[Page 201]

THE HARP OF HOEL.
132 This lyrical ballad is founded on a story connected with an old Welsh melody. I have placed the circumstance in the time of the Crusades.

[Part I.]

1 It was a high and holy sight,
2 When Baldwin
133 Archbishop of Canterbury, who preached the Crusade in Wales.
and his train,
3 With cross and crosier gleaming bright,
4 Came chanting slow the solemn rite,
5 To Gwentland's
134 Monmouthshire.
pleasant plain.
6 High waved before, in crimson pride,
7 The banner of the Cross;
8 The silver rood was then descried,
9 While deacon youths, from side to side,
10 The fuming censer toss.
11 The monks went two and two along,
12 And winding through the glade,
13 Sang, as they passed, a holy song,
14 And harps and citterns, 'mid the throng,
15 A mingled music made. [Page 202]
16 They ceased; when lifting high his hand,
17 The white-robed prelate cried:
18 Arise, arise, at Christ's command,
19 To fight for his name in the Holy Land,
20 Where a Saviour lived and died!
21 With gloves of steel, and good broadsword,
22 And plumed helm of brass,
23 Hoel, Landoga's youthful lord,
24 To hear the father's holy word,
25 Came riding to the pass.
26 More earnestly the prelate spake:
27 Oh, heed no earthly loss!
28 He who will friends and home forsake,
29 Now let him kneel, and fearless take
30 The sign of the Holy Cross.
31 Then many a maid her tresses rent,
32 And did her love implore:
33 Oh, go not thou to banishment!
34 For me, and the pleasant vales of Gwent,
35 Thou never wilt see more.
36 And many a mother, pale with fears,
37 Did kiss her infant son;
38 Said, Who will shield thy helpless years,
39 Who dry thy widowed mother's tears,
40 When thy brave father's gone?
41 God, with firm voice the prelate cried,
42 God will the orphan bless;
43 Sustain the widow's heart, and guide
44 Through the hard world, obscure and wild,
45 The poor and fatherless. [Page 203]
46 Then might you see a shade o'ercast
47 Brave Hoel's ruddy hue,
48 But soon the moment's thought is past: —
49 Hark, hark, 'tis the trumpet's stirring blast!
50 And he grasped his bow of yew.
51 Then might you see a moment's gloom
52 Sit in brave Hoel's eye:
53 Make in the stranger's land my tomb,
54 I follow thee, be it my doom,
55 O Christ, to live or die!
56 No more he thought, though rich in fee,
57 Of any earthly loss,
58 But lighting, on his bended knee,
59 Said, Father, here I take from thee
60 The sign of the Holy Cross.
61 I have a wife, to me more dear
62 Then is my own heart's blood;
63 I have a child, (a starting tear,
64 Which soon he dried, of love sincere,
65 On his stern eyelid stood);
66 To them farewell! O God above,
67 Thine is the fate of war;
68 But oh! reward Gwenlhian's
135 The Welsh tune is called the "Remembrance of Gwenlhian," the name of the woman.
love,
69 And may my son a comfort prove,
70 When I am distant far!
71 Farewell, my harp! — away, away!
72 To the field of death I go;[Page 204]
73 Welcome the trumpet's blast, the neigh
74 Of my bold and barbed steed of gray,
75 And the clang of the steel crossbow!
76 Gwenlhian sat in the hall at night,
77 Counting the heavy hours;
78 She saw the moon, with tranquil light,
79 Shine on the circling mountain's height,
80 And the dim castle towers.
81 Deep stillness was on hill and glen,
82 When she heard a bugle blow;
83 A trump from the watch-tower answered then,
