81

mourli.

120

90

There many a pale and ruthless robber's Hope cheers with wonted smiles the peace-
corse,

ful realm,
Noisome and ghast, defiles thy sacred And heals the bleeding wounds of wearied
sod;

hate.
O'er mingling man, and horse commix'd
with horse,

The gloomy tenants, Newstead ! of thy
Corruption's heap, the savage spoilers

cells,
trod.

Howling, resign their violated nest;

Again the master on his tenure dwells,
Graves, long with rank and sighing weeds Enjoy'd, from absence, with enraptured
o'erspread,

zest.
Ransack'd, resign perforce their mortal
mould:

Vassals, within thy hospitable pale,
From ruffian fangs escape not e'en the dead, Loudly carousing, bless their lord's re-
Raked from repose in search for buried turn;
gold.

Culture again adorns the gladdening vale,

And matrons, once lamenting, cease to
Hush'd is the harp, unstrung the warlike

lyre,
The minstrel's palsied hand reclines in A thousand songs on tuneful echo float,
death;

Unwonted foliage mantles o'er the trees;
No more he strikes the quivering chords And Hark! the horns proclaim a mellow
with fire,

note,
Or sings the glories of the martial wreath. The hunters' cry hangs lengthening on

the breeze.
At length the sated murderers, gorged with
prey,

Beneath their coursers' hoofs the valleys
Retire; the clamour of the fight is o'er;

shake:
Silence again resumes her awful sway, What fears, what anxious hopes, attend
And sable Horror guards the massy

the chase !
door.

The dying stag seeks refuge in the Lake;

Exulting shouts announce the finish'd
Here Desolation holds her dreary court:

What satellites declare her dismal reign !
Shrieking their dirge, ill-omen'd birds re- Ah happy days ! too happy to endure !
sort,

Such simple sports our plain forefathers
To flit their vigils in the hoary fane.

knew

:

No splendid vices glitter'd to allure;
Soon a new morn's restoring beams dispel Their joys were many, as their cares were
The clouds of anarchy from Britain's

few.
skies;
The fierce usurper seeks his native hell, From these descending, sons to sires suc-
And Nature triumphs as the tyrant dies.

ceed;

Time steals along, and Death uprears his
With storms she welcomes his expiring dart;
groans;

Another chief impels the foaming steed,
Whirlwinds, responsive, greet his labour- Another crowd pursue the panting hart.

ing breath;
Earth shudders as her caves receive his Newstead! what saddening change of
bones,

scene is thine !
Loathing the offering of so dark a death. Thy yawning arch betokens slow de-

cay;
The legal ruler now resumes the helm, The last and youngest of a noble line
He guides through gentle seas the prow Now holds thy mouldering turrets in his

sway.

race.

130

of state;

140

21

152

Deserted now, he scans thy gray worn When love was bliss, and Beauty form'd towers;

our heaven; Thy vaults where dead of feudal ages Or, dear to youth, portrays each childish sleep;

scene, Thy cloisters, pervious to the wintry show- Those fairy bowers, where all in turn have ers;

been. These, these he views, and views them As when through clouds that pour the sumbut to weep.

mer storm

The orb of day unveils his distant form, Yet are his tears no emblem of regret: Gilds with faint beams the crystal dews of Cherish'd affection only bids them flow;

rain, Pride, hope, and love forbid him to forget, And dimly twinkles o'er the watery plain; But warm his bosom with impassion'd Thus, while the future dark and cheerless glow.

gleams,

The sun of memory, glowing through my Yet he prefers thee to the gilded domes

dreams, Or gewgaw grottos of the vainly great; Though sunk the radiance of his former Yet lingers ʼmid thy damp and mossy tombs, blaze, Nor breathes a murmur 'gainst the will To scenes far distant points his paler rays; of fate.

Still rules my senses with unbounded sway,

The past confounding with the present day. Haply thy sun, emerging, yet may shine,

Thee to irradiate with meridian ray; Oft does my heart indulge the rising Hours splendid as the past may still be thought, thine,

Which still recurs, unlook'd for and unAnd bless thy future as thy former day.

sought; My soul to Fancy's fond suggestion yields,

And roams romantic o'er her airy fields. CHILDISH RECOLLECTIONS Scenes of my youth, developed, crowd to

view, I cannot but remern ber such things were, To which I long have bade a last adieu ! And were most dear to me.' Macbeth.

