Fugitive Pieces | Page 3

the hall of my fathers is gone to decay;?And in yon once gay garden the hemlock and thistle?Have choak'd up the rose, which late bloom'd in the way.
Of the barons of old, who once proudly to battle?Led their vassals from Europe to Palestine's plain;?The escutcheon and shield, which with ev'ry blast rattle, Are the only sad vestiges now that remain.
No more does old Robert, with harp-stringing numbers,?Raise a flame in the breast, for the war laurell'd wreath, Near Askalon's Towers John of Horiston[1] slumbers,?Unnerv'd is the hand of his minstrel by death.
Paul and Hubert too sleep in the valley of Cressy,?For the safety of Edward and ENGLAND they fell,?My fathers! the tears of your country redress ye,?How you fought! how you died! still her annals can tell.
On [2]Marston with Rupert[3] 'gainst traitors contending, Four Brothers enrich'd with their blood the bleak field For Charles the Martyr their country defending,?Till death their attachment to royalty scal'd.
Shades of heroes farewell! your descendant departing,?From the seat of his ancestors, bids ye adieu!?Abroad, or at home, your remembrance imparting?New courage, he'll think upon glory, and you.
Though a tear dims his eye at this sad separation,?'Tis nature, not fear, which commands his regret;?Far distant he goes with the same emulation,?In the grave, he alone can his fathers forget.
Your fame, and your memory, still will he cherish,?He vows that he ne'er will disgrace your renown;?Like you will he live, or like you will he perish,?When decay'd, may he mingle his dust with your own.
1803.
[Footnote 1: Horiston Castle, in Derbyshire, an ancient seat of the B--r--n family.]
[Footnote 2: The battle of Marston Moor, where the adherents of CHARLES I. were defeated.]
[Footnote 3: Son of the Elector Palatine, and related to CHARLES I. He afterwards commanded the Fleet, in the Reign of CHARLES II.]

TO E----.
Let Folly smile, to view the names?Of thee and me in friendship twin'd,?Yet virtue will have greater claims?To love, than rank with vice combin'd.
And though unequal is thy fate,?Since title deck'd my higher birth;?Yet envy not this gaudy state,?Thine is the pride of modest worth.
Our souls at least congenial meet,?Nor can thy_ lot _my rank disgrace;?Our intercourse is not less sweet,?Since worth of rank supplies the place.
November, 1802.

ON THE DEATH OF A YOUNG LADY, COUSIN TO THE AUTHOR AND VERY DEAR TO HIM.

Hush'd are the winds, and still the evening gloom,?Not e'en a zephyr wanders through the grove,?Whilst I return to view my Margaret's tomb,?And scatter flowers on the dust I love.
2.
Within this narrow cell reclines her clay,?That clay where once such animation beam'd;?The king of terrors seiz'd her as his prey,?Not worth, nor beauty, have her life redeem'd.
3.
Oh! could that king of terrors pity feel,?Or Heaven reverse the dread decree of fate,?Not here the mourner would his grief reveal,?Not here the muse her virtues would relate.
4.
But wherefore weep! her matchless spirit soars,?Beyond where aplendid shines the orb of day.?And weeping angels lead her to those bowers,?Where endless pleasures virtuous deeds repay.
5.
And shall presumptuous mortals Heaven arraign!?And madly God-like Providence accuse!?Ah! no far fly from me attempts so vain,?I'll ne'er submission to my God refuse.
6.
Yet is remembrance of those virtues dear,?Yet fresh the memory of that beauteous face;?Still they call forth my warm affection's tear.?Such sorrow brings me honour, not disgrace.[4]
1802.
[Footnote 4: The Author claims the indulgence of the reader, more for this piece, than, perhaps, any other in the collection; but as it was written at an earlier period than the rest, (being composed at the age of 14) and his first Essay, be preferred submitting it to the indulgence of his friends in its present state, to making either addition or alteration.]

TO D. ----
In thee, I fondly hop'd to clasp,?A friend whom death alone could sever,?But envy with malignant grasp,?Has torn thee from my breast for ever.
2.
True, she has forc'd thee from my breast,?But in my heart thou keep'st thy seat;?There, there, thine image still must rest,?Until that heart shall cease to beat.
3.
And when the grave restores her dead,?When life again to dust is given,?On thy dear breast I'll lay my head,?Without thee_! _where_ would be _my Heaven?
February, 1803.

TO ----
Think'st thou I saw thy beauteous eyes,?Suffus'd in tears implore to stay;?And heard unmov'd, thy plenteous sighs,?Which said far more than words could say.
Though deep the grief, thy tears exprest,?When love, and hope, lay both o'erthrown,?Yet still, my girl, this bleeding breast,?Throbb'd with deep sorrow, as thine own.
But when our cheeks with anguish glow'd,?When thy sweet lips where join'd to mine;?The tears that from my eye-lids flow'd,?Were lost in those which fell from thine.
Thou could'st not feel my burning cheek,?Thy gushing tears had quench'd its flame,?And as thy tongue essay'd to speak,?In sighs alone it breath'd my name.
And yet, my girl, we weep in vain,?In vain our fate in sighs deplore;?Remembrance only can remain,?But that, will make us weep the more.
Again, thou best