POEMS OF
ACTION
SELECTED BY
V. H. COLLINS, M.A.
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1926
Oxford University Press
London Edinburgh Glasgow Copenhagen
New York Toronto Melbourne Cape Town
Bombay Calcutta Madras Shanghai
Humphrey Milford Publisher to the University
PREFACE
PREFACE
Jjhe country they can run wild, climb trees* and have
tejfcyin a hayfield. Again with the love motive: the
herus falling in love with the heroine is only tolerated
on condition that it is merely a peg on which there
depend action and adventure. The truth is that
everything of an introspective or lyrical nature, and
almost anything in a minor key, runs the risk of
leading the young to regard poetry as 6 sentimental
nonsense and, at a stage when impressions are
deepest and most lasting, of creating a prejudice
which perhaps during the rest of life will never be
removed. If, on the other hand, every poem to
which the pupil's attention is drawn appeals to him
by the interest of its action, there is some chance
that when he is advanced to a book like Palgrave’s
Golden Treasury he will come to it with an unaffected
anticipation of enjoyment.
As this book is not intended for pupils of the
earliest age, a number of poems have been omitted
of which otherwise the principle of selection would
have demanded obvious inclusion. This applies
specially to certain ballads.
Acknowledgements for leave to include copyright
poems are due to Mr. Alfred Austin for 4 The Last
Redoubt ’; to the Rev. F. M. T. Palgrave for F. T.
Palgrave's 4 C^y’ and 4 Trafalgar ’; to Mr. T. Watts-
Dunton for 4 David Gwynn's Story ’; to Mr. Austin
Dobson for 4 The Ballad of 44 Beau Brocade ' ,1 (per¬
mission confirmed by Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench,
Triibner & Co.); to Mr. Fisher Unwin and A. M. F.
PREFACE
5
Robinson (Madame Duclaux)for 4 A Ballad of Orleans’;
to Mr. Henry Newbolt for 4 A Ballad of John Nichol^
son’; to Mr. Alfred Noyes for 4 The Highwayman 1
(permission confirmed by Messrs. William Black¬
wood & Sons); to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. for
Robert Browning’s 4 Herve Riel ’; to Ellis for an
extract from D. G. Rossetti’s 4 White Ship ’; to Mr.
Rudyard Kipling and Messrs. Methuen & Co. for
4 A Ballad of East and West’, from Barrack Room
Ballads ; and to Messrs. Chatto & Wind us for
4 Ramon ’ and 4 Guild’s Signal ’ from their edition of
the complete works of Bret Harte®
CONTENTS
HorstSus . e . „ , • . . » Lord Macaulay
Jaffar . . . * . . , . . . „ Leigh Hunt
Kailundborg Church.. J. G. Whittier
God’s Judgement on a Wicked Bishop R. Southey
The Gift of Trifcemius . , . , , . J. Q. Whittier
The White Ship D. G. Rossetti
Beth Gelert ......... W. B. Spencer
The Inchcape Rock ...... R. Southey
King Robert of Sicily W. Longfellow
The Jackdaw of Rheirns ..... Ingoldsby Legends
The Pied Piper of Hamdin .... Robert Browning
Cregy ........... F. T, Palgram
A Ballad of Orleans . . . « . . A* M. F. Robinson
Lochinvar.......... Sir Yfalter Scott
The Glove and the Lions .... Leigh Hunt
David Gwynn’s Story.... Theodore Watis-JRunton
How they brought the Good News
from Ghent to Aix ...... Robert Browning
Kiliiecrankie ......... W. E. Aytmm
Hervd Riel ......... Robert Browning
Winstanley . ... Jean Jngelow
The Ballad of fi Beau Brocade. . Austin Dobson
Fall of D’Assas ........ F. Hemam
Paul Revere’s Ride..£T. W. Longfellow
Battle of the Baltic ...... T. Campbell
Trafalgar .......... F. T. Palgrave
Incident of the French Camp . . . Robert Browning
The Highwayman ....... Alfred Noyes
The Charge of the Light Brigade . . Lord Tennyson
A Ballad of John Nicholson . . . Henry Newbolt
The Pipes at Lucknow . » . . . X G. Whittier
The Last Redoubt.. Alfred Austin
Ramon ........... Bret Harte
Guild’s Signal »...*.*« Bret Harte
A Ballad of East and West..... Rudyard Kipling
PASS
1
%<&
23
m
sc
32
31
41
44
52
58
m
71
73
75
77
85
88
92
99
105
115
116
121
124
130
131
183
MO
144
147
149
152
154
HORATIUS
lay made about the year of the city ccclx
Lars Porsena of Clusimn
By the Nine Gods lie swore
That the great house of Tarquhi
, Should suffer wrong no more.
By the Nine Gods lie swore it,
And named a try sting day,
And bade his messengers ride forth,
East and west and south and north.
To summon his array.
East and west and south and north
The messengers ride fast,
And tower and town and cottage
# • Have heard the trumpet’s blast.
Shame on the false Etruscan
Who lingers in his home,
When Porsena of Clusimn
Is on the march for Rome,
And now hath every city
Sent up her tale of men;
The foot are fourscore thousand,
The horse are thousands ten:
8
POEMS OF ACTION
Before the gates of Sutrium
Is met the great array.
A proud man was Lars Porsena
Upon the try sting day. 21
But by the yellow Tiber
Was tumult and affright:
From all the spacious champaign
To Rome men took their flight.
A mile around the city, 3c
The throng stopped up the ways;
A fearful sight it was to see
Through two long nights and days.
Now, from the rock Tarpeian,
Could the wan burghers spy 35
The line of blazing villages
Red in the midnight sky.
The Fathers of the City,
They sat all night and day,
For every hour some horseman came 40
With tidings of dismay.
I wis, in all the Senate,
There was no heart so bold,
But sore it ached and fast it beat,
When that ill news was told. 45
Forthwith up rose the Consul,
Up rose the Fathers all;
In haste they girded up their gowns,
And hied them to the wall.
HORATIUS
They held a council standing
Before the River-Gate;
Short time was there, ye well may guess,
For musing or debate.
Out spake the Consul roundly:
6 The bridge must straight go down ;
For, since Janiculum is lost.
Naught else can save the town.’
Just then a scout came flying,
All wild with haste and fear;
5 To arms ! to arms ! Sir Consul:
Lars Porsena is here.’
On the low hills to westward
The Consul fixed his eye,
And saw the swarthy storm of dust
Rise fast along the sky.
And nearer fast and nearer
Doth the red whirlwind come;
And louder still and still more loud,
From underneath that rolling cloud,
Is heard the trumpet’s war-note proud.
The trampling, and the hum.
And plainly and more plainly
Now through the gloom appears,
Far to left and far to right,
In broken gleams of dark-blue light,
The long array of helmets bright,
The long array of spears.
10
POEMS OF ACTION
But the Consul’s brow was sad.
And the Consul’s speech was low,
And darkly looked he at the wall, So
And darkly at the foe,
4 Their van will be upon us
Before the bridge goes down ;
And if they once may win the bridge.
What hope to save the town ? ’ Sg
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
4 To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better 90
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of Ms Gods ?
4 Hew down the bridge. Sir Consul,
With all the speed ye may; 95
I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand
May well be stopped by three.
Now who will stand on either hand, 100
And keep the bridge with me ? ’
Then out spake Spurius Lartius;
A Ramnian proud was he:
* Lo, I will stand at thy right hand.
And keep the bridge with thee.’ 105
HORATIUS
11
And out spake strong Herminius;
Of Titian blood was he :
4 1 will abide on thy left side.
And keep the bridge with thee®’
6 Horatius,’ quoth the Consul, no
5 As thou sayest, so let it be.’
And straight against that great array
Forth went the dauntless Three®
For Romans in Rome’s quarrel
Spared neither land nor gold, ix$
Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life,
In the brave days of old.
Now while the Three were tightening
Their harness on their backs,
The Consul was the foremost man sm
To take in hand an axe:
And Fathers mixed with Commons
Seized hatchet, bar, and crow,
And smote upon the planks above.
And loosed the props below® 125
Meanwhile the Tuscan araiy,
Right glorious to behold,
Came flashing back the noonday light,
Rank behind rank, like surges bright
Of a broad sea of gold. 1 $0
Four hundred trumpets sounded
A peal of warlike glee,
POEMS OF ACTION
As that great host, with measured tread.
And spears advanced, and ensigns spread,
Rolled slowly towards the bridge’s head, 135
Where stood the dauntless Three,
The Three stood calm and silent,
And looked upon the foes.
And a great shout of laughter
From all the vanguard rose: 140
And forth three chiefs came spurring
Before that deep array;
To earth they sprang, their swords they drew,
And lifted high their shields, and flew
To win the narrow way ; 145
Aunus from green Tifernum,
Lord of the Hill of Vines;
And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves
Sicken in Ilva’s mines;
And Picus, long to Clusium 150
Vassal in peace and war,
Who led to fight his Umbrian powers *
From that grey crag where, girt with towers,
The fortress of Nequinum lowers
O’er the pale waves of Nar. 155
Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus
Into the stream beneath •
Herminius struck at Seius,
And clove him to the teeth;
HORATIUS
At Pious brave Horatius
Darted one fiery thrust;
And the proud Umbrian’s gilded arms
Clashed in the bloody dust.
Then Ocnus of Falerii
Rushed on the Roman Three;
And Lausulus of Urgo,
The rover of the sea;
And Aruns of Volsinium,
Who slew the great wild boar,
The great wild boar that had his den
Amidst the reeds of Cosa’s fen.
And wasted fields, and slaughtered men,
Along Albinia’s shore.
Herminius smote down Aruns:
Lartius laid Ocnus low:
Right to the heart of Lausulus
Horatius sent a blow.
‘ Lie there,’ he cried, 6 fell pirate!
No more, aghast and pale,
From Ostia’s walls the crowd shall mark
The track of thy destroying bark.
No more Campania’s hinds shall fly
To woods and caverns when they spy
Thy thrice accursed sail.’
But now no sound of laughter
Was heard among the foes.
A wild and wrathful clamour
From all the vanguard rose.
14
POEMS OF ACTION
Six spears’ lengths from the entrance
Halted that deep array, s§o
And for a space no man came forth
To win the narrow way®
But hark! the cry is Astnr:
And lo! the ranks divide;
And the great Lord of Luna 195
Comes with his stately stride®
Upon his ample shoulders
Clangs loud the fourfold shield.
And in his hand he shakes the brand
Which none but he can wield® 200
He smiled on those bold Romans
A smile serene and high;
He eyed the flinching Tuscans,
And scorn was in his eye.
Quoth, he, * The she-wolfs litter 205
Stand savagely at bay:
But will ye dare to follow,
If Astnr clears the way ? ’
Then, whirling up his broadsword
With both hands to the height, 210
He rushed against Horatius,
And smote with all his might®
With shield and blade Horatius
Right deftly turned the blow®
HOKATIUS
The blow, though turned, came jet too nigh;
It missed Ms helm, but gashed Ms thigh: 216
The Tuscans raised a joyful cry
To see the red Hood How,
lie reeled, and on Herminiiis
He leaned one breathing-space ; 220
Then, like a wild cat mad with wounds,
Sprang right at Astur s face :
Through teeth, and skull, and helmet
So fierce a thrust he sped,
The good sword stood a hand-breadth out 225
Behind the Tuscan’s head.
And the great Lord of Luna
Fell at that deadly stroke,
As falls on Mount Alvernus
A thunder-smitten oak. 230
Far o ? er the crashing forest
The giant arms lie spread;
And the pale augurs, muttering low.
Gaze on the blasted head.
On Astur’s throat Horatius 235
Right firmly pressed his heel,
And thrice and four times tugged amain.
Ere he wrenched out the steel.
6 And see \ he cried, 4 the welcome.
Fair guests, that waits you here! 240
What noble Lucumo comes next
To taste our Roman cheer ? ’
16
POEMS OF ACTION
But at his haughty challenge
A sullen murmur ran,
Mingled of wrath, and shame, and dread, 245
Along that glittering van.
There lacked not men of prowess,
Nor men of lordly race;
For all Etruria’s noblest
Were round the fatal place, 250
But all Etruria’s noblest
Felt their hearts sink to see
On the earth the bloody corpses,
In the path the dauntless Three:
And, from the ghastly entrance 255
Where those bold Romans stood,
All shrank, like boys who unaware.
Ranging the woods to start a hare,
Come to the mouth of the dark lair
Where, growling low, a fierce old bear 260
Lies amidst bones and blood.
Was none who would be foremost
To lead such dire attack:
But those behind cried * Forward! *
And those before cried 4 Back P 26s
And backward now and forward
Wavers the deep array;
And on the tossing sea of steel
To and fro the standards reel;
And the victorious trumpet-peal 270
Dies fitfully away.
HORATIUS
But meanwhile axe and lever
Have manfully been plied ;
And now the bridge hangs tottering
Above the boiling tide.
6 Come back, come back, Horatius !
Loud cried the Fathers all.
4 Back, Lartius! back, Herminius !
Back, ere the rain fall! ’
Back darted Spurius Lartius;
Herminius darted back:
And, as they passed, beneath their feet
They felt the timbers crack.
But when they turned their faces,
And on the farther shore
Saw brave Horatius stand alone.
They would have crossed once more.
But with a crash like thunder
Fell every loosened beam,
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck
Lay right athwart the stream
And a long shout of triumph
Rose from the walls of Rome,
As to the highest turret-tops
Was splashed the yellow foam.
And, like a horse unbroken
When first he feels the rein,
The furious river struggled hard.
And tossed his tawny mane.
POEMS OF ACTION
And burst the curb, and bounded.
Rejoicing to be free,
And whirling down, in fierce career*
Battlement, and plank, and pier.
Rushed headlong to the sea.
Alone stood brave Horatius,
But constant still in mind;
Thrice thirty thousand foes before,
And the broad flood behind.
4 Down with him ! ’ cried false Sextus,
With a smile on his pale face,
6 Now yield thee,’ cried Lars Porsena,
4 Now yield thee to our graced
Round turned he, as not deigning
Those craven ranks to see ;
Naught spake he to Lars Porsena,
To Sextus naught spake he;
But he saw on Palatinus
The white porch of his home;
And he spake to the noble river
That rolls by the towers of Rome.
4 Oh, Tiber! father Tiber!
To whom the Romans pray,
A Roman’s life, a Roman’s arms,
Take thou in charge this day! ’
So he spake, and speaking sheathed
The good sword by his side,
And with his harness on his back
Plunged headlong in the tide.
H 0 RATIU 8
No sound of joy or sorrow
Was heard from either bank;
But friends and foes in dumb surprise.
With parted lips and straining eyes,
Stood gazing where he sank ;
And when above the surges
They saw his crest appear,
All Home sent forth a rapturous cry.
And even the ranks of Tuscany
Could scarce forbear to cheer-
But fiercely ran the current.
Swollen high by months of rain:
And fast his blood was flowing;
And he was sore in pain.
And heavy with his armour,
And spent with changing blows;
And oft they thought him sinking,
Bet still again he rose.
Never, I ween, did swimmer,
In such an evil case,
Struggle through such a raging flood
Safe to the landing place:
But his limbs were borne up bravely
By the brave heart within,
And our good father Tiber
Bore bravely up his chin*
' b 2
m
POEMS OF ACTION
And now he feels the bottom ; 35s
Now on dry earth he stands;
Now round him throng the Fathers
To press his gory hands ;
And now, with shouts and clapping,
And noise of weeping loud, 36c
He enters through the River-Gate,
Borne by the joyous crowd.
They gave him of the corn-land.
That was of public right,
As much as two strong oxen 36®
Could plough from morn till night;
And they made a molten image.
And set it up on high.
And there it stands unto this day
To witness if I lie, 37c
It stands in the Comitium,
Plain for all folk to see;
Horatius in his harness,
Plaiting upon one knee:
And underneath is written, 37!
In letters all of gold,
How valiantly he kept the bridge
I11 the brave days of old.
And still his name sounds stirring
Unto the men of Rome, 38c
As the trumpet-blast that cries to them
To charge the Volscian home;
HORATIUS
21
And wives still pray to Juno
For boys with hearts as bold
As his who kept the bridge so well 3S5
In the brave days of old.
And in the nights of winter,
When the cold north winds blow,
And the long howling of the wolves
Is heard amidst the snow; 390
When round the lonely cottage
Roars loud the tempest’s din,
And the good logs of Algidus
Roar louder yet within ;
When the oldest cask is opened, 395
And the largest lamp is lit;
When the chestnuts glow in the embers.
And the kid turns on the spit;
When young and old in circle
Around the firebrands close; 400
When the girls are weaving baskets,
And the lads are shaping bows;
When the goodman mends his armour.
And trims his helmet’s plume;
When the goodwife’s shuttle merrily 405
Goes flashing through the loom ;
With weeping and with laughter
Still is the story told,
How well Horatius kept the bridge
In the brave days of old. 4 to
Loan Macaulay.
POEMS OF ACTION
JAFFAR.
Jaffar, the Barmecide, the good Vizier,
The poor man's hope, the friend without a peer,
Jaffar was dead, slain by a doom unjust;
And guilty Haroun, sullen with mistrust
Of what the good and e'en the bad might say, 5
Ordained that no man living from that clay
Should dare to speak his name on pain of death,—
All Araby and Persia held their breath.
All but the brave Mondeer.—He, proud to show
How far for love a grateful soul could go, 10
And facing death for very scorn and grief
(For his great heart wanted a great relief),
Stood forth in Bagdad, daily in the square
Where once had stood a happy house; and there
Harangued the tremblers at the scimitar 15
On ail they owed to the divine Jaffar,
4 Bring me this man,’ the caliph cried. The man
Was brought—was gazed upon. The mutes began
To bind his arms. 4 Welcome, brave cords ! 9 cried he;
4 From bonds far worse Jaffar delivered me; 20
From wants, from shames, from loveless household
fears;
Made a man’s eyes friends with delicious tears;
Restored me—loved me—put me on a par
With his great self. How can I pay Jaffar ? 9
jaffAr
Haxoun, who felt that on a soul like this
The mightiest vengeance could but fall amiss,
Now deigned to smile, as one great lord of fate
Might smile upon another half as great.
He said, 1 Let worth grow frenzied, if it will;
The caliph’s judgement shall be master still. 30
Go: and since gifts thus move thee, take this gem,
The richest in the Tartar’s diadem,
And hold the giver as thou deemest fit. 5
6 Gifts ! 5 cried the friend. He took ; and holding it
High tow’rds the heavens as though to meet his star,
Exclaimed, 4 This too 1 owe to thee, Jafiar ! ’ 36
Leigh Hunt.
KALLUNBBORG CHURCH
4 Build at Kallmidborg by the sea
A church as stately as church may be,
And there shall thou wed my daughter fair, 5
Said the Lord of Nesvek to Esbern Snare.
And the Baron laughed. But Esbern said, 5
& Though I lose my soul, 1 will Helva wed ! ’
And off he strode, in his pride of will,
To the Troll who dwelt in Ulshoi hill.
6 Build, O Troll, a church for me
At 3 £allundborg by the mighty sea;
Build it stately, and build it fair,
Build it quickly,’ said Esbern Snare.
10
POEMS OF ACTION
m
But the sly Dwarf said, £ No work is wrought
By Trolls of the Hills, O man, for naught.
What wilt thou give for thy church so fair ?’ 15
4 Set thy own price,’ quoth Esbern Snare,
4 When Kallundborg church is builded well.
Thou must the name of its builder tell,
Or thy heart and thy eyes must be my boon,’
1 Build,’ said Esbern, 1 and build it soon.’ so
By night and by day the Troll wrought on ;
He hewed the timbers, he piled the stone;
But day by day, as the walls rose fair,
Darker and sadder grew Esbern Snare.
He listened by night, he watched by day, 25
He sought and thought, but he dared not pray;
In vain he called on the Elle-maids shy,
And the Neck and the Nis gave no reply.
Of his evil bargain far and wide
A rumour ran through the country-side; 30
And Helva of Nesvek, young and fair.
Prayed for the soul of Esbern Snare.
And now the church was wellnigh done ?
One pillar it lacked, and one alone;
And the grim Troll muttered, £ Fool thou art!
To-morrow gives me thy eyes and heart I ’
35
KALLUNBBORG CHURCH
25
By Kallundborg in black despair.
Through wood and meadow, walked Esbern Snare,
Till, worn and weary, the strong man sank
Under the birches on Ulshoi bank, 40
At Ms last day’s work he heard the Troll
Hammer and delve in the quarry’s hole;
Before him the church stood large and fair:
® I have builded my tomb,’ said Esbern Snare,
And he closed his eyes the sight to hide, 45
When he heard a light step at his side:
6 O Esbern Snare ! ’ a sweet voice said,
‘ Would I might die now in thy stead! ’
With a grasp by love and by fear made strong.
He held her fast, and he held her long; 50
With the beating heart of a bird afeard,
She hid her face in his flame-red beard.
‘ O love! * he cried, 4 let me look to-day
In thine eyes ere mine are plucked away;
Let me hold thee close, let me feel thy heart , 55
Ere mine by the Troll is torn apart !
6 1 sinned, O Helva, for love of thee!
Pray that the Lord Christ pardon me ! ’
But fast as she prayed, and faster still.
Hammered the Troll in Ulshoi hill, 60
POEMS OF ACTION
m
He knew, as lie wrought, that a loving heart
Was somehow baffling his evil art;
For more than spell of Elf or Troll
Is a maiden’s prayer for her lover’s soul.
And Esbeni listened, and caught the sound 65
Of a Troll-wife singing underground:
4 To-morrow comes Fine, father thine:
Lie still and hush thee, baby mine I
4 Lie still, my darling! next sunrise
Thou’lt play with Esbern Snare’s heart and eyes! ’ 70
4 Ho ! ho ! ’ quoth Esbern, 4 is that your game ?
Thanks to the Troll-wife, I know his name ! ’
The Troll he heard him, and hurried on
To Kallundborg church with the lacking stone.
6 Too late, Gaffer Fine! ’ cried Esbern Snare; 75
And Troll and pillar vanished in air !
That night the harvesters heard the sound *
Of a woman sobbing underground,
And the voice of the Hill-Troll loud with blame
Of the careless singer who told his name. 80
Of the Troll of the Church they sing the rune
By the Northern Sea in the harvest moon ;
And the fishers of Zealand hear him still
Scolding his wife in Ulshoi hill.
KALLUNDBORG CHURCH
21
And seaward over its groves of birch §5
Still looks the tower of Kallundborg churchy
Where, first at its altar, a wedded pair,
Stood Helva of Nesvek and Esbern Snare I
J. G. Whittier.
GOD’S JUDGEMENT ON A WICKED BISHOP
The summer and autumn had been so wet,
That in winter the corn was growing yet,
Twas a piteous sight to see all around
The grain lie rotting on the ground.
Every day the starving poor 5
Crowded around Bishop Hatto’s door,
For he had a plentiful last-year’s store,
And all the neighbourhood could tell
His granaries were furnish’d well.
At last Bishop Hatto appointed a day io
To quiet the poor without delay;
He hade them to his great Bam repair,
And they should have food for the winter there.
Rejoiced such tidings good to hear,
The poor folk flock’d from far and near; 15
The great Barn was full as it could hold
Of women and children, and young and old.
m
POEMS OF ACTION
Then when he saw it could hold no more,
Bishop Hatto he made fast the door;
And while for mercy on Christ they call.
He set fire to the Bam and burnt them alL
4 Ffaith ’tis an excellent bonfire ! ’ quoth he,
4 And the country is greatly obliged to me,
For ridding it in these times forlorn
Of Rats that only consume the corn.’
So then to Ms palace returned he,
And he sat down to supper merrily,
And he slept that night like an innocent man
But Bishop Hatto never slept again.
In the morning as he enter’d the hall
Where his picture hung against the wall,
A sweat like death all over him came,
For the Rats had eaten it out of the frame.
As he look’d there came a man from his farm
He had a countenance white with alarm •
‘ My Lord, I open’d your granaries this morn,
And the Rats had eaten all your corn.’
Another came running presently,
And he was pale as pale could be,
‘ Fly! my Lord Bishop, fly,’ quoth he,
‘Ten thousand Rats are coming this way,.„
The Lord forgive you for yesterday! ’
GOD’S JUDGEMENT ON A BISHOP
4 Ill go to my tower on the Rhine,’ replied he,
4 ’Tis the safest place in Germany;
The walls are high and the shores are steep,
And the stream is strong and the water deep.’
Bishop Hatto fearfully hasten’d away,
And he crost the Rhine without delay,
And reach’d his tower, and barr’d with care
All the windows, doors, and loop-holes there.
He laid him down and closed his eyes; . *
But soon a scream made him arise,
He started and saw two eyes of flame
On his pillow from whence the screaming came.
He listen’d and look’d ; . . it was only the Cat;
But the Bishop he grew more fearful for that,
For she sat screaming, mad with fear
At the Army of Rats that were drawing near
For they'have swum over the river so deep,
And they have climb’d the shores so steep,
And up the Tower their way is bent.
To do the work for which they were sent.
They are not to be told by the dozen or score,
By thousands they come, and by myriads and more
Such numbers had never been heard of before.
Such a judgement had never been witness’d of yore
SO POEMS OF ACTION
Down on tils knees the Bishop fell.
And faster and faster his beads did he tell.
As louder and louder drawing near
The gnawing of their teeth he could hear. 70
And in at the windows and in at the door.
And through the walls helter-skelter they pour.
And down from the ceiling and up through the floor.
From the right and the left, from behind and before,
From within and without, from above and below, 75
And all at once to the Bishop they go.
They have whetted their teeth against the stones*
And now they pick the Bishop’s bones;
They gnaw’d the flesh from every limb,
For they were sent to do judgement on him ! So
R. Southey.
THE GIFT OF TRITEMIUS
Trxtemius of Herbipolis, one day.
While kneeling at the altar’s foot to pray
Alone with God, as was his pious choice.
Heard from without a miserable voice,
A sound which seemed of all sad things to tell, 5
As of a lost soul crying out of hell.
Thereat the Abbot paused; the chain whereby
His thoughts went upward broken by that cry;
THE GIFT OF TRITEMIUS
SI
And, looking from the casement, saw below
A wretched woman, with grey hair a-flow, to
And withered hands held up to him, who cried
For alms as one who might not be denied.
She cried, 6 For the dear love of Him who gave
His life for ours, my child from bondage save,—•
My beautiful, brave first-born, chained with slaves 15
In the Moor’s galley, where the sun-smit waves
Lap the white walls of Tunis ! ’— c What I can
I give,’ Tritemius said, i my prayers.’— e O man
Of God ! ’ she cried, for grief had made her bold,
6 Mock me not thus; I ask not prayers, but gold. 20
Words will not serve me, alms alone suffice;
Even while I speak perchance my first-born dies.’
6 Woman! ’ Tritemius answered, 6 from our door
None go unfed, hence are we always poor;
A single soldo is our only store. 25
Thou hast our prayers;—what can we give thee more?’
6 Give me*’, she said, 6 the silver candlesticks
On either side of the great crucifix.
God well may spare them on His errands sped,
Or He can give you golden ones instead.’ 30
Then spake Tritemius, ‘ Even as thy word,
Woman, so be it! (Our most gracious Lord,
Who loveth mercy more than sacrifice#
Pardon me if a human soul I prize
POEMS OF ACTION
Above the gifts upon His altar piled I) 35
Take what thou askest, and redeem thy child*’
But his hand trembled as the holy alms
He placed within the beggar’s eager palms;
And as she vanished down the linden shade,
He bowed his head and for forgiveness prayed* 40
So the day passed, and when the twilight came
He woke to find the chapel all aflame.
And, dumb with grateful wonder, to behold
Upon the altar candlesticks of gold !
J. G. Whittier.
THE WHITE SHIP
Henry I of England—November 25 , 1120
By none but me can the tale be told,
The butcher of Rouen, poor Berold.
- {Lands are swayed by a King on a throne .)
