Star after star from heaven's high arch shall rush,
Suns sink on suns, and systems systems crush,
Headlong, extinct, to one dark center fall,
And death, and night, and chaos mingle all;
Till o'er the wreck, emerging from the storm,
Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form,
Mounts from her funeral pyre, on wings of flame,
And soars and shines, another and the same.

SECTION XXIX.

I.

153. LOCHINVAR'S RIDE.

H, young Lochinvar is come out of the West,Through all the wide Border his steed was the best I And save his good broadsword he weapons had none,— He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone.

So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,

There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.

2. He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for stone, He swam the Eske river where ford there was none;

But ere he alighted at Netherby gate,

The bride had consented, the gallant came late ;
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.

3. So boldly he entered the Netherby hall,

'Mong bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all: Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword (For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word), "O, come ye in peace here, or come ye in war, Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar ?" "I long wooed your daughter,-my suit you denied ;Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide; And now am I come with this lost love of mine, To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine. There are maidens in Scotland möre lovely by far, That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar.”

5. The bride kissed the goblet; the knight took it up,

He quaffed off the wine, and he threw down the cup, She looked down to blush, and she looked up to sigh, With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye. He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar,— “Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar. 6. So stately his form, and so lovely her face,

That never a hall such a galliard did grace;

While her mother did fret, and her father did fume, And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume; And the bride-maidens whispered, ""Twere better, by far, To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar." 7. One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear,

When they reached the hall-door, and the charger stood near; So light to the croup the fair lady he swung,

So light to the saddle before her he sprung !

"She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scar ; They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth young Lochinvar. 8. There was mounting 'mong Græmes of the Netherby clan ; Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran : There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee, But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see. So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,

Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar ?

II.

SCOTT.

154. THE KING OF DENMARK'S RIDE.

WORD

ORD was brought to the Danish king
(Hurry!)

That the love of his heart lay suffering,

And pined for the comfort his voice would bring ;
(O! ride as though you were flying!)

Better he loves each golden curl

On the brow of that Scandinavian girl

Than his rich crown jewels of ruby and pearl ;

And his Rose of the Isles is dying!

2. Thirty nobles saddled with speed;

(Hǎrry!)

Each one mounting a gallant steed
Which he kept for battle and days of need;
(O! ride as though you were flying!)
Spurs were struck in the foaming flank;
Worn-out chargers staggered and sank;
Bridles were slackened, and girths were burst;
But ride as they would, the king rode first,
For his Rose of the Isles lay dying!

3. His nobles are beaten, one by one;

(Hurry!)

They have fainted, and faltered, and homeward gone;
His little fair page now follows ǎlōne,

For strength and for courage trying

The king looked back at that faithful child;
Wan was the face that answering smiled;
They passed the drawbridge with clattering din,
Then he dropped; and only the king rode in
Where his Rose of the Isles lay dying!

4. The king blew a blast on his bugle horn;
(Silence !)

No answer came; but faint and forlorn
An echo returned on the cold gray morn,
Like the breath of a spirit sighing.

The castle portal stood grimly wide;
None welcomed the king from that weary ride;
For dead, in the light of the dawning day,
The pale sweet form of the welcomer lay,

Who had yearned for his voice while dying!

5. The panting steed, with a drooping crest,

Stood weary.

The king returned from her chamber of rest,
The thick sobs choking in his breast;

And, that dumb companion eyeing,

The tears gushed forth which he strove to check;

He bowed his head on his charger's neck :

66

"O, steed-that every nerve didst strain,

Dear steed, our ride hath been in vain
To the halls where my love lay dying!"

CAROLINE NORTON.

U

III.

155. SHERIDAN'S RIDE.

P from the South at break of day,

Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay,
The affrighted air with a shudder bōre,
Like a herald in haste, to the chieftain's door,
The terrible grumble and rumble and roar,
Telling the battle was on once more,
And Sheridan-twenty miles away.
2. And wider still those billows of war
Thundered along the horiʼzon's bar,
And louder yet into Winchester rolled
The roar of that red sea uncontrolled,
Making the blood of the listener cold

As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray,
And Sheridan-twenty miles away.

3. But there is a road from Winchester town,
A good, broad highway leading down;
And there, through the flush of the morning light,
A steed, as black as the steeds of night,
Was seen to pass as with eagle flight-
As if he knew the terrible need,

He stretched away with the utmost speed;
Hills rose and fell-but his heart was gay,
With Sheridan fifteen miles away.

4. Still sprung from these swift hoofs, thundering South,
The dust, like the smoke from the cannon's mouth,
Or the trail of a comet sweeping faster and faster,
Foreboding to foemen the doom of disaster;
The heart of the steed and the heart of the master
Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls,
Impatient to be where the battle-field calls;
Every nerve of the charger was strained to full play,
With Sheridan only ten miles away.

5. Under his spurning feet, the road
Like an arrowy Al'pine river flowed,
And the landscape sped away behind
Like an ocean flying before the wind;

And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire,
Swept on with his wild eyes full of fire.
But, lo! he is nearing his heart's desire-
He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray,
With Sheridan only five miles away.

6. The first that the General saw were the groups
Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops ;-
What was done—what to do—a glance told him bōth,
Then striking his spurs with a terrible oath,

He dashed down the line 'mid a storm of huzzahs,
And the wave of retreat checked its course there because
The sight of the master compelled it to pause.
With foam and with dust the black charger was gray;

By the flash of his eye, and his red nostril's play,

He seemed to the whole great army to say,
"I have brought you Sheridan all the way
From Winchester down to save the day!"

7. Hurrah, hurrah for Sheridan !

I

Hurrah, hurrah for horse and man!
And when their statues are placed on high
Under the dome of the Union sky,—
The American soldier's Temple of Fame,—
There, with the glorious General's name,
Be it said in letters both bold and bright:
"Here is the steed that saved the day

By carrying Sheridan into the fight
From Winchester-twenty miles away!"

IV.

T. B. REED.

156. THE RIDE FROM GHENT TO AIX.

SPRANG to the stirrup (stŭr'rup), and Joris and he :

I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three ;

"Good speed!" cried the watch, as the gate-bōlts undrew; "Speed !" echoed the wall to us galloping through; Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest, And into the midnight we galloped ǎbreast.

2. Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace

Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our place;