I charge my name with power to conjure up And kiss these words, where I have left a kiss- cording to the computation of M. Bourrit, between Mont Blanc and the frontiers of the Tyrol. The full effect of the most lofty and picturesque of them can, of course, only be produced by the richest and warmest light of the atmosphere; and the very heat which illuminates them must have a changing influence on many of their appearances. I imagine it is owing to this circumstance, namely, the casualty and changeableness of the appearance of some of the glaciers, that the impressions made by them on the minds of other and more transient travellers have been less enchanting than those described by M. Bourrit. On one occasion M. Bourrit seems even to speak of a past phenomenon, and certainly one which no other spectator attests in the same terms, when he says, that there once existed between the Kandel Steig and Lauterbrun, "a passage amidst singular glaciers, sometimes resembling magical towns of ice, with pilasters, pyramids, columns, and obelisks, reflecting to the sun the most brilliant hues of the finest gems." --M. Bourrit's description of the Glacier of the Rhone is quite enchanting:-"To form an idea," he says, "of this superb spectacle, figure in your mind a scaffolding of transparent ice, filling a space of two miles, rising to the clouds, and darting flashes of light like the sun. Nor were the several parts less magnificent and surprising. One might see, as it were, the streets and buildings of a city, erected in the form of an amphitheatre, and embellished with pieces of water, cascades, and torrents. The effects were as prodigious as the immensity and the height: such the most beautiful azure-the most splendid whitethe regular appearance of a thousand pyramids of ice, are more easy to be imagined than described."BOURRIT, iii, 163. Words that will solace him while life endures: woe, As if her spirit watch'd him still below. NOTES. Note 1, page 26, col. 1. Note 2, page 26, col. 1. From heights browsed by the bounding bouquetin. Laborde, in his "Tableau de la Suisse," gives a curious account of this animal, the wild sharp cry and elastic movements of which must heighten the picturesque appearance of its haunts.-"Nature," That gave the glacier tops their richest glow. says Laborde, " has destined it to mountains covered THE sight of the glaciers of Switzerland, I am told, with snow: if it is not exposed to keen cold, it behas often disappointed travellers who had perused comes blind. Its agility in leaping much surpasses the accounts of their splendor and sublimity given that of the chamois, and would appear incredible to by Bourrit and other describers of Swiss scenery. those who have not seen it. There is not a mounPossibly Bourrit, who had spent his life in an en-tain so high or steep to which it will not trust itself, amoured familiarity with the beauties of Nature in provided it has room to place its feet; it can scramble Switzerland, may have leaned to the romantic side along the highest wall, if its surface be rugged." of description. One can pardon a man for a sort of idolatry of those imposing objects of Nature which heighten our ideas of the bounty of Nature or Providence, when we reflect that the glaciers--those seas of ice are not only sublime, but useful: they are the inexhaustible reservoirs which supply the principal rivers of Europe; and their annual melting is in proportion to the summer heat which dries up those rivers and makes them need that supply. That the picturesque grandeur of the glaciers should sometimes disappoint the traveller, will not seem surprising to any one who has been much in a mountainous country, and recollects that the beauty of Nature in such countries is not only variable, but capriciously dependent on the weather and sunshine. There are about four hundred different glaciers,' ac 1Occupying, if taken together, a surface of 130 square leagues. Note 3, page 26, col. 1. Enamell'd möss. The moss of Switzerland, as well as that of the Tyrol, is remarkable for a bright smoothness approaching to the appearance of enamel. Note 4, page 27, col. 2. How dear seem'd ev'n the waste and wild Schreck-horn. The Schreck-horn means, in German, the Peak of Terror. Miscellaneous Poems. O'CONNOR'S CHILD; OR, THE "FLOWER OF LOVE LIES BLEEDING." I. OH! once the harp of Innisfail' Was strung full high to notes of gladness; But yet it often told a tale Of more prevailing sadness. Sad was the note, and wild its