The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 480, March 12, 1831. Various
of the colony, are, that the land at Perth and in the neighbourhood is not of that description to induce the settlers to cultivate, and that all the good land being now granted, there is no more on this side the mountains to satisfy the demands of new settlers; but these objections are, I am happy to say, about to be removed, as an ensign of the 63rd regiment (a Mr. Dale) has lately returned from a tour of discovery into the interior, and has brought intelligence, that to the eastward of the Swan River there is a large and fertile tract of beautiful country, with a river passing through it, which, from a subsequent visit by Mr. Erskine, a lieutenant of the 63rd, is likely to prove of the greatest importance to the colony. Those of the settlers who have not taken up their grants of land mean to secure them here, and myself among the number, a grant having been allowed me, at the rate of 3,200 acres. The governor is quite delighted, and now considers the ultimate success of the colony to be certain. He intends visiting the country, and tracing the course of the river, in a few days; and it is my wish to accompany him, if possible, that I may select my own grant.
The spirit of detraction to which the writer alludes in the early part of his letter is thus noticed in the Cabinet Cyclopaedia, vol. iii. of Maritime and Inland Discovery: "The difficulties and embarrassments which the settlers at the Swan River have been obliged to endure, have been industriously exaggerated by the colonial press; the strong desire which exists in New South Wales to attract emigrants to that country being naturally allied with a disposition to disparage every other settlement."
ON VIEWING CANTERBURY
I am no pilgrim unto Becket's shrine,
To kneel with fervour on his knee-worn grave,
And with my tears his sainted ashes lave,
Yet feel devotion rise no less divine—
As rapt I gaze from Harbledown's decline
And view the rev'rend temple where was shed
That pamper'd prelate's blood—his marble bed
Midst pillar'd pomp, where rainbow windows shine;
Where bent the 1anointed of a nation's throne
And brooked the lashes of the church's ire;
And where, as yesterday, with soul of fire,
Transcendent Byron view'd the hallow'd stone.
Sure Chaucer's pilgrims, on this crowning height,
Repress'd their mirth, and kindled at the sight.
Couch'd in the bosom of a bounteous vale,
The ancient city, to the enamour'd sight,
Gleams like a vision of the fairy night,
Or Be-ulah, in Banyan's holy tale.
The silvery clouds that o'er the valley sail
Dim not the sinking sun, whose lustre fires
The old cathedral and its gorgeous spires,
The ruin'd abbey, garlanded and pale
The vesper choristers in each lone wood
Chant to the peeping moon their serenade;
Now creeps the far-off forest into shade,
And twilight comes o'er heath, and field, and flood.
Oh! had I genius now the task to try,
My picture should Italian Claude's outvie!
MOUNT ST. MICHAEL
In no. 477 of the Mirror you have given a spirited engraving of Mount St. Michael, with a succinct account annexed, to which the following particulars may serve as addenda:—
Its most ancient name was Belinus, when it was inhabited by Druidesses. After the abolition of the Druids, it took the name of Mons Jovis; to which was substituted that of Tumba, when a monastery was erected upon it. In 708, Bishop Auber raised upon it a church, which he dedicated to St. Michael.—Ethelred, the second, of England, had a particular veneration for Mount St. Michael. Abbot Roger had been almoner to William the Conqueror. Henry II. of England made a pilgrimage to Mount St. Michael, when he met Louis VII. King of France, with a splendid suite.
In 1203 the fortifications consisted only of wooden palisades. Being attacked by the Bretons, they set fire to them: the fire reached the church and abbey, which was completely destroyed. The monastery was restored in 1226, by Abbot Adulph de Villedieu. His successor, Richard Justin, obtained from the Pope the most distinguished privileges.
In 1418 the English made a fruitless attack upon it.
In 1423 it was attempted again, with a very considerable force and powerful artillery, two pieces of which now stand at the main gate: one has a stone ball in it of about fifteen inches diameter. Among the distinguished English officers who perished at the siege, was a Chevalier M. Burdet.
In 1577 a Protestant chief (Dutouchet) succeeded by stratagem in getting possession of it. After two day's possession, he was obliged to evacuate it.
In 1591 a similar attempt proved most destructive to the assailants.
In 1594, the spire, the bells, and the church, were considerably injured by lightning.
Mount St. Michael was visited in 1518 by Francis I. of France; in 1561, by Charles IX.; in 1576, by the Duchess de Bourbon; in 1624, by the Duke de Nevers, who made a rich present to the abbey; in 1689, by Madame de Levigné, who designated it Le Mont fier et orgueilleux. In 1689, Philip Duke of Orleans, brother to Louis XIV., was one of its visiters.
The most remarkable circumstance is the visit paid to it on the 10th of May, 1777, by the Ex-King of France, the Count d'Artois (twenty years old). On inspecting the state-prison, a wooden cage was shown to him. The prince, struck with horror at the sight of it, ordered it to be destroyed. Shortly after, the young princes of Orleans, among whom the present King Philip, accompanied by Madame de Lillery, stopped at Mount St. Michael. After having inspected the subterraneous passages and magazines, the wooden cage was shown to them. They asked for workmen and axes, and giving the first blow themselves, this infernal machine was completely destroyed.
The prior of the abbey was formerly governor of the town and castle, and the keys were brought to him every evening. It gives name to the late military order of St. Michael, founded by Louis XI, in 1479. The view from the summit is fine, embracing the coasts of Normandy and Britanny, with the town and ruins of the cathedral of Avranches, elevated on a mountain, and the intervening valley, with the open sea of the British Channel.
SONNET TO M * * *
Though rough, not lengthened, is our worldly way;
Then wipe thy pearly eyes, no more to weep—
Thy feet from falling let this memory keep—
Our love hath lasted through the stormy day.
These clouds like early mist shall melt away,
And show the vale beyond the pointed steep;
For they who sow in tears, in smiles shall reap—
Then be thy spirits as the morning gay.
For thou alone art gifted with the power
To still the tempest in my stubborn soul;
Thy smile creates around the billows roll
The blissful quiet of a halcyon hour.
Then shed no tear—then heave no sorrowing sigh
Since love like thine may time and toil defy.
LONG RIDES
In 478 of your entertaining little miscellany, I observe a short account of an unparalleled feat of riding,
Henry the Second.