But long as Arvon's mountains shall lift their

sovereign forms, And wear the crown to which is given dominion

o'er the storms, So long, their empire sharing, shall live the lofty

tongue To which the harp of Mona's woods by freedom's

hand was strung!"

OWEN GLYNDWR'S WAR-SONG.

Saw ye the blazing star ?*
The heavens look'd down on freedom's war,

And lit her torch on high!
Bright on the dragon crest +
It tells that glory's wing shall rest,

When warriors meet to die !

Let earth's pale tyrants read despair

And vengeance in its flame;

* The year 1402 was ushered in with a comet or blazing star, which the bards interpreted as an omen favourable to the cause of Glyndwr. It served to infuse spirit into the minds of a superstitious people, the first success of their chieftain confirmed this belief, and gave new vigour to their actions.-PENNANT.

+ Owen Glyndwr styled himself the Dragon ; a name he assumed in imitation of Uthyr, whose victories over the Saxons were foretold by the appearances of a star with a dragon beneath, which Uthyr used as his badge; and on that account it became a favourite one with the Welsh.-PENNANT.

و

Hail ye, my bards! the omen fair

Of conquest and of fame,
And swell the rushing mountain air

With songs to Glyndwr's name.

At the dead hour of night,
Mark'd ye how each majestic height

Burn'd in its awful beams?
Red shone th' eternal snows,
And all the land, as bright it rose,

Was full of glorious dreams!

O eagles of the battle,* rise !

The hope of Gwynedd wakes !+ It is your banner in the skies

Through each dark cloud which breaks, And mantles with triumphal dyes

Your thousand hills and lakes !

A sound is on the breeze,
A murmur as of swelling seas !

The Saxon on his way!
Lo! spear and shield and lance,
From Deva's waves, with lightning glance,

Reflected to the day!

But who the torrent-wave compels

A conqueror's chain to bear?

*“ Bring the horn to Tudwrou, the Eagle of Battles.”—See The Hirlas Horn of Owain CYFEILIOG. The eagle is a very favourite image with the ancient Welsh poets.

+ GWYNEDD, (pronounced Gwyneth,) North Wales.

Let those who wake the soul that dwells

On our free winds, beware! The greenest and the loveliest dells

May be the lion's lair!

Of us they told, the seers,
And monarch bards of elder

years,
Who walk'd on earth as powers !
And in their burning strains,
A spell of might and mystery reigns,

To guard our mountain-towers !

-In Snowdon's caves a prophet lay:*

Before his gifted sight, The march of ages pass'd away

With hero-footsteps bright, But proudest in that long array,

Was Glyndwr's path of light!

PRINCE MADOC'S FAREWELL.

Why lingers my gaze where the last hues of day

On the hills of my country in loveliness sleep? Too fair is the sight for a wand'rer, whose

way Lies far o'er the measureless worlds of the deep ! Fall, shadows of twilight! and veil the green shore, That the heart of the mighty may waver no more !

Merlin, or Merddin Emrys, is said to have composed his prophecies on the future lot of the Britons, amongst the mountains of Snowdon. Many of these, and other ancient prophecies, were applied by Glyndwr to his own cause, and assisted him greatly in animating the spirit of his followers.

Why rise on my thoughts, ye free songs of the land Where the harp's lofty soul on each wild wind is

borne ? Be hush’d, be forgotten! for ne'er shall the hand

Of minstrel with melody greet my return. -No ! no !—let your echoes still float on the breeze, And my

heart shall be strong for the conquest of seas!

'Tis not for the land of my sires to give birth

Unto bosoms that shrink when their trial is nigh; Away! we will bear over ocean and earth

A name and a spirit that never shall die. My course to the winds, to the stars, I resign; But my soul'squenchless fire, O my country! is thine.

CASWALLON'S TRIUMPH.

[Caswallon (or Cassivelaunus) was elected to the supreme

command of the Britons, (as recorded in the Triads,) for the purpose of opposing Cæsar, under the title of Elected Chief of Battle. Whatever impression the disci. plined legions of Rome might have made on the Britons in the first instance, the subsequent departure of Cæsar they considered as a cause of triumph; and it is stated that Caswallon proclaimed an assembly of the various states of the island, for the purpose of celebrating that event by feasting and public rejoicing. See the Cambrian Biography.] From the glowing southern regions,

Where the sun-god makes his dwelling,

Came the Roman's crested legions

O’er the deep, round Britain swelling.
The wave grew dazzling as he pass'd,
With light from spear and helmet cast;
And sounds in every rushing blast

Of a conqueror's march were telling.
But his eagle's royal pinion,

Bowing earth beneath its glory,
Could not shadow with dominion

Our wild seas and mountains hoary!
Back from their cloudy realm it flies,
To float in light through softer skies ;
Oh! chainless winds of heaven arise !

Bear a vanquish'd world the story!

Lords of earth! to Rome returning,

Tell how Britain combat wages,
How Caswallon's soul is burning

When the storm of battle rages !
And

ye

that shrine high deeds in song,
O holy and immortal throng!
The brightness of his name prolong,

As a torch to stream through ages !

HOWEL'S SONG.

[Howel ab Einion Llygliw was a distinguished bard of the

fourteenth century. A beautiful poem, addressed by him to Myfanwy Vychan, a celebrated beauty of those times, is still preserved amongst the remains of the Welsh bards