Beneath their coursers' hoofs the valleys shake; What fears! what anxious hopes! attend the chase! The dying stag seeks refuge in the lake; Exulting shouts announce the finish'd race. 33. Ah happy days! too happy to endure! Such simple sports our plain forefathers knew: No splendid vices glitter'd to allure; Their joys were many, as their cares were few. 34. From these descending, Sons to Sires succeed; Time steals along, and Death uprears his dart; Another Chief impels the foaming steed, Another Crowd pursue the panting hart. 35. Newstead! what saddening change of scene is thine! Thy yawning arch betokens slow decay; The last and youngest of a noble line, Now holds thy mouldering turrets in his sway. 36. Deserted now, he scans thy gray worn towers; Thy vaults, where dead of feudal ages sleep; Thy cloisters, pervious to the wintry showers; These, these he views, and views them but to weep. 37. Yet are his tears no emblem of regret: Cherish'd Affection only bids them flow; Pride, Hope, and Love, forbid him to forget, But warm his bosom, with impassion'd glow. 38. Yet he prefers thee, to the gilded domes, [14] Or gewgaw grottos, of the vainly great; Yet lingers 'mid thy damp and mossy tombs, Nor breathes a murmur 'gainst the will of Fate. 39. Haply thy sun, emerging, yet, may shine, Thee to irradiate with meridian ray; Hours, splendid as the past, may still be thine, And bless thy future, as thy former day. [v] [Footnote 1: As one poem on this subject is already printed, the author had, originally, no intention of inserting the following. It is now added at the particular request of some friends.] [Footnote 2: Henry II. founded Newstead soon after the murder of Thomas à Becket.] [Footnote 3: This word is used by Walter Scott, in his poem, 'The Wild Huntsman', as synonymous with "vassal."] [Footnote 4: The red cross was the badge of the Crusaders.] [Footnote 5: As "gloaming," the Scottish word for twilight, is far more poetical, and has been recommended by many eminent literary men, particularly by Dr. Moore in his Letters to Burns, I have ventured to use it on account of its harmony.] [Footnote 6: The priory was dedicated to the Virgin.--['Hours of Idleness'.]] [Footnote 7: At the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII. bestowed Newstead Abbey on Sir John Byron.] [Footnote 8: During the lifetime of Lord Byron's predecessor in the title there was found in the lake a large brass eagle, in the body of which were concealed a number of ancient deeds and documents. This eagle is supposed to have been thrown into the lake by the retreating monks.--'Life', p. 2, note. It is now a lectern in Southwell Minster.] [Footnote 9: Newstead sustained a considerable siege in the war between Charles I. and his parliament.]