941 $B 2T MIB v3 THE BARD BY GKAY IIIUSTRATED ^^L^i^^ /^^a^^>/te. ^^^f^c^rzi^^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 With funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/bardbardOOgrayrich €^& n^ixm. *f^ff THE BARD BY GRAY WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS BV THE HONOURABLE MRS. JOHN TALBOT LONDON JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW MDCCCXXXVII LONDON: PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLKT, DORSET STREBT. THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY THIS ILLUSTRATED EDITION IS DEDICATED, |L WITH HER MOST GRACIOUS PERMISSION, BY HER majesty's most HUMBLE AND DEVOTED SERVANT, H JOHN MARTIN. fl| • • •♦; The favorable reception given to the edition of the Elegy of Gray, is the inducement for the following at- tempt to illustrate another of his celebrated poems ; the designs for which have been most kindly contributed by Mrs. John Talbot. To that lady the Editor's thanks are pre-eminently due for the kindness with which she acceded to the re- quest ; adding yet more to the debt of gratitude he owes to the noble family of which she is a member. The designs were made on the wood itself by Mrs. Talbot, and are all original, except the copy of the Tragic Muse of Sir Joshua Reynolds, which seemed so apposite to the lines to which it is attached, as to forbid any attempt at original illustration. Of a poem which still maintains its place " on every table and in every mouth" any observations would be superfluous. The greatest of English critics has long since pronounced our author to be one whom it " would be vain to blame and useless to praise."" J. M. ^•^ 749 ^ • • ILLUSTRATIONS. BNOBAVBO «V Vignette on Title-page J. Jackson. 1 ... King Edward arrested on his march ... O. Smith. 2 ... The Bard's Address F. Bbanston. 3 ... The Massacre of the Bards J.Thompson. 4 ... Berkeley Castle, the scene of the murder of Edward II. J. Jacksok. 6 ... Edward III. neglected, on his death-bed ... J.Thompson. 6 ... Tomb of the Black Prince O.Smith. 7 .-. Richard II. in prison F. Branston. 8 ... Henry VI. a prisoner in the Tower ... S.Williams. 9 ... Waltham Cross, erected by Edward I. to the memory of Queen Eleanor ... J. Cleghorn. 10 ... Queen Elizabeth in her audience -chamber J.Thompson. 11 ... The Tragic Muse, after Sir Joshua RejTiolds S.Williams. 12 ... Death of the Bard J.Thompson. *,* The design prefixed to the dedication, and the embellished capital letters, are from drawings obligingly contributed by Miss Moule. As down the steep of Snowdon's shaggy side He wound with toilsome march his long array. THE BARD. A PINDARIC ODE. I. uiN seize thee, ruthless King ! Confusion on thy banners wait ! Though fanned by conquest''s crimson wing, They mock the air with idle state. Helm, nor hauberk's twisted mail. Nor e'en thy virtues, tyrant, shall avail To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears !" Such were the sounds, that o'er the crested pride Of the first Edward scattered wild dismay, As down the steep of Snowdon's shaggy side He wound with toilsome march his long array. Stout Glo'ster stood aghast in speechless trance : " To arms !" cried Mortimer, and couched his quiver- ing lance. On a rock, whose haughty brow Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, the poet stood. II. N a rock, whose haughty brow Frowns o'*er old Conway's foaming flood, Robed in the sable garb of woe, With haggard eyes the Poet stood ; Loose his beard, and hoary hair Streamed, like a meteor, to the troubled air. And with a master''s hand, and prophet'*8 fire. Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre. *' Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave. Sighs to the torrenfs awful voice beneath ! Cer thee, oh king ! their hundred arms they wave, Revenge on thee in hoarser murmurs breathe ; Vocal no more, since Cambria'*s fatal day, To high-bom Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn''s lay. J On dreary Arvon's shore they lie, Smeared with gore, aud ghastly pale. III. OLD is Cadwal]o'*s tongue. That hushed the stormy main ; Brave Urien sleeps upon his craggy bed : Mountains, ye mourn in vain Modred, "whose magic song Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-toppM head. On dreary Arvon'^s shore they lie, Smeared with gore, and ghastly pale : Far, far aloof th' affrighted ravens sail : The famished eagle screams, and passes by. Dear lost companions of my tuneful art, Dear, as the light that visits these sad eyes. Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart, Ye died amidst your dying country''s cries ! No more I weep. They do not sleep. On yonder cliffs, a grisly band, I see them sit, they linger yet ! Avengers of their native land : With me in dreadful harmony they join. And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line. Mark the year, and mark the night, When Severn shall re-echo with affright The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roof that ring. IV. EAVE the warp, and weave the woof. The winding-sheet of Edward"'s race : Give ample room, and verge enough The characters of Hell to trace. Mark the year, and mark the night, When Severn shall re-echo with affright The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roof that ring, Shrieks of an agonizing king ; She-wolf of France, with unrelenting fangs. That tear''st the bowels of thy mangled mate. From thee be bom, who o''er thy country hangs The scourge of Heaven. What terrors round him wait ! Amazement in his van, with Flight combinM ; And Sorrow's faded form, and Solitude behind. Mighty Victor, mighty Lord, Low on his funeral couch he lies ! Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead. V. [GiiTY Victor, mighty Lord, Low on his funeral couch he lies ! No pitying heart, no eye, afford A tear to grace his obsequies. Is the sable warrior fled ? Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead. The swarm, that in thy noon-tide beam were bom ? Gone to salute the rising Mom. Fair laughs the Mom, and soft the Zephyr blows. While proudly riding o'er the azure realm In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes ; Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm ; Regardless of the sweeping Whirlwind's sway, That, hush'd in grim repose, expects his evening-prey. Fell Thirst and Famine scowl A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. Revere his consort's faith, his father's fame, And spare the meek usurper's holy head. VI. ILL liigli the sparkling bowl, The rich repast prepare : Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast: Close by the regal chair Fell Thirst and Famine scowl A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. Heard ye the din of battle bray, Lance to lance, and horse to horse .'* Long years of havoc urge their destined course, And through the kindred squadrons mow their way. Ye towers of Julius, London'*s lasting shame, With many a foul and midnight murder fed, Revere his consorts faith, his father's fame. And spare the meek usurper'*s holy head. Above, below, the Rose of snow. Twined with her blushing foe we spread : The bristled Boar in infant gore Wallows beneath the thorny shade. Now, brothers, bending o'er th' accursed loom. Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom. Half of thy heart we consecrate. VII. DWARD, lo ! to sudden fate Weave we the woof. The thread is spun. Half of thy heart we consecrate. The web is wove. The work is done. Stay, oh stay ! nor thus forlorn Leave me unblessed, un pitied, here to mourn : In yon bright track, that fires the western skies, They melt, they vanish from my eyes. But oh ! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll ? Visions of glory, spare my aching sight ! Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul ! No more our long-lost Arthur we bewail. All-hail, ye genuine kings ! Britannia's issue, hail ! M'^-'fT^Csi^^^i-;-')' 10. In the midst a form divine ! Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-line. VIII. IRT with many a baron bold Sublime their starry fronts they rear ; And gorgeous dames, and statesmen old, In bearded majesty, appear. In the midst a form divine ! Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-line ; Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face, Attempered sweet to virgin-grace. What strings symphonious tremble in the air ! What strains of vocal transport round her play ! Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear ; They breathe a soul to animate thy clay. Bright Rapture calls, and soaring, as she sings. Waves in the eye of Heaven her many-coloured wings. II. In buskined measures move Pale Grief, and pleasing Pain. 12. Headlong from the mountain's height Deep in the roaring tide he plung'd to endless night. IX. HE verse adorn again KK^ ^i^rce War, and faithful Love, And Truth severe, by fairy Fiction drest. In buskined measures move Pale Grief, and pleasing Pain, With Horror, tyrant of the throbbing breast. A voice, as of the cherub-choir. Gales from blooming Eden bear ; And distant warblings lessen on my ear, That lost in long futurity expire. Fond impious man, think'st thou, yon sanguine cloud, Raised by thy breath, has quenched the orb of day ? To-morrow he repairs the golden flood, And warms the nations with redoubled ray. Enough for me : with joy I see The different doom our Fates assign. Be thine Despair, and sceptred Care : To triumph, and to die, are mine." He spoke, and headlong from the mountain*'s height Deep in the roaring tide he plunged to endless night. Elegantly printed in post 8vo, price 9s. in cloth, GRAY'S ELEGY IN A COUNTRY CHURCH-YARD. EACH STANZA ILLUSTRATED With Thales Fikldino. Frank Howard. T. Landseer. C. Landseer. J.H.Nixon. C. R. Stanley. J. W. Wright. an Engraving on Wood, from 33 original Drawings expressly made for the volume by the following eminent Artists : J. J. Chalon.A.R.A. S. A. Hart,A.R.A. W. Westall, A.R.A. G. Barrett. W. Boxall. G. Catterholb. P, Dbwint. Copley Fielding. *' No poem in the English language has touched the universal heart more tenderly than Gray's Elegy ; and few, indeed, in any language, have approached its simple pathos and natural imagery. It was a happy thought to illustrate it by the sweetest productions of the sister