SECTION XLVIII. OCTAVIO MAXIMIN.....S. T. Coleridge. Octavio. My son! the road, the human being travels, And thus secure, though late, leads to its end. Hath been thy education and thy school. Peace hast thou never witnessed! There exists With arms, and neighing steeds, and mirth and quarrel Are crowded with new freights-trade stirs and hurries! The tents drop down, the horde renews its march, Dreary and solitary as a church-yard; The meadow and down-trodden seed-plot lie, And the year's harvest is gone utterly. Maximin. O let the emperor make peace, my father! Plucked in those quiet fields where I have journeyed! Which we have ne'er experienced. We have been Like some poor ever-roaming horde of pirates, Nor know aught of the main land, but the bays Oct. And so your journey has revealed this to you? Μαχ. "Twas the first leisure of my life. O tell me, What is the meed and purpose of the toil, The painful toil, which robbed me of my youth, A spirit uninformed, unornamented. For the camp's stir, and crowd, and ceaseless larum, Mere bustling nothingness, where the soul is not- These cannot be man's best and only pleasures! Oct. Much hast thou learnt, my son, in this short journey. Max. O! day, thrice lovely! when at length the soldier Returns home into life; when he becomes A fellow-man among his fellow men. The colours are unfurled, the cavalcade Marshals, and now the buzz is hushed, and hark! Now the soft peace-march beats, home, brothers, home! With green boughs, the last plundering of the fields. They need no longer the petard to tear them. Which they make breezy with affectionate gestures. O happy man, O fortunate! for whom The well-known door, the faithful arms are open, SECTION XLVIII. OCTAVIO—MAXIMIN.....S. T. Coleridge. Octario. My son! the road, the human being travels, And thus secure, though late, leads to its end. Hath been thy education and thy school. Peace hast thou never witnessed! There exists With arms, and neighing steeds, and mirth and quarrel Are crowded with new freights-trade stirs and hurrie But on some morrow morn, all suddenly, The tents drop down, the horde renews its march, Dreary and solitary as a church-yard; The meadow and down-trodden seed-plot lie, And the year's harvest is gone utterly. Maximin. O let the emperor make peace, my fathe Plucked in those quiet fields where I have journeyed! We have been Like some poor ever-roaming horde of praIES, Nor know aught of the mat jade DIE THE DES Of fair and exquisite. Ó. Doing notung Do we behold of that in our Tube Oct. And so your journey has revewet the I VOL" What is the meed and purpose of the 101. The painful toil, which rooted me of my VOULI A spirit uninformed, unornamemned. For the camp's stir, and crowe, and ceaseles ILTUM Mere bustling nothingness, where the sou # DE— These cannot be man's best and our measures" Od. Much hast thou learnt my son in the stort pUDET. Max. O! day, thrice lovey: when a engu the suIGHT Returns home into life: when be becomes Afellow-man among his fellow men. The colours are unfuried, the cartucade Marshals, and now the buzz i rusted, and bark" Now the soft peace-marci beats, tome, brochers, bome! The caps and belmets are al garanJEĆ With green boughs, the last piusdering of the feuds. The city gates fly open of themselves, They need no longer the petard to tear them. Te ramparts are all flied with men and women, th peaceful men and women, that send or wands Les and welcomings upon the air, hich they make breezy with affectionate gestures. happy man, O fortunate! for whom well-known door, the faithful arms are open, e faithful tender arms with mute embracing. Acr. Well, then, honour of your company,— Acr. Well. Sir L. Let me see; ay, King's-Mead-fields will do; in King's-Mead-fields. Acr. So, that's done. Well, I'll fold it up presently; my own crest, a hand and dagger, shall be the seal. Sir L. You see, now, this little explanation will put a stop at once to all confusion or misunderstanding that might arise between you. Acr. Ay, we fight to prevent any misunderstanding. Sir L. Now, I'll leave you to fix your own time. Take my advice, and you'll decide it this evening, if you can ; then, let the worst come of it, 'twill be off your mind to morrow. Acr. Very true. Sir L. So I shall see nothing more of you, unless it be by letter, till the evening. I would do myself the honour to carry your message; but, to tell you a secret, I believe I shall have just such another affair on my own hands. There is a gay captain here who put a jest on me lately at the expense of my country, and I only want to fall in with the gentleman, to call him out. Acr. By my valour, I should like to see you fight first! Odds life, I should like to see you kill him, if it was only to get a little lesson! SECTION L. EXTRACT FROM THE SIEGE OF VALENCIA.....Mrs. Hemans. MEN of Valencia! in an hour like this, What do ye here ? E'en now, the children of your chief are led |