/-I Ltom K. DGDEN THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ^ / ^^ ■^ /' 7/ >' f/Z/i ty - //I I ■/'-?' TALAVERA. NINTH EDI T 1 N. 10 WHICH ARE ADDED, OTHER POEMS. ' Sibi cognomen in hoste ' Fecit,- el Hispanam sanguine tinxit kit mum.'' Ov. Fast. 6. iLonDon : PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, FLEET STREET. ^VILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH; AND M.N. MAHON AND J. CUMMING, DUBLIN. BY HARDING AND WRIGHT, ST. JOHNS SQUARE. 1812. 1 312, ADVERTISEMENT TO THE NINTH EDITION. Another edition of Talavera being called yor, and the Publisher choosing to give it something of a book-like shape, the Author, on his part, has endea- voured to render it, by some additions and many corrections, less undeserving of the puhlic attention. Hie Poems, xchich are subjoined, were written on the spur of the several occasions to which they refer, and with no higher prospect than that of living a day or two in one of the newspapers. TJiey have, ADVER TTSEMENT. however, been since collecteil into a small pamphlet ; and, though the Author is not satisfied that they are ■worth reprinting, he has been induced, by the request of the Publisher, to consent to their reappearance. Feb. 12, 1812. TALAVERA. Dicam insigne, recensy adhic Indicium ore alio. I. 'TwAS dark; from every mountain head The sunny smile of heaven had fled, And evening, over hill and dale Dropt, with the dew, her shado^vy veil ; In fabled Teio's darkening tide Was quenched the golden ray ; B 2 TALAVERA. Silent, llie silent stream beside. Three gallant people's hope and pride. Three gallant armies lay. France, every nation's foe, is there. And Albion's sons her red cross bear. With Spain's young Liberty to share The patriot array, That, spurning at th' oppressor's chain. Springs arm'd, from every hill and plain, From ocean to the eastern main — From Seville to Biscaye. All, from the dawn till even tide, The fortune of the field had tried In loose but bloody fray ; And now with thoughts of dubious fate TALAVERA. 3 Feverisli and weary, they await A fiercer, bloodier day. II. Fraternal France's chosen bands He of the borrow'd crown commands, And on Alberche's hither sands Pitches his tents to-night : While, Talavera's wall between And olive groves and gardens green, Spain quarters on the right ; All scalter'd in the open air In deep repose ; save here and there, Pondering to-morrow's fight. TALAVERA. A spearman, in his midnight prayer, Invokes our Blessed Lady's care And good Saint James's might. Thence to the left, across the plain And on the neighbouring height, The British bands, a watchful train. Their wide and warded line maintain, Fronting the east, as if to gain The earliest glimpse of light. Ill- While thus, with toil and watching worn, The Island warriors wait the morn. And think the hours too slow ; TALAVERA. Hark ! — on the midnight hreezes borne Sounds from the vale below ! What sounds ? No gleam of arms they see, Yet still they hear — ^What may it be ? It is, it is the foe ! From every hand and heart and head. So quick v^^as never lightning sped, Weakness and weariness are fled ; — And down the mountain steeps. Along the vale, and through the shade. With l)all and bayonet and blade, They seek the foe who dares invade The watch that England keeps. Nor do the dauntless sons of France Idly await the hot advance : — e TALAVERA. As active and as brave Thrice rush they on, and thrice their shock Rebounding breaks, as from the rock Is dash'd the wintry wave. IV. But soon the darkling armies blend. Promiscuous death around they send. Foe falls by foe and friend by friend In mingled heaps o'erthrown : And many a gallant feat is done. And many a laurel lost and won, Unwitness'd and unknown ; — Feats, that achieved in face of day, Had fired the bard's enthusiast lay. TALAVERA. And in some holy aisle for aye Had lived in sculptured stone. Oh, for a blaze from heaven, to light The wonders of that gloomy fight, The guerdon to bestow, Of which the sullen envious night Bereaves the warrior's brow ! Furious they strike without a mark. Save where the sudden sulphurous spark Illumes some visage grim and dark, That with the flash is gone ! And, 'midst the conflict, only know. If chance has sped the fatal blow, Or by ihe Lroddcn corse below, Or by the dying groan. 8 TALAVERA. V. Far o'er the plain, and to the shores Of Teio and Alberche, roars The tumult of the fight ; The distant camps, alarmed, arise ; And throbbing hearts, and straining eyes Watch, through the dull and vapoury skies. The portents of the night — The vollying peals, terrific cries, And gleams of lurid light — But all is indistinct : — in vain The anxious crowds their senses strain, And, in the flash or shout. Fancy they catch the signal plain Of victory or rout : — TA LA VERA. 9 The signal dies away again, And the still, breathless crowds remain In darkness and in doubt. VI. Thus roU'd the short yet lingering night Its clouds o'er hill and dale ; But when the morning show'd in light The wreck of that tempestuous fight Scatter'd along the vale ; Still seated on her trophied height, Britain exulted at the sight, And France's cheek grew pale. Lords of the lield, the victors view 10 TALAVERA. Ten gallant French the turf bestrew For every Briton slain : They view, with not unmingled pride ; Some anxious thoughts their souls divide- Their throbbing hopes restrain ; Hundreds beneath their arm have died, But myriads still remain : A sterner strife must yet be tried, A more tempestuous day decide The wavering fates of Spain. From the hill summit they behold, By the first beams of orient gold In adverse arms reveal'd. Full fifty thousand warriors bold. TALAVERA. 11 Inured to war, in conquest old, To toil and terror steel'd : But they, — as steel'd to fear or toil, As bold, as proud of war- won spoil, In victory's path as skill'd. Though doomed with twice their strength to try The hard unequal field. They view the foe with kindling eye, And, in their generous transport, cry " Conquer we may — perhaps must die ; " But never, never yield !" VII. Thus ardent they : but who can tell, In Wellesley's heart what passions swell ? 12 TALAVERA. What cares must agitate his mind, What wishes, doubts, and hopes combined. Whom with his country's chosen bands, 'Midst cold allies, in foreign lands. Outnumbering foes surround ; From whom that country's jealous call Demands the blood, the fame of all ; To whom 'twere not enough to fall, Unless with victory crown' d P O heart of honour ! soul of fire ! Even at that moment fierce and dire. Thy agony of fame. When Britain's fortune dubious hung. And France tremendous swept along In tides of blood and flame ; TALAVERA. 13 Even while tliy genius and thy arm Retrieved the day, and turn'd the storm To France's rout and shame, Even at tliat moment, factious spite And envious fraud, conspired to Ijlight The honours of thy name ! VIII. He tliinks not of them :— From that height He views the scene of future fight, And, silent and serene, surveys, Down to the plain where Teio strays. The woods, the streams, the mountain ways. Each dell and sylvan hold : Prescient of all the war, he knows 14 TA LA VERA. On wing or center, where the foes May pour their fury most ; And marks what portion of the field To their advance 'twere good to yield. And what must not be lost. And all his gallant chiefs around Observant watch, where o'er the ground His eagle glance has rolled. Few words he spake, or needed they. Of counsel for the approaching fray. Where to condense the loose array, Or where the line unfold : They saw, they felt what he would say. And the best order of the day. It was his eye that told. TALAVERA. 1^ IX. And is it now a goodly sight. Or dreadful to behold, The pomp of that approaching tight — Waving ensigns, pennons light. And gleaming blades and bayonets bright, And eagles wing'd with gold ; — And warrior bands of many a hue. Scarlet and white and green and blue, Like rainbows, o'er the morning dew Their varied tints unfold : While swells the martial din around, — And, starling at the bugle's sound. The Iranipliig sfjuiidrons beat the ground. And drums unceasinc^ roll : 16 TALAVERA. Frequent and long the warrior cheer, To glory's perilous career Awakes and fires the soul : And oft, by fits confused and clear. The din and clang, to fancy's ear, The knell of thousands toll. X. Soon, soon shall vanish that array, Those varied colours fade away Like meteors light and vain. And eagle bright and pennon gay, Ensanguined dust distain : And soon be hush'd in various death. The cymbal's clang, the clarion's breath, TALAVERA. 