’Twas a royal train put forth to sea,
Yet the tale can be told by none but me. 5
(The sea hath no King but God alone,)
King Henry held it as life’s whole gain
That after his death his son should rekm.
O
And next with his son he sailed to France
To claim the Norman allegiance. 10
THE WHITE SHIP
’Twas sworn and sealed, and the day had come
When the King and the Prince might journey home.
The King set sail with the eve’s south wind.
And soon he left that coast behind.
The Prince and all his, a princely show, 15
Remained in the good White Ship to go.
With noble knights and with ladies fair,
With courtiers and sailors gathered there,
Three hundred living souls we were:
And I, Berold, was the meanest hind ao
In all that train to the Prince assign’d.
And now he cried: 6 Bring wine from below;
Let the sailors revel ere yet they row:
4 Our speed shall overtake my father’s flight
Though we sail from the harbour at midnight.’ 25
The rowers made good cheer without check;
The lords and ladies obeyed his beck;
The night was light, and they danced on the deck.
Swifter and swifter the White Ship sped
Till she flew as the spirit flies from the dead: 30
As white as a lily glimmered she
Like a ship’s fair ghost upon the sea.
POEMS OF ACTION
S4
And the Prince cried, 5 Friends, ’tis the hour to sing
Is a songbird’s course so swift on the wing ? ’
And under the winter stars’ still throng, 31
From brown throats, white throats, merry and strong,
The knights and the ladies raised a song.
A song,—nay, a shriek that rent the sky,
That leaped o’er the deep !—the grievous cry
Of three hundred living that now must die. 4c
An instant shriek that sprang to the shock
As the ship’s keel felt the sunken rock.
’Tis said that afar—a shrill strange sigh—
The King’s ships heard it and knew not why.
Pale Fitz-Stephen stood by the helm 43
’Mid all those folk that the waves must whelm.
A great King’s heir for the waves to whelm,
And the helpless pilot pale at the helm !
The ship was eager and sucked athirst,
By the steady stab of the sharp reef pierc’d. go
A moment the pilot’s senses spin,—
The next he snatched the Prince ’mid the din,
Cut the boat loose, and the youth leaped in.
A few friends leaped with him, standing near.
£ Bow! the sea’s smooth and the night is clear! ’
THE WHITE SHIP
* What! none to be saved but these and I ? 1
* Row, row as you’d live ! All here must die! ’
Out of the churn of the choking ship,
Which the gulf grapples and the waves strip,
They struck with the strained oars’ flash and dip. 60
’Twas then o’er the splitting bulwarks’ brim
The Prince’s sister screamed to him.
He gazed aloft, still rowing apace,
And through the whirled surf he knew her face.
To the toppling decks clave one and all 65
As a fly cleaves to a chamber-wall.
I, Berold, was clinging anear ;
I prayed for myself and quaked with fear,
But I saw his eyes as he looked at her.
He knew her face and he heard her cry, 70
And he said, c Put back ! she must not die! ’
And back with the current’s force they reel
Like a leaf that ’s drawn to a water-wheel,
’Neath the ship’s travail they scarce might float,
But he rose and stood in the rocking boat. 75
Low the poor ship leaned on the tide:
O’er the naked keel as she best might slide.
The sister toiled to the brother’s side.
86
POEMS OF ACTION
He reached an oar to her from below*
And stiffened his arms to clutch her so. 8
But now from the ship some spied the boat*
And 6 Saved! ’ was the cry from many a throat.
And down to the boat they leaped and fell:
It turned as a bucket turns in a well*
And nothing was there but the surge and swelL 8
The Prince that was and the King to come*
There in an instant gone to his doom*
Despite of all England’s bended knee
And maugre the Norman fealty!
He was a Prince of lust and pride ; 9
He showed no grace till the hour he died.
When he should be King, he oft would vow*
He’d yoke the peasant to his own plough.
O’er him the ships score their furrows now.
God only knows where his soul did wake, r 9
But I saw him die for his sister’s sake.
By none but me can the tale be told,
The butcher of Rouen, poor Berold.
(Lands are swayed by a King on a throne.')
Twas a royal train put forth to sea, ro<
Yet the tale can be told by none but me,
(The sea hath no King but God atom.)
D. G. Rossetti
BETH GfiLERT
or, The Grave of the Greyhound,
The spearmen heard the bugle sound,
And cheerly smiled the mom;
And many a brach, and many a hound,
Obeyed Llewelyn’s horn.
And still he blew a louder blast,
And gave a lustier cheer;
6 Come Gelert, come, wert never last
Llewelyn’s horn to hear.—
4 Oh where does faithful Gelert roam,
The flower of all his race ;
So true, so brave, a lamb at home,
A lion in the chase ? ’
’Twas only at Llewelyn’s board
The faithful Gelert fed;
He watched, he served, he cheered his lord,
And sentinelled his bed.
In sooth he was a peerless hound,
The gift of royal John;
But, now no Gelert could be found,
And all the chase rode on.
POEMS OF ACTION
And now, as o’er the rocks and dells
The gallant chidings rise,
All Snowdon’s craggy chaos jells
The many-mingled cries!
That day Llewelyn little loved 3*
The chase of hart and hare;
And scant and small the booty proved,
For Gelert was not there.
Unpleased Llewelyn homeward hied,
When near the portal-seat, 30
His truant Gelert he espied
Bounding his lord to greet.
But when he gained his castle-door,
Aghast the chieftain stood;
The hound all o’er was smeared with gore, 35
His lips, his fangs, ran blood.
Llewelyn gazed with fierce surprise';
Unused such looks to meet,
His favourite check’d his joyful guise,
And crouched, and licked his feet. 40
Onward, in haste, Llewelyn passed
And on went Gelert too;
And still, where’er his eyes he cast,
Fresh blood-gouts shocked his view.
BETH GfiLERT
39
Overturned tils infant’s bed lie founds 45
With blood-stained covert rent;
And all around the wails and ground
With recent blood besprent.
He called his child—no voice replied—
He searched with terror wild ; 50
Blood* blood* he found on every side*
But nowhere found his child.
* Hell-hound ! my child’s by thee devoured,’
The frantic father cried ;
And to the hilt his vengeful sword 55
He plunged in Gelert’s side.
His suppliant looks* as prone lie fell*
No pity could impart;
But still his Gelert’s dying yell
Passed heavy o’er his heart. 60
Aroused by Gelert’s dying yell*
Some slumberer wakened nigh :—
What words the parent’s joy could tell
To hear his infant’s cry !
Concealed beneath a tumbled heap 6 5
His hurried search had missed*
All glowing from Ms rosy sleep*
The cherub boy he kissed.
40
POEMS OF ACTION
Nor scath had he, nor harm, nor dread,
But, the same couch beneath, 7©
Lay a gaunt wolf, all torn and dead,
Tremendous still in death.
Ah, what was then Llewelyn’s pain I
For now the truth was clear;
His gallant hound the wolf had slain, 75
To save Llewelyn’s heir.
Vain, vain, was all Llewelyn’s woe:
4 Best of thy kind, adieu !
The frantic blow which laid thee low
This heart shall ever rue,’ 80
And now a gallant tomb they raise,
With costly sculpture decked;
And marbles storied with his praise,
Poor Gelert’s bones protect.
There never could the spearman pass, 85
Or forester, unmoved;
There, oft the tear-besprinkled grass
Llewelyn’s sorrow proved.
And there he hung his horn and spear,
And there, as evening fell,
In fancy’s ear he oft would hear
Poor Gelert’s dying yell.
90
BETH GfXERT
41
And, till great Snowdon’s rocks grow old,
And cease the storm to brave,
The consecrated spot shall hold 95
The name of 6 Gelert’s grave
W. R. Spencer.
, THE INCHCAPE ROCK
No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The ship was still as she could be,
Her sails from heaven received no motion,
Her keel was steady in the ocean.
Without either sign or sound of their shock 5
The waves flow’d over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell,
They did not move the Inchcape Bell.
The Abbot of Aberbrothok
Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock ; 10
On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,
And over the waves its warning rung.
When the Rock was hid by the surge’s swell,
The mariners heard the warning bell;
And then they knew the perilous Rock,
And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok.
*5
POEMS OF ACTION
m
The Sue in heaven was shining gay,
All things were joyful on that day;
The sea-birds scream’d as they wheel’d round.
And there was joyaimce in their sound* 20
The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen
A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover walk’d his deck.
And he fixed his eye on the darker specie
He felt the cheering power of spring, 25
It made him whistle, it made him sing;
His heart was mirthful to excess.
But the Mover’s mirth was wickedness*
His eye was on the Inchcape float;
Quoth he, 6 My men, put out the boat, 30
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I’ll plague the Abbot of Abcrbrothok.’
The boat is lower’d, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, 35
And he cut the Bell from the Inchcape float*
Down sunk the Bell with a gurgling sound
The bubbles rose and burst around;
Quoth Sir Ralph, 6 The next who comes to the Rock
Won’t bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok*’ 40
THE INCHCAPE ROCK
Sir Ralph the Rover sail'd away*
He scour’d the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plunder'd store,,
He steers his course for Scotland’s shore.
So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky
They cannot see the Sun on high;
The wind hath blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away*
On the deck the Rover takes his stand.
So dark it is they see no land.
Quoth Sir Ralph, 6 It will be lighter soon,
For there is the dawn of the rising Moond
4 Canst hear said one, c the breakers roar ?
For methinks we should be near the shore.’
‘Mow where we are I cannot tell.
But I wish I could hear the Inchcape BelL’
They heat no sound, the swell is strong;
Though the wind hath fallen they drift along.
Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,—
‘ Oh Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock ! ’
Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair;
He curst himself in his despair;
The waves rash in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.
44
POEMS OF ACTION
But even in Ms dying fear 65
One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,
A sound as if with the Xnchcape Bell,
The Devil below was ringing his knell.
R. Southey.
KING ROBERT OF SICILY
Robert of Sicily, brother of Pope Urbane
And Valmond, Emperor of Allemaine,
Apparelled in magnificent attire,
With retinue of many a knight and squire,
On St. John’s eve, at vespers, proudly sat 5
And heard the priests chant the Magnificat.
And as he listened, o’er and o’er again
Repeated, like a burden or refrain,
He caught the words, e Deposuit potentes
De sede^ ei exaltavit humiles ’; 10
And slowly lifting up his kingly head
He to a learned clerk beside him said,
6 What mean these words ? ’ The clerk made answer
meet,
4 He has put down the mighty from their seat,
And has exalted them of low degree.’ 15
Thereat King Robert muttered scornfully,
6 ’Tis well that such seditious words are sung
Only by priests and in the Latin tongue;
For unto priests and people be it known,
There is no power can push me from my throne! ’
30
KING ROBERT OF SICILY 45
And leaning back, he yawned and fell asleep
Lulled by the chant monotonous and deep.
When he awoke, it was already night;
The church was empty, and there was no light.
Save where the lamps, that glimmered few and faint,
Lighted a little space before some saint. a 6
He started from his seat and gazed around,
But saw no living thing and heard no sound.
He groped towards the door, but it was locked;
He cried aloud, and listened, and then knocked, 30
And uttered awful threatenings and complaints.
And imprecations upon men and saints.
The sounds re-echoed from the roof and walls
As if dead priests were laughing in their stalls.
At length the sexton, hearing from without 35
The tumult of the knocking and the shout,
And thinking thieves were in the house of prayer,
Came with his lantern, asking, ‘ Who is there ? ’
Half-choked with rage, King Robert fiercely said,
‘ Open : *tis I, the King! Art thou afraid ? ’ 40
The frightened sexton, muttering, with a curse,
‘ This is some drunken vagabond, or worse ! ’
Turned the great key and flung the portal wide ;
A man rushed by him at a single stride.
Haggard, half-naked, without hat or cloak, 45
Who neither turned, nor looked at him, nor spoke,
But leaped into the blackness of the night,
And vanished like a spectre from his sight.
46
POEMS OF ACTION
Robert of Sicily, brother of Pope Urbane
And Valraond, Emperor of Allemaine, 50
Despoiled of his magnificent attire,
Bareheaded, breathless, and besprent with mire,
With sense of wrong and outrage desperate.
Strode on and thundered at the palace gate;
Rushed through the courtyard, thrusting in his rage
To right and left each seneschal and page, 56
And hurried up the broad and sounding stair,
His white face ghastly in the torches’ glare.
From hall to hall he passed with breathless speed;
Voices and cries lie heard, but did not heed, 6a
Until at last he reached the banquet-room,
Blazing with light, and breathing with perfume.
There on the dais sat another king.
Wearing his robes, his crown, his signet-ring.
King Robert’s self in features, form, and height, 63
But all transfigured with angelic light!
It was an Angel; and his presence there
With a divine effulgence filled the air,
An exaltation, piercing the disguise,
Though none the hidden Angel recognize. 70
A moment speechless, motionless, amazed,
The throneless monarch on the Angel gazed,
Who met his look of anger and surprise
With the divine compassion of his eyes;
Then said, 6 Who art thou? and why com’st thou
here?’ 75
To which King Robert answered, with a sneer,
KING ROBERT OF SICILY
47
6 1 am the King, and come to claim my own
From an impostor, who usurps my throne ! 1
And suddenly, at these audacious words,
Up sprang the angry guests, and drew their swords;
The Angel answered, with unruffled brow, ' 8x
i Nay, not the King, but the King’s Jester, thou
Henceforth shall wear the bells and scalloped cape.
And for thy counsellor shalt lead an ape;
Thou shalt obey my servants when they call, 85
And wait upon my henchmen in the hall I ’
Deaf to King Robert’s threats and cries and prayers,
They thrust him from the hall and down the stairs;
A group of tittering pages ran before.
And as they opened wide the folding door, 90
His heart failed, for he heard, with strange alarms,
The boisterous laughter of the men-at-arms,
And all the vaulted chamber roar and ring
With the mock plaudits of 6 Long live the King I 1
Next morning, waking with the day’s first beam, 95
He said within himself, 4 It was a dream ! ’
But the straw rustled as he turned his head,
There were the cap and bells beside his bed,
Around him rose the bare, discoloured walls.
Close by, the steeds were champing in their stalls, 100
And in the corner, a revolting shape,
Shivering and chattering sat the wretched ape*
It was no dream ; the world he loved so much
Had turned to dust and ashes at his touch!
48 POEMS OF ACTION
Days came and went; and now returned again 105
To Sicily the old Saturnian reign;
Under the Angel's governance benign
The happy island danced with corn and wine,
And deep within the mountain's burning breast
Enceladus, the giant, was at rest. 00
Meanwhile King Robert yielded to his fate,
Sullen and silent and disconsolate.
Dressed in the motley garb that Jesters wear,
With look bewildered and a vacant stare.
Close shaven above the ears, as monks are shorn, 115
By courtiers mocked, by pages laughed to scorn,
His only friend the ape, his only food
What others left,—he still was unsubdued.
And when the Angel met him on his way.
And half in earnest, half in jest, would say, 120
Sternly, though tenderly, that he might feel
The velvet scabbard held a sword of steel,
6 Art thou the King ? ’ the passion of his woe
Burst from him in resistless overflow,
And, lifting high his forehead, he would fling 125
The haughty answer back, * I am, I am the King! ’
Almost three years were ended; when there came
Ambassadors of great repute and name
From Valmond, Emperor of Allemaine,
Unto King Robert, saying that Pope Urbane 130
By letter summoned them forthwith to come
On Holy Thursday to his city of Rome.
KING ROBERT OF SICILY
49
The Angel with great joj received his guests.
And gave them presents of embroidered vests,
And velvet mantles with rich ermine lined, 135
And rings and jewels of the rarest kind.
Then he departed with them o’er the sea
Into the lovely land of Italy,
Whose loveliness was more resplendent made
By the mere passing of that cavalcade, 140
With plumes, and cloaks, and housings, and the stir
Of jewelled bridle and of golden spur.
And lo ! among the menials, in mock state,
Upon a piebald steed, with shambling gait,
His cloak of fox-tails flapping in the wind, 145
The solemn ape demurely perched behind,
King Robert rode, making huge merriment
In all the country towns through which they went.
The Pope received them with great pomp and blare
Of bannered trumpets, on Saint Peter’s square, 150
Giving his benediction and embrace,
Fervent, atid full of apostolic grace.
While with congratulations and with prayers
He entertained the Angel unawares,
Robert, the Jester, bursting through the crowd, 155
Into their presence rushed, and cried aloud,
c I am the King! Look, and behold in me
Robert, your brother, King of Sicily!
This man, who wears my semblance to your eyes,
Is an impostor in a king’s disguise. i $ 0
*.p. m
D
go
POEMS OF ACTION
Do you not know me ? does no voice withia
Answer my cry, and say we are akin ? 9
The Pope in silence, but with troubled mien,
Gazed at the Angel's countenance serene;
The Emperor, laughing, said, 4 It is strange sport 165
To keep a madman for thy Fool at court 1 ’
And the poor, baffled Jester in disgrace
Was hustled back among the populace,,
In solemn state the Holy Week went by,
And Easter Sunday gleamed upon the sky ; 170
The presence of the Angel, with its light,
Before the sun rose, made the city bright,
And with new fervour filled the hearts of men,
Who felt that Christ indeed had risen again.
Even the Jester, on his bed of straw, 175
With haggard eyes the unwonted splendour saw;
He felt within a power unfelt before,
And, kneeling humbly on Ms chamber floor,
He heard the rushing garments of the Lord
Sweep through the silent air, ascending heavenward,,
And now the visit ending, and once more 181
Valmond returning to the Danube’s shore,
Homeward the Angel journeyed, and again
The land was made resplendent with his train,
Flashing along the towns of Italy 185
Unto Salerno, and from thence by sea.
And when once more within Palermo’s wall,
And, seated on the throne in his great hall.
KING ROBERT OF SICILY
51
He heard the Angelos from convent towers,
As if the better world conversed with ours, 190
He beckoned to King Robert to draw nigher.
And with a gesture bade the rest retire;
And when they were alone, the Angel said,
* Art thou the King ? ’ Then, bowing down his head,
King Robert crossed both hands upon his breast, 195
And meekly answered him : 6 Thou knowest best!
My sins as scarlet are; let me go hence,
And in some cloister’s school of penitence,
Across those stones, that pave the way to heaven,
Walk barefoot, till my guilty soul be shriven ! 19 200
The Angel smiled, and from his radiant face
A holy light illumined all the place,
And through the open window, loud and clear,
They heard the monks chant in the chapel near,
Above the stir and tumult of the street: 205
4 He has put down the mighty from their seat,
And has exalted them of low degree ! ’
And through the chant a second melody
Rose like the throbbing of a single string:
4 1 am an Angel, and thou art the King !’ a 10
King Robert, who was standing near the throne,
Lifted his eyes, and lo! he was alone !
But all apparelled as in days of old,
With ermined mantle and with cloth of gold; 214
And when his courtiers came, they found him there
Kneeling upon the floor, absorbed in silent prayer,
II. W. Longfellow.
i) 2
52
POEMS OF ACTION
THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS
The Jackdaw sat on the Cardinal’s chair!
Bishop, and abbot, and prior were there;
Many a monk, and many a friar,
Many a knight, and many a squire,
With a great many more of lesser degree,—
In sooth a goodly company;
And they served the Lord Primate on bended knee.
Never, I ween.
Was a prouder seen.
Read of in books, or dreamt of in dreams, i
Than the Cardinal Lord Archbishop of Rheims !
In and out
Through the motley rout,
That little Jackdaw kept hopping about;
Here and there ^ 15
Like a dog in a fair,
Over comfits and cates,
And dishes and plates,
Cowl and cope, and rochet and pall.
Mitre and crosier ! he hopp’d upon all 1 m
With saucy air,
He perch’d on the chair
Where, in state, the great Lord Cardinal sat
In the great Lord Cardinal’s great red hat;
THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS
58
And he peer'd In the face 25
Of his Lordship's Grace,
With a satisfied look, as If he would say,
6 We two are the greatest folks here to-day ! 5
And the priests, with awe,
As such freaks they saw, 30
Said, ‘The Devil must be In that little Jackdaw ! ’
The feast was over, the board was clear'd,
The flawns and the custards had all disappear’d,
And six little Singing-boys,—dear little souls I
In nice clean faces, and nice white stoles, 35
Came, in order due.
Two by two,
Marching that grand refectory through 1
A nice little boy held a golden ewer,
Emboss'd and fill'd with water, as pure 40
As any that flows between Rheims and Namur,
Which a nice little boy stood ready to catch
In a fine golden hand-basin made to match.
Two nice little boys, rather more grown,
Carried lavender-water, and eau de Cologne; 45
And a nice little boy had a nice cake of soap,
Worthy of washing the hands of the Pope.
One little boy more
A napkin bore,
Of the best white diaper, fringed with pink, 50
And a Cardinal's Hat mark’d in 6 permanent ink \
The great Lord Cardinal turns at the sight
Of these nice little boys dress’d all in white:
54
POEMS OF ACTION
From liis finger lie draws
His costly turquoise ; 55
And, not thinking at all about little Jackdaws,
Deposits it straight
By the side of his plate.
While the nice little boys on his Eminence wait;
Till, when nobody’s dreaming of any such thing, 6®
That little Jackdaw hops off with the ring I
There’s a cry and a shout,
And a deuce of a rout.
And nobody seems'to know what they’re about,
But the Monks have their pockets all turn’d inside out.
The Friars are kneeling, 66
And hunting, and feeling
The carpet, the floor, and the walls, and the ceiling.
The Cardinal drew
Off each plum-colour ? d shoe, 70
And left his red stockings exposed to the view;
He peeps, and he feels
In the toes and the heels;
They turn up the dishes,—they turn up the plates,—
They take op the poker and poke out the grates, 75
—They turn up the rugs,
They examine the mugs :—
But, no I—no such thing ;—
They can’t find the ring !
And the Abbot declared that, 6 when nobody twigg’d
it, 8o
Some rascal or other had popp’d in, and prigg’d it! *
THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS
55
The Cardinal rose with a dignified look,
He call’d for his candle, his bell, and his book!
In holy anger, and pious grief,
He solemnly cursed that rascally thief! 85
He cursed him at board, lie cursed him in bed;
From the sole of his foot to the crown of Ms head ;
He cursed him in sleeping, that every night
He should dream of the devil, and wake in a fright;
He cursed him in eating, he cursed him in
drinking, 90
He cursed him in coughing, in sneezing, in winking;
He cursed him in sitting, in standing, in lying;
He cursed Mm in walking, in riding, in flying,
He cursed him in living, he cursed him in dying !—-
Never was heard such a terrible curse ! 1 95
But what gave rise
To no little surprise,
Nobody seem’d one penny the worse !
The day was gone,
The night came on, 100
The Monks and the Friars they searched till dawn ;
When the Sacristan saw.
On crumpled claw.
Come limping a poor little lame Jackdaw !
No longer gay, 105
As on yesterday;
His feathers all seem’d to be turn’d the wrong way ;—
His pinions droop’d-—he could hardly stand,—
His head was as bald as the palm of your hand;
56
POEMS OF ACTION
His eye so dim, sio
So wasted each limb.
That, heedless of grammar, they all cried, ‘ That’s
him !—
That’s the scamp that has done this scandalous thing I
That’s the thief that has got my Lord Cardinal's
Ring i ’
The poor little Jackdaw,
When the Monks he saw.
Feebly gave vent to the ghost of a caw ;
And turn’d his bald head, as much as to say •
6 Pray, be so good as to walk this way! ’
Slower and slower
He limp’d on before.
Till they came to the back of the belfry door,
Where the first thing they saw,
Midst the sticks and the straw,
Was the ring in the nest of that little Jackdaw!
Then the great Lord Cardinal call’d for his book,
And off that terrible curse he took;
The mute expression
Served in lieu of confession,
And, being thus coupled with full restitution, 130
The Jackdaw got plenary absolution !
■—When those words were heard,
That poor little bird
Was so changed in a moment, ’twas really absurd*
115
12a
125
THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS
57
He grew sleeky and fat; 135
In addition to that,
A fresh crop of feathers came thick as a mat!
His tail waggled more
Even than before;
But no longer it wagged with an impudent air, 140
No longer he perch’d on the Cardinal’s chair.
He hopp’d now about
With a gait devout;
At Matins, at Vespers, he never was out;
And, so far from any more pilfering deeds, 145
He always seem’d telling the Confessor’s beads.
If any one lied,—or if any one swore,—
Or slumber’d in pray’r-time and happen’d to snore,
That good Jackdaw
Would give a great ‘ Caw ! ’ 150
As much as to say, 6 Don’t do so any more ! ’
While many remark’d, as his manners they saw,
That they 6 never had known such a pious Jackdaw ! 5
He long lived the pride
Of that country-side, 155
And at la*st in the odour of sanctity died;
When, as words were too faint
His merits to paint,
The Conclave determined to make him a Saint; 159
And on newly made Saints and Popes, as you know,
It’s the custom, at Rome, new names to bestow,
So they canonized him by the name of Jim Crow !
Ingoldsby Legends *
POEMS OF ACTION
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN
Hamelin Town’s in Brunswick,
By famous Hanover city ;
The river Weser, deep and wide.
Washes its wall on the southern side;
A pleasanter spot you never spied;
But, when begins my ditty.
Almost five hundred years ago.
To see the townsfolk suffer so
From vermin, was a pity.
Mats! i'
They fought the dogs, and killed the cats.
And bit the babies in the cradles.
And ate the cheeses out of the vats,
And licked the soup from the cooks’ own ladles
Split open the kegs of salted sprats, i
Made nests inside men’s Sunday hats,
And even spoiled the women’s chats,
By drowning their speaking
With shrieking and squeaking
In fifty different sharps and flats. &
At last the people in a body
To the Town Hall came flocking:
4 ’Tis clear,’ cried they, ‘our Mayor’s a noddy;
And as for our Corporation—shocking
To think we buy gowns lined with ermine 2,
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 59
For dolts that can’t or won’t determine
What ’s best to rid us of our vermin !
You liopeg because you’re old and obese*
To find in the furry civic robe ease ?
Rouse up, Sirs ! Give your brains a racking 30
To find the remedy we’re lacking.
Or, sure as fate, well send you packing! ’
At this the Mayor and Corporation
Quaked with a mighty consternation.
An hour they sate in council, 35
At length the Mayor broke silence:
£ For a guilder I’d my ermine gown sell;
I wish I were a mile hence !
It’s easy to bid one rack one’s brain—
Fm sure my poor head aches again, 40
I’ve scratched it so, and all in vain.
Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap ! ’
Just as he said this, what should hap
At the chamber door but a gentle tap ?
4 Bless us,’ cried the Mayor, 6 what’s that ? ’ 45
(With‘the Corporation as he sat,
Looking little though wondrous fat;
Nor brighter was his eye, nor moister
Than a too-long-opened oyster.
Save when at noon his paunch grew mutinous 50
For a plate of turtle green and glutinous)
4 Only a scraping of shoes on the mat ?
Anything like the sound of a rat
Makes my heart go pit-a-pat! ’
60
POEMS OE ACTION
* Come in ! ’—the Mayor cried, looking bigger: gg
And in did come the strangest figure!
His queer long coat from heel to head
Was half of yellow and half of red ;
And he himself was tall and thin,
With sharp blue eyes, each like a pin, 60
And light loose hair, yet swarthy skin,
No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin,
But lips where smiles went out and in—-
There was no guessing his kith and kin!
And nobody could enough admire 65
The tall man and his quaint attire:
Quoth one: * It’s as my great-grandsire.
Starting up at the Trump of Doom’s tone,
Had walked this way from his painted tomb-stone! ’
He advanced to the council-table : 70
And, 6 Please your honours,’ said he, 4 I’m able,
By means of a secret charm, to draw
All creatures living beneath the sun,
That creep or swim or fly or run.
After me so as you never saw ! * 75
And I chiefly use my charm
On creatures that do people harm,
The mole and toad and newt and viper;
And people call me the Pied Piper.’
