Howe'er we gaze with admiration
On eyes
of blue, or lips carnation;
Howe'er the flowing locks attract us,
Howe'er those beauties may distract us,
Still fickle, we are prone to rove,
These cannot fix our souls to love;
It is not too severe a stricture
Το say they form a pretty picture.
But wouldst thou see the secret chain
Which binds us in your humble train,
To hail you queens of all creation,-
Know, in a word, 't is ANIMATION.

OSCAR OF ALVA.'

A TALE.

How sweetly shines, through azure skies, The lamp of heaven on Lora's shore, Where Alva's hoary turrets rise,

And hear the din of arms no more.

But often has yon rolling moon

On Alva's casques of silver play'd, And view'd, at midnight's silent noon, Her chiefs in gleaming mail array'd. And on the crimson'd rocks beneath, Which scowl o'er ocean's sullen flow, Pale in the scatter'd ranks of death,

She saw the gasping warrior low.
While many an eye, which ne'er again
Could mark the rising orb of day,
Turn'd feebly from the gory plain,
Beheld in death her fading ray.

Once, to those eyes the lamp of Love,
They blest her dear propitious light:
But now, she glimmer'd from above,
A sad funereal torch of night.

Faded is Alva's noble race,

And grey her towers are seen afar; No more her heroes urge the chase, Or roll the crimson tide of war.

But who was last of Alva's clan?

Why grows the moss on Alva's stone?
Her towers resound no steps of man,
They echo to the gale alone.

And, when that gale is fierce and high,
A sound is heard in yonder hall,
It rises hoarsely through the sky,

And vibrates o'er the mouldering wall. Yes, when the eddying tempest sighs,

It shakes the shield of Oscar brave; But there no more his banners rise,

No more his plumes of sable wave.

Fair shone the sun on Oscar's birth,

When Angus hail'd his eldest born; The vassals round their chieftain's hearth, Crowd to applaud the happy morn.

The catastrophe of this tale was suggested by the story of Jeronymo and Lorenzo, in the first volume of The Armenian, or Ghost-Seer. It also bears some resemblance to a scene in the third act of Macbeth..

They feast upon the mountain deer,
The Pibroch raised its piercing note;
To gladden more their Highland cheer,
The strains in martial numbers float.
And they who heard the war-notes wild,

Hoped that, one day, the Pibroch's strain
Should play before the Hero's child,
While he should lead the Tartan train.
Another year is quickly past,

And Angus hails another son;
His natal day is like the last,

Nor soon the jocund feast was done.
Taught by their sire to bend the bow,
On Alva's dusky hills of wind,
The boys in childhood chased the roe,

And left their hounds in speed behind.
But, ere their years of youth are o'er,
They mingle in the ranks of war;
They lightly wield the bright claymore,
And send the whistling arrow far.
Dark was the flow of Oscar's hair,

Wildly it stream'd along the gale;
But Allan's locks were bright and fair,
And pensive seem'd his cheek, and pale.
But Oscar own'd a hero's soul,

His dark eye shone through beams of truth; Allan had early learn'd controul,

And smooth his words had been from youth. Both, both were brave; the Saxon spear,

Was shiver'd oft beneath their steel; And Oscar's bosom scorn'd to fear,

But Oscar's bosom knew to feel.

While Allan's soul belied his form,

Unworthy with such charms to dwell; Keen as the lightning of the storm,

On foes his deadly vengeance fell.

From high Southannon's distant tower
Arrived a young and noble dame;
With Kenneth's lands to form her dower,
Glenalvon's blue-eyed daughter came :
And Oscar claim'd the beauteous bride,
And Angus on his Oscar smiled;
It soothed the father's feudal pride,
Thus to obtain Glenalvon's child.
Hark! to the Pibroch's pleasing note,
Hark! to the swelling nuptial song;
In joyous strains the voices float,

And still the choral peal prolong.
See how the heroes' blood-red plumes,
Assembled wave in Alva's hall;
Each youth his varied plaid assumes,
Attending on their chieftain's call.

It is not war their aid demands,

The Pibroch plays the song of peace; To Oscar's nuptials throng the bands, Nor yet the sounds of pleasure cease. But where is Oscar? sure 't is late: Is this a bridegroom's ardent flame? While througing guests and ladies wait, Nor Oscar nor his brother came.