17 The thunder of the plain : — That sun which fires the eastern sky E'er noon shall set to many an eye In battle's stormy main. The young, the gay, the proud, the strong, Ghastly and gored, shall lie along In mingled carnage piled. Blood shall pollute the limpid source, And Teio flow with many a corse, AflVighted and defiled. XI. But not alone by Teio's shore, Tho' heap'd with slain, and red with gore, T) 18 TALAVERA. The tide of grief shall flow : — 'Tis not amidst the din of fight, Nor on the warrior's crested height. Death strikes his direst blow : — Far from the fray, unseen and late, Descend the bitterest shafts of fate. Where tender love, and pious care The lingering hours of absence wear In solitude and gloom ; And, mingling many a prayer and tear, Of sire, or child, or husband dear Anticipate the doom : Their hopes no trophied prospects cheer. For them no laurels bloom ; TALAVERA. 19 But trembling hope, and feverish fear, Forebodings wikl, and visions drear Their anguish 'd hearts consume. XII. All tremble now, but not on all, Poison'd with equal woe, shall fall The shaft of destiny : — to some The dreadful talc of ill shall come, Not unallayed with good ; And they, with mingled grief and pride, Sluill hoar that in the battle's tide Tlx'ir darling soldit'r saidv and died; — Died as a soldier should ! 20 TALAVERA. But in the rough and stormy fray. Many are doomed to death to-day, Whose fate shall ne'er at home be told. Whose very names the grave shall fold ; Many, for whose return, in vain The wistful eye of love shall strain, In cruel hope that ne'er can die, — In vain parental fondness sigh. And filial sorrow mourn — On Talavera's plain they lie. No ! never to return ! XIII. But, tyrant, thou, the cause of all The blood that streams, the tears that fall. TALAVERA. 21 Who, by no faith or fear confin'd. In impious triumph o'er mankind. Thy desolating course hast driven, Bursting the sacred ties that bind Man to his fellow and to heaven ! All great and guilty as thou art. Thou of the iron hand and heart, Shalt suffer yet the vengeance due To him, who swears but to betray, Whose friendship aids but to undo. And only smiles to slay ! In thy last hour of parting pain, The parents', widows', orphans' moan. The shrieking of the battle plain, The strangled prisoners' midnight groan, 22 TALAVERA. Shall harrow up thy brain; From countless graves, the ghastly crew Shall hurst upon thy frensied view — Thou peopler of the tomb ! And, stern and silent 'midst their cries, The murder'd heir of Bourbon rise. And through the shadowy gloom, Shake the curst torches in thine eyes That lighted to his doom ! XIV. But not to that tremendous hour Does Heaven remit its torturing power ; And ev'n thy tyrant heart shall feel, That here — that now — there's vengeance still ! TALAVERA. 23 In vain, thy gorgeous state would hide Of conscious fear and wounded pride, The self-inflicted pang; — Though nionarchs to tiiy car be tied, Though over half the world beside. Thy chains of conquest clang, — Britain and Spain, erect and proud. Defy thee to the strife aloud. And wave to Europe's servile crowd, The flag of liberty : In it, thou seest thy glory's shroud ; It's shadow, like a thunder cloud, O'erhangs thy destiny. 24 TALAVERA. XV. Yes, thou shall learn — and, at the tale. Thy pride shall shrink, thy hope shall fail. Though falsehood's hand have trae'd The lying legend — thou shall know Thy marshals foiled — thy thousands low — Thy puppet King disgrac'd ! Far other thoughts their bosoms fill ; As now to Talavera's hill Proud in their numbers and their skill. The Gallic columns haste : The same they are, and led by those, The scourges of the world's repose, Victors of Milan's fair domain, TALAVERA. 25 Of Austerlitz's wintry plain, And Friedland's sandy waste : Who Prussia's shiver'd sceptre liurl'd Down to the dust, and from the world Her very name erased : Who boast them, in presumptuous tone. Each feat and fortune to have known Of war, except defeat alone ; But now of that to taste ! XVL Valiant tho' vain, tho' boastful wise, Marshals, and Dukes ! with skilful eyes They view the adverse line ; E % 26 TALAVERA. And well their prudent councils weigh The eventful d.mger of the day, Wiiere Britain's banners shine. ' What though the Spanish spear we foil, ' Poor were the prize, and vain the toil : — ' Nothing is done till Britain's spoil ' Attest our victory : ' Till, on the wings of terror borne, ' The Leopards, scattered and forlorn, ' Fly to their guardian sea. ' On then ! let Britain prove our might ! * Her's be the trial of the fight, ' The peril and the pain ! TALAVERA. 27 ' Press her with growing thousands round, * Dash that red banner to the ground, ' And seal the fate of Spain !' XVII. Thus France, her baseless vision forms : But He, — long tried in battle storms, In Ind's unequal war Scattering, like dust, the sable swarms Of Scindiah and Berar ; He, conqueror still where'er he turns, On Zealand's frozen reign. Or where the sultry summer burns Vimero's rocky plain ; 28 TALAVERA. Who, from his tyrant station shook, With grasp of steel, Abrantes' Duke; He, who from Douro's rescued side, Dispersed Dahnatia's upstart pride ; — In fortune and desert the same On every scene of war, Sebastiani's pride shall tame ; And practised Jourdan's veteran fame, And Victor ! thy portentous name Shall fade before his star ! XVIII. In front of Talavera's wall, And near the confluent streams, the Gaul His royal banner rears to sight. TALAVERA. 29 With all the horrow'd l)lazon bright Of Leon and Castille ; And seems to meditate a fight That Spain alone shall feel. Oh, vain pretence ! to Wellesley's eyes, As pervious as the air ! He knows, that while the red cross flies, From the strong covert, where she lies Kntrench'd and shelter'd, Spain defies The utmost France can dare — '^riial Britain, on her blood-stain'd hill. The hrunt of fight must bear — And France, though baffled thrice, will still Strain all her force, exhaust her skill. To plan! Ik r eagles there; 30 TALAVERA. Which soon, from that commanding height Would speed their desolating flight, And, sweeping o'er the scatter'd plain, The hopes of England and of Spain With iron talon tear. XIX. Now from the dark artillery broke Lightning flash and thunder stroke; And cloud on cloud of fiery smoke Rolls in the darken'd air : Wrapp'd in its shade, unheard, unseen. Artful surprise and onset keen The crafty foes prepare — TALAVERA. 31 Three columns of the flower of France With rapid step and firm, advance At first thro' tangled ground, O'er fence and dell and deep ravine ; At length they reach the level green. The midnight battle's murderous scene. The valley's eastern bound. There in a rapid line they form, Thence are just rushing to the storm By bold Belluno led, When sudden thunders shake the vale, Day seems, as in eclipse, to fail, The light of heaven is fled ; A dusty whirlwind rides the sky, 3^2 TALAVERA. A living tempest rushes by With deafening clang and tread — ' A charge ! a charge !' the British cry, ' And Seymour at its head.' XX. Belluno sees the coming storm, And feels the instant need. ' Break up the line, the column form, ' And break and form with speed, ' Or under Britain's thundering arm ' In rout and ruin bleed !' Quick, as upon the sea-beat sands Vanish the works of childish hands. TALAVERA. 3 The lengthcn'd lines are gone. And broken into nimble bands Across the plain they run : ' Spur, Britain, spur thy foaming horse, • O'ertake them in tlieir scatter'd course^ ' And sweep them from the land !' She spurs, she flies ; in vain, in vain — Already they have pass'd the plain. And now the broken ground they gain. And now, a column, stand ! * Rein up thy courser, Britain, rein !' — But who the tempest can restrain? The mountain flood command ? Down the ravine, with hideous crash. Headlong the foremost squadrons dash. Q 34 TALAVERA. And many a soldier, many a steed Crush'd in the dire confusion bleed. The rest, as ruin fills the trench, Pass clear, and on the column'd French, A broken and tumultuous throng, With glorious rashness pour along. Too prodigal of life ; And they had died, aye every one. But Wellesley cries, ' On, Anson, on, ' Langworth, and Albuquerque and Payne, ' Lead Britain, Hanover, and Spain, ' And turn the unequal strife.' TALAVERA. 