Then cease thee-ah, cease thee ! 'tis fated we part! I will own, to this bosom far dearer thou art Than all that earth's treasure, earth's pleasure supplies. But where am I urged by impetuous feeling? Thy tears win the secret long hid in my breast. Farewell! and may time fling the balsam of healing O'er wounds that have rankled, and robb'd thee of rest. Yet lose not, ah, lose not, each lingering thought Of her who in early affection you sought, And whose bosom, to cheer thee, would sacrifice ought But love to a parent, the kindest and best. Carolan always maintained the dignity of his profession, and was above receiving any pecuniary remuneration. He was an honoured guest at the houses of all the nobility and gentry, where his company was eagerly sought and highly prized; and the hospitality of his entertainers was generally repaid by the tribute of his muse, either to the head of the house, or some of the fair members of the family. To follow him in all his wanderings would be impossible. Among many particulars of the bard's life, previously unknown, for which the public are indebted to the patriotic and indefatigable researches of the learned editor of the "Minstrelsy," is the following anecdote:-Though he seldom extended his peregrinations to the North, he visited, on one occasion, the County of Louth, and was brought without his knowledge into company with an eminent min strel, named Mac Cuairt, or Macartney, whose skill upon the harp was superior to his own. The performance of Carolan, indeed, though correct, was never masterly or sweet, and he used the instrument chiefly as an accompaniment, and to aid him in the composition of his melodies. Both bards were blind, and neither knew the other. After listening for some time to the music of his rival, Carolan exclaimed, "Your music is soft and sweet, but untrue." Even truth itself is sometimes harsh," was the pointed rejoinder of Macartney. When, however, the minstrel learned on whom it was he had passed this censure, he burst out into an enthusiastic "Welcome," including these stanzas :— 66 The prize of harmony, sent from afar, It comes from Apollo, the old world's star, The guide of the sacred nine : And each bard that wanders o'er earth and sea, Oh! yes, from thee thou son of song, The Viscounts Mayo and Dillon were among his warmest patrons and admirers. It was probably at the mansion of one of them that the circumstance narrated by Goldsmith occurred. It is recorded, that the poet, when very young, was taken to see Carolan, whose venerable and seer-like aspect made a deep impression on his youthful mind. In an elegant essay which he wrote on the genius of Carolan, he remarks" His songs, in general, may be compared to those of Pindar, as they have frequently the same flight of imagination. Being at the house of an Irish nobleman, where there was a musician present, who was eminent in his profession, Carolan challenged him to a trial of skill. To carry the jest forward, his lordship persuaded the musician to accept the challenge, and he accordingly played over on his fiddle the fifth Concerto of Vivaldi.* Carolan immediately, taking his harp, played over the whole piece after him, without missing a note, though he had never heard it before. This produced some surprise; but their astonishment increased when he assured them that he could make a Concerto in the same taste himself, which he instantly composed, and that with such spirit and elegance, that it may be compared (for we have it still) with the finest compositions of Italy."+ Carolan, perhaps from his very imperfect knowledge of English, seldom extended his excursions beyond the bounds of Connaught, scarcely an old respectable family of which province he has left uncelebrated. His compositions are stated to have amounted in all to, at least, * The Italian composers he preferred to all others. Vivaldi charmed him, and with Corelli he was much enraptured.-O'CONOR. + Goldsmith's Essays. two hundred. Like the poets of the East, his muse Of delighted to expatiate on the theme of female loveliness. Very many of his lyrics are of that description. these, the following are among the best. In the first occurs a pathetic allusion to his blindness, which must remind the reader of a similar passage in Milton. MILD MABLE KELLY.* TRANSLATED BY SAMUEL FERGUSON. Whoever the youth who, by heaven's decree, Has his happy right hand 'neath that bright head of thine, 'Tis certain that he From all sorrow is free, Till the day of his death, if a life so divine Should not raise him in bliss above mortal degree. Mild Mable Ni Kelly, bright coolun of curls! All stately and pure as the swan on the lake, Her mouth of white teeth is a palace of pearls, And the youth of the land are love-sick for her sake. No strain of the sweetest e'er heard in the land Fall asleep where they stand; Oh, for her blooms the rose, and the lily ne'er wanting To shed its mild lustre on bosom or hand. *The present is one of three versions of this fine song. The other two are in the "Minstrelsy" and Miss Brooke's "Reliques." The fair subject was one of the family of Castle Kelly, in the county of Galway. The dewy blue blossom that hangs on the spray, Dear lady, I drink to you, slainte go bragh! To gaze on her beauty the young hunter lies eyes The rash gazer surprise, All eyesight departs from the victim of love, grove; And the blind youth steals home with his heart full of sighs. Oh, pride of the Gael, of the lily-white palm, Oh, coolun of curls to the grass at your feet; At the goal of delight and of honor I am, To boast such a theme for a song so unmeet.' * "The third verse of the original being either a repetition of the first and second, or an anticipation of the fourth, has been omitted." The following is Miss Brooke's version of the portion omitted in the above : "As when the simple birds at night "So the soft splendours of thy face, And thousands the bright ruin prove! "Ev'n he whose hapless eyes no ray Admit from beauty's cheering day, |