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Childe Harold's Pilgrimage - Canto the First[;] Childe Harold's Goodnight

  1. 1"Adieu, adieu! my native shore
  2. 2Fades o'er the waters blue;
  3. 3The night-winds sigh, the breakers roar,
  4. 4And shrieks the wild sea-mew.
  5. 5Yon Sun that sets upon the sea
  6. 6We follow in his flight;
  7. 7Farewell awhile to him and thee,
  8. 8My native Land--Good Night!
  1. 9"A few short hours and He will rise
  2. 10To give the Morrow birth;
  3. 11And I shall hail the main and skies,
  4. 12But not my mother Earth.
  5. 13Deserted is my own good Hall,
  6. 14Its hearth is desolate;
  7. 15Wild weeds are gathering on the wall;
  8. 16My Dog howls at the gate.
  1. 17"Come hither, hither, my little page
  2. 18Why dost thou weep and wail?
  3. 19Or dost thou dread the billows' rage,
  4. 20Or tremble at the gale?
  5. 21But dash the tear-drop from thine eye;
  6. 22Our ship is swift and strong:
  7. 23Our fleetest falcon scarce can fly
  8. 24More merrily along."
  1. 25"Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high,
  2. 26I fear not wave nor wind:
  3. 27Yet marvel not, Sir Childe, that I
  4. 28Am sorrowful in mind;
  5. 29For I have from my father gone,
  6. 30A mother whom I love,
  7. 31And have no friend, save these alone,
  8. 32But thee--and One above.
  1. 33'My father blessed me fervently,
  2. 34Yet did not much complain;
  3. 35But sorely will my mother sigh
  4. 36Till I come back again.'--
  5. 37"Enough, enough, my little lad!
  6. 38Such tears become thine eye;
  7. 39If I thy guileless bosom had,
  8. 40Mine own would not be dry.
  1. 41"Come hither, hither, my staunch yeoman,
  2. 42Why dost thou look so pale?
  3. 43Or dost thou dread a French foeman?
  4. 44Or shiver at the gale?"--
  5. 45'Deem'st thou I tremble for my life?
  6. 46Sir Childe, I'm not so weak;
  7. 47But thinking on an absent wife
  8. 48Will blanch a faithful cheek.
  1. 49'My spouse and boys dwell near thy hall,
  2. 50Along the bordering Lake,
  3. 51And when they on their father call,
  4. 52What answer shall she make?'--
  5. 53"Enough, enough, my yeoman good,
  6. 54Thy grief let none gainsay;
  7. 55But I, who am of lighter mood,
  8. 56Will laugh to flee away.
  1. 57"For who would trust the seeming sighs
  2. 58Of wife or paramour?
  3. 59Fresh feeres will dry the bright blue eyes
  4. 60We late saw streaming o'er.
  5. 61For pleasures past I do not grieve,
  6. 62Nor perils gathering near;
  7. 63My greatest grief is that I leave
  8. 64No thing that claims a tear.
  1. 65"And now I'm in the world alone,
  2. 66Upon the wide, wide sea:
  3. 67But why should I for others groan,
  4. 68When none will sigh for me?
  5. 69Perchance my Dog will whine in vain,
  6. 70Till fed by stranger hands;
  7. 71But long ere I come back again,
  8. 72He'd tear me where he stands.
  1. 73"With thee, my bark, I'll swiftly go
  2. 74Athwart the foaming brine;
  3. 75Nor care what land thou bear'st me to,
  4. 76So not again to mine.
  5. 77Welcome, welcome, ye dark-blue waves!
  6. 78And when you fail my sight,
  7. 79Welcome, ye deserts, and ye caves!
  8. 80My native Land--Good Night!"
  1. 81On, on the vessel flies, the land is gone,
  2. 82And winds are rude in Biscay's sleepless bay.
  3. 83Four days are sped, but with the fifth, anon,
  4. 84New shores descried make every bosom gay;
  5. 85And Cintra's mountain greets them on their way,
  6. 86And Tagus dashing onward to the Deep,
  7. 87His fabled golden tribute bent to pay;
  8. 88And soon on board the Lusian pilots leap,
  9. 89And steer 'twixt fertile shores where yet few rustics reap.
  1. 90Oh, Christ! it is a goodly sight to see
  2. 91What Heaven hath done for this delicious land!
  3. 92What fruits of fragrance blush on every tree!
  4. 93What goodly prospects o'er the hills expand!
  5. 94But man would mar them with an impious hand:
  6. 95And when the Almighty lifts his fiercest scourge
  7. 96'Gainst those who most transgress his high command,
  8. 97With treble vengeance will his hot shafts urge
  9. 98Gaul's locust host, and earth from fellest foemen purge
  1. 99What beauties doth Lisboa first unfold!
  2. 100Her image floating on that noble tide,
  3. 101Which poets vainly pave with sands of gold,
  4. 102But now whereon a thousand keels did ride
  5. 103Of mighty strength, since Albion was allied,
  6. 104And to the Lusians did her aid afford:
  7. 105A nation swoln with ignorance and pride,
  8. 106Who lick yet loathe the hand that waves the sword
  9. 107To save them from the wrath of Gaul's unsparing lord.
