A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND OTHER VERSES C. E. DE LA POER BERESFORD THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND OTHER VERSES A Happy New Year AND OTHER VERSES BY C. E. DE LA POER BERESFORD ETON COLLEGE SPOTTISWOODE & CO., LTD. 1913 TO MY DEAR WIFE OLD PLACE, 1913 My thanks are due to the Editors, " Blackwood's Magazine" " Country Life" <4 The Londonderry Sentinel" for their kindness in allowing me to re- print verses that have appeared in their publications. Contents PAGE A Happy New Year i Cradle Song 2 Queen Tamar's Castle v . 3 Ulster's Prayer ........ 4 Dark Donegal . 5 Hy-Brasail 7 Balor of the Great Blows 9 The Garden n A Song of Spring ........ 12 The Mirage on Kizil Koom 13 A Dream of Samarkand 15 At Santa Sophia, Constantinople 21 The Hill Cities .22 Florence from San Miniato 23 The Thames , 24 In Te, Domine, spero 26 To Miss X. de C. on her Birthday .... 27 Londonderry City Election, 1885 28 Londonderry City Election, 1913 . . . .29 To M. S 30 The Song of Timur the Lame 31 Catullus, Carmina xxxi., 1. 12 to end .... 32 Catullus, Carmina Ixxvi. (Si qua recordanti) . . 33 The Fisherman's Dream 34 The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers at Pieters', February, 1900 36 Senlac 39 Christmas-tide 46 A Happy New Year. v To the young, to the brave and the strong, Before whom the future outspreads As a board all light-handed to sweep, The unknown, and the right and the wrong, A Happy New Year ! To the good, to the tender and true, Who have stood by our side on the path Of life's follies and troubles and cares, The path that we all must pursue, A Happy New Year ! For the old, for the frail and the weak, To whom mem'ry calls up in a dream The never attained might have been, We with love and affection bespeak A Happy New Year ! Cradle Song. (Imitated from the Russian.) SLEEP ! Babyonka,* sleep I By thy side Babochkat watches. Round the house the wind blows high, Soars the eagle in the sky, Hark, I hear the woodcock cry. Sleep, my darling, sleep ! O'er thy slumbers Saints are watching. Sleep I Babyonka, sleep ! Babochka will rock thy cradle. Wind that rushes through the trees, Eagle soaring o'er the breeze, Woodcock whistling in the reeds,J Bring my darling sleep ! Babyonka dear, the Saints are watching. Sleep ! my darling, sleep ! Babochka Babyonka watches. Wind and eagle, woodcock brown, All of them come rushing down To the cot where baby slumbers. They have brought Babyonka sleep. O'er thy slumbers Saints are watching. * Baby6nka, baby. f Babochka, little woman, mother. $ The sandbanks in the Oka and Volga are strewn with small white shells, and partly covered with sweet-smelling dock leaves; they swarm with landrails and woodcock. (D. Grigorovitch.) Queen Thamar's Castle. V (Translated from Lermontof) IN Dariel's rocky gorges deep, Where Terek's water madly moves, There is a castle on the steep, The scene of Queen Tamara's loves. She seemed to play an angel's part ; Black as a demon's was her heart. The weary traveller from below Looked on Tamara's window-glow, And gazing on the twinkling light, Went in to sup and pass the night. But as the L ays of rosy dawn Gilded the mountains in the morn, Silence fell on Tamara's halls, And Terek's madly rushing wave A mangled corpse bore to its grave. B 2 Ulster's Prayer. O GOD, who once in ages past Savedst from the fierce Red Sea And Ramses' chariots following fast Thy sons who sang to Thee : Turn Thee again, Lord of the Saints, Unto our suppliant side, Who humbly beg Thy help against Those who Thy faith deride. 'Gainst those who that pure faith can turn To dogma harsh and strict, From which all who its errors spurn Are cast off derelict ; We, as our fathers prayed before, Fighting for faith and home, Beseech Thee for Thy help once more Against the wiles of Rome. Dark Donegal. THE ocean is dashing Its waves o'er the strand That shelters Sheep Haven With hillocks of sand. M'Swyne's Gun is winding His horn o'er the lea, Atlantic is grinding The dust of the sea. It cuts from the fields, Lough, haven, and bay, And dark Donegal yields To its constant sword-play.