At length young Allan join'd the bride,

Why comes not Oscar?» Angus said; «Is he not here?» the youth replied,

With me he roved not o'er the glade. «Perchance, forgetful of the day,

Tis his to chase the bounding roe;
Or Ocean's waves prolong his stay,
Yet Oscar's bark is seldom slow.»
Oh! no!» the anguish'd sire rejoin'd,
Nor chase nor wave my boy delay;
Would he to Mora seem unkind?

Would aught to her impede his way?
Oh! search, ye chiefs! oh, search around!
Allan, with these through Alva fly,
Till Oscar, till my son is found,

Haste, haste, nor dare attempt reply.»>
All is confusion-through the vale
The name of Oscar hoarsely rings,
It rises on the murmuring gale,

Till night expands her dusky wings.

It breaks the stillness of the night,

But echoes through her shades in vain; It sounds through morning's misty light, But Oscar comes not o'er the plain. Three days, three sleepless nights, the chief For Oscar search'd each mountain cave; Then hope is lost in boundless grief,

His locks in grey torn ringlets wave.
« Oscar! my Son!-Thou God of heaven!
Restore the prop of sinking age;
Or, if that hope no more is given,
Yield his assassin to my rage.

«Yes, on some desert rocky shore,

My Oscar's whiten'd bones must lie; Then, grant, thou God! I ask no more, With him his frantic sire may die. Yet, he may live-away despair;

Be calm, my soul! he yet may live; Tarraign my fate, my voice forbear;

O God my impious prayer forgive.

@ What, if he live for me no more,
I sink forgotten in the dust,
The hope of Alva's age is o'er;

Alas! can pangs like these be just?»>
Thus did the hapless parent mourn,

Till Time, who soothes severest woe, Had bade serenity return,

And made the tear-drop cease to flow. For still some latent hope survived,

That Oscar might once more appear; His hope now droop'd, and now revived, Till Time had told a tedious year. Days roll'd along, the orb of light Again had run his destined race; No Oscar bless'd his father's sight, And sorrow left a fainter trace. For youthful Allan still remain'd, And, now, his father's only joy: And Mora's heart was quickly gain'd, For beauty crown'd the fair-hair'd boy.

She thought that Oscar low was laid,
And Allan's face was wondrous fair,
If Oscar lived, some other maid

Had claim'd his faithless bosom's care.
And Angus said, if one year more
In fruitless hope was pass'd away,
His fondest scruple should be o'er,
And he would name their nuptial day.
Slow roll'd the moons, but blest at last,

Arrived the dearly destined morn;
The year of anxious trembling past,

What smiles the lover's cheeks adorn!
Hark to the Pibroch's pleasing note!
Hark to the swelling nuptial song!
In joyous strains the voices float,
And still the choral peal prolong.
Again the clan, in festive crowd,

Throng through the gate of Alva's hall;
The sounds of mirth re-echo loud,
And all their former joy recal.

But who is he, whose darken'd brow
Glooms in the midst of general mirth!
Before his eye's far fiercer glow

The blue flames curdle o'er the hearth.
Dark is the robe which wraps his form,
And tall his plume of gory red;
His voice is like the rising storm,
But light and trackless is his tread.

"T is noon of night, the pledge goes round, The bridegroom's health is deeply quaft; With shouts the vaulted roofs resound,

And all combine to hail the draught.

Sudden the stranger chief arose,

And all the clamorous crowd are hush'd; And Angus cheek with wonder glows, And Mora's tender bosom blush'd.

« Old man!» he cried, « this pledge is done, Thou saw'st 't was duly drunk by me, It hail'd the nuptials of thy son;

Now will I claim a pledge from thee.

« While all around is mirth and joy,
To bless thy Allan's happy lot;
Say, hadst thou ne'er another boy?
Say, why should Oscar be forgot?»

« Alas!» the hapless sire replied,

The big tear starting as he spoke; « When Oscar left my hall, or died, This aged heart was almost broke.

Thrice has the earth revolved her course, Since Oscar's form has blest my sight; And Allan is my last resource,

Since martial Oscar's death or flight.»

«T is well,» replied the stranger stern,

And fiercely flash'd his rolling eye;

« Thy Oscar's fate I fain would learn; Perhaps the hero did not die.