  1. 108But whoso entereth within this town,
  2. 109That, sheening far, celestial seems to be,
  3. 110Disconsolate will wander up and down,
  4. 111'Mid many things unsightly to strange ee;
  5. 112For hut and palace show like filthily:
  6. 113The dingy denizens are reared in dirt;
  7. 114Ne personage of high or mean degree
  8. 115Doth care for cleanness of surtout or shirt,
  9. 116Though shent with Egypt's plague, unkempt, unwashed, unhurt.
  1. 117Poor, paltry slaves! yet born 'midst noblest scenes--
  2. 118Why, Nature, waste thy wonders on such men?
  3. 119Lo! Cintra's glorious Eden intervenes
  4. 120In variegated maze of mount and glen.
  5. 121Ah, me! what hand can pencil guide, or pen,
  6. 122To follow half on which the eye dilates
  7. 123Through views more dazzling unto mortal ken
  8. 124Than those whereof such things the Bard relates,
  9. 125Who to the awe-struck world unlocked Elysium's gates.
  1. 126The horrid crags, by toppling convent crowned,
  2. 127The cork-trees hoar that clothe the shaggy steep,
  3. 128The mountain-moss by scorching skies imbrowned,
  4. 129The sunken glen, whose sunless shrubs must weep,
  5. 130The tender azure of the unruffled deep,
  6. 131The orange tints that gild the greenest bough,
  7. 132The torrents that from cliff to valley leap,
  8. 133The vine on high, the willow branch below,
  9. 134Mixed in one mighty scene, with varied beauty glow.
  1. 135Then slowly climb the many-winding way,
  2. 136And frequent turn to linger as you go,
  3. 137From loftier rocks new loveliness survey,
  4. 138And rest ye at "Our Lady's house of Woe;"
  5. 139Where frugal monks their little relics show,
  6. 140And sundry legends to the stranger tell:
  7. 141Here impious men have punished been, and lo!
  8. 142Deep in yon cave Honorius long did dwell,
  9. 143In hope to merit Heaven by making earth a Hell.
  1. 144And here and there, as up the crags you spring,
  2. 145Mark many rude-carved crosses near the path:
  3. 146Yet deem not these Devotion's offering--
  4. 147These are memorials frail of murderous wrath:
  5. 148For wheresoe'er the shrieking victim hath
  6. 149Pour'd forth his blood beneath the assassin's knife,
  7. 150Some hand erects a cross of mouldering lath;
  8. 151And grove and glen with thousand such are rife
  9. 152Throughout this purple land, where Law secures not life.
  1. 153On sloping mounds, or in the vale beneath,
  2. 154Are domes where whilome kings did make repair;
  3. 155But now the wild flowers round them only breathe:
  4. 156Yet ruined Splendour still is lingering there.
  5. 157And yonder towers the Prince's palace fair:
  6. 158There thou too, Vathek! England's wealthiest son,
  7. 159Once formed thy Paradise, as not aware
  8. 160When wanton Wealthher mightiest deeds hath done,
  9. 161Meek Peace voluptuous lures was ever wont to shun.
  1. 162Here didst thou dwell, here schemes of pleasure plan,
  2. 163Beneath yon mountain's ever beauteous brow:
  3. 164But now, as if a thing unblest by Man,
  4. 165Thy fairy dwelling is as lone as Thou!
  5. 166Here giant weeds a passage scarce allow
  6. 167To Halls deserted, portals gaping wide:
  7. 168Fresh lessons to the thinking bosom, how
  8. 169Vain are the pleasaunces on earth supplied;
  9. 170Swept into wrecks anon by Time's ungentle tide!
  1. 171Behold the hall where chiefs were late convened!
  2. 172Oh! dome displeasing unto British eye!
  3. 173With diadem hight Foolscap, lo! a Fiend,
  4. 174A little Fiend that scoffs incessantly,
  5. 175There sits in parchment robe arrayed, and by
  6. 176His side is hung a seal and sable scroll,
  7. 177Where blazoned glare names known to chivalry,
  8. 178And sundry signatures adorn the roll,
  9. 179Whereat the Urchin points and laughs with all his soul.
  1. 180Convention is the dwarfish demon styled
  2. 181That foiled the knights in Marialva's dome:
  3. 182Of brains (if brains they had) he them beguiled,
  4. 183And turned a nation's shallow joy to gloom.
  5. 184Here Folly dashed to earth the victor's plume,
  6. 185And Policy regained what arms had lost:
  7. 186For chiefs like ours in vain may laurels bloom!
  8. 187Woe to the conquering, not the conquered host,
  9. 188Since baffled Triumph droops on Lusitania's coast.
  1. 189And ever since that martial Synod met,
  2. 190Britannia sickens, Cintra! at thy name;
  3. 191And folks in office at the mention fret,
  4. 192And fain would blush, if blush they could, for shame.
  5. 193How will Posterity the deed proclaim!