35 XXI. Needs it to tell how fierce the flame Burn'd of that doubtful strife, Whose precious prize was life, and fame More precious still than life ! — By France what English hearts were gor'd. What crests were cleft by Britain's sword. When horse and foot infuriate met. And sabre clash'd with bayonet. And how they fought and how they fell, And man and steed, 'midst shout and yell, The field of carnage strew'd ; It were a tedious tale to tell, A tedious tale of blood. 36 TALAVERA. But when the fierce and cloudless sun Blazed from his noontide height, And ere the field was lost or won. Worn and unable quite The hostile stroke to make or shun. Faint, breathless, all with toil foredone, They paus'd amid the fight ! Oft, when the midnight tempests sweep With fiercest fury o'er the deep. Short, sullen pauses intervene. And, ev'ry fitful gust between, The stormy roar is still'd : Thus was the rage of battle staid. And clash of bayonet and blade 'J ALA VERA. 37 Subsided o'er the field : Hush'd was the shout, the tumult laid. And each receding line obey'd The truce which weary nature made, And mutual honour seal'd. XXII. There is a brook, that from its source, High in the rocky hill. Pours o'er the plain its limpid course. To pay to Teio's monarch force Its tributary rill ; Which, in the peaceful summer tide. The swarthy shepherd sits beside. 38 TALAVERA. And loitering, as it rolls along In cadence pours his rustic song ; Carol of love or pious chaunt. Or tale of knight and giant gaunt. And lady captive held ; Or strains, not fabled, of the war, Where the great champion of Bivar The Moorish pagan quell'd. But now, no shepherd loiters there — He flies, with all his fleecy care. To mountains high and far. And starts, and breathless stops to hear Borne on the breeze, and to his fear Seeming, at every gust, more near. The distant roar of war. TALAVERA. 39 XXIII. But on the streauilet's margin green Other than shepherd forms are seen ; And sounds, unlike the rustic song. The troubled current rolls along ; When, of the cooling wave to taste, From either host the warriors haste With busy tread and hum : You would have thought that streamlet bound Were listed field or sacred ground Where battle might not come. So late in adverse contest tried, So deep in recent carnage dyed, To mutual honour they confide Their mutual fates ; nor shrink 40 TA LA VERA. To throw the cap and helm aside. As, mingled o'er the narrow tide. They bend their heads to drink ; Or, nature's feverish wants supplied, Unarm'd, unguarded, side by side. Safe in a soldier's faith and pride They rest them on the brink. They speak not — in each others phrase Unskill'd — but yet the thoughts of praise, And honour to unfold. The heai't has utterance of its own ; And ere the signal trump was blown. And ere the drum had roU'd, The honest grasp of manly hands, Fhat common link of distant lands, TALAVERA. 41 That sign wliicli nature understands, The generous feeling told : The high and sacred pledge it gave, That both were true, and both were brave, And something added of regret, At parting when so lately met, And (not developed quite) Some dubious hopes of meeting yet As heaven their devious paths might set, In friendship or in fight. XXIV. But short the truce that they can keep- For now ihe signals shrill 42 TALAVERA. Sounding along, from plain and steep. Longer forbid the fight to sleep ; Light from the ground the warriors leap. And seize the rein and steel : All arm'd, all ardent, all array'd. Again their weapons wield ; And echoing thro' the livid shade. The clash of bayonet and blade Revives along the field. The hurried fight from post to post. Kindles, but on the center most. Whence, hoping on a happier stage. The renovated war to wage, France now assails the hill. TA LA VERA. 43 And pours with aggregated rage The storm of fire and steel ; Soon from the eye the hostile crowd The gathering shade conceals. While from its bosom, long and loud, Like thunder from a vernal cloud, The din of battle peals. XXV. Still when the freshening breezes broke A chasm in the volumed smoke, Busy and black was seen to wave The iron harvest of the field, — That harvest, which, in slauc^hter till'd, 44 TALAVERA. Is gathered in the grave : — And now before their mutual fires They yieUl, and now advance ; And now 'tis Britain that retires. And now the line of France : They struggle long with changeful fate, And all the battle's various cries Now depress'd, and now elate, In mingled clamours rise ; Till France at length before the weight Of British onset flies : ' Forward,' the fiery victors shout, * Forward, the enemy's in rout, ' Pursue him and he dies !' TALAVERA. 45 XXVL Hot and impetuous they pursued, And wild with carnage, drunk with hlood, Rush'd on the plain below ; The wily Frenchman saw and stood — Screen' d by the verges of the wood He turn'd him on the foe. The gallant bands that guard the crown Of England, led the battle down. And, in their furious mood. Thrice they essay'd with onset fierce, Thrice fail d, collected France to pierce — Still France collected, stood ! While full on eacii uncover'd flank Cannon and mortar swept their rank. 46 TALAVERA. And many a generous Briton sank • Before the dreadful blaze ; Yet 'midst that dreadful blaze and din Fearless the shout they raise, And ever, as their numbers thin, Fresh spirits rush unbidden in. Thoughtless, but how the meed to win Of peril and of praise. And still, as with a blacker shade Fortune obscures the day. Commingled thro' the fight they wade. And hand to hand and blade to blade. Their blind and furious efforts braid. As if, still dark and disarray 'd, They fought the midnight fray. TALAVERA. 47 XXVII. In vain. — New hopes and fresher force Inspirit France, and urge lier course, A torrent, rapid, wild, and hoarse, On Britain's wavering train. As when, before the wintery skies. The struggling forests sink and rise. And rise and sink again. While the gale scatters as it flies Their ruins o'er the plain ; Before the tempest of her foes, So England sank, and England rose. And, though slill rooted in the vale, Strew'd her rent branches on the gale. 48 TALAVERA. Then, Wellesley ! on thy tortured thought With ripening hopes of glory fraught, What honest anguish crost ! Oh, how thy generous hosom burn'd, To see the tide of victory turn'd. And Spain and England lost ! — Lost — but that, as the peril great. And rising with the storms of fate His rapid genius soars, Sees, at a glance, his whole resource. Drains from each stronger point its force. And on the weaker pours : Present where'er his soldiers bleed. He rushes thro' the fray, TALAVERA. 49 And, (so the doubtful chances need,) In high emprize and desperate deed, Squanders himself away ! XXVIIl. Now from the summit, at his call, A gallant legion firm and slow Advances on victorious Gaul ; Undaunted, though their comrades fall ! Unshaken, though their leader's low ! Fix'd — as the high and huttress'd mound, That guards some leaguer'd city round. They stand unmoved — Behind them form The scatter'd fragments of the storm ; While on their sheltering front, amain u 50 TALAVERA. France drives, with all her thnndering train, Her full career of death : But drives not long her full career, For now that living bulwark near, Fault'ring, between fatigue and fear She stops and pants for breath : — That dubious pause, that wavering rest. The Britons seize, and breast to breast Opposing, havoc's arm arrest, And from the foe's exulting crest. Tear down the laurel wreath. XXIX. Nor does the gallant foe resign. Even while his hopes and strength decline. TALAVERA. 51 A tame inglorious prize; — Long", long on Britain's rallied line The deadly fire he plies; Long, long where Britain's banners shine He vainly toils and dies ! Ne'er to a battle's fiercer groan Did mountain echo roar, Nor ever evening blush upon A redder field of gore. But feebler now^, and feebler still. The panting French assail the hill. And weaker grows their cannon's roar, And thinner falls their missile shower, Fainter their clanging steel ; 52 TALAVERA. The hot and furious fit is o'er. They shout, they charge, they stand no more. And staggering in the slippery gore. Their very leaders reel. XXX. But shooting high and rolling far. What new and horrid face of war Now flushes on the sight ? 'Tis France, as furious she retires, That wreaks, in desolating fires, The vengeance of her flight. Already parch'd by summer's sun. The grassy vale the flames o'er-run ; TALAVERA. 53 And, sweeping wreath'd and light Before the wind, the thickets seize, And climb the dry and withered trees, In flashes long and bright. Oh ! 