(And here they noticed round his neck ’ So
A scarf of red and yellow stripe,
To match with his coat of the self-same check;
And at the scarfs end hung a pipe 5
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 61
And his fingers, they noticed, were ever straying
As if Impatient to be playing 85
Upon this pipe, as low it dangled
Over his vesture so old-fangled.)
i Yet,’ said he, 6 poor piper as 1 am,
In Tartary I freed the Cham,
Last June, from his huge swarms of gnats; 90
I eased In Asia the Nizam
Of a monstrous brood of vampire-bats :
And as for what your brain bewilders,
If I can rid your town of rats
Will you give me a thousand guilders ?’ 95
6 One ? fifty thousand!’— was the exclamation
Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation.
Into the street the Piper stept,
Smiling first a little smile,
As if he knew what magic slept
In his quiet pipe the while ;
Then, like a musical adept,
To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled.
And green’ and blue his sharp eyes twinkled
Like a candle-flame where salt is sprinkled;
And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,
You heard as if an army muttered;
And the muttering grew to a grumbling ;
And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling. no
Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats.
Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,
t OB
POEMS OF ACTION
m
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers.
Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,
Cocking tails and pricking whiskers, 115
Families by tens and dozens,
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—
Followed the Piper for their lives.
From street to street he piped advancing,
And step for step they followed dancing, 120
Until they came to the river Weser,
Wherein all plunged and perished!
—Save one who, stout as Julius Caesar,
Swam across and lived to cany
(As he, the manuscript he cherished) 125
To Rat-land home his commentary :
Which was, 6 At the first shrill notes of the pipe,
I heard a sound as of scraping tripe,
And putting apples, wondrous ripe.
Into a cider-press’s gripe : 130
And a moving away of pickle-tubboards,
And a leaving ajar of conserve-cupboards.
And a drawing the corks of train-oil-flasks^
And a breaking the hoops of butter-casks ;
And it seemed as if a voice 135
(Sweeter far than by harp or by psaltery
Is breathed) called out, Oh rats, rejoice!
The world is grown to one vast drysaltery!
So, munch on, crunch on, take your nuncheon.
Breakfast, supper, dinner, luncheon! 140
And just as a bulky sugar-puncheon,
All ready staved, like a great sun shone
THE TIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 6S
Glorious scarce an inch before me,
Just as methought it said, Come, bore me!
—I found the Weser rolling o'er me.’ 14$
You should have heard the Hamelin people
Hinging the bells till they rocked the steeple-
s Go,’ cried the Mayor, * and get long poles !
Poke out the nests and block up the holes!
Consult with carpenters and builders, i$o
And leave in our town not even a trace
Of the rats ! ’—when suddenly, up the face
Of the Piper perked in the market-place.
With a, * First, if you please, my thousand guilders ! ’
A thousand guilders. The Mayor looked blue; 155
So did the Corporation too.
For council dinners made rare havoc
With Claret, Moselle, Vin-de-Grave, Hock;
And half the money would replenish
Their cellar's biggest butt with Rhenish. xfo
To pay this sum to a wandering fellow
With a gipsy coat of red and yellow !
4 Beside,’ quoth the Mayor with a knowing wink,
fi Our business was done at the river’s brink;
We saw with our eyes the vermin sink, 165
And what’s dead can’t come to life, I think.
So, friend, we’re not the folks to shrink
From the duty of giving you something for drink,
And a matter of money to put in your poke;
But as for the guilders, what we spoke
64
POEMS OF ACTION
Of them, as you very well know, was In joke*
Beside, our losses have made us thrifty.
A thousand guilders ! Come, take fifty! 9
The piper's face fell, and he cried,
6 No trifling ! I can’t wait, beside !
I’ve promised to visit by dinner time
Bagdat, and accept the prime
Of the Head-Cook’s pottage, all he’s rich in,
For having left, in the Caliph’s kitchen,
Of a nest of scorpions no survivor— 18
With him I proved no bargain-driver.
With you, don’t think I’ll bate a stiver I
And folks who put me in a passion
May find me pipe to another fashion.’
6 How?’ cried the Mayor, ‘d’ye think I’ll brook iS
Being worse treated than a Cook ?
Insulted by a lazy ribald
With idle pipe and vesture piebald ?
You threaten us, fellow ? Do your worst r
Blow your pipe there till you burst! ? 19
Once more he stept into the street;
And to his lips again
Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane;
And ere he blew three notes (such sweet
Soft notes as yet musician’s cunning kqj
Never gave the enraptured air)
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN 65
There was a rustling, that seemed like a bustling
Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling,
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,
Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering,
And, like fowls in a farm-yard when barley is
scattering, so:
Out came the children running,,
All the little boys and girls.
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls, 305
Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after
The wonderful music with shouting and laughter.
The Mayor was dumb, and the Council stood
As if they were changed into blocks of wood*
Unable to move a step, or cry 210
To the children merrily skipping by—
And could only follow with the eye
That joyous crowd at the Piper’s back.
But how the Mayor was on the rack,
And the wretched Council’s bosoms beat, 21$
As the Piper turned from the High Street
To where the Weser rolled its waters
Right in the way of their sons and daughters !
However, he turned from South to West,
And to Koppelberg Hill his steps addressed, 2m
And after him the children pressed ;
Great was the joy in every breast.
‘ He never can cross that mighty top !
P.F. 753 £
66
POEMS OF ACTION
He’s forced to let the piping drop,
And we shall see our children stop ! 225
When, lo, as they reached the mountain’s side,
A wondrous portal opened wide,
As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed;
And the Piper advanced and the children followed,
And when all were in to the very last, 230
The door in the mountain-side shut fast.
Did I say, all ? No! One was lame,
And could not dance the whole of the way;
And in after years, if you would blame
His sadness, he was used to say,— 235
‘ It’s dull in our town since my playmates left!
I can’t forget that Pm bereft
Of all the pleasant sights they see.
Which the Piper also promised me.
For he led us, he said, to a joyous land, 24a
Joining the town and just at hand,
Where waters gushed and fruit-trees grew,
And flowers put forth a fairer hue.
And everything was strange and new ;
The sparrows were brighter than peacocks* here, 24*
And their dogs outran our fallow deer,
And honey-bees had lost their stings,
And horses were born with eagles’ wings:
And just as I became assured
My lame foot would be speedily cured, 25c
The music stopped and I stood still,
And found myself outside the Hill,
Left alone against my will.
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMBLIN
To go now limping as before
And never hear of that country more i ’
Alas, alas for Hamelin !
There came into many a burgher’s pate
A text which says, that Heaven’s Gate
Opes to the Rich at as easy rate
As the needle’s eye takes a camel in !
The Mayor sent East, West, North and South,
To offer the Piper, by word of mouth,
Wherever it was men’s lot to find him.
Silver and gold to his heart’s content,
If he’d only return the way he went,
And bring the children behind him.
But when they saw ’twas a lost endeavour,
And Piper and dancers were gone for ever,
They made a decree that lawyers never
Should think their records dated duly
If, after the day of the month and year.
These words did not as well appear,
4 And so long after what happened here
On the Twenty-second of July,
Thirteen hundred and seventy-six ; ’
And the better in memory to fix
The place of the children’s last retreat,
They called it, the Pied Piper’s Street—
Where any one playing on pipe or tabor
Was sure for the future to lose his labour.
Nor suffered they hostelry or tavern
To shock with mirth a street so solemn ;
E 2
68 POEMS OF ACTION
But opposite the place of the cavern
They wrote the story on a column,
And on the great Church-Window painted ig$
The same, to make the world acquainted
How their children were stolen away;
And there it stands to this very day.
And I must not omit to say
That in Transylvania there’s a tribe 290
Of alien people that ascribe
The outlandish ways and dress
On which their neighbours lay such stress.
To their fathers and mothers having risen
Out of some subterraneous prison 295
Into which they were trepanned
Long time ago In a mighty band
Out of Hamelin town in Brunswick land,
But how or why, they don’t understand.
So, Willy, let me and you be wipers 30c
Of scores out with all men—especially pipers:
And, whether they pipe us free, from rats or from
mice.
If we’ve promised them aught, let us keep our promise.
ft Browning.
CREQY
At Cre£y by Somme in Ponthieu
High up on a windy Mil
A mill stands out like a tower;
King Edward stands on the mill.
The plain is seething below 2
As Vesuvius seethes with flame,
But 0 ! not with fire, but gore,
Earth incarnadined o’er,
Crimson with shame and with fame:—
To the King run the messengers, crying no
‘ Thy Son is hard-press’d to the dying! ’
— 4 Let alone : for to-day will be written in story
To the great world’s end, and for ever:
So let the boy have the glory.’
Erin and Gwalia there 15
With England are rank’d against France ;
Outfacing the oriflamme red
The red dragons of Merlin advance
As a harvest in autumn renew’d
The lances bend o’er the fields; m
Snow-thick our arrow-heads white
Level the foe as they light;
Knighthood to yeomanry yields:—
70
POEMS OF ACTION
Proud heart, the King watches, as higher
Goes the blaze of the battle, and nigher :— 2 $
4 To-day is a day will be written in story
To the great world’s end, and for ever!
Let the boy alone have the glory.’
Harold at Senlac-on-Sea
By Norman arrow laid low,— 30
When the shield-wall was breach’d by the shaft,
—Thou art avenged by the bow!
Chivalry ! name of romance!
Thou art henceforth but a name!
Weapon that none can withstand, 35
Yew in the Englishman’s hand,
Flight-shaft unerring in aim !
As a lightning-struck forest the foemen
Shiver down to the stroke of the bowmen:—
— & O to-day is a day will be written in story 40
To the great world’s end, and for ever!
So, let the boy have the glory.’
Pride of Liguria’s shore
Genoa wrestles in vain;
Vainly Bohemia’s King 45
Kinglike is laid with the' slain.
The Blood-lake is wiped out in blood,
The shame of the centuries o’er ;
Where the pride of the Norman had sway
The lions lord over the fray,
The legions of France are no more:—
50
CliEQY 71
The Prince to his father kneels lowly;
4 His is the battle I his wholly !
For to-day is a day will be written in story
To the great world's end. and for ever :—■ 5 5
So, let him have the spurs, and the glory ? 1
F. T. Palgrave,
A BALLAD OF ORLEANS
The fray began at the middle-gate.
Between the night and the day;
Before the matin bell was rung
The foe was far away.
No knight in all the land of France 5
Could gar that foe to flee,
Till up there rose a young maiden,
And drove them to the sea.
• Sixty forts around Orleans town,
A nd sixty forts of stone ! m
Sixty forts at our gates last night —
To-day there is not one !
Talbot, Suffolk, and Pole are fled
Beyond the Loire, in fear—
Many a captain who would not drink
Hath drunken deeply there—
7*
POEMS OF ACTION
Many a captain is fallen and drowned.
And many a knigiit is dead,
And many die in the misty dawn
While the forts are burning red. 20
Sixty forts around Orleans town,
The blood ran off 4 our spears all night
As the rain runs off the roofs—
God rest their souls that fell f the fight
Among our horses’ hoofs ! 25
They came to rob us of our own
With sword and spear and lance.
They fell and clutched the stubborn earth.
And bit the dust of France !
Sixty forts around Orleans town , fyc. 30
We fought across the moonless dark
Against their unseen hands—
A knight came out of Paradise
And fought among our bands. «
Fight on, 0 maiden knight of God! 3*
Fight on and never tire,
For lo ! the misty break o’ the day
Sees all their forts on fire!
Sixty forts around Orleans town, fyc.
A. M. F. Robinson.
n
LOCHINVAR
O, young- Lochinvar is come out of the west*
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none.
He rode all unarm’d, and he rode all alone*
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, 5
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.
He staid not for brake, and he stopp’d not for stone.
He swam the Eske river where ford there was none;
But ere he alighted at Netherby gate,
The bride had consented, the gallant came late:
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.
So boldly he enter’d the Netherby Hall,
Among bride’s-men, and kinsmen, and brothers, and
all: 14
Then spoke the bride’s father, Ms hand on his sword,
(For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word,)
6 O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar ? ’
6 1 long woo’d your daughter, my suit you denied;—
Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide—
And now am I come, with this lost love of mine, 21
To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine*
There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far,
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar. 1
74
POEMS OF ACTION
Tiie bride kiss’d the goblet: the knight took it up,
He quaff’d off the wine, and he threw down the
cup. 26
She look’d down to blush, and she look’d up to sigh,
With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye.
He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar,—
6 Now tread we a measure! ’ said young Lochinvar. 30
So stately his form, and so lovely her face,
That never a hall such a galliard did grace;
While her mother did fret, and her father did fume.
And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and
plume;
And the bride-maidens whisper’d, 4 ’Twere better by
far, 35
To have match’d our fair cousin with young Lochin¬
var.’
One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear.
When they reach’d the hall-door, and the charger
stood near;
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,
So light to the saddle before her he sprungi 40
4 She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and
scaur;
They’ll have fleet steeds that follow,’ quoth young
Lochinvar.
There was mounting ’mong Graemes of the Netherby
clan;
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and
they ran:
LOCHINVAB 75
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee, 45
But the lost bride of Netherby ne’er did they see,
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e’er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?
Sir Walter Scott,
THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS
King Francis was a hearty king, and loved a royal
sport.
And one day as his lions fought, sat looking on the
court;
The nobles fill’d the benches, with the ladies in their
pride.
And ’mongst them sat the Count de Large, with one
for whom he sighed :
And truly ’twas a gallant thing to see that crowning
show, 5
Valour and love, and a king above, and the royal
beasts below.
Ramped and roared the lions, with horrid laughing
jaws;
They bit, they glared, gave blows like beams, a wind
went with their paws ;
With wallowing might and stifled roar they rolled
on one another,
Till all the pit, with sand and mane, was in a thun¬
derous smother; I0
76 POEMS OF ACTION
The bloody foam above the bars came whisking
through the air;
Said Francis then, 4 Faith, gentlemen, we’re better
here than there I ’
De Lorge’s love overheard the King, a beauteous
lively dame.
With smiling lips, and sharp bright eyes, whici
always seem’d the same:
She thought, 4 The Count, my lover, is brave as brave
can be; it
He surely would do wondrous things to show his love
of me!
King, ladies, lovers, all look on; the occasion is
divine,
Ill drop my glove to prove his love; great glory will
be mine! ’
She dropped her glove to prove his love: then looked
at him and smiled;
He bowed, and in a moment leaped among the lions
wild! so
The leap was quick; return was quick; he has
regained his place;
Then threw the glove, but not with love, right in the
lady’s face!
4 By Heav’n ! ’ said Francis, 6 rightly done! 1 and lie
rose from where he sat:
4 No love,’ quoth he, 4 but vanity, sets love a task like
that! ’
Leigh Hunt.
77
DAVID GWYNN’S STORY
OF HOW HE AND THE GOLDEN SKELETON CRIPPLED
the Great Armada sailing- out
A galley lie 1 they called my tale ; but he
Whose talk is with the deep kens mighty tales:
The man, I say, who helped to keep you free
Stands here, a truthful son of truthful Wales.
Slandered by England as a loose-lipped liar, 5
Banished from Ireland, branded rogue and thief.
Here stands that Gwynn whose life of torments dire
Heaven sealed for England, sealed in blood and fire—
Stands asking here Truth’s one reward, belief!
And Spain shall tell, with pallid lips of dread, ro
This tale of mine—shall tell, in future days.
How Gwynn, the galley-slave, once fought and bled
For England when she moved in perilous ways;
But say, ye gentlemen of England, sprung 14
From loins of men whose ghosts have still the sea—
Doth England—she who loves the loudest tongue—
Remember mariners whose deeds are sun«*
O
By waves where flowed their blood to keep her free ?
I see—I see ev’n now—those ships of Spain
Gathered in Tagus’ mouth to make the spring; 20
I feel the cursed oar, I toil again.
And trumpets blare,and priests and choir-boys sing,
IS
POEMS OF ACTION
And morning strikes with many a crimson shaft.
Through ruddy haze, four galleys rowing out—
Four galleys built to pierce the English craft, 21
Each swivel-gunned for raking fore and aft,
Snouted like sword-fish, but with iron snout.
And one we call the Princess , one the Royal ,
Diana one; but ’tis the fell Basana
Where I am toiling, Gwynn, the true, the loyal, 3c
Thinking of mighty Drake and Gloriana;
For by their help Hope whispers me that I—
Whom ten hours’ daily travail at a stretch
Has taught how sweet a thing it is to die—
May strike once more where flags of England fly, 3s
Strike for myself and many a haggard wretch.
True sorrow knows a tale it may not tell
Again I feel the lash that tears my back;
Again I hear mine own blaspheming yell,
Answered by boatswain’s laugh and scourge’s crack;
Again I feel the pang when trying to choke 41
Rather than drink the wine, or chew the. bread
Wherewith, when rest for meals would break the
stroke.
They cram our mouths while still we sit at yoke;
Again is Life, not Death, the shape of dread. 45
By Finisterre there comes a sudden gale,
And mighty waves assault our trembling galley
With blows that strike her waist as strikes a flail.
And soldiers cry,What saint shall bid her rally ? ’
DAVID GWYNN’S STORY
79
Some slaves refuse to row, and some implore 50
The Dons to free them from the metal tether
By which their limbs are locked upon the oar;
Some shout, in answer to the billows’ roar,
6 The Dons and we will drink brine-wine together* 1
6 Bring up the slave/ I hear the captain cry, 55
6 Who sank the golden galleon El Dorado .
The dog can steer.’
4 Here sits the dog/ quoth I,
6 Who sank the ship of Commodore Medrado 1 ’
With hell-lit eyes, blistered by spray and rain,
Standing upon the bridge, saith he to me: 60
‘ Hearken, thou pirate—bold Medrado’s bane !—
Freedom and gold are thine, and thanks of Spain,
If thou canst take the galley through this sea.’
c Ay! ay ! ’ quoth I. The fools unlock me straight!
And then ’tis I give orders to the Don, 65
Laughing within to hear the laugh of Fate,
Whose winning game I know hath just begun.
I mount the bridge when dies the last red streak
Of evening, and the moon seems fain for night.
Oh then I see beneath the galley’s beak 70
A glow like Spanish autds ruddy reek—
Oh then these eyes behold a wondrous sight!
A skeleton, but yet with living eyes—
A skeleton, but yet with bones like gold—
Squats on the galley-beak, in wondrous wise, 75
And round his brow, of high imperial mould,
80
POEMS OF ACTION
A burning circle seems to shake and shine,
Bright, fiery bright, with many a living gem,
Throwing a radiance o’er the foam-lit brine :
6, Tis God’s Revenge,’ methinks. ‘Heaven sends for sigr
That bony shape—that Inca’s diadem.’ 8 1
At first the sign Is only seen of me.
But well I know that God’s Revenge hath come
To strike the Armada, set old ocean free.
And cleanse from stain of Spain the beauteous foam.
Quoth I, ‘ How fierce soever be the levin 86
Spain’s hand can hurl—made mightier still for
wrong
By that great Scarlet One whose hills are seven—
Yea, howsoever Hell may scoff at Heaven—
Stronger than Hell is God, though Hell is strong.’
6 The dog can steer,’ I laugh : ‘ yea, Drake’s men know
How sea-dogs hold a ship to Biscay waves.’
Ah! when I bid the soldiers go below,
Some ’neath the hatches, some beside the slaves,
And bid them stack their muskets all in piles 95
Beside the foremast, covered by a sail, -
The captives guess my plan—I see their smiles
As down the waist the cozened troop defiles,
Staggering and stumbling landsmen, faint and pale.
I say, they guess my plan—to send beneath 100
The soldiers to the benches where the slaves
Sit, armed with eager nails and eager teeth—
Hate’s nails and teeth more keen than Spanish
glaives,
DAVID G WYNN'S STORY
81
Then wait until the tempest's waxing might
Shall reach its fiercest, mingling sea and sky, 103
Then seize the key, unlock the slaves, and smite
The sea-sick soldiers in their helpless plight,
Then bid the Spaniards pull at oar or die*
Past Ferrol Bay each galley 'gins to stoop,
Shuddering before the Biscay demon's breath. no
Down goes a prow—down goes a gaudy poop :
6 The Don's Diana bears the Don to death,'
Quoth I, 6 and see the Princess plunge and wallow
Down purple trough, o'er snowy crest of foam :
See! See! the Royals how she tries to follow 115
By many a glimmering crest and shimmering hollow,
Where gull and petrel scarcely dare to roam.'
Now, three queen-galleys pass Cape Finisterre;
The Armada, dreaming but of ocean-storms,
Thinks not of mutineers with shoulders bare, 120
Chained, bloody-wealed and pale, on galley-forms,
Each rower murmuring o’er my whispered plan,
Deep-burnt within his brain in words of fire,
6 Rise, every man, to tear to death his man—
Yea, tear as only galley-captives can, 125
When God’s Revenge sings loud to ocean's lyre.'
Taller the spectre grows 'mid ocean’s din;
The captain sees the Skeleton and pales:
I give the sign : the slaves cry, 4 Ho, for Gwynn !'
4 Teach them \ quoth 1, 4 the way we grip in Wales.'
p.f. 761 fr
82 POEMS OF ACTION
And, leaping down where hateful boatswains shake,
I win the key—let loose a storm of slaves :
4 When captives hold the whip, let drivers quake,' 1
They cry; 6 sit down, ye Dons, and row for Drake,
Or drink to England’s Queen in foaming waves.’ 13
We leap adown the hatches; in the dark
We stab the Dons at random, till I see
A spark that trembles like a tinder-spark,
Waxing and brightening, till it seems to be
A fleshless skull, with eyes of joyful fire : 14
Then, lo ! a bony shape with lifted hands—
A bony mouth that chants an anthem dire,
O’ertopping groans, o’ertopping Ocean’s quire—
A skeleton with Inca’s diadem stands!
It sings the song I heard an Indian sing, 14
Chained by the ruthless Dons to burn at stake,
When priests of Tophet chanted in a ring,
Sniffing man’s flesh at roast for Christ His sake.
The Spaniards hear: they see : they fight no more;
They cross their foreheads, but they dare not speal
Anon the spectre, when the strife is o’er, * 15
Melts from the dark, then glimmers as before,
Burning upon the conquered galley’s beak.
And now the moon breaks through the night, an
shows
The Royal bearing down upon our craft— 1 «
Then comes a broadside close at hand, which strows
Our deck with bleeding bodies fore and aft.
DAVID G WYNN’S STORY
83
1 take the helm ; I put the galley near;
We grapple in silver sheen of moonlit surge.
Amid the Royals din I laugh to hear 160
The curse of many a British mutineer,
The crack, crack, crack of boatswain’s biting
scourge,
6 Ye scourge in vain,’ quoth I, * scourging for life
Slaves who shall row no more to save the Don 1 ;
For from the Royal's poop, above the strife, 165
Their captain gazes at our Skeleton!
‘ What I is it thou. Pirate of El Dorado ? ’
He shouts in English tongue. And there, behold !
Stands he, the devil’s commodore, Medrado.
6 Ay ! ay!’ quoth I, fi Spain owes me one strappado
For scuttling Philip’s ship of stolen gold. 171
e 1 come for that strappado now,’ quoth I.
4 What means yon thing of burning bones ?’ he saith.
4 ’Tis God’s Revenge cries “ Bloody Spain shall die! ”
The king of El Dorado’s name is Death. 175
Strike home, ye slaves; your hour is coming swift.’
I cry ; 4 strong hands are stretched to save you now ;
Show yonder spectre you are worth the gift.’
But when the Royal, captured, rides adrift,
I look: the Skeleton hath left our prow. 180
When all are slain, the tempest’s wings have fled,
But still the sea is dreaming of the storm:
Far down the offing glows a spot of red,
My soul knows well it hath that Inca’s form,
f 2
84
POEMS OF ACTION
4 It lights,’ quoth 1 , 6 the red cross banner of Spain: iS*
There on the flagship where Medina sleeps—
Hell’s banner, wet with sweat of Indians’ pain.
And tears of women yoked to treasure train,
Scarlet of blood for which the New World weeps*
There on the dark the flagship of the Don 19c
To me seems luminous of the spectre’s glow;
But soon an arc of gold, and then the Sun,
Rise o’er the reddening billows, proud and slow;
Then, through the curtains of the morning mist,
That take all shifting colours as they shake, 195
I see the great Armada coil and twist
Miles, miles along the ocean’s amethyst,
Like hell’s old snake of hate—the winged snake.
And, when the hazy veils of Mom are thinned,
That snake accursed, with wings which swell and
puff 200
Before the slackening horses of the wind,
Turns into shining ships that tack and luff.
4 Behold quoth I, 6 their floating citadels,.
The same the priests have vouched for musket-proof,
Caracks and hulks and nimble caravels, 205
That sailed with us to sound of Lisbon bells—
Yea, sailed from Tagus’ mouth, for Christ’s behoof.
For Christ’s behoof they sailed: see how they go
With that red skeleton to show the way
There sitting on Medina’s stem aglow— ar©
A hundred sail and forty-nine, men say;
DAVID GWYNN’S STORY 85
Behold them* brothers, galleon and galleasse—
Their dizened turrets bright of many a plume.
Their gilded poops, their shining guns of brass.
Their trucks, their lags—behold them, how they
pass— 215
With God's Revenge for figurehead—to Doom I'
Theodore Watts-Dijmtgn.
‘HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS
. FROM GHENT TO AIX ’
I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he ;
I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three;
‘ Good speed! ’ cried the watch, as the gate-bolts
undrew ;
‘ Speed ! ’ echoed the wall to us galloping through ;
Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest, ^
And into .the midnight we galloped abreast.
Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace
Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our
place ;
I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight, 9
Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right.
Rebuckled the cheek-strap, chained slacker the bit,
Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit.
88
POEMS OF ACTION
"Twas moonset at starting; but while we drew near
Lokeren, the cocks crew and twilight dawned clear;
At Boom, a great yellow star came out to see; xg
At Diiffeld, ’twas morning as plain as could be;
And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the half¬
chime.
So Joris broke silence with, 6 Yet there is time !’
At Aerschot, up leaped of a sudden the sun.
And against him the cattle stood black every one, ao
To stare thro’ the mist at us galloping past.
And I saw my stout galloper Roland at last,
With resolute shoulders, each butting away
The haze, as some bluff river headland its spray.
And his low head and crest, just one sharp ear bent
back 25
For my voice, and the other pricked out on his track ;
And one eye’s black intelligence,—ever that glance
O'er its white edge at me, his own master, askance !
And the thick heavy spume-flakes which aye and anon
His fierce lips shook upwards in galloping on. 30
By Hasselt, Dirck groaned; and cried Joris, fi Stay
spur!
Your Boos galloped bravely, the fault’s not in her,
We’ll remember at Aix’—for one heard the quick
wheeze
Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering
knees,
HOW THEY BROUGHT THE NEWS 87
And sunk tail, and horrible heave of the flank, 35
As down on her haunches she shuddered and sank.
So we were left galloping, Joris and 1 ,
Past Looz and past Tongres, no cloud in the sky ;
The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh,
’Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like
chaff; 40
Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white,
And 5 Gallop,’ gasped Joris, 4 for Aix is in sight! ’
6 How they’ll greet us! ’—and all in a moment his
roan
Rolled neck and croup over, lay dead as a stone; 44
And there was my Roland to bear the whole weight
Of the news which alone could save Aix from her fate.
With his nostrils like pits full of blood to the brim,
And with circles of red for his eye-sockets’ rim.
Then I cast loose my buffcoat, each holster let fall,
Shook off both my jack-boots, let go belt and all, 50
Stood up in the stirrup, leaned, patted his ear,
Called my Roland his pet-name, my horse without
peer;
Clapped my hands, laughed and sang, any noise, bad
or good,
Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and stood.
And all I remember is, friends flocking round 55
As I sat with his head ’twixt my knees on the ground ;
POEMS OF ACTION
And no voice but was praising this Roland of mine.
As I poured down his throat our last measure of
wine,
Which (the burgesses voted by common consent)
Was no more than his due who brought good news
from Ghent* 60
Robert Browning.