* Through infinite inlets It pours willy-nilly, Into Ness and Mulroy, Sheep Haven and Swilly. * The Rev. William Hamilton, D.D., born in Londonderry in December 1757, Rector of Clondevaddock, on Mulroy Bay, gives several instances of the encroachment of the sea sand on fertile and inhabited land. The town of Bannow in Wexford was a flourishing borough in the early part of the seventeenth century, while in his day the site was marked only by a few ruins, appearing above heaps of barren sand. Ulster Folk Lore, E. Andrews. Atlantic was born Bluff, boisterous, coy ; It may storm at the Horn When it coos at Mulroy. The ocean is silent, Or noisy or sullen ; It may sleep at Melmore, Or rage at Rathmullan. The ghosts of Saldanha* Still walk at Port Salon ; The bones of the Spaniards Lie deep off the Aran. In spite of these mem'ries, Or because of them all, The breeze carries gladness Over dark Donegal. Dunfanaghy, September 2, 1913. H.M.S. " Saldanha,' wrecked in Ballymastocker Bay, 1813. Hy-Brasail. NEAR where Horn its dark head Rears o'er the deep ocean, And the sea-birds whirl round In a constant commotion, Where loving Atlantic Outstretches its arms, Four islands romantic Lie, lost in their charms. The farthest is Tory, Rough, rocky and stern, Inishbeg, Inishbofin, Inishdoe, as you turn Your rapt gaze to the west, Orange, rose-red, or grey, Stretch, three islands at rest In the calm of the bay. And beyond them, most blest Of a realm without guile, In the sunshine and rest Lies Hy-Brasail, the isle Of the angels and saints, So lovely and dim, Where the sea's white foam breaks On its far distant rim. 8 The peasant who heard of This wonderful isle Set sail to the west With a confident smile. The dream of Hy-Brasail Within his heart burned, He was lost in the sea And never returned. Londonderry, September 10, 1913. Balor of the Great Blows. HAVE ye read of the past in folios at Dublin Of Firwolgs, and of Pechts, and of red-headed Danes, And Fomors from Tory, who people went troubling Stealing woman and child, binding Irish in chains ? Well, 'tis of these wild times and Ulster romantic, O'erspread by dark forests through which the elk called, And of rude pagan tribes, some dwarf, some gigantic, That I tell in this rhyme so poor and so bald. In a deep gloomy glen near Muckish's mountain, Where the mist rolls in clouds and the waterfalls foam, From out of the cloud-rack, as out of a fountain ; Himself saw a quare sight as he rode his horse home. In the glen at the mouth of a black souterrain (Where Crocknalaragagh looks down upon Tory, The island where Balor of the Great Blows did reign) Shane O'Dugan beheld what I tell in my story. A woman as lovely as dead Ethne the Fair, With twelve ladies in waiting all clothed in gold, The Chief, MacKineely, and a boy with red hair, Came out the cave-dwelling and walked o'er the fold. Now the red-pate is changed into Balor the King, All bent on the murder of brave MacKineely ; And although through the valley his daughter's shrieks ring, He cuts off his head on the stone Clough-an-neely. Fierce King Balor would fain kill his young grandsons too, But the Princess resolves with her children to fly, And the eldest grows into a young farrier, who Thrusts a red-heated iron in Balor's one eye. The wounded King calls to his one grandson, " Asthore !' Whilst forth from the sore wound rushes water like oil, From Falcarragh the whole way right up to Gweedore, Till it forms a lough three times as deep as Lough Foyle ! II The Garden. I KNOW a garden sheltered from the north And east by lichened walls and stately trees Facing the south in rows are bursting forth Masses of bright flowers, fertilised by bees ; In it from early morn, with spade and hoe, A good man trenches, digs, and plants, that things may grow. I would my mind were like that garden fair A fruitful soil touched by the spade of God ! No weeds of prejudice might grow up there, No tares of ignorance disgrace the sod, But Wisdom, glad of such a soil and ground, Would plant her flowers therein to scatter fragrance round. 1904. 