Of this piece of machinery Mr. Hole has ingeniously availed himself to account, in a manner highly poetical, for the mysterious structures on Salisbury plain; as satisfactory an hypothesis, perhaps, as any which has yet arisen from the conflicting dreams of antiquarian enthusiasm.

Destructive time, with unresisted sway,
Mankind, and all their labours, sweeps away;
Exalts the valley, sinks the mountain low,
And bids the rapid torrent cease to flow :
Thro' him, where once enchanted structures graced
The cloud-topp'd hill, now glooms a lonely waste.
Yet still, memorial of their site, remain

The circling stones that rise on Sarum's plain;
The wondrous rocks, by power of magic laid
To form its deep foundation, undecay'd
By him who all consumes, are known to fame,
And still retain the mighty Hengist's name.
B. iii. p. 90.

One of the first results of Arthur's courage and perseverance is the liberation of two of his friends, Lionel and Cradoc, from a loathsome dungeon, into which they had been thrown by the command of Hengist, and where they had endured the horrors of famine, and the apprehensions of a lingering

→ Stone-henge.

death. His discovery of their miserable situation, and their appearance on being released from confinement, form a very striking and ably-executed picture.

Beneath a rock an iron gate appears;

Within faint sounds of deep distress he hears.
He shakes the massy bars; the bars give way,
And through the dungeon streams unwonted day.
Forward the dauntless knight advanced, and found
Two hapless warriors fasten'd to the ground
By massy chains; with weak and struggling breath
They cried: "To freedom, or a welcome death
Consign your wretched thralls! a noble foe
Would scorn to aggravate the captive's woe."
Their voices well the British hero knew,
And in his eyes swell'd pity's pearly dew.
Their chains unbound, he led them t'ward the light,
But ah! what horrid objects met his sight!

Their hair, like elf-locks, round their shoulders clung:
Each limb was weaken'd, every nerve unstrung.

Pale, meagre famine sate in either face-
Extinct the manly form, and martial grace.
In hollow sockets dimly roll'd their eyes;
Their lab'ring bosoms heaved with frequent sighs.
With staggering steps they totter o'er the ground,
And gain at length their prison's utmost bound;
Then dropping on the verdant turf, inhale
The long-lost sweetness of the fresh'ning gale.

B. iii. p. 91.

Fortunately for the sufferers, Arthur had with

him a phial of sanative juice, the gift of Merlin, of power so potent, that no sooner had they partaken of its contents, than health and strength returned, and, with these blessings, the conscious happiness of being restored to freedom by their honoured prince. Lionel then relates, that, desirous of proving himself worthy of the love of his beautiful mistress, the fair Guendolen, he had sought for fame in distant lands, and at a tournament given by the king of Galicia, had most unexpectedly, in one of his opponents, recognized the voice of his beloved friend Cradoc. They challenge all competitors in honour of their native island, and are successful; but their joy is overcast by learning the unhappy state of Britain. They determine to hasten to the assistance of their prince; and the Spanish monarch, whose friendship they had gained by their prowess and mutual attachment, aids them with a band of Galician warriors. On landing at Southampton, they speedily become acquainted with the rumour that Hengist, through the agency of infernal power, had constructed a magic castle, in which he laughed at his enemies, being assured by the demons, that, whilst it stood, his arms and influence

would prevail. Lionel adds, that, eager to signalize their valour in behalf of their country, they resolve to attack Hengist in his enchanted hold; but, as their situation has already too plainly told, fail in the attempt.

An account is then given of the cruel treatment which they had experienced from the Saxon chieftain since their capture, a picture which possesses much of the strength and peculiar colouring of Dante :

Our mighty but ungenerous foe

Within yon gloomy cavern plunged us low.

Dank was the floor; our limbs strong fetters bound;
And toads and loathsome reptiles crawl'd around.

"Here meet your doom!" the furious Hengist cried-
"Here pay the forfeit of presumptuous pride !"
When the gate closed, and the last struggling ray
Of light was vanish'd; when we heard the key
Turn on the grating ward, what wild despair
Possest our souls? we wildly rave, our hair,
Our flesh we strive to rend: our chains deny
Th' attempt: then still in silent grief we lie;
Wishing that fate our heavy eyes would close,
And weight of sorrows sink us to repose.
Repose not such, alas! our souls desired,
We find, with strong conflicting passions tired,
Sleep seals our eyes: but ah! though seal'd our eyes,
Terrific objects to our sight arise :

Th' unquiet mind's perturbed brood: a train
Of nameless horror, and chimæras vain!

We wake, and rage again our bosom rends,
And frenzy reigns; but soon the tear descends
In silent anguish. Though our wish was death,
Yet nature taught us to prolong our breath,
E'en in our own despite: but nought t' assuage
Thirst's burning pangs we found, and hunger's rage,
Save noisome weeds, nursed by a scanty tide,
Out-welling from the cavern's rocky side

That laved the muddy soil-thus, many a day,
Though time we mark'd not, in despair we lay;
And surely, but for thy protecting might,
A few short hours in everlasting night

Had closed our eyes. May ne'er my deadliest foe
Such horrors feel-such bitterness of woe!

B. iii. p. 97.

The poet goes on to narrate, that Lionel having informed the prince that he had seen, on coming to this accursed place, a castle not far distant, embosomed in a wood, Arthur and his friends proceed thither, and find it the habitation of the aged Ebrank, the father of Guendolen, who receives them with open arms. He and his daughter had beheld their approach from the battlements, and the fears of the former, lest they should be enemies, had been allayed by the latter declaring that she knew the foremost knight to be her long-lost Lionel.