'Twas from Kathleen's eyes he flew,- She had loved him well and long, SHE IS FAR FROM THE LAND. SHE is far from the land where her young hero sleeps, But coldly she turns from their gaze, and weeps, She sings the wild songs of her dear native plains, Ah! little they think, who delight in her strains, He had lived for his love, for his country he died, Oh! make her a grave where the sunbeams rest They'll shine o'er her sleep, like a smile from the West, From her own lovèd island of sorrow. NAY, TELL ME NOT. NAY, tell me not, dear, that the goblet drowns Been lost in the stream That ever was shed from thy form or soul; Still float on the surface, and hallow my The bowl but brightens my love for thee. bowl. They tell us that Love, in his fairy bower, That drank of the floods Distill'd by the rainbow decline and fade; Of ruby had dyed All blush'd into beauty, like thee, sweet maid! AVENGING AND BRIGHT. AVENGING and bright fall the swift sword of Erin' On him who the brave sons of Usna betray'dfond eye he hath waken'd a tear in, For every A drop from his heart-wounds shall weep o'er her blade. We swear to revenge them!-no joy shall be tasted, Yes, monarch! though sweet are our home recollections, WHAT THE BEE IS TO THE FLOWERET. He.-WHAT the bee is to the floweret, When he looks for honey-dew, Through the leaves that close embower it, I The words of this song were suggested by the very ancient Irish story called "Deirdri; or, the Lamentable Fate of the Sons of Usnach," which has been translated literally from the Gaelic by Mr. O'Flanagan (see vol. i. of Transac tions of the Gaelic Society of Dublin), and upon which it appears that the "Darthula" of Macpherson is founded. The treachery of Conor, king of Ulster, in putting to death the three sons of Usna, was the cause of a desolating war against Ulster, which terminated in the destruction of Eman. "This story," says Mr. O'Flanagan, "has been from time immemorial held in high repute as one of the three tragic stories of the Irish. These are, 'The Death of the Children of Touran,'The Death of the Children of Lear' (both regarding Tuatha de Denans), and this 'the Death of the Children of Usnach,' which is a Milesian story. At the commencement of these Melodies will also be found a ballad upon the story of the Children of Lear, or Lir; “Silent, O Moyle!" &c. Whatever may be thought of those sanguine claims to antiquity which Mr. O'Flanagan and others advance for the literature of Ireland, it would be a very lasting reproach upon our nationality, if the Gaelic researches of this gentleman did not meet with all the liberal encouragement which they merit. 2 "O Naisi! view the cloud that I here see in the sky! I see over Eman green a chilling cloud of blood-tinged red."-Deirdri's Song. 3 Ulster. She. What the bank, with verdure glowing, She. But, they say, the bee's a rover, Who will fly when sweets are gone; LOVE AND THE NOVICE. "HERE we dwell in holiest bowers, Where angels of light o'er our orisons bend; Where sighs of devotion and breathings of flowers To heaven in mingled odour ascend. Do not disturb our calm, O Love! So like is thy form to the cherubs above, "Who would have thought," the urchin cries, And angels themselves would admit such a guest, THIS LIFE IS ALL CHEQUER'D WITH PLEA- THIS life is all chequer'd with pleasures and woes, Each brightly or darkly, as onward it flows, So closely our whims on our miseries tread, That the laugh is awaked ere the tear can be dried; And, as fast as the rain-drop of Pity is shed, The goose-plumage of Folly can turn it aside. But pledge me the cup-if existence would cloy, With hearts ever happy, and heads ever wise, Be ours the light Sorrow, half-sister to Joy, And the light brilliant Folly that flashes and dies. When Hylas was sent with his urn to the fount, Through fields full of light, with heart full of play, Light rambled the boy, over meadow and mount, And neglected his task for the flowers on the way.1 Thus many, like me, who in youth should have tasted The fountain that runs by Philosophy's shrine, Their time with the flowers on the margin have wasted And left their light urns all as empty as mine. But pledge me the goblet-while Idleness weaves These flowerets together, should Wisdom but see One bright drop or two that has fallen on the leaves From her fountain divine, 'tis sufficient for me. O THE SHAMROCK! THROUGH Erin's Isle, As Love and Valour wander'd, With Wit, the sprite, Whose quiver bright A thousand arrows squander'd; Where'er they pass, A triple grass 2 Shoots up, with dew-drops streaming, As softly green As emerald seen O the Shamrock, the green, immortal Shamrock! Of Bard and Chief, Old Erin's native Shamrock! 1 Proposito florem prætulit officio.-Propert. lib. i. eleg. 20. 2 Saint Patrick is said to have made use of that species of trefoil to which in Ireland we give the name of Shamrock, in explaining the doctrine of the Trinity to the pagan Irish. I do not know if there be any other reason for our adoption of this plant as a national emblem. Hope, among the ancients, was sometimes represented as a beautiful child, "standing upon tip-toes, and a trefoil, or three-coloured grass, in her hand." |