«Perchance if those whom most he loved, Would call, thy Oscar might return;

Perchance the chief has only roved,
For him thy Beltane' yet may burn.
« Fill high the bowl, the table round,

We will not claim the pledge by stealth,
With wine let every cup be crown'd,
Pledge me departed Oscar's health,»
« With all my soul,» old Angus said,
And fill'd his goblet to the brim;
«Here's to my boy! alive or dead,
I ue'er shall find a son like him.»

<< Bravely, old man, this health has sped,
But why does Allan trembling stand?
Come, drink remembrance of the dead,
And raise thy cup with firmer hand.»
The crimson glow of Allan's face

Was turn'd at once to ghastly hue;
The drops of death each other chase,
Adown in agonizing dew.

Thrice did he raise the goblet high,

And thrice his lips refused to taste;
For thrice he caught the stranger's eye,
On his with deadly fury placed.

« And is it thus a brother hails

A brother's fond remembrance here?
If thus affection's strength prevails,

What might we not expect from fear?»
Roused by the sneer, he raised the bowl;

Would Oscar now could share our mirth!»
Internal fear appall'd his soul,

He said, and dash'd the cup to earth.
«T is he! I hear my murderer's voice.»
Loud shrieks a darkly gleaming Form;
« A murderer's voice!» the roof replies,
And deeply swells the bursting storm.
The tapers wink, the chieftains shrink,

The stranger's gone, amidst the crew
A Form was seen, in tartan green,
And tall the shade terrific grew.
His waist was bound with a broad belt round,
His plume of sable stream'd on high;

But his breast was bare, with the red wounds there,
And fix'd was the glare of his glassy eye.

And thrice he smiled, with his eye so wild,

On Angus, bending low the knee;

And thrice he frown'd on a Chief on the ground,
Whom shivering crowds with horror see.

The bolts loud roll, from pole to pole,

The thunders through the welkin ring;

And the gleaming Form, through the mist of the storm,
Was borne on high by the whirlwind's wing.

Cold was the feast, the revel ceased;
Who lies upon the stony floor?

Oblivion prest old Angus' breast,

At length his life-pulse throbs once more.

«Away, away, let the leech essay

Το pour the light on Allan's eyes;»
His sand is done,-his race is run,

Oh! never more shall Allan rise! Beltane-Tree-A Highland festival, on the 1st of May, held near fires lighted for the occasion.

But Oscar's breast is cold as clay,
His locks are lifted by the gale,
And Allan's barbed arrow lay,

With him in dark Glentanar's vale.
And whence the dreadful stranger came,

Or who, no mortal wight can tell; But no one doubts the Form of Flame, For Alva's sons knew Oscar well. Ambition nerved young Allan's hand,

Exulting demons wing'd his dart, While Envy waved her burning brand, And pour'd her venom round his heart. Swift is the shaft from Allan's bow: Whose streaming life-blood stains his side? Dark Oscar's sable crest is low,

The dart has drunk his vital tide. And Mora's eye could Allan move,

She bade his wounded pride rebel: Alas! that eyes, which beam'd with love, Should urge the soul to deeds of Hell.

Lo! see'st thou not a lonely tomb,

Which rises o'er a warrior dead!
It glimmers through the twilight gloom;
Oh! that is Allan's nuptial bed.
Far, distant far, the noble grave,

Which held his clan's great ashes, stood;
And o'er his corse no banners wave,

For they were stain'd with kindred blood. What minstrel grey, what hoary bard,

Shall Allan's deeds on harp-strings raise? The song is glory's chief reward,

But who can strike a murderer's praise? Unstrung, untouch'd, the harp must stand, No minstrel dare the theme awake; Guilt would benumb his palsied hand,

His harp in shuddering chords would break. No lyre of fame, no hallow'd verse, Shall sound his glories high in air, A dying father's bitter curse,

A brother's death-groan echoes there.

TO THE DUKE OF D.

In looking over my papers, to select a few additional Poems for the second edition, I found the following lines, which I had totally for,,otten, composed in the summer of 1805, a short time previous to my departure from H—. They were addressed to a young school-fellow of high rank, who had leen my frequent companion in some rambles through the neighbouring country; however be never saw the lines, and most probably never will. As, on a reperusal. I found them not worse than some other pieces in the collection, I bave now published them, for the first time, after a sli,,ht revision.

