tinguished his enlivening embers, and had. fhrunk in gloomy fadness to repole, wher Henry De Montmorency and his two attendants rufhed from the caftle of Ay. The night was wild and ftormy, and the wind howled in a fearful manner. The moon flashed, as the clouds paffe from before her, on the filver armour of Montmorency, whose large and fable: plume of feathers ftreamed threatening; in the blaft. They hurried rapidly on,, and, arriving at the edge of a declivity, defcended into a deep glen, the dreadful and favage appearance of which, was fufficient to ftrike terror into the ftouteft heart. It was narrow, and the rocks on each fide, rifing to a prodigious height, hung bellying over their heads; furious ly along the bottom of the valley, turbulent and dafhing against huge fragments of the rock, ran a dark and fwoln torrent, and farther up the glen, down a precipice of near ninety feet, and roaring with tremendous ftrength, fell, at a fingle ftroke, an aweful and immenfe cafcade. From the clefts and chafms of the crag, abrupt and ftern the venerable oak threw his broad breadth of shade, and bending his gigantic arms athwart the ftream, fhed, driven by the wind, a multitude of leaves, while from the fummits of the rock was heard the clamour of the falling fragments that bourding from its rugged fide leapt with refiftleis fury on the vale beneath. Montmorency and his attendants, intrepid as they were, felt the inquietude of apprehenfion; they ftood for fome time in filent aftonishment, but their ideas of danger from the conflict of the elements being at length alarming, they determined to proceed, when all inftant ly became dark, whilft the rushing of the ftorm, the roaring of the cafcade, the fhivering of the branches of the trees, and the dafhing of the rock affailed at once their fenfe of hearing. The moon, however, again darting from a cloud, they rode forward, and, following the course of the torrent, had advanced a confiderable way, when the piercing fhrieks of a perfon in diftrefs arrefted their speed; they flopped, and liftening attentively, heard fhrill, melancholy cries repeated, at intervals, up the glen, which gradually becoming more and more diftant, grew faint, and died away. Montmorency, ever ready to relieve the oppreffed, couched his lance, and bidding his followers prepare, was hafting on, but again their progrefs was impeded by the harrowing and ftupendous clash of falling armour, which reverberating from the various cavities around, feemed here and there, and from every direction, to be echoed with double violence, as if an hundred men in armour had, in fucceffion, fallen down in different parts of the valley. Montmorency, having recovered from the confternation into which this fingular noise had thrown him, undauntedly purfued his courfe, and prefeatly difcerned, by the light of the moon, the gleaming of a coat of mail. He immediately made up to the spot, where he found, laid along at the root of an aged oak, whose branches hung darkling over the torrent, a knight wounded and bleeding; his armour was of barnished steel, by his fide there lay a falchion, and a fable fhield emboffed with ftuds of gold, and, dipping his cafque into the ftream, he was endeavouring to allay his thirft, but, through weaknefs from loss of blood, with difficulty he got it to his mouth. Being queftioned as to his misfortune, he hook his head, and unable to speak, pointed with his hand down the glen; at the fame moment the fhrieks, which had formerly alarmed Montmorency and his attendants, were repeated, apparently at no great diftance: and now every mark of horror was depicted on the pale and ghaftly features of the dying knight; his black hair, dashed with gore, flood erect, and, ftretching forth his hands toward the found, he seemed ftruggling for speech, his agony became exceffive, and groaning, he dropped dead upon the earth. The fuddennefs of this shocking event, the total ignorance of its caufe, the uncouth fcenery around, and the difmal wailing of diftrefs, which still poured upon the ear with aggravated ftrength, left room for imagination to unfold its most hideous ideas; yet Montmorency, though astonished, loft not his fortitude and refolution, but determined, following the direction of the found, to fearch for the place whence thefe terrible screams feemed to iffue, and recommending his men to unsheath their fwords, and maintain a frict guard, cautiously followed the windings of the glen, until, abruptly turning the corner of an out-jutting crag, they perceived two corfes mangled in a frightful manner, and the glimmering of light appeared through fome trees that hung depending from a fteep and dangerous part of the rock. Approaching a little nearer, the fhrieks feemed evidently to proceed from that quarter, upon which, tying their horfes to the branches of of an oak, they afcended flowly and with out any noife towards the light; but what was their amazement, when, by the pale glimptes of the moon, where the eye could penetrate through the intervening foliage, in a vaft and yawning cavern, dimly lighted by a lamp fufpended from its roof, they beheld half a dozen gigantic figures in ponderous iron armour; their vizors