fall, Say, why should dwell in place so wild, II. Sweet lady! she no more inspires Green Erin's hearts with beauty's power, Yet why, though fall'n her brother's kerne,2 III. And, fix'd on empty space, why burn Her eyes with momentary wildness; And wherefore do they then return To more than woman's mildness? Dishevell'd are her raven locks; On Connocht Moran's name she calls; And oft amidst the lonely rocks She sings sweet madrigals. Placed in the foxglove and the moss, Behold a parted warrior's cross! That is the spot where, evermore, The lady, at her shieling3 door, Enjoys that, in communion sweet, The living and the dead can meet ; For, lo! to lovelorn fantasy, The hero of her heart is nigh. 1 Innisfail, the ancient name of Ireland. 2 Kerne, the plural of Kern, an Irish foot-soldier. In this sense the word is used by Shakspeare. Gainsford, in his Glorys of England, says, "They (the Irish) are desperate in revenge, and their kerne think no man dead until his head be off." 3 Shieling, a rude cabin or hut. IV. Bright as the bow that spans the storm, Of Connocht Moran's tomb possess'd, "O'Connor's child, I was the bud Still, as I clasp my burning brain, 1 Yellow, dyed from saffron, was the favorite color of the an cient Irish. When the Irish chieftains came to make terms with Queen Elizabeth's lord-lieutenant, we are told by Sir John Davis, that they came to court in saffron-colored uniforms. 2 Morat, a drink made of the juice of mulberry mixed with honey. 3 The pride of the Irish in ancestry was so great, that one of the O'Neals being told that Barrett of Castletone had been there only 400 years, he replied.-that he hated the clown as if he had come there but yesterday. Tara was the place of assemblage and feasting of the petty princes of Ireland. Very splendid and fabulous descriptions are Witness their Eath's victorious brand,' "Ah, brothers! what did it avail, given by the Irish historians of the pomp and luxury of those Col. Vallancey gives a translation of an old Irish fragment, found in Trinity-college, Dublin, in which the palace of the above assembly is thus described as it existed in the reign of Cormac : "In the reign of Cormac, the palace of Tara was nine hundred feet square; the diameter of the surrounding rath, seven dice or casts of a dart; it contained one hundred and fifty apartthents; one hundred and fifty dormitories, or sleeping-rooms for guards, and sixty men in each: the height was twenty-seven cubits; there were one hundred and fifty common drinkingboms, twelve doors, and one thousand guests daily, besides princes, orators, men of science, engravers of gold and silver, carvers, modelers, and nobles. The Irish description of the banqueting-hall is thus translated: twelve stalls or divisions in each wing; sixteen attendants on each side, and two to each table; one hundred guests in all." 1 Vide infra. What though the lords of tower and dome VIII. "At bleating of the wild watch-fold, IX. "And fast and far, before the star Of day-spring, rush'd we through the glade, X. "When all was hush'd, at even-tide the month of Beal's fire, in the original language of Ireland, and hence I believe the name of the Beltan festival in the Highlands. These fires were lighted on the summits of mountains (the Irish antiquaries say) in honor of the sun; and are supposed, by those conjecturing gentlemen, to prove the origin of the Irish from some nation who worshipped Baal or Belus. Many hills in Ireland still retain the name of Cnoc Greine, i. e. the hill of the sun; and on all are to be seen the ruins of druidical altars. 2 The house of O'Connor had a right to boast of their victories over the English. It was a chief of the O'Connor race who gave a check to the English champion, De Courcy, so famous for his personal strength, and for cleaving a helmet at one blow 1 The clarshech, or harp, the principal musical instrument of of his sword, in the presence of the kings of France and England, when the French champion declined the combat with the Hibernian bards, does not appear to be of Irish origin, nor inhim. Though ultimately conquered by the English under De digenous to any of the British islands. The Britons undoubtedly Bourgo, the O'Connors had also humbled the pride of that were not acquainted with it during the residence of the Romans name on a memorable occasion: viz. when Walter De Bourgo, in their country, as on all their coins, on which musical instruan ancestor of that De Bourgo who won the battle of Athun-ments are