These the last accents Hugo spoke : THE PRISONER OF CHILLON. The Prisoner of Chillon is a sweet and touching poem. Chillon is a ruined castle on the lake of Geneva in Switzerland, in the dungeon of which three gallant brothers were confined, each chained to a separate pillar, till, after years of anguish, the two younger died, and were buried under the cold floor of the prison. The eldest was at length liberated, when worn out with age and misery-and is supposed, in his joyless liberty, to tell, in this poem, the sad story of his imprisonment. The annexed verses describe the sympathy of the unhappy brothers, the peculiar loveliness of the youngest, and the bitterness of sorrow with which the survivor deplored the fate of this "blooming Benjamin of the family." "We could not move a single pace, But even these at length grew cold. * I was the eldest of the three, And to uphold and cheer the rest To see such bird in such a nest; 11 Oh God! it is a fearful thing But these were horrors-This was wo So tearless, yet so tender-kind, And grieved for those he left behind; A little talk of better days, More slowly drawn, grew less and less: I called, and thought I heard a sound- I only lived-I only drew The accursed breath of dungeon dew." TURKEY. Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle Know ye the land of the cedar and vine, Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine; Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppressed with perfume; Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gul* in her bloom; Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit, And the voice of the nightingale never is mute: Where the tints of the earth, and the hues of the sky, In colour though varied, in beauty may vie, And the purple of ocean is deepest in dye; Where the virgins are soft as the roses they twine, 'Tis the clime of the east; 'tis the land of the Sun Can he smile on such deeds as his children have done? Oh! wild as the accents of lover's farewell Are the hearts which they bear, and the tales which they tell., Gul.-The rose. VISION OF BELSHAZZAR. The king was on his throne, In Judah deemed divine- The godless heathen's wine! In that same hour and hall, And wrote as if on sand: Along the letters ran, And traced them like a wand, The monarch saw, and shook, Chaldea's seers are good, But here they have no skill; Are wise and deep in lore; But now they were not sage, They saw-but knew no more, A captive in the land, A stranger and a youth, "Belshazzar's grave is made, Is light and worthless clay. The Mede is at his gate! The Persian on his throne !" In the fifth chapter of the prophecy of Daniel, the feast of Belshazzar, and the end of the Babylonian empire, which terminated in him, are recorded; but there is a vividness in Lord Byron's imitation of that passage which gives new power to the original. BATTLE OF WATERLOO. To comprehend the verses which the following facts are designed to illustrate, it is necessary they should be known. The verses relate especially to the memorable battle of Waterloo-a battle which put an end to the military career of Napoleon Bonaparte, and gave peace to Europe. Bonaparte was a native of the island of Corsica, and, in his early life, an officer of engineers in the French service his military talents at length raised him to the chief command of the French armies. Bonaparte subjected all the civil affairs of France to military power, caused himself to be declared First Consul, and afterwards Emperor of France, and King of Italy. He did not limit his ambition to the government of France and Italy, but actually conquered Switzerland, Holland, and the greater part of Germany. He united the Netherlands to France, made one of his brothers king of Holland, another of Naples, a third of Westphalia, and bestowed upon princes of Germany the titles of Kings of Bavaria, Saxony, and Wirtemburgh. He invited the King of Spain to visit him, made him a prisoner, and in 1808 placed his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain. Bonaparte's insatiable thirst of dominion prompted him in 1812 to invade Russia at the head of 500,000 troops; but the severity of a Russian winter, and the defensive power of the Russians, gave the first check to his conquering spirit. In this campaign 100,000 men of the French army were made prisoners, and 200,000 perished by cold, famine, and the sword. |