The shade, and look abroad. On this old bench
For hours she sate; and evermore her eye
Was busy in the distance, shaping things

880

That made her heart beat quick. You see that path,
Now faint-the grass has crept o'er its gray line:
There, to and fro, she paced through many a day
Of the warm summer, from a belt of hemp
That girt her waist, spinning the long-drawn thread
With backward steps. Yet ever as there passed
A man whose garments shewed the soldier's red,
Or crippled mendicant in sailor's garb,
The little child who sate to turn the wheel
Ceased from his task; and she with faltering voice
Made many a fond inquiry; and when they,
Whose presence gave no comfort, were gone by,
Her heart was still more sad. And by yon gate
That bars the traveller's road, she often stood,
And when a stranger horseman came, the latch
Would lift, and in his face look wistfully:
Most happy, if, from aught discovered there
Of tender feeling, she might dare repeat
The same sad question. Meanwhile her poor
Sank to decay; for he was gone whose hand,
At the first:nipping of October frost,

885

890

895

Hut

900

Closed up each chink, and with fresh bands of straw
Checkered the green-grown thatch. And so she lived
Through the long winter, reckless and alone;
Until her house by frost, and thaw, and rain,

905

Was sapped; and while she slept, the nightly damps
Did chill her breast; and in the stormy day
Her tattered clothes were ruffled by the wind,
Even at the side of her own fire. Yet still
She loved this wretched spot, nor would for worlds
Have parted hence; and still that length of road,
And this rude bench, one torturing hope endeared,
Fast rooted at her heart and here, my Friend,
In sickness she remained; and here she died;
Last human tenant of these ruined walls!

910

915

THOMAS CAMPBELL.-1777-1844.

THOMAS CAMPBELL was born in Glasgow, and studied at the university of his native city. After a tour on the Continent, and a short residence in Edinburgh, he went to London (1803), and devoted himself to literature. In 1806, he received a pension of £200 a year. The Pleasures of Hope (1799), Gertrude of Wyoming (1809), Theodric (1824), and The Pilgrim of Glencoe (1842), with all their excellences, do less to sustain Campbell's fame than his occasional lyrics— Ye Mariners of England (1801), The Soldier's Dream (written 1800, published 1804), The Battle of Hohenlinden (1802), The Battle of the Baltic (written 1805, published 1808), &c.

THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC.

1. Of Nelson and the North,

Sing the glorious day's renown,

When to battle fierce came forth

All the might of Denmark's crown,

And her arms along the deep proudly shone;

By each gun the lighted brand,

In a bold determined hand,

And the Prince of all the land

Led them on.

2. Like leviathans afloat,

Lay their bulwarks on the brine;
While the sign of battle flew

On the lofty British line :

It was ten of April morn by the chime:

As they drifted on their path,

There was silence deep as death;
And the boldest held his breath,
For a time.

3. But the might of England flushed

To anticipate the scene;
And her van the fleeter rushed

O'er the deadly space between.

'Hearts of oak!' our captains cried; when each gun

From its adamantine lips

Spread a death-shade round the ships,

Like the hurricane eclipse

Of the sun.

4. Again! again! again!

And the havoc did not slack,

Till a feeble cheer the Dane
To our cheering sent us back;
Their shots along the deep slowly boom:
Then ceased-and all is wail,

As they strike the shattered sail,
Or, in conflagration pale,
Light the gloom.-

5. Out spoke the victor then,

As he hailed them o'er the wave: 'Ye are brothers! ye are men ! And we conquer but to save;

So

peace instead of death let us bring;
But yield, proud foe, thy fleet,
With the crews, at England's feet,
And make submission meet
To our king.'

6. Then Denmark blessed our chief,
That he gave her wounds repose;
And the sounds of joy and grief
From her people wildly rose,

As death withdrew his shades from the day;

While the sun looked smiling bright

O'er a wide and woeful sight,

Where the fires of funeral light

Died away.

7. Now joy, Old England, raise!

For the tidings of thy might,

By the festal cities' blaze,

While the wine-cup shines in light;

And yet amidst that joy and uproar,
Let us think of them that sleep,
Full many a fathom deep,

By thy wild and stormy steep,
Elsinore !

8. Brave hearts! to Britain's pride
Once so faithful and so true,

On the deck of fame that died,
With the gallant good Riou :

Soft sigh the winds of heaven o'er their grave!
While the billow mournful rolls,
And the mermaid's song condoles,
Singing glory to the souls

Of the brave !

NOTES.

1. Nelson, Sir Hyde Parker, the admiral in command, left the whole affair to be managed by Vice-admiral Lord Nelson. The battle was fought in Copenhagen Roads, April 2, 1801. It formed part of the long struggle | with Napoleon; and the immediate object was to break up the coalition of the northern powers (with Russia at their head), who had joined in an armed neutrality. 'Nelson re

peatedly declared that it was the most dreadful affair he had ever witnessed.' April 9, he wrote: Of the eighteen vessels of all descriptions, seventeen are sunk, burnt, and taken.' 8. Riou, the captain of the Amazon, was shot in two, to the great sorrow of the whole fleet. Nelson, in his report to Sir H. Parker (April 3), called him the gallant and good Captain Riou.'

WALTER SCOTT.-1771-1832.

Sir WALTER SCOTT was the son of a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh. During the long illness of his boyhood, he educated himself, much after the miscellaneous manner of Gibbon, by devouring at will the contents of libraries, especially romances, old plays, epic poetry, and such-like. Meanwhile a maiden aunt, who nursed him for a time, had been telling him innumerable legendary stories. As he grew up and was conquering his sicknesses, he rambled far and near throughout the country, adding to his stock of imaginative lore. After studying at Edinburgh University, he was called to the Scotch bar in 1792; in 1799 he was made Sheriff of Selkirkshire, and in 1806