  6. 194Will not our own and fellow-nations sneer,
  7. 195To view these champions cheated of their fame,
  8. 196By foes in fight o'erthrown, yet victors here,
  9. 197Where Scorn her finger points through many a coming year?
  1. 198So deemed the Childe, as o'er the mountains he
  2. 199Did take his way in solitary guise:
  3. 200Sweet was the scene, yet soon he thought to flee,
  4. 201More restless than the swallow in the skies:
  5. 202Though here awhile he learned to moralise,
  6. 203For Meditation fixed at times on him;
  7. 204And conscious Reason whispered to despise
  8. 205His early youth, misspent in maddest whim;
  9. 206But as he gazed on truth his aching eyes grew dim.
  1. 207To horse! to horse! he quits, for ever quits
  2. 208A scene of peace, though soothing to his soul:
  3. 209Again he rouses from his moping fits,
  4. 210But seeks not now the harlot and the bowl.
  5. 211Onward he flies, nor fixed as yet the goal
  6. 212Where he shall rest him on his pilgrimage;
  7. 213And o'er him many changing scenes must roll
  8. 214Ere toil his thirst for travel can assuage,
  9. 215Or he shall calm his breast, or learn experience sage.
  1. 216Yet Mafra shall one moment claim delay,
  2. 217Where dwelt of yore the Lusians' luckless queen;
  3. 218And Church and Court did mingle their array,
  4. 219And Mass and revel were alternate seen;
  5. 220Lordlings and freres--ill-sorted fry I ween!
  6. 221But here the Babylonian Whore hath built
  7. 222A dome, where flaunts she in such glorious sheen,
  8. 223That men forget the blood which she hath spilt,
  9. 224And bow the knee to Pomp that loves to varnish guilt.
  1. 225O'er vales that teem with fruits, romantic hills,
  2. 226(Oh, that such hills upheld a freeborn race!)
  3. 227Whereon to gaze the eye with joyaunce fills,
  4. 228Childe Harold wends through many a pleasant place.
  5. 229Though sluggards deem it but a foolish chase,
  6. 230And marvel men should quit their easy chair,
  7. 231The toilsome way, and long, long league to trace,
  8. 232Oh! there is sweetness in the mountain air,
  9. 233And Life, that bloated Ease can never hope to share.
  1. 234More bleak to view the hills at length recede,
  2. 235And, less luxuriant, smoother vales extend:
  3. 236Immense horizon-bounded plains succeed!
  4. 237Far as the eye discerns, withouten end,
  5. 238Spain's realms appear whereon her shepherds tend
  6. 239Flocks, whose rich fleece right well the trader knows--
  7. 240Now must the Pastor's arm his lambs defend:
  8. 241For Spain is compassed by unyielding foes,
  9. 242And all must shield their all, or share Subjection's woes.
  1. 243Where Lusitania and her Sister meet,
  2. 244Deem ye what bounds the rival realms divide?
  3. 245Or ere the jealous Queens of Nations greet,
  4. 246Doth Tayo interpose his mighty tide?
  5. 247Or dark Sierras rise in craggy pride?
  6. 248Or fence of art, like China's vasty wall?--
  7. 249Ne barrier wall, ne river deep and wide,
  8. 250Ne horrid crags, nor mountains dark and tall,
  9. 251Rise like the rocks that part Hispania's land from Gaul:
  1. 252But these between a silver streamlet glides,
  2. 253And scarce a name distinguisheth the brook,
  3. 254Though rival kingdoms press its verdant sides:
  4. 255Here leans the idle shepherd on his crook,
  5. 256And vacant on the rippling waves doth look,
  6. 257That peaceful still 'twixt bitterest foemen flow;
  7. 258For proud each peasant as the noblest duke:
  8. 259Well doth the Spanish hind the difference know
  9. 260'Twixt him and Lusian slave, the lowest of the low.
  1. 261But ere the mingling bounds have far been passed,
  2. 262Dark Guadiana rolls his power along
  3. 263In sullen billows, murmuring and vast,
  4. 264So noted ancient roundelays among.
  5. 265Whilome upon his banks did legions throng
  6. 266Of Moor and Knight, in mailéd splendour drest:
  7. 267Here ceased the swift their race, here sunk the strong;
  8. 268The Paynim turban and the Christian crest
  9. 269Mixed on the bleeding stream, by floating hosts oppressed.
  1. 270Oh, lovely Spain! renowned, romantic Land!
  2. 271Where is that standard which Pelagio bore,
  3. 272When Cava's traitor-sire first called the band
  4. 273That dyed thy mountain streams with Gothic gore?
  5. 274Where are those bloody Banners which of yore
  6. 275Waved o'er thy sons, victorious to the gale,
  7. 276And drove at last the spoilers to their shore?
  8. 277Red gleamed the Cross, and waned the Crescent pale,
  9. 278While Afric's echoes thrilled with Moorish matrons' wail.
  1. 279Teems not each ditty with the glorious tale?
  2. 280Ah! such, alas! the hero's amplest fate!
  3. 281When granite moulders and when records fail,
  4. 282A peasant's plaint prolongs his dubious date.
