For melody and song assail The frozen heart, when miseries fail When passion bursting speaks; And oft the heart too, breaks! But when Pleasure's warm sensation But weave the partial theme, where pity gave Unblemish'd valour to the warrior slain ; Or, strew with flowers of praise the lover's grave, Unbless'd with hallowed dust, or funeral train, And chaunt each mournful dirge in sorrow's doleful strain! Lured by the sounds, sad floating on the gale, Accordant to the breast of plaintive woe, The neighb'ring shepherds sought the tuneful vale, And melting heard compassion's numbers flow; And as they felt the charm, and wept the blow Of adverse fate, they lov'd the lay that shed Smiling--frowning--tempting--cheating! Th' embalming dew of praise on those Hail its sun-beams while they play. Song and melody can lighten Loads that bend the drooping soul, Gild the gloom of fate, and brighten Regions darkling round the pole ; Cheering with their warm intrusion Iceland shivering feels the glow, Lapland, yielding to illusion Smiles amid eternal snow *: Nor freezing blasts from Alpine height Can chill the fervent pleasure; Nor climes where softer charms invite, Obliterate the measure: Where'er he roams, bold, calm, or gay, Re-wake the strain which youth's blithe day Heard round Helvetia's steeps, Tho' nursed in war-to valour bred, The soldier gone !-fame-glory fled, Thinks of his home, and weeps! 11. P. The second canto recounts the themes on which he employed his muse. He begins with lamenting the calamities which had ensued from border warfare. Ah! what could be, who burn'd to yield relief Without the power to succour, or to save? But tune the lyre to sympathy and grief, And sing the virtues of the fall'n and brave! *See Icelandic and Lapland poetry. laid low; For sorrow loves to hear the favourite dead Receive the look'd-for meed that cheers death's gloomy bed! P. 20. His lyre then proceeds to other subjects. It sung of joys-unknown to carnage dread! Of charms, that soothing, gild life's frequent gloom; Content, mild beaming round the peasant's shed, Comforts that cheer, and prospects that illume; Labour unfretful, yielding to the doom That mingles worldly ill with heavenly good; Till resignation, smiling to the tomb, Soft as mild Cynthia's rays o'er upland, lake, and wood! These tragic subjects, however, are gradually relinquished for mild and pastoral themes. Changed are the notes of cheerless woe, The heav'n-tuned song of Peace! When Pity moves the ruthless breast, Like Love's star glittering in the west Peace gilds the lurid gloom, O Thou! with olive garland crown'd, How oft, when fury lights the eye,' And dark revenge broods threat'ning nigh, Thy angel form appears, Gliding amid the dismal gloom, To lull the storm, and soft illume With sun-beams glanced thro' tears! Then spring the souls to raptures new, Unfelt by Murder's slaught'ring crew, Till touch'd with pity's smart, Mild Mercy then resumes her tone, And Friendship smiling on his throne, Clasps Concord to his heart! For touch the soul with soft delight That flows from guiltless pleasure, Swift, kindred charms with smiles invite To Love and social leisure : Compared with strife, new pictures rise To strike, astonish, and entice From crimes that blackening scare! Till shudd'ring at each horror past, The ruffian turns to Heaven at last Nor ceas'd the band, till sprightly sweet 'The Pastoral strains arose In cadence brisk, and numbers meet, From southern Cheviot's war-stain'd hills To broom flower'd Pentland's heights and rills, No other tales were told; But milk-maids lilting at their pail, And shepherds piping in the dale, Or wooing at the fold: Sweet were the sounds by stream and glade As pastimes echoed in the shade While flocks and herds were roam- But sweeter still, the trysted hour Or ewe-bughts in the gloaming! P. 29. At these more pleasing sounds, the Minstrel crew blush, ashamed, and drop the border lyre; strife ceases, and harmony, love, and peace prevail. The poem closes with a ballad called Dornock Ha', illustrative of the fatal effects effects of "deadly feud and black revenge" on domestic happiness. It contains much of Mr Macneill's characteristic excellencies; but as our extracts have already been copious, we rather chuse to refer our readers to the volume itself, II. The Battle of Flodden-Field; a Poem of the Sixteenth Century.With the various readings of the different Copies, Historical Facts, a Glossary, and an Appendix, containing Ancient Poems, and Historical Matter, relating to the same event. By Henry Weber, 8vo. 15s.; 1. p. 11. 7s. 6d. Constable and Co. 1808. THE HE Battle of Flodden, an event at once so memorable and fatal to Scotland and to her nobles, cannot fail to excite an uncommon degree of interest in Scottish readers; and, accordingly, the present poem, though making little pretensions to poetical merit, has acquired a considerable share of popularity. This is likely to This is likely to be much increased by the connection of its subject with that recently chosen by one of the most admired poets of the present age. This work, indeed, including the appendix, contains a complete collection of all the pieces in verse, and some of the most remarkable in prose, which relate to that extraordinary event. The former, indeed, lead strongly to the conclusion, that Mr Scott's, though not the first verse, is the first poetry which has been written on the subject, if we except, at least, the beautiful little ballad, entitled, "The Flowers of the Forest." We approve, however, of the making such a collection of pieces as may throw light on a transaction which is interesting, not only in a national, but even in an individual point of view, from the number of distinguished names connected with it. As a specimen of the poem, we shall give the following account of the preparations for the inroad into England, which are in a very different style from the preparations of modern warfare. Meanwhile, the King can letters write, With him in England arms to wear. Then every lord and knight each where, And barons bold in muster met; Which iron all about did bind; And some their grisly gisarings grind. Some made their battle axes bright; Some from their bills did rub the rust; Some made long pikes, and lances light; Some pike-forks for to join and thrust. Some did a spear for weapon wield; Some did their lusty geldings try; Some all with gold did gild their shield; Some did with divers colours dye. The tillmen tough their teams could take, And to hard harness them conflate; A sallat for to save his pate. P. 16. The following description of King James setting out for the war, may 2muse our readers. In midst of ranks there rode the king, On stately steed which stoutly stamp'd, A goodly sight to see him fing, And how his foamy bits he champ'd.