KILLIECRANKIE
On the heights of Killiecrankie
Yester-morn our army lay :
Slowly rose the mist in columns
From the river’s broken way;
Hoarsely roared the swollen torrent, 5
And the Pass was wrapt in gloom,
When the clansmen rose together
From their lair amidst the broom.
Then we belted on our tartans,
And our bonnets down we drew, ro
And we felt our broadswords’ edges*
And we proved them to be true;
And we prayed the prayer of soldiers,
And we cried the gathering-cry,
And we clasped the hands of kinsmen, 15
And we swore to do or die!
Then our leader rode before us
On his war-horse black as night—
Well the Cameronian rebels
Knew that charger in the fight !— so
KILLIECRANKIB
And a cry of exultation
From tlie bearded warriors rose ;
For we loved the house of Claver’se,
And we thought of good Montrose.
But he raised his hand for silence—■
4 Soldiers ! I have sworn a vow :
Ere the evening star shall glisten
On Schehallion’s lofty brow.
Either we shall rest in triumph.
Or another of the Graemes
Shall have died in battle-harness
For his country and King James!
Think upon the lioyal Martyr—
Think of what his race endure—
Think of him whom butchers murdered
On the field of Magus Muir:—
By his sacred blood I charge ye,
By the ruined hearth and shrine—
By the blighted hopes of Scotland,
By your injuries and mine—
Strike this day as if the anvil
Lay beneath your blows the while,
Be they covenanting traitors.
Or the brood of false Argyle!
Strike ! and drive the trembling rebels
Backward o'er the stormy Forth ;
Let them tell their pale Convention
How they fared within the North.
Let them tell that Highland honour
Is not to be bought nor sold.
30
POEMS OF ACTION
That we scorn their prince’s anger
As we loathe his foreign gold.
Strike! and when the fight is over,
If ye look in vain for me.
Where the dead are lying thickest, 55
Search for him that was Dundee! 9
Loudly then the hills re-echoed
With our answer to his call.
But a deeper echo sounded
In the bosoms of us all. 6o
For the lands of wide Breadalbane,
Not a man who heard him speak
Would that day have left the battle.
Burning eye and flushing cheek
Told the clansmen's fierce emotion, 65
And they harder drew their breath ;
For their souls were strong within them,
Stronger than the grasp of death.
Soon we heard a challenge-trumpet
Sounding in the Pass below, 70
And the distant tramp of horses,
And the voices of the foe:
Down we crouched amid the bracken,
Till the Lowland ranks drew near,
Panting like the hounds in summer, 75
When they scent the stately deer.
From the dark defile emerging,
Next we saw the squadrons come,
KILLIECRANKIE
91
Leslie’s foot and Leven’s troopers
Marching to the tuck of drum ; 80
Through the scattered wood of birches,
O’er the broken ground and heath.
Wound the long battalion slowly.
Till they gained the plain beneath;
Then we bounded from our covert.— 85
Judge how looked the Saxons then.
When they saw the rugged mountain
Start to life with armed men I
Like a tempest down the ridges
Swept the hurricane of steel, 90
Rose the slogan of Macdonald—
Flashed the broadsword of Lochiel!
Vainly sped the withering volley
’Mongst the foremost of our band—*
On we poured until we met them, 95
Foot to foot, and hand to hand.
Horse and man went down like drift-wood
When the floods are black at Yule,
And their carcasses are whirling
In the Garry’s deepest pooh 100
Horse and man went down before us —
Living foe there tarried none
On the field of Killiecrankie,
When that stubborn fight was done l
105
And the evening star was shining
On Schehallion’s distant head.
m
POEMS OF ACTION
When we wiped our bloody broadswords,
And returned to count the dead.
There we found him gashed and gory.
Stretched upon the cumbered plain, no
As he fold us where to seek him.
In the thickest of the slain.
And a smile was on his visage.
For within his dying ear
Pealed the joyful note of triumph, 115
And the clansmen’s clamorous cheer:
So, amidst the battle's thunder,
Shot, and steel, and scorching flame,
In the glory of his manhood
Passed the spirit of the Graeme ! rao
W. E. Aytoun*
herv£ riel
On the sea and at the Hogue, sixteen hundred ninety-
two.
Did the English fight the French,—woe to France !
And, the thirty-first of May, helter-skelter thro’ the
blue,
Like a crowd of frightened porpoises a shoal of
sharks pursue,
Came crowding ship on ship to St. Malo on the
Ranee, 5
With the English fleet in view.
HERV& RIEL 93
Twas the squadron that escaped, with the victor in
full chase;
First and foremost of the drove, in his great ship,
Damfreville;
Close on Mm fled, great and small,
Twenty-two good ships in all; xc
And they signalled to the place
6 Help the winners of a race !
Get us guidance, give us harbour, take us quick—
or, quicker still,
Here’s the English can and will! ’
Then the pilots of the place put out brisk and leapt
on board; i ~
4 Why, what hope or chance have ships like these
to pass ? 1 laughed they :
4 Rocks to starboard, rocks to port, all the passage
scarred and scored,
Shall the Formidable here with her twelve and eighty
guns
Think to make the river-mouth by the single
narrow way,
Trust to enter w here Tis ticklish for a craft of twenty
tons, 2o
And with flow at full beside ?
Now, Tis slackest ebb of tide.
Beach the mooring ? Rather say,
While rock stands or water runs,
Not a ship will leave the bay ! 4 25
94
POEMS OF ACTION
Then was called a council straight.
Brief and bitter the debate :
4 Here’s the English at our heels; would you hav«
them take in tow
All that’s left us of the fleet, linked together sterr
and bow,
For a prize to Plymouth Sound ?
Better run the ships aground! ’
(Ended Damfreville his speech).
Not a minute more to wait!
4 Let the Captains all and each
Shove ashore, then blow up, bum the vessels on
the beach! 3»
France must undergo her fate.
Give the word ! ’ But no such word
Was ever spoke or heard;
For up stood, for out stepped, for in struck amid
all these
—A Captain? A Lieutenant? A Mate—first,
second, third ? - 40
No such man of mark, and meet
With his betters to compete !
But a simple Breton sailor pressed by Tourville
.for the fleet,
A poor coasting-pilot he, Herve Riel the Croisickese.
And, 4 What mockery or malice have we here ? ’
cries Herve Riel: 45
HERVJ6 RIEL 95
6 Are you mad, you Malouins ? Are you cowards,
fools, or rogues ?
Talk to me of rocks and shoals, me who took the
soundings, tell
On my fingers every bank, every shallow, every swell
’Twixt the offing here and Greve where the river
disembogues ?
Are you bought by English gold ? Is it love the
lying ’s for ? 50
Morn and eve, night and day,
Have I piloted your bay,
Entered free and anchored fast at the foot of Solidor.
Burn the fleet and ruin France ? That were worse
than fifty Hogues!
Sirs, they know I speak the truth l Sirs, believe
me there’s a way! 55
Only let me lead the line,
Have the biggest ship to steer,
Get this Formidable clear,
Make the others follow mine,
And I lead them, most and least, by a passage I
know well, <k>
Right to Solidor past Greve,
And there lay them safe and sound;
And if one ship misbehave,
—Keel so much as grate the ground.
Why, Fve nothing but my life,—here ’s my head ! *
cries Herve Riel. 65
98
POEMS OF ACTION
Not a minute more to wait.
Steer us in, then, small and great!
Take the helm, lead the line, save the squadron !
cried its chief.
Captains, give the sailor place !
He is Admiral, in brief. 7c
Still the north-wind, by God's grace !
See the noble fellow's face,
As the big ship with a bound.
Clears the entry like a hound.
Keeps the passage as its inch of way were the wide
seas profound! 7s
See, safe thro’ shoal and rock,
How they follow in a lock,
Not a ship that misbehaves, not a keel that grates
the ground,
Not a spar that comes to grief!
The peril, see, is past, Sc
All are harboured to the last,
And just as Serve Riel hollas € Anchor!’—sure as fate
Up the English come, too late !
So, the storm subsides to calm :
They see the green trees wave 85
On the heights overlooking Greve.
Hearts that bled are stanched with balm,
6 Just our rapture to enhance,
Let the English rake the bay,
Gnash their teeth and glare askance,
As they cannonade away!
90
HERVfi RIEL 91
’Neath, rampired Solidor pleasant riding on the
Ranee! ’
How hope succeeds despair on each Captain's coun¬
tenance !
Out burst all with one accord,
6 This is Paradise for Hell! 95
Let France, let France’s King
Thank the man that did the thing! ’
What a shout, and all one word,
4 Herve Riel! ’
As he stepped in front once more, xoo
Not a symptom of surprise
In the frank blue Breton eyes,
J ust the same man as before.
Then said Damfreville, My friend,
i must speak out at the end, 105
Though I find the speaking harci
Praise is deeper than the lips:
You have saved the King Ms ships,
You must name your own reward.
'Faith ouj: sun was near eclipse ! no
Demand whate’er you will,
France remains your debtor still.
Ask to heart’s content and have! or my name’s not
Damfreville.’
Then a beam of fun outbroke
On the bearded mouth that spoke, 113
As the honest heart laughed through
Those frank eyes of Breton blue:
p.s*. m
Cr
98 POEMS OF ACTION
6 Since I needs must say my say,
Since on board the duty ’s done,
And from Malo Roads to Croisic Point, what
is it but a run ?— 120
Since ’tis ask and have, I may—
Since the others go ashore—
Come ! A good whole holiday !
Leave to go and see my wife, whom I call the
Belle Aurore! ’
That he asked and that he got,—nothing more, 135
Name and deed alike are lost:
Not a pillar nor a post
In his Croisic keeps alive the feat as it befell;
Not a head in white and black
On a single fishing smack, 130
In memory of the man but for whom had gone to
wrack
All that France saved from the fight whence
England bore the bell.
Go to Paris: rank on rank
Search the heroes flung pell-mell * 135
On the Louvre, face and flank !
You shall look long enough ere you come to
Herve Riel.
So, for better and for worse,
Herve Riel, accept my verse !
In my verse, Herve Riel, do thou once more 140
Save the squadron, honour France, love thy wife, the
Belle Aurore ! Robert Browning.
WINSTANLEY
Wxnstanley’s deed, you kindly folk,
With it I fill my lay.
And a nobler man ne’er walked the world,
Let his name be what it may.
The good ship Snowdrop tarried long,
Up at the vane looked he;
6 Belike,’ he said, for the wind had dropped,
4 She lieth becalmed at sea.’
Then stepped two mariners down the street,
With looks of grief and fear:
4 Now, if Winstanley be your name,
We bring you evil cheer !
4 For the good ship Snowdrop struck—she struck
On the rock—the Eddystone,
And down she went with threescore men,
We two being left alone.’
‘ O thou brave skipper, blithe and kind,
O mariners bold and true,
Sorry at heart, right sorry am I,
A-thinking of yours and you.’
g 2
100
POEMS OF ACTION
The Snowdrop sank at Lammas tide,
All under the yeasty spray ;
On Christmas Eve the brig Content
Was also cast away.
He little thought o’ New Year’s night,
So jolly as he sat then,
■While drank the toast and praised the roast
The round-faced Aldermen,—
He little thought on Plymouth Hoe,
With every rising tide.
How the wave washed in Ms sailor lads,
And laid them side by side.
There stepped a stranger to the board:
6 Now, stranger, who be ye P ’
4 He looked to right, he looked to left,
And fi Rest you merry,’ quoth he;
4 For you did not see the brig go down, •
Or ever a storm had blown;
For you did not see the white waves rear
At the rock—the Eddystone.
4 She drave at the rock with sternsails set;
Crash went the masts in twain ;
She staggered back with her mortal blow.
Then leaped at it again.
WINSTANLEY
‘There rose a great cry, bitter and strong,
The misty moon looked out!
And the water swarmed with seamen’s heads,
And the wreck was strewed about.
6 1 saw her mainsail lash the sea
As 1 clung to the rock alone;
Then she heeled over, and down she went,
And sank like any stone.
4 She was a fair ship, but all’s one !.
For naught could bide the shock ! ’
4 1 will take horse,’ Winstanley said,
4 And see this deadly rock.’
Winstanley rode to Plymouth town
All in the sleet and snow,
And he looked around on shore and sound
As he stood on Plymouth Hoe.
Till a pillar of spray rose far away,
And shot up its stately head,
Reared and fell over, and reared again:
4 ’Tis the rock ! the rock ! ’ lie said.
Straight to the Mayor he took his way,
4 Good Master Mayor,’ quoth he,
* I am a mercer of London town,
And owner of vessels three,—
162
POEMS OF ACTION
5 But for jour rock of dark renown,
I had five to track the main.’ ?©
6 You are one of many, 1 the old Mayor said,
6 That on the rock complain.’
6 Lend me a lighter, good Master Mayor,
And a score of shipwrights free.
For I think to raise a lantern tower 75
On this rock o’ destiny.’
The old Mayor looked him in the face,
And answered.* 6 Have thy way ;
Thy heart is stout, as if round about
It was braced with an iron stay.’ So
Winstanley chose him men and gear;
He said, 6 My time I waste,’
For the seas ran seething up the shore,
And the wrack drave on in haste.
Then he and the sea began their strife, ' 85
And worked with power and might:
Whatever the man reared up by day
The sea broke down by night.
In fine weather and foul weather
The rock his arts did flout,
Through the long days and the short days,
Till all that year ran out.
90
WINSTANLEY
103
Now March was gone, came April in.
And a sea-fog settled down.
And forth sailed he on a glassy sea, 95
He sail’d from Plymouth town.
A Scottish schooner made the port,
The thirteenth day at e’en :
* As I am a man,’ the captain cried,
4 A strange sight 1 have seen : ioo
6 And a strange sound heard, my masters all.
At sea in the fog and the rain,
Like shipwrights’ hammers tapping low,
Then loud, then low again.
‘ And a stately house one instant showed, eo$
Through a rift, on the vessel’s lee :
What manner of creatures may be those
That build upon the sea ? ’
Then sighed the folk, € The Lord be praised 1 7
And they flocked to the shore amain ; no
All over the Hoe that livelong night.
Many stood out in the rain.
It ceased, and the red sun reared his head,
And the rolling fog did flee ;
And, lo I in the offing faint and far
Winstanley’s house at sea ! .
1i$
104
POEMS OF ACTION
In fair weather* with mirth and cheer*
The stately tower uprose;
In foul weather* with hunger and cold*
They were content to close ; sac
Till up the stair Winstanley went*
To lire the wick afar ;
And Plymouth in the silent night
Look’d out and saw her star.
Winstanley set his foot ashore: 125
Said he* 6 My work is done ;
I hold it strong to last as long
As aught beneath the sun.
‘ But if it fail* as fail it may*
Borne down with ruin and rout* : 30
Another than I shall rear it high*
And brace the girders stout.
4 A better than I shall rear it high*
For now the way is plain,
And tho’ I were dead*’ Winstanley said* 235
£ The light would shine again.’
o o
With that Winstanley went his way*
And left the rock renowned*
And summer and winter his pilot star
Hung bright o’er Plymouth Sound. 14,0
WINSTANLEY
105
But it fell out, fell out at last,
That he would put to sea.
To scan once more his lighthouse tower
On the rock o’ destiny.
And the winds woke, and the storm broke, 145
And wrecks came plunging in ;
None in the town that night lay down,
Or sleep or rest to win.
And when the dawn, the dull, grey dawn.
Broke on the trembling town, 150
And men looked south to the harbour mouth.
The lighthouse tower was down.
Down in the deep where he doth sleep,
Who made it shine afar.
And then in the night that drowned its light, 155
Set, with his pilot star.
Jean Inge low.
THE BALLAD OF 6 BEAU BROCADE ’
4 Ilark 1 I hear the sound of coaches 1 ’— Beg g ah's Opera.
I
Seventeen hundred and thirty-nine
That was the date of this tale of mine.
First great George was buried and gone 5
George the Second was plodding on.
POEMS OF ACTION
London then, as the 4 Guides ’ aver, c
Shared its glories with Westminster ;
And people of rank to correct their 6 tone \
Went out of town to Marybone .
Those were the days of the War wdth Spain ,
Porto-Bello would soon be ta’en ; 10
Whitefield preached to the colliers grim,
Bishops in lawn sleeves preached at him;
Walpole talked of 6 a man and his price ’;
Nobody’s virtue was over-nice;
Those, in line, were the brave days when 15
Coaches were stopped by . . . Highwaymen !
And of all the knights of the gentle trade
Nobody bolder than 6 Beau Brocade \
This they knew on the whole way down;
Best,—maybe,—at the * Oak and Crown \ 20
(For timorous cits on their pilgrimage
Would * club ’ for a ‘ Guard ’ to ride the stage;
And the Guard that rode on more than one
Was the Host of this hostel’s sister’s son.)
Open we here on a March day fine, 35
Under the oak with the hanging sign.
THE BALLAD OF 6 BEAU BROCADE ’ 107
There was Barber Dick with his basin by;
Cobbler Joe with the patch on his eye;
Portly product of Beef and Beer,
John the host, he was standing near, 3°
Straining and creaking, with wheels awry,
Lumbering came the * Plymouth Fly ’; —
Lumbering up from Bagshot Heathy
Guard in the basket armed to the teeth;
Passengers heavily armed inside ; 35
Not the less surely the coach had been tried!
Tried !—but a couple of miles away,
By a well-dressed man !—in the open day S
Tried successfully, never a doubt,—
Pockets of passengers all turned out! 40
Cloak-bags rifled, and cushions ripped,—
Even *an Ensign’s wallet stripped!
Even a Methodist hosier’s wife
Offered the choice of her Money or Life!
Highwayman’s manners no less polite, 45
Hoped that their coppers (returned) were right;—
Sorry to find the company poor,
Hoped next time they’d travel with more;—
108
POEMS OF ACTION
Plucked them all at his ease, in short:—•
Such was the 6 Plymouth Fly's ’ report. 5c
Sympathy! horror! and wonderment!
4 Catch the Villain! ’ (But Nobody went.)
Hosier’s wife led into the Bar,
(That’s where the best strong waters are !)
Followed the tale of the hundred-and-one 55
Things that Somebody ought to have done.
Ensign (of Bragg’s) made a terrible clangour:
But for the Ladies had drawn his hanger!
Robber, of course, was 6 Beau Brocade ’;
Out-spoke Dolly the Chambermaid. 6 c
Devonshire Dolly, plump and red,
Spoke from the gallery overhead;—
Spoke it out boldly, staring hard :~~
4 Why didn’t you shoot then, George the Guard ?’
Spoke it out bolder, seeing him mute :— 65
4 George the Guard, why didn’t you shoot ? 1
Portly John grew pale and red,
(John was afraid of her, people said) ;
Gasped that 4 Dolly was surely cracked ’
(John was afraid of her — that ’s a fact l) 7*
THE BALLAD OF 6 BEAU BROCADE ’ 109
George the Guard grew red and pale.
Slowly finished his quart of ale:—
€ Shoot ? Why—Rabbit Mm !— didn’t he shoot ? ’
Muttered— 6 The Baggage was far too cute I ’
‘Shoot? Why, he’d flashed the pan in Ms eye! ’ ^5
Muttered— 4 She’d pay for it by and by ! ’
Further than this made no reply.
Nor could a further reply be made.
For George was in league with 6 Beau Beocaide ’!
And John the Host, in his wakefollest state, So
Was not—on the whole—im maculate.
But nobody’s virtue was over-nice
When Walpole talked of 6 a man and his price ’;
And wherever Purity found abode,
Twas certainly not on a posting road, 85
11
4 Forty ’ followed to 6 Thirty-nine,’
Glorious days of the Hanover line!
Princes were born, and drains were banged;
Now and then batches of Highwaymen hanged.
4 Glorious news ! ’—from the Spanish Main; 90
Porto-Bello at last was ta’en.
110
POEMS OF ACTION
Glorious news ! ’—for the liquor trade;
Nobody dreamed of 4 Beau Brocade \
People were thinking of Spanish Crowns ;
Money was coming from seaport towns ! 95
Nobody dreamed of 6 Beau Brocade
(Only Dolly the Chambermaid i)
Blessings on Vernon ! Fill up the cans ;
Money was coming in 6 Flys ’ and s Vans \
Possibly, Jokn the Host had heard; 100
Also, certainly, George the Guard.
And Dolly had possibly tidings, too,
That made her rise from her bed anew,
Plump as ever, but stern of eye,
With a ’fixed intention to warn the 6 Fly \ 105
Lingering only at John his door,
Just to make sure of a jerky snore;
Saddling the grey mare, Dumpling Star ;
Fetching the pistol out of the bar ;
(The old horse-pistol that, they say, no
Came from the battle of Malplaquei ;)
Loading with powder that maids would use,
Even in 6 Forty to clear the flues;
THE BALLAD OF 6 BEAU BROCADE’ 111
And a couple of silver buttons, the Squire
Gave her, away in Devonshire . xs§
These she wadded—for want of better—
With the B-sh-p of L-nd-n's 6 Pastoral Letter’;
Looked to the flint, and hung the whole.
Ready to use, at her pocket-hole.
Thus equipped and accoutred, Dolly 120
Clattered away to 6 Exciseman's Folly 1 ;—
Such' was the name of a rained abode,
Just on the edge of the London road.
Thence she thought she might safely try,
As soon as she saw it, to warn the 6 Fly \ 125
But, as chance fell out, her rein she drew.
As the Beau came cantering into the view.
By the light of the moon she could see him cirest
In his famous gold-sprigged tambour vest;
And under his silver-grey surtout, 130
The laced, historical coat of blue,
That he wore when he went to London~Spau\
And robbed Sir Mungo Mucklethraw.
Out-spoke Dolly the Chambermaid,
(Trembling a little, but not afraid,) 135
4 Stand and Deliver, O “ Beau Brocade” T
n*
POEMS OF ACTION
But the Beau drew nearer, and would not speak,
For he saw by the moonlight a rosy cheek ;
And a spavined mare with a rusty hide;
And a girl with her hand at her pocket-side. 140
So never a word he spake as yet.
For he thought ’twas a freak of Meg or Bet ; —
A freak of the 6 Rose ’ or the s Rummer 1 set.
Out-spoke Dolly the Chambermaid,
(Tremulous now, and sore afraid,) 143
6 Stand and Deliver, O a Beau Brocade ” !’ —■
Firing then, out of sheer alarm,
Hit the Beau in the bridle-arm.
Button the first went none knows where,
But it carried away his solitaire ; 15c
Button the second a circuit made,
Glanced in under the shoulder-blade;—
Down from the saddle fell ‘ Beau Brocade 1 !
Down from the saddle and never stirred !—
Dolly grew’ white as a Windsor curd. 155
Slipped not less from the mare, and bound
Strips of her kirtle about his wound.
Then, lest his Worship should rise and flee,
Fettered his ankles—tenderly.
THE BALLAD OF 6 BEAU BROCADE ’ 113
Jumped on Ms chestnut, Bet the fleet z&o
(Called after Bet of Portugal Street );
Came like the wind to the old Inn-door ;—
Roused fat John from a threefold snore ;—
Vowed she’d ’peach if he misbehaved . , .
Briefly, the 6 Plymouth Fly ’ was saved ! 165
Staines and Windsor were all on Are:—•
Dolly was wed to a Yorkshire squire;
Went to Town at the K— g’s desire !
But whether His M-t-sty saw her or not,
Hogarth jotted her down on the spot; 170
And something of Dolly one still may trace
In the fresh contours of Ms 6 Milkmaid's ’ face,
George the Guard fled over the sea:
John had a fit—of perplexity ;
Turned King’s evidence, sad to state;— 175
But John was never immaculate.
As for the Beau, he was duly tried,
When his wound was healed, at Whitsuntide ;
Served—for a day—as the last of 6 sights \
To the world of St. James's Street and 6 White's \ i$<j
Went on his way to Tyburn Tree,
With a pomp befitting his high degree.
P.P. U
114
POEMS OF ACTION
Every privilege rank confers :—
Bouquet of pinks at St Sepulchre's ;
'Flagon of ale at Holbom Bar ; 185
Friends (in mourning) to follow his Car—
( 4 1 ’ is omitted where Heroes are !)
Every one knows the speech lie made;
Swore that he 6 rather admired the Jade ! ’—
Waved to the crowd with his gold-laced hat: 190
Talked to the Chaplain after that;
Turned to the Topsman undismayed . . .
This was the finish of 4 Beau Brocade ’!
And this is the Ballad that seemed to hide
In the leaves of a dusty 6 Londoner’s Guide 5 ; 195
4 Humbly Inscrib'd {with curls and tails')
By the A uthor to Frederick, Prince of Wales -
4 Published by Francis and Oliver Pine ;
Ludgate-Hill) at the Blackmoor Sign.
Seventeen-Hundrcd-and- Thirty-Nine' 2 00
Austin Dobson*
FALL OF D’ASS AS
Alone through gloomy forest-shades
A soldier went by night;
No moonbeam pierced the dusky glades,
No star shed guiding light.
Yet on his vigil’s midnight round
The youth all cheerly passed ;
Unchecked by aught of boding sound
That muttered in the blast.
Where were his thoughts that lonely hour
—In his far home, perchance;
His father’s hall, his mother’s bower,
’Midst the gay vines of France :
Wandering from battles lost and won,
To hear and bless again
The rolling of the wide Garonne,
Or murmur of the Seine.
Hush! hark ! did stealing steps go by ?
Came not faint whispers near ?
No I the wild wind hath many a sigh,
Amidst the foliage sere.
110
POEMS OF ACTION
Hark, jet again!—and from Ms hand
What grasp hath wrenched the blade ?
—Qh, single "midst a hostile band.
Young soldier! thou’rt betrayed !
£ Silence ! 9 in undertones they cry, ^5
6 No whisper—not a breath !
The sound that warns thy comrades nigh
Shall sentence thee to death! ’
Still, at the bayonet’s point he stood.
And strong to meet the blow ; so
And shouted, ’midst Ms rushing blood,
4 Arm, arm, Auvergne ! the foe ! ’
The stir, the tramp, the bugle-call—
He heard their tumults grow;
And sent Ms dying voice through all — 35
4 Auvergne, Auvergne! the foe l ’
F. Remans.
PAUL REVERE’S RIDE
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-live;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year. g
PAUL REVERED RIDE
117
He said to his friend, 4 If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night.
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,—-
One, if by land, and two, if by sea; to
And I on the opposite shore will be.
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middieses village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.’
Then he said, 4 Good night! ’ and with mulrled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore, i6
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar 20
Across the moon like a prison bar.
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street.
Wanders and watches with eager ears, 25
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet.
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore. 30
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry-chamber overhead,
118
POEMS OF ACTION
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made 35
Masses and moving shapes of shade,—
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall.
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town, 4©
And the moonlight flowing over alL
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night-encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinePs tread, 45
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent.
And seeming to whisper, 6 All is well! ’
A moment only lie feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread 50
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,—■
A line of black that bends and floats 55
On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride.
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere,
Now he patted his horse’s side, 60
PAUL REVERB'S RIDE 119
Now gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth.
And turned and tightened his saddle-girth ;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry-tower of the Old North Church, 65
As it rose above the graves on the hill.
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo ! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle lie turns, 70
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet; 76
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the
light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat. 80
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders, that skirt its ed^e.
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge, 83
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
120
POEMS OF ACTION
It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock.
And the barking of the farmer’s dog.
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the snn goes down.
It was one by the village clock.
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock.
And the twitter of birds among the trees.
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket-ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall.
PAUL BE VERB’S RIDE
121
Chasing the red-coats down the lane, rig
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road.
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm rao
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door.
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on a night-wind of the Past, rag
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need.
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed.
And the midnight message of Paul Revere. 130
BL W. IjOKfG.FEl.LOW,
BATTLE OF THE BALTIC
Of Nelson* and the North
Sing the glorious day’s renown,
When to battle fierce came forth
All the might of Denmark’s crown,
And her arms along the deep proudly shone,_ s
By each gun the lighted brand
In a bold determined hand ;
And the Prince of all the land
Led them on.
