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But if revolves thy fainter thought
On safety-howsoever bought,

Then turn thy fearful rein and ride,

Though twice ten thousand men have died

On this eventful day,

To gild the military fame,

Which thou, for life, in traffic tame
Wilt barter thus away.

Shall future ages tell this tale

Of inconsistence faint and frail?
And art thou He of Lodi's bridge,
Marengo's field, and Wagram's ridge!
Or is thy soul like mountain-tide,

That, swell'd by winter storm and shower,
Rolls down in turbulence of power

A torrent fierce and wide;
'Reft of these aids, a rill obscure,
Shrinking unnoticed, mean and poor,
Whose channel shows display'd
The wrecks of its impetuous course,
But not one symptom of the force
By which these wrecks were made!

XV.
Spur on thy way?-since now thine ear
Has brook'd thy veterans' wish to hear,
Who, as thy flight they eyed,
Exclaim'd-while tears of anguish came,
Wrung forth by pride and rage and shame,--
«Oh that he had but died!»>

But yet, to sum this hour of ill,
Look, ere thou leavest the fatal hill,

Back on yon broken ranks-
Upon whose wild confusion gleams
The moon, as on the troubled streams
When rivers break their banks,

And, to the ruin'd peasant's eye,
Objects half seen roll swiftly by,

Down the dread current hurl'd-
So mingle banner, wain, and gun,
Where the tumultuous flight rolls on
Of warriors, who, when morn begun,
Defied a banded world.

XVI.
List-frequent to the hurrying rout,
The stern pursuers' vengeful shout
Tells, that upon their broken rear
Rages the Prussian's bloody spear.
So fell a shriek was none,
When Beresina's icy flood

Redden'd and thaw'd with flame and blood,
And, pressing on thy desperate way,
Raised oft and long their wild hurra,

The children of the Don.
Thine ear no yell of horror cleft
So ominous, when, all bereft
Of aid, the valiant Polack left-
Ay, left by thee-found soldier's grave
In Leipsic's corse-encumber'd wave.
Fate, in these various perils past,
Reserved thee still some future cast:-
On the dread die thou now hast thrown
Hangs not a single field alone,
Nor one campaign-thy martial fame,
Thy empire, dynasty, and name,
Have felt the final stroke;
And now, o'er thy devoted head
The last stern vial's wrath is shed,
The last dread seal is broke.
XVII.

Since live thou wilt-refuse not now
Before these demagogues to bow,
Late objects of thy scorn and hate,
Who shall thy once imperial fate
Make wordy theme of vain debate.—
Or shall we say, thou stoop'st less low
In seeking refuge from the foe,
Against whose heart, in prosperous life,
Thine hand bath ever held the knife?-
Such homage hath been paid

By Roman and by Grecian voice,
And there were honour in the choice,

If it were freely made.
Then safely come-in one so low,-
So lost, we cannot own a foe;
Though dear experience bid us end,
In thee we ne'er can hail a friend.-
Come howsoe'er, but do not hide
Close in thy heart that germ of pride,
Erewhile by gifted bard espied,

That << yet imperial hope »

(

Think not that for a fresh rebound,
To raise ambition from the ground,
We yield thee means or scope.
In safety come-but ne'er again
Hold type of independent reign;
No islet calls thee lord,

We leave thee no confederate band,
No symbol of thy lost command,
To be a dagger in the hand

From which we wrench'd the sword.

N

XVIII.

Yet, e'en in yon sequester'd spot,
May worthier conquest be thy lot
Than

yet thy life has known; Conquest, unbought by blood or harm, That needs not foreign aid nor arm,

A triumph all thine own.

Such waits thee when thou shalt control Those passions wild, that stubborn soul, That marr'd thy prosperous scene:Hear this-from no unmoved heart, Which sighs, comparing what THOU ART With what thou MIGHT'ST HAVE BEEN!

XIX.

Thou, too, whose deeds of fame renew'd
Bankrupt a nation's gratitude.

