But if revolves thy fainter thought 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 Shall future ages tell this tale Of inconsistence faint and frail? That, swell'd by winter storm and shower, A torrent fierce and wide; XV. But yet, to sum this hour of ill, Back on yon broken ranks- And, to the ruin'd peasant's eye, Down the dread current hurl'd- XVI. Redden'd and thaw'd with flame and blood, The children of the Don. Since live thou wilt-refuse not now By Roman and by Grecian voice, If it were freely made. That << yet imperial hope » ( Think not that for a fresh rebound, We leave thee no confederate band, From which we wrench'd the sword. N XVIII. Yet, e'en in yon sequester'd spot, 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 To thine own noble heart must owe XX. Look forth, once more, with soften'd heart, His orphans to his heart again; The son, ,whom, on his native shore, The husband, whom through many a year O, when thou seest some mourner's veil XXI. Period of honour as of woes, What bright careers 't was thine to close!- 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 XXII. Forgive, brave dead, the imperfect lay; Till time shall cease to run; XXIII. Farewell, sad Field! whose blighted face And Blenheim's name be new; 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; 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, Yet 'mid the confidence of just renown, '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. 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. 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.. 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 seized 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, SUTHERLAND, Ross, JOHNSTONE, LINDESAY. Scottish Chiefs and Nobles. ADAM DE VIPONT, a Knight Templar. HOB HATTELY, a Border Moss-Trooper. KING EDWARD III. } ENGLISH. English and Norman Nebies, THE ABBOT OF WALTHAMSTOW. |