1**
POEMS OF ACTION
Like leviathans afloat 10
Lay their bulwarks on the brine,
While the sign of battle flew
On the lofty British line :
It was ten of April morn by the chime;
As they drifted on their path £5
There was silence deep as death.
And the boldest held his breath
For a time.
But the might of England flushed
To anticipate the scene; a®
And her van the fleeter rushed
O’er the deadly space between,,
6 Hearts of oak ! 1 our captain cried; when each gun
From its adamantine lips
Spread a death-shade round the ships, 35
Like the hurricane eclipse
Of the sun.
Again ! again ! again !
And the havoc did not slack.
Till a feeble cheer the Dane go
To our cheering sent us back :
Their shots along the deep slowly boom ;
Then ceased—and all is wail
As they strike the shattered sail,
Or in conflagration pale U
Light the gloom.
BATTLE OF THE BALTIC
Out spoke the victor then
As he hailed them o’er the wave,
6 Ye are brothers I ye are men !
And we conquer but to save ;
So peace instead of death let us bring:
But yield, proud foe, thy fleet
With the crews at England’s feet,
And make submission meet
To our King.’
Then Denmark blessed our chief
That he gave her wounds repose ;
And the sounds of joy and grief
From her people wildly rose,
As death withdrew his shades from the day ;
While the sun looked smiling bright
O’er a wide and woful sight,
Where the fires of funeral light
Died away.
Now joy, Old England, raise
For the tidings of thy might
By the festal cities’ blaze.
While the wine-cup shines in light;
And yet, amidst that joy and uproar,
Let us think of them that sleep.
Full many a fathom deep,
By thy wild and stormy steep,
Elsinore 1
124
POEMS OF ACTION
Brave hearts I to Britain’s pride
Once so faithful and so true, 6 $
On the deck of fame that died
With the gallant good Riou—
Soft sigh the winds of Heaven o’er their grave !
While the billow mournful rolls
And the mermaid’s song condoles* 70
Singing glory to the souls
Of the brave!
T. Campbell*
TRAFALGAR
Heard ye the thunder of battle
Low in the South and afar ?
Saw ye the flash of the death-cloud
Crimson on Trafalgar ? '
Such another day never 5
England will look on again.
When the battle fought was the hottest,
And the hero of heroes was slain !
For the fleet of France and the force of Spain were
gather’d for fight,
A greater than Philip their lord, a new Armada in
might:— 10
And the sails were aloft once more in the deep
Gaditanian bay,
Where Redoubtable and Rucentaure and great Trim*
dada lay;
TRAFALGAR 1«5
Eager-reluctant to close ; for across the bloodshed
to be
Two navies beheld one prize in its glory,—the throne
of the sea I
■Which were bravest, who should tell ? for both were
gallant and true ; *5
But the greatest seaman was ours, of all that sail’d
o’er the blue.
From Cadiz the enemy sallied : they knew not Nelson
was there;
His name a navy to us, but to them a flag of
despair.
From Ayamonte to Algeziras he guarded the coast.
Till he bore from Tavira south ; and they now must
light, or be lost;— 20
Vainly they steer’d for the Hock and the Midland
sheltering sea.
For lie headed the Admirals round, constraining them
under his lee,
Villeneuve of France, and Gravina of Spain: so they
shifted their ground,
They could choose,—they were more than we;—-and
they laced at Trafalgar round;
Banking their fleet two deep, a fortress-wall thirty-
tower’d; 25
In the midst, four-storied with guns, the dark Trim -
dada lower’d.
im POEMS OF ACTION
So with those.—But meanwhile, as against some dyke
that men massively rear.
From on high the torrent surges, to drive through
the dyke as a spear.
Eagle-eyed e’en in his blindness, our chief sets his
double array.
Making the fleet two spears, to thrust at the foe, any
way, . . . 30
4 Anyhow !—without orders, each captain his French¬
man may grapple perforce:
Collingwood first’ (yet the Victory ne’er a whit
slacken’d her course).
i Signal for action! Farewell-! we shall win, but we
meet not again ! ’
■—Then a low thunder of readiness ran from the
decks o’er the main,
And on,—as the message from masthead to masthead
flew out like a flame, 35
6 England expects every man will do his duty ’—
they came.
—Silent they come:—While the thirty black forts of
the foemen’s array
Clothe them in billowy snow, tier speaking o’er tier
as they lay;
Flashes that came and went, as swords when the
battle is rife ;—
But ours stood frowningly smiling, and ready for
death as for life. 40
TRAFALGAR 1*7
—O in that interval grim* ere the furies of slaughter
embrace,
Thrills o’er each man some far echo of England;
some glance of some face !
—Faces gazing seaward through tears from the
ocean-girt shore ;
Features that ne’er can be gazed on again till the
death-pang is o’er. . . .
Lone in his cabin the Admiral kneeling, and all his
great heart 45
4 s a child’s to the mother, goes forth to the loved
one, who bade him depart
• * O not for death, but glory! her smile would
welcome him home!
Louder and thicker the thunderbolts fall:—and
silent they come.
As when beyond Dongola the lion, whom hunters
attack,
otung by their darts from afar, leaps in, dividing
them back; i . Q
3 o between Spaniard and Frenchman the Victory
wedged with a shout,
Gun against gun ; a cloud from her decks and light¬
ning went out;
Iron hailing of pitiless death from the sulphury
smoke;
¥oices hoarse and parch’d, and Mood from invisible
stroke.
im
POEMS OF ACTION
Each man stood to Ms work, though his mates fell
smitten around, 55
As an oak of the wood, wMle Ms fellow, flame-
shattered, besplinters the ground :—
Gluttons of danger for England, but sparing the foe
as he lay;
For the spirit of Nelson was on them, and each was
Nelson that day.
* She has struck I ’—he shouted. 6 She burns, the Re-
doubtable! Save whom we can.
Silence our guns: ’—for in Mm the woman was great
in the man, 60
In that heroic heart each drop girl-gentle and
pure,
Dying by those he spared :—and now Death's triumph
was sure!
From the deck the smoke-wreath clear’d, and the foe
set his rifle in rest,
Dastardly aiming, where Nelson stood forth, with the
stars on his breast,—
6 In honour I gain’d them, in honour I die with them 1
. . . Then, in his place, 65
Fell. ... 1 Hardy! ’tis over; but let them not
know ’: and he cover’d his face.
Silent, the whole fleet’s darling they bore to the twi¬
light below:
And above the war-thunder came shouting, as foe
struck his flag after foe.
TRAFALGAR 129
To his heart death rose: and for Hardy, the faithful,
he cried in Ms pain,—
* How goes the day with us, Hardy ? ’—•* ’Tis ours ’:
—Then he knew, not in vain 70
Not in vain for his comrades and England he bled:
how he left her secure,
Queen of her own Hue seas, while Ms name and
example endure.
O, like a lover he loved her! for her as water he
pours
Life-blood and life and love, given all for her sake,
and for ours!
6 Kiss me. Hardy!—Thank God !—I have done my
duty! ’ —And then 75
Fled that heroic soul, and left not his like among men.
Hear ye the heart of a nation
Groan, for her saviour is gone;
Gallant and true and tender,
Child and chieftain in one ? 80
Such another day never
England will weep for again,
When the triumph darken’d the triumph,
And the hero of heroes was slain.
F. T. Palgbave.
M, 7S1
I
POEMS OF ACTION
INCIDENT OF THE FRENCH CAMP
You know, we French stormed Ratisbon
A mile or so away
On a little mound, Napoleon
Stood on our storming-day;
With neck out-thrust, you fancy how,
Legs wide, arms locked behind,
As if to balance the prone brow
Oppressive with its mind.
Just as perhaps he mused c My plans
That soar, to earth may fall,
Let once my army-leader Lannes
Waver at yonder wall,’—
Out ’twixt the battery-smokes there flew
A rider, bound on bound
Full-galloping; nor bridle drew
Until he reached the mound.
Then off there flung in smiling joy,
And held himself erect
By just his horse’s mane, a boy :
You hardly could suspect—
(So tight he kept his lips compressed,
Scarce any blood came through)
You looked twice ere you saw his breast
Was all but shot in two.
INCIDENT OF THE FRENCH CAMP 131
4 Well/ cried he, * Emperor* by God's grace 25
We’ve got you Ratisbon!
The Marshal’s in the market-place*
And you’ll be there anon
To see your lag-bird flap his vans
Where I* to heart’s desire* 30
Perched Mm ! ’ The Chiefs eye flashed; his plans
Soared up again like fire*
The Chief’s eye flashed ; but presently
Softened itself, as sheathes
A film the mother-eagle’s eye 35
When her bruised eaglet breathes:
* You’re wounded! ’ 6 Nay/ his soldier’s pride
Touched to the quick, he said :
6 I’m killed, Sire! ’ And his Chief beside,
Smiling the boy fell dead. 40
Robert Browning.
THE HIGHWAYMAN
I
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty
trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy
i m
POEMS OF ACTION
He’d a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch
of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown
doeskin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up
to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle, ro
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark
inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all
was locked and barred ;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should
be waiting there 15
But the landlord’s black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord’s daughter.
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black
hair.
And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket
creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white
and peaked; 20
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like
mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord’s daughter,
The landlord’s red-lipped daughter;—
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber
say—
THE HIGHWAYMAN 188
6 One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I’m after a prize
to-night, 35
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the
morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through
the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should
bar the way.’ 30
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could
reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i’ the casement! His face
burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over
his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!) 35
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and
galloped away to the West.
II
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come
at noon;
And out o’ the tawny sunset, before the rise o’ the
moon,
When the road was a gipsy’s ribbon, looping the
purple moor.
134
POEMS OF ACTION
A red-coat troop came marching— 40
Marching—marching—
King George’s men came marching, up to the old
inn-door.
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his
ale instead.
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the
foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets
at their side! 45
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window ;
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road
that he would ride.
They had tied her up to attention, with many a
sniggering jest;
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel
beneath her breast! 50
6 Now keep good watch ! ’ and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say—
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
HI come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar
the way! 55
She twisted her hands behind her ; but all the knots
held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with
sweat or blood!
THE HIGHWAYMAN
135
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the
hours crawled by like years.
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight, 60
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least
was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more
for the rest!
Up, she stood to attention, with the barrel beneath
her breast,
She would not risk their hearing ; she would not
strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight; 65
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed
to her love’s refrain.
Tlot-tlot; tloMlot ! Had they heard it ? The horse-
hoofs ringing clear;
Tloi-tlot , ilot-tlot, in the distance ? Were they deaf
that they did not hear ?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the
hill, . 70
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming 1 She stood
up, straight and still!
POEMS OF ACTION
TloMlot , In the frosty silence! in the echo-
ing night I
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a
light! 75
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last
deep breath,
Then her finger moved In the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight.
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned
Mm—with her death,,
He turned; he spurred to the Westward; he did not
know who stood 80
Bowed, with her head o’er the musket, drenched with
her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, and slowly blanched
to hear
How Bess, the landlord’s daughter.
The landlord’s black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love In the moonlight, and died
In the darkness there* 85
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to
the sky.
With the white road smoking behind Mm and Ms
rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs ? the golden noon; wine-
red was his velvet coat;
THE HIGHWAYMAN
137
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway, 90
And lie lay in his blood on the highway, with the
bunch of lace at Ms throat.
And still of a winter's nighty they say, when the wind
is in the trees ,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy
seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the
purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding —- 91
Riding — riding —•
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the darlc
inn-yard,
And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is
locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should he
waiting there 100
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlords daughter.
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black
hair.
Alfbed Noyes.
188
POEMS OF ACTION
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward.
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
4 Forward, the Light Brigade! 5
Charge for the gens ! ’ he said;
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
* Forward, the Light Brigade! ’
Was there a man dismay’d ? to
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die: * 15
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
so
CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE 139
Storm’d at with shot and shell.
Boldly they rode and well.
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell as
Rode the six hundred.
Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while 30
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke 35
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them, 40
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well 45
Came thro’ the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
140
POEMS OF ACTION
When can their glory fade ? 50
0 the wild charge they made !
All the world wonder’d.
Honour the charge they made !
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred! 55
Loan Tennyson,
A BALLAD OF JOHN NICHOLSON 1
It fell in the year of Mutiny,
At darkest of the night,
John Nicholson by Jalandhar came.
On his way to Delhi fight
And as he by Jalandhar came 5
He thought what he must do,
And he sent to the Rajah fair greeting,
To try if he were true.
6 God grant your Highness length of days,
And friends when need shall be; 10
And I pray you send your Captains hither.
That they may speak with me.’
1 Natives of India who live in the Indian fashion and wear
Indian shoes remove them when they enter a fellow native’s
house, and also on official or ceremonious occasions when they
enter the house of a European.
A BALLAD OF JOHN NICHOLSON 141
On the morrow through JaKndhar town
The Captains rode in state;
They came to the house of John Nicholson 15
And stood before the gate.
The chief of them was Mehtab Singh,
He was both proud and sly;
His turban gleamed with rubies red,
He held his chin full high. 20
lie marked his fellows how they put
Their shoes from off their feet;
4 Now wherefore make ye such ado
These fallen lords to greet ?
4 They have ruled us for a hundred years, 25
In truth I know not how.
But though they be fain of mastery
They dare not claim it now. 1
Right’ haughtily before them all
The durbar hall he trod, 30
With rubies red his turban gleamed,
His feet with pride were shod.
They had not been an hour together,
A scanty hour or so,
When Mehtab Singh rose in Ms place 35
And turned about to go.
im
POEMS OF ACTION
Then swiftly came John Nicholson
Between the door and him,
With anger smouldering in his eyes,
That made the rubies dim.
* You are over-hasty, Mehtab Singh,' —
Oh, but his voice was low !
He held his wrath with a curb of iron,
That farrowed cheek and brow.
6 You are over-hasty, Mehtab Singh,
When that the rest are gone,
I have a word that may not wait
To speak with you alone. 1
The Captains passed in silence forth
And stood the door behind;
To go before the game was played
Be sure they had no mind.
But there within John Nicholson
Turned him on Mehtab Singh,
‘ So long as the soul is in my body
You shall not do this thing.
6 Have ye served us for a hundred years
And yet ye know not why ?
We brook no doubt of our mastery,
We rale until we die.
A BALLAD OF JOHN NICHOLSON US
€ Were I the one last Englishman
Drawing the breath of life.
And you the master-rebel of all
That stir this land to strife—
4 Were I he said, 4 but a Corporal, 65
And you a Rajput King,
So long as the soul was In my body
You should not do this thing.
4 Take off, take off those shoes of pride,
Carry them whence they came; 70
Your Captains saw your insolence,
And they shall see your shamed
When Mehtab Singh came to the door
His shoes they burned his hand;
For there In long and silent lines 75
He saw the Captains stand.
When Mehtab Singh rode from the gate
His chin was on his breast:
The Captains said, 4 When the strong command
Obedience is bestd 80
Henry Newbolt.
POEMS OF ACTION
144
THE PIPES AT LUCKNOW
Pipes of the misty moorlands,
Voice of the glens and hills ;
The droning of the torrents,
The treble of the rills !
Not the braes of broom and heather,
Nor the mountains dark with rain,
Nor maiden bower, nor border tower.
Have heard your sweetest strain !
Dear to the Lowland reaper
And plaided mountaineer,—
To the cottage and the castle
The Scottish pipes are dear;—
Sweet sounds the ancient pibroch
O’er mountain, loch, and glade ;
But the sweetest of all music
The pipes at Lucknow played.
Day by day the Indian tiger
Louder yelled, and nearer crept;
Round and round the jungle-serpent
Near and nearer circles swept.
4 Pray for rescue, wives and mothers,—
Pray to-day ! ’ the soldier said ;
* To-morrow, death’s between us
And the wrong and shame we dread.’
THE PIPES AT LUCKNOW
145
Oh, they listened, looked, and waited, 35
Till their hope became despair;
And the sobs of low bewailing
Filled the pauses of their prayer.
Then up spake a Scottish maiden.
With her ear unto the ground: 30
1 Dinna ye hear it ?—dinna ye hear it ?
The pipes o’ Havelock sound ! ’
Hushed the wounded man his groaning ;
Hushed the wife her little ones;
Alone they heard the drum-roll 35
And the roar of Sepoy guns.
But to sounds of home and childhood
The Highland ear was true;—-
As her mother’s cradle-crooning
The mountain pipes she knew. 40
like the march of soundless music
Through the vision of the seer.
More of feeling than of hearing.
Of the heart than of the ear,
She knew the droning pibroch, 45
She knew the Campbell's call:
Hark! hear ye no’ MacGregor’s,
The grandest o’ them all! ’
Oh, they listened, dumb and breathless,
And they caught the sound at last; 50
Faint and far beyond the Goomtee
Rose and fell the piper’s blast!
F.P. 951 X
146
POEMS OF ACTION
Then a burst of wild thanksgiving
Mingled woman’s voice and man’s;
6 God be praised !—the march of Havelock t 55
The piping of the clans ! ’
Louder, nearer, fierce as vengeance,
Sharp and shrill as swords at strife.
Came the wild MacGregor’s clan-call,
Stinging all the air to life. 60
But when the far-off dust-cloud
To plaided legions grew.
Full tenderly and Mithesomely
The pipes of rescue blew!
Round the silver domes of Lucknow, 65
Moslem mosque and Pagan shrine,
Breathed the air to Britons dearest,
The air of Auld Lang Syne.
O’er the cruel roll of war-drums
Rose that sweet and homelike strain; 70
And the tartan clove the turban,
As the Goomtee cleaves the plain.
Dear to the com-laM reaper
And plaided mountaineer,—•
To the cottage and the castle 75
, The piper’s song is dear.
Sweet sounds the Gaelic pibroch
O’er mountain, glen, and glade;
But the sweetest of all music
The Pipes at Lucknow played! 80
J. G. Whittier.
147
THE LAST REDOUBT
Kacelyevo’s slope still felt
The cannon’s bolt and the rifle’s pelt;
For a last redoubt up the hill remained.
By the Russ yet held, by the Turk not gained.
Mehemet Ali stroked his beard; 5
His lips were clenched and his look was weird,
Round him were ranks of his ragged folk,
Their faces blackened with blood and smoke.
s Clear me the Muscovite out! ’ he cried.
Then the name of * Allah ! ’ echoed wide, 10
And the rifles were clutched and the bayonets
lowered,
And on to the last redoubt they poured.
One fell, and a second quickly stopped
The gap that he left when he reeled and dropped;
The second,—a third straight filled his place; 15
The third,—and a fourth kept up the race.
Many a fez in the mud was crushed,
Many a throat that cheered was hushed.
Many a heart that sought the crest
Found Allah’s throne and a houri’s breast.
k 2
20
148
POEMS OF ACTION
Over their corpses the living sprang,
And the ridge with their musquet-rattie rang,
Till the faces that lined the last redoubt
Could see their faces and hear their shout.
In the redoubt a fair form towered, 25
That cheered up the brave and chid the coward;
Brandishing blade with a gallant air.
His head erect and his bosom bare*
* Fly! they are onus!’ his men implored;
But he waved them on with his waving sword* 30
6 It cannot be held; ’tis no shame to go ! 1
But he stood with his face set hard to the foe.
Then clung they about him, and tugged, and knelt.
He drew a pistol from out his belt,
And fired it blank at the first that set 35
Foot on the edge of the parapet*
Over that first one toppled; but on
Clambered the rest till their bayonets shone,
As hurriedly fled his men dismayed,
Not a bayonet's length from the length of his blade.
* Yield! * But aloft his steel he flashed, 41
And down on their steel it ringing clashed;
Then back he reeled with a bladeless hilt,
His honour full, but his life-blood spilt*
THE LAST REDOUBT
149
Mefiemet AH came and saw 45
The riddled breast and the tender jaw,
6 Make him a bier of jour arms,’ he said,
‘ And daintily bury this dainty dead! ’
They lifted Mm up from the dabbled ground;
His limbs were shapely, and soft, and round, go
No down on his lip, on his cheek no shade:—
6 Bismillah! ’ they cried, * ’tis an Infidel maid! ’
‘ Dig her a grave where she stood and fell,
’Gainst the jackal's scratch and the vulture’s smell.
Did the Muscovite men like their maidens fight, 55
In their lines we had scarcely supped to-night.’
So a deeper trench ’mong the trenches there
Was dug, for the form as brave as fair;
And none, till the Judgement trump and shout,
Shall drive her out of the Last Redoubt. 6o
Alfred Austin.
RAMON
(Refugio Mine, Northern Mexico)
Drunk and senseless in his place,
Prone and sprawling on his face,
More like brute than any man
Alive or dead,—
150
POEMS OF ACTION
By his great pump out of gear, 5
Lay the peon engineer.
Waking only just to hear.
Overhead,
Angry tones that called his name.
Oaths and cries of bitter blame— io
Woke to hear all this, and, waking, turned and fled!
4 To the man who’ll bring to me,’
Cried Intendant Harry Lee,—
Harry Lee, the English foreman of the mine,-
‘ Bring the sot alive or dead,
I will give to him he said,
4 Fifteen hundred pesos down,
Just to set the rascal’s crown
Underneath this heel of mine;
Since but death
Deserves the man whose deed,
Be it vice or want of heed,
Stops the pumps that give us breath,—
Stops the pumps that suck the death
From the poisoned lower levels of the mine! ’
No one answered; for a cry
From the shaft rose up on high,
And shuffling, scrambling, tumbling from below,
Came the miners each, the bolder,
Mounting on the weaker’s shoulder, 30
Grappling, clinging to their hold or
Letting go.
15
as
RAMON
151
As the weaker gasped and fell
From the ladder to the well,—
To the poisoned pit of hell 35
Down below!
* To the man who sets them free/
Cried the foreman, Harry Lee,—
Harry Lee, the English foreman of the mine,—
‘ Brings them out and sets them free, 40
1 will give that man said he,
6 Twice that sum, who with a rope
Face to face with Death shall cope.
Let him come who dares to hope ! ’
‘ Hold your peace! ’ some one replied, 45
Standing by the foreman’s side;
4 There has one already gone, whoe’er he be! 1
Then they held their breath with awe.
Pulling on the rope, and saw
Fainting figures reappear, 50
On the black rope swinging clear,
Fastened by some skilful hand from below;
Till a score the level gained,
And but one alone remained,—
He the hero and the last, 55
He whose skilful hand made fast
The long line that brought them back to hope and
cheer!
Haggard, gasping, down dropped he
At the feet of Harry Lee,—
m
POEMS OF ACTION
Harry Lee, the English foreman of the mine® 60
6 1 have come he gasped, 6 to claim
Both rewards, Senor, my name
Is Ramon!
I’m the drunken engineer,
I’m the coward, Senor— ’ Here 65
He fell over, by that sign,
Dead as stone!
Beet Harte,
GUILD’S SIGNAL
[William Guild was engineer of a train which plunged into
Meadow Brook, on the line of the Stonington and Providence
Railroad. It was Ms custom, as often as he passed his home,
to whistle an 4 All ’s well ’ to his wife. He was found after the
disaster, dead, with his hand on the throttle-valve of his
engine.—B. H.]
Two low whistles, quaint and clear,
That was the signal the engineer—
That was the signal that Guild, ’tis said—
Gave to his wife at Providence,
As through the sleeping town, and thence, 5
Out in the night,
On to the light,
Down past the farms, lying white, he sped 1
As a husband’s greeting, scant, no doubt,
Yet to the woman looking out, 10
Watching and waiting, no serenade,
Love song, or midnight roundelay
GUILD’S SIGNAL
153
Said what that whistle seemed to saj s
4 To my trust true**
So love to you ! 15
Working or waiting, good night! ’ It said.
Brisk young bagmen, tourists fine,
Old commuters along the line,
Brakemen and porters glanced ahead,
Smiled as the signal, sharp, intense, 2©
Pierced through the shadows of Providence:
4 Nothing amiss—
Nothing !—it is
Only Guild calling his wife,’ they said*
Summer and winter the old refrain 25
Rang o’er the billows of ripening grain,
Pierced through the budding boughs overhead,
Flew down the track when the red leaves burned
like living coals from the engine spumed;
Sang as it flew: 30
4 To our trust true,
First of all, duty. Good night! ’ it said.
And then, one night, it was heard no more
From Stonington over Rhode Island shore,
And the folk in Providence smiled and said 35
As they turned in their beds, 6 The engineer
Has once forgotten his midnight cheer.’
One only knew,
To his trust true,
Guild lay under his engine dead.— Beet Haute,
154
POEMS OF ACTION
A BALLAD OE EAST AND WEST
Oh, East is East , and West is West , and never (he
twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great
Judgement Seat;
But there is neither East nor West , Border, nor Breed,
nor Birth ,
When two strong men stand face to face , thd they
come from the ends of the earth!
Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border-
side, 5
And he has lifted the Colonel’s mare that is the
Colonel’s pride:
He has lifted her out of the stable-door between the
dawn and the day,
And turned the calkins upon her feet, and ridden her
far away.
Then up and spoke the Colonel’s son that led a troop
of the Guides:
4 Is there never a man of all my men can say where
Kamal hides ? ’ 10
Then up and spoke Mahommed Khan, the son of the
Hessaldar:
4 If ye know the track of the morning-mist, ye know
where his pickets are.
A BALLAD OF EAST AND WEST 155
At dusk he harries the Abazai—at dawn he is into
Bonair,
But he must go by Fort Bukloh to his own place to
fare.
So if ye gallop to Fort Bukloh as fast as a bird can
fly, # *5
By the favour of God ye may cut him off ere he win
to the Tongue of Jagai.
But if he be past the Tongue of Jagai, right swiftly
turn ye then.
For the length and the breadth of that grisly plain
are sown with Kamal’s men.
There is rock to the left and rock to the right, and
low lean thorn between,
And ye may hear a breech-bolt snick where never a
man is seen.’ 30
Th§ Colonel's son has taken a horse, and a raw rough
dun was he,
With the mouth of a bell and the heart of Hell and
the head of the gallows-tree.
The Colonel's son to the Fort has won, they bid him
stay to eat—
Who rides at the tail of a Border thief, he sits not
long at his meat.
Ele’s up and away from Fort Bukloh as fast as he can
fly, ^ 25
Pill he was aware of his father’s mare in the gut of
the Tongue of Jagai,
156 POEMS OF ACTION
Till lie was aware of his father’s mare with Kama!
upon her back,
And when he could spy the white of her eye, he made
the pistol crack*
He has fired once, he has fired twice, but the whist¬
ling ball went wide.
* Ye shoot like a soldier,’ Kamal said* Show now
if ye can ride.’ 30
It’s up and over the Tongue of Jagai, as blown dust-
devils go,
The dun he fled like a stag of ten, but the mare like
a barren doe.
The dun he leaned against the bit and slugged his
head above.
But the red mare played with the snaffle-bars, as a
maiden plays with a glove.
There was rock to the left and rock to the right, and
low lean thorn between, 35
And thrice he heard a breech-bolt snick tho’ never
a man was seen.
They have ridden the low moon out of the sky, their
hoofs drum up the dawn.
The dun he went like a wounded bull, but the mare
like a new-roused fawn.
The dun he fell at a water-course—in a woful heap
fell he,
And Kamal has turned the red mare back, and pulled
the rider free. 40
He has knocked the pistol out of his hand—small
room was there to strive,—-
A BALLAD OF EAST AND WEST 157
*Twas only by favour of mine quoth he, ‘ye rode so
long alive:
There was not a rock for twenty mile, there was not
a clump of tree,
But covered a man of my own men with his rifle
cocked on Ms knee.
If 1 had raised my bridle-hand, as I have held
it low, 45
The little jackals that flee so fast were feasting all in
a row:
If I had bowed my head on my breast, as I have held
it high.
The kite that whistles above us now were gorged till
she could not fly.’
