The veil of silver mist it shook,
And to De Vaux's eager look
Renew'd that wond'rous view,
For, though the loitering vapour braved The gentle breeze, yet oft it waved
Its mantle's dewy fold; And, still, when shook that filmy screen, Were towers and bastions dimly seen, And Gothic battlements between
Their gloomy length unroll'd. Speed, speed, De Vaux, ere on thine eye Once more the fleeting vision die!
-The gallant knight can speed As prompt and light as, when the hound Is opening, and the horn is wound,
Careers the hunter's steed.
Down the steep dell his course amain
Hath rivall'd archer's shaft;
But ere the mound he could attain,
The rocks their shapeless form regain,
And mocking loud his labour vain,
The mountain spirits laugh'd.
Far the echoing dell was borne Their wild unearthly shout of scorn.
Backward his stately form he drew,
And at the rocks the weapon threw,
Just where one crag's projected crest
Hung proudly balanced o'er the rest.
Hurl'd with main force, the weapon's shock
Rent a huge fragment of the rock :
If by mere strength 't were hard to tell,
Or if the blow dissolved some spell,
But down the headlong ruin came,
With cloud of dust and flash of flame.
Down bank, o'er bush, its course was borne,
Crush'd lay the copse, the earth was torn,
Till, staid at length, the ruin dread
Cumber'd the torrent's rocky bed,
And bade the waters' high-swoll'n tide
Seek other passage for its pride.
When ceased that thunder, Triermain
Survey'd the mound's rude front again;
And lo! the ruin had laid bare,
Hewn in the stone, a winding stair,
Whose moss'd and fractured steps might lend
The means the summit to ascend;
And by whose aid the brave De Vaux
Began to scale those magic rocks,
And soon a platform wou,
Where, the wild witchery to close,
Within three lances' length arose
The Castle of St John!
No misty phantom of the air,
No meteor-blazon'd show was there;
In morning splendour, full and fair,
The massive fortress shone.
Embattled high and proudly tower'd,
Shaded by pond'rous flankers, lower'd
The portal's gloomy way.
Though for six hundred years and more,
Its strength had brook'd the tempest's roar,
The scutcheon'd emblems that it bore
Had suffer'd no decay;
But from the eastern battlement
A turret had made sheer descent,
And down in recent ruin rent,
In the mid torrent lay.
Else, o'er the castle's brow sublime,
Insults of violence or of time
Unfelt had pass'd away.
In shapeless characters of yore,
The gate this stern inscription bore:
Patience waits the destined day,
Strength can clear the cumber'd way,
Warrior, who hast waited long,
Firm of soul, of sinews strong,
It is given to thee to gaze
On the pile of ancient days.
Never mortal builder's hand
This enduring fabric plann'd;
Sign and sigil, word of power,
From the earth raised keep and tower.
View it o'er, and pace it round,
Rampart, turret, battled mound.
Dare no more! to cross the gate
Were to tamper with thy fate;
Strength and fortitude were vain!
View it o'er-and turn again.-
« That would I,» said the warrior bold,
« If that ray frame were bent and old,
And my thin blood dropp'd slow and cold
As icicle in thaw;
But while my heart can feel it dance
Blithe as the sparkling wine of France,
And this good arm wields sword or lance,
I mock these words of awe!»
He said; the wicket felt the sway
Of his strong hand, and straight gave way,
And with rude crash and jarring bray,
The rusty bolts withdraw;
But o'er the threshold as he strode,
And forward took the vaulted road,
An unseen arm with force amain
The ponderous gate flung close again,
And rusted bolt and bar
Spontaneous took their place once more,
While the deep arch with sullen roar
Return'd their surly jar.
«Now closed is the gin, and the prey within, By the rood of Lanercost!
But he that would win the war-wolf's skin
May rue him of his boast.»Thus muttering, on the warrior went, By dubious light down steep descent.
Unbarr'd, unlock'd, unwatch'd, a port Led to the castle's outer court:
There the main fortress, broad and tall, Spread its long range of bower and hall,
And towers of varied size, Wrought with each ornament extreme, That Gothic art, in wildest dream.
Of fancy, could devise.
But full between the warrior's way
And the main portal-arch, there lay
An inner moat;
Nor bridge nor boat
Affords De Vaux the means to cross
The clear, profound, and silent fosse.
His arms aside in haste he flings,
Cuirass of steel and hauberk rings,
And down falls helm and down the shield,
Rough with the dints of many a field.
Fair was his manly form, and fair
His keen dark eye, and close-curl'd hair,
When,-all unarm'd, save that the brand
Of well-proved metal graced his hand,
With nought to fence his dauntless breast
But the close gipon's under-vest,
Whose sullied buff the sable stains
Of hauberk and of mail retains,-
Roland De Vaux upon the brim
Of the broad moat stood prompt to swim.
Accoutred thus he dared the tide,
And soon he reach'd the farther side,
And enter'd soon the hold,
And paced a hall, whose walls so wide
Were blazon'd all with feats of pride,
By warriors done of old.
