Then Christabel knelt by the lady's side, And thus the lofty lady spake- Quoth Christabel, So let it be! But through her brain of weal and woe Beneath the lamp the lady bowed, Her silken robe, and inner vest, Yet Geraldine nor speaks nor stirs; And with low voice and doleful look Large tears that leave the lashes bright! Yea, she doth smile, and she doth weep, Beauteous in a wilderness, Who, praying always, prays in sleep. FRANCE: AN ODE* I Ye Clouds! that far above me float and pause, Ye Woods! that listen to the night-bird's singing, III And what," I said, "though Blasphemy's With that sweet music of deliverance strove! wove Midway the smooth and perilous slope re- A dance more wild than e'er was maniac's clined, Save when your own imperious branches swing- Have made a solemn music of the wind! How oft, pursuing fancies holy, My moonlight way o'er flowering weeds I Inspired beyond the guess of folly, dream! 1 Ye storms, that round the dawning east assembled, The Sun2 was rising, though ye hid his light!"' And when to soothe my soul, that hoped and trembled, The dissonance ceased, and all seemed calm and bright; 50 When France her front deep-scarred and gory Concealed with clustering wreaths of glory; When, insupportably advancing, Her arm made mockery of the warrior's "And soon," I said, "shall Wisdom teach her lore When France in wrath her giant-limbs up In the low huts of them that toil and groan; reared, And with that oath which smote air, earth and sea, Stamped her strong foot and said she would be free, • Written in 1798; called forth by the French Invasion of Switzerland. And, conquering by her happiness alone, 61 1 Alluding to the excesses that attended the IV Forgive me, Freedom! O forgive those dreams! streams! Heroes, that for your peaceful country per- And ye, that fleeing, spot your mountain snows cherished 70 One thought that ever blessed your cruel foes! A patriot-race to disinherit HYMN BEFORE SUNRISE IN THE VALE Hast thou a charm to stay the morning-star O dread and silent Mount! I gazed upon thee, Of all that made their stormy wilds so dear; Till thou, still present to the bodily sense, And with inexpiable spirit To taint the bloodless freedom of the mountaineer O France, that mockest Heaven, adulterous, blind, And patriot only in pernicious toils! Are these thy boasts, Champion of human kind? 80 To mix with Kings in the low lust of sway, Yell in the hunt, and share the murderous prey; To insult the shrine of Liberty with spoils From freemen torn; to tempt and to betray? V The Sensual and the Dark rebel in vain, Slaves by their own compulsion! In mad game They burst their manacles and wear the name O struggling with the darkness all the night, Didst breathe thy soul in forms of human And visited all night by troops of stars, power. Alike from all, howe'er they praise thee, 31 Or when they climb the sky or when they sink: The guide of homeless winds, and playmate of Who made thee parent of perpetual streams? the waves! Who gave you your invulnerable life, THE KNIGHT'S TOMB Your strength, your speed, your fury, and your Where is the grave of Sir Arthur O'Kellyn? joy, Unceasing thunder and eternal foam? And who commanded (and the silence came), Where may the grave of that good man be?— Under the twigs of a young birch tree! Ye Ice-falls! ye that from the mountain's And rustled its leaves in the fall of the year, brow Ye living flowers that skirt the eternal frost! Ye wild goats sporting round the eagle's nest! Ye eagles, play-mates of the mountain-storm! Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds! Ye signs and wonders of the element! And whistled and roared in the winter alone, Is gone, and the birch in its stead is grown.- His soul is with the saints, I trust. SONG FROM ZAPOLYA, ACT II, SCENE I A sunny shaft did I behold, From sky to earth it slanted: He sunk, he rose, he twinkled, he trolled And thus he sang: Adieu! adieu! YOUTH AND AGE* Utter forth God, and fill the hills with praise! Verse, a breeze mid blossoms straying, Where Hope clung feeding, like a bee— Thou too, hoar Mount! with thy sky-point- Both were mine! Life went a-maying ing peaks, 70 Oft from whose feet the avalanche, unheard, serene With Nature, Hope, and Poesy, When I was young?-Ah, woeful When! Ah! for the change 'twixt Now and Then! Into the depth of clouds, that veil thy breast-This breathing house not built with hands, Thou too again, stupendous Mountain! thou That as I raise my head, awhile bowed low In adoration, upward from thy base Slow travelling with dim eyes suffused tears, 10 This body that does me grievous wrong, 79 Solemnly seemest, like a vapoury cloud, Flowers are lovely; Love is flower-like; Friendship is a sheltering tree; O! the joys, that came down shower-like, Of Friendship, Love, and Liberty, Ere I was old! Ere I was old? Ah woeful Ere, Which tells me, Youth's no longer here! Dew-drops are the gems of morning, That only serves to make us grieve Yet hath out-stay'd his welcome while, WORK WITHOUT HOPE So boldly he entered the Netherby Hall, Among bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all: Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword, All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their For the poor craven bridegroom said never a Bloom, O ye amaranths! bloom for whom ye may, For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away! word, And now am I come, with this lost love of mine, To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine. There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far, With lips unbrightened, wreathless brow, I That would gladly be bride to the young stroll: Written in 1827; the mournful Ay de mi of a man confronted by age and sickness and looking back over a life of defeated hopes and wasted opportunities. Lochinvar."' 1 Solway Firth, noted for its swift tides. 24 * Compare Katharine Jaffray. p. 79, upon which Scott "in a very slight degree founded" the present ballad. |