'twas a scene sublime and dire. To see that billowy sea of fire. Rolling its flaky tide O'er cultured field and tangled wood, And drow^ning in the flaming flood. The seasons' hope and pride ! XXXI. From Talavera's wall and tower. And from the mountain's height. H TALAVERA. Where they had stood for many an hour, To view the varying fight, Burghers and peasants in amaze Behold their groves and vineyards blaze : Calm they had view'd the bloody fray. And little thought that France's groan And England's sigh, ere close of day. Should mingle vv^ith their ovv^n ! But ah ! far other cries than these Are wafted on the dismal breeze — Groans, not the wound ed's lingering groan- Shrieks, not the shriek of death alone — But groan, and shriek, and yell. Of terror, torture, and despair; TALAVERA. 55 Such as 'twould chill the heart to hear, And freeze the tongue to tell : When to the very field of fight, Dreadful alike in sound and sight. The conflagration spread, Involving in its fiery wave, The brave and reliques of the brave — The dying and the dead ! XXXIl. And now again the evening sheds Her dewy veil on Teio's side, And from the Sierra's rocky heads, The giant shadows stride ; 56 TALAVERA. And all is dim and dark again — Save here and there upon the plain, As if from funeral pyres, Casting a dull and flickering light Across the umber'd face of night, Still flash the baleful fires. But since the close of yester-e'en, How alter' d is the martial scene ! Again, in night's surrounding veil, France moves her busy bands — but now She comes not, venturous, to assail The victors in their guarded vale. Or on the mountain's brow — Dash'd from her triumph's windy car TALAVERA. 5? She mourns the wayward fate of" war, And baffled and dishearten'd, o'er Alberche's stream, and from his shore, With silent hasle she speeds. Nor dares, ev'n at that midnight hour, To snatch the rest she needs ; Far from the field where late she fought — The tents where late she lay — With rapid step and humbled thought, All night she holds her way : Leaving to Britain's conquering sons, Standards rent and ponderous guns, The trophies of the fray ! The weak, the wounded, and the slain — I 58 TALAVERA. The triumph of the battle plain — The glory of the day ! XXXIII. I would not check the tender sigh, Nor chide the pious tear, That heaves the heart and dims the eye, For friend or kinsman dear ; Ev'n when their honoured reliques lie On victory's proudest bier; But I would say, for those that die In honour's high career. For those in glory's grave who sleep, Weep fondly, but, exulting, weep ! TA LA VERA. 59 More freshly from tlie untimely tomb Renown's eternal laurels bloom, With sullen cypress twined. Fortune is fickle and unsure, And worth and fame to be secure Must be in death enshrin'd ! XXXIV. I too have known what 'tis to part With the first inmate of my heart ; To feel the bonds of nature riven, To witness o'er the glowing dawn. The spring of youth, the fire of heaven. The grave's deep shadows drawn ! 60 TALAVERA. He sleeps not on the gory plain The slumber of the brave — Dear Victim of disease, and pain, Where high Madeira's summits reign Far o'er the Atlantic wave, He sought eluding health — in vain — Health never lit his eye again, He fills a foreign grave ! Oh, had he lived, his hand to-day Had woven for the victor's brow, Such garland of immortal bay, Such chaplet as the enraptured lay Of genius may bestow ! Or, since 'twas Heaven's severer doom TALAVERA. 61 To snatch him to an earlier tomb ; WoukI, Wellesley, would that he had died Beneath thine eve and at thv side ! It would have lighten'd sorrow's load. Had thy applause on him bestow'd The fame he loved in thee ; And rear'd his honoured tomb beside Those of the gallant hearts who died, Their kinsmen's, friends', and country's pride, In Talavera's victory ! WAR SONG. 1803. Wave, wave, the banners of the fight ; Be every breast in armour dight, And every soul on fire ! To trembling Europe's frighted eyes. Red let the sun of battle rise ; And bloody be the morning skies That bring the day of ire ! WAR SONG. 63 Whose impious voice, from his dark cave Wakes the destroyer of the l^rave ? What hand prepares their tomb ? 'Tis He, Ambition's perjured sprite, 'Tis He, that waves the flags of fight, 'Tis He, in clouds of deadliest night, Who weaves the warrior's doom. Weep, weep, ye gentle dames of France, Ye, whose devoted sons advance To Britain's fatal shore : O ! kiss their lips before ye part, O ! press them to your bursting heart — Save in a dream's convulsive start — Ye ne'er sliall chisp them more. 6'4 WAR SONG. Arouse, arouse, ye British dames. With words of fire, the patriot flames That burn for glorious deed. For him that lives, the raptur'd eye Of love shall dance ! for those who die. Their ladies' tears, their country's sigh. Shall be the sacred meed ! SONGS OF TRAFALGAR. 1805. I. Though I do love my country's weal. As well as any soul that breathes; Though more than filial pride I feel, To see her crown'd with conqu'ring wreaths Yet from my heart do I deplore Her recent triumphs on the main, Those laurels dripping red with gore, That victory bought with Nelson slain. K m TRAFALGAR. Oh ! dearest conquest, heaviest loss, That England's hope and heart have known Since first, in fight, her blood-red cross O'er the great deep triumphant shone. — And she should wail that conquest dear. And she that heavy loss should mourn ; Hallow with sighs her Hero's bier. And gem with tears her Hero's urn. Shame on the wild and callous rout That lights for joy its countless fires, That hails the day with mad'ning shout. While He, who won the day, expires ! TRAFALGAR. 07 It was, indeed, a glorious day, — And every homage of the heart Were just, that rescued realms can pay. Had Nelson lived to share his part. Had Nelson lived to hear our praise, T too had hymn'd the victor's song ; I too had lit the joyous blaze, And w^ildly join'd the exulting throng. But He is blind to pageant gay, And lie is deaf to joyous strain; And I will raise no pleasant lay, And swell no pomp for Nelson slain. 68 TRAFALGAR. But I will commune with my mind, To celebrate its darling Chief What worthiest tribute it may find Of soften'd pride, of temper'd grief. Ye good and great, 'tis yours to raise The storied vase, the column tall, To every future age to praise His life, and consecrate his fall : Mine it will be, (oh ! would my tongue Were gifted with immortal verse !) To strew, with many a sorrowing song, Parnassian cypress o'er his hearse. TRAFALGAR. 1805. II. The fight was long; — and deep in blood Britain's triumphant warriors stood : High, o'er the wave, untorn, unstain'd, The ensigns of her glory reign'd : Around, the wreck'd and vanquished pride Of hostile navies strevv'd the tide ; Or scatter'd, as the tempest bore, Their ruins on the aflViirhted shore. 70 TRAFALGAR. The haughty hopes of France and Spain, Had dream'd of conquest's laurel crown- O ! vision, arrogant and vain ! — Nelson has swept them from the main, And dash'd their airy trophies dow^n : Their fancied w^reaths his brow adorn. Won by his valour, in his triumph worn. But, hark ! amidst the joyous shout, For Spain's defeat, and France's rout : But, hark ! amidst the glad acclaim Of England's honour, Nelson's fame. What deep and sullen sounds arise ? Are these, alas ! victorious cries ? TRAFALGAR. 71 Boad they a widow'd nation's woe ; TJie triumph vain, and Nelson low? — • In his full glory's brightest blaze, On the high summit of his deeds, While Victory's saintly halo plays, With living fire, — immortal rays, — Around his head, the Hero bleeds ; In pomp of death, to mortal eyes Never before revealed, the Hero dies. He dies ! but Avhile on Egypt's strand The Ptolomean tower shall stand ; — Stain'd with the turbid streams of Nile, While seas shall beat Aboukirs isle; — 72 TRAFALGAR. While the white ocean breaks and roars On Trafalgar's immortal shores ; — While high St. Vincent's towery steep. And, giant of the Atlantic deep. Dark Teneriffe, like beacons, guide The w^anderers of the western wave ; Sublime shall stand, amid the tide Of baffled Time, — his country's pride — The sacred memory of the brave ; And Nelson's emulated name Shine the proud sea-mark to the ports of Fame ! TRAFALGAR. 1805. III. 