3. As our ploughshare is the Sabre : [From an autograph MS. in the possession of Mr. Murray, [LOVE AND DEATH.] I. I WATCHED thee when the foe was at our side, 2. I watched thee on the breakers, when the rock 3. I watched thee when the fever glazed thine eyes, Yielding my couch and stretched me on the ground, When overworn with watching, ne'er to rise From thence if thou an early grave hadst found. 4. The earthquake came, and rocked the quivering wall, And men and nature reeled as if with wine. Whom did I seek around the tottering hall? For thee. Whose safety first provide for? Thine. 5. And when convulsive throes denied my breath 6. Thus much and more; and yet thou lov'st me not, [First published, Murray's Magazine, February, 1887, LAST WORDS ON GREECE. WHAT are to me those honours or renown Of aught save laurel, or for such could die. I am a fool of passion, and a frown Of thine to me is as an adder's eye. To the poor bird whose pinion fluttering down 1. ["The last he ever wrote. From a rough copy found amongst his papers at the back of the 'Song of Suli.' Copied November, 1824.-John C. Hobhouse.” "A note, attached to the verses by Lord Byron, states they were addressed to no one in particular, and were a mere poetical Scherzo. -J. C. H."] Such is this maddening fascination grown, So strong thy magic or so weak am I. [First published, Murray's Magazine, February, 1887, vol. i. p. 146.] ON THIS DAY I COMPLETE MY THIRTYSIXTH YEAR.1 I. "T is time this heart should be unmoved, Still let me love! 2. My days are in the yellow leaf; The flowers and fruits of Love are gone; Are mine alone! 1. ["This morning Lord Byron came from his bedroom into the apartment where Colonel Stanhope and some friends were assembled, and said with a smile-' You were complaining, the other day, that I never write any poetry now:-this is my birthday, and I have just finished something, which, I think, is better than what I usually write.' He then produced these noble and affecting verses, which were afterwards found written in his journals, with only the following introduction: 'Jan. 22; on this day I complete my 36th year." -A Narrative of Lord Byron's Last Journey to Greece, 1825, p. 125, by Count Gamba. In the Morning Chronicle, October 29, 1824, the lines are headed, "Lord Byron's Latest Verses," and are prefaced by the following note: "We have been indebted to a friend for the following immortal verses, the last he ever composed. Four of the lines have already appeared in an article in the Westminster Review" ("Lord Byron in Greece," July, 1824, vol. ii. p. 227).] 3. The fire that on my bosom preys Is lone as some Volcanic isle ; 4. The hope, the fear, the jealous care, 5. But 't is not thus-and 't is not here- . Such thoughts should shake my soul, nor now Where Glory decks the hero's bier, Or binds his brow. 6. iii. The Sword, the Banner, and the Field," 7. Awake! (not Greece-she is awake !) i. Is like to ii. iii. it is not here.-[M.C.] seals the hero's bier.-[M.C.] iv. The steed-the Banner-and the Field.-[MS. B.M.] 1. [The slain were borne on their shields. Witness the Spartan mother's speech to her son, delivered with his buckler: "either with this or on this" (B.M. Addit. MS. 31,038).] Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake,* 8. Tread those reviving passions down," 9. If thou regret'st thy youth, why live? IO. Seek out-less often sought than found— And take thy Rest. Missolonghi, Jan. 22, 1824. [First published, Morning Chronicle, October 29, 1824.] |