WHEN Life was young, and Love was new,

The prospect to my glistening eye Seem'd fair as yonder mountain blue, That rises in the sun-bright sky; Around me smil'd perennial green,

Enrich'd with many a flowret fair, And Mary smil'd like Eden's queen,

The sweetest, loveliest, blossom there; I forward glanced with raptur'd view, When Life was young and Love was new. Though all around conspir'd to please,

Although my heart beat high with glee, Health breathing in the mountain breeze, Yet still I thought of bliss to be: The birds that warbled in the vale,

The earth below, the heavens above, Glad Echo floating on the gale,

All spoke the young delights of Love, And bade me still that path pursue, While Life was young and Love was new. How blithe I brush'd the dews of morn, And gladly hail'd the evening hour, When thou would'st seek the blooming thorn,

Or meet me in the birchen bower! Resplendent shone the evening star, And fair the purple twilight sky, Thy virgin blush was lovelier far,

And brighter shone thy melting eye! How lightly then our moments flew, When Life was young and Love was new!

Yes, softly trod the light-heel'd hours,
On carpet wove in Fancy's loom;
And Hope bestrew'd our path with flowers,
Of fragrant amaranthine bloom;
A cloudless sky serenely bright,

A halcyon sea and crystal stream,
A halo of celestial light,

And all that youthful lovers dream, With magic hand her pencil drew, When Life was young and Love was new.

Our feet to Hymen's fane were led,

Our brows with myrtle chaplets crown'd,

While hallow'd light its lustre shed,

And young Love scatter'd rose-buds
round:

Thus, in the bloom of health and youth,
Our souls alive to love and joy,
With hearts entwin'd in wedded truth,

Our bliss was pure, without alloy;
'Twas then we felt Hope's promise true,
When Life was young and Love was new.
Time seem'd to tread with feet of down,
The torch of Hymen burning bright;
Year after year had o'er us flown,

And we unconscious of their flight;

Love on thy lip, so sweetly smil'd,

Thy blushing cheek so richly glow'd, Thy every glance like morning mild, Like music every accent flow'd; Though years had pass'd, no change I knew ;

Still Life was young and Love was new. Domestic bliss was in its noon,

The tender mother, faithful wife, Now blended with the heavenly boon,

The mingled cares of wedded life: And sickness came and smiles and tears Would light and dim the anxious eye; And joy and grief, and hopes and fears,

As clouds glide o'er an April sky; But still, though fled, their rainbow hue, Our Lives were young, our Loves were new. Alternately we've watch'd and slept,

Till hope had from our bosoms filed, In secret sigh'd, in silence wept,

And mingled tears together shed: And we have both devoutly kneel'd, With grateful hearts, for comfort given, Have bless'd the hand our griefs that heal'd,

And pour'd our orisons to Heaven, For mercies neither small nor few, Since Life was young and Love was new, Now, Time has wav'd his magic wand,

And planted wrinkles on thy brow; Has touch'd thy cheek with icy hand,

And chill'd its once enlivening glow; And he has dimm'd those orbs so bright, That once on me so sweetly shone; I still enjoy their gentle light,

When swimming in etherial dew, Though fainter far than I have known, When Life was young and Love was new, Although thou still art dear, I sigh

When musing, sad, on what I've seen, And feel a change, which tells that I No longer am what I have been ; For ever fled each youthful grace,

The raptur'd reign of passion o'er, The glowing blush on beauty's face,

Can warm the wither'd heart no more; We've bid a long and last adieu To much that charm'd when Love was

new.

Though gath'ring clouds obscure the sky,

And Fortune's sun forget to shine; We'll see the shades of evening nigh,

Nor vainly o'er our fate repine; Though friends may turn aside, or change, With cold neglect, or secret scorn, Why shouldwe think such conduct strange? When ever fled our sunny morn? We saw them smile-a venal crew! When Life was young and Love was new.