84 And the tramp of steeds, and the voice of men,
85 Were heard in the court below.
86 The watch-dog started at the noise,
87 Then crouched at his master's feet;
88 He knew his step, he heard his voice;
89 But who can now like her rejoice,
90 Who flies her own lord to greet?
91 And soon her arms his neck enfold:
92 But whence that altered mien!
93 O say, then, is thy love grown cold,
94 Or hast thou been hurt by the robbers bold,
95 That won in the forest of Dean?
96 Oh no, he cried, the God above,
97 Who all my soul can see,
98 Knows my sincere, my fervent love;
99 If aught my stern resolve could move,
100 It were one tear from thee. [Page 205]
101 But I have sworn, in the Holy Land, —
102 Need I the sequel speak;
103 Too well, she cried, I understand!
104 Then grasped in agony his hand,
105 And hid her face on his cheek.
106 My loved Gwenlhian, weep not so,
107 From the lid that tear I kiss;
108 Though to the wars far off I go,
109 Betide me weal, betide me woe,
110 We yet may meet in bliss.
111 Fourteen suns their course had rolled,
112 When firmly thus he spake;
113 Hear now my last request: behold
114 This ring, it is of purest gold,
115 Love, keep it for my sake!
116 When summers seven have robed each tree,
117 And clothed the vales with green,
118 If I come not back, then thou art free,
119 To wed or not, and to think of me,
120 As I had never been!
121 Nay, answer not, — what wouldst thou say!
122 Come, let my harp be brought;
123 For the last time, I fain would play,
124 Ere yet we part, our favourite lay,
125 And cheat severer thought:
THE AIR.
126 Oh, cast every care to the wind,
127 And dry, best beloved, the tear!
128 Secure, that thou ever shalt find,
129 The friend of thy bosom sincere. [Page 206]
130 Still friendship shall live in the breast of the brave,
131 And we'll love, the long day, where the forest-trees wave.
132 I have felt each emotion of bliss,
133 That affection the fondest can prove,
134 Have received on my lip the first kiss
135 Of thy holy and innocent love;
136 But perish each hope of delight,
137 Like the flashes of night on the sea,
138 If ever, though far from thy sight,
139 My soul is forgetful of thee!
140 Still the memory shall live in the breast of the brave,
141 How we loved, the long day, where the forest-trees wave.
142 Now bring my boy; may God above
143 Shower blessings on his head!
144 May he requite his mother's love,
145 And to her age a comfort prove,
146 When I perhaps am dead!
147 The beams of morn on his helm did play,
148 And aloud the bugle blew,
149 Then he leaped on his harnessed steed of gray,
150 And sighed to the winds as he [galloped] away,
151 Adieu, my heart's love, adieu!
152 And now he has joined the warrior train
153 Of knights and barons bold,
154 That, bound to Salem's holy plain,
155 Across the gently-swelling main,
156 Their course exulting hold.
157 With a cross of gold, as on they passed,
158 The crimson streamers flew;[Page 207]
159 The shields hung glittering round the mast,
160 And on the waves a radiance cast,
161 Whilst all the trumpets blew.
162 O'er the Severn-surge, in long array,
163 So, the proud galleys went,
164 Till soon, as dissolved in ether gray,
165 The woods, and the shores, and the Holms
136 Islands in the Bristol Channel.
steal away,
166 And the long blue hills of Gwent.