represented, we see only the Ronan lyre, and not the British teylin, or harp. ree, had become so insolent as to make excessive demands upon 2 Bawn, from the Teutonic Bawen-to construct and secure the territories of Connaught, and to bid defiance to all the rights and properties reserved by the Irish chiefs, Aeth O'Connor, a with branches of trees, was so called because the primitive near descendant of the famous Cathal, surnamed of the bloody Celtic fortification was made by digging a ditch, throwing up a hand, rose against the usurper, and defeated the English so se rampart, and on the latter fixing stakes, which were interlaced with boughs of trees. This word is used by Spenser; but it is verely, that their general died of chagrin after the battle. 3 The month of May is to this day called Mi Beal tiennie, i. e. inaccurately called by Mr. Todd, his annotator, an eminence. Alas! 't was not the eyrie's sound; And every hand that dealt the blow- XI. "Warm in his death-wounds sepulchred, "T was but when those grim visages, XII. "But Heaven, at last, my soul's eclipse Thrice in the east a war-drum beat- XIII. "And go! (I cried) the combat seek, 1 The Irish lamentation for the dead. 1 If the wrath which I have ascribed to the heroine of this little piece should seem to exhibit her character as too unnaturally stript of patriotic and domestic affections, I must beg leave to plead the authority of Corneille in the representation of a similar passion: I allude to the denunciation of Camille, in the tragedy of Horace. When Horace, accompanied by a soldier bearing the three swords of the Curiatii, meets his sister, and invites her to congratulate him on his victory, she expresses only her grief, which he attributes at first only to her feelings for the loss of her two brothers; but when she bursts forth into reproaches against him as the murderer of her lover, the last of the Curiatii. he exclaims: "O Ciel! qui vit jamais une pareille rage: At the mention of Rome, Camille breaks out into this apostrophe: "Rome, l'unique objet de mon ressentiment! 2 In the reign of Edward the Second, the Irish presented to Pope John the Twenty-Second a memorial of their sufferings under the English, of which the language exhibits all the strength of despair.-"Ever since the English (say they) first appeared upon our coasts, they entered our territories under a certain specious pretence of charity, and external hypocritical show of religion, endeavoring at the same time, by every artifice malice could suggest, to extirpate us root and branch, and without any other right than that of the strongest; they have so far sueceeded by base fraudulence and cunning, that they have forced us to quit our fair and ample habitations and inheritances, and to take refuge like wild beasts in the mountains, the woods, and the morasses of the country;-nor even can the caverns and dens protect us against their insatiable avarice. They pursue us even into these frightful abodes; endeavoring to dispossess us of the wild uncultivated rocks, and arrogate to themselves the property of every place on which we can stamp the figure of our feet." The greatest effort ever made by the ancient Irish to regain their native independence, was made at the time when they called over the brother of Robert Bruce from Scotland.-Wit liam de Bourgo, brother to the Earl of Ulster, and Richard de Bermingham, were sent against the main body of the native insurgents, who were headed rather than commanded by Felim O'Connor. The important battle, which decided the subjection But know that where its sheet unrolls, Where, downward when the sun shall fall, The vizor from your dying face!' XV. "A bolt that overhung our dome A sudden storm their plumage toss'd, XVI. "Stranger! I fled the home of grief, LOCHIEL'S WARNING.' WIZARD-LOCHIEL. WIZARD. LOCHIEL, Lochiel! beware of the day For a field of the dead rushes red on my sight, magnanimous (though mistaken) loyalty. His influence was so important among the Highland chiefs, that it depended on his joining with his clan whether the standard of Charles should be raised or not in 1745. Lochiel was himself too wise a man to be blind to the consequences of so hopeless an enterprise, but his sensibility to the point of honor overruled his wisdom. Charles appealed to his loyalty, and he could not brook the reproaches of his Prince. When Charles landed at Borrodale, Lochiel went to meet him, but, on his way, called at his brother's house (Cameron of Fassafern), and told him on what errand he was going; adding, however, that he meant to dissuade the Prince from his enterprise. Fassafern advised him in that case to communicate his mind by letter to Charles. "No," said Lochiel, "I think it due to my Prince to give him my reasons in person for refusing to join his standard."