Though Time has years around us roll'd,
And Life is now no longer young,
Our hearts have never yet been cold,
Nor mute Affection's tuneful tongue;
Although the blast of Winter blows,

And frosty age has chill'd the frame, Love's hallow'd fire still fondly glows,

Although it burns with fainter flame; Our hearts were not more kind and true,

When Life was young and Love was new. Why should my bosom e'er be sad

When thou art by, to smile on me? Life still has bliss to make me glad, While I can share that bliss with thee:

We cannot now recall the past,

Nor change the hue of Autumn sere; We cannot hush the distant blast,

Whose howlings tell of winter near; But we can still the scenes review When Life was young and Love was new.

Oswestry.

OSWESTRY, in Shropshire, was one of the chief border towns on the Welsh frontier, and has witnessed more of the barbarous and sangui❤ nary ferocity of the rough mountaineers in time of old, than any other town in England-not excepting even Shrewsbury itself. Being one of the principal manors of the Marches of Wales, its inhabitants, during that gloomy period which intervened between the Conquest and the Union of the Principality, were in a state of continual peril, from the wild and daring incursions of the Welsh borderers. And even long subsequent to the Union, the Oswestrians, and their contumacious neighbours, actuated by that terrible enmity which burnt so long unquenched between them, took every opportunity of plundering and harassing one another. Nay, this system of mutual robbery and rapine became generally prevalent, in a greater or less degree, throughout the whole extent of the Marches; and it appears to have continued without any very mature intermission, to a comparatively late period. Indeed, the merciless laws which were of necessity enacted against the Welsh after the conquest of their country, and the unendurable oppression exercised by the

VOL. XIV.

Lords Marchers, were not calculated to allay the proud and impetuous animosity of the mountaineers. To expect mildness, and courtesy, and implicit obedience, from those to whom neither mildness nor courtesy was shewn, were infinitely absurd and futile-(the Indian might just as well look for tameness and submis sion from the roused and irritated lion); and although the Welsh had become thus justly reduced to bondage and subjection, by the weakness of their Princes, still no one can censure them for their stubborn opposition to the tyrannic cruelty of their conquerors.

Circumstanced, therefore, as these two people were, each considered as goods lawfully obtained every thing which they could seize in each others territory; they, therefore, took such precautions as both sides considered most conducive to the preservation of their property. The dwellings of the English were surrounded by moats, and defended by palisadoes; and their horses and cattle were driven every night into the fence thus constructed. For the intimidation of their predatory opponents, a gallows was erected in every frontier manor, and if any Welshman was heedless enough to be captured beyond the line of demarcation, he was 4 N

immediately hanged on the said gallows, and there suspended in terrorem till another victim was ready to supply his place. Every town within the Marches had also a horseman, ready equipped "with sworde and speare," who was maintained for the express purpose of apprehending these marauders. On the other hand, the Welsh trusted for their defence to the intricacies of their deep woods, and to the ruggedness of their mountain fastnesses; and they put in force the lex talionis, whenever an opportunity occurred, to its fullest and most rigorous extent.

These contests and robberies-for such in fact they were-were in full vogue so late as the sixteenth century; and in 1534, the stewards, constables, and lieutenants, of Os westry and Powis Castles, entered into a compact, to endeavour to restrain, in their own districts, these licentious and unruly practices. It was accordingly agreed, that if, after a certain day then appointed, any individual of either of these lordships committed felony in any other, he should be arrested and sent to the lordship where the offence had been committed-there to be duly punished; and that if any goods or cattle were stolen from the one lordship, and conveyed into the other, the tenants or inhabitants of that lordship should either pay for the same, with in fifteen days, or otherwise four of their principal men should remain in bail, or main-prize, till the property was paid for or recovered. It does not appear, however, that the exertions of these officers effectually annihilated these "detestable melefacts," as they have been called; for amongst the records of the Draper's Company of Shrewsbury, there is the following minute: "25, Elizabeth, anno 1583. Ordered, that no draper set out for Oswestry on Mondays, before six of the clocke in the morning, on forfeiture of 6s. 8d., and that they weare their weapons all the waye, and goe in companie. Not to go over the Welsh Bridge before the bell toll six." It is further stated, that "William Jones, Esq. left to the

saide Companie £.1. 8s. 6d., to be paid annuallie, to the Vicar of St. Alkemands', for reading prayers on Mondaye mornings, before the drapers set out for Oswestry market."

