COMPTON AUDLEY.

CHAPTER I.

MEETING AT ST. PAUL'S.

To Thee, to Thee,

On this appointed day shall thanks ascend,

That Thou hast brought our warfare to an end.

Oh, 'tis a goodly Ordinance! the sight,

Though sprung from bleeding war, is one of pure delight.

Bless thou the hour, or ere the hour arrive,

When a whole people shall kneel down in prayer,

And at one moment, in one spirit strive,

With lip and heart, to tell their gratitude

For thy protecting care,

Their solemn joy, praising the Eternal Lord

For tyranny subdued,

And for the sway of equity renewed,

For liberty confirmed, and peace restored.

WORDSWORTH.

THE day appointed for the thanksgiving

at St. Paul's for the restoration of the bless

VOL. I.

B

ings of peace, opened with a bright summer morning, in the month of July, 1814. Already the bells were loudly ringing from the numerous steeples of the city; various corps of military, with "olive branch and laurel crown," lined the streets, through which the expected procession was to pass, while the thunder of the cannon, reverberating at intervals, through the streets and squares of the mighty metropolis, announced its approach to the cathedral. At length the grand solemnity began. Every voice was, for the moment, silenced. The holy liturgy was chanted; and to the throng of beating human hearts, with all their secret scrolls of buried grief, were given the treasures of immortal hope.

"Hark! how the flood

Of the rich organ harmony bears up
Their voice on its high waves."

The inspired anthem of praise now echoed

through the lofty aisles of the Christian temple; the full, deep, swelling tones of the organ went forth in murmured thunder; the hymns which Miriam sang and David tuned, the respondent chant and service, the inspiring, sacred hallelujahs filled the vast pile; and, as the concluding benediction was given, all eyes were turned upon one man ;-upon him, the hero of a hundred fields, who never advanced but to cover his arms with glory, and who never retreated but to eclipse the very glory of his advance: who, upon the banks of the Douro and the Tagus, of the Ebro and Garonne, had won the hearts of nations; whose generous and lofty spirit inspired his troops with unbounded confidence, and taught them that the day of battle was ever the day of victory! whose name will remain an imperishable monument, exciting others to aim at like deeds of patriotism; whose campaigns were sanctified by the cause, were sullied by no

cruelties, no crimes; the chariot wheels of whose triumphs were followed by no curses, and who upon his death-bed might remember his victories among his good works.

The memory of the contests, the sight of those who had survived the destruction of the battle field, associated as all was with the duties of religious worship, was well calculated to inspire the purest feeling of veneration, and produce an influence on the mind, approaching to sublimity. A spirit of holiness cast over every soul a glow of patriotism, and the service of the nation's thanksgiving was, on this great occasion, performed with a oneness of sentiment and feeling, perhaps hitherto unparalleled. The ceremony was rendered still more intensely effective by the presence of the conqueror of conquerors, who, at the distance of a hundred years, revived the glories of a Marlborough, and outwent the expectations of the people who confided in his strength.