art ; and the design has been perfectly executed in the delight- ful volume before us. Every stanza has its appropriate drawing from a master's hand ; and the effect is wonderfully touching. We can give no idea of it ; but let our readers fancy every verse of this affecting Elegy yielding a theme to exercise the imagination of our best artists, and they may form some conception of the nature and value of these graphic gems." — Literary Gazette, A. W. Callcott, R.A. W. Collins, R.A. J. Constable, R.A. A. Cooper, R.A. H. Howard, R.A. W. MULREADY, R.A. T. Stothard, R.A. R. Westall, R.A. AN In post 8vo, price 10s. 6d. cloth, ANGLER'S RAMBLES. BY EDWARD JESSE, F.L.S. Author of " Gleanings in Natural History." " Who ever took up a book of Mr. Jesse's without being delighted with the amuse- ment it afforded, or satisfied with the knowledge it conveyed ! Truly, he has led us to many a scene of good-fellowship, both on land and water ; he has made us intimate with fishermen, landladies, and ladies of the manor also, in humble inns and lordly halls, — to say nothing of a country clergyman, village cricket club, classical Oxford, and that new insight into animal life which has already rendered his works on Natural History the most charming medium of knowledge ever afforded to the investigating mind."— New Monthly Magazine. JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. On the 1st of July will be published Part I. price 2s. 6d. of A HISTORY OF BRITISH BIRDS; BY WILLIAM YARRELL, F.L.S. SECRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Tins work, which is intended as a companion to the History of British Quadrupeds and British Fishes, will be completed in two volumes 8vo, and will contain a greater number of British Birds than has yet been included in any work on the same subject. All the species will be illustrated by engravings on wood; two representations of many of them; and in some cases even three figures will be given, to represent the various changes dependant on age, sex, or season. The whole of the Birds will be engraved by, or under the direction of Mr. Thompson, whose name is at once a guarantee that the execu- tion will be excellent and uniform throughout. The drawings will be made from living examples of the Birds as often as opportunities permit; and in other instances from the most perfect specimens in the different collections to which the author has access. The vignettes will be numerous, and subservient to the general subject; occasionally illustrating the description of some in- teresting portion of internal or external structure ; and no expense or labour will be spared to render this History of British Birds as complete as extensive observation, long practical acquaintance with the subject, and the plan of the work will admit. A limited number will also be printed on royal 8vo, 5s. each Part, and fifty only on imperial 8vo ; the latter not to be delivered until the work is complete. JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. 3 On the 2nd of October will be published. Part I. price 2*. 6d. of A HISTORY OF BRITISH REPTILES; BY THOMAS BELL, F.R.S. PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IN KINo's COLLEGE. In pursuance of the plan already commenced by the publication of the History of British Fishes and of British Quadrupeds, it is intended that the latter work, now nearly finished, shall be immediately succeeded by a History of British Reptiles, by the same author ; which, with the former works, and that of Mr. Yarrell on British Birds, will complete the Natural History of the Vertebrate Animals of the British Islands. The Reptiles of this country, although few in number, are not devoid of considerable interest; their habits are popularly much misunderstood, and several innocent and useful species are shunned and destroyed, from a mistaken notion that they are directly or indirectly noxious to man. The elucidation of their habits, the distinctive description of the species, their geographical distri- bution, and the history of the transformation of all the amphibious forms, are amongst the subjects which will be fully discussed. The Illustrations, which will be in the first style of the art of wood-engraving, will be numerous; and in addition to a figure of each species, and of some of the most important varieties, will comprise many illustrations of structure and development, and transformation. A few copies will also be printed in royal 8vo, price 5s. each Part, and fifty only on imperial 8vo ; the latter not to be delivered until the volume is complete. JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW, I .