OH! BREATHE NOT HIS NAME. AIR.-The Brown Maid. I. OH! breathe not his name, let it sleep in the shade But the night-dew that falls, though in silence it weeps, WHEN HE WHO ADORES THEE. I. WHEN he who adores thee has left but the name Oh! say, wilt thou weep, when they darken the fame Yes, weep, and however my foes may condemn, For Heaven can witness, though guilty to them, II. With thee were the dreams of my earliest love- In my last humble prayer to the Spirit above Oh! blest are the lovers and friends who shall live But the next dearest blessing that Heaven can give Is the pride of thus dying for thee! THE HARP THAT ONCE THROUGH TARA'S HALLS. AIR-Gramachree. I. THE harp that once through TARA's halls The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on TARA's walls As if that soul were fled. So sleeps the pride of former days, So glory's thrill is o'er, And hearts that once beat high for praise, Now feel that pulse no more! II. No more to chiefs and ladies bright The chord alone, that breaks at night, Thus Freedom now so seldom wakes, Is when some heart indignant breaks, FLY NOT YET. AIR-Planxty Kelly. I. FLY not yet, 'tis just the hour When pleasure, like the midnight flower That scorns the eye of vulgar light, And maids who love the moon! "Twas but to bless these hours of shade That beauty and the moon were made; "Tis then their soft attractions glowing Set the tides and goblets flowing. Oh! stay-Oh! stay.— Joy so seldom weaves a chain Like this to-night, that oh! 'tis pain To break its links so soon. II. Fly not yet, the fount that play'd Though icy cold by day it ran, Yet still, like souls of mirth, began To burn when night was near: * Solis Fons, near the Temple of Ammon. And thus should woman's heart and looks When did morning ever break, OH! THINK NOT MY SPIRITS ARE ALWAYS AS LIGHT. AIR-John O'Reilly the Active. I. OH! think not my spirits are always as light, Which seldom the rose of enjoyment adorns ; May we never meet worse in our pilgrimage here, Than the tear that enjoyment can gild with a smile, And the smile that compassion can turn to a tear. II. The thread of our life would be dark, Heaven knows! If it were not with friendship and love intertwined; And I care not how soon I may sink to repose, When these blessings shall cease to be dear to my mind! But they who have loved the fondest, the purest, Too often have wept o'er the dream they believed; And the heart that has slumber'd in friendship securest, Is happy indeed if 'twas never deceived. But send round the bowl-while a relic of truth Is in man or in woman, this prayer shall be mine,That the sun-shine of love may illumine our youth, And the moon-light of friendship console our decline. THOUGH THE LAST GLIMPSE OF ERIN AIR.-Coulin. I. THOUGH the last glimpse of ERIN with sorrow I see, And thine eyes make my climate wherever we roam. II. To the gloom of some desert or cold rocky shore, III. And I'll gaze on thy gold hair, as graceful it wreathes, One chord from that harp, or one lock from that hair.* RICH AND RARE WERE THE GEMS SHE WORE.* AIR.-The Summer is coming. I. RICH and rare were the gems she wore, And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore; Her sparkling gems or snow-white wand. "In the twenty-eighth year of the reign of Henry VIII. an Act was made respecting the habits, and dress in general, of the Irish, whereby all persons were restrained from being shorn or shaven above the ears, or from wearing Glibbes, or Coulins (long locks), on their heads, or hair on their upper lip, called Crommeal. On this occasion a song was written by one of our bards, in which an Irish virgin is made to give the preference to her dear Coulin (or the youth with the flowing locks), to all strangers (by which the English were meant), or those who wore their habits. Of this song the air alone has reached us, and is universally admired."-WALKER'S Historical Memoirs of Irish Bards, page 134. Mr. Walker informs us also, that, about the same period, there were some harsh measures taken against the Irish Minstrels. * This ballad is founded upon the following anecdote: "The people were inspired with such a spirit of honour, virtue, and II. "Lady! dost thou not fear to stray, III. "Sir Knight! I feel not the least alarm, "No son of ERIN will offer me harm "For though they love woman and golden store, IV. On she went, and her maiden smile In safety lighted her round the green isle. AS A BEAM O'ER THE FACE OF THE WATERS MAY GLOW. AIR.-The Young Man's Dream. I. As a beam o'er the face of the waters may glow II. One fatal remembrance, one sorrow that throws religion, by the great example of Brien, and by his excellent administration, that, as a proof of it, we are informed that a young lady of great beauty, adorned with jewels and a costly dress, undertook a journey alone from one end of the kingdom to the other, with a wand only in her hand, at the top of which was a ring of exceeding great value; and such an impression had the laws and government of this Monarch made on the minds of all the people, that no attempt was made upon her honour, nor was she robbed of her clothes or jewels.”—WARNER'S History of Ireland, Vol. 1, Book 10. |