III.

Away! we know that tears are vain,

That Death nor heeds nor hears distress:
Will this unteach us to complain?

Or make one mourner weep the less?
And thou-who tell'st me to forget,i
Thy looks are wan, thine eyes are wet.". 1

[Published in the Examiner, April 23, 1815.]

MY SOUL IS DARK.

I.

My soul is dark-Oh! quickly string
The harp I yet can brook to hear;
And let thy gentle fingers fling

Its melting murmurs o'er mine ear.
If in this heart a hope be dear,

2

That sound shall charm it forth again :

...

1. [Compare "Nay, now, pry'thee weep no more! you know, that 'tis sinful to murmur at Providence."-" And should not that reflection check your own, my Blanche ?"-" Why are your cheeks so wet? Fie! fie, my child !"-Romantic Tales, by M. G. Lewis, 1808, i. 53.]

2. [Compare "My soul is dark."-Ossian, "Oina-Morul," The Works of Ossian, 1765, ii. 279.]

If in these eyes there lurk a tear,

'Twill flow, and cease to burn my brain.

II.

But bid the strain be wild and deep,
Nor let thy notes of joy be first:
I tell thee, minstrel, I must weep,

Or else this heavy heart will burst;
For it hath been by sorrow nursed,

And ached in sleepless silence long;
And now 'tis doomed to know the worst,
And break at once-or yield to song.1

I SAW THEE WEEP.

I.

I SAW thee weep-the big bright tear
Came o'er that eye of blue;2
And then methought it did appear
A violet dropping dew:

I saw thee smile-the sapphire's blaze
Beside thee ceased to shine;

It could not match the living rays

That filled that glance of thine.

1. ["It was generally conceived that Lord Byron's reported singularities approached on some occasions to derangement; and at one period, indeed, it was very currently asserted that his intellects were actually impaired. The report only served to amuse his Lordship. He referred to the circumstance, and declared that he would try how a Madman could write: seizing the pen with eagerness, he for a moment fixed his eyes in majestic wildness on vacancy; when, like a flash of inspiration, without erasing a single word, the above verses were the result."-Fugitive Pieces, 1829, p. 37.]

2. [Compare the first Sonnet to Genevra (addressed to Lady Frances Wedderburn Webster), "Thine eye's blue tenderness."]

II.

As clouds from yonder sun receive
A deep and mellow dye,

Which scarce the shade of coming eve
Can banish from the sky,

Those smiles unto the moodiest mind
Their own pure joy impart;

Their sunshine leaves a glow behind
That lightens o'er the heart.

THY DAYS ARE DONE.

I.

THY days are done, thy fame begun;
Thy country's strains record
The triumphs of her chosen Son,

The slaughters of his sword!
The deeds he did, the fields he won,

The freedom he restored!

II.

Though thou art fall'n, while we are free Thou shalt not taste of death!

The generous blood that flowed from thee Disdained to sink beneath :

Within our veins its currents be,

Thy spirit on our breath!

III.

Thy name, our charging hosts along,

Shall be the battle-word!

Thy fall, the theme of choral song
From virgin voices poured!
To weep would do thy glory wrong:
Thou shalt not be deplored.

SAUL.

I.

THOU whose spell can raise the dead,
Bid the Prophet's form appear.
"Samuel, raise thy buried head!

King, behold the phantom Seer!"

Earth yawned; he stood the centre of a cloud:
Light changed its hue, retiring from his shroud.
Death stood all glassy in his fixéd eye;

His hand was withered, and his veins were dry;
His foot, in bony whiteness, glittered there,
Shrunken and sinewless, and ghastly bare;
From lips that moved not and unbreathing frame,
Like caverned winds, the hollow accents came.
Saul saw, and fell to earth, as falls the oak,
At once, and blasted by the thunder-stroke."

II.

"Why is my sleep disquieted?
Who is he that calls the dead?

Is it thou, O King? Behold,

Bloodless are these limbs, and cold: iii.

i. He stands amidst an earthly cloud,

And the mist mantled o'er his floating shroud.—[MS. erased.]

ii. At once and scorched beneath

iii. Bloodless are these bones

-.—[MS. Copy (1, 2).]

-[MS.

Such are mine; and such shall be
Thine to-morrow, when with me:
Ere the coming day is done,
Such shalt thou be-such thy Son.
Fare thee well, but for a day,
Then we mix our mouldering clay.
Thou-thy race, lie pale and low,
Pierced by shafts of many a bow;
And the falchion by thy side

To thy heart thy hand shall guide:
Crownless-breathless-headless fall,
Son and Sire-the house of Saul!" 1

Seaham, Feb., 1815.

SONG OF SAUL BEFORE HIS LAST BATTLE.

I.

WARRIORS and chiefs! should the shaft or the sword

Pierce me in leading the host of the Lord,

Heed not the corse, though a King's, in your path:
Bury your steel in the bosoms of Gath!

II.

il.

Thou who art bearing my buckler and bow,"
Should the soldiers of Saul look away from the foe,

i.

i. Heed not the carcase that lies in your path.-[MS. Copy (1).] ii. my shield and my bow,

Should the ranks of your king look away from the foe.—[MS.] 1. ["Since we have spoken of witches," said Lord Byron at Cephalonia, in 1823, "what think you of the witch of Endor? I have always thought this the finest and most finished witch-scene that ever was written or conceived; and you will be of my opinion, if you consider all the circumstances and the actors in the case, together with the gravity, simplicity, and dignity of the language." Conversations on Religion with Lord Byron, by James Kennedy, M.D., London, 1830, p. 154.]