Part II.

1 High on the hill, with moss o'ergrown,
2 A hermit chapel stood;
3 It spoke the tale of seasons gone,
4 And half-revealed its ivied stone.
5 Amid the beechen wood.
6 Here often, when the mountain trees
7 A leafy murmur made,
8 Now still, now swaying to the breeze,
9 (Sounds that the musing fancy please),
10 The widowed mourner strayed.
11 And many a morn she climbed the steep,
12 From whence she might behold,
13 Where, 'neath the clouds, in shining sweep,
14 And mingling with the mighty deep,
15 The sea-broad Severn rolled.
16 Her little boy beside her played,
17 With sea-shells in his hand;[Page 208]
18 And sometimes, 'mid the bents delayed,
19 And sometimes running onward, said,
20 Oh, where is Holy Land!
21 My child, she cried, my prattler dear!
22 And kissed his light-brown hair;
23 Her eyelid glistened with a tear,
24 And none but God above could hear,
25 That hour, her secret prayer.
26 As thus she nursed her secret woes,
27 Oft to the wind and rain
28 She listened, at sad autumn's close,
29 Whilst many a thronging shadow rose,
30 Dark-glancing o'er her brain.
31 Now lonely to the cloudy height
32 Of the steep hill she strays;
33 Below, the raven wings his flight,
34 And often on the screaming kite
35 She sees the wild deer gaze.
36 The clouds were gathered on its brow,
37 The warring winds were high;
38 She heard a hollow voice, and now
39 She lifts to heaven a secret vow,
40 Whilst the king of the storm rides by.
41 Seated on a craggy rock,
42 What aged man appears!
43 There is no hind, no straggling flock;
44 Comes the strange shade my thoughts to mock,
45 And shake my soul with fears? [Page 209]
46 Fast drive the hurrying clouds of morn;
47 A pale man stands confessed;
48 With look majestic, though forlorn,
49 A mirror in his hand, and horn
50 Of ivory on his breast.
51 Daughter of grief, he gently said,
52 And beckoned her: come near;
53 Now say, what would you give to me,
54 If you brave Hoel's form might see,
55 Or the sound of his bugle hear!
56 Hoel, my love, where'er thou art,
57 All England I would give,
137
"Wales, England, and Llewellyn,
All would I give for a sight of William."
Giraldus, vol. i. p. 46.
58 If, never, never more to part,
59 I now could hold thee to my heart,
60 For whom alone I live!
61 He placed the white horn to her ear,
62 And sudden a sweet voice
63 Stole gently, as of fairies near,
64 While accents soft she seemed to hear,
65 Daughter of grief, rejoice!
66 For soon to love and thee I fly,
67 From Salem's hallowed plain!
68 The mirror caught her turning eye,
69 As pale in death she saw him lie,
70 And sinking 'mid the slain.
71 She turned to the strange phantom-man,
72 But she only saw the sky,[Page 210]
73 And the clouds on the lonely mountains' van,
74 And the Clydden-Shoots,
138 "Nearly through the centre of the hill that backs the village (Landoga) is a deep ravine, called Clydden-Shoots, which, when the springs are full, forms a beautiful cascade. " — Heath.
that rushing ran,
75 To meet the waves of Wye.
76 Thus seven long years had passed away, —
77 She heard no voice of mirth;
78 No minstrel raised his festive lay,
79 At the sad close of the drisly day,
80 Beside the blazing hearth.
81 She seemed in sorrow, yet serene,
82 No tear was on her face;
83 And lighting oft her pensive mien,
84 Upon her languid look was seen
85 A meek attractive grace.
86 In beauty's train she yet might vie,
87 For though in mourning weeds,
88 No friar, I deem, that passed her by,
89 Ere saw her dark, yet gentle eye,
90 But straight forgot his beads.
91 Eineon, generous and good,
92 Alone with friendship's aid,
93 Eineon, of princely Rhys's blood,
94 Who 'mid the bravest archers stood,
95 To sooth her griefs essayed.
96 He had himself been early tried
97 By stern misfortune's doom;
98 For she who loved him drooped and died,
99 And on the green hill's flowery side
100 He raised her grassy tomb. [Page 211]
101 What marvel, in his lonely heart,
102 To faith a friendship true,
103 If, when her griefs she did impart,
104 And tears of memory oft would start,
105 If more than pity grew.
106 With converse mild he oft would seek
107 To sooth her sense of care;
108 As the west wind, with breathings weak,
109 Wakes, on the hectic's faded cheek
110 A smile of faint despair.
111 The summer's eve was calm and still,
112 When once his harp he strung;
113 Soft as the twilight on the hill,
114 Affection seemed his heart to fill,
115 Whilst eloquent he sung:
