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But in time the tide turned and people came at last to acknowledge that Wordsworth was not only a poet, but a great one. He showed men a new way of poetry; he proved to them that nightingale was as poetical a word as Philomel, that it was possible to speak of the sun and the moon as the sun and the moon, and not as Phoebus and Diana.
On this occasion the gallant Lieutenant Doyle, of the Philomel, had his arm shot away, and for some time his life was despaired of; but, notwithstanding the agony of his wound, he still showed his interest in the progress of the action.
"You spotted snakes with double tongue, Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen; Newts and blind-worms do no wrong Come not near our Fairy Queen. Philomel, with melody, Sing in our sweet lullaby, Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby; Never harm, nor spell, nor charm, Come our lovely lady nigh; So good night with lullaby."
Maria had followed the first verses silently with her eyes, but now her lips began to move and in a low, rapid tone, but audibly she read: "Sometimes it echoes like the thunder's peal, Then soft and low through the May night doth steal; Sometimes, on joyous wing, to Heaven it soars, Sometimes, like Philomel, its woes deplores.
Philomel, with melody Sing in our sweet lullaby Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby; Never harm, nor spell, nor charm, Come our lovely lady nigh; So good night with lullaby. When the fairies had sung their queen asleep with this pretty lullaby, they left her to perform the important services she had enjoined them.
Nouronihar, in the inebriety of youthful spirits, being used only to eunuchs of ordinary harems, and having never seen anything so royal and disgusting, was far more diverted than all of the rest; she began to parody some Persian verses, and sang with an accent most demurely piquant: “O gentle white dove, as thou soar’st through the air, Vouchsafe one kind glance on the mate of thy love; Melodious Philomel, I am thy rose; Warble some couplet to ravish my heart!”
This officer, who formerly commanded H.M.S. Philomel, employed for several years upon the survey of the Falklands, has been one of the first to avail himself of the proposals made by Government to develop the resources of these islands by throwing them open to private enterprise; in association with several gentleman in England he has set on foot an establishment for the purpose of curing beef, hides, and tallow, which, it is expected, will be in full operation in the course of next year.
Though larger than the nightingale, to which it has often been compared, it has a superior and more varied voice, but lacks that sweetness of expression and melancholy charm which have made the reputation of the plaintive Philomel. It has, however, a song of its own, composed of a dozen syllables, clear, sonorous, and harmonious, which runs over an extensive scale.
The Elizabethan poets, however, when they talked of Philomel, 'her breast against a thorn, were unaware that they and the Greeks were talking of two different birds; that our English Lusciola Luscinia is not Lusciola Philomela, one of the various birds called Bulbul in the East. Whether his song be really sad, let those who have heard him say.
These birds do not confine their singing to the night, like the true nocturnal birds, and are most vocal when inspired by the light of the moon. Europe has several of these minstrels of the night. Beside the true Philomel of poetry and romance, the Reed-Thrush and the Woodcock are of this character.
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