12 A Song of Spring. IT was Spring, joyous Spring, When each bud had just unfolden, From its bursting calyx golden, All the greenery of Spring, When I heard the cuckoo sing, Cuckoo ! cuckoo ! cuckoo ! It was Spring, joyous Spring, When the shepherd on the wold, Having tended well the fold, Saw the meek-eyed ewes well-sheltered 'Gainst the hail and rain that peltered On the downs, in the Spring ! It was Spring, joyous Spring, And the black thorn and the white, Breaking forth from out the night And the dark of Winter's gloom, Raced the chestnuts into bloom With the leaves, in gentle Spring. It was Spring, joyous Spring, When from bush and bough and tree Burst a song of joy to Thee, Who hast made the lark that singeth, And the earth whose produce bringeth Forth in Spring : When I heard the cuckoo sing, Cuckoo ! cuckoo ! cuckoo ! April, 1896. The Mirage on Kizil Koom. WHERE the hot sun o'er Caspian's reedy shore In a red ball of fire descends in gloom, I trod the desert's silent, sandy floor, Called by the Turkomans the Kizil Koom. No grass, no flower relieves the rusty sheen, Perhaps an antelope goes rushing through The rare sage-brush ; no water there is seen, Save where the fell mirage distracts the view. And that mirage ! At first a little cloud, From which green trees and silvery lakes arise, Where white felucca sails deceive the crowd Of weary travellers, and fool their eyes. Ah ! what art thou, mirage ? What have I seen ? " I am the many things of which you dream " " At morn of life, but never hold at e'en." " I am the hopes with which your fancies teem ! " " I am the scholar's prize, the high degree ; " " The sword of steel at side, the fox's brush;" " The little cross of bronze, the prized V.C. ; " " The thundering sound of steeds, the warrior's rush ! " 14 " I am the heart's desire, the lover bold ; " " I am the silken gown, the judge's chair " I am the battle won ; the book well sold " Coronet ; Ermine ! Castle in the air ! Ah ! Kizil Koom, Red Sand, what more dost say In thy mirage to travellers o'er thy floor ? " I teach content to those who through the way Of life well spent have passed, and dream no more." A Dream of Samarkand. v BETWEEN the mountains of Alai And Tian-Shan's heavenly chain Lies the home of the Zagatai, Fergana's fruitful plain. First of the towns whose domes and wall Deck that illustrious land Stands the lame Timiir's capital, His best-loved Samarkand. I stood inside a shattered room, Stricken by earthquakes rife, That Timur raised above the tomb Of Ming's fair daughter-wife. Daughter of China's Bogdu-Khan, Wife of the great Timur, Who 'twixt them ruled the vast inland From Red Sea to Amur. Above an arch a double dome Bites in the clear blue sky (Bramante's famous fane at Rome Seems scarce so broad and high). i6 Above the dome a crescent bright Watched sleepy Samarkand, Asleep to-day, but wide awake When Timur ruled the land. Sure, such a tomb was never raised By widower to wife ! Nor Akhbar brave nor Shah Jehan Did thus weld bricks to life. The Taj, in marble shining bright By Agra's sun-baked walls, Must yield the palm for sheer delight To Bibi-Khanim's halls. The sun shines through the double dome, Lighting its inner skin, It shows the remnant of the stair That upwards led within, From which the muezzin, climbing slow, To shout the evening prayer, Could see the Rigistan below, Shir-Dar and Tilla-Kare. I seemed to see the cliffs at Kesh, Whence came the great Amir, From whose red rift the Zarafshan Sends forth its waters clear. I seemed to see the Tatar horde, Under Toktamish brave, Beaten and drowning in the ford That crosses Kuban's wave. 17 I saw the Mogul army move To conquer Hindostan ; Its serried, strong divisions prove The master mind of man. Ninety-two thousand fretting steeds Rush down from hill to plain ; Timur descends the khud by ropes, Five times let down again. The Mongols march upon Attock And cross the rivers five, Timur joins forces at Multan With all his sons alive ; His armies then invest Batnir, They come to Delhi's towers, Mahmud Sultan gives battle there, Timur his standard lowers. Asia, from Irtish to Ormuz O'er-run