  5. 283Pride! bend thine eye from Heaven to thine estate,
  6. 284See how the Mighty shrink into a song!
  7. 285Can Volume, Pillar, Pile preserve thee great?
  8. 286Or must thou trust Tradition's simple tongue,
  9. 287When Flattery sleeps with thee, and History does thee wrong?
  1. 288Awake, ye Sons of Spain! awake! advance!
  2. 289Lo! Chivalry, your ancient Goddess, cries,
  3. 290But wields not, as of old, her thirsty lance,
  4. 291Nor shakes her crimson plumage in the skies:
  5. 292Now on the smoke of blazing bolts she flies,
  6. 293And speaks in thunder through yon engine's roar:
  7. 294In every peal she calls--"Awake! arise!"
  8. 295Say, is her voice more feeble than of yore,
  9. 296When her war-song was heard on Andalusia's shore?
  1. 297Hark!--heard you not those hoofs of dreadful note?
  2. 298Sounds not the clang of conflict on the heath?
  3. 299Saw ye not whom the reeking sabre smote,
  4. 300Nor saved your brethren ere they sank beneath
  5. 301Tyrants and Tyrants' slaves?--the fires of Death,
  6. 302The Bale-fires flash on high:--from rock to rock!
  7. 303Each volley tells that thousands cease to breathe;
  8. 304Death rides upon the sulphury Siroc,
  9. 305Red Battle stamps his foot, and Nations feel the shock.
  1. 306Lo! where the Giant on the mountain stands,
  2. 307His blood-red tresses deepening in the Sun,
  3. 308With death-shot glowing in his fiery hands,
  4. 309And eye that scorcheth all it glares upon;
  5. 310Restless it rolls, now fixed, and now anon
  6. 311Flashing afar,--and at his iron feet
  7. 312Destruction cowers, to mark what deeds are done;
  8. 313For on this morn three potent Nations meet,
  9. 314To shed before his Shrine the blood he deems most sweet.
  1. 315By Heaven! it is a splendid sight to see
  2. 316(For one who hath no friend, no brother there)
  3. 317Their rival scarfs of mixed embroidery,
  4. 318Their various arms that glitter in the air!
  5. 319What gallant War-hounds rouse them from their lair,
  6. 320And gnash their fangs, loud yelling for the prey!
  7. 321All join the chase, but few the triumph share;
  8. 322The Grave shall bear the chiefest prize away,
  9. 323And Havoc scarce for joy can number their array.
  1. 324Three hosts combine to offer sacrifice;
  2. 325Three tongues prefer strange orisons on high;
  3. 326Three gaudy standards flout the pale blue skies;
  4. 327The shouts are France, Spain, Albion, Victory!
  5. 328The Foe, the Victim, and the fond Ally
  6. 329That fights for all, but ever fights in vain,
  7. 330Are met--as if at home they could not die--
  8. 331To feed the crow on Talavera's plain,
  9. 332And fertilise the field that each pretends to gain.
  1. 333There shall they rot--Ambition's honoured fools!
  2. 334Yes, Honour decks the turf that wraps their clay!
  3. 335Vain Sophistry! in these behold the tools,
  4. 336The broken tools, that Tyrants cast away
  5. 337By myriads, when they dare to pave their way
  6. 338With human hearts--to what?--a dream alone.
  7. 339Can Despots compass aught that hails their sway?
  8. 340Or call with truth one span of earth their own,
  9. 341Save that wherein at last they crumble bone by bone?
  1. 342Oh, Albuera! glorious field of grief!
  2. 343As o'er thy plain the Pilgrim pricked his steed,
  3. 344Who could foresee thee, in a space so brief,
  4. 345A scene where mingling foes should boast and bleed!
  5. 346Peace to the perished! may the warrior's meed
  6. 347And tears of triumph their reward prolong!
  7. 348Till others fall where other chieftains lead
  8. 349Thy name shall circle round the gaping throng,
  9. 350And shine in worthless lays, the theme of transient song.
  1. 351Enough of Battle's minions! let them play
  2. 352Their game of lives, and barter breath for fame:
  3. 353Fame that will scarce reanimate their clay,
  4. 354Though thousands fall to deck some single name.
  5. 355In sooth 'twere sad to thwart their noble aim
  6. 356Who strike, blest hirelings! for their country's good,
  7. 357And die, that living might have proved her shame;
  8. 358Perished, perchance, in some domestic feud,
  9. 359Or in a narrower sphere wild Rapine's path pursued.
  1. 360Full swiftly Harold wends his lonely way
  2. 361Where proud Sevilla triumphs unsubdued:
  3. 362Yet is she free? the Spoiler's wished-for prey!
  4. 363Soon, soon shall Conquest's fiery foot intrude,
  5. 364Blackening her lovely domes with traces rude.
