For Gilderoy that luve of mine, Wi' mickle joy we spent our prime, Till we were baith sixteen, Among the leaves sae green; Oh! that he still had been content, His courage bauld would try; For my dear Gilderoy. And when of me his leave he tuik, I gave tull him a parting luik, Nane eir durst meet him man to man, At length wi' numbers he was tane, Wae worth the loun that made the laws, To hang a man for gear, To 'reave of life for ox or ass, For sheep, or horse, or mare: Had not their laws been made sae strick, I neir had lost my joy, Wi' sorrow neir had wat my cheek, For my dear Gilderoy. Giff Gilderoy had done amisse, He mought hae banisht been; Ah! what sair cruelty is this, To hang sike handsome men : To hang the flower o' Scottish land, Sae sweet and fair a boy; Nae lady had sae white a hand, As thee, my Gilderoy. Of Gilderoy sae fraid they were, They bound him mickle strong, Tull Edenburrow they led him thair, And on a gallows hung: They hung him high aboon the rest, He was sae trim a boy; Thair dyed the youth whom I lued best, My handsome Gilderoy. Thus having yielded up his breath, I bare his corpse away, Wi' tears, that trickled for his death, XIII.-WINIFREDA. THIS beautiful address to conjugal love, a subject too much neglected by the libertine Muses, was first printed in a volume of Miscellaneous Poems, by several hands, published by D. Lewis, 1726, 8vo. It is there said, how truly I know not, to be a translation "from the ancient British language." WAS published in a small collection of poems, entitled Euthemia, or the Power of Harmony, etc., 1756, written, in 1748, by the ingenious Dr. Harrington, of Bath, who never allowed them to be published, and withheld his name till it could no longer be concealed. The following copy was furnished by the late Mr. Shenstone, with some variations and corrections of his own, which he had taken the liberty to propose, and for which the author's indulgence was entreated. Wokey-hole is a noted cavern near Wells, in Somersetshire, which has given birth to as many wild fanciful stories as the Sybils Cave, in Italy. It goes winding a great way underground, is crossed by a stream of very cold water, and is all horrid with broken pieces of rock: many of these are evident petrifactions; which, on account of their singular forms, have given rise to the fables alluded to in this poem. IN aunciente days tradition showes The Witch of Wokey hight: Deep in the dreary dismall cell, Here screeching owls oft made their nest, No wholesome herb could here be found; And blister'd every flock. Her haggard face was foull to see; Her eyne of deadly leer, She nought devis'd, but neighbour's ill; All in her prime, have poets sung, By dint of hellish charms. From Glaston came a lerned wight, And well he did, I ween: He chauntede out his godlie booke, Full well 'tis known adown the dale: I'm bold to say, there's never a one, That has not seen the witch in stone, With all her household gear. But tho' this lernede clerke did well; With grieved heart, alas! I tell, She left this curse behind: That Wokey nymphs forsaken quite, Tho' sense and beauty both unite, Should find no leman kind. For lo! even, as the fiend did say, Shall then sich maids unpitied moane? Since Glaston now can boast no clerks ; Come down from Oxenford, ye sparks, And, oh! revoke the spell. Yet stay-nor thus despond, ye fair; I hear the gracious voice : XV.-BRYAN AND PEREENE. A WEST-INDIAN BALLAD, Is founded on a real fact, that happened in the island of St. Christophers about the beginning of the reign of George III. The editor owes the following stanzas to the friendship of Dr. James Grainger, physician in that island when this tragical incident happened, and died there much honoured and lamented in 1767. THE north-east wind did briskly blow, Pereene, the pride of Indian dames, His heart long held in thrall; And whoso his impatience blames, I wot, ne'er lov'd at all. A long long year, one month and day, Nor once in thought or deed would stray, For Bryan he was tall and strong, But who the countless charms can draw, Her raven hair plays round her neck, Her cheeks red dewy rose buds deck, Soon as his well-known ship she spied, And to the palmy shore she hied, All in her best array. In sea-green silk so neatly clad, She there impatient stood; Her hands a handkerchief display'd, Her fair companions one and all, Rejoicing crowd the strand; For now her lover swam in call, And almost touch'd the land. Then through the white surf did she haste, To clasp her lovely swain ; When, ah! a shark bit through his waste: His heart's blood dy'd the main ! He shriek'd! his half sprang from the wave, Streaming with purple gore, And soon it found a living grave, And ah! was seen no more. Now haste, now haste, ye maids, I pray, She falls, she swoons, she dies away, Now each May morning round her tomb, May our prophet grant my wishes, Haughty chief, thou shalt be mine: Thou shalt drink that cup of sorrow, Which I drank when I was thine. Like a lion turns the warrior, Back he sends an angry glare: Whizzing came the Moorish javelin, Vainly whizzing thro' the air. Back the hero full of fury Sent a deep and mortal wound: Instant sunk the Renegado, Mute and lifeless on the ground. With a thousand Moors surrounded, Brave Saavedra stands at bay : Wearied out but never daunted, Cold at length the warrior lay. Near him fighting great Alonzo Stout resists the Paynim bands; From his slaughter'd steed dismounted Firm intrench'd behind him stands. Furious press the hostile squadron, XVII. ALCANZOR AND ZAYDA: A MOORISH TALE. IMITATED FROM THE SPANISH. SOFTLY blow the evening breezes, Softly fall the dews of night; In yon palace lives fair Zaida, Waiting for the appointed minute, Hope and fear alternate teize him, Oft he sighs with heart-felt care.— To the lost benighted swain, Lovely seems the sun's full glory To the fainting seaman's eyes, When some horrid storm dispersing But a thousand times more lovely Tip-toe stands the anxious lover, Tell me, am I doom'd to die? Is it true the dreadful story, An old lord from Antiquera Thy stern father brings along ; But canst thou, inconstant Zaida, Thus consent my love to wrong? If 'tis true now plainly tell me, Nor thus trifle with my woes; Hide not then from me the secret, Which the world so clearly knows. |