THE AGE OF CHIVALRY.

BY EDMUND L. SWIFT *.

WHEN fiercely rush'd the Moorish Foe
To lay the Christian Ensign low,

Thy sons, IBERIA! sought the field,
And grasp'd the spear, and braced the shield;
Then, to inspire the hallow'd cause,

Thy virgin daughters smiled applause;
And waked with animating eye
The gallant soul of CHIVALRY.

'Twas then, impatient for the fight,
The Fair beheld her favour'd Knight;
Deck'd with the meed of duteous love,
His conscious plume display'd her glove;
The colours her chaste bosom wore
His stately steed in triumph bore;
While the glad warrior waved on high
The loyal pride of CHIVALRY.

These lines were written during the late unhappy disturbances in Ireland, when the Author was preparing for the military duties of the night, and in sport bound a Lady's Kerchief on his arm.

E. L S

Then to her champion, true and brave,
Amid her smiles one tear she gave;

One tear, inspiring, not depressing,

One tear, the pledge of Heaven's best blessing;
And, as with Virtue's rosy charm,
She bound her Kerchief on his arm,
Sweetly she said with speaking eye,
"Go forth, and prove thy CHIVALRY!"

So, when the trumpet pours its sound,
And rebel fury raves around,

When ERIN's sons to battle speed,

And seize the sword, and spur the steed,
The maidens of the Emerald Isle
Prosper their arms with favouring smile;
And bid their hopes undaunted try
The patriot strength of CHIVALRY.

Then, as to save our native soil,
We

e tempt the war, and wake to toil,
Wouldst thou, to shield me from the foe,
Wouldst thou the guardian pledge bestow;
And give thy Kerchief's powerful charm,
To bind my brow, or deck mine arm,
How gladly would I wave on high
The loyal pride of CHIVALRY!

Did not I see thy brow assume

The glittering casque, the nodding plume?
And shall not thy dear touch inspire

My soul beyond the Patriot's fire!

Then place me with my brothers brave,

Whose hearts can love, whose hands can save ;

On my proud arm thy favour tie,

And bid it prove my CHIVALRY!

But should'st thou once, in vision sweet,
Divest that brow of scorn;

O! may the night of such deceit

Ne'er know return of morn!

W. P.

TO DELIA.

PERMITTED, unreproved, to gaze-
My favor'd rival idly strays :-
O bless, whene'er thou wilt, my sight,
This breast will beat with pure delight!

If he, who feels the tropic SUN,

Repairs to shade the warmth to shun,

The dweller on the polar shores

Ne'er sees him shine but he adores!

W. P.

TO DELIA.

Written on the Coast of Sussex.

SOMETIMES the rugged shore I tread,
And now the Downs, high-lifted, rove;
The cliff, the wood, the cavern dread,
Have often heard the tale of Love.

O smile not at the tortured mind

That 'midst the dreary scene complains! In nature what can be less kind

Than her, who in this bosom reigns?

Less kind?-For tho' no pity dwells

In frowning cliffs, or forests lorn,

The rock my story ne'er repels

The tree waves not its head in scorn.

TO DELIA.

THE FAREWELL!

W. P.

By unrelenting scorn subdued,

When in the sleep of death I'm laid,

My grave with pity will be view'd,

And DELIA then may court my shade.

The Martyr touch'd with holy zeal
Amidst the flame makes others feel:
The Scoffer, who his virtue eyes,

Becomes his convert whilst he dies!

W. P.

TO FEBRIS.

BY THE REV. J. WHITEHOUSE.

I.

SWART Demon! that amidst the breast of man
Ragest, like noon in summer; fiercest thou
Of all the fiends that from his tortured brow
Wring pain; prime leader of that hideous clan,
Marasmus, Epilepse, and Frenzy dire!
Ah far, far hence remove thy heavy hand,
Nor roll thy boiling torrent through the veins,
That every labouring sinew strains,
Scorching the vitals like consuming fire!

Nor, O! forbid sweet sleep with opiates bland
To bathe the senses in forgetfulness,

And yon sad Suppliant's frame with balmy slumbers bless.

11.

Yet seldom sleep affords the wished-for rest,
And those soft dews restorative that cheer
The mind perturbed, but baleful visions drear
Hang lowering, in fantastic horrors drest;
Snatch'd sudden o'er dark desert ways forlorn,
Some cliff abrupt thy victim seems to tread,
Or lists the din of Ocean raving wild,
Against the opposing barrier piled,