by Timur's bands, Iran, Turan and Ind had felt The weight of Mongol hands. Aleppo taken by the horde, Timur fresh laurels culls, And covers Baghdad's reeking sward With pyramids of skulls. Now on Angora's fateful plain The "Lightning" Bayazet Urges his Turks to fight, in vain, 'Gainst Mongol and kismet. i8 Twas told that Bayazet was caged Just like a timid deer, But Timiir never warfare waged On captives of his spear. From all these scenes of lust and blood I turn to Samarkand, Where Zarafshan's refreshing flood Gives life unto the land. Here Timur mosque and palace built Around a sheltered pool, Set in a field with arbours gilt, And called it Khan-i-Gul. Thousands of guests were bid to share The great Amir's largesse, The Guilds and Trades were gathered there,. The wronged received redress. Here, in his coat of mail of steel, Timur, 'midst his sepoys, From Russ, and France, and far Castille, Received the Grand Envoys Six grandsons of the Great Amir Wed brides of princely rank, Nine times the brides their dresses change, Nine times their handmaids thank. 19 Each time each bride is fresh arrayed, Fall to the ground in showers Rubies and diamonds, which the maid Keeps as her bridal flowers ! I see Timiir, one boot, one glove, And with his lint-white hair, * Delighted on his chess-board move Fifty-six pieces fair. The blood-red ruby in his ear Trembles before my view, But when his rage the stone shakes there, 'Fore God ! the world shakes too. At last the Mogul Emperor Invades far-off Cathay, He starts, the tired conqueror, Marching ten miles a day, Crosses Syr-Daria's solid stream, And stops at Otrar, when He sees the blade of Azrael gleam At three-score years and ten. Come with me to the Gur-Amir, Within whose simple walls Over a six-foot block of jade A horsehair standard falls. Beneath the dark and polished stone Descends a bare brick stair, Leading to Tamerlane's own tomb, Nor pomp nor state is there. C 2 3O Beneath the fluted, darkened dome, Where dimly seen in gloom, Surrounded by an Arab text, Hangs Timur's tattered plume, Outside the simple marble rail Engraved with Timur's name, The passing pilgrim cannot fail To muse on Timur's fame. 21 At Santa Sophia, Constantinople. (A Fragment.} THERE is the altar, there is the wall, Disfigured by Mehemet's hand : We should raise the Cross of Christ in the hall Where the Turkish banners stand ; And the tones of " Te Deum," quenched in blood, Should resound again in the land. 22 The Hill Cities. ALL along the line of mountains That begin at Narni's towers, Stand the grey and brown hill cities, 'Midst the sunshine and the showers. Each a tower of strength itself, Well walled and machicolated, Or for Ghibelline or Guelph, Each 'twixt each interpolated ; Now for Kaiser, now for Pope, Narni, Terni, and Spoleto. From its crag or hilly slope Tremi faces Montefalco, By Topino sits Foligno, Assisi of the stony street, Almost at its base is Spello Where the chalk and limestone meet. Here the rain-clouds veil the mountain, Here the sunbeams chase the sleet, And the rivers fill the fountain Grey in proud Perugia's street. Perugia, April, 1912. Florence from San Miniattf. BENEATH my feet the smokeless city fair: Duomo and Giotto's noble tower arise Like sentinels o'er Florence ! In the air Something, not mist, but silvery vapour, lies. Up a steep hill climbs famous Fiesole From out the dark woods of Domenico, Close to Arno's bank is Santa Croce, Where lies at rest great Michael Angelo. And through the landscape, winding softly there, Arno betwixt his buttressed banks doth run Solemn and silent, steely bright and fair, Towards Carrara's rocks, and setting sun. The Thames. I love thy banks the best, O silent Thames, At morning time, When fogs steal o'er them, and with ruddy flames The still weak sun Bursts, now and then, at moments through the mist And sudden flies, Leaving the landscape which his beams have kissed, Cold and forlorn ; And then, again returning to the fight, The God of morn Dispels the clouds, and bathes in trembling light Thy banks so gay. Or struggling with the clouds, now here, now