The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-05-01 00:00:00

A MINSTREL' LAY,
DESCRIPTIVE OF THE LIVERPOOL GRAND FANCY BALL,

OF APRIL 30m, 1840.

Harp of my earlier years!. unstrung so long,
Awake! a nobler theme demands my song,
Than fiercest combat on the battle-field,
When foe meets foe, and scorns with life to yield ;
Or all that peaceful rural life inspires ;
Or Love itself, its joys, its pains, its fires ;
Awake once more ! for though my aged hand
May fail to roase thy wonted measure bland,
I fain would to thy trembling tones essay,
To give to heaven-born CHARITY my latest lay.

Stern Winter, with his storms, had gone,
And gentle Spring came tripping on,
Scattering o'er woods, and fields, and bow'rs
Her verdant leaves, her od'rous flow'rs
The air was balm ; in vale and grove
Each feathered warbler told his love ;
E'en the dense town aside had flung
The shroud of smoke that o'er her hung,
And through her thinner gauzy veil •
The vernal warmth appeared to hail ;
Her domes, her tow'rs, her buildings fair,
All, all, assumed a livelier air,—
Her busy streets, the live-long day,
Thronged with the wealthy and the gay.
In rich attire, some sauntered slow,
Disporting in the sunny glow ;
Some'crowded shops, filled with each ware
Of art or commerce, rich and rare,—
Silks, jewels, gold, the bright supply
Of every clime beneath the sky.
All, tempting passers-by to trade,
In mingled piles profusely laid.
It seemed some glorious jubilee,
Where all was life and mirth and glee ;
But, ah ! though gen'ral joy was there,
And none were seen with brow of care,
In humble life's retiring shade,
Misfortune had her havoc made
And thousands in abodes obscure,
Unfriended pined, doomed to endure
Disease and want, and none to give
The assaulting draught, and bid them " live."
Happy for those who thus were left,
Of comfort, e'en of hope bereft,
That 'midst the gay and motley throng,
That moved in fashion's maze along,
There were some manly hearts and true
The suli'rings of the poor that knew,—
Some ladies, too, whom every grace
Adorned of figure or of face,
But lovelier, that in each combined
The more endearing charms of mind ;
Lovelier, that woe they could not spy
That drew not sympathizing sigh,—
For when is beauty's cheek so fair,
As when the pitying tear rolls there.
These, left the plodding noisy street,
And sought a rural dell's retreat,
Sacred to love and to repose
On Mersey's banks. 'Twas evening's close ;
The setting sun's departing ray,
Gilded the small romantic bay,
And gleamed upon the river's breast,
Now scarcely by the west wind pressed.
They rested on a rustic seat,
The light wave rippling at their feet ;
And gazing on the beauteous scene,
So near the town, yet so serene,
They long conferred, how to secure
Meet succour for the pining poor,
For their own means were all too small
To meet the urgent wants of all.
Scheme followed scheme, but ere agreed,
how it were wisest to proceed,
The shades of night began to close,
And, sorrowing, to return they rose,—
When sounds more sweet fell on their ear,
These mortals e'er were blessed to hear,
And from the shore a cloud of haze
Approached, and, on their wondering gaze,
It slowly vanished, leaving there
A female form for earth too fair,—
An angel, who, as near she drew,
Shook from her wings an od'rous dew.
Dismayed, the group knelt at her feet,
And sought to do her homage meet.
" Arise I" in accents bland and clear,
" Arise !" she said, " my children dear :
To me 'tis given the thoughts to know,
That in your generous bosoms glow,
For-I who now before you stand,
Am Guardian Angel of this strand;
Dispel your doubts, heaven's decree
That yours success and joy shall be ;
lint to obtain your wish-for end
Romance with real life must blend.
The feast, the pageant, and the dance,
Must, for a time, your cause advance,
And pleasure draw from some the gold,
Who 'd else the needed gift withhold ;
The guests, too, mest, in varied guise,
Unite to please and to surprise.
And wo to him who, churlish, chides,
The ffte where C a enrry presides!"
She said : and• as she heavenward flew,
Was lost to their astonished view.
They gazed entrance, nor uttered sound,
While darker closed the clouds around ;
They felt, as if by magic spell,
Borne with them from that wooden dell,
And on their ears the increasing swell
Of music loud and lender fell. •
At length the clouds of vapour dense,
That mystified both sight and sense,
Dispersed, and, to their wondering sight,
Around them rose a palace bright ;
The spacious rooms, of splendour rare.
Filled with the great, the goad, the fair;
The lamps their dazzling brilliance flung,
From roof with showers of crystals hung;
The walls with marble pillars graced,
And couches round, luxurious, placed,
O'ertopped, and dei:ked. like fairy bowers,