were up, and the lamp, faint ly gleaming on their features, difplayed an unrelenting fternness capable of the most ruthless deeds. One, who had the aspect, and the garb of their leader, and who, waving his fcimetar, feemed menacing the reft, held on his arm a maffy fhield of immenfe circumference, and which, being freaked with recent blood, prefented to the eye an object truly terrific. At the back part of the cave and fixed to a brazen ring, flood a female figure, and, as far as the obfcurity of the light gave opportunity to judge, of a beautiful and elegant form. From her the fhricks proceeded; fhe was dreffed in white, and ftruggling violently and in a convulfive manner, appeared to have been driven almoft to madness from the conscious horror of her fituation. Two of the Banditti were high in difpute, fire flashed from their eyes, and their feimetars were half unsheathed, and Montmorency, expecting that, in the fury of their paffion, they would cut each other to pieces, waited the event, but as the authority of their Captain foon checked the tumult, he rushed in with his followers, and hurling his lance, "Villains," he exclaimed," receive the reward of cruelty." The lance bounded innocuous from the fhield of the leader, who turning quickly upon Montmorency, a levere engagement enfued; they fmote with prodigious ftrength, and the valley refounded to the clangor of their fteel. Their falchions, unable to fuftain the fhock, fhivered into a thousand pieces, when Montmorency, inftantly elevating with both hands his shield, dafhed it with refiftless force against the head of his aantagonift; lifelers he dropped prone upon the ground, and the crash of his armour bellowed through the hollow rock. In the mean time his attendants, although they had exerted themfelves with great bravery, and hid already difpatched one of the villains, were, by force of numbers, overpowered, and being bound together, the remainder of the Banditti rushed in upon Montmorency just as he had ftretched their commander upon the earth, and obliged him alfe, notwith standing the moft vigorous efforts of valeur, to furrender. The lady who, during the rencounter, had fainted away, waked again to fresh fcenes of mifery at the moment when thefe monfters of barbarity were conducting the unfortunate Montmorency and his companions to a dreadful grave. They were led, by a long and intricate paflage, mid an immenfe affemblage of rocks, which, tifing between feventy and eighty feet perpen ticular, bounded on all fides a circular plain, into which no opening was apparent but that thro' which they came. The moon fhone bright, and they be held, in the middle of this plain, a hidecus chaẩm; it feemed near a hundred feet in diameter, and on its brink grew feveral trees, whole branches, almoft meeting in the centre, dropped on its infernal mouth a gloom of fettled horror. "Prepare to die," faid one of the Banditti," for into that chaf fhall ye be thrown; it is of unfathomable depth, and that ye may not be ignorant of the place ye are fo foon to vifit, we fhali gratify your curiofity with a view of it." Sofaying, two of them feized the wretched Montmorency, and dragging him to the margin of the abyss, tied him to the trunk of a tree, and having treated his affociates in the fame manner, "look," cried a Banditto with a fiend-like smile, look and anticipate the pleasures of your journey." Difmay and pale afright hook the cold limbs of Montmorency, and as he leant over the illimitable void, the dew fat in big drops upon his forehead. The moon's rays, ftreaming in between the branches, fhed a dim light, fufficient to difclofe a confiderable part of the vaft profundity, whofe depth lay hid, for a fubterranean river burfting with a tremendous noife into its womb, occafioned such a mist, from the rifing spray, as entirely to conceal the dreary gull beneath. Shuddering on the edge. of this accurfed pit ftood the miferable warrior; his eyes were ftarting from their fockets, and, as he looked into the dark abyfs, his fenfes, blafted by the view, feemed to forfake him. Meantime the Banditti, having unbound one of the at tendants, prepared to throw him in; he refifted with aftonishing ftrength thricking aloud for help, and just as he had reached the flippery margin, every fibre of his body racked with agonizing ter ror, he flung himself with fury backwards on the ground; fierce and wild convulfions feized his frame, which be ing foon followed by a flate of exhauf S 2 tion tion, he was in this condition, unable any longer to refift, hurled into the dreadful chaẩm; his armour ftriking upon the rock, there burft a fudden effulgence, and the repetition of the ftroke was heard for many minutes as he defcended down its rugged fide. No words can defcribe the horrible emotions, which on the fight of this thocking ipectacle, tortured the devoted wret ches. The foul of Montmorency funk within him, and, as they unbound his laft fellow-fufferer, his eyes fhot forth a gleam of vengeful light, and he ground his teeth in unutterable anguish. The inhuman monsters now laid hold of the unhappy man; he gave no oppofition, and, though dispair fat upon his features, not a fhriek, not a groan escaped