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 "The Rural Minstrel" by Rev. Patrick Brontë
THE RURAL MINSTREL.
[Page ] [Page 72 ]
Brontë, Patrick, 1777-1861.:
THE SABBATH BELL.
[from Brontëana. The Rev. Patrick Brontë, A.B., His Collected Works and Life. The Works; And The Brontës of Ireland. Edited, &c., By J. Horsfall Turner (1898)]
1 Erewhile, the morning o'er the blushing sky,
2 In milder beauty, held the soverign sway;
3 The streaky east, with many a changing hue,
4 Glowed on the confines of the ether blue,
5 And gently ushered in the king of day.
6 Now hangs the sun, his golden lamp on high,
7 Diffusing, brighter, warmer light;
8 The sleepy charms dissolving, of the drowsy night,
9 The spirits cheering, with a quicker flow,
10 And fostering all the rosy flowers of health that blow.
11 How charming is the scene!
12 The fields in flowery green,
13 Scent the soft breezes, with their fragrant smell:
14 The blackbird and the thrush,
15 Make vocal every bush;
16 Perched on the milk-white thorn, the linnet sweetly sings;
17 The labouring bee, shakes music, from his mellow wings:
18 Loud tolls the Sabbath Bell;
19 From yonder ancient tower, proceeds the solemn sound,---
20 Where dusky yews, and lofty ashes bend,
21 Beneath a load of years, their crazy head,
22 Mourn o'er the living, and protect the dead.---
23 And as their shadows, softly waving blend,
24 Amongst the tombstones, scattered all around,
25 Their voice is heard, in reason's ear to say,
26 "Time's on the wing, and soon will pass away.
27 Religion, loud proclaims, Beware!---
28 For judgment, all prepare: [Page 73 ]
29 Prepare, through him whose guiltless blood was shed,
30 For guilty, helpless man, in his transgressions dead,
31 And doomed to endless woe,
32 Had not the Godlike Saviour come,
33 And made this earth his home,
34 And died to turn aside the sin-avenging blow.
35 He bled---he bled---the Prince of glory bled!---
36 To quell the ragings of his Father's ire,
37 And save a guilty world from quenchless fire!
38 But now in heaven he lifts his Sovereign head,
39 And pleads the cause of all who love his name;
40 Well pleased his Son to hear,
41 The heavenly Father lends a gracious ear,
42 Nor shall the great Redeemer miss his aim;
43 For, soon the bowing heavens, will shew the saving God,
44 In mercy come,
45 To take his longing people home;
46 And rule the sinner with an iron rod."
47 Loud tolls, the Sabbath Bell;
48 With soft, melodious swell;
49 And cadence sweet, its undulations play,
50 The varied deepening tone,
51 To greater distance, flown,
52 In quick vibrations, slowly dies away;
53 The thoughtful soul, delighted, hears the sound;
54 Hear, all the villagers, who dwell around,
55 And thronging, to the church repair,
56 Some grovelling deep, in earthly care,
57 Or lost in thoughtless mood;
58 Some with the tongue of slander railing;
59 Some fast on seas of pleasure sailing,
60 Whilst the elusive good,
61 Tempts the disordered mind to go astray,
62 Bewildered, more, and more, in pleasure's devious way.
63 The favoured few,
64 Whose hearts, by grace divine,
65 Are made anew.
66 Whose souls illumined, still enlivened shine,
67 With rays of faith: in meditation sweet,
68 The welcome Sabbath, greet,
[Page 74 ]
