Far o'er the deep the Spaniard saw, along each southern shire, Cape beyond cape, in endless range, those twinkling points of fire. The fisher left his skiff to rock on Tamar's glittering waves, The rugged miners poured to war from Mendip's sunless caves; O'er Longleat's towers, o'er Cranbourne's oaks, the fiery herald flew : He roused the shepherds of Stonehenge, the rangers of Beaulieu. Right sharp and quick the bells all night rang out from Bristol town; And ere the day three hundred horse had met on Clifton down. The sentinel on Whitehall gate looked forth into the night, And saw o'erhanging Richmond Hill that streak of blood-red light; The bugle's note and cannon's roar the death-like silence broke, And with one start, and with one cry, the royal city 15 woke. And all the thousand masts of Thames sent back a louder cheer: And from the farthest wards was heard the rush of hurrying feet, And the broad streams of flags and pikes dashed down each rousing street; And broader still became the blaze, and louder still the din, As fast from every village round the horse came spurring in : And eastward straight for wild Blackheath the warlike errand 16 went ; And roused in many an ancient hall the gallant squires of Kent; Southward for Surrey's pleasant hills flew these bright coursers forth; High on black Hampstead's swarthy moor they started for the north; And on, and on, without a pause, untired they bounded still; All night from tower to tower they sprang; they sprang from hill to hill, Till the proud Peak unfurled the flag o'er Derwent's rocky dales; Till like volcanoes flared to heaven the stormy hills of Wales; Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze on Malvern's lonely height; Till streamed in crimson on the wind the Wrekin's crest of light: Till broad and fierce the star came forth on Ely's stately fane, And town and hamlet rose in arms o'er all the boundless plain; Till Belvoir's lordly terraces the sign to Lincoln sent, And Lincoln sped the message on o'er the wide vale of Trent; Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burnt on Gaunt's embattled pile, And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle. 1 The Armada. The Spanish fleet equipped for the conquest of England. 2 The richest spoils of Mexico, &c. The 3 Warm summer's day, 19th July 1588. 5 Beacon, a fire lighted as a signal of 6 Halberdiers, men armed with axes. 8 Her Grace, for Her Majesty Queen 9 Royal blazon, the royal arms of Eng land. gay lilies down. The crest of Eng- 11 On that famed Picard field. The 13 Semper eǎdem, always the same. 15 The royal city, London. 16 Errand, news. GINEVRA. If thou shouldst ever come to Mod'ena,1 And on her brow, fairer than alabaster, Her pranks the favourite theme of every tongue. Her hand, with her heart in it, to Francesco. Great was the joy; but at the bridal feast, And filled his glass to all; but his hand shook, Full fifty years were past, and all forgot, That mouldering chest was noticed; and 'twas said 1 Modena, a finely situated town of Northern Italy. Rogers. 2 Orsini, the name of a powerful family of Modena. 3 Vest, robe. JOSEPH ADDISON (1672-1719) was the son of a Wiltshire clergyman, and was educated chiefly at Charter-House (London) and Oxford. By means of poems suited to the circumstances and events of the time, he raised himself to high political honours. His fame, however, rests chiefly on his brilliant essays, which appeared in the Tatler, Guardian, and Spectator. The Letter from Italy to Lord Halifax; The Campaign; Cato, a tragedy; and one or two Hymns, are his best attempts in poetical literature. BERNARD BARTON, the 'Quaker Poet,' published a volume of poetry in 1820. The success of this adventure made him think of abandoning his profession (banking) for literature. Charles Lamb, Byron, and others dissuaded him. He therefore continued to write poetry as leisure and inclination offered. The Widow's Tale; Devotional Verses, &c., came from his pen. WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT (1797) was born at Cummington, in Massachusetts. He was at first a lawyer, but afterwards became editor of the New York Evening Post. Among his best pieces are-Thanatopsis; The Ages; and The Yellow Violet. ROBERT BURNS (1759—96), a native of Ayrshire-bred to the humble occupation of a ploughman-and trained in the School of Adversity. This noble son of genius has bequeathed to Scotland as rich a treasury of song as any nation can boast of. His life was a continuous struggle against the changes of fortune. His principal poems are-The Cotter's Saturday Night; Hallowe'en; Tam o' Shanter; The Twa Dogs; and The Jolly Beggars. LORD BYRON (1788—1824).—George Gordon Byron was the son of a profligate military officer and a capricious Scottish lady. Short lyrics composed during his school-days, and published under the title Hours of Idleness, first made him known as an author. His trenchant reply, in English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, to the editors of the Edinburgh Review, shewed that a satirist of no mean order had arisen. The strength of his genius shines most brilliantly in Childe Harold; Don Juan; Manfred; Sardanapalus: The |