Whose sight my feeble soule doth greatly cheare: And on the top of all I do espye The watchman wayting tydings glad to heare; Unto you bring, to ease you of your misery!" With that they heard a roaring hideous sownd, And seemd uneath to shake the stedfast ground. Those glistring armes that heven with light did fill, Then badd the knight his Lady yede aloof, That warlike handes ennoblest with immortall name; O! gently come into my feeble brest; Fayre Goddesse, lay that furious fitt asyde, By this, the dreadful Beast drew nigh to hand, Approching nigh, he reared high afore His body monstrous, horrible, and vaste; Was swoln with wrath and poyson, and with bloody gore; And over all with brasen scales was armd, That nought mote perce; ne might his corse bee harmd For as the clashing of an Armor bright, His flaggy winges, when forth he did display, Were like two sayles, in which the hollow wynd Is gathered full, and worketh speedy way: And eke the pennes, that did his pineons bynd, Were like mayne-yardes with flying canvas lynd; With which whenas him list the ayre to beat, And there by force unwonted passage fynd, The cloudes before him fledd for terror great, And all the hevens stood still amazed with his threat. His huge long tayle, wownd up in hundred foldes, But stinges and sharpest steele did far exceed And, that more wondrous was, in either jaw A cloud of smoothering smoke, and sulphure searc, His blazing eyes, like two bright shining shieldes, So flam'd his eyne with rage and rancorous yre; Those glaring lampes were sett that made a dreadfull shade. So dreadfully he towardes him did pas, Forelifting up a-loft his speckled brest, And often bounding on the brused gras, As for great joyance of his newcome guest. Eftsoones he gan advance his haughty crest, As chauffed Bore his bristles doth upreare; And shoke his scales to battaile ready drest, That made the Redcrosse knight nigh quake for feare, As bidding bold defyaunce to his foeman neare, The knight gan fayrely couch his steady speare, With his long tayle, that horse and man to ground did rush. Both horse and man up lightly rose againe, For never felt his imperceable brest So wondrous force from hand of living wight; Yet had he prov'd the powre of many a puissant knight. Then, with his waving wings displayed wyde, Snatcht up both horse and man, to beare them quite away. Long he them bore above the subject plaine, He so disseized of his gryping grosse, In his bras-plated body to embosse, And three mens strength unto the stroake he layd; He cryde, as raging seas are wont to rore The steely head stuck fast still in his flesh, That flames of fire he threw forth from his large nosethril. His hideous tayle then hurled he about, And therewith all enwrapt the nimble thyes Of his froth-fomy steed, whose courage stout Striving to loose the knott that fast him tyes, Himselfe in streighter bandes too rash implyes, That to the ground he is perforce constraynd To throw his ryder; who can quickly ryse From off the earth, with durty blood distaynd, For that reprochfull fall right fowly he disdaynd; And fercely tooke his trenchand blade in hand, But his more hardned crest was armd so well, The knight was wroth to see his stroke beguyld, And smot againe with more outrageous might; But backe againe the sparcling steele recoyld, And left not any marke where it did light, As if in Adamant rocke it had beene pight. The beast, impatient of his smarting wound And of so fierce and forcible despight, Thought with his winges to stye above the ground; But his late wounded wing unserviceable found. Then full of griefe and anguish vehement, He lowdly brayd, that like was never heard; And from his wide devouring oven sent A flake of fire, that flashing in his beard Him all amazd, and almost made afeard: The scorching flame sore swinged all his face, And through his armour all his body seard, That he could not endure so cruell cace, But thought his armes to leave, and helmet to unlace. Not that great Champion of the antique world, Whom famous Poetes verse so much doth vaunt, And hath for twelve huge labours high extold, So many furies and sharpe fits did haunt, When him the poysoned garment did enchaunt, When Centaures blood and bloody verses charmd; As did this knight twelve thousand dolours daunt, Whom fyrie steele now burnt, that erst him armid; That erst him goodly armd, now most of all him harmid. Then freshly up arose the doughty knight, And in his first encounter, gaping wyde, Ran through his mouth with so importune might, And, back retyrd, his life blood forth with all did draw. So downe he fell, and forth his life did breath, That vanisht into smoke and cloudes swift; So downe he fell, that th' earth him underneath Did grone, as feeble so great load to lift; So downe he fell, as an huge rocky clift, Whose false foundacion waves have washt away, With dreadfull poyse is from the mayneland rift, And rolling downe great Neptune doth dismay: So downe he fell, and like an heaped mountaine lay. The knight him selfe even trembled at his fall, So huge and horrible a masse it seemd; And his deare Lady, that beheld it all, Durst not approch for dread which she misdeemd; But yet at last, whenas the direfull feend She saw not stirre, off-shaking vaine affright She nigher drew, and saw that joyous end: Then God she prayed, and thankt her faithfull knight, That had atchievde so great a conquest by his might. FLOWERS. Where are now the dreaming flowers, Where's the once red regal rose? Like a thought earth-planted? Some are wither'd-some are dead, Others now have no perfume; This doth hang its sullen head, That hath lost its bloom. Passions, such as nourish strife In our blood, and quick decay, Hang upon the flower's life, Till it fades away. THAT GENTLEMAN. [Eliza Leslie, born in Philadelphia, 15th November, 1787; died in Gloucester, New Jersey, 2d January, 1858. Descended from a Scotch family. She was sister of the painter Charles Robert Leslie, R.A. She wrote and edited numerous works which obtained popularity; amongst them several cookery books. The Young American; Atlantic Tales; Amelia, or a Young Lady's Vicissitudes; Althea Vernon; Henrietta Robinson; and three series of Pencil Sketches-from which we quoteare her chief works. Professor Hart said: "Her writings are distinguished for vivacity and ease of expres sion, strong common sense, and right principle."] On the third day, we were enabled to lay our course with a fair wind and a clear sky: the coast of Cornwall looking like a succession of low white clouds ranged along the edge of the northern horizon. Towards evening we passed the Lizard, to see land no more till we should descry it on the other side of the Atlantic. As Mr. Fenton and myself leaned over the taffrail, and saw the last point of England fade dimly from our view, we thought with regret of the shore we were leaving behind us, and of much that we had seen, and known, and enjoyed in that country of which all that remained to our lingering gaze was a dark spot so distant and so small as to be scarcely perceptible. Soon we could discern it no longer : and nothing of Europe was now left to us but the indelible recollections that it has impressed upon our minds. We turned towards the region of the descending sun "To where his setting splendours burn and we vainly endeavoured to direct all our thoughts and feelings towards our home beyond the ocean-our beloved American home. Our passengers were not too numerous. The lesser cabin was appropriated to three other ladies and myself. It formed our drawingroom; the gentlemen being admitted only as visitors. One of the ladies was Mrs. Calcott, an amiable and intelligent woman, who was returning with her husband from a long residence in England. Another was Miss Harriet Audley, a very pretty and very lively young lady from Virginia, who had been visiting a married sister in London, and was now on her way home under the care of the captain, expecting to meet her father in New York. We were much amused during the voyage with the coquetry of our fair Virginian as she aimed her arrows at nearly all the single gentlemen in turn, and with her frankness in openly talking of her designs and animadverting on their good |