BORTH LYRICS

BY EDWARD THRING, M.A.

HEAD MASTER OF UPPINGHAM SCHOOL LATE FELLOW OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY C. ROSSITER ENGRAVED BY DALZIEL BROTHERS

UPPINGHAM JOHN HAWTHORN 1881

p. 3INTRODUCTION.

Those who took part in that strange camping out of the School in 1876 and 1877 will be glad to be reminded of their experiences now they are over. And perhaps the School at Uppingham, in years to come, may like to have some hint, however imperfect, of that medley of ruin and safety, fear and fun, which passed from risk and danger, which seemed almost impossible to be faced, to a happy ending.

The School-house, Uppingham, August, 1880.

p. 5Dedication.

TO Mr. T. H. BIRLEY and Mr. W. T. JACOB, THE TWO SCHOOL TRUSTEES WITHOUT WHOSE HELP THE SCHOOL WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST;

TO Sir PRYSE PRYSE, Bart., AND THE KINDLY WELSH PEOPLE, WHO MADE SAFETY POSSIBLE AND SUCCESSFUL;

TO THE PARENTS, WHO TRUSTED THE SCHOOL, AND SENT IN FULL NUMBERS ON THE EVENTFUL NIGHT OF April 4, 1876;

TO ALL FAITHFUL COLLEAGUES, WHO DID TRUE WORK THROUGH THOSE DANGEROUS AND ANXIOUS MONTHS,

THIS MEMORIAL OF A COMMON CAUSE IS DEDICATED BY

THE AUTHOR.

p. 7List of Illustrations.

BORTH FROM THE NORTH

Frontispiece

POSTERN IN QUAD

Title

PORTION OF SCHOOL-HOUSE, GARDEN FRONT

to face page 9

SCHOOL-HOUSE QUAD

10

BORTH FROM THE SOUTH

12

THE LERY ABOVE TAL-Y-BONT

19

THE BEACH BY MOEL YNYS

21

THE MARSH BEHIND BORTH

24

CHAPEL AND SCHOOL-HOUSE FROM MIDDLE GROUND

30

p. 9I. THE PROLOGUE.

O swallow, with resistless wing, that hold’st the air in fee, O swallow, with thy joyous sweep o’er earth and sunlit sea, O swallow, who, if night were thine, would’st wheel amongst the stars, Why linger round the eaves? Unhappy! free of all the world hast knit thy soul to clay? And glued thy heart up on the wall, thou swiftest child of day? Claim, glorious wing, thy heritage; break, break thy prison bars, Nor linger round the eaves.

Sweep, glorious wings, adown the wind; fly, swallow, to the west; Before thee, life and liberty; behind, a ruined nest. Blow, freshening breeze, sweep, rapid wing, for all the winds are thine, The nest is only clay. The rapid wings were stretched in flight, the swallow sped away, And left its nest beneath the eaves, the much-loved bit of clay, Turned with the sun, to go where’er the happy sun might shine, And passed into the day.

p. 10II. THE SUMMONS.

A thousand year is nought to prayer, One day, so God it will: So the chapel fair, in God’s clear air, Looks calmly from its hill;

And true and bold the schoolhouse old Before it sentinel, With close at hand a trusty band Of comrades guards it well.

Each morn they meet, the young, young feet, They lightly come and go, A changeful stream, that still doth seem The same, and still doth flow.

The stream shall run while shines the sun, And still the buttressed stone Shall hear the beat of young, young feet, And count them all its own.

The fair sun shone, but ghastly and wan There came a spectral dream; The stone stood fast, but a dim fear passed Through buttress, and roof, and beam:

With sad, sad heart life did depart, A ghostly silence fell; With sad, sad heart they turned to depart, And—farewell, home, farewell.

p. 11III. THOUGHTS.

Darkest clouds drop tender rain, Every leaf and blade is fain Its own jewel to obtain From the casket of its pain.

And the thunder, black as night, Down descends in orbs of white, For the sun to fill with light, Tiny chambers of his might.

Precious beads of hope are pearled On each sorrow through the world, Softest dews of peace in showers Lie beneath the clouded hours.

p. 12IV. THE JOURNEY.

The ice froze cold, as cold as death, Yet runs the stream below; The very spring breathes bitter breath, But still the flowerets blow. Nor shall it perish from the land, The living seed they bore, As forth they fared, that pilgrim band, As pilgrims went of yore.