  6. 365Inevitable hour! 'Gainst fate to strive
  7. 366Where Desolation plants her famished brood
  8. 367Is vain, or Ilion, Tyre might yet survive,
  9. 368And Virtue vanquish all, and Murder cease to thrive
  1. 369But all unconscious of the coming doom,
  2. 370The feast, the song, the revel here abounds;
  3. 371Strange modes of merriment the hours consume,
  4. 372Nor bleed these patriots with their country's wounds:
  5. 373Nor here War's clarion, but Love's rebeck sounds;
  6. 374Here Folly still his votaries inthralls;
  7. 375And young-eyed Lewdness walks her midnight rounds:
  8. 376Girt with the silent crimes of Capitals,
  9. 377Still to the last kind Vice clings to the tott'ring walls.
  1. 378Not so the rustic--with his trembling mate
  2. 379He lurks, nor casts his heavy eye afar,
  3. 380Lest he should view his vineyard desolate,
  4. 381Blasted below the dun hot breath of War.
  5. 382No more beneath soft Eve's consenting star
  6. 383Fandango twirls his jocund castanet:
  7. 384Ah, Monarchs! could ye taste the mirth ye mar,
  8. 385Not in the toils of Glory would ye fret;
  9. 386The hoarse dull drum would sleep, and Man be happy yet!
  1. 387How carols now the lusty muleteer?
  2. 388Of Love, Romance, Devotion is his lay,
  3. 389As whilome he was wont the leagues to cheer,
  4. 390His quick bells wildly jingling on the way?
  5. 391No! as he speeds, he chants "Vivā el Rey!"
  6. 392And checks his song to execrate Godoy,
  7. 393The royal wittol Charles, and curse the day
  8. 394When first Spain's queen beheld the black-eyed boy,
  9. 395And gore-faced Treason sprung from her adulterate joy.
  1. 396On yon long level plain, at distance crowned
  2. 397With crags, whereon those Moorish turrets rest,
  3. 398Wide-scattered hoof-marks dint the wounded ground;
  4. 399And, scathed by fire, the greensward's darkened vest
  5. 400Tells that the foe was Andalusia's guest:
  6. 401Here was the camp, the watch-flame, and the host,
  7. 402Here the bold peasant stormed the Dragon's nest;
  8. 403Still does he mark it with triumphant boast,
  9. 404And points to yonder cliffs, which oft were won and lost.
  1. 405And whomsoe'er along the path you meet
  2. 406Bears in his cap the badge of crimson hue,
  3. 407Which tells you whom to shun and whom to greet:
  4. 408Woe to the man that walks in public view
  5. 409Without of loyalty this token true:
  6. 410Sharp is the knife, and sudden is the stroke;
  7. 411And sorely would the Gallic foeman rue,
  8. 412If subtle poniards, wrapt beneath the cloke,
  9. 413Could blunt the sabre's edge, or clear the cannon's smoke.
  1. 414At every turn Morena's dusky height
  2. 415Sustains aloft the battery's iron load;
  3. 416And, far as mortal eye can compass sight,
  4. 417The mountain-howitzer, the broken road,
  5. 418The bristling palisade, the fosse o'erflowed,
  6. 419The stationed bands, the never-vacant watch,
  7. 420The magazine in rocky durance stowed,
  8. 421The bolstered steed beneath the shed of thatch,
  9. 422The ball-piled pyramid, the ever-blazing match,
  1. 423Portend the deeds to come:--but he whose nod
  2. 424Has tumbled feebler despots from their sway,
  3. 425A moment pauseth ere he lifts the rod;
  4. 426A little moment deigneth to delay:
  5. 427Soon will his legions sweep through these their way;
  6. 428The West must own the Scourger of the world.
  7. 429Ah! Spain! how sad will be thy reckoning-day,
  8. 430When soars Gaul's Vulture, with his wings unfurled,
  9. 431And thou shall view thy sons in crowds to Hades hurled.
  1. 432And must they fall? the young, the proud, the brave,
  2. 433To swell one bloated Chiefs unwholesome reign?
  3. 434No step between submission and a grave?
  4. 435The rise of Rapine and the fall of Spain?
  5. 436And doth the Power that man adores ordain
  6. 437Their doom, nor heed the suppliant's appeal?
  7. 438Is all that desperate Valour acts in vain?
  8. 439And Counsel sage, and patriotic Zeal--
  9. 440The Veteran's skill--Youth's fire--and Manhood's heart of steel?
  1. 441Is it for this the Spanish maid, aroused,
  2. 442Hangs on the willow her unstrung guitar,
  3. 443And, all unsexed, the Anlace hath espoused,
  4. 444Sung the loud song, and dared the deed of war?
  5. 445And she, whom once the semblance of a scar
  6. 446Appalled, an owlet's 'larum chilled with dread,
  7. 447Now views the column-scattering bay'net jar,
  8. 448The falchion flash, and o'er the yet warm dead
  9. 449Stalks with Minerva's step where Mars might quake to tread.
  1. 450Ye who shall marvel when you hear her tale,
  2. 451Oh! had you known her in her softer hour,
  3. 452Marked her black eye that mocks her coal-black veil,
  4. 453Heard her light, lively tones in Lady's bower,
  5. 454Seen her long locks that foil the painter's power,
  6. 455Her fairy form, with more than female grace,
  7. 456Scarce would you deem that Saragoza's tower
  8. 457Beheld her smile in Danger's Gorgon face,
  9. 458Thin the closed ranks, and lead in Glory's fearful chase.
