Far from the Sun and summer-gale, In thy green lap was Nature's darling 12 laid, To him the mighty mother did unveil Her awful face: the dauntless child "This pencil take," she said, "whose colours clear Richly paint the vernal year: Thine too these golden keys, immortal boy! This can unlock the gates of Joy; Of Horrour that, and thrilling fears, Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears. Nor second he 13, that rode sublime Upon the seraph-wings of Ecstasy, He pass'd the flaming bounds of place and time 14: Clos'd his eyes in endless night 15. Behold, where Dryden's less presumptuous car, Wide o'er the fields of Glory bear Two courses of ethereal race 17, Nor the pride, nor ample pinion, Yet oft before his infant eyes would run Beneath the good how far-but far above the great. THE BARD. A PINDARIC ODE. ADVERTISEMENT. THE following Ode is founded on a tradition current in Wales, that Edward the First, when he compleated the conquest of that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands, to be put to death. I. "RUIN seize thee, ruthless king! Though, fann'd by Conquest's crimson wing, With necks in thunder cloth'd 18, and long-re- To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears!" As down the steep of Snowdon's 4 shaggy side Cecilia's day: for Cowley (who had his merit) yet wanted judgment, style, and harmony, for such a task. That of Pope is not worthy of so great a man. Mr. Mason, indeed, of late days, has touched the true chords, and with a masterly hand, in some of his choruses-above all, in the last of Carac tacus. Hark! heard ye not yon footstep dread? &c. 21 Aids πrope Õprixa Gov. Olymp. 2. Pindar compares himself to that bird, and his enemies to ra vens that croak and clamour in vain below, while pursues its flight, regardless of their noise. 15 For the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels-And above the firmament, that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire-stone.This was the ap-it pearance of the glory of the Lord. Ezekiel i. 20, 26, 28. 16 Οφθαλμῶν μὲν ἄμερσε· δίδει δ ̓ ἡδεῖαν ἀοιδὴν. Hom. Odys. Mocking the air with colours idly spread. 2 The hauberk was a texture of steel ringlets, or rings interwoven, forming a coat of mail, that sat close to the body, and adapted itself to every mo tion. Stout Glo'sters stood aghast in speechless trance: To arms! cried Mortimer, and couch'd his quivering lance. On a rock, whose haughty brow Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, "Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave, To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay. "Cold is Cadwallo's tongue, Brave Urien sleeps upon his craggy bed: Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-top'd head. The famish'd eagle 10 screams, and passes by. No more I weep. They do not sleep. 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 12. II. "Weave the warp, and weave the woof, She-wolf of France 14, with unrelenting fangs, wait! Amazement in his van, with Flight combin'd; "Mighty Victor, mighty Lord, Low on his funeral couch he lies 16! Is the sable warrior 17 fled? Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead. Fair laughs the Morn 18, and soft the Zephyr blows, far east as the river Conway. R. Hygden, speaking of the castle of Conway, built by king Edward the First, says, "Ad ortum amnis Conway ad cli-Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm; vum montis Erery;" and Matthew of Westminster, Regardless of the sweeping Whirlwind's sway, (ad ann. 1283,)" Apud Aberconway ad pedes That, hush'd in grim repose, expects his eveningmontis Snowdoniæ fecit erigi castrum forte." 5 Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, son-in-law to king Edward. 6 Edmond de Mortimer, lord of Wigmore. They both were lords-marchers, whose lands lay on the borders of Wales, and probably accompanied the king in his expedition. The image was taken from the well-known picture of Raphael, representing the Supreme Being in the vision of Ezekiel: there are two of these paintings, (both believed original) one at Florence, the other at Paris. Shone, like a meteor, streaming to the wind. Milton's Paradise Lost. • The shores of Caernarvonshire opposite to the isle of Anglesey. prey. "Fill high the sparkling bowl, Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast 19: Fell Thirst and Famine scowl A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. 12 See the Norwegian Ode, that follows. 13 Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkley castle. 14 Isabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterous queen. 15 Triumphs of Edward the Third in France. 16 Death of that king, abandoned by his children, and even robbed in his last moments by his courtiers and his mistress. 17 Edward the Black Prince, dead sometime before his father. 10 Camden and others observe, that eagles used annually to build their aerie among the rocks of Snowdon, which from thence (as some think) were named by the Welsh Craigian-eryri, or the crags of the eagles. At this day (I am told) the highest point of Snowdon is called The Eagle's Nest. That bird is certainly no stranger to this island, as the Scots, and the people of Cumberland, Westmore- 19 Richard the Second (as we are told by archland, &c. can testify: it even has built its nest in bishop Scroop and the confederate lords in their the Peak of Derbyshire. See Willoughby's Orni-manifesto, by Thomas of Walsingham, and all the thol. Published by Ray. "As dear to me as are the ruddy drops, 18 Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See Froissard, and other contemporary writers. older writers) was starved to death. The story of his assassination by Sir Piers of Exon, is of much later date. Heard ye the din of battle bray 20, Lance to lance, and horse to horse! Long years of havoc urge their destin'd course, Twin'd with her blushing foe we spread : Now, brothers, bending o'er th' accursed loom, Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom. III. "Edward, lo! to sudden fate (Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.) Leave me unbless'd, unpitied, here to mourn: But oh what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height All-hail, ye genuine kings 29; Britannia's issue, hail! "Girt with many a baron bold 20 Ruinous civil wars of York and Lancaster. 