-"Brother," replied Fassafern, "I know you better than you know yourself: if the prince once sets his eyes on you, he will make you do what he pleases." The interview accordingly took place: and Lochiel, with many arguments, but in vain, pressed the Pretender to return to France, and reserve himself and his friends for a more favorable occasion, as he had come, by his own acknowledgment, without arms, or money, or adherents: or, at all events, to remain concealed till his friends should meet and deliberate what was best to be done. Charles, whose mind was wound up to the utmost impatience, paid no regard to this proposal, but answered, "that he was determined to put all to the hazard." "In a few days," said he, "I will erect the royal standard, and proclaim to the people of Great Britain, that Charles Stuart is come over to claim the crown of his ancestors, and to win it, or perish in the attempt. Lochiel, who my father has often told me was our firmest friend, may stay at home, and learn from the newspapers the fate of his Prince."-"No," said Lochiel, "I will share the fate of my Prince, and so shall every man over whom nature or fortune hath given me any power." The other chieftains who followed Charles embraced his cause with no better hopes. It engages our sympathy more strongly in their behalf, that no motive, but their fear to be reproached with cowardice or disloyalty, impelled them to the hopeless adventure. Of this we have an example in the interview of Prince Charles with Clanronald, another leading chieftain in the rebe army. "Charles," says Home, "almost reduced to despair, in his discourse with Boisdale, addressed the two Highlanders with great emotion, and, summing up his arguments for taking arms, conjured them to assist their Prince, their countryman, in his utmost need. Clanronald and his friend, though well inclined to the cause, positively refused, and told him that to take up arma When the Lowlands shall meet thee in battle array! without concert or support was to pull down certain ruin on of Ireland, took place on the 10th of August, 1315. It was the bloodiest that ever was fought between the two nations, and continued throughout the whole day, from the rising to the setting un. The Irish fought with inferior discipline, but with great enthusiasm. They lost ten thousand men, among whom were twenty-nine chiefs of Connaught. Tradition states, that after this terrible day, the O'Connor family, like the Fabian, were so nearly exterminated, that throughout all Connaught not one of the name remained, except Felim's brother, who was capable of bearing arms. their own heads. Charles persisted, argued, and implored. During this conversation (they were on shipboard) the parties walked backwards and forwards on the deck; a Highlander stood near them, armed at all points, as was then the fashion of his country. He was a younger brother of Kinloch Moidart, and had come off to the ship to inquire for news, not knowing who was aboard. When he gathered from their discourse that the stranger was the Prince of Wales; when he heard his chief and his brother refuse to take arms with their Prince; his color went and came; his eyes sparkled, he shifted his place, and grasped his sword. Charles observed his demeanor, and turning briskly to him, called out, Will you assist me?'-'I will, 1 Lochiel, the chief of the warlike clan of the Camerons, and I will,' said Ronald; though no other man in the Highlands descended from ancestors distinguished in their narrow sphere should draw a sword, I am ready to die for you!' Charles, with for great personal prowess, was a man worthy of a better cause a profusion of thanks to his champion, said, he wished all the and fate than that in which he embarked, the enterprise of the Highlanders were like him. Without farther deliberation, the Stuarts in 1745. His memory is still fondly cherished among the two Macdonalds declared that they would also join, and use Highlanders, by the appellation of the "gentle Lochiel," for their utmost endeavors to engage their countrymen to take he was famed for his social virtues as much as his martial and arms."-Home's Hist. Rebellion, p. 40. 147 |