him; but no fooner had he reached the brink, than making a fudden effort, he liberated an arm, and grafping one of the villains round the waift, fprang headlong with him into the interminable gulf. All was filent-but at length a dreadful plunge was heard, and the fullen deep howled fearfully over its prey. The three remaining Banditti stood aghaft; they durft not unbind Montmorency, but refolved, as the tree to which he was tied grew near the mouth of the pit, to cut it down, and, by that mean, he would fall, along with it into the chafm. Montmorency, who, after the example of his attendant, had conceived the hope of avenging himself, now faw all poffibility of effecting that defign taken away, and as the axe entered the trunk, his anguifh became fo exceffive that he fainted. The villains, obferving this, determined, from a malicious prudence, to forbear, as at prefent he was incapable of feeling the terrors of his fituation. They therefore withdrew, and left him to recover at his leifure. Not many minutes had paffed away when, life and fenfation returning, the hapless Montmorency awoke to the remembrance of his fate. "Have mercy," he exclaimed, the briny fweet trick ling down his pallid features, Ok have mercy;" then looking around him, he ftarted at the abyfs beneath, and, fhrinking from its ghaftly brink, preffed clofe against the tree. In a little time, however, he recovered his perfect recollection, and, perceiving that the Banditti had left him, became more compofed. His hands, which were bound behind him, he endeavoured to disentangle, and, to his inexpreffible joy, after many painful efforts, he fucceeded fo far as to loofen the cord, and by a little perfeverence, effected his liberty. He then fought around for a place to escape through, but without fuccefs; as he was paffing on the other fide of the chafm, he observed a part of its craggy fide, as he thought, illuminated, and, advancing a little nearer, he found that it proceeded from the moon's rays fhining through a large cleft of the rock, and at a very inconfiderable depth below the furface. A gleam of hope now broke in upon his defpair, and gathering up the ropes which had been ufed for himself and his affociates, he tied them together, and fastening one end to the bole of a tree, and the other to his waift, he determined to defcend as far as the illuminated fpot. Horrible as was the experiment, he hesitated not a moment in putting it in execution, for, when contrafted with his late fears, the mere hazard of an accident weighed as nothing, and the apprehenfion that the villains might return before his purpose was fecure, accelerated, and gave vigour to his effort. Soon was he fufpended in the gloomy abyfs, and neither the roaring of the river nor the dashing of the fpray, intimidated his daring fpirit, but, having reached the cleft, he crawled within it, then, loofing the cord from off his body, he proceeded onwards, and, at laft, with a rapture no defcription_can paint, difcerned the appearance of the glen beneath him. He knelt down, and was returning thanks to heaven for his efcape, when fuddenly Each human endeavour prov'd powerlefs and vain, And nought the nice efforts of [cience avail'd. But, alas! they inform me the symptoms -increase, And life from the conflict feems mufing to fly ; Then cease, gentle fhepherds, your merriment cease, And think on the troubles that threaten fo nigh. Ah! rather repair to yon rivulet's fide, And bind your fad brows with the pale willow wreath, There, lonely reclin'd by the murmuring tide, The melting effufions of elegy breathe. For me, I will hafte to my midwood recefs, I will hafte to the gloom of the woodland profound, There penfive reclining indulge my diftrefs, And pore on the forrows that thicken around. Erewhile this fequefter'd retreat when I fought, T'was to pour the foft language of Hope and of Joy, Bright landscapes luxuriantly rose to my thought, And the light-footed minutes ftole placidly by. Methought all around me partook of the glee, The stream thro' the pebbles ran play ful away, Yet its joys and its griefs are so closely combin'd, What bofom that feels them would wish to be freed! Yet ftill do I love you, ye delicate ties, Tho' blended with troubles your troubles are dear, Even pleasure oft dwells in a penfive difguife, Nor fcorns the foft features of forrow to wear." Thus pour'd the fad Thyrfis his wild running lay, Till darkness o'ertook him as fadly he mourn'd, Then ftealing at length from the cavern so grey, All mournfully flow to the village return'd. FOR THE EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. 0° UR flocks contented o'er their pastures ftray, The grafs is sweet with dew of early day, The Sun afcends, his rays our fields adorn, Ye fwains, begin and hail the rifing morn. Philenor come, thy pleafing pipe now take, With echo's voice the hills refponsive make; Of nature's works I know thou well canft fing, To us declare the beauties of the spring: Then Varo, whilft the morning breezes blow, And violet fweet around their odours ftrow; Touch then thy jointed reed, to pleasant ftrains, Let foothing mufic float along the plains. Sing, fing my fhepherds dear, the charming found, |