'TwA s at the close of that dark morn On which our Hero, conquering, died. That every seaman's heart was torn By strife of sorrow and of pride ; — Of pride, that one short day would show Deeds of eternal splendour done. Full twenty hostile ensigns low, And twenty glorious victories won — L 74 TRAFALGAR. Of grief, of deepest, tenderest grief, That He, on every sea and shore, Their brave, beloved, unconquer'd Chief, Should wave his victor-flag no more. Sad w^as the eve of that dire day : But sadder, direr was the night ; When human rage had ceased the fray. And elements maintain d the fight. All shaken in the conflict past. The navies fear'd the tempest loud — The gale, that shook the groaning mast — The wave, that climb'd the tatter'd shroud. TRAFALGAR. 75 By passing gleams of sullen light, The worn and weary seamen vievv'd The hard-earu'd prizes of tlie fight Sink, found'ring, in the midnight flood : And oft, as drowning screams tliey heard. And oft, as sank the ships around. Some British vessel lost they fear'd, And mourn'd some British brethren drown'd. And oft they cried, (as memory roH'd On Him, so hite their hope ;nid guide But now a bloody corse and cohl,) ' Was it for this, that Nelson died P' 76 TRAFALGAR. For three short days, and three long nights, They wrestled with the tempest's force ; And sank the trophies of their fights, — And thought upon that bloody corse ! — But when the fairer morn arose Bright o'er the yet-tumultuous main. They saw no wreck but that of foes. No ruin but of France and Spain : And victors now of winds and seas, Beheld the British vessels brave, Breasting the ocean at their ease, Like sea-birds on their native wave : TRAFALGAR. 77 And now they cried, (because tliey foimd Old England's fleet in all its pride, While Spain's and France's hopes were drown'd,) ' It was for this that Nelson died !' He died, with many an hundred hold And honest hearts as ever beat ! — But where's the British heart so cold That would not die in such a feat? Yes ! by their memories ! by all The honours which their tomb surround ! Theirs was the noblest, happiest fall Which ever mortal courage crown'd. 78 TRAFALGAR. Then bear them to their glorious grave With no weak tears, no woman's sighs ; Theirs was the death-bed of the brave, And manly be their obsequies. Haul not your colours from on high, Nor down the flags of victory lower : — Give every streamer to the sky. Let all your conq'ring cannon roar ; That every kindling soul may learn How to resign its patriot breath ; And from a grateful country, earn The triumphs of a trophied death. TRAFALGAR. 1805. IV. Rear high the monumental stone 1 — To other days, as to his own, Belong- the Hero's deathless deeds, Who greatly lives, who hravely bleeds. Not to a petty point ol" time Or space, but wide to every clime And age, his glorious fall bequeatlis Valour's sword, and victory's wreaths. 80 TRAFALGAR. The rude but pious care of yore Heap'd o'er the brave the mounded shore ; And still that mounded shore can tell Where Hector and Achilles fell. There, over glory's earthly bed, When many a wasting age had tied, The world's Great Victor pour'd his pray'rs For fame, and monuments like theirs. Happy the brave ! whose sacred tomb Itself averts the oblivious doom, Bears on its breast unfading bays, And gives eternity of praise ! TRAFALGAR. 81 High, then, the monuineutal pile Erect, for Nelson of the Nile! Of Trafalgar, and Vincent's heights, For Nelson of the hundred fights — For Him, alike on shore and surge, Of proud Iberia's power the scourge ; And half around the sea-girt ball, The hunter of the recreant Gaul, Rear the tall shaft on some bold steep, Whose base is buried in tlie deep ; But whose bright summit shines afar O'er the blue ocean, like a star. M 82 TRAFALGAR. Such let it be, as o'er the bed Of Nilus rears its lonely head ; That never shook at mortal might. Till Nelson lanced the bolts of fight. (What time the Orient, wrapt in fire. Blazed, its own seamen's funeral pyre, And, with explosive fury riven. Sprang thundering to the midnight heaven.) Around it, when the raven night Shades ocean, fire the beacon-light; And let it, thro' the tempest, flame The star of safety as of fame. TRAFALGAR. 83 Thitlier, as o'er the deep below The seaman seeks his country's foe, His emulative eye shall roll, And Nelson's spirit lill his soul. Thither, shall youthful heroes climb, The Nelsons of an after-time. And round that sacred altar swear Such glory and such graves to share. Raise then, imperial Britain, raise The trophied pillar of his praise; And worthy be ils towering pride, Of those thai live, of uim that died ! 84 TRAFALGAR. Worthy of Nelson of the Nile ! Of Nelson of the cloud-capped Isle, Of Trafalgar and Vincent's heights. Of Nelson of the hundred fights! TO HIM WHO DESPxVIRS OF SPAIN. 1809. Despair of Spain ! — and dost thou dare To talk, cold plodder, of despair ? Dost thou presume to scan The proud revenge, the deathless zeal, The throes that injured nations feel. Beneath the oppressor's ban; The pride, the spirit, and the power, « That, growing with llie ar(hi()iis hour, Ennoble patriot man ? 86 DESPAIR OF SPAIN. Utlrou of little heart and hope, Purblind diviner, can thy scope Nothina: hut dani^er see ? — Unfrighted tho' with carnage strew'd, Ev'n in her ruins unsubdued, Great in adversity. Do Saragossa and her train — Heroes and Saints — survive in vain, Shall they be told ' Despair of Spain', And told, alas ! by, thee ? Oh, no ; tho' France's murderous hand Should sweep the desolated landj Revenge will still remain : — Smother'd, but not extinguish'd quite. DESPAIR OF SPAIN. 87 A spark will live, in time will light. And fire the leno-thnin^r train. — Stung hy that pang which never dies, Enthusiast millions shall arise, And Europe echo to their cries. Never Despair of Spain ! NOTES. Stanza II. 1. 1. — France's chosen bands. The force opposed to the allies comprised some of the elite of the French army. St. II 1. 2. — He of the borrowed crown. ' The borrowed Majesty of England.' Shakspcarc, Kins; John. Joseph (el Rey botilla) was in the field, and of course nominally com- manding in chief; but he very prudently placed himself opposite to the Spanish lines, where there was little to do ; and, accordingly, we do not hear of him again, till liis gasconading proclamations from Saint Olalla, after his retreat. St. II. I. 5. — Tdlavern. Talavera, (called de la Rcyna, because it was for some time the appan- age of the Queens of Spain,) is one of tiic most ancient cities of the N 90 NOTES. monarchy. Though situated nearly in the centre of the Peninsula, it has had the peculiar ill fortune of suffering in all ages, and from all parties, the calamities of war. Christians and Moors stormed and plundered it by turns, and not an instance occurs of an hostile force fail- ing before it, till that one which I now attempt to describe. The ram- parts were very strong, constructed of immense block§ of free-stone, and flanked, as it is said, with eighteen square towers ; but the most ancient ramparts and towers have fallen into a state of dilapidation. The inhabitants themselves, indeed, have been more destructive even than Time, and, to procure stones for the erection of dwelling-houses, ' have industriously pillaged the dismantled walls, and reduced to an in- ' significant heap of stones all those stately fragments of majesty and ' strength, which had so long been preserved in Talavera as venerable ' monuments of its eventful history *.' The gate of the western suburb has been rendered memorable by a flagitious act of cruelty, committed in 1289, at the instigation of Sancho the Brave. On that spot were exposed to view the dissected limbs of 400 nobles of Talavera, who had been put to death for their adherence to the cause of the unfortunate family of La Cerda, against a successful usurper. This action is yet commemorated in the name of Puerto de Quartos. Talavera is now a considerable and opulent city, and must have been very populous even in 1289, since it could furnish 400 noble victims of one party. St. II. 1. 13 St. James. St. James, or Saint Jago, is the Patron Saint of Spain. The shrine at Compostella, on the site of which the Apostle's body was miracu- * Laborde's View of Spaia. NOTES. 91 lously discovered in 800, became famous throughout Europe, and was for many ages the peculiar object of the liberality of the rich, and of the pilgrimages of the poor of all nations. In the year 1434, no less than 2460 English had license from the King to proceed thither, with con- siderable sums of money, as well for offerings as for their necessary expences. When Almanzor, the Moorish King of Seville, ravaged Gallicia, the divine interposition preserved, by a miraculous storm of lightning, the temple of Compostella from plunder and profanation. Is it too much to hope that the vengeance of Heaven may yet, in our days, visit invaders more rapacious, more cruel, more impious, than the Moors ! St. III. 1. 