there, O'erpowers them, and ushers in the day. I love thy banks again, O merry Thames, Ambient and gay, When lowing herds graze in thy meads, or lie With whisk of tail In the long grass, half hidden by the glazed And heated air, And chew the cud half-silent or half-dazed. How deadly still Is the full tide of noon, when beasts and birds Alike repose, 25 And from the sullen shade not e'en a bee Or dragon-fly Breaks the hour's silence ! Then the cirrus clouds, Wind-chas'd and heavy, roll or stagger by. I love thy banks at all times, silver Thames, But certes the least When huge waves suddenly immerse their sides, And from the East, With sound of harp, or flute, and megaphones, Young men and maids On steamers Allah's Holy Name invoke In raucous tones No Moslem knows, and call me curious names, And drink, and smoke Not nargilehs, but strong cigars, whose whiff Borne on the air, Shocks my olfactory nerves, and makes me sick, Sick of them all, the Thames, the whole affair ! 26 In Te, Domine, spero. 'Tis said that as the sinner dies Around him hover shadowy forms, Reflecting in his glassy .eyes Some cloudy visions in Death's storms. When on the hard-fought battle plain Gushes forth hot the bright red blood From out the bullet wound's blue stain, With throbs that show the arterial flood ; The shadowy forms may still be near Just where his body stains the sod, As sure of death but void of fear The man commends his soul to God. The half-forgotten youthful days, His father's voice, his mother's tears, Come back to him as whilst he prays Dark AzraeTs rustling wings he hears. Lost and forgotten, far from home (The stretcher-bearers pass him by) He dies alone : no, not alone, The shadowy forms are watching nigh. So ends the sinner. As he dies The shadowy forms (his own good deeds) Are wafted onward to the skies To plead for him in heavenly meads. To Miss X. de C. on her Birthday. O'ER this your natal day may angels watch and love preside, Your path with flowers be strewn and all betide To make your ways below, in joy begun, Run on through smiling fields till life be done. 28 Londonderry City Election, 1885. Chas. E. Lewis, Q.C. (C.) 1824. Justin McCarthy (P.) 1795. To the black North, to Derry fair, a great " Historian " came, Backed by the strength of all his clan, by Parnell's mighty name, His was the task, by wiles or force, to wrest the Virgin Crown From the proud city by the Foyle, of siege's great renown. In vain the Separatist force, for naught their trumpets blown, Derry has shown that she prefers a " history " of her own ! Coblentz, December 1885. 2 9 Londonderry City Election, 1913. Hogg (N.) 2699. *' % Colonel Pakenham (C.) 2642. FLOW, Foyle, full of tears, not water, on to the main, Past the wreck of the Boom, past Culmore, past MacGilligan, Take to the ocean, wind-swept and wave-tossed, Our story of pain. Close gates, so heavy and ancient, brave Prentice boys, Shut out the sea, shut off England, shut out the Union. Shut out all links with our Empire, our trade and communion, Our hopes and our joys ! Blow, black from the North, cold wind from Malin Head! Take to our comrades in Leinster, in Connacht, in Munster, The tale of our struggle, our work, our disaster Our honour is dead. January 31, 1913. To M, S. (A Fragment?) SAPPHO, your wild songs to the wind, The wild west wind, Recall an island to my mind, All mist-enshrined, Girt round with waves that break with force, Fearful, yet kind. Sappho, your sad songs to the sea, The southern sea, Bring back sweet mem'ries of the waves, The waves to me, And wild swans flying o'er the white Sands, by the sea. Sappho, the finest of your songs, " Hark to the rain ! " Sends shivering through and through my heart Its sad refrain, Just as a broken lute-string strikes A soul in pain ! The Song of Timur the Lame. (Imitated from the Persian!) LISTEN to me, my nightingale, My darling, my light, and my rose ! I am sick of war and carnage, I long for peace and repose. My scimetar's flash in the light Is not so bright as thy glances, And the beams 'neath thine eyelids bright Shame the flash of my spearmen's lances. Catullus, Carmina xxxi., 1. 