THE YOUNG MAY MOON. AIR-The Dandy O! THE Young May moon is beaming love, Through Morna's grove', While the drowsy world is dreaming, love! Then awake! the heavens look bright, my dear! "Tis never too late for delight, my dear! And the best of all ways To lengthen our days Is to steal a few hours from the night, my 1 "Steal silently to Morna's grove." See a translation from the Irish, in M Bunting dear! tion, by John Brown, one of my earliest college-companions and friends, whose death was as singularly melancholy and unfortunate, as his life had been amiable, honourable, and exemplary. Now all the world is sleeping, love, But the Sage, his star-watch keeping, love, And I, whose star, More glorious far, Is the eye from that casement peeping, love. Of bodies of light, He might happen to take thee for one, my dear! THE MINSTREL BOY. AIR-The Moreen. THE Minstrel-boy to the war is gone, And his wild harp slung behind him. "Land of song!" said the warrior-bard, "Though all the world betrays thee, One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard, One faithful harp shall praise thee!" The Minstrel fell!-but the foeman's chain Thy songs were made for the pure and free, THE SONG OF O'RUARK, PRINCE OF BREFFNI'. THE VALLEY LAY SMILING BEFORE ME. AIR-The Pretty Girl milking her Cow. THE Valley lay smiling before me, Yet I trembled, and something hung o'er me, These stanzas are founded upon an event of most melancholy importance to Ireland; if, as we are told by our Irish historians, it gave England the first opportunity of dividing, conquering, and enslaving us. The following are "The King the circumstances, as related by O'Halloran. of Leinster had long conceived a violent affection for Dearbhorgil, daughter to the King of Meath, and though she had I look'd for the lamp which she told me, I flew to her chamber-'twas lonely been for some time married to O'Ruark, Prince of Breffni, yet could it not restrain his passion. They carried on a private correspondence, and she informed him that O'Ruark intended soon to go on a pilgrimage, (an act of piety frequent in those days,) and conjured him to embrace that opportunity of conveying her from a husband she detested to a lover she adored. Mac Murchad too punctually obeyed the summons, and had the lady conveyed to his capital of Ferns." The monarch Roderic espoused the cause of O'Ruark, while Mac Murchad fled to England, and obtained the assistance of Henry II. Such," adds Giraldus Cambrensis (as I find him in an old translation,) "is the variable and fickle nature of woman, by whom all mischiefs in the world (for the most part) do happen and come, as may appear by Marcus Antoninus, and by the destruction of Troy |