D-R-T! whose early steps with mine have stray'd,
Exploring every path of Ida's glade,

Whom, still, affection taught me to defend,

And made me less a tyrant than a friend;
Though the harsh custom of our youthful band
Bade thee obey, and gave me to command

At every public school, the junior Loys are completely subservient to the upper forms, till they attain a seat in the higher classes. From this state of prol ation, very properly, no rank is exempt; but after a certain period, they command, in turn, those who succeed.

Thee, on whose head a few short years will shower
The gift of riches, and the pride of power;
Even now a name illustrious is thine own,
Renown'd in rank, not far beneath the throne.
Yet, D—r—t, let not this seduce thy soul,
To shun fair science, or evade control;
Though passive tutors,' fearful to dispraise
The titled child, whose future breath may raise,
View ducal errors with indulgent eyes,
And wink at faults they tremble to chastise.
When youthful parasites, who bend the knee
To wealth, their golden idol,—not to thee!
And, even in simple boyhood's opening dawn,
Some slaves are found to flatter and to fawn:
When these declare that pomp alone should wait
On one by birth predestined to be great;

That books were only meant for drudging fools;
That a gallant spirits scorn the common rules;»
Believe them not,-they point the path to shame,
And seek to blast the honours of thy name:
Turn to the few, in Ida's early throng,
Whose souls disdain not to condemn the wrong;
Or if, amidst the comrades of thy youth,
None dare to raise the sterner voice of truth,
Ask thine own heart! 't will bid thee, boy, forbear,
For well I know that virtue lingers there.

Yes! I have mark'd thee many a passing day,
But now new scenes invite me far away;
Yes! I have mark'd within that generous mind,
A soul, if well matured, to bless mankind:
Ah though myself, by nature, haughty, wild,
Whom Indiscretion hail'd her favourite child,
Though every error stamps me for her own,
And dooms my fall, I fain would fall alone.
Though my proud heart no precept now can tame.
i love the virtues which I cannot claim.

Tis not enough, with other Sons of power,
To gleam the lambent meteor of an hour,
To swell some peerage page in feeble pride,
With long-drawn names, that grace no page beside;
Then share with titled crowds the common lot,
In life just gazed at, in the grave forgot;
While nought divides thee from the vulgar dead,
Except the dull cold stone that hides thy head,
The mouldering scutcheon, or the herald's roll,
That well emblazon'd, but neglected scroll,
Where Lords, unhonour'd, in the tomb may find
One spot to leave a worthless name behind:-
There sleep, unnoticed as the gloomy vaults
That veil their dust, their follies, and their faults;
A race with old armorial lists o'erspread,
In records destined never to be read.
Fain would I view thee, with prophetic eyes,
Exalted more among the good and wise;
A glorious and a long career pursue,
As first in Rank, the first in Talent too;
Spurn every vice, each little meanness shun,
Not Fortune's minion, but her noblest son.

Turn to the annals of a former day,—
Bright are the deeds thine earlier Sires display;
One, though a Courtier, liv'd a man of worth,
And call'd, proud boast! the British Drama forth.'
Another view! not less renown'd for Wit,
Alike for courts, and camps, or senates fit;
Bold in the field, and favour'd by the Nine,
In every splendid part ordain'd to shine;
Far, far distinguish'd from the glittering throng,
The pride of Princes, and the boast of Song,*
Such were thy Fathers, thus preserve their name,
Not heir to titles only, but to Fame.

The hour draws nigh, a few brief days will close,
To me, this little scene of joys and woes;
Each knell of Time now warns me to resign
Shades, where Hope, Peace, and Friendship, all were
mine;

Hope, that could vary like the rainbow's hue,
And gild their pinions as the moments flew;
Peace, that reflection never frown'd away,
By dreams of ill to cloud some future day;
Friendship whose truth let childhood only tell —
Alas! they love not long who love so well.
To these adieu! nor let me linger o'er
Scenes hail'd, as exiles hail their native shore,
Receding slowly through the dark blue deep,
Beheld by eyes that mourn, yet cannot weep.
D-r-t! farewell! I will not ask one part
Of sad remembrance in so young a heart;
The coming morrow from thy youthful mind
Will sweep my name, nor leave a trace behind.
And yet, perhaps, in some maturer year,
Since chance has thrown us in the self-same sphere,
Since the same senate, nay, the same debate,
May one day claim our suffrage for the state,
We hence may meet, and pass each other by
With faint regard, or cold and distant eye
For me, in future, neither friend nor foe,
A stranger to thyself, thy weal or woe;
With thee no more again I hope to trace
The recollection of our early race;