12 to end, " SALVE, o venusta Sirmio, atque hero gaude, Gaudete vos, O Lydiae lacus undae, Ridete quicquid est domi cachinnorum." " Hail, lovely Sirmio, and rejoice in me, Rejoice, O tumbling Lydian waves, and see In all my home peal out the laughter free ! " 33 Catullus, Carmina Ixxvi. (Si qua recordanti). " IF pleasure can to man have come From his good deeds already done, From sacred faith, from plight maintained, From compact never yet profaned ; All these remain in store for thee And fruits of thy lost love shall be. Catullus, for long years to come Thy breast shall be their only home 1 " O gods, if ye can pity me Or mortal agony can see, If only once I have been pure, Tear out this cursed plague impure, Which creeping through my frame at rest Has chased all gladness from my breast. Just gods ! for sake of my own weal I pray you that this wound may heal ! 34 The Fisherman's Dream. WHERE the light clouds o'er Etna's summit sleep And the dread winged Harpies vigil keep, Dark as the polished stone the blue wave falls, Weaving a canopy o'er Neptune's halls. Over his work the tired fisher nods And in his dreams beholds the ancient gods. Whilst gentle sleep his wearied senses numbs, Swift in his trance fair Aphrodite comes ; Light falls her footstep on the billowy wave, Softly she smiles upon her willing slave ; Blue as the ether in the heights above, Radiant her eyes, all beaming o'er with love ; Pink as the coral in the ocean foam, Parted, her lips invite him to her home ; And like the algae in the deep sea trove Wavy her tresses in the zephyrs move ; Whilst her soft whispers all his fears allay, Thus love's fair goddess beckons him away. " Come with me, fisher, leave thy dreary toil, Fly from thy cares to Candia's blessed soil ; 'Neath Ida's mount far from the sun's fierce rays, In a cool grot we'll pass the sweltering days, 35 And when the moon shines on the silver sea, Drawn by my doves thou'lt float along with me ; Hid in my cave shalt taste all love's delights, Whilst joyous days succeed the tranquil nights." Ah ! shun her glances, danger lurketh there : Thus did her charms full often slaves ensnare. So young Adonis, who ne'er loved before, Fleeing her wiles, fell to the tusked boar, And Mars, the vengeful, direful, God of War, By Vulcan's net trapped, all Olympus saw ! Rather let Juno, who befriends pure loves, Drive from thy side the siren and her doves. Think of thy home in Ba'la's beauteous bay, Where sits thy wife, thy children joyous play, And of the taper by the Virgin's shrine Lit as a safeguard for their weal and thine. Frightened he wakes, he starts, he rubs his eyes, Chased by the light the feckless phantom flies : Vanished the temptress, all his senses seem Once more his own ; but Santos I what a dream ! Ashbrook, 1885. The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers at Pieters', February, 1900. I STOOD on the glacis at Pieters' And read there the word " Inniskilling," Written red in the blood of soldiers as brave As e'er took Her Majesty's shilling. I stood 'midst the ghosts of our children, Whose corpses beneath me were lying ; And it seemed that I heard o'er the wind of the velt Their voices come solemnly sighing. They were taught from boyhood, these heroes, To fear neither rifle nor cannon ; They were taught first by Perry M'Clintock, Bob Ellis and fiery Buchanan. They rushed like the stream from the mountain, Or the wind o'er the Lakes of Fermanagh, And they fell like the leaves in the cold autumn blast, Or the drops pouring over the fountain. Ah ! Mother of God ! but I see them Stagger. Thackeray ! Davidson ! more ! And who is the next, thrusting on thro' the smoke ? It is he ! Tis ma bouchal asthore ! 