Seats of delight, inspiring youthful themes; When slow Disease, with all her host of Friends lost to me for aye, except in dreams; pains,

Some who in marble prematurely sleep, Chills the warm tide which flows along the Whose forms I now remember but to weep; veins;

Some who yet urge the same scholastic When Health, affrighted, spreads her rosy wing,

Of early science, future fame the source; And flies with every changing gale of Who, still contending in the studious race, spring;

In quick rotation fill the senior place. Not to the aching frame alone confined, These with a thousand visions now unite, Unyielding pangs assail the drooping mind: To dazzle, though they please, my aching What grisly forms, the spectre-train of sight.

woe, Bid shuddering Nature shrink beneath the IDA ! blest spot, where Science holds her blow,

reign, With Resignation wage relentless strife, How joyous once I join'd thy youthful While Hope retires appall’d, and clings to

train ! life.

Bright in idea gleams thy lofty spire, Yet less the pang when, through the tedious Again I mingle with thy playful quire; hour,

Our tricks of mischief, every childish game, Remembrance sheds around her genial Unchanged by time or distance, seem the power,

same; Calls back the vanish'd days to rapture Through winding paths along the glade, I given,

trace

31

course

40

10

sun

170

142

In scatter'd groups each favour'd haunt Along the wall in lengthen'd line extends. pursue;

Though still our deeds amuse the youthful Repeat old pastimes and discover new;

race, Flush'd with his rays, beneath the noontide Who tread our steps and fill our former

place, In rival bands between the wickets run, 130 Who young obey'd their lords in silent awe, Drive o'er the sward the ball with active Whose nod commanded and whose voice force,

was law; Or chase with nimble feet its rapid course. And now, in turn, possess the reins of But these with slower steps direct their

power, way

To rule the little tyrants of an hour; – Where Brent's cool waves in limpid cur- Though sometimes with the tales of ancient rents stray;

day While yonder few search out some green They pass the dreary winter's eve away – retreat,

And thus our former rulers stemm'd the And arbours shade them from the summer

tide, heat.

And thus they dealt the combat side by Others, again, a pert and lively crew,

side; Some rough and thoughtless stranger placed Just in this place the mouldering walls they in view,

scaled, With frolic quaint their antic jests expose, Nor bolts nor bars against their strength And tease the grumbling rustic as he goes;

avail'd; Nor rest with this, but many a passing fray Here Probus came, the rising fray to Tradition treasures for a future day:

quell, • 'T was here the gather'd swains for ven- And here he falter'd forth his last faregeance fought,

well; And here we earn’d the conquest dearly And here one night abroad they dared to bought;

roam, Here have we fled before superior might, While bold POMPOSUS bravely stay'd at And here renew'd the wild tumultuous

home;' fight.'

While thus they speak, the hour must soon While thus our souls with early passions arrive, swell,

When names of these, like ours, alone surIn lingering tones resounds the distant bell;

vive: Th'allotted hour of daily sport is o'er, Yet a few years, one general wreck will And Learning beckons from her temple's

whelm door.

The faint remembrance of our fairy realm. No splendid tablets grace her simple hall, But ruder records fill the dusky wall;

Dear honest race ! though now we meet There, deeply carved, behold ! each tyro's

no more,

One last long look on what we were beforeSecures its owner's academic fame;

Our first kind greetings, and our last Here mingling view the names of sire and

adieu

Drew tears from eyes unused to weep with The one long graved, the other just begun.

you. These shall survive alike when son and sire Through splendid circles, fashion's gaudy Beneath one common stroke of fate expire:

world, Perhaps their last memorial these alone, Where folly's glaring standard waves unDenied in death a monumental stone,

furl'd, Whilst to the gale in mournful cadence I plunged to drown in noise my fond regret,

And all I sought or hoped was to forget. The sighing weeds that hide their nameless Vain wish! if chance some well-rememgrave.

ber'd face, And here my name,

and
many an early

Some old companion of my early race, friend's,

Advanced to claim his friend with honest joy,

180

150

name

son

160

190

wave