CVIII.

Yet, peace be with their ashes,--for by them,
If merited, the penalty is paid;
It is not ours to judge,- far less condemn;
The hour must come when such things shall be made
Known unto all, hope and dread allay'd
By slumber, on one pillow,—in the dust,
Which, thus much we are sure, must lie decay'd ;

And when it shall revive, as is our trust,
'T will be to be forgiven, or suffer what is just.

or

CIX.

suspend

But let me quit man's works, again to read
His Maker's spread around me, and
This page, which from my reveries I feed,
Until it seems prolonging without end.
The clouds above me to the white Alps tend,
And I must pierce them, and survey whate’er
May be permitted, as my steps I bend

To their most great and growing region, where
The earth to her embrace compels the powers of air.

CX.

Italia! too,-Italia! looking on thee,
Full flashes on the soul the light of ages,
Since the fierce Carthaginian almost won thee,
To the last halo of the chiefs and sages
Who glorify thy consecrated pages;
Thou wert the throne and grave of empires ; still,
The fount at which the panting mind assuages

Her thirst of knowledge, quaffing there her fill, Flows from the eternal source of Rome's imperial hill.

CXI.

Thus far I have proceeded in a theme
Renew'd with no kind auspices: to feel
We are not what we have been, and to deem
We are not what we should be, and to steel
The heart against itself; and to conceal,
With a proud caution, love, or hate, or aught,-
Passion or feeling, purpose, grief, or zeal,-

Which is the tyrant spirit of our thought ;
Is a stern task of soul :-No matter,—it is taught.

CXII.

And for these words,

thus woven

into

song,
It may be that they are a harmless wile,-
The colouring of the scenes which fleet along,
Which I would seize, in passing, to beguile
My breast, or that of others, for a while.
Fame is the thirst of youth,—but I am not
So young as to regard men's frown or smile,

As loss or guerdon of a glorious lot;
I stood and stand alone,-remember'd or forgot.

a

CXIII.

I have not loved the world, nor the world me;
I have not flatter'd its rank breath, nor bow'd
To its idolatries a patient knee,-
Nor coin'd my cheek to smiles, -nor cried aloud
In worship of an echo; in the crowd
They could not deem me one of such ; I stood
Among them, but not of them ; in a shroud

Of thoughts which were not their thoughts, and still could, Had I not filed 24 my mind, which thus itself subdued.

a

CXIV.

I have not loved the world, nor the world me,
But let us part fair foes; I do believe,
Though I have found them not, that there

may

be Words which are things,-hopes which will not deceive, And virtues which are merciful, nor weave Snares for the falling : I would also deem O’er others' griefs that some sincerely grieve ; 25

That two, or one, are almost what they seem,That goodness is no name, and happiness no dream.

CXV.

My daughter! with thy name this song begun-
My daughter! with thy name thus much shall end
I see thee not,--I hear thee not, but none
Can be so wrapt in thee; thou art the friend
To whom the shadows of far years extend :
Albeit my brow thou never shouldst behold,
My voice shall with thy future visions blend,

And reach into thy heart,—when mine is cold,-
A token and a tone, even from thy father's mould.

CXVI.

To aid thy mind's development,—to watch
Thy dawn of little joys—to sit and see
Almost thy very growth,—to view thee catch
Knowledge of objects, --wonders yet to thee !
To hold thee lightly on a gentle knee,
And print on thy soft cheek a parent's kiss, –
This, it should seem, was not reserved for me;

Yet this was in my nature :-as it is,
I know not what is there, yet something like to this.

CXVII.

a

Yet, though dull hate as duty should be taught,
I know that thou wilt love me ; though my name
Should be shut from thee, as a spell still fraught
With desolation, and a broken claim :
Though the grave closed between us, 't were the same
I know that thou wilt love me; though to drain
My blood from out thy being, were an aim,

And an attainment,--all would be in vain,-
Still thou wouldst love me, still that more than life retain.

CXVIII.

The child of love,-though born in bitterness,
And nurtured in convulsion. Of thy sire
These were the elements, and thine no less.
As yet such are around thee,—but thy fire
Shall be more temper'd, and thy hope far higher.
Sweet be thy cradled slumbers ! O'er the sea,
And from the mountains where I now respire,

Fain would I waft such blessing upon thee,
As, with a sigh, I deem thou might'st have been to me!

NOTES TO CANTO III.

a

Note 1. Stanza xviii.

In “pride of place” here last the eagle flew. “ Pride of place” is a term of falconry, and means the highest pitch of flight See Macbeth, &c.

An eagle towering in his pride of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd.

Note 2. Stanza xx.

Such as Harmodius drew on Athens' tyrant lord. See the famous song on Harmodius and Aristogiton.—The best English translation is in Bland's Anthology, by Mr. Denman :

“ With myrtle my sword will I wreathe," &c.

