'Twas black and drear, the silent trees,
Stood tall, and still, around;

The long grass stirred not in the breeze;
The water gave no sound.

But the lady bright, on the battlement's height, He saw by the burning moon;

From her locks so light, and her garments white, The stranger knew her soon,

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"Ho! Lady Anne, thou must come down; Thy husband sends for thee :"By the cross of stone, on the heath alone, "He waits to fly with thee.

"For the fight is o'er, and the rebel power, "Hath vanquished its lord;

"And now his store is nothing more, "But only his good sword.".

"Now tell me knight! by a warrior's might, "I charge thee, tell me true!

"If from the fight, this fatal night,

My love, unhurt withdrew!

"Ah! be my bed, the leaves that are shed, "By Autumn's hollow wind,

"If on his breast, my head but rest, "The sweetest sleep I'll find.'

"He waits for thee," the knight replied,"By the mouldering cross of stone : Thy sleep will be sweet:" the stranger sigh'd"But never sweet alone.

"Come, mount thee here; nay do not fear, "Tho' the clouds be gathering fast:

"My courser's swift, for his career,

"Is like the ocean's blast.".

They rode o'er hill, they rode o'er vale,
They rode thro' the groaning wood;
Till by the glare of the light'ning pale,
They saw the holy rood.

T

And near it lay a comely form,

In dusky armour drest

He lay in sleep; and the raging storm,
Could not break his rest.

The warrior slept, and the lady stepped
His well-known form to fold;

She kiss'd his brow, but the nightly snow
Is not so icy cold.

With piercing cries she rais'd her eyes,
And the stranger stood by her side;
His mantle was gone, and his armour shone,
And his dark plume floated wide.

His steed was form'd of the foaming surf
Which roars in Killarney's lake,
When the furious blast its water casts,
And rocking turrets shake.

"Behold your Lord!" the phantom said,
"The fight indeed is o'er;
"And under this shade my corse is laid,
"To sleep for evermore.

"But thou must with me; for the shoreless sea "Is given us for our reign;

"And Killarney's lake each year shall quake "For its prince and hero slain.

"Killarney's hills, and Killarney's caves, "Our lonely dwellings must be,

"Till this yearly hour, when its shuddering waves, My airy horse shall see:

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"Then in angry pomp, thro' the waters wide,
"In light'ning and thunder drest,
"Your prince shall ride, while the stormy tide
"O'erwhelms his vassal's rest.

"For three long days, and three long nights,
"Must they tremble with guilty fear,
“ Till the whirlwind cease, and all be peace,.
"And I no longer there.'

He spoke and clasp'd his arms to grasp
The form of that lady fair;

But she breath'd a groan, and her spirit alone
Now wanders with his thro' the air.

THE RING.

HOLLOWAY.

THE sea-gull wheel'd in circles low,
And, screaming, skimm'd the wintry tide;
The evening blast began to blow,

Up the steep cliff's rifted side.

In broken foam, the white surge drove,

And back recoil'd, with rushing sound; When on the precipice above,

With haggard eyes, and locks unbound,

Stood Mary, once the fairest maid

And chastest wife on Cornwall's shore,

Till lost her spouse, herself betray'd,

And fair, and virtuous, now no more!

Down on the crumbling rock she kneel'd,
O'er which the waving samphire grew;
And, while her aching bosom swell'd,
Her ring she from her finger drew.

"O! golden pledge of early love!

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"Thou promise of connubial bliss! Upbraid me not!"-she cried-" nor prove "How ill this soul sustains distress.

"Whene'er thy glittering form I view,

My heart reproaches me and cries"Could'st thou forget a spouse so true,

"Who first conferr'd this hallow'd prize?

"And ere soft April's dewy hand

"Had twice bestrew'd with flow'rs his grave, "Submit thee to seductions bland

"The dupe of vice, and passion's slave!

"Accurst by heav'n, and woman kind,
"For ever be that traitor vile,
"Who turn'd from innocence my mind.
"And dar'd my easy faith beguile!

"O! golden pledge of happier times!
"Thou promise sweet of wedded bliss-
"No more reproach me with my crimes,
"Nor aggravate my soul's distress!
"Now dear, belov'd, dishonour'd pledge!
"I lay thee thus on this rude stone,
"That gazers o'er this fearful ridge,

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Might learn, from thee, that I am gone!

"Here witness thou how Mary fell,

"To expiate her foul disgrace;

"And soon to her betrayer tell

"The tale that time shall ne'er efface!"

She clasp'd her hands-she rais'd her eyes,
In bitterest anguish of despair;-
Wild was the ocean-dark the skies!

No hope remain'd-no help was near,

Down-down she plung'd-the dashing wave
Receiv'd her on its murmuring breast;
And, rolling back, the gulphy grave

Compos'd her struggling heart to rest!

THE DEVILS WHO CATCH MEN.

ELTON.

IN a rock was his mansion beside the hoarse main
Whose dashings at distance was heard:

But the prince's soft limbs were ungall'd by a chain,
He was serv'd on the knee by the Paladin train,
And was gay as the cage-prison'd bird.

At his birth the physicians were met in debate,
And his horoscope earnestly read;

The planets were adverse; and sad they relate
Their fearful conjunction, whose menacing fate
Now glares o'er his infantine head.

"From his cradle three lustres must dark pass away,
"And the sun must be hid from his eyes;
"If before he encounter the splendor of day,
"The clear orbs of vision depriv'd of their ray

"Shall in vain seek the light of the skies." A mountain was hollow'd, a cavern delv'd wide, With arches and pillars of stone;

A fire, that with cedars blaz'd fragrant, defied
The damps that arose from the salt ocean-tide,
And with far-streaming radiancy shone.

The ivory couches with purple were dight,
The walls hung with arras around;

There hawks, hounds, and horses, were pictur'd to

sight,

And woods waving green, and clear streams purling

bright,

And huntsmen their horns seem'd to sound.

Beaten gold all the ceiling's arch'd surface o'erlaid;
Birds warbled in cages of gold;

And as if by some minstrel's invisible aid,
With musical echo soft instruments play'd,
As the passing waves outwardly roll'd.