Nor dread that the cold-hearted Saxon will tear

One chord from that harp, or one lock from that hair*.

* 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.

RICH AND RARE WERE THE GEMS SHE WORE *.

I.

RICH and rare were the

gems

she wore,

And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore;

But oh! her beauty was far beyond

Her sparkling gems, or snow-white wand.

II.

Lady! dost thou not fear to stray,

"So lone and lovely, through this bleak way? “Are ERIN's sons so good or so cold,

"As not to be tempted by woman or gold?”

* This ballad is founded upon the following anecdote: "The people were inspired with such a spirit of honour, virtue and 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.

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, "Sir Knight! they love honour and virtue more !”

IV.

On she went, and her maiden smile

In safety lighted her round the green isle.
And blest for ever is she who relied

Upon ERIN's honor, and ERIN's pride!

AS A BEAM O'ER THE FACE OF THE
WATERS MAY GLOW.

I.

As a beam o'er the face of the waters may glow, While the tide runs in darkness and coldness below, So the cheek may be ting'd with a warm sunny smile, Though the cold heart to ruin runs darkly the while.

II.

One fatal remembrance, one sorrow that throws
Its bleak shade alike o'er our joys and our woes,
To which life nothing darker or brighter can bring,
For which joy has no balm and affliction no sting!—

III.

Oh! this thought in the midst of enjoyment will stay,
Like a dead, leafless branch in the summer's bright ray;
The beams of the warm sun play round it in vain,
It may smile in his light, but it blooms not again!

THE MEETING OF THE WATERS*.

I.

THERE is not in the wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale, in whose bosom the bright waters meet † ;
Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart,
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.

II.

Yet, it was not that nature had shed o'er the scene
Her purest of crystal and brightest of green;
'Twas not the soft magic of streamlet or hill,
Oh! no, it was something more exquisite still.

III.

'Twas that friends, the belov'd of my bosom, were near, Who made every dear scene of enchantment more dear, And who felt how the best charms of nature improve, When we see them reflected from looks that we love.

"The Meeting of the Waters," forms a part of that beautiful scenery which lies between Rathdrum and Arklow, in the county of Wicklow, and these lines were suggested by a visit to this romantic spot, in the summer of the year 1807.

The rivers Avon and Avoca.