Such forms as glitter in the Muse's ray, With orient hues, unborrow'd of the sun : Yet shall he mount, and keep his distant way Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate, Beneath the Good how far !-but far above the Great. THE BARD. I. I. "RUIN seize thee, ruthless King! Nor e'en thy virtues, Tyrant, shall avail To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, He wound with toilsome march his long array. Stout Glo'ster stood aghast in speechless trance: "To arms!” cried Mortimer, and couch'd his quiv'ring lance. I. 2. On a rock, whose haughty brow Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, With haggard eyes the Poet stood Stream'd, like a meteor, to the troubled air), 66 Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave, O'er thee, oh King! their hundred arms they wave, Vocal no more, since Cambria's fatal day, 15 20 25 Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-top'd head. 35 Smear'd with gore, and ghastly pale: The famish'd eagle screams, and passes by. Dear, as the light that visits these sad eyes, Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart, Ye died amidst your dying country's criesNo more I weep. They do not sleep. On yonder cliffs, a griesly band, I see them sit; they linger yet, Avengers of their native land: With me in dreadful harmony they join, And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line. II. I. "Weave the warp and weave the woof, 40 45 The shrieks of death thro' Berkley's roofs that ring, 55 Shrieks of an agonizing king! She-wolf of France, with unrelenting fangs That tear'st the bowels of thy mangled mate, What terrors round him wait! Amazement in his van, with Flight combined, 60 Mighty Victor, mighty Lord! Low on his funeral couch he lies! No pitying heart, no eye, afford A tear to grace his obsequies. Is the sable warriour fled? Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead. 65 The swarm that in thy noontide beam were born? 70 Fair laughs the Morn, and soft the Zephyr blows, In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes; Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm ; Regardless of the sweeping Whirlwind's sway, That, hush'd in grim repose, expects his evening-prey. 75 II. 3. "Fill high the sparkling bowl, The rich repast prepare, Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast: Close by the regal chair Fell Thirst and Famine scowl Heard ye the din of battle bray, 80 A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. Lance to lance, and horse to horse? Long years of havock urge their destin'd course, 85 And thro' the kindred squadrons mow their way. 90 Twin'd with her blushing foe, we spread : The bristled Boar in infant-gore Wallows beneath the thorny shade. Now, brothers, bending o'er th' accursed loom, 95 Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom. III. I. Edward, lo! to sudden fate (Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.) Half of thy heart we consecrate. (The web is wove. The work is done.) Stay, oh stay! nor thus forlorn Leave me unbless'd, unpitied, here to mourn: 100 In yon bright track, that fires the western skies, But oh what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul! All hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail! III. 2. "Girt with many a baron bold Sublime their starry fronts they rear; And gorgeous dames, and statesmen old In bearded majesty, appear. In the midst a form divine! Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-line; What strings symphonious tremble in the air, What strains of vocal transport round her play, 120 Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear; They breathe a soul to animate thy clay. Bright Rapture calls, and soaring, as she sings, Waves in the eye of Heav'n her many-colour'd wings. A voice, as of the Cherub-Choir, Gales from blooming Eden bear; And distant warblings lessen on my ear, That lost in long futurity expire. Fond impious man, think'st thou yon sanguine cloud, Rais'd by thy breath, has quench'd the orb of day? To-morrow he repairs the golden flood, And warms the nations with redoubled ray. Enough for me: with joy I see The different doom our fates assign: Be thine Despair, and scept'red Care; To triumph and to die are mine." He spoke, and headlong from the mountain's height 135 140 |