20. — Thrice come they on. I have taken the liberty of representing the three attacks on General Hill's position to have been all made about midnight, and in immediate succession, though, in fact, the first occurred late in the evening, the second only at midnight, and the third about day-break on the2Sth. St. IV. ]. 2. — Piwniscuous death. It is certain that in the confusion of the night-fight, much loss was occasioned on both parts, by mistaking friends for foes. St. IV. ]. 9. — The Bard's enthusiast lay. sed omnes illacrimabiies Urgueiitur ignotique longa Nocte, careut quia vate sacro. llor. Od. 9, lib. 4. 92 NOTES. St. IV. 1. U.— Oh for a blase. A young and accomplished ladj has discovered, as she fancies, a resem- blance between the description of this night-fight, and that of the encounter of Tancred and Clorinda in the Gierusalemme Liberata. I am very far from agreeing with my fair critic in this notion, and any of my readers, who shall turn to the fifty-fourth and subsequent stanzas of the twelfth canto of the Jerusalem, will have the satisfaction, (not, I think, of detecting me in a presumptuous and unacknowledged imitation of Tasso, ) but of reading one of the most striking passages of that splendid poem. St. VI. 1. 23. — Fifty thousand warriors. The French acknowledge to have had 45,000 men engaged, and we know that the effective British scarcely, if at all, exceeded 20,000. *^* Since these pages were first published, there have appeared in the Moniteur of Sept. 28, 1809, notes on Lord Wellington's dispatches, which admit the disparity to have been still greater than the most sanguine Englishman had thought — than even we romancers had imagined. They state the army which attacked Lord Wellesley, (as they call him,) to have consisted of the 1st and 4th corps, and the reserve; and their force they allege to have been, — the 1st corps, 3G battalions ; the 4th, 30 battalions ; and the reserve, 20 battalions, exclusive of the cavalry, which was 40 squadrons. Now these 86 battalions, if complete, would have numbered about 60,000 infantry ; and even if but half complete, would have exceeded Lord Wellington's force, (which they admit to have been but 20,000,) by 10,000 of infantry alone, or, reckoning the cavalry, by 14,000 men. But, in fact, they may be taken at 500 men to each bat- NOTES. 9S talion at least that is, in the whole, at 43,000 infantry, and about 4,000 cavalry. 1810. It is now known, that the French force consisted of about 50,000 men. 1812. St. YU.\.6.-CoId allies. The Government and Generals of Spain, at the period of the battle of Talavera, were more than usually tardy and feeble in all their measures. After the battle. Sir A. Wellcslcy was disabled from pursuing his ad- vantages, and (when he was obliged, by General Cuesta's extraordinary conduct, to retreat,) his army was almost exhaus(ed, for want of those means of transport which the Spanish auUioritics had liberally promised him, and which, in fact, they could have furnished in suflicient abundance. While the guns taken at Talavera were in the possession of the English, the Spanish General could not be induced to afl'ord the means of drawing them ; butwhen, on this account, the English were forced to abandon them, the Spaniards easily found cattle for their conveyance. So, when the Rrili'ih army laid down its ammunition for want of means to carry it, the Spaniards found no difficulty in bringing it away for their own use*. The corres- pondence between Sir A. Wellesley, Lord Wcllesley, and M. deGaray, in 1809, afford many similar proofs ofihccoldncss of the Government of our allies; though it is now clear that it did not exist (as Sir J. Moore seems to have supposed) in all classes : the lower orders, and not a few of the higher, have all along exhibited irrefragable jiroofs of the warmest enthusiasm, and the most patriotic devotion. There have been, and there still arc, a great number of persons in Spain, who, to say the best of them, arc iii- • Papers prtscnted to Parliament, 1810, p. 5-45. 94 NOTES. clincd to temporize ; and too many of this class Lave found means to influence the national operations. — In spite of them, however, the spirit of the people may save their country ; and I shall not despair, however * Princes and Lords may flourish or may fade,' of the cause of Spain, till ' the bold peasantry, its country's pride,' shall have passed under the usurper's yoke. St. VII. 1. 14. — The agomj of fame. This expression, and another in the last line of the XXVIIth Stanza^ are borrowed from a splendid passage of Mr. Burke's, in which, speak- ing of Lord Kcppell, he says, ' With what zeal and anxious affection I ' attended him through h\?,in3\, that agony of his glory — with whatpro- ' digality I squandered myself in courting almost every sort of enmity ' for his sake,' &c. Burke's Works, v. 8, p. 54. St. VII. 1. 21. — Factious spite. The calumniators of Sir Arthur Wellesley have been so industrious in publishing their malignity, that it is unnecessary to rccal to the public observation any particular instance of it. In reading their base absurdi- ties, one cannot but recollect the expression of Marshal Villars (I think it was) to Lewis XVI. ' Sire, je vais combattre vos ennemis, & je vous • laisseau milieu des miens.' — Sir Arthur, much worse treated than M. de Villars, says nothing about it, but beats his country's enemies, and des- pises his own. St. XIII. 1. 1 But tyrant thou. With all the reluctance which one must feel to charge with atrocious NOTES. 95 crimes, a man whose transcendent talents (not always ill employed) have raised him to the highest station and power that any human being ever attained, it is yet impossible to think of his cruel and unprovoked attack on the Spanish crown and people without indignation — without feeling, that Divine Justice must charge to his account, all the ruin by fire, famine, and the sword, which his unparalleled injustice has visited upon that un- happy country. St. XIII. 1. 23. — The murder d heir of Bourbon. The seizing the Duke D'Enghien in a neutral state, dragging him to a tribunal to which he was, in no view, amenable, condemning him by laws to which he owed no obedience, and, finally, putting him to death by a hasty and cowardly execution by torch-light, are stains on Bonaparte's character, of such violence, injustice, and cruelty, as no good fortune, no talents, no splendour of power, or even of merit, can ever obliterate. St. XIV. 1. 1— Self-inflicted pang. — Cur taraen hos tu Evasisse putes, quos, diri conscia facti, JVIens habet attonitos, et surdo verbere caedit, Occultum quaticnte animo tortore flagellum? Juvenal, Sat. l.'i. St. XIV. 1. 11. — Spain erect and proud. The author has feared to indulge any very sanguine hope of the final suc- cess of the Spanish cause, particularly since the retreat of the French from Madrid, and behind the Ebro, was turned to so little solid advantage b\ the Spaniards. But that their efforts and their example in a great degree 96 NOTES. have already crippled and distracted the power of France^ and aflforded a considerable chance for the emancipation of Europe ; that the victories of Ba^len and Talavera, the defence of Saragossa and Gerona, have been of one great advantage (exclusively of any other) in dissipating the spell of French invincibility, cannot be denied. Undoubtedly Bonaparte will come out of the Spanish contest, even though he should finally succeed in placing his brother on the throne, with diminished reputation and more precarious power. It is singular that in the succession-war, a century ago, the French were obliged in like manner to retire from Madrid behind the Ebro, and that the negligence of the other party, in not dislodging them from that position, eventually placed the French competitor on the throne of Spain. See Carleton's Memoirs. 1809. It is now upwards of two years since this note was written, and it must be confessed that the French cause is not now, to all appearance, in so promising a condition as it was then. Hopes that the author once considered as too sanguine, have been more than realized, and the final deliverance of Spain from the atrocious usurpation of France, seems every hour less improbable. 1813. St. XVI. 1. 