  1. 459Her lover sinks--she sheds no ill-timed tear;
  2. 460Her Chief is slain--she fills his fatal post;
  3. 461Her fellows flee--she checks their base career;
  4. 462The Foe retires--she heads the sallying host:
  5. 463Who can appease like her a lover's ghost?
  6. 464Who can avenge so well a leader's fall?
  7. 465What maid retrieve when man's flushed hope is lost?
  8. 466Who hang so fiercely on the flying Gaul,
  9. 467Foiled by a woman's hand, before a battered wall?
  1. 468Yet are Spain's maids no race of Amazons,
  2. 469But formed for all the witching arts of love:
  3. 470Though thus in arms they emulate her sons,
  4. 471And in the horrid phalanx dare to move,
  5. 472'Tis but the tender fierceness of the dove,
  6. 473Pecking the hand that hovers o'er her mate:
  7. 474In softness as in firmness far above
  8. 475Remoter females, famed for sickening prate;
  9. 476Her mind is nobler sure, her charms perchance as great.
  1. 477The seal Love's dimpling finger hath impressed
  2. 478Denotes how soft that chin which bears his touch:
  3. 479Her lips, whose kisses pout to leave their nest,
  4. 480Bid man be valiant ere he merit such:
  5. 481Her glance how wildly beautiful! how much
  6. 482Hath Phoebus wooed in vain to spoil her cheek,
  7. 483Which glows yet smoother from his amorous clutch!
  8. 484Who round the North for paler dames would seek?
  9. 485How poor their forms appear! how languid, wan, and weak!
  1. 486Match me, ye climes! which poets love to laud;
  2. 487Match me, ye harems of the land! where now
  3. 488I strike my strain, far distant, to applaud
  4. 489Beauties that ev'n a cynic must avow;
  5. 490Match me those Houries, whom ye scarce allow
  6. 491To taste the gale lest Love should ride the wind,
  7. 492With Spain's dark-glancing daughters--deign to know,
  8. 493There your wise Prophet's Paradise we find,
  9. 494His black-eyed maids of Heaven, angelically kind.
  1. 495Oh, thou Parnassus! whom I now survey,
  2. 496Not in the phrensy of a dreamer's eye,
  3. 497Not in the fabled landscape of a lay,
  4. 498But soaring snow-clad through thy native sky,
  5. 499In the wild pomp of mountain-majesty!
  6. 500What marvel if I thus essay to sing?
  7. 501The humblest of thy pilgrims passing by
  8. 502Would gladly woo thine Echoes with his string,
  9. 503Though from thy heights no more one Muse will wave her wing.
  1. 504Oft have I dreamed of Thee! whose glorious name
  2. 505Who knows not, knows not man's divinest lore:
  3. 506And now I view thee--'tis, alas, with shame
  4. 507That I in feeblest accents must adore.
  5. 508When I recount thy worshippers of yore
  6. 509I tremble, and can only bend the knee;
  7. 510Nor raise my voice, nor vainly dare to soar,
  8. 511But gaze beneath thy cloudy canopy
  9. 512In silent joy to think at last I look on Thee!
  1. 513Happier in this than mightiest Bards have been,
  2. 514Whose Fate to distant homes confined their lot,
  3. 515Shall I unmoved behold the hallowed scene,
  4. 516Which others rave of, though they know it not?
  5. 517Though here no more Apollo haunts his Grot,
  6. 518And thou, the Muses' seat, art now their grave,
  7. 519Some gentle Spirit still pervades the spot,
  8. 520Sighs in the gale, keeps silence in the Cave,
  9. 521And glides with glassy foot o'er yon melodious wave.
  1. 522Of thee hereafter.--Ev'n amidst my strain
  2. 523I turned aside to pay my homage here;
  3. 524Forgot the land, the sons, the maids of Spain;
  4. 525Her fate, to every freeborn bosom dear;
  5. 526And hailed thee, not perchance without a tear.
  6. 527Now to my theme--but from thy holy haunt
  7. 528Let me some remnant, some memorial bear;
  8. 529Yield me one leaf of Daphne's deathless plant,
  9. 530Nor let thy votary's hope be deemed an idle vaunt.
  1. 531But ne'er didst thou, fair Mount! when Greece was young,
  2. 532See round thy giant base a brighter choir,
  3. 533Nor e'er did Delphi, when her Priestess sung
  4. 534The Pythian hymn with more than mortal fire,
  5. 535Behold a train more fitting to inspire
  6. 536The song of love, than Andalusia's maids,
  7. 537Nurst in the glowing lap of soft Desire:
  8. 538Ah! that to these were given such peaceful shades
  9. 539As Greece can still bestow, though Glory fly her glades.
  1. 540Fair is proud Seville; let her country boast
  2. 541Her strength, her wealth, her site of ancient days;
  3. 542But Cadiz, rising on the distant coast,
  4. 543Calls forth a sweeter, though ignoble praise.
  5. 544Ah, Vice! how soft are thy voluptuous ways!