Like all other border towns of any magnitude, Oswestry was defended by a castle: it was also fortified by four gates and a wall. The gates, with the exception of one, are still entire, and are called the New-gate, the Willow-gate, and Beatrice-gate. The last is a handsome building, with a guard-room on both sides, and over it are the arms of the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel, with a lion rampant for the crest. It was probably built by Thomas, Earl of Arundel, in the begining of the reign of Henry IV., who named it in honour of his wife, Beatrice, a natural daughter of the King of Portugal. Over the Newgate is the figure of a horse in full speed, with an oaken bough in his mouth. There is a tradition, that this equestrian effigy bears allusion to the famous breed of horses for which Powis Land was so renowned, and which was derived from some fine Spanish stallions introduced into this part of the country by Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury.

According to the Welsh historians, the castle was founded in 1148, by Meredydd ab Bleddyn, Prince of Powis; but the English attribute its erection to Alan, a noble Norman, who came over in the train of the Conqueror. It was a fortress of great strength and extent, and had its ballium, or yard, (comprehending that part of the town now called the Bailey-head,)-its barbican, or outergate, where the poor and maimed were usually relieved,-and its chapels, placed at a short distance from the main entrance, and dedicated to St. Nicholas. A curious fact, connected with the history of this castle, illustrates the rude barbarism of the times in rather a forcible manner. In the year 1414, a complaint was made to the Archbishop of Canterbury, by Llewelyn ab Gruffydd ab Madog, against the constable of Oswestry Castle, for compelling him to put to death two young noblemen,

in derogation of their high birth and extraction; which disgrace, observes the Welsh Prince, their parents would not have undergone for three hundred pounds Sterling! He complains, also, that the said constable, a despot worthy enough in his way, had twice unjustly imprisoned sixty of his men, extorting from each ten shillings for his liberation.

It will be naturally supposed, that, situated as Oswestry was, it was exIn posed to numerous disasters. 1216, King John ordered it to be plundered and destroyed, because its inhabitants had refused to interfere in his dispute with the Barons. It experienced a similar fate in the reign of Henry III., during an incursion of the Welsh. In the beginning of the 15th century, it was again burnt and plundered by some of Owain Glyndwr's followers; and since that period, it has suffered dreadfully from three extensive conflagrations. In 1542, two long streets were consumed: two years after, there was a fire even more destructive than this; and in 1567, two hundred houses were burnt to the ground in only two hours-namely, between two and four in the morning. Considering the tumultuous state of this part of the country, it is but fair to infer that these latter calamities were the premeditated work of some of the Welsh freebooters.

There are few places thus more interesting, in a retrospective point of view, than the town of Oswestry. The associations connected with it are, it is true, deeply imbued with blood and slaughter; but its history would afford a faithful portrait horrid and sanguinary though it beof the state of Wales before its Union with England. Even its very name arose from the ashes of a slaughtered prince. In the year 642, a battle was fought near the town, (then called Maeserfield,) by Oswald, the brave and generous King of Northumberland, and Penda, the fero

certos,

tum

utramque,

beatus

Est, qui fonte boni fruitur semel et sine

fine.

Thus the place was called Tre Oswaldt, or Oswald's Town, and subsequently Oswestry.

Lords Marchers.