116 When Fortune to all thy warm hopes was unkind,
117 And the morn of thy youth was o'erclouded with woe,
118 In me, not a stranger to grief, thou should'st find,
119 All that friendship and kindness and truth could bestow.
120 Yes, the time it has been, when my soul was oppressed,
121 But no longer this heart would for heaviness pine,
122 Could I lighten the load of an innocent breast,
123 And steal but a moment of sadness from thine.
124 He paused, then with a starting tear,
125 And trembling accent, cried,
126 O lady, hide that look severe, —
127 The voice of love, of friendship hear,
128 And be again a bride. [Page 212]
129 Mourn not thy much-loved Hoel lost, —
130 Lady, he is dead, is dead, —
131 Far distant wanders his pale ghost, —
132 His bones by the white surge are tossed,
133 And the wave rolls o'er his head.
134 She said, Sev'n years their course have rolled,
135 Since thus brave Hoel spake,
136 When last I heard his voice, Behold,
137 This ring, — it is of purest gold, —
138 Then, keep it for my sake.
139 When summers seven have robed each tree,
140 And decked the coombs with green,
141 If I come not back, then thou art free,
142 To wed or not, and to think of me
143 As I had never been.
144 Those seven sad summers now are o'er,
145 And three I yet demand;
146 If in that space I see no more
147 The friend I ever must deplore,
148 Then take a mourner's hand.
149 The time is passed: — the laugh, the lay,
150 The nuptial feast proclaim;
151 From many a rushing torrent gray,
152 From many a wild brook's wandering way,
153 The hoary minstrels came.
154 From Kymin's crag, with fragments strewed;
155 From Skirid, bleak and high;
156 From Penalt's shaggy solitude;
157 From Wyndcliff, desolate and rude,
158 That frowns o'er mazy Wye. [Page 213]
159 With harps the gallery glittered bright, —
160 The pealing rafters rung;
161 Far off upon the woods of night,
162 From the tall window's arch, the light
163 Of tapers clear was flung.
164 The harpers ceased the acclaiming lay,
165 When, with descending beard,
166 Scallop, and staff his steps to stay,
167 As, foot-sore, on his weary way,
168 A pilgrim wan appeared.
169 Now lend me a harp for St Mary's sake,
170 For my skill I fain would try,
171 A poor man's offering to make,
172 If haply still my hand may wake
173 Some pleasant melody.
174 With scoffs the minstrel crowd replied,
175 Dost thou a harp request!
176 And loud in mirth, and swelled with pride,
177 Some his rain-dripping hair deride,
178 And some his sordid vest.
179 Pilgrim, a harp shall soon be found,
180 Young Hoel instant cried;
181 There lies a harp upon the ground,
182 And none hath ever heard its sound,
183 Since my brave father died.
184 The harp is brought: upon the frame
185 A filmy cobweb hung;
186 The strings were few, yet 'twas the same;
187 The old man drawing near the flame,
188 The chords imperfect rung:[Page 214]
189 Oh! cast every care to the wind,
190 And dry, best beloved, the tear;
191 Secure that thou ever shalt find
192 The friend of thy bosom sincere.
193 She speechless gazed: — he stands confessed, —
194 The dark eyes of her Hoel shine;
195 Her heart has forgotten it e'er was oppressed,
196 And she murmurs aloud, as she sinks on his breast,
197 Oh! press my heart to thine.
198 He turned his look a little space,
199 To hide the tears of joy;
200 Then rushing, with a warm embrace,
201 Cried, as he kissed young Hoel's face,
202 My boy, my heart-loved boy!
203 Proud harpers, strike a louder lay, —
204 No more forlorn I bend!
205 Prince Eineon, with the rest, be gay,
206 Though fate hath torn a bride away,
207 Accept a long-lost friend.
208 This tale I heard, when at the close of day
209 The village harper tuned an ancient lay;
210 He struck his harp, beneath a ruin hoar,
211 And sung of love and truth, in days of yore,
212 And I retained the song, with counsel sage,
213 To teach one lesson to a wiser age!

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Title (in Source Edition): THE HARP OF HOEL.
Author: William Lisle Bowles
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Bowles, William Lisle, 1762-1850. The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. I. With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan. Edinburgh: James Nichol, 9 North Bank Street..., 1855, pp. 201-214.  (Page images digitized from a copy held at the University of California Libraries.)

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