Lead, river, down the mountain glen, Glide ’mid the sunny slopes; Now lose thyself, now come again, E’en like a pilgrim’s hopes. And careless rivulets with their peace Smiled on the passers-by, From many a valley, where the trees See but their own dear sky.

So swept they on a great bright plain, A charmèd breadth out-laid, Where mountains rounded to the main A charmèd circle made; And northward couched a huge hill dream, Which ofttimes, as it lay. To heave and pant in sleep did seem, Beneath the sultry day.

And leaning up against the hill, Whose headland, purple-black, The southern waters, as they fill, Kiss daily, and fall back, p. 13A simple hamlet, nowise planned, Puts out a long arm white, Where level sea and level sand Scarce know each other’s right.

The mountains rule the east, but all The west, the sea, the sea; Save when the sun at evenfall Disputes her sovereignty. A kindly people held the land, A kindly race and free; So rest they found, that pilgrim band, At Borth beside the sea.

p. 14V. THE SEA.—SAFETY.

Bright sea, in thy waters rolled Dost eternity enfold, Endless being, uncontrolled, Freedom, more than heart can hold, Every wave a hope divine, Sun-charms, golden line on line, Thou great moving mystery-shrine! Thine the first sounds that the earth Heard, its cradle-song at birth. Hidden voices in thy deep Half untold their secret keep, As they murmur evermore Old-world tidings to the shore. Glorious sea, thy moving light Spreads round earth a mantle bright, Wide as range of eye or mind, Tameless playmate of the wind. Like a shuttle glancing free In and out, thy life, O sea, Whatsoe’er thy mood hath been, Weaves a web of magic sheen. Gracious wandering life, the air Sports around thee for its share; Winds that move, and winds that rest, Heaving softly on thy breast, Like a sea-bird from the crest, Rise from off thy waves, and fly, Sweeping fresh the summer sky. Glorious sea, glad, unconfined, Free as range of eye or mind, Tameless playmate of the wind, Gracious power, whate’er thou be, Lay thy sweetest liberty At the pilgrims’ feet, O sea.

p. 15VI. THE COLONY.

East and west, and north and south, As if we were shot from a cannon’s mouth, Hurrah, hurrah! here we all are. Never was heard in peace or war, The first in the world are we, Never, oh, never, was heard before, Since a ball was a ball, And a wall a wall, And a boy to play was free, That a school as old as an old oak-tree, Fast by the roots, was flung up in the air, Up in the air without thought or care, And pitched on its feet by the sea, the sea, Pitched on its feet by the sea.

Ere the old school walls were dumb With the silence of despair, “March boys, march! the end has come!” Rang the watchword proud and clear. We our standard rallied round, Thrice a hundred faithful found.

Playgrounds—leagues on leagues of shore; Class-rooms—all the sea-king’s caves; We are touched by Ariel’s power, Free of air, and earth, and waves. We are elves of Ariel’s range, Nought but suffers a sea change.

Ah! the wand has laid its spell Over cricket-fields and trees; Presto!—woods, and mountains, shells, Rocks, and sea-anemones; Thrice turn round and shut your eyes, Open to a fresh surprise.

p. 16Open on the level sward Slid Gogerddan’s [16a] hills between, When Gogerddan’s genial lord Looked upon the starry green, Lady-bright with summer stars, Heard the schoolboys’ loud hurrahs.

Lo! the panting cricket train Up the valley slowly creeps, Lo! a boyish hurricane E’en o’er Cader Idris sweeps. Never in the good greenwood Lived more gaily Robin Hood.

Little bits of fairy world, Fairy streamlets, dropping rills, And the Lery [16b] softly curled In amongst the dreaming hills: Never in the good greenwood Lived more gaily Robin Hood.

East and west, and north and south, As if we were shot from a cannon’s mouth, Hurrah, hurrah! here we all are. Never was heard in peace or war, The first in the world are we, Never, oh, never, was heard before, Since a ball was a ball, And a wall a wall, And a boy to play was free, That a school as old as an old oak-tree, Fast by the roots, was flung up in the air, Up in the air without thought or care, And pitched on its feet by the sea, the sea, Pitched on its feet by the sea.