To nought else constant, hither deign'd to flee; LXVII. From morn till night, from night till startled Morn And love and prayer unite, or rule the hour by turns. LXVIII. The Sabbath comes, a day of blessed rest; What hallows it upon this Christian shore? Lo! it is sacred to a solemn feast; Hark! heard you not the forest-monarch's roar? Crashing the lance, he snuffs the spouting gore Of man and steed, o'erthrown beneath his horn; The throng'd arena shakes with shouts for more; Yells the mad crowd o'er entrails freshly torn, Nor shrinks the female eye, nor ev'n affects to mourn. LXIX. The seventh day this; the jubilee of man. London! right well thou know'st the day of prayer: Then thy spruce citizen, wash'd artisan, And smug apprentice gulp their weekly air: Thy coach of hackney, whiskey, one-horse chair, And humblest gig through sundry suburbs whirl; To Hampstead, Brentford, Harrow make repair; Till the tired jade the wheel forgets to hurl, Provoking envious gibe from each pedestrian churl. LXX. Some o'er thy Thamis row the ribbon'd fair, Some Richmond-hill ascend, some scud to Ware, In whose dread name both men and maids are sworn, And consecrate the oath with draught, and dance till morn. LXXI. All have their fooleries- not alike are thine, Fair Cadiz, rising o'er the dark blue sea! Much is the VIRGIN teased to shrive them free From crimes as numerous as her beadsmen be; Then to the crowded circus forth they fare: LXXII. The lists are oped, the spacious area clear'd, Yet ever well inclined to heal the wound; None through their cold disdain are doom'd to die, This was written at Thebes, and consequently in the best situation for asking and answering such a question; not as the birthplace of Pindar, but as the capital of Bootia, where the first riddle was propounded and solved. LXXIII. Hush'd is the din of tongues on gallant steeds, With milk-white crest, gold spur, and light-pois'd lance, Four cavaliers prepare for venturous deeds, And lowly bending to the lists advance; Rich are their scarfs, their chargers featly prance: And all that kings or chiefs e'er gain their toils repay. LXXIV. In costly sheen and gaudy cloak array'd, The lord of lowing herds; but not before The ground, with cautious tread, is traversed o'er, Can man achieve without the friendly steed - LXXV. Thrice sounds the clarion; lo! the signal falls, Here, there, he points his threatening front, to suit LXXVI. spear: Sudden he stops; his eye is fix'd: away, With well-timed croupe the nimble coursers veer; Dart follows dart; lance, lance; loud bellowings speak his woes. LXXVII. Again he comes; nor dart nor lance avail, LXXVIII. Foil'd, bleeding, breathless, furious to the last, Mid wounds, and clinging darts, and lances brast, And now the Matadores around him play, Shake the red cloak, and poise the ready brand: Once more through all he bursts his thundering way Vain rage! the mantle quits the conynge hand, Wraps his fierce eye - 'tis past — he sinks upon the sand! LXXIX. Where his vast neck just mingles with the spine, He stops he starts disdaining to decline: Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries, Without a groan, without a struggle dies. The corse is piled sweet sight for vulgar eyes - Lord Byron. II. 3 LXXX. Such the ungentle sport that oft invites The Spanish maid, and cheers the Spanish swain. To meditate 'gainst friends the secret blow, For some slight cause of wrath. whence life's warm stream must flow. LXXXI. But Jealousy has fled: his bars, his bolts, While on the gay dance shone Night's lover-loving Queen? LXXXII. Oh! many a time, and oft, had Harold loved, How fair, how young, how soft soe'er he seem, Full from the fount of Joy's delicious springs Some bitter o'er the flowers its bubbling venom flings.* LXXXIII. Yet to the beauteous form he was not blind, Though now it moved him as it moves the wise; E'er deign'd to bend her chastely-awful eyes: |