INVOCATION TO THE HARP.* HARP of the North! that mouldering long hast hung Till envious ivy did around thee cling, O minstrel Harp, still must thine accents sleep! 'Mid rustling leaves and fountains murmuring, Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence keep, Nor bid a warrior smile, nor teach a maid to weep! Not thus in ancient days of Caledon, Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd, At each according pause was heard aloud Was Knighthood's dauntless deed, and Beauty's matchless eye. O wake once more! how rude soe'er the hand O wake once more! though scarce my skill command And all unworthy of thy nobler strain, Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway, The wizard note has not been touched in vain. Then silent be no more! Enchantress, wake again! FAREWELL. HARP of the North, farewell! The hills grow dark, And herd-boy's evening pipe, and hum of housing bee. Yet, once again, farewell, thou Minstrel Harp! *From the Lady of the Lake." And little reck I of the censure sharp May idly cavil at an idle lay. Much have I owed thy strains on life's long way, And bitterer was the grief devoured alone. Hark! as my lingering footsteps slow retire, Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell- SIR WALTER SCOTT. SCOTTISH BALLAD.* It was a' for our rightfu' king We left fair Scotland's strand; It was a' for our rightfu' king We e'er saw Irish land, my dear, Now a' is done that men can do, My love and native land, fareweel, I turn'd me right and round about An' ga'e my bridle-reins a shake, With Adieu for evermore, my dear,' With Adieu for evermore.' The sodger frae the wars returns, But I hae parted frae my love, Never to meet again, my dear, When day is gane an' night is come, An' a' folk bound in sleep, O think on him that's far awa', The lee-lang night, an' weep, my dear, The lee-lang night, an' weep. * The author of this ballad is said to be Captain Ogilvie of the house of Inverquharity, who accompanied the deposed Jas. II. to Ireland and France. MELROSE ABBEY. OUR readers have here a view of Melrose Abbey, as restored by Mr Kemp, from authentic data.* We subjoin an account of this interesting place from Mr Chambers' Picture of Scotland. Upon the southern bank of the Tweed, stand the ruins of the celebrated abbey of Melrose, surrounded by the little village of the same name. The ruins of this ancient monastery, or rather of the church connected with it, (for the domestic buildings are entirely gone,) afford the finest specimen of Gothic architecture and Gothic sculpture of which this country can boast. By singular good fortune, Melrose is also one of the most entire, as it is the most beautiful, of all the ecclesiastical ruins scattered throughout this reformed land. To say that it is beautiful, is to say nothing. It is exquisitely-splendidly lovely. It is an object possessed of infinite grace and unmeasurable charm; it is fine in its general aspect and in its minutest details; it is a study-a glory. The beauty of Melrose, however, is not a healthful ordinary beauty: Its is not the beauty of summer, but the melancholy grace of autumn; not the beauty of a blooming bride, but that of a pining and death-stricken maiden. It is not that this is a thing of perfect splen * "In attempting a restored view of Melrose Abbey," says Mr Kemp, "my aim has been to adhere strictly to the original details, as far as I could trace them out. Of all the windows seen in the view, the tracery is either entire, or in such a state of preservation, that a slight acquaintance with Gothic architecture renders it an easy task to make out the original design. A small portion of the parapet above the east window is still complete, and a few of the niches are still enriched with their original statues. The staircase on the north corner of the north transept is much destroyed, but I have finished it with a turret resembling the one on the west side of the south transept, which is still entire. One side of the centre tower still remains. The ornamented turrets, furnished with crocketted pinnacles, which enrich its parapet, are the only example of the kind I have seen. Two of the turrets still remain on the west corners of the tower, and one of the pinnacles lies in a garden adjoining the abbey. The west tower, slightly seen in the distance, and part of the spire, are the only parts for which I have not sufficient data; but they are compositions from the details of the building which appear most prominent in the view." |