THE MARQUIS OF LORNE'S POEM.*

THE Marquis of Lorne has selected an early age and an unsettled state of society for the period of his poetical narrative. In the tenth century the coast of Provence and the defiles of the Alps were infested by a host of Mussulman brigands, who took posses- sion of the roads which led from France into Italy, penetrated from valley to valley, and occupied a number of towers and for- tresses, from the sources of the Rhone to the mouth of the Var. They exacted tribute from pilgrims to Rome, devastated the country, and inflicted untold miseries on the Christian popu-

lation :—

" No boon, no mercy could the captive ask If spared to live, his doom the deadly task To strain—a slave—each muscle at the oar That brought the rover to the kinsman's door, Or bore him, safe from the pursuit, away, The plunder stored, to Algiers' hated bay."

The time of retribution came, and the Knight of Orles, whose • aside and Lira: a Tale of the Riviera. By the Eight lion. the Margate of Lome. Macmillan and Co. 1815.

son, Guido, is the-hero of the poem, is said to have performed doughty deeds in the expulsion of the Saracens. The son, when the tale opens, is represented as somewhat of a fop, irresolute in action, and indifferent to the noble achievements of his father, but he is not without a momentary sense of shame when the old Knight chides him for his folly :—

" A pain was pictured on his handsome face;

The dark brows mot, the shapely lips were pressed, The nostril curved, as if for breath distressed."

This feeling passes by ; but Guido, who heeds little the reproofs bestowed on him for his idleness and foppery, is destined to be saved from his follies by the power of love. Travelling to the castle with his father, a sudden storm bursts upon them, which is de- scribed by the poet in forcible language. The two take shelter in a fisher's hut, and there Lita, the fisherman's daughter, as beautiful in face as she is pure and noble in mind, charms the eye, and in some degree touches the heart, of Guido. She is one of those lovely creatures, brave-hearted, affectionate, strong for action or suffering, gentle and mirthful, sensitive and sensible, who is far more frequently to be met with in fiction than in real life :—

" A maiden whose arching brow and glancing eyes, Told of a passing, timorous surprise ; Whose tresses half concealed a neck that raised A head that classic art might well have praised, Framed with the hair in glossy masses thrown From forehead whiter than Carrara's stone ; O'er beauteous mouth and rounded chin there strayed The sign of power that ardent will betrayed; But broken by a gentleness of soul, That through her atedfast glance in softness stole, Her form was strong and lithe."

When Guido leaves the cottage he scarcely seems to walk the earth, and his one desire is to see Lite. again. It is intimated that the youth's passion is of a doubtful character, but the reader will have no fear for Lita, whose simplicity and pure womanliness form an unassailable defence. The second interview in the cot- tage is gracefully described. Guido meets the girl in the woods, and asks permission to return home with her, which she accords with dignity

And thus he entered, with a heart that beat, The house wherein again her busy feet Moved, as it seemed to him, in music sweet.

And as he sat and watched how order grew Beneath her fingers as they deftly drew ..Her tasks to end; her every look and word His passion deepened and his wonder stirred.

How could such blossom grow on salted soil, Such bloom and beauty from a race of toil, Such grace and colour near the deadening spray ?"

The two talk together, and the girl relates in simple fashion how some favourite saint has blessed her father's nets, and enabled him to secure a large draught of fishes. Lita tells also of a little garden that is all her own, where grow " some beauteous palms beloved of God":—

"He, asking where this Eden garden lay, Watched her fair figure outlined 'gainet the day That through the open window near him shone ; And let her eager speech, unchecked, flow on, As with her lifted hand she pointed where A palm-tree shot aloft to woo the glare ; Then showed each spot in narrow circuit round Where traces of her simple life were found.

But breaking through the tale of her content, His stifled longing to her ear now sent Its tones of praise, with fond entreaty blent: And reaching out his arm that he might hold Her hand, or only of her dress a fold,

She shrank away from him,—if not with fear, Yet with a start as timid as the deer

Who first has seen the long-accustomed food Offered by strangers, and in doubtful mood Retires, distrustful for a space, to gaze If it spy danger in their novel ways."