12. — Leopards. This is an image ■which Bonaparte himself has chosen to use : ' When ' 1 shall shew myself (said his speech to the Legislative Body, in Dec. 1809) ' beyond the Pyrenees, the frightened leopard will fly to the ' ocean to avoid shame, defeat, and death.' — This is bold ; what follows might well be called by the coarser epithet which Doctor Bentley applied to the imitator of Pindar — ' The triumph of my arms will be the triumph ' of the genius of good over that of evil ; of moderation, order, and ' morality, over civil war, anarchy, and the bad passions ! ! ! My KOTES. 97 ' friendship and protection will, I hope, restore tranquillity and hap- ' piness to the people of the Spains ! ! !' St. XVII. 1.3. — Iiid's unequal nor. At Assaje, on the third of September, 1803, with 2,000 Europeans, and 2,500 native troops. Sir Arthur Wellesley utterly defeated the united armies of Scindia and the Rajah of Berar, amounting to 20,000 cavalry, and at least 11,000 infantry, strongly posted, furnished willi a formidable and v\cll served train of artillery, (all taken,) and officered in a great degree by Frenchmen. On the 30lli Nov. he again came up with the recruited and reinforced armies of these princes in the plains of Argaum, and again totally routed them, taking tliirtv- eight pieces of cannon. Without entering into further detail, it may be enough to say, that the whole campaign was a master-piece of courage and conduct, crowned with the most brilliant and decisive successes. St. XVIII. 1. o.— Of Leon and Castile. The national flag of Spain bears, per pale, Luna, a lion rampant, Saturn, for Leon ; and Mars, a castle, Sol, for Castile. St. Will. 1. 8. — To Wellesley's eyes as pervious as t/ie air. The sagacity with which Sir A. Wellesley always foresaw flu' enemy's point of attack, and prepared means of repelling it, were very remark- able. Those modest gentlemen in England, who undervalue his military abilities, are obliged, (though unintentionally I dare say.) to deny at tlie same time those of their friends the French, who admit that the English position was excellently chosen, and obstinately defended : but indeed (his o 98 NOTES. admission was superfluous ; for the perseverance with which they assailed it, sufficiently proves how important they thought it ! Let it never be forgotten, that this position, five times at least attacked with more than double forces by some of the best generals and troops of France, was found to be impregnable. But what are the opinions of the French marshals, or even the evidence of facts, to the speculations of the tacticians of Catherine Street and the Strand ? St. XVIII. 1. 12.— Strong covert. ' The right, consisting of Spanish troops, extended immediately in * front of the town of Talavera, down to the Tagus. This part of the ' ground was covered by olive trees, and much intersected by banks and ' ditches. The high road leading from the bridge over the Alberche, was ' defended by a heavy battery, in front of a church, which was occupied ' by Spanish infantry. All the avenues to the town were defended in a ' similar manner ; the town was occupied, and the remainder of the ' Spanish infantry was formed in two lines behind the banks on the roads ' which led from the town, and the right to the left of our position. * Sir A. Wellesley's dispatch. — Gazette, Aug. 15, 1809, St. XVIII. 1. \Q— Commanding height. Had the French succeeded in carrying that height on which General Hill's brigade alone was at first posted, but towards which Sir Arthur afterwards moved several other regiments, nothing, it is thought, could have saved the British and Spanish armies from an entire defeat. NOTES. 99 St. XIX. 1. 8. — Three columns. Many of the circumstances of this and the next Stanza are taken from an excellent letter from an officer of the 48th to his friend in Dul)lin, which was published in the Freeman's Journal, of that city, of the 19th August, 1809. St. XX. 1. 7 — As upon the sea-heat shore . The fair critic, (whom I have before mentioned as accusing me of bor- rowing from Tasso,) has discovered, that for this image I am indebted to Homer ; and to this latter charge I believe I must plead guilty, as well as to the still greater offence of miserably deteriorating what I have stolen: but the first of these faults Mas unintentional, and I need scarcely »ay that the second was inevitable. . iJS; ozt T(f vJ/ajxaSov waif ayx' SaAoffirvif, Iliad, XV. 362. St. XX. I. 32. — Langworth, a7id AlhufjiuTi/tic, and Payne. General Baron Langworth, (who unfortunately, but gloriously fell,) commanded the German cavalry. The duke of Albuquerque was of considerable service with his corps of Spanish horse, and Generals Payne and Anson commanded the British cavalry. These troops brought olT the remains of the 23d dragoons, who, in a charge headed by Colonel Seymour, had gotten entangled in a ravine and deep ditches, and were in danger of being entirely destroyed. — They behaved with great gal- lantry, but suffered a considerable loss, having however had the satis- 100 NOTES. faction of baffling Victor's (the duke of Belluno) attempt on General Hill's position. St. XXI. XXII. and XXIII. These three stanzas have been added since the seventh edition. — With the interesting circumstances which they attempt to describe, I was not acquainted when the poem was originally written. They were indeed, I believe, first made known to the public in a most impressive speech delivered in the House of Commons, early in the last session, by Lord Viscount Castlereagh ; and I have only to regret, that I have not been more successful in my endeavour to preserve, in my stanzas, the interest and animation of his Lordship's eloquent description. 1811. St. XXIT. 1. 14. — The Champion of Bhar. The famous Cid, Ruy Dias of Bivar, the Campeador. St. XXIIT. 1. 28.— Grasp of manlij hands. It is delightful to think that this incident, so interesting, and in modern times so unusual, is strictly true. St. XXIV. 1. 13.— 0« the centre. The repulse of Victor by the dragoons was followed by a general attack on the centre and right of the British line, which was every where gallantly repulsed ; but the action was severest towards the left of the centre, where General Sherbrook commanded : it was there that the gal- lant impetuosity of the Guards for a moment endangered the victory, and with the description of this principal attack the text is chiefly occupied. NOTES. 101 St. XXVII. 1. 18.— T^ic tide of victory turned. It is not to be denied, that at this inoment the fate of the dav was something worse than doubtful ; but Sir Arthur, as soon as he saw the advance of the Guards, anticipated the result, and moved other troops (among the rest the 4S(h regiment) from the heights into the plain, to cover the retreat, which took place as he expected. St. XXVII. 1. last. — Squanders himself awatf. See the note in Stanza VII. 1. 14, — Towards the close of the action. Sir A. Wellcsley was struck by two balls, (but without injury,) and two of his aid-de-camps were wounded at his side. On this occasion his personal exertions and peril seemed necessary to retrieve the victory. St. XXVIII. 1. 2.— A gallant legion. The 48th regiment, by whose coolness and courage (and both were severely tried) the Guards were enabled to form again. Col. Donellan was unfortunately severely wounded at the head of this gallant corps. 1809. This wound was mortal. This good and gallant man now ' sleeps the ' slumber of the brave.' 1810. St. XXIX. 1. 7. — He vainly toils and dies. I have lately observed that this line is almost literally borrowed from a description of circumstances nearly similar in ' Marmiun.' ' AVhile yvt on FloJden side, ' Afar, the royal standard flics, ' And round it toils, and bliids, and dies, ' Our Caledonian pride.'— C'((;ir. IV. Si. XXXIIl. 102 NOTES. I have 80 many other and greater obligations to the author of * Mar- ' niion,' that I should hardly have thought it worth while to notice this involuntary plagiarism^ but that, by doing so, I obtain an opportunity of publicly acknowledging these obligations, and of expressing my humble, but most sincere admiration of the vigour, originality, and splendour, which distinguish, from all the oth<'r works of our day, the delightful poems of Mr. Scott. I have just noticed also, that the second line of the XlXth Stanza is copied verbatim from Marmion. St. XXX. ]. 5. — Desolating fire.'f. This circumstance is mentioned in private letters ; but not that the French set fire to the field designedljj: — it would rather seem that the accidental bursting of their shells in the dry grass occasioned this con- flagration, which ravaged a great extent of ground, and entirely consumed many of the dead, and (horrid to relate !) some of the wounded. This must have been a new and striking feature of war. St. XXXII. 