Match me, ye climes! which poets love to laud ; know, Oh, thou Parnassus ! 4 whom I now survey, Not in the phrensy of a dreamer's eye, Not in the fabled landscape of a lay, But soaring snow-clad through thy native sky, In the wild pomp of mountain-majesty! What marvel if I thus essay to sing ? The humblest of thy pilgrims passing by Would gladly woo thine Echoes with his string, Though from thy heights no more one Muse will wave her wing. 1 This stanza was written in Turkey. 3 “ Long black hair, dark languishing eyes, clear olive complexions, and forms more graceful in motion than can be con. ceived by an Englishman, used to the drowsy, listless air of his country women, added to the most becoming dress, and, at the same time, the most decent in the world, render a Spanish beauty irresistible." -- Lord Byron to his Mother, Aug. 1809.] 4 These stanzas were written in Castri (Delphos), at the foot of Parnassus, now called Abazugu (Liakura), Dec. 1809. LXI. But gaze beneath thy cloudy canopy LXII. Happier in this than mightiest bards have been, Whose fate to distant homes confined their lot, Shall I unmoved behold the hallow'd scene, Which others rave of, though they know it not? Though here no more Apollo haunts his grot, And thou, the Muses' seat, art now their grave, 2 Some gentle spirit still pervades the spot, Sighs in the gale, keeps silence in the cave, And glides with glassy foot o'er yon melodious wave. ir" Upon Parnassus, going to the fountain of Delphi (Castri), in 1809, I saw a flight of twelve eagles (Hobhouse says they were vultures - at least in conversation), and I seized the omen. On the day before, I composed the lines to Parnassus (in Childe Harold), and on beholding the birds, had a hope that Apollo had accepted my homage. I have at least had the name and fame of a poet, during the poetical period of life (from twenty to thirty);whether it will last is another matter : but I have been a votary of the deity and the place, and am grateful for what he has done in my behalf, leaving the future in his hands, as I left the past."B. Diary, 1821.] 2 r' Casting the eye over the site of ancient Delphi, one cannot possibly imagine what has become of the walls of the numerous buildings which are mentioned in the history of its former magnificence, buildings which covered two miles of ground. With the exception of the few terraces or supporting walls, nothing now appears. The various robberies by Scylla, Nero, and Constantine, are inconsiderable ; for the removal of the statues of bronze, and marble, and ivory, could not greatly affect the general appearance of the city. The acclivity of the hill, and the foundations being placed on rock, without cement, would no doubt render them comparatively easy to be removed or hurled down into the vale below; but the vale exhibits no appearance of accumulation of hewn stones ; and the modern village could have consumed but few. In the course of so many centuries, the débris from the mountain must have covered up a great deal, and even the rubbish itself may have acquired a soil sufficient to conceal many noble remains from the light of day. Yet we see no swellings or risings in the ground, indicating the graves of the temples. All therefore is mystery, and the Greeks may truly say, Where stood the walls of our fathers ?' scarce their mossy tombs remain !"H. W. Williams's Travels in Greece, vol. ii. p. 254.] 17“ Some glorious thought to my petition grant.” — MS.] LXIII. Yield me one leaf of Daphne's deathless plant, 1 But ne'er didst thou, fair Mount ! when Greece was young, Ah! that to these were given such peaceful shades As Greece can still bestow, though Glory fly her glades. LXV. A Cherub-hydra round us dost thou gape, LXVI. Though not to one dome circumscribeth she LXVII. From morn till night, from night till startled Morn Peeps blushing on the revel's laughing crew, The song is heard, the rosy garland worn; Devices quaint, and frolics ever new, 1 Seville was the Hispalis of the Romans. 3 p" Cadiz, sweet Cadiz !--- it is the first spot in the creation. The beauty of its streets and mansions is only excelled by the liveliness of its inhabitants. It is a complete Cythera, full of the finest women in Spain; the Cadiz belles being the Lancashire witches of their land." - Lord B. to his Mother, 1809.) Tread on each other's kibes. A long adieu Of true devotion monkish incense burns, LXVIII. Yells the mad crowd o'er entrails freshly torn, LXIX. The seventh day this; the jubilee of man. London ! right well thou know'st the day of prayer : Then thy spruce citizen, wash'd artisan, And smug apprentice gulp their weekly air : Thy coach of hackney, whiskey, one-horse chair, And humblest gig through sundry suburbs whirl ; To Hampstead, Brentford, Harrow make repair ; Till the tired jade the wheel forgets to hurl, Provoking envious gibe from each pedestrian churl. LXX. monkish temples share The hours misspent, and all in turns is love and prayer." -MS.] |