The foundation of the Marches of Wales is an interesting point in the history of the Welsh, especially where we take into consideration the natural result of such a creation, and the politic motives which first gave origin to it. When William the Norman had subdued the Saxons, he was desirous of extending his power to the more remote and inaccessible parts of the island. Wales, therefore, became an object of attainment to accordthe Conqueror, and he gave, ingly, to several of the Norman lords, as much land on the borders of Wales as they could "win from the Welshmen;" thereby providing_for the majority of his followers a tolerable portion of territory and power; and, by a master-stroke in policy, opposing to the Welsh a barrier not easily broken. His successors followed his example; and the lands thus granted were called Lordships, or Baronies' Marches, and were holden

immediately hanged on the said gallows, and there suspended in terrorem till another victim was ready to supply his place. Every town within the Marches had also a horseman, ready equipped "with sworde and speare," who was maintained for the express purpose of apprehending these marauders. On the other hand, the Welsh trusted for their defence to the intricacies of their deep woods, and to the ruggedness of their mountain fastnesses; and they put in force the lex talionis, whenever an opportunity occurred, to its fullest and most rigorous extent.

These contests and robberies-for such in fact they were-were in full vogue so late as the sixteenth century; and in 1534, the stewards, constables, and lieutenants, of Os westry and Powis Castles, entered into a compact, to endeavour to restrain, in their own districts, these licentious and unruly practices. It was accordingly agreed, that if, after a certain day then appointed, any individual of either of these lordships committed felony in any other, he should be arrested and sent to the lordship where the offence had been committed-there to be duly punished; and that if any goods or cattle were stolen from the one lordship, and conveyed into the other, the tenants or inhabitants of that lordship should either pay for the same, within fifteen days, or otherwise four of their principal men should remain in bail, or main-prize, till the property was paid for or recovered. It does not appear, however, that the exertions of these officers effectually annihilated these "detestable melefacts," as they have been called; for amongst the records of the Draper's Company of Shrewsbury, there is the following minute: "25, Elizabeth, anno 1583. Ordered, that no draper set out for Oswestry on Mondays, before six of the clocke in the morning, on forfeiture of 6s. 8d., and that they weare their weapons all the waye, and goe in companie. Not to go over the Welsh Bridge before the bell toll six." It is further stated, that "William Jones, Esq. left to the

saide Companie £.1. 8s. 6d., to be paid annuallie, to the Vicar of St. Alkemands', for reading prayers on Mondaye mornings, before the drapers set out for Oswestry market."

Like all other border towns of any magnitude, Oswestry was defended by a castle: it was also fortified by four gates and a wall. The gates, with the exception of one, are still entire, and are called the New-gate, the Willow-gate, and Beatrice-gate. The last is a handsome building, with a guard-room on both sides, and over it are the arms of the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel, with a lion rampant for the crest. It was probably built by Thomas, Earl of Arundel, in the begining of the reign of Henry IV., who named it in honour of his wife, Beatrice, a natural daughter of the King of Portugal. Over the Newgate is the figure of a horse in full speed, with an oaken bough in his mouth. There is a tradition, that this equestrian effigy bears allusion to the famous breed of horses for which Powis Land was so renowned, and which was derived from some fine Spanish stallions introduced into this part of the country by Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury.

According to the Welsh historians, the castle was founded in_1148, by Meredydd ab Bleddyn, Prince of Powis; but the English attribute its erection to Alan, a noble Norman, who came over in the train of the Conqueror. It was a fortress of great strength and extent, and had its ballium, or yard, (comprehending that part of the town now called the Bailey-head,)—its barbican, or outergate, where the poor and maimed were usually relieved,-and its chapels, placed at a short distance from the main entrance, and dedicated to St. Nicholas. A curious fact, connected with the history of this castle, illustrates the rude barbarism of the times in rather a forcible manner. In the year 1414, a complaint was made to the Archbishop of Canterbury, by Llewelyn ab Gruffydd ab Madog, against the constable of Oswestry Castle, for compelling him to put to death two young noblemen,