To thine own noble heart must owe
More than the meed she can bestow.
For not a people's just acclaim,
Not the full hail of Europe's fame,
Thy prince's smiles, thy state's decree,
The ducal rank, the garter'd knee,
Not these such pure delight afford,
As that, when, hanging up thy sword,
Well mayst thou think, «This honest steel
Was ever drawn for public weal;
And, such was rightful Heaven's decree,
Ne'er sheathed unless with victory!»

XX.

Look forth, once more, with soften'd heart,
Ere from the field of fame we part;
Triumph and Sorrow border near,
And Joy oft melts into a tear.
Alas! what links of love that morn
Has War's rude hand asunder torn!
For ne'er was field so sternly fought,
And ne'er was conquest dearer bought.
Here piled in common slaughter sleep
Those whom affection long shall weep;
Here rests the sire, that ne'er shall strain

His orphans to his heart again;

The son,
The parent's voice shall bless no more;
The bridegroom, who has hardly press'd
His blushing consort to his breast;

,whom, on his native shore,

The husband, whom through many a year
Long love and mutual faith endear.
Thou canst not name one tender tie
But here dissolved its relics lie!

O, when thou seest some mourner's veil
Shroud her thin form and visage pale,
Or mark'st the matron's bursting tears
Stream when the stricken drum she hears;
Or seest how manlier grief, suppress'd,
Is labouring in a father's breast,-
With no enquiry vain pursue
The cause, but think on Waterloo!

XXI.

Period of honour as of woes,

What bright careers 't was thine to close!-
Mark'd on thy roll of blood what names
To Britain's memory, and to Fame's,
Laid there their last immortal claims!

Thou saw'st in seas of gore expire

Redoubted PICTON'S Soul of fireSaw'st in the mingled carnage lie All that of PONSONBY could die

DE LANCY change Love's bridal-wreath
For laurels from the hand of Death-
Saw'st gallant MILLER'S failing eye
Still bent where Albion's banners fly,
And CAMERON, in the shock of steel,
Die like the offspring of Lochiel;
And generous GORDON, 'mid the strife,
Fall while he watch'd his leader's life.-
Ah! though her guardian angel's shield
Fenced Britain's hero through the field,
Fate not the less her power made known
Through his friends' hearts to pierce his own!

XXII.

Forgive, brave dead, the imperfect lay;
Who may your names, your number, say,
What high-strung harp, what lofty line,
To each the dear-earn'd praise assign,"
From high-born chiefs of martial fame
To the poor soldier's lowlier name?
Lightly ye rose that dawning day,
From your cold couch of swamp and clay,
To fill, before the sun was low,
The bed that morning cannot know.-
Oft may the tear the green sod steep,
And sacred be the heroes' sleep,

Till time shall cease to run;
And ne'er beside their noble grave
May Briton pass, and fail to crave
A blessing on the fallen brave,
Who fought with Wellington.

XXIII.

Farewell, sad Field! whose blighted face
Wears desolation's withering trace;
Long shall my memory retain
Thy shatter'd huts and trampled grain,
With every mark of martial wrong,
That scathe thy towers, fair Hougoumont!
"Yet though thy garden's green arcade
The marksman's fatal post was made,
Though on thy shatter'd beeches fell
The blended rage of shot and shell,
Though from thy blacken'd portals torn,
Their fall thy blighted fruit-trees mourn,
Has not such havoc bought a name
Immortal in the rolls of fame?
Yes-Agincourt may be forgot,
And Cressy be an unknown spot,

And Blenheim's name be new;
But still in story and in song,
For many an age remember'd long,
Shall live the towers of Hougoumont,
And field of Waterloo.

CONCLUSION.

STERN tide of human Time! that know'st not rest, But, sweeping from the cradle to the tomb, Bear'st ever downward on thy dusky breast Successive generations to their doom;

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Now, Island Empress, wave thy crest on high,

And bid the banner of thy patron flow, Gallant Saint George, the flower of chivalry! For thou hast faced, like him, a dragon foe, And rescued innocence from overthrow,

And trampled down, like him, tyrannic might,
And to the gazing world mayst proudly show
The chosen emblem of thy sainted knight,
Who quell'd devouring pride, and vindicated right.

