Part 1 (1/2)

Ruins and Old Trees, a.s.sociated with Memorable Events in English History.

by Mary Roberts.

The Oak of Chatsworth,

PLANTED BY HER MAJESTY WHEN PRINCESS VICTORIA.

Wave on, ye old memorial trees, In the wintry wind and the summer breeze: Beacons ye are of days gone by, Of grief and crime, of the tear and sigh.

Ah! may they never come again, In hut or hall, on hill or plain!

But a young tree is growing, Where clear streams are flowing; Its roots are deep in the mother earth, In the parent soil that gave it birth, And its n.o.ble boughs are waving high, Meeting the breeze or the summer wind's sigh; While quivering lights and shadows play On the flowery sod beneath; And flocks lie down in the heat of day, 'Mid the fragrant thyme and heath.

Old trees have fallen down, From the sites where they stood of yore, And now in tower or town Their names are heard no more.

When they stood in their days of pride, The Saxon wore his crown, And oft through the forest wide The Norman wound his horn; But thou in thy beauty's sheen, Young tree, art rising high, Thy waving boughs are seen, Against the clear blue sky.

No dibbling foot of sportive fawn, In silent glen or glade, No squirrel bounding o'er the lawn Thy tender cradle made: But the poet's eye back glancing, Can sing of thy natal day, When the streamlets in light seem'd dancing, And the woods did their homage pay.

A maiden placed thee, forest tree, Where thou art standing now, No care depress'd her thoughts of glee, No crown was on her brow; But she stood, a lov'd and loving one, By her n.o.ble mother's side, And while that gentle deed was done, Hearts turn'd to her with pride.

The old memorial trees, That rise on rock or glen, Dark years of human sorrow Are chronicled on them; But Chatsworth's young oak springing, May spread her branches fair, When nought of sin or sadness Shall vex the earth or air.

The crowns which G.o.d hath given, Shall press not then as now; No sceptre shall be riven, No care shall cloud the brow.

Victoria! s.h.i.+elded by His power, Be thine to triumph in that hour, Queen of the sea-girt isle! Not then, As now, the Queen of suffering men, But reigning still, beloved and glorious, O'er sin, and grief, and death victorious.

CONTENTS.

Melksham Court.

Ancient Forest--Huts of the Britons on its margin. Roman Settlements in the vale country--Destruction of the Danes--Gradual diminis.h.i.+ng of the Forest--Pageant in the days of Richard II. in honour of his marriage with Anne of Luxemburg--Journey of the young Queen--Dangers attendant on the way--Arrival in London--Margaret of Silesia, a confidential friend and first-cousin of the Queen, accompanies her--Death of the Queen--Marriage of Margaret; afterwards that of her Daughter to Sir William Tyndale--Anecdote of Piastus, her immediate ancestor, and his elevation to the throne of Poland--A descendant of Margaret of Silesia concealed for three days and nights in the Yew-tree of Stinchcombe Wood--The Burning of his Mansion in the Valley--Reference to William Tyndale, the Apostle of the English Reformation, descended from Margaret--Beautiful Scenery around the remains of the old Forest, which now bears the name of Stinchcombe Wood--A dilapidated Court-House in the Valley, where the Tyndale family once resided--Its present condition and past greatness.--_Page 1._

Ruins of Bradgate Palace.

Scenery before and around the Ruin--Beautiful group of Chesnut-trees growing there in the days of Edward I.--Clear Stream of Water, beside which Lady Jane used to walk--Ruins of the little Mill mentioned by Leland--Vale of Newtown, Hill and Ruin--Sketch of Bradgate Palace--Lady Jane's Tower--Concluding Observations--Poetry.--_Page 21._

Oak of Chertsey. Glendour's Oak.

Battle between Henry IV. and Hotspur--Fall of Hotspur--Battle witnessed by Owen Glendour from the topmost branches of the Tree--Return to his Castle in the Vale of Glyndwrdwey--Mode of Warfare--Remarks respecting him--Dread entertained by the English of his possessing supernatural Powers--Anecdote of his early Life--Beautiful Scenery of Bethgellert--The bard Rhys-c.o.c.k--Stone on which he used to sit--Building of a Church by Henry IV. in commemoration of the Battle in which Hotspur fell--Present condition of the Church, and of Glendour's Oak.--_Page 31._

Yew Trees of Skelldale.