I am no pilgrim unto Becket's shrine, To kneel with fervour on his knee-worn grave, And with my tears his sainted ashes lave, Yet feel devotion rise no less divine-- As rapt I gaze from Harbledown's decline And view the rev'rend temple where was shed That pamper'd prelate's blood--his marble bed Midst pillar'd pomp, where rainbow windows shine; Where bent the [1]anointed of a nation's throne And brooked the lashes of the church's ire; And where, as yesterday, with soul of fire, Transcendent Byron view'd the hallow'd stone. Sure Chaucer's pilgrims, on this crowning height, Repress'd their mirth, and kindled at the sight. II. Couch'd in the bosom of a bounteous vale, The ancient city, to the enamour'd sight, Gleams like a vision of the fairy night, Or Be-ulah, in Banyan's holy tale. The silvery clouds that o'er the valley sail Dim not the sinking sun, whose lustre fires The old cathedral and its gorgeous spires, The ruin'd abbey, garlanded and pale The vesper choristers in each lone wood Chant to the peeping moon their serenade; Now creeps the far-off forest into shade, And twilight comes o'er heath, and field, and flood. Oh! had I genius now the task to try, My picture should Italian Claude's outvie! * * H. [1] Henry the Second. * * * * * MOUNT ST. MICHAEL. (_To the Editor._) In no. 477 of the _Mirror_ you have given a spirited engraving of Mount St. Michael, with a succinct account annexed, to which the following particulars may serve as addenda:-- Its most ancient name was Belinus, when it was inhabited by Druidesses. After the abolition of the Druids, it took the name of Mons Jovis; to which was substituted that of Tumba, when a monastery was erected upon it. In 708, Bishop Auber raised upon it a church, which he dedicated to St. Michael.--Ethelred, the second, of England, had a particular veneration for Mount St. Michael. Abbot Roger had been almoner to William the Conqueror. Henry II. of England made a pilgrimage to Mount St. Michael, when he met Louis VII. King of France, with a splendid suite. In 1203 the fortifications consisted only of wooden palisades. Being attacked by the Bretons, they set fire to them: the fire reached the church and abbey, which was completely destroyed. The monastery was restored in 1226, by Abbot Adulph de Villedieu. His successor, Richard Justin, obtained from the Pope the most distinguished privileges. In 1418 the English made a fruitless attack upon it. In 1423 it was attempted again, with a very considerable force and powerful artillery, two pieces of which now stand at the main gate: one has a stone ball in it of about fifteen inches diameter. Among the distinguished English officers who perished at the siege, was a Chevalier M. Burdet.