Charmed though Guido is with this cottage beauty, his love is not .yet of a kind to purify and elevate his character:

" He looked upon her beauty and admired, He drank therein of joy as he desired. But while he stooped his wishes to fulfil, Himself he saw, and Self was master still."

Gradually, under her influence, his nature becomes changed. Lita loves him, but knowing the distance between them, tries to avoid her lover. Suddenly a sound of fear and lamentation is raised. The Knight of Orles, although strong enough to have freed his own district from the ravages of the Moors, has not followed up his success by expelling them from the country. The Saracens were afraid of him, he said. Why, then, should be as- sist in their destruction? A number of people whose homes are laid desolate by the robbers seek his protection and succour. He declines to heed them ; but at length Sired, the leader of the Moors, resolves to attack Orles itself both by sea and land. A bevy of fair girls led by Lita are in the woods at Advent-time collecting flowers. The Saracens rush in upon them, secure a number, and by a ruse make the Christiana suppose that the prize has been carried off by sea. Meanwhile Sirad marks with fierce delight the beauty of Lita, and conveys her to his harem, while her lover, thinking she has been taken by sea-pirates, puts out to sea, eager for her rescue. The scenes which describe Lita's pro- longed slumber in the place she is conveyed to, her reception of a poisoned draught from a woman El Sirad has ill-treated ; her administration of it to him when he enters her apartment, and her escape in a half-lifeless condition to Orles, are effective, although not a little melo-dramatic in treatment. They remind us of the narrative-poetry so common in the early part of the century, when Corsairs and Laras were fashionable heroes, and captive maidens, torn from home and country, called forth the tears of sympathising readers. Lita's return warns her people that they must look for war, and they do so, encouraged by the girl's example, with heavy but resolute hearts. The boldest is not free from forbodings as to the issue :—

" No craven he who has to fear confessed, Nor brave the man whom it has ne'er oppressed ;

For he who knows it not is less than brute, He wretch alone who lets its terrors root, He bravest only, who, with courage high, Feels the full risk, and mans himself to die !"

By far the most vigorous and stirring portion of the poem is devoted to the Knight of Orles' preparations for defence against the Saracens, and the assistance rendered him by Lita. 'The storming of the town and the attempt to win the castle, are brought vividly before the eye. The enemy try to set fire to their place, but the danger is avoided for a time by the exertions of the defenders :—

"But 'neath the robe of silence that she wore, Night in her womb a ghastly danger bore, For the hot ashes kindling at the breath Of whispering breezes, subtly wrought for death. And where they slumbered in the timber's heart, Through blackened surfaces began to start; Until, with lurid hue incarnadined,

A pulsing life replaced the darkness blind, And greeting with hot lips the outer air, Caressed it, rising from its steaming lair, With fair and lustrous arms, that felt and sought The ambient element that vigour brought, And fed on its desire ; then flung on high Broad beckoning banners to the answering sky, And onward leaping, urged afar and near The rapid ravage of a fell career."

The fire which was intended to destroy the Christians creeps onward to the Paynim soldiers, who are speedily enveloped by it. Guido returns at the moment of victory to find his father mortally wounded. The last words of the old chieftain are in favour of a union between Lita and his son, and when Count William, " Provence's sovereign lord," arrives, the fisherman's daughter is made a lady of the land, and "knight and maid blend their lives in one."

In giving this outline of the poetical narrative, we have to some extent intimated our opinion of it. The Marquis of Lorne has written a poem which, although it cannot take rank as a work of art, is intellectually respectable. Guido and Lita, which, by the way, is charmingly illustrated, is marked throughout by graceful sentiment, by true feeling for the beautiful, and by a sincere sym- pathy with all that is lovely in nature and noble in womanhood. The local colouring is natural, and if the versification be some- times wanting in strength, it is mellifluous. The author, unfortu- nately, is fond of the triplet, which should be used, if used at all, with great moderation ; and as if three rhymes together were not enough, he ventures frequently to insert four, which is an unjusti- fiable license. He has written a story which will be read with pleasure, and has told it with some spirit. His success in this respect is praiseworthy, even if it cannot be expected to gain him any great literary fame.