And now on the dry wither'd fern, she could hear The hoofs of swift horses rebound: She stopp'd, and she listen'd, she trembled with fear, When a voice most prophetic and sad met her ear, And she shudder'd and shrunk at the sound. " 'Tis here will we wait," cry'd the horseman ; " for see "How the moon with black clouds is o'erspread; "No hut yields a shelter, no forest a tree"This heath shall young Theodore's bridal-couch be, "And the cold earth shall pillow his head. "Hark! some one approaches :-now stand we aside, "We shall know him-for see the moon's clear; "In a doublet of grey he now waits for his bride, “But ere dawn-light, the carle shall repent of his "pride, "And his pale mangled body rest here." Again, the moon shrouded in clouds, o'er the plain The night became stormy, the fast falling rain Now clashing of swords overwhelm'd her with dread, While her ear met the deep groan of death; “Yield, yield thee, bold peasant," the murderer said, "This turf with thy heart's dearest blood shall be red, "And thy bones whiten over the heath." Now shrieking, despairing, she starts from the ground, And her spear, with new strength she let go: She aim'd it at random, she felt it rebound From the sure hand of Fate, which inflicted the wound, As it drank the life-blood of her foe. The morning advanc'd, o'er the pale chilling skies Soon the warm rosy tints circled wide; But, oh God! with what anguish, what terror she flies, When her father, all cover'd with wounds, she descries, With her lover's pale corpse by his side! Half frantic she fell on her parent's cold breast, Now o'er the wild heath, when the winter winds blow, And the moon-silver'd fern branches wave, And while the deep sound echoes over the wood, For as legends declare, where the castle once stood, 'Mid the ruins, by moon-light, all cover'd with blood, Shrieks the maid-in her doublet of grey. THE FRITH OF SOLWAY.* SCOT. LOUD and shrill the west wind blows, No kind star the skies disclose To light me o'er the dangerous moor. Birds of prey flit screaming by, Bear me to my cottage door. The Frith of Solway falls into the mouth of the River Annan. Both are the frequent scenes of tragical accidents. Hark-what melancholy moans Soul-piercing shrieks, and lengthen'd groans, T Terror shakes me-hark! again! Never yet so sad a strain Mingled with the hollow blast! From Solway's Frith the sounds arise- Mourning her sad destiny. Heav'n be prais'd, I've cross'd the moor, The morning broke-his orient light Now no longer rav'd the storm ; The tide has ebb'd, but left behind, Swollen, and bleaching in the wind. Anxious her husband to discern :— His fearful eyes he cast around- Half-rais'd above the roaring flood. O'er his poor devoted head Soon the tumultuous billows roll- Ah! Janet, soon, too soon you'll learn And rush within the arms of death. All is hush'd-the passing gale No longer wafts his plaintive cries; Successive waves at length prevail, And close the exhausted suff'rer's eyes. Yes-Janet-yes! too soon you'll learn Still when hoarse Annan's waters roar. DEAD-MAN's ISLAND. MOORE. See you beneath yon cloud so dark, Fast gliding along, a gloomy bark? Her sails are full, though the wind is still, Oh! what doth that vessel of darkness bear? There lieth a wreck on the dismal shore Of cold and pitiless Labrador; Where, under the moon, upon mounts of frost, Yon shadowy bark hath been to that wreck, To Dead-man's Isle, in the eye of the blast, Oh! hurry thee on,-oh! hurry thee on, THE VIGIL OF ST. MARK. MONTGOMERY, RETURNING from their evening walk, In sweet, romantic, tender talk, Edmund, the monarch of the dale, Ella, the lily of the vale, The rose of Auburn's bowers! In airy love's delightful bands He held her heart in vain; The nymph denied her willing hands N |