-.. -^V" i^ "^-•^"t^:-^-^ On the 1st of August will be published, in 1 vol. 8vo, price 28s. A HISTORY OF BRITISH QUADRUPEDS ; BY THOMAS BELL, F.R.S. PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IN KINo's COLLEGE. Illustrated by Figures engraved in the very best manner, on wood, of every British Animal, together with many illustrative vignettes, from drawings made under the im- mediate superintendance of the author. " Reflects the greatest credit on its author, from the manner in which it is gotten up, the purity and elegance of the style, and the clearness and beauty of the wood-engrav- ings. We are glad to see such a work, one which may be considered of national importance, emanating from the pen of a gentleman so fully capable of doing justice to a subject of such great interest, not only to the medical world, but to the public in general." — Dublin Journal of Medical Science, " It speaks for itself, and in a tone which must command success : in design it is excellent ; in execution, unexceptionable. The combination of the scientific and the popular, of the instructive and the amusing, justify the most confident expectations that the work will, when completed, be every way worthy of the reputation of the author and the patronage of the public. In a word, this work, and that of which it is the proper pendant, ' Yarrell,' may be considered rivals in excellency and beauty ; every British library should, and we have little doubt will, possess both." — Morning Post, A few copies are also printed in royal Bvo, price 21. 1 6s. and a very limited number in imperial Bvo, price 4/. 4s. for which early application will be necessary. JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. In 2 vols. 8vo, price 21. 8s. illustrated by nearly 400 beautiful Woodcuts, A HISTORY OF BRITISH FISHES ; BY WILLIAM YARRELL, F.L.S. SECRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. This work, which contains a complete history of the Ichthyology of Great Britain, including many species never before noticed, is illustrated witn 240 figures of Fishes, mostly taken from the objects themselves, and 145 vignettes, drawn and engraved by the most eminent artists. No pains have been spared to render it worthy of public estimation. " This book ought to be largely circulated, not only on account of its scientific merits, — though these, as we have in part shown, are great and signal, — but because it is popularly written throughout, and therefore likely to excite general attention to a subject which ought to be held as one of primary importance. Every one is interested about fishes — the political economist, the epicure, the merchant, the man of science, the angler, the poor, the rich. We hail the appearance of this book as the dawn of a new era in the natural history of England. — Quarterly Review, No. 116, April. " Before the appearance of this valuable work, the subject of British Fishes had engaged the attention of a good many observers, and much curious information had been collected. To Mr. Yarrell, so long advantageously known to naturalists, had been reserved the agreeable, though difficult undertaking, of bringing together, in an accurate form, all that is at present known on this important subject. That he has succeeded, is evinced by the universal testimony of our best naturalists." Jameson's Edinburgh New PhilosophicalJournal. " It contains brief, but remarkably clear, accurate, and satisfactory notices of every species offish, and also every variety hitherto found in the fresh waters and seas of Britain. They are full of information, are often graphic and amusing in a very high degree, and, being founded upon actual observation, may always be implicitly depended on. The illustrations are exceedingly beautiful and valuable, and we are quite sure that any one who possesses the figure can be at no loss in instantly recognizing the fish, whenever and wherever he may happen to meet with a specimen." — Dublin Review. A limited number of copies have been printed in royal Bvo, price 4/. 16s. and fifty only on imperial 8vo. price 11. As. of which last very few remain for sale. JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. In post 8vo, with 26 Illustrations, price 12s. BEAUTIES OF THE COUNTRY ; DESCRIPTIONS OF RURAL CUSTOMS, OBJECTS, SCENERY, AND THE SEASONS. Bv THOMAS MILLER, Author of " A Day in the Woods." " The volume is a successive description of the aspect of the months in England, — the landscape, the habits of the peasantry, and all that constitutes the interest of rural life, and the charm of rural sceneiy. It is full of fine passages from the old poets, and happy illustrations from all that is graceful in our language, with some of the prettiest and most graphic vignettes ever seen, and deserves to be as popular as it undoubtedly is pleasant." — f^ew Monthly Magazine, CABINET (POCKET) EDITION OF THE HOLY BIBLE ; WITH TWENTY-FOUR HIGHLY-FINISHED STEEL ENGRAVINGS; The authorized Version, beautifully printed, and elegantly bound, price 10*. 6d. THE Uniform in size and binding with the Bible, price 45. BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER; THE AUTHORIZED VERSION, WITH TEN ENGRAVINGS, EXECUTED IN THE BEST MJkNNER ON STEEL. In 18mo, with Illustrations, price 3s. cloth, ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE; OR, THE YOUNG INQUIRER ANSWERED: Explaining in question and answer, and in familiar language, what most things daily used, seen, or talked of, are ; what they are made of, where found, and to what uses applied. JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. fOR^A NO- D° '' VC 1630