Note 3. Stanza xxi.

And all went merry as a marriage-bell. On the night previous to the action, it is said that a ball was given at Brussels.

Notes 4 and 5. Stanza xxvi.

And Evan's, Donald's fame rings in each clansman's ears. Sir Evan Cameron and his descendant Donald, the “ gentle Lochiel" of the “ forty-five."

Note 6. Stanza xxvi.

And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves. The wood of Soignies is supposed to be a remnant of the “ forest of Ardennes,” famous in Boiardo's Orlanco, and immortal in Shakspeare's “ As you like it.” It is also celebrated in Tacitus as being the spot of successful defence by the Germans against the Roman encroachments.--I have ventured to adopt the name connected with nobler associations than those of mere slaughter.

Note 7. Stanza xxx.

I turn'd from all she brought to those she could not bring. My guide from Mont St. Jean over the field seemed intelligent and accurate. The place where Major Howard fell was not far from two tall and solitary trees (there was a third cut down, or shivered in the battle) which stand a few yards from each other at a pathway's side.—Beneath these he died and was buried. The body has since been removed to England. A small hollow for the present marks where it lay, but will probably soon be effaced; the plough has been upon it, and the grain is.

After pointing out the different spots where Picton and other gallant men had perished, the guide said, “ Here Major Howard lay; I was near him when wounded.” I told him my relationship, and he seemed then still more anxious to point out the particular spot and circumstances. The place is one of the most marked in the field, from the peculiarity of the two trees above-mentioned.

I went on horseback twice over the field, comparing it with my recollection of similar scenes.

As a plain, Waterloo seems marked out for the scene of some great action, though this may be mere imagination : I have viewed with attention those of Platæa, Troy, Mantinea, Leuctra, Chæronea, and Marathon ; and the field around Mont St. Jean and Hougoumont appears to want little but a better cause, and that indefinable but impressive halo which the lapse of ages throws around a celebrated spot, to vie in interest with any or all of these, except perhaps the last mentioned.

Note 8. Stanza xxxiv.

Like to the apples on the Dead Sea's shore. The (fabled) apples on the brink of the lake Asphaltes were said to be fair without, and within ashes,-Vide Tacitus, Histor. I. v. 7.

Note 9. Stanza xli.

For sceptred cynics earth were far too wide a den. The great error of Napoleon, “ if we have writ our annals true,' was a continued obtrusion on mankind of his want of all community of feeling for or with them; perhaps more offensive to human vanity than the active cruelty of more trembling and suspicious tyranny.

Such were his speeches to public assemblies as well as individuals : and the single expression which he is said to have used on returning to Paris after the Russian winter had destroyed his army, rubbing his hands over a fire, “ This is pleasanter than Moscow,” would probably alienate more favour from his cause than the destruction and reverses which led to the remark.

Note 10. Stanza xlvii.
What want these outlaws conquerors should have ?

“ What wants that knave

That a king should have? was King James's question on meeting Johnny Armstrong and his followers in full accoutrements.-See the Ballad.

Note 11. Song, Stanza li.

The castled crag of Drachenfels. The castle of Drachenfels stands on the highest summit of " the Seven Mountains," over the Rhine banks ; it is in ruins, and connected with some singular traditions ; it is the first in view on the road from Bonn, but on the opposite side of the river ; on this bank, nearly facing it, are the remains of another called the Jew's Castle, and a large cross commemorative of the murder of a chief by his brother. The number of castles and cities along the course of the Rhine on both sides is very great, and their situations remarkably beautiful.

Note 12. Stanza lvü.

The whiteness of his soul, and thus men o'er him wept. The monument of the young and Jamented General Marceau (killed by a rifleball at Alterkirchen, on the last day of the fourth year of the French republic) still remains as described.

The inscriptions on his monument are rather too long, and not required : his name. was enough ; France adored, and her enemies admired : both wept over him.-llis funeral was attended by the generals and detachments from both armies. In the same grave General Hoche is interred, a gallant man also in every sense of the word ; but though he distinguished himself greatly in battle, he had not the good fortune to die there; his death was attended by suspicions of poison.

A separate monument (not over his body, which is buried by Marceau's) is raised for him near Andernach, opposite to which one of his most memorable exploits was performed, in throwing a bridge to an island on the Rhine. The shape and style are different from that of Marceau's, and the inscription more simple and pleasing :

“The Army of the Sambre and Meuse

to its commander-in-chief,

9

HOCHE."

This is all, and as it should be. Hoche was esteemed among the first of France's earlier generals before Buonaparte monopolized her triumphs. He was the destined commander of the invading army of Ireland.

Note 13. Stanza lvii.

Here Ehrenbreitsteln, with her shatter'd wall. Ehrenbreitstein, i. e. the broad Stone of Honour," one of the strongest