37 His eye has the look of the eagle, His shout tops the musketry's roar, Ah ! now he'll be in with the bay'net : No, he falls ! He is shot by a Boer. We think of you children of Ulster, All unknown, yet so splendidly brave ; v And although the remains of our dear ones Lie senseless and cold in the grave, Their mem'ries live now and for ever, Though their bones turn to dust 'neath the sod ; For the spirit and soul of the soldier Rise like sweet-smelling incense to God. As I glanced over kopje and stone On the scene of this terrible drama, Past my eyes, other scenes, from the distant black North f Rolled on like a vast panorama. Such sights ere he gasped his last breath Perhaps appeared to the brave Fusilier, As at Thackeray's word he rushed forward to death With a bound and a heart-stirring cheer ! The dark clouds hang over a valley, The brown water rushes down foaming, The light from the cabin-door shines like a spark On the hill in the mists of the gloaming. The heather waves sweet in the wind That sweeps o'er the steep slopes of Sawel ; The crooked-beaked eagle swoops down on the hind, Whilst the cock-grouse lies low for a marvel. 38 For thus, as we come to the entrance Of that lane that knows of no turning, Whether bullets are hissing, or rotten decks breaking, Or fever our wasted frame burning, The sights and the sounds of the home that we love O'er our minds come back hurriedly streaming, And we see in our dreams our long lost ones above, As AzraeTs death-blade is gleaming. I stood 'midst the ghosts of our children, Whose corpses beneath me were lying ; And it seemed that I heard o'er the wind of the velt Their voices come solemnly sighing. Petersburg, October, 1901. 39 Senlac. GUILLAUME, fils nature! d'Arlette, Fit jurer une fois a Bayeux A Harold, le blond comte anglais, Sur les plus precieuses reliques Et aussi devant tous ses preux Toute loyaute et feaute. Harold jura qu'il 1'aiderait A prendre a lui la succession (Enfin, done, quand le temps viendrait) Du roi saxon le faineant, Qu'il se mettrait de son cote Et de ses forces il 1'aiderait. ISdouard le Confesseur mourut En grande odeur de sainctete, Le Comte Harold vite accourut (Mil soixante-six, et cinq Janvier). Lui roi d'Angleterre fut elu Et par Ealdred couronne. Centre lui bientot guerre a mort Northumberland a declare ; Ne voulant point tenter cette guerre, Qui lui allait a contre-coeur, Du Comte Edwin et Comte Morkere Harold epousa la jeune sceur. 40 Guillaume, tout furieux, a Rouen Prepare vite une expedition, Appelle a lui le grand Lanfranc, Evesque lombard, et Hildebrand, Assemble une armee de Franais, Flamands, Italiens et Bretons, Et des gens de tous les pa'is De Pouille, et de Sicile, Normands. Je dis moults barons, moulte canaille, Des hommes sans nom et sans carriere, Les longues lances, la vieille feraille, Sous le grand drapeau de Saint- Pierre. Faut savoir que cette compagnie, Ou plutot bande d'aventuriers, Dont oncques ne virent France de leur vie, Furent bels et bons nommes Franfais, Tandis que Danois et Saxons Qu'Harold noblement commandait, Ceux de Sussesse et Saint-Edmond, Re9urent pour eux le nom d' 'Anglais. Les Francais traverserent La Manche Et descendirent en Angleterre Pres d'Hastings, pendant qu'a 1'arme blanche Harold tua Tostique, son frere. Parlons done de 1'armee anglaise. Victorieuse a Stamford-le-Pont, Elle poussa fortement vers le camp Ou plutot position francaise. 41 S'arretant a. deux lieues de la, Harold envoya des espions, Qui lui rapporterent la nouvelle " Plus pretres que soldats entre Normands." Rit bien et long le roi anglais : " Ceux que vous vites si bien rases v Ne sont ni pretres ni gens mal-nes, Ce sont de vaillans Chevaliers." De Conches, de Toarz, Montgommeri A 1'extreme gauche etaient ranges ; A droite, de Fergert, Ameri Poitevins et Bretons commandaient ; Au centre, 1'Evesque de Bayeux, Grand et majestueux Odon ; Puis Guillaume, avec tous ses preux ; Ainsi se rangerent les Normands. Brave Taillefer, le Menestrel, Le premier coup de sabre donnant, Le premier tomba de sa selle, Chantant la chanson de Roland. Fils-Osbert et Montgommeri Attaquerent sur la droite anglaise, Avec Boulogne et Berri, En partant de la gauche frangaise. De 1'autre flanc, Alain Fergert, Barons de Maine et d'Ameri Se ruerent sur la haute terre Retranchee de gros pilotis, 42 Ou 1'dtendard au dragon d'or Flottait dessus les ecussons Plantes en ligne, et juste derriere Brillaient les haches-d'armes des Saxons. Les hommes de Boulogne et de Poix