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No. XVIII.

Much of old romantic lore

On the high theme he kept in store.

WARTON.

THE sudden appearance of Merlin having, as might naturally be supposed, struck the ruler of Ebuda and his chieftains not only with reverence but astonishment, he prepares to satisfy their curiosity, by informing them who he was, and what had given rise to the interference which they had just witnessed. He states, that, after a residence of many years at the court of Uther, he had been blessed in his latter days with a daughter, whom he had named Inogen; but that a prophecy concerning her, which had escaped from the lips of the priest at the period of her baptism, had, by its ambiguity, involved his mind in a perpetual conflict of hope and fear. It had declared, that, unless she fled from the man whom she most approved, and was by him rejected who loved her best, she should

pine through life in sorrow; but that he who espoused her should from that hour not only reign supreme in Britain, but transcend all others in heroism and renown.

To render her worthy of the high destiny thus singularly unfolded, by adding to the beauties of her form the utmost cultivation of her mental powers, was now, he proceeds to relate, the object of his sole employ; and, with the view of more exclusively dedicating himself to this purpose, he had sought a retirement on the banks of the river Dee in Merionethshire.

The description of this solitude, and its moral uses; the motives which he assigns for at length quitting it, and his regret in so doing; the delight which Inogen experiences from the prospect of mingling with the world, and the estimate of human life with which the whole closes, contribute to form one of the most pleasing passages in the book.

Tired of mankind, and grandeur's irksome weight,
With her I sojourn'd in a lone retreat

By Deva's stream, 'mid vales and mountains rude.
Sweet to the pensive mind is solitude;

Most sweet to study nature's secret laws,

And trace her wonders to the primal cause.

What deep instruction the reflecting mind,
Benignant nature, in thy works can find!
The leaf that quivers in th' autumnal gale,
The flower of spring, that in the lonely vale
Blooms unregarded, equally proclaim,

With yonder orbs that deck th' ethereal frame,
Their great Creator's wisdom.

Thus retired,

To live and die was all my soul desired.

But not to me was Heaven's high will unknown,

That man was made not for himself alone.

Shall I my Imogen, in beauty's bloom,

Thus keep sequester'd in the forest-gloom?

And shall the fairest flower that decks the spring Lavish its sweets on Zephyr's idle wing,

That fans the desert ?

At length resolved, but with reluctant heart,
From my sequester'd bower I slow depart :
Bid to each scene, by time endear'd, adieu!
And often turn, and take a lingering view.
Not so the maid; her sparkling eyes confest
The secret pleasure that inspired her breast.

How sweet the world's delights at distance ey'd!
How bright to fancy's view each joy untried!
Alas! when nearer placed, and duly weigh'd,
They prove an idle dream-a vacant shade.
Experienced age alone, sad privilege! knows
Our joys are fleeting, permanent our woes.
But, to this mournful truth, the youthful mind
Still, as it wont, let sweet delusion blind!
For all the pleasures cruel fate denies,

Hope can prevent, and fancy realise.

B. ii. p. 30.

Merlin returns with Inogen to Carlisle*, and is welcomed by Uther in the most friendly manner, who tells him that a double blessing is about to crown the day, for that he is in momentary expectation of embracing his son, who has just regained his native shore, after a long and distant expedition to the East, in which, under the eye of the monarch of Byzantium, he had acquired unrivalled glory against the infidels. Whilst he is yet speaking, the shouts of the populace and the voice of the clarions announce the approach of the youthful warrior, who is thus briefly but forcibly described:

His martial mien with pleasure strikes our view,
The sculptured helm, the plume of snowy hue:
The splendid mail, the purple-tinctured vest,
And star-deck'd baldrick flaming on his breast.
As nearer he advanced, we mark'd his face
Crown'd with each charm, and soft attractive grace.

3021.

"Carlisle is said to have taken its name from a king Leil, an imaginary descendant of Brutus, who reigned A. M. He is supposed to have built it, and to have been buried there. Arthur is frequently represented, by our old minstrels, as holding his court in that city; and in the neighbourhood of it many romantic adventures are related as performed by himself and his knights."-HOLE, note.

Smiles clothed his roseate cheeks; but in his eyes
Dwelt valour's flame; not like the beams that rise
To gild the storm, but lovely as the ray

Whose purple tints proclaim the dawning day.

B. ii. p. 34.

Arthur resigns himself to the counsel and instruction of the sage Merlin, who, however, gratified by the deference which is paid him, soon perceives that a portion of it is to be attributed to another and very different cause-to a mutual attachment, in short, which had taken place between the prince and his daughter.

It is soon after this discovery that Uthur holds a tournament in commemoration of the day of his son's return, inviting the brave of every nation to honour it with their presence. He and Arthur sit as judges of the field, whilst the beautiful Inogen is destined to bestow the conqueror's prize. For some days the British knights meet with no equal opponents; but, at length, Valdemar and Hengist, the kings of Dacia and of Saxony, and the first amongst the warriors of the North, enter the lists; and the latter, bearing down all before him, is proclaimed by the marshals to have won the meed of victory. He accordingly receives from the hands of Inogen the reward due to his valour; but pre

VOL. II.

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