With garlands fresh of fragrant flowers,
And music loud, yet sweet amid clear,
Its influence shed, the heart to cheer.
Half conscious, half confused they stood,
Amidst that motley multitude;
All was so fine, so bright, so fair,
They deemed they were intruders there,
In homely garb, that was but meet
Fdr parlour snug or busy street • .
But bashful, locki '
ng down, they found
Themselves as gay as those around,
In varied garb, superb and chaste,•
Each suited to their varying taste ;
And cheered by welcome smiles, ere long
They mingled in the joyous throng.
Oh, feebly can the minstrel's lay
The brilliance of that scene convey,
Or sing " the brave, the famed, the quaint,"
King, noble, savage, soldiet, saint,
The lovely fair of every clime,
Of every land, of every time.
But though my harp he harsh in tone,
Its swell of hope and ardour gone;
I yet would fain, in hurried lay,
My homage rude to Beauty pay;
Would that the strain were soft and clear,
As the poor tribute is sincere.
Each room to which the strangers drew,
Bore semblance to a palace new;
As it each mighty potentate,
Had here resolved to meet in state,
And, (oh more blameless than the strife,
Involving acne and loss of life),
To gain by gentle strokes of art,
That dearest conquest—woman's heart.
Loud martial music filled the hall,
And guests still rushed to join the hail;
The "drawing-rooms"—three thrown in one,—
They, first, delighted, paused to scan.
Replete with the elite of earth,
In rank,' in costume, and in birth.
With waving plumes, in colours bright,
They seined to the bewildered sight,
A moving bed of flowers, where grew,
Pink, tulip, rose, and vi'let blue:
Around, on crimson couch relined,
The grandee proud, the maiden kind ;
In varied dress that might defy
The richness of the Tynan die,—
All that could feed or eye or sense,
Of Eastern magnificence ;
Commingled with the holder bands,
From sterner, prouder, " nobler" lands.
Onward, the Ball Rooms next were seen,
Of spacious size and dazzling sheene ;
I ween, amidst that snazzy throng,
" Sages," all grey were young and strong;
And " dames," who dressed like withered queens,
Were blooming girls, yet in their teene.
" Friends came in quaint and various guise ;
Each gazed on each with stranger's eyes ;
Yet courtesy and flow of soul,
And sprightly converse marked the whole.
It seemed, as to that gorgeous room,
The good, the great, in living bloom
Were given from the relenting tomb,
To teach, or charm the world again,—
From potent prince to village swain;
From pompous queen in spangled dress,
To city dame, and shepherdess.
Vain were the task to number
Who crowded to that splendid ball.
There monarch talked with simple peasant ;
Grandees to boors were kind and pleasant ;
Queens, bright in jewels, more in charms,
With simple village swains linked arms;
Lawyers, in solemn gowns and wigs,
Familiar with corsairs and prigs—
" Jack Sheppard's," of each sort and nation,
Who. live by self appropriation,—
Or, fee-less' made their speeches flow'ry,
To youthfuldames of ample dowry.
Savages with visage grim,
Courting damsels-coy and trim ; •
A medley strange, yet giving hope,
That princes, subjects, yet may cope,
Throughout the world, in ARTS—not arms—
For peaceful life's gore precious charms,
And by their kindred moral worth,
Revert to " paradise," our earth.
And every country, east and west,
Sent there their loveliest and their best.
The minstrel old in stinted lay
Scarce knows how humble meed to pay
To those, by hist'ry's pages trained,
Who well their various parts sustained.
From Europe ev'ry country sent
Some who could ably represent
Or eminent- or humble stations
At this great " congress of the nations;"
And countries more remote, too, gave
Their envoys, in their fa:r and brave.
Kings, queens, grandees, burst on the sight,
And Warriors, fell, in armour dight—
The Red-cross and. black Norman knight,
And he of Malta, who of yore,
ThseCross es well as sabre bore;
The turhan'd Turk, Italian mild,
The Spaniard proud, the Tartar wild.
Behold, approaches, rich in dress,
In beauty rich, the " good Queen Bees."
By heroes hacked, she did command
The destinies nines our land,
And left us to write o'er their graves,
That proud " Britannia rules the waves."
Seek not her frailties to disclose,
Think not of Mary Stuart's woes •
Alas! did Justice bold the scale,
They were, perchance, but rivals frail.
Even now is beauteous. Mary see„,
In converse with her sister queen ;
Oh, can it. be that jealous eye,
Should doom such flower to droop and die
The Earl of Essex, too, was there,
And seemed the: royal smile to share ;
He wore the cignet ring, nor thought,
How dear from queens were favours bought.
Now peasant girls, with garlands streaming,
The " pride " of every village seeming,