2 Henry the Sixth, George duke of Clarence, Edward the Fifth, Richard duke of York, &c. believed to be murdered secretly in the tower of London. The oldest part of that structure is vulgarly attributed to Julius Cæsar. 22 Margaret of Anjou, a woman of heroic spirit, who struggled hard to save her husband and her 25 The white and red roses, devices of York and Lancaster. 26 The silver-boar was the badge of Richard the Third; whence he was usually known in his own time by the name of The Boar. 27 Eleanor of Castile died a few years after the conquest of Wales. The heroic proof she gave of her affection for her lord is well known. The monuments of his regret, and sorrow for the loss of her, are still to be seen at Northampton, Geddington, Waltham, and other places. 28 It was the common belief of the Welsh nation, that king Arthur was still alive in Fairy-land, and should return again to reign over Britain. 29 Both Merlin and Taliessin had prophesied, that the Welsh should regain their sovereignty over this island; which seemed to be accomplished in the house of Tudor., ance of Sictryg with the Silken Beard, who was then making war on his father-in-law Brian, king of Dublin: the earl and all his forces were cut to pieces; and Sictryg was in danger of a total defeat; but the enemy had a greater loss, by the death of Brian, their king, who fell in the action. On Christmas-day, (the day of the battle) a native of Caithness, in Scotland, saw at a distance, a number of persons on horseback, riding full speed towards a hill, and seeming to enter into it. Curiosity led him to follow them, till, looking through an opening in the rocks, he saw twelve gigantic figures, resembling women: they were all employed about a loom; and as they wove, they sung the following dreadful song; which when they had finished, they tore the web into twelve pieces, and (each taking her portion) galloped six to the north, and as many to the south. THE FATAL SISTERS 2. Now the storm begins to lour, Glittering lances are the loom, Where the dusky warp we strain, Weaving many a soldier's doom, Orkney's woe, and Randver's bane. See the griesly texture grow, ("Tis of human entrails made) And the weights that play below, Each a gasping warrior's head. Shafts for shuttles, dipt in gore, Keep the tissue close and strong. In the introduction to it he meant to have produced some specimens of the style that reigned in ancient times among the neighbouring nations, or those who had subdued the greater part of this island, and were our progenitors; the following three imitations made a part of them. He has long since dropped his design, especially after he had heard that it was already in the hands of a person well qualified to do it justice, both by his taste, and his researches into antiquity. The Valkyriur were female divinities, servants of Odin (or Woden) in the Gothic mythology. Their name signifies choosers of the slain. They were mounted on swift horses, with drawn swords in their hands; and in the throng of battle selected such as were destined to slaughter, and conducted them to Valkalla, the hall of Odin, or paradise of the brave; where they attended the banquet, and served the departed heroes with horns of mead and ale. How quick they wheel'd; and flying, behind them shot Sharp sleet of arrowy shower Milton's Paradise Regained. • The noise of battle hurtled in the air. Shakspeare's Julius Cæsar. Mista black, terrific maid, Ere the ruddy Sun be set, Pikes must shiver, javelins sing, Where our friends the conflict share, O'er the youthful king your shield. Ours to kill, and ours to spare: (Weave the crimson web of war) Gor'd with many a gaping wound: Soon a king shall bite the ground. Long his loss 'shall Eirin weep, Ne'er again his likeness see; Long her strains in sorrow steep, Strains of immortality! Horrour covers all the heath, Clouds of carnage blot the Sun. Sisters, weave the web of death; Sisters, cease, the work is done. Hail the task, and hail the hands! Songs of joy and triumph sing! Joy to the victorious bands: Triumph to the younger king. Learn the tenour of our song. THE DESCENT OF ODIN. AN ODE. [FROM THE NORSE-TONGUE.] IN BARTHOLINUS, DE CAUSIS CONTEMNENDÆ MORTIS; HAFNIE, 1689, quarto. Upreis Odinn allda gauir, &c. UPROSE the King of Men with speed, Down the yawning steep he rode, (The groaning Earth beneath him shakes) Right against the eastern gate, Slowly breath'd a sullen sound. PR. What call unknown, what charms presume That calls me from the bed of rest? O. A traveller, to thee unknown, For whom yon glittering board is spread, PR. Mantling in the goblet, see O. Once again my call obey, PR. In Hoder's hand the hero's doom: O. Prophetess, my spell obey, Niflheimr, the Hell of the Gothic nations, consisted of nine worlds, to which were devoted all such as died of sickness, old age, or by any other means than in battle: over it presided Hela, the goddess of death. Nor wash his visage in the stream, O. Yet a while my call obey, And snowy veils, that float in air. PR. Ha! no traveller art thou O. No boding maid of skill divine PR. Hie thee hence, and boast at home, Has reassum'd her ancient right; THE TRIUMPHS OF OWEN 3. A FRAGMENT. FROM MR. EVANS'S SPECIMENS OF THE WELSH POETRY; OWEN's praise demands my song, Big with hosts of mighty name, 2 Lok is the evil being, who continues in chain till the twilight of the gods approaches, when h shall break his bonds; the human race, the stars and Sun, shall disappear; the earth sink in th seas, and fire consume the skies: even Odin him self and his kindred deities shall perish. For further explanation of this mythology, see Mallet Introduction to the History of Denmark, 1755 quarto. 3 Owen succeeded his father Griffin in the prin cipality of North Wales, A. D. 112. This battl was fought near forty years afterwards. 4 North Wales. 5 Denmark. |