69 And whilst they hear the solemn Bell,
70 Drink pleasures, that no tongue can tell;
71 Their souls all on fire,
72 With heavenly desire,
73 In holy transports wing their way,
74 To regions of eternal day.
75 Attend ye thoughtless, unbelieving throng,
76 As through the monitory tombs ye go;
77 The silent dead, accost you, as you move along,
78 The mourning epitaphs, would have you know,
79 That life, as a dream,
80 Or fast running stream,
81 Glides swiftly away,---
82 Whole ages pass by,
83 As lightnings do fly,
84 When darkness and tempest envelop the day;
85 Soon, soon, shall you die,
86 And mouldering lie,
87 The earth, your cold bed,
88 And your cover, a stone;
89 Then haste, ere your fugitive life-time is fled,
90 And the day of contrition, for ever is flown.
91 Haste, haste, and prepare;
92 For soon through the air,
93 The Judge Eternal, will descend, with glory crowned,
94 Whilst the loud trumpet, sounding through the vast profound,
95 When heaven, and earth, have fled,
96 Will summon, quick and dead,
97 To hear the final sentence passed,---
98 Or, to be headlong cast,
99 Into the dark abode, of never-ending woe,---
100 Or, thence, conveyed to realms of light,
101 Where streams of bliss, and pure delight,
102 Through Eden's amaranthine shades, for ever flow.
103 How vain a creature, is degenerate man!
104 The glittering insect of to-day;
105 Well pleased, the summer breeze to fan,
106 In sportive dance, amidst the sunny ray:
107 And then, ere phoebus drinks the western wave,---
108 To sink, with all his gaudy colours, in the grave.
[Page 75 ]
109 When he is gone;
110 Upon his marble stone,
111 This poor memento, strikes the searching eye,
112 "Here fluttered, and here died, a silly fly."
113 The voice of Heavenly wisdom cries,
114 "Awake, ye sons of men! arise!
115 Your fleeting life redeem;
116 As when the deepening thunder bellowed,
117 And night insatiate, quickly swallowed
118 The lightning's speedy gleam,
119 Lo, all your fleeting moments have passed by,
120 Lo, all your future days, will quickly fly,
121 Till death, arrived, dissolves the charm,
122 And the last trumpet sounds the dread alarm."
123 How wise is he, who changed by grace divine,
124 Divests himself of worldly cares,
125 And loathing every sin, prepares,
126 With steady aim, to meet his God;
127 And now, is on the road,
128 That leads to bliss, where saints in glory shine!
129 No chiding conscience, with its angry frown,
130 Disturbs the calm serene, of his enlightened mind.
131 Nor envy, nor despair, molest,
132 The soft repose of his unruffled breast,
133 Where hope, unfolds the Saviour, ever kind,
134 And faith, unerring, shews the Victor's crown,
135 Where charity, usurps the sovereign sway,
136 And makes the joyous moments, pass away,
137 Devoid of rankling passions, fell,
138 That gnaw the vicious heart, and prove its hell.
139 And when the hour of death is come,
140 And Christ would take the wanderer home,
141 By faith upheld, he sees, with fearless heart,
142 The grisly king, prepare his fatal dart,
143 And when it flies,
144 He conquering dies,
145 And singing loud hosannas, wings his way,
146 'Midst seraph-bands, to realms of endless day.
147 There, for the solemn Bell, will sweetly sound,
148 The notes of heavenly music, ever new;
149 There, for the summer sun, will beam around,
[Page 76 ]
150 The rays of grace,
151 From Jesu's face,
152 The bright empyrean, through,
153 There, countless saints, will swell the heavenly choir,
154 Their tuneful voice, to joyful praise inure;
155 Enraptured, strike the golden wire;
156 To the Ancient of Days
157 Hallelujahs they'll raise,
158 As long eternity's ages endure.
Brontë, Patrick, 1777-1861.:
KIRKSTALL ABBEY, A FRAGMENT OF A ROMANTIC TALE.
[from Brontëana. The Rev. Patrick Brontë, A.B., His Collected Works and Life. The Works; And The Brontës of Ireland. Edited, &c., By J. Horsfall Turner (1898)]
1 Her leaden sceptre, swayed the midnight hour,
2 Nor cloud disturbed the pure ethereal way,
3 The moon full orbed diffused a silver shower;
4 The stars attendant on their nightly queen,
5 In twinkling lustre, sailed the deep serene,
6 Their mingling rays, shed placid light,
7 That sweetly silvered o'er the night,
8 Usurping half his empire from the King of day,
9 Who wearied, with a tedious summer course had hurled,
10 His golden chariot, to the lower world,
11 With cheering ray, and swifter flight,
12 To chase the lingering shadows of their moonless night.
13 Slept all the gentle breezes, midst the listening wood
14 The noiseless leaves were still,
15 Nor murmuring from the hill,
16 Was heard the falling flood,
17 Nor stirred the wearied beetle, on his humming wing,
18 Slept every shepherd's flute,
19 And every sound was mute,
20 E'en philomel herself, forgot to sing.
[Page 77 ]