No more, as once, in social hours, rejoice,
Or hear, unless in crowds, thy well-known voice.
Still, if the wishes of a heart untaught

To veil those feelings which, perchance, it ought;
If these, but let me cease the lengthen'd strain,
Oh! if these wishes are not breathed in vain,
The Guardian Seraph, who directs thy fate,
Will leave thee glorious, as he found thee great.

Thomas S-k-lle, Lord B-k-st, created Earl of D- by James the First, was one of the carliest and brightest ornaments to the poetry of his country, and the first who produced a regular drama.-ANDERSON's British Poets.

Charles S-k-lle, Earl of D-, esteemed the most accomplished man of his day, was alike distinguished in the voluptuous court of Charles II, and the gloomy one of William III. He behaved with great gallantry in the sea-fight with the Dutch, in 1665, on the day previous to which he composed his celebrated song. His character has been drawn in the highest colours, by Dryden, Pope, Prior, and Congreve. Vide ANDERSON's British Poets

TRANSLATIONS

AND

IMITATIONS.

ADRIAN'S ADDRESS TO HIS SOUL, WHEN

DYING.

ANIMULA! vagula, blandula, Hospes, comesque, corporis, Quæ nunc abibis in loca? Pallidula, rigida, nudula,

Nec, ut soles, dabis jocos.

TRANSLATION.

Au! gentle, fleeting, wavering Sprite, Friend and associate of this clay!

To what unknown region borne, Wilt thou now wing thy distant flight? No more, with wonted humour gay, But pallid, cheerless, and forlorn.

TRANSLATION FROM CATULLUS.

TRANSLATION FROM CATULLUS.

" LUCTUS DE MORTE PASSERIS.»

YE Cupids, droop each little head,
Nor let your wings with joy be spread;
My Lesbia's favourite bird is dead,
Whom dearer than her eyes she loved;
For he was gentle, and so true,
Obedient to her call he flew,
No fear, no wild alarm he knew,
But lightly o'er her bosom moved :
And softly fluttering here and there,
He never sought to cleave the air;
But chirrup'd oft, and free from care,

Tuned to her ear his grateful strain.
Now having past the gloomy bourne,
From whence he never can return,
Ilis death, and Lesbia's grief, I mourn,

Who sighs, alas! but sighs in vain.
Oh! curst be thou, devouring grave!
Whose jaws eternal victims crave,
From whom no earthly power can save,

For thou hast ta'en the bird away: From thee my Lesbia's eyes o'erflow, Her swollen cheeks with weeping glow, Thou art the cause of all her woe, Receptacle of life's decay.

IMITATED FROM CATULLUS.

« AD LESBIAM."

EQUAL to Jove that youth must be,
Greater than Jove he seems to me,
Who, free from Jealousy's alarms,
Securely views thy matchless charms;
That cheek, which ever dimpling glows,
That mouth from whence such music flows,
To him alike are always known,
Reserved for him, and him alone.
Ah! Lesbia! though 't is death to me,
I cannot chuse but look on thee;
But, at the sight, my senses fly;

I needs must gaze, but gazing die;
Whilst trembling with a thousand fears,
Parch'd to the throat, my tongue adheres,
My pulse beats quick, my breath heaves short,
My limbs deny their slight support;
Cold dews my pallid face o'erspread,
With deadly languor droops my head,
My ears with tingling echoes ring,
And life itself is on the wing;
My eyes refuse the cheering light,
Their orbs are veil'd in starless night:
Such pangs my nature sinks beneath,
And feels a temporary death.

TRANSLATION

OF THE EPITAPH ON VIRGIL AND TIBULLUS.

BY DOMITIUS MARSUS.

HE who, sublime, in Epic numbers roll'd,
And he who struck the softer lyre of love,
By death's unequal hand' alike controll'd,
Fit comrades in Elysian regions move.

The hand of Death is said to be unjust, or unequal, as Virgil was considerably older than Tibullus at his decease.