  6. 545While boyish blood is mantling, who can 'scape
  7. 546The fascination of thy magic gaze?
  8. 547A Cherub-Hydra round us dost thou gape,
  9. 548And mould to every taste thy dear delusive shape.
  1. 549When Paphos fell by Time--accurséd Time!
  2. 550The Queen who conquers all must yield to thee--
  3. 551The Pleasures fled, but sought as warm a clime;
  4. 552And Venus , constant to native Sea,
  5. 553To nought else constant, hither deigned to flee,
  6. 554And fixed her shrine within these walls of white:
  7. 555Though not to one dome circumscribeth She
  8. 556Her worship, but, devoted to her rite,
  9. 557A thousand Altars rise, for ever blazing bright.
  1. 558From morn till night, from night till startled
  2. 559Morn Peeps blushing on the Revel's laughing crew,
  3. 560The Song is heard, the rosy Garland worn;
  4. 561Devices quaint, and Frolics ever new,
  5. 562Tread on each other's kibes. A long adieu
  6. 563He bids to sober joy that here sojourns:
  7. 564Nought interrupts the riot, though in lieu
  8. 565Of true devotion monkish incense burns,
  9. 566And Love and Prayer unite, or rule the hour by turns.
  1. 567The Sabbath comes, a day of blessed rest:
  2. 568What hallows it upon this Christian shore?
  3. 569Lo! it is sacred to a solemn Feast:
  4. 570Hark! heard you not the forest-monarch's roar?
  5. 571Crashing the lance, he snuffs the spouting gore
  6. 572Of man and steed, o'erthrown beneath his horn;
  7. 573The thronged arena shakes with shouts for more;
  8. 574Yells the mad crowd o'er entrails freshly torn,
  9. 575Nor shrinks the female eye, nor ev'n affects to mourn.
  1. 576The seventh day this--the Jubilee of man!
  2. 577London! right well thou know'st the day of prayer:
  3. 578Then thy spruce citizen, washed artisan,
  4. 579And smug apprentice gulp their weekly air:
  5. 580Thy coach of hackney, whiskey, one-horse chair,
  6. 581And humblest gig through sundry suburbs whirl,
  7. 582To Hampstead, Brentford, Harrow make repair;
  8. 583Till the tired jade the wheel forgets to hurl,
  9. 584Provoking envious gibe from each pedestrian churl.
  1. 585Some o'er thy Thamis row the ribboned fair,
  2. 586Others along the safer turnpike fly;
  3. 587Some Richmond-hill ascend, some scud to Ware,
  4. 588And many to the steep of Highgate hie.
  5. 589Ask ye, Boeotian Shades! the reason why?
  6. 590'Tis to the worship of the solemn Horn,
  7. 591Grasped in the holy hand of Mystery,
  8. 592In whose dread name both men and maids are sworn,
  9. 593And consecrate the oath with draught, and dance till morn.
  1. 594All have their fooleries--not alike are thine,
  2. 595Fair Cadiz, rising o'er the dark blue sea!
  3. 596Soon as the Matin bell proclaimeth nine,
  4. 597Thy Saint-adorers count the Rosary:
  5. 598Much is the VIRGIN teased to shrive them free
  6. 599(Well do I ween the only virgin there)
  7. 600From crimes as numerous as her beadsmen be;
  8. 601Then to the crowded circus forth they fare:
  9. 602Young, old, high, low, at once the same diversion share.
  1. 603The lists are oped, the spacious area cleared,
  2. 604Thousands on thousands piled are seated round;
  3. 605Long ere the first loud trumpet's note is heard,
  4. 606Ne vacant space for lated wight is found:
  5. 607Here Dons, Grandees, but chiefly Dames abound,
  6. 608Skilled in the ogle of a roguish eye,
  7. 609Yet ever well inclined to heal the wound;
  8. 610None through their cold disdain are doomed to die,
  9. 611As moon-struck bards complain, by Love's sad archery.
  1. 612Hushed is the din of tongues--on gallant steeds,
  2. 613With milk-white crest, gold spur, and light-poised lance,
  3. 614Four cavaliers prepare for venturous deeds,
  4. 615And lowly-bending to the lists advance;
  5. 616Rich are their scarfs, their chargers featly prance:
  6. 617If in the dangerous game they shine to-day,
  7. 618The crowd's loud shout and ladies' lovely glance,
  8. 619Best prize of better acts! they bear away,
  9. 620And all that kings or chiefs e'er gain their toils repay.
  1. 621In costly sheen and gaudy cloak arrayed.
  2. 622But all afoot, the light-limbed Matadore
  3. 623Stands in the centre, eager to invade
  4. 624The lord of lowing herds; but not before
  5. 625The ground, with cautious tread, is traversed o'er,
  6. 626Lest aught unseen should lurk to thwart his speed:
  7. 627His arms a dart, he fights aloof, nor more
  8. 628Can Man achieve without the friendly steed--
  9. 629Alas! too oft condemned for him to bear and bleed.
  1. 630Thrice sounds the Clarion; lo! the signal falls,
  2. 631The den expands, and Expectation mute
  3. 632Gapes round the silent circle's peopled walls.