Lightly answered the Colonel’s son: ‘Do good to
bird and beast,
But count who come for the broken meats before
thou makest a feast. 50
If there should follow a thousand swords to carry my
bones away,
Belike the price of a jackal’s meal were more than a
thief could pay.
They will feed their horse on the standing crop, their
men on the garnered grain,
The thatch of the byres will serve their fires when all
the cattle are slain.
But if thou thinkest the price be fair,—thy brethren
wait to sup, 55
The hound is kin to the jackal-spawn,—howl, dog,
and call them up!
158
POEMS OF ACTION
And if thou tkinkest the price be high, in steer and
gear and stack,
Give me my father’s mare again, and I’ll fight my
own way back! ’
Kamal has gripped him by the hand and set him
upon his feet.
15 No talk shall be of dogs,’ said he, 6 when wolf and
grey wolf meet. 6o
May I eat dirt if thou hast hurt of me in deed or
breath;
What dam of lances brought thee forth to jest at the
dawn with Death ? ’
Lightly answered the Colonel’s son : 4 1 hold by the
blood of my clan :
Take up the mare for my father’s gift—by God, she
has carried a man i ’
The red mare ran to the Colonel’s son, and nuzzled
against his breast, 65
4 We be two strong men,’ said Kamal then, 4 but she
loveth the younger best.
So she shall go with a lifter’s dower, my turquoise-
studded rein,
My broidered saddle and saddle-cloth, and silver
stirrups twain.’
The Colonel’s son a pistol drew and held it muzzle-
end,
4 Ye have taken the one from a foe,’ said he; 6 will ye
fake the mate from a friend ? ’ 70
4 A gift for a gift,’ said Kamal straight; 4 a limb for
the risk of a limb*
A BALLAD OF EAST AND WEST 159
Thy father has sent his son to me, I’ll send my son
to him! ’
With that he whistled Ms only son* that dropped
from a mountain-crest—
He trod the ling like a buck in spring* and he looked
like a lance in rest.
6 Now here is thy master,’ Kamal said, 4 who leads a
troop of the Guides, 75
And thou must ride at Ms left side as shield on
shoulder rides.
Till Death or 1 cut loose the tie, at camp and board
and bed,
Thy life is his—thy fate it is to guard him with thy
head.
So, thou must eat the White Queen’s meat, and all
her foes are thine,
And thou must harry thy father’s hold for the peace
of the Border-line, 80
And thou must make a trooper tough and hack thy
way to power—
Belike they will raise thee to Ressaldar when I am
hanged in Peshawurd
They have looked each other between the eyes, and
there they found no fault,
They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood
on leavened bread and salt:
They have taken the Oath of the Brother-in-Blood
on fire and fresh-cut sod, 85
160 POEMS OF ACTION
On the hilt and the haft of the Khyber knife, anc
the Wondrous Names of God,
The Colonel’s son he rides the mare and Kamal’s bo 1
the dun,
And two have come back to Fort Bukloh where then
went forth but one.
And when they drew to the Quarter-Guard, ful
twenty swords flew clear—
There was not a man but carried his feud with thi
blood of the mountaineer. 9 <
4 Ha’ done ! ha’ done ! ’ said the Colonel’s son. ‘ Pu
up the steel at your sides!
Last night ye had struck at a Border thief—to-nigh
’tis a man of the Guides ! ’
Oh 9 East is East, and West is West) and never th
twain shall meet)
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's grea
Judgement Seat;
But there is neither East nor West) Border , nor Breed
nor Birth, 9 <
When two strong men stand face to face) tho' ihei
come from the ends of the earth!
Rudyard Kipling.
Printed in England by John Johnson at the Oxford University Press
NOTES
IIORATIUS.
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59) was historian,
politician, essayist, and poet. Member of the Supreme
Council of India, 1834-8; Secretary of State for War,
1839-41; raised to the peerage, 1857. Famous for his Essays,
History of England , and Lays of Ancient Rome . Of these
Lays (published in 1842), Iloratius is the most spirited and
best known. Portions of the poem are here omitted.
(Acknowledgement for many of the following notes is
due to the Clarendon Press edition of The Lays edited by
P. C. Parr.)
The Year of the City ccclx (394 b.c.). The years of
the City were calculated forwards from the date of the
supposed founding of the City in 753 B.c.
1. Lars Porsena. Lars is an Etruscan word, signifying
a title of honour, probably equivalent to king. Porsena (or
Porseima) is often called King of Clusiuni or of Etruria, but
this in a loose sense meaning no more than that he was
commander of the forces of the Etruscan Confederation.
Clusium, the modern Chiusi, is a town about 100 miles
north-west of Rome, and was at this time probably the most
powerful of the Etruscan cities. Sutrium, called on account
of the strength of its position one of the 4 keys and gates of
Etruria was more than half-way to Rome from Clusiuin.
The Etmscans , Tuscans, or Etrurians were a people whose
origin remains one of the enigmas of history. They were
highly civilized, and they seem to have taught the Romans
much of their architecture, art, engineering, divination,
and religion.
2. Nine Gods. The nine thunder-hurling gods of Etruria.
3. the house of Tarquin. The founder of the Tarquin
family, Lucius Tarquinius, had migrated to Rome from the
P,S»* 751 L
162
NOTES
Etruscan city of Tarquinii in the time of King Ancus. Then
he had prospered so well that on the death of Ancus he ha(
"been chosen king in his place. It was his son, Tarquiniu
Superbus, the last of the Roman kings, whom the Etruscan
were trying to replace on the throne. See note to 3. 809.
6. testing day . Day of meeting. Connected with ‘trust
from the idea of keeping faith at an appointment.
19. tale . i Complement, full number.’ (‘Tell 5 mean
originally ‘ count ’.)
26. yellow Tiber. The river on which Rome stood, callet
yellow from ancient times on account of the colour of it
waters. The Tiber was worshipped as a river-god by th
Romans.
28. champaign. Any open country, Lat. campus. Tin
district round Rome is still called the Campagna.
34. rock Tarpeian. Rapes Tarpeia ; it formed one of th
faces of the Capitol hill, probably on the south-east ski
looking towards the Palatine. It is named after Tarpeia
the traitress, who admitted the Sabines to the citadel on th
promise of their giving her what they wore on their lef
arms. She meant their gold bracelets, but they rewardcc
her treachery by overwhelming her with their shields.
38. Fathers of the City. The senators, called Fatres because
the Senate was composed of the heads of the chief families
42. I ivis. Originally one word and meaning ‘ certainly 1
Later, written as two words, it was often used as though i
were the first person singular of a verb ‘to wis \
46. Consul. The name given to the two chief magistrate
of Rome, elected by the people to take the place of tin
expelled kings. They held office for one year only, an<
their duties were concerned chiefly with the command o
the army and the administration of justice.
48. gowns. The Roman ‘toga’ was a flowing garmen
usually made of white wool. It was girt up to aid rapidity
of movement.
49. hied them. Hastened.
51. the River-Gate. The Porta Flumentana, probably r ii
the wall between the Capitol and the river. There was n<
gate communicating directly with the Sublician bridge
which crossed the river to a point undefended by a wall.
55. the bridge. The Pons Sublicius, or bridge on piles, wa
built by King Ancus. Wood only was used in its construe
HORATIUS
163
tion, tlie parts being joined by wooden pins. It was main¬
tained in this state as a sacred duty and committed to the
care of the priests, the reason being that it acted in effect as
a drawbridge, and could be easily taken to pieces on an
emergency.
56. Janiculum. A hill on the right bank of the Tiber;
not one of the seven hills of the city, but fortified and
garrisoned as a bulwark against the Etruscans.
87. Captain of the Gate. Placed in charge of the bridge.
92. the ashes of his fathers. The Romans at this early
period did not practise cremation. Macaulay, however,
probably means by ‘ ashes ’ the remains of the ancestors,
which they would guard from insult.
103. Eamnian. The earliest-known division of the patrician
families of Rome was into three, called respectively the
Rauines, Titles, and Luceres. These are thought to corre¬
spond with the original Roman, Sabine, and Etruscan
elements of the population. As each of the heroes belonged
to a different tribe, Horatius must have been a Lucerian,
and therefore of Etruscan origin.
119. harness. Armour, equipment.
122. Commons. The plebs or plebeians, the lower orders
of Rome, who were sharply distinguished from the patricians.
In early days they enjoyed very few privileges.
123. crow. A crow-bar, i.e. an iron bar with a beak, used
for leverage.
146. Tifernum. An Umbrian town on the Tiber.
149. llva. The island of Elba, then, as now, rich in iron,
which was shipped to Populonia on the mainland.
151. Vassal. Dependant.
154. Nequinum. Now Narni, strongly posted on a pre¬
cipitous cliff above the Nar, which half encircles it. The
Nar is a tributary of the Tiber, called ‘ albus * by Virgil on
account of its pale sulphureous waters.
164. Falerii. Now Civita Castellan a. It stands on a
tributary of the Tiber about 40 miles to the north of Rome,
and is given as one of the Twelve Cities.
166. Urgo. Otherwise known as Gorgon, a barren island
between Italy and Corsica, of small extent and rocky
formation.
168. Volsinium. Now identified with Orvieto, and known
from classical times as the Urbs Veins , or Ancient City. 8o
L2
164
NOTES
strong was its position considered tliat it was not surrounded
with walls.
171. Cosa. A town standing close to the sea on a rocky
hill about 600 feet high, commanding a stretch of marshy
ground; very remarkable for the peculiar construction of
its walls, the blocks of stone used being of a many-sided
shape, which distinguishes them from those used in other
Etruscan towns.
173. ATbinia. A small stream flowing into the sea to- the
south of the Umbro, and now, like most of the streams on
this coast, much choked with sand.
179. fell ; fierce, deadly.
180. Ostia. The port of Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber.
182. Campania. The country lying along the coast to the
south of Latium, renowned for its fertility and for the un¬
warlike character of its inhabitants.
hinds: peasants.
195. Luna. The northernmost of the Etruscan towns, on
the borders of Liguria. Famous in classical as in modern
times for its marble, brought from the Carrara mountains.
205. she-ivolf's litter . Romulus and Remus, the mythical
founders of Rome, were supposed to have been suckled by
a she-wolf, after being cast adrift on the Tiber by order of
their uncle Amulius.
225. a hand-breadth out. In an Etruscan tomb at Veil
there was discovered a helmet pierced through back and
front by a weapon that must have passed through the head
of its wearer.
229. Alvemus. Probably to be identified with the Mons
Alburnus in Lucania.
233. augurs. Soothsayers who foretold future events by
the observation of natural signs, particularly lightning and
the flight of birds. They were of Etruscan origin.
241. Lucumo. The Etruscan title by which the priest-
princes of Etruria were known.
291* athwart. Across. A 4 thwart ’ is a cross-piece; compare
to thwart = to cross.
809. false Sextus. The son of King Tarquin, to whose act
in dishonouring his cousin’s wife, Lucretia, the expulsion of
the house of Tarquin was due.^
317. Palatinus. The Palatine is one of the seven hills of
Rome, situated near the middle, and abutting on the Forum
HORATIUS
165
Ifc was the site of t"he most ancient Roman settlement,
Macaulay had originally placed the house ot Horatius on the
Caelian hill, but found it was not visible from the spot
where the bridge had stood. The Caelian hill would have
been more appropriate as being the Tuscan quarter, or abode
of the Luceres, to which tribe Horatius belonged.
322. To whom the Romans pray. See note to 1. 26.
337. Tuscany. Etruria. See note to 1. 1.
344. changing. Exchanging.
347. I ween . I suppose, imagine.
361. River-Gate. See note to 1. 51,
363. corn-land. Public lands hitherto undistributed. Livy
says they gave him not as much as two oxen could plough
in a day, but as much as he could plough round in a clay—
a innch more generous quantity.
369. And there it stands, &c. The statue is, of course, not
extant.
371. Comitium. An open space railed off from the north¬
west part of the Forum and consecrated by the Augurs to the
debates of the City Fathers. In later times a general meeting-
place and centre of judicial business.
382. Volscian. The Yolscians were a people of kindred
race to the Latins, inhabitingthe southern districts of Latium,
where their principal town was the seaport of Antium. They
were constantly at war with Rome until they were finally
subdued rather more than fifty years after the date assigned
to this lay.
383. Juno. The wife of Jupiter, and the protecting goddess
of women.
393. Algidus. A mountain of Latium, well clothed with
the ilex, or holm-oak.
403. goodman. The master of the house.
Jaffa R.
James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859), an essayist and
poet, of revolutionary principles. His paper The Examiner
(started in 1808) was the means (in 1816) of introducing
Shelley and Keats to the public. He was imprisoned for
casting reflections on the Prince Regent (1813). He knew
nearly all the great men of letters of his time, and his
Autobiography (1850, enlarged 1860} is thus a most interesting
book.
166
NOTES
Haroiin-al-Raschid (765-809) was of the Abbassid race,
and caliph of the East, his capital being at Bagdad (on the
Tigris). Though sometimes cruel to his enemies, he was, on
the whole, an enlightened and beneficent ruler; his court
was filled with poets and men of letters and learning; and
it is probable that the Arabian Nights'. Entertainments (in
which he figures) were composed during his reign. lie
maintained friendly relations with Charlemagne.
1. Jaffdr, or Jaafer, was not himself vizier, i.e. prime
minister, of Haroun, but the vizier’s son and tutor of Haroun’s
second son. He had incurred Haroun’s displeasure by
marrying Haroun’s sister, and was accordingly put to death
with his wife. He belonged to the princely Persian family
of Barmek (Barmecide), which is best known to Western
readers through the rich Barmecide in the Arabian Nights
(‘The Barber’s Sixth Brother’) who provided a splendid
feast for hungry Shacabac, in which food and drink were
purely imaginary quantities.
8. Araby. The old form of ‘Arabia 1 , now restricted to
poetry.
17. Caliph (spelt also ‘ calif’). A successor of Mohammed;
a Mohammedan chief, civil and religious ruler. The Eastern
Caliphate was founded by Abou-Bekr at Mecca, and trans¬
ferred to Bagdad by the Abbassids. It lasted altogether
from 632 to 1258.
18. mutes. Oriental servants (especially in the harem)
whose tongues have been removed that they may reveal
no secrets.
32, the Tartar. The Tartars (more correctly ‘ Tatars ’)
were a Mongolian tribe which, in the thirteenth century
under Jenghiz Khan, founded the Mongolian Empire. The
word £ Tartar ’ has been extended to tribes of Turkish race
inhabiting European Russia and Siberia, which have littlo,
if any, Tartar blood in their veins. If Haroun ever possessed
a ‘ Tartar diadem he must have gained it by his conquest
over the Turkomans; though it is highly improbable that
that nomad people ever possessed such an emblem oi
sovereignty.
Kaxlundborq Church.
John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92), the American Quakei
poet, was a vigorous supporter of the anti-slavery movement,
He is quite in the first rank of American writers.
KALLUNDBORG CHURCH 167
This poem is one of a series of tales published in 1867
which purport to be told by a traveller (in The Tent on the
Beach) ; it is described as 6 a wild tale of the North ’:
They tell it in the valleys green
Of the fair island he has seen,
Low lying off the pleasant Swedish shore,
Washed by the Baltic Sea, and watched by Elsinore.
Prefixed to the poem is a fragment of a Zealand Rhyme,
which evidently suggested the subject to Whittier:
Tie stille, bam mini
Imorgen komnxer Fin,
Fa'er din,
Og gi’er dig Esbern Snares oine og hjerte at lege med!
4 Lie still, my babe ! To-morrow morning thy father Fin
will come and give thee Esbern Snare’s eyes and heart to
play with! ’
1. Kallundborg . A Danish port on the west coast of
Sjaelland (Zealand). The church in the town elates from
1170; it is built in the form of a Greek cross with five
towers.
3. Nesvclc. Presumably Nestved, a town in the south of
Sjaelland.
8. Troll . A giant; or, Liter, a friendly but mischievous
dwarf, often represented as one-eyed, in the Scandinavian
mythology.
10. the mighty sea. The Great Belt, on which Kallundborg
stands.
27. Elle-maids. A half-adoption, half-translation of the
Danish ell e-pige, elf-maidens, or fairies.
28.. Neck. The Swedish form of the Danish nbk, and the
English nicker, 4 a water-demon Of. the words nix and
nixie, male and female water-spirits respectively.
Nis. The Danish nisse, ‘ an elf, hobgoblin \
72. 1 know his name. There was a widespread superstition
that the knowledge of a person’s real name, which was not
that by which he was commonly called, gave one power over
the person. Thus the name of God was never uttered aloud
by the Jews, and the real name of Rome was said to bo
jealously guarded by the College of Pontiffs. See Cornelius
Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy ) I. lxx.
168
NOTES
81. nine. ‘Song.’ The word is also used of the letters
of the early Teutonic alphabet.
God’s Judgement on a Wicked Bishop.
Robert Southey (1774-1843), poet, historian, and general
man of letters; one of the so-called 4 Lake ’ School of poets.
Thalaba (1801) and The Curse of Kehama (1810) are his chief
long poems, though many of his shorter verses are better
known. But of all his writings perhaps his Life of Nelson
(1813) is the most read. In 1813 he accepted the poet-
laureateship, which Scott had refused in Southey’s favour.
Hatto, the second Archbishop of Mainz of that name,
was sent to Rome as ambassador from the Emperor Otho I
at Pavia (961). Shortly afterwards he became archbishop.
6 Of his after-life and of his personal character the most
opposite accounts have been given. By some he is repre¬
sented as a zealous reformer, and an upright and successful
administrator; by others as a selfish and hard-hearted
oppressor of the poor ’ (Chambers, Encyc .). The legend per¬
petuated by Southey in this ballad is probably due to a
misunderstanding of the name of a tower on the Rhine,
Mausetlrarm (near Bingen), where the event is supposed tc
have happened. Mailsethurm (‘Mouse-tower’) is doubtless
a corruption of Mauththurm (‘Toll-tower’). Hatto died in
969 or 970. See Baring-Gould, Curious Myths of the Mid ell i
Anes ; or, for a popular account, Charles Morris, Historical
Tales, German,
The Gift of Tritemius.
For Whittier see note to ‘Kallundborg Church.’
Tritemius is Johannes Tritbemius (1462-1516), Abbot o-
Sponheim, and later Abbot of the monastery of St. Jakol
at Wurzburg, in Bavaria. (His name was originally vox
Heidenberg, but he changed it to Tritbemius because he was
born at Trittenheim.) As Wiirz means ‘grass’, and burg
‘city’, Herbipolis is a hybrid latinization of Wurzburg
Cornelius Agrippa prefixed to his Occult Philosophy a lettc
addressed to Johannes Tritbemius, an Abbot of Saint Jame
in the suburbs of Herbipolis; and Tritbemius repliec
expressing bis thanks and appreciation in a letter datec
April 8, 1510.
THE GIFT OF TRITEMIUS 169
16, the Moor's galley. The Moors were an Aral) race
originating in the north of Africa, who embraced first
Christianity and then Mohammedanism. They conquered
Spain and held it from 711 to 1492. After losing Spain
they continually harassed that country with piracy.
25. soldo. Tlie Italian halfpenny.
29. on his errands sped , i.e. if they are sent to do his
service.
33. Who loveth mercy , &c. See Ilosea vi. 6, ‘ For I desired
mercy and not sacrificed
The White Ship.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82), the son of an Dalian
who settled in England, was famous both as painter and
poet. He founded the pre-Raphaelite school of painting
about 1849. His best-known pictures are perhaps ‘ Beata
Beatrix’ and ‘Dante’s Dream’; among his poems, ‘The
Blessed Damozel 1 and the Sonnet-Sequence ‘The House of
Life’ are particularly beautiful, whilst ‘The White Ship 9 is
the most popular.
Henry 1 had taken his only son William over to Normandy
to be recognized as his successor to the Dukedom. During
the return voyage to England the ship in which William
was sailing struck on a rock at the mouth of the harbour
and sank. The story that follows is supposed to be told by
the only survivor, a butcher of Rouen, who clung to the
mast and was rescued next morning by some fishermen*
Less than half Rossetti’s ballad is here given.
20. hind. Peasant.
89. maugre . Despite (Fr. malgrS).
Beth Gelert.
William Robert Spencer (1769-1834) was a poet and wit,
the friend of Sheridan, Fox, Sydney Smith, &c. His poems
were admired by Scott, who quotes from them more than
once. He spent the last nine years of his life in Paris.
Beddgelert (pronounced ‘ Beth-gellert ’), a village at the
foot of Snowdon, has been made famous by the legend told
in this poem. This legend, for it is no more, was doubtless
invented to account for the name, which means the Grave
of Gelert; it is possible that Gelert was in reality a sixth-
170
NOTES
century Britisli saint. (For a full account see Sorrow’s
Wild Wales , ch. 46.)
Llewelyn (more correctly Llywelyn) ab lorwertli, called
* the Great \ was the greatest native prince of Wales (d. 1240).
He was brought up in exile ; then fought with the English,
and conquered South Wales ; finally, however, he submitted
to Henry III. He married Joan, an illegitimate daughter
of King John.
For an investigation of the truth of the legend see
Baring-Gould’s Curious Myths of the Middle Ages.
3. brack. Bitch hound.
22. chidings . Baying (of the hounds).
30. portal-seat. Seat by the door. According to Borrow’s
version, the child was left in a tent.
44. blood-gouts . Drops or splashes of blood.
48. besprent. Sprinkled; from the obsolete verb to
bespreng.
69. scath. A misprint for scathe , harm.
77. Vain, vain, &c. In Sorrow's version 4 the poor animal
was not quite dead, but presently expired, in the act of
licking his master’s hand’.
81. a gallant tomb. 1 The tomb, or what is said to be the
tomb, of Gelert, stands in a beautiful meadow just below
the precipitous side of Cerrig Llan : it consists of a large
slab lying on its side, and two upright stones. It is shaded
by a weeping willow, and is surrounded by a hexagonal
paling. Who is there acquainted with the legend, whether
lie believes that the dog lies beneath those stones or not,
can visit them without exclaiming with a sigh, “ Poor
Gelert 1 ” ’ (Borrow, l. c.).
The Inchcape Rock.
For Robert Southey see note to ‘God’s Judgement on a
Wicked Bishop.’ 4 The Bell Rock, or Inchcape, [isj a reef of old
red sandstone rocks in the German Ocean, twelve miles south¬
east of Arbroath, and nearly opposite the mouth of the Tay,
The reef is 2,000 feet long; at high water of spring-tides
it is covered to a depth of 16 feet, at low water is partly
uncovered to a height of 4 feet; and for 100 yards around,
the sea is only 3 fathoms deep. It was formerly a fruitful
cause of shipwreck, and, according to tradition, the abbot
of Aberbrothock (Arbroath) placed a bell on it, “ fixed upon
THE INCHCAPE ROCK
171
a tree or timber, which, rang continually, being moved by
the sea, giving notice to the saylers of the danger ” 5
(Chambers, Encyc .). A lighthouse was erected on the Bell
Rock by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of Robert Louis, in
1807-10.
9. Aberbrothok . Spelt also Aberbrothwick, as well as
Arbroath (the modern form). St. Thomas's Abbey, Arbroath,
was founded by William the Lion in 1178. It was second
in wealth only to Holyrood of Scottish abbeys, till it was
destroyed by tlie Reformers in 1560.
23. Sir Ralph the Rover is apparently unknown to history.
29. float. Buoy.
King Robert of Sicily,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-82), the most popular
of American poets. His life was uneventful; he visited Europe
several times, and he was Professor of Literature at Harvard
from 1835. He was a man of very wide reading.
This poem, like Paul Revere's Ride, is one of the Tales of
a Wayside Inn, a series written from time to time, and pub¬
lished together in 1863. The tale is told by a Sicilian, the
original of whom was Luigi Monti, an Italian teacher at
Harvard.
It is taken from an old English metrical romance,
i Kinge Roberd of Cysille,’ printed by Hazlitt in his Remains
of the Early Popular Poetry of England (1864). The writer
of the romance drew his plot from Gesta Romanorum , a four¬
teenth-century collection of stories in Latin, where the tale
is told of the Emperor Jovinian. The names of the characters
in Longfellow’s poem, which are all taken from the English
romance, are purely fictitious.
With this story may be compared William Morris’s ‘The
Proud King ’ (in The Earthly Paradise),
2. Allemaine. Germany.
5. St. John's eve. The vigil, or evening before, the festival
of St. John the Baptist, which is held on Midsummer Day
(June 24), is a season for many curious and superstitious
customs. See Chambers, Book of Days, i. 814 sqcp
9. Deposuitpotentes, &c. Verse 7 of the Magnificat , The
service of the Roman Church is in Latin.
52. besprent. Bespattered. See note to p. 39, 1. 48.
56. seneschal. Chief steward.
m
NOTES
82. the lung’s Jester was a regular appendage of courts,,
His dress, usually motley, was surmounted by a cap with
bells, and his cape was scalloped (i.e. it was indented like the
edge of a scallop-shell). See a picture (and a very interesting
account) in Chambers, l. c., i. 179 sqq.
85. henchmen. Grooms, serving-men.
105. the old Saturnian reign. According to the Greeks,
when Saturn (or Cronos) reigned in heaven, all was well
with the world. But when Jupiter expelled his father
Saturn, this ‘Golden Age 5 came to an end.
109. the mountain. Etna, under which Enceladus , a
hundred-armed giant, was supposed to be buried by Jupiter.
See Virgil, Aen. iii. 578 sqq.
182. Holy Thursday . Properly Ascension Day ; but used
popularly, as here, for the Thursday in Holy Week.
150. Saint Peter's square. The great Piazza San Pietro, in
front of St. Peter’s at Rome. It is not, properly speaking,
a square.
186. Salerno . A port about thirty miles south-east of
Naples.
187. Palermo. The capital of Sicily.
189. the Angelas . For ‘Angelas bell 5 , which is sounded
at morning, noon, and sunset in the Roman Catholic Church
as a reminder to all within hearing to utter a short devotional
exercise, beginning ‘Angelas Domini 1 .
200. shriven. Absolved.
The Jackdaw of Riieims.
The Rev. Richard Harris Barbara (1788-1845), or, to give
his nom de plume , Thomas Ingoldsby, Esq., was the author
of The Ingoldsby Legends. He first held a living in Kent,
and then a minor canonry at St. Paul’s, where he was subse¬
quently Divinity Lecturer. (There is an interesting memoir
prefixed to the Oxford Press edition of Ingoldsby.) The
Ingoldsby Legends, which appeared originally in magazines,
were published collectively in 1840; second and third series
in 1847.
The Jackdaw of lUieims Barham called ‘ a doggerel
version of an old Catholic legend that I picked up out of
a High Dutch author. I am afraid 1 (he adds) ‘the poor
“ Jackdaw 11 will be sadly pecked at.’ He found many such
monkish chronicles in the library of Sion College (of which
THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS 173
he became president in 1840). See the Memoir (p. xxxvii)
for an amusing story of a magpie, which Barham 'meant to
have engrafted on ’ this story if he had had time. Prefixed
to the Jackdaw is a quotation (in dog-Latin) from the volume
Be lllustr. Ord. Cisterc which gives the source of the story.
13. motley . Of varied character, mixed.
17. comfits. Sweetmeats, sugar-plums. cates. Choice
food.
19. Coiol. A monk’s hood. cope. A long cloak worn by
ecclesiastics in processions, rochet. A surplice-like vest¬
ment used chiefly by bishops and abbots. pall. A woollen
vestment worn by the Pope and a few high dignitaries of
the Church.
20. crosier. The pastoral staff of a bishop or abbot.
33. Hawns . FI awn is a kind of custard, or cheese-cake.
35. stoles. A stole is a strip of silk worn over the shoulders
and reaching to the knees. One would have expected
4 surplices’, which word was perhaps ousted by the exigencies
of rhyme.
38. refectory. The room used for meals in monasteries, &c.
86. He cursed him, &c. For an even more circumstantial
curse, see Tristram Shandy , iii, ch. xi.