In middle lists they counter'd here,
While trumpets seem'd to blow;
And there, in den or desert drear,
They quell'd gigantic foe,
Braved the fierce griffon in bis ire,
Or faced the dragon's breath of fire.
Strange in their arms, and strange in face,
Heroes they seem'd of ancient race,
Whose deeds of arms, and race,
Forgotten long by later fame,
Were here depicted to appal
Those of an age degenerate,
Whose bold intrusion braved their fate,
In this enchanted hall.
For some short space the venturous knight
With these high marvels fed his sight;
Then sought the chamber's upper end,
Where three broad easy steps ascend
To an arch'd portal door,
In whose broad-folding leaves of state
Was framed a wicket window-grate;
And, ere he ventured more,
A sort of doublet, worn beneath the armour.
Was but of gossamer.
Each maiden's short barbaric vest
Left all unclosed the knee and breast,
And limbs of shapely jet;
White was their vest and turban's fold,
On arms and ancles rings of gold
In savage pomp were set;
A quiver on their shoulders lay
And in their hand an assagay.
Such and so silent stood they there,
That Roland well nigh hoped
He saw a band of statues rare,
Station'd the gazer's soul to scare;
But, when the wicket oped,
Each grisly beast 'gan upward draw,
Roll'd his grim eye, and spread his claw,
Scented the air, and lick'd his jaw!
While these weird maids, in Moorish tongue,
A wild and dismal warning sung.
«Rash adventurer, bear thee back! Dread the spell of Dahomay!
Fear the race of Zaharak,
Daughters of the burning day!
« When the whirlwind's gusts are wheeling, Ours it is the dance to braid; Zarah's sands, in pillars reeling,
Join the measure that we tread; When the moon hath don'd her cloak,
And the stars are red to see, Shrill when pipes the sad siroc, Music meet for such as we.
« Where the shatter'd columns lie, Showing Carthage once had been, If the wandering santon's eye
Our mysterious rites hath seen,Oft he cons the prayer of death, To the nations preaches doom, 'Azrael's brand hath left the sheath! Moslems think upon the tomb!'—
« Ours the scorpion, ours the snake, Ours the hydra of the fen, Ours the tiger of the brake,
All that plagues the sons of men. Ours the tempest's midnight wrack, Pestilence that wastes by day
Dread the race of Zabarak!
Fear the spell of Dahomay!»-
Uncouth and strange the accents shrill
Rung those vaulted roofs among;
Long it was ere, faint and still,
Died the far-resounding song.
While yet the distant echoes roll,
The warrior communed with his soul.
« When first I took this venturous quest, I swore upon the rood,
Neither to stop, nor turn, nor rest,
For il or for good.
My forward path, too well I ween,
Lies yonder fearful ranks between;
For man unarm'd, 't is bootless hope
With tigers and with fiends to cope-
Yet, if I turn, what waits me there,
Save famine dire and fell despair?-
Other conclusion let me try,
Since, chuse howe'er I list, I die.
Forward, lies faith and knightly fame;
Behind, are perjury and shame.
In life or death I hold iny word.»-
With that he drew his trusty sword,
Caught down a banner from the wall,
And enter'd thus the fearful hall.
On high each wayward maiden threw
Her swarthy arm, with wild halloo!
On either side a tiger sprung-
Against the leftward foe he flung
The ready banner, to engage
With tangling folds the brutal rage;
The right-hand monster in mid air
He struck so fiercely and so fair,
Through gullet and through spinal bone
The trenchant blade hath sheerly gone.
flis grisly brethren ramp'd and yell'd,
But the slight leash their rage withheld,
Whilst, 'twixt their ranks, the dangerous road
Firmly, though swift, the champion strode.
Safe to the gallery's bound he drew,
Safe pass'd an open portal through;
And when 'gainst followers he flung
The gate, judge if the echoes rung!
Onward his daring course he bore,
While, mix'd with dying growl and roar,
Wild jubilee and loud burra
Pursued him on his venturous way.
« Hurra, hurra! Our watch is done! We hail once more the tropic sun. Pallid beams of northern day, Farewell, farewell! Hurra, hurra!
« Five hundred years o'er this cold glen
Bath the pale sun come round agen;
Foot of man, till now, hath ne'er
Dared to cross the Hall of Fear.
« Warrior! thou, whose dauntless heart Gives us from our ward to part,
Be as strong in future trial, Where resistance is denial.
«Now for Afric's glowing sky, Zwenga wide and Atlas high, Zaharak and Dahomay!—
Mount the winds! Hurra, hurra!»>
The wizard song at distance died
As if in ether borne astray,
While through waste halls and chambers wide
The knight pursued his steady way,
Till to a lofty dome he came,
That flash'd with such a brilliant flame,
As if the wealth of all the world
Were there in rich confusion hurl'd,
For here the gold, in sandy heaps,
With duller earth incorporate sleeps;
Was there in ingots piled, and there
Coin'd badge of empery it bare:
Yonder huge bars of silver lay,
Dimm'd by the diamond's neighbouring ray,
Like the pale moon in morning day;
And in the midst four maidens stand,
The daughters of some distant land.
