Vain hope!-that mora's o'erclouded sun Heard the wild shout of fight begun Ere he attain'd his height, And through the war-smoke volumed high Though now he stoops to night. Still down the slope they drew, Of skill and force, was proved that day, And turn'd not yet the doubtful fray IX. Pale Brussels! then what thoughts were thine, (2) When ceaseless from the distant line Continued thunders came! Each burgher held his breath to hear Of rapine and of flame. What ghastly sights were thine to meet, Points to his prey in vain, While maddening in his brand! cager mood, And all unwont to be withstood, He fires the fight again. X. « On! on!» was still his stern exclaim, My Guard-my chosen-charge for France, Loud answer'd their acclaiming shout, In action prompt, in sentence brief «Soldiers, stand firm!» exclaim'd the chief, England shall tell the fight!» (5) XI. On came the whirlwind-like the last On came the whirlwind-steel-gleams broke The war was waked anew; Three hundred cannon-mouths roar'd loud, The cohorts' eagles flew. In one dark torrent broad and strong, XII. But on the British heart were lost Till from their line scarce spears' length three, Then waked their fire at once! Then down went helm and lance, Wheel'd full against their staggering flanks, Then to the musket-knell succeeds As plies the smith his clanging trade, XIII Then, WELLINGTON! thy piercing eye The British host had stood That morn 'gainst charge of sword and lance, O thou, whose inauspicious aim The terrors of yon rushing tide? Think not that in yon columns file Thy conquering troops from distant Dyle— Or dwells not in thy memory still What yet remains?-shall it be thine In one dread effort more?- And thou canst tell what fortune proved For empire enterprised He stood the cast his rashness play'd, And, to the ruin'd peasant's eye, Down the dread current hurl'd— XVI. So fell a shriek was none, Redden'd and thaw'd with flame and blood, Have felt the final stroke; XVII. Since live thou wilt-refuse not now That yet imperial hope;»> We leave thee no confederate band, To be a dagger in the hand From which we wrench'd the sword. XVIII. Yet, e'en in yon sequester'd spot, 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 To thine own noble heart must owe XX. Look forth, once more, with soften'd heart, 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 XXII. Forgive, brave dead, the imperfect lay; 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 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; While thy capacious stream has equal room For the gay bark where pleasure's streamers sport, And for the prison-ship of guilt and gloom, The fisher-skiff, and barge that bears a court, Still wafting onward all to one dark silent port. Stern tide of time! through what mysterious change Was to one race of Adam's offspring given. Succeeding ages ne'er again shall know, Until the awful term when thou shalt cease to flow. Well hast thou stood, my country!—the brave fight Hast well maintain'd through good report and ill; In thy just cause and in thy native might, And in Heaven's grace and justice constant still. Whether the banded prowess, strength, and skill Of half the world against thee, stood array'd, Or when, with better views and freer will, Beside thee Europe's noblest drew the blade, Each emulous in arms the Ocean Queen to aid. Well thou art now repaid--though slowly rose, And struggled long with mists thy blaze of fame, While like the dawn that in the orient glows Ca the broad wave its earlier lustre came; Then eastern Egypt saw the growing flame, And Maida's myrtles gleam'd beneath its ray, Where first the soldier, stung with generous shame, Rivall'd the heroes of the watery way, And wash'd in foemen's gore unjust reproach away. Now, Island Empress, wave thy crest on high, And trampled down, like him, tyrannic might, Yet 'mid the confidence of just renown, In many a field of bloody conquest known; NOTES. Note 1. Stanza ii. The peasant, at his labour blithe, Plies the hook'd staff and shorten'd scythe. The reaper in Flanders carries in his left hand a stick with an iron hook, with which he collects as much grain as he can cut at one sweep with a short seythe, 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 thise. 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 Blame! The characteristic obstinacy of Napoleon was never more fully displayed than in what we may be permitted to hope will prove the last of his fields. He would listen to no advice, and allow of no obstacles. An eye-wit ness has given the following account of his demeanour towards the end of the action : << It was near seven o'clock; Bonaparte, who, till then, had remained upon the ridge of the hill whence he could best behold what passed, contemplated, with a stern countenance, the scene of this horrible slaughter. The more that obstacles seemed to multiply, the more his obstinacy seemed to increase. He became indig nant at these unforeseen difficulties; and, far from fearing to push to extremities an army whose confidence in him was boundless, he ceased not to pour down fresh troops, and to give orders to march forward-to charge with the bayonet-to carry by storm. He was 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 be was in a position which he could not maintain, because it was commanded by a battery, and requested to know, at the same time, in what way he should protect his division from the murderous fire of the English artillery. Let him storm the battery,' replied Bonaparte, and turned his back on the aide-de-camp who brought the message.»-Relation de la bataille du Mont SaintJean, par un Témoin Oculaire: Paris, 1815, octavo, p. 51. Note 4. Stanza x. The fate their leader shunn'd to share. It has been reported that Bonaparte charged at the head of his guards at the last period of this dreadful conflict. This, however, is not accurate. He came down, indeed, to a hollow part of the high-road leading to Charleroi, within less than a quarter of a mile of the farm of La Haye Sainte, one of the points most fiercely disputed. Here he harangued the guards, and informed them that his preceding operations had destroyed the British infantry and cavalry, and that they had only to support the fire of the artillery, which they were to attack with the bayonet.-This exhortation was received with shouts of Vive l'Empereur, which were ¦ heard over all our line, and led to an idea that Napoleon was charging in person. But the guards were led on by Ney; nor did Bonaparte approach nearer the scene of action than the spot already mentioned, which i the rising banks on each side rendered secure from all such balls as did not come in a straight line. He wilnessed the carlier part of the battle from places yet more remote, particularly from an observatory which 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. Note 5. Stanza x. - England shall tell the fight! 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 yieldthey 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 In riding up to a regiment which was hard pressed, the duke called to the men, «< Soldiers, we must never be beat,-what will they say in England?» It is need-which runs along part of the hill. It may be also menless to say how this appeal was answered. Note 6. Stanza xii. As plies the smith his clanging trade, A private soldier of the 95th regiment compared the sound which took place immediately upon the British The mistakes concerning this observatory have been mutual. The English supposed it was erected for the use of Bonaparte; and a French writer affirms it was constructed by the Duke of Wel lington. tioned, 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, 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 contributing 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. << Henry 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 |