  4. 633Bounds with one lashing spring the mighty brute,
  5. 634And, wildly staring, spurns, with sounding foot,
  6. 635The sand, nor blindly rushes on his foe:
  7. 636Here, there, he points his threatening front, to suit
  8. 637His first attack, wide-waving to and fro
  9. 638His angry tail; red rolls his eye's dilated glow.
  1. 639Sudden he stops--his eye is fixed--away--
  2. 640Away, thou heedless boy! prepare the spear:
  3. 641Now is thy time, to perish, or display
  4. 642The skill that yet may check his mad career!
  5. 643With well-timed croupe the nimble coursers veer;
  6. 644On foams the Bull, but not unscathed he goes;
  7. 645Streams from his flank the crimson torrent clear:
  8. 646He flies, he wheels, distracted with his throes;
  9. 647Dart follows dart--lance, lance--loud bellowings speak his woes.
  1. 648Again he comes; nor dart nor lance avail,
  2. 649Nor the wild plunging of the tortured horse;
  3. 650Though Man and Man's avenging arms assail,
  4. 651Vain are his weapons, vainer is his force.
  5. 652One gallant steed is stretched a mangled corse;
  6. 653Another, hideous sight! unseamed appears,
  7. 654His gory chest unveils life's panting source;
  8. 655Though death-struck, still his feeble frame he rears;
  9. 656Staggering, but stemming all, his Lord unharmed he bears.
  1. 657Foiled, bleeding, breathless, furious to the last,
  2. 658Full in the centre stands the Bull at bay,
  3. 659Mid wounds, and clinging darts, and lances brast,
  4. 660And foes disabled in the brutal fray:
  5. 661And now the Matadores around him play,
  6. 662Shake the red cloak, and poise the ready brand:
  7. 663Once more through all he bursts his thundering way--
  8. 664Vain rage! the mantle quits the conynge hand,
  9. 665Wraps his fierce eye--'tis past--he sinks upon the sand!
  1. 666Where his vast neck just mingles with the spine,
  2. 667Sheathed in his form the deadly weapon lies.
  3. 668He stops--he starts--disdaining to decline:
  4. 669Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries,
  5. 670Without a groan, without a struggle dies.
  6. 671The decorated car appears--on high
  7. 672The corse is piled--sweet sight for vulgar eyes--
  8. 673Four steeds that spurn the rein, as swift as shy,
  9. 674Hurl the dark bulk along, scarce seen in dashing by.
  1. 675Such the ungentle sport that oft invites
  2. 676The Spanish maid, and cheers the Spanish swain.
  3. 677Nurtured in blood betimes, his heart delights
  4. 678In vengeance, gloating on another's pain.
  5. 679What private feuds the troubled village stain!
  6. 680Though now one phalanxed host should meet the foe,
  7. 681Enough, alas! in humble homes remain,
  8. 682To meditate 'gainst friend the secret blow,
  9. 683For some slight cause of wrath, whence Life's warm stream must flow.
  1. 684But Jealousy has fled: his bars, his bolts,
  2. 685His withered Centinel, Duenna sage!
  3. 686And all whereat the generous soul revolts,
  4. 687Which the stern dotard deemed he could encage,
  5. 688Have passed to darkness with the vanished age.
  6. 689Who late so free as Spanish girls were seen,
  7. 690(Ere War uprose in his volcanic rage,)
  8. 691With braided tresses bounding o'er the green,
  9. 692While on the gay dance shone Night's lover-loving Queen?
  1. 693Oh! many a time and oft, had Harold loved,
  2. 694Or dreamed he loved, since Rapture is a dream;
  3. 695But now his wayward bosom was unmoved,
  4. 696For not yet had he drunk of Lethe's stream;
  5. 697And lately had he learned with truth to deem
  6. 698Love has no gift so grateful as his wings:
  7. 699How fair, how young, how soft soe'er he seem,
  8. 700Full from the fount of Joy's delicious springs
  9. 701Some bitter o'er the flowers its bubbling venom flings.
  1. 702Yet to the beauteous form he was not blind,
  2. 703Though now it moved him as it moves the wise;
  3. 704Not that Philosophy on such a mind
  4. 705E'er deigned to bend her chastely-awful eyes:
  5. 706But Passion raves herself to rest, or flies;
  6. 707And Vice, that digs her own voluptuous tomb,
  7. 708Had buried long his hopes, no more to rise:
  8. 709Pleasure's palled Victim! life-abhorring Gloom
  9. 710Wrote on his faded brow curst Cain's unresting doom.
  1. 711Still he beheld, nor mingled with the throng;
  2. 712But viewed them not with misanthropic hate:
  3. 713Fain would he now have joined the dance, the song;
  4. 714But who may smile that sinks beneath his fate?
  5. 715Nought that he saw his sadness could abate:
  6. 716Yet once he struggled 'gainst the Demon's sway,
  7. 717And as in Beauty's bower he pensive sate,
  8. 718Poured forth his unpremeditated lay,
  9. 719To charms as fair as those that soothed his happier day.