` King James thus gorgeously gan ride, Great pleasure to his peers to see; Thus rode this prince, puff'd up with pride. Whose lofty heart was but too high: Having so mighty a multitude, Not Nor any king in Christendome, 8 In field to meet him was of might ;' The Soldan, Sophy, nor the Turk; Such lusty blood did in him lurk. But yet for all his armed host, And eke for all his haughty heart, When brought to London in a cart. The homely description given of the battle, forms a curious contrast with the highly poetical picture of Mr Scott. Then ordinance great anon out brast, Then levelled out great leaden lumps. part, The master Scot did mark so right, That he with bullet brast his brain, And hurl'd his heels his head above: Then piped he such a peel again, The Scots he from their ordinance druve. So by the Scots artillery, The Englishmen no harm did hent ;' But the English gunner grievously Them tennis-balls he sousing sent. Into the midst of enemy's ranks, Where they with ragious claps down Some shouting laid with broken shanks, Their foes on heaps down thick they But yet the Scots, with stomach stout, To handy strokes they hied apace, To join with enemy face to face. The Englishmen their feathered flights Sent out anon from sounding bow, Which wounded many warlike wights, And many a groom to ground did throw. The grey goose wing did work such grief, And did the Scots so scour and skail; They rattling flew as rank as hail: The arrows keen kept such a coil, And pierced the scalp of many a Scot," So that on ground they groaning fell: Some had his shoulder quite through shot, Some leaving life did loudly yell. Some through h's stomach store was Some bleeding bellowed like a bull, Some were through privy members prick t. But yet the Scots still stout did stand, Till arrows shot at length was done, And plied apace to strokes of hand, And at the last did battle join. Then on the English part with speed," The bills stept forth, and bows went back, The moorish pikes, and mells of lead, Did deal there many a dreadful thwack. And southward did their faces set; A poem of this kind, which enters so much into individual atchievėments, stands peculiarly in need of notes for its illustration. A considerable number had been written by Mr Lambe, Vicar of Norham; who is described by Mr Weber as extreme> ly deficient in many of the most essential duties of an editor; but who, from his opportunities of local information, might have it in his power to illustrate many circumstances connected with the subject. Considerable value, accordingly, has been attached to his notes, and such of them as are not altogether together irrelevant, are retained in the present edition. Mr Weber has added others, which display judgement and industry. According to the poem, the body of King James was found after the battle, though so mangled as to be with difficulty recognized. Lambe adds the following note: "The next day after the battle, the body of King James was found. He had received many wounds, most of them mortal, He was wounded in diverse places with arrows, his neck was opened to the middle, and his left hand, in two places, almost cut off, so that it scarcely hung to his arm. A great number of noblemen lay dead around the King, whose body, tho' much defaced, was known, at the first sight, by some private marks, by Lord Dacres, Sir William Scot, Sir John Foreman, and other Scottish prisoners." P. 202. The proclamation, copied from Lord Hailes, which was issued when the news were received at Edinburgh, is curious. The x. day of September, we do you to witt, for sa mekill as, thair is ane greit rumber now laitlie rysin within This toun, tueching our Soverane Lord and his army, of the quilk we understand thair is cumin na veritie as yet, quhairfore we charge straitlie, and commandis, in our Soverane Lord the Kingis name, and the Presidents for the Provest and Baillies within this burch, that all manner of personis, nyhbours, within the samen, have ready their fensabill gier and wapponis for weir, and compeir thairwith to the said Presidents, at jowing of the comoun bell, for the keeping and defens of the toun against thame that wald invade the samyn. "And also chairgis, that all women, and speciallie vagabounds, that thai pass *On the 19th of August, 1513, the Provost, Baillies, and community, in respect that they were to pass to the army, "chose, and left behind thame, George of Touris, President, for the Provost, and (four other persons,) för the Baillies, till have full jurisdictioun in their absence."-Register of the City af Edinburgh, A very large list of various readings is annexed, which shews the attention bestowed by the editor in the collation of different manuscripts. The language differs little from that of the present day; less, indeed, than could have been expected; and Mr Weber suspects, that more pains have been taken than could have been de sired, to adapt it to modern perusal. A short glossary, however, has been added, which will remove any difficulties arising from this source. It appears to be very well drawn up; we found occasion only for the following remarks: Coil is made to signify "bustle, stir." Could Shakespeare have said, in this sense, "When we have shuffled off this mortal coil." A gleed half-penny being mentioned, it is said, " perhaps a shining or worn-off half-penny." A gleed half-penny appears to us evidently to signify a bent or crooked half-penny; and this is the only meaning which agrees with the tenor of the narrative. A peculiar contempt seems then to have attached to coin which stood in this predicament; thus Shakespeare makes one of his characters say: "A threepence bow'd would hire me, old as I am, to queen it.” We suspect also there are a few omissions; we noticed convince, to conquer; conflate, to fashion. The appendix consists of the following pieces : 1. Lamentation of King James the fourth, King of Scots, slain at Brampton, in the sixthe year of King Henry the eighth, anno Christi 1513; and the battle of Brampton, or FloddenField, fought in the yeare of our Re deemer |