Right sharp and quick the bells rang out, all night from Bristol town; And, ere the day, three hundred horse had met on Clifton Down. The bugle's note, and cannon's roar, the death-like silence broke, And broader still became the blaze, and louder still the din, went; And roused, in many an ancient hall, the gallant squires of Kent: Southward, for Surrey's pleasant hills, flew those bright coursers forth; High on black Hampstead's swarthy moor, they started for the north; And on, and on, without a pause, untired they bounded still; All night from tower to tower they sprang, all night from hill to hill; Till the proud peak unfurl'd the flag o'er Derwent's rocky dales; Till, like volcanoes, flared to heaven the stormy hills of Wales; Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze on Malvern's lonely height; Till stream'd in crimson, on the wind, the Wrekin's crest of light; Till, broad and fierce, the star came forth, on Ely's stately fane, And town and hamlet rose in arms, o'er all the boundless plain; Till Belvoir's lordly towers the sign to Lincoln sent, And Lincoln sped the message on, o'er the wide vale of Trent; Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burnt on Gaunt's embattled pile, And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle. LORD MACAULAY. I1 113. THE GLORY OF GOD. PRAISED the earth, in beauty seen, I praised the sun, whose chariot roll'd O God! O good beyond compare, BISHOP HEBER. 114. DEATH'S SEASONS. LEAVES have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north-wind's breath, And stars to set- but all, Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death! Day is for mortal care, Eve for glad meetings round the joyous hearth, Night for the dreams of sleep, the voice of prayer; But all for thee, thou mightiest of the earth! The banquet hath its hour, Its feverish hour of mirth and song and wine; There comes a day for grief's o'erwhelming power, A time for softer tears-but all are thine! Youth and the opening rose May look like things too glorious for decay, And smile at thee! but thou art not of those That wait the ripening bloom to seize their prey! Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north-wind's breath, And stars to set-but all, Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death! We know when moons shall wane, When summer birds from far shall cross the sea, Is it when spring's first gale Thou art where billows foam; Thou art where music melts upon the air; And the world calls us forth—and thou art there! Thou art where friend meets friend, Beneath the shadow of the elm to rest; Thou art where foe meets foe, and trumpets rend The skies, and swords beat down the princely crest. Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north-wind's breath, And stars to set-but all, Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death! MRS. HEMANS. 115. CARDINAL WOLSEY'S SPEECH TO T. CROMWELL. YROMWELL, I did not think to shed a tear, CROM In all my miseries; but thou hast forced me, And sleep in dull, cold marble, where no mention Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not. Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, Thy God's, and truth's; then, if thou fall'st, O Cromwell, Thou fall'st a blessed martyr. There take an inventory of all I have; To the last penny, 'tis the king's. My robe, I dare now call my own. O Cromwell! Cromwell! SHAKESPEARE. 116. THE BEAUTIES OF CREATION. THOU art, O God! the life and light Its glow by day, its smile by night, |