I. 1.
'RUIN ſeize thee, ruthleſs King!
'Confuſion on thy banners wait,
'Tho' fann'd by Conqueſt's crimſon wing
'They mock the air with idle ſtate.
'Helm, nor Hauberk's twiſted mail,
'Nor even thy virtues, Tyrant, ſhall avail
'To ſave thy ſecret ſoul from nightly fears,
'From Cambria's curſe, from Cambria's tears!'
Such were the ſounds, that o'er the creſted pride
Of the firſt Edward ſcatter'd wild diſmay,
As down the ſteep of Snowdon's ſhaggy ſide
He wound with toilſome march his long array.
Stout Gloſter ſtood aghaſt in ſpeechleſs trance:
To arms! cried Mortimer, and couch'd his quiv'ring lance.
[11]I. 2.
On a rock, whoſe haughty brow
Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood,
Robed in the ſable garb of woe,
With haggard eyes the Poet ſtood;
(Looſe his beard, and hoary hair
Stream'd, like a meteor, to the troubled air)
And with a Maſter's hand, and Prophet's fire,
Struck the deep ſorrows of his lyre.
'Hark, how each giant-oak, and deſert cave,
'Sighs to the torrent's aweful voice beneath!
'O'er thee, oh King! their hundred arms they wave,
'Revenge on thee in hoarſer murmurs breath;
'Vocal no more, ſince Cambria's fatal day,
'To high-born Hoel's harp, or ſoft Llewellyn's lay.
I. 3.
'Cold is Cadwallo's tongue,
'That huſh'd the ſtormy main:
'Brave Urien ſleeps upon his craggy bed:
'Mountains, ye mourn in vain
'Modred, whoſe magic ſong
'Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-top'd head.
'On dreary Arvon's ſhore they lie,
'Smear'd with gore, and ghaſtly pale:
'Far, far aloof th' affrighted ravens ſail;
'The famiſh'd Eagle ſcreams, and paſſes by.
[12] 'Dear loſt companions of my tuneful art,
'Dear, as the light, that viſits theſe ſad eyes,
'Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart,
'Ye died amidſt your dying country's cries—
'No more I weep. They do not ſleep.
'On yonder cliffs, a grieſly band,
'I ſee them ſit, they linger yet,
'Avengers of their native land:
'With me in dreadful harmony they join,
'And weave with bloody hands the tiſſue of thy line.
II. 1.
"Weave the warp, and weave the woof,
"The winding-ſheet of Edward's race.
"Give ample room, and verge enough
"The characters of hell to trace.
"Mark the year, and mark the night,
"When Severn ſhall re-eccho with affright
"The ſhrieks of death, thro' Berkley's roofs that ring,
"Shrieks of an agonizing King!
"She-Wolf of France, with unrelenting fangs,
"That tear'ſt the bowels of thy mangled Mate,
"From thee be born, who o'er thy country hangs
"The ſcourge of Heav'n. What Terrors round him wait!
"Amazement in his van, with Flight combined,
"And ſorrow's faded form, and ſolitude behind.
[13]II. 2.
"Mighty Victor, mighty Lord,
"Low on his funeral couch he lies!
"No pitying heart, no eye, afford
"A tear to grace his obſequies.
"Is the ſable Warriour fled?
"Thy ſon is gone. He reſts among the Dead.
"The Swarm, that in thy noon-tide beam were born?
"Gone to ſalute the riſing Morn.
"Fair laughs the Morn, and ſoft the Zephyr blows,
"While proudly riding o'er the azure realm
"In gallant trim the gilded Veſſel goes;
"Youth on the prow, and Pleaſure at the helm;
"Regardleſs of the ſweeping Whirlwind's ſway,
"That, huſh'd in grim repoſe, expects his evening-prey.
II. 3.
"
* Fill high the ſparkling bowl,
"The rich repaſt prepare,
"Reft of a crown, he yet may ſhare the feaſt:
"Cloſe by the regal chair
[14] "Fell Thirſt and Famine ſcowl
"A baleful ſmile upon their baffled Gueſt.
"Heard ye the din of battle bray,
"Lance to lance, and horſe to horſe?
"Long years of havock urge their deſtined courſe,
"And thro' the kindred ſquadrons mow their way.
"Ye Towers of Julius, London's laſting ſhame,
"With many a foul and midnight murther fed,
"Revere his Conſort's faith, his Father's fame,
"And ſpare the meek Uſurper's holy head.
"Above, below, the roſe of ſnow,
"Twined with her bluſhing foe, we ſpread:
"The briſtled Boar in infant-gore
"Wallows beneath the thorny ſhade.
"Now, Brothers, bending o'er th' accurſed loom
"Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom.
III. 1.
"Edward, lo! to ſudden fate
"(Weave we the woof. The thread is ſpun)
"
* Half of thy heart we conſecrate.
"(The web is wove. The work is done.)
[15] 'Stay, oh ſtay! nor thus forlorn
'Leave me unbleſſed, unpitied, here to mourn:
'In yon bright track, that fires the weſtern ſkies,
'They melt, they vaniſh from my eyes.
'But oh! what ſolemn ſcenes on Snowdon's height
'Deſcending ſlow their glitt'ring ſkirts unroll?
'Viſions of glory, ſpare my aching ſight,
'Ye unborn Ages, crowd not on my ſoul!
'No more our long-loſt Arthur we bewail.
'All-hail
*, ye genuine Kings, Britannia's Iſſue, hail!
III. 2.
'Girt with many a Baron bold
'Sublime their ſtarry fronts they rear;
'And gorgeous Dames, and Stateſmen old
'In bearded majeſty, appear.
'In the midſt a Form divine!
'Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-Line;
'Her lyon-port, her awe-commanding face,
'Attemper'd ſweet to virgin-grace.
'What ſtrings ſymphonious tremble in the air,
'What ſtrains of vocal tranſport round her play!
'Hear from the grave, great Talieſſin
†, hear;
'They breath a ſoul to animate thy clay.
[16] 'Bright Rapture calls, and ſoaring, as ſhe ſings,
'Waves in the eye of Heav'n her many-colour'd wings.
III. 3.
'The verſe adorn again
'Fierce War, and faithful Love,
'And Truth ſevere, by fairy Fiction dreſt.
'In buſkin'd meaſures move
'Pale Grief, and pleaſing Pain,
'With Horrour, Tyrant of the throbbing breaſt.
'A Voice, as of the Cherub-Choir,
'Gales from blooming Eden bear;
'And diſtant warblings leſſen on my ear,
'That loſt in long futurity expire.
'Fond impious Man, think'ſt thou, yon ſanguine cloud,
'Rais'd by thy breath, has quench'd the Orb of day?
'To-morrow he repairs the golden flood,
'And warms the nations with redoubled ray.
'Enough for me: With joy I ſee
'The different doom our Fates aſſign.
'Be thine Deſpair, and ſcept'red Care,
'To triumph, and to die, are mine.'
He ſpoke, and headlong from the mountain's height
Deep in the roaring tide he plung'd to endleſs night.