Suivaient le Baron d'Ameri Et donnerent rudement maintes fois Sur la ligne des gros pilotis. Mais sous les coups terribles des baches Et testes et bras tombaient par terre ; A vrai dire n'y avait point de laches, Car corps-a-corps se fit la guerre. Tout de meme dans le vaste fosse Bien des chevaliers sans chevaux De coups de hache furent assommes, En tachant de sortir de 1'eau ! Troubles, et meme un peu confus, Les ecuyers aux destriers, Voyant ainsi tuer les preux, S'ecriaient : " Fuyez done, fuyez ! " Mais le dur evesque de Bayeux Arriva bientot au galop, " Hola ! " dit-il ; " splendeur de Dieu ! Faites face a 1'ennemi, salops ! " Done piquant fort des eperons Et frappant fortement de sa masse, Poussant toujours son cheval blanc, Le brave evesque se faisait place. 43 Le terrible combat rageait Du matin jusques apres-midi ; Les Normands tous criaient, " Dex aie ! " Les Saxons criaient fort aussi. Vu que les fleches de nos archers N'atteignirent point a 1'ennemi, Tous derriere leurs remparts courbes," Guillaume a ses gens commanda De tirer haut dans 1'air les fleches. Arriva done comme il pensa, Meme sans pratiquer de breche ! Le roi Harold et Gyrt, son frere, Ensemble bravement se battaient En haut du grand rempart de terre De gros pilotis couronne. Une fleche, qui semble tomber du ciel Et dans sa chute descendante vire, Atteignit Harold pres de 1'oeil. Le roi tout hardiment retire De la blessure le bois casse. II tombe, se tenant a demi Evanoui sur son bouclier. L'ange gardien des Saxons fremit ! Sur toute la ligne des Francais Se fit un mouvement en arriere ; C'etait le moment des Anglais, Qui sauterent par-dessus barriere. 44 Us criaient hautement en revanche, " A quoi bon, imbeciles, de fuir ? A moins de sauter par La Manche Vous ne reverrez point Saint-Cyr." Arrive Sieur de Montgommeri, " Frappez, Francois ! a nous le jour ; Frappez ! frappez ! frappez ! " il crie : Les coups Normands redoublent d'ardeur ! Les Saxons, eux aussi frappent fort, Pousses sur Senlac-la-Colline, Se battaient toujours corps-a-corps, Quoique prevoyant leur ruine. L'on vit d'Auviler et d'Onbac, Saint-Clair, Fils-Ernest, Mortemer, Poussant les premiers vers Senlac, Fils-Ernest tombant mort a terrre. Harold trois fois blesse est mort Et Gyrt est tue par Guillaume, Chancelle le fameux dragon d'or, Et tombe, le symbole du royaume. Fut ainsi que tomba le sort ! Guillaume rendit graces a Dieu, Pleura la perte de ses deux freres, Remercia encore ses preux. II donna au Grand Dieu la gloire Et fit planter les leopards Qui flotterent avec la victoire Oi: gisait sale le dragon d'or. 45 D' Harold parmi tous les blesses Fut impossible de connaitre corps, Mais Edith la Belle a trouve Son amant vivant, helas ! mort. J'ai tache, chers et bons amis, En reduisant ce rondelai En termes tout simples, ou il s'agit De coups de lance, et coups d'epee, De faire a tout le monde comprendre, Marins, soldats, hommes, femmes, enfance, Qu'il faut garder et pas rendre Notre souveraine independence ! Une ile n'est jamais a 1'abri D'un coup de main bien prepare : Done, sans negliger votre marine, Veillez toujours sur votre armee. 4 6 Christmas-tide. SILENTLY the snowflakes fall O'er the black and hardened ground ; Radiant crystals form a pall, Stretching far and wide around. From the Ice-King's glitt'ring halls Bitterly the north wind blows ; Heap the logs within your walls, All the doors and windows close. Many a hundred years ago, On this very Christmas Day, In a manger mean and low Christ, the son of Mary, lay. Let our ways this Christmas-tide Follow in His steps above ! Poor he lived and poor he died, All His doctrine was of love. Ours to soothe the aching heart, Ours to charity bestow, Ours His knowledge to impart To the suffering ones below ! May that charity ne'er fail, May those good deeds never cease, Till our bark shall lower sail In the haven where is peace ! PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., ETON COLCHESTER AND LONDON UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-30m-ll,'58(.8268s4)444 PR Beresford - 6003 B4429h Happy New Year 000 501 085 PR 6003 B4429h