102. Sacristan. Or sacrist, the official in charge of the
sacred vessels, &c., of a religious house or church. It is
a doublet of 4 sexton
131. plenary. Entire, absolute, unqualified.
159. Conclave. The assembly of Cardinals for the election
of a Pope, or, as here, the creation of a saint.
162. Jim Crow. The name of a popular negro air from
a play produced at the Adelphi in 1836.
The Pied Piper op IIamelin.
Robert Browning (1812-89) ranks with Tennyson as the
greatest English poet of the nineteenth century. Much of
his life was spent in Italy. Be married in 1846 Elizabeth
Barrett, the poetess. Brownings poetry is often difficult to
understand on first reading, but it amply repays the labour
of close study.
This poem (which appeared in Dramatic Lyrics, 1842)
was written to amuse Willie Macready, son of the great
actor. According to Dr. Berdoe’s Browning Cyclopaedia ,
174
NOTES
tlie poem is apparently based on a passage in Verstegan’g
Restitution of Decayed Intelligence in Antiquities (1605), but
there is no reason why Browning should not have got the
story from Hameln itself, for in that town, which, by the
way, is in Hanover and not in Brunswick, an inscription on
the Rattenfangerhaus records the legend, giving the date as
June 26, 1284. According to Baring-Gould, who has treated
of the tale in his Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, Grimm
has collected a quantity of evidence for the historical nature
of the incident. Baedeker suggests that it is based on a
distorted recollection of the Children’s Crusade of 1211.
According to Verstegan’s account, the children disappeared
on July 22, 1876.
To all students of Browning’s poetry an indispensable aid
is Dr. Berdoe’s Broivning Cyclopaedia, published by Messrs.
George Allen Sc Co., which, with the kind consent of the
publishers, has been made use of for some of the notes
to the three poems by Browning contained in this se¬
lection.
87. guilder. A silver coin, worth 1$. Sd.
51. glutinous . Sticky, a libellous adjective to use of turtle
60 up.
64. kith and kin. Country and relations.
79. Pied . Particoloured (cf. magpie, piebald), so called
4 for the fantastical cote which hee wore being wrought with
sundry colours ’ (A Restitution, See.).
89. Tartary. See note to ‘ Jaffar 1. 32.
Cham. An obsolete form of Khan, meaning ‘ autocrat
91. Nizam. The title of the ruler of Hyderabad in India.
123. Stout as Julius Caesar. During a revolt at Alexandria
m 48 b.c. Caesar’s ship was captured, and he had to swim
for his life. There is a ridiculous legend (recorded by
Plutarch, Caesar, eh. 49) that he swam with one hand, and
with the other held his Commentaries [de Bello Galileo, See.)
above the water. ‘ As if says Froude, ‘ a general would take
his MSS. with him into a hot action ! ’ (Caesar, ch. 23).
181. tiibhoards. The lids of pickle-tubs, in which salt
meat is preserved.
132. conserve. Jam.
133. train-oil. The oil made from whale-blubber; the
word has no connexion with railway, or other, trains.
136. Browning in later editions printed the line, ‘ Sweeter
THE PIED PIPER OE HAMELIN 175
far than by harp or by psaltery.’ Psaltery . An ancient
and mediaeval stringed instrument.
188. drysaltery. A shop where oils, pickles, tinned meats,
&c., are sold.
139. nuncheon. Literally 4 noon-drink \ The ending of
the word was confused with that of 4 luncheon with which
it became identical in meaning.
141. puncheon. A large cask, holding from 72 to 120
gallons.
142. staved . 4 Staved in ’; i. e. with a hole made in the
cask.
158. Claret. A red French wine from Bordeaux.
Moselle. A dry white wine produced near the river
Moselle (a tributary of the Rhine).
Vin-cle-Grave. A white wine from Bordeaux; also
known as Sauterne.
Mode. A German white wine, properly that of Hochheim
(on the Rhine).
160. Rhenish. A generic name for Rhine wine (e. g. Hock).
177. Bagdat. Bagdad. See note to ‘ Jaffar’.
179. Caliph. See note to 4 Jaffar’, 1. 17.
182. bate a stive?’. Abate my price by, or let you off the
smallest amount. ( Sliver , from Dutch stuiver, a small obsolete
coin.)
187. ribald. An irreverent jester (now usually an adjec¬
tive). The word formerly meant (and perhaps here means)
a low-born retainer, menial.
198. pitching a?id hustling. An old game which Strutt
(Spo?-ts and Pastimes of the People of England) describes. Each
of the players throws a halfpenny at a mark; the one who
gets nearest then gathers all the coins in a hat and after
hustling (i.e. shaking) them together throws them on the
ground and claims all those which fall head up ; the rest
are then replaced in the hat and hustled by the player whose
coin originally came next nearest to the mark. He in turn
appropriates all the heads, and the turn passes to the third
best, and so on.
258. A text , &c. Matt. xix. 24, Mark x. 25, Luke xviii. 25.
279. tdbo?\ A small drum, especially one used to accompany
the pipe.
290. T?rmsylmnia. A large division of Hungary. According
to Verstegan, the Emperor Charlemagne transported many
176
NOTES
thousands of the Saxons with their wives and families into
Transylvania, 4 where their posteritie yet remayneth \
296. trepanned. Trapped, beguiled.
Cee^y.
Francis Turner Palgrave (1824-97), poet and critic.
Assistant private secretary to W. E. Gladstone, 1846;
subsequently assistant secretary of the Education Depart¬
ment ; Professor of Poetry at Oxford, 1885-95. Though he
was a poet himself, he is best known for his anthology,
The Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics; in the compilation
of this he was greatly helped by Tennyson, who was his
intimate friend.
[For some of the notes to this and other historical poems
in the collection, acknowledgements are due to Lyra
Ilistoiica, Poems of British History 61-1910, selected by
M. E. Windsor and J. Turral (Clarendon Press).]
The refrain of the poem is founded on Froissart, who says
that, when asked to send reinforcements to his son the Black
Prince (1370-76), King Edward III replied: 4 Is my son dead,
unhorsed, or so badly wounded that he cannot support
himself? J ‘Nothing of the sort, thank God,’ rejoined the
knight, ‘ but he is in so hot an engagement that he has
great need of your help. 1 ‘ Now, Sir Thomas, 1 answered the
King, ‘return to those that sent you, and tell them from me
not to send again for me this day, nor expect that I shall
come, let what will happen, as long as my son has life; and
say that I command them to let the boy win his spurs, for
I am determined, if it please God, that all the glory of this
day shall be given to him, and to those into whose care
I have entrusted him. 1 The knight returned to his lords and
related the King’s answer, which mightily encouraged them,
and made them repent they had ever sent such a message.
The battle of Cre 9 y was fought on August 26,1346. After
invading Normandy, Edward was marching through Pontkieu
towards Flanders; but he found that the bridges over the
Seine and the Somme had been broken down. However, he
discovered a ford at Blanche Tache, and halting near the
village of Cre 9 y gave battle to the French king, Philip VI.
In the French army there were 15,000 Genoese crossbowmen.
These had allowed their bows to be wetted by a shower of
rain, which made them quite useless. The English archers had
CRECY 177
covers for their longbows, so that with their arrows they at
once repulsed the Genoese. The French knights were there¬
upon ordered to kill the crossbow-men. Finally, the French
were defeated with tremendous slaughter. 4 It was a victory ’
(says Gardiner) 4 of foot-soldiers over horse-soldiers—of a
nation in which all ranks joined heartily together over one
in which all ranks except that of the gentry were despised/
8. incarnadined. Properly ‘made flesh-colourbut since
Shakespeare (Macbeth, ii. ii. 62) always used for 4 tinged with
blood \
15. Erin and Gxodlia. The Irish and Welsh contingent,
armed with large knives, fell upon earls, barons, knights, and
squires who were hampered by the flight of the Genoese bow¬
men, and slew many.
17. orijlamme. ‘ Gold-flame/ the banner of St. Denis,
borne by the French.
18. dragons of Merlin. The Welsh flag. Merlin was the
wizard at the court of King Arthur.
29. Senlac-on-Sea. The battle between William and Harold,
sometimes called the Battle of Hastings (1066), was fought
at Senlac Hill, six miles from the sea, where the town of
Battle now stands.
48. Liguria . The district of Italy whence came the
Genoese bowmen.
45. Bohemia's King. On the morning after the battle the
blind King of Bohemia was found dead in the field with
his companions. He had persuaded them to lead him into
the fight, with bridles tied together, that he might strike one
blow for France and chivalry.
47. Blood-lake. Pal grave follows those who take Senlac
to be a corruption of Sang-lac. This Freeman regards as
1 simply a French pun on the name the etymology of
which he declines to pronounce on.
A Ballad of Orleans.
Agnes Mary Frances Robinson (Mme Duclaux, b. 1857),
a poetess, novelist, essayist, who lives in Paris, and who
writes in French as well as English.
A reference to the map will show that Orleans is the key
to the country south of the Loire, and its importance was
fully recognized by the English, who tried for six months to
P P 7M M
178
NOTES
take It. They were frustrated by Joan of Arc, wlio trium¬
phantly led the French into the town, and in eight days
forced the English to raise the siege and retire (May 12,
1429). The failure to take Orleans was the beginning of
the end of English rule over France.
6. gar. Make. There seems no special reason for the
introduction of a Scotch word into an otherwise English
poem.
13. Talbot John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury (1388?-
1453), Constable of France (1422), was present at the siege
of Orleans.
Suffolk. William de la Pole, fourth Earl and first Puke
of Suffolk (1396-1450), succeeded in 1428 to the command
of the English forces in France. He was forced to surrender
at Jargeau soon after the relief of Orleans. There appears
to have been no other Foie at Orleans.
Lochinvak.
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) is famous throughout the
world for his poems and novels. ‘ Lochinvar 1 is a song sung by
the Lady Heron in James IV’s Court at Holyrood; Mannion ,
Canto V (1808). The metre is suggestive of a gallop; cf,
‘ How they brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix.’
2. Border. The places named in the poem lie on the
Border. The Eske runs through Dumfries into the Solway
Firth (where the difference between high and low tide is
very great). Net herb y is in Cumberland, near Carlisle.
Cannobie (or Canonbie) Lea is a plain in Dumfriesshire, just
over the Scottish border.
7. brake. Thicket, brushwood.
14. bride's-men. A brideman was the bridegroom’s atten¬
dant, or ‘ best man ’ as we say now; so the bridemaicls
attended on the bride. Bride was formerly used of either sex.
32. gallictrd. A lively dance, of Spanish origin.
39. croupe. The hind-quarters of the horse.
41. scaur. Cliff, rock.
43. Grcemes, or Grahams, an important Border family.
The Forsters , &c., were English families.
The Glove and the Lions.
For Leigh Hunt see note to ‘ Jaffarh
nn.fl ofrn.tr i*«s rWlf xxn fll R HI ftno ’
THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS 179
also by Schiller and St. Eoix). The incident is said to have
occurred in the time of Francis I (reigned 1515-47).
Two views are possible of the lady’s motive and of de Lorge’s
gallantry : Browning’s is the opposite of Leigh Hunt’s.
7. Ramped. Stood on their hind legs with their paws in
the air.
* David Gwynn’s Stoey.
Theodore Watts-Dunton (1832-1914). Poet, essayist,
novelist; many of his writings appeared anonymously in The
Athenaeum , &c. His best-known work is Ai/Iwhi . He knew
much of the gipsies, and was an intimate friend of Borrow
— also of Rossetti and Swinburne.
The poem here given forms a part of Christmas at the
Mermaid —to which Watts-Dunton prefixed the following
note : 4 With the exception of Shakspeare, who has quitted
London for good, in order to reside at New Place, Stratford-
on-Avon, which he has lately rebuilt, all the members of the
Mermaid Club are assembled at the Mermaid Tavern. At
the head of the table sits Ben Jonson dealing out the wassail
from a large bowl. At the other end sits Raleigh, and at
Raleigh’s right hand the guest he has brought with him,
a stranger, David Gwynn, the Welsh seaman, now an elderly
man, whose story of his exploits as a galley-slave in crippling
the Armada before it reached the Channel had, years before,
whether true or false, given him in the Low Countries a
great reputation, the echo of which had reached England.
Raleigh’s desire was to excite the public enthusiasm for
continuing the struggle with Spain on the sea, and generally
to revive the fine Elizabethan temper, which had already
become almost a thing of the past, save, perhaps, among such
choice spirits as those associated with the Mermaid Club.’
David Gwynn was an historical personage—a poet, who
* suffered a long and cruel imprisonment in Spain. Upon
regaining his liberty, he published a poetical narrative of
his sufferings, entitled “ Certaine English Verses penned by
David Gwynn, who for the space of eleven Yeares and ten
Moneths was in most grieuous Servitude in the Gallies,
under the King of Spain ” ’ (Diet. Nat. Biog.).
The following paragraph from Hakluyt (account of the
defeat of the Armada by Emanuel van Meteran) sufficiently
explains the situation, and perhaps forms the source from
wlnVIi Walk-biintnn rlvAw t.hft iilpfi nf the r»nom • ( Tn the
180
NOTES
meane while the Spanish Armada set saile out of the haven
of Lisbon upon the 19. of May, An. Dom. 1588. under the
conduct of the duke of Medina Sidonia, directing their course
for the Baie of Corunna, alias the Groine in Gallicia, where
they tooke in souldiers and warlike provision, this port
being in Spaine the neerest unto England. As they were
sailing along, there arose such a mightie tempest, that the
whole Pleete was dispersed, so that when the duke was
returned unto his company, he could not escry above 80. ships
in all, whereunto the residue by litle and litle joyned them¬
selves, except eight which had their mastes blowen over-
boord. One of the foure gallies of Portingal escaped very
hardly, retiring her selfe into the haven. The other three
were upon the coast of Baion in France, by the assistance
and courage of one David Gwin an English captive (whom
the French and Turkish slaves aided in the same enterprise)
utterly disabled and vanquished : one of the three being first
overcome, which conquered the two other, with the slaughter
of their governours and souldiers, and among the rest of
Don Diego de Mandrana with sundry others: and so those
slaves arriving in France with the three Gallies, set them¬
selves at liberties
31. Drake. Sir Francis Drake (1540 ?-96), one of the
greatest of all English sailors, circumnavigated the globe
(1577-80), and after defeating the Armada off Gravelines,
pursued it to the north of Scotland. He had already made
many expeditions to Spain (cf. 1. 91).
Glonana. Spenser’s name for Queen Elizabeth in the
Faerie Queen e.
46. Finisterre. The cape on the north-west of Spain.
55. FI Dorado. The ship is named after the fictitious land
of gold in quest of which the Spaniards sailed to the West
(Lit. ‘ the gilded ’).
71. auto. i. e. auto-da-f£ (lit. ‘ act of faith ’)—the burning
of heretics in accordance with the sentence of the Inquisition.
73. The Golden Skeleton is Watts-Dunton’s addition. This
takes the form of one of the Incas (Peruvian princes) who
had been massacred by the Spaniards (see Prescott’s Peru,
Book III); sitting on the Admiral’s prow it leads the
Armada to destruction.
86. levin. Lightning.
88. that great Scarlet One, &c. The Protestants identified
the ‘ woman arrayed in purple and scarlet ’ (Revelation xviil
DAVID GWYNN'S STORY
181
with tlie Church 01 Rome. She sat on a beast with seven
heads, which are interpreted (in verse 9) as ‘ seven mountains,
on which the woman sitteth
98. cozened . Cheated.
103. glaives. Swords.
109. Ferrol Bay lies to the north of Coruna, at the north*
west corner of Spain.
118. queen-galleys. The word, which is apparently peculiar
to Watts-Dunton, clearly means galleys of the largest size,
generally called Galleys Royal.
147. Tophet. Hell. Tophet was another name for Gehinnom,
a valley to the south-west of Jerusalem, where refuse was con¬
tinually burnt; hence, perhaps, arose the idea of the ever¬
lasting fires of Gehenna (which name is corrupted from
Gehinnom).
170. strappado. A torture which consisted of securing
the victim’s hands (or other part) in ropes, raising him, and
letting him fall till he was brought np by the taut rope. It
is mentioned by Fal staff, 1 Henry IV, n. iv. 266.
183. the offing . The distant part of the sea visible from
the shore, beyond anchoring ground.
202. luff. To bring a ship’s head nearer the wind.
205. Caracas, Large ships of burden, which were some¬
times also fitted up for warfare.
caravels. Small light fast ships, chiefly Spanish and
Portuguese, of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries.
212. galleasse. A great ship rowed with 300 oars.
213. dizened . More commonly ‘bedizened’—dressed out
gaudily.
215. truclcs. The wooden disk at the top of a mast with
holes for the halyards.
How THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM
Ghent to Aix.
For Robert Browning see note to ‘ The Pied Piper of
Hamelin
This poem, which now stands among the Dramatic Lyrics,
appeared in Bells and Pomegranates , 1845. There is appa¬
rently no actual historical basis for the incidents of the
poem, though, no doubt, as Dr. Berdoe remarks, in the war
in the Netherlands such an adventure was likely enough
(Browning Cyclopaedia)*
182
NOTES
The distance from Ghent to Aix-la-Chapehe (Aachen) is
about 100 miles as the crow flies; the route described in the
poem is, however, considerably longer, for though Mechlin,
Aerschot, and Hasselt arc on the road, no one in a hurry
would have ridden from Ghent to Mechlin by Lokeren,
Boom, and Duffel; or from Hasselt to Aix by Looz, Tongres,
and Dalhem,
10. pique. Here wrongly used for ‘ peak \
17. the half-chime. Presumably the clock striking half¬
past, but as we are not told the hour, there is no hope of
timing the ride.
44. croup. Hindquarters.
Neck and croup is perhaps meant as a variation of ‘ neck
and crop i. e. completely, bodily.
49. huff coat (or buff jerkin). A stout coat, of buffalo or
ox-hide, formerly worn by soldiers as proof against a
sword-cut.
holster. A leather case for a pistol, fixed to the saddle
or worn on the belt.
Killieceankib.
William Edmonstoune Aytoun (1816-65), Professor of
Logic and Belles-Lettres in the University of Edinburgh, is
best known for his Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers, and the-
Bon Gaultier Ballads (in which latter he collaborated with
Sir Theodore Martin).
The battle of Killiecrankle (duly 27, 1689) was fought in
the wooded valley of the River Garry, to the south of Blair
Atholl in the north of Perthshire. John Graham of Claver-
house, Viscount Dundee (b. 1649 ?), in command of 2,000
Highlanders, had raised the standard for King James against
William and Mary. General Hugh Mackay was sent against
him, and with an army almost twice as large as Dundee’s
forced a battle with him at Killiecrankie. 4 Two minutes
decided the contest; before the wild rush of the clansmen
the redcoats wavered, broke, and ran like sheep. Their loss
was 2,000, the victors’ 900 only; but one of the 900 was
Ian Dhu nan Cath (or “ Black John of the Battles ”), as the
Highlanders called Dundee. A musket-ball struck him as
he was waving on his men,and he sank from his saddle into
the arms of a soldier named Johnstone.... 4 ‘ Bloody Claverse”,
“Bonnie Dundee ”—the two names illustrate the opposite
feelings borne towards one whom the malice of foes and the
KILLIECRANlvIE
188
favour of friends have invested with a fictitious interest 8
(Chambers, Encyc.)* The two extreme views are found, e. g.,
in Macaulay and Aytoun respectively.
19. Cameronian rebels* An extreme sect of Covenanters,
who took their name from a certain Richard Cameron; by
his Sanquhar Declaration he declared himself and his
followers rebels. The name of Cameronians is still applied
to the Reformed Presbyterians of Scotland.
24. Montrose. James Graham, ‘The Great Marquis’ of
Montrose (1612-50), one of the original Covenanters, who
later gained six victories for the king against the Covenant,
but was at last betrayed, carried to Edinburgh and hanged
with ignominy. Aytoun has a ballad on his execution.
28. Schehallion , or Schiehallion. A high mountain in
Perthshire, west of Killiecrankie.
30. Grcemes. Another spelling of Grahams.
33. the Royal Martyr. Charles I.
35. him whom butchers murdered. James Sharp (1613-79),
Archbishop of St. Andrews, was murdered on Magus Muir by
the Covenanters, owing to his episcopalian sympathies. See
Scott’s Old Mortality.
44. false Argyle. Archibald Campbell (d, 1703), Earl, and
afterwards first Duke of Argyll (as the name is more correctly
spelt), was one of the Scottish commissioners who offered the
crown to William and Mary (1689). lie had before joined
William of Orange in Holland, and was rewarded for his
service's by a dukedom.
47. Convention . The Convention of Estates, the name
given to the Scottish Parliament from March 1689 till the
acceptance of the crown by William III. It declared that
‘ King James Yli ’ (i. e. James II of England) being a Papist,
the throne of Scotland was vacant.
61. Breadalbane. One of the ancient divisions of Perth¬
shire (West).
70. the Pass below. The battle was fought to the north of,
and so above, the Pass of Killiecrankie proper.
79. Leslie's foot* Presumably infantry trained by David
Leslie (d. 1682), a Royalist general in the English Civil War.
Leven. David Melville, third Earl of Leven, a confidential
agent to William of Orange, distinguished himself at Killie¬
crankie in command of the regiment which is still called
‘The King's Own Scottish Borderers 8 .
80. tuck. 4 Beat.*
184
• NOTES
91 .slogan* Highland war-cry.
Macdonald . One of the great Highland clans. The
chief of the clan at this date was Alexander or Mac Ian of
Glencoe, who was subsequently destroyed with his clan in
the notorious Massacre of Glencoe (1692). Another member
of the clan was present at Killiecrankie—John Macdonald
(Ian Lorn), a warrior and poet who celebrated the victory in
his poem Rinrory.
92. Lochiel. Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, 4 a gracious
master, a trusty ally, a terrible enemy,’ commanded the
Camerons at this battle, a valuable account of which lie
gave in his Memoirs. ‘It was long remembered in Lochaber
that Lochiel took off what probably was the only pair of
shoes in his clan, and charged barefoot at the head of his
men * (Macaulay, History, ch. xiii). In 1692 Lochiel, like
the other Highland chiefs, was compelled to take the oath
of allegiance to William.
He eve Riel.
For Robert Browning see note to ‘The Pied Piper of
Hamelin
For this poem (published in the Cornhill Magazine of
March, 1871) Browning received ,£100, which he gave to
the Paris Relief Fund, to help the starving people after the
Siege. The story told in the poem is strictly historical.
‘The facts of the storysays Dr. Furnivall, *had been
forgotten, and were denied at St. Malo, but the reports of the
French Admiralty were looked up and the facts established/
Early in 1692 James had assembled a large army for the
invasion of England at La Hogue, now La Houguo, at the
north-east of the department of La Manche in Normandy.
To enable it to cross the channel Admiral Tourville with forty-
four ships attacked an English and Dutch fleet of twice the
number under the firm but erroneous conviction that nearly
all the English sailors were Jacobites at heart and would
refuse to fight against the French. The engagement took
place on May 19, and lasted from 11 till 4, when Tourville
began to draw off; his largest ships took refuge in
Cherbourg and the Bay of Hogue, but about twenty of the
smallest dared the dangerous passage round the Cap de la
Hague and reached Sfc. Malo, the port of Brittany at the
mouth of the river Ranee. Their further fortunes are told
in the ballad. Of the larger ships Admiral Russell succeeded
HERVfs RIEL 185
In burning or sinking sixteen before the action came to an
end on May 24.
44. Croisi these. Native of Le Croisic, a port in the south
of Brittany, just north of the Loire. So Malouin (1. 46),
a native of St. Malo.
49. Grave. The beach to the east of St. Malo, extending
for two miles to Parame, is called La Grande Greve (‘ The
big beach ’).
disembogues. Flows into the sea.
61. Soli dor. The Tour de Solidor, a fourteenth-century
fortress, is situated at St. Servan, which adjoins St. Malo on
the south ; it lies about a mile and a half up the Ranee
from La Grande Greve.
92. rampired. Rampire is an archaic form of * rampart \
120. what is it but a run ? It is over ninety miles as the
crow flies, and four times as far if one sails round the coast.
129. head. Figure-head.
133. bore the bell. Led the way; possibly derived from
the custom of belling one of a flock.
136. the Louvre. The great national museum and picture
gallery at Paris; originally a royal palace.
WlNSTANLEY*
Jean Ingelow (1820- 97) was a poetess who spent much of
her life in London. Besides poems she wrote novels and
stories for children.
Henry Win Stanley (1644-1703), an engineer and engraver,
was clerk of works to Charles II at Audley End and New¬
market. He invented a place of entertainment in Piccadilly,
called the Water Theatre. In 1696 he designed for the
authorities of Trinity House a lighthouse for the Eddystone
Rock (off Plymouth). In 1697, whilst working there, he
was carried off by a French privateer, and the work was
destroyed ; he was, however, exchanged shortly after. His
lighthouse appears to have been completed in 1700; it waa
* a fantastic erection, largely composed of wood, the stone¬
work of the base being bound with copper or iron... . The
entire structure was swept away on the night of Nov. 26,
1703, carrying with it the unfortunate designer, who had
gone out to superintend some repairs ’ {Diet. Nat. JBioy.).
See illustration in Gardiner’s Students' History , p. 679.
The Eddystone rocks lie 14 miles SSW. of Plymouth
Breakwater. A second lighthouse of wood was built by
186
NOTES
Rudyercl, a silk-mercer (1706-9); tin’s was burnt in 1755.
Smeaton’s stone lighthouse was erected in 1757-9 ; its upper
part was taken down about 1880, as the rock on which it
stood was undermined, and now stands on Plymouth Hoe.
The present lighthouse was completed by Sir James Douglas
in 1882.
The Winstanley of the poem is somewhat legendary. He
was not ‘ a mercer of London town ’ (1. 67 : perhaps due to
confusion with Rudyerd), nor was the lighthouse built at his
initiative or cost.
The version of the poem given here omits some of the
stanzas in the original.
21. Lammas tide. The first of August, formerly observed
as a harvest festival. The word is a corruption of ‘ loaf-mass ’.
22. yeasty. Foaming, frothy like yeast.
29. Plymouth Hoe. The name of a famous common on
the cliffs.
36. Rest you merry. This and 4 God rest you merry ’ were
common forms of salutation in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.
73. lighter. A boat, usually flat-bottomed, for loading
and unloading ships.
84. wrack. Properly seaweed cast up by the waves.
Possibly Miss Ingelow meant rack, 4 driving clouds \
120. to dose. Used apparently for ‘to stop working\
The Ballad of 4 Beau Brocade’.
Austin Dobson (b. 1840), formerly a Civil Servant, is a
writer of charming light verse, and the greatest living
authority on eighteenth-century literature. He has very
kindly given his consent to the use of the notes appended
to his Collected Poems (Kegan Paul, 9th eel., 1914).
In 1739 Walpole’s long ministry was tottering. The
4 Patriots ’ of the Opposition were anxious for war with
Spain, and the ‘Boys’ (as Walpole called a hand of young
Whigs, which included Pitt) were disgusted by his corrupt
ways. It was of them that Walpole cynically said ‘ All
these men have their price.’ These parties joining in 1736
compelled the ministry to declare war with Spain, using as
one pretext the loss of an ear (seven years previously) by
a certain Captain Jenkins. The early stages of the wai
were successful; thus Admiral Vernon easily captured Porte
THE BALLAD OF 6 BEAU BROCADE’ 187
Bello (on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama). But
when Vernon failed (1741) at Cartagena, Santiago (Cuba),
and Panama, the government became unpopular, and Walpole
found it necessary to resign, with the title of Earl of Orford
(1742).
Beggar's Opera. A famous comedy by John Gay (1728).
On its first appearance it ran for sixty-three, nights, a
marvellous record for that period. The quotation is the
second line of a song in Act II, Scene i.
5. the‘Guides'. Cf. L 195.
6. Westminster, which is still a distinct city municipally,
was until the nineteenth century separated from London by
open fields. Cf. e.g. Wordsworth’s ‘ Sonnet written on West¬
minster Bridge \
7. ‘ tone \ State of health.
