THE CASTLE OF THE SEVEN SHIELDS.

A Ballad.

BY SIR WALTER SCOTT.

THE following ballad founded on a legend connected with the castle of Sewingshields or Seven-shields, (see volume ii. page 37,) is extracted from Sir Walter Scott's poem of Harold the Dauntless.

HE Druid Urien had daughters seven,

Their skill could call the moon from heaven;

So fair their forms and so high their fame,

That seven proud kings for their suitors came.

King Mador and Rhys came from Powis and Wales,
Unshorn was their hair, and unpruned were their nails;
From Strath-Clwyde came Ewain, and Ewain was lame,
And the red-bearded Donald from Galloway came.

Lot, King of Lodon, was hunchback'd from youth;
Dunmail of Cumbria had never a tooth;
But Adolph of Bambrough, Northumberland's heir,
Was gay and was gallant, was young and was fair.

There was strife 'mongst the sisters, for each one would have
For husband King Adolf, the gallant and brave;

And envy bred hate, and hate urged them to blows,

When the firm earth was cleft, and the Arch-fiend arose!

He swore to the maidens their wish to fulfil

They swore to the foe they would work by his will.

A spindle and distaff to each hath he given,

"Now hearken my spell," said the Outcast of heaven.

"Ye shall ply these spindles at midnight hour,

And for every spindle shall rise a tower,

Where the right shall be feeble, the wrong shall have power, And there shall ye dwell with your paramour."

Beneath the pale moonlight they sate on the wold,

And the rhymes which they chanted must never be told;

And as the black wool from the distaff they sped,
With blood from their bosom they moisten'd the thread.

As light danced the spindles beneath the cold gleam,
The castle arose like the birth of a dream-
The seven towers ascended like mist from the ground
Seven portals defend them, seven ditches surround.

Within that dread castle seven monarchs were wed,
But six of the seven ere the morning lay dead;
With their eyes all on fire, and their daggers all red,
Seven damsels surround the Northumbrian's bed.

"Six kingly bridegrooms to death we have done, Six gallant kingdoms king Adolf hath won,

Six lovely brides all his pleasure to do,

Or the bed of the seventh shall be husbandless too."

Well chanced it that Adolf the night when he wed
Had confess'd and had sain'd him ere boune to his bed;
He sprung from the couch, and his broad-sword he drew,
And there the seven daughters of Urien he slew.

The gate of the castle he bolted and seal'd,

And hung o'er each arch-stone a crown and a shield;
To the cells of St. Dunstan then wended his way,
And died in his cloister an anchorite gray.

Seven monarchs' wealth in that castle lies stow'd,
The foul fiends brood o'er them like raven and toad.
Whoever shall guesten these chambers within,
From curfew till matins, that treasure shall win.

But manhood grows faint as the world waxes old!
There lives not in Britain a champion so bold,
So dauntless of heart, and so prudent of brain,
As to dare the adventure that treasure to gain.

The waste ridge of Cheviot shall wave with the rye,
Before the rude Scots shall Northumberland fly,
And the flint cliffs of Bambro' shall melt in the sun,
Before that adventure be perill'd and won.

Callaley Castle.

Pallaley Castle, the seat of the Claverings, is a noted place in tradition's misty chronicles. Like many other ancient structures, it was not built without the manifestation of supernatural concern, for its stability and duration. It was originally designed to erect it on a hill, not far from that on which the present castle stands; but the interposition of an unseen agency moved the builders to adopt a new site. It is said, that during several successive evenings, after the commencement of the building, the work done during the day, was, in an unaccountable manner, overturned and levelled with the ground. A watch was at length set, to discover the reason of this mysterious interruption. The watchers remained till midnight, without witnessing any symptoms of injury or hostility to the work. The walls continued firmly knit together, and no band of marauders drew near to frustrate the day's busy toils. Suddenly, however, a strange commotion and stir was perceived to have commenced among the closely compacted materials. Each particular stone, one by one, rose gradually up on its end, toppled over, and fell noiselessly to the earth. No visible agency was discernible; but the process of dismemberment went on progressively, yet still as the footsteps of night, till the whole rows of masonry, were once more reduced to a ruinous heap. A voice was then heard, issuing from amidst the ruins, and saying,

The site thus prophetically interdicted, was forthwith abandoned, and the work being recommenced on the spot the voice had pointed out; in due season, Callaley, in the proud grandeur of her stern battlements, bade defiance to the foe and to time; strong in the adamantine workmanship of an iron age, and fortified with the valiant arm of warlike defenders.

An old tower alone remains of the ancient edifice, all the other parts of the present building are modern. J. H.

LA BELLE ASSEMBLEE;

OR, THE

TINMOUTH BATHERS.

A

Poem,

HUMBLY INSCRIBED TO THE LADIES OF NEWCASTLE, &c.
BY G. K.

HE following poem, first " Printed by Isaac Lane, and Company, at the Head of the Side [Newcastle] where Printing Work [was] Neatly perform'd," previous to 1734, is worthy of further publicity from its historical value, its local application, its talent, and we may add, its scarcity, although it was reprinted in 1828 by John Sykes. In his copy, a cotemporary hand had supplied the names in full, which in the typograph had been left all but blank. Some of the families alluded to are yet in being, but several are at this day either long since removed from the district, become obscure, or are wholly extinct. Of the author, (G. K.) history is silent, and nothing more than his initials are known.

RAISE the strain-Genius of Verse draw near!

Be present Nine; attend ye northern FAIR!
Your charms my theme-forgive my bold design,
Inspir'd by you, free flows the gentle line.
The southern Ladies have engross'd too long,
The praise of verse, and harmony of song.
In Waller's numbers, Sacharissa lives;
Mira, from Granville, endless fame receives:
Pope's happy vein exalts Belinda's hair,

To spread the skies with light, and shine a star;
And could my skill arrive at equal lays,
Your beauty equal, should have equal praise.
Hail, happy Tinmouth! where the Graces sport-
Where play the Loves, and Venus keeps her court;
While from her parent Sea's abundant store,

Swells in the rolling flood against the shore.

As flows the am'rous tide, the fair attend,
Down to the beach the blooming train descend;
The billows gently their fair bosoms lave,
The panting breast repels the circling wave:
So bright their charms, no eye can judge between
The British Lady, and the Paphian Queen.

EE, first, enchanting El.... n1 appears;

More quick than light, more soft than zephyr's airs:
All disintrench'd from petticoats and stays;-

O love! the shape a single gown betrays!

Her radiant eyes diversify the scene,

And where she dips, appears a brighter green.

Like her attir'd, and led within her hand,
Her lovely partner trips along the sand ;-
"Tis J. . . . . . n,- see, in her cheeks are spread
The lilly's whiteness, and the rose's red!

2

A blaze of charms she plunges in the main,
But strives to hide her beauteous form in vain.

See, next advance, with every smiling grace,
Joy in her eyes, good humour in her face,
The charming C.. r,3 all innocently gay;
A thousand loves thro' all her features play :
To the green flood she moves with easy pace,
And, gently sighing, meets the cool embrace.

Nigh her a female with a graceful air,
Tall as Minerva, and, as Venus, fair;

Her lovely eyes emit a glad'ning ray,
Mild as the morning and as bright as day:
O.. e, in softest sounds, declares her name;
O..e well suits her soft harmonious frame.

How shall I next describe the younger C..r 25
As Cynthia soft, bright as the morning star.
Amidst a world of charms the fair appears,
In height of beauty and the bloom of years:

1 Ellison. 2 Jurdison. 3 Carr. 4 Ogle.

3 Carr.