Yet 'mid the confidence of just renown,
Renown dear-bought, but dearest thus acquired,
Write, Britain, write the moral lesson down;

'T is not alone the heart with valour fired, The discipline so dreaded and admired,

In many a field of bloody conquest known; -Such may by fame be lured-by gold be hired"T is constancy in the good cause alone, Best justifies the meed thy valiant sous have won.

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grain as he can cut at one sweep with a short scythe. ¦ which he holds in his right hand. They carry on this double process with great spirit and dexterity.

Note 2. Stanza ix.

Pale Brussels! then what thoughts were thine.

It was affirmed by the prisoners of war, that Bonaparte had promised his army, in case of victory, twenty-four hours' plunder of the city of Brussels. Note 3. Stanza x.

Confront the battery's jaws of flame!

Rush on the levell'd gun!»

be

The characteristic obstinacy of Napoleon was nev↑ more fully displayed than in what we may permitt to hope will prove the last of his fields. He would listes to no advice, and allow of no obstacles. An eye-w ness has given the following account of his demeanor towards the end of the action:

<< It was near, seven o'clock; Bonaparte, who, t then, had remained upon the ridge of the hill whence de * could best behold what passed, contemplated, with stern countenance, the scene of this horrible slaught The more that obstacles seemed to multiply, the ave his obstinacy seemed to increase. He became inte nant at these unforeseen difficulties; and, far fr fearing to push to extremities an army whose confide in him was boundless, he ceased not to pour fresh troops, and to give orders to march forward-t charge with the bayonet-to carry by storm. He vas repeatedly informed, from different points, that the day went against him, and that the troops seemed to be disordered; to which he only replied,- En avant en

avant!

« One general sent to inform the emperor that re was in a position which he could not maintain, best it was commanded by a battery, and requested to ku at the same time, in what way he should protect division from the murderous fire of the English ar lery. Let him storm the battery,' replied Bonaparte and turned his back on the aide-de-camp who brouși. the message.»-Relation de la bataille du Mont Sai Jean, par un Témoin Oculaire: Paris, 1815, oe P. 51.

Note 4. Stanza x.

The fate their leader shunn'd to share.

It has been reported that Bonaparte charged a head of his guards at the last period of this drea conflict. This, however, is not accurate. He ca down, indeed, to a hollow part of the high-road leat to Charleroi, within less than a quarter of a mil the farm of La Haye Sainte, one of the points Ea fiercely disputed. Here he harangued the guards, informed them that his preceding operations had stroyed the British infantry and cavalry, and tha had only to support the fire of the artillery, which to were to attack with the bayonet.-This exhortationTM received with shouts of Vive l'Empereur, which wer heard over all our line, and led to an idea that Na leon was charging in person. But the guards were on by Ney; nor did Bonaparte approach nearer i scene of action than the spot already mentioned, vi the rising banks on each side rendered secure fram such balls as did not come in a straight line. He nessed the earlier part of the battle from places, ¡ more remote, particularly from an observatory va

had been placed there by the king of the Netherlands, some weeks before, for the purpose of surveying the country. It is not meant to infer from these particulars that Napoleon showed, on that memorable occasion, the least deficiency in personal courage; on the contrary, he evinced the greatest composure and presence of mind during the whole action. But it is no less true that report has erred in ascribing to him any desperate efforts of valour for recovery of the battle; and it is remarkable, that during the whole carnage, none of his suite were either killed or wounded, whereas scarcely one of the Duke of Wellington's personal attendants escaped unhurt.

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cavalry mingling with those of the enemy, to « a thousand tinkers at work mending pots and kettles.» Note 7. Stanza xiii.

Or will thy chosen brook to feel

The British shock of levell'd steel.