8. Maryhone . Marylebone, in the north-west of London,
still a distinct borough, was then, like Westminster, at a
distance from town.
11. Whitejield, George Whitefiold (1714-70) was, with the
brothers Wesley, the founder of Methodism. By 1739 he
had done much preaching both in England and America.
Many years of his life were spent in America. Mr. Austin
Dobson quotes from the Gentleman's Magazine for March,
1739 (vol. ix, p. 162):— ‘Bristol. The Rev. Mr. Whitefield
,. . has been wonderfully laborious & successful, especially
among the poor Prisoners in Neivgate & the rude Colliers
of Kingswood . .. On Saturday the 18th instant he preached
at Hannum Mount to 5 or 6,000 Persons, amongst them
many Colliers.’ . *
38. Bagshot Ileath. A high-lying common, formerly. in¬
closed as a royal hunting ground, which lies between Virginia
W ater and Bagshot on the Great Western Road (to Plymouth).
34. the basket. The overhanging back compartment on
a stage-coach.
57. Ensign (of Bragg’s). 4 Despite its suspicious appro¬
priateness in this case, “ Bragg’s ” regiment of Foot-Guards
really existed, and was ordered to Flanders in April 1742
(see Gentleman's Magazine, 1742, L 217). In 1759 Wolfe
was leading it at Quebec when he was mortally wounded.’
(Mr. Austin Dobson’s note.)
58. hanger. A short sword (originally hanging from the
belt).
73. Babbit hi?n. A form of imprecation. 4 Bother him 1 9
188
NOTES
75. flashed the pan. Tiic priming (in the lock-pan) alone
had gone off, and the gun itself had ‘ hung fire \
98. Vernon . For Edward Vernon (1684-1757) see note
above. He was finally cashiered in 1746. His most notable
achievement was to serve out to his men rum diluted with
water (1740); as his nickname was ‘ Old Grogram 5 (perhaps
from the material of his cloak), the drink was called 4 grog’.
111. Malplaquet. The victory won by Marlborough and
Prince Eugene over the French and Spanish (Sept. 11, 1709).
117. the JB-sh-p of L-nd-n's 1 Pastoral Letter \ The Bishop
of London at this time was Edmund Gibson, a voluminous
writer, whose works, including five Pastoral Letters, fill
twelve pages of the British Museum catalogue.
129. gold-sprigged. Embroidered with sprigs (small
branches) of gold, tambour. Embroidered stuff. (A tambour
was a circular frame on which silk, &c., was stretched to be
embroidered; then, stuff so embroidered.)
180. surtoul. Overcoat.
132. London-Spaio. One of the old London suburban tea-
gardens, now demolished. The name survives in Spa-fields
(near the New River Head and Sadler’s Wells). See Chambers,
Booh of Bags, II. 72. Spa was formerly pronounced Spaw.
139. spavined. With a disease of the hock-joint.
143. Hie i Rose ’ or the 1 Rummer ’ set. The Rose was a
famous tavern in Russell Street, Covent Garden, adjoining
Drury Lane Theatre. It is mentioned several times in the
Spectator. There was a Rummer Tavern in Henrietta Street,
Covent Garden, and another more famous one at the water¬
side neat Charing Cross. This latter stood in Whitehall in
Charles II’s time, and was kept by the uncle of Matt Prior
the poet.
150. solitaire. A loose neck-tie of black silk.
155. a Windsor curd. i. e. Windsor curd-soap, which is
made of soda, olive-oil, and tallow.
157. hirtle. Dress.
161. Bet ofPoHugal Street. Portugal Street is still standing
on the south side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields; it is chiefly known
now as the site of the Bankruptcy Court, but in the seven¬
teenth and eighteenth centuries it was a fashionable
neighbourhood.
164. 1 peach. Turn informer. (Short for appeach.)
170. Hogarth. William Hogarth (1697-1764), the famous
satirical painter and engraver. The picture intended is
THE BALLAD OF 4 BEAU BROCADE’ 189
the ‘Enraged Musician 5 , in which a strapping (though not
very beautiful) milkmaid is the most prominent figure*
This print was published in 1741.
175. Turned King's evidence. A criminal may sometimes
escape punishment by giving evidence against his accom¬
plices.
J80. St James's Street. Then, as now, the centre of
fashionable life. ‘ White's. 9 1 White’s Chocolate House in
St. James’s Street, a noted haunt of fashionable gamblers, was
first established in 1698. Under Anne it stood five doors
from the bottom of the west side of the street, ascending
from the palace. It was burnt down in April 1783 (See
Hogarth’s Rake's Progress , Pt. iv).’ Mr. Dobson’s note,
Selections from Steele, p. 409.
181. Tylmrn Tree. Till 1783 a condemned criminal was
carried with his coffin in a cart from Newgate to Tyburn
Gate at the north-east of Hyde Park where the Marble Arch
now stands. If he was a notorious character the streets
were lined with spectators, who often presented him with
bouquets and other marks of favour.
184. St. Sepulchre's. A church opposite Newgate.
185. HoTborn Bar. At the foot of Gray’s Inn Hoad, where
the City of London ends.
192. Topsman. A slang term for hangman, possibly a
modification of ‘headsman as top was used colloquially for
‘head’. „
195, * Londoner's Guide.' e There is no special Londoner's
Guide. But the book I had in mind was The Foreigner's
Guide to London and Westminster, 1740.’ (Letter from
Mr. Austin Dobson to the Editor.)
196. with curls and tails. The flourishes of old-fashioned
handwriting.
Frederick, Prince of Wales. Frederick Louis (1707-51),
created Prince of Wales 1729, the father of George III. He
favoured the Opposition to Walpole’s government.
Fall of d’Assas.
Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793-1835), nie Browne, was
a poetess popular amongst many readers, especially in
America. She was a friend of Wordsworth and Scott.
Louis Chevalier d’Assas fell whilst reconnoitring a wood
near Closterkamp during the night of Oct. 15, 1760. After
1 Antrim cr Lis rn trim Ant ftbat nf AnvAmnA.h La was KinmvisAfl
190
NOTES
by an ambush of tlie enemy, who threatened him with
instant death if he gave any sign of their being there.
Thereupon he shouted, ‘A moi, Auvergne! ce sont les
ennemis! ’ and fell, pierced by the enemies’ bayonets.
Auvergne was one of the old French provinces, in the centre
of France.
Paul Reveke’s Ride,
For Longfellow, see note to ‘King Robert of Sicily \
This poem (told by the Landlord in Tales of a Wayside Inn),
describes the ride which immediately preceded the outbreak
of the American War of Independence. On April 18, 1775,
the British at Boston determined to seize a store of arms at
Concord in Massachusetts. Their plans, though carefully
guarded, were discovered by a certain Paul Revere, who had
a band of thirty mechanics to watch their movements. The
American volunteers (or ‘ Minute Men ’) were ready for action,
and needed only warning of the British march ; this warning
was given by Revere. The poem clearly describes his ride,
but the following account, from H. C. Lodge’s Story of the
American Revolution , adds a few details. ‘ At eleven o’clock
two lights gleamed from the belfry of the Old North Church
[Boston], showing that the troops were going by water to
Cambridge, and Revere mounted and rode away. He crossed
Charlestown Neck, and as he passed the spot where a felon
had been hung in chains, he saw two British officers waiting
to stop him. One tried to head him, one sought to take
him. But Revere knew his country. He turned back
sharply, and then swung into the Medford road. His
pursuer fell into a cl ay-pit, and Revere rode swiftly to
Medford, warned the captain of the Minute Men, and then
galloped on, rousing every house and farm and village until
he reached Lexington. There he awakened Adams and
Hancock, and was joined by Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott.
After a brief delay the three started to alarm the country
between Lexington and Concord. They had ridden but a
short distance when they were met by four British officers
who barred the road. Prescott jumped his horse over a stone
wall and escaped, carrying the alarm to Concord. Revere
rode toward a wood, when six more British officers appeared,
and he was made a prisoner and forced to return with Dawes
and his captors to Lexington. There he was released. 1
Fighting began on Lexington Common at sunrise, and there
PAUL REVERE’S RIDE 191
was also a skirmish at Concord Bridge; neither figlit was
decisive, but the British certainly did not get the best of it.
Revere’s ride was important in that he warned the country¬
side, and so enabled the Minute Men to prove their worth.
Of the names mentioned in the poem, Middlesex (1. 13)
is the county of Massachussets in which are situated Boston,
Concord, <&c. Charlestown (1. 16), now a part of Boston, lies
on the north of the River Charles. The Mystic (1. 83) is the
other river at Boston; Med/ord also stands on its banks.
The distance from Boston to Concord is seventeen miles.
Battle of the Baltic.
Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), a Scottish poet. After
studying law in Edinburgh, he travelled on the Continent;
subsequently settling in London he edited various magazines.
He enjoyed a great reputation- in his own day ; but he is now
remembered chiefly for his patriotic poems (e. g. Ye Mariners
of England).
The battle of Copenhagen, April 2, 1801, was fought to
break up Napoleon’s plan of a coalition of the northern
Powers (Russia, Sweden, and Denmark) against England.
Nelson led the van of our ships, and when the battle was
hottest refused to see Parker’s signal for recall. The Danish
fleet was broken up, but could not be taken owing to its being
protected by the land batteries. Thanks, however, to the tact¬
ful negotiations of Nelson with the Danes, an armistice was
agreed on, which led to a treaty with the northern Powers.
See the plan in Gardiner’s Historical Atlas or Mr. H. B.
Butler's edition of Southey’s Life of Nelson (Oxford University
Press).
8. the Prince of all the land. The Crown Prince of Denmark,
who was acting as Regent.
40. Ye are brothers, &e. Nelson’s first note to the Crown
Prince ended with the sentence * The brave Danes are the
brothers, and should never be the enemies, of the English/
63. Elsinore. Helsingor, commanding the entrance to the
Baltic. It is the scene of Hamlet.
67. Riou. Edward Riou (b. 1758?), captain, led the
detached squadron (consisting of frigates) against the land
batteries. He drew off his division in obedience to Sir Hyde
Parker’s signal, mournfully exclaiming, 4 What will Nelson
think of us! * Shortly after lie was cut in two by a raking
shot. (See Southey’s Nelson.)
192
NOTES
Trafalgar,
For F. T. Palgrave, see note to Creqy,
The story of Trafalgar is tc j well known to need repeating
here. It may be read in the Lives of Nelson by Southey,
Mahan, or Laughton; or, in great detail, in Mr. Henry
Newbolt’s valuable book, The Year of Trafalgar , which
contains perhaps the most convincing account ever given
of the tactics of the battle. A few facts only are here
mentioned to explain points in the poem.
Napoleon had prepared to invade England in 1805, but
for that purpose it was essential to remove the English fleet
from the Channel. He was almost successful in this design,
for Nelson pursued the French and Spanish fleets to the
"West Indies, where they eluded him; but Nelson hurriedly
returned, and, arriving off Cadiz on September 29, blockaded
the combined fleet in the harbour. At length, on October 19,
the fleets left Cadiz, and were forced to give battle off
Trafalgar on Monday, the 21st.
The French fleet consisted of eighteen ships of the line,
five frigates, and two brigs, under Vice-Admiral Villeneuve
(on board the Bucentaure, 80 guns); the Spanish fleet of
fifteen of the line, under Admiral Gravina (on board the
Principe d'Asturias, 112 guns). The British fleet was drawn
up in two divisions: the Van or Weather Column, twelve of
the line, under Nelson (on hoard the Victory, 100 guns,
Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy), and the Rear or Lee
Column, fifteen of the line, under Vice-Admiral Collingwood
(on board the Royal Sovereign, 100 guns). Of the other
ships mentioned in the poem, the Santissima Trinidada was
a huge Spanish four-decker of 130 guns; the Redoubtable
a French ship of 74, Captain Lucas.
During the action the Victory ran on board the Redoubtable,
on the other side of which lay the Temeraire (Captain
Harvey). It was about an hour after the Victory grappled
with the Redoubtable that Nelson was shot from the enemy’s
mizen-top, which was ‘not more than fifteen yards distant
from that part of the deck where his Lordship stood. The ball
struck the epaulette on his left shoulder, and penetrated
his chest. It passed through the spine, and lodged in the
muscles of the back, towards the right side, and a little below
the shoulder-blade. He fell with.his face on the deck/
(Narrative of Dr. Beatty, Surgeon of the Victory, which is
Quoted almost at length by Mr. Ncwbolt.)
TRAFALGAR
198
4. Tmfalg&n The name is given its correct aecentua-
ion.
11. i Gaditanicm. The Latin name of Cadiz was Gades .
16. they knew not Nelson was there. They were at least in
.oubt. Nelson had taken precautions against the publication
f his forces and his movements.
19. From Ay a monte to Algeziras, &c. In blockading
ladiz, Nelson seized Danish vessels carrying provisions to
ill the small ports between these two places, as they
vere conveyed thence to Cadiz. Aymnonte and Tavira
„re on the south coast, near the frontier of Spain and
Portugal; Algeziras is on the west side of the Bay of
jibraltar.
29. his blindness. Nelson lost the sight of his right eye
bt the siege of Calvi, 1794.
86. England ejects, &c. This famous signal was originally
riven by Nelson with the word ‘ confides ’; but ‘ expects 1
,vas substituted, as the signal was required at once, and
expects ’ was bp the vocabulary, whilst 1 confides * would
rave required spelling out. (See the narrative of Captain
Pasco, acting as Flag-Lieutenant of the Victory, quoted by
\fr. Newbolt, p. 74.)
38. billowy snow. i. e. the smoke from the guns.
40. frowningly smiling. The figure of speech called
Dxymoron.
45. the. Admiral kneeling . Nelson’s prayer, written down
by himself, is quoted by Southey.
46. the loved one. Lady Hamilton, who always urged
Nelson on to his duty.
49. Dongola. The name of two towns (Old and New
Dongola) between the third and fourth cataracts of the
Nile. It is usually pronounced Dongola.
64. Dastardly. * Nelson never placed musketry in his
tops ; he had a strong dislike to the practice ; not merely
because it endangers setting fire to the sails, but also because
it is a murderous sort of warfare, by which individuals may
suffer and a commander now and then be picked off, but
which never can decide the fate of a general engagement/
(Southey.)
88. the triumph darken’d the triumph, i. e. the joy of the
enemy at Nelson’s death clouded the English, rejoicings afi
the victory.
y.p. 75*
194
NOTES
Incident op the French Camp.
For Robert Browning, see note to ‘ The Piecl Piper oi
Hamelin ’.
This poem, which now stands among the Dramatic Lyrics
appeared in Bells and Pomegranates , iii (1842). Ratisbon
(German Regensburg) is an ancient and famous city oi
Bavaria, on the right bank of the Danube. *
In April 1809, the Austrians again took heart after theii
defeat at Austerlitz four years earlier, and came into the field
against Napoleon. A five clays’ struggle, in which Napoleon
displayed masterly tactics, ended in the Austrians taking
refuge under the walls of Ratisbon, whither they were pursued
by the French, who again routed them and stormed the
town, reducing a great part of it to ashes. The incident
related by Browning is historical except that the hero was
a man and not a boy.
7. prone brow. i. e. with head bent down—Napoleon’s
favourite attitude.
11. Lannes. Jean Lannes, Due. de Montebello (b. 1769),
one of Napoleon’s marshals, was killed at the battle oi
Essling a month later.
29. flag-bird. The Napoleonic eagle.
vans. An archaic word for ‘ wings ’ (now used only in
poetry).
The Highwayman.
Alfred Noyes (b. 1880), one of the most spirited of living
English poets. His longest work is Brake (an English epic),
1906. The present poem is taken from Forty Singing
Seamen, 1907.
69. When the road was a gipsy's ribbon, i.e. stood out
brightly against a dark background.
The Charge op the Light Brigade.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-92), by many considered the
greatest English poet of the Victorian period. Apart from
his long poems (In Memoriam, Idylls of the King , &c.) and
his many lyrics, Tennyson wrote a number of vigorous ballads
(e. g. The Revenge ). He became Poet Laureate in 1850;
and a peer in 1884.
The famous but disastrous charge was made during the
battle of Balaclava (October 25, 1854). The Light Brigade
THE LIGHT BRIGADE 195
(consisting of the 5th ancl 11th Hussars and the 17th
Lancers) under Lord Cardigan endeavoured to capture the
Russian guns—mistaking the orders of Lord Raglan as
conveyed by his aide-de-camp, Captain Nolan. Of 673 men,
247 were killed or wounded; and had the French cavalry
not attacked the Russians the whole Brigade would have
b$en lost. On the charge the French General, Bosquet,
made the epigram, which has since become so hackneyed,
6 C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre ’ (‘ It is
magnificent, but it is not war’).
The present Lord Tennyson, in his Memoir , writes that
his father f on December 2 wrote The Charge of the Light
Brigade (published in the Examiner , December 9) in a few
minutes, after reading the description in the Times in which
occurred the phrase “ some one had blundered ”, and this
was the origin of the metre of Ms poem Tennyson (in the
following August) had the poem printed as a leaflet, and
sent 1,000 copies to the Crimean soldiers, amongst whom he
had heard it was very popular. In the Memoir there is
a story of a wounded survivor of the Charge who, whilst
lying in hospital at Scutari, was cured, at least in part, by
the poem ; and Tennyson was proud to know that 4 he had
been taken three times into battle
34. Cossadc. The name of a Turkish people subject to
Russia ; used now especially as light horse in the Russian
army.
A Ballad op John Nicholson.
Henry John Newbolt (b. 1862), formerly a barrister, is
famous for his fine poems, in Admirals All (1897), The
Island Race (1898), Songs of the Sea (1904), &c. The present
poem is taken from Admirals All. His works contain the
spirit of true patriotism.
Jolm Nicholson (1821-57) was one of the most remarkable
officers who have ever served in India. When but a young
man he was actually worshipped by the natives, and
throughout his career he displayed the most astonishing
bravery and vigour. He was already distinguished both as
a soldier (especially in the second Sikli war, 1849), and
as an administrator, when on the outbreak of the Mutiny
he was promoted brigadier-general, and put in command of
the Punjab troops. He reached Delhi on April 14, 1857,
n a
196
NOTES
and after capturing thirteen of the enemy’s guns, fell while
leading the main assault (September 14), and died on
the 23rd.
The incident narrated in the ballad occurred in June
1857, when Nicholson was left in command at Jalandhar (in
the Punjab). The following account is taken from The
Life of John Nicholson , by Captain Lionel Trotter : 1 Before
leaving Jalandhar, Nicholson played a characteristic part in
a curious little drama, of which the future Lord Roberts
was an amused eye-witness. The faithful Rajah of Kapur-
thalla had placed in Jalandhar a body of his own troops, to
protect the station and discharge the duties formerly
reserved for our Sepoys. As commissioner of the province,
Edwardes’s old comrade, Major Edward Lake, desired to
pay a befitting compliment to the Rajah’s officers and
soldiers. At his request Nicholson consented to meet them
at a Durbar [native court or levee] in Lake’s house. Lord
Roberts, who was present as one of Nicholson’s staff, shall
tell us what happened at the close of the ceremony.
‘“ General Mehtab Singh, a near relative of the Rajah,
took his leave, and as the senior in rank at the Durbar was
walking out of the room first, when I observed Nicholson
stalk to the door, put himself in front of Mehtab Singh,
and, waving him back with an authoritative air, prevent
him from leaving the room. The rest of the company then
passed out; and when they had gone Nicholson said to
Lake, 4 Do you see that General Mehtab Singh has his shoes
on ?* Lake replied that he had noticed the fact, but tried
to excuse it. Nicholson, however, speaking in Hindustani,
said, £ There is no possible excuse for such an act of gross
impertinence. Mehtab Singh knows perfectly well that he
would not venture to step on his own father’s carpet, save
barefooted; and he has only committed this breach of
etiquette to-day because he thinks we are not in a position
to resent the insult, and that he can treat us as he would
not have dared to a month ago.’ Mehtab Singh looked
extremely foolish, and stammered out some kind of apology.
But Nicholson was not to be appeased, and continued,
4 If I were the last Englishman left in Jalandhar, you ’
(addressing Mehtab Singh) ‘ should not come into my room
with your shoes on.’ Then politely turning to Lake, he
added, ‘ I hope the commissioner will now allow me to
A. BALLAD OF JOHN NICHOLSON 197
order you to take your shoes off and carry them out in your
own hands, so that your followers may witness your
discomfiture.’
1 “ Mehtab Singh, completely cowed, meekly did as he
was told. Although, in the kindness of his heart, Lake had
at first endeavoured to smooth matters away, he knew the
natives well, and he readily admitted the wisdom of
Nicholson’s action. Indeed, Nicholson’s uncompromising
bearing on this occasion proved a great help to Lake, for
it had the best possible effect on the Kapurthalla people :
their manner at once changed and all disrespect vanished ;
there was no more swaggering about as if they considered
themselves masters of the situation.”—Lord Roberts, Forty -
one Years in India. 7
25. a hundred years. Plassy was won in 1757.
27. fain of. 4 Eager for.’
66, Rajput. A Hindu soldier caste claiming descent from
the Kshatriya (Warrior Caste).
The Pipes at Lucknow.
For J. G. Whittier, see note to 4 Kallunclborg Church
The Mutiny broke out at Lucknow on May 80, 1857,
twenty days after the first outbreak at Meerut, and the siege
of the Residency started on June 30. The garrison of 750
troops held out gallantly against terrible privations, until, on
Sept. 26; they were relieved by Havelock and Outram.
Havelock had come from the relief of Cawnpore (42 miles
south-west of Lucknow). His forces were not, however,
sufficient to drive away the rebels from Lucknow; but he
was able to extend the space held by the British, and he
certainly prevented any such unspeakably horrible massacre
as that which occurred at Cawnpore. Lucknow was finally
relieved by Sir Colin Campbell on November 16; six days
later Havelock died of dysentery.
The story commemorated in the poem is that a Highland
girl, Jessie Brown,, heard from a long distance the bagpipes
of the 78th Highlandei’S (the Ross-shire Buffs) who were with
Havelock’s army. It has been embodied also in the song
Jessie's Dream, by Grace Campbell. Various attempts have
been made to discredit the story, but it appears to be quite
true. The subject is discussed at length in William Forbes-
Miteheli’s Reminiscences of the Great Mutiny , cli. 7. It is
198
NOTES
alluded to slightly in Tennyson's fine poem, The Defence of
Lucknow (which should be read in connexion with this
piece):
‘ Hark cannonade, fusillade 2 is it true what was told by
the scout,
Outran! and Havelock breaking their way through the
fell mutineers ? „
Surely the pibroch of Europe is ringingagain in our ears! ’
Lucknow, the capital of the old kingdom of Oudh, is
situated on the Goomtee, a tributary of the Ganges.
13. pibroch. The clan tunes played on the bagpipes.
The various clans have their own tunes (cf. 1. 46).
17. the Indian tiger .... the jungle-serpent, i.e. the muti¬
nous Sepoys.
The Last Redoubt.
Alfred Austin (1835-1913), became Poet Laureate in 1896,
in succession to Tennyson. His life was uneventful: he was
called to the Bar, but did not practise, and he travelled
extensively. He wrote many books both of prose and verse.
The present poem is taken from Narrative Poems, 1891.
Mebcmet Ali Pasha (who must not be confounded with
his more famous namesake, the Pasha of Egypt from
1805-48) was a French convert to Islam, called originally
Karl Detroit (b. 1827). He was an energetic and successful
general of the Turkish army. During the Russo-Turkish
War of 1877-8 he commanded the main army in Bulgaria,
where (Sept. 3, 1877) he defeated the Russians (under the
Csarevich, afterwards Alexander II I) at Katzelevo on the
Loin (a tributary of the Danube). On Sept. 7, 1878, he was
assassinated in Diakova.
19. Muscovite. An archaic name for Russian.
20. a hourVs breast. The Mohammedan idea of Paradise
includes the society of divinely beautiful nymphs; the
word signifies literally 5 with eyes like a gazelle’s ’.
52. Bismillah. In Allah’s name.
54. the jackal’s scratch. A continual fear in the sandy soil
of deserts. It is possible that pyramids were evolved from
the cairns raised to guard bodies from the jackal.
Ramon.
Francis Bret Jiarte (1839-1902), a prolific and original
writer both of prose and verse. Born in New York State, he
RAMON
199
went in 1854 to California, where lie tried successively
teaching, gold-mining, and journalism. His career as an
author began with sketches of mining life, which are still
amen gtftf his most popular writings. Subsequently he re¬
turned from the West, became a contributor to the Atlantic
Monthly , and later (1880-5) U. S. consul at Glasgow. He
died in London.
Refugio, or Matamoros, near the mouth of the Rio Grande
del Norte (the boundary between Texas and Mexico).
5. pump. Fire-damp and carbonic acid gas are given out
not only in coal-mines but also in many metalliferous mines.
The use of explosives, moreover, tends to diminish the
quantity of oxygen, so that often air-pumps are provided
to draw out the foul # air and drive in fresh.
6. peon. In Mexico, an enslaved debtor; the word has
other meanings in South America.
13. Intendant . Superintendent, manager.
17. pesos. The peso is a silver coin worth about 4s., used
in most South American republics.
Guild’s Signal.
Stonington. A seaside town near the eastern boundary
of Connecticut.
Providence is one of the two capitals of the state of
Rhode Island, and is about 50 miles from Stonington.
ihe4hrotfie-valve regulates the supply of steam from the
boiler to the engine.
12. roundelay. A short simple song, with a refrain.
18. commliters. The American for a season-ticket holder.
A Ballad of East and West.
Rudyard Kipling (b. in Bombay, 1805). Educated at the
United Services College, Westward Ho (he being the 1 Beetle’
of Stalky &,* Co.). After working from 1882-9 as a newspaper
editor in India, he travelled over most parts of the world.
Besides poems and novels he has written short stories which
are universally admired.
This ballad appeared originally in Macmillan's Magazine,
Nov., 1889; the text here given follows the slightly different
version of Barrack-Room Ballads (1892).
The scene is laid in the North Frontier country, in the
Peshawur-Kohat district; of the places mentioned, Fort
£00
NOTES
Bnkloh and the Tongue of Jugat are not to be found iix the
map. The Abami are a tribe, and Bonair is a province, in
that region. Kamal was an actual brigand; but the incident,
though not unlikely, is fictitious.
8. calkins. The turned-down ends of a horseshoe which
raise the horse’s heels from the ground.
9. the Guides, The Queen’s Own Corps of Guides, a famous
troop consisting of both cavalry and infantry. The men are
of the various mountain tribes (Pathans, Sikhs, &c.), and
there are native as well as English officers. Cf. Mr. Newbolt’s
poem, 4 The Guides at Cabul, 1879 % in Admirals All .
11. fiessaldar, A native cavalry officer (ressala being a
troop of horse).
21. dun. A dull greyish-brown colour.
22. with the mouth of a bell. Presumably this means
* hard-mouthed \
the head of the gallon's tree. i. e. with a square head.
26. gut. The narrow part of a defile.
81. dust devils. Whirling dust-clouds.
a stag oj ten . i. e. with ten points to his antlers.
82. a barren doe would be particularly fleet.
83. slugged. ‘ Slog ’ is the usual form of the word.
34. snaffle-bars. A snaffle-bit is jointed in the middle.
50. the broken meats, &c. An Eastern way of saying
4 Consider the consequences
54. byres. Cow-houses.
60. tvolf and, grey wolf. A common poetical figure, mean-
ing simply 4 when one grey wolf meets another’.
62. dam of lances. Warlike mother.
63. I hold by. I follow the customs of.
74. ling. Heather.
80. hold. Stronghold.
89. Quarter-Guard. A small guard mounted in front of
each battalion in a camp, at about eighty paces distant. ^
90. carried Ms feud. i.e. the native soldiers of the Guides
carried on their ancestral feuds with Kamal and his like. *
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11