1825.] 
oe) ae 
ORIGINAL POETRY. 
ti “ 
EPIC FRAGMENTS—No. VIL 
NOBILITY. 
Seex you for homage to.a puff of name— 
The stale-?rown vaunt of your nobility ? 
The sleeveless herald shall proclaim ‘your 
2 ivorth* 
Your®virtues'of some'thousand years agone, 
That budded, bloom’d and. perish'd, ere the 
gdera hour. .vsdiova ' 
Of your great-grandsire’s birth: or, it may be, 
The,vices,rather-of the great first-nam’d, 
That from his dunghill sprang, and cast his 
_. «Slough ; 
Theswine-herd limbsin bandit mail array’d— 
The terror of the woodland and the glen!— 
Till deeds of rapine, treachery and blood 
Had given him lands, and blazon’d o’er his 
shield 2 
With hieroglyphic monsters—wolf or pard— 
And, while they stamp’d their record on the 
coat 
Which you still wear so proudly, with the dye 
Mingled the infectious venom, that still taints 
The blood of all it clings to. Go, then, boast 
The original sin of your high ancestry ; 
And scorn to hear the heav’n-attested truth; 
That nought is noble, weigh’d in Reason’s 
scale, 
But Virtue, by high intellect inform’d, 
And with unshrinking fortitude sustain’d :’ 
And nought so base, so sordid and so mean, 
As false distinctions, that inflate the vile, 
Diwide the natural brotherhood of man, 
And supersede the duties which we owe 
To honour, conscience and humanity. 
~ THE KING CAN DO NO WRONG. 
KunGscannot wrong—for in the wrongous act 
They lose their title, and are kings no more. 
The tyranny absolves the subject’s bond: 
For kings are but the creatures of the law— 
Subject themselves to the creating will, 
“Not over it supreme. Kings cannot wrong ! 
SUFFERING INNOCENCE. 
I saw her, where beside the tomb she sat. 
Ofall her buried hopes ; resign’d, notbow’d— 
In sorrow, yet sublime: her very tears 
Bespoke an infelt dignity :—the grief 
’d the virtue, but could not subdue: 
— Exalted rather !—as the humid haze, 
That ‘dims the lustre of some radiant star, 
Gives it apparent magnitude, and proves 
The virtue of that pure ethereal ray, 
Tlie envious exhalation could not blench, 
¢saimMmogo: J. T. 
oot SRME ELOPEMENT:— 
“3t Viehae 4 BALLAD. 
“, Wazat,. if, the warder come?’’— ‘ What 
i) then ?— 
Why, let the drawbridge down again !’— 
“ What, if the warder blow his horn ?”— 
‘Why, farry here till break of morn !’— 
“ Tarry pris Fae thy heart would feel 
My father’s wrath—his blade of stecl.”’ 
‘ Brace, then, thy kirtle, twine thy locks, 
And trust the steep descending rocks: 
I well can swim—I’Il cross the lake, 
Where the moonheams light on the. waters 
make : 
Pll seek—Ill loose—the castle-boat, 
Chain’d over the lea of the darken’d moat. 
The warder sleeps :—wilt thou go with me? 
Now, “igh not, my lady! but smile, and ‘be 
ree !— 
Your father’s choice, for the bridal: bed, 
Is a grave old churl with a silver’d head. 
T have fought in the ring, I have won the 
glove, 
The guerdon of skill in the cause of love; 
My turrets stand firm, and my castle waits 
To welcome the bride thro’ its ancient gates; 
The tapestry-rooms, with the goblets and 
wine, 
But wait for the love-light in which they 
would shine ! 
The banquet of bridal come share, love, with 
me, 
Ere a7 fattvct return, who would darken its 
glee! 
By the gleam of the torch-light that flickers 
along ; 
By the bay of his hounds, and the revel of song; 
By the hum in the towers and the stir at the 
doors ; 
By the hoofs that shall rattle, ere long, on 
the floors — 
He is coming to give thee, lost lady! away 
Tothe palsied old dotard so wither’dand gray. 
The castle-knell tolls, so loud and so shrill— 
But wit troopers await on yon heath-cover’d 
hill; 
And the fleet little palfrey, thatrivalsthe wind, 
When my lady he bears, shall leave danger 
behind.— 
So, —— the turret—now down the cliff 
glide: 
We are down! But one minute—The boat’s 
at your side! 
Nay, fear not—thy hand—’tis but one effort 
more.—— 
The danger is past, and. the boat is ashore. 
Nay, sigh not, sweet lady ! and look not aback : 
The flight-loving water betrays not our track, 
Theheather-bloom hails us secure on the land, 
My home and my merry men wait thy com- 
mand! 
Tremble not, fear thee not! firm in thy seat! 
He is sure in the foot, as in course he is fleet. 
My tapestried hall and the goblets shallshine, 
And the song of the bridal give zest to the 
wine. 
We are:safe. Welcome, lady! to hall and to 
bower! 
Thy bride-maids await, and the priest knows 
his hour. Bes. 
The wine-cup is pledg’d, and complete is the 
rite, ; 
Ere the towers thou hast fled are aware:of 
thy flight!” R:, Prior, 
