THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY. THE BATTLE OF IVRY. Now glory to the Lord of Hosts, from whom all glories are! And thou Rochelle, our own Rochelle, proud city of the waters, 5 Oh! how our hearts were beating, when at the dawn of day And good Coligni's hoary hair all dabbled with his blood; The king has come to marshal us, in all his armor drest, He looked upon the traitors, and his glance was stern and high. 10 15 20 25 Right graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to wing, Down all our line in deafening shout, "God save our Lord, the King." "And if my standard-bearer fall, as fall full well he may, For never saw I promise yet of such a bloody fray,— Press where ye see my white plume shine, amidst the ranks of war, 30 And be your oriflamme, to-day, the helmet of Navarre." Hurrah! the foes are moving! Hark to the mingled din Of fife, and steed, and trump, and drum, and roaring culverin! The fiery Duke is pricking fast across Saint Andre's plain, With all the hireling chivalry of Guelders and Almayne. 35 Now, by the lips of those ye love, fair gentlemen of France, Charge for the golden lilies now, upon them with the lance! A thousand spurs are striking deep, a thousand spears in rest, A thousand knights are pressing close behind the snow-white crest; And in they burst, and on they rushed, while, like a guiding star, 40 Amidst the thickest carnage blazed the helmet of Navarre. Now, God be praised, the day is ours! rein, Mayenne has turned his D'Aumale hath cried for quarter - the Flemish Count is slain, Their ranks are breaking like thin clouds before a Biscay gale; The field is heaped with bleeding steeds, and flags, and cloven mail. 45 And then we thought on vengeance, and all along our van, "Remember St. Bartholomew," was passed from man to man; But out spake gentle Henry then, "No Frenchman is my foe; Down, down with every foreigner; but let your brethren go. Oh! was there ever such a Knight, in friendship or in war, 50 As our sovereign lord, King Henry, the soldier of Navarre ! Ho! maidens of Vienna ! Ho! matrons of Lucerne ! That Antwerp monks may sing a mass for thy poor spearmen's souls! Ho! gallant nobles of the League, look that your arms be bright! 55 Ho! burghers of St. Genevieve, keep watch and ward to-night! For our God hath crushed the tyrant, our God hath raised the slave, And mocked the counsel of the wise and the valour of the brave. 60 INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living. I shall recount the errors which, in a few months, alienated a loyal gentry and priesthood from the House of Stuart. I shall trace the course of that revolution 5 which terminated the long struggle between our sovereigns and their parliaments, and bound up together the rights of the people and the title of the reigning dynasty. I shall relate how the new settlement was, during many troubled years, successfully defended against foreign and domestic enemies; how, under that settle- 10 ment, the authority of law and the security of property were found to be compatible with a liberty of discussion and of individual action never before known; how, from the auspicious union of order and freedom, sprang a prosperity of which the annals of human affairs had furnished no example; how our 15 country, from a state of ignominious vassalage, rapidly rose to the place of umpire among European powers; how her opulence and her martial glory grew together; how, by wise and resolute good faith, was gradually established a public credit fruitful of marvels which, to the statesman of any former age, would have 20 seemed incredible; how a gigantic commerce gave birth to a maritime power, compared with which every other maritime power, ancient or modern, sinks into insignificance; how Scotland, after ages of enmity, was at length united to England, not merely by legal bonds, but by indissoluble ties of interest and 25 affection; how, in America, the British colonies rapidly became far mightier and wealthier than the realms which Cortes and Pizarro had added to the dominions of Charles the Fifth; how, in Asia, British adventurers founded an empire not less splendid, 30 and more durable, than that of Alexander. Nor will it be less my duty faithfully to record disasters mingled with triumphs, and great national crimes and follies far more humiliating than any disaster. It will be seen that even what we justly account our chief blessings were not without 35 alloy. It will be seen that the system which effectually secured our liberties against the encroachments of kingly power gave birth to a new class of abuses, from which absolute monarchies are exempt. It will be seen that, in consequence partly of unwise interference, and partly of unwise neglect, the increase of wealth 40 and the extension of trade produced, together with immense good, some evils from which poor and rude societies are free. It will be seen how, in two important dependencies of the crown, wrong was followed by just retribution; how imprudence and obstinacy broke the ties which bound the North American colo45 nies to the parent state; how Ireland, cursed by the domination of race over race, and of religion over religion, remained indeed a member of the empire, but a withered and distorted member, adding no strength to the body politic, and reproachfully pointed at by all who feared or envied the greatness of England. 50 Yet, unless I greatly deceive myself, the general effect of this checkered narrative will be to excite thankfulness in all religious minds, and hope in the breasts of all patriots. For the history of our country during the last hundred and sixty years is eminently the history of physical, of moral, and of intellectual 55 improvement. Those who compare the age upon which their lot has fallen with a golden age which exists only in their imagination, may talk of degeneracy and decay; but no man who is correctly informed as to the past will be disposed to take a morose or desponding view of the present. 60 I should very imperfectly execute the task which I have undertaken, if I were merely to treat of battles and sieges, of the rise and fall of administrations, of intrigues in the palace, and of debates in the parliament. It will be my endeavor to relate the history of the people as well as the history of the government; to trace the progress of useful and ornamental arts; to describe 65 the rise of religious sects and the changes of literary taste; to portray the manners of successive generations; and not to pass by with neglect even the revolutions which have taken place in dress, furniture, repasts, and public amusements. I shall cheerfully bear the reproach of having descended below the dignity of 70 history, if I can succeed in placing before the English of the nineteenth century a true picture of the life of their ancestors. MR. ROBERT MONTGOMERY. (From the Essays.) The poem on the Omnipresence of the Deity commences with a description of the creation, in which we can find only one thought which has the least pretension to ingenuity, and that one thought is stolen from Dryden, and marred in the stealing: "Last, softly beautiful as music's close, Angelic woman into being rose." The all-pervading influence of the Supreme Being is then described in a few tolerable lines borrowed from Pope, and a great many intolerable lines of Mr. Robert Montgomery's own. The following may stand as a specimen : 66 But who could trace Thine unrestricted course, There's not a particle in sea or air, But nature owns Thy plastic influence there! The last two lines contain an excellent specimen of Mr. Robert Montgomery's Turkey-carpet style of writing. The majestic view of earth is the mirror of God's presence; and on this mirror 5 10 15 20 |