALS. 175 Afar, she saw the river deep, And Mexbro, by his side^ asleep ; And all the snow was in the stream, Roaring beneath the fitful beam ; But the wild rain had ceas'd to pour. Then o'er her heart chill terror crept, And fancy, sad enthusiast, wept, And heard the distant waters roar. " Did Mathew, on that gloomy shore, Where the voic'd billows wail of woe, As, dread, in frantic whirls, they flow, Seek him, the man of mystery ? But little good bodes he to me. Ah ! — ne'er be that thought reahYd ! — Wedded in vain, and vainly priz'd, Deep in the wave lies Mathew, drown'd ?" She looked, but vainly look'd around : Yet some one mov'd, or seem'd to move, She thought, between the house and grove : On tiptoe stood the anxious dame ! But o'er the moon, like envy, came Darkness— and all was dread and woe. 176 SECOND NUPTIALS. Thus, Empress of Britannian bowers, The hawthorn shakes her lovely flowers Beneath th' half-shaded beam of noon, Which, glimmering on the pale wave, soon Vanishes with the dying breeze, And the cloud deepens o'er the trees, While green-isled Morley, dark and still, Listens beneath the glooming hill. But, while she stood entranc'd in woe, The door flew open wide ; and, lo, A stranger enter'd ! " Mathew ? No f ' With clench'd hands, and retracted form, Like sapling bent beneath the storm, Or statue of Despair, she stood. " Where is thy husband, Mathew Hall l» Exclaim'd, in seeming sullen mood, That age-bent stranger, broad and tall, With spade-like beard of reddish grey. The bride, who scarce knew what to say, Stood mute awhile, then, half afraid, " Art thou my husband's friend ?*' she said. SECOND NUPTIALS. 177 " I am," quoth he, with alter'd tone, " His best, his worst, his only one." Forthwith, unask'd, he took his seat ; While Jacob, once more on his feet, Warbled a stave, with gruntle sweet, Such as was used in times pass'd long, Ere notes and tunes were known in song. XXL Jacob's song. " Said young Nell to her husband old, While on stout Jem she smil'd ; " Thy back and belly both are cold, And time hath thee beguil'd ; And Joe, when back won't warm the bed, Nor belly warm the broth, Is't not high time that grace were said ? Alack, alack for both !" XXII. Then to the stranger Jacob brought The punch he lov d ; and, at a draught, h2 178 SECOND NUPTIALS. The stranger drain'd the vase of bliss. te What emptyness in this world is ! r Sigh'd Jacob, as with drowthy scowl, Angry, he ey'd the empty bowl. " My thirsty friend ! thou canst, I see, Make with thine old acquaintance free. I hope thou wilt, to bless our ears, And melt our eyes in music's tears, Honour the wedding with a song, Sad as thy phiz, but not so long." The reverend man his wrath controlFd, And answer'd calmly: " Though Fm old, I still have music in my soul." And wonder soon, on every face, Hearken'd his deep and mellow bass. XXIII. THE STRANGER^ SONG. " Star! — brightest thou of all that beam O'er nightly hill, on wood and stream ! — Fair is thy light o'er wilds afar, And lovely is thy silence, star ! SECOND NUPTIALS. 179 How calm thou art ! while cloud and forest rave, And tempests wildly wing the whirling wave. ic What hand unseen hath rent thy shroud? Black rolls aloft the broken cloud : Lo ! Care walks here, with troubled eye, To chase thee through the hurried sky ! Why ? what art thou ? A world of woe, like this, A world of weeping toil, and fleeting bliss, u Where wretches curse their hour of birth. And whence they eye the distant earth, (A star to them, as thou to me,) And, — frantic in their misery, — Wish they could mount, at once, the reinless wind, And leave, at once, their woes and thee behind ! " Would I were as the dust I tread ! Welcome, thou cold and wormy bed ! That me no more might vice enthrall, Nor folly tempt to climb and fall, 180 SECOND NUPTIALS. Nor passion wild her unresisting slave Fling, careless, o'er the rock, and wilder'd wave, " Then, mother earth ! to this sad heart Th' envenom'd fang no more would dart ! And still, with many a cherish'd tear, A form of grace might visit here, And oft bend o'er my dust, and lettered stone, Like storm-dwarfd yew tree, mournful and alone. <^I o ' **^r— «ricj§£<££^ c4 c ^dc^s:^^^^ Tc ^CZC2 :<«ci2^€iE8£ ( C* c : SSl^-Saa LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 492 030 2 % '3*T J». ,'JiO. *ar _3» " ' 3>T > , ^B^