A DIRGE ON THE HERO WHO FELL AT CORUNNA. When may a soldier shed a tear? Like him who fell on Abram's height, LINES, On WALLACE; or the VALE of ELLERSLIE. THIS rising bard sweeps sweetly o'er the string, While the heroic Wallace is the theme; The memory of the days of old he brings, And in a raptur'd song, t' immortal fame, Of our great forefather consigns the name. From heav'n's high height, spirit of Wallace, smile, When from the mountains of thy native vale, Thou hear'st these strains, and musing, think'st the while, Of deeds of other days; and in the gale, The song's resounding sound does echoing sail. Spirit of Wallace! smile, and bless this song, This soul-enchanting song, these tuneful rhymes: Safe on time's tide may they be borne along, And ever grateful live to distant times; And may the bard, the steep hill as he climbs That leads to fame, still strike the daring lyre To Wallace name; and thou, O heavenly Dreadful, against the sounding shore, But when, by native fences barr'd So o'er Europa's ravaged plain We saw the torrent wild of war Resistless spread its iron reign, And scatter ruin wide and far; The embattled wall, the warlike band, Vainly the Tyrant's course withstand; Before the impious sons of Gaul The legions fly, the bulwarks fall; Yet Britain's floating castles sweep Invasion from her subject deep, Yet by her rocks secure from harm, Securer by her patriot arm, Iberia turns the battle's tide, Resists the injurious Tyrant's pride, While, freely floating in the ambient sky, Sacred to Freedom's cause, their mingled ensigns fly. Et roseo Veneris fulget in ore decor; Adfuit Elizabeth-Juno perculsa refugit, Obstupuit Pallas, erubuitque Venus. 8. On WICKLIFF, by a Monk. The Devil's instrument, Church's enemy, People's confusion, Heretick's idol, Hypocrite's mirror: Schisme's broacher, Hat. red's sower, Lies' forger, Flattery's sink; who at his death despaired like Cain, and stricken by the horrible judgement of God, breathed forth his wicked soul to the dark mansions of the black Devil. 9. On STEPHEN the Fiddler. Stephen and time are now both even; Stephen beat time, now time's beat Stephen. To be continued. EUPHEMIA. IF, in the polish'd verse, I rightly trace, Stamp of that mind, so like her beauteous face, Great counterpart! on which I lov'd to dwell, And dwelling fondly ever lov'd so well, Euphemia dearest to my faithful breast, Of joy and hope-a visionary dream. The soothing balm of comfort to my heart. And, as I sought to recompense the past, A faithless transcript of my ardent love, That form, which like the morning sun appears Diffusing pleasure as the plant it chears; To chide misfortune and relieve my woe, Anxious to quaff Arabia's spicy gale, How sweet a trivial semblance to descry, How passing sweet, to mark with tearful eye A few lov'd lineaments of those we prize, As fancy veils them with their native dies, But oh what voice can bold conception find, To speak the transport of the blessed mind, Nay, to hold converse with a kindred soul, And kindred thought pervades each tender line, Glows in the breathing word that knows no guile, Pure as the language of the dimpled smile, Seem to reprove my mercenary choice, J. A. LORD RUTHVEN: A BALLAD. TO RUTHVEN's gates, whose friendly blaze, Was gleamin' thro' the storm, Wild wandrin' 'mid night's dreary maze, "O sair sair drives the bitter blast, Dark is the night, and rough the way, "Who knocks sae loud at my castle gate Go, stranger, go,-nor langer wait, "And does my Lord forget that voice Does he forget his daughter's voice, My Rosa, once!-my Rose no more! "If there's none in the father's breast, O louder howls the northern blast, "In yonder vault thy mother lies, "Beneath the cloud of night I'll lye; SONG. I'll prie yere bonnie mou' lassie. COME gie's a kiss my bonnie lass, ? sang I to my And pried her lovely lippie O, While wooster Jock, wi' gloomie glowr, I'll prie yere bonnie mou' lassie. His bardship at the ingle sat, I'll prie yere bonnie mou' lassie. A hame-spun loon, wi' bonnet blue, A tough-tried saunt, o' Cameron's race, I'll prie yere bonnie mou' lassie. And lean upon my bosom O, I'll prie yere bonnie mou' lassie, For nane but you, my true lassie A loving wish to mak' you mine, I'll prie your bonnie mou' lassie. Maun bide the touts o' learnin's horn I'll prie yere bonnie mou' lassie. And fancy still has pow'r to charm my Your wisdom's bloom will pleasure me, I'll prie yere bonnie mou' lassie. Banks of Nith} 1st Sept. 1808. HIDALLAN. PRO Proceedings of Parliament. Proceedings of Wednesday, Jan. 25. THE BATTLE AT CORUNNA. Lord Liverpool rose to move the thanks of the House to the Generals and Officers under whose conduct, and by whose exertions, the signal battle before Corunna had been won, and by whose skill, activity, and courage, the re-embarkation of the British troops had been effected. The subject to which he had to call the attention of their Lordships was in itself so singular and splendid, that it required no effort on his part to place it in its proper light. Indeed, it spoke too forcibly for itself. The noble Earl then entered into a detail of the ar duous toils and severe privations with which the British army had to war before they had an opportunity of contending with the enemy. The splendour, however, of that glorious victory, he had, in common with that House and the country, to regret should have been clouded by the disasters attending it, particularly by the fall of the gal March 1809. lant and meritorious officer who had led the army through such hardships to such glory. Sir John Moore was among the most va luable of his country's sons. He had ex clusively devoted his life to her service, and her interests and her honour were always the first objects in his sight, and the constant aim of his unwearied exertions. Such were the high motives that supplied the spring of all his actions, and which formed a life that proved as useful to his fellow countrymen as it was glorious to himself. It required only such a death to consecrate his fall, and to make it a subject of regret to those who can estimate the void it has left in the country. He conclu ded with moving, that the thanks of that House be given to Sir D. Baird, Lieut.-Gen. Hope, &c. &c. who took the command of the army in consequence of the wound res ceived by Lieut.