21 Amidst this solemn, silent hour,
22 From Kirkstall Abbey's ruined tower,
23 Now rose; now fell;
24 With cadence sweet, and soft melodious swell,
25 Such notes as angels play,
26 Where basking in eternal day,
27 In full celestial choir,
28 They touch the golden wire,
29 And hallelujah's sing,
30 To their Almighty King,
31 Whilst every heavenly sound, in wondering silence hears,
32 The more than music of the sweet harmonious spheres.
33 When the sweet music ceased its mellow sound,
34 And echoing, answered every arch, around;
35 Whether, a tuneful shepherd, skilled in rustic lore,
36 The verdant woodlands, wandered o'er;
37 Or pilgrim late had found his way;
38 Attracted by the ruin gray;
39 Or, whether some unearthly being,
40 The Abbey's nightly beauty seeing;
41 Had on a moon-beam rode,
42 From his serene abode;
43 We say not here,
44 But thus the ear,
45 Hailed by a tuneful voice, drunk new delight,
46 Whilst mute attention, held the listening night.
47 Hail noble owner, of these ancient wall;
48 Whose judgment sound, and taste refined,
49 With grace, and elegance combined,
50 Arrest the wasteful hand of time that falls,
51 With quick progressive ruin, or unseen decay,
52 Confounding all things, as they roll away,
53 In blank oblivion's flood,
54 The tower, that props the sky,
55 The poor, the rich, the low, the high;
56 The prince of royal blood;
57 The beggar trembling at the door,
[Page 78 ]
58 Of land unknown, and name obscure,
59 And he that bears the rule;
60 The blood-stained hero, and the conquered slave,
61 The wise man, and the fool;
62 The fearful, and the bold,
63 And all, of earthly mould,
64 Shall find a common grave,
65 Where lethes waters, their dull mansions lave.
66 There's one alone, the general wreck defies,
67 The honest man who waits upon his God,
68 In faith submissive to his Sovereign nod;
69 And anchors all his hopes, beyond the skies.
70 His name shall live, when all things else decay;
71 And heaven, and earth, and time, shall pass away.
72 Hail ruined tower! that like a learned sage,
73 With lofty brow, looks thoughtful on the night;
74 The sable ebony, and silver white,
75 Thy ragged sides from age to age,
76 With charming art inlays,
77 When Luna's lovely rays,
78 Fall trembling on the night,
79 And round the smiling landscape, throw,
80 And on the ruined walls below,
81 Their mild uncertain light.
82 How heavenly fair, the arches ivy-crowned,
83 Look forth on all around!
84 Enchant the heart, and charm the sight,
85 And give the soul serene delight!
86 Whilst here, and there,
87 The shapeless openings spread a solemn gloom,
88 Recal the thoughtful mind, down to the silent tomb,
89 And bid us for another world prepare.
90 Who would be solemn, and not sad,
91 Who would be cheerful, and not glad,
92 Who would have all his heart's desire,
93 And yet, feel all his soul on fire,
94 To gain the realms of his eternal rest,
95 Who would be happy, yet not truly blest,
96 Who in the world, would yet forget his worldly care,
97 With hope fast anchored in the sands above,
98 And heart attuned by sacred love,
99 Let him by moonlight pale, to this sweet scene repair.
[Page 79 ]