1. 14.— Fra7ice 7iiov€s her busy hands. Immmediately after the repulse of their general attack, the French began to retire ; which they did in good order ; and during the night effected their retreat towards Santa Olalla, leaving in the hands of the British 20 pieces of cannon, ammunition, tumbrils, and prisoners. St. XXXII. ]. l^.— Windy car. ' Ventoso gloria curru.' NOTES. 103 St. XXXII. 1. 34..—Glor!j of the day. If, says an eloquent writer in the Quarterly Review, we cherished, in former circumstances of the war, a hope of the success of our efforts for the assistance of Spain, and of lier final deliverance, ' We own we • cannot consent to abandon it now, when such a day as that of Talavera * has re-established, in its old and romantic proportion, the relative scale ' of British and French prowess ; when an achievement, tlie recital of ' which is alone sufficient to shame despondency, and to give animation ' to hope, has not only inspired us with fresh confidence in ourselves, but, ' by infusing into our allies a portion of that confidence, has furnished ' them with new means and new motives for exertion ' Quarterly Review, No. III. p. '234. St. XXXIII. 1. 18. For those that die In Iioiiour's ]ii^li career. I lament exceedingly that my plan and limits did not permit me to pay to those distinguished officers who fell in this action the Irihiitc they individually deserved — but it is to be hoped that the Country will show its sense of their glorious services and fall by a public monument. St. XXXIV. The author's brother died a few months before the publication of this poem, at the age of twenty-two ; at tlic moment wlnii lu', \nIii> liatl ever been a source of happiness to his family, was become its ornament and support, and had just entered on public life, with (for a person of his level) the fairest prospects, and under the happiest auspices. 104 NOTES. JVAR SONG. These stanzas were written and published at the breaking out of the present war, when, it will be recollected, the enemy's threats of invasion were not altogether despised in this country. Some of my readers will possibly observe, that the style and metre of this trifle are not very dis- similar from those which have been more lately used by some popular writers. I have therefore thought it necessary to state that it was pub- lished early in 1803 — but the truth is, that the practice of breaking the regular eight syllable verse into distichs or ternaries, by shorter lines, is very ancient in English poetry. The Chester Mysteries, written in 13^8, exhibit this metre in a tolerably perfect state. After a long disuse, it is indebted for its revival and popularity to the good taste and extraor- dinary talents of Mr. Scott ; and I cannot but think that it is, in his hands, one of the most harmonious and delightful of our English measures : to my ear, indeed, the versification of Marmion, in which Mr. Scott has used this style very freely, is more agreeable than that of the Lady of the Lake, in «hich he has employed it more sparingly. IL—SONG OF TRAFALGAR. St. III. 1. 4.—Aboiikir's hie. The western point of Aboukir Bay is formed by an island, now called, in our charts. Nelson's Island. On this island probably, and the adjoining peninsula, stood the ancient Canopus, both being, to this day, covered with ruins, supposed to be those of that celebrated city. NOTES. 105 This, I am inclined to think, is the Canopic Island known to all antiquity, and in later times called the Island Ahoukir. Eutv< hius, Ann. 2. .508.) This would account for the testimony given by Pliny, StrabOj &c. as to the insular situation of Canopus, and by Scylax, as to an island in the Canopic mouth, without having recourse to the supposi- tion that the Isthmus, somewhere between Alexandria and Aboukir casMc, had been covered by the sea, which indeed seems rather to have encroached upon, than receded from, that part of the coast. St. III. 1. 7- — Si. Vincent's towenj steep. On the summit of St. Vincent's, and close on the precipices which overhang the sea, is a convent, which gives the name of its patron to the Cape. ///. -SONG OF TRA FALGA R. St. II. 1.3. — Twentij hostile ensigns low. Such was the statement of the London Gazette, of the 21th Nov. 1805 ; but in a subsequent number this was noticed as an error, there being, in fact, hut nineteen sail of the line taken or utterly destroyed. I have been assured by a gentleman who was at that period in Germany, that this instance of the scrupulous veracity of the Hritish government produced an effect little less favourable to the British character than the news of the victory itself. I hope, however, that 1 may be forgiven for adhering to tiie first re- port, particularly as these lines were written before the corrected state- ment came to my knowledge. p 106 NOTES. It was a striking proof of Lord Nelson's almost miraculous sagacity, that just at the commencement of the action, he expressed his opinion that twenty sail of the enemy would be taken. St. XVI. Haul not your colour from on high, JSTor down the flags of victory loiver, Give every streamer to the sky. Let all your conquering cannon roar. ' If any flag-officer shall die in actual service, his flag shall be lowered ' half-mast, and shall continue so till he is buried ; and at his funeral the ' commanding officer present shall direct such a number of minute-guns, ' not exceeding twenty-five, as he may think proper, to be fired by every ' ship.' J^'aval Instructions, chap. 2, sec. 26. These lines were written before the intentions of government as to the hero's funeral were known, or probably had been fixed ; but I could not refrain from expressing my hope that the usual cold and penurious cere- monies should not disgrace an occasion so infinitely removed from, and above all precedent ; or that the grief of the navy and the nation should be directed by chapter and section, and attested by twenty-five minute- guns, and no more ! After all, the funeral did no great credit to our national taste; and I could wish, that the only memorial of it which re- mains, I mean the pitiful and trumpery car on which the body was car- riedjWere returned from the Painted Hall at Greenwich, which it disgraces, to the repository of the undertaker who built it. Shabby and tasteless as it originally was, it is now much worse; for whatever was costly about it has been removed, (particularly the plumes,) and cheap second-hand finery NOTES. 107 substituted instead. To this almust incredible meanness is added that of shewing this wrctclied vampcd-up vehicle to the visitors at Green- wich at threepence each ! ! ! IV.-SONG OF TRAFALGAR. Line 15. — The world's great victor. It is perhaps scarcely necessary to say, that I here allude to the famous visit of Alexander the Great to the tomb of Achilles. Line 34. Such let it he, as o'er the bed Of Nilus rears its loxvlt/ head. The famous pillar, commonly called Pompcy's, but stated, with such ostentation of accuracy by all the Frencli s(,avans, to have been erected in honour of Septimius Severus. The ingenuity and industry, however, of two British officers, Capt. Duncan, of the royal engineers, and Lieut. Dc Sadc, of the Queen's German regiment, have recovered the inscrip- tion on this celebrated column, which attests that it was erected and dedi- cated to Diocletian by Pontius, prefect of Egypt. Line A9.— Thither shall youthful heroes climb. This and some other passages, (in these .songs of Trafalgar,) .ho much resemble some thoughts in the vigorous and beautiful verses entitled, ' Ulm and Trafalgar,' that it is necessary for me to «r>i ii> GmrK Tosovt. To which arc added, Eimdiar 1)ia1o(:uc« nnd Ixttc:< ; a Cliip- Icr from the Vicar ol Wnkcfitld, with the .Modern (ircck and EiiRlish Text opposite ; Specimrnt from au .YAilo-Uuric Tra- gedy; and a Copious Vocabulary, lly JouhJackmh, Fjq. ■Ito. In Ike press. LORD NELSON. The Life of Horatio Loiid Nelson, elegantly printed in One \'oIume, small 8vo. Nearly rcuSy for publication. CAPTAL\ CARLETON. Memdirs of Georce Carleton, an English Officer, «ho served in the Wars against France and Spain ; containing an Account of the Earl of Peterborough, 8vo. I2s. PIERS PLOWMAN. The Vision of Piers Plowman ; printed from MSS. of higher Antiquity than any which liavc yet been collatf d, and forming a Text almost entirely different from that of Crowley. 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