of Harbledown, in the Summer of 1827._

(_For the Mirror._)

I.

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 wa