100 Here, unrequited love,
101 Mild as the turtle-dove,
102 Will lose its frown,
103 Its slow consuming fire no longer burn;
104 The lanquid pulse, will quicker play,
105 The erring feelings cease to bear the sway,
106 Whilst long discarded reason, will again return;
107 And all the lovely scene with softest soothings crown;
108 The fond, unloaded breast,
109 Unruffled, will regain its rest,
110 And every anxious throbbing quell,
111 And each oppressive sigh;
112 E'en wakeful jealousy will die,
113 The slighted lover's hell.
114 Here settled hate will milder grow,
115 And charity, with easy flow,
116 Invade the yielding soul;
117 And o'er it, in a tide of fond sensations roll:
118 Here, pale despair,
119 Disburdened of her wonted care,
120 Will every gloomy boding chide,
121 And darkly smile on hope,---
122 And raise her drooping spirits up,
123 And all her dread resolves, will lay aside.
124 Amid this lovely scene,
125 So solemnly serene,
126 The soul may think, its every care away,
127 And swift as light.
128 The cheerful night
129 Evanished bring,
130 On sudden wing,
131 The unexpected day.
132 Here, faith may stretch her wings and fly,
133 To regions far beyond the sky,
134 And dwell with God above;
135 Whilst each celestial flame will play,
136 Around the heart, with melting sway,
137 And all the soul, be love.
138 If lively faith exert her matchless power,
139 And love celestial crown the blissful hour,
[Page 80 ]
140 Here, worlds themselves, may pass away,
141 And sun, and moon, and stars decay,
142 Here, all the glories of the skies burst on the sight,
143 And shed their pure effulgence bright,
144 On the enraptured eyes;
145 Whilst all around, sweet Eden's roses blow,
146 And heaven's own blessings o'er the bosom flow.
147 So spake the voice, through the still womb of night;
148 The stars withdrew their twinkling, and the moon her light;
149 The clouds fast tbickened, all the ether o'er;
150 The darkening Abbey, like a mountain high,
151 Gloomed in accordance, with the saddened sky,
152 And faintly echoing round,
153 Long held the sweet enchanting sound,
154 That in soft warblings, slowly died away,---
155 Because the voice no more,
156 With music sweet,
157 The ear did greet,
158 In sable sad,
159 E'en things inanimate were clad,
160 If, we may credit, what the shepherds say;
161 Who oft, with wondering crowds repair,
162 To Kirkstall Abbey's ruin fair,---
163 And while their lively fancy's on the wing,
164 Imagine, that they hear the sweet musician sing.
Brontë, Patrick, 1777-1861.:
EXTEMPORARY VERSES. WRITTEN AT A REVEREND FRIEND'S HOUSE, DURING HIS ABSENCE.
[from Brontëana. The Rev. Patrick Brontë, A.B., His Collected Works and Life. The Works; And The Brontës of Ireland. Edited, &c., By J. Horsfall Turner (1898)]
1 Magnificence, with all her cumberous train,
2 In courts, and palaces, far hence, reside;
3 Lank squal'd poverty, imprints no stain,
4 On these pure walls, and cleanly fire side,
5 Where polished steel, reflecting bright,
6 The quivering blaze, sheds soothing light,
[Page 81 ]
7 On the delighted eye;
8 Or in fantastic dance,
9 Wheels its uncertain glance,
10 With bickering dazzle, on the ceiling high,
11 Or round the papered walls,
12 Where light, and shade soft undulating play,
13 When evening's curtain gently falls,
14 And clothes the face of things in silver gray.
15 Here, chaste simplicity, in humble guise,
16 Makes every thing complete,
17 Nor dazzles, nor offends the eyes,
18 But elegantly neat,
19 Displays her charms,
20 Steals o'er the heart, and all our senses warms.
21 As when Aurora borne on Zephyr bland,
22 With vernal sun-beams, in her hand,
23 In softest colours, paints her fairest scene,
24 And leaves the fields to summer, clothed in coarser green,
25 So chaste simplicity, on all around,
26 Exhausts her skill, flings to the ground,
27 Her matchless pencil, and ethereal dies,---
28 Like modest worth, in rosy blushes flies;
29 Lest in her presence, bolder art,
30 His laboured beauties to impart,
31 The lovely scene despoil;
32 And make her easy graces yield to anxious toil.
33 No conscience, smitten with the wrath of heaven,
34 In dread alliance, leagued with pale despair,
35 No fostered sin, no heart-corroding care,
36 Within these walls, by their unhallowed leaven,
37 Infect the mass of his celestial joy.
38 Here, golden bliss, without alloy,
39 Her rarest sweets, bestows.
40 Ambition, hence is fled,
41 With all her restless train,
42 And every thought is dead,
43 By which our peace is slain.
44 Here life's pellucid stream, for ever flows,
45 And clothes the dreary wilderness, in gladening smiles;
46 And makes the sandy desert, blossom, like the rose;
[Page 82 ]
47 Here amaranth, for ever rooted, blows,
48 Nor, faithless, hides the serpent's fatal wiles.
49 The man is taught of God;
50 Obeys his sovereign nod,---
51 The sacred Scriptures, are his constant guide;-
52 Though outward storms should blow with heaviest gust,
53 And lightnings flash, and deepening thunder roll;
54 Though day should hide his face in eddying dust,
55 Old ocean heave, earth shake, from pole to pole;
56 Though reeling stars, their jarring spheres confound,
57 And heaven pass, in wild affright, away;
58 Though wild chaotic roar, throughout resound,
59 Armed with the terrors of the judgment-day;
60 Unmoved, alone, the faithful soul will stand,
61 With brow serene,
62 Survey the scene,
63 Upheld, and comforted, by God's Almighty hand.
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