No persuasion or authority could prevail upon the French troops to stand the shock of the bayonet. The imperial guards, in particular, hardly stood still till the British were within thirty yards of them, although the French author, already quoted, has put into their mouths the magnanimous sentiment, « the guards never yield— they die. The same author has covered the plateau, or eminence of St-Jean, which formed the British position, with redoubts and entrenchments which never had an existence. As the narrative, which is in many respects curious, was written by an eye-witness, he was probably deceived by the appearance of a road and ditch which runs along part of the hill. It may be also mentioned, in criticising this work, that the writer states the Château of Hougoumont to have been carried by the French, although it was resolutely and successfully defended during the whole action. The enemy, indeed, possessed themselves of the 'wood by which it is surrounded, and at length set fire to the house itself; but the British (a detachment of the guards, under the command of Colonel Macdonnell, and afterwards of Colonel Home) made good the garden, and thus preserved, by their desperate resistance, the post which covered the return of the Duke of Wellington's right flank.

Halidon Hill;

A DRAMATIC SKETCH FROM SCOTTISH HISTORY.

Knights, squires, and steeds, shall enter on the stage.

Essay on Criticism.

TO JOANNA BAILLIE,

"AT WHOSE INSTANCE THE TASK WAS UNDERTAKEN,

These Scenes are Inscribed,

AS A SLIGHT TESTIMONY OF THE AUTHOR'S HIGH RESPECT FOR HER TALENTS, AS WELL AS OF HIS SINCERE AND FAITHFUL FRIENDSHIP..

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ADVERTISEMENT.

THOUGH the public seldom takes much interest in such communications (nor is there any reason why they should), the author takes the liberty of stating, that these scenes were commenced with the purpose of con tributing to a miscellany projected by a much esteemed friend. But instead of being confined to a scene or two as intended, the work gradually swelled to the size of an independent publication. It is designed to illustrate military antiquities, and the manners of chivalry. The Drama (if it can be termed one) is in no particular either designed or calculated for the stage; so that in case any attempt shall be made to produce it in action (as has happened in similar cases), the author takes

the present opportunity to intimate, that it shall be solely at the peril of those who make such an experi

ment.

The subject is to be found in Scottish history; but not to overload so slight a publication with antiquarian research, or quotations from obscure chronicles, may be sufficiently illustrated by the following passage from PINKERTON'S History of Scotland, vol. I, p. 71.

<< The Governor (anno 1402) dispatched a considerable force, under Murdac, his eldest son; the Earls of Angus and Moray also joined Douglas, who entered England with an army of ten thousand men, carrying terror and devastation to the walls of Newcastle.

«<llenry IV. was now engaged in the Welch war against Owen Glendour; but the Earl of Northumberland, and his son, the Hotspur Percy, with the Earl of

March, collected a numerous array and awaited the re-reason, for who would again venture to introduce upon
turn of the Scots, impeded with spoil, near Milfield, in the scene the celebrated Hotspur, who commanded the
the north part of Northumberland. Douglas had reach-English at the former battle? There are, however, se-
ed Wooler, in his return, and, perceiving the enemy, veral coincidences which may reconcile even the severer
seized a strong post between the two armies, called antiquary to the substitution of Halidon Hill for Blo-
Homildon-hill. In this method he rivalled his prede- mildon. A Scottish army was defeated by the English
cessor at the battle of Otterburn, but not with like on both occasions, and under nearly the same circum-
success. The English advanced to the assault, and stances of address on the part of the victors, and mis-
Henry Percy was about to lead them up the hill, when management on that of the vanquished, for the Enghsa
March caught his bridle, and advised him to advance long-bow decided the day in both cases. In both cases
no farther, but to pour the dreadful shower of English also, a Gordon was left on the field of battle; and x
arrows into the enemy. This advice was followed with Halidon, as at Homildon, the Scots were commanded
the usual fortune; for in all ages the bow was the Eng-by an ill-fated representative of the great house of
lish weapon of victory, and though the Scots, and per-Douglas. He of Ilomildon was surnamed Tine-man,
haps the French, were superior in the use of the spear, i. e. Lose-man, from his repeated defeats and miscar-
yet this weapon was useless after the distant bow had riages, and with all the personal valour of his race.
decided the combat. Robert the Great, sensible of this seems to have enjoyed so small a portion of their sa- ¦
at the battle of Bannockburn, ordered a prepared de-gacity, as to be unable to learn military experience
tachment of cavalry to rush among the English archers
at the commencement, totally to disperse them, and
stop the deadly effusion. But Douglas now used no
such precaution; and the consequence was, that his
people, drawn up on the face of the hill, presented one
general mark to the enemy, none of whose arrows de-
scended in vain. The Scots fell without fight, and
unrevenged, till a spirited knight, Swinton, exclaimed
aloud, 'O my brave countrymen! what fascination has