-Gen. Moore, who had so gloriously distinguished himself previously to that fatal disaster. Lord Moira was ready most cordially to concur in the motion of the Noble Earl, as far as it related to the exploits of the army, and to the merits of the distinguished offi cer by whom it was commanded. He knew what British troops were capable of, and this recent proof of their courage, their constancy, their discipline, and every virtue that constitutes the soldier, confirmed the opinion he was always disposed to entertain of them. In giving, therefore, his warm concurrence to the motion, as far as it included the merits of the army and its General, he must beg leave to observe, that he should not thereby be pledged, by any means, to approve of the conduct of those who had employed that army in a manner the most reprehensible and absurd. Spain was the battle of England, as well as of Spain, to be fought. The proudest portion of the British army was sent to fight it. The army fought as might have been expected from its known intrepidity and discipline; but all its efforts were frustrated by the ignorance or incapacity of those who had the direction of our public affairs. In their hands nothing prospered ; the strength as well as the glory of the nation was on the decline; in short, we were a sinking country. The blood and the treasure of the empire were lavished only to purchase disgrace, and to accelerate our ruin; an e normous expenditure of men and money In had had been incurred, to produce no other effect than that of uniting the whole Contiment against England. We must now de. sert Spain as we have deserted Sweden, and where then would there be an ally for England. This misconduct of Ministers he could not forbear animadverting upon on the present occasion; and if he left them uncensured, he should feel that he deserted the cause of his brave companions in armis. Lord Sidmouth concurred in the sentiments of his Noble Friend, as far as the army and its immortal leader were concern. ed. It had ever been his opinion, that, under whatever circumstances they came into contact, a British was always superior to a French army. Lord Mulgrave delivered a most feeling encomium on the merits of Sir J. Moore, and expressed his astonishment that the Noble Lords opposite to him could have mingled with such a subject as that before them, discussions, altogether unconnected with it, and which, at best, might well be deferred to a future occasion. Lord Erskine took pride to himself in reflecting on the long catalogue of heroes who adorned the country to which he had the honour to belong. The names of Moore, Baird, Hope, Mackenzie Fraser, Fergusson, Graham, &c. were now to be added to it. For more than 100 years had his countrymen been thus contributing to the power and the glory of the British empire. But of what avail would now be their labours, if they were to be exerted under no better auspices than those of the present Ministers? Lord Grenville could not give a silent vote on such an occasion. There was no regret too keen for the loss of such a man as Sir John Moore. No praise adequate to the skill and constancy displayed by him in his recent conduct. No commendation too high for the valour and virtues so eminently evinced by the army under his command, during the unparalleled difficulties and dangers which they had to encounter. The greater those sufferings were, the greater the praise of those Generals by whom the army was extricated from them; the greater also the responsibility of those who ignorantly, or improvidently, had exposed them to such uncalled for hardships. Ministers, who sent them, knew that Bonaparte had above an hundred thousand men before them, so as to render attack not only impracticable, but retreat only possible, by the noble, unparalleled exertions they were assembled to commemorate: and what sort of a retreat-a retreat, leaving upon the roads and in the mountains of Spain, from 8 to 9000 of our brave men, dying of fa tigue, without one act of courage to sweet en the death of a soldier. It was too truly said by his Noble Friend (Lord Moira,) that we are a sinking country. During the short interval of three years the country has been deprived of the two ablest Statesmen, to whom she looked with confidence and pride. In that short time she lost an Admiral, whose genius, skill, and courage, carried the British navy's fame to a pre-eminence to which it has never before presumed to aspire. To those severe losses she has now to add that of Sir John Moore.—. When deprived of such props, may not the country be truly said to be a fallen country; and how precipitate must be her fall if she is to have no better support than the abilities of the present Ministers? The different motions of thanks were then agreed to nem. dissent. Thursday, Jan. 26. His Lord Liverpool rose to move an address to his Majesty, for his gracious communications to the House respecting the correspondence at Erfurth, and to assure his Majesty, that their Lordships coincided with him in opinion, that the only means of procuring a safe and honourable peace was by a vigorous prosecution of the war. Lordship then went into a tedious discussion of the several papers submitted to the public, and inferred that his Majesty would have acted derogatory to his known honour and good faith, had he omitted to stipulate for Spain in the proffered negociation; and that France, having refused to admit the Government acting for Ferdinand the VII. as a party to the conference, plainly indicated that the overtures were hollow and insincere. His Lordship concluded by moying the address. Lord Grenville admitted that Ministers were justified in stipulating for Spain, and that the overtures from the two Emperors were hollow and insincere; at the same time he deprecated their conduct in entering into a formal treaty with the Spanish Government, when it was apparent that Spain could not bear up for two months a gainst the usurpation that threatened it. In the course of the evening his Lordship also said, that Ministers owed it to the country, and to the memory of the lamented officer who fell at Corunna, to lay all possible information of the campaign before the House, that the expediency and wisdom of the measure might undergo a solemn discussion. Every hour, he said, brought news of fresh disasters, and all, in his mind, was ascribed to the gross mismanagement of Ministers. Lords Sidmouth, Mulgrave, and Suffolk, and the Lord Chancellor, also delivered their sentiments, and the address was carried without a division. HOUSE |