Their hue was of the dark-red dye
That fringes oft a thunder sky,
Their hands palmetto baskets bare,
And cotton fillets bound their hair;
Slim was their form, their mien was shy,
To earth they bent the humbled eye,
Folded their arms, and suppliant kneel'd,
And thus their proffer'd gifts reveal'd.
« See the treasures Merlin piled,
Portion meet for Arthur's child.
Bathe in Wealth's unbounded stream,
Wealth that Avarice ne'er could dream!»
«See these clots of virgin gold! Sever'd from the sparry mould, Nature's mystic alchemy
In the mine thus bade them lie; And their orient smile can win Kings to stoop, and saints to sin.»—
«See these pearls that long have slept; These were tears by Naiads wept
For the loss of Marinel.
Tritons in the silver shell
Treasured them, till hard and white
As the teeth of Amphitrite.»-
« Does a livelier hue delight?
Here are rubies blazing bright,
Here the emerald's fairy green,
And the topaz glows between;
Here their varied hues unite
In the changeful chrysolite.»-
«Leave these gems of poorer shine,
Leave them all, and look on mine!
While their glories I expand,
Shade thine eye-brows with thy hand.
Mid-day sun and diamond's blaze
Blind the rash beholder's gaze.»>—
« Warrior, seize the splendid store:
Would 't were all our mountains bore!
We should ne'er in future story,
Read, Peru, thy perish'd glory!»-
Calmly and unconcern'd the knight
Waved aside the treasures bright:
« Gentle maidens, rise, I pray!
Bar not thus
my destined way.
Let these boasted brilliant toys
Braid the hair of girls and boys!
Bid your streams of gold expand
O'er proud London's thirsty land.
De Vaux of wealth saw never need,
Save to purvey him arms and steed,
And all the ore he deign'd to hoard
Inlays his helm, and hilts his sword.»>—
Thus gently parting from their hold,
He left, unmoved, the dome of gold.
And now the morning sun was high,
De Vaux was weary, faint, and dry;
When lo! a plashing sound he hears,
A gladsome signal that he nears
Some frolic water-run;
And soon he reach'd a court-yard square,
Where dancing in the sultry air,
Toss'd high aloft, a fountain fair
Was sparkling in the sun.
On right and left a fair arcade
In long perspective view display'd
Alleys and bowers, for sun or shade;
But full in front, a door,
Low-brow'd and dark, seem'd as it led
To the lone dwelling of the dead,
Whose memory was no more.
Here stopp'd de Vaux an instant's space,
To bathe his parched lips and face,
And mark'd with well-pleased eye,
Refracted on the fountain stream,
In rainbow hues, the dazzling beam
Of that gay summer sky.
His senses felt a mild control,
Like that which lulls the weary soul,
From contemplation high
Relaxing, when the ear receives
The music that the green-wood leaves
Make to the breeze's sigh.
And oft in such a dreamy mood,
The half-shut eye can frame
Fair apparitions in the wood,
As if the nymphs of field and flood
Stay, then, gentle warrior, stay,
Rest till evening steal on day;
Stay, O stay!- -in yonder bowers
We will braid thy locks with flowers,
Spread the feast and fill the wine,
Charm thy ear with sounds divine,
Weave our dances, till delight
Yield to languor, day to night.
« Then shall she you most approve,
Sing the lays that best you love,
Soft thy mossy couch shall spread,
Watch thy pillow, prop thy head,
Till the weary night be o'er-
Gentle warrior, wouldst thou more?
Wouldst thou more, fair warrior,-she
Is slave to Love and slave to thee.»-
O do not hold it for a crime
In the bold hero of my rhyme, For stoic look,
And meet rebuke,
He lack'd the heart or time;
As round the band of sirens trip,
Hle kiss'd one damsel's laughing lip,
And press'd another's proffer'd hand,
Spoke to them all in accents bland,
But broke their magic circle through;
«Kind maids,» he said, « adieu, adieu!
My fate, my fortune, forward lies.»--
He said, and vanish'd from their eyes;
But, as he dared that darksome way,
Still heard behind their lovely lay:
« Fair Flower of Courtesy, depart!
Go, where the feelings of the heart
With the warm pulse in concord move:
Go, where Virtue sanctions Love!-»
Downward De Vaux through darksome ways And ruin'd vaults has gone,
Till issue from their wilder'd maze,
Or safe retreat, seem'd none; And e'en the dismal path he strays Grew worse as he went on.
For cheerful sun, for living air,
Foul
rise and mine-fires glare,
Whose fearful light the dangers show'd
That dogg'd him on that dreadful road.
Deep pits, and lakes of waters dun,
They show'd, but show'd not how to shun.
These scenes of desolate despair,
These smothering clouds of poison'd air,
How gladly had De Vaux exchanged!
Though 't were to face yon tigers ranged!
Nay, soothful bards have said,
So perilous his state seem'd now,
He wish'd him under arbour bough
With Asia's willing maid.
When, joyful sound! at distance near
A trumpet flourish'd loud and clear,
And, as it ceased, a lofty lay
Seem'd thus to chide his lagging way.
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