Page images
PDF
EPUB

ORRAR AND MUIRNE.

[From the Irish.]

1.

SHE comes along the flowery lawn—
Joy sparkles in her dewy glance;
And, in the fanning breath of dawn,

Her jetty locks in ringlets dance.
Less lovely, from his orient tower,
The sun o'er bright Bin-Edur1 glows;
Less welcome falls the pearly shower
That wakes to life the fainting rose,
Than thou, enchanting Muirnē! art
To cheer thine Orrar's throbbing heart.

2.

Ere yet my youthful arm could wave
The glittering sword in fields of fight;
When tuneful bards to glory gave

The deeds of Erin's matchless might;
My bosom thrilled with Valour's flame,
Inspired by Music's kindling power;
I sighed to hear my father's fame,

And burned for battle's fiercest hour;
But Muirnē! then, I ne'er had viewed
That form which since my soul subdued.

3.

Yet Muirne! oft has Orrar sought

His country's foes-nor sought in vain ; Where'er this hand th' invader fought,

His bravest, mightiest, strewed the plain.

1 Bin-Edur-the ancient name of the Hill of Howth.

But never has my conquering spear
Against the feeble aimed a blow,
Nor, when disarmed and pale with fear,
Has laid th' imploring warrior low.
Sunbeam of life to Orrar's breast!
Then calm his tender fears to rest.

4.

Sweet flower of blooming loveliness!
Fair-bosomed swan of Beauty hear!
And, with one winning smile, confess,
That Orrar's strains can please thine ear.
Ah! see that fondly beaming smile

Bright with young Passion's gentle fire!
Yes, those dear looks no more beguile,--
That glance invites my soul's desire!
The rosy flush that lights thy cheeks,
The dawn of Orrar's bliss bespeaks!

Sept. 7th 1833.

EPIGRAM

ON A WEALTHY AND PRESUMING UPSTART,

"There is not, in the whole compass of nature, a more insufferable creature than a prosperous fool."-CiCERO.

WHEN I meet Tom, the purse-proud and impudent blockhead,

In his

person, the poets' three ages I trace; For the GOLD and the SILVER unite in his pocket, And the BRAZEN is easily seen in his face.

Feb. 16th, 1830.

EPISTLE

FROM DR. SOUTHEY, POET LAUREAT, AND AUTHOR OF THE 66 BOOK OF THE CHURCH,"

SIR,

66

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PARSON'S HORN-BOOK. "" 1

I suppose you'll feel somewhat surprised, By a mere stranger to be thus advised; But, if you wish, as well your own salvation, As that of Ireland and her "sister nation," No longer seek, with satire to destroy, But, in the Church's cause, your pen employ; Since, as I'll show, none like her qualifies The souls of sinful laymen for the skies. When the great author of eternal life Shared our afflictions in this "vale of strife," Saint Matthew tells us, that a certain Jew Asked, "what, to gain salvation, he should do?" "Keep the commandments," the Redeemer cried: "All, from my youth, I've kept," the Jew replied. Our Lord rejoined "If thou wouldst Heaven insure. Sell what thou hast, and give it to the poor!" But the young man, not liking what he heard, His treasures here, to those above, preferred. "Then," said our Saviour, "it is hardly given, That a rich man should ever enter Heaven;

1 For an account, and examination of the causes that led to the appearance, of this first effective publication against Irish Church temporalities and abuses, and its connection with the formation of the "Comet Club," and the " Irish Brigade," see the Postscript or Appendix to this Epistle, at the end of the volume.

A camel may pass through a needle's eye,
Ere such a man shall dwell with me on high."
In the Epistles, too, we find St. Paul,
Gold, by the name of "filthy lucre," call;
And Christ declared "HIS paths could ne'er be t
By those with Mammon seeking to join God."
Now, Sir, as no one knows these sayings better
Than Parsons, who quote Scripture to the letter
They fear, if we possessed the "root of evil,"

Our wicked hearts would lead us to the Devil;
And, therefore, wish to guard us from the curses
Pronounced on those enjoying ponderous purses.
For this great end, inspired by holy zeal,
With the keen shears of legislative steel,
From their dear sheep they clip away the gold,
As the famed Colchian ram was fleeced of old-
Thus nobly making certain our salvation,
By taking on themselves their flocks' damnation!
Oh, generous men ! no more let Heathen Rome
To match her blighted fame with yours presume
No more extol her champion Decius Mus2-
He died for her—you DAMN yourselves for us!
No more, oh Carthage! thy Philæni3 boast,
Interred alive upon Cyrene's coast;

!

2 Decius Mus, a Roman consul, who, after many gloriou exploits, devoted himself to the Gods Manes, for the safety of h country, in a battle against the Latins, 338 years B. C. His so Decius, followed his example, fighting against the Gauls an Samnites, B. C. 296. . This act of devoting one's self wa of infinite service to the STATE.--Lempriere.

3 Two Carthaginian brothers, justly celebrated for their patri otism. The Carthaginians and Cyrenæans, after a long and bloody war about the limits of their territories, being apprehen

They, for thy welfare, met a living grave-
Parsons, for us, eternal torments brave!
Did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
In Babylon, such self-devotion shew?

sive that a third power might arise to avail itself of their mutual weakness by the injury or ruin of both, agreed to make peace on the following conditions. The two states were each to appoint ambassadors, who were to advance in a given direction from their respective capitals at a certain day and hour, and the place of their meeting was to be the boundary of their governments. Two brothers, the Philæni, were named as the Carthaginian ambassadors, and, either from the remissness of the Cyrenæan envoys, or their having been delayed by one of those formidable sand-storms, which, in the desert parts of Africa, are as dangerous to travellers on land, as tempests are to mariners at sea, the Carthaginians met their opponents somewhat within the Cyrenæan limits. The Cyrenæans, being consequently afraid of punishment, if they returned home defeated by their own acknowledgement, endeavoured to involve matters in clamour and confusion, that they might escape an impeachment by a rupture of negociations and a renewal of the war. For this purpose, they exclaimed against the Philani as having commenced their journey too soon; and, on the two brothers having honourably offered, for the sake of peace, to wave the advantage they had acquired, and to accept of any other terms consistent with equality and justice, the Cyrenæans proposed " Either that the Philæni should consent to be buried alive on the spot claimed by them as the boundary of the Carthaginian state, or that they, the Cyrenæan ambassadors, should be permitted to advance as far as they might choose, under the same penalty." The first of these proposals, it was anticipated, that the Philæni, from the penalty annexed to it, would on their own account reject, as they would be justified in doing. The terms of the second proposal, or that by which the Cyrenæans were to be bound, though appearing to contain the same penalty for them as the first did for their opponents, were, in effect, such, that, whether acquiesced in or rejected by the Carthaginians, the contrivers would be equally guarded against suffering either the penalty it contained, or the punishment they feared at home. For, if the privilege of advancing ad libitum into the Carthaginian territory should be unthinkingly acceded to by the Philani, the Cyrenean ambassadors might acquire the greater part, or, indeed, ALL its possessions from Carthage, to which city itself they might proceed -a submission to which war itself would of course be preferable. And, on the other hand, if the proposal involving such an absurdity should be rejected, it was calculated that a similar result would ensue, in a rupture of the negociations, and a renewal

C

« PreviousContinue »