seized
you to-day, that you stand like deer to be shot,
instead of indulging your ancient courage, and meeting
your enemies hand to hand? Let those who will descend
with me, that we may gain victory, or life, or fall like
men. This being heard by Adam Gordon, between
whom and Swinton there existed an ancient deadly
feud, attended with the mutual s'aughter of many fol-
lowers, he instantly fell on his knees before Swinton,
begged his pardon, and desired to be dubbed a knight
by him whom he must now regard as the wisest and
the boldest of that order in Britain. The ceremony
performed, Swinton and Gordon descended the frill,
accompanied only by one hundred men; and a despe-
rate valour led the whole body to death. Had a simi-
lar spirit been shown by the Scottish army, it is
pro-
bable that the event of the day would have been dif-
ferent. Douglas, who was certainly deficient in the
most important qualities of a general, seeing his army
begin to disperse, at length attempted to descend the
hill; but the English archers, retiring a little, sent a
flight of arrows so sharp and strong, that no armour
could withstand; and the Scottish leader himself, whose
panoply was of remarkable temper, fell under five
wounds, though not mortal. The English men-of-arms,
knights, or squires, did not strike one blow, but re-
mained spectators of the rout, which was now com
plete. Great numbers of Scots were slain, and near
five hundred perished in the river Tweed upon their
flight. Among the illustrious were Douglas, whose
chief wound deprived him of an eye; Murdac; son of
Albany; the Earls of Moray and Angus; and about four
gentlemen of eminent rank and power. The chief
slain were, Swinton, Gordon, Livingston of Calender,
Ramsay of Dalhousie, Walter Sinclair, Roger Gordon,
Walter Scott, and others. Such was the issue of the
unfortunate battle of Homildon.>>

It may be proper to observe, that the scene of action has, in the following pages, been transferred from Homildon to Halidon Hill. For this there was an obvious

from reiterated calamity. I am far, however, from intimating, that the traits of imbecility and envy, attributed to the Regent in the following sketch, are to be historically ascribed either to the elder Douglas of Halidon Hill, or to him called Tine-man, who seems to have enjoyed the respect of his countrymen, notwithstanding that, like the celebrated Anne de Montme rency, he was either defeated, or wounded, or made prisoner in every battle which he fought. The Reg of the sketch is a character purely imaginary.

The tradition of the Swinton family, which still sur vives in a lineal descent, and to which the author has the honour to be related, avers, that the Swinton who fell at Homildon, in the manner narrated in the preceding extract, had slain Gordon's father; which seems sufficient ground for adopting that circumstance indo the following Dramatic Sketch, though it is rendered improbable by other authorities.

If any reader will take the trouble of looking a Froissart, Fordun, or other historians of the period, be will find, that the character of the Lord of Swinto for strength, courage, and conduct, is by no means eaggerated.

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.

SCOTTISH.

THE REGENT OF SCOTLAND.

GORDON,

SWINTON,
LENNOX,

SUTHERLAND,

Ross,
MAXWELL,

JOHNSTONE,

LINDESAY.

Scottish Chiefs and Nobles.

ADAM DE VIPONT, a Knight Templar.
THE PRIOR OF MAISON-DIEU.
REYNALD, Swinton's Squire.

HOB HATTELY, a Border Moss-Trooper.
Heralds.

KING EDWARD III.
CHANDOS,
-PERCY,
RIBAUMONT.

